Room 203, Wednesday Evening

[stykera]

Stark was still in his room, much to the surprise of, well, nobody. He was also still pacing and still talking to himself. Not constantly, but on and off as he had been since Monday. Not even Stark mid-breakdown could keep that up for days on end. Sometimes he was huddled in a corner of his room, being very still. Verys till except for the humming. He hums when he's nervous, sometimes. Not that he was nervous, exactly, but it was close enough.

He'd even slept a bit, though not much and not well. Of course, sleeping meant waking up and waking up meant facing reality. And sometimes Stark hated reality. This was one of those times. Freaking out being easier than dealing with anything, Stark was just going to continue freaking out. He'd had practice with this, after all.

Were he thinking clearly, Stark might have wondered at how easily he'd fallen back into this broken persona. He’d thought, once, that being here and being safe for so long might have eliminated that possibility. Sometime later this would occur to him and the realization would not be a pleasant one.

Hopefully, the pacing and the babbling and the humming weren't loud enough to bother anyone.

[Still crazy, whee. Also open for another hour or so.]

Comments

[water-wonder.livejournal.com]

Tori had wandered down a floor, feeling a bit restless and not yet ready to sleep. She spotted Stark's room and decided to pass by and say hi.

Tori knocked lightly on the door, not wanting to disturb Stark, should he be sleeping. "Stark?"

[stykera]

Stark stopped mid-pace and stared at the door for a moment. Yes, sometimes he forgot there were other people who might actually want to talk to him.

"Yes? What? It's not locked. Who is it?"
Yep. Still babbling.

[water-wonder.livejournal.com]

"It's Tori." She said, before opening the door slightly. She didn't want to startle him. "I was just passing by and decided to say hi. Are you okay?"

[stykera]

Looking at Tori like she were mad (and Stark is very good at that look, having been on the receiving end of it many, many times), he shook his head.

"No. Not okay. Might be okay later though. Not now. Not now at all."

[water-wonder.livejournal.com]

Tori meant no offense or anything when she'd asked that.

"Can I do anything to help?" She was worried about her friend.

[stykera]

"No," Stark said shortly.

A few more paces, then he stopped and sat down heavily on the floor. "Maybe? I don't know. Not fixable. Everything's gone wrong. Or gone, just gone."

[water-wonder.livejournal.com]

Tori frowned, really worried. She took a seat in front of him, wanting to show him she was there if he needed someone.

"I haven't gone anywhere, Stark. I'm here."

[stykera]

"Of course you're here. You're right there," Stark said quietly, flapping a hand in Tori's direction. "But she left. And she didn't even say anything. Nothing. And now she's gone again. Dead again, maybe. I don't know. Just gone."

[water-wonder.livejournal.com]

Tori nodded, trying to make sense of what Stark was saying. "She who?"

[stykera]

Apparently the floor had become very interesting, as Stark was now staring intently at it.

"Zhaan. She was here. She was dead and then she was here and then now she's gone again."

[water-wonder.livejournal.com]

"Oh. Well, I'm sorry for that Stark." Tori really meant it, though she wasn't sure if that was the right thing to say. "Maybe she'll come back?"

[stykera]

"She didn't just leave. She's gone." Stark shook his head and drew his knees up to his chest. "She was dead, before she was here. I was there. Felt her die. Couldn't do anything. And if she...Can't do this again. She didn't even say anything. She said goodbye, before she died she said goodbye. Nothing this time. Not a word."