CURTIS HAWTHORNE
Archived
Posts: 26
Played by:
Julia
Last seen Feb 26, 2023 19:44:46 GMT
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Post by CURTIS HAWTHORNE on Sept 17, 2021 18:02:10 GMT
 ━ and i came to realize; i have more to offer the world ━
He wasn’t one to get buried in work like this. It wasn’t the first time, of course, but he didn’t often ignore everything to look at flow charts and emails. Especially not after Adam’s return.
Curtis, of course, took some of the blame for it━less now than he had in the beginning, and more than Liz advised him to. A silent promise was made to the two of them; he’d be around more. They had family dinners at least once a week, no cellphones at the table, and talked about their day. It was more when Adam was younger, but the reins had… somewhat loosened over the last few years. Now, though, Curtis didn’t want them to. It seemed like a delicate balance between smothering Adam and giving him space to grow.
But space was what he’d had with Jonas, and his brother died with their petty family fights still on his heart. On both of their hearts. There wasn’t a day when Curtis didn’t miss him and wished things could be different, and so he couldn’t let Adam slip from his fingers. But… that was part of being a good dad, he supposed, and that’s all Curtis wanted to be.
“Hope your day doesn’t run too late. Love you.” Curtis fired a quick text off to Liz before rising from his desk, leaving his phone where it was, and venturing out into their home. He went to the kitchen first, deciding on a snack before he’d go to Adam’s room and see what he was up to; if he wanted anything to eat. When he made it to the kitchen, though, he found Adam, a cake, and a bunch of decorations strewn about all higgledy-piggledy.
“Uh…” Curtis began, an amused grin spreading on his lips, fetching an apple from a bowl on the counter. “Is there some sort of special occasion I missed? Or a memo from my teenage son pleading for the house to be free?” God, he could only hope. Adam wasn’t technically a teenager any longer, but he still had that awkward, gangly way about him, and part of Curtis wished he’d get ushered out of his own home for the sake of Adam’s… conquests. If he had any.
ADAM HAWTHORNE | hope dis is okey dokey  |
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ADAM HAWTHORNE
Human
special child
Posts: 184
Occupation:
Student
Status:
In a Relationship
Partner:
Illyria Fraser
Played by:
noelle
and in the middle of my chaos there was you.
Last seen Nov 19, 2024 19:29:57 GMT
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Post by ADAM HAWTHORNE on Sept 17, 2021 21:27:45 GMT
 ━ heavy lies the head that wears the crown ━
Adam was excited, but most of all, he was nervous. He wanted today to go by without any hiccups because Ria deserved to have a wonderful time but maybe he had overestimated himself a little bit as he leaned back a little bit to look at the crooked decorations hanging onto the wall for dear life. "Oh, c'mon..." Adam grumbled, his head tipping back with a small sigh falling from his lips as he reached for the ladder to help him reach the decorations better. He didn't fix it but instead, took it down instead, placing them on the table next to the other decorations, deciding to put something else up instead since it looked a little bit cheap and he didn't like that.
He decided to worry about putting up the decorations later and quickly made his way to the kitchen when he heard the oven give away that single 'ding' that alerted him the timer was up. Adam reached for the mittens to put them on so he could take the cake out of the oven. He placed the cake on the counter so he could start decorating it, wrinkling his nose a little bit at the funky smell that lingered in the kitchen. He started decorating the cake with a little bit of white at first then added a little bit of color to create a circle, leaving a blank space in the middle to write 'happy birthday' on it. The cream was a bit runny so the cake looked like it was melting and it made him cringe a little bit. It really looked nothing like the picture.
"S'okay, who doesn't like deformed cakes? S'fine. I can just... put it in the fridge or something." Adam assured himself so he wouldn't toss the cake in the nearest garbage bin and focused instead on finishing up the cake decoration process, his hands trembling a little bit from the fixation. He leaned back a little bit to look at the cake, a small smile forming on his lips as he paid closer attention to his writing. Happy Ria, birthday! It said, in crooked writing and it seemed to take a moment for it to actually click in his head what he'd just written.
"Just when I thought this couldn't get any worse..." Before Adam could wipe the icing away to start over, the door opened and closed and not long after, his dad was in the kitchen with him. "Hey, dad." Adam greeted with a soft smile tugging at his lips before he looked at the messy decorations and the deformed looking cake, offering the other a sheepish smile. "Oh, no, no. Nothing like that. It's just my friend's birthday." My friend that I took out on a date. He rubbed the back of his neck shyly before he started moving about so he could finish putting up the decorations before Ria gets here. "I wanted to do a little something to surprise her, s'all. But it's kinda... not going well." Adam said with a brief chuckle falling from his lips as he gestured to the deformed cake with the terrible writing. "I wanted to bake a cake to surprise her but I have a pretty strong feeling this cake will give her food poisoning instead, if I'm being honest."
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CURTIS HAWTHORNE
Archived
Posts: 26
Played by:
Julia
Last seen Feb 26, 2023 19:44:46 GMT
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Post by CURTIS HAWTHORNE on Sept 23, 2021 13:41:55 GMT
━ and i came to realize; i have more to offer the world ━
As Curtis eased himself into the kitchen, now taken over by Adam and his baking skills (or lack thereof), his dark eyes noted each of the little clues he could find. One: Adam was nervous━he always somewhat resembled a trembling chihuahua, but this was different━like nerves before a large assignment. Two: The name on the cake; Ria, feminine. He had a good feeling about this.
Adam introduced her as a friend, but Curtis conveniently ignored that. Friend, shmend. Minor details that could change. After all that trouble with Adam’s last girlfriend, the one who died, he was happy to see his son moving on. And he’d continue to encourage it for as long as possible. While also digging for information, of course.
“Friend, huh?” He smirked, leaning on the edge of the counter, taking a bite out of his apple. “A girl friend?” Not bothering to try and separate the words, Curtis only continued teasing, munching through the apple. “That’s really nice, Adam; surprising her with all this. I did something similar for your mom, you know━before we got married.”
Pushing away from the edge, Curtis moved closer, inspecting the cake more clearly, one brow raised, examining it as if it’d come to life any moment and attack him. “If she’s worth all this effort, I’m sure she’ll still appreciate it,” Curtis said, eyes flicking to his son, that amused grin returning. “And if not, well, you’ll get rid of her anyway with whatever you put in here.” Motioning to the cake with a laugh, Curtis shifted towards Adam, clapping a hand on his shoulder. “You’re going to order dinner out, right? Do you need my card?” They weren’t poor by any means, though they also weren’t frivolous with their spending. If it was important━like school or otherwise━there wasn’t a question about paying for it, but by no means did they spoil Adam. This, however, was a special occasion, and Curtis didn’t mind splurging a little to make his son happy and help him impress his girlfriend.
ADAM HAWTHORNE | no notes. |
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ADAM HAWTHORNE
Human
special child
Posts: 184
Occupation:
Student
Status:
In a Relationship
Partner:
Illyria Fraser
Played by:
noelle
and in the middle of my chaos there was you.
Last seen Nov 19, 2024 19:29:57 GMT
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Post by ADAM HAWTHORNE on Nov 18, 2021 19:25:43 GMT
━ heavy lies the head that wears the crown ━
Friend, huh? A girl friend?
Adam's eyes comically widened at his dad's subtle question. His lips parted and closed multiple times, almost looking like a fish in water. He shifted weight from one foot to the other in an awkward manner and also because he had so much anxiety coursing through his body that staying still was an alien concept to him. "Maybe, um, maybe a little bit of both?" Adam sheepishly revealed as his lips stretched to form a thin smile that looked more like a straight line than an actual smile. "We might have gone out on a date already..." He found himself thinking back to that one night, how his mood changed from being so choked up with sadness to something a lot lighter. She made him happy and so he wanted to return the favor.
That’s really nice, Adam; surprising her with all this. I did something similar for your mom, you know━before we got married.
"Thanks, dad." A curious look formed on Adam's face as he looked at his dad, his head tilting slightly to the side as he attempted to envision what that looked like. It was more than enough to put a soft smile on his lips already. "That sounds really romantic." His smile turned into a grin instead. "Did she like it?" Maybe, in a way, he was trying to stealthily figure out if Illyria would like this, too.
If she’s worth all this effort, I’m sure she’ll still appreciate it, And if not, well, you’ll get rid of her anyway with whatever you put in here. You’re going to order dinner out, right? Do you need my card?
Adam could feel his heart skipping a beat at that, a hopeful look appearing on his face but that look quickly came crashing down at his dad's next words. "Wh-- Hey! It's not that bad." Adam took one more look at the cake before he made a comically disgusted face. "But she is worth it all. I'd bake a hundred cakes for her if I could." Adam attempted to not look at his cake as he said that because it really would be a safety hazard if he did bake more. "Oh," he shook his head at his dad's offer. "No, it's okay. I still have money on me. Thanks, though." His parents weren't the spoiling type and it definitely helped build up his independence and he appreciated it quite a lot. "How are you doing, by the way? How was your day?" Adam questioned while working on fixing up some of the decorations that became a little bit crooked. He just couldn't stand and look at his cake a second longer or else it will make him feel sick. It was honestly that bad. There was just no denying it.
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CURTIS HAWTHORNE
Archived
Posts: 26
Played by:
Julia
Last seen Feb 26, 2023 19:44:46 GMT
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Post by CURTIS HAWTHORNE on Dec 8, 2021 21:18:00 GMT
━ and i came to realize; i have more to offer the world ━
“Really?” Curtis beamed, “Might have? Either you did, or you didn’t, kid,” But he was only teasing, voice light to pull the truth out of Adam. If he wanted it to be a date, and he was doing all this extra stuff for her, then it probably was one━Adam just had to be a little more confident about it; he knew the truth.
‘Did she like it?’
He nearly blurted out ‘of course she did, who wouldn’t love a night with me?’ before he realized what Adam might be looking for━and it wasn’t a crack full of his dad’s ballooning ego. Still grinning wide with his joke on the tip of his tongue, Curtis suppressed it to nod and share the story, “Yeah. It was her birthday, too, and after she finally agreed to go out with me, I had to show her what she was missing for so long, right? So, I set up my whole apartment for her━got her flowers, rented a few chick flicks, the whole nine yards. In the end, I burnt dinner, the flowers made her allergies flare up, and she’d seen all the movies I got. But we ordered takeout and watched an old Kung-Fu movie, and she still talks about it like it was one of the best birthdays she’s ever had.” (They spent more than half their night in bed, too, but he left that part out for Adam’s sake.) He wanted him to know that even if everything went wrong, you could still have a fantastic time if the person was right. And he knew that, after all Adam had been through, he wouldn’t be rushing into something if it wasn’t. It didn’t have to be forever━they were still young━but Curtis hoped they could make each other happy for now.
‘But she is worth it all. I'd bake a hundred cakes for her if I could.’
“That’s sweet, kid, but don’t do that without the fire department on speed dial.” Curtis laughed, finishing his apple in a few big bites and shifting around Adam to dump it in the food waste bin, then moving back over to the other side of the counter. He supervised as Adam busied himself, probably finding a way to expel all the anxiety, so Curtis tried not to interrupt. “My day was alright. We’re looking to expand into the Scandinavian market, and there’s a teacher at Whitmore who speaks Norwegian. Might pay him a visit and see if we can get him on a temporary contract.”
Curtis couldn’t help himself; he pushed away from the counter and walked up to stand beside Adam, pretending as though he was surveying for a moment before smacking one of the streamers upwards. It didn’t do much except ruffle, nothing permanent, as the goal was to just torment Adam a little. Laughing, Curtis glanced back to his son, “How are classes going? Maybe if I stop in during one of your breaks, we can get lunch.” He could only be eternally grateful that Adam had decided to stay somewhere close for school; he didn’t know what they would’ve done if Adam had moved halfway across the country.
ADAM HAWTHORNE | no notes. |
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ADAM HAWTHORNE
Human
special child
Posts: 184
Occupation:
Student
Status:
In a Relationship
Partner:
Illyria Fraser
Played by:
noelle
and in the middle of my chaos there was you.
Last seen Nov 19, 2024 19:29:57 GMT
|
Post by ADAM HAWTHORNE on Dec 12, 2021 13:03:37 GMT
━ heavy lies the head that wears the crown ━
Really? Might have? Either you did, or you didn’t, kid,
"Oh my god," A chuckle escaped Adam's lips as he dipped his head down, his grin easing into a shy smile. "We did go on a date, yeah." Adam revealed with a clear of his throat following, playing off his shyness as something else entirely, but no matter how hard he tried, he won't be able to erase the blush that had darkened his cheeks. "I kind of, uh, asked her out on a date on the same day we met." He was worried at the time that she'd say no, but in the end, it seemed like he had worried over nothing.
Yeah. It was her birthday, too, and after she finally agreed to go out with me, I had to show her what she was missing for so long, right? So, I set up my whole apartment for her━got her flowers, rented a few chick flicks, the whole nine yards. In the end, I burnt dinner, the flowers made her allergies flare up, and she’d seen all the movies I got. But we ordered takeout and watched an old Kung-Fu movie, and she still talks about it like it was one of the best birthdays she’s ever had.
Adam listened intently to what his dad was saying, a smile already forming on his lips. He had to bite down on his bottom lip to stop himself from laughing at the thought of his dad messing up the first date that badly. But in the end, he erupted into a fit of laughter anyway until he eventually pulled himself together. "Sorry, sorry." Adam apologized with a smile pulling on his lips. He looked pretty happy to hear that the date night had gone well in the end. "That's really sweet. I'm glad it worked out well in the end. Now I know why mom is always the one to cook for us." He teased with a grin forming on his lips. "And now I also know where I get my bad kitchen skills from." He gestured to the cake on the table, looking like molten goo rather than an actual cake.
That’s sweet, kid, but don’t do that without the fire department on speed dial. My day was alright. We’re looking to expand into the Scandinavian market, and there’s a teacher at Whitmore who speaks Norwegian. Might pay him a visit and see if we can get him on a temporary contract.
Adam gave his dad a 'look' at the tease. "Ha, ha." He grumbled with a pout already tugging at his bottom lip. "At least I didn't burn it." He teased with a grin tugging at his lips, his pout already long gone. He returned to his task of fixing up the decorations while listening to his dad. Adam froze momentarily at the mention of Whitmore, gulping past the lump stuck in his throat. He shook his head to brush the nerves away because surely it won't turn into a conversation about him becoming a student at Whitmore. Surely not. "That's great!" Adam squeaked, his voice a little too high-pitched because of his nerves. "I hope he agrees! Scandinavian studies sound so cool, honestly." Adam felt terrible about lying to his dad, but it was for his own good. He'd seen with his own eyes what the truth could do to an unsuspecting human. He didn't want to put his dad under the same pressure and truth be told, he was scared of his dad's reaction to all of it. Would he see him as a his son, still, or as a monster? He was too scared to find out the answer to that one cursed question.
Adam snapped out of his thoughts when his dad smacked one of the streamers upwards, ruffling the decorations. "Hey!━" Adam whined as he reached out to keep the decorations stable. He squinted his eyes at his dad when he heard his laughter. "Unbelievable," his act of being upset didn't last long at all before a grin soon formed on his lips. "You're enjoying this an awful lot, dad." He pointed out a moment later, his grin still on his lips as he returned to his task of fixing up the decorations.
How are classes going? Maybe if I stop in during one of your breaks, we can get lunch.
Adam froze in the midst of his task, his eyes widening slightly. He was eternally grateful that his back was facing his dad. "No!" Adam replied all too quickly as he nearly lost his balance while turning around to face his dad, his expression turning into a sheepish one. "I'm like, suuuper busy with classes and everything, so I don't really have any, any... any, uh, breaks!" Adam winced at how utterly unconvincing he was being. "But, um, my classes are fine! Yeah. Lots of, um, projects and s━stuff." Adam talked rather animatedly, his hand gestures increasing as he found himself utterly incapable of staying still. "Sorry, dad. But I could, um, I could eat with you after I get home?"
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CURTIS HAWTHORNE
Archived
Posts: 26
Played by:
Julia
Last seen Feb 26, 2023 19:44:46 GMT
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Post by CURTIS HAWTHORNE on Jan 6, 2022 17:54:21 GMT
━ and i came to realize; i have more to offer the world ━
Raising his brows as Adam laughed, Curtis tried to suffocate his smirk and didn’t release it until the line came that he’d been holding back for Adam’s sake. “Hey, I’ve got skills in the bedroom your mom loves, and she’s happy to cook for me.” Laughing harder now, Curtis held onto the edge of the island and let it rumble through him, deeply impressed with his strictly-dad ability to embarrass his son. It softened Adam’s next shot about not burning the cake, allowing him to chuckle through that, too.
‘You're enjoying this an awful lot, dad.’
He was. Curtis was proud/i] of Adam, more than happy his son not only had a date but was venturing out into a brand new set of skills and possibilities. It meant he could crawl out of his shell one step at a time, and each tiny journey made visible all the similarities between them. Curtis still thought of his brother almost every day, and being Adam’s father-figure now would never erase that, but there was something about being proud of his son that had a lot of guilt mixed in.
‘No!’
Turning to stare at the back of Adam’s head, Curtis’ dark eyes went wide, surprised his son was passing up the opportunity. It really wasn’t like him at all, was it? Or was girlfriend bringing on a new sense of independence? Whatever it was, it surprised the hell outta Curtis.
And then Adam started rambling, moving around so much that Curtis thought he might just fall over. Sticking out a hand to hover over his arm, just in case Adam needed it, he watched his son get all flustered and… was he lying? He was absolutely awful at it, so it wasn’t hard to catch; Curtis just couldn’t believe Adam was actually doing it. “Yeah, sure.” Curtis nodded, trying to fight through the weirdness of it all, though his expression still read that he didn’t believe a word of it. “We can do that.” Taking a few steps away to give Adam room to breathe or gyrate a little more, whichever he wanted, Curtis edged towards the kitchen’s threshold.
“Do you need any more help with decorations?” He asked, grinning slyly and motioning to the decoration he’d batted around like a bored cat. Easing this tension-filled situation with a bit of humour was simpler than forcing Adam to come clean or stress him out even more before his already stress-filled date. “Or do you want me to make myself scarce now for when your lady friend comes over?”
ADAM HAWTHORNE | end here or w yours? |
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