- (sonrisa) wrote in doorslogs, @ 2013-02-20 15:54:00 |
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Entry tags: | black canary, renly baratheon |
Who: Dell Van Andal & Eleanor Monarch-Sparke
What: the Relationship of Christmas Past, a.k.a. look, they got along at one point! (Part I of II)
Where: Faculty gathering @ Amory-> car
When: Backdated to the holiday season of 2009
Warnings/Rating: Lots of rationalizing and justification. You’ve been warned.
These faculty gatherings were always strange for Dell. He wasn’t normally permanent faculty - of course, now that he had decided to stay in Atlanta, it was different. There was the usual sea of semi-familiar faces, the hands to shake and names to learn, but just the knowledge that he was going to have to see these people again changed things for him. That, and of course the fact that Eleanor was on his arm. He’d never attended any kind of professional function with a date - at least, not a date he’d been with for any notable period of time. It wasn’t something that worried the man, but it certainly changed things. Christmas decorations lined the walls and Dell wondered if it oughtn’t have been diversified with a few menorahs or something. He and Eleanor arrived sometime into the party - it never was good to be right on time - and it was apparent from the second they walked in, that they were among the youngest people in the room. Dell gave his girlfriend a sidelong glance and a lopsided grin, before striding into the room and leading her along. He did what he usually did - made his way to the refreshment table. It was the easiest place to have a conversation. As he pulled up alongside a dish of holiday cookies and other baked goods, he smiled at the woman who’d been standing there, trying to pick something out herself. He knew her face. (He wasn’t one to forget one, especially one that pretty.) She was someone high up in the economics department. With a sugar cookie in his hand, Dell leaned in toward her to say: “You definitely want a cookie over a brownie.” There was nothing flirtatious or inappropriate about his body language, but he had had to let go of Eleanor. Nell walked into the room fully aware that she was far too young to be there. She thought even Dell was much younger than the rest of the room, but then again, they'd been charmed by his youthful exuberance and brilliance just as much as she had, if not more. She returned the grin he gave her as he pulled her into the room, hers betraying a hint of nervousness as her eyes flicked across the unfamiliar faces they passed. She had been to her fair share of fancy parties since moving to Georgia (in fact, they had become the norm), but never one where she was trying to make a good impression for someone else. Tonight was different. Tonight, any mistake she made would reflect on Dell, and his future in this place, and that made her more nervous than she had been in years. She noticed the comforting warmth of Dell's presence slip away with his hand, and missed it instantly. She hadn't expected him to hold her hand and stay by her side all night long, but then again, she didn't think she'd have to fend for herself so soon. Nell set her jaw and pushed back her shoulders, determined to make the best of it. No one had forced her to accept the invitation, and Eleanor Monarch did not have a reputation for letting people down. With a glance over her shoulder to where Dell was speaking to an attractive colleague, Nell made for the drinks table. There was nothing like a solid pour of liquor to help calm the nerves, or loosen the tongue. Unfortunately there wasn't a drop of booze to be found. "Let me guess," said a voice behind her, "first event with a spouse?" Nell turned to find a tall, blonde man she had never met before. A quick look at his clothes told her that his means went far beyond those of an academic, and that there was a springy, athletic build under that sweater-shirt combination. Not that she was looking, of course. "Boyfriend, actually. How about you? Are you a well-worn veteran of these things? Tell me it gets less nerve-wracking, please." It didn't take long really. A few minutes of inane chatting, some smiles, a lot of flattery and flirting, and Dell could see it in the woman's eye. She would sleep with him if he asked her. Except - he saw her gaze move from him to somewhere across the room. The man glanced over his shoulder to where Eleanor was talking to an exceptionally strapping sort of man Dell didn't know. He frowned slightly, but turned back to face the woman (her name was Catherine). She gave him a terse sort of smile. "Your... wife?" She bit into a snowman-shaped cookie, the frosting sticking to her lipstick. "Girlfriend," Dell heard himself say, and then watched as Catherine's body language changed. It was amazing what such a small word could do. With a smile, the man sucked the sugar off his fingers in a way his mother would have hated. He was done with this conversation. He said his goodbye and moved down the table toward the drinks. There was some kind of bright red punch. Dell looked around the room. He watched Eleanor and the man for a few moments, wondering if he was supposed to go over there or not. Then he saw a face he hadn't seen in a while. It was another professor - also the economics department. She was tall, very shapely, with deep brown hair. Her name was Anna. She was devastatingly beautiful. He'd fucked her a few months ago on a regular basis. Dell caught her eye, offered a smile, then moved across the room to Eleanor. When he approached her from behind, he slid an arm around her waist. "Hello." The strapping young gentleman was a spouse of one of the young faculty members in the finance department, and as it turns out, also quite friendly. Nell was glad she had found someone so friendly and full of helpful advice so early, as she knew none of the people he pointed out in the crowd for her. Each mention came with a helpful factoid or piece of gossip to make them memorable, and Nell found herself relaxing in the man's presence, and actually enjoying herself. "You've only been married to Sarah for 3 years, and you know this much about everyone? Are you sure you're not actually a tabloid writer who got lost on his way to LA?" The man laughed and was just explaining that his job required him to socialize professionally when Nell felt an arm snake around her waist. She started slightly at the unexpected contact, but relaxed when she heard Dell's voice. "Hello, yourself." She said, smiling warmly at her boyfriend. Boyfriend. The word still tasted so new in her mouth. "Dell, have you met Derek Mackie? He's Sarah Chase's husband. He was just giving me the who's who introduction of the department." Dell held his free hand out to Derek Mackie and shook briskly, smiling all the while. (Luckily, he’d actually forgotten to get a drink after spying Anna.) There was nothing overly territorial about the way Dell's arm rested on his girlfriend's waist, but only because the man had learned long ago how to mask these things. He made a sort of 'aha!' face at the mention of Sarah Chase. He knew who she was. He hadn't slept with her, but he knew who she was. It was a shame really. She was quite pretty, petite, and had that sort of air about her that said she liked to have a good time when the glasses came off. Or so Dell imagined. "Now I have," he replied to the 'have you met him?' question, giving Eleanor another small smile, then turning his gaze back to Derek. "And what is he telling you? Anything that might be useful to me?" "Hmm, probably not. I think it's more things to keep the conversation interesting than than useful. I tell you though, I'm definitely going to look at Professor Dvorak in a new light after tonight." At a questioning brow twitch from Derek, she clarified. "I'm getting my MBA at the moment. Professor Dvorak is one of the few people here I actually knew before tonight." The three of them continued discussing other professors for a few minutes (Derek and Nell doing most of the talking), before Derek excused himself to go hunt down his wife. "Well, he was nice." Nell said after he had gone, with a smile. "A lot nicer than the stiff academics I had expected to meet. Not that you seemed to be having any issues." Through her conversation with Derek her eyes and floated back to where Dell had been, and the attractive women that came one after the other. There was the woman in the green dress across the room that had been staring at him as though he was catnip, which served to amuse her more than anything else, especially since Dell hadn't seemed to notice. "Friendly coworkers?" Dell stood and listened, bemused by the banter and conversation that passed between Eleanor and Derek. He watched them, focusing on their body language more than their words, and thusly, nearly missed the reason why the man suddenly departed. He blinked and turned to smirk at his girlfriend, tightening his arm around her waist, before quirking an eyebrow at her exclamation that the other man had been ‘nice.’ “Yes, he was quite nice,” agreed Dell with his usual detached smile. “Very cute too, now that I think on it.” Then, he laughed at Eleanor’s comments about his own interactions thus far. He scratched the back of his head idly and started to walk back toward the punch at the end of the table, but without letting the girl go. He saw Anna still watching him, but ignored her to smile at his girlfriend. “And what is that supposed to mean, Ms. Eleanor?” "Was he?" Nell asked, grinning, "I hadn't noticed." She couldn't tell if that was jealousy she detected behind that ever-so-casual smile, but it amused her to think that it was. Nell wasn't the type to stray, not once she'd made a commitment to be monogamous. And even though their status update was a recent development, Nell was determined to give it her all. That meant that when a sweet, kind, hot man came up and talked to her, her thoughts were allowed to go no further than the conversation at hand. "Especially not after you showed up." Walking in tandem with Dell back towards the drinks table, Nell laughed and gave the hand still around her waist a squeeze (she didn't know what the rule on PDA was in the place and didn't want to offend anyone). "It means that there are a lot of attractive women here, and for some reason I don't understand, they can't take their eyes off of you." Dell licked his lips and raised his eyebrows at Eleanor in a way that displayed his disbelief, when she denied having noticed Derek’s attractiveness, but he said nothing else about it. He just shook his head, still obviously amused. He looked down at her when she squeezed his hand as they reached the end of the table. He relinquished his grip on her to ladle some of the red liquid into a plastic cup. He held it up as if silently asking if she wanted some. He would’ve preferred something with alcohol, but there you go. With a sip from his own cup, he glanced around the room again. People milled here and there. Some stood in little clumps, others apart at the side of the room. But Eleanor was right. There were a lot of women looking his way. Most of them he’d slept with at some point. It was obvious they were trying to figure out who the girl was. “They want to know who you are and why I’m here with you,” he said, shooting Eleanor a knowing look, before letting his eyes stray back to the floor. Anna had her back to him. She was standing with a group of older, gray-haired professors. He just looked at her for a moment before remembering himself. He gave her his sweetest Southern smile. Nell shrugged at the raised eyebrows, but accepted the drink refill. It was still as sweet as the first cup, but it gave her something to do with her hands, and that was a plus. She leaned slightly into his side as he surveyed the room, her eyes following course. Multiple pairs of eyes diverted their attention guiltily when his landed on theirs, and Nell wondered if there wasn't more to the story than what Dell was letting on. "Yes, but why do they care so much? You're obviously not the only one here with a date." It wasn't bothering her, exactly, but she could swear that the woman in green had taken to staring daggers at her. "Did you date someone in your department before me? That might explain some of the hostility." It would be just like a group of coworkers to band together to hate the new date if they felt one of their own had been wronged. Given Dell's charm and what she had gathered about his dating history, it wouldn't be surprising. Once again, Dell’s arm found its familiar perch around Eleanor’s thin waist as she leaned into him. He kissed the top of her head, then sipped his drink as she spoke. He was once again looking out at the sea of professors and educators - and spouses. (He spied Derek heading for what he assumed was the restroom.) After watching the man disappear around a corner, he turned his attention to the girl at his side. “No, I haven’t. Perhaps that’s what’s noteworthy. I’ve never brought anyone to anything like this,” replied Dell coolly, though he could sense some of the tension too. He didn’t usually bring anyone because, well, he had no one to bring - and even if he did, it was much easier to take someone home without a date. But tonight was different, of course, and he and everyone else (it seemed, anyway) knew it. But that wasn’t exactly something you told your girlfriend, was it? He decided to change the subject. He laughed. “It appears your friend Derek has left. What a pity.” "So it's a first for both us, but that doesn't explain the hostility. If you haven't dated anyone here," she paused surveying the room one more time before voicing her theory, "my guess is that someone here has the hots for you real bad. Several somebodys, even." She smiled, amusement lighting her eyes. "Not that I blame them, of course. You're the hottest guy here for miles. Single or otherwise." At the mention of Derek, Nell's eyes searched the crowd, spotting the man's wife in conversation with the department head. "Sarah's still here, I'm sure he'll be back. I think he'd be flattered by how take you are with him," she grinned, her voice teasing. There was something about Dell that many (straight) women liked. He couldn't have said what it was anymore than anyone else. He wasn't the most classically handsome or chiseled, he didn't have a Clark Kent cleft chin or startling blue eyes. But, he didn't question it. Whatever quality it was he had, he just was grateful for it and used it to the best of his ability - often and with great success. So when Nell told him her theory as to the hostility she felt in the room, he just smiled, very blase, and sipped his punch. He let his eyes follow Eleanor's and settled on Sarah's form at the same time. Dell always did have a hard time backing down from a challenge. "Honestly," he broke his gaze and gathered his attention back to look at Eleanor, his voice dry and his expression amused. "You'd think you were trying to make me blush." Nell grinned, mischief evident in the look she gave him. "I'm always trying to make you blush, Dell," she said, leaning close to drop a hand behind him. "One of these days, I'll succeed." Certain that there was nothing between them and the wall except the drinks table, she copped a squeeze. "You'll see." The mischief vanished from her eyes as fast as it had appeared, replaced with wide-eyed innocence. She stepped away from her boyfriend, taking a sip from her glass as she waited for him to respond. "Now, shouldn't you be off kissing up to the senior faculty? I'd offer to help, but they're already looking at me like a student who's crashing their super-secret party." Of course, Dell didn't blush, but he did like watching her try. When Eleanor reached down and squeezed his ass, the man gave his girlfriend a playful, yet disdainful look. "I'm waiting to be wowed," said Dell flatly, but his smile returned as quickly as her expression turned innocent. Walking past Eleanor, he patted her on the ass. "And, yes, probably. Why don't you go be a lady somewhere else." And with that, with his cup of punch in hand, Dell approached Sarah Chase just as she broke away from a group of other professors and greeted her warmly. Under different conditions Nell would have protested that she wasn't a lady, but figured that this wasn't the time or place to be making loud assertions. "I'll get you someday, Dell Van Andel," she said instead, making a promise she intended to keep. She watched him wander off towards some other co-workers before turning to scan the room, looking for someone else who looked as out of place as she felt. Derek was still nowhere to be found, so she finally settled her attention on a professor she had had the previous semester, whose lectures she had enjoyed. If she couldn't be the perfectly polite girlfriend, she would just have to be the perfectly polite student. With one last look over her shoulder to where Dell had fallen into conversation with Sarah Chase, she turned up her smile to 11 and re-introduced herself to the professor. Dell was aware of Eleanor moving behind him. He didn't see where she went off to, but he was all too aware of her being there. Still, he smiled at Sarah, Derek's wife, as she was in the middle of responding to his question as to how her semester was going thus far. He was a very polite listener. He nodded and made sounds of interest when appropriate while drinking his little plastic cup of punch. It was sickly sweet. He probably wouldn't be having any more after this cup. Perhaps there was a bar set up somewhere and he'd missed it. It was quite a large room. "Really I've only heard good things about your lectures. Professor Alexander was effusing about you just the other day," Sarah said, flashing Dell a pretty smile. "I do hope I get to attend one." "Well, I appreciate the high praise. I only hope that if you are able to come, I live up to your expectations," came the response. The man returned the smile. "Care to accompany me to fetch something else to drink? I think I've had my fill of pure sugar with red coloring #23 for the night." Nell, in the meantime, had been making herself quite useful. Her old professor had introduced her to a few of his colleagues and other young guests, some of whom had recognized her name and were immediately interested in the future of Monarch Industries. Nell held court dutifully, making sure to drop Dell's name in every now and again while recapping some of the goings on at her father's company. Soon enough, she was talking to a group of five people, swapping stories back and forth and laughing like old friends. She didn't notice Derek sneak into the conversation until he piped in on a publicity issue, but was delighted that he had stuck around as she'd expected. The crowd eventually dispersed, and after the requisite formalities Nell and Derek were left standing along, shrugging at one another sheepishly. "Your boyfriend has been monopolizing my wife's time," he said, smiling at her, "I thought I should return the favor." Nell grinned. "Of course," she replied, "you've got to do what feels right in these kinds of situations." Sarah and Dell crossed the room together, weaving around the roadblocks of professors should-to-shoulder, until they finally reached a very inconspicuously placed, and darkly lit, temporary bar. Thank God. After they’d both ordered a drink (Wild Turkey for the pair of them), the man leaned against the wood of the bar, propped up by his elbows, as he and Sarah both looked out on the room in a moment of quiet. There was Eleanor - and, oh, look at that, Derek. Dell bit his bottom lip and glanced toward the other man’s wife. They were actually standing in close proximity to one another, but such was the way of faculty gatherings. Dell swirled the contents of his cup briefly before downing it all. He blinked hard, then smiled pleasantly at Sarah. “This is much better. I suppose we should be happy it’s hidden back here. No one to jostle us,” he said lightly as the blank-faced bartender splashed more bourbon into their glasses. Dell swept his eyes back out to the floor. He realized with something of a start that Anna was approaching. He smiled again at Sarah, then turned to the other woman. He bit his lip again. Not out of nervousness. It was just a bad habit. “Ah, good evening, Anna. You’re looking very nice tonight.” “Dell,” was all she said in response. The newcomer’s eyes automatically flicked to Sarah. (God, all the generic names were giving Dell a headache.) The man smiled. “This is Sarah Chas -” “Oh, we know each other,” interjected Sarah with a quick smile. Dell tucked a hand into his pocket and returned the look before throwing his head back to finish off his new glass. He let them talk a moment, then Sarah excused herself to go find her husband. Then it was just Dell and Anna. They looked at one another. Dell smiled lazily. He straightened up, pushing himself off the bar, and moved in closer to the woman in the green dress. “You’re not very subtle, you know,” he said in a soft voice, looking very amused. When Sarah came over to where Derek and she were talking, Nell was glad to make the woman's acquaintance. Both Dell and Derek thought her alright, and Nell was hoping she'd get off on the right leg too. It wasn't until a few minutes into their conversation that Nell looked over Sarah's shoulder at Dell and the woman in green, the latter of whom seemed to be closing in on her boyfriend really fast. She still wasn't worried. From where she could see, Dell's body language still said he was disinterested, even if the other woman's said the exact opposite. But she'd be damned if she wasn't curious. "Random question," Nell finally said, when there was a break in the conversation, "but who's the woman in green talking to Dell?" Under normal circumstances Nell wouldn't have asked something like this to people she had just met, but Derek and Sarah were the two people at the even she felt most comfortable with, and she had no other option. "I think Derek skipped her when he was giving me the highlights tour." Sarah looked over her shoulder, before turning back to Nell wide-eyed. "That's Anna Reyes," she said conspiratorially. "Recently divorced from her old, rich husband, and has been stalking the town for new bait, if you ask me. Everytime we see her, she's with a new, younger guy. In fact," she bit her lip and shared a look with her husband. "Never mind." Nell caught the look that passed between them, and the meaning sent a chill down her spine. "In fact what?" "A few months ago, it looked like Van Andel and her might be a thing. I'm sure it's nothing though," she added quickly. "I'm sure he's just being friendly." "Yeah, just friendly," Nell agreed, although in the pit of her stomach, she suddenly wasn't so sure anymore. “I came here with my girlfriend,” Dell was saying in a whisper, not unkindly, across the room from Eleanor, Derek, and Sarah. He was very close to the woman, their heads bent in toward one another as if sharing a secret - though nothing untoward was happening. The pair had exchanged a few lines after Dell’s accusation, but it still didn’t seem to be sinking in with the woman that, while he would have happily fucked her again, that wasn’t going to be happening at any point in the foreseeable future because Dell had met someone. And it was interesting to watch that mysterious word work its way into the professor’s brain. Girlfriend. She frowned as if he’d said a dirty word. Dell decided to let her sit with that for a moment as he fetched her and him a drink. He held the glass out to her, and she took it, her smile returning to her lips. Dell tipped his glass against hers. “Happy holidays, Anna,” he said finally in a cheerful tone, breaking himself away and giving her a wave. He probably wouldn’t be sleeping with her again after a goodbye like that, but so it goes. With a sigh, Dell then turned his attention to the wide room. It took a little longer than it should have for him to spy his girlfriend halfway toward the door, but he had endured a sudden influx of alcohol, and his mind was still buzzing with memories of Anna. The man shook his head and shouldered his way toward the knot near the door. When he pulled up alongside the little group, he was next to Eleanor, in her adorable - and sexy - outfit, and his arm went around her. "Hi." Nell and the couple had watched the entire exchange with rapt attention, despite their best efforts otherwise. They couldn't hear what was going across the room, but it looked as though Anna had just received some disappointing news. She could feel her lips twist into a satisfied grin, and Nell allowed it, just for a second, before slipping back into a neutral expression. It was a good thing she had reacted when she did, because Dell had turned towards them and crossed the room mere moments later. "Hi, you." she said her hand automatically floating to rest atop his. "What've you got there?" She asked lightly, gesturing towards the cup with her chin. She didn't want him to know that they had been talking about his conversation with Anna, let alone catch on that she had been slightly worried, and distracting him before he could ask what they had been discussing was the best approach. She trusted Sarah and Derek to follow suit. "Don't tell me there's been a bar here the whole time." The strange silence told Dell a conversation had been taking place he wasn’t meant to be a part of. He looked from face to face with a smile until Eleanor asked after his drink. He leaned his head against hers and passed the glass over to the girl, momentarily ignoring Sarah and Derek. “If you want to know so badly, try it,” he said teasingly, squeezing her hand with his. He then turned his eyes back to the other couple. Dell licked his lips, then smiled again, but this time more mischievously. “So...” He let the word hang in the air for a brief, uncomfortable moment. His eyebrows rose innocently. “What did I miss? More gossip?” To Sarah's credit, she recovered from the awkward pause much more gracefully than Nell would have been able to. "Oh you know," she said, shrugging a shoulder, "just catching these two up on Professor Sultana's latest exploits." Nell and Derek nodded, as if to say 'oh that professor sultana, what a cad'. She picked the glass out of Dell's hand, taking a sip before returning it. "It would have helped to have some of that earlier, you know." Nell resisted the urge to ask after the conversation he had been having with Anna Reyes, because she didn't want to be that girl. He had obviously come to find her after that exchange; what more could Nell want? Dell raised his eyebrow at the little group, just a little suspicious, but he let it slide. The body language seemed a just a little too stiff and the silence a little too long, but he could’ve been wrong. He had been before. Whatever. It didn’t matter. Easily, he plucked his glass from Eleanor’s hand and finished the drink. He was suddenly feeling ...rather claustrophobic. It certainly had nothing to do with the thought he might have been the topic of conversation. That would be silly. A little more abruptly than intended, he said his goodbyes to Derek and Sarah. He didn’t wait really for Eleanor to do the same and instead, steered her away lightly. He leaned his head in toward hers after setting his empty glass on the nearest surface they passed. “Let’s go,” was all he said before they made it into the hallway and everything felt like it could breathe again. Dell’s mind buzzed, and had he been most anyone else, he might have been blushing - as he’d just been rather obvious with how he was feeling. As he was not, he just smiled. “That was exciting, wasn’t it?” Nell hadn't been expecting to be pulled away from the conversation so abruptly, but Dell moved so quickly that she had time to do little more than wave at the couple as she left the room. "Oh... alright. That was... rather sudden." She studied Dell's face, trying to figure out what had changed his mind about the party. "I'm ready to go whenever you are, but I was expecting a little warning." He didn't seem to be upset (his grip on her hand was too light), but she could tell that that crowd was starting to get to him. It was fine by her. Anna Reyes had given her yet another death glare as Dell led her out the door, and the sooner Nell put that woman in her rearview mirror, the better. "It was fine," she said at last, as a late reply to his question. The pair of them waited by the coat check for some undergrads to get their coats, before heading out into the night. "Did you have fun?" |