videocamera | six - [video] - it's really easy, you just think that you're holding it

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[Andrew debates for a long time before he turns on the comm. He knows what this is now, knows who might be out there listening right now - he remembers talking to Steve last time, then talking to Anya about it afterwards - and he doesn't know if he wants to talk to any of them.

Except he also kind of can't resist.

When he does turn it on, the broadcast starts with a long shot of the poster-covered wall of his bedroom before it finally turns to show his face. Both his hands are in his hoodie pocket and the comm pretty much seems to be moving on its own. He's not sure what to say for a few moments, almost shuts it off without speaking at all, but finally he just frowns and says:]

This is Andrew Detmer.

[And he sits back to wait and see who replies.]

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From:

You're the one everyone keeps talking about.

From:

videocamera

[Harry's not a new face to him. He knows him from the last glitch and, thanks to the last flood, Peter's memories. He doesn't look so completely insane right now, though. Good job, Harry.]

And you're Harry Osborn.

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[Well. It comes and goes.]

Finally. [A little recognition. He smiles - a small, lazy smile, not the insane, teeth baring kind.]

I hear you're not dying.

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videocamera

No. I'm already dead.

[He knows what he means - not dying like Harry's dying - but the point still stands.]

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Heard that too.

[And he wants it, he wants it so badly that he doesn't even know what to do with it. He has plans - he does, he really does this time - but it still feels insurmountable.

He'll never be like he was. He'll always be sick. It'll always come and go.

It's like a whine in the back of his mind, and he struggles for control.]

You never even got sick, did you?

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videocamera

[If Harry was here, if he wasn't just an intruder to the network, if Andrew hadn't just lived through Peter's memories, maybe Andrew would be nicer. Then again, he's not a very nice kid at the best of times, really.]

Not like you did. The shaking, the--

[He waves a hand at his neck, clean and unblemished. His sickness didn't leave many visible signs.]

None of that.

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[Abruptly, he wants to tell Andrew to shut the fuck up, to shut his mouth, to just shut - shut up, to never say anything about what he is, or has, or--

He swallows hard and pushes it away, down, controls it. He's in control.]

Lucky you. How'd you die?

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Hey, Andrew.

[She remembers how it went for him last time - that from what he told her, it wasn't pleasant.

Maybe she can make it at least a little bit better?]

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videocamera

[He absolutely wasn't expecting to hear from Needy, and he actually brightens visibly when he sees her.]

Needy. Wow, I didn't-- Hey.

[Definitely better, at least for now.]

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Hey. [Her face breaks into a grin, and she laughs a little.] So, uh. This day is happening again, huh? And this time I'm on the other side of it.

So how have you been?

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videocamera

Good, yeah. I mean, not-- you know what it's like here, so, not good, exactly. But okay.

Did you, um-- There was this thing, around Christmas, we had to make, like, wishlists? I asked the Admiral to get you some stuff. I don't know if he can do off-Barge stuff like that though. Did you get anything?

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'Okay' is good. I will more than settle for 'okay'. As long as, you know. You're feeling all right. And stuff.

[She ducks her head a second, suddenly nervous and unsure. At his inquiry though she looks up again, frowning in surprise.]

Um...I don't know. Well there was this time I got - wait. Was any of it books? On like, monsters and the paranormal and stuff?

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videocamera

Yeah, that's right. [He looks pleased, not quite grinning but definitely smiling.] I just-- Cassel told everyone you went to Beacon Hills and I figured you might be able to use them.

[He pauses for a moment, voice getting a bit more hesitant.]

Is it-- Are you okay, there?

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Oh, yeah! Thanks, then. They just showed up, and it wasn't even Christmas here then, so I didn't really know...but yeah, seriously, thank you. That was sweet.

[That he was thinking of her, and everything. It's touching.]

Never been better. Seriously. I got to start all over again, practically, only now I'm not wanted or crazy and I don't have to go to high school. A lot of the Hills gang's friends and family are really cool, and there's a lot of woods around here for when I want to just get away for awhile. Clear my head, or practice using my powers.

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videocamera

[He smiles, the tiniest bit weak, and doesn't say that he missed her because it doesn't seem very fair, even though he really did.]

That sounds-- awesome. I mean, really. It sounds cool. Guess the program really worked out for you, huh?

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Yeah, it did. Lucky me, huh?

[It might have been more than just 'luck', and she knows it. But this is already threatening to get...awkward.]

What about you, though? There must be some new stuff going on in your life. Right?

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Yeah, man. I know who you are. You don't have to use your full name.

[He sounds... nervous, his voice a little too gentle, or maybe wary. He's walking on eggshells.]

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videocamera

[And... okay, yeah, he'd be lying if he said he hadn't been half-hoping to talk to Steve. Half-dreading it too, maybe, but still. At the sound of Steve's voice coming through, he closes his eyes for a long, long moment before answering. He definitely doesn't have the same harsh, desperate tone in his voice as he did towards the end of their last conversation. Not yet, anyway.]

Yeah, Steve, I know. It was-- [A pause. He shakes his head.] Don't worry about it. Not important.

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[Steve is watching Andrew's face closely when he closes his eyes, and he still is when he opens them again, lips pursed in concern. From his perspective, this whole conversation is... erratic, to say the least, and he's not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing that Andrew suddenly seems so much more restrained.]

You feeling a little better now that you had a couple minutes to chill out?

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videocamera

[He wants to say no, because he really doesn't feel better about any of this. Steve is a ghost, and he's pretty sure no matter what he says he's not going to be able to change how it happens. He takes a deep breath, shakes his head, saying the opposite as he does.]

...yeah. I guess. I just--

[He glances back to Steve's face, then away, distractedly letting the comm drift, skewing the picture a little.]

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[He's quiet for a second, letting that silence happen. He needs it to think, too. He needs it to get a read on whatever the hell is going on with Andrew, but at the end of it, he's still left pretty damn unsure.]

You gonna freak out at me again if I tell you I'm still worried about you?

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videocamera

[It's fair enough for Steve to be confused. On his end, Andrew's almost amazed to think this is only moments after their last conversation ended from Steve's perspective. So much has happened since then. He doesn't know what else to say.]

No. I mean... not if you promise me something, okay?

[He has to try, right?]

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Depends, man. What am I promising you?

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Andrew? Dude, what the hell?

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videocamera

[Oh.]

What?

[He can't help the hint of frustrated aggression that curls under his voice, and even though there are no clues, he's already trying to think of when Matt might be from.]

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Well, for one, you're alive.

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videocamera

[Guess that answers that question.]

Yeah. You did kill me, it just didn't take.

Edited (wow brain pay attention please) Date: 2015-02-08 03:12 am (UTC)

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[ Great, they're gonna go there. ]

You didn't give me much of a choice!

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videocamera

[As if they wouldn't.]

You should have just stayed away.

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And let you kill everyone!?

[ Do you seriously think Matt could do that? ]

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videocamera

Just him.

[Because, you know, obviously he would have stopped if you'd let him murder his dad...]

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[ Matt just sighs. He doesn't even know what to say to that. ]

Andrew...

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videocamera

He deserved it. He deserved it and you saved him.

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Killing him wouldn't have done anything. It wouldn't have fixed anything.

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videocamera

[It would have fixed some the hurt inside him, he still believes that.]

You didn't have to live with him. You don't know what it was like.

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No, you're right. I didn't. But there were other answers besides killing him. There are always other answers.

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videocamera

Like what?

[Matt, you're kind of as infuriating as ever.]

From:

[ And you're not helping anyone by being so stubborn, Andrew. ]

You could've, I don't know, told me? I could have helped! I could have tried, at least.

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