Author's notes: Well, for a sequel that nobody wanted me to write, it's getting good feedback. ^_^ Thanks to everyone who reviewed (and those who commented on it while reviewing STFF). It's greatly appreciated. ^^
__ __ __
'Everyone is looking, and
Everyone is laughing, but I think
Everyone feels the same
Everybody wants to feel okay
And everybody wants to feel...'
The dorm hall seems very quiet, for being nighttime. Then again, I suppose it makes sense; most of the fighters are probably in the main hall, doing whatever the hell it is they do on Saturday nights. I wouldn't know, of course, because I've never gone to one of these events. I know I wouldn't be wanted, so why bother?
However, I know there's one person who'll be in the dorm...
I take my boots off before opening the door to my room, and no sort of surpise comes over me as I see another pair outside the door, as well. I enter the room and see my roommate sitting on his bed. He looks up at me as I close the door behind me, and he greets me with a small but warm smile and a, "Hey."
I raise my eyebrows and force a smile; the closest thing I can manage to a polite "hello." Dammit, can't I show him more respect than that?
But he seems to understand, since he doesn't change his hospitable tone. "Nothing to do?" he asks as I unhook my cloak and toss it onto the floor beside my bed.
"Eh," I mutter quietly, still trying to avoid eye contact. "There's no one to spar with; everyone's off doing whatever."
He chuckles softly. "Sit down," he continues, gesturing across from himself on the bed.
The thought of sitting that close to him alone makes me feel a little uneasy. After what happened that one night, I don't want him to get any ideas. Instead, I sit on my own small bed. He doesn't complain.
It's not that I blame him for what happened, or anything...
"Do you know what the hour is? Our clock seems to be busted," he fiddles around with the digital clock in his hands, seemingly trying to figure out how to change the blinking 12:00.
...I just can't get involved.
"It doesn't matter, anyway. That thing's not really useful," I mumble in response to his attempt at starting a conversation.
"Well, some of us like to get up when practices start, like we're supposed to," he continues playing with the buttons that he doesn't seem to understand.
I sigh and fall with my back against the sheets. "Come on, Marus. Are you going to ridicule me, too?"
He looks up from the mechanism. "It was just a joke, Roy. Don't take everything so seriously."
I roll my eyes and look up at the ceiling. I want to point out to him that he's doing it anyway, but instead I keep quiet and stare intently at the low, off-white tiles. I spend so much time like this. I can almost sense him shake his head as he goes back to his attempt to fix the clock.
A while passes without a word spoken between the two of us. It's always so quiet in this room. Marus seems to have the clock figured out, I notice, as he puts it back on the desk, now reading 9:48. Although I'm used to the silence, sometimes I wish I could have someone to speak to once in a while. It's not his fault, though. He always tries to talk to me, but I end up screwing the whole thing up, like I just did. Maybe I should break the silence for once.
"Hey," I mumble in a voice that gives off a little more emotion than I'd like.
"Yes?" he replies quietly from his own bed.
I turn towards him and try to think of something small to say to him. But a question that I've been wondering for a while pops out. "Why do you want me to call you Marus, if everyone else knows you as Marth?"
He lets out a small laugh. "If you must know, Marus is my real name. Since you're my only real friend around here, I wanted you to call me by what I am."
That raises another question that makes its way out of my throat as well. "But then, why are you registered as Marth?"
His eyes, which are on the ceiling as mine had been, grow long and he shrugs. "I guess I just don't want to keep something to myself. I mean, this tournament isn't a personal thing, right? You don't know who you can and can't trust."
I nod once, even though I know he can't see me. I understand what he means, how he feels. He always seemed so social with them, but ever since the incident, I've been seeing a different part of him. I know he's been through a lot back in his own dimension, and when he lets down his mask, you can see it in his eyes. Sometimes he's not so confident. Maybe his alias is a way that he can have something to hold onto, and not have himself totally exposed.
But even taking all of that into consideration, he still does what he can to try and help me... To get closer to me. Why would he want to get close to someone if he doesn't want them to get close to him?
Does he actually trust me?
As these thoughts fly through my head, the one that had occurred to me earlier returned.
Maybe I should be more like him.
With all of the thoughts that had made their way into my mind about him, I didn't seem to feel like talking with him so much anymore. It would make me uncomfortable to have small talk with him while I thought so deeply into his character, but I couldn't allow myself anything deeper than that. So I simply pull the mess of blankets at the foot of the bed over myself and turn on my back away from him. "I'm going to bed early," I inform him in that same emotional voice. Dammit.
I don't fall asleep, though. It must have been a couple of hours that I lay awake, thinking about Marus. How could one simple question trigger so much contemplation? I sigh quietly and shift my body, hoping to actually get a bit of rest. But one more stray thought comes into my mind, that keeps me awake.
I just can't get involved.
__ __ __
'Everyone is looking, and
Everyone is laughing, but I think
Everyone feels the same
Everybody wants to feel okay
And everybody wants to feel...'
The dorm hall seems very quiet, for being nighttime. Then again, I suppose it makes sense; most of the fighters are probably in the main hall, doing whatever the hell it is they do on Saturday nights. I wouldn't know, of course, because I've never gone to one of these events. I know I wouldn't be wanted, so why bother?
However, I know there's one person who'll be in the dorm...
I take my boots off before opening the door to my room, and no sort of surpise comes over me as I see another pair outside the door, as well. I enter the room and see my roommate sitting on his bed. He looks up at me as I close the door behind me, and he greets me with a small but warm smile and a, "Hey."
I raise my eyebrows and force a smile; the closest thing I can manage to a polite "hello." Dammit, can't I show him more respect than that?
But he seems to understand, since he doesn't change his hospitable tone. "Nothing to do?" he asks as I unhook my cloak and toss it onto the floor beside my bed.
"Eh," I mutter quietly, still trying to avoid eye contact. "There's no one to spar with; everyone's off doing whatever."
He chuckles softly. "Sit down," he continues, gesturing across from himself on the bed.
The thought of sitting that close to him alone makes me feel a little uneasy. After what happened that one night, I don't want him to get any ideas. Instead, I sit on my own small bed. He doesn't complain.
It's not that I blame him for what happened, or anything...
"Do you know what the hour is? Our clock seems to be busted," he fiddles around with the digital clock in his hands, seemingly trying to figure out how to change the blinking 12:00.
...I just can't get involved.
"It doesn't matter, anyway. That thing's not really useful," I mumble in response to his attempt at starting a conversation.
"Well, some of us like to get up when practices start, like we're supposed to," he continues playing with the buttons that he doesn't seem to understand.
I sigh and fall with my back against the sheets. "Come on, Marus. Are you going to ridicule me, too?"
He looks up from the mechanism. "It was just a joke, Roy. Don't take everything so seriously."
I roll my eyes and look up at the ceiling. I want to point out to him that he's doing it anyway, but instead I keep quiet and stare intently at the low, off-white tiles. I spend so much time like this. I can almost sense him shake his head as he goes back to his attempt to fix the clock.
A while passes without a word spoken between the two of us. It's always so quiet in this room. Marus seems to have the clock figured out, I notice, as he puts it back on the desk, now reading 9:48. Although I'm used to the silence, sometimes I wish I could have someone to speak to once in a while. It's not his fault, though. He always tries to talk to me, but I end up screwing the whole thing up, like I just did. Maybe I should break the silence for once.
"Hey," I mumble in a voice that gives off a little more emotion than I'd like.
"Yes?" he replies quietly from his own bed.
I turn towards him and try to think of something small to say to him. But a question that I've been wondering for a while pops out. "Why do you want me to call you Marus, if everyone else knows you as Marth?"
He lets out a small laugh. "If you must know, Marus is my real name. Since you're my only real friend around here, I wanted you to call me by what I am."
That raises another question that makes its way out of my throat as well. "But then, why are you registered as Marth?"
His eyes, which are on the ceiling as mine had been, grow long and he shrugs. "I guess I just don't want to keep something to myself. I mean, this tournament isn't a personal thing, right? You don't know who you can and can't trust."
I nod once, even though I know he can't see me. I understand what he means, how he feels. He always seemed so social with them, but ever since the incident, I've been seeing a different part of him. I know he's been through a lot back in his own dimension, and when he lets down his mask, you can see it in his eyes. Sometimes he's not so confident. Maybe his alias is a way that he can have something to hold onto, and not have himself totally exposed.
But even taking all of that into consideration, he still does what he can to try and help me... To get closer to me. Why would he want to get close to someone if he doesn't want them to get close to him?
Does he actually trust me?
As these thoughts fly through my head, the one that had occurred to me earlier returned.
Maybe I should be more like him.
With all of the thoughts that had made their way into my mind about him, I didn't seem to feel like talking with him so much anymore. It would make me uncomfortable to have small talk with him while I thought so deeply into his character, but I couldn't allow myself anything deeper than that. So I simply pull the mess of blankets at the foot of the bed over myself and turn on my back away from him. "I'm going to bed early," I inform him in that same emotional voice. Dammit.
I don't fall asleep, though. It must have been a couple of hours that I lay awake, thinking about Marus. How could one simple question trigger so much contemplation? I sigh quietly and shift my body, hoping to actually get a bit of rest. But one more stray thought comes into my mind, that keeps me awake.
I just can't get involved.