Daybreak | IC Inbox.

[awooligan]

CLIFFORD NORMAN
UN: REDRIDINGHOODIE

STATUS: grade 11

ACCOLADES: n/a.

BIO: name's cliff. let me know if you'll buy cigarettes and shit for me, we can work something out.

© TESSISAMESS

Comments

[kept_his_letters]

She walks in and she's a little too stunned to answer. She doesn't know what she was expecting but it wasn't all this.

You made a feast.

[A sweet feast... Is this...? No. I couldn't be. That would be ridiculous.]

Haha, so unreasonable.

[Not really.]

What is all this?

[awooligan]

[Cliff snorts softly and shakes his head.]

One of the girls on the top floor went on a baking spree, so she gave me some for helping her out.

[It's...a lot... Cookies, cupcakes, more cookies, rice crispies, yet another thing of cookies. They're different cookies in each container or piled on a plate, too. The crazy thing is that this really is just "some" compared to what had all been made.]

Sorry that I didn't make the feast. Pretty sure my mom would say that isn't breakfast anyway, but this is, at least. Or so I'm told.

[He lifts whatever it was he'd been using to mix the cooking Atole, tapping the rim of the saucepan before resuming stirring.]

[kept_his_letters]

Still a feast, even if you didn't make it!

[And maybe this isn't breakfast but nobody has to know. Breakfast is a state of mind. Or so she thinks until he shows her real breakfast.

Her face lights up.]

Atole!

[Then she blinks at him.]

You made this? Just for me?

[awooligan]

[There it is, that's the face that makes all this worth it, even if he's internally flustered and squirming. He gives an awkward shrug.]

Well, yeah. [It's not a big deal! But like, in a positive way, this time.] I know you're going home soon, and your mom or whoever can make it better than I ever could, but... You've missed it, so... I don't know, I wanted to do something.

[kept_his_letters]

[It's still a big deal! In a positive way! She bouncing a little on her feet like she wants to move but is trying to contain her energy.]

Cliff! That's really sweet... Gracias. Muchas gracias.

[She laughs.]

I want to hug you but that would probably ruin your cool image, huh?

["Cool image" and not "touch aversion" totally.]

[awooligan]

[aaaaaa he's happy, but balso this is so! embarrassing! Why did he do this to himself, he can't handle being this flustered by a cute girl...]

Uh, ha... You're one of the only ones that thinks I'm cool, you know. [But he does shift one arm across himself a moment, grabbing the other arm and creating a sort of shield between himself and the world. Not particularly effective against actions if they were actually taken, but he's not too worried about it with Coco. It's effective in a different way.

Um. Right. Atole. Stirring is important!] It's, uh... It will still be a little bit.

[kept_his_letters]

[She dons a solemn expression.]

Then I bear a difficult burden, being the only one who's right.

[She breaks back into a grin.]

I guess I'll wait then.

[She tilts with a sidestep, braids swinging. She could go sit down but she meanders instead, moving with slight twirls.]

[awooligan]

Oh yeah, very difficult. And I said "one of" -- Kevin's good company.

[Internal screaming... She's cute and pretty, why does she have to go and do cute and pretty things and take away all plausible deniability from him? Ugh.]

How, uh, is...stuff? Like with your dad.

[kept_his_letters]

[She merely laughs at that.

But, her laughter soon softens into something of a sigh.]

It's good! It's really, really good. But, it's also sad? I don't know. It's confusing. And a lot.

[She smiles ruefully.]

I missed him so much, and now he's finally right there! But... sometimes he's... not, sort of. And I know things are going to be really different. But, at the same time, having him back at all is different. It's better, no matter what.

So, it's... weird, I guess. I'm really happy and sad at the same time. More happy than sad.

[awooligan]

[Cliff nods, letting his eyes slide away so he doesn't do something stupid, like saying how he can relate because of his mom and brother knowing the truth about his wolf stuff, or the Carl stuff, or because of how Coco had gotten back this wonderful thing and he was happy for her more than anything, but he still felt sad whenever he thought about it. Sad and selfish. Definitely not bringing it up.]

Yeah. I bet... [Mm...] He's cool, though. I mean, as much as a dad can be, I guess? He showed me some stuff he can do now that he couldn't if he wasn't...you know. So that part's not all bad, either. It's all just complicated.

[kept_his_letters]

Yeah. That's the word. Complicated.

[She stills for a moment in her idle dancing, smiling down at the floor.]

It does seem like he's happy to be himself. I think he's less tired than he was when I saw him as not-a-skeleton. But maybe he's just happy too. I don't know. I do know he's definitely cool though, even if Mamá thinks he's silly.

[And then she's back to skirt swishing.]

We're going to be able to have a future again. All of us. And... it's kind of thanks to you.

[She looks up to meet his eyes.]

[awooligan]

[Why does she want to murder him? Seriously, his heart is doing so much flipping and squeezing from all sorts of emotions that he's worried he's gonna be sick. Here he was, innocently proud of the fact that she could be content with how Héctor was content with himself, and she goes and betrays him, her best friend, like this? Unbelievable.

He feels as red as his hoodie as he hastily avoids looking at her any longer and turns the stovetop off. Just! Serving up some atole! Christ. He can feel his heartbeat in his goddamn tongue, but at least he manages to speak.]

N-no way. You did everything. Uh! There's cinnamon somewhere? [help]

[kept_his_letters]

[Her hand rises up and she covers her mouth. The reason might not be immediately clear unless he catches the muffled giggling she tries to suppress. She's never seen him go so red! And he's definitely panicking.

Boys are baffling.]

I definitely didn't do everything.

[She walks up a little closer, then reaches just beside him.]

I think this is the cinnamon, isn't it?

[awooligan]

[Murdered. She's murdering him, and despite himself he can't stop the frustrated frown that comes from his pouty baby feelings. Why can't he just keep his shit together? He's embarrassing himself! He deserves to have her laughing at him!]

Uh. Yeah.

[AHEM. Just...taking that, thank you. Finding a mug, just a regular-ass mug because getting one of those clay mugs or whatever was best for serving this stuff was a little too much, and trying to not make a mess or anything as he pours. The cinnamon is added a bit awkwardly. God, he's such an awkward loser. He needs to shove a cupcake in his mouth or something to keep him from saying something stupid, like telling her that it's hot. Just barely bites that comment back, before opting for a mumble.]

...Whatever I could do to help, that's good. I'd do it again, too.

[kept_his_letters]

[Don't worry, Cliff. Atole doesn't need to come in an jarrito. A regular mug is just fine.

She tries not to hover, even if she wants to watch him. He's being extremely silly right now.]

Well, I hope you don't have to. But I'm glad you did. Thank you. Again.

[awooligan]

[Small mercies... It's good that she lets him try to gather up some shred of dignity. He tries to literally shrug off the thanks, but he's well aware that isn't something that can happen. It's good to have hope, though.]

Well, duh. It'd be way better to not have to, yeah.

[Maybe he'll just...pull out a chair and sit. Less likely to do something stupid if he's got two fewer limbs in play, right? Right. He's got to get to work on all these sweets, anyway.]

[kept_his_letters]

[Even she, with her love of dancing, can't stay on her feet while someone else sits. That's too awkward. And so, she soon she soon finds a seat of her own.]

You could put it on your hero resume though. That's totally a thing. I've decided just now that it is.

[awooligan]

[He should have started the atole earlier so that would be closer to being cooled off and would distract her from saying weird things like this.]

A hero resume? Even if I was heroic, I wouldn't have something like that. That's so nerdy.

[kept_his_letters]

[Shoulda woulda coulda, now it's too late.]

No way! It's a hero resume! That means it's heroic! Not nerdy! Unless you mean nerdy heroic like superman.

[awooligan]

Nah. Super nerdy.

[Another reason he doesn't fit the image!! Ha.]

I don't think this is something I'd do longterm, anyway, even if I was a hero. I'd rather brag about the cool friend I got than the fact that we ruined some jerk's evil plan.

[kept_his_letters]

Or maybe you just think hero things are nerdy! I hope to meet that cool friend of yours.

[Her smile softens and she lets her teasing pass.]

Do you have any plans? We talk about me so much and what I'm doing, but what about you? Since you're not being a hero and I guess you're not going to settle down at home like I am.

[awooligan]

[Maybe heroes are nerdy!!! All noble and shit. Unthinkable and embarrassing.]

Yeah, I bet you would.

[She’s ridiculous. He likes her a lot.

The subject change gets him to hum and lean back in his chair, balancing on the back two legs. Casual cookie dismantling...]

I don’t know. Figure out how to control...my stuff better. So I can go home. [Werewolf shit.] If you mean long term, I definitely don’t know. You know, half the time I was hearing I’d just grow up to be trouble and end up in jail, or whatever.

[No points for guessing who that opinion came from.]

Sort of felt like...if I thought about it too much, he’d find some way to ruin that, too.

[kept_his_letters]

[She wants to move her chair closer. She wants to reach out to him, maybe take his hand. She can't. He probably would appreciate that much anyway.

She listens to him speak and she feels the weight of it, all the old scars he carries now. Healing, but it would be a while. At the end, she nods.]

I think, if I were in your place, I'd probably want to covet it too.

[She still feels butterflies to think she can have music in the open now, that she can dance with her mother around. And Mamá actually loved her.]

You know... I did say I'd help with that. I promised to look and help with stuff. And now I can actually talk to my family about it and ask for their help too. Only if you say it's okay of course but it is an option and you know, we'd understand.

But, in any case, you know anyone who said that doesn't know what they're talking about. Whatever you do, you're going to be amazing. I know it.

[With that, she drops her gaze, head ducking because now she's embarrassed for once.]

[awooligan]

[A-ah. That’s...a good feeling, even if a stupid part of him is uncomfortably awkward hearing it. Like maybe he shouldn’t care? Best to shove those feelings to the back of his mind so he can keep having a conversation, and all. There’s something else he needs to address, anyway.]

Don’t worry about it.

[Whether the offer’s about the werewolf stuff she’d wanted to take on for herself or her stubborn proposition of getting him something that would keep people from hurting him, he didn’t want her to make it into a big deal. He’d figure it out or wait it out, same as he’d done before.]

Uh, thanks, by the way. Your dad didn’t seem like he knew about what I am, when I talked to him. He did say you’d been telling him a lot about me.

[He raises an eyebrow in something almost like a challenge.]

[kept_his_letters]

[She huffs a little at that. It's one of her least favorite things to hear from him, but, at least in this case, she can consider it fair and let it go. It also lets her push down her embarrassment for a little while.]

Of course I told him about you. You're my best friend. And you did help save his life. Er. Well... close enough.

But you're the one person who came along he didn't know about. Who you are isn't really what you are. I've only see that a few times.