ArchivedLogs:Young Love

Young Love
Dramatis Personae Liv, Sergio
In Absentia	2016-01-13 "You were almost eaten by me. That's really fucked up."
Location <XS> Gardens
From indoor gardens to outdoor, though without the protective greenhouse glass the back gardens do not last all year round. Still, the gardens out here are well-tended and well-worth spending time in, as well. The paths wending through the beds of flowers and herbs and vegetables spread out through the school's backgrounds, tended by students as a credit class. Benches offer seating and a small pond is home to koi and turtles, as well as a few frogs. At the far back edges of the garden, a droning buzzing marks a few stacked white boxes as beehives. By the evening, word of Sergio's resurrection has begun spread amongst the limited student body. The only new face, it isn't hard for anyone to peg the pretty new girl for the body snatcher. The side-eye glances have been enough to exile the young telepath to the frigid outdoors, of course after having checked in with Jack first. In the body of a teen girl, Sergio sits on one of the benches. His letterman jacket is both too big for his new delicate build and too thin for the cold. Crossing both arms tightly for warmth, he scuffs his camel-colored UGG against the pavement and it's pom-pom tassels twirl around in the air. Liv had, in fact, heard of Sergio's arrival but she hadn't found him yet. She wasn't even sure what he looked like now. The most consistent piece of gossip is that he was she now but that couldn't be true. Right? Either way, Liv has been...not quite searching for him but keeping an eye out. Frankly, she wasn't sure she wanted to find him. What do you say to your ex-boyfriend who died, tried to eat you, and then spent the last few months hiding as a girl (maybe)? So here she is, wandering the school and grounds mindlessly. Out of habit, she ends up in the conservatory. She's not very well prepared for the weather either, only wearing leggings and a sweatshirt. Her now brown hair is typed up in a ponytail, very little effort put into it. She does notice the new girl from a distance, only giving her the briefest of looks. A half second letter, her head snaps back up. Letter jacket. She's seen it before. She stares for a few seconds, her mind trying to wrap itself around it. "Serg?" she asks, slowly and tentatively, not quite sure what to believe just yet. Lost in his own thoughts, it takes a moment for Sergio to return to the surface and look up. When he does, it’s with a quizzical look that has his mouth just slightly parted. His larger front teeth are separated by a thin but noticeable gap that conspires with his large eyes to one naive, innocent effect. “Liv,” he says her name in a sweet, breathy tone as her face registers to him. Sniffling, he rubs under his eyes as if to conceal that he’d been crying, “Hey.” Liv slowly approaches the girl, brows furrowed slightly in confusion? Frustration? Something. "So it's true..." she says quietly. What exactly is true remains unsaid though it's a safe assumption she means everything. Her usual energy has been muted, her words slow and cautious and her approach held back, taking her time. Even her smile is gone and she holds a much more neutral expression. "I don't...I don't understand. You died. I saw you die. You tried to bi-" That last sentence is cut off quickly, likely for her own benefit as well as Sergio's. From the bench, Sergio looks up at Liv as she approaches. In contrast to her somber expression, his is submissive and verging on tears. “It was ...something else,” he manages in a raspy whisper. The teen opens his mouth to speak again, but just shakes his head for lack of explanation. Liv's eyes relax slightly, but only as the brim with tears of their own that she visibly struggles to hold back. "I thought you died. This whole time I thought you were dead. And you...I never heard from you." She sits down next to Tiffio, leaning forward slightly as she stares on the ground. "Why didn't you tell me?" “I didn’t-” Bringing up his sleeve, Sergio runs the fabric under his eye, “I didn’t know-” His voice trembles, “-I was scared ...to tell anybody.” Knees turning inward, he looks down to his feet with a sniffle. Liv nods slowly as Sergio explains himself. "Yeah. It's been scary," she agrees, taking slow and deep breaths as she continues to try and absorb the situation. Eventually, she glances over towards Sergio, really examining 'Tiffany' for the first time. "So...you're a girl now?" Exasperated, Sergio flaps both small hands inwardly towards himself. “I just cry all the time, being a girl is awful!” He huffs as if he might sob, but it turns into the beginnings of laugh before he clamps a hand over his mouth. Through his fingers, he lets out a small rant that has likely been building up, “I can’t paint nails! Every single morning, I just want to shave my head! I’m really afraid of getting my period every second! Bras?! Bras are really difficult to figure out.” Liv finally cracks a smile, hanging her head as she can't help but laugh a bit. "I guess it is a bit culture shock," she agrees. "At least you're...pretty?" She quickly blushes and glances back towards the ground. "Sorry, I...I know this is kinda selfish but...what does this mean for us?" “She’s pretty. I’m… a thief,” Sergio scoffs at her amusement, and the compliment. He brings Tiffany’s small hands between his knees, picking at the poorly applied nail polish, “Liv, I’m… I don’t even know what’s going to happen. I don’t want to disrespect someone else’s body-” “-wait, are you into this?” Suddenly, his mood changes as his fine blonde eyebrows flick up into his forehead. He gestures vaguely to his body, suppressing a breathy laugh. The comment about being a thief goes unresponded to. What can she say? His second question about what Liv's into turns her face even redder. "No. I mean, I never have before. I've never liked girls like that. I like boys." Her mouths twitches slightly in the faintest resemblance of a smile before looking back up to him. "But I loved you." She quickly lowers her head, staring at the floor again. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be making this more complicated for you." Sergio blushes, too. Falling silent, he turns to stare out into the garden in its winter state. "Liv," he pauses, sucking in a breath through pursed lips and breathing it back out, "I... really want you. In my life. But I watched myself die and try to eat you." He blinks hard, "You were almost eaten by me. That's really fucked up. And then, I accidentally jumped into comatose body that like, I might not even be allowed to keep. And. I seriously, just cry all the time. We... can't be boyfriend and girlfriend." Oh, here they are: the waterworks. "I just really don't want you to hate me." Liv listens to Sergio speak, her own tears breaking free and falling down her own face, if not quite as dramatically as Sergio's. "That wasn't you. That was the virus. I don't blame you, I promise," she says. She takes another deep breath, reaching up to wipe away those stray tears off her cheeks. "Don't say that. They might...they might allow you to keep it. Maybe." This is said rather meekly though. She probably doesn't believe it herself. As Sergio breaks down, she gently drapes on arm across the girl's shoulder in a friendly embrace. "I don't hate you. And I want to be here for you. Even if it's just as a friend." Sinking into Liv, Sergio's body jolts as he holds back a sob. Unaccustomed to the cold even if this new body is, the Hawaiian starts to shiver. He leans his cheek into her shoulder. "I'm sorry." Liv holds Sergio close to her, resting her head gently on top of his. "Everything will be fine," she says quietly, sniffing quietly as her own emotions escape her control.