from town to room 216 ; sunday afternoon

[necroslacker]

When Sam blinked back into existence, his phone was still at his feet and he was right where he'd been when he'd disappeared. The...time of day seemed different but it was like he'd just stopped where he was.

"Holy -- " His words died and he picked his phone up. The battery was still half full (just like it had been when he'd left) and the last number dialed still showed up at Natalie's. Oh man, he'd left her a voicemail right as he'd been -- taken.

That...yeah. That wasn't even going to be something he thought about because he was going to (hopefully) have to deal with a lecture. He'd listen to the lecture as long as people were still there.

Sam started making his way back towards the dorms, hoping the dorms were still there and that she was still there. He didn't feel any worse for wear which, he suspected, was a good thing.

Still. He needed to get back to the dorms and he needed to make sure the world hadn't ended and he was now about to start living like those people from that one show where there zombies and everyone was sweating.

He couldn't do that even if he got a cool hat. Not a chance.

[For that one girl and set right around this post, of course]

Comments

[whenshewasnice]

The world had not ended. In fact, it had come back. This was something that had had Natalie wide-eyed as soon as she'd made it out of Special Collections, carrying her bag and Mr. Moxy. Things were returning. People were returning. And this meant she had to find Sam. Her phone was dead, so the obvious choice was to get to the dorms. They'd all come back to the dorms eventually, right? Right.

And she could swear her breath caught in her throat once she caught sight of him near the dorm entrance, though not for very long.

"Sam!"

[necroslacker]

At the sound of his name, Sam's head whipped around, trying to find the source. When he saw her, he didn't know whether to sigh in relief or yell back or run towards her.

So, instead he did something super lame.

He waved. As soon as he did it, he curse mentally and wondered if that was gonna be lame enough to have her turning away.

It'd been a long few days.

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie didn't turn away. Instead, she huffed out a hoarse laugh that sounded strange to her own ears. Hadn't had much to laugh about for a while now. But this was so clearly Sam that it almost hurt.

She was still carrying a cat, so she wasn't going to run, but she was going to walk to him with a really brisk pace.

[necroslacker]

Sam slid his phone into his pocket and stayed where he was. After being gone for as long as he had been, he kind of just wanted to exist. He stood there and waited. The cat was new and he had questions about it but other than that, he stood there and waited for her.

At least he'd stopped waving, though.

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie wouldn't have minded the waving, honest. Just like she didn't mind that he waited.

Once she made it to him, she didn't even say anything because the words were catching in her throat just like her breath had just a moment ago, so she gave him the world's most awkward one-armed (because of the cat) hug/tired lean against him.

[necroslacker]

"Hi," Sam finally said once he'd situated his own arm around her comfortably and let her have a few moments of quiet. "You've got a cat now. Have I been gone that long?"

He hoped not.

[whenshewasnice]

"Three days," Natalie replied, quietly, like she was too tired to speak up much. "I think."

It had been hard to tell time after entering into SC.

"It's Tara's cat."

[necroslacker]

"Oh. That was nice of you, taking care of her cat." He assumed she'd met the same fate as he had at some point. "You all right?"

[whenshewasnice]

She didn't even know what to say to that. "Getting there."

That was probably closest to the truth.

[necroslacker]

"Okay."

He nodded and gave her a light squeeze.

"Do you, uh, wanna go upstairs to -- I don't know. Do you wanna go inside?"

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie nodded against his shoulder, then pulled away to untangle herself from him. "Yeah."

She needed to go stick Mr. Moxy back in her room, for one thing.

[necroslacker]

"Okay." He nodded and took the chance to look her over, check to make sure she wasn't hurt before half smiling. "So, let's, uh, let's do that."

He'd need to call Seattle, let everyone know that he was fine before they all got together and came over to hunt him down. That was the last thing he needed.

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie looked fine enough, though her clothes were a little grimy and it didn't look like she'd been getting enough sleep. But her face wasn't marred with utter stress right now, so that was an improvement.

She would've offered him a hand, but hers were full of cat, so she just started for the door.

[necroslacker]

If he didn't know her, he would have been a little concerned with the quiet but he knew that was just how she was. He stayed close to her side though his eyes were darting around like he expected to get snatched back up by something.

To keep his mind off that, he gave the cat a few chin scritches. It helped ease his nervousness somewhat.

[whenshewasnice]

Mr. Moxy appreciated it, showing said appreciation with a quiet purr, and Natalie thought about how much worse her last few days would have been if she hadn't had him to care for.

It was not something she wanted to dwell on. She just kept walking, into the dorms, up the stairs, in silence.

[necroslacker]

Sam followed her, not speaking either. It wasn't because he didn't want to talk (he did) but he wasn't sure what to say and he wasn't sure what she was going to say eventually. He didn't have anything witty or smart to say and he really just wanted to reassure himself that he was back and she was there and walking beside her was a good way to do that for now.

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie, ever the smart one, was prioritizing. She was putting her energy into getting a few things done, first. Taking care of Mr. Moxy, for the most part. Getting a clean set of clothes was another.

And she was doing this because once she'd start talking about anything that mattered, she was pretty sure it would take a while for her to stop.

Once they were on their floor, she said, "I just need to go by my room." The 'please don't disappear' was implied.

[necroslacker]

"Okay." He shifted from foot to foot before he jerked a thumb towards his room. "I just need to make a few calls but I'll leave the door open. You can -- "

He jerked his thumb that way again. "When you're ready."

[whenshewasnice]

"I'll be right there."

She took a longer look at him before turning to walk the short distance down the hallway to her own room.

[necroslacker]

As Sam moved to down to his own room, he pulled his phone out and dialed Ramon and Frank. After listening to Frank freak out for a few minutes, he put Ramon on the phone and told him what happened.

Ramona said he'd pass everything along and then told him to call his mom. Sam did so after he'd changed out of the clothes he'd technically been in for three days and into something more comfortable.

He spent a few long minutes reassuring his mom that he was fine before he hung up and took a few breaths, unwinding slowly.

[whenshewasnice]

Meanwhile, Natalie set Mr. Moxy down on the floor, and he jumped on Tara's bed to curl up there.

She watched him just for a moment, then went to change into a clean set of clothes. A shower would've been nice but she didn't feel like using time on that. Not right now. She'd deal.

She gathered up a few overnight essentials into a small bag (and he'd just have to deal with that), then slipped out of her room again to make her way to his. She came in without a word, closing the door behind herself.

[necroslacker]

Sam watched her for a few seconds, letting their quiet lengthen before he couldn't stay quiet anymore.

"Hi."

He almost waved but he stopped himself just in time. Thankfully.

[whenshewasnice]

"Hi," Natalie replied. She dropped her bag on the floor by the door, and came closer. "I missed you."

[necroslacker]

Sam's eyes landed briefly on the bag but they didn't stay there long. He was looking back at her soon enough. Looking back and almost smiling again.

"I'm sorry."

He'd tried to say that on the voicemail.

"I missed you too."

[whenshewasnice]

"Did you?" Natalie wondered. Hey, it was almost like a scientific question. She had no idea where he'd even been.

She reached for him and asked, a little more quietly, "Where did you go?"