Well, If This Isn't Awkward...((TAG: Aladdin & Penelope))

Todd finally reached the entrance to the common room. The walk there hadn't been a particularly comfortable one, what with the air so full of tension and all. He led the way inside after answering the mandatory riddle("I can run but not walk. Wherever I go, thought follows close behind. What am I?") and stood before the fireplace to warm himself, too antsy to sit at the moment.

"How're you feeling, Penny?" he murmured, slightly worried now about how dizzy and unfocused she'd been. Of course, they'd been drinking - there was plenty of evidence for that - but this seemed to go beyond that, and he was concerned.

Penelope had stayed quiet. She had nearly fallen asleep once or twice, but stayed awake long enough for them to get into the common room. Her was was still flushed, partially from the alcohol and partially from being carried. To be honest, she felt a little awkward and, when she was able to think, simply wondered how she got herself into such a situation.

Penelope looked over at Todd and blinked for a moment. "I-I'm a little tired... a-and my head hurts... and I... I can't think straight," Penelope admitted. She almost just wanted to curl up into a ball and just fall asleep. Her eyes were heavy and the headache wasn't helping the situation whatsoever.

Aladdin set Penelope down on one of the couches. The room looked just like the room of requirement.

He looked down at Penelope with a bit of concern. "She was a little of kilter before we started the game. I just thought it would be fine once she was doing something different from her memory." He looked over at Todd. "I think if she isn't better tomorrow we should take her too the healer."

Todd sat down next to her, though he made sure to give her what he thought was enough space. He nodded at what Aladdin said; they'd definitely have to make sure she got to the hospital wing if she wasn't feeling better tomorrow. Something could be happening with her head, and that was always something you wanted to get checked out. "You want something to take for your head?" he murmured, steady gaze on her.

It felt all too familiar being on this couch with her, but Aladdin's presence reminded him to keep with the present.

"Thank you," Penelope gave Aladdin a small smile as he placed her down on the couch. She pulled her legs up to her, trying to fight the urge to just lay down and pass out. She looked around a bit; it didn't feel like she had moved at all. Stupid Room of Requirement fashioning itself after the common room.

Penelope looked at Todd and nodded slowly. "Yeah... a-actually, t-that would be nice," she told him. She studied him for a moment. Wondering why he was so nice to her all the time. She didn't remember him; she left without much warning; she didn't really write to him - all the letters she had written, but didn't sent were up in her room; now he walks in on her and someone else making out. Awkward was the only way to describe it. She let out a small sigh and rested her head on her knees.

Aladdin bent forward and kissed Penelope's check. "If you have a hang over in the morning I'll have some potion for you that will get rid of the symptoms. Just let me know." He turned to Todd. "Make sure she gets some good sleep?" He was going to trust this guy to take care of her.

"I'll head back to my own common room and go up to bed myself." He stroked her hair. "Take care of yourself and I'll see you tomorrow." he turned and headed to the door. He turned back to Todd. "If she doesn't feel well enough to leave the dorms come get me and I'll give you the potion for her." He turned back to Penelope. "I'll see you later Lope." He walked out.

He watched Aladdin leave, nodding and managing a polite smile. He was being helpful, after all, so the least Todd could do was be civil - though it was hard to watch him touch Penny so much, as if he was already close to her.

"I'll be right back with something for your head, okay?" he told her, getting up and jogging up to his dorm. It took a few minutes of digging through his things, but he eventually found the potion that should ease the pain.

He returned and handed it to her, sinking into the couch again in exhaustion. It had been a busy day. "You feel like going to sleep any time soon?" he asked, noting how tired she looked, and he couldn't deny how cute Sleepy Penelope was, with her knees pulled up to her chin and all.

Penny blushed as Aladdin gave her a kiss on the cheek. She nodded and gave him another smile. "Thank you... again," Penelope told him. She almost felt like a puppy as he stroked her hair; she felt as helpless as a puppy at the current moment, so she supposed it wasn't too far off. "Bye," Penelope gave Aladdin a small wave as he exited the common room.

"Okay," Penelope said in a small voice, watching him leave to go up to his dorm. In the few minutes he was gone, she found the silence almost overbearing. There was a ringing in her ears that she couldn't get rid of and she just didn't want to be alone. When Todd came back down, she sighed out in relief.

"Thanks," Penelope smiled, taking the potion and sipping it. She grimaced, it wasn't the best tasting stuff, but hopefully her headache would go away. She had had them less frequently lately, and never with the flashes and bits and pieces of memories thrown together.

"I-I'm exhausted," Penelope groaned, resting her forehead on her knees. She stared at her bare legs in the dark caused by her arms wrapping around them. She bit her lip. She was exhausted, but she couldn't bare the thought of being alone right now. She was too confused and lost. The last time she felt like this, she had her family with her for comfort. Michael fell asleep on the floor of her room while Isabelle had taken to cuddling up next to her. "I-I... I don't want to be alone..." she murmured into her knees, her lip quivering ever so slightly.

Todd's eyebrows drew together and he desperately wanted to be able to hold her like he would have last year, as she seemed so tired and puzzled right now, but he figured she'd been touched quite a lot today and might want a break from all that. "Alrighty, then," he murmured, turning to sit sideways on the couch to face her with his legs crossed.

"Anything you'd like to talk about, Miss Penelope, or would a long, awkward silence suffice?" he asked with a small smirk, unable to resist the impulse to reach over and tuck a strand of hair that had been over her face behind her ear. Control yourself, Mr. Cross.

Penelope looked up at him for a moment before re-positioning herself as well. She turned to face him, resting her head on the couch. She blushed madly when Todd tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. Someday, she'd think her face would be stuck in a perpetual blush and then what would she do?

"I-" she trailed off. She wanted to talk, but she didn't want to make anything worse. She bit her lip, trying extinguish the remnants of the guilt she felt from earlier. "I kept... h-having... flashes..." Penelope rubbed her forehead. Her head was still definitely hazy from the alcohol, so trying to think straight was not very good. She had gained quite a little confidence back in the Room of Requirement, but now that was all gone. Now she felt a little depressed, as alcohol was a depressant it only made sense. "O-of... things... a-and I don't know... what they are... or w-what they mean. I-I'm just so confused." Penelope let out a small groan, leaning her head forward into her hands. She hated this.

Todd cocked his head, thinking that over. Flashes of things? He couldn't imagine how that worked, but he did remember her mentioning the nightgown and boxers. If it was more of that kind of thing, he could probably help her puzzle it out.

It tortured him seeing her look so sad and confused, and he tucked a hand under her chin, steady gaze studying her eyes. "Frankly, I think you're doing a fantastic job with all this. Anything you want to try and figure out?" he asked. Controlling himself was proving to be quite difficult, but he wanted to do whatever he could to help her.

Penelope looked up at him, blinking as he tucked a hand under her chin. Why was he so nice? How was it that he was really that kind? He had walked in on them... in the most awkward position and still, he sat there so willing to help her out. She didn't know what she had done to ever deserve a friend... a person like him.

"I..." She cast her gaze downward, closing her eyes as she tried to remember what she had seen. "I... saw a couch... this couch... and... and there was a fire... there was something about a-a nightgown... and... and boxers... a-and t-there was laughter... and..." she cast her gaze back up at him. "Brown eyes... i-it was all so jumpy and quick and bl-blurry. I-I don't know w-what to make of it..." She searched his eyes - those brown eyes - for answers that she desperately hoped he had.

Todd smiled fondly at the memory - he was certain now that she was speaking of that night, that wonderful evening that ended with falling asleep beside her on this very couch. "As far as I can tell, you're remembering the night we...well, the night we first kissed." He wasn't sure if that was strange for her to hear, but it was the truth, and he was more than willing to share what he remembered. "Neither of us could sleep. You had a book with you, I think. Pretty late at night, and we talked for a long time. I'd forgotten to put on a robe or anything, so I was just wearing a T-shirt and boxers. You had a purple nightgown. Predictably, you blushed like crazy about five thousand times, which obviously hasn't changed. Joked around and stuff and, well, I guess I couldn't resist because soon we were kissing."

((And now I must sleep, suffocated by these lovely heavy feels.))

Penelope bit her lip as she listened. She cast her gaze down, furrowing her eyebrows as she tried to remember. Her breath hitched in her throat. Their first kiss? It made sense now why she had remembered. She had been in a replica of the common room... on the couch... and Aladdin had kissed her. Penelope's hands gently went up to touch her lips. She had known that they had felt different, but she hadn't truly been able to place it.

Penny looked up at him with curious eyes as he continued. A book? Oh crap, she had left the textbook in the Room of Requirements. Hopefully it would still be there at a later date so she'd be able to return it. But there was another connect. The book. Penelope blushed, as was to be expected, as she pictured Todd in a tee-shirt and his boxers.

"O-our first k-kiss? Th-that's what I was remembering?" She relayed in a quiet tone. She closed her eyes, leaning forward slightly.

"I just... uh... I just... _{had a nightmare...}"
"Yeah? What was it about?"
"...it was no big deal..."
"To know that's in your nightmares too...that kills me."
"I'm still here."

"adorable..."
"speechless..."

The words echoed through her head. She didn't know what they meant, but she figured they had to do with something about that night. She opened her eyes. "Speechless..." she repeated the last word. She had remembered that earlier. She looked back up at Todd. She wanted to know what he was feeling. He was smiling at the memory, obvious very fond of it as he said it had been one of his favorites. But for her, it was so foreign. She had to learn about it from him, but sitting here with him, she couldn't deny there was something incredibly familiar about it.

{Okie lovey~ I should probably be doing the same. <3}

Todd watched her as she seemed to think about all this. When she uttered the word 'speechless' he felt such a massive wave of nostalgia. Speechless. "You said I'd have finally defeated you once I...I'd rendered you speechless," he murmured quietly, surprised by the tiny details of that conversation that he could remember so clearly. "You were a...superhero. We said I was your nemesis. You...ah, you were pretty speechless for a second, but I'd say you defeated me, too." And he still felt very much defeated by Book Girl, which was perfectly alright with him.

He studied her face; that face which he'd become so familiar with, the face that didn't remember him. And only now did he realize how very much he'd missed her, and how he didn't want her to go away again.

Penelope blushed slightly at his quiet words. She had said that? Had she been begging to be kissed because it had almost sounded like it. When he brought up superheros, she actually had a small recognition for that - she remembered him telling her all about that in the common room a while ago. She was, if she recalled correctly, Book Girl and he was the villain Sir Schmucksalot.

Yes, she could imagine that had rendered her speechless; it sort of rendered her speechless just talking about it. Penelope sat there for a moment, unsure if she had done the right thing by telling him all of those things. She felt almost bad for drudging them up. She had more questions, but she wasn't sure if she should ask them.

"T-thank you T-Todd, for helping me..." Penelope bit her lip, mumbling. She didn't want to be alone, but she was highly considering going up to her dorm room. It took her a few minutes before she actually stood up, and she almost regretted it the moment she did so - her headache had gone away thanks to whatever Todd had given her, but the dizziness had apparently stayed.

Penelope took a deep breath before leaning down to give Todd a kiss on the cheek. "T-thank you," she blushed before overcome with more flashes. Crying. Alcohol. A girl. A photo. "Looks rather dashing on me anyway." Why? Why did this keep happening? Why did it keep coming to her in these ways. She reached out to grab something, finding herself swooning once more.

"It was my pleasure, Penelope." Todd couldn't stop a smile blooming over his features when she kissed his cheek, though he was instantly on his feet when she started swaying again. He put a steadying hand on her shoulder, eyebrows drawn together in worry.

"I dearly hope your brain doesn't make a habit of this; it's becoming quite worrying," he remarked, though his eyes betrayed his concern as they studied her face. "You alright?" He was sure this wasn't a usual thing with her, and he hoped it wasn't anything serious.

Penelope was very glad for Todd's steadying hand, though she was afraid she might just pass out at any moment. With what her brain was doing now and the alcohol, it seemed like a pretty dangerous combination. "I-I don't know," Penelope closed her eyes, putting one hand to her head.

"I-It keeps doing this... the flashes.. I-I don't know w-why... l-like... my brain is trying... to t-tell me... b-but doesn't want me to know at the same time..." This was not how it happened and she couldn't help but getting frustrated over it. Yes, triggers were usually there when she regained memories, but she always got the full scene... as if she were reliving it... or she'd dream about it. Now, it was like she was watching spurts of a movie and it didn't make any sense.

Todd frowned. "You should probably sit down again so you don't, like, pass out on the floor," he murmured, gently guiding her back to the couch. "What are the...flashes of? What are you seeing or hearing or whatever?" He really was worried now. She'd confirmed that this wasn't normal, and he wanted to be able to do something to help. "Do you think you need the Hospital Wing?"

((Sorry I'm slow to reply, but classes are nearly over!))

Penelope nodded as Todd guided her back down to the couch. "N-no," she shook her head slowly. "I don't... I don't think the Hospital Wing... has anything for this." Penny looked up at Todd, taking in a deep breath. He really was the only one who could help her out at the moment, and she felt bad for relying on him so much... and for possibly dragging these memories to light. She didn't want him to live in the past, but she had questions about it. Penelope ran her tongue over her somewhat chapped lips.

"C-crying... someone was crying... Firewhiskey... I could taste it in my mouth again... and a-a girl... a-and a p-photo..." Penelope bit her lip. "A-and someone said... they said, 'Looks rather dashing on me anyway.'" Penelope leaned forward, her head in her hands. "I don't know why this is happening... I'm so confused..." she'd almost take not remembering over this; it was messing with her head far too much than she would like.

[It's no problem dear, I've been in and out of sleep since I got home from classes earlier, haha. Though, just to let you know, I will be leaving for work in about an hour, so if I don't reply, that's why~ <3]

Todd blinked, finding those words incredibly familiar - oh. It was that time, before they were a couple, that he and a girl named Ambrosia found her crying over a picture of her mother. That was the first time he'd ever seen her cry, and it had tortured him. "I think I know what your brain is trying to remember," he said, glancing toward the fireplace and squinting in concentration as he tried to recall the memory.

"You, ah. It was your mom's anniversary, and you were so upset. Had firewhiskey with you, so I knew it was serious. Cried a little on my shirt and..." he let out a small laugh, remembering how she'd apologized for that. "You said you were sorry, but there was absolutely no need."

Penelope looked up to watch him; he was staring toward the fireplace, as if trying to recall the memory that her own brain had been trying to do. She took in a sharp intake of breath. The anniversary of her mother's death. Yes, that would make sense. That was one of the only times she actually did drink. The corners of her lips turned up only ever so slightly, apologizing did sound like something she would do. The words sorry were actually begging to be released at this very moment.

"Y-you... know an awful lot about me, don't you?" It was more of a rhetorical question than anything else. "I-I guess... you're... the key in most of those m-memories..." Penelope bit her lip. She pulled her knees back up and wrapped her arms around them. She rested her forehead back onto her knees and took in a deep breath.

"I'm s-sorry... I-I tell you... t-to move on... a-and I-I don't want you to l-live in the past... b-but here I am... b-bringing it all back up again... I'm r-really sorry." More guilt rose in her. How could she do this to him? She blinked back the few tears that threatened to fall. No, she wouldn't cry. She was strong. She could be strong. There was no need for her to cry.

Todd dragged his gaze from the fire and back to her. A small smile formed on his lips and he nodded slightly. "You used to know a lot about me, too, I should think," he said, resting his head on the back of the couch. It warmed his heart to hear her say that - whether it was true or not was debatable,

He was slightly surprised when she started apologizing - though he shouldn't. That was exactly like her, to say sorry for this kind of thing, though it certainly wasn't needed. "Miss Baudelaire, I forbid you from apologizing for allowing me to talk about beloved memories," he replied in a faux stern voice. "It is my pleasure - nay, my duty - to talk to you about some of the happiest moments of my life. You have been an excellent sport through all this, and the least I could do is try and help you remember some of it. Because, though it sucks knowing you can't remember them at the moment, that isn't your fault and I am happy to recall them." He tapped her on the nose in conclusion to his 'argument'.

Penelope sniffled, wiping away the slight wetness that had accumulated in her eyes. She was about to apologize about apologizing, but she simply bit her tongue. Sometimes Sorry seemed like the only word she knew. She felt her heart ache as he said those were some of the happiest moments of her life and she wished she could remember them well enough to be able to share them. "Y-you're t-too sweet," Penelope mumbled, blushing furiously as she did so. He was like an angel.

She blinked then, recalling what he had said only moments before. She knew a lot about him? She supposed that made sense. They had been dating, after all. The only problem was she didn't remember any of it and he did. She turned to face him once more - figuring that she wasn't going to make it up to her dorm anytime soon and it wasn't as if Todd could help her up there, the stairs leading up to the girl's dormitories were charmed to keep boys out. The boys dormitory was not, go figure.

"Can you tell me?" She asked, her voice soft. She didn't want to talk about herself anymore. It was too exhausting and too confusing. Maybe one of these days it would all clear up and come to her in one piece. Maybe... hopefully. "A-about you... Can you tell me about you?" She clarified, flushing a bit. She too couldn't live in the past. If she kept moving forward there was a possibility that it would all come back to her.

Todd was a bit confused at first; tell her about what? But then she explained, and he was suddenly at a loss for what to say. What was there to tell her? He honestly didn't think there was much to say, but he would try because she'd asked. "Alrighty then," he said, wracking his brain for anything that seemed worth telling. "I, uh, have a lot of brothers - five, by my estimate. A dad, a few cats that my brothers have decided to adopt." He paused, thinking that those things weren't exactly about him, but he wasn't used to talking about himself. "I suppose I like reading? And taking over small pieces of the world ar a time. I am Todd Bruce Cross. I get very panicky, very easily." It was the most honest thing he could think of. For example, when he'd found out about her 'accident'.