( self threading wee )

[thanoodles]

Comments

[bewhat]

[Needless to say that someone has a lot on his mind. Dramatic reveals and faint memories replaced by another of his inconvenient visions left him in an unfamiliar place with blood still drying on his shirt and in his mouth. He can't be sure if Teagan saw him and he can't figure out what she might have seen, and going over it again and again has proved to be fruitless.

Maybe all that worry and distraction is what led him to this spot. Maybe it was something else, that same thing that he can never explain and never thought he would have to, now confronted with the strong possibility that it was somehow done for him.

Children must be at school and their elders at work, leaving the boy to himself between lines of buildings that surround a public park.]

[bewhat]

[An ounce of his patience is lost in that reply. He doesn't want it to be part of Teagan.]

So why didn't I know?

[wouldntthatbe]

I... can't tell you that.

Maybe you just didn't want to.

[bewhat]

I didn't want to? [He looks away, shaking his head, showing a little more agitation.]

Like it was my decision? I can't control this.

[wouldnthatbe]

I--[he stops, showing his hand to smooth out the situation.] I know that. Believe me. [He exhales.] It takes time.

[bewhat]

[It does quieten him down momentarily, but doesn't necessarily help.]

What am I supposed to do now?

[wouldntthatbe]

[...]

You think about what you want to do.

[bewhat]

[pff. He shakes his head again. Thanks a lot Jerry.]

Easy for you to say.

[wouldnthatbe]

[useless, meet hopeless.]

... She does care a great deal about you, Jeremy. She wouldn't hurt you.

[bewhat]

[He can't say he believes that completely, which only makes him feel worse.]

[wouldnthatbe]

[Does he dare to reach out and place a hand on Jeremy's shoulder? Oh dear.

Insert a prolonged silence. What to say, what to say...]

It's okay.

[bewhat]

[He wants to say it isn't. It certainly doesn't feel like it's going to be okay any time soon.

Eventually, Jeremy brings himself to ask, voice trembling slightly with hesitation and tension.]

Did you tell her?

[wouldntthatbe]

[He doesn't need to guess and Jeremy doesn't need to specify.]

No.

[bewhat]

[Still not helping.]

Should I tell her?

[wouldnthatbe]

[The immediate answer in his head is no, don't tell her. He's thinking about how it could compromise things for them, for her--who knows what else. It could just be a selfish fear that makes him a liar with the people who end up trusting him, but he's been proven right before.

He should have just stuck with isolation.]

That's your decision, not mine.

[It's Jeremy's future, not Jerry's past.]

[bewhat]

Technically it is.

[ha.]