[The answer seems to be a resounding 'fuck you' because he doesn't reply. At all.
But then a few minutes later, someone comes storming down the trail outside the grove. The gravel crunches aggressively under Ash's shoes as he marches over to the campfire, making a beeline straight for Laurie.
He comes up behind her and leans in really close and yells:] HEY, LAURIE!
[ Laurie doesn't have many hobbies beyond irritating her fellow survivors, and Ash is one of her favorite targets (naturally). when he doesn't reply, she doesn't think much of it. he either got tired of her bullshit (likely) or he's busy in a trial.
this she doesn't expect. Ash shouts in her ear and Laurie about leaps off the log she's sitting on, an unpleasant shock rolling through her as she whips around to look at him with wide eyes. ]
[He isn't expecting Laurie to be happy to see him, but his equally shocked eyes and the instinctive step back he takes imply that he wasn't expecting her to be this surprised. Or maybe he was but he's still considerate enough to respect boundaries. Or something.
But then it passes — and pretty damn quickly at that — because he's back to glaring in less time than it takes for Laurie to collect herself.]
Why's it gotta be like this, Laurie? [One of his eyes is twitching — just a little, but you know, it's that time of the year. Allergies.] Pineapples. Yes or no.
[ the thing is that - more often than not, Laurie isn't not happy to see Ash. whatever the fuck that means, exactly. even now, after she gets over the initial fear, and then tamps down on the rage that blossoms afterward, she isn't unhappy to see him.
in fact, she's quite pleased, because Ash looks a little bonkers, and that's pretty fucking funny. he glares, and Laurie smiles into his tense face like she has absolutely no idea what she's doing. ]
Like what?
Pineapples. Right. You know those green apple an' caramel suckers? The real sticky ones you only see around H- around autumn time? I feel the same way about pineapple on pizza as I do about those.
Really, [is all Ash has to say to that nonanswer— sorry, that thoughtful reply that implies so much about Laurie while also somehow managing to not explain anything at all. She has an aversion to talking about Halloween (understandable). She also seems to have a love-hate relationship with caramel apples (less understandable — Ash happens to love them, the same way he loves anything that sticks to his teeth and puts him at risk of developing diabetes before he's forty). And for whatever reason, she seems to really want to see Ash have a meltdown and lose his goddamn mind over this, the dumbest thing they've ever talked about (the least understandable and also the most baffling; can't imagine why she'd ever think THAT would happen).
Well, two can play that game. If she wants to be a smartass about it, so can he.]
So, you love it and wish you could eat it every day, basically, [he says matter-of-factly as he folds his arms and looks down at Laurie with a look that dares her to tell him he's wrong. He even cocks an eyebrow, for maximum d-bag appeal.]
[ like a dog with a bone, the more Ash wants her to answer, the less inclined Laurie is to do so. in her mind, it's very simple math, because she is, for all intents and purposes, a fucked up child. a grizzled adolescent whose development had been damaged by the psycho who'd tried to kill them in the car. why would he expect her to have fun in any other way than by tormenting him? ]
Well, [ Laurie says, unwilling to commit. ] I wouldn't say that.
[ but god damn if this conversation isn't making her ravenous for pineapple pizza and caramel apples, things they'd never find in the fog unless there were a giant string attached. she shoves some of her hair out of her face and smiles up at Ash. ]
Sorry, stupid me - never asked you what you thought of pineapple on pizza. Let's have it.
Hmmm. [Ash taps his top lip with a hum, considering his answer. It’s all show. He already knows what he’s going to say, but see Article 9, subsection 2b: two can play that game.
So, what does Ash think? He thinks he’s going to drag this out. He takes a deep breath, holds it for a moment, and exhales it all out in one long sigh, tilting his head to the side like he’s chewing over whether he should tell Laurie some potentially bad news.]
What do I think, [he repeats absentmindedly, sauntering closer to Laurie. Sometimes he forgets how short she is; you can say a lot of things about Laurie, but one thing she’s very good at making herself seem bigger than she actually is, like an angry chihuahua. It’s cute. Ash actually has to lean down to be at eye-level with her, looking for her eyes through the tangles of hair spilling over her face. With all the blood, muck and other disgusting shit they run through every night, none of them are very put together at this point, Ash included. His hair’s gotten a little shaggy, but it’s still nowhere near as wild as Laurie’s.
He reaches down to gingerly sweep a particularly messy strand out of her eyes, tucking it behind her ear with the same amount of feather-light gentleness.]
I think… I don’t have to tell you anything.
[It’s hard not to grin when he quickly pulls his hand away from her, so he pivots on his heel so Laurie won’t see it.]
[ truth be told, Laurie has no real idea what's wrong with Ash, or that she's making him particularly crazy. this is just fun - fucking with him is fun! a pastime that's all the more entertaining because she ... sometimes ... enjoys ... being around him. who better to torment than your friends?
but he's being a little twitchy and weird, and instead of pumping the brakes she's determined to see this joke through to the end, even though she's not emotionally concerned with either of their answers.
Ash gets closer, and closer, and Laurie wishes that her body wouldn't go tense in the way that it does, fear, but also little needling sparks. interest. what the fuck is this - high school?
she stays perfectly still as Ash closes the distance, even though her stomach does an embarrassing flip when he moves to tuck the hair, his fingers brushing against the outer shell of her ear. gentle. neither of them are particularly gentle. her dark eyes track him, widen slightly when he abruptly turns around.
this bitch. ]
Well who cares! I don't! Did someone thump you on the head in your last trial - is that why you're bein' such an aggressive weirdo?
No, 'course not. [Ash sniffs and rubs his nose with the back of his hand. That doesn't sound convincing at all; he knows it, Laurie knows it, everyone around the campfire knows it (even if they don't know that they know it since, y'know, no one else is here). So for good measure, he stiffly adds,] Recently.
[But even if something did happen, which it didn't, is he really out of line? Ash doesn't think so. Hell, compared to how Laurie gets whenever she's in one of her moods, he's going pretty goddamn easy on her. This is just playful ribbing between friends. Sometimes you play chicken with your buddies and try to get them to back down by ramping up the weirdness until someone backs down, and sometimes you have to play dirty to even get that far. Laurie should know.
Laurie, who always gets away with being a jerk with everyone because they're either too afraid of her or too stuck in their own heads to call her out on it. In a long list of unfair, shitty things in this unfair, shitty world, that one always stuck out to Ash as particularly erroneous. For reasons he's not entirely clear on, he finds himself latching onto that train of thought instead, and he decides to change the subject. Anything to distract him from the strange feelings the other one dredges up within the pit of his stomach.]
You're one to talk. You coulda just answered the question, but nope. [He looks at Laurie from over his shoulder, ] You can dish it but you can't take it, can ya, blondie?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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But then a few minutes later, someone comes storming down the trail outside the grove. The gravel crunches aggressively under Ash's shoes as he marches over to the campfire, making a beeline straight for Laurie.
He comes up behind her and leans in really close and yells:] HEY, LAURIE!
sexy tag
this she doesn't expect. Ash shouts in her ear and Laurie about leaps off the log she's sitting on, an unpleasant shock rolling through her as she whips around to look at him with wide eyes. ]
WHAT?
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But then it passes — and pretty damn quickly at that — because he's back to glaring in less time than it takes for Laurie to collect herself.]
Why's it gotta be like this, Laurie? [One of his eyes is twitching — just a little, but you know, it's that time of the year. Allergies.] Pineapples. Yes or no.
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in fact, she's quite pleased, because Ash looks a little bonkers, and that's pretty fucking funny. he glares, and Laurie smiles into his tense face like she has absolutely no idea what she's doing. ]
Like what?
Pineapples. Right. You know those green apple an' caramel suckers? The real sticky ones you only see around H- around autumn time? I feel the same way about pineapple on pizza as I do about those.
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Well, two can play that game. If she wants to be a smartass about it, so can he.]
So, you love it and wish you could eat it every day, basically, [he says matter-of-factly as he folds his arms and looks down at Laurie with a look that dares her to tell him he's wrong. He even cocks an eyebrow, for maximum d-bag appeal.]
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Well, [ Laurie says, unwilling to commit. ] I wouldn't say that.
[ but god damn if this conversation isn't making her ravenous for pineapple pizza and caramel apples, things they'd never find in the fog unless there were a giant string attached. she shoves some of her hair out of her face and smiles up at Ash. ]
Sorry, stupid me - never asked you what you thought of pineapple on pizza. Let's have it.
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So, what does Ash think? He thinks he’s going to drag this out. He takes a deep breath, holds it for a moment, and exhales it all out in one long sigh, tilting his head to the side like he’s chewing over whether he should tell Laurie some potentially bad news.]
What do I think, [he repeats absentmindedly, sauntering closer to Laurie. Sometimes he forgets how short she is; you can say a lot of things about Laurie, but one thing she’s very good at making herself seem bigger than she actually is, like an angry chihuahua. It’s cute. Ash actually has to lean down to be at eye-level with her, looking for her eyes through the tangles of hair spilling over her face. With all the blood, muck and other disgusting shit they run through every night, none of them are very put together at this point, Ash included. His hair’s gotten a little shaggy, but it’s still nowhere near as wild as Laurie’s.
He reaches down to gingerly sweep a particularly messy strand out of her eyes, tucking it behind her ear with the same amount of feather-light gentleness.]
I think… I don’t have to tell you anything.
[It’s hard not to grin when he quickly pulls his hand away from her, so he pivots on his heel so Laurie won’t see it.]
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but he's being a little twitchy and weird, and instead of pumping the brakes she's determined to see this joke through to the end, even though she's not emotionally concerned with either of their answers.
Ash gets closer, and closer, and Laurie wishes that her body wouldn't go tense in the way that it does, fear, but also little needling sparks. interest. what the fuck is this - high school?
she stays perfectly still as Ash closes the distance, even though her stomach does an embarrassing flip when he moves to tuck the hair, his fingers brushing against the outer shell of her ear. gentle. neither of them are particularly gentle. her dark eyes track him, widen slightly when he abruptly turns around.
this bitch. ]
Well who cares! I don't! Did someone thump you on the head in your last trial - is that why you're bein' such an aggressive weirdo?
no subject
[But even if something did happen, which it didn't, is he really out of line? Ash doesn't think so. Hell, compared to how Laurie gets whenever she's in one of her moods, he's going pretty goddamn easy on her. This is just playful ribbing between friends. Sometimes you play chicken with your buddies and try to get them to back down by ramping up the weirdness until someone backs down, and sometimes you have to play dirty to even get that far. Laurie should know.
Laurie, who always gets away with being a jerk with everyone because they're either too afraid of her or too stuck in their own heads to call her out on it. In a long list of unfair, shitty things in this unfair, shitty world, that one always stuck out to Ash as particularly erroneous. For reasons he's not entirely clear on, he finds himself latching onto that train of thought instead, and he decides to change the subject. Anything to distract him from the strange feelings the other one dredges up within the pit of his stomach.]
You're one to talk. You coulda just answered the question, but nope. [He looks at Laurie from over his shoulder, ] You can dish it but you can't take it, can ya, blondie?
[There we go.]