What Is Left After?

"I was going to say!" I laugh. "Yeah. Lady Gaga leaves something to be desired. Someone else, to be exact." I glance sidelong at Jelsa. "Hey, hey, hey. It's not flattery, it's merely a subjective observation."

Jelsa: "Well, as long as you're not saying it just to be a flirt or something, then yeah. I appreciate you saying that."

Wayne: "I dunno, Paparazzi is stuck in my head right now..."

Roxanne: I smiled, not minding the fact that pretty much anyone, or anything, was or is better looking than Lady Gaga. I looked between Jelsa and Peter. I doubted it was just 'subjective observation'.

"The flirting is entirely coincidental," I reply. "Although it really is a lovely night, is it not?"
I ponder Wayne's statement. "I just listen to the spoof versions, myself."

Wayne: The song was so stuck in my head I got up and started dancing.

Jelsa: I frowned. "Wait, were you flirting?" I was starting to get confused. "And yes, I guess it's a nice night."

Roxanne: I smirked, and stood up, "I think I'll head in." I announced to no one in particular as I went towards my room.
(g2g. i'll be back later, probably)

Jelsa: "Okay, night!" I called.

(kk! )

"That is entirely for you to decide," I reply. "We can be, if you want us to be."
I twist my head round to look at Wayne. "You go girl," I say, the words sounding completely out of place in my deep refined voice. "Nice moves. Hey, Roxanne, I think Wayne's performing some kind of primitive courtship ritual for you."
Iit's a bad joke, and probably mildly insulting, but I don't notice until I've said it. Cue scrunched-up embarrassed face.

Jelsa: "We can be what?!"

Wayne: I laughed. "Nah, she likes Joseph. And I've got my eye on Aimery myself anyway. Don't think she'd like it if she thought I was a girl."

"Fair do's," I chuckle in a friendly, non-confrontational way at Wayne's reply, before returning my attention to jelsa. "Flirting," I explain. "You asked if I was flirting, and I replied that we could be if you wanted us to be. It loses something in the retelling."

Wayne: I looked for a CD player and popped in Katy Perry's Firework.

Jelsa: I nodded. "Ohh," I said. "Um...I don't think I mind, so keep going."

"I love this song! Good call," I give Wayne a thumbs-up, and stand up to go and sit next to Jelsa. I carefully seating myself close enough to suggest a possibility of intimacy, while leaving enough space so that if I have misread the signals its not too awkward. I shrug off my coat. "I understand that it is starting to get a little chilly with the darkness drawing in," I remark, "a blanket of some description would be preferable, eh?"

Jelsa: I started nodding my head to the song and scooted a little closer to Peter. "This is a good song, yeah. Good job, Wayne!"

Wayne: "Baby you're a firework!" I belted out. "She's so much hotter than Gaga."

"Oh yeah," I reply to Wayne. "No doubt about that."
I lean my head down to Jelsa's ear-level. "but she doesn't compare to you," I murmur.
I drape my coat around Jelsa's shoulders, taking her silence on the matter to be an agreement. the coat is getting a bit worn, and smells slightly funny, but it feels warm, and the heavy pockets make it feel safe.

((Sorry for the delay, I was just checking the character sheet to make sure you weren't like fourteen or something. 17 is good. I'm 18.))

Wayne: "Wonder if she made it."

Jelsa: I smiled and leaned into him a little. That was gentlemanly, I must admit. "Thanks."

(haha that would be a bit creepy. 18-17 is a good age. haha it's funny kuz I'm talking to a guy named Peter right now over chat )

((Lol at coincidences! I don't know anyone called Jelsa irl.))

"Hey," I say again. "Subjective observation. And, subjectively speaking, I observe that you're extremely pretty. I guess that collapsed your wavefunction."

(lol it's a unique name xD)

Jelsa: I laughed. "I understood the first part of what you said, but not the second." Maybe that was a good thing. I liked smart people.

((Unique names are good.))
"It's a quantum physics joke," I explain. "I could go further, but that would kill the moment." I pause for a second, then continue. "Unless of course I went further in this sense."
Without bothering to rely on the stupid yawn-and-stretch technique, I curl my arm around Jelsa's shoulders. I'm a big guy, and I don't have to stretch to accomodate her shoulder-width.

(yup! )
Jelsa: I laughed. "Someone tried to explain it to me once, but that didn't work out so well." I smiled when his arm went around me and laid my head on his shoulder. This was when it was nice to be small.

A flutter goes through my stomach when she leans her head on me. It feels great to make a pretty girl feel safe and, perversely, I feel safer from it too. With the hand currently around her shoulders, I reach up and stroke her hair gently.
"There's something you should know about me," I begin.

Jelsa: I raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Wayne: I continued dancing to Firework as it ended, then took the CD out and changed it to "Hey, Soul Sister" by Train.

"Do you know what cystic fibrosis is?" I ask, feeling the slight motion of her shoulders as she breathes. It's a nice feeling, made better by the weeks without human contact.

Jelsa: I shook my head. "No..."

"It's a hereditary condition. Basically, it means I have loads of mucus in my lungs making it harder to breathe. I also have digestive troubles, meaning I have to take tablets to help me digest fats, and I could develop diabetes for no apparent reason." I sigh. "And every single person I meet is a hive of diseases that don't affect them but could seriously hurt me. I could feasibly die by eating a piece of chicken someone else had taken a bite from."
My voice develops a hard edge of anger for a moment. "Basically, without the trappings of civilisation, I have five, ten, maybe fifteen years left to live."
I slip my hand behind her head and lean closer.
"But God help me, I'm bloody well going to live them."
I lean closer to kiss her.

((By the way, I really do have cystic fibrosis. However, with modern technology and my fitness, plus a mild mutation of the disease,, my life isn't drastically shortened.))