anthony is a sassy malaysian desert (helpline) wrote in invol_rpg, @ 2013-01-08 08:50:00 |
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Entry tags: | ! log, anthony liu, claudia corbett |
WHO: Claudia and Anthony
WHAT: are awkward.
WHEN: 7th January, nighttime
WHERE: Cafeteria
WARNINGS: Awkward.
STATUS: Completed.
Anthony had barely talked to her since he’d gotten back to IVI. Barely talked to her since she’d told him not to get his power removed. He’d been distant with her before but this was different than when he’d gotten out of the nightmare. At least then he’d still accepted her company and friendship, even if sometimes he didn’t seem all there, he still let her be there for him. Now he was mad at her, though she didn’t know why. If anyone should be mad it should be her! She was the one who had worried about him constantly while he was kidnapped. He was the one who had decided to go help other people instead of coming back to IVI where he was safe (and then had gotten mad at Javier for putting himself in danger to help others), who had said he would consider getting the cure despite her obvious and justified objections to it. She hadn’t even done anything wrong! She had been giving him his space, as hard as it was for her to not interfere, mad at him for not seeing things her way. Seeing him at dinner though she couldn’t help but join him, taking a chair opposite him and putting her plate down forcefully, hoping the clank it made as it hit the table would make him acknowledge her. She might have been mad but she wasn’t mad enough that she was avoiding talking to him altogether. Talking was exactly what she wanted to do, to make Anthony see that he was wrong and she was right and that he was making stupid, barely thought through decisions. She didn’t say anything though, biting back everything she wanted to tell him, waiting to see if Anthony would make the first move at initiating the conversation. Just before Claudia had taken a seat, Anthony was debating on leaving. He didn’t have much of an appetite to eat that night, and was picking at his food -- something he didn’t do often, since he loved eating. He had been listless the whole day, even with his family around. This would be one of those moments when he wasn’t with them, and truthfully, he felt relieved not having to answer their questions or seeing the worried expressions on their faces. It was less tiring, not having to pretend he was all right. For the first time ever since they became friends, Anthony found himself dreading the fact that Claudia was right in front of him. He had spoken a few words to her when he returned and had even returned her hug, because regardless of everything, he still cared about her. But every time he saw her he kept thinking of her comments and it made him feel worse. There had been a few occasions when he wanted to justify himself in her face but he always stopped because she was supposed to know. “Hey,” was all he offered in a quiet tone. “Hi,” she replied, giving him a small smile, pleased he had said something. It fell silent again as she considered where to go from here. She hadn’t exactly thought this through. There was a lot she felt they needed to discuss but was it wise to just jump in when they were barely talking? At the same time she didn’t think they could carry on a normal conversation right now either. She bit her lip as she considered what to say, surveying him as though she could figure out what was wrong with him if she just looked hard enough. “Not hungry?” she settled on eventually, as her eyes found their way to his plate of barely touched food. Anthony not eating was definitely a cause for concern. It was difficult for Anthony to smile back at her when the words ‘I thought we were important to you’ kept crossing his mind. Her question made him wonder if she was going to start telling him to eat, in which case he wouldn’t be surprised since she was already telling him what to think. “Not hungry,” he echoed as an answer, picking on his food once more and shifting his gaze away. That definitely threw her. Anthony, not hungry? Anthony had even managed to eat multiple pieces of the swans’ horrific attempt at a king cake but now he wasn’t hungry. “You should eat,” she told him. “Have you been eating since you got back? Did you eat properly while you were helping out? I’m going to assume you didn’t get to eat much while you were kidnapped,” she said, worry seeping in amongst the anger and confusion at why he was treating her like this. A rational part of him knew that she was asking him these questions because she was worried; it was something she was prone to do, and his usual response would be to laugh it off and somehow assure her that he just had no appetite that night. He knew there was something wrong with him, that she was right to worry. Unfortunately, Anthony didn’t want to listen to his subconscious. All he heard from Claudia was that, again, she was trying to tell him what to do and expecting him to do it. She didn’t think that he could take care of himself and that he was doing this deliberately. He dropped his utensils on his plate with an even louder clang before standing up. “I’m done with dinner,” he told her almost expressionlessly. “I’m going to my room and sleep, if you want to know that too.” The sudden noise of the utensils made her jump, barely giving her time to react as he stood. She looked up at him wordlessly, eyes wide and lips quivering a little. This wasn’t them! They didn’t not talk. She was the one that Anthony had trusted with his secret about healing hurting him, and other details about his healing and life back home. She might have only known Anthony a few months but she trusted him, even if she didn’t always trust his decision making skills. He was her best friend here, aside from Allegra who had the advantage of being her friend for years before arriving at IVI, she hated that they weren’t talking. It wasn’t even proper fighting, it was just this weird awkwardness that she didn’t know how to fix because she didn’t even know what exactly had caused it. “Sleep well,” she offered, not sure what else to say, or if there was anything she could say to make him stay and talk to her properly. “And try to eat a proper breakfast tomorrow.” He didn’t say anything else as he left the table, not even looking back. Anthony supposed he should be happy or feel relieved that he didn’t have to deal with her; he had stood up for himself, after all. But he didn’t. Instead, he was left wondering what was the point of that. And he knew that the empty feeling, which was even worse than his annoyance and hurt with her, would return. |