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Tweak says, "We've come to hug."

Claudio Kilgannon (kilgannon) wrote in wariscoming,
@ 2010-06-30 12:00:00

Entry tags:

brynna addams, claudio kilgannon

WHO: Claudio and Brynna.
WHAT: Teenagers. First date. Awkward.
WHEN: Just after classes.
WHERE: Closest cafe.
RATING: PG, at most.

Claudio kept telling himself he wasn't nervous, but that wasn't really working. It was making it worse, actually, and throughout the day he'd been agonizing over it. It was a casual date, he kept telling himself. A casual date that meant just talking and coffee. No biggie. Just be himself, right? He had to man up about this, and not be a nervous nancy, or whatever it was his sister kept teasing him about when he first went out with Newo.

Come to think of it, wasn't the situation the same? Brynna had all the confidence in the world, it seemed, not to mention a really pretty smile. And her eyes were amazing. And she was the nicest person in the apartments. He couldn't think about Newo, not now: Brynna was this was a chance to start over, right? And she was a great girl. Yeah, Claudio thought, grinning. She really was awesome.

Claudio still felt like a girl about the entire thing. He'd changed a good three times, despite them all being pretty much his standard form of dress: jeans, a T-shirt and one of two hoodies. It was ridiculous, but he hated situations like this. Well, it wasn't that he hated them, it was just he never knew what exactly to do. Claudio was a smart kid, and one hell of an a trooper, but girls? And dates? Not exactly his strong point. He'd always stutter or make a fool out of himself anyway. And what if he made some Earth faux-pas? Their cultures were pretty much identical, but he couldn't be too careful.

And what did Brynna see in him? Claudio wasn't a horrible person, but he wasn't exactly Mr. Macho. The 18 year old sighed heavily, trying to force himself not to think about it. Leaning against the wall, he waited for Brynna to get out of her classes, fiddling with his messenger bag strap, chewing his gum and trying to act casual. Girls liked it when guys acted casual, right?

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echo_handmaiden
2010-06-30 05:04 pm UTC (link)

Brynna had followed Andrea's advice and worn jeans and boots with one of her favorite sweaters. She'd also left her hair down which she hadn't done often since arriving in Lawrence. She wanted to look nice for Claudio but she was afraid that if she tried too hard she would end up looking desperate since she was the one who asked him out.

Kendra had been sneaking her warning glances since classes had started that morning and she knew that her friend was probably worried for her sake. Brynna worried herself about how Kendra's absolute fear of boys affected her but she knew better than to say something out loud because it would just make Kendra's problems worse. Maybe, if things worked out well with Claudio, she could get used to having a boy around more often.

She still wasn't entirely sure why she'd asked Claudio out, it wasn't exactly like her to be that forward. But she knew that in this place with what was looming that it was silly to ignore things because you might not get a chance to do something about them. And Claudio made her happy when she talked to him. She felt like a girl, which hadn't really happened since she'd gotten here.

After class she was the first one to leave (which she was sure she would hear about later from Kendra)and when she saw Claudio leaning against the opposite wall she couldn't help the smile that broke out. He looked good leaning against the wall, his dark hair almost hiding his eyes.

Yeah, asking him out was a good idea.

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kilgannon
2010-06-30 05:44 pm UTC (link)

"Um." Claudio had caught sight of her, and as she smiled he couldn't help but beam right back. It was contagious. "Wow." And she looked really, really good today.

Wait, 'um, wow' was the best thing he could say? Mentally berating himself, he cleared his throat, running a hand through black hair, staring at the ground. It would be fine, he just had to be himself. Right?

"You look good," Claudio stated, voice quieter than normal, painstakingly shy. It was the truth, though. Whatever she did was subtle, but--shit, wait!

"I mean, not that you don't look good normally," he explained, wincing slightly. "You do. It's just--you know..." So much for trying to be cool and confident, Claud. Way to go. Just change the subject.

"So for the, uh, cafe, did you have anywhere in mind? I figure since you work at one," he'd met her in her uniform after all, "Maybe an independent one? I found one not too far from here..."

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echo_handmaiden
2010-07-01 03:56 am UTC (link)

She rated a wow from Claudio. That made her smile even wider even though she could feel a slight blush creeping up her neck.

Suddenly her mouth was completely dry, she supposed it was a good thing that they were going to get something to drink otherwise she wouldn't be able to talk at all.

And then he told her she looked good with that sweet shy voice before stumbling all over himself to fix his perceived mistake and she almost melted.

She walked over to him and boldly took his hand, she was definitely feeling that she was going to have to be a bit of an aggressor with Claudio. He was so shy, "That sounds perfect."

As they started walking towards the front entrance of the complex she leaned in close and whispered in his ear, "A girl always loves to hear that they look good. It's their second favorite thing next to wow. You said both. Right now you're my favorite person. And just so you know, you look really good too."

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kilgannon
2010-07-03 12:36 am UTC (link)

Claudio swore the grin on his face could be seen from Heaven's Fence, and he nodded slightly as she told him he was doing alright. He'd rarely felt this goofy or giddy around someone. He just couldn't think properly once Brynna had held his hand.

He was glad he had darker skin than most of the people at the apartment complexes: it definitely hid the blush. Brynna was younger than him, sure, and he was supposed to take charge and act his own age, of course, but he'd never been good with girls.

"Thanks," he found his smile widen as Brynna gave him a compliment. Claudio never thought he was good looking, but he didn't think he was ugly. Brynna's words still meant a lot to him, and he squeezed her hand gently, walking them to where he'd spotted the cafe. "I've never actually been here, but, uh, I heard it was really nice." He let silences fall over them for a while, not really knowing what to say before taking a deep breath.

"Sorry," he apologized. "I'm really bad at this," But according to Brynna he was doing fine, right? There was a hint of a smile on Claudio's lips. "How were classes?"

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