The perk, morning

[cameronmitchell.livejournal.com]

Letting the door fall shut behind him, Cameron looked at Veronica. "You grab a seat while I get the drinks?" he suggested seeing as he was paying this time.

((Open for your perkly needs. Cameron's here with Veronica however.))

Comments

[marsheadtilt.livejournal.com]

Not talking wasn't anything Veronica knew anything about. Honest.

She stared down in her cup and said softly, "Not talking can definitely mess things up."

Then she remembered that this wasn't about her and shook her head, looking up to give Cam a rueful grin. "Is it talking in general that's tripping you up or talking about specific things?"

[cameronmitchell.livejournal.com]

Cameron tilted his head, her own reaction not going astray. "I think it's trying to avoid a specific thing that led to the whole general not talking so much thing," he explained eloquently.

[marsheadtilt.livejournal.com]

Veronica nodded. "Well, the wrong advice for me to give would be to talk about everything but that one specific thing," she said. "Why don't you want to talk about it though? Too hard for you? Or are you afraid of a negative reaction?"

[cameronmitchell.livejournal.com]

"It's..." He sighed and stroked his thumb along the rim of the cup. "It's hard to explain. Do you remember me behaving odd in professor Tick's class and spewing some religious nonsense?"

[marsheadtilt.livejournal.com]

"Vaguely?" Veronica replied. "I remember hearing that there was something weird going on with you, but I think that was right before Phoebe got kidnapped and I kind of had my own stuff to deal with then."

[cameronmitchell.livejournal.com]

"Weird is one way of putting it," he agreed and sat back in his chair. "That wasn't me. I did some intergalactic body switching and ended up on the other side of the galaxy with some lunatic beings who think the entire universe should bow down to their will or die."

[marsheadtilt.livejournal.com]

"Wow. So, the guy in your body spouting off the religious stuff was trying to convert us all?" Veronica asked.

[cameronmitchell.livejournal.com]

"Sort of. From what I understood he was more of a scout. He came here, gathered information and if he could convert someone all the better. If he failed, there was always the information they could get out of my head," he grimaced.

[marsheadtilt.livejournal.com]

Veronica winced. "Where were you while that guy was in your body?" she asked.

[cameronmitchell.livejournal.com]

"In his," Cameron replied softly and snatched up a napkin to fiddle with. "They had me believe that I was home, that I'd somehow escaped and showed me this farce of a future that I guess they were hoping would make me join their side."

[marsheadtilt.livejournal.com]

"That must have been confusing for you when you got back," Veronica said, reaching over to pat his hand in what she hoped was a comforting manner.

[cameronmitchell.livejournal.com]

"It was," he admitted and gave her a grateful smile. "What they showed me felt as real this here feels. I think I was just waiting for something to go wrong to prove that those Ori were still messing with my mind."

[marsheadtilt.livejournal.com]

Veronica gave him a small smile. "Do you think anyone could make up something as weird as Fandom High?" she asked, pulling her hand back and picking up her mug again.

[cameronmitchell.livejournal.com]

Cameron laughed and shook his head. "No. That's what Aeryn said too, only she used weetiny bunnies instead of Fandom. I get that now, but it didn't feel that simple. In a way, I didn't get it for real until I talked to my dad and knew that..." He faltered and frowned at his cup. "I know it's not real, but it still isn't easy to talk about."

[marsheadtilt.livejournal.com]

"Don't force yourself to talk if you're not ready," Veronica said. She took another drink of chai before continuing.

"And maybe you should think about talking to someone who can help you deal with this," she suggested gently.

[cameronmitchell.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, I've been avoiding my appointments with doctor Pevensie for a while now," he said sheepishly and finally picked up his cup to take a long drink.

"Sorry, I don't think the promise was coffee and a lot of whining."

[marsheadtilt.livejournal.com]

"Dr. Pevensie's really nice," Veronica said, thinking that it had been a long time since she'd made an appointment as well.

She smiled. "Apparently I'm a good listener," she said, thinking of her conversation with Bel last night. "It's fine, really."

[cameronmitchell.livejournal.com]

"You are. Thank you," he said sincerely. Deciding he'd killed the mood enough for one day, he quickly changed the tone of conversation. "So, do you do this with all your students?"

[marsheadtilt.livejournal.com]

"Do what?" Veronica asked. "Let them buy me caffeinated beverages?"

[cameronmitchell.livejournal.com]

"In exchange for their darkest secrets," he nodded and took another sip of his hot cocoa.

[marsheadtilt.livejournal.com]

"The last person who spilled their darkest secrets to me was not thoughtful enough to provide caffeinated beverages," Veronica said in a manner she hoped conveyed joking, despite the statement being true.

[cameronmitchell.livejournal.com]

Cameron raised an eyebrow at her. "You are a dangerous woman, Miss Mars," he decided.

[marsheadtilt.livejournal.com]

"Whatever do you mean, Mr. Mitchell?" she asked, affecting a very bad, fake southern accent.

[cameronmitchell.livejournal.com]

Cameron laughed and was grateful he hadn't been drinking at that exact moment. "Why, I didn't realise you were from my part of the country," he said, exaggerating his own accent. "You've been holding out on me."

[marsheadtilt.livejournal.com]

Veronica laughed. "I may have one or two secrets," she teased. "But I'll never tell."