the boardwalk ; monday afternoon

[necroslacker]

Despite the problems Sam had been having with his ghosts disrupting people (or person) lately, he wasn't in too bad a mood today. That might have been because he'd gone out skateboarding for a long, long time and was just now sitting down to take a breather. He was hot and sweaty but it had felt good to channel some of his discontent and guilt into exercise. He swiped his sweaty hair out of his eyes and stretched his legs out, using his skateboard as a foot stool for the moment.

He was spending as much time away from the tents as he could and therefore, spending as much time not sleeping as possible. It might be unhealthy but there was no way he was gonna risk scaring people he didn't know with random ghost visits. It was hard enough that he was bothering Natalie with it.

So, he wasn't sleeping and he was barely around the campsite which meant he was either off skateboarding, walking, or just...doing something that kept him away and didn't put his tentmates at risk.

It was stupid, he knew, because most people here were used to weird things but Sam was stupid at the best of times.

[Open place in town, open post!]

Comments

[necroslacker]

"It's...different." He looked a little uncomfortable with that topic. "Never been much of a camper, though."

[whenshewasnice]

Yeah, she should've expected that. "It's not my ideal situation, but I can deal," she replied, lightly. "I'm sharing with Jace, Toby, and that one guy who's weird about Canadians."

[necroslacker]

"Getting some uninterrupted sleep, at least?" Sam asked, trying not to sound guilty about that. He was mostly successful.

[whenshewasnice]

"Well, it's only been one night," Natalie pointed out, shrugging again. "So far, yes. Even if it feels odd to sleep around a telepath."

She couldn't help wondering what he picked up at night.

[necroslacker]

"Toby's a cool guy though," Sam told her. "I trust him and he can pretty much read everything about me. Glad to hear you've got some good tentmates."

[whenshewasnice]

"Well, not everyone likes their thoughts being on display," Natalie replied. Mildly. She was a seriously private kind of person and he knew that. "But I could've done worse."

[necroslacker]

"You could've," he agreed and looked down at their hands. "No ghosts, at least."

He still felt bad that her trip to the mainland had come up empty. Nothing save his pouch could make those ghosts go away, it seemed.

[whenshewasnice]

"No, just telepaths and Shadowhunters instead," Natalie agreed softly. She brushed her thumb against the back of his hand. "I may have still missed you last night."

[necroslacker]

"I'm sure you did," Sam said, making a little joke of it. "No one to be your human blanket and all. No one to keep you warm."

[whenshewasnice]

"No, the boys didn't quite reach that level of chivalry," Natalie quipped. "Sad."

[necroslacker]

"They'd better not be that chivalrous," Sam said, shaking his head. "They can give you a blanket but that blanket better not be one of them."

[whenshewasnice]

"Jace did offer to let me sleep on his floor if the ghosts ever bothered me that much," Natalie pointed out, vaguely amused. "But I doubt any of them are willing to be more chivalrous than that, no. You won't have to get jealous."

[necroslacker]

"Yeah."

He looked down at his skateboard and moved it back and forth under his feet.

"They won't bother you anymore."

He was going to wear that goddamn pouch nearly all the time, it seemed.

[whenshewasnice]

"You can't wear the pouch all the time, Sam," Natalie said, because... She could tell what he was thinking, there. "You just can't. And it's not like the ghosts can do anything to me. It's just a nuisance."

[necroslacker]

"It's not gonna be all the time."

Just...nearly all the time. That made a difference or something.

[whenshewasnice]

She raised an eyebrow at that, all sceptical. "So what is it going to be?"

[necroslacker]

"Just when it's needed," Sam told her, shrugging. "When people need to sleep and I can't leave for whatever reason."

[whenshewasnice]

Yeah, she couldn't think of much to say to that. Just a sigh and a little shake of her head. "Oh, Sam."

[necroslacker]

"What?" he asked, looking over at her.

[whenshewasnice]

"Nothing."

Just that she couldn't quite comprehend his drive to not bother people. She had a hard time deciding whether it was admirable or ridiculous.

[necroslacker]

He didn't want to frighten people. He thought there was a difference between those goals.

"Okey dokey," Sam said, deciding he didn't want to push that. He just kept his eyes on his feet and rolled his board back and forth.

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie didn't feel like pushing anything either.

So, after a moment of silence, she said, "I can't believe I have a boyfriend who actually says 'okey dokey'."

[necroslacker]

"What's so wrong with 'okey dokey'?" Sam asked. "It's a perfectly valid expression."

[whenshewasnice]

"Valid, yes," she told him, "but also dorky."

[necroslacker]

"What's wrong with dorky?" Sam asked. "You read all the time, you nerd."