|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2014 10:53 am
Sherry sighed and set the laundry basket aside. Finally. Everything had been folded, most things had been washed (well, that had needed it) and virtually all the glass had been taken care of. She wouldn't be surprised to find tiny shards later on, but she hoped she wouldn't. Slowly turning, she looked around the room, finally clean, finally straightened. The curtains shifted, billowing in a light breeze. It would be a few days before they replaced her window. So strange, how everything had broken. Sherry shuddered, not wanting to remember anything about that evening. The broken glass probably would have worried her a lot more if Jake hadn't... Sherry bit her lip. Now that her cleaning was done, she had time think. She didn't know if she wanted to think about it. Not alone, anyway. (Armagnac was little help in this area.) Jake had left after the worst of their rooms were cleaned, there were finishing touches and duties to take care of. But Sherry didn't want to just sit in her room and brood. No. Sherry's first thought was, of course, of Nevada. Which...didn't make anything better. She missed her friend. Hardly thinking, Sherry pulled out her phone. She had another friend, one just as dear and sweet as Nevada. One she had not talked to in far too long. She missed Stormy, too. And really, she shouldn't; Stormy was still here. Ol-j-man Text to Stormy: Stormy! <3 Long time, no see! You free for some girl time today? Ol-j-man Text to Stormy: Or tomorrow? Anytime, really. Sherry just...wanted some company.
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2014 11:26 am
Stormy had been in the middle of cleaning herself when the text came. She didn't hear it at first, as the sound of glass tinkling together was more immediate, and she hadn't been expecting any contact with people that day. When her phone gave its second buzz a minute later, she paused, set the broom against the wall, and investigated. Her fingers didn't move fast enough after reading the message. GrnGriff Text to SherryAbsolutely! Your room or mine? I moved upstairs btw! Guilt of course had struck Stormy as she typed; she hadn't seen either Sherry or Jake since her self-imposed incarceration, partially because thinking of them reminded her of the failed artifact mission, partially because she was afraid of the anger they might have about it. No-one liked going on a mission and finding out it was pointless afterwards, especially one she had led so miserably. She had to make up for it, and catch up with girl time was a start.
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2014 8:36 pm
Sherry may or may not have been holding the phone, waiting for a reply. A happy smile grew on her face when she read said reply, and not just because Stormy was free. She was happy and proud to hear her friend had made it upstairs. Ol-j-man Text to Stormy: Congrats! I'll come visit you, if that's ok. New room! What #?
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2014 8:58 pm
GrnGriff Text to Sherry221! You'll see it before you get there. The reason she was sure was because Stormy had placed two sticky notes as placeholders near the number plate until she got something better: one said b beside it, while the one underneath said Baker Street.
She hastened to clean up more before Sherry arrived, though frankly she was so jittery that a few seconds in she just dumped what she had collected in the trashcan and basically stood at the door like an attentive puppy, eager and nervous to see someone familiar.
Only last second did Stormy remember to stick a beanie on, tight enough that it swallowed her head.
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2014 10:48 pm
Sherry pocketed her phone and stepped out of her room. 221..."That way!" She hadn't done too much visiting of folks on this floor, even though she lived on it. (Jake didn't count.) She liked the idea of her friends living up there with her. It made them feel closer somehow. Which might have been silly, since they all lived in the same building anyway, but it was how she felt. Sherry stopped in front of the door with the sticky notes. It DID stand out. Sherry quirked her head a moment and thought. b and Baker Street. Something about it sounded very, very familiar. "Hm?" Sherry made a tiny noise of questioning as she raised her hand to knock on the door. Three light knocks, she gave.
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2014 11:11 pm
Stormy made sure to wait a few heartbeats so as not to appear desperate before answering the door. Immediately Sherry was pulled into a hug, the Mist burying her face into her for only a few seconds but which seemed to last longer to her. Today, she was slightly clingy.
"Welcome to la casa de Ortega!" Stormy greeted her brightly as she pulled away, making a grand sweeping gesture towards the . . . mostly-empty-save-for-some-boxes room. There was an electric piano off to the side in what would be the "living room" area, along with a stool, but that was the most notable thing so far aside from the fridge in the "kitchen" area (which occupied the same extra room but were on different sides). "It's been too long!"
She paused, then had the grace to look embarassed.
"Sorry. Um, there's not a lot of stuff unpacked yet . . ."
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2014 5:49 pm
Sherry was still looking at sticky note, trying to remember why it sounded familiar. Something right on the tip of her tongue... And then the door opened and Sherry had just enough time to flash a smile before being pulled in for a hug. It was a quick hug, but it seemed to Sherry to be a good, solid hug, and she really needed it right then. Stormy was given a very tight squeeze in return. The smile on her face grew to more of a grin as Stormy formally welcomed her into her home. "Far too long," she agreed. "And I'm sorry about that. But now that you're just down the hall again, we should make sure to meet up more often." She nearly chuckled. "It's okay, I've been in my room for weeks," or was it months, "and I've got nearly nothing in it." Though she was working on sprucing it up. Sherry stepped inside and nodded. "It's looking good so far! And Congratulations again!" A pause. "So how have you been?"
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2014 6:37 pm
"Definitely!" Sherry and Jake were part of her family (though she had yet to ascribe titles to them: cousins?), and Stormy would be damned if she let them slip away like she had some others.
Once they were both properly inside, she closed the door and immediately went for her mini fridge. "Um, I've been okay!" Stormy replied as she squatted, which barely began to cover how she felt. "I guess, heh, although that last mission was, um . . . yeah." It was easy to hear the wince in her tone. "There's the couch if you wanna get comfy! D'you want anything to eat or drink? I've got some sodas and water bottles, iced tea, actual tea, some snack bars . . . Oh, and candy!"
Truly it was the college life.
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2014 7:31 pm
Sherry's smile only brightened. She loved the idea of spending more time with Stormy. And hanging out together would be more comfy in the larger rooms. Sherry would be sure to get herself a very nice and large sofa. "Oh. Missions...are too often like that. Always something bad happening." Sherry's tone was heavy with sympathy, as she moved towards the offered couch. "Um, I'll have some water," she added, in case Stormy didn't want to talk about the mission. "And you have candy? I would love a bit of that, if you don't mind." Sherry made herself comfortable on the couch, because it felt like the thing to do. Stormy's room, with Stormy. The world was already looking like a much better place than it had been ten minutes ago.
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2014 8:16 pm
She both did and didn't want to, but indecision was nothing new for her. Stormy didn't even know how to begin, so she was happy to retrieve a water bottle for Sherry. "I'm thankful for the peaceful parts in between," she said as she dropped it off on her way to her room where the candy lied. "Or, um, peacefulish."
Shortly after ducking into her bedroom, Stormy returned with a plastic bag full of an assortment of candies: lollipops, smarties, mini versions of a variety of candy bars (mostly Hersheys), and a smaller separate bag of vanilla coated pretzels. She gently set it on the middle couch cushion and settled down opposite Sherry, gesturing for her to go ahead and get what she wanted first.
"My turn: how've you been?"
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2014 10:22 pm
"Me, too," Sherry agreed as she took the water. "I'll take whatever peace and downtime we can get." They had too, really. "At least things... aren't too terribly strange." Glass shattering mysteries aside. "I," Sherry said as she leaned over to pick through thing. Oh, Hersheys! It had been a while since she'd had some of that. Mini milk-chocolate bar, yes please. "Have been alright. Spending much of my time training and reading. And hanging out with Jake. Which is usually very nice." Sherry didn't mean to sound that melancholy. She also didn't know if Stormy wanted to hear about such problems. "I wasn't too pleased to all the broken glass in my room," she added.
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2014 10:52 pm
Stormy was quite happy to take a handful of hersheys herself, though it was for show; she wasn't hungry (her stomach had numbed itself thankfully), but she'd nibble just as a social cue, in case Sherry needed to see her participating to feel comfortable enough to do the same. Still, fresh chocolate was something she could indulge--a comfort food of sorts.
It sounded like they both needed it.
"Usually?" she asked in as light a tone as possible, wanting to know but also aware that if she didn't watch herself, she could easily slip into pushy territory. Stormy had been aware that the two sometimes bickered, but she never made the connection that it could end up being more thant just that when alone.
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2014 8:45 pm
Sherry was taking her cues from Stormy, since it was Stormy's room and all. But she was beyond delighted to nibble on her own little bit of chocolate. "Mhm," she nodded, sucking on a little bite of chocolate. "Usually," she repeated, a bit surprised at how eager she was to talk about it. "Usually it's quite nice. I mean, I suppose it's about like most couples. Happy things, minor spats. Not even spats, really. He'd let me do just about anything I want, I think." Sherry stopped and sighed, fiddling with the chocolate wrapper. She was rambling again. "But sometimes he gets... I don't know. He seems to forgets where he is, or who I am. But...not like really forgetting. More like, he's suddenly sure I'm a threat to him." Another sigh. "Twice now he's pulled a knife on me, and threatened to hurt me." Wow, she was just. Dumping it all out there for Stormy to see. "He did it last night. Woke up all out of it and angry. I was angry too, but..." Sherry took another bite of chocolate. "I'm worried about him." She looked at Stormy. "Sorry. It's... I didn't mean to just, blurt that all out." Even if it did feel good to tell someone that wasn't Armagnac.
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2014 9:47 pm
Stormy smiled to herself. "Gale's the same for the most part, spoils me too much. Boys are easy to wrap around your finger," she joked. Her smile faded quickly, unfortunately.
It was hard to hide how stunned she was. A . . . A knife? Twice? Stormy took a few moments to process this, uncertain but thoughtful. Jake was . . . irascible, maybe, but not violent in her eyes.
"Oh gosh, Sherry, I . . . wow . . ." Dropping the chocolte, she reached out to take her hands and hopefully offer some comfort from the contact. Stormy's brows knit with concern. "That doesn't sound like him. The memory thing, though . . . Gale had something like that; he forgot who I was for a while." Something had triggered him and brought them back at least.
A thought occured to her. "Did both happen really recently?"
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2014 10:19 pm
Any other time Sherry would have laughed and smiled right along with Stormy's joke. It was true. She knew for the most part Jake was all tied up around her little finger; and he did spoil her. Any other time, when her emotions weren't weighing so heavily on her. As it was, Stormy was given a small, sad smile as Sherry squeezed her hands. "It doesn't, does it? I mean, he's always been a bit gruff, a bit of a grump, but never... He's not mean." She blinked at Stormy. "Gale forgot things?" She hadn't known that. But then she shook her head. "The first time was....when he forgot who I was entirely. Like I'd never existed. I mean, the whole island had got to hell, but..." She was rambling again. "He'd remembered something bad, and since he didn't know me... assumed I was the cause of it. Or something." Sherry sighed a lot, and she did so again. "The second. Well. After the glass shattered." She looked up at Stormy, hopeful. "Do you think that had something to do with it? I mean. Did you feel anything weird. I was...really angry, too." But that could have just been a reaction to waking up like she had.
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|