Welcome to Gaia! ::

Roch frowned, thinking about it for a long moment, then looking at her body language. Then he hesitated. Slowly he moved closer, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and tugging her into his side. "You know... uh... I don't got a mom," he told her slowly. "Y'know, if that's who Mana is, that is. My ma, she skipped out when I was six. So I might not be the best guy to talk to about this."

Okay, he probably wasn't the best guy for several reasons, he thought, turning so he was looking her in the eye. "But you, nothin's wrong with you, got it? You're smart and you're fun and you're doin' nothin' wrong." He reached down, gently touching her jaw. "Trust me when I say I know the difference between a good scareling and a bad one."

Whether he actually CARED on the other hand, was another matter.

"Adults don't make any sense," Roch told her, holding her close. "I'm almost scared of when I'll go from bein' a teenager t' bein' an adult, cuz then maybe I'll become a moron that gets so stuck in this one thought that I forget about the stuff that really matters. But... I can help, y'know? Anything you think I can do, or should do, or whatever, just ask me. If y'wanna rebel, I can show you how. Or if y'just... want to try stuff. Any stuff. You just gotta say it, got it?"

He reached up, gently pushing her hair from her face. "You and me, we're pals, right? No matter what happens, I got your back."

He cocked his head slightly, absently leaning into her touch as a curious, slightly confused expression crossed his face. "What?" he asked. "You figure something out?"

Wait... was she thinkin' something... y'know... like, makin' out with him? That'd definitely piss her mom off, if she found out, but he couldn't do that, they were just friends! And kissin' and stuff was important! But--

Well, y'know... he HAD just offered--

He blinked. That... hadn't been what he'd been thinking. At all. "Actually all my holes are from back home," he admitted. "I had a guy that did it for me. But I can ask around sometime, maybe the sisters do it, they're good with needles. But now isn't the time to jump on it anyway," he told her seriously.

"Y'gotta figure out what you want and where. There's all sorts of places you can get pierced, ears, eyebrows, nose, tongue, belly button--" And some others, which he wouldn't mention to her. "What are you thinking?"

Roch swallowed, his tongue pressed to the top of his mouth. He'd just seen girl belly. Now he was used to seeing it in pictures and comics and Screevee, but--but this was the real thing. Not fake. Real. It looked soft. And sure, he might have seen stuff like that at the haunted house, but that had been extenuating circumstances, and more importantly, it'd been at a time when OTHER stuff was happening--

"You--you ah--" he stammered, trying to get his mind working again. "You still... um... probably feel... bad, huh?" he asked, his thoughts changing as soon as the words left his lips. "Is there anything I can do--that doesn't involve needles--to make you feel better?"

"Huh? Sure," he said, his eyes on the puckered lips. Tormenting. That's what she was doing, he decided. She might not have a clue, but she was tormenting him, nonetheless. "We'll go somewhere this weekend, how's that sound? But for now..."

He held out his hand, summoning his guitar. "I ain't much good at comforting people," he admitted. "I ain't good for much... well, anything, really. But I can do this, y'know? And I still don't got your song down, but... I can try? Just don't laugh at me, k?"

He frowned in concentration as he brought the guitar strap over his shoulder, mentally setting the beat before he started to play the song that made him think of her, Rubina.

It didn't have the band behind it, which sort of bothered him, but it was still a pretty sweet number. At least, he hoped she agreed with him about that.

He finished, leaning back and looking at her expression. He liked that expression, he decided. He didn't know what it meant, but it wasn't the same look of worry and depression as before, and that was what really mattered.

"Hey, where do you wanna go anyway?" he asked when he was done. "Cuz I know some cool places. There's this little cafe in town, or we could hitch a train ride for a bit, or--"