Piper is a boy's name!

Jeff took the offered phone and entered his details before handing it back and smiling at him. “Friday sounds perfect. I h-have a lecture around noon, but a-after that I’m all yours.” He let his smile grow some as he looked across Pip’s features, feeling a sense of butterflies flutter through his stomach at the thought of going out with him.

"A'ight," Pip nodded as he took the phone back. "After noon. I'll call you. And you'd better pick up, because if you don't, I'll... do nothing, probably, I dunno," he told him, laughing at how weak his threat was. "Friday. I can't wait."

Jeff found himself staring at Pip in disbelief after a few moments, shaking himself from it as soon as he realised. “Y-You.. Y-Yeah! I mean, I-I wouldn’t object to g-going on a date with you.” He started to fumble in his pocket to grab his phone, offering it to the other boy once it was on the right screen. “You can add your n-number if you want, and I c-can add mine to yours?”

Pip was starting to love the way this guy talked. He was just so polite, it was driving him crazy. He nodded and pulled out his own battered old Nokia phone, handing it over to him as he took his and filled in his details. "So Friday, then? We can go for drinks or something."

Jeff’s mouth fell open a little in surprise, lifting his head to look at the other boy before fixing his expression so he didn’t look so stupid. “You.. Seriously? You want m-my number?” The blonde knew that if Pip really wanted it he would give it to him - especially with how great he was turning out to be - but if it was never going to be used then Jeff didn’t find it worth it. And when he found it hard believe this boy could want to be with him, it was making it hard for Jeff to simply agree.

Piper laughed, a little stunned. "Fuck me, you're so cute. Yes, I want your number. I want to take you out on a date sometime. I'm assuming that's alright with you?" he prompted. "You can say no, I ain't gonna force ya. But I really want to get to know you better."

Jeff’s cheeks grew warm as Pip continued to speak, his face and the back of his neck turning red by the end of it. “I-I can assure you that I d-don’t, erm, get attention everywhere I g-go..” He couldn’t quite meet the other boy’s eyes when he spoke, partially out of embarrassment, and partially from inexperience in this sort of situation.

Piper let out a low whistle, shaking his head slowly. Either there was a flaw with this guy that he just wasn't seeing, or he was having a really lucky day. "Will you let me get your number, then?" he asked, cheeky and hopeful.

Jeff let out a breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding when he heard Pip’s apology. He took the moment he had to take a deep breath, and then he was nodding his head with a small smile as he began to speak again. “I-It’s okay. I’d be l-lying if I said I was used to people t-talking to me like that..” 

"Wait, seriously?" Pip asked, visibly shocked by that. "You're seriously telling me people don't flirt with you? You're, like... ridiculously gorgeous. Are you really telling me that you don't get attention everywhere you go?"

Kurt raised an eyebrow at the other boy’s snarkiness and saw some of himself in the younger boy. He was impressed that he still managed to maintain it, even with his injuries. He walked a little closer towards the shorter man before stopping a few feet away, wanting to give hinm some space. “No. I’ve been seeing you like this for a few weeks now and I couldn’t help but get more and more worried each time I saw you.”

Piper was swaying a little on his feet but he just wiped his now bloodied hand on the front of his battered leather jacket. He didn't bother to hide the way he flinched back when the man stepped forward, narrowing his eyes at him in something between fear and a warning. "Well, that's nice. Thank you for giving a fuck. I'll be going now."

An Apology...

Jeff looked back to the other boy when he tried so hard to catch his attention, but when he realised what Pip was hinting at, his face was turning a deep shade of red that the blonde was sure would be permanently there whenever he was with this boy. “Th-That’s really not what I-I meant.. I-I, erm, I’m f-flattered, though.”

Piper usually didn't care when he overstepped boundaries - he had a habit of dancing all over the line - but awkward Jeff wasn't quite as cute as blushing Jeff. "Alright, alright, sorry," he said, holding up his hands. "I was only messin' with ya. I didn't mean to freak you out or make you uncomfortable or anything."

"Maybe it would, but that doesn’t make me any less concerned."

It was pretty unusual for Piper to encounter anyone who expressed genuine concern towards him but he was good at reading people and he couldn't see any lie in this guy's eyes. He pushed himself up the wall to stand a little straighter and wiped his bloody nose on the back of his hand, frowning at him. "So... What? You gonna adopt me or some shit? I might look like a kid but I'm 22. I won't be your pet project."

Jeff kept his gaze away from Pip as he spoke, feeling more embarrassment flood through his cheeks. Flirting with boys he barely knew was not usually one of his habits, so the idea that the other boy would think he was trying to, startled him slightly, but the fact that he hadn’t freaked out over the idea of being flirted with was what surprised him even more. “Well, hopefully y-you’ll find something to do soon. Being between work c-can be very costly.”

Pip tilted his head and leaned closer to Jeff, trying to get the blonde to look at him. He couldn't help but laugh at the choice of words he had used, especially since he was certain it wasn't on purpose. "Oh, I'm pretty sure I've already found something pretty interesting to do," he purred, looking the tall boy obviously up and down.

Jeff felt utterly embarrassed when Pip questioned him, and he looked away to try and hide just how pink he was turning. “I-It wasn’t a l-line.. J-Just curious, is all.” He said, hoping he wasn’t sounding rude, or out of line. The blonde just wanted to make sure the other boy understood him properly, and that hitting on him was not what he’d meant for it to sound like. “I’m s-sorry you’re between jobs right n-now. What is i-it that you do?” 

"Curious?" Pip laughed. "Sure you are." Usually Pip was defensive and closed-off, but this guy was just so completely unthreatening that he couldn't help but loosen up around him. "Oh, whatever really. I've done bar work, music, retail... Whatever work I can get my hands on. I can't exactly afford to be picky," he explained.

"You sure have a weird definition of fine. Come on, I only live ‘round the corner, I’ll get you cleaned up."

"Trust me, babe. My definition of fine would give you a breakdown."

[ pipercollin ]

"What? I... Yeah. I'm fine. I mean, my face is bleeding and I'm freezing to death. But other than that, I'm peachy keen."

"I was thinking we could just make pot brownies and watch porn, but I dunno. I feel like this calls for something more creative."

"Really? Aw, Is. You're so innocent. Kinda makes me want to corrupt you."