Guava 4: Obvious
Title: Obvious
Main Story: In the Heart
Flavors, Toppings, Extras: Guava 4 (I hope you brought enough for everyone), malt (Summer Challenge 320: “It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson), pocky chain.
Word Count: 700
Rating: PG.
Summary: Everyone can see it.
Notes: Some happy after that last trilogy.
Gina's cell phone rang Für Elise; she set the nail polish down, picked up the phone, flipped it open and said, "Hey, Olivia, what's going on?"
"We're all going out tonight, apparently," Olivia said, sounding rather breathless. "I was wondering if you wanted to come along."
"Depends," Gina said, eying her half-painted toes. "Who's we?"
Olivia began listing, sounding as if she was counting names off on her fingers. "Me, Jake, the Band--" which included Aaron and Lars, apparently-- "Danny, Ivy..."
Gina waited a few more names before she agreed to come.
She didn't want to seem too obvious.
--
"Gina's into Ivy," Olivia said, once she'd hung up.
She'd caught Jake mid-bite; he chewed, swallowed, and said, "Ivy? Really? We're talking about the same girl here, right?"
Olivia shuddered. "Lord, I hope there aren't two of them. Yes, we're talking about the same girl."
Jake considered that for a moment, then pronounced it, "Weird," and returned to eating.
"Don't you even care?" she asked. "Gina might get her heart broken."
"Gina will be fine," he said, twirling spaghetti around his fork. "It's Ivy I'm worried about."
"Ivy's bulletproof," Olivia said. "Gina isn't."
He shook his head, but didn't respond.
--
Aaron eyed his sister suspiciously as they stood outside the bar, waiting for everyone else to show up.
"Is there a particular reason you're dressed up?" he asked.
Ivy glanced self-consciously down at the draped burgandy dress and heels she wore, and put a hand to the chain she'd threaded through her hair. "I'm dressed up?" she asked.
He snorted. "You're a bad liar."
She rolled her eyes, and leaned against the wall. "Maybe I just wanted to look good."
"Uh-huh," Aaron said. "Sorry, I'm not buying it."
The others arrived just then, and he resolved to continue this later.
--
"So what are we celebrating?" Ivy asked, when they'd claimed their table. She was sitting next to Gina, which did not escape Lars.
But everyone looked at him, so he stood and adjusted his lapels importantly. "Today," he intoned, "is Yorkshire Day."
Aaron raised an eyebrow. "Yorkshire Day?"
Lars expounded. "Yorkshire Day is a day set aside to promote the historic English county." And if he sounded like Wikipedia, nobody had to know he was cribbing. "Dated for the historic battle of Minden, about which we don't care, except that the French lost."
"I'll drink to that," Danny said, promptly.
--
Jake couldn't read Gina.
Given what Olivia said about her, knowing what he did about Ivy, he'd thought it best to keep an eye on the pair of them. And while he could definitely tell about Ivy -- the way she sat, moved, and turned towards Gina, nervously judging her reactions-- he could get nothing at all from Gina. She was awkward, but he thought because she was relatively new.
And then Gina looked sidelong at Ivy, under her eyelashes. No one was watching but him, so no one else saw her eyes, just then.
So that's what Olivia meant.
--
Some of the girls went off to dance eventually, Olivia tugging Gina laughingly to her feet, Ivy following them with a toss of her head. In a bit Jake followed them, and shortly thereafter Lars, which left Danny and Aaron, pleasantly buzzed.
"Aren't you going to go?" Aaron asked, after a moment. "Show off your breakdancing."
"Not yet," Danny said. "What's up with Ivy and Gina? They hooking up?"
Aaron shook his head. "Not yet," he said.
She turned to him. "You wanna put money on that?"
"Only if you're betting against," Aaron said.
She thought about it, and declined.
--
"I hope I wasn't too obvious," Ivy said wistfully, walking home.
"Nah," Aaron said, and slung an arm around her shoulders. "You were good. Obvious to me, but I'm your brother."
"It's just that she's so beautiful," Ivy said, ignoring him. "And I'm, you know, me."
Short, fierce, abrasive, not pretty...
"Smart, fast, attractive, and with no alcohol tolerance," Aaron said, and Ivy realized she'd said that out loud.
"Oops," she said. "Maybe the martini was a bit much."
"It's okay," he said, ruffling her hair. "You're still coherent. Ask Gina out."
"I'm not that drunk," she said, and sighed.
Main Story: In the Heart
Flavors, Toppings, Extras: Guava 4 (I hope you brought enough for everyone), malt (Summer Challenge 320: “It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson), pocky chain.
Word Count: 700
Rating: PG.
Summary: Everyone can see it.
Notes: Some happy after that last trilogy.
Gina's cell phone rang Für Elise; she set the nail polish down, picked up the phone, flipped it open and said, "Hey, Olivia, what's going on?"
"We're all going out tonight, apparently," Olivia said, sounding rather breathless. "I was wondering if you wanted to come along."
"Depends," Gina said, eying her half-painted toes. "Who's we?"
Olivia began listing, sounding as if she was counting names off on her fingers. "Me, Jake, the Band--" which included Aaron and Lars, apparently-- "Danny, Ivy..."
Gina waited a few more names before she agreed to come.
She didn't want to seem too obvious.
--
"Gina's into Ivy," Olivia said, once she'd hung up.
She'd caught Jake mid-bite; he chewed, swallowed, and said, "Ivy? Really? We're talking about the same girl here, right?"
Olivia shuddered. "Lord, I hope there aren't two of them. Yes, we're talking about the same girl."
Jake considered that for a moment, then pronounced it, "Weird," and returned to eating.
"Don't you even care?" she asked. "Gina might get her heart broken."
"Gina will be fine," he said, twirling spaghetti around his fork. "It's Ivy I'm worried about."
"Ivy's bulletproof," Olivia said. "Gina isn't."
He shook his head, but didn't respond.
--
Aaron eyed his sister suspiciously as they stood outside the bar, waiting for everyone else to show up.
"Is there a particular reason you're dressed up?" he asked.
Ivy glanced self-consciously down at the draped burgandy dress and heels she wore, and put a hand to the chain she'd threaded through her hair. "I'm dressed up?" she asked.
He snorted. "You're a bad liar."
She rolled her eyes, and leaned against the wall. "Maybe I just wanted to look good."
"Uh-huh," Aaron said. "Sorry, I'm not buying it."
The others arrived just then, and he resolved to continue this later.
--
"So what are we celebrating?" Ivy asked, when they'd claimed their table. She was sitting next to Gina, which did not escape Lars.
But everyone looked at him, so he stood and adjusted his lapels importantly. "Today," he intoned, "is Yorkshire Day."
Aaron raised an eyebrow. "Yorkshire Day?"
Lars expounded. "Yorkshire Day is a day set aside to promote the historic English county." And if he sounded like Wikipedia, nobody had to know he was cribbing. "Dated for the historic battle of Minden, about which we don't care, except that the French lost."
"I'll drink to that," Danny said, promptly.
--
Jake couldn't read Gina.
Given what Olivia said about her, knowing what he did about Ivy, he'd thought it best to keep an eye on the pair of them. And while he could definitely tell about Ivy -- the way she sat, moved, and turned towards Gina, nervously judging her reactions-- he could get nothing at all from Gina. She was awkward, but he thought because she was relatively new.
And then Gina looked sidelong at Ivy, under her eyelashes. No one was watching but him, so no one else saw her eyes, just then.
So that's what Olivia meant.
--
Some of the girls went off to dance eventually, Olivia tugging Gina laughingly to her feet, Ivy following them with a toss of her head. In a bit Jake followed them, and shortly thereafter Lars, which left Danny and Aaron, pleasantly buzzed.
"Aren't you going to go?" Aaron asked, after a moment. "Show off your breakdancing."
"Not yet," Danny said. "What's up with Ivy and Gina? They hooking up?"
Aaron shook his head. "Not yet," he said.
She turned to him. "You wanna put money on that?"
"Only if you're betting against," Aaron said.
She thought about it, and declined.
--
"I hope I wasn't too obvious," Ivy said wistfully, walking home.
"Nah," Aaron said, and slung an arm around her shoulders. "You were good. Obvious to me, but I'm your brother."
"It's just that she's so beautiful," Ivy said, ignoring him. "And I'm, you know, me."
Short, fierce, abrasive, not pretty...
"Smart, fast, attractive, and with no alcohol tolerance," Aaron said, and Ivy realized she'd said that out loud.
"Oops," she said. "Maybe the martini was a bit much."
"It's okay," he said, ruffling her hair. "You're still coherent. Ask Gina out."
"I'm not that drunk," she said, and sighed.