what goes bump in the night, [dee!]

[ᕙʕ•ᴥ•ʔᕗ]

For a second, it looked as if Ciaran had zoned out for he looked startled after she started making some hand movements. His eyes had looked a little glazed and Meira wondered what it was that was on his mind. Was it one of those terrors that haunted him? Or was it simply that late in the night that it was time for him to try to go to sleep? It wasn’t as if he hadn’t seen what she said for his response both settled her nerves and she feared, rattled his. It was a topic that would go nowhere—she could see that much—which was why Meira almost appreciated her co-worker accidentally barging into the room, however ridiculous that sight was.

She couldn’t help but look a little incredulous by Ciaran’s questions. Meira thought it was rather obvious what was going on, yet she had spent at least a good year immersing herself into this culture. It wasn’t difficult to see that Ciaran had never touched this world before, despite how likely it was that he knew someone in the house. When realization dawned his face, Meira had to stifle a small laugh. It was so slow and yet it looked like he had been hit with a large fish unexpectedly.

He became so nervous, though, that Meira started feeling alarmed. The last thing she wanted was to make Ciaran uncomfortable—it was why she had tried to get the room in the first place—and yet Ciaran looked ready to leave. She placed her hands on his hands to try to comfort him before explaining. “I’m sorry. I thought they would give us privacy. I didn’t realize that they would become so drunk as to forget.” Meira gingerly smiled while patting on his back. “Don’t worry about what’s happening out there. This is our space.”

“But if you feel uncomfortable, we can talk later. Tomorrow at the docks, like usual, though maybe a little more tucked away if you want.” Meira was in no rush to leave, but the last thing she wanted was the supposed place of comfort become a place for Ciaran to start placing walls. “If it’s any consolation, most of the people here won’t remember either of us were here. You don’t have to worry about it coming back to you at work.”

[∂αмєη]

• • • ciaran

[presto][/presto]

His mind was beginning to move far too fast to keep track of it, bouncing around the topics on it like a kid filled with sugar. Why on earth did she bring me in here? Things were clicking and connecting and he was beginning to wonder if Meira had something on her mind that he had yet to think of. Two voices seemed to develop in his head, like one existed on each of his shoulders, arguing between themselves about what was going on. I'm losing my mind, it's official. Perhaps it was the over-analyzing he was accustomed to, but he felt himself spiraling continuously inside.

I mean she wouldn't have brought you in here if she didn't want some privacy but why would she want some privacy when she could have easily just went to her house or your house to get away from the public eye instead of going to a party in a private room where people clearly take someone they are interested in to get a little private time with them is that what she's thinking about right now because I've never even considered that I mean we've known each other for a couple of months so it's not something completely out of left field but she's extremely wonderful and I'm a thief that has next to no money and can't even talk to my only friend in the world and I'm a mess and she is so brave-

It continued on in his mind at all times like a secondary track on top of all the sounds he was hearing from outside the room. Meira's voice was adding to the noise and he only barely kept up with what she was saying. “I’m sorry. I thought they would give us privacy. I didn’t realize that they would become so drunk as to forget.” Drunk? Oh no, does she want to start drinking too and will I have to drink with her so I don't look like an idiot I don't know how that will affect my sleeping or anything like that or how I speak but what if it helps but what if it doesn't? But her hands are on his and he is suddenly aware of it, settling him down a little more.

Could I see Meira like that? It's the last thought that explodes out of his train of thought, and is then followed by silence as his brain takes it in. Probably. “Don’t worry about what’s happening out there. This is our space.” He adjusted on the couch to a slightly more comfortable position to acknowledge that he was appreciating their space. Why did she want such an interesting space, though? Why here? She offered to wait and talk tomorrow, offering confidence in the fact that nothing would come back to him while at work. He began shaking his head in rejection half way through her sentence, removing his hands from hers to speak what was on his mind. She said no secrets, right? "I didn't clue in to what they think is happening in here." The blush was slightly returning to his cheeks. "Between you and I."

He felt perfectly comfortable wherever Meira was, and that feeling was one he began to question. She probably meant nothing by it and yet now your stomach is doing somersaults and your brain is slowly melting. Chill out Ciaran. And yet he was questioning every single action she made and every single word she signed. He still wasn't quite sure what his thoughts on the situation were; it was a new idea that had yet to cross his mind. Surely that was a thing that teenagers did, but he thought it was between couples, not friends. Am I jumping into the deep end here?

"Is that what you told the guy at the front? That's why you needed the room?" Although maybe she just wanted it to have privacy in a place where she didn't need to worry. She probably feels comfortable here. It'd be like if you brought her into a house you broke into. Kind of. "Is that what your coworker thinks is going on here? Me? He finished by pointing at himself with a surprised look on his face, adding in a silent chuckle to hopefully ease the tension. You have no idea what's going on here, Ciaran, do you? Other shoulder. Not a clue.

[ᕙʕ•ᴥ•ʔᕗ]

‘Between you and I’? What is he talking about? Meira couldn’t understand what Ciaran was talking about. There was nothing going on between the two of them, even if Meira had tried to give the illusion that there was. She didn’t know how to respond until Ciaran started to ask more questions. Then, it suddenly dawned on her what Ciaran was asking about. Yes, it was true that Meira had used the pretense that something was going on in order to ensure privacy, but she had never intended for it to spread.

“I wanted to get us a room to ourselves so we could talk. No one else had to know why.” Her eyes glanced at the door that her coworker had recently opened. “The people outside, they might think things. Don’t worry about what they think, though. Nothing’s going on and they can’t prove otherwise.” If there was one thing Meira had learned from experience, it was everything said the next morning was just gossip. In fact, due to the secret nature of these parties, party goers were discouraged from discussing anything that happened the night before. Still, to someone new to the scene such as Ciaran, she understood if he had concerns about what others were thinking.

“I’m sorry if I compromised you in any way. I wouldn’t want others to think of you negatively because of this.”

OOC: Yo, this is major WIP because I'm at a block for Meira.
EDIT: Jk, I can't write anything else so this is not WIP.

[∂αмєη]

• • •

[presto]

CIARAN SLATER

[/presto]

She had had this tiny bow in her hair that bobbed along with every step she took. A grin spread the width of her face, shining light upon its entirety with the brightness of the pearly whites. Hands fumbled with each other behind her back, her posture having always been perfect. Icy blue eyes swam amongst the blank irises, surrounded by the paleness of fair skin. She seemed to float above the ground in a sort of dance that was mesmerizing to the watching eyes from across the town square. The boy who stared held tightly to his mother's hand, surely providing discomfort with the clamminess that always associated his palm's flesh. His body was in that moment, but his brain was entirely elsewhere.

She looked remarkable in a pink sundress. The thin straps stretched across her flawless skin, holding up the fabric onto her body. She's beautiful. It was such a poignant thought in his mind that he simply accepted it as the case. There was something so incredibly dreamlike about the young girl across the square. And then her eyes turned upwards to meet his, and for a moment he held his breath. Her smile stretched even further than he could have imagined, absolute joy crossing her face. She bounded across the square in his direction, leaving her mother behind to continue looking through the store windows. Within seconds she stood before him, but whatever sound was leaving her lips was not yet reaching his ears. Nothing but silence. When he opened his mouth to speak, everything was clear. His voice sounded confident and sure of itself, and he introduced himself with a big smile. But the girl remained mute despite the movement of her mouth. It was purely silence.

Suddenly everything was red. Not the scene itself, but what his eyes saw. He could definitely feel something across his face, like some sort of liquid. Fingers moved to wipe it off and met a warm and thick substance. Blood. When he finally wiped it from his eyes, he could see the gruesome murder of the girl-

“The people outside, they might think things. Don’t worry about what they think, though. Nothing’s going on and they can’t prove otherwise.” She was right, after all. Nothing was going on in the room. He had tensed up far too much and made it clear he was in a not-so-optimal position due to the anxiety swimming around in his chest. There was no way she wouldn't have been able to notice that he wasn't entirely excited about his new revelation - she had to insinuate to the man at the front door that they were currently engaging in activities of the adult kind. It's not like she wasn't gorgeous or anything like that. She was remarkable. Ciaran hated the fact that he had only known her for such a short time in his life; she inspired him to be a different, and better, person. That was the kind of person you tried to keep around in life. But the idea of everything else? Quite frankly, it scared the absolute hell out of him.

There was something about intimacy that felt uncomfortable in Ciaran's mind. Perhaps it was because he had such difficulty connecting with people because of the impasse that was his mutism. Without it, surely he would have grown the way he should have as a social person. But because of it he found himself disadvantaged in that degree, and quite frightened by the prospect of anything beyond it. Even if that wasn't what Meira was intending to imply, he felt it strongly and it began to burn at his mind like a fire that couldn't be quenched. He was going to be eighteen in only a few weeks. That would mark the last year of Games eligibility and the last year before he was free from the threat of being nothing but entertainment for a sick place filled with sick people. It would also mean he was to become an adult. Was he really ready for that and all that it entailed? Was being in the position he was in a step in the right direction or was he truly that lost in the world?

He gathered himself as much as he could, trying to keep his brain in one large mass instead of melting into a heap of nothingness. He felt like a mess - a hot one, but a mess nonetheless. There was something wonderfully private about the moment they were sharing in this room alone and he enjoyed every second of it, though he wasn't sure if he'd feel comfortable voicing it aloud for Meira to hear. He began to grow self-conscious of every single thing he did, hoping that he wasn't making a fool of himself and showing how remarkably innocent and insecure in this field he was. Basically, Ciaran felt like an idiot around his friend. And that was never a comfortable situation.

"I'm all good. I just couldn't figure out how your coworker would think someone like me could ever manage to interest someone like you." He said it with a sad smile, but his brain was still moving a million times a second. She set off a chain reaction and he still couldn't figure out what it all meant. There was something new that he felt when he looked at her; to him, it felt like potential. Untapped, unbridled potential. There was nothing in this world that was better than that. You could put ten people in a room - 9 of them with incredible gifts that are far greater than anybody could ever imagine - and yet the tenth would still be the most remarkable of all. Having the potential to be greater was always better than just being great. And in this moment, there was so much potential for greatness. He couldn't quite figure what made him feel that way. “I’m sorry if I compromised you in any way. I wouldn’t want others to think of you negatively because of this.”

"I will be fine. Sorry. I just panicked a little because, I mean, I've never even kissed a girl before so the thought of them thinking that I could even manage to be alone with somebody like you just came as a shock." He fumbled with the proper signs to say what he meant, but the point must have been established after the awkward attempt. And if they think that?

I kind of like the way that feels.

• • •

[ᕙʕ•ᴥ•ʔᕗ]

He was sweet, sweet for talking to her, for communicating to her with her own language. And he always innocent, innocent for being so shy when caught in this situation. He had so many fears, fears that plagued him at night and during the day, yet Meira could see how innocent he was to many worlds, including her own. It was refreshing to communicate with someone else her age who wasn’t involved in the same things she was. In fact, it was difficult for her to boast of a friend she hadn’t met when the sky was dark and the stars were out.

Meira’s eyes followed his hands as he started apologizing for his reaction. She didn’t think Ciaran had much to apologize for but it was amusing how much he was telling her. He was either really flustered or—she couldn’t think of why else he would share that with her, but a small smile appeared on her face. Was it the thought that he hadn’t kissed a girl before that brought the corner of her lips up? Or was she smiling because he hadn’t kissed a girl before? Meira rarely found herself in one of these rooms—she only knew what to do because she had seen her friends and coworkers doing it before—but she couldn’t claim complete innocence either, unlike Ciaran. No, dulling her senses had led to some questionable encounters, some of which Meira wish she could have taken back. But to have met someone that she could become intimate with? She was just as green as he was.

“There’s no need for you to apologize. I should have considered how you would feel first.” Meira looked at the door before looking back at Ciaran. “Why don’t we leave? You still have some time before day break and I’m sure you want to grab your things.” The small smile on her face grew at the thought of what she would say next. “I’m certain some other people wouldn’t mind having this room.” Meira stood up, straightening her clothes, and then reached out a hand to Ciaran. “I promise they won’t bite out there.”