that feels kind of like getting a bit of power back
...so he hefts another book threateningly]
So, you'll make everyone at school think I'm dirty until I become that way to earn your silence, huh? Even though that rumor would hurt our families just as much as me telling them what you actually do, if it left school?
Then maybe I'll start rumors, too. I'll tell everyone your nose is bruised because you're forcing me. That way, when it gets out, you're the only one in trouble.
[He never thought he'd stoop to that kind of selfish politicking. It feels wrong, underhanded and inelegant and crude in a way that dirties him only just a little less than what Cyrus wants. But it's a matter of pride not to give in, even if the whole thing makes him so frustrated that, despite himself, the tears he's been holding back are starting to well up.]
no subject
that feels kind of like getting a bit of power back
...so he hefts another book threateningly]
So, you'll make everyone at school think I'm dirty until I become that way to earn your silence, huh? Even though that rumor would hurt our families just as much as me telling them what you actually do, if it left school?
Then maybe I'll start rumors, too. I'll tell everyone your nose is bruised because you're forcing me. That way, when it gets out, you're the only one in trouble.
[He never thought he'd stoop to that kind of selfish politicking. It feels wrong, underhanded and inelegant and crude in a way that dirties him only just a little less than what Cyrus wants. But it's a matter of pride not to give in, even if the whole thing makes him so frustrated that, despite himself, the tears he's been holding back are starting to well up.]
Is that enough for you?