[PRP] Follow Up (Melody + Jordan)

[Saliru]

It had been a while since she'd spoken to him, and she'd like to think he was a friend. At least one of the few friends she hadn't managed to blow up at yet.

She looked down at her phone and then sent him a text, seemingly out of the blue.

Prolixity

TEXT TO JORDAN : Hey, what are you doing?

Except it wasn't out of the blue. She had been feeling down and spent too long staring at herself in a mirror before realizing she should probably leave her room before she lost it completely.

She sent a couple follow up texts in rapid succession.

Quote:

TEXT TO JORDAN : Want to hang out somewhere?

Quote:

TEXT TO JORDAN : Not my room though.

Quote:

TEXT TO JORDAN : Anywhere else.

Quote:

TEXT TO JORDAN : Your choice.

 

[prolixity]

The texts were a surprise, if not an unpleasant one. Jordan contemplated it for a few moments, then texted back:

Quote:

Text to Melody:
Sure. Second floor common room okay? Or my room?

 

[Saliru]

She contemplated this a moment, and it may have been showing her as "Typing..." for way way longer than she intended before realizing the common room might have been too public in all honesty.

Quote:

TEXT TO JORDAN :
Your room might be better.

After a while, Jordan would have heard a knock on his door. Well, more like a cautious tapping best described as maybe a bird pecking at it.  

[prolixity]

Jordan opened the door after a few moments, nodding to Melody. "Hi, come on in," he said, and stepped back to let her in. The room smelled like mint, and there was a cup of tea steeping on the counter of the small kitchenette area. "What's up? You want some tea?"  

[Saliru]

Melody curtseyed a greeting before taking a deep decadent inhale of the air. "Oh gosh, yes please. That smells absolutely delightful."

What she didn't outright tell him though was that she hoped the tea would help settle her nerves a bit to at least make this a little less awkward. But it was still going to be awkward, because she didn't know how else to even bring it up.

".... How are things?"  

[prolixity]

Jordan padded over to pour hot water from the kettle into a second cup, and put a tea ball into it. He smiled over his shoulder at her, looking fairly cheerful. "Pretty good," he said. "Life's going well, got the room repairs pretty much done. How are you doing?"  

[Saliru]

She may have shrunk right there in her seat as the question was turned back on her. "I.. I'm good... I'm..." The look on her face definitely didn't look good, in fact she looked like one giant set of worry lines everywhere which was wholly unbecoming if you'd asked her. She gazed distantly over at her steeping tea and willed it to speed up.  

[prolixity]

Jordan's eyebrows went up. He took the tea ball out of the first mug and put it on a plate on the counter, then brought the mug over to Melody. "You sure about that? You look a little less than good," he said sympathetically, after a quick glance to the door to confirm she'd closed it. Whatever this was about, it was probably better as a private conversation.  

[Saliru]

She took the tea gratefully. "Thank you so much," she offered him a weary smile for his efforts before taking a long soothing sip from the mug. She paused to savor the taste and let it's effects take their gentle hold. She eyed the liquid distractedly before finally answering him.

"Honestly?.. Not so good. I sometimes feel... trapped. But that's not an unusual feeling for this place I'm sure."  

[prolixity]

Jordan perched on the arm of the couch, giving Melody a long, thoughtful look. "It can feel stifling, if you haven't had a chance to do much or get off the island in a while," he offered. "Anything particular that's making you feel boxed in, or is it just, well - " and he waved a hand to indicate everything.  

[Saliru]

She shook her head, it wasn't everything. It was definitely specific somethingS, more than one. She wasn't really sure where to begin. "I guess it's like... having that falling out and living on my own again and realizing that I will never get to really be myself anymore, or honest about things. I mean, even back home I'd come into the house and my mom would treat me like... I dunno, like me? I wasn't just a weird girl to her. Now I'm always a weird girl."  

[prolixity]

"It's not an easy adjustment, coming here and being on your own," Jordan said. "Figuring out who you're going to be for new people, I guess." He got up and went back to get the other mug from the counter for himself, then seated himself on the other end of the couch, a polite distance away, close enough to have a comfortable conversation but far enough to keep from crowding Melody's personal space. "It's pretty natural to show different faces of yourself to different people, but coming to a new place can kind of shake that up."

Saliru

 

[Saliru]

"It just feels like lying to me," Melody confessed with a frown. She took a long sip from the mug before peering down at the contents still swirling around inside.

"How can I ever have a healthy relationship if everyone is led to believe I'm something I'm not? But at the same time... people aren't always as kind as you about it. What if I make someone angry with the real me? I can't escape them. It isn't like I can just go to a different island and start all over again. Again."

Prolixity

 

[prolixity]

This wasn't a situation Jordan had any experience in, but he listened carefully and turned over his thoughts in his head before asking in return, "I guess the big questions here is less who you should be than who you want to be. If there weren't any obstacles in the way, what side of yourself would you want to present to people?"

Saliru

 

[Saliru]

"The fact I'm a boy for one," he replied with almost a laugh in his tone, as if it was ridiculous to consider he was ever anything else. Because to him, he simply wasn't. He just didn't like stereotypical boy things to an extent it brought tears just thinking of dressing any other way.

This was who he was.

Prolixity