this ain't a scene, it's an arms race [finished]

[HYUK "HUGO" YOUN]

“Where is it?” Hugo’s face was stern, caging wild fury behind his eyes. In his head, he cursed up a storm. This was not the first time he’d lost a book, nor would it be the last. It wasn’t so much the disappearance part that he was infuriated about. The required text was easily accessible online. He could read the passage in a matter of minutes without even skipping a beat. The book was really only there for the technologically impaired. Losing the book wasn’t the issue.

The issue, however, was that it happened to him now. Of all days.

Hugo rolled his eyes. The world spun as if he’d been on a roller coaster. A constant clamor in his chest kept him from calming down, driving him to near insanity. He closed his eyes and settled into a trance, with his trembling breath to guide his attempted meditation. Anger gnawed away at his insides.

They were there, in his mind again. In his daydream. Their faces were solemn, their eyes reproachful. He remembered it that way. When they saw him, they had a subtle smirk as if they were proud of themselves, as if they believed they were better than him.

Opening his eyes, Hugo eyed the exit. The door opened with a shove of his shoulder. “It was a mistake to be inside the dorms today.” He grumbled softly under his breath.

Hugo stalked the second floor of Masquerade Academy. Groups shuffled around him, catching his gaze every now and then as the boy made his way to the cafeteria. He made sure to avoid touching them, hands hanging loosely at his sides. His breaths became sharper and a distinguishable rhythm had taken over his steps.

He looked ahead and caught the entrance of the cafeteria. Students stood in assembled lines — eagerly awaiting late lunch meals. However, Hugo wasn’t here for a meal. He wanted to smash something, or someone.

And his chance came. A student had bumped into Hugo before walking on.

“Stop!” shouted Hugo, hammering a tabletop with his palm to attract attention. “You there, boy.”

Hugo turned around to face the individual, adjusting himself and lowered his hands. Everyone turned towards the sudden commotion. The shifter stood smiling, concealing the fact that he was angry.

“An apology should be in order.” His voice sounded like honey, tilting his own head with pretended concern. “Right?”

Hugo’s target, this blue-eyed, strong chinned, not handsome, but full of life boy slowly turned around. He was about sixteen. Unease visible on the underclassman’s face — as well as his friends’ faces — brought about a sense of urgency around their vicinity. More and more students found their way to this new attraction.

“I…d-didn’t mean to….you see…” was all the boy managed to utter. Hugo slammed his palm onto the table once more and burst into an odd, ringing chuckle.

“Now this is making me feel bad!” Hugo projected his voice, a smirk played on his face. “All I want is an apology, not an excuse.”

Silence ensued. It was evident that the boy had not been used to being the center of attention. Now and then watchers glanced at one another, hardly able to suppress their interest. The sudden disturbance in their day had proven to be fascinating.

“Anytime now.” Hugo pressed further, edging towards the distraught student. He wondered if anyone was going to come to this boy’s aid.

tags | open
words | 547
notes | will get a template, soon. promise.

[Deleted]

Twitch didn't argue with the necessity of having teachers watching the cafeteria. He'd caused his share of mayhem by horsing around with his friends and getting into trouble. So he made himself unobtrusive, standing near one of the doors. He knew he didn't look like much- hell from a distance he could've been mistaken as just another student. He wore a long-sleeved navy polo- new, because he realized he didn't have nearly enough nice clothes for his new job- and plain black trousers. His arms crossed over his stomach as he slouched against the wall.

So far, so good.

The loud slam on a table made him flinch and he straightened, soft brown eyes seeking out the source of the commotion. It wasn't hard, since he was make a scene of things. Typically, Twitch would've let some of the cafeteria arguments sort themselves out without interference. After all, kids need to learn how to handle their stuff at some point. Better to do it where someone could make sure no one got hurt. This though... He frowned as he watched the scene unfold. This was unnecessary. This was someone looking for a fight.

There was a crowd forming, the sort of ring that usually foreshadowed some kind of fight. He shoved his way through the students. He finally broke through to the center and stepped in between them. He shot a hard look at the dark haired young man who seemed to be instigating things.

"That's enough." He didn't raise his voice. He didn't need to. The audience was silent with anticipation. His gaze briefly flicked away, meeting eyes in the crowd. "Break it up."

Then his eyes settled back on the perpetrator. His left hand trembled at his side, fingers twitching and spasming in small jerks. He didn't look great- up close, he had dark circles under his eyes and definitely looked older than the students. He was new to the school but that didn't mean he was going to be meek about doing his job. He was willing to let it die there if the guy backed down.

HYUK "HUGO" YOUN

[HYUK "HUGO" YOUN]

An uninvited guest had entered the commotion — an older individual. He was a stringy man, of medium height, plain and seemingly in desperate need of sleep. However, everything about him, from his quiet demeanor to his random quivers offered an unsettling element to the room. It was evident that the man knew he had some sort of power to stop the cafeteria fiasco.

Hugo turned away from the boy in front of him with a scowl that distorted his smirk. He scanned the man that interrupted him before composing himself. There was intrigue, but he didn’t let it show.

“New staff, possibly.” The shifter toyed with the idea. He had never seen this individual during his years as Masquerade Academy. Not to mention the discernible boldness behind his words. Hugo broke into an innocent smile, closing his eyes briefly.

It was happening again.

Hugo had broken into the living room. He intended it to be a short visit, just enough to pick up forgotten trinkets for class. To his dismay, he recognized familiar voices in the kitchen. He would have left the house entirely, except for that dreadful moment. He heard his name. He froze.

Hugo opened his eyes, clasping his hands. It was the cafeteria. “Good.” The relief kept him afloat. He was safe. He halted his wandering mind and settled for the present.

Students had begun to disperse like clockwork, predicting the imminent end to the conflict. Those that had known Hugo, however, stuck around anxiously. He was never one known to back out of a challenge.

“But I was in the middle of a lesson, sir.” He chose his words carefully, looking straight at the man. “I was teaching this student the importance behind one’s action: its severity and when an apology is needed.” Hugo gave an impressionable smile.

It wasn’t a perfect gambit, but it didn’t have to be. All he needed was adequate reasoning.

tags | @twitch
words | 319
notes | will get a template, soon. promise.

[Deleted]

If the kid had picked a fight with someone else looking for a fight, Twitch probably would have let them throw a few punches. Getting hit in the face fucking hurt and most of the fights he'd seen had been resolved after one or two swings, when everyone realized how much it sucked and pride had been assuaged. Right now though, he didn't trust the dark-haired student. There was a look to him, a sort of cockiness that Twitch wasn't unfamiliar with. When he finally spoke again, Twitch had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. Instead, his frown deepened. He tried to pick his words carefully.

"It was an accident, and both you and I know that. If he had to apologize to you than you owe him just as much of one- it takes two people to run into each other." He didn't let his arms cross despite the comfort of the position. He kept them loose at his sides, hands free. He was almost proud of himself- he hadn't even cursed.

A glance over his shoulder showed the other boy trying to melt away into the crowd, taking the escape when it was offered. Twitch didn't blame him. This wasn't exactly a dressing down but if the instigator was going to try and play logic games with him than Twitch was happy to oblige- after all, philosophy is nothing if not the art of the perfect argument. And he'd specialized in rhetoric.

"Besides that, this is a school in which certain figures are invested with the authority to teach and others attend for the privilege of learning. You are not a teacher. If you would like to be giving lessons I suggest you write up a curriculum and sample lesson plans and submit it along with your resume to the Headmaster. Perhaps he is interested in hiring an etiquette teacher." The words were bland, calm, devoid of heat or temper. Now that the immediate conflict was over he wasn't particularly concerned. He didn't really think this was worth official discipline- teenagers were assholes sometimes- but since he'd refused to let things go Twitch would be fine letting him talk himself into a corner.

HYUK "HUGO" YOUN

[HYUK "HUGO" YOUN]

Hugo kept his cheerful appearance, mind drifting towards an all too familiar feeling that kept with him throughout the day. Stuck. He felt stuck. The shifter could recite every constellation, memorize every script known to literature, formulate the perfect master plan to live out the rest of his life in tranquility, but what use would it be if the world didn’t want to cooperate? Why didn’t this man seem to cooperate? His thoughts weaved in and out. Should he feel annoyed or sad?

“Of course, I was going to apologize after he did.” He said quite bluntly, providing a look of innocence. Obviously, Hugo wasn’t going to, but it was impossible to prove that. Unless there had been a gifted student that could see through lies. “How cool would that be?” His mind buzzed, nibbling on the thought until he found himself in another trance.

Somehow, he found himself thinking about that again.

“He’s useless.” A chair scraped along the floor as his brother reached for another glass. “He’s always been useless.” Laughter followed. Hugo gritted his teeth, eyes settling on the exit. He didn’t need to hear this. He needed to get out of there. His brother chuckled.

“Did you hear that, little brother? You’re useless.”

Hugo collected himself, sighed and clasped both of his hands in front of him. The shifter lurched forward, glancing at his shoes before straightening himself out. Then, he stared at the man.

“Must teachers be the only ones to impart lessons at a school?” He scoffed, slight annoyance seeping through his words. “Must a student only be a student? Are there rules that prevent a student from telling another student what is wrong? What is right?” Hugo turned around, facing the stragglers of the cafeteria debacle, as if he was giving a presentation. “Don’t we, the students, have a duty to uphold the standards of Masquerade Academy?” He shifted back towards the man, offering an inquiring look. “Should we only accept teachings and not share them?”

tags | @twitch
words | 333
notes | hits hugo Dx

[Deleted]

If Hugo was annoyed that Twitch wasn't cooperating, Twitch was equally annoyed that Hugo wasn't cooperating.

Ugh.

Teenagers.

He listened with a surprising amount of patience, and when Hugo finished he gave a slight nod. His face was sober, taking Hugo as seriously as he might have a peer. Until he tried to make it into a drama, and then the philosopher rolled his eyes, fingers of his right hand drumming against the bicep of his left.

"You have a point- knowledge should be freely given. However, you were being a bully- deliberately starting a fight and intimidating others is low behavior that doesn't have a place in this school. If you would like to continue the conversation, you can join me in the philosophy office. Otherwise, just stop being an ass." Then he did the best thing he could think to do for someone so clearly grabbing for attention. He turned his back and strolled back towards the cafeteria doors. He didn't have that much longer to chaperone the cafeteria. He'd trade off with another teacher soon.

He couldn't hate the young man- only shake his head. That sort of drama was distasteful to him. He didn't really like the spotlight. Standing out in the middle of the crowd had been pointedly uncomfortable and even now he could feel some eyes following him.

HYUK "HUGO" YOUN

[HYUK "HUGO" YOUN]

“Am I an ‘ass’ because I was truly being one?” Hugo questioned calmly as the man turned his back on him. “Or is it because you assume I was being one? Did I want to start a fight? Or did you assume I wanted to?” He clicked his tongue and watched as the distance between him and the man grew. Despite the content of his words, the shifter’s mind remained agitated. Hugo paid no mind to the attention that had garnered around him and his smile—that handsome, innocent smile did not reach his eyes.

“But it’s no use, either way.” Hugo continued, his words stirring with defiance. “Since people only see what they want to see and believe what they want to believe. We are narrow-minded like that, aren’t we? Dismissive to others not like our own.” A humorous chuckle escaped his mouth as his thoughts spilled out of him. He didn’t intend to say it aloud, but it happened anyway. His audience wasn’t the students in the cafeteria, or the man. It was meant for him. It was something he had wanted to say since that morning. However, it wasn’t as therapeutic as he had imagined. The shifter cursed under his breath, squeezing his eyes shut.

He imagined himself back at home. His eyes were glassy as his hands trembled, desperately extended in hopes to wrench the door open. But his brother was now behind him. His brother examined him with his hateful eyes, full of scorn and Hugo would stare back in discomfort without uttering a single word. Eventually his brother opened his mouth to speak, but his expression never changed.

“Farewell, Hyuk Youn.”

It took a few seconds for Hugo to regain his composure, but he did. He opened his eyes. He looked around and students looked back at him as if he had two heads. The man was now closer to the cafeteria door, but it didn’t matter anymore.

Hugo let out a light laugh before calling out to the parting individual, “And remember to pay me back for the lesson the next time we meet!” He spoke brazenly. A hint of his playful demeanor had returned. “I don’t come cheap!” It was a joke, really. He wanted to show that he hadn’t been bothered, yet he was.

Hugo’s thumb reached out to brush a chair that had been next to him. He surveyed the faces of those that had watched before turning around himself. He wanted to be tame that day, quiet while the world around him moved. However, it seemed the world itself had its own intentions. Hugo parted his own way in the opposite direction of the man, alone.

“Today was unfortunate, Hugo. That is all you need to know.”

tags | @twitch
words | 457
notes | late reply, sorry! and not sure if you wanted to finish this thread~ Dx