Electorate 087

[crushthecamera]

Scene: Joshua's house, night.

Joshua is sleeping on the couch in pyjama pants and a jumper. A knock at the door wakes him up. He sits up groggily, rubbing his face, then goes to answer it. Lauren is outside.

Joshua: "Oh, hey."

Lauren: "Hi."

Joshua: "Do you want to come in?"

Lauren: "No, it's okay. I don't want to wake Kat."

Joshua nods.

Joshua: "How are you?"

Lauren: "I'm okay, yeah. You?"

Joshua: "I'm fine."

Lauren: "That's good."

Joshua: "Aren't you cold?"

Lauren: "Not hugely. You should put some shoes on."

Joshua: "I should."

Slowly, Lauren realises that he is still standing in front of her.

Lauren: "Well?"

Joshua: "Oh, I thought you meant theoretically. Are we going for a walk?"

Lauren: "I think so."

Joshua: "All right. Back in a sec."

Josh goes back inside. Lauren stands against the wall and waits until Josh comes back, closing the door behind him.

Joshua: "Okay, ready."

Lauren smiles.

Lauren: "Do you often walk around in your pyjamas at something o'clock in the morning?"

Joshua: "Do you often go around quoting the most embarrassing things I've ever said?"

Lauren: "No, but I can keep going, if you like."

Joshua: "No, thank you. I'm impressed you remembered that, though."

They go down the steps and make their way down the street.

Joshua: "Where to?"

Lauren: "Maybe the roof?"

Joshua: "Sounds good."

Lauren: "I've started feeling guilty about the chairs."

Joshua: "I have no idea what to say to that."

Lauren: "They're all up there getting rusty and rotten. I may as well not have rescued them at all."

Joshua: "I'm sure they don't mind too much."

Lauren: "I feel a bit cruel."

Joshua: "Look at it this way: they have the best view in Electorate, and there's stacks of them up there, so it's not like they're lonely or anything."

Joshua pauses, embarrassed.

Joshua: "That was one of the strangest things I've ever said, I think."

Lauren: "I won't tell anyone."

Eventually, they arrive at the office building, and go inside.

Lauren: "I appreciate it, anyway."

Joshua: "You're welcome."

They arrive on the roof and stand, facing each other.

Lauren: "Colin and Angie are abandoning me tomorrow."

Joshua: "Why?"

Lauren: "I'm not sure how to say without making it sound really melodramatic."

Joshua: "Give it a go."

Lauren: "Okay, Tim and Angie broke up, then... I don't know, something, then Tim went back to Lindsay, which is where he and Colin are from originally, but he didn't tell anyone, and so now Colin and Angie are going to Lindsay as well to... I don't know. Stare at him through his bedroom window or something."

Joshua: "There's a creepy image."

Lauren: "Hah. Yeah."

Joshua smiles.

Joshua: "I know what you're thinking, and I'm not going to do that because your bedroom's on the second floor and I don't know how to house-climb, among a lot of other reasons."

Lauren: "You're psychic."

Joshua: "I am."

They stand in comfortable silence.

Joshua: "Kat's going back to Deakin tomorrow."

Lauren: "Oh?"

Joshua: "It'll be nice to actually sleep in my bed again."

Lauren: "Huh."

Joshua: "Huh?"

Lauren: "I'm turning into you."

Joshua: "Yeah?"

Lauren: "Everything I think to say sounds very sleazy."

Joshua: "You get used to it."

Lauren notices a chair that has been knocked over and goes to right it, Josh following along behind her.

Joshua: "I took Kat to the Arthouse on Friday. She hit on Colin when my back was turned."

Lauren: "That's... quite funny, actually."

Joshua: "Yeah. It was good apart from that, though."

Lauren: "That's good."

Chair now righted, Lauren pats it affectionately before turning back to Joshua.

Joshua: "How have you been?"

Lauren: "Fine."

Joshua: "Really?"

Lauren: "What do you mean?"

Joshua: "I don't know. You haven't seemed very fine, lately."

Lauren: "No, I guess not."

Lauren looks away awkwardly.

Joshua: "I feel pretty stupid asking this, but can I give you a hug?"

Lauren: "You don't have to ask."

Joshua: "I thought it'd be better to give you some warning, at least."

Lauren: "That's very thoughtful and makes me feel really shitty at the same time."

Joshua: "Oh. I'm sorry."

Lauren: "No, it's not your fault. It's just stupid that I freak out to the point where you feel like you have to ask."

Joshua: "It's not stupid."

Lauren: "Feels pretty stupid."

Joshua: "If I thought it was stupid I wouldn't bother. Really."

Lauren nods, then they hug. Lauren frowns.

Lauren: "Still feels stupid."

Joshua: "I do stupid shit all the time. I'm reasonably used to feeling awkward. It doesn't bother me."

Lauren: "You shouldn't have to."

Joshua: "I don't mind doing things that basically amount to not being a horrible person."

Lauren: "That's one way of putting it."