Waterbending (PRP Aquene)

[Isaiah]

The earphones still dangled off his neck, lightly bumping to the music he loved to listen to on runs and walks.  Isaiah made his way to the coffee shop around the corner that he had his eye on as he made his laps around the block.  Cravings will be cravings, and man his sweet tooth was killing him slowly.  What a gorgeous day to go running though!  Blue skies as far as the eye could see and finally an opportunity to wear shorts instead of the usual suspect running pants.  Before he made his way up to the door, he stopped by the adjacent sidewalk with his arms stretched far above his head, extending his height by way of tippy-toeing.  A couple more sweeping motions of his arms worked their way in before Isaiah bent his upper body forward, placing the palm of his hands flat on the concrete and nearly pressing his torso against his thighs.  Flexible was a mild term to him.  You see, he was kind of a fitness freak.  Long story short, he uses working out to rid his body of the stress and doubt he carries from a life long past.  You could say it was a crutch, though at least it was a healthy one.  However you cannot keep the man apart from his cheat day sweets.  Cinnamon buns were his kryptonite, and he knows by word of a tiny bird that this coffee shop has pastries...  Lord help him. 

Finished up with his stretches, he swung open the door and started scanning the property for crowds of people.  Isaiah didn't mind people, and he surely wasn't phobic of them; he was quite introverted.  The typical fleeting 'thanks you's' and 'pardon me' wouldn't make him curl up in a fetal position and suck his thumb in isolated comfort, but he would much rather spend short stents of time with close friends and family before retiring himself away for the rest of the day to do what he will.  Yet, his will at this point in time was to find a job for his degree he worked so hard to get... for a major he didn't necessarily want.  It certainly was an aggressive conundrum he worked himself into with his whole inability to say no or critique one's ideas with his own questions.  To him, the river flowed in one direction and he couldn't stop it, so he just let's it continue on it's way.  I mean, it hasn't killed him yet so why change?  Again, a lot of this can be pinned to his childhood.  That's a story for another day.

He approached the counter eyeing the display case of goodies that silently screamed his name.  His bright blue eyes widened at the selection of confectionery sin dimly moodlit to attract the customer's attention.  Well score one for the coffee shop because they hooked, lined and sinkered him.  A couple of other patrons stood before him ordering their drinks without notice of the menu that decorated the wall behind the Barista's workstation.  Regulars, surely.  Isaiah needed a moment to glance it all over before setting his heart and mind on one single drink.  How did people make these decisions so easily?!  Look at all the choices!  This is why he wasn't a coffee drinker.  If it wasn't just black, bitter drip coffee he would have to mull it over indecisively for what probably seemed like years.  What with all the toppings and mixers and syrups.  

And that's when he looked down to an empty line between him and the registers.  The people and ordered and gone and he was still stood there like a deer in the headlights.

Perfect.

With a somber smile and a raised hand, he nodded to the customer behind him as if to tell them 'sorry!' and stepped up to the counter.

[Kay]

The usual hustle and bustle that started was like every other. The morning was full of the typical zombie employees trying to start their day, though there to greet them was the cheeriest person that could exist as soon as the sun rose (much to some dismay of many as it was quite a sharp contrast to the expected silence they wanted to wake up slowly). The zombies slowly turned to the busy bees as workers out for lunch hopped in for quick orders and barely paid any mind to the sweet smiles that were given to them. It was only in the afternoons that the little barista started receiving the same cheer she tried to spread to everyone, but of course that was when she was to leave soon. But it never stopped her from trying to get on everyone’s good side.

“Have a great day!” She quipped at the couple as she placed a couple of lattes on the counter, and felt a tap on her shoulder. A co worker nodded their head towards the clock and bright purple eyes glanced up, followed by a sigh. Then a great big smile widened on pale pink lips as she wished her working friend luck as she walked away from the coffee bar and disappeared into the back room to change. Released from its cage of fishnet, long flowing hair of various shades of bright blues and teals rained down to the girl’s hips before being conjured up into a half bun, half ponytail combo to keep it from getting too disastrous. The apron was removed from her slender and white pale body and placed into the designated locker. She then reached down to pull off the black flats from her feet to replace them with purple and white ones, matching the purple summer dress she pulled on after taking off the black work shirt. The only work piece she kept were the teal leggings that ended at her knees. Work Aquene was done, fun Aquene was ready to start the day!

She headed back towards the door to the coffee stations where a co worker handed her an iced drink, a tradition they all did to help those leaving start their day as reward for standing on their feet for hours. She thanked them and began her way out, mind already lost on starting some research work for the paper she needed to do for the aquarium where she spent all her time when she wasn’t here, and forgot to notice the stand in the middle of the floor that separated the line from the entry towards the tables. Again.

Aquene let out a shrill of surprise as her foot caught the base of the stand, iced coffee flying towards the counter as she herself was flung forward to the floor. Hand let go of the cup in desperation to keep her face from smashing into the linoleum, and thankfully didn’t do much besides banging her knees into the ground. She panted for a moment before pushing herself off the floor, pink in her cheeks, and looked up to see that she had managed to splash the contents onto someone.

“Oh! Oh, no. I’m so sorry!” She squeaked, scrambling to get up as her faced started to turn a dark shade of red, and seeing how large the man was that was victim to her clumsiness, shook slightly at the expected anger that was doomed to follow. The barista at the counter had already started rubbing his face in exasperation.

“Aquene I swear. This is the THIRD time this month!”

[Isaiah]

Isaiah was just about to speak up to put in his order when he felt a very cold wetness splash him from his right side. It made him jump slightly and snap his attention to his shirt, padding it as if to make sure that yes... what hit him was indeed wet and cold. That's when he noticed a fair girl with vibrantly colored hair struggling to regain her footing from the coffee shop floor. The blush that was washing over her face was the most he'd ever seen from a person. Quickly forgetting the fact that he had been saturated with frigid caffeinated bean juice, he knelt down his large frame and held out a hand to her. Was she apologizing to him? Her sorrowful outcry wouldn't be needed, but appreciated. Good to know some people still care in this fast-paced world that he lived in today. "Oh! This?-" Isaiah motioned to his now stained neoprene shirt , "Nah don't worry about it. Are you okay?" Should she take his helping hand offer, he would rise to his feet with her and turn to the Barista who got a little clucky with this... Aquene.

"It's fine, it'll wash out.  I just want to make sure she's okay."  Isaiah turned once more to the girl with a raised brow and a lowered head, asking her with body language if she was alright.  "Could I uh... Can I get a couple napkins, please?"  He thought maybe a quick trip in to get a craving killer would be a simple in and out.  Oh well, this is what he get's for going out.

That being said, always take care of those before you before you take care of yourself.  This was more or less Isaiah's mantra that he lived by day-to-day.  Sure he was in good health and took time to himself everyday to make sure it stayed that way, but he was always one to carve into his time of day in lieu of being selfish or uncaring.  Always that little nagging voice in the back of his head making him unsure of other's expectations of him.  This girl was no different.  Though, it's not like he didn't want to in the first place.  He loved helping people.  Seeing people smile and feel comfortable around him was first and foremost with what little time he spent with people in general.  "Aquene... was it?" Trying to reassure himself that he heard her name right by-proxy the snippy clerk.  "That's a really pretty name."  Ohhhh good going, Isaiah.  Way to make yourself an impression.  Get a name from someone that isn't who you're talking to, then telling the stranger that it's pretty.  Good, GOOD.  Not creepy at all.  Hopefully this girl that introduced herself with an ice bath wouldn't be perturbed by his brusque statement.  

As long as she was okay, not hurt and in good spirits then the day was won.  

[Kay]

Aquene had been expecting a shout, or a yell, or a scream or some sort of loud noise to indicate the anger that was completely justified when one was suddenly drenched in freezing sticky liquid. She was however not expecting the large creature to sound surprised and concerned, and her bright eyes widened as the man leaned down with a hand reaching out towards her, palm open to indicate he would like to offer support. The tears that had started to brim at the corner of her eyes were blinked away as she looked at his fingers, and a shivering hand reached out to accept the support. He pulled her up easily and she swayed for a moment, partly from the strength and partly from the confusion of the lack of anger.

The barista at least had the decency to show regret for his outburst in front of a customer, and another started to come around with paper towels to help with cleaning up. Aquene shook her head mentally to bring herself back to the waking world and get over the shock of the sweetness that was oozing from the man who was intimidatingly large.

“Me?! Oh, I’m fine. It’s you who’s drenched right now.” She finally spoke, though she could feel the twinge at both knees from having slammed them into the ground. It was not an unusual pain though. Her tendency for accidents led to her being able to ignore the inflictions she made upon herself.

“What? Oh, yes, that’s me.” She said, then immediately felt her already rich blush darken as he complimented her name. Why was this guy being so darn nice to her? It wasn’t that it was unwelcome in any sense, but she wasn’t prepared for such a good attitude after having your clothes ruined. Speaking of… She reached out for the rolls her co worker held out and tore off a few pieces to hand over to the man as a way to distract herself from the outmost embarrassment she kept feeling.

“I really am sorry about this sir. If there’s anything I can do to make it up…” She paused for a moment then smiled timidly up at him. “Please, let me get your order. On the house. It’s the least I could do!” Clean him up and get him something to try and offset the situation he was in. Hopefully it was a good step towards making the day a little bit brighter.

[Isaiah]

Isaiah was never one to lash out at anyone.  Any situation could be solve with a level head.  This was just a minor incident.  He never could understand those who went livid over something like a spilled drink, there was just nothing to be mad over.  "Oh don't worry about it."  He said dismissively even though he accepted the towels from Aquene.  He took time to blot out some of the stain that adorned before just accepting the fact that it would most likely take a couple washes to get it out.  C'est la vie.  It's not like it completely unraveled and left him half naked and embarrassed in the middle of a crowded shop.  No no, that's a nightmare.  This is a minor inconvenience.  Then she goes and offers to buy him a coffee?  Whoa whoa whoa, as far as Isaiah knew that's what people dating did.  An overthinking mind began to leap from conclusion to conclusion, as happened so often with him in this type of social situation.  This is why he always keeps to himself.  Damn this awkward yet helpful demeanor.  

"Would you?  That's super kind of you!"  He exclaimed flashing a smile.  "I mean, you totally don't have to if you don't want to.  I really shouldn't even be drinking coffee after a run.  Guilty pleasures and such."  Yeah, keep telling yourself that, Isaiah.  You sweet eating monster, you.  Might as well tell her your shoe size and life story while you're at it.  "Are you okay though?  You took a mighty spill there."  Isaiah took a moment to kind of scan her over and make sure she wasn't favoring a limb or anything.  If Aquene was hurt, she was masking it well.  Though, he didn't want to absolutely mull her over to the point of staring.  He already felt creepy enough as it is.  The last thing he needed to do was stare down this small girl and have her retort in a way that would absolutely make him hermit the rest of his life in his place.  Shunned by the dredges of society and banned to isolation for the rest of eternity.  

That's just how his brain worked.  Overload on overtime.

Readjusting his workout shirt so it lay on his frame with no wrinkles anymore, Isaiah tossed the coffee-dampened paper towels into the trash.  He was always so meticulous with little things like wrinkles.  You know, meaningless stuff.  It was more of an asymmetry thing.  He was just neurotic like that; fidgety and helpless.  Blame his Mother for that.  Such a neat freak, always yelling at him to 'straighten up!' and 'clean that off!'  And if he didn't immediately, oh boy did the angry Iranian Mom tone come out.  He never did learn his Mother's language, but that never stopped him from knowing full well that anyone who sounded like that, meant serious business.

Running his hand over the form fitting shirt once more as if to check for injuries, he looked to Aquene with a very soft composure.  "I'm... Isaiah, by the way."

[Kay]

At the excitement the stranger showed towards the girl buying him a drink, Aquene’s own excitement built, and she beamed up at him. Her blush had faded to a light rose rose and she was eternally grateful she was no longer beet faced. Concern for a customer was much more important at this moment than her own comfort zone, and she kept trying to tell her mind that. C’mon blush. Bad blush. Go away blush. Whelp, that didn’t work. It started to come back as he asked about her well being once again and looked her over. The temptation to bring her hands to her cheeks was rising though she resisted, and offered a smile instead as she shook her head. Besides the reddening color on her kneecaps all was well. And really, bruised knees was nothing compared to the obvious staining on his shirt.

“Please, sir, don’t worry about me!” She piped up at him happily, the worry that he would turn angry towards the spilt drink dying away. She grabbed a few more paper towels to hand over to him as he tossed out the first batch in the trash. Might as well get out what he could so he didn’t have to spend his day with discolored clothing.

“Just let me know what you’d like and I’ll get right away.” She looked over at the barista and saw he was grinning at her. She gave him a curious look as he beckoned her over as they waiting for him to let them know what he wanted. “Drinks will be on the house, Aki. Just go sit with him and keep him company as we make them up.” He then chuckled at her and started writing on a pair of cups. An eyebrow rose but she didn’t think much more on it. Makes sense she supposed to make sure the man would be okay.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Isaiah, despite the rather… awkward way of doing it.” She said blithely. “Here, let’s sit down and I’ll grab your drink once it’s ready.” She led him over to a table for two and plopped herself down, sighing mentally. All she wanted was some caffeine in preparation for the essay she needed to start research for. How funny life could be at times.

“You don’t have to be anywhere that requires… less disastrous clothes, do you?” She joked, giggling. She figured with the light atmosphere he brought to them both, it was safe to bring out the chipper side to her charms.

[Isaiah]

Taking her lead, Aquene sat him in a chair and told him not to fret, drinks on the house.  Isaiah was psyched just because the seats were magnificently comfortable.  His legs were still thrumming the tune of soreness, and he aptly took it upon himself to massage them to get the fluid distributed.  He hadn't done the cooldown period quite as long as he wanted to, so he accepted, more or less, that he was going to be a lot more sore tomorrow than usual.  Oh well, it's not all bad?  He inadvertently met someone and got some coffee.  Woohoo social butterfly points!  He'll leave the fact that he was looking forward to a sugary treat more than the coffee out of the conversation.  He didn't necessarily want to seem like a situationally advantageous mooch.  After all, all that happened to him was he got a little wet and he's getting a free drink?  That stuff is like five bucks nowadays isn't it?  Isaiah knew that it wasn't exactly putting the shop out on the streets, but damn.  It's liquid gold, apparently.

"It's all good.  Trust me this is far from disastrous."  A light chuckle would help him release that tension that built up in his shoulders when talking to people for the first time.  They always seemed to scrunch up and become rigid.  Isaiah also had a habit of never really leaning back and getting 100% comfortable, so he leans forward and rests his elbows on his knees, clasping his hands together and entwining his fingers.  Sometimes his leg would bounce up and down like a drummer on crack but this wasn't one of those times.  "I just got done with a workout so I was going to shower soon anyways.  If anything these drabs get tossed on the floor and forgotten for a week."  And boy was he telling the truth.  He could think right now, and know for a fact that at least two days worth of clothes lay strewn about his room absentmindedly.  Once Isaiah is comfy in his home nothing gets done other than procrastination.  

"Were you on your way out?"  He noticed that she was beaming before this whole ordeal happened.  Putting two and two together he surmised that she worked here, and that she had just got off work.  He felt immediately terrible, once again jumping to conclusions, that this was the first thing she dealt with.  What a horrible way to start your off time.  With a big lug waltzing into her store and being the focal point of all... this.  

Bah.

His hair that was done up in a bun felt constrictive, so he untied.  One hand put the band in his shorts pocket while the other let loose his locks.  Jet black and down to his mid-back; he ruffled it as it fell down, draping his deep bronze shoulders.  It was as straight and shiny as could be, refracting the light in the coffee shop and making his hair seem that much darker.  With a quick flick of his head, the strands flew up and around to his left side, exposing his undercut temple. His hair was shaved down on both sides, a more eccentric hair style.  Sometimes it would turn heads, but it was more of a thing that was all about him.  He was skeptical at first of his decision, but he grew to love it.

[Kay]

Aquene watched the man curiously as Isaiah took to massaging his legs, eyebrows raised in question. It was then though that she smelled a hint of sweat mixed with the sugar and caffeine from her spilled drink and noticed the small exhaustion. Looks like he had finished up a workout routine. Eyes blinked as he spoke up, the smile never leaving her lips but she was beaming as he joked back at her, the last of her worry dying away. It was always good to know there wasn’t anything to dread over in awkward situations like this one.

“Hah! I know what you mean. I tend to ruin a lot of clothes from bleach when I go swimming.” She piped up, finding a connection to make things easier between him. They obviously did workouts in very different manners and their bodies showed it, but knowing he wasn’t attached to his clothing because of his regime made her feel a lot better about herself for her clumsiness. Her shoulders finally started to slump as she began to lose the rigid structure she had set for herself in embarrassment.

“Hm?” She pondered, and then it suddenly hit her with wide eyes. She was! “Oh, haha!” She started to laugh and a hand rose to scratch at her head. “I guess I was, wasn’t I? I just got off my shift here actually, but it’s fine!” Hands rose up with a sheepish grin towards him, not wanting him to think that he was suddenly inconveniencing her. “I’m happy to stay and make sure you’re doing okay. Oh, speaking of!”

A barista came over as Isaiah started to loosen the tie in his hair, and the girl’s eyes widened at the hulk of a man that was sitting across from her co worker. Aquene was noticing nothing of course and smiled happily for her new drink, and grabbed the other for the man. She was about to offer up a thanks before the other girl nudged her arm with an elbow and winked, and Aquene could not help but stared dumbfoundingly at her partner before shaking her head and looked to Isaiah to hand him his drink. Eyes then widened at the sudden loose of rich dark hair, and before she could help herself, felt a blush rise again to her cheeks. How many times could a girl blush in a day?! She loved hair as evident from her own long display, and it was a rarity to see others grow theirs out so long.

“Here’s your… drink. I hope you like it.” She said, looking down for a moment as she contained her emotions, though the sheepish grin was still there.

[Isaiah]

Being like he was, Isaiah was a great listener and conversationalist. As long as the subject matter was interesting and he could follow it easily he could talk an ear off. It's not that he would quickly lose interest in anyone, moreso that his mind would wander off elsewhere and make it seem as though he wasn't listening at all. That... could cause issues with a lot of people. As he's learned many a time prior. Man, people can get so up in his ass about stuff like that. Probably was none better that he kind of brushed that stuff off. He was never a confrontational person, but that doesn't mean that it tended to follow him considering his neuroticism and antics.  Luckily in this case, though only having just met this girl, she seemed like a super nice person.  And to boot, she seemed to like swimming!  Was it bad that he was already thinking that she liked to work out, too?  Lay off the conclusive thoughts, Izzy.  

"Thank you so much!" Isaiah exclaimed, taking the drink graciously, he smiled and nodded.  "So you mentioned that you like swimming?  Is that a hobby?"  He tried to dismiss the fact that he totally caught her blush by putting the cup up to his lips and rather daintily taking a caution slp.  Now's not the time to go full blown 3rd degree burn after already putting this poor girl through all this.  Now, it also did not go unnoticed that one of the baristas procuring the drinks for Aquene and Isaiah kinda did a little stare-down session of their own when he let loose the beast on top of his head.  This is what he meant by eye-catcher.  It almost made him want to shave it all off but, he'd be damned if he didn't like his hair.  "It's perfect by the way, thank you so much Aquene!  This was insanely generous of you."  A quick little motion as if toasting his paper cup of coffee towards Aquene before returning it to his lips for another swig.  Toasting with coffee.  Now if that doesn't spell C-L-A-S-S then what does?

He felt horrible nonetheless about keeping her here at all after her work hours.  God how he wished to crawl into a little hole somewhere and weather the mental storm until blue skies came.  This is totally how people deal with these situations all the time right?  Put up a mask so other people feel comfortable around you?  Yeah.  Yeah that's how it works.  "You... You really don't have to stay with me, the last thing I want to do is take up more of your time!"  Isaiah sped up his speech near the end of the sentence like he was being overcome with nerves.  "I'm not the greatest with... I mean I get kinda fumbly bumbly around pretty girls.. I-I mean!!!"  Fumbly bumbly.

FUMBLY BUMBLY.  Good gracious lord in the seven Heavens, Isaiah what the hell are you doing?  Time to shotgun the hot coffee in hopes it just takes you six feet under.

[Kay]

Eyes were still glancing down at her cup but she nodded towards the man. “Yup, though I used to be on the swim team for my school.” Naturally gifted as it was called, paying for a large chunk of her scholarships as she studied her real desire. Course, a little of it may have had to do with her magical heritage, though there wasn’t much need to bring that kind of discussion up to the table. You’ve already shown you’re quite a nut, no need to go and discuss the insanities of magical creatures into the mix.

She finally managed to convince her skin tone to back to normal and looked back up sheepishly, kind eyes swimming at him. This end of her shift may have started in a rather unique way, but it beginning to look up with all the positive attitude this Isaiah kept beaming at her. She took a sip of her iced drink. “You’re very welcome, Isaiah!” Glad to do SOMETHING right for once.

At his stammers about her not having to stay late a hand rose to scratch of her head with a giggle, about to state again that of course it’s not a problem, she was more than happy to try make his day better. But the words never found their way out from her lips, and everything shut down for a few moments. Purple eyes flashed up at him and widened as the phrase pretty girls was thrown out into the air, her expression blanked for in reality was only a couple seconds, but felt so much longer in her head as she processed what he said to her.

Then the bright beet color came back to her cheeks and she strained from trying to cover her face. C’mon girl, say something! A thank you or a laugh to take away from the awkwardness that you kept putting yourself into A boy just called you pretty for crying out loud, you could at least say something like-

“Hah, I’m afraid I’m not much better around cute guys.” Not that. Why did you say that. That was crazy thing to say to a complete stranger you DUMPED COFFEE ON.

“Oh.” The little phrase was just whispered between shaking lips, and for a moment the girl wondered how possible it would be to climb under the table and pretend she didn’t exist. For a moment she did nothing but stare at him with giant eyes and reddened cheeks, afraid to move. Then…

“I just… remembered… I was supposed to be… somewhere!” she quipped, bumping into the table in her need to escape from the words that she let hang in the air, and forgetting her drink, headed immediately for the exit. At this point she was going to need a cold bath to get the blush to cool down. And clear her head. What are you doing you silly seal?!

[Isaiah]

Things got all sorts of awkward to the extreme real quick. Now here this happens, and she calls HIM cute. Well... not directly, but he was pretty sure she had a little bit of a freudian slip like he did just then, and now she's all flustered and itching to get out of there. In some ways he completely understood the feeling, because let's be real. He was kind of feeling it, too. But, he had an incredibly strong urge to just get up and try and stop her? Dude, Isaiah, get over yourself. This ain't no movie where the girl is getting on a plane last minute and you're struggling through oceans of people to stop her at the very last second. Right? So, why was the need to get her attention so damn strong? "Aquene, wait!" He yelped, jolting out of his chair. C'mon man, slow down. Is this really something to pursue?

Yes.

Yes it was. Something in his gut was pulling him along and you know what they say about gut feelings. Hopefully she would concede her retreat and consider his words. But, what words? What exactly was Isaiah going to say to her if he managed to grab her attention? Was this a phone number kind of thing? Wait, was this a... suggestion for a date? What exactly was going on in his head? They've been acquaintances for all of 10 minutes. The way she was blushing, her distinctive hair... It piqued his interest and he wanted to know more about this girl. He was always a shell. A shut in. Maybe now is the time that he broke that shell and finally tried this social thing again after a couple of failed dates and relationships years ago. Most likely he would remain this dopey big guy who keeps to himself, but that was more accepted nowadays.

It all seemed so serendipitous. What with the whole coffee spill thing. Like those far-fetched fairy tales of two star-crossed lovers meet over accidentally touching hands because one of them dropped papers or something. Silly. It was all just too silly.  Surely this wasn't happening to him.  Just another thing that his mind was running away with.  Everything was going a mile a minute anyways, he had no time to gather any thoughts.  Good lord by the time he even caught up with her, he'd just be babbling and stumbling over his own words incoherently like he was having a stroke.  

But it was worth a shot.

Shooting for the stars seems silly. But if you don't, who will?

[Kay]

The pressure of her own anxiety left a ringing in her ears and Aquene did not hear the man yelling out for her as she made her escape out from that building suspension. Her heart was hammering in her chest and every inch of her was shaking. She blinked away tears and rubbed at her heated face, screaming in her mind at how stupid she was. Letting your emotions get the best of you, as usual. And blowing it. Oh, why was her mouth always too fast for her mind? How much she wish she could disappear and not have to deal with the whirlwind of emotions that were starting to make her dizzy.

Whoops the dizziness was real. Aquene slowed not long after clearing the store, leaning against one of the brick buildings on the block and sighed, trying to calm the raging nerves. It wasn’t new for her to go and embarrass herself in front of complete strangers, but it was very new to flirt with a stranger after making a complete fool of herself.

After a few breaths, things started to calm and she could really think things ago. Eyes opened as she realized what she did, running away like a fool. Oh no. She took in a large breath for strength and pushed herself off the wall. Stop feeling sorry for yourself! It was just a slip of the tongue, nothing to cry about. She turned, readying to head back to the cafe and apologize for her outburst.

But he beat her to it. Her eyes widened seeing Isaiah running towards her, and she nearly took a step back in her own uncertainty.

Oh c’mon girl, what’s wrong with you? She stood her ground, and took in a breath as he came up on her. “Isaiah…” She breathed out. What was she going to say? This was all so reactionary and she never felt so out of place in her own body. “I’m sorry.” There we go. Good start. But you need more.

She looked away, but she finally felt a smile spreading on her lips. She let out a chuckle as a hand rubbed at her cheek. “This is all so silly, isn’t it? Gosh do I know how to make a situation ridiculous.” But he went after her anyway. At that thought she glanced up towards him. “…Did you really come out after me?” It wasn’t accusatory, but disbelief.

[Isaiah]

At this point his hair wasn't necessarily agreeing with him after catching up to Aquene. So from his pocket he retrieved his hair band and swooped up the mess into a bun and secured it. It wasn't exactly a moment where looks mattered too much; it was a muscle memory kind of thing. "Don't apologize. I don't know what it is but something was telling me to go after you, yeah." Isaiah's hands quickly found each other in a nervous embrace, his thumbs twiddling with each other. "I... I-I'm not so great with these kinds of things, and it might be completely out of left field but-" C'mon man, you've really put yourself on the spot with this. Just come out and say it, you oaf. "But- and I'm totally okay with a no answer! But, are you... doing anything later? Like, not today later, or maybe today later! I mean, ugh..." Pull it together Isaiah. Sentence structure. Words. Use them. He took a deep breath behind closed eyes and tried to compose himself the best he could. He felt the blood rushing to his head as his own blush started to rose up his darker complexion. Nothing says 'date me' like a messy man-bun, stained workout clothes and a disheveled demeanor. Reminding himself once again that he was totally not cut out for this whole social butterfly thing.

With a shake of his hands at his sides and a little shuffling of his foot, he spoke up. "I guess what I'm trying to say is, maybe you'd like to do something? Together? With me?" Bam. Pin point. Really beat that horse Isaiah, it doesn't look dead enough. See? It moved, and totally not because you're punching it into it's own grave. Not only that but in his head after he said it, it sounded super creepy. He instantly wondered if he came off too strong. Which, had she turned head and beat street he would understand. He was twice her size and it probably looked like he was chasing her down. Everything was falling apart in his mind but not in the real world. Give her a chance to respond.

Give her a chance to convey something that he could tangibly grasp onto, for better or worse. However if she were to accept this offer of... really just a mysterious 'something together,' he should feel over the moon, right? The anxiety was quickly building. Mulling over the fact that he basically just asked a girl out after chasing her out of her work. This really was turning out to be a movie thing. Great. Just how his fragile soul likes to be tested. Poor thing is being held together with soul duct-tape. By now the blush was on high-alert, code red. It was Defcon 1 up in his heart as it began to run up into his throat and proceed to beat out his chest mercilessly.

[Kay]

Aquene could immediately sense the awkward tension as the larger man started to speak, and the hand at her cheek lowered to wring against the other. Her eyes started to tilt downwards but they looked right up at him in shock. Doing anything? Was he…? Surely not. She made too much a fool of herself, why in the world would he want to go and spend any more time with her after the catastrophe that just took place inside the little cafe. She was ready to offer up a sweet smile and let him know that he didn’t need to feel any need to hang with her, it was fine. Embarrassing herself was just part of her life’s routine and he didn’t have to try and fix anything. But the blush that appeared on his face now and the obvious deep breath he took made her stop from saying any of those things, and her eyebrows raised in question. She knew that look because she usually made the same every day. It was a build up for courage.

The girl froze at his question, shock in her eyes as she tried to figure the situation out. It wasn’t a joke, his face and demeanor was serious. But was he serious? You didn’t typically ask for people’s companionship after have been embarrassed by them in public. The more she thought about it though, the less the shock wore off. It was an entirely brief encounter but not once had he shown nothing but concern and sincerity towards her. Why keep doubting it? Everything about this man was intriguing, take a chance girl.

Aquene finally mentally smacked the shock off her face and replaced it was a giant smile with teeth biting her lower lip, a giddy trait she never could let go of.

“Would you like to have dinner tonight, Isaiah?” It would give the two of them enough time to go home and change, and in her case, dunk her head in iced water to cool down all the heat her cheeks refused to let up. And some courage. She could already feel her legs shaking at the bold question, but she pushed her own personal boundaries further. “There’s this great little seafood place I know if you like that sort of thing, hold on.” She lifted up the side of her summer dress to reach a hand into her back pocket and pulled out her phone, pulling up the address. She took a step closer towards him.

“It’s really close to the aquarium! If you’re okay with that.” She tended to go there a lot and knew a lot of the staff already, which set her mind at ease a little at the thought of suddenly taking a stranger for a night out, as nice as he was. She learned from past experience to always have a backup plan.

[Isaiah]

So many things could go wrong, so many things she had all the right to do. Hell a quick slap to the face was just as likely to him as... wait... Did she say dinner? Like, together? Dinner? Hold up, did Isaiah just get a date with a cute girl? Now hold on just an introverted hermit second- How did this all transpire so quickly, over a cup of spilled coffee? Whatever, just, just run with it man. Don't muck it up with some stupid word or last-minute backing out. This is going down. Just shut up for like, a half a second and get it together. Say something. Accept her offer man! Seafood, you love seafood! It's so perfect! "That sounds great!" He quickly pushed out his mouth before he started thinking out loud. The last thing he needed to do was mumble what was on his mind like a drunk guy and scare this darling girl off. "And it's close to an aquarium you said? We can totally like... Visit afterwards if you're down? Or if they're open, I'm actually not too sure I've never been myself but I can imagine-" Rambling. You're rambling Isaiah.

"Ah, sorry I kinda... went on a little tangent there."

He looked down to the ground they stood on for a moment before reaching up to the back of his neck and rubbing it nervously. "Dinner sounds great, Aquene." And for once, the most involuntarily sincere smile spread across his face. One of those smiles that felt so genuine, it was impossible to stop. They just kinda, happen. So infectious and soothing, it really did put the flutter in his chest at ease even if for the briefest of moments. Time enough to get lost in her amazing eyes that resembled the lavender-strewn meadows in contrast to her intriguing yet befittingly beautiful hair color.

Whoa whoa, Isaiah calm down.

You can't seriously be falling for a girl you literally just met. Snap out of it man, you don't believe in that love-at-first-sight nonsense. You have to come at this with a level head. Go out with this girl, have a wonderful dinner, maybe go have a nice walk with her at the aquarium if they're still open. No big deal, right? Okay so then why are your hands shaking and your heart still lodged in your throat? It hasn't been THAT long since your last date hast it? Good lord Izzy, just shut your mind up and go with it, buddy.

He reached down into his shorts pocket and pulled out his phone, unlocking it to his contacts list. "I can give you my phone number if you want?" He asked, gently waving the phone screen at Aquene like she was going to absorb it telepathically. Good going, Isaiah. You really know how to be a huge dork.