Room 323 [Tuesday, After Classes]

[comeoutwrong]

This was just exactly the reason that Effy avoided phone calls home, (except for the ones to Tony) like the plague. Couldn't manage one sodding five minute conversation without going off on one about something.



... "Now Elizabeth, it's important for you to remember, your mother and I still love each other--" Like she was five. Seriously.

"No, we don't." Her mother's quieter offering from the background.

"... No, that's right. We don't." At least they were being honest, right? Effy shook her head, even if they couldn't see that.

"And that's why you're leaving."

"That's why I'm leaving. That's why I am fucking out of here, woman." Ah, there was the yelling and swearing. Right on cue. They didn't even need her for this. "I am on a fucking plane, you're dead right.... So little imagination you have to shag my fucking boss. Could've fucked the turd from Tesco, but no--"

Didn't take much of that back and forth before Effy deliberately hung up and threw her phone down onto her bed and cranked up some music in the hope that might drown out her thoughts. Ten quid said it took them a good twenty minutes to even notice she wasn't on the line anymore.

Just when she thought she was four thousand miles away and they couldn't keep fucking with her emotions. Just fantastic.

[[NFB on the contents of the parental conversation, which once again was taken with some modification from Skins 3x05, because I can't just let her be yet. Door's cracked, and the post can be open, sure, if someone actually wants to deal with her emo.]]

Comments

[pastmewrong.livejournal.com]

"Dumb idea to challenge you to a dirty-off," Effy remarked. Even she could admit that. May not seem it, but getting the topic of their conversation off her issues and onto the more mundane stuff was a relief.

[fratboybitch.livejournal.com]

"That's what I told her," he said and shrugged. "She didn't listen. She should've known though. I've shown her and told her how dirty I can be. She took it up anyway. Nobody believes me when I tell them I'm good. Always gotta prove the shit."

[pastmewrong.livejournal.com]

"You say something like that," Effy said, looking over at him, "people are always going to want to see the proof. Natural curiosity."

[fratboybitch.livejournal.com]

"Maybe," he said, catching her glance and shrugging. "She got her proof. I won, free night at the bar, whoo hoo. You ever get curious?"

[pastmewrong.livejournal.com]

"Depends," she answered. "More likely to get curious about some things, than others."

[fratboybitch.livejournal.com]

"Fair answer," he said and shrugged his shoulders. "So, tell me, what are you curious about? Let's hear it."

[pastmewrong.livejournal.com]

"Lot of things," Effy said. "This place, people, sometimes even you." Wasn't like he was full of the sharing. They were rather similar like that.

[fratboybitch.livejournal.com]

"Me?" The people and place he could get but curiosity about him was rather new. "Why?"

[pastmewrong.livejournal.com]

"There's a lot you don't say," she said simply. Which for someone who actually did talk a fair amount, it was noticeable to her when he suddenly got cryptic on certain things.

[fratboybitch.livejournal.com]

"And here I thought I said plenty," he said, shrugging a little slowly. "You're curious about what I'm not saying? Why?"

[pastmewrong.livejournal.com]

"Because you're not saying it." Or, not saying it outright, at least. It was knowing there was something there, and having some idea that did it.

[fratboybitch.livejournal.com]

"And you never ask," he said, having a feeling at what she was hinting at. "I'm not going to do all the damn work for you. You wanna know, you fucking ask. Don't expect me to lay it out on a red carpet for you."

[pastmewrong.livejournal.com]

"I don't think you really want me to ask," she said. There was a reason he kept it to himself, after all.

[fratboybitch.livejournal.com]

Alex could already feel that tension creeping up his neck and across his shoulders and he tried to shake it out and off.

"I doubt you wanted me ask about your shit either," he pointed out, trying to turn it back on her. "I did anyway and you were more than willing to share. What's that mean? Were you just waiting for someone to ask?"

[pastmewrong.livejournal.com]

"Means at least you're not the type to start spouting useless apologies and trying to offer hugs," she threw back, and shook her head. Because that sort of thing, were really not going to help, when it came to Effy.

And in a strange way, she trusted him to, at the very least, keep his mouth shut.

[fratboybitch.livejournal.com]

"Apologies and hugs don't do dick for shit like that," he said, making a face. "Meaningless fucking platitudes given by people who don't know what the fuck else to do. That's not gonna help but neither is your stupid silent treatment."

Said the guy who kept all his shit to himself. Shut up.

"I give you the opportunity to start yelling or ranting or something and you go quiet?" He shook his head. "Weak."

[pastmewrong.livejournal.com]

"I don't see you yelling and ranting about whatever crap you've been through." That wasn't really Effy's way. Snide comments, angry bitchface glares, even dramatic storming out, she did all that on expert. Ranting... no.

[fratboybitch.livejournal.com]

"You've only known me for a few months, you have no fucking idea what I did before I got to this podunk island," he said, shaking his head. "I've yelled plenty. It doesn't always help."

It rarely did, in fact. Yelling for the fun of it was a lot less fun than yelling at someone.

"Besides, did you not listen to what I said?" Alex asked, making a face. "You don't want to yell or rant, do something."

[pastmewrong.livejournal.com]

"Something, like what?" Effy was pretty sure it wouldn't help, whatever she did.

[fratboybitch.livejournal.com]

"Jesus, pick something, Effy," he said and shook his head. "Or just tell me to go so I'm not wasting my frigging breath on an apparent impossible task."

[pastmewrong.livejournal.com]

There was no instant 'make me feel better!' solution to this, and they both knew that. Yelling, hitting things, whatever else he would go for was... Effy was far too used to keeping things internalised around other people, honestly. She'd had worse than this to deal with, and managed to come out the other side.

What there was, was not fucking thinking about it, and going that niggling little desire to lean over and kiss him, and shut him up like that. At least he wouldn't be wasting breath.

[fratboybitch.livejournal.com]

Truth be told, he was probably more expecting to get his ass tossed out of her room just to show that he could. Of course, he wasn't going to argue with this turn of events (he wasn't stupid) and kicked his brain into motion by returning her kiss.

He didn't try anything else for the moment, letting her do what she wanted since he'd basically said 'do something' to her and she'd chosen this. He'd pick up any slack, if it was needed.

[pastmewrong.livejournal.com]

Alex should have really learned to expect this sort of thing from her. When she couldn't do anything else, or wouldn't (because hey, she wasn't completely incapable of yelling), she fell back on what she knew. One thing she was really fucking comfortable with.

For once, though, she wasn't pushing it with the harsh and hard, as she slid her hand up around his neck. Their mutual sniping had hit that note quite enough for one afternoon.

[fratboybitch.livejournal.com]

Contrary to Alex's ego, he couldn't always predict what people would do. He thought he could but, in some instances, he was surprised. This was one of them. Pleasantly, though. Pleasantly surprised.

The atypical pace of the kiss didn't throw him, though, and he was proud of that. He just eased right into it, reaching up to briefly touch her cheek before that arm went around her waist loosely. After the mutual button pushing, though, he could see the allure of something like this and didn't try to push anything himself.

[pastmewrong.livejournal.com]

Implying she wanted him to fuck off the last time he'd stopped in had apparently worked just that well as a deterrent from returning to that method of dealing with her Alex-induced irritation.

Other end of the scale, she was far happier with. This didn't leave her feeling crappier than she'd felt before, the opposite, even. Something almost comforting about it, not that she'd admit it. Barely let herself consider that sort of thing.

Didn't really want to consider it now, and ignored that little lingering thought as she drew her thumb along his jaw and deepened that kiss.