Timed to the 22nd

[takecourage]

Alex is in a shitty, shitty mood. She has been for days, since the first argument with Darlington but now, after the conversation that they'd had in his apartment, the things that both of them had said, she's just fucking furious. She's not down to work tonight and she just needs to get out of her own head so she picks up her phone and texts Caleb.

want to hang out? xA

While she's waiting for him to respond, she gets in the shower and washes her hair, tries to scald the irritation out of her with hot water.

It's not entirely successful.

Comments

[greatamazingfeelingsboy]

"I'm sorry," he says, more in response to her disappointment than her actual words. "I can leave, if you want, I mean. I don't want you to not do what you want to, just because I'm here."

[takecourage]

"I don't want you to leave," says Alex. "I'm enjoying using you as a pillow." She cracks open her soda. "It's fine. I'm not an alcoholic or something."

An addict, maybe. Maybe.

[greatamazingfeelingsboy]

Bzzt.

Caleb's lie detector goes off, just a little. It's not a complete lie, but it's... something. But he doesn't want to ruin the easy, comfortable mood they've been working towards since he came here, so he just shifts a little so his big, dumb feet don't fall asleep as they resume their platonic cuddling.

It is nice. The cuddling. Caleb had always kind of laid close to Adam even before he'd realized what the butterflies were. It seemed to help keep the ocean at bay, just a little, and he liked the contact, too. He's apparently a super tactile person. Who knew?

"Okay, well. D'you have Netflix? Or. FilmFix, whatever the fuck it's called here." He rolls his eyes at the weird Mandela Effect bullshit this place is pulling.

[takecourage]

Alex gets back onto the sofa with him, her legs curled up underneath herself while he settles himself. She reaches for the remote and drops it into his chest.

"Knock yourself out."

[greatamazingfeelingsboy]

He catches it before it slides down into the cushions, then starts navigating through the menu. His phone goes off, a quiet little ding! that he ignores.

"D'you have anything you want to watch? Or do you even care?" She doesn't feel like she's fussed about it, but he figures he should ask, instead of just assuming.

[takecourage]

"I don't care," she says, knowing that he'll pick up on the feeling being genuine. "I finished something the other day and haven't found something new to mainline yet."

[greatamazingfeelingsboy]

"Cool, okay," he says, and relaxes a little more as he gets to browsing. "My friend Clint was telling me about this one show, Space Hospital? I guess it's really big here. We could watch that." If nothing else, it'd be good background noise for more of their conversation.

[takecourage]

"Sounds good to me," she says, taking a long swallow from her soda and then leaning across his thighs to set it down on the coffee table. "The trashier the better."

[greatamazingfeelingsboy]

"Fuck, I hope it's, like, over-dramatic-trashy and not, like, borderline-porn-trashy." He does not need to accidentally pop wood just because he's watching something hot, and he doesn't need Alex to get horny from it, either. Whether she would or not, he has no idea, but he remembers that zing she'd felt when he'd physically moved her around a little. She's his friend, that's... that's not something he wants to feel.

[takecourage]

"There is nothing wrong with borderline porn trashy," says Alex, stretching out a little between Caleb and the back of the couch, wedged on her side against him. "Girls got to have a little fun somewhere."

[greatamazingfeelingsboy]

Caleb shifts so they aren't digging into each other, but Alex is still sandwiched between him and the couch kind of snugly. He finds Space Hospital and starts the first episode.

"I mean, sure, but like, there's a time and place for that, y'know?"

[takecourage]

"You're no fun," says Ake,v grinning b and, after a moment's hesitation, she rests her head on his chest. She's warm and comfortable. It goes some of the way to making her feel less hurt.

[greatamazingfeelingsboy]

Caleb settles his arm around her shoulders when she rests her head on his chest. It's nice, just kind of doing this. With one person, his ability is easy, and maybe Alex doesn't mix with his own colors to make another, single color, like Adam's feelings do, but... maybe it doesn't always have to be like that.

[takecourage]

It's easy to relax into it - the feeling of being held like that. Alex sighs, idly rubbing her cheek against his shirt before she settles properly.