Outside the Dorms:Tuesday AM [11/28]

[lovelylana.livejournal.com]

Lana waited outside the dorms around 10:30, feeling a bit edgy still from her conversation with Jim last night. She also didn't think he was too happy about her going running when she'd already lost so much weight and particularly not with some other guy. But she was here and determined to go running whether Conner came or not.

Comments

[connernotconnor.livejournal.com]

And Conner did, in fact, show up just a few minutes after Lana, still in a great mood from Sunday night's game.

"Morning!" he said brightly; he hadn't picked up on her edginess yet. "Ready to run off some of all that Thanksgiving food?"

[lovelylana.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, sure," Lana said, thinking that that was the last thing Jim would want her to be doing.

She stretched hard, but not necessarily well, her unease showing in her sloppiness.

[connernotconnor.livejournal.com]

That, Conner did notice. "You sure you're stretched out enough?" he asked.

[lovelylana.livejournal.com]

Lana huffed a little, then felt bad since it really wasn't Conner's fault at all. "Probably not," she said and did a little more stretching, though still not with her usual focus or care.

[connernotconnor.livejournal.com]

"You okay?" Conner asked hesitantly. "You seem kind of distracted today."

[OOC: Tuesdays at work == fun times.]

[lovelylana.livejournal.com]

"Jim's back," she said shortly. "Are you ready to run?"

[connernotconnor.livejournal.com]

"He is? Hey, that's great news!" Hey, he was trying to be enthusiastic, even though Lana seemed . . . well, less excited than he thought she'd be.

Conner nodded, bent to retie one shoelace, and got up, jogging in place. "Let's go."

[lovelylana.livejournal.com]

"It is," Lana said quietly. "It's just... Never mind."

She shook her head and started running. "Can't do anything right."

[connernotconnor.livejournal.com]

Okay, that definitely seemed off. "Can't do anything right?" Conner repeated as he came up beside her. "What gave you a crazy idea like that?"

[lovelylana.livejournal.com]

"And now I'm crazy. Nice." Lana kept running. "Too sad, too melodramatic, too thin, and now crazy."

[connernotconnor.livejournal.com]

"Wait, what?" Conner was surprised enough by this that he fell out of step for a few strides. "I never said any of that!"

[lovelylana.livejournal.com]

"No, not you, I know," Lana said. "You just think I'm crazy. What is it with you guys? It's not like I'm anorexic or bulemic or something. I just... had a bad couple of weeks and didn't eat much. Is that a crime?"

She knew she was being completely unfair both to Conner and Jim, but right now... not so much with the caring.

[connernotconnor.livejournal.com]

"Some people would say not taking care of yourself is a crime," Conner said carefully. "Especially people who care about you. I get what it's like to have bad weeks, though. And -- hey, I never said you were crazy. Just that thinking you can't do anything right is crazy."

[OOC: Running home from work now -- back in a bit!]

[sensitivejim.livejournal.com]

Jim was sitting on the steps outside the dorms when Lana got back.

[connernotconnor.livejournal.com]

Conner raised a hand in greeting to the guy on the steps. "Hey," he told Lana, "that's him, isn't it?"

[lovelylana.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, that's him."

"Hey, Jim..." she said, sweating, out of breath, and not sure what kind of reception she was going to get.

[sensitivejim.livejournal.com]

That would be a smile. Not the broad, crinkling grin he usually gave her, but a smile. "Hey, Lana." His eyes slid sideways to Conner, cooling a little.

[connernotconnor.livejournal.com]

"Hey," Conner said, a little taken aback by the look on Jim's face. "Jim, right? Nice to meet you, finally."

[lovelylana.livejournal.com]

"Um, yeah," Lana said. "Conner, this is Jim. Jim, this is Conner, my running buddy."

[sensitivejim.livejournal.com]

Jim nodded. "Conner. Nice to meet you, too. This is the part where you tell me not to worry, right?" His tone was completely neutral.

[connernotconnor.livejournal.com]

Yipes. "Well, I wasn't planning on that part, but now that you bring it up, yeah," Conner replied.

[lovelylana.livejournal.com]

Lana kind of wished she could just melt into the ground.

[sensitivejim.livejournal.com]

Jim nodded. "Thought so." He looked back at Lana.

[lovelylana.livejournal.com]

"So... Came to watch us run?" she asked as lightly as she could, throwing an apologetic glance towards Conner.

[connernotconnor.livejournal.com]

Conner gave her a brief, crooked smile. Man, he hoped this wasn't going to end up too awkward.