InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "I thought we had a commitment."

Tom Sturbridge (timestoodstill) wrote in we_float,
@ 2010-05-13 22:28:00

Entry tags:

maxxie delacourt, thomas sturbridge

To talk of cabbages and kings...
Who: Tom Sturbridge and Maxxie Delacourt
What: Discussing the future, and whether to take Katherine up on her offer.
When: May 14, 2096
Where: Their dorm at Seattle University
Status: Closed, Complete

Finals were finally, blessedly, over. His last paper was turned in, his last test was taken. He didn't have to think about anything academic again until next semester, and he was more than glad of the break. Because, unfortunately, he had plenty of other things to think about.

He'd managed to shove them aside in his mind to get through to the end of the semester, but now he let them all loose. He had to make a decision, and soon. And that meant finding Maxxie.

He tried the main common room first, and not finding her there, he headed up to her dorm room, knocking and hoping he wasn't going to have to go on a campus-wide wild goose chase to track her down.

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maxblinks
2010-05-14 12:40 pm UTC (link)

Maxxie was in her room, things spread out all over the room and half packed, with books peeking out of boxes. She'd finished her last final that morning, and now she just needed some time to relax. So at the moment, she was dressed for a workout and sitting on the floor, stretching, toes pointed perfectly, back flat as she reached out across the floor, legs wide in a split.

At the knock, she scowled. "If I like you or you're a teammate, it's open. If it's the RA wanting to know when I'll be out of here, or anyone else, go away," she called out.

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timestoodstill
2010-05-14 12:43 pm UTC (link)

She could hear Tom laugh, but when he spoke, his voice was serious. "Well that puts me in a bit of a sticky situation, Miss Delacourt," he said. "You're leaving it up to me to decide whether you like me or not. And since I'm inclined to believe that everyone likes me, or ought to, I guess that means I can come in." He pushed the door open, peeking his head around, ready to duck back out if she decided to lob a pillow in his direction.

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maxblinks
2010-05-14 12:55 pm UTC (link)

"I don't know if I like you." Maxxie slid her hands back to press against the insides of her thighs, pushing her hips up off the floor until her toes just barely brushed the carpet, then rotated her legs up into a handstand. She turned, looking at Tom from upside down. "But I'm not going to kick you out. Close the door? Oh and, ignore the mess. I'm trying to get things packed up, only I still hate packing."

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timestoodstill
2010-05-14 01:01 pm UTC (link)

Tom came in and shut the door behind him. He removed a box from her desk chair and put it on the desk instead, nudging the chair into a corner and sitting down. "I haven't even started," he admitted. "Mostly because I don't know where I'm moving to."

He kept his tone light, his expression as upbeat as usual. He pretended that the comment about not knowing whether or not she liked him didn't sting a little. It was just Maxxie; she was like that.

"Have you thought about it?"

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maxblinks
2010-05-14 01:24 pm UTC (link)

"Enough that I swear I had to edit out random crap from my final paper for Abnormal because I wrote an entire paragraph about people I'm not even sure I'm allowed to say I met." She arched her back into a bridge, rotating her body upright once more. She took a moment to tug her leotard back into place, then folded up to sit cross-legged on the floor.

"I don't know what to tell my parents if I don't come home. Or Alex. Or if I'm allowed to tell them anything real. But..." She pressed her lips together. "Things are a political mess, and I'm worried about what it'll mean for people like Alex more than for people like you and me. I mean, what can they do to me? I'd just get out of the way. But Alex bends and breaks and they could put him in a lot of pain and it's not his fault that he's that way. He wouldn't hurt a fly. And someone has to unwind the mess, and I am interested in politics, and I have a fabulous smile."

She looked up at him, lips pursed in a rueful expression. "But it means not going home. And I don't know exactly what it means for real in terms of what we'd be doing. And that one woman was kind of a dick and the other was just... slippery. Which is politics. It'd be a learning experience, that's for sure."

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timestoodstill
2010-05-14 01:34 pm UTC (link)

"Can women be dicks?" Tom asked, trying to make a joke of it because that's what he did. He was the funny guy, who didn't take anything too seriously.

"I don't know what we're allowed to tell. You could tell them that you've got a summer internship. Working for a Senator. It's not a lie." He grinned. "Or if you don't want to be the specific, just leave it at internship in a government office. I don't know how much your parents dig for details.

"I don't know if she'd stop you from visiting, either. I mean, she says she doesn't own us. So you could maybe go home for a week or two... see Alex." He shrugged. "I don't know if we have a choice. Really. I mean, yes, we can say no, we won't do it, but what does that mean? If not us, who? Like you said, people like Alex need us. Callum... he could fend for himself but he's my brother and I won't let anything happen to him. I don't care if he's older and he's supposed to take care of me. And hell, some of the others we met. You and I are strong. I'm not sure they're all so... resilient. So do we really have a choice?"

What went unspoken was the fact that his mind was basically made up, but he didn't want to go into this alone.

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maxblinks
2010-05-14 03:58 pm UTC (link)

"My Mom doesn't dig for details unless it's something that's going to affect her reputation, and Dad doesn't really care at all," Maxxie said bluntly, and perhaps more honestly than she normally was about her home life. "I'm an adult, they don't really need me back, and if they don't have to pay for where I live, all the better. Not that they can't afford it, but you know what I mean." She shrugged from her spot on the floor.

"Some of them seemed fanciful, some were quiet, some were interesting, and one looked outright nuts. I've seen saner people panhandling in Manhattan." She made a face, wrinkling her nose at him. "You're going to do it, aren't you? Which means at the very least, you're abandoning me to live in this dorm all on my own if I don't go too." Not that she had a roommate -- or wanted one. Or even liked people half the time. But it had been kind of nice knowing Tom was around.

And truth to tell, she sort of wanted to do it. She wanted to make a difference. After all, wasn't she already knocking herself out to redeem her reputation? This could do it in half the time, if not less. If it didn't get her killed first, but it seemed like just living her life might do that, with the way things were.

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timestoodstill
2010-05-14 04:18 pm UTC (link)

"I'm not abandoning you," Tom said. "No way. Just because we can live there, doesn't mean we have to. And if you decide not to do it, I'll still be around. I'll still be here next year, if you want me to be."

He bit his lip, a rare show of uncertainty. "I don't like the thought of leaving you alone here anyway. Even though I know you can take care of yourself."

He slid down from the chair, sitting cross-legged in front of her. "I'd rather you did it, though. I'd rather not be alone either."

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maxblinks
2010-05-14 04:31 pm UTC (link)

Her head tilted as she regarded him, and she let out her breath in a soft puff of air. "You know I'm doing it, I'm just..." Another grumbling sigh, her fingers tapping against her knees. "I need to know the details. And we probably ought to live there. Because I might not like the people in this dorm, and I might think some of them deserve a little old-fashioned retribution, but I don't want to kill them. And me... us... being here could do that."

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timestoodstill
2010-05-14 04:35 pm UTC (link)

"I'm planning on living there for the summer. If we... I do this. What happens in the fall, I don't know. I guess it depends. I mean, if we're supposed to be showing that Wild Cards are regular people, then living in the dorms might be beneficial, but... if someone decided to target us, we don't know who else might be caught in the crossfire." He reached out to touch her hand, stopping her fingers tapping for just a second before moving his hand away. "What do you still want to know?"

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maxblinks
2010-05-14 05:33 pm UTC (link)

"Stop saying if... we're doing it, aren't we? We'll have to figure out the fall when it gets closer... I've already got a room reserved on campus for the fall, but I'm sure they wouldn't mind getting a single back if we decide it's best not to live here at all."

Maxxie made a face when he stilled her fingers, pulling them away. She wound her hands together, entangling her own fingers, but that didn't satisfy well enough while she was sitting still. "Sorry, hon, I just can't stop." She pushed herself to her feet, swinging one leg up to prop her heel on the edge of her desk, leaning over it as she stretched.

"What do I want to know? What rules are involved? What can and can't we do? How much are we paid and how do we get paid? Is this taxable and official or under the table? How much public support do we have, and is there going to be any kind of an announcement involved to make it official? Do we have to wear dorky uniforms?" She made a face and gestured at her workout leotard. "Not that I'm not used to that part already but really, not everyone is made to wear spandex and no one should be doing it unless they're waiting to see what score they get for sticking the landing."

She took a breath, putting her foot back on the floor and leaning forward to place her hands flat, craning her neck to still look at him. "Are there going to be assignments or we on our own to be creative about how to make Wild Cards positive? Is there weaponry and killing involved? Are we staying local or are we taking this to foreign soil? I could go on, Tom. Right now we know absolutely nothing except that they want us, and we're damned if we do and damned if we don't."

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timestoodstill
2010-05-14 10:21 pm UTC (link)

His breath came out in a choked laugh. "Just a few questions. But good ones. I just hope we can actually get straight answers. Are you planning to sit down with her," he meant Katherine, "and try to get answers before you say yes. Because I think depending on the answer to some of those questions, the yes might become no. Mostly the killing bit. And the spandex. Not a good look for me."

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	maxblinks 2010-05-15 01:03 am UTC (link)
	"I honestly doubt there's killing involved, I mean, not if they want us to make a positive impression," Maxxie said. "But it should get asked. The real problem is, I don't think we have much time for inquisitions, since my RA keeps checking up to make sure I'm out when the underclassmen are supposed to be out. I was planning to fly out this weekend." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	timestoodstill 2010-05-15 01:11 am UTC (link)
	"This weekend? Like tomorrow? You can't!" He only just managed to remember to keep his hands to himself and not grab her hands. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	maxblinks 2010-05-15 01:14 am UTC (link)
	Maxxie just looked at him. "Well, that's why we're having this discussion, isn't it? Or is there another reason why I'm not allowed to go?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	timestoodstill 2010-05-15 01:19 am UTC (link)
	"Because I would miss you?" He smiled. "I guess I hadn't thought about the fact that we had so little time. Even if I go home, it's not far." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	maxblinks 2010-05-15 01:26 am UTC (link)
	She made a soft noise of disbelief. "You don't have anyone else around to drive you nuts on a regular basis? I'll have to cancel it if I'm staying. I could tell my parents that I'm staying for gymnastics, but I'm not sure that place is safe either." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

timestoodstill
2010-05-15 01:29 am UTC (link)

"Nope. It would just be me lazing around the house and getting lectured by my dad on a regular basis about my lack of motivation. Unless I decided to crash at Callum's for a while, in which case it'd be me lazing around the apartment, getting dirty looks from medical interns for my lack of motivation. You'd think lack of motivation was a problem or something." He flashed his most innocent smile. "So are you going to try to talk to her? We do still have a week to decide, according to her original deadline."

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maxblinks
2010-05-15 01:38 am UTC (link)

"Your lack of motivation is a problem," Maxxie pointed out. "You're almost ready to graduate. You ought to know where you're going next."

She glanced at the boxes, then the door. "It'll piss my RA off if I stay here, but it's the best place I got until I decide if I'm moving in there." Presing her lips together, she nodded. "Yes, I'll talk to her. You coming along when I do?"

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	timestoodstill 2010-05-15 01:54 am UTC (link)
	Tom let the comment about his motivation go. There were more pressing issues. "That's up to you, my friend," he said, and meant it. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	maxblinks 2010-05-15 02:04 am UTC (link)
	"If you want to come along, you can. Between us we can overload her with questions," Maxxie said. "I'll set it up." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	timestoodstill 2010-05-15 02:06 am UTC (link)
	"Aye aye," he said, saluting her. "I'll let you get back to packing then." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	maxblinks 2010-05-15 02:14 am UTC (link)
	"And I'll let you know when I've got it set up. And talk my RA into letting me stay." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	timestoodstill 2010-05-15 02:19 am UTC (link)
	"If all else fails, there's a guest room at my house, or Callum's couch." He reached out and touched her arm lightly. "Let me know." With a final smile and a wave (and nearly walking face-first into the door as he opened it) he left, whistling as he sauntered down the hall. (Reply to this) (Parent)