08/09 Instance: Between Friends

[Starfish]

Timeline: The day after Oil Change.


Cessily: Cessily wandered down the hallway to Vic's and Rahne's room. Or, what used to be their room. No. No, it still was their room, Cessily reminded herself. She took a deep breath and paused in front of the door, then knocked. "Vic, are your in there? It's me, Cess." She hadn't been able to find him anywhere else in the school.

Victor: Vic was sat at the window, looking out over the grounds, cigar in one hand and coffee in the other. The room was still bare, the only sign someone was there temporarily being the open duffel bag at the foot of the double bed. Chuck just had to put him back in here, didn't he? "It's open."

Cessily: Cessily slowly opened the door and cautiously stuck her head inside. She spotted Vic over by the window and smiled at him, resisting the urge to leap over and pounce on him. "Hey, Vic. I've heard that you're back for a visit." She entered the room and closed the door. "But with everyone else crowding around you, I thought I'd give you some time to adjust first."

Cessily: She paused, shifting her weight from one leg to the other. "So, how are you doing?"

Victor: "Crowding?" Vic smiled at Cess a little sadly. "Hardly. Tryna keep this as quiet as I can." He looked back out of the window. "Doin' fine, darlin'. As always. Sit down." He gestured with the cigar to the bed, turning to face her. "How're y' doin'?"

Cessily: "Oh, as usual," she replied, stepping over to the bed and sitting down on it's edge. "That means terribly ditzy, unusually happy, free-spirited, worrying about everyone, kinda flirty and happy to have my friends around. And missing those that aren't." She kept on smiling. "Well, you know me."

Cessily: Cessily nodded. "It's good to see you again. I missed you. You're looking good. Different, though."

Victor: Vic smiled at that. "Missed y' too, babes. An' I ain' surprised I look differen'. A haircut'll do tha'." He ran a hand over his short hair. He was determined not to let any one else know where he was going.

Cessily: "It suits you, though." Cessily smiled in return. "To be honest, I prefer this look to the long hair you had before. It made you look older than you are." She looked around the room, pausing for a moment, then glanced back at Vic. "So, how have you been? And where? We were all worrying about you." You and Rahne, she added in thought.

Victor: "I dunno. I look too young. At leas' I have good identification f' buyin' my nicotine sticks now." Vic smiled, taking a puff of his cigar. "I've been....busy." He looked away. "In England."

Cessily: His reluctance was impossible to miss, so Cessily decided to leave it at that for now. "Okay," she remarked with a deliberate nod. "I'm just happy that you're back again. But I've heard that you won't be staying." She took a breath and gave him an uneven smile. "So, how long until you're going to leave us again?"

Victor: "I've got somewhere t' be in th' beginning of March." Vic shrugged, blowing out smoke. "So....not long. I'm sorry, babes."

Cessily: "I see," Cessily replied after a moment of silence, nodding again in the same manner as before. "I guess you came back because you heard of the news. Regarding TJ, I mean."

Victor: "....Partly." Vic couldn't meet her eyes. "Figured I'd come see everyone...." One last time. Dear god I'm turnin' into an emo. "Kinda missed y' all."

Cessily: "Hey, that's good to hear." Cessily smile grew a little bigger as she looked back up at Vic. "Means that you still care about us. I wish you could stay, though." She paused and shrugged. "The school's definitely missing something since you and Rahne left."

Victor: "Yeah. One less druggy." Vic snorted, but there wasn't anything behind it, looking back out of the window. "An' 'course I care abou' you guys."

Cessily: Cessily sat silently for a couple of seconds and tapped her fingertips together, She was not used to Vic being difficult to talk to. "Then, why not stay," she eventually asked. "What's so important that you have to leave again? We're your friends, after all. We care about you."

Victor: Vic sighed, looking down at his hands before looking at Cess with a smile. "Y' wouldn' understand, darlin'. It's jus' something I gotta do is all." He hesitated before standing and coming to sit beside Cess. "I know you guys are my frien's, Cess. An' believe me, y' all mean a hell of a lot t' me. But I fucked up an' this...." He looked around the empty room. "This ain't home for me any more."

Victor: "Dunno if anywhere is righ' now." He smiled a little at her.

Cessily: Cessily turned her head to look at Vic's face, a small lopsided smile on her lips, then let out a quiet sigh. "I'm not all too sure what exactly happened back then when you and Rahne left all of a sudden. It all happened so fast. And to be honest, I don't even wanna know who did what and whose fault it is. I love all of you guys and I don't care who messed up first."

Cessily: "You all made some mistakes, I think. And I can understand if you need some time for yourself to figure things out and get back on track." She nodded again, her smile growing. "But don't say that this isn't your home anymore. Even if you don't feel like it right now, you'll always have a home waiting for you here. Okay?"

Victor: "Yeah." Vic sighed. "Jus' don' expect me back any time soon." It would just be easier to tell her he was going to be in a warzone for the next few months but....he didn't need people tiptoing around him. "An' jus' for the record, Rahne didn' do anything wrong. Just so tha' people know." He looked at Cess before looking away, mouth twisting a little bitterly.

Cessily: "Okay," she replied after a moment of silence. "Still, nothing of this matters to me. Really. I don't want to blame any of you. I'm just sad that it didn't work out for you two and that I'm now left here, having to miss two good friends. But I guess you have to do what you feel like doing, and I'm not trying to talk you out of it. It's your life, after all, and your decisions."

Cessily: She nudged her side against his lightly, smiling. "All I hope for is that you don't stop thinking of us. And don't even dare to think about saying farewell forever, okay? I'm not letting you run from us that easily."

Victor: Vic snorted. "Believe me, Cess, I don' need any more guilt. I know yer missin' us. I have no choice, I can't stay here even if I wanted t'." He wrapped an arm around Cess and squeezed her. "An' babes, like I coul' just disappear on y'. I've come back now, ain't I? An' either way, y'll know what happens t' me." God, at this rate he was going to depress himself even more, let alone Cess.

Cessily: She leaned against him and put her head on his shoulder. This reminded her so much of the blissful times they had experienced when Rahne and Vic had still lived in this room. When they had planned the wedding and all the parties to be had. But she didn't say anything about this. She didn't need to make it even harder for Vic.

Cessily: "Oh, I know that you can take care of yourself. Still I'm gonna say that you should be careful. And don't do anything that will get you in trouble, yes?" She chuckled and smiled to herself. "What am I saying here? That's what I like most about you. You've always been so much better than I when it comes to just living. Living carefree, you know?"

Victor: "Not any more." Vic shook his head with a slight smile. "Doin' that is what got me in trouble in th' first place. An'....I gotta be careful, y' know?" God, everything she was saying was just making it worse, but she didn't know that. Vic swallowed the tight knot of fear that resurfaced whenever he thought of Afghanistan - which was often, these days - and when he realised that in less then two weeks he was going to be there.

Victor: Trying to distract himself, Vic looked at his tail as it flicked irritably with his emotions. Time enough to think about that when he wasn't with his friends, damnit. "An' I'm sure it's not the only thing y' like about me."

Cessily: "Ah, yeah, I guess I know what you mean. Seeing how much my own carelessness has made me screw up, I should know better." The smile on her face turned into a smirk. "Oh, no, certainly not the only thing I liked." She reached out to squeeze his hand. "You should know. I thought I showed you thoroughly enough what all I like about you."

Victor: "Yeah. Was a while ago, though, darlin'. Memory's gettin' a little vague in my old age." Oh god, and he was flirting with Cess in his and Rahne's old room. This just got better. At least it stopped her guilting him, even though it wasn't her fault. Vic squeezed her hand back.

Cessily: Cessily paused and lifted her head off his shoulder, giving him a questioning look with raised eyebrows. "This almost looks to me as if you're in dire need of a revitalisation." She cleared her throat. "Just talking about your memory here of course." Cessily wasn't sure how she felt about all this. This certainly seemed like a good new opportunity to screw up again.

Victor: Vic looked away from her at that look. Of course she was going to think he was a bastard. Idiot. "Of course." He half-smiled at her.

Cessily: Cessily's mind started to spin in circles as she tried to figure out implications. Why was she worrying so much about possible screw-ups again? This was so unlike the carefree ideal that she aspired to be. Vic was a good friend. One of her best. And she wanted to give him some comfort. "You know, I can think of many ways how to refresh your memory," she said with a smile.

Victor: Vic looked at her quickly, returning her smile with a half-smirk of his own. "Oh? An' what would they be?" Even if anything happened, it didn't matter. Like with Kyle. Rahne wasn't ever going to take him back, no matter how hard he hoped. And maybe he wasn't so much of a bastard. This wasn't anything but an empty room now.

Victor: Maybe if he kept telling himself that he'd believe it, someday.

Cessily: "Oh, I can show you," Cessily replied and turned around, pulling her legs up to lounge on the bed next to Vic. She leaned against his back and rested her chin on his shoulder. "You know me. We're good friends, and I believe that there are things that can be shared by friends, as well. Not just among lovers. No commitments, no obligations. Just comfort and a good time."

Cessily: She put her arms around his body as she looked around the room. "But I could understand if it would be better to go for a change of location, don't you think?" She paused. "If you even want to do this and I didn't just made a huge fool out of myself, that is."

Victor: For answer, Vic turned in her arms, pushing her back onto the bed and kissed her hard, straddling her. He broke the kiss, looking down at her with a smirk. "That a good enough reply f' ya?" He purred. "Or do I need t' be less subtle?"

[fourpawsonthefloor]

Silly Vic, pouting's for emos!

Anyways, great job you two. And kick his ass after you screw it Cessily!