Bennett Neely Bale (bennett_bale) wrote in btvsal, @ 2010-11-01 13:49:00 |
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Entry tags: | neely bale, place: la, tara maclay |
Getting to Know Each Other
Who: Tara and Neely
Where: Chloe's Sugar Shack
When: Saturday Afternoon, 10/30
Tara was flipping through a magazine as she waited for a friend to arrive for some afternoon coffee and school work. They were supposed to do some work for a psychology class that she was in, but she still had a good hour or so before the classmate arrived. She was sipping at a hot chocolate, enjoying the sugary goodness that the Sugar Shack loved to add to all of their stuff when they served it. She hadn't had a chance to hang out with Rachelle lately, since the other girl was busy doing promotional stuff for the album that they released. Since it had immediately been so successful, it had sucked up a lot of her time. She hoped that they would be able to hang out again soon, though.
Neely walked into the Shack then, her hair freshly cut to shoulder-length and straightened, dressed in Sketchers, short-shorts and a white stomach-bearing tank-top. If she heard any kind of news about Patience she didn't show it as she gleefully ordered herself a drink (Poor little Mouse looked ready to have a heart attack...). After collecting her very large coffee with a grin, Neely couldn't help it but frown faintly when she caught a familiar scent and turned around to locate it. As she was prone to do, and would likely never break out of the habit of doing, Neely sat down opposite Tara without asking. "I know you. You're one of Rachelle's friends, right? Tara?"
Tara glanced up when someone started talking to her. "M...me?" she asked, looking around and then realizing that there was no one else near her, so Neely had to be talking to her. "Y...yes, I am. I knew her b...back in San Diego." Rachelle actually helped her realize that being gay was OK.
"Cool," Neely replied. Since old habits died hard, she couldn't helped it but give Tara a once-over. Damn, why did Rachelle have to have stupidly hot friends? "You were at the hospital for her too, weren't you?" She realized.
"Yeah...I made her the protection amulet, actually," Tara said with a slight smile. "She kept complaining that you let her turn into the Blair Witch or something." Tara tried to not put much thought into it.
"Chewbacca, I think," Neely chuckled. "Thank you for being there for her, though. When I couldn't be." She sipped her drink and admitted: "I mentally checked out for a while there."
"I'm not sure I could have handled all that happening to the person I loved as well," Tara told her. She took a sip of her drink as well. "How are things going now? Rachelle's been really busy lately."
"She has been, yeah. I've always been in a mind of it's better to be busy than sit still," especially given some of her nocturnal activities, hm? "You're always welcome to come visit," she offered.
"True," Tara admitted. "I'd love to come and visit...I just wouldn't want to come at an inopportune time," she said. Like during the many times Rachelle and Neely were screwing, for example.
"It... *might* be an idea to call us first. We're kinda still in the honeymoon phase." Which was a surprisingly delicate way for Neely to put it, wasn't it? "And by 'kinda', I mean two or three times a day." ...Sigh. Nevermind.
Tara blushed, her face turning a slight shade of pink. "I w...will keep that in m...mind," she stuttered, looking away for a moment. "So! How is Rachelle's album going? I hear it all over the radio now."
"You're cute when you blush," Neely commented lightly, more of a compliment rather than hitting on the other woman, and okay, maybe she wanted to see how flustered she could make Tara, the evil woman that she was. "They're really going by leaps and bounds, honestly." And she should know, since she was doing their PR. "'Chelle's also plannin' on opening her own sports bar, which should be interesting."
Tara giggled. The idea of Rachelle running any sort of business was just amusing to her. "I can only imagine what will happen when a New York fan walks in there."
"Oh, I'm sure she'll have some colorfully phrased form of abuse for anyone who walks in wearing Yankees gear." Neely smirked, taking a sip of her drink. "Y'know, I'm embarrassed to admit that apart from being her friend, I don't know much about you, Tara."
Tara shrugged. "Well, there's not much to know about me," she said. "If you wanna ask, though, feel free. I'm not terribly exciting."
Neely smiled faintly, wondering if Tara had low self-esteem or just didn't like being the center of attention. "Well, d'you go to college, or work? Or both?"
"Well, I go to school at UCLA. I'm an English major," Tara said. And, for the record, it was a bit of both. "I work at Ashes to Ashes."
"Okay, that's pretty cool. Can't leave too much time for socializing, though." She figured. "Ashes to Ashes... is it a big leap in logic to assume that you're a witch?" Of course, Tara had said that she'd made Rachelle's protection amulet, so, not really.
Tara nodded. "My mother taught me a lot when she was still alive." Her father had been a lot more bearable to live with.
"I'm sorry to hear that she's passed," Neely replied sincerely. While she hadn't spoken to her own mother recently, she couldn't imagine life without her and would be utterly devastated if something happened to her. "But the fact that you're practicing means a lot."
"Thank you," Tara said back to her, giving Neely a slight smile. "Practicing reminds me of her a lot. That's why I kept it up, at least at first." Then she developed a knack for it.
Neely figured why Tara continued and couldn't help it but smile, "That's really nice." She took a sip of her drink and asked: "What about dating? Are you seeing anyone?"
Tara shook her head. "I have a friend that I like, but I'm not even sure she's into girls," she admitted. "How exactly do you figure that out?"
"Ask?" Neely smirked, but realized that that might be a little forward for Tara. "It's possible that SHE doesn't even know that she's into girls. It's always delicate when you're friends beforehand." She sighed and thought on that briefly, "I guess the best thing you can do is be honest with her. Just tell her how you feel, and whether she responds positively or negatively to that... at least you won't be wondering anymore."
Tara thought on what Neely said for a moment before nodding. "Its sound advice. It's j...just getting the cou...courage to do so." That was the difficult part.
"I'd say 'liquid courage is the way to go', but something tells me you're not much of a drinker," Neely smirked. "So what I'll say instead is this: Tell her when you're both somewhere that you've always felt comfortable and safe in. Or somewhere that you've always had positive energy in. And above everything else, just be yourself, because who you are is gorgeous."
"Not much of a drinker, no." Plus, she wouldn't drink before that, anyway. "Telling her somewhere comfortable may be my way to go." Ashes to Ashes would actually work perfectly for that.
"Then do that." Neely smiled. "If she's even HALF as sweet as you are, Tara, then I promise things will work out fine."