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 Posted: Thu Jan 27, 2011 9:17 pm
Ren was nervous. He was never nervous, or at least, he was very rarely nervous, and even if he was nervous, he hardly ever showed it. It had always been his philosophy to stay relaxed, to face every situation with a calm, comfortable feeling, to never overstress or over exhaust or over think anything. He had seen how his parents acted, all fake pleasantries and forced smiles outside, but indoors stiff, angry, and unrelenting. Ren had long since learned that over thinking things and becoming too easily irritated made for less opportunities, less friends, and therefore, less fun.
However, this did not change the fact that he was indeed and inexplicably nervous.
"Shirt, shirt..." Ren muttered to himself, rummaging around in his closet for something suitable. His original outfit had been pulled from the hangers by Rhys and tossed around; he had found his shirt crumpled underneath the bed, and it would have taken too long to iron out all of the stiff wrinkles in it now. So he was reduced to finding something else to wear.
Once dressed (finally), he glanced at his watch. 6:23 pm. He had seven minutes before he was supposed to leave. Where is - ah.
The minifridge in his room was usually stocked with sodas and miscellaneous snacks from his late nights with LW, but there was something else in there tonight, something in a small, clear plastic box sitting atop all of the soda cans. Ren reached in and took it out, holding it gingerly in his hand as he inspected it.
"Still good," he said to himself, breathing a sigh of relief. 6:27.
Three minutes later he was standing on the floor beneath his apartment, knocking on the number three door.
She can't tell I'm nervous, Ren thought, straightening the crimson dress shirt he was wearing, open at the collar and tucked neatly into a pair of black dress slacks and partially covered by a black leather jacket. It'll be fine. He made himself relax, closing his eyes briefly until his features softened and he could feel a small smile appearing.
It's just a date. It'll be fine.
Now he just needed Alessa, and the night could begin. Though he wasn't entirely certain if seeing her would make him more nervous, or less.
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Posted: Fri Jan 28, 2011 1:19 pm
Alessa's nervousness had manifested into an unsettling giddiness. She and Ren had been on two official dates before, but it wasn't as if they didn't spend plenty of time together, both in and outside of class. So it was silly, why did she have to get so wound up for their date? She had no idea, but it had certainly made getting ready a bit of a task. She started early, because she was restless, but then even though she was dressed, she kept remembering things, like, oh, she had that cute clip that could hold her hair back that would go well with the dress she was wearing. Just as she felt the clip click suck she jumped, hearing the sound of a knock at her door. There was no one else it could be, right?
She took a breath and then went right to the door, pulling it open enough so she stood directly in front of him in the doorway. She had pinned her curls up in a sort of half pony tail away from her face and wore a little white strapless dress that was lined with a gentle pink and reached her mid-thigh. She'd discarded her typical boots (she loved boots) for some more suitable cream colored heels. She looked nice, not that she was ever prone to looking grubby, but it was definitely a bit different from her usual.
"Hi, Ren," she said, sounding a little bit breathless, but she was smiling. Maybe it was because she couldn't help but notice how nice he looked, so different from his usual daily attire and to think that, in a sense, he'd done it for her made her stomach flip pleasantly.
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Posted: Fri Jan 28, 2011 2:04 pm
Ren heard the tell-tale click as she unlocked the door and then it was pulled open, Alessa standing there with a smile on her face. He felt a swooping sensation in his stomach, faltering slightly as he saw her outfit.
"Hello, Alessa," he said after a moment, pulling back the calm he was trying to achieve.
They had not actually kissed yet, so he felt as if offering that as a greeting would be too much. A handshake was, well, pathetic, and a hug seemed too...friend-ish. So he settled for leaning over and brushing a quick kiss to her cheek, straightening and smiling at her.
"You look lovely," Ren said and then pulled the small, clear plastic box from behind him. Pushing it open, he held the corsage carefully - it was very small, only a single pink orchid wrapped with a white ribbon, and he set the box on the table just inside the door, stepping forward.
"Now, hold still for a sec," he said, reaching out and pinning it carefully to the top of her dress, making sure that he wasn't in danger of being too close. Once it was securely fastened, he stepped back, a satisfied smile on his face.
"Well?" Ren said with a smile, offering her his arm. "Cheesy, I know, but may I escort you this evening, beautiful lady?"
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Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2011 4:57 pm
Alessa flushed a little as he kissed her cheek, an involuntary reaction. Her smile became a bit more bashful. How was it that, despite the heat of her face, the place where his lips had touched her skin was still the warmest? It made her shiver pleasantly, though not visibly.
"Oh," she sighed a little at seeing the corsage, but it was more of a dreamy sigh than anything, "I love orchids." She remained still while he put it on. She tried to watch his hands, but found her gaze lingering on his face. She felt unsettled, but not in a bad way. It was a bit of a rush. Once he was done she took his arm, still smiling, though perhaps a bit less shyly, "You may, of course."
"And you," she added very honestly, "Look very dashing." She hesitated, but not wanting to feel guilty she added, "You know, you don't need to dress up for me if you don't want to...I like it but..." Oh gosh, this was coming out terrible, she had only been trying to be nice. How to save it? She stumbled a bit on her words, "I just...I like you no matter what, I guess. I don't want to be a bother." Yes, that was better right? Maybe. She looked at him, a hint of earnestness in her eyes.
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Posted: Sun Feb 06, 2011 3:21 pm
"I know," he said, giving Alessa a playful wink. "I remember you telling me once that you liked orchids, so I thought I'd give you something to look at tonight."
She was smiling at him, taking his arm, and Ren felt his stomach flutter slightly. He flushed a bit at her comments, face tinging a light red. Ren was not used to receiving compliments, especially not from ghouls like Alessa. Even her tripping slightly over her words was adorable, very endearing. "Thank you," he said, leading her down the hall, towards the exit. "I, er...thank you."
Ren held the door open for her, letting her pass through. Outside it was just barely beginning to turn evening, a pale darkness beginning to settle over the campus. A light breeze teased his hair as he turned to face Alessa.
"Now," he said, trying to seem nonchalant. "I know this is only our third date, but I need you to trust me here. Okay? And remember that I am not going to do anything to make you uncomfortable."
Stepping towards her, Ren bent down, slipping an arm around her back, his other arm moving to her legs as he swept her neatly and carefully up into his arms, making sure she was settled before he spoke again.
"Hang on tight," he said, smiling reassuringly at her and with a quick push of his feet he leapt into the air, wings propelling him upwards with a rush of wind. Soaring gently over the treetops, he kept his grip on Alessa firm, so as not to make her afraid that he would drop her.
"I used to fly my sister around like this," he called to her, above the rush of the wind, veering gently to the right. "So don't worry, I've had practice; I won't let you go."
It was only a few moments until they reached their destination. Ren landed on the school rooftop with a soft thump, his feet quickly sliding into position to keep from falling. He carried Alessa a few feet to the left, then set her down gently. In front of her he had set up a single table, set for two, a candle lit in the center, as well as a larger table to the right, laden with food.
He shifted, somewhat nervous. "Well, er," he said, flushing slightly. "Shall we have dinner..?"
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Posted: Sun Feb 06, 2011 5:44 pm
He had really remembered that time when she'd made an off-handed comment about liking orchids? She was surprised, and flattered, because even she only remembered now that he mentioned it. She found she couldn't chase the color from her cheeks, not when he was being so terribly charming. She had no idea he was nervous and had someone told hr so she would have thought they were lying. "Well, thank you," she said sincerely, though she added in a bit of good humor, "But I do hope I'll be a good ghoulfriend and look at you rather than the orchid all night." She paused on the word 'ghoulfriend' ever so slightly, because the word still let a tingling feeling in her mouth.
Overall she was glad he didn't reply directly to her odd confession, as it must have been awkward and maybe inappropriate, but from what she could tell he hadn't paid it much attention. It was a relief to follow him outside into the cool air, though she gave him an odd, skeptical look when he said to trust him. What was he up-
She squeaked as he lifted her into his arms suddenly. Immediately she lace her hands together behind his neck so that she wouldn't fall backwards as he held her. She opened her mouth to ask her why, why he had picked her up like that when she felt the beat of his wings and realized what he was going to do. Breathless with a small stab of fear, all she could do was cling tightly to him as they took off into the air."Oh Jack, oh Jack, oh Jack," she whispered under her voice, her heart humming uncomfortably in her chest. She'd never been flying before...well, that was a lie. She'd been picked up by a hawk once as a rabbit. She was lucky enough to have bitten its foot quick enough, for if she had waited much longer the drop might have broken some bones. Or her neck. But as they flew her tension slowly began to fade, because she could feel Ren's heartbeat close to hers and the warmth of his embrace was comforting. Looking down, the view was nothing like when she'd been carried off that day. By the time they reached the roof top she seemed breathless again, but this time pleasantly so.
She took a few moments to catch her breath, though it was hard to do so while looking at the spread before her. Her heart did a bit of a back flip, because she had never expected something so...so romantic. Not that Ren wasn't romantic, no, it was more that she had never really thought that the things that happened in the romance novels she read secretly between her text books actually happened to people. Her eyes shown a bit in the dim light, but she didn't cry. "Oh, Ren, how did you...I...you...It's just beautiful." She finally pulled her eyes away from it all to look directly at him, smiling. "Yes, let's."
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Posted: Sun Feb 06, 2011 6:01 pm
He hadn't exactly heard the "ghoulfriend" comment; or maybe he had, and it just hadn't registered yet. What did register was the "look at you rather than the orchid all night," and a pleasant sort of warmth thrummed through Ren's veins. Her small, slender hands around his neck felt nice, as did the feel of her hugging him, obviously afraid as he flew. But he could feel the tension in her back relaxing, heard the soft breath of a small gasp as she took in the sights, the sounds. Once he had set her down again, he caught the surprise in her eyes, the breathless happiness. It made him feel stupidly pleased inside, as if he had managed to do something right.
"I, er," said Ren, shifting from one foot to the other, face flushed. "I know - I know it's a little cheesy, but...this is dinner. For us, that is."
He was trying to keep up his normally calm, easygoing nature, but it was difficult when he was vaguely nervous that she would suddenly turn around and reject him, tell him it was all just a game, that she wasn't really interested in dating him. Not that she even seemed the type to do something like that, but having dealt with similar situations growing up, all of the facades and fake smiles that he had seen from his family, he had grown used to the little games often played. So this time, he hoped (very fervently) that the night would go well.
Reaching out, Ren took Alessa's hand lightly, leading her to the table. He pulled out her chair, bowing with an exaggerated flourish - "Please have a seat, milady~" - before moving towards the other table. He lifted the lids of a few dishes, sliding two salads first; one in front of Alessa, then one in front of himself, slipping into his own seat.
"Oh," he said, catching himself. "Almost forgot!"
Leaning over, Ren picked up the bottle of sparkling water from the table (anything stronger seemed too forward and not nearly as romantic; he had not wanted this to be seen as a quicky date for other reasons) and poured some into both of their glasses. Then he raised his own towards hers.
"A toast," he said, tilting his head and grinning playfully at her. "- to the lovely Alessa and the fact that she actually agreed to go out with me, for reasons that are beyond my knowledge."
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Posted: Sun Feb 06, 2011 8:07 pm
"It's not cheesy," she told him warmly, her voice as flushed as her words. "It's lovely. And sweet." When he took her hand hand to lead her to her seat, she was sure to squeeze it with affection. If her words weren't enough, she hoped the touch was enough to convince him. When he pulled out her chair she sat and smoothed her skirt. She waited there, watching him with affection as he got everything together. She could tell he was trying so hard to impress her, even if she couldn't see his nervousness about doing it.
She took her glass when he handed it to her, lifting it at his beckoning for a toast. When he finally said what it was for, though, a little worried frown touched her lips and she diverted her gaze down to her glass. She seemed embarrassed too. "You really shouldn't say that. I'm sure there are a multitude of ghouls who'd love to go out with you. If anything, I'm the one who's lucky." She paused and then ran her finger along the rim of the glass, looking very very sheepish. "I've never been out with anyone before. I wasn't very popular back home." She didn't mention that, well, she wasn't popular with anyone below the age of 40, as in her culture little herbivores like her only found older men who's wives at died, at least if they married within the nagual structure. The thought always made her stomach turn.
She sighed, and let a smile flutter back onto her lips, shyly, "How about...a toast to finding each other?"
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Posted: Sun Feb 06, 2011 8:47 pm
Ren felt as if his face were redder than it should have been. He was ridiculously pleased that Alessa didn't find dinner on the rooftop cheesy or overdone. Having wanted to plan something relatively special, it had been difficult to come up with something that wasn't too cliche. However, it seemed as if she was happy, and that in turn made him happy.
He raised an eyebrow. "I shouldn't?" he repeated, glass still raised as he regarded her curiously. An embarrassed blush touched his cheeks, and he shook his head. "No, no," he answered quickly, laughing a bit. "I'm certain that's not true. I'm a lazy gryphon who loves to sleep and has a habit of pulling pranks and talking back. Not exactly prime boilfriend material right there."
Tilting his head, Ren let his eyes linger on Alessa's face for a moment, almost studying her. "Being popular is overrated anyway," he said, giving her a smile. "Besides, I never went for the 'popular' ghouls. Too much drama to deal with right there, plus they're not nearly as beautiful as the 'less' popular ghouls," he added with a teasing wink.
"And," Ren said softly, clinking his glass with hers. "I'll drink to that."
He took a sip of the water, feeling warm and pleased as he began in on his salad. The meal wasn't elaborate by any means; just a simple two course dinner plus dessert, so he hoped it would be enough to make her happy.
"So tell me," Ren said, sticking a bite of lettuce into his mouth. "What do you think of Amityville so far?"
It was a mundane question, a boring one, but he was honestly curious as to her answer.
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Posted: Wed Feb 09, 2011 5:30 pm
Alessa wanted to protest, to tell him that he was far better boyfriend material than she thought even existed outside of stories, but she decided against it, mainly because she didn't want to argue with him when he'd set them up so nicely here. She knew he wouldn't take it personally if she did and she knew he wouldn't take it as an argument, but that was exactly why she didn't want to do it. It was silly and she'd only feel guilty after, even if what she wanted to say was true. Another time, perhaps.
She did say, however, in response, "Well, if you're not prime boilfriend material, I think I prefer to have a lousy boilfriend."She said it with a bit of a stubborn flush to her face, though she was following along his tone and his joke. She wouldn't argue tonight, but she was hardly one to keep her mouth shut.
After their glasses chimed together, she took a sip and then began to sift through her salad slowly with her fork. She made sure to only take small bites, self-conscious about when she might need to speak and not wanting to have her mouth full. It served her well enough, because when he asked her about school, she was able to answer relatively quickly.
"I'm really loving it. I suppose I should feel bad, but I don't really miss..." she paused, as she'd almost said 'home', but she'd never really had one set one before. "...the places I lived before," she finally finished. "And you? Are you liking it?"
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Posted: Wed Feb 09, 2011 6:05 pm
Ren felt his face tinge a bit red. He hastily looked down at his rapidly diminishing salad, a silly sort of warmth spreading throughout him. "I, er..." he said, forking a bit of lettuce into his mouth. He was going to protest, tell her that he wasn't good boilfriend material, that he was lazy and talked back too much, that he had a terrible time paying attention in class and had gotten kicked out of more than one for napping. However, he swallowed back the automatic response, settling instead for a quiet "Thank you" instead.
Finished with the salad, Ren set his fork down, waiting until Alessa finished before he stood, gathering their empty plates up. "I'm glad you love it," he said, smiling down at her as he set the plates on the other table. His expression flickered slightly, catching the hesitance in her voice, but he didn't press it. "I like it quite a bit more than I had thought I would," he answered, uncovering the second portion of their meal. Ren hoped that she liked pasta; it had seemed like a safe choice, since he did not eat meat and he did not want to make her uncomfortable by preparing two separate meals. "Considering that my parents paid me to come here, I like it...quite a bit. I, ah..."
Ren paused, his movements halting just a fraction. His back to her, he quickly schooled his features into his normal laid back, cheerful expression before he turned back around, sliding the plate of buttered pasta in front of her. "Let's just say I don't get along that well with my parents," he said, smiling, and sat back down, tucking his napkin into his lap.
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Posted: Wed Feb 09, 2011 6:39 pm
They were even and that made Alessa feel content. No need to argue, no need to protest. If he got to say nice, sincere things about her, well, she was allowed to do the same. Her joy was plain on her face, as when he offered thanks she smiled sweetly, a bit of a crinkle to her eyes. She finished her salad with this expression and let him take it away once finished.
"They paid you?" Alessa echoed, sounding surprised, though there was no judgment in her tone. She took a moment to take it in, it seemed, but that was because she felt as if she...well, could understand family troubles. She didn't know what his were and just as she was reluctant to share she guessed he was too. But they shared that, at least, shared a discomfort, a disconnection with their families. She felt for him. "Families...are really complicated, aren't they?" was her only response. It was an attempt to bridge the gap, but not push the unpleasant subject she sensed. Tonight was supposed to be sweet, enjoyable, he'd seen to that. She wasn't going to ruin it with heavy talk.
When she watched him go to fetch their next plate, she had a brief moment of uncertainty. She realized she had never, well, told him she was a vegetarian. She was busy trying to come up with an excuse that wouldn't hurt his feelings, when he revealed it was past. Oh, thank Jack. When he was prepared to eat so was she, taking small bites still and keeping her eyes fixed coyly on him across the table.
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Posted: Wed Feb 09, 2011 7:46 pm
"Ah," said Ren, letting out a small laugh as he took a bite of pasta. "Yeah, my parents, they ah...paid me to come to school. I didn't want to, mostly because I figured coming to a school like this would be boring and useless." Ren shrugged, feeling a hint of an embarrassed flush touch his cheeks. "I'm not...I'm not used to anything like this. How I grew up isn't reflective of who I am, or who I want to be, so I thought coming to this school would be something that would be what my parents wanted. Except now..." Ren hesitated a moment, then smiled gently. "Now it's what I want, and not what they want, so things are better."
Ren wondered what his parents would think of Alessa. Not that he had any intention of letting them meet her; he did not particularly want them to know that he was seeing someone. Or maybe he did, and should rub it in their priggish faces, but then it would seem as if he were using Alessa for specific purposes, and that was most definitely not what he was thinking in the slightest, and he did not want her to think any ill of him.
He had made the conversation unintentionally serious. Alessa was frowning slightly, taking small bites of her pasta, and Ren felt somewhat guilty that he had prepared such a boring food. Without really thinking about what he was doing he set his fork down, pushing back his chair and stood, moving over to stand next to her. He held out his hand, taking hers in his and took the fork from her hand.
"Come on," he said, laughing as he pulled her to her feet. "It's too serious; come dance with me."
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Posted: Sun Feb 20, 2011 9:04 pm
"Well, I'm glad you decided you liked it here," she said, dropping her gaze to her plate briefly. She felt a little selfish saying it, but she wanted him to know. "I'd hate to think you'd rather be somewhere else, especially when I really want you here." He hadn't suggested leaving or anything either, but for her, being somewhere where you were miserable implied a need for change. Maybe that just stemmed from the fact that she had been shipping from household to household all her life and the one or two places she'd been happy where the ones she'd stayed in the longest. This school included.
She was just glad he didn't ask about her family. It wasn't that she didn't trust him, it was just that she didn't really know how to explain it. And if he met them, well, they'd seem delightful. She didn't want to say they were bad people and maybe that's what made it so hard. She knew they would have adored him, being a gryffin and all.
Because she was looking at her plate, perhaps shy due to her thoughts and the subject, she hadn't seen him come over. It was only when he took her hand, even taking her fork, that she noticed, and quite suddenly too, blinking wide teal eyes. She let him pull her to her feet, though she seemed surprised, "D-dance? But there's no music..." Not to mention she hadn't much experience dancing, not with anyone anyway. Maybe it showed, because she looked rather bashful about it.
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Posted: Mon Feb 21, 2011 11:19 am
If Ren had thought his face was red before, well, it was now scarlet. "Th..thank you," he managed to get out. He could feel a pleasant hum thrumming through him at her words, and he leaned across the table, peering up at Alessa, a warm smile on his face. "Really," he said softly. "Thank you. I'm glad I'm here too."
He moved back and grinned at her, flashing Alessa a teasing wink. "Plus my being here just means I get to spend time with the lovely ghoul who is sitting across from me."
Or standing, rather, considering that in the next moment Ren had pulled her to her feet, letting out a laugh. "So?" he said, one hand slipping lightly to rest on her waist, the other holding hers gently. "Who says you need music to dance? All you need - "
Ren fell easily into step, leading Alessa forward, then back, " - is the right mood - " He spun her around carefully, his tone light and cheerful. " - the right food - " he nodded towards the table, grinning " - the right idea - "
With a quick step of his foot, Ren pivoted, one arm looping under Alessa's back, his other hand holding her waist as he dipped her slowly, his expression turning serious. He took a step back, pulling her back up, his hand moving from her waist to grip her hand again, holding it against his chest. His arm, however, stayed firmly around her, keeping her close, their faces mere inches apart.
"...and the right partner." he finished, a little bit breathless, mostly from their close proximity. "And believe me, you are...the right partner."
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