_soloist (_soloist) wrote in light_of_may, @ 2010-02-20 00:09:00 |
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Entry tags: | 2009-07-04 |
and who said dreams didn't come true?
Who: Ari and Ian
When: 8:30pm
Where: the park for fireworks
To say Ari was nervous would be the understatement of the century. Alanna had helped her a lot earlier in the day to help her calm down...but now that time was getting closer, Ari was getting more nervous. She'd packed up the picnic basket earlier with sticky buns and shortbread cookies dipped in chocolate. Ari had read online that those were two traditional Scottish desserts so she found recipes and made the two sweets. She also made a simple fruit salad by chopping up various fruits and throwing the pieces into a bowl. Now, as she had the vanilla hazelnut tea brewing, she ran to get dressed, pulling her hair into a lose knot at the base of her neck. After dabbing on some makeup and lip gloss, Ari was finally ready. She poured the hot tea into the thermos, throwing in a couple of bottles of water before closing up the picnic basket. Just as she was clasping it closed, the taxi drove up and Ari grabbed her purse, blanket and picnic basket before flying out of the house.
On the way to the park, Ari sat ramrod straight, her back not touching the seat. She twisted the handles attached to the blanket in nervousness, her eyes big and wide. Her heart was beating hard in her chest but it was a good kind of nervousness. She was going to see Ian again and hopefully he would accept her, listen to her and not run away due to her previous behavior. She understood now, that something had happened to him and she wasn't mad anymore. She wouldn't press him for details - not that he'd remember them anyway - and just try to move on and move forward without looking into the past too much. It was going to be hard, but Ari set that expectation for herself and was determined to stick to it.
The cab pulled up to the park and Ari got out. She wasn't sure what Ian's car looked like, so she walked to a nearby bench and sat down, clutching her purse, basket and blanket to her. She looked around, her lips moving silently as she pleaded with Ian not to stand her up.
Ian had been waiting at the park for around ten minutes for Ari. He had sent her an IM that morning that he would be there wearing jeans and an old University of Glasgow tshirt. Probably should have chucked the tshirt years ago, but it was quite comfy and Ian couldn't part with it. And seeing that he was rather nervous, he needed something comfy to wear to calm himself down. Ian didn't have the slightest idea of what to expect from the meet. Even after talking to Kiley about it, he still didn't know what to make out of it. They were just listening to music, eating snacks, and watching fireworks. That didn't qualify as a date... did it? Ian wouldn't know until Ari whacked him upside the head and told him just that.
He was pacing back and forth by one of the trees, ending up leaning against the tree while pulling out his iPhone. No new text messages or IMs or emails or anything. Well, there were a few replies to his Facebook status - If a girl asks you to see fireworks with her, what do you make of that? One person said that it wasn't a date, his brother asked why he was bothering with an American holiday, and another friend comment, "Pics or it didn't happen." Shaking his head, he sighed and looked around the area, not even noticing that Ari had arrived. In all honesty, Ian had yet to piece two and two together to realize that internet Ari was stalker Ari... who was also the love of his life, but simply addition was easier to do than trigonometry at the time being.
Ari started looking around, her eyes scanning the people and paths and trees. She hadn't checked her computer that day, too busy freaking out, so she didn't get Ian's IM. But still, she finally spotted him leaning against a tree, the light from his iPhone illuminating his beautiful face. She took a deep breath, gathered her stuff and walked over to him.
"Hi Ian," she said softly, a small friendly smile on her face. Her eyes watched him, hoping that he wouldn't completely freak out at finding out it was her. She regretted her previous behavior, but she still maintained that it was completely reasonable for her to react as she had. Hopefully Ian will think so as well and will be able to forgive her.
Upon hearing his name, Ian looked on up to eye the blonde who spoke up. The familiar blonde at that. Both her voice and looks. It was the same girl he had bumped into back at Heme and she had the same voice as- ...bloody hell... His blue eyes widened for a moment while his lips parted. This couldn't be happening, but surely it was. Ian didn't know what to say. Part of him wanted to know what exactly was going on and if she was trying to stalk him or something. But then he calmed down when he spotted the small basket of goodies she had. And then his mind relapsed back to the nights they recently spent together online and how much he enjoyed them. Maybe this was something worth looking into and not running away from. Plus she wasn't throwing herself out at him, so that was a massive plus.
"...Ari?" He blinked while straightening up, rubbing a hand behind his neck to ease away the tension in his muscles. He had trouble looking her directly in the eye, staring slightly off to the side. "So it was... really you?" There was shock and disbelief in his voice, but definitely no anger. His blue eyes were soft when they finally flickered over to meet Ari's. He just wanted this to not blow up in his face.
It pained her to see the suspicion on his face, how wary he was to even talk to her. He didn't even want to look her in the eyes and her heart constricted, thinking that she'd ruined everything and it was too late for forgiveness. After meeting his eyes briefly, she dropped her gaze to her feet, rubbing the toe of her sandal in the ground. "It was really me." Her answer was soft and simple, letting him be the one to decide if he wanted to continue the night or not. Even though it would kill her if he decided to leave, she would honor his wishes...she just hoped it didn't come down to that.
Initially, Ian wasn't sure what to make of it. Was this a whole set up for her to get closer to him? He wasn't certain, nor was he sure he wanted to know all the details. Part of him wanted to get up and leave and forget about the whole evening with her, but then he reminded himself that Ari wasn't acting how she did at the cafe that one night or at Heme. No, she was acting like the Ari that he met online earlier that week, who was truly genuine, and Ian enjoyed that. Bringing a hand up to clamp over his mouth, Ian closed his eyes and skimmed through his thoughts, trying to organize them before coming to a conclusion.
With a shrug and raise of his eyebrows, he dropped his hand and let out a sigh. "Not sure what to make of all of this, to be honest. Not sure if I want to, but uh-" His hand was back to his neck, rubbing it while his blue eyes eyed her figure briskly, not wanting to come off as too awkward or rude. "I did promise that we'd hang out tonight." Ian flashed a weak smile briefly while his eyes shot up to meet Ari's. He figured that if she was going to be that same way she was on the internet, then maybe this was worth while. Maybe it would be a great night and they would enjoy themselves. Ian was willing to take that risk.
"I'm sorry," Ari said. "I figured if you knew who I was online, you wouldn't have talked to me." Ari stopped, sighing. This wasn't quite going the way she had hoped. "I didn't know...about your accident... before, I mean." Bringing her eyes to his, she smiled slightly. "I promise, no yelling and no crying."
Feeling relieved that he didn't want to leave or cancel their evening, Ari turned and started walking, "I guess we have to pick out a spot to settle in." She wandered up a slight hill and stopped. There was a clear view over the park and most importantly, the sky. It wasn't crowded and yet, which was a good thing. "This look okay?"
But in all honesty, Ian didn't know it was her online. It wasn't like there was one Ari in the whole world. It could have been anyone. Even after she tipped him off that she lived in the same area as him, it still didn't register to him. Awesome example of how beating around the bush was a bad thing with Ian, but at least it worked to Ari's advantage. "It's fine, just... don't worry about it." Because the last thing Ian wanted to talk about was the accident and his lack of memory.
As Ari walked on off, Ian leaned on down to pick up the small iPhone stereo he brought along with him, which was down by the tree. He then caught up with her up the hill and looked around the area. "Looks perfect," he nodded, his eyes glancing around the not so crowded park. That would change soon. "So uh... what you got there?" Ian motioned to her basket with his chin, quite interested in what she brought. While waiting for her response, Ian went out of his way to help her with placing the blanket down. Was the least he could do.
Once the blanket was spread over the ground, Ari dropped down, opening up the picnic basket. "I have lots of goodies." She looked up briefly and smiled at him. Pulling out the thermos, she poured it into the teapot that came with the picnic basket. She unsnapped the two teacups and poured them both some tea. "This is vanilla hazelnut tea...it smells amazing." Holding the cup out, she waited for him at accept it before turning back to the basket. "And to go with it, I have fruit salad, sticky buns and shortbread cookies dipped in chocolate." The picnic basket included two saucers for the teacups and she passed him one to use as a plate after she spread out the goodies. She also gave him a fork and napkin for the fruit, should he want any.
The tea did smell amazing, that was for sure. Had it been coffee, Ian would have been extremely skeptical about it, potentially even turning down the offer. Tea on the other hand he was fine with. Not to mention he loved the caffeine, so he was all over this. Before he could even get a sip, he perked up at the mention of sticky buns and fluttered his eyes. "Sticky buns?" He leaned in to double check that, yes, there were totally sticky buns. "Me mum used to make them homemade when I was growing up." Ian was always a fan of anything that wasn't good for him, which probably explained why he got sick a lot, but oh well. He could never pass up a good sticky bun, and those looked delicious. Placing his cup down, he instantly snatched a sticky bun and placed it on his plate, taking a massive bite out of it. Still chewing on it, he nodded his head in approval and tried talking with his mouth full, "Delicious!"
Of course Ari knew that he wouldn't have drunk any coffee that she fixed...hence the tea. Even though it was a warm July evening, the warm tea was still good to drink and it made the whole evening seem more cozy. Or something... yeah. Ari debated on telling Ian that she knew he liked sticky buns... and decided it would be best to be honest...especially in light of how the evening started. "I know," she said softly. "You used to talk about them all the time. I didn't have your mom's recipe but I tried to find an authentic Scottish one online so I'm glad they turned out okay."
And there she went with all the past tense talking. Ian didn't care if it was true or not; he just wanted her to drop it. If this was going to continue, then yeah, Ian was going to up and leave. Though Ari had never brought up anything while they were talking online, so maybe she didn't mean to do it? Ian didn't have the slightest idea, though he still shot her a slightly ticked off look while he continued to munch on the sticky bun. He wasn't going to lie, it was good.
Not really sure what that ticked off look was for, Ari just mentally shrugged and took a sip of her own tea. She thought it was weird that she didn't have any visions with the picnic basket since it was relatively new. Or the blanket for that matter. Her eyebrows knitted together as she tried to think back to the last vision she had. It was getting out of the cab. She hadn't had one since. Which was weird since she sat on an unfamiliar park bench, held unfamiliar things... She was so going to have to ask Alanna about this.
"So how did the song turn out?" She was so curious to hear it, hear what he'd done to it. She hoped her vocals weren't too shitty. She had been rather pleased with the lyrics and how they came out.
Ian was immensely thankful that Ari didn't push the subject matter more. It was insanely awkward and annoying to have someone try and fill in the blanks for him. Why couldn't people just stop after he said no? Didn't seem to work that way. Though instead he caught sight of her looking confused. Was it because of him? Ian didn't have the slightest clue and would remain that way until she told him to his face what was wrong.
"Oh! The song." Ian had almost forgotten. Fishing out his iPhone, he plugged it into the little speaker and began fiddling with the electronics to get the song to play. "Almost pulled an all nighter on this," he murmured while searching for the song on his playlist. And that was the truth. Whenever he got into a groove with music, he just kept going until he more or less collapsed. Not good for him by any means, but it got the job done. Once he finally found the song, he set the speaker down to play the final version. Ian was thoroughly pleased with the end result, and even Kiley liked it. He hoped Ari enjoyed it just as much. The moment her voice came through the speakers, Ian turned his gaze to her shyly, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
Someday they would have to have a conversation about the past, but that was a conversation for another night. A night when they were more familiar with each other. Ari didn't understand Ian not wanting to talk about the past so it was bound to be an issue until they discussed it.
Ari's stomach fluttered as he got the song ready to play. She was nervous to hear it, but at the same time, she was confident it was great because he was a genius with music. As it played, Ari closed her eyes and let the music wash over her. It was perfect, absolutely gorgeous. As the last strains of the song faded away, her eyes opened slowly, a large grin on her face. "It's so great! You did a fantastic job!" She took a sip of her tea before asking, "Do you like it?" Hopefully he did and hopefully they could work on more collaborations together.
She liked it! The anxiety that had been building up in Ian, worried that she might not like the song, instantly slipped away upon hearing Ari utter those words. And such a massive smile on her face, as well. That was always a plus. "I do, yes. A wee bit off the normal path I take with music, but I do like it." The melody was far softer than what Ian was used to making, but it definitely sounded like he had a hand at it. Then again, he couldn't have done it without Ari's help. "I can uh... send you the file when I get home, if you'd like?" He looked away shyly, while reaching out to munch on his sticky bun again. True, the anxiety about her liking the song or not was gone, but his overall timid nature was still there.
Smiling gently, Ari said, "I'm glad you like it. We make a good team, huh?" Her eyes grew wide at what she said and she immediately dropped her eyes down. Hopefully he wouldn't read too much into that. While she did hope that eventually they became a team in every way possible, she knew it was too soon for that kind of thinking. "I'd love for you to send me the file... thank you so much!"
Of course Ian didn't read too much into it - it was Ian. He never read into something unless someone was upfront with him, so to him a good team was just that. Nothing to read into on his end. "Great. I'll do it first thing when I get back then." True he could have sent it via his iPhone right then and there, but they were suppose to be enjoying delicious treats and watching fireworks. Speaking of which... "So uh... do you... always come out and see the fireworks?" He averted his gaze awkwardly for a second, letting out a nervous chuckle before going on. "Sorry, I'm still not entirely used to American traditions." He had been there for two years and things were still odd to him. Who knew how long it would take him to get acclimated.
"Thanks!" Ari smiled happily as she grabbed a piece of pineapple to munch on. Not bothering with a fork, she grabbed it with her fingers, then licked the juice from them, not at all aware that some people might find the action suggestive.
"Actually I usually don't. I...don't do so well in crowds and I always thought it might be crowded, so I usually stay home." Crowds were very much Ari's nemesis. She didn't like the strangers, the jostling, the potential for people accidentally touching her... just nothing about it was fun for her. But she was pleasantly surprised that the park wasn't nearly as crowded as she thought it would be.
After taking another sip of her tea, she asked, "Do they have these sorts of celebrations in Scotland?" She'd always been curious about his native customs and traditions, always anxious to learn more about where he came from.
Crowds Ian could handle, but the second he was put on the spotlight in said crowd, then it was all. Probably explained why he was able to work in Heme with no problem. Hopefully Ari wasn't too overwhelmed with their meet. Besides, it was her idea, after all. Upon hearing her question, Ian perked up a brow and had to think that one through. It had been some time since he was in Scotland and it was odd for him not to celebrate those holidays in America. After thinking it through, he looked on back to Ari and replied. "We do, nothing as extravagant as this, but we do. A lot of them involve just getting together as a community or something. Though honestly? Half of them are just an excuse for us to go on holiday. Like last two weeks in July, all factories and offices closed down for a summer break, I guess. Threw me for a loop when I first came here."
"Two whole weeks in the summer? That must be fantastic," Ari enthused. "I have a pretty flexible work schedule, so I get a lot of free time but I can imagine that if I had to work eight to give Monday through Friday, I'd kill for a break in the summer." The summer was her favorite time of the year anyway. She didn't mind the snow and the cold - obviously a plus since she was a Michigander - but there was something about spring and summer with their sunny days and blooming flowers that made her happy.
"Is Callalily going to be hiding from the booms of the fireworks? Does she get scared at stuff like that?" Not really knowing what animals did because she'd never had one, Ari was just taking a stab in the dark with that one. She could imagine if she were a cat and all of a sudden big booms were happening, it might frighten her a bit.
There were definitely no breaks like that in the summer in America. Everyone was determined to keep working for little time to relax. How anyone could ever manage that was beyond him. At least he was able to work at home and be on call for tech support, and the job as Heme wasn't all that bad either. Actually, was always the highlight of his week. He could never get tired of playing music. "Callalily is such a mellow kitty, I doubt she would mind the fireworks. The only thing that scares her is the vacuum cleaner." Probably because Ian rarely vacuumed, so when he broke it out it always terrified the poor thing. "She's quite friendly. I think she would make friends with a burglar if they broke into my place than try and attack them." As long as she got some tummy rubs, then Callalily was anybody's friend real fast.
Ari smiled softly. "She sounds like a lovely kitty. I bet it's nice to have her for company." She knew that it could get lonely living by yourself. She often thought about getting a pet, but worried that every time it rubbed up on her or she petted it, she'd get visions.
And speaking of visions, she was totally not having any. Not even a flicker. It was wicked weird. But oddly comforting too. It was like she was at peace for the first time in her life. She could pick up her tea cup and not brace herself for the onslaught of visions. It was fantastic. She knew that Alanna thought that things felt dead, but they didn't feel dead to her at all. It was much more that she was enjoying being a normal person. She'd never experienced life without visions and memories that weren't her own and it was oddly peaceful and relaxing.
"I'm having a really great time, Ian. I'm glad we could get together tonight. I was also wondering, since our song sounds so great, if you'd like to do another collaboration?" It might have been the fact that she felt safe and relaxed that caused her to be a bit more bold with Ian than she normally would have been. Either way she wanted to spend more time with him and she sincerely hoped that he felt the same way.
Callalily was perfect company and without her Ian wasn't sure what to do with himself. He probably would have been ridiculously lonely, regardless of how many people he was talking to online or chilling with at Heme. The kitty was good times and he was happy to have her around. Ari was proving herself to be lovely company herself. While he wasn't busy stuffing his face with food, Ian would glance on over to her ever now and then, though not entirely looking her in the eyes. He found himself looking over her form a couple times, and just when he realized he was checking her out, Ian mentally told himself to stop and brought his attention back to his tea.
"...another collab?" He blinked his blue eyes, glancing at Ari for a second before averting his gaze. He rubbed a hand behind the back of his head to ease any tension and then mulled it over for a second. "Uh... sure, I don't mind. All seemed to go well, so why not?" Ari was an amazing musician and he truly did enjoy spending time with her online, and even in person, but the poor guy was still anxious about her sitting right next to him and actually being the Ari who was hysterical over him last week. Seemed like the girl calmed down quite a bit, and now that she was being herself, Ian was starting to appreciate her company more and more. "When, uh, would you like to? The collab, I mean."
"We can do it online, if you'd prefer," Ari said softly, her eyes dropping down to where her fingers were idly picking apart a sticky bun. Maybe she'd rushed things when she suggested they move from talking online to meeting up in person. He still looked at her warily, like she was going to fly off the handle at any moment. She had no one to blame but herself for that but he had to realize that she wouldn't gain his trust after just one date....or whatever they wanted to call this little meet up.
Thinking quickly over her schedule, Ari knew that she had late piano lessons on Monday but Tuesday night was free. "How about Tuesday night? Or later on Thursday." She had evening piano lessons but no class or lessons on Friday so that would work out.
Ian was always awkward when he met people in person; it wasn't Ari by any means. True, he was still in some state of shock that it was her, but that aside he was just being his timid self. "Online or offline works for me, whichever is easiest for you. I know Tuesday night works better for me. Work at Heme on Thursdays." He blinked and then looked on over to Ari. "Unless you want to stop on by Heme and wait until I'm off shift." Poor guy wasn't sure what to make of everything, but another collaboration sounded great in his book. He simply wished he wasn't so awkward around her in person. Perhaps meeting in person was better so that he could calm down and get used to her that way instead of hiding behind a computer.
Ari was always up for any excuse that would have her seeing Ian spin, so she quickly nodded at his suggestion. "I can wait! I'm sure to get some great inspiration from your show. You want to come to my house or yours?" She didn't care either way - she had a keyboard that she could take to Ian's house if he didn't want to come to hers. Although she really would like to do something with the marimba. It could be a neat sound if he put some of his effects to it.
That was a good question. Ian didn't have a keyboard or anything at his place, but he could at least record her voice. Then again, if he went over to Ari's home, then he wouldn't have any of his equipment at hand, not to mention it would have been a bitch to move back and forth from places. "How about my place? I have almost everything we'd need there. Plus you can meet Callalily. Sure she'd be happy to meet you." Damn cat loved everyone who pet her, and he had a feeling Ari wouldn't be any exception.
"Would you-" And then his words were cut off by the sudden explosion that went off in the sky. Ian turned his head to eye the fiery display lighting up the vicinity and continued to watch as more went off. He never understood the fascination with blowup random fireworks for a holiday, but the Americans seemed to like it. Plus he had great company, so it was hard for him to not like anything that was going on. "They're quite lovely."
Ari stopped to admire the fireworks as well. She loved them, always so fascinated with the colors and designs of the fireworks. They were her favorite part of any 4th of July or New Years celebration.
"Sounds great," she said, returning to the conversation at hand, though her eyes never left the dance of colors overhead. "I can bring my keyboard unless you have one?" Her eyes brightened at the thought of meeting his kitty. "Kitty cat! I can't wait to meet Callalily!" Although she'd probably have to brace herself for all kinds of visions when she petted her. Oh well, it was worth it to see where Ian lived, worked and played.
Seemed like Ari was more excited to seeing Callalily than actually making music. Ian smiled softly and chuckled. "I don't have a keyboard at all, but you're welcomed to bring one over. Don't mind at all." He turned his head to look on over to Ari, noticing that she was too preoccupied with the fireworks going off. It was then that his eyes wandered a bit, drinking in her form as the fireworks gently illuminated her. The blonde was absolutely stunning and now he just invited her to come over to his place coming on up. He had a feeling Ada was somewhere snickering with devil horns growing out of her head. Whatever. It wasn't like Ari noticed at all, so why not gaze at her? She was far more lovely than the fireworks could ever be.
She was most certainly not more excited to see Callalily than to make music with Ian. Ian pretty much topped her world and that was that. "I'll definitely bring my keyboard over. We'll have to plan a collaboration at my house sometime...I have a marimba and I think it could be neat to use it in a song." As she was talking, Ari's eyes were transfixed on the fireworks, watching the stunning color display. She felt Ian studying her and goosebumps jumped up on her skin as she shivered slightly. Fighting the urge to meet his eyes, Ari just continued to stare at the fireworks, grateful to have that as a distraction.
Ian did notice the sudden shiver that Ari gave off, knotting his face up with concern. Was she cold? Did something bother her? The poor guy wasn't sure, but he wanted to make sure Ari was fine. He was enjoying his time too much with her to suddenly have her night turn into shambles. "...you alright, lass? You're not cold, are you?" And then Ian reached out to her arm to rub it slightly, as a way to warm her up in case she was. He refused to let her freeze to death, even though the weather wasn't that horrible. People were different when it came to the climate and the cold never bothered him.
Ari immediately shied away from his touch, scrambling away from him. She stood up and walked around the tree and hugged her arms to herself, shaking a bit. There had been no visions when he touched her. He didn't feel dead like Alanna said, but there had been no visions. What was that about? How was that possible?
But even still without the visions, Ari wasn't used to being touched and it scared her a bit. What also scared her was the jolt of electricity and warmth she felt throughout her arm where he touched her. Did that happen every time? It kinda got her heart rate a little elevated and her breathing was a bit faster...all from a simple touch? Ari didn't understand it...not at all.
Having Ari suddenly get up and walk away from Ian wasn't how he expected her to react. All he was doing was asking if she was cold. Was he... not suppose to touch her? Did she not like it? Or not like him? Ian didn't have the slightest idea, nor was he going to until Ari told him. He took a moment to finish his cup of tea before slowly rising to his feet and followed Ari. She looked scared and confused, though why she was was unknown. "...Ari? Lass?" He kept his distance from her, not wanting to scare her off again, even though all he wanted to do was pull her in for a hug. Poor girl looked like she needed it. "You ok? Did I do something wrong?"
Shaking, Ari turned to Ian, her face scared. "I'm sorry. I just..." She sighed and looked to the ground, her hands fidgeting nervously. "I am a psychic...clairsentient actually. That means that when I touch something or someone, I get visions of it's past. The clothes I put on in the morning, the toothbrush I touch to brush my teeth, everything has visions." She held up her hands, wiggling her fingers in her white gloves. "Hence the gloves. They help soften the visions, but they don't make them go away." Letting her hands fall back down and clasping them behind her back, she slowly looked up to Ian. "My whole life, everything I touch has visions...except you. When you touched me just then, I ran away because I anticipated visions... that didn't happen. I don't get visions around you." Not even sure why that was the case, Ari was just slightly ecstatic at the prospect. He could touch her, hug her and maybe someday even kiss her and she wouldn't have visions. It was going to take a while to work up to being comfortable around the touching, but she was sure she could get used to it.
Ian didn't have the slightest idea about what Ari was talking about with the clairsentient powers, except that it overwhelmed her. Just because the Light of May came about didn't make him a pro with supernatural powers. Hell, he didn't even know that much about his vampire co-workers at Heme. Now why exactly her abilities didn't work around him was above and beyond Ian, but at least that was one less thing for her to worry about when around him, right? Maybe? "Ari... I... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to, just-" He moved in closer, initially about to pull her into a hug, but immediately stopped, remembering what she had just told him. Sighing, he turned away and leaned against the tree. "Just wanted tonight to be perfect or something. I don't know. You've made me so happy online over the past couple of days and I hoped it would carry on over to tonight."
Ari stepped closer to him, leaning down so she could catch his eyes. This was actually a pretty bold movement from her. "But you don't understand...It is kind of perfect. Don't you see? You, for some reason, are the only person in my life who can touch me." She took her gloves off, dropping them on the ground. She reached out and touched Ian's cheek lightly. Gasping, her hand jerked away at the feel of his skin before returning to touch him again, hesitantly this time, her hand shaking. Her finger stroked down his cheek and she watched it in fascination, a slow smile tugging at her lips. "This is so weird for me...really good, but weird," she whispered. "You're going to have to be patient with me... I can't promise I won't pull away again but I will promise to work on it."
Wait, so he didn't screw up? Here he thought touching her, regardless of what happened, was just bad due to her sudden reaction to it, but it looked like he guess wrong. He fluttered his eyes as her fingers grazed over his cheek, finding himself flushing slightly. It had been quite some time since he had actually been this close with a woman. Probably since he was back in Scotland. Not that he minded, it was just something to adjust to. Besides, he figured she was only touching his cheek like that because she was fascinated with these visions not happening around him. Why exactly that was happening was beyond him, but he was happy he could make her night perfect. "Um... am I.. not allowed to hug you or...?" Poor Ian was still confused, still wanting to pull her into a warm embrace to comfort her, but he didn't want to scare her off again.
She wasn't touching him just to test her visions or lack there of... she was touching him because she wanted to. For the first time ever, she actually wanted to touch someone. Now a hug? That seemed like a whole lot of touching and was quite scary to Ariana. But, she could see the confusion on Ian's face and so she dropped her hand from his cheek and nodded slowly. "A hug sounds...good." She held herself stiffly in anticipation of his arms wrapping around her and being completely engulfed in him.
Once she gave him permission, Ian slowly reached out to Ari, placing his hands on her shoulders before gently pulling her in closer to him. He fully embraced the blonde, resting his head against hers while running a hand up and down her back idly. Hopefully this wasn't as bad as it seemed. Ian didn't find anything wrong with hugging and simply wanted to comfort Ari. If he was able to do that, then it was a successful night. "You alright, lass?" He whispered to her. So far she wasn't running away from him, so maybe he was doing something right.
Ari felt immediately claustrophobic when his arms wrapped around her. It took her a few seconds before she wrapped her arms stiffly around his waist. Her body was still very tight and stiff, the feel of someone holding her was totally foreign. It was weird, but good at the same time. She still felt the tingling throughout her body, being so close to him and breathing in his smell. It was a dream come true, having her Ian back and being able to touch him.