goobsgloom

[goobsgloom]

as they walked, his hands found themselves buried in his pockets, fingers seaming to twitch as he tried to focus on neutralizing his expression. goob couldn't help it, he told vidia everything, even shit the other probably didn't give a flying fuck about but... she was the only one he trusted to actually want to hang out with him and listen to his bullshit. vidia was too honest and valued her own time too much to lie to his face and entertain his company if she didn't get something out of it. at her upset with the moniker, he couldn't help himself from smirking as he glanced down at her, laughing; ❛ okay, relax, he's not literally up my ass, vidia... but, yeah that's been his token nickname.❜ that and he had also asked if goob was a 'good boy,' something he was no way in hell telling vidia about. ❛ — that's what i'm saying. i don't even know what to make of it. when you call me a pretty boy it's one thing but... when he does it ?? fuck if i know what he means by it, vid. i've got the social awareness of a rock.❜

Vidia knew some people found feelings complicated and confusing, but she'd always been a huge proponent of following wherever they led; to whomever they led to. Which was why she often found herself on the other side of her temptation and impulses in someone's bed. who that person was? It didn't matter much to her as long as her curiosity was quenched. "What do you mean too?" The question pointed as though someone out there had traipsed into her territory. Only she could call him a pretty boy! "You're telling me he's up your ass and he's calling you a pretty boy?" She didn't love that, and it rose a lot of questions that she was pretty sure she knew the answers to but had yet to confirm. "No fucking way. I have to draw the line somewhere."

[goobsgloom]

goob noticed the drop in the other's demeanor and, immediately, felt like an asshole. his lips curled into a frown, and he lifted his hand to rub at the back of his neck as he leaned his shoulder against the chicken wire and then folded his arms over his chest again. ❛ yeah, i know. trust me, i don't understand why i didn't — don't — walk away either. it pisses me off that i can't, ❜ the man confessed with a bit of a dry laugh, wanting to take the bat leaning against the wall and hit himself over the head with it. this is why no one can fucking stand you, goob. christ.

goob's eyes trained on a piece of clay on the ground, kicking it with his cleat, suddenly feeling like he was inhaling glass. he felt the other take a step back, noticed wilbur wasn't up against the divide anymore, and the man couldn't help but look up at him. the compliment, sincere now, made heat swell in goob's face — possessing his features and burning the shells of his ears a deep scarlet. everything felt like it was on fire, yet despite the flames, a chill ran down his spine. ❛ oh, ❜ goob replied, a bit of a dry reply in response to the compliment but... he didn't really know what to do with himself. goob didn't get complimented very often, if at all. ❛ well, uh... thanks, i guess, ❜ he breathed, tightening his arms across his chest, eyes training back on the ground, chuckling awkwardly. ❛ — sorry, i clearly don't take compliments well. ❜

wilbur was suddenly very confused because although he'd begun to talk to the guy to tease him; finding amusement in the sport of being annoying, he never wanted the other to feel as though he was making fun of him. there was a fine line that he walked between being an asshole and being a legitimate dickhead. apparently he'd crossed that line with goob, and although he'd tell himself it wasn't completely his fault later on in that moment he felt unbelievably guilty.

"if i truly bothered you i'd walk away you," lips pursed in thought, "i told you this last time." in both interactions he's had with him it always felt like other stuck around, but maybe it was wilbur that wouldn't leave? taking a step back with an awkward little head shake he looked away.

"even if i had been saying it mockingly, which i wasn't, i wouldn't be lying. you are pretty." wilbur scratched at his elbow trying to do anything just to distract himself a little bit. oh how he hated conversation that made him feel vulnerable.

[goobsgloom]

❛ at least someone does, ❜ goob retorted with a half smirk, eyes rolling as he slid his arms into his jacket and started following the brunette out of the restaurant. his head was spinning, and now vidia had given him more questions to spiral over in moments of silence. huffing as they walked outside, he glanced at her, narrowing his eyes; ❛ i'm not being dramatic, i'm being... okay, i'm being dramatic but this shit is so confusing. ❜ what exactly goob meant by 'this shit' was unclear but... he sighed, dragging his hand down his face. ❛ god, are you going to start calling me a pretty boy, too ?? ❜ goob groaned, looking at her with an almost desperate, pleading, please-don't expression. ❛— is my face seriously that pretty that everyones this concerned about me ruining it ?? ❜ not everyone, just wilbur and now vidia apparently. that's enough people for it to feel like EVERYONE.

"I know, I love it." Those tells made it as instinctual as breathing to read him and everything going on in that brain of his that he didn't want to talk about. Vidia went out of her way to figure out people's buttons and what made them tick, Michael had made it almost too easy. Snickering to herself, the brunette took another bite of her salad, satisfied that she'd gotten her money's worth ( or Goob's ) before pushing herself away from the table and leading the way out of the restaurant. "Didn't realize it was elevated to problem status," she commented with a smirk, sliding on her own jacket right before walking out into the night. "Oh, stop being so dramatic, that's my thing. And you can't smash your face against the wall, you'd ruin it and then what would I do with you."

[goobsgloom]

goob nodded his head in response to the other who always seemed to have more energy than any sane human being should ever have. it made his temple throb, and the brunette scrunched his nose, offering a strained smile; ❛ yeah uh, thanks. the scrimmage teams are kind of a disaster but... maybe when they play for real it'll change things.❜ probably not, and given the whole no-one-can-enter-town-without-leaving thing... it wasn't like they had many teams to play besides one another. he tried to make the most of it — at least it was something. goob glanced over his own book to peer at what lewis was doing, scrunching his brows in confusion — why did something about that drawing feel so familiar ?? ❛ yeah uh, sure. i probably won't stay much longer. ❜

Lewis paused, taking in the new information. That made sense. Baseball was usually spring, wasn't it? He'd never kept up with sports. Not that they were a waste of time, at least not to other people, but they just never caught his attention. "Oh, well, then. High hopes for when they do start or..." he reached into the recesses of his mind for any sort of reference. "Bad News Bears?" There, that was a reference, and he let himself grin, looking down at his notebook and flipping to about halfway through, where his newest project was. Time machine doodles. Purely theoretical, of course, for now, but still very fun. "Thanks, man, really. Just say the word and I'll go."

[goobsgloom]

suddenly, confusion washed over the other's face. wilbur looked... almost sorry ?? hurt, even. it was a miracle goob hadn't popped a blood vessel just trying to keep up with what the other wanted from him, swallowing hard as he broke eye contact to fold his arms across his chest. thinking back on his conversation with vidia, her pointing out that goob was reactive, he tried to mask what was going on in his head but... not even goob knew what was going on. ❛ i don't know, ❜ the man sighed, lifting a hand to press to his temple. did wilbur bother him ?? yes. did goob... mind that wilbur bothered him ?? not entirely. goob was so fucking confused it made his head spin, and he hated how flustered he seemed to get around the other and how obnoxiously fast his heart would beat.

was goob attracted to him ?? fuck, maybe — and that in itself was something goob struggled to sit with. something he never considered.

wilbur's laugh made goob's shoulders deflate, turning to look at him through the chicken wire with a look of bewilderment on his face; ❛ i'm... not kidding, ❜ he clarified, though his tone hinted at him being unsure. ❛ unless you're meaning for pretty boy to be a compliment, i've been ... under the impression you've been mocking me this whole time. ❜

"oh." taking careful note of his expressions wasn't helping him figure out the guy any more than he had previously. was the irritation just irritation or did the flush of his skin speak of something else? every interaction they've had(all two of them) left him wondering and even more intrigued. although there was a slight something to their conversations that almost always made him want to leave there was more that made him stay. "do i bother you that much?"

wilbur might of made the worst decision in allowing the soft laugh to come out at that. goob already seemed to be questioning whether he was making fun of his face or not. "make fun of your face? please tell me you're kidding," he pleaded, smiling. watching the swoop of hair framing the other's face alongside the pretty freckles. no, nothing about goob's face should be made fun of but he supposed he'd taken his teasing just a little too far.

[goobsgloom]

goob groaned, pushing a hand through his hair, nodding his head in reluctant agreement. ❛ yeah, i know, i am the most expressive non-expressive person i've ever met. i can't help it, my eyes start twitching and my temples throb and i lose all control of my face. ❜ looking up at her, he dragged his hand along his jaw, scratching at it and feeling like hundreds of ants were now crawling under his skin. everything about this conversation was making him want to the the plate in front of him and smash it over his head. goob's face flared at vidia's turn of the swore towards him, using his own words to drive him a point he had been actively trying to dismiss. grumbling something under his breath along the lines of 'whatever', he fished for his wallet out of his pocket, pulling out a couple twenties — more than enough to foot the bill and leave a generous tip — then tossing the bills onto the table. ❛ we are moving on from this problem, ❜ he declared, rising from his seat at the table and grabbing his coat off the back of his chair. ❛ — and getting hammered before i smash my face against a brick wall.❜

No, his last name wasn't hard to say but it was...it felt like a last name a toddler picked out for a villain. Not even a good villain at that. The bumbling kind that was actually good just bitter or ridiculous. It was so easy to be mean to him sometimes Vidia had to remind herself that they were friends, and she couldn't be harsh all the time even if it was coming from a good place. "You have to work on your poker face, Michael. If you get better at pretending that none of the things he says are getting to you, he'll leave you alone." She paused, eyeing how he was getting all worked up now just thinking about it. "If you want him to leave you alone...which I doubt." To say Goob was rambling and possibly getting pucer by the second would not have been far off from the truth. Embellished, yes, but this was Vidia. Everything was exaggerated. "A hot guy is up your ass? Interesting choice of words but fine, if we must move on from this problem, we can definitely get drunk."

[goobsgloom]

❛ season isn't in full swing yet, just preseason so... no games to win yet, ❜ goob replied simply, matter-of-fact, shrugging his shoulders as he continued to drum his fingers on the cover of his book. for some reason, his eye lid began to twitch, like he was anticipating the sound of something that never seemed to king. his head started to hurt, and he squinted, thinking maybe the light was coming in through the windows a little stronger than he had noticed until now. goob audibly sighed at the question, sinking down into the chair til the book nearly shielded him from the other entirely. ❛ well, you're already making yourself comfortable, ❜ goob drawled, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. ❛ it's whatever, lewis, you can sit there. ❜

Lewis' smile stayed in place, making himself comfy in the chair. He liked Michael. He didn't know why, really, but the guy always seemed like he could use a friend, so why not Lewis? "Oh, I getcha. Have you guys been winning a lot?" he asked, sliding his usual notebook and pen from his bag. Lewis tried his best not to tap his pen as he waited for an answer, because he was pretty sure it bothered Goob, and, well...he was trying to be more considerate about other people when he got ideas. Mostly. To help himself out, he ended up tucking the pen behind his ear. "And like, you don't mind if I sit here, right? There's way more people in here than normal. I'll let you read, you don't even have to talk to me if you don't want. I totally get it."

[goobsgloom]

he watched her sit down, shifting in his seat, clearly feeling dumb for saying what he had said to her now. he really needed to watch his mouth sometimes. his lips twitched, a goob tried to offer her somewhat of a smile; ❛ yeah, i guess. it's uh, it's been a while. ❜ goob sat up straighter, closing his book, setting it on the table so he could give her his full and only partially divided attention. he swallowed, trying to ignore the elephant in the room; ❛ i've uh, i've been okay. it's uh, it's nothing exciting. a classic i've already read a hundred times.... what about you ?? got a lot of books there, huh ?? ❜

aurora knew she had to look ridiculous right now. flushed and very pregnant and goob was a newer friend, so he wouldn't have known if she hadn't explained the situation when she met him...which also sounded insane. she laughed a little nervously, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear before taking a seat properly. "oh! i'm good. things are good. life...moves fast, right?" she smiled sweetly at him. "how about you? what are you reading about?"

[goobsgloom]

❛ it isn't my fault, ❜ goob huffed in response, defensive as he threw an arms out to try to relocate the frustration from his chest to maybe his... fingertips ?? ❛ — it was the stupid nickname they gave me on the baseball team because no one knew how to say my last name. it's yagoobian, that isn't that hard. ya-goob-ian. ❜ slouching back in his seat, goob began to pick at his cuticles, brows scrunched together as his throat felt like it he had just swallowed a handful of woodchips. his pout deepened at being told he had a spaghetti spine, grumbling some useless attempt at a deflection in response. sitting up, trying to feign some sort of confidence, goob huffed through his nostrils. ❛ i hate that he knows what buttons to press, ❜ the brunette huffed, ❛ — i can't help but make it obvious either. he says all this ... dumb shit to me and i turn into, ❜ his hands scrunch by his face, trying to pull the word from thin air; ❛ — i don't know, a bumbling moron. usually i just ignore people but he's everywhere, and i'm in a town i can't leave. it's the god damn orphanage all over again except this time a hot guy is up my ass and constantly driving me up a fuckin' wall for fun. ❜ trying to breeze past the fact goob just admitted he found the guy attractive, he looked up at vidia, his salad no longer appealing, an almost desperate, pleading gleam in his eyes.

❛ can we get drunk ?? i think i need to get drunk. ❜

"Well, Michael, whose fault is it that you have such a stupid nickname? If someone had called me Goob, I would have killed them." The nickname would have ended right there and then. But Vidia was clearly built different. Especially when compared to him but that was fine, she liked him for other reasons, not because he was like her. "It sounds like he knows your buttons and loves pushing them. And because you're you, Michael, you let it happen with that spaghetti spine of yours. So, he's going to keep tapping on those buttons until you put him in his place." Whether that was sexually or not didn't really matter but Vidia knew where she'd place her bets.

[goobsgloom]

he was doing it AGAIN. showing up when goob wasn't ready and just making an ass out of him by throwing all these mocking, flirtatious compliments his way. goob tightened his jaw, reaching under the unbutton fabric of his jersey to scratch the skin at his collarbone, his frown deep and obvious on sharp features. his muscles were fatigued, but they still managed to find the strength to stiffen beneath his skin as wilbur poked him with his words. the man was... attractive, as much as it ailed goob to admit it, perched on the other side of the chicken wire. his skin was warm from the exercise and now from wilbur's gaze, he hardly noticed the breeze that brushed past them in the moment of silence that rested between them.

❛ yes, that is exactly what i'm saying, ❜ goob replied, his tone factual and pointed. isn't that what he just said ?? that he couldn't concentrate with wilbur staring at him like that ?? the moniker returned, and goob's nostrils flared, color rising in his cheeks as scarlet painted the spines of his ears. he was thankful to dark curls for masking that from the other this time. ❛ are you just saying that to mock me or what ?? ❜ goob inquired, turning to face wilbur, taking a bold stip in the direction of the chicken wire before hands seemed to rise from the ground to grab his ankles and keep him a safe distance. ❛ do you get off on making fun of my face or something ?? ❜

hand curling around the chicken wire that protected him against the balls. seeing goob so in his element after how he reacted to everything he said last week was refreshing. gone was the flustered or was it annoyed? well he chose to believe he'd actually flustered goob rather than annoyed him. "whatever it was the confidence is attractive." the swing of the bat with the movement of his body turned everything move in slow motion. seriously where was this guy the last time they were talking? "well that didn't last long," he said, rolling his eyes.

wilbur arched an eyebrow curiously pushing forward against the fest just enough to make it waver under the force. "are you saying me standing here staring at you is enough to make you lose concentration?" he teased. that was what it sounded like after all weren't baseball players used to seeing others watch them play? eyes glossing over him once more once the ball struck against the bat, listening to it crack. "wouldn't want that pretty face to be ruined."

[goobsgloom]

goob looked up at the woman, his expression stoic and unmoving as she questioned him. not even doing as much as shifting his body, nor turning his head, goob glanced down at the chair then back up at her. ❛ no, ❜ he replied, clearing his throat as he drummed the pads of irritated fingers on the cover of his book. ❛ — but there are other tables, ❜ he offered an alternative, gesturing around him. ❛ so while it is a public library, i feel as if it'd be common sense to take up space at an unoccupied table as opposed to imposing on my personal space when there are... ❜ clearing his throat again, he shrugged his shoulders, looking back down at the text in his hand.

❛ — alternatives. ❜

well , now that's uncomfortable . in all fairness , victoria had had no intention of staying at the library for longer than necessary to return a few books that were long overdue . it was embarrassing , she ought to be more responsible but in the woman's defense , there were only so many hours in the day and with all the titles at her disposal , she simply had to borrow five at once . bite more than she could chew . so , after returning them , she allowed herself to peruse a couple more and eventually bring them to the table where she'd select a mere two . none of those ideas involved disturbing someone . ❛ ... is it taken ? ❜ she asked , books resting on the table's surface though her hands had yet to let go of them . her gaze wanders briefly to ensure there was no one else eyeing the seat , just in case . it wasn't as though visiting libraries were a part of her life growing up . ❛ is this not a public library ? i thought anyone could take any seat . ❜

[goobsgloom]

lewis fry; goob couldn't shake the feeling that he just KNEW this guy from somewhere. maybe from a past life where the world around him wasn't so obnoxiously bleak and irritating and anyone who exudes any sort of social enthusiasm didn't make his eye twitch. who knows, but all goob was certain of was that lewis was constantly trying to be his friend but all the man wanted was for him to sit still and stop talking sometimes. goob blinked at the other as he sat down and got comfortable, rolling his shoulders back to try and loosen the tightness that had suddenly settled there; ❛ hey lewis, ❜ goob greeted, his throat tight. ❛ yeah, i uh... you know. busy with baseball and everything. ❜

Lewis had been looking for a quiet spot away from any mechanical bits and bobs to get his paid work done, ending up in the library, because...well, obviously that would be the best place, as long as he could ignore the printers. Adjusting the strap of the messenger bag on his shoulder, he'd looked around for a place to sit and was delighted to see someone he knew, though it was a little sad he was sitting alone. Grinning, Lewis bounded over and took the open seat, not waiting for an invitation.

"Hey, Goob, how's it going?" he greeted, smile bright as usual. "I haven't seen you in a while."

[goobsgloom]

goob cleared his throat, suddenly feeling the heat in his features from the sweat he had worked up, reaching up a hand to clutch the fabric of his jersey and wave it a few times to fan himself — to lessen the heat that was flaring in his chest right now. crouching down and picking up the bat, goob heard the click of the ball feeder down the lane, realizing he hadn't switched it off and wilbur likely just saved him from getting slammed in the skull with a ball. or was almost enough of a distraction to where goob would have missed it. swinging the bat one last time, irritation pumping through his sore muscles as the wood cracked against the ball, goob heaved a tired breath as he pulled the remote from his pocket and switched the pitching mechanism off. the machine whirred as it slowed and then stopped, goob turning to face the other once more.

the moniker had returned, as had goob's flustered reaction to it; ❛ i'd be able to pay attention if you weren't standing there staring at me, ❜ the man quipped in response, his words possessed by an irritated bite only wilbur seemed to be able to draw out of him — which didn't make sense as he was currently standing there calling goob pretty. asshole. ❛ i've never gotten hit by a ball,❜ he gaze flickered over his shoulder towards the machine, half-expecting it to come back to life and spit a ball in his direction just to spite him for saying that. glancing back at wilbur, he shrugged, eye contact once again proving itself to be challenging. ❛ — not trying to have that change ❜

wilbur had just been passing by the batting cagges on his little daily walk admiring all of the views around. the sounds of the birds chirping across the trees and the endless sounds of laugher from others cheering on. it hadn't been till he was mostly towards the end of the cagges that he'd actually seen him. "well that's a view i could get used to." slowly he made his way towards him watching the movement of his body as he swung the bat towards the the ball. maybe he wasn't appreciative of sports in general but he sure was of the people that played them. the skill it required to be good at every sport always made it worth sticking around to see it happen.

"wow there pretty boy why are you so jumpy?" he teased holding a hand against the fence looking in watching as another fall soared towards them. "shouldn't you be paying attention before one of those balls hits you? that face is too pretty to get hurt because you're focused on me."

[goobsgloom]

❛ enough, ❜ goob groaned, an irritated grit to his words, tilting his head back and lifting a hand to pinch his temples. goob loved vidia, he truly did, and he always admired the fact she could practically hold a conversation with herself whenever the two of them hung out because goob couldn't speak to save his life — this very conversation jut reminded him why he didn't talk. he was like a bitter old man trapped in a twenty-six year old's body. looking back in her direction, cheeks hot with an embarrassment that only seemed to grow at his sexuality coming into question, goob folded his arms across his chest; ❛ i'm not a pussy, and i do have a spine. ❜ both untrue statements, but spoken like that wasn't the case. ❛ he was... fine, ❜ weird way to say attractive, goob. ❛ — and it wasn't banter it was... ❜ he couldn't find the word, pressing his tongue to the back of his teeth, sinking deeper into the chair. ❛ he kept calling me all these stupid things— and my nickname alone is stupid, i don't need more ridiculous monikers to compete with it.❜

Vidia didn't even need to dispute that; he was writhing, and they both knew it. Even more so now that she'd called him out on it. And if he was trying to hide it, the chugging of his drink was not the way to go. The more he denied it, the more Vidia would believe that was exactly what happened; getting defensive with her was never the move. Her brows rose as he attempted to repeat her words and failed royally. "Hard? You can say the word hard, can't you?" Although something told her, he couldn't without getting so embarrassed he'd combust. "Okay? You've seen the people I've dated," and fucked, "most of them are ladies so..." It wasn't out of the realm of possibility that Goob was bi or into whatever he wanted to be into, and Vidia certainly wasn't going to judge. "Wet? Come on, Michael, at least make an attempt not to sound like a pussy all the time. I love you but you need to grow a spine at some point." Vidia teased, sipping on her glass of wine as she waited. "Alright, fine. Not all of them do but if they're hot and know how to banter?"

[goobsgloom]

❛ yeah, it is, ❜ the man muttered begrudgingly, hating when the other was right but basking in his defeat of realizing he had missed out an opportunity— in typical goob-like fashion. goob looked up at her, offense slathered all over his expression; ❛ i'm NOT writhing, ❜ he protested, writhing ( how ironic ) with irritation hot on his tongue, opting now to pick up his drink and take a few unforgiving gulps from his straw — hoping the liquor had settled to the bottom so he could cloud his mind and forget this conversation he had just walked himself into. though, goob found himself choking on the drink upon the accusation that he had gotten — ❛ n-no, jesus christ, vid, that is not what happened, ❜ goob huffed, slamming his fist against his sternum to ease the ache that had come from choking on his beverage. ❛ i'm stopping you. this is me stopping you. i did not get... ❜ his face went hot, clearing his throat, disapproval all over his features. ❛ he was a dude, vidia. i'm not — that isn't — no. he was just annoying. you get annoyed by people all the time and they don't all make you... ❜ he waved his hand at her, not wanting to even say the word for the female equivalent, frowning.

"Isn't that what I said?" Vidia asked, assuming that her enthusiasm of physical violence with someone who deserved it made it very clear she would have supported that choice. Brow immediately quirked at the claim it was someone not important. "I beg to differ; you're practically writhing in agitation. If they weren't important, you wouldn't care this much." Or he would have cut them off and never thought about them again. "So, he negged you, you got hard and now you're pissed about it because nothing happened. Stop me if I'm wrong." The way she said it with such confidence made it very apparent that she knew she was right. She'd seen it a million times before.

[goobsgloom]

goob huffed, the salad before him suddenly falling unappealing as he practically assaulted the lettuce with his cutlery, dropping it theatrically before sitting back in his chair. ❛ i should have punched him, ❜ the man decided, frowning at his food, not even finding it within himself to pick up his drink to distract his mouth from continuing to talk once vidia practically offered up the floor by further inquiring who he was mentioning. ❛ no one important, ❜ goob scowled, though clearly they were important enough to be taking up the better-half of his thoughts as of late. looking up at her, the man's eyes rolled, arms winding across his chest as he blew a puff of air up through his lips, sending some dark curls fluttering off of his forehead. ❛ — just some guy who showed up at the baseball field during a scrimmage the other day. he kept saying all this dumb shit to me. ❜ but it wasn't dumb, not entirely. goob thought about the silly little monikers wilbur had given him more than he'd like to admit. why ?? who knew. not goob.

Vidia had been leaving out-of-pocket comments on Instagram, one of her favorite past times, which meant she hadn't entirely been paying attention to what Michael was saying but as soon as the words punch and him registered in her mind, she was back in the conversation. "It does. Trust me." Not that Vidia would ever tell anyone to physically get violent, especially not if it could be traced back to her, but she'd thrown a few punches in her day and she always felt better afterwards. The punching she could relate to but the staring at? She loved when eyes were on her so she simply couldn't relate. "I know you do, babes....who are we talking about again?"

[goobsgloom]

it didn't make it any less uncomfortable for the man that the woman was being so overly... observant. consciously, goob put his book down, running the pads of his fingers over the cover and doing his best to keep his face from showing just how badly he wanted this conversation to be over. great, another thing for goob to be insecure about — how he held books. ❛ i'm doing fine, thanks, ❜ the man replied, his words tight, sliding his tongue along the inside of his cheek before gripping the skin with his molars. goob watched as she slid her books to the side, the wholesome kindness in her face making his stomach turn with unease. jesus, he was just reading... did he just have a resting i'm-going-through-something face ?? ❛ r-really, i'm... i'm just, i'm fine. do i seriously look like i'm about to combust ?? ❜ goob had thought he looked rather relaxed, or somewhat felt relaxed. then again, goob didn't seem to know anything at all.

There was a tension in the air and Sienna almost just reached across the table gave him a few comforting taps and left him on his own. Then again she never just left someone hanging and if the tension was this thick just from this minor interaction she had to at least ensure he was ok. With a reassuring smile Sienna looked from the book, to his grip, and to his eyes. "With a grip like that you're either imprinting your finger prints on the cover permanently..." Maybe she did make herself too comfortable too quick. Everyone does handle stress and quest for solitude differently. "I just wanted to make sure you were doin alright that's all!" Pushing her chosen books to the side Sienna rested her chin on her raised fists. "If you can some type of power read and look like you're about to self combust at the same time...that's a skill id love to learn." Sienna would never pry but she would also never offer a lending ear. "But if you are going through it...i can be a sounding board." Lifting her hands up like she was innocent. "Unbiased of course!"