Who: Vianne and Terry When: Day 3, 11:00 AM Where: Terry's room
Since the first day she had met Terry and the others, there had been something bothering Vianne. It had been gnawing on the back of her mind through the fight against the monsters that now roamed the city and the cautious steps they were all taking to find a piece of comfort in the hotel. The relatively clean room she had settled herself into afforded her an opportunity to rest. She had showered and picked through the abandoned clothes left in the room's suitcases. Now that she had gotten a chance to relax, she had time to to figure out just why there was an air of familiarity to one of the current hotel occupants.
Vianne moved down the hall in search of the first group to arrive. There was only one man she was looking for, and for once it wasn't to insinuate. She turned the corner from her room and headed to the one that Terry had currently claimed. She knocked on the door and waited with a relaxed pose.
Terry looked up from the window when he heard knocking, startled by the suddenness of it. He hadn't expected anyone to come to him, though he wasn't entirely sure why. He'd been acting as sort of the head of the house in a way, and even though it was more on instinct than anything, people had started coming to him with questions. He stood from the window and smoothed out the button-up shirt he'd found in a piece of luggage the night before, not entirely comfortable in it but clothed and relatively clean -- which counted for quite a lot in his book. He wasn't the type of man to neglect his daily sanitary duties.
Once he'd reached the door he paused, grasped the handle and turned, stepping backward to draw the door back with him. He peered out into the hall with slightly squinted eyes, curious to find out who had come calling on him. "Hi," he said, a half-smile forming without his consent. It had become habit for him many years ago, to smile when greeting someone. "Are you alright...?" This too was becoming instinct, the urge to ask how everyone else was doing. He couldn't have kept it inside if he'd wanted to, not that he had even really realized how easily he'd said it.
"Hello," she greeted, the word coming out as more of a purr than she originally intended. If his habit was to smile, hers was to inspire lust. She straightened slightly at his second question, to show that she was, indeed, fine. "Don't worry, I'm just here to talk." Her dark eyes slid over his shoulder and she nodded to the room behind him, silently asking permission to enter his room.
For all the hell they were enduring, Vianne appeared well-rested and perfect. She never lingered too long on her reflection, well-aware of all that was right and wrong with her, but even she had started to notice a slight transformation. The world was in chaos, and she had become a real beauty within it. She assumed it was only because of all the gore and grime that made her own figure a much more welcoming sight than before.
Terry smiled when she straightened up and responded to him, a small laugh forcing its way out as he took a step to the side. He gestured for her to come in and tilted his head slightly, watching her. She seemed... well, perfect, as far as being well-groomed and dressed was concerned. He wondered where on Earth someone would have the time to do be worried about appearances to that extent, but didn't bother to ask her. He figured everyone had their ways of dealing with stress, and Vianne must have taken that route. Terry was in no place to judge, and didn't have it in him to do it anyway.
"Make yourself at home," he said, the tone light and non-committal. It wasn't really his anyway, aside from that he'd been sleeping here since they'd moved into the hotel. "What'd you wanna talk about?"
Her chocolate eyes scanned the room, noting the occasional piece of clothing or personal belongings that she doubted belonged to Terry. Then again, she had seen some very strange items that had belonged to men. What sort of escort worked with normal customers?
"I wanted to talk about you," she said once she had fully entered the room. She turned to look at the man with a subtle smile on her face. "There is something about you, Terry. Something familiar." She took a step forward, still leaving a comfortable space between them. "I am just trying to figure out what about you has caught my attention, that's all." The smile had turned playful now, she she ducked her eyes, "I hope that's alright with you."
Terry watched Vianne as she looked over the room, glancing around himself as he settled his hands on his hips. He closed the door behind her and turned back when she started speaking again, his gaze intense and curious. The words that came out of her mouth left him grasping to make sense of it, though, and as she continued he found himself not only lost, but mildly intimidated. "You... oh yeah?" he asked, letting out a breathy chuckle. Terry shifted his weight, leaning it on one hip while watching her face. "That's alright, I suppose. It's probably my incredibly charming sense of humor and uhh... all the muscles." He grinned wide, but it there was a soft tinge of bashfulness that crept into the lines in his face, a sort of self-doubt that was fairly well disguised apart from these sparing moments.
His shy nature did not dissuade her from creeping closer. This time, she kept her eyes locked with his as she started to move from comfortable to personal in just a few, small steps. "That must be it," she mused. The tip of her tongue running along the right corner of her lips as she finally broke the gaze to look him over again. "But I think there's something more. What did you used to do before..." She raised her hand and circled it around a couple of times. "Before all of this."
In all the years Terry had spent in his adult life, of all the things he'd done, he had never quite grown accustomed to or gotten good at the dating game. Women were somewhat of a mystery to him at times, unfamiliar, scary. It wasn't anything he couldn't handle, but he had never had a strong female presence in his life. They may as well have been German soldiers for all he really understood about them. When in close quarters with a woman, Terry found himself fumbling to keep up his calmed demeanor, his intellectual gaze dissolving into mild confusion. It was like being taken apart piece by piece, not sure how to react or respond. In a way, it was infuriating. For Terry, the tension wasn't even always necessarily sexual. It was just unusual, out of his league. "I," he started, pausing to clear his throat. His head rose a little, chin up as his brow furrowed slightly. "I taught English at Wayne State University, and piano lessons in my spare time. I've also taken a few recreational classes for myself in Ann Arbor." He shifted his weight again just slightly and asked her, "Any of that sound familiar?"
Vianne had encountered her fair share of unusual as an escort and learned early on how to play along with all of them. It was an immeasurable talent to have as it helped both in and out of the bedroom. She could almost see Terry crumbling before her, and her body language relaxed substantially. She was no longer on the prowl. She had the information she needed now.
"Wayne State... I had a class with you. Some English thing. I only showed up a handful of times," she excused as she stepped away from him to lean back on the dresser. "I wasn't really the schooling type. I wonder where I'd be if I'd have just stuck with it." The question was quick disregarded. Mistakes had been made and she had moved on to bigger and better things. "Thanks. That's all I really needed to know."
"Ah," Terry let out, a bit of laughter bubbling upward from his chest. "I'm glad I was so interesting that you felt compelled to listen to me talk on so many occasions." His tone was teasing, and considering the smirk that grew on his face, it was genuine. He wasn't offended. Had he let it get to him, he would've been a miserable man -- more than he was already, anyway. "I have to admit, I don't really remember you. I'm sorry." He held up his hands, showing his bottom teeth for a brief moment in a gesture of mild apology. "Though, I'm sorry that I don't. You know, considering that now we're stuck together." Terry laughed a little harder at that, relaxing after Vianne had moved back a few paces. He loved the attention, and loved women, but having such a sudden encounter was a lot for him to take in... especially considering the lack of sleep he was currently suffering from.
The following several hours would prove to be no easier either, the thought that he would be helping to carry dead bodies from the hotel weighing on his mind even as they spoke. It wasn't something he was particularly looking forward to, after all.
Vianne was far from the perfect student, and it could have been considered an honor to ever have her in attendance. She may have remembered him, but she had no expectations when it came to remembering her. "Don't worry about it. I'd rather you know me now than remember me as a horrible student with no motivation." Her fingers drummed lightly on the wood of the dresser as she decided where to take this conversation. While she wanted to prolong the memories of an easier time, she knew that there were more important matters at hand.
"I should go," she decided, though she did not move away from the dresser. "There's probably something for me to do." She had yet to really speak with any of the new survivors in the hotel, or even establish a room more to her liking, but she was only reaching for ideas. Vianne was an excellent conversationalist when it came to the lighthearted, unimportant matters in life. Unfortunately, those were gone, and the lingering topics of death and survival were not ones that she wished to bring up.
"I'm sorry," Terry said immediately. His brow drew inward, a worried sort of crease forming along his forehead. "I didn't mean to insult you... I just... when students don't come to class much, I tend to let them be. It isn't my place to judge someone for whether or not they choose to attend my classes." He shifted, hoping he hadn't somehow ruined their budding friendship already. "You don't have to leave just yet if you don't want to... I have work to do in a while, but it isn't an immediate concern."
His apology surprised her and she had to suppress a laugh. "Terry," she began, pushing herself away from the dresser. This time she moved into his personal space just enough to reach out and touch his upper arm. "Don't worry. You didn't offend me. I just thought it'd be best for me to go now that I had the answer I needed. Unless there's something I can do for you?" Her hand lingered a little longer as she looked up at him expectantly.
Terry watched as she pushed herself off of the dresser, blinking once to clear his eyes. The touch on his arm wasn't unwelcome, and he didn't bother moving away. Flashes of imagery that were perhaps less than proper went through his head and he made sure to keep his eyes were they belonged - met with hers. "I don't know," he answered honestly, thinking of all the things yet to be done today. "I just didn't want to chase you off or anything. I'm glad I didn't offend you, though... that would have made things a little rough between us. I guess... I guess we can talk later, though." He couldn't deny that he felt a certain tension right now, his body fairly rigid as he attempted to keep things peaceful. It had been probably far too long since being with somebody, and even though Vianne's subtle suggestions were there, Terry didn't quite feel entirely confident about pursuing anything. Not yet.
"Fair enough," was her simple reply. She dropped her arm and stepped around him to reach the door. "If you need anything, I've claimed 606. Come by sometime." She left with a wink, closing the door behind her. She had to admit she was disappointed. Not in Terry, but with the men around the hotel in general. She was as concerned with survival as any normal person would be, but given the situation, she had hoped there would be someone looking for a little companionship before the end.
"Oh well," she murmured to herself as she took the elevator up to the sixth floor. She was still wary about of stairwells. "It looks like I'm having another cigarette instead."