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 Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2015 7:55 am
Personally, he didn't see anything wrong with needing time alone. From Otto's story alone, it seemed to him that both of the girls were over reacting; he knew better than to assume that as the truth, however. There were three different tempers in the mix now, and from Otto's alone he knew there must be more to it. More that was said. Implied. Maebe also seemed off somehow, though she had been fairly pleasant to him. Cami was the only complete wild card; there was no way he could simply side with the thought that this was a severe over reaction.
He simply shook his head slowly. With Otto around, he didn't need daytime TV.
"You have some soul searching to do, it seems." He shifted just enough to put his arm behind Otto's back again, patting between his shoulder blades. When his hand slid away, it was to pull a pair of keys from his pockets, offering it out to the younger man. "Here. Use my room." He was pretty sure that Finn would let him spend a few nights, at least. If not, perhaps Chance, Ian or Chel would. He had his options, and he could worry about that later.
"Don't go back to yours until you know what you want, and if you're sure you can weather your choice." Because life was never easy. Because if it was bad enough that Otto would sob like an infant in the open of the beach, it had to already be bad. Because relationships were hard, and you needed to be sure. Then he paused, and gave a light slap upside Otto's head.
"And don't be a martyr. You're still human, and humans make mistakes. It's inevitable. Don't put yourself on the cross because some one isn't willing to love you for your faults. Especially people who are not and will never be perfection incarnate."
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Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2015 8:07 am
Otto turned his head after hearing the jingling of keys. Ripley was offering him a place to hide. A place that would not remind him so horribly of Cami and Maebe. A neutral location where, rather than be upset and in pain, he could finally think.
"Thanks." He croaked, taking the keys from Ripley.
He flinched when he was smacked, however lightly, rubbing his head and giving the man a tired glare. "Thanks for the advice." He murmured back, letting his hands fall in front of him. Beating himself up about the things that went wrong was normal for him. Another challenge he faced was avoiding doing just that.
"What were you doin' out here anyway?"
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Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2015 8:13 am
"You're welcome." He leaned back, bracing himself on his hands. "Don't drink all my whiskey, and don't break my room." He didn't care, at least not really, and he did mostly trust Otto with his things, but it was probably something that should be said regardless.
"Stop deflecting." Ripley deadpanned to his question; it was hard to tell that he was teasing. "Promise me you'll text me when you start deciding you're an unforgivable sack of s**t."
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Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2015 8:21 am
"I won't." He replied, not even thinking that Ripley would have booze in his room. "I don't even want booze." Which was a surprise even to him. He didn't want candy, he didn't want alcohol. He did kind of want a greasy pizza, though. Maybe if he felt better in a few days he'd treat himself to a day of leave.
Otto nodded, wondering how Ripley was so quick to catch Otto's attempts to deflect, run and escape. "Okay. I will."
He paused.
"Does it matter if I text you every 5 minutes, then?" After all, Otto was adamant of his being a sack of s**t almost constantly.
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Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2015 8:37 am
The pale man only shrugged. Even if he didn't want it now, there was no guarantee that it wouldn't change. He did ponder rephrasing to say don't drink all of it, because it was perfectly acceptable - and probably even a good idea - to have a little. Sometimes a bit of whiskey cleared your head. Everything in moderation, of course.
"It does not." Ripley confirmed; Otto could text him every minute if he wanted, and he'd get the same response, perhaps just worded a little differently here and there. "Jesus." He swore, shaking his head. "While you're at it, think of something about yourself that you actually like. Negative Nancy."
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Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2015 8:42 am
"Oh God, we aren't playing your mind games again, are we?" He grumbled, flopping back into the sand with his arms over his eyes. "Ya sure you ain't a shrink?"
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Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2015 8:50 am
"I'll stop when you stop deflecting." Ripley let out a breath that had probably been meant as a laugh.
"I'm not." What kind of shrink told his clients to 'stop being a ******** moron'? A really bad one, that was what. He would make a horrible shrink. "-But I am aware of how easy it is to fall into that trap...and how hard it is to get out again." He shook his head slowly, for what seemed like the millionth time. Otto was exhausting. "And you're buried so deep you've made yourself a home."
"Time to put down that shovel."
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Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2015 8:55 am
Otto gave a heavy sigh, evidently heavy under the wait of all that dirt.
"I dunno how else to deal with it." He murmured back. "But yer right. I don't even know myself no more, I buried myself so deep."
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Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2015 9:22 am
"Figure yourself out first. Then think about today again. From their point of views, too. As best as you can." Because the minds of other people were dangerously uncharted, no matter the gender. "And decide if you want to fix it, and if you can. Then figure out how, and try. But don't let your grave get any deeper."
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Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2015 6:44 pm
"I don't get their point of view though." He shook his head, which unfortunately tangled sand in with the tangles of his messy hair. "I mean... Cami didn't mind about Zac, and she seemed to defend me a little when me and Maebe fought. But then she wanted to leave just cause I said I needed space... or was she upset me and Maebe were fighting? I dunno..."
Ripley had said wait until he figured himself out, first. However...
"What if I take too long to figure my s**t out? Actually.. I'm scared I'll be too comfortable without them. I don't wanna break their hearts any more than I already have.. but I don't wanna live for other people anymore neither. I'm tired." He let his arms fall away from his face, watching clouds pass over the blue sky.
"Rep said somethin' to me once. That people like me give away pieces of myself in a relationship. Then, after a while, I gave away too much and I'm left with nuthin'. It kinda... feels like that."
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Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2015 7:32 pm
Ripley just gave Otto a flat look. "You're an observant boyfriend." It almost baffled him that Otto hadn't figured out how they ticked, at least a little. The reasoning behind the whole fight had to be linked to their personalities; it always was.
He waited patiently for Otto to finish speaking. There were things he wanted to say, things like 'If you're comfortable without them, then you don't actually need them', or perhaps even 'then don't live for others, be selfish, it's your life and your conscience', but instead, all he said was a soft: "I don't have your answers, Otto. You're the only one who does."
He hummed thoughtfully to the summary of Rep's observations. It was an interesting thing to hear, coming from someone so notorious. "Assuming nobody gives you a piece of themselves in return."
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Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2015 7:40 pm
Of course it wasn't easy. Ripley couldn't give him answers. There was no rules to how he wanted to live. Rules to live by was what he was simply used to. He was so used to being told how to live, what to be, how he should feel; rather than allowing himself to trust in his own feelings. He was used to being wrong. Always wrong.
Otto fell silent for a moment. "Yanno... I don't think I gave myself much time to be alone after Nevada died." He murmured clearly, as if only now realizing it. "I asked Cami to live with me a month after it happened. I was seeing Maebe pretty soon after it too. Do you think maybe I rushed into it?"
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Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2015 7:47 pm
Did he rush into it? Most likely. Instead of answering, he mulled over his answer, and looked down at Otto from the corner of his eye.
"You have always been afraid to be alone." He commented idly.
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Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2015 7:51 pm
Otto looked up at Ripley from his comfy bed in the sand, his expression fairly neutral despite Ripley's deadpan face and answers.
"You're right." He relented, his gaze drifting back to the sky. "Solitude and loneliness are two different things, right?"
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Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2015 8:00 pm
"Incredibly." Ripley agreed with a small nod. They did often become one in the same however, which prompted his next offer:
"You can text me when you get lonely." Since he had already offered his room for solitude, of course. "If you want." Not that he'd do much but sit there and be a person in the room.
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