Spencer Hastings makes shockingly bad choices. (ctrl_a) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2017-01-04 22:45:00
Who: Irisa and Spencer What: First meetings Where: Much Ado About Books When: November Rating/Warnings: Low/None Status: Complete
Irisa was prowling around the bookstore watching the people as they browsed, keeping a watchful eye out for anyone trying to steal anything. Trying to stay casual as she did so, she would smile occasionally at people when they forced her to make eye contact. Her eyes caught on a young kid across the room looking at the trinkets on one of the lower lying tables. She was so focussed that she wasn’t watching where she was going and bumped into someone. “Ooof, sorry, really sorry,” she told them.
Spencer felt a little bit like a fool. She’d made a fool of herself on Halloween, and was trying to put as much distance as she could between herself and the holiday. So she was exploring places she’d never been and trying to meet new people. That would make a difference, right? She headed to a new bookstore looking for something fun and light to read, and was a little lost when someone bumped into her. “It’s all right,” she said, smiling. “Do you work here?”
“Uh, yeah, kind of,” Irisa gave a little laugh, looking up at the woman she’d bumped into. Irisa was always looking up at people because of her short stature, but she never let it bother her. “Tessa asks me to come in when it’s busy and keep an eye on things, shoplifters and stuff,” she explained, jutting her chin at the kid across the room. “I’m Irisa,” she introduced herself, holding out her hand.
“Ah, I see.” Spencer glanced over at the kid across the room, then turned back to the other woman. “Wow, Irisa. Very interesting name. I’m Spencer.” They shook hands. “I just thought… well, I sort of made a fool out of myself during Halloween, and I wanted to come here and lick my wounds. What better place to pamper oneself than a bookstore?”
Irisa quirked an embarrassed smile at the compliment. “Thanks I uh...I have no idea why my parents named me that, they uh, were kind of whack jobs who joined a religious cult and abandoned me,” she rambled. She had no idea why she did it, she was normally so talkative, she just did. “Sorry. Nice to meet you Spencer,” she smiled at the woman. “Sorry you didn’t have a great Halloween, seems like there were a few people who were affected by the weird OC-ness again. The shop’s a great place though, Tessa and Capable are great at running this place,” she reassured.
That was absolutely not what Spencer was expecting. She blinked a bit at the other girl, trying to figure out how to reply when a stranger just confessed she was abandoned after her parents joined a cult? It was a lot to process. Thankfully, Irisa went onto a much easier subject to follow. “It’s all right. I know, Orange County’s pretty weird, right?” She said, thinking about Dreams and mysterious text messages and whatnot. Trying not to think about kissing Toby or the random flirting, or the drunk feeling she’d just gotten past. “Oh, I’m sure. It seems like a great shop. Can you tell me where the historical fiction section is?”
This was exactly why Irisa struggled with meeting new people, why she didn’t enjoy it, because her mouth would get carried away leaving the situation awkward. “Yeah, it really is,” she agreed. “Sure, this way,” she started leading her to the right place. “So uh...on a scale of 1 to 10 how bad was it?” she asked, just trying to keep the conversation going - not something she was great at.
Spencer paled a little at the question as she followed the other woman across the shop. “...I think I just…” She paused, trying to figure out how to say what she wanted to say. “You know, it’s something I might have done? Maybe? I felt like I was drunk, and I wasn’t thinking about the consequences or how awkward it might make things, and… I just kissed someone I shouldn’t have.” Wow, she was talking herself into circles here.
“That seems...awkward,” Irisa couldn’t help but wince, both at the story and at her own awkwardness in this kind of situation. “Have you uh...spoken to this person? Y’know, since you...kissed them?” she asked, really not used to girl talk like this.
“No. I’ve been doing the incredibly adult thing and completely avoiding them.” The sarcasm was palpable. Spencer gave a little sigh. “I really should.” So on to a different topic of conversation. “I really should have come in here earlier. I guess. I’m just now realizing how many awesome places there are around Orange County that I’ve never visited.”
“Yeah, this place is pretty cool and Tessa and Capable run a really tight ship, but they’re really kind and everything too, gave me the gig here as my first job,” Irisa shrugged. “Want me to show you around?” she offered.
Spencer broke into a warm smile. It was nice to meet a friendly person. Or, well, friendly enough. And nice to meet someone who seemed to share one of her interests. “That would be great, thank you.” She said, nodding.
“Sure, follow me,” Irisa smiled and started leading the way.