Nightshift 60: West Wing, South Hall 1-B

[ninelivesonce]

[from here]

Taura pondered the announcement she'd just heard as she jogged down another empty hallway. Who was she? Jill? Who he'd tortured himself, though that could have been an act on her part as well? Whose side had she been on? And what could have happened to her that would be permanent

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[vsyourface]

Scott squinted his eyes shut and half-raised his free hand to cover them before the sudden light swung away from his face again. He saw spots briefly, one of which seemed to frame Ramona's silhouetted head in the dim glow afforded to her by the flashlight. For a second he thought... But no, it couldn't be that. It wasn't strong enough to be. And anyway, he wasn't even sure what "that" was. Ramona never brought it up, it only happened every once in a while, and no one else ever mentioned it. Probably best not to ask your girlfriend why her head glowed sometimes when you weren't even sure what you were seeing, if anything.

In any case, there was a welcome distraction for both of them on the scene, it seemed. "Hey! Hey - whoa, nice. Already? I didn't get clothes stuff until, like, a few days after I got here," said Scott, tugging at the bottom of his park and glancing down at it as he spoke. "Guess Landel likes you or something." And Scott really, really hoped he did at this point. It seemed like people who had their own outfits back, for whatever reason, tended to stick around longer. Not that Scott had anything to back up that idea aside from vague observations, but whatever. He needed something to give him some hope.

Especially when he was about to tell her that he was essentially ditching her for the night to hang out with the boys. Boyfriend of the year, clearly.

"So, uh. I've got some stuff to do tonight," he started, shifting uncertainly. "What were you gonna do tonight? Whatever it is, I might not be able to... do that."

[inconstancy]

"Oh, uh-" she began, because hell if she knew. Exploring this place seemed like a good idea, and she liked the whole deal with the town. But she could also tell they weren't going to get any easy trips out there. The fact that things had gone so poorly the night before were proof positive enough for her. And the truth was, Ramona didn't mind sticking around inside rather than trying any dangerous and troubling feats.

Or at least just for tonight.

"Um, I hadn't really decided yet," she finished, somewhat sheepishly. Ramona shrugged through it, though, acting as if it wasn't that big of a deal. "But hey, if you've got stuff to do, I can handle myself." What she didn't add was that another night with potentially dangerous moment that would want her to be as close to Scott as possible wasn't on her plate. No, she could take cliché movie moments some other time.

[vsyourface]

"You sure?" Scott asked, still not sure about the whole "leaving his girlfriend to fend for herself" thing. He knew she was tough and could do most stuff on her own, but heck, there were gods and superheroes who had a tough time in Landel's. Even his totally awesome American ninja girlfriend was vulnerable here.

But then again, she would probably be even worse off in the basement, considering what Team Mental Quest had already collectively gone through. Honestly, Ramona probably would be better fighting random enemies up here than anything else.

He took a pause, then lifted his arms and put his hands on Ramona's shoulders. Cliché, but whatever. Touch was good. He liked touch, especially on nights when he was potentially walking into doom-ish seeming doom.

"'Kay, well, before I go then..." Scott ran the tips of his teeth together. "...I just wanna let you know that I love you. And stuff." The words flowed awkwardly but truthfully off his tongue. It had been weeks since he had been able to say the "L word" to anyone, let alone Ramona, and even if it was awkward, he really, really wanted to say it. After the awkwardness continued into silence, he added: "Promise you won't get eaten or anything?"

[inconstancy]

It wasn't possible to master an expert deer-in-headlights look; no matter how many times she tried to play it off, it came off that way, anyway. Ramona froze up the moment his hands touched her shoulders, but she could roll with that. Scott probably wanted some kind of familiarity and she was willing to grant it to him.

No, it was the next part that she couldn't deal with. The "I love you" and the promise and everything. This was exactly what Ramona had been trying to get away from. It wasn't that she didn't love him-the truth was that she did-it was that they were broken up and this was completely uncalled for.

Ramona didn't want to knock him back or do anything weird and Xena, Warrior Princess-like, but it was tempting. It usually wasn't, and the fact that it was meant that her head was probably glowing like Kim pointed out that time (it most certainly was), and-

"That's-" she managed. "That's great, Scott. I'll avoid Freddie, Jason, Dracula, and the Wolfman tonight, I promise." It was all rattled off rather quickly. "I'll be fine," she added.

[vsyourface]

Scott blinked a few times as his hands slipped away from Ramona's shoulders. Okay, he totally wasn't seeing things this time. ...Probably. Maybe? Aaaagh this glowing head thing was confusing. He was pretty sure there was something lighting up the dim hallway other than their flashlights this time, and that it was coming from Ramona's head. Just like all the other times this had happened, though, Ramona didn't comment on the glow at all. Usually others had the courtesy to at least see the same save points and extra lives and stat-ups that he saw. With the glowing, he just couldn't be sure he wasn't the only one seeing this. Or why he was seeing it, moreover.

So, as with the other times, he let it be without commenting on it. Besides, he had places to be, dooms to get to. He put Ramona's discomforting glow out of sight, out of mind, and with it he also put Ramona's actual discomfort. "Okay, good. Well..." He gave the love of his life an awkward wave and a smile as he started to turn away from her. "...See you 'round, then."

After walking away a few steps, he turned on his heel, catching her gaze just one more time. "So remember!" he called to her, walking backwards as he went on: "Don't fall asleep! Avoid lakes and cabins in the woods! Bats are not your friends! And find silver! For god's sake find silveeeerrrrrr!"

And with that, Scott disappeared down the hall,

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