"Thanks." Crowley held the books, because shoving them into his own bag might inspire a crisis in Aziraphale. His bag wasn't exactly in pristine condition and there were rather more pentagrams drawn on it than he suspected Aziraphale might be comfortable with. So he just walked with him, arms around the two books, heading out of the school at long last.
"Crowley! What are you doing tonight?"
Based on the accent, Crowley knew it was Nicolas before he spotted him, so he wasn't overly alarmed. He doubted Nicolas would care who he was with. The other boy stood there, of course close to Spike, smoking right outside of the school. All right, maybe Aziraphale would mind this.
"Dunno yet. Why, what's up?"
Nicolas did notice Aziraphale now, but he just shrugged as he blew out some smoke. "Got a gig."
"You wanna come or are you planning on spending your evening at church or something?" Spike asked, exhaling smoke in the direction of Crowley and, yes, Aziraphale. Who did duck away from them and pull a face, clearly quite affronted by the fact that they were smoking here of all places.
"Gentleman, the sign clearly states that smoking is not allowed in this area." Perhaps they didn't know so he'd just politely inform them. "You shouldn't be smoking. Do put them out."
"Fuck off."
Aziraphale frowned deeply and tutted, not at all approving. "Well, come now, there's no excuse for such language."
"Leave him alone, all right?" Crowley moved a little closer to Aziraphale, making his allegiance clear. "Just send me the info and I'll see if I can fit it in, Nicki."
"M-hm. Don't wanna get in the way of choir practise." Well, Nicolas did still think it was funny, seeing Crowley with Jesus boy. Whatever his name was again. And he was very much not putting out his cigarette, obviously.
"Ah, shut it." Crowley moved his head in what was his equivalent of an eyeroll, then walked again, gently shoving Aziraphale along.
"You can bring a date!" Nicolas called after him, very helpfully.
"Bring us back some holy wine. We've got bugger all for getting wankered on tonight so whatever you got, we'll take it!" Spike called after them, watching the two walk away and snickering in amusement. As Aziraphale looked back, he gave the weird kid a thumbs up. "Nice bowtie, poofter!"
As they moved away, Aziraphale huffed and raised his hand, sheepishly adjusting his bowtie. How dare they? Such rude young men. "Those would be your friends, I take it? They seem ... charming." Awful, terrible little -- well, he couldn't even think the rude words he wanted to think right now, it was too far.
Why would Crowley keep such awful company? "Are you attending their 'gig' tonight?"
"Dunno yet. Maybe. Nicki's French, so I think he can't help the rudeness, and they make pretty good music." On the other hand, they'd just made Aziraphale's face look like that and he didn't like that at all. "I wouldn't say they are my friends exactly. Not like you."
Crowley didn't know if he'd call anyone other than Aziraphale his friend. He frowned, unsure how to best proceed here. This was awkward. "You could come with me, you know? Sometimes Nicolas plays violin. That's all posh, innit?"
"I don't know if I'd be welcome. People see me and-- well, I tend to ruin the mood for a lot of people." As soon as he sat at a table at school or got involved with people his age, it always inevitably circled back to religion, how stupid they thought it was and how much they didn't want him around. Which was sad and all but mostly, he was more frustrated by it than anything. To him, it just all didn't matter that much. Good or bad, believer or not - he just did it because he always had. It wasn't solely who he was.
"Besides, I don't know how I'd go. I'd have to ask to leave so late and they'd wonder and... they're a bit strict, you see." It wasn't easy for him to just go out and hang out with people.
Though he did like this idea of seeing more of Crowley. He did like his company quite a lot. And 'not like you'? Oh, so thrilling, just to know that Crowley felt the same. "It would be nice to do more things together..."
"People aren't going to pay that much notice. Besides, the music will be too loud for conversation." Crowley shrugged, honestly feeling a thrill now, because he realised there was a chance. There was a chance that Aziraphale would come with him and until now, he genuinely hadn't realised that he wanted that so badly. "I could pick you up."
He frowned, thinking about Aziraphale's house and debating just how bad an influence he could be. "You know... Your parents don't have to know that you've left."
"... They don't? How? They'd see me leave the front door and -- oh. Oh. Oh no! No, Crowley, no. I could never." Yes, it would be quite easy, actually - if he ever wanted to break the rules like that. His house had a balcony over the back and one could easily climb down from it. He'd done it once before, as a much younger child, trying to escape Gabriel's teasing.
"It-It-It would be so wrong! My parents, they would -- well, perhaps they wouldn't notice." They never really checked on him. No one did. They all knew he'd be reading and they'd assume he was occupied. They didn't exactly stop by to wish him good night and after dinner, that was kind of it... "Oh Crowley, I don't know. It seems so risky!"
"Not that risky, is it? I can pick you up and I'd make sure to get you back in too. We could probably even get a ride." Or maybe walking would feel safer to Aziraphale, while also risking less teasing. However, he was pretty determined to not let any amount of teasing bother him. And to maybe give anyone who teased Aziraphale a good talking to.
"It's not as if anyone in your family exactly runs in those circles, right? No one gonna see you there. And you like music, don't you?"
"I mean, I like the classics more. As in classical music, not as in whatever it's classed as these days. I like that sort of thing more than whatever I assume those--those gentlemen play. I assume some kind of rowdy bebop or something." He wasn't sure if he wanted to hear the music of a long-haired Frenchmen and his dyed blond friend - both of whom looked certainly like the sort of people his parents warned him away from.
Then again, they warned him away from Crowley and here he was, walking home with him every day.
"I suppose I could, if you'd get me back. It is a rather thrilling idea." Being such a rebel was exciting. His heart was racing and he was already sweaty and anxious. Exciting stuff!
"You can just tex--" Huh. It only now occurred to Crowley that he had no idea whether Aziraphale even owned a phone. They had never exchanged numbers and he had never seen him so much as hold a phone to check the time or anything like that, so perhaps he didn't have one. Perhaps that was forbidden devil stuff, like so many other things. "I guess you can just tell me when you'd be able to make it out? I'll be there to pick you up."
He frowned for a moment, wondering how to handle this delicately. "Do you want to put on a costume for this? You know. Fit in."
"Costume? I don't think so. What would that entail exactly? I don't have many costumes. I just have -- well, I do have one but it's from the nativity so it's a donkey. I don't think that's good for fitting in, is it?" Otherwise, what he wore was what he owned. Button down shirts, khakis, bowties. He was a very smartly dressed boy, his parents stocked up for him and he'd never really had to worry about dressing for anyone's approval.
Until now. Oh gosh, he had no outfit suitable for a bebopathon.
"I suppose I have nothing dark or informal. I have one t-shirt but it's from bible camp." So he didn't think that was very useful. "I'm sorry."
Right. This was a delicate situation, Crowley knew as much. He didn't mind how Aziraphale dressed, he didn't mind the remarks either. But he knew Aziraphale felt hurt by them and he wanted to protect him from being hurt. Protect him from anything bad, really. But that was easier said than done and he didn't want to hurt his pride either. "Listen, angel, you can wear what you want. But I could probably lend you something."
Oh, immediately another delicate situation. Damn it. "There's some of my brothers' old clothes around at home."
And most of them were a bit bigger than Crowley. "Only if you want to."
"Are they clean...?" He just had to ask. He had heard rumours about Crowley's siblings, he'd even heard Gabriel talk about them. All bad things. All of it. He was a little nervous at the idea, he wasn't going to lie - to wear clothes like that kind seemed very daunting all of a sudden. "I could perhaps borrow a t-shirt or something. If it would reduce the amount of attention drawn."
And then maybe he wouldn't get dunked on by all of Crowley's weird rocker friends.
"Usually what I want to wear is just this, I rather like the way I dress but if I'm to galivant with rockers and punks all evening, I'd rather not draw undue attention." So that was a yes. He'd see if he could at least try to wear something else. "We could try it out."
"Yeah, yeah, of course. I washed them." And he would be offended by the insinuation, but right now he was thinking about possibly offering him Hastur's shirts and Hastur was not clean. He kind of always smelled. But the shirt would be very clean, he would make sure of it. "What time do you think I could meet you for? It's all right if you can't make it, by the way. I'll wait for a while to make sure."
He knew this was a big thing. Aziraphale never broke rules. "We could get food on the way there."
"Dinner ends around 6ish and then I usually get my homework finished around then. I could be outside for around 7? My parents will be downstairs until around 11 and my brother works out in the evenings. And the mornings. And -- all the time, really." He trailed off, terrified and excited, not sure what to do with himself. He was a very bad liar, how would he manage to get through family dinner?!
"Perhaps I can claim I'm sick... if they ask me my plans, I will cave. I'm not a good liar, Crowley. I will try to avoid them and then perhaps we can meet at 7 and get food." Especially since he would likely have to skip a meal. "This is all very -- strange. I've never done anything like this."
"I know. It's all right if you can't pull it off. I'll wait until 8, yeah?" Or maybe he'd wait longer. He could see himself waiting longer. Just in case. What a pathetic case that would be, but whatever. He knew himself. If Aziraphale couldn't come, he doubted he'd enjoy himself tonight.
"You know that guy with the blond hair today? The one with Nicki? He goes by Spike these days. Didn't always. He used to dress a lot like you. But it looks better on you."
"The one who insulted my bowtie? Hmm. Well. Everyone changes, I suppose. Peer pressure or just life in general. I only don't because I like myself. As strange as it may be to some, I don't actually mind how I am." He took the two books Crowley was holding, as they were close to his home now, and he hugged them tight to his chest for moral support. "I'm fine with my peers never quite getting me. I think that's just part of life, isn't it?"
He didn't fit in with anyone. Well, anyone except Crowley.
And if Crowley didn't care how he looked or how he spoke, what he liked or didn't like, then why did he care? In some ways, his sheer lack of caring inspired Aziraphale in many ways. "I don't overly get them either. I'm sure I won't get their music at all."
"We'll see. Maybe I can get Nicki to play something classical." Hey, if he was drunk enough, Crowley figured it could be possible. Or if he got Spike to ask for it, which was an angle he felt could be worked. Depended on how things went, he supposed. "I'll make sure you have a good time. Even if it's just because I'll buy you a chocolate eclair on the way back."
He did know Aziraphale well. "See you at seven, angel."
"Oooh, lovely! I hope I can make it then!" He'd do anything for a chocolate éclair. Even break all of the rules and risk being grounded for eternity. "See you tonight, Crowley. Hopefully."
With a bright grin, he turned away and walked along the road, his heart positively fluttering.
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"Crowley! What are you doing tonight?"
Based on the accent, Crowley knew it was Nicolas before he spotted him, so he wasn't overly alarmed. He doubted Nicolas would care who he was with. The other boy stood there, of course close to Spike, smoking right outside of the school. All right, maybe Aziraphale would mind this.
"Dunno yet. Why, what's up?"
Nicolas did notice Aziraphale now, but he just shrugged as he blew out some smoke. "Got a gig."
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"Gentleman, the sign clearly states that smoking is not allowed in this area." Perhaps they didn't know so he'd just politely inform them. "You shouldn't be smoking. Do put them out."
"Fuck off."
Aziraphale frowned deeply and tutted, not at all approving. "Well, come now, there's no excuse for such language."
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"M-hm. Don't wanna get in the way of choir practise." Well, Nicolas did still think it was funny, seeing Crowley with Jesus boy. Whatever his name was again. And he was very much not putting out his cigarette, obviously.
"Ah, shut it." Crowley moved his head in what was his equivalent of an eyeroll, then walked again, gently shoving Aziraphale along.
"You can bring a date!" Nicolas called after him, very helpfully.
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As they moved away, Aziraphale huffed and raised his hand, sheepishly adjusting his bowtie. How dare they? Such rude young men. "Those would be your friends, I take it? They seem ... charming." Awful, terrible little -- well, he couldn't even think the rude words he wanted to think right now, it was too far.
Why would Crowley keep such awful company? "Are you attending their 'gig' tonight?"
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Crowley didn't know if he'd call anyone other than Aziraphale his friend. He frowned, unsure how to best proceed here. This was awkward. "You could come with me, you know? Sometimes Nicolas plays violin. That's all posh, innit?"
So maybe Aziraphale would like that.
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"Besides, I don't know how I'd go. I'd have to ask to leave so late and they'd wonder and... they're a bit strict, you see." It wasn't easy for him to just go out and hang out with people.
Though he did like this idea of seeing more of Crowley. He did like his company quite a lot. And 'not like you'? Oh, so thrilling, just to know that Crowley felt the same. "It would be nice to do more things together..."
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He frowned, thinking about Aziraphale's house and debating just how bad an influence he could be. "You know... Your parents don't have to know that you've left."
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"It-It-It would be so wrong! My parents, they would -- well, perhaps they wouldn't notice." They never really checked on him. No one did. They all knew he'd be reading and they'd assume he was occupied. They didn't exactly stop by to wish him good night and after dinner, that was kind of it... "Oh Crowley, I don't know. It seems so risky!"
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"It's not as if anyone in your family exactly runs in those circles, right? No one gonna see you there. And you like music, don't you?"
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Then again, they warned him away from Crowley and here he was, walking home with him every day.
"I suppose I could, if you'd get me back. It is a rather thrilling idea." Being such a rebel was exciting. His heart was racing and he was already sweaty and anxious. Exciting stuff!
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He frowned for a moment, wondering how to handle this delicately. "Do you want to put on a costume for this? You know. Fit in."
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Until now. Oh gosh, he had no outfit suitable for a bebopathon.
"I suppose I have nothing dark or informal. I have one t-shirt but it's from bible camp." So he didn't think that was very useful. "I'm sorry."
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Oh, immediately another delicate situation. Damn it. "There's some of my brothers' old clothes around at home."
And most of them were a bit bigger than Crowley. "Only if you want to."
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And then maybe he wouldn't get dunked on by all of Crowley's weird rocker friends.
"Usually what I want to wear is just this, I rather like the way I dress but if I'm to galivant with rockers and punks all evening, I'd rather not draw undue attention." So that was a yes. He'd see if he could at least try to wear something else. "We could try it out."
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He knew this was a big thing. Aziraphale never broke rules. "We could get food on the way there."
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"Perhaps I can claim I'm sick... if they ask me my plans, I will cave. I'm not a good liar, Crowley. I will try to avoid them and then perhaps we can meet at 7 and get food." Especially since he would likely have to skip a meal. "This is all very -- strange. I've never done anything like this."
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"You know that guy with the blond hair today? The one with Nicki? He goes by Spike these days. Didn't always. He used to dress a lot like you. But it looks better on you."
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He didn't fit in with anyone. Well, anyone except Crowley.
And if Crowley didn't care how he looked or how he spoke, what he liked or didn't like, then why did he care? In some ways, his sheer lack of caring inspired Aziraphale in many ways. "I don't overly get them either. I'm sure I won't get their music at all."
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He did know Aziraphale well. "See you at seven, angel."
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With a bright grin, he turned away and walked along the road, his heart positively fluttering.