|
Post by ActuallyFace on Feb 20, 2014 11:48:02 GMT -8
[TW: Drug abuse, emotional abuse, psychological disorders (BPD, ADD), implications of sex, suicide attempts, arson/fire]
((This is a closed RP between myself and empyreanVisionary. ))
Thirty years in the future, quite a lot had changed.
The year 2044 was in the middle of World War III, and society in America and in some European countries had taken the hit hard. So hard, in fact, that most of the population had chosen to completely ignore it entirely, preferring bright colors, loose parties and lifestyles, and the carefree artistic expression of oneself to dreary thoughts of the war. Of course, some saw the wrongness in this, and these formed a loose organization of protesters, a movement, even that worked to open the eyes of the nation to the grotesque war, and to accept it in order to allow change. These wore grays and blacks in flowing or baggy clothing, a stark contrast to the tight colors of the masses, and organized protests in 1920's garb, painted walls dark colors, and even committed arson as a means of getting their point across. The third of these war-created groups were patriots, though, thoroughly convinced that nothing mattered so much as pride in their country, in supporting it in this time of war. Movements by these were much less common, but they did make a statement in their own choice of clothing, the 1970's working-class clothes inspired by work, and often by pride in their country.
Of course, this wasn't the only thing that had changed. There was new technology, new forms of physically expressing oneself, as well as artistically, and there were new styles and fashions; tight clothes, minimalist designs, large patterns, and bold colors and fonts. And there were new laws, attempts by the government to force the better treatment of the rapidly declining environment... in coastline cities like Seattle, places had been rebuilt to accommodate the slowly rising sea, destroying parts of formerly beloved and long-lived places so that the water would not to the same. The Seattle Aquarium, many of the waterside shops, and even parts of the Pike Place Market.
The University of Washington, though, was safe in the center of the city.
This was where Alex had managed to enroll for the rapidly approaching new semester, having had relatively decent grades in high school despite her general lack of concern for school. She'd wanted to go to the Art Institute of Seattle for her film classes, but her father had insisted on the UW instead. Well, it wasn't exactly terrible, and he was paying for her apartment in the city...
Most of it, anyways. He couldn't pay for all of it, so he had asked her to get a job, as well as a roommate.
Well, the job was relatively easy. She managed to get a position stocking shelves at a local grocery store, and she was relatively good at it. Finding a roommate for her two-bedroom apartment, though...
She put an ad up Craigslist, not really able to figure out what else to do, but beyond that she... wasn't really sure what to do. Nobody did those old-fashioned interview things anymore, did they? Not for roommates... Maybe whoever contacted her would settle for a text conversation. Or... something. She didn't really care who moved in with her, as long as they weren't entirely crazy, but she figured they'd want to have some kind of idea of who she was.
When someone did contact her through the phone number she provided, she ended up just asking them if they'd like to talk over the phone, or if they would prefer to talk at a nearby coffee shop. She didn't much care for coffee, not in the slightest, but a non-caffeinated frappuccino was not something she was going to object to. Despite the fact that it was Seattle, it was also the end of Summer, and it was still a little warmer than she liked.
He chose to talk to her over the phone, though, which was sort of a let-down. She'd been excited for her frappuccino.
So they'd had a rather short conversation over the phone, and set up a time for Bern (his name was Bern, she'd made a point of remembering that. She couldn't remember the rest, though) to come see the apartment.
And then she had to wait for that to roll around.
When it finally did, and she heard a knock come on her door, Alex was anxious and impatient and glad to finally, finally be getting somewhere with this. She opened the door eagerly, already talking as she did.
"Hey, welcome to my lair and I guess it's about to be your's too, if you actually wanna, like, stay here." She opened the door a little wider, and stepped aside for him to come in, her attention already shifting to the rest of the apartment. It wasn't huge, but it was alright, with a pretty open living room and a kitchen behind them, where a window sat over a counter. To his left, Bern would be able to see an opening to a hallway, which must have been where the bedrooms and bathroom were. "Obviously we're int he living room, and that's the couch. Do you have any furniture? I keep a lot of blankets around, and if you ask you can watch some of the Star Trek and Battlestar. And that's the kitchen, the faucet's kind of leaky." She gestured at these things as she spoke, looking sort of nervous. Mostly she was calm, but there was definitely a touch of nervousness there, as if she was afraid he wouldn't like it. "I can show you the bedrooms and stuff too, you have the one with the window. I don't really care enough to have that one."
|
|
|
Post by empyreanVisionary on Feb 20, 2014 19:55:51 GMT -8
Bern had been looking for a place to live while he was in college, himself. Living with his grandma, as he had for years and years, as long as he could remember, save for a few spotty memories as a young child when his parents were still alive, wasn't something he could do anymore. Unfortunately, though, when he'd decided to go off to school, he'd run into problems there, too. Thanks to how full the population was, there simply wasn't room at the dorms for new students... or at least at the earliest he could possible sign up to live there, there wasn't. It was likely that very few people had the opportunity to get a place at the dorms at all if the didn't already live there before, from the last year. Well, the population growth -was- fucking insane. Upon getting his application rejected because all the residential space was full, he started looking for a place to live elsewhere.
He'd found Alex's ad on Craigslist, and the description hadn't been too bad from what he could tell. Of course, at this point, he didn't figure living with anyone else could be too bad. He'd lived with his grandma for so long, and she was by no means a pleasant person to live with. She was, however, relatively quiet, so Bern hadn't grown up much able to tolerate noise. He hadn't lived with any screaming kids or anything. He had always been an extremely quiet individual, himself, as well. Most of his time was spent reading, or spending time on his computer, usually doing some kind of research or reading materials online.
When it came down to it, he didn't have a lot of money. And despite an affinity for technology, he certainly didn't have the latest models of anything at all. That was one of the downsides of not having a whole lot of money. His phone was a much older model, for example... practically twice the thickness of the newest ones. It was unwieldy, but it did the job.
And here he was in Seattle. It had taken him three hours to get here via public transit, since he lived outside of the main city and that was part of the reason he needed to find a different place to live. Commuting three hours — which would end up being more, given that the traffic would be much worse at the times he'd be using it — was just unreasonable. Anyway, that had been the reason why he'd opted to talk to the girl who owned the place on the phone instead of coming to visit her in person. He would have liked to avoid going to Seattle to save money, but it was necessary that he visited this place in person and, for that matter, got a feel for the girl who already lived there. She'd seen nice enough on the phone, if a little vapid and hyper. He couldn't place her alignment with the current groups and trends from her voice and manner, however. Bern had never been one to fit into social roles... until the war came along, and a whole culture developed around the concept of reality. Seeing reality, knowing reality, accepting reality. There was a whole mass of second-class citizens who put all their energy into denying the harsh reality, and it was disgusting. Bern, ever the well-educated conspiracy theorist, with a passion for knowing every gory detail of the horrific war they were a part of, fit easily into the class of people who had no embarrassment about protesting the cretins who were perfectly comfortable burning their bridges to reality. It was the only class he could identify with in the least. The patriots were just as brainwashed. Like any war, this one was full of propaganda. The wars weren't about nations anymore. They weren't about patriotism.
Anyway, picking himself up and moving wasn't going to be easy. He'd settled in at his home very well, operating as he felt was comfortable and necessary. And he'd gotten a lot of things established. He knew one of the first things he'd have to find once he got to the greater Seattle area was a psychologist. He needed to continue getting his prescriptions, after all. No matter. Thanks to socialized healthcare, and his knowledge of the system, he'd have that worked out in no time. It wasn't a pressing concern for him, not nearly as much as it might have been for some people. Knowing as much as he did really had its benefits sometimes.
Alex had only met Bern over the phone so far. She'd probably noted how he sounded. His appearance might not have been obvious from the way he sounded, though he did seem like he talked like someone who was more intelligent than they needed to be. Significantly, at that. He had a somewhat calm voice, but one that held a tone of argument with every word his said. Superiority, perhaps. He was smart, and he knew it. There were still some things about him that would probably be surprises. And some, many perhaps, that were not.
He pulled out the note he'd written down the address on as he walked up to the apartment building. He'd found it easily enough; it required taking a few buses he hadn't initially anticipated to take, but it was no matter. He had the means to get here and back. And probably even more while he was here. He intended to spend a good part of the day in the Seattle area, given that it was such a long time to get here and back. Getting to know the area and the school would be important. He came to the door that she had indicated was her apartment, and knocked.
Seconds later, the door opened, revealing a bubbly personality he could have expected. He looked her up and down, not saying anything yet, keeping a rather straight and simple face about him, unamused, observing and intuiting, but he refrained from appearing haughty; he had no point in doing so. She didn't look like she fit into any particular group from her clothing, so he'd been right to assume she didn't seem to have an alignment. Her long hair was a different color at the tips than it was at the roots... He wondered briefly if she had dyed it that way, or if it changed color over time. Some people's hair did change over time, so he figured it was a logical enough possibility.
When she stepped back from the door, he stepped inside to get a look around, observant yet again, though he'd finished with focusing on the short (kind of cute?) girl for the time being. He had a feeling she was a kind of cute that would make her somewhat unbearable (ironic, given the bear-like hat she was wearing). He hadn't said a thing yet, but he didn't feel a reason to. Looking about the apartment, he saw it was a nice moderate size. Bigger than his grandmother's, actually. Granted, hers had only been one bedroom, and Bern had spent his entire life sleeping in the livingroom. So automatically, he'd started thinking about the livingroom being his space, neglecting to notice the empty room at first.
Right, the empty room. He was actually going to have a room of his own for once. That would make it easier to do everything. To hide everything he needed to hide. Hmm, life was going to be easier all around, wasn't it? He'd be closer to a big city where he could access even more books. He'd have his own private space... How nice. He didn't have to go search for a place where he could be alone.
He listened to her speak, contemplating her words... Star Trek, and Battlestar? She must have been a fan of really old fashioned culture, or something. He recognized the names... possibly because they'd been revived within the past few years... maybe the past decade. That happened a lot, sadly. Older material was frequently appropriated, to a point that nearly nothing was new. Bern didn't care for the television, though. It was full of programs catering to the slobs who were better off pretending the world was a happy place. And the news, which was as full of bigotry, inaccuracy, and selfishness as any politician. Bern preferred to get his information other ways.
"I, unfortunately, do not have any furniture," Bern replied, "but I will work something out. I've lived all my life without it, as it is." His eyes diverted toward the kitchen... He'd be buying all his own food now. At least his grandma was going to be sending him some money. He had saved a lot as well, doing "odd jobs" here and there. He wouldn't tell anyone the details about that; it wasn't like he needed to, anyway. So he was going to have the bedroom with the window? He contemplated that, if it didn't have some kind of covering, he'd have to get something to cover it up with. He was weird about windows sometimes, but that wasn't important. The apartment looked nice enough. Alex seemed like she could be remotely tolerable. (He might regret thinking that later, though.)
"We can do whatever you like. It takes me 3 hours to get here, so I have all day."
|
|
|
Post by ActuallyFace on Feb 21, 2014 0:21:37 GMT -8
The apartment wasn't the nicest, but it was probably a step up form what Bern was used to. There was carpet throughout the whole thing, save the kitchen and bathroom, which was pretty old-fashioned; most people had moved on from carpet, finding it unnecessary and difficult to keep clean and well. Which meant the building was most likely pretty old... hell, it wasn't impossible that it was from the early 2000's. The architecture wasn't exactly modern. The only part that could be considered even vaguely modern was the back wall, the one that sat at the back of the kitchen, which looked to be brick. That would suck, in the winter... but it wasn't an uncommon style in Seattle, since the fire that had wiped out a good part of the city in 1889. Or rather, it hadn't been, until other, more insulating methods of keeping fire danger low had arisen. Then brick had become more of a style. This building having that same brick, though, was probably more because it was old than anything else.
The area itself was also... not the cleanest. Alex had picked up the usual layer of bags and other garbage off the floor for Bern's arrival, but the floor was obviously not vacuumed, there were dishes piled up in the sink, the counters hadn't been wiped in ages... and why were only two walls painted red?!
It wasn't unbearable, though. It didn't smell, really, and it just... needed some picking up. some surface cleaning.
She nodded as he spoke, and closed the door behind him. By the time he'd finished, she was already leading him into the hallway, listening despite not actually facing him.
The furniture thing wouldn't be a problem, she hoped, and she could probably help him get some somewhere... She thought she liked him, as a person... he seemed calm, and she was sort of drawn to that, and he wasn't bad looking, and she found even the somewhat superior tone in his voice nice, like he had plenty of confidence, and that gave her a very distinct impression of stability. She liked it, and she found herself liking him, and wanting to help him. Maybe it would make him like her, too...
She opened her mouth to mention all of this, but then he was talking again, so she closed it.
Did he really mean that, that they could do whatever she wanted? Was he really giving her his day? That was definitely exciting, and did it mean he wanted to spend time with her already? Could it? As she turned right again and opened the door to his room, she began speaking again.
"I..." She started, then stopped. She was about to start talking about the second point, and she needed to address the first. She twirled a lock of hair around a finger and pulled on it a bit, trying to force herself to make a little more sense. "don't have a lot of furniture or anything either, just what's here, but like if you need some I can help you find stuff. There are cheap stores around here, and all you really need is a bed, right? And somewhere for your clothes, so you could just get a cheap bookshelf and use that." The words sounded rushed, almost forced... she was having trouble concentrating, and organizing her thoughts properly. "If you don't have anything to do though there's lots around here, like coffee, and shops and things... I mean obviously, since we're in Seattle. I also have a lot of movies and stuff, we could watch something, or something, or..." she broke off suddenly, her attention going back to the room.
Oh, yeah, that.
"This is your room, by the way, or... it can be I guess." The room was a pretty average size, and a bland square with unpainted walls. There was a door on the left wall, which presumably lead to a closet, and a small screen of a thermostat by the door they'd just entered that presumably controlled the temperature in the room. The window had some horizontal blinds on it, which could be closed pretty completely, and took up perhaps a fourth of the middle of the wall in inhabited. It was also directly across from the door, and provided a gorgeous view of the unassuming brick building across the street from them, plus the tops of some trees.
Alex turned back to Bern, looking suddenly and only very briefly urgent. "Do you want to stay here? We can look for furniture today, maybe, I know some places." It hadn't really occurred to her that Bern hadn't made up his mind yet, that the choice hadn't been made the moment he had walked into his room, at the very least. Really, it should have been the house itself, but he hadn't voice it then.
|
|
|
Post by empyreanVisionary on Feb 21, 2014 10:32:07 GMT -8
He did note that the apartment was very nice. A bigger space than he had ever been used to, in the first place. Yes, it was a rather pleasant space. The few things he was beginning to notice now, as he looked at it with more focus, more interest, was just how dirty it was. He could tell she had probably cleaned it up to some extent... well, "straightened" it up. It was by no means clean. The floor needed vacuuming... the counters were filthy, everything really did need to be clean. Oh well, he figured... He couldn't stand living in a dirty place, but he'd always cleaned up for his grandma, anyway. He was a bit OCD about those things, but since he'd been used to dealing with those problems on his own, he could take care of this. It wasn't a big deal at all. Even the dishes piled up in the sink, though he'd probably have to start making her do her own dishes so they didn't sit around stinking. He wasn't her keeper, or anything, so he figured he could try to encourage her to do her own dishes. Of course, he could always take care of them if need be. That was one thing his grandma did do on her own...
Most of the facets of the apartment didn't really bother him. The brick was nice; he knew about the story behind why so much of the old buildings were brick. Knowing that the building was old might have made him uncertain if he didn't know that it must have meant it was built masterfully to still be standing today. In some cases, one might be more inclined to live in a very old building with restored facilities like this. The continued stability could be a sign of stability. Or a sign of ruin, though modern buildings just weren't up to standards compared to ones from 50 or more years ago. The two red walls were a bit unsettling. Perhaps he could paint the others for her? Or was that really what had happened here? Had she only intended to paint two walls? Sometimes people wanted things that way; wanted them to have a more unbalanced look about them or something to that effect.
As they moved into the room that would be his, he nodded, affirmatively. This was more than he was used to. And he wouldn't have to bother covering the window; there were blinds on it, at least. The fact that there was a closet also made things a lot easier. The view wasn't bad, not that he cared all that much about it,
"That's not necessary..." Bern simply replied to her insistence on getting furniture. "I've grown up sleeping on the couch, so I can stay there until I find what I need. I have few things, and my clothes will fit easily into the closet inside that room." He'd already been aware of that. His closet was the coat closet at his grandma's, and he had plenty of room in there for everything he owned. It would probably be kind of surprising to Alex when she saw just how little Bern would be bringing with him. Most of the things Bern "owned" were not really things he owned at all. He borrowed things, for the most part. He spent most of his free time at the library, or reading books he'd gotten from the library. That was just the kind of life he led. It would feel weird having a whole room to himself, though he didn't figure he would feel the need to fill it with things like some people did. It would be difficult getting used to it, but that could end up having the opposite expected effect on him, too. No matter, most of his extra money was spent on cigarettes anyway, so his smoking habit was apparently more important than having a bunch of "things" to him. Bern looked up after a few more moments of contemplation, responding to her final question. "One of the things I suppose I need to do while I am here is go to the school and make sure I know how to get there, and where my classes are. But other than that, I have the day free, until I need to head back home in the evening. I set aside as much time as possible."
|
|
|
Post by ActuallyFace on Feb 22, 2014 13:52:16 GMT -8
The suggestion that he was going to be sleeping on the couch sparked a little possessiveness in Alex. Well, that was her couch... one of the first things she'd gotten when she had first moved out of her dad's house a couple of months ago. The fact that he'd declared so surely that he could use it was a little infuriating, and her fingers went back to tug at a lock of hair. Trying to calm herself, she nodded and focused on what he said next.
Okay, that made sense. She was excited to go out and do something, or at least spend time with what was apparently her new roommate, but it would be important for him to get to know where things were as well. But a roommate! He was speaking as if he was already her's, as if he already planned on living there, and that was exciting. She'd have someone to live with and be around, and she wouldn't have to keep looking, either. The start of the semester was only a couple of weeks away.
"Oh, yeah, okay. Are you going alone? There are places to eat around here we could go to on the way back or something. The school's not really far from here, it's like twenty minutes by bus. And it's lunchtime." Her possessiveness was forgotten in her eagerness to go do something with him, to spend some time not being alone for a little while.
And had he said something about all of his clothes fitting into the closet? Well, okay... it was pretty small, but maybe if he hung everything up... he'd have to have a lot of hangers, though. Or maybe he just didn't have as much stuff as most people... he seemed sort of like he didn't like the frivolity most people did now, which was nice. Alex didn't personally like the stupid, colorful masses. Actually, she didn't particularly like any group, despite the patriotic style of her clothes. The denim jacket and the bandanna were both from her dad, though; she wore them mostly because of that. But everything else was the normal tight style of the time, with black leggings that had large plaid on them, a sort of faded blue and red like her jacket and hat, a long shirt with a low neckline and the Star Wars logo, and a couple of long chain necklaces with a Darth Vader charm on one, and a Star Trek charm on the other. She was sort of ambiguous in her style, aside from the things her dad had given her, and she liked it that way.
Bern, though, seemed to lean towards the protester's style of dress, with his loose clothing and more muted colors... that was alright, out of the three main groups that had emerged, she probably agreed with that one the most. and so far she liked him anyways. He was calm, and reasonable, and he didn't seem to think she was absolutely unbearable to be around... Well, he didn't know her very well now, and his opinion might change, but that didn't really matter at the moment.
Alex lead Bern back out into the hallway, then into the bathroom, which was right across the hall. There was another down further down the hall that was her room, and some doors that folded out next to Bern's room, which was where the washer and dryer were.
"This is the bathroom." She explained as she opened the door, revealing a fairly small, tiled area with the standard toilet, glass-doored shower, and a sink. There were two sides to the sink, with identical cabinet space on both, and it looked like Alex had chose the one closer to the wall, since so much stuff lay on the countertop on that side. "Your stuff can go on the right."
|
|
|
Post by empyreanVisionary on Feb 22, 2014 16:00:54 GMT -8
Bern hadn't really thought that the other might feel a certain degree of possessiveness about the couch. All he'd figured was that it was the kind of place he was used to sleeping, and he knew that most people didn't. Most people slept in a bed, and that was normal... not really for him, though... So he'd figured she wouldn't have any sort of attachment to it. If she really had something wrong with it, perhaps... she could ask him not to. But it would be kind of mean then, to leave him without a place to sleep, right? Well, that was something the two of them would have to work out.
It did seem that he was, at least offhandedly, offering her time to spend with him. He had made his plans more clear now, whereas he'd been much more vague before. He wanted to do school things, of course… that made sense; if he had to come from three hours away, it only made sense that he wanted to do as much as possible while he was here. Besides move things in, it seemed. He might have still needed to see everything to make sure this was someplace he wanted to live. And, perhaps, meet her. Though it did seem that they could get along just fine. Alex didn’t particularly seem like a person Bern couldn’t deal with. She was a little messy, but he was clean enough; he’d take care of it. And maybe teach her a thing or two. At least it didn’t look like she was particularly bad about leaving food out to attract critters they didn’t want… Or maybe he was totally wrong about that, and there was tons of junk in her room. Well, if there -were- critters, he’d have to have a talk with her about that kind of stuff… It was weird, honestly, thinking about how he might have to coach the apartment’s actual owner on how to take care of an apartment. But…. what could he say? He’d been living and taking care of things a lot longer than most anyone his age, since his grandma couldn’t do much.
He thought she looked a bit patriotic. But something about her attitude didn’t really say that. He didn’t care what her beliefs were, though, as long as she wasn’t one of those psychos who would rather ignore reality and dress and act like complete bimbos. She seemed to like a lot of old fashioned things, interestingly enough. Yes, he thought he could get along with her.
Following her down the hall, he got another look around. This really was a decent place, he mused. The bathroom was nice, and she seemed to take decent care of it; it didn’t look particularly dirty. Yes, he was pretty sure he’d stay here… He didn’t know if he had time to look for another place, anyway, so he’d figured he could handle it for now. And yet he’d still thought it would best to make sure.
After they got a chance to look at the bathroom, he turned to look to her, folding his arms. “So, I get the impression that you would really like to go somewhere, particularly for lunch.” So, they could have lunch together. Bern didn’t mind. “In that case, where would you like to go? I assume you know where is best.”
|
|
|
Post by ActuallyFace on Feb 24, 2014 8:27:03 GMT -8
Alex had pretty much gotten over the couch the moment Bern mentioned his willingness to go to lunch with her. And really, she hadn't cared so much in the first place, just... gotten angry about it. That wasn't abnormal, and since her actual concern over the couch was so small, it had been easier for her to control that anger, too. She had pretty much forgotten about it already.
She was very obviously excited when he asked where she'd like to go to eat, and a smile curved her lips up. She took a moment to respond, though, trying to pick a place out of the many that jumped into her head in that moment. It was sort of a jumped mess, there was... the burger place, and the other one, and there were about a hundred Red Robin's nearby, he probably wanted to go to a cafe, though, right? Yeah, that worked.
"There's a place on the way back from U-dub," She said quickly, using the popular slang term for the University of Washington, "it's a cafe... Maurice's, or something. They have a lot of fucking great sandwiches and stuff."
Bern actually probably wouldn't have to worry about Alex's messiness. She was more disorganized than anything, with her cupboards full of everything that wasn't dishes, and her fridge filled with things that really didn't need to be refrigerated. Her dishes she pretty much never did, unless she needed a dish, in which case she would do only the one, use it, and put it back into the sink. The dishwasher also had a few things, and sometimes she might run a few of the bigger, harder-to-wash things in it, but that was about it. Outside of that, though, she was actually relatively clean. She did have random spurts of the need to clean things, and during that she might do a chore (or two, if it was really big), like wiping the counters down, or sweeping the kitchen... it was sparodic, though, and didn't really happen as often as it probably should have. But things were clean, at one point or another. If Bern made it clear he wasn't going to stand for so much dirt, she probably wouldn't protest cleaning a little more often. It was mostly a matter of making his wishes clear.
Aside from that, though, Alex was probably not the greatest roommate. She didn't care about the temperature, and she was fairly quiet, but otherwise, she was not the easiest to live with. She did things like marathoning Star Wars at 3am on full volume, forcefully including people in her film assignments, and sleepwalking to open the fridge and lay on the floor in front of it... to name just a few.
Bern might regret thinking she would be easy to deal with.
|
|
|
Post by empyreanVisionary on Feb 24, 2014 16:04:09 GMT -8
If she was excited about Bern agreeing to go to lunch with her, she must have not gotten excited about a lot of things. Bern didn't have any problem, especially at this point in their relationship, with trying to get to know her better, and logically enough that meant that he was totally okay with spending time with her, to see how well they would get along. And if she was hungry, that was all the more reason for them to go out somewhere, right? It wasn't that Bern didn't want to stay here. But he'd basically made the decision that he was living here, even though he hadn't told her. He would tell her if she asked, that was certain enough.
Though he hadn't had any idea where was good to eat. So, naturally, he'd asked her. She'd been living here, surely she had some insight on it. This was an area he was unfamiliar with, as he lived just far enough away that it was out of his usual zone of comfort. He was more familiar with other large cities in the area, just not Seattle itself, because of the great distance one had to travel to get there. Before deciding to go to school there, he hadn't been there more than a few times, but the school was really great... Bern was going there to major in physics, and that meant he'd be there a long time. He was probably going to get a PhD, or at least a master's degree. It depended on how much financial aid he could get. Being that he'd won a lot of scholarships, though, it would probably not be all that hard.
"Well, then we should go there," he replied, brushing his ponytail back over his shoulder. "But if it's on the way back from the school, would it be safe to assume that it may also be on the way there? You sounded as though you were starving." He didn't want her to have to starve because of the things he was doing. If they could go there first then they ought to do that. At least, if that was the case, which he'd gathered from the way she'd urgently brought up the topic. Or was she really that determined to spend some time with him? He wouldn't have expected that she had feelings for him in the first place. Not at all, really, especially not when they'd just met. So he would have thought it odd if that was any reason... at least besides the fact that they had just met and would be spending a lot of time together, and she probably just wanted to get to know him, too... That had to be all it was.
Anyway, Bern just anticipated he'd have to clean up after her a little. Though he'd also probably be able to encourage her to do something. She seemed impressionable enough; he figured that persuading her was surely something he could do. He wasn't too bad at persuasion, anyway, and it wasn't that he would be doing it for anyone's good but her own.
|
|
|
Post by ActuallyFace on Feb 27, 2014 13:10:21 GMT -8
Alex wasn't really hungry, just... honestly wanted to spend some time with him. She'd been alone here for months now, she'd... been pretty much alone before that, too, even though her dad was there. Not that she totally recognized that; it felt more like an urge to her, one she didn't really bother to try to explain to herself. She knew she liked that Bern didn't seem to really dislike her, which people usually did, but that was about the end of it.
"We can do whatever, I don't really care. I'm not hungry or anything, just figured, like, food is cool. But if you wanna eat first, let's do that." She brushed a hand through the ends of her own hair, and let he hands rest on her hips while she looked up at him. He was taller than her by... jesus, it must be four inches. Tall. But then, most were. She wasn't exactly an imposing figure... She did give off an air of viciousness, though, as if she wasn't afraid to defend herself with every pointy bit she had. Or attack. She seemed like she wouldn't be too reluctant to attack, either.
Alex didn't bother to grab a coat before they left, just picked her wallet and keys off the counter and lead Bern outside. There were a couple of buses that went where they needed to go and ran pretty frequently... she was already picking a route out in her head, figuring out the stop they needed to walk to and when the next bus would leave. Probably... what, in five or ten minutes? And it wasn't too far. Perfect.
They went to the cafe first, and Alex tagged along with Bern afterwards to look around the school and show him the route back home. She reasoned it out with her already having taken a look around herself, and knowing a little better where things were. Plus, she'd made a point of memorizing the route home and back.. or rather, he dad had made a point of making sure she did. She'd picked up the one to the cafe, as well as a few other restaurants and things she rather liked, herself.
Alex made some effort to keep herself calm while she was with Bern, but her usual hyper and excited attitude remained for the most part anyways. Bern might notice how impulsive she was, how quickly she would grow distracted with some small thing or another, or an idea that had occurred to her in that moment. She wasn't altogether unpleasant towards Bern as long as he didn't try to argue her on small points about her sci-fi shows, though... actually, she seemed excited to be there, and around them.
When Bern finally had to leave Alex had calmed down some, and she even looked a bit disappointed while she showed him out the door. But it seemed like things were going to go well, like eh was staying there and she wouldn't have to look anymore. And she'd have a roommate! She wouldn't be alone like she was before, and the company actually didn't seem to hate her. It was incredibly exciting.
|
|
|
Post by empyreanVisionary on Feb 28, 2014 0:01:55 GMT -8
Bern would have thought that her insistence was completely due to being hungry, but when she said otherwise, he shrugged it off. She didn't seem like the most straightforward person in the world. Well, straightforward in some ways, at least. She was definitely forthright, at the least. A little... no, quite neurotic. But in ways different than Bern was, himself... Unfortunately, it seemed like Bern's situation was more productive, given the shape of the apartment, which he figured was usually worse, when she didn't have "company", so to say. Right now, he figured he was just serving as company to him, and he had no problem with that. Getting to know her would be important.
He'd definitely met worse people though. She was tame in comparison, and he figured he'd be comfortable enough with her. She really didn't seem -too- bad, granted, things were going to come up, as they always did with people one lived with. Whatever happened, he'd talk to her about it and resolve the issues, simple as that. He had no problems with being diplomatic, and he couldn't help but feel like she'd probably be responsive to complaints, albeit perhaps stubborn. Yes, she did seem the stubborn sort, without any doubts at all. That was something they might be able to work on, too... Then again, it might be a non-issue anyway. Right now, he was just concerned with knowing her, and she seemed to be glad to let him learn more about the area and help him find his way around.
Going to the cafe was pretty nice. Bern found he liked the food, and ate somewhat thoughtfully. Everything worked out fine at the school, too, though they spent a good amount of time there, making themselves more familiar with the campus they'd both be attending school at. They might even be taking the same bus to school, which would make sense, assuming their classes started around the same time. Or perhaps Alex would choose later classes, because Bern had a tendency to prefer earlier ones. Either way, he ended up deciding he would live here. He packed up the very few things he owned into two bags, one of them being like an airline suitcase one might check into baggage. The other was a small bag, like a carry-on. And that was literally all he had to take with him. It was mostly clothes, when it came down to it, with a few odds and ends and toiletries, and he also had his computer. So when he showed up with that small amount of stuff, it probably surprised Alex. She probably figured he'd just bring more later, but he never did. He did, after a week or so, end up buying an inflatable mattress and sheets for it, but that was the only real thing he -had- in his room. It was practically just the bed, and his computer, and the clothes in his closet. At that point, Alex would probably realize just how modest of a life Bern led... It was kind of sad, really, but apparently he was going to find some way to pay her his part of the bill.
Even over the first week, Bern had noticed both her positive and negative aspects. He'd not really had a chance for her to do any of that shit where she watched stuff at full volume at 3 am, yet... but that was because he'd been sleeping in the livingroom. He was going to really have a problem with that when it did happen, though. All the same, they would work things out. Alex wouldn't have to be alone when he was there, and she'd probably already done his share of invading his privacy. He had already gotten a library card, and he went there -every single day-. Alex probably thought it weird.... He went to the library and got books, then just spent most of his days reading... Though since he had come, things did start to get cleaned up. He'd taken care of all the mess in the main area and kitchen, which were now practically sparkling. Well, that was convenient, wasn't it?
|
|
|
Post by ActuallyFace on Feb 28, 2014 8:30:02 GMT -8
Alex was surprised by the modest way Bern seemed to live, and how easily he did it. She didn't say anything about it, didn't want to draw unwanted attention to it, but it was... strange, to her. Her dad was relatively well-off, and he shared that with her. That was just the way things were, for Alex. She got the things she asked for, though she really didn't ask for much from him. There was a certain amount of giving that was sort of assumed with him, but she'd taken up a very, very submissive role as his daughter. She demanded very little from him, and what she did ask for, she got. So seeing someone living in a way that was... well, less, she was surprised. Bern didn't seem to have anyone else supporting him, anyone to ask for anything.
Which was part of the reason she made more of an effort with him to be a generally good roommate. She tried to pick up after herself a little more often, and clean things sometimes, but it was difficult to remember to do those things, and to do them without getting distracted halfway through and leaving them be. Bern might notice that about her, after living with her for a couple of weeks... Alex struggled to stay on task, and to stay focused. She rarely cooked because of this, and when she did, it usually ended up burnt. She only got halfway through things, and then drifted elsewhere, did something else... which was why she'd only painted two of the walls in the living room.
She didn't seem to care about her food, though. She made no effort to have some kind of "this is mine, that is your's" rule with Bern, and she didn't care if he ate what she bought. She pretty much had everything she needed, too, so she didn't really try to eat what Bern bought. In most respects, really, she seemed to respect his personal space. She wasn't too difficult to live with... until maybe a month in, when she got tired of that. She was taking later classes, as she tended to stay up late and get up late, so she was pretty much missing him entirely the whole day. And then at night, when neither of them had classes, he always seemed to be... gone. In his room, or at the library, or just in general not around her. It was frustrating. Here was the one person who seemed to be able to stand her presence, aside from her father, and he wasn't even in it for any amount of time!
So she started to sort of insert herself into his life a little more forcefully, coming up with reasons to go into his room while he was there, and trying to get him to stick around for a conversation when he ventured out of his room. She stayed out in the living room more often to catch him, too, and... well, it was less for him than for herself, but she did start to watch her movies and things on the television in the early hours of the morning, on full volume, when she assumed he was sleeping. Anyone else might have called Bern the perfect roommate, but Alex wanted someone to talk to her. And it only got worse when the semester started; no one in her classes actually liked her. She had bad taste, she was bad at what she did, she was loud, she was obnoxious, and stubborn, and forceful, and... well, no one really had a reason to like her, she understood that. And she wasn't going to change herself for them (partially because she couldn't). But god, did it suck to be alone, especially when no one else was!
|
|
|
Post by empyreanVisionary on Feb 28, 2014 22:40:30 GMT -8
Bern had been comfortable enough living with Alex, at least most of the time. He'd settled in well, even from the first day, and it surprised him too, seeing as he hadn't ever been out of his grandma's home, as long as he could remember. Granted, she did have a house when he was young, and moved into an apartment when he was around 10 years old, but he was used to this whole kind of experience. It was a nice space, and he had more space than he ever could have possibly needed, at least given what he had when he was back at his grandma's house. When one didn't have their own room, it was kind of weird when they did. Though at the same time, he took to the concept really well, and spent a lot of time in privacy there. He hadn't realized yet that Alex was noticing this and had a problem with it. He didn't really see a problem in it, anyway. He just... liked this, this privacy. When he spent so much time reading, it was really nice, too. During the day, it was usually pretty quiet, and that was better than dealing with his grandma...
He did pay attention to Alex, though. Though he might not have spent a ton of time talking to her, he definitely did pay attention. He'd noticed how much she'd been trying to help out... It seemed the fact that he was cleaning made her a little guilty, which he was certainly okay with. She hadn't done a whole lot, though... And he'd noticed just how easily she got distracted. Though he never said much, never indicated knowledge of much at all... He was aware of her problems. That she had plenty of problems. And it was certainly interesting how they seemed to be problems of a very specific nature, that Bern could easily recognize.
Meanwhile, Alex had probably noticed that one of the first things Bern had done when getting to the area was find a psychologist, and get his prescriptions filled. So it seemed he was going to one to treat some problems of his own. She might have known she had some mental problems that could possibly be treated with medicine, but she probably didn't take anything, or at least anything that was working out for her. Bern had mentioned it once when she'd pressed him... how he had medicine for ADHD and that it was very important that he had it. But if Alex knew anything about ADHD, she'd probably realize that he didn't seem like he had it at all. Or maybe that was just because the medicine did such a good job... Surely that was it, right? He was probably a total mess without it, and that was why he was so adamant about getting it. Now, Bern had noticed that Alex had some similar problems, and it amused him, because it could be something he could use to his advantage. Though that was for another day, entirely. Surely after he got to know her better, after they really had time to get acquainted.
Bern didn't spend all his time at home; Alex would notice he was actually out quite a lot, be it at the library or elsewhere... He was gone late in the evenings sometimes, and god knows where he was a lot of the time. For a guy who read so much, it was a bit odd, though perhaps he didn't like sitting around? Perhaps he was more social than he appeared? Anyway, despite her efforts, Alex probably didn't feel like she knew him well. Even when she did start trying to keep him around, to catch him trying to go to the bathroom, or before he left or something... she still didn't end up learning too much about him. Perhaps it drove her nuts, perhaps she didn't really care except for the fact that she was being left alone a lot of the time... Bern had started noticing it, though. The girl's lonely tendencies. The way she seemed to latch on to him, as though looking for something... searching for some kind of validation through him. And he didn't invalidate her. Actually, rather the opposite. No, Bern wasn't stupid. He knew that he could make something out of this. But he also wasn't so stupid as to rush into anything...
|
|
|
Post by ActuallyFace on Mar 3, 2014 7:58:35 GMT -8
Alex found Bern's hurry to get his prescription filled sort of... strange, really, but she didn't question it. He didn't seem like he needed it, but then, she wasn't sure what really constituted a need for medication, and she wasn't sure how much it could really help a person. She'd never been tested herself, never been on any kind of medication, and she hadn't really known anyone who had, either. The closest she had ever come to that were some anger management classes when she was middle school, which had lasted a couple of weeks and done very little good. They'd also been insisted upon by the school... her dad had griped about that a lot, too. But she didn't know much about how those things worked, just some of the symptoms of the disorder itself.
The fact that he was out so often was a bit strange, too, given her overall perception of his was "booky recluse". Staying out late at night and not being around often otherwise did not fit into that image. And he never seemed to bring anyone around, though she'd made clear she didn't mind if Bern brought friends into the apartment (actually, she sort of wished he would), but that didn't have to mean anything... still, it didn't all seem to add up. She didn't think about that much, though. She was far more interested in him as a friend, as someone she could talk to every now and then that didn't entirely hate her. And that was what he seemed to be, too. He didn't get angry with her when she got distracted or impulsive, he didn't seem to dislike her or her interests, and he didn't seem really opposed to the idea of talking to her for a minute or two. He just wasn't around to do it, much... but that was all she wanted, really. Maybe she barely knew Bern at all, but she still liked him for that. It was small, but it was something she felt she needed.
Most of the semester went by without a lot of excitement, but at the days crawled further into Autumn and then Winter, the weather grew wet and grey, and Alex's mood, along with most of the city's, dampened. There was something distinctly oppressive about the greyness of the skies and the near-constant shower of water, a kind of unshakable cold wetness that seeped into the center of one's body and didn't want to let go, not ever. Even the colorful majority of the population couldn't hold on to their joy, not completely, and their bright colors looked pathetic and artificial against the backdrop of Winter. Everything felt dead, dying, or simply cold and sad.
Alex tried to fight it, though. She found a warm joy in having Bern there, having someone who didn't want to hate her, so she clung to that like she hadn't before. And she grew curious, too; why was he out all the time? Where did he need to go, and why shouldn't she be able to tag along? She prodded him for answers about his whereabouts, though she was careful (relatively, anyways). She didn't want to press too hard, and if he showed her she was, she would back off. She couldn't lose him! And then she grew impatient with that, and finally...
"Can I come?" She asked. It was a couple of weeks before Winter break, still, and already growing dark outside from the fast-approaching night. Bern was leaving, and she was perched on her knees on the couch, leaning one arm against and partially over the back. A couple of blankets clung to her shoulders. "You're going somewhere again, right? Can I come with you? It's not like I'm gonna scare anyone off or anything, well... I mean I might, but like, I'm not a lot of trouble, really... If you get tired or whatever I can come back here, I know my way around sort of." She seemed sort of desperate, and she realized this, tried to hide it was some easier and more careless words. But it didn't do much; he would hear it in her voice anyways, if he was paying any kind of attention to it.
|
|
|
Post by empyreanVisionary on Mar 3, 2014 18:09:44 GMT -8
It was likely that he hadn't actually been -off- of the medication for any length of time. At least, that was what she could assume. Perhaps it was awfully bad if he -was- off his medication. But wouldn't he still show signs of the problems even if he had good medication that was preventing most of the particularly bad symptoms? It was mysterious, perhaps that was just how good the medicine really was for him. Who knew... Though hearing Bern talking about getting his prescription filled probably made her think about the idea of getting medication in general. Perhaps it would do her some good, too. And what with the socialized healthcare, surely she'd be able to get it if she needed it. After all, Bern was getting it, and he apparently needed it.
It did seem odd that Bern was out a lot. Perhaps he just wasn't the type of person she'd originally thought he was. He went out and did things like anyone else, he didn't necessarily hang around at the apartment reading books all the time. Though it seemed like, when he was there, he did pretty much just read books all the time. And sleep. So he was mostly just there to do his homework, to read, and to rest. And sometimes he'd cook and clean... Alex probably felt kind of embarrassed, seeing how busy he was all the time; with how little time he spent here, he even found time to clean up all her messes! There was something just not right about him, wasn't there? The more time she spent around him, the more she probably had to wonder about his behavior. If he had ADHD like his medicine was for, wouldn't he be exactly the opposite? Wouldn't he be more like her? What kind of miracle medicine even was this? Not to mention, what was he out doing? If he never came back with friends, did that even mean that he was out with friends in the first place? That had to be a thought that sprang to mind. Perhaps he wasn't actually out with people. Sometimes people just went out to get away from the confinement of a small space. And maybe he was just... used to it, perhaps? She knew that he used to live with his grandma and didn't even have any privacy. He had lived in the living room, and that was why he got used to not even having a room of his own. So maybe that was how he had dealt with not really having a room... He didn't spend a ton of time there. He probably walked everywhere, probably ran all the errands for his grandmother. And he probably used his time well. Was that what he was doing? Just finding time to spend elsewhere, because that was what he was used to?
At least she could count on Bern talking to her, if offhandedly, during the times that he was here. If she kept trying to catch him, she'd manage every once in a while. And while Bern didn't necessarily go out of his way to talk to her, he hadn't really been given a reason yet... at least, he didn't seem to think so. He didn't dislike her, and didn't mind talking to her, though it was usually pretty one-sided, with Alex rambling a lot, and Bern listening, and acknowledging her. He didn't have any reasons to be upset with her. She clearly had some issues that she noticed, and knew about, but he didn't care; he was awfully patient, actually. Was he patient with her because he understood what it was like having problems like that? The one that he took medicine for?
Anyway, Bern was about to head out, and had left his room, pulling on his coat as he went. Alex was out there on the couch, and he realized immediately when she spoke to him. Though in some ways, he felt irritated at her this time, he turned and didn't show even a hint of it. "...I'm just going out to the library and to get my prescription filled." He raised the empty bottle in his hand, shaking it lightly to show that it was empty. He got his prescriptions refilled a lot, but that was probably because he only got a small amount of pills at a time, right? "I don't think you'll much enjoy it. I usually stay at the library and read as it is." He could tell she was desperate for some human contact, but he really didn't want to engage her right now. He had plans for tonight, and if she persisted, he would have to go ahead with his lie and do as he'd just said instead. Well, no matter... one way or another, he'd get around it. What he didn't know yet, however, was just how persistent she was going to be, and how difficult that was going to make everything.
|
|
|
Post by ActuallyFace on Mar 3, 2014 20:10:28 GMT -8
Maybe Bern's medication really was just doing it's job, and that was why Alex hadn't noticed. Or maybe something else was going on... Maybe a lot of things! Alex didn't really want to think about all of them; she didn't know enough to have any kind of real idea about it, so what was the point? Guessing at it constantly was useless, and it would only drive her up the wall, and... well, she didn't have the attention span for it, anyways. And what did it matter? Bern was on some kind of medication for ADHD, and as far as she was concerned, the effect that this had on him pretty much ended there. It was irrelevant to what she saw of him, to what mattered to her, and to how he was as a person. She didn't honestly care all that much about it... certainly not enough to have noticed how fast he went through his prescriptions.
What he did when he was out, though... that much did interest her. He just didn't seem the type to really have a lot of friends, or have much to do... it was weird, and the idea of Bern at some kind of party just didn't fit the mental image Alex had of him. Surely, he didn't just sit around at the library all night and day?
Or... maybe he did. Was he seriously just going to the library, after he got his prescription filled?! That was kind of disappointing... and it didn't seem entirely true, either, but... well, why not? Why not come along anyways? He didn't see like he really cared, and she didn't have a whole lot better to do. And she could spend some time away from the apartment, some time around someone else! Sure, she wasn't much of a reader, but that hardly mattered. There were Star Wars books, both fiction and factual things... Okay, maybe she could get behind this.
"No, that sounds cool! Well I mean... not cool like rad, but I would be fine with that I think. There are, like, Star Wars books hanging around in libraries and shit. Might as well give it a shot, right?" She slid off the couch, and used her palm to straighten her bandanna, already looking around for her coat. "I don't need to sit in here, anyways. I sit in here a lot. Maybe it'll be, oh!" She grabbed the coat off the floor next to the couch and slipped it over her shoulders, looking back up at Bern again. "You going to the druggy place first, or the library? I don't really know where either are."
He was really going to have to try hard to shake her... She was getting excited about this, and it seemed she'd made up her mind. And if Bern had noticed nothing else about Alex, surely he'd noticed her stubbornness, and her impulsiveness. She wasn't afraid of sudden plans, and she certainly intended to carry through with them once she'd made up her mind to. She was going to carry through with this... and why shouldn't she? If he was only going out for a prescription and the library, why did it matter that she come along with him? He didn't seem to dislike her, and that would really be the only reason... unless something much more was going on, in which case she'd probably only want to come with him more. Except, maybe not so much with him as following him...
|
|