thattimeofthemonth | Open RP Post

He placed a hand around Jake's hand. "I don't think anyone can be perfect... No matter how much we try. I know I was always struggling to gain my father's approval with everything I did. It was like everything I did was never good enough. I had to be better. Even if it was my best."

He paused a bit before asking the next question. Unsure if it was a good question to ask or not. "What was your mother like?"

Jake's smile when Draco touched his hand could have lit up the room. "I feel you on that. I made him proud in every other way, you know? Good grades, soccer team, behaved... didn't matter in the end, though."

But he thought back, trying to remember when he was younger. "...before he started to twist her more, we had a good relationship. She came to all of my soccer games, helped tutor me in English when I was having trouble, helped run the school parent society... But as time went on it just got worse and worse." He shrugged. No big deal, even if it was.

"My grandmother... she's something else. You'd like her."

It had been a little more daring for Draco, but he noted the smile. Seeing that particular smile made it worth it. His parents had always been more quite of showing their love and support to one another. This was a little more open something his parents wouldn't have approved of. Even if it was still subtle.

Seemed like something forced her to change. All he could do was assume as he remembered when his own parents had almost split. "Have you ever thought about reaching out to them again?" he hesitantly asked.

He was ever so curious about this grandmother. Draco had a few ideas of what she could be from what Jake had described. "Maybe someday we can arrange to meet?"

At the mention of reaching out to his parents, Jake looked off to the side, his fork tapping slowly on the side of his plate as he tried to figure out what to say to that. A small sigh before he looked back to Draco. "I... don't know if it's the right time or not. They haven't contacted me or anything since I left. Not an email or a text or a call. They wouldn't even talk to my sister about me."

He shrugged, but it was obvious how much that shrug hurt. "I would love for you two to meet. When we go into London, would you like to? It'd be a bus ride out there but it's only about thirty minutes out to her."

He gave a small frown. "Sorry to hear about that." Noting that shrug, Draco gave Jake's hand a squeeze. He had realized then that his own hand had never left his. Only then then he let his hand go.

"I would like that," he replied. Granted he's never been on the bus before. That would be new.

Jake brightened a little, but some of that light was gone. His parents weren't a great topic. "You'll love her. She has the best house and somehow there are always fresh cookies around." He chuckled at that. "She's a tough old bird."

He gave a small grin. Although, he felt bad for bringing up such a rough topic. "I never knew my grandparents. Both sides of the family were gone by the time I had arrived. Neither of my parents spoke of them. I think we should make seeing your grandmother the first thing we do."

"The whole thing is... strange." Jake's lips thinned as he thought how to explain. "I mean, she isn't really my grandmother, I only call her that. She's mostly a friend of the family but... when my parents started getting weirder and weirder, it was a great place to escape to. I knew my real grandparents but they were old when I was adopted, so I didnt really know-know them and they died before I was even ten."

He gave a nod, recalling this bit of information. "I'm just glad you have her to go to," Draco replied. It was difficult to not have anyone to really rely on. He knew what that was like.

"It didn't sound like my grandparents were that great from the little bit they would reveal. I think that much explained why my parents were always so tough."

"I still wish you could meet my sister." He suddenly perked up though and grinned. "We could Skype her sometime. Means you'd have to try using a computer with me." A little tease. "Alright, I'll send my grandmother a letter tonight to let her know we're coming. She never did get much into the whole of using a phone. Said she never had one through the war."

"Skype?" Draco questioned. All these terms Jake used confused him greatly. Although the mention of the grandmother not using a phone and a war...held his attention. She had to be part of his community. And given her age the war had to be in reference to the first war.

There were Muggle wars, too, Draco! If you had paid attention in Muggle Studies at all...

"It's this brilliant program where you can call someone who also has Skype. You can just use it for a voice call but if one or both of you have a camera you can do a video call, too! Man, if it wasn't so early in the States, I would call Jenn right now."

Muggle studies right that was nap time.

Draco still had a confused expression on his face, but nodded. "I think it'll make more sense when I see everything being done... I'm not too familiar with all the terminology you're using."

Jake waved it off with a quick hand wave. "Don't worry about it. I'll show you one night since I know Jenn will be awake. I'll see if I can get her before we go to London though she does have a lot of classes." It was clear from his tone he missed his sister.

He scooped up the last of his beans and leaned back with a groan. "That was good."

Draco had long since finished his meal. He was simply taking his time finishing his tea and enjoying the change of conversation. "Fine fine. You're going to have me using all these crazy technology stuff in no time. What's your sister like?"

"I'll have succeeded in my evil plan if I can get you to Skype someone on your own." Complete with a little evil laugh that dissolved into a real laugh. "Jenn she's... youve never met someone more driven. She's always full of energy and the light of the room. Get on her bad side though and she's scary. I broke her lamp once as a kid and she hid a banana in my room under the mattress that I couldn't find until my whole room reeked of rotting banana."

He pretended to pout, but ended up laughing in the end. "I don't think I would have anyone to Skype save for you. No one I know uses this stuff."

He raised an eyebrow, amused by the story. "Well, I'll have to make note of that. Rotting banana's can be quite deadly."

"It smelled /so bad/," Jake lamented before he laughed again. "It was so bad and it lingered even after we found it. And since I lied about breaking the lamp to our parents, I had to 'admit' I was the one who left the banana in my room. So I got punished." He clearly thought it was funny at this point in his life. "She's going to be big some day, I just know it."

"You're lucky to have a sibling," Draco pointed out. Siblings almost had a better way of getting even then having the parents interfere. "What was she studying? I don't recall if you mentioned it or not."

"She's actually studying international law! She wants to deal with the legalities between countries. How cool is that?" He sounded so very proud of her. "She's got another year to go, then she'll be coming back here for /more/ school."

"Wow...that's a lot of school! A little too much for me," Draco admitted. Yet, he was quite impressed.

When the waiter came over with the bill, Draco reached for it before Jake could and paid for their meals. "Let's go see about these camping supplies."

"H-Hey!" Jake protested about the bill before he laughed. "Alright, alright." He let Draco settle the bill before he hopped to his feet, stretching. Good not too tired despite work.

They left and went down to the store, which looked surprised to see young men coming in so early. Jake ignored that and looked around. "So what do you want to start with?"

Draco simply smirked at Jake when he paid the bill. Only once they were at the camping store he was clueless. "This is your territory. Let's go with the list you had started."

"Right. Let's get through the checklist." It would take a good while, close to two hours, to make sure they had everything Draco needed along with a few things Jake needed to pick up for the trip as well. With everything paid for, bags in hand, they headed back to Jake's apartment.

"You can keep everything here since we'll be loading up from here," Jake said when everything was dropped inside the door.

"I didn't think it would be so much stuff..." Draco replied as he gratefully dropped the bags at Jake's place. It made a lot of sense to leave it here then having to carry it back and forth. Having the gear now had him more excited about the trip.

He then collapsed on the couch. Draco realized then that this was the first time they were actually alone. Now they could talk a little more freely and be more open then they had been. He wasn't sure what to say at this point.

Edited 2016-01-28 17:57 (UTC)

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