[align=center][div style="background=transparent; borderwidth=0px; bordercolor=; width: 400px; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 125%; text-align: justify; font-family: arial; color: black"]
— it wasn’t easy being jerome hemingway. he felt almost ridiculous for thinking anything even remotely close to the statement. after all, he was the man who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, possibly possessing the easiest life compared to most in this new world of theirs. if that was the case, though, why did he wake up in the mornings and feel so painfully numb? each morning the man would roll over in bed and gaze at the door solemnly, something almost sad and painfully empty in usually expressive eyes as the world went on without him. each day came a lack of motivation to do anything, a bitter part of him convinced he wouldn’t amount to much in that day anyway. sometimes he laid in that bed for hours, if not the entire morning. simply lay there and listen to the sound of his heartbeat pound away in his ears. on the brink of deciding if he wanted to go about another day- pondering if he was even existing at all. such an empty life surely wasn’t a life at all.
he would eventually sit up on the edge of the bed, taking a long pause before slowly standing up. he looked so somber, sullen and morose features as he dragged his feet across the room, his head hanging low as if he didn’t have the strength to hold it high like he used to. the emptiness inside of him often felt painfully heavy.
this so-called “easy life” didn’t feel so easy anymore.
things were finally starting to look up, though. that was what he convinced himself of, at least. it was becoming easier to drag himself up and out of bed, to convince himself to eat, to tell himself that things were going to be okay someday. and, believe it or not, most days he found his only motivation was none other than eben viljoen. there was something that made him feel like his life had some sort of purpose as he stepped out of his room, coming out and seeing eben already up and ready for the day. sometimes jerome got himself out of bed and dressed solely to wish the man a warm good morning, hair a mess and appearance rather disheveled before he offered to make them both a cup of coffee. sitting down and idly smiling over a cup of coffee, a pleased and content smile always sure to find its way to his lips. acting as if he had it all because, in that moment, he did.
did eben even know how important his presence was to jerome? j didn’t think the man ever would know.
his presence was possibly unnecessary in eben’s own life, but if there was anything jerome was good for, at least it could be a cup of coffee. he sat at the table, just like the usual routine, gazing at eben over the usual cups of coffee. taking the last gulp of his own drink, he lowered his own empty cup down onto the tabletop, clearing his throat gently. he reached a hand forward to gently nudge his cup over towards eben, as if silently asking for the man to take the cup to the sink with him once he was done with his own. if anything else, it was also a subtle grab for attention, recognition, anything.
fingers tapped against the table, eyes slowly looking over towards eben as if waiting for the perfect moment to speak what was on his mind. each passing second felt unbearably drawn out. j turned his head to the side, swallowing hard and momentarily clenching his jaw. he glanced over towards eben, waiting until his friend stood up. if there was any such thing as a perfect time to bring it up, now was as good a time as any. he waited to speak until eben’s back was to him. “you know ellie?” cautious eyes wandered over towards eben, as if gauging his reaction, weighing his options carefully in that situation. when did he suddenly start walking on eggshells around the person he considered his favorite person in the world? more importantly, why did he feel the need to walk so carefully when he easily claimed the man was so near and dear to his heart?
huffing a breath, he shook his head and looked down at the table. folding his hands together on the tabletop, he leaned forward. “well. we’ve been talking for a while, getting to know each other, and-” he couldn’t help the smile that made its way to his lips, shaking his head as he further explained, “she’s kind, and bright. beautiful..” he could evidently go on forever about the woman. he chose to bite his tongue, smiling gently to himself before he softly admitted it; “i really like her.” he went quiet as he said it out loud, the first time he ever said the small confession aloud. he couldn’t bear to look towards eben as he said it, face feeling flushed from embarrassment.
“i want to know if she feels the same way as i do, but…” if the man could hardly explain this smoothly to his best friend, how would he even go about asking her? he huffed an awkward breath, finally flitting his gaze over towards eben as he said, “i don’t even know how to go about it.” swallowing hard, his embarrassed smile faded into a more solemn, almost pleading look. a silent plea for eben’s help. asking for eben’s advice without having the pride to tell the man exactly that out loud.
he didn’t know how far eben’s expertise on the topic went. all he knew was that eben knew just about everything. where jerome lacked, eben more than made up for. it had always been that way; why would this be any different? j shifted his weight in his seat, lowering his gaze momentarily. “do i ask her on a date? should i? surely it's not that easy...” it was quite evident he didn’t know the first thing about romance. though if he needed to find a reason to get up and start living, this seemed like the best place to start. eyes stared over at eben eagerly, as if the man held all the answers and advice he could possibly need. though there was a bit of caution in that same stare, as if the very man who could so easily give him the world could just as easily take it all away.
— it wasn’t easy being jerome hemingway. he felt almost ridiculous for thinking anything even remotely close to the statement. after all, he was the man who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, possibly possessing the easiest life compared to most in this new world of theirs. if that was the case, though, why did he wake up in the mornings and feel so painfully numb? each morning the man would roll over in bed and gaze at the door solemnly, something almost sad and painfully empty in usually expressive eyes as the world went on without him. each day came a lack of motivation to do anything, a bitter part of him convinced he wouldn’t amount to much in that day anyway. sometimes he laid in that bed for hours, if not the entire morning. simply lay there and listen to the sound of his heartbeat pound away in his ears. on the brink of deciding if he wanted to go about another day- pondering if he was even existing at all. such an empty life surely wasn’t a life at all.
he would eventually sit up on the edge of the bed, taking a long pause before slowly standing up. he looked so somber, sullen and morose features as he dragged his feet across the room, his head hanging low as if he didn’t have the strength to hold it high like he used to. the emptiness inside of him often felt painfully heavy.
this so-called “easy life” didn’t feel so easy anymore.
things were finally starting to look up, though. that was what he convinced himself of, at least. it was becoming easier to drag himself up and out of bed, to convince himself to eat, to tell himself that things were going to be okay someday. and, believe it or not, most days he found his only motivation was none other than eben viljoen. there was something that made him feel like his life had some sort of purpose as he stepped out of his room, coming out and seeing eben already up and ready for the day. sometimes jerome got himself out of bed and dressed solely to wish the man a warm good morning, hair a mess and appearance rather disheveled before he offered to make them both a cup of coffee. sitting down and idly smiling over a cup of coffee, a pleased and content smile always sure to find its way to his lips. acting as if he had it all because, in that moment, he did.
did eben even know how important his presence was to jerome? j didn’t think the man ever would know.
his presence was possibly unnecessary in eben’s own life, but if there was anything jerome was good for, at least it could be a cup of coffee. he sat at the table, just like the usual routine, gazing at eben over the usual cups of coffee. taking the last gulp of his own drink, he lowered his own empty cup down onto the tabletop, clearing his throat gently. he reached a hand forward to gently nudge his cup over towards eben, as if silently asking for the man to take the cup to the sink with him once he was done with his own. if anything else, it was also a subtle grab for attention, recognition, anything.
fingers tapped against the table, eyes slowly looking over towards eben as if waiting for the perfect moment to speak what was on his mind. each passing second felt unbearably drawn out. j turned his head to the side, swallowing hard and momentarily clenching his jaw. he glanced over towards eben, waiting until his friend stood up. if there was any such thing as a perfect time to bring it up, now was as good a time as any. he waited to speak until eben’s back was to him. “you know ellie?” cautious eyes wandered over towards eben, as if gauging his reaction, weighing his options carefully in that situation. when did he suddenly start walking on eggshells around the person he considered his favorite person in the world? more importantly, why did he feel the need to walk so carefully when he easily claimed the man was so near and dear to his heart?
huffing a breath, he shook his head and looked down at the table. folding his hands together on the tabletop, he leaned forward. “well. we’ve been talking for a while, getting to know each other, and-” he couldn’t help the smile that made its way to his lips, shaking his head as he further explained, “she’s kind, and bright. beautiful..” he could evidently go on forever about the woman. he chose to bite his tongue, smiling gently to himself before he softly admitted it; “i really like her.” he went quiet as he said it out loud, the first time he ever said the small confession aloud. he couldn’t bear to look towards eben as he said it, face feeling flushed from embarrassment.
“i want to know if she feels the same way as i do, but…” if the man could hardly explain this smoothly to his best friend, how would he even go about asking her? he huffed an awkward breath, finally flitting his gaze over towards eben as he said, “i don’t even know how to go about it.” swallowing hard, his embarrassed smile faded into a more solemn, almost pleading look. a silent plea for eben’s help. asking for eben’s advice without having the pride to tell the man exactly that out loud.
he didn’t know how far eben’s expertise on the topic went. all he knew was that eben knew just about everything. where jerome lacked, eben more than made up for. it had always been that way; why would this be any different? j shifted his weight in his seat, lowering his gaze momentarily. “do i ask her on a date? should i? surely it's not that easy...” it was quite evident he didn’t know the first thing about romance. though if he needed to find a reason to get up and start living, this seemed like the best place to start. eyes stared over at eben eagerly, as if the man held all the answers and advice he could possibly need. though there was a bit of caution in that same stare, as if the very man who could so easily give him the world could just as easily take it all away.
[align=center]
HOW COULD I KNOW WHAT YOU DON'T SHOW?
[abbr=31 years old, male, bluestem prairie]—[/abbr] surely you've had enough of always thinking you're right. . .
[abbr=31 years old, male, bluestem prairie]—[/abbr] surely you've had enough of always thinking you're right. . .