I'm trapped in these negative vibes, I can't seem to find the outside [Monday, Week 8]

[chiseler]

[In all honesty Luke heard the announcement from Alice at 9am, realized he wasn't on the valued list or the vulnerable list and probably went back to bed. The robots only kick people out after twelve hours and he had a good three hours left. Surprisingly, he was pretty mentally exhausted still from the course of the week and the weekend's trial. He'd thought about Shelley's motivation to kill Fumi and it's still fairly sad to think about, considering he never thought Shelley would.

Granted, maybe this is why he was asked by someone to be the one to organize them and keep people focused. It's something he'd initially laughed off, afraid of the responsibility...but now he's realizing the numbers are dwindling as are the numbers of adults. Maybe he needs to act like an adult. But that can come after another couple of hours of sleep.

He leaves his room at exactly 11:59am before a robot can collect him, a smug smirk on his face as he lets the door slide closed behind him. That doesn't last though before Alice's voice chimes over the ship with this week's motive.

Well-kept secrets. What kind of secrets could she know and have access to? He doesn't have to wonder for long before he looks at his datapad and sees...

...ah. Well. That's lovely. He shakes his head firmly and sets his jaw, immediately trying to think of where to find Adam. Adam's become the person he looks to in terms of motives but knowing Adam as well as he knows Adam now, he has to wonder how he's going to handle this motive. They're both people with plenty of secrets. It could be a dangerous combination.

He glances over up and down the hallway of their catacombs to ensure he's alone before quickly dashing down the hall to Adam's room. Another quick look over his shoulder confirms he's not being watched and he raises a hand, concentrating for a moment to unlock the boy's door and allow himself into his room. Please be here, Adam.]

Adam? [He's not even waiting for an answer, he's parkouring up the ladder to the main room. Even if he's not here, maybe Luke will get a sense of where he might have gone.]

Comments

[antietam]

[ Adam is also not backing off. He's kind of debating on something though he can tell that Luke has closed himself off (because Adam has the same instinct). ] You're right. I'm sorry. [ Luke really has told him enough and Adam's also lived like this long enough to know that it's not easy to get anything out. He can't blame him for it, not when he still has a hard time talking to Gansey or Ronan about certain things.

But he does perk up again when Luke offers something that he can do. He's been waiting for a request since they started training. It seems so easy, though, that he looks confused. 'Really ugly' could mean a lot of things. On the ship, with the motives... or just with Luke. He's fine with all of those. ] You think I'd do that? You're... my trainer and my partner and the only one who's ever understood. You're important. [ To me, which is too hard to say. ]

[chiseler]

[The thing that bothers him is that it's much harder to be responsible and be a good person when he's dealing with his own shit. He's closed off but he's not moving, hesitating mostly and patiently waiting to see what Adam says.]

Quit apologizing. [It's more rough than he means it to be, but he's not angry about it. It's matter of fact. Like how he feels about Elizabeth sometimes, Adam has nothing to apologize for. He recognizes the light in his eyes though the moment Luke offers him a task, and part of him feels disgusted that it's kind of a shitty task. Adam and Luke, at the core, are very, very similar. Luke's begun to realize this though he doesn't know if Adam has. He won't be the one to say so.]

I know. [He doesn't need to hear it because he's filling in the blanks himself. He's still hesitating before his hands come out of his pockets, coming up to rest on Adam's shoulders to finally look at him dead-on.] You know that and I know that, but just promise me anyway. It'll…help. [It'll help him feel better is really what he means.]

[antietam]

[ Adam is a liar and he doesn't think his word is good for very much, but he tells himself he has to keep this promise. Being around Luke started as a sort of protection deal, to get in good with someone strong who wasn't likely to betray him. It some ways it's still partially that, a big reason why he'd never abandon him, but also... Luke is damaged just like him. If there's no one who's there for them, they have to be there for each other. Luke has become his friend more than anything. ]

I promise. I won't bail no matter what happens. Even if there's an alien in there, I won't let it have you. [ How is he going to do that? Who knows, but he's promised it so now he has to do it. There's a pause and he's slow to move, but his arms come around Luke for a hug. It's loose, like it's alright if Luke wants to break away. He just has something to say first: ] Thank you.

[chiseler]

[It wouldn't matter. He's already resigned himself to the fact he'd protect Adam Parrish until the project ended or Luke himself died, but he refused to let anything happen to this kid. He started as a student and protege. Now he's probably Luke's favorite person on this ship solely because he gets it.

So even if it were a lie, he'd believe it. He doesn't say anything, though the hug surprises him. He doesn't pull back though his shoulders tense like he's unsure what to do with that. He doesn't exactly return the gesture, but one of the hands on Adam's shoulder comes up to loosely drape in what would probably be a one-armed hug if he wasn't so perplexed but it's there. It's still contact and it's still by his own volition.]

Don't thank me for anything yet. Thank me when you get out of here alive. […but this helps, too.] I'm not going to ask if you think things will be okay…but think they'll be good enough for today?

[antietam]

[ That's alright, it's weird. Everything about this is weird, but it makes him feel better to actually have some human contact. He pulls back soon enough to make it a little less weird, but he doesn't regret it. Something could easily happen to one of them at any point, and he wants Luke to know he appreciates him. ]

You've done more than you needed to. [ He never expected this sort of kindness from people here. He manages a smile, not feeling easy but feeling like he can get through the week. So he nods. ] Yeah. Someone's going to kill for this, but it won't be me. And it won't be us getting hunted. That's all I can ask for.

[ He holds up his fist expectantly for a bump. ]

[chiseler]

[The weirdest part is that now that that's happened Luke's more likely to be casually affectionate and assume that's okay. So good job Adam I guess. Still, he's...not quite settled and not quite happy but he feels better. Adam's mind is off of the killing, his mind is off of what he saw on the datapad, and he's confident they'll be able to get through this week without anything awful happening to either of them.]

That's about all I can ask for, too. [And okay, okay...there goes the fistbump and he smirks softly.] Enough of that. I'm gonna go back to the cafeteria for something. You comin' or stayin'?