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]

"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."

[necroslacker]

Sam nodded but didn't move away from her desk. He wasn't sure if he wanted to move or if it was time to go or what. He was still feeling unsettled about things.

"And how's that going, feel comfortable now?" he asked, eyes on her sprawled out form.

[whenshewasnice]

"I think I've been more comfortable," she said, as if it was some serious topic of conversation and consideration. "But this is better than leaning back on my hands."

[necroslacker]

"We can agree on that one, yeah." Hey, he liked being flat on his back on his bed as much as anyone else. It was comfortable and relaxing.

He stayed quiet, still thinking about a billion different things. Okay, maybe five or so things. A billion would make his head explode.

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie let the silence lengthen. She had no problem with silence. It was kind of a friend, even if she usually filled it with music. She was comfortable with silences.

Eventually, though, she asked the ceiling, "Is this the part where we should be staring at each other and sighing?"

[necroslacker]

"No clue whatsoever," Sam admitted, shaking his head. "I'm not really the staring type anyway. So, I guess this isn't the part where we do that. Sorry to disappoint."

[whenshewasnice]

"I'm so disappointed," Natalie drawled, oh so sarcastic. "I was so looking forward to the sighing and the gazing. Really."

Nope.

[necroslacker]

"I'm sure you're tough enough to get over it," Sam said, finally pushing away from the desk and wandering closer to the bed but also to the door because, yeah, he wasn't sure what to do.

"If not, I'm sure someone else might come along to sigh and gaze at you since i won't," he replied, glancing over at her. "Lots of options there."

[whenshewasnice]

"No, there aren't," she countered, idly, glacing right back over at him. "Not unless they're infatuated with the other one with this face, which admittedly could happen."

Stupid Kate.

[necroslacker]

"I don't know who that is but you're underestimating yourself," Sam told her, stopping at the end of her bed when she said that. "There are lots of other options. You just don't know it."

And he felt qualified to say things like that since he was a guy and all. "Yours is the only face I know. I'll be fine with keeping it that way."

[whenshewasnice]

"She was around this weekend," Natalie shared, nothing indicating how she felt about that. All indifference. "You could've seen her and not even realized."

No, she knew that wasn't true. She'd only caught a glimpse of the girl at the brunch, and could've named about a dozen things that were different.

[necroslacker]

Yep, all indifference. Sam kept looking at her for a moment longer before his feet started moving away from her bed again.

"Think it's time for me to go," Sam said, pulling his eyes away from her and focusing on the door. "Wouldn't wanna wear out my welcome."

Even if he felt like he already had.

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie glanced over at him again once she figured out he was planning to leave. Briefly, she wondered what it would be like to be someone who would've known whether she'd wanted that to happen or not.

"Assumer," she accused, though it wasn't particularly harsh. Or at all.

[necroslacker]

"What?" Sam asked, stopping to glance over his shoulder at her at that one word. "Assumer of what? I don't think I assumed anything."

[whenshewasnice]

"You're assuming you'd wear out your welcome," Natalie pointed out. "I'm pretty sure you assumed that."

And could she really blame him? No, probably not.

[necroslacker]

"Yeah, I don't really think that's an assumption," Sam decided, shaking his head. "I'd say that to anyone, anywhere because it's a possibility with anyone, not just you."

Yes, he thought it was different with her because he was feeling a lot of things right now but he wasn't lying with his previous words. "It wasn't an assumption. It was a generalization."

[whenshewasnice]

"Well, you haven't outstayed your welcome," Natalie said, and she would've shrugged if she hadn't been on her back. "Obviously, that doesn't mean you can't still leave."

Stopping him would be a little psycho.

[necroslacker]

"Right." He still thought he should have left because of things she'd said earlier and the indifference he was picking up on from her. "Thanks for the confirmation. Guess it means I can stop feeling like a bull in a china shop now."

Or not.

[whenshewasnice]

"I doubt it's that easy." She pushed herself up on her hands again, more like sitting up. The comfortable thing seemed to have been a bust on all counts.

She tilted her head at him. "Do you have a particular reason to be feeling like that?"