readsinbytes | (no subject)

Random question: what’s your favorite ice cream?

[ Theres a reason for this, Eli. ]

Random answer: Dulce de Leche, or anything made with real fruit.

[ He's grinning, which you can hear, but he can't resist asking ]

Random question: What's your favorite movie?

I have never had that ice cream. Dulce de whatever you said.

[ She’s smiling a bit, too. ]

Uh...God. My favorite movie is probably Pinocchio.

Favorite food?

Leche. Means sweetened milk. If you've ever had flan or creme brulee it's like that. If not... it's like a cross between vanilla and caramel.

[ Pinocchio? Huh. ]

Favorite food, that's tough. Gran makes amazing chicken mole. Her mom was Mexican. What about you? And why Pinocchio?

That sounds good.

That’s an interesting question with an interesting answer. I like burgers best, but I hate the smell of cooking meat. It hits my stomach wrong and I lose interest.

Pinocchio was my favorite book. My dad read it to me all the time.

So not a vegetarian, but you need someone else to cook it for you. What do you cook for yourself?

[ Eli flops onto his back, one arm behind his head. He puts the phone on his stomach and activates speaker. If they're going to talk, he might as well be comfortable. ]

I've never read the book. Is it like the Disney movie?

I microwave a lot of stuff. Cooking isn’t exactly something I’m good at. Except a grilled cheese, maybe. Even then, it’s hit or miss.

There are differences between the two.

Lucky for you, I can cook.

[ Why? Why is it lucky for her? Eli, what the heck are you saying? No, no don't take it back or anything. That just makes it worse. Uh... ]

Gran made sure I learned. She said a pain in the butt like me couldn't count on meeting someone who would do the cooking. Turns out, I kind of like doing it.

[ Not knowing of Eli’s difficulties with reading just yet, Charlie really wanted to send this via text. She wanted to hide the panic in her voice, that intense fear that she’s losing someone even though she fully trusts Regina and what her step-mother is capable of. But texting is hard when she’s so upset she can’t see straight or think beyond ‘oh shit oh fuck oh god oh please not neil never him’ so the audio might sound a bit hurried and obviously upset. ]

Hey. I’m....here’s the situation. Neil is sick. Like, super sick. Regina took him to Nova city because apparently that’s how bad it is. She doesn’t want the kids in the house to hear it. I’m freaking out. [ Clearly. ] and I was wondering if you could come over for a little bit? Just until I stop worrying myself sick with imagining how badly this could go.

[ Charlie isn’t Charlie without feeling awkward for reaching out to people, so theees a sigh from her, a sign of her frustration. She’s pinching the bridge of her nose on her end and shaking her head at herself before she speaks again. She tries to keep herself from sounding as upset and as panicked as before. ]

If you can, I mean. I am absolutely not asking you to drop everything just because I’m having a stressful day. That’s dumb.

[ Charlie, no. ]

Just...let me know, okay? Thanks for listening.

[ Eli's at the Red House, finishing up a lesson with one of his tutoring students, when Charlie calls. It rolls over to voicemail, but it's so not like her to call that he picks it up as soon as his student leaves.

As soon as he hears her voice, he's glad he did. Fuck. She sounds so scared. He call her right back and hopes she picks up. ]

[ She doesn't answer right away, mostly because she'd showered to try to calm herself down and breathe, and she doesn't hear her phone right away because it's buried under blankets while she reads and tries to distract herself. When she does hear it, there's a scramble to get it and she answers just before it flips to voicemail. ]

Eli. Hey.

[ She still sounds stressed, but calmer. It's a forced calm, but it's something. She'd like to not set everything on fire with her panic, so she's kept herself tucked away in her room after her shower, reading books from the library, trying to keep on top of her education even if she isn't actually going to school. ]

I didn't bother you earlier, did I? There's probably a million things you need to do.

[ Eli knows that sound, the tightness in her voice like she's trying to be normal. He's heard it, he's used it. It's killing him to hear it from her now. ]

No, you didn't. It's fine, I'm not busy. You need company?

[ Honestly, Charlie's trying to not stress herself too much over her foolish choice. Foolish to her, at the very least. She's dragging someone into her own issues, and that doesn't feel right.

Don't worry; a small part of her is in fact telling her she's being stupid by worrying too much about this. So, in a tone that's a lot more truthful than the one she'd used before, she speaks. ]

Yeah....I think that'd be very helpful. Thank you, Eli. See you in a bit?

[ Okay, she wants company. He can tell by the tone in her voice. ]

Yeah. I'm leaving now.

* * *

And he does leave right away. Charlie's important to him.

* * *

It's about a half an hour before Eli shows up at the big villa. Although he knocks at the outer doors, it's just to let them know he's here. He lets himself in and sends Charlie a quick voice message via phone to say

I'm here. Where are you?

while waiting in the courtyard.

In the kitchen is the quick voice reply. She'll be found there trying to find something to eat. So far, it doesn't look like she's found anything. Or she just can't focus enough to find anything interesting. Shortly after sending Eli her message, she starts relaxing a bit more. It's easier to remember that Neil is in good hands, that he'll be home and fine soon. She isn't sure why Eli gives her that sense of peace, or why it's so much easier for her to breathe, but she certainly appreciates whatever it is.

A few moments later, Eli enters the kitchen from the courtyard. "Hey," he says and reaches for Charlie to pull her into a hug. He's not even sure if she'd want a hug, but it seems like she could use one.

All he could find by tracking Regina's phone is that Neil's sick, Regina's scared, and she's really carefully managing what she's telling the kids. He's not planning to ask any questions until he's sure she's steadier.

She's absolutely okay with the hug, her arms going around his waist and her face pressed against his shoulder. This wasn't fair, really. She was upset that Neil was sick, she was annoyed at how helpless it made her feel. And she's terrified. She might be shaking just a faint bit, most of her focus on keeping her abilities in check.

After some silence from her, her eyes closed tightly, she finally steps back out of the hug and looks at Eli.

"Sorry...uh...thanks for coming by. I'm really glad you're here."

Eli's surprised by how relieved he feels when Charlie lets him hug her, and it feels pretty good to know he's helping her. He doesn't really want to let go, either, so he keeps a hand on her arm when she steps back.

"Nothing to be sorry for," he reassures her. "What can I do?"

She kind of shrugs, hands reaching up to run through her own hair in frustration. This was all a terrible and horrible and very bad idea, and part of her wants to tell Eli to just go home because she's being stupid. But she knows he'd refuse, and that makes her want him around even more.

"Are you hungry?" She asks after a moment of nervous silence, hands dropping from her hair and leaving some of it mildly wild looking. "I mean, I'm not, but I like cooking when I'm stressed and kinda...wanna show you something in the process. It's nothing bad, but...you're my best friend. I think you should see this."

Eli'd been just about to offer to cook, and now he's caught off-guard. His gaze drops slightly and he starts out dully, "Um."

It only takes him a second or two to shake that off and smile wryly at himself. "Sorry, yeah." He runs his hand through his hair and of course it falls right back down. "I was going to make something for you and the kids. But it's cool. You can do it. Or..."

Another little smile. "We can do it together and you can show me whatever."

(no subject)

9/5 - audio: early afternoon

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11/19 - after texting with regina - audio

Re: 11/19 - after texting with regina - audio

Re: 11/19 - after texting with regina - audio

Re: 11/19 - after texting with regina - audio

Re: 11/19 - after texting with regina - audio

Re: 11/19 - after texting with regina - audio

Re: 11/19 - after texting with regina - audio

Re: 11/19 - after texting with regina - audio

11/19 - so this got lost in my spam folder and i'm p/ annoyed.

Re: 11/19 - 'm sorry! should've told you I'd tagged

Re: 11/19 - it's ok! real life ate me, anyway. here! have a tag.

Re: 11/19 - it's ok! real life ate me, anyway. here! have a tag.