infinite_reflection

"Nope, never." She shrugged, as if it really didn't matter. It would take too long to go into detail, and probably scare him away, had she chosen to go on about why. Basically, it boiled down to control. Tons of things changed with little input from Seiya, but the one constant in her life seemed to be her hair. She did, however, flash him a silly look when he mentioned his being a lot shorter. "How weird! I like it how it is." Seiya nodded matter-of-factly.

Greg shrugged; he really didn't care how his hair was to be perfectly honest. It wasn't a thing he had to look at often... No one had mentioned that they preferred it -short-, and now there was one in support of its current look, so he couldn't argue with the technical majority. "I'll keep it then, uh.. I guess." She'd answered really quickly in regards to her own hair, but some people were confident with one look and he had no problem with that! Now, back to her room...

"I didn't realize you, uh... Played video games, here." Maybe she'd mentioned it? He'd feel dumb if Seiya had before. She seemed competent enough in the arcade, so maybe he should've just assumed. Then again, it didn't seem like she was home a lot at all! There was a whole lot to consider and he really should just stop reading into all of this.

Comfortably returning to her seat, she hugged her american flag pillow. God bless. At the mention of video games, she smiled. "Yeah! All night." One could say she was studying up so they'd have more to talk about! She wouldn't really bring that up though. "That's what I was doing when that--" she gestured to the patched up window, "--happened. Lucky I wasn't hit in the head!"

Greg glanced at the not-so-much-a window. He'd seen it on the way in, though asking then seemed like it'd be weird. Now was an ample opportunity though, so he looked at it for a moment and then reached up to scratch idly at his cheek. "What happened there? Kids playing baseball or, uh, or something?" It must get drafty in here, now that he thought about it. Brrr.

"Yes, actually!" She got up, grabbing a roll of tape to seal up some of the edges that'd come loose. Seiya didn't know the first thing about replacing a window, and it seemed her dad wasn't really relevant enough to take charge. "Kota-kun from school did it, actually. So I invited him in and we played some games."

"Wouldn't really call that punishment for breaking a window, but uh..." Greg shrugged, watching her tape that thing back up and rubbing at his chin in the meantime. If he knew the first thing about fixing a window, he'd probably offer her help with it. As it stood though, the boy knew absolutely nothing and would probably hurt one or both of them if he volunteered! "Don't think I know anyone named Kota. I guess I haven't been here long, though."

Seiya set the tape down, smoothing the edges around the window. A few towels were scattered below it, probably for when it rained. "I forget what year he's in..." She grabbed another piece of cardboard, the words 'Yamada Mart' stamped on it, adding another layer to her makeshift window. "Also, it was an accident, so." Kota was just lucky her dad hadn't been home! "Eventually I'll just pay someone to fix it, I think."

The boy nodded with that suggestion... Sounded like the best route; if any kind of rainstorm came by she'd probably end up with half of her room all wet. "That'll probably be best, uh, yeah." He shrugged and then leaned back a bit on one of his hands. It was still weird sitting on Seiya's bed, let alone being in her room at all, but Greg was trying to get used to it. He hadn't had real friends in a while, okay? "Either way, it's a neat room. Probably what mine would look like if I had, uh... More space, really."

Finishing up, she skipped back to his side, flopping down. "Probably!" she agreed, falling back to stare up at the ceiling. Kicking her feet out idly, Seiya thought for a moment. "I definitely need to help you decorate, mmhm." Way to invite yourself over.

"Huhm? Oh... I was planning on unpacking within the next few days, uh... If you wanted to help." Probably a good idea, now that he thought about it, because Greg was liable to get lazy and just slap up all the posters willy-nilly and call that 'done'. It took a certain touch (and effort) to make a room look nice, and he really didn't have the patience for it. That, and having a friend over would admittedly be nice. Maybe when his dad could see, so it didn't seem like he was still all anti-social. That'd show him, eh? "Yeah, actually. You want to?"

"[Yes!]" Oh boy, another adventure to Greg's house! It was like Christmas and her birthday all wrapped into one! As she hoisted herself up, the sound of the front door unlocking echoed down the hallway. Seiya froze, staring out towards the door like it was foreign.

A tall man pushed his way inside, sliding his shoes off at the front entrance. He seemed to be holding a few Yamada Mart bags, making his way to the kitchen. The typical Japanese dynamics of 'I'm home!' didn't really apply to him, and he made no effort to call out for Seiya.

Was that a noise from the door? Maybe her dad was home. Greg wasn't worried, at least not at first, until he saw that his friend didn't look very confident at the moment. He opened his mouth to ask her why, then shut it, and then joined her in staring a little intensely at the door.

Was it okay for Seiya to have a friend over? To have a boy over? She seemed old enough, in Greg's opinion..! That didn't mean her father held the same one, though. Regardless of that he didn't want to -speak-, so instead the poor boy continued to look like a deer in the headlights, here.

Seiya stood up, looking more confused than afraid. She twiddled her thumbs, pacing her room for a moment. Turning to Greg, she spoke in a low voice, "He's never home when I'm awake."

The noises from the kitchen were that of Seiya's dad putting some things away, and started the oven. His footsteps could be heard down the hall, and he paused to open Seiya's door. The man looked young, but not as happy as he did in the pictures in the hallway. He stared at Greg as if he was some kind of animal. Getting over it, the man turned to Seiya. "3 to 8." Closing the door again, it was like he'd never been there.

"Is that bad?" The boy used an equally hushed voice, looking just as confused as Seiya, and kept his eyes on the door for the most part. It came to something like a crescendo with those footsteps down the hall, and then the older man opened her door and poor Greg just about lost his shit. He didn't get the nicest look, and expected something like yelling to follow it up, but then there were only three words (or two numbers and one word) and Seiya's dad was gone.

Greg exhaled a heavy sigh of relief, he'd been holding his breath for a moment there, and tried not to look too frazzled. It didn't really work! When he spoke, it was still pretty hushed. "Not a wordy guy, uh, huh? Heh..."

As Seiya's dad closed the door, her whole demeanor changed. She was back to herself, moving to her calendar quickly. Penciling in the information she'd just been given on tomorrow's date, she turned to him with a look of 'no shit.' "My dad doesn't usually even TALK to me. That right there was a phenomenon."

The phenomenon here was how normal everything suddenly was, in Greg's mind! How could one person go from looking so confused to so terribly normal in the span of one three word 'conversation'? He shook his head and blinked a few times, clearing his head of that, and then spoke up after a little clear of his throat. "Uh, that... That sucks, I'm sorry. You're not in trouble, right? I'd hate if, uh... Y'know, I got you into something like that."

Seiya circled the time as well, glancing back at Greg. "No, I'm not in trouble. That's my work schedule." She smiled awkwardly. This was the reason she rarely brought anyone over. "He usually just texts it to me."

"Oh, well that works, I guess." Right, in that moment of brief panic he'd gone and forgotten about the whole decorating thing. Everything seemed fairly normal now, so..? "Right after school then? I'll come by, uh... I would have anyway, but I'll do it now... Too." Was that nice? It had sounded nicer in his head. "Uh, right. Back to my apartment? Sorry we're walking a bunch."

"I look forward to it!" She grabbed her bag, filling it with tape and whatnot. It would come in handy for the decorating! "It's okay, I walk everywhere." Opening her bedroom door, it appeared that the laundry in the hallway was gone, and the door to Seiya's dad's bedroom was slightly ajar. Upon her exit, he would slide it completely shut though, the TV casting a glow on the floor.

Greg stood up from the bed, turning around to straighten out the sheets just a bit, then adjusted his own clothing and followed his friend out of her room. There was an awkwardness in the air, he had a feeling she was well aware of it, and it made idle chatter difficult to conjure up. "Uh... Hm." The front door wasn't far, and it'd probably get easier once they were out of a slightly oppressive environment. "You can come over any time. Like, to my apartment. Uh, if you want." More or less his way of saying 'it probably sucks here, so come to my less sucky place'.

"Oh really?" That certainly lifted her spirits! Sliding another pair of shoes on (seeing as the others were grimy), she waited for him to follow her before locking up the door. "I'll take you up on that!" Looking this way and that, she paused. "Which way is... from here?"

"Sure!" Too much enthusiasm; he dialed it back pretty quick with a little cough. "Not like there'll be tons to do, but y'know... Just, if you ever want to." Greg nodded firmly, that was enough before he dug himself into a hole and kept right on going, and took a moment to get his bearings before going... Left! "Uh, the apartments should be... Yamada Mart is this way, right? Okay, that means they're this way."

The walk was just as long as last time, about fifteen minutes, though Greg was more chatty this time so it might've gone by a little quicker. Sooner or later they'd arrived, and he mashed the elevator button in the lobby with a thumb before shoving his hands in his pockets to wait. "So, yeah. My favorite game is 'Snatcher', uh... It was only on the Sega CD, and it's pretty text-heavy. I don't, uhm... I don't think you'd like it all that much. Or anyone would, to be fair."

The conversation during the walk was a pleasant change of pace! Seiya was used to leading the talks between them, and was definitely surprised to see a chatty Greg. It was a good thing though, she was sure. By the time they reached his apartment building they were on the topic of video games. "[Snatcher]?" Seiya tapped her chin. "I'll look it up! You never know, maybe I'll love it." As the elevator doors swung open, she slid inside, leaning against the wall.

"Well, if you find it then I hope you do." He also hoped she liked reading, and tons of it. Greg stepped into the elevator after her and pressed the button for 10, then the doors slid shut and they were off. "Hard to emulate, too. If-- You know what, I can just come over and set it up one day, heh." He leaned on one of the walls while the elevator climbed, and when a 'ding' came from the little speaker near the console the boy shoved himself upright and they were off! Back to room 1001, which had apparently gained a little piece of paper hanging off of the door. "Oh... Uh, well, that means dad's home."

If Seiya inspected said door hanger, she'd find it was yellow and black and read 'CAUTION: MAN COOKING'. The warning seemed unnecessary, as the faint smell from inside was pleasant.

Following him down the hall, she raised both brows at the hanging sign. "Your dad's here?" Seiya brightened, wishing she'd been more prepared! Meeting his dad was a big deal to her, after all. Adjusting her bag over her shoulder, shifting from side to side, she sniffed the air curiously. "Wow that smells really good!"

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject