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Chel was so unused to all of her affectations being returned that she sort of stumbled into the hug. She'd kind of forgotten what it was like to carelessly touch someone.

It pleased her.

"We're just two blubberers," Chel cooed, standing up a bit straighter and leaning on his shoulder. She hadn't meant to get so close but now here they were. "M'used to gettin' in trouble." Present or past? "I was always goofin' off in school. Just kind of an instinct." She said it with such ease that it was almost heartbreaking. It would be if she had cared.

Her words to Jack earlier were ringing in her head. I never even been on a real-

< Are you sure this is progressive towards your- >

"Can I ask ya one more question?"

"Would you-" She actually turned a bit red. Chel hadn't done this for quite some time. "Well gosh this is awkward, but would ya go on a date with me?"

She waved a hand, clearing the air of the tension. "Not nothin' serious. I hate serious. Just fer fun." She blew her bangs out of her face. "No pressure er nothin'."

It felt slightly like she was betraying Jack, but at the same time it wasn't like she was his. That, and Chel didn't really see going on a date as some huge declaration of love. It was just another fun thing to fill her time. She'd never been on one, so she wanted to know what it was like.

Chel was so used to hearing no that yes was a surpising satisfaction. "Aren't you just a peach," she said with a laugh, reaching out to grab his cheek and pinch a little.

Unfortunately, Chel was just as foreign to the concept as Dawson was. She was just considerably less embarrassed about it. "Oh yeah, and gettin' caught in the rain." She put an elbow on his shoulder, leaning against it as she cupped her chin. "Beach date could be fun. Or like a picnic or some s**t. I ain't got nothin' but what's in the movies."

Her face grew very stern. "Look I uh- I ain't never been on a date before.." If she was actually being upfront, she would have mentioned- oh you know- the fact that she was completely head over heels for another man. "S'at still okay?"

Chel couldn't helped but feel irked and torn in two directions. On the one hand damn right someone should have taken her out by now. On the other hand, the words combined with the backpats made her feel incredibly pitiable.

She also felt torn between Dawson and Jack. It wasn't his fault of course, but Dawson had somehow managed to hit on every note she wished Jack would. Her favorite food, her cousin Chris- it was all too similar.

"The only way you'd get to make food I like is if ya stayed the night," she said with a wink. "I like chocolate chip pancakes and bacon. M'big on any breakfast food really." She tapped her chin a few times. "I like anything where ya get messy like ribs and s**t too." The idea of being able to afford ribs on the island was laughable though.

She poked Dawson's side and said, "'Sides, if I'm cookin' I should be makin' what you like!" She sighed deeply and said, "If only you were a few ranks up, we could blow this popsicle stand."

"Naw they wouldn't let you leave- yer too green. And don't get any ideas 'bout goin' home. Yer officially dead in their eyes. They don't let ya go anywhere near home lest ya 'cause a ruckus."

Seeing as the hush puppies were nearly done, Chel decided to continue while he munched. "But naw- I meant 'cause of my bracelet. I can't go nowhere unless I got someone supervisin'. I don't wanna be babysat- s'just stupid, y'know? I already got a bomb on me, I shouldn't need it." She was venting her frustrations a little, but really it was her own fault for being too stubborn to ask for help.

She knew she was probably boring Dawson, so she said, "Okay, scale ah one to ten- what ya think of the food?"

"Mmm. Above half- I'll take it," she murmured, grabbing the last hush puppy for herself since he'd insisted. Chel bit into it and felt the seven, nodding in agreement. "Just means I'll have ta make 'em better next time." She glanced quickly to the empty plate and added, "And make more."

If he was offering to clean, Chel definitely wouldn't decline. Her kitchen was a ******** of a mess, considering she only washed utensils when she needed them to make something else. She was, after all, a slob.

Mirthfully she commented, "Have at it cowboy. I'll enjoy the view from behind."

It was all so mechanical. The flirting, the bartering. She didn't feel anything.

"Yer welcome any time sweet pea," she assured him, kicking a foot against the counter rhythmically. She kept to her own thoughts while he washed, her eyes glazing over to another place.

When he finished Chel gave a half-smile and said, "What d'you wanna do now handsome? You got duties er anything?" It was mostly a comment to say I'm bored what do we do now?

Chel's mental state had her wondering if he really did have duty or not.

However, she followed him to the door and opened it behind him. From the doorway she hollered, "Oy! S'at anyway to tell a lady goodbye?" Not that she expected a romantic goodbye-kiss-in-the-rain sort of scenario. It was all for her own amusement. She laughed and leaned against the frame, wondering if he would dutifully come back with his tail between his legs, or if he would get the hell out of dodge.

Or maybe more correctly, dodge quickly out of hell.