I Want to Face...

alint

Edgenoble
Original poster
LURKER MEMBER
FOLKLORE MEMBER
Invitation Status
Posting Speed
  1. 1-3 posts per day
  2. One post per day
Online Availability
9pm to 12.
Writing Levels
  1. Intermediate
  2. Adaptable
Preferred Character Gender
  1. No Preferences
Name: Wyn Handerhan
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Bisexual
Birthday: October 1
Ethnicity: American mutt

Appearance:

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Wyn prefers to wear over sized clothes because he doesn't like people staring at him. Wyn has deep brown eyes. His hair is a similar color to his eyes, which he keeps at a longer length, but hides under a beanie. He's pretty light skinned and burns rather easily. His complexion is mostly due to the fact that he doesn't spend much time outside. He's about 5'11", but he claims he's 6'0". Wyn has a bit of muscle that he keeps hidden beneath loose fitting clothing. He has the build of an acrobat; slim muscle, especially upper body. Wyn has no defining scars or markings. As for clothing, Wyn prefers patterns to solid colors. He likes neutral, earthy colors and enjoys being warm.

Personality:
He’s very bubbly and cheery. Sometimes he can be very thoughtful, but most of the time he’s very relaxed and carefree. He’s pretty optimistic and always loves to talk to people. For the most part people don't mind him, but at the same time they don't actively want to hang out with him. He doesn't have great people skills because he grew up a circus performer. While he's got a great persona on stage, he doesn't know how to properly connect with 'normal' people. He's also embarrassed about his upbringing and lies to make himself appear 'normal'.

Likes:
Listening to music, training, doing sudoku puzzles, traveling.

Dislikes:
large crowds, rude people, narrow-minded people, fireworks, and the ocean

Relationships:
Mother - Alice Handerhan - circus performer/acrobat - deceased
Father - Michael Handerhan - circus performer/acrobat - deceased
Aunt - Lauren Rye - Accountant

Friends:

Megyn Meir - Juggler
Hunter Opperstein - Handbalancer

The three of them grew up together in the circus and keep in touch over email, texts, and social media.
Wyn hasn't made any new friends since he's moved in with his aunt...at least none he considers friends. Wyn's never been in a relationship.

History:
Wyn was born on the road. He's been all over North America and performed on stage at the early age of 6. By age 11 he joined his parents in their acrobatic pieces and gained a vast knowledge in circus life. He was home schooled along with other children in the circus, but really hated studying. Wyn never really had to interact much with the general public. Yes, he would take pictures and perform in front of big crowds, but he was always in costume and character.

Wyn is now living with his aunt, Laruen. He just moved in with his aunt and isn't adjusting too well. His family situation is a bit of a mess right now. Wyn's parents died two years ago in an accident during a training session. After that, Wyn was thrown into the legal system. Due to him being a minor, Wyn was placed with his next-of-kin. Wyn got extremely depressed because of his parents' deaths and being torn from the only family he knew. Right before he transferred schools, Wyn attempted suicide. This was the reason Wyn changed schools. In an attempt to help Wyn, Lauren found a gymnastic gym for him to train again. While this has helped Wyn deal with his depression, he still can't connect with people.

Wyn secretly wants to become a full time performer, but knows that he has limited options. His aunt is pushing college, but he doesn't want to go to college. Instead he wants to go on the road and potentially rejoin the circus.


It was a typical fall day in West Virginia. The leaves were changing and it was slightly overcast. Casterley High school just let out and students were going every which way to escape the school grounds. Wyn followed the group going towards the buses lined up at the front of the school. Dressed in his usual attire of a pair of jeans, an oversized, patterned sweatshirt, and a pair of sneakers, Wyn lugged his multipocket backpack through the hall. Minding his own business with his head in a small book of sudoku, Wyn took a seat in an empty row. Wyn's bus was pretty empty compared to the other buses. By the time Wyn's bus stop came, he finished three puzzles. After saying bye to the bus driver, Wyn began to walk, his beanie bouncing with every step.

Wyn was headed to the small gym about 15 minutes from the bus stop. It was a typical hangout for college kids, mid-life crises, and wannabe body builders. For the most part people only went two or three times a week. Wyn on the other hand went almost everyday. It was part of his therapy, suggested by his aunt and therapist. To be honest, going to the gym helped him a lot since he moved to the area. Wyn moved to the area for senior year after a rough summer full of loneliness and self-loathing.

On the way to the gym, Wyn finished another puzzle, his nose in the small sudoku book the entire time. The route to the gym was ingrained in his body now. Wyn didn't bother looking except for crossing roads. "Hey Joe," Wyn said with a smile as he entered the remodeled warehouse. While the building didn't seem that big from the street, it was pretty large on the inside. In the front was a group treadmills, ellipticals, and exercise bikes that spread across width of the building. Behind that were two sections one dedicated to weight lifting machines, the other side free weights. Next was an open space for yoga and other aerobics classes that met periodically throughout the week. In the back corner was an open space with a thick crash mat and several pulleys and weights. There was a sign that pointed to locker rooms and rest rooms. Due to the time of day there weren't many people there, just a few college kids from the local community college and a small group of muscle heads.

Wyn headed straight for the locker rooms. He quickly changed and placed his back pack in a locker. He exited the locker room with a refillable 2 liter water bottle and a small drawstring backpack. Wyn had on a grey singlet, black joggers and his sneakers. He headed towards the small opening in the back of the gym. Once there, Wyn opened the backpack and placed a small personal speaker on the floor along with his phone. Wyn took off his sneakers and socks and placed them near his drawstring bag. Then he pulled out a pair of aerial straps. Wyn went to the rigging system pulled off to the side and connected his straps. He raised them up to almost the full height of the ceiling, 22ft. Six meters of cotton/nylon webbing hung from the ceiling in two long straps.

After doing a quick stretch and warm up, Wyn turned up his small speaker to fill the small space in the back. It wasn't loud enough to overpower the gym music, but if one listened hard enough they'd hear the slower, emotional song. Wyn was working on a routine for the last month or so and was almost finished with the entire routine. As the song played he began the routine.

(open two tabs, one with the song and one with the video. Mute the video and play from about 0:08s then play the song on top of it...that's what I'm going for)
 
Oliver

Name
Oliver Lundquist

Birthdate
15 june

Place of birth
n/a



Gender
Male

Sexuality
Homosexual

Ethnicity
Italian-American/Swedish



Appearance

Hair
A little on the longer side, curly mess. Naturally an ashy dark brown, bleaches and dyes it grayish blue, though his roots frequently show as he can't be bothered to keep it up.

Eyes
Grey

Skin
A little on the paler side when he doesn't go out much and over the winter, but tans easily and doesn't really burn.

Height
185 cm (6'1)

Body type
Pretty avarage, on the slender side, doesn't do much exercising so lacking in the muscle department.

Scars/markings
Various different smaller scars on his body, a couple of cigarette burn scars, scars from cuts, some plain lines, other in random clearly purposefully made shapes, a random star on his right forearm for example and the numbers 666 above his knee (he claims it was ironic but was most likely more a move to piss off his parents)

Clothing
Alternative and a little grungy, mostly wears distressed black jeans with t-shirts, hoodies, etc. Owns a denim jacket with a bunch of ironed on patches from bands he likes that he wears on the regular.

Personality

Personality
Upon first glance people would most likely describe Oliver as annoying. He is loud and abrasive, and it seems like other people's feelings aren't the first thing on his mind, and honestly? Sometimes he completely forgets that his actions does affect other people. But deep down he's a nice guy, he's usually loyal to the people he loves and incredibly protective of them. Would definitely punch anyone who hurt a friend, though that's partially because he is quiet impulsive.

He's got a bit of an holier than thou attitude. He considers conforming to norms the worst sin of all and will scoff at people he considers to preppy without even getting to know them. When he does get to know them though he will stop being as much of an asshole about it, if he likes them that is.

As he suffers from cyclothymic disorder his moods and personality do flip flop a litte from time to time, he has periods when he's pretty low energy, sad and most likely wont find the motivation to hang out with people. To people who doesn't know this will most likely come off as him just not caring about them or ignoring them. He also have episodes of highs, which tends to be his normal personality but more. He's more impulsive, more argumentative, more productive, louder and also more self destructive. When he's on his medication though, he is more stable and more in control of himself.

Likes
Art, poetry, black, alternative music, indie rock, alt rock, junk food, taking walks, pretty scenery, bingeing tv-shows, pepsi, imagism, alcohol.

Dislikes
Bigotry, religion, preppy things, most sports, coffee, lettuce, being ignored.

Hobbies
Translating poetry, analyzing/reading poetry, drawing, bass guitar (and regular acoustic guitar, but not as much and is pretty mediocre at it)

Habits
Smokes, burns himself sometimes, cuts - but not all that frequently. Also rolls his eyes a lot.

Fears
Close ones leaving him in one way or another.

Insecurities
He wouldn't want to make that impression, but he's really self-concious of his mental illness and would rather people just think he's some weirdo who flips between being a cold asshole and an hyperactive asshole rather than for people to actually know what is wrong with him.

Mental ailments
Cyclothymia, has been treated for it for a couple of years now, but due to recent events he has deemed it pointless, and has both stopped going to therapy and stubbornly skips out on taking medication. Also suffers from suicidal ideation, and by definition he self harms, both if which manifests if self-destructive and reckless behaviour. He doesn't really consider either of those things to be a problem though.

Relations

Family
Malin Lundquist - Mother - Linguist/college proffesor
Antony Lundquist - Father - Lawyer
Octavia Lundquist - Twin sister

Friends
Theresa 'Tess' Carter
Davíd Gonzalez

As well as various other people in the group of friends he used to hang out with.

Exes
Zechariah Hayes - Dated age 15: first real boyfriend, goes to another school, they don't really speak much anymore.
Michael Reed - Dated age 16: They dated for a couple of months, broke up on fairly good terms but things are still a little awkward when they see each other in the hallways.
Chealsea Hawthorn - dated age 16: Briefly, during a phase of 'don't knock it 'till you've tried it' at which he discovered that he had not dated girls in the past for a reason. He feels a little guilty for using her as a bit of an experiment, but they are on friendly terms.
Alexander Mitchell - dated ages 16-17: friends long before they dated, still loves him and misses him more than anything, blames himself for his suicide.

Enemies
Considers anyone Octavia hangs out with shallow assholes.

Background

Oliver has always had mental issues, something that, until it started to become more of a problem in high school, was overlooked. As he has cyclothimic disorder, and not bipolar disorder it was harder to detect and it took them a while to figure out what it was. But as soon as they did he had his parent's full support. Despite this Oliver's relationship with his parents is kind of difficult, they love him, and he loves them, but he doesn't feel like they understand him and sometimes they don't. Both are very ambitious and often values their children being successful in the future over making sure they are okay at the moment. It seems to work fine for Octavia though, which causes Oliver to feel misunderstood.

Alexander who he befriended when he was fifteen, felt like the only person who really understood him. He suffered from social phobia and agoraphobia, which he wasn't being treated for and both boys kind of enabled each other's destructive behaviours. But Oliver was getting external help for his issues, and Alexander wasn't and the moment Oliver found out Alexander had killed himself he regretted not doing more to help him.

Currently Oliver feels like his life is falling apart, but he likes to ignore it. His relationship with his parents has never been worse, they fight regularly, mainly about his refusal to go to therapy. He and Octavia has been falling out as well, they were really close once, but after high school started they seem like they can't stand each other. Some days they even like to pretend they don't know each other at all.






As much as Oliver would try to say it was because he couldn’t be fucked to be stuck in a car with his parents or in a bus full of his annoying peers he actually quite enjoyed walking home after school. He had always kind of liked taking walks but especially the past couple of months. It was nice to be allowed to do nothing without anyone questioning him or asking him if he was okay and if he wanted to talk about it. He wasn’t and he didn’t. He just wanted to be left alone.

At school as well. A little over half a year ago he would have exited the school with his friends and boyfriend but today he had done so before their last class was even over. That was a sure way to avoid people, though at this point they seemed like they were getting the hint. The fact that he didn’t have to walk through the crowded halls full of smiling faces who once had given him sympathy but now was back to only giving a shit when he acted like a weirdo was also a nice bonus.

He was pretty consumed his own thoughts as he walked. Music was playing through his headphones, and his eyes glued to the colorful leaves on the ground. By now most people would probably on their way home, he realized, and it was about at that point he looked up almost as if expecting to see someone, which was pretty dumb, because he didn’t normally see people from school when he walked home, and that was the point. But apparently it wasn’t that dumb, as he did recognize someone walking away from the bus stop. The new kid. Wyn. And suddenly his eyes were locked on him instead.

The guy was probably just walking home and Oliver wondered briefly if he lived close by. That is until he crossed the road and walked into the gym. The guy didn’t seem like the type to go to the gym, not in Oliver’s opinion at least, and suddenly he was intrigued. Without even stopping to think the turned and walked straight out onto the road and up to the gym. But didn't enter. Instead he glanced inside through the windows and watched Wyn disappear into the gym. Despite not knowing what he hoped he would gain from it or what he thought would happen he decided to stand there and wait to see if his classmate would come outside again.

It took Oliver a good amount of time to realise that Wyn wasn't on his way out anytime soon. He should have figured, why would someone walk into a gym without the intention to stay there for at least an hour? But he had thought that maybe he just went in to use the bathroom or something. But since he wasn't coming out Oliver decided he had to go inside. Just giving up on being a total weirdo following someone he didn't even know didn't even cross his mind. He had given himself a mission and intended to follow through. He looked inside again. A man was sitting there making sure no one went in without paying. Oliver had no intention of doing that, so he would just have to wait until he wasn't there anymore. Luckily he didn't have to wait that long. Some decently muscly guy walked in, exchanged a couple of words with the man and soon he went to fetch something. At that Oliver took the opportunity to walk in and pass the lobby as if he owned the place. If you looked like you were allowed to do something you were more likely to get away with it, in Oliver's experience.

Once inside the actual gym he couldn't help but look around somewhat wide eyed. He had never actually gone inside a gym. He had waited for his sister to be done in the one closest to their home a couple of times but that was about it. It looked about as he expected it, various exercise machines and a couple of people scattered about. He probably looked ridiculously out of place in his ripped jeans and worn old denim jacket layered over both a zip-up hoodie and a band-T. He didn't care though and continued to look around to find who he was looking for. Until he finally spotted him in the far back, hoisting himself up in those gymnasticy-rope things that Oliver didn't have a clue of what they were called. He pulled of his headphones as he slowly walked up and leaned against a wall, arms crossed, at a safe distance and watched. Other music was playing, less shitty than the music on the speakers and it was absolutely fantastic to watch, so he didn't say anything, he didn't want to ruin it. Though Wyn seemed, quite literally, too wrapped up to notice anyway.
 
Wyn finished his routine without any problems. This was the first time he did the entire routine without stopping and he was rather happy with it. Since he left the circus, he's been able to explore more somber and emotional pieces and routines. While he enjoys doing upbeat, energetic routines, lately he's been feeling sad and alone. Being able to express himself through his art helps. Wyn went over to his phone and put on his work out playlist as he took a few swigs of his water. There was a bit on his mind, but when he's at the gym he can focus on one thing and let the world fade away.

No one at school knew about Wyn's past or his hobbies. For the most part, he kept his personal life and past a secret from those at school. The last school he went to everyone was fascinated and/or overly enthusiastic about his past which made his life a bit of a living hell, especially since Wyn hates crowds. People invited him to parties and different events, but they really wanted him to perform rather than to socialize and hang out. The girls were also really annoying when it came to hanging around him and on him. Wyn wasn't able to make real friends nor was he able to really connect with anyone. In the end, the stress of his situation pushed him over the edge.

Wyn had a small notebook with different notes and comments on his routines and training. He was scribbling away when he heard something happening in the gym. Lifting his head, Wyn saw Joe berating someone for sneaking into the gym. This was the most interesting thing happening in the gym at the moment due to the other guy's confrontational attitude. As Wyn watched, he began to recognize the younger man. "Hey, Joe!" Wyn called out as he ran over to the argument. "Sorry he's with me. I forgot I invited him today," Wyn stated with a smile as he turned to Oliver and continued, "dude you should've texted me when you got here." Turning back to Joe, "I'm so sorry about this. A lot on the mind. He's not going to workout, just hang around. We have a school project that we were going to work on after I finished."

Joe looked at Wyn and analyzed the situation. He wasn't sure if Wyn was telling the truth or just covering. Joe knew a bit about Wyn's past and was Laruen's client. He let Wyn get away with a bit, but he was also a hardass at times. "Fine, just keep him out of the way," Joe stated as he let Oliver go. Wyn looked at Oliver and smiled hesitantly before walking back towards the small space in the back of the gym.

Wyn recognized the other guy from school and he assumed the guy did the same. It was obvious that he wasn't a gym member and he didn't belong in the space, which made Wyn suspect that he followed Wyn. There was no way of hiding stuff since the guy was stalking him. Now Wyn was trying to figure out what lie to tell him. "So I have a stalker now?" Wyn stated once they were in the back corner. He eyed Oliver, keeping his gaze steady. Most people weren't able to tell, but Wyn wasn't looking directly into his eyes but rather at the bridge of Oliver's nose.
 
Oliver got to watch surprisingly much of what seemed to be a full routine before the guy who worked at the gym finally realized he had snuck in. There was a heavy hand placed on his shoulder to signify he had been busted and the man even physically turned him to face him. Oliver just stared at him, annoyed he was missing out on the routine, though the music did seem to be ending, until he started to question why he was there. And soon they were having a heated argument. Oliver insisted that "he's obviously not here to work out," and that he "was there to watch his classmate" though that one wasn't the most convincing because he was avoiding using Wyn's name. Even though he was pretty sure he had caught it when the guy had been introduced, he honestly didn't trust himself to have given enough of a shit to listen. It could just as well be Wes or Wyatt or something.

Luckily, and very surprisingly Wyn came up to them and started to argue for Oliver's case. The expression on Oliver's face became a grin, silently saying ' I told you so' as if his own words hadn't been just as much of a lie as Wyn's were currently. But their matching stories seemed to be enough to convince him to not kick Oliver out, or something worse. Like somehow get a hold of his parents, because the last thing Oliver needed was for his parents to be mad at him for trespassing.

As he had been let go Oliver followed Wyn back to his corner, where he, of course, was questioned what he was doing there. To Wyn, he must seem like an actual insane person for following to the point of technically illegally sneaking in somewhere. But it wasn't like he was defying anyone's expectations of him, the only thing was that Wyn hadn't been at their school for long enough to have those expectations.

"I think it takes more than a spur of the moment impulse to follow someone to classify it as stalking," he said, grin still present on his face. He was looking straight at Wyn, properly for the first time, not just a quick glance as he got introduced at the beginning of class or the occasional look if he got called on to answer something in class. He was definitely cute with his brown hair and eyes to match it. Though his eyes were not meeting Oliver's, normally people probably wouldn't be able to tell but Oliver recognized it almost instantly. It was something Alexander used to do. The remainder felt like a stab to the heart but he promptly ignored it, though his grin definitely faltered a bit. He continued, "but I guess if you catch me sneaking up on you again you can consider it a pattern and call the police, or whatever," he said this part a little more dryly, but between his jokes he felt like he had conveyed what he was doing somewhat decently. He hadn't actively set out to follow him, and he hadn't ever followed him before. He wasn't going to deny that the act of following him, to begin with, was weird though, it was, but he honestly didn't care.

He did, however, care about what he had just witnessed this guy do and decided to just change the topic to that. It was simply far more interesting than him following someone, "that was fucking awesome though --the acrobatics thing-- I've never seen anyone do something like that in real life,"
 
Wyn turned from Oliver, somewhat frustrated with the fact that he was followed. "Well, I hope you enjoyed it because that's the last free show you'll get." Wyn messed around a bit with his phone for a moment as he continued, "you can hang around for a bit so Joe doesn't get suspicious, but then you're leaving." Wyn decided that he would cut his training short today so he could escort Oliver out of the gym. This was the first time anyone he knew, outside of the circus, saw him train and it was a bit unsettling. Wyn looked up at his straps and decided that he needed to burn off a little more steam before he packed up to leave. "I'll let you stay today if you promise to leave me alone and not tell anyone about this." Wyn nodded to Oliver and got him to promise that he'd keep his mouth shut. Turning abruptly back around, Wyn added, "No video and don't speak. I'm going to pretend you're not here." Wyn seemed like an ass at the moment, but he was really terrified. His heartbeat was through the roof and it took everything in him to keep from screaming out loud.

Wyn turned the music up and went back to his straps. Wyn went over a few sequences and other skills as well as conditioning. This was his normal routine, but he shortened it because of Oliver. After another twenty minutes or so Wyn began to cool down and stretch. When he was finished for the day, Wyn moved over to the rigging and took down the straps. He rolled them back up and put them in his drawstring backpack along with his speaker and water bottle, which was now almost empty. "Let's go," Wyn stated as he nodded towards the locker room. If Oliver wandered off Joe would get suspicious, so Wyn kept an eye on him.

Wyn didn't really care if Oliver was in the locker room. He often changed clothes and costumes in close quarters with men and women alike. Besides, many of his costumes were skimpy to begin with. Wyn stripped down to his underwear, revealing a toned body. His muscles were defined, but not overly bulging. Wyn had a six pack that peaked through the top layer of his skin. He opened the locker with his backpack and pulled out the clothes he had at school. After changing, Wyn threw his dirty, sweaty clothes in a plastic bag. Both the plastic bag and drawstring bag were shoved into the backpack before being swung over Wyn's back. His oversized sweater hid most of his body now. His hair and skin glowed with a light sheen of sweat.

"Let's go," Wyn stated to Oliver as he led them out of the locker room. "Bye Joe. See you later!" Wyn called out as he left the gym with Oliver in tow. Once they were a few streets away, Wyn stated, "this never happened."

(I'm a circus nut, so whenever Wyn's training or doing something, I'll link a video in the post.)
 
Oliver honestly found Wyn's clear frustration about him being there a little funny. He didn't get what the big deal was, but clearly, the guy was scared of his hobby getting out to the school. Seeing as he made Oliver promise not to speak a word about it to anyone. Oliver honestly saw no reason not to tell him he wouldn't. Because even if he wanted to, who would he tell? He avoided all his friends and even if they knew they wouldn't spread it around because they were good people. The only person who could make sure people knew about it was his sister and he was definitely not telling her about what his weird stalking activities.

His promise seemed to earn him a spot to watch Wyn's continued training session though. Or maybe his stupidity, seeing as it was to make sure he wasn't about to get in more trouble with the man who worked there, whose name was Joe apparently. He sure wasn't complaining though and sat quietly and watched Wyn continue. It was really captivating to see him twirl around in the air like he was and even if Wyn had made him promise not to stalk him up again he was glad he got to see something cool like this once at least. It was a nice distraction and very different from what his life had become at this point.

It didn't feel like long had passed when Wyn was done and Oliver was being led with him to the locker room. Oliver hadn't expected that but he supposed this was a sure way for Wyn to make sure he didn't run off and made it clear that they had both been lying. Oliver decided to respectfully keep a little to the side, but also did sneak a glance as the other got changed. His body clearly showed how well trained you had to be to be able to do the things he had just done. It was so weird because right after he put on an oversized sweater and hid his muscles, which made him look like the same guy Oliver couldn't believe would walk into a gym. It kind of fit his whole thing of not wanting anyone to know though. No one would suspect or ask a thing when they couldn't see his actual muscles since his build clearly was lean.

He didn't comment on it though and just followed Wyn out of the gym where he once again was made to promise him he wouldn't be talking about what he had seen, "Don't worry New Kid, your secret's safe with me," he said in an amused tone and made a gesture of zipping up his mouth and throwing away the key but then went right back to talking anyway, "secrets are fun anyway," he shrugged, "you can't kill me for walking past here at some point though, I'm not actually stalking you, it's just literally my way home."
 
Wyn nodded to Oliver before heading off towards his aunt's house. There wasn't much for him to say so he walked in the opposite direction of Oliver. Wyn had another 20 minutes to walk. If he stayed later, like he normally did, his aunt would've picked him up on her way home from work. Wyn quickly sent a text to Lauren to tell her he was headed home early so she didn't have to pick him up. As he walked, Wyn wondered about Oliver. From what he knew most people in school kept away from the guy. It wasn't that Wyn heard anything bad about Oliver, rather he didn't hear anything about Oliver. Most people didn't talk much about Oliver. Wyn wondered if Oliver would be peeping around the gym now that he knew Wyn worked out there.

Once home, Wyn threw his dirty clothes in the hamper before jumping in the shower. He stripped down and took a 25 minute steaming shower. After he finished, Wyn put on a loose fitting long sleeved shirt along with a pair of sweatpants. He had no plans for the rest of the day, so he decided to get comfortable. Wyn did a bit of homework and scrolled through social media. Megyn and Hunter were posting since they were in LA for a bit with the circus. They put up really cool videos and pictures. Wyn couldn't look at them for long. The thought of being so far away and alone was painful. That and the memories of his parents came up whenever he thought about the circus. While he's been able to get over the initial grief period there was still a lot of sadness.

Lauren came home only to find a plate of food on the counter. Wyn cooked and left her a plate. He was in his room with the lights off. Lauren knew that meant he needed some alone time. She made enough noise so Wyn knew that she was home, but didn't actively interact with Wyn. She knew he was a good kid, but was dealt a horrible hand.

The next day, Lauren dropped Wyn off at school. Dressed in another oversized sweatshirt and loose-fitting jeans, Wyn went to class like normal. It wasn't until world history class when he noticed Oliver. This was the class they shared and Wyn was dreading it. Keeping his attention away from Oliver, Wyn did his best to keep his head down. Mrs. Sheridan welcomed the class like usual. "Hello class. We're going into WWI and I wanted to start off with a project. Everyone pair up." Wyn quickly looked up as he scanned the room. It was obvious that people already had an idea of who'd they'd pair up with. In the end, Wyn was alone...no wait, there was one other person...Oliver. "Fuck," Wyn stated under his breath.
 
It didn't take long after Oliver and Wyn had departed from each other that Oliver was back in the mood he had been before he had gotten sidetracked. His headphones were on again and he was staring at the ground with a blank expression as he went home. There everything was all good until his parents got home. They had gotten word of him just leaving his last class mid through again. It, of course, led to an argument. After about fifteen minutes of them all just yelling at each other they finally brought up what they wanted which was the question "are you not taking your medication?" because that was always something that was brought up when he was angry or upset. He angrily said he was even though they were right in questioning it and then stormed up stair, door banging behind him.

Then he just laid down in bed and did nothing for the rest of the evening. He simultaneously felt empty and emotionless and miserable and sad. He wasn't taking his medication and he knew that he was slowly falling into a low episode. But it wasn't like he wouldn't feel like shit on it either. He didn't really know how to be happy anymore so he didn't see the point in making the effort. The one thing that had managed to let him feel better that day was his brief visit to the gym. But while he at the time had been glad he had gotten a distraction now after the fact he felt miserable. All he could think about was how this random kind had avoided his eyes and all of a sudden all he could think about was Alex's eyes, and the voice when he had confided in him and told him about how hard it had been for him to make eye contact with people, while looking straight into his eyes.

He skipped out on dinner that day, not wanting to argue more with his parents or have Octavia nag him about how he should start making more of an effort, and he went up earlier, and just put on the same clothes as yesterday as he couldn't be bothered with anything else, as well so he could have breakfast and walk to school before anyone could get a chance to talk to him.

School went on as normal. But normal nowadays was with the constant feeling that something was off and missing. It wasn't until world history something different happened. Oliver was laying with his head resting on his folded over arms, eyes closed and listening with half an ear when it was announced that they would be pairing up for the next project. That got his attention and he sat up straight only to see Tess and Davíd's worried glances on him, they shared this class with him, and normally if they did they would have paired up and he would have paired up with Alex. But that wasn't an option and Oliver basically just sat there until everyone had found someone. Everyone except for Wyn it seemed. He did not look pleased about the ordeal, but Oliver but on a cheeky smile, gathered his things and left his seat to plop down next to Wyn.

"Hey, New Kid, long time no see," he joked, hinting at the fact that they had seen each other outside of school the day before, "I'd ask if you want to work together but I don't think either of us have much of a choice"
 
Wyn tried his best to put a smile on his face, but seeing Oliver walk up all smug crushed that idea. It took everything in his power to not punch Oliver straight in the nose. "Yeah," Wyn replied as he took a deep breath. Looking back up, Wyn stared at the bridge of Oliver's nose as he said, "well, I guess we're stuck together." His attention returned to the teacher as she continued to explain the project. Each group would choose a battle. They'd create a fictional diary of a soldier based on the research they did. Essentially they were writing fictional history. They'd have to provide sources as well as an individual reflection paper. Wyn took notes if only to ignore Oliver. Mrs. Sheridan gave the class the rest of the period to talk about their projects within their group. Supposedly, she expected the groups to meet outside of class to work on this project.

"Do you have any idea what you want to do?" Wyn asked as he glanced past Oliver. Wyn was both boiling and nervous on the inside. Due to his upbringing in the circus and homeschooling, Wyn was not good at group projects nor was he good with new people. Oliver seemed to be someone on the edge. There was something about him that Wyn wasn't sure about, but also made him curious. Wyn wished he could disappear. He knew that there was on way they'd be able to work at his house. The web of lies he'd sewn would be destroyed if Oliver came over.

To the majority of the school, Wyn lived with his parents. His father was a businessman who was often away for work. His mother was an accountant. Wyn moved from New York to be closer to his mother's side of the family. No one knew that he lived with his aunt and they moved because of his attempted suicide. No one knew that last year was his first time in a school. No one knew that he lived in a small single floor house that still had some boxes that hadn't been unpacked from the move. Most people didn't even know that if his full name was googled, he'd pop up under news articles about his circus career and his parent's death. Oliver was the only one who knew about his adventures in the gym, but he assumed that Oliver had no idea about circus arts and wouldn't do the research. In the end, Wyn hoped that Oliver was lazy enough to not research him.
 
As Mrs. Sheridan began to explain their project, opened his notebook on a blank page and then proceeded to promptly ignored in favour of opening a fresh page in his sketchbook as well. The sketchbook really looked like any other notebook as well and though most teachers knew he wasn't taking notes by now they clearly didn't care. He still listened to what they had to do for the assignment though and began to casual sketch an English WWI soldier, he had their uniforms vaguely memorized. He enjoyed the more creative assignments like this. He was by no means stupid. His grades tended to depend on his mental state quite a lot but in general, he got pretty average grades in the classes that weren't artsy or English literature related.

Soon enough Mrs. Sheridan was done talking which meant there would be no more ignoring each other. They would actually have to get to work. It also meant Wyn looking at him by not looking at him again. Oliver decided he absolutely hated the way he did that and he did his best to intently stare into Wyn's eyes even if he wouldn't look at him back.

"I mean not really, but I don't think we'll need to do all that much research, honestly," Oliver said, he mostly just didn't feel like doing a lot of research for this, and maybe he could convince Wyn not to take the assignement super seriously so they didn't have to work much outside of class, then again, doing a group project without working outside of class was next to impossivle, "It's essentially just a creative piece, even if it has to be historically accurate or whatever. But I know enough about WWI to get something decent done," he turned his gaze from Wyn again, and turned back to his sketching of the soldier. At least it made him feel a tad inspired in the midst of feeling like garbage, "We could just write something about him after a day of trench warfare or something... Unless you want to do more research and set it after some specific battle,"
 
Wyn decided to watch Oliver sketch instead of looking at the other guy. He wondered if Oliver was a WWI history nut or something since he was drawing a soldier already. "We have to provide references and the diary has to be more than one page," Wyn explained as he thought about Mrs. Sheridan's instructions. This project was actually a bit fun compared to what he'd been doing previously. Wyn was sure to keep good grades, usually As and Bs. Usually, Wyn went above and beyond with his projects, especially individual ones. Wyn was pretty smart in his own right, but whenever other students would ask about his grades, he'd lie and say Bs and Cs. For the most part, Wyn did his best to be invisible to the general public.

"Well, we could do that. We could write about a fighter pilot or tank operator. Something other than a foot soldier. With the new technology emerging it might be interesting to explore that," Wyn suggested leaning back in his seat to look out the window. He glanced around the classroom. There were essentially two types of groups; those who planned on doing the minimum and those who went above and beyond. Wyn wanted to go above and beyond because it was something else that kept his mind busy. The less he had to think about real life the better. If he could drown himself in this project, he'd have less time to think about the other things in his life...like going to group next week.

As Wyn listened to the other groups talk, he decided that he wanted this project to stand out. "She never said we couldn't do a Central Powers soldier. You know, German, Austrian, Turkish." Wyn needed a topic that he didn't know so he could dive into research.
 
"I mean I mostly just know shit about WWI because I enjoy Isaac Rosenberg's work from that time," Oliver put down his pencil for a moment, the sketch was rough, and he often tended to keep things kind of stylistic in this faze, square shapes rather than round while still keeping things somewhat organic and semi-realistic. He didn't bother to explain who Isaac Rosenberg was. If he liked poetry he would possibly know, if he didn't know he probably didn't care about a random poet anyway, "And he was a British foot soldier so that's what I know the most about,"

He closed his sketchbook, deciding he was done for now and propped his elbow on the table and rested his cheek on his hand while going back to protesting Wyn's lack of eye contact by looking into his eyes again, "I'm guessing you want to aim for a higher grade then," he said, it was an assumption, but plenty of his friends tried hard to get good grades as well. He and Alexander had usually just goofed around when they worked together. He was capable of doing proper work as well though, maybe not at an A level currently, but he wasn't enough of a dick to not do any work and pull Wyn down to a lower grade if he wanted to go for something better. Which he honestly seemed to want.

"It's fine, I think doing something with the central powers or the machinery or whatever could be cool," he said this without all that much interest, had he not been on his way into a dysthymic period he would have probably liked the idea of challenging himself into coming up with a character like that. He enjoyed creative writing, and this assignment was fun, it was just a matter of finding the motivation to do it, "I don't know a lot about any of that though so we'd have to do more research, so we'll probably have to work outside of class,"
 
Wyn nodded in agreement. He didn't know that much about the subject either. It was going to be a bit of work, researching everything. Wyn could pick up that Oliver wasn't that interested in doing that much work. Nevertheless, Wyn wanted to get involved in the project. He needed something to occupy his time since he couldn't spend every waking moment in the gym or asleep. At least he could be creative with things. Scribbling down some ideas like tank warfare, aeroplanes, and central power soldier, Wyn searched through his mind to scrape together whatever information he had about those subjects. Wyn didn't necessarily want a higher grade. He just wanted something that was involved so he could avoid real problems. At least this way, Wyn could seclude himself in his room with a more logical reason.

Lately, Wyn had been in a little slump. His therapist was meeting with him less and less in hopes to encourage Wyn to participate in group. To the majority of the world, including his aunt, Wyn was doing good. He was keeping his grades up and working out and overall keeping to routine. In reality though, Wyn was lonely. He needed something to fill his mind. Creating new routines was fun, but it wasn't like he was preparing for a performance so in reality the routines were pretty pointless. He didn't plan on doing anything with them nor was he planning on showing anyone anything.

Wyn took note of the name that Oliver said. He scribbled that down as well, but was sure he'd spelled it wrong. The name was unfamiliar and Wyn couldn't even guess who the guy was. For all he knew, Isaac Rosenberg was a painter or something. After a few more moments of writing, Wyn looked up and said, "If you don't want to do anything,I'll do the project by myself. It's fine. I really don't care either way. You seem uninterested anyways." Wyn didn't want Oliver to get angry or upset with being forced to work on a project he didn't want to do. Years in the circus taught him that compromise was the best option, but sometimes one person had to do the majority of the work for things to turn out right.
 
"No I actually want to do this project, or at least help out with it," Oliver said earnestly, it honestly wasn't that he didn't want to care more than he did, it was just hard to bring himself to care. And it was always frustrating when people assumed he was lazy because of it, "I'm not some asshole who's just going to let you do everything because I'm too lazy." That was true, even if his standard tended to be a C level and when he was feeling shitty as he had for the past half a year or so his standard dropped to Ds and Es, he could still contribute somehow when he had to do group projects, even if it was just assembling a power point or finding some Wikipedia articles to work from.

It then hit him that Wyn honestly had been pretty hostile towards him so far. He clearly hadn't left a good first impression and Wyn hadn't been happy about working with him. So maybe Oliver's apparent laziness was just Wyn's excuse to get out of working with him. Hell, maybe he had even heard a person or two call him crazy and done as most people and decided that it probably was for the better to keep away from him. Weirdly the thought put a smile on his face that was almost amused. That wasn't an impossibility, he was sure there were plenty of people around the school who would feel weary about doing a project after school with him. Throughout the years he had started a fight or two, and yelled a couple of teachers over trivial things.

"But if you don't want to work with me or whatever, at least let me contribute with the journal entry. I'm a good writer when it's not academic," he said, he did want to work on that part of the assignment, because he knew that it was something he should enjoy and it was something people expected him to enjoy. He just had to make himself get into it.
 
Wyn was pretty skeptical of Oliver, but it appeared that he was genuinely interested in part of the project. After a moment to think, Wyn replied, "sure whatever. I'll do the research part then. I'm good at that." Wyn thought about how they'd get stuff coordinated and knew there was no way Wyn was giving Oliver his number. "Well I'll pull some stuff together for the next time we meet," Wyn decided to leave it open and let Oliver decide when they'd meet next. No more class time would be dedicated to the project, so it was up to them to meet up and figure things out.

Glancing at the clock, Wyn noticed that they didn't have much longer before class ended. "Since we have to do research, let's end it here." The entire time Wyn was talking to Oliver he was avoiding eye contact as much as possible. It seemed that Oliver was doing his best to make eye contact, which was driving Wyn insane. It seemed that every few moments Wyn had to adjust where he was looking. Turning back to his notebook, Wyn made some notes about what to research and some other things he had to do for the project. He did his best to block Oliver.

Wyn was thinking about what he was going to do after school and if Oliver would follow. He skipped out on conditioning and flexibility yesterday, so he wanted to get some extra work in today. The routine he was finishing up was practically finished, but there were a few places that Wyn really wanted to touch upon and clean up. His mind drifted to new sequences and other shapes that he could create in the straps as he waited for the bell to ring. In his locker was his gear and he couldn't wait for the final bell to ring. Every now and then Wyn would look at Oliver through the reflection of the window. He'd only steal a glance, but something told him that Oliver knew what he was doing.
 
He flipped the page in his notebook and brought up his phone to look at references for German soldiers instead. The fact that they had managed to agree on how to do things actually made him feel a little more motivated for the assignment. Now he didn't have to do the part that he lacked the motivation to do and he could just focus on trying to find some creativity in the midst of everything and try to think of ideas for what to write.

A silence ensued for a while. Wyn clearly did not want to talk and while it served as a good distraction Oliver couldn't be bothered if Wyn didn't want to do it. He had always been a very social person. It always faltered a bit when he got into a slump but at hear he was an extrovert, he liked talking to people and having fun and making friends. But he didn't really want that anymore, so he wasn't going to make an effort.

Eventually class was starting to come to a close. Most people had spent time chattering with their friends both about the assignment and clearly about other things as well. Only Oliver and Wyn were sitting quietly, jotting down their own notes as if they weren't actually doing a group project. But since class was almost over one final thing had to be addressed. Wyn had said he would have some research done for the next time they met, which meant he actually planned on meeting up again, and not just hauling over all the information by text or e-mail.

"Do you want to figure out when to meet then? I'll try to have some concepts ready by then, and I work better towards a deadline," he broke the silence, casually, as if they hadn't just completely ignored each other, "I'm actually going to stab someone if we have to work on it in the school building though, so I'd prefer it if we could meet up somewhere else?"
 
Wyn hoped that Oliver would suggest a spot, but it seemed that he was left to make plans. "What about a library or something?" Wyn offered trying to find a neutral spot for them. The only problem would be trying to coordinate the time. The library closed relatively early which meant that Wyn would have to sacrifice some gym days to work on the project...unless they met at someone's house. While he'd like to meet at a house after his gym workout, he wasn't about to suggest his own. He couldn't. There was no way he could trust Oliver with his secrets. All he could hope for was that Oliver would suggest someplace else.

Wyn glanced at Oliver using his phone. He looked around and noticed that no one was making a big deal about it. In his previous school he wasn't allowed to use his phone at all. Then again that was in Virginia. Wyn decided to pull his phone out quickly to check his messages and emails. He got an update about the circus and some authors he followed as well as the puzzle of the day. Scrolling through his texts he found one from Joe.

Hey Kid. The rigging had to be repaired because some idiots were playing with it yesterday. Hopefully it'll be fixed by tomorrow. I'll keep you updated.
Now that his schedule had cleared up Wyn offered, "I'm free today after school if you want to plan some things out. I'll meet you by the west exit." The west exit was at the furthest most part of the school, but gave them some privacy. Since Wyn was walking home today, he didn't care how long it took.
 
"sure, I'll be there," he shrugged and not long thereafter their teacher had everyone settle down and wrapped up the class by reminding them of the deadline for the assignment and that they all should work on it on their free time. As soon as she was done Oliver practically flew up from his seat. In the classes he shared with Davíd and Tess he always made sure to leave quickly just to avoid them.

He wasn't about just leave Wyn without a word though and as he started to back towards the exit he said a very loud, "see ya New Kid," with a shit-eating grin on his face, which of course pulled a lot of attention to the both of them. Oliver couldn't have cared less and simply turned and hurried out so he could go about his day as if he wouldn't be meeting up with Wyn to work on the project after school.

For the rest of the day Oliver mostly just sat with his head buried in his arms not really listening, it didn't feel like it really mattered anyway, world history had been one thing, because his participation was affecting someone else, but not giving a shit in other classes wouldn't affect anyone but him. Plus it gave him plenty of time to consider some possibilities. Wyn had suggested going to the library but that would take a bunch of extra time and if the actually would get somewhere with the project the library would probably end up closing on them. And since he figured Wyn at least lived in the same direction as him going to one of their places would probably be easier.

So, when school was over and Oliver found Wyn waiting by the west exit, where no one else really was leaving the building currently, most people opting for the main entrance, he opened by saying, "Hey, would you mind coming over to my place for the assignment? I'm honestly not really feeling the library"
 
The rest of the day went pretty normally. Wyn kept his head down and did his work. No one bothered him and he didn't bother anyone. A few polite smiles here and there to satisfy the public and Wyn was pretty much set. It wasn't that Wyn didn't talk to anyone, rather it was he didn't hold long conversations. For the most part, Wyn kept to small talk. He didn't really fit into a group yet and he didn't really plan on finding one. He didn't really care if he found a group or not.

Today Wyn had a talk with a guidance councilor since his aunt was pushing him to start looking at colleges. Since he was a junior, he'd probably want to start looking. Wyn didn't have any plans for college since he didn't want to go. The last thing he wanted was to owe Lauren any more than he was. Once he was a legal adult he'd probably try to join a troupe or something and get back on the road. Staying in one place made him uneasy, but also it implied that he should put down roots. Wyn wasn't a tree. He was more like a leaf. He flowed with the wind and let things push and pull him without fighting.

Wyn had his backpack on and his nose in a sudoku puzzle. The west exit was pretty lonely, but he didn't mind. The quiet allowed him to concentrate as he scribbled number after number. When Oliver called out to him, Wyn looked up. As the statement registered in his brain, Wyn put away his sudoku puzzle. If he was walking home alone, he'd continue doing puzzles, but he didn't think Oliver would appreciate Wyn ignoring him as they walked. "If that's alright with your parents," Wyn replied as he started walking out of the school. It was a nice day to walk, a little overcast, but a cool, comfortable temperature.
 
"They won't give a shit," liver said with a shrug, as they started walking. If anything they would probably like the idea of Oliver having someone over and hopefully they'd lay off his back for a while, if only when Wyn was there. The idea of them working on a school project they'd probably also like, so hopefully, it'd be enough to compensate for the times he'd been skipping lately. This hadn't been his original motivation for inviting Wyn over, but now that he thought about it it was a good idea for more reasons than it just wasting less time.

At first, walking was kind of silent and as much as Oliver hated to admit it, awkward. He supposed stalking someone and breaking an entrance to watch something they clearly wanted to keep a secret wasn't the best way to make a first impression, and as social, as Oliver liked to think he was it was still hard to talk to someone who clearly would rather not talk to you. Plus, the most interesting thing about him he had promised not to talk about. He would probably still ask about it later but for now, it felt like a sure way to get permanently on his bad side.

"What's the little book you're writing in all the time?" he decided to ask instead. Because of the previous silence, it felt like it came completely out of nowhere, but the moment he said it he was curious. Wyn had been walking with it when he spotted him yesterday and he had had it up now when he was waiting. It wasn't as interesting as secretly being an acrobat, but it was something.