xp_logs | Angelo and Shinobi in the woods (Reply)

Shinobi goes looking for Angelo, finds him in the woods, and comes very close to finding out about his self-injury before Marie pages him to help with Manuel.

Well, he wasn't in his room, or the house, so.. time to broaden the search. With a leather jacket thrown on over his polo shirt and slacks, Shinobi peers around himself attentively as he makes his way into the woods, twigs and fallen leaves crunching underneath his sneakers. "Angelo?" he calls, frowning a raking a hand back through his hair. God only knows where that boy got himself off to, if he isn't out here.

Angelo has returned to the clearing where he took refuge after the confrontation with Manuel, and is once again sitting on his tree stump, smoking. When he hears Shinobi's voice, he pulls his sleeve hastily down over his left arm, and calls back, "Over here." Shinobi's going to find him sooner or later, after all.

Thank God. Shinobi turns and picks his way towards the clearing, offering a tired grin once he's come into view. "Hey," he offers, shoving his hands into his pockets. "I'd ask if you were alright, but you probably wouldn't be out here if you were."

Angelo shrugs. "Hey. Been better."

"I know the feeling," Shinobi replies dryly, crossing over towards Angelo's stump of choice and dropping down to sit on the ground nearby. "Can I ask what he did?"

Angelo sighs, not needing to ask who "he" is and not bothering to pretend. "To me? Or to... the person I was talkin' to last night?"

Shinobi shrugs, smiling wryly and tilting his head to the side. "Whatever you're comfortable talking 'bout?"

Another sigh, and Angelo takes a drag on his cigarette before answering. "It was more what he did to them. An' it's not for me to tell you about that 'til they do. But as for me... I tried t'be more or less nice to him, an' he wouldn't take it. An' then he... said some things."

"Fair enough," he replies to the first, inclining his head. Shinobi listens patiently, absently drawing one knee up to his chest so he has something to rest his chin on. "He doesn't make it easy to like him, no," he agrees, pursing his lips. "What'd he say?"

Angelo manages a wry half-grin. "That kinda ties in with the stuff that's not mine to tell. Let's just say... he brought back some memories. Bad ones."

"He's good at that." Brow furrowing in thought, Shinobi rubs at the nape of his neck. "You've told somebody Manuel hurt this person, right?" he asks after a moment, looking up with a very serious expression. "Emma, at the absolute least?"

"Marie knows. Some of it, anyway. An' I'm tryin' to get him to tell Samson - 'cause his problems didn't start with Manuel, but Manuel made them worse."

"*Somebody* needs to tell Emma," Shinobi sighs, dragging a hand across his face and closing his eyes. Count to ten, Shinobi. Twice. There's a lad. "When Manny does something wrong, Emma needs to know. He's never going to stop being a prick if Emma doesn't know he's done something wrong so she can deal with it."

Angelo nodded. "Yeah, you're right. But... the person doesn't want everybody knowin' about the problems Manny made worse. I'm tryin' to get him to tell a few people himself, an' I couldn't figure how to tell anybody what Manny did without breakin' the confidence."

"Miss Frost is discreet," Shinobi observes simply, dropping his hand back into his lap with a tired sigh. "Sometimes, mate, you need to play the bad cop. I know it's rotten, but your friend obviously *needs* help, and ain't getting it. Maybe you need to bring the help to him whether he likes it or not."

Angelo shrugged miserably. "I did think about it. I'll just give him a bit more time first - it's a big thing happened to him."

With a sigh, he bows his head, giving up for the moment. "Does Marie know Manny did something to make it worse?" Shinobi asks, changing gears.

Angelo nods firmly. "Yeah, that part she knows. As much as I could tell her without givin' away B- his secrets."

Shinobi manages to keep an eyebrow from quirking, and firmly stomps down the desire to pry further. "So long as somebody knows the boy's fucked him up," he nods. "Manuel's.. he has a long way to go, but he'll never get there if we don't know about things that need to be addressed."

Angelo nods back. "Yeah, I guess so. Well, Marie knows - an' now I think of it, I told her who it is, too, if not what happened to him." He sighs. "You remember the thing in the kitchen, with the ice?"

"Oh. Yeah." With a grimace at the memory, Shinobi let his forehead thump against his knee, lacing his fingers together and resting them against the back of his neck. "S' about that, huh?"

"Yep", Angelo confirms simply. "Bobby told me why it happened, an' that's what I can't pass on. Not yet."

"Christ." Shinobi has some ideas, none of which he likes at all - mostly because he has a sinking sensation that they're accurate. He pauses, lifting his head so he can look up at Angelo again. "...can you tell me what Manuel said to you now?"

Angelo shakes his head. "Not really. Not 'til Bobby's ready to tell people what happened."

Shinobi nods tiredly, casting a glance back towards the school. "Don't let his silence kill you, mate," he says finally, frowning. "If *you* need help, you're damn well going to go and get some, if I have to throw you over my shoulder and carry you off to get it."

Angelo chuckles at the image, then it subsides to a crooked grin. "Thanks, man. I think."

"You're welcome," Shinobi grins, rolling his shoulders in a shrug. "Just.. remember Amanda, would you? She wouldn't go to any of us for help, and we damn well lost her. I don't know how bad off Bobby is, but I don't want to see anybody else up on the roof pondering the theory of gravity, alright?"

Angelo nods, eyes dark. "Right. Well... he's gotta be doin' better than when nobody knew, I figure..."

"You're a good bloke, Ange," Shinobi nods, reaching over to offer the boy's knee a light pat. "Bobby picked a good confidant."

Angelo shrugs, not entirely comfortable with the compliment. "Guess so."

"Know so." Shinobi grins, dropping his hand back to his side. "If you need to talk to somebody, though, but don't want word leaking out to the entire bloody school.. I can keep me mouth shut, you know that, right?"

Angelo smiles slightly. "I know. Maybe, in a little while. We'll see." He raises his left hand unthinkingly to brush his hair back, and his sleeve slips before he catches himself and drags it back up to his wrist.

Shinobi doesn't miss the slip, very slowly arching an eyebrow and shifting his gaze between Angelo's wrist and his face. "Why are you keeping your forearm covered, Angelo?" he asks slowly, trying not to sound *too* suspicious. The conversation has him jumping at ghosts.

Angelo gets a slight deer-in-headlights expression for a moment before forcing his face back to blankness. "No particular reason", he lies. "'s cold out here, that's all."

Shinobi is rather obviously not convinced, peering up at Angelo sternly and beginning to open his mouth. He's cut off by a shrill chirp, however, and blinking twice, he looks down and plucks his pager from his belt, squinting down at the display in the dark. "Oh, fuck," he breathes, paling noticably and practically tripping over himself in his rush to get to his feet. "I need to go. Now. I need to go now. We're talking as soon as possible, Angelo, and you ain't getting out of it." The words are barely even out of his mouth before he's sprinting back for the house, passing through a tree in his rush.