Sail away with me

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A lift of his eyebrow was the only response he would justify for Clare, knowing full well that anything else would cause her to deny more and more. Hearing the girl’s trepidation, he waved her off, taking back the bottle and a second sip before returning it within her grasp. “It counts,” he stated simply, eyes glued to the screen as he awaited a second opportunity. It didn’t take much more time, and he smirked as Clare beat him to the punch. He accepted the dwindling bottle with ease, tucking back a third swig and resting the vessel in his lap as the film played out. “You chose it,” he sang, scooting to the arm of the couch to lay back against, pulling his legs from the floor and slinging them down the length of the couch and the girl perched on it.

It didn't count. Staying silent though she knew that arguing with him this time would get them nowhere. Not when the bottle was nearly gone and she had already had a drink even after the not counting scene. "I may have chosen the movie," she started, before lifting her finger to point it at him, "But that was before I knew you were going to make a drinking game out of it. Had I known that I would have chosen something different." A giggle slipped past her lips as she leaned back against the couch trying her best to avoid his outstretched legs as she closed her eyes for a brief second. Her cheeks were flushed from the alcohol they had been passing back and forth she knew that without even having to lift a hand to her face. Part of her was surprised Eli hadn't managed to work it into their conversation, as if he hadn't already teased her enough for one day. By now Clare had given up paying attention to the movie as she turned her full attention to Eli sprawled out on their couch. The bottle that had been full at the start of the movie was nearly empty though the movie was only half over. She wasn’t about to tell him that he had been right, that it wasn’t going to take very long to finish the bottle with the rules he had set up for them. “I can’t believe that bottle is almost empty.”

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“Of course you’re not,” Eli murmured, his tone clearly mocking her denial. If Clare didn’t want it handed back to her, she could have let him get away with rejecting the reality of his own embarrassment a few minutes prior, and the way he saw it now, they were about even. The way she danced around his question gave him all the confirmation he needed that she knew this movie inside and out, but if he spoke on the matter, he’d risk her selecting a title even worse, so he stayed mum and shoveled in popcorn in lieu of an argument. He shrugged at her retort, finishing his mouthful. “Mostly just screams of agony and maniacal laughing.” He didn’t agree about the length of film time it would take before they were plied with a few shots, but decided to let the screen decide that battle for them. One lead rejects the other’s affection, and he considers that good enough for his first rule and lifts the bottle to his lips before offering it to her.

"I am not blushing!" she huffed. It was stupid on her part, to keep trying to deny the blush that he obviously saw and that she could still feel. But she wasn't about to sit there and watch that stupid, aggravating smirk sit on his face as he continued to tease her over something that she couldn't even help. It wasn't like she had teased him this much over his blush. Maybe if she had ignored his she wouldn't be in this position right now, but something told her Eli would have found something else to tease her about. "I'm not quite sure that counted," she said arching her eyebrow. Part of her couldn't help wondering if he chose that scene as a way to get the game started. It wasn't something worth fighting him on though. Taking the bottle from his grasp she took a small sip. It didn't take long before another scene came up where someone told the couple they couldn't be together. Lifting the bottle up to her lips she took another drink before offering it to him. "Okay... maybe it's not going to take quite as long as I thought." Despite having seen the movie so many times she could recite it nearly by heart Clare never realized just how many times there was a scene with someone crying or telling the couple they couldn't be together.

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“Difference of opinion,” he stated simply, knowing it wasn’t worth the effort to change Clare’s mind on the matter they’d been arguing for years on end. “And if we’re talking about the kinds of movies that all have the same plot, you’re not going to point the finger to my choices.” A smirk tugged at Eli’s lips as her face flushed and he cocked an eyebrow. “You’re blushing,” he taunted, mimicking her voice from before. Waltzing back into the room moments later, he swallowed down his mound of hot popcorn. “Unfortunately I know what I said,” he confirmed, slumping back towards the couch’s spine and nursing the bottle to himself. With a heavy sigh, he could have only anticipated the title Clare had chosen, his eyes fluttering shut for a moment as the name flickered onto screen. “Can’t you recite this one by now?” Out of all the movies she could have chosen, Eli would deem this the safest for his sanity, not that he’d ever admit to Clare that he didn’t outright dread The Notebook for all that it was. Still, he wasn’t entirely willing to sit through it once again in a state of complete sobriety if there was already liquor in his midst. “Fine, but you’re drinking with me this time,” he decided, situating the bottle between them. “Anytime someone cries or tells the couple they shouldn’t be together. This won’t take long.”

"I’m not blushing,” Clare muttered, though it was silly to deny it. It had never taken much to get her to blush and given her fair skin tone it was unfortunately always obvious when something had gotten her embarrassed enough to turn her cheeks scarlet red. Of course he couldn’t just ignore her blushing this one time, no, he had to tease her about it. Part of her wanted to remind him that not that long ago he had been the one with flushed cheeks, but she let it go. For now at least. Grabbing more popcorn Clare chewed on it for a moment before swallowing, thinking over his question. Given how many times she had forced Eli to watch it as well as how many times she had watched it by herself and with Alli and Jenna she probably could have recited the movie, but she wasn’t going to tell him that. “It’s a good movie,” was all she said in reply to his question. “Besides I’m sure there’s plenty of movies you could recite by now too.” Her blue eyes glanced from the tv screen to the bottle he held in his lap. This wasn’t their first time getting drunk together and it certainly wouldn’t be their last. Tearing her eyes away from the bottle she focused her attention back on the tv to the movie she knew mostly by heart. “Fine,” she agreed quickly with a shrug of her shoulders. “But I think it’s going to take a little longer than you think.”

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Cutting his eyes to her, Eli found it hard to appear as mad as he really wasn’t, but he’d try for the sake of his ego. He grunted softly, not entertaining her words with a verbal response, instead scavenging for a viable movie. “Hardly anyone gets chopped completely in half,” he scoffed, rolling his eyes at her. “And it’s about the story, not the gore, that’s just a bonus.” He smirked as Clare mirrored his words, her language almost foreign to his ears with how seldom it was to hear her use certain of his own choice words. “If the teenagers in your movies made wise decisions, there’d be no movie, so that’s moot. I can’t help it if you didn’t acquire the bravery gene,” he taunted, reaching out to gently tug a swooshing curl. “But fine, put whatever wonderful and acclaimed piece of art you’d like,” he offered, padding back to his feet, into the kitchen and to the cabinet, grasping a nearly full bottle within it. He wielded it back to the living room, plopping himself back on the couch and palming an oversized handful of popcorn. “Let’s get to it.”

“Okay, maybe they don't exactly get chopped in half, but those movies are still vile.” How he could sit there and watch those movies and find them interesting yet alone entertaining enough to keep watching them was something she would never understand. “Plus, they're all the same. It's the same plot with just different actors playing in each movie,” she said. He could have said the same thing about her love for Nicholas Sparks movies, but at least those movies didn't give people nightmares. “I have the bravery gene! I'm incredibly brave,” she shot back. A light blush covered her cheeks as he tugged on one of her unruly curls and all she could hope was that he hadn't noticed. She had endured enough of his teasing for one day. Raising her eyebrows at his generous offer she waited a beat, half expecting him to say just kidding, though she knew he wouldn't do that. Waiting until he was in the kitchen Clare got up from the couch, walking the few feet to their small pile of movies. It didn't take her long to find the one that she wanted. Placing the movie in the DVD player she sat back down on the couch hitting play. It was a little late to ask him if he was sure it was okay they watched another one of her sappy movies as he liked to call them, but as the opening credits of The Notebook popped up on the tv she still felt the need to ask. After all she was pretty sure there were only so many times she could make him the watch The Notebook with her before he banned her from ever picking movies again. “You did say that I could choose what to watch,” she pointed out, raising her eyebrows, silently asking him if he was okay with this.

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Eli’s fluster turned to a grimace no sooner than the words had left Clare’s mouth, and he was caught. “It’s hot in here,” he murmured, not even convincing himself with the lame excuse. The habit passed, luckily for him, and the tables turned, freeing him from the bashfulness that was his own mind at work. “That’s what I thought,” he retorted, raising an eyebrow as she stayed mum. Flicking through the titles available, Eli plucked out some of the gorier, freezing in place as she heard the provisions being placed on his head. With a groan, he shuffled them back to the bottom of the stack, abandoning the cases and sinking into the couch. Lobbing his had to face her, he glowered. “Nothing now, since you have such awful taste. All that’s left is your girl shit,” he muttered, lifting a hand to the spread of what Eli would decree chick flicks. “We’re gonna have to make a drinking game out of those if I’m siting through one more sapfest.”

Clare raised her eyebrow as he tried blaming his blush on the heat of the apartment.  “There's nothing wrong with admitting you blushed,” she teased, taking a little too much pleasure in his obvious embarrassment. The flush of pride she felt at getting him to blush evaporated as he started in on her movie taste. This wasn't a new conversation. It seemed like anytime the two tried to sit down and watch a movie a fight broke out over their polar opposite tastes. “My movie taste is not awful. You're the one who only enjoys movies if someone is getting chopped in half!” She yelled in exasperation. If she hadn't felt so offended by him constantly insulting her movie taste she would have found it humorous the way he assumed his taste in movies was superior. Crossing her arms over her chest she glared at him unwilling to give in. “It's not girl shit, Eli. Those are good movies, movies that actually have plots and aren't a bunch of teenagers running around woods and making stupid decisions.” Shaking her head back and forth as her auburn colored curls brushed against her cheeks she let out a humorless laugh. “And if I have to watch another one of your vile horror movies that give me nightmares we’re watching nothing but Nicholas Sparks movies for the rest of the night.” 

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Eli did his best to bite back a blush, embarrassed right away by the behavior he thought was subtle enough to go unnoticed. It was silly of him to think as much; Clare could always read him like a book, sometimes better than he knew himself, he thought. He let his hands come to a still, still staring aimlessly through the lens pointed at nothing. Finally letting his eyes flick back to her, he smirked, catching on to the stressed word. “You mean that’s the only literature you’d want proudly displayed?” His taunt was lighthearted, he hoped she knew, and the idea of books not stacked and crammed wherever they fit did sound decent. He set the camera back atop the table, freeing his hands only for them to fall back into his lap with a soft thud. “Fine, no life of crime. So… what now? I don’t wanna mope over this all night, let’s do something to get our mind off of this.” Offer on hand, Eli pushed his chair from the table, walking over to the connected living room and scrounging through a small stack of movies that resided there.

“You're blushing.” As soon as the words left her mouth she felt silly for stating the obvious, but it was such a rare sight to see she couldn't help teasing him about it at least a little bit. It didn't take long before she was the one left blushing. He was never going to let her live down those fan fiction stories. Instead of giving him the satisfaction of a reply she simply rolled her eyes at his his teasing remark. “What'd you have in mi-,” she started, her words being cut off as she watched him head over to their small stack of movies. Getting up Clare headed towards the cupboard, grabbing a bag of popcorn before popping it in the microwave. “We’re not watching anymore of your vile horror movies, Eli,” she called to him. The last time she agreed to watch a movie he had chosen she had been plagued with nightmares. Grabbing a large bowl as the microwave dinged she dumped the popcorn into it before making her way to the living room. Plopping down on the couch with their bowl of popcorn she turned her expectant gaze to him. “What did you decide on?”

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A tight smile fell over Eli’s lips, sympathetic on Clare’s behalf. He had no qualms with the apartment, so -perhaps thankfully- he wasn’t sure what was going through Clare’s mind, but he felt guilty for not being able to provide her with something she seemed so adamant about. The place was worlds bigger and more inviting than his university dorm room had been, but it seemed that the fact was only good enough for him. He tensed at her question, recognizing her tone too quickly and knowing that it was now she to feel badly. “Yeah,” he sighed, still fiddling, “I don’t know. I just feel bad. I didn’t know this was so important to you and there’s nothing I can really do to give you what you want. Unless you have a ski mask and a missing conscience in which case there are plenty of banks around.”

Reaching across the table Clare rested her hand atop Eli's hoping he would stop fiddling with his camera for a second to listen to her. Of course he would end up blaming himself that they couldn't move. It wasn't his fault every apartment was out of their price range. She wanted to tell him that, but part of her knew that her words would fall on deaf ears. Once he had his mind made up, in this case that it was his fault they had to stay here there was little she'd be able to do to convince him otherwise. "It's not that it's so important to me it's just...," she started before pausing growing frustrated that she couldn't seem to explain to him why she felt the sudden urge to move. "I love this apartment, but I guess the idea of more space is appealing. If we found something bigger you'd have room to put all your camera stuff and we could have bookcases for our books," she said, emphasizing the word books. The last thing she wanted was a repeat of him teasing her about her fan fiction. Giggling at his ridiculous idea she shook her head. "I think I’ll pass," she teased.

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Eli’s eyes widened, used to Clare’s semi-neurotic outbursts, but willing to give her a moment to realzie she was having one. Her smile proved that she had, and his own face softened, granting her a smile in return and resting a hand on her shoulder. “Good, so since you’re not huffy…” he taunted, tilting the computer towards himself and lifting the lid. Pulling the listings back up, he scrolled through a few, instantly noting that Clare wasn’t far off. Sighing softly, already a bit dejected from the task that hadn’t even been his idea to begin with, he hunkered back against the seat’s spine, running his free hand through his mussed hair. “So… we’re here for another year, it’ll go by fast, right? Now that we know we want to move, we can start saving. Just have to make it through twelve more months first.” He reached across the table, pulling the camera towards him and tinkering with it in his lap, too nervous to look at the Clare he had just let down.

"Yeah, a year will go by super fast," she echoed softly. Deep down she knew that she had no right to feel this disappointed. Not when they could afford their rent and had a roof over their head which was more than a lot of people had, but it still sucked. Glancing around their tiny kitchen she tried to look on the bright side. Another twelve months here would give them more time to save plus it would give them more time to talk about what they each wanted in their next place. Twelve months was nothing, at least that's what she tried to tell herself. A frown crossed her face as she glanced over at Eli watching the way that he fiddled with his camera equitment and avoided looking at her. "Are you okay?" Clare was pretty sure she already knew his answer. "This isn't your fault, Eli. I... should have done more research and looked into places before suggesting that we even think about moving," she said.

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The day spent teasing Clare was a lax one, but now that Eli was behind his steering wheel and on the literal road home, he began to grow the tiniest bit antsy. The news that Clare was unhappy with their living quarters was sprung on him, and he wasn’t entirely looking forward to hunting down a new home. He didn’t have a problem with the apartment they’d been sharing, but Clare already had her mind set, and Eli knew he’d follow without question if it’s what made her happy. Pulling into the lot out front, he gathered the equiptment from his backseat that he needed to finish up a work project. Balancing a camera under his arm, he fiddled with his keyring to find the one to gain him entry into the apartment, pushing the door open with his hip and bounding up the stairs. Passing the threshold inside, Eli was home. He kicked off his shoes, following the only sounds through the apartment to find Clare, looking rather displeased. “I just got home, don’t already be huffy with me,” he teased, sliding into the seat beside her. “So where’s our mansion?”

"I am not huffy!" Clare snapped, immediately wishing she could take her words back. Exhaling slowly she shot him a sheepish smile before offering a quick apology. It wasn't his fault that this day seemed to be going from bad to worse. Granted though, his incessant teasing of her earlier in the day hadn't exactly helped get her day started on a high note. Chewing on her lower lip she shook her head back and forth no at his question. "Our mansion doesn't exist. I'm not even sure we're going to be able to move at all." It wasn't like her to get discouraged quite so quickly, but somehow Clare hadn't expected things to be this hard. She had assumed that after she got the okay from Eli that they could look for another apartment, find one right away, sign the paper work and start moving in as soon as possible. Instead she was discovering that there was no way they could move on what they made. "There is nothing avaiable," she said, another sigh escaping her lips as she gestured to the paper that was still spread out on the table and to her laptop. "At least... nothing that we'd ever be able to afford. Maybe this was a stupid idea."