xp_logs | After-clubbing.

After what happened at the club, Jono goes to see Sarah about some comfort. They don't try to solve anything, because nothing can be solved by them. Then they sleep.

The middle of the night was definitely Jono's favourite time, and it usually found him prowling around the mansion out of boredom. Except this time he had a destination in mind. At Sarah's door he paused, not knowing if he was supposed to knock or not. He thought for a few seconds, then shrugged and tried the door. It wasn't locked so he went in, navigating made so much easier as he wasn't wearing anything to block the glowy bits of his chest.

She'd been sleeping since they got back from the club, having stumbled down the stairs to the basement and managed to put on something resembling bedclothes before curling up on the bed and passing out. She woke with a start when the door opened, relaxing a little and looking tiredly in the direction of her newly acquired nightlight. "Hey Sparky."

Jono closed the door, but stayed standing by it in case Sarah decided he needed to bugger off. "D'you mind?" he asked.

She shook her head slowly, scooting over to make room for him to sit on the bed. Leaning back onto the palms of her hands, she tilted her head to the side, motioning to the now empty spot. "What's up?"

"The usual." The reply was a bit flat. Jono crossed the floor and flopped on the bed, leaning against the wall. "Making a mess of things. I saw you dance though, that was nice."

"Yeah?" She said with a sleepy grin, "Was wondering if you were paying attention."

"Was looking for Paige, but didn't want to bother you," Jono seemed mildly amused. "You looked like you were having fun, and who am I to interrupt that sort of fun?"

"Probably better that way," she agreed, "if you'd shown up, Paige would've blushed and locked herself in the bathroom. We'd have never gotten her to come out." She gave him a serious look, too serious to be real. "I did miss my dance tonight though."

"With me?" He raised one eyebrow quizzically. "I thought I needed to stop touching you when you were drunk." He fingered his belt, near to fidgeting. "Did Paige- did she tell you what happened?"

"I didn't say that." A smile, and there's a moment of silence before she talks again. "No... what happened?"

"You didn't," he admitted. "I just figured it might be easier for me to stop imagining you naked if I was less drunk around you." He scratched his neck, then lifted one foot on the bed. "I'm not even sure. We were- Well, she kissed Angelo while I was leeching off him and I felt it too. I think. It was odd. Then suddenly she was blaming herself for hurting us both." Jono thudded the back of his head against the wall. "I don't get it at all."

"First off, if you leave a dent in the wall above my bed, people are going to get suspicious. So don't." She reached back onto the nightstand, grabbing a cigarette from the almost empty pack there. He sounded like he could use one. "Paige thinks too hard." She lit the cigarette, curling her legs up below her so she didn't have to lean on her arms. "You all do." Not accusatory, just an observation.

"I think I'd have to be facing the wall to dent it," he deadpanned, watching her smoke for a while before sneaking his hand out to touch her knee lightly. "Don't have a choice. There's nothing I can do, other than think about this. I can't really go and tell Paige that she is hurting us, and herself, and that this isn't going to work."

"Who says it won't work?" her hand curled around his, both eyebrows raised in curiosity. "What do they call those... self-fulfilling prophecies? Yeah." Of course, she knew exactly what he's talking about. There's that little part of her that still swears that she and Shinobi will never work.

"We're all too selfish," Jono explained, brow furrowed thoughtfully. "Paige's selfish because she won't choose, and I'm selfish because I won't let her go, and Angelo for the same reason."

"Why do you -have- to? I mean, I guess it makes sense to me..." She shrugged, taking another long drag off of her cigarette. What did she know anyway? It wasn't any of her business, really.

"It's not working like this, is it?" He lifted his shoulders, the movement of his shoulders oddly reminiscent of breathing.

"No, I guess not. You all say it isn't, so no." She squeezed his hand, leaning back to flick ashes into her ashtray. "I'm not helping much, am I?"

Jono slumped deeper against the wall. "It's all right. I suppose everyone just needs someone to whinge to. You're my choice, don't you just feel lucky?"

"How many months did I put up with living with you? I'm used to it, Sparky." She gave him an amused grin, "And besides, don't you think I'd have told you to fuck off if I minded?"

"Well, I'd've taken the hint if you'd started throwing things at me," he pointed out. "That's always a good sign of you not wanting to do something."

"You know me far too well," she chuckled, taking a last few puffs off her cigarette before twisting around to put it out. "I'll have to kill you now."

"Sweet relief. Aim here." He tapped a finger between his eyebrows. "Can I stay for tonight or will receive death by Shinobi if I do?"

She shrugged. First thought, 'he'd freak. he's posessive like that.' then she shook her head. He'd get over it. "He'd probably never even notice. He doesn't normally bound down the stairs in the morning to bring me breakfast."

"That'd be a sight," Jono mused, then raised an eyebrow at her. "Freak? Possessive? I promise I'll be gone before he even notices."

"Bad Sparky. That's cheating." She said with a pout, and burrowing back underneath her blankets. 'Stay as long as you like,' she thought, 'I don't mind.'