Apartment Above the Boards, Monday Night

[intraspective]

It would be a damn dirty lie for Ino to even pretend she wasn't really into what was out of Taylor Swift's new album. She totally was. No shame.

"My castle crumbled overnight," she sang while scrubbing the floor. Cleaning the kitchen wasn't very glamourous but it was pretty important. "I brought a knife to a gun fight."

Ino was pretty sure she'd win in a case like that. She was also reasonably sure Taylor would too, if she cared enough.

Still, misdirection was a useful tool. She leaned back on her heels and stretched, smiling at where Silly watched her from the counter.

"And I know I make the same mistakes every time
Bridges burn, I never learn, at least I did one thing right
I did one thing right
I'm laughing with my lover, making forts under covers
Trust him like a brother, yeah, you know I did one thing right
Starry eyes sparkin' up my darkest night
My baby's fit like a daydream
Walking with his head down
I'm the one he's walking to
So call it what you want, yeah, call it what you want to…

She was possibly going to sing this song until the kitchen sparkled. It was catchy.

[For ze boy, please!]

Comments

[puppy_fair]

It was the singing that got Zack's attention. He'd been just kind of occupying himself in his room, doing squats and thinking, when he heard it. And it really was catchy, was the thing. Enough that, after he finished another set of ten, he found himself wandering out of his room to investigate.

He didn't get to hear Ino's singing voice often. He missed it. And so he was going to keep silent as he situated himself in the doorway to the kitchen, just listening for a minute.

[intraspective]

She’d gone back to attacking the floor with a sponge and a brush to scrub it clean. Ino was wearing a tank top and shorts to clean, since wearing her suit for this was just stupid. (Seriously, Rosa.)

But, yeah, she was still singing.

“ I want to wear his initial
On a chain round my neck, chain round my neck
Not because he owns me
But 'cause he really knows me
Which is more than they can say…”

[puppy_fair]

Zack didn't know the song, but... it was definitely a love song. And he knew better than to look too far into it, but he couldn't help it. Not while it was her voice singing lyrics like those, while here in the real world the two of them could barely carry on a conversation together.

He chewed on his lip, and then found himself trying to come up with an excuse to stick around for the rest. Then again, if she was scrubbing the floor, he wasn't going to traipse across it, either. And she wasn't as likely to look up. Maybe?

Why did every little thing have to be so complicated these days?

[intraspective]

She’d like an answer to that too. Ino was aware that Zack was in the apartment, of course, but she hadn’t yet noticed he’d come so close.

It wasn’t really a love song, but given the way the lyrics in the latter half of the song went, it was an easy mistake to make.

“ I recall late November, holdin' my breath
Slowly I said, "You don't need to save me
But would you run away with me?"
Yes (would you run away?)”

[puppy_fair]

Huh. That wasn't the direction Zack had expected those lyrics to go. But they... kind of hit home, all the same. Dug into his mind and bounced around in there for a bit.

They stung. That's what it was. They burned, and he couldn't put a finger on why.

[intraspective]

And she was swinging back into the last round of the chorus, now, as she shifted over a few feet to get more of the floor clean.

“ My baby's fit like a daydream
Walking with his head down
I'm the one he's walking to
So call it what you want, yeah, call it what you want to
My baby's fly like a jet stream
High above the whole scene
Loves me like I'm brand new
(Call it what you want, call it what you want, call it)
So call it what you want, yeah, call it what you want to…"

[puppy_fair]

When had it become so difficult to find words around Ino? Around anybody? Zack usually had a statement for anything, hadn't he? But here, around her, he was always at a loss.

Finally, he nerved himself up to just say something.

"Which song is that?"

That was better than nothing at all. Maybe.

[intraspective]

She flinched, dropping the sponge. Ino picked it back up, glancing over at him.

“Call It What You Want,” she said, sitting up on her heels again.

Then, a bit sheepishly, she added, “That’s not me being rude. That’s the name of the song.”

[puppy_fair]

"It's, um..." Zack smiled a bit, hopefully encouragingly. He was never quite sure these days. "It's really catchy," he offered. "But I missed the start of it."

[intraspective]

Despite herself, she smiled slightly.

“It just came out Friday morning,” Ino said, striving for easy and almost hitting. “Um, did you want to hear the beginning?”

[puppy_fair]

"Sure," Zack replied, and he actually almost sounded as easygoing about it as he wanted to. This conversation was something verging on normal. That was something they hadn't had in... in forever. "Might as well have a listen to the whole thing, right?"

[intraspective]

It had been a long time. It was almost shocking how long it had been, given that they lived in the same place.

“Alright,” she said, honestly wondering what he’d think of the whole thing when she was done. “I guess that’s doable.”

She… actually didn’t mind. And sounded like that was fine.

“My castle crumbled overnight
I brought a knife to a gunfight
They took the crown, but it's alright
All the liars are calling me one
Nobody's heard from me for months
I'm doing better than I ever was, 'cause…”

She carried on, not really sure if she should look at him or not and settling for almost.

[puppy_fair]

The... the end of the song wasn't nearly as gutting as the start of it, was it? Or maybe it was even moreso, knowing what the lead-in really was. Knowing that the end was a result of what had come before.

Zack listened to her sing, and slowly lost the open, pleasant look on his face. He managed not to choke, at the very least, but by the time the song had come around to where he had walked in before, he was staring at the floor, just trying to process.

Well. It was still catchy.

[intraspective]

It was, at that.

It was also painful, somehow, the way it resonated.

Ino still liked it, as she wound down through the song. There was hope, under all that pain. And a savage sort of triumph.

[puppy_fair]

Zack needed a few moments to look up again. And when he did, he needed a few moments more before speaking, to be sure he wasn't going to choke on his words.

"It's a good song." A pause. "It's not an easy song."

[intraspective]

Ino hitched one shoulder up, in a bit of a shrug, even as she studied the sponge she was still griping. Poor sponge.

“She’s got a lot of songs like that. They’re catchy and fun and good. But they bite too.”

[puppy_fair]

Zack nodded wordlessly, staring down at that sponge as well for a few seconds more.

"A knife to a gun fight?"

That part stood out. A lot of parts stood out.

[intraspective]

Ino paused, thinking of how best to explain Taylor Swift to Zack.

"The singer--and writer--of the song is known for writing autobiographical snapshots about her life," she said, finally. "It's one of the things that made her famous. It's also something people judge and shame her about. She... had a bad year, last year. Her latest album--this is the fourth single off of it--is her addressing it."

Ino chewed on the inside of her cheek for a moment.

"Did you want to hear another?"

[puppy_fair]

Zack chewed the inside of his own cheek, too. And then he nodded.

"Sure," he said, softly. "I'd like to hear more, yeah."

Maybe it would give them some insight, too.

[intraspective]

"Okay," Ino said, not... really sure what to make of any of this really. But... okay.

Singing. Sure, she could do that. It wasn't like she didn't know (and love) the music.

Doing it while mostly on the floor wasn't going to happen though. Ino stopped mangling the poor sponge and tossed it in her bucket, standing.

"Like, what, just a couple or I start from the beginning and give you a better idea of it that way?"

No way was she singing every single song Taylor Swift had done, but she could go in order, sure.

[puppy_fair]

Zack tilted his head a little at that. That was a good question. How many songs were there to go through, anyway?

"Maybe... just pick some of your favorites?"

That seemed like a better idea. Or possibly a worse one, depending on what they were about.

[intraspective]

Yeah, she probably wasn't going to be singing Better Than Revenge.

"My favs?" Ino shrugged. "Alright, if that's what you want, that's fine with me. Can we do this in the living room, though?"

[puppy_fair]

Zack blinked and tilted his head, and then nodded.

"That's more comfortable than the kitchen," he agreed. "Sure, let's take it to the living room."

[intraspective]

"Great," Ino said, going to wash her hands in the sink first. Silly bumbled over to her arm and, after wiping her hands dry on the dish towel, she scooped her ridiculous chicobo up onto her shoulder. "After you?"

[puppy_fair]

Zack nodded, then made his way out to the living room, pausing to look at the couch. Huh. Right. They had one of these. People sat in them and talked and stuff.

He'd slept in it a few times when Ino wasn't home. He was pretty sure this would be their first conversation in it. He sat down on one end, leaving plenty of space if she wanted the other.