[ if she weren't being a weird stress-ball, she would probably make a comment about how low the bar must be. and that would be kind of mean, in the clumsy way that she tends to be sometimes.
so - at least there's an up-side to her being more focused on trying to be calm and cool and fine. she lets out a little puff of a laugh, content to just stay lingering nearby. ]
alex is still lingering and jonas is leaning against their warehouse and the adrenaline of following everyone's chaos is winding down. and yet...it's only been a few days, and it still feels right to be active at night still. it's why he takes another few moments of watching her subtly before he finally pushes himself off the wall. ]
Let's go.
[ where? probably doesn't matter. he figures if he starts to lead, she'll follow. they could both use the wind-down time even if he has zero idea that she's anxious about stuff at all. ]
[ she immediately falls into step beside him without questioning it. ]
Where to?
[ ... okay, well, without questioning that they're going somewhere. and she kind of knows the answer might just be 'wherever' but - just in case he knows where he's going. ]
Figured we'd know when we got there. [ so yeah, the answer is "wherever." ] I guess we could go back to IKEA. Shenhe got paint all over one of our towels because I let her borrow it earlier.
I haven't gotten to steal anything yet, so that sounds good to me. [ let's steal!!! even though she is maybe even more conspicuous than usual since there's still dried paint all over her. ]
[ yeah she probably should have cleaned up but whatever too late for that. they are already heading to ikea. ]
You're in luck then. Kind of one of my specialties. [ stealing! sometimes you can joke about being a klepto because there's maybe some tiny shreds of truth in that. ]
[ she's valid. he rolls his eyes at the nickname but he doesn't say anything at first as they walk.
eventually, though, he offers something. ]
...it was sort of just a thing to do sometimes instead of sticking around my house by myself. See what would happen. [ he doesn't elaborate beyond that, but he figures alex can read between the lines. it was something he sometimes dabbled in or at least considered while his mom was sick and his dad was spending time with her. ]
[ alex definitely understands not wanting to be at home. she understands feeling that way when the house is too empty and she understands feeling that way when it's too loud. after michael had died, it had fluctuated back and forth between both.
but acting out like that is more foreign to her. and like all the little things jonas tells her, it's interesting, and she thinks about it for a moment before asking for more. ]
... Did you want to get caught?
[ if it were her, that would have been the motivation. ]
I don't know. [ it feels more like the answer is reflexive than a real one, but there is something in the tone to suggest that it's a possibility, too. ] Probably at least a little, but every time I didn't was another thing I beat the odds of.
[ being caught, at least, would have been something to at least...change the pattern. but not being caught was a way of jonas being able to have some control over something when everything else was beyond his control. ]
I might've had better luck getting caught if it were a bank or something instead of the gas stations and big-box stores we went to.
[ she might not have an exact handle on the goal or the precise emotions going on there, but she does understand the... catalyst, maybe. that it's related. it's not the same thing, but she had started skipping school, and that probably feels different, but it comes from the same place.
she thinks. it's at least close enough. ]
Repercussions would be worst, though. If you're gonna get caught, it's better to get caught taking small stuff.
[ she's quiet for a moment, because "and then things were starting to get kind of bad" seems like it needs some space. but that's not really something to pry into.
and it's like even though she knows it's kind of a way of acting out, she also doesn't exactly. care? enough to discourage it. who cares. things are bad and sometimes you steal. that's none of her business. ]
... It's for the better. I mean it's—it'll help us out, here.
We already have a lot but it can't hurt to have more. [ a pause. ] I guess I should buy some other clothes, too. [ speaking of t-shirts. he won't steal clothes yet. ]
Yeah, well, sorry I didn't think of packing an overnight bag before dying. [ dry. ] I'm working on it. I...want to make sure we have enough money to cover anything we might actually need. It's fine, I washed some stuff in the sink when everybody else was out.
[ he is not saying anything because he is determined not to make it weird again. ]
Yeah and depending on what it is...we don't know how much stuff is going to cost or how we're earning extra money. [ but alex has a point. ] I'll get around to it.
I wasn't sure what "team bonding" meant when the reapers mentioned it, but it was pretty fun. [ he can agree on that. ] You think we might've actually earned money from it? It counted as amission.
Maybe it's like...we all get points this time because we were all doing work and completing the mission. But it won't be like that all the time. Next time maybe the mission's an actual competition.
[ he does not say "instead of screwing around pranking each other" because he knows she had a good time and he had, too.
instead, they walk into ikea. ]
It's why I've been wondering if points and money can count as the same thing. Their rulebook said they'll give us an allowance every week but we can do more to earn more. Maybe the missions are points and bonus pay.
That's—kind of annoying if that's how it works. That would mean the rules are more unclear than we thought.
[ which she's kind of used to, because that's something the ghosts had told her. there are rules, and she has to follow them, and it's her own fault for starting this in the first place. 'not knowing any better' doesn't count for anything.
she had liked thinking the rules here were at least a little more transparent. ]
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so - at least there's an up-side to her being more focused on trying to be calm and cool and fine. she lets out a little puff of a laugh, content to just stay lingering nearby. ]
Cool. Carry on.
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alex is still lingering and jonas is leaning against their warehouse and the adrenaline of following everyone's chaos is winding down. and yet...it's only been a few days, and it still feels right to be active at night still. it's why he takes another few moments of watching her subtly before he finally pushes himself off the wall. ]
Let's go.
[ where? probably doesn't matter. he figures if he starts to lead, she'll follow. they could both use the wind-down time even if he has zero idea that she's anxious about stuff at all. ]
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Where to?
[ ... okay, well, without questioning that they're going somewhere. and she kind of knows the answer might just be 'wherever' but - just in case he knows where he's going. ]
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I haven't gotten to steal anything yet, so that sounds good to me. [ let's steal!!! even though she is maybe even more conspicuous than usual since there's still dried paint all over her. ]
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You're in luck then. Kind of one of my specialties. [ stealing! sometimes you can joke about being a klepto because there's maybe some tiny shreds of truth in that. ]
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and unfortunately she doesn't think too deeply about the klepto joke and just internally goes: haha. cool. ]
Well, you are bad-boy Jonas.
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eventually, though, he offers something. ]
...it was sort of just a thing to do sometimes instead of sticking around my house by myself. See what would happen. [ he doesn't elaborate beyond that, but he figures alex can read between the lines. it was something he sometimes dabbled in or at least considered while his mom was sick and his dad was spending time with her. ]
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but acting out like that is more foreign to her. and like all the little things jonas tells her, it's interesting, and she thinks about it for a moment before asking for more. ]
... Did you want to get caught?
[ if it were her, that would have been the motivation. ]
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[ being caught, at least, would have been something to at least...change the pattern. but not being caught was a way of jonas being able to have some control over something when everything else was beyond his control. ]
I might've had better luck getting caught if it were a bank or something instead of the gas stations and big-box stores we went to.
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[ she might not have an exact handle on the goal or the precise emotions going on there, but she does understand the... catalyst, maybe. that it's related. it's not the same thing, but she had started skipping school, and that probably feels different, but it comes from the same place.
she thinks. it's at least close enough. ]
Repercussions would be worst, though. If you're gonna get caught, it's better to get caught taking small stuff.
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[ he stops, deciding not to elaborate. ]
Moved on to other stuff. But...still skills I have, I guess. For better or worse.
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and it's like even though she knows it's kind of a way of acting out, she also doesn't exactly. care? enough to discourage it. who cares. things are bad and sometimes you steal. that's none of her business. ]
... It's for the better. I mean it's—it'll help us out, here.
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...yeah. So towels. Maybe a few more of those sharks? We could even try for a few actual pillows. Like those small ones people use for couches.
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And I won't say no to starting a shark collection.
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[ she says, having waited Way Too Long Also to get more clothes. ]
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Clothes are still a need. If we need something, we'll pool together for it.
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Yeah and depending on what it is...we don't know how much stuff is going to cost or how we're earning extra money. [ but alex has a point. ] I'll get around to it.
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... I hope we can earn money in fun ways. Like how the task turned out to be fun.
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Maybe? We don't know how they're calculating the points from all that or anything. Like, we don't know... How anyone gets ahead from that.
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[ he does not say "instead of screwing around pranking each other" because he knows she had a good time and he had, too.
instead, they walk into ikea. ]
It's why I've been wondering if points and money can count as the same thing. Their rulebook said they'll give us an allowance every week but we can do more to earn more. Maybe the missions are points and bonus pay.
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[ which she's kind of used to, because that's something the ghosts had told her. there are rules, and she has to follow them, and it's her own fault for starting this in the first place. 'not knowing any better' doesn't count for anything.
she had liked thinking the rules here were at least a little more transparent. ]
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