Wednesday - 10/31/07 Who: Ric and Cissy When: Night Where: Riverside Park in downtown Danvers What: Apparently they need to talk.
Godric walked the lonely playground, anxious and tired. It was Halloween night, which meant everyone was downtown enjoying themselves. But Godric's stomach was in knots. It was ten to nine, and he was supposed to meet Cissy here tonight. Two days of thinking and he still wasn't quite sure what to say. Truth be told, he'd blown it. He'd been blowing it a lot latly. It was like there was no happy balance between the man he was now and the man he was before. It was one of two extremes, and he couldn't control either of them. Christ, he felt like a seventeen year old in the worst possible way.
He didn't know what to expect. He didn't know what she would say. He did know that she would stare at him with that set Cissy look on her face, disapproving and annoyed. And she had every right to be. He'd fucked up. As he approached the swings, he discovered she was already there, earlier than he had been. That was okay, though, as long as she knew he had come. To many times someone hadn't been there for her this week.
He approached her carefully, hands in his pockets, shoulders slouching. "Hi," he said meekly, trying to gauge her mood. 'Annoyed' was the best he could get. Fuck, this wasn't going to be easy.
---
Cissy had actually arrived at the part much earlier than 9. She had gotten here before the sun had even set and she had watched it from the exact same spot that she was in right now. This had been a long week and it was only Wednesday. And her head was still reeling about... well everything. Monday had been a bad day. Tuesday had been worse. And today... well today was undecided. So far, twenty-two wasn't looking at all brighter than twenty-one. Point in fact, it was looking pretty damn crappy. And she was finding it rather hard to be optimistic right now.
But being alone was good. Being away from TJS and everyone in it was better. And having her cellphone turned off was a blessing. The last thing she wanted was to talk to either one of her parents again right now. Or ever. Maybe not ever, but at least for a while.
Annoyed probably wasn't so much accurate as chaotic would have been. There was a certain degree of annoyance, yes. A certain amount of anger as well, but there was a large amount of melancholy mixed in there was well and... anxiety, fear of the unknown. She had been right about one thing so far and that was that this year was going to be different. It was kind of funny how quickly things could change.
Cissy had been so distracted by her own rambling thoughts that she hadn't noticed that Ric was there until he said something. She glanced over at him, her gaze lingering in silence for a moment before she spoke, "Hey", and then returned her gaze to her foot that was firmly planted in the dirt beneath the swing, idly guiding her backwards and forwards though not very fast or far.
---
Okay, so this was it. Cissy didn't act at all like he'd expected. She just seemed... sad. Lost. Godric stood a few feet in front of her, watching for a moment. Apparently, she didn't have anything else to say for the moment. "I'm going to be honest with you," he began, "because I said I would. Thought I really didn't want to be because... I don't know why. It seems selfish, I don't know that you really want to hear it. But, here goes.
"You scared me, Cissy. When you said you were planning on moving on, I just... I got this awful vision of you leaving forever, and never coming back. I know it's stupid, but... Everything's going to change. You won't have time for me if you're in college and writing your novel and living your life doing all these great things. And having your whatever you call it with whoever it is. I just..." He kicked at the dirt witht eh toe of his shoe, sending up a cloud of sand. "I'm so scared," he admitted. "And jealous. So indescribeably, irrationally... fucking jealous. I don't make friends well, and I just got you and it feels like already you're leaving me, and... I'm really sorry, love. I've been completely unfair to you, and unsupportive, and you don't deserve it. And I don't have a good reason for any of it."
He stood there awkwardly a moment, avoiding her eyes. "I don't want you to go," he said quietly. "I'm not... I'm not ready to give you up yet. And I know I'm being irrational, which isn't normal for me, but... I don't want it to change. But I don't want you to be unhappy either. So I really need to just shut up and let you do what you want, and support that no matter what." How could you put into words how afraid you were, how much it scared the shit out of you how important one person could be?
---
Cissy had plenty more to say, but she didn't know where to start. There was just... too much going on all at once. And she didn't know how to put it all into words. She just.. she could write things down and they could make sense. They could flow. The words could be beautiful and meaningful. But when it came to putting it out there, to saying things, sometimes she felt like she was completely inadequate. Not that that was really what she was thinking right now, or feeling right now, or maybe it was just... They weren't really here to talk about the main thing that was on her mind. And she didn't want to complicate things before they even had a chance to figure out what had happened, where the meltdown was, and put it back together.
She stopped moving when he started talking and she listened to him carefully, and watched him as she did so, and she couldn't help but to give him that look. Of course he wouldn't know the look she was giving him since he wasn't actually looking at her as he spoke. That was annoying. And because he couldn't return the courtesy, she gave up on making eye contact with him halfway through and just glanced at the ground with a frown tugging at her lips.
"I don't understand you, Ric." That was the best place she knew to begin because that was the first thing that came to mind. "You.. you push me, because you want me to be a better person, I guess. And you encourage me because... Well I guess because of the same reason and yet.." She sighed. "You asked me not to interfere with your life. And I am trying really hard not to do that by focusing on other things and.." She scoffed as she shook her head. "And now you don't want me to do that?" A hand moved up to run fingers back through her hair as she gave a small shrug of her shoulders. "I mean, what is it exactly that you want me to do?"
---
What did he want her ro do? Even he wasn't sure. "Fuck, I dunno," he said, finally looking up at her. "I didn't want you in my life. I didn't want you to interfere. But you did. And to be honest, I kind of like it. I really like it. I can't imagine life without you anymore." He walked over to her, crouching down in front of the swing, his hands holding the chains. "You mess me up in every way possile," he told her. "I'm not in love with you, but..." But. That was the problem here. "But I'm sure acting like it, huh?" It hadn't occurred to him until just this moment. He was sending her mixed signals and it wasn't fair. He looked up at her, looked right into her bright blue eyes. "I'm sorry," he said again, really meaning it. "I've never had a best friend before. But you don't belong to me. So yes, I do want you to better yourself. And yes, I will help in any way I can. And no, I'm not going to lecture you about whatever affairs you're having. But I will worry about you. And I fully expect you to interfere with my life from now on. Hell, somebody should, I'm turning into a disaster." He wasn't going to get into that at the moment. Right now, this was about Cissy.
Getting to his feet, Godric took residence at the swing beside her. "You're probably the best thing to ever happen to me," he said truthfully. "I know I'm not good at showing it, but I really appreciate you, love." He smiled weakly at her. "Don't give up on me yet. Please?"
---
And if he didn't know, then who did? Because it certainly wasn't her. It seemed like every single person in her life these days was just... confusing! That was the only word for it. First there was Simon and when they fought and the way that he was just... flip flopping around, and then Ric was being all weird with her and then there was Jonah and that whole birthday surprise thing and... she just wanted to know where she stood with one person. Just one. She needed some sort of stability and Ric had been it and now... She was floundering without it.
So what was she supposed to say to all of that? All she could do was look at him with those big blue eyes of hers as round as saucers of milk and just.. listen and try to absorb. But as for a reaction... Well it was a lot to take in and.. she just didn't even know what to say. So she stayed quiet, which wasn't entirely a common occurrence for her, and the let out a breath she hadn't realized she was hold when he got up to take a seat in the swing beside of her.
"Only because you don't want me to be." The words were whispered, and she didn't explain further what they were in reference to because he would know. He had to know. He'd called her on it once before. "If you did, then I wouldn't..." There was no real use on focusing on the ifs, so she just stopped that sentence before she could even think to finish it. "I can't just be alone, ya know?" She looked over at him. "I can't just sit around and wait." And him telling her that he didn't want her to go kind of made her feel like that's what he wanted. But how would that even be fair to her? It wouldn't.
"But you should know that I'm not ever gonna just leave you." And that she could say with conviction. "I love you, Ric. And you dropping the ball once or twice isn't going to change that."
---
He didn't need her to explain. He understood. But they both knew it was complicated. It didn't have to be, but it was anyway. "I don't want you to wait," he told her softly. "You're young and beautiful, and someone will steal you away one day. And you'll love him to pieces and then I can say I told you so." He didn't want to think about what his reaction might be then, because by that time who knew what would have happened. And he didn't want to think that maybe there was something staring him in the face he wasn't ready to admit to.
"Honestly? That's my biggest worry, you leaving. I know it's stupid, because you're a better person than that. You wouldn't just run off without a proper goodbye. But... well, it's irrational and I know it. But I promise not to let it ruin things." The last thing Cissy needed right now was more hassle about her trying to take charge of her life. And he was so damn proud of her, too. She needed to know that. "I'm really happy for you, you know I think college is a really good stSo I'm going to apologize again, and then I want you to tell me about your week so far. And don't leave anything out. Oh, I have your present, by the way, but I left it in my car. I didn't know how mad you'd be and I didn't want to provide ammunition."
---
"That's not really what I mean by alone." Cissy replied with a soft shake of her head. "I mean, I'm okay with not being with anyone. Or, you know, with not being like... involved with anyone. I just mean.. alone." How could she explain that better. "Like without work to do to keep me occupied and... things to take up my time." That, to her, would be alone too. And lonely. She just didn't wanna be lonely. And she didn't really have any really close friends like he did. There was just him and then a few others she could talk to but didn't really spend any time with. "And I don't even wanna think about loving someone to pieces right now." She wasn't in the right place for that mentally, nor was she in the right place emotionally. She'd just be bound to hurt anyone that tried to get too close right now.
"You better know that." She mumbled, and maybe even gave him a bit of a smile, though the whole mention of her telling him about her week just ruined that smile before it could even really start. She sighed, shaking her head. "My week's been absolutely horrible." She laughed. "After I got into it with you on Monday, I talked to Simon which was like..." She sighed. "Like pouring salt into a very badly infected open wound or something. We.. we said we were going to try to be friends and he wants to read more of my book but.." She gave a small shrug of her shoulders. "Who knows if that'll work out or not."
"After that I talked to Jo-" She caught herself, her expression giving it away as she tried to cover it up. "Ohn Jacob Jingleheimer Smit! Uhm..." She blinked. Fail! That had to be the most horrible attempt at covering up a slip up ever in the history of the world. "Uh.. anyway, well we decided to meet up and.. And then I talked to Fisher who made me feel like.. like I dunno, like I was doing something wrong?" She sighed.
"And okay, so... We're just supposed to be friends, right?" And now that she was starting to really get into the story of her week, she was starting to seem much more like herself. "But he takes me to this really fancy hotel on Boston Harbour and he was all dressed up and everything and he gave me a necklace..." She paused, arching a brow slightly. "So I was all.. we gotta talk about this. And like... I mean supposedly it was just.. he was trying to be nice and make me happy or whatever because I was having a shitty birthday but like.. I dunno. I just... I dunno." That was another case of seriously mixed signals. "We had a good time and all but, you know, had to come back here." She rolled her eyes.
"Then dad called yesterday. He tried to get in touch with me on Monday but I wasn't around and..." She sighed. "Well that's part of the reason why I sort of flipped out about the whole emailing me back so late and saying that you couldn't see me until today because..." She shook her head. "He and mom are apparently getting a divorce and... I dunno. I still haven't decided how I feel about that." She gave a small shrug of her shoulders. "I just really could have used a dose of Ric after that phone call."
---
Godric listened to Cissy's week, feeling twice as guilty that he hadn't been there for her. But that was good, he deserved a healthy dose of guilt. She was right, though- so far her week wasn't going so well. It did not suprise him that she and Simon were through, and he wouldn't tell her that he was glad of it. The relationship wasn't working well for either person, and it was just cruel to drag it on anymore. Godric did not think people could be friends after breaking up, had seen too many instances that proved it never worked. But he was hopeful for them regardless.
Cissy almost let slip who her secret sexual partner was, and Godric was sort of glad she hadn't outright told him. He would have felt a bit of responsibility to either report it or ask her to end it. But then again, he didn't actually care that much. Not in the strict way, anyway. He cared because he worried for her, and he didn't like the idea of her sleeping with someone he worked with (again, delving into that denial thing). But he was now fairly certain he could guess who it was. It made him happy when Cissy started getting animated again, because that meant she was acting like herself again. And he wanted her to be happy in spite of all this shit going on. But then she dropped the bomb, and he was stunned.
"Oh my God," he said, too shocked to react better than that. He studied her carefully, trying to figure out her mood. "Did he... I mean, does he know about her and Xander, or..." To Godric, this was good news. Sad, but good. At least Cissy's father could find someone who might be faithful to him. And maybe Cissy wouldn't have to be around her mother anymore to please her father, which could only be healthy for her. That woman was poison.
But now he felt like twice as much shit as he did before. What had he been doing all week while Cissy's life was crumbling? Fucking around. Literally. "I feel like such a prick," he told her simply. "I just... I'm really sorry, love. Anything I can do? You wanna talk about it? I know how you feel about your mum, but... divorce is hard on a child, even a grown one." Some people needed to talk it out, and some did not. But he was here for Cissy whichever option she chose.
---
Cissy shook her head. "I dunno. I don't... he didn't say anything about it. I mean, he didn't even really say much about it at all. He was just all.. hey sweetie. I tried to call you on your birthday and you weren't there. Did you get my package? No? You should get it soon. Oh, by the way, your mother and I are getting divorced. Are you coming home for Thanksgiving break?" She held out her hands in a fashion that clearly indicated that she was expecting something more, then ran her fingers back through her hair once more, which was straight, by the way, very straight, and looked almost like silk under the light of the waning moon.
"What was that? I mean.. seriously?" She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Who calls their daughter to tell them happy birthday and then just casually mentions that they're getting a divorce? Who does that?" Clearly it was the way in which the news was given to her that shocked her the most and not so much the news itself. "I just... I dunno. I mean I know that mom hasn't been entirely faithful but... They just seemed to love one another so much when they were together."
She shot a look in his direction, her brows furrowed in confusion and her lips pursed into a little pout. "And what's with the whole love thing? Why are you calling me that? You never called me that before." And she didn't really like it. It sounded... almost condescending, whether he meant for it to or not.
---
"No one does that," Godric agreed. It was a little strange to just say something so big in such a casual way. "But maybe he's trying to cover up how upset he is. Parents don't like letting their kids know how bad things really are, so maybe..." He trailed off. "I really don't know." Everyone reacted differently to every situation. Still, though, her father could have at least said something a little more encouraging, or at the very least seemed more affected by the ordeal.
Godric was taken aback by Cissy's comment, so much that he didn't have a response right away. "I'm sorry, I just... I don't know. Didn't realize I was doing it." He had never believed in Freudian slips. If you said something, you meant to say it and you knew you would, even if the knowing was only a fraction of a second long. You might regret it immediately afterward, but you meant to say it regardless. But this had been pretty unconscious. He was going to pay attention now, maybe figure out why. "I'll stop," he assured her. Apparently he wasn't doing so well on the supportive friend meter tonight. He knew she was stressed, and that probably wasn't helping, but still. "Not to sound like I'm bragging, but your week has certainly been worse than mine. If there's anything I can do to help, or make it better or... anything, really. I am at your disposal this evening."
---
"That's the only thing I can figure.. that's he just.. upset and he's trying to, I dunno, avoid talking about it?" It was the only thing that really made sense. She just.. she didn't understand where it had come from. She hated her mother, yes, but she thought her parents loved one another. They had actually, if she was entirely honest with herself, given her hope. And now here they were, giving up on one another. It just kind of made her feel like love was never meant to work out and that there was no such thing as forever.
"Well you are." Clearly he seemed stunned that he was even doing it which was... strange, but whatever. "And it's weird. So thank you. I'd appreciate that."
Cissy sighed and shook her head. "I'm just.. I dunno. I just feel so.." She sighed. "Ric, I know you apologized, but you really upset me." She looked back over at him. "Monday when I told you about college.. that was the first time I was ever sure that you were going to be happy and supportive and.. maybe even proud of me. And I needed you to be. And I'm not saying this because I wanna make you feel worse about it or guilty about it just..." She pursed her lips in a frown as she tried to think of the best way to word it.
"Once upon a time there was a girl named Cecilia who had never had anything constant, anything stable, in her life. She had never had anyone that she could rely upon, anyone that she could talk to about anything and everything, anyone that she knew, no matter what, would be around. And then one day, when she least expected it, she did." It was almost easy to describe things in narrative. "And through a course of events that I won't describe, she discovered that, without that, she'd be lost, just like she always had been." And she never wanted to be that way again.
"You're my home point, Ric." She said, looking back at him again. "You're my center. So just... don't leave me out there like that again. And if you're feeling something, like what you feel about this, then that's okay. Just tell me so that I understand it and that I don't feel like... like you don't believe in me any more." She caught her lower lip between her teeth for a moment and then she added, "And also, like what does a girl have to do to get a hug around here?"
---
He felt bad about not being there for her, but he knew he couldn't change that. And feeling awful about it wasn't helping either one of them. So it was time to move forward, and be there from now on. He had always been so stable, something you could set your watch to. Lately that had been slipping when someone needed it the most. "I am proud of you," he told her. "You can't even begin to imagine how happy I am for you. You've changed so much since I've known you, in such a short time. It's almost miraculous. And you've changed me, too, something I'm hesitant to admit I needed."
"I'm not used to having someone to open up to," he confessed. "But I'll try. Only next time, don't tell me in class, okay?" He smiled at her. "God, I didn't want to shut you out. I wanted to just... fall apart. I was stunned. But I can't just let go in a room full of students. So next time, at the very least, give me a little warning. I, in turn, will tell you what I think about it, even if it's something I don't think you want to hear." He hadn't wanted to ruin her happiness at making a grand decision by telling her how much he would miss her, so he'd opted not to say anything definitive about it. That plan hadn't worked out so well.
Godric turned to Cissy, looking serious. "I want to be your rock. But lately I feel like I'm eroding, like my stability is slipping. I think I'm changing and not all of it is for the better, maybe. So you've got to remember, I'm only human. Well, y'know, mostly. So I'll be there as best I can, and you can always count on me if you need help or if you're in trouble. But I'm going to mess up every once in awhile, and you might be alone. But you're strong enough to get through it, alright? Don't overestimate how dependable I'll be. And don't underestimate how strong you are." He got off the swing, ready and willing to deliver a hug. Grabbing Cissy's hands, he pulled her off the swing and into a tight. "But don't ever think I don't believe in you, you understand? No one is ever going to believe in you half as hard as I will." He knew she was destined for greatness, could see it from the moment the Jimmy Choo came flying at his head. This was not a girl who would take life sitting down.
"So," he said, still hugging her, "it's Halloween night and you're out with a vampire. What do you want to do?"
---
Moving forward was a good idea. She had said all she wanted to say about it. It was over and done with. There wasn't really any point in sitting here going on and on about it all night long. If there was one thing that Cissy was remarkable at, it was moving beyond a situation and into another mindset completely at warp speed. This may or may not always be a good thing, but it didn't change the fact that she could do it, and did do it, which was part of the reason why she had always had a reputation for being rather flaky. A smile graced her lips as he told her that he was proud of her, and she looked down at her feet as she softly replied, "I dunno why that means more coming from you then it does from anyone else."
"Okay, so... I can't promise that I won't spring random things on you from time to time in inappropriate places because when I get really excited, I can't keep it in BUT if you just say, 'Cissy, can we talk about this later?', then I promise I won't get upset and we'll do that. We'll talk about it when the timing is better." She smiled and then extended her hand so they could shake on it. "Deal?"
Her smile quickly faded into a frown as he began to confide in her the way that he felt. She gave a small shake of her head, her lips pursed into a frown. "Ric... That's what I'm here for. I mean, friendship isn't supposed to be one way so... you can talk to me. You don't have to go through that alone. And, like, seriously, who would I be to judge anybody? I know you're destined to mess up from time to time just like I am." Like she felt like she had been here lately.
The smile returned to her face when he reached out to grab her hands, and she hopped off of the swing and into his arms, at least sort of. She returned the hug tightly, very tightly, burying her face against the crook of his neck, her body warm against his much cooler one. "I believe in you too, Ric. And whatever it is you're looking for, whatever you're trying to find, I know you'll find it." She paused for just a moment as she considered saying that he had seemed happy before, but before what? She knew what. She just.. didn't want to get into that conversation.
"Uhm, so I wanna open my present, for one. And for two..." She paused, thinking about it for a moment before she pulled back just enough to look at him with those sparkling blues of hers. "Wanna make out?" He'd say no, and she knew it, but it still didn't hurt to ask.
--- Now this was a deal he could get with. Snaking his hand around the swing chain, he shook hers, relieved. "Deal. I know you like to think I'm at your disposal... because I sort of am, being your sponsor and all... but I need a heads up sometimes." And really, sometimes her spontaneous bursts of good or bad or random news were what made his days interesting. Between her and Blake, he couldn't finish a project without some kind of distraction.
He knew Cissy would listen. But he wasn't sure he was ready to talk. He was a thinker before anything, thinking everythign to death. First he had to contemplate what everythign meant to him before he could even consider sharing with anyone else. But then again, Cissy had a homing missle in her brain, something that always made her find the source of a sore spot and ask about it. Even though there had never been any, somehow Cissy would've found weapons of massive destruction in the middle east. She just had a way.
Her words were comforting, and a little unexpected. He didn't know if he was looking for anything, per se, but he might find whatever it was anyway. Having her on his side was promising. But he had to smile when she asked for her present. There was no way she'd forget about that. But then... he laughed a little. There was that homing missle again. "Jesus, you," he smiled, pulling back from the hug but keeping his hands on her waist. Making out had given him enough grief. Still, just to see her reaction, he said seriously "Sure."
---
Really Cissy didn't think he was looking for anything. She just... well he had been happy once. He didn't feel the way that he felt now before someone, not naming any names, told him that he was being too boring, that he wasn't living his life. Well it was his life and if he wanted to live it sitting in a room somewhere with old books and no tv eating marshmallows and listening to music, then that was his choice to make. Cissy had seen nothing wrong with him exactly the way that he was. She would never set out to change him, though inevitably, just as she had changed through the course of knowing him, so had he, and so would he, but it would have been a natural occurrence, not her pressuring him to believe that the way that he lived was wrong.
This was the first and foremost reason why she did not like Georgette. But she was trying. And because she was trying, she wouldn't say anything about it. Until, of course, she just HAD to.
Clearly she was not expecting him to say what he said, and for a moment, she was stunned into inaction, but this only lasted a second, and she was right back to her usual self. "Great!" She replied, and then licked her lips and puckered up. But then she frowned, and gave him this thoughtful look. "Maybe you should check my breath first. I'd hate to make out with you if it was bad." And she leaned up and blew a breath directly in his face, just for the shits and giggles of it, and maybe because she was just slightly nervous that he may have actually meant it when he said "sure". Granted, she was not completely against the idea of kissing him, but she only wanted it if it meant something. Otherwise, what would be the point?
---
To be completely honest, it wasn't Georgette (exactly) that had brought about the change within him. It was just having people in his life, having sex and conversations that didn't revolve around psychological effects on the mind or supernatural histories, myths and lore. Having a beautiful blonde girl sleeping in his apartment while he went on a date with another beautiful blonde girl. Getting arrested. Having a male friend. Drinking. Many, many things.
It was only momentary, but Godric caught the deer-in-headlights look on Cissy's face, and it was wonderful. He had managed to keep a straight face! Fantastic. He was getting better at this. Then Cissy blew in his face, making him wrinkle his nose like a kitten. She really was a strange, random little girl. "You smell fine," he told her sincerely. He looked into her eyes for about fifteen seconds, contemplating. It was probably a bad idea. No, correction, it just was a bad idea. So he shook his head. "You don't want me to kiss you," he told her honestly. "I've been so awful the past few days. Behaving like a teenager. It's disgraceful." Did he want to talk about Blake? Maybe. He sure couldn't tell Georgie about it, and talking to Blake was pretty much running in circles. And Cissy would understand. It might shatter her image of him, but she'd understand.
"Come on, let's go get your birthday present." Taking her hand, he pulled her along to where he'd parked. Maybe he'd tell her. Maybe they'd have a drink first. Or maybe she'd do what Cissy usually did and just cut right through him like she could read his mind. Either way, she was getting her damn present!
---
The way that his nose crinkled up was absolutely adorable. And right at that moment in time, she really did want to kiss him. Of course that wasn't entirely uncommon. But he was right. And she smiled, though the smile wasn't really a full smile. "You're right. I don't want you to kiss me. But it has nothing to do with you acting like a teenager." She shrugged her shoulders and looked down. "It just wouldn't mean anything." She looked back up at him as she added, "I wouldn't want you to kiss me unless it did."
Shifting the focus back to the present was a good idea. She didn't want to get upset again and she was probably about one or two confessions away from that at this point in time. So she smiled again, this time more fully, and nodded her head, tugged along willingly to his Pink Prius.
"Uhm, I'm not getting in your car, just so you know." And no, not because it was pink but because, well, she knew what he had been doing in his car, and she so wasn't going there. What if she sat in something? Hello! Gross! If he intended upon the two of them going anywhere other than this park, they were going to have to walk to get there.
--- That he could promise her. Sloppy makeouts had a way of ruining friendships, especially if said makeouts weren't going to result in long overdue confessions of love. And right now, he had no intention of making such a confession. "Cissy Vallerio, I promise I will never kiss you unless I plan to wed you soon after." That was a fairly safe promise.
There was absolutely no chance Cissy would end up sitting in anything gross. Not in his car. So he frowned at her insistence that she would not get in, but he understood. He wasn't going to sit on the bed where she had whichever man she was with currently had just had sex. That was a level of intimacy he couldn't concede to.
Opening the trunk, Godric pulled out a long box wrapped in shiny green paper. "Firstly," he said, handing it to her, "do not take this the wrong way. They made me think of you." Closing his thunk, he sat on his back bumper, waiting for her to open it. He didn't know if she'd love it or hate it, so the gift had come with a warning clause. Beneath the paper was a shoebox, and inside that was a shiny pair of pink boots. He had seen them online, thought of Cissy, and bought them three weeks ago. They were cute, sexy, naughty and innocent all in one. He hoped she didnt see them and think he was calling her a streetwalker, though that in itself was funny because he already had once.
---
Cissy smiled, though the smile soon turned into a grin and she came back at him with that cheeky attitude that he had come to know and love. "Well you can plan on wedding me soon after but.. if you're a bad kisser. No way!" And then she paused, grinning even more so before she added, "And if you were a good kisser, you'd have to do a lot more than just kiss me first. I'm not marrying anyone without thoroughly testing them out." She wiggled her eyebrows and then she giggled, rolling her eyes at herself.
Even still, there was just something kind of icky about sitting in a place where someone you knew had just had sex. That was why she never sat down anywhere in James and Fisher's room. They had done it all over the place! Her room was safe. And as far as she knew, Ric's bed had been the last time she was there. It might not be now though. She frowned a little. That wasn't something she really wanted to think about.
It was never a good thing when someone told you not to take their gift the wrong way. And the box was huge, which meant it wasn't jewelry, which was good because she had had enough of those kinds of surprises for one week. A brow arched thinly as she took the box in hand and then moved just to the side of him so that she could rest part of the package on the trunk so she could open it without dropping whatever was inside.
If anyone else in the whole entire world had given her those boots, they would have been going home with one of them up their ass. Or, if not that, she would have said "thank you", not really meant it, and tossed them in the back of her closet with an "ugh" because she would think they were saying that she was shallow. Seriously. But because it was Ric, and because she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that that was not the thought that had gone behind them and he knew she wasn't at all shallow, she absolutely loved them.
She laughed, looking at them for a long moment before she glanced over at him and then rolled her eyes. "You're a nut." She concluded, then took one of them out of the box and plopped down on the ground in front of him. The shoe she had been wearing was quickly removed and the boot soon took its place. They were a perfect fit even though they weren't exactly well matched with the tattered jeans that she was wearing tonight. They did match her sweater though, which was also soft pink.
"I have the perfect outfit to go with these." She turned her calve this way and that to look at them better before she slid off her other shoe and held out her hand so that he could hand her the other boot.
---
Godric knew for a fact he was not a bad kisser. Three people had told him such in only the past few months, so his resume was up to speed. But Cissy didn't need those details. He just smirked a little. "I guess it's wise to test drive before you buy," he admitted. "But you'll have to wait in line. I'm in demand a lot these days, since the advert of my nudity." God, the poster. It was really funny now, not nearly as humiliating as it had been a week ago.
Godric waited on bated breath as Cissy inspected her gift. Finally, she seemed pleased, and he was relieved. "I'm aware of this," he told her, in regards to being called a nut. He was a little suprised when she plopped on the ground and put them on, though. Smiling, he handed her the other shoe. "Is this an outfit I should know about," he asked, "or will I be happier not knowing?" If it was something like a pretty skirt, he could live with knowing. If she was going to tell him she had a stripper g-string set and lacy fishnets that would rock her boots, he would probably just about die. They were close, yes, but he didn't think he could imagine her in neglige and not want to bang his head against the wall. Theirs was a complicated relationship, and it hadn't yet crossed into the territory where he was comfortable with knowing specifics of her sex life or attire connected therein.
---
"Exactly. I'm glad you see my point." Cissy smiled, then rolled her eyes. "Please. That picture wasn't that good." Only it was. He had a nice body. And she was glad to hear him joking about it. She remembered how upset he had been. She didn't like seeing him upset.
"Well..." She started, and then she laughed. "I definitely have a few that you wouldn't want to know about, BUT the one that I was thinking about just now isn't so bad. In fact, I may even wear it tomorrow." It wasn't a skirt, but a dress, a very short dress, and it would look awesome with the boots. Speaking of which, with as long as this sweater was...
She unzipped the boots and slipped them back off before she pushed herself up to her feet. She then started undoing her belt, tugging it free from her jeans and holding it out. "Hold this for a minute so I can take these off." She was already working on unbuttoning her jeans with the one hand while she waited for him to take the belt from her.
---
"It was too!" he said defensively. At the time, considering photographic technology, the photo had been really impressive. "I thought it was, anyway. The light and dark contrast was pretty amazing, since we were in a crappy flat over a train station. Not to mention, of course, I'm glorious." That last part was an impromptu add-on, and it made him blush a little. It was still strange being candid about his body. But Cissy would take it all in good fun.
He appreciated that she didn't divulge details. Of course, his appreciation of her modest went flying out the window as soon as she handed him her belt. "What are you- oh, good lord..." He took her belt, holding it out like it was a snake. He looked as far away from her as he could, staring out at the night sky. "Cissy, do you remember the things I said about boundaries, and divulging too much information?" he asked. "Well, removing your pants counts as one of those 'too far' things." He hoped she had a reason for stripping in the middle of the park.
---
"In your dreams, Ric." Cissy said, rolling her eyes. She was smiling the whole time, however. He almost sounded proud of it now, which was something he wouldn't have happened not all that long ago. So okay... maybe some of the changes he had made recently weren't really bad.
"It's just a belt, Ric." She noticed the way that he was holding it. But that didn't stop her from doing what she was going to do. Which was take off her jeans, put the boots back, and use her belt to cinch in the sweater a bit around her waist. "It only counts as too far if I show you my underwear." If he had been looking, he would have been flashed. But they weren't too terribly provocative or anything, just a pair of pink lace boyshorts.
All belted in, she made sure that the sweater wasn't too terribly short, which it wasn't, falling about mid-thigh which was no shorter than some of her actual dresses. She then slipped the boots back on and zipped them up, grabbing her pants from off of the ground to then strike a pose with a "ta-da"!
Godric didn't comment, just waited for her to be decent. When he heard her utter the 'ta-da', he assumed it was safe to look at her again. "Very cute," he admitted. "Your fashion sense never fails to amaze me. Of course, you'll be cold in an hour." One thing Godric never understood about yougn ladies' fashion was wearing a short skirt in autumn. How did they not freeze their vital parts right off? Then again, Cissy was part ice demon, so maybe she would be immune. And if not, her pants were readily enough available. Unlocking the passenger's side door, Godric indicated she could put her pants in the car. "Front seat is clean," he informed her, because he hda a hunch she didn't want to interfere into Georgette's territory. It was a little strange having the two women sort of staking claim on him in different terms. Both seemed reluctant to accept the other. Thank God for Blake who didn't seem to mind either way.
A movie actually sounded fun. He hadn't been to a cinema in decades. "Sounds good. But I swear to God if they're playing Dracula downtown, I'll burst into flames." Holding out an arm for Cissy to take, he thought for a little it about what she said. "You know what?" he said as they walked, his voice soft. "I honestly don't care if someone sees us." They weren't doing anything wrong, and they didn't plan on doing anything wrong. And while he didn't want to lose his job, and he didn't like hearing his name whispered amongst the student, he was caring less and less about his spotless reputation. Because where had it gotten him? Alone. Nowhere. Now he had friends and a beautiful woman, and he felt alive. Maybe having people actually take notice of you was a small price to pay for happiness.
"You wanna hear about my week?" he asked suddenly. "You're probably going to scold me for it, so if not, okay." He wasn't sure why he felt comfortable enough to talk about it right this moment, but he was going to take advantage of this lapse in sanity. It needed to be talked about, and he trusted Cissy.