Snippet #2376919

As he spoke, the voice changed again in the middle of conversation, almost imperceptibly, his other more nervous side seeming to grow more at ease and blending well with the first. A similar change came over Gwen as he continued to talk, not feeling so freaked out by the switch in tones, but growing more curious about it the longer they spent time together. At first of course, she'd thought that his "roommate" had been an excuse to cover up his embarrassing tendency, or in some esoteric way referring to his other personality like it was a real person. But that had changed when she'd heard the other man speak. And now, Alex's explanation seemed to cover all the things that had originally been making her nervous. It still felt kind of odd, but she decided to believe him for now. It was a conscious decision.

"Now you see why I don't have a roommate," she said, casting him a look over her shoulder. "With my tolerance for loud noises, I'd be the jerk-ish roommate."

Stepping down on the ground floor, Gwen looked at him when he said he was thinking about checking into a motel and she cocked an eyebrow at him at first. In her mind, flashed the part of her story where "Steven" was being hunted by the mad Dr. Fain. She remembered now that he was the one who had inspired that part and found herself wondering who might be after him. Had he done something bad? Was he hiding something important? Or was he just insane and needing to be institutionalized? Her train of thought was only broken as his voice trailed off and she looked around to find the cause of his alarm.

Immediately her eyes zeroed in on the two men with sunglasses, the hair on the back of her neck standing up as their heads slowly moved to follow them as they walked towards the doors. But she kept from looking at them directly, instead opting to watch Alex. At his suggestion of her being his body guard, she found herself smiling weakly, thinking that possibly he was asking for her aid somehow. And then things just kept getting weirder as he started to murmur lowly to himself. Openly, Gwen watched him as he conversed with himself, casting glances at the men with sunglasses and her skin tingling with every pause in dialogue. Still, it wasn't like he didn't realize it was odd on some level, his low tone again making it hard to hear everything he said. From what she could gather, he seemed to be worried about a present danger, focused on the men who watched him.

It was a unique thing and she had to consciously stop her mouth from hanging open as she continued to stare while they walked along. The doubt that had assailed her before, in her apartment, left her now as she actually watched him, realizing that it was something he couldn't control. Or rather, speaking aloud was necessary in some way. She wasn't a psychologist so she didn't know about this split personality type thing, or whatever else this was, but it was fascinating to watch. Finally he seemed to realize that he was doing it and gave her a deprecatory grin, opening the front doors for her like a gentleman.

Without casting another glance behind her, she smirked a little and walked past him, barely hearing him call back after the guards once she was outside in the open morning air. God, they'd make a great pair; she must be insane to stay around him just for the study of his disorder. She stood on the sidewalk waiting for him, adjusting her purse strap briefly as he stepped from the building himself. "You'll have to tell me where you'll be staying," she said casually, placing a coy smile on her lips. "Just in case I need a coffee buddy in the future." It wasn't the most subtle invitation, but she didn't want to lose track of him. Not yet anyway.