tramitem_log | ♫Please just come back home♫

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♫Please just come back home♫

Who: Clarence with Elliott, Yotsuyu, and then maybe YOU??

What: Attempting to avoid home

When: Early April (the 3rd) and onward

Where: Visiting with the Naeuris, and out at various parks

Rating/Warnings: Teenage angst, possible mentions of previous memory murder

April 3rd-5th, Closed: Elliott and Yotsuyu

Although Yotsuyu had offered to let Clarence come over whenever he wished he hadn't planned on taking her up on it so quickly. Or under such strained circumstances. Though it probably wouldn't have happened at all if Clarence hadn't been on the verge of tears when he first ran into Elliott that Friday at school.

He hadn't asked if he could bring Cheddar with him but he wasn't going to leave his cat at a house he wasn't staying in, even if it was only for one night or two. So now Elliott had to contend with a cat as well as an extra sleeping bag on the floor of his room. Yotsuyu had to find a way to feed another person for the whole weekend. And Clarence... Clarence didn't want to say anything. Just painful things were going to come out of his mouth anyway.

April 6th-10th, Open: Various Parks

There's a thin, scowling teenage boy wandering around parks after school and well into evening for several days over the second week of April. Most notably would be the cat he had harnessed with a lead to take it with him on walks through the park. While the cat seems content enough to flop around in the dirt and grass while stalking the occasional bug, the teenager seems less than thrilled.

Mostly he sticks to sitting on benches or under trees, his backpack next to him while he attempts to do his homework. Occasionally he gives up on this and takes out a sketch book instead, taking time to flex his artistic muscles instead. He seems a lot happier when he's sketching but after a good half hour an alarm on his phone will go off and, scowling again, he goes back to hitting the books.

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What a kind person. Elliott was definitely going to get eaten alive when he was on his own. Clarence should do something about that... somehow. But for now, he didn't have the energy to fight.

"Thank you," he said after a moment, then reached for half a sandwich. Even if he wasn't hungry he should probably eat. It would be rude otherwise.

Taking a bite, he chewed slowly, glad to see Cheddar tucking into his own meal heartily.

"... Sorry for barging in today, but I really don't want to go home. I'm sorry."

"I don't mind," Elliott assured between bites of his own half. "I'm glad to help. If there's anything you want to do or talk about or anything, we can do that."

Clarence groaned again, head lolling back against the wall. Dear mod...

"Talking. Talking is the problem." He shakes his head. "It's like, I just keep saying whatever comes to mind. No filter. I hate it. I'm not usually this... This!"

There was a knock on the house's door--a warning knock, it seemed, as the turn of the key in the lock was the next noise to be heard. Yotsuyu shoved the door open with her hip, kicking off her shoes and bustling in with a bag of things and two pizza boxes in her other hand.

"All right, gentlemen, I have pizza, a litterbox for our esteemed four-footed guest, and a few packages of Sheba cat food--I hope he likes chicken, turkey, and beef!" Then again, if Cheddar had been a stray, he probably would enjoy it all.

"Also, I spoke to Phil, Clarence...he is happy to know you are safe. I am sure things will blow over at home soon, but it is all right that you are staying." Even with her inability to tell falsehoods at the moment, Yotsuyu really had no problems at all with his presence, either.

She bustled into the kitchen with her burden, unwilling to interrupt the boys further, simply setting down the pizza on the stove, and working on filling the litter box. She also had had the foresight to get a scoop as well...so at least to her mind, things were ordered to her liking!

Elliott smiled. "Thanks, Mom."

He turned back to Clarence and tapped his shoulder as he stood. "C'mon. Let's get some pizza. Maybe after, you can paint my nails with those leaves."

"That would be nice..." He managed a weak smile, thinking about trying the leaf patterns he had seen before.

Yotsuyu really did think of everything. Taking a deep breath, Clarence forced himself to stand and made kissing sounds at Cheddar to gain the cat's attention, then followed Elliott out to the living and kitchen spaces. Cheddar, curious by cautious, followed at a slower pace.

"Thanks for calling, M-" he cut himself off, trying her name as she requested before, "... Yotsuyu."

... He was never going to feel comfortable with calling her by her given name.

"I'm glad you managed to speak with Phil. He's the calmer one." He frowned, crossing his arms. He hadn't meant to say that.

Well, Clarence got a smile for his trouble in calling her by her given name, at the very least. She nodded, and then chuckled when he said that Phil was the calmer one.

"I am certain that I could have handled Kris as well, if I had needed to. Even if perhaps it might have been a shouting match, in the end..."

A strange look passed over her face. She hadn't meant to say that, though it was true that Yotsuyu would not have been cowed. It was what made her such a resource for her employer, after all. Her spine of steel.

"Anyway!" she said, clearing her throat delicately. "He simply said that he was glad to know you were all right, and where you were, and that you could come home when you felt ready. And you are welcome here." She nodded at that.

Elliott busied himself with adding three slices of pizza to his plate.

"Sounds like it'll work out," he said brightly. "Come on, Clarence. Help yourself. Do you want to watch a movie or something? I mean, if you aren't planning to use the TV, Mom?"

Mentioning shouting matches had Clarence tensing, but Yotsuyu was so blasé about the whole thing he determined she must be joking and forced himself to put it out of his mind.

"I can't stay away forever but I want a little space. At least for the weekend, if that's okay." Once Monday hit he could at least have half the day in class to avoid her. If he was particularly lucky, he might not even have to see Kris again until Tuesday morning, or even luckier, Tuesday after school. Or whenever he decided to go home that day. She wasn't his mom so he didn't have to see her if he didn't want to.... Right?

"A movie is fine. Whatever one you like best." He grabbed a plate offered to him and grabbed just two slices to start. Cheddar seemed intent on trying to trip him as he did, but he fondly pressed a toe into the cat's side, encouraging him to move along.

Say more that Yotsuyu had no fear in her of Kris, and a spine of steel. If not an outright determination to cow the other woman, if it came to that. After all, she'd been raising a son for years, hadn't she?

"It is perfectly fine. Phil seemed to be all right with you staying here, so long as you are safe. Which you are. I suppose I made an impression."

Whether that was a good one or a bad one remained to be seen, she supposed. But Yotsuyu was trying to be a good example for both of the young men she seemed to be in charge of, for the moment.

"Okay."

Elliott glanced between the two of them, and figuring they might have more to discuss in regards to Clarence's guardians, elected to excuse himself.

"I'll just uh.. go find us something to watch."

Clarence did his best to not remark on that. Yotsuyu was certainly always making an impression, but saying it like that probably made it sound bad. Best to keep his mouth shut.

He watched Elliott step out of the kitchen area and sighed. He still felt like trash, stepping into his friend's life like this. Being a burden. As much as they both assured him against it, he was going to feel that way for a while. It was one thing to hang out when you had your own place to go back to, and quite another when you felt you were on your own with nowhere else to turn.

"... Thanks again," he mumbled softly, turning to the head of the household. "I didn't mean to cause trouble or be in the way. Stuff just... I couldn't lie to Kris when she asked me some stuff this morning and it turned into an argument and I just..."

"Stop. You are not a burden." It was hardly as if he were, and it bothered Yotsuyu to hear Clarence speak as if he were. She shook her head.

"If you were, you would not be here. Certainly I could afford a hotel room for you and Cheddar if necessary. I need not do so, because you are welcome. So please, stop being silly."

She glanced over at Elliott. It wasn't as if she needed to have him back her up, but it would be nice if he did. Though then, she snorted a little. "It is not as if Elliott has not had friends over before."

He nods, knowing she doesn't like to hear stuff like that. But he still feels like he's imposing with his sudden request to stay over for several nights. If it wasn't the weekend, he would probably have only insisted on one night, but as it is...

"I guess you're right. I'd hate it more if you spent money on me further, though, so I'm glad you're cool with me and Cheddar staying over." He certainly wouldn't have been able to say no if she had offered that instead, however. He hadn't stayed outside a home overnight since he tried to run away from his uncle years ago. That had been terrifying. And more terrifying when he got dragged back home.

"Yeah..." He glanced to where Elliott had run off to find their movie, unable to stop a small smile. "He's way too nice for his own good, you know. He's gonna get hurt someday."

"It is what it is, Clarence. Should I not have the means to put you up elsewhere, if it were necessary? If it was what you preferred? I am not a fool. I would not overstrech my means. Believe me, you're wanted here. And not just by my son. I'm fond of you." Maybe if she says it enough, the boy will begin to believe her.

In truth, Yotsuyu is just happy he's willing to stay here, where his guardians will know he's safe. She's not precisely a stranger.

She glanced aside at Clarence, and followed his gaze after where her son had gone. "He has a good heart, but do not think that he is weak for it. There is a good head--and yes, a stubborn one!--on those shoulders. If he gets hurt, it will be a learning experience, and he will come through it all the stronger. He is no fool, either."

Arrogant to say, perhaps, but Yotsuyu has done her best to make sure of that.

"I get that, and I, um, I do appreciate it. I'm just..." He bit his lip, trying to find the right words. And that was just the issue, wasn't it? "... I don't know how to properly say 'thank you' to people. I... I don't know how to express when I'm grateful without throwing some shade at myself."

He didn't want to talk about it, but maybe that's what this whole truth curse thing was about. Maybe he needed to say it.

Clarence smiled crookedly, glancing back towards Yotsuyu. "I mean, I'm sure that's the case. But it doesn't mean I don't worry about someone really hurting him. It would be like... like watching someone kick a puppy. Sure, it'll mean he'll learn to be more wary, but it's never nice to see."

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♫Please just come back home♫

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oh hey tag brain came back.

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