xp_logs | Angelo and John, Saturday night

Angelo finds John in the rec room and they watch Monty Python and exchange small talk, making a start on catching up.

With the sun going down, Angelo finally made his way back inside and towards his suite. He was soon sidetracked, though, by the sound of the TV on in the rec room, and put his head round the door to see who it was.

What better way was there to spend a Saturday evening than watching Monty Python's 'The Meaning of Life'. John cracked out a bit of a laugh as Mr. Creosote, the severely obese character made his appearance on screen. He'd already watched this particular scene a thousand times before and knew every single line by heart, sadly, but hell, it was still funny.

That got raised eyebrows from Angelo, watching in the doorway. He'd never particularly thought of John as a Monty Python fan... but then, he hardly knew the guy, especially now.

John had been at the rec room the night before and the place had been completely deserted. He'd assumed no one would be around today either, hence his decision to relax and unwind a little. There was a bowl of popcorn on the coffee table, a big bag of chips to his right and a six pack of beer on the floor.

...well, hell, why not. Angelo reached up to rap on the doorframe. "Hey. Room for one more?" Yeah, it was a public room, but John had got there first. No harm asking.

Recognizing the voice, John arched his head back before straightening up slighty. "Yeah, sure." He picked the bag of chips up and dumped it on the coffee table, making room for the guy.

Angelo wandered forward to sit down, nodding at the TV screen. "Haven't seen this one in awhile."

Mr. Creosote on screen was being offered a bucket for his vomit. It was disgusting. John smirked. "So why aren't you with the rest of the party?" He leaned forward and took hold of the bowl of popcorn, offering it to Angelo before taking a fistful for himself.

Angelo shrugged, accepting his share of popcorn. "Sun's goin' down. It gets cold out there after dark, whatever the New Yorkers think."

"Really? It gets cold after dark?"

"Oh, shut up. It doesn't in California."

John chuckled. "Yeah, like I wouldn't have known that either, right?" Taking a sip of his beer, he nodded toward the remaining cans on the floor. "Help yourself."

Angelo shrugged. "Just makin' my point. An' thanks." He reached down to snag a beer without actually moving from his place on the seat.

He spent the next few minutes with his eyes glued to the screen. There wasn't much that John could think to say, short of 'what have you been up to?'. But that question had been exhausted, overused and abused as of late. He was contented to sit back and just let the hour pass without there being a need for small talk.

Well, if it was a choice between silent semi-companionship and awkward conversation... might as well just sit back and watch the movie. Angelo was happy to do exactly that, with his popcorn and beer.

- - -

"So I'm dating this girl and she's telling me I don't see her enough. I mean, seriously -- what's up with chicks? One minute they're all cool and the next they turn into an Alex Forrest. Y'know, 'Fatal Attraction'? It's fucking ridiculous." John took his noodles out of the microwave and placed the bowl on the counter.

Angelo laughed. "Yeah, that's the way it goes sometimes. So what happened? Hope you're not gonna tell me you used to have a rabbit."

John snorted. "Girl's just a little too needy for my taste." He looked around the drawers for a pair of chopsticks. "How's Amanda doing?"

"She's good", Angelo said easily. "I mean - we're good. Just got tricked into a vacation because our bosses are sneaky."

"Where at?" Settling himself on a stool, John delved into the flavors of monosodium glutamate, cheap seasoning, chicken stock and flour.

"Madagascar. Nate made it sound like a work trip, an' Wanda hid Amanda's plane ticket in a stack of readin' about lemurs she made her do."

"Lemurs, huh." John started to fiddle with his lighter again.

"Yeah. Local wildlife, an' all." He glanced sideways at the other young man at the sound of the lighter clicking.

"You've got a serious knack for stating the obvious, grey." John clicked his tongue once with a wink. A thin veil of fire wrapped itself around the ceramic bowl, warming his noodles up before disappearing entirely. "So I noticed that you're rooming with the resident genius. What's the kid like?"

"Better'n sayin' nothin'. An' Forge... he's a pretty good roommate. Out a lot, an' he's quiet, but there's nothin' wrong with that. Opposite, even."

John nodded, allowing for the silence to take over, not quite minding the awkwardness of having nothing else to say. With the combination of three years gone by and the lack of a good rapport with the guy before this, it was only natural that it would be pretty damn hard to hold a conversation. John had to sign up for behavioral science classes just to learn about empathy and social skills. Slowly but inadvertently though, he was developing an awareness of others. Well, basically, he had started giving a damn.