Electorate 091

[crushthecamera]

SCENE: The roof, night.

Lauren: "Why'd you leave?"

Joshua: "I got fed up, I guess. My parents are interesting people. We fought a lot."

Lauren: "Why didn't you just move out with friends or something?"

Joshua: "You don't want me here?"

Lauren: "I didn't say that."

Joshua shrugs.

Joshua: "I just wanted to get away, really. I just got in the car and drove until I felt like stopping."

Lauren nods.

Joshua: "What about you? Where are your parents?"

Lauren: "I don't know where my dad is. Mum died when I was six."

Joshua: "I'm sorry."

Lauren: "It's not like you killed her."

They stand in silence for a moment, taking in the view.

Lauren: "In one year I'm going to be older than her."

Joshua: "That's scary."

Lauren: "It is, yeah."

Joshua watches her carefully.

Joshua: "You okay?"

Lauren: "I just never really thought about it like that before. It feels weird."

Joshua: "Do you miss them?"

Lauren: "I miss mum. My dad was never really around even when I lived with him. I don't think I miss him much."

They fall into silence once again.

Joshua: "You don't have to answer, but how'd she die?"

Lauren: "It's okay. She got cancer. Not very exciting, really."

Joshua: "Maybe. I am sorry, though."

Lauren: "It's all right, though. I mean, obviously I'm not the most perfect person who ever lived, but I'm okay, you know?"

Joshua: "I know."

Lauren: "She was a good person. And dad's probably a good person to people who aren't his daughter."

Joshua: "That bit is kind of important, though."

Lauren: "Still. I mean, they didn't go out of their way to mess me up. I hardly have any bad memories of them."

Joshua: "You don't have to defend them to me."

Lauren: "Okay, but do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

Joshua: "Yeah. It's okay."

Lauren: "Okay."

Lauren nods, and looks out over Electorate once again. After a long silence, she takes a deep breath.

Lauren: "I love you, sometimes."

Joshua: "What?"

Lauren: "I'm not going to say it again."

Joshua: "Ever?"

Joshua stares at her, quite shocked.

Joshua: "When?"

Lauren: "Just sometimes. Randomly."

Joshua laughs nervously.

Joshua: "I did not expect you to say that."

Lauren: "Neither did I."

Joshua: "Do you want to do anything about it?"

Lauren: "Do you?"

Joshua: "I asked you first."

Lauren: "And I asked you second."

Joshua shrugs.

Joshua: "Yes. But I like this, too."

Lauren: "Yes."

They hug, then, and Joshua kisses her forehead.

Joshua: "I love you, too."

Lauren: "You don't have to say it just because I said it."

Joshua: "I'm not."

Lauren: "You are."

Joshua: "I like you a lot, then."

Lauren: "I'm glad we got that sorted out."

Joshua: "Yes."

Lauren: "Let's never speak of it again."

Joshua: "Probably best."

Comments

[danimaree]

MUCH FLAILING AND SQUEEING. Only internally. I don't want to embarass myself.

As much as I'm enjoying all these updates, do you have plans to take pictures for the text-only ones at a later date? It'd be great to relive them, in a sense, and see how the pictures match up to what I imagined.

[crushthecamera]

Not as such - I'm sort of sick of a game that inexplicably breaks every few months, and even if I did, I'd have to buy a new computer, basically, because my current one's getting a bit elderly. I just don't have that sort of cash to spend on a hobby. So. Maybe, someday, but don't hold your breath, is the answer, I guess.