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

[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?"

[necroslacker]

"Doesn't everyone feel like that sometimes?" he asked, trying on some of her indifference for size. He didn't really like it. "Maybe I do. Maybe I don't. It's been a long few days."

[whenshewasnice]

"Maybe it's you who needs to go to bed," she replied with a hint of a raised eyebrow. "Might help you decide if you have reasons or not."

[necroslacker]

Sam raised an eyebrow of his own at that. It was better than her indifference in the face of what he thought had been some pretty nice words but still.

"What's that mean?" he asked, turning all the way around and crossing his arms again. "My attitude bothering you? Or is it me?"

[whenshewasnice]

"It doesn't mean anything, Sam," Natalie replied with an eyeroll she didn't bother holding back. "You're just acting a little off. That's all."

[Good niiight!]

[necroslacker]

"It was a long weekend," he said, looking down at his feet and feeling some of the previous tension spread into his shoulders again. "I didn't sleep."

That had kinda sucked but he was used to it. Curiously, he asked, "What's a little off for me anyway? I didn't think you noticed that stuff."

[Good night!]

[whenshewasnice]

"You're walking around my room like someone stuck you in a cage," she replied, shrugging one shoulder, eyes on him even if he was looking at his feet. "Though maybe that's just because you haven't been in here before. You've also been looking a little tense."

She paid attention to stuff like that.

[necroslacker]

Sam rubbed the back of his neck, trying to feel some of that tension for himself before he dropped his hand again. It fell lamely at his side. He wanted to tell her this wasn't how he behaved while locked in a cage because he had experience with that but knew he wouldn't.

"Okay, fine, you notice stuff like that," Sam said, looking back up at her. "I stand corrected. But, I haven't been walking much at all aside from taking the very expansive tour of your room from door to bed to desk and back. As for the tension, well..."

He couldn't really explain that one so he just shrugged. "Tension happens."

[whenshewasnice]

"I'm aware of that," Natalie replied a bit dryly. It was her default mode, really. She turned a bit on the bed, got her feet on the floor, galnced down, then back up again. "Usually happens for a reason, eh?"

[necroslacker]

"Yeah, I guess so," he said fairly noncommittally. He shrugged and tried not to focus on the tension he could feel. That wouldn't do him any good. "But, I didn't sleep last night. I bet it's from there."

Or not but it was as good an excuse as anything else he had.

[whenshewasnice]

"You should sleep," she said, half sighing the words. Something was still making her feel like that was an excuse but she had no real intention to push. "Take a nap or something."

[necroslacker]

"It's not always that easy for me but yeah, I know," Sam said, shaking his head. "I don't sleep well most of the time. I just had a worse time of it this weekend. It happens. It's happened all my life."

He didn't like wearing the pouch his mother had given him since that suppressed the part of him that had made him feel whole but not wearing it meant a lot of nightmares and ghostly visitors.

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie gave the slightest little nod. "I gathered as much back when you felt the need to specify you hadn't had any nightmares."

Well, no, she'd just retained that tidbit from the post-crazy morning and put it together with other things just now. But anyway.

"Sucks, I'm sure."

[necroslacker]

"Yeah." He wasn't gonna deny that. It sucked. He wasn't going to give it up but it did suck. "Insomnia's good for other things, I suppose."

He got a lot of...staring done.

"Anyway, I'll be fine. I'll find some time to sleep and the circle of life will repeat except without any loud chanting and all. Welcome to my life."

[whenshewasnice]

"Glad to be here," Natalie said, lightly, responding to a sarcastic statement with something approaching honesty because she could. Because it was the unexpected thing to do. "So, what are you going to do now?"

[necroslacker]

"I dunno," he said honestly, threading his fingers through his hair and sighing. "Something? If I leave it general enough like that, it gives me lots of options, doesn't it?"

[whenshewasnice]

"It does," Natalie agreed. "But also doesn't really answer my question."

Not that she looked the least bit upset about that.

[necroslacker]

"I don't have a good answer to your question," Sam told her, shrugging. "I don't know what I'm going to do now. Stand here? Talk to you? Think about England? No idea."

[whenshewasnice]

"Well, pick one and see where it goes," Natalie suggested, tilting her head. "Isn't that how you and I have been doing things so far?"

[necroslacker]

"I'm already standing here, aren't I?" he asked, spreading his arms and looking down at his feet. "Doesn't that mean the choice is made for me already?"