"I don't know if I can Kasiya, so why don't you take my key and book it up the stairs. If you're so keen on getting there quickly." She said pulling the key for room 1907b from her pocket. She didn't want to let him tell her what to do, so she dropped it in his hand and started up the stairs again. She was already tired of this, knowing it was about to be a long- however long this lasted.
Now that's all she was able to think about. Would they be doing this for the next six months? Year? The next few years? Her pace quickened some as she thought, attempting not to slip on the steps. Her heart began to pound, thinking of the fact that maybe she would be stuck with him, forever. 'Nooooo… What did I really truly sign myself up for?' She asked herself, gripping onto the railing.
He watched her go with a bewildered look on his face, rooted to the spot. He shook out of his confusion, then followed after her, easily catching up. When he made it beside her, he slowed down to her surprisingly brisk pace and dangled the key in front of her face. "Easy, shortcake. You're going to hurt yourself if you're not careful."
Kasiya didn't move past her, just kept pace with her as they made their way up the stairs. After a moment of deliberation if he should say something, he finally spoke up. "Don't think just because of this bet I'm going to try anything with you. I'm not interested in taking you to bed or whatever you're afraid of me doing."
She came to a break in the stairs, taking the keys from him. "I was, but I'd kick you out if you tried. Twenty bucks or not." She told him, watching him carefully, before turning back and starting up the stairs once more. "Though, I'm more concerned about how long I have to put up with you." She told him, hugging her self.
Being honest, Joanna was actually worried he would. But hearing the reassurance from him, calmed some of her nerves. She skipped up the steps quickly, trying to get back to her room a little more quickly now. More eager to go to bed than before. With a huff out she sped up just the smallest bit more, attempting to make a comfortable pace for Kasiya behind her.
"Hmm, I suppose we should've set a timeframe I have to make you fall for me," he hummed, grateful for the quicker pace. His mind quickly erased any thoughts about Joanna thinking he was going to force her into bed with him or something. It just wasn't something he naturally dwelled on. He had no interest in doing such a thing, so there was no point in him bothering to waste his time thinking about anything related to the topic.
"How about a month? Ample time for a budding romance," he drawled sarcastically, "And also enough time for me to find a place of my own and get me out of your hair. Money is a slight issue, but I'll figure that out as I go. If it's back to hotel-hopping, then so be it." He shrugged nonchalantly as if it didn't matter he didn't have a place to call his own. And it didn't, not really. He's been on his own for years, it wasn't anything new.
"A month. Sounds do-able." She shrugged, but hearing the next comment made her cringe some. "Or we can do longer. Maybe until you get a good job and a chunk of money." Joanna bit her lip, hoping she didn't sound insistent. Not wanting to sound pushy or annoying, more than she was to him. She assumed she was at least, not knowing that for sure.
"We wouldn't want you out on the streets by yourself now would we?" Her more playful, witty side starting to come out. Her fogginess was almost cleared, but her tired was seeping through. A subtle smirk slipped onto her lips, and she glanced over her shoulder before picking up her pace a little more.
He flicked his eyes down at her, a vaguely blank expression slipping over his face. "I'm getting mixed signals, shortcake," he stated, then shrugged it off and looked off to the side at nothing in particular. But when she sped up some more, he slid his gaze over to her with an arched brow. "If I didn't know better," he murmured loud enough for her to hear, "I'd say you were trying to run away from me."
Even still, he matched her pace, though he slid behind her a bit. He was starting to slip back into his head, and it'd be easier for her to not question him if he was behind her. His hand glided over the railing as they climbed, the cool metal stinging his palm in a welcoming way that distracted his head just enough to not let him think about all the demons that still haunted him to this day—Redore and his magic included. It grounded him, reminded him that he wasn't a complete monster, that he could still feel pain like a normal human being.
Joanna looked, and saw the number seventeen came up. She smiled and turned back to him. "Two more flights, let's hurry!" Joanna chirped, taking his hand and pulling him on up after her. Going as quick as she could, the next to flights seemed to fly by. Though she was thinking through the next to flights, not saying a word to him.
His hand was warm, but brittle. It wasn't soft, but it was rather comforting, and it felt more real than anything had in awhile. It was much larger than her small petite hands, that didn't ever seem to match her smallish curved figure. She liked the feeling of his hand in hers', trying to soak in the moments she had here in the stair well. It was silly, but it was a memory worth remembering.
(Night)
Kasiya blinked and was snapped out of his thoughts when his hand was grabbed, and he suddenly found himself being yanked along by Joanna. He caught his footing and found a suitable pace that wouldn't run the risk of tripping with how she was pulling him along. He lost count of all the levels they passed, trusting her to know where she was going as she was the one pulling him along. 'How does she do this on a regular basis?'
His eyes flicked down to their intertwined hands, thoughts all over the place. He truly was getting mixed signals from her. On the one hand, they hated each other. She was snarky and never put up with his shit. She would've usually loved an excuse to not be around him for longer than needed. On the other hand, she was constantly asking him if he was okay, if she could help. She wasn't abandoning him when given the chance. She was holding his hand when she could just leave him in the dust. He didn't know how he felt about that last one. Her adorably small hand fit almost perfectly in his—'Wait, adorable?' He shook his head and cleared those thoughts, though he did lace their fingers together to make it a bit more comfortable.
Joanna felt his finger intertwine with hers', and her face grew slightly warm. Not knowing why, she loosened her grip on his hand to try and keep herself from feeling the strange fluttery feeling she got at the sensation of just holding his hand. Reality was slowly slipping in as she came up to the flat with her door, pushing it open. "We're here." She mumbled, pulling him through the door.
Once he was standing at her side, and the door had shut, she slid her hand from his. She tried to push the thoughts from their trip up the stairs out of her mind, so to not have them ebbing at her the rest of the night. The thought of his hand in hers', or him carrying her, or the fact he wasn't going to try to sleep with her. Well, maybe she would remember that part, and only that part. "It's this way." She answered his unasked question walking up to her door. Only three down from where they stood.
Kasiya arched a brow when he felt her loosen her grasp on his hand, but said nothing more as they made their way through the door to her floor. He didn't even get to ask his question before she was already answering him, and he smiled faintly at that. As she started to walk, he followed along, hands stuffed back into his jacket pockets and mouth sealed. He just wanted to get cleaned up and to sleep.
His mind whirred more and more the closer they got to her door, thinking through the situation he got himself into. He'd have to be living with his rival for at least a month, as well as pretending to be her boyfriend so as to get her to like him—to fall in love with him. It was slightly cruel to her if he did win the bet, as he highly doubted he'd ever reciprocate those feelings. He's never had a crush on anyone, or ever felt anything remotely romantic towards another person. He's come to accept the fact that simply added onto the pile of ways he was a freak, a disappointment, a nobody. Kas shook his head and looked off to the side, forcing himself to think about something else. Anything else.
Joanna pulled up her key, and unlocked the door to the place she called home. Stepping in, she sighed dropping her shoes aside and walking over to the leather couch and sitting down. "Welcome to what I call home." She laughed a bit, tilting her head back to look at him. "You know, you look strange when you're upside down." She teasingly said, lifting her feet to rest on the edge of the coffee table.
The living space was large, and open. The wall across from the door was covered with glass panes that making windows displaying the city-scape down below. The windows were dotted with water drops, and you could see the twisting clouds above, seemingly ready to strike a flash of lightening. A decent kitchen was more closed off and secluded over towards the right when you walked in, and a small set of stairs led up to Joanna's bedroom. The guest room was also on the same wall as the kitchen, closed off by a white wooden door. "There's a bathroom over there," She said pointing to the opposite wall from his room. Swinging her arm back she pointed to the white door. "And you can sleep in there, I'll get sheets on the bed in a sec." She said dropping her arm and relaxing for only a moment.
He rolled his eyes at her comment about him looking strange, not in the mood to snap back. He instead took a moment to survey the place he'd be living for a month, ignoring Joanna for a moment so he could get his bearings. He was so used to hotel rooms that he was momentarily surprised to see a full-sized kitchen instead of a kitchenette tucked into the corner of a single bedroom. 'Time for an adjustment period,' he thought with a flicker of amusement, then looked down to Joanna when she started talking.
"Alright, thanks," he murmured, then turned towards the bathroom and shut the door behind him after stepping into the room. His eyes, once again, bounced around the area, but he didn't dwell on the layout for long before stripping his torso of his clothing. He shrugged his jacket off his shoulders, then peeled his shirt off and tossed both articles of clothing onto the floor. His eyes were glued to the mirror, surveying the damage he had done to himself with his stupidity.
Split lip, face peppered with spiderwebbed cuts going along his left cheek and jaw, just barely stopping before his eye. His neck had a similar pattern of wounds, and they continued down to his shoulder and part of his chest and back. The further down his arm the wounds got, the deeper they cut into his skin. He winced at the damage done to his wrist and forearm, though he was lucky he had used that to block the strike instead of his hand. He'd be sore for a while, but at least he could still use his hand. Kas let out a breath and just leaned against the counter, head bowed, as he finally let himself break down as much as he would allow himself.
Watching him go, Joanna groaned forcing herself off the couch after her minute to relax. She'd have plenty of time to rest her feet once she was done fixing up his bed. She hustled up the stairs, and grabbed a thing of white sheets, a couple pillows, and a quilt. All balanced in her arms, as she carefully made her way down the steps once more that had lead her to her room. Quickly making her way to his room, she yawned realizing how tired she actually was. For the first time in hours actually.
After finally opening the door to the guest room, she tossed all of the pillows and sheets on the floor. "This is going to be fun." She noted sarcastically to herself. Gathering up the fitted sheet she brought it over to the bed, getting it on after a rather large amount of struggle. After that, everything was a breeze. Tossing the last pillow onto the bed, she walked out of the guest room, and over to the bathroom door. "Hey, Kasiya." She said softly, knocking on the door.
Kasiya had only given himself a minute to wallow in his self-hatred. After that, he pulled himself together like he always did after that horrible night. Each movement he made was deliberate and meticulous, carried out like that of a robot. He washed off all the blood with a soaked towel, careful to continuously wash it out so it didn't stain, and dried himself off. He found some smaller cuts going down his ribs, but they were barely noticeable.
He was just finishing up with drying himself off when he heard a knock on the door and Joanna's voice on the other side of the door. He glanced over at it, then pulled his black hair out of its tie before opening the door and leaning against the frame—using his right shoulder instead of injured left. "Yes?" he said, arching a brow and looking down at her. His arms folded over his chest, those they were loose and mindful of his injuries.
"I was just-" Looking at him, she felt her eyes grow a little wider. 'Good gracious, he's hot.' She gulped some, trying to relax her tensed muscles and warming face. She dropped her gaze to the floor, in attempt to relax. "Just coming to see if I could get you anything." She said, loud as she could without making her voice crack.
Mostly because she wasn't expecting it, she felt really fluttery about him shirtless. And his hair down as well, only added to his dramatically appealing looks. Though admitting he looked good didn't count as liking him, right? I mean, she had thought a lot of people "looked hot" but didn't ever gain sexual attractions to them. This was just one of those right? Where she just wanted to gain his attention, but not really be with him. That had to be what was going on.
He smirked weakly when he noticed her slight stumble, then obviously look down at the floor so she wouldn't have to look at him. 'Cute.' He had been debating for a while now about his hair, mostly because his brother, too, kept his long and he wanted to be as distinguished from him as possible. There was also the issue of it not really being practical, taking up too much of his attention that he was starting to wane on giving.
"No, thank you," he said, saving her from having to deal with him much longer. "Is the bed made?" he asked, tipping his head to the side to look past her and towards the bedroom she had pointed out to him. He assumed that she slept in a different room, as she had to get the sheets for that one, which he was fine with. Honestly, he had been expecting to be assigned to the couch, so having his own bedroom was a pleasant surprise.
Nodding, she sucked in a deep breath looking up to him. "Mhm, ready whenever you are." She chirped, crossing her own arms. She avoiding looking anywhere but his face, to try and stay calm. "If I can't get you anything, I'm going to go ahead and get ready for bed myself, sleep well." Nodding curtly, she span on her heel and skipped off up the set of stairs to her own room.
Joanna pushed the door open, and immediately started to unbutton her rather uncomfortable work shirt. Letting her thoughts consume her as she changed into her pajamas. 'Goodness gracious, I need to stop thinking about him.' Her thoughts sighed, as images of him merely a minute ago flashed through her brain like the lightening outside.
Kasiya tracked her with his eyes, then pushed off of the doorframe and went back into the bathroom to clean up what he had left out. Once all of that was cleaned up, he shut the bathroom door behind him and went over to the guest bedroom. He's had a long day, and all he wanted to do was flop into bed and call it lights out. So that's what he did.
He kicked the door shut, then kicked off his shoes, and groaned as he fell into the bed, sprawling out on top of the covers with his eyes sealed shut. He didn't bother with slipping under the covers, finding that too much of an effort to bother with. He grabbed a pillow—none of which he was actually using for their intended purpose—and hugged it to his chest as he released a long breath, finally relaxing for the first time all day.
Joanna had changed into her PJs, a simple tank top and a pair of shorts, and flopped on the bed. She groaned out a satisfy sigh, relaxing into the thick and fluffy sheets. Attempting to ignore the fact her room was a mess. Jo tilted her head to the side, looking out the watered down window starring out at the night sky. Sliding off the bed, she quietly padded over to the window and starred out.
The sky was beautiful, painted with storm clouds curling in the sky. A smile rested on her lips, before she turned and went to her bedroom door opening it. Slipping down the stairs, she walked into the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea. Once she had finished, she brought it over to the couch and sat, curling up and setting her mug aside. "Maybe I'll sleep out here tonight." She whispered, leaning back and shutting her eyes, before falling into a light sleep only going to last for an hour or so.
(Shall we time skip until morning, or did you want to write more for your above?)
((I think we should skip. Who's start? working on hw rn, and Kas is a heavy sleeper if that effects anything))
((I can go ahead and start for the next morning not totally just because I feel Joanna would probably throw something at him to wake him up-))
((ghfjgh that works for me))
((Lol))
Joanna starred out the window, rather gloomily. She was tired, and wanted to go back to sleep. But it didn't look like that was going to happen any time soon. So she pulled herself off the couch, noting how sore she was from her choice of sleeping out here. Groaning she gathered her mug, and stumbled into the kitchen. She dumped the left over tea into the sink, starting a pot of coffee. Maybe she would leave some for Kasiya, maybe not.
The toaster was heating up two frozen waffles, and she stretched picking up two coffee mugs. Carrying them both into the guest room, she ignored his peaceful sleeping and flipped on the lights. "Wake up sunshine, it's time to get up." She hummed, setting both the mugs on a bedside table. When he didn't wake up, she climbed onto the edge of the bed, and grabbed one of the pillows he wasn't using. With this, she hit him with the pillow, not hard enough to hurt, but hard enough to startle him awake.
Kasiya jumped and curled up when he was hit with a pillow, groaning obnoxiously and covering his head protectively with the pillow he was still clutching. "Ma hi allaenat?" (what the fuck?) he whined childishly, very much enjoying his sleep and not being harassed out of it. It was his only escape from his thoughts, his dreams filled with everything good and what he had hoped to be before everything turned for the worse. At least, that's what he assumed. Everything fizzled away the moment he regained consciousness every time.
Kas' Arabic accent, something he usually lost when he was awake and aware, always came back in full force first thing in the morning. He barely even noticed, his mind too groggy to pay much attention to it, so it was no surprise that he didn't try to hide it. His family were immigrants, so he had grown up speaking both English and Arabic, though he had no recollection of his home country—only knew that he was incredibly fond of Ancient Egypt.
