Quentin James (boycott_love) wrote in light_of_may, @ 2010-01-31 13:29:00 |
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Entry tags: | 2009-07-02, quentin |
It's just past eight and I'm feeling young and reckless
Who: Quentin James and Lia Atherton
When: 12:30 pm
Where: Lia's apartment then out to lunch!
What: Crazy times call for crazy discussions, what else?
It took Quentin a long while to wind down after his phone call to Roxy. Learning his good friend liked girls didn't bother him; it seemed to make sense in its own way. Agreeing to pretend to be her boyfriend so her parents wouldn't find out, however, was completely and totally insane. Quentin wasn't dumb - he knew this was going to blow up in their faces, given enough time. But Roxy had sounded so upset and if he could help her, even just a little, then he was more than willing to do so.
After all, it wasn't like his love life was anything much to talk about. Calista likely had no idea what Quentin felt, so for now he'd take what he could get and enjoy the time he spent with her, regardless of the outcome. He couldn't let himself think it was hopeless already, not when he hadn't known her all that long.
That was precisely why, in times like these, Quentin needed a best friend. Especially when that best friend had apparently found herself a boyfriend since the last time Quentin had talked to her. So, he waited outside Lia's apartment and knocked again, wondering if he was going to have to call her cell to get the elemental to answer the door.
She had slept in after last night. Getting in late wasn't a problem, but it did mean that she was running a little later than she'd intended. Her hair was still a little damp, in waves and she was pulling her tank over her head when she heard the second knock. Dashing to the door, she threw it open and tossed her hair back from her face. "Hey, come in. I'm running like two minutes late."
Stepping back, she let him and shut the door, heading back to her bedroom. "Sorry. Overslept." Sheepishly, she returned from the bathroom a moment later, putting earrings in as she walked. Flip flops that had been abandoned by the door were soon on her feet and she looked up at him. "Hey. So. How are you?" she asked, grinning and standing in front of him.
Quentin chuckled a little, somehow unsurprised that Lia was running a little late. He just found it amusing because usually it was the other way around; he'd actually gotten out of bed when his alarm went off this morning, only because he knew he had to be here. "Don't worry about it, happens to me all the time," he said, kneeling down to pet Cat at his feet. He knew Lia had another one as well, Alwyn, but where he was at the moment Quentin didn't know.
"And I'm good. Things are kind of crazy, but good. I think." Quentin paused, "I hope. Things got a little more complicated since I talked to you yesterday." Complicated didn't even begin to describe it, not really, but it was a start. "And you? Other than running late."
"Sorry, was totally up late doing practically nothing." She shook her head and went to give him a hug. Alwyn was currently being lazy in the bedroom, lounging on the bed, waiting for Lia to leave so he could have a nap. He was a little annoyed because she thought he was getting awfully comfy with Cat and she didn't know what the hell that meant. It was weird.
"More complicated? Is that possible?" Shaking out her waves again, she grabbed her bag. "I'm awesome, actually. Just flustered. I was up late." Leaning in, she whispered to him. "Pretty sure my familiar likes my cat. It feels weird to me."
He hugged her back. It really had been too long since he'd seen Lia, and he missed hanging out with the girl. Of everyone in Scarlet Oak, she was the one who knew most of his secrets. Quentin had never thought about what might happen if Roxy or Calista found out what was in the Painting in his closet, or the circumstances under which he'd painted it.
"You have no idea," he said dryly, shaking his head as he let her go. "I'll explain over lunch. You did pick a place for us to go to lunch, didn't you?" He blinked, turning to look at her with one eyebrow raised, "Lia, I have enough going on concerning people and relationships to add your pets to the mix. I will totally laugh my ass off if something happens and you find out about it, though."
"I did. Which do you like more? Indian or sushi, cause I've been craving both. If not, totally have a back up." Lia smiled and turned, leaning down to pet Cat. "Be good," she told the feline. "And please... just don't do anything with Alwyn. He's a bad influence on you." Cat merely inclined her head and darted off to the bedroom. Yeah, that went well. "Yeah, totally hysterical when I have kittens coming out the wazoo."
Shaking her head, she led him out of the apartment and locked the door behind them. "Wait... relationship stuff? What's going on? You have a girlfriend? Wow, seriously, I suck as a friend to have no idea this was going on."
"Indian. Not in the mood for sushi." Sure, he'd eat the stuff, but at the moment it just wasn't what Quentin had in mind. He normally wasn't a picky eater, but hey, Lia had given him options. "Hey, kittens are adorable," he reminded her, shaking his head as he listened to her talk to her cat. "And maybe I'd even take one off your hands, if it came to that." Would Calista like kittens? Likely, they'd be fluffy and cute and adorable, who wouldn't like that?
Quentin leaned back against the wall, waiting for her to lock the door. "Not technically. It's - complicated. I'll explain over lunch, okay?" Because the whole Roxy situation was something best explained over food, because it would take a while. Maybe they should get sushi after all, he could go for some saki. And he did want to tell Lia about Calista and what was going on there, even if it was just that he had himself a bit of a crush and didn't want to admit it outloud yet.
"If the way they are with each other is any inclination, I'll have a lot of them so..." In truth, Lia has always liked kittens and really wouldn't mind having some around. But still, it felt weird. Maybe it was because she could actually talk to Alwyn and by extension, Cat. She shook her head, deciding that was definitely not something she wanted to think about. At all.
She tilted her head. "Okay." Complicated didn't sound like it was too good but maybe it was. Huh. "Okay, so Indian. Am I driving or are you driving?" She didn't care much, but she was pretty sure her car might still bare a hint of au de sex. Lia had Febreezed it but, at least to her, it still smelt like what she'd been doing with Torque in it the other night.
"Dude. It's creepy the way you keep thinking about it." Quentin was nothing but straight up and honest about that sort of thing, even if it did result in adorable kittens. Even he could admit that kittens were pretty cute. "Hell, you don't know, you could come home to find them just, you know, chilling out. Like regular cats?"
Quentin spun his keys around on his finger, absentmindedly. "I'll drive, just tell me where I'm going. You know me and directions." Boy would get lost trying to find his way out of a paper bag and both of them knew it. And he knew Lia, calling the situation "complicated" meant she would, eventually, ask him what was going on. When she did, he'd tell her, at least as much as he could.
She laughed. "You're right. Ugh, I need a life or something." Lia spent too much time in her apartment. Though she didn't need a job, maybe she should think about getting one part time or finding someone to be a TA for on campus. Something to keep her occupied. "I do not want to think about my cats anymore," she said with a laugh.
Once outside and in his car, she gave him directions to the restaurant she'd found online the night before. Lia was good and didn't ask just yet. Instead, she glanced out the window. "How's your family since everything happened? Everyone okay?" She remembered the demon attacked on his family back home. It made her wonder about her own family a little.
"I have a simple answer to that, don't. And don't worry about what goes on in your apartment when you're not there, either." Not that Quentin was terribly experienced in the art of having pets, since he didn't have any growing up, but he was under the expression that, unless your dog was crazy or something, you could generally leave them at home for a few hours and nothing bad happened.
Taking off from the parking lot, Quentin was glad he had Lia there to navigate, since it meant that they'd get to their destination sooner rather than later, and he was looking forward to food. He hadn't expected her to ask about his family, so Quentin blinked a few times, keeping his eyes on the road. "Yeah. Dad's got people out fixing the docks already, last time I talked to my sister. There's insurance on the marina, of course, but they were trying to figure out if it'll help any. It's not like demon attacks are covered or anything. I'll be honest, I'm glad I'm not there to deal with that bullshit." Because while Quentin wouldn't have a hand in repairing the marina, he'd hear about it. Every freakin' day.
"Don't blame you." Lia couldn't imagine having to deal with something like that. It just seemed like too much to her. Demons aside, having to do that much work and to have the whole family effected just blew her mind. Probably because she hadn't really had anything like that in her life, not with her family.
Directing him to turn into the parking lot, she was out of the car as soon as he'd turned off the engine, excited to have time to hang out with him, especially time when she didn't completely flake out on him. They headed inside and the host sat them near the window. "Don't know about you, but I could probably eat half the menu," she joked as she sat.
"At least someone doesn't." And Quentin left it at that. His mother had asked him a few times if he planned on coming back to Kennebunkport any time soon, "just for a few days," she told him. Maybe Naomi was genuinely worried about him, with demons being about and all, but Quentin wasn't ready to go home just yet. Maybe for the holidays, and then he planned on being back in Scarlet Oak for New Years.
Once they were inside the restaurant, Quentin left his hoodie on the empty chair beside him and cracked open a menu. "I'm a guy, I could normally eat half the menu," he pointed out, turning the waitress to give her his drink order. Just an iced tea; he wasn't planning on doing anything stupid today. "What are you thinking of getting?"
Lia ordered a coke and watched as the waitress went off to get their drinks. "I was thinking Tandori chicken and samosas. I haven't had them in forever." Probably potato samosas, because she'd heard they had really good ones there. Plus there would likely be leftovers and she liked that idea.
Satisfied with her decision, she closed her menu and looked over at him, sipping at her water. "You haven't run into any yourself, right? Demons, I mean." The last thing she wanted to find out what that she hadn't been there when he needed her. He was right; he was one of her best friends here and she wanted to be a good friend, not one that got wrapped up in her own world.
Quentin thought about it for a moment, face scrunching up slightly as he did so. "You know, that sounds good, make it two of those. With potato samosas." Because hell, they sounded good, though he wasn't the one who picked out the restaurant or heard reviews of the place beforehand. Food was food, and it was better when he didn't have to make it for himself.
"Demons? No." Quentin shook his head. "Suppose I've been lucky in that respect. Just the ones hitting the marina, that's all that's happened to me. At least as far as demons are concerned." Without realizing it, the hand near his glass of iced tea twitched, and the straw inside it started to spin in a slow circle. If he had to deal with demons on top of everything else, he'd probably be dead by now.
After they'd ordered their food, menus now gone from in front of them, she rested her hands on the table. They were both lucky to not have had to personally deal with demons. Seeing what happened to Torque was enough to worry her about encountering one of her own. She watched as his straw swirl a little.
Reaching out, she put her hand on his arm. "Are you okay? You seem distracted. What's so complicated now?"
Quentin rubbed at his eyes, looking over at Lia. Of course she was going to ask what was going on with his life. "It's kind of a long story," he said, finally noticing the spinning straw in his glass and reaching out to hold it in place. At least it was only the straw that moved, and not his silverware, too. "So, I've made a few friends since I moved here, nothing wrong with that, just things are, as I said, complicated." He sat back in his chair. "Would you like me to start with the girl I'd like to be dating, or the one who I'm pretending to date?"
Her drink almost went up her nose. That was definitely not what she was expecting. "Um, I don't know?" That was certainly complicated. Lia set down her glass and watched him for a moment. "Girl you're pretending to date first, I guess." That was an interesting concept. It was usually something that was needed to a night at most. She's borrowed Marie's boyfriend for a function that Alex was supposed to go to but didn't. But this sounded a little more serious now.
Watching Lia's reaction was really quite amusing, but Quentin kept from chuckling at her. When he said it like that, yeah, it didn't seem as serious as it actually was, at all. "Her name's Roxy. She's a paramedic, has excellent taste in music, drives like a bat out of hell, seems to think I'm pretty cool." Even though Roxy and Lia had never met each other, there was a chance they would at some point on account of both being his friends, and he figured it was better if he kept the real reason why Roxy needed him to fake this for her hidden - that she was a lesbian. "Anyway, she's dating someone her parents don't approve of and her mom confronted her about it and, well... Roxy told her that, no, she was dating me instead. Apparently I'm a better choice or something? I don't know."
Quentin pulled out his phone to show Lia, "This was last night. I already have three emails from her mom, who found my art website. Apparently they're throwing some big party a few days from now, for the full moon - there's weres in her family - and now I'm going." He paused, "Roxy had invited me before that, but I guess now I'm going as her 'boyfriend.'"
Okay, that kind of covered everything. He thought. Quentin still wasn't sure what to make of the conversation he'd had with Roxy the night before, but their meet up later should get everything figured out.
Lia listened thoughtfully, processing what she was hearing about this Roxy girl. She seemed nice. So Lia didn't understand why she had to pretend Quentin was her boyfriend. The mother bit came out and it made more sense, but still, she didn't seem like the type to date someone bad. Then again, she didn't know this girl at all, so she really shouldn't be judging her at all.
Leaning over, she read the emails and her eyes got a little wider. "Wow, I'm starting to understand why she needed you to be the boyfriend. Yikes!" Over-protective much? "You're a good friend, Quentin. Really. I know if I had a problem, you'd do the same for me." It was interesting that he was fake dating a were and she was dating? one too. "Can I ask what kind of were? I'm just curious about this girl who's stealing you away," she teased a little.
It would have been easier to explain that Roxy was dating a mermaid, whether or not Roxy chose to tell them what Charlene was. The Diaz family would still freak out over the fact that Charlene was a girl, and Roxy had seemed so certain they'd disown her for it, that Quentin agreed to this crazy plan.
"Seriously. She's really happy at the thought that I'm going to be coming to this party." Something he'd once been looking forward to, and still kind of was, but it was going to be a lot more awkward with the current plan in place. "Yeah, that's what she told me. We'll see how it all goes. And her family's all were penguins. So it's a pool party, half humans, half penguins. Go figure, right?"
Huh. She sat back a little and twirled her straw in her drink. "Penguins, huh? That's kind of cool. I didn't know there were were penguins, but very cool." Lia watched him for a moment. "I know you didn't ask for it, but if you want my advice, if you haven't already, you should tell her that she shouldn't keep this up for long. I know I don't know the whole situation but I don't want this to blow up in her face, you know?" The last thing they, Quentin and Roxy, needed was Roxy's mom to find out later on and flip out even more.
Not that she should be giving advice. She wasn't even sure what she and Torque were doing and as much as she wanted to figure it out, she didn't want to be pushy either. She liked the time she got to spend with him, how he made her feel and she didn't want to give that up.
"Neither did I until I saw it, but there you go." Quentin shrugged, sipping at his drink. "And I know this is gonna end bad. There's no way it can end well, you know what I mean? But Roxy's pretty sure her family would disown her and you know me, I'd tell them to suck it up and just deal with it, but she's not me. So she's got my help, for better or worse." Likely it would be worse, but he hadn't actually discussed that with Roxy yet. Maybe she knew something he didn't.
He picked up his straw wrapper and flicked it in her direction - with his fingers, not his powers. "And speaking of weres, what's up with you and Torque, huh? Much more than just friends, I gathered."
Whatever would happen, she'd be there for him. Better than she had been, but she was less likely to be wrapped up in her own little world if he was around, poking her like he had. Sometimes Lia needed the poking.
The wrapper hit her shirt and she looked down before sticking her tongue out at him. His question had her blushing and she took a sip of her drink, trying to collect her words. "Yeah, that's true." Lia looked up and sighed a little. "Other than being more than friends, I'm not sure where this is going. I mean, we both like spending time together. And I love his niece to pieces. She's seriously the cutest thing. More than that..." she trailed off, glancing out the window.
"I honestly have no idea what I'm think or what I'm feeling. I like him. A lot. More than I have liked someone in years. And he makes me happy. I feel good around him. I don't know that we're actually dating per say. We talked about it and we're just seeing where this goes. But it keeps going towards us being together, you know. And I can tell it more than just physical, but I don't know how much more? If that even makes sense. And this is the first time I'm saying any of this out loud and all I know is that I like him and I like being with him and I like what we do together, even if that's just sit on the couch with his niece and watch a movie. I want this to be more but I don't want to push because I know this is new to him, the wanting more." She looked up at him, still a confused as ever, but at least she'd said half of that confusion out loud.
Quentin just gave her a look that clearly said, "What?" Honestly, she was surprised he'd thrown a wrapper at her? Really, Quentin could do much more with his powers if he was thinking about it. At the moment, he wasn't.
"Basing an relationship on the fact that you adore his niece isn't the only factor you should consider, you know that," he told her, leaning forward to rest his chin on his folded hands. "But if he makes you happy, and you like him - I can see that smile, by the way," he made sure to point out, "then what's so wrong with that? Maybe it's not going to last to the point where you get a ring and the kids and the white picket fence, but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy it while it's here." That had always been Quentin's philosophy on relationships. But then again, he wasn't even sure Calista had an inkling about how he felt about her, so maybe he wasn't the one to talk here. "If you want it to be more, I'm sorry, but you're gonna have to tell him. Eventually. Probably soon. Us guys can be kind of thick sometimes." Okay, so really thick. At least he was being honest about it.
She blushed harder, grinning as he pointed out her smile. Lia knew that Torque made her happy. Really happy. When she was ready to talk to him about it being more, she hoped she'd have the courage to do so. As far as she knew, he wasn't seeing anyone else. And she was only seeing him. It felt good, right and she was willing to take the time to see where that went beyond the bedroom. And that spot by the river. And her car. Good thing he wasn't a telepath. "I like him. A lot. Not sure I'm ready to talk to him about it being more though. It's still so new. But it's good right now too, so we'll just see where it goes?" He was very good at snuggling too.
Taking a deep breath, she turned her attention to him. "So what's this about a girl you like too? Aside from you helping your friend Roxy out?"
Having no idea what Lia was thinking (thank god, Quentin really didn't need to have that power attached to him on top of the others), all he had to go on was that blush and that grin. And that said that she liked the boy quite a bit, and who was Quentin to tell her not to pursue that? "Only advice I've got is to take it how it comes, then," he said, with a slight shrug. Of course it was easier to say that when you were talking about someone else's love life, but who was keeping track? "Day by day, you'll know if it's working out." And she'd know if it wasn't, that was the way of things.
The conversation turned back to him and Quentin smirked, sipping at what was left of his drink. "Yeah, that would be Calista," he said. "She's a baker, at this place called Torte di Angeli, sings at open mics on the side. She's... mellow. Kind of spacey." A lot spacey, if he was telling the truth, but Quentin didn't mind. "I just - I like spending time around her. And I'm pretty sure she has no idea."
She nodded. "And I hope that you'll be there, listen when I have no idea what I'm doing." Lia looked out the window, trying to clear her head of the confusion her relationship with Torque. As much as she liked him, liked being with him, not knowing what they were to one another. Taking a deep breath, she turned and smiled at her friend. "Which should be pretty often since I rarely have an idea of what the hell I'm doing." Especially when it came to Torque. After everything she'd been through with Alex, finding a good man was something she hoped she had in the former Marine.
"No idea? Does she have a pulse?" she teased a little. "Or is it because she's spacey as you say?" Lia wanted to know more about this woman. She could tell he did like her. "Well, tell me more. Suppose you think she's attractive?" she teased even more.
"Of course I'll be here to listen, I'd be a shitty friend if I didn't. And I'm of the opinion that no one has any idea what the hell they're doing with these sorts of things, you just do the best you can in the moment." Quentin only knew bits and pieces of Lia's life in New York, that she came from a socialite family and had an ex who was not the greatest guy, to be nice about it. He didn't quite know how he'd help her, if she needed it, but he would. Because she was his friend, and that's what friends did.
"Likely it's because she's spacey," he said. Quentin wouldn't change a thing about Calista, he liked her just the way she was. "But girls have this way of making us think one thing when they're thinking another. I have no idea if she thinks I'm anything more than just a guy she met in a bar who she likes spending time with." It really could go either way, which was unfortunate, truth be told. How was he supposed to know to make the first move when he didn't even know what that move should be? "And hell yes, attractive. Long dark hair. Has 'just breathe' tattooed on her wrists. And put a mic in her hand and it's like she comes alive."
Their food arrived and she leaned back a little. "I know you're not a shitty friend. I had that title for a while. Think I'm a little better now, yeah?" Lia smiled at him and tucked her hair back behind her ears so it wouldn't get in the way of the delicious food. She loved how Indian food always came in those little metal pots with plenty of rice for the table. Yum. She spooned some onto her plate and passed the rice towards Quentin.
She listened to him talk about this girl. It was clear that he really liked her. And to her, that was sweet. Part of her wondered if Torque would ever even think about something like that. Probably not, but it was a nice thought for a moment. "Maybe I'll have to meet her? We could go to an open mic night or karaoke?"
"I didn't think you were a shitty friend," he said as their food arrived. True to his upbringing, Quentin placed his napkin in his lap, one of the few manners his mother had managed to drill into his head after all these years. "You just disappeared off the face of the planet for a while. You're not allowed to do that again, you hear?" And he meant it. He'd gotten close to Lia since moving to Scarlet Oak, and he didn't like to lose touch with his friends. Didn't mean she had to call every day to let him know what was going on, but a text every once in a while would be nice. He'd try to do the same for her.
Adding some rice to his plate, Quentin nodded. "Definitely. I'll see if I can find out when she'd be playing next - she's going to be in the Battle of the Bands coming up, I was helping her pick out what song to sing. She's going to be amazing up there, and I can't wait to see it. If you don't have plans, maybe you can come?"
"When is the Battle of the Bands? Oh! I forgot, I'm thinking of having a barbecue for the Fourth. Nothing crazy, but you could come?" And he could bring Calista. Or Roxy. Lia didn't care if he brought both of them. Her number of friends in Scarlet Oaks was limited at the moment. She needed to get out there more and she would. She promised herself that. But still. This could be the first step towards that. She felt that she had thought that before, but still.
It felt good to just go out and have fun with him. They sat there, eating, talking, catching up. Joking about how their lives were turning out. Him with two girlfriends. Her with sort of a boyfriend. It was interesting and she was glad he was there, that they had met. Having Quentin around made Lia feel at ease, like this was more like home again. It was a good feeling.