Safe and Sane

Rupert had been on set until the wee hours of the morning. He didn't normally mind night scenes but preferred them when the weather was, well, warmer. He had the day off to make up for it though, so he was contemplating forgiving his director.

He headed toward the club, dressed down in old jeans, a beat up leather jacket and a fedora to shield his face. Once inside, he headed straight for the coffee pot behind the bar.

"Can I get you something?" he asked as someone else approached.

After clearing the plan with Jon, Rupert had messaged Beth to let her know they were good to go. Now he was pacing the length of the living room, unconsciously trying to burn off energy before she arrived. He wanted to be calm. When he was nervous he ended up being either overly charming and smarmy or blunt enough to bludgeon small animals.

The doorbell rang and he took a deep breath as he went to answer the door.

It had been several days since she'd received Rupert's email, and Beth still wasn't quite sure how she felt about it. It probably wasn't terribly good that her first reaction had been relief, which had been rather short lived when she found out that the reporters now viewed her as the abandoned girlfriend and wanted her to sob on their dictaphones. Still, after a week or so, a very unflattering photograph of her in the gutter press complete with headlines claiming she was brokenhearted and an incredibly awkward telephone conversation with her mother, they seemed to lose interest, and she was free to try a cautious telephone call to the number Rupert had given her, drawing the curtains against the few remaining reporters outside and curling up on the sofa to wait and see if he was available to answer.

He was on his way through the common area when he caught sight of a face he thought looked familiar. It took him a second to place it, though, which meant he had to walk backwards from the door to come back. "Oh hey. You're famous. Also really hot. And apparently kinky."

( E-mail to Beth )

Rupert had been back in town since Monday. The producers had been keeping them on a strict schedule, hoping that they could wrap up location filming by the end of the month.

Although Rupert had looked for Beth on campus -- and even thought he'd spotted her once -- he hadn't tried to contact her yet. After the distrastrous present exchange, he wasn't sure he'd be welcomed. It was the same reason he'd hung up the phone every time he'd tried to call her while he'd been away.

He'd deliberately chosen to reappear at the club the day of the munch, knowing that the majority of members would be at the cafe. He'd just intended to check for messages, flip through some lists, but when he saw a familiar face, he sighed in relief.

"Jon," he said with a smile. "How are you? How were your holiday? Can I waylay you for a moment?"

He'd hardly had a moment away from the set as the director and producers tried to make up for lost time but Rupert was determined to see Beth before she flew back to England for the holiday. He was due back at the set later and then the airport, but for now, he was buzzing Beth's bell with his nose. Well, his hands were full of bags!

( To Charlie )


( To Rupert )


( To Gus )


( To John )


( To Jordan )

Filming had been delayed -- and then canceled -- by technically difficulties. It was the second time in a week and rumors were starting to circulate that if the problems continued, shooting would continue through the new year and maybe even further.

Rupert had escaped the set quietly after confirming he was no longer needed for the day. He was now settled in at the club for the afternoon, a bin of envelopes at his feet and the remnants of lunch on the table at his elbow.

"Aww, isn't that sweet," he said. And then shuddered.

Without work to go in for on Friday, Beth was rather lost. There was always, of course, the option of shopping, but the crowds in the streets were frankly rabid and terrifying. After ten fruitless minutes of attempting to get into a shoe shop, she gave up, and retreated to the sanctuary of the club.

Shrugging out of her coat with an appreciative sigh for the warmth, she headed over to the coffee machine, ignoring it entirely to claim a mug, bring a teabag out of her handbag, and unite the two, pouring hot water over the tea bag with a happy sigh.

Beth had hardly been to the club since Hallowe'en. She'd missed both munches, and when she'd visited the club itself, she hadn't stayed for long. Not even sure why, just generally unsettled.

She hadn't seen Rupert, either. Or even Ellie. She'd thrown herself into work, finding more to do when it didn't already exist, reviewing processes, reworking forms, but it came to the point when she really wasn't willing to let herself hide away any longer, no matter what the reason. She'd called Rupert, arranged to meet him at the club, and not let herself go home after church. She had lunch with Ellie in town, and was early at the club, sitting in the common room and sipping a glass of water as she waited for the time she'd arranged to meet Rupert.

It was a party. It was a costume party. There was food, there were traditional Halloween games- bobbing for apples, a place to carve jack o' lanterns and way, way too much candy and junk food. A place to dance. There were also a few open play rooms, set up for groups or exhibitionism, but that wasn't the focus of the night.


There were awards for the best costume, for the scariest, the funniest, the most creative, the sexiest.

There were pumpkins. Mulled cider. Pie. Sweet, scary treats. Long suffering cafe employees dressed in costumes.

Rupert had switched cars with one of his assistants so it was a sedate sedan desperately in need of a washing that pulled up in front of Beth's apartment. Rupert himself was dressed in non-descript slacks, polo, baseball cap and windbreaker. The wine was in a plastic grocery bag. He looked for all the world like some regular Joe coming home after a long day's work.

He rang the bell and waited, keeping an eye out for any cars that might have seen through all the disguise attempts and managed to follow him.

Beth had rather expected to have trouble getting in touch with Rupert. After all, there were security guards around the filming locations, not to mention the random crowds of students who seemed to share the locations telepathically and gather to catch a glimpse of...well. Whoever they wanted to glimpse. She suspected that Rupert was the main attraction.

She'd hardly been at the edge of the crowd for a moment when she caught the eye of an impossibly sleek, groomed, thin woman apparently juggling seven mobile phones and a notebook, who simply nodded and took the note. It was hardly flattering to be told that she'd been allowed close enough to confirm her name simply because she was obviously older than the rest of the groupies, but on the other hand, it did mean that Rupert had thought of her.

And been sure enough of her to expect her to turn up.

Still. The note was left, and Beth was not waiting around to watch the filming. She had work to do. Even if her pace did falter slightly at the sudden burst of noise from over-excited students that very probably indicated that Rupert had made an appearance.

Rupert,

Since lunch the other week was so rudely cut short by my appalling behaviour, I was wondering if you'd let me make it up to you with dinner sometime soon.

Somewhere more private?

Sincerely,
Beth

Who: Beth and Rupert
Where: At the club

Continued from: http://asylums.insanejournal.com/safeandsane/195360.html

( And how do you feel about just having sex with a man who hasn't completed his list? )

Rupert had gotten a tour of the club, nodding and listening carefully as things were explained. His own club in LA was similar but every place had its nuances and differences.

Tour over, he settled in a chair with a coffee, clipboard and checklist. He looked up occasionally when someone walked by, just to see who his fellow members might be.

"Well, well, well," he mumured under his breath when Beth came into the room.

It was one of those days that made people wonder if fall really was arriving. October, yes, but it was balmy, warm, and bright, with a fresh breeze.

The cafe was making the most of the late warmth, with tables available outside, and a selection of chilled confectionery available at the counter along with the usual muffins and cookies. The cheesecakes were proving particularly popular. And creamy.

Rupert wasn't supposed to be on set today but he needed information some of the assistant directors had -- or could get him without much fuss. He finally made his way to the office where Beth worked (with some difficulty; he kept getting asked for autographs) and asked the receptionist there to announce him.

When he caught sight of Beth, he stood, smiled and proferred a huge bouquet of "English" flowers: white roses, double white freesia and white bouvardia, variegated pitt and trailing ivy. He'd made the florist double the size of the normal bouquet.

The weather was pretty temperate, considering that it was headed toward October. Warm days with some cloud cover. That meant the cafe wasn't pulling out the stops to break a heatwave, and it didn't need to worry about the heating bill to keep people warm.

Still, the evenings were sliding toward cool, so they'd broken out all the fancy hot chocolate additions, for the brave, bold, gourmand or just plain curious.

There were small wooden bowls of popcorn on every table and the smell, as well as the sound of more being popped, filled the air.