Haunted House College AU

[worthallthis]

While the army is covering tuition, it doesn't cover living expenses, and temporary work on-campus is better than temporary work off-campus. So when the drama department managed to raise funds for a haunted house in one of the frat houses, James put on his best "I can kill you with my pinky" look, a shabby suit (shabby is really all he has, so, lucky), and his growing out hair loose around his face and "interviewed" for a spot as in-character for a creepy fucky as possible.

He had to refuse the first offer to be one of the ghosts inside. Dropping the character and donning a slightly sheepish smile, "Really not that keen on jumping out an' scaring people. Especially the ones that get punchy when they're scared." When the interviewer looked at his resume, saw his army tour (the whole "captured and tortured" thing isn't on there, but it doesn't have to be), she just nodded and stuck him at introductions and taking tickets. The pay isn't great, but it'll cover meals for a while.

So he shows up for opening night, gets his face done all pale with stage-make up and his suit a little spruced up with a very fancy shirt underneath from the costume department, and takes in the faces of the other people who'd been brought on.

Comments

[worthallthis]

"City boy, through and through," he says without embarrassment. His brief time in the desert absolutely does not count. It's not like they were ever very far from a jeep with proper rations and water canteens and shit. "And shut up, I shaved before I came here, so I'd look the part. I ain't stubbly."

He says it jokingly, though, because while he is pretty determined to keep to at least some of his pre-war looks, he's not really offended, either. Though he has to resist the urge to check with the flesh hand, just to make sure he didn't start getting super-serum facial hair, on top of everything else.

[shadowsran]

A harder laugh. "I'm not saying you're all fuzzy right now! C'mon, you look perfectly clean and spooky." No taking offense, good. Priorities, here. "Still broad, so my point stands. Lumberjackish. It's a good thing."

[worthallthis]

"Not a word I ever expected to hear attached to me," he chuckles, shaking his head. "Maybe I should skip the pirate costume and get a fake axe, yeah?"

[shadowsran]

"Ooooh." That's a yes. "I don't know if it'd beat pirate, but that's definitely coming up fast on a tie. Fake axe, flannel, jeans, it's a whole costume you'd really only need the one piece for." Efficient costuming, if she did say so herself. "I love it, see, you've got a knack."

[worthallthis]

"Would I actually hafta grow the beard, though?" he muses, mostly joking. "Can you really do the lumberjack thing without a bushy beard?"

[shadowsran]

"I'd love to see it, but I think you could settle for a little stubble. Maybe even just makeup, you know, little gray tint around the jaw and you'd be golden." A joke right back; it's not quite so strict, and he's broad enough to compensate for near anything.

[worthallthis]

"Well, next Halloween's a ways off," he says with a shrug and a wry smile. "I've got time to decide. Maybe even come up with a completely different, awesome idea before then." Since he's not really participating tomorrow, unless somebody invites him somewhere low-key after class or something.

[shadowsran]

Dedicated haunt of school functions with few avenues to obtain personal invites that she is, unlikely she'd have anywhere to invite him. "Makes sense, but I'll be on you about it, I want guarantees there's brainstorming. Hard proof." Just short of cited essays. "You'll be the best whatever you come up with you can be. In the meantime, I'll hope some full size bars find their way over to you."

[worthallthis]

Well, it's not like he'd go to a party at all, just this many people in one room is edging on too much. He rooooolls his eyes at her suggestion of needing proof, but smiles, too. "Yes, ma'am. I'm definitely planning on using some of the money I made this weekend on discount candy Tuesday morning, I promise you that."

[shadowsran]

"Good man. Glad you'll have something cheery going on, seriously, it's too fun a holiday to miss out on more than you have to. Don't let me catch you missing out on other ones, hm?" She's one of the few available to check at all, come Christmas.

After a contemplative sip of drink she asks, "So, overall impression and time here - fun? Not fun?"

[worthallthis]

There's a beat of something sad, there-- no idea what he's going to be doing for Christmas or Hanukah-- besides working as many hours as he can get and hiding out in his apartment-- before he shakes his head a little and smiles, hides it behind the last bite of cake. "Mostly fun. A little much, sometimes, but fun. Good people."

[shadowsran]

"I'm really, really glad." It's good to know it hadn't been sullied by anything that will never be discussed again. "I get kind of a vibe around you, nice knowing you've got something fun on your plate once in awhile. Nice when you're all smiley." Beat. "Maybe that's just cake."

[worthallthis]

His brows go up a little. "A vibe?" he repeats with half a smile. "I'm almost afraid to ask."

[shadowsran]

"I'm flattered," she shoots back with a laugh. "I don't know! They're hard to define, that's why they're vibes. Dunno, just like you've got too full a plate. Could benefit from fun stuff, outings."

[worthallthis]

Considering some of the shit in his past, it could have been a lot of stuff. Vibes are weird, and he's kind of weird, so. He shakes his head with a little smile. "Not wrong, I suppose. Hard to fit in fun things, though." Especially ones that cost money.

[shadowsran]

"I don't know how you get anything done, with your workload." Terribly sad. Not enough free time, not enough socialization. He seems friendly. "I'd die a month in, pretty sure."

[worthallthis]

"Army," he reminds her with half a grin. "This is nothin'. This is like vacation almost." Also, the whole POW experimentation thing. That was even worse than regular-army shit. "Everywhere I have to do tedious shit, it's air-conditioned and I don't have to carry a gun and body armor."

[shadowsran]

She laughs, though there's some sympathy in it. Sounds horrendous to her even without being privy to any gruesome details. "I hear 'vacation' and I think no assignments at all, some quiet and free time to pick out fun stuff to do. Less worrying about grades or army stuff." Not that he seems particularly worried. "You'll come out of it with ridiculously good time management, at least. And a job."

[worthallthis]

"Not sure I'd know what to do with quiet and free time," he says with a kind of wistful smile. "Maybe just sleep. But a job is the goal here, yeah. Not like I'm going back into service after everything, gotta find somethin' else I actually enjoy, you know?" And for all the work, he does enjoy his classes, mostly.

[shadowsran]

"Sleep's good! Fun doesn't need to be parties, it's just time that's yours." Sleeping, reading, television, a hike, any number of things. Nightmarish as she imagines that much math to be, nap might be necessary. "You'll make out great, then. Engineering's steady demand, pretty comfortable, pays good, long as you've got a strong handshake you're probably gonna be snapped up before you're out of the graduation gown."

[worthallthis]

Naps are very necessary. He shrugs at the assertion of hiring-- he's pretty sure he'll have to do the same interview and fight for work anyone else will. Not like the economy's super great, after all.

Finishing off the last of his second piece of cake and settling back with his beer, he asks, "And what do you do in your free time? Besides drama club stuff and cooking."

[shadowsran]

"Lot of walks. The pandering to college kids sucks a little, but I mean, it's cool to explore, find new little stores and window shop. Listening to music, books - library tied in with that I guess, things that can fill up as much or little time as you need, give you space to think. Stuff like that."

Not an avid partygoer, herself.

"Other people in my building have kids, so babysitting comes up once in awhile? Not really recreational, but it eats time."

[worthallthis]

"Sounds pretty nice, I'll give you that," he allows with a little grin. "Very relaxed. Come Christmas break, maybe I'll get in on some of that kinda thing for a couple weeks." Well, around work. He's definitely got to take some seasonal shift somewhere, if he can find somewhere not too crowded and likely to set him off.

[shadowsran]

"Window shopping after Thanksgiving's a crapshoot, just warning you now," she says, "You see a lot of stuff, but nothing good. The walks are great though, when you time it right and get just a dusting of snow, enough it's all pristine--" She sounds honest to god sentimental, "Magical. I'll never be used to it."

[worthallthis]

Which finally brings him around to realizing with some surprise: "You stayin' put over the holiday? Not going anywhere?"