Post by Deleted on Sept 21, 2013 15:28:46 GMT -8
Arthur rubbed his hands together and wrapped his jacket tighter around himself, hunching his shoulders. He let out a sigh. The warm air floated over his bottom lip. It was just cold, he told himself. Just a cold day standing outside St. Paul’s Cathedral, that was all. It wasn’t unusual for him to be standing outside there—there were plenty of other people standing around outside, taking photographs and chatting.
They were tourists, though. Arthur was not. The cathedral seemed to rise above him, three times bigger than usual. Arthur wondered if it was his own imagination playing tricks or if it actually was this size up close.
He shivered. For all he was trying to tell himself that he was simply feeling the chill of the air, he really wasn’t. Arthur knew he had no place here. The feeling he was getting—the shiver that went down his spine and the ache in his gut—it was discomfort. He shifted from one foot to the other. He knew he was uncomfortable, knew he shouldn’t be here. This was a place where people like him did not come to do anything but admire the architecture of the building.
“Where is he?” Arthur muttered to no one. He glanced around the people ambling around in front of the cathedral, yet there was no familiar orange hair among them. Arthur had been standing there trying not to look out of place for a good ten minutes now. It was nerve wracking enough to be here, but to stand around waiting on his own made it even worse. He didn’t want to be here, but he’d made a promise on impulse over the phone with his half-brother, one made of desperation and hope that maybe, just maybe they’d be better friends after it.
…Except Arthur had forgotten that a clash of beliefs usually led in the opposite direction. He wasn’t sure what Donny would want to do when he finally got there, but Arthur had the uncomfortable feeling that it wouldn’t be something he wanted to do. Arthur didn’t mind churches or cathedrals or any other place of belief so long as he wasn’t there.
He supposed it was guilt. He didn’t believe the same as the rest there so he had no business hanging around, let alone stopping by. He felt guilty for being there, taking up space and not wanting to be there. If he didn’t want to be there, the fact of the matter was that he shouldn’t have gone in the first place.
Arthur had been rash. He should have stopped right when Donny suggested the cathedral as a meeting place instead of readily agreeing to it. He’d had the heart sinking feeling that all his siblings suspected his beliefs (of lack thereof), though he’d never been open about them. Better to stay quiet than to cause more trouble than it was worth, Arthur figured. This, he felt, would only worsen the tension that already existed between them.
“Ah damn…” he hissed, shoving his hands in his pockets. He glanced at the sky, then back at the crowd, which appeared to have thinned.
There were too many ways for this meeting to go horribly wrong.
They were tourists, though. Arthur was not. The cathedral seemed to rise above him, three times bigger than usual. Arthur wondered if it was his own imagination playing tricks or if it actually was this size up close.
He shivered. For all he was trying to tell himself that he was simply feeling the chill of the air, he really wasn’t. Arthur knew he had no place here. The feeling he was getting—the shiver that went down his spine and the ache in his gut—it was discomfort. He shifted from one foot to the other. He knew he was uncomfortable, knew he shouldn’t be here. This was a place where people like him did not come to do anything but admire the architecture of the building.
“Where is he?” Arthur muttered to no one. He glanced around the people ambling around in front of the cathedral, yet there was no familiar orange hair among them. Arthur had been standing there trying not to look out of place for a good ten minutes now. It was nerve wracking enough to be here, but to stand around waiting on his own made it even worse. He didn’t want to be here, but he’d made a promise on impulse over the phone with his half-brother, one made of desperation and hope that maybe, just maybe they’d be better friends after it.
…Except Arthur had forgotten that a clash of beliefs usually led in the opposite direction. He wasn’t sure what Donny would want to do when he finally got there, but Arthur had the uncomfortable feeling that it wouldn’t be something he wanted to do. Arthur didn’t mind churches or cathedrals or any other place of belief so long as he wasn’t there.
He supposed it was guilt. He didn’t believe the same as the rest there so he had no business hanging around, let alone stopping by. He felt guilty for being there, taking up space and not wanting to be there. If he didn’t want to be there, the fact of the matter was that he shouldn’t have gone in the first place.
Arthur had been rash. He should have stopped right when Donny suggested the cathedral as a meeting place instead of readily agreeing to it. He’d had the heart sinking feeling that all his siblings suspected his beliefs (of lack thereof), though he’d never been open about them. Better to stay quiet than to cause more trouble than it was worth, Arthur figured. This, he felt, would only worsen the tension that already existed between them.
“Ah damn…” he hissed, shoving his hands in his pockets. He glanced at the sky, then back at the crowd, which appeared to have thinned.
There were too many ways for this meeting to go horribly wrong.
