"When you were young" Andrew/Jesse RPF
Title: "When you were young" shamelessly stolen from the Killers
Pairing: Andrew Garfield/Jesse Eisenberg
Rating: G (appropriate for all ages)
Wordcount: 1345 words
Summary/author's note/me blabbing: This was written for the TSN-a-thon, that I'm very fortunate to be a part of.
There is an interview that Jesse did with Conan O'Brien, where he talks about his childhood a bit. Apparently it was really difficult for him to leave home and he would start crying everyday. It got to the point where the bus driver promised all the kids candy if Jesse didn't cry for a week. So every friday he would hear the children chanting "don't cry Jesse" as the bus came near and that's how he knew the bus was coming.
There was a lovely prompt about this in the kink meme, about Andrew being there and this is my attempt for a fill. Sort of anyway, it's not finished, but I'm not sure if it's worth finishing.
Opinions are greatly appreciated.
When you were young
It's not like Jesse doesn't like school.
Everybody is reasonably friendly to him and some of the subjects can even be fun every once in a while.
So yeah, it's not school as such that's the problem. It's being away from home.
Whenever he sees the house he's been living in all his life(all 9 years of it) disappearing in the distance, his throat closes up and inevitably tears flood his eyes.
He's not even embarrassed about it anymore. His mother has explained to him, that his anxiety is perfectly normal and no, it doesn't make him a freak.
He just wants it to stop.
Every morning he begs mum to let him stay at home/home-school him/tell the school-board he has died and can't attend lessons anymore, but she won't budge.
She calmly explains why she can't do any of these things and why all of them, especially saying the last thing, is completely out of the question. Then she hugs him tightly, kisses his forehead and gently shoves him out the front door.
He knows that his mother loves him, because she keeps telling him so, but he can't help feeling a little abandoned every time it happens.
Jesse walks the few steps to the side of the street as slowly as he can, but inevitably he reaches it and has to stand there, waiting for the bus that will take him away from everything he loves.
Andrew loves school. He loves the people, he loves the excitement, he even likes getting homework (although he's careful to admit that, ever since when he did once people stared at him like he was completely bananas).
Not even the fact that the company his father works for has relocated his father's workplace to the United States, making it necessary for the whole family to move away from England, can dampen his spirits.
He is a little nervous though, it's his first day after all.
It's Friday, because someone in the school board thought it would be a good idea to let him meet everyone and then to give them two days to digest it.
The ride has been uneventful so far. He is sitting alone, but nobody has been mean to him yet. The other children either smiled at him or ignored him.
American children didn't seem to be all that different to the children at home. This evaluation vaporizes, when they round a corner.
The way all the other children seem to be chanting something that sounded like "Don't cry Jessy!" over and over again makes him question his hearing(because the words made no sense to him) and the other children's sanity.
A few blocks on, the bus stops to pick up three more children.
The first two, a boy and a girl, enter the bus like the others had, shouting loud "good morning"s to their friends, sitting with their friends, chatting about anything that's on their mind with their friends.
The third child, another boy, is different:
His curly head is bent, his shoulders slouched, which makes him look much smaller than the other two.
The driver seems to say something to him, but Andrew can't make it out. The little boy doesn't look up and shakes his head quickly, before scuttling down the aisle.
The way he walks makes Andrew think of a lamb that's led to slaughter.
His thought are interrupted by an "owww!" going through the bus, which coincidences with whichever row of seats the curly boy passes. It doesn't sound angry or particularly sad, it's just the universal noise of disappointment, that the children have not yet learned to keep inside as adults do.
The boy is close enough now that Andrew can see his face and what a face it is. It's the most heartbreaking thing he's seen, since the day his little brother's cat died. His little brother's pained face pales in comparison to the pure unadulterated woe in the one he sees before him.
There is not a trace of happiness, no excitement about going to school, about meeting friends, nothing, just tears. Endless tears, welling up in those blue eyes.
The curly-haired boy seems oblivious to what's going on around him.
Andrew's arm stretches out before he realizes it and grabs the boy's sleeve.
He looks up, startled. Is that fear in his eyes? Does he expect to be taunted?
"Would you...would you like to sit with me?"
Jesse can hear the chanting from a few blocks away, it's how he knows the bus is coming.
Andrea and Josh join him on the sidewalk. Thankfully they had stopped chanting with the other kids a while ago, these days they mostly ignore him.
Jesse actually manages to hold back the tears until the bus pulls up, but they come inevitably, as night follows day, as he sees Andrea and Josh getting in, knowing it must be him next.
He had tried to escape the inevitable. One day he had hidden in his treehouse in the backyard, until the bus stopped honking for him.
His mother had come looking for him, driven him to school and made him promise to never do it again.
The first tears fall from his eyes, as he climbs into the bus, resigned to his fate.
Through the veils of tears he sees the driver give him a hopeful look: "How about a smile for old Joe here, eh Jesse?"
Jesse shakes his head. The driver sighs "though as much. Okay kid, sit down." his voice is not unkind.
Jesse shuffles down the aisle, hardly able to see through his tears. When he feels something grab his sleeve he can feel the panic rise in him instantly. Would they beat him up this time?
He always expects them to, if he's honest. There's candy at stake after all.
A boy he doesn't recognize, with the most ridiculous, amazing hair and the biggest brown eyes Jesse has ever seen, is looking at him.
"Would you...would you like to sit with me?" he asks, in what can only be described as a strange accent.
Huh, noone had asked him that in a while.
Jesse is so surprised, he actually stops crying. He nods dumbly and lets the strange boy pull him down on the seat next to him.
Andrew doesn't understand, why he doesn't want to let go of the boys sleeve, but he knows that he wants the boy to be happy. He doesn't know how to make people happy, except his mum always says it makes her happy when he gives her a hug, so maybe he should try that?
Andrew finally lets go off the boy's sleeve and pulls him into a hug.
The boy stills for a second and then starts struggling.
Andrew lets go of him. Curly-head looks at him, like he's mental.
"What...? Why did you do that?!" the boy sounds outraged. Andrew recoils, he only meant well.
"I'm sorry" he says, putting his hands up for emphasis. "Just. You looked so sad and I thought a hug might make you feel better..."
The boy deflates. His shoulders hunch and his head drops back down.
Andrew had thought the boy was about his own age, but he looked much younger now.
Jesse likes hugs. He loves it when his parents hug him and even when his little sister clings to him, but this is different.
This is a stranger and he distinctly recalls his mummy saying that no stranger must ever touch him like that.
Strangely, she had seemed very set upon that stranger being a grown-up and now Jesse doesn't really know what to think.
"What...? Why did you do that?!" confronting someone with what they've done, his mum does it all the time.
The other boy looks very uncomfortable and tries to explain himself.
That's when Jesse remembers why he was crying, the sadness comes rushing back again and suddenly he doesn't care so much about the hug anymore.
He just wants to be alone.
Pairing: Andrew Garfield/Jesse Eisenberg
Rating: G (appropriate for all ages)
Wordcount: 1345 words
Summary/author's note/me blabbing: This was written for the TSN-a-thon, that I'm very fortunate to be a part of.
There is an interview that Jesse did with Conan O'Brien, where he talks about his childhood a bit. Apparently it was really difficult for him to leave home and he would start crying everyday. It got to the point where the bus driver promised all the kids candy if Jesse didn't cry for a week. So every friday he would hear the children chanting "don't cry Jesse" as the bus came near and that's how he knew the bus was coming.
There was a lovely prompt about this in the kink meme, about Andrew being there and this is my attempt for a fill. Sort of anyway, it's not finished, but I'm not sure if it's worth finishing.
Opinions are greatly appreciated.
When you were young
It's not like Jesse doesn't like school.
Everybody is reasonably friendly to him and some of the subjects can even be fun every once in a while.
So yeah, it's not school as such that's the problem. It's being away from home.
Whenever he sees the house he's been living in all his life(all 9 years of it) disappearing in the distance, his throat closes up and inevitably tears flood his eyes.
He's not even embarrassed about it anymore. His mother has explained to him, that his anxiety is perfectly normal and no, it doesn't make him a freak.
He just wants it to stop.
Every morning he begs mum to let him stay at home/home-school him/tell the school-board he has died and can't attend lessons anymore, but she won't budge.
She calmly explains why she can't do any of these things and why all of them, especially saying the last thing, is completely out of the question. Then she hugs him tightly, kisses his forehead and gently shoves him out the front door.
He knows that his mother loves him, because she keeps telling him so, but he can't help feeling a little abandoned every time it happens.
Jesse walks the few steps to the side of the street as slowly as he can, but inevitably he reaches it and has to stand there, waiting for the bus that will take him away from everything he loves.
Andrew loves school. He loves the people, he loves the excitement, he even likes getting homework (although he's careful to admit that, ever since when he did once people stared at him like he was completely bananas).
Not even the fact that the company his father works for has relocated his father's workplace to the United States, making it necessary for the whole family to move away from England, can dampen his spirits.
He is a little nervous though, it's his first day after all.
It's Friday, because someone in the school board thought it would be a good idea to let him meet everyone and then to give them two days to digest it.
The ride has been uneventful so far. He is sitting alone, but nobody has been mean to him yet. The other children either smiled at him or ignored him.
American children didn't seem to be all that different to the children at home. This evaluation vaporizes, when they round a corner.
The way all the other children seem to be chanting something that sounded like "Don't cry Jessy!" over and over again makes him question his hearing(because the words made no sense to him) and the other children's sanity.
A few blocks on, the bus stops to pick up three more children.
The first two, a boy and a girl, enter the bus like the others had, shouting loud "good morning"s to their friends, sitting with their friends, chatting about anything that's on their mind with their friends.
The third child, another boy, is different:
His curly head is bent, his shoulders slouched, which makes him look much smaller than the other two.
The driver seems to say something to him, but Andrew can't make it out. The little boy doesn't look up and shakes his head quickly, before scuttling down the aisle.
The way he walks makes Andrew think of a lamb that's led to slaughter.
His thought are interrupted by an "owww!" going through the bus, which coincidences with whichever row of seats the curly boy passes. It doesn't sound angry or particularly sad, it's just the universal noise of disappointment, that the children have not yet learned to keep inside as adults do.
The boy is close enough now that Andrew can see his face and what a face it is. It's the most heartbreaking thing he's seen, since the day his little brother's cat died. His little brother's pained face pales in comparison to the pure unadulterated woe in the one he sees before him.
There is not a trace of happiness, no excitement about going to school, about meeting friends, nothing, just tears. Endless tears, welling up in those blue eyes.
The curly-haired boy seems oblivious to what's going on around him.
Andrew's arm stretches out before he realizes it and grabs the boy's sleeve.
He looks up, startled. Is that fear in his eyes? Does he expect to be taunted?
"Would you...would you like to sit with me?"
Jesse can hear the chanting from a few blocks away, it's how he knows the bus is coming.
Andrea and Josh join him on the sidewalk. Thankfully they had stopped chanting with the other kids a while ago, these days they mostly ignore him.
Jesse actually manages to hold back the tears until the bus pulls up, but they come inevitably, as night follows day, as he sees Andrea and Josh getting in, knowing it must be him next.
He had tried to escape the inevitable. One day he had hidden in his treehouse in the backyard, until the bus stopped honking for him.
His mother had come looking for him, driven him to school and made him promise to never do it again.
The first tears fall from his eyes, as he climbs into the bus, resigned to his fate.
Through the veils of tears he sees the driver give him a hopeful look: "How about a smile for old Joe here, eh Jesse?"
Jesse shakes his head. The driver sighs "though as much. Okay kid, sit down." his voice is not unkind.
Jesse shuffles down the aisle, hardly able to see through his tears. When he feels something grab his sleeve he can feel the panic rise in him instantly. Would they beat him up this time?
He always expects them to, if he's honest. There's candy at stake after all.
A boy he doesn't recognize, with the most ridiculous, amazing hair and the biggest brown eyes Jesse has ever seen, is looking at him.
"Would you...would you like to sit with me?" he asks, in what can only be described as a strange accent.
Huh, noone had asked him that in a while.
Jesse is so surprised, he actually stops crying. He nods dumbly and lets the strange boy pull him down on the seat next to him.
Andrew doesn't understand, why he doesn't want to let go of the boys sleeve, but he knows that he wants the boy to be happy. He doesn't know how to make people happy, except his mum always says it makes her happy when he gives her a hug, so maybe he should try that?
Andrew finally lets go off the boy's sleeve and pulls him into a hug.
The boy stills for a second and then starts struggling.
Andrew lets go of him. Curly-head looks at him, like he's mental.
"What...? Why did you do that?!" the boy sounds outraged. Andrew recoils, he only meant well.
"I'm sorry" he says, putting his hands up for emphasis. "Just. You looked so sad and I thought a hug might make you feel better..."
The boy deflates. His shoulders hunch and his head drops back down.
Andrew had thought the boy was about his own age, but he looked much younger now.
Jesse likes hugs. He loves it when his parents hug him and even when his little sister clings to him, but this is different.
This is a stranger and he distinctly recalls his mummy saying that no stranger must ever touch him like that.
Strangely, she had seemed very set upon that stranger being a grown-up and now Jesse doesn't really know what to think.
"What...? Why did you do that?!" confronting someone with what they've done, his mum does it all the time.
The other boy looks very uncomfortable and tries to explain himself.
That's when Jesse remembers why he was crying, the sadness comes rushing back again and suddenly he doesn't care so much about the hug anymore.
He just wants to be alone.