one-nil to the arsenal [open]

[thelameboy]

CHARACTERS: Weiss Thynne and anyone!
LOCATION/SETTING: one of the dorm student lounges
DATE & TIME Sunday afternoon
WARNINGS none!
SUMMARY: Weiss is watching the English-Rwanda game in the U-17 World Cup. And is yelling at the TV, because of course nothing and no one is ever good enough.

Comments

[resistyielding]

Alyss almost laughs as she steps into the lounge. Normally she wouldn't be here, but Weiss' yells are loud enough for her to be heard- and they're getting to be rather humorous.

"Supposed to be? Why don't you ask yourself that, it's your opinion."

Of course, it doesn't occur to her that this will probably start up an argument she's not exactly prepared for, but ah well. Carpe Diem and all that.

[thelameboy]

He glanced over at the intruder - not the hussy, at least, thank goodness for small favors - and gestured at the screen. "They play for the national team, picked from the best the clubs have to offer. They are the best, and if they aren't then someone isn't doing his job," he answered, looking at Alyss though occasionally glancing back at the screen to make sure he didn't miss anything.

"But John Peacock is an intelligent man. I cannot believe a club of his is playing so disgracefully." The British accent might help explain why Weiss is so caught up in the game, though really it was less than half the story. "So you see, it has nothing to do with opinion."

[resistyielding]

Alyss listens quietly as Weiss explains it all. She's from London, admittedly, but football was never one of her main interests.

"Maybe they're just having a bad day, or one of the players is sick. It could be anything." In the back of her mind, a voice tells her to apologize for her possible ignorance, but that voice, as is Alyss' way, gets punted to the back of her British mind.

"But I do understand what you're getting at. We all expect constant greatness from our favorites."

[thelameboy]

"Favorites?!" Weiss sputtered. Well, that did it - Weiss is too proud of his talent to let that slide and be mistaken for a simple fan. He could tolerate ignorance or honest disinterest in the sport, but he basically took that as an insult.

The camera focused on Hope as he drove down the field, and Weiss jabbed a finger at the image. "He's wearing number nine," Weiss insisted. "My number nine." He bit back a groan as the cross was headed away by a defender. "I can hardly stop myself from growing older, but my replacement should certainly be better than this."

[resistyielding]

Alyss brings her head back a bit at his tone. Honestly, she hadn't expected that type of reaction. Almost immediately, she opens her mouth to apologize, only to be cut off by Weiss speaking again.

Wait. His number nine? With a blink, she reaches back into the recesses of her mind to figure this out, 'cause if she remembers one thing from her nights spent with Romilly watching football games (though mostly Englands games), it's the players and their numbers. Number nine, number nine...

Her eyes snap open with a gasp. "Weiss Thynne! Oh, bloody hell." She almost rolls her eyes, but she has to be polite, because even she knows she's committed the greatest of felonies. "Sorry. I hadn't realized." But despite her apology, she only looks a bit apologetic.

[thelameboy]

He still looked irritated, but (as some might say) he always looked that way. His face probably froze in a disapproving scowl years ago. However, he was a bit mollified by her recognition of him; Weiss did not crave fame, not exactly, but acknowledgment, and so the idea that he was at least worth remembering was a good one.

Which still didn't mean he had to be polite. "At least you did," he answered. "Now do you understand my frustration? If I were playing it would never have come to this."

And yet...he somehow couldn't quite leave it there. This person - and it wasn't lost on him that she was a fellow countryman - seemed to know football, at least a little. It wasn't often he got to talk British football with someone - even his most reliable friends ended up tuning him out every so often. "So you follow the national teams?" Surely if she watched U-17 she would watch the real thing as well.

[resistyielding]

"Yes, I do." She doesn't say much after then, instead pulling the strap of her camera over her head and placing her precious instrument into it's case, which hangs from her shoulder.

"Kind of. I'm not much of a sports person, but my little sister is and she used to talk me into watching football with her." She smiles at the memory of years past, closing her camera case. "But now I can only watch it with her when I go back to London during the holidays, so I've fallen behind. I know a bit, however." But don't expect a huge in-conversation, Weiss.

[thelameboy]

Weiss, however, seemed used to that idea - his expression didn't even change as he glanced back at the screen. "I see. Tell your sister hello from me, then." Kids! His one weakness! He could respect that answer - doing something for family was important, especially the older looking out for the younger.

He was not really the type to offer her a seat or invite her to stay, but perhaps he was also too used to people who would do whatever they wanted regardless. Instead he just looked back at her. "As long as you two aren't Tottenham fans," he said, naming his team's biggest rival, "then we should be fine."

... that was supposed to be in-depth up there. DRAT IT.

[resistyielding]

She smiles a tight-lipped at Weiss, resting a hand on the back of the couch. "I'll be sure to, even if she probably won't believe me." The scenario plays out in the back of her mind- Romilly's eyes widening before she pouts and grabs her twins arm with a yelp of 'Lia! Alyss is lying to me! She says she goes to school with a footballer!' while Lia struggles and Alyss laughs.

"Yeah, she'll think I'm pulling her leg." She shakes her head briefly, then pauses to think. She'll probably be in this room for a bit longer, and she's not one to just stand there. Finally, she shrugs and walks around the couch to sit. "Not to worry, we aren't." After a moment of thought, she speaks again. "I'm Alyss, by the way. Spelled differently than the girl who followed a dapperly-dressed rabbit down an altogether too spacious rabbit hole."

[thelameboy]

"Weiss, though you already knew that." It was polite, at least. "And I'm no white rabbit. As for the matter of being believed, don't you think that's easily solved?" He gestured at the camera bag she was wearing. Again, he was not entirely one for fame, but he was used to this much at least. And a photo was much less embarrassing than something like an autograph - which, were he the sister, would point out as being easily faked.

"I understand that siblings can sometimes be...difficult."

[resistyielding]

"Hence why I didin't ask you for your name: I do. And that's possible, true, but..." she adjusts the place of the strap on her shoulder. "Honestly, it seems like a photo would just make you uncomfortable." and she wasn't lying- from what she picked up, he wasn't the type for photos.

She snerks at that, a hand raised to her mouth. "You're telling me. I have three, and two of them are twins."

[thelameboy]

He wasn't, not really, but- "If it would make her happy, then why not? Surely that's worth a moment's inconvenience; childhood is such a short thing." Certainly seemed that way to him, but truthfully he did have a bit of a soft spot. Children would call him their hero, and he would scoff and tell them to have a better one - a doctor or a social worker, not a sports star - but he always made time for them.

"A large family. Must have been entertaining." Not that Weiss had any complaints about his own family, but he had to wonder what it would have been like.

[resistyielding]

"True. She and Lia will be teenagers in a few years." It doesn't show, but she's rather pleased that Weiss is being so easy-going concerning this. Normally, she'd expect someone as well-known as him to be iffy about taking a photo for the little sister of a girl he barely knows.

"If it had to be one thing, it would probably be entertaining, yes. Also loud." She gives him a knowing glance, complete with a brief raise of her eyebrows. "But I digress." She pulls her bag onto her lap and opens it, gently taking her camera out. "Last chance to change your mind, then." She raises the camera to her eye and faces him, adjusting the focus.

[thelameboy]

"Loud is a drawback, yes." There was that much to say about being an only child, at least. Though perhaps his quiet household had less to do with the amount of people and more with the fact that the place was practically a library. The sheer presence of so many books had demanded a sort of hushed admiration, as if a shout could bring them tumbling down.

The thing about being (at best) a D-list celebrity was that Weiss was fairly used to things such as having his picture taken. Something like this was harmless, after all - what could she possibly do with a photo of him sitting on a couch? Weiss was not that suspicious.

"Just don't expect me to say cheese or any other such nonsense," he said, though he did manage to make himself look at least pleasant.

[resistyielding]

Alyss' house was the complete opposite- organized chaos, you could say.

With a chuckle, she fiddled with the zoom. "I think that's all bloody stupid. If someone's talking during a shot, it messes it up. Now then, chin a bit down, a bit to the right..." click! she pulls her camera away and checks the shot. "Not bad," She leans over a bit to show the photo to him. "hm?"