Rystelle

shadows.

Sophia shrugged, her mouth turned into a lopsided frown, as she ran her hands through her hair. "It's alright," she said, turning her frown into a half-hearted smile. "The incident with my grandmother happened a long time ago. She passed a few years ago and she's in a better place now, so while it's sad it's also good. I just didn't want to tell you about going through the tunnel since I had said we weren't going to go through them anymore. Plus I didn't want to worry you with anything else. I waited for that thing to go away for probably about half an hour, but when it didn't go away I knew I had to go through it. I couldn't very well climb out a two story window."

Feeling that this part of their conversation was pretty much wrapped up, Sophia turned and lay down on the floor so she was perpendicular with Tim. Putting her hands beneath her head she turned to look at Tim. "You know," Sophia started. "Life can be seriously crazy some times. Just absolutely positively nuts. But it can be good too. Especially when you have a good friend by your side. Thanks for being my friend, Tim. It makes things a lot better."

shadows.

Sophia felt an overwhelming sadness wash over her. For Tim to have felt so utterly alone, to have to feel that again... It must have been terrible for him. Sophia had felt alone before, but she had never felt as alone as Tim must have. As desolate, as unloved by one who was supposed to love you with all their heart. Sophia never wanted Tim to feel that alone again. She wouldn't let him, if she could help it.

Without saying a word Sophia reached out and took both of Tim's hands in hers. There was a look of gentle concern on her face as she gave Tim's hands a gentle squeeze. "It'll be alright," she told him softly. "You don't ever have to feel that alone again, Tim. I'm here for you. If you ever need me, no matter what time it is or where you are I'll come for you. That's a promise."

Sophia finally let Tim's hands go and she rested her hands on her lap. She looked down at the carpet for a moment and appeared to be thinking hard about something. After a moment she took a deep breath, heaved a great sigh, and then looked up at Tim. "So I went through the tunnel the other day too," Sophia confessed. "I didn't have much of a choice, really." She told Tim about how she had gone to leave her bedroom and the tunnel had been there. She hadn't been able to call him and she had no choice but to go through the door. She told him about how she had wound up in an empty version of her apartment, about hearing the voices, running scared back to her room--her real room--and why the voices had scared her so much.

shadows.

Sophia looked around the living room--normally tidy, now a mess--and looked at Tim. He appeared to be an utter wreck. She felt her heart clench in her chest. She wanted to go over to him, hug him, do whatever she could to make him feel better. But she knew this wasn't a time she could do that. So instead Sophia closed the door and locked it behind her. Without even bothering to shrug off her jacket or dust the snow out of her hair she sat cross-legged on the floor across from Tim. She made sure to give him plenty of space so he wouldn't feel like she was too close. After a moment of silence she finally asked, "Do you want to talk about it, Tim?"

shadows.

Sophia saw the text when she woke up the next morning. Instantly she was worried and wanted to rush over to Tim's apartment, but she was opening at the cafe and was the one with the keys. Her parents would be running the evening shift. Sophia had no choice other than to head into work. It was a looooong day. The hours seemed to drag on and Sophia was impatient to go see Tim. Still she managed to keep up a professional appearance. Eventually it was time for her parents to take over and Sophia made a quick exit after finishing her duties. She quickly walked over to the bakery, but once in the side door she ran up the steps until she was in front of Tim's apartment. "Tim?" She called out anxiously as she knocked on the door. "I'm here. Are you alright?"

shadows.

Sophia filled the rest of her night by washing dishes, cleaning the kitchen, and then getting ready for bed. As she worked and got settled in for bed Sophia found herself thinking of stuff she hadn't in a long time--things that couples did together. Without really meaning for it to happen, Tim appeared beside her in her mind's eye in every scenario. Going out on a date, going for walks, laying on the couch at home cuddled up together while watching a movie, and a million other things too. As time went on and Sophia realized what she was thinking about she became increasingly embarrassed. Her face flushed red and she found herself absentmindedly repeating or messing up simple tasks without meaning to. At the same time Sophia couldn't help but feel giddy, happy, positively ecstatic even. She had no idea why she was so happy, but she couldn't stop from feeling like her heart was going to bubble over. When Sophia went to bed the last thing that appeared in her mind was Tim's face and she thought about earlier when she lay her head on his shoulder and when he grabbed her hand and held it as they walked back to his apartment. With these thoughts in her mind Sophia fell asleep with a smile on her face.

shadows.

Sophia tucked her hands in her pockets in an attempt to preserve the warmth that quickly threatened to fade away. She didn't realize Tim was staring at her because she was too busy noticing the tiny details about him. The way his hair fell in his eyes, how his shoulders were broad even though he had a slim build, how much taller he was than her, how he exuded this quiet aura that only seemed to make him more alluring. "You're welcome," Sophia automatically replied. "Well, I should probably get going now. Still got that walk home in the cold. I hope you like the food. Oh, and I have work tomorrow so you'll know where I'll be. Anyway... Night, Tim. Thanks again." Yes! Sophia thought excitedly to herself. I didn't fuck it up! She gave him a smile, then turned and headed down the stairs and back out into the cold. But Sophia didn't feel cold on the walk home. She felt warm from the inside out. She could still recall the feeling of her hand in Tim's even though his warmth was gone. But by the time Sophia stood outside the door of her apartment she was once more worried about the thought of being in a relationship. Could she do something like that again? Could she risk being hurt again? Did she want to? Did she want to find someone to love and to love her, even though she could be hurt? And then Sophia had a revelation. She was stupid. Stupid to believe that she could have any kind of relationship at all without there being hurt at some point or another. There would be fights, disappointment, and tears. Every relationship had them. Family, friendships, love. She had experienced them before, and she would experience them again. But what mattered was working through them, working to make things better, to make the relationship stronger. No matter what type of relationship it was. Sophia knew that long ago she had wanted to start dating again. She had just told herself not to. And maybe that was for the better. Maybe she had somehow known that it wasn't the right time, that the right guy hadn't come along. Until Tim. He was sweet and kind, fun to be with, and Sophia liked that he could open up to her. Not to mention he was definitely cute. She had a crush on him for sure and she couldn't deny it to herself. She wouldn't, she thought. But she would still try not to let it show around Tim until she knew how he felt about her. Finally Sophia entered her apartment, feeling better than she had in a long time. The next day at work she would no longer find herself shying away from couples, but rather hoping that maybe at some point that would be her. Maybe with Tim...

shadows.

Sophia felt like her head was all jumbled up. She liked Tim but she was still scared of getting hurt. She wanted to try dating again, but if she told Tim she had a crush on him would he return her feelings? Was he holding her hand because he was trying to get more used to physical contact? Or did simply want to hold her hand? If he did was it merely a friendly gesture or did he like her? So many thoughts going round and round in her head. Sophia increasingly felt she was growing wishy-washy in her decisions and wants. Her mind seemed to buzz as if there was a horde of bees flying around the inside of her skull. But if one thing was for sure it was that, no matter what, Sophia didn't want to let go of Tim's hand. His hand was big enough to envelope hers, but their fingers fit perfectly together. It was warm too, as was the rest of Tim. Sophia could feel the heat radiating off of him as she stood close beside him with their arms almost but not quite touching. They were in front of the door to Tim's apartment now and Sophia knew she was going to have to let go of Tim's hand and then make the trek back alone to her apartment. She didn't want to, but she had to. Still, in an attempt to keep the moment a few more precious seconds longer Sophia said, "I had fun tonight. Thanks for coming over, Tim."

shadows.

"That's a relief," Sophia sighed. She gave Tim a small smile, then stood waiting for him to start walking again. But for a bit he seemed frozen in place. It was long enough for Sophia to notice the snowflakes clinging to his hair and jacket. If he stood there long enough she imagined that Tim would be covered in snow, just like in cartoons. The thought was kind of funny as she further imagined him dragging him back to one of their apartments and thawing him out with a hair dryer and then making him some warm tea. Then Tim moved and Sophia's thoughts went right out the window as she suddenly found her hand in Tim's. Sophia's heart gave a sudden start and she felt it drop into her stomach and bounce back up in an instant. She couldn't tell if she was nervous or surprised that Tim had actually taken her hand. React, she told herself. React or Tim might move away. She thought about it without really thinking about it. Sophia simply wanted to hold Tim's hand and so she seized the opportunity and laced their fingers together, leaned against him for a moment. Her face was red, but with it being so cold it was hard to know if it was from shyness or the wind. After a while she managed, "We should... should probably get going. S'cold out here." But she still held Tim's hand a little tightly, unwilling to let him go for the rest of their walk.

shadows.

Sophia gave Tim a look that was something like, 'Who the hell cares?' She shook her head and asked, "Does it matter? If we look foolish, we look foolish. There a lot of other things out there that are worse to look stupid doing. No matter what I'm going to play in the snow because I want to! If anyone else doesn't like it or think it's childish then they can just suck it!" Then Sophia gave Tim a wide grin. Why worry about the small things? Enjoying yourself was important, not what others thought. Then she noticed that Tim was looking at her a bit funny and suddenly she was worried. Well, perhaps what some people thought mattered. Like what Tim thought. "What's wrong?" She asked, frowning a bit as her brow furrowed with concern. "Do I have something stuck on my face?" Without really thinking about it she went to wipe her mouth on her jacket sleeve, but when she checked it nothing was there.

[M or F 18+ -- Casual to Advance] Rystelle's List

I've never watched it before so I can't very well do an rp on something I have no knowledge of.