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

[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?"

[necroslacker]

"I don't think I went anywhere," Sam replied, standing up so she could reach for him a little easier. "I was just nowhere. I was nowhere. And yeah, while I was there, I didn't really have any thoughts but you were my last thought before...it happened."

[whenshewasnice]

"Of course," she replied, as she moved to wrap her arms around him again. "Because you were being stupid."

She had to say it.

[necroslacker]

"I was not," he insisted even as he pressed his face against her neck. "I didn't put a neon sign over my head that said BAD GUYS COME GET ME or anything. I was just going back to my room."

[whenshewasnice]

"Alone," Natalie retorted mildly. "While calling people."

Well, one person. Her.

[necroslacker]

"I didn't need an entourage or anything," he argued. "I was walking fast and wasn't dawdling. I wasn't trying to get taken or anything."

[whenshewasnice]

"You weren't paying enough attention," she muttered, resting her head against his shoulder. "You made it rain, Sam."

Which was a comment she might not explain.

[necroslacker]

"I was paying attention," Sam insisted, shaking his head. "I was trying to call you so you'd know I wasn't out, just wandering around and I didn't make it rain. I don't know how to do that."

Yeah, that comment would need to be explained for him to get it.

[whenshewasnice]

"You did," she replied. "And you were stupid while insisting you weren't being stupid. I have to appreciate the irony there."

[necroslacker]

"I wasn't stupid," he said again, shaking his head. "I wasn't. I've been stupid before and this wasn't stupid. I did the best I could in a bad situation. Those...people, they were just everywhere."

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie sighed and refraned from arguing that point further. She still thought he'd been stupid, obviously, but she accepted she wasn't going to get him to admit that.

So, she just leaned against him some more. "We had to remember everything back into existence."

[necroslacker]

That jogged something in Sam's mind and he pressed a kiss against her hair before asking quietly, "Did you call your parents? You should do that. You can use my phone if you just wanna hear their voices."