Alexa says you can call me Al (runawaygirl) wrote in mnhttnprjct, @ 2010-06-14 22:32:00 |
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Entry tags: | !log, alexa weber, jameson forbes-hill |
Who: Alexa Weber and Jameson Forbes-Hill
What: Jameson suddenly remembers he has a girl living in his apartment. Oops.
When: Backdated to late Sunday afternoon, June 13 2029
Where: Jameson's flat in District 3
Status: Logged/Complete Rating PG
When his eyes opened, he had no idea what time it was. It was still dark outside, if the lone window in his shitty excuse for a bedroom was any indication, and honestly, after the hours he'd worked Friday, almost all the way through to Sunday morning, he wasn't surprised by the realisation that he'd really, actually, slept for more hours than was probably necessary. "Oh fucking well," he muttered under his breath, tossing the sheets off his body to bunch up at the foot of his bed. It wasn't as if he actually had anywhere to be today, as in later today when the sun was actually up. It was a day off, for which Jameson was extremely glad for, because his agenda for the day was really simple. He was going to get up, having something that resembled breakfast, and go right back to lazing about the rest of the day if he could have it his way. As he made his way out of his bedroom and through what passed as a hallway into the living room/kitchen in only his pants, Jameson was well aware of that fact that there was quite possibly something he wasn't remembering. It was really only that little twinge telling him that his memory was failing him, but he decided that in the grand scheme of his plans for Monday morning, it really didn't matter. He could remember later. Still a bit half asleep, he ran a hand through his hair and stifled a yawn. Alexa had fallen asleep on Jameson's couch almost the minute she hit it, clad in a t-shirt and a pair of shorts with a thin blanket wrapped around her. She'd been up nearly twenty four hours and Friday night she'd slept poorly in the overhang of a building for a few hours only before being driven to seek someplace else because of the rain. She'd slept long and hard as well, waking up mid-day to find something to eat and write in her journal for a while. She'd ended up going to the store and finding some stuff to make a cake (the operative word being finding as the only thing she'd paid for was the pan and some eggs, the mix finding it's way mysteriously into her bag). She'd made it and put it to cool and then gone back to sleep again listening to her I-Holo, so she was sprawled on the boy's couch with her hand tucked up under her mussed hair and her ear-buds still in place. Talking to that older man, the firefighter, on the repository had nearly wrecked her, and she'd ended up listening to old music and crying, which left her feeling tired and odd as she stirred lightly. She hadn't been sure how long he'd let her stay, maybe a night or two, but she might as well rest up while she could, right, she had thought. Overall she was a light sleeper, and it was the movement that woke her rather than any sound, the sense of someone else nearby, which made her open her eyes fully and sit up, the blanket falling from around her as she looked around the room in confusion. Oh. Her eyes went right to him, and she felt her face grow warm at the sight of him in just his underwear. "Um. Hi." She looked down and pulled her ear buds out, not really sure what to say exactly, only hoping he wasn't going to kick her out right away and that also he wasn't some secret pervert that hoped she would sleep in her underwear too. Jameson stopped short, turning in the correct direction to notice the form on his couch. Of the girl from his job who was homeless and had caught him in an uncharacteristically nice moment. His face gave away just how shocked he was by her presence, and it occurred to him then that he now knew what it was that he'd been forgetting less than five minutes ago. That being the teen-aged girl on his sofa. Which was just... brilliant. He guessed. And of course he meant that in a heavily sarcastic, no-it-really-isn't way. "Oh. Right. Hi." Jameson gave a look behind him and then back to Alexa. "I'm going to go... get more clothes. I'll be back." He didn't wait for a reply from her before he was back in his room looking for at least a shirt if nothing else. This is why he wasn't the generally the mi casa is su casa sort. Or it was one of his excuses, and he was fine with that. For the most part. As soon as he laughed, Alex covered her mouth with her hand so she wouldn't laugh, and sat up more properly on the couch, pushing her tangled hair back out of her face and taking her blanket to fold it neatly. She was still wearing the same shirt and shorts and was generally decent, she thought, as she listened to him making noises in the bedroom. "I'm sorry I kind of cooked some stuff in your kitchen earlier," she said. "But I cleaned everything up. I hope that's okay." She'd made the cake, having to mix it in the pan for lack of a bowl. But it had turned out all right. And she'd also made some eggs for breakfast, which were amazing she thought, and the best she'd had in ages. The cleaned pan was put away as was everything else and she'd washed the sink for good measure but it still felt weird, being in someone else's place. Picking out the first shirt he came across, which turned out to be a Colombia tee, Jameson paused in the middle of pulling it over his head. "It's fine. It's not like a lot happens in there anyway," he called out in return. Once the shirt was on, he went about getting a decent pair of jeans and pulling those on. In the future, he was going to have to remember if he let a random person sleep on his sofa. The likeliness of that actually happening again was so far from possible, but even still Jameson let that thought go. It didn't really matter to him anyway. Just as long as the girl didn't think he was giving her rights to his sofa forever. He'd have to remember to make that extra clear if he hadn't enough yesterday. "Yeah. I thought maybe." Alexa stood and took the elastic off her wrist, pulling her hair back off her neck into a pony tail and going into the small kitchen area, absently tidying a few things like the dishtowel that looked like it had seen better days. "But thanks anyway," she said. "I don't want to be any trouble." She waited for him to come back out, figuring it would be easier to talk to him if he had his clothes on. "And really, for letting me stay. I've got a friend of mine that's trying to help me find a place but it hasn't gone through yet." Actually fully dressed, and definitely wide awake at this point, Jameson made his way back out of his room again, going straight for the kitchen as that was the direction he would hear her voice coming from. Now that she could actually see him, he gave a shrug. "Not really a big deal. I spend a lot of time at work since classes have ended." Opening a cabinet, he took out a container of instant coffee and set it on the counter. In another, he searched for a mug even as he spoke. "Hope that works out for you. And I guess you can stay here for a while if you need." Maybe, Jameson thought to himself, it was the fact that he was thinking that her finding a permanent place meant he might not see her again that was allowing him to be so nice. After all she likely wouldn't need his occasional habit of ringing up something extra or whatnot if she had somewhere to stay, would she? "It should I think. But thanks I mean... really." She wasn't sure how to verbalize it, and it was odd really to have a place she could stay, even for a few nights, without having to constantly think about where she was going to go next, where she could stay or sleep for a few hours without being kicked out or harassed. She felt awkward standing in his kitchen and also a bit embarrassed, because it suddenly occurred to her to wonder if he was really just being a nice guy or what. Usually when they talked in the restaurant he wasn't very forthcoming, even though he'd taken to occasionally putting something else on her tray other than what she'd ordered. "Is there anything I can do? I mean to help out or something? To pay you back?" Taking the one pot he actually owned before the pan she'd apparently bought while he was sleeping, he filled it a bit with water from the sink and set it on the stove, turning the fire up. Giving her a look as he leaned back against the counter, he crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm pretty sure you don't have anything to pay me back with." He realised how blunt that sounded even to himself, but it was the truth. "And I really don't need you to. It's just a sofa. It's not like I'm giving you your own room or anything of that sort." Alexa swallowed slightly at his words, her cheeks heating up as she felt her temper start to creep up on her. She looked down though and not at him, biting her tongue. There really wasn't anything she could say to that and not sound ungrateful, so she just nodded and leaned back against the counter. "I meant like clean up for you or something. I don't know. Do your laundry." She couldn't look up at him, which was odd because she usually didn't have a problem talking to people. Then again he wasn't someone she really knew. "Something." She blushed suddenly as she realized how that could be taken, what she was saying, and what some people might offer in return. "But that's cool, I mean. It should only be a few days probably before I can get something set up I hope." Jameson raised his eyebrow as could only be expected by her words. "Right. Well, I'm all right with there not being a payment method at all. Honestly. And since it should only be a few days, it's nothing. My sponsor family kept me for years." The was the real reason, though, wasn't it? For him being nice to her about this. Sort of a bit like not wanting karma to come completely right back around and bite him in the ass. A few days, a week, honestly weren't anything. "All right." She paused and then gestured at the foil pan she'd bought. "So um do you want some cake? Since I made it and everything." She went to look for plates where she'd found them earlier, there were just a few, plastic but she was used to that by now. She found a knife and cut a few pieces, sliding one across to him before standing at the counter and cutting off a little with her fork. "I think it turned out okay. For a cake from a box." "Yeah, sure." Jameson took the piece when it was brought in his direction, and a fork. Most of his stuff, dishes-wise were disposable. And that was for a reason; Jameson didn't plan to live here for the rest of his life. He couldn't. The very idea of it pissed him off. Thinking of different things, though, he used the fork to take bite of cake, quickly praying that it was actually cooked fine and he wasn't about the get food poisoning and die or anything like that. "It's pretty good." He stated after a moment and then set the plate down as the water he'd put on the stove was boiling. Shutting the fire off, he got a spoon sot dump enough of the instant coffee mix for a strong cup into the mug. "Thanks." She shrugged. "It's my birthday so I figured I'd make a cake. I don't know silly I guess." She sat down in one of his chairs and watched him as she made his coffee. She thought about if she should get out of his way today or what, surely she couldn't stay on his couch all the time she was in the apartment. "You don't have to work today?" He looked over at her at the admittance. "Happy birthday, then." It was quickly said, before he went back to paying attention to what he was doing. the only sugar he actually had in his flat consisted of the sugar packets he regularly nicked from work, and the container he kept them in was actually filling up pretty well. But that was a two year habit for you, wasn't it? Adding non-dairy creamer and finally the hot water to his mug, he gave a slight shake of his head. "I don't, no. Completely free for at least the next twenty-four hours," he replied, and then gave her something that was almost a smile as he brought his coffee and piece of cake to sit down across from her. Well that certainly brought a smile to his face, and she felt herself relaxing a little, although that did beg the question of what to do if she was in an apartment with him for that long. She wondered what he did for a living, and was suddenly glad she had her dog walking to go to during the week, not to mention the boxing lessons and the choir. "That's good," she said. "I've got kind of a job, walking a dog. It's not much but it's a little anyway, to buy food that kind of thing." She shrugged and ate some more of her cake. "It seems weird to be here. No offense. I always kind of think of you as the guy from the chicken place." "I'm not easily offended." Of course, that was an art he had perfected over time, natural as it was. The things was just that he'd never seen the point in letting people deeply affect you. He stirred his coffee a bit before taking a careful sip and setting the mug down. "For the most part, I think of you as the homeless girl I occasionally steal for. We're even." Coffee and cake was an odd mix in his mind as far as breakfast ideas went, but Jameson wasn't really caring that much about that at the moment as he took another bite. "Good on you for having something like a job, though." That made Alexa feel embarrassed again and she wasn't quite sure what to say, so she just focused on her cake. "Yeah thanks. I've got an ad on Craigslist looking for people that need someone to do little jobs for them. I've had a few so far." She looked back up at him after a moment. "Do you still for anyone else? Or just me?" "Whatever works, works, right?" It struck him the moment after he said it that it might have been somewhat similar to something he'd said when they first met and "bonded" over stolen fries. Or something like that. Maybe it was still too early in the morning for him to actually be up. Actually, he was betting on it. "If by 'anyone else' you mean myself, then yeah." He didn't think much of the question, or his answer as he took another sip of his coffee. "This might come as a surprise to you, but I'm not really a people person." "No. Really? I wouldn't have guessed." That was said with a slight twist of her mouth, and she finished the last of her cake before picking up the plate and taking it to the sink, then pouring herself a glass of water from the tap. How nice it felt to be able to do such a simple thing. It was ridiculous how strange it felt to be in someone else's home again, just to know she could sit down and relax or take a shower. It was so strange. The thought made her look back up at him. "Hey I wanted to ask, do you mind if I use your shower?" The sarcasm of her reply got a bit of a laugh out of him as he watched her. "The shower counts towards our little arrangement," was his only reply as he continued to eat more of the cake before taking another sip of coffee. It felt a bit surreal to him that he was sitting in his kitchen, having this conversation with a girl who a week ago was just an occasional patron who he helped out from time to time. And now she was his... temporary flatmate. Or something. Except for the fact that his flat was shite. Better than having nothing at all, but even still. "Feel free to make use of it." "Thanks." She stood up and stretched a little before giving him a half smile. "Really. For everything." She put the glass back on the counter and headed for the little bathroom. Awkward though it might be, at least for a little while she had someplace to call home. |