"You don't have to, you know." Aika said, moving to the wall to stay out of the way as she waited for Rory to start walking. "While I would love to listen to you sing, I would much rather not make you uncomfortable." She reached up with her free hand, brushing her hair back from her face more out of habit than necessity.
Rory shrugged, his usual small smile playing on his lips. "Nah, you're good. Having you listen to prerecorded stuff is better than putting on a one-man-show in a hospital cafeteria." He started heading towards the cafeteria, mulling over what was the best thing to get Jordan.
"You have to admit, it would be quite the show." Aika said, catching up to his side once more, this time a bit easier now that she'd gotten better at telling his mass from that of an IV drip. It hit her, that the entire conversation meant he wouldn't seem to mind running into her again, something that was fairly new to her.
He laughed, glancing over at her. "Yeah, I guess it would. But Kasper is more of the showman, sadly. If he were here, he'd offer to put on the show with a little more eagerness than I'd like. He'd probably try to drag me into it as well—make it a duet."
"I'm sure that would be quite the scene to witness." She huffed a laugh, entirely unaware that she had misjudged the distance between them just a bit, leaving her maybe just a bit too close to him, though not enough to be awkward. "What are your bandmates like?"
"Loud, obnoxious, arrogant, clumsy, and flirty," he said automatically with a firm nod, laughing slightly afterward. "Jordan's the loud one, Kasper's the obnoxious one, Harvey's the arrogant one, Tobias is the clumsy one, and Rowan's the flirt."
"They sound…interesting, for sure." She said, her lips pulling up into a more solid, and slightly amused, smile. "That makes you the smart one then, right? The one with the common sense?"
Rory laughed again. "Interesting doesn't even begin to cover it." He glanced down at her and caught her smile, which made him smile even more. He just smiled when others smiled. "I wouldn't exactly call myself the smart one, but I'm basically the one who tries to keep them under control."
"You seem plenty smart to me." Aika said, her face turning up towards his as her smile stayed in place. "At the very least, when it comes to music." And he really did. She had met plenty of smart people at school, but Rory seemed just a bit above them. That might have been the music lover in her talking, though.
He tilted his head, which resembled a confused puppy more than anything. "Oh? How so?" They'd only just met, and he couldn't think of anything he's said that would resemble smart, even with anything related to music. He was curious to hear how she had come to that conclusion.
"A quiet smart. I've known plenty of people, smart, not smart. And fake smart. I'm not entirely sure how to explain it, but you just seem like a smart person." The word vibe might have worked well, and explained everything more, but she wasn't really the type to say the word itself, or place much stock in it, despite it fitting well.
"Huh. Never really thought about it like that. I guess I'll just have to take your word for it until I do something that makes me feel smart. I will be the first to admit that I have surprised myself with my stupidity, however, so the bar is low." He laughed softly, recalling the numerous incidents where his entire band was looking at him like he was a dumbass.
"People either think they're smarter than they actually are, or dumber. I would be willing to place a bet on you falling into the latter category. You might surprise yourself." She shook her head, a soft laugh escaping her.
((I would fall into the same category as Rory. I also just got over my coughing fit after inhaling pretzel dust))
"I just might, but I can't guarantee it's the sort of surprise you're hoping for." He shook his head with another soft laugh, burrowing into his coat once more. His hair fell into his eyes and he grumbled as he raked his fingers through it to get it put back into place. "I really need to go get this cut…" he muttered.
((That doesn't surprise me at all. I just am stupid, 300%))
"I hope you're talking about your hair, or that sentence is potentially worrisome." She commented, the corner of her mouth turning up into a half smile. "Too long looks-wise, or too long in-the-way?"
He laughed at her comment. "Yes, I'm talking about my hair. And I'd say both, but I don't really pay attention to the looks part." He made a small noise and tapped her arm with two fingers. "Hooligan children charging your way," he warned as the screaming group came barreling towards them.
"Hooligan. Such an odd word." She said, pulling her cane up and against her as she stepped closer to him to make sure she was fully out of the way. "Thank you, once again, for saving me from utter humiliation. I owe you."
"Just being a decent human being," he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Once again, he didn't see any reason to mention her blindfold—and the reason she couldn't see what she was running into. "You don't owe me anything," he continued with a shrug.
"And yet, I still feel like I do." She shook her head, waiting until she was fairly certain the children had passed to place her cane back down. And she really did. There was no doubt that it hadn't escaped him, the blindfold, that showed that she probably could see. And yet, he still let her know when she was about to bump into something, and was willing to talk to her so she knew where to go.
He started walking again, tapping her shoulder once so she knew it was safe to go. "If I keep this up, then you'd be drowning in debt," he joked with a soft laugh. "Maybe I should just put you in a protective case and call it a day." He was joking, of course. He figured she could handle herself quite well and wouldn't appreciate people going out of their way to help her—just a feeling he had.
"That sounds very much like a glorified prison." She said, wrinkling her nose. Not in an offended way, definitely more playful, evidenced by the ghost of the smile that made it obvious she knew he wasn't serious. "I should at least find a way to pay you back once."
Rory hummed as he thought about it, fingers curling and uncurling in his coat pockets as he sought the comfort of the fluff. He wasn't uncomfortable, but the soft texture was always welcomed. "If you don't mind me doing so…I could use someone less loud every now and again."
Aika tilted her head, back up towards him, in surprise. "I-if you are suggesting spending time with me for somewhat of a quieter time, I think that would be nice." His presence had managed to keep the loneliness away, and it was nice, talking to someone who wasn't concerned solely with her future. Or now, the lack of it.
He nodded and smiled slightly. "Then there's your form of repayment. But I'd rather not pop in when your family's visiting, so that might become a problem." He hummed, then shrugged his shoulders. He spotted the cafeteria doors to their right and reached out to tap on Aika's arm thrice. "Cafeteria is to the right."
"I don't think any of my family will be visiting, so feel free to visit whenever you need a break. Room 305." She said, voice oddly void of emotion, tilting her head as he tapped her arm. She was good at not showing emotions in front of others. "Oh, good." She turned, placing a hand on Rory's arm to make sure she didn't bump into him.