015 - [Video] - Nice Perry, take one

[hatestriangles]

Uh- [Perry appears on the screen, a little pudgier, with less-defined muscles. His blond hair is hanging messily down to his shoulders and he's got reddish stubble. There's no scarring anywhere on him. His voice is softer, too, and he's kind of talking to himself as he fiddles with the communicator. And no, he hasn't seen his old entries yet.] What

Comments

private; backdating like a boss

[victimofnoone]

Shocking. You? Drinking too much?

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[victimofnoone]

[Hayley's already there in her typical red jacket, keeping an eye out for him. Obviously she remembers everything, but she figures it would be a little creepy to have offered to meet at his room, so she waits and, when she sees him, starts walking over.]

"Hey." [It's not the first time she's spoken to Perry, by any means, but it's definitely the first time he seems not to be acting like a complete asshole and it makes her a little wary.]

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[hatestriangles]

[Good thing she didn't, seeing as he was in Arthur's room.]

Hey. You're... the girl I spoke to before? [He pauses.] Um, I forgot to ask for your name. I'm Perry. Perry Dawsey.

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[victimofnoone]

[The more things like this he does, the less inclined she is to believe he's faking, so she sticks out a hand in greeting as if he's brand new.] "Yeah. Hayley Stark. I'll be your tour guide for today, I guess."

[She spins to face the dinning hall and wave a dismissive hand across it.] "Obviously you already know the dining hall. Are you ready to start walking?"

[Despite her well-made facade, there's still a very subtle air of impatience and of wanting to get away from him.]

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[hatestriangles]

[Perry smiles at her introduction. He may not be exactly practised speaking to teenagers, but he had manners and a healthy paranoia of being like his asshole dad before the Triangles came along.]

Yeah, let's do this. May as well get a proper look at the place, huh?

[He shifts his weight a little uncomfortably, slouching so as to look a little smaller and non-threatening. He doesn't notice her subtle attitude consciously, but something he can't pinpoint feels a little off. ]

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[victimofnoone]

[Hayley gives a smile and a drop off her head into an adorable little tilt. It's the side of her that Perry's never seen before, the side that's a mixture of sincere happiness and a friendly facade. She notices his shifting but doesn't recognize it for what it is and instead she begins walking bounding down the hall with all the seeming enthusiasm in the world.]

"This is level one. Lots of wardens on this level, but I'm sure there are some inmates too." [She flashes him a grin, still moving towards the stairs.] "Each floor has twenty rooms and then some other stuff. Level one is, obviously, the dining hall."

[She spins around, walking backwards for the moment as she watches him walking along.] "So, tell me a little about yourself, Perry Dawsey."

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[hatestriangles]

[Perry follows her, unsure exactly how to respond, because, well, he hasn't really dealt with teenage girls for a good five years, and back then, he was a teenage boy, so it was easier. He nods and smiles at her explanation of the place, though, because... her enthusiasm is kind of infectious. And this is just a dream, right?]

Me? Oh, uh- [He's a little startled by the question.] I work in tech support, big company-- boring cubicle job, you know-- but I- [His expression gets a little darker and he doesn't continue the sentence.] Anyway, I go out with friends, watch football. My life's not exactly excitement central.

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[victimofnoone]

[Hayley begins up the stairs as soon as they arrive at them, dashing up one stair at a a time. For some reason, she feels like she has energy to burn in this situation. Perhaps it was the combination of adrenaline and nerves that she found in dealing with this new Perry. Whatever the case, it left her smiling and bouncing around.]

"Football sounds pretty cool." [She already knew about his trophies and that he didn't play anymore, but she was trying not to let on just how much she knew about him.] "Did you ever play? You look like the kind of guy that might have played."

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[hatestriangles]

Yeah. Yeah, I played. [He pauses, muscles tensing up in his jaw, his neck. He feels the familiar anger he always feels when he thinks about that day at the Rose Bowl, about the doctors that couldn't do shit to fix his knee and save his career. But he doesn't want to be that person, so he fights it down and gives her a weak, forced attempt at a smile.] In college. I was a first-string Big Ten linebacker for the Wolverines, headed straight for the NFL too, but... [He shrugs, trying not to sound too bitter.] I got injured and couldn't play after.

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[victimofnoone]

[Hayley catches the smile and the nature of it, but she says nothing, still trying to keep him in a good mood so he'll tell her more.] "Wow! That's like, really cool. You must have been a pretty big deal.. So what happened? I mean, how did you get injured?"

[He voice softens near the end to sound more concerned and less probing as they continue along.]

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[hatestriangles]

We had this big game, at the Rose Bowl. Some asshole hit me with a cheap cut block at exactly the wrong time. My knee just totally blew out; all the ligaments, even bone damage. [He glanced down at his right knee, bitterness clearly showing on his face.] Completely destroyed my speed. Reconstructive surgery, rehab, all that-- it did nothing. Those first doctors, specialists told me later that they fucked it up.

[He shakes his head with a disgusted noise. Fuckin' doctors.]

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[victimofnoone]

[Hayley slows and then stops almost immediately from her backwards walking, staring at him for a moment. It explains a lot about Perry, and about his not wanting the reminders of his past and everything. It also hints at a hatred of the infirmary, not that she can recall one way or the other if he's expressed that yet.]

"I'm sorry, Perry. That's horrible." [And she means it, with or without facade. After a beat, she slowly starts walking again.] "What did you do about school?"

spam; as far as I can remember? PERRY HAS NEVER SET FOOT IN THE INFIRMARY

[hatestriangles]

[He winces, just a momentary flicker of an expression.] It, uh, it was kind of tough for a while.

[That was putting it mildly. Perry had almost flown completely off the rails after his injury. He was ashamed to even to think about how he'd acted back then. Way too much like his father. His discomfort shows on his face for a moment, but then he continues:] But my buddy Bill got me through. He was my roommate then, and he- [He gives an awkward little laugh. The gratitude and affection he feels for his best friend is obvious.] He kept me on the straight and narrow, you know?

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[victimofnoone]

[Hayley masterfully controls the blatant shock at his story, tempering it down to mere surprise. Perry personally killed the friend who kept him in check? Obviously something else had failed there, or changed. It doesn't make sense for Perry to listen to and appreciate Bill for years and then to suddenly decide he's had enough and kill the guy -- not with the tone of gratitude he has right now. It doesn't make sense.]

"Yeah, I know what you mean." [After all, that's kind of what Donna Mauer had been to her. To avoid that thought, she gestures down the hall of level two.] "Infirmary or hospital or whatever you want to call it is here on the second level."

[Then they're walking again.] "That's good that you got a decent job, at least. Are you still friends with Bill?"

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[hatestriangles]

[Perry has no idea that he's going to murder Bill, or that Hayley knows about it, so for now he continues on happily oblivious to the nasty stuff his future holds. He nods when she points out the infirmary, and keeps on following her.]

Yep. He's my best friend. I've known the guy for- It's gotta be almost ten years now. [He shakes his head at that, smiling. There's no hint of anything off with the friendship.] We roomed together in college, like I said, then he got me the job at ACS after we graduated. That's American Computer Solutions. Tech support and stuff like that. [He leaves out the part about the jobs he'd failed to keep and the assault conviction against a former boss he has on his record.] Anyway, Bill and I, yeah, we're tight. We go to the bar, watch football. Guy stuff.

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[victimofnoone]

[Hayley can't help the sadness behind the smile on her lips. It's almost painful to see Perry like this, knowing what becomes of him later. She nods and listens, guiding their way toward the next level. At the remark about guy stuff, she can't help but let out a small chuckle.] "It sounds like it. I'm glad you have someone like that, and that you've made it through everything. A lot of guys would just fall apart."

[It's an interesting thought, that Perry makes it through his football injury and the crumbling of his future as he knows it. What can make a guy go from tough enough to handle that to a completely homicidal asshole? It doesn't make sense.]