[It's unbelievable - absurd, even. But she does believe him, and the full weight of the horrors he's described settles heavy on her heart. She covers her mouth with her hand for a moment, imagining what it must have been like to witness the things he's told her, then drops it, shaking her head again.]
You're a much better person than me, I'll say that. If anybody pulled that shit, they'd be missing some fucking teeth at minimum.
[It does explain a lot, though. Anyone would be traumatized after surviving something as awful as that - if they did manage to survive. Would she have been able to pull through, if she were in Chris' place? Nick honestly isn't sure. She's survived a lot of things, but nothing even remotely approaching this kind of unspeakably awful.
Nick finds herself suddenly overwhelmed with a wave of unfamiliar feeling - relief. She's glad he survived that horrible night, glad he lived to tell the tale - tell her about it. Glad he insisted on being her friend, most of all. She hesitates for a second - she isn't good at comfort, and she doesn't do physical touch often, but this is an exception worth making, or at least attempting to make. Then she steps toward Chris with her arms open, ready with a hug.]
[Chris offers a weak laugh at her comment, shaking his head a little.]
I don't hit very hard.
[But he did punch Josh right after everything happened. It hadn't been about the whole prank, really--a punch wouldn't make up for something like that--but rather one very specific part of it; Josh had hit Ashley, and Chris' normally almost impossible to ignite temper had snapped.
He isn't totally sure what she's doing at first, for just a moment, simply because Nick doesn't seem to be the hugging type. But to say he could use a hug is an incredible understatement, and though he's a little hesitant at first--the only women he ever really hugs are his mom and his girlfriend--he soon returns the hug firmly and tries not to end up crying. He's only partially successful, shoulders shaking a little, but at least he keeps it mostly under control.]
[She's not the hugging type - not since her father died, not since Andy decided there wasn't any point in remaining friends. It's been probably close to a year since she's hugged anyone, aside from the incident with Lloyd nearly tackling her a few months back. But - this is OK. This is important. She recognizes it immediately.]
I can show you how to hit harder.
[Throwing punches is one thing she's fairly good at. Then, in an attempt to lighten the mood:]
You tell anyone this happened and I will one hundred percent deny it. Got a reputation to uphold, after all.
[His voice is a little shaky and somewhat higher pitched than usual, as is normal when he's emotional, but he's not crying when he eventually pulls away. He even manages another tiny smile at her last comment, even if there isn't much behind it.]
No problem. S-Same here, you know? I-I'm like, super calm about everything, r-remember?
[He's been told that several times by people here, and it feels like a total lie whenever something like this happens.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
[It's unbelievable - absurd, even. But she does believe him, and the full weight of the horrors he's described settles heavy on her heart. She covers her mouth with her hand for a moment, imagining what it must have been like to witness the things he's told her, then drops it, shaking her head again.]
You're a much better person than me, I'll say that. If anybody pulled that shit, they'd be missing some fucking teeth at minimum.
[It does explain a lot, though. Anyone would be traumatized after surviving something as awful as that - if they did manage to survive. Would she have been able to pull through, if she were in Chris' place? Nick honestly isn't sure. She's survived a lot of things, but nothing even remotely approaching this kind of unspeakably awful.
Nick finds herself suddenly overwhelmed with a wave of unfamiliar feeling - relief. She's glad he survived that horrible night, glad he lived to tell the tale - tell her about it. Glad he insisted on being her friend, most of all. She hesitates for a second - she isn't good at comfort, and she doesn't do physical touch often, but this is an exception worth making, or at least attempting to make. Then she steps toward Chris with her arms open, ready with a hug.]
Hey - c'mere.
no subject
I don't hit very hard.
[But he did punch Josh right after everything happened. It hadn't been about the whole prank, really--a punch wouldn't make up for something like that--but rather one very specific part of it; Josh had hit Ashley, and Chris' normally almost impossible to ignite temper had snapped.
He isn't totally sure what she's doing at first, for just a moment, simply because Nick doesn't seem to be the hugging type. But to say he could use a hug is an incredible understatement, and though he's a little hesitant at first--the only women he ever really hugs are his mom and his girlfriend--he soon returns the hug firmly and tries not to end up crying. He's only partially successful, shoulders shaking a little, but at least he keeps it mostly under control.]
no subject
I can show you how to hit harder.
[Throwing punches is one thing she's fairly good at. Then, in an attempt to lighten the mood:]
You tell anyone this happened and I will one hundred percent deny it. Got a reputation to uphold, after all.
no subject
[His voice is a little shaky and somewhat higher pitched than usual, as is normal when he's emotional, but he's not crying when he eventually pulls away. He even manages another tiny smile at her last comment, even if there isn't much behind it.]
No problem. S-Same here, you know? I-I'm like, super calm about everything, r-remember?
[He's been told that several times by people here, and it feels like a total lie whenever something like this happens.]
no subject
[Nick tugs the hem of her jacket to straighten it.]
You're secret's safe with me.
no subject
[He takes a few deep breaths, trying to get it all together again, and his voice is steadier when he speaks again.]
So um. Scavenging trip.
[They have a job to get back to.]
no subject
[She nods, shoves her hands in her pockets.]
Where you wanna start?