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AriaStarstone - Yesterday at 2:48 PM
Seren had taken a nice hot shower after her duty, and then changed, before heading off to Rhys's room. She'd dried her hair as much as she could, but it was still damp, so she had it hanging loose, for once. As she walked, it almost looked like a long, starry cape flowing behind her. She wore her usual starry turtleneck, paired with soft leggings, in a dark purple, that fit nicely. She loved how they moved with her, instead of getting in the way. She was carrying a bag of popcorn she'd found, and made, just before coming down.

When she got to his door, she calmly knocked on it, and waited.
Pao - Yesterday at 3:18 PM
Rhys had gotten everything pretty much set up. There wasn't a whole lot to set up really--just moved some boxes and put the laptop in a good enough spot. He borrowed (stole) and washed some blankets and cushions from the lounge so that probably counted, too, but that was about it. When the knock came he'd also just gotten back from a quick shower, dressed down in his usual PJ bottoms and a shirt. He left his hair to dry on its own so it was sort of a wet mess when he opened the door.

"Yo," he greeted with a smile, though his eyes quickly fell to the popcorn. "Good choice. C'mon in."
AriaStarstone - Yesterday at 3:23 PM
"Hey. How are ya?" She walked in, and glanced at the set up, before glancing back at him. "It's a classic combo, popcorn and movies, and since I found it, figured I'd snag it before some one else did." She glanced up at his hair, and an amused smile graced her face. She actually was glad he didn't feel he had to be perfectly neat around her, so it was fine.

She wandered over to the set up he'd done, and leaned over to peer, curiously, at the runic'd laptop. "Huh. First upclose experience with runic'd tech, other then my phone. It's sort of ********' amazing how they do this."
Pao - Yesterday at 4:40 PM
The brunette closed the door and locked it out of habit, then turned the lights off before making his way to the little setup. "You got lucky with the find, huh?" he said as he flopped down and slicked his hair back to at least try and fix it. Luckily his hair wasn't too opposed to getting combed through and looking presentable so it didn't take that much effort.

"Yeah, making it usable cost more than the actual laptop though." He shrugged and then patted the spot beside him. "C'mon, we could probably get through at least two movies. And if you're good with staying up even later, probably three." He blinked up at her very innocently, as though he wasn't about to scare the living daylights out of her with the movie lineup.(edited)
AriaStarstone - Yesterday at 4:49 PM
"Yes... Lucky." She sounded distracted, as she glanced at the model, noting it to herself for possible future interest. "Interesting... Might have to save up for something like that, at some point. No rush right now, though." She brushed her fingers along the case, then she straighened up, and moved to join him, pulling her hair out of her way as she sat, then sort of piling it in her lap. She leaned back into the cushions, and pondered his comment. "We'll see how i feel after the second one, I guess?"

She had no idea what was coming. She was a sitting duck for his perhaps slightly evil plan.
Pao - Yesterday at 5:04 PM
It was only when she sat down, before she gathered up her hair, that he noticed how much she actually had, and for a second he kind of just stared at it until she said something and pulled him back into the present.

"Uh, yeah, definitely." He reached around her for one of the other pillows before flopping onto his stomach just beside her and clicked play on the already pre-loaded movie. "C'mere, it's better up close." It probably wouldn't be if this was her first scary movie, but at least she wouldn't miss any of the creepy details.

The opening scene for "It Follows" started playing soon enough, though he kept tapping her knee, and probably would keep on tapping her knee until she flopped over and was lying down next to him, staring right at the screen.
AriaStarstone - Yesterday at 5:16 PM
She blinked, surprised when he reached around her, then shrugged at him. She considered it, while watching the opening start. His tapping her knee, however, caused her to blink at him, before she shifted to lay down next to him, giving him a bemused look. It had tickled, and she kind of was unnerved by it, because she sort of wished he'd just put his hand there.

Thoughts she didn't want to deal with, again. She hugged the pillow she was leaning on to her chest, watching in fascination. At least initially. Then it became huge eyed and terrified, at the very idea of what they were seeing.

The first jump scare, however, had her shrieking in startlement, and banging into him, her long hair flying through the air, and shaking a little.
Pao - Yesterday at 5:27 PM
Rhys had only seen the movie once so wasn't familiar with where all the shriek-inducing moments, but he was obviously not as freaked out as she was. She was doing pretty good at the start though, and he was pleasantly surprised that she actually flopped onto the floor after all. He reached over for some popcorn now and again, which was also the moment he used to check up on her and see if she was closing her eyes.

Because he wasn't gonna let her get away with that.

So when the shriek came and she sort of bumped into him he was happy to find that she wasn't gonna shy away from anything they were about to watch. Wicked. He looked over his shoulder at her and swept a bit of her hair to the side so he could see her face properly. "You were doin' pretty damn good, too. You okay?"
AriaStarstone - Yesterday at 5:33 PM
Other then natural blinking, she wasn't closing her eyes. Indeed, she might have been too terrified to close her eyes much. This was definitely more then she had thought she was bargaining for, and with the info he'd given her about FEAR STDs, she was almost wondering if this could be real. Not quite enough to swear off sex, mind, but... Lords.

She blinked at him, freezing a moment in surprise when he handled her hair, then gave him a weak smile. "Ahhh yeah, just wasn't expecting that at all"
Pao - Yesterday at 5:37 PM
When she seeemed okay enough he took his hand back, grinning at the comment. "Dude, kinda the point." Granted, her reaction was pretty much what he hoped it would be so in a sense, scary movie scaring mission accomplished. He bumped his shoulder to hers as a form of reminding her that he was there and that he could pause the movie if she needed a quick break, but stuff was happening on screen so he couldn't really say as much.

Or, he could but he didn't want to because of the movie.
AriaStarstone - Yesterday at 5:49 PM
She laughed, a little weakly, and settled back down, quietly eating popcorn as she watched. His shoulder bump had her grinning slightly, glad for the reminder of his presence. The further they got in the movie, the wider her eyes went. She jumped a hot on the future scares, but not as violently, and not shrieking anymore.
Pao - Yesterday at 6:29 PM
At some point the nudging got a little tiresome so he just went ahead and leaned very lightly against her. He took more liberties with grabbing popcorn and tearing his eyes away from the screen, too, the longer the movie played. The more he saw the more he remembered from the first time he'd seen it, so he felt less compelled to really pay attention. Whenever he actually looked over to check on her though, she seemed to be doing at least a little better. No more shrieking was always a good sign.
AriaStarstone - Yesterday at 6:35 PM
She blinked, startled, when she felt him leaning against her, glancing at him, and then smiling a little. She refocused on the movie, feeling more comfortable, a little safer too, with him against her like that. She had no idea where this was going, but she did know it was creepy as ********. As it got close to the climax of the movie, her eyes were as wide as can be, and she might have been shivering a little in nerves, maybe a little excitement.
Pao - Yesterday at 6:54 PM
By the time the climax was coming up Rhys basically remembered most of what was about to happen, so he was constantly side-eyeing her just to make sure he didn't miss any kind of reaction. And also to make sure she didn't close her eyes. Shrieking or no shrieking, it was just something he didn't want to miss, and that would be the case for probably every scary movie on the hard drive since he'd already seen them all.

It wasn't gonna be a particularly impressive scene, in his opinion, but the premise was pretty damn creepy and it felt like a good intro to scary movies. He watched and waited patiently as gunshots and screaming echoed out from the speakers.
AriaStarstone - Yesterday at 6:58 PM
She pulled herself back a little at the gunshots, never having liked the sound of guns, biting her lip in anticipation of the end. She had no clue she was being watched, but her fingers were gripping her pillow so tight that her knuckles had gone white, and she, in a way that was pretty clearly not something she was thinking about, scooted a little closer to him in her nerves.

She sighed in relief when the thing seemed to be dead, but then, when the last scene rolled, she jerked and snarled out "********. OH ******** NO. NOT FAIR." at the screen.
Pao - Yesterday at 7:06 PM
He let her move a little closer, honestly surprised it didn't happen earlier considering her nerves and the whole build-up to the scene at the pool. The scary movie was reason enough to him and that was fine--he expected it, going into inviting her and all of that. The brunette was basically staring at her from the corner of his eyes for the entire ending of the movie though, and her reaction.

Gold.

Rhys laughed out loud as she screamed at the screen, rolling over and into her almost playfully just to calm her down. "Right?! Piece of s**t ending, ******** - Yesterday at 7:11 PM
She was breathing heavily for a moment, in pure 'wtf' rage at the ending of this movie. When he rolled into her, she turned, startled, and found him really close, which surprised her. His comment, though, made her roll her eyes and nod. "Ugh so much. Why the hell would they do that?"

She paused, then frowned, and said in a dour voice, "Wait. Lemme guess. Sequels. They want sequels."
Pao - Yesterday at 7:13 PM
He rolled back to his own spot and kind of shrugged before scooting up closer to the laptop to get the next movie started. "I dunno, never heard anything about a sequel. I'd probably still watch that s**t though, just to see if they'll figure out how to kill the damn thing."

After some clicking around, closing windows and opening new ones and whatnot, Rhys scooted back and looked over at her, that innocent look on his face again. "So. Break or right into the next one?"
AriaStarstone - Yesterday at 7:18 PM
"Huh. I can't understand the point, then, unless they just want us to feel like 'that's ******** up, you guys are ********.'" She shrugged a little, hiding her internal disappointment that he'd moved away, with by now practiced skill.

"I want a short break. Need some water, my mouth got a bit dry, between being unnerved and the salt on the popcorn." She paused, trying to find a polite way to say 'and I need to pee so I don't piss my pants if there's anything scarier in this one', struggling with that thought.
Pao - Yesterday at 7:27 PM
"I always try to think of horror movies or suspense anything is meant to the kind of movie that doesn't end the way anyone wants it to except the b*****d directing it, so I don't get really mad at it when it happens now."

The disappointed expression was very brief when she said she wanted a break. He understood, of course, so the expression was there and gone as he rolled over onto his back and put the pillow under his head, getting comfortable. "That's cool, take your time. I"ll be here." He was smiling wide, but with no other source of lighting but the screen it might have looked a little bit eerie. But it was a bright smile.
AriaStarstone - Yesterday at 7:33 PM
She nodded, listening to his words. "Guess that makes sense, in the long run. Bastards are in charge no matter where you go, or what you do, and they make you deal with their goals." She shrugged, in a what can you do way.

"I'll be back shortly, promise." She gave him a warm smile, and stood. She saw the bright smile, despite the somewhat eerie lighting, and turned to go, once again controlling the breath-catch reaction his bright smiles gave her. She jogged to her room and grabbed her water bottle, then went to the restroom. After dealin' with business, she used the nearest water fountain to fill it, and sauntered back to his room. "All right. I think I'm ready for this one." She said, as she slipped back onto the floor besides him.
Pao - Yesterday at 8:25 PM
She didn't really take all that long, but maybe the fact that he had nodded off was a testament to how tiring it really was to still be in recovery. And he wasn't even technically in recovery anymore. So when Seren got back he was happily curled up on the floor, snoozing lightly and cuddling the pillow she'd been holding very comfortably. And he had a little smile on that might make someone suspect that he wasn't actually sleeping.

Even her slipping back into the seat beside him didn't stir him awake, and instead he scooted in the direction of the sudden influx of warmth. Warmth.
AriaStarstone - Yesterday at 8:35 PM
She arched a brow, seeing him cuddling her pillow. Well that wasn't what she'd expected. She stared down at him, and, very quietly, pulled her phone out and, making sure the sound was TOTALLY off, took a photo, just to remember this moment. She smiled, finding him utterly adorable at this moment. She tucked her phone away, carefully, and then watched him scooting towards her. Part of her wanted to just lay there and see what he'd do.

However, that wasn't acceptable. She'd already been naughty enough, having taken his photo without permission. She gently reached over and tapped his shoulder, quietly saying "Rhys... Hey, Rhys."
Pao - Yesterday at 8:43 PM
It probably took a little more of the her tapping him before he actually stirred awake and blearily looked up at her. "Se... oh, s**t." And he was up just like that, rubbing the sleep from his eyes in a nice big hurry. "Sorry, guess I dozed off. You ready?"

He turned onto his stomach again and quickly pressed the play button before going back to his spot. "You good now?" he asked when he was settled, eyelids still a little heavy as he was fighting down a yawn. To stay awake he was probably gonna try and watch the movie this time...(edited)
AriaStarstone - Yesterday at 8:58 PM
She smiled a little and settled back, snagging her pillow back. "Yeah, it's ok. I wasn't bothered, just figured you would prefer it if I woke you back up." She took a sip of her water, almost serene at the moment.

"And yes. I am good, and ready to go." She gave him a side smile, and then focused on the movie, relaxing next to Rhys, curious as to what this movie would be like.
Pao - Yesterday at 9:06 PM
He didn't appreciate the pillow being taken from him, though the reason behind that wasn't necessarily just the comfort aspect of it, but he let it be with a playful curl of his lip.

Rhys settled in and resumed his position of kind of leaning against her, a little more lightly this time because he was actually paying attention and there was a chance if he leaned too much that might actually fall asleep. Which was not on his current list of things he should do. "By the way, this one has a tendency to induce nightmares..." he said in a whisper as the opening scene played through.
AriaStarstone - Yesterday at 9:33 PM
She just gave him a tiny smile in response to the lip curl. After all, he'd stolen the one she'd been snuggling in the first place, and it would never occur to her he might have been holding it for any reason not related to physical comfort.

She watched, quietly, and his words caused her brows to raise. "Hnnnnn. Hope I don't get any, then..." She whispered back, but her eyes remained intent on the laptop in front of them. She shivered a little, quietly, and pulled one of the blankets over herself.
Pao - Yesterday at 9:45 PM
Though most of his attention was on the movie he did notice any movement she was making because he was kind of leaning on her, so when he saw that she pulled on one of the blankets he reached over for the blanket on his bed and threw over the both of them.

"It's crazy warm," he whispered again, eyes on the screen now.
AriaStarstone - Yesterday at 9:49 PM
She was startled by his movement, but didn't show it. She just watched him out of the corner of her eye, and then had to control the urge for her eyes to get huge when he put his blanket over them both. A mantra was going through her head, aided by his comment, of 'just friends just friends just friends, he's just being a good friend.'

"Awesome." She whispered back, keeping her eyes on the screen, trying to resist the urge to snuggle into him.
Pao - Yesterday at 9:56 PM
He nodded at her comment before putting all his focus on the movie, which was just starting to ramp up on the insanity that he already knew was gonna ensue. She didn't though, and frankly he was readying his ears for more shrieking, and bracing himself for more getting bumped into or something similar.
AriaStarstone - Yesterday at 10:00 PM
She managed to control the urge to shriek, this time, but the insanity she was seeing definitely had her almost pushed up against him every time it got worse. She was staring, eyes as huge as they possibly could be. This movie was ******** freaky, and part of her was going 'is this what a horseman would do' internally, because she of course had no idea yet and it was terrifyingly horrible. She was even trembling, just a little.
Pao - Yesterday at 10:04 PM
Since he expected it he gave her a lot of room to curl up into him if she really needed to, though it was less of an open invitation and more an "in case you need it" kind of gesture. His eyes were still perfectly glued to the screen; he'd already seen this movie but there was just something about scary movies that helped desensitize him to crazy in his everyday life. The less freaked out he got about every little new discovery, the better. At least that was his belief.
AriaStarstone - Yesterday at 10:06 PM
She ended up curled up tight against him, horrified and amazed by what was happening on the screen. She couldn't help but wonder if, somehow, maybe some of the bastards they fought had decided to mine the field with FEAR by making fear 'fun' for people. But she couldn't seem to look away, even as she was terrified and freaked out by what was happening on screen.
Pao - Yesterday at 10:13 PM
He was almost holding her protectively as he had his arm around her, and rightfully so because it was about the time all the creepy but only implied brutality was about to happen. And because he knew it was coming sort of just...naturally pulled her even closer.
AriaStarstone - Yesterday at 10:17 PM
She didn't even think about it, she was too focused on the horrific movie to for her mind to do more then 'file this for later serious considerations'. When the worst started, though, she whimpered, a little, in horror and tucked herself against him just a bit more, not even thinking about it. She just wanted the comfort of his presence, because wow this was a bad.
Pao - Yesterday at 10:20 PM
Yeah, it was pretty bad. It wasn't that much longer before the picture cut to black and then the end credits started rolling though, and when that started he leaned back a little and looked down at her, a mix of worry and amusement clear on his face.

"You made it," he chuckled. "You okay?"
AriaStarstone - Yesterday at 10:22 PM
She was breathing a little heavily by the time it ended, and when the credits rolled, she found herself hiding behind her hair for a minute, trying to calm down. "Ah... That was..." She sounded breathless, and was trying to work out how to answer him. "That was freaky as ********." Was what she managed to come up with, finally.
Pao - Yesterday at 10:25 PM
He couldn't even disagree, so instead he gave her what was probably his attempt at a comforting smile and just gently patted her shoulder to help her calm down. "Yeah, I mean...the first one wasn't nearly as ******** up, right?" he said, trying to get her mind away from it already. The music that was still playing in the background probably didn't help, never mind the fact that the room was excessively dark because the screen was basically entirely black, but he was mostly focused on her until she seemed okay again.
AriaStarstone - Yesterday at 10:42 PM
She took some time, trying to ignore the music, and finally looked up at him through her hair. "Yeah no, the first one was scary but not at all on the same level." She smiled a little at him, as her breathing slowed. "Holy ********, though. I can't help wondering if FEAR related beings have insinuated themselves into Hollywood to produce s**t like that... And then go feed off the audiences."
Pao - Yesterday at 10:45 PM
Rhys considered the thought for a moment then slowly nodded his head. "Wouldn't surprise me if that was actually a thing," he said as he met her eye and all at once realized how close they really were. He blinked slowly then, most of his words leaving him as he tried to figure out what could be done that wouldn't make things awkward. He had no way of knowing what was going on in her head, though he did doubt that it had anything to do with something other than the movie.
AriaStarstone - Yesterday at 10:55 PM
She nodded quietly, not thinking about how close they were at all. "Yeah, it almost seems logical." She brushed her hair away from her face, and shifted, still lost in thought about the movie, and her theory, to grab her water bottle. She drained it, and frowned at it. "We need sinks in our rooms, I think."
Pao - Yesterday at 11:00 PM
Clearly she wasn't thinking about it, and that was fine for now...he guessed. So he relaxed and just let it all be. Coasting, as she so succinctly put it the last time they hung out. At the idea of sinks in their room she wrinkled his nose. "Not sure you'd want a sink in a basement room. Least not if you've seen how the water runs in the showers down here."
AriaStarstone - Yesterday at 11:02 PM
She paused at his comment, tilting her head for a moment, then made a horrified face. "Right, horrific shower water. Do Not Want blood red water, or actual blood, in my water bottle. UGH." She shook her head, just disgusted by the idea now.
Pao - Yesterday at 11:06 PM
He chuckled at the face she made. "Yeah, well I got sludge once. Felt like Jabba the Hut got melted and poured all over me. Worse than sewer water, I ********' swear." He wrinkled his nose, then. "Blood sounds even worse than Jabba-water, though."
AriaStarstone - Yesterday at 11:11 PM
"Holy hell, that is gross as ******** too." Her expression grew in disgust, along with the horror. "Why the ******** do they not fix that?" She eyed her water bottle, trying to decide if she had the inclination to go refill it.
Pao - Yesterday at 11:15 PM
"'Cause they're not exactly a 5-star hotel?" he said with a raised brow, though he was at least smiling. He was amused, clearly, at her horror. "********, not even a 2-star if we're being honest. I'm just happy to have any kind of water that isn't always at risk of being cut off."
AriaStarstone - Yesterday at 11:17 PM
"I suppose that's true, but gods. The blood thing? Kim told me about it, that she went to take a shower and it happened to her. Never going to use them, ever." She shuddered at the idea of being covered in blood suddenly, and finally she pulled free, sitting up. "Gonna run to refill this, then I'll be right back. You said you had a third, right?"
Pao - Yesterday at 11:20 PM
The sudden decrease in warmth under the blanket was very noticeable, but the disappointment wouldn't have shown on his face. No, as soon as she was up he relaxed and collapsed, face first, into the pillows. "I do," he said, voice muffled. "You'll love it." He jokingly gave her a thumb's up. "If i'm asleep again when you get back just kick me."
AriaStarstone - Yesterday at 11:25 PM
She laughed at him, shaking her head. "Not gonna happen, dork. Wont even splash you with water." She continued to shake her head, laughing, as she slipped out the door and into the hall. She kept going, but found herself speeding up, unexpectedly creeped out by the basement hallway. She eventually ran up the stairs, and into the girl's restroom, where she spent a minute calming herself down, unable to believe how creeped out she'd been.

After she calmed herself, she went and filled the bottle, before making a dash back to his room, refusing to deal with it a second time. She slipped back inside his door, trying to not to breath hard, not wanting to give away that she'd been creeped out that badly.
Pao - Yesterday at 11:30 PM
She took a lot less time this time around but he still grabbed her pillow while she'd been away, only this time he was under the blanket. Completely under the blanket, and yes he fell asleep again. When the door opened and closed so suddenly though he kind of jerked back into the waking ********. Me. Who's there?" he half-shouted, eyes bleary and obviously not being helped by being in the dark.(edited)
AriaStarstone - Yesterday at 11:33 PM
She yelped, startled by his reaction, spinning to press herself against the door. "WHA... What...Rhys, what?" Her eyes were almost as big as when they'd been watching the movie, and if it had been light enough, he'd have been able to see that her pupils were blown out in fear. She didn't move, waiting to see what he did. She was so tight against the door, there couldn't possibly have been an inch of space between her and it, anywhere, and she was shaking.
Pao - Yesterday at 11:35 PM
It took him a second between her reaction to him and the very dimly lit room to finally wake back up, and he rubbed his eyes again. "Ah, sorry. I think I dozed off again and the door just...yeah." He fought down a yawn and gestured her over, a little curious why she was so glued to the door but figuring it might have had to do with him screaming all of a sudden so he didn't ask. Instead he went and got the third movie ready to play for whenever she was ready for it.
AriaStarstone - Yesterday at 11:38 PM
It took her a good minute, minimum, before she slowly peeled herself off the door, and moved towards him carefully. "Ye... yeah, must have done..." She said, in a shaky and quiet voice. She sank down next to him, but sitting for the moment, trying to compose herself, trying to remove herself from the memories of what suddenly being yelled at could mean, her head lowered, and her hair hanging down.
Pao - Yesterday at 11:42 PM
There was a subtle change in her, he noticed as he watched her take her spot again, and there was something about it that really just felt off. He passed her the pillow he'd taken in case that might have been the reason (he knew that wasn't likely but it was something...), and because he had his suspicions about what it might be he decided the movie could wait for a little bit.

"Everything...okay?"
AriaStarstone - Yesterday at 11:44 PM
"I... uhm... Just... some unpleasant memories got triggered when I accidentally startled you, sorry... Just trying to compose myself." She said, a little evasively, hoping he didn't ask for details, because gods that was too close as it was, and she didn't want to share this, she wasn't ready to share this with anyone ever again, and if she had to, he'd probably... She made a sharp hissing sound, clenching her hands into fists as she fought the mental spiral that these thoughts were taking. "Just... give me a couple, please?"
Pao - Yesterday at 11:48 PM
So his suspicions about her being too freaked out by the movie were wrong, and in the interest of privacy he just nodded along until the end of her request. "Yeah, definitely..." he said softly as he sat up, more concerned than he let on. But it was her story and her choice whether to deal on her own or share so he gave her some space--it was definitely what he would want her to do for him if they switched places.

"Yeah, sure. Bathroom break for me, then," he said as he got up. Once he was by the door he did glance over at her again before stepping outside. He didn't actually need to go to the bathroom, but he started walking anyway.
AriaStarstone - Yesterday at 11:52 PM
When he left, she collapsed in on herself, fighting the urge to cry, fighting the urge to completely give in to the panic attack. Part of her was screaming inside that this was what she deserved, and he didn't need her burdens. Part of her was yelling 'just tell him you idot', and the rest was just stuck in between. Diwata was trying to talk to her, trying to help her, but she couldn't hear her voice over the sound of disapproval and hate that resonated down from her memories.
Pao - Yesterday at 11:57 PM
The round trip to the bathroom (minus actually stopping) took roughly ten minutes and he hoped that was enough time, but even then. He knew what it was like to get sucked up into all those old memories. It was always the bad stuff, too, though throughout his life he did have the occasional good moment or two. When he finally got to his door he reached for the doorknob instinctively but stopped just short of it, deciding to knock instead.

He stood patiently at the door, knowing that the wait and thus the chance to get it together, for him, was always the difference between being able to hang out with someone and pretend like nothing happened or choosing to avoid that someone until the end of forever. And if waiting longer meant they could just pretend this never happened and go on as normal, he'd wait all night if she needed it.(edited)
September 10, 2017
AriaStarstone - Today at 12:05 AM
She looked up, startled out of her horrible mental spiral by the knock. She wasn't sure if she should answer it. After all, this was Rhys's room, and she wasn't sure it was a good idea. People would probably get the wrong idea if she answered his door, this late at night, and Rhys didn't need that, she was quite sure. She stared for a good long minute.

The one thing that the knock did, though, she realized, was snap her out of it. She smiled, weakly, and took a few deep breaths, managing to compose herself before she quietly got up, and padded over to the door. She bit her lip, then made up her mind, opening it. She was very surprised to see Rhys waiting there, for a moment, then realized what, and why, he'd done that. Her eyes widened a little, and then she gave him a smile of incredible gratitude. She wasn't fully calm, or totally back to normal, but it was clear she was doing better.
Pao - Today at 12:19 AM
When the door finally opened he felt his nerves a bit, a mix of worry and hopefulness about the whole situation. When he saw that smile, relief did in fact just crash over him. He knew that smile all too well, had given it to concerned parties plenty of times himself, and he returned it with a little one of his own. A smile that said everything was fine with them, and that she didn't need to say anything.

"So...movie three?"
AriaStarstone - Today at 12:25 AM
She nodded quietly, and moved back over to the blanket pile. "Yeah... Yeah, let's do it." She moved back down into them, and slipped under his warm blanket. She pulled her pillow close, cuddling it tight against her, before she watched him, waiting for him to rejoin her.
Pao - Today at 12:29 AM
He walked back inside and closed the door behind him, still locking it out of habit before he rejoined her. He just sat and peered over at her for a while, watching for some kind of tell that she wasn't really into it, but when he didn't see anything he once again flopped down and adjusted himself back into his original spot. "Here we go," he said as he reached for and tapped the spacebar.
AriaStarstone - Today at 12:39 AM
She nodded, and settled in. As things moved forwards, she began, instead of cuddling against him, to sort of pull in on herself at how horrifying this movie was. Then she screamed, in horror and disgust, as the boy lost his arm to the clown in the sewer. She pulled back, some and seemed to huddle on herself.

As the movie progressed, she just seemed to get smaller into herself, and when it ended, she just buried her face in her pillow, shaking from the terror the movie gave her. She had no way of dealing with it, between her issue with clowns, and this movie's awful horrible plot. "No... no more clowns. No more clowns." She gasped out.
Pao - Today at 12:45 AM
She told him she didn't want there to be clowns but he mostly thought she was kidding, but seeing her by the end of the movie he felt like an a**. Quickly he closed up the windows and left the screen on his desktop background, which was a nice picture of the New York City skyline. It at least made the room a little bit brighter.

"Guess that clown thing was serious" he said as he sat up, running a hand through his hair. "Sorry..."
AriaStarstone - Today at 12:48 AM
"Ye... yeah. I don't know why." Her voice was muffled, cause she was talking through the pillow. "But clowns have always been the stuff of nightmares to me." She took some calming breathes, before managing to look up at him. "You didn't know... I just. No." She slowly sat up, still seeming small and terrified. "********... You were just trying to have a good time tonight. I know you weren't trying to bring up childhood nightmares."
Pao - Today at 12:56 AM
He frowned and just sat there, slumped over and not sure what to say next. He honestly felt bad about the whole thing, from possibly being the cause for her episode earlier and now this.

"Yeah but it sucks that I did. Damnit..."

She looked so different from what he was used to seeing. The strong, confident, and headstrong girl he'd met and gotten to know pretty well was just gone in that moment, and instead a very small, very scared girl was sitting there in her place. The longer he saw that, the stronger the urge to try and do something about it.
AriaStarstone - Today at 1:00 AM
"You didn't know. You didn't mean it. I know that." She said, quietly, slowly pulling her hair into a single rope, and carefully twisting it until she could basically tye it into a literal knot without any outside ties to hold it in place. She quietly picked up her bottle of water, and began to drink from it, trying to calm down, make the bad images leave her head. She didn't know what to do. Should she leave? Part of her really didn't want to go out that door right now, and walk to her room in the darkened halls.

Part of her wished she'd declined to do scary movies, because it was clear in her mind that she'd turned his fun night into something that was stressing him.
Pao - Today at 1:08 AM
It didn't seem like the situation was getting any better even if he stopped and gave her time to process, but he couldn't really think of anything to remedy it, either. The silence went on for maybe another minute before he eventually sighed.

"So what can I do?" he finally asked, eyes trained on the pillow she was holding rather than on her. "To make it up to you, I mean. Just name it."
AriaStarstone - Today at 1:11 AM
She looked up, startled, at the idea that he thought he had to make it up to her. "Rhys... You..." She sounded confused, as if the idea was foreign to her. "I... Don't think you need to?" She didn't understand why he felt the need to do that, he hadn't done anything intentional. He'd been trying to have fun, and share it with her.

She'd been the one to act like an idiot, and revert into childlike panic and fear. In her mind, she was at fault.
Pao - Today at 1:17 AM
He waited for an answer, but when he didn't get one he sort of frowned. Not out of confusion or disappointment, but simply because there was something in her reaction that didn't click. Again, just kind of off. He picked up on it though he wasn't really sure what it was, and it made him frown.

"Just...let me, then?" he said, knowing any explanation he attempted wouldn't help him get an answer out of her. "Please?"
AriaStarstone - Today at 1:20 AM
She stared at him, her confusion practically radiating off of her in waves. She wanted to say he didn't need to, again, but then... He said please. He said it so sincerely, that it completely disrupted her ability to deny him. After a long moment of pure uncertainty, she finally said "If it matters that much to you... I just don't... Know what to suggest...?"
Pao - Today at 1:24 AM
The hesitation was clear but when she finally agreed, he sighed out of relief. It did matter and if she asked later on then maybe he could actually try and explain why it mattered, but for now he was just glad she agreed.

"Easy. It's kind of an 'anything' offer so first thing that comes to mind when you look at me."
AriaStarstone - Today at 1:29 AM
She blinked, her eyes dropping again for a long minute as she tried to figure this out. No matter how she looked at it, it made no sense. Finally, she looked at him again, and all she could think of to say was "Don't leave me alone tonight? I don't think I can cope alone."
Pao - Today at 1:35 AM
He blinked at the request, processing it for a couple of seconds before nodding. "Yeah, I can do that," he said as he looked around his room then back at her. "So either we're staying here or we can walk back to your room. Or we can keep watching movies, just not the scary ones. I've got..."

He turned and picked up his laptop, quickly navigating to the root folder that had folders named for genres. "There's lots of choices, here." And he turned the computer screen toward her so she could see her options if she wanted to go with the mlovies route.
AriaStarstone - Today at 1:38 AM
"Let's... See what you have. Maybe find something to... Distract." She said quietly. She began to scroll through, noticing the Disney folder, thoughtfully, then pausing, brows raised at a certain folder that started with P. It had a decent file size, too. She also was able to note that it has been accessed recently. She just gave him a surprised look, though, rather then the teasing she might have normally done.
Pao - Today at 1:44 AM
He blinked slowly as he watched her go through his files. It occured to him just a little too late that that one genre was also listed there in plain sight, so he was quietly hoping she would just kindly skip right over it. When he got that look though, he tried to feign ignorance. "Find something you like?"
AriaStarstone - Today at 1:46 AM
She just lifted both of her eyebrows quite high and said "That's... A pretty big folder of porn." Before scrolling back to the Disney folder, and browsing in it curiously, wondering if there was something here she'd want to watch.
Pao - Today at 1:48 AM
Rhys opened his mouth to say something, then sort of just closed it because she wasn't wrong and any kind of witty comeback didn't seem like a good idea.

"I...bought this thing off of another hunter..." he tried anyway but trailed off and left her to scroll with a less than comfortable face.
AriaStarstone - Today at 1:51 AM
She was looking curiously at the most recent Disney flicks, though his comment earned him an almost amused look. "Mmmmm..." She said, then she leaned down to stare at an icon curiously. "What do you know about..." She paused, tried to guess the pronunciation, and finally stumbled through "Mo-anne-uh?"
Pao - Today at 1:53 AM
The look was less than amusing to him but thankfully her attention went elsewhere very soon after. "Disney movie, haven't seen it. Heard only good things, though."
AriaStarstone - Today at 1:54 AM
She smiled a little, and handed the control back to him. "Let's try that, then. How scary can Disney be, after all?"
Pao - Today at 1:57 AM
He nodded and took the laptop back, setting it back to the way it was before hitting play and settling into his spot again. It was a good spot...

"It's not," he said as he threw the blanket over them again. A playful gesture, obviously, because she was still sitting up. "C'mon."
AriaStarstone - Today at 1:58 AM
She made a little eep noise when the blanket was thrown over her, since it covered her head at that moment. She shook her head at him, but settled down into the blanket next to him, wiggling a little till she was back in the right spot