1x1 w/ balto

[specters]

this is a 1x1 between me and balto. please don't post unless you are one of us. do feel free to read/follow along though!

[specters]

┏────────────────────────────────┓

──────❝ cismale - eighteen - homosexual ❞────

Kellin is, to be quite honest, a goody-two shoes. He is a
people pleaser, in a sense that he thrives on making adu
lts happy, with the exclusion of his parents. His home lif
e isn't exactly ideal, but it's tolerable. His parents claim
that they want the best for him, but in Kellin's eyes, the
only things they're doing is forcing their ideas of a perfe
ct future down his throat. It's definitely hurtful, but Kel
lin has made it his goal to tune them out, and he's done
that pretty well so far. Because he can't call his house h
is home anymore, he turned to school. He's made friend
s with teachers and isn't well liked by most students. Bu
t looking past his homelife, Kellin is a good guy. His hear
t is most usually in the right place, even when his words
and actions don't necessarily reflect that (Kellin has a b
ad habit of being forward when he shouldn't be). Thoug
h he may come off as all high and mighty, but he's really
just trying to find comfort without his parents.

┗────────────────────────────────┛

[balto.]

ＲＯＷＡＮ Ｏ'ＦＬＹＮＮ
Ｉ ｋｎｅｗ ｙｏｕ ｗｅｒｅ ｔｒｏｕｂｌｅ
cismale | nineteen | bisexual
ｗｈｅｎ ｙｏｕ ｗａｌｋｅｄ ｉｎ

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Rowan's known as a troublemaker, plain and simple. He doesn't care about the
consequences or what the teachers' say, making him well liked by most students.
However, his cause for being rebellious isn't because it's fun or that he doesn't care,
but as a cry for attention, and a way to forget about his home life. His parents have
always been apathetic about him. and nothing he does gets their attention. Because
of this, he feels more at home at school than his own house, and he's done his best
to pretend his personal life doesn't exist and focus on his image in school. Even if he
has to anger some teachers, at least he feels like people care about him at school,
even if it's only his persona. Despite his persona, he desperately wants his parents
to acknowledge him somehow, not his grades. Looking past all of that, he does care
what people think of him and would like to do the right thing, even if he's scared
that he might get judged for it. Though he just seems to be a shallow, and occas-
ionally dense, troublemaker, he just wants to feel like someone cares about him.

[specters]

♘ Kellin loved being able to chat with his professors during their office hours. It allowed for his professors to get to know him more on a personal level, rather than just as a student. Conversing with his professors allowed him to wind down after a day of classes - they were people who he could just talk to and be himself. Don't get him wrong though - he loved being with his friends and hanging with them, but there was something more fulfilling about spending time with an actual adult. Adults had life experience in areas that Kellin didn't, and he genuinely appreciated that. God knows his own parents couldn't offer anything helpful (or anything besides their plans for Kellin's life). Office hours proved to be a savior that caused him to rejoice everyday.

xBut what Kellin wasn't a big fan of was finding out one of his professor's office hours had been cut in half without prior notice. He had trekked halfway across his campus just to find that there was no one in his professor's office. This realization caused a scowl to appear on his face, his face contorting as an annoyed grunt escaped from his mouth. The brunette stared at the piece of paper that was taped on the door which indicated the time change, as if he couldn't believe it. He supposed he knew that that wasn't going to help anything, but whatever. Kellin re-read the piece of paper a few more times before giving up and swiveling around, letting a defeated sigh escape his lips as he exited the building and stepped onto the quad, beginning his walk back to his dorm.

[balto.]

♧ Class was a complicated subject for Rowan. On one hand, the classes themselves ranged from boring to headache inducing. The complicated processes, the numbers thrown in at random, it made no sense. The professors might as well have spoken in Latin, at least then he would have an excuse for not understanding what they said. But, it gave him time to hang out with some friends, and cause some trouble. Part of him usually felt sad when class ended, and his mood only got worse when his friends left to go to their dorms. It meant he was alone, just like he felt when he thought about his parents. He hated going back to his dorm, with the silence that always seemed to be waiting there. He took no solace in silence. It was suffocating, leaving nothing to focus on besides his own thoughts, the aching loneliness in his chest, the sadness that surged forward and clogged his mind. Maybe it just because he was desperate to not head back to his dorm, but he got into the habit of walking around the campus, listening to music.

So, as usual, Rowan was wandering around the campus, the only sounds being his footsteps, and to his ears only, deep house. If focused enough on the music, he could pretend everything was fine. His gaze wandered around the campus, although he always kept up a pace. It was another thing to focus on, another way to ignore his problems. As he entered the quad, he noticed another person: Kellin, his face twisted into a scowl. While Rowan had no ill will towards him, the majority of the students disliked him. He was a teacher's pet, and it probably wasn't the best idea for Rowan to acknowledge him, but curiosity got the best of him. There wasn't any harm in talking every once in a while. Pushing his headphones aside, he slowed his pace and approached the other student. "You alright?"

[specters]

♘ Kellin's own frustrations gradually began to melt away as he walked farther away from the building, reaching the main quad. He observed his surroundings, watching as people socialized, studied, threw frisbees, or even slept. Something about his environment was able to calm him down, which was something that played a huge role in his decision to attend this college. The campus had some sort of calming effect, which made him feel levelheaded and grounded. Kellin reasoned that, because he felt so comfortable, that that college was fate. He valued his surroundings a great deal, and if there was even a small part of the campus that felt off, he couldn't bring himself to like it. Long story short, Kellin had to feel at home there.

xBut something, or rather, some one brought him out of his blissful thoughts, out of his environment. It was a guy that Kellin knew - albeit vaguely - but despised with all of his being. A scowl appeared on his face yet again, casting his glance away from the person in front of him. Kellin couldn't remember his name off the top of his head, but seeing that guy squashed any sense of calmness that he may have had before. The guy was an absolute annoyance in Kellin's life. They had at least one class together and the whole class, the guy just wouldn't listen and half the time would end up disturbing their discussions in some way. "Yeah, just peachy," Kellin answered gruffly, sarcasm lacing his tone. He picked up his pace in an attempt to lose him. He hoped that that would end their conversation, but he couldn't be sure. Why would the guy want to talk to Kellin anyways? He rarely came up to Kellin when he was forced to, so why now?

[balto.]

♧ So much for being genuinely concerned. At least Rowan could aggravate Kellin. Any time they talked, Kellin seemed to have spite towards him, and Rowan didn't know why. He didn't do much to him - maybe it was because he was a teacher's pet. If he liked the teachers' then he wouldn't like Rowan, or maybe he had a stick up his ass. Either way, it meant that it was easy to annoy him, and Rowan needed some entertainment. Anything would be better than going back to his dorm. He sped up, matching the other student's pace. "Did someone put something in your locker?" he asked, his lips curling into a smile, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. He couldn't recall intentionally doing something to Kellin, but he noticed that a few of the students did target him. The troublemaker liked to stick to harmless pranks or aggravating. It didn't set right with him to hurt someone.

Rowan felt bad for the student at times, but could he say? He wouldn't haven't any friends if he said anything. "The professor didn't give you an A+?" As he continued to doggedly follow the guy, he recalled that his parents were hammering for him to get help with his grades. And Kellin seemed to be smart. Maybe if he picked his grades up, his parents would acknowledge him. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to aggravate his first choice for a tutor. "Seriously, what's the matter?" He dropped the teasing tone, trying to pinpoint the issue. He had to get on this guy's good side; he had to get his parent's approval.

[specters]

♘ Kellin was sorely disappointed with the fact that the guy had decided to keep walking next to him, matching Kellin's pace and arguably getting ahead of him. It was then that Kellin wished that he could remember the guy's name, because it would be helpful to know the name of the irritant so he would at least be on a level playing field with him. The other seemed to know Kellin's name, and yet here Kellin was having no idea who he was. Wonderful. Then again, maybe it would be easier to avoid him - Kellin would only have to remember to avoid the face.

x Luckily, Kellin had been able to tune out the Unnamed man for as long as he could with his own thoughts, but he seemed to be like a shoefly who just refused to shoo. Judging from the smirk that curled the other's lips, Kellin gathered that he was being mocked in some way - and the other guy thought he was clever... but he couldn't be more wrong. Of course, he didn't know why he should be surprised. Kellin got jokes about being a nerd on the daily, so it wasn't really a rare occurrence for him. Deciding not to respond, Kellin ignored the problem and kept walking with a dramatic roll of his eyes and a huff, but didn't push the pace. Perhaps if he just studied the ground...Wait, what? The other guy was actually concerned? Kellin's ground stare quickly shifted to a brief raise of his eyebrow, confusion passing over his face. "Excuse me?" Kellin asked, "I can't decide whether you actually care or if this is just another segway into your lame and overused 'jokes.'" Kellin almost didn't want to acknowledge the fact that the guy might just be genuine in his concerns.

[balto.]

♧ It was Rowan's turn to look confused, his brows scrunching together. Did Kellin mistake him for someone else? "No," His tone was hesitant, even a bit taken back. It was... odd for someone to not remember him, at least in campus. It hurt - it made him think of his parents. The same mild annoyance and frustration. He tried to push his feelings aside. Who cared if one student didn't remember him? Him, apparently. "I'm Rowan. I've talked to you a few times," His tone was blunt, his eyes hardening. "I just wanted to see if you were fine." With nothing else left to say, he shifted his gaze to the cement, still keeping pace with Kellin.

He shouldn't be so hurt by this, he dealt with the same with his parents. Maybe that's why it hurt. It was a sharp reminder that his parents saw him the saw way Kellin did: just a random person who occasionally annoyed them. Kellin was having a bad day, that's all. Everyone had bad days, there wasn't a reason to blow someone else's out of proportion. He looked at the other student, hoping his expression looked neutral. He didn't want to seem offended by something seemingly that insignificant. Even if struck a blow to his ego, it would be worse if the student asked him about it. He didn't have a good excuse, and if Kellin told another student, that could mean his friends finding out, and then he'd have that issue. He could practically hear them, the concern, confusion, maybe amusement from some of the others. Rowan, upset because someone didn't know him? That sounded like a joke. That wasn't something he could deal with. "You looked angry." he said in a feeble attempt to break the silence.

[specters]

♘ Upon hearing the other's name - Rowan - Kellin supposed that he did sound a bit more familiar, but only due to the fact that that name had been yelled angrily several times within the classroom. Kellin searched the guy's face, watching for any sign of hidden motive or anything that might give some pointers as to just what he was trying to do. But alas, the young man was unable to locate any emotion even related to superiority or fakeness, which confused him even more. Why was Rowan so... passive all of a sudden? Kellin didn't know how to feel about that, because shouldn't Rowan be expressing everything put passiveness? There was even confusion in his tone. If anything, Kellin thought he saw something flash on Rowan's face, an emotion akin to hurt - but it was gone too soon and Kellin couldn't be sure if he was making things up in his head or not. One thing, however, that Kellin did not miss was the immediate tone shift when he spoke about Kellin's demeanor. The slide from happy-go-lucky to immediate flatness caught Kellin offguard and even made him flinch a little bit. Huh.

x The two walked in silence for a while, Kellin not really sure how to respond to anything Rowan said. There was too much uncertainty between the two, and it was likely that one of them was bound to blow up at some point. "You're not wrong," Kellin mumbled under his breath, his words coming out more harsh than he had meant them to, especially when he feared that Rowan was on a short string too. He had meant to play it safe, but he supposed that they may not be apparent through the way he actually delivered his words. "It's been a bad day." He decided to end his explanation there, partially due to the fact that it hadn't been a bad day necessarily - more like a bad past hour. Kellin also didn't want to deal with the lame and overused jokes that would be thrown around if he continued on with his little story. Being called overdramatic and a try-hard got tiring, and Kellin didn't feel like delivering a sob story to make someone that he barely knew understand.