Who: Team Monster Movie What: A lazy Sunday morning is interrupted by an unexpected visit When: Last Sunday Where: Chloe's Apartment and then on to Henry's Apartment Rating/Warnings Lowish; some innuendo, but mostly harmless Status: Complete!
Sundays were usually laid back kind of mornings. Neither Henry or Chloe had to be at work. The two of them could stay in bed as long as they wanted (or as long as Craven would allow them), have a late breakfast and generally hang out and enjoy each other’s company all morning if they chose.
This was one of those mornings. Henry had made them a late breakfast of eggs and bacon, which they had enjoyed while snuggled up on the couch to watch a movie. Craven was bouncing around the apartment, playing with a few of his toys, or occasionally dashing across the coffee table. He had discovered that if he got a running start, he could slide across the smooth surface and jump off the end at the last moment.
Henry enjoyed these mornings very much and never wanted them to end, so he enjoyed them as much as he could while he could. “It’s pretty nice out today,” he asked Chloe, glancing towards the living room window. “Would you like to go for a walk later? I was thinking of maybe going down to the pier and get a few pictures of the beach before it the season changes and the tourists start arriving again.”
Lazy mornings with Henry was the epitome of Chloe’s perfect day. Although there would be no Craven to interrupt them, but he was too cute to ever give up. Especially when he slid across the coffee table and Chloe let out a laugh as he tumbled to the floor. She was snuggled closely to Henry and wiggling her toes to get Craven to play with them.
The idea of going outside was slightly appealing, but that would require changing into real clothes. But she knew Henry wanted to take photos and that was one of the more important things. With a dramatic sigh she looked up at her boyfriend with a smirk, “I guess…..I mean that requires combing my hair, but I can suck it up. The pier sounds really nice right now. When do you want to go?”
Henry watched Craven crouch low on the table and wiggle his little kitten butt in preparation to pounce on Chloe’s toes with a smirk. “This afternoon?” He said thoughtfully. “We could get lunch or an early dinner while we’re out.” He leaned forward to nuzzle the crook of Chloe’s neck. “I was thinking about taking a shower in a few minutes, if you want to join me.”
Henry’s attempts at being amorous were thwarted, however, when his phone started buzzing.
Wiggle wiggle and eyes growing wide. It took a minute or so before Craven finally decided that it was finally time to pounce. Chloe let out a giggle as Craven’s paws dug into her foot and he tried to nibble on her. “Eek, silly kitty. Good thing we trimmed your nails. And I think that sounds like a lovely afternoon,” she commented before smiling at his nuzzle and comment about the shower, “Mmm, I would love to join y--” Her comment was cut off when his phone rang, so instead she picked up Craven to snuggle with him.
Henry sighed, with an annoyed frown. He reached for his phone on the table and didn’t bother checking the ID. He hoped he’d be able to get rid of whoever was on the other end so he could get back to coming on to his girlfriend and hopefully coax her into the shower with him.
“This is Henry,” he greeted.
“Henry, it’s Mom.” Henry recognized his mother’s voice the moment she said his name. He sat up straighter on the couch, his butt practically on the edge. He hadn’t heard from his mother since his visit at Christmas.
“Hi, Mom,” he said, brows furrowed together.
“Henry, I’m outside your apartment.” Mrs. Townshend went on as if Henry should have been expecting her. “Where are you?”
Chloe didn’t mind that he answered his phone - it was just a way of life, but she had Craven to play with. She rolled the kitten over so she could pet his belly properly and smiled. However, when he answered the phone she could hear a snippet of a voice and it sounded female. Odd. Then he replied to his mother and her eyes went wide. Why in the world was his mother calling him right now? She caught snippets of her reply to him and something about your apartment and her eyes only went wider. She was here? In California? Oh shit, what in the world was going on? She wasn’t even properly dressed to meet his mother.
“I, uh,” Henry glanced at Chloe. She looked just as surprised as he was that his mother was calling out of the blue. “I’m at Chloe’s place,” he said, then took his phone from his ear and covered the microphone with his hand. “My mother’s here,” he told Chloe. “Like downstairs at my place looking for me.”
He heard his mother’s voice on the phone again and brought it back to his ear. “I’m sorry, Mom, what?”
“I’m sorry to interrupt your Sunday,” Mrs. Townshend was saying, but in a tone that really didn’t imply that she was that sorry. “If you and Chloe are busy...”
Henry winced at the implication. “No, Mom, it’s fine. I can meet you-”
“I can ask the landlord to let me in,” Mrs. Townshend went on. “You don’t need to drop everything.”
“It’s fine, Mom,” Henry repeated. “I’m just upstairs. Look, don’t bother the management office.” Though Henry doubted they would have let her in anyway. “I, uh, I’ll be right down.”
“If you’re sure?”
Like he was going to make his mother wait outside his apartment door. “Yeah, Mom. I’ll be right there. Five minutes.” He hung up and stared at Chloe. “She actually showed up.”
“I can’t -- I can’t believe she actually showed up,” Chloe commented with a slightly scared look on her face. Meeting his dad was a big step and meeting his mother was an even bigger one since she had never been sure if that meeting would actually happen or not. “Okay, so I’m gonna change and do you want me to come straight down there or should I wait for a text?” All Chloe knew was that she wanted to at least look presentable and apparently their plans for the day were out the window at the moment.
Without a second thought she took Henry’s face into her hands and leaned forward to kiss him, “I love you. We’ll make it through this just fine.” She needed to reassure him that she would be there for him during this and would definitely be sticking up for him if she had to.
“I can’t believe it either,” Henry stated with a shake of his head. He hadn’t so much as even heard from his mother since his visit over Christmas. He had figured the conversation about her coming for a visit had been forgotten about. And here she was, out of nowhere, not even a call in advance to let him know she was coming.
Henry was so not prepared for this. “Uh,” he started. “I think...maybe wait for my text first? Unless you wanna come down now?” Then another thought hit Henry. “Shit! I can’t let her into the apartment! I haven’t done anything about the hole. I was hoping to at least cover it up or something if she showed up.” He had no idea how he would have done that. Maybe he could have convinced one of the OC’s many magic users to glamour his bathroom to look normal. Now, though, it was too late. “I can’t let her see the hole! Or, god forbid, if the apartment acts up. Oh, I hope she’s gotten a hotel room or something to stay at…”
Chloe’s hands on his face slowed the whirling mass of thoughts slamming through his mind. Her kiss calmed him down considerably and he smiled up at her. “You’re right,” he said. “It’ll be fine. I’ll head down now, and when you’re ready, come down and join us.”
Oh Henry. Chloe’s heart felt for him when his mind started spinning like that and she completely understood. She hadn’t even thought about his apartment and the giant hole in his bathroom. It would be hard to keep her away from that. “Let’s just not keep her in the apartment for long. You should ask her if she has a hotel to stay in - I really hope she does. Maybe send a text to Revy and ask her to ask around to see if anyone could come over while we’re out,” she explained to him. That might be the easiest way to get it figured out.
“And I will be down in a moment, okay? I’ll send you a text when I’m on my way over,” she gave him one last kiss before standing up with Craven. They would sort this out together and hopefully the visit from his mother would go over well.
“She knows I only have one bedroom,” Henry said. “And I don’t think she’ll want to sleep on the couch, so hopefully she got a hotel.” Henry hoped anyway. “And I’ll offer to take her to lunch and show her around, so she won’t have much of a chance to see my apartment anyway.” But he kept the notion of texting Revy at the back of his mind should it turn out that his mother hadn’t gotten herself a hotel room.
He returned Chloe’s kiss as she got to her feet. As much of a surprise as this was, Henry really hoped this visit went well. He wanted his mother to like Chloe, though he couldn’t think of any reason why she wouldn’t like her.
“Alright,” he nodded. “I’ll head down now. I’ll see you in a few.” After a quick kiss on Chloe’s cheek and a pet on Craven’s little head, Henry made his way down to his floor. He found his mother standing outside of his apartment. She didn’t have a suitcase with her, so that was a good sign at least.
“Mom,” Henry called to her as he stepped off the elevator.
Mrs. Townshend turned around. She smiled big when she saw her son coming towards her. She met him halfway and put her arms around him in a hug. “Hello, Henry,” she said.
“I didn’t know you were coming,” Henry said as he hugged her back. “You didn’t call?”
“Oh, this was last minute,” Mrs. Townshend answered. She let her son go and started fussing with his hair and shirt “I’m just so tired of the snow and there was a special air fare that I would have been foolish to pass up. Yes, I should have called, I’m sorry.”
Chloe took a couple deep breaths once Henry had left the apartment. An unexpected meeting with your boyfriend’s parents was not how she expected this Sunday to go, but she had to put her best foot forward. She gave Craven a scratch behind his ears before putting him down on the couch before heading to her room. She got changed and did up her hair and face in record time before grabbing her phone to let Henry know she was heading over.
On her way out to the door she poured Craven some food and then left the apartment. She went down the stairs and down the hall to Henry’s apartment and knocked on the door. Hopefully everything was going smoothly inside as she shifted from foot to foot as she waited.
Henry had attempted to avoid letting his mother into his apartment until he’d given it a once over, but as soon as he had his door unlocked, his mother practically pushed him aside to go in and take a look around for herself.
Henry was a neat person by nature. There was very little clutter in his apartment. A few magazines on his coffee table, a book or two on the end tables, his sneakers and shoes sort of kicked off by the door, a couple of dishes in the sink, otherwise, Henry’s apartment was kept neat and tidy. Well, dusted, well vacuumed, the floor picked up and laundry (mostly) folded and put away. Mrs. Townshend peered around the living room and kitchen, as though inspecting her son’s living conditions.
Henry peered around his home as well, however, while his mother was looking for imperfections she could use to attempt to nag him into moving back to Maine, Henry was inspecting his place for any signs of hauntings: blood dripping from the faucet, cancer-like spores cracking through the plaster, or hands attempting to claw their way through the walls. He kept an eye on his mother, stepping to block her way to the hall that lead to his bedroom - where the assortment of weapons his Dreams had gifted were stored - and to the bathroom, where the hole was.
Fortunately, it didn’t appear as though the apartment felt like putting on a performance, much to Henry’s relief. He was even more relieved when he heard Chloe at the door. He hoped meeting her would distract his mother from her inspection.
It worked. Mrs. Townshend reached the door before Henry even announced that Chloe had arrived and opened it for the girl on the other end. “You must be Chloe,” she said, holding out a hand. “I’m Clarice Townshend, it’s a pleasure to finally” the word was emphasized for Henry’s benefit, “meet you.”
Well, that was certainly one kind of welcome. Henry’s mother seemed a bit … pushy, but that would hopefully not interfere with their meeting today. Maybe that’s why Henry was always so quiet and paused before jumping into things. She took Clarice’s hand and gave it a shake, tucking away any references to Silence of the Lambs that her mind was coming up with, “It’s lovely to meet you as well. I’m a bit surprised that you decided to come visit, but we’re both very glad you came.”
She stepped into the apartment after the handshake was completed and looked over at Henry, trying to read his mood. He didn’t seem frazzled, so hopefully that meant his apartment was behaving for the most part. “Are you going to be staying here or do you have a hotel nearby? And any spots that you want have on your must see list while you’re in the area?” Might as well establish where she was staying and what she wanted to do while she was here.
Henry had never been one to show what he was thinking or feeling, not that either of his parents had paid that much attention anyway, however, Chloe could see by how his eyes were wide and that he couldn’t seem to stray away from the hall leading to the bedroom and bathroom, that he was incredibly uncomfortable having his mother in his apartment, even if it was currently behaving itself.
“Oh, I have a hotel,” Clarice stated. “I didn’t call before I arrived. It wouldn’t have been very fair for me to show up and expect Henry to put me up.” She looked over at her son as though she expected him to say something. Maybe invite her to stay at his place, even though there wasn’t an extra bed for her to sleep on. When Henry failed to pick up on his mother’s subtly, she huffed slightly and looked back at Chloe. “Oh, I don’t know. I should have made a list, but this really was a last minute decision. I’d like to see the beach, I suppose, but it isn’t nearly as warm here as I thought it would be. Where do you suggest we go, Chloe?”
Well at least Clarice had some sense about her. Chloe felt a little guilty thinking that way about Henry’s mother, but she didn’t have good things to go off of. And if Henry even attempted to ask her to stay Chloe would put him in the doghouse for a couple days. Her eyes went to Henry’s and she tried to send him a signal saying ‘DO NOT FALL FOR THE TRAP’. They didn’t know if his apartment would go crazy or not, “And we can certainly go over to the beach. It’s not a bad day out. There’s usually lots of shops around the area. We can always go touristy and drive into Hollywood and LA.”
Henry wasn’t particularly good at picking up social cues. Her signal to him to not fall for his mother’s subtle trap didn’t quite register. Then again, his mother’s nudging hadn’t really registered either, and the same was written across his face under furrowed brows and an overall look of confusion.
Clarice didn’t seem to notice. All Chloe had to mention was Hollywood and it appeared as though she completely forgot the issue about where she was going to be staying. “I would love to go to Hollywood!” She exclaimed. “I really want to see a few mansions movie stars live in. See how the ‘other-half’ lives. It’s so exciting!”
Oh how Chloe would give him a punch in the arm when he was finally within reaching distance. That confused look on his face was frustrating her a little, but she loved him no matter what. As long as he didn’t ask her to stay at his place they would be just fine. That meant getting her out of here and going around Hollywood as soon as they could, “Well, we can certainly pick up a Map to the Stars if we wanted or else go on one of those TMZ tours.”
If Chloe really wanted to impress her then she could probably get them a tour of the WB lot if there wasn’t anything major being shot at the moment. She hadn’t quite decided on that yet. “Shall we get going? Might as well go while it’s daylight and you would recognize a celebrity in the flesh.” Maybe someone would happen to go by when they were out and about - Chloe knew a few places that had the potential for an encounter.
Henry had no intention of inviting his mother to stay with him. He knew better than that. Even if he didn’t have a hole to a level of Hell in his bathroom, or if his apartment wasn’t haunted, he still would have preferred her to stay at a hotel. He had no idea what they would talk about if she stayed with him.
Right now, he just wanted to get her out of his apartment before anything weird happened. The excuse of going to Hollywood seemed like a pretty good reason to get going. He stepped up and started guiding his mother and Chloe towards the door. “That sounds like fun, right, Mom?”
“Yes, it does!” Clarice exclaimed excitedly. She grasped Chloe’s hand as the three of them started out of the apartment. “Are Maps to the Stars Homes real? I always thought they were hoaxes. Like something sold to gullible tourists.”
Henry grinned at Chloe around his mother and mouthed “thank you” to her.