FNL - The Greater Good
The Good Shepherd. The Good German. Can we not think of another adjective beside 'good'? *looks down at story* Maybe not.
Yesterday it was Jason, Tim and Smash. Today it's the other storyline. Oh, FNL. It smells like teen spirit lust.
Friday Night Lights
Landry Clarke, Matt Saracen, Julie Taylor
Spoilers through 1.09 'Full Hearts'
The Greater Good
"I kissed her and she ran away," Matt moans for the fifth time, hiding his face in the cushions of the sofa. Landry rolls his eyes at the TV. It's Saturday afternoon, and they're at Landry's house watching his taped episode of Battlestar Galactica.
Landry doesn't mind traveling all the way out to the middle of nowhere to see Matt play on Friday night as long as his family's VCR keeps working. If they can still hang-out without a lot of fanfare, then maybe he'll even volunteer to watch Matt's grandma again, but he would really really rather not.
"She didn't run away," Landry says, stuffing a handful of popcorn in his mouth. "She was probably just overwhelmed by your manliness and didn't want you to see her swoon."
Landry's delivery is pretty good, but then he snorts at the end. He'll have to work on that. He rubs his right arm when Matt punches him there. "Ow, man, you play a little football and suddenly it's Attack of the Testosterone."
"I really messed up," Matt insists.
"If she didn't slap you, you couldn't've messed up that bad," Landry points out. There's a commercial on Sci-Fi, so he'll humor Matt for a few seconds.
Matt knows not to talk during episodes of Battlestar Galactica. Well, that and The O.C. Landry knows what girls like to talk about, and he has to be prepared to talk about Summer and Seth should a girl ask. Not that they would, but still, you never know.
"Hell, if Coach Taylor isn't here defending her honor, it's gonna be okay," Landry says.
He doesn't even complain about the coach calling him 'Lance.' At least not to Matt. He supposes considering how far outside the social strata he is, he should be happy Coach knows he exists at all. But he's not, 'cause dammit, he's Matt's best friend.
Of course, Coach probably didn't even know Matt's whole name until a couple weeks ago either.
"Stop worryin' so much," Landry insists brightly. "She saw you singin' to your grandma, that's like a million bonus points with girls."
Matt's entire body goes still next to him and Landry flinches. Landry's about to look over at him, but the show's back on. Of course, now Landry can't concentrate -- thank God for videotape.
If Julie Taylor were a bitch then Landry Clarke's life would be so much easier.
If Julie were a perky annoyance -- albeit a hot one -- like Lyla Garrity or a slut like Tyra Collette, Landry could just tell Matt that he was totally out of his league and be done with it. Landry could laugh about Matt's lack of action, his complete and utter lack of skills, pat him on the back, and tell him to go jerk off and leave the women to the men.
Not that Matt's not a man, he's just not a man like that.
Landry's not saying he's a man either, at least not yet, but that's not the point. The fact that he probably has less experience than Matt isn't really the point either. It doesn't matter that he hasn't had a girlfriend since fifth grade, because Matt hasn't had one since the three days he went out with Emily Sofer in seventh grade.
This is all sort of irrelevant now that Matt's the starting quarterback for the Panthers, and even if Matt doesn't see what's coming, Landry does.
Today he's dating the Coach's daughter, and tomorrow, it's the head cheerleader. Soon he'll be using his status to get into events and it'll work. Although last night when Julie Taylor told him about Matt's 'QB1' abuse to get movie tickets Landry laughed so hard that he had to pull the car over. Literally.
It took him about ten minutes to pull it back together, too. They'd just been riding along in silence, except for Julie giving him directions every couple of miles and then she'd said. "Did you tell Matt to use his quarterback status to get us tickets to the movie?"
And Landry had cocked his head to the side to think about it, because he'd told Matt a lot of things, but didn't think that was one of 'em. "No, I can't say that was me," he answered, keeping well below the speed limit, because it was Friday night and all he needed was to get pulled over. Except he was driving the coach's daughter, and that was either a Get Out of Jail Free card or a one-way ticket to the slammer. He wasn't sure. He didn't really want to find out.
Julie carried on. "Because he was all 'I'm QB1, where are my tickets?'"
Landry put his foot on the brake, pulled over to the side of the road, and turned to Julie Taylor. "Wait -- he said that?" So maybe Matt was listening to him when Landry told him he was The Man now.
Oops.
"It was just Eragon," she shrugged. "We could've gone to see Casino Royale instead. I'd actually rather have seen that."
Landry waved her off; she sounded like his mom going on about Daniel Craig. He snickered to himself for a while. "Did it work?" he asked eventually.
Julie rolled her eyes. "Do you think it worked?"
Landry thought about it. "Was it the delivery? Maybe it'll work next year."
And Julie laughed. "Are you serious?" Julie didn’t get it.
"Of course, I'm serious," Landry said. What was the point in being QB1 if you couldn't get free stuff out of it?
Julie snorted. "Did you pick out the jacket too?"
Landry's chest puffed up a bit at that. "Yeah, I did. Retro is in," he said proudly.
Julie just patted his forearm. "That explains so much."
Landry could feel the confused look on his face, but he shook it off and sat up. "I don't see why it didn't work," he huffed, pulling back onto the road. "It's not like it's not true."
Julie sighed the way Landry's mom did whenever he did something inexplicable. "Yeah, I can see why y'all are friends."
Landry had looked at Julie out of the corner of his eye, but that was all she said. He wasn't sure what she meant, but he'd have to ask her at some point.
When he'd pulled up in front of the Taylor house, he'd felt like he had to say something. Anything. Matt deserved it.
"He really likes you," he blurted out as she got out the car.
Julie had turned and smiled at him. "I know."
He'd been completely shocked when she'd leaned back inside and kissed him on the cheek. "You're a good friend, Landry."
Landry blinked, waiting until she'd gotten in the house before leaving. After he'd dropped her off their weird conversation was all he could think about. It wasn't even until he'd gone home that he'd even remembered that Matt's date was a big bust. Still, he didn't think that Julie had minded.
He hadn't.
And then he blinks at the TV screen, and the credits are showing for Battlestar Galactica. Landry has no idea what the hell happened. He's been paying attention to one thing while everything else has passed him by.
That seems to be the story of his life right now. He'd thought he would have more time -- he'd thought they would have more time -- apparently that's not gonna be the case.
He stuffs some popcorn in his mouth, but it's like chewing on a Styrofoam cup. "She likes you," he says, grabbing his Coke off the floor to wash down the dryness.
Matt shifts on the sofa next to him, reaching into Landry's lap for a handful of popcorn. "Sure she does," he says morosely, tossing kernels into his mouth.
Landry blinks at the infomercials flittering across the TV and thinks about Matt singing to his grandma, and Matt trying to fit in with his teammates, and his friend Matt who watches Sci-Fi shows with him on Saturday when he could be out working his QB1 status.
Matt would be a great friend -- a great boyfriend -- for anyone. One day someone else will realize that. One day Landry's going to lose his place beside Matt to someone. Everyone has to make sacrifices for the people they love.
Right.
"She has to like you," Landry corrects. "Or else she's really stupid."
"You think?" Matt sounds just slightly less defeated, so Landry's job is done.
He picks up the remote control to rewind the tape and nods. "Definitely."
-end-
Betas by antheia and ethrosdemon. Again. Yaye for betas!
Yesterday it was Jason, Tim and Smash. Today it's the other storyline. Oh, FNL. It smells like teen spirit lust.
Friday Night Lights
Landry Clarke, Matt Saracen, Julie Taylor
Spoilers through 1.09 'Full Hearts'
The Greater Good
"I kissed her and she ran away," Matt moans for the fifth time, hiding his face in the cushions of the sofa. Landry rolls his eyes at the TV. It's Saturday afternoon, and they're at Landry's house watching his taped episode of Battlestar Galactica.
Landry doesn't mind traveling all the way out to the middle of nowhere to see Matt play on Friday night as long as his family's VCR keeps working. If they can still hang-out without a lot of fanfare, then maybe he'll even volunteer to watch Matt's grandma again, but he would really really rather not.
"She didn't run away," Landry says, stuffing a handful of popcorn in his mouth. "She was probably just overwhelmed by your manliness and didn't want you to see her swoon."
Landry's delivery is pretty good, but then he snorts at the end. He'll have to work on that. He rubs his right arm when Matt punches him there. "Ow, man, you play a little football and suddenly it's Attack of the Testosterone."
"I really messed up," Matt insists.
"If she didn't slap you, you couldn't've messed up that bad," Landry points out. There's a commercial on Sci-Fi, so he'll humor Matt for a few seconds.
Matt knows not to talk during episodes of Battlestar Galactica. Well, that and The O.C. Landry knows what girls like to talk about, and he has to be prepared to talk about Summer and Seth should a girl ask. Not that they would, but still, you never know.
"Hell, if Coach Taylor isn't here defending her honor, it's gonna be okay," Landry says.
He doesn't even complain about the coach calling him 'Lance.' At least not to Matt. He supposes considering how far outside the social strata he is, he should be happy Coach knows he exists at all. But he's not, 'cause dammit, he's Matt's best friend.
Of course, Coach probably didn't even know Matt's whole name until a couple weeks ago either.
"Stop worryin' so much," Landry insists brightly. "She saw you singin' to your grandma, that's like a million bonus points with girls."
Matt's entire body goes still next to him and Landry flinches. Landry's about to look over at him, but the show's back on. Of course, now Landry can't concentrate -- thank God for videotape.
If Julie Taylor were a bitch then Landry Clarke's life would be so much easier.
If Julie were a perky annoyance -- albeit a hot one -- like Lyla Garrity or a slut like Tyra Collette, Landry could just tell Matt that he was totally out of his league and be done with it. Landry could laugh about Matt's lack of action, his complete and utter lack of skills, pat him on the back, and tell him to go jerk off and leave the women to the men.
Not that Matt's not a man, he's just not a man like that.
Landry's not saying he's a man either, at least not yet, but that's not the point. The fact that he probably has less experience than Matt isn't really the point either. It doesn't matter that he hasn't had a girlfriend since fifth grade, because Matt hasn't had one since the three days he went out with Emily Sofer in seventh grade.
This is all sort of irrelevant now that Matt's the starting quarterback for the Panthers, and even if Matt doesn't see what's coming, Landry does.
Today he's dating the Coach's daughter, and tomorrow, it's the head cheerleader. Soon he'll be using his status to get into events and it'll work. Although last night when Julie Taylor told him about Matt's 'QB1' abuse to get movie tickets Landry laughed so hard that he had to pull the car over. Literally.
It took him about ten minutes to pull it back together, too. They'd just been riding along in silence, except for Julie giving him directions every couple of miles and then she'd said. "Did you tell Matt to use his quarterback status to get us tickets to the movie?"
And Landry had cocked his head to the side to think about it, because he'd told Matt a lot of things, but didn't think that was one of 'em. "No, I can't say that was me," he answered, keeping well below the speed limit, because it was Friday night and all he needed was to get pulled over. Except he was driving the coach's daughter, and that was either a Get Out of Jail Free card or a one-way ticket to the slammer. He wasn't sure. He didn't really want to find out.
Julie carried on. "Because he was all 'I'm QB1, where are my tickets?'"
Landry put his foot on the brake, pulled over to the side of the road, and turned to Julie Taylor. "Wait -- he said that?" So maybe Matt was listening to him when Landry told him he was The Man now.
Oops.
"It was just Eragon," she shrugged. "We could've gone to see Casino Royale instead. I'd actually rather have seen that."
Landry waved her off; she sounded like his mom going on about Daniel Craig. He snickered to himself for a while. "Did it work?" he asked eventually.
Julie rolled her eyes. "Do you think it worked?"
Landry thought about it. "Was it the delivery? Maybe it'll work next year."
And Julie laughed. "Are you serious?" Julie didn’t get it.
"Of course, I'm serious," Landry said. What was the point in being QB1 if you couldn't get free stuff out of it?
Julie snorted. "Did you pick out the jacket too?"
Landry's chest puffed up a bit at that. "Yeah, I did. Retro is in," he said proudly.
Julie just patted his forearm. "That explains so much."
Landry could feel the confused look on his face, but he shook it off and sat up. "I don't see why it didn't work," he huffed, pulling back onto the road. "It's not like it's not true."
Julie sighed the way Landry's mom did whenever he did something inexplicable. "Yeah, I can see why y'all are friends."
Landry had looked at Julie out of the corner of his eye, but that was all she said. He wasn't sure what she meant, but he'd have to ask her at some point.
When he'd pulled up in front of the Taylor house, he'd felt like he had to say something. Anything. Matt deserved it.
"He really likes you," he blurted out as she got out the car.
Julie had turned and smiled at him. "I know."
He'd been completely shocked when she'd leaned back inside and kissed him on the cheek. "You're a good friend, Landry."
Landry blinked, waiting until she'd gotten in the house before leaving. After he'd dropped her off their weird conversation was all he could think about. It wasn't even until he'd gone home that he'd even remembered that Matt's date was a big bust. Still, he didn't think that Julie had minded.
He hadn't.
And then he blinks at the TV screen, and the credits are showing for Battlestar Galactica. Landry has no idea what the hell happened. He's been paying attention to one thing while everything else has passed him by.
That seems to be the story of his life right now. He'd thought he would have more time -- he'd thought they would have more time -- apparently that's not gonna be the case.
He stuffs some popcorn in his mouth, but it's like chewing on a Styrofoam cup. "She likes you," he says, grabbing his Coke off the floor to wash down the dryness.
Matt shifts on the sofa next to him, reaching into Landry's lap for a handful of popcorn. "Sure she does," he says morosely, tossing kernels into his mouth.
Landry blinks at the infomercials flittering across the TV and thinks about Matt singing to his grandma, and Matt trying to fit in with his teammates, and his friend Matt who watches Sci-Fi shows with him on Saturday when he could be out working his QB1 status.
Matt would be a great friend -- a great boyfriend -- for anyone. One day someone else will realize that. One day Landry's going to lose his place beside Matt to someone. Everyone has to make sacrifices for the people they love.
Right.
"She has to like you," Landry corrects. "Or else she's really stupid."
"You think?" Matt sounds just slightly less defeated, so Landry's job is done.
He picks up the remote control to rewind the tape and nods. "Definitely."
-end-
Betas by antheia and ethrosdemon. Again. Yaye for betas!