1st Floor Rec Room, Friday Morning

[suitably_heroic]

Some days, you just couldn't be bothered to get out of bed.

For Atton, today wasn't one of those days, but it was pretty damned close. He'd managed to drag his ass downstairs from his bedroom, just far enough to reach the rec room, jam an MP3 player into some audio speakers and flop back on the couch.

He was still there an hour later.

By now, the MP3 player had switched over to the mellow tones of the Rolling Stones' 'Paint It Black'. Atton was nodding along, muttering the lyrics under his breath, his feet propped up on the coffee table and his eyes fixed on the television.

(A television which was, for the record, off. There was probably some symbolic meaning to that, but Atton couldn't be bothered to figure that one out either.)

[[ open! ]]

Comments

[suitably_heroic]

"I'm listening to music," Atton said, turning his head so he could glimpse her from the corner of his eye. "It's a thing. You might've heard of it."

[notconflicted]

"It does ring a bell," Sia said dryly. "Should I leave you to it?"

[suitably_heroic]

Atton let out a sigh and dropped his head forward. "It's a free rec room," he said, "Come on in."

[notconflicted]

"I'm glad to see you too," Sia said. "Didn't feel like sticking to your room?"

[suitably_heroic]

"You get a little bored of the same four walls. If you're me," Atton said. "I don't know about you."

[notconflicted]

"That's usually why I come to bother you, yes," she admitted.

[suitably_heroic]

"Oh, good, we've finally got it clear that that's what you do."

Said the guy who'd just waved away a chance to chase her off. Mixed signals, yay.

"So, what brings you to my temporary abode? Besides boredom."

[notconflicted]

"I'm on my way to a class I don't necessarily want to go to and I heard someone in here," she said, taking a seat on the arm of the couch. "My motivations are extremely simple this morning."

[suitably_heroic]

"Don't let anyone else hear you say that," Atton advised. "They might think you've gotten shallow."

Teasing. Grumbly teasing, but teasing none the less.

[notconflicted]

"They wouldn't dare," she said with a little smile.

[suitably_heroic]

Atton rolled his eyes (for effect, mostly). "What've you been doing lately?" he said. "You know-- when you're not wasting your time getting drunk with me."

[notconflicted]

"Not too much. Mostly hanging out with Jessica." Or worrying about Jessica, anyway, not that she was going to say that. "What about you?"

[suitably_heroic]

"I think this is the first time I've left the room since Tuesday," Atton mused.

That probably wasn't a good sign.

[notconflicted]

That didn't sound good, no. "Why haven't you been leaving your room?"

[suitably_heroic]

"Nothing better to do," Atton said.

Yep. That was it.

[notconflicted]

For some weird reason Sia didn't believe that. "I thought you got bored with the same four walls."

[suitably_heroic]

"I'm a contradictory guy," Atton said. "We've met, right?"

[notconflicted]

"On those days when you have nothing better to do, maybe you should call me," she suggested. "Unless you're trying to be contradictory."

[suitably_heroic]

"You really must be bored lately," Atton said, shooting her a glance.

[notconflicted]

"Yes, bored enough to get you out of your room," Sia nodded.

[suitably_heroic]

"Why do you even care?" Atton retorted. "If you want to bother me, hey! I'll be easier to find if I stick around my room."

[notconflicted]

"I care because I do," Sia shrugged. "And I wouldn't want you getting too bored."

[suitably_heroic]

"I can live with being bored," Atton said. "You trying to cheer me up - now that's something I'm not sure I'll survive."

Not that he deserved needed cheering up.

[notconflicted]

"It's not exactly cheering you up when you're bound to get frustrated at some point," she pointed out. There, feel better.

[suitably_heroic]

"Whatever we're going to call it," Atton said, flopping sideways onto the couch. "Annoying me? Getting your knightly good deed in?"

[notconflicted]

"We could just call it 'hanging out,'" she suggested.

[suitably_heroic]

"'Hanging out'? You've been spending too much time around Earthlings," said Atton.

Who had his own mental catalogue of Earth slang terms for whenever they were needed. "But hey, when on the planet... Sure. Hanging out. Let's hang out."

[notconflicted]

"See, we're both adapting," she said. "Just tell me when."

[suitably_heroic]

"Next week," Atton decided. "I'll take you drinking again. Somewhere off-island."