teojude log
Rooftop Rendezvous p.1
Neighbors Teo and Jude meet for the first time on the roof of the Salmonberry building.
START: 08/18/2024
END: 08/18/2024
— TEO
Teo's headache is just starting to ease up.
It'd hit him an hour ago. He'd ignored it to begin with, but it had become impossible to ignore, and before long he'd trudged up to Salmonberry's rooftop with nothing but his cigarette tin to seat himself up on the ledge and look out at the streets below.
As chilly as it is—nighttime, with a breeze, and he only has short sleeves—it's refreshing. For a little while, at least, he can allow static to cloud out his other thoughts.
As far as he's aware, he's alone.
— JUDE
For a few minutes, there's nothing but the breeze and the static and the cigarette smoke.
Then, the familiar click of a lighter. About ten paces behind Teo.
"303," comes a quiet voice in greeting, soon after. Soft and monotone.
— TEO
The click of the lighter tethers Teo's focus to the present, but even as he registers the sound, it doesn't occur to him why he'd be hearing it until he's spoken to.
At once, Teo turns to look over his shoulder, smoke trailing away from his open mouth. He blinks, then gives his unexpected company a once-over; it takes him that much longer to realize he's said nothing after being so directly addressed, and he makes an effort to correct himself with a nod.
"You're- you're next door, right? The apartment next door? 304?"
He thinks he's seen this person before, anyway, but to his recollection, never so directly.
— JUDE
It's an amorphous shadow of a person— difficult to make out any detail in the dark. Dressed in all black from head to toe. It certainly doesn't help that they're standing too far away from the ledge for the streetlamps to reach them.
Despite the long pause, the other tenant doesn't seem bothered at all. His hand obscures his mouth as he takes a drag, the lit end of the cigarette flickering just bright enough to illuminate the rest of his face for no more than a couple seconds, but a few seconds is all you really need to make out his drowsy, almost bored expression. Thick brows and heavy-lidded eyes. He's unsmiling, but his manner isn't unfriendly. He exhales smoke out the side of his mouth before he answers.
"Mmm. That's me." ... "We share a wall, but we haven't gotten acquainted yet. Welcome to the neighborhood."
— TEO
Teo chews at his lower lip, and after several seconds of staring, he turns on the ledge to face his neighbor. It's in this moment that he seems to realize—with a start—that he's forgotten all about his own cigarette, and in moving nearly burns himself; he flicks the low-burning ash away over the edge, and fidgets.
"It's different here," Teo tells him, picking at the bandage on his jaw with his free hand; "from what I expected." His brows jump, then, and he nods his head to the side. "The neighborhood," he clarifies.
After a final drag, Teo puts out his own cigarette, but continues to hold it.
"Have you— lived here long? In New Portsmouth."
— JUDE
As he's stared at, his own gaze slides off and away from Teo. Looking over at the skyline, presumably. In comparison to how much Teo fidgets, this stranger barely moves at all— at least, for as long as Teo looks at him, he keeps very still.
"Not very long. Compared to most people here." He doesn't name the exact amount of years.
Something about Teo's earlier comment must have been amusing, because his mouth quirks up a little, after a pause. He flicks ash onto the concrete. "Different how...? Quieter?"
— TEO
For as vague as the answer he's given is, Teo doesn't appear to mind. He nods in consideration, stares off in the same general direction, and moves on.
"Quieter," Teo repeats agreeably, but after he's said it, he shakes his head. He starts to explain, then stops; tries a second time, after a breath.
"I moved here from Oregon," Teo tells him; "Saint Helens. It was quiet there, too. Except- except in October." He pauses, looks his neighbor's way, and then off again. "It's not the same. The quiet. It's- it's like if you- if you leave the TV on- without a signal. But it's not bad."
Again, Teo corrects himself; this time, with a measure of self-conscious awareness. "It is smaller," he reasons.
— JUDE
A beat after Teo looks away, there's another flicker of cigarette-glow. Inhale, pause. Exhale. By the time Teo glances his way again, he's returned to the same stillness as before.
Saint Helens? They have Halloweentown there.
Though Teo can't see it, he studies him carefully, watching the self-consciousness creep over him. He hums.
"Mm... right. TV static. That's a good way to describe it. It's quiet, but not empty. Like... a frequency. Something you can't quite hear, but you know it's there."
— TEO
Teo quickly looks his neighbor's way, eyes lit with surprise. "That's- that's what I mean," he says, the expression easing away with the same immediacy; "quiet, but there's something there."
Satisfied, Teo nods. He sets the butt of his cigarette down beside him to idly press the pad of his thumb into his opposite palm.
"Teo," he says, suddenly and with an abruptness that might suggest he's only just now remembered this element of conversation with a stranger; not uncommon. "I'm Teo. What should I call you?"
— JUDE
He looks quickly enough for their eyes to meet— the stranger holds his gaze for only a few seconds before breaking it with a slow blink, feeling the brightness of Teo's surprise burn through his eyelids.
"Teo," he repeats, slow, as if feeling the shape of the name in his mouth. He chases it with a final drag of his cigarette before he snubs it out, only half-finished. He smiles, then, tilting his head so that his bangs fall in front of his eyes. There's more of a lilt to his voice now: "I'm Jude. Nice to meet you, babe."
The rest of the cigarette is returned to its box, and even *that* is black. It's pocketed too quickly for the brand name to be read clearly.
"Mm. I'm heading back down." Clearly satisfied with ending the conversation here, even if it might be abrupt. "See you around."
— TEO
Teo's ears burn, and he dips his chin, scratching the back of his head. He seems, for a moment, completely at a loss for how to respond.
Nevertheless, he tries. "Jude. Okay," his voice wavers, and he finally looks back up. "Nice to meet you."
However hesitant he seems to be, Teo takes in a short breath as if he's thought of something, then pushes off from the ledge to stand up.
"If you—" It's clearly quickly become more difficult for him to speak. "If you need help— any time," he blinks and keeps his eyes shut a moment; opens them again, and keeps going. "Sometimes— sometimes it sounds like you're moving furniture. I can help."
Teo scratches behind his ear. This is all he wanted to add, and it seems to be in complete earnest. If it's strange to offer, it must not occur to him.
"Okay. See you."
— JUDE
Even though he's announced his intent to leave, he doesn't actually step away. His weight shifts from one foot to the other, but it's Teo who moves first, and so Jude stays anchored in place, head turned toward him. Watching him stutter. Watching him fidget. Watching him flush.
There's this... prickling sensation that unfurls across his teeth, a sort of hungry itch that makes his fingers twitch where they're hidden inside his sweatpant pockets.
(How did you hear? Why were you listening? Just a coincidence? On purpose? Paying attention to me? Should I—)
"Sure~. I'd appreciate that." A flicker of— something— passes across his face. Here and gone, and then he's smiling again. It seems genuine enough. Jude bids him good night with a nod and finally moves toward the exit, footsteps just as quiet as the rest of him.
