He smiled back at her, happy to see the different smile from her. He was glad that she was comfortable with his presence. To him, it meant that he would be welcome to come over again. He loved his friends, he really did, but Aika was easy to talk to and less rambunctious than them. She was more laid back and his speed, and he enjoyed the conversations he had with her.
"Any other things worth noting that have happened recently that you'd like to talk about?" She asked, letting her hands drop from her hair to her lap, one brushing the front of her shirt near her collarbone for a moment. Tucked under her shirt was a wedding ring on a chain, her mother's, to be exact.
"Jordan broke Kasper's glasses." Random? Yes. Something on his mind? Also yes. Kasper was attached to them like a magnet to metal, and he never left anywhere without them. He was obsessed with his aesthetic, and the glasses were a part of that. Rory was fairly certain Jordan would be in the hospital for more than just a concussion sometime soon.
That drew a startled laugh from her and she shifted on the bed to face in his direction. "Wh-" She shook her head, smiling. "Why did he do that? I'm guessing it was instigated." From what she'd gathered, just by spending a bit of time with them, that was exactly what it was.
He smiled grimly. "Kasper called him an illiterate and pig-headed ginger because Jordan couldn't read Kas's handwriting—believe me, Kas can't write neatly to save his life. Chicken scratch is more legible than that. Anyway, insults started flying, and things escalated until Jordan grabbed the glasses and threw them across the room, almost hitting Harvey in the process."
She pressed a fist to her lips, keeping in the quiet laughter threatening to bubble up. "Oh dear." She said, once she had finally made sure she wouldn't laugh. Her tone was slightly amused, though. "That sounds…interesting. Loud, too. Was there any sort of resolution?"
Rory chuckled and leaned back in his chair, stretching with a sigh. "Yeah, there was. Tobi threatened to quit the band if fists started flying, and Rowan seconded that. Kas wasn't going to take their threats lightly, so he just got quiet. Jordan couldn't care less, but he did say sorry about the glasses. They're talking now, but only because I turned to conversation towards music."
"That is a better alternative. Likely the best, if my experiences with them has showed me anything." Aika shook her head, pausing before speaking to listen to what followed a thud from next door. Somebody had dropped something, and now Gage was laughing hysterically. "Was that what made you decide you needed calm?"
"That's right around where my headache started, but I stupidly stuck around until it just got too much for me." Rory glanced over when he heard the thud and hysterical laughter. "It would seem your neighbors aren't much quieter than my lot," he inquired with a raised brow, looking back over at Aika questioningly.
"I told you Gage could be loud. Usually, it's just music, but his friends are over for the day." Aika said, shaking her head. She didn't seem too bothered by it, maybe because it was muffled by the wall, or maybe because she knew she couldn't get mad at someone for having people who came to see them. Just because dad won't. "If they're too loud, I can always go over and ask them to quiet down a bit."
Rory shook his head. "No, they're fine. As long as I'm not in the same room as them, they're alright." Honestly, he was used to the noise, thanks to his friends. He was just curious as to who it was next door, and apparently, it was Aika's friend. He leaned back onto the bed with a sigh. "Strange. I want silence, but then it feels weird to not be annoyed constantly."
"You've gotten so used to the noise, that the quiet is weird." Aika said, her fingers tapping out a silent rhythm on her her leg as she spoke. "I've used my eyes all my life, and now, with them covered, things are….louder. Much louder. It's almost like an inverse of your situation."
Rory hummed in acknowledgment. "Sorta, yeah. Does it bother you? The increased sensitivity to your hearing?" he asked, tilting his head and looking up at her. He had no reason to question her eyesight, as it was not his place to place any judgment on her for covering her eyes in preparation for the inevitable. Hell, he thought it was a pretty smart idea.
Aika turned her head, as though looking off to the side to think. Habit. After a few moments, she shrugged a shoulder, pausing her tapping to switch to her other hand. "Sometimes. It makes it harder to fall asleep, because hospitals are never fully quiet, even at night. And focusing can be hard sometimes too, but I'm getting more used to it. It has…upsides, as well."
Rory listened attentively while she spoke. He was interested in how just a slight change could make such an impact on her day-to-day life. He was glad that she was getting used to it, but he knew how precious sleep was and was slightly dishearted to hear that her heightened hearing affected it. He popped his head up slightly when she finished. "Oh? How so?"
Aika bit her lower lip for a moment, judging just how much she was willing to share when it came to these things. "I can…listen to people around this room talk." She started, moving from tapping her fingers to fiddling with them. "I can hear if someone gets bad news, mainly. Not that that's a good thing. But when I overhear something like that, I can try and bump into them, just to talk. Chat, you know? A lot of the time, normal things like that help people out. Feeling normal, when everything is the farthest thing from."
I can think of a few people already that would be all too willing to use that kind of advantage to do something not so nice as what's she's using it for, Rory mused to himself with a slight bit of bitterness. People these days were so quick to stab others in the back, or to nose their way into people's business for some bit of entertainment. He was glad Aika wasn't like those people. "Well, at least you're using it for something good as opposed to something malicious," he said.
"What would be the point in that?" Aika asked, her face turning in his direction once more. Her mouth pulled into a slight frown, like the mere idea wasn't even something she'd considered. She hadn't, either. "A place like this is already so full of…hurt. The least I can do is try to help in any ways I can." It helped her focus on other things, too. Things that weren't herself or her own problems.
Rory sighed and rested his chin on his arms, which were still folded on top of the bed. "As right as you are, there are still people out there that will do everything in their power to make people feel worse than they do." He paused, eyes closing some. "You're the little spark of good in a world of darkness. I like that about you." He murmured the last part, not expecting her to hear it.
The sentiment itself wasn't a confession, per se, but it was an admission to himself that he quite liked this girl and considered her to be one of the few people he could call a friend.
That was likely the first time anyone had ever called Aika a good person, and it made her feel so much at once that she couldn't help being horribly confused. Ever since her mother had left, and even before, she had been focused on nothing but climbing. Becoming something great, being better than her parents. Being better than everyone. Because that was what was expected of her. But Rory…thought she was a good person?
"You know, you are the first to ever call me that. Good, I mean." She admitted quietly, fiddling with her mother's ring. "It's kind of weird to hear."
Rory looked up at Aika slowly, eyes sleepily heavy but he refused to fall asleep. "Well," he started, tilting his head to the side as he thought. He's met quite a few people so far in his life, and there wasn't a lot as genuine as Aika. It didn't matter if she might've had selfish moments, she still saw good in the world, and she herself was good. That counted for more than anything.
"People like to pick others apart and focus on the negative," he said finally, letting out a long sigh and closing his eyes again, "Bring others down because they want the power to feel superior."
"I would rather be superior by my own merit, than through verbal abuse." Aika said, nodding once as she shifted back closer to her headboard, leaning against it. She was quiet for a few moments, mulling something over, before scooting all the way to one side of the bed. "You should come up here and take a nap. I can't imagine that chair, and sitting how I guess you are, is very comfortable. You sound tired."
Rory quickly opened his eyes at that, looking up at Aika in surprise. He was just about to refuse, to say that he was fine, but as his mouth opened to do just that, a large and very loud yawn took over and he was helpless to smother it. He sighed heavily and dropped his face into the hospital bed mattress, closing his eyes again and thinking it through a little more. He doubted he'd be able to argue with her, and that she'd keep bugging him to take her offer, and he couldn't argue that he wasn't tired.
Eventually, Rory gave in with yet another sigh and sat up. "Alright," he said, then kicked off his boots and bundled up into his coat before climbing onto the bed and settling next to Aika. He turned on his side so he was still facing her, though his eyes were closed yet again and his head was next to one of her legs. One arm was tucked beneath his head while the other was lazily sprawled out, fingers lightly resting against her calf to let her know where he was almost out of habit.
Aika huffed a small breath of air like a laugh, adjusting the pillows so that he had access to them as he laid down. She slumped slightly against the bedframe, reaching out to pat blindly on the bedside table. Eventually, she got ahold of her earbuds, and MP3 player, plugging them in and handing him one of the earbuds. "The noise might make it hard to sleep. Here." All she had was classical music, put she had a playlist of classical specifically for sleep. Because sometimes, the noises at night got to her, too.
Rory slowly looked up at Aika when he heard her offering him something, his eyes dropping down to catch on the earbud she was holding out to him. He reached over with his free/sprawled hand to grab it with a sleepy "Thanks," and tucked it into his ear, then plopped his hand back down so his fingers were draped over her knee. His other ear was pressed against his arm, so he wouldn't be bothered by the noise with the earbud in his other ear.