vatheon | Where do I fit in?

Who: Jane and Dirk (with possible cameos by roommates?)
Where: Their apartment
When: Sometime during the day on 8-20
Style: Action
Status: Closed (Semi-open if said roommates want to crash the party)

[Jane's managed to cool down considerably since her initial arrival. It was poor timing overall, and while she is still slightly upset by much of it, she hasn't brought it up or anything. There hasn't really been a reason to, after all. Outside of apologizing for her snap at Roxy, she's sort of bottled it all up.

With no Jake here to get between them (or, rather, stumble blindly into both their paths and sort of just stand their smiling goofily while the two of them self destruct around him), she's gotten along with Dirk just fine. Living with him is nowhere near as awkward as she was worried it might be, since, well, it's not as if he probably even knew how she felt. He's her friend, right? He'd have talked to her about it, if he had. She hopes he would have.

And so it continues to be Not Talked about and they live together and Jane passes him in the hallway, forgetting the thought bubble floating behind her head. She gives him a smile and then, her mind drifting, suddenly finds herself wondering.

Did he and Jake ever...you know, consummate? She'd seen the whole kiss on the mountain with Dirk's disembodied head (ew) but sex, well, she wasn't sure if they'd gotten that far in their somewhat brief relationship. They were teenage boys, though.

Her cheeks color as she pictures it. Dirk and Jake kissing fervently, their bodies getting excited at a ridiculously quick rate. Then they're touching each other-- Dirk probably keeps his gloves on even then. Jake's probably babbling and whimpering a lot...

All of this passes through her mind in a matter of seconds as the two of them pass in the hall. Jane's smile fades as she glances away, embarrassed by her own thoughts. Unfortunately for her, she's forgotten that she should be even more embarrassed, since all of that was broadcast in Dirk's full color imagery thanks to the thought bubble.

It's sure to occur to her any moment. Probably.]

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[Today isn't the best day for Dirk's attention span. The thought bubbles are a huge distraction, and so, with one notable exception, he's tried to spend most of his time away from other people inside of the house he shares with his friends.

But that makes it exceptionally difficult to avoid his friends. Normally, this isn't a problem, but this time, he manages to catch a flicker of her thought bubble out of the corner of his eye as she passes by, and it stops him for a moment, because what he saw looked kind of like Jake.

What he actually sees when he turns to look at her makes him stop in place. Stare, as if to check that he's actually seeing what he is. Behind him, his thought bubble goes blank white, then fills up with heavy scribbles, like someone trying to cover over a misspelled word.

His face is blank, his voice as neutral as he can make it.]

Is something up, Miss Crocker?

Hm?

[Jane gives a small, confused smile. She follows Dirk's approximate line of sight and-- oh. Right. That thing.

That thing.

Jane shrieks and attempts to wave the bubble away, hands frantically moving against it-- and through it. She can't believe he saw her thinking about that. Y-yes, that! No need to show it again, oh goodness, this bubble is going to be the death of her.]

Um! [She glances back, Betty Crocker red and still flailing uselessly.] I...can explain but there is a pretty decent chance it's nothing you want to talk about anyway, what with-- conflicts of interest and-- oh God, no, I don't even know what that looks like!

[Jane covers her face with her hands as the thought bubble finally shifts from a particular part of Jake's anatomy to bright, flashing pink-- seemingly an illustration of frantic embarrassment.]

I'm so sorry, Dirk. I can't believe that just happened.

[As always, his sunglasses make it hard to tell where his focus lies, and it doesn't help that Dirk isn't moving in a way that would give any telltale signs. In truth, that's because he's still stuck staring at Jane's bubble, though he's no longer paying attention to any of the images that are filtering through it. It takes a few moments to think to actually look to her face.

At least she has the decency to look completely embarrassed. In fact, she looks about as freaked out as he feels.]

Why was I in that?

[Yes, that's the part that he's hung up on.]

I! Don't know! I was curious if-- oh my God, that isn't even a thing I thought about back home, why now!

[Jane growls with frustration and shakes her head in her hands.]

It wasn't like I was-- I was just wondering about it, I swear, I don't think about it all the time or anything!

[This conversation isn't getting any more comfortable. Maybe it would be best to drop it and forget that the things leading up to it ever happened. That might be the least awkward way to go about it. So of course Dirk doesn't give up.]

Curious if what? We got that far?

[... That's not a very good tone. In fact, it sounds as if Jane is toeing a line here.]

I-- I guess? I mean, it was just a random thought, since you-- you guys were here where things are kinda safer and--

[She breathes in and sobs out, the harshness of Dirk's tone managing to scare her just a little. She and Dirk have never really had a proper fight, but she thinks he'd be the type to hold a grudge. With everything so strange and different here, the thought of losing her friends is just a bit too much for her to handle. And she never really properly cried out her anger and sadness when she first got to this place anyhow.]

I'm sorry, I didn't-- didn't mean to be gross or-- or rude.

[She's met by a harsh bark of laughter, and Dirk's own thought bubble behind him fills with images of him and Jake- but not the kinds of images Jane might expect. They're memories, from the first time Jake arrived here, all the little details he'd agonized over in hindsight. How uncomfortable Jake had always seemed around him, how he'd been so avoided for months. The little valentine's day post Jake had made asking for a date to the bubble's general public.]

Jane, that crashed and burned before we even got here, and you know it.

[Jane glances up when she sees the images flashing, but immediately averts her eyes. She owes him that privacy, at least.]

It-- it didn't seem to be going very well, back home, but. But Jake seemed to want to make it work. I just assumed, I mean. He-- he cared so much about you that he forgot my birthday, so...

[Her breath shudders, and she immediately shakes her head, regretting having said that. It was passive aggressive, and it made this about her when it wasn't.]

I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to hurt your feelings. It just came into my head.

[It occurs to him, very belatedly, that there's one question he never really asked Jane. And rather than continue to look angry, or hurt, or the kind of blank that means he's hiding both, he seems cautious.]

Jane, what exactly was happening with you before you got to Vatheon?

Um.

[To be honest, it surprises her. It's been a while since Dirk or Jake showed any interest in what was going on with her. Even Roxy got a little distant as she befriended Fefeta and tackled her own demons.

She isn't sure what to say, for a moment.]

It...it was the day before my birthday. I fought with Jake and Roxy and ran home. Caliborn, um. He messaged me and...was himself.

[She takes advantage of having calmed a bit to think this through to wipe at her eyes, annoyed at herself for crying so easily. Maybe she's a little more high strung than she realized.]

Why?

Where do I fit in?

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