Categories > Theatre > Rent > Someone to Live For
To Blow Off Auntie Em
0 reviewsIn which the semester from hell draws to a close... as does Angel's good relationship with his parents.
0Unrated
Someone to Live For
To Blow Off Auntie Em
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In which the semester from hell draws to a close... as does Angel's good relationship with his parents.
DISCLAIMER: Not mine; just borrowing. Will return when finished.
------
"I have to say, I never thought I'd be this happy to see finals."
"You too, huh?"
"Well, you've been getting more cheerful just with the end of the year approaching. Means the actual event's gotta be better."
"Fair enough. Now all I have to do is figure out how to tell my parents."
"You haven't, yet?"
"They've worked out something's wrong, but I haven't explained yet. Partly because I think they'll have a hard enough time dealing with the news in person and partly because I didn't need them trying to change my mind over the phone on top of everything else."
"...Why would they do that?"
"Because they care, funny as that sounds. They're probably going to say something about how I'm wasting my potential, dropping out like this. Don't know if they'll listen long enough for me to point out it'd be a bigger waste to stay."
"People are weird, sometimes."
"That's parents for you. If they'd rather finance my mental breakdown as well as half my tuition than see me happy, there's not much I can do about it."
"Guess you've got a point. Anyway, you've got, what, a week left? And then you don't have to worry about the school part, at least."
"Exactly."
*
Angel finishes with finals first; he and Mark pack all his stuff off to the loft afterward, and he spends the next few days in Mark's room. They don't have enough furniture to actually stay in the loft yet, and neither of them really want to spend more time apart than they have to. Once Mark's done with finals as well, they make a trip up to Buffalo.
Angel's parents don't take the news that he's dropped out of college very well at all, but he was expecting that part. In a way, he can't blame them - they were paying for what the scholarship didn't cover, after all - and he was planning to move out anyway, so nothing's lost there. He's not even entirely surprised by how easily they dismiss any possibility that staying would have done more harm than good. It stings a little, but it's not surprising.
What does surprise him is how quick they are to assume Mark put him up to it. Apparently they've been thinking he's a bad influence for a while now, and that's almost funny where it's not plain stupid. Angel just gives up the fight, since he still doesn't have the energy to put into this (especially when he's not changing his mind), after making it clear that any attempts at patching things up will have to start with them.
Mark's still seething, though, when they go off to pack. "Seriously, my parents are supposed to be the unreasonable ones here, not yours."
"Just let it go, honey. I'm kinda surprised it took them this long to invite me to leave - I mean, I've only been giving them more excuses as I go."
"...I really don't know how you put things behind you so fast."
Angel shrugs. "It's out of my hands. If that's how they see things, it's their own lookout. I'm moving to New York with you, I don't have to deal with it. Let's pack."
They do, and Angel ends up throwing away, or slating to give away, about as much as he packs. Most of the clothes he wants are already in New York, and he really doesn't know why he kept half of what's left in the room. Eventually, he sneaks an arm around Mark's waist, and eyes the bed.
"We still need a bed for the loft, don't we?"
"Think so. And hey, we know we'll both fit in this one."
"That we do. Can I just savor the idea that we can share one all the time now?"
They end up taking the bed, and the dresser as well - not only do they need furniture, but Angel doesn't intend to make it easy for his parents to throw a guest room together.
And even taking the sting of his parents being ridiculous into account, Angel's feeling better than he has in months.
To Blow Off Auntie Em
------
In which the semester from hell draws to a close... as does Angel's good relationship with his parents.
DISCLAIMER: Not mine; just borrowing. Will return when finished.
------
"I have to say, I never thought I'd be this happy to see finals."
"You too, huh?"
"Well, you've been getting more cheerful just with the end of the year approaching. Means the actual event's gotta be better."
"Fair enough. Now all I have to do is figure out how to tell my parents."
"You haven't, yet?"
"They've worked out something's wrong, but I haven't explained yet. Partly because I think they'll have a hard enough time dealing with the news in person and partly because I didn't need them trying to change my mind over the phone on top of everything else."
"...Why would they do that?"
"Because they care, funny as that sounds. They're probably going to say something about how I'm wasting my potential, dropping out like this. Don't know if they'll listen long enough for me to point out it'd be a bigger waste to stay."
"People are weird, sometimes."
"That's parents for you. If they'd rather finance my mental breakdown as well as half my tuition than see me happy, there's not much I can do about it."
"Guess you've got a point. Anyway, you've got, what, a week left? And then you don't have to worry about the school part, at least."
"Exactly."
*
Angel finishes with finals first; he and Mark pack all his stuff off to the loft afterward, and he spends the next few days in Mark's room. They don't have enough furniture to actually stay in the loft yet, and neither of them really want to spend more time apart than they have to. Once Mark's done with finals as well, they make a trip up to Buffalo.
Angel's parents don't take the news that he's dropped out of college very well at all, but he was expecting that part. In a way, he can't blame them - they were paying for what the scholarship didn't cover, after all - and he was planning to move out anyway, so nothing's lost there. He's not even entirely surprised by how easily they dismiss any possibility that staying would have done more harm than good. It stings a little, but it's not surprising.
What does surprise him is how quick they are to assume Mark put him up to it. Apparently they've been thinking he's a bad influence for a while now, and that's almost funny where it's not plain stupid. Angel just gives up the fight, since he still doesn't have the energy to put into this (especially when he's not changing his mind), after making it clear that any attempts at patching things up will have to start with them.
Mark's still seething, though, when they go off to pack. "Seriously, my parents are supposed to be the unreasonable ones here, not yours."
"Just let it go, honey. I'm kinda surprised it took them this long to invite me to leave - I mean, I've only been giving them more excuses as I go."
"...I really don't know how you put things behind you so fast."
Angel shrugs. "It's out of my hands. If that's how they see things, it's their own lookout. I'm moving to New York with you, I don't have to deal with it. Let's pack."
They do, and Angel ends up throwing away, or slating to give away, about as much as he packs. Most of the clothes he wants are already in New York, and he really doesn't know why he kept half of what's left in the room. Eventually, he sneaks an arm around Mark's waist, and eyes the bed.
"We still need a bed for the loft, don't we?"
"Think so. And hey, we know we'll both fit in this one."
"That we do. Can I just savor the idea that we can share one all the time now?"
They end up taking the bed, and the dresser as well - not only do they need furniture, but Angel doesn't intend to make it easy for his parents to throw a guest room together.
And even taking the sting of his parents being ridiculous into account, Angel's feeling better than he has in months.
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