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Post by SANDRA HARU CHANG on Jul 11, 2012 21:47:23 GMT -5
Believe it or not, Sandra was going to the medical wing for a reason other than getting patched up for another accident today. Seriously, for real. Even though she was extremely accident-prone, mostly because she could be easily-distracted, it wasn't like she actually hurt herself every single day or something. No, no. Today she was going for a very different reason! After she'd gone to the medical wing last time and left with Nurse Avery's clothes, she was pretty sure she'd done a fairly good job of doing what he asked and not telling anyone that they were actually his... Then again, Sandra was too innocent to really understand why, so it was possible that she had slipped up, but nobody had asked much about it, so that was fortunate for her. Sandra was a very bad liar. She'd done as Nurse Avery had asked either way, though, and now that it had been a while since then, she thought that it was probably a good idea to actually return his clothes, so she'd tossed them in the laundry back at home and carried them to school in a paper shopping bag from... somewhere. She didn't really remember, but that was fine!
Classes were all over for the day, so she made her way to the medical wing now. It wasn't a long walk, honestly, from her last class, and she still had a bit of time before the bus back to Maple Hollow would show up. It didn't matter much if she missed it, she figured, since it came fairly regularly (for a place so remote, anyway) but she didn't think she had any real reason to stick around... not that she had any real reason to hang around at home, either. "Is Nurse Avery around?" she asked, strolling in like the place were her home or something. At this point, it probably might as well have been. She did spend enough time in there. "No, not right now. I think he'll be back... soon," the woman there responded before going back to what she'd been doing, some kind of paperwork or something. Sandra didn't know what kind of work it might be. "Oh, okay. I'll just come back later then!" Well, it was more likely she'd just return tomorrow or something, since she didn't actually know how long he'd be gone. Sandra turned to leave, checking the time on the wall clock as she went, and... managed to trip.
This was all normal in her life at this point, honestly, only she tripped on some kind of cart carrying what looked like pretty standard hospital stuff -- boxes of bandages, bottles of antiseptic (which were luckily plastic and couldn't break), and the like. That wouldn't have been too bad, either, except that the cart fell over and spilled its contents everywhere, apparently not used to having people trip over it (which was just silly, since it did after all exist in the same area code as Sandra). All in all, though, the worst part was probably the way she managed to cut her finger open on something sharp, probably whatever was holding one of the wheels onto the cart. Ooh, smooth. "Uh..." She looked over to where the woman, probably another nurse, was now staring at her like she couldn't possibly comprehend what had just happened. "On second thought, I think I'll wait here," she said in an attempt to lighten the situation. "Am I allowed to just take a band-aid or do you want to look at it or something?" She grinned sheepishly as she wiggled the slightly cut finger. It wasn't even such a bad cut, but ouch, did that sting.
The woman just kept staring, though, apparently very confused (she must be new, Sandra figured -- nobody else around here was that surprised at her shenanigans) and so instead, in the meantime, Sandra picked the cart back upright, careful not to cut herself again. "It's okay, seriously, this happens all the time!" she said while she did so, the picture of calmness... for someone who'd just potentially caused like, a medical wing traffic jam or something. The nurse (whose name Sandra should really learn) still didn't seem to have collected her bearings by the time the door opened and someone else entered.
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Post by DEVIN JAMES THATCHER on Jul 13, 2012 0:52:25 GMT -5
Well, this route had become second nature by now. At least since he injured himself a while back and hurt his ankle by slipping oh-so-gracefully on the ice. It was still a nuisance. Of course it did not help that Devin's capability to trip over...well, everything led him to fall up a flight of stairs not only a few days before. The ankle, which was already wrapped and being babied enough as it was, had been turned again and boy did that hurt! The nurse at the medical wing said he was fortunate not to have done worse damage. Lucky break? More like lucky twist. He was a bit of a lazy bum so having it broken would not have hindered the boy much but still. He liked his ankle not broken. That was always nice. After that visit to the wing they asked that he come back in the afternoons to have them ice it and help him rotate it so it would not go stiff and make sure it was healing properly. A twist that twisted again was not exactly good.
The blonde hobbled down the corridor, dodging several students along the way. He actually had a set of crutches the first couple of days after the initial trip up the stairs, but he figured that he would do okay without them. They were a potential hazard for falling again anyway. For Devin Thatcher, anything was possible. Even the oxygen lingering in the room managed to become a difficult obstacle on some days. "You going to the wing again DJ?" He turned his head to see one of his fellow Earths keeping step with him as he walked. Devin smiled brightly as though he were completely unfazed by his bad luck. "Yep! They have to keep track of it and make sure that it's healing up the right way." His friend rolled his eyes and laughed. "You really are the most graceful person on this planet." He could not have been more sarcastically correct. Devin shrugged it off with a chuckle of his own. "I know right? It's a talent. I should get an award." Ohh, shiny. He would gladly trip over his own feet for a shiny trophy.
"You should. But for now I guess good luck with whatever it is you'll be doing." The two boys waved one another off before Devin finished his trek towards the medical wing. Just as his hand hit the door handle, he heard a crash from inside. At first he hesitated and wondered if it would be awkward with him wandering in just as shit fell apart, but at the same time Devin was eager to sit down and take the weight off of his foot. Perhaps it was a bad idea to leave his crutches back at home. He waited for a moment, and then decided to open the door. Devin blinked. "Sandy?" She was not someone he expected to see here. Sure they were both prone to winding up at the wing but even so he could not recall a time when they were here at the same time. Instantly the boy was more concerned about her than himself, and upon seeing her finger he forgot about his ankle and made way over to her. "Are you alright? What happened?" Instinctively, Devin reached out to take her hand and examine the cut, but suddenly felt his neck grow warm. Don't back down from touching her hand. That won't help anything. That might actually make it more awkward. Acting too different would not help. "It seems we like to grace the medical wing with our presence a little too much." Devin chuckled and shrugged off his misfortunes, but still the expression on his face showed concern for Sandra's finger. It might have just been a cut but he always fretted over his friends.
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Post by SANDRA HARU CHANG on Jul 13, 2012 23:39:22 GMT -5
Sandra had actually sat down on the floor -- or squatted, more like, really -- so that she could more quickly put things back from where the cart had vomited them onto the floor. Seriously cart, that was not cool. This thing apparently didn't like her very much. Either way, she was doing it pretty calmly, guessing that she could give the nurse a few minutes or something to figure out what the hell had just happened. Seriously, Sandra had a gift for these kinds of accidents, the ones that didn't even make sense. To think she'd even come to the wing today, accident-free, no bruises or scrapes or twisted ankles or anything of the sort, just to drop something off. Well, so much for that. She sighed a little bit out loud, sounding almost wistful as if this had been a very big deal to her... and then she realized that the person who'd entered was Devin. Oh. Oh. She had seen him last when they'd been hanging out at his place, the day he'd twisted his ankle. Man, that had been an awkward night. She couldn't even remember why she'd felt so awkward -- only that was totally a lie, she really did remember it pretty well. Oh, Sandra.
... Oh, Devin.
"Oh, hey Dev!" she greeted, proud of herself for how utterly normal she sounded. Normal for Sandra was just happy as always -- it was her default or something, which was much better than having a neutral expression that looked like she was glaring at anyone or anything like that. She got to her feet kind of clumsily as he crossed the room, noting in this time that he kind of hobbled. It wasn't too bad or anything, but it was definitely noticeable, and she frowned a little. As they hadn't spoken much if at all, she hadn't exactly gotten the chance to check up on him, apart from a few texts here and there. "I'm okay! I just, uh..." She gestured around her at the mess on the floor. "May have tripped. And knocked over a cart with a bunch of stuff. And then cut my finger on that thing connecting the wheel. But I swear, I'm okay!" she said, almost laughing a little at the ridiculousness of this story... of her life in general, really. He reached out a hand, and she offered her finger as if for inspection, like he was a nurse or doctor too or something... except he wasn't, he was Devin. She felt kind of strange again, and she said more softly than was normal, "Not gushing blood or anything, I promise. Like a paper cut!" Well... it was probably nothing like a paper cut at all, but it wasn't that bad, really.
This out of the way though, it was definitely her turn to start fretting over him too. This was really a minor cut. It was Devin with the hurt ankle, here, and it'd probably been a while."Are you here for your ankle?" she asked, cocking her head to the side. "You're not hiding any other injuries, are you? 'Cause you said you'd try not to get hurt..." She tried to sound threatening as she gave him a suspicious look, but Sandra failed miserably at this. "We might a bit, yeah. Hey, they love us here. We bring excitement to everyday life." She glanced over at the nurse, who looked as if the last thing she ever wanted was excitement, ever again. "Uh, here, you should go sit." She looked pointedly at his ankle. She was no expert in this field, but it was probably best not to leave weight on it for so long... maybe. Hey, Sandra didn't know.
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Post by DEVIN JAMES THATCHER on Jul 14, 2012 14:12:57 GMT -5
Well, Devin was glad her greeting sounded chipper and normal. After that night at his apartment he had felt nothing but awkward. They even avoided one another after that save for a text here and there. Devin wanted to hang around her but felt that the air would continue to be...strange. Different. And although the different was not bad it was still something he was unsure of. Especially since Sandra had acted a bit off afterward as well. "Hey!" He greeted back, lifting his hand a bit in a sort of wave. His voice did not betray him fortunately. Probably because Sandra sounded so normal. That really helped. He sighed a little and smiled at her, amused as she gestured to the mess on the floor. Clumsiness was almost contagious! "Well, I'm glad you're okay. It definitely could have been worse!" She could have fallen on something sharp or hit her head or something. Devin would have freaked out. He never did well when people were hurt.
"You swear?" He repeated, noticing that she allowed him to examine the cut on her finger. It was not bad but definitely needed a band-aid. He frowned. "No other injuries right?" The boy was forever concerned for his friends, forgetting that he himself was settling all of his weight on the leg opposite his injured ankle. It was in his nature to put his friends before himself in situations like this. Feeling strange again, Devin gently let go of her hand and looked around. "Gushing blood or not, you need something to patch that up." Definitely a band-aid. A box of them was sitting on the cart that had been placed back into an upright position, and he reached over and snagged one. Just as he was about to open it, she asked about his ankle.
It was not that he was unaware of his ankle bothering him, more that he wanted to put a bandage on Sandra's injured finger. The both of them always seemed to worry needlessly over one another and their other friends as well. Rather adorable, really. "Yeah, I am. But it's all good!" He flashed her a disarming smile. "Slowly but surely getting better. They just want to ice it and stuff." Which he could certainly do on his own but Avery and the other nurses wanted to make sure that it did not get any worse than it already was. Devin forgot that he did not mention him re-twisting it to Sandra. Whoops. He chuckled and lifted his hands, band-aid still clutched between thumb and forefinger. "I promise, no other injuries. I'm fine, really! If I had hurt myself outside of my ankle I would let you know." He was not sure if that would have actually happened, being as they seemed to avoid one another since...the awkward moment. He liked to dub it that because that was probably the most appropriate description. "It's...probably bad when I wind up bringing all of the staff here Christmas presents and stuff, yeah?" Devin laughed and glanced at the nurse at the desk, who did not look very familiar. A newbie? Oh boy, was she in for a fun ride with their clumsiness.
For a moment, Devin looked over Sandra's features before dropping his chin and looking down at his feet. His ankle was getting to be a bit of a nuisance now, standing on it for so long. "Yeah, I probably should." He started to turn towards some of the cots before glancing back at her. "Want to join me? I can put this band-aid on your finger and stuff too. I could use the company." The icing took a good half an hour and then he usually spent another half hour resting up before trying to make his way home.
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Post by SANDRA HARU CHANG on Jul 15, 2012 18:45:28 GMT -5
She nodded a few times in eager agreement. "Definitely could have," she said. She was, obviously, glad that it had been minor too, but really she hadn't thought she was in any real danger or anything, so she couldn't have gotten concerned about it. Maybe if she'd tripped and fallen down a flight of stairs, she'd be much more actively relieved and glad that she hadn't died or something. "I swear," she repeated after him once more for emphasis. "Nope, nothing!" She didn't have any injuries that she knew of, anyway... and if she hadn't yet noticed something, then she doubted that it was a big deal in the slightest. "Patching it up would probably be good. Though I think it'd probably heal up on its own after a while..." Still, it stung out in the open air, even if they were inside. She had heard that band-aids actually prolonged the healing process, but meh, Sandra didn't really care.
Despite his confidence in the fact that it was fine, she gave him a suspicious look, as if she didn't believe him. She was a pretty trusting person all in all, but this was a little different -- it was hard to tell whether or not he was actually okay or just said he was for her benefit or whatever. Then again, she didn't see how it benefited her in the first place... "If you say so," she said after a second, though. "Have you been in here every day, then?" It had actually been a while since he'd twisted it, if she remembered correctly... and she sort of did remember pretty well, because that day had been the same day that she'd come over. "Okay. You'd better! No secrets," she told him, ignoring this nagging feeling in her mind that maybe just possibly she was already keeping secrets... but she didn't really think it counted if she didn't even know what the heck was going on herself. Sandra wasn't that good at keeping secrets, but she was even worse with emotions -- emotions besides happiness and enthusiasm and the like.
She followed his gaze over to the nurse. Sandra definitely didn't recognize her... She knew most if not all of the faces around these parts. "Hey, I did too!" she said, giggling a bit. Not all the gifts had been much, though, but Sandra liked to make people feel special or appreciated in some little way. She wondered if she actually had, but she became quickly distracted when she looked up and locked eyes with him again. God, his eyes really were the brightest ever... and how many times was she going to notice that within the same couple of weeks? It somehow still threw her for a loop every time. She had known him for years! She shook away the thought as best she could. "Mm, go on, I'll just be a sec!" she said, letting him wander off to the chairs. She scooped the rest of the things off of the floor and stacked them back onto the cart sort of haphazardly before skipping back over, careful not to touch her cut finger on anything as she did so. "If you don't mind?" she asked, more softly than before, offering up her finger again. She supposed that she could have struggled with a band-aid herself, but it was always harder to put it on her own finger, unable to use both her hands. "How long does it usually take, icing your ankle? I'll keep you company!" She could pretty much wait as long as anything, considering she'd just be waiting for the bus, and it came periodically.
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Post by DEVIN JAMES THATCHER on Jul 15, 2012 23:56:50 GMT -5
"Good," He said, actually sounding serious. He liked to ensure that she was okay because...well, it was kind of obvious. Having Sandra be hurt was not something he wanted on any day of the week. Ever. She was one of his friends! It would be horrible to hope for her to be in bad health or hurt. "It probably will," Devin agreed, nodding but not looking entirely convinced. "But still. I don't want you to get an infection or something! That wouldn't be good." Even if the cut wasn't that bad, he would not like to see her finger all swollen and red and...no. And then he would feel some sort of weird guilt for not encouraging her to put a bandage on it. Silly sort of thing to feel guilty over but that's how he was. The boy cared a lot for Sandra, or any of his friends really. They made his world go 'round.
He pulled his head back slightly when Sandra gave him a disbelieving look, not really sure how to respond. Did she not believe him? Although Devin was hurting he was speaking the truth; the ankle was in the process of healing and eventually it would be in full swing again! At least he thought it would be. Assuming he did not go and throw himself down a flight of stairs. That might be a little counter-productive, he thought. "Believe me, everything is fine." He tried to reassure her with a bright smile. "Yep, just about. It's not all that bad though. I can just chill out here for a bit and talk to the nurses and stuff." That definitely wasn't so bad. Most of them were really friendly and made for a good conversation. An excellent distraction from the bucket of cold as fuck ice that his foot would be stuck in for an hour. He suddenly looked abashed and shuffled his good foot back and forth. "Well..." He started, rubbing the back of his neck. "I actually kindasortahurtmyankleagain." It was all in a rush of breath, probably difficult to understand, but he was almost embarrassed to admit that his clumsiness led him to re-hurt himself. Whoops. And there he was standing on his ankle allowing it to become swollen from the pressure. Smart! "It's not that bad though! Just...uh...yeah. Me and my talent for hurting myself." It was a constant thing.
Devin laughed, amused that Sandra actually did the same thing for the nurses they frequented throughout the school year. He honestly thought he was the only one who did that! Well, the nurses got twice the presents on Christmas it seemed. That was good. They worked hard dealing with people like Devin and Sandra who were just oh so graceful. "Great minds think alike!" He chirped, about ready to roll up onto the balls of his feet in happiness but refrained. Ankle. Ouch. His smile had been there almost the entire time they chatted, but when Sandra locked eyes with him again it faded into something more...content. Thoughtful. More of a half smile, a smirk than anything else. Her reply drew him out of his lull. She had managed to completely distract him from everything around them. Devin cleared his throat. "Alright, I'll be awaiting my fair maiden to join me~" He sing-songed. Normally this comment would not sound nor feel awkward but as soon as it passed his lips he regretted it. Not because she was not a sort of fair maiden to him--she was, and...well...now his train of thought was completely muddled. He sat down on the cot with a sigh and watched as she cleaned up her mess.
While he waited, his thoughts drifted. Why was touching her so...strange now? Normally he would think nothing of it. And every time he went to a party he felt guilty. Every time he slept with a girl he felt guilty. Sandra's face popped into the forefront of his mind sometimes and that made things incredibly awkward. Devin was not sure what to do with himself now. The last time he dropped off everything for a girl...well, they were not together anymore. Autumn hurt him really bad. Sandra isn't like that. He scolded himself. Even so Devin felt stuck and confused.
Speaking of touching... "No, no I don't mind at all." Devin's voice was equally soft as he fiddled with the band-aid wrapper. He felt so clumsy and awkward now. Even so, he managed to get the bandage out of its not-as-complicated-as-he-made-it wrapper. "Let's see..." He bit at his lip as he held her hand with one of his own and set the gauze pad of the band-aid on the cut, then finished wrapping it up. "There we go, good as new! You'll be healed up in no time." He said it as though it was hindering Sandra's ability to function properly or something. It was just a small cut. He always was overdramatic with these things. Aftera moment he realized he was still holding her hand and let go rather quickly, focusing instead on her question and his ankle. "Oh, it'll only take about an hour or so. Not too long! Well, only about half an hour but I normally like to sit here for another half hour to make sure the swelling stays down." He nodded and lifted up his pant leg to look at the wrap around his injury. "I wanna make sure I can drive home and stuff y'know?" Because that wouldn't go over well if he got in an accident because his ankle was giving him trouble. Devin flailed his hands back and forth at Sandra, giving her another smile. "Don't feel obligated to stay though! If you have other things to do." About that time the nurse brought in the bucket of ice and he slid his shoe and sock off, settling it into the ice. He hissed from the shock and then relaxed. It will help, it will help. He told himself.
[I'm so so so...sorry for the length. D: He just won't stop babbling. You don't have to match at all! I just kinda let his muse do what it wanted. >>]
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Post by SANDRA HARU CHANG on Jul 17, 2012 17:53:53 GMT -5
She giggled softly, looking at the cut instead of at Devin. She wiggled her finger a little. It still kind of hurt, but it was nothing she wouldn't be able to deal with. Life went on despite these little things -- she had definitely gotten very used to such little injuries. "I'll be extra careful not to get it infected!" she said, smiling a little. She didn't really think anything was likely to happen, but it was always better to be sure, and she liked having Devin -- or, er, someone, anyone? -- care about her.
Sandra gave in, humming her assent and nodding. "I trust you," she said after a second, smiling back. Then he looked a little -- or a lot -- more sheepish, though, and she narrowed her eyes at him in suspicion. It was actually pretty difficult to understand the blurred gibberish that came out of his mouth, but she got the gist of it. She took a few seconds to properly process everything that he'd said in such a rush. "Devin!" she scolded, giving him what she hoped was an extremely disapproving look, not that Sandra was very good at telling people off. She was usually the one on the receiving end. "Again? How?!" She was squeaking now, though, worried all over again. "So clumsy. So ungraceful. So lousy!" she said, giving him a grumpy look before she softened. "What are we going to do with you?" She might have to wrap him up and tape him to the wall to keep him from getting hurt. Sandra almost laughed out loud at the mental image. She doubted it would actually work -- there were too many things that could go wrong with that plan...
Did guys appreciate being called beautiful? Some part of Sandra's mind told her that no, most of them did not, but it wasn't like the word was something that she thought could only be exclusively used for females. Then again, she could see the beauty in most everything and everyone. Devin was no exception, definitely not in this case... and yet it was different than in any other way. Sandra thought maybe she should say something about it -- she always thought she should say everything that came to mind, and this of course wasn't the case all the time -- but she could think of nothing, and she was glad when they managed to change the topic and she looked away, breaking eye contact. "Yeah..." She smiled a little, almost as if dazed. "Yeah, I'll catch up!" she said, with more gusto this time, shaking away any lingering funny feelings, even though it was difficult with the words fair maiden thrown into the mix. Once she had gotten there, she did a mock curtsey (or at least, she tried to, but pfft... as if Sandra knew how to really curtsey), only playing up this whole maiden business, as if, before flopping down next to him, though she was careful not to disturb his leg too much. "What does that make you? Prince Charming?" she asked, her question innocent, posed as a joke, but her cheeks were faintly warm.
She smiled in amusement as she watched him mess around with the wrapper, bumbling in a way, before he got it on her finger. He was adorable. "Thanks, Dev." The words were said softly but she grinned, looking up at him rather than at her finger, though it might have made sense to when he was putting a band-aid on it. Meh... She trusted him not to put the sticky part over her cut or anything. It was only when he dropped her hand that she realized that he hadn't done so already... and then there was another blush. "Now I go on surviving," she said, grinning as if this bleeding -- barely -- had been seriously hindering. "An hour, eh? That's not that bad!" she said, nodding. "Don't get hurt again! Or again-again! And no driving unless you're sure you're good," she added, looking down at his ankle. She wondered if it made it pretty difficult to drive -- it probably did at least a little bit. She giggled as he flailed his hands back and forth. "Waiting with you beats waiting for the bus outside alone," she pointed out, hoping the emphasis was on waiting here, in the medical wing, rather than... er, actually with him, even though this was exceptionally true as well. Devin didn't need to know these things!
She looked down at the bucket of ice when he hissed -- her eyes went wide. "You okay?" she asked, both her hands reaching out to take one of his out of instinct. She wrapped her fingers around it as if this would help, because wasn't that what people did when people were in shock or pain or whatever it was? Man, that stuff had to be pretty cold. She stared down at the ice, definitely not envying Devin in the slightest, not even really aware of what she'd done just yet.
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Post by DEVIN JAMES THATCHER on Jul 18, 2012 4:13:30 GMT -5
Devin flashed her a grateful smile; he did like to be trusted. Even if it was for little things, minor things, trust was always good. It meant that their friendship was not flimsy and about ready to crumble or something. He probably wouldn't be able to handle that. Sandra then proceeded to scold him and instantly he drew his head back and frowned. "What?" Was she upset with him? That wouldn't do! He tried to think of something to say but he merely fumbled with his fingers and looked like a scorned child. "I...I uhm. I fell up a flight of stairs a few days ago. Just kinda tripped!" Devin instantly wanted to blame the stairs for his accident but that would be silly. Stairs couldn't trip up people on purpose. Or could they? Scary thought, especially with his grace. Devin could not help but pout when she called him lousy and ungraceful. He looked down at his feet for a moment before he took notice that her voice had softened up. "I suppose we could just tape a bunch of pillows to my body?" He nodded as though the idea was legit. "Then I'll just kinda waddle around like a poofy penguin." That image amused him quite a bit.
It was strange how aware of the feelings he kept receiving whenever he looked at Sandra or she smiled at him or...well, anything really, but he did not realize that she was dealing with the same thing on her end. It was probably for the best to prevent from having things get overly awkward; Devin did not want to lose his friendship with her and his insecurity led him to believe that there would never be a chance anyway. A sad thought but he could not stop the negative feels from poking at the back of his mind.
He laughed when she made her curtsy. She was incredibly adorable. He really just could not help but smile and feel light around her. Devin felt his face grow incredibly warm. "Maybe," He half muttered, mussing with his hair like he did when he felt anxious or embarrassed about something. "But prince charming is supposed to be, well, amazingly charming. And he normally gets the girl." His breath hitched in his throat, his heart thudding loudly in his ears. How would Sandra take that? Did it sound as bad as he thought it did? The blonde cleared his throat and looked nervous now. "Uhm...that's..I mean--" There was no way to rectify that sentence without making it worse. No way. After a few more moments fumbling about with his words, Devin finally sighed and dropped his chin a little bit, passing her a short sideways glance. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. He did chuckle a little bit to try and ease his tension but it probably sounded feeble. "Essentially...nope, no prince charming here."
Taking advantage of her gratitude to help divert himself from his...awkward slip-up thing, he smiled at her again. "No problem," He replied, catching her gaze halfway through his band-aid placement procedure. Fortunately he did not place the adhesive on her cut or mess it up at all. Sandra's eyes were so distracting. Her smile was distracting. Sandra in entirety was distracting. "Good! I would be sad if you didn't survive." True facts. Devin would not really know what to do with himself if something bad happened to her. Or, well, any of his friends really. Imagining some sort of horrific accident made his chest tighten in anxiety. "I promise I will try my best not to get hurt again-again," Devin chuckled. "And I'll wait until I know I'm good enough to drive myself home. Thirty minutes is normally good enough." Long enough to help him walk to the car, use his foot for the gas pedal, and walk into the house. Then he could hobble over the couch and lay there for hours on end. Judith had been lenient on chores for the past while and Athena was even willing to bring him his dinner since it bothered him to get up and move around too much. Such a sweet family he had. "Well...since you were sweet enough to wait with me, I'll drive you home if you want." It was the least he could do for her being willing to stick it out with him while he had ice put on his ankle for an hour.
"Yeah...yeah I'm fine. Just really, really cold," Devin half gritted through his teeth as he waited for his body to adjust to the freezing temperature placed on his foot. A bit of a shock. It would take a moment to wear off. Of course all of that was dashed away the moment Sandra grabbed one of his hands in hers. His heart leaped up into his throat for a half second before he could turn his head to look at her. All of his thoughts halted, his breathing slowed, a bit of a smirk playing on his lips as he looked at her. Not a sly or suggestive smirk, more content as his blue eyes scanned over her face. They quickly darted down to her lips but he instantly stopped and looked up again. I didn't just... Oh he did. That was awkward. Devin swallowed and wiggled his fingers out of her hands a little to somewhat hold one of them in his own, offering a squeeze. "At least it's just ice, right? Could be worse. Like...a tub full of piranhas." And that was enough to help take his mind off of the fact that he had actually thought about kissing his friend.
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Post by SANDRA HARU CHANG on Jul 18, 2012 23:26:22 GMT -5
She wasn't really upset, regardless of her expression -- well, if anything, she was just worried about the guy. Seriously, he was so clumsy. Sandra let out a long sigh as if seriously contemplating not "forgiving" him for what he'd done, but then she smiled lightly."Okay. You should be more careful," she said. There was no use trying to do or say anything about it now, anyway! It wasn't like she could turn back time and stop him from hurting himself... all those times... That would be way too much time travelling anyway. She would tear the space-time continuum apart! "Hey..." she said after a moment, much more softly this time, noting the biref moment in which he'd pouted and looked down. "I didn't mean it." Had she really just called him lousy? Ugh, Sandra. "I'm just... worried. You're always hurt!" she bawked, with half a mind to reach out for his face or something -- because she really didn't like that he'd looked away -- but she refrained, recalling the last time she had decided that would be a good idea.
In a way, she was glad for the change of topic. "Nurse Avery told me I should do that the other day," she said, blinking a few times and giggling, remembering their conversation. It was funny how many people apparently thought this would be a good way to prevent injury. "For me though I mean. But everyone should just get a pillow suit!" She couldn't even lie -- the image of Devin waddling around like a penguin was hliarious and adorable. "That's foolproof for sure."
She didn't really know why he was messing around with his hair, but she decided to just take that as it was, listening to his sort of kind of explanation with a light smile on her lips. It turned into a frown when he stopped and looked away, though. Her face went a little warm at the realization of what he'd said, but she tried not to overthink the situation too much. It wasn't like he was wrong! Prince Charming did... as did superheroes, but then again, Devin was always going to be Captain Canada in her mind too. She didn't really actually notice anything particularly off about his chuckle but she still didn't say anything for a second, for a few brief moments finding herself short on words. After a second, still frowning, she fixed him with a look. She didn't know what kind of look, but a look. "Any girl would be lucky to have you," she told him softly, but her flat tone and the way she looked straight at him -- although he was looking away -- implied that it was genuine and not to be argued with. She definitely meant it, too. "Maybe you just haven't met this girl yet!" Then again, she thought, maybe he had, but this wasn't a though that Sandra was willing to entertain for very long.
She smiled a little. "Death by minor cut," she said, her eyes widening a little. "Can you even imagine how weird that would look in an obituary?" She giggled. The thought was just a little morbid, but really it was okay in this case she thought or at least hoped. She wasn't being the least bit serious. That would be like bleeding to death from a paper cut or something -- though she supposed that maybe it was possible with things like anemia, but Sandra was healthy and disorder-free, believe it or not considering her excessive love for naps. "Good," she repeated. How many times had she said that? "Longer if you need it though," she added, though she trusted him to know when his own body parts were functioning relatively well. "Oh, thanks!" She grinned brightly. "I totally only offered to stay because I didn't want to take the bus, thanks for the offer," she teased, poking his cheek gently. That was obviously not even a little bit true. Sandra was staying because she liked Devin -- uh, as a friend, what she meant was, because Devin was her friend, and she didn't like the idea of him waiting here all on his own with nothing but a bucket of ice to keep him company. She didn't even have in her what it took to be manipulative.
"If you're sure," she said uncertainly, but it wasn't until he reacted -- seemed to relax a considerable amount -- that she even realized that she had taken hold of his hand at all. She looked down at her own hands. Sheesh, hands, what were they even doing all the way over there? She hadn't even told them to do that. Sandra could feel her face growing seriously warm, and such was her distraction that she didn't notice a thing at all if he was a bit weird in the meantime. Even so, she didn't pull her hands away, and instead she squeezed his hand in return, hoping that this was in some way helpful. He did look more relaxed, for whatever reason, so she couldn't be failing completely. "I..." She faltered, losing her train of thought for a second, before she continued, putting a smile on her face, "I don't think a tub of piranhas would be super useful to your ankle, no." That sounded normal enough! Right? Right. This was totally going to prevent him -- and herself, maybe -- from noticing the fact that no, she had no particular desire to relinquish his hand.
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Post by DEVIN JAMES THATCHER on Jul 19, 2012 1:23:06 GMT -5
He nodded a little bit, more than willing to try and be more aware of his surroundings. Perhaps that was it? The fact that he did not pay much attention to where he was going? Or maybe he really was that clumsy. Either way he would try, because Sandra asked. Devin did not like her--or well, anyone--worrying over him needlessly. At least he was not dead or in the hospital, right? The pout slowly retracted. "But it's true," He replied, looking a bit abashed but trying to make light of everything like always. "I really am pretty lousy." Was that how Sandra really viewed him? He certainly hoped not. That made his heart hurt at the thought that maybe she saw him as a lousy person. Blue eyes flitted over in her direction, smiling a little. "You're really the sweetest thing. I'll be fine though! I'm always fine." A good default response. Devin was usually fine though. Not much brought him down, and if he was feeling low it did not last for too terribly long. Positive attitudes tended to function that way. The change of topic did allow for him to push his insecurities away for the time being. They could be such a nuisance.
The image of seeing Sandra in a pillow suit greatly amused him, and could not help but chuckle. "Maybe they can make it like...a prescription or something. For the clumsy people. Wear it daily, do not use when operating heavy machinery...do not drive after use...all that good stuff." Commercials were helpful for a little humor, after all! He often wondered what use some prescription drugs actually had when most of the side effects were ten times worse than the original problem. 'Having trouble sleeping? Take this pill! It might kill you though.' Yeah, that sounded really appealing. He'd much rather be an insomniac than six feet under. "It is foolproof. At least..well, I guess if we're clumsy enough it might be possible to be hurt." And for them it just might be.
As confident as Devin liked to act in regards to his 'love' life, dating, flirting, sleeping around, all of that, he really did not have as much as he led others to believe. Most of the reason he avoided actually dating someone was fear that he would not be what he should be for them. Like there was always someone out there better suited for the position. With Autumn, he made an exception and look where that led him. Another break-up, another dead end. After that Devin tried to see everyone as a friend. Keep things strictly on that level. He blinked a couple of times and looked at her now. "I..." What was he supposed to say? He'd never really been told something like that before. "I'm not sure about that but...thanks." Part of him wanted to talk about Autumn, about what happened between them that caused him to avoid any more relationships following their break up. It was not that he did not have interest. The fear of inadequacy could be paralyzing. "Yeah, maybe I haven't..." Devin replied softly. He was not sure if that statement was true or not. He could not tear his eyes away from her, though.
"That would probably be the weirdest obituary ever," He noted, laughing (and feeling bad for laughing about people dying) and envisioned opening the newspaper one morning to see something like that. It would be a really slow way to go though. Devin waved his hand a little, letting it hang limp afterwards. "Nah, I'll be fine! That's about how long I do it every day." He gave her a smile to reassure her, not sure if she was bothered that he did not really spend much time babying his ankle like he should. At first Devin thought Sandra was being serious about using him as a means to get home instead of going by bus, but that only lasted for a split second before he chuckled. "DJ's escort service! Kindof like a taxi, only I don't think I look or smell like a hobo who probably has some sort of criminal record." That was such a horrible label for taxi drivers but he was merely teasing. There were really nice taxi drivers who...well, still didn't exactly smell like Pinesol but at least they were friendly.
He nodded eagerly. "I'm definitely sure. Besides, I have some of the best company in the world. That helps a lot." Sandra had always been good company. From their lazy nights at his apartment watching movies and eating junk food to shirking school work by going and finding means to procrastinate. The options for skirting around doing homework were endless, really. Holding her hand, however, short circuited his train of thought and anything he was dwelling on before seemed to dissipate into thin air. He probably looked like a bit of an idiot just staring at her the way he was. The squeeze to his hand somewhat jolted the boy from his daze, though. How did she manage to do that to him? He had no proper answer for that. Because reasons. Sounded like a good enough response for now. "Yeaaah, because then I wouldn't have a foot at all and then I would be a very sad Devin." And he did not like to be sad. Who did? Time for another subject change! "So how was your day?"
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Post by SANDRA HARU CHANG on Jul 20, 2012 0:49:57 GMT -5
She gave him a long look, keeping silent for a few seconds. Devin's eyes were very blue, his hair very blonde, his face kind of looking abashed as he spoke. Sandra never meant to hurt people, certainly not her friends. Even with people she didn't like, people who didn't like her, she kept fairly civil about things, or stern and firm in her "just leave me alone"s at worst. Devin wasn't one of these peole, though, he was a real, actual friend, and she felt kind of awful if she'd actually hurt his feelings or anything of the sort. "No," she said, then without thinking pulled him into a hug -- nearly forgetting his ankle too in the process, but she was careful enough to remember at the last second not to bother it -- and sort of buried her face in his shoulder a little. "You're my favourite," she told him, though it came out kind of muffled. "Seriously, stop. You're not at all. I shouldn't have said that." Sandra had never actually meant for him to take it seriously even in the slightest. She smiled a little bit, though, when he said, that she was sweet. "The sweetest ever," she said with a giggle, but she didn't mean it. "But okay... If you need anything, let me know." She didn't know what he would need, but Sandra was willing to drop most anything for her friends.
She laughed. "Side effects may include dizziness, nausea, and extreme comfort," she added on. Man, a pillow suit really would be comfy though. She couldn't imagine that she'd ever be able to stay awake when she was wearing the stupid thing. "I bet they'd prescribe it to us here." All they had to do was invent it first, and get a couple of doctors' signatures to make it all official-like... If it wasn't obvious, Sandra had no idea how to go about inventing things like this, or like anything. She wasn't creative or skilled enough for any of that. "Hopefully... hopefully," she said, tapping her chin as if in thought. "This needs a lot of work. It will be done! Like your superhero suit, by the way. I haven't forgotten." Oh boy, she was going to love seeing Devin dressed up as the best made-up-by-random-teenagers superhero of all time.
Sandra hoped she hadn't just made it awkward again. She tried to ignore any of these pressing concerns, ignoring them, preferring to focus on the good or at least what she hoped was the good. "Well..." Now his hesitation was making her hesitate, and just seconds ago her voice had been so full of conviction! She wondered what had happened but pushed on through it, glad that she found words again after that. "Well, I'm sure," she said. To be fair, Sandra had no idea about real life relationships and the way they worked -- all that she knew was from works of fiction and observing a few couples around her, but there weren't that many right now that she could think of. She couldn't imagine that Devin would be anything short of the sweetest in the world, though. Any future girlfriend he had was one lucky lady, she thought with a weird, creeping feeling, like she didn't like this concept, of Devin dating some girl somewhere with some face that she didn't know. She just wanted the best for her friends! Then they made eye contact again and her thoughts fell silent too. "Uh..." She felt kind of ridiculous for not being able to come up with anything else to say. When did Sandra ever run out of words? "One day," she said, just as softly. "Just... patience."
Sandra giggled a little too, though she knew that typically this type of thing was not to be joked about. "Such a weird thing to think of," she remarked, but she couldn't keep the goofy grin from her face. It would probably take years to bleed to death from something like that, at any normal rate -- and it would certainly heal much more quickly than that. "Okay. That sounds kind of annoying, but it's good you do," she said, sighing a bit. Then again, she supposed he could always do other things while he was stuck there... like video games if he had anything portable, or texting someone, or homework... Ahaha, Devin doing homework. "Some taxi drivers are totally nice!" she said, grinning a bit. "You can change the taxi driver stereotype, Dev. Be the totally cool one who doesn't smell!" She laughed. Sandra was just playing around, mostly.
She probably wouldn't say that she was the best company in the world or anything close to it... or at least she wasn't likely to say it in a serious way, but jokes were always fair game for Sandra. "Anything I can do!" She didn't bother finishing the thought, but the meaning was probably very clear. She looked away, glancing briefly down at her hands where they held his, and for some reason she thought that she should feel awkward... and yet for some other reason, she didn't. Actually, somehow, she felt very at ease, comfortable except for an almost tingling right in her stomach, but this was much easier to ignore. She didn't know what the change in pace was, but she wasn't going to argue with it. She relaxed a little, leaning back but still not dropping his hand. "And then I'd just be a sad Sandra. And then you'd just hop around forever on one foot." Having one's foot being eaten by piranhas really was a horrible, horrible thought though. She smiled brightly at the conversation change. "My day was good!" she sang, a small smile on her lips. "I got so much homework, though." It came out as a whine, but it was a useless one -- she knew she wasn't going to do it, her teacher knew, even Devin knew. "How was yours?"
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Post by DEVIN JAMES THATCHER on Jul 20, 2012 16:00:00 GMT -5
The movement was extremely sudden; Devin was not a jumpy person by nature but like everyone he had his moments. It depended on the situation, mostly. Like this one. Just as he parted his lips to say something to her, Sandra pulled him into a hug. He froze at first, not quite sure how to react to the gesture (well, hugging her back would have been appropriate, he thought) but that did not register in his mind right away. After a moment--and after she had taken to burying her face in his neck--he wrapped an arm around her waist and returned the hug with a small chuckle in his throat. "You're my favorite too, you know," He noted with a smile when he pulled back to look at her. That was actually a fairly true statement. Devin had a lot of friends and people that were close to him, but he did have his favorites. Josh, Nell, Ashton and Sandra were probably at the top of his favorites list. He still felt pretty lousy but not because of her. The more he thought about it the more he realized how much of a klutz he actually was. She giggled, and Devin simply could not help but smile. "You are! I don't lie. You really are one of the sweetest people I know."
He then noticed that he had yet to remove his hand from around her waist and quickly retracted. Not fast enough to look like he was uncomfortable but enough to show that he recognized the position and it was not something they should be sitting in for too long. Devin was uncomfortable though. Not in a bad way. The close proximity merely made his heart race at an unnatural pace.
"Ohhh, I guess I could pass up all of the other side effects for the comfort part! That would be nice." He was not a heavy nap lover like Sandra was but the man knew how to appreciate a good, fluffy pillow if he came across one. The ones at home were really not all that great, actually, and decided that maybe he would use some of his money to go and buy a new one. "I'm sure Avery would be more than happy to give us pillow suits." The image was still incredibly amusing and could not help but chuckle. He and Sandra just...waddling down the hall towards class. For some reason he was reminded of sumo wrestlers. The superhero outfit was now brought back to the forefront of his mind and a bright smile crossed his features. Ah, Captain Canada. "The most epic Halloween outfit ever." All he needed was a sidekick!
A small rush of affection and appreciation washed over him. Sandra--despite her secondary hesitation--sounded convicted in her statement. So sure of the fact that he was worth something in a relationship. That he would make a good boyfriend. A fluttering of hope welled in his chest. Is it possible that I have the potential? He did not know. A lot of his 'relationships' were one night, and more often than not they were intoxicated. It was a safe bet. He could have a time to be close to someone without feeling like he was going to be turned down later. There was no room for him to give his emotions to someone and have them treated like they were less than their own. It hurt to know he waited for Autumn, was willing to be patient with their relationship and it was tossed away. "I'm glad you think so," Devin replied softly, observing her features with a gentle expression. "But maybe one day, yeah. I guess we will have to wait and see." The boy was a patient person. Well, to an extent. If he thought there was no need to rush then he wouldn't.
Topic changes seemed to be something he looked forward to between them, at least lately with the awkward moments piling up. "It is weird," He agreed, nodding with a chuckle. "And it is annoying, but I have to do what I have to do." He puffed up his chest as though he were being all manly and taking on the world with his ankle and daily icing at the medical wing. So tough! "Oh, some of them are nice, but I definitely remember feeling my nose burn a few times when I got in the car." The guy was friendly as ever but the smells were uhm...questionable. He had no idea what it was he could smell and that was the problem. Burgers? Boogers? Fart? Ode de farte did not sound like something he would buy.
He loved how caring Sandra was. Always worrying over her friends and doing things for them. She had been that way as long as he had known her, which now that he thought about it was quite a while. A few years actually. Devin pouted and added to the 'sadness'. "And both of us being sad...and me without my foot...it would just be way too much! I would be all stubby and we would be crying and it would just be sad." So. much. sad. And for two really happy people that simply would not do. The pouting disappeared and was replaced with a smile as she talked about her day, glad that Sandra was doing well. "Good, I'm glad! Good days are good." He nodded. Mention of homework made him visibly flinch. "Oh god, I forgot about homework. Sandyyyy I don't like homeworkkk..." Devin whined and tossed his head back a little bit, lamenting over the fact that his night was not going to be as free as he wanted it to be. Or well, it could be, he would just have to do all of his work right before class started. Like always. "Mine was good too. Nothing really special or anything though. Just classes and listening to teachers babble and babble." Soon the hour was over, and Devin slid his sock and shoe back on. He glanced at Sandra with a smile. "You ready to go?"
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Post by SANDRA HARU CHANG on Jul 23, 2012 14:52:21 GMT -5
For a brief but very mortifying second, Sandra thought things were just going to get impossibly awkward again. That wasn't something she wanted at all. She didn't want to keep her distance from her close friends, wanted to get back to the same level of comfort that she really felt around everyone all the time. Sandra had never really had any issues with cuddling up to anyone and everyone, regardless of how well she knew them or whether she had first asked to invade their personal space or whatever it was. Most of her friends, she was pretty sure, were used to it and took it as it came -- she had fallen asleep on many a friend's (or stranger's) shoulder. She remembered how weird things had gotten a while ago when she'd been over at Devin's, and the thought made her briefly frown, though luckily she had her face turned into his neck and so she was pretty sure no one would notice. Still, though... yeah, yeah, this was very weird indeed. In the past, even when she'd ever had crushes on guys, things had never gotten this weird -- oh god, not that she had a crush on Devin, no. Sandra wasn't going to entertain this train of thought. "Thanks. If you say so," she said, smiling. It was always nice to feel loved. "You're the sweetest thing ever, you know." That time she meant it, while before -- talking about herself -- it hadn't been serious at all. Sandra was just happy when she got to make other people happy.
It disappointed her in a way when he retracted his arm so quickly and suddenly, but she stepped back rather than say anything about it. Maybe it wasn't such a good thing to want to be all up in people's space sometimes. It had never bothered her before, though, even when people hadn't been particularly responsive. This... this was kind of different because she could feel the change from what things had been like before, and she didn't know... why. She tried to ignore it. "The comfort is pretty amazing," she agreed, grinning. "Can you even imagine? Just big, puffy pillows... So perfect." She imagined they'd look like snowmen, but much less cold. "We'll just have to ask him for a prescription sometime," she said. She wondered if Nurse Avery would really do it. Part of her thought yes, definitely, considering he'd brought this up the other day to begin with too. She smiled too at the thought of Captain Canada. He was more awesome than the original, even, because he was Canadian (and uh, he was Devin, which was a bonus)... and pfft, no, Sandra wasn't biased at all. "It's going to happen. I just need to find the material! And someone to sew it together... And a design, actually. But it'll happen!" Sandra wished she were good enough to do these things herself, but she had none of the required skills, which was kind of sad.
She'd meant what she said, and she wouldn't take it back even if she did have the ability to turn back time. Sandra was never afraid to be honest with people, certainly not when the things she had to say were good, and this was the case most of the time. She really didn't have it in her to think that poorly of people, was able to find the good in most everyone if she ever got to have a conversation with them. Some people didn't give her the opportunity, sure, but this wasn't the case for Devin. They'd been friends for a very long time, considering she hadn't grown up in the Hollow. She was pretty sure she knew Devin fairly well at this point, and so it was only the honest truth when she told him something like that. Even so... she didn't know why something bothered her about it, and it wasn't what she'd actually said, but maybe... No, she thought, that was a stupid thought. She didn't know why she'd have a problem with Devin's having a girlfriend in the future. What kind of awful friend would she be if she wasn't happy for her friends when it came to things like that? "One day for sure," she corrected lightly. "No maybes here." Sandra could only imagine that Devin would sort of be the cutest boyfriend in the world and nothing but -- in her mind, there was no real doubt. Whatever he did with girls now was really none of her business, she figured -- but for some reason this thought was distracting and she broke eye contact, looking away back down at the band-aid on her finger as a distraction. None of your business, Sandra.
Devin was seriously just too cute for her to take seriously when he puffed up his chest, and she just giggled, poking his arm. "You've been working out," she teased, laughing. She had no idea if this was true or not, though. Maybe he did work out, she definitely wouldn't know -- mostly when they were hanging out they just lazed around and ate a bunch of junk food. "And such a martyr." She grinned. "You show that ice who's boss." The image of Devin pushing around a giant bag of ice cubes or something was pretty funny -- or of him threatening an ice sculpture of somebody. Sheesh, Sandra's mind was weird -- she never pretended to understand how her own brain worked anymore. "But at least you have your own car now," she pointed out with a grin. She'd never personally had very bad experiences in any taxis, but then again she didn't take the cab that much, mostly caught the bus or hitched a ride with friends whenever she needed to get somewhere too far to walk.
She tried to imagine Devin without his foot and it was just a very weird thing to picture -- he'd be hopping around, and this thought was briefly amusing, but it was a lot less funny when she considered that he would have had his foot eaten by piranhas. She really would just be sad. "Okay, please don't go sticking your ankle into any buckets of piranhas, okay?" she asked, smiling a little, though the pout was seriously adorable and potentially heartbreaking. She did much the same thing when she was messing around with her friends too, she knew. "Good days are very good!" she agreed happily, swinging her feet back and forth a little as she sat there, but she stopped and this time it was her turn to pout a little when he started whining about homework. "Me eeeeeither," she whined right back, putting her arms over her face like the thought of homework actually made her want to cry. No, it really didn't, mostly because she knew she probably wouldn't do it anyway. "Let's just not do it and play video games instead. Or just take a nap..." That was always a tempting idea. She could probably nap for hours and hours and hours. "But that's good!" She grinned at him. "Though ew... listening to teachers babble." Sandra wrinkled her nose at the thought but then laughed. She was never a huge fan of classes.
It was only at the end of the hour, when she noticed the time on the wall clock and when Devin moved to put his shoe back on, that she released his hand. Then, it was only then that she realized she must have been holding it the entire time, and this brought another blush back to her cheeks. Eep. She wnodered if he had noticed at any point. She had forgotten, had gotten... comfortable like that, actually. Not really knowing what to do with her hands anymore, she wrung them around a little bit as she got up. "Ready! Can you walk okay, or...?"
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Post by DEVIN JAMES THATCHER on Jul 24, 2012 0:02:26 GMT -5
"I do say so," He said with a soft smile as he observed her features with his blue gaze. At first, Devin hesitated. He wasn't really sure if he should reach out and touch her face or be affectionate, because of the awkward moment...well, moments, they had shared before. Then he realized that if he allowed himself to stall too often then things would only get worse and they might never go back to feeling normal about their relationship again. Part of him did not want it to go back to normal but Devin was also unaware that Sandra was having the same feelings he was. Now he reached out and ran a hand through her hair, just enough to reaffirm his words. "I don't really think so. But if you think so...then I'll believe you." With that, he retracted his hand from the side of her face and glanced down at his lap. The warmth in his cheeks was now evident. Not many girls made him feel like this, and he had been with and around many of them. The last one that caused his heart to flutter was... Autumn. That name made his chest hurt a little. Not as bad as the beginning, but it was there none the less. She was one of the reasons Devin halted in asking people to date him. Why the one-night stands became more prevalent. It made him feel guilty.
For a moment Devin was glad for the change in subject. His arm twitched a little, wanting to hug her again, but he held back. It was one thing to try and push past the awkward but to make it worse was an entirely different story. He hugged himself, imagining a pillow being in his arms. "Mmm pillows," His voice sounded distant and dreamy. "That makes me wanna just curl up and take a nice nap. I might do that when I get home, actually." Better than homework at least. That would give him a good reason to neglect it for the night. "We could definitely do that! I'm sure Avery can make it work." How hard was it to gather up a bunch of pillows and tape to someone? It wouldn't take too long, he thought.
His lips twitched into an amused but grateful smile. "Sandra, love, don't worry so much about it!" He wanted to ensure her that going through all of that for his costume was not necessary. "It's the thought that counts, anyway. Maybe we can work on it together or something? It might take a while but I could have it by...say, next Halloween?" That would be a fun friend project and give them a reason to spend time with one another. Something fun and productive! And the materials would not be overly expensive either. He hoped she would agree to it. "We can look up like, costume layout thingies online and print them off." Who cared if they messed them up a couple of times? It was the person he was spending time with that was most important. If the suit was completed at some point, then even better!
Sandra really had no idea how much her words meant to him. His past and present dealing with females normally led others to see him as a permanent player. Someone who they saw as the one to never settle down. In all truth, Devin did want to settle down but was not quite sure as to how and with who. Autumn fit the bill for a time but then that changed. He feared history repeating itself. At the same time looking at Sandra that fear dissipated into thin air, and then it came back soon after. Maybe...but no. No offense to Sandra of course. She was one of his dearest friends and he trusted her indefinitely. It was more that he wondered if he would be someone she would want. Devin saluted her and gave a serious expression. "Yes ma'am. No maybe's." He was not sure if that was true but he wanted to make her feel better. To reassure her. A small flutter of hope did light on his chest; maybe she was right. He had to be more confident.
He winked at her and flexed his arm a little bit, though nothing was really there. Devin was not scrawny but he wasn't really all that muscular either. His workout consisted of sitting up in the morning, doing whatever chores he needed to do, wandering around school for a while, coming home and playing games until he crashed. Sounded perfect. Minus school. "Yeah, I'm gonna be boss over the ice." Because he had the power to melt it and all that. Yeah. He frowned and shook his head a little bit, looking forlorn. "Nah, it's not actually my car," Devin admitted. "My aunt is letting me use her car until I can afford my own. Saving up though! It'll probably be a used piece of junk but as long as it runs..." That was good enough for him. He sometimes wished he lived as his best friend Josh did, but Devin was not a jealous person. He was content overall. Sandra's request was easy enough to accept considering he was not all that fond of having a bucket of piranhas at his feet. That did not sound all too appealing and he would much rather not. "No buckets of piranhas, got it!"
Ugh. Homework. The thought of doing homework was...was painful. Fortunately he had someone that felt the same way and so they could share in said pain and possibly procrastinate. That was always fun! "Let's do that then! Video games, and then nap time. We'll procrastinate as much as possible!" He nodded in agreement about teachers, and classes. They really were just...ew. They could be doing something so much more fun.
When Sandra removed her hand, Devin certainly noticed. It felt empty and he wished he could reach back out and take her hand again without seeming awkward. Or maybe it would be awkward to him. Sandra was an unknown. He did notice the way she glanced away from him, noticed the redness of her cheeks, but attempted to brush it off as nothing. Instead he stood up with her and rotated his ankle slowly to ensure that it was okay to use. He flashed her a smile. "Yep! I can walk just fine. It'll be slow but it's not hurting." Without even thinking--and as a means of support while being friendly--Devin wrapped his arm around Sandra's shoulders and escorted her out of the medical wing and towards the car. It was the least he could do for her taking time out of her afternoon to keep him company.
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