Clarke Griffin (wanheda__) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2020-04-14 22:06:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, clarke griffin, maria deluca |
Who: Clarke Griffin & Maria DeLuca
When: Backdated: Fourth week of March
Where: A Club
What: The Quarantine has been lifted; time to have some fun
Rating/Warnings: Mostly Family Friendly
Status: Complete
The last couple of weeks had been extremely long and stressful so Clarke was glad that the world appeared to be going back to normal now that a vaccine for the coronavirus had been found and distributed around the world. It hadn’t surprised her that a vaccine had eventually been found, but it had surprised her how quickly it had been distributed since things like that usually took time to manufacture and get out to the public, but she wasn’t going to ask questions. People weren’t sick anymore and her schedule at the hospital had gone back to a more manageable one. Well, as manageable a schedule as a resident got.
After everything that had gone on over the last few weeks, the bars and clubs had reopened and Clarke decided that aside from a few drinks, she needed some fun. Donning her favorite pair of black skinny jeans, the ones with the rips in the thighs, she paired them with a pair of booties and a black sheer top with a tank underneath then decided to hit up one of her favorite clubs.
Arriving at the club, she did notice that it wasn’t quite as full as it normally would have been, but she figured it would take some people a little while to get back out and resume their normal extracurriculars, which she didn’t blame them for. She went straight to the bar to get a drink and simply enjoy being somewhere besides the hospital or her apartment.
Maria had dealt with enough doctor appointments this week that she was more than ready to just let her hair down. She decided to go out on her own this time and looked through a few reviews to try and figure out what a good club was in the area. Part of her felt like she was too old for something like this, but a bigger part of her just wanted to dance to some music and have a few drinks to take away her worries over her mother. Once she figured out what club she wanted to go to she quickly dressed in booties, tight skinny jean capris, and a rust orange blouse and ordered an Uber.
She flashed her ID at the door and made her way inside. It wasn’t overly busy but it was not long after the vaccine had been issued so people weren’t used to being able to go out just yet. Maybe it would pick up as the night went on. She let the music wash over herself as she went up to the bar and ordered herself a drink. As she waited for the drink to arrive she let herself survey the club and see who was there.
When her drink was set on the bar, Clarke paid then turned away and took a sip, enjoying the beat of the music and the overpriced drink. She had really missed this. It had only been a couple of weeks, but when you were unable to do something that you did on a fairly regular basis it always felt like torture not being able to do it.
As she continued surveying the club, Clarke noticed as a woman stepped up to the bar beside her and order a drink, “First time out since the quarantine was lifted?” Clarke was a friendly person by nature so it wasn’t out of the ordinary for her to strike up a conversation with a stranger; besides, the woman was pretty cute.
Maria was surprised by the voice off to her side and turned her head to find a young blonde woman speaking to her and a smile instantly appeared on her face. Well at least someone looked fun around here. Maria gave a nod, “Yeah, I just came in from New York and thankfully all this got taken care of before I made it out here. You?” Maria was honestly surprised things had cleared up and she was able to get out of New York to be able to see her mother otherwise she just would have spent all her time worrying while being on the other side of the country.
Clarke’s face brightened slightly at the mention of New York, “Living in New York must have been pretty awesome,” Growing up near DC, Clarke had visited New York a few times as a child and teenager, but hadn’t been back in some time since she’d moved across country with her mother, “Unfortunately I didn’t get a quarantine vacation. I’m a resident, so no downtime for me until now.” She took a sip of her drink.
"It was pretty great. New York is definitely not a place for everyone, but I had a lot of fun living here. Hopefully this place can keep up with my expectations," Maria didn't want to go stir crazy here since her focus was her mom, but it could happen. Maria's eyebrows raised in surprise at what the woman said, "Oh? You're a resident? Well, remind me to buy your next drink as a thank you for all your hard work."
“I haven’t been to New York in years. Maybe I’ll plan a trip sometime soon.” Clarke was already thinking of the shows she could see on a trip to the Big Apple. When the other woman spoke again, Clarke couldn’t help but smile, “Thank you. I’m sure I’m not the first doctor to get that offer in the last couple of days. Or similar ones.” She might not have been at the top tier, but during the pandemic every doctor regardless of their level had, had to step up, “I’m Clarke, by the way.” She moved her drink to her other hand and extended her now free hand towards the other woman; after all, it was safe to shake hands again.
“You’re more than welcome, Clarke, I’m Maria,” Maria replied as she shook the young woman’s hand and smiled. Clarke seemed really nice, was very cute, and was in the type of job field that meant she wasn’t completely narcissistic, “And I’d be happy to help you plan that trip if you need it. I can definitely tell you some places to hit up that aren’t really frequented by tourists. All the regular touristy stuff you can go to is pretty awesome too; the museums are beautiful and Central Park is seriously one of my favorite places.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Maria. And that’d be great, thanks. I feel like, if I tried to plan a trip right now I’d just wind up going to Times Square, Central Park and Madame Tussaud and end up missing a whole bunch of stuff.” Clarke took another sip of her drink, “I’m sure you could tell me all of the secret things to do instead of the touristy stuff.” The young woman looked like she was all about unique experiences and not the things that people usually flocked to a place to do.
“Yeah, Times Square is definitely a tourist trap, it’s cool but you don’t want to spend a ton of time there,” Maria wasn’t a huge fan of places like Madame Tussauds there, but there were a few decent restaurants and big specialty stores. She wasn’t going to mention how many times she went to the Hershey and M&M stores after a bad breakup, “I can definitely do that for you. I’ll work on putting together a list. So, what else do you do around here for fun? I grew up around here but it’s been a decade and feels like everything has changed.”
“That’s so awesome. Thanks.” Clarke smiled, glad that she had struck up a conversation with Maria, “Well one of my favorite things to do is go to the beach. I’ve been thinking about finding someone to teach me to surf actually.” She had been thinking about it for a while and now seemed like a good enough time as any and she was hopeful that she could find someone on Valarnet. If not she’d just have to google instructors in the area, “I also enjoy going to Disneyland, hence why I tend to gravitate towards tourist traps, and hiking.”
“Go for it, life’s too short to not have a little bit of fun. The beach is such a wonderful place to hang out. I’m very excited to soak in that sunshine again,” Maria was thankful for the beaches around here because New York water was not anything you swim in. She didn’t think there was a shortage of people to teach others how to surf, it wasn’t Maria’s thing, but hopefully Clarke enjoyed it, “And Disneyland is fun but a bit exhausting and too crowded.” She took a long sip of her drink. Maria was definitely more of a meditation in an empty park kind of gal.
“I love the beach. I moved here from near DC, so we didn’t really get to the beach often unless we went to Chesapeake Bay. Here though, going to the beach is so much easier.” Clarke couldn’t wait for the weather to get nicer so she could plan a beach day, “The crowds and the price are the only downsides to Disneyland.” Clarke took a sip of her drink, “So, besides the beach, what else do you like to do?” Clarke felt like they’d been doing a lot of talking about her and not enough about Maria.
"Well, then you moved to the right place," Maria thought Clarke had a look about her that would mesh well with sea salt locks and a surfboard under her arm. It was a very attractive mental image, "Me? Not a whole lot, I have to re-figure myself out here. I am a singer by trade but had to leave my band, so I need to find a new one. Otherwise, exploring the city and trying new food places is at the top of my list," Maria admitted. She usually saved explaining her mom was a psychic for later after she got a feel for someone if she saw them again.
Clarke’s brows rose as Maria mentioned being a singer, “Oh wow. That’s impressive. Is your band well known?” She was quite curious now about whether or not she would have ever heard of them. Maria didn’t look familiar, but just because she may not have seen her band that didn’t mean she’d never heard of them, “Finding new places to eat is one of my favorite things. I like to think of myself as a part time foodie, but I can never get anyone to go with me to new places. Everyone is always stuck on the same places.” Of course Clarke had her go to staples, but she still liked trying new things.
“Oh gosh no. We’re a cover band and mainly did our thing around the Northeast. We got a little more well known around there, but don’t worry, you’ve never heard of us,” Maria chuckled as she reassured Clarke that her name was not famous. It had been a lot of fun though and she hadn’t really been looking for any kind of fame, just wanted to have fun doing what she loved, “And you’ll have to hit me up when you find a new place because I will definitely come along.” Maria moved herself a little closer to Clarke as she spoke trying to feel out the situation on if Clarke wouldn’t mind the flirtation.
“What songs did you cover? Current stuff or older?” Clarke asked as she took a sip of her drink. If Clarke had to guess, she would guess that Maria’s band had covered rock music, but that could have simply been because Maria gave off an indie rocker vibe. “Oh, definitely.” Clarke didn’t mind Maria moving closer at all and even pulled her phone out of her back pocket and after opening it, held the phone out towards the other woman, “Give me your number and I’ll even send you the names of a few places I’ve discovered recently.”
“Some current, but mainly older stuff. A lot of classic rock and a good range of stuff but mainly 70’s/80’s/90’s. I can kill an Alanis song like no one’s business,” Maria explained with a laugh. That had been the fun part about being in that band was singing all the songs she grew up with and getting people out on the dance floor by playing some favorites. She took Clarke’s phone and typed in her name, number, and a few extra emojis for good measure with an amused smile upon her face before handing it over, “That sounds great. Now, Clarke, do you want to come dance with me because my drink is gone and this music is calling to me.”
“I’d love to hear you sing sometime,” Clarke smirked as she took her phone back and brought up her texts then quickly shot off a text to Maria with a smiley face and microphone emoji, “And now you have my number.” Slipped the phone back into her pocket and nodded before finishing off her drink, “I would be happy to come dance with you, Maria.” She held her hand out to the other woman. Clarke was very happy that she had decided to venture out that night.