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The inquisitive nature on Carter's face was half-hidden by the pillow he held so close. Perhaps it was much easier not to directly be able to look at her, though even he couldn't help the way his eyes did so gravitate in her direction. Her answers were simple, but they were well thought out. Plotted in micro-seconds, like she was really that good. Everything he ever said was purely off the cuff; spur of the moment.
"That's all I needed to know." He mused then, and with that he twisted his face so she couldn't see him again. Eyes closed, like he could genuinely sleep in the clothes he'd gotten there in. An inebriated state made just about anything possible. After all, he'd somehow ended up in her bed, she just wasn't in it with him.
Raising a hand, he waved it in the direction he thought she was in; "Enjoy yourself, Luxanna." He offered lazily.
Carter Chevalier
Usually I hold the power with both my hands tied behind my back
Carter had to give it to her there; he had never really been one for friendships. His only living friendship was with Dom, and they were brothers, so that was already twisted. Every other one of his friends was someone he had definitely slept with. He looked at her and he couldn't stop the way he smirked, because no, he didn't really have a lot of friends.
Next argument? Were they really fighting about this? He had a serious look of contemplation on his face, like he was truly trying to find a way to get through to her.
"Can't we keep each other company, Luxanna?" He asked her instead. It was with genuine curiosity that he asked her the question, like he craved the answer more than anything.
Carter Chevalier
Usually I hold the power with both my hands tied behind my back
The idea of Lux in the guest room had Carter opening his eyes finally. He blinked slowly, adjusting to just how tired staying still had made him. He scoffed into her pillow, but he doubted she heard it.
"Oh come on, Luxanna." He added for good measure, waving his hand idly like she could see it. "We're both adults and we're friends." After all, she hadn't exactly denied it. Now was the time to bring it back up.
"If you think you can keep your hands to yourself, I see no reason why two friends can't share one bed for one night, no?"
Carter Chevalier
Usually I hold the power with both my hands tied behind my back
When Lux didn't say anything, Carter assumed he could call that yet another win for himself on that night. This was hardly the bed he expected to end up in. Hell, he thought she'd be gone forever in this life, but there he was.
And there she went.
To where? He didn't know. But her milling about was starting to... Irk him? Perhaps that was too harsh a thought. Still, he opened his mouth, even if he still hadn't opened his eyes.
"Where are you going?" He said, and for once, it actually sounded like he was whining.
Carter Chevalier
Usually I hold the power with both my hands tied behind my back
Though she tried, Carter had already made a point of folding her precious pillow around the crook of his arm. It was forsure his now, and he wouldn't give it up for much.
Not even murderous dolls.
"As your esteemed guest on this night, I'm sure they'll forgo their natural urges." He mused aloud, shifting closer to the wall, "You are, after all, the mother of furbies. And this time, I plan on being a perfect gentlemen in their presence."
Carter Chevalier
Usually I hold the power with both my hands tied behind my back
Unfamiliar hands reached for his own, making a blatant connection that had every intention of removing him. Carter didn't fight her, raising his hands with a slow step back. He kept them up for good measure as he watched the way she worked.
And as he turned around, he took a few steps and let himself plummet onto her bed. Hands curled into the nearest pillow and he dragged it up under his head. "They're still weird, Luxanna." He pointed out then, kicking his shoes off to save her blanket from any dragged snow or mud.
Carter Chevalier
Usually I hold the power with both my hands tied behind my back
Carter chose to ignore the way Lux seemed to hesitate. He sort of figured he'd get his own way in the end. After all, he often did. He followed her up the stairs without a second thought.
He glanced around the relatively boring hallway and his eyes caught the equally boring door that housed her room. Once it was open to him, he wandered right in like he owned the place. Footsteps carried him right towards the thing he was looking for; the furby collection.
Carter pressed his hands to the glass with a wide smile on his face. "You do still have them. I knew you would." And he still thought they were weird. Time couldn't ever erase that fact.
Carter Chevalier
Usually I hold the power with both my hands tied behind my back
Carter was more than a few steps behind her in every sense of the phrase. It took him a while to realise there were no lights on in the house. But then, it was after midnight. He could only assume people would be asleep. Most people would have been, right? Regardless of the occasion? If her family were anything like her, they wouldn't care about the event in the slightest.
He followed without a word, then walked blindly into the house he knew nothing about. A few steps in and he stopped, spinning on a heel to look at the body that presumably followed him inside.
"Show me your room." He said, his voice in a fast, hushed tone; "I need to check something."
Carter Chevalier
Usually I hold the power with both my hands tied behind my back
There was nothing wrong with silence for Carter. For him, he had nothing to do apart from look at her, so he was fine. He watched the way she nodded and noted how she didn't question him further. Was he such a hard person to talk to? He tilted his head to the side in curiosity, as if he'd actually aired the question to her.
It wasn't until she spoke that he realised he was in a driveway. Without looking, he fumbled for the seatbelt buckle and released himself. His other hand was just as useless at finding the door handle, but he made it and nearly fell out the side of the car when it did open. Dragging himself to his feet, he glanced at her and raised his index finger to his lips.
"Shh." They were still sneaking him in, right?
Carter Chevalier
Usually I hold the power with both my hands tied behind my back
Carter had so simply assumed that everyone knew the general course of his life. It was an incredible cliche, but they did so exist for a reason. Maybe she didn't know that, and maybe that was why she seemed so surprised. Then she asked him the question that no one else ever did. No one ever bothered to; perhaps because they knew he wouldn't answer it. Or they just didn't care. Either way, all he could do is stare at her.
And as he stared, he considered how right she was. He could have gone anywhere. He could, in theory, become anyone he wanted to be. It must have looked like every door was wide open to him.
"Perhaps I wasn't looking for anywhere. Perhaps I wasn't looking for somewhere new." He offered the thoughts as he had them. How one moved into another and he considered that he shouldn't say anything else.
Carter Chevalier
Usually I hold the power with both my hands tied behind my back
Honestly, Carter wanted more than the simple answer he received. He searched for a better explanation about why she chose the job she did. Surely it wasn't because it was the only thing available? There had to be more. Was it a lesson within itself? The best way to learn something was to be thrown into the deep end. He as pretty sure that's what people said about awkward and uncomfortable experiences.
"Fancy life?" He repeated with a laugh. To her though, sure, it might have looked glamorous.
He turned his head to look at her again, practically staring. While she was driving, he had the grace to look at her like he wanted to. She couldn't catch him, let alone deter him. "I worked with my father for a very long time. I spent that time studying the business I'm inevitably going to inherent so I'm at my best for when that time comes." She probably could have guessed that that would be his life, if she ever gave it much thought.
"But that won't be for a long time, and I felt I was wasting my time waiting for that to happen. So I left." He whistled a descending tune in the break; "Where else would I go?" He asked her. Most people sought this as a haven, so why not him?
Carter Chevalier
Usually I hold the power with both my hands tied behind my back
Carter didn't know what he expected from her. He didn't expect to hear some worldly travel; that didn't suit her. Or maybe it just didn't suit her budget. It sounded so typical. Carter imagined the way her life would progress if he left her in the small town environment where they met, and it seemed he was correct.
"I never imagined you behind a bar, if I'm honest. You never seemed the type for forced social interaction." And really, that was all her current job was. They might have been quick encounters for the most part, but they were countless.
Carter Chevalier
Usually I hold the power with both my hands tied behind my back
Carter looked around slowly, glancing at the door at his side. The seatbelt around his waist. His free hand tapped the glass. "Not completely stuck." He pointed out, literally pointing at the road they were travelling along.
She had a point. Carter nodded his head a few times idly, physically agreeing where his words couldn't. Perhaps he was reading too into things, but he was positive it sounded like she wanted him to ask. Had something drastic happened? Something amazing? Or was it as mundane as he - hopefully incorrectly - assumed it was.
"Then tell me about your last four years, Luxanna. And I might tell you about mine." He said finally.
Carter Chevalier
Usually I hold the power with both my hands tied behind my back
Carter was so ready to point out that there was probably a great reason he was so annoying to her, but he stopped herself. For once, his muddled mind allowed him to me smart enough to keep his mouth shut. She was already doing him a pretty big favour by not kicking him out to the street, so he needed to count his blessings.
He eased back in the seat again, glancing forward before drawing his eyes closed.
"Would being snowed in be the worst thing in the world?" He mused aloud, not necessarily to her but just in general. "You and I, alone again. Literally stuck inside a small, confined space. Then you'd have no choice but to tell me all about your last four years." After all, it did sound interesting. She did seem like a little bit of a different person.
Carter Chevalier
Usually I hold the power with both my hands tied behind my back
That sounded like an agreement to Carter, and the fact that they were on the same page had him grinning instinctively. At least they both disregarded the idea that he was a stranger; that was a joke worth laughing at, especially given their particular history. He'd remind her of that later, if he got the chance. If he remembered to.
Surely his offer seemed better. But the response she gave highly indicated that she wasn't having a bar of the newly developed label Carter wanted to put on them. He initially raised his hand to indicate that fine, it was probably going to be her way over not at all.
"What, you don't like it?" He asked her, tilting his head to the side as his eyebrows narrowed, "Is this the part where you tell me we're not friends? Or that we'll never be friends?" His free hand clutched his chest in obvious agony; "Luxanna, please."
