Definitely Don't Get Along Who: Avery and Darcy When: Afternoon Where: Home
With the festival probably in full swing by now, Avery was dressed and ready to head down to the park to check it out, more specifically the auction. She walked downstairs to find her shoes, wondering if she might run into Ren somewhere. Avery didn’t mind doing things alone, but it was always more fun if people she actually liked were around to goof off with her.
Sitting on the nearby chair, Avery shoved her feet into her shoes, thankful that her headache that morning had gone away after a shower and breakfast. She hadn’t even had that much to drink with Gabe, but seeing as how it had been awhile since she had alcohol, it had definitely taken it’s toll. Darcy knew she was headed to the festival but she wasn't rushing. She'd get there in time for the auction but the house had cleared out and being alone was suddenly the best thing ever. Or it was until Avery clomped down the stairs and Darcy realized she wasn't alone. She looked over at her cousin from her spot on the window seat, setting down her book. "Why haven't you left yet?"
Avery looked up from tying her shoe when Darcy spoke. She hadn't even noticed her there, and Avery lifted a brow before returning her attention to her shoelaces. "Because I felt like sleeping in. Besides, it's going all day, what's the point of getting there early and getting bored after a couple of hours Why are you still here?"
Darcy closed her book with a sigh. "Because I thought you and everyone else was finally gone." She rolled her eyes and tugged at the ragged flannel she had on. She'd change for later but this was great for her lazy day of reading and relaxing. "You meeting that guy again?" Damn Avery and her dates. Darcy had heard her get in the night before and been jealous. Another reason to get there in time for the auction, maybe someone would be available that would piss her cousins off.
"Sorry to disappoint you," Avery said with a roll of her eyes. If Darcy ever smiled in her direction, Avery would probably faint from the shock of it. She finished tying her shoe and looked up at her cousin again, confusion settling across her face before she realized Darcy was talking about Gabe. "Gabe? No. I guess if he's going, it'll be with his girlfriend." Or maybe girlfriend. Who knew? It didn't seem important to get into the complicated details with Darcy. "Are you actually going, or are you going to hide in here all day?"
That made Darcy grin almost menacingly. "You went on a date with a guy with a girlfriend? Well done homewrecker." Little Avery breaking people up. Of Darcy could tolerate her family more she might actually be proud of her. "I am. Probably. Figured I might go find some bachelor at the auction that'll make Lochlan and Pat twitch."
"It wasn't a date," Avery said simply, not wanting to let Darcy rile her up. There was no one there to break up the hair pulling grudge match if she got angry enough. Standing up, Avery wondered if she ought to take a light jacket or not. "So, what, are you going to bid on some guy old enough for it to be creepy? You ought to just buy someone our age and see if they can tolerate you for any length of time. Call it an experiment."
"So you weren't thinking about getting in his pants when you asked him out?" Darcy ventured guessing that was definitely not the case. "Maybe. If he's hot enough. Or maybe someone our age who's not anything like...them," she said waving towards the house to indicate the family. "People tolerate me. It'd be a stupid experiment." She blew a set of red locks out of her face and slumped to lay back more on the window seat.
That was the part that annoyed her most about Darcy, implying that there was something wrong with their family. "I wasn't planning on trying to get into anyone's pants. And I didn't 'ask him out'. We decided to hang out together and get a beer." Augh! She was letting Darcy get under her skin. Avery forced herself to stop defending her night. Gabe was a nice guy, and they'd had fun. If she came away with it with a new friend, that was awesome. "You know, you'd be lucky to find a guy like Lochlan, and you know it."
"Avery, drinks is a date. Duh." Darcy rolled her eyes and tugged at her hair, braiding part of it for kicks. It was straighter today, because of the festival. "Lochlan who can't even decide on which house he wants to live in, that one?" Her cousin had been useful when they were out in the thick of zombie territory, but once they'd gotten into the dome it was back to his old flighty ways.
They were going to have a battle of rolled eyes for sure. "No, having a beer with someone is not a date, especially when there's no romantic interest involved. Guys and girls are capable of being friends, believe it or not. As for Lochlan, he's a good guy, flakiness or not. Whoever he ends up with is going to be super lucky." He was her brother, so of course she was going to defend him until she turned blue in the face. "I think a few boys are on the sign up sheet I saw when I was helping set up. Why don't you just come with me and bid on one of them instead of trying to piss off people?"
“So you’ve got no interest in Mr. Dark and Handsome?” Darcy said, finally getting up and watching Avery, teasing in her tone and walk. “Sure, she’d be lucky...if she could get him to stay in the same place for longer than thirty seconds.” She tucked her hands into the back pockets of her jeans as she looked at Avery. “You really want to hang out with me Avery? Really?”
Sighing with exasperation, Avery rested her hands on her hips. "No. He's got enough girl problems. I don't know him well enough to be interested so just let it go." Geez! Darcy could be persistently annoying when she wanted to be. "I only want to hang out if you promise not to be a raging bitch. I don't know why we can't just go do something fun together for once." Even if they bickered a lot, Darcy was still Avery's cousin, and sometimes Avery wished they could get along.
“Uh huh,” Darcy said not completely buying it before staring at Avery for longer. She had planned on going to the auction and really it was easier if she wasn’t alone, which was strange, but she’d gotten so freaking used to people always being around, while alone was nice, it got old quickly. “Let me change my shirt?”
"Okay." Wow, Darcy was actually agreeing to spend time with her? Voluntarily? Avery wasn't sure if she was relieved, or disappointed. Hopefully they could get through the afternoon without fighting. If not, Avery supposed she could always ditch Darcy at some point.
Darcy nodded, grabbing her book and starting up the stairs to head to her room. It took a moment to find the right shirt and wound up in something simple, a white sleeveless shirt that hung off of her well. She gave her hair a quick look then grabbed a pair of boots that went up to her knees, hurrying down the stairs after with her cash shoved in her pocket for the auction. “Ready?”
Avery waited somewhat patiently, and then nodded when Darcy returned. This would be interesting at least. "Yeah, let's go." She headed for the door, eager to get to the festival to see what it was all about. And she would need to come up with some small talk on the way. "So are there any boys in school that you're hoping might be there?"
Darcy followed after Avery, hands back in her pockets. “I thought we’d decided on some older guy that would make you cringe,” she said, not wanting to answer that question. There was an answer, but she didn’t want to share it yet. It would ruin the surprise. That and she wasn’t sure he’d be there.
"No, you decided on an older guy who would make your male cousins cringe," Avery pointed out. "I could care less who you bid on as long as it's not some creeper. I just figured if there was a guy you were actually interested in, this would be a good opportunity to get a date with him without fear of rejection. If he's there anyway."
“So there’s some older guy that wouldn’t make you cringe?” Darcy asked, thinking that was far more interesting. “And I don’t need this sort of thing to get a date. If I wanted to, I could get a date.”
Shrugging, Avery shot Darcy a look. "Yeah, as long as he's not like, ancient. Early twenties, maybe? Though he may cringe at being bid on by a teenager." Her lips twitched into a faint grin. "So why don't you get more dates?"
“You’re gonna bid on a guy older than you? Nice.” Darcy would definitely be impressed if Avery pulled that off, but Patrick and Lochlan would kill him. “So the first guy that wanted to take me to a middle school dance, got threatened in the parking lot by our cousins. If I had dates, I’m not telling any of you.” There’d been a couple of guys since, relationships snuck behind backs after they’d wound up with refugees at the farm house, but even now Darcy wasn’t spilling the beans on that.
"Eh, who cares? That was then. We're both older now. We're going to eventually have dates. Or boyfriends." Avery chose not to mention how intently Lochlan had been watching she and Gabe the night before, and there hadn't even been any real interest there. Smirking at her cousin, Avery arched a brow. "You think I should bid on an older guy?" The challenge might be fun. It had been awhile since she did anything that could potentially get her in trouble.
Darcy made a face. “Older just means we’re more likely to have sex,” she pointed out. “They aren’t letting up any time soon.” She chewed her lip a little, watching Avery. “Oh I doubt you could.”
What her brother didn't know wouldn't hurt him. He was way too overprotective anyway. Besides, it was none of Lochlan's business if she was having sex or not. "You doubt I could?" Avery said, feeling challenged. "You mean you don't think they'd let me?"
“No I doubt you could in general, though them not letting you might be part of why,” Darcy said. “It’s a shame your guy won’t be there. We could all bid on him and cause all sorts of drama.”
"I could," Avery retorted. She had never liked being told she couldn't do something. "Watch me. First cute guy that I know doesn't go to school with us, I'm bidding on." She may not win, but at least she would show Darcy she wasn't afraid to do something potentially troublesome. "And oh my god, Darcy, Gabe isn't my guy. He's Claire's guy. Or Ren's. Who knows."
“Mmhmm,” Darcy said not quite believing Avery and goading her at the same time. “I’ll believe it when I see it.” She didn’t think her cousin could do it, though it would be funny to see what she won as a result. “He’s got three girls? Oh my god, what a slut.”
Reaching over, Avery poked Darcy in the arm. She probably shouldn't have worded it that way about Gabe. "He's got one girl. Ren is his friend, and Claire is his... girlfriend. And I'm his friend. Will you stop trying to aggravate me? I'm being nice here." She was doing a pretty good job at it too. So far. "If I bid on an older guy, you've got to tell me who you've got your eye on. Because I know there's someone and you're avoiding telling me."
“Did you say nice or naive? You know what boys want and if he can get it from three girls? He’s going for it.” And from the sound of it Gabe had himself in a perfect lock. The girlfriend, the friend and um...friend. It was bound to work for a while until someone really noticed. “Maybe. Maybe I’ll bid on him and you’ll notice then.”
Gabe doesn't seem like that kind of guy," Avery admitted. "He seemed pretty broken up that he kissed Ren before asking Claire out. And he didn't try anything with me." She supposed it could have been an act, but Gabe did seem genuine enough. Shaking her head, Avery grinned. "God, you're way too secretive. We should be able to talk about boys."
“They’re all like that. Some are just better at hiding it than others.” Darcy turned and pointed at Avery. “You did want him to try something didn’t you!” Of course Avery did. “We aren’t because you’ll tell and I’m not having my cousins run some guy off because that’s not the goal. The goal is to have a reason not to sleep at home.”
"I didn't! I'd rather like a guy who liked me. And I've already told you he likes someone else. Seriously, why do you keep pushing crap about Gabe." Rolling her eyes, Avery crossed the street toward the park. "As for your boys, who the hell would I tell? You obviously have no faith in my ability to keep a secret."
“Because I think it’d be funny to find out you hooked up with someone’s boyfriend,” Darcy said honestly. She didn’t have much of a filter anyway. “And you could use some Aves. You’re all tense. You need to get laid.” She shook her head. “Nope. Not happening. Don’t trust any of you. You’d sell me out to Lochlan without even realizing it.” She surveyed the set up, then reached for Avery’s arm pulling her towards the tent they were doing the auction at.
She shook her head, both amused and annoyed that Darcy would think she would want to hook up with someone's boyfriend. "Again, sorry to disappoint you. I'd rather hook up with my own boyfriend." Avery scowled, but let Darcy drag her toward the spot of the auction. She didn't need to get laid. It would be nice, sure, but Avery didn't feel like giving it up to a random guy, especially one who had a girlfriend. "You need some more than I do. Maybe then you wouldn't be such a pain in the ass," she muttered.
“And you need to get that stick worked out of your ass Aves. So we’re both in need. Let’s go get us some.” Darcy’s smile wasn’t exactly sweet, but something saccharine, almost too sweet and more trouble making. “I want to see you hit on some old dude.”
Ugh. If they weren't in public, Avery would have tugged Darcy's hair without a second thought. Darcy was the one with the attitude problem. Everyone in their family knew that! But... Avery supposed she could bite her tongue. "Ask and you shall receive," Avery retorted, lifting her chin stubbornly. She could deal with Lochlan later.
"We will see," Darcy said moving into the crowd around the stage and waiting for things to begin. She was eager to see the fallout of Avery bidding on some older guy. Lochlan would flip. It would be fantastic.