A Bit of Aloneness

Who: Claire and Joshua
When: After school
Where: Joshua's apartment, mostly

After a remarkably shitty day, Claire was more than ready to call it quits and retreat to her room and study for her math test for the remainder of the night. But as she sat in her car after school let out, she was feeling a bit restless and agitated, and given she hadn't talk to Josh in a couple of days, she wanted to see him. She kept her car running to let it heat up and pulled out her phone to type in a quick text, hoping she wasn't interrupting his classes, or work. It took her a couple of minutes to think of something decent to say.

hey irish. u busy?

Nothing too spectacular, but it was short and simple and got the job done, didn't it?

Joshua didn't have to work that day, and he was sort of glad for it. He'd done it the day before, and had some bruises to show for it. Stairs were tricky things sometimes. That combined with trying to keep up with the whole school part of school ... and he was tired. Mostly in the brain. He was on his way back home at a walk when his pocket started to buzz with a text message. Pulling the phone out, he felt kind of good that it was Claire. He hadn't gotten a chance to see her for a few days. Using only one coldish hand, he thumbed out a response. Just walkin home. No work 2day. U?

It was a quick response, which she was thankful for. She didn't think she could just sit in the parking lot all day, waiting for him to reply. leaving school. want me to pick u up and take u home? It would give her something to do, and give her a decent excuse for wanting to see him. Though she wasn't sure whether or not she needed an excuse. The whole dating thing was still mildly confusing to her.

He smiled a bit to himself and sent her another reply. Sure, id like that. Be between my place & campus, look for the irish. :p A ride would be nice, but seeing Claire would be even nicer. Maybe he could bribe her inside even, with like ... hot chocolate and informercials or something. Maybe a movie. Yeah, just something. Because spending some mindless comfortable time with his sort-of-girlfriend sounded like the best time possible to Joshua. He walked on, now glancing up for her car.

I always look for the green outfit and black buckled shoes. wait - those r leprechauns, right? on my way! Claire chuckled and set her phone down on the seat beside her before clicking in her seat belt and putting the car in gear to head off. Campus wasn't far from the high school, but as she usually did, she slowed down and kept an eye out for him. It was about a block or so from the college when she spotted him and she unlocked the car, grabbing her phone as she pulled to a stop when he approached.

He chuckled at the message and kept on walking, and soon enough there she was. God, he hoped her car was warmed up. Joshua jogged over and opened up the passenger side door, tossing his bag in the back and climbing in with an easy smile. "Hey," he greeted, shutting the door behind him and leaning over to give her a greeting kiss. It just felt natural to do. And it was nice and toasty in here. "Thanks, I think I was about to be minus some fingers," he said, rubbing them together and holding them in front of the vents.

She smiled at the small kiss and waited until she was sure he was in completely and the door was shut before pushing on the accelerator to take him home. It was nice to see him. "I think you're going to need more layers, and gloves... and a hat. And scarf." Claire grinned and shook her head. "Snow boots and maybe thermal underwear. At least if you plan on trying to walk around town this winter. You know, I run a chauffeur service part time and I have very reasonable fees," she said, quirking an eyebrow suggestively in his direction.

"See, I have all of that shite, it just doesn't generally make it on my body," he said with a grin back. He settled in further and gave a contented sigh. "I think I might have to take you up on that, so far your free chauffeuring samples have been pretty sweet. What are your rates?" he asked, rolling his head over to smile crookedly at her, liking that little tone in her voice. He felt tons better already, just being in her car. He hoped she could hang around for a while.

"I think Sean needs to do a bit more guardian angel-ing and make sure you're dressed warmly when you leave the apartment. The last thing you need is to catch pneumonia or something." And Claire really didn't want to revert to being a motherly-figure and calling him every morning to remind him to put on his gloves. Her grin grew a tad bit more mischievous as she glanced at him. "My rates vary on mileage, of course. But they start at kisses on the cheek, to back massages to... well, slightly naughtier demands. It's all about what you can afford, of course."

"He'd just laugh and say he ain't my mum," Joshua told her, amused. "Don't worry though. I may knock myself around all the fuckin' time, but it takes a lot to get me sick." Even if his hands were kind of freezing. He tucked them under his thighs to warm them up a bit faster, and grinned more broadly at the word 'naughtier'. "Well ... I think I've probably got plenty to spare in that area. Been savin' up, y'know. Just for this sorta situation. Am I gonna owe you for this ride?" he asked.

Claire couldn't help but be amused at the way he slipped his hands under his legs. She reached down to turn up the heat just a touch to help him along. She was already pretty toasty herself, but she was also dressed in a heavy coat, gloves and a scarf. "Ah, so you're a responsible guy then. That's definitely good to know." She laughed a bit at his question and shrugged one shoulder. "I think I might have to charge you for this one. I've given you so many freebies already that I'm starting to think you might be taking advantage of me."

"Me? Naw, I wouldn't dream of such a thing," Joshua said, amused. He dimpled at her, and thought that definitely yes, he'd see if she could stay and hang out. For repayment and stuff, of course. "I just didn't know your terms until now. I'm a full time student, remember, cash isn't exactly falling out of my pockets. ... don't get me wrong, I appreciate the freebies, but you deserve some kinda compensation." It was a rambly and ridiculous conversation, but he was completely okay with that as they got closer and closer to Tourville.

"Now see, I would never accept monetary payment from you," she replied. "Remember what I said? Kisses and massages and naughtiness? I've definitely taken into account her student status, and since I'm extremely proud of the fact that you did enroll in the college, I'm more than happy to accept substitutes to tens and twenties." Claire definitely felt relaxed now, after a stressful, irksome day at school. This was nice. No drama, or gossip or bad moods. "How was school today, by the way?"

Joshua laughed a bit. "Good I can whore myself out for rides, that's an esteem-builder," he joked, unearthing one hand to reach over and pinch lightly at her side. "Though I guess if I've gotta whore for anyone, I'm glad it's you. It was okay, just busy, I guess. There's a shit-ton of readin' in college. Which I'm sure you'll be cool with, I just never got into the habit much back home," he confessed. He liked that she read, really. Maybe it was stereotypical, but to him that made her smart, and he thought that was sexy.

"Hey, you get a ride, I get something in return. It all evens out, doesn't it? You could say I'm whoring myself out too. I'm giving you rides to get stuff for myself so..." She laughed and pulled into the parking lot of the apartment complex. She wasn't sure whether or not he would want her to stay, if he had homework or reading to do, but she was thankful for what she got. "I've heard there's a lot of reading. That's how you, you know, learn stuff," she teased. "But seriously, I'm sure once you get into the habit, it won't be so bad. You only live with one other person, so as long as you cut down on distractions, like music and television, you'll do fine."

"What about you, can I keep you around as a distraction?" he asked with a smile on his lips, not making any moves to get out of the car. The engine was running, it was still warm, and he happened to kind of have a fondness for her car now. Since she wasn't driving anymore, he kind of tugged her over, leaning himself to kiss her. Because it was just that time. Once that was done in a nice kind of lingering way, he pulled back to look at her again. "Want to come in? I'm not a man to let my debts build up too much, y'know?"

Her cheeks blushed lightly and she smiled. "I think one distraction would be okay... " Her eyes closed when he leaned in to kiss her and she unsuccessfully tried to keep herself from sinking into it. It felt like forever since she'd seen him, and been able to kiss him. Claire's eyes cracked open when he pulled away and her tongue peeked out quickly to taste him on her lips before she smiled softly and nodded. "Sure, I could come in for awhile. I mean, I don't want to keep you from assignments or anything." But she knew he would assure her she wasn't, so she turned off the car, eager to get inside.

"You're definitely not," Joshua said predictably, and went about climbing out of the car. He retrieved his bag from the backseat and flung it over his shoulder. He waited for her to join him on the sidewalk and led the way inside, unlocking the door for them and letting them in. He called out a hello for Sean, and got no response, which made him grin. "House to ourselves," he said looking back over at Claire. He even dropped her a wink. Yeah, definitely feeling better just hanging out with her.

Claire smiled at him, her gloved hands still tucked in her jacket pockets. "My favorite kind," she replied before toeing off her shoes. She didn't want to track snow slush any further into his apartment, and she was quite proud of her constantly rotating collection of weird, colorful socks. She felt comfortable now, away from things outside of the apartment that was stressing her out. "But I'm curious," Claire continued, "as to what we'll do on our own without Sean here to entertain us?"

Joshua laughed a little bit, dropping his stuff down near the door and then hooking his arm through her's to gently pull her toward the kitchen. "Good question, I really don't know how I manage to survive more than a day without seein' his fire-juggling act, it's a thing of beauty. But he sings, you know. A lot, and badly, so maybe it's a blessing in disguise for your ears." He tossed her a smirk and opened up the fridge. "Thirsty or anythin'?" he asked, looking over at her again questioningly.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with bad singers! Sometimes they're the most entertaining." Claire could certainly attest to that. "Maybe since he's gone, you can sing for me instead. Or try a fire juggling act... although I think maybe we would end up burning the place down, so maybe that's not the best idea." She glanced into the fridge curiously. "Maybe just a water? Too much soda and I'll probably get annoying hyper or something."

"Suit yourself," he said, grabbing a coke for him. He closed the fridge and went to the cabinet to pull down a glass and put ice and water from the tap in it. He and Sean didn't keep any bottled water, a holdover from living at home where his mother insisted it was a waste of money and plastic. "Though I bet you're pretty cute when you're hyper," he added with a grin as he handed the ice water to her and twisted open his coke bottle.

She took the glass of water with a thankful smile. "I don't know if I would call it cute. Annoying, maybe." Claire took a quick sip to wet her throat. "I think you could probably agree to the fact that hyper usually increases the chances of physical injury for people like you and me. Sedatives over sugar, right?" Though she had a feeling he was probably incredibly funny hyped up - or drunk.

"Too true,' he agreed with a chuckle and took a long drink from the bottle. Which was, of course, plastic. After so many lip-cuts from cans and trying to explain those away, one tended to avoid those, and glass bottles were straight up out of the question. That was just asking for trouble. Most things involving glass that wasn't very securely bolted to walls were. There was kind of a lack of wall-pictures aroun the place because of that. "... though I still insist it would be cute." he reached out and pinched her side lightly, then started heading for the living room where they'd be comfier.

"Only cute if you've been drinking a lot," Claire countered with a grin. She followed him into the living room and went to sit on the couch, her glass still in her hand. "So are you doing anything special for Halloween? Any parties on campus? Trick or treating?" she teased.

"I'm Irish, I'm always drinking a lot. Even when it looks like I'm not. Jesus turned water into wine, the Irish turn anything into whiskey," he claimed, sitting down next to her on the couch and settling in to comfortable. He looked over at her with a little smile. "Not that I know of yet," he said. He couldn't imagine Sean even entertaining the idea of letting him run around town in the dark, so trick or treating was probably out. "I'm sure there'll be parties though. You?"

"Is that right? That explains so much." Claire laughed, relaxing back against the couch. "I'll have to remember the Irish affinity for whiskey around gift giving occasions then!" Chuckling still, she sipped her water before shaking her head. "I don't think I'm doing anything specific for Halloween. Uhm, there might be a party or two, but I'm not aware of anything set in stone. Maybe we could do something silly this weekend... like, er carve a pumpkin? Only," she continued quickly, and with a smile, "I'll do the carving... maybe you could do the de-gutting?"

Joshua laughed a bit. "Yeah, nothing like digging around in pumpkin guts, good times," he said amiably, though he thought that wasn't a really bad idea in the least. It sounded pretty damn good to him, in all actuality. "So does that mean we have Halloween plans?" he asked, looking over at her with a little grin. "You could stay in and be lame with me, 'cause my guardian angel will put me under house arrest, I'm sure." He pulled a face.

She grinned and nodded. She imagined Halloween would be the perfect night for his curse to kick up a notch. "Yeah, I'd say that sounds like fun. I like a little lameness every now and then. My life is just so exciting every other day that I do occasionally need a break." She rolled her eyes and laughed. "I'll bring the pumpkin and supplies and you... er, wear protective gear. Sound good?"

He laughed with her, and shook his head. "Yeah, I hear you," he agreed, and though she was joking, there was another level to that somewhere. If there was a day for shit to go crazy, it was Halloween, and he was really hoping that wouldn't be the case. Really hoping. Marquette needed a break. A long break. "I'll go ahead and get some hockey gear and a helmet and everything," he joked, grinning at Claire and reaching over to pinch at her sides lightly.

"No pinching! I'll spill my water everywhere." Claire swatted at his hand, arching away from his fingers with a grin. "You could pass off your knee pads and stuff as your Halloween costume. No one would know any better, you know. Except me. I'll be able to tease you mercilessly. Get protective eyewear too, since you never know when a pumpkin seed might fly out and hit you in the eye and blind you or something." She reached over to poke him in the side herself. "What should I be? It's no fair that you get to wear hockey masks and I get nothing."

"Since it's only gonna be you and me," Joshua started, leaning forward to set his cup down, and then liberating her's from her hands and doing the same with it. "Do you really want me to answer that?" He tugged her over in closer to him and nuzzled his nose against her cheek before moving a bit lower. "'Cause I can think of some stuff I'd love to see you in. ... which, y'know, might not be suitable for pumpkin carving, but that's okay." He grinned a bit against the warm hollow of her neck.

Claire felt her body flush, but not at all in a bad way, and laughed as he nuzzled her. "Well, I guess that depends on what you're thinking of... too much material could, er, get caught in the pumpkin guts, which I heard can be fateful," she teased. "Too little material means my skin could get splattered with pumpkin guts instead. I think I have to really put some time and thought into this." She was just being silly now, but she was more focused on how it felt touching him, and letting her fingers play with the hair at the nape of his neck.

"I think if it wasn't pumpkin guts, your skin splattered with stuff would be really sexy," Joshua murmured, nuzzling at her and planting little kisses on her neck. She smelled good. Very much like Warm Girl. "But I'm sure whatever you come up with would be awesome." Her fingers at the back of his neck gave him pleasant little chills, and he basked in the feeling, sliding a hand across her stomach to pull her in even a bit closer. They had time, they were alone, and he couldn't think of anything he'd rather do than this. For hours.

She would have laughed at the comment, but it was hard to do much of anything but sigh contently at the feel of his lips on her neck. Coherent thought was not her best friend at the moment. And that was okay. With some kind of noise in her throat that was meant to be agreement, Claire moved in closer to him, tilting her head in silent encouragement. Making out in an empty apartment definitely beat homework and infomercials. It was very easily her favorite way to spend an afternoon and she was going to take full advantage of it while she could.