. (lostrequiem) wrote in solsticerp, @ 2010-03-17 11:58:00 |
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Entry tags: | ava, cian, june 19 2009 |
Friday: An Actual Date
Who: Cian and Ava
Where: the movies, then Ava's house
When: evening
Cian had always liked going to the movies quite a lot, and he still liked it... but tonight had several subtle differences from when he and Ava usually went. For one thing, he'd picked her up at her house, and at least half the time she drove or walked over to meet him. For another, he'd dressed a little differently than he usually did: instead of running shorts and a t-shirt so faded the print was nearly illegible, he'd put on actual khaki shorts with a button and zipper and a short-sleeved red polo shirt. Definitely more of a summer date sort of outfit; it was exactly what he would have worn for a date date. Which this was. Once at the movies, he didn't get popcorn, because he couldn't stop thinking about getting a million hulls caught in his teeth. Instead he'd opted for a carton of those little chocolate-coated ice cream bites-- they were called 'Dibs' or some damn thing like that-- and an enormous soda. It would make him have to pee a thousand times tonight, but what the hell, right?
Now that they were in the movies, he couldn't have really said what was going on onscreen. It wasn't that he wasn't watching the movie, but he kept getting distracted. About ten or fifteen minutes in, he'd casually taken hold of Ava's hand, just like they sat in the movies holding hands all the time. Occasionally, he leaned over to whisper something in her ear or to offer her an ice cream bite, and whenever the bare skin of his forearm shifted against hers, he got goosebumps. They were on a date. He still couldn't quite get over that, but it definitely felt different from the millions of times they'd gone to the movies before now.
Ava was feeling the same way Cian was. She had put a lot more thought in what she was going to wear to the movies, and instead of an pair of old shorts, tank top and hoodie, Ava ended up finding a pair of flattering jeans and a light blue peasant top that she was pretty sure Jenny had left behind when she went to college. She was more conscious of the fact that Cian was holding her hand, or brushing his arm against hers, or even leaning in to whisper to her occasionally. Her heart was constantly thumping, and it was so loud Ava was positive Cian could hear it. But yet, at the same time, it was like any other time they went out together. It was comfortable, and fun, and she was enjoying herself. The fact that things had shifted into a romantic sort of zone only made it better, in Ava's opinion.
By the time the movie was ending, Ava had found herself leaning against Cian, her head on his shoulder. He smelled really good, and she couldn't help but smile a bit, since now she could enjoy touching him and everything else without feeling weird about it, or wondering if he would notice.
Cian had been turning his head very slightly once she put her head on his shoulder to try and figure out if she was wearing some kind of body spray or cologne or something or if it was just her shampoo. This was just really... crazy. In a completely good way. He always had a good time with her, whether they were going someplace or simply doing nothing, and now there was this added element of mutual attraction. He'd kept wanting to reach over and pull her chin up to kiss her, but he was trying to stick to his plan of not being like those disgusting couples who slobbered all over each other in public. He rested his head against hers as the end credits started to roll, not rushing to get up because they always watched the end credits. Sometimes there were funny little bits worked into them, and they hated to miss stuff. People were getting up all around them and heading out, and the lights gradually began to come up. "Not bad, huh?" he asked, squeezing her fingers a little.
There was a part of Ava that kept waiting for the weirdness to settle in. She was positive it was going to come eventually, but then she reminded herself that their first kiss had been while they were smoking pot and she was straddling his lap, so perhaps they had bypassed the weirdness all together. Only time would tell, she supposed. It was still odd to think about Cian being more than her best friend, and occasionally when she did think about it, she giggled nervously to herself, but it wasn't anything she couldn't get past.
"Not bad," she agreed, straightening in her seat and smiling at him as people got up and started for the exit. She had only been half-paying attention to the movie, but that was okay. Ava really didn't want to sink into a shy attitude around Cian. She didn't want to sit there and be paranoid about her hair, or if she was being stupid or silly. She was his friend because she could be stupid or silly around him, and frankly, he'd seen her when her hair was a mess, her clothes were dirty... hell, she'd tried to burp better than he could on more than one occasion. Trying to be a Delaney-ish girl right now was so not Ava and she had to remind herself of that. But Ava was also aware that she wasn't exactly the type of girl Cian generally dated. "Could have been better with more nudity," Ava sighed dramatically before she stretched her legs in front of her the best she could in the space restrictions.
Clearly, Cian wasn't looking for a Delaney-ish girl this time. It got really, really tiresome to always have to be conscious of looking a certain way, saying certain things, not actually being himself. It didn't feel sincere, didn't feel honest, and after the shiny wore off, it always ended up feeling like play-acting. Ava had seen him during his worst zit-covered phases in middle school, she'd seen him act like a complete tool during the moody spells he had sometimes, she'd dealt with him sick and crabby and angry. None of that stuff mattered, because they got each other. Maybe it should be weird, but it wasn't. Not now, not yet? Who knew? He wasn't going to worry about it.
He chuckled at her assessment of the movie, which he'd only half-watched, too, if that. "Definitely more nudity. Movies don't have enough of that anymore. And more cussin'." He unfolded himself from his seat and stretched standing up, not worrying about blocking anyone's view since most people had left the theater by now. It killed him to sit in a movie seat for two hours, sometimes more with as long as movies could get these days. It didn't look as if anything interesting was happening with the end credits, so he asked, "Ready to go?" He gathered up his cup and empty ice cream container to throw away on their way out.
"Foul language and boobies," Ava said with a laugh. "Every movie ought to have those two requirements, right?" She stood up and grabbed her water bottle to toss out on the way out. Now that the movie was over, she wasn't sure if they were going to get something to eat, or just go somewhere else to hang out, but she was eager to tell him a few things, since she was sure he'd get a kick out of them - namely Torin. She hadn't told him prior to the movie, because she wasn't sure how he would respond to it, and if he got pissed, she didn't want that to ruin their movie. Personally, it irked Ava, but she also found humor in it, mostly because she got to throw a drink at Torin Spencer, of all people. "What do you want to do now?" Ava asked, shoving her empty bottle into the trash can once they were out of the theater. She didn't have any high expectations of their 'date', since in Ava's mind, it was just like hanging out any other time, except this time there might be kissing at the end of it. Or during it.
"Foul language, boobies and ass. Don't forget ass," Cian pointed out. An older lady passing by overheard him and gave him a horrified look, and it was all he could do to wait until she was out of earshot to laugh. He just knew she was thinking something like, ...teenagers these days. He slung an arm around Ava's shoulders as she asked what he wanted to do next, gently steering her through the crowd on the sidewalk. "How 'bout we walk down to the cafe and get something to eat... give the crowd for the ferry time to get across before we go?" He'd eaten some stuff in the movie, but he could just about always eat. Plus, the cafe had an awesome appetizer sampler that was enough food for a full meal, in his opinion. He hadn't planned out some stupendous thing for them to do for their first date because that'd be a little weird considering it wasn't Valentine's Day or something like that, and he thought that Ava seemed fine with that. It clearly felt like a date as opposed to just hanging out, but there was that comfort level there, too. That was pretty awesome.
"Well, yeah, as long as it's a guy's ass... and it's a nice one," Ava replied with a grin, though she did her best to ignore the woman's look. And Cian would have been right, since Ava definitely picked up on a disapproving thought from the old lady's mind. Oh well. Slipping her arm around his waist, as she did a hundred dozen times in the past, Ava nodded. "Food definitely sounds good. I'm pretty sure I could eat just about anything right now. And I can tell you about what happened on the island yesterday, which was both awesome and embarrassing all at the same time. It was pretty epic though, I think you'll be impressed." She was assuming, anyway. To Ava, Torin didn't amass to any kind of 'threat', despite what he had said to her. He was a little pussy boy, in her opinion, and the fact that he was close friends with Jessica and Jordan didn't help his case at all.
"I don't wanna look at a guy's ass," Cian disagreed. "Guess I should be glad you do, though, or we might have a problem." He grinned as they headed in the direction of the cafe, finding everything about this evening thus far excellent. A couple of guys from the team passed them going the opposite way, and Cian nodded to them. He knew they'd probably figure it was just him and Ava hanging out like they always did. He couldn't help wondering how long it would take people to realize that he and Ava were progressing past platonic hanging-out type friends. Not that it mattered, really. "Somethin' on the island that was awesome, embarrassing and epic and you didn't text me?" he said, curious. They texted on and off every day, and he'd 'talked' to her several times like that even while M had been over at his house last night.
"No, but how often do girls get a really hot guy's butt in a movie?" Ava pointed out, lifting her face up to look at him. "Guys get boobs a heck of a lot more than girls get to see anything." Which was so true, especially in rated R movies. She watched a few guys from school walk by them, and knew Cian knew them. They'd probably be at his party Saturday night. Which had her wondering how many people would show up, and how she and Cian would act around one another. If it would be business as usual, or if things would be... different. She had a feeling that unless they played tonsil hockey in front of everyone, people would just assume the same things they always did about Cian and Ava. A part of her wanted to show everyone, and make sure people knew, because she was also aware that there would be hot girls in bathing suits and skimpy outfits, looking to flirt with Cian now that he was 'single'. But the other part of her didn't want to jump right into being a possessive weirdo either. "This was way too good for text," Ava explained. "Besides, it would have taken me forever to text out all the grand details, my thumbs would have turned red from being sore! But, anyway, it's about Torin Spencer."
"I'm not the best person to answer that question, Ava," Cian said. "Since, ya know, I can't tell a really hot guy's butt from anyone's butt." Ew. He was fine with whatever anyone else wanted to do, but just thinking about checking out someone of the same sex squicked him, personally. "But boobs in a movie are magic... any size, any shape." He smirked at her, glad they could run on about anything and everything like they'd always done. The only difference was that mentioning boobs made him think about seeing hers, but anyway. They'd reached the cafe, and he detached from her enough to pull the door open for her. He stared at her when she said the name Torin Spencer. "Okay, somehow good and Torin Spencer don't fit together, far as I'm concerned. Guess it'd be too good to be true not to have to hear about that asswipe 'til school was in again." He paused when the hostess led them to a booth in the corner and set down menus, then continued when she left. "What happened?" He'd had to deal with Torin Spencer way too much when he'd been dating Jessica, and he had an innate distaste for the guy.
She laughed and shrugged. "Okay fine, so stick with female butts then. It's basically the same thing for girls." Ava rolled her eyes at the boobs comment, though completely unoffended. She had heard a lot worse back in the day. Boys and their boob fetishes. She just didn't get it. Although if she was honest with herself, Ava could admit to having a 'thing' for really nice arms on a guy, although that wasn't anywhere near the way guys felt about boobs. Following the hostess to the booth, she waited until they were seated and their drink orders taken before she grinned at Cian over the cafe menu. "Well, no, good and Torin don't fit together, except maybe in this situation. He sat by me on Thursday, outside of the coffee shop over here. I could hear in his thoughts that he didn't even really remember my name, except that I was your tagalong or something like that. I tried to be super nice to him, just to see how he'd respond to it, since he's so totally arrogant that I bet he thought I just wanted to suck his... er, suck up to him or whatever." She could have been more crude about it, but she didn't want to mention sucking anything regarding another guy at the moment. That might have been weird. "Anyway," Ava continued with a roll of her eyes, "he started thinking some really tasteless things. He's a total jerk. So I dumped my iced tea on his head."
"Wonder what he was doin' on Eldritch?" Cian mused. "Besides being a tool." He snickered. Clearly, there was next to no entertainment there; he and Ava'd had to come over on the ferry to go to the movies, since there wasn't a theater on the island. He wasn't looking at the menu, because he knew exactly what he wanted, but he tapped his fingers on its plastic surface as he sat there. "He has a lot of nerve thinking anyone else is a tagalong," he scoffed. "If Jordan or Jessica stop too fast, they end up with his whole face up their butts." One of the only things that had made the end of his relationship with Jessica tolerable at all-- well, besides the sex-- was the fact that Torin had been off being a girly man in Italy somewhere. He brightened up when she said she'd thrown tea on him. "Sweet!" he exclaimed, raising one hand for a high-five across the table. "Did he cry because you messed up his hair?" He snorted laughter, then paused, looking mildly suspicious. "What kinda tasteless things?"
"I don't know... he didn't really say... I guess he was bored since Jessica and Jordan weren't attached to his hips," Ava mused. She'd had fun messing with Torin until he caught on and the insults started flying. She decided she was definitely leaving out the comments Torin made about Cian being stupid, or mentally retarded. That had been one of the big reasons why she had thrown her tea on him. Grinning, Ava gave him a high five, feeling pretty proud of herself, which was juvenile and everything, but so what? It had been totally worth getting lukewarm coffee thrown back at her. She wasn't as vain as Torin Spencer was. "He was pretty pissed about it, yeah. He actually threw his coffee back at me... stained my shirt! But oh well, I live on the island so it didn't take me long to get home and shower. He had to take the ferry all the way home, soaking wet with sugary tea, so... I think I won that one." At his question, Ava lifted a shoulder and diverted her gaze to the menu. "He said that Jessica had been slumming when she was dating you. Then he made fun of how I look and dress, mentioned something about me overcompensating for you not wanting to have sex with me... I'm not sure what was after that because that's when I threw my drink at him."
Cian's brow furrowed. "Hope it wasn't hot." Surely she would have mentioned it before now if she'd been burned. Torin sure as hell wasn't any sort of gentleman, he thought snidely. He liked to play at being all suave, but what kind of guy would do that to a girl? Ugh. The waitress brought their drinks, and he and Ava put their order in. The cafe was getting crowded, but they usually had fast service anyway. Once she'd left them, he got back to the conversation at hand. "You definitely won that one," he said. "Bet he looked like a drowned rat all the way home." What Ava said next made him cranky, though. "Maybe I was slumming dating her," he grumbled. "He's so freaking slimy... it's like he pokes around and tries to find the most nasty thing he could possibly say, whether it's true or not." Usually he thought Torin Spencer wasn't worth a second of his thoughts or his time, but him verbally attacking Ava for no good reason had definitely made him an enemy. "He's an idiot, and actually I do want to have sex with you." He didn't especially care if the people in the next booth overheard him. Under the table, his foot found hers, and he nudged at it gently. "Shows you what he knows."
"It wasn't hot," she assured him, setting her menu down when their drinks arrived. She didn't think even Torin was that big of a douchebag. And if it had been hot, she might have physically attacked him, so it was probably for the best that it just made her smell like coffee beans for awhile. The nice thing was that Torin had looked like a drowned rat, with his stupid expensive clothes and 'perfectly' coifed hair. Puleeze. "I think you were dating below your potential," Ava continued confidently, picking up her iced tea to sip. "Not that I'm bragging about myself or anything, that's not what I mean... but I never really thought it would last long anyway. She's just as shallow as Torin, but just as pretty, which I guess is what some guys want." Cian had, at least in the beginning. Her skin turned a faint shade of pink when he confirmed that he did want to have sex with her, and she was glad she'd swallowed her drink already, because she might have choked. It was one thing to think about it, but another to actually say stuff like that out loud. Sex with Cian was... unfathomable, but not unwanted. It was just something she was so used to daydreaming about on her own time, that it was kind of odd to consider it might actually happen. Ava smiled when she felt his foot, and she nudged him back. "He's an idiot. But he seemed to catch on that I wanted to have sex with you too, at least that's what I picked up in his mind. Before all the obscenities took over anyway. I'm just glad he lives on the mainland, with Jessica and Jordan. I don't think you'll have to worry about them crashing your party."
"I've done a lot of dating below my potential," Cian admitted, shrugging a shoulder. He'd ordered water, because he'd had enough soda in the movies to kill something, and he took a drink of it. "But you know, you get older, your taste improves." Not that there'd been anything wrong with most of the girls Cian had dated, but there just hadn't been a lot to them. Pretty, superficial, amusing, very concerned with wearing the right thing and being seen with the right people. Exactly the sort of girl a popular high school jock would be expected to date. He smiled at her when her face turned pink, a knowing, seductive sort of smile that he hadn't really had the opportunity to use with her before. He wasn't used to being able to fluster Ava, and he'd have to admit that he kind of liked it. He was going to try hard not to rush her, but yeah. He thought about having sex with her quite a bit now. "I think he just thought it'd offend you," he told her, "and that's why he said it. But I'm glad you do." And it was time to change the subject before he started thinking about things and got himself all flustered. "If any of those three crash my party," he said, "I'm throwin' 'em out." Of course, he knew that they all hated him enough that it was completely unlikely they'd do that.
She smiled, thinking it was kind of funny to hear Cian talk about his tastes improving with age, despite being only eighteen. Then again, he was right, since she had gotten to know him in middle school... she could say his taste in girls had evolved, but really, Ava hadn't liked any of his girlfriends but for one or two. "Clearly. I mean... Jessica was like a Burger King hamburger," Ava declared with mock ego, "I'm like Filet Mignon, right? The proof is right there." Ava could understand liking someone for their looks. She'd had her fair share of crushes on boys over the years, mostly because they had been really cute, even if they were out of her league. Cian was kind of like the whole package to her, which was why she didn't want to screw it up. "He knew it would offend me," Ava said with a soft shrug. "But it was more his comments about you that made me mad. Like he's one to talk, you know? He thinks he's god's gift to Darkwater or whatever. I don't know why he doesn't just date Jessica or Jordan... not that I care who he dates, but still." She kept her ankle pressed up against his, just for the contact since she had every reason and excuse to do so now. It was kind of weird, because she liked touching him before but now she really liked touching him. "Probably best that they don't show up. If you do kick them out, no doubt it'd be on YouTube with everything else."
Cian chuckled. "You're Filet Mignon with shrimp and butter sauce on top," he said, hemming her other foot in with his other ankle. "Ya know, like they serve over at Peterman's." He winked at her, finding her faux-haughty act quite amusing. She didn't believe it at all, but then that was one of the things he liked about her. She wasn't the type of girl who was constantly worrying about her hair and makeup and if she looked fat, which meant that she was fun to be around... but she was pretty, too. Best of both worlds. He rolled his eyes when she said that Torin Spencer thought he was God's gift to Darkwater, because that was totally the case. His sibs did, too, from what he could tell, although Taryn wasn't too bad judging from the limited interactions he'd had with her. "You know how M told you what he was the other day?" he inquired, since Emmanuel had told him he'd shared his elemental status with Ava. "Well, Jordan, Jess and Chrissy are, too, except they're fire." M hadn't said he couldn't mention that to Ava. "And they've got, like, these dating rules. M said some of 'em date humans and some don't, 'cause they're encouraged to get with others of their kind. Jess and Jordan might think they're too good for Torin, or something." He snickered. "Or maybe they just don't like it that he kisses boys, too." Everyone who didn't have their head up their butt knew that about Torin Spencer, after all, because he was quite blatant about it.
Ava laughed. "Ooh, shrimp and butter sauce? Hot damn." They were joking, but hey, it was kind of nice to know he found her several levels above Jessica Delaney. Cian might be the only guy in school who thought so, but he was the only one that mattered, so Ava was okay with it. Tilting her head, she watched Cian curiously and nodded when he brought up M and his elementalness. She'd been able to figure it out prior to M telling her, but it had been cool that he trusted Ava enough to confide in her anyway. At the thought of the Delaneys being elementals, Ava's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Not uh. Seriously? Wow... that makes so much more sense now, doesn't? Fire is like, an angry bitch. And hey! Wow, so are they." But that also meant Jessica could have probably burned Ava's hair off, if she had wanted to. Yikes, not something she wanted to think about too much. "Probably another good reason to avoid them completely though. But yeah, that makes total sense. If elementals can only date... er, elementals, then I guess dating Torin would be below them?" But Jessica dated Cian, and Cian was more or less human. Then again, Cian was worlds above Torin Spencer. She snickered when Cian mentioned Torin kissing boys. "I guess he's got to make sure he has plenty of options, since I'm sure most girls probably find him totally insufferable. Who wants to date a guy who is as into his appearance as they are?"
"I didn't know that while I was going out with her," Cian said. "M told me when I was askin' him if there were more elementals around. All their personality quirks make a lot more sense now." He smirked. "The whole raging, psycho-bitch thing." It occurred to him then that Jordan could have tried to burn his hair off when they'd fought, except it wouldn't have worked for her. It was kind of nice to know that he had a hidden advantage they didn't know about. "Yeah, I think you're right," he told her. "We both need to stay away from them if we can." This could be one of the best summers ever, and he didn't want to spend it feuding with the Delaneys. They were nasty bitches, all of them, and who knew what kind of shit they might get up to if given the chance? The waitress brought their food and set it down in front of them and offered drink refills. Once she'd left again, Cian gave Ava an amused look. "Seriously. The girl's s'posed to be the pretty one in the relationship. And God only knows what he might be hiding in that hair of his." Torin Spencer's hair was huge and poofy, and the jocks never tired of making fun of it. That and his affected ways. He picked up a cheese stick from his appetizer platter, dunked it in marinara sauce and took a bite.
"It does make sense," Ava said, reaching over to grab one of the cheese sticks for herself. "But then again, think about it, if she was born a fire elemental, and she has to deal with all these nutso fiery traits, is it really her fault?" Not that Ava was comparing being an elemental to a mental illness or anything, but Jessica's temper was probably fueled by what she was, more than who she was. Maybe. Who the heck knew? Ava preferred to think Jessica was just a bitch, through and through, so she could continue hating her without guilt. "Torin can be as pretty as he wants. If he finds a girl, or guy, who is okay with that, then... whatever." Ava shrugged and munched on the cheese stick thoughtfully. "As long as he stays away from me with his stinky coffee beverages. It's just kind of crazy how quickly things can shift in a span of a couple of months." Because at one point, Cian had been totally into Jessica. Now he couldn't stand her. Just like that. It made Ava a bit paranoid that it could happen between them, but then, she thought maybe their friendship was more solid than that.
"I think fires got the worst of it," Cian mused. "Earth, like M and West? They can make things grow. No trying to incinerate someone's face if they get mad." He picked up a boneless buffalo wing to chomp on next. "She might be more inclined to be that way," he said when Ava asked if Jessica was to blame for having to deal with the fire traits, "but it's like everything else. You gotta choose how you're gonna react to stuff." He had the grace to look sheepish, since he hadn't exactly handled seeing Jordan at Vapor the previous weekend all that well. It was one thing to know something and another to actually apply it, he thought. He rolled his eyes at her next mention of Torin. "I dunno that it's his looks that're the issue. Some people like that, I guess. It's the fact that he's a narcissistic jerk." Take that, anyone who thought he wasn't smart enough to use big words. He just... had trouble reading them. He smirked when she said it was crazy how things could shift in a couple of months. "Couple of months? Try a couple of days." Two days ago at this approximate time, he and Ava had been piled up in his den watching a movie with no clue what was going to happen next. Crazy, but not bad crazy.
She nodded, since she knew it was true. If Jessica knew she was a fire elemental, which Ava was guessing she did, then she had a choice to behave a certain way. Okay, yeah, Ava wasn't all that better. She got into a fight with Jessica, and pulled hair and acted like a little girl, but Jessica brought out the worst in her. Some people were really good at that. The idea that Jessica could pretend to want to be friends with her was so laughable. "It's okay now, I guess. You guys did your thing, got your digs in and now you can just try to avoid one another for the rest of the summer. It helps that you live on Eldritch and she's on the mainland." Ava took a bite of her sandwich, trying not to snicker at Cian's assessment of Torin. It was so true. He was a narcissistic jerk! "It's not even a show..." she started, once she swallowed. "Some guys act that way but for a reason... I can sometimes hear their thoughts and see they're putting on an act. But he's the real deal. Jerk with a capital J." She knew what he meant when he said a couple of days, and her cheeks flushed again, remembering what happened when they left his den and went to his room. No need to let it embarrass her. She was happy it had happened. "Well... feelings sort of shifted after awhile... just acting on them made things speed up a bit, you know?"
"Having a thirty minute ferry ride between you and your ex is awesome," Cian agreed. "'Specially when she's nuts and her sister is, too. That's a win-win all around." He smirked, just glad that they hadn't seen the two of them tonight. It could have very well happened, since the only place to go to the movies was in Darkwater and that was where they were. He didn't guess there'd ever be a theater on Eldritch, but hey, the island had its own kind of charm. He snagged a couple of fries from Ava's plate and nodded at what she'd said about Torin's jerkness. "It's cool that you have a built-in jerk detector. Doesn't work on me, though, so I could secretly be a jerk and you'd never know it." Of course, as long as they'd known each other, she'd have a pretty good idea by now. It was fun to joke around, though. Cian prudently didn't mention her blush, although he found it adorable. "Yeah, I know," he replied. "Getting up the nerve to act on them was pretty awesome, too." A lot of people would find it ridiculous or unbelievable that Cian, popular ultra-jock, would feel insecure about making a move on someone... but it was just different to start feeling things for his best friend and have to worry about possibly ruining the relationship if she didn't feel the same things.
"Fiery nuts," Ava said with a tiny smirk, because yes, she could be very immature too. The only thing Ava wasn't looking forward to was Jessica finding out about Ava and Cian. Not that she really cared about what Jessica thought, but it annoyed Ava that Jessica would use it as vindication and proof that Cian had been cheating on her with Ava in the first place. Ava didn't want Cian branded a jerk or cheater by people who didn't know the whole story. "My jerk detector still works on all men, nulls or not," she pointed out before popping a fry into her mouth. "Thankfully," she continued once she swallowed, "you passed... well, you pass most of the time." He could be a jerk from time to time, but what boy wasn't? Although Cian was rarely a jerk to her. That wasn't to say that didn't have their bickering moments, but friends did that from time to time. Ava took a quick drink of her iced tea to wet her throat, since the whole 'acting' on things had been pretty hot and got her flustered just thinking about it. Yeah, it was the hormones, right? Everything felt like it had happened so fast, so Ava was just trying to keep up with it. Her brain was still processing everything, and now it had the fact that Cian wanted to have sex with her mixed in there too. Brain explosion! Kissing him had been awesome, and being able to touch him and everything. But what if they decided to have sex and she had some kind of giggle outbreak? What if she ruined everything by not knowing what she was doing? And why was she even thinking about this right now? "It's hard for me to imagine you having to work up the nerve to do anything," Ava said finally, smiling softly at him. "You've always been one of those guys who goes after what they want with a lot of confidence... unless you put on a good show."
Cian snorted at her remark about fiery nuts, because yes, he could be just as immature. It was fun. He laughed and shrugged a shoulder when she said he passed the jerk detector most of the time. "Guess most of the time's as good as I could hope for," he said amiably. There were plenty of people who'd seen his jerk side, because sometimes he pulled off the entitled, boorish jock act a little too well. But luckily, he and Ava rarely had trouble beyond a spat now and then when one or the other of them was feeling irritable. It happened. He chewed on a loaded potato skin as Ava drank her tea, his own thoughts wandering to the other night, as well. He couldn't think about it much, either, because it made him feel very... stirred up. He'd gone from having crazy hot dreams and occasional random thoughts to just going for it, facilitated by some experimentation with marijuana. It was true that it had happened fast, but that didn't make it any less valid in his opinion. Sometimes things worked that way. He took a drink of his water and then smiled back at her when she spoke again. "A lot of stuff I don't think about, I just do," he said. He'd always been taught that he could accomplish anything he put his mind to, and a lot of that had stuck with him. "Or, like, if it had been a random girl where it didn't matter if she turned me down, or I messed up." He didn't think he was explaining this very well, really. "But with you... there wasn't any option for not seeing you again if things went wrong or you thought I was crazy." He didn't want to mention that the majority of girls would have been thrilled to get with him anyway; popularity was a strange thing sometimes. "So it kind of took something extra for me to, you know..." Make a move.
"I doubt you would have had any girl in your room turning you down," Ava teased. She was used to making fun of him and the way some girls reacted around him at school. It might be strange to continue doing so now, given that she really didn't want any girls reacting around him that way anymore, but some habits were hard to break. And honestly, she doubted some girls would care that he had a girlfriend again. They certainly hadn't when Jessica had been with him. In any case, now wasn't the time to start feeling jealous or possessive. So she refocused and nodded, rubbing his ankle with her foot. "I know. I think when it's someone you've known for awhile, it's not as easy to throw caution to the wind and just go for it." Ava shrugged and picked up another fry. Her lips twitched as her eyes met his. "It's nice though, because I already know all your bad habits, and your quirks. I know how to push your buttons, and you know how to push mine. I think maybe it's easier because we already know one another." She'd never had a boyfriend before, but somehow knowing it was Cian made it a lot less intimidating for her.
"Yeah, yeah, shut up," Cian said, but his tone was affectionate. He was so accustomed to Ava ranking him out about being popular and having fangirls that he wasn't sure he'd know what to do if she stopped. He batted his eyes at her, smirking. "Oh em gee! Do you think somebody's going to start an 'I Hate Ava' page on Facebook 'cause you're dating me?" He shoveled in another cheese stick, completely amused by the thought and also by the fact that their feet and legs probably looked like a pretzel beneath the table. This was so normal and so not, all at the same time. "You also know all about how I'm completely awesome," he joked when she said she knew all his quirks and habits. "You know all my weak spots too." Well... most of them. "You better not start tryin' to tickle me when I'm tryin' to make out with you or something." He could see her doing that, actually, at least some of the time. In a way, though, that could possibly be fun when he had to work even harder to get her attention off of being silly. Definitely something to think about.
Her eyes widened with mock hope and excitement. "Ohmygod! Like, do you think they totally would? Because, like, that would be so totally awesome. I'd be famous, thanks to you. Haters to the left!" And then she chuckled and rolled her eyes. She wouldn't have been surprised if she got ragged on more often by other girls, but that came with the territory of being Cian's best friend. Being his girlfriend now... she didn't know if it would get worse or not. Not that she cared. "I do know that you are the epitome of awesome." She snatched another cheese stick from him, bored with her fries now. "The minute I was around you and couldn't hear your brain shouting at me, I knew there was an awesomeness inside of you that couldn't be matched by anyone else. And I was right. I promise to try not to tickle you, but you have to realize, if I'm in a position where it'd be incredibly easy? My first instinct may be to just go for it. This," she continued with a grin, motioning between them with the cheese stick, "is a transition phase. I can't switch off my BFF brain overnight, it's a process, or something."
"I know, right?" Cian said, his tone taking on a chirpy yet clipped inflection; he was actually imitating Jessica Delaney at her most vapid. "So totally." He couldn't maintain it and ended up snickering uncontrollably. He knew there were girls who'd hate her even more than they did because she hung around with him all the time, but there was always someone being a hater about something. That was high school. He grinned at her when she said he was the epitome of awesome. "Only person I know who's as awesome as I am is you, so I guess we have to date. Who else could possibly be awesome enough for us?" He was close to finishing off his sampler, and he snarfed half a potato skin as she gestured with the cheese stick. "You don't have to completely switch it off," he said matter-of-factly. "Just keep in mind that when you tickle me? I'll do things to distract you that I didn't used to do." He looked a bit smug as he eyed her and then reached for his water.
Ava giggled softly when he played into her 'airhead' act. Sadly, she knew girls at school who talked like that while chomping gum or twirling their hair. It annoyed Ava to no end that they gave into the pretty, bubbleheaded stereotype. But some guys liked that stuff. Ava set her sandwich down after taking a bite, and once she swallowed, she grabbed her iced tea to wash it down. "I dunno... maybe two people as awesome as we are could easily shift the Earth off its axis with the amount of awesomeness our dating might cause. But on the other hand, we could be doing everyone a great disservice not to see how much more awesome we could be." Ava grinned, knowing their conversation had turned completely ridiculous. "And I want to see how many times I can say awesome in one conversation. We're doing pretty good so far." Leaning back against her seat, she eyed him with amusement. "Then I guess that might be reason enough to tickle you. Do you think that would deter me?" It just made her curious, and excited. Flirting with Cian when it actually meant something had her feeling a lot different - and anxious. Both in good ways of course.
"That was four times," Cian pointed out. "Super-awesome." Yeah, they could definitely get silly, but at least they didn't get bored. He was through with his food by this point, and he wiped his hands and mouth and then tossed the paper napkin aside. His eyebrows lifted a little in acknowledgment of her tone and her expression, and his smile turned coy. "Actually I'm hopin' it won't deter you," he said. "That's not some bullshit reverse psychology, either." Oh, man, they had an entire ferry ride and a drive to her house before he could potentially get his hands on her. Dammit. Even the most desperate of people didn't generally fool around on the ferry, because when you didn't have tinted windows, everybody could see you, and that was incredibly not classy. "A little tickling's worth the things I have in mind." The flirting was intriguing, exciting, fun despite how long he'd known Ava. A lot of things were pretty much the same... but that was different now. He fished his wallet out of his pocket to pay the check that had been dropped off a few minutes ago.
She really thought she'd be able to do this whole thing without turning red every time he said something like that. It was different when they were playfully flirting, or being flat out silly. Now Ava knew it meant something, and it put thoughts in her head which had her sort of feeling all kinds of anticipation. She was completely inexperienced, however, except for a few kisses here and there, and then with what had happened in Cian's bedroom the other night. There was a slight fear that she would be awkward, or uncoordinated, or shy. Cian wasn't a virgin, and he'd messed around with girls before. She didn't want to feel insecure, but she did, which was an odd thing for Ava. "Let me leave the tip," Ava told him, reaching for her bag quickly to get her wallet. It kept her hands busy and gave the pink in her cheeks time to fade. Pulling out a couple bills, she smiled across the booth at Cian. "Reverse psychology has been known to work, you know. Besides, I think I used tickling in the past just as an excuse to touch you without it being totally weird."
Cian was seeing a new side to his best friend, and he found it fascinating. A girlie side, with the blushing when they talked about certain subjects now. He didn't take his eyes off her face, not even when she looked away to retrieve her wallet. He didn't, of course, know that she was feeling insecure. After the other night, he had no doubts about her ability to please him. When they got to that point, which he knew could be a while. And that was cool. "That's funny," he said with a smirk. "I thought you used tickling 'cause you liked to torture me and make me feel less manly." He winked at her as he slid out of the booth once he'd untangled his feet from hers. Leaving the check and the cash at the table to be picked up, he waited for Ava to join him. A stop at the restroom on the way out, off to the car and then the ferry, and they'd be on their way. A lot of people tired of the long ferry ride back and forth to Eldritch, but Cian didn't think much of it by now, since he'd lived there his entire life.
Ava laughed and nodded. "That too. Not many people get to hear you shriek like a little girl." She grabbed her bag, made sure she didn't leave anything important on the table, and then slid out of the booth to join him. She definitely had a girlie side. She just didn't indulge in it all that often. Her best friend was a boy, and had been since middle school. There were no make overs, or gossiping about boys while they painted one another's fingernails. She was used to burping contests and pinching and air hockey. So reminding herself that he may not want to kiss her mouth after letting out a belch from drinking too much soda now was something she had to keep at the forefront of her mind. It was kind of funny, that while they didn't feel any awkwardness from moving beyond just friends, there were little things that could potentially be weird that had never been weird before. Once they were both ready to go, she slipped her hand in his to walk back to the car. She didn't mind the ferry ride whatsoever. It took awhile, but it was something she was so used to that most of the time it seemed to fly by, like tonight.
The only disappointing factor was having him drive her back to her house. She wasn't sure if he wanted to hang out with her more, or if the night was coming to an end. In any case, Ava was aware that a kiss was probably coming, regardless of what they decided to do. Once they were off the ferry and back on the island, she felt more anxious about it, in a strangely good way.
Another different thing for Cian was wanting to make sure his breath was acceptable at all times now. He casually took a pack of gum out of the glovebox once they were in the car, put a stick in his mouth and offered her some while he was at it. The ferry ride went by like it always did, with them listening to music and talking some and also not talking some of the time. He liked that it wasn't like some dates where he felt like there had to be conversation every minute or things could get awkward. He'd never felt that way with Ava pretty much since they'd first met, and that was cool. He drove off the ferry ramp once it went down and out of the lot, heading toward her house; he was aware in the back of his mind that they'd have more privacy if they went to his house for a while... but that probably wasn't such a good idea. It would be so easy to go further than she might want to if they were completely alone, and two days in, he already knew it was going to be a challenge for him anyway. So he turned down the street that would take them to her house. Of course, he planned to go in with her, because he always did. And yeah, he definitely had hopes for some kissing.
He parked the Fiat in front of her house and headed around to open the door for her if she didn't do it before he got there. Cian figured that in this situation of best friends to dating, they were writing the rules as they went.
Ava declined the gum, but popped a mint as subtly as she could from her purse. It would be gone by the time they got to her house and she wouldn't have to spit it out to kiss him like she would have with gum. Wow, she was putting way too much thought into these things. Once they got to her house, she was unbuckling her seat belt when he jumped out of the car and rounded toward her door. For a second, she was confused as to what he was doing, but then she realized he was opening the door for her. Aw, that was sweet... and had her smiling. And at the same time, hoping her parents were in the den or something and not spying. She got out of the car once he opened her door and slipped her bag on her shoulder. "Come on," she said, taking his hand to lead her up to her porch and door. He'd come inside, at least for a little bit. It wasn't unusual for Ava to have Cian over, even at a 'later' hour so she knew her parents wouldn't think twice if they heard his voice in the house. Plus, it helped that Ava could hear their thoughts, so if they decided to spy, or come into whatever room Ava and Cian were in, she'd know beforehand.
Unlocking her front door, she stepped inside, immediately listening for their voices. She set her bag on the couch and after a second, realized they were upstairs watching television in their bedroom. Turning toward Cian, she smiled and hooked her thumbs in the belt loops of her jeans just to have something to do with her hands that wasn't awkward. "So, that wasn't weird at all. Being on an actual date with you. No wonder all the girls are clamoring for one."
Cian seemed to be putting a lot of thought into logistics, as well. He'd quickly spit the gum into the gum wrapper, which he'd had in his pocket, as he'd been walking around the car. Normally he might've just spit it out on the ground, but what if Ava or one of her parents ended up stepping on it? That'd be uncool. At any rate, he had it tucked away in his pocket-- and hopefully he'd remember to take it out before laundry got done-- by the time he got over to open the car door. They got into her house, and he heard the faint sound of television from another part of the house. That was usually what his parents were doing when he and Ava went to his place instead, so it was a familiar sound. "You thought it was gonna be weird?" he asked, keeping his voice low as he stepped closer to her. "Wasn't any weirder than it ever is when we go do something." Another step, and he was firmly in her personal space, gazing down at her. "Too bad for them, 'cause they can't have me," he said. He desperately, desperately wanted to kiss her, but he was making the anticipation last. He put his hands just past hers, taking hold of the belt loops just behind the ones she was holding.
"I don't know," Ava admitted with a faint grin, feeling her heart speed up when he moved closer to her. "I thought maybe it could be weird. But it wasn't, so... doesn't matter." There was always the potential for weirdness, and yes, she kept waiting for it to just pop up randomly and surprise her. So far she had been lucky. Ava lifted her chin when he stepped up in front of her. He was a bit taller than she was, but that was okay. And generally Ava wasn't a fan of people in her personal space, but this was definitely different, and definitely... hot. She breathed in softly when his hands slipped past hers to her belt loops and she prayed to every and any God above that her parents would stay exactly where they were right at that moment. The last thing she wanted was for one of them to spoil the moment. Ava brought her hands away from her jeans and lifted her arms to twine around his neck. She really, really wanted to kiss him too. Being this close to him was just making every nerve ending in her body go haywire. "Good," Ava said, her lips curving. "I've discovered I'm not too fond of sharing, and I'd hate to get into another fight where I'm pulling some chick's hair over you."
Cian knew as well as she did that random weirdness could happen, but he wasn't going to worry about it until he had to. He figured that when it did, they could come up with some way to get through it. He wasn't much thinking about Ava's parents, either, as she slid her arms around him, thus bridging the tiny bit of distance that had been left between them. He relocated one hand to the small of her back and put the other on her shoulder, then slid it into her hair when she said she didn't want to get into another hair-pulling fight over him. "I dunno, it's kinda hot to have chicks fighting over me," he said with a lazy smile. His fingers combed through the soft length of her hair on one side. "'Cept I don't like you getting your hair pulled." He knew she'd remember how he'd flipped out and insisted on looking at her head after she and Jessica had had that little spat at the marina. The texture of it felt nice between his fingers, and he left his hand in it as he leaned down to kiss her, deciding he'd waited as long as he could.
There was definitely a remembering of how Cian had behaved once she told him about her cat fight with Jessica. Some guys might loved hearing about it, finding it 'hot' and everything, but Cian had been pissed off and worried that Ava had actually gotten hurt. Yeah, hair pulling was incredibly girly, but it did hurt if you got enough of a yank. Not that Ava was really thinking about it all that much, because Cian's hand was in her hair, and his fingers sliding through the strands felt incredibly nice. Ava was trying to get her tongue to work so she could respond to him, but her throat felt sort of dry, and her brain was fuzzy from how warm and tingly she felt just from being this close to him. Thankfully he was leaning down to kiss her, so she didn't have to struggle for words. Her eyes closed, and she tilted her head subtly to the side, sinking against him the moment their lips met. How was it that they had known each other for so long and had never done this? It made those tingles intensify inside of her body, and her skin flushed hotly just from the simple contact. She was going to have to try really hard not to drag him up to her room and put her bed to good use. It was best to go slow and pace things, right? Best friends for years or not... but if he kissed her like that all the time, it was going to be hard.
The soft press of her body against his made Cian's heart beat faster, and he hoped that she was listening for her parents because he sure as hell wasn't. Of course, they weren't making a sound, so they were probably safe unless the Connellys had sonar or something. She tasted a little like mint and beneath that, like her, which was a taste he could definitely get used to. His tongue brushed over hers, swirled around it in a simple repetitive motion that he felt he could keep up all night... except actually, no, because he might blow up eventually. He was also starting to wonder how he'd managed to not do this for so long, because it felt hot, electrifying and at the same time completely natural. He was absolutely going to have trouble behaving himself, he thought as his hand slowly dropped from her hair and settled on her back with the other one, its sole purpose to press her more tightly against him. He tilted his head slightly, paused for a quick, shaky breath of air and then delved into her mouth for a deeper, more intimate kiss.