An evening in Camden (ficlet)
Absolutely no one is around for me to chat to, so I finished a snippet of writing involving my OC crew from London. So I guess anyone who likes that sort of thing, go on ahead.
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Sliding the glass door to the balcony open, Joshua stepped out into the chilly evening air, catching a whiff of acrid cigarette smoke which made his nose wrinkle in distaste. Ethan was leaning against the balcony railing, the cigarette dangling loosely from his lips, a shadow against a city background speckled with lights, dark eyes fixed on the street below.
Joshua moved up alongside him and looked down as well to see that a fight had broken out; two groups of youths were holding back a couple of their mates, curses being flung back and forth, sounding muffled from where Joshua and Ethan watched. It seemed Joshua had apparently missed most of the excitement, as the participants were just beginning to scatter.
‘Fucking scene kids all over the streets these days…’ the complaint was a barely audible murmur as Ethan took another slow drag of smoke.
Glancing at the older man, Joshua tried to read his expression. He knew from past experience that it was mostly a futile effort but he liked to try regardless, although the purple eyes and stony expression rarely cracked. The other hadn’t even acknowledged Joshua’s presence yet, it was only when the teen reached over and plucked Ethan’s cigarette from his mouth that the man straightened up and turned to look at him.
Taking a puff from Ethan’s cigarette, Joshua grimaced and coughed slightly, handing it back; he hadn’t smoked for a few years now, and didn’t really miss it. ‘You can have it, ugh.’
‘When did you get home?’ Ethan’s tone was flat and expressionless like the rest of his demeanour, and Joshua knew he asked out of politeness and not because he actually wanted to know the answer. Still, the fact he would bother with even mild politeness meant a lot to Joshua, considering that the teen knew what he was usually like.
‘Just now.’ The boy leaned back against the balcony railing, holding the other’s gaze. ‘I met up with Eddie at his work after I left school today. We had a couple of drinks and I brought him over here.’
Ethan grimaced. ‘Christ. What’d you do that for?’
Joshua smiled. ‘Because you’ve been more melancholy these last couple of days than even I’m used to, I figured you could use the distraction.’
‘Who else is coming?’ Ethan jabbed the butt of his cigarette out on the balcony railing, and scowled at the wide-eyed look of innocence the boy gave him. ‘Don’t give me any of that doe-eyed shit, I know you never invite over just one person at a time unless you wanna get laid and we both know you’re not Ed’s type. Who else is coming?’
Pouting, Joshua turned to face the view, dangling his arms over the balcony’s edge. ‘Layla’s on her way. Nikki is doing a shoot at the moment but I asked her to visit too.’
‘Jesus.’
‘No, he couldn’t make it.’ Joshua beamed as his joke managed to get a snort of derision from his flatmate. ‘Come on, it’ll be nice. Almost the whole crew together again for a casual night of hanging out. Mark and Monique couldn’t make it, they didn’t want to bring Bella and they couldn’t get a sitter.’ He reached out, snagging a finger in one of Ethan’s belt loops, pulling him closer as he smiled coyly up at him. The other stared impassively down at him in return as Joshua’s arms slid around his waist beneath the heavy leather jacket, and the teen nuzzled in against the crook of the older man's neck. Ethan smelled like cigarettes and cologne, and the jacket carried the faint scent of motor oil, it was a familiar combination that Joshua took comfort in.
‘Stop it.’ The moment only lasted for a second before Ethan took hold of Joshua’s arms and moved them away. ‘You’re suddenly extra clingy for some reason, it’s annoying.’
‘Endearing.’ Joshua corrected him, grinning as he caused the other to scowl again. He loved to push Ethan’s buttons, it was so easy to irritate him. The hard part was estimating where to draw the line, and it was something the teenager loved gambling with. He wasn’t afraid of Ethan’s wrath-on the contrary, it excited him.
‘You are way too close to a four storey drop for you to act like a smart-ass.’
The older man turned away and headed back inside, Joshua grinning as he followed a few feet behind him. More comebacks had risen to mind but he knew that it was probably in his best interest to behave, at least for now.
Inside the apartment on the well-worn sofa, Eddie McKenzie-known as Volt in the club scene where he would occasionally DJ-had made himself comfortable. He greeted Ethan’s look of dark disapproval with a bright grin; it had taken him a while to feel secure enough to do that… the first year or so he’d known the man he’d wilted at that black look, until he’d realised it was Ethan’s default expression and not because he’d somehow pissed the man off.
‘What’s up?’ he gave the two of them a casual wave with a hand holding the controller of the apartment’s XBox 360. The start-up screen had just flashed up across Ethan’s television and Joshua’s face brightened as he vaulted over the back of the sofa to settle comfortably beside the raver.
'Halo? Wanna play co-op?' he asked excitedly, picking up a controller. Ethan quietly retreated into the kitchen to no doubt have a stiff drink to get him through the rest of the evening.
'Is he grouchier than normal?' Eddie kicked off his heavy platform sneakers and propped his feet up on the coffee table. 'Or am I still not used to the fact he's like this all the damn time.'
Joshua batted the other's feet off the table again. 'He's his usual self, but he won't hesitate to kick your ass if you have your feet on his furniture.'
'He's not working at Seventh Circle tonight?'
'You know he only opens the club when he feels like it. Guess there's gonna be a few disappointed kiddie-goths on the street tonight.' Joshua selected a campaign in their game as he frowned slightly. 'Come to think of it, he's been home a lot in the evenings, recently. That's kind of unlike him. Maybe you're right and he is a little grumpier. Wonder what might be the cause.'
'That might be none of your fucking business.' the low voice, a rumble right by his ear, caused Joshua to almost leap out of his seat.
He frantically rubbed at the back of his neck where Ethan's breath had tickled him and tried to swallow the lump that had leapt into his throat. 'You scared the hell out of me!!' he yelped, wide-eyed. The reaction earned a self-satisfied smirk from the stoic goth, who idly sipped from the whiskey glass in his hand.
'Serves you right for worrying about me.'
'I wasn't worried. You're an asshole.'
'I try my best.' A thin black eyebrow arched as Ethan took another sip of whiskey. Eddie was doing his best not to laugh at the exchange, knowing that if he did, he would become involved, and he didn't want to be at the receiving end of Ethan's sharp tongue.
Luckily for Eddie he was saved by a knock on the door, but before any of the men could make their way over to open it, Layla McKenzie let herself in with an exaggerated wave and a melodious 'I'm here!'
Everything Layla did had flair to it. After all, pomp and flair was in her profession. Her auburn hair was curled up into old-fashioned victory rolls and the black and white dress she wore carried the same classic, retro style, perfectly fitted to her to show off her curvaceous figure. Ethan remained stony-faced as she went around the room and planted noisy kisses on each of their cheeks-even Ethan's. He might have been stubborn, but Layla was just as stubborn herself and he had long ago stopped bothering to fend off her greeting kisses. In fact, of their whole group it was probably Layla who got away with the most around Ethan; it was like he'd simply given up on trying to intimidate her.
'Got a special kiss for you, Ethan, sweetheart.' she smiled as his nose crinkled in distaste at the pet name. 'A luscious little eighteen year old that tastes so divine...' her smile turned to a light laugh as his distaste mingled with confusion and she dropped a bottle of scotch in his hands. Understanding then what the innuendo was really referring to, Ethan immediately headed off to refill his glass. While he very rarely got drunk, it did take a couple of glasses to calm his nerves when he had more than two people in his apartment at a time.
'Siiiis...!' Eddie complained as he ducked away from the hug she tried to give him, his eyes not leaving the television where his game had started. Joshua happily dropped the controller to return her embrace, though.
'That's a new dress isn't it? You look lovely.'
'Aww always a kind word for the ladies, Joshua, never change.' she gave him another peck against the corner of his mouth. 'What are we playing?'
'Halo.' Eddie muttered, concentrating hard on what he was doing.
'We're trying to get in as much game-time as we can before Nikki arrives and wipes the floor with us.' Joshua added sombrely, retrieving his controller from where he'd dropped it.
'Oh, Nikki's coming? This is a real little party we have going, isn't it?' Layla dropped her handbag on the table. 'Be right back, loves.' she was glancing around for their missing, uncooperative friend, whom she found in the kitchen after a quick search of the apartment. It was generally a good sign; it was when Ethan retreated to his bedroom that she knew he wouldn't reappear for the rest of the evening.
He eyed her suspiciously as she came in, and held the bottle of scotch up by the neck. 'Is this a bribe?'
'Only partially. It's not just for you, Ethan. Pour me a glass over ice.'
Hitting the button on the freezer's ice dispenser and watching the blocks drop noisily into the glass, Ethan spoke without looking at her. 'You haven't been around a lot. You haven't come to the club.'
Layla smiled and leaned back against the kitchen counter. 'I've been busy. Two jobs, you know. And they've given me a stack more stage time at the cabaret club so I'm not free most evenings. Why does it matter to you?' her voice took on a teasing lilt. 'Do you miss me?'
Ethan turned around with her glass in his hand and held it wordlessly out to her. She knew that he would never admit to missing anyone, but the answer to her question was evident in the way the muscles in his jaw clenched just slightly, and that his violet eyes did not quite rise to meet hers. She didn't much feel like teasing him, then.
'How's it going with Joshua?' she instead asked gently, giving him reprieve by changing the subject.
Straightening, his back stiff as his gaze moved to the kitchen door, from outside of which they could hear Eddie and Joshua shouting obscenities at their game, Ethan's expression remained carefully, meticulously blank. 'He's okay. He can be an annoying little fucker sometimes, but I've learned to live with it.'
Layla smiled. 'That's good. I was worried you two might become sick of each other after he moved in, but I think after this long, if you're still not bothered by him enough to haul him out onto the street with his things in a garbage bag, I probably worried for nothing.'
'He's needy.' Ethan complained.
'Well you knew that when you took him in. Besides, you're needy too, you just cope with it in a different way.' she smirked as an angry flush rose to Ethan's cheeks. 'Oh don't give me that look, you-'
She was interrupted by a chorus of 'Nikki!' from the living room and instead just broke off with a chuckle and slipped out of the kitchen to greet the new arrival before he could make a scathing remark in response.
Nikki looked so very out of place amongst them, Layla observed once again with an amused smile. While they all seemed to hover in a world of dark alternative clothing-Eddie aside, in his rainbow-coloured cyberpunk gear-Nikki was as slender, elegantly clothed and beautiful as a fashion model. Which, considering it was how she earned most of her money, was appropriate. She was dressed head to toe in expensive labels, none of which she'd had to buy herself, Layla was willing to bet, and her long, platinum-blonde hair shone like liquid silver as she swept it back over her shoulder, beaming happily. 'So good to see you guys again!'
Eddie had forgotten his game and was staring up at Nikki with that same silly smile he always wore when she was in the room. Layla casually swatted her brother on the side of his head and he seemed to snap out of it. The DJ's crush on the leggy blonde was hardly a secret, but Layla wanted to help him keep at least some of his dignity. Joshua paused the game when he realised Eddie wasn't paying any attention and they both stood to give her a hug, the tall lanky DJ embracing her only very lightly as if he were afraid she might break.
'So good to see everyone again... I'm sorry I haven't been around!' Nikki bent down to unstrap the heels she wore, dropping the shoes in a corner with a grateful sigh and wiggling stockinged toes in the thick carpet. 'Today sucked, so no one ask about it, okay?' she nodded contently at the chorus of 'okaaay' and dropped comfortably onto the sofa. 'Halo! God I need this, who's playing?'
'Not me.' Joshua said quickly, raising his hands in surrender and grinning in response to Eddie's look of dismay. 'Come on, Volt, it's not so bad. She might even let you win once or twice.'
'I'm not feeling that charitable today.' Nikki quipped happily, glancing up at the trio. 'Come on, Eddie, sit down and play! It's more fun with friends than strangers online.'
Layla left them as the boys joined Nikki on the sofa, and when she turned, she saw Ethan in the kitchen doorway, idly watching the scene in his living room. Smiling, she wandered over to where he stood and placed a warm hand on his wrist. 'See? It isn't so bad that we all get together sometimes, is it?'
Ethan's eyes met hers and she was the first to look away. Sometimes, she forgot how intense he was. Sometimes he still unnerved her.
'It's not so bad, I suppose.'
She looked up in surprise; Ethan so very rarely admitted it when other people were right. She stared as a very faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, and unconsciously her grip on his wrist tightened for just a second before she let him go. 'Want to come and sit with them?' She asked quietly.
He considered her proposal silently for such a long moment that she thought he wasn't going to move from his place in the doorway at all. But his hand dropped to her lower back and he gently nudged her forward into the living room, following closely behind and taking a seat beside her when she sat on the smaller sofa facing the television.
Sometimes it was just nice to be with people... no matter who you were.
---
Sliding the glass door to the balcony open, Joshua stepped out into the chilly evening air, catching a whiff of acrid cigarette smoke which made his nose wrinkle in distaste. Ethan was leaning against the balcony railing, the cigarette dangling loosely from his lips, a shadow against a city background speckled with lights, dark eyes fixed on the street below.
Joshua moved up alongside him and looked down as well to see that a fight had broken out; two groups of youths were holding back a couple of their mates, curses being flung back and forth, sounding muffled from where Joshua and Ethan watched. It seemed Joshua had apparently missed most of the excitement, as the participants were just beginning to scatter.
‘Fucking scene kids all over the streets these days…’ the complaint was a barely audible murmur as Ethan took another slow drag of smoke.
Glancing at the older man, Joshua tried to read his expression. He knew from past experience that it was mostly a futile effort but he liked to try regardless, although the purple eyes and stony expression rarely cracked. The other hadn’t even acknowledged Joshua’s presence yet, it was only when the teen reached over and plucked Ethan’s cigarette from his mouth that the man straightened up and turned to look at him.
Taking a puff from Ethan’s cigarette, Joshua grimaced and coughed slightly, handing it back; he hadn’t smoked for a few years now, and didn’t really miss it. ‘You can have it, ugh.’
‘When did you get home?’ Ethan’s tone was flat and expressionless like the rest of his demeanour, and Joshua knew he asked out of politeness and not because he actually wanted to know the answer. Still, the fact he would bother with even mild politeness meant a lot to Joshua, considering that the teen knew what he was usually like.
‘Just now.’ The boy leaned back against the balcony railing, holding the other’s gaze. ‘I met up with Eddie at his work after I left school today. We had a couple of drinks and I brought him over here.’
Ethan grimaced. ‘Christ. What’d you do that for?’
Joshua smiled. ‘Because you’ve been more melancholy these last couple of days than even I’m used to, I figured you could use the distraction.’
‘Who else is coming?’ Ethan jabbed the butt of his cigarette out on the balcony railing, and scowled at the wide-eyed look of innocence the boy gave him. ‘Don’t give me any of that doe-eyed shit, I know you never invite over just one person at a time unless you wanna get laid and we both know you’re not Ed’s type. Who else is coming?’
Pouting, Joshua turned to face the view, dangling his arms over the balcony’s edge. ‘Layla’s on her way. Nikki is doing a shoot at the moment but I asked her to visit too.’
‘Jesus.’
‘No, he couldn’t make it.’ Joshua beamed as his joke managed to get a snort of derision from his flatmate. ‘Come on, it’ll be nice. Almost the whole crew together again for a casual night of hanging out. Mark and Monique couldn’t make it, they didn’t want to bring Bella and they couldn’t get a sitter.’ He reached out, snagging a finger in one of Ethan’s belt loops, pulling him closer as he smiled coyly up at him. The other stared impassively down at him in return as Joshua’s arms slid around his waist beneath the heavy leather jacket, and the teen nuzzled in against the crook of the older man's neck. Ethan smelled like cigarettes and cologne, and the jacket carried the faint scent of motor oil, it was a familiar combination that Joshua took comfort in.
‘Stop it.’ The moment only lasted for a second before Ethan took hold of Joshua’s arms and moved them away. ‘You’re suddenly extra clingy for some reason, it’s annoying.’
‘Endearing.’ Joshua corrected him, grinning as he caused the other to scowl again. He loved to push Ethan’s buttons, it was so easy to irritate him. The hard part was estimating where to draw the line, and it was something the teenager loved gambling with. He wasn’t afraid of Ethan’s wrath-on the contrary, it excited him.
‘You are way too close to a four storey drop for you to act like a smart-ass.’
The older man turned away and headed back inside, Joshua grinning as he followed a few feet behind him. More comebacks had risen to mind but he knew that it was probably in his best interest to behave, at least for now.
Inside the apartment on the well-worn sofa, Eddie McKenzie-known as Volt in the club scene where he would occasionally DJ-had made himself comfortable. He greeted Ethan’s look of dark disapproval with a bright grin; it had taken him a while to feel secure enough to do that… the first year or so he’d known the man he’d wilted at that black look, until he’d realised it was Ethan’s default expression and not because he’d somehow pissed the man off.
‘What’s up?’ he gave the two of them a casual wave with a hand holding the controller of the apartment’s XBox 360. The start-up screen had just flashed up across Ethan’s television and Joshua’s face brightened as he vaulted over the back of the sofa to settle comfortably beside the raver.
'Halo? Wanna play co-op?' he asked excitedly, picking up a controller. Ethan quietly retreated into the kitchen to no doubt have a stiff drink to get him through the rest of the evening.
'Is he grouchier than normal?' Eddie kicked off his heavy platform sneakers and propped his feet up on the coffee table. 'Or am I still not used to the fact he's like this all the damn time.'
Joshua batted the other's feet off the table again. 'He's his usual self, but he won't hesitate to kick your ass if you have your feet on his furniture.'
'He's not working at Seventh Circle tonight?'
'You know he only opens the club when he feels like it. Guess there's gonna be a few disappointed kiddie-goths on the street tonight.' Joshua selected a campaign in their game as he frowned slightly. 'Come to think of it, he's been home a lot in the evenings, recently. That's kind of unlike him. Maybe you're right and he is a little grumpier. Wonder what might be the cause.'
'That might be none of your fucking business.' the low voice, a rumble right by his ear, caused Joshua to almost leap out of his seat.
He frantically rubbed at the back of his neck where Ethan's breath had tickled him and tried to swallow the lump that had leapt into his throat. 'You scared the hell out of me!!' he yelped, wide-eyed. The reaction earned a self-satisfied smirk from the stoic goth, who idly sipped from the whiskey glass in his hand.
'Serves you right for worrying about me.'
'I wasn't worried. You're an asshole.'
'I try my best.' A thin black eyebrow arched as Ethan took another sip of whiskey. Eddie was doing his best not to laugh at the exchange, knowing that if he did, he would become involved, and he didn't want to be at the receiving end of Ethan's sharp tongue.
Luckily for Eddie he was saved by a knock on the door, but before any of the men could make their way over to open it, Layla McKenzie let herself in with an exaggerated wave and a melodious 'I'm here!'
Everything Layla did had flair to it. After all, pomp and flair was in her profession. Her auburn hair was curled up into old-fashioned victory rolls and the black and white dress she wore carried the same classic, retro style, perfectly fitted to her to show off her curvaceous figure. Ethan remained stony-faced as she went around the room and planted noisy kisses on each of their cheeks-even Ethan's. He might have been stubborn, but Layla was just as stubborn herself and he had long ago stopped bothering to fend off her greeting kisses. In fact, of their whole group it was probably Layla who got away with the most around Ethan; it was like he'd simply given up on trying to intimidate her.
'Got a special kiss for you, Ethan, sweetheart.' she smiled as his nose crinkled in distaste at the pet name. 'A luscious little eighteen year old that tastes so divine...' her smile turned to a light laugh as his distaste mingled with confusion and she dropped a bottle of scotch in his hands. Understanding then what the innuendo was really referring to, Ethan immediately headed off to refill his glass. While he very rarely got drunk, it did take a couple of glasses to calm his nerves when he had more than two people in his apartment at a time.
'Siiiis...!' Eddie complained as he ducked away from the hug she tried to give him, his eyes not leaving the television where his game had started. Joshua happily dropped the controller to return her embrace, though.
'That's a new dress isn't it? You look lovely.'
'Aww always a kind word for the ladies, Joshua, never change.' she gave him another peck against the corner of his mouth. 'What are we playing?'
'Halo.' Eddie muttered, concentrating hard on what he was doing.
'We're trying to get in as much game-time as we can before Nikki arrives and wipes the floor with us.' Joshua added sombrely, retrieving his controller from where he'd dropped it.
'Oh, Nikki's coming? This is a real little party we have going, isn't it?' Layla dropped her handbag on the table. 'Be right back, loves.' she was glancing around for their missing, uncooperative friend, whom she found in the kitchen after a quick search of the apartment. It was generally a good sign; it was when Ethan retreated to his bedroom that she knew he wouldn't reappear for the rest of the evening.
He eyed her suspiciously as she came in, and held the bottle of scotch up by the neck. 'Is this a bribe?'
'Only partially. It's not just for you, Ethan. Pour me a glass over ice.'
Hitting the button on the freezer's ice dispenser and watching the blocks drop noisily into the glass, Ethan spoke without looking at her. 'You haven't been around a lot. You haven't come to the club.'
Layla smiled and leaned back against the kitchen counter. 'I've been busy. Two jobs, you know. And they've given me a stack more stage time at the cabaret club so I'm not free most evenings. Why does it matter to you?' her voice took on a teasing lilt. 'Do you miss me?'
Ethan turned around with her glass in his hand and held it wordlessly out to her. She knew that he would never admit to missing anyone, but the answer to her question was evident in the way the muscles in his jaw clenched just slightly, and that his violet eyes did not quite rise to meet hers. She didn't much feel like teasing him, then.
'How's it going with Joshua?' she instead asked gently, giving him reprieve by changing the subject.
Straightening, his back stiff as his gaze moved to the kitchen door, from outside of which they could hear Eddie and Joshua shouting obscenities at their game, Ethan's expression remained carefully, meticulously blank. 'He's okay. He can be an annoying little fucker sometimes, but I've learned to live with it.'
Layla smiled. 'That's good. I was worried you two might become sick of each other after he moved in, but I think after this long, if you're still not bothered by him enough to haul him out onto the street with his things in a garbage bag, I probably worried for nothing.'
'He's needy.' Ethan complained.
'Well you knew that when you took him in. Besides, you're needy too, you just cope with it in a different way.' she smirked as an angry flush rose to Ethan's cheeks. 'Oh don't give me that look, you-'
She was interrupted by a chorus of 'Nikki!' from the living room and instead just broke off with a chuckle and slipped out of the kitchen to greet the new arrival before he could make a scathing remark in response.
Nikki looked so very out of place amongst them, Layla observed once again with an amused smile. While they all seemed to hover in a world of dark alternative clothing-Eddie aside, in his rainbow-coloured cyberpunk gear-Nikki was as slender, elegantly clothed and beautiful as a fashion model. Which, considering it was how she earned most of her money, was appropriate. She was dressed head to toe in expensive labels, none of which she'd had to buy herself, Layla was willing to bet, and her long, platinum-blonde hair shone like liquid silver as she swept it back over her shoulder, beaming happily. 'So good to see you guys again!'
Eddie had forgotten his game and was staring up at Nikki with that same silly smile he always wore when she was in the room. Layla casually swatted her brother on the side of his head and he seemed to snap out of it. The DJ's crush on the leggy blonde was hardly a secret, but Layla wanted to help him keep at least some of his dignity. Joshua paused the game when he realised Eddie wasn't paying any attention and they both stood to give her a hug, the tall lanky DJ embracing her only very lightly as if he were afraid she might break.
'So good to see everyone again... I'm sorry I haven't been around!' Nikki bent down to unstrap the heels she wore, dropping the shoes in a corner with a grateful sigh and wiggling stockinged toes in the thick carpet. 'Today sucked, so no one ask about it, okay?' she nodded contently at the chorus of 'okaaay' and dropped comfortably onto the sofa. 'Halo! God I need this, who's playing?'
'Not me.' Joshua said quickly, raising his hands in surrender and grinning in response to Eddie's look of dismay. 'Come on, Volt, it's not so bad. She might even let you win once or twice.'
'I'm not feeling that charitable today.' Nikki quipped happily, glancing up at the trio. 'Come on, Eddie, sit down and play! It's more fun with friends than strangers online.'
Layla left them as the boys joined Nikki on the sofa, and when she turned, she saw Ethan in the kitchen doorway, idly watching the scene in his living room. Smiling, she wandered over to where he stood and placed a warm hand on his wrist. 'See? It isn't so bad that we all get together sometimes, is it?'
Ethan's eyes met hers and she was the first to look away. Sometimes, she forgot how intense he was. Sometimes he still unnerved her.
'It's not so bad, I suppose.'
She looked up in surprise; Ethan so very rarely admitted it when other people were right. She stared as a very faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, and unconsciously her grip on his wrist tightened for just a second before she let him go. 'Want to come and sit with them?' She asked quietly.
He considered her proposal silently for such a long moment that she thought he wasn't going to move from his place in the doorway at all. But his hand dropped to her lower back and he gently nudged her forward into the living room, following closely behind and taking a seat beside her when she sat on the smaller sofa facing the television.
Sometimes it was just nice to be with people... no matter who you were.