Room 227 | Sunday Morning

[necroslacker]

Sam hadn't slept last night. Usually, that wasn't a huge deal since he tended to sleep alone but now that he was living with his girlfriend, it was kind of hard to hide that from her at the very least. He'd laid there for awhile and then he'd gotten up and puttered around the room and eventually went for a walk.

Look, he'd been trying hard to make sure those ghosts didn't appear at night, okay? It was either not sleeping or wearing the pouch and he chose...not sleeping. Because he was an idiot.

But, he was awake now. He had a bowl of cereal in front of him, his skateboard laying wheels up next to his hip and his back against the foot of the bed. A few records were near his feet and one of them was on the record player, filling the room with quiet music.

But hey, he hadn't been entirely unproductive this past weekend. He'd gone into town, gotten himself a job, and now he was eating cereal and was about to fix up his skateboard.

So, things...could be worse.

[Door closed, post open!]

Comments

[necroslacker]

"Nerd," he said fondly before putting his cereal bowl aside (he'd wash it later) so he could pick up his skateboard and peer at the wheels. "Glad I graduated so I don't have to do any of that stuff."

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie leaned an elbow against the edge of her desk, idly watching him. "Slacker," she replied, about as fondly, really. "Wen do you start at your job?"

[necroslacker]

"Tuesday," he said, spinning the wheels to see if anything needed tightening. "Figured I should be ready to get back to doing things during the day by that time after all my time off."

[whenshewasnice]

"Or, you'll just keel over behind the counter from exhaustion."

Because he hadn't slept and she knew it.

[necroslacker]

"Who says I'm exhausted?"

Hey, he wasn't...that tired. He was used to this, actually.

[whenshewasnice]

"You could be by Tuesday," Natalie replied, turning more towards her computer when an email came in. "You didn't sleep last night."

[necroslacker]

Sam shrugged a shoulder and settled his skateboard on his lap. "I don't sleep a lot of nights. Thought you'd be hip to that by now."

[whenshewasnice]

"I am." Hard not to be, when they'd been talking about his insomnia from very early on. It was as much a characteristic of his as being a slacker. And still. "Doesn't mean I don't worry."

Or feel strangely guilty about it.

[necroslacker]

"No need to worry," Sam said, sounding sure about that. "I've been dealing with this awhile. I'll sleep eventually. Maybe when you least expect it!"

Or when she was at class or something.

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie gave that a quiet snort. "Thought you had insomnia, not narcolepsy," she said. "Although I can see how those two could temporarily follow from each other."

[necroslacker]

"If you're that worried, maybe I'll take a nap later."

Probably not.

[whenshewasnice]

"You probably won't," Natalie replied, because she knew these things. She typed up an email, sent it off. "Though I'll watch over you if you do."

[necroslacker]

"What makes you think I won't?" Sam wondered curiously. "I could. I've taken naps before."

[whenshewasnice]

"Rarely," she said, shrugging a shoulder then glancing back over it. "Not often. It's merely statistical probability."

[necroslacker]

"Well, maybe I'll prove you wrong today," Sam said, getting to his feet and leaving both bowl and cereal on the floor so he could wander over to grab a clean shirt. The shirt he'd slept (or, well, laid around in) got pulled off, leaving his hair askew.

Such a guy sometimes.

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie rolled her eyes and suppressed a snort. Still, she watched him. She was shallow like that. Could be, anyway. Sometimes.

When he had no shirt. Shush.

"I think I just got invited to Haiti in the future," she remarked, idly.

[necroslacker]

"Haiti?" Sam remarked, glancing over his shoulder at her. "By who?"

If it was Todd, he was gonna scream. Not that he thought it was but still.

[whenshewasnice]

"A political consultant to the Haitian government."

She knew the oddest people. And looked wryly amused by it, too.

[necroslacker]

"....right," Sam said and didn't question. "Well, be careful if you do go. Don't, uh, get lost?"

He had no idea what was dangerous in Haiti. He was still trying to find a shirt to wear.

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie got up from her seat, idly.

"I don't know if that's the biggest danger there," she said, as she wandered closer to him. "Of course, I don't know much about Haiti in the future, anyway. So it might as well be."

[necroslacker]

"Maybe there's giant lizards," he said, still digging through his drawers to find a t-shirt that he felt like putting on. "Or centaurs."

He didn't think so but hey, anything could happen.

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie chuckled quietly. "I think he would've said if there were." She stopped behind him, and reached out to run a hand over his scarred back. "I think the dangers are a little more mundane than that. Dangers of a politically uncertain country."

[necroslacker]

Well, that made him shiver. He momentarily stopped looking for a t-shirt as well.

"Yeah?" He also sounded distracted. "Maybe he just wants to surprise you."

[whenshewasnice]

"I doubt it."

She traced the length of a few scars with her fingertips.

"Not his style."

[necroslacker]

"Well, then."

He sighed quietly.

"Maybe it's just a regular, boring country. Still, be careful if you go."