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 Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2011 9:42 pm
A lot of time had passed since that awful night when Parker took a leap at romance and ended up falling off the ledge. In his mind, the dire circumstances of his life with Dani made up for their youth. He loved her -- loved her more than he thought was possible -- and he had already been forced to face her death. Once she was back, Parker knew he couldn't stand the chance of losing her again. The proposal had been planned a month in advance, but it had been premature, too fast, too... everything.
Just as quickly as Parker had been prepared to make a permanent vow, he had receded back. If he couldn't have all of Dani, if he would be forever doomed to walk beside her at an arm's distance, then he would rather have nothing at all. The pain of her rejection was too much for him to handle in any other way. The youth resigned himself to loneliness, playing Johnny Cash and Nirvana and Broken Social Scene until his roommate probably wanted to kill him.
But time had passed. A lot of it. And Parker was willing to try to move on.
So he had joined a dating site: DCyouandme.com. It was geared toward college-age kids, though some high schoolers snuck on when they hit 18. Parker had joined in on a recommendation from a friend, but ignored almost every single person who the site suggested he might be a "perfect fit" for -- until now.
Maybe it was something about her picture. Maybe it was because her name reminded him of a television show he watched as a kid. Maybe it was because she was the first normal-looking girl the site had sent his way. Whatever the reason, Parker Damhnait decided to give it a try with Fiona Watson -- what was the worst that could happen?
The date had begun awkwardly but normally. She seemed nerdy and genuine -- two things that Parker enjoyed. He tried to be aware of his snarky tendencies, tried to make her laugh. All in all, he was feeling okay about their interaction so far as the pair made their way toward a little hipster restaurant in downtown DC called Aubergine. The decor was a neo-punk artsy wave -- the kind of place marketed to hipsters.
Naturally, Parker liked it.
Crossing toward the host stand, Parker took the lead, giving them his name. There had been no plans of a reservation -- he hadn't thought of it -- and so the petite blond hostess squinted her eyes at him and said, "I think there is one table for two left on the patio. That's pretty lucky." With no other formality, she swept through the restaurant, out the french doors, and over to a round table nestled in the corner of the outdoor seating section. The girl dropped off two menus, made mention of a server, and then disappeared.
Parker stood awkwardly for a moment, staring at Fiona's chair. He wasn't the chair-pulling-out type, and so he took his own seat slowly, careful not to stumble or otherwise look like a complete idiot. "The weather's nice for outdoor seating." He lifted his menu, stared at the cover and the tiny little paper square that gave away the restaurant's specials for the evening. "Have you been here before?" he asked -- standard awkward small talk, ahoy!
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Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2011 11:57 am
Once upon a time, Fiona would have considered putting herself on a dating site to be ludicrous, unthinkable. Yet things changed, and recent events had left her questioning her future. She had spent days, a few weeks even, reflecting on the changes in her life. How she had changed and how things had changed around her. Now, now she had chosen to focus upon herself. She had opted to focus on the civilian aspects of her life.
Now, she was focusing upon Fiona which meant putting her information up on a dating site to see what kind of people she would attract. It was a startling new experience for the young woman just leaving her teens, never before had she put herself out there like this. She had been skeptical at first, because meeting someone on an online dating site had always seemed sketch to the girl but she had been willing to give it a shot.
When Parker Damhnait had gotten in touch with her and asked her out, she had said yes without much hesitation. To her surprise, things went more smoothly than she had imagined. It had been a while since she had been on a date, other activities keeping her busier than she would have liked, and the date she was currently on was proving to be quite enjoyable.
When they had arrived at the restaurant, the decor was surprising and new but she found that she liked it. She stood back easily, allowing Parker to talk to hostess and followed quietly as she led them to the table. A smile tugged on her lips when he paused, standing awkwardly before he took his seat. She slid into her seat easily, not bothered that she had to pull her seat out. The date was casual and every boy was different, so it rolled off her shoulders like water over a smooth rock.
Her fingers reached for her menu to pull it closer to her. Her two colored eyes look down at it, glancing over the specials briefly before looking up at Parker when he spoke. Looking up she smiled, “It’s a beautiful day, I’m glad we’re getting the chance to enjoy it while we eat.” Truthfully, Fiona simply loved being outdoors in anyway shape or form.
She shook her head, frowning slightly as she glanced at their surroundings. “No, I haven’t but it looks great. Pretty packed, I’m surprised we got in right away.”
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Posted: Thu Sep 08, 2011 7:38 am
Like Fiona, Parker was trying to focus on Parker. It was just a little too difficult. Dani was someone in both his civilian and senshi life. Cutting her out of felt like he had lopped off one of his arms. The few times he had powered up following the end of their relationship, the youth had felt compelled to seek out every light aura that even reminded him a little bit of how Magellan's aura made him feel. It became too painful, much too painful.
Parker might have been the one to end it, but he knew that Dani's rejection of his proposal had been the real choice made that day. A choice to be without him. He was just incapable of seeing her side, not when his heart was so caught up in the situation.
But here was Fiona -- nice, entertaining, pretty. Sure, they didn't have the electric spark that he had felt the first time he laid eyes on Dani, but so what? Parker had resigned himself to the dark fate of never being in love ever again. Still, it was nice just to have female company. Dani was the first real girlfriend he had had, and in her absence, he missed it.
After Parker began the cliche "date talk," Fiona continued it, which was just as well as far as he was concerned. It had been lucky that they had walked through the door when they did. As if on cue, a line had formed. "I should have thought to make a reservation, sorry," he mumbled, embarrassed.
Just then, a waiter came up to take their drink orders. Parker got a water and a coffee and then paused for Fiona to order. After she had gotten hers, he turned to her and said, "So you go to Sovereign Heights? What do you study?" Safe enough question.
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Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 1:24 pm
She laughed softly, shaking her head at him. "Don't worry about it," she assured him waving a hand about like it was no big deal. Even if they hadn't gotten in right away Fiona wouldn't have minded waiting, as long as she had some sort of distraction. Parker could be a pretty good distraction. It was their first date and though the redhead wasn't quite sure how she felt about the boy she knew she was enjoying herself and that was all that matter right now, right? "Being spontaneous has it's perks," she said leaning forward slightly to get a better glimpse of something at the top of the menu that had caught her eye.
Her fingers slid under the menu again and she lifted it slightly so it would be easier to read. When the waiter asked for their drink order she requested something simple, water with lemon. She had considered ordering something else only to decide that she didn't need any source of caffeine running through her system. She had plenty of energy already and it was beginning to show as she shifted her position in her chair.
"Yes," she started tucking a stray hair behind her ear as she sat back slightly. "I'm majoring in biology," she continued though the major could have been surprising. She didn't exactly look like the sort of girl who would be interested in a career in science. "Well, actually...I'm really trying to major in Entomology, but Sovereign Heights doesn't have the best program for it." Not many schools did but she wasn't exactly in a position to try and leave DC for school, not now anyway. "What about you? Didn't you graduate recently?"
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Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 3:27 pm
When Fiona leaned forward, Parker flickered his eyes up to her. She was really very pretty, and there was something about the different colored eyes that captivated him. It wasn't the redhot firecracker kind of chemistry he had with Dani, but Parker had begun to believe that he would never feel that again. On the plus side, Fiona was older, and they were at somewhat similar places in life. That had always been an issue with Dani, in some way.
Parker was older too. He was more mature. He was still the boy who asked the girl he loved to marry him too soon, but he was also the man that realized being told "no" to that most important question was not something he would accept in a relationship. Different places? Fine. Then they should be with different people. Seeing her and knowing she didn't want him the way he wanted her was far too painful to handle otherwise. Parker preferred to instead pretend she didn't exist. It was like she had died all over again.
The thought of Dani snuck up on him, and now he pushed it away. There was a living, breathing girl right in front of him who seemed like she enjoyed his company just fine. Now he just needed to focus on not messing it all up.
Biology was good. He liked science. He could appreciate a girl who did too. Of course, this naturally led to the question that he should of expected, but did not: his own college. Yikes. Parker had at one time been enrolled in school, but finances and many other things had him failing out within a semester. That wasn't the kind of thing he could impress a girl with so he went for something between the truth and a lie.
The waitress returned at that moment to drop off their drinks, promising to be back for the food order soon. "I used to go full-time to DCU for computer science. I worked with GeekSquad, all that," he said as the waitress walked away. Parker slid his coffee cup closer and tilted a tiny splash of cream into it. He usually took it black, but he could use the sugar. "When my bills got too high, I had to start working full-time." He also got fired from GeekSquad and was now working at a cafe... how could he sugarcoat that? "GeekSquad wasn't enough hours so now I work at a cafe near where I live and repair computers freelance. I've been able to take a night class at DCU recently, but... it's not ideal." That wasn't too negative, was it?
Parker cleared his throat and said, "Biology sounds interesting though." And then he drown his awkwardness with a swallow of coffee and some glancing away.
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Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2011 12:12 am
Fiona had always been a smart girl even with her strange interests that went against her "pretty girl" nature. She always had the brains for science and when she found what she liked, she went for it fully and completely. Rarely did she have those moments where she second-guessed herself or turned her back on a tough problem, Fiona liked to stick to it through thick and thin.
She took a sip of her water as Parker spoke, doing her best to keep from losing herself in her thoughts and focusing solely on the conversation at hand. She inclined her head slightly towards him, as though it would help her hear him better. She nodded sympathetically in response, school was a struggling matter for many even more so it what felt like an unstable environment. "It may not be ideal, but at least you're doing something," she told him. "A class is better than no class, and you're funding your education on your own," she praised, it wasn't something she could really boast herself. "It might not be ideal, but it's better than most," she tried to reassure him, though she wasn't sure how successful it'd be. "School's difficult, especially life after high school when you get to make most, if not all of the choices on your own. Things don't always go according to plan," she sighed.
"How is working at a cafe? Which did you prefer, GeekSquad or your newer job?" She inquired trying to focus the conversation on him, people liked to talk about themselves right? It was the easiest way to get to know someone, focusing the conversation on them rather themselves. Of course if she had known the truth she probably wouldn't have been bothered to really bring it up.
"I do enjoy it. The evolutionary parts are more interesting aspects of it I think, combined with the environmental development leading to the evolutions," she told him trying not to go off into some long winded conversation about biology that he probably didn't want to hear. Good thing he didn't mention the entomology part, she could go on and on about that. "But computer science? I've never been too great with technology," she admitted pretending to be a little more shy about that information, "but I do admire those who are."
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Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2011 8:18 pm
"Things never go according to plan," Parker said quickly.
It was hard for the boy to stay away from the negative side of things. His relationship with Dani had helped buffer against some of his worst-case-scenario thinking, but fundamentally, he remained forever a glass half-empty kind of person. Thankfully, Fiona had already begun to steer the conversation to a new topic, and Parker liked this immediately about her. It took the pressure off of him.
Adjusting his cup of coffee, he considered her question for a moment, quirking an eyebrow. "It feels stupid saying it, but... GeekSquad was pretty decent. Everyone I worked with was competent." Apparently Parker felt that this was an adequate explanation. He lifted his cup and drank from it, eyes easing off into the distance before moving back to Fiona's.
"I've never been as good with science," he said quickly. It would have been a good time to smile or laugh -- maybe a little charming -- but Parker was Parker and so he just sort of stared blankly at her and then glanced around for the waitress again.
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Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2011 12:49 am
"Sometimes, they go better than planned."
The words left her mouth without a second thought and once she had finished her sentence she said nothing more of the matter. She was glad the topic had shifted elsewhere because it meant that she was getting him to talk more about himself. She liked hearing him talk and liked getting to know him a bit more. That was the hardest thing about first dates, finding something to talk about but so far everything seemed to go rather smoothly.
She was enjoying herself.
"I don't think it's stupid at all," she told him, a soft smile playing on her lips as she studied the menu. Her head was tilted downwards but she glanced up at him through her bangs. "When you work somewhere, doing what you enjoy with people that understand what they're doing and what you're doing," she paused to put a little break between her words. "You're bound to like it more than a job you're doing because the hours are better."
She shrugged lightly sitting back a bit as she crossed one leg over the other. She chuckled softly because though he wasn't the most charming she found Parker's actions and little quirks to be rather endearing. "It's definitely not for everyone."
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Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2012 12:36 pm
(( I don't think Derivative is going to come in with Dani so I am just going to slap an ending on this! ))
Minor awkwardness and pausing aside, Fiona and Parker both survived the date. For Parker, it was proof that he could move on from Dani, even if he still found himself constantly comparing all other women to her. He wasn't sure if he felt a spark with Fiona, but as someone who genuinely believed that there was one person in the world for him (who he had already met, proposed to, and been rejected by), he didn't mind it. She was nice, she was smart, she was female.
Who knew? Maybe it would go somewhere, maybe it wouldn't. Parker wasn't sure how much he would care, either way. He had gone a date, but he was by no means healed.
Time would tell.
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