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[gidge]

PICK YOUR POISON
PIC PROMPTS / TFLN / RANDOM SCENARIO
HAN SOLO velocities	BETTY MCRAE bombsheller	RIVER TAM subsulcus	RIVER TAM (AU) comprehender
SIMON TAM vest	BRIA THAREN exulted	NADINE CROSS bridaled	GU JUN-PYO toddler
available on special request: veronica sawyer, benjamin linus, imani, maria deluca, mushu, poseidon, niccolò machiavelli, malik al-sayf, chloe

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[hypothermal]

"Are you okay?"

She's been wanting to ask that since they were back in the office, since she heard him get louder, since he mentioned his dad. Which, actually, is probably making the moment even more awkward as they stand here on the outskirts of all this first night festivity.

"I mean," oh this is odd, trying to talk about something so personal with someone she hardly knows. "I didn't hear much but it sounded... Loud. Bad loud."

[convictioned]

"You mean it sounded like I yelled at my foster dad." Because he, you know, did. "Joe's just...he thinks he's always right. Sorry you had to hear that."

Because that whole thing was just lame and stupid and embarrassing. He shrugs again.

"What about you? I wasn't -- " Then he kind of grimaces because, okay, he was. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but it was kinda hard not to hear."

[hypothermal]

"No, it's... I'm sorry you had to yell."

Wow, that was a fumble. And now he's asking about her own call, and she has to weigh the pros and cons of explanation or side-stepping the subject. There's that feeling again, though, of being in it together. Less because of imagined trouble and more whatever it is that's going on with their dads.

She takes a deep breath, looks over at the other campers for a second, and then back at Barry.

"My dad has MS. He had an appointment with his specialist today and I missed it by being here."

[convictioned]

"Oh."

That's so much worse than he'd imagined. Not that her conversation on the phone had sounded good, but this is still worse.

"Caitlin, I'm so sorry."

No wonder she'd wanted to call home so badly and been so disappointed when she couldn't talk to him.

"You heard the counselor, though. You can call back whenever you want. It's only a matter of time before you get to talk to your dad."

[hypothermal]

"I know. And he's fine, Mom is just... Mom."

Which is an entirely different story, and one she won't get into. Not when Barry is being so nice and encouraging after his own disappointment. Not when she's trying to not ask him the hundred questions she has about why he's with a foster dad, why someone would suggest giving up on his own dad. There's an odd thought as she remembers his books and wonders if his dad was abducted by aliens or something, but no. That's too absurd.

"Wanna go get some s'mores?"

[convictioned]

When running down every possible lead on what supernatural thing killed his mom, it was probably inevitable that he'd start considering aliens sooner or later. There are some accounts of alien sightings that sort of match what he saw. Kinda. Maybe.

It's worth looking into anyway. Because he is that desperate and he'd never forgive himself for missing out on finding the culprit because he didn't bother following a lead.

But right now, he's at science camp with a nice girl who wants to get s'mores with him and...things aren't so bad.

"Sure. Let's see if there are any left."

[hypothermal]

Things could certainly be worse, and it's incredible that they aren't. That she isn't feeling inclined to sulk about her own dad, about the conversation with her mother. That she isn't shying away from the experience of science camp with a nice tall boy named Barry.

"Come on. I think they're over this way."

If there aren't any whole s'mores left, then maybe there will at least be some marshmallows.

[convictioned]

So science camp means there's a lot of chem and bio labs. It could sound a lot like school, but it's really more like all the fun messing around that school doesn't let you do. Lab partners are assigned by counselors, so maybe Barry shouldn't have been surprised when a very familiar counselor had assigned him to Caitlin with a wink he doesn't want to think too much about.

"So, okay. First it says to bring the Bunsen burner up to 100 degrees."

[hypothermal]

Chem and bio labs are what she looked forward to most. Being able to do things that otherwise she'd have had to settle for reading about, having access to chemicals and equipment more advanced than whatever she'd been able to get for her little home experiments...

That wink was kind of distressing, though, because she did not imagine being partnered with a nice boy delinquent maybe, which is why Caitlin fumbles a little at turning on their burner.

"Okay, done. What next, Mr. Grabbed the Instructions First?"

[convictioned]

"Hang on," he says, and holds the instructions out of her reach just to be obnoxious. "Miss Impatient. There's no way that thing's already 100 degrees."

[hypothermal]

"It isn't," and she is so sorely tempted to get up on her chair and snatch that worksheet out of his hand.

"But we can prep the rest of our materials for the next step while we wait."

[convictioned]

"We need a beaker," he reads off the sheet.

While still holding it up in the air.

Because he's being annoying.

"And a stir rod."

[hypothermal]

Teasing can be awful. It can be humiliating and discouraging, and generally awful. This is somehow only frustrating, and even then Caitlin is fighting off a grin.

"You're being a jerk, I hope you know."

As she gets a beaker and a stir rod.

[convictioned]

It helps, probably, to know that he wouldn't intentionally try to hurt or humiliate her. Or at least that he's done nothing to indicate he ever would.

"Don't worry, it looks pretty easy."

[hypothermal]

Oh, that is definitely part of it, though some small sliver in the back of her mind is wondering when the other shoe is going to drop. Because boys aren't nice to her like this, not without other shoes dropping.

"Am I supposed to trust your judgement on that, Mr. Allen? Because I'm not your lab assistant."

Said without as much venom as the content would otherwise imply, considering the grin on her face, as she makes a move to snatch the paper out of his hands.