WHO: Emma and Ethan WHAT: They're going to lunch and discussing a few things WHERE: Local restaurant WHEN: Backdated to the day of Emma's intense boredom RATING: PG-13 for mild cursing STATUS: Complete
Meeting his best friend for lunch had to be one of the best ways to spend an hour away from his currently driving him to seriously consider suicide work place filled with his idiot boss and other such morons. Ethan had grabbed them a table and made an order for some non alcoholic drinks, knowing exactly what Emma liked to drink, and was currently slumped forward and tugging at the tie he was forced to wear on a day to day basis.
Even his makeup had to be toned down when he worked, even his nail polish removed, apparently none of it was professional enough for a workplace like his. The sooner he got this whole bar slash music venue off the ground the better, he couldn't keep doing what he was doing, not when it was killing him a little bit at a time.
Ethan sat back and tapped his fingers against the table, offering the waitress a charming smile when the drinks came over. "Not ordering just yet, still waiting on my friend." He picked up his diet coke and took a slow sip from it, wondering if the loss of taste was worth the absence of worry about where the calories were going.
What? He worried about his weight, mostly because he'd been a little heavier when he was younger.
Anyone who knew Emma very well was aware that boredom and/or boring things and the vibrant personality that made up who she was as a person didn't mix very well. They were like oil and water...seriously. Never in a million years had she been bored at work, and yet out of the blue, the source for her entertainment had to up and die. Stupid speakers. Still, the chance to see her ever so wonderful best friend for lunch was a good way to make her stop considering ways to off herself behind the counter of the store. Turns out that Casey had been right about the consideration of how to give yourself brain damage with things at work when supreme boredom set in. Emma was more than glad to go to lunch and get the heck out of the store and away from her dumb boss and the even dumber Bird of Paradise. Or rather, Bird of Paradise 3.0, because she'd accidentally overgrown the first and second one with her singing and the freaky plant power thing.
She was quite a vibrant sight as she made her way to the usual spot. Bright red wavy hair with newly added purple and blue accents, not to mention the in-your-face colors of her normal wardrobe. She was lucky that her work didn't make her dress all stuffy and dumb. Boss man was pretty lax on the dress code as long as you didn't dress like a slut and remembered to wear your nametag. Thus, she fit in just fine. And did she really care if anyone else didn't think it was professional? No. Not a bit.
It wasn't hard to notice the usual looks she got when she walked in the door. Yes, she was fully aware that red, blue and purple were not natural hair colors, but she was not aware that it was any reason to gawk. There had to be more interesting things to look at. You know...maybe. Emma didn't let it distract her too much as she spotted Ethan and went to go sit down across from him. "Let me guess...Diet Coke?" she asked with a cheshire grin. "I swear to you that the real thing is better, even with a couple extra calories." It was just a little tease, not meant for real. She saw that he'd already ordered her Dr. Pepper, her favorite. It was nice having a friend who knew you so well.
Ethan offered Emma a stunning smile, one complete with dimples and crinkles in the corner of both eyes, and just laughed. "Well I'm sorry but some of us? Have to watch our weight." He winked at Emma a second later and then gestured. "I didn't order, wasn't sure what you were in the mood to eat."
He pulled on the tie again and shifted the way the collar sat around his neck, hating how suffocating it was and how he could never be totally comfortable in a shirt and tie. Granted he had to tone a lot of himself down for work, but his hair? His hair was still totally fabulous.
"Oh," he muttered after a second as he reached into his jacket, producing his Ipod and earphones. "Here, figured you could do with these more than me."
Ethan's smile was contagious and she couldn't help but smile even more. And she also loved his dimples, no matter how much she might have poked fun at him about it before. "I'm pretty sure I have to watch my weight way more than you. You look fabulous, just like you always do." And that was the truth. If either of the two of them had to worry too much about calories going places, it would have been her. "Okay. To be honest I don't even know what I'm in the mood to eat yet. My mind's just getting back to working after so much music withdrawal."
She noticed him fussing with the tie and the collar of his shirt. Poor thing. Stuffy clothes, no matter how good he looked in them, just didn't suit him. It might have been at least a little bit better if there wasn't any toning down of the makeup or the nail polish. Sadly, that didn't work out. But at least he got to keep his hair just as awesome as always.
When he produced his Ipod and earphones from his jacket pocket, she kind of wanted give him a really big hug. Because he was literally a life-saver. She took them from him with a laugh. "You have no idea how much of a life-saver you are right now. Because I would have literally died without music for the rest of the day." Music was like air for her, pretty much. Completely necessary. "How lucky am I to have a best friend like you? Pretty damn lucky, I have to say."
Ethan rubbed his thumb back and forth across the condensation gathering on the side of his glass. "Couple hours without music and you're like a wilted plant. You'd die in my job and that? That would not be a good thing."
He tilted his head to get a good look at her and smirked. "God, I wish I could have my hair all the colours I wanted it. I'm always so jealous of you and your multicoloured hair. Maybe one day I'll have a job where I can be as colourful as I want to be."
Ethan chuckled quietly and pushed the Ipod in Emma's direction. "Yeah, very lucky, sweetheart. Take good care of it and consider it yours until you can find your own."
"Um, yeah. Music is basically the same as air, food and water for me. Without it I wilt, and then proceed to keel over and die. And yes," she said with a bit of a smirk, "Me dying would not be a good thing. After all, who would be around to poke fun at you and tell you that normal Coke is okay to drink."
Even if they were just best friends, there was nothing wrong with taking notice of how good he looked when he smirked. She just had an attractive best friend! "Jealous of this messy mop of red?" she asked, fluffing out her hair a bit. "I suppose the color scheme is good, but it'd be better if I had better hair, I have to say." Emma shrugged a little bit. "But you, on the other hand, would look fantastic with multicolored hair. I hope you get that job you can be colorful for, because that would be totally awesome."
She tucked the Ipod into her bag that was slung over her shoulder. "I will take care of it, you've got my word. I'll probably have it back to you soon though, once I actually find mine in the explosion of stuff that is my place." Emma rolled her eyes a bit at the thought of the abyss that was her room. It'd take her a bit to find her Ipod in that mess. "Anyway...how've you been today? Besides not enjoying the shirt and tie business."
Ethan would have rolled his eyes at his best friend's dramatics, but was well aware of how serious she was being about the whole music thing. "I'm sure I could find somebody," he teased with another smirk that he softened with a laugh a second later.
His hand strayed to his hair and ran through the strands as he considered the colour. "God, I hope so. I'm not sure how much longer I can put up with this office crap. I mean I caught people having a conversation about how the water cooler wasn't cool enough so it meant their water wasn't cold enough. I mean, what the fuck?"
Ethan shrugged his shoulders and took a sip from his diet coke. "I'm alright, looking forward to the end of the day, but okay. I'm..." He bit his lower lip and then decided to hell with it, Emma was his best friend after all. "Thinking about seriously starting my own business. You know use the money I got from my last show."
Even if her words were pretty dramatic, they were true. Music was extremely important to Emma to the point that living without it would royally suck. But she couldn't very well die from lack of music, because then she wouldn't have Ethan to pal around with. "Not somebody as awesome as me, though."
She nodded her understanding at his less-than-enthusiasm for his job. Office jobs were definitely the worst. Which was why she'd done everything she could to keep from sitting behind a desk for her money. When Ethan mentioned the water cooler conversation, there was no helping the face that she made. What in the hell was that? "Seriously? Who the hell does that?" Well, she sort of knew the answer. "Those people must be so boring..."
By that point, she'd already drank almost half her glass of Dr. Pepper. What could she say? Soda was good! "I don't blame you for looking forward to the end of the day. Actually, I'd be concerned if you weren't," she said with a tiny bit of a chuckle. Seeing the way the he bit his lower lip, she was instantly curious about what he was going to say next, if he was going to say anything at all. What he did end up saying, though, was out of left field for her. He'd never mentioned wanting to start his own business before...at least, she didn't think.
Her expression was intrigued. "What kind of business?"
Ethan was silent for a moment before he tipped his head and looked at Emma through ridiculously long lashes. "Bar with an open mic, dancefloor, maybe a pool table or two, art on the walls. That sort of thing. I've looked at this place near the water and I'm thinking it's perfect for what I want to do, but it's a big deal and I'm kinda..." He hated to admit this outloud, but this was Emma, if he couldn't tell her his insecurities and doubts then who could he tell? "Nervous."
He breathed out and leaned back, stretching long legs out beneath the table. "I'm just tired of having to follow somebody else's rules and not enjoying my job. Plus I've seriously contemplated committing suicide in various shapes and forms in the last week so I'm thinking that's a sign that I need to move on."
"You remember Casey?"
Emma waited to hear the answer to her question, though Ethan was silent for a bit. Then, however, he was tipping his head and looking at her like he wanted to talk. So, he was contemplating opening a bar? That wasn't something he'd ever talked about before, but the idea was really cool. "That sounds totally awesome, actually," she said with a smile. A nice place near the water, music, dancing and art. It actually sounded like her kind of place to be. Her smile sort of faded, though, when he said that he was nervous. That wasn't something that she heard from him often at all. "Well, it makes sense to be nervous. I mean...that sort of thing is more than enough reason to be nervous. It's a big change."
She brought her legs up underneath her, sitting Indian style. It was something that she did when she was sitting and listening to someone really intently. And Ethan most definitely had her attention. "Yeah, the whole rule thing is a total drag. You're the kind of guy who shouldn't have to follow anyone else's dumb rules anyway. And I don't think I really have to mention that thoughts of suicide are generally not a good thing," she said. "I think that's a good indicator that moving on is good for you."
When he mentioned Casey, she nodded. "Yeah, we hang out. Why do you ask?"
Ethan noticed the change of posture and smiled, thankful that he had a friend like Emma, a friend that took the time to listen to him no matter how crazy he sounded. "Yeaaaaah," he replied, voice low and word drawled out. "Definitely a good indicator of just how ready I am to move on."
He picked up his drink and took a sip. "I'm gonna hire her to manage the bar given how miserable she is in her job and the years she has of running the coffee shop. She's bright, bubbly, savvy and she's a good friend. But..." Ethan's lips pulled into a disarming smile and his eyes seemed to glitter as he leaned forward. "I will need some people to take to the stage for some open mic nights and I was thinking I might ask a certain someone to be there on opening night to give the crowd a show they'll never forget. What do you say?"
"Ohhhh, well, she's cool. And way smart." Casey was a really cool girl and she had the savvy to run a business, that was for sure. Not to mention keep certain someones from committing heinous acts against themselves just because of a deadly boring day at work. Emma was still pretty glad for that one. It kept her brains inside her head for one more day. And one awesome girl on the planet, at that. Ethan's smile was totally disarming and she was leaning closer over the table without even realizing it. What he was saying, though, actually made her grin from ear to ear. "Um...I say, hell yes! I'd totally love to do that, seriously! But...I'd want you to sing with me. If you want, that is."
Ethan chuckled all low and rough, shifting to lean against the table, folding his arms over one another. "Like I wouldn't want to sing with you, sweetheart. You and I? We make great music together."
He winked at Emma and took a sip from his coke. "You wanna order something to eat?" Not that he was feeling particularly hungry.
It was really hard not to bounce up and down in her chair from excitement, so she settled with drumming brightly painted fingers on the tabletop. No need to be embarrassing, of course. Well...at least not at that particular moment. "I'd be terribly sad if you didn't want to sing with me, you know that." Emma nodded, read and purple waves bouncing. "We make the best music together. I don't think anyone in this town could top us."
She grinned still, fingers still drumming from the excited energy. And Dr. Pepper didn't really need to be added to all that. "I'm suddenly way too excited to eat...but, how about this...we can skip lunch and then I can make you something special for dinner? Whatever you want."
"Yeah?" Ethan asked, catching his lower lip and lifting his eyebrows. "I'm totally up for skipping lunch if you're making dinner later." He fucking loved Emma's cooking, especially as he couldn't cook a slice of toast without nearly burning his entire very expensive studio apartment down. Such a sad state of affairs. It was a miracle he got through college.
He finished off his coke and gestured. "How about taking a walk then?"
"Totally." It wasn't as if Emma wasn't cooking all the time anyway. Her parents were from Argentina, so you had to know how to cook the cultural food. Besides, her mother probably would have disowned her if she'd never learned. "Alright then. Just let me know what you want. The sky's the limit." She loved cooking for Ethan, to be honest. And not just because of her love to cook, but because if she didn't, he'd probably starve to death and/or damage his living space because of his inability to make toast...or anything else, for that matter. How the boy was still alive, she had no clue, but if she ould help out in the culinary department, she was all for it.
A walk sounded pretty good at that point, actually. A way to work off all the sudden energy. "Sounds good to me. Just don't laugh at me if it's hard for me to keep up with your super long strides."
Ethan nodded his head. "I'll be sure to drop you a text as soon as I figure it out." He rose to his feet and pushed his chair under the table, ignoring the way in which the metal salt shaker rattled a little in his wake.
He slid on a pair of shades and held open the door for Emma, following her out. "I'll try to keep the laughter to myself," he remarked with a slow grin, one that bared his teeth and pulled at the dimples in his cheeks.
She was thinking over what she had in the fridge at home already. There were things leftover from when she'd made empanadas the night before and she was pretty sure she'd already bought the ingredients to make Tres Leches cake. Maybe she'd have to throw that in for dessert. She didn't think that she'd made it for him before...
Those thoughts were rattling about in that brightly colored head of hers as she got out of her chair and walked toward the door with Ethan. Her hands were stuffed in the pockets of her jacket as the soles of chunky black boots carried her out the door and outside. "You better. I might have to kick you if you don't," she said, looking up at him and making a face. It wasn't her fault she was so vertically-challenged! And Ethan was so tall in comparison...it just wasn't fair.
"Do you have a timeline for this new business?"
Ethan snorted a little. "You'd kick me? Seriously? Whatever happened to love thy friend?" He nudged her before slinging his arm around her shoulders, leaning down to drop a kiss on her temple. He was always more affectionate with Emma than he was with his other friends, it was a best friend privilege. "I dunno," he admitted with a shrug of his shoulders. "It's going to take a while to setup and everything, but I intend on pushing through the purchase of the building this weekend."
He raked his fingers through his hair and turned his head when an attractive couple walked down the street beside him, smirking a little when the guy turned to look back. Ethan's attention returned to Emma quickly enough. "But then I have to think about how I want the bar to look, if I can afford to hire staff, all those boring details."
"Yes, I would kick you. You know I love you, but you've laughed at me being short a lot and you know it." Still, she chuckled some at the nudge and his arm slinging around her shoulders. The kiss on the temple wasn't exactly expected, but it wasn't unwelcome either. Emma had to move quick to give him her own kiss, though on the cheek, because otherwise, she would have had to get up on her tiptoes. She didn't mind the affection. In her mind, they were allowed to be that affectionate with one another. It was what best friends did. "Wow...that's really quick." But still, really exciting.
She kind of ignored the attractive couple walking by. Why? Because stick-skinny girls who looked like they belonged on fashion magazines tended to bore her unless she knew their personalities. Not to mention that they sometimes made her jealous. Her focus was still on the thoughts in her head until Ethan's attention came back. "It comes with the territory, I'm sure. But you know you've got help if you need it. Or, at least someone to cook your meals if you get too caught up in it." Emma smiled some, nudging his side a bit.
"Mmm, which I appreciate." He'd probably be in need of her culinary skills given that he barely fed himself on a good day let alone a bad one. Max sometimes cooked for him when he asked nicely or looked so pathetic that Max caved. Ethan wasn't ashamed of asking for food, especially when he knew he'd only give himself food poisoning if he tried cooking for himself.
Ethan much like his mother had a singleminded determination when he put his mind to something and this something happened to be opening his own business. Hm, he probably should have mentioned this endeavour to his mother, but after their last meeting he didn't think he wanted to. Some things were better kept to himself.
His eyes slid to his leather watch and he pulled a slight face. "Ugh, I have to head back to work soon."
She couldn't just let him get to be all skin and bones. Her cooking skills were at his disposal if he needed them...and when he needed them. After all, if she left him totally to his own devices, it was very probably that he could have given himself salmonella or something, without even trying. There wasn't anything wrong with asking for food, especially if you had people ready and willing to make it for you.
Emma knew that determined nature of Ethan's, so she had no doubt that he'd be able to pull of this venture. If anyone could, he could. She was so excited to see it happen, there weren't really any words for it. Though she tried her best not to babble on about it and drive him out of his mind. When she saw that face in reaction to the time, Emma couldn't help but sink a little bit. "Aw, really? Already?" She sighed a little bit. Well that sucked.
"Yeah," Ethan remarked with a sigh. "Only get an hour and it always seems to fly when I'm having fun. Drags when I'm surrounded by workmates talking about interior decorating, babies and other such things."
He rummaged through his pockets for his workpass. "But you and me? Dinner later?" It would be great, it always was.
"An hour is really not enough." She pouted the slightest bit. "I need more Ethan time." It probably wasn't fun at all to go back to a workplace where people talked about the most boring things in the history of the world ever. At least she'd been able to save him from it for an hour?
Emma nodded. "Yep, dinner later. And don't forget to tell me what you want so I can have it all ready for you." The prospect of cooking gave her something to look forward to after the rest of the extremely slow day at the store.
Ethan's fingers finally snagged on his workpass and he smiled at Emma as they curled. "Will do, gorgeous." He'd totally mastered the texting under the desk technique whilst listening to people complain at him about everything and anything.
"C'mere," he muttered as he pulled her into a hug before dropping a kiss on her temple. "You take care, alright? Try not to die of boredom and enjoy the music."
The hug and the kiss weren't at all minded. What was a little affection between best friends? She hugged him back, smiling at the kiss on her temple. "I will certainly try my best. As for the music, you know that I'll enjoy that." She poked him once. "And no offing yourself because of the boring people at work, alright? If I can survive, so can you."
"Yes ma'am," Ethan replied with a smirk and a mock salute before turning on his heel to head off in the direction of his work building, work pass in hand. Hopefully the rest of his day wouldn't suck too much, but he wasn't about to hold his breath.
Emma sighed as she watched Ethan walk off. She really didn't want to go back to work, but if she didn't come back, there would be the problem of boring lectures and her boss threatening to fire her one more time. She rolled her eyes as she started the walk back to the store. At least now she'd have music to keep from bashing her brains out on the counter...