late night caregiving

Who: Gabe and Lauren
Where: MSHS
When: Just after midnight

Sure, Lauren hadn't had to stay in school while the storm was raging outside. She could have left at any time--it wasn't like the weather bothered her, and she had walked there in the middle of it in the first place. But, she'd felt the odd compulsion to stick around, while all of the other students were stuck as well. Granted, she'd been kicked out of the rooms anyone was staying in, because she scared people. In the end, she wound up sitting at the top of the steps that lead towards the front doors, elbows propped on her knees, chin in her hands. She was staring down the short flight of steps, wondering how she was going to do this. She knew she'd just have to keep at it and all, but it was discouraging sometimes.

Lauren had also looked around for Gabe that day, but hadn't caught sight of him, which disappointed her. She'd met Jesse, who had been pretty neat, but she'd wanted to see Gabe. He'd been so sweet to her, and she was definitely latching onto the friendship, since he'd offered it so freely. She just hoped he hadn't decided after parting company with her last time that being friends with a dead girl wasn't that great an idea. She knew that was just her own insecurities talking, though. He'd seemed so sweet, he had to be for real. Or, that was her story and she was sticking to it. As she sat there, the temperature around her was cooling, and she was flickering a bit, giving off her own pale sort of illumination, even if it wasn't bright by any means. To comfort herself, she began to sing, voice soft, a little echoey in the stairwell, a little distant due to her not trying to project properly through the barrier between her and the living world. Still, her voice was there, clear and sweet, the song slow.

"Take me to heart and I’ll always love you...And nobody can make me do wrong...Take me for granted, leaving love unshown...Makes will-power weak and temptation strong..."

Gabe hadn't been ready to sleep and had followed his impulse to wander the halls for a bit. Sure, it meant having to avoid the teachers who wanted to keep all the kids in one place, but they weren't that hard to out run, if necessary. They weren't any more happy about the situation than the students were, and most of them just let him go about his business. He'd passed students in various classrooms, some sleeping, some talking or studying. He couldn't imagine what would have them studying this late, unless it was an effort to fall asleep under uncomfortable conditions. Eventually he'd head back to the library to be with Claire, but maybe only after he was done being stir crazy.

The singing wasn't something he expected, not in school, and not when everyone was so wound up. It was soft and soothing, reminding him of a lullaby, and he began to follow it to it's source. He wondered why everyone wasn't coming to listen, forgetting that he could hear so much better than everyone else, just for a few minutes. When he finally caught sight of the songstress, he smiled softly, hands sliding into his pockets as he approached her. Gabe took a seat next to Lauren, just listening, not wanting to disturb her when he so enjoyed listening to her sing.

When he sat next to her, she smiled, and her form blurred, setting her back in her jeans and button down shirt. Her smile was a bright, easy, sweet sort of expression, and she was immediately pleased. Also, since he didn't seem to be of a mind to speak just yet, she continued her song. She'd promised to sing for him one day anyways, right? Right. "A woman’s only human...You should understand...She’s not just a plaything...She’s flesh and blood just like her man.......If you want a do-right-all-day woman....You’ve got to be a do-right-all-night man...." she sang, her voice getting a little stronger since she was being listened to, and by someone she wanted to impress. Aretha Franklin she was not, but she could still sing the song by heart, and the acoustics in the stairwell helped.

She shifted slightly to face him more, singing actually more to him than down the stairs. She held eye contact, and put more of her all into it. "They say that it’s a man’s world...Well you can't prove that by me...And as long as we’re together baby...Show some respect for me...If you want a do-right-all-day woman...You’ve got to be a do-right-all-night man..." She pulled the song to a close, blushing, even if it wasn't easy to see in her current form.

As he'd expected, she had a beautiful singing voice, and Gabe was glad to see she didn't stop just because he was there. The song made him smile, always one to listen to the words as well as the tune, and he wondered what had made her pick it from the beginning. His smile widened further when she was suddenly in her jeans and button down shirt, her "happy clothes", though he figured she didn't realize the change had happened at all. That was fine; he was just glad to see her smiling and singing.

"You've got a beautiful voice," he said when she finished. Though she wasn't as solid this time around, it didn't bother him. It just made it more obvious that she was a ghost was all. Why should that matter when he was a werewolf, and a good half of his friends were something else? They were all human in one way or another.

She beamed at him, seeming very pleased he'd complimented her, that he'd liked it. "Thank you!" she said. After all, it had been a long time since anyone had given her any flattery. She would most certainly take it. "I just really love that song. Always makes me want to slow dance, y'know? It's Aretha Franklin. While I can't hold a candle to her at all or anything, it's a song that doesn't need the background music to it either, which can be hard to find all in all. Most things really need that accompaniment." she rambled. "I was looking for you today...how're you? Besides 'stuck at school'."

"Sometime we'll have to try that slow dance thing," Gabe said with a smile. He was surprised to find he meant it, that he'd enjoy dancing with her, if she could stay on her feet. It was weird for him to think that would be fun with anyone other than Claire. Which was in itself a little wild, since he used to be open to slow dancing with just about anyone. "I've been good," he said, forgetting that he had both a black eye and a bruised jaw. His split lip wasn't bothering him anymore, so it was easy to forget how bad he looked. "Stuck, but it's with friends, so it's really not that bad. Just kind of needed to move around a bit. Stir crazy, I guess. How about you?"

As she got a better look at him in the dark, she started noticing said injuries, which...could possibly have been why she'd missed him earlier. She wasn't looking for someone who had the crap beaten out of them. However, she also could have missed him just because she wasn't exactly used to searching for anyone in a crowd. People couldn't see her, generally, so...right. Who the hell would she even be looking for? "If we slow danced, you'll have to carry me." she told him, which...was an idea she was not adverse to. But then she was just kind of giving him a concerned, quizzical look. "Gabe?" she asked. "You say you're good and just stir crazy and everything but...are you beat up?" she asked, reaching out a little, but it was a) with her bad hand so she stopped that immediately and b) she was a bloody ghost and couldnt' touch him so what the hell did she think she was doing anyways? Beyond being a really weird cold pack? "What happened to you? Do I need to go stand in someone?"

When she suggested him carrying her, Gabe found he really wouldn't have minded. It might have been a bit awkward, but he was sure they could manage. "That's okay," he smiled. "Maybe next time we're at Babylon," he suggested, since he realized it wouldn't work very well unless she was solid and he didn't want her to waste her energy. "Oh," Gabe said, reaching up a little, just as she did. It was reflexive, remembering that he looked a mess even if he didn't feel like it. "Kyle and I got into it. I made the mistake of telling him what I was, and he didn't believe me. Idiot thought he'd beat me up, just to show me that it wasn't real when I didn't shift." And if Kyle was wrong, Gabe would have ripped him to shreds. Problem was, that didn't happen, but Gabe knew he was right. "Luckily, I didn't shift, but got the shit beaten out of me in the process."

Lauren's eyes got wide. "I--what kind of a--" she sputtered. "What an ass!" she said hotly, offended for Gabe. "What kind of a friend beats their friends up, point to make or no!" she said. "If he really wanted to test the bloody theory he should have found something silver!" she said, huffing, and her form blurred again and she was back to the dress. "Are you okay? Do you need ice? I'm not really ice but I could maybe..." she offered, not sure if that would even be any good, but still.

There was something about a girl getting all upset in his defense that was oddly attractive. It didn't happen often, since most people just rolled their eyes these days, but he appreciated it on the one occasion where he'd really been trying to avoid a fight. He did hate to see her back in the dress, though, just because he knew she wasn't happy when wearing it. "It was a less than brilliant move on his part," Gabe agreed. Kyle had fucked up big time, and even if Gabe forgave him, he'd have to wait a bit to trust him with anything for the time being. "It's mostly just a dull ache now, but you can try," he said with a little smile. He didn't know how it would work, or how it would feel, but it was the offer that really seemed to matter.

"Less than brilliant--more like really overly stupid, and just mean, and who honestly throws a punch or a million at someone they care about?" Lauren said, reaching out with her good hand this time to put it in against his face, where she thought it looked most swollen to her. She pushed her hand in a little, which would fast-freeze him, but that was part of the point. She did that, then let her hand hover just off of his skin, so she'd keep the air there cold, after she did the initial freeze. "That's just ridiculous, and nothing calls for that. Are you sure you're okay?" she asked, voice softening, as she eyed him, worried.

"All that too," Gabe agreed. Kyle obviously hadn't thought about how miserable and guilty Gabe would have felt if he had shifted, then proceeded to kill Kyle and anyone else that got in the way. Probably his mom, when she got home. It was one of the most thoughtless and selfish things he'd ever seen his friend do, but Gabe attributed it to the fact that Kyle was still freaking out over the whole no-ghost issue. "It's not the first fight I've ever been in," Gabe admitted with an embarrassed little smile. He flinched just slightly as she froze him, then settled with the cool air on his wounds. "It'll heal. But that feels better," he told her. "Mostly, I was just pissed at him for wanting to prove me wrong so bad that it didn't matter if I was right. I could've killed him."

She winced a little with him. "I'm sorry...did I hurt you?" she asked, making sure she wasn't 'touching' him still. "Doesn't matter if you've been in fights, the guy is meant to be your friend, and that's simply not acceptable. Especially because you're right. was proving you wrong worth the risk?" she asked rhetorically. "That just seems like something that's absolutely irresponsible and moronic. Can't believe anyone did that to you." she said, still looking like she was taking it rather personally. She was! That was one of the stupidest, saddest things she'd ever heard, hands down.

"You just surprised me," he said with a little smile. He wasn't used to cold just being there, though he would have done the same if someone had put an ice pack on him. It wasn't pain, just... cold. "He apologized, realized he was being an idiot. I'm still pissed at the moment, but I'll get over it. His issue is that he hasn't seen any of the ghosts, so he's starting to think he's going crazy. And then I went and told him about me, and I think it was just too much." Gabe had known Kyle long enough to realize that there was more to it than Kyle not believing him, even though it did bug the shit out of him. He'd just have to prove it to him eventually, even if it took Kyle dropping by on the night of the full moon.

"I still don't think there's any excuse for a friend hitting their friends." Lauren said quietly, still offended on Gabe's behalf. "Going through something or no, that's still...just wrong." she stressed, meaning that. "I can't really imagine what would really prompt someone to do that. And...it wasn't as if he just punched you and that was it...honey, you're beat up." Yep. She was stuck on the idea. She was trying not to be, but she was. "Take a picture for him on the full moon or something. Which reminds me...do you have anyone to sit with you? I mean...I just..." She didn't know a diplomatic way to say that even if anything happened, he wouldn't actually hurt her.

While he appreciated that she cared, a little fight was nothing between friends, so long as it didn't happen again. Kyle had fucked up big time, but Gabe was willing to forgive him. He'd had his own number of screw ups in the past, and everyone deserved a Get Out of Jail Free card every once in a while. "I got a few hits in myself," Gabe said with a little smile, trying to lighten to conversation. "Really, I'll be okay. And he won't do it again. But thank you for caring." That meant more than anything else. Mention of the full moon, though, had his smile fading, not sure how he wanted to handle that particular night. "I dunno... I thought about asking Claire, but... I... if she can't, would you?" He didn't know when it would fall, if Claire would even want to, or if it would be safe. Maybe it would be better if she wasn't there, but then that made him worry about Lauren as well.

She nodded. "I would. I wouldn't mind at all. Plus, even if you're a scary werewolf that doesn't recognize me, it's not like you could hurt me even if you wanted." she reminded him gently, shifting her hand towards other injuries, to give them the handy dandy ghosty ice pack treatment. "So...I wouldn't mind. I'd kind of like to, even." she admitted. "It's been a while since I could be there for someone." she explained. And with her natural emotional disposition, she liked being there for people. It was just part of who she was as a person, and death hadn't soured that, it had just made it difficult for her.

Gabe gave a little nod as he thought about that, how she would be safe no matter what happened. He couldn't guarantee that with Claire, plus, he sometimes felt like he asked too much of her. She wasn't his to monopolize, after all. "I'd like that," Gabe said with a little smile, his jaw relaxing as she cooled it with her touch. "I'm kinda... scared, you know? I don't know what it'll be like, how it'll feel... I mean, I've read about it, but that's not the same." Oz had given him some pointers, as had Charlotte, but there was nothing quite like experiencing it for himself.

"Well, I'll be there then, and we can figure it out together." she promised him, happy to have the opportunity. Really, it was just good for her state of mind, it helped her feel useful. It helped her feel like she was part of something. Life again, perhaps. Just life. She smiled at him, the thought making her blur again and head back towards happy-clothes. "It'll be okay." she decided.

Her happy-clothes and sense of optimism made Gabe smile. It was nice to have that once in a while, for as often as he tried to be optimistic, sometimes he had his doubts. Sometimes he did feel like a monster, even if there was nothing he could do about it, but Lauren didn't seem to care either way. "Thanks," Gabe smiled. "I feel better just knowing you'll be there." He couldn't hurt her and hopefully couldn't scare her. She'd seen death, so a werewolf couldn't possibly be worse.

"You're welcome! It's no problem at all." she assured him. "It'll be nice to be able to be there for someone again, even if it's kind of in a way I never considered. And I'm glad you'll feel better knowing I'm there. It won't be any trouble at all, and I think'll work out just fine." She didn't even realize that she was being optimistic. Mostly, she was just going with what she thought, but she was encouraged by his smile.

He realized that this must be nice for her as well, having someone to talk to after years and years of not being seen. And he appreciated that she could help him, since it wasn't something he could ask many people. "I'll just be in the basement of my house. That's where we're having the cage built. I wish I could provide you something to pass the time, since just sitting there while I stomp around won't be any fun." Books didn't work, since she couldn't turn the pages. Maybe he could drag his computer down there for her.

"Could you do a radio or something?" she asked, smiling. "Even if you don't really have to, I'm an expert at filling up my time. It's all I've been able to do in thirty yearsish. So a few hours won't be anything terrible. But music might help you, if you can hear it. I have no idea, honestly. I guess we'll find out." They could always experiment and see if there was anything that helped. It was worth a shot, she figured.

"Like the idea that music calms the savage beast?" Gabe smiled. He wondered if classical music would help, or if he'd hear it at all. "I'll bring a radio down. We can find a good channel before the sun goes down, and then we'll just have to see. I've been told I won't remember it, so you'll have to tell me afterwards if it helped or not." He didn't know if it was better or worse that he wouldn't remember. He just hoped it all went over smoothly.

"The idea has to come from somewhere, right?" Lauren said reasonably. And sure, it might just be full of it, but she thought it was worth a shot. "And sounds good. Bring a radio down, we can sit and talk for a while, then switchy changey and I'll see you again in the morning. Sound like a plan?" she asked, thinking it did to her. But then she liked the idea of spending some time with him before everything went weird.

"Sounds good," Gabe smiled. She made it sound so simple, so... not frightening. It didn't occur to him that the change might be painful, or that he'd wake up sans clothing. Those things just hadn't passed through his mind yet. He was still stuck on the idea of spending the night in a cage, and worried about hurting anyone who came near him. "I'll have to introduce you to my mom, since she's who you'll need to run and get if you need anything. This just... really means a lot to me," he said. "I hate not knowing what to expect."

She smiled. "I'd love to meet your mom." she told him. Then she reached out and almost ruffled his hair, but it just passed through. "It'll be okay. You'll be safe, and so will everyone else. Other people are werewolves and they manage fine, right?" she asked. Nevermind that she didn't know that much about it in general. But she was optimistic enough to want to tell him it'd be fine, and maybe it would be.

Gabe laughed softly as she attempted to ruffle his hair and instead just gave him a slight chill. He knew the action well enough to react accordingly, even if it didn't go exactly as she'd planned. "That's true," Gabe said with a little nod. "I've been in contact with one that's been really helpful. Makes me feel like it's not impossible to live with." Just knowing that Oz was still alive, had a wife, had learned to cope, gave Gabe hope.

"Oh wow, really? Well, that's cool then. And see? Positive!" she said brightly, finding that information good. It could always be worse, at any rate. She was glad he had someone who could give him more solid advice than she could. While she could be very encouraging, and be there to support him and such, an expert she was not. Sometimes, there was nothing quite like experience to help someone with. After a while blanket 'it'll be okay's didn't hold so much weight.