backinthsaddle | Chapter Two: The Movie

He reaches up to lightly pat her hand, not wanting to reach out and do the same to her lest he startle her or wreck this nicer, unstressed state she's in. "I try to be."

She's suddenly struck by a rush of fondness for the boy, an aching to hug onto him like the old days, she can remember how friendly she was, how she'd just wrap her arms around just about anyone.

She remembers dancing through the hallways. She remembers being recklessly happy. She feels like the Grinch, she feels like her heart is growing three sizes all at once. She wraps an arm gently, gently, barely touching him, around his waist. It almost seems like an accident. "I appreciate how kind you are to me."

He's suddenly a little shy again, awkward as he smiles back at her. Trying not to take advantage of her 'fragile state,' even though it's been quite a while since she became a new housemate. An unreasonable fear, and one that's faded as time goes on. "You're more than worth being nice to."

Her face flushes pink, like a faded bedspread printed with roses. Even so, she's not freaking out, not getting upset, just disagreeing. "Gosh, I dunno about that."

"Then I guess I'll just put a disclaimer on it that it's my opinion, but I'm sticking to it."

There's a long pause, so long that it seems like she's given up on the conversation, before she says, "I don't feel like I'm worth much at all."

"You are to me." The words are out before he thinks about them.

Her stomach gets all clenchy, the way it does when she gets a very strong sort of feeling, and it's a mix between sadness, and yearning, and wanting to be the person he thinks she is. She leans, a moment, against him. It's not an agreement. It's a stalemate.

He's fine with stalemate. He's not expecting a victory or a defeat for either of them, and the fact that she's being this touchy-feely is a good thing, he thinks. "So... who's your favorite character?"

It's just a little bit of contact, but it's more than she's done since she met him. A warm ear on his shoulder, just for a second, and she's sitting straight again. "Oh, gosh, I love 'em all. Connor, Murphy, Rocco, Agent Smecker. Connor and Murphy have more aesthetically pleasing facial features than Rocco, but Rocco... I think I can relate to more? Bein' a screaming spazz and all. Who's yours?"

"I haven't decided yet. The brothers are pretty compelling, but Smecker... I don't know." It's definitely out of type for how he's used to seeing Willem Dafoe, that's for sure.

((Signing off for the night, they're getting ready to close here and I don't wanna be in the way, but I should be able to come back tomorrow for more internet. In the meantime, wedding reception thread is up, so mingle and/or speechify as much as you'd like and I'll get in on it when I can. :) ))

"Smecker is awesome! And when he... oh my gosh. With the...." She gestures at her hair, and it's pretty clear the part she's referring to. "He's also the best."

((Eee, awesome! Okay, I'm sad to see you go but I had so much fun in this thread so far. :) I'll be gone on Friday day, but I'll be back around fiveish, because I'm going to the school and reading a book I wrote to the kids! Have a wonderful evening!!))

"I swear, Quentin Tarantino must've had some kind of influence on this movie."

"Yeah, but it wasn't as... gross or intense as a Tarantino. That make sense? Like, I liked the characters, and I never wanted to hide behind the sofa."

"Makes sense," he agrees.

She chews at her fingernails, nasty habit, trying to stop. "I think," she says, solemnly, "that this is my new favorite movie."

"You think so?" he asks with a bit of a smile, and it's a bit of a shock to realize that what she just did was cute.

"I do. Well rounded characterization. Cute boys. Justice. No dumb love interest girly. What's not to like!"

"Not a big fan of shoehorned-in romances, I take it." He's never really understood the point of those, especially the entirely gratuitous ones. Though he's not averse to a good hero-gets-the-girl story.

"Yeah, definitely not. And... um. I don't really understand romance at all." She leans in, just to whisper, "I still close my eyes at kissing scenes." She thinks this makes her a baby, so she's too shy to say that aloud.

"...huh." It's a very neutral huh, since it's not really something he'd expect of most people, and wonders if there's a reason for it. Not that he's going to ask, though. "I bet there's all kinds of terrible B-movies out there with no gratuitous romance that we can watch next time."

Vic feels like such a kid sometimes. "I'd like that. But, ah. If you wanna watch a kissy movie, I can always just cover my eyes for those parts. You don't have to change your movie choices for me or anythin'."

"What about Star Wars?"

"Ooh, those movies're pretty good! Not my favorite sci-fi, but I like 'em."

"So what is your favorite scifi?" he asks, leaning back a bit. It's definitely good to see her this relaxed.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject