fandomhighdorms | Roof [Saturday, Early Evening]

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Roof [Saturday, Early Evening]

For kind of a slow week, tonight could actually be quite interesting, if she decided to make it that way.

Halloween had never really been a big thing for her. That was England for you. Anyway, Effy was pretty much guaranteed to be dressed up in black as it was. What she was wearing? Not a costume in the slightest.

For now, she was leaning back against the edge of the roof, smoking and considering where to spend the best part of her night. Had to be something decent going on out there. Something that wasn't begging for candy like a five year-old. Maybe on the mainland... Well, she'd work on that in a minute.

[[Effy is (as usual) antisocial, but the roof is totally open!]]

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"Probably not," he said and dropped his hand gradually. Alex didn't really know the answer to that either much as he wished he did. Despite the dissipation of some of the tension, Alex still felt a little weighed down and stepped back from her so he could slide down the wall and get off his feet.

"Guess I'm staying around the island tonight," he said idly, bending a knee and picking at some fabric on his jeans. "Not in the mood to go anywhere. Bring me back something nice."

Still assuming she was going and all. Free gifts would make him feel better.

"Fucking demanding, you are," she noted mildly, quirking a hint of a smile as she looked down at him. "Any requests?"

Alex shook his head and closed his eyes. "Use your best judgment. I don't care. Whatever you want and stuff."

Effy nodded, whether he was watching or not.

"You alright?" she asked, finally. Took her long enough, despite knowing there was something off with him today. More than just looking a little beat up, too.

Alex hadn't really expected that question and it caught him off guard enough that he laughed briefly, humorlessly.

"Not hiding it well? I'll work on that," he said absently. "I've had better...months."

Understatement.

Not an issue Effy was unfamiliar with. Shitty things seemed to come in waves, somehow. Her latest on seemed to have waned, at least for the moment.

"Want me to stay?" she had a feeling she wasn't really helping much tonight, but she could... probably avoid stressing him out any more for a while. Maybe.

Even so, the fact she made the offer was something.

It was something and it had him opening his eyes and looking up at her now. And now he had to think about how to answer without sounding pathetic.

"I'm really not going to be super entertaining tonight, Effy," he said quietly, shrugging the less sore shoulder slowly. "You might get bored."

It wasn't a yes but he hadn't said no either. Walking that fine line.

One of those really fucking subtle ways of saying 'yes, but I'd rather not admit that straight up'.

Or, that was what Effy was taking it as, anyway, and considered him a moment before she sat beside him. "Sure I'll live."

And maybe it wouldn't be that boring. Never could tell. "Besides, not so bad out here."

It was probably as close to saying yes as he'd get. Taking it as a yes was a smart move. He'd sooner eat glass than out and out admit something like that. Stubborn bastard.

He stretched his legs when she took a seat, settling himself comfortably beside her.

"I'll make it up to you if you do get bored. Pay a penance of your choice or something. Make you a grilled cheese," he said after a moment, turning to look up at the sky. "And no, it's not. One of the better Halloweens for me."

With all that had gone on between them, that was still true.

Effy's eyebrows twitched in a little amusement and she tipped her head back against the wall to follow where he was lookin.

"You make grilled cheese as well as Pop Tarts?" More talented than she even realised. "Wow."

"I had to fend for myself a lot," he replied, a lot more easily than he'd have answered a few months ago. "You learn a few things. It's hard to fuck up bread and cheese and butter. Got kind of good at them after awhile."

Of course, he hadn't made them in awhile so who knows if those skills still existed. He'd have to try. "I'm surprising, I know. Just makes me more attractive."

If you were Effy, yeah, it did, and her lips turned in a bit of a smile. She wasn't exactly shocked he could grill cheese on bread, but it was still the truth. Alex could just be unexpected in a few other ways.

"Can prove that to me later," she told him. "... Think anyone goes for Halloween fireworks?" Because that would brighten things up.

"Here?" He shrugged. "Not typically a part of Halloween unless you get a bunch of drunken revelers in one place and there's fireworks handy. Americans tend to use fireworks on the Fourth and dippy anniversary celebrations. Probably shit out of luck if you want those tonight."

Though, he couldn't argue with fireworks making the night a little brighter.

"But, here, I've got this."

He dug his phone out of his pocket and fiddled with it for a few moments before getting the light on and waving it in the air. "Just as good, right?"

Yeah, he knew it wasn't but he was trying!

Effy breathed a laugh. "Yeah, feel like I'm at a rave."

Or not. But the trying was appreciated.

"Few days before fireworks night, we got them going off just because they were there." When things were cheap and available, people tended to use them.

He snickered at that obvious lie and dropped his phone next to him, letting it turn off on its own.

"They're a little more restricted here," he said, slouching down against the wall and letting go of a long breath. "You can't get them that easily for the most part. We just find other ways to entertain ourselves."

Some entertainment worked better than others.

Fucking America and its weird rules. Effy rolled her eyes.

"Still say you're missing out." But she would. Liked her entertainment with a few added sparks, if at all possible.

"Then, show me what I'm missing out on," he said, sliding down a little further until he was flat on his back with an arm tucked under his head and a better view of the sky. "I showed you Homecoming, it's your turn to show me something."

Not quite the equal tradeoff but details.

Details that Effy could overlook for now.

"Thursday," she said simply, looking down at him. "Bonfire Night 101, if you want it."

Hey, he'd promised grilled cheese too. That was pretty...lame but not everyone got promised grilled cheese.

"I can do that," he said after a moment. Maybe he'd even see if he could drag his errant roommate with him. Griff needed to stop being a nerd. Come down here. I'll entertain you with shadow puppets and a story."

It was all he had, really. He was completely off his game tonight but he could try and entertain for awhile.

"More midgets and stamps?" she asked with a grin as she slid lower. Be curious how he would shadow puppet that out, to be honest.

"Please, I don't repeat myself," he said even if he had no freaking clue on what he'd do. "Just get comfortable and I'll make your decision to stick around a good one."

Or his request of her to stick around a good one. With shadow puppets and a story. Yeah.

Entertained her well enough the last time, even lacking the excitement of a night out or some of their other forms of entertainment.

"Go on then," she said, stretching out beside him to get comfortable and resting her arms over her stomach. "Let's see what you've got."

Alex didn't have much but, after a few moments of silence, his mind pulled together a story about a killer butterfly and his quest to take over the entire world (look, he didn't know that many actual shadow puppets).

"Wanna hear the one about the killer butterfly?" he asked, unable not to smirk at the absurdity. "Might take some time. It's an epic."

Building up an interesting image of what went on in his mind when he came up with these things, and she couldn't quite repress a smile of her own.

"Think I've got time." Not like she was at all lacking in that tonight. Not now she'd sacrificed going out. "I can take an epic."

"All right, then."

Once the idea started forming, Alex really didn't have any trouble getting rolling on his story and his shadow puppets about a killer butterfly named Ramone.

It was an epic ~~but it's a totes handwaved epic as omg I've got no killer butterfly stories in me~~ and it was going to take awhile.

Good thing she'd gotten comfortable, right? Right.

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pastmewrong.livejournal.com - 2009-11-05 18:37 (UTC) - Expand

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