kore_logs | I need you to be okay...

Entry tags:

I need you to be okay...

Who: Galen and Kenzi
What: After talking to Jesse, Kenzi is pretty freaking concerned about Galen. They need to talk. FRIENDSHIP POWER!
Where: House 20. Kitchen.
When: Late day 26 after this and this

Kenzi had been in her room when Galen brought him to the house. Jesse. She'd heard the steps in the hallway and then Galen's door open and close. Not sure which one had gone in, she waited. Sitting on her bed, knees up, good arm hugging them to her chest. A few minutes passed before she realized that sinking feeling she'd been getting was a mixture of concern and mild jealousy.

Jesse was from back home. He knew Galen. He'd spent time with him and probably knew way the hell more about him than Kenzi could ever hope to. It definitely wasn't a romantic jealousy. If anything, it was protective. Galen was her friend. She was already closer to him than she was to people she'd met on day one. The way Jesse had reacted--

Quietly, she slides off the bed and slips out of her room. After a brief pause just outside Galen's door, she turns around and heads down the stairs, towards the kitchen.

Someone's definitely in there. Taking a deep breath and hoping that it's Phil, she peeks in with her fingers curling around the edge of the wall.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Galen honestly feels a little lost. It's like the first day all over again; there's a whole new slew of questions he needs answered, only this time he can't just ask, because Jesse isn't telling. Jesse, somehow, is two months ahead of him, and somewhere in those two months, Galen did something. Something to warrant Jesse threatening to hurt him, apparently. It's making him feel sick, and he almost wants to go to bed, too.

Instead, he's curled up on a kitchen chair with his legs crossed, hunched over the notebook in his lap and a mug of crappy coffee on the table. He's not writing, just reading, so when there's movement by the doorframe, it catches his eye, and he looks up.

Oh. He smiles a little, reaches under his glasses to rub at an eye. "Hey, Kenz."

"Hey." The word itself is almost a sigh but she quickly covers it with a smile of her own. The feeling in the pit of her stomach gets worse but she keeps the smile in place. Her hand falls from the wall and she moves to pour herself into the chair next to him.

"... Sooooooooooo--" What the fuck is she supposed to say? Oh hey, congrats on your boy getting dragged to this corner of Hell along with you! Really glad he's here so you two can go through this bullshit together. At least you won't die alone? No. No to all of it.

She hesitates, but finally places her hand on his arm and just stares at the mug on the table.

Galen drops his hand and picks up his pen, starts tapping it against the book. His eyes are down again, because he isn't sure what to say, either. He knows that Kenzi talked to Jesse, but what did they talk about? It must not have been anything good, judging from the lack of her usual energy.

"Soooooo... I guess you met Jesse."

"Yep. He sure looks awfully familiar." Facetwins everywhere. It's weird. This entire place is weird! "... I gave him a few tips. Tried to help him out."

She's still not sure how she feels about the guy, but that isn't what she's worried about. Okay, she's worried, but it's not top priority. What's freaking her out is the fact that Galen is sick, was sick, or could get sick. He'd already lost his voice! Jesse had said they weren't on speaking terms, was he trying to be funny? Did something happen?! Ugh, how the hell is she supposed to bring any of this up?

She can't figure out how. So she doesn't. She just tugs at Galen's sleeve.

"Is he upstairs?"

Galen nods and sits back in the chair, one foot coming down to rest on the floor. "Yeah, he said he wanted to get some sleep." Galen's voice stays low, anyway. "I doubt he is sleeping, but. Uh -- yeah. Thanks for helping him out."

He bites at his lips, taps the coffee mug with his free hand. "... Did he... say anything about me, to you?"

"... Yep." She can't lie to him. Lying is for strangers and getting out of trouble. Kenzi isn't in trouble right now, and you just don't fucking lie to your friends. Even if it could be bad news. She tries to keep her tone light.

"He asked if you'd been taking naps. I guess he's just worried about you getting cranky after story time and kicking in everyone's block castles." Her gaze flicks from the coffee to his face, intent on reading his expression for any sign that something is wrong.

That gets a weak laugh, but he's a little more worried than amused when he hears that. Jesse had asked him if he was sleeping normally. It can't be a coincidence that he asked Kenzi, too. And what the hell was all that about dreams, being trapped? The more he thinks about that conversation, the more he remembers.

He shakes his head, staring at the middle of the table. "He asked me if I've been sleeping. He -- fuck. He said that something happened between October and December, which is like a month away, but it's already happened, for him. But he won't tell me what."

The hold on his arm gets a bit tighter. More time junk in the worst way, this is what she was afraid of. It already happened for Jesse which means it will happen to Galen. Could happen to Galen? What if there was a way to stop it? Or maybe since he's here it won't happen at all!

Kenzi resists the urge to get up and hug him. She stays where she is, relaxing the grip on his arm before letting go completely only to hold his hand like she did after the day in the cemetery.

"Nothing's gonna happen, Squishy." Because she is going to make Jesse tell her what happens. She's going to find out and she's going to stop it. Easy as that.

He laughs humourlessly and reaches up to rub at his eyes again with his free hand. Galen doesn't often get upset, but right now, this is a situation he can't control. He doesn't know what to do, and he can't stop thinking about the way Jesse spoke to him, at first. He isn't crying, but he does feel like shit. He squeezes her hand a little.

"Thanks, but obviously it is, Kenzi. I mean -- it already has," he says quietly. "Did he tell you anything else? Anything at all?"

"No it hasn't. It hasn't happened to you yet, so there's still time!" There's still a chance. She can fix it!

Damn. Suddenly regretting the no-lying-to-friends policy. She squeezes his hand back before answering. It takes her a while to find the words. "He said..." She clears her throat, already imagining the worst. "He said you get sick." Galen with blood leaking out of his eyes is not an image she wants in her head, but it's there now.

Sick. That piece of the puzzle clicks painfully into place, and he can't help the conclusion that races into his mind, because what the fuck else could sick mean if it involves sleeping and freaking Jesse out? The hand at his eyes slips down to cover his mouth, and he just -- he needs a second to breathe. He might be wrong. But it sounds likely -- he gets sick, and Jesse can't deal with it.

"Oh, god," Galen breathes, dropping his head a little, hand coming up against his forehead. This time, his eyes actually are stinging, and he's trying to keep it in, but this is everything he's ever been afraid of. "Oh, fuck."

Edited 2013-01-02 23:00 (UTC)

She wasn't expecting that reaction. She should have been, but she wasn't. Galen's freaking out. She's used to Bo never freaking out and other people hiding their freakouts and sometimes she just forgets that she has to be careful with Galen. Really careful.

Kenzi moves closer, covering their joined hands with her other one, and puts on the brave face. "Hey. Hey! No, dude, come on. What did I just say? I got this. I got you, okay? You're my friend. Galen, seriously, I'll fix it! Just don't... don't panic." Don't cry. "It's gonna be okay."

"No, no -- sorry, m'sorry, Kenzi, I." He swallows once, takes a deep breath, shakes his head. Not crying! Just -- watery. "If - heh - if it is what I think it is, you can't fix it. I can't. I just -- didn't think --"

He blows out a breath, sniffs, and tries to calm the racing thoughts in his head. He has to explain, not sit here a panicking mess. This just caught him off guard. In a little while, he'll be able to handle it.

Sniffing again, Galen pushes his hair back and sits up, looking at Kenzi. His eyes are a little red, but -- seriously, he's fine. "Schizophrenia is -- it's found to be hereditary. My -- my mom had it. Her uncle had it. And -- and I think that might be what he's talking about. About me getting sick in November."

That's big. That is a big thing. If she was his real friend, she would have known. If they weren't stuck in this horror-show of a cape town, he'd have access to medication. If they hadn't met a week ago...

She stands up suddenly, almost knocking the chair over when she does, and finally gives in to that urge to hug him. She holds him tight, despite the pain in her arm. "That's not it. Can't be. You love him, right? Legit, super romantic, always and forever love? No one leaves that. People fight for that." But it fits. Not talking... the way he reacted. Stay away. People say things they don't mean all the time.

But you have to have hope. If you don't have hope, life is just going to crush you. There's gotta be something they're missing!

She's gotta know. Jesse is going to tell her one way or another.

Galen laughs sadly and hugs her back, mindful of her arm. Not a lot of people know that, about him; he doesn't like to talk about what happened to his mom, not with anyone but people he trusts. And hardly anyone knows exactly how scared he is of losing that grip on reality, even if it is treatable. He's not even sure Jesse knows -- or maybe he does, now.

"I don't know. I don't know what else it could fucking be, Kenz, and -- and maybe he just couldn't deal." That thought hurts almost as much as the idea of all this finally happening. "Maybe -- maybe I get paranoid, and I don't even realize what's happening, and I push him away -- I don't fucking know." He sniffs again, sighs. "I'm sorry, this is just -- the one thing I -- fuck. Sorry."

Kenzi pulls back so she can meet his gaze. Her hands move to grip his shoulders gently and she gives him the tiniest of shakes, "No, hey! No. Don't be sorry. And don't get too ahead of yourself, cowboy. You said it, we don't know. So just-- come on, we're in the present right the hell now, okay?"

And they're fine. They're both fine. She's not dead or worse and he's not crazy. He's perfectly normal. She smiles and holds up her pinky, so you know this is serious business, "I swear to you, that as long as you're stuck here? I'm not going anywhere no matter how hard you push. Friendship promise. We totally got this, Brozart." Yep. She sure did just use Mozart as a bro-name.

Galen blows out another small, steadying breath -- then laughs a little, hooks his pinky with hers, and wipes at his eye with his free hand. "Alright, Brosephine. Thanks."

His smile gets a little bit warmer. "... I really appreciate it."

Edited 2013-01-03 00:50 (UTC)

That's better! Calm, smiling Galen. That's the Squishy she likes to see. Making jokes and linking pinkies. She can handle this. This is okay.

Kenzi kisses him quickly on the forehead, straightens, and steps back hesitating to sit back down like she's scared he's going to explode or shatter... or vanish. When she's sure he's definitely, very okay, she sinks back into her chair and rests her chin in her hand. "You want some cereal or something? There's no more milk, but we can still munch on it before it gets stale."

Calmer, anyway; he's taking steady breaths and trying not to think about it. Galen closes the notebook on his lap, drops it on the table, and reaches for his probably-cold cup of coffee. -- Eurgh, definitely cold.

"Next best thing to ice cream, huh?" He smiles a little. "Sure, why not."

The cold coffee is snatched off the table as she stands up again and heads to the sink. Just gonna dump that shit and put on a fresh pot before tracking down that cereal and just one bowl because it means less dishes for her to not wash later.

"... Do you think those guys are like your evil twins from another dimension?" She means Party and Ghoul. Obviously. There was no easy way to launch into that question, but at least it's a less depressing topic than the future. Even if it still involves his boyfriend.

"Because you're really nice so I can see how they'd seem evil by comparison?" Despite the fact that Party's pretty nice to her. He wasn't at first. Took him a while. "But KK is the nicest ever, too, except for the whole punching you in the face thing-- so his twin has to be a freakin' saint."

Did he even know anyone that looked the same as Kobra? This is so weird. If the Natashas were still here, she'd ask them what the hell was going on. But they were literally the same person-- but different.

Galen turns in his seat and watches her go, pulling a foot back up onto the chair. "I have no idea. It's like -- it's fucking weird, seeing that Poison creep, because it's like... you get this feeling like you're seeing a total stranger in your skin. No familiarity." Ugh. "Like, I really don't see how that dude could be me. At all. And on top of that, I don't have a brother." Maybe he would have, if mom hadn't died. Wow, that's not helping him feel better. He clears his throat.

"And, uh -- I can't say he was telling the truth, but Ghoul said his real name isn't Jesse." He shrugs and starts chewing at one of his nails. Never mind how that came up in conversation. "So fuck if I know, basically."

Ha. Haha. Creep. Right. Totally! She agrees! She agrees so much that she doesn't say anything about him specifically while she pours the cereal into a bowl and sets it on the table a little too hard. Oops.

The coffee's still going, so she moves back to lean against the sink. "So he's not you. They aren't the same. They just look the same. Doppelgangers? That's a thing, right? My money is still on the alternate universe thing." And then her head snaps up, "You talked to that Ghoul guy? Did he mess with you?"

"Yeah, like there are only so many faces or whatever. But that's a weird fucking coincidence." He shrugs, and reaches for a small handful of the cereal.

He glances up, lips pressing a little tight. "If by that you mean was he a shithead, then yeah. Like, he apologized when I didn't just roll over and take it, but c'mon."

Kenzi's starting to get really tired of people being total assholes to Galen around here. Sherlock kind of brings it on himself, but she hasn't seen Galen be a dick to anyone that didn't start shit first.

"Maybe you and Jesse should just steer clear for a while. Rational isn't exactly their style." And talking probably won't fix anything. It's a small town. Avoidance won't work for very long. She clicks her tongue... and then she smirks, "Or, you know, I could always just go and lay some beatdowns in your honour."

"Eeeeh, that's okay," he says, grinning a little. "We can handle it." He finally knocks back that small bit of cereal, chews thoughtfully.

"So... are you friends with Party, or...?" What, some things are hard to miss at a Christmas party with only a few people.

Are you sure you can handle it? Of course, she doesn't say it out loud. That would be mean. She just smiles back-- until he goes and asks that question. Wow. She kind of feels like a double agent. It should be a really cool, glamorous feeling, but it's not. It feels like guilt. She purses her lips together, frowning, and then nods.

"Yeah. Was friends with him before I was friends with you, actually." That or is just going to be ignored completely. Nope. Not-- just nope. Not getting into that. "I knew KK from day one here. Party showed up later."

If Kenzi likes them, maybe they aren't terrible, but Galen doesn't really feel like he's missing out on much. He just nods.

"So I'm assuming they aren't... weird and awkward all the time."

Uuuuuuuuuuuum. Her eyes roam ceiling-ward and she hunches her shoulders, leaning forward. "They get... less weird? At times? You just have to know how to talk to them." She shrugs and pushes herself up to sit on the edge of the sink. That was the best thing about KK when she met him. He understood what she was saying when everyone else questioned her ability to speak English.

"Haven't really seen much of the new one. But if he's being a dick to you, I'm not exactly a fan."

He takes a couple more cereal bits. "Yeah. You're right, I'm just gonna avoid them for now, cuz I have enough shit to deal with at the moment." No, nope, don't think about it.

"How's the coffee looking?"

Avoiding is good. Avoiding people, avoiding certain conversations, avoiding ... facial associations. Yep. Coffee, it is. She scoots over to check it out and grabs a second mug while she's at it. "It's looking black and I hope to god we have sugar or I'm gonna have to pour syrup into this biz." Damn right she just pointed an accusatory finger at the poor, innocent coffee maker. It's not his fault if you don't have sugar! Calm down.

But alas, no syrup needs to be substituted today. Kenzi gets her sugar with a shot of coffee and Galen gets his coffee with a shot of no-longer-cold. She sets his mug down in front of him and settles back into her chair. Pass the cereal, Mister Howard. What a delightful, grown-up occasion for grown-ups. It's so ridiculous that she just snorts and almost spits out her beverage when the snort turns into a laugh.

The laugh is infectious, and Galen ends up snorting, which turns into a quiet, stupid-sounding giggle. Then he straightens out his expression.

"No, Kenzi, this is serious."

"Tooootally serious. You're right. I'm sorry." ... Nope. Still laughing. You laughed, too, Galen! Come on! Food is running out, people keep disappearing, horrible stuff keeps happening, laughing is just a way to keep from crying at this point.

"Can I read your diary?" Siiiiip.

He takes a sip of his own coffee and snorts a little. This is another reason he's glad for Kenzi; when his own optimism fails, she's like a fully charged backup generator.

Galen lifts a hand; a gesture of 'whatever'. "You can take a look, but I can't guarantee you can make out my handwriting. It's mostly lyrics and shit."

Kenzi squeals and sets her mug down, grabbing the book instead. So exciting! She doesn't even care if she can read what's in it, she's just happy that he said she could! All she really wants to do is look through it, anyway. See what it's like. It's kind of like seeing what Galen's like in a different way.

"... I wrote a song once." Here we go.

Galen smiles and watches her look through from behind his mug. Five years and two albums, and he still waits for the initial reaction. The book is filled with handwriting, of course; verses, notes, red ink, scribbled out lines, small musical notations. The second-last written-in page says something about writing a rock opera about a roguishly handsome solo stealer from the dark alleys of New York. Don't ask.

"I almost forgot that you're a drummer." Didn't forget! Just almost. "So what was the song like?"

Edited 2013-01-03 05:35 (UTC)

She doesn't even look up at him as she flips through pages and crinkles her nose when she finds something that she likes. This shit here? This is personal. What Galen just told her a few minutes ago? That's really personal. She feels like she owes him something. Something big.

"Oh, you know, upbeat tempo. Lyrical masterpiece. Real sophisticated stuff. Very... mature." She closes the book, but doesn't put it back on the table just yet. And then she just beams at him. "Wanna hear it?"

Galen doesn't really worry; a little over half of the things written in here are already released songs, so it's nothing she wouldn't hear. Some others... well, he kind of hopes she's just skimming, because they're on the cutting room floor for a reason.

On the topic of her song, though, he feels like he's in for something interesting. He grins. "Hell yeah, I do."

Good answer, Squishy. She will never do this for anyone else. Not even at gun point. Okay, fine, the book is slid back over to him so she can scoot back in her chair and reach the cutlery. Sorry, floor. Probably ruining you. Oh well.

Spoons obtained!

Somehow, she feels less self conscious about this while smacking a beat out of the table, her mug, and the salt and pepper shakers. It really doesn't make singing this song any less embarrassing.

But she does it. She ... just totally did it. Oh my god. And she has to laugh at the fact that he's technically an older boy whose room is right ... next door directly. Yeah. It fits. Fuck it. TABLE DRUM ROLL, BIG FINISH, CHUCK THE SPOONS INTO THE SINK-- and miss completely. Oops.

Holding up a finger here, "Keep in mind that I never said I was a rockstar."

Okay, Kenzi is definitely the remedy to a shitty day. He starts off biting his nails, watching, but his grin just gets wider and wider until she's done and his face hurts. Once she finishes, he full-out laughs -- his first genuine laugh in a while.

"Oh my god," he giggles, rubbing at a cheek. "How old were you when you wrote that? That's fucking adorable, holy shit."

"Wow, rude much? I wrote that yesterday. It's about you. I take it all back now!" He laughed! He laughed and he's smiling! This was a great success and now she can barely remember what was making them so upset in the first place.

... That was a lie. She remembers pretty clearly, but she's trying to ignore it.

"I was... six? I think. The older boy was Nate. My ex." Doesn't sting as much as it did a few days ago. Wonder why.

"Well it's cute as hell," he says, as if there's any question. "And pretty impressive, for a six-year-old, jeez. You've never written anything since?"

It's nice, to talk about this, even though it doesn't quite keep his mind off of his possible future.

She's totally not blushing, shut up. Maybe a little. Tiniest amount of blushing. "Nah. Nothing serious. Just more stupid songs like that about brushing your teeth or doing the dishes or throwing a rock at the neighbour kid and blaming your cousins. I really liked being loud." She laughs.

Too bad certain people in her house didn't feel the same way about loud noises. "Music wasn't really a thing until high school."

Galen smiles at that and sits back in his chair. "Same here. High school can be pretty good for helping you find your niche, I guess." He brings a hand up, chews at one of his nails.

"... I'm glad we're friends, Kenzi." Chew, chew. "Like, you don't have to shoulder any of this -- whatever the fuck's going on, but you are, and... it's cool. You're cool." Just tellin' it like it is. He's grateful!

What. What?! Dammit, Galen. Now she feels all sunshiney on the inside and a lot less terrible about instigating a freak out. He just called you cool, Kenz, play it cool.

Just gonna brush that invisible dirt off her shoulder and flip her hair back like a boss. "Yeah, I know. No idea what possessed me to hang with someone as lame as you, though." But she's smiling like crazy, "Temporary lapse in judgement that I guess I'm kind of very okay with. I got your back no matter how stupid."

Or weird. Or scary. Or twilight zone-y.

"Thanks." He smiles, finally leaving his poor fingernail alone, and reaches over for a fist bump. "I got your back back." Between his blurry future and her worsening magic-poisoned arm... "We're gonna be okay."

For now.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I need you to be okay...

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

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