Getting Started

Who: Tad and Dean
Where: Tad's house
When: afternoon

Tad had spent most of the morning trying to clean up his room while at the same time trying to keep it from looking like an IKEA ad. Kaysen's off-hand comment from the day before had made him anxious about the giant mess he had floating about, but he wasn't sure how impressed Dean would be with a completely spic and span room. Dean was a guy afterall. Plus Tad had a lot of stuff and it didn't all seem to fit in proper places.

He finally settled on all of his clothes in the hamper or shoved in drawers and the closet, minus a hoodie or two that weren't quite dirty yet that were draped on his desk chair, the bed haphazardly made and the books in mildly organized piles around the bedroom. Standing back he took the room in and decided it would have to do and he went downstairs to wait for Dean as casual as humanly possible when his stomach was full of butterflies. Which was ridiculous. Hadn't he just had Kaysen, a girl, over yesterday without getting really nervous? Why should it be any different with Dean? His nerves were probably compounded by the decision he'd made somewhere between Kaysen leaving and waking up this morning that Dean was beyond cooler than Tad would ever be and this was a chance to maybe score some cool points or something. Or a chance to just not make a fool of himself. Pacing around the kitchen and checking his cell phone every 10 seconds wasn't making his nerves calm any easier though.

There were a thousand and one things that Dean would have preferred to be doing this Saturday than school work. And it didn't help that tonight was the night of the new moon - and the first new moon since he'd found out that Thia didn't want to see him on the new moon because apparently being a fade made you look like a corpse or worse on the night of the new moon. So she was going to be locking herself away and refusing to see him tonight, which was bugging him no end, so he'd spent most of the morning setting up laptops and webcams and everything especially and leaving her everything all set with a note to say that he was going to expect to at least be able to talk to her tonight, even if he wasn't allowed to see her. It wasn't good enough, in his book. But then, in Dean's book, nothing would be good enough until he'd proved to both of them he wouldn't bat an eyelid at seeing her as a corpse. Dean's life was a constant struggle for perfection - and always with the constant knowledge he didn't measure up to his own standards.

But, still - he'd made sure that he'd arrived at Tad's house on time - being late, again, would have been another failure. A rudeness that couldn't be tolerated. Unacceptable. He rang the doorbell and stood on the porch, waiting, his gloved hand thrust into the pockets of his battered leather jacket.

The sound of the doorbell made Tad almost jumped out of his skin and he half toppled off the kitchen island where he'd been sitting. It took a full second before he processed what the noise was and then went half running half walking for the door tripping over the black chucks he'd worn yesterday which were by the door (today'd chucks were green for good luck). He swung the front door open, hoping he didn't look as flushed and nervous as he felt. "Hey Dean!" Yea that sounded far more excited than it should have. It didn't help that dean looked badass in his worn in leather jacket and hair that didn't stick up in the back like Tad's had decided to this morning.

Dean shrugged - never one for overt gestures. "Hey - you okay?" he asked, sure the guy also had better things to be doing on a Saturday afternoon than school work. But, he was trying at the moment. At least he was all caught up currently, thanks to Thia, but he'd kind of promise Sophie that there wouldn't be falling behind again. His wheels for the rest of the winter depended on it.

"Yea, I'm cool...the shoes...tripped..." Tad was definitely starting to babble like a complete moron. "Come on in." He pushed the door open the rest of the way and moved to make space for Dean. "It's freezing out there." And you're talking about the weather, smooth. "You want anything? Soda, snack or whatever?"

Dean stepped inside and stooped to unlace his boots, kicking them off by the door so that he didn't trample dirty snow into the house, trying to be a good guest and everything. "Nah, I'm good, but thanks," he said, waving away the offer of refreshments. He didn't really do much in the way of food and drink - enough to stop the whole 'starvation and dehydration', but nothing really more. He didn't seem to react at all to the comments about the weather, or about the shoes, looking around the new house with fairly well concealed interest, sure that anything else would be read as being rude.

Tad pushed the door closed behind Dean once he was inside and tried very hard not to bounce from foot to foot while he waited for Dean to get settled. "Right, well if you're good I guess we can just go upstairs and get to work?" Tad started up the stairs in the hall but paused after a few to make sure his guest was following.

"Sure, whatever works," Dean agreed, following on behind, trying not to betray that he was on edge about being in a new environment where he didn't know what the rules were, or what he was meant to be doing. Plus, he was here to start on a project he knew fuck all about, and the starting point was in this guy's hands - this guy who he hardly even knew. So, he was going to let Tad - his name was Tad, right? He thought so. Tad of the middle name that wasn't really a middle name at all. He remembered it because of that. Like Thia was really... actually, he couldn't remember what her name came from, but it sure wasn't 'Thia' - it was something equally as unusual as 'Lullaby'.

Bouncing up the stairs, which still hurt his ribs a little, Tad lead the way to his room which looked just as it had before, slightly messy, mostly cluttered with the only area in pristine shape and proper order was his gaming area. "My room, obviously." He pulled a notebook and the paper about the project out of his bad and sat on the bed, motioning for Dean to come and in sit or whatever. "Hope you don't mind but I started going through our list of options of what the project can be and since I'm not one for public speaking or video making or whatever, so I say we just make the giant notebook full of information." Honestly, Tad would have loved to make a video, but he wouldn't have enjoyed the part where they had to show it to the entire class much so he just skirted around the option. Plus Dean didn't really seem like the type either. "If you want we can make it kind of like a goofy, mockery text book like the one John Stewart wrote only a little less crass ya know?"

Dean headed on up behind the guy in a rather less bouncy fashion. He'd noticed the guy's bruising, which hadn't been there before, but he wasn't going to talk to the guy's back, and then Tad was talking, so he set the question aside for now and headed into the room, looking around. "Whatever you want. I'm never really sure how to do this kind of thing," Dean shrugged, happy to go with the other guys ideas. Anything as long as it didn't involve giving any kind of presentation. "But I dunno the John Stewart textbook whatever," he added, clueless as to what that was.

"Oh yea that's right, you probably wouldn't know it." Tad chewed on his lower lip and thought about how to explain it. "So about a year back John Stewart released this book that was like a mockery text book, 'cause his show is like a mockery new show. It was full of misinformation about the US and the government and stuff. I mean it was mostly accurate, but he made of of people in it and such. I don't have a copy or I'd show you; I've only looked at it in stores." He stared off into space briefly thinking about how it would relate to their project. "Really I was thinking if we did something funny it might make up for it not being the best researched or whatever." Thankfully he was starting to relax, but now his face was starting to hurt again. Apparently the nerves had distracted him from the pain. "Sound reasonable to you?"

Dean shrugged - a common, familiar gesture on the teen. "Sure - whatever works. I'm good with that," he said, easy to go with a solid idea, knowing he didn't have one himself. "So, erm - can I ask what happened?" he asked, gesturing at Tad's face. He didn't come out and directly ask, since he knew he'd reacted badly to being asked himself the day before, so it was just asking for permission to ask the question and Dean knew that if he didn't get that, he simply wouldn't ask - those were the rules. He wanted to know, but he didn't pry.

Tad glanced up from his books and realized Dean was asking about his face and the roadmap of bruises. Kaysen had done a good job cleaning Tad up but he still looked like hell this morning. "I got on the wrong end of a couple of jocks coming out of their practice yesterday afternoon. I guess they felt a little too aroused by showering together and opted to blow off some steam by trying to break my ribs and smash my face in. I should have gone around the gym after detention yesterday but it was cold and I was feeling lazy." His tone was nonchalant like ending up bruised and bloody in the hallway was a normal thing that could happen to anyone. That was Tad's defense mechanism, act as if nothing out of the ordinary happened. He did leave off the part where a girl saved him from an even more brutal beating because he wasn't sure how that would go over.

Dean winced. "Ouch - that sucks. Any chance it's a case of 'you should have seen the other guy'?" he asked, though from the way that the situation had just been described to him, he really doubted that. Dean had never actually faced that issue - back in England, he'd been part of the popular crowd, albeit only by default since the guys he grew up with turned into the popular kids and he'd just been integrated into the sidelines of that, rather than because he was actually popular himself. And here, well, here he kept his head down and just didn't draw attention to himself. He was happy with that, just floating under the radar with a few friends that he actually knew were honest friends.

"Yes and no," Tad started with a little bit of laughter to his voice. Now that Dean had essentially asked he might as well explain Kaysen and her skateboard. At least it was funny. "I didn't do anything but Kaysen knocked the crap out of a of few of the guys with her skateboard. I doubt they look as bad as me, but I'm sure two woke up with headaches this morning." Tad glanced away again, more from embarrassment this time though. "I'm not much of a fighter, if that makes sense."

Dean raised an eyebrow and smirked slightly. "Well, glad someone could show them that that's not cool," he said - and then realised what he'd said and cringed again. "Not that, y'know... I mean. Shit. I didn't mean..." It had sounded better in his head. Now he'd just offended the guy, who really seemed kinda okay - at least, he'd done nothing truly stupid yet, which given some of the people Dean'd met, was really saying something. "Nothing wrong with not being a fighter. Y'know - less you suddenly find yourself in a fight..." he offered.

"Dude it's cool. I've been getting the crap kicked out of me for years. I can't really start getting insulted by not fighting back now." Tad paused briefly before explaining. "It's not so much that I can't stand up for myself or whatever. I'm just too much of a pacifist to start throwing punches. More of a 'why can we all just get along' type guy." Plus he didn't want to open up that side of him, the violent side. In all the therapist visits he'd had one conversation, years ago with one about the more violent aspect of his personality. He'd talked about fighting back, what he'd do and how he'd handle it. But it wasn't a thought process rooted in revenge, or self defense. It was a calm, cool and collected thought process that craved organized chaos. The therapist herself had been scared as she typically dealt with depressed teens and not borderline sociopaths. She'd passed him off to another shrink. Tad never talked about the feelings ever again, but bought his first first person shooter video game and used that to keep the violent tendencies in check.

"There's a difference between being a pacifist and letting people do that to you," Dean told him, not sure about that way of dealing with things. "Sometimes you've just gotta go down a route that you wouldn't pick if you had a choice. Especially if the other guy's not on the same page as you." Like, say, the other guy was using magic to tear holes in you. That was an extreme example, Dean knew, but he would never be able to forget that. Dean would love to live his life without recourse to violence, but he knew that it was never going to happen that way.

Tad blanched briefly at having his catchall explanation twisted to the point of sounding like a bad excuse. "Yea, you're right. But it's not like I'd even know what to do ya know? I mean I grew up with my grandma. Her best advice was 'keep your head low and hope they get bored before you get too hurt.'" Tad sighed. He didn't sound defensive or offended because he wasn't. It was just his story and the past can't be changed. "The woman had drug me to every therapist in a hundred-mile radius because most of the time I don't keep my head low and taunt the assholes after they start throwing punches. She thinks that means I'm a masochist or something."

"You ever considered taking classes?" Dean asked. "Y'know, like self-defence or some kind of martial arts or something? I hear that some of them are all really focused on not having to use what you know and shit. And maybe if they knew you could fight back, but you preferred not to, you'd be able to do that whole keeping your head down and stuff. Better than bruises, anyway." Dean thought of the healing pool he knew, but he didn't know Tad well enough to tell him about that. For all he knew, the guy would freak. Or think he was crazy. Or tell everyone. Or (d) all of the above.

"Thought about it. Can't say I'm not worried I'd get beat up in there too. Can you imagine getting knocked over by some black belt six year old?" Tad joked, but he was far from feeling very funny. And far from willing to admit that he was avoiding those classes as well. Not because he wouldn't be good at them, but because he was worried he'd be too good at them. He certainly wasn't about to try and explain that to Dean though. "You have any topic in particular you want to focus on for the local history? Like we can look at government, local legends, ghost stories, historical figures and whatever?"

Dean looked over at the console set up and shrugged. "I dunno - you play any of those on line and you probably get beaten by some six year old across the world anyhow," he joked. "Well, I would anyhow," he added. He'd never been allowed a console - far too expensive a bit of kit to allow Dean anywhere near it. Scott had had one, which had lived in his room. Dean had only played it a couple of times. And Oz had a set up, but Dean had generally avoided that - he didn't want to risk breaking Oz' stuff. "And topics? Erm - legends and stories could be good, if we can get away with it." At least, it'd be more potentially useful than other subjects, which hopefully would keep his interest in it up.

Tad glanced over his shoulder at his set up when Dean mentioned it. "Oh trust me, I rarely get beat on those. And it's not the six year olds you have to worry about, it's the forty-somethings who still live with their moms." If there was one thing Tad was good at it was Halo online. "I know we're working and everything, but if you ever want to play just let me know." He made a note in his notebook about the topic and then looked up again. "I wonder if they'd have any good books over at that kitschy book store, Nevermore or whatever. They've got a load of interesting stuff there anyway, they just might have something on local legends."

Dean shrugged. "Sure, though you'd beat me. I don't really play - me and electrics aren't good friends, so I was never allowed one back home. I tend to break things easily," he explained. He wouldn't break it on purpose, and he couldn't see himself getting worked up enough about a game to up the likelihood of breaking it accidentally, but then again, there was just always that straight, normal, accidental breakage thing going on. "And yeah, Nevermore might have some stuff - they've got loads there. My friend's brother owns it, so I could ask if you wanted," he suggested.

"Well I wouldn't start off kicking your ass at it, especially since you're new the game and all. You'll probably pick it up quick though, not hard once you nail down how the controller works." This probably wasn't the case for everyone but that was how every game worked for Tad so he just assumed it would be as simple for everyone. "At some point I'll let you have at it. It's good stress relief to kills some zombies or fight off some bad guys." He contemplated what Dean had said about the bookstore and decided it worked for him. "Good deal with Nevermore, we'll definitely hit that up. Who's brother owns it?"

Dean chuckled slightly at that, thinking that maybe it would be good stress relief to actually fight the bad guys without actually fighting the bad guys. "Sure, I'd like that - and Caleb Lockwood? He's a junior, new this year," he explained, though there'd been enough rumours flying around about the guy that Dean figured he was pretty well known by now - the name, if not the face.

"I've heard of him, think I know who he is," Tad answered nodding. Sure, he'd heard the variety of rumors, but Tad wasn't the type to take much stock in them. Which makes sense when the most prevalent rumor circulating around about him was that he was gay, which was far from accurate. He knew how ridiculous rumors could get. "I'm excited dude, this topic is at least interesting which means the project probably won't suck as much to work on." Tad was grinning, even if it was a little lopsided with the bruised lip.

"Yeah, hopefully - better that like the economic viability of the region or some bollocks like that, I dunno," he shrugged, picking a random phrase that he wasn't even sure made sense for history anyway.

Tad raised his eyebrow at that one. "Economic viability eh? I'm not even sure what that means. It sounds terrible, but I have no idea what it is." He leaned back against the headboard of the bed, feeling like he'd accomplished something even if it wasn't a ton. "Alright so we have a topic, and idea for how the project will lay out and we're gonna check out Nevermore for some info. I can harass Grams some if she knows of any good legends and stuff and maybe dig around in some of the old stuff upstairs see if anything of interest is there. Anything else you want to cover?"

"Honestly? I don't really have a fucking clue either," Dean admitted, ducking his head slightly. "Sounds impressive though. And I think your gran and Nevermore's probably good for a starting point - guess from there on it kinda depends on what we find there, right? If we get enough, or just what we get?" he added.

"Sounds like a plan to me dude. Talk to you pal Caleb and see what he knows. If all else fails we can just head over there and find out what's going on, but knowing ahead of time would make life easier." Tad grinned again. "And don't worry about not having a clue. We'll just wing it from here on out." He reached into his pocket fishing out his insulin pump to check the time. "You have anything else you need to do today?"

"Yeah, not a problem - there's so much weird shit at that store, it'd be good to have an idea of a starting point." It was easier to describe the contents of Nevermore as 'weird shit' to someone he didn't really know that 'really cool reference place where I can find everything I'm looking for about the not-so-normal things in life'. And anyway, both were true - there was no denying that his abilities, and those of the people around him, classified as 'weird'. They did in Dean's book anyhow - Dean who still held 'normal' up as something that was a good thing to strive for. He knew that it was something he could never achieve, and he wouldn't give up the people who he'd have to give up if he truly wanted to be 'normal' - or pretend to be. Going back home had taught him that he wasn't ever going to live and normal life, and that he didn't want to try, but the idea was still there, lingering at the back of his mind, stopping him from fully embracing the realities of his existence.

He gave his attention back to Tad, his eyes flickering to the pump, then back to the guy's face. "I need to be home-" before moon rise "-around dark, but other than that, no. You?" he asked.

Tad was more than thrilled at the prospect of getting in the door at Nevermore. Not that he couldn't just go in on his own, it just seemed weird to go in there and wander around aimlessly because you were thoroughly interested in knowing what sort of stuff "weird shit" actually entailed. He glanced up at Dean before answering his question. "Dude I have no life, you coming over was the highlight of my day." He chuckled like it might have been a joke, even if it wasn't. "Well if you've got time, as it's not dark yet, I'll get you set up playing something if you want to give it a try." The dark thing was a bummer. Dean must have those sort of parents who didn't want him driving in the snow in the dark or whatever. Granted that would essentially kill off one's entire social life come mid-winter, but parents are parents. His Grams did enough weird stuff so he could only imagine. "Whadda say? Wanna give it a go?"

Dean eyed the set up, then shrugged. "Sure, why not? Just... I wasn't kidding about me being good at breaking stuff," he warned the guy. "But - if I do, I'll replace it, promise," he added, almost earnestly. There was a reason he had an older desktop computer in his room - the individual parts were easier to replace. He wasn't entirely sure that would be possible with a console though, but if he still had money left over from the wad Oz had given them for England, so if he did fuck up, then he could probably afford to replace whatever he broke. As long as it was just the one of them. Almost unconsciously, he took hold of his emotions, shutting down a little, knowing that he was more likely to go off when they were out of control. Control helped - it didn't make things perfect, but it helped.

He'd watched Dean the entire time, just taking in the obvious cues that the kid was nervous about something. "I'm sure you'll be fine, dude. But we'll be careful just in case." Tad laughed again and handed Dean the PS2 controller. "We'll kick it old skool and try something simple." He scanned the titles on the shelf until he came to the right one, pulled it down and popped it in the console. "Final Fantasy is more pretty than anything, but your standard RPG is a good place to pick up if you're out of the habit." Plus it was a chill game for the first portion. As the game loaded he explained the basics to Dean, which buttons did what and sort of background on the game storyline. "You think you got it?"

Dean took the controller with a slight smile. "Yeah, I kinda know this one - my cousin has loads, and I've played a couple of times, just... Not really much, y'know?" he said, settling down with the controller held in his hands. "So - really am going to be shit at this." He figured that probably the only kinds of games he'd excel at would be shooting ones, though trying that with a controller would probably fuck him over.

"It's very hard to be shit at this game. At least for the first few worlds it isn't." To Tad though, these sort of games were just fun, something for him to do when he was bored between games that were actually a challenge. "She's all yours dude. I'm just gonna watch." Tad leaned back again getting a good view of the tv and Dean at the same time. Honestly he was content to just sit here and see what he could learn about the other guy from just watching him. "Yell if you get stuck."

Dean concentrated on the game as he started out, taking a few moments to make sure that he knew what all the buttons actually did on the screen, trying to commit them to memory before really setting out. As with almost everything (schoolwork being the exception, but then Dean had never really considered school to be overly important), Dean gave it his all, trying to make sure that he was trying his best, wanting to do things right. Not that that meant he was good at this or anything, but he was intensely trying and focusing on the game.

Tad hung on the fringe, helping out here and there, but watching Dean focus and try very hard at being decent at the game. For someone who hadn't played in a while or much at all Dean was doing a decent job, especially since the controls weren't always ideal with this game. "You aren't half bad at this dude," Tad told him with a smile. He was beginning to realize that he enjoyed playing or teaching these games to someone else almost as much as he enjoyed playing them himself. Between this now with Dean and yesterday with Kaysen, Tad was beginning to realize that even some of his favorite alone activities were more fun with someone else.

Dean glanced over, his concentration broken as he looked at Tad. Dean could really only focus on one thing at a time - multitasking of any description really wasn't his forte. He focused on whatever he was doing, but that meant that when he needed to shift his focus, he didn't do so well - and he promptly screwed up what he'd been doing in the game before he had a chance to say anything at all. "...or not," he said, not overly bothered about it. It was just a game, after all. "Your turn?" he asked, holding out the controller. Taking turns only seemed fair to him.

"Oh, sorry I didn't mean to," Tad weakly apologized when Dean lost his concentration and his character completely fumbled. When Dean offered the controller over, Tad shook his head and pushed it back towards him. "It's ok dude. I've beat this one twice already. If you let me take it you won't get it back anytime soon." He tried a brighter smile, hoping Dean was having something that vaguely resembled fun, but as before it was near impossible to just tell from talking to the kid.

"You sure?" Dean asked, willing to give up the go. Not because he wanted to, but because that was what was fair, and what felt right. Turn on turn, they were, he imagined, the rules. And Dean was all about the rules.

"I'm sure," Tad answered nodding. "Plus it's my fault your turn's up anyway, and that's not fair," he added for good measure. "That's like cheating or something right?" Checking the window to gauge the time of day and level of the sun he figured they didn't have too long before Dean would need to head out anyway. "Plus you said you wanted the practice and you can't stay too much later, might as well enjoy yourself for the little time you've got left rather than getting bored watching me play."

Dean shook his head. "It's not cheating unless you did it on purpose," he told Tad. "It's just me being shit and not being able to concentrate on more than one thing at a time - which is my problem, not yours. But, if you're sure..." he said, turning back to the console, but with half an ear to the guy changing his mind as he began to play again.

Tad settled back again content to watch and study the different style that Dean used to approach the game. Simple as the game was there were different ways to go about it. Tad's style was typically ruthless and headstrong, opting for just strong characters, ignoring possible defensive manoeuvres. If he'd known more about himself, he could blame it on his hunter background but he didn't know anything about that and assumed the tendency was just his propensity for violence flaring up. Intermixed with all of his observations he was thinking about something Kaysen had said the day before, about finding his parent's ghosts floating about with all the ghost stuff coming to the surface. He'd have to talk to her more about it, see what she really thought.

Dean's approach to the game was subtly different. He was cautious when he could be, not taking risks, checking everything, moving forward slowly. But when he found himself cornered, when there was no other choice, he was determined and almost ruthlessly efficient, not caring about the damage he took in destroying everything in sight by whatever means were at his disposal. And then worrying about the fact that he was almost down to minimum health level. "Don't think I'm gonna last in this," he admitted, glancing over at Tad when it was safe to do so to throw that comment out there.

Tad studied the situation of the game on the screen, especially the blinking red health bar which meant Dean's character was near death. "Hmm, yea if you're going to go all in on the fighting there you should probably be prepared for it. Stock up on potions and the like. Eventually when you add more people to your team you can add a mage or whatever who's good for healing and such." He went back to watching Dean, remembering an article he'd read online at some point which discussed how a lot could be learned about a person from the way they played video games. Being the kid who'd been in and out of his own collection of unnecessary therapy session he'd developed an interest in psychology and found the article, which was probably just some lofty grad student's term paper, highly interesting and had used it to psycho-analyze himself. Remembering what he could from it, Tad applied it to Dean. The part that caught him off guard the most was the way Dean just threw himself into the fight, complete disregard for his own health. "Hope you don't fight like that in real life dude. It's gonna get you killed." It was a lighthearted comment but Tad was curious how close to home it would hit.

Dean didn't answer until he reached a point where he could safely look across. "Still here, aren't I?" he pointed out, with a suggestion that he might have been joking. Maybe he was, but it was true as well - when he got into a fight, he was all offence, he had never learned the benefits of defence, meaning he rarely came out of it well. When he turned back to the screen though, he started to try and take Tad's advice.

He was still there, but Tad noticed that Dean didn't deny the need to fight. His response had just insinuated that he'd been around the block when it came to needing to hold your own. Tad did his best to hide his concern, remembering what Kaysen had said about Dean being friends with the girl who'd died, Lullaby. He knew a thing or two about grief, how it manifests. Even if he didn't actually experience it, he'd had some shrink explain it to him at some point. Maybe fights had become more of a real thing since her death.

Making sure that he picked up some healing potions, and that he knew how to use them, Dean headed on with the game, concentrating for a while enough that he didn't speak, until he got into a major fight and despite trying to watch his own health, ended up dead on the floor again. He sat back, turning to Tad with a slight face. "Yeah, okay - got me killed. Maybe the moral's not to fight without back up. Or I just suck at having a sword," he suggested, trying to make light of it.

Tad's face looked a little skewed as he watched Dean bite it in the game. "Dude, you epic suck with a sword." He ducked his head and ran his hand through his hair and then tried to smooth it back down. His laugh was light, and friendly, not laughing at Dean but laughing at the situation.

"Not really my thing," Dean said with a shrug, putting the controller down. "Thanks though - but I should get going," he added, aware that it was getting on. He didn't want to be too late home, he had plans that all revolved around the moon tonight. That was hard to explain though and he didn't even try.

A quick glance at the window again confirmed that yes, it was starting to get dusky outside. "Oh right, yea I don't want you to get in trouble for being late or whatever." Tad stood up and led the way out of his room and back towards the front of the house. "I think we got some good work done dude. Even with the video game break." He tossed a wink over his shoulder at Dean as he reached the door. "Guess I'll see you Monday in class?"

Dean gave the guy a small smile as he thrust his feet into his boots and quickly did up the laces. "Yeah - I'll be there," he promised, which he figured that the other guy might need to here, considering his attendance. "Have a good weekend. And, y'know, stay away from any more bruising," he added as he headed out the door.