Descent's Devotees (Candide & obieblu)

[obieblu]

The midwestern summer sun beat down hard on the Parish grounds. Luckily there were enough tall old trees to shade almost half of it. The sound of the lawnmower overpowered all the ambient insects as Josh pushed it along the dry grass. He had to wear jeans and sneakers to protect his feet and legs, but he'd shucked his overshirt and just wore a white tank top, mostly soaked with sweat. He would have felt immodest to go shirtless here. He'd been moving the lawns around his church since his early teen years, and this was his last summer doing so, having recently graduated high school. The pay wasn't good, but the reward was in feeling like he was contributing in his own small way since he'd gotten to old to be an altar boy.

Josh: Description

Goh "Josh" Lian
Josh is an earnest and cheerful young Asian jock from Singapore. His cheerful dark eyes beam out from his handsome tan face that's usually smiling. He's of average height, but it's offset by his strong build. Josh usually wears sporty but fashionable clothes that hug his muscular curves nicely. His black hair is done 'up' in a stylish messy crew cut. His full round butt fills out his jeans while his shirt seems tailored to feature his pecs and biceps. Josh, or 'GoJosh!' as he was called on the field as captain of the soccer team for his last 2 years. He's definitely a popular, sporty teen, but lacks the abrasive arrogance that usually goes with it. To many girls' disappointment, Josh doesn't date much.

Josh's parents had moved here from Singapore just before he was born. They were both from ultra-conservative Catholic families. His father was a geologist and had been offered a position at a local oil company headquarters. They'd picked this town after interviewing all of the priests in the local area. Josh had grown up in an economically comfortable household, although very religious. He took to sports more than science, so he fit in decently well with the other jocks and avoided some of the stigma he could have easily been subjected to. Josh was known for being shy with girls, and he hardly dated. He told himself he was waiting until he was older and thinking about marriage, but there was another reason that he'd locked down deep in the recesses of his psyche.

 

[Candide]

It didn't take long for James to find his next door neighbor in the yard. Short, skinny, brown-haired and insistent that he was descended from some obscure English king, he hops up onto the fence enclosing the yard, snapping his fingers for attention.

It's been awhile since they'd spoken, after all. James has been busy with some other group in town. It's not as if he's all that good at sports.

"Hey! Hey, Josh," he calls, swinging sneakered feet and fiddling with the hem of his sweatstained wifebeater. "Still out mowing lawns, at high noon? Mom sent me over with lemonade so you don't drop dead." James waggles a plastic waterbottle at him, filled up with lemonade. "There's, like, other things you could be doing. Actually..."

He hesitates for a split second before resuming his course. "...Actually, I have a few suggestions. One suggestion. Whatever."

 

[obieblu]

Josh and James were sort of fated to be friends. Josh's parents latched onto their neighbors 18 years ago when they first moved in. The boys had been close when they were young, simply by the close timing of their births and physical proximity. As Josh grew up into being an athlete, they'd associate less in school, but Josh was always friendly, and summers provided more interaction. The end of their last school year had been busy. Josh's had 3 games in the last week before graduation.

“Oh, hey!” Josh eventually noticed James sitting on the post fence and turned off the mower. He headed over and did the jock thing of lifting up the front of his shirt to wipe the sweat off his face, of course showing off his tight moist abs in the process. “She sent you all the way over to the Parish for that? Thank her for me,” he eagerly accepted the bottle. It was only a couple blocks away from their homes, but still a nice gesture.

Josh took a few deep swallows, then answered. “Well, Father Kelly's not going to do it. He's gotta be a hundred. I can 'whatever' after,” he smirked at his friend's vague suggestion.

 

[Candide]

James' eyes flick down and back up, which is how he makes the decision to bring Josh into the fold. Everyone will be really happy to have him there.

"Fuckin' dumb," he grumbles, pulling a blade of grass and fruitlessly throwing it at the lawnmower. "Everyone's just waiting for him to retire or die. Didn't they just hire, uh...what's his face...Reverend Jackson? He could mow the lawn, yeah? And then you'd be free to do whatever, since you're gonna make fun of my phrasing. Dickhead." James makes a show of trying to snatch the bottle away in revenge.

Also, he's doing well with this whole acting thing. He'd say him and Reverend Jackson are...very well-acquainted. Damn it, Josh, hurry up and finish...

 

[obieblu]

Josh's eyebrows went up, as it seemed like his childhood friend was in a bad mood. "I don't think anyone's waiting for Father Kelly to die," that was pretty dark, but he didn't push it more than just refuting it. "I think Jackson is his name, but I haven't met him. He will have to do it himself, or probably hire someone else after this summer. I don't think the lawn is his priority, so I'm happy to do it." Josh was, after all, a good boy. "Here," he handed the half-empty lemonade back to James, "Just gimme 5 minutes to finish up."

The jock restarted the lawnmower and pushed it along faster than it's auto mechanism. His sweaty muscles strained under the noon-day sun, but he did finish up the last few swaths quickly. Josh locked the mower back in the shed behind the church, then returned while slipping on a short-sleeve casual button up, leaving it unbuttoned. The upper portion of his sweaty chest was still visible, though. "So, what are your big plans?" he reached for the lemonade, again.

 

[obieblu]

(bump?)