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Post by Miss Jack on Mar 12, 2008 23:08:44 GMT -5
The notes struggled beneath fingers that were moving purely on habit, without an ounce of effort or focus. An understudy had taken his place as Scarpia in the production of Tosca, not that Armand cared to protest. One particular, doomed to be more awkward than ever, scene stuck out in his mind.
It had been a week since the "incident" and initially he'd come here to escape his mother and sister popping in every second breath he took. But here he'd been greeted with quickly averted gazes that said, "Did he really try and off himself?"
And so now, holed into one of the practice rooms, his side throbbing as it had been constantly for seven days, he tried to shut it out, plunking out sounds on the piano that barely qualified as music.
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Post by Marguerite on Mar 12, 2008 23:16:41 GMT -5
Julien winced at the... music... drifting down the hall. Julien opened the door, scowling. Whoever was trying to murder that practice room piano had another thing coming to-
Oh. Armand.
Julien blinked instead, and closed the door after him.
"Now, I know I taught you to play bettair zan zat." Julien leaned against the door, arms crossed, and one foot against the door. "What was zat? Chopsteeks by a drunken sailor wizzout a brain." He shook his head. "You can do bettair. Is somezing wrong?"
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Post by Miss Jack on Mar 12, 2008 23:25:44 GMT -5
Armand startled, unfortunately, jerking the wound in the process. He managed a sincere smile, though it was feeble. "Drunk Alexander without a brain, actually. Redunant, I know..." He shrugged and turned back to the keys. "M'fine." A bit more agressively than was probably necessary, he ran through the opening measures of Turkish Rondo, and flashed Julien an enormous smile over his shoulder. "See? Fine."
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Post by Marguerite on Mar 12, 2008 23:35:15 GMT -5
"Yeah," said Julien, "and I am wearing a dress. So true."
He rolled his eyes. "Armand, zat was ze least convincing smile I 'ave evair seen and I used to be, euh... 'ow you say... oh, right, a mind-numbingly awful actor." He spread his hands and shrugged. "Am unobservant, mon fils, but I zink a blind person could see somezing is wrong."
Well, that, and October told Julien that something was wrong with Armand. It really paid to have a more intelligent girlfriend.
Oh, and the stabbing thing in the castle. Very dramatic, that. Hard not to notice something was wrong, there. Dieu, it was almost worse than when Pia tried to stab herself when Jack took over.
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Post by Miss Jack on Mar 12, 2008 23:54:58 GMT -5
Armand's demeanor visibly slumped. He couldn't keep such sunny facades up long even on his best of days, and especially not considering his current mood, and especially not with Julien (who was sometimes more of a parent than his parents). He gave an incoherent grunt like noise and turned back to the piano, playing so softly the tune was barely audible.
He straightened his back, frowning at his moving fingers, not really seeing them. The planes of his face held that slightly hardened pride that spoke of his lineage. "I'll be alright," he said evenly, nearly believing it himself. Not willing to forsake Julien's company, if nothing else, just yet, he continued, "How are you and October?"
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Post by Marguerite on Mar 13, 2008 0:29:41 GMT -5
"And I believe zat?" Julien asked, raising an eyebrow.
Since the lid of the piano was closed, he pushed himself away from the door and hopped up to sit on the piano. "Euh? Fine. Octobair was worried about you and told me not to get distracted." Julien grinned. "Wondairful woman, Octobair. She knows me better zan I know me. She got ze doctor-person, you know. 'Ang on. I am being distracted."
Julien pointed at his godson. "Somezing is wrong and you will tell me. Euh... not zat I 'ave any auzority to make you, now zat I zink about it. Euh."
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Post by Miss Jack on Mar 13, 2008 0:40:45 GMT -5
"She is pretty wonderful," Armand admitted, a bit sadly. He continued to play, but randomly, slewing different songs together. It was something he did when he was thinking, if a piano happened to be in front of him.
"How did you know? I mean, when you met October.... was it attraction? Or something else?"
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Post by Marguerite on Mar 13, 2008 0:52:46 GMT -5
"Euh?" Julien asked, a little startled at the pretty obvious attempt to get away from the Topic-Julien-Was-Not-To-Be-Distracted-From. "Eh... no, not really."
He scratched his head, a smidge uncomfortably. "Euh, actually... I...." Urgh. Uncomfortable confession time! Best make it broad and general and avoid the fact that Julien had been, at one point in time, very much in love with Armand's mother! "I was... in love wiz someone elese entirely when I met Octobair. She, euh... found me after I 'ad relized I was in love and 'ad gotten depressed because ze woman I loved was going to marry zis really awful, stupid, self-centaired, smug, zoughtless, cruel, vindictive, 'orrible man and nozzing I was saying could stop 'er."
Hm, perhaps he shouldn't insult Armand's father to Armand's face?
"So, euh... not a good beginning. She told me she started falling in love wiz me when she 'eard me playing out ze sting of my bittair, bittair rejection, which is... euh. Well, it was... about a year before I realized she was attractive. And, euh... a couple more months after zat zat I realized I liked 'er, so, euh."
Heights of eloquence. Julien hated trying to explain complicated things in English.
"Basically, all you need to know is Octobair is much, much smarter zan I am. And I didn't know eet was love until a while aftair."
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Post by Miss Jack on Mar 13, 2008 1:00:55 GMT -5
Armand's hands stilled on the keys and he looked up at Julien. He frowned. "That's terrible," he said, finally.
"Not that I'm surprised," he admitted with a shrug. Julien and October had been dating for how long now? "It also... doesn't really help..." he muttered, running a hand through his hair.
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Post by Marguerite on Mar 13, 2008 1:16:33 GMT -5
" 'Ow ees eet terrible?" Julien asked, minorly confused. "Is not like I am in abject misery. Well. Anymore."
He waved it away. His emo period was so over.
"I love Octobair almost more zan music. Worked out vairy well for me, zough I wasn't exactly expecting eet. Oooh, you mean ze timing zing. Well, euh... I'm... not observant. At all. Euh."
Hang on, this wasn't helping. "Well, do you want to know, Armand?" Julien suddenly had an intensely horrifying thought. "Nom de Dieu, I know your parents are, euh... negligent, but you don't really... zut alors, c'est abominable. Zere... comes a time in every man's... life when 'ee needs to learn about birds and bees and, euh... why ze contents of women's dresses become,.. interesting and... zat ees perfectly normal."
... he was never having children. He never wanted to try this talk again.
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Post by Miss Jack on Mar 13, 2008 1:31:45 GMT -5
Armand stared at him, blinked once, and his face broke into sudden, unexpected laughter. He laughed, and then immediately broke off in pain. Ow, ow, ooowwww.... Still chuckling, and half gasping with the effort and pain, he shook his head.
"No, no... that's not what I meant. And I did mean the timing... it took you a year. Most people notice the first time they meet her. Though, I suppose it is also terrible that a woman you loved married someone like that." He grimaced, and twisted to a more comfortable position.
He sighed. "Okay. So suppose you like two girls, equally, but for different reasons. And also suppose that you're like a bomb that nobody should be around, but they're both so damn persistent, and you haven't put forth your strongest effort to send them on their way, because you're..... you're... an ass."
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Post by Marguerite on Mar 13, 2008 15:40:36 GMT -5
"Oh, merci a Dieu," Julien sighed, entirely relieved. He hadn't any idea where to go once you'd said, 'Well, when a mommy and a daddy love each other very much'. Particularly in English.
Actually, he wasn't quite sure he'd be able to word it correctly in French.
Yeah. Never having kids.
"Euh?" Julien blinked and processed Armand's question. He then decided that "euh" was a perfectly logical response and sound advice to such a problem since he had no idea what to say.
He tried to say something anyways. "Euh... I'd... hunh." Operatic examples? "I'd sing about it alone onstage until I knew what I was going to do." Julien beamed, looking very pleased with himself for the obvious solution to such a multi-facted conundrum.
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Post by Miss Jack on Mar 13, 2008 15:50:00 GMT -5
He smiled and shook his head. "Now why didn't I think of that?" he asked, going back to playing the piano.
Oh, woe is me. My heart is in two, and instead of choosing one, I kiss them both. Not to mention, I should include, that I'm deadly to myself and everyone around me, and hopefully this isn't a tragedy, otherwise I'll kill them both, and then kill myself in my torment...
He chuckled a little again, trying to imagine Julien giving that talk to anyone that might actually need it.
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Post by Marguerite on Mar 13, 2008 23:23:02 GMT -5
"Because you don't 'ave ze years of experience behind you zat I do," Julien replied aimably.
After a moment, it struck him as really very strange that he'd been dating October since Pia had been pregnant with Armand and the idea felt... itchy, almost. Like something was wrong.
Julien flexed his shoulders to try and rid himself of hte uneasiness he felt. "Euh, Armand. on ze idea of timing and zings... you don't zink I 'ave messed up ze... romantic timing again, do you?"
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Post by Miss Jack on Mar 13, 2008 23:29:15 GMT -5
Armand glanced up at him curiously, noting the slight anxiety to his godfather's countenance. His playing slowed by a beat. Choosing his words carefully, he said, "Well... I suppose in your case it's not as drastic, since October knows you.... especially since it took you so long to... Eh. Let me put it this way. Are you planning on leaving October any time soon?"
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