2007-08-19: DF: Cheap Motel Magic

Starring:

DFEvelyn_icon.gif DFGene_icon.gif

Summary: As arranged in Old Friends and New Beginnings, Evelyn and Gene go out to a movie. Sort of.

Dark Future Date: August 19, 2009

Cheap Motel Magic


Somewhere amidst the ruins, NYC

The hotel was nice a long time ago. It's not now. Half the floor has been torn apart, likely due to the Mega-Tornado when it passed through the area. Still, the rooms on the far left were left almost untouched, protected by the building that it was once beside. Gene is an hour late, though he has on clothing that's nicer than usual. Dressed in slightly dusty and somewhat ripped powder blue dress shirt and a pair of cargo pants, Gene makes his appearance. The clothing HAD been in tact before the mission, but now, its seen better days. He doesn't seem to have any wounds on him.

The geek knocks on the door, giving an "It's Gene," before he walks in. The door is unlocked… Gene disassembled the hotel lock last night. If Evelyn is already there, Gene pulls out a laptop with a simple "Sorry I'm late Work kept me" before awkwardly working on getting the stuff attached. If she isn't here, he'll just work in silence. The laptop is placed where a TV once was, the device taken out a long time ago. The bed is still there and in one piece, Gene having changed the sheets and Freezed the heck out of the mattress. After all, it smelled lightly of homeless survivor. Still, Evelyn wanted a place that was neutral and free to destroy… this was the best he could do that could afford a bit of privacy.

Evelyn's here; she's been here. He said he was coming, earlier — and if he didn't, well, she can always just take advantage of having the place to sleep in. The knock on the door causes the girl to start from where she was gazing out the window, but the swirl of breeze it evokes settles back as Gene announces himself. Shoving her hair behind her ears, Evelyn smiles at his entrance. "Hey. Don't worry about it," she replies, shaking her head. Hazel eyes study his torn clothing, but she doesn't ask. Her own lightweight tan sweater and dusty black jeans aren't anything other than casual, but that doesn't bother Ev' in the least — not in this day and age. What she worries about is not blowing the building down, which is why she watches Gene for only a few minutes before returning to looking out the window. Her own apprehension keeps the air in the room moving just enough to be noticeable, which doesn't help any.

The young man doesn't notice or mind the wind, it would seem. He just continues his work. The laptop is turned on and the files are brought up. "Couple of my friends decided to get married after doing some work… Very spur of the moment," Gene offers with a weak grin, turning to look toward Evelyn as he asks a question. "I didn't keep you waiting too long, did I?"

Evelyn shakes her head even before turning back to look at Gene. "Nah. It's all good." Even if she did want to make an issue of it, what's the point? Better to enjoy the veneer of normality, for so long as it lasts. "Married?" the teen echoes, tipping her head to one side. "Good for them. I wish them the best," she adds with a crooked smile. Stepping away from the window, she perches on one corner of the bed, grumbling under her breath as she shoves stray hair back again.

"Me too. Should be interesting to see how things play out in the weeks to come. They've been together for awhile, but sometimes things get odd when people say 'I do'." Finally, the laptop begins to play. It's a larger laptop, so it has a decent enough screen to watch the movie. Moving to the foot the bed, Gene takes a seat at the center as the FOX logo appears on the screen and the loud trumpets blare. Of course, the speakers crackle a bit from the maxed volume, but they do what they need to. Gene's hand reaches down to brush the flannel sheets, enjoying their comfort. He was tempted to get silk, but he didn't want to leave it overnight nor did he want to send the wrong message. He looks to his right shoulder, tempted to do whatever he does when he relaxes… Remove his artifical arm. He doesn't though, letting the weight dig into him for a bit longer. After all, dates are more awkward when you remove limbs at the beginning.

"Yeah, that happens." Reflecting on the married people she's known in her life — namely her own parents, and how that marriage turned out — Evelyn's attention wanders. She's jolted back to the present by the sound of trumpets and crackling speakers, hands moving to hold down her hair as a short-lived, light gust of wind spins through the room. Between that and the images playing out on the screen, she doesn't notice Gene's consideration of his arm. "I can't even remember the last movie I watched," Evelyn muses.

The prosthetic hand supports most of Gene's weight as he leans back onto the bed a bit more. The movie isn't something he's really too interested in, as Star Wars is something he could likely quote line for line. As the wind tussles his hair a bit, Gene uses his 'good' hand to adjust it back to place, allowing his blue eyes to rest on Evelyn for a couple of seconds. He doesn't say anything right away, merely smiling with a faint blush before turning away just watching the movie. As the text for Star Wars scrolls against the screen, Gene chuckles. "Well, if you like movies, could get you a DVD player. Those are pretty easy to find these days. At least ones I can fix for you."

When Gene speaks up, Evelyn glances over at him, and chuckles softly. "It's a nice thought," she replies. Scooting back a bit on the bed, she chews on her lower lip, looking at the scrolling text without really focusing on it. It's not like they're unfamiliar words, for one. "I don't know. It'd be hard to move around a library of DVDs. I try not to stay too long in places," she explains in an aside. "Plus find places with the electricity to run it." Not to mention it's the sort of luxury a lot of people might steal or kill for, but only the breath of air that tugs Evelyn's bangs down into her face acknowledges that thought.

"I could run it through battery power. Make it so that through solar power runs it, a hand crank…" He's tempted to say wind power, but Gene's gotten smart enough to watch the obvious conversation pitfalls. Scanning the sheets around Evelyn, Gene adds, "…Just figured it might be something to make your life a bit better, that's all."

"A hand crank?" Evelyn echoes, blinking at Gene. A moment later, she laughs. "That would be weird." The incessant air movement finally settles enough that it isn't tossing strands of her hair about, though the teen looks down, studying the sheets as if to figure out what about them has caught Gene's attention. "Oh, I know," she replies. "And I appreciate it. Heh." Evelyn offers him a rueful smile. "We all just get to be creatures of habit, I suppose."

The geek gives a faint smile back as his eyes meet Evelyn's. There's nothing special about the sheets, Gene just has his own habit of looking downward. He does avoid eye contact if she looks up, looking toward her the entire time he talks. "People use that stuff in third world countries. You know, like we've become. Either way, if you need anything, just let me know." With that, Gene glances back to the movie. Look at that, rebels just lost a laser fight and Vador is making his grand entrance.

"I know. It's just… something of an oxymoron, or somesuch." She follows Gene's glance towards the screen, propping her chin in her hands and focusing on the movie. More or less. "Hm. Paradox." Yes — that word, Evelyn likes better. Okay, now she can watch the show.

"Paradox," Gene repeats quietly as he just focuses on the movie. He watches for a few moments, just seeing Leia get stunned after giving her important message to the droids. Gene gives a faint smile toward his inspiration to make a true robot, R2-D2, but his eyes still seem to droop and his almost falls over on his side. He catches himself through, the techno-wonder glancing back toward Evelyn and then the movie. "Sorry, a little tired from all the stuff today," Gene admits a with a bit of chagrin. He decides to move himself back to the head of the bed, only to realize that his feet might be close to Evelyn's head. He starts trying to move around, the bed creaking as he pulls over a couple of pillows so he can lay on his stomach to watch the film.

Looking to Gene, Evelyn smiles. "Looks like you have reason to be," she points out. "Don't worry about it. You've probably seen the movie a few hundred times anyway, right?" the teen concludes with a brief grin. Straightening, she watches Gene settle in with a faint smile, her own attention returning to the movie once he's done moving around. For her part, Evelyn remains sitting, movie or no.

A brief chuckle escape Gene's lips. "Nah, maybe just eighty times or so. I'd have an exact number, but counting just makes it seem sadder." There is a long pause as Gene thinks things over. He turns to say something, his mouth actually opening up. He closes it swiftly enough though. Looking back to the movie, Gene sighs faintly as he watches C3PO complain about the arid planet.

Evelyn echoes his chuckle. "If you say so." She smiles at Gene, then raises a brow when he opens his mouth without speaking. She waits a beat while C3PO complains (or at least starts on the litany), then tilts her head. "What?" the girl prompts. It's an inevitable question.

"I dunno. Just thinking about trying to be smooth, cool, and the right thing to do… All I've really been good at is being honest and being 'smart'. Unless it comes to people, then I'm really really stupid," Gene offers with a grin. Awhile ago, he would be frowning about this, but it clear he doesn't mind nearly as much. "…The smooth and cool attempt was me wanted to say that you looked nice tonight." Gene rubs the side of his head as he goes on. "I mean that you DO look nice, but the 'attempt' was going to say in a way that was smooth." Gene gives a sheepish grin at the end. Casanova, he is not.

"Hah." Evelyn grins back. "I'll take honest over cool any day, trust me," she replies. Finally tiring of sitting, she also stretches out on the bed, the girl laying on her side rather than her stomach, head resting in one hand. "People who are smooth generally want something," the teen continues, although her gaze has returned to the laptop screen. "I'm not saying I don't appreciate the compliment," Evelyn adds, smiling wryly at Gene. "Just… you don't have to work at it, okay?"

"Everyone wants something though. It's always just a question of what they want and if they should get it. I mean, like in the movies…" Gene waves toward the screen as he mirrors Evelyn, laying on his side to speak with her. His head stays on the pillow though, figuring it's more trouble than it's worth to try and use his arm to lift himself. "You got Han. He's shady, but he's cool so people don't mind when he tries to sweetalk Leia. But Jabba the Hutt when HE tries, people want him dead. Because he's evil… Of course being a slug has something to do with it too."

"Han has that whole 'noble rogue' stereotype going for him," Evelyn points out, free hand gesturing towards the screen. "We all know he's a good guy and that he'll get the girl eventually. It's written into the role. Jabba, on the other hand, is /designed/ to be disliked." One dark brow lifts as she looks over at Gene, and a flicker of wind punctuates her statements. "The 'good' people aren't all suave, and 'evil' ones aren't all overt."

"Yeah, I suppose so… I'm just saying that once people understand a person, people decide if they should get stuff," Gene states. "The problem comes in understand the person for who they are or figuring out if what they want is a good thing." Gene rolls on his back, though he looks back as far as he can to see where the movie is. "Maybe that's my problem. Just think too much."

"Seems to me," Evelyn muses, "if people are honest, or at least close enough, understanding them shouldn't be a problem, right?" After a moment, she shrugs, offering a smile. "Maybe, but if you do, then I definitely must." Her gaze shifts to the screen again.

The young inventor doesn't move from his spot, letting his left arm move under his head while the other stays at his side. "How's that?" Gene offers with a small grin.

Evelyn glances sidelong to Gene. "Well, as you may've noticed, I have a lot of time on my hands," she points out, smiling ruefully. "Makes for a lot of opportunity to think." Hazel eyes flick back to the movie.

The young inventor watches the movie for awhile longer. After all, she wanted to have a nice date, sitting on the bed and watching a movie. He looks over as if ready to stay more, but only gives a simple, "I suppose so. Thankfully, we have nicer things to distract ourselves for the time being, right?" With that, he gives a somewhat goofy smile, trying to make it a little bigger than it usually is naturally.

The delay in Gene's reply is long enough for Evelyn's attention to return to the movie; she gives him a slightly perplexed look before recalling the subject of conversation. The teen chuckles at his reply — and at the exaggerated smile — and nods. "That we do." She turns back to the screen, quietly watching the movie for a bit. Perhaps belatedly, Evelyn adds, "Thanks, Gene."

It's alright to Gene that he lets the conversation be. After all, he's had it with enough people over the last five years to know that it rarely ends well. Though as the movie goes on, he finds he gets something he didn't really expect to get. "…You're welcome, Evelyn. Just glad you're enjoying yourself. It's important to do that, no matter who you are or where you are."

Looking over at Gene, Evelyn smiles. She doesn't say anything, figuring what needs to be said has been — and there's still a movie to finish watching. Which she settles back in to do, not even realizing the air stopped being a nuisance quite some time ago.

… Cue another scene somewhere else and the passing of time…

The credits roll and Gene is barely awake. He drifted in and out of sleep a few moments after the conversation stopped, but he did check on Evelyn every five to ten minutes to make sure that she was still watching and such. He would be a little more careful of his surroundings, but sadly, he's a little too tired for that.

When the blaring trumpets go, Gene gets up to a seated position. His artifical leg gives him a little grief, but he gets it there just the same. "Well, ended just like I remembered. Nice to see somethings don't change, right?" Gene offers with a groggy smile.
GAME: Save complete.

Hazel eyes flick to Gene as he moves, and Evelyn smiles crookedly. "I'd be worried if the movies started changing," she remarks. She also sits up, taking a cross-legged seat on the bed. The smile becomes more wry, noticing Gene's fatigue, but the girl doesn't directly comment on it.

The inventor glances toward Evelyn and chuckles, getting up to turn off the laptop and put it away. "I guess so," he replies as he watches it power down. "So, want to watch the second one sometime? …Or we could do something else if you wanted. Have access to a lot of stuff."

At Gene's question, Evelyn also chuckles. She shakes her head, but it's not a gesture of negation. "Oh, I'm not too picky, really. We can watch the second if you like. Or whatever." A beat. "Well, almost. I reserve the right to veto," the girl concludes with a grin.

"I figured that would be the case… After all, doubt Transformers the cartoon would be on your viewing list." The laptop is slipped away into a bag along with the power system. Gene pauses for a second, then nods to himself. He should warn her… Or at least as much as he can. "I'd offer to a few places I know where you could be safe, but I wouldn't recommend them right now. With the kidnapping of the president, you want to lay low… This city might be getting a bit more dangerous in the days to come."

The girl grins. "Probably not," she agrees. She cants her head as Gene pauses, reaching up to catch the strands a breath of air disturbs and hooking them behind her ears. "I'll stick to the ones I know, thanks," Evelyn replies, one corner of her mouth drawn back in what's almost a lopsided smile. "I'll keep that in mind," she concludes with a nod.

As the zippers are zipped and put away, the Saint' 'Shield' slugs the bag over his shouder, looking over toward Evelyn. "I suppose…" Gene takes a step closer toward the young woman. "…this is good night. I'd offer to stay longer, but I have work I have to do. Maybe another time or something when things are slower." …And when he doesn't have to worry about being on the Homeland Security's hit list with the rest of his friends.

With Gene packing, Evelyn stands up as well. She smiles, and nods as he speaks. "I suppose it is." Then shakes her head. "Don't worry about it. Just do what you need to do. I'll be around." Unless /she/ makes a mistake and winds up on said hit list. "I had fun. Thanks again."

With Evelyn standing, Gene takes a small shuffle forward so he's a bit closer. "If you need anything, just remember that you have the cell. My number is the only one on the contacts list. If you press the button that doesn't look like it's supposed to be there…" Gene pretends like he's holding the phone and presses a 'button' on the lower left side. That's the short wave radio. Just start speaking on it if you don't get cell reception."

His overprotectiveness for Evelyn said and done, Gene just looks toward the window. Considering it's night, he doesn't see much else out there. He looks back toward Evelyn and just… stands there. Hopefully, she'll say something sometime soon or he'll start rocking on his heels like a doofus.

Evelyn nods to Gene. "Don't worry," she replies dryly, "I won't forget it." But will she use it? Unfortunately, her independent streak is a mile wide whenever it does kick in. As Gene lapses into silence, the girl laughs softly. "Well. Before we wind up in the middle of /awkward/ silence, I should get going," she remarks with a crooked grin. "Take care of yourself, Gene," Evelyn concludes, before starting towards the door.

Glancing back, Gene doesn't say anything else other than a "You too!" A few moments pass after Evelyn goes. Once he thinks she's gone, he speaks to himself. "Well, she didn't want to kiss me, but she didn't hit me. I consider that a win. Go Gene, go Gene. It's not your birthday, but go anyway!" And with that, he proceeds to do the butterturn for thirty seconds or so. That done, Gene just collects himself and moves for the door.

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