hollywooding | i could read you like a magazine

A war? [ wow, that sounds intense. mary's not sure what kind of war someone like sena could be involved in, but--he's the same age as her, way too young to be fighting in anything.

mary knows she sucks at comforting people--sucks at real emotions in general--but even so, there's a little ache in her heart for sena's clear, obvious pain, and she reaches over to put her hand on his knee, giving a brief little squeeze before she lets go. mary would like to find the person responsible for implanting these past life memories in sena's head and give them a good kick in the ass. ] Hey, c'mon.

..If it's a past life, there's nothing you can do about it right now, right? Especially if you don't know any details. [ a pause, as she considers her words carefully. ] You're not part of a war, or--a weird stalker, here. You're just Sena. Whatever this other person's up to is a bridge you can cross later.

[ and i'll cross it with you, though there's not a goddamn chance she's saying that out loud. ]

[ at her reassuring words and her hand on his knee, sena seems to find his ground again. just let him take a deep breath since wow, he hasn't really told anyone about any of this, has he? he's given hints to his other friends, but not this detailed. ]

I know... I know. Just needed to let that out, is all. It's been a shitty two months.

[ thank you for being there for me, he'd like to say as well, but he's also not saying that out loud. these two are simply delightful, aren't they. a match made in tsundere heaven. ]

Anyways. [ and back to sounding aloof. how he can switch from being in the brink of despair to sounding indifferent, no one knows. ] Did you finally get some memories back like I told you?

Well... [ it's not like mary clams up or anything, but her gaze definitely flicks away. in fact, she even goes a little pink as she remembers the very clear memory retrospec decided to gift her. ] I got one, yeah.

It wasn't...that hard to believe, I guess. [ except for the absolutely absurd amount of money involved, but. she sighs. where to start. ] I was gambling, and the value of my chips in the game was something like-- it was at least a couple million dollars. That's insane. I've never touched that much money in my life.

[ a pause, and the next part seems a little more forced out: ] And there was this girl...

[ a raise of his brow. ] Gambling? But aren't you into that crap anyway?

[ but at the mention of a girl, sena's confused look turns into a smug one as he strokes his own chin. HAHA, this is interesting to get out of mary of all people. ]

Really now? What did she do? She your partner in crime?

Yeah, but not like that. [ a high stakes, all or nothing kind of battle.. it's hard to imagine herself even holding 2 million dollars, let alone trying to bet it with someone else?? mary's been poor her whole life; even the winnings she occasionally makes now look like pocket change in comparison.

but. sena does a nice job embarrassing her, and her cheeks turn a little pink as she shoots him a mulish look. ] Oh, shut up. We were working together--cheating together, really. I don't know her name or anything about her, just that her chips were worth half a million dollars, and that we switched the value of our chips to win a game.

[ she pauses for a second, as if considering. ] It was a pretty good strategy...[ maybe she'll have to try that one day.... ]

Cheating?

[ sena frowns at that. mary made it sound super risky, and - he might be concerned??? maybe? nah, probably annoyed. ]

That's disgusting, Saotome. Can't say I approve of your "hobby" [ complete with airquotes ], but at least try to be fair? It's just going to take the fun out of playing... Not that I would know. I'd never do something so illegal.

[ look he does not do that shit okay he is an HONEST BOY THROUGH AND THROUGH ]

[ shame = negative, tbh, though the idea of cheating at that scale is pretty...yeah. she can't even imagine. ]

No one said I do it now. [ she totally does but whatever, Boy Scout Sena doesn't need to know that ] And, even if I was cheating, it definitely wouldn't take the fun out of winning. [ she totally is ] I'm just lucky.

Besides. Our past lives aren't necessarily us right now, unless you've suddenly become a war veteran.

Absolutely not? I may know that there was a war going on in that weird school, but I'm not even sure if I was a part of all that.

[ but he can't help but feel otherwise. ah well, more mysteries to solve, he guesses. ]

But you're right, I guess. Gotta focus in the now and whatever. Really though, you better not cheat in any of your shady games or whatever. Don't think I know what's been going on with you, Saotome.

[ and here comes mama sena, i guess ]

[ exactly. see, mary is always right. it's a life principle you should learn fairly quickly.

however, she receives her prerequisite lecture from sena and rolls her eyes, propping her cheek up in her hand. there's a shitty little grin on her face. ] Did you just mom me?

Oh, shut up.

[ HE IS NOT A MOM even though he does this thing to strangers sometimes... it's weird, mary.

but anyways, now that they've both said their parts, sena will stand up now. ]

Anyways, I better get going. Guess it's nice letting that shit out sometimes on people, you know?

[ especially people like her. she's a good girl through and through, yeah. ]

[ ok sena if you say so. you can see that on her face clear as day, even if she doesn't respond verbally, but does instead wave him off. ]

Something like that. [ a pause. delighted: ] Do let me know if you hear from your internet stalked boyfriend again.

[ but she shooes him out before he can throw too much of a fit about it. thanks for the bingo card fill! ]

i could read you like a magazine | ic inbox

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