leija

Who: Leija and Caleb
When: dawn, then later
Where: her room, then elsewhere

She hadn't been in bed that long, aiming for maybe an hour or two before she had to get up for school. Leija had just solidly drifted into an uneasy dream about scars and blood and accusatory brown -- with just a bit of green -- stares, when something unidentifiable woke her up with a jolt. Her eyes opened and her heart squeezed tight in her chest. Her body jolted reflexively, as though it wanted to run like hell, but there was nowhere to go. But she didn't make a sound. Couldn't.

Who: Thom and Leija
When: late evening
Where: phone

Leija hadn't been aware that terror could last so long. It seemed like it should be a quick thing, like the drop in a rollercoaster, or the jump-scare in movies. A startle, the urge to run and scream, and then it was either over or you got eaten. She'd been very, very wrong. She had screamed, the day before, when she'd first seen the shadow. Her mind had been grinding over Caleb, where he could have gone, if he'd come back, whether or not she should try and call him, or go by his house again to check for Mathias's car, when she looked up on her way toward the shower and there it was. She'd dedicated a good chunk of the morning -- once her heart had slowed down a bit -- to taking down the mirrors in the main rooms of the house. Except in the bathroom, she couldn't get the goddamn thing off the wall, and couldn't stand being in there for long enough to work it loose.

Who: Peyton and Leija
When: late afternoon
Where: phone, then Leija's house

Leija wished in a vague way that she had eaten something she could throw up that would possibly help that feeling in her stomach go away. Though she wasn't sure if that would work. After school she hadn't gone home, instead finding a place to sit in the back of the building for a while and wait for everyone else to clear out. She felt too unsteady, too on edge to guarantee that she wouldn't burst into blood-tears at the first sign of anybody even looking her way. Class had been hard enough. So she hid instead and searched her phone three or four times for a number that wasn't there. She wanted to call Mathias, warn him, get his word that he'd look after Caleb and wouldn't let him do anything ... rash. After all, it hadn't been that long ago that he'd been in the hospital for trying to kill himself. But she didn't have it, only Dorian's number, and she knew he wasn't around anymore. She toyed with the thought of going over there, for about two seconds before dismissing it as totally insane.

Who: Caleb and Leija
When: English class, afternoon
Where: texting

Leija had walked around like a zombie for the entire day. She hadn't slept the night before, couldn't bring herself to eat anything, and felt like warmed-over death. Which was a word she didn't much want in her head today. A lot of the night had been spent also feeling like she was losing her mind in a different sense, until she'd covered up the mirror and drawn the curtains in her room. Brushing her teeth hadn't been any better. Still, she'd come to school. It had been to see Caleb, and she could admit that, even though the prospect scared the hell out of her, and her stomach had been in knots since about ... oh, the minute she left his house the night before. The fire alarm going off had had only minimally scratched the surface of her brain, and she'd numbly stood outside like everyone else, letting the cold sink in.

Who: Caleb and Leija
When: after school
Where: mostly his house
Warning: NSFW before the trainwreck

When the final bell rang, Leija wasn't part of the usual rush to get out the door. She was in a bathroom near the gym instead, standing in front of a sink and staring at her expression with a concerned look on her face. She'd been there for a little while, actually, bowing out of the final half of her last class. It had been bothering her in a vague sense all day, but when she was actually in front of a mirror, it got so very much worse. There was nothing different about her reflection. She'd been testing things; suddenly changing facial expressions, moving her hands, closing her eyes almost all the way. It reacted and responded the way it always had. If she hadn't spent the time in the Inbetween that she had, she probably would've convinced herself that it was just a weird bout of paranoia due to mental exhaustion or something. Instead? She was getting increasingly more freaked out by the feeling. But she couldn't stop staring.

When she actually left, there were a few stragglers still around, but most everybody was already gone. Ducking her head and trying to breathe around that weird feeling in her chest, Leija hurried out of the school building. Instead of heading for her own house as she usually did, she started in the direction of Caleb's at a quick walk. The feeling itself was fading the farther she got away from the school, but that didn't stop her from wanting to see him with a small, irrational sort of desperation. She walked faster; maybe she could catch up to him.

Sept. 18, 2007

Who: Caleb and Leija
When: afternoon, post-school
Where: lockwood residence
Warning: nsfw-ish

After opening her bag up at home, sitting, and then giving up on the pretense of actually doing any homework, Leija left a note for her dad and headed out again. She fingered the phone in her hoodie pocket and wondered if she should call first. Could she just drop in, now that she was 'the girlfriend'? She had the idea that that kind of meant different things to different people, and she was still in the process of figuring it out with Caleb. Not that it hadn't been an enjoyable process so far -- more than once she'd caught herself daydreaming in class about the Lockwood garage -- but still. As she walked, she decided he probably wouldn't care if she just showed up, and if he wasn't home then she could come up with a Plan B to occupy herself. She mounted the porch steps and knocked, stepping back and retucking her hands into her jacket.

Caleb was in the living room, sketching. Nothing in particular, really, he was just doing it to occupy his mind for a while. He had a few things on it, and he was attempting to sort through it all. When the knock on the door came, he dropped it off onto the floor and got up, going to answer it. His first thought was that he and his brother didn't get many visitors, and second that he hoped it wasn't Math's psycho-not-girlfriend. When he opened it on Leija, he smiled. Much better than anyone else. "Hey." he said, not at all appearing to mind her showing up without warning.

Who: Herbert and Leija
When: lunchtime
Where: outside

Avoiding people had become something of an art form. Specifically, Thom and Isaac. And Isaac's sister, just in case. As well as the other members of the band. In fact, Leija had quite a list going of people that she tried her best to dodge all day long. Between classes it wasn't really difficult, but lunchtime ... she and Thom had the same lunch period. Even though they'd texted during the vampire crisis, she didn't know at all if that constituted them as friends -- yeah, right -- or if she was even allowed to text him ever again, if lives weren't in danger. She wanted to know how he was, but thought that asking was probably a really bad idea on her part. And certainly not in school with witnesses around. So, Leija had more or less taken to eating lunch outside. She usually brought it anyway, and it wasn't too hard to find spots where people weren't sitting.

She'd brought peanut butter and jelly, though she hadn't touched it yet. She sat with her legs crossed, the hood of her jacket up against the slight chill in the air, and stared out at the grass, mind sort of all over the place.

Who: Caleb and Leija
When: late evening/night
Where: Lockwood house
warning: nsfw

Peyton had stuck around for a while, eating pizza and talking. They'd thankfully gotten on some less serious subjects and had generally had a good time. It was weird to hang out with a girl, but Leija thought that maybe she could get used to it. Peyton seemed sweet enough and she felt genuinely better for getting some things off of her chest. But it had made her want to see Caleb, just like a not-necessarily-unpleasant curl in her stomach that had lingered and didn't go away even when she quit talking about him. After sitting around restlessly for about an hour after the other girl left, she'd poked her head in and told her dad she was going out.

Leija walked instead of flying, to work some energy off. Or something. But eventually she came up on the Lockwood's, her steps slowing as she came down the sidewalk. There was a light on and music coming out of the garage. It was familiar music, stuff she recognized from sorting through Caleb's mp3 player. So, confident that it wasn't Mathias in there, she walked up the driveway and peered into the garage.

Caleb happened to be in there, making an attempt at at least assessing the damage done to the car. Which really was equated to 'a lot'. He was figuring he needed to fix the passenger side doorframe as soon as he could, and was idly wondering if he took a sledgehammer to it, if that might help. Fucking vampires and their messing up a perfectly good vehicle. Currently, he was sitting back in a chair he'd snagged from the used-to-be-dining room and had been stored in the garage instead, feet propped up on the bumper, chair leaned back on it's back two legs as he read over one of the few books he'd gotten on car repair. He didn't notice her straight away, considering he was kind of absorbed in his reading, mentally trying to figure out just how long this was going to take, and if he could get it done by winter--which was just around the corner, according to the local types.

Who: Peyton and Leija
When: After school
Where: sidewalk, Leija's house

After the last bell, Peyton was quick to her locker to shove her books she didn't need away and grab the things that she did. She thought about going by Isaac's locker to say goodbye, but she honestly felt it might be best to meet Leija out front and just go. Instead, on her way out the front doors, she texted a quick goodbye to Isaac's phone and then shoved her cell in her bag, lifting her gaze to look for the other girl. It felt a bit weird. Not hanging out with Leija per se, but another girl. Most of her friends these days were boys and as much as she cared about them, it just wasn't the same talking to a guy about things. They didn't really understand at times, and really, what boy wants to sit and listen to a girl talk about... well, girl things? Even if Isaac was Thom's best friend and the majority of her 'loyalty' was with Isaac, Peyton sort of felt Leija might need a friend too, being new to town and everything, and maybe she felt the same way about Caleb that Peyton felt about her guy friends. Maybe. She supposed she would find out.

Who: Peyton and Leija
Where: School
When: Before history class

Peyton had been on the lookout for her friends, people she hadn't seen in a couple of days, but she'd been unsuccessful in tracking them down. Texting was convenient to make sure everyone was okay for the last few nights, but there was something to be said for seeing in them in person and knowing they were all in one piece. It worried her now, after seeing Geo and the bandage on his eye. After hearing Sammy had been bitten, that Herbert had tussled with vampires... Peyton kept her eyes alert for Caleb or Leija all morning, though Peyton knew if Leija was back in town, she'd be in history class. Which was where Peyton was currently headed. She stifled a tired yawn behind her hand and tried to ignore the morbid atmosphere that seemed to fall over the school. People were quiet and depressed, or gossiping and depressed. She rarely saw any smiling, which sort of depressed her, even though she knew there was no real reason to be happy... except for being alive and everything.

Who: Isaac and Leija
When: afternoon, between classes
Where: MSHS

Marquette's high school was small. There were only so many lockers in it, and with the way Isaac knew the layout of the school, the redheaded junior's wasn't too hard to find. He'd been mulling over in his head for the better part of the day how to handle this, what to say to her. He'd wavered between attempting to be nice, and doing his best to intimidate her. Part of him was pissed off, very pissed off about what she'd done to his best friend, but slamming lockers and using Tones weren't usually the best tactics at getting information out of someone. And she was a girl. But still. She was an evil girl who'd fucked over Thom, so that put her firmly in the realm of dislike. And so, to start out, he just walked up on her as she was changing books out at her locker, hands in his pockets, jaw tight.

who: caleb and leija
where: caleb's room
when: mid/late afternoon

Caleb was in his room, on his bed, contemplating the ceiling. The window right next to his bed was open, letting the breeze over him, and there was a radio on faintly on his bedside table. He sort of wished he could crash for a bit, get some rest. He was tired enough to, that much he was more than well aware of. But he couldn't get his mind to shut the fuck up long enough to drift. Therefore, he was waiting. He knew Leija was going to be around sometime here, so...he was waiting for her to show. Once she did, he was probably going to talk to her about shit. After shit with Dean this morning, he had a lot on his mind, and he wanted to get her take on it. Her take as one of the only other people he knew that could possibly understand what he was going through.

Leija'd been paying attention to the news. She'd heard that another town had been hit away from Marquette. While she took that as a good -- well, okay, mixed at best -- sign, her dad wasn't quite convinced yet to bring them completely back. Though he had no problem with her going to check on people during the day. People really being Caleb, as she didn't really have plans to see anyone else. Seeing as how nobody else but Thom knew she could fly, so ... yeah. She dropped out of the sky and gave a flap or two so as not to land too hard in the backyard of the Lockwood house. Tucking her wings away and pulling the hoodie back on she'd had tied around her waist, she contemplated which door to knock on. Then heard the faint drift of music and followed it. Leija stuck her head into Caleb's window and looked at him on the bed. "... I totally just tried to think of something witty to say, and failed miserably," she announced, smiling faintly.

Who: Sent to Herbert, Leija, Caleb, Geo and Isaac
When: 7:00pmish

Who: Sent to Herbert
When: 7:00pmish

hey - checking in to make sure you're okay. see you at school tomorrow? (if we have it) - p

Who: Leija
When: midday
Where: dreams / motel room in Ann Arbor

The Marquette she walked through was a place she'd never seen. It was night, though there was orange and yellow light all around. Sirens wailed in the distance, never getting any closer or further away. Leija's bare feet passed pavement under them, sloshing through puddles of liquid that were too thick to be anything but congealing blood. They were everywhere, running together, reflecting the crazy flickering light of the building fires, as well as the liquid flames that emerged from her back into the shape of wings. The street she was on was lined with cars, all the windows smashed, some of them on fire themselves. Her path was clear, though, however much she didn't want to see what was at the end of it.

Sept. 10, 2007 11:47pm

This must be how families left behind during war feel. Please god don't let this last forever.

Who: Caleb and Leija
When: mid-afternoon
Where: the Lockwood residence

Leija's hands hurt from carrying the plastic bags from the only grocery store she could find that was still open, but she hardly noticed. It was all she could do to concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other. She hadn't come yesterday, giving Caleb time to sleep, then being called across the globe to be there for a guy who'd gotten shot in a dispute over a car. By the time she got back it was getting close to dark, and she'd made certain promises to certain people, so she'd just gone back to the motel in Ann Arbor. Her dad had been on the phone to Marquette a lot of the day. Classes of all kinds were canceled, so they were covered there. But it was a new day, a new set of horrible news on the tv, and she was walking up the porch steps to the Lockwood house. Putting down one hand full of bags, she pulled her phone out and texted I'm here to Caleb instead of knocking.

Caleb had been half asleep in his room when the text came, and he jumped a bit before he grabbed his phone to check the text. He looked mildly confused as he dropped out of bed, trudged through the house, half dragging his fingers through his sleep messed hair to the door. "Y'know," he said as he opened it, voice sleep-hoarse. "Other people knock. It's tradition. You walk up, and..." he paused as he caught the bags. "What've you got?" he asked.

Who: Leija and Thom
When: a little after dawn
Where: across phone lines

Another sleepless night, with the TV staying on the news channels, muted and close-captioned so her dad could sleep in the single bed next to her's. She'd been lucky and hadn't been called out. Very lucky. But that didn't stop her stomach from feeling like someone had jerked ten or twelve knots in it. Leija had left the gauzy curtains on the window open, so she could watch the sky. Once it had lightened, as promised, Caleb called to check in. Which was a relief in and of itself. The exchange was brief, but he was okay. After hanging up, her thumb hovered over the contact list. Thom had said she could check in, so that was what she'd do.

You ok? -L

Short and simple. She put the phone down and hugged her knees to her chest, glancing at the clock and waiting -- or hoping to the point of nausea, whatever you wanted to call it -- for a reply. Waiting was the absolute shittiest.

Who: Caleb and Leija
When: late morning
Where: Lockwood house

Leija's stomach hadn't felt right for days. Especially not sitting up in the motel room in Ann Arbor and watching the news like she'd been doing. All night. Marquette was in chaos, apparently, there were fires and guns and a gas station blew up, and all sorts of badness going on. Which just kept ... giving her that sick feeling. Like she'd missed a stair. Even though she hadn't lived there long and was probably a total social pariah by now, that was sort of home. And she knew people there. Like Peyton. And Thom. They'd broken up, but that didn't mean she didn't still care about him. She sure as hell didn't want him in the middle of all that. She'd gotten through a dozen half-written texts to him, just to see if he was still alive, but hadn't managed to send one yet. There had been even more aborted attempts to contact Caleb. He'd said he would call her. Promised that he'd let her know if and when he went back to Marquette. And she'd been the last one to call, so ...

But when the opportunity came to get into the air -- in the form of a motorcycle accident just outside Phoenix -- she flew to Marquette. It was daylight, so it might be okay, right? And she just ... wanted to see. It was smokey in the air above the town, and kind of hard to breathe, but she flew fast. She took a quick peek at Thom's, and saw that his mom's car was in the driveway. That was a good sign, right? If he was like, in the hospital or something, she wouldn't be there. Maybe. But it was a small comfort. There was more to see. Next, she went to the Lockwood house. The car that was in the driveway gave her the complete opposite reactive feeling in her chest. Somebody was home. She dropped down to perch on the roof quietly, and pulled her phone out. Her teeth sank into her bottom lip as she speed-dialed Caleb and let it ring.

Who: Leija and Caleb
When: evening
Where: on the phone

Caleb waited until Math had left with Dorian to hammer down some of the more official shit. Or...say, get Dorian the cash he needed to bugger the fuck off for a significant amount of time. Whatever. Either way it left Caleb in blessed silence for a while. That? Had been exhausting. But, in the end he also felt better about Dorian's position on things, and hoped it helped. He'd be leaving. Taking off for a while, not worrying about the self imposed white picket fence life he'd drafted up for himself, and do whatever the hell he felt like for a while. Sounded nice.

It had taken quite a lot to convince him he could do it, but in the end Mathias and Caleb had managed to get him to agree. It was for his own sanity, at this point. After showering and flopping onto the bed, he stared at the window for a few long minutes, not really thinking about anything. Slowly, thoughts of Marquette seeped in, however. What was going on, wondering about people. Leija's text back. He should call her, he'd said he would, and maybe it was time to talk to her anyways. So, he dug his phone out of his bag, and hit her number on speed dial, fluffing the pillow under his chest and head as he laid on it, listening to the ringing in his ear.

Who: Leija and Caleb
When: early evening, around 5
Where: text messaging

Just got your message. Are you okay? What's going on? Coming home tomorrow. Call if you want, got my phone with me now. -L

I've come back home for a bit. Or back to PA, anyway, I dunno if I'd call it home. I'm really not sure where that is anymore.

Who: Leija
When: around eightish
Where: home

After the funeral, Leija had gone home, feeling even more unsettled and wrong than when it had all began. She hadn't cried, couldn't exactly do that in front of very many people, but there were little half-mood indents in her palms from where her nails had been digging in. She'd left the note in Lullaby's casket, and wondered distantly if everybody she'd ever seen die ended up looking that way. So still and unreal.

who: caleb and leija
where: school/out
when: afternoon pre-funeral

Who: Leija
When: right after 1st period
Where: school, Thom's locker

She'd gotten to school early enough in the morning to do it, but had lost her nerve. Leija'd held the folded paper in her hand and even walked down the hallway where his locker was, but hadn't been able to put the two together. Not then, anyway. Her first class was spent reading it over and over and wondering if the sick pounding in her chest would ever stop. It had taken her most of the night after Caleb left to write, even if it wasn't that long, and she'd almost crumpled it up or torn it to shreds or burned it a thousand times before she actually got some sleep. It was spotted with a few dried red droplets, and she'd been tempted to re-copy it. She knew she would change things, though, edit herself. She had to give it to him. Even if he didn't read it, even if he burned it, immediately, at least she'd done ... that.

who: caleb and leija
where: leija's house
when: evening/night

By the time evening was beginning to roll around, Leija was sitting outside her window, on the short sloping roof to the front porch, knees pulled up against her chest. She'd put on shorts to accompany the tank top for it, just in case anyone happened to pass by, but had foregone the blanket. With the breeze, it was a little chilly, but she wanted that. To be cold. The entire day -- hell, an entire run of days -- had a very surreal feel, which contrasted oddly with the heavy weight of what had really happened. She'd broken up with Thom. Sweet, wonderful Thom. He wasn't with her anymore, by her own doing, and chances were incredibly good that he hated her. She'd hurt him, after all, and badly. She wasn't stupid, she knew that. Leija had cried over it for a while eventually, after he'd left, but she had swung back into feeling empty and hollow. Her thoughts drifted along at a sluggish pace as she looked out at the dimming sky over the tree and rooftops of her neighborhood.

Caleb hadn't bothered trying to call today. He didn't figure she'd be any more apt to answer him than she was yesterday, and therefore he was going there. It was easier, and he could bypass that whole being avoided shit. As he walked up the street, his eyes on her house. He was sort of vaguely aware that he had no idea what he was going to say when he got there. He had no actual plan, per se. Concerned, he was concerned. Which meant he was going by to check on her, to see if she was okay, be fully aware that she wasn't, and maybe attempt to help. Not that he figured he'd be much. It wasn't like he had answers. He didn't. In fact, half the time it felt like he had less than answers. He had questions. Which were spectacularly unhelpful.

Who: Thom and Leija
When: around noon
Where: her room

Leija was where she'd spent the majority of the day previous, and that was in bed. She was mostly upright, at least, and that was something, wasn't it? She sat with her back against the headboard, covers pulled up over her knees like she was cold, arms wrapped around them, with her forehead down on them. Her thoughts were slow and sluggish and muddled and just of the general Not Good variety. Lullaby was dead, one of the nicest people she'd met here, even if Leija didn't know her well. But the girl was her age at the very most, and she was dead. It was different than with Josh and Mary. She'd known Lullaby. Gotten a stuffed bee from her. And now she was gone. What did Leija's problems matter in the face of that? She was confused and everything ached; it was all in shambles, all of it. There was no way out that wouldn't hurt someone.

She didn't want to get out of bed to face anything. She just wanted to sleep. And disappear at some point, quietly and without fuss, and leave everyone else where they were. Better off.

Who: Leija
When: morning
Where: her house

Leija had spent a good chunk of the very early morning sitting in Thom Harkin's basement. She'd let herself in, moving as quietly as she possibly could, and gone downstairs. Her mind grinding it's gears over what she could possibly say to him. What she could say, how she could act, everything. But she'd said she would come over, and half of her was dying for it. The worry turned out not to be necessary. He'd been crashed out on the couch, asleep and with his eyelids twitching. He'd told her to wake him up, but ... she couldn't. Not when she knew he hadn't been sleeping hardly any since they'd been back, and he looked so peaceful, and she was such a mess. So she'd sat down on the floor instead, hugged her knees, and watched him for a long time. In the end, she'd very lightly kissed his warm temple and left him a brief I was here, didn't want to wake you, you need your sleep. Talk to you tomorrow. Love, Leija note on a torn half-sheet of paper from the lyric notebook laying nearby, and gone home.

As for herself? She didn't sleep. Leija sat on the back porch and watched the sun come up instead, mind a billion miles in every direction.

Who: Caleb and Leija, and Thom briefly on the phone
When: evening into night
Where: the orphanage

Leija had dinner with her dad, as promised. She talked about her day, tried to assuage the worries he hadn't voiced very loudly, and was even a bit genuinely relaxed by the time it was all over. It was the only reason he didn't protest as she kissed his cheek and told him she was going to go out. She wasn't exactly honest; she told him she was meeting up with some friends at the carnival, but it could've been true. She stuck her earbuds in and started some music, walking down the porch steps and out into the red setting-sun light of the evening. It made her hair flare up like red gold. She took her time walking, having texted Caleb to meet her there. She wanted to feel the movement in her legs, to look around at the world as she listened to her own personal soundtrack, to spread her arms out when the wind picked up just right. She hadn't gone back to feeling as bad as she had at the start of the day, but the good bouyant feeling from English class had faded into a strange sort of serenity. Or maybe it was just lack of sleep. Whatever it was, it had her walking slow. Toward what? She didn't know. Maybe nothing. Maybe everything. The sun was almost down by the time she actually got there, music still playing in her ears, sneakers passing from sidewalk to the overgrown grass in front of the orphanage.

Caleb was already there. He had been, actually, for a while. He'd gotten there early, and had had to kill time while he waited for her. The wait hadn't done a lot of good for his head. But then, his head was a fucking mess, and that was about it. Nothing he could do about that. There were a few moments there where he considered leaving. Like, maybe she wasn't coming either, and he was being ditched, and if that was the case, he was going to go for a walk and try not to think. But in the end he'd waited, sitting up on the lowest of the balconies, and he his eyes followed her as she approached. He watched the way she moved, and didn't announce himself. He kept to the shadows, and tried to settle his mind down. His own music was playing in his ears, though softly. Paranoia dictated that.

Who: Leija and Caleb
When: 5th period
Where: English class

Leija had gotten to English a little early. It was close to her French class, which came first, and she had both books so she didn't have to go to her locker. Which was fine with her, she wanted to get in there and get a seat before it filled up too bad. She was nervous, and even though she hated the feeling, she had more than a good reason to be so. This was the class that she shared with Caleb. She hadn't seen him yet that day. Of course, she had been darting around with her head ducked most of the day, and she and Thom had hidden out at lunch, but ... god. Leija took a seat near the back, with empty ones around her, and took out a notebook to start doodling and scribbling on, trying not to look like she was watching the door as much as she was. She started writing lyrics from memory to try and distract herself. Have you ever thought about what protects our hearts? Just a cage of rib-bones and other various parts ...

Caleb got there a minute or so later, thinking that this was the class he had with Leija. Which had him hurrying along a little bit, so he might get to talk to her for a few minutes. It was kind of fucked up...he'd been looking for her all day, in as inobtrusive a manner as he could. He'd even seen her a few times. But she'd been looking very much like she wanted to disappear, and he didn't have the first fucking clue what to say to her in the first place. He didn't even know if he was supposed to talk to her in school, or if he was supposed to kind of...not. Just be another face in the crowd, in this place that oh...had her boyfriend in it. He didn't know how this shit worked, and it was bothering him.