(no subject)

[amberhearted]

Who: Alexander, Anthony, Bakura, Banagher, Hajime, John, Lyall, Ravindra, Reilanin & Vanessa
Where: Alex & Ravi's apartment
When: Friday, Sept. 13th (ooooh)
What: Movie night!
Warnings: --

[ and so it happened that tonight was a movie night slightly different from the one alex, anthony, john (and ravindra, when he wanted to be included) had grown accustomed to -- namely, the volume of bodies had doubled, plus two. the cats were split in opinion; adhirat sought shelter in ravi's room, while olivia got cozy with anyone who'd give her the time of day and gomez poked around and occasionally darted off.

the more the merrier -- for anthony's sake, partially, as holing up in an apartment couldn't have been very fun (thought alex) while his peers enjoyed (or enjoyed to hate) school. bakura was a friend of his, so alex was more than happy to have him over. lyall could always use a break. hajime had been an invaluable asset at the water bust and seemed like a swell guy. john was an 'of course'; a founding member of movie night and someone alex got along with splendidly. vanessa, well.

vanessa could do with the company of good people. she seemed to get along with banagher fine, too, and alex was fond of both of them.

as for reilanin, he was basically continuing to offer the branch of friendship, or something like it. he'd actually been surprised when she accepted the invitation. as a librarian, she was probably familiar with the movie they'd be watching tonight.

twilight (or the save the earth equivalent of). ]

[ ooc: more or less a mingle log! throw up your own threads, go hog wild, yeah!
here's the apartment layout for reference. they're on the second floor! ]

Comments

[healspec]

[irritated quirk of his mouth and narrowing of his eyes]

You are not only not talking about it. You're ignoring it.

[amberhearted]

Nnnnno. I mean, for now, yeah, yeah, I am ignoring it because fuck, that's some crazy shit, but I know I can't ignore it forever.

[healspec]

You certainly seem to be trying.

[but he's not talking about this, whatever that book means that Alex doesn't want to talk about right now. he's talking about all the past incidents of Alex brushing things off because they were uncomfortable to think about.]

[amberhearted]

[ back to outright staring.

holy balls, ravi, what got your knickers in a twist? was it the 'say it' reference? okay, yeah, alex concedes that wasn't the wisest decision he's made, but ravi's... doggedness just seems disproportional. unrelated?

weird. ]

I just got it.

[healspec]

I'm not talking about the pulse you got tonight! [he snaps, glaring at Alex again] I'm talking about the pattern; you do this all the time.

[amberhearted]

Do what?

[healspec]

Ignore things you don't want to think about and brush me off when I voice concern.

[amberhearted]

[ automatic ] I don't do that.

[healspec]

No? Then explain to me why we end up fighting every time I bring it up.

[amberhearted]

[ a blip of exasperation ]

It was just once.

[healspec]

It wasn't once, and you are brushing me off right now.

[amberhearted]

Wh- I'm addressing your concern right now!

[healspec]

By telling me it's not real, which is what you keep doing.

[amberhearted]

I'm not telling you it's not real [ he kinda did ], I'm making a clarification because you saying it happens 'every time' makes it sound like I've done it more than once!

[healspec]

[omfg alex for real tho]

You have!

[amberhearted]

When?

[healspec]

You did it when I talked to you about what would happen if we suddenly forgot everything, too.

[amberhearted]

[ .................... shit, he's right. the dawning realization that ravi is correct plays itself on his face.

ugh. ugh, ugh, ugh. why did this confrontation have to be tonight?

drawing his legs up, he drops his head between his knees and chest, closes his eyes, and sulks.

yes, sulks.

actually, if we want to be a little more accurate, we ought to say that alex isn't so much sulking as he is trying to reduce all the negative stimuli from tonight, just enough to fall beneath the threshold.

in short, he is overwhelmed and, for this brief moment, feels like his seams are coming undone. it isn't the confrontation alone, but the confrontation added onto the delayed memory, the ledger, the conversation with reilanin and the separate conversation with john. ]

[healspec]

[WINNER]

[which is to say, Alex's reaction makes it obvious that he's realized Ravi's right, and Ravi is satisfied with that.]

[but.]

[Alex is his friend, and Ravi genuinely cares about him, so the victory is followed immediately with guilt. He probably shouldn't have picked this fight now, when it was obvious there was already something bothering Alex.]

[awkward silence settles. he looks away, staring at the ledger on the floor instead of at Alex. when he speaks again, his voice is soft, the anger gone from it.]

Just...be mindful of it, alright?

[amberhearted]

[ inhaling, he lifts his head and rubs his face. ]

Yeah. [ steadier, ] Yeah, sorry.

[healspec]

[awkward pause. it doesn't really feel like a victory anymore. why was he even so focused on that?]

Sorry. I should have waited to bring it up.

[amberhearted]

[ he certainly isn't going to deny that he wishes ravi had, but he won't voice it. instead, he makes a resigned 'what's done is done' kind of noise.

after a moment, he relaxes his knees and motions halfheartedly in the ledger's direction. ]

I didn't read all of it. It's all words- sentences- no context.

[healspec]

[pause again. his curiosity is piqued, especially since his and Alex's pulses seem connected. maybe something in there will be relevant to him...]

...Can I look?

[amberhearted]

Yeah.

[ he doesn't think to mention that there's a huge gap in blank pages between the page with "Anders Brown" on it and Lord Myron's call to arms. o well ravi will figure it out. ]

[healspec]

[he picks it up and turns it over in his hands briefly to inspect it. the polka dots are cute, but he does not understand why they would be there. When he flips to the first page and sees the name 'Anders Brown' his brow furrows in confusion.]

Do you know whose name this is?