Room 505, Friday Evening

[thismaskiwear]

Katchoo tended to gravitate places other than her room when she wanted to brood, but she'd had a hell of a time avoiding chatty people the past couple of days, and after the conversation with Merlin on the roof a few nights ago she didn't feel like being up there.

So in her room she was, perched atop her dresser by the open window and flicking cigarette ash over the sill while Clocky beeped disapprovingly, an untouched bottle of Jack Daniels beside her. Her sketchbook lay open on the bed and the drawing she'd been working on yesterday, now finished, was clearly visible: anyone who knew her, and looked closely enough, might recognize the dark-haired female figure who stood in front of the giant clock face, holding the hands back.

The door was cracked slightly to get a crossbreeze going, and Griffin Silver's greatest hits were playing on the stereo on repeat.

[OOC: Expecting one, but post definitely open for visitors who'd chronologically come before that and complain about the smoke or whatever!]

Comments

[thatsamilkshake]

Anybody who knew Francine and saw her knocking on the door right now might reasonably suspect she was gremlin-bit.

Not for being here. Just for carrying a large bag marked CHILLY BOULDER without a smile that stretched clear around her head, or a single bounce.

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

"No one's here," Katchoo said gruffly, but in an awfully halfhearted way, like she wasn't even really trying to drive anyone off; it was more like a cursory Katchoo-like greeting, like instead of striving for "grrarrgh" she'd just settled for "meh."

[thatsamilkshake]

Francine closed her eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, and asked, "Does nobody want a banana split?"

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

Good thing the bottle of Jack was still closed up tight, because it got knocked onto the bed as Katchoo spun and dropped off the dresser, nearly stepping on Clocky in the process.

"Francine?" she asked, bolting to the door and opening it.

[thatsamilkshake]

"That's me," she agreed, though she sounded like she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to admit to it. "Hi."

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

A tiny, relieved, almost hysterical laugh worked its way out of Katchoo somehow. "Hi yourself, Francie. Where the hell have you been?"

[thatsamilkshake]

She ventured a brief look up. "Well, you know. Classes, finals, being a dumbass. That last one's a full-time job."

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

"Not a dumbass," Katchoo said firmly. Granted, she had to assign some validity to that assessment, but there was a difference between that and letting anybody else say so, see?

[thatsamilkshake]

Francine held up the Chilly Boulder bag. "I was voluntarily not--" Being here. "-- eating ice cream. What would you call it?"

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

"A momentary lapse in judgment, maybe," Katchoo suggested. Which she'd meant as a joke, but . . .

[thatsamilkshake]

"I just..." Just something. She felt like that something, whatever it might be, was stuck in her throat, though. "I missed you."

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

"Doofus," Katchoo said in a tone so ridiculously gentle anyone else might not believe it was her. And effortlessly so -- it was easy with Francine. "I missed you too."

[thatsamilkshake]

"I--" She seemed to keep saying that a lot. Which was maybe her problem, Francine thought, not for the first time today. Of course, "The ice cream's gonna melt," wasn't necessarily an improvement.

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

"It might help if we eat it," Katchoo suggested, stepping back from the doorway, and maybe watching Francine cautiously, like she wasn't sure if she'd really stick around.

[thatsamilkshake]

Francine cracked a smile at that. "They tell me that's what it's for. I can't think of anything else you could do with it, so they must be right."

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

"Normally I'd tell you not to believe the hype, but this time --" That wasn't a sniffle, really. "They'd be right."

[thatsamilkshake]

Francine pursed her lips as she carried in the food, feeling as awkward as if she were walking into Katchoo's room for the first time. "Well, apparently you can use the banana for some weird things--"

The sad thing is, she only meant demonstrating condom-application.

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

"This better not be anything Chuck Bass has told you," Katchoo said reflexively as she shoved the bottle of Jack under her pillow and cleared off some room on her horribly messy bed. When it came to weird things you could do with bananas, wow, could she think of a lot of them that she wasn't about to share with Francine. Possibly ever.

[thatsamilkshake]

Wow, would that ice cream melt faster if you held it up next to Francine's face. "Um. No? I don't think he mentioned bananas. No." It was about the only thing he hadn't mentioned.

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

Katchoo dragged her desk chair over. "Uh, Francine, tell me you have spoons? And don't tell me what he has mentioned."

Because then she'd have to leave the room to go find him and kill him, and that would ruin the moment, wouldn't it?

[thatsamilkshake]

"Spoons!" Francine dug into the bag and came up with a fistful. "I have lots of spoons! Long ones and short ones. And green ones!" There was a bin. She was nervous. She just grabbed.

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

Katchoo watched the flailing and let out a little snort.

Then doubled over giggling.

Yes. Giggling. She could do it sometimes.

"Geez, Francine, what's in there, a banana split the size of a cruise liner?"

[thatsamilkshake]

Francine shook her head sadly. "They didn't have anything bigger than a canoe."

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

"Aw, damn. Guess a canoe'll have to do," Katchoo drawled. "Put that down for a minute, will ya?"

[thatsamilkshake]

Put...ice cream.... down. The language was English, but the words were strange. Still, Francine tentatively set the bag and the fistful of spoons down on the bed, then looked at Katchoo.