Captain William Laurence (betwixtsea_nsky) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2017-03-25 18:57:00 |
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Despite the fact that Jill now had a craving for warm, fresh human blood (ew), she still ate and drink like a normal human. And she still craved caffeine like a normal human, because she still went to college and pulled all nighters like a normal human. Today was a venti macchiato day, with an extra shot of espresso for good measure. Today was also a wearing her sunglasses inside day because daylight hurt her eyes more and more. The only problem with that was...well, sunglasses were dark. So was the inside of the Starbucks. So it was perfectly understandable that she'd turn and walk right into someone she didn't even see there, spilling her venti macchiato with an extra shot of espresso all over what was probably a crisp white shirt. “Oh!” She gasped, mortified. She tried to say “Are you okay?” And “I'm so sorry!” But in her flustered state, what actually came out was “Are you so sorry?!” *** Laurence was hardly one to hold an accident against someone. He could have been paying more attention himself, and as far as he was concerned, it was his own inattention that was the reason that he was now dripping with scalding coffee, his shirt irreparably stained. He was glad that he kept a spare outfit in his trunk. In fact, he’d been about to apologize himself before she’d spoken. As it was, he stared at her, flummoxed. “I beg your pardon?” he asked, a slight edge to his voice. **** “I mean…’’ Jill fluttered her hands until she realized it was spilling more coffee, at which point she quickly set it down on the counter and grabbed a bunch of napkins to thrust at the man with the British accent. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t look where I was going, and your poor shirt I’ll totally pay for the dry cleaning, just tell me where you’re getting it done are you okay? It was really hot coffee!” It all came out in a distressed rush, and at the end she sucked in a deep breath to replace all the air she’d expended in that bout of verbal diarrhea. *** Oh, goodness. Laurence suddenly understood the girl’s demand for him to apologize, and he fought down the twitch he felt at the corner of his mouth. “It’s quite alright,” he said, calmly taking her napkins. He dabbed gently at his shirt, avoiding applying too much pressure to his burned chest, though he didn’t think it was anything worse than a sunburn. “I have a spare shirt in my car, so it’s no trouble at all. I should have been more aware. Are you alright?” *** “Yeah, just really embarrassed.” Jill let out a weak, closed-mouth laugh and thrust more napkins at him. “I don’t usually do this. Accost people with coffee, I mean. And it’s not just coffee, it’s a latte, so there’s tons of sugar and milk in there, and I think the milk’s going to start smelling bad so you should really get that shirt dry cleaned so it doesn’t stink of sour milk and I can feel better about this.” He was being very nice about having coffee spilled all over him, but Jill felt terribly all the same. *** “Perhaps it might have something to do with the sunglasses,” Laurence suggested gently. “I think that this is enough napkins.” He wasn’t entirely sure that he could actually take more napkins even had he wanted to. “Though honestly, dry cleaning is entirely unneeded. Coffee stains come out better through handwashing anyway. But I assure you I’ll give it a thorough cleaning once I get home.” *** “Oh, yes. Those.” Jill nervously pushed up her sunglasses to further block her eyes. “I’m not really one of those jerks who wear sunglasses indoors to be cool or whatever, you know? But it’s midterm season, and I’ve been pulling all these all-nighters, and you know how it is. Or maybe you don’t, if you haven’t attended college. I mean, not to imply you’re uneducated or anything, I just mean oh my god I’m babbling again aren’t I? Just stop me.” *** “Just breathe,” Laurence said, no longer able to keep the laughter from his voice. “I know how college can be.” His cousin, Spencer, was attending college at the moment now too, and while she didn’t seem as nervous as this girl was, she too was stressed out with midterms. He took a couple steps toward the garbage and threw away some of the napkins which were already saturated with the coffee he was blotting, then extended a hand toward the girl. “I’m Will. May I buy you another latte? Or perhaps a tea?” He wasn’t entirely sure she really needed any more coffee. *** Jill took his advice and took in a deep breath to calm herself. “Right,” she said, much more composed now. “Right, okay, much better, right?” She gave him a bright - but closed-lipped- smile. She took his hand and shook it with just the right amount of pressure. Whatever else sort of flailing she did, she’d at least been properly trained on handshaking. “I’m Jill, and I wish I’d met you under less...messy circumstances. I can get my own coffee, though, but can I get you something? It’s the least I could do.” *** Laurence was on the cusp of refusing, but Jill seemed determined to make up the mishap to him somehow and it would be rude to keep refusing. “At least our meeting will be memorable,” he said, a lilt to his voice. “But if you insist on getting me something, I wouldn’t say no to a coffee. A touch of cream, but no sugar.” With the rest of the tissues, he continued to blot at the shirt, though he wasn’t sure how much more good it could do. “Though I hope you won’t mind if I nip out to my car quickly to change into my spare shirt.” *** “Oh, yes! I mean, no, of course not.” Jill shooed him off with the back of her fingers, then got back in line to get him that coffee. So far this was not shaping up to be a great day, but at least that poor man she'd tossed coffee on was nice about it. *** |