Phil's not huge on group projects, either. He's a good student, but he works hard for a lot of those grades. He works especially hard in science. It's not that he's bad at it, but his father expects him to be quite a bit better at it than he is. His father is a chemistry professor at the local college. Science has always been emphasized as important in Phil's home. Even if his father doesn't say anything, Phil can tell that he's disappointed when Phil has anything less than an A in any of his science classes.
In group projects, he always gets stuck doing all of the work and it's hard for him. If he isn't doing all the work, he's stuck with some pushy asshole who tries to throw him under the bus for not doing enough after they practically power-tripped the assignment out of Phil's hands. He's a little relieved when he gets assigned to Banner. He gets good grades and he doesn't seem to be a pushy Type A person as far as Phil can tell
( ... )
Don't sigh, Bruce. Don't do it. He can be something of a dick, especially when provoked, but usually if he's abrasive it's just because he hardly talks to anyone. He keeps his head down too, preferring to be invisible when possible, which means his social skills are a little underdeveloped. He also generally is braced for someone to be mean to him; it just seems like most of his interactions are centered around cruelty.
He's not at that point yet, at least, though he does at least groan inwardly."Not... exactly." He pulls the lab notebook they're sharing for the sake of the assignment, and he sets it between them. "First we need to record what's happened to what we mixed earlier. Then we need to titrate that with solution C. Do you -- " He makes a face. "Well, you want to write down what the mixture looks like
( ... )
Phil's face sort of falls a little. Damn. He'd thought that he'd been paying attention, but then he'd been sitting behind Sarah and, okay, she'd smelled really nice and she'd kept flipping her hair. It had been distracting.
"Yes, please." He tried not to sound too upset about needing the help. "I hate having to ask my dad. He expects me to be way better at this stuff." He's not awful at it, but he loses track of things. He's so much better at writing papers than doing lab work. Why can't he just take extra history classes instead of chemistry?
Oh, God, this is embarrassing. He's going to owe Bruce so much for this. He just knows it.
He tries to force a small smile. "Sorry. I'm trying. Science isn't exactly my best subject." It's kind of his worst subject. He just works hard enough for no one at home to notice. "Tell me what to do and I'll do it." That way, no one gets blown up and nothing gets ruined, at least.
Oh, those kinds of distractions. Bruce has those more than he'd like and he'd just rather not concentrate on them, because if he can't acquire a friend to eat lunch with him, how is he going to acquire a love interest? That seems like a step in this human experiment called "socialization" that he just hasn't developed enough skills to reach. Or luck. That one too. Bruce wouldn't say he has a crush on anyone, exactly; there was someone freshman year, who'd been in a lot of his same classes and who was nice to him, at least...
But he moved away, and they didn't keep in touch, and Bruce still doesn't know what to call that. And if he moved away then it doesn't matter.
Phil's going to be one of those. Could be worse; could be a lot worse. At least he's offering to help. Bruce nods and taps his fingers on the table as he considers where to start
( ... )
Phil's not so bad about making friends, at least not casual ones. He's not incredibly close to anyone, but there are a few kids he eats lunch with and they play D&D on Saturdays. He's not really alone, but it still feels kind of lonely. Really, he's just counting down the days until the school year's older and he can leave for good. He needs a change. He needs to find people he actually wants to be around. They have to be out there. He can go to his dad's school for free, but if he goes somewhere else, his options are student loans or the military. The fact that he's considering the military might make him crazy
( ... )
"He's a chemistry professor? That's neat. You'd think that'd make him want to teach you." Bruce is more intrigued than he lets on. And then suddenly the thoughts are there -- better than a crazy murderer -- but Bruce grits his teeth and forces them away. He'd been sad about his mother's death for a long while, and then he'd been angry -- really angry. It's been ten years now, and he thinks the worst of the anger and the sadness are fading away. He just gets these flare-ups. Really, he loves his aunt. She's a good person who takes good care of him. He's happy with that most of the time
( ... )
With a nod, Phil takes the flask and swirls it. "That is just a complete lie. This doesn't taste like cake batter at all. I bet it would kill me." Yeah, it smells like poison or at least intense stomach pain.
"But thanks." He smiles. "If there are any other subjects you need any help with... uh, just ask." He doubts Bruce really needs any help, but if Bruce is going to help him out on this, he should at least offer to help back. "Or, you know, if you want in on a totally lame D&D game." He laughs a little.
"My dad's cool, though. He just thinks that this stuff should come as easily to me as it does to him." He shrugs. "I'm just a lot better at history and English." He knows he's smart, but science just isn't a strength of his. He's mostly okay with that, though. It's not like he can help it. History is fun and he loves reading, too, but science is just not enjoyable for him and he can take or leave math.
Bruce looks up from what he's doing with a smirk at the joke, but then his eyes linger at the offer for help and then the mention of D&D. Phil... seems really cool and nice and not assholish, and Bruce isn't sure what to do with that because he likes it, but he has a terrible track record with friends in school. He's a bit better online, but of course, online he's not really himself, more... his online D&D character. He realizes he's staring a second too long and he jumps back into the science, quickly and expertly setting up the burette. It's pretty clear it's not his first time around the titration block
( ... )
Phil grins. "Tabletop. One of my friends is our DM. You should play with us. We're about to fight an army of orcs. We could always use the help and his mom lets us order Chinese food and gives us the kitchen every Saturday. She's really cool."
Maybe he's over-sharing and he sounds like a huge loser right now, but their game only has three players besides the DM and Phil's excited at the idea of maybe having something in common with someone, even if it's just a game. It's all he really has in common with his current friends, anyway. Phil's used to not expecting much out of the few friendships he manages to forge around here. Until he's gone, he'll take what he can get. It's better than being alone.
He follows Bruce's instructions carefully. The last thing he wants to do is break something or mess up the experiment. "So you're really good at this stuff, huh?"
And Bruce might actually be getting invited to a real event with, like, people? And not just any people, but potentially his people? If Phil's his kind of people. It's hard for him to say. He's had so few, he isn't sure there is a type. His smile is still guarded, but it's there.
"The D&D sounds fun. I'd like to join."
Well, those were some exceedingly difficult eight words. He turns his focus on the experiment instead of Phil, clutching the side of the lab table, and he nods at the beaker.
"Swirl that until I tell you to stop. We have to wait for the color to change permanently now. This is where it gets tricky." Bruce will take over at that point, but he doesn't want to take away all the fun for Phil. Really he thinks at this point if he were with someone who didn't seem to care, he'd just take over from here. Instead he's giving Phil the gift of learning the difficult art of titration. Maybe he can ensnare Phil's senses and bewitch his mind, or something
( ... )
"No, not teaching. It's... It's kinda silly, okay?" He sighs. "You know those old wartime ads? Captain America? I want... well, obviously not that, but I want to do something to help people. To, like, keep them safe. The FBI or CIA or something
( ... )
As soon as Phil says it's kind of silly, Bruce perks right up. He's expecting something that, well, normal people think is silly, but what he gets is something actually silly, but only to a point. Bruce's eyes actually leave the beaker to light on Phil, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, half out of amusement over the inspiration, and half out of... this surge of awe. Phil wants to protect people, and has plans to go after it. Bruce couldn't say why -- well, no, he probably could -- but that's immediately something...
He wants to be Phil's friend. Badly. When Bruce feels something, he really feels it, and he gets hit with the sense that Phil's someone he should try to hold onto, especially since he rarely gets these kinds of friends moments. Hasn't, really, since... But he can't be getting a crush on Phil already, and anyway he'd be crazy to push all that on Phil now. Instead he turns his focus back on the beaker
( ... )
"Oh, yeah. My family's pretty academic-oriented. My dad kind of flipped when I mentioned the Army, so I just dropped it. He really wants me to stay home and go to his school." He smiles. "But, yeah, I totally get it. My dad's happy. It's just not for me. I bet you'd like it, though. You kind of seem at home in here."
He lets Bruce take over. He's only half-sure of what Bruce is even doing, so best to just do what he says, right?
"You're wrong, though. No one really wants to be a hero. Most people just want to be a Kardashian or something. We're the weird ones." He says it somewhat fondly, but there's a hint of something bitter behind it. Maybe when he's not in school anymore, he won't be weird for having goals or actually trying"If you wanted to, uh, meet my dad or something, you could come over for the writing parts of this. He wouldn't mind answering some questions. He loves teaching. He gets really excited when students care about this stuff." Phil's pretty sure his dad will try to trade him in for Bruce,
( ... )
Phil moves out of Bruce's way and lets him do his thing. He seems to be really into it and Phil always likes watching people when they get this into something.
"Oh, no. Are you kidding? Look at me." He laughs. "It's going to kick my ass, but it's something I think I want to do now. I think it'll be good and it's going to pay for school." Really, he's a little apprehensive, but he figures everyone probably is about stuff like this. He hopes so, anyway. It's scary and it's a big decision, but it's also kind of exciting.
"You want to come by tomorrow, my mom's always fine with friends joining for dinner." Is that presumptuous? Calling him a friend? It's just that Bruce actually seems kind of cool and Phil would kind of like to hang out with him when there aren't beakers and shit.
The beaker in Bruce's hand clinks against the counter as he looks over his shoulder at Phil. Did he really drop the f-bomb and call Bruce a friend? Their interaction has gone well enough, way better than most interactions Bruce has as he often tries to be invisible and generally succeeds, and so his interactions are usually of the bullying kind. But still, to already be at apparent friend levels is new and unusual territory.
"I... Okay. Sure." He's startled enough that he turns around to actually put the beaker down instead of holding onto it at an awkward angle to the counter.
"Thanks," he adds hastily as he turns back around, sliding his hands into his pockets so he doesn't start holding them in front of himself. A nervous habit his aunt is trying to break him of.
"We can finish up with the lab report then too, if you want."
In group projects, he always gets stuck doing all of the work and it's hard for him. If he isn't doing all the work, he's stuck with some pushy asshole who tries to throw him under the bus for not doing enough after they practically power-tripped the assignment out of Phil's hands. He's a little relieved when he gets assigned to Banner. He gets good grades and he doesn't seem to be a pushy Type A person as far as Phil can tell ( ... )
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He's not at that point yet, at least, though he does at least groan inwardly."Not... exactly." He pulls the lab notebook they're sharing for the sake of the assignment, and he sets it between them. "First we need to record what's happened to what we mixed earlier. Then we need to titrate that with solution C. Do you -- " He makes a face. "Well, you want to write down what the mixture looks like ( ... )
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"Yes, please." He tried not to sound too upset about needing the help. "I hate having to ask my dad. He expects me to be way better at this stuff." He's not awful at it, but he loses track of things. He's so much better at writing papers than doing lab work. Why can't he just take extra history classes instead of chemistry?
Oh, God, this is embarrassing. He's going to owe Bruce so much for this. He just knows it.
He tries to force a small smile. "Sorry. I'm trying. Science isn't exactly my best subject." It's kind of his worst subject. He just works hard enough for no one at home to notice. "Tell me what to do and I'll do it." That way, no one gets blown up and nothing gets ruined, at least.
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But he moved away, and they didn't keep in touch, and Bruce still doesn't know what to call that. And if he moved away then it doesn't matter.
Phil's going to be one of those. Could be worse; could be a lot worse. At least he's offering to help. Bruce nods and taps his fingers on the table as he considers where to start ( ... )
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"But thanks." He smiles. "If there are any other subjects you need any help with... uh, just ask." He doubts Bruce really needs any help, but if Bruce is going to help him out on this, he should at least offer to help back. "Or, you know, if you want in on a totally lame D&D game." He laughs a little.
"My dad's cool, though. He just thinks that this stuff should come as easily to me as it does to him." He shrugs. "I'm just a lot better at history and English." He knows he's smart, but science just isn't a strength of his. He's mostly okay with that, though. It's not like he can help it. History is fun and he loves reading, too, but science is just not enjoyable for him and he can take or leave math.
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Maybe he's over-sharing and he sounds like a huge loser right now, but their game only has three players besides the DM and Phil's excited at the idea of maybe having something in common with someone, even if it's just a game. It's all he really has in common with his current friends, anyway. Phil's used to not expecting much out of the few friendships he manages to forge around here. Until he's gone, he'll take what he can get. It's better than being alone.
He follows Bruce's instructions carefully. The last thing he wants to do is break something or mess up the experiment. "So you're really good at this stuff, huh?"
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"The D&D sounds fun. I'd like to join."
Well, those were some exceedingly difficult eight words. He turns his focus on the experiment instead of Phil, clutching the side of the lab table, and he nods at the beaker.
"Swirl that until I tell you to stop. We have to wait for the color to change permanently now. This is where it gets tricky." Bruce will take over at that point, but he doesn't want to take away all the fun for Phil. Really he thinks at this point if he were with someone who didn't seem to care, he'd just take over from here. Instead he's giving Phil the gift of learning the difficult art of titration. Maybe he can ensnare Phil's senses and bewitch his mind, or something ( ... )
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He wants to be Phil's friend. Badly. When Bruce feels something, he really feels it, and he gets hit with the sense that Phil's someone he should try to hold onto, especially since he rarely gets these kinds of friends moments. Hasn't, really, since... But he can't be getting a crush on Phil already, and anyway he'd be crazy to push all that on Phil now. Instead he turns his focus back on the beaker ( ... )
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He lets Bruce take over. He's only half-sure of what Bruce is even doing, so best to just do what he says, right?
"You're wrong, though. No one really wants to be a hero. Most people just want to be a Kardashian or something. We're the weird ones." He says it somewhat fondly, but there's a hint of something bitter behind it. Maybe when he's not in school anymore, he won't be weird for having goals or actually trying"If you wanted to, uh, meet my dad or something, you could come over for the writing parts of this. He wouldn't mind answering some questions. He loves teaching. He gets really excited when students care about this stuff." Phil's pretty sure his dad will try to trade him in for Bruce, ( ... )
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"Oh, no. Are you kidding? Look at me." He laughs. "It's going to kick my ass, but it's something I think I want to do now. I think it'll be good and it's going to pay for school." Really, he's a little apprehensive, but he figures everyone probably is about stuff like this. He hopes so, anyway. It's scary and it's a big decision, but it's also kind of exciting.
"You want to come by tomorrow, my mom's always fine with friends joining for dinner." Is that presumptuous? Calling him a friend? It's just that Bruce actually seems kind of cool and Phil would kind of like to hang out with him when there aren't beakers and shit.
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"I... Okay. Sure." He's startled enough that he turns around to actually put the beaker down instead of holding onto it at an awkward angle to the counter.
"Thanks," he adds hastily as he turns back around, sliding his hands into his pockets so he doesn't start holding them in front of himself. A nervous habit his aunt is trying to break him of.
"We can finish up with the lab report then too, if you want."
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