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It's Brittany, Bitch | Ερις ([info]eristic) wrote in [info]paxletalelogs,
@ 2011-09-26 06:40:00

Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Entry tags:eris, nyx, phobos

How I Met Your Mother
Who: Cat, Charlie, Rylee
What: Cat has Charlie and Rylee over for dinner. Imagine a "meet the mom" scenario.
Where: Cat's apartment.
When: A few days after this thread, so yes, a little backdated...
Warnings: TBD

Charlie took Cat's invitation with some seriousness - she dropped by Rylee's apartment in her usual manner and brought the subject up with him, and he'd accepted after asking what kind of dress code there would be. Dress code? Wasn't it just a sit down dinner? Take out Thai food had never prompted Charlie to wear anything more than her usual tee-shirt and jeans, not that she had much else to wear to begin with. In the end she'd simply assured her friend that he could wear whatever was comfortable, that the dinner was just supposed to be fun. Suddenly it had become very important to introduce Cat and Rylee to one another - if one were to suggest that Charlie was looking for approval from one on the other, they would probably lose some teeth. But all the same, she liked both of these people (in different fashions) and she wanted them to get along, which was a strange feeling that she ended up admitting to.

Regardless, she'd set a date with Cat and soon enough found herself in the dreaded elevator (the rickety old thing, amazing that it hadn't broken down on her yet) to head up to the seventh floor to collect Rylee. She actually felt excited about this prospect, and it probably showed in both her face and her step. Charlie herself wouldn't notice or even comment, but her usually fast-paced stomps had a little more of a skip to them, and smiles were much more prevalent around her mouth, though her bitchface was still the reigning expression. Still, she dragged Rylee into the elevator like a favorite toy and together they headed up to the further floors of the apartment building, places they'd had few reasons to investigate before. The two friends made small talk in the elevator, their usual teasing and blushing leaving Rylee a bit red in the face before they reached Cat's door.

"Jus' chill, Ry, jeez, why yah gotta make everything a big deal?" Charlie grinned at her blond friend, walking up easily and with confidence to knock on the entry way and announce their arrival.


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[info]inclinedfear
2011-09-26 04:07 pm UTC (link)
Rylee frowned and gripped his hands behind his back as he slipped into the position of 'at ease' which he had pounded into his brain so much while he served. It was his immediate pose when he was nervous and seemed to be better than shifting from foot to foot and looking panicked. He wasn't particularly thrilled to meet new people. In fact, he tried to avoid it. But Charlie had requested his presense at this little dinner, saying that she liked this woman Cat, and he could never turn Charlie down. The very fact that Charlie liked someone made Rylee curious about her. Still, it didn't stop Rylee from being nervous.

"I'm not making a big deal," Rylee replied quietly. "I just... you know. If you like this lady so much... I want her to like me." His frown deepened as he stared directly at the apartment door. "You're sure she wanted to meet me?" Secretly, it pleased him that Charlie was obviously talking about him to other people, but it also was frightening and he wasn't quite sure why anyone would want to meet him.

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[info]full_of_stars
2011-09-28 01:22 am UTC (link)
The table was set with modern, sophisticated dinnerware: square, dark blue plates, cylindrical wine glasses. There was a pair of lacquered chopsticks on the right side of each plate and a fork on the other, and three different takeout containers, in addition to three plastic cups of Thai iced tea.

Though Cat preferred to set an elegant table, her attire was much more casual; a pair of well-cut jeans, simple ballet flats that showed her to be much smaller than most ever realized, and an off-the-shoulder shirt belted at the hips. Her hair was loose, and she only wore a bit of daytime appropriate make-up when she greeted the pair at the door.

With a smile, she reached out to give Charlie a hug.

"Charlie, thank you so much for coming," she smiled. She turned to their much taller dinner companion.

"And this must be Rylee." She smiled at him, then moved to allow them to enter. "Please, come in! You're perfectly on time, the food just got here not a few minutes ago."

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[info]eristic
2011-09-28 04:06 pm UTC (link)
Charlie accepted Cat's hug with no small amount of enthusiasm, which was strange in itself. Charlie never hugged anyone, let alone touched others, rarely even Rylee. But the gesture felt special and Charlie knew she'd be missing out if she acted awkward, though surprise at her own action registered in her mind.

"Come on, Ry, don't be a 'fraidy cat," Charlie replied, turning to glance at him with a smile, grab his hand and drag him into Cat's apartment. The space definitely matched the woman who lived within, and almost instantly Charlie felt...at home was a strange way of putting it, but the sensation was there. It more than likely stemmed from Cat herself, but Charlie was in too good of a mood to question these things.

"That smells awesome," she commented, her stomach grumbling from the smell of the take out. Without needing invitation, she moved toward the dining room table like she owned the apartment, or at least rented space from time to time. It just felt comfortable and welcoming, and she turned to look impatiently at Rylee, though her eyes danced with excitement. She really wanted these two to get along, for reasons she had yet to discover.

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[info]inclinedfear
2011-09-29 01:13 pm UTC (link)
Rylee shot a glare at Charlie for giving a name to the way he was acting. He knew he was afraid. Charlie knew he was afraid. But this woman, Cat, didn't need to know he was afraid. Forcefully he made himself stand up a little straighter and tried a little harder to not looked so panicked as he stepped into the apartment.

"It's nice to meet you, Cat. Charlie has told me about you," Rylee said quietly, the only option compared to speaking at a normal decible and having his voice waver with nerves. Charlie had in fact not told Rylee very much about Cat. He knew that Charlie had met the woman and liked her. That was good enough for him.

He smiled nervously at Cat before trailing after Charlie to the dining room table. He was like Charlie's shadow, although he tried not to make it seem that way. Charlie seemed like she was at home in Cat's presence and that was somewhat of a comfort. Relaxing his shoulders, Rylee let out a held in breath and looked at Cat. "It does smell very good. I don't have a lot of experience with Thai food... or chopsticks." He glanced down, smiling sheepishly. There was something about Cat that pulled at his memory. This was yet another person in the apartment complex that made Rylee feel that he knew her but he couldn't put his finger on it. Something about her, of course, but what exactly Rylee didn't know. What he did know was that his nerves were heightened for the simple fact that he felt a need that Cat should like him. That it was incredibly important that she did.

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[info]full_of_stars
2011-10-01 01:52 am UTC (link)
Cat smiled as Charlie entered the flat and led Rylee inside. The decor was elegant, modern, and particularly European, with the walls in the large, open living room painted midnight blue with broad white moldings and furniture and silver accents. The ocean view was plain to see through the large, uncovered windows, and the way the apartment was arranged gave the impression of an appreciation of aesthetics, and subtle cues indicated that this was not at the cost of comfort.

"It's my pleasure, Rylee," she said, offering a warm smile. With a nod toward the table, she followed after him. When they arrived, she stood at the head of it, gesturing to each dish. "We have Thai iced tea, just there... Then that's a very typical and very well-made Pad Thai; the best in Newport Beach, I'm told. It should be mildly spicy, but not too hot." She offered a little smile.

"Next is mango chicken, medium spice -- a six of ten, I would guess. A personal favorite of mine." She gave them both a wink.

"And then this is not for the faint of heart -- a red curry with beef."

She paused. "Oh, it seems I've forgotten the jasmine rice!" She laughed. "Please sit, I'll just run and get it."

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[info]eristic
2011-10-01 02:32 am UTC (link)
She took Cat's offer with no pause, pulling out a chair and grabbing the box of red curry with beef. Anything that was either deep fried in fat or smothered in some sort of sauce and spice was always the first thing on Charlie's plate, generally in a huge pile. Though her form was akin to that of a stick, the short woman had quite the appetite, and soon she had half of the box piled on to her plate.

"Damn, this smells good," she nearly groaned, her stomach echoing the sentiment with a loud growl. Stopping herself in mid-emptying of the box, she turned to glance at Rylee.

"Well, c'mon! Sit!" Though the words came out more of a command, they were uttered with a full grin as she released a hand to pat the seat next to her, encouraging Rylee to stay close - she knew that would more than likely keep him comfortable and settle his nerves, at least a little. But Charlie was quite of the opinion that Rylee had nothing to worry about, not with Cat; they were here to eat, maybe talk, but mostly eat. Food was always the forefront of Charlie's mind once it came down to mealtime.

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[info]inclinedfear
2011-10-01 09:50 pm UTC (link)
Rylee had been lingering behind the chair that Charlie offered him but upon seeing her broad smile he produced one of his own. Pulling out his chair he sat down next to Charlie and looked over the food. With a quick snatch, he took a piece of Charlie's beef off her plate and popped it into his mouth with a grin. "S'good, Lee. Don't take it all though, I want some and maybe your friend would like some too."

He scrunched his nose at her to show he was teasing her before reaching for the pad thai. "She seems nice, Charlie," Rylee said quietly as he plucked food out onto his plate. "I'm really happy you met her." He smiled at that, his thrill that Charlie was getting friends was apparent. He was happy to keep Charlie to himself but at times he worried for her. What if he couldn't be there for her? At least if she had other people to depend on there was a chance that she would never really be alone.

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[info]full_of_stars
2011-10-02 05:49 am UTC (link)
Almost as quickly as she'd gone, Cat returned to the table, another takeout container full of jasmine rice and a serving spoon in hand.

"Please, help yourselves, take as much as you want." She gave them a sly grin. "I chose my three favorite dishes on the menu, so there's no danger of me not having what I want."

Cat was in the habit of stacking the deck in her own favor where possible.

There was a sudden flash of familiarity to the scene, and a sudden, strange feeling of mistrust toward Rylee -- but not Rylee. More and more, recently, there'd been these little pushes of thought, and each one made Cat push harder against it than the last. It would have been easy to confuse them with her own intuition, but her own intuition was built on years of experience with people, observing them, being able to identify what their type was in minutes, if not seconds, and Rylee was clearly a sweet boy.

But there was something else, whatever it was inside her insisted.

She ignored it.

"So how do you like California, Rylee?" she asked as she set the container and spoon down and took her own seat.

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[info]eristic
2011-10-02 10:20 pm UTC (link)
She batted at Rylee's hand as he pulled food off of her plate, but only halfheartedly; for some reason, this whole scene made her far too happy, and in a way that should have registered as strange. There were plenty of reasons why she enjoyed the company of the blond man, but the dark haired woman was barely known - and yet, Charlie was still feeling the same thoughts that she had held upon their meeting in the laundry room. That there was absolutely no reason to distrust Cat, that she would be supportive and know all the answers and be comforting in all cases.

Happily, Charlie dug into her food, filling her mouth to capacity and even drenching her lips in the sauce. Without putting the fork down, she picked up a napkin and wiped at her face, all but bouncing in her chair as she glanced at Rylee while waiting for his answer; she followed on the heels of Cat's question with her own remarks, the words malformed because of her stuffed mouth.

"Oh, he's got a job in a museum, I 'spect he likes it just fine, don't yah, Ry?" She grinned again, stopping to chew but continuing to watch Rylee, leaving all points of attention on him.

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[info]inclinedfear
2011-10-04 01:35 pm UTC (link)
Rylee had been trying to figure out the chopsticks. Holding them awkwardly he was attempting to pick up a piece beef but it flipped off and plopped on his plate again. He frowned and was about to try to pick it up again when all attention turned on him. Lifting his gaze to both Cat and Charlie he looked at their expecting faces and felt a blush rise on his cheeks as he put the chopsticks down.

"I like it out here," Rylee replied with a nervous smile to Cat. A hand went to the back of his neck and he rubbed at the edge of his hairline. "Lee is right, I'm a junior curator at a museum. I specialize in the Civil War." This brought on a full grin from Rylee and he sat up a little straighter. It was rare that Rylee felt confident but with the Civil War he always felt sure of himself. "I really love my job and I'm hoping they'll hire me as a full curator but I'm thinking they want me to get my PhD first. But I'm in no rush for that because I think I'd have to move to get to a school that has my program and I don't really want to leave the area."

His eyes flicked to Charlie, quickly and not lingering, but she was the very reason he didn't want to leave. Not unless she came with him. But he wasn't going to mention that. Not now, not here, and probably not ever.

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[info]full_of_stars
2011-10-08 01:04 am UTC (link)
Cat arched a brow at Charlie, a half-smile curving her lips as she turned to Rylee. As he fumbled with his meat, she delicately picked up a bit of chicken and mango.

"Well, I'm sure there's no hurry, is there?" she asked, canting her head to one side. "Surely having some experience in the field will be an advantage when applying to doctoral programs."

She took a delicate bite of the mango and chicken, and chewed thoughtfully, setting her chopsticks down. Her eyes moved to Charlie, then Rylee, thinking what an unlikely pair they made.

"So," she said, once she'd properly swallowed and taken a sip of Thai tea. "The two of you were childhood friends, then? What was that like? Growing up in...?"

Cat left them to fill the blank while she plucked another bit of chicken from her plate and watched them.

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[info]eristic
2011-10-09 06:26 am UTC (link)
"Mizouri," Charlie replied, her mouth still full of food. She felt absolutely no misgivings about answering the question in such a fashion, and even smiled as she did it.

Though she did swallow before beginning her elaboration.

"Was all right, better 'cause'a his folks," she started, and then stopped as though she'd revealed too much. In order to suppress any further revelations, Charlie quickly shoved more beef into her craw.

Her hand, though, made a fast movement to Rylee's thigh, patting as though to reassure him; she knew how much he disliked having so much attention focused on him at one time. The gesture was short lived, but it was there.

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[info]inclinedfear
2011-10-09 12:16 pm UTC (link)
Rylee visibly relaxed from Charlie's touch. He caught on to her own reluctance to give too much information away and his hand caught Charlie's before she pulled it back, giving her his own reassuring squeeze.

"We met when we started High School and Charlie hung out at my house a lot," Rylee commented, his eyes still on Charlie's figure until he realized he was talking to Cat and should properly look at her. Turning his gaze to Charlie's friend he smiled shyly. "We were always together. My parents kind of adopted her. Well, I think they would have if they could." He glanced at Charlie again and smiled before adding, "Best friends since we were kids."

Rylee grabbed his chop sticks and attempted to eat his food again, fairing much better this time around, but waited to finish chewing before he turned to Cat again. "Have you been here long?"

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[info]full_of_stars
2011-10-16 04:05 pm UTC (link)
Cat smiled before delicately but securely gripping a bit of chicken and mango with rice between her chopsticks, watching and listening to the way these two interacted. As she took a sip of her Thai tea, she was attentive to how comfortable they were with each other, how easily they spoke, and particularly, how sweet Rylee seemed, and how something in Charlie seemed to shine with him there.

As she set down her tea, she nodded.

"That sounds quite lovely," she said. "It's quite good to have someone you've known for so long in your life; someone you're so comfortable with."

She took another sip of tea.

"It's not been terribly long," she said as she finished. "Since June, I suppose, though I travel a bit for work."

Poking a bit at a piece of beef, she asked, "So tell me about Pax Letale. It seems quite a... unique place."

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[info]eristic
2011-10-16 08:18 pm UTC (link)
Charlie snorted.

"Unique if yah mean weird," was her comment, shortly before swallowing her mouthful of food. "That blackout was somethin' else." Though it had only been the one incident in the building, the accompanying freak out had been entirely unwelcome. Anything that caused a relapse in her PTSD (which was what she was holding out as the explanation) was grounds for instant placement on her shitlist. Though there had been no further incidents, Charlie certainly still held a grudge against the building staff for such a lapse in customer service. They'd never even received an apology for the lack of power.

Helping herself to another two slices of beef along with a hearty sip of her drink.

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[info]inclinedfear
2011-10-16 10:01 pm UTC (link)
Rylee's eyes widened a little at the turn of subject. He didn't want to talk about the blackout again. Especially not with someone whom he had just met whom he was trying to impress. But Charlie had already brought it up and was dragging him into this whether he liked it or not. It was much like a lot of the things they did while growing up. Taking a deep breath in, he tried to ignore his anxiety and act like an adult or something.

"You were there for the black out, Cat? I can't recall if I saw you but I didn't know many people at that point. I had only moved in a week or two beforehand."

He looked down at his food, peaking at Charlie for any sense of approval, then continued eating what food was on his plate while he waited for the girls to continue conversing.

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[info]full_of_stars
2011-10-17 05:49 pm UTC (link)
Cat nodded in response as she ate, her movements delicate and deliberate. She remembered the night of the blackout all too well: the strange affliction Elias had suffered, staying with him for longer than made sense, then taking him to the hospital. It was more than she'd ever done for a stranger, and it didn't make sense, this familiarity and concern she felt for so many who lived here. She looked at Charlie, once she'd swallowed.

"I was, in fact. Though if we're going to talk about this, I'm afraid I'm going to have to get the wine," she said with a wry smile.

Short moments later, she'd risen and returned with a bottle of Shiraz and one of Riesling.

"It was quite an evening." she took a breath, then exhaled softly on a smile. "I remember seeing you, I think, Rylee. It seemed like a difficult night for many of us."

Then, she looked up at both of them.

"White or red?" she asked.

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[info]eristic
2011-10-18 01:22 am UTC (link)
She met Rylee's gaze, trying to let a smile flicker over her face as some kind of an apology for bringing up the subject again. It was just a note, a stupid thing that had slipped out of her mouth.

"Wed," she replied with her mouth still full of food as she looked back to the reappearing Cat. It was almost like a collective, depressed sigh went around the room, and Charlie realized that talking about the blackout was probably like kicking a dead horse. She'd really only made an offhanded comment...

Chewing quickly, she swallowed, glancing at Rylee to gauge how he was feeling. She really wanted Cat to like Rylee, and for Rylee to like Cat; perhaps she should have put some more thought into her words instead of just letting them fly loose like she usually did.

"I mean, at least nothin' else weird like that has happened. It was prob'ly just a squirrel gettin' fried on an 'lectric line."

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[info]inclinedfear
2011-10-18 01:02 pm UTC (link)
"I'll have what Charlie's having," Rylee replied quietly as he picked at more of his food. The food was good, he liked Cat, he was happy to be by Charlie, but he really didn't want to discuss the blackout again.

"Yeah, maybe it was a squirrel. They're rather evil," Rylee mumbled before eating some more. Then he thought of a rather glorious topic in which they could change subjects. "So what do you do, Cat? Aside from feeding Charlie and I really good Thai food." He forced a smile although it wasn't that he needed to force his thankfulness to Cat, he was happy to be there, it was only that smiling after their brief dive into the subject of the blackout was somewhat hard to do. Still, Rylee managed and grinned at Cat before giving a more tight lipped smile to Charlie as if to say, See? I managed!

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[info]full_of_stars
2011-10-18 07:11 pm UTC (link)
One of Cat's skills was uncorking wine bottles, and she did so efficiently and gracefully before pouring the rich red into each of their glasses. She returned Rylee's smile, and relaxed somewhat at the subject change. The night of the blackout only reminded her of Elias, which only reminded her of his grand display of affection, which only reminded her of how over-harsh she'd been - probably been in rejecting him. The thought made her uncomfortable.

Thankfully, though, the subject had turned to more mundane topics, and not the strangeness of that day.

"I'm in public relations," she answered easily as she put a stopper in the wine bottle, then opened the Riesling. "I work for a company that's based in New York, but we recently opened an office in Los Angeles. It's a bit of a commute, but it's quite lovely here."

She canted her head. "So work brought you here, Rylee... what drew you to California, Charlie? The two of you both ending up here was coincidence, yes?"

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[info]eristic
2011-10-19 04:09 am UTC (link)
She looked up from where she'd been stuffing more beef into her mouth, glancing at Cat with the same expression as that of a stray dog who'd been lured in by the sweet scent of free food who's just learned they're about to be caught by animal control.

Using the food as an excuse to keep from talking and think of something to say, a short quiet that was broken here and there by the nearly inaudible sounds of chewing.

"Yeah, was'a coincidence. And, uh, work. Work...um, transfer," she mumbled, quickly putting more food into her mouth as though that would stave off more questions.

Even Rylee had basically had to beat answers out of her, and even though she felt as comfortable with Cat as though the woman were her own mother, Charlie could not bring herself to admit the accident that had expelled her from the USMC.

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[info]inclinedfear
2011-10-19 11:56 am UTC (link)
Rylee observed Charlie's reaction and gave a faint frown before turning his attention to Cat. It was always give and take between the friends; when Rylee was too nervous, Charlie helped calm him and when Charlie was on edge, Rylee stepped up. It was one of the few times that Rylee was able to find his confidence with ease.

Under the table, Rylee slipped his hand over to Charlie's knee and gave it a reassuring pat. He'd try to steer the conversation away from her. As confident as Charlie was, she was as much of a mess with talking about herself, and her personal work history was definitely not something she shared willingly.

"Funny coincidence, huh?" Rylee said with a smile. "We had sort of lost touch before we found each other here. It was weird, I was moving stuff in and ran into Charlie right by the mail boxes. Definitely the last person I thought I would see here but it was worth the surprise."

He gave Charlie another squeeze on her knee before withdrawing and reaching for his glass of wine. He wasn't a huge wine drinker, or any drinker for that matter unless Charlie or Samuel were influencing him, but the wine was smooth and flavorful. After a sip, he finished the food on his plate, giving room for more conversation.

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[info]full_of_stars
2011-10-20 02:52 pm UTC (link)
Casually, Cat watched the exchange, both silent and not, between Charlie and Rylee, smiling slightly as she took a sip of her wine. While it seemed fairly clear that she wasn't hearing the whole story, Cat wasn't one to pry. It seemed she'd stumbled on a sensitive subject, and now wasn't at all the time to press it. Even so, she found herself somewhat concerned, and wondered if there was any way she could help.

That thought alone caught her a bit by surprise, and her smile curved a little more clearly as she nodded.

"Well that is a lovely coincidence, it sounds like," she said with a smile. "Quite comforting to reconnect with someone you've not seen for so long, especially since it seems as though the two of you were close growing up."

Her plate was fairly clear now, and she found herself content; pleasantly sated and charmed by the company.

"How is the rest of the building? I'm afraid I haven't had much time to make the acquaintance of many other tenants. Have the two of you met many of the other residents here?"

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[info]eristic
2011-10-21 03:16 am UTC (link)
Her eyes watched as Rylee pulled the wine glass to his lips, then looked back to Cat with a nod regarding her question.

"A few," she replied, the words barely intelligible through the thick amount of food in her mouth. Charlie chewed and swallowed, like any good child, though after a moment's thought realized that her manner of meeting people was not the usual type of conversation. Most introductions involved booze (like the bar fight she and Samuel had started, or how Charlie had mistook Karin's apartment for her own when she stumbled in, drunk) or getting angry or being annoying (as in the events where she'd kicked Toli out of the mall for trying to make a return, or that woman who'd been trying to make it on time to her show at the radio station - Charlie hadn't seen her since).

"Yeah, a few," she continued, wondering where all of the food on her plate kept disappearing to and why she never had enough to give her an excuse from talking. "Uh, 'sides yah and Elias, there's Sam, an' Karin. Karin's on my floor, Sam's on Ry's. Though it might be a lil' better if yah two weren't so close," she taunted Rylee, turning an amused eye on him. "Then maybe yah wouldn't get into so much trouble." Of course she was immediately bringing up the events that had even brought them to this table - Rylee and Samuel's strip club adventure that had culminated in a very messy evening.

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[info]inclinedfear
2011-10-21 12:23 pm UTC (link)
Rylee smiled shyly as Charlie turned the tables to her benefit. Away from awkward discussion of her job and their meeting, so long as Charlie seemed more comfortable, Rylee would happily accept discussion of he and Samuel's misadventures.

"We didn't get into trouble," Rylee exclaimed. Turning to Cat, Rylee grinned and explained, "Samuel lives across the hall from me. He took me out to a bar awhile ago and got me a little drunk. I don't remember much from that night but I do know Charlie took care of me."

He turned his grin to Charlie, forever thankful of how quickly she had helped him, but there was something else in his eyes that showed he remembered enough of that night to still bring up some level of embarrassment. Still, for the time being and while they were in front of Charlie's friend, he wouldn't bring that up. "He's a good friend," Rylee commented as he reached for his wine glass again, having finally finished his plate of food and feeling contently full.

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[info]full_of_stars
2011-10-22 05:13 pm UTC (link)
At the mention of Elias, Cat kept a pleasant smile on her face and attempted to keep the blush from her cheeks. She hadn't heard much from him since he'd checked in on her the night she'd had that migraine and had slept on her couch to make sure she was all right. That particular situation was one that frustrated her in the sense that it made her feel out of her depth. It should have been easy enough to manage, but it was consistently complicated by conflicting feelings that made little sense. And then there were the dreams...

But she did manage to push that aside, and Cat's eyes widened and lit up with amusement as she put the pieces together and realized what night Rylee was likely referring to. An mirthful little smile curved her lips as she took another sip of the Riesling, then swished it delicately in the glass.

"This Samuel sounds like an interesting fellow. I don't suppose this night out was perhaps the night before I ran into you in the laundry room, is it, Charlie?" She hid her ever-growing grin behind her wineglass as she took another sip.

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[info]eristic
2011-10-23 03:17 am UTC (link)
Charlie met Cat's own grin with one of her own, before looking back to Rylee.

"Yeeaaap," she drawled, pulling out the vowels like ribbons from presents. "The very same. Pro'lly the whole reason why I was even in the laundry room to begin with." She didn't have a set schedule for anything really - clothes were washed as need be, and that was only if absolutely necessary. Rylee's little escapade had shifted Charlie's nonexistent priorities into getting her to wash her garments a few weeks earlier than she normally would have. In the long run, one could see Rylee's interruption into her usual antics as a good thing since it was forcing her to be more cleanly. But Charlie didn't care one way or another. She was just enjoying putting Rylee on the spot for the moment.

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[info]inclinedfear
2011-10-23 01:44 pm UTC (link)
Rylee scrunched his eyebrows and looked from Cat to Charlie, the glass of wine pressed to his lips for a moment before he withdrew it and gently sat it down on the table. "Wait a sec," Rylee began, a golden eyebrow raising as he leaned back in his seat. He looked at Cat, his head slightly tipped to the side. "You know about that night? Or..."

Looking at Charlie, he studied her for a moment, narrowing his blue eyes as he tried to read her expression. "I thought you were with me that whole night. I remember you bringin' me water and stuff. You were doing laundry? Why were you-" Rylee answered his own question as he relived throwing up on Charlie. Quickly, his cheeks gained coloring and he reached for the glass of wine again, quickly taking a swig to help calm the sudden appearance of his nerves. "Sorry about that again, Charlie," he mumbled as he fidgeted with the wine glass. Glancing at Cat, his cheeks still pink, he quickly moved his stare to the plate. "That was, um, a bad night. I drank a little too much."

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[info]full_of_stars
2011-10-25 01:23 am UTC (link)
"So it seems," Cat noted with a little grin. "Don't be too embarrassed, Rylee. It happens to the best of us." Sipping the last of her wine, she set her glass down, observing the couple slyly.

"Not to worry, Rylee. I'm sure Charlie never would have mentioned it had the evidence not been so obvious. And it's good to have someone to take care of you in such cases!"

She gave a little grin as she poured herself more wine.

"Though it sounds as though this Samuel might be someone to watch out for; I assume he has a bit higher of a tolerance than you do. That's always a dangerous quality in a drinking companion."

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[info]eristic
2011-10-26 01:19 am UTC (link)
"I was with yah the whole night, dummy," she replied, giving him a light shove. "This was after, the next day." Charlie took a gulp of her wine, going at the glass with less finesse than her dinner companions, though she gave no sign that her unrefined actions gave her any pause.

"Shit, yeah, he can drink. Yah know where I met him? At a bar," she interjected, before Rylee could make any comment about Samuel not being someone he 'needed to watch out for'.

"Got into a drinkin' contest an'...other cr...stuff," she added, curtailing her explanation and its frequent need to cuss. Burying her mouth in her wine glass, she grabbed one of the boxes of Thai food and tried to see if there was anything left worth trying to eat.

"Was a lot more fun than gettin' puked on."

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[info]inclinedfear
2011-10-26 02:11 pm UTC (link)
Rylee wrinkled his nose, his cheeks a bright red as he reached for the wine again. Making it spin in his glass for a moment he glanced at both of the women like they were conspiring against him. Well, at the very least, Cat knew of Rylee's least proud moment and didn't seem completely disgusted by him. That was good.

But he frowned at Charlie fully at her mention of a drinking contest. How come she could go and get drunk with Samuel but when Samuel got him drunk it was a big deal? Then she made her point, the puke, right. He elbowed Charlie and gave her a joking glare before turning back to Cat.

"The food and wine has been great, Cat, thank you. I'll have to repay the favor one day," Rylee said with a smile. "But I should probably get going." Rylee got to his feet, gathering his mess and placing it on his empty plate. He could at least clean up after himself if he was going to leave early. "I have work tomorrow, I'm sorry."

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[info]full_of_stars
2011-10-29 01:38 am UTC (link)
A little laugh spilled from Cat's lips at Charlie's story of getting into a drinking contest.

"I should hope it was! It'd be a shame for many things to be better than being puked on."

With that, she winked at Rylee, then watched him as he rose to leave before rising as well.

"So soon? Ah, well." She shifted over to him to kiss each of his cheeks, then motioned to the food containers.

"Can I offer you any leftovers?" she asked.

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[info]eristic
2011-10-29 03:19 am UTC (link)
"Anythin' he doesn't take, I will," Charlie chirped in, uninvited but still completely sincere. Her eyes watched as Rylee piled everything onto his plate, gladdened by the little signs that were simply him. He'd always be the tidy child to her messy demeanor, and she took his cue for one of her own to at least put her cutlery onto her plate and pick up her glass for a long sip of cool tea.

Remaining seated in her chair, she carefully watched the interaction between Rylee and Cat. She'd always been horrible at reading people - the only reason why she knew the blond so well was due to years of close contact, ingraining his mannerisms and tells into her mind through simple repetition. Charlie was unable to tell if there was anything necessarily amiss here, now, in Cat's apartment; if one were to ask her of her opinion on the entire meal, she would have said it went well.

For a moment, she wondered if she should go with Rylee, or if she had the option of staying with Cat. In her mind, both seemed like perfectly good ideas, though she wasn't sure if the woman would find her presence intrusive. Charlie was always of the mind that less was better, and the thought that Cat could be of a similar nature occurred to her. The only plans she'd made with Rylee were to eat dinner at Cat's - and since he had work, undoubtedly he'd have some evening plan to follow. Sometimes she scratched her head at how many times Rylee brushed his teeth, but there was probably a good reason for it. "Yah want me to go with yah, Ry?"

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[info]inclinedfear
2011-10-30 04:13 pm UTC (link)
Rylee smiled softly at Charlie. "Don't worry about me. Stay and enjoy yourself!" Turning to Cat, the smile that seemed secretive for Charlie turned into a more broad, welcoming grin. "Charlie can take what left overs are left. I'd stay longer if I didn't have work tomorrow but I have to get some stuff done and get to bed. Thank you so much for the dinner. It really was delicious."

He stepped away from the table and gripped his hands together. "Hopefully I'll see you soon, Cat. Charlie? I'll text you tomorrow."

Rylee gave them both a small wave of his hand and turned to the door. He turned briefly, smiling still and taking in the sight of Charlie and his new acquaintance before slipping out and heading home with a full stomach and the lingering pleasure of good company.

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