xp_logs | Sam, Paige and Respect

x-foliate.livejournal.com posting in

Sam bites on his lip, angry thoughts roiling around in his head from talking with Angelo. He kept it so calm, and was so pleased with himself for not losing his temper and acting reasonably...now he just had to keep it up with Paige. Which is going to be hard, he knows. He rests his head on the doorjamb for a moment before knocking, and then shifts his weight from foot to foot while waiting for Paige to answer.

Paige is kind enough to answer promptly. She is also kind enough to be wearing appropriate clothing and everything. She learned since the last time, as fun as it had been. Sam is clearly not who she was expecting to see however, and her eyes shift quite a few times before settling for bright to match her smile. "Hey there Sammy. How do they say... what's up?"

"I think they say 'what's up?', Gee." He smiles, a little tired looking, and peers into her room. "Can I come in?"

She sticks out her tongue in return, a grin very obvious on her face and turns back into the room, obviously meaning for him to follow.

Sam follows her, trying to think happy thoughts so his neck doesn't turn red and give away the fact that he's about to start shouting at any moment. "So...you busy? 'Cause I kinda..." he shrugs, indicating that he wants to talk to her but doesn't want to intrude.

"Not busybusy. I have math homework but that can *always* wait." She grins some more, hoping that that grimace of his is caused by something unpainful like the colour of her shirt or something.

Sam attempts a carefree smile and flops down in the nearest chair. "Good. Gee, I don't really know what to do. We've had this conversation at least three times already, and every time you end up upset, or I end up upset, or nothing gets said. And every time, you completely ignore what I have to tell you."

"Well, you tell me to be careful and not get hurt. I seem to be doing that pretty well as I both careful and not hurt." Paige is trying very hard to be her bright self and almost succeeding. She hates that tone he's using on her right now.

Sam shakes his head, staring out the window. "Bein' careful and not getting hurt is one thing. But, I mean..." he can't quite bring himself to say it. "Neckin' in the hallway? With Angelo? Paige, I'm sure you know about what he considers a good time, and you can't blame me if I'm just real worried about your. About you puttin' yourself in a position you don't wanna be in."

Paige takes a very deep breath, closing her eyes. It's a very long time before she responds and when she does her voice is quite flat. "I was not necking in the halls. Angelo is a gentleman. I am perfectly aware of what position I am in and it's not the one you think I am." That's that.

Sam raises an eyebrow, then flicks his gaze to the floor, then up to Paige. "You..." Sam shakes his head. "How do you know he's a gentleman, Gee?"

"Because he's never done anything more than kiss me, Sam. Ever. For goodness sake, he holds the door open for me! What more do you want?" Her voice rises a little and she does the breathing thing again. Only her brother can make her this angry this fast.

Sam can feel his neck burning. He tries to do a little power-manipulation and draw the heat away, and as he does so he can also concentrate on something other than that horrible sound in Paige's voice that just makes him want to punch something. WHY does she always get so defensive? "I want him not to have been running around hav--mak--sleeping with everything that moves just because he thinks sex is fun! Someone who ain't got any honor and ain't got any need for commitment ain't good enough for you, y'hear?"

Her voice drops to freezing temperatures, her already dark eyes turning stormy. "Take that back. Now."

"Why?" He stands up, muscles tensed. A little voice in the back of his mind whispers here we go again...and he ignores it.

"I don't know, maybe because it's not true?" She looks up at him through narrowed eyes, some part of her daring him to make her angrier than this and perhaps come into punching range.

"Not true? Gee! What did you think he was doing with Johnjohn, playing checkers??" The exasperation in his voice is glaringly obvious, and he can't believe she's trying to gloss over obvious facts.

That hurt and it's quite obvious. "Angelo and I have already had this discussion. It's over; you are far behind. So, he had sex with John. We're doing things a different way."

Sam shakes his head exaggeratedly and tries not to bang his fist against the wall, taking deep, noisy breaths. "You see? You see how this always ends up working? Why can't you just listen?"

"I am listening, Sam. What you're saying just happens to be wrong." Paige is the polar opposite of her sibling, calmly regarding him.

He stands perfectly still for a moment, eyes closed, hands loose at his sides. "You know what? We ain't never coming to an agreement here. I don' know why I even bothered. You just know that I'm worried, and I'll just know that you think it'll all be fine, and we'll just wait."

Paiges smiles a little, a knowing smile that turns bitter around the edges, and tilts her head. "How about we just go back to what it was before, hm? That way no one loses."

"What was before?" Sam eyes the door.

"You leave now, give me a call sometime and never insult the people I love again," Paige replies finally. "I love you Sam but if this is how you're going to behave, if you're to come into my room and insult the people I love, not even bother to be kind, then... no. I was kind to you. I think I deserve the same respect."

"I think you deserve respect too, Paige, and you're not giving yourself any at all. If telling you the truth and trying to show you what you're doing is insulting, then so be it." He storms out without saying goodbye, his mouth set in a hard line.

Paige lets out the breath she has been holding and walks over to her door, closing it silently behind him. She ignores her shaking hands.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

x-shinobi.livejournal.com

Paige has the most self control EVAR. I'd have punched him inna mouf. No offense, Sam. :>

From:

x-foliate.livejournal.com

*pets the Paige* Luckily Sam is all knowledgeable and stays out of punching distance when he's calling the people Paige is dating whores.

(me? woulda taken a couple steps and punched him too)