Yeah, I do. [ He's surprised that she's surprised. ] I know what you said about coming down here because you wanted to be here, but you didn't have to stay. Or- Or give me coffee or pay for food. [ The coffee he didn't drink because he's still too strung out to even think about it. ] It's...
[ It's more than I deserve.
If he knew what Jesse was wondering, he'd tell her it was like that. And he's like this now because part of his mind still thinks he's at the typewriter, writing page after page of manuscripts. Narrating. Describing. Writing. Rewriting. Again and again and again until something works. It's a strange conundrum, and he knows it, but he had to write something cohesive and whole that made sense, but he also had to jump around a lot and try different ideas until the pieces fit together.
Maybe that's why his thoughts jump around and form in his mind as half-thoughts that may or may not make sense. He's still pecking away at the typewriter in his head.
As for his dive into the Dark Place- maybe that's a good way of putting it. He knew he had to go there in order to free Alice. But was he truly prepared for the scope and depth and horror of it all? It seems fairly clear that he wasn't.
He opens his mouth to say something, but then the waitress comes over to take their orders.
As soon as the waitress says "Deerfest", the color drains from Alan's face and tension seizes his entire frame. His gaze travels out the window to where he can see the deer float in the truck. ]
Alan... Wake...
[ A booming voice echoes around him, and suddenly, Alan is having what is best described as a completely insane, completely mental experience. Suddenly, the deer has sprouted another head, and both heads turn slowly to look at him.
Oh no... Then, there's an almighty boom and the deer has exploded, the legs and torso flying off in all different directions. But the heads, both of them, fly towards Alan, shattering the windows of the diner in an effort to get to him, to smash and destroy and kill.
He cringes in his seat, and he would hunch over to cover his head, but he feels Jesse's hands suddenly covering his, and the terrifying vision fades away just like that. The deer only has one head, and it's not flying at him, and the windows of the diner are in one piece.
God, I really am losing my mind.
He's about to say something, but then something seems to happen, and he feels Jesse tense almost like he did when he had the flashback to the deer float going to literal pieces. Warning bells go off in his mind and he feels an overwhelming urge to bolt. Something's happening. Don't ask him how he knows; it's just a feeling in the pit of his stomach.
Am I doing it again without realizing it? Writing without actually writing? Tell me that's not what's happening. It doesn't make sense, as he's not in the Dark Place anymore, but- Wait.
Cauldron Lake isn't that far away, is it? Could it be that the lake is still making things happen? Is it still bringing Alan's words to life somehow? nononononono- The word "no" starts echoing in Alan's mind, echoing and repeating and he feels himself shudder. Pull yourself together, Wake!
And just like that, timed with Jesse jerking herself upright, he somehow manages to drag himself out of the swirling storm of his own head. ]
Wh- [ He doesn't have time to say anything before Jesse's pulling her hands away and getting up from the booth. And in another instant, she's gone, walking away from them towards the hall leading to the bathrooms. ]
Uh- Make that two of us. I'll- I'll be right back.
[ He think he recognizes the look Jesse was wearing right before she got up and left the booth. He hopes that he's wrong, but he has to know for sure, and so he also stands up and follows after Jesse. ]
no subject
[ It's more than I deserve.
If he knew what Jesse was wondering, he'd tell her it was like that. And he's like this now because part of his mind still thinks he's at the typewriter, writing page after page of manuscripts. Narrating. Describing. Writing. Rewriting. Again and again and again until something works. It's a strange conundrum, and he knows it, but he had to write something cohesive and whole that made sense, but he also had to jump around a lot and try different ideas until the pieces fit together.
Maybe that's why his thoughts jump around and form in his mind as half-thoughts that may or may not make sense. He's still pecking away at the typewriter in his head.
As for his dive into the Dark Place- maybe that's a good way of putting it. He knew he had to go there in order to free Alice. But was he truly prepared for the scope and depth and horror of it all? It seems fairly clear that he wasn't.
He opens his mouth to say something, but then the waitress comes over to take their orders.
As soon as the waitress says "Deerfest", the color drains from Alan's face and tension seizes his entire frame. His gaze travels out the window to where he can see the deer float in the truck. ]
Alan... Wake...
[ A booming voice echoes around him, and suddenly, Alan is having what is best described as a completely insane, completely mental experience. Suddenly, the deer has sprouted another head, and both heads turn slowly to look at him.
Oh no... Then, there's an almighty boom and the deer has exploded, the legs and torso flying off in all different directions. But the heads, both of them, fly towards Alan, shattering the windows of the diner in an effort to get to him, to smash and destroy and kill.
He cringes in his seat, and he would hunch over to cover his head, but he feels Jesse's hands suddenly covering his, and the terrifying vision fades away just like that. The deer only has one head, and it's not flying at him, and the windows of the diner are in one piece.
God, I really am losing my mind.
He's about to say something, but then something seems to happen, and he feels Jesse tense almost like he did when he had the flashback to the deer float going to literal pieces. Warning bells go off in his mind and he feels an overwhelming urge to bolt. Something's happening. Don't ask him how he knows; it's just a feeling in the pit of his stomach.
Am I doing it again without realizing it? Writing without actually writing? Tell me that's not what's happening. It doesn't make sense, as he's not in the Dark Place anymore, but- Wait.
Cauldron Lake isn't that far away, is it? Could it be that the lake is still making things happen? Is it still bringing Alan's words to life somehow? nononononono- The word "no" starts echoing in Alan's mind, echoing and repeating and he feels himself shudder. Pull yourself together, Wake!
And just like that, timed with Jesse jerking herself upright, he somehow manages to drag himself out of the swirling storm of his own head. ]
Wh- [ He doesn't have time to say anything before Jesse's pulling her hands away and getting up from the booth. And in another instant, she's gone, walking away from them towards the hall leading to the bathrooms. ]
Uh- Make that two of us. I'll- I'll be right back.
[ He think he recognizes the look Jesse was wearing right before she got up and left the booth. He hopes that he's wrong, but he has to know for sure, and so he also stands up and follows after Jesse. ]