Nova Artino is your Worst Nightmare (littlenightmare) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2020-05-13 13:30:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | !complete, caroline forbes, nova artino |
Who: Caroline and Nova
What: Running into one another at Starbucks
When: Recently
Where: A Starbucks
Rating/Warning: Low/none
Status: Complete
It had been a late night for Caroline. But then most nights where she worked events went late. It probably wasn’t the best idea to schedule meetings first thing in the morning, but well that was what coffee was for. She stopped at Starbucks on the way to her office ordering a vanilla cold brew and a went to wait for her drink to be made.
She noticed someone familiar waiting as well. Sarah. Or was it Nova? Caroline wasn’t buying that the person on the network just had one of those faces. She was pretty sure it was the same person from the pre-engagement party. “Hey,” Caroline said large smile on her face. “How did you enjoy the rest of the party?”
If there was one thing that kept Nova going, it was a copious amount of espresso. People liked to divide themselves into night owls or morning people, but Nova was both, and she considered any night where she was getting more than a couple hours of sleep to be a bad one. Early morning trips to Starbucks were a near-daily occurrence for Nova, and she scrolled through her phone while she waited for her quad caramel macchiato, more or less content with the day, until she heard a voice.
Sweet rot. How could Nova’s luck possibly be bad enough that she kept running into this woman? How was she literally everywhere. Nova narrowly avoided the urge to grind her teeth, and then flashed a cheery smile. It was one thing to pretend that she was someone else online - pictures could be misleading - but she knew she wouldn’t get away with it not that they were face to face.
“Oh my god,” Nova gushed, while inside she tried not to gag at this dumb personality that she was somehow stuck with for the rest of the morning. “It was so good. You really know how to throw a party. If I ever get almost engaged, I’ll definitely be calling you, Carrey.” She was pretty sure that wasn’t the woman’s name, but given the fact that she’d assumed she’d never see her again, Nova hadn’t cared enough to commit it to memory.
Caroline was a pro at seeing through bull shit. She can spot someone being fake a mile away. A lot of that probably had to do with how fake she had been in high school. She saw right through that sugary sweetness of the other woman’s voice which was far from sincere.
“Glad it made that much of an impression,” Caroline replied. While her tone was at it’s usual cadence, there was a fake smile plastered on her face. Something else Caroline was a pro at. It was true that the blonde was a fairly happy person, she could usually be found with a warm smile. But there were some occasions where she had to force one, this was one of those times. “It’s Caroline actually,” she added not really offended she just didn’t need anyone going around calling her the wrong name.
Nova shrugged. She really didn’t care what this girls name was. “Well, it was good seeing you again, Caroline,” she said, and just as she was turning away, the barista called “Quad caramel macchiato for Nova.”
Nova’s shoulders tensed.
Caroline’s brow practically shot in the air as the barista called Nova. Which was precisely the name of the girl on the network that looked a hell of a lot like this Sarah. She didn’t say a word though. Just waited to see if Sarah/Nova stepped forward.
Nova grit her teeth and waited, not immediately going toward her drink. Blowing her cover seemed like a bad idea, but maybe Caroline hadn’t even heard of the stolen vase. And she really wanted her coffee. Deciding that Caroline was inconsequential either way, Nova finally stepped forward and grabbed her coffee from the counter.
Caroline hadn’t heard anything about the stolen vase. And while she would rather not have people sneak into her events there was nothing that could be done about it now. She would know better for next time if Sarah-Nova ever showed up at an event again.
Caroline watched as the girl got her coffee, brow still raised. Once she turned back around Caroline cleared her throat before speaking again. “What happened to Sarah?”
“Sarah?” Nova asked, seemingly confused for a moment, and then her expression cleared. “Oh, that. I like to give fake names when I’m drunk,” she said, and shrugged, taking a sip of her macchiato. Ah, sweet, sweet caffeine, how could she get through her day without it? “Bad habit, I guess, but it’s makes it easier when you’re fending off the creeps.”
While her excuse made sense Caroline still wasn’t completely buying it. There had been something off about their entire exchange at the party. Not to mention that it seemed like something for bars, not so much for a pre-engagement party where Nove should know a good amount of people there. But no matter. Caroline went back to her usual sweet demeanor. “Good idea,” she said with a small smile. “I might have to use that one.”
“I’m surprised you haven’t yet,” Nova said. Caroline looked like the type of girl who probably attracted a lot of drunk creeps, and unlike Nova, she was actually old enough to go to bars. It wasn’t Nova’s problem though. Now was the time to make her escape. “See you later, Caroline,” she said with a bit of a wave as she beelined toward the door, hoping very much that she wouldn’t.
“Bye,” Caroline replied still cheerful and letting Nova go. She certainly wasn’t the type to chase someone down. And although she knew something was off it wasn’t worth it. She’d just keep an eye at future events. Caroline waited for the barista to call her name, before she grabbed her coffee and left. Time to get on with her day.