Samantha Jenn Tucker and Norman Eliott Peters went to a movie. Samantha Jenn Tucker and Norman Eliott Peters had fun. Norman Eliott Peters decided to walk Samantha Jenn Tucker home, and she thought this was a splendid idea.

This is their walk from the movie theatre back to her dormitory at Keaton, where she lives. The streets are lonely, for the hour is late, and other than streetlights it's difficult to see.

Samantha Jenn Tucker can see in the dark, because she's an elf. She strolls along anyway. She is in no hurry to let the evening end.

Norm isn't in any hurry for the evening to end either, but he has to try not to rush because being out on the street at night is really not his cup of tea.

Being a mere human, he's not gifted with good night vision. Actually, he's somewhat deficient in the vision department, period - thus the thick-lensed glasses perched on his nose.
He's alternating between periods of gazing anxiously into the shadows, and glancing anxiously at Sam.
He's out with a girl.
And she doesn't keep him around for the attention (as far as he can tell), and she's pretty, and not psychotic.

They're just friends, though. Really, they are.

"...It's cold," he comments awkwardly.
Let's have a nice platonic conversation about the weather.

"I should have brought a flashlight...."

She can't think of a thing to say about the weather, and she's worrying about him worrying about the darkness.

If they end up with two conversations going on at once, I'll be amused.

She's going to reach over and give his hand a quick squeeze. It's okay, really it is, they're just taking a walk. (If she's hiding nerves of her own, she's hiding them in concern about his nerves.)

Norm chuckles softly - okay, let's talk about the quality of the light around here instead.

"Maybe." He gives a small nod. "...Or one of those old-fashioned lanterns. That would be cool."
He has a thing for interesting mental pictures such as that.

He returns the squeeze. His grip loosens slightly,... and he doesn't let go.

She didn't expect that.

But... it's... it's nice.

She likes it.

"That would be cool. I don't know where you'd get one, though."

Maybe Elm Street - it has basically everything ever invented ever. (She has a pet theory that Elm Street magically includes every shop that could possibly sell things.)

"I don't know. Somewhere. It wouldn't have to be an antique one,... A curiosity shop might have some. I know I've seen them around somewhere. There's a shop next to the one where I buy solder and things, it has that kind of stuff. Candles, oil lamps... it might have one. I'll look next time I'm there."

See him pretend as if nothing out of the ordinary is going on.
He can be quite good at it, on occasion.

It's perfectly normal for friends to hold hands on a walk home from a movie.

...perfectly...

"Candles're nice too. Especially colorful ones."

She likes colorful candles. (Are we surprised? Anyone? I thought not.)

She's thinking about candles, and that is all. She isn't going to mess this up by overthinking it. So there, self.

"Definitely. That's even more old-fashioned." Pause. "Less light, though. Not that a lantern would give very much either."

And of course you have to make sure the candles don't fall over and set things on fire, or... yeah, that's enough paranoia, thanks.

"I like the ones where they put chemicals in the wicks to make them burn different colors. Those are...interesting. I think there's a myth or something about candle flames burning blue in the presence of ghosts, or something. Ever hear of that?"

"No, I hadn't."

Sam's never been great with myths and legends.

She adds, thoughtfully, "Given the way life tends to work, you'll probably have a chance to test it sometime." Pause. "Or I will."

She hopes not.

"Heh. I've had plenty of chances already, but I don't think I'm going to try it. I don't think he'd take kindly to being made a guinea pig." Pause. "'He' being a ghost, by the way."

He can always pretend he's kidding if she thinks he's being too weird.
(But, honestly, she's an elf and he can send his thoughts out of his head. What's weird after that?)

"Huh."

Okay, that was weird.

"You should ask him if he'd mind."

See, she takes it in stride. (Mostly.)

"Yyyeah,.. I suppose I could. I try not to make too big a deal out of his being a ghost, though."

If it was him, he doubts he'd like being constantly reminded that he was dead.

"Maybe the next time there's a power outage I'll find out."
Because despite worrying about their setting things on fire, he prefers candles to flashlights during power outages.
Go figure.

"A power outage?"

Frown.

"Your place is haunted?"

She's mildly weirded out. She doesn't like to think that there was anyone else listening to her when she was there, talking to him, ever. She's unguarded around him as she is around few people.

It makes her feel vulnerable.

"Well, yeah. I light candles when the power goes out."

He bites on his lower lip, frowning a little, before answering the next question.

"It's, um,... not my place, exactly. It's actually Nick's." Pause. "The ghost. He's, uh...he's letting me stay there in exchange for helping him restore it. It's an old house, it needs work."
He enjoys the work. It's fun.
He's still a bit afraid of falling through floors, though.

"Wait, since when did you move? I could have helped."

Nevermind that she hasn't exactly been the best in keeping in touch lately either.

She's been crazy-busy with the school and the multitude of part time jobs.

"I don't know... not too long ago."

He shrugs, which seems to remind him that they're holding hands. He gives her hand a light, light squeeze.

"Well, thanks. But it wasn't too much of a job. Just time consuming."
Individually wrapping and packing a bunch of fragile, sharp-edged suncatchers can be like that.

"God, time. I need to acquire a sudden power over the spacetime continuum, y'know?"

There's never, ever enough time in the day.

"Yeah?"

He offers a smile.

"Why? Busy, are you?"

She squeezes his hand back, for being a sweetheart.

"Oh, y'know, finals. God, finals."

She covers her face with one hand dramatically, and rubs at her eyes in a non-dramatic way. She's tired. She's generally tired, this past month.

He blushes a little.
It's dark out. Surely she can't tell.

"Ohhh. Yeah. God, I hated finals."
It wasn't all that long ago that he had to take them, so he remembers them quite well.
"Hope I'm not taking away from your study time."

She had her eyes closed. She didn't see.

"You, my dear," she says mock-scoldingly, "Are a welcome break from study time."

She has few enough hobbies that she really enjoys. Going out with him is just lovely.

...ack, she meant going out, not going out out. That came out wrong. In her head.

She's going to try to stop thinking now. Ack.

"That's good to know."
It really is, too.

"I'll be sure to interrupt your study time more often, then."

"Oh, would you?" She flashes a smile he probably can't see. "That'd be great. Y'know, my birthday's next week."

Random subject change time!

"Is it, now?"

This is interesting. This is very interesting.

"Do you have anything special planned?"

"Not calling my parents and not checking my answering machine?"

Her smile is crooked. She's getting used to the idea of cutting herself off completely from her adopted family, and she's liking it more and more every day. They really have no reason to stay in touch, after all.

"I don't know. Nothing, I guess."

Except she mentioned it to him for a reason, because she secretly entertains hopes of doing something with him... only saying that would sound presumptuous, wouldn't it?

"Not doing anything special on your birthday?"
He slaps his free hand to his cheek, mock-horrified.
"That's just not right."

Watch and be amused as he pretends to ponder this as if the fate of all humanity rests on his pondering.

"We'll have to fix that." And now a grin. "We'll do... something. That we haven't done before. Something special."

"I'd like that," she says, as if that wasn't the point of bringing it up at all.

She was just hoping, that's all, she wasn't getting hopes up enough to say she was planning.

"Great."
Norm's grin turns foolish.
"It'll be a surprise," he declares. "...I don't know what we'll do yet, though, so make sure you have the day free."

"Like I said. Not doing anything with anyone."

Pause.

"...well," she adds softly, "except you."

You're special.

"Well. Good."
He tosses an arm around her shoulders, in a possessive (but still just friendly!) sort of way.
"So I'll have you all to myself."

"Uh-huh," she declares, playful.

If she has a second to think about this, she is going to freak out (in a good way).

He tightens his grip, just for a second, then lets his arm drop.
Just friends! See?

"You're going to have fun," Norm promises. "Just you wait."

Foregoing for the moment the 'just friends' label, she leans against him briefly. He's comfy.

But they should keep walking, that they should.

She forgot herself. She's a mite embarassed.

The silence that follows - there's always one or two whenever they're together - is oddly, not awkward. Not to Norm. He's quite comfortable with her leaning against him, even if it was just for a moment, and he forgets that awkwardness should follow in its wake.

"...Where is it you live, again?" he asks finally.

"Keaton. I thought I might move out after m'brother let me live with him over the summer, but he kicked me out come school year. By then, too late to look for an apartment of my own."

Classes and everything take a lot of her time.

"Oh, right. Right, of course." Norm nods. "I think I asked you that before."

It's an important thing to know, if he has to pick her up for whatever the surprise birthday event is going to be.
Or any other reason, actually.

"Yeah, probably. You'll have to show me that new place of yours, sometime."

After all, she's curious (and it's an excuse to spend time together).

"Heh, yeah. I should. I'll give you the tour and everything."
He gives a low chuckle.
"I'll turn all the lights off, and make it into kind of a haunted-house tour."

Shiver.

"Oh, god. Do you have to?"

Eep.

(Though it might be a good sort of eep, if he was there with her. There's safety in numbers.)

"No, not if you don't want me to."

He smirks.

"There's nothing really scary about the place, it's just big and empty and has a kind of tragic history. The only ghost there isn't the scary kind."
Though a little bit of scary would be good... he wonders if he could convince Nick to jump out of a closet or something, in a way that would end with Sam clinging to him...
(He wouldn't do that. It's just a idle thought.)