fandomhighdorms | Fourth Floor Common Room | Afternoon | Friday

With his one class over and done, Nathan found himself almost energetic. He didn't want to go laze around his room like he usually did and he didn't want to smoke near his window in his most sincere imitation of a hipster emo poet douchebag. He didn't (and wouldn't ever) have the beard or scarf for that.

He ended up in the common room because that was the next best thing to going into town. This little dinky island had absolutely no nightlife to speak of which was unbearably sad and needed to be changed. Of course, Nathan had no money and no drive to really change that but he'd perfectly happy to encourage someone with a round of applause should they take the initiative.

Nathan clicked on the television and then actually practiced jumping onto the couch. He wanted to see what positions he could contort his body into before landing. There was the flat on your back, flat on your stomach, stretched on your side, tuck 'n roll, ass down, and swan dive. Eventually, he stayed on his stomach, head pillowed on his arms while he watched whatever the fuck was on the television.

So much for his energy. He was fickle like that.

[Open, yes]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"I never said that." Well, not in so many words. But she was deciding implying it didn't count. "I'm pretty sure that was you."

"Well, biologically speaking, I am impregnable if you'd like to get the scientific side of things," Nathan agreed with a nod. "You see, Kate, I have no eggs that sperm can attach themselves to therefore, I am barren."

"Wow, I so did not know that!" Kate replied, mock enthused about this completely new knowledge. "Gee, thanks, Professor Young."

"I am always happy to help those less intelligent than I," he said, hand to his heart. "Really, public service is what I'm all about."

"Yeah, I keep hearing something like that," she replied, reaching over to lazily, lightly swat at that hand of his. Didn't even have a real reason to, but her annoyance was starting to fade again and maybe that was reason enough. "Do you ever think about yourself at all, is everything you do just for the common good?"

"I am a man for all seasons," he said and smacked at her hand to get it away from his. "Whatever the fuck that means."

Kate pulled her hand away and made an exaggerated, absolutely heartbreaking hurt puppy face at him.

For about two seconds, before she was all idle amused doubt again. "That sounds terribly convincing."

"You're just not evolved enough to understand it," Nathan decided, shrugging. "I'm a proverbial prophet and you're just a lowly...country club member."

"I'm not a country club member," Kate said, shaking her head. "I don't even know what the fuck people do at country clubs."

"If you're not a country club member yet, I'm sure you soon will be," Nathan said lazily, shrugging. "All the rich fucks are. It's like an identification card or something."

"Except I'm not gonna be rich," she pointed out. "I just happen to be kinda casually dating a guy that is."

"Whatever you say, Katie from the Midwest," Nathan said, leaning back against the couch and smirking. "Whatever you say."

Kate reached for her bag of candy again, this time managing not to react too obviously. "Shut it, Leprechaun Nathaniel."

Well, except for that.

Nathan thought he'd made his point so he didn't even rise to that bait. He just looked smugly at her and popped another piece of candy in his mouth.

He was confident that he'd won this one just as he won everything.

"So, that is a name you respond to? Good to know." Well, he hadn't said anything after she'd told him to shut it. She considered that a minor win.

"You know, I was thinking about asking you to come out to the mainland with me tonight," she said, as she moved to gather her stuff, "but I'm sure that would've probably just yielded some comment about golf courses and cardigans and old people, anyway."

"Probably," he agreed, ignoring her first question because it did not deserve an answer. "I don't like to hold back on honest comments. It's a policy of mine. Everyone deserves to know what I'm thinking."

"Mmhmm, except for how you tend to confuse honesty with shit that amuses you," she remarked mildly. "Oh well, I'm sure my fake ID will be sad about this missed opportunity."

Not really.

"Probably," he agreed again, shrugging a shoulder. "Any missed opportunity with me is a sad one. I'm sure you can comfort your laughably fake ID card by buying some cheap beer and condoms so the cashier thinks you're in for a fun night."

Kate raised her eyebrows some, as she was pushing herself up from the couch. "Wow, that cashier sure has low standards for a fun night."

"Well, you know, he is working in a fucking mini mart for a living," Nathan said, tucking an arm behind his head and shrugging. "A good night for him is probably a bowl of cheesy nachos, some malt liquor and some chick with two teeth going down on him."

Kate snorted. "You have such high opinions of people," she said, shaking her head. "Like your life is much more glamorous."

Of course, she did the exact same thing. She just didn't say most of the stuff she thought.

"My life is fucking fabulous, thank you very much," Nathan said, buffing his nails on his shirt. "I'm happy which makes whatever I'm doing in my life just fucking fine. You should try it. I don't even have to pretend to get my happiness."

"You're not always that happy," Kate replied with a little shrug that seemed to imply that was just how things went. "But if that's how you feel then hey, good for you."

"I am always happy." He refused to think about the times that he wasn't because that meant having feelings and shit and he hated being depressed. "I guess I'm just that special, you know. Envy me, Kate, envy me."

"I only envy how good you are at making it seem like you really don't give a fuck about much of anything," Kate said, rocking back on her heels a bit. "But I've already seen enough to know it doesn't really work like that. Not even for you."