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 Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2015 7:10 pm
Although he was nervous most every day, today Oliver was especially fidgety. He had not seen Lydia for a couple days, which was certainly a noteworthy occurrence. Usually she was bouncing around somewhere, or sneaking around watching people, or hanging off Arorangi, but lately she had been conspicuously absent. Idle rumours floating amongst the lab staff were that another number of hunters had been missing long enough to declare dead. Oliver knew he had seen her recently enough that worrying about her physical health was not an issue, but he did know she had a roommate. And that one, he hadn't seen for a very long time indeed… He had no experience with comforting others. Usually it was himself in need of a hug, or a shoulder to cry on, or tissues to wipe his nose with before it dripped ungracefully all over his clothing, but that meant he was only more determined to make sure his friend was okay. And more determined meant more terrified. It took him many minutes standing outside her door with a tupperware container of cookies before he gathered up the courage to knock once, and then again, a little louder.
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Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2015 9:52 pm
A knock on her room door was the last thing that Lydia expected that day, and she let out a muffled yelp from somewhere within her blanket cocoon located in the midst of a clothing nest in the middle of the floor. The sound had given her a fright, and sugarcoated fingers clutched at the front of a blue plaid shirt that she had adorned over her own clothing, before she slowly shifted and peeked her head out, a messy tangle of colored curls emerging first, and soon afterwards squinting. puffy and red rimmed eyes followed, her head swiveling towards the door. "Who--?" She began to call out, but was surprised by the hoarse roughness of her voice, and reaching a fist up to her mouth, she cleared her throat several times before trying again. "Who is it?" She called out, attempting to sound a lot sprightlier then she currently felt.
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Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2015 6:50 pm
Oliver was relieved to hear Lydia reply. He wasn't sure what he would have done had she not spoken up, out of concern he probably would have tried the door knob… but even that felt like too much of an invasion. He leaned a bit closer to the door. Lydia sounded cheerful enough, but there was something not quite right about her tone. Rather than reassure him, it just made the kid more nervous. "It's Oliver," he called gently through the door, "I brought some, uh, cookies. Can I come in?"
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Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2015 9:26 pm
At the sound of Oliver's voice, Lydia nearly fell over. It was a stark reminder, that in the two days that she had spent alone in the room that she had shared with Chris, life had gone on as normal on the other side of her closed door. Oliver...Arorangi....she desperately hoped that she had not worried either of them with her absence. Clumsily, she began to extricate herself from the blanket and the clothing, shaking a pair of pants off of her foot, pushing away various fabrics, and trip stumbling her way to the door. "OH! Yes, I'm sorry! Be right there!" Was shouted, somewhat shakily, throughout all of this, but soon there was a thud as her body hit the door, and shortly afterwards, that door swung open and Lydia, rather timidly, peeked around to the man on the other side. "Hi." She squeaked, red eyes staring, a smudge of chocolate at the corner of her mouth, and her overall appearance that of a person who had not seen the light of day in a while (or the stroke of hair brush in a week).
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Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2015 8:28 pm
Lydia could have been acting normal, and it still would have worried Oliver. It was impossible to NOT worry Oliver. And when the girl finally opened the door, her appearance did little to convince him the worrying was a baseless action. Was this what he had looked like when Finn stopped by to rescue him with cookies? Oliver's lower lip quivered for a brief second, remembering just how painful it felt to isolate yourself. He didn't want Lydia to go through that, especially not when she was usually so bubbly and outgoing. Perhaps Arorangi was rubbing off on him, because he hesitated, wanting to give Lydia a hug for her real or imagined woes, but had to settle for holding out the tupperware of cookies instead. Bravery for hugs would have to wait for another day. "Um... C-cookies," Oliver stammered. He paused, and then rubbed the corner of his mouth. "Y-you've got a bit of something, uh, here."
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Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2015 9:32 pm
It took her a moment to process just what was going on. She knew it was Oliver, of course, though she had hardly expected any company to show up outside of her door. After all, who would even notice she was gone? Arorangi, perhaps, but she was certain he must have had better things to do then keep track of her whereabouts. After all, this wasn't just a home, this was also their workplace. Missions happened, duties needed to be fulfilled. He might not have even been on the island. She wouldn't know. She barely even knew what day of the week it was anymore. "Cookies?" She repeated, blinking a few times, and then at his motion she reached up two fingers to the corner of her own mouth, feeling the crust of dried chocolate that remained there. Cheeks beginning to flush pink, she worked at rubbing it away. "I...oh, I don't know if I should have any cookies. I've already eaten so much..." Junk food, really. So much junk food. "Did you...did you want to come inside?" She asked, opening the door wider, revealing the mess of clothes and blankets that were strewn across the floor within, among a multitude of wrappers and empty chip bags.
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Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2015 10:09 am
Thankfully getting crumbs and things on one's face was not one of Oliver's many embarrassment triggers, it would have just been more awkward for poor Lydia if he started blushing as well. For him, a teen who practically lived off chips and cheetos, smudges on one's face were a regular hazard. "Oh, um..." If she didn't want cookies, Oliver's first reaction was to reach into his pockets. He had pulled out a handful of lollipops before he realized she was trying to protest more junk food in general. He smiled sheepishly at his own hasty actions. "I-I can leave them for you, for when you want them! They are really good." He ducked his head politely as he stepped inside. It was a better place to talk, he didn't want to stand there in the hallway expressing his concerns. The mess on the floors and discarded food wrappers all around were not even given a second look. "Um... H-how have you been?"
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Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2015 7:21 pm
"Oh." She blinked wide eyes again before turning and moving so that he could enter. "Yes, okay. That would be lovely as well." Even though her stomach ached just thinking about it, the thought of anything sugary or sweet suddenly quite repulsive. Still, she didn't want to be rude, especially to somebody who was being so kind and thoughtful by coming to see her. Crossing towards the bed and sitting on it's edge, her hands going to either side so that fingers could clench at the blanket top, Lydia almost appeared to be in a daze for a moment. "Hrm?" She asked, gaze suddenly lifting to Oliver when she realized he had spoken. "Oh. Fine. Just fine." She smiled, but again it looked forced, strained, and completely out of place with the dullness of her eyes. "How are you?"
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Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2015 7:54 pm
Oliver didn't reply right away. It would have been evident to a potato that Lydia was not herself, and for the kid who was so high strung and attentive to potential discrepancies in his emotional surroundings, the words were practically setting off alarm bells. Lydia was not herself, and he had no clue how to proceed. Naturally his deer-in-the-headlights reaction was the first to set in. Panic, followed quickly by lip-chewing distress, and then finally the realization that whatever she was covering up was just too heavy to handle all by herself. It was so heavy it had begun to make his own heart ache, and he didn't even know what it was yet! "Please... " He pleaded, trailing off miserably.
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Posted: Sun Mar 01, 2015 4:38 pm
While Oliver went through his early stages of panic, Lydia's gaze fell before roaming around the room, taking in the mess of junk food wrappers, the nest of clothing, the blanket, which she leaned forward and down towards, reaching for, picking it up to bunch up on her lap and hold tight to her chest, breathing it in. She didn't really notice Oliver's worry, not at first, really not at all until he uttered one single, heart achingly miserable syllable. She looked up at him again from over the blanket she clutched in her arms, blinking a few times again, though now her eyes appeared large and shiny behind the thick lenses of her glasses as she fought back tears. "I'm....I'm fine, really." She sniffed, before burying her face in the blanket and letting out one more muffled "Really."
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Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2015 4:43 pm
At first Oliver only replied with his own little sniffle, then a little wordless squeak. Finally he sat down right next to Lydia and pulled her into a tight hug. It wasn't like the huge, all encompassing hug she was probably used to, but he was strong enough for it to count. When he finally spoke, it was in a tiny voice, muffled by her shoulder. " It's okay if you're not fine... A-as long as you're here."
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Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2015 8:57 pm
She didn't hear the sniffle or the squeak. She didn't notice anything until she felt the bed move as Oliver's weight pressed down next to hers a moment before he was wrapping his arms around her in an unexpected hug. With a shaky breath she eagerly leaned into the contact, one arm going around his back while the other continued to clutch at the blanket that was still held up to her face. "I...I don't want to be here anymore. Can we go someplace else?" Came her muffled voice once more. "Just for a little while? Or maybe longer...." She sniffed again. "I shouldn't stay here alone anymore. I can't."
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Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2015 6:47 pm
"Y-yeah, w-we can go anywhere," Oliver stammered in reply, his voice a little shaky. She was hugging him back. This was working, sort of, if her desperate welcome was really what such a welcome felt like. He didn't let go, or even relax in the hug, not yet. Oliver was going to stay where he was until Lydia showed some sign of wanting to be let loose. "W-we can go wherever you want, um, o-out to the beach, or the cafeteria, or, um, y-you can grab some of your books and read in my room." If only there was more he could do... "You could bring your pillow and blanket if you want, I-I don't mind if you stay for awhile."
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Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2015 4:47 pm
The beach sounded rather nice, actually, the more she focused on that. The cafeteria...her stomach rolled in protest, still suffering through the handfuls upon handfuls of junk food she had subjected it to. Books in Oliver's room, however... She latched on to that idea, and to the following ones that came soon afterwards, pulling away from him just enough to look straight at him with wide eyes. "I could stay with you? Just for a night or two?" Or more. Probably more, but she didn't want to ask for that much from him. Well, not yet at least.
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