endlessflask | [ deerington inbox ]

And they never want to stop the problem in favour of the kid who needs it.

[ Which is why Eliot had never even bothered. He's well aware at how easily and readily people are willing to turn a blind eye to problems that don't concern them or if it involved something they don't agree with.

But that's neither here nor there, really. This is about Peter coming to his office.

So, what was it that made Quentin tell you to come see me?

[ He refuses to refer to him as Mr. Coldwater, thank you very much. ]

[ There's a moment when Peter thinks maybe he's said too much — because saying anything feels like too much, to him. A moment when he's holding his breath, nervous after everything he's just said.

And because it isn't even necessarily himself he's thinking of, not fully. It's his sister, who had been bullied and ostracised and kind of.. kept out of the way. Charlie had never reacted to it much, but Peter knew she hadn't always felt welcomed at school. In her own unspoken way, she'd expressed that. In her art.

But then Eliot agrees with him, and Peter releases that breath, glancing down at his lap again with a nod, softly agreeing back. Yeah. They never want to stop the problem unless it's affecting them directly. ]

We uh.. we talked for awhile. I hadn't been coming to class, so I went to apologise and we... talked. [ A lot had been said at the meeting, a lot of things dipped into. Peter doesn't even know where to begin. ] I think he could tell I wasn't doing so hot and uh... could use someone to talk to?

[ There's another pause as he glances up at Eliot again. ]

...You're from his world, right? Are you a magician, too?

Yeah. We met at school.

[ He wonders why Peter asks. Eliot supposes it could be simple curiosity, someone trying to get to know things about another person. That's what people do, after all. But a part of him can't help but wonder if being a magician, and thus having experience in a wide range of bullshit, is relevant to what Peter wants to talk about. ]

I can't really say I'll be able to help you, but I can definitely talk. I can listen to whatever you need to get off your chest and, honestly, sometimes that's really all someone needs.

[ Definitely the latter there. Learning that Strange Things (or things he'd always perceived as strange, anyway) exist so prominently in other people's worlds has been terrifying and yet... helpful. He could never talk to someone back home in normal fucking Utah about things like, oh, demonic possession, but maybe he can talk to people here in Hell Town who know about... magic and spells and all that stuff.

Though he's still really nervous, hands fiddling with themselves again. ]

I uh... Uh..... [ Peter swallows with an audible sound. This is hard. But he's got to start somewhere. ]

There's something wrong with me. And I guess I'm afraid I could... I could hurt other people. That's why I stopped coming to school?

I, uh.... I don't want to hurt anybody.

[ Eliot shifts just a little in his chair, comfortable but attentive. He tilts his head while Peter talks. It's vague enough that Eliot can start filling in the blanks with any number of things. ]

To be fair, there are things all over the place here that can hurt other people.

[ He cracks a smile and it goes away just as fast. Whatever it is, even if it's really nothing at all, it's got Peter scared. ]

And there are people here that know how to handle things that can hurt people.

[ That.... is a fair statement; Eliot's right. Compared to the shit that this place gets up to, Peter's dangerous levels actually seem... relatively low. At least, so far they have been.

But what if that changes? What if he gets worse? He's fretting, shifting a bit, fingers twisting into each other, because he doesn't want to say too much, but he doesn't know how to skirt around it very well, either. ]

Yeah. Yeah, you're right. I saw Mr. Coldwater.... do magic. Something bad was happening, someone was attacking me, and he protected me. He was... really powerful.

[ Said magic could probably be used to stop Peter, too. If Quentin ever had to. Or any of the rest of these magician people around. ...This man, too. Peter glances up at him sideways, hesitating before easing into it. Maybe it's for the best if he makes sure the adults around here know how he can be dangerous. They can stop him. ]

Sometimes I'm not exactly myself. It's like... like something else takes over me. And I'm afraid it'll hurt someone.

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