apocalypsehowcomm | Oh, Molduous Me..... [OTA]

Entry tags:

Oh, Molduous Me..... [OTA]

Who: Moldy!Malcolm Bright and YOU.
When: During the time of the moldening.
Where: All over, but especially B1, local coffee shops and ADI
Summary: Malcolm has succumbed to the mold and he feels GREAT, if a little itchy on his left side, just under his ribs.
Warnings: Aggressive attempts at friendship, mold, the worm game.

Malcolm doesn't know what this stuff is on his left side just below his ribs. Maybe he'll get it checked out at some point; it's a little bit itchy. But not right now. He has things to do. Like BE YOUR FRIEND.

OTA
He's been in his room most of the day, after a stop at the craft store. He's made a whole bunch of friendship bracelets in different colours.

He immediately gives one to each of his roommates, Tim and Meredith, and he's got one in his pocket earmarked for Neal. And he thinks he would quite like to give one to Jeff. He's put two aside for Gil.

You know, he'll just put all the ones he hasn't given out yet in his pockets. Just in case. People have been nice here. Maybe, unlike at school, they will want to be Best Friends Forever!

Tim Drake
Malcolm does knock, but he then walks right in to Tim's room without waiting for a response. That should be a red flag on its own, but he's smiling broadly, too.

"Hey Buddy! I have a present for you. What are you working on?" he asks curiously, casting around in his pocket.

Meredith Idlewild
Malcolm finds her in the kitchen in the morning. He grins.

"Mere!" He fishes around in his pocket. "Making something to eat? You should definitely have something to eat; you always make sure we have stuff to eat."

Neal Caffrey
Malcolm texts him. Neal. Meet me at the cafe down the street from ADI?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"You are?" Don't act so surprised, Jeff. Sometimes people really do want to see you!

"Oh, what's--" Huh. A friendship bracelet. He remembers these from when he was a kid. Well, he's not too cool for a handmade friendship bracelet. "Yeah, sure, man." He holds his hand out. "Thanks! Uh... I didn't know you were into crafts. Do the colors mean anything?"

He starts tying it on carefully, but pauses to stare at it at the question.

“I just picked ones that look nice together.” He looks at Jeff. “Are they supposed to have meaning? The book didn’t say that.”

Jeff shrugs. "I dunno," he answers honestly. Really, he just didn't know if there was something about him that screamed pink and green! but... hey maybe that's on him. Maybe he's got some internalized toxic masculinity he's got to examine. "Anyway, it's a nice combo." He blinks. "What book?"

Malcolm finishes tying it, then pats Jeff’s wrist before letting go.

“Oh, the book on how to make them,” he explains. “I went to the craft store snd there was a book on how to make them and I got it and a whole bunch of string because, I thought, that would be a great way to show my friends I appreciate them, right?”

He glances around to make sure they won’t be overheard, because he hasn’t talked about this to anyone in the whole…over a month since he found out, then pulls the grey and dark red bracelet out of his pocket and shows it to Jeff. “I made this one for Neal. Do you think it says pretty definitely that I’m not upset that he’s sleeping with someone but not me? Because it’s a hard lie to pull off,” he muses, studying the bracelet before looking at Jeff expectantly. “And it’s not like I don’t get it,” he adds. “Because that’s a choice that…” he blows out air between his lips. “Well. A lot of people make, honestly. And I do want to be friends. So I have to send the right bracelet message. Does this say ‘no hard feelings, tell me more about art and culinary… things?’,” he asks.

Jeff draws his hand back and holds it up to his face, getting a closer look at the friendship bracelet.

"Uh. Yeah. Yeah, it's... totally a great... gesture," he murmurs, a bit distracted. But Malcolm gets his full attention again when he pulls out another bracelet and unloads a bit about the whole Neal situation.

Which, fuck, Jeff is not equipped to talk about relationship-- non-relationship? pining? whatever-- troubles. His default mode is friends with benefits, and it's nice and safe in that zone, so the whole thing Malcolm's describing sounds...

Fine. It sounds fine. Except for the part where Malcolm thinks he's not a decent catch.

"I think... it says that as much as a bracelet can, yeah." Is that the right answer? "But... hey, man, you don't have to pretend to be okay with it, if you're... upset, you know. Oh! You could sleep with someone else to get over him! Or get back at him--" He shrugs. "--it's win win either way."

“Oh. No. I… can’t really do that.” He shifts his weight. “Besides, I’m not mad at him. He doesn’t owe me anything and I still want to see him,” he explains. “Without it being all… awkward.”

"Oh. Yeah, I get that." He offers Malcolm a reassuring smile and bumps his shoulder against the other man's. "The best way to keep it from getting awkward is to act like you don't give a shit. You know, fake it til you make it? Eventually, you'll stop giving a shit for real, and then it's like--" He shrugs. "Everything's fine."

Take advice from Jeff! The master of such things.

"And the first step to that? Don't worry about what that friendship bracelet might say to him."

Edited 2021-12-17 02:52 (UTC)

Malcolm looks at the bracelet, then looks at Jeff.

“Do you think I shouldn’t give it to him?” A beat. “I want to give it to him,” he admits.

"Give it to him, but don't, like, worry so much about what he'll think." He holds up a finger sagely as he imparts this point: "Because you're too cool to care."

Malcolm narrows his eyes slightly. “Am I?” He looks unconvinced. “I’m not sure that I am.”

"No, dude, it's like--" He wiggles his fingers in the air. "A state of mind. You just have to act like it."

“Fake it until you make it,” Malcolm repeats sagely. “And then he won’t know but he also won’t hate me?”

"Yeah, exactly!" See, now they're on the same page. Malcolm gets it. Though... Jeff frowns a little after a beat. "Why would be hate you, anyway?"

“For… being cold and dismissive? For not caring?” Has Jeff ever run into that problem?

Oh, yeah, he's definitely run into that problem.

"Oh, right. Nah, that shouldn't be a problem. I mean, if he hates you for being cool, then he can nut up and ask you out. You know? Ball's in his court. Trust me, it's a lot better than pining after some guy."

Malcolm, uncertain, looks at Jeff, then studies the bracelet, then studies Jeff, then finally clarifies “But I can still give him the bracelet? I just have to be all… ‘whatever’ about if he likes it or not?”

If that’s different from pining, then he gets to be less pathetic, right?

"Yeah! Exactly! Now you're getting it, dude!"

Malcolm, Jeff is so very proud of you right now.

"You give him the bracelet, and then you're like--" He shrugs. "--whatever. And then-- this is the important part-- then you leave the ball in his court. He's gotta chase after you, man. Because you're, like, worth it, you know?"

Malcolm considers that, then leans closer, conspiratorially.

“But he’s not going to chase after me,” he points out.

"Then he fucking sucks, and he's not worth your time, and you should fuck someone else." A beat, then, very helpfully: "Want me to do it? I can do it."

It's what he'd do for any friend.

Does… he want Jeff to fuck someone else?

“I don’t understand,” he admits, though his face had given that away already.

"Just use me to make him jealous. I can be the other man." Because that is totally 100% believable. "We can pretend, or we can fuck, I don't really care either way. Then Neal will totally see that he needs to shit or get off the pot."

“But… Neal doesn’t want to be on the pot,” Malcolm points out. “Doesn’t… doesn’t that scheme require him to want me to start with?”

"Oh." Okay, fine, Malcolm makes a good point there. "Yeah, I guess it does."

Well now he's tapped out on ideas!

“Unless you think he secretly does,” Malcolm points out. “Do you think he secretly does? Has he said anything? OH! What if you use your cool… factor and just, like, casually talk to him and find out?”

This is a genius plan that can only go well, like everything these two cook up.

"Yeah, sure, man." Jeff nods, totally amenable to the idea. "I can talk to him. Get some, um, intel or whatever for you."

(no subject)

abrightboy - 2021-12-17 17:30 (UTC) - Expand

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only