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 Posted: Thu Jan 01, 2009 5:05 am
"I'll make sure you get the VIP seats up the front, Nye, don't you worry." Ivie replied in all seriousness, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. She was...just so glad Nye hadn't asked her anything about it. It was unlikely she'd be able to give him an honest reply right now, him being who he was to her, She just didn't think he could burdan him with all her problems more than she already had. She just felt bad; here he had come and walked into her life only to get caught up in the huge mess that was her life.
And what a mess it was.
"Ah, sure, does it need it?" She wouldn't know. Her hair was the last thing on her mind recently. Vaguely she inched her pale legs out of the saftey of the covers and, shivering just a little in the chilly room, lowered them down to the carpet. Her legs felt strangely weak and heavy like the rest of her and, with a frown, she pushed herself to her feet...and wobbled. Waving her arms a little she let herself fall back onto the bed rather than onto her face on the carpet. Facing the ceiling once more on the bad, she sighed heavily. Gods this was embaressing.
Yeah well Arvia didn't know that. In her mind most boys were the same in their attraction habits - mainly because the same guys always kept hitting on her and she knew no other way - so Gale's mild nervousness was interpretted as awkward disinterest. It was enough to make her sigh heavily.
"Well then, shall we? Though it's more lunch and evening now..." She eventually said as she grabbed her jacket and walked past Gale, holding the door after him before leading the way to the elevator. They were heading the opposite way they'd come back the evening before, in the same elevator as before.
Arvia's eyebrow quirked in amusement and she forcefully quelled the urge to mention it. Awkward, huh.
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Posted: Thu Jan 01, 2009 5:20 am
Nye chuckled lightheartedly. There were few people who could tell him that he wasn't a pathetic loser when it came to cheering people up.
Now, Nye was one of those cool cats who could stand up from having his legs crossed with only using one arm to push him up slightly at the beginning. Once he was straight up, he uncrossed his legs and set his bowl on the tray as well. "Eh, kinda. You should really get your hair trimmed every three months, but with the added stress of work and school, I think I'll do you a favor and do it early. You have such nice hair, too. Don't know why you don't treat it well."
He stood straight while she made her attempt at getting up, and just then Nye realized that giving her shorts was not such a great idea. Her pale legs were exposed to the cold of his apartment, which probably didn't help her situation. Poor girl plopped back down on the bed helplessly.
Geez, so much for even thinking of going out someplace.
Carefully, Nye scooped her right off the bed and began making the trek to the couch in his living room, still with sheets and blankets sprawled awkwardly across it.
"Here you go," he said as he set her down and pulled the blankets over her. Nye even handed the remote directly to her. "Tell me if you need anything. Anything at all."
Gale followed her out silently, not really wanting to talk too much any more. As soon as he saw the elevator, his body seemed to tear itself into two. A part of him wanted to tear for the stairs and pretend that he had a sudden phobia of elevators, and the other wanted to take advantage of the enclosed space and purposefully repeat and reheat some of last night's events.
Of course, our dear Gallagher opted for the middle path. He went in the elevator and did nothing. Just slouched awkwardly against one of the corners and stayed quiet, afraid of saying something stupid.
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Posted: Thu Jan 01, 2009 6:05 am
Usually Ivie wasn't nearly so clumsy - a little yes but nothing like this - and the helplessness was incredibly frustrating to her. She was about to try and get up again by herself, not one to admit defeat in simple tasks like this, when she felt Nye's arms wraps around her and hoist her from the covers with absolutely no problems at all. It made her feel like one of those useless heroines in the old black and white films; utterly useless and incapable of doing anything for herself.
Still, it was easier than letting her walk right now.
Feeling like a child she let herself be put down and be tucked in, watching Nye carefully. "You're too nice to me." She said quietly, taking the remove and placing it on her lap. ...why? I've only been a....bother."
Now there's a question, and she was putting it lightly.
It was really tempting to give into that De Ja Vu feeling and just pounce Gale in the half a minute they had in the elevator, and you could almost hear the security guards from the night before going 'Why are you not doing anything? DDD:'
No, Arvia and Gale wern't in a performing mood today.
"Did you sleep badly, Gale? You're awfully quiet." She said lightly, before the door slide open without incident.
She lead the way out, only to run straight, smack-bang into Terry's chest. Now Terry was a tallish guy and Arvia, even with her heels, only reached about his nose. He, in all his blond glory, quickly snagged a finger under her chin and tilted her head up.
What the hell?
"Arvia, good morning." He drawled, smirking as if he'd won some battle. Arvia was left wondering if she'd somehow encouraged him last night. She didn't remember doing anything.."Are you feeling better this afternoon, my dear?"
She couldn't believe he'd just done that. One of his hands had even come to rest on her waist, and Arvia was -not- pleased, attempting to pull away.
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Posted: Thu Jan 01, 2009 6:39 am
Nye began looking for his phone, which he ditched somewhere after he ordered their soup. He scratched his head out of curiosity, giving his apartment floor a good sweep. There was the phone- mysteriously sprawled near the TV stand, all dejected and lonely. He was just about to make his way over there to pick it up, make it feel like part of the family again when Ivie asked her question.
The generally graceful Nye ended up tripping over his own feet and catching himself on the corner of the TV stand. He picked up the phone from there and stood right back up, doing little but smiling his most genuine, brightest smile.
Quite the pretty smile it was.
"I happen to quite enjoy your company, Miss Callaghan. That's all there really is to it."
"Ac'ually, yeah," he answered honestly. Poor Gale barely got a wink of sleep because of this accursed elevator. Not only did it make his stomach lurch with its abrupt stopping and starting, it brought back some pleasantly unpleasant memories.
Was his face ever to stop being red again?
He slumped out of the elevator after Arvia, and almost sleepwalked himself to the buffet when he realized that she was stuck about five feet behind him, stuck behind Mount Terry. It was enough that Gale already didn't like this guy, but really now? Really?
Annoyed, Gale pivoted back. He let Arvia mingle, sure, but she looked about as comfortable as he thought he was around Michelle. Strangely angry at this dispay, it took Gale titanic strength to not say anything, until, oh goodness, until that son of a monkey's uncle decided that it would be wise to lean in for a kiss.
Not on Gale's watch.
Gale had decent enough reflexes to slide a hand in just around Terry's collarbone and push his neck a little away from Arvia. Was he gently?
Sorta.
"'S qui'e an affectionate goo' morning fer someun who was rejec'ed las' nigh'."
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Posted: Thu Jan 01, 2009 7:11 am
She'd been fiddling with the remote buttons when she heard Nye trip over himself, and glanced up just in time to see him save himself from what could have been a rather nasty fall. She even giggled a little, despite the awkwardness now permiating the situation.
And oh gods that smile. It was impossible not to send her own, timid smile back at him, feeling pale in comparison. She didn't believe him, not really, but oh she wanted to. Oh how she wanted to.
"I see..." She murmered, tugging the bedclothes up to her nose again as if they were a sheild against the world. The TV had flickered on by now - Animal Planet, just like she'd left it - and she broke eye contact with him, feeling terrible and her smile abruptly dropped. She flipped to the crime channel where a program about a grisly murder was just getting to the gory bits.
Usually she'd flinch.
It was difficult for her to pull away without making a big song and dance out of it, and Arvia was never really one to overreact like that unless she had to. So she grinned and beared Terry's attentions until he tried to kiss her.
Oh ew, what was he thinking? About to cause a fuss, she was spared the trouble as Gale came to her quite literal rescue.
Terry, however, did not look as pleased and he turned on Gale rather quickly. "What goes on with Miss Arvia and myself is none of your bussiness, Gale. She was simply a little under the weather last night."
Yeah, drunk, thought Arvia sourly as she took a step back from the blond, quite thankful to get her personal space back. "Actually, Terry, I was quiet serious about - "
"Shush, Arvia. We'll talk later."
Excuse me? You sexist pig!" Clearly Arvia was not charmed.
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Posted: Thu Jan 01, 2009 7:26 am
A-ha! He got her to smile. Really, she did have a lovely smile, and Nye had no idea as to why she didn't do it more often. Her answer was simple, of course, but he did no more prodding about her random inquiry, and instead went into the kitchen to make a phone call.
"Hey Allison. You wanna come over for a bit? I've got leftover cake, and Ivie doesn't seem like she wants to be my blimp any time soon. Ten minutes? 'Kay." The phone was hung up quickly and efficiently, placed right back onto its charger.
"That grizzly is so a man in a costume, and we both know it."
And then Terry made Gale do something he rarely ever did. The boy actually frowned. The corners of his mouth swooped right down, one brow raising curiously above the other. Clearly Gale wasn't pleased, either.
"Y'know, Terrance," Gale started bitterly. Honesly, he said the name like it left a rather nasty aftertaste in his mouth. That's a lot of dislike for less than twenty-four hours. "the fact tha' you're using her bein' drunk as an ex'use for yer rejec'ion is sa' on its own, bu' tha' demeaning tone o'yers isn' giving you any meri's either. Perhaps it migh' be good fer you t'back off."
Y'know, back off before he did something drastic to your face. Because basically, all that fancy talk meant nothing but, 'Keep your distance, 'cause if you don't you'll be within my reach, and you won't be so cocky once I'm done with you.'
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Posted: Thu Jan 01, 2009 7:53 am
Ivie had settled down under the covers by this stage of the game, her head propped up against pillows and the armrest of the sofa, eyes glazed as she watched the rather overly dramatic reconstructions these shows always consisted of. The blood was awfully badly done, she mused as she heard Nye talking on the phone in the kitchen, what he was actually saying obscured by the shrieks and yells of the television.
"Mm. The ears aren't right." Ivie agreed, frowning a little and wondering why on earth They hadn't bothered to get something like that correct?
The next ten minutes or so were spent picking apart the documentary and laughing at the policemen who appeared on it, every single one of them looking as if they spent far too long 'investigating' the donut shops of the city rather than fighting crime.
The show had just flipped to a somewhat more gorey one about the Boston Strangler when the doorbell rang, making Ivie jump. "Lord almighty." She murmered, placing a hand to her heart in shock and flopping back against the pillows.
Egads! Not the FROWNING GALE. Whatever shall we do?
*ahem*
It looked as if Terry had never been back-talked to like this in his life. His eyes bulged a little at Nye, shocked that anyone would ever imply that a female did not want his attention. It was just simply unheard of, a girl able to resist his obvious charm! Arvia was obviously just feeling the effects of a hang-over, nevermind what she'd said last night.
Yes, Terrance was one of those guys.
"How about you mind your own damn bussiness, gardener-boy?" He snarled at the other man, obviously not liking his 'alpha male' status being compromised. Arvia had to roll her eyes; men. "We all know you're not here because you were invited so how about you stay out of things while the important people talk, huh?"
It also appeared that Terry wasn't a very good arguer.
Arvia cleared her throat. "Actually, I invited hi-"
"Arvia, be quiet." Gods a girl could get sick of that.
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Posted: Thu Jan 01, 2009 8:11 am
Nye was halfway to tears once they really started picking apart the documentary. Particularly that one guy with the handlebar mustache who spoke in this awful twang and told an almost completely different story than the one shown, and actually even questioned the teleprompter once.
Who knew why they left that bit in there?
Once the doorbell rang, even Nye jumped a little bit before walking over to answer it, still red-faced and with a goofy smile on his face. He did have his secret ways in cheering people up, you know. Supersecret ways. "Oh! Allison! Hey!" he said, almost surprised, as he opened the door to let the salon mistress in.
"Hey Nye, hi Ivie," she said in her quiet manner. You're not honestly watching cheesy documentaries, are you?"
"You missed lots of donut jokes, my dear friend."
Allison just rolled her eyes and went to plop into the armchair that was so comfortably nestled by the couch. "The Boston Strangler? Jeez. How original."
FROWNING GALE will beat your Charizard any day, any time.
Gale's frown remained plastered on his face until Terrance started talking. Honestly, he had heard enough about his social status to not really give a damn anymore about who thought what about it. Yes, he was a gardener, but at least he earned his own money and did something productive with his time.
"Y'know, if sittin' on yer a** all day and hi'ing on girls deems you im'ortant, maybe it's no' my status as a gar'ener you shoul' be worried about." And now you made frowning gale CURSE! Shame on you, Terrence! Perhaps you should rethink your options next time you go touching a girl with a paid bodyguard. "An' yeah, I wasn' technically invi'ed. I'm bein' paid t'be 'ere and make sure tha' Miss Arvia has a good time an' doesn' ge' into any trouble. Unwan'ed physical con'act? I'm pre'y sure tha's trouble."
It seems to appear that Gale knows his stuff when it comes to being defensive. Maybe he should've gone into law, too. His weak point?
Ultimatums.
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Posted: Thu Jan 01, 2009 5:37 pm
It didn't help that almost every policeman they dragged up for these shows was sporting a handlebar moustach. Honestly, Ivie knew that not all of their policemen had ugly facial hair but if one was using this show as a guide you'd certainly think they did. Oh, and that all the forensic scientists were girls too. Naturally, keep them off the 'battlefield'.
"Morning Allison." Ivie raised her hand in greeting before ducking it back under the covers. "How are you? And...yeah. Not only that he picked on old women. How terrible is that?"
It wasn't his fault they gave him such a cliche name, anyway.
To Terry's credit he stayed quiet for all of Gale's little rant, a rather haughty and affronted look on his face. He certainly didn't look all that impressed or even interested in what the other man was saying until Nye brought out the bodyguard card, and even then his responce was simply a lift of the eyebrows.
"How, pray tell, would you say it was unwanted. She didn't seem to mind, you sorry excuse for a 'bodyguard'."
"Alright that's enough.' Arvia finally broke in, pushing her way between the two men (hurhur?) and glaring at them both. "Look, Terry, I'm not interested. Not now, not when I'm drunk, not ever, alright? Picking on Gale here has not improved your chances, considering he's my friend. Go screw Michelle or something."
And with that she took Gale's arm in hers and lead him away, fully intending to just walk away from Terry and off to lunch.
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Posted: Thu Jan 01, 2009 5:53 pm
Allison tsked as she crossed one leg over the other. Shows like these made her laugh, but the plotlines for them were so ridiculous sometimes. How hard was it to make a believable documentary?
"What an awful thing to do. At least the old ladies are decent actors, though."
Nye chuckled as he looked up at his clock to check the time. It was already 11:35AM, and his appointment was at 12:15. Perhaps now would be a good time to get going. "Ah, s**t. You know what, I forgot my appointment was this soon! Allie, would you mind keeping Ivie company? I won't be long."
"Only if you're bringing home lunch," she said jokingly.
"When do I not bring lunch? Can't cook it, for Chrissakes," he responded as he shoved his peacoat on.
"I'll be back within the hour," he said as he hastily left the apartment, not letting Ivie get a word in edgewise.
Well, the good thing that came out of all that was that Gale was not only severely amused, his mind was temporarily blown off of the kiss. He let himself be dragged, only allowing himself to grin once his back was turned to the other man. "Reminds me o' fightin' with my brother, jus' more fun an' more hos'ile."
Way to be honest, Gale, silly goose. Something in him did want to punch that guy's lights out, but thankfully, his judgement lead him to better things than that. "I guess tha' spa trip soun's e'en better now, huh?
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Posted: Thu Jan 01, 2009 6:11 pm
For a moment Ivie felt a little guilty about hogging the entire couch but that soon passed and she got herself comfortable. "In reality yeah, it's just terrible but...oh dear, the cops on this one have handlebar moustaches too." She broke off with a giggle, obviously amused despite the grim nature of the program.
"What, Nye, where are you - ?" She didn't get a chance to ask why he was taking off so suddenly as the door closed behind her host, and she shook her head and settled down. "You know...I think he planned that."
Well duh he had. Ivie knew why as well but she wasn't about to tell Allison that. "So...got any funny stories about our friend Nye? That you're willing to share, anyway, because I just know he has them"
He was Nye, after all.
Arvia groaned a little and rolled her eyes. "Not having any siblings I wouldn't know. I'm not sure I'd be able to stand living with someone acting like that all the time." Well if they were her brother hopefully they woldn't be trying to kiss her. That would just be a bit strange.
"Yeah...I didn't actually realise how late it was, you know? Perhaps we'll save the skiing for tomorrow morning and just relax this afternoon? I'm sure you need a break as much as I need my massage." She paused, glancing over at him with a grin. "Maybe you should get one too, with all the falling you manage to do. I'm sure gardening's hard on your back too, mm?"
Ah, there was the dining room and what do you know, the same waiter from last night was there.
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Posted: Thu Jan 01, 2009 6:28 pm
"He might have," Allison noted sagely. She knew he planned it, and it was actually a rather good plan on his part. That crazy flake was never one for predetermined things.
"Funny stories? Hm." She knew a plethora of hilarities about Nyesie, as they liked to call him at the salon, but she was completely unsure of where to start. Should she go for the burning of his whole hand on a stove, the time he got stuck in a haunted house, or the police incident?
The police one sounded best to start with. "Well, I'm sure you know that Nye's flakier than any Elle Woods could ever be. He's switched jobs at least twelve times already, usually sticking with the salon and doing something ont he side. A few years ago he decided that maybe it was cool to become a policeman. So, you know, la di da, they did the screenings and entered him into the academy. Went through everything just fine, all of the ferocious training and stuff. And then..."
"I 'ad four of 'em, ran'ing in severi'y," Gale said, sounding slightly amused at the recollection of his brothers. He was the least severe of them all.
Gale shrugged and played it cool until she mentioned his wonderful trips and falls. Even though the writer suspects Arvia just wouldn't mind seeing our Gale without his shirt on, the boy just thought he was being made fun of. "Y'know, I think I'll pass an' jus' take a nap whi'e you relax."
"You know you li'e my scars," he added smugly at the end. Every one had a story, and no matter how weird or exaggerated it was, it was a story.
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Posted: Thu Jan 01, 2009 6:47 pm
Aha, so he had. Kudos to him, Ivie though wryly as she shook her head. Clever boy.
"A policeman? Oh, he did seem to know someone when we were down there..." Thankfully Allison didn't ask just why they were down there, instead launching into the story about Police-man Nye. In a few minutes Allison had Ivie crying again, this time with laughter as she imagined Nye running along after his cop-car, handcuffed to the door, just because he'd left the handbreak off. "Oh he didn't. He came out alright, obviously?"
"You really don't know what you were missing out on." Arvia said, resigned to the fact that Gale was going to be keeping his shirt on. A pity, that. "They're really good for unwinding...but your choice. You do look like you need some more shut-eye."
"Are you with a group again, sir? Ma'am?" The same waiter from the night before asked.
"No, just two today."
You could almost see the words 'SCORE' in the waiter's eye, leading Arvia to eye him curiously as he ushered them over to a table for two, obviously pleased with the development. What a strange little man.
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Posted: Thu Jan 01, 2009 6:59 pm
Busted his knee for a few weeks, actually."
Ivie's tears of laughter made Allison smile. Thank goodness the girl was easy to amuse with the wonderful adventures of Nye. "I always said he should have sold his life as a script to the Warner Brothers or something. Would've made a hell of a cartoon. Now, there was also that time at the haunted house."
Oh goodness, the haunted house story.
"It was Tim, Zak, Nye, JP, and myself. You know how the boys are supposed to be all tough and protect everyone from everything? Well, Tim and Nye were huddled in front of the group, Zak having to push them along, and screamed at every little thing. Two seconds later, JP would stare down the puppet, verbally dismantle it, and move on to the next thing. Sir Frenchness has quite a keen eye for special effects. So, of course, we kept going until..."
In all honesty, not many people could get locked in a wardrobe at a haunted house. Allison's story recalled- in wonderful detail- how Nye fell behind and got separated through the group, and when they tried to find him, they only found his cellphone and thought he was kidnapped or something. It took them hours to find the wardrobe he managed to fall and lock himself inside of, and a guy in a costume that looked like the Boston Strangler to get him out.
Somewhere, a Nye sneezed.
Don't worry Arvia, there will be plenty of chances to see him shirtless. Plenty.
Gale gave the waiter quite the interesting look as well, not really understanding why he was so eager on them being together and alone. Little did he know that just before the elevators closed last night, Eugene the waiter had caught a glimpse of Arvia's rather aggressive approach. And now, the Lost Relics guild on WoW knew all about their steamy get-together. Bwahhaha!
Honestly, Gale liked eating away from large groups. Conversations were hard to keep track of, and it was awfully hard to enjoy a meal like that. Eating with just Arvia made him feel at ease, unlike Michelle, who gave him the willies.
He still had a few minutes before he remembered elevators.
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Posted: Thu Jan 01, 2009 7:14 pm
"The adventures of Nye Hemmingway, huh." Ivie chuckled, sitting up now. She was rather enjoying herself and having a good laugh, something that was far too rare for her these days, and she'd even forgotten that she had a plethora of bruises quite visible above the collar of Nye's shirt. She still had her legs pulled to her chest and covered with a blanket - hey, she was chilly! - but her overall defencive posture that had been haunting her the last few days had been dropped. Ah, girl-talk. Had to love it's disarming effects.
"I didn't even know those things had locks!" Ivie laughed, shaking her head as a big grin stretched her lips. "In a haunted house? My gods that's talent. If there was a profession for getitng yourself into sticky situations, Nye would be a millionare."
It kept going like this all morning. If Nye was here he'd no doubt be dying of embaressment as all his clumsiness was being revealed to the world, or, at least, Ivie.
And everyone knows that the guild was just hanging out for more information. Eugene couldn't let them down by -not- getting them the goss, so made sure to seat Arvia and Gale by what he considered the most romantic spot in the resturant, close to a corner for seclusion yet still with a breathtaking view of the slopes outside. Ha! He was good. Now he just had to sit back and watch the sparks fly.
"Strange boy." Arvia mumbled as she settled her jacket on her seat-back. "I'm going to go grab some hashbrowns before they close up the breakfast table. Would you grab me some eggs? I'll trade."
And she was off to indulge! Why the heck not?
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