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 Posted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 11:26 pm
"Could tell me more about yourself to start with. Your aspirations, dreams... I don't have class till mid-day tomorrow so it shouldn't be impossible to pull an all-nighter then take a nap before that." Hafwen smiled softly at him. She probably wouldn't be able to sleep much without imagining the worst anyways so this particular arrangement was probably for the best for the both of them. He really was a very nice and considerate boy, and now that she was slowly starting to appreciate him for his virtues, it was probably a good starting point for them both to start fresh from ground zero, starting with that first date that she was strangely starting to look forward to now.
"No. No, that's not it at all." She quickly shook her head, not at all wanting Lilly to get the wrong impression that she was in a rush or would much rather be off somewhere instead of spending time alone with her. "I just thought that it might be better to get Darren settled proper before tending to all that since he's injured and all."
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Posted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 11:41 pm
Darren nods with a small smile. "Sure, I'll have to give you the reader's digest version I suppose." He chuckles weakly and winces again. Yeah - laughing was still not a good idea. "Oh... OH..." Lilly suddenly colored and fanned herself for a moment. "My apologies, I think we misunderstood each other." She smiles then, winking at the girl. "I was planning on feeding Darren and then taking him home to rest, so I figured I would extend the invitation to the girl he's got his heart set on.""Moooom..." Darren groaned, now very much wanting to sink into as small a ball as possible on the bed. "What? If you're going to date her I would at least like to get to know her a little. Is that a crime?" Lilly huffed at her son. "No... No I suppose it's not..." Darren relented - grudgingly.
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Posted: Thu Dec 19, 2013 12:01 am
"It's your choice. Everything at one shot or in phases like a perfectly wrapped present." Hafwen responded with a smile and gave him a wink. "Oh..." For a moment, she simply stood there and just gaped at Lilly's explanation as to what she actually meant by her earlier proposal, pausing for a moment to think before nodding her head to indicate her agreement to go along with her intended plan.
"Well, if you put it that way Lilly... I suppose I could take you up on your offer then." After all, it would be rude to decline her offer time and again and she certainly didn't want to end up on Darren's mother's bad side if things were going to actually work out between both her and Darren.
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Posted: Thu Dec 19, 2013 12:23 am
Darren smiles and nods slowly. "I'll figure something out," he chuckles before turning to look at his mother. Slightly mortified she was taking such a vested interest in Hafwen. "Good, good. Once Darren is cleared to go we'll go eat - it should help him stay awake for a little while at least." Lilly said as she fixed her skirt again. "I promise not to probe too deeply into your life Hafwen," she smirked at the girl. Before she could continue to tease her though, the sound of footsteps coming up to the ward silenced her. "Good news! Darren is free to go," Winters said as he stuck his head into the ward. "His CT scan came back clean, so whenever he's ready to get out of here he's good to go. The nurse at the front will get you squared away." Lilly smiled and bowed her head. "Thank you doctor." She stood slowly, gathering her purse. Darren slowly slid out of the bed on the side Hafwen was on, he felt a bit wobbly but he was able to stand on his own. "Alright, let's get out of this Drecksloch...""Darren, enough." Lilly hissed. She smiled at Hafwen and headed toward the front desk. "My car is the blue crossover parked right out front - you can't miss it." she said with a nod. "Why don't you two go ahead and get situated and I'll meet you outside." With that, she left the two to their own devices as she went to go take care of the insurance. Darren nodded, and started to slowly make his way toward the exit, one hand reaching out for Hafwen's as he went.
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Posted: Thu Dec 19, 2013 12:41 am
"Or lull him to sleep with a nicely filled tummy." Hafwen smiled. "But we'll deal with that if it comes to that eventually." She was speaking from her own personal experience there really, having found that she couldn't quite fall asleep if she went to bed with an empty and growly stomach that would keep her up for at least half the night. She felt her spirits lift even more when the doctor popped by briefly to give them the good news that Darren was fit to leave the hospital, moving to pick up their belongings before returning to hover by Darren's side.
"Alright. We'll meet you there then Lilly." Watching the older woman make her way to the counter to take care of the paper work, she turned her attention back to the boy who was slowly and carefully making his way towards the exit, her hand slipping into his as she let him focus on the task at hand then started to engage him in some small talk. "Drecksloch... what's that? I didn't know that you were fluent in German."
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Posted: Thu Dec 19, 2013 12:54 am
"It's shithole," Darren said quietly with a light chuckle that was followed up by a wince. "Nnn, yeah - I picked it up so I could talk to my grandparents better - they came here from Germany." He smiled at her sheepishly. "It helps me swear and talk s**t when I'm really upset."As they made their way through the ward and past the front desk, Darren squeezed her hand. "Thanks... for everything today. For giving me a shot and for sticking with me even after things went to s**t."Once they were outside, he made started heading toward the only blue crossover parked in the lot. "I mean, I know you blame yourself for me being here but - it's really not your fault." He turned to look at her once they reached the car. "You could have easily just left once we were done - but you stuck around and I am thankful that you did. I really couldn't have handled being stuck here all by myself." He leaned against the car door lightly, not even bothering to check if it was unlocked. "Once I'm fully healed - I promise I'm gonna take you on a first date that will knock your socks off..." He grinned at her. "Cross my heart and hope to die." He crossed his chest with his hand.
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Posted: Thu Dec 19, 2013 1:45 am
"I see. No wonder Lilly was cross with you back there..." Hafwen had to keep reminding herself repeatedly that as much as she was curious about Darren and his family, there were still some boundaries that shouldn't be crossed until the both of them had gotten to know each other better and acknowledged that they were meant to be more than just potential relationship material.
Smiling softly at him, she shook her head a few times. "It's nothing really. A deal's a deal and you've rightfully earned it through your own hard work. I didn't know that you had an issue with hospitals though. I'm sorry..." She apologized in the end, both for landing him in the hospital as well as for the incident that made him so fearful of the healthcare establishment itself.
Now that things were starting to look up a little and he seemed to be in much better spirits, she began to perk up a bit, nodding as she grinned wide at his promise to take her out on a first date that would blow her away and leave her wanting for more. "Just focus on your own recovery first. We can fix up a date and venue for that thereafter." After all that they had been through, she couldn't imagine anything worse that could happen really.
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Posted: Thu Dec 19, 2013 10:53 am
"Yeah she's not too fond of when I swear," Darren said with a weak nod, finally trying to pop the door open and finding it unlocked. Stepping back so that Hafwen had room to enter the car, he smiled and motioned to the first row of back seats. "Ladies first,"He was quiet for a moment, his face contemplative before he finally spoke up. "It... It took a few days for my Dad to die." He said, his voice shaking a bit. "He was a Cop. He answered an all call and got shot. It took three days of surgery and he died on the table. So... yeah... I don't like hospitals much." He winced. "Sorry that was probably a lot to drop on you this early. I just - felt you should know." He smiled weakly. "That's why I was so thankful you stayed with me as much as you did - its easier to handle with a friendly face.""But yeah, I'll get nice and healthy now that I have a chance to really wow you.""Alright, load up - we're good to go!" Lilly said as she crossed the parking lot. "Any preferences on food Hafwen?"
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Posted: Fri Dec 20, 2013 3:41 am
Hafwen really hadn't been expecting Darren to open the car door for her, especially with his current condition, so she was caught entirely by surprise when he did that, momentarily rooted in place and blinking a few times while her cheeks flushed a rosy pink before she quickly nodded with a small smile. "Why thank you..."
She was about to hop into the car when she saw the look on his face, crossing over instead to envelope him in a hug. "I see. It's okie really. I didn't do much other than hang around for a bit but I'm glad that it helped."
Shaking her head, she watched him closely, wondering if there was anything that she could add onto that before Lilly's arrival had her quickly pulling back and climbing into the back seat to avoid holding them up further. "Nothing I can think of in particular at the moment really. How about we go for something that Darren really likes?"
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Posted: Fri Dec 20, 2013 9:56 pm
"I know the perfect place," Lilly said as she moved around to the driver's side of the car, getting in. If she was going to make a comment on the hug, she was obviously going to save it for later - because she made no mention of even noticing how close the two had been when she'd walked up. Darren had been fit to melt when Hafwen had embraced him - even if it was a pity hug - that was probably the closest he'd been to a girl that wasn't a relative in a fairly long while. Things were looking up for the boy. He really had to wow her on the first day - he swore to himself he'd knock her socks off - OR DIE TRYING. Perking up a bit at the mention of the "perfect" place he almost seemed shocked, but didn't say anything about it. At least not right that second. Slipping into the backseat after Hafwen, he kept to his side of the car, though his hand did seek out hers testingly. It was worth a shot...
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Posted: Sat Dec 21, 2013 8:09 am
"The perfect place you say..." Hafwen glanced first at Lilly then at Darren, looking entirely clueless as she waited to see if either of them would care to elaborate further as to where exactly they were headed to next. It wasn't that she minded terribly about being surprised or kept in the dark till they arrived at the place itself. Just a touch curious was all.
Shifting her attention to take in the sights outside of the window, she smiled when she felt Darren's hand tentatively rest over hers. It couldn't be that he was seeking solace for another anxiety attack since they were effectively out of the hospital grounds so this had to be something else entirely. She blinked slowly, a small smile already on her face along with a faint blush that she could barely make out in her reflection on the car window.
It wouldn't cost her an arm or a leg to give him her hand really. That was what she figured as she slowly turned her hand over so that she too could hold onto his. She wasn't sure if it was guilt or pity or something more that made her embrace him earlier or hold his hand now like this but it had felt somewhat like it was the right thing to do.
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Posted: Sat Dec 21, 2013 10:26 pm
"Yeah, it's a place we haven't been too for awhile," Lilly said as she pulled them out of the parking lot and merged onto the road. "But it's one of Darren's favorite places - he has band meetings there all the time."Darren smiled and felt his face color a bit when Hafwen moved her hand so they could hold hold hands in the car. He was thankful she was still up to giving him physical contact - but he wasn't going to be super bold even though he wanted to be. Take things slow, that was probably the best way. After all they hadn't even had a first date yet.
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Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2013 2:45 pm
"I see. All the more that we should head there then." Hafwen chirped in agreement, tilting her head to give Darren a small smile and a gentle squeeze to his hand before leaning back against the car seat and musing to herself if this was how it was like to have a maternal figure in one's life. She wouldn't know for sure really. It had been only Hywell and her, which amounted to close to nothing, for as long as she herself could remember.
"... how are you feeling?"
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Posted: Tue Dec 24, 2013 8:44 pm
Darren smiles back at her, tapping his head lightly with his free hand. "Still hurts a bit, but I think I'll manage," He chuckles softly and stifles a yawn, biting it back. The car ride was making him sleepy. All he wanted to do was lay his head in Hafwen's lap and sleep. But he couldn't have that now could he? Lilly smirked slyly into the rear-view mirror as she drove. "Yeah, I'm sure he'd want to take his first girlfriend there."Darren pretty much turned completely white.
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Posted: Sat Dec 28, 2013 5:21 pm
Apparently yawns were contagious for Hafwen found herself doing likewise just as Darren managed to stifle his. It seemed almost surreal just how much she knew about the boy beside her now after the injury she had unintentionally caused him followed by the mandatory trip to the hospital to get it looked at. Had she known that such an injury was remotely possible, she would have insisted that he wore a helmet back before they even started.
But there was no point in dwelling on that anymore at this point now that everything had been said and done. Reaching over to gently prod his side with her free hand, she smiled. "Mm... but no sleeping. Remember what the doctor said." Sitting up a little more, she started to blush again at Lilly's teasing, momentarily rendered speechless as she gave a little hum to acknowledge the older woman's words then focused her gaze to make it seem as if she was busy looking at the scenery outside of the window.
Girlfriend? Really?!
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