Array
(
[text] =>
--Lorn and Verger to the right--
Verger stood hunched in a defending position, face to face with Chuck, who had the ball. The guy's eyes peeked at him from behind the mess of hair flipped around in what must've represented bangs, his grin trembling with each clumsy breath he took and sweat just near slipping from his nose.
Passing Verger didn't require calculation but instinct, impulse, and so Chuck was always an obstacle to him. The guy was the definition of spontaneity.
"Chuck!" one of Chuck's teammates exclaimed seeing as he was free. The guy was new, obviously, otherwise he would've known not to do that to Chuck.
The druggie screamed in shock and jerked his arms up, sending the ball out of the court and into the distance. Verger could imagine that star in the sky from Pokemon as the basketball must've exited their atmosphere.
After the echo if his scream successfully slalomed between the buildings of the street, standing tall and lined as if in a military position, everyone reacted accordingly to the episode that had occurred too many times.
"Go choke on a drill Leo!"
"I'll cripple you for life and death, Leo!"
"I'll let my sister jump your intestines instead of a rope, Leo!"
"I'm fucking hungry..."
"God fucking damn it Leo!" Adolf screeched, his hand cupping his pocket as he advanced towards the man.
"Calm down I'll go get it!" Verger slapped his chest and sent him backwards, causing the man to glare at him down his beard. Verger raised his hands inoffensively and walked out of the court, heading left.
He checked the creepy weeds in front of the tall building that always shadowed their games, being next to the court. When that proved useless, he looked between the motorbikes parked nearby- there was a pub around in which many troublemakers went thanks to the persistent metal music and attractive staff.
He sighed, propped on his knees. The game had been intense up until Chuck flipped, the score 83-79 for Verger's team, and so he could use a break.
Standing up, he popped his back and looked left and right, but stopped mid-action when he heard the sound he's grown accustomed to long since, and yet could never get tired of.
Bounce-bounce-bounce-bounce-bounce.
"Verger!" Lorn greeted, walking towards him with the bright orange ball standing in contrast with his dark clothing. He had on a pair of baggy jeans, but not the sort that had their waist at the dude's knees. They were just large, but still managed to show the admirable length of his legs. His faded green 'Shit happens' shirt swayed in the wind, as did his longer than average hair.
"Lorn!" Verger grinned. It was just yesterday morning he last saw him, but he felt something like a two left winged butterfly flailing up and down his insides. "What're you up to?"
Lorn pointed behind him. "Just messing around with the guys, I have a fight coming up on Sunday."
"Well I have a game on Saturday." Verger caught the ball as the man bounce-passed it.
Lorn hummed, moving his lips in a more or less duck face. He managed to pull it off, though, probably thanks to the small stubble on his chin.
"I'll help you practice if you beg." he said cheekily, shoving his hands in his pockets.
"Help me practice?" Verger laughed. "More like help me laugh."
"How about you speak after seeing me play?" Lorn squinted his eyes with a challenging smirk.
"Are you kidding me." Verger groaned. "You streetfight, streetdance and now you streetball?"
Lorn extended his arms. "I grew here, I'm a natural."
Verger shook his head and nodded towards the court before heading there, Lorn beside him.
"Hey, since you're helping me practice, I could help you too."
Lorn looked at him from under an eyebrow. "You wanna fight?"
Verger shrugged, bouncing the ball thrice before answering. "I could use learning how to fight, considering the..." he looked around, and as if on cue a black cat jumped from a dumpster, causing the lid to move and expose a suspicious number of suspiciously shaped garbage bags.
"I feel you." Lorn nodded and entered the court with Verger on his trail.
It appeared the guys had continued the game with Leo's ball, and Verger whistled to get their attention.
"Is it cool if you move on one half? I'd like to one-on-one this guy."
"Yeah you'd like to one-on-one him all right." said Dew, or 'Two' as he was nicknamed for lacking two fingers on his left hand.
"You could join, it'd leave you one free finger to stick up your own butt!" Verger kindly replied with a lazy grin to go at the 'ooh's that followed.
Lorn was wearing a straight smile, his chest trembling with laughter as he shook his head. "Verger, do you speak anything other than comebacks?"
"I speak come-on-backs."
"Did I really sign up for this." the man sighed, positioning himself near the basket.
Verger hunched and jumped in pace with the ball, left and right and right again before rounding Lorn to the left and shooting. Lorn was frozen, frowning at the spot Verger had previously been in.
"Okay." he said, turning around.
Verger smirked and dribbled out of the three-point line, with Lorn running after him. Just as Lorn got to him, he stepped away from him, then back in place and scored a three-pointer.
Lorn didn't comment that time, but turned around and went for the ball. Verger laughed and ran, easily catching up and snatching the ball before the man got to.
With that, he ran back to the basket and jumped, slam dunking before clinging onto the rim and letting the ball roll down his body, all the way to his legs, after which he caught it between his feet and darted it back. Jumping down, he turned around in time to catch the ball and smirk at Lorn.
"You practiced that move a shit ton of times, didn't you."
"Yes." Verger hugged the ball. "Streetball is not about scoring, it's about the style you're scoring with."
The man put his hands on his hips, breathing heavily. "That was pretty cool. I could maybe show you my own skills if you'd be as kind as to let me touch the ball?"
"If you were as skilled as you claim to be, you'd be able to get it."
Lorn twisted his mouth and slumped his shoulders. "Game on."
------
"I quit." Lorn growled, sitting on the ground with his back against the fence. He wasn't in that position just because he decided the wooden bench wasn't as cozy as concrete, his legs simply gave up on that spot.
Verger arched his back and neck, gazing at the sky. It was still blue, but the building overshadowing them made it seem later than it was.
"Well that was cute." Verger laughed, looking down at him with his chest heaving. "51-3 for me. It had been a nice three pointer on your side, but I could do that in sixth grade."
"Verger, hey, Verger?" Lorn glared. "Fuck you."
"Oh come on." the man laughed, walking to the bench to let the ball down and get himself a bottle of water before heading to Lorn. The others were packing up. "If it helps, you can give your best too when we practice fighting."
Lorn squinted, then nodded. "It does. It really does help."
"I am mildly terrified." Verger murmured.
It was the next day that they met for Lorn's fighting practice and Verger's fighting lesson. After yesterday's game, neither of them could really move a muscle, and so it was just today lunch that they met.
Verger stood and watched uneasily as Lorn clenched and unclenched his fists, popping his knuckles covered by black fingerless gloves. Verger couldn't remember the last time fingerless gloves complimented someone's looks so good to the point of making him want to do weird things with said fingers, but... there went.
"So... any pro-tip?" he asked, shifting his brown long sleeve t-shirt.
Lorn moved those clear blue eyes on him. The irises shone nicely in the bright light coming form the wide window behind the couch, and the reflections of his hair had a hint of dark blue in them, as if the strands were coated in ink, and the one blond strand looked golden.
"Protect your head with your arms."
Verger made an eyelid twitch. "Really. I didn't deduce that from my human instincts."
"Well then that explains why you got your ass beaten on that faithful day we met." Lorn smiled.
"You weren't any better."
"You didn't see my opponent."
Verger pursed his lips and raised his arms by the sides of his head, hunching. Lorn grinned and reflected his position, then started pacing around the spacious living room.
"Are you seriously going to beat me?" Verger asked, following his movements.
"It's the only way to learn, I'd fucking know." Lorn shook his head, then jerked his body, causing Verger to wince and cover his head. It proved to be a bluff, because only when Verger straightened up a little he moved in, punching him in some spot that made him double over as every inch of air in his body left by its own accord.
He propped himself on the TV until he managed one breath, then attempted beginning to position himself in the initial fighting attack, but Lorn pushed him against the wall.
"Come on, you're gonna lower my standards and make me loose the streetfight."
"And you're gonna make me loose my fucking teeth." Verger wheezed, pushing himself straight and hunching again. With his lips straight and jaw set, he slammed into Lorn and managed to push him backwards before advancing.
He threw a punch, but Lorn easily dodged it and reflected his gesture. Just as his fist got near Verger's face, Lorn slapped his own chest instead, making Verger jump in place and laugh breathlessly at the prank.
Lorn laughed too for a couple seconds, then punched Verger in the face.
"God damn it!" Verger cupped his cheekbone, then turned back towards him and clenched the collar of his black tank top, pulling him close. What he didn't expect was Lorn gripping his hair and pulling him even closer, his lips pursed mockingly and his eyes half closed and daring.
Verger panted, watching the man from behind long bangs. Lorn's fingers were cruel with his scalp, but they somehow felt right in his hair, and the smell of his cologne was tucking Verger's lungs to sleep.
The corners of Lorn's mouth raised, and he shook his head. "We should really work on your reflexes."
Verger blinked and let himself relax once the hand made its way out of his strands. Lorn easily walked away from him despite the grip Verger's had on the collar of his shirt, and moved to the other side of the room before facing him.
"How..." Verger sighed.
"Oh, I don't know..." Lorn murmured, and then quickly snatched the nearest thing, a pillow, and threw it at Verger face.
The streetballer stumbled back and got the pillow off only to gawk at seeing Lorn hold a vase.
"Are you-" he crouched behind the TV once the vase went flying. "What the fuck!" he screamed over the crash. "Are you nuts?!" he pressed himself to the wall when a pocket calculator was slammed to the ground, sending many pieces flying about.
"Fight like a man you little shit!" Lorn demanded, and Verger laughed incredulously before sitting up. Grabbing a row of DVDs from under the TV, he got on throwing them like Frisbees.
Lorn dodged each one of them and grabbed a plate with leftover pizza placed on the bookshelf.
"Stop that's dangerous!" Verger screeched, hiding behind the TV once more. The plate crashed into it, shards flying about only to crash in turn. The pizza slumped to the ground with a splash.
"It's so fucking satisfying!" Lorn laughed.
Verger snatched the nearest thing from underneath the TV, proving to be a porcelain giraffe. He stood up and held it up threateningly, but when he saw Lorn holding a stack of books, he yelped and sat back down.
"'These violent delights have violent ends'!" he quoted before throwing Romeo and Juliet, getting just the tip of Verger's hair. "'My enemy is twice dead, and I still have him'!" he added before throwing 'The Wasp Factory' and managing to get Verger's foot. "'I'm fifty shades of fucked up'!" he threw another book, and it landed near Verger.
"'Fifty shades of Grey'? Are you fucking serious!" Verger exclaimed, looking at him incredulously.
Lorn glared at the book and then pulled a face. "It's kinda hot."
Verger took the opportunity and ran from behind the TV, jumped on the other side of the coffee table and grabbed a pillow as a shield. Lorn grinned and threw a shoe at him. The thing hit the pillow with a soft thud and fell, followed by a wall clock, another book and a toy car.
Verger threw the pillow at Lorn and hurried to grab the blanket before running at him and throwing it on. Lorn pushed back, hugging him with the blanket and sending them both on the ground.
"Say uncle!" he demanded, pinning Verger down with an arm. The blanket covered him whole, and he muffled something inaudible in return. Lorn tugged the blanket off his face. "What was that?"
"Fuck you." Verger panted with a grin.
He watched Lorn tower above him, his strands of hair looking as soft and inviting as ever. He took the opportunity and slid his hand through them, but masked his internal pleasure by using it to move Lorn sideways on the floor.
"Say uncle!" he demanded, and Lorn glared at him, his cheek pressed into the wooden floor. With a huff, he pushed himself up and slammed his back into Verger, tackling him down and pinning him on the floor in a position that pretty much immobilized the entirety of his body.
"You say it." he said, pinning Verger's arm at the back.
The guy inched around with no use, then sighed. "Nah. I actually find this position rather satisfying- holy mother of turds!" he screeched when Lorn shoved his elbow somewhere in his spine, sending shivers of pain up and down his back. "Uncle! Uncle!"
Lorn slid off and swatted his head, watching the man pant, tangled in the blanket.
"You suck." he stated.
Verger slowly moved his body into a comfortable position and sighed. After letting a couple moments of peaceful silence pass, he sat up, snatched the ashtray from the coffee table and threw it at Lorn, dark rain of ash scattering over them at the pace of snow flakes.
Lorn closed his eyes against the black matter and then opened them with a piercing glare, the ashtray spinning on the floor making up for the silence until it stilled. His eyelashes were coated in the black powder, that occasionally fell, the pecks standing in contrast with the brightness of his glaring eyes.
Verger laughed, ruffling ash out of his own hair and letting it stick out all funny. Then, he reached to Lorn and wiped a hand down his face in attempt to clean the ash off it, but he only managed to spread black smudge on his cheek.
"Uh." he murmured, retreating his black palm and glancing at it before looking up at Lorn, whose facial expression had yet to inch. "I think we should put this happening past us and focus on the future of our friendship as an entirety consisting of matter that represents the existential aspects of life..." he rambled on, though his voice was slowly dispersing under the increasing growl of Lorn's.
That went on until the man took hold of Verger's ear and pulled him on his feet. Verger voiced his pain and cupped the hand holding his ear, but the fierce grip persisted, tugging him along towards the kitchen.
"Dude, dude no!" he exclaimed, but Lorn placed his head in the metal sink and opened the faucet. Verger gurgled under the flow, trying to pry Lorn's hands off his wet hair.
"I advice that you close all of your orifices." Lorn said before squeezing dishwasher onto Verger's cheek and getting on sponging his face.
The man sputtered and squinted his eyes close, keeping his mouth shut against the scratches of the sponge- he was using the rough side. That didn't stop him from growling in his throat as loud as manageable and blindly kicking the surroundings with his leg and fists, though he had little aim with the position he found himself in.
Once rinsed and sparkling clean, Lorn snatched Verger's head out of the sink, letting the man breathe.
"You. Are. Deranged!" he accused, rubbing his reddened skin. Drips of water fell from his messed up hair, and his bloodshot eyes gawked at Lorn intensely. "I seriously can't believe you just fucking dish-washed my face what's wrong with you!"
Lorn raised his eyebrows, ash falling from them, and pointed at him threateningly. "Watch your mouth or I'll wash it with soap."
"Don't!" Verger cried, stepping away.
Lorn held himself for a couple seconds before erupting in laughter. "You look like a terrified Chihuahua left in the rain! Wide red eyes and all..."
"I don't want to be friends anymore." Verger whined, cupping his injured cheeks.
Lorn pouted mockingly and threw him a towel, then turned towards the sink and bent over to wash his own face. Verger peeked at him from underneath the towel he was rubbing his head with, scanning the possibilities of revenge.
He took a tentative step and looked around, then smirked upon noticing a bag of flour. He took it with as little rustle as possible, and raised it menacingly.
He should've seen this coming, but it still took him aback when Lorn quickly reacted, gripping his wrist and jerking it so that the flour fell over him, sticking to his wet hair and face like a second skin.
"Look what you did of yourself!" Lorn gaped, raising his hands innocently. "Let me help you out with that."
Verger clenched his fists and jaw, then jumped on Lorn, hugging him with all of his floured presence. The man sputtered, tumbling backwards and into the wall, but Verger only rubbed his head up and down the man's, all the while laughing.
"Now we're even. Stop screwing around or I'll lacerate you!" Verger demanded, stepping back, unable to keep from smiling. Lorn proved to be huggable.
The man sighed, a cloud of flour exiting his nostrils and mouth, and wiped the powder away from his eyes. "I guess my apartment is enough of a mess for now."
Verger laughed, picking up a cloth and getting on wiping the counter. A glance at the living room and he let the thing down with a helpless sigh. "This is gonna take a while."
"Yeah." Lorn agreed, tilting his head. "So let's go drink instead."
Prrrrocrastination <3
[text_hash] => c31f88ea
)
What do you think?