[ voice ]

[hostage]

[Voice this time, not his usual video. He's pretty sick of people telling him how awful he looks when he's got the shakes. Not that he sounds great, either, but typing's too much effort and he doesn't care that much.]

This is, uh, like a heads-up. I don't think I can do the cookie thing next week. Just a lotta work, you know, in the kitchen then going out in the rain all day. I don't... yeah. Anyway, I can give you all the stuff if you wanna do it yourself. It'd be nice if somebody was out there for the new guys. I never really thought about making sure somebody else could do it if I was gone.

[A pause.]

Yeah. That's it, I guess. 409 if you wanna pick up ingredients or whatever.

Comments

[whatsupcroc]

Jesse, may I come over for a little anyway?

[hostage]

Uh, I guess. What for?

[whatsupcroc]

You.

( said with that indelible teenage tone of "duh" )

[hostage]

I ain't such good company right now.

[whatsupcroc]

You don't need to be good company. You just need to be you!

( Reassurance that in seeing him it's okay to keep him as a friend, even if he feels and sounds not so good. It's not something that she's uncomfortable with, personally. Sick friends is par for the course, and she knows it can be bothersome... but she wants to be there still in some way, even if just for a short while. )

voice;

[motioned]

That's too bad, but more importantly, are you feeling alright?

[hostage]

[Don't be silly, Collette. No one wants Jesse to just be Jesse.]

Okay, yeah. Did you eat? Should I make something?

[hostage]

Yeah, I'm fine.

[A pretty mechanical response.]

[whatsupcroc]

I just had spaghetti. But hey, if you have any tea, or even just plain cold water, I won't object!

( Having something for her hands to hold keep sthem from fidgeting. She smiles at the camera, the camera that isn't on, hoping it comes across in her voice. )

Speaking of, were you hungry? I've got mor than I could eat, so if you didn't mind leftovers...

( She wants to be useful. She's never sure when she's hitting the right notes for it, and she also doesn't know if the way he sounds is the kind of way a spaghetti eater should sound. Maybe it was more of a Minestrone day. )

[motioned]

[She's not convinced, but she's also not going to be stubborn about it.]

Well, um, I can't bake or anything, but if you can't find anybody else to give them out when the day itself comes up, I could probably handle it.

[hostage]

[Does he seem like a tea-drinker, Collette? Does he?]

Oh, uh... Sure. Leftovers are good.

[hostage]

Don't worry about it too much. I don't wanna, you know, saddle anybody with a bunch of work.

[whatsupcroc]

( He seems like there are some leave's he'd be friendly with... she laughs. )

Great! I'll bring those with. Be there in five to ten?

[hostage]

[He'd rather smoke them.]

Sure. Just come in, I'll leave the door open.

[motioned]

You shouldn't think of it like that! I mean, you're trying to do something really nice for people.

[whatsupcroc]

( Bake it, it'll go down more easily...

Collette takes around eight minutes to get ready and down the hall, knocking twice perfunctorily before allowing herself inside. )

Hey Jesse! It's me! Hello Jesse's roommates, if any of you guys are here too!

( Better to be polite all around. )

Where do you want the 'ghetti?

[hostage]

Ain't that big a deal. I just thought I should let people know...

[hostage]

[Jesse is planted on the couch, where he's been for... a while, it looks like. He has himself a nest of pillows and blankets, and he's not moving out of it even though a guest has arrived.]

Oh, hey. Here, I'll just take it...

[...by which he means he'll lazily stretch out his arm and reach for it without getting up.]

[whatsupcroc]

( Collette quirks up an eyebrow, wheeling around so she can get a good look at Jesse. )

Been couch camping much?

( She makes sure there's nothing on the ground to get tangled up in her wheels before she comes close enough to hand off the spaghetti. She didn't have a fork on her. )

Got a fork buried under there with the rest of the 21st century? You look like heck. Want water or anything?

[hostage]

Oh, shit. Yeah, no, there's...

[He takes a moment, once he's got the spaghetti, to look around. Oh, there's a fork. On an old plate, on the floor, shoved about halfway under the couch. Good enough. He picks that up.]

I'm okay.

[whatsupcroc]

Jesse! No, that's gross! Come on, give that on over!

( She holds out her hand imperiously. )

Let me at least clean that thing first. Who knows what's on it! Hand that plate over too, huh?

( She wrinkles her nose, clutter and debris of this nature rubbing her the wrong way. She's always needed to be tidy for her own sake, and what might not have been a natural behavior was so deeply ingrained that it drove her into occasional fits of tidying up. Caesar had "benefitted" in the weeks before; Jesse might well now. )

If you don't feel good, it's easy to let stuff pile up, but you should really ask for someone to help out when it's that bad!

[hostage]

It's fine! It's clean!

[Or, well... It's not crusty, at least.]

You didn't come over just to clean up after me, did you?

video;

[marbled]

Out there for the new guys. [ She repeats with a curious tone. ]

Why?

[hostage]

Why what?

[marbled]

[ She pauses to make sure she understands before asking: ] The new guys?

What new guys?