Broken Arrows

10 | a rainy day

"Yeah?" She took his response as permission to open the door completely, and the light flooded in with her entrance. For some reason, his room always appeared darker than the rest. He had no windows, and not even the light from the lamp could brighten the space.

Elliot was seated on his bed, his laptop in his lap. He had his headphones in, but she figured they were off, considering the questioning look he gave her, as if he was waiting for her to speak.

"Um..." Sachi wrung her hands as she took another step closer. "What... what're you doing?"

His brows furrowed. "Nothing. Why?"

"I was just bored. I was looking for something to do. But if you're busy doing nothing, I can leave."

There was a hint of a grin on his face as he said, "I'm not too busy. I think I can fit you in."

Sachi laid a hand over her heart, stepping closer. "I'm flattered." She batted her eyelashes at him. "Really."

Elliot slid over on the mattress to make room so she could sit beside him. She braced her shoulders against the backboard and peered over at his screen. The picture was difficult to discern, but that didn't mean she didn't try.

"What is that?" she asked when it became obvious she wasn't figuring it out anytime soon.

"I'm ashamed, Sach." He clicked on something, and the picture was instantly clearer. The Jurassic Park logo was easily recognizable to her; she knew the sign like the back of her hand.

"You're watching it?" she said excitedly. She couldn't help herself. The Jurassic films made up some of her favorite movies. She'd watched them so many times that certain scenes were easily quotable to her. And she knew Elliot loved the movies as well. It became one of their strongest bonding points when they were still cementing their friendship.

"Yeah." She could hear the smile in his voice. "I was in the mood, y'know. I wanted to see dinosaurs."

She could believe that. Younger Elliot had been obsessed with dinosaurs. His entire room had been decorated from ceiling to floor with dinosaur figurines, a T-rex bedspread, and even dinosaur slippers that roared as he walked.

"I'm always in that mood," Sachi agreed.

Elliot took one of his headphones and handed it to her. She had to slide closer to him to put it in her ear without it falling out. Their shoulders brushed, and she swore she felt something flip in her stomach.

Nothing, she assured herself. It's nothing.

Elliot clicked through the menu before finally choosing to play the movie. The familiar music met her ears, and she let herself relax. There was nothing like a rainy day to bring her closer.

But something still wasn't right. It felt...off.

Sachi reached over to pause the movie when the words Isla Nublar appeared on the screen. He gave her a questioning look, and she said, "It feels weird to just watch it here by ourselves. Not," she added, when she saw his hurt expression, "that I don't like spending time with you. I do. It's just...I think Hunter and Erin would enjoy the movie too."

There was a flicker of hesitation. Then, "That seems fair. I think there's a DVD player in the living room."

"Okay." She beamed. "I'll drag them out of their rooms while you set it up. Is that cool?"

"Sure." He ejected the disc and hooked a thumb through the hole before popping it into the case. "Good luck. You'll probably need it."

Sachi giggled, sliding her legs around the bed and falling off, landing on the floor with a faint thump. "I probably will," she allowed. "Gimme five minutes." With that parting saying, she exited Elliot's bedroom and went into the next room over: Erin's room.