I need you to be okay...

[onteamdyson]

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.

Comments

[gleans]

"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.

[onteamdyson]

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."

[gleans]

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."

[onteamdyson]

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."

[gleans]

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?"

[onteamdyson]

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.

[gleans]

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."

[onteamdyson]

"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.

[gleans]

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."

[onteamdyson]

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.

[gleans]

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?"

[onteamdyson]

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?"

[gleans]

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."

[onteamdyson]

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."

[gleans]

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."

[onteamdyson]

"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.

[gleans]

"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.

[onteamdyson]

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."

[gleans]

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!

[onteamdyson]

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.

[gleans]

"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.