A Not-So-Quiet Chicago Apartment (FS and AJ)

[Applejack]

Aaron yawned into the sleeve of his jacket, before he roughly and loudly knocked on the apartment door once again. "Come on, Scott, I know you're in there!" Aaron called out, switching from leaning on one foot and then the other as he waited in the middle of the apartment hallway. "I'm hungry and bored and don't feel like eating alone. It's my treat, you know I'm good for it!"

The thin, black haired young man sighed, crossing his arms impatiently. He was dressed in a warm jacket with an expensive set of sneakers and jeans; simple, yet at the same time each article an expensive brand. He knocked on the door to the other man's apartment. Sure, they weren't friends, but at the very least Aaron would like to imagine that they were acquaintances. Maybe.

"Scott, come on, we both need the sunshine anyway!" Aaron commented, before glancing out the hall window towards the cloudy skies above. "Well, the exercise at least." he muttered under his breath, scratching his head. "The least you could do is open the door, you know. Don't really feel like yelling at a wall."

[Fluttershy]

Eventually, with tortuous, deliberate slowness, the door cracked open just a tad, revealing a snatch of thin face and a beady, suspicious eye, which met Aaron's gaze for a few silent seconds. The door shut followed by the sound of  at least three locks being undone before it opened again.

Like the other, he was thin and dark-haired, with a sort of haggard hawkish look about him. He wore baggy, too-large clothes, long pants and a hoodie, somewhat haggard and rumpled like the rest of him, apparently uncaring about being too hot. He gave the slightly taller man a sour look, which from the look of his face was more or less his default expression.

"I was sleeping," he grumbled.

[Applejack]

Aaron rolled his eyes before giving the shorter, gruffer man a stare right back. "You sleep even more than me. It's like 2PM, that's not good for you. Nice to see you too by the way." He crossed his arms and smiled. "So, are you going to invite me in? Can't keep a man like me waiting, you know."

And so without waiting for a response, Aaron pushed the door open and stepped into the grumpy man's home, taking a quick look around. "So yeah, I figure some lunch with some company would be good. I'm thinkin'... pizza. Maybe chinese? Whatever." he stretched his arms and glanced back to Scott, waiting for a response. With a bit of a condescending tilt to his voice, he then adds "You really need to clean this place up sometime, by the way. I thought I was lazy. You'd probably give the landlord a heart attack if they saw this apartment." he laughed.

[Fluttershy]

Scott padded in, looking around with the faintest hint of embarrassment on his face. "Whatever, man. It's not like he ever checks. I pay my rent and that's all he cares about."

He stuck his hands in his pockets. "And I do clean," he added defensively. "... Sometimes. I was gonna clean tonight. I mean--am gonna. Whatever."

He huffed and collapsed into the nearby chair, padded as much by cast-off clothing as the natural fabric of the seat. "And yeah. I guess food sounds good. I was gonna order Chinese for breakfast." He sniffed. "When I sleep's my business."

[Applejack]

Aaron held back a laugh. "You're about a year too late to do spring cleaning, Scotty..." he chuckled and muttered under his breath. He looked around for a seat for himself, frowning as everything seemed to be occupied by dirty clothes and who knows what else. With a sigh, he settled on standing.

"That hurts. And here I am caring for your health." the man fakes a sob, before snickering. "Anyway, I figure we could eat out, get those old creaking bones of yours some action for ten minutes, eh?" He smirked, reaching into his pocket and pulling out an expensive looking phone. "I would order some takeout, but I think your apartment's suffered enough for a lifetime, eh? Save you a bit of trouble when you do decide to clean."

[Fluttershy]

"Yeah." Scott didn't stand up, but at the very least he finally seemed willing to look at Aaron. "Yeah, I guess that'd be good." He eyed the phone. "Nice. That's new. When did you get that?"

[Applejack]

"Eh, dad waited in line on the day of release. Showing his love to his favorite son with an expensive birthday present. Better than a cake I guess, hate sweets." Aaron shrugged casually as he stared at the phone for a second, sliding his finger across the screen. "I swear, I don't see the point in these upgrades coming out like every month or whatever. You can have my old one if you want. Probably just gonna throw it away anyway."

He tapped on the screen for a few moments before glancing at Scott. "So are we going now or do you want to freshen up a little so you don't scare the cashiers?" he joked, unfazed by the sourness of his acquaintance as he put the phone away.

[Fluttershy]

Scott gave him a level look before standing. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess I should. Don't break any of my crap." He slouched out of the room, disappearing into the bathroom and leaving Aaron stuck in the middle of the mess.

It wasn't even that well-lit. The blinds were closed and most of the illumination came from the computer monitor on the desk shoved with delightfully haphazard lack of care into the corner, amid the crushed and empty cans of Kickstart and Monster and what was left of Scott's last order of takeout, thankfully an empty box. The whole place was oppressive and silent.

He had been planning on cleaning up. Really he had. Just... there were always more important things.

[Applejack]

Aaron just shook his head as he went over and opened the blinds. He had no idea why Scott liked to live in a cave, but oh well. "No promises." he sang jokingly as he tried to avoid stepping on... well, anything.

Really, he had no idea what was up with Scott, but oh well, he was good company... when he felt like being good company. Aaron rolled his shoulders and yawned. Had a habit of picking the weird ones, it looks like...

[Fluttershy]

When he came back, Scott looked... slightly less sour, at least. He'd swapped the hoodie out for... another hoodie, and slightly less rumpled jeans, but for the time being it was probably the best Aaron could expect.

He wandered over to his computer, seeming to hesitate for a moment before he shut it down. He shook his head. Whatever, man, it'll still be there later.

He turned to Aaron, hands sliding into his pockets. "So... yeah. Chinese, I guess, if you want."

A pause. He chewed on his lip awkwardly, before adding, "Happy birthday, I guess. That's today, right?"

[Applejack]

Aaron shrugged. "Thanks. Not really a big deal, anyway." he smirked and walked over to the door, exiting the messy apartment and stretching in the hallway. "You're the one that wanted Chinese, sound a bit more eager, here. I'm the one that's paying."

He laughed at the man's expense, before heading down the hall to the stairs. "Come on, I know it's been forever since you went outside for real, so try not to get lost."

[Fluttershy]

Scott grabbed his keys and slouched out, closing and locking the door behind him and hustling to catch up. "Yeah. True. Thanks," he said, completely failing to sound any more eager. He at least managed to stand up a little straighter. "I'm not gonna get lost. I might be blinded for a little bit, but I'm not gonna get lost."

He grumbled darkly under his breath about the sun being too bright anyway.

"Yeah... I guess it's not a big deal. Still," he added, but didn't finish the thought.

[Applejack]

Aaron sighed, walking down the sidewalk. Occasionally he'd glance back at the other man, as if to make sure he was actually still there. "Thanks anyway. Thought that counts and all that." He waved a hand dismissively.

He walked down the block, hands in his pockets. "When's your birthday anyway?" he asked after a few quiet moments, the Chinese restaurant not too far off.

[Fluttershy]

Scott managed to keep up, though his eyes were fixed firmly on the ground and his hands jammed firmly into his pockets. The question seemed to startle him, and he stopped, mouth opening slightly as he murmured to himself.

"I, uh... It's..."

Finally he shrugged. "I think it's today. I haven't really, you know, paid attention. Not like I have anyone who's gonna give me gifts, you know?" He looked awkwardly at the ground again. "I mean... I don't know."

[Applejack]

"Yeesh, man, you put it like that it's just depressing." Aaron remarked, scratching his head. "Well, think of this as your birthday lunch, then!" he laughed, shuffling his pockets.

"Anyway, we're here. What do you want?" he turned and asked Scott as he pushed the door open, the small store mostly empty for it being the middle of the day.

[Fluttershy]

He looked around, almost forlornly. "I... Sesame chicken," he decided, and then added, "I thought it would be busier than this. I mean... not that I mind. But..."

He fumbled with his words briefly.

"...Whatever."

[Applejack]

"A little too lonely for you?" he snarked, before smirking. "And here I thought you weren't a people person, Scotty." he laughed at the man's general awkwardness. It was easy to see he really didn't get out much. Not that he was any different. "Go find a table or something. I'll order it up and pay, yeah? Try not to scare any children." He waved a hand before going up to the cashier and getting his order in.

[Princess Celestia]

Scott seems to lose focus for a bit...

A feeling of great fear and nervousness comes over him...a feeling of...betrayal...yet, within, a desire, a NEED, to do the right thing...to march forward, with friends at their sides, and cover for those who are incapable of defending themselves. A feeling that, as long as there are friends, one will never be truly lonely...

And then, as soon as it happened, it's gone. Zapped back to reality.

What a strange feeling to have at this time of day.

[Fluttershy]

"What the f..."

Scott brought a hand to his forehead, tapping it a few times. "I, uh..."

Find a table. Right.

"I... yeah. Right. I'll... I'll be over there."

He sat, resting his elbows on the table and hiding his face. What the heck had that been about? Help the helpless? Support friends? Yeah, right. That's kind of behavior that'd get you burned. Scott wasn't in the altruism business.

But why did it feel so... familiar? He seethed. This is what he got for going outside.

[Applejack]

If Aaron was concerned or even noticed his friend's stuttering and confusion, he didn't show it.

Eventually, Aaron came back with the food, giving Scott his order before sitting across from the man. He rose an eyebrow as he looked at his acquaintance. "I leave you for a minute and you look even deader inside than usual." he remarked, shaking his head. "You really, really don't get out much. What happened? ...Whatever, eat up before that stuff gets cold, I'm not hearing any complaints even if it is your birthday." he shrugged, digging into his order.

[Fluttershy]

Scott looked up, opened his mouth to say something, and found that he had nothing to say. He busied himself with the meal instead, looking embarrassed.

"...thanks," he managed, finally, though it came out with all the ease of pulling a tooth. "It's... never mind. Just... thanks."

[Applejack]

"Uuuuh huh. You're welcome." Aaron stared for a moment, before rolling his eyes and sipping his drink. "Didn't think you were a day dreamer. You look a bit out of it there." he commented, resting his chin on the palm of his hand as he propped his elbow on the table.

[Fluttershy]

"It's nothing," Scott replied, a little more firmly, eyes fixed on his meal, which he was devouring with surprising ferocity. "Just me being a freak."

[Applejack]

"Wha? You reached the acceptance stage already?" Aaron fakes a gasp, before laughing and eating his food, a lot more patiently than the man sitting across from him.

"Seriously, though, you're not that freaky. You just need to get out more." he comments, waving a hand dismissively. "So, what were you daydreaming about? Getting withdrawal from being away from your computer?"

[Fluttershy]

The reply this time was delayed. Scott swallowed the bite he was working on and seemed to hesitate.

He looked up at Aaron for a moment before his gaze slid away. "...No."

He didn't want to talk about it. Heck, for all he cared it had never happened. Just... just finish, do whatever Aaron wanted, and then go back home. And stay there. Without any weird ideas.

"And I kind of am freaky."

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