Just -Off- The k e y Of [REASON]

[Alice ;; ♥]

Anna pushed back her hair, strangely casual throughout this situation. She rolled her eyes as her brother spoke, nodding along, finally answering once he had run out of breath.

I got here a few days ago. And I can go out whenever I want with whoever I want, asshole.

Yes, it had already begun. Anna and Ryan constantly fought as children, and had never got along. Although they admired each other, they woudl often let their arguments become childish, even now. Ryan rolled his eyes back, taking a step forward as Anna spoke.

Okay fine. But why the hell are you creeping around people's houses, jerk.

And so the insults railed on pitifully for a few more minutes,forwards and back, until finally a conclusion had been reached. Well, no, not a conclusion. More of an agreement. No. An understanding. No.

Silence?

Yes, for now. Anna and Ryan both turned to Resa, annoyed and confused as always. They may as well have started crying for all the maturity they had so far displayed. Ryan then turned back to Anna, and asked, somehow politely

So, why are you here?

Anna raised a brow, and answered quickly, before returning the question.

I came to apologize to my friend. You?

Ryan sighed pushing back his fringe. What had she done now? Anyway, he answered, smiling slightly, looking over at Resa.

Ive been here since midday. With my girlfriend. Fair enough, right?

Oh dear. Silence fell across this charming little tale. Anna looked from Resa to Ryan and back. Thoughts flooded through her mind. Resa? Ryan? Aemie? That trek? It was all so weird. Finally, however, Anna spoke.

Eeeewwww

[S.E.C.R.E.T]

As Ryan and Anna fought, Resa's mind was blank, and all she could do was revell in the silence of her thoughts. She shook her head and stepped back to lean against a wall of one of the stalls. Her eyes flipped back and forth between the two as they spoke; she heard, but she didn't listen.

Resa's eyebrows raised when both of them turned to her. She offered an overly polite smile but said nothing, knowing they would continue on their own. She had begun to listen now, though, and with listening came thoughts. She was going to apoloize to you... I don't care, she pissed me off... Could you possibly put that stubborness behind you for one second? No... They're talking about you now... Wha-- Oh. Yep. They sure were.

Resa looked from Ryan to Anna after he'd spoken, and she could see the different things crossing Anna's face quite openly. And then came her verbal reaction. Resa nodded and looked to the ground, then back up to Anna with a smirk on her lips. Well, good, I so hoped you'd be happy for us. I'm glad it worked out that way. Riot looked from Resa to Anna, then back to Resa. The tall woman simply turned on ehr heel and headed back toward her office, setting her gun back in her drawer before stepping out of the barn and heading toward her flat with Riot and Eros following, glancing back to the barn every few seconds.

[Alice ;; ♥]

Ryan and Anna watched as Resa left. and turned to each other, looking apologetic, upset and just plain guilty. Anna ran first, with Ryan soon after, and after a moment, they had reached Resa's flat. Anna pushed past Ryan, and he stood outside, both patient and annoyed. Anna reached the door and pulled it to behind her. She then turned to Resa, speaking softly.

Im sorry. It was just... you and my brother? You know...

She trailed off slightly. It was weird, but she had overreacted completely. And she'd soon get used to it. But now, she had more apologizing to do.

I'm so sorry about the trek. I guess I was kind of mean. And competitive . . . and obvious.

A smirk crossed Anna's face, along with a sudden mix of sorrow and guilt, and she extended a hand to Resa. A hand of friendship, understanding and apology. Apology? One word that has been used afr too much in this post, I'm sure you'll agree.

[S.E.C.R.E.T]

Resa turned as the door opened with eyebrows raised as she saw Anna, wondering what she had to say. She didn't reply to Anna's first statement, and waited for her another. And it came. Resa had to give her credit; she herself never would have apologized. Yet another character flaw we've managed to uncover, besides having mental conferencs with her different thoughts.

Riot and Eros looked from one girl to the other, wondering what would happen. They sensed Resa was still annoyed, but they remained calm when she spoke tot ehm in Sioux again. She shook her head and looked back to Anna, who was holding her hand out. It was easy, really. Easier than Resa liked things. She had never done the easy thing; she'd always chosen what was harder, because easy was dangerous and easy was boring at the same time. She gave into easy, though, and reached out to accept Anna's hand.

With a sigh Resa plopped onto the couch on the wall beside them and pulled Anna with them. She loked to the ceiling as if talking to someone sitting on the old wooden fan, but her words were directed out in the aisle. Ryan, haul your ass in here, too.

[Alice ;; ♥]

Ryan looked up on hearing his name. He looked from his sister to his girlfriend and back. Oh god, what an odd situation. But today seemed to be full of them. He nodded, rising slowly from his seat, followed by Conrad and Caliban. Anna petted Conrad slowly, and sat down, opposite Resa. Ryan took a few seconds to decide where to sit, before sitting exactly between the two females.

Now, he turned to Resa, smiling apologetically. Maybe for himself, maybe for Anna. It was hard to say. Resa looked stressed, and he extended his hand out, patting his shoulder softly, before placing his hands behind his head, sighing, waiting for the air to clear. Anna looked over at him, Conrad still by her side. Caliban had drifted over to Eros and Riot, laying down by them.

[S.E.C.R.E.T]

Resa watched as Ryan came in with his dogs and looked torn for a moment as to where to sit. As he wedged him self between herself and Anna, Resa smirked. She looked over as Eros and Riot greeted Caliban, recognizing him now as a friend.

Resa glanced over to Ryanas he patted his shoulder. She reached voer and pushed him lightly. Don't look so smug. REsa cocked an eyebrow and stared ahead of her, zoning out for a second. Her eyes remained glazed over and she didn't blink as she spoke. So what now?

((Bleh, sorry it's short!))

[Alice ;; ♥]

Ryan sighed, looking over at Anna. Then, he heard Resa's question. Well, it was going to be awkward if they all sat here in silence all night. Anna and Ryan seemed to appear at conclusions at the same time. Both Caliban and Conrad became slightly unsettled by the sudden silence, and began to jump up at Resa, who they already grown to trust. Anna shushed them, and finished with an idea. A selfish one, but an idea all the same.

I say Ryan leaves and we have a girly night in.

Ryan rolled his eyes, making a disgruntled noise. Then, he whistled, and both the dogs came by his side, he petted one anxiously. He didn't want to loose Resa through this. Both dogs clambered to be petted, and Ryan laughed nervously. Then he retorted with his own comment.

I say Anna leaves and you and I continue watching CSI.

Bad move. Anna immediately smiled, and gestured to the television. She pushed back her hair and her smile grew wide. She was fully unphased by Ryan and continued with her own plans.

CSI? Great. I love that show

She smiled gracefully, and nodded over at Resa. Ryan suddenly grew annoyed and stuck his tongue out at Anna. He soon came up with another comment, and hurled it to his sister.

Great. Go watch it somewhere else.

Anna looked annoyed, but knew how to win him round. Maybe there was a way they could sort this out.

Why don't you choose Resa? Maybe you just want some peace for tonight, eh? We've already caused way to much trouble.

Ryan nodded, smiling and leaning back, one dog trying to get at his lap. He smiled slightly at Resa, hoping she wouldn't be completely put off the Clark family.

[S.E.C.R.E.T]

Resa continued to look at the ceiling, her head resting against the back of the couch and the wall, as the night's plans were discussed. As the dogs began to jump on Resa, she lifted her head to greet them, petting them quietly as options were tossed about.

Reas thought as they spoke, deciding and thinking back at the same time. This was no less manic than Resa's family. For the most part, they were a bunch of loud, Southern, argumentative bunch of people. Dysfunctional would probably be the right word. What Resa being raised by her aunt and uncle, her five cousins were practically brothers and sisters to her, and their were always family arguments. They were the family that hated the other perfect families, but that everyone loved for the most part. Yes, dysfunction was the word. Or if a phrase floats your boat better, a functional kink.

Resa's thoughts returned to the conversation at hand and she raised her eyebrows absently, weighing her options. A night with Anna, Ryan, both of them, or her thoughts. OKay, the last one was out. Hey! I-- Shut up. OKay; Anna, Ryan, or both. Resa really didn't want to deal with both of them. Or Ryan. Or Anna. But she had to pick. A night of H and hissunglasses next to to Ryan. Or a night of possibly some H and his sunglasses, definate ice cream and gossip, and good movies. Check.

Resa stood and pulled Ryan off the couch. Alright, babe, let's go. Anna and I are going to stay in tonight. You have to go. The dogs can stay with us, though. She gave a fake smile, and then remembered she was his ride. You can take Anna's car home. Call me tomorrow and we'll do something. Whatever you want. I need a girl's night, though.

[Alice ;; ♥]

Ryan sighed softly, and nodded. He patted the dogs, and they jumped up, adoring their owner, but letting him leave. Then, he turned to Resa.

Ill see you tomorrow?

Whether it was a question or a statement, he had said it, and he smiled softly at her, stuck his tongue out at Anna and headed out the door. Anna rolled her eyes, and smiled warmly, opening up her bag before Resa. Inside was a pampering kit, seven girly movies, loads of old copies of Vogue and Elle and a heapload of junk food, including two large tubs of Ben and Jerrys.

Oh yes, she'd had this planned. She really was sorry about her recent behavior and planned on makign it up to her best friend.

[S.E.C.R.E.T]

Resa nodded as Ryan spoke softly, letting him leave with a kiss on the cheek. She then turned back to Anna with a devilish smile after shutting the door behind him. The tall woman snatched the bag away from Anna, going through it quickly and looking up with a gleam in her eyes. She handed the bag back to her and moved toward the door after speaking to her dogs.

Resa left the office with Riot, Eros, and presumably Anna, Caliban, and Conrad following her. She made her wayback voer to her flat, opening the door for the others to move in. Resa took the bag away from Anna again, setting it on the floor in ehr living room. She took the two tubs of Ben Jerry's and mvoed to the kitchen, taking the lids off both and sticking a spoon in each one.

Resa came back into the living room, offering one tub to Anna and keeping the other for herself. She plopped onto the couch and removed her shoes for the second time that night and pulled a pillow into her lap as she leaned on the arm of the couch and took a bite of her ice cream. She didn't bother to swallow before she spoke, so her words came out slightly slurred. Okay. Good movie first, then horror, then good again.Yes? What are we watching first?

[Alice ;; ♥]

Ryan returned moments later to the flat, apologising to Resa, sighing. He ran over to Caliban and Conrad, and led them out the door. But not a minute later, he had returned with two adorable little kittens and one Lurcher on a red leash. Anna smiled up at him gratefully, and he nodded, leaving quickly, his cheeks redenning.

Anna smiled happily as the two kittens curled up in her laps, and the lurcher lay by her feet. They'd been in her car,a nd she knew Ryan would have to be back to return them to her. She was very much attached to the three. The white kitten with the black markings, Socks, was the oldest. She was almost an adult. Unlike Smokey, her much younger friend. And the lurcher? Anna's faithful companion of five years. She dearly loved this dog, and had named her Morgan. Anna quickly introduced Resa to all three animals, and smiled, nodding at Resa's choice of film. She flicked through the titles, suggesting an option.

What about The Wedding Planner?

[S.E.C.R.E.T]

((I posted at Sedona's flat for the puppies.))

Resa smirked as Ran re-entered and left again. She then turned her attention back to the new animals, who were promptly greeted by Riot and Eros with sniffs and licks. Resa smiled reached out to pet one of the kittens. As she did so, she felt something on her shoulder and turned to see Jinx standing with two paws on Resa's shoulder two on teh back of the couch. With a laugh, Resa pulled Jinx into her lap, and the Calico/Tabby mix began to pur as Resa scratched her under her chin.

Eros moved to greet Jinx, but Riot knew beter. The cat swatted at the canine's nose, her claws retracted but still making a point. With a whine he returned to greeting Morgan. Riot had curled into a mound of fur on the floor below Resa. Jinx gave an intolerant look to the kittens the kittens Anna held, as if to say she knew beter. Resa shook her head at the adult cat as her curious and more loving side shown through and she approached the kittens, bending to sniff them cautiously, one paw resting on Anna's thigh. Resa looked up to Anna, nodding when she spoke. Sounds good to me. The woman reached for another bite of her ice cream, waiting for Anna to put the movie in.

[Alice ;; ♥]

Anna fed the disk into Resa's DVD player and smiled warmly as the credits came up, with bubbly music filling the speakers. She smiled slightly at the new cat, nodding respectfully. If the cat wanted a pet, she'd come. Resa was wary of getting scratched. Son, the movie had begun, and Anna had laughed and cried, and eaten a whole damn tub of ice cream.

And all along, she had found out how wonderful it was to have Resa back,a nd how perfect her company was. She huddled up to the large sofa, smiling widely at a comical mishap about halfway through the film. She couldn't wait for this night to go onwards into the later [or earlier] hours. Personally, Anna never wanted this time to stop.

[S.E.C.R.E.T]

Resa watched as Jinx satisfied her interest in the kittens and came back to rest in her owner's lap. Resa's scratched under her chin and played iwth her paws as the opening credits began to roll. She put a small amount of ice cream on her finger, offering the creme to Jinx, who lapped it up eagerly, then came to investigate the ice cream.

While watching the movie, Resa fended off Jinx, who kept trying to get into her ice cream. When the movie ended she got up, glad she'd chosen a girl's night in. Jinx gave her an indignant lok at being tossed to the side as Resa moved to look at her DVD collection, searching for a horror movie. Okay, do we not cheap, laugh at the special effects horror or scare the snot of us horror?

[Alice ;; ♥]

Anna laughed, pushign back stray strands of brunette hair. Her smile was warm, a true smile, showing Resa how much she was enjoying herself. Socks began to walk over Anna's knees, as she winced slightly, chuckling. She began to go through the DVD collection above Socks, choosing a few discs, pushign them towards Resa.

Rocky Horror Picture Show
Nightmare on Elm Street
Freddy vs Jason
Nightmare before Christmas
Texas Chainsaw massacre
Shaun of the Dead

Anna waited patiently for Resa to decide, knowing a few of them weren't really scary movies, but ah well. She loved her wide DVD collection and it had taken her a long while to acquire.