Caroline Forbes is full of light (miss_mystic) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2015-12-01 14:05:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, caroline forbes, conner kent (superboy) |
Who: Conner Kent and Caroline Forbes
What: Chatting on Caroline's break
Where: Baxter Bakery
When: Recent
Status: Complete!
Rating: Low
The bakery had just gone through it’s morning rush. Of course there were still customers, the place was almost never empty it was part of why the blonde enjoyed working there so much. She loved to keep busy. During the rush though she didn’t really get a chance to talk to many of the of customers, plus some of them could be grumpy. When it was slower she tended to chat with the customers a bit more.
“Welcome to Baxter Bakery, how can I help you?” she said to the next guy who approached the counter. He looked somewhat familiar but Caroline couldn’t exactly place where she knew him from. He could have been there before or she could have seen him around campus. Being the social butterfly she was, Caroline met a lot of people. It was hard to remember them all sometimes.
Conner stared about, inhaling the scent, then nodded to the woman speaking. He looked up at the menu board, then down at her, and his mouth opened, then it closed. “Ah… I need a baked thing, and a coffee, I think?” He sounded as uncertain as he looked, really.
Then he peered at her, vaguely recognizing her. “Caroline? From Valarnet?”
Well that was a vague order if she ever heard one. He sounded pretty unsure of himself too. “What kind of coffee?” she asked with her usual bright smile on her face. “Did you want to try one of our sparkling lattes? They are really good.” As for baked things, well that could mean a lot of different items. “Did you want to try a raspberry croissant?”
And then he said her name and asked if she was from Valarnet. The smile on her face just widened at the recognition. That was when she realized who he was. “That’s me! Conner right?”
“Uhm, sure! And… ah, okay?” He smiled uncertainly, but nodded. Those items sounded like a good place to start. “Yes, ma’am, er, I mean, Caroline.” Yes.
“I’m Conner Kent, new to the area. And completely… new to bakeries.” He flushed.
“Well then consider this on the house,” Caroline replied the smile still on her face. It was really on her but whatever she could afford it. He deserved a good first bakery experience.
“Have a seat and I’ll bring it over in a minute.” Normally people waited at the pick up counter, but Caroline was almost due for her break anyway so she could bring it over to him and join him for a little bit.
“Are you sure? I can pay…” He nodded, though, and he smiled. “Thank you.” He nodded again, and then moved to a table close by, but out of the way, in the sunlight. He loved being in the sun, and so he positioned his chair where it was drenched in the winter sun, and also where he could watch the nice, bouncy, and very helpful Caroline. Also, pretty, he realized, as he watched her work with others.
He just meant to keep an eye out so he could help if needed, but then maybe he was watching her just because that was what he did, watch people.
A few minutes later Caroline brought his items over. “Here you go,” she said as she set them down in front of him. “I’m on break now if you want some company?” If she remembered correctly from his Valarnet post he was new to the area and Caroline was always up for making new friends.
Conner stood as she arrived, then smiled. “I’d love company. I still don’t know a lot of people.” He smiled at her. “Please, sit down.” He was old fashioned, kind of, he thought, not quite enough to go around and hold her chair, but definitely enough not to sit down until she did.
“How are you doing?”
Well that was new. Caroline wasn’t used to guys standing for her. It was sweet. She gave him another smile before taking the seat in the chair across from him. “I’m good. Just working,” well obviously since she had just served him. “What about you? How are you liking Orange County so far?”
Clark settled, and smiled. “I like it a lot. And mostly just wandering right now, trying to get to know the place. Auditing a few classes at UC: I, and trying to settle in and not seem too weird, you know?”
He shrugged. “It could be fun, this place, with the people and the fun.”
“Well you seem pretty normal to me,” she paused for a moment while she considered what she had just said. “Other than the whole trying to figure out what to order thing,” she was teasing so hopefully he didn’t take offense. “UCI is pretty great though. Are you starting there for real next semester?”
Conner blushed a little, and smiled. “Well, that’s because I’ve never been to a bakery before, that I can remember, anyway.” He smiled a little, unsure, still, but in the frame of mind where he had been all the last few weeks, where details of his amnesia tended to just come spilling out. It was almost as if the amnesia was becoming part of who he was, instead of blocking him from remember who he had been.
He nodded to himself.
Then her words caught him and he smiled to her, drawn back to her smile. “Yeah. January classes are my start, and then I dive right in.” He was looking for ward to it, to being busy, and to not having so much free time.
“Well then I’ll just have to make this experience extra amazing.” Although the food at Baxter’s really spoke for itself. Even now with her senses dulled to human food she still enjoyed all the baked goods Baxter’s had to offer.
“Enjoy your time off while you can. I mean I love being busy and all,” she would get too bored otherwise. “But classes, they can be such a pain. And all the homework. And tests!” she wrinkled her nose at the thought.
Conner chuckled. “I like being busy too…. I think.” He shrugged. “I’m not sure even what subjects I like, or will like, yet. I don’t… recall.” Anything. Man that sucked. He sipped some coffee, and downed some of the baked food.
“You think?” Caroline tilted her head slightly. “Sounds like there is a story there.” However she wouldn’t make him talk about if he want to. Caroline could be nosey when she wanted to, pushy even. But that was with her friends. Not someone she had just met.
Conner looked down for a second, then shrugged. “Ah, well, as to that… I have no memories of my life before three months ago.” He smiled lopsidedly. “If it wasn‘t for military records, I wouldn’t even know what my name used to be.”
He licked his lips a little, and smiled a little. “So, this really is, well, to my memory, my first visit to a bakery.”
“Wow,” she wasn’t expecting that. “That’s.. I’m sorry.” He seemed to be dealing with it somewhat okay but still that sounded traumatic. Caroline couldn’t imagine what it would be like to not know who she was. Forget about her life, her friends, her mom. “Well how have the past three months been?” she tried her best to sound a bit more cheerful not wanting to make him feel bad or awkward about the whole thing.
Conner smiled a little oddly, but truly. “It’s okay. I mean… I am dealing with it?” He wasn’t a sob case, or losing his shit over it. Really, he kind of was just wanting to ignore the whole mess. As much as he could when it stared him in the face every day.
“They’ve been good, actually. Learning a new life, starting over, for what is the first time to be, just… experiencing things fresh. I wonder if most people ever get to feel this… free.” Well, sometimes, he felt burdened by his past, but a lot of the time he felt like he could almost leap tall buildings in a single bound.
“And I get to experience some incredible good like this! And meet beautiful and nice women, like you.”
“That actually doesn’t sound so bad.” Still Caroline couldn’t imagine just forgetting everyone in her life but she didn’t want to rub that fact in Connor’s face. “Focussing on the positive. I like it.” Caroline was kind of known for looking on the bright side of things. She definitely enjoyed meeting someone else with the same attitude.
“Well now you’ll know at least one person when you start classes in January. Though I’m sure you’ll meet tons more.” He seemed like a pretty friendly guy to her.
Conner grinned. “I do my best. I like working hard and playing hard.” He chuckled. “I run, and talk, and now I poke the Valarnet, and meet interesting people like you.” He grinned again. “I hope so, but not too many. I…” He wavered then nodded, sipping his coffee. “I’m still getting used to people.”
“You seem to be adjusting fine to me,” she commented. “I wouldn’t have even have guessed if you hadn’t mentioned it.” Well his ordering had been a little weird but not enough for Caroline to assume anything was off. “I’m sure you’ll get used to people soon. Most are pretty great.”
Conner flushed. “Thanks. It’s all an act. I try my best to not let people know until I am, well, talking to them.” Then he didn’t mind, but he liked to keep it quiet unless she was one on one. “I hope so.” He smiled, chuckling. “So far, most people here are being nice.”
“It would be a little difficult to let them know before hand,” she teased. “Unless you have like telepathic powers or something. That would be pretty cool actually… and maybe a little creepy,” she laughed standing back up from the table. “Unfortunately my break is almost over. It was nice talking to you though. I’m sure I’ll see you around campus. But…” she grabbed a napkin and wrote down her number for him. “In case you need anything.”
Conner chuckled. “True.” He nodded. “Definitely not a telepath. That would both make things harder and easier… and be, yes, creepy.” He smiled.
He stood when she did and nodded. “Understood. Thanks for hanging out with me.” He extended a hand to shake her hand, and took the number with the other. “And thanks for that. I hope your day goes well.”
“No problem. It was a good way to spend my break,” she assured him shaking his hand. “See you later,” she added as she dropped his hand and headed back to work.