dumb brothers

[wild_magic]

who: these assholes again
where: a phone to leave the matrix
when: after susan's failed attempt at matchmaking
what: susan finally heads back to the carnival, but his brother is waiting for him

Susan didn't really have anywhere to storm off to here, like he does back home or even at the Carnival, but that didn't stop him from running off when he was angry at Lauren. He would go back, but it would be so much easier for Lauren to find him at the Carnival than it is here, and he doesn't want to talk to him yet. Not until he stopped being mad. Not until Lauren was done being mad, too, and wouldn't yell about how Susan did something wrong when he was only trying to help.

Without anywhere specific to go, Susan ends up wandering for quite a while before finally giving in and deciding to head back.

...But before he can even get there, he sees his stupid brother, and he stops for a moment before continuing to walk forward, not saying anything to him. He knows Lauren's going to still be mad, and he doesn't want to hear it right now.

Comments

[mylastchance]

Okay, they were doing this, they were making this happen.

"I think you need to apologize to Carly."

[wild_magic]

"Fine!" If that's what Lauren wants, he'll do it. He's not sorry he did it, but he's sorry for dragging Carly into it, so even though he doesn't want to, he'll do it.

"I just wanted you to be happy."

[mylastchance]

Lauren sighs again. It's a special talent of his, sighing.

"I know. But after you left she started to cry. She thinks it's her fault that you stormed out!"

[wild_magic]

"...It's not her fault." But it's not his fault either. That doesn't stop him from feeling bad that he made her cry by leaving.

[mylastchance]

"I know. And I told her that. But if you just wanted to make me happy why didn't you at least tell her the truth?"

[wild_magic]

"I didn't think she would come if it was me asking. I didn't even know if she would come if it was you!"

[mylastchance]

"But don't you think whether she comes or not should be up to her to decide? You can't just make people do what you want. You have to treat them as equals."

[wild_magic]

"I didn't make her do it!" Now he's getting mad again.

[mylastchance]

He doesn't want Susan to get mad. He can't talk to Susan when he's mad.

"I know you didn't." He says it calmly, hoping it will somehow dissuade Susan from shouting.

[wild_magic]

He just goes back to glaring at the bed and hugging Fluff tight. The cat of course isn't happy with that, but she doesn't stop him.

[mylastchance]

"But, it's wrong to lie to someone, especially if it's because you think misleading them will benefit you. If you want someone to do something you have to ask them outright."

Not try and trick them.

[wild_magic]

"I don't have to do anything." He knows lying and tricking is wrong, but if it gets the right result he doesn't see anything wrong with it. Especially if Lauren says he shouldn't; right now, that's more reason to want to do it.

[mylastchance]

"Susan, it's wrong. Don't you get that! It's totally and completely wrong to treat people like that!"

People aren't just toys you can play with however you see fit. A good result is meaningless if it's only achieved by hurting others along the way. He thought of all people, Susan would understand that.

[wild_magic]

"To treat people like what, all I did was try and get her to eat dinner with you! She wouldn't go if I said it 'cause I'm just a kid and no one ever does what I say, so I had to do it!"

[mylastchance]

"How do you know she wouldn't have done it? You didn't even give her a chance to do otherwise, you just assumed she would dismiss you when all she's ever done is helped us in the past."

[wild_magic]

"It doesn't matter, it was just a stupid letter! That's all I did was write a letter!"

[mylastchance]

"It was a lie. You wrote a lie to trick someone into doing something for you. You made a good honest person feel like a fool."

If Susan can't understand why that's bad, Lauren has no idea how else to explain it.

[wild_magic]

"It wasn't for me."

[mylastchance]

"It doesn't matter!"

He didn't ask you to do this. You can't blame this on him!

[wild_magic]

"It does matter! I'm just trying to help you 'cause you never help yourself!" He pushes Fluff aside as he stands, glaring at Lauren as he yells.

"But fine I won't help you any more if you don't want me to, I'll just go somewhere else!!"

[mylastchance]

He rolls his eyes, smacking his head into the door.

"I know you're trying to help me. But that doesn't make it right!! Why are you convinced I'm so unhappy anyway!?"

[wild_magic]

He wants to leave, but Lauren's in the doorway, and so he can't. But that doesn't stop him from heading for the door anyway, not even answering him.

[mylastchance]

"Answer me!"

What the hell was he doing? Was he going to phase through him somehow?!!

[wild_magic]

"I don't have to if I don't want to! Let me through!"

Even angry like this, he can't bring himself to try and hurt Lauren, even if it would let him get through. He's mad at him, for him not understanding, for him saying Susan is in the wrong, and even though Susan doesn't want to admit any fault for it that still doesn't mean he's going to take it out on his brother. He just needs to get out of here.

[mylastchance]

"No! You can't just run away just because you don't want to listen."

He hates that Susan always does that. He absolutely hates it.

"I'm your brother, can you at least care enough about that to listen to what I say!"

He doesn't even make the conscious decision to flip languages, he's just so emotional from everything that's happened today and so upset that he falls back into it without thinking. This was the language he first learned to speak.