Rot your brain

Scott trudges back into his room after having taken a quick shower and changed his clothes. Though looking somewhat refreshed, his eyes tell a different story - he was completely worn out. He'd been able to sleep the rest of the night through without incident, but the mental trauma was taking its toll.

Easing down on the bed, he pulls his legs up to sit cross-legged, his head hanging. It was a little strange having Hope here when he woke up this morning, but she'd helped him through the night, so it was appreciated. Though still upset with how she'd brought him here, he could separate the two feelings and be able to at least still let her be here and absorb the comfort she offered.

"Is it curable?" His question came out of nowhere. He'd said good morning briefly a while earlier, but had been quiet otherwise. He knew Hope was going to go get some breakfast for them soon, but his question had been lingering in the back of his mind, and he needed an answer.

He finally looks up to study her face as she sat in the chair. "Can I really beat this or... or am I eventually really just gonna go crazy?"


Ty jumps the curb with his bicycle, spinning to a stop in front of the library. He and Libby were supposed to meet Wyatt and Aerith for lunch today at Mom and Pop's, but it was a long enough ride that Ty was going to catch a ride the rest of the way with Libby so he wouldn't have to pedal the whole way. He did sometimes, but it was just as well, so he'd get to spend even more time with her.

They'd been spending much free time together lately. Reading hadn't been going very well, but Ty wasn't getting tired of being with her. Since their first kiss, they were discovering a new fondness for each other, and venturing a few kisses here and there, Ty was liking the way their relationship was going... slowly and cautiously but just enough for them to both know that there was more than just friendship here. The thing Ty liked the most though, was knowing they could just hang out and be themselves... just be friends, whether there was more underneath or not. He hung out with Wyatt sometimes, but Libby was the only one he really did anything yet. So having her as a friend and a girlfriend... was a bonus.

Figuring he'd toss his bike in the back of her truck when they left, he goes ahead and goes inside, now knowing his way down to the basement where Libby would be working. He was a few minutes earlier, but that just meant he could chat with her for a little while before they left.

Heading downstairs, he was dressed as usual in his jeans, a tee and his denim jacket. That was another thing he liked about Libby... she took him just as he was.

Arriving to the dim, musty room, he enters quietly, looking around stacks of books to find her. She wasn't sitting at the table, but he finally spots her off to one side of the room, gathering some books from a shelf. Her back was turned - a perfect moment for some mischief.

Sneaking up behind her, he drapes his arms over her shoulders, pulling her back against his chest. "Don't you know if you read too much, it'll rot your brain?" he teases.

Not waiting for a response, he tilts his head around from behind to give her cheek a kiss, his arms still around her.


"So did she ever get that kiss?"

Eli's head pops up from his side of the car to smirk at Tal. "Maybe. No thanks to you."

Tal grins and keeps working on his fender. "What? No bragging? No hype? That's not like you."

Eli shakes his head and focuses on his work again. "I got too much work to do to go into details."

"Went that badly, huh?" Tal teases. "What did she do? Knock you off your bike? Or refuse when you finally did go in for the kiss?"

"Tal!" Eli chides. "Cut it out!"

Tal's eyebrows rise a little and he looks over Neil. It certainly wasn't like Eli to remain close-mouthed about a date. Maybe he really hadn't been amused with the antics about last night. Maybe he and Scarlet hadn't even really met up afterward at all. Maybe Tal had played along with the act too much and he'd ruined something. "If I did anything to-"

Eli comes up from the other side to look over the hood again. An amused grin was on his face. "Will you just shut up and work?" His grin widens. "You didn't do anything. Now come on. We were supposed to have this done half an hour ago."

Tal is even more confused now, but finally just shrugs and starts working again. It really was none of his business, though with Eli's peculiar mood, it just made him even more curious.


Alec gives a little groan and stretches, yawning then finally relaxing again as his arm flops back over Ryan. It was late morning and he knew he needed to get up. He'd woken up two hours prior when Eli had headed out, but he'd still been so comfortable that he just hadn't wanted to move. The result was him falling asleep again. Unfortunately, if he didn't get back to TJY pretty soon, he'd destroy the trust he'd just built up with Reese the day before.

"Can we just rewind to yesterday so I can stay here a while longer?" he mumbles. He hadn't had such a good night sleep in a very long time.