Mary Alice (mary_alice) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2013-09-14 13:50:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, alice cullen, michael glass |
Who: Alice Cullen and Michael Glass
When: Sometime August 3rd (Before the body swap)
Where: Baxter Bakery
What: Meeting of Vamps!
Rating/Warning: Low/None
Status: Complete
Note: How did this never get posted?? O_O This is my fail. :( So sorry.
Alice was standing in front of the register at Baxter Bakery, looking up at the sign and trying to decide what to order. Her skin was even more pale now, and she was worried she was going to start sparkling. Or that her eyes were going to go gold. Or worse, red. She was already starting to have these weird cravings for rare meat and was looking twice at the people passing by on the street. It was a lot for the young, fashionista to bear.
Not to mention those strange feelings for Jasper. He was supposed to be her brother, and yet... she wanted to jump on him. Kiss him. Do... other things... to him. It was naughty and wicked, and at the same time it made more sense to her than anything else in her life lately. She was desperately trying to shake off those feelings. It wasn’t working.
So she had a bunch of other things on her mind while she looked up at the menu, trying to decide. There wasn’t anyone in line behind her, so she wasn’t holding anything up taking her time.
Michael had to admit, he liked working the register at the Bakery more than he did any of the other positions behind the counter. He got to spend more time talking with the customers when they came in and that was his favorite part of the job. He finished ringing up the teenager and turned his attention to the pretty young woman that was next in line. He noticed that she was still studying the menu so he decided to make a little change to what he had been told he was supposed to say. “Welcome to Baxter Bakery. I’m Michael, let me know when you’re ready to order,” he told her, keeping it professional but letting her know she didn’t need to rush.
He gave her another glance, taking in the pale skin and wondered for a moment if she’d been sick or had just recently moved to the area. Either one could explain why she didn’t have the tanned skin he was used to seeing on most people. “I don’t mean to pry but are you alright miss?” he asked once her obviously distracted state sank in. They weren’t busy right now so it wasn’t like he was neglecting other customers by spending a few minutes talking to her.
Alice gave the guy behind the counter a smile when he welcomed her to the bakery. It drew her out of her other thoughts, and brought her attention back up to the menu at which she’d been staring blankly. Something cold today. With Soy Milk. For some reason that sounded good. She wasn’t sure why.
Then her eyebrows raised at the question. She glanced around herself to see if anyone was in line behind her, then broke into a bit of a smirk. “How much time do you have?” It was teasing, really. A flirtatious way of not really answering the question.
Michael made a point of checking around to make sure that no one was heading up to the counter to ask for anything before leaning against it and giving her a flirtatious smile in response to her teasing tone. “Well my shift here is done at 4 but I’m wide open until later on tonight if you’re not finished by the time I get off,” he told her. He was a flirt, his girlfriend knew it and so did everyone else at the bakery. He never took it too far or said anything explicit to anyone so his boss didn’t say anything. It was just a good way to pass the time at work when they didn’t have that many customers waiting, flirting with the pretty girls in line.
Alice gave a playful little sigh. “I’m not sure that gives us enough time. But if you get me one of those sparkling white mochas over ice that’ll be a good place to start.” Caffeine and sugar was a good place for any conversation to start, right? Also, she went with the sparkling milk instead of the soy. Change it up a bit, right?
“I’m Alice.” She said, moving closer to the register to pay. “You guys put names on the cups, right?”
“Sparkling white mocha over ice,” Michael repeated back to her to confirm as he rang up her order, the professional in him taking over for a minute. They’d been selling more of the cold drinks today than anything else something he chalked up to the heat. And the fact that the sparkling lattes were delicious here, he’d gotten into the habit of getting one for himself each shift. “Anything else? Something with some extra sugar in it. Not that you seem to need anything to sweeten you up,” he told her with a flirtatious grin as he looked up at her.
“Nice to meet you Alice. We do write the names on the cups, if you want to take a table I can bring it over when it’s finished since we don’t have any customers waiting.”
Alice’s eyes sparkled at the flirtation. “Well, aren’t you just the sweetest thing.” She said, unable to stop smiling at him. Perhaps all she needed to take her mind off of Jasper was to flirt around a bit with someone else. Damn. No. She was still thinking of Jasper. Her smile faltered just a little, but then she re-enforced it. “Sure, I’ll have a cookie. Do you have Madelines?” She asked, before seeing them in the pastry case. “I’d love one of those.”
Then she started to dig around in her wallet to pay for her things. “Really? Hey, thanks. That’s nice of you.” She said, nodding. “I’ll just... sit right over there.” She added, motioning to where there was an empty table, not far from the counter.
Michael returned her smile and leaned in to tell her quietly, the fact that he was teasing obvious in his tone, “That’s the real reason I work here. Too sweet to work anywhere else so Audrey took pity on me,” he winked at her. He noticed her smile falter a bit and he gave her a curious glance. He didn’t know her so he shouldn’t push about it but something about her made him want to help, he just couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was. “Audrey made another batch just before she left,” he told her moving to get her treat out of the case and placing it on the plate to hand to her. “I think they’re amazing. But then I work here so I might be a bit biased,” he admitted with a quick grin.
He told her the total and put her money in the drawer when it opened, handing her her change. “It’s not a problem Alice. I’ll bring it over as soon as it’s ready,” he told her, moving away to finish her drink. He could afford a break if she wanted to talk. He could keep an eye on the door and the counter from the table she’d indicated so he didn’t think he’d get in trouble for it.
He took Alice’s drink over to her table and set it down in front of her. “Mind if I sit down while I take my break?”
Alice smiled softly. “Good to know there are still sweet people left in the world. Sometimes I wonder. And thank you.” She paid for her purchases, then took the plate and moved over to the table she’d indicated to sit down. It was nice to be away from her computer for a bit. She hadn’t even brought it in with her. But she did pull out her phone and start clacking away at it while he was finishing up.
The phone lowered straight away, though, when Michael came over with her drink. She gave him a smile and sat up a bit in her chair. “Sure. Ooh, thank you!” She said, accepting the drink to sip. “It really does sparkle.” Another sip, then she lowered it. “So. What’s your story?”
Michael watched her walk away, a concerned frown on his face at her comment about wondering about there still being sweet people in the world and he thought about it as he wrote her name on her cup.
“Audrey gets the milk from Link’s farm specifically for them. I’m halfway addicted to them already,” he told her with an easy smile as he sat down across from her. “What do you mean what’s my story?” he asked her. “I was under the impression that I was going to be finding out about you. I’m boring.”
Weird for Alice to be drinking sparkling milk, considering her dreams. She didn’t mind it too much, it was just another thing that reminded her of Jasper and the Dreams. She didn’t want to be thinking about them, but it seemed like everything was trying to make her. Ugh.
“I can see why.” Alice said, attempting a smile. She gave a little chuckle. “I don’t know, I’m pretty boring, too. I just graduated, going to college in the fall. Fashion’s my thing. Fashion and computers. So I work for this company, I do their website. It’s pretty awesome.” She wondered for a moment if she should mention the Dreams. “Have you heard of Valarnet?”
Michael felt his smile widen just a little at that small chuckle, figuring it was an improvement over the mood she’d been in earlier. “Music’s mine. I’m working here because Audrey’s...awesome and offered me a job when I asked if anywhere was hiring. And didn’t have any problems with the fact that I don’t have any job experience.” He had to think for a minute before answering her question. “It sounds familiar to me. Not something I’d heard about back home since I got out here I’ve heard it mentioned I think. Why?”
“I’ve heard some pretty amazing things about the woman who owns this place.” Alice said, giving a little nod. She glanced around. It wasn’t like being a barista in a coffee shop took lots of experience, though. Lucky that they both found work!
“Oh, it’s this amazing message board online. And it seems like everyone who posts there has these strange dreams. Is this ringing any bells?” That would explain the strange mood, how distracted and mopey she’d been lately.
“I’ll tell you - they’re pretty much all true. And she’s an amazing baker,” Michael told her, making a small gesture towards her pastry. “Oh that board. I’ve seen it, the dreams were what stuck with me. I haven’t had any weird dreams myself. Or at least no dreams that were weirder than normal, but I’ve seen the people on there talking about having weird dreams,” he looked at her for a moment. “That the website you were talking about doing for your job?” he asked.
“Yeah? No wonder. The best spread rumors, the longest lasting ones, are the ones that come from truth.” She grinned softly. “You don’t want the dreams, believe you me.” Alice said, shaking her head a bit. She shifted in her chair, unfolding and refolding her legs to get comfortable. But the mention of the dreams made her start thinking about Jasper again. Ugh.
“No, that’s just a message board that I like to frequent. My job is in the fashion industry.” Alice added, lifting her coffee drink for a sip.
“That’s true. I just never realized it applied to nice things that are said about people too,” Michael told her returning that soft grin, glad to see that the mood she’d been in earlier had started to lift some. He lifted one eyebrow at the comment about not wanting the dreams and just looked at her for a minute, “So yours aren’t all that pleasant I take it?” he asked her quietly.
“I actually signed up for it when I got out here - the Valar board. It seems like an okay place when I’m not too busy to even power up my computer. And I should introduce you to Eve. Clothes are a lot more her thing then mine,” he told her, watching her face for a reaction to her drink. Some sign that she liked it as much as he had the first time he’d had one.
“It’s true.” Alice loved it when people said good things about her, even behind her back. I’ve heard lots about you wasn’t always a bad thing to hear, right? But then the topic came to the dreams. She nodded once. “They’re lovely, actually. Just… complicated and confusing.” Hopefully that was enough of an answer.
“This is pretty amazing stuff,” Alice said, taking another gulp from the cup. “What’s Audrey’s secret?”
Michael had noticed the brief pause in Alice’s response to his question. “I’m sorry Alice, I shouldn’t have asked about them. My mom would have my ass for asking such a personal question of somebody I’d just met,” he told her apologetically.
He smiled at her response. “All I know is she has a deal with one of the local farmers, Link? That’s where she gets the milk from and it’s sparkling when we get it. I don’t know if it comes out that way or he does something to it before he ships it. Regardless of how it happens, the milk is pretty good,” he told her shrugging.
“Hey, no, really, it’s okay.” Alice said, shaking her head and frowning a little. “I mean, it’s weird. Those weird Dreams. Right? So um… it’s not weird to ask.” She forced the frown from her features and broke into a little smile.
“Link, huh? All right.” Alice said, giving a little nod. “Wow. That’s just… it’s cool. I like it.”
“That just makes me glad I haven’t had any of them myself. Or at least I haven’t yet. Seems like they take most people on there by surprise. I probably just jinxed myself saying I hadn’t had one,” Michael told her trying to inject a little levity into the conversation when he saw that frown. He hated it when pretty girls frowned.
“I think that’s what she said his name was but don’t quote me on that. I could be wrong. Stranger things have been known to happen,” he told her, joking around just a little bit. He saw a group of people heading towards the door and stood up from the table reluctantly. “I got to get back to work Alice. Take your time and let me know if you need anything else okay?” he said, winking at her before he went back behind the counter taking up his position just as the first person made it to the counter.
“Could be,” Alice said, giving him a smile. She wasn’t sure if she believed in jinxing, but there was something more with coincidence going on in Orange County where these dreams were concerned. Then she nodded. “Thank you. For being so kind.” Gave him a smile, and watched him head off to do his job. He was a very, very nice guy.