It had been a day or two earlier when Ash had Lucas help her get some of her gaming stuff out of storage and over to the hotel room. Now she was sitting there, in low lighting, playing Soul Caliber 6 to work off some irritation. She and Luca were supposed to have gone out and catch an evening viewing of a new movie, but he had called up and cancelled at the literal last minute, saying something about having something to do, and not giving more detail. Since he seemed in a rush, she had just told him things were fine and to text her later. In reality, she was a little hurt. Realistically, she knew he had a job and it was probably related to that since he was on call a lot, or maybe something with his mom even, but it still didn’t take the sting out.
Truth be told, she was honestly more upset that her ass was being kicked by the system’s AI – on Ivy at that – than over Luca. She sighed when she lost, and grumbled a little. I’m probably just lonely. Really should get out there and make some friends. She thought a moment. Well, why not? It was only…she glanced at her phone…around eleven in the evening – still early enough to go do something. Optimism back in check, she dug through her suitcase for something fun to wear, and waited for the uber she had called. No parents to mind me, no bitch of an aunt or nasty little bratlings demanding things of me….it’s time to have fun!
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Lucas was worried about Michael. He could understand Michael’s perspective…he just wished he’d thought before acting. It bothered him that he’d done something so reckless. What if he did something like this again, to get attention and try to prove a point? What if he just did it to the wrong person next time? He hugged himself as he worried. He knew Dave was there, and could maybe talk to him, but Chris was attempting to sleep as far as he knew. Looking over, he could see that Michael was asleep as well. He got up, his thinking being to see who was up, and, if nothing else, get a drink for himself while he kept an eye on Michael to make sure he didn’t tear anything open or try to be too macho again.
Quietly, he made his way out to the remainder of the house. Chris was passed out on the air mattress, and Dave looked worried, but also tired. Lucas didn’t want to bother him with his worries. He went back to Michael’s room, and quietly closed the door, and sent a text to Ash, asking if he was there. Usually she responded right away, but this time she didn’t. Maybe she’s gone to sleep. Maybe that’s what I ought to do, too. Who else is there to talk to?
He sighed. He wasn’t tired – he was too worried about Michael. Just because Mandy had patched him up didn’t mean he was recovered. He had no idea how much blood had been lost or anything because of this recklessness, so an estimation of recovery was difficult. He uncapped the soda he’d grabbed and took a few drinks before recapping the bottle, setting it down, then picking it back up to place something to act as a coaster under it. He rubbed the bridge of his nose for a minute, then pulled his phone back out, pausing long enough to put it on vibrate before texting Donovan.
Sorry to bother you, but is there any way to know ahead of time if you have work for me in the next couple of days? Something’s come up with someone, and I’d like to be there for them for at least the next day or two if you can spare me. Gracias. With an internal sigh, he set the phone on Michael’s desk and searched for any kind of paper and writing implement. Sketching would allow him to take his mind off all the what if’s, and still allow him to be there for Michael.
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Nikki had finally gotten her apartment together, and had been putting more effort into a new story. The first one had been more of a standalone, but she thought that this next one might shape up to be more of a series. She was taking what she knew, and giving it a paranormal flair, now that she was more confident in her ability to get a novel to sell. The process of t his novel so far seemed rather fluid, in that skeletons of ideas would come to her, and ultimately flesh themselves out over time.
“The best novels often have their characters run away from the author’s intent though, don’t they Lovecraft?” she asked of the kitty purring contentedly on her desk, to the left of her mousepad. Her heroine had a small gift for magic, though was insistent that anything she was told was due to magic was mere coincidence. It was akin to how Nikki herself had been when she first started down her pagan path. Now, she knew better, and she wanted to show that pattern of growth in her heroine over time.
She didn’t yet know the antagonist, but she was certainly hoping the heroine would have more than a little spicy romantic interest thrown her way – preferably without turning her into a personification of Nikki’s wishful thinking. She laughed a little aloud at the thought. A relationship was not something she was looking for right now. If she found someone, she found someone, but she wasn’t ready to go searching yet, having escaped a nasty relationship a few months prior. She tried to do some fine tuning, but after attempting to feeling blocked, she gave up.
“Time for your momma to head out, fuzzball.” she said, scratching Lovecraft behind the ear. He stretched and yawned, looked at her as though to say ‘make sure there’s food in my bowl’, then curled up and went back to sleep. With a little laugh, she changed out of her loungewear (pajamas, really), and decided to head out for dinner rather than cook.