Alex Rogan (alexrogan) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2013-02-14 20:48:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, alex rogan, darcy lewis |
Who: Alex R and Darcy
Where: supermarket
What: late night shopping, and random encounters
When: late night, 02/12-ish
Warnings/Rating: PG
Status Complete when posted.
Alex nodded as he put the final tweak on the wires, making them fit into the control; box, and he closed the box, reaching out for the soldering iron. Just then, his belly grumbled, and with a start, he realized he was hungry. Very hungry, really. Which was weird. He could swear he had just eaten lunch a little while ago. Ever since Sarah Kerrigan had started working in the shop, things had gotten a little easier. Being able to teach her things, splitting some of the jobs with her, slowly, and being able to trust her to answer calls, well, that was pretty darn cool.
Alex shook his head as his stomach grumble, irritated. Well, he wouldn’t be able to work if he was distracted like that. Might as well eat something small. He sighed and out the soldering iron down, then headed for his refrigerator.
When he got there, he pulled it open, and blinked. Huhn. He’d managed to empty it again. He thought he'd just gone shopping, though, n9ow that he thought about it, he did remember having a cheese sandwich that morning because he was out of lunchmeat.
Weird.
Oh well, he’d better go shopping, then. He reached out and grabbed his keys and wallet, and walked out of the house toward his van, using his keyfob remote to close and lock the door with a solid clang. He liked that! He had installed a heavy metal door after he had blown the other one off with an ill-advised attempt to make water actually burn. He managed it, but then blew up the water, too. Bad plan.
Ah well. He had a new door out of it! And it was cool!
He hopped in his van, dressed in his Automan pajamas, which he had never changed out of since he had accidentally disintegrated his clothing this morning. Again. He really had to stop doing that. Someday. He was getting some fascinating readings from the incidents, though!
Hmm. He drove, smiling, and suddenly it occured to him that it was a bit dark. He glanced at the clock and blinked. 11:30 p.m.? How was it possibly that late? Wow! He had to go to bed soon! He had a job tomorrow he had to do. Hmm. Ah well, Wal-Mart would be the only one open now, so that was the way he headed, arriving pretty quickly, and shuffling in with a grin as he tried to remember what he wanted there, anyway.
It was rather late but Darcy Lewis was super bored. She thought about calling Mitchell and seeing if he wanted to go hang out. Maybe go somewhere or do something. Except he was probably asleep, and she didn’t want to bother him. After the other week, she felt slightly awkward around him. Not too much to avoid him, but just enough. She liked her friend, but it just made her feel more lonely. It wasn’t like they were going to date. She was still alone.
There wasn’t really anyone else to call so Darcy just decided to head to Walmart on her own. She’d buy some crap and too much of it and then go home to sulk some more. Keeping a smile on her face was hard most of the time, but she managed it. So she’d gotten into her car and went to Walmart. With a cart in her hands, Darcy started walking down aisles and shoving things in her cart. Socks. Underwear. Shampoo. Things like that. Trinkets. Movies to watch later.
Alex was wandering around, a cart following him with a humming noise. He had attached a follower control, and he held the main unit in his hand. It had been meant to be a simple battery recharger, but when attached to something with wheels, always followed the person who was carrying the other piece.
Yet another invention that hadn’t worked right. He’d managed to gather movies, carrots, some sandwich mixings, and booze, when he turned the corner and almost ran into a woman, and blinked as he slipped, flopped on the floor, and dropped the control, which skittered down the aisle, causing the cart to follow it.
Alex looked up at Darcy, blinked, then grinned. “Darcy, right? From Valarnet?”
When she had come around the corner and nearly ran over some poor guy with her cart, she looked a bit sheepish. “Yikes.. shit, I’m sorry.” Though it seemed like she had accidentally made him drop something. Did it break? Dammit. “Shit.. I’m sorry. Did I break something?” She kind of hoped it was his so she didn’t have to pay for it.
That’s when she recognized him though, even if she was looking after his awkward cart. What the heck was that? “Oh yep.. that’s me. You’re uh.. Alex, right?”
“No, not at all. It’s fine.” He picked it up after ambling up to his feet and smiling at her. “Just a little doohickey I worked up. Yes! I’m Alex. You have a good head for names!” He smiled wider at her. A moment later, his mind poked him, reminding him to be polite and not stare at her. ‘How are you tonight?”
Right. A doohickey that she apparently broke by scaring him. “Oh uh.. okay.” She smiled a bit and nodded. “I guess so. I never really thought about it. I think it’s more like I spend too much time online.” That was for sure. “I’m good. Bored.. hence me shopping for no reason in the middle of the night. You?”
He put the remote into the cart and steered it with his hands like a normal person as he smiled to her. “I’m hungry. Forgot to go shopping for... maybe a couple of weeks, Empties my fridge.” He chuckled at himself. “Working does that.”
He hmmed. “Why are you bored?”
Darcy ooh’d slightly, and nodded knowingly. “Yeah I’ve done that. Lots of times. Going to the store is kind of a pain in the ass.” At least grocery shopping was. She didn’t like it very much. Shopping for no reason wasn’t that bad though. She shrugged her shoulders a little. “Um.. well my roommate has her boyfriend over, and I didn’t want to go to bed, but I didn’t want to hear them have sex. So I’m here. Shopping for nothing.”
Alex nodded. “I’m not very good at it. At least my cooker makes food for me. I can’t cook at all.” He shuddered. His trials in that area were bad.
At the mention of sex, he blushed bright red, and he nodded. “Ah, well, I would be happy to wander with you, if you like? I am not sleeping tonight, likely, and thus have nothing better to do than wander with a smart and pretty woman.” It wasn’t meant as flirting, but as a statement of fact.
“Your cooker? Like uh one of those crock pot things? Or do you mean like someone who cooks for you?” She asked, grabbing a cart and already heading down one more aisle since he was going to tag along.
His blushing was noticeable though she didn’t say anything about it. “Sure.. wander away. I’m going nowhere in particular so if there’s somewhere you need to go, just lead the way and I’ll follow.” She wondered why he wasn’t sleeping, but figured it must be work again. “You work an awful lot. Ever actually get out? Besides going to the store.”
“...not counting work? No. I don’t really have a lot of friends. I moved here from a small town nearby but far enough away that I don’t get back there a lot. And I have to work full time to afford to take college courses to work toward my degree and learn more to work on more inventions.” He smiled at her as he led the way with his cart, stopping pretty quickly at the potato chips. Pringles, mmmm.
“I need to know more. I have so many ideas in my head, but … I need to know more to make them work.” He nodded.
“Ah well I’m sorry. Yeah I get that. All I do is work and go to class myself. I don’t really get out much either.” Unless her friends dragged her out, or it was the weekend. Of course she didn’t usually work overnight. And she didn’t invent things, but that was cool. “If you keep talking to people on the net though, there will be lots of friends. It’s a good way to make them.” she’d met lots.
So he was a lot like Jane in a way. “You should meet my friend Jane. The one I was setting up? She’d like a guy like you. Smart like her. She likes that sort of thing too.”
He blinked and looked at her, blushing. “I’m not really good with talking to girls. Smart and kind ones like you are nice, but... really smart and like... intellectual ones usually end up yelling at me.” That had happened a lot during college.
“Oh see but I’m not really smart and kind. I mean I’m okay and stuff? But I have a tendency to be a pain in the ass. I don’t think Jane would yell at you though. She’s not really the yelling type.” Unless it was at her for something, but that was because Darcy wasn’t exactly on the ball most of the time. “I think you’d get on.”
“Yes, you are.” He nodded. “Maybe. I don’t know.” He shrugged. He was not really interested in a theoretical other person. Darcy maybe, but not this Jane. He was sort of a in front of him person.
He smiled at her, hmming. I’m not really a scientist as such yet anyway. Most of what I do, I do from the seat of my pants, which is why so many of my inventions fail. I need more schooling.”
“Well I’ll introduce you sometime,” she said with a smile. Darcy just wanted Jane to be happy, and it looked like she was going to continue her search to find her a guy. She wasn’t really thinking about herself. Alex was nice and all, but he seemed to be preoccupied with his gadgets. She was done with guys who kind of wandered off.
“That’s what it’s there for, I guess.” She said with a laugh. “I have a poli sci degree and I don’t do anything with it.”
“Okay. Thanks.” He was willing to meet anyone. He liked making friends, even if he was a little vague on how you did that, really. He was not very good at it, he felt.
“I hope to invent really cool things, someday, and not just failed projects that don’t do as they are supposed to.” He spoke softly, but passionately. “I want to help people.”
“No problem. I like bringing people together.” Apparently that was her new thing. It would keep her busy so she didn’t dwell on herself. “The only way to invent things is by accident or to keep trying over and over. Eventually you get them right. And I’m sure you will, if that’s what you want to do.”
Alex smiled at her. “I hope so. Say, are you still interested in helping me test weird but fun things? I have one device that is kind of weird and I need to make calibrations to it, but, ah... there is a chance you might end up naked.”
“Um.. yeah, sure why not?” Though when he brought up naked, her eyebrows raised. “Guess it depends on how I’m naked and why and all of that stuff.”
“I have been working on a prototype teleporter device, but so far all it does it vaporize inorganic matter. And sometimes when it fires, the energy wave spreads around the room. While I am able to contain it in a room, I and anyone else in there with it end up naked.” He shook his head, annoyed as he plunked some cheese into his basket.
“Teleportation? Okay now you’re just shitting me. Seriously? That can’t actually work.” Darcy was quite skeptical, no matter what she had seen in her dreams. Though maybe her boss was working on something like that. “So.. you want to try and teleport me and I end up naked?” she wasn’t sure if she was hearing that right.
“I’m not, really. I’m working on it, and it doesn’t work yet. Once, long ago, it did once, so I know it can work, and could, but then I was drunk when I did it and can’t remember what I did. ANd I tried getting drunk again. It didn’t work.” He sighed. “I am pondering trying a new configuration on the teleporter device and if it works, you won’t be naked. If it doesn’t... you might be. That seems to be it’s default not working response.”
Darcy couldn’t help but smile a little bit at the whole thing. “Oh the things we come up with when we’re drunk,” she teased lightly. “Well I hope it works out. But sure, I’ll try it out. I don’t have a problem with being naked.” She tried not to say that he probably just told ladies this to get them naked, but she figured that would make him blush.
Alex laughed. “It seemed like a good idea at the time. No one ever believed me except the four people in the room at the time, and they all swore they would never tell a soul.” He rubbed his temple. “I don’t even remember exactly what happened when it did work right.” He shook his head and glanced around, then at his cart. Hmmm, when did it get so full?
“Thanks.”
“Isn’t that usually what happens when you get drunk? Though I think for me it’s less about swearing not to tell about inventions and more swearing not to tell about drunk dialing.” She heh’d in amusement and then put some other things into her cart. “Maybe you should buy a video recorder for when things like that happen. Either that or invent something that allows you to retain your memory when you’re drunk. I’m not sure anyone would buy it though.”
“True. Very true. Annoying, though.” He nodded. Hmmm. “Drunk texting, huh? I once texted the President pictures of my girlfriend’s ass. She got a job the next day in D.C., which was funny, really.” He rattled the story off while peering at creamers.
“Hm. Maybe police would, to make people remember when violence happens while people are drunk.” He stared off into space for a long moment, his mind running down ideas. “I don’t know enough to invent it though. Someday, when I get through college, maybe.”
“Huh. That sounds.. fun. I mean except for where the President is apparently a huge perv. Was it Clinton?” It was probably Clinton. Wasn’t he the one who liked lady parts a whole lot? Darcy picked up a bottle of shampoo and looked it over. “Oh right, the police. Yeah that’s a good idea. Or maybe if you want to figure out who your baby daddy is.”
Alex chuckled and nodded. “Yes. And Yes.” He shook his head. So odd. “I don’t know, but it might be interesting to try to make the invention.” He hmmed. “What do you want to do with your life?”
“Well good luck. I hope you invent teleporting. That would be awesome.” She’d totally buy one. “Uh.. I work at Stark Tower. I’m a PR manager. Though my major is in poli sci. I really have no idea what I want to do with my life. I’m kind of just up in the air. No direction.”
Alex nodded. “I hope to finish college so I can be a better inventor. Make a difference.” His eyes went off in the distance for a moment. “Mom always taught me to work toward your goals if you could, all the days of your life. I hope you find something worth working toward.”
“Good luck with that. Finishing is always good. I have like two more semesters.” If she was really lucky. “That’s a good goal. Your Mom is pretty smart.”
Alex grinned at her and nodded. “You should come by the shop. Just for a tour, before experiment volunteering.” Then he nodded toward the checkout lanes. “I’m going to check out. Want dinner?”
“Sure, tours are good. Why not?” Darcy liked checking new places out, even if they were shops. Yeah she was pretty much done too. “Actually I ate.. during actual dinner,” she said with a laugh. “But I will come with you and have some pie or something if they have that. Is anything open now?”
Alex blushed and grinned. “Ah, yeah. I missed dinner. I forgot about it.” He chuckled. “Hm. I know of a diner that is open 24-7, if you don’t mind a ten minute drive? At this hour, there’s no traffic.” He grinned. “And I’m harmless, despite a sometimes set of exploding devices that might render you naked at some point.” He nodded.
“Kinda figured. No problem. I never say no to food.” Darcy didn’t seem to mind. She got in line behind him with her cart and smiled. “Sounds good. And don’t worry. I have a huge taser and I definitely know how to use it. But you sound like a harmless guy enough.”
“I have to swing by my place, which is across the street or so to drop off cold stuffs. Wanna follow me there, or carpool?” His stomach grumbled and he laughed. “Taser, huh? I once tried to invent an advanced taser but instead managed to make a sleep ray. The military confiscated it.” He paused.
“Twice.”
“Uh.. I’ll follow. In case you’re crazy,” she teased with a smirk. “A sleep ray? Well I guess I can see how if you tazed someone, it would put them to sleep eventually.” Yikes. Twice? This dude was just up to all sorts of things, wasn’t he? When it was her turn to pay for things, Darcy paid for her merchandise and grabbed her bags so they could head to their cars.
Alex laughed and nodded as he paid for his purchases, then stepped aside with his basket to wait for her. He followed her then pointed out his car. “I’ll get my stuff stored, then lead the way.” And he did so, humming as he slung his things in the car, then drove over past where she was parked and led the relatively short way to his shop.
When he had parked there, he grinned at her. “Won't take long for me to store these.”
And he started on that.
Once they were out to the cars, Darcy shoved her stuff in the back seat. “Okay! See you in a second.” She gave a wave and let him go put his own things away. Then she got in her car and followed him back over to his shop. So this was where all the stuff happened. She parked in behind him and nodded. “I’ll wait here, take your time.” It wasn’t like she was in a hurry.
Alex nodded and headed in. It didn’t take him long, and when he came back out, he was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt and had run a comb through his hair. Darcy was interesting and had his attention, which meant he actually thought about these things.
Waiting with heat in the car, Darcy hummed along to the radio and opened up some of the crap she had bought. After he came back out, she waved and then followed him to the diner. Following him inside, they grabbed a table and she slid in. “So.. Alex.. uh.. what do you do when you don’t invent things?”
Alex chuckled as he examined his menu. “I fix things. Pretty much everything. Plumping, electrical components, wiring, computers, cars, install security systems... you name it, and if it’s a handyman job, I probably do it. Rogan Electronics is small, but it keeps me busy, and keeps me able to go to college, even if it is slow since I work.” He sighed, then smiled.
“And you?”
Darcy went right to the dessert menu and started to look it over. “So tinkering is pretty much it? Cool.” At least he could fix things. She certainly couldn’t. “Um I go out with friends to the bar. Or I go to the movies. Like I said, I work for Tony Stark.. and go to school. That’s about it.”
Alex nodded. “I fix things, and make things work for people. It pays the bills and helps me get to where I want to be.” Someday. Hopefully. He nodded at her words. “Do you ever go see movies? When I am really unable to think, and it drives me crazy, I go to this old theater down on West street, called... something. And it plays old movies, like weird science fiction from the Fifties, Sixties, and Seventies. It helps me think.”
He had never told anyone that. Huhn. Weird.
“Well as long as it pays the bills and you like it,” she said with a smile. Darcy wished that she could fix things. She’d more likely break them than anything else though. “Oh yeah I’m in the theater all the time after work. I just go to go though. Gotta see the new movies. I like old movies too though. I wish we had a drive-in. That would be pretty cool.” Old movies on the big screen were pretty cool.
The waitress came over and she ordered a piece of pie ala mode.
Alex nodded. “Sort of? It does pay the bills though, and it does what I need it to.” Give him time and money for experimentation, and give him money for college to learn more.
And bills.
And rent.
Things like that.
“But once you start really inventing things, you’ll probably just stick to that?” she offered, making sure that she ordered a coffee too. “Are you one of those guys who wants to sell off what he invents? Or patent them all and then make money off of that?”
“Yep.” He ordered as well and nodded. “I will do both. Some things are too important to be owned by one person, and some things I won’t want to let go of. I’ll probably patent them all at first, then start selling a few things to particular bidders if there are any. I dunno if I will ever stop fixing things, though...I sort of like it. Sort of.”
“Just remember to patent that shit. Or else you’ll wind up like Nikola Tesla and not like that dick Alexander Graham Bell.” She knew some history, go figure. “Makes sense. You gotta do what you love.” If you knew what that was anyway. She didn’t know what she loved exactly.
Alex nodded. “I will. I promise.” He grinned, and hmmed. He wasn’t sure he liked fixing things, but it felt good to do things like that. To make order out of chaos. His life felt very chaotic.
“You’re a pretty smart person.”
No one got dicked around like Nikola Tesla. That Bell guy was a total asshole. “Good. Oh and if you invent something awesome, you could name it after me.” She was totally teasing him of course, but she couldn’t help it. Who wouldn’t want something named after themselves? “Yeah? I dunno about that. I can hold my own.” She wasn’t a genius though.
Alex would agree, really. But at the moment, he was just glad to be spending a quiet moment with a nice person. Maybe a friend, now, too. Darcy was interesting. “Sometimes, holding your own is better than being ahead of the pack.” His life would have been a little better if he had been a little more normal.
“And sure, if I invent something and patent it, you will get first naming.” He nodded. The Darcy Lewis so and so would be interesting, he was sure.
Quiet times were hard to come by, so she could appreciate them as well. “Yeah, I’m definitely one of those that hangs back and doesn’t try to rock the boat.” As big as her personality was, she knew her place. She didn’t really want to be head of any pack. Being a follower was just fine with her.
“Cool. Make sure it’s awesome though. And not like a .. vacuum.” Those were kind of lame. Once food came in, she dug into her pie and ice cream.
He chuckled. “No Darcy Vacuums, I promise.” He started eating, glad he had run into this strange young lady, and glad he had come to dinner with her. It wasn’t a terrible way to spend an evening. Not at all.
FIN.