[IC] shadows.

[Rystelle]

When Tim started to move Sophia was worried he might push her away. Instead she felt his arms at her sides, kind of in a halfway hug. She knew it was as close at they were going to get to a real hug right now, but just the fact that Tim was trying was enough for Sophia. While she had mostly done this for Tim's sake in what was probably a pathetic attempt to reassure him that people could be kind, if she was honest with herself Sophia also enjoyed the hug. His figure was slim but he was warm and his presence reassuring. Sophia liked feeling his arms at her sides and wondered what a full hug would be like. Perhaps one day she would know. But finally Sophia was starting to become self conscious. She broke away from the hug and sat back up. "Sorry," she apologized again. Sophia cast around for something else to say and could only suggest, "Shall we finish eating? Don't want to let the food get too cold. And we can talk more afterwards if you want. But about music or movies or something like that."

[DELTED293y5gds]

Tim nodded a little, though he pushed his plate away. He wasn't really all that hungry anymore. But he gave Sophia a small smile, letting her know that he was just fine. Nothing was horribly wrong, he just lost his appetite. "Seriously, dot worry about it. Im fine, honestly." he said, pulling his knees back up to his chest, resuming the position he was in before.

[Rystelle]

Sophia wanted to argue, but instead decided to let the subject drop. She didn't pick up her plate either. Not because she wasn't hungry, but because it felt a little awkward to be the only one eating. Ah, well, she thought to herself. I can finish it later. Settling back on the couch again Sophia shrugged and said, "Alright. Shall we continue where we left off then? What type of music do you like?"

[DELTED293y5gds]

Tim raised his eyebrows at that one. He remembered that, just a few days ago, any time he went outside, he had headphones on. He listened to music to drown out life, mostly. He listened to a lot of indie music, he guessed. He liked music that sounded... sad. Melancholy was a word that could describe his tastes. "Ah, yeah, um, indie music? The Decemberists. I saw them in high school once, right before, um... yeah, and so, I really like them, they have good songs, they're releasing a new album next year in January, which is great since they haven't released an album since, like, 2011. I own all of their albums, they're the bomb." He thought for a moment. "Oh! Um, you wore my hoodie? I got it from the concert! Yeah!"

[Rystelle]

"Really?" Sophia asked, her interest piqued. "Cool! I guess I'll have to give them a listen then. I've never been to a concert before." Truthfully, Sophia had never wanted to go to a concert. She didn't like large, close crowds or loud noise. Sophia was good at socializing within a small group, but she was bad with large groups of strangers. That's why she never went to parties that weren't for a friend or family. "I guess you could say my tastes are more mainstream," she said. "Mostly I like rock and metal with a bit of pop. But I do have some off the chart tastes you could say. I like classical music like Mozart, Beethoven, and Bach. But I also like folk music, folk metal, and Gregorian chants." Sophia blushed a bit, realizing that her taste in music probably was a bit odd. Still, it was what she liked and that wasn't going to change. "Alright. Next question. Your turn to ask one."

[DELTED293y5gds]

Gregorian chants. That struck Tim as... well, something. It didnt really seem to fit in with the image of Sophia he had constructed in his mind. Or really, anyone. Who listened to Gregorian chants, anyway? How does one even find access to Gregorian chants to begin with? Nevertheless, it fascinated him. He sort of loved that she listened to them. It made her a little more unpredictable to him, which he found oddly amusing. He snapped out of his thoughts, flustered now. "O-oh! Um, um... wwwwhat..." He thought hard for a moment, shaking his head. "Why... do you always... look kind of sad?" he said, trying to choose his words carefully. Sophia locked up for a moment, and Tim noticed. IT was something he did a lot while talking. "What?" Sophia asked, her cheeks turning a bit red. "I I mean... I notice you, sometimes, while I work. When I snap out of my weird trance while I work... I would... look at you, working behind the bar, and when a couple would... come and order, you would... slump, and just... make yourself small. And then you look so sad... and I noticed because I look sad like that... why do you look sad?" He was asking in a soft voice, walking on thin ice, trying to choose his words carefully.

[Rystelle]

Fuck, was the first word Sophia thought of. So someone had noticed. Tim had noticed. Noticed that she shrunk away from couples, even if she didn't mean to. It wasn't anything against them. It was just that ever since the break-up with David... He was her first and last boyfriend. She thought he had been nice. Thought Evelyn and Greg and Paul had been nice. But it was all a lie. She had been led on, used, and then utterly humiliated. Sophia had joined their gaming club in high school thinking that it would be something fun to do in her spare time, that she would make friends. The small club consisted of herself, David, Evelyn, Greg, and Paul. They played card games, video games, table top RPGs with figurines. Whenever someone got a new set of gaming figures Sophia had quickly offered to help paint them. She wanted to help out, wanted to do anything she could. Sophia was also willing to help the others level up in online games, or give away any cards she collected as she herself didn't really play card games. At some point she and David had started dating, the relationship facilitated by Evelyn. Of course Sophia tried to do more for David than anyone else. She had never had a boyfriend before and she was excited. She wanted to be a good girlfriend, a sweet one who helped out and was always there. But slowly the entire workload of the club fell onto Sophia's shoulders. Planning tournaments, painting figurines, leveling characters, building decks, and even helping with homework. Sure, it was things that she enjoyed doing, but it was becoming too much for her and Sophia began to realize that she was the only one in the club doing anything any more. And David didn't even seem to care. In fact, he hardly paid Sophia any mind at all. Then came the fateful day when she truly realized that she was being used and led on, the day Sophia found David and Evelyn making out in his room when she had entered unannounced. The couple who had been dating all along--long before Sophia had ever joined the club--revealed that they had been using her, stringing her along like a puppet. And she had danced so easily to their tune. Sophia had run from the house, heartbroken and hating herself for ever dating David, for ever joining the club in the first place. After that school just seemed like hell to Sophia as Evelyn was quick to spread rumors that Sophia had tried to steal David away from her. She was scorned, looked down upon by those who didn't actually know her. It was too much for Sophia to handle. After that she gave up on dating. She turned down any and all advances from guys who confessed their feelings to her, refused to go to any school dances, did not join any clubs. For the most part Sophia stopped socializing with anyone other than her family and a few friends. It wasn't until she started college that Sophia started to build herself up again. But since that time she still hadn't dated anyone else. And even though she tried not to, often times Sophia felt jealous of the couples that came into Rose Cafe. She wondered how things might have been if she hadn't dated David, or if David hadn't turned out to be a lying, manipulative asshole. Seeing the happy couples reminded her of what she should have had, what she could have, but didn't believe anymore. So she shrank away from them, into herself, and tried to pretend it didn't hurt, that she didn't feel lonely. Sophia thought that no one had noticed it. But Tim had. Sophia stared down at the couch cushions with a pained look on her face, her eyes glistening with unshed tears and a lump in her throat as she gritted her teeth tightly, wrapped her arms around her stomach and dug her nails into her side hard. She took a deep breath and let it out as a heavy sigh. She didn't want to cry in front of Tim. Not again. But she could not stop the tears that started to stream down her face. Raising one arm, Sophia buried her face in the crook of her elbow to try to hide her tears. She bit her lip for a moment and then finally choked out, "It's because of that asshole David, and his asshole girlfriend and their stupid asshole friends." Sophia didn't mean to curse so much, but she was beyond caring at the moment and it helped her to vent her sore feelings.

[DELTED293y5gds]

Tim instantly felt horrible. He hadn't eant for his question to be a sad one. Then again, she probably hadn't meant for her question about the holidays to send him into the same place as he sent her, but he still felt awful. He wanted to do something, but he didnt know what to do. He wanted to hug her, comfort her the same way she comforted him. But he just couldn't force his body to make the movement. He couldn't find the strength to move. And god knows he wouldn't be able to find the words. But he had to try, dammit, he had to. And so, slowly, he reached his hand across the stretch of space between them, his heart pounding. He put his hand on her knee, gently, gently, gently. He then spoke softly, just letting words fall out of his mouth now. "It uh its going... It's gonna be okay and you're better... than, um... them." He stumbled on his words, but he looked at her like he meant them.

[Rystelle]

Sophia felt Tim's hand on her knee and was a little surprised. It wasn't often he was the first one out of the two of them to try to make physical contact in any situation. It was a small gesture, but nonetheless it made her feel better. Tim might have been awkward, but he was sweet. Genuine. Unlike a few others she could name. Wiping away her tears on her shirt sleeve, Sophia sniffled and then lowered her arm. His words helped boost her spirit a bit, though she still felt a little bitter as she thought of David and the others. It was hard but Sophia tried to push them from her mind. She gave Tim a weak, half-hearted smile. "Thanks," she said, wiping her eyes on her sleeve once more. Sophia's knee was warm beneath Tim's hand. It felt nice, comforting. Just Tim being there was a comfort. She enjoyed his company and was glad that she was here with him rather than with her family. Sophia recalled everything from the past week and reaffirmed that she liked Tim. And, yes, she was developing a crush on him. But she was sure nothing would come of it. Even if Tim wasn't as withdrawn from people as he was, Sophia herself was still too scared to try dating again. Trying not to let her internal conflict show, Sophia pulled herself together inquired, "Shall we keep asking questions or do something else now?"

[DELTED293y5gds]

After a few moments, Tim sort of awkwardly pulled his hand away, not really knowing what to do with it. He stretched back, over the edge of the couch, his bones cracking and popping loudly, as they tend to do when he stretches like that. He sighed out, then shrugged a bit, crossing his arms. "I 'unno. I mean... you have a lot of gamey console things, we could mess with one of those. Or um... I dunno, watch a movie, talk. I'm cool with anything and I'm really bad at making decisions. So if you pick something then I'll be all for it."

[Rystelle]

Sophia thought for a bit, then decided, "Let's watch a movie. I have plenty to choose from on DVD, but I've also got some on my laptop too." For a moment Sophia paused, then smiled and added, "I promise not to fall asleep on you this time. Anyway. How about I put up dinner and grab us some pie?" "That sounds good," Tim agreed. Sophia took their plates and brought them into the kitchen where she put their leftovers in Tupperware containers. Everything else went into containers as well and all of it went into the fridge. She opened up the pie containers and cut them up, placing a small slice of each one onto two clean plates. She closed them back up and brought the plates into the living room. "Here we go," Sophia said setting down the plates. "Thought you might like to try a bit of each. My mom made these for us. She makes the best pies. Plenty more if you want more after. Anyway, let's decide on a genre of movie. There's action, adventure, comedy, horror." Personally Sophia was kind of feeling something with comedy. Or maybe horror. She didn't like movies with a lot of gore in them, but she did enjoy movies about ghosts and demons. But because she scared really easily she never watched them alone.

[DELTED293y5gds]

Tim thought for a moment. "Do you have any drama films?" He asked, scratching the side of his head. "I um... I really like dramatic movies." And it was true, he did. HE found that, quite often, he was able to connect with the characters in dramatic film much easier than he could connect with characters that were action heroes or slapstick comedians. It was probably due to his rough upbringing. Pain loves company, and that statement was no exception when it came to Tim. His hurting didnt seem so bad in the presence of someone elses, even if it was fictional. "Like... Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind or something like that. Drama is just... yeah, but, um, it can also be like whatever you want to choose! I'm not trying to control the uh... the situation here!"

[Rystelle]

Sophia shook her head a little sadly. She didn't have too many drama films. She just didn't really care for them. But then suddenly Sophia perked up and said, "I don't have it on DVD, but I can find it online. Be right back!" With that Sophia dashed into her bedroom. She came out a few minutes later, carrying her laptop and wireless mouse. "Alright," she mused as she settled down on the couch. Sophia opened her laptop and powered it on. Once it was one she started a search for the movie and found a website where they could watch it online. "Bingo!" She exclaimed excitedly. Then she was who was in it and added, "Ooh, Jim Carrey! I love his comedic stuff, but I don't think I've ever watched one of his more serious films. This should be intriguing." Having found the movie Sophia took her laptop over to the entertainment center. She took a cord, plugged it into the laptop, and set the TV as the main monitor. Now they could watch the movie in full screen. "There we go," she said, giving Tim a grin. "All ready for the lights to go off?" Tim agreed and Sophia went over to the front door and flicked the switch, cutting the lights. She came and settled back down on the couch near but not too close to Tim. She clicked play, grabbed her plate of dessert, and settled back to watch the movie.

[DELTED293y5gds]

Tim was happy. This was one of his favorite movies ever. Jim Carry was, of course, amazing as a comedian. But Tim thought that his performance in this one was go incredibly genuine that he just fell in love with this version of him. He related to the character so much, and he was excited that Sophia wanted to watch it. He settled back in the couch, moving closer to Sophia, but not uncomfortably so. He liked being close to Sophia. He liked watching this movie. He liked being close to Sophia while watching this movie. The movie started. Joel's monologue at the beginning, of course, sucked Sophia right in, and Tim could tell. He really liked sharing this with her. He had never been ale to share his favorite anythings with anyone ever, and doing it now felt really nice. He loved that it was her. He honestly would never want it to be anyone else. He felt... something. It was great, an amazing feeling. It made his whole body feel warm and comforted. HE couldn't quite place what it was, though. HE decided to just focus on the movie instead, though he was smiling wide while they watched it, partially due to how much he loved the film. The other half was because of Sophia.

[Rystelle]

Sophia was totally drawn into the movie. She had never seen Jim Carrey in a serious role before, but it was absolutely amazing. She was saddened that the two had tried to split up, but was glad when they began to rekindle their feelings and realized why they had fallen in love in the first place. But it also made Sophia hope that if she did ever start dating someone again and they fell in love, that they would never fall out of love. It seemed like a heartbreaking scenario, one she wasn't sure she could handle. Still, the movie was nice to watch, and at some point Sophia had switched into a different position where she was laying on her half of the couch, head propped up on her hand, her head being in the spot where she had originally been sitting. Once the movie was over she finally sat back up. "That was good," she said as she paused the movie at the credits. "Jim Carrey can do a serious role incredibly well. Is there anything else you want to watch, Tim?"

[DELTED293y5gds]

Tim was always drawn into this movie. It was so strange, and it was heartbreaking, and it was beautiful, and there were just so many little things about it that he could go on about for hours. But he decided not to. He just watched the movie, remembering the scenes from the hundreds of other times he's seen the film. When the movie ended, he snapped out of the trance he was in when he heard Sophias voice. "Oh, um... I dont know, really." He said, looking around her apartment a bit, avoiding eye contact for some reason, even he didn't know why. Sometimes he just didnt want to look at people, be embarrassed, a bunch of things. His eyes settled on a picture frame on the far side of the room, sitting on a coffee table. It had Sophia and some older woman, probably her mother, looking happily into the camera. He smiled a little.

[Rystelle]

"Let's watch another movie then," Sophia suggested. "My turn to choose." Getting up from the couch she walked over to the light switch and said, "Watch your eyes." When Tim prepared himself she flicked the lights on. She then went and sorted through her collection of movies. As she searched for something she thought of how she and Tim had already watched several movies together over the past week, and pretty much every time they took turns choosing movies. It was pretty nice, she thought, watching some of the things Tim liked and sharing what she liked with him. Eventually she made her selection and pulled the case out. Holding it up for Tim to see she declared, "The Last Samurai. It's one of my favorites, along with V for Vendetta. It's got some action and some drama." She popped it into her laptop and got it set up to where she could press play. Straightening up again she asked Tim, "Would you like any more pie or apple cider before I start the movie?"

[DELTED293y5gds]

Tim had known the film, but never really had the drive to go see it. It was one of those movies where he had heard good things about it, but he never really had the drive to actually go out and figure out if it was any good or not. No better time to find out than with Sophia, though, right? He smiled a little. "Oh, um, just uh, water would be nice." He said, picking up his dirty glass, handing it off to her. "I dont think I can handle any more sweet things just yet. Too much food, y'know?"

[Rystelle]

Sophia took Tim's glass, stacked the empty plates on top of each other. "Yeah," she agreed as she took everything into the kitchen. "I know what you mean. I think I'm full enough to make it through til lunch tomorrow." She game back for her glass, then headed into the kitchen again. She put the pies in the fridge, rinsed the plates and set them in the sink, then washed their glasses and filled them with water. "Here we go," she said, setting their newly refilled glasses down on the coffee tables. "Ready for the lights to go off?" An affirmative, and Sophia went and turned off the lights. She settled down onto her place on the couch, once more sitting up again for the moment, somewhat close to Tim but not too close. She used the mouse to press play and the movie began. Instantly she was giddy with excitement, but as the beginning of the movie progressed Sophia grew solemn and had to try not to cry as she watched numerous Indians being slaughtered at the hands of the Americans. As always the movie enthralled her, but she kept one eye on Tim, wondering what he thought of it.

[DELTED293y5gds]

Tim wasn't exactly sure what to think. He wasn't really a fan of samurai films, but he was certainly drawn to it. There were grand battles, beautiful landscapes, Tom Cruise with long, luxurious locks, everything a movie needed to be beautiful. He watched it, though he was still relaxed, back in his seat, through the excitement and the battles. "This is really good." he whispered, totally invested by this point, his eyes not moving from the screen.