Gwen Stacy (chocolate_house) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2013-10-01 00:19:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, gwen stacy (ghost spider), r |
Who: R(oger) and Gwen Stacy
When: After these texts
Where: His Place
What: He’s a Zombie?
Rating/Warning: TBD
Status: Complete when posted
Gwen parked in front of Roger’s place, and grabbed her phone. She tucked it and her keys into her pockets as she headed up toward his door. Whatever this was, she was confident they could get through it. She’d had dreams, but nothing from them had come true--not like this. Not if he really was…
She swallowed, steeling her resolve, then knocked on his door.
It was strange, but mostly embarrassing. Roger had seen people, friends even, become vampires from their dreams. But vampires were mysterious and cool, and zombies were … Zombies. At least it seemed like his body was trying to fight the change. While he was paler than any human ought to be, and he shuffled more than he walked, he had moments of clarity where his mind still worked and he could hold up regular, real people activity. In the time, however, since he’d texted Gwen, his capacity to function had gone down a bit. So his reaction time in response to the door was a bit slower.
“Uh. Unlocked,” he said, because he didn’t want to open the door in case someone outside saw him.
Gwen frowned a bit, then pushed the door open. His voice sounded strange. He’d been pale before, and she’d seen him when he couldn’t think of a word, or whatever… But this was different. Now she was nervous. She stepped through the doorway. “Roger?” She asked, taking a couple of steps in. Slow, careful steps. She pushed the door closed behind herself, then wondered if that was a good idea.
He wasn’t standing very far from her. And, to be far, he had kept the lights on because … Well. It would be creepy to have no lights, and he still wanted to do things. Just because he was a zombie or something like one didn’t mean he had to lurk in the shadows, right? Right.
But he wasn’t standing too far from the door’s entrance, and when Gwen walked in he just gave her a helpless shrug and shy, embarrassed sort of smile.
“Hi.”
He may not have been lurking in the shadows, but Gwen still didn’t see him when she first stepped through the doorway into the foyer. At the sound of his voice, she jumped a bit and whipped her head around. “Jesus, Roger, you scared the crap out of me.” She said, lifting a hand to her chest. She wasn’t laughing, as she might have been before today. She was… concerned. On edge. He looked… well.
Roger looked instantly sorry, but he didn’t really know what to do about it. He had been trying not to be scary. “S-sorry,” he muttered out.
And then she felt guilty at the look on his face. Her hand fell from her chest and she took a half step forward. “No, I’m sorry.” She said, softly. “Gosh, are you okay? Do you… want to talk about it?” She wondered for a moment if he could talk. More than just a few words, anyway. This must have been really weird and scary for him.
“Uh.” Yes, yes, he definitely did want to talk about it. He wasn’t sure if he could, and if he could it might take hours. “Don’t know what … To talk. About.” Roger felt that was a safe admission. “Thank you. For coming.”
“Of course.” Gwen said, as if his thanks was a silly thing to say. Of course she’d come. He was a good friend and going through something… insane. She frowned slightly. “Can we--I mean, can you--I mean… can we sit?” She asked, motioning to the sofa. He was speaking slowly, she figured her knees might give out before he finished saying whatever it was he wanted, or needed, to say.
Roger nodded, shuffling his way over to a chair to leave Gwen her space on the couch. As he sat in it, he looked around, trying to get his thoughts in order. “In my … D-dreams, there’s … a … girl. I save her.” He glances at Gwen. “S-so you’re safe. Trust … Me.”
She felt uneasy, but there wasn’t that ringing in her head that told her she was in mortal danger. Of course, this was nowhere near as safe as she felt in Spider-Man’s arms in her Dreams, but it’d do. Gwen sat down on the sofa and gave him a little nod, listening. “Tell me about her? The girl you saved?”
“Julie,” he said, easily because she played such a large part in his dreams already and really he’d only met her. “I. Uh.” Roger made an awkward hand gesture. Even if he was fully functional, there would be no easy way to say I ate his brains. “Her boyfriend. And … When we eat brains … We -- Get memories? Got his memories. After.”
Gwen’s eyebrows shot up at the mention of eating brains. Wow. So… yeah. Zombie. Like, for realz, Zombie. This was some crazy shit. “...you... got the memories... of her boyfriend... by eating his brains?” Just so she had this all clear.
“Uh. Yeah.” He looked at her, unblinkingly but only because he really couldn’t blink or didn’t need to or whatever. He just didn’t blink. “I dream. About me … Dreaming him. And her.”
“Wow.” Gwen paused, thinking about that. Dreaming of things within a dream sounded like far too many levels. Inception and crap. She shook her head a little. “But you’re not… um… going to eat brains here… right?” Not just hers. She worried for everyone. Zombies weren’t something to shake a stick at.
“Uh.” The scary part about it all was that Roger didn’t know. Right now he still liked normal food. His appetite was pretty diminished, but he wasn’t craving … People. Not yet, anyway, and he hoped it stayed that way. “I … Don’t know.”
This was all so weird. She was herself in her dreams, although younger and with a slightly different backstory. But she was still Gwen Stacy, normal human girl. Not a zombie or a witch or a pony. The idea that other people were getting physical traits from their dreams, or actual, physical items was absolutely insane. And look at poor Roger.
“...Are you… okay?” She asked, finally. She wished she could hug him, but she was scared to try it.
Well, Roger had to crack a smile. He just shrugged. “I … Guess.” As okay as he could be, anyway. “Things will …. Be fine.”
“Are you… sure?” Gwen asked. If she was in his position, she’d probably be panicking. How could he remain so calm? He was turning into a zombie. She assumed he was going to get worse than he was. Be all rotten and chewing on people’s heads and stuff. She’d seen Shaun of the Dead.
“No.” At least he was honest. But he had to be optimistic, right? Because not being optimistic was sort of like giving up, and this was not the sort of thing one wanted to throw the towel in on.
“What can I do to help?” Gwen asked. “Is there anything?” Did he need like, raw meat? Or more conversation?
“Um. Oh.” He shuffled through his pockets and managed to pull out a business card for Magius, the doctor he went to when this all first started happening. “Can you … Call for me?” Because if anyone can maybe help him, this is the guy.
“Of course I can.” Gwen said. She stood from her spot and stepped over to him to accept the card. It was a careful, deliberate, almost paranoid movement, slow and steady. She took the card from his hand, and stepped away quickly. She couldn’t help it. He was Zombies were scary.
Roger didn’t blame her. He’d be the same way if their roles were reversed, but he was more appreciative than words could say (especially now) about Gwen being there and helping him. “Thanks,” he said, attempting a smile.
“Of course.” Gwen repeated. She felt absolutely terrible. She didn’t want to be afraid, she felt guilty that she was nervous, guilty about the way she was acting around him. A little sigh escaped her. “...I’ll call him right away. Is there anything else you want me to tell him?”
“Tell him I … Followed. Advice.” At least then Magius would know that Roger had tried to not be a zombie. As if anyone wouldn’t attempt to fight this, though. “Please.”
Gwen nodded. She wasn’t sure what advice Roger followed, but she would absolutely pass along the message. “I’ll tell him. And I’m assuming you’re staying home, until…” She trailed off. Until what? Until he got better? Does anyone ever get better from being a zombie??
He nodded. There was little chance in hell he’d go out looking like this. Maybe on Halloween, but he desperately hoped this wouldn’t last that long. “Most. Likely.”
This was heart-breaking. Really. Gwen wasn’t sure what she could do to help her friend, but she desperately wanted to. She wanted to help him, to get him out of this.. whatever it was. “Do you want me to put a movie on, or something?” She asked. If he was moving slow, at least he could sit and catch up on his Netflix viewing.
That got a smile out of him. Or at least a pleased, up-turn of his lips that resembled a smile. In any case, he was grateful, and he hoped she knew that. He’d have to do something amazing for her once all this was done.
“Sure. Sounds … Good.”
Gwen could tell. She saw the smile. She returned it, though hers was much bigger and brighter, then moved to sit down on the sofa. Somehow, she found the clicker and turned on the television. “...Hmm… maybe it’s time to catch up with How I Met Your Mother? The new season starts this week.” She said, gave him one more smile, then turned on the first episode.