Room 408, Monday Evening

[furnaceface]

//Yer know,// Jono mused, picking at his guitar as he eyed the bright red bird who had been an unexpected flatmate for the past week, //I don't mind yer bein' a bird, Jean. As a matter of fact, th'company hasn't been too terrible, and yer not as messy as I'd expected yer might be. Yer haven't shat on anything in my room, at least

Comments

[living_endless]

Didi knew that about him; she wouldn't like him half as much if he did ask for help more easily.

"I wouldn't," she said. "Write it out so I don't screw up, but I like doing things for people."

Something else occurred to her. "Do you have a message on your phone?"

[furnaceface]

//I wouldn't even have to write it down, if I came with,// Jono pointed out. //If I speak to yer, nobody else has to hear.//

It was handy, being able to pick and choose who heard him.

At the mention of the phone message, he kind of squinted one eye and wrinkled his nose some.

//I don't. I mean, I can't. Havin' a telephone in th'first place is something of a moot point for me. But bein' able to get messages is useful. My message is somewhat...//

It was embarrassing, was what it was. Silence, and then an angry thump. Silence. Beep.

[living_endless]

"And if I had half a brain, I would have remembered that," Didi said easily. "Yes. You come with me."

After listening to the rest of what he had to say, she looked at him out of the corner of her eye, pulled out her phone, and dialed his number. (She'd programmed it in a few weeks before, not giving it too much thought.) Hearing his message, she looked up at him with a slightly pained expression. "Do you want one? Not a cute one just, 'Hi, this is Jonothon Starsmore's phone.' Unless you'd rather it was cute."

[furnaceface]

//I don't need anything cute,// Jono noted, shrugging his shoulders almost awkwardly. //But words would be nice. If yer did have anything cute in mind, I suppose that'd be fine, too. Anything would be better than... Well.//

Better than his angry fist-thump message. He would have switched it back to the automated default, except he had no idea how.

[living_endless]

"Hate to say it, but I can't disagree," Didi said. She didn't waste time lying to him; the thump message made her a little sad and a little queasy. It made her ache for him.

Bending her head over the phone, she punched at the keypad to get into the message option. "What's your password? And should I say Jono or Jonothon?"

[furnaceface]

//Either works,// Jono replied, lifting his shoulder slightly as he rattled off his passcode. //And... thank you, luv. This might not seem like much, but it's...//

He shrugged again. Lots of shrugging, this evening.

//Thank you.//

[living_endless]

"I should have thought of it earlier," she said, looking up at him with a tiny smile.

At the beep, she rattled off, "Hi, this is Jono Starsmore's phone. Please leave a message and he'll get back to you. Thanks!"

"There," she added, pocketing her phone again. "No more thud for a message."

[furnaceface]

Jono very nearly said, 'I could kiss yer,' without thinking, at that. Except he couldn't kiss her, and so he bit his... tongue. Kinda.

//That's perfect,// he said instead, offering up that crinkle-eyed smile that he was getting pretty darn good at, and then reaching for her hand. //I owe yer one, Sunshine.//

[living_endless]

"Don't mention it," Didi said, interlacing her fingers with his and tracing her thumb over his palm. "You already stopped my boredom for the night, right?"

Sunshine was one of the odder things she'd been called. From him, she didn't mind it.

[furnaceface]

//I don't know,// Jono replied, a hint of a laugh in his voice at that. //Have I?//

She didn't look bored, and so he'd consider it a victory. Yes, that worked nicely.

[living_endless]

"Do I look bored?" she asked, flirting a little with her eyes.

[furnaceface]

//Not particularly,// Jonothon decided, giving her hand a little squeeze. And then, on a whim, he was going to shift his weight just enough to pull her into a hug.

It was supposed to be a sort of, 'and now I sweep you off of your feet' gesture. But, considering they were on the floor, some of the effect might have been lost as he shuffled about on his knees.

C'est la vie!

[living_endless]

See, being on his knees almost compelled her to curl into his chest, which she did.

"You smell more like gunpowder than normal," she noted, not complaining at all.

[furnaceface]

//Don't strike a match,// Jono laughed, settling against her. See? Not blowing up. This was kinda awesome. And then some. //It is gunpowder.//

Best. Class. Ever.

[living_endless]

"Seriously?" Didi pulled away just enough to check his face and recognize his eyes were serious. "Seriously," she said. "They teach interesting things, here. Unless you randomly went to the armory."

[furnaceface]

//It was science class,// Jono replied. //We launched rockets. Nobody blew their limbs off.//

That part seemed important to share, yes.

//This school does teach some pretty unique subjects. But then, th'last school I was at wasn't much more normal, really.//