browbeater | Recolle IC Inbox

sure, that sounds fine. you can catch me up on team brandywine

Sounds good! I'll be there soon.

[ and ann will be there at the burger place as promised! she's a little later than mako to show up, however. ]

Sorry I'm late!

Hey, no problem. It's been crazy enough all week.

[he wasn't waiting too long! He's still got his sling. It's hard being injured, for real.]

How's your arm doing?

[ ann gestures him to follow her inside. it's not too crowded and they're able to find a seat easily. ]

It'd be better if I wasn't... running into monsters all the time. [an annoyed sigh-- before he grabs one of the table menus.]

I ran into another one of those thunder shooting birds and I had to save my brother from it. It was a nightmare.

Yeah...it's like you can't catch a break.

[ ann also grabs a menu herself; she's in the mood for a shake and a small burger. honestly...she just wanted to get out of her dorm, take a break from the missions and talk to someone. like old times. ]

Is your brother okay?

Yeah. He seemed confused at the time, but now he's back to acting like monster battles are normal.

And he's avoiding my questions about how school is going, so something's up. You know, the usual.

[look, he's just mad his brother is possibly wasting a good education. And he is waiting for Bolin to tell him what his plan is for the next semester.]

It sounds like he's doing a transfer for the next semester, so he's going to be back in town.

Oh...like one of the Sleepers, right?

[ at least, that's the name someone else had used for the people who weren't in retrospec. was it yosuke who told her that? she can't quite remember. ]

If he's coming to RU next semester, maybe I'll see him around campus. I wonder what's going on with him...

If I had to guess... He's getting bad grades and he's scared of how I'll react.

[he sounds... exhausted. Dealing with his brother's hang-ups on top of everything else isn't giving him much room, honestly.]

And I guess I'd be mad if he's about to lose his scholarship. If he does, there's no way I can afford to pay anymore for him. And I don't have the credit to cosign any student loans for him.

You're paying for your brother's tuition? Whoa, that's a lot of money you're pouring into his education...

[ she honestly had no idea. ann fronws; tuition is expensive, even for a rich kid like her. ]

Well... I hope he shapes up when he comes back, then. I wouldn't want all your money to go to waste, y'know? Because that's a lot you're investing into him.

Yeah, making sure he could go was why I dropped out. And we don't exactly have family we can reach out to...

[maybe this was bothering him more than he was letting on. If his brother would just talk to him, they could work something out. But no, he was doing his stupid "can't let my big brother know i need help" act.]

We'll see if he shapes up. If it gets bad enough, I'll probably have to take some drastic steps that he's not gonna like.

...Oh...

[ no family they can reach out to for help... so mako's really been on his own this entire time? it makes her sad to think about, and she frowns, taking a sip of her water to fill the little silence. ]

I'm sorry. That sounds really rough... But it's really admirable, how much you've done for your brother. Really.

Thanks.

[a pause... did he really unload all of that onto her? He feels, well, a little embarrassed, actually, and shifts slightly in his seat]

Anyway, sorry for unloading all of that onto you. That's probably not why you wanted to meet up.

Don't be sorry.

To be honest, I just...I just wanted to meet up with someone and talk. About anything. [ another sip of her water. ] Now that I have people to hang out with, I guess it's...nice, to be able to do stuff like this. So you don't have to apologize, okay?

Did you... not have friends before?

[he regrets the question as soon as it leaves his lips. but he also finds the conceit hard to believe, she seemed perfectly friendly, and kind... the type of girl who would have had dozens of friends.]

If we're being perfectly honest? ...Not really.

[ she shakes her head, index finger starting to play with the napkin on the table. ]

I mean, I had Kurt...but he was all I had other than my pet rabbit, all the way until sometime in high school. Even then, the only person I really had was my...uh, ex-boyfriend, so...

Edited 2017-08-27 06:23 (UTC)

That's.... really surprising to me.

[he's not sure how to articulate it, but... still.]

You're really funny and outgoing, and it just seemed like you'd be the type of person people would go out of their way to be friends with.

You...you think so?

[ that means a lot to her. it really, really does. ]

I...I guess since I was the "rich" girl in school, people thought I was stuck-up or something. And...I was too shy to go out of my way to meet people. So I just sucked it up and decided to be alone, I guess...

[of course he means it. Just as she finishes, he pauses, and then takes a sip of his water.]

Well... I'm glad you're not alone now. You've got to have more friends than just 1, now. A lot more.

Y...Yeah...

[ something about when he says that... she has friends now. not that kurt wasn't good enough or anything, but she hardly had any chances to see him; now... now? she has friends she can hang out with. she has friends who want her to hang out with them.

this is what friendship really is.

there's tears that cling to the edges of her eyes, and she smiles, wiping at her eyes with her fingers. ]

I guess I do, huh?

[oh no... but he's pretty sure those are happy tears, and so he reaches out to gently touch her hand for a moment.]

Don't worry about it. You'll be alright.

[and then he pulls his hand back, and finally,,, finally... opens the menu.]

[ oh... ann looks at his hand for a moment, and then at him, and mako's met with the brightest smile she can give. she sniffles a little, wiping away the last of her tears as she opens her menu. ]

Hey, Mako? ...Thanks. For everything these past few months. Really.

No problem.

And thanks for introducing me to Wonder Gal.

[he's gonna get a cheeseburger, screw it]

I went back and started reading, and then I found a few Bat Guy comics on sale.

Really?! Oh my gosh, what do you think of it so far? How's Bat Guy? I like him, but Wonder Gal's my all-time favorite!

[give him a minute, wow, that was a look.

He starts again, awkwardly]

I missed out on a lot. I grabbed a random issue so I didn't know who everyone was at first, but after I caught on, I couldn't stop reading.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject