Noa Bellamy (sharpthings) wrote in remains_rpg, @ 2016-05-10 14:58:00 |
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Entry tags: | # 2019 [05] may, demi rafferty, isaac callahan, noa bellamy, pete whelan |
Who: Pete Whelan, Noa Bellamy, Isaac Callahan, Demi Rafferty
Where: The Bar
What: Introductions, dates, and a busybody
When: 5/3/19, afternoon (about 3:30PM)
When Noa walked into the main area of the bar, she didn't see Pete anywhere, but spotted Demi’s dark head of hair near a table, which probably meant Demi had noticed her too. Altering fielding her share of text messages Noa wasn’t all the surprised to find that the former camp bitch had conveniently made herself present when Noa and Pete were supposed to show up. Noa hoped it wasn’t an omen for the rest of the night, and offered a finger wave, and a question once she drew closer, “You seen Pete yet?” There were enough nooks and crannies that it wasn’t impossible for Noa to have missed him. If she was lucky she could head Demi off with a quick conversation, and spend the rest of the night in peace. But she wouldn’t hold her breath. While perching herself near the door had been Demi’s first idea, even she knew that was more than a little obvious and overbearing -- the millions of text she had sent likely were as well, but she felt no regrets about those. Still, instead of sitting near the door, she had made herself at home near a table that had a good view of the room, which meant she saw Noa almost the instant she entered the bar. “Not yet,” Demi answered Noa’s question, not even trying to hide her excited smile. “But he’s never been prone to being late, I’m sure he’ll be here any minute.” Demi motioned to one of the chairs at the table she was already occupying. “Want to sit while you wait?” She asked, glancing towards the bar and noticing Isaac watching her. “Or meet Isaac?” Demi tacked on, though she wondered if Noa might be more comfortable doing the latter once Pete arrived. Humming, Noa weighed the options. Sit or meet the man that had so completely enthralled her friend. “We can sit,” she offered up after a few moments of thought. “I suspect I’ll meet your man before the night is through.” “I have little doubt about that,” Demi replied with a laugh, after all Isaac really could take it upon himself to wander over at any moment. Though Demi wondered if he would keep his distance purely because of Noa’s Hellhound associations. She hoped he wouldn’t, but she also would wholly understand if he did. “So, are you early or is Pete just late?” The doors opened then and Pete stepped in, clad in his best pair of jeans and a buttondown. Had this date taken place a couple of years ago, he would've brought flowers, but those were nowhere to be found these days and he wasn't exactly sure if Noa was the kind to be interested in things like that. He hadn't wanted to show up empty handed, though, so there was also a vegan brownie tucked into the pocket of the jacket he had over one arm. (The same leather jacket he'd worn to the Dog Park a few months ago, in fact.) "Hey," he said with a smile, walking over to where the two women were sitting. It was second nature to hug Demi upon first seeing her, so he went for it, moving one arm around her shoulders in greeting -- one which Demi returned with ease. But then, as he pulled away, there was the question of how to greet Noa. Though they'd spent some time dancing together the last time they'd both been in this building, they'd never come any closer than that over the last few months. This was supposed to be a date, though. Pete was usually supposed to be good at dates! So after an awkward moment's hesitation that he hoped no one else had noticed, he stepped towards Noa to offer her a hug as well. Noa had noticed, but she was hardly smooth and well versed on the dating scene so it’s not like she could have judged Pete much. “Hey, sweetheart,” she offered her own greeting as she wound her arms around Pete to return the hug. She pressed a featherlight kiss to his cheek also, without a second thought, before she pulled away. Compared to Pete, who looked real good (jacket aside), Noa felt underdressed in her skinny jeans and leather. Demi had told her to wear a dress, but she’d ignored the advice, but now she was wondering if she should have. “You look real nice.” "Wow. You, too," Pete said with an almost embarrassed smile, aware of Demi's presence there. He kept his gaze on Noa, not yet willing to risk looking over at their mutual friend and witness the delight she must be feeling. And if he looked at her long enough, it was easy to pretend they weren't being watched. "Thanks for meeting me." Demi probably should have felt a bit like a voyeur witnessing the scene before her, but, well, she had never troubled herself with feelings like that. Instead she just smiled happily as Noa and Pete danced around each other in that awkward first date mode, only sparing a moment to wave Isaac over to join them. Soon enough she would allow them their peace, maybe. But first she wanted to make proper introductions between some of the most valued people in her life. “Ahem,” Demi broke in. “Can I interrupt you two to introduce you to Isaac?” She phrased it as a question, though everyone standing there knew that she would do so whether or not Pete and Noa gave the okay. Noa hid her entertained smile at the formality that Demi used. It was a rare enough occurrence in the Dog Park that hearing it out of Demi’s mouth seemed dissonant. “Nice to meet you, Isaac,” Noa said, breaking her full attention away from Pete to get a good look at the new bar owner. “I’ve heard a fair share about you. I’m Noa.” Though she knew about him, she didn’t expect him to know her. “Always weird putting a face to the name, isn’t it?” Isaac said, returning the handshake. “I’ve heard about you too. You’re pretty skilled with the tattooing,” he added with a smile. “Pretty skilled?” Noa retorted wryly, before her expression softened. “I appreciate the compliment.” This whole running a non-bar thing was new to Isaac, and while he didn’t actually have to lift a finger to get people food or drinks, inviting these people into their place was weird. Isaac had spent the last two years trying to convict the Hellhounds of their crimes, so for this woman who was associated with them to be here… also very weird. But the rest of the city was a hot fucking mess, quite literally with how some places had been looted, and it wasn’t like many places in the city that weren’t shelters had access to electricity. Isaac knew that he and Demi had it good here and it would be pretty damn selfish not to share it -- even if that was only with their friends. As much as he was still wary about the Hellhounds, even now that he knew how corrupt Olinger was, he trusted Demi’s judgment in who she invited here. “Me and Pete appreciate you letting us crash the place too,” Noa said. “Ain’t a lot of neutral places left in the city.” There were implications in her tone, an awareness that her loyalties were the stumbling block more than Pete’s. “We’ll be real nice to everything.” For a whole handful of reasons Noa wanted to make a good impression on Demi’s man. If she didn’t she knew what might happen. "Yeah, it's really cool of you," Pete agreed. He, too, had been interested in meeting the infamous Isaac -- especially since he couldn't remember the last time Demi had been in such a serious relationship. Judging by what Demi had told him about Isaac's politics, too, leaving the Capitol must not have been the easiest decision to make. Pete could relate. “Nice to meet you both. Demi talks about you both a lot so this was probably long overdue,” Isaac said, glancing at Demi. “But now that we’ve all met, I think we’ll give you some privacy. Right, honey?” He asked, giving her a look that clearly left little room for debate. It was surreal to watch three people she cared so much about meeting for the first time, but Demi could also admit she liked it. Well, right up until Isaac announced they should give Noa and Pete some privacy, then she decided that maybe she shouldn’t have pushed to introduce them so quickly. While the look Isaac gave her clearly read ‘I’ll physically carry you out of here if I have to.’ Or at least that’s how Demi interpreted it. “Right.” The word came out as a sigh, and while she might have been silent in any argument she wanted to make, it was obvious she also was not going to move without persuading. Isaac moved towards Demi, linking their hands together, then gave her arm a slight tug. “C’mon, let’s get out of their hair,” he said, before looking back at Pete and Noa. “I’ll do my best, but be prepared to be walked in on at any moment,” he grinned, and with that, pulled Demi the rest of the way out of the room. It might have been selfish, that after short conversations, introductions, and the like Noa chose secluded booth, out of the eyeline of the bar. It was a silly thing that Noa would only admit to herself, but she had a ball of nerves happily making themselves at home in the pit of her stomach; not a monster of a feeling, but the kind that would prefer extra eyes off of them. “Want to make a bet?” Noa asked Pete as she slid into one side of the booth, a teasing jab at their busybody of a mutual friend. “If only I’d thought ahead I would have made sure she was occupied with something.” But then Demi was a force, so there’s no saying she would have gone for it. Pete laughed, shaking his head. "No, I think no matter which way I bet we know we're not gonna get more than fifteen minutes to ourselves. It's okay. I kind of figured it'd be like this, so I've been mentally preparing myself over the last few days ever since we picked out this spot." Noa smirked at his response, enjoyment in the fact that Pete knew exactly what Demi was like. She felt better that at least one person who was important to her was important to him too. “How you been?” she asked, seamlessly changing the subject, “aside from yesterday.” A rehash of Pete’s visit to the Dog Park to patch up some of the Hounds wasn’t what she was after. "I've been okay. Good, really, I can't complain." The memo from the Capitol was weighing on Pete's mind, though, but just as Noa wasn't interested in talking shop, neither was he. "I can't believe it's already May. It seems like just a week or so ago we were here back when this place was a real bar." Pete nodded his head towards the jukebox. "Think that thing still works?" Craning her neck, Noa shrugged a shoulder. “Guess we could find out,” she offered. “You real sure you can dance in that get up though, sweetheart?” she waved a hand, indicating what he’d worn as opposed to the casual denim and top combo she had decided on. “Wouldn’t want you to rip those jeans.” "Hey, these are performance pants," Pete said in mock-offense as he stood up, gesturing down towards his legs. He was grinning, though, as he waited for her to join him, holding his hand out for her to take. "Unless you think things are really gonna get crazy." Noa screwed her face up, eyebrows furrowed and nose scrunched. “What the hell are performance pants?” she asked him as she took his hand. “Makes ‘em sound like they’ll tear away or something.” "That would be sweet if they were tearaway pants!" Pete grinned at the very thought of it, then remembered where he was and pressed his lips together to stop from laughing. "I mean… you know. Just that they're… You can move in them and stuff." “You have pants you can’t move in?” she retorted with a raised brow, doing her damnedest not to laugh at and somehow encourage the idea that tearaway pants were anything but a bad idea. She paused for only a minute after her statement before she tugged Pete to the jukebox. “We can start with the slow ones, if you’re real worried.” Sometimes she wondered if she’d ever get some kind of overt indication that Pete was really interested in her. She’d caught glances, and he’d worked up the nerve to ask for a date. But it was nothing like she was used to. It was like courting, or what Noa thought courting might be like, whether it really was or not. On a whim, she dropped her hand from his and wound her arm around Pete’s waist instead, her body angled just slightly towards his as they stood there flipping through the songs. He reacted instinctively, moving his arm around her shoulders tentatively at first, almost as though to try on the new body language and see if he liked it. "Yeah. I mean, not anymore. Kind of useless nowadays, you know? But before, I had a couple pants that were kinda restrictive. But I'm not too worried about these ones," he said, stepping a little closer too as they continued to look through the jukebox. Nerves, or something else settled for Noa at Pete’s reciprocation of contact; she was used to take charge men, to knowing where she stood with them, and Pete was a hard read. Pete hadn't had a lot of serious relationships in his life -- hell, he was still coming around to the idea that his relationship with Savannah hadn't ever been that serious to begin with. But now that he and Noa were venturing forward on whatever this was between them, he couldn't help but proceed with more consideration than he'd ever given a date before. Maybe it was just the way life was now, or maybe it was the fact that he was older. But he really liked her, despite all the things they never got around to talking about or the fact that they couldn't see each other all that often. It was easier to be flippant about something you liked less, he thought. "How about…. That one?" He tapped on the jukebox screen to indicate 'Wild Horses' by the Rolling Stones, then glanced over at her with a sideways smile. "Or is this when you're gonna tell me my taste in music sucks? Because I brought a vegan brownie for us and if you insult my music taste I don't know if I can let you share the brownie with me anymore." “No, I like that one, sweetheart,” Noa replied with an amused smile and light in her eyes. “Even if I didn’t, I’d lie for fear of losing out.” She’d never had a vegan brownie, but given the scarcity of any kind of chocolate, she wasn’t real choosy. Searching out the song number, she pressed the button and waited for any sound to start. It was crackling, not the clean sound of a newer system, but the first few notes of the Stones song came through, and she smiled again. “Me and my girlfriends, we used to think this was so romantic when we were kids.” It was one of the few positive memories she held onto from her childhood. “Didn’t realize how sad it was ‘til I was older,” she added as she led Pete back out into the open space of the floor. They'd done this before, months ago, back when they'd just been getting to know each other and before Pete had started spending more time at the Dog Park. The only difference was now they were alone on the dance floor, nearly alone in the whole building -- and he was so close to successfully blocking out the fact that Demi was probably watching from somewhere secret. He put his hands on her waist, just like back then, but now he felt a little more emboldened to pull her closer as they started to move to the music. "I think that kinda happens with a lot of things," he said, his voice a little quieter now despite the music that was playing. "You don't really realize what something's about until you're looking back at it." “Fights are like that too,” Noa mused as she wound her arms up around Pete’s neck, though she was conscious to keep her fingers from combing through the short hair at the nape of his neck; trivial as it was it felt like too much intimacy to her. She was acutely aware of his hands at her waist too, more respectful than a lot of dances she’d danced, but she admitted to herself at least that she relished the contact. “Sometimes they’re about the thing you think they are, but sometimes it’s something you don’t realize ‘til it’s done and over.” Noa realized belatedly that talking about arguments probably wasn’t a feel good conversation for a first date, but it really was too late to rewind her words back. "I guess the tricky part is figuring out how to be aware of something when it's happening, instead of later on." That had been how his last 'relationship' had fizzled out, after all. If things between him and Noa were to pan out as he hoped, obstacles and inherent issues aside, he hoped he could make it work better than he had before. "Paying attention so it doesn't totally escape your notice." He was trying that now, in fact, noticing little details about the lines of Noa's face and how she felt in his arms as he pulled her a little closer. Pete found it kind of exciting, though nervewracking all the same, to not entirely know where they stood with each other yet. His hands splayed on the small of her back. Noa’s nerves unwound further with Pete’s small actions, that somehow felt much larger to her senses. She hadn’t resisted when more of the space between them was eaten up, just smiled a slow burn kind of smile, studying him like she could divine his intentions. “Not always good at that one,” she replied honestly, without more context. The Stones song tapered and finished and the machine was silent only momentarily before another rock oldie queued up - maybe by Demi, maybe automatically - and crackled through the speakers. She didn’t make an effort to talk over the music. Companionable silence wasn’t uncomfortable for Noa, it made it easier to memorize her surroundings; the heat radiated off of Pete’s body close to hers, the way he smelled (and lord, she might never admit to committing that to memory), and the way she could forget the things outside the bar. One song, then another, with a word or two between them, and although Noa still felt the undercurrent of nerves and a little bit of residual awkwardness, it was nice. “You said something about chocolate?” Noa said as the last song finished. “I have a bottle of whiskey in my truck. Don’t know how it pairs with brownie, but we could try it.” And ignore that it was technically day-drinking. After the brownie and the booze, there was only so much patience they could expect Demi to have, and she’d been hovering (mostly politely, but still). So Pete and Noa sacrificed more time to themselves to include Demi, and Isaac by extension, into their conversation. It was good, maybe not super comfortable, not like most of Noa’s interactions in the park, but good days and good talks were fewer and far between lately so she wasn’t going to create any faults with the afternoon. “Getting close to curfew,” she stated, a note of regret in her words. “I should be heading back,” she looked at Pete, “you too.” Then offered Demi and Isaac an expression that relayed her appreciation once again. “We’ll get out of your hair.” It was more for Isaac’s benefit than Demi’s. She knew the latter would have happily eavesdropped for the rest of the night if she’d been given the chance. "I guess you're right," Pete said, standing as well before he turned to offer his hand to shake Isaac's. "It was really nice meeting you," he added, then bent to offer Demi a quick hug. He'd never been the biggest fan of UMCB's curfew, especially now that it was cutting their date short at a disappointingly early time, but it was a good excuse to get some privacy again. He made a silent note to himself to find a more private way for them to meet up the next time -- assuming there'd be a next time! -- as he reached for Noa's hand. Demi and Isaac's presence, and the fact that he'd needed to keep his wits about him in order to be able to drive back home, had meant that he'd been more careful about showing physical interest and affection than he would usually be. The end of their date was nearing, though, and Pete was very interested in seeing if the sparks that flew between them could be summoned up one last time. "I had a really nice time," he said once they were outside and alone, away from eavesdropping ears and, luckily, prowling zombies. A cliche statement, maybe, but it was the truth. Spending time with Noa, while occasionally nerve wracking, was refreshing in its novelty. Noa had intertwined her fingers with Pete’s earlier inside the bar when they’d still been saying their goodbyes, and she found as they walked the deserted parking lot she liked the point of contact. It was grounding, and new for her. She’d never held hands much before. It was an innocent kind of gesture that hadn’t had much of a place before. “It was real nice,” she agreed with a brief, bright smile as they neared her truck, she paused before popping the latch on her door and turned to face Pete. Her free hand went up to the lapel of his ridiculous leather jacket. “Been a long time since I’ve been so nervous.” Noa couldn't quite look him in the face while she admitted it, her eyes dropped to somewhere around his chin instead. "Yeah?" Pete's smile broadened at that before he quickly attempted to clarify the reason: "I was nervous too. I was wondering if it was just me, but." Knowing that Noa had been in the same boat caused him to visibly relax, that grin still on his face as a little more of his usual confidence around women started to return. He stepped a little closer, moving his free arm around her waist so the distance between them was minimal. "Especially since I was kind of thinking what it'd be like to kiss you, too," he said then, cocking one eyebrow at her slightly. They were eye to eye, Noa's lips only inches away from his own, but her admission and normally-cool exterior made him want to see if she'd make the move to close the distance. Noa’s distracted, by Pete’s smile, by his arm, and maybe by the intent of it all. She didn’t show it though, she’s smiling still, but her smile went just a little suggestive at the corners. “You could have, earlier,” she replied, eating up some of the minimal space between them. She couldn’t focus on his face without going cross-eyed, and maybe that was for the better too. “I wouldn’t have slapped you.” She’s above playing some emotional game of chicken though, and before he can respond she’s kissing him. It’s not hesitant, but it’s not insistent either, and it didn't take much time before he started to return the kiss, dropping her hand in favor of pulling her even closer. She smiled into the kiss and went willingly. On another night, set years ago back when all he had to worry about was normal, boring stuff, Pete would've made a move much sooner than a couple minutes before they said good night. Even when they'd been at The Bar a few months ago, he'd wanted to kiss her. In a weird way, though, kissing Noa felt even better having prolonged it for so long. "I guess we just have to go out again," he murmured as he pulled away, conscious of the fact that they were out in Austin at the mercy of the walkers -- and the possibility that Demi was somehow spying. "Make up for lost time." Noa didn’t swallow down the soft, sad sigh when Pete pulled away. She’d been enjoying the contact. More than she expected she might, and she hoped it said more about Pete than any else. “I like the sound of that,” she mused, her mouth curled into the same suggestive smile she’d worn before. Noa placed both hands on his chest then and moved him backwards gently, so she could open her door. “Stay safe,” she said, unable to resist one more quick kiss before she climbed up into the cab and started the engine. |