interesting advice

who: caleb and dorian
where: nevermore
when: late afternoon/early evening

Caleb spent a lot more time walking around until he found himself outside of Nevermore. He sort of half considered walking by and not stopping in for a good ten minutes before he said fuck it and went in. He couldn't quite get his head off of grinding endlessly in circles, and well...maybe talking to Dorian would get his mind off of things. Or something. Whatever. In he went, and he didn't go fully inside immediately, listening to see if anyone else was in the shop already.

Wednesdays seemed to last forever, but that probably had something to do with the fact that Dorian was there for a full twelve hours, instead of just five or six. How many had it been now? Seven? Dorian tried not to look at the clock too often. That made it even worse. There was no one in the store, or hadn't been till the little bell at the front rang. Dorian stepped out from the back, heading quietly towards the front. If he had a customer, he needed to be somewhere they could find him. "Good afternoon," he called out, not yet seeing who'd come in.

Well that seemed like a good sign that no one was there. So Caleb ventured farther into the shop, now convinced this was a stupid fucking idea. Why was he here now? To bother his brother at work? That was brilliant. And what for exactly? Yeah. Stupid. He considered slipping back out again, but then caught sight of his brother. "...hey." he said, sounding as unsure about being there as he felt.

"Hey, Caleb," Dorian said, still shocked to see Caleb there, even if he'd come in once before. It still seemed uncommon, and he did his best not to follow up a hello with a question of concern. "What's up?" he asked, hopping up to sit on the counter. There were a couple of chairs near the front, and a table and chairs near the middle of the store, but Dorian still found this an acceptable place to perch. "Slow day today. Wednesdays never end."

Caleb dropped himself into one of the chairs. He half shrugged. "I was bored." he said evasively. "And I was walking by, so..." So I thought I'd come in and bother you. Because I have girl trouble. But not really, because I don't have a girlfriend. Yeah, that makes so much sense.

"I could use the company," Dorian said, picking up a random deck of tarot cards off the counter and shuffling them. It was one of the sample decks, not for sale. Mostly, it just kept his hands busy. "What have you been up to today?" It seemed like the sort of question he would ask if they had a normal relationship. Seeing as how he was working towards that, it seemed like a good idea. Besides, he was curious.

Caleb opened his mouth, then shut it again, wondering what to say there. Obviously, he could tell him the truth, it was the perfect opening for it. "Hung out with a girl. Jamie. I met her...what, yesterday? Something. We went for a walk and stuff." And other things. And argued. And shared music, and apparently, according to reputable sources, he'd gotten in farther than anyone else ever. Right.

"Sounds good," Dorian smiled, wondering what 'stuff' meant to Caleb. In Dorian's case, that could cover just about anything. "She's nice, then? Will be going to school with you?" That was something he needed to eventually check into for Tensiel. She had to go to school. She was too young not to. "Where'd ya'll walk to?"

Caleb leaned back in his chair, one foot coming up onto the seat with him and he picked at the frayed ends of his jeans leg. Shrugging he wondered how to answer again. "She's nice." he said. "And around. Then back to her house." he added. Which no one else has been to. "Yeah, she'll be going to school with me. Though I forgot to ask her if we'd be in the same grade or not." he added, frowning faintly as he realized that. Would they be?

"To her house?" he asked, raising a brow. Well, then. It was rude to pry. Instead, he'd just assume and leave it at that. "You can ask her next time. I'm sure you'll see her regardless. This isn't a huge town. I'm sure the grades mix up a bit." Not like back home, where there'd been more than one high school for the city. Here, he could easily see everyone knowing everyone else, no matter what their age. "So, you like her?"

Caleb blushed, looking away and he scratched at the back of his neck and fidgeted a little. "...maybe." he said. Yeah. Because he wasn't at all being obvious about it, now was he? Noooo. Fuck.

Dorian tried not to smirk and failed. Miserably. But at least he didn't say too much to rub it in. Instead, he posed another question, one that he knew wouldn't help in the least. "And Ten?" Because it wasn't like he hadn't noticed his brother's attachment to the girl. Hell, that was why she was living with them.

Caleb groaned and dropped his head back on to the chair, eyeing the ceiling. "Yeah." he answered. "...so assuming I kind of maybe sort of like the both of them..." he continued, because obviously Dorian wanted to talk about it. So...might as well, right? Yeah. Really. That's really what he'd wanted anyways, just because he was now faced with the reality and felt like leaving again didn't mean he shouldn't stick around to find out what his brother had to say.

Dorian waited to see how Caleb would finish the sentence, but instead it dropped out and fell dead. There was nothing else to go off, so Dorian decided to chime in and see what that did. "So you like them both," he said, just reconfirming, though that wasn't necessary. "Is there a problem with that? Have you committed anything to either?" Because that was a serious problem, in Dorian's opinion. Caleb didn't need any commitments at his age, certainly not to a girl.

Caleb looked up again. "No..." he said. "But, still. I probably should stay away from both of them." he continued, already talking himself out of anything. "I mean, I can't even go for a walk without being stalked by a fucking vampire, I should probably stay as far away from both of them as possible, right?"

"No," Dorian said slowly, obviously confused by Caleb's answer. "You think you attract monsters? Cause if you actually did, I think it'd be about ten times more obvious. Maybe you've just had bad luck lately, but that's no reason to ditch the girls." In fact, Dorian couldn't think of any reason to ditch the girls, other than them being too clingy. "If you're worried about the vampire issue, just carry a cross or something. Religious symbols bothers some of them." He was pretty sure that was Renfields. He'd have to check on that. It was always up in the air.

"I'd rather not claim allegience to any deities, thanks." Caleb said. Even if it was just for protection against vamps. "And yeah, monsters, trouble, whatever, it happens all the time. i don't really want either of them hurt, so..." he looked troubled. "Hell, I talked to Jamie for two seconds yeterday and it apparently got her hit." Caleb muttered.

"Hold it upside-down?" he suggested, knowing that might not help either. Dorian wasn't fond of the religious symbology himself. "Well, I hate to tell you, but I think we have a bit of an affinity for trouble, though usually that requires us to go looking for it." And Dorian didn't. Dorian purposefully tried not to because otherwise he'd end up like Mathias and he didn't want to deal with that shit on a daily basis. "It got her hit?" Dorian asked, looking concerned. "How so? What happened?"

"Yeah, I noticed the trouble thing, but I don't have to go looking for it. It likes to find me. Thus my concern." Caleb complained, then sighed. "I guess her whore friend--" he paused. "EX-friend smacked her after she tried hitting on me and I shot her down. I talked to Jamie for the afformentioned .2 seconds after she'd tried that, and I guess Queen Whore took offense to it. So she hit her. She's got a scratch on her cheek now..." he said, motioning to where the scratch was located on Jamie. "So not only do I attract trouble alone, apparently I hand it out to other people when I'm not even there. Just for talking to me."

"So kill the bitch," Dorian said, then squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. "No-- shit," he laughed. Natural reactions needed to be cut off from his brain to his mouth, obviously. That was not the kind of advice his little brother needed, especially since his older brother might have taken something like that quite literally. "Don't kill anyone. Just-- You realize you're not the only teenager in this bunch, right? Have you ever considered the fact that maybe, occasionally, other people bring in the trouble? Because this sounds like a situation where the whore girl has issues, not you. It sucks that you're the one who turned her down, then hit on her friend, but it was bound to happen eventually. You didn't hand it out this time. It just sounds like Jamie really needs to get away from this girl."

Caleb looked over and smirked. "...that was my first instinct too." he admitted. Though it was surprising to hear from Dorian. Or maybe it shouldn't be, he didn't know. It actually kind of made Dorian go up in his estimation, though. In a weird sort of way. "Hey, I didn't hit on her." he corrected. "I mean, alright, I winked at her, but it wasn't hitting on her. I still haven't hit on her. Though...nevermind. Anyways. Not the point. And yeah, whore has issues, and Jamie needs to get away from her. She promised me that she was done with her. And c'mon. I've got issues." Then he paused. "And the kinds of trouble other people my age are going to bring in isn't the type that can y'know. Rip your face off and eat it. Mine might be."

"Yeah, but this wasn't that sort of issue," Dorian said, hopping off he counter and coming to sit down in the chair beside Caleb. It felt like he was hovering over his brother now, and he'd rather have him on the same level. "This was a bitchy teenage girl thing and you aren't to blame for it, Caleb. You can't push everyone away in hopes of keeping them safe. It doesn't work that way. First, you hurt them just because they'll always see it as you ditching them. Second, how are you supposed to protect them if you can't reach them? What's to say they won't run into trouble regardless? Ten managed to meet Math without your help; that shows she's capable of finding trouble on her own. You're not to blame for everything that goes wrong." Not unless Caleb was purposefully bringing it in, but that didn't sound like the case.

Caleb thought about that, and sighed. "Yeah, alright, agreed in Tensiel's case. But with Jamie...she's managed to be fine so far." I could always just stalk her and make sure she's alright. That's not creepy or anything. Gah. I'm so fucked up. Then he kind of paused. "...who said I have to protect them?" he asked warily. Mostly because he hadn't really said that, even if that was something he intended to do. Totally. But still.

"Well, you don't," Dorian said hesitantly, "But isn't that what you're trying to do by keeping them at arm's length? I mean... I guess I just assumed." It was what he did, definitely. Not the keeping people at arm's length, but the protecting bit. He knew he did it and there was no real reason to deny it. Anyone he cared about fell under the umbrella: Caleb, Eury, Mathias (if he'd let him), and Tensiel was working her way in there.

"...okay, can't really deny that." Caleb said with a heavy sigh. He was picking at his shoelaces now. "So...I still don't know what to do, I guess. I like them both. Though in incredibly different ways for different reasons." he said. And it was obvious he was confused on the matters.

And this was where Dorian really wasn't seeing the problem. It wasn't like they wanted a marriage proposal or anything. In fact, he was willing to bet Caleb wasn't even officially dating either of them. "So... can't you just see them both?" he asked. "Unless they're friends. Cause that usually doesn't work out so well."

Caleb blinked then stopped what he was doing and stared at Dorian. He opened his mouth, then shut it, looked terribly confused, opened his mouth again, then was back to blinking. "...run that again?" he asked, bewildered.

"It's not like you're 'going steady' or anything," Dorian said, a touch amused by the term and the concept. "Just date 'em both. Decide which you like better later. It works, so long as they're not in the same close circle of friends, cause girls tend to get pissy about things like that." It was something that always annoyed Dorian. One date and all the other girl's friends seemed to be off limits. It seriously sucked.

Caleb was still sort of blinking at his brother. "But--" he started, flustered. "That's really. I mean, no, I'm not with either of them, but er...that would be really..." he was mentally kind of flailing on that. He just knew that he didn't think he was at all capable of it. Seemed a really really shitty thing to do to someone, especially someone you cared about, really.

"Or... not?" Dorian said, raising a brow. Maybe it wasn't good advice for his brother. Dorian wouldn't know; it was just what he'd do. Generally, he'd never had a relationship that hadn't lasted longer than a few weeks. His concerns occasionally mirrored Caleb's, worrying that he'd hurt those close to him, but now that he'd settled in Marquette, he was forcing himself to set up connections. It felt good, slowly creating a network, but he had yet to figure out what he wanted to do when it came to women. "If you're worried about it, then... uh... Just don't lead 'em on. Try to keep it at the friend level till you figure out what you want?"

Caleb eyed Dorian. "Okay you just told me to go for both of them at the same time while lying to them about the other, and now you're saying don't lead them on?" he asked. "I either missed something major, or you make no sense today." he added. He laughed a little. Yeaaaah this was fucked up advice. For sure.

"Well, it sounds bad when you say it like that," Dorian said, frowning slightly. He was almost positive he hadn't used the word 'lie' in there at all. "I was thinking one or the other, not both, but now I'd just try to go with the later... I think. I don't know, I'm confusing myself now," he said, laughing a little. "I'm not used to a small town, though. Everyone seems to know everyone else here. Could be dangerous as far as girls are concerned."

"Yeah." Caleb said. Wow was he ever not closer to knowing what the hell to do than he was before he got here. But, oh well. At least he was talking about it, it was better than going home to write it down in his journal, and get no feedback whatsoever. "There's the part where I don't know if either of them like me either." he added. "With Ten...y'know, I'm really not sure she'd even...know about that kind of thing." he said, really uncomfortable now. "She's...well, I'm sure you've noticed she's incredibly naieve."

"So... I guess, if I were you, I wouldn't try to be making decisions between the two yet. You don't know if either of them like you, in which case, you're only confused because you like two girls at once. Is it the same kind of like? I mean, I don't think anyone can be like Tensiel. And I think you're right on the naive front. But she's a sweet girl. I don't know Jamie," Dorian said, trying to explain why he wasn't much help and how he'd think and not coming to any real conclusion. "If they aren't interested in you, then it's not like you're breaking any hearts. I think your first step is to figure that out. It'll make the second step a bit easier." Even if Dorian wasn't sure what it would be.

"It's the same kind of like. I think." Caleb said. "Just...really different reasons. They're probably polar opposites." he added, propping his arm on his knee as he frowned off at some middle distance. "Ten's cute, sweet and innocent, and kinda...I don't know. She's sweet. Jamie's..." he paused and looked down, smirking faintly. "Well, hot. And she's...we talked. I guess. For a long time. A lot of different discussions about different shit, we argued a lot about them, but not bad arguing." He'd liked arguing with her, really. A lot.

In Caleb's place, Dorian suspected he'd be going for Jamie, now that he'd heard the two described, but that was something he liked in relationships... if he could even say he'd had one. Most of the girls he'd seen in college were the type to crawl between the sheets with little provocation. He didn't have relationships, so much as girls he'd sleep with, but that was of his own choice. There were a few he'd liked, but getting close to people required sharing a part of himself that he'd rather not share. "I don't know, Caleb. In your shoes, I'd probably fuck that up because I would continue seeing both till I figured it out. Not a solution, I know."

"Well...have you ever had..." Caleb started, faltering as he spoke because he really didn't know. "I don't know. Relationships of note?" he asked. He didn't have even the slightest clue, which he probably should. But yeah. Again with the them not knowing each other well.

This was where it was Dorian's turn to be embarrassed. It was one thing to have a series of one night stands, and quite another to own up to them to his little brother. Dorian's cheeks turned just the slightest bit pink and he laughed softly. "I'm not sure you'd call them 'relationships'," he said, eyes not quite meeting Caleb's.

Caleb eyed Dorian, then laughed a little, smirking. "So basically you just fuck people then wander off." he said. "That about cover it?" he asked. Because c'mon, he wasn't that dumb.

Dorian laughed, biting his thumb nail as he grinned, then dropped his hand away. "I wouldn't have said it quite like that," he smirked. "I've just never actually pursued the girls I might be interested in more from. Strings and thing I didn't want to deal with. Besides, I liked moving around, keeping busy. Can't do that here, though. Haven't really had the time. So I'm probably not the best person to be giving out relationship advice."

"Right." Caleb said. He was still faintly smirking, though. "No strings. Good to know." he added. Then he sighed, and dragged his fingers through his hair. "Well...you've been no help." he said, though it was actually good naturedly. He even laughed a little. "But thanks anyways."

"Sorry," Dorian grinned. "I'd love to help, I swear. And I tried my best, but I'll also admit it might be crap advice." It seemed like forever since he'd been in high school, so long that he wasn't even sure what he'd have done at Caleb's age. Mostly, he remembered things breaking all the time. "If I ever get in a relationship, I'll probably be the one coming to you," he warned.

Caleb looked over and shook his head, smirk still there. "That'll be interesting." he said. "I'll probably have piss poor advice too. Just a fair warning." he added. Then sighed. "Well, I should probably head home, or something..." he said. Dorian had work to do and all that shit. Theoretically. And he had to go home and wonder if he should call Jamie or wait til tomorrow. Or...something. Yeah.

"Hey, so long as you try, I won't care," Dorian smiled. This was possibly the oddest conversation he'd had with Caleb yet, and he wasn't sure if that was due to the fact that it'd been somewhat normal, or the fact that they'd somehow discussed his sex life in the middle of it. Certainly not what he'd seen coming, that was for sure. "Okay," he said, rising from his seat. "I'll be late tonight. I work till nine, then got invited to a poker game. I'm gonna go and try to be social. There's King Ranch Casserole in the fridge though, so all you have to do is heat it up. Call me if you need me." He doubted that would be the case, but he felt he should offer.

"Thanks." he said. Then paused. "Hey...did the parents leave any money for taking care of me?" Caleb asked as he stopped in front of the door. "...I was wondering about a cell, or...something."

"Yeah, they did, and I've been meaning to ask you about that," Dorian said, moving behind the counter and leaning on it. "I'd like for you to have a cell anyways, especially if you're just wandering out around town." Dorian decided it was better not to mention the fact that they money had just come through, that their parents had only just thought to send money.

"Okay...um...I guess get me whatever then?" Caleb suggested. He'd kind of like a better phone, but he wasn't going to demand one. He had no clue how much Dorian had been given. So no way was he going to ask for something with a lont of interesting features. He'd just...do with whatever Dorian got him.

"You sure?" Dorian said, "How about you pick out a few under my carrier, then I can narrow it down?" It seemed like a good idea in Dorian's opinion. A phone was something that people usually felt very strongly about. It was something he'd carry with him for over a year, so he wanted Caleb to like it.

"Okay." Caleb said, shrugging. "I'll figure something out." he added. "Thanks." Then he kind of gave a half nod, and turned to head out. No closer to answers, but oh well. He'd been distraced for a while, that counted.

"Welcome," Dorian waved, "See ya." Kind of odd, but Dorian suspected that was their most brotherly-type conversation thus far. Not bad, except for the point where he could offer no good advice. Maybe next time would be better.