Announcements: Cutting Costs (2024) » January 2024 Copyfraud Attack » Finding Universes to Join (and making yours more visible!) » Guide To Universes On RPG » Member Shoutout Thread » Starter Locations & Prompts for Newcomers » RPG Chat — the official app » Frequently Asked Questions » Suggestions & Requests: THE MASTER THREAD »

Latest Discussions: Adapa Adapa's for adapa » To the Rich Men North of Richmond » Shake Senora » Good Morning RPG! » Ramblings of a Madman: American History Unkempt » Site Revitalization » Map Making Resources » Lost Poetry » Wishes » Ring of Invisibility » Seeking Roleplayer for Rumple/Mr. Gold from Once Upon a Time » Some political parody for these trying times » What dinosaur are you? » So, I have an Etsy » Train Poetry I » Joker » D&D Alignment Chart: How To Get A Theorem Named After You » Dungeon23 : Creative Challenge » Returning User - Is it dead? » Twelve Days of Christmas »

Players Wanted: Serious Anime Crossover Roleplay (semi-literate) » Looking for a long term partner! » JoJo or Mha roleplay » Seeking long-term rp partners for MxM » [MxF] Ruining Beauty / Beauty x Bastard » Minecraft Rp Help Wanted » CALL FOR WITNESSES: The Public v Zosimos » Social Immortal: A Vampire Only Soiree [The Multiverse] » XENOMORPH EDM TOUR Feat. Synthe Gridd: Get Your Tickets! » Aishna: Tower of Desire » Looking for fellow RPGers/Characters » looking for a RP partner (ABO/BL) » Looking for a long term roleplay partner » Explore the World of Boruto with Our Roleplaying Group on FB » More Jedi, Sith, and Imperials needed! » Role-player's Wanted » OSR Armchair Warrior looking for Kin » Friday the 13th Fun, Anyone? » Writers Wanted! » Long term partner to play an older male wanted »

0
followers
follow

Roman Killens

0 · 2,103 views · located in New York

a character in “A New York Life”, as played by predictmeifyoucan

Description

Image

Image






Image

ImageImageImageImage
Birth Name:
Roman Eugene Killens

Nicknames:
Roman
Killens

Age:
21
Date of Birth:
December 22

Sexuality:
Heterosexual

Job:
Street fighter
Janitor
Pizzeria Employee
Origin:
London, England [0-13]
New York City, New York [13-present]






Image
Image
Image
Image

Personality:
| Quiet | Non-confrontational |Relaxed |Irritable |
Roman is a relatively simple guy who, enjoying his own company, keeps to himself. He doesn't mind hanging with other people, especially those he's closer too, but he's typically high on something when he is socializing which makes people more endearing than he would think them to be while sober. Because he has tendencies to bottle things up out of a want to avoid conflict, he can be quite passive aggressive. He prefers to mind his own business and expects others to do the same when it regards him, so he's a very private person. He's not completely cold, and can sometimes even be rather flirtatious if he's in a playful mood (or in a heightened state). Even then, he doesn't really do commit and prefers to just live life day by day, as that's what he's been doing since being on his own. He finds that doing this is most calming for him and prevents him from stressing out as he has tendencies to do.

He is easily irritated, mainly when he's dealing with a bad crash, or just if he's in a bad mood. When he's like this he can have a rather smart mouth or just close off as a whole. He doesn't like when people bring up his substance abuse problems, as he refuses to believe he has one. Should it ever come up in conversation, he gets rather defensive. Apart from his uneven personality, flaws and all, he is generally a rather nice person. He can appear somewhat standoffish because he can be so quiet to the point of coming across as rude, but when he cares about someone, he does so in full. He never intentionally goes out of his way to cause someone harm, although when he does end up hurting someone, he doesn't necessarily do much to fix it either.

Likes:
| Getting high | Casual Sex |Candy |Naps |Puzzles |
Roman loves sweets. While his tough and dark exterior might suggest the opposite, he has a big sweet tooth and consumes more sugar than he should. His favorite type of candy is chocolate anything, mainly Reese's Cups. He also really likes Red Vines, mainly because they don't have them back home. When he's not earning cavities, he likes to sleep and watch television. He enjoys drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes and weed, activities he tends to partake in especially when waiting for the next high. While Roman can get overwhelmed by people easily, he does like walking around the city and sitting in parks, enjoying the weather. He will usually do this if the apartment is starting to feel to small or if he just needs to get out to breathe some fresh air. Because the coffee shop is right across the street from the apartment, he frequents there a lot to appreciate the atmosphere and maybe even a nice dessert and a cup of tea.

While he doesn't really like doing much of anything, just from being worked too hard as a child, sometimes he gets angsty if he sits still for too long. While some of things he does to get rid of this feeling might be questionable and/or illegal, a lot of the times he'll frequent the gym. Exercising is one of the few laborious tasks that he doesn't mind doing, especially since he has to keep up with his physique what with being a fighter. In exchange for the janitorial work he does for handler, he gets some work out time and does his best to utilize that time whenever he can. And although he wants nothing to do with school, he still enjoys giving his mind a little workout from time to time as well. He likes going through puzzle books like Sudoku and solving crosswords.

Dislikes:
|Confrontation |Crashing/Bad trips |Expectations |Failure |His addiction |
He can find someway to dislike anything depending on his mood. Mainly pesky sounds and loud people are the things that bother him the most. He doesn't like people who are constantly bringing drama with them or who are openly confrontational. One of the major things that gets under his skin is when people bring up his addiction. He chooses not to acknowledge, somehow reasoning that if he pretends it's not a problem, it really won't be. No matter how false he knows this is deep down, he still attempts to hide it as best as he can, because even he doesn't like knowing that he can't control himself. Although a lot of (trivial) things can bother him, he'll never really address them and instead tends toward passive aggression. That being said, he doesn't like being confronted about issues. Roman isn't one for commitment or sentiment, not because he has anything against either, but just because they make him uncomfortable a lot of the time. He also doesn't like being asked about his past as he refuses to address it himself. To do so would bring up internal problems he's yet to solve, and is not ready to do. He does many things to distract from this, and one of them is by avoiding complication when he can, whether that means avoiding people or situations. This can make him come across as disinterested, and while sometimes it might be true, most of the time it's due to his not wanting to make a mistake as he hates messing up, even though he knows that he's currently doing nothing to benefit him.




Image

Image
Image
Image
Image

Coming from a line of old money and big bankers, Roman grew up in the lap of luxury. He went without want for much of his life and had the world at his feet. By way of blood, connection, and his own intellect, he was destined an equally fortunate life. At least, that's what was expected. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that he would have a good life, but when his intellectual gift was discovered, the certainty was solidified even more. it was fact to most that he would have a successful life. With an extraordinary memory and an ability to multiple three digit numbers in his head by the time he was three, it was fact to most that he would have a successful life. For quite some time, they were probably right. With an elite, private education under his belt by the time he was ten, it seemed that everything was going according to plan. He had many people to please by that point, many people expecting great things from him, but those he was most concerned about were his parents, the same people who pushed him into anxiety attacks and depression.

Shortly after finishing school, he was due to begin university but had to delay it for a year because of his mental instability, by word of his doctor. His increased stress and anxiety led him to being susceptible to lots of illnesses, so while he wasn't mentally healthy enough to go onto university just yet, he also wasn't physically ready either. While his mental illnesses were something unexpected (at least by his parents who couldn't fathom how he could even be stressed to this point), his physical weakness was no novelty. Growing up he was constantly getting sick. There was nothing severely wrong or life threatening with him, it was just that he had a weaker immune system than others and was more susceptible to being sick. After a year in and out of the doctor and feeling like a disappointment to his parents, he began his first year of university at age eleven. It turned out that he still wasn't ready for everything that came with university, and while he maintained his grades, he began suffering mentally again and was back to his doctor who requested he take at least a semester off.

By this point, his parents were fed up and frustrated with him, deeming him too lazy to want to do the work. The next few months to come ended up only doing more harm than good despite not being in school because there was so much tension between him and his parents. December that year, he went to stay with his grandparents in America while his parents went on a business trip and then a vacation in the States. Roman was convinced that they were just trying to get a break from him, and he wasn't too upset about it because he was ready to get away from them as well. Once they returned to London, he began acting out, saying he was done with school and done with them. Unsure of what to do with him anymore, they decided to sign him over to his grandparents who worked as college professors at Columbia since they were the only relatives he had who were willing to take him. While Roman was angry with his parents for essentially giving up on him, he had enjoyed his time in America with his grandparents and convinced himself that he wouldn't even miss England or his parents.

Staying with his grandparents proved to be beneficial for him. They were far more understanding of Roman than his parents were. He didn't go to school right away, but he didn't go with his grandparents to work quite often. Over the next year he rekindled his energy and interest in academia and decided for himself that he wanted to resume his studies. He began his first year at Columbia as a freshman when he was fourteen and remained mentally and physically okay for the most part. When he felt himself getting consumed again, he panicked, not able to let himself quit again. He resulted to a few different kinds of pills behind his grandparents back in order to help him with his anxiety and his attention. As he advanced in college, his personality changed some as he began to associate himself with the night scene on campus. He wasn't allowed to go to college parties, but at fifteen he was sneaking out and doing so anyway and making the most out of his time while there. When he was finally able to convince his grandparents to let him stay in the dorms (nevertheless through much arguing and complaining), it only gave him easier access to certain recreational activities. While his grades slipped a bit and his relationship with his grandparents suffered some (especially after they discovered he got a tattoo behind their back) he still maintained a high grade point average and graduated in a semester earlier in December, just weeks before turning seventeen.

He didn't enjoy his freedom for too long because that following January he began an internship his grandparents helped him land. Having enjoyed the party life a bit too much and the euphoria that came with, he still frequented Columbia's campus as a way to distract himself from any and all responsibility. It wasn't until June that he lost the internship, much his grandparents frustration. Instead of trying to redeem himself he continued to make the same mistakes, only getting further and further into drugs, his years of experimentation leading to a growing addiction to different substances. Although they sometimes had their suspicions here and there, his grandparents finally figured out that Roman had a problem and tried getting him to go to get help which only angered him and started a huge fight. It wasn't until shortly after turning eighteen that they put their foot down. Another argument ensued, and it wasn't that this one was any different than the others except that it drove his grandmother to tears. After seeing this, for a few days he settled down, but he eventually decided the easy way out and left.

The next few months he struggled to keep himself afloat, mostly relying on old college friends to lend him a couch, or even the floor, to sleep on. Whenever this didn't work, he would go back to his grandparents until they refused to let him come back unless he agreed to get clean. But getting clean meant admitting he had a problem, and he wasn't going to admit that because he didn't have a problem. He could stop whenever he wanted to. He turned to different ways to make money before falling into street fighting as a last resort. While it wasn't ideal, it was one of the few things that he was okay at. That summer he got a job as a busboy at a local restaurant that doubled as a strip club. It was on the first night of this job that he met Brooklyn and then Nick, the two of which he has stayed with for the past few years. Now he still works as a street fighter although it's not as necessary as it was before. He has a job working at a pizza shop and works another side job cleaning the gym his handler owns.




Image

ImageImage
Height:
6'2
Weight:

Other:
Lots of tattoos
Many bruises

Face Claim:
Ash Stymest

Hex Code:
#11519E

So begins...

Roman Killens's Story

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Nick Moreno Character Portrait: Holly Maddon Character Portrait: Brooklyn West Character Portrait: Roman Killens
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

Image
Image Image
Image
Brooklyn listened curiously as Makayla warned Holly not to use an attitude with her again. She had been home for less than an hour, and the majority of that time was spent showering, and resting, so she had not had the time to notice how oddly quiet it had been, or how Makayla had been relaxing without Holly hovering somewhere nearby. She did notice how the kitchen seemed particularly clean, but opted against commenting on it. It wouldn't have killed her to have commented with appreciation on how nicely Makayla had done, or how it had been nice, in general, for her to do all of that by herself, but she didn't like giving people credit that easily. It felt better to pretend not to notice, as if someone's small good deed simply wasn't good enough to receive praise. "She's right, Holly," Brooklyn said, not looking in either of the girls' direction as she busied herself with pouring a glass of water from the fridge. "You better always appreciate your sister. She does so much for you, and you should never take it for granted." The thought behind it was more personal than Makayla and Holly, as a fleeting thought of her own sister came into mind (and then was pushed out just as quickly). However, Brooklyn wasn't going to allow herself to get sentimental. More than anything, she brushed her own words off as being a "don't say I never warned you" type of situation, as if Holly were actually in risk of losing Makayla soon.

It probably would have made more sense to take the subway to the pizza place that Brooklyn wanted her food from, rather than walk there, twenty minutes in the bitter cold, but Nick liked thinking that he was more capable and more invincible than he actually was. He really had no excuse other than that, because he had a monthly Metro Card in his wallet that easily could have gotten him there in half the time, if not less. Additionally, with Brooklyn on his tail about getting there sooner than later, it made even less sense for him to walk there, but he did. In his defense, he had called in his order ahead of time, so by the time that he got to the small pizza joint, his order of three pies: one plain cheese, one sicilian, and one that was half meatball, half pepperoni, were all ready and waiting for him. The order was extremely excessive given that he only imagined that it would be himself, Brooklyn, and maybe Roman, eating, and the only thing that Nick could blame for that, was that he was at the peak of his high. Additionally, and in his defense, one of the guys who worked at the shop was a regular client of his, and "accidentally" only rang him up for two of the pies, instead of three. Still, spending forty-five dollars on food that easily could have cost ten didn't help Nick's reputation much.

He was much smarter on the way home, opting to take a subway that allowed him to return to the apartment in enough time that the pizza boxes still burned the tips of his fingers as they pressed against the bottom of the boxes. He called Brooklyn on his way back, and since she said that she preferred the idea of eating at her own place, that was where Nick headed. He wanted to drop back into his own apartment for a few minutes, mostly to leave his coat and belongings there, but after walking up five flights of stairs with arms full of pizza, he decided that the most important thing for now, was putting those pies down. He was too focused on the pizzas and getting to Brooklyn to want to chat when he saw Cara and Colton in the hallway, so he only smiled at them while walking by. Resting the three boxes on one hand, he used the other to knock on the door. While he waited, he texted Roman, saying, "Back w pizza if u want". It took only a moment for the door to be opened by Brooklyn, and Nick instinctively smiled when he saw her. "Sorry it took so long, but I made it. Roman here, already?" he asked as he walked in, knowing that it was unlikely, unless he and Brooklyn were already hanging out prior to his text just seconds before. His hands were both full again now, as he settled the weight of the pizzas between the two, so he offered Makayla and Holly a nod of his head and a smile as an impromptu greeting.

Brooklyn was the closest to the door when Nick knocked, and since she was expecting him anyway, she opened it for him. Though she was glad to see him, she was even more glad to see the three pies in his hands. It was definitely an excessive amount of pizza, given that one probably would have been all they needed, but she wasn't complaining. "No, he's being a little bitch like usual," she responded nonchalantly, taking the top pizza box from Nick's hands and setting it on the counter. It was the plain cheese pie, the one that she wanted, so after opening it up and seeing that, she didn't bother to help him with the other two pies. There was space on the counter for him to set it down anyway, so she didn't feel rude just jumping right into making herself a plate. "You can text him. Just tell him to lose the attitude on the way over," she said, continuing to act unbothered, because truthfully, she really wasn't bothered, but just simply being petty, which wasn't abnormal for her. "Holly and Makayla are eating with us too."

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Nick Moreno Character Portrait: Brooklyn West Character Portrait: Roman Killens
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

Image
Image

It was already June 7th, and that was one more reminder to Brooklyn of how life felt like it had moved surprisingly fast over the past four months. She had found herself a part time day job at a restaurant, waiting tables, so maybe that was why it felt that way. She was busier than she had been used to over the winter, and being busy, and having more to do than working at night and sleeping all day made the days go by faster and faster. The increase in her work schedule meant that she was feeling a lot more tired as well, but it was a trade off that seemed worth it. The money made it worth it, and mentally, she was the kind of person who did better when they were doing things. It gave her less time to sit around and think about her life, which was a good thing, because thinking about her life always resulted in some strange mixture of feelings that always left her feeling unsettled. She would begin to loathe herself for ending up where she was. It wasn't like she was struggling, not financially, at least, but still, working as a stripper and a waitress wasn't something that you wanted to boast about, either. It wasn't something that she could do forever, and it wasn't something that she could ever put on a resume. When she got into this train of thought, she would always tell herself that she needed to go back to school. Pick a career path that could lead her into a stable life, like nursing or business management or even a lower level medical specialty, like a radiologic technician or something. At least if she had a degree or a licence in something, she would look good on paper. Somehow, she was convinced that having that would make her feel better about herself too, but still, that wasn't enough to get her to actually make a change in her life.

In her defense, after a traumatic transition into the real world, and after years of just knowing 'this' as her life, just waking up one morning and deciding to enroll in college wasn't something that would be as simple as that. Still, though, Brooklyn hated feeling like she was making up excuses for herself. She couldn't complain if she wasn't going to do anything to try and fix the problem, and that was why her disdain for herself was something that she kept to herself, lately. It was an internal conflict that she didn't want to have to explain to even her closest friends, because Brooklyn wasn't one who sought advice from anyone. It related back to how she hated feeling weak, and how she liked having all of the answers herself. It was silly; immature, even, but that was just how she was.

Just like the days were moving by quickly, Brooklyn was lucky that today's shift at work moved by quickly too. Five o'clock came sooner than she was expected, and as soon as the employees for the next shift showed up, she was clocked out, with dinner that she ordered from the kitchen already ready to go for her in a take out bag. The diner was less than a ten minute walk from her apartment building, so the bottom of the bag was still burning hot, even by the time that she made it up the five flights of stairs to her door. "Honey, I'm home!" she sang, her voice cheerful in a manner that was nearly mocking, as she knew it was out of character for her to be perky. "And I come bearing gifts. Chicken fingers for my five year old son, and lasagna for the neighborhood's favorite drug dealer," she announced, placing the takeout bag and her purse on the kitchen counter as she headed towards the bedroom that the boys shared and banged on the door twice. She really had no idea if either of them were even home, but she knew that even if they weren't, as long as she stuck the extra food in the fridge, it wouldn't take long after the boys got home for it to disappear. She wasn't always so generous, especially since while she did get the food discounted from the restaurant for working there, she didn't get it for free, but on days like today, where she had no reason to be in a bad mood, it seemed okay to be nice, for a change. Besides, even though the boys had been back in her apartment for a month or so, already, it still felt new and nice for things to be back to the old normal... even if they weren't fully back. "And you two bums better not still be asleep, or be drunk or high, when this bitch has been working her ass off all day. I will murder both of you if you come out here with bedhead, or reeking or weed or liquor!" she warned, giving one last bang to the door before returning to the kitchen.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Brooklyn West Character Portrait: Roman Killens
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

Image
Image

The past four months were blurs. That wasn't necessarily a bad thing, although it was discouraging to think that this much time has passed without anything to really account for it. It was like walking in place. The only real outlier moment being when you fall down, but then you get back up and continue moving nowhere. On the other hand, though, there was the fact that time was still moving, and when each day seemed to get harder, and the prospects of life seemed to dim, it could be quite a triumphant thing to have any done anything, even if it lead nowhere. Really, all Roman wanted to do was nothing. Even then, though, he was unhappy doing nothing. It was easiest to just get high or go to sleep, both of which he could never really get enough of. It showed itself in his face a lot. He wasn't walking around blue in the face and cheeks sunken (at least, not on most days), but he was a bit more tuned out. It was also easier to swallow the day when he was only as present as he was really required to be, and that minimum level had decreased substantially to date.

Recently, he begun waiting tables. It wasn't something he really enjoyed because he didn't like interacting with people, and this showed quite fabulously in his tips, or lack thereof. There's one girl who works there and constantly humblebrags about the amount of tips she gets. It was annoying, just because she was a pretty and flirty girl and she used that to her advantage, which no one could really be mad about, but Roman found a way to. It was less anger and more a validation of discouragement. Another thing he disliked about his job were the hours. There were times where he would work straight through the night and straight through the day. If he was lucky, he could get a few hours sleep in between, but this wasn't typically the case. This Tuesday he was scheduled off from waiting and he was looking forward to just sleeping all day. He'd closed Monday, and gone straight to his kitchen job at the strip club Brooke works at. He didn't get back until after four in the morning and was woken up two hours later, asking if he could come in for someone. He didn't get back until about two in the afternoon and had immediately fallen asleep after taking two Xanax. His body still felt heavy from the effects; the knocking at the door more disorienting to him than it would have been otherwise. Roman, in response, lifted his head half an inch, before the act became too laborious, and he was pulled back to his pillow. In his mind, he thought that more time had passed and didn't even realize he'd fallen back asleep until Brooke's voice on the other end woke him up.

Quite uncharacteristically of him, he lifted himself up without much grumble. He lacked the general annoyance he had towards Brooke as a whole, and especially so when she woke him up (although the latter really applied to anyone or anything). Instead, after stretching and trying to ground himself, he went to door quite neutrally. While Roman didn't smell of his usual recreational devices, he didn't look much better as he cracked the door open just enough to let as little light in as possible, placing his head against the doorjamb. Roman hadn't heard any of what Brooklyn had said, and so he looked at her, his one eye that was open only being half so, he looked confused. Everything about his body language spoke to the fact that he was still mostly asleep and barely awake in the slightest. He was less standing, and more leaning against the door, and when he whispered, "What?" it was practically inaudible, but fully insincere as he was hardly present in the moment.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Nick Moreno Character Portrait: Brooklyn West Character Portrait: Roman Killens
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

Image
Image
Nick's life had not changed in any drastic ways, over the past four months, but changes did occur, and luckily, he was in a mindset where he could interpret them all positively. While he and Brooklyn still were not dating, and she still seemed adamant on reminding him that she wasn't the type of person to trust someone again, after they had hurt her, they were at least living in the same apartment again. Nick knew that he was lucky, and if he had anyone to thank, he thought that it had to be the guy that was fucking Cara. For one, the guy was probably doing a good job at it, since Nick wanted to connect her being nice and allowing him and Roman to move back into "her" space as having something to do with her getting laid more frequently, now. Additionally, her having a boyfriend meant that she was out of the apartment more than she was there now, and Nick believed that Cara being taken probably made Brooklyn feel better about the three of them living in the same space now, too. It wasn't like being in a relationship had stopped Cara from being willing to sleep with him the first time around, but Nick was sure that just like this time things were different for him, that they had to be for Cara too. She was happy, he thought, and he was more than happy to finally have things going his way again. While he still smoked more than he should, in the past four months, he had rid himself of the need to get blackout drunk at least once a week. He wasn't against having a few drinks with dinner, or before he went to bed, but the fact that he was happy just getting buzzed, and not obliterated, spoke to how much of a better place he was in now, mentally. In addition to the changes in his living location and his mental state, Nick had also acquired a second job. A legal second job. He was hired as an overnight stock associate at Kmart for three nights a week, and while on the books money didn't compare to drug money, having it in addition to the drug money made a difference.

He had not mentioned it to anyone, but over the spring, he had actually applied and was accepted to a technical school uptown, for their welding certification program. It was really a spur of the minute decision, one night when he was night and feeling self-critical over where he was in life. He had convinced himself that if he could become something, Brooklyn would automatically want to take him back. He didn't think that he was smart enough to go to "real" college, to study something that he had no interest in, and he had always been a hands-on learner anyway, so trade school seemed like the best route for him. One of the guys he dealt to had mentioned the school to him, after recently graduating and then obtaining a decent paying job, and because Nick didn't think he had any other viable options, he applied. What left him struggling though, was the amount of money the school wanted. They offered financial aid, and it was Nick's own fault for being lazy and not attempting to apply or reach out to the aid office for guidance, but he automatically assumed that it would be too difficult to obtain. This was a private school, which meant that it was for-profit and likely would force him to jump through a million hoops just to get a dollar's worth of help. That was what he assumed, at least, and though he still had time to apply for aid, he was in the mindset where he would need to come up with the ten thousand dollars in tuition for the first semester, by August. The salaries from his two jobs had left him with a little bit over two thousand dollars in savings after all of this month's bills were paid, but with just over a month left before tuition was due, the possibility of making eight grand seemed like nothing more than a fantasy. Shockingly, Nick didn't let that get him down though. He had been in such a pleasant mindset lately, that he insisted to himself that if he couldn't make the money to start this semester, he would postpone his admittance and start next semester, when he had all of the cash. A part of him rang in the back of his head, reminding him that it was possible that this stamina and motivation would be gone by then, but he tried not to acknowledge it. Nick was finally feeling good after falling into a depression for months, and he didn't want to even consider that he could get that low again.

He had been in the bathroom when Brooklyn got home, finishing putting himself together after taking a shower. Unlike Roman, he hadn't just gotten up. He didn't wake up bright and early, but still, getting up at noon, after working until four in the morning the night before, seemed like an accomplishment in itself to him. He had spent the past few hours finishing up some deals, before coming home and needing to shower, due to feeling sticky from the heat outside. It wasn't that bad, especially as evening began to set in, but walking around all day was bound to leave him sweaty and tired. A surprise meal couldn't have been more welcome, and the words that Brooklyn said had him hurrying as he ruffled a towel over his hair in an attempt to dry it, before getting dressed, and heading into the kitchen. "Dinner time, Killens," Nick smirked as he passed by his roommate who was standing outside of their room, looking like he was ready to crawl back into bed. "Brooklyn's doing something nice for us, A-K-A, we should be suspicious."

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Nick Moreno Character Portrait: Brooklyn West Character Portrait: Roman Killens
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

Image
Image

Before Brooklyn had a chance to response to his half-interested question, Nick appeared in his line of sight. Because Roman was still only peeking through the door, trying to let in as little light as possible, he couldn't see Nick completely, and opened the door just a smidge so that he could see him. Being that he was still half asleep, and trying to rush this interaction as quickly as possible so that he could get back in bed, it took him a second to register what all Nick had said. Roman hadn't heard Brooklyn's declaration of gifts when she first came inside since he was still asleep, and he couldn't smell it from the kitchen yet either, so he was still mostly out of the loop in terms of what was going on, but he still half nodded at Nick's quip. "I am," Roman said, knowing that Nick's sentence didn't need much clarification for Roman to readily agree with him. Of course, Roman and Nick (but probably mostly Roman) gave Brooke more crap than she was actually worth, and not in a harsh way. Everyone, including Brooklyn, was well aware of the vibe she put out. Since Roman did know her past that exterior, he knew she wasn't all coal and ice, and he knew he hyped up her aggressive bitchy qualities more than her more subliminal, kinder ones. This was also the smartest move too, though, for the both of them. Neither were into chummy feelings, and Roman knew Brooklyn well enough to understand that if he wanted to shut down her moments of kindness, all he had to do was linger on it. But still, it was all in good fun, and interactions like this weren't so abnormal anymore.

Seven months ago he would have reeled at having to interact with them both together, but that tension has since subsided, although not enough for Brooklyn to get back with Nick. From Roman's understanding, Nick was taking what he could get, and he seemed to be doing better because of it too. Although Roman has a nasty tendency to shift from friendly to cruel like Brooklyn, albeit perhaps on a lesser overall extreme, especially when its for the purpose of maintaining his own validation, he also tended to assume more of a role in Nick and Brooke's life than they actually require from him. Subconsciously, he believes he's essentially Switzerland since they're both his friends; there's really no picking side, which is really find with Roman who's not into conflict, as contrary as it is to his nighttime job. Always playing neutral can be problematic on its own, especially when no one asked him to involve himself, but it stemmed from the fact that he hasn't had as a deep a relationship in the past as he has now with Brooklyn and Nick. As a child, he really feared making a mistake on just about anything. It became severe enough to where even the simplest of questions was almost paralyzing. Of course, Brooklyn and Nick don't bring any amount of fear to him as his parents did when he was a kid, but that need to please is still ingrained in him, for validation and peace of mind. It speaks to why he believes himself to be more important than he actually is at it relates to the other two, not necessarily because he's being selfish and just doesn't want to get involved in their conflict, but quite the opposite. He'd rather not risk upsetting the two people who he actually genuinely cares about, which is something outside of himself on its own. Them being cordial is much easier on his mind, and also made it all the more easier for him to say, "Kay, well, if you don't mind, I'm going back to sleep. Don't wake me up unless the flat is burning down."