(no subject)

[everyone_takes]

She wasn't moping.

That was one thing Kate wanted to be totally clear, which was why she was going through Effy's things on the front porch of the hut they'd shared instead of holing up inside. If she'd done that, then she would be moping, but being outside in the sunshine meant she was totally not moping.

On the other hand, she wasn't sure what she was doing exactly.

There had been a note in Effy's room and Kate had followed the instructions, even though she kind of hadn't wanted to. It wasn't that she thought Effy's other friends didn't deserve her stuff, but she was tired. She was tired of going through the shit people left behind and trying to make sure it all got to the right people. And she was tired of inheriting stuff from the people she loved. She'd rather they just stopped disappearing.

Holding up a pair of tights, she turned them over in her hands and then put them in the pile of things to keep. It was the only pile. The idea of giving Effy's things away just didn't sit well with her and she picked up a necklace and twirled it around her finger absently as she continued to pick through things. After a few spins around her finger, the necklace slipped free and Kate lifted her gaze from the pile to watch it sail through the air toward the path.

Where it nearly hit a totally cute guy who dressed an awful lot like her brother.

"Shit, sorry!" Kate called from where she was sitting. "Promise I'm not trying to kill you."

Comments

[thewarbler]

Growing increasingly curious, Blaine watches as Kate gathers up a pile of clothes and takes the implicit invitation to follow her into the small house, listening intently to her explanation before letting out a quick, surprised laugh as an exceptionally fluffy dog comes barreling around the corner, practically wiggling with excitement.

"Oh, he's adorable," Blaine says, immediately crouching down to pet the little guy, his hands nearly disappearing in the abundance of fur. "Aren't you, Chang? Aren't you just the cutest thing." Smiling up at Kate again, he adds, "I actually knew a couple people back in Ohio named Chang. Mike and Tina. Or, well. Tina's actually Tina Cohen-Chang, but close enough. They were dating." He pauses for a second then, lips twisting into a thoughtful grimace as something a little bittersweet twists in his belly. "Still are, I hope. They're really great together."

[everyone_takes]

He's probably not looking to hear her totally cynical view on things as of late, so Kate decides to keep her mouth shut on what she figures are the chances of that really great couple he knows back home. Even if they don't break up, someone will probably just take off. It's pretty much how things go.

"He is adorable," she agrees. "But he's also insane. I think there's something wrong with him." It's clear by her voice that she loves him anyway, if only because he reminds her of Jeff. "I used to bug the guy who owned him and call him my Island Father. It freaked him out so much, it was fucking hilarious."

[thewarbler]

Somehow, he doesn't doubt the mental state of the dog and he only laughs again as it wiggles happily under his hands. But his smile dims some as Kate talks about the pup's former owner, his head cocking to the side.

"People leave here kind of often, don't they?" he says. "Hasn't any one ever figured out why?"

[everyone_takes]

"I guess not," Kate answers, thinking about it for a bit. It seems like the kind of thing everyone on the island would know about if they had an answer to it. Unless, of course, this place is a giant conspiracy theory and while she's usually not prone to weird shit like that -- it's really more Gene's area of expertise, fucking weirdo that he was -- she can't quite convince herself it's not true.

"I mean, I haven't exactly asked around," she says. "But given all the people who promise to find some way to escape during elections and shit like that, you'd think we'd have heard about it if they actually succeeded, right?"

[thewarbler]

It does seem like something that would be more common knowledge if the word were out, but it still seems strange to Blaine how casually the people here seem to simply accept it. A part of him wonders if maybe people don't actually disappear, if there's something much more sinister behind the disappearances, or if there's maybe some kind of encampment on the other side of the island that nobody knows about.

Whatever the case, it definitely makes him uneasy.

Disentangling his hands from Chang's fur, Blaine rises to his feet again, brow furrowed. "People try to escape during the election?" he asks, confused. "Why would they want to do that?"

[everyone_takes]

"No, I mean they make promises during their speeches," Kate says, laughing. "Like any other politician, right? They find something everyone seems to want and then promise they'll find some way to get it done and no one ever does. Obviously." And she's not even sure they actually all promise that, but she knows at least one person has or maybe even two. It's been a long time since she's actually bothered to attend the speeches, which is something she'll never admit to Hermione.

"It's creepy, though. This whole thing reminds me of that TV show about the island," she says. "A couple of those guys were actually here or still are or I don't know. They're probably responsible for it."

[thewarbler]

"You mean Lost?" Blaine asks, slipping his hands into his pockets. It's the only TV show he can think of right off hand that involves an island. Though he doesn't remember watching too much of it past the first season or two.

He has recognized a few people from it here, too. Which is still really unnerving when he lets himself really think about it for awhile.

Brow furrowed, Blaine cocks his head. "Do you think that's really it? That we're just stuck in some TV show?"

[everyone_takes]

"I don't know. I'm pretty sure I'm the worst conspiracy theorist like, ever." That had really been more Gene's thing, anyway, and Kate was sure that anything Gene had been into was something she wanted nothing to do with now.

Except maybe some of his inventions.

"I like a grand total of zero theories about this place," she admitted. "Mostly because I'm too fucking lazy to give a shit. I'm here, you're here, other people are here, that's that. And then people leave, so pretty much like life was back home except at least here I have an ocean view whenever I want."

[thewarbler]

There's something about the way she talks that makes Blaine smile. She's unafraid with her words and her demeanor. Not unlike Santana, though in a far friendlier manner.

But it makes him wonder, too. Just a little.

Still smiling, he cocks his head. "So you don't question it? At all? You don't think it's weird that we're here with, like... Harry Potter and Iron Man and all these people with famous faces?"

[everyone_takes]

So it's a shitty day, what with having to go through Effy's things, but Kate finally smiles at that, a small but genuine smile. "I think it's totally weird. But given that Harry Potter is pretty much the best boyfriend I've ever had, I'm not in a place to question it either."

It wasn't like she'd read the books back home. Kids books about wizards hadn't exactly been on Kate's top ten list of things she wanted to read and the movie had been on the 'watch while stoned only' list, so that barely counted. Still, she knows how weird it is for most people.