michaelndarling

[michaelndarling]

It shouldn’t be such a surprise, seeing his brother instead of Wendy standing on the other side of the door, but all he could do for a moment at the sight of John was blink a few times before nodding his head and following him inside. “Morning,” he returns the sentiment, though not with much enthusiasm. The news that their sister wasn’t home only had Michael nodding once more, with a frown growing on his face this time. He had offered to meet the older girl at their destination, but she had declined and told him to simply come straight to her place - which he now could see as being her own sneaky little way of trying to pull him out of his wallowing and get the two Darling boys finally in the same room alone together. If it were anyone else who had done this, Michael would be pissed, but all he could feel at the moment towards his sister was a spark of respect. He hadn’t realized the girl had it in her. A small part of him wanted to rush up to the room the moment John gave him the option of being somewhere else, but that felt cowardly and ridiculous. After all, this was his brother he was standing next to, not some kind of villain or anything. “Coffee sounds good,” he finally agrees after a moment of internal debate, his legs moving slowly as he makes his way over into their little kitchen.

-timeskip-

The knock on the door hadn't caught John by surprise, he was aware Michael and Wendy had made plans for the day. He simply wasn't expecting his brother to be ready earlier than his sister. "Good morning," he opened the door further to let Michael in while double checking his watch only to make sure the time was in accordance with his greeting. "I believe Wendy is still away at breakfast with Phil but she should be back soon." There was a caution he felt he had to keep now, scared that his past faults would take over every conversation. John had wished there wasn't some leftover tension between him and his siblings but he knew he had made mistakes and only wanted to correct them and get back to the friendship he missed so much while he was away. "I could get you some coffee or tea, if you'd like. You can wait in Wendy's room, although, I wouldn't mind the company while I finish the crossword."

[michaelndarling]

Despite the fact that he was still ever so slightly upset at his brother for the whole Tink-gate drama and the truths that it had revealed, Michael couldn’t help but grin at how obvious it seems his new girlfriend liked to talk about John. “That’s good to hear. He’s very fond of your sister as well,” he returns the sentiment with a nod, wishing he had more to say on that subject matter. “I’ve been kind of avoiding him lately though, my brother I mean, so like I said I haven’t actually had the chance to meet Marie - but I’m sure she’s great. The rest of the lost boys really seem to like her as well, I think.” Or at least, some of them did - the ones who could at least partially see past the bias narrative Tink was trying to create around her.

“I’d keep working here. Learn more about the restaurant industry, maybe work my way up a ladder or two eventually,” he answers with a genuine passion for the idea. It wasn’t the most glamorous of jobs, nor was it at all what his parents wanted for him - but Michael couldn’t help but feel like this was where he belonged. Everything else he tried to study or get into just felt forced and wrong. Laughing along with the other boy, his head shook at the mere thought of his parents seeing it that way. “You’d think, but no. They’d rather pay for me to go through a million courses to find something respectable than accept that I’m happy simply being here.”

All talk of music went out the window at the mention of his sister and her new boyfriend. Berlioz knew little of the new boy in her life, though he’d heard from her that he was apparently nicer than anyone else she’d ever dated, which he supposed was all that mattered. “You’re joking. Well, then, it’s an even bigger honor to meet you. Marie talks so highly of your brother, I’m sure you are no doubt the same.” At least, if she forced them all to hang out, he would have a friend amongst the siblings to keep him from itching to play the keyboard the whole time, in the same way he was when they were with the Tramps.

Luckily for Berlioz, his mother had little influence on what he did nowadays. She was so far removed from their lives that he could get away with nearly anything, really. It was only his own discipline that kept him going, still headed toward the goal of being in charge of his own orchestra one day. “Well, if you did drop out, what is it you’d want to do?” he asked, in case the other boy had an answer. There were plenty of people who didn’t know what they wanted to do at their age. “Are your parents paying for school? Wouldn’t they be glad to be finished paying for it?” Berlioz questioned rhetorically, letting out a small laugh.

[michaelndarling]

Maybe if he had heard this on Halloween night, when everything had actually gone down, Michael would have felt better knowing that the other boy understood just how hard it can be around Colette at times - but now that it was all in the past, both the disastrous party and Sam’s relationship with the girl, he just felt guilty having played even a minor part in it all. “I’m sorry,” he offers, even though he knows it won’t really mean much or change anything. “I know you… you really liked her. And you probably don’t want to hear this at all, and certainly not from me, but none of that…. None of it really sounds very healthy, you know.” Not that he had much experience with relationships at all to actually be able to judge - but he watched enough television to feel like he could see the red flags the other boy was probably desperately trying to ignore.

“No, no. You can talk about it. Feel free to talk about anything you want,” he insists, despite not actually wanting to talk about the girl in any capacity, even if it was to complain. But he knew Sam probably needed this - needed someone to just get it all off his chest with that wasn’t going to immediately pile in on hating his ex the way he’s sure Tink and many of the boys probably had done. “If it helps, I was just sort of wandering aimlessly, which isn’t the same but also kind of pathetic - so I’m glad you found me too.”

Not a single part of Sam had anticipated anything more than simply talking happening, though it apparently wasn’t entirely off the table with the mention of Michael’s roommate being gone. He should’ve expected this much: if he hadn’t lived so close to campus in the boys’ house, or been perfectly content there, he probably would’ve been living in one of the dorms, too. It just so happened he didn’t have any parents to escape, any freedom he was hoping to seek. It was much better living with his closest friends for next to nothing. 

“No, it’s—I know how she can get,” he sighed. For as much as Michael shouldn’t have said what he had, Sam knew his ex-girlfriend had probably provoked him to the point of snapping. It was one of her best talents, getting Sam to the edge and daring him to jump, to be the one to finally break things off. No matter how close he’d come, he’d never gotten there, and now, he never would. “She has such high standards for people, y’know? They’re impossible. And, then, she pokes and prods you under pressure and still expects perfection.” 

He was venting now, and he couldn’t imagine Michael really wanted to hear all of it. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to go on about it, it’s just—I feel like she wanted me to get frustrated with her tonight, or something. Like she was looking for ways to get me pissed off, and … I couldn’t do it anymore. So, I’m glad I found you.”

[michaelndarling]

Nodding his head in confirmation at the statement being repeated back, Michael couldn’t help the bit of a grin that was growing on his lips at the minor bit of gossip he was sharing. It was strange, getting to tell someone new all these facts, considering his entire friend group was so intertwined that pretty much everyone already knew everything there ever was to know about each other. “I haven’t actually formally met her yet, but I know her name and she’s kind of a bit of a big deal around here. So when Berlioz mentioned she was his sister, it wasn’t hard to piece together,” he explains, though it’s not as exciting as it could have been - it still was such a funny coincidence.

At the mention of his sister and her boyfriend, he once again nods and lets out a light laugh at the apologies Claude offers to cover his basis in case things had gone south between the two. “They’re still together, yeah. Coming up on their one year, actually, this Valentines. His name’s Phil - but most people do just remember him from being very tall. And good looking. Those are kind of his two strongest qualities,” he teases, not feeling too guilty saying it when he knows Phil would be the first to admit the same thing.

Dear god, he thought, just how scared had he made this poor boy? Michael never had to defend himself against his job, or himself as a person, but here he was, nearly scared straight before Claude like he’d done something wrong. Perhaps it was a sign to loosen up a bit—not all the way, never; that would be against the standards he’d set for himself and the restaurant way back when Adam had given him this position. And he certainly didn’t want to be seen as a friend to his subordinates. But, he supposed, there could be a time and place for things becoming a bit more personal than he had previously allowed.

“Your siblings are dating?” Claude echoed, leaning forward in his seat. He’d never meant to set up such a close crossover amongst his employees, but it was a good thing it didn’t seem to bother Michael too much. In fact, it was almost perfect, if he did have interest in the other boy. “How peculiar—did you just figure this out today? Your sister … she has a boyfriend, yes? A quite tall one? I feel like I remember them coming in here one time to dine.” A lovely girl, from what he could remember, and her boyfriend awestruck at the level of cuisine the restaurant served. “Unless, of course, they’re no longer together, then, my apologies.”

[michaelndarling]

The wine in his hand wasn’t touched at first, Michael remembering once it was poured that he actually wasn’t the biggest fan of this form of alcohol - but it was fine. He was happy to just be included on a light drinking night, despite his being underage. “I won’t,” he promises with a small smile. He hesitates for a moment, looking down at the glass in his hand, and realizes that maybe if he were really to get over this - he needed to talk about it. So much had been going on in his own love life and friend group that he hadn’t really stopped to tell anyone just how upset by this he really was. “You know, I’m not even mad that he didn’t tell us. I get that, kind of. I – “ a pause for a moment as his frown deepens. “I just can’t believe he really left all of us - you and me, all because of a girl.” Maybe Wendy would understand it more or be able to explain to him the rational John had in his actions, but from where he sat he simply couldn’t see how one simple relationship, secret or not, could be so important he’d leave his whole family behind to get away from it.

The relief he felt hearing from Wendy’s own lips that she and the fairy were friends now was short lived, replaced instead by a sense of dread at what Tink had slipped up and let out. Or intentionally told, it was hard to tell with her. Michael had known that Sam had filled the blonde in on their new arrangement, but he never thought she’d go blabbing to his sister at the first turn! It almost for a brief moment makes him miss the days when they hated each other - or more accurately, when Tink hated Wendy. The feeling had never really been too strongly returned. “Oh. What – what did she say?” he asks instead of confirming or denying anything, wanting to know exactly what it was his sister thought was happening. No need to out himself as falling back into old behaviors that had broken his heart once and would likely do it again if all she knew was they were hanging out a bit.

If the wine had raised any red flags, Michael hadn’t shown any suspicion, though, perhaps, he was simply too excited to be offered alcohol from his older sister in the first place. With two modest glasses poured, Wendy sat back on the sofa, listening as her youngest brother detailed the rift between himself and John. Wendy had been much quicker to forgive: she did understand, at least, the distance between herself and Tink being a prime reason why he hadn’t wanted to tell her of their romance. It was sadder, she thought, that he hadn’t confided in Michael, though, then, would she really want both of her brothers hiding something from her?

“Well, don’t be moody for too much longer, if you can help it. I miss being able to invite you over when he is here.” Wendy let out a laugh, the named scandal to happen amongst their friends one she hadn’t heard before. Strangely, the secret between her and John had brought her exponentially closer to Tink, something she hadn’t thought she’d ever see, given how long it’d taken them to get there. “You know, I think we are. Or, at least, the closest to friends we’re ever going to get. I’d followed her out of Sharpay’s party with a bottle of wine, and the rest is history.” She paused, raising a brow as she tiptoed toward the subject she really wanted to breach. “Speaking of, she told me something interesting, something … about you, and Sam?” she inquired, keeping her questioning brief before letting her brother defend himself.

[michaelndarling]

There wasn’t anything suspicious about being invited over to his siblings’ place, not even the fact that it was a night John would be out for a good while had raised any flags in Michael’s mind. Which was why he sat so comfortably on the couch, waiting for Wendy to come and join him and eagerly perking up at the offer for wine. It wasn’t often that his sister actually encouraged or suggested that he drink, still being underage, so perhaps that should have been a sign something was up - but he was simply too excited for a much needed glass of wine to think too deeply on it. “Of course,” he answered, accepting one of the glasses and holding it out for the older girl to pour.

“It’s better now, ‘cause of the holidays, you know. There really wasn’t any avoiding him then and I didn’t want to make it obvious to mother and father that something was wrong… So I guess I kind of tricked myself into acting like I’m over it, even though I don’t know if I really am,” he admits with a half hearted shrug. It still felt so weird, knowing that his brother had kept such a huge secret from them - but now that he had a secret of his own that he was hiding from his siblings, it felt a bit hypocritical to still be upset with the older boy. “We’ll be fine, in the long run. I think I just need a bit more time to be moody about it. What about you? Are you over Tink-gate yet? And how’s that going anyway? I’ve heard you guys are actually like friends now?” He doesn’t say who he’s heard it from, not wanting to open a potential discussion about his rekindled semi-relationship with Sam.

~time skip to the new year~

It was a night in which Wendy was positive her roommate had a date with his girlfriend that she invited their youngest brother over. From what she'd heard from Tink, she needed to hear the truth from his mouth, the admission that he and Sam had been seeing each other again. It was probably the worst thing he could be doing for himself: the heartbreak inevitable from the start. Wendy wasn't set out to break the two of them up, of course, but she just needed to do the sisterly thing and be sure he knew what he was getting himself into.

"You want wine?" she asked as she joined him at the sofa, two glasses and a bottle in hand. It was to soften the blow, or to at least loosen him up a bit to hear the advice she was going to give, whether he wanted to receive it or not. "You can sleep over, of course. I don't think John's coming home 'til late, anyway." Things were still rocky between her brothers: perhaps it was a good place to start, to build common ground. "Are you two still on strange terms with each other? I don't want to pry on him, you know how private he is."

[michaelndarling]

It was strange, hearing Claude call himself a gossip and apologizing to Michael instead of the other way around. Of all the possibly hobbies he could have guessed for his boss to have, indulging in some silly workplace secrets and rumors certainly wasn’t one of them. He would have thought the man to be more of a bird watcher or something along those lines, finding gossip and potential scandals to be below him. But maybe he just didn’t know the older man as well as he thought he did - at least not on any sort of personal level. Perhaps what Michael and the rest of the employees saw wasn’t all there was to the man.

“No, no, you’re fine. I just… I really love this job and take it seriously, I just didn’t want to give you any impression otherwise,” he promises, slowly starting to relax a bit as it becomes clear he’s not actually in any trouble here. “I think you should hire Berlioz again, for the guests and the sake of just having him around. We ended up having a lot more in common than I would have thought - and I mean beyond just the fact that our siblings are dating. Which is still kind of weird, seeing John with an actual girlfriend. One he’s telling us about now, at least.” It was more personal information than he’d ever let slip to his boss, but nothing incriminating by any means - simply the type of stuff he’d talk about with any friend or even acquaintance he knew.

Perhaps the kid took him too seriously, or Claude had done something to make him afraid to loosen up a bit at his job. For how long Michael had been here, he'd proven himself as someone reliable enough that he was hardly worried about ignoring his tables or making one of his fellow employees uncomfortable. Perhaps it was a sign Claude needed to loosen up a bit, whether explicitly or subtly communicating it was perfectly acceptable to have a more personal relationship, if Michael wanted one.

"No, no, my apologies, I didn't mean to make you think you'd done anything wrong. I didn't think you crossed a line." For how anxious the younger boy seemed, he feared every crack at a personal detail might need a disclaimer from now on. "He didn't say you had, either, for the record, I just, uh ... forgive me, I suppose I let my inner gossip get the better of me. I hope I didn't cross a line myself." As someone with a position in power, he should've known not to press without permission on things so personal. "Not that anyone else was gossiping about it, by the way, not at all. I simply took notice, but not in a noticing bad way, more so in a people-watching, to myself way, if that makes any sense at all."

[michaelndarling]

“Really? Wow. That’s - that’s awesome. The music was really good, I don’t know much about orchestras or anything like that, and I didn’t really have anything else to compare it too - but it sounded great to me,” he compliments in a bit of a rush, feeling somewhat embarrassed for having admitted that the only reason he’d bothered going to the show the other boy had likely worked so hard on was for a few pop stars cast in the lead role. But hey, it meant two tickets sold for just him alone at least - and Michael was certain he hadn’t been the only one to show up simply for the stars. At the mention of Berlioz’s sister, his eyes lit up ever so slightly. “I do know her, actually. We haven’t officially met yet - but she’s kinda dating my brother, John.” Small world it was, him running into and meeting one of Marie’s brothers before the actual girl herself. Though, in truth, he hadn’t been in any real rush to meet her - not with the slight riff between John and himself going on.

At the way Berlioz so easily accepted the fact and even encouraged his prioritizing the job at the restaurant over his school, he couldn’t help but grin a bit. It was rare to find anyone nowadays that didn’t think university was the most important thing a young person could and should do. And perhaps maybe in the future Michael would regret not putting more time and effort into his studies, but in his current point of life it just seemed like a waste more than anything else. “If only my parents could see it that way,” he quips, shaking his head a bit. There was something about the boy, who was practically a stranger, that made it feel so easy to admit to things he continuously held so close to his chest. “That makes sense. In honesty, I didn’t want to do school either. Still don’t, really, hence the lack of declared major. I’m only doing it because it’s kind of what all my family expects me to do.” He pauses for a moment, debating if he’s already said too much as it is before deciding fuck it. “If it were up to me, really, I would have already dropped out by now. I’m still kind of considering it, actually.” This was the first time he’s told anyone about his potential plan to leave school, and maybe it was a mistake admitting that to someone who could potentially end up running into his brother and spilling it all - but regardless of that possibility, it felt good finally admitting to someone just how little interest he had in getting his degree.

Berlioz let out a laugh, unsurprised by the choice of show, nor the reason behind it. There were plenty of people who had gone for the two pop stars: that was the whole point to making them the sparkling diamonds, after all. "I worked on Moulin Rouge, oui. I was the pianist for the orchestra, and I helped Sharpay in her rehearsals to replace Poppy, too." The blonde had been a bit of a diva, to be honest, but she at least treated Berlioz with respect after she found out he was Marie's brother. "My sister is Marie Bonfamille, she has some music out, I don't know if you know her, but she's one of Sharpay's friends, so she was quite nice to me."

Regardless of the job, Berlioz was at least glad to hear that the other boy enjoyed what he was doing. He couldn't imagine doing anything other than music, his one true love. "As long as you love it, I don't see why not." Having been playing professionally since he was a teenager, there hadn't been a need for Berlioz to go to school, especially when being a musician was more about someone's connections and talent. "I didn't go to school. I figure it's better for my career if I just keep playing when I can, non? Build my resume, things like that."

[michaelndarling]

All he could do was give a little nod, forcing a smile to play it off like it wasn’t as big of a deal as it actually was. “We’ll get through it,” he promises, knowing that much at least to be true. For all it sucks knowing how long his brother had lied to him and Wendy, Michael knew he wasn’t capable of staying mad at the older boy for long. He just needed some time to adjust and come to terms with the truth - that they maybe weren’t as close as he had always liked to think and pride themselves on being. “We did, though I didn’t want to be too big of a burden and keep her from Phil for too long.” Hence why he had been wandering around the ballroom by himself with no real aim when he’d ran into the other boy.

Another nod in agreement at the sentiment that it was better to avoid the lost boys’ house and whoever may be returning there once the night was through. “My roommate’s gone for the break anyway,” he finally admits, figuring it was better to say it now than wait for Sam to find out when they arrive at his empty dorm and think Michael had tricked him into being alone again. Because that was not the case, not at all. Yes, he wants to be alone with the other boy and do the sort of things they used to share together before a certain Tramp girl had come into their lives – but he’d never want to make Sam feel as if he were being pressured or manipulated in any way into anything at all.

As they walked towards the campus, which thankfully wasn’t too far, the last subject Michael would have ever expected to be used to fill the silent void was the fiasco of what had happened at Halloween. Though they had never talked about it beyond that night, he had assumed that was simply because it was in the past - what else was there to say really, anyway? Michael had messed up. Colette had messed up. And Sam was stuck in the middle of it all. It wasn’t exactly the most pleasant of conversation topics to be had. “You don’t have to apologize,” he promises, genuinely meaning it and not just trying to make the other boy feel better. “It was hardly your fault at all. I’m the one that’s sorry for well, everything. For saying those things to her, for dragging you into the middle of it again. You don’t deserve that.”

"I'm really sorry to hear that." Sam could only wonder what exactly the two brothers had between them, and if he, too, had found out about his relationship with Tink, given that it seemed to be starting to be revealed around the group. He was in no place to go prying into it: he was hardly holding onto a conversation in general with Michael. "I'm hope you had a nice time with Wendy, though." Sam hadn't felt comfortable talking to the eldest Darling since he and Michael had ended on the terms they had. It was unfortunate, the feeling that he couldn't talk to her without addressing the obvious rift he'd caused between himself and the Darling siblings.

Sam hadn't been inside the dorm room he'd once found so familiar in over a year. The idea of returning had him nearly transported back to the first time he'd been invited: the same excitement began to turn his already pink cheeks what he assumed was the same red hue as the wine he'd been drinking before. "Okay," he agreed, "okay, yeah. Let's do that, 'cause I don't know who's gonna be at my house, y'know, after the party." He hoped it wasn't presumptuous, that they would need to be alone, but truly, the last thing he wanted was for Tink to see how little judgement he was about to exercise.

Sam began to walk in the direction of campus, his steps slow in the cold. "I, uh--I've been meaning to apologize, again, for what happened on Halloween. I just feel like I haven't gotten the chance to talk to you, y'know ... just the two of us, since then."

[michaelndarling]

Watching as his boss counted out the bills and slid them over his way, it took all of Michael’s self control to not immediately look at how much he had made tonight. While technically there wouldn’t have been anything wrong with being curious about how well he’d been tipped, it felt rude to do so right in front of Claude - especially when they were in the middle of a conversation. So instead he simply slid the cash into his pocket and made a mental note to count it out himself as soon as he made it to the break room. “That’d be awesome. I think he’ll like that,” he repeats the words from earlier, not wanting to say much more and seem too eager to see the pianist again.

Though apparently his interest in the other boy had been more obvious than he had thought. “Oh, uhh… Yeah, I, uhm, I guess so,” he agrees with a nod, the warmth of a light blush filling his neck and face. For all he’s always sort of had small gut feelings that Claude himself was perhaps somewhere similar on the kinsey scale as himself, Michael had never had anything solid that could confirm or deny that possibility. Their relationship, while friendlier than some people were with their bosses, had always been fairly strictly professional - their personal lives never blending into any of their conversations in any real way. This was all new and he couldn’t quite tell if he was potentially going to be in trouble for it or not - despite the older man’s insistence that he not worry about the amount of time he’d spent at the piano that night. “I promise I wasn’t flirting with him, though. It was all professional, really. We just met in the break room before the shift started and he seemed really cool and yeah, like you said, good looking - but I never crossed a line. Or at least, I didn’t mean to. If he said I did, I’m really sorry.”

Though Michael hadn’t explicitly come out to Claude, he had an inkling from a long time ago that the younger boy was also gay. Perhaps it was a strange sort of sixth sense that he had, or just the amount of himself he’d seen in Michael, but there were certain instances that all but proved him right: tonight being one of them. The amount of time he’d spent near the piano hadn’t gone unnoticed, and it hadn’t terribly affected his tips or gotten him any complaints, so Claude could hardly complain himself. He might’ve just found himself his permanent new pianist, thanks to his small desire to play matchmaker in his own subtle way.

Claude counted out his share of tips and slid a stack of bills toward the boy, one of his first of the waiters’ cut. It had been hard to say no to someone who had genuinely wanted to take initiative to improve on his position at the restaurant. “Good. I can keep him on rotation, then: I thought he was quite good, too. I suppose he has to be to have the resume he does.” He shook his head at Michael, shaking off any concern. “Don’t worry about it. I hope I’m not, uh, overstepping here, or making any assumptions, but he is quite talented, and good looking, for your age,” Claude commented, raising a careful brow.

[michaelndarling]

It was a logical follow-up question, asking which of the shows the island’s put on in the past year he’s seen after admitting he’s attended a few, but Michael still finds himself feeling a bit embarrassed as he admits exactly what had gotten him to finally give the stage a chance. “I actually only saw one show - but I went to it a few times,” he confesses with a sheepish smile. “It was Moulin Rouge. I went for Poppy and Sharpay, really. But I ended up loving the show. And now I’m part of the drama department at my school.” Though he doesn’t really do much of anything to actually help, just painting sets from time to time and occasionally running lines with the real actors, he still likes to think it counts for something.

“Oh I love it here,” he confirms with a growing grin. That much was easy to admit. Even though there were hardly any people his own age or even slightly close to it working at the restaurant, Michael has always sort of felt like this group was a bit of a second, or third, family to him. It was easy to just be himself here, with no pressure to have any further ambitions in life - something he couldn’t so easily say about his actual blood family, no matter how much he loved them. “I’m in school too, though I’m still undeclared. Really, I put more of my focus on the job than my classes.” Which might not be the most impressive thing to admit, but well, it was the truth - and considering the boy also seemed to put an importance on his work, maybe he’d understand. “What about you? Have you already graduated?” The question was more a poking at how old he may be, rather than caring if he’s gone through all of his schooling.

It sounded like the man in charge ran a tight ship, for which Berlioz couldn’t entirely blame him. Whenever he was running a rehearsal, he showed up nearly half an hour early: he assumed the actors would come sometime around the fifteen-minute mark, and he liked to be in the room and warmed up before they got there. It was a courtesy thing to be there to help them warm up, but it was the little things like that that Berlioz wanted to get accustomed to so that his music directors would take him seriously. It made sense that even an operation like a restaurant would function the same way. 

Berlioz wasn’t the biggest fan of casting big names just to draw people in, but he knew theatre was a business, and of course they had to pack the seats somehow. He’d just been lucky enough that neither Poppy nor Sharpay had been divas, really: they had both been committed to putting on the best performances they could. “Oui? Which ones did you see? I probably was working on it.” If he’d gone to college, Berlioz would probably have a job like this one, too: he didn’t want to turn his nose up at his potential new friend and be snobbish about it. “Do you like it? Are you in school, too, or have you graduated?” He could hear his mother’s voice in his head, how it was so rude to ask so many questions, but Berlioz hardly liked to talk about himself so much.

[michaelndarling]

In all complete honesty, Michael had never understood his older brother’s decision to leave the island for college. Being so far away from all their friends and family sounded like a living hell to him - but he had accepted it, assuming that John was going after a better program or leaving for more opportunities elsewhere. It had still hurt, thinking that the other boy’s future had meant more than the present he had with everyone around him, but he had grown to accept it. To live with his brother being gone for so long, just hoping that one day after he got whatever experience and studying he needed done out there he’d return home. But now, learning that what had actually triggered the giant move off island had just been a break-up… well, that was a much harder pill to swallow.

“I don’t care that you didn’t tell us you were dating her,” he admits, that part of the confession seeming so insignificant in comparison to the rest. There would be a separate time to discuss his relationship with the fairy that was so hellbent on making life for their sister a living hell - right now he was too focused on the fact that he had left them all behind just because of a simple breakup. “You left us, all of us - me and Wendy - just because you were upset at Tink? You really went away for years, never seeing us and only calling from time to time, just because you were mad at a girl?” John had already confirmed all of this, but it was simply too much for Michael to really fully wrap his head around. “You know… Sam broke my heart. It physically hurts me to still be near him and see him so happy with his girlfriend. But I never once even considered leaving as an option. Our friends are here, our family is here. How could you just up and leave all of that so easily?” And that was the real question of the hour, the thought that had been ringing through his head nonstop since this entire conversation started.

It was clear his brother was still adjusting to the news, John took it upon himself to answer his questions one at a time. "I was already applying to schools off the island, the break up only gave me an easier time on deciding where to go." His true intentions were to stay on the island, all his friends were here along with his family, the university nearby had been perfect for what he had studied. The plan simply pivoted once he broke up with Tink. "Maybe I would have stayed, but it's possible we would've been in this exact position if I had. I believe I only prolonged this situation by leaving." When it came to putting it plainly—leaving everyone behind all because of a girl—that is exactly what he did. However, his years away from the island eventually turned into more than that. They were transformative years, ones filled with lessons and maturity that he wasn't sure he would have been able to do alongside the current company they kept.

"It did start out that way, yes." John was hesitant to admit that, fully feeling the shame in an answer like that. "I regret not coming home sooner, I should have been here when they decided to place down the barrier. But I can't say I regret leaving at all." There was a lot to learn when he was away from everyone, and if he was wrong in the assumption that it was not possible to learn the same things on the island then he'd be the first to admit those wrongs. However, from where he stood, it didn't seem like leaving was going to be on his list of regrets. "Being away helped me move on and grow up. I had a life out there, too, maybe not one that was as fun as whatever happened here but I liked what I had. And I chose to come back to be with all of you as soon as I found out I could."

[michaelndarling]

It was a fair assumption, thinking that he wouldn’t have bothered attending the event tonight, and the boy was spot on with knowing exactly who it was that had dragged him out to this fancy hotel. Or well, partially spot on. “Wendy,” he confirms with a nod and a small smile of his own growing at just the sight of Sam’s. “John and I are actually kinda… in a weird place right now.” He’s not entirely sure if any of the lost boys have been informed about his brother’s secret year long relationship with Tink, but Michael decides he’s not going to be the one to spill those beans in case they aren’t. The eldest Darling boy had seemed reluctant to even own up to his own siblings about it, so it didn’t seem too implausible that no one else might have known.

The offer to talk, to even get out of here and ditch the party entirely, is more than a bit of shock, given that they’ve barely spoken to each other since that dreaded night on Halloween. It’s probably not the smartest move, agreeing to leave with Sam of all people, both for his own mental sake and for how it might look if anyone else spotted them… But Michael finds he can’t bring himself to care enough to say no. Which may be the alcohol’s fault or the simple fact that he struggled to ever deny the other boy anything. “Yeah, yeah. We can leave,” he agrees, praying he doesn’t come across as too eager. Though he knows there’s a good chance talking things over might only make things worse, the even slimmest possibility of it fixing things between them makes the risk completely worth it. Plus, he really was hating this night so far anyway. “My dorm isn’t too far, if you want to go there.” He leaves out that his roommate was off the island on holiday with his family, not wanting to seem like he was presuming anything by pointing out the fact that they’d be alone - even if it was a selling factor that made him suggest his own place over the lost boys’ house.

He could say the same to Michael: he hadn't expected him to be there, either, but there they both were, likely dragged out of their houses, not by their own accord, to be standing in the middle of a hotel they didn't belong in. "I didn't think you would be either," he confessed aloud, thinking there was no harm in returning the sentiment. He hated the walking-on-eggshell feeling he had around the other boy now, especially when there had been a time when he hadn't kept a thing from Michael. "Did, uh, Wendy, or John make you come? It was Tink, for me," Sam admitted, a small smile coming to his face as he realized that they'd been dropped in almost exactly the same boat.

Maybe it was the alcohol thinking for him, but the part of Sam that had wanted to address all of this head-on and clear the air once and for all, tonight. They'd spent the past two months avoiding each other: it was high time they finally spoke of what happened on Halloween. It wasn't exactly the time nor place, he knew that rationally, but the overwhelming itching feeling to just clear the air was getting to him. "D'you wanna, like ... I dunno, go talk, or something, somewhere?" he blurted in offering, his hands grasping his champagne flute tighter as he spoke. "I just feel like I need to get out of here, but I really don't want to alone, and ... I miss talking to you," Sam admitted, the words he'd been wanting to say for months, but had only found the lapse in judgement to now.

[michaelndarling]

Watching the other boy grab another flute of champagne so quickly after finishing the one already in his hand, Michael couldn’t help the small frown that grew on his lips and the spike of concern that came with it. Sure, he had been drinking his own fair share tonight - but he had also been pacing himself and ensuring that he had water breaks between each glass… which it felt highly unlikely right now that Sam had been doing the same. “Pretty shitty here too,” he parrots back the sentiment for the way his own night was going. A part of him wants to ask how many of those free drinks the other boy has already had, but he decides against it - not wanting to come across like he was accusing him of anything. Plus it would be a bit hypocritical, considering he wasn’t exactly sober himself either. Maybe it was all in his head anyway, maybe there wasn’t a problem at all.

“I didn’t think you’d be here tonight,” he admits with a small shrug. He has a feeling Sam wasn’t here of his own accord and one of the boys or Tink likely dragged him to the party, but he refrains from asking if that’s true as well out of fear of seeming like he’s prying. It wasn’t his business why the other boy had decided to attend tonight’s event anyway. Or at least, that’s what Michael tried to remind himself. It was hard sometimes, knowing just where they stood anymore, and the events of Halloween certainly hadn’t made it any easier. The already awkward footing he had stood on around the boy now seemed far more dangerous, like one wrong move would have him tumbling into the end of their entire friendship.

It was only because Tink had threatened to drag him out of his house by his hair that Sam was present at this party for New Year's Eve. This was actually the worst place he could've possibly imagined himself for the occasion, as he'd already spotted his ex-girlfriend a few times, both with a scowl on her face and kissing a few other people around the party. He supposed he should be happy to see her moving on, looking fine, despite his internal turmoil he was still facing every day as he'd yet to decide whether he'd made the right decision to break up with her.

The easiest answer was to drink, which was exactly what Sam was going to do when the champagne was free. Strangely enough, he'd spent a decent amount of time with Oliver Smee, of all people, who had apparently become simpatico with the group since Tink had deemed him date-worthy. Stranger things had happened, many of which had unfolded over the past two months, so he couldn't really judge too harshly. He actually didn't seem like the worst guy in the world, either, which was surprising given whose company he kept, and who he worked for.

As the evening wound down, Sam begun to search the crowd for a reliable ride home, though it seemed all of his friends had otherwise been coupled up or staying the night. A ride home alone wasn't the worst fate he could possibly face, but he would be damned if he had to find one after watching everyone in the vicinity suck each other's faces at midnight. He was about to say his goodbyes, his eyes on a rideshare app when he instead heard a hello, coming from a boy who he didn't think he'd be speaking to this evening, much less striking a conversation. "Michael," he blurted, exchanging an awkward greeting of his own. There was no use in lying, as he instinctively set his empty flute down in favor of a full one. "Shitty," Sam confessed simply, offering a weak smile. "I hope yours is going better than that. At least there's free drinks."

[michaelndarling]

~ timeskip to new years eve ~

Attending a giant island wide party wasn’t exactly how Michael wanted to spend his New Years Eve, in complete honesty. He hasn’t had the best of luck at gatherings like this lately - almost every event ending in some form of heartache - but the rest of the Darling clan were all in attendance, and he refused to be the one to ruin the mood. His mother and older sister for certain would be worried for him if he sat out and decided to spend the holiday at home on his own. So here he was. At a fancy hotel he never in his life would likely be able to afford to stay, feeling like shit and sneaking as many glasses of champagne as he could from the waiters walking by who couldn’t be bothered to care how old he was.

It was getting closer to midnight, the new year right on the horizon, and all he wanted was to go back to his dorm and curl up under his blankets. Sure, he’d had fun spending time with his friends - but everyone was starting to couple up now, getting ready for the countdown that would lead to their new years kiss. And Michael was alone, more so than he’d ever been in his life. The thought of trying to find a random guy, or hell even a girl, to partake in the tradition with just for the sake of not being left out had crossed his mind a few times but had easily been dismissed as a bad idea. There was only one guy he really wanted to be kissing tonight, but that wasn’t an option anymore - hadn’t been for a long while, actually.

Dowing the last of the champagne in his current flute, he closes his eyes for a moment or two, just to regather himself and start accepting that this was going to be his fate. But the thought doesn’t last long, considering when his eyes reopened there stood the very boy he had just been trying to push away from his mind. “Sam,” he startles, blinking a few times to ensure he wasn’t somehow drunker than he thought and imagining things. When nothing changes after that, it becomes clear this is really happening. “Hi. Hey.” Very articulate, very smooth he thinks to himself, feeling like the biggest loser in the world. “How are you, uhh, how are you doing tonight?”

It was hard, hearing the criticism against his girlfriend so honestly and directly to his face, but coming from Michael, he couldn’t entirely deny the title. He didn’t doubt for a moment that Colette had been so mean to him that he might call her something so harsh in result, but it still did sting. Sam couldn’t defend what she’d said, as he’d genuinely liked the other boy, despite what his girlfriend wanted to say or think. It was downright mean, if he had to describe it himself: perhaps not as harsh of a word as Michael would’ve used, but still intention behind the adjective beyond simply brushing so hard against the attitudes of the other members of their friends to be simply called abrasive.

It was, for those reasons, even harder to defend her. Sam didn’t quite know how to invalidate Michael’s intense feelings of detestation for her as he might’ve felt them, too, if someone who the other boy was dating had said those words to him. It only made him sadder, to think that there was no reconciling the deep rift between Colette and his friends. “I’m sorry,” he managed, standing still in place as his temper slowed to a stop. All he could think to do was sit in this room forever, or cry, or wish he had someone impartial around to give him all the answers to this impossible problem he faced. "Please don't say that to her face," he requested quietly, though if Michael had wanted to, Sam didn't have much ground to stand on his only ask. "I--I'll talk to her. Just let me talk to her, please, before the others find out."

[michaelndarling]

It was a valid point, one that Michael knew to be true, but he simply hadn’t had the sense to think of at the time. “She was commenting on my costume, so I just snapped back with the first thing I could think of for hers. I hadn’t thought she’d get that upset about it,” he tries to explain himself again. That much at least was true - it was hard to remember sometimes just how hurt a girl could be after an implication like that. In his defense though, the two man girls he hung out with other than his sister wore the title of slut like a badge of honor most of the time. But he should have known that Colette wouldn’t be the same as Tink or Tootles. At Sam’s question of what else his girlfriend had said, the Darling boy freezes up for a moment, really not wanting to share any part of that conversation but knowing if there was any chance of making the other lost boy understand, he had to. “

But before he can answer, Sam is already pacing the room and trying to give what felt like a half-assed excuse as for why Colette might have said any of the things that she had. “Abrasive? Is that what you call her?” he finds himself asking, his own temper starting to rise as this continues to snowball from just a simple discussion into a borderline fight. “Sam, no one likes her because she’s a bitch. I don’t think she’s ever said one kind word to any of the boys - what are they supposed to do with that?” Shaking his head, Michael takes a few steps forward to stand in front of the other boy, cutting off his pacing. “You want to know what she said? She was making fun of me, for liking you so much - for thinking that we had been anything serious. That is far more than just being abrasive, and you know it.”

"You try telling a girl that there's a difference," he pointed out, giving the other boy an incredulous look at his weak defense. He knew his girlfriend could be mean--he'd been on the receiving end of it more times than he wanted to admit--but he had to defend her, or at least try to, until there was no defense left. "I don't know what she said to you, but that hardly warrants making a comment like that on someone's appearance." Sam paused, unsure if he even wanted to know just how cruel she'd been to Michael. For all he'd been told before, the only reason she'd thrown her drink was because of how he'd told her she'd been dressed, but he hadn't considered that maybe the name-calling was a result of snapping at whatever she'd said before. "What did she say?" he asked finally, bracing himself for an answer he didn't want to hear.

Frustrated, Sam began to pace the length of Phil's room. There was no point in going downstairs without all the information he could have from Michael's side before asking for his girlfriend's. He knew he shouldn't have placed them in the same vicinity of one another, let alone a party where either could roam free like this. "I know she can be ... abrasive sometimes, but it's not like everyone's made it easy for her. No one's ever given her a chance because ... you know why. And, I'm not saying you ever had to, but no one has. So, yeah, I'm sorry if it seems like she doesn't really fit in, but no one's ever made room for her, either."

[michaelndarling]

The moment that his brother had requested they speak to him alone after dinner, Michael had known something had to be up. It wasn’t normally like them to have to schedule talking to each other, even in private, so immediately his mind went searching for possible things John could need to discuss with him so seriously. At the top of the list was the subject of their sister’s boyfriend and his former internet career - which Michael could only pray wouldn’t happen. It had been hard enough admitting to Wendy that he used to watch some of the older boy’s videos, he couldn’t imagine telling his brother that fact too.

As they made their way up the stairs to their old nursery, the room still designated as Michael’s, his suspicion only grew at the continued formal way in which his brother was going about this entire conversation. “You’re welcome?” he answered in response, though it came out with far more confusion than anything else. He’s just about to ask what’s up, trying to cut to the chase of just getting to whatever discussion the other boy clearly wanted to have, only John beats him to it. Of all the possible topics he had brainstormed they may be discussing right now, a confession of a secret year long relationship had never even come close to making the list. “You… used to date Tink,” he echoes back the statement, the words feeling wrong even in his own mouth. Not even necessarily because the girl used to have a life’s mission to make their sister’s life miserable, that thought hadn’t even occurred to him yet. What was really bothering him was the simple fact that he had never known - that all this time there had been a huge secret between them and he’d been none the wiser. The complete honesty he used to think he and his siblings always shared had always felt so special to him, yet here he was finding out it had all been a lie. “You dated Tink and never told us.” This repeat held far more certainty in its tone, as if it were finally sinking in.

But then that wasn’t all. No, it hadn’t been enough to find out that John had kept this giant of a secret. Now he had to admit that the entire reason he had left the island for so long was all because of a girl. While a small part of him sympathized with the desire to run away from a relationship when it ended, Michael simply couldn’t wrap his head around how his brother would have been so easily willing to leave his whole family and friend group behind just to get away from an ex. “You left because of Tink?” he asks, needing that clarification and then realizing the question needs to be even more specific. “If you hadn’t broken up, would you have stayed? Gone to school here? Did you really leave us all behind for years just because you broke up with a girl?” He couldn’t imagine how that could possibly be true - couldn’t see how even the hardest of heartbreaks could ever make anyone willing to leave their loved ones behind… Not when he continued to stick with the lost boys even when his own heart had been shattered by Sam. The thought of putting any real amount of physical distance between himself and his friend group had never even occurred to him, not even at the peak of his pain.

-timeskip-

If there was one thing John knew, it was that dishonesty was never wise. He'd known that fact for his entire life, and yet, he still went ahead with keeping certain information from the people that matter most in his life for years now. However, with the renewed faith in the fact that honesty was the best policy, it was bringing him to reveal some things he'd never thought he'd speak of again. Asking specifically for time and privacy set aside so the two could talk after dinner, John had known for a bit how to approach the subject. It still worried him how Michael was to receive the news, he could only hope that it wasn't as bad as it went with Wendy but if it had, he could see why. Harboring secrets was nothing something they normally did and if his younger brother took offense to not sharing a part of his life from him, he would only accept the disappointment and try to regain his family's trust from then on.

"Thanks for meeting with me," he lightly chuckles away at the fact that he sounds like he's in some sort of formal business meeting when he was just trying to talk to his brother. "I just have something that I need to get off my chest, I've been keeping it from you for a while because I thought not talking about it was what was best for the whole situation but it just made everything complicated." Blotting away the sweat on his palms on his pants, he pushed through the nerves to deliver his news. "I used to date Tink..." He let the news hang in the air for a bit, trying to gauge some reaction before continuing. "For about a year and then I ended things and left the island because at the time it seemed to be the only solution that made sense. I didn't want to stay somewhere where she was impossible to escape and being away made it easier to move on."