ArchivedLogs:In Which Roommates Need Some More Booze

In Which Roommates Need Some More Booze
Dramatis Personae Derek, Taylor	2015-12-30 "Jutht keep going and thay fuck you to all the thingth and people that pith you off."
Location <XS> Derek, Kaine, and Taylor's Dorm - FL2
The influx of new students this year has led to a bit of overcrowding at Xavier's, and it is starting to show in the dorm arrangements, many rooms like this one refitted for three students where they had once been built for only two. The standard two closets have been joined by a large armoire against one wall; three dressers have been moved in, three desks. A bunk bed on the left side, a lofted twin with its desk underneath it on the right. The winter holiday break has left the usual quieter spots of the school quite busy with many students not in a rush to get school work done. The damp cold has also made it a bit off putting to relax outside once the sun has set which is why this evening Derek is happily in his dorm room. He lying on his bed, barefooted in just a pair of jeans and a plain green t-shirt. His eyes are closed making it hard to tell if he's awake or napping, that is until he starts signing along to the music playing over his phone; Eagles 'Already Gone'. "But me, I'm already gone; And I'm feelin' strong; I will sing this vict'ry song; 'Cause I'm already gone..." Derek's voice is average at best, at least he's not off key - too much. Over in her cage, Coraline has been busily admiring herself in a mirror -- or possibly trying to eat the edges of the mirror, it's hard to tell. She perks up at Derek's singing, though, head bobbing slightly as she skitters back and forth along a perch. Croons quietly along with the song. The door opens shortly after; Taylor is dressed for the gym, sneakers and basketball shorts, a plain Xavier's tee, kind of sweaty-damp, basketball tucked under one arm. His mouth twitches -- maybe at the singing, maybe at the bird bopping along. He closes the door behind him, meandering over to his desk to drop down into the chair. Thunk. He lets the basketball fall to the floor, bounce, bounce, skitter -- it rolls away towards Derek's side of the room, thudding up against a leg of the bunk beds. "Cora, girl, you ain't no eagle." Not that it stops the parrot from bopping. Derek opens his eyes, the basketball bringing him back from reality after getting lost in the music. He rolls over on his side to greet his roommate, not seeming embarrassed about being caught singing. "Hey Taylor. And thee doethn't have to be an eagle to appreciate that they're a good band." He gives Cora an appreciative thumbs up. "I can't believe I've never heard of Pandora before. Anyway, how'th it going?" "Coragirl," the parrot echoes, starting to climb up the side of her cage so that she can emerge out its top hatch, settling onto the swing above it to rock herself there. Taylor stretches an arm out, its slim tip brushing lightly against the bird's head. "They definitely have their moments," he will allow of the Eagles, with an approving nod. Two arms loop around behind his own head, folding and refolding to pillow behind it as he leans back. "Got ungrounded. So, I guess --" A shoulder hitches up. Quick shrug. A little noncommital. "Better than before. I'd say we should plan some New Year's partying but I feel like that's just /asking/ to push my luck." "That'th a good thing, not being grounded anymore. New Year'th partying... well it all dependth on if you get caught or if thomeone ith willing to take the fall." Derek isn't afraid of getting into a bit of trouble. "New Year'th mainly wath getting high and drunk with a few bottleth of Jack with the other kidth back at the trailer park." Derek says with a faint smile at one his fonder memories from back home. "Two-thouthand and thixteen..." He shakes his head, thoughts trailing to 'what shit will the new year bring?'. "Anything in mind to thele... fuck, I don't know tho much about thelebrating the New Year ath much ath thaying Fuck You to thith one." "Have to do a service project instead. Better than just being cooped up in here forever though." Taylor drops his arms to rest on the desk, absently pushing his chair from side to side. "This year," he agrees with a thin twitch of smile, "can fucking bite me. Never really did a ton for New Year /before/ I came here. Mom was usually working. Tried to find a roof to watch fireworks with my brother and sister." His eyes drop, the pushing of his chair growing a little faster. "Kinda the same as here, I guess. Used to go out with -- some. Friends. Find a place to watch the fireworks. Just do it with a little more booze, here." "Didn't thtart doing anything until after Mom.... well Mom dithappeared." Derek resigns to saying. He figures it's just best to say it rather than his usual trailing off since his roommate is a telepath. "Then it wath thtaying out until we figured the Old Man wath pathed out drunk and it wath thafe to come home." He shrugs trying not to make a big deal out of it. "Anyway, yeah, how are you holding up? With everything and all. I know we're not really clothe friendth or anything but.... jutht if you wanna, I dunno, we are roommateth and... fuck I'm not good at thith." He's pretty sure that Taylor has other, closer, friends he'd rather open up to but Derek just wants to let his roommate know if he needs to talk or anything, he's there. "New Years. Time of getting plastered and forgetting the shitty-ass year you've just had." Taylor's cheeks puff out, his head shaking a little ruefully. "Sounds like a winning tradition." His smile is still a little thin, eyes lifting to flick brief across the room to Derek. One arm lifts to stretch out to Cora, letting the bird climb off her swing and walk herself down the long ropy length of his limb to perch on his shoulder. Another arm stretches way (way) across the length of the room, snagging his basketball back to roll it towards himself. He rests his foot on it, turning his head to look out the window. "Honestly? Pretty awful. Hope and Daiki had been --" The shoulder that /doesn't/ contain Bird lifts. "We'd been through. A lot." Derek nods and frowns slightly. "It thuckth and I don't it doethn't really help but I'm thorry, Taylor." He wishes he could say it gets easier but he knows it's just one of those bullshit things people say. "I didn't know either of them but the whole thing thuckth." He stays quiet, not really sure what to say. He's not good at the whole people thing. "How long did you know them?" "Thanks." Unconsciously, one of Taylor's smaller arms is brushing against the scars on his face. "Hope and I were in -- in Prometheus. Together. So -- since before I was /here/. Daiki was the first friend I made when we got -- rescued. I came to the school and my first -- well the first person I saw kind of, um, freaked out a little at all the --" He gestures to the tentacles. "Daiki calmed them down and calmed /me/ down and introduced me to people like Shane who weren't -- fucking assholes and. Things didn't suck quite so much. I mean I'd still just gotten out of a torture lab so it still kind of sucked. But. Not. So much." He closes his eyes, draws in a slow breath. "So, yeah. I'm thinking New Year's? A /lot/ of booze." Derek winces slightly. "I think it wath eathier when the Old Man wath beating on me." He says quitely, more to himself than to Taylor, and lets out a sigh, shaking his head. "I heard a bit about that plathe, I can't believe thomething like that... no, now I can. Your tentacles are a bit of a shock at first but... you make it eathy to get uthed to, or leatht now you do. I dunno. You're one of the few people here I could give two shitth about." He shrugs and moves so he's in a sitting position. "I know it'th not the thame for me, but with my Mom but from what I know... you'll alwayth mith them. Jutht gotta take it one day at a time. All that bullshit. The whole thing thuckth, so I'm with you. A lot of booze thith New Yearth. I think you detherve it. Get tho fucking drunk standing is no longer an option." Taylor's wince is faint echo of Derek's; he nods, slowly, to himself. "Maybe not the same, but it's still --" Shrug. "Still all shitty. Still all..." He tips his head forward, arms rearranging themselves behind his neck somewhat absent-mindedly to form a twisty ladder for Coraline to climb up. "Still all just /shit/. What else can you do, though? Just keep going. Figure that's about all there is. Only two real options and the other one's --" His head shakes, jaw clenching. "Jutht take thingth one day at a time. That'th about it. And ath thupid ath I know it ith, the cigth and boozth help. Not the betht anthwer but..." Derek smiles slightly knowing that it's probably not the healthiest solution but not really caring either. "Jutht keep going and thay fuck you to all the thingth and people that pith you off." His eyes follow Cora for a bit, smiling at the bond between the two. "Hey, at leatht you got Cora?" "'least I got her." This is softer. More genuinely warm, as Taylor's head tips back to look up at the bird -- who is twisting herself around to peer back down at him. "One day I will learn to power myself purely on spite." He says this very deadpan, though afterwards his mouth curls upward at one side. "Maybe spite and rum. Not the best answer but. It'll do for now." Derek gives Taylor smile followed by a dry chuckle. "I can't thay anything about thpite, but if you need help learning how to run on being a bitter guarded athhole, I can help you there." With a side of self-loathing and distrust of most people. "Though you being a telepath, maketh thingth eathy. I know it mutht be weird knowing what goeth on in my head but it keepth me from being a total guarded ath around you." It's one of the reasons Derek feels comfortable around Taylor, with him being a telepath he doesn't have to keep his guard up. "Rum, whiskey, weed and a healthy supply of nicotine ith probably my favourite diet." "Sweet." Taylor's smile comes a little bit more quickly, now. "Asshole lessons. I'm down. Think the school will let me write that down as an extracurricular this term?" He relaxes back into his chair, foot slipping off his basketball to thunk to the floor. "It's a little weird," he acknowledges. "But it's nice. I mean. With a lot of people it -- pushes them away. Kinda glad when it doesn't." Gently, he moves Cora back to the top of her cage, letting her climb back onto her swing. "I should probably hit the shower. But I'm..." He hesitates as he stands, shaking his head. "Shitty as things have been. I'm still glad /you're/ my roommate." "I thould go thee how Daithy'th doing before thee thtarth to think I'm blowing her off." Derek pushes himself off the top buck and gives Taylor a nod. "I'm glad I got you ath a roommate too inthtead of the other jerkth it could have been. Hang in there Taylor and tomorrow night we'll be carrying each other back here if we have our way."