Ariel was hoping that when she got to Groovy Tunes, Jono wouldn't be there, but of course, that was probably very silly of her. As it was, she wandered on in, affixed him with a Very Serious look as she folded her arms in front of her and demanded to know, "Now what in the world are you doing here?"
She even threw in some foot tapping for good measure.
"Yes, I know," Ariel said, "but you also have a girlfriend who's not dead. I think the CDs can wait, Jono. I heard you were at the library yesterday, too. Your priorities...."
She shook her head dismally. As if she was anyone to talk about having proper priorities.
Okay, between that pause and Raven's pause last night and radio mentioning awkwardness as well, Ariel was starting to wonder if she was really, really missing something in the story with this. She eyed Jono and his focus on the CDs for a second before throwing in her own hands.
"Here, let me help with these. What are they, anyway? New CDs? There's a lot of them, you'll need some help if you don't want to be doing this all day, including when she stops by. Don't want to be distracted by work if you guys need to talk...."
//They're not any of them new,// Jono noted, cramming his hands into his pockets as Ariel made a reach for them. //They're from over a decade ago. I think they're all just albums that our supplier couldn't pay people to take, so they all got dumped on us.//
Why else would they end up with three cases of N*Sync?
//Ariel... mind if I ask yer opinion about something?//
Ariel lifted her eyes from where she was inspecting the back of a CD, her brow arched. "You know you can ask me anything, Jono," she said, glad to see him at least not insisting on keeping himself busy with work. In fact, she set the CD down herself, tilting her head at him to let him know he had her undivided attention.
//If you... did something that hurt somebody,// he hedged, //and hurt them a lot, but it wasn't really something that you could really... help, at all...//
He shrugged his shoulders. Took a moment to gather words again, because this wasn't exactly an easy question for Jonothon to ask, of Ariel or anybody, really.
//D'you think it's... unreasonable... to be afraid of getting close to people again? Especially if maybe it's something that you were worried you might do, right from th'start?//
"Unreasonable?" asked Ariel, after a long moment to consider the question with a frown. "No, not at all. But, I mean, just because something is a reasonable response to something doesn't mean it's...the best. You know?"
Man, now she really wanted to ask about things, but it just seemed so, so, so, so not cool to do so...
//What happened to Raven was...// Jono shook his head a little, wrapping his arms around himself. //I didn't mean to. I didn't have any control over it. But I'm dangerous, Ariel. In a very real way, I'm dangerous. And nobody believes me, when I tell them that.//
//She's fine now,// Jonothon replied, quietly. //She was... very, very not fine, before. I don't... really understand how she's here, now. She just is.//
He wasn't going to be looking up again for a long while.
//Not on purpose,// came Jono's quick reply, his eyes going wide. They looked all the wider when there was no pupil to be seen, only a faintly glowing white that seemed to have completely taken over. //Never on purpose! I wouldn't... I'd never want to... Not something like that!//
She even threw in some foot tapping for good measure.
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On unpacking... 5ive CDs, now. What the hell was a 5ive and why did they think that a number could possibly substitute for the letter F?
//I have a job here, you know, luv.//
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She shook her head dismally. As if she was anyone to talk about having proper priorities.
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He shrugged his shoulders a little, as his eyes dropped down. Right. 5ive. Eugh.
//My priorities are fine, luv.//
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"Here, let me help with these. What are they, anyway? New CDs? There's a lot of them, you'll need some help if you don't want to be doing this all day, including when she stops by. Don't want to be distracted by work if you guys need to talk...."
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Why else would they end up with three cases of N*Sync?
//Ariel... mind if I ask yer opinion about something?//
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He shrugged his shoulders. Took a moment to gather words again, because this wasn't exactly an easy question for Jonothon to ask, of Ariel or anybody, really.
//D'you think it's... unreasonable... to be afraid of getting close to people again? Especially if maybe it's something that you were worried you might do, right from th'start?//
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Man, now she really wanted to ask about things, but it just seemed so, so, so, so not cool to do so...
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//What if... 'hurt' meant gone? Still... not th'best?//
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... Hey, Ariel. Have some of Jonothon's issues?
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Yes, that required a pause.
"Right?"
Because somehow she felts she was totally missing pieces here.
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He wasn't going to be looking up again for a long while.
//I burned her. I'm fire and I burned her.//
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"I...not on purpose, right?" she asked. "I mean, something had to have happened, Jono, an accident, or....you wouldn't just..."
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