Nerdcam Pt. 05

Nerdcam Pt 5

Monday started around 10 a.m. for Jack. It promised to be more or less like any other Monday, except that he found himself unusually awake, energetic, and upbeat. He paused once while brushing his teeth to stare off, mouth quirking in a half smile. Happy, he realized. He was happy even on an unconscious level. Before meeting Anna it had been quite a while since he'd felt that way.

He puttered around the apartment for an hour or so, doing some basic chores. Eventually he stopped at the fridge to grab an energy drink. Seeing the carton of eggs on the middle shelf, he was reminded of the day before. Specifically the breakfast in bed Anna had made him. Something called bullseye toast.

Which Anna had explained meant cutting a circle out of the center of a piece of toast and then breaking an egg into the hole. Frying that in a pan. In her case, with salt and pepper, fried in just a dribble of olive oil seasoned with a pinch each of cayenne and oregano. She had cooked egg just to the point that the yolk was thick golden gooiness. Jack had been surprised by how well he liked it.

So, why not give it a shot himself? Quickly realizing he didn't own anything much like a cookie cutter, he folded the bread and bit out a portion of the center. When he had everything started cooking, he scratched his head, sipped his gamer juice and let his eyes wander aimlessly. Half turning to set the can down on the table, he caught sight of something else that reminded him of the day before. Well, the night before -- when he had come back from Anna's place.

Anna's big empty box sat on the couch where he had moved it after discovering it under the blanket on his bed. Seeing it, he smiled and shook his head. The minx had gotten him with the same gag twice. And the new note she had left on it was something of a backhanded compliment -- of which he naturally approved.

'Nerd,

Your room is cleaner than I expected. Bathroom too. Really like the posters. Gonna go school you in games now. Invite me over some time.

-Anna'

Well, they had already discussed meeting at his place for supper on the weekend. Anna's schedule permitting. He just needed to decide what he was gonna cook. And he wanted to pick up something particular at the nearest arts and crafts store. Oh, and think up some kind of practical joke reprisal. And...

Running down his mental to-do list, he walked back to the bedroom and grabbed a pad and pen so he could just write it all down. A few moments later he came jogging back out just in time to save the bullseye toast from burning. Plating the food and cutting the heat on the burner, he grabbed his drink and headed back to his room.

While he waited for the food to cool a bit, he got some music going on his computer and opened a couple files in preparation for when he decided to start working. That done, he scribbled out his to-do list. Finally, he took up his plate and tried the toast and egg Frankenstein's monster. Slightly overcooked, but good. He'd get it right next time.

He sat and ate for a couple minutes before setting the plate back down on his bed and stepping around to retrieve his phone -- which he had left charging on the nightstand. Taking the little USB cable as well, he plugged the phone into his computer, then slide over to the left hand extension of his desk to turn on the fairly pricey printer-scanner he sometimes used for artwork.

Opening the phone's contents on his computer, he navigated to the cache of images taken with the camera. With a few clicks he copied the lot into a folder which he succinctly labeled 'phone pics.' Unplugging the phone, he set it aside.

He scrolled down through old pics. Mostly stuff he had taken as art references. Then the handful of Anna from the sandwich shop. And finally down to the pics he had taken the next day -- yesterday -- after his breakfast in bed.

He had helped Anna unpack some boxes. It hadn't been lost on him, of course, that the night before she had quashed the idea of him helping with that. Well, if she wanted to reconsider the boundaries of their relationship as they spent time together, he wasn't going to complain.

The first pics were of Anna in her pajamas. One of her bending over to open a box. Then a few of contents of various boxes. A few Nendroids she had been given as gifts a few years back. A little plushy Cthulhu. A visibly time-worn hedgehog, which had been found at her grandparents' when she was little, having belonged to her father when he was young.

Then there were a couple shots Anna had taken, telling him to send them to her. One of him with a box over his head. Another, a candid shot, of him unboxing what had turned out to be a resin statuette of a character from the MMORPG Anna played. A blue-skinned female elf with a bow and skimpy armor.

Jack rolled his eyes when he came to a shot where she had zeroed in on just his bare torso.

Then there were a couple 'selfies' they had taken together while making an early supper. Pork tenderloin with asparagus and a pot of mac and cheese with pepper jack grated on for an extra cheesy kick. And the last few Anna had taken of the two of them standing together. In the last she had risen on her toes to kiss him on the cheek.

The printer took forever to warm up, so Jack picked out a few pics and put them in a queue to print. With that done, he grabbed his phone again and took a minute to send several of the pics to Anna long with a brief text.

From there it was, all in all, a pretty typical day. He worked on pages for his webcomic, checked email and social media, re-read scripting and brainstormed future story arcs. Just after finishing up a homemade burrito, he received a text.

'Hey Nerd. Thanks for the pics. Feeling a little crap. Prolly gonna crash early tonight. Should be good for the wkend tho. You gonna dress up?'

Jack re-read the last line. Well, he had planned on picking up at least one set of formal wear, but how fancy did she expect it to be? They were just eating in at his place. He thought for a moment, then shrugged and gave her a call.

"Hello?"

"Hey."

"Jack?"

"Yeah, I know, it's not normal to actually call people these days, but..."

"No, it's fine. What's up?" her voice had an unusual nasal quality.

"Just got your text and wondered. You don't sound too good."

"Yeah, I was sleeping. I uh... I took some pain meds..."

"Like, for a headache?" Jack asked doubtfully.

"Mm, not exactly."

"Well, are you okay? Did something happen?"

He heard her groan faintly.

"I um..." she sighed and lowered her voice, "I twisted my ankle."

Jack was quiet for a few moments.

"Diiiid you go out jogging today?" he asked eventually.

"Noooope."

"Did you take the stairs too fast?"

"No."

"Were you practicing that thing we tried on the couch that almost went very badly the first time?"

"No, smartass," Anna grumbled, "I was in the shower and one of those friggin' sticky things - you know those things that are supposed to keep you from slipping -- it came up."

"Ah."

"Yeah. An' I twisted my ankle. So I hobbled out and got a lift to the E.R. They gave me a padded brace thing and a prescription for the pain killers."

"You went by yourself? You should've called. I could've at least helped you hobble around." He said.

"I know, but..."

"Hm. But you were in pain, and annoyed, and, mm, this boyfriend-girlfriend thing is still kinda new and you weren't sure you were ready to feel like I was taking care of you. Something like that?" he suggested.

"Probably something like that." Anna agreed.

"Mm. What about work? Have you-"

"Yeah, I called out. Told Mr. Lintz about it. He said not to worry, and to take a few days if I need it, but hopefully I'll be okay to go back tomorrow."

"Gotcha. Well, I wasn't calling about anything real important, so I won't keep you on the phone. I was just wondering... In your text you asked if I was gonna dress up this weekend."

"Yeah?" she replied after a pause.

"Well, I just wondered if you wanted to go out somewhere, or... like, did you wanna dress up just to eat over here?"

"What?" Anna gave a little laugh, "Jack, Sunday is Halloween."

Unfortunately Anna didn't get to see the blank look on his face.

"Uhh... oh."

"You really didn't know. Goofy-ass."

"I lose track of... stuff. But yeah... I'm sure I can come up with something."

The sounds of Anna sitting up to have a drink of water came across.

"They tol' me to keep this stupid brace on except to check the swelling. Even in bed." she complained, setting the water aside.

"Poor thing." Jack chuckled sympathetically, "I'll be looking forward to seeing what you come up with. For Halloween, I mean. But I'll let you go so you can rest and get better."

"Mmm. Thanks, Jack. Talk t'you later. G'night."

"Night, Anna."

Jack woke the next morning and lay in bed for a bit, dozing. He was brought fully and definitively awake when a flash of light was followed by a peal of thunder that rattled the windows. With an annoyed grumble at being goosed by the weather, he rose and got on with the usual morning routine.

He liked stormy weather, provided it wasn't waking him up in a jarring fashion, or killing the power or internet while he was working. After visiting the restroom and getting dressed, he spent a few minutes at his bedroom window watching the rain blur the world outside. Eventually he turned away and moved to his desk to think about getting some work done.

While he first took the normal look at social media and mail, he remembered the phone call from the night before and wondered if Anna had made it to work.

Probably.

The wind outside shifted, and the rain drummed on his window. A really good storm where the power went out might make a good backdrop for a story arc in his comic. He jotted a few notes. Thought about it. Added a couple more half formed ideas.

He leaned back in his seat and stared at his computer monitor.

Well, he could at least drop her a text and remind her to get hold of him if she needed anything. Which he did.

He was a little surprised when he got a call in return only a couple minutes later.

"Yeah, lemme get two medium pizzas. One meat lover's," he began, in lieu of a more traditional 'hello', "and one Hawaiian."

There was silence for a beat.

"That's one way to let me know I got the right number." Anna replied, and Jack could just about hear her eyes rolling.

"Hey. Didn't expect you to call back. Especially so fast. Did you make it to-"

"No," she interrupted, "The meds did a number on me. After I got up I still felt all dopey and half asleep. So I called and left a message for Mr. Lintz and went back to bed."

"How's the ankle doing?"

"Swelling's already down some. Think I'm gonna try switching to regular meds and see how bad it is. What about you?"

"My ankles are fine. I don't think my pizzas are coming, though."

"There's the funny guy I know and tolerate."

Jack broke into a grin.

"Uh huh. So, big plans for this fine, rainy day?"

"Nah. Kinda seems like I'm meant to veg out today. Maybe do some reading. Window shop on Amazon. Who knows, maybe even unpack a few boxes."

"Feel like some company, or have you had about enough of me for a while?"

Anna snorted.

"'Had enough of you for a while'? What, are you frozen pizza now?"

"Well, I could've said do you need some space, but people only ever use that when they mean 'I'm not interested in being around you.'"

"Yeah," Anna agreed, "It's weird that people pretend they don't know that some phrases are total red flags, and like, pretty much always mean breakup time is on the way."

"Anyway, I was just thinking, realistically, even if you're perfect for somebody, you probably won't want to be around them literally all the time. Better to accept that and not be weird about it, right? So, yeah." he trailed off.

"Hmm."

There was a long silence.

"Still there?" Jack asked.

"Yeah. Just thinking. I wouldn't mind someone cooking for me. And hanging out."

"Ah, you're in luck-"

"So long as they understand, this isn't a booty-call type of situation."

There was another long silence.

"Hello?"

"Just thinking." Jack smirked.

"Shut up. Smartass. Think you can keep it in your pants?"

"Me?" Jack laughed, "As I recall-"

"Even if we cuddle?" Anna continued to tease.

"I'm sure it will be har- difficult, but I can always just pretend we're already married."

"Uh huh. Alright, Nerd. I dunno if you'll be spending the night, but bring your purse, just in case."

"Or you could make that comment," Jack laughed. "But yeah, I'll grab my shaving kit and be over in a minute. Try not to hurt yourself any further before I get there."

"Uh huh. See ya. Joystick out." she finished, as if signing off a radio transmission.

Jack ended the call and dropped his phone in his pocket. He sat and thought for a second, then grabbed a duffel bag and gathered a few things -- shaving kit included. He double-checked that there were no hiccups in the backlog of pages queued for his webcomic before exiting various programs and powering down the computer. Stopping in the kitchen, he added a few things to the bag and then he was out, locking the door behind him.

"It's open." Anna called from within when Jack knocked. He entered, glanced around, and set his bag next to the coffee table. He put the chain on the door before taking a good look around.

"Hello? Are we playing hide and seek?" he called.

"No, I was just changing." she called from her bedroom.

"Oh, you didn't have to do that for me."

Anna appeared, taking a couple gimping steps to stand in the doorway. She was wearing pajamas -- and one big fluffy slipper styled to look like a bear's paw.

"Ah," he nodded, smiling, "Getting comfy, eh? Nice slipper."

"It helps balance things out." she explained, briefly lifting her other foot, which was cased in the brace.

"Right."

Anna crossed her arms over her chest and tipped her head a bit, but smiled, as he lingered, looking her up and down.

"Oh, right." he said.

He pulled his phone from his pocket and held it up. Anna rolled her eyes and flipped him the bird while he snapped a couple pictures.

"So... have you had anything for lunch yet?" he asked, tucking the phone away again.

"Not yet."

"Cool," Jack rubbed his hands together, "I'll be commandeering your kitchen, then. I uh, brought over a couple things I thought you might get a kick out of, but for now... you know, whatever. Veg out. Pretend I'm not here."

Anna enjoyed watching him putter around the kitchen for a minute before moving back into her room. Feeling she had been doing well unpacking boxes lately, she supposed she might as well work on the stack in the closet. She was sitting amidst a spread of framed pictures, considering where to put them, when Jack called her out to eat.

"Poached eggs on savory herb crustini with a tangy pickle and tomato relish and a few little wedges of mozzarella. Uh, and lemonade." Jack announced when Anna joined him at the table.

"Wow. I know you said you could cook, but you didn't say you could cook fancy."

"Well, I try. Although, crustini is just a fancy way of saying I baked slices of that Italian bread you've got with some herbs and olive oil. Also, probably should have asked if you like pouched eggs."

"Wouldn't have helped," Anna smirked, "I mean, I'm sure I do, but this will be my first time trying them. Thanks for cooking, by the way."

"My pleasure. Give me the official review when you're done."

A companionable silence followed while they dug in.

When they had finished, Anna caught Jack's eye and nodded approval.

"I like." she smiled. "Perfect for lunch. So... turns out you do bring more to the table than just nerdy references and good sex."

"Modesty prevents me from pointing out that I also kicked your amazing ass in Halo vs." Jack joked while collecting their dirty dishes and depositing them in the sink.

"Might have to work on the modesty." Anna followed him to the sink.

"Ah well..." Jack started the hot water running. "I can take care of-"

"I have a bad ankle," Anna interrupted, holding her hands up and wiggling her fingers, "My hands are fine."

"They're lovely," Jack agreed, regarding the extremities in question, "But if I do the dishes, you can go put up the rest of those pictures you've been unpacking. Just let me know if you need help hanging any of them up high."

Anna squinted for a moment, then shrugged.

"I'm not that short." she commented.

Jack chuckled.

"I wasn't joking about that. Just offering to help. I mean, now probably isn't the best time for you to be trying to balance on a chair or anything." he explained.

"Oh. Right. See what happens when you crack jokes all the time?"

"Worth it."

"Smartass." Anna smiled, heading back into her room.

A few minutes later the lights went out, leaving them in darkness. A particularly loud crack of thunder followed. After flinching, Anna felt around to place a last unhung picture back in it's box and the box back in the closet. Remembering her special footwear, she moved slowly and carefully to the bedroom door.

"Ah, shit." she hissed, bringing an arm up in front of her face, when the beam of a flashlight momentarily blinded her.

"Sorry." Jack lowered the beam, "I remembered somebody saying preparation was key."

He moved to the kitchen table and set the stubby flashlight on it, pointed up so that the beam spread and reflected from the pale ceiling and rendered the apartment dim, rather than completely dark.

"Good job, boy scout. Just don't blast me in the face with it."

Jack looked up from where he was opening his duffel bag on the table.

"Yeah, that's what she said." Anna added with a smile, moving closer to see what he was doing.

"So you remember I said I brought a couple things I thought you might get a kick out of." Jack said.

"Mm. Hope they don't need power."

"Luckily," Jack lifted a dark rectangle from within the shadowed interior of the bag, "my tablet should be all charged up."

"Well, that's better than trying to watch something on one of our phones." Anna commented. "Bring it over to the couch so we can get comfortable."

"One sec. There's something else." Jack replied, pulling something else from the bag.

He handed it over and Anna leaned closer to the light and examined the object. It turned out to be a piece of heavy drawing paper, folded twice to form a makeshift card. On the front, in Jack's handwriting, was scrawled; 'Get well soon,'.

"Aw." Anna said before opening the card.

Inside was written; 'Beautiful.' Beneath this was a drawing. Anna recognized a stylized version of herself, wearing the outfit she had worn to their date at the sandwich shop. In the drawing, she pouted, sporting a hugely oversized, medieval looking brace of black iron on one foot.

Eventually she looked up, flashing him a grin.

"Thank you. Very cute. Very... me." Glancing back down at the drawing, she mused; "You're really good at... flattering my figure."

"Nah. Just trying to do it justice." Jack demurred. "Glad you like it. We can leave the light here. If it starts to die, there are more batteries for it in the bag."

"Mmkay." Anna carefully set the card upright on the table before following Jack to the couch.

He held the tablet in his lap and tapped and scrolled to a particular file. Anna scooted close and rested her head against his shoulder. The screen lit. A title in white text appeared.

Hot Redhead Confesses.

Anna arched an eyebrow.

The next moment, Rick Astley appeared, song in progress.

"Never gonna give you up. Never gonna let you down. Never gonna..."

"Really?" Anna laughed, "Hot Redhead-"

"Wait for it." Jack smiled, nodding at the screen.

"Wait for wh-"