Room 223, Monday Afternoon

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie had survived her first Fandom High Parents Weekend. It really wasn't much of an accomplishment when she hadn't had any guests of her own, but whatever. She gathered it was still some kind of a landmark, even if she'd spent the majority of it just reading and watching stuff on her own. She just liked it better that way.

And hey, she'd still managed to get what she supposed was a variation of the 'if you hurt him' speech from Sam's friends, so that was something.

But now it was Monday, and it was time to get back into gear. And for Natalie, this meant sitting on her bed with a cup of coffee, studying German from the book in front of her.

She led such an exciting life.

[ooc: Post open, door halfway open. And not the other way around like I typed first.]

Comments

[whenshewasnice]

"Well I hope not," Natalie said, and that happened to actually be honest. "I think it might turn my world uoside down and nothing would make sense."

That part wasn't.

[necroslacker]

"You hope not?" Sam asked, a little curious about that answer. "What would be so bad if I happened to find religion and slap a halo over my head? I think I'd look pretty good with a halo. It'd twinkle and maybe some angelic theme music would play too."

[whenshewasnice]

She shrugged. "I'm not arguing that part of it." Because the mental image was an amusing one. "But I'm science-minded. I don't mind religion but I can't really relate."

[necroslacker]

"Atheist?" he asked curiously. "Or, uh, the other one where you believe there's something there but don't believe in it? That one?"

[whenshewasnice]

"I believe the word you're looking for there is agnostic, although I'm pretty sure that's not the actual definition," Natalie replied mildly, then shrugged. "But, yeah, atheist, I guess."

[necroslacker]

That was some new information though Sam figured he could have come to that conclusion if he'd thought long enough. She did seem grounded in proof and facts.

"Has it been that way for most of your life?" he asked curiously. "No beliefs in miracles and the supernatural?"

[whenshewasnice]

"Not since Santa Claus," Natalie replied with another shrug. She put her now emprty mug away, then leaned back on her hands a little. "Nothing much after that."

Of course, he should've probably kept in mind that she found things like people turning into coins upon being defeated more or less normal and natural.

[necroslacker]

And he was thinking about that but he was also thinking about the things he could do and what that would be considered. He didn't want to think about that too much though.

"Huh." He looked down thoughtfully, arms crossed maybe just a slightly protectively across his chest. "Even things like turning into a guy and living someone else's life don't do it for you?"

[whenshewasnice]

"Different rules for different universes," she replied lightly enough. She might've spent some time thinking about that after she'd landed in Fandom and realized how different it was. "Doesn't mean it's necessarily supernatural. And you don't need a God for that."

[necroslacker]

"What're you defining as supernatural anyway?" Sam wondered, leaving the topic of God and heaven and religion alone for the moment. "Seems like it's gotta be different considering where you come from."

[whenshewasnice]

"Pretty much anything you'd see in a bad horror movie," Natalie replied after pausing to think about it. "Vampires, zombies, ghosts."

Yeah.

"Some people respawn after they're defeated, but as far as I know, they don't come back undead. They just come back."

[necroslacker]

Yeah.

Sam was just...really glad he had a pretty damn good poker face or there would have been about fifty emotions passing over his face right about then. As it was, he just tensed ever so slightly and looked down at his feet.

"So, anything associated with that...horror movie stuff, you don't believe in it?" he asked, looking for clarification more than anything. He didn't know why since she'd pretty much just said she didn't believe in the supernatural.

[whenshewasnice]

"Where I come from," Natalie replied shrugging a shoulder once more. She was watching him but it was sort of idle – although that might have been pretense.

"No. But I also don't believe in randomly switching genders there either."

[necroslacker]

"Cool," Sam said, still standing there tensely but trying to convey that he was just fine with that one word there. "I don't believe in the Tooth Fairy but man, I did wonder where my mom was keeping my teeth all those years."

He never had found out where she was keeping his teeth and he knew his statement didn't really make sense but, well, he was off balance.

"Cool, yeah," he said, nodding smoothly. "I don't have a halo, just in case you were curious."

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie tilted her head, slightly, but said nothing about how she thought he looked a bit... tense.

"I figured," she said slowly, before changing the subject. "So did your friends find their way off the island well enough?"

[necroslacker]

"Yup," Sam said, taking a step away from her bed to try and get himself settled again. He tried to make it look like he was just wandering around, checking things out around a room he hadn't been in too often.

"They got off the island just fine," he said, passing by her desk and closet slowly. "I think they were kinda sad to leave, though. No more free food. Back to paying for it like everyone else."

[whenshewasnice]

It was a fairly orderly room, though not obsessively so. Natalie was just generally neat, though there were some posters on the wall, and her desk was piled with books and had a few anime figurines prettying it up.

She kept watching him as he moved. "They did seem to enjoy the buffet," she agreed, absently. "Ramon especially."

[necroslacker]

"Yeah, he eats a lot," Sam agreed, giving those anime figures a longer look than anything else on her desk. He had no idea who they were but he could fake it.

"He's a good guy though," he said, eyes still on her desk. "Been my friend for longer than just about anyone else in the world. I couldn't really ask for someone better."

[whenshewasnice]

"He cares about you." Natalie stated that as a fact. She'd seen it plainly enough, even with all the smartass comments. "Guess you're lucky."

[necroslacker]

"Yeah, he believes in me," Sam said probably too quietly for anyone but himself to hear. He turned back around and leaned against her chair. He shrugged one shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm lucky. He's the unfortunate one to have me as a friend," he said, going for a light joke. "I wouldn't wish that on anyone. Come on, I can't even stay upright on a skateboard."

[whenshewasnice]

"That's true," Natalie agreed, voice and expression tinged with that elusive something that marked it as joking.

But she shook her head a little bit. "I doubt he's all that unfortunate, though."

[necroslacker]

"Unfortunate enough," Sam corrected, shrugging. "He's had a rough last few months. He got sick enough to almost die and then got better but still. Wasn't fun to watch."

Sam remembered all those days way too vividly. "I'm sure he'll visit again at some point but if not, I go back to Seattle enough to ease his tender heart."

[whenshewasnice]

"I'm sure he appreciates that."

Natalie had a lot of questions but she was holding onto them. Too soon for some of them, or just generally the wrong time. Or she just didn't feel like getting into them.

She lay all the way back on the bed, finally, and straightened her legs, resting a hand on her stomach. "He probably should, anyway."

[necroslacker]

"He does." Sam knew that. Elaboration didn't seem needed especially not when she seemed like she was about to take a nap or something.

"Is it bedtime?" he asked after a few seconds of silence.

[whenshewasnice]

"Just felt like being comfortable," Natalie corrected, looking up at the ceiling. "I'm not intending to sleep."