Wednesday, April 16th, 2008 (Early -- 3:30AM) Who: Summer and Nick Where: Summer's Room When: Horrifically early on Wednesday morning. What: Sebastian's feeling lousy, so Nick comes to take a peek at him.
Summer was looking frazzled and sleepy when Nick arrived. The worried little witch was in PJ pants and had thrown a black hoodie over her cami top that said "BOSTON" across the front in bright pink letters. Unlike a lot of students here, Summer was actually a local gal; her strong Boston accent said as much.
"OhmyGod, thank you soooo much," she said before her door was even open the whole way. She had fuzzy slippers (that were actually pigs) and her hair, last seen soft, blowdried, and flowing, was now in a messy bun behind her head. Clearly, she had been asleep when Sebastian got sick.
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It had felt a little like espionage, sneaking out of his room at the absolute end of the male wing, right near the dorm advisor's room. He was not, usually, the sort to be up this late or even wandering; but it was a new school and he was a little homesick, and had been writing a letter to his parents when he checked the campus messages. The dog sounded like he'd probably be okay, but being close by he didn't have the heart to not offer to check on him; besides, Summer was freaking out. Even through text, he could tell.
Throwing on a simple black zip-up hoodie, he'd shoved his feet in some socks and his sneakers before shuffling out into the hall, giving a glance around before hands went to pockets and he made his way to the girl's wing. It took a little staring at doors, but he'd eventually found the door and then... well, he was accosted by nerves. He wasn't looking too glam either; his hair was sticking up all over the place--and not in a nice, gelled fashion--and he wore grey cotton pajama pants with a matching shirt that had "Make awkward sexual advances, not war" scrawled across the front in brilliant blue. Obviously sleepy, but awake, he gave her a lazy grin. "No problem. So where is th' little guy?" She was pretty damned adorable in her bedtime get-up; most girls were, even if they didn't realize it.
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Summer, truth be told, had thought Nick was pretty cute when he walked into class for the first time the day before. Now, though, she was too distracted. In fact, his bedhead only made her feel guilter for having him come out at 3am to look at her dog.
Sebastian gave a half-hearted wuffle at this strange new person coming into his room, but otherwise didn't do more than come forward to sniff at Nick's ankles.
"That's Sebastian," she said, her voice strained. She had been crying before, and now had her composure, though her eyes were still a little puffy and red. She pulled at her sweatshirt sleeves until they hide her knuckles. "S-so you're a vet tech? Really? That's cool. I wanted to be a vet when I was a little girl.."
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As he stepped into the room, his wings fluttered once before he resettled them against his back and crouched down, forearms braced on his knees as he offered his hand out to Sebastian. He paid through the nose sometimes to get clothes that he could work his wings through, but it was better than being ungodly comfortable all the time. "Heeeeeey little guy..." Sniffed, he moved his hand with the studied slowness of someone approaching a new animal--no matter that he was the sweetest dog in the world--and ran his hand over his head.
Looking up, he smiled easily, sympathetically; the red-rimmed eyes were apparent now and he felt bad for her. Sometimes, the biggest part of the job was helping the owners calm down. "Yeah, for a couple years. I thought about vet school but I'm not sure I want that much responsibility, you know?" That said he went back to gently checking Sebastian out, making it out to be an easy-going attention-fest for the uncomfortable pooch so he didn't freak out.
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After it was clear that Nick wasn't planning on stealing Summer, Sebastian was happy to greet him. He was, after all, a friendly and sociable dog. Summer was a good owner -- he knew a variety of tricks, got plenty of exercise, she brushed his teeth a few times a week -- but she wasn't as educated as a vet tech. "Yeah, that makes sense," she said, after shutting her door. She came to sit on the floor beside the two of them, curling her legs under her and rubbing her nose with the sleeve of her hoodie.
"I cleaned up all the puke already," she said, pointlessly. It was 3AM; Nick should cut her a break.
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"That's fine." The "grass" part told him most of what he wanted to know anyway, and he nodded. Since she sat he did as well, patting his lap and inviting the little dog up. His smile slid to a grin as the dog perked up a bit. "Hey buddy? Feelin' nasty, huh?" His gums were pink, his heartrate was a little elevated, no panting... except now that he'd found someone interesting and new. Chuckling, he rubbed the dog's soft ears and looked up at Summer again.
"I think he's okay. I'd pick up his food and water and give his stomach some time to rest and recover though. Was he outside for a while last night?"
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"Yeah, we were playing ball. I have a glow in the dark ball for him... I try to exercise him a lot the day before I have long classes sometimes .. " She reached over to pet Sebastian, despite the dog being on Nick's lap.
"So he'll be okay? I haven't seen him throw up so much in a long time... " she scritched behind the terrier's ears. "You're baaad," she said, to the dog, before smiling shyly up at the boy with wings. She had stared at them yesterday. They weren't quite old news now, but she was less distracted by them because of her sick dog.
"I feel so bad. You're up late.."
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"Wandering off, sniffin' around?" The dog's ears had pricked at the word "ball" and he snickered. "Don't think it's playtime, dude... Yeah, uh-huh--you heard her." Sebastian hadn't cowered over the other "B-word" but had definitely looked at Summer, ears pricked. "He'll be fine. Scout's honor--this is something that, behind the lines, vets call 'garbage gut.' He ate a bunch of something that didn't agree with him, and then followed with grass to get himself to puke it up again."
Catching her eye, that grin remained in place. "Hey, I was up anyway. Writing a letter to my family." Being homesick. "Don't worry about it. I'd be freaking out if my dog was feeling lousy, too--and I'm trained to not freak out over it." It never instilled confidence in anyone to walk into the exam room, take a look at their dog, and gape while stammering out a "Holy shit!"
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"Do you have a dog?" she asked, as Sebastian squirmed away from Nick to go back to her. She scooped him up onto her lap but stayed where she was. Relief had made her knees a little shaky.
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General sleepiness had made him lazy; which was why he stayed where he was. Arms resting on his knees again, he flicked occasional glances to the dog to keep an eye on his attitude, but mostly watched her face. "Two of 'em. Bunch of cats, too... they're all at home, though. I think my baby sister might have had a breakdown if I'd brought any of 'em here... not to mention only the cats would actually fit here." His grin reappeared.
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"I wish we could have more than one pet...." she looked around at her well organized side of the room, which was in direct contrast to Peyton's side, which was a bit of a sty. Summer did her best to keep edible products and sentient waste away, but she didn't clean for Peyton. Mostly because.. it would annoy Peyton.
"But yeah, it'd be tight...." she stroked Sebastian softly, perhaps gaining more comfort from him than he was from her. Now that she wasn't freaking out, the late hour was becoming more evident.
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One of them was a Newfoundland; the dog would have trouble turning around in his dorm room, let alone sharing with the Boxer. His sister was still lobbying for a Labrador, though--she thought it would be hilarious to have both.
Spotting the sleepy look in her eye, he chuckled. "I think you need some rest too... just pick up his food and water--he can have the water back around noon, but no food until tonight, okay?"
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The 'tonight' confused her. She had to connect two and two; 3AM meant it was now the next day. Or rather, the beginning of a day. "Oh, uhh.. yeah okay. I did, I took his food away. I was afraid he'd try to eat more and puke more. I'll take his water away too. Thank you so much. I'm so glad you were up this late.... everything happens for a reason right?"
Summer believed that, even if some things really sucked, sometimes. Sebastian crawled down to go look for his chew toy. He knew how late it was, too.
She slowly gathered her legs under her and came to a laborous stand, then stretched her back a little as she watched him stand, too. His wings moved, and she realized it would probably take her months to get over the fact that some people had wings. "If there's any way I can repay you.... "
She would have offered him notes, but that ship had sailed with the other new guy who had did her a favor. Huh. Two guys in two weeks doing her solids. Astrid would be proud.
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"Even water'll make him feel like puking his guts out right now." A nod, and then she was standing... right. It was time to go. "Yeah, well, I'm glad I could help out. I'd hate to be freaking out all the way up until classes."
As he stood, he realized the import of what he was saying--he had to be in class in a few hours. Mentally groaning, he nevertheless waved off the offer. "Hey, no, this was no big deal. I'm glad it was something simple, that's all. And if you have any other questions just let me know, eh?" Right there, his classic Canadian accent came through. "Just text me or something." She'd have to be the one to remind him that she didn't have his number; he was already yawning, smothering it with a hand.
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Right. Losing her gumption -- she'd again blame the time -- she quietly pointed out, with a grin and a shuffling of her pig slippers:
"I.. uh.. don't have your number. I could email you?"
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"Wh--oh. Psh--texting's faster... has that handy 'Ping!' to let me know I've got a message, too. You got paper handy?" He was not one to be shy about such things, he just hadn't remembered that little bit of detail.
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She padded over to her bed and picked up her phone. Entering it was faster. "Go ahead."
When he was saved as "Nick" in her phone, she smiled up at him with half-lidded eyes. Which were probably rather unattracctively puffy at this point, she realized. "Thank you soooo much... I'll .. I'll bake you something. I'm good at baking. Thank you, Nick." She began walking him to her door.
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"Wellllllll..." He dragged the word out as he moved back to the door, smirking. "If you insist... I like mint chocolate brownies. And Summer...?" He paused in the doorway, head canted to the side as he waited to make sure she was paying attention. "Anytime. Seriously--it was no problem." She was sweet, and shy, and a good pet owner--the only flaw that he could see was that her room had a Jekyll and Hyde thing going on, and he couldn't even blame that on her--he had no idea if she had a roommate or not.
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Summer would be mortified if she knew that Nick suspected the mess was hers -- she was a domestic soul, and liked keeping things in some semblance of order -- but, ignorant, she was happy. She blinked at the use of her name; his tone did exactly what he wanted it to do -- he had her attention. Anytime, he said. She smiled wide then. That's so sweet!
"I can def do mint chocolate brownies," she said, and then yawned right in his face. Sebastian trotted at her heels, and she leaned against her doorway as he exited, one hand rubbing her mouth. "Hoo, sorry." She shook her head, which loosened her bun, causing loose pieces of hair to join others all around her head.
"Night."
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"Yeah, bedtime. Get some Z's before classes, okay?" The mussed hair was seriously... adorable. Yeah, he could use that in his own head. "Night. Night troublemaker." He tossed that in for the dog, and smirked a bit.
Her yawn triggered one of his, and he scrubbed a hand through his own hair after raising it in a wave. That done, he slunk back towards his room.