( nene... hasn't necessarily been avoiding sportacus. no moreso than she has anyone else. she's just been so tired. but eventually she does manage to come out of her room, and has decided... serotonin is stored in the strawberry milk. she hadn't expected to hear anything from the library at this hour, though. cautiously, she pokes her head in, and... oh.
[he looks up at the sound, and then, for just the briefest of moments, loses his balance. it doesn't do much, but it does make him knock a book loose when he flips off the shelf; he manages to catch it before it hits the floor, and tucks it into the crook of his arm, holding it against his chest.
he has about three false starts, opening his mouth before closing it, reaching out a hand before drawing it back, before he takes a steadying breath and looks at her, smiling, but with a furrow in his brow.]
... Are you okay? [pause] It is okay to not be! [like, he's not! he's really not!]
( oh jeeze, she didn't mean to surprise him like that! even though he seems to recover quickly, nene can't help but worry. at least she's able to choke down any guilt. but at his question- and his clear struggle to start talking- she freezes.
no, she's not okay. she hasn't been okay in five, six months. he saw that meltdown. ... nene shakes her head, before going to the librarian's desk and borrowing a pen and piece of paper. )
[he watches her curiously, reading the text... ah. he nods, grinning. well, he couldn't say he hadn't been wondering. and he wouldn't have blamed her if she did. the only reason he doesn't is because he thinks that would just distract him from whoever is really to blame.]
I'm glad! After all, if you care that deeply for Stephanie, there is no way we could be anything but friends!
[thinks...]
Did you lose your voice here [taps his throat] or did you lose it here? [taps over his heart]
of course i do. she's my little sister she had nothing but good things to say about you she wanted to make you proud.
( but instead stephanie's left a trail of broken hearts in her wake, and nene wonders if she thought she got what she wanted in all of this. but there's no way of knowing this, is there? ...
nene sighs, before he catches her attention again. ... it's true that she did hurt her throat in her anguish, but... ultimately she settles her hand over her heart. )
[he visibly winces. a mix of his usual unease about praise, and just... it's guilt. he knows it's guilt. that of all the things she was so eager to learn from him, he could never quite manage to teach her caution.]
She's very... determined! Whatever she did, she was set on it; nothing, and no one, can talk her out of her ideas. [chuckles] Even me.
[and maybe that just has to be enough.]
Don't try to force it. It will come back to you when you are ready. [...] And it's practice! Your handwriting is already very good, but it will be even better if you use it so often!
( nene nods- stephanie is very determined. ... but determination alone cannot save a life sometimes. ... she shouldn't think about this right now. she doesn't want to think about this right now. even if, however much neither of them want it, he's a living reminder... )
the nurse said something similar thank you!!
( nene's handwriting is soft and curvy and cute. sometimes a little hard to read, if her lettering is squashed together, but it's still nice. so yes! he's right! )
she's nice but i dunno if she's someone you can actually talk to about the things here. like she thinks everything is normal or has a reasonable explanation. she does her best to take care of us though
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yogen2021-11-03 02:21 am
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standing in the doorway shyly, nene waves. )
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he has about three false starts, opening his mouth before closing it, reaching out a hand before drawing it back, before he takes a steadying breath and looks at her, smiling, but with a furrow in his brow.]
... Are you okay? [pause] It is okay to not be! [like, he's not! he's really not!]
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no, she's not okay. she hasn't been okay in five, six months. he saw that meltdown. ... nene shakes her head, before going to the librarian's desk and borrowing a pen and piece of paper. )
i lost my voice
its annoying but i'll manage
i don't blame you
for this or for her
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I'm glad! After all, if you care that deeply for Stephanie, there is no way we could be anything but friends!
[thinks...]
Did you lose your voice here [taps his throat] or did you lose it here? [taps over his heart]
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she had nothing but good things to say about you
she wanted to make you proud.
( but instead stephanie's left a trail of broken hearts in her wake, and nene wonders if she thought she got what she wanted in all of this. but there's no way of knowing this, is there? ...
nene sighs, before he catches her attention again. ... it's true that she did hurt her throat in her anguish, but... ultimately she settles her hand over her heart. )
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She's very... determined! Whatever she did, she was set on it; nothing, and no one, can talk her out of her ideas. [chuckles] Even me.
[and maybe that just has to be enough.]
Don't try to force it. It will come back to you when you are ready. [...] And it's practice! Your handwriting is already very good, but it will be even better if you use it so often!
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the nurse said something similar
thank you!!
( nene's handwriting is soft and curvy and cute. sometimes a little hard to read, if her lettering is squashed together, but it's still nice. so yes! he's right! )
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What is the nurse like? I have seen her, but I haven't met her yet.
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she's nice but
i dunno if she's someone you can actually talk to about the things here. like she thinks everything is normal or has a reasonable explanation.
she does her best to take care of us though
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[a thoughtful noise] Do you think she really thinks that? I hope she does.
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( just based on the way others spoke about her... how she acted... )