Nighthawk: A Superhero Story (closed for Siobhancan99)

[Halcyon638]

Monica ripped off the helmet, the cords in the back snapping off from the pack the man wore on the center of his back. He was a non-descript, reddish-brown-haired man in his late 30s, his face contorted in rage as the flare of elecricity on his fingers instantly vanished, shrouding the room in darkness, though there was enough light from the window for her keen eyes to still see. One hand on his injured chest, he lifted the other to his his head as if to shield himself against another attack.

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica knelt but didn't attack "I should kill you" she leans in "for trying to kill me." She leans over him "and I might yet. You have a minute before the cops get here. Talk. what are you doing here? who sent you and why are you trying to kill this woman?" She'd watched enough TV to be ready for the twist, that Anna was like.. the Liam Neeson in batman character in all this. She tried to sound as menacing as she could, but she was in pain and she was baffled. She flicked her eyes around, looking to see if the woman was still huddled there or if she'd made her escape. "You have about a minute before I lose my curiosity, buddy"

She twirled his helmet in her hands, then realized she'd have to wipe it down with something to keep her prints off it "fuck. Of course this happens when I'm not ready" she thought. Still, all of this was fascinating high drama stuff.

 

[Halcyon638]

"She was just like all the others," he said, breathing hard as Monica wiped down the helmet. "Always undermining me at every fucking opportunity. Tearing me down. Never having the slightest shred of faith in me. Even when I built this," he said, motioning to the helmet.

Monica thought she heard the front door to the building opening now.

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica looks down at him in disgust. The woman couldn't identify her, she was sure, and he probably couldn't either. "so just a frustrated nerd who probably hates women to boot. Fantastic" she picks up the helmet, then brings it down on his head, hoping not to kill him but wanting to knock him out. she takes a moment to wipe it on her shirt, trying her best to smudge her prints, then moves to a nearby window. she opens it, then jumps down to the ground below. She winced, then looked down at her clothes. they looked singed and her flesh felt a little cooked. Not burnt exactly but she had welts from being electrocuted and her muscles were sore as heck.

She sighed when she realized Ian was still in play, and texted him "Couldn't get in. can hear the cops coming. Gonna meet you back at the apartment. Not really interested in talking to the cops."

She made her way quietly back to the apartment, switching out of her clothes. She put some ointment on her skin, then bandages. She whimpered, not used to hurting like this. Still she felt a strong sense of accomplishment. This was like, real proper villainy here. This was some comic book shit. She'd graduated from park rapists... though they were still her primary sort of focus. She'd met an actual factual.... well... henchmen level villain at the least. Someone like her.

When Ian got back to the apartment, he told her he left her out of it with the cops, for which she was grateful. He asked if they had any beer, which of course they didn't and she got him a La Croix. They sat on the couch and Gabi came out, making small talk and eating snacks. They joked a little about high school and Gabi got him a pillow and some blankets

"Gabi is the prepared one. I had literally nothing for you" Mon laughed "she's the apartment mom."

After a bit when Gabi turned in, Monica felt an awkward pause as Ian started to turn the conversation back to what he had to say before. She saw him hesitate and grabbed a chance.

"Ian, whatever it is just let it out. You were going to be my brother-in-law. I never had siblings before and now I have you. you're like my brother and just because Tom's gone that doesn't mean you stop being my brother ok? You're family now."

 

[Halcyon638]

Ian's eyes were focused on the can of sparkling water as Monica told him how he felt about him. His eyes were still downward as he began to speak. "Thanks," he said at Monica's last statement, though his tone was flat. "I have to tell you...something about that night. The night that, uh...that Tom was killed."

He breathed deeply. "Mom doesn't know. The cops don't know. I'm telling you because...I don't know. I don't think I'm ready to tell anyone else. And you...you deserve the truth, even if it means you'll never..." He played with the metal tab of the can, twisting it. Monica could feel the tension building in the connection point between her left shoulder and neck where she had absorbed the brunt of one of the electrical attacks, and tilted her head a bit to try to relieve some of the discomfort.

"The reason Tom got in his car that night..." Monica waited for it. Was there another woman? There'd never been a definitive answer as to where he was going that night. His last two calls were first to Ian, then to his friend, Jacob, who had just talked to him briefly about a homework assignment.

"I was in the city. I was partying with a couple of friends and I'd gotten fucked up...bad. With pills. My friends basically ditched me and I was...I was freaking out. I thought I was going to die, but I didn't want to go the hospital. I was afraid of the cops, afraid of Mom finding out, Joe," he said, referring to their stepfather. He fought back tears.

"I called him and asked him to come get me. And he said yes. That's what brothers are for. That's what he told me, Mon. 'That's what brothers are for.' " The tab from the can snapped off. Ian stood up from his spot on the couch now, a slightly dazed expression his face. "It was me. I'm the reason he got in his car that night." He looked out the window.

"Got just enough cash on me for the subway back to Gilliam Heights," he said. "Tell Gabi thanks for offering."

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica stared daggers at Ian for a moment. She hurt like a mother fucker, both physically and now emotionally. Hearing that came as an extra blow because she'd been prepared for some ham-fisted attempt to move in to replace Tom like he was Hunter Biden or some shit. Instead, Ian's immense and largely deserved guilt caused a resurgence of her own. If her parents hadn't held her back she'd have been in college. She'd have been there that night. She'd have stopped it. Tom was dead because of Ian and because she didn't stop it. It had been nagging at her since that stupid assignment this morning. If she could go back in time... if she could go back in time Tom would be alive. She wanted to pound the ever-loving shit out of Ian right now and if she was entirely honest with herself, it was because he was in no small part a surrogate for her own self-loathing. Tom had been everything in her life that was good since her mother abandoned them to head off into fucking space. He was everything she had except her father and he was gone.

In an instant she was across the room. She grabbed him by the shirt and lifted him like he was a child, pulling him up to look into eyes blazing with fury. The look of shock on his face brought her back to her senses and she tossed him on the couch. She turned a moment and inhaled, then exhaled. Bashing Ian would make her feel good in the short term, and lousy in the long term. She knew that. At the same time the confession opened a raw wound and let her know as much as she wanted to move on with her life she clearly wasn't. Hot salty tears streamed down her face and she covered it with her arm, then gasped at the pain of moving it. Her skin was irritated from the burn and the bandage didnt fully stop the movement from making it worse, and her muscles were still screaming. As she wept she still wanted to lash out, to tell Ian how worthless he was and how unfair it was that her perfect wonderful boyfriend was dead an he was alive... but that wouldn't bring Tom back and it wouldn't honor him. She cleared her throat "i need a minute." When Ian got up as if to go to the door she said firmly "I said I need a fucking minute"

She went into the other room and blew her nose and wiped her face down, then came back into the tiny little living room "You're family Ian and you stay. It's dangerous out there. Your parents need you."

She sat down on the couch, regarding him for a moment "And you need to figure out what you're doing with your life since Tom gave his for you. You need to ask yourself whether what you're doing with the time you have here on this planet is worthwhile. You owe it to yourself and you owe it to Tom. Get your fucking shit together. I'll make you breakfast before you head out."

 

[Halcyon638]

That night, the combination of pain and racing thoughts made Monica toss and turn for hours. At last, she fell into a hard sleep. The only saving grace was that her first course today, Engineering Design & Communication, didn't start until 11:30. Still, she found herself waking up well before her alarm clock, and by 9:00, she was out in the shared living space.

When she made it out of the bedroom, she found Gabi eating breakfast, presumably getting ready for her 9:55 class. "Hey!" Gabi said, her usual cheery self. "Good morning, carino. Tom must have slipped out early this morning. He left you a note."

Monica walked over to the small table at which her friend ate and saw the words scrawled on a half-torn band flier. There were three dollar bills and a note that read: "For the taco. Thanks for the breakfast offer." Gabi was checking her phone.

"So, yeah--apparently that whole situation with the police last night was crazy. Some psycho murdered guy tried to kill a grad student, and he was the same guy that killed that InnoVenture exec. They say some mystery woman stopped him and--"

Gabi notices Monica's face. "Mon, what's wrong?" she asked, a deep expression of concern on her face.

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica paused a moment. She had a lot in her head. For one, she'd solved an unsolved crime so... suck on that batman? She didn't even have to be the world's greatest detective. Mixed in with that was the pain from the burns. Her muscles felt better but her skin was irritated to put it mildly.

"I'm tired" she settled on that and walked over to the stove. She got out a pan and threw some bacon in it, getting out a few eggs and some cheese as well. She started dicing up onions and green peppers while the bacon sizzled in the pan. "I didn't sleep well and that fucked up my shoulder." She was quiet for a minute as she prepped vegetables. "Ian uh... that fucking piece of shit." She felt the grief well up again. She'd cried plenty over the summer. She hadn't been stoic at all and she'd worked through some of it but there was clearly an untapped ocean of it still lying beneath the surface. She started to actually cry again and set the knife down, sniffing "that fucking piece of shit...." she quivered, gripping the edge of the counter. "Tom's dead because he went to go pick up Ian, who was too fucking high to find his stupid fucking friends. So because Ian thinks life exists to get wasted and get laid and play the worst fucking music in the world Tom is gone. He's gone and I don't get to have anything I wanted. We were going to build robots Gabi. He was going to do all the programming and I was going to do all the construction and we... we... were... we were gonna build robots and have kids and a fucking house and... he was gonna bathe the kids while I made dinner and then I... would put them to bed while he cleaned up and life was... life was gonna..." She started to sob and then slammed her hands down on the counter, making things bounce.

"And I don't get to have any of that because Ian likes to get fucking high. And the worst part... the worst fucking part is that the only real way I have to honor Tom is to pick up after his fucking brother. So now on top of trying to get my own shit together I get to go to fucking stupid fucking hardcore shows to make sure Ian isn't shooting god knows what into his veins and squandering the life he gets that his beautiful wonderful brother doesn't"

The worst part was she didn't even know if she could have kids with an earth human. Her mother told her they'd conquered planets before, and sometimes yes... sometimes no. Sometimes the species had diverged too far. Nobody knew why the few places they'd been everyone looked the same. Some said panspermia. Some said that they had all been taken from the same planet and spread through the galaxy. The Centauri had been excited because Earth seemed older despite being less technologically advanced. So maybe? but she'd never know now. At least not with Tom and the knowledge was more crippling than the pain in her shoulder.

"I can't even skip psych today because Porter will be there alone" she offered, more out of self pity than anything else. Thank god she'd tested out of calc 1 or she'd have that today too. "Fucking Ian."

 

[Halcyon638]

"Jesus," Gabi said, coming over to give Monica a hug as she dropped the news about Ian. Stepping back, she took over tending to the food. "Mon, listen--you don't owe Ian a thing. Tom wouldn't have wanted you to be doing this to yourself. And honestly, Ian needs to get his shit together, and it's not going to help things if he thinks you or anyone else is always going to be there to clean up his messes."

"I know Porter wouldn't mind taking notes for you if you don't feel up to going to your psych course," she added. "And I can stay with you and just talk, okay? It's probably just 'get to know you' stuff today, anyways. You let me know what you need."

 

[siobhancan99]

"I just... I just... need to be... fucking normal and not... feel like I have to tell everyone I meet that my boyfriend was murdered." She sighs and wipes her eyes and presses back into Gabi "And i need to not be a burden on you" she turns and wraps her friend up in a hug, but just for a moment. She sighs and squeezes her close, wincing at the movement of her shoulder which still hurts a good bit. Still she has to put on a brave face about it. She resists a small urge to kiss the top of Gabi's head, then lets go of her, sniffling "my food's gonna burn." She laughs at the oddity of it all, and puts the onions in the bacon fat and starts whisking eggs. "I need to not be a wet blanket." she sighs and looks over at Gabi "but the hug was nice. I needed it. I really did Gabi. I thought I was ok and then boom. Fucking Ian. And yeah I kinda do have to look after him. His parents permissiveness is at the root of all of this, and they'd be devastated if something happened to him and ... well Tom wouldn't want that. So I can move on and meet someone else and have something like the life I wanted, while still holding onto Tom without letting him... you know. keep me from living."

 

[Halcyon638]

Gabi nodded. "You know I'm always here for you, but maybe you should...talk to somebody? There's a counseling center on campus," she noted a bit cautiously. "You don't have to take this all on yourself." She picked up her backpack. "We can talk some more after. Te amo," she added, casually, giving Monica's hand a quick squeeze before leaving the apartment.

Monica managed to finish up cooking her breakfast and then sat down to eat. Eventually, she went through the motions of getting showered and cleaned up, and by the time 11:15 rolled around, she was able to make it to her first course.

There were no familiar faces in Monica's Engineering Design & Communication course. The instructor, Cameron Finley, was a man in his 30s with an English (or maybe Scottish accent), a buzzcut, and slightly craggy features. He presented on some basic principles of engineering design, all of which were review for Monica, and then broke the class up into small groups to complete a hands-on activity that also functioned as an icebreaker. Her partners were a curly-haired Chinese student named Lian and Erik, a clean-cut, bookish guy from a small town in Maine. The goal was to construct an object to meet a specific goal using only items from their backpacks or bags. With Monica taking the lead, the group was the first in the class to successfully complete the task.

"Looks like we have ourselves a winner," Dr. Finley said. "The prize is, of course, the satisfaction of a job well done." As class wound down, he noted, "Just a reminder that this Thursday, Cullen Griffiths will be speaking in Preston Auditorium." Monica remembered hearing that Griffiths, the founder and CEO of mega-successful consumer tech giant Weel would be giving a talk on campus, but didn't realize it was this soon in the semester.

"Can we get extra credit for going and writing about it?" a student asked.

"Only if you ask him why the battery life on the Weel 8.0 is such rubbish," the instructor told him. "No, there will be no extra credit, if only because I am too lazy to grade 20 dashed-off bits of writing all saying the same thing. See you on Thursday."

Monica headed off for her final class of the day. As she made her way, she saw Porter who was headed that way, dressed in the same (hopefully washed) UFO shirt from this past weekend. "Did you hear about what happened on campus last night?" he said, more animated than she had see him. He grew even more excited as he speculated about the vigilante. "This is so badass. They need to come up with a cool name for her."

As Monica and Porter filed into the psychology classroom, they saw a handful of students scattered around and a handsome twenty-something with light brown hair, wearing dress clothes and a pair of glasses. He was preparing the projector. "Oh..." Porter said softly, not seeing the red-headed woman from the other day. "Is this, uh...Intro. to Psych?"

"Yes it is," the man behind the projector said, a slight Southern twang to his voice, smiling amiably. Sticking his hand out to shake, he said, "Troy Coates. I'm one of Dr. Howe's TAs this semester."

"Porter," he said. Troy looked to Monica.

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica carried her bag instead of keeping it on her shoulder, letting it almost drag along the ground as she walked with Porter. She couldn't help but smile to herself as he recounted her adventures "I dunno. That all sounds like it has to be more than one person." She teased a little, knowing that it was definitely her and liking having the secret... though she assumed that would come and go. "So what would you call her huh? Would you go with something really classical or something comic book inspired?" Drawing porter out was part of her mission for this semester and keeping him talking, even if it was about her, seemed a good way to do it. "what about Lagertha? or Hippolyta?" she hmmmed "or do you prefer something like... the punisher? I guess that's taken. the uh...hmmm. Not so good at this. I'd say they should have a contest to name her but she'd just end up being superhero mcsuperheroface. So... yeah. The internet is garbage." She joked and gently jostled Porter, trying to get him to give a name when they got to the room. When she saw the TA she had the same reaction as Porter at first, slightly disappointed. Still the guy seemed nice enough. "Um. Nice to meet you. I'm Monica. Bergensen."

She looked around "is there going to be a seating chart or something? since the class is so big?"

 

[Halcyon638]

Porter laughed at Monica's joke about what name the internet would bestow on this new vigilante. "Yeah, you're probably right. So far, she only seems to come out at night, so it'd have to be Shadow- or Night- or Dark-something. Though I kinda feel like all the good names have been taken."

The TA smiled when Monica asked about the seating chart. "No, you two can sit wherever you'd like," he said, "though in my experience, the back row is generally reserved for scofflaws and people who come to class habitually late."

Porter picked out a seat in the first row, and Monica was pretty sure she knew why as the attractive professor entered. She spent most of the session discussing psychology and the scientific methods, posing questions that were were again only refreshers for Monica.

***

As the first week of classes continued, Monica was finally falling into a routine. She curtailed her vigilante activities at her father's request after he begged her to not go out on the streets again until he had a chance to properly equip her for the task, and they'd made plans for him to pick her up Saturday morning. In the meantime, she kept busy with friends. After Wednesday's physics class, she and Austin made tentative plans for a Friday night date. As the hour approached on Friday, Gabi was getting ready to have Shaun over again, while also getting excited on Monica's behalf.

"This is going to be good for you, Mon," Gabi said. "I mean, even if he turns out to be a dud."

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica grins at Porter's clear infatuation with the older professor. She had to admit he had good taste. She was hot for a ginger for sure. Still, class took some of her concentration and she was glad for the distraction from her pain.

As the week wore on and her shoulder stopped being a massive pain and more of an irritation. Still, it was a good reminder not to be doing anything she shouldn't till she had an opportunity to get home and see what dad had for her. As Friday approached she was tentatively excited. Her Instagram and whatnot pretty much had Tom and what happened all over it, so she knew Austin knew and she didn't have to have that conversation. He still seemed interested in hanging out too.

When Gabi made the comment about being a dud she laughed "you've seen him. More stud than dud." she made a gesture like she was fanning herself, but inside she was nervous. She wasn't so sure she was ready to move on. Austin seemed like a sweet guy and she didn't wanna jerk him around.. but he was also a star athlete and maybe the midwestern dork thing was how he got what he wanted and got out. Part of her felt like that almost might be better. It would feel less like a betrayal of Tom if she somehow got played and she could move on. Most of her wanted his sweet dorky side to be real though, with all of the attendant risks that came with him being genuine. "But stud or not movie night is going to be pg-13 at best."

 

[Halcyon638]

"Remember, you're allowed to say 'fuck' once in a PG-13 movie, so use it wisely," Gabi said, smiling. "Just have a good time, okay? You deserve that."

A few moments later, there was a knock on the door. As Monica took one last glance in the mirror, Gabi said, "You look super hot. Go!" She shooed Monica toward the door.

She opened it to find Austin standing there, looking down at her and seeming even taller now, dressed up a bit but not trying too hard, his shirt showing up his powerful arms and shoulders. She was getting a closer look at his tattoos now. There was one that recalled Japanese woodcuts of an ocean scene, a little strange for a landlocked Midwesterner, a brick wall with two bricks missing, and a circular symbol with a flame in it. "Hey, lab partner," he greeted her.

Gabi came over and Monica introduced the two of them, Gabi mercifully not displaying the starstruck reaction she'd had in the gym earlier that week. "Hey," she said casually.

"Hi," he said. "I've heard a lot about you."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Monica said she'd rescue you if your apartment was on fire," he said, referring back to the first-day icebreaker.

"Oh, she did?" Gabi said. "That's a relief." After a bit more small talk with Austin, Gabi told him, "You treat my girl right, okay?"

"Absolutely," he said. "Nice to meet you," he said to Gabi as he and Monica headed downtown.

"So, let me just get this out of the way--you look great tonight," Austin said. They were only a few blocks away from the theater and the bustling night life of Prospect City--a bit classier than the usual night life Monica was used to, at least as classy as an area that would soon be teeming with drunken college kids could be. It wasn't just college kids, though, as it was also a cultural center with the city, one that she remembered her father and/or mother taking her to on a few of occasions to see a play or museum exhibit. "Just want you to know I'm putting my full trust in you because I don't know a thing about what we're seeing tonight," he said, Monica having picked out the movie.

"So you and Gabi are both from--Cottersville, right? What was that like? And here I was feeling like the small-town boy coming to Prospect City from Indianapolis," he noted as Monica felt a drop or two of possible rain on the back of her hand. "Was Prospect U your first choice, or...?"

Before long, they'd reached the street outside the theater.

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica had really wanted to pick a different picture, but she went slightly neutral with "Cyrano" The story was familiar enough, with Peter Dinklage in the titular role. The impressive but ugly Cyrano helps his rival woo the woman he loves by writing letters that express his own feelings. As they walked along, they chatted about coming to the city "Oh Cottersville is a no-horse town. There's basically the dam, and there's a sect of lutherans that settled there. Like real hardcore... I mean for Lutherans. Not like.. baptists or anything. It's all very 2005 there." She laughed as they walked along "my pastor growing up still has a flip phone. It's not exactly rushing into modern times. I dunno though. It was a good place to grow up. The only drug kids had was weed, which was everywhere. Vaping. I mean, did we get real drunk in fields and listen to shitty music a lot? sure but I mean... that's rural America for you. Coming from Indianapolis you're like...a thousand times more urban. Gabi was literally our only non-white kid until Evan Wu showed up in tenth grade. As for Prospect well... It was uh... It was Tom's choice. he came her last year and so of course I only applied here. My dad wanted me to go to State, he said the engineering programs were about the same but State was safer. I mean... he was right as it turned out. Gabi was tired of living in the middle of nowhere though and she wanted to come here too so... It all worked out in the end. For us I mean."

She pivoted to talking about him instead "So why here? I mean ... ok so I confess that despite having been a high school athlete I don't.... I don't actually uh... like... basketball. So all I know about it is basically from like... watching Hoosiers. But if Gene Hackman taught me anything, he taught me that Indiana is like... a state of good basketball programs. You have uh... Indiana... and uh... Ball State? I mean. Unless that's named for testicles it seems like it should probably have a pretty good basketball team. It'd be like naming yourself "Natatorium University" and not having a swim team."

 

[Halcyon638]

Austin laughed often as Monica spoke, clearly enjoying himself. "That's totally fine about not liking basketball. Actually, it's...kind of a relief. Being...semi-good at it, I get a lot of girls who are either super into it or are into being with a star athlete and so they'll pretend to like it." Pausing, he said, "God, I just said 'I get a lot of girls.' I didn't mean it in...I mean, I meet a good number of girls who want to be meet a basketball 'star'," he added, breaking out the air quotes, "rather than just hanging out with some normal dude."

"This is totally going to sound like a cliche, and maybe I am one," Austin noted when she asked about his decision to attend Prospect U, "but I've got one of those overbearing sports dads and I needed to put a bunch of states in between us. He played at Indiana and he was my high school coach so he's been prepping be to play basketball for as long as I can remember. He's not terrible or anything, but you know parents. So, what sport did you play in high school?"

A few passersby, both men and women, shouted out "Austin!" and he smiled and waved. Some of them conceivably could have been friends but others were over 30 and seemed more likely to just be fans of the team.

"Yeah...should have warned you about this shit," he said, face reddening as they walked into the theater, both checking their phones to find their seats. "Hey, Tyrion is in this? Cool." After they had settled in and talked a bit more, the lights began to dim.

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica responded "I ran track and swam, but I was never a star. Always the bridesmaid. I'm just... not that fast." She laughed "but they needed me to round out the team and I was consistently second or third so." she shrugged, having been capable of blowing the other girls away, but her parents had told her never to stand out. She didn't see what would be wrong with winning occasionally. Surely the government wasn't spying on every girl with a fast track time. They wouldn't be moved though, and she learned to push herself by always being second, which was harder than actually being first. "I understand the weight of expectation from parents." Her mother, in fact, had been very angry she hadn't gone off into space and searched with her for their people. She had a 'duty to her caste and her people as a noble warrior of the Centauri Battle Caste' and she was 'a shirker and a disappointment' and while, to be fair that comment had been directed at her father the look she gave made it clear she felt betrayed by Monica and her father both. "Sometimes maybe a little space is a good thing. Still... important to keep up that tie." Truth be told she missed her absent mother as much as she missed Tom, and when he died she honestly missed her more. Missed having her there to comfort her. Still, no need to dwell on the maudlin. She was out with a cute boy. She ordered a popcorn and a Dr. Pepper, then they sat and settled in. The movie was good, a little tragic at first as Cyrano's unrequited love for his childhood friend Roxanne was made all the more tragic by his assistance of the man who she thought she loved. As each scene unfolded and Cyrano's heart was poured out all for his rival's benefit it was bittersweet. It wasnt exactly a big popcorn movie, but it had moments of humor and a love story. She only knew the bare details of the story because of the Steve Martin classic "Roxanne."

As a result, she was stunned by the ending. The rival and Cyrano are shipped off to war after Roxanne marries the rival. The rival, realizing that his wife really loves Cyrano and doesn't know it, sacrifices his own life to save Cyrano. Cyrano, wounded, returns home where Roxanne realizes he had written all the letters and it was Cyrano she loved all along, however Cyrano dies of his own wounds after her confession. "Jesus" she mutters as the credits roll "I didn't realize this movie was such a fucking downer. I'm really sorry. The only other thing I wanted to see was 'drive my car' because I love the work of Haruki Murakami who wrote the original story but... I didn't think subtitles was really a first date thing. Clearly I picked the wrong movie"

 

[Halcyon638]

"You don't need to apologize," Austin said as they exited the theater. A light rain was falling now. I love a good tragic love story. Beren and Luthien. Lost in Translation. Well, that one's maybe more sad than tragic, since nobody dies. Maybe we can catch Drive My Car another night. I don't mind subtitles."

The rain began to die down as they walked back to campus. Along the way, Austin was hailed by a few more fans and/or friends. The topic of weekend plans came up. "Well, tomorrow I've got homework, laundry, working out, then hanging out with some friends. Probably more of the same on Sunday, but maybe a little more free time in the afternoon or that night. What about you?" At one point, she felt his hand brush hers, as if trying to initiate holding her hand.

They reached the steps of Monica's apartment. "I had a really good time with you tonight," Austin said.

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica laughs "Beren and Luthien? So you actually read the Silmarillion? I didn't have the capacity for it. To me it read like the begats part of the bible. Then did F guy son of F guy go then unto the land of whatever which was at that time called something else and was not yet called this other thing, and said unto them, Hi. Im F guy" She grins "Couldn't handle it."

She let him hold her hand a little, feeling sort of girlishly giddy about it even if she vaccilated between just wanting a nice new friend and wanting her tall, well built new friend to lift her and pound her against a wall while saying foul dirty things to her. It was sweet though and it felt nice to be wanted. "I'm going home there's some things I left there." which was true. That those things were alien technology designed to help her fight muggers in the park in the dead of night was more of a second date thing. Or a twentieth wedding anniversary thing. When they got to her door she paused and turned, still holding his hand "Me too. I mean, I'd like to do it again some time but... Also I know you have practice and all that kind of stuff so. Whenever. Obviously I'm... not rushing into anything. What with my whole thing" she stepped in though, putting her hand on his chest, tilting her face up to look up into his eyes, parting her lips just a touch and hopefully invitingly without being too forward about it.

 

[Halcyon638]

"Yeah, I could see bailing on it," Austin said, referring to The Silmarillion. "Full disclosure: I read it for a girl in high school. Alice Schaeffer. She dumped me like a month later," he smiled.

He held her hand when she allowed him to, and seemed to sense when to let go.

When Monica mentioned the possibility of doing it again some time, he said, "Sure, no rush." As she looked up at Austin, he paused for a moment, his green-blue eyes looking into hers. He gently put his arms around her, then pulled her slightly toward him while he leaned down.

Monica felt his stiff stubble brush up against her as their lips came together. Opening her mouth a bit, she felt his tongue just begin to caress hers, the pace deliberate. Tentative, yet firm.

Austin let her go and stepped back. "Have a good night," he said. He was containing a grin, which seemed strange considering how freely he seemed to smile regularly. He turned around and headed down the walkway away from her apartment, checking his phone when he got about fifteen steps away.

As Monica walked into the apartment, she found the television was still on, a thriller of some kind on pause. She could hear Gabi and Shaun in Gabi's bedroom. Still adhering to the couch rule, she mentally noted. Monica recalled that she still had some laundry to gather to take to her house, and didn't want to leave it until the morning to give herself a bit more time to sleep in.

They did sound louder than last time, though. She noted with amusement that a pair of boxers were strewn on the floor outside Gabi's door. In their apparent rush, they had also left that door open, though only a couple of inches.

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica floated in to the apartment. She felt giddy like she hadn't since her first date with Tom when she was 16 and he was a cool Junior with his own car. She thought about looking in on her room mate but instead just quietly kicked Shaun's boxers into the room and loudly shut the door. She smirked at that and then gathered up her things, putting them in a bag. As she listened to the two fuck she muttered "it is going to be a long semester." She threw on some music. Classic rock of the 90s from her spotify. As the sounds of Temple of the Dog covered up the deep moans of a girl who never came with another person in the room before, Monica set about doing her reading for psychology. It mostly seemed like bullshit, like a series of guesses and tinkering based on people's feelings at the moment. At the same time she wasn't Tom Cruise and she did believe in it. She just believed its study was as primitive as everything else on this planet. She wondered at the accomplishments of the psychologists of her lost home and imagined a simple easy ray that just made you think right. She laughed at the thought and closed her eyes, leaning back in her chair.

She was exhausted from the week. From the emotional highs and lows of it. From the sheer adrenaline rush of everything that happened to her. Within a few minutes, she was asleep in her chair and she stayed there until she came to wake with a jerk, her body having moved subtly so she had that sensation of falling that made waking up so terrifying sometimes. She blinked and looked over at the time. 2 am. She could hear gabi and shaun laughing in the next room and shook her head "a long semester" she smiled for her friend though and crawled into bed, not bothering to get undressed.

Rumpled she woke up early and headed down to the street to wait for her father to come pick her up.

 

[Halcyon638]

"You look tired, kiddo," James said as they pulled away from the university. "You weren't...out, last night were you? You know what I mean."

When Monica assured him she hadn't been fighting crime, he turned down the Black Keys album he'd kept in the CD player for about 3 years now. "I want to again stress that my agreeing to build some gear for you is in no way meant to signal that I'm 100% on board with this," he said. "But I know you're like your mother--there's nothing I can do once you've got your mind set on something."

They stopped for a late breakfast. "So, how are classes going? How's Gabi? I think I got a whopping total of 4--no, maybe 5 texts from you all week. I assume you're too busy studying most of the time," her father said, a wry grin on his face.

As they waited for the server to bring the check, her father shook his head at his phone. "God. Another murder in the city last night. Did you see this?" He showed her the headline.

WITNESS IN GANGLAND TRIAL FOUND DEAD IN CELL

"They finally had something on Federov," he said. In a lower voice, he added, "Whatever you do, don't get mixed up with the Russians."

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica nods "that sounds like super good advice for me to have had before" She grins at her dad to make a joke of it, and doesn't mention the men she attacked her first night were russian. Maybe she could just stay clear of them now. Or maybe... she could make that a focus. Have her teenage rebellious faze later than most.

She chattered about her classes, she talked a good bit about Gabi devoting her time to studying biology. She looked out the window for a long while "Dad? Do ... do you think its ok that I might have met someone?" She brushes her hand through her hair, getting it out of her face. Her father had been concerned about her dating a human with Tom, and now... "I mean. Is it too soon? I know after mom left it took you years and... well... i mean there's still no second Mrs. Bergensen"

 

[Halcyon638]

Monica's father sipped his coffee as she asked him about meeting Austin. "Monica...I'm probably not the right person to ask about this," he said. "All I mean to say is...I don't know much about these kinds of things. This is one of those times--and there are a lot--I wish your mother was here. Not that she would have been much better to ask." A bittersweet smile spread across his lips.

"This is kind of a cop-out," he added, "but there's no one I respect more than you. So I suppose the question is, does it feel okay? Because I'm sure you'll make the right decision."

As they made their way back into the car and hit the road, he said, "You know, with Tom, it was different. You were younger then, and I wasn't sure if we were going to...stay put with these people. That's what I was worried about." He flicked on his signal and began to switch lanes. "So, are you going to tell me about this guy? Or am I going to have to cyberstalk him"

When their driveway appeared in sight, James asked, "I forgot--are you staying the night or am I driving you back this evening? Just trying to get a handle on a plan for dinner."