rekindleme | A night out! [OPEN]

Entry tags:

A night out! [OPEN]

Who: Pilouette and You!
Where: District 5 and later, the Guest Apartments.
When: Evening of October 9th and into the night
Summary: Pilouette decides to break from her usual schedule and have a night out. It doesn't go as smoothly as she would hope.
Warnings: None as of posting. Maybe some awkwardness?

Though she's been living on her own in Saeng Seong for over a year, Pilouette has been sticking more or less to the same general schedule she had back home: Get up early, do whatever she was doing during the day — usually work in this case, rather than school — then come home and be in bed by 10.

However, since turning seventeen the month before, she had been thinking about something. Why was she still following that schedule? After all, she's been living without any kind of actual adult supervision for a while. Really, she could do whatever she wanted. Plus, she's a year older, even closer to being an adult than she was before! Plus, seeing as was given the next day off...Pilouette decides to have a night out. Even with the warning the previous week, she figures she'll be fine. After all, Ren said those people were headed towards a closed district. As long as she doesn't spend too much time near those she'll be fine. Probably.

After work she dresses up, just a little bit, to make herself feel a little more grown up before heading out to District 5. She's still a little nervous and she might not notice if something, like her cellphone or wallet, fell out of her purse on the way.

Before long, she gets to the theater having decided to see a movie. However, she's having trouble deciding what to see. She's pretty bad with scary movies, but...well, since she's older now, maybe she can handle it. After all, it's just a movie. However, she could also see one of any number of other movies that won't scare her to death.

After it's all over, Pilouette walks back to District 2 and up to her own apartment, 3-03 in Building 2. She stands there for a moment, rummaging through her purse for a moment, looking for her key. When she doesn't find it she begins to backtrack to look for it. It's not until she's been searching the first floor for a while when it hits her. It's on her table. Inside her apartment. She's locked herself out. Great.

After a few moments of being generally annoyed and upset at herself, she thinks about what her options are. She doesn't want to bother anyone at such a late hour and she can't just mill about all night. So, Pilouette makes her way back up to the third floor and, settling down on a couch in the third floor's lounge area, buys some coffee from a vending machine. She comes to find that she doesn't actually like coffee very much. At all. It's so bitter and gross. However she wants to try and stay awake so she can see about possibly getting another key or something to get back into her apartment bright and early. However, it doesn't work out very well and she ends up falling asleep.

...It's probably not the best place for it.

((ooc: Brackets and prose are both okay!))

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He brings his right wrist up as if to glance at his absent watch, but once he notices he hadn't put it on, he almost hastily lowers his hand to smooth the leg of his pajamas.

"Probably close to 2," he says, taking a sip of his tea to distract himself. "I couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd walk around for a bit." He raises an eyebrow at her, but he's closer to teasing her rather than suspicious. "What exactly are you doing here?"

"I-It's only two...," she mumbles. Now that she's a bit more awake and has a better handle on the situation, she can't help but feel pretty mortified. "I, um, I locked myself out of my apartment. It was already late by the time I got in and I didn't think most people would be awake. S-So, I thought I'd would just try and stay awake so I could see what I could do about getting another key or whatever in the morning."

Somehow, the more she explains, the more embarrassed she feels. Pilouette's cheeks turn a little pink as she starts fiddling with her ponytail. She can't believe she fell asleep in the lounge like this...hopefully Shinju is the only person that ran across her snoozing there.

Shinju only smiles tiredly at her embarrassment, holding his cup so it rests on his knee.

"That explains it," he says, only to yawn a moment after. "I've locked myself out of my car a couple of times and it's always irritating."

Granted, it's been a long while since he had his car, but that's largely irrelevant anyway.

"I don't think they have an office here in the building," he says, rubbing his eyes and trying to think through the options. "And I bet the places in the second district won't be open until five at least. I haven't really looked into their schedule."

None of that really seems very helpful for the moment, so he just has to shrug apologetically as he sits back against the couch.

"So I guess it's mostly waiting for now anyway."

Knowing that he's been through the locked-out experience as well makes her feel a little better, but the whole situation still has her feeling pretty silly.

"I thought so...," she sighs. "They'll open at five if I'm lucky. I guess I can't really complain, though."

After all, she figures it was her own carelessness that led to this. To think that the first time she decides to stay out late by herself she does this! She lets out a quiet yawn and picks up her empty coffee can from the floor. She looks at it, wrinkling her nose a little as she remembers the bitter taste.

"If it's only a few more hours, I think I can make it...," Pilouette says quietly. "Maybe if I have another coffee, it'll be easier to stay awake."

Or it would if she hadn't bought decaf.

"It could definitely be worse," he replies before taking another sip of his tea. He glances at the dropped coffee and the look on her face and guesses it isn't something she's that fond of. He can't blame her; he definitely doesn't prefer it, himself.

After a moment of watching the can, he yawns, then turns to face her.

"I think I might have a better idea. I'm not about to use my bed any time soon, so it's free for the night."

Pilouette's eyes widen a little bit at his suggestion.

"Are you sure? I mean, do you think your roomie will be cool with it?" she asks, frowning a little. "And if you get tired I don't want to like, put you out or anything...!'

It's not that she doesn't appreciate the offer, but even if they are friends, she doesn't want to impose on him or his roommate. ...Sleeping in a bed does sound pretty good right about now, though.

Shinju smiles a little when he sees she's not entirely opposed to the idea. He was worried it might have come off as a little awkward.

"He won't mind, and if I get tired, I can always take the couch. It's no big deal."

He nods towards the couch they're sitting on.

"It'll be a little nicer than dozing on this thing, right? I don't think you should stay up if you don't have to."

She does feel a little awkward about it, but likely for different reasons. She hopes that people won't start saying things if they see her leaving his apartment wearing the same outfit she wore the previous night? That kind of stuff always came up in magazines and movies...

Then again, who would see her? The last time she visited Shinju's place, there didn't seem to be a lot of people living in the same building, much less on the same floor. Besides, it's not like it's weird, right? She would just be crashing at a friend's place. If anyone did ask, that's all she would have to tell them. Probably. Plus, she's pretty tired and it would definitely be better than falling asleep in a public place. After taking just one more moment to think about it, she nods.

"Alright. If it's really okay," she says, with a sheepish sort of smile. "I'll owe you one. Thanks."

Shinju chuckles a little to himself as he gets to his feet, then offers Pilouette a hand.

"Okay. Next time you cook something new, I get the first try."

He isn't really that serious about it--though he would look forward both to spending time with her and trying more of her cooking--he mainly wants to break the ice and make the offer less weird. He hopes it serves that purpose, anyway.

"Sure. Next time I try something, I'll do my best to make it extra good."

Even if he's not being serious, it's not often that she gets to share her cooking with friends — or other people in general, for that matter — so she would definitely welcome the chance. Besides, she could use more time with friends. Feeling a little more at ease, she takes his hand and stands up as she does her best to suppress another quiet yawn.

"I guess we should get going before I fall asleep on my feet...!"

"Probably a good idea," he agrees, turning to head towards the elevators, but keeping an eye on Pilouette. "I'd have trouble opening doors if I had to carry you."

After pressing the down button, he takes a drink of his tea and isn't quite able to suppress his own yawn, which he covers with his free hand.

She's sure that no matter how sleepy she got, she would be able to walk on her own. Besides, the thought of someone lugging her through the halls of the apartment buildings (or anywhere else, for that matter) is a little embarrassing. For the time being, Pilouette puts those thoughts aside and smiles a little when Shinju yawns.

"Maybe yawning really is contagious," she says, with a quiet giggle. "You said you couldn't sleep right? Um, is there anything in particular keeping you up? If it's okay to ask."

Shinju lets out a few quiet laughs at her remark. That's certainly been his experience. When she asks about his lack of sleep, his smile fades slightly, only to be kept in place a little forcibly.

"It's uh, nothing new," he replies, looking away. When the elevator pings to announce its arrival, Shinju steps inside and keeps his face out of sight for a moment.

"Just... October was... not a great month for me, a couple years ago."

He tries to keep his voice from trembling, and mostly succeeds, but he slips midway on great. Damn it.

Pilouette hears his voice shake and tenses a little. Should she acknowledge it? Maybe not...from what he said, it sounded like the kind of thing he might not want to talk about. She wonders if he would be able to tell if she pretended to not to notice. He's pretty smart, so she's sure he would. Still though, Pilouette knows from experience that sometimes there are things one just doesn't want to share with other people and she doesn't think that pressing the issue is the best idea.

"O-Oh, um, I see," she replies quietly as she steps onto the elevator. "W-Well, if being up this late isn't new for you, then I guess I shouldn't worry about you getting too tired out."

She feels a tiny bit awkward and stops herself just as she starts reaching for her hair. After a moment, she moves so that she's standing right next to him, her arm touching his. Maybe some contact will at least keep them awake for a bit.

He glances at her after her she moves closer and gives her a small smile, grateful for the distraction and change of subject.

"Yeah, I'm pretty good at keeping myself up when I put my mind to it," he says as he hits the button to go to the ground floor, slipping into a less gloomy tone of voice. "And I can always take a nap later."

Granted, he's supposed to have work later this morning, but... he doesn't think that's happening today. Even so, he hardly ever takes days off, so he doesn't think it will be that much of a problem.

"I guess being able to keep yourself awake is a pretty nifty...," she replies. "If I'm sleepy enough, I can fall asleep pretty much anywhere. I, um, guess you already saw that, though, huh?"

She laughs just a bit awkwardly, with a tired little smile. She's glad to hear the change of tone in his voice. He once said that hanging out with her made him feel like he could forget his worries and she's always kept that in mind. Even at a time like this, if she can help him worry just a little less, she's happy.

"I guess I'm lucky I fell asleep where I did and not like, somewhere weirder..."

"It's kind of a trade-off for not being able to fall asleep very easily," he says with a shrug before taking another drink. "But it can come in handy if you've got a project due the next day."

Granted, it hadn't been very pleasant to go without sleep that long, but he'd done it. Not that he could remember what the thing had been about now. It seemed like such a long time since he'd been in school...

He's taken away from his thoughts, though, and he has to agree about where Pilouette slept. "It's definitely better than outside, for sure, especially since it's starting to get cold."

'Not being able to fall asleep very easily...' She wonders for a moment if that means he doesn't sleep well in general. Pilouette makes sure to make a note of that. Since she usually falls asleep without much trouble, maybe she could think of something.

"Oh! You're right, it is getting cold again. It's still kind of hard to believe it's been this long...," she replies. She hadn't realized before just how fast summer seemed to fly right by with little notice. After all, without school there wasn't really a "summer vaction" to get excited about like there was back home, no rush to cram as much fun as she could into each day before the break was over. It's a little strange now that she thinks about it.

"I'm glad you found me before someone else did, you know?" she says, trying to shake off that feeling of oddness for the time being. "Just imagine if someone who didn't know me found me just like, snoring away on that couch. Like, people might started saying stuff or whatever."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Shinju says, stepping out of the elevator when it reaches the bottom floor. "Every time I think about how much time has passed, I have to look at my calendar again to make sure I'm not making it up."

In general, he tries not to think too hard about it, but it's hard to avoid sometimes, especially around certain dates. He does his best to brush away those thoughts before they get too far.

"Saying stuff?" he repeated, smiling like he wasn't quite sure about the idea. "I don't know if you've noticed, but we're living in a magic city with giant robots and talking animals. I think anyone talking about a person sleeping on a public couch would need better gossip material."

Pilouette's cheeks go a little pink. He has a point. Maybe she is being a little silly to worry about it given the circumstances...but still...

"But don't think that it's because stuff like that is kinda common around that people will still talk about normal stuff?" she asks. "I mean, it does feel like, kinda unreal seeing robots and stuff around, but we see them all the time these days, right? Plus, like, some people find gossip about every day stuff really interesting."

Like her. In fact, back home, gosipping about people's personal lives was a major past time for some people, especially people who attended schools full of teenage girls. As she follows him out of the elevator, she reaches up and starts smoothing out her bangs.

"...Besides, I probably looked like a total mess or whatever, sleeping on that couch like that."

"You looked fine," he reassures her, putting a hand on her shoulder as he opens the door to step outside. "It's not like everyone is going to look like a model when they're sleeping."

He honestly doesn't know of anyone in the city who's into gossip like that. Secrets, sure, but those have typically been of a more serious nature, like what's going on with the scientists.

Shaking his head, he can't help but smile a little. He guesses she's got normal worries, if nothing else.

"Seriously, don't let it bother you. I'm pretty sure no one else saw you, anyway."

"That's good. Even if no one saw me, it was still like, kind of embarassing, you know?"

Normal worries, indeed. Pilouette struggles to hold on to what little normalcy she can still get around here, even if it means doing her best not to get involved in some of the city's more serious issues and tell herself that things were normal...given the circumstances, of course. She glances up at Shinju as she steps off the elevator alongside him.

"I guess maybe it is kind of a silly thing to worry about in a place like this, but...maybe I'm just like, a worrier or something."

From what she's seen, Shinju seems to be so level-headed most of the time, collected and mature. So cool.

"Well, everyone worries," he says, shrugging. "They just pick different things to worry about."

If he'd been brought here six months earlier than he was, he might have had similar worries. Things just... changed, and those sorts of worries felt irrelevant. He was still upset by the thought of people talking about him at the time, but that situation was markedly different. People wanting to laugh at you is a little different from being avoided entirely.

If he knew that was how Pilouette felt, he'd be glad that he'd been successful in appearing that way.

He brushes some of his unruly bangs out of his eyes as he starts to head to the third building, pushing those thoughts away. The air is a little chilly for someone only in their pajamas, but he's not terribly bothered; they'll only be outside for a little while.

"I mean, that's the kind of thing you worry about at home, right? So it just stayed with you. I guess I'm kind of the same, for the most part, so I can't blame you."

She thinks about what he's said for a moment. Pilouette isn't sure she really picks the things she worries about. She just...does. Still, even back home, her friends told her not to worry about such things so much.

"I guess you're right, but...I wonder just how someone learns to stop worrying about certain things, though," she says. "Maybe if I didn't worry so much, stuff would be easier."

She's aware that there are others who have far more to worry about than she does, especially after having been in Saeng Seong. Worrying about your city running out of power? People stuck outside the city? A horrible miasma existing outside? In comparison, her usual worries seem pretty mundane and petty. Still...she can't seem to stop worrying about those things. On the infrequent occasion that she really thinks about it, she feels a little guilty for worrying so much about how she looks or if she sounds smart enough when others, both native and not, seem to have more to deal with.

"If you find out, let me know. Figuring out how to turn that off would be nice."

Sure, he doesn't worry about the kinds of things Pilouette worries about anymore, but they shifted to things that seemed more relevant to him. If he could even just return to his old worries and forget the new ones, he'd definitely do it.

He finishes off his drink as they travel the few yards between buildings and dumps the empty cup in a trash can near the door when they get there.

A night out! [OPEN]

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