Who: Sam and Hannah What: Girl talk and pizza When: Right after Hannah moved in Where: Their apartment Rating/Warnings: Teenish/Thoughts about the dreams, and the nastiness that comes with them. Status: Complete
Sam was super excited that Hannah had moved in with her after her other roommate had decided to move out. Helping people move wasn't on top of her list, but for Hannah? She'd do anything. Still the moving process wasn't her favorite thing, but they'd managed regardless. A few days had passed since the great move, and with their other roommate gone for the weekend to visit her family, Sam decided to order in pizza from one of her favorite places for the two of them.
The two pizzas arrived, and she grabbed a couple of drinks from the fridge for the two of them. Sam settled in on the couch, phone turned off once she'd texted Mike to let him know that she'd see him tomorrow and she stretched her legs out underneath the coffee table.
It bothered her on some level to know that Hannah had joined the Network. Sam wondered idly when she'd start dreaming, it seemed as if it was only a matter of time before everyone did eventually. There would be the inevitable talk about everything that happened early on in the dreams, and what came later.
Sam was definitely not looking forward to that discussion either. It would be okay, she just hoped that Hannah didn't blame her for what happened because she honestly had tried to warn her. "Hey, Hannah you hungry?" Sam rolled her eyes at herself, that was a great thing to say to her after she'd thought about the dreams.
Hannah was currently blissfully unaware of what the dreams would bring, so she’d only focused on what was a very painful moving process. She was glad that it was over now, though. The thought of lugging all of her things around again made her cringe. She was not physically strong enough to go through that again.
She knew that Josh had bad dreams sometimes and that the network seemed to be where a bunch of people talked about dreams. She didn’t really understand it, but she tried to be there for Josh and to figure out what to say to everyone else’s dream conversations.
“Is that actually a question?” The teasing side of her was always present when it came to Sam and Josh. When she got comfortable with someone, she was more likely to joke around with them because she knew they wouldn’t get upset with her about it. It took her a while to get to that point with some people, mostly because getting to know when they were truly upset and just joking varied for each person. “I’m almost always hungry. Except when my body is actually just demanding water and I think it’s hunger.”
"Ugh, I hate that feeling." Sam responded with a groan. There were very few things that Sam actually hated, but she really hated when she didn't know what her body actually needed. "But yes, it was a question and I'm glad that you are ready to eat because even if you weren't? I was going to start scarfing down my own pizza." Sam was considerate when it came to other people and their choices on what they wanted to eat. She'd never force her veganism down anyone's throat, but if people asked? She was happy to share her own experience with things.
It was then that the comment about hunger fully hit Sam and she paused for a moment, a slightly concerned look crossing her features. No, it was fine. Hannah wasn't dreaming, or at least, Sam didn't think that she was at this point and time. Surely she would've heard about it by now right? Sam let out a long breath, and then gave Hannah a smile. "Okay, I'll get plates. What do you want to drink?"
“It’s pretty annoying. But that’s why I’ve gotten in the habit of drinking water first. If that doesn’t help, then it probably means I’m hungry.” It was a pretty simple way to make sure. Hannah smiled, shaking her head. “Thanks for the heads up. I know better than to try to come between you and pizza. My hand might get eaten by accident.”
The shift in Sam’s expression was a little confusing. Especially since she’d looked at her. Was the hand eating comment not okay? Was something else wrong? But then it was gone, so Hannah decided not to say anything about it. “Probably just water. I haven’t had enough today and talking about water sort of reminded me of it, which probably means I should.”
With a chuckle, Sam shook her head. "The good thing about having a vegan friend is that you shouldn't have to worry about that. Now a fork on the other hand…" She tossed Hannah a teasing smile. It wasn't as if Sam was going to be eating pizza with a fork, and she wouldn't actually hurt Hannah over food. Hell, she wouldn't hurt anyone for that matter.
"Probably," Sam agreed with a nod as she started toward the kitchen, "two bottles of water coming up along with plates." And napkins, definitely napkins. Sam went over her mental list as she grabbed each item and carried them back into the living room. "And here you are my dear." Sam settled in beside Hannah, and took a slice of pizza from her box. "So have you finished unpacking?"
“Oh yeah. No meat.” Hannah laughed. “But I’m more concerned about the fork. I am far too delicate to be stabbed.” Not that she’d believe Sam would stab her with a fork for a second. She wouldn’t stab anyone with anything. She could probably come off more intimidating than Hannah could, but she wasn’t really a mean person.
Hannah waited patiently for the water and plates. She took the plate and water from Sam before moving to grab some pizza. “Almost? I guess I’m just trying to make sure I put everything where I want it. But also I’m a little lazy, so I guess that will happen.”
With a chuckle, Sam rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, I promise not to stab you." At least here she wouldn't, the dreams were, well that might be a different story. Sam wasn't sure how things were going to go, or what exactly was going to happen in them but she was trying to stay positive that she'd survive.
Somehow anyway.
Placing her pizza down onto her plate, she then took a bite. She waited until she finished chewing and swallowing before she spoke again. "Well, almost is better than not at all." Sam did hate moving, it was a pain in the butt, but hopefully she wouldn't be doing that until she had graduated. "I don't blame you for wanting everything to be in its place, and if you need help? Let me know, I'm happy to do what I can." Sam would always help out her friends if they needed it, "Have you talked to Josh lately?" She asked, casting a glance over at Hannah before taking another bite of her food.
“Oh, good. I don’t know what I’d do if you had plans to stab me with a fork. Probably call Josh and hide in my room. Other than that, I don’t have a plan.” She ate some of her pizza, chewing carefully so as to avoid accidentally choking. Then again, it was probably because she’d always been told to chew her food as a child since shoving everything in your mouth at once was frowned upon. Either way, it was probably for the best that she’d learned to slow down.
“I’ll let you know. Promise.” The question about Josh gave Hannah a moment of pause. “Well, we talk a lot. Sometimes he calls at night and asks if Beth and I are okay. Once he made me wake her up to make sure.” She shrugged. “But I think it’s something to do with bad dreams.”
Laughing Sam shook her head, "You don't have to worry about that, I have no plans at all to do anything like that." Sam wasn't a violent person, sure she would do what she needed to to survive, but she by nature was a pacifist. She took another bite of her pizza, chewing slowly and then she grabbed her water to wash it down with.
"Okay," she spoke around a mouthful of pizza although she knew better than to talk with her mouthful. Her mother would've smacked the back of her hand, give her a death glare before lecturing her on how ladies should act. Sam knew that Josh called Hannah and Beth quite a lot, especially when the dreams were really getting to him. Sam hoped that he really was okay. In the dreams he seemed less than fine, and she couldn't help but worry. "Yeah, bad dreams sounds about right." Letting out a long breath, Sam took another bite of her food and this time she chewed slowly before swallowing. "So what do you think about Valarnet?"
"Thankfully." Hannah ate some more of her pizza, letting her mind wander for a few minutes before she came back to the conversation at hand. "I wish I knew how to help him a little more with them, but I don't really know what's happening. Just that it's bad enough to worry him." She wondered if it had anything to do with anything in specific. He'd always been a little more worried about them in general and he'd never always been just fine, but she worried about him more now. The calls seemed more frequent.
"Oh. Well, it seems a little odd, I guess. I've never seen so many people talk about their dreams before. It's like a really big dream journal, but theirs seem really different from any dreams I've had, I guess." She looked at Sam and gave her a smile. "Do you guys like it there?"
Letting out a long breath, Sam shook her head. "Maybe the nightmares will stop. I know what you mean though, I do wish there was something I could do for him." Sam truly did wish that, and a large part of her wished that they'd never even joined the network. That, apparently, was the root of all evil but then again she wouldn't have met some of the people she'd met since joining it. It was a double edged sword apparently.
Sam returned her smile, "Yeah, there's definitely some out there stuff." Clearing her throat, Sam turned back to her food and lifted a shoulder. "Double edged sword really. I like being in the loop with things going on, and you know, I wouldn't have met Mike had I not joined it either." A fond smile crossed her features at the mention of him, "There are some things I could do without. Like the dreams." Her brows furrowed slightly, and she shook her head.
Hannah really hoped Sam was right and maybe they would stop and it would be easier on him. “It’s hard not to know what to do. I just try to wake up whenever he calls.” She’d already trained herself to wake up to the sound of her phone. It didn’t really take much effort.
“It sounds pretty complicated. I don’t know anyone there all that well outside of you and Josh, but it doesn’t seem too bad yet.” She wanted to ask more about the dreams and more about whatever else happened, but it almost seemed like a bad idea. Maybe it wasn’t something she wanted to ask about. Maybe it was. She couldn’t be sure. “Mike seems really nice, though, so I guess that it’s good that you would like that aspect of it.”
Sam didn't sleep much as it was these days. She was lucky to catch a few hours each night, and when she was super exhausted? Well, she just hoped that she didn't wake up from any new dreams. Sometimes she was lucky, other times not so much. "Same. We can keep our fingers crossed." Sam truly did hope that Josh stopped dreaming soon, and that nothing bad happened to him in the dreams.
Sam laughed, "Most of the people are super nice. So I wouldn't worry too much." Sam hadn't really met anyone on the Network that she outright disliked yet, but she supposed that it could happen. Part of Sam did want to tell Hannah about the dreams, about what she should expect, but it was...hard to explain them to someone that had yet to experience them for themselves. "He is a nice guy." Sam gave a small nod, "And I think I'm lucky to have found him." They'd been seeing each other for a little under a year now, and it was safe to say that Sam had fallen completely head over heels for him although she'd yet to tell him that she loved him. That was a conversation she felt that would happen soon, but something told her it wasn't time for her to tell him just yet. "But yeah, I mean overall it's not bad, just the whole dreaming thing is a bit out there." Sam took another bite of her pizza, and then let out a sigh.
New people were a point of anxiety for Hannah, but it was more because she was pretty sure she didn’t know how to talk to them, but she would try to put herself out there a little more and hopefully most of them wouldn’t mind that she talked almost constantly about geology, rocks, and minerals. She just knew enough about the subject to talk about it almost continuously. But she’d try to find out things about other people, too. Maybe they had things they liked. “Well, if anyone’s less than nice, I’ll be sure you know who to avoid.” Hannah studied Sam’s face as she spoke, always curious about the shift in her expression when she talked about Mike. If she hadn’t looked so happy, Hannah wasn’t sure she would be as happy about it. Sam needed to be happy, deserved to be happy. Hannah was pretty sure that her best friend was happy, which made her happy in turn. “I don’t think I’ll be disappointed if I don’t have to worry about the dreams, then. In fact, I’m kind of hoping to avoid it.”
Sam gave a small nod, "I've honestly not ran into anyone yet that's less than nice, so I don't think you'll have to worry too much about that." She gave a small shrug of one shoulder, and then took another bite of her food. Chewing carefully she reached forward to grab her water, and took a drink. Sam was very happy where Mike was concerned, and she was grateful that she'd found him. Or that he'd found her, since he was the one that had spoken to her first. Letting out a long breath, Sam nodded. "I hope you manage to avoid them too. I…" She shook her head, "they're not any fun at all." Goosebumps rose over her arms as she thought about how cold it was in her dreams, and of all the things that had happened in them thus far. Sam would be glad when they were over with. "But let's not borrow any trouble yeah? We'll keep our fingers crossed that you'll manage to not dream about craziness."
The fact that both Josh and Sam seemed to hate the dreams made Hannah uneasy about them. She didn’t really want to know what ‘not any fun at all’ meant. She also wasn’t sure she wanted to understand the way Josh’s voice sounded over the phone some nights when he’d call. Most of the time, he’d play it cool and act like he was normal, but other times she could just hear it in his voice. It sounded pretty awful. “Yeah. I think I’ll be fine without. I mean, I prefer my occasional naked in front of everyone bad dreams anyway.”
Normal dreams felt few and far between for Sam. It wasn't hard to tell the difference between normal dreams and the other types of dreams. Laughing, Sam gave a small inclination of her head in Hannah's direction. "I would prefer them as well to be honest." She could deal with the embarrassment over the terror that she had been having to deal with in her dreams since they started. Sam knew while her own dreams were bad, she couldn't imagine what Josh was going through considering everything. "So what's the plan for the rest of the day?" She asked curiously glancing over at Hannah with a raised brow as she took a bite of her food.
Hannah was glad that she’d gotten her to laugh at the very least. She’d seemed like she was starting to get serious. If she could make her friend feel less serious, that was one step in the right direction. “Well, I was thinking about finishing unpacking, but now I’m considering just lying around like a lump and staring at my things with intent and hoping I’ve somehow become more like Matilda and can do things with my mind.” It seemed like a logical approach. “Did you have something else planned?”
Shaking her head, Sam gave Hannah a smile. "I had no plans for the day." She might text Mike later to see if he wanted to come over, or something, but that was a might. They had their own separate lives, and things to do. Which was nice. Sam was content with the way things were between them. "I think that maybe we should do nothing except watch movies, and be lazy. I think you deserve it, and I think I deserve it too." Sam gave a sharp nod, and then took another bite of her food. Today was going to be a good day, and they'd deal with everything else as it came. That was all that they could do.