connorroth

[connorroth]

open rp

*does the nae nae*

[connorroth]

my perfect stepson………. protect him please

[connorroth]

“I’onno,” He said honestly. “It’s just a feeling that’s commonly associated with learning lines, I think,” He explained with a goofy half-smile. “...How’ve you been?”

“My bad, I’m so off my game recently.” She shrugged. “ I should’ve know you were loyal to the taqueria.” Claire considered it. “I’m almost positive it’s just you, I haven’t even heard that much from it yet.” She admitted. “Why you stressing?”

[connorroth]

Damn, this guy was good. It was almost frustrating. Matt should’ve been in drama or something with the acting skills he seemed to have. Perhaps Connor was just overthinking it completely-- but, then again, it totally made sense. No junior in high school looked like that, and kids were rarely ever held back. Plus, he didn’t know Matt’s life. “You guys are practically BFFs,” Connor said, an almost nervous laugh accompanying his words. 

rule-breakers / connor

“Oh yeah, me and him go way back.” His tone was coated with the slightest bit of sarcasm, only because it was kind of true. Matt had already met with him twice before the end of his first month at North Oak, because of skipping class or stealing or whatever. It was something to note that the Officer was probably the only staff member in the school that gave him the benefit of the doubt - even after his long list of detentions and suspensions. “He pretty much talked the school out of expelling me that one time I set the fire alarm off for the fifth time that week.” 

[connorroth]

“Yeah, ugly. Unpleasant. Gross. Brutto odore, signorina,” He expressed overdramatically, putting a hand over his heart. This was a pretty spot-on imitation of his aunt, if she were ever to smell the ugly bathrooms. “Yeah, I gotta agree with you there,” He admitted. “But! The play’s coming up, so I’m basically this... Ball of energy until mid-November,” He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. “You got special Thanksgiving plans or something?”

“I’m sorry, they smell ugly?” Thalia questioned, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion. “The locker rooms are for people who take gym class or sports. No one would care if you stepped in to stretch.” She leaned against the line of lockers, crossing her arms over her chest. “Nothing much. Waiting impatiently for Thanksgiving break. What’s with you?”

[connorroth]

Does it really need to be a whole month in advance? Connor nearly laughed out loud at that one. “There’s this phrase used all the time that goes: ‘if you’re early, you’re on time, and if you’re on time, you’re late’,” He clarified, shrugging his shoulders. “That would explain why we’re supposed to be off script next week. Anyway,” He handed a flyer over towards the other. “You should go see it! I think the English teachers are giving extra credit if you do. Not like you’d need it,” He nudged Ronnie’s arm with a grin.

“I suppose it’s better to get the word out early but does it really need to be a whole month in advance?” A small smile found its way onto Ronnie lips,”I don’t like Shakespeare, I love Shakespeare.”

[connorroth]

“I bet you’re good at a ton of stuff,” Connor said, giving the other a slight nudge as if he was hinting at something. They were in a room alone-- this was a chance to get Matt to admit to being the undercover police man that he really was! Be cool, He thought to himself, shoving his hands in his pockets and narrowing his eyes slightly, smile till in tact. Be cool.  “I, uh... I bet you and Officer T are basically old buds by now, right?”

rule-breakers / connor

Matt decided right then that he actually liked Connor, after his proclamation of being a troublemaker. Added on to the fact that he seemed like a super chill dude, and Matt was sold. “Oh, same, man. Probably the only thing I’m actually good at.” His mind shifted back to three years ago, when he was expelled for being high on a mixture of coke and and Xanax, then forcibly put into rehab, and then five years ago, when he was caught dealing pot and put into a program for juvenile delinquents. Rewind back a couple more years, and all he had been was just a handful and a nuisance for teachers, but he grimaced a bit. Matt meant his reply to be a light joke, but he never knew how true it was.

[connorroth]

“The bathrooms here smell ugly and the locker rooms are sorta for sports dudes,” He shrugged. “Which is a bummer since I don’t think I’ve touched a football since 2003... Anyway, what’s the haps?”

Thalia snorted a response. “You couldn’t do that in the bathroom or men’s locker room?” She questioned, though her eyes lingered a bit longer than they probably should’ve, mouth curved into a smirk.

[connorroth]

He nodded almost meekly, turning away and at least attempting to make it look like he was working on the tree. Despite his curiosity, he wasn’t going to urge her to talk about it any more than she wanted to. “Berkeley’s cool,” He reassured her. “Bet their pizza’s not as good as it is in Woods Creek, though,” He grinned.

He sure was a master at changing the subject. She pressed her brush back onto the wooden surface of the tree, letting out a soft sigh. “I’ve been looking at a few places. My parents are pushing for Berkeley, but…” She trailed off, returning her focus to the blobs of green paint in front of her. She wasn’t prepared to delve into her personal problems with Connor; at least, not now.

[connorroth]

“Yeah!” He responded enthusiastically. “The ‘painting fake leaves onto fake trees’ field is rapidly expanding, I hear,” He noted. Unlike the acting business; he was beginning to believe he’d never get his foot in the door. “Uh... Have you thought about where you’re gonna go to college at all?” It was a random question, but to be fair, the conversation about painting trees was rapidly dwindling and he was hoping to get maybe some ideas from her. He hadn’t even dared to start an application yet.

She stifled a laugh, averting her eyes from his mishap to refocus on her work. “Where some are masters at acting, others are masters at painting fake leaves onto fake trees.” After a few more dabs of paint, she stepped back to survey her handiwork thus far, a small smile gracing her features. “We can learn from each other, you know?”

[connorroth]

“I don’t doubt it,” He chuckled, shaking his head. “I’m sort of mediocre when it comes to the tree-painting front? I’m aight on stage, though,” He shrugged, attempting to fix some dripping green paint with his thumb but only making it worse. “Fuck,” He muttered under his breath. “You’re already wiping the floor with me and I’ve been painting this for... What, two minutes? A minute and a half?”

Was sacrificing her alone time worth seeing him smile? She supposed it was, though she would likely need a nap afterwards. With a small smile, she plucked a brush out of the paint can. “I’ll have you know, I can wipe the floor with you when it comes to leaf detail.” She shrugged a shoulder, moving to begin dabbing paint on the wooden tree.

[connorroth]

Of course you’ve done it before, Connor thought, resisting the urge to clench his jaw in defiance. The fact that the dude could pick a lock in record time only went to show how much special training he’d gone through to fit in with the high school kids. “Totally,” He said, faking casual like a pro. What if this was just a ploy to see if Connor was selling drugs? Was he the Dave Franco of North Oak? Was Connor suspected of marketing HFS? “I’ve always been sort of a troublemaker,” He grinned. “What about you?”

rule-breakers / connor

Matt grinned, feeling the thrill of adrenaline course through his body.·“Yeah, I’ve done it before - kinda fun, actually.” He shrugged, pulling out his pocket-sized lock picking kit out of his backpack. Boredom drove Matt to teach himself how to pick a lock when he was 12, but it actually came in handy sometimes. Not just for breaking rules, but mostly for that exact reason. After fiddling with it for a couple minutes, he swung the door open.·“Done. Ready to do this?”·

[connorroth]

Yikes. Yikes. He really didn’t know what he was thinking when he agreed to go through with this-- perhaps he thought this might get him a little closer to learning the truth about Matt Peterson. Pfft, he could totally pull this off! He was an actor, after all. All he had to do was bring it up without actually bringing it up. That had worked before, it would work again. “Hey!” He whisper-yelled when he saw the other, looking over his shoulder before jogging over. “You sure you wanna do this, buddy?”

rule-breakers / connor

@connorroth

For all intents and purposes, today was an average day for Matt. He may have failed his Computer Science final last semester, but surprisingly, he knew how to hack into the school’s computer system to change his grades. One of his good friends in the 7th grade taught him how to do it, and he’d been doing it ever since — nothing too drastic, changing most of his failing grades into barely passable ones — and usually, no one noticed. Most schools used the same system anyways, so it wasn’t his fault for breaking in. The school should have better security systems. Lurking around the end of the hallway, Matt was waiting for Connor to show up to help him. It was always good to have someone keep watch, since technically he could be expelled. At the very least, suspended.

[connorroth]

He looked at her for a few minutes, studying her expression before breaking into the first genuine smile he’d given all day. “Really?” He asked. “I mean-- yeah, definitely,” He nodded. He was always down for pizza with a buddy, no matter how rotten his mood was. “And, uh, I’ll finish the tree. Don’t worry about it,” He reassured her quickly.

Though her suspicions still lingered, she wasn’t one for prying. “Sure.” She silently watched him paint for a few moments, before breathing out a long sigh. “Look – I was going to go get some pizza after rehearsal, and it might be more enjoyable with a buddy.” That was a lie. “You wanna come along?”

[connorroth]

“Uh,” He paused, shrugging his shoulders and moving to pick up a paintbrush. “Nothin’,” He responded casually, waving a dismissive hand as he accented the detail on a leaf. He knew why she was asking-- should’ve went with Mona Lisa. “I think I might’ve just got a bad night’s sleep. You ever sleep too much and feel even more tired?” He asked with a laugh, attempting to change the subject.

The use of her actual name was an immediate hint that something was not right. Not Mona Lisa, Rambo, Rome… just Ramona. Her brows furrowed, arms uncrossing to drop to her sides. “What’s up with you?”

[connorroth]

“C’mon, man. The play’s in mid November,” He said. He had to admit-- he did sort of have a lot going on right now, especially with being cast as the lead at nearly the same time as his exposure and a pretty intense breakup. He supposed that was the universe’s way of balancing out the good and the bad in his life. “Y’know what? Nevermind, you’re right. Sorry, Ramona.”

Sometimes, she couldn’t understand how she was friends with this kid. “While you were waiting for that to dry, you could have been helping out with costumes,” she replied, arms crossing over her chest. “And no. Paint the tree, Connor.”