Room 239/240 - After the Dance club meeting [NFB]

[notcalledlizzie]

Elizabeth was curled up on her bed, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Hugging a stuffed dog to her chest, she's staring at the page of one of the children's books she bought from Mr Phale yesterday. But she's not turned from the first page since she opened it, and if you tried to ask her what she was reading, she couldn't say.

[ooc: The door is closed, so it's pretty much locked to roommates or anyone who knows Elizabeth well enough to talk their way in]

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[can_be_more]

Leaving the common room because the shows really are as bad as Rogue said, Aeryn heads back to the room. She's not sure at first if she should say anything when she sees Elizabeth, so she settles for "Hi."

[notcalledlizzie.livejournal.com]

Elizabeth startles slightly, looking up at Aeryn. "Hey," she replies softly.

[can_be_more]

"Good book?" Aeryn asks, going to her locker to get her things for bed.

((*hates work, omg*))

[notcalledlizzie.livejournal.com]

"Hmm?" Elizabeth asks, obviously distracted. She looks down at the page. "Oh, uh, it's an old comfort read. Something my grandmother would read me when I was a kid."

((*snuggles*))

[can_be_more]

"Everything all right?" she asks slowly.

[notcalledlizzie.livejournal.com]

Elizabeth bites her lip. "I've just heard something... distressing," she says slowly. "It's not something I'm supposed to be telling people about though."

[can_be_more]

"Probably for the best. I'm horrible at talking people through things like this," she admits. "Are you okay, though?"

[notcalledlizzie.livejournal.com]

"Not at the moment," she confesses. "But I will be... y'know?"

[can_be_more]

Aeryn nods. "I hope it works itself out, whatever it is."

[notcalledlizzie.livejournal.com]

Elizabeth swallows hard, and nods. "You'll probably find out soon enough," she says quietly.

[can_be_more]

"That bad?"

[notcalledlizzie.livejournal.com]

She nods slowly. "I know it could be worse, but there are going to be people who think that it can't be when they hear it," she sighs.

[can_be_more]

Aeryn's completely confused at this point, but with all her arguments with John about this, she's not pressing. "Let them worry about it, then. As long as you know..."

[notcalledlizzie.livejournal.com]

Elizabeth saw the other girl's confusion, and hesitates. Rory had said that she could tell Janet and Sam. It wasn't as if Aeryn was going to go to the top of the dorm roof and shout it out.

She sighs. "One of the students was killed in town on Thursday night. That's what I've just been told."

[can_be_more]

"Oh," Aeryn says. She hadn't expected it to be that. "I'm sorry."

[notcalledlizzie.livejournal.com]

Elizabeth half-laughs. "There's no need for you to be sorry; you didn't kill her, nor did you know."

[can_be_more]

"Isn't 'sorry' standard in this sort of situation? Can I ask who it was?"

[notcalledlizzie.livejournal.com]

Elizabeth tilts her head. "It is, yes. I just don't feel that people should feel the need to apologize for something that they had no part in.

It was Kitty Pryde. Do you... did you know her?"

[can_be_more]

Aeryn shakes her head. "I don't think so. Were you close?"

[notcalledlizzie.livejournal.com]

"No, not really. We'd spoken a few times, but that was it. It's more the idea that she's been killed, and the knowledge that it could have been someone I am close too." Elizabeth sighs.

[can_be_more]

"You're allowed to be upset."

[notcalledlizzie.livejournal.com]

"I know, and I am upset. I've just got pretty good at hiding my feelings over the years."

[can_be_more]

Aeryn looks over at the reading material. "And out comes the book."

[notcalledlizzie.livejournal.com]

Elizabeth half-smiles. "Teryosha. It's a Russian folk tale," she says. "I could receit most of it once upon a time, I was read it that often."

[can_be_more]

Aeryn wonders if it's weird to have something you could do that with, then decides a lot of people- maybe most- probably do. "If it makes you feel better," she says. "I'm very bad at this comfort thing."

[notcalledlizzie.livejournal.com]

"It reminds me of a time when things were simpler," she says, leaning back against the wall. "When the worst thing that happened was falling over and banging your knee, or the store being out of chocolate ice-cream."

[can_be_more]

She thinks about it, and decides, "You had it easy."

[notcalledlizzie.livejournal.com]

Elizabeth nods. "I did, and I'll admit to that. I was lucky, and had an idyllic childhood."

[can_be_more]

"It's good to be reminded of that, then," Aeryn says.

[notcalledlizzie.livejournal.com]

"To a certain degree, yes," Elizabeth agrees. "See, you're better at this comfort thing than you think, with me talking about my childhood instead of a killing." She tries to smile.

[can_be_more]

"That was an accident, but I'm glad it if helps," she smiles.

[notcalledlizzie.livejournal.com]

"It's never good to wallow in things you can't change," she says, closing the book. "You'd have thought that I'd have learnt this by now, but apparently not!"

[can_be_more]

"I think it's one of those lessons you have to keep learning. Unfortunately."

[notcalledlizzie.livejournal.com]

She nods, sighing. "Yep. Which is why it's always good to talk to someone... even if it's not about the original subject."