Room 329 | Wednesday Evening

[robinonadderall]

Stiles was not making his usual trip to the bar tonight. Not because he was avoiding Derek (yes he was), but because he was very busy (no he wasn't). Very busy. He had a portal for Beacon Hills to book. And Lydia to text. And Taylor Swift to listen to. Mostly Taylor Swift to listen to.

Hers was the music of sadness.

[Elaine made me. Door and post are open]

Comments

[whenshewasnice]

"... Are you okay?"

Yes, that was Natalie in the doorway.

Yes, that question was mostly coming from a certain judginess that said no one would be willingly listening to Taylor Swift if they were fine. That was why she was investigating.

[robinonadderall]

Sadly, Stiles listened to Taylor Swift all the time.

"Oh I'm fine," he said, sitting up in his bed. "...you can hear the music from the hall, can't you?"

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie just nodded.

"Yeah."

But hey, at least her general mildness meant the judging wasn't too obvious.

[robinonadderall]

Stiles turned red because, yes, as much as he liked Taylor Swift he still had the good sense to be embarrassed by it. "I uh...yeah I've got nothing."

[whenshewasnice]

"Well, you've got bad music," Natalie quipped. Her mildness couldn't really do anything to verbal judgment, apparently. "So I guess that's something."

[robinonadderall]

"She's a Grammy winner." That meant she had talent!

[whenshewasnice]

Didn't mean it wasn't getting squandered in boring music!

"So do a lot of other people I'm not fond of," Natalie replied with half a shrug. "But, bad's subjective, and they don't ask me when they give the awards out."

[robinonadderall]

"Do you like that tinkly indie hipster music?" he teased.

[whenshewasnice]

"Some of it." Of course she did. "But lately, more slightly older, more classic stuff."

Or to put it another way, 'wow, Mr. Moxy's probably sick of the greatest hits of Mama Cass by now'.

[robinonadderall]

Stiles nodded like he approved. "Do you think less of me because of my love for T. Swift?"

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie paused, so she probably didn't actually have to weigh her answer. Probably. "No," she decided. "We all do things we shouldn't be proud of."

[robinonadderall]

"Oh thank god," Stiles said, putting a hand against his chest. "I had no clue how I'd win my way back into your good graces."

[whenshewasnice]

"What makes you think you were in my good graces to begin with?"

It was probably the makeout thing, right? She was joking, anyway. Trying to get back into the swing of this 'talking to people like a normal person' thing.

[robinonadderall]

"Well you're in my room," Stiles said. "You could have just yelled about my terrible taste in music from the hall."

Also he was kind of a suck up when it came to girls like Natalie and he felt like that automatically got you into somebody's good graces.

[whenshewasnice]

"That would've drawn too much unnecessary attention," she retorted. "Also I'm barely in your room."

Because she was the type to just stand in people's doorways.

[robinonadderall]

"You could come in further if you want." That...sounded more like flirting than he originally intended.

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie guessed as much. And looked faintly amused as she took a few casual steps further into the room.

"I'm not sure that was supposed to sound like it did."

[robinonadderall]

"Oh god how did it sound?" he asked.

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie briefly considered making up some kind of outlandish claim. But nah.

"A little bit flirtatious."

[robinonadderall]

"Oh." Yeah, he could see that. "Is that bad?"

[whenshewasnice]

"Yes," she deadpanned. "I'm horribly offended and scandalized."

[robinonadderall]

"I've scared people off this week already," he said. "I don't want to scare you off."

[whenshewasnice]

"Stiles, I think I'd have a better shot at scaring you off." She shook her head. "Who did you scare?"

[robinonadderall]

"Just one of my dumbass friends," he said, shaking his head. "...wait, how would you scare me off?"

You were a beautiful, aggressive girl, Natalie, there was no way you could scare him off.

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie shrugged a shoulder. "I can get intense when I want to. Some people have a hard time handling that."

Although in her exeperience, she'd scared more people off by being emotionally complicated to an extreme, but whatever.

[robinonadderall]

"Is weird you being intense makes me more, uh--" Don't say attracted, don't say attracted. "--intrigued by you?"

There. Intrigued was a safe word.

[whenshewasnice]

Sure it was.

"Weird, no. Potentially unwise, yes."

[robinonadderall]

"Oh potentially unwise I'm used to," he said. "I make unwise choices all the time."

[whenshewasnice]

"Mm." She paused, twisting her lips. "I'd like to claim to find that hard to believe, but really, I don't."

[robinonadderall]

"I'm a sheriff's son, I have to do my best to defy expectations," he said. "Or is it like a son of a pastor thing where they expect them to be troublemakers?"

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie shrugged. "I wouldn't know. I like defying expectations but my parents' professions have nothing to do with it."

[robinonadderall]

"If you're hoping to defy expectations here, you're out of luck," Stiles said. "'Cause I find you fairly unpredictable."

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie couldn't say she was surprised. She thought she'd been particularly unpredicatble around him, too.

She tilted her head, like she was curious. "And how does that make you feel?"

[robinonadderall]

"Out of my element," he admitted. "I'm not really used to people talking to me like you do."

[whenshewasnice]

"Well, it's good practice," she replied idly, glancing around the room. "You're bound to run into more people a little like me eventually."

Although give her a few years and she wasn't going to think there were any other people like her. Pale imitations, maybe.

[robinonadderall]

"Most new people I meet these days are trying to eat me. Not a metaphor," Stiles said. "Meeting more people like you would be refreshing."

More confusing, but refreshing.

[whenshewasnice]

"Yeah, I'm yet to try and eat anyone," Natalie replied, raising an eyebrow. "I may bite, but I don't draw blood."

Left a few bruises, though!

[robinonadderall]

And that was Stiles turning red again. Damn his overactive imagination. "I, uh, get the feeling most people you bite don't actually mind that."

[whenshewasnice]

"No complaints so far." Of course it was usually her nails that people should have been worrying about more. "You blush really easily."

Because it helped to draw attention to it.

[robinonadderall]

"Thank you for noticing." Because he loved having that stuff pointed out, really. "I think it's part of the whole 'out of my element' thing."

[whenshewasnice]

"And part of what makes you intriguing." She probably picked that word on purpose. "I was never much of a blusher."

[robinonadderall]

"You strike me as someone who is hard to take by surprise," Stiles said. Then something clicked. "--wait, you think I'm intriguing?"

[whenshewasnice]

"Yeah." She shrugged, and considered waiting for the inevitable 'why'. Then chose not to. "You're different from the kinds of people I've generally spent a lot of time around."

[robinonadderall]

"I've heard that before," he said. "Usually in a less flattering tone, so thanks."

[whenshewasnice]

"Well, most people deserve to get flattered a bit every once in a while." Even if it came from someone who had a weirdly predatory reaction to the attributes she was being flattering about. "And I'm generally pretty good at guessing at how much a person has going on beneath the immediate visible surface. That's what gets me intrigued."

[robinonadderall]

"Is that like a born skill or did you have to practice at it?" He liked to think he had that kind of skill to an extent. He was right about Matt, wasn't he?

[whenshewasnice]

"I think it's just part of my personality," Natalie mused. "Quiet observation yields results."

And yet there was still going to be that whole Todd fiasco.

[robinonadderall]

"Huh. I'm good at the observation part, I think." Kind of had to be, considering the family business. "It's the quiet part I'd have trouble with."

[whenshewasnice]

Shrug. "Whatever works. You're not quiet by nature."