[ .............Okay, there's no mistaking who owns that username. It's the other Graham around Deerington.
There are... layers to the awkwardness of accidentally texting Will, but right now the main layer Peter's stuck on is the one involving the subject matter at hand. ]
I am so sorry Yeah, this was definitely meant for someone else I was just trying to text a friend
[ ...But it feels weird to just leave it like that? Especially considering they're all staying in the same vicinity a lot, right now? Shouldn't he tell him who it is he's talking about... or... There's a long pause in which his shyness battles against itself, and then he just quickly types an addition: ]
[ 'A friend'. Uh-huh. Will's been seventeen, Peter, he thinks he recognizes an awkward attempt at a pick-up line when he sees one. Especially since he hasn't really grown out of them yet, at thirty-six (moment of silence for his current partner).
So the real surprise is that Peter gives him a name. ]
i wasn't going to interrogate you about it
unless you wanted to talk about it
it's not the worst way you could be trying to tell her you like her. especially not if she already knows.
[ Surprisingly? He really wasn't trying to hit on Luna when he sent that. It.... probably definitely read as much to any normal person, but he's pretty sure it was just meant to genuinely... express his affection over her... nice scent.... ]
Oh I wasn't trying to tell her I like her or anything like that We're really good friends
Just She smells good and I wanted her to know To make her happy
[ .....That could either sound really sweet or a smidgen creepy. ]
Did it sound like I was trying to tell her I like her?
[ ...Obviously, Peter, given that's what Will... just said. But now that Peter's explained, maybe the older man can offer some insight from here... ]
[ Oh. Call it 'projection' maybe, but Will's definitely heard that tune before. It's how he sounded about Ben, about six weeks before they started dating. ]
usually commenting on someone's smell is...intimate. you need to be near them to notice. and you need to be ready to break a few social norms to comment on it
[ That and it's a teenage boy he's talking to and yeah, Will's one to generalize, when presented with stuff he thinks he's got figured out.
...Not that it means he doesn't believe what Peter says sounds true to Peter, though. Will weighs all of that. ] i wouldn't have guessed you and luna were friends, but it makes sense.
[ That sounds a lot like something his dad would say — that level of... almost disconcerting analysis. It surprises Peter, but in a way that... makes sense. He can see how the way he and Luna have grown to act around each other comes across to an outside eye. There's a reason rumours float around the high school that they're a thing. ]
I guess our relationship is pretty.. different, from the way normal friends act around one another
[ It's weird even "reducing" her to the word friend, actually. It feels like she should be called something more than that. Luna's... someone he's grown with, someone who feels a bit like a missing limb to be away from. ]
I don't know if being like... more than friends is something I could ever have with someone, anyway Or what it would even feel like to begin with
How did you and Ben know you liked each other more than friends? If that's too personal, you don't have to talk about it though
[ He's approaching this incredibly shyly, which doesn't always translate that way through text — which is why Peter's quick to offer Will an out. ]
[ His point of view being given in to isn't necessarily what Will was looking for - it's not like they have to agree - but knowing that Peter's taking what he says seriously is what feels weighty.
So...Luna and Peter. Two teenagers who are usually half-present in any room they're in, and half-present in some internal world. Will can...relate a bit to the concept.
He doesn't blame them, is the thing. Maybe he really is projecting all of this.
What he's expecting less than anything else so far is Peter asking him directly for advice. Personal, experience-based advice. Will's silent for long enough that it's probably not kind to Peter waiting on an answer, but finally: ]
i never asked an adult that question at your age. maybe if i had, i wouldn't have messed this up so badly
because it wasn't...a smooth transition. i found out because ben realized it first and approached me, and i turned him down. i didn't know i [ What is? a non-sexual, non-awkward way of putting this?? Will still feels like he's barely discussed this part. ] was attracted to men.
so what made me realize that what i was feeling wasn't just friendship was when it...DID feel a lot like friendship. a really strong friendship that suddenly also felt like that wasn't enough anymore. like there needed to be a step beyond 'close friends'.
it still took me a few weeks to realize what that meant, though. and maybe it wouldn't end in dating every time, but...it seems like 'dating' is basically just 'friends'. the kind of friend that sometimes makes you feel emptier when they're not around, but also makes you feel...better even when they're not around.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
wontgraham) wrote2019-04-10 08:46 pm
no subject
There are... layers to the awkwardness of accidentally texting Will, but right now the main layer Peter's stuck on is the one involving the subject matter at hand. ]
I am so sorry
Yeah, this was definitely meant for someone else
I was just trying to text a friend
[ ...But it feels weird to just leave it like that? Especially considering they're all staying in the same vicinity a lot, right now? Shouldn't he tell him who it is he's talking about... or... There's a long pause in which his shyness battles against itself, and then he just quickly types an addition: ]
Luna, actually
no subject
So the real surprise is that Peter gives him a name. ]
i wasn't going to interrogate you about it
unless you wanted to talk about it
it's not the worst way you could be trying to tell her you like her. especially not if she already knows.
no subject
Oh
I wasn't trying to tell her I like her or anything like that
We're really good friends
Just
She smells good and I wanted her to know
To make her happy
[ .....That could either sound really sweet or a smidgen creepy. ]
Did it sound like I was trying to tell her I like her?
[ ...Obviously, Peter, given that's what Will... just said. But now that Peter's explained, maybe the older man can offer some insight from here... ]
no subject
usually commenting on someone's smell is...intimate. you need to be near them to notice. and you need to be ready to break a few social norms to comment on it
[ That and it's a teenage boy he's talking to and yeah, Will's one to generalize, when presented with stuff he thinks he's got figured out.
...Not that it means he doesn't believe what Peter says sounds true to Peter, though. Will weighs all of that. ] i wouldn't have guessed you and luna were friends, but it makes sense.
no subject
I guess our relationship is pretty.. different, from the way normal friends act around one another
[ It's weird even "reducing" her to the word friend, actually. It feels like she should be called something more than that. Luna's... someone he's grown with, someone who feels a bit like a missing limb to be away from. ]
I don't know if being like... more than friends is something I could ever have with someone, anyway
Or what it would even feel like to begin with
How did you and Ben know you liked each other more than friends?
If that's too personal, you don't have to talk about it though
[ He's approaching this incredibly shyly, which doesn't always translate that way through text — which is why Peter's quick to offer Will an out. ]
no subject
So...Luna and Peter. Two teenagers who are usually half-present in any room they're in, and half-present in some internal world. Will can...relate a bit to the concept.
He doesn't blame them, is the thing. Maybe he really is projecting all of this.
What he's expecting less than anything else so far is Peter asking him directly for advice. Personal, experience-based advice. Will's silent for long enough that it's probably not kind to Peter waiting on an answer, but finally: ]
i never asked an adult that question at your age. maybe if i had, i wouldn't have messed this up so badly
because it wasn't...a smooth transition. i found out because ben realized it first and approached me, and i turned him down. i didn't know i [ What is? a non-sexual, non-awkward way of putting this?? Will still feels like he's barely discussed this part. ] was attracted to men.
so what made me realize that what i was feeling wasn't just friendship was when it...DID feel a lot like friendship. a really strong friendship that suddenly also felt like that wasn't enough anymore. like there needed to be a step beyond 'close friends'.
it still took me a few weeks to realize what that meant, though. and maybe it wouldn't end in dating every time, but...it seems like 'dating' is basically just 'friends'. the kind of friend that sometimes makes you feel emptier when they're not around, but also makes you feel...better even when they're not around.
if that makes any sense.