ᴛᴡᴏ ✄ sweet things

[distorting]

[He's sitting cross-legged on a bed in a room that isn't very well lit. The only light that's coming in is from a nearby window, but even then, the dark seems to be crowding the room. Tate seems to stand out from the dark, his blond, messy hair being the only thing that really makes him stand out in the first place.

There is a long quiet that feels awkward and almost wrong as he slowly gets up from the bed to look around the room. He looks familiar enough with it, like he's been there for his whole life, but there's something in his eyes that suggests a longing for something more. It's like nostalgia had taken over him completely. He looks perplexed for a moment, staring down at the bed sheets before looking up abruptly, straight at a memory, or perhaps someone who's not supposed to be in his dream at all. ]

I'm sick of being here.

Comments

[hasevolved]

[It's really him, then. In this moment, in this dream. With everything that had been happening in the real "murder house," she knows what a gift this is. That he's here, with her, in this place... without everything else to fuck it up.

She takes a long breath as he embraces her. Violet's arms curl reflexively up and on his shoulders, as if they were meant to be there all along. He was that odd missing piece of her, wasn't he? The dark, enigmatic young man who had won her over with classic rock and black roses. Violet takes another long breath, pressing herself against him, as if trying to leave no space.]

Tate. You're really here, aren't you. In this whacked-out dream...

[distorting]

[He nods, giving her a squeeze before he pulls away to look her in the eye. He had expected anything but her showing up, but in a weird way, he enjoyed having her trapped here with him, even if that was its own kind of twisted.]

I'm sorry you have to be here.

[He did feel a tinge of jealousy thinking about how other people were allowed into her dreams. He could care less about his now that she was here with him; all he wanted was to keep her safe.]

[hasevolved]

No, I--

[She looks up into his face, too, as if searching for something. Then, she just shakes her head, hands moving down to his upper arms.]

It's okay. I mean, we both need a break from that place. No doubt about that. With Dad totally oblivious to everything, and Mom in the... hospital...

[Violet doesn't borrow Hayden's phrasing: "loony bin." After all, it's partly her own fault that her mother was deemed crazy.]

This is like a vacation. A trippy vacation with lots of weird people in it.

[distorting]

[He manages a small smile. Even if it was like a vacation, it still wasn't the kind of vacation he would prefer, especially with Violet.]

Some of them have a lot of strange stories to tell. I met a guy that could travel back in time.

[He's trying to make light of the situation.]

[hasevolved]

[She quirks a brow.] Seriously?

[There's a breathy little laugh as Violet shakes her head.] They're strange, all right. I met a woman who said she was from the other side of the universe, or something. And a crazy guy with a katana.

[That he repeatedly threatened her with, but he doesn't have to know that.]

They were in the basement with me. It was so...

[Violet frowns thoughtfully. How did you describe having your dreams invaded by stranger?]

[distorting]

Well, time-travel, or something.

[Even if she didn't tell him, crazy guy with a katana didn't sit well with him at all already.]

Messed up?

[hasevolved]

Time travel. Cool. [Sounds like something out of a manga.]

Yeah, that's it. And I thought I'd seen everything, back home.

[distorting]

Me too. Now we're just stuck in a big cluster of it.

[He didn't mind so much now, though, now that she was here.]

When did you get here?

[hasevolved]

[That's a tough question, because "here" technically means "into his dream." She knows what he's really asking, though, and though it's strange to have pinpoint the first instance of dream invasions, she remembers well enough.]

A few weeks ago? Right before New Years. What about you?

[distorting]

Maybe a month and a half ago. Or two months.

[He frowns to himself.]

I can't believe it's been that long already.

[hasevolved]

What? [She's surprised, and it shows. What triggered all of this, anyway? Food for thought. Meanwhile, her grip tightens ever so slightly on his arms.]

That's... yeah. Wow.

[That would be her, too, then. Probably. But, it wasn't as bad as she'd expected from the beginning... it was a distraction from her own life. Even if it seemed ridiculous...]

I guess you've seen a lot of people's dreams then, huh?

[It's not sharp, or accusatory; her lip is curled in a small smile. She's curious, because the whole idea is interesting.]

[distorting]

Yeah. Some of them were kinda cool.

[But he remembers a few in particular. Some of the people here were almost as messed up as he was.]

But ... what have you dreamed about?

[hasevolved]

I bet. [That's how dreams are. Strange, unexplainable, and very, very interesting. Her dad would love to preach on the topic, probably... go into detail about how and why their dreams are so messed up.]

Me? [So far, just about the basement, of all places. The dank, stale air. The claw-foot tub. The shadows. She just shakes her head, not particularly wanting to bring more elements of the house--the real house-- into the conversation.]

Nothing, really. Stupid stuff.

[And then in an evasive maneuver:]

What about you? You've had other dreams besides this, right?

[distorting]

[Tate hadn't expected her to avoid the topic of her dreams so eagerly. His were worse -- twisted, unhappy figments of all of the parts of him he knew he had that he didn't want to accept. They were messy and wrong, and he didn't want to subject Violet to any of it.

So he shrugs it off, shaking his head.]

I don't really remember them.

[hasevolved]

[Oh, this is why the two of them worked so well together. They were (at least, she thought they were,) cut from the same cloth. "Attracted to the darkness," she called it. Violet lowers her gaze for a moment, only guessing what things Tate would dream about.

Maybe he wasn't a good person.]

Yeah, happens to me a lot. [She shrugs, and then looks around the room.] This one seems pretty normal.

[Violet takes a step or two away, surveying her own room with a look of faux-interest. Then, she turns back around, raising an eyebrow, looking amused.]

Guess that means you're okay, Mr. Langdon.

[distorting]

[Probably because he made sure to control most of it. He'd gotten good at that. Controlling things around his own dreams, especially here.

He lets out a small chuckle when she gives him approval.]

Of course. Now it's my turn to see one of yours.

[hasevolved]

[Again,, she raises a brow.]

I can't just whip one up, or something. I'm sure there'll be a chance before too long.

[Violet glances toward her own bed.]

It probably won't make any sense, though. Don't get your hopes up.

[distorting]

Well, yeah. But I'll be waiting for it.

[He moves closer to her, nudging her with an arm.]

None of this makes sense. It'll be fun.

[hasevolved]

[A small smile plays across her lips.]

Yeah. Sure it will.

[She reaches out a hand and slips it in his, looking down at their entwined fingers.]

What's the wierdest thing you've seen here so far? Just wondering.

[distorting]

I think it was when everyone thought they were relatives.

[Aside from all of the strange nightmares that he had seen, it was one of the strangest things he's actually been through, and he's been through a lot. His family wasn't exactly perfect, so having new additions? A little weird, to say the least.]

[hasevolved]

Wait, really? That sounds... interesting?

[The smile grows into a grin.]

Guess everyone got familiar pretty quickly. Have you met anyone... normal?

[distorting]

[He nods, smiling, but then his smile falters.]

No. Everyone seems to have something going on with them.

[hasevolved]

[Thst sounds familiar. Violet frowns.]

Like what?

[distorting]

No one here seems human, Violet.

[He sounds a little disappointed, too.]

[hasevolved]

I only met three of them, but... Really? None of them?

[She shrugs.] Makes it more interesting, I guess.