Room 227, Sunday Afternoon

[whenshewasnice]

At least the island had been behaving itself this week. It was more than could be said for the way Natalie's subconscious was dealing with letting out the stress and other after effects of the previous couple of weeks, dishing out nightmares that led to fitful sleep more often than not. Pretty much every night this week, she'd found herself waking up in the middle of the night and having to take a few seconds to remind herself that she was in her dorm room, and the warm lump over her feet was Mr. Moxy who'd taken to sleeping all over her since she'd been back.

She'd considered taking a trip home to Montreal. She'd considered... other places. But she'd stayed here. She'd persevere, and she'd been getting back to her usual routines of studying, playing, and reading, with the occasional trip down to Fast Eddie's to play DDR for both homesickness as well as the need to do physical things that weren't just archery. This all would go away with time.

But it hadn't yet, and so she was still feeling the need to keep herself busy and wrapped up in comforting things. Right now, this meant sitting on her bed and studying for her physics final with the music on a little louder than usual. Sorry neighbours, hope you like Asian pop.

[ooc: Open post, half open door!]

Comments

[pursuedthestars]

"Hey, some of us are trying to sleep," Jim said, nudging that half open door with his foot to make it completely open. If she hadn't wanted a visitor, she'd have closed the door. "Have you no respect?"

He didn't sound angry.

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie glanced up from her text book. "It's the afternoon," she replied, dryly. "So do I have respect for people trying to sleep right now? Not really."

[pursuedthestars]

"That's not very nice," Jim said, crossing his arms and leaning against her door's frame. "I would respect you if you were the one that was sleeping late."

Safe to say that probably wasn't true.

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie just raised one eyebrow at that. The one that didn't still have a faint reminder of the cut she'd gotten last week above it.

She doubted your words, Kirk. Doubted so much.

[pursuedthestars]

"I can do that too," he said, imitating her eyebrow raise. "You're not very talented."

And if he was picking up on the doubt, he wasn't bringing attention to it.

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie rolled her eyes and glanced back down at her book.

"Playing dumb, I see."

[pursuedthestars]

"Who said I'm playing? Maybe I am dumb," Jim retorted. "Does that mean you're gonna tutor me to prevent dumbness from encroaching on you?"

[whenshewasnice]

"You're not dumb," Natalie informed him without looking up. Please, she'd talked to him before, she knew he wasn't that dumb. "And I think wanting to tutor you would necessitate a little more caring on my part than I can really muster up."

[pursuedthestars]

Smirking, Jim glanced around quietly for a few moments. "You obviously care enough to want some human companionship. Wouldn't have left your door open if you didn't. You just want people to come to you."

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie looked up again, perfectly mild. "Or maybe I'm trying to air the room out so the smell of smoke doesn't stick."

Well, her window was cracked open too.

[pursuedthestars]

"Shouldn't smoke," he chided, "but that makes a convenient excuse. I think it's just that, an excuse, but it's a good one so bravo for having it ready."

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie suppressed both a sigh and an eyeroll. Mildness it was.

"What does it matter, anyway?"

[pursuedthestars]

"Did I say it mattered?" he wondered curiously. "I was just making casual conversation. But, your lack of denial means I'm right."

[whenshewasnice]

"I've heard more casual conversation than prodding at whether someone's half-open door was a call for human companionship."

And she was not impressed. Not that that mattered, either.

[pursuedthestars]

"Well, it was," Jim reiterated because he didn't really care if she wasn't impressed. He prodded. It was a thing. "And I came to answer your call. I mean, come on, the half open door, the loud music? It is what it is."

[whenshewasnice]

"Music and air?"

That's what it was!

[pursuedthestars]

"Music loud enough to carry and you've got a window," Jim pointed out. "This was just asking, nay begging, for someone to come a calling."

[whenshewasnice]

"Well," she drawled, "I hope you feel accomplished in having responded to this perceived call."

[pursuedthestars]

"It's my good deed for the day," he replied with a grin. "And don't you feel better for not being alone anymore?"

[whenshewasnice]

"I don't feel much of a change." Curled up next to her on the bed, Mr. Moxy stirred with a quiet meow. "And I wasn't alone to begin with."

[pursuedthestars]

Jim made a face at her considering a cat as somehow better than him. There was no way that was possible. But, he let her have her illusions.

"That's because I haven't been here long enough to instill change," Jim told her. "If I wanted to, you'd feel it. You'd feel it in many different ways."

[whenshewasnice]

Mox was better than most people in her book. It was nothing personal.

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

She sounded mostly like she was humoring him rtaher than genuinely curious. Kind of. Of course it was hard to tell with her.

[pursuedthestars]

"Use your imagination," Jim told her because it was so much more fun than just explaining it. "What do you want it to mean?"

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie was just all about holding back eyerolls today, wasn't she?

"That just sounds like you don't even know yourself."

[pursuedthestars]

"No, that's you trying to bait me into proving that I do know," Jim retorted easily. "Because I do. And if you don't well, that's just too bad. You're not as smart as you think you are."

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie leaned back against her hands ad watched him quietly for a few seconds befoe deciding, "No, you're just being too much of a coward to say what you mean, so you'd rather make it a game and pin it on me."

[pursuedthestars]

"But I bet you like games that you control," Jim replied, not rising to her baiting and challenging ways. "And now that you're not in control, you're not sure what to do. You're working hard to twist it back so you are, so your footing isn't unstable and it's not gonna work."

He shrugged lazily and considered taking a step or two into the room but didn't. "I know exactly what I mean. Isn't this a fun game?"

[whenshewasnice]

"Not really."

She'd spent the last few weeks feeling like a pawn in some cosmic game and it had sapped away some of her appreciation for slightly more mundane ones for the time being.

She looked uninterested. "And it won't be much of a game with only one person playing."

[pursuedthestars]

"So, I'll find someone else to play," Jim said, shrugging. "No skin off my back if you wanna be boring."

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie mirrored his shrug. "From my point of view, you're the boring one. And in any case, maybe boring's just fine. Past few weeks were interesting enough for a while."

[pursuedthestars]

"I'm boring because you're not getting your way," Jim countered. "If I just out and out told you what I meant, you'd be fine. I know it. But I'm not so you're throwing up a shield and acting like you're cooler than cool."

[whenshewasnice]

"I'm not sure what you're getting out of not being straightforward," Natalie claimed, absently petting Mr. Moxy when he clambered into her lap. "Honestly, I'm surprised you're even still here. Since I have such great shields up and everything."

[pursuedthestars]

"I'll leave when I wanna leave," he replied with a little half smile. "And what I'm getting is entertainment out of you trying to be about as mild and bland as vanilla like it doesn't even take work."

Because it didn't. "If I were a scientist, I bet it'd be a fascinating character study."

[whenshewasnice]

It took no effort. None at all.

"Vanilla isn't bland."

She didn't sound like she cared either way.

[pursuedthestars]

"Compared to just about everything else in the world?" Jim paused and snickered. "Yeah, it is. But, I'm sure you like vanilla things."

[whenshewasnice]

"And I'm equally sure you have no idea what you're missing."

She actually still meant vanilla. Honest.

[pursuedthestars]

"Oh please," Jim said, gesturing at her with a hand, "show me what I'm missing. With the vanilla."

[whenshewasnice]

"I'm not committed enough to convincing you to go to the store," Natalie replied. "But just because you've been brainwashed into thinking bland vanilla ice cream has anything to do with things that actually taste like vanilla doesn't make it so."

See? Actual vanilla.

[pursuedthestars]

"I bet you're so much fun at parties," Jim quipped breezily. "Just the center of attention with that sparkling wit and tremendous personality."

[whenshewasnice]

"And yet you're still here," Natalie retorted. "Trying desperately to be enigmatic. Am I really that entertaining?"

[pursuedthestars]

"You were convenient," Jim replied with a smile. "And I only live a few doors down so why not? And the only enigmatic thing I've done is not tell you what I meant. I've been straightforward about everything else. But, keep on trying to bait me. Maybe you'll succeed one day."

[whenshewasnice]

"I'm not trying to bait you any more than you're trying to bait me."

That much was true, at least.

"And even your little enigmatic thing isn't that enigmatic. You're a boy, about sixteen or seventeen. If it wasn't at least partly sexual innuendo, I'd be surprised." She paused. "Of course, now that I've said that, you may claim it wasn't, just so you can tell me I'm not as smart as I think I am, again. Or some other cliché."

[pursuedthestars]

"No, it was." Jim nodded at her conclusion. "But, if you're 'you'll never know what you're missing out on' wasn't sexual either, I'd be just as surprised."

[whenshewasnice]

"It wasn't."

And that was true.

Well, at least 85% true, anyway. "I don't feel the need to flaunt myself like that."

[pursuedthestars]

"I don't believe you and it's not nice to lie. And yeah, I bet you'll pull the 'I don't care' card out because you're like the definition of enigmatic," Jim told her, pushing away from the door frame.

"But, if I'm so boring and uninteresting to you, you would have told me to leave," Jim deduced. "But you didn't. So, obviously, you did want someone around."

He was pretty sure about that. "I'm gonna go get lunch now, I think. Catch you later, Natalie."

With that, he gave her a flick of a wave and disappeared.