Like a Bat out of Hell

[Miriam Bell]

It's early in the morning when Miriam slinks back into the dorms. Her clothes, especially her sleeves, have dark crusty patches on them that would be more obviously blood if it wasn't for the dark fabric. Her features are still distorted though that's only part of what's making her look haggard and worn, her slumped posture and rotten mood almost contributing the lion's share of making her look more Nosferatu than Anne Rice. Opening the door to her room she slips inside like the wretched creature of the night she feels like at the moment.

[Haley Crusek]

Haley was passed out in her desk chair, snoring when her roommate returned, and the noise startled her awake. When she saw what she looked like at the moment she let out a yelp and fell backwards, stopping herself from slamming into the ground with her chair by floating into the air with her TK.

[Miriam Bell]

Yeah that seems about right...

"It's just me." she says, trying to sound reassuring, but with the night she's had she sounds tired and angry instead.

[Haley Crusek]

Haley sighed, floating to her feet and then righting her chair. “Jesus, you look like hell. Are you okay?”

[Miriam Bell]

"I haven't been 'okay' in a long time..." Miriam says as she let's herself fall onto her bed as dignified as possible.

[Haley Crusek]

“More than normal, I mean,” she replied, sitting back down in her chair and propping her feet up on her desk.

[Miriam Bell]

"What gave it away. Is it the horrible visage? Because somehow I feel even worse than I look."

[Haley Crusek]

“Yeah. You look like someone made one of those caricature sketches you get at a theme park come to life. And it was drawn by whoever made the Addams Family. And he was high as fuck.”

[Miriam Bell]

"And you wonder why we don't get along."

[Haley Crusek]

“You hated me from day one because I’m not a great telepath like you. And the last time I went out of my way to be friendly and take care of you, you nearly ate me,” she grumbled.

“...but I’m sorry if that offended you,” she added after a beat.

[Miriam Bell]

Miriam bursts out laughing. And not even sarcastically, although it does sound a little desperate or unhinged.

"Yes, bloody great telepath that I am I could. Not. Shut. You. Out. You're loud, you're impulsive and rash, you're so bloody American it's like a lorry driving through my damn skull. Sorry. Truck." she adds, this time with that dry sarcasm. "I got tricked, lost my one actual friend when I tried to help him, bloody died so undignified it only sort of stuck, drove my girlfriend into cult of loonies, almost got killed again by my former friend, accidentally turned him into a murderer and almost killed some rich magnate's daughter tonight because I let her talk me into tripping my buttocks off on some insane mutant juice, a trip that does not seem to have ended yet because why else would you seem to be wearing a bloody cowboy hat in the middle of the god damn night." she ends her rant on a comment that is definitely not factually accurate.

"So I am so very sorry if I bit you. Once. Because I was hungry and lonely and lost every last person who ever gave even the slightest shit about me."

[Haley Crusek]

Haley seemed to be, for once in her life, very much lost for words, and surprisingly good at shutting up her inner monologue.

"Sorry," was all she managed after a moment, feeling a bit guilty.

[Miriam Bell]

"Don't. I... don't exactly deserve it. I am just at the end of what was already a very short rope. I thought... I'm not even sure what I was thinking. Just, please, I get enough loathing from my own mind, I really don't need it from yours right now..."

[Haley Crusek]

“Fine. Can we just restart? Try to coexist a bit better? I think we would both be happier if we didn’t try to actively avoid each other and could be comfortable in our own room.”

She sighed, “look we don’t need to be friends but like. I dunno. I’m still kind of drunk. Words are hard.”

The room did smell pretty strongly of vodka.

[Miriam Bell]

"I haven't exactly been trying very hard..." she admits. "I've taken every opportunity to be elsewhere that presented itself and that had little to do with you. I just... wasn't exactly motivated to try, because I didn't want to stay here to begin with."

"You know why your stupid... 'Texas' brain is so obnoxious? You have a home, a place your from, somewhere you belong. Even if you hate it here, in this room in particular, at least you have that. And I'm envious."