Room 324, Tuesday Afternoon

[vanillajello]

For once, Kate appeared studeous. She was sitting at her desk with her laptop open, some independent, half finished coursework on the screen. On one side of the computer, she had a big mug of coffee; on the other, her thermos, which was a cheap piece of junk she'd ended up having to buy to replace the nice one with the flowers on account of not having it anymore.

She wasn't really doing anything, though. Mostly, she was waiting, passing her time drinking coffee, staring at the screen, and occasionally glancing at her open door.

[ooc: Just for that guuuy who knows who he is, please and thank you!]

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[vanillajello]

Kate seemed to straighten up in her chair some. "I didn't mind the sun and the warmth." And there came the distant tone. Too bad, they'd been doing rather well so far. "It just didn't work for me."

[therewaslife]

Yes, there was the reason he hadn't wanted to let himself drop his guard. Something like that happened, it hurt and he had to bring it back up again.

He shook his head. "Just forget I asked," he said, waving a hand and laughing a little humorlessly. "Just forget I even broached the subject."

His arms came back up, crossed tight and he looked uncomfortable and hesitant again.

[vanillajello]

"You didn't ask," Kate replied, choosing to be prickly with her precision even if her tone was mild.

Even she knew that was unfair, though. She shook her head and sighed, quietly. "I felt like shit so I came back here a couple of days early, and then I felt better. That's all."

[therewaslife]

"I noticed that I didn't see you in the usual places later on in the week," he confessed, shrugging a shoulder and not looking at her. "I thought you'd taken ill."

[vanillajello]

... Now why did he have to go and say something like that? Something she wanted to and yet didn't want to hear.

Kate turned towards her desk to pour some more coffee into her mug from the thermos, though mostly it was just to hide her face.

"Well, in a way I did, I guess."

She'd felt plenty sick, anyway.

[therewaslife]

"Are you feeling better, at least?" Bod asked, trying his best to let some of his concern show through the brick walls he'd been mentally constructing for awhile.

It wasn't helping that she kept doing things that made it seem like he was being dismissed in subtle ways.

[vanillajello]

Kate turned around again to face him, though she wasn't really looking at him.

"Maybe." Not really, though she had her moments. "Kinda preoccupied with this Hannibal thing."

[therewaslife]

"Of course." That felt like another dismissal and he shook his head. "I'll take my leave, then. I appreciate the information and hope everything goes well for you."

[vanillajello]

"Yeah, you too," Kate said, then winced because that was just... so fucking lame. It was weird how nowadays, talking to him, she could feel herself turning into an ice queen and an idiot all at the same time.

An ice queen idiot who wished him away and desperately wanted to him to stay forever. It was a tough gig.

"Thanks for-- for coming by." She held back the 'I guess', then turned that hesitation into something else. "And, y'know, for checking up on me when I didn't show up to class. I... guess you won't have to do that anymore, I mean, I guess there's no need to worry about me."

See? Idiot.

[therewaslife]

Bod wasn't sure if she meant that to hurt as much as it did and he wasn't sure he wanted to know. It did hurt and his shoulders hunched up but he stopped moving for the moment.

"Is that what you want?" he asked quietly, still turned away from her. "You want to cut all ties right now?"

[vanillajello]

Idiot, idiot, idiot. Of course she couldn't even try and offer up something sincere without making it seem hurtful. Of course.

Her brows went up, then dipped down into a frown. "No, that's not what I --" How could she put it so she didn't give too much of herself away? "I just thought you wouldn't... want to."

[therewaslife]

"Why wouldn't I want to?" Bod asked, still keeping his back to her. It made it easier to hide the emotions on his face even while his voice remained level.

[vanillajello]

"I don't know," Kate said, knowing well that that wasn't the most surprising response she could've come up with. "You just might not."

On account of their inability to talk to each other for longer than five minutes at a time without someone's feelings getting stung.

[therewaslife]

"Yes, well, you're wrong about that," Bod said, shaking his head. "I appreciate the offer but no."

[vanillajello]

"Well." What exactly was she supposed to say now? She didn't know. She felt a little dizzy again. "Okay then?"

[therewaslife]

That wasn't really what Bod wanted to hear and maybe it showed in the slump of his shoulders.

"I'll speak with you later, Kate," he said and headed for the door again, having not looked back once.

[vanillajello]

A fact which had not escaped Kate's notice either. She hadn't been looking up much but she knew he hadn't turned, not even once. She wanted to say something about that, start a fight, get some emotions out.

All she said was a weak, "Mm, later." She expected it to be a really late later.