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Post by COLIN COX on Jun 3, 2013 10:24:21 GMT -8
"Plaid in public? What a heinous crime." Colin snorted, tapping his finger on the table while she commented on his fashion sense. People wore plaid all the time. Sure, he wore it more often than most, but it wasn't as though Julie was committing the same fashion faux paus as he was. Besides, she was the one shipping a ship that was probably doomed to sink from day one, seeing as one of the parties was technically a self-insert OC that would inevitably end up as a terribly Gary Stu. He had a gut feeling that it was the kind of thing that Julie would have read out loud to him to make his eyes bleed-- there had been the time she'd done dramatic readings of bad fanfiction just to mock him, and he'd had nightmares of Stephenie Meyer and Dan Brown for months. Now she was harping on about discrimination. Please. Colin took another sip of his tea.
"One would think that someone without a nose wouldn't be able to breathe. Then again, you know what, he's a wizard. He can probably charm people with his breath, so there's that." Why Rowling had decided to rid Voldie of his nose, Colin had absolutely no idea-- he understood that the more Horcruxes that were made, the less human the guy was supposed to look, but it just fit in so much with aesthetic-based commentary that the villain had to be ugly. Then again, Harry, Hermione and Ron were never supposed to be attractive in the first place. It wasn't anyone's fault that Emma Watson had turned out to be such a babe. For one, he certainly wasn't complaining, which went to show that he was just as shallow as anybody else. Alas, hypocrisy in this respect was one of his many less redeeming features. "I suppose you're right. So I'm assuming that this ship ends in tragedy? Sounds like one that I could board."
Why else did he always end up sobbing about OTPs that would never be canon?
Either way, he definitely did feel better, and it was because she'd managed to kick his ass and get him out of the house, which always helped. Colin smiled, taking hold of her hand under the table like he sometimes did when they went out. It was almost tradition by now, he thought as he played with her fingers. An amused smile appeared on his lips as she mentioned that it wasn't for him, that she just wanted some coffee, but he knew that she knew he knew the truth. He would have done something to the same effect for her, only maybe with less going out and less spontaneity. Try as he would he was terrible at coming up with things on the fly, only aided by technology and the help of some trusty iPhone apps. He didn't know why he'd complained about getting a smartphone-- it had saved his life (or at least, his relationship) on more than one occasion.
"Well, that will teach me to make assumptions," Colin said as he pushed his drink towards her. "Here, try some." Even though she'd probably tasted this several times by now, seeing as he always got the same thing, boring as he was. Maybe some day he'd learn to try new things, but for now he was content with ordering his chai tea latte at the same place every so often.
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Post by JULIETTE DUBOIS on Jun 3, 2013 14:43:12 GMT -8
"Of course I'm right!" She shot him a beaming grin, happy to hear he was admiting defeat. She'd hardly call that a victory though, since it wasn't even a debate to begin with. Julie's expression became pensive instead, letting out a sad sigh as she turned her gaze to the window. "And yes, it ends in tragedy. After all, the object of Rory's affections is a sociopath." She turned back to Colin with a pout on her lips, looking almost morose if it wasn't for the glimmer in her eyes. "In the final chapter, Voldemort kills Rory himself, and it's all very sad and melodramatic and full of teenage angst." All at once, the sad look evaporated off her face, and she shot him a grin as she took another sip of coffee. This was quickly becoming her favorite oh-tip.
Well shoot, now she wanted to rewatch all the movies. Maybe they could have a movie marathon that weekend? Then she and Colin could sit on the bed together and point out everything the directors got wrong. She was always going to be resentful of how they completely cut out Dobby's importance in the fourth movie, and don't get her started on how they had way too much Quidditch. Quidditch is bullshit, sorry.
(Not sorry at all.)
She smiled slightly as he took hold of her hand under the table, playing with her fingers as he offered her his drink. "You better not have poisoned it." She warned him, before taking a sip of his tea. Not bad, considering this was the exact same drink her ordered every time they went out for coffee. Then again, she really wasn't any better; she didn't like her coffee sweet, so she often ended up ordering it black. She could make some exceptions though, like when the seasonal drinks in the fall were released. She licked her lips and placed his drink back down, smiling as she said, "Pretty good." She then nudged her coffee towards him, a wide grin on her face. "Want to try some of mine?"
Bitter and black, just like her soul.
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Post by COLIN COX on Jun 3, 2013 15:23:46 GMT -8
Why had he ever thought of shipping anything with his girlfriend ever? That was it, Colin was completely dropping the subject. He was never mentioning OTPs in front of Julie ever again, and was taking a giant cannon to any other ones she attempted to mention in the foreseeable future. Though he did have to say that the idea of a man falling in love with a sociopath did have a rather tantalising sense of tragedy: to be chasing after something you could never hope to obtain, no matter how hard you tried. Dare he say he-- dare he say that he shipped it? Colin shuddered at the thought. Never had he believed that he would willingly delve into that section of the Internet, and here he was shipping it... Okay, his mental commentary was not going to go any further. He slumped a little in his chair in defeat though.
"Now you have me thinking of how it would work. Are you happy now?"
Who was he kidding? She was definitely going to be happy. Making him miserable was her favourite pastime, just as making her miserable was his. Their relationship had been built on the basis of kicking each others' asses on League of Legends, after all, even if she had won most of the time. It was a sad fact of life, though it did make his victories all the more sweeter when he did manage to one-up her. Never mind, he would have one soon. There was one word he could say to immediately make her blush and stutter, but he would save it for a more opportune moment. She took hold of his drink as she played with his fingers, and despite all his inner thoughts about her inevitable destruction he couldn't help but squeeze her hand. He couldn't help it: it was just a natural reaction, one that came to him like breathing. He smiled at her as he let go of her hand, flicking the back of it with his fingers.
"Asshole."
Now it was her turn to offer him her drink. Colin nodded, grabbing the coffee mug, lifting it halfway to his lips before he froze. Wait. This probably wasn't a good decision, he thought, staring at it with a horrified expression. The last time he'd tried coffee, he and Julie had been one of their first few dates and he hadn't wanted to look like a fool in front of her. He'd decided it would be a good idea to attempt some of the black beverage that reminded him vaguely of ditch water, and that had ended in him turning into a coughing, spluttering mess. It had been a miracle that he hadn't managed to spit coffee all over her, though Julie would claim time and time again that he still owed her a new dress. (The pea-sized stain hadn't even come from his mouth, for the record. He'd seen it fly there with his own eyes and it had been when he'd set the mug down a little too hastily. Also, funny that she said he owed her, because every single time he even threatened to buy her something she would get all huffy.)
But Colin was two years older now, and two years wiser. He glanced at the mug dubiously, before lifting it to his lips. The blonde shot his girlfriend a sharp glare, the one that implied that anything that went wrong would be completely and totally her fault rather than his. With that, he lifted the mug to his lips, taking a sip of the--
"Ugh," he spat, managing to quickly swallow the coffee as he quickly set the cup back on the table, watching some of the black liquid fly out of the yellow mug and onto the table, leaving just about half of Julie's drink behind for her enjoyment. His jaw dropped, and eyes widened. Well... At least this was an improvement? Colin gulped. Okay, he was never trying coffee again. This had to go on the records. He turned at the spilled drink, and then back at Julie. Getting up from where he was sitting, he felt his face flush a rather fetching shade of scarlet.
"I-- I'm so sorry. I'll go get you a new one. I'm never," he stuttered out, "Never trying coffee again. It just hates me."
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Post by JULIETTE DUBOIS on Jun 3, 2013 16:19:29 GMT -8
Julie grinned at his question, at the way he slumped in his seat as he admitted that, yes, he was now thinking about it. If she was going to be honest with herself, she hadn't expected him to start overanalyzing it in the first place. It was just a joke after all, especially since she had only said 'Voldemort' to take him by surprise and make him palm his face and question just why he was dating her in the first place. It was a kind of hobby of her's, to tease Colin so much it made him wonder what he had ever seen in her to begin with, and boy, was it fun!
"Ecstatic!" She replied to his question, all too pleased with herself. Soon, he'd be thinking about Rory/Voldemort all the time. He wouldn't be able to stop thinking about it, and suddenly, he'd find himself answering that his favorite O-T-P of all time was Rory/Voldemort. And in the meantime, she would be laughing in the background as he looked at his hands and realized what he had become- a cracked ship captain!
It was now borderline 4 a.m., cut her some slack.
And then he called her an asshole, and all she did in reply was pucker her lips at him and make kissing noises. Yes, she was an asshole, and she was well aware of that fact, thank you very much. Astute observation there, Sherlock, but she had known that for most of her life. He wasn't exactly one to talk, however; if anyone was a bigger asshole than she was, it had to be Colin. Maybe second to Cal. Maybe.
The time had come, the walrus said, for Colin to take a sip of her cup of witch's brew. She watched it all play out like it was the season premiere of one of her favorite shows on a flat screen TV. The last time Colin had tried some of her coffee, he had sputtered it all over the place. It had made for a very entertaining story to retell to his family when she visited them that December. The expression on his face was priceless, and Julie debated whether she had enough time to snap a picture of it before it was too late. But the moment had passed, and he was slowly lifting the mug to his lips, glaring at her all the while...
Just as she expected, he only managed to take a tiny sip before he had to set the cup back down, spilling most of what was left in her mug all over the table. Julie burst out laughing, grabbing a handful of napkins from the holder and quickly sopping up the mess before it spread to the floor. "I knew you were going to do that, but it didn't make it any less funny." She grinned at him, not bothered in the slightest that he had just spilled most of her drink on the table. In case it hadn't been made clear yet, she wasn't exactly out here in the dead of morning for a cup of coffee. "Sit back down, it's fine. I'll manage to survive somehow." She waved a hand at him and moved the now soggy napkins off to one side of the table, grabbing her drink again and taking another sip. Whatever, it was his loss.
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Post by COLIN COX on Jun 3, 2013 21:18:34 GMT -8
Colin flushed once again, completely embarrassed. At least nobody had seen him do that, which was some small comfort-- then again, the fact that he was standing up was attracting some attention from the patrons a few tables away from them, and a young teenager was whispering in the ears of her girlfriend, shooting him and Julie a sideways glance. He shifted uncomfortably from side to side, glancing at the couple, then at the mess, then back at Julie who was telling him that it was fine, that he was fine. Colin grimaced. She was saying that he should just sit down, but he had just spilled coffee all over their table. "Just-- just let me buy some for you again, this is-- I don't even know why I pretend to have any sort of dignity any more." Was it the late night talking, or a realisation that he should have made a long time ago? It was a mystery, and not one that he was going to bother solving at this stage. Either way, Colin slumped back into the seat, leaning forward and burying his head in his hands. He remained there quite dramatically for a couple of minutes before grabbing one of the serviettes from the table by them, and laying it on his mess so it could absorb the coffee. The last thing he wanted was to have to create more work for the staff here, even if he was a patron-- he'd heard enough stories about how Julie was overworked and underpaid to really want to be too much hassle. He gave her an anguished look, brow furrowing and mouth pulled downwards in a taut arc. "You sure?" Most of the time, he was just content to argue with her, but when something went wrong because he actually messed up in a big way, Colin was unwilling to act indignant. He knew that she hadn't actually just wanted coffee, but she'd paid for herself, and him as well. With that, he pushed his own chai tea latte over towards her and the coffee-stained serviettes, and muttered underneath his breath. "You can have it," he said, his voice barely a whisper. Yeah, there was definitely no point trying. He was forever doomed to be a failure of the most hilarious kind. And you wondered why he had self-esteem issues as a child?
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Post by JULIETTE DUBOIS on Jun 4, 2013 18:33:01 GMT -8
Really, this wasn't even the worst of clumsy and/or stupid things Colin had done in public. There was no need for the theatrics. "I don't know either." She shot back at him, watching him with an amused expression as he glanced between her and the drink, blushing something fierce over this little ordeal. He was making all of this into a much bigger deal than it really was, but then again, that was her boyfriend. All she could do was shrug and tell him he was being stupid. "C'mon, sit down, you don't have to buy me another coffee, okay?"
She watched him slump back into his seat, the amused grin never leaving her face as she took yet another sip of her coffee. He was now burying his face in his hands; she could only assume it was out of embarassment. Julie raised her eyebrows at that, but decided not to comment on it. Instead, she leaned over and patted him on the back a few times. "There, there." She comforted him, in a mocking tone of voice. Again: not a big deal, at all. He was the only one perseverating over this, but that wasn't exactly new.
And then he looked up at her with an anguished look on his face, and it took everything in her not to burst out laughing right then and there. He looked like a kicked puppy, and it was hilarious. "Yes. I'm positive." She replied, exasperated. Really, he was just being a baby at this point. The final straw was when he pushed his tea towards her, muttering that she could have it. Umm, how about no.
Sitting up slightly in her seat, she fixed him with a sharp look. She had dragged him out of the apartment for this specific reason, and she was having none of it. "Knock it off, it's just a little coffee. I bought that tea for you, I refuse to drink any of it." She pushed the drink back towards him, her chin set and her brows crinkled in a frown. "Keep it up, I dare you." She'd make him regret it, you mark her words. There was no need to cry over spilt coffee.
Julie took another sip of her coffee, smiling slightly to herself. It was still perfectly delicious; she couldn't see why Colin was so worked up about this. She leaned over and poked his forehead, almost laughing as she said, "Don't make me buy you a pastry, I swear I will." When all else failed, resort to threats! If he was going to act like this, then she'd guilt him into eating a pastry. Boyfriends are so dumb, why did she even bother? (Oh right, because she loved him. How could she forget that very crucial detail?)
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Post by COLIN COX on Jun 5, 2013 4:28:46 GMT -8
Colin nodded in response, unwilling to argue with Julie any more at this point. He knew when she was teasing, and when she genuinely wanted him to stop, and this was one of the latter times. The blonde gulped, picking up the mug of tea and lifting it to his lips, taking a long sip of it as though he was proving a point. Okay, okay. I'm done, his expression read, and Julie would understand it as such. He was done flailing about like a headless chicken, for the moment at least. And hopefully for a very long time. They often joked that the reason that they were still with each other was that anybody else would either drive them mad, or they would drive the other person insane first.
They were both on the same wavelength of stupidity, and it was a horrifying thing to think about.
Either way, he was done. "No, you don't have to get me a pastry. Even if you did I just wouldn't eat it." Whenever they ordered takeout together, they always got two boxes-- one and a half for Julie, and half for him. His appetite was absolutely tiny. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy food, judging by his cereal consumption, but he simply didn't have the stomach to wolf down plates and plates of food like Julie did. "You'd end up finishing it in the end, defeating the purpose." Colin took one last sip of his tea latte, setting the mug down contentedly. That had been good, even if he'd made a giant mess in the process. But they were done and dusted with that; she'd said that it was okay, so it was okay. After some initial communication bumps in their relationship they'd promised to be blunt with the other, and she wasn't going to get upset over something so small. It just wasn't in her nature.
"So, what's the plan after this?" He pulled out his phone, checking the time. It was four-thirty in the morning. The rational person would probably go to sleep, but... At this point, neither of them were particularly known for their rationality. "Do you want to go back, or want to go take a drive around, or something?" It would have been fun to walk, but Los Angeles wasn't exactly the safest city; while they lived in a reasonably safe neighbourhood he didn't want to think about what could potentially lurk around every corner late at night. "We could wander around a little."
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Post by JULIETTE DUBOIS on Jun 6, 2013 8:48:22 GMT -8
She grinned at him as he finished off his tea, the expression on his face reading loud and clear that he was done. Excellent. Sorry Colin, she wasn't doing any coddling tonight. Besides, that'd mean he'd be paying for something for her, which is entirely unacceptable, especially since she beat him to paying for their drinks this morning. If she let him get away with replacing her coffee with a new one, then it'd be like he was winning, and she wasn't going to let that happen.
Julie nudged his foot under the table again as she explained, cheerfully, "No no see, that's just it, it'd be a punishment pastry. I'd make you eat every last bite." She nodded sagely, as if this was the best possible punishment in the world. And it was, let's face it; especially since she had a half-formed plan in mind for what they were doing later that morning, once they were done here. Speaking of which, she quickly drained the last of her coffee, as Colin asked what they were doing. Well, she couldn't tell him what she had in mind, so...
"Wander around!" She exclaimed, setting her mug down with a thud. She couldn't have gone to sleep now, even if she tried. It just wasn't an option, not when the early morning silence of the world was inviting them to continue their excursion. She continued to say, spinning her mug around on the table, "I don't want to take the car though, it's not as much fun. And no phones." She pointed at him accusingly, as if he had killed a man rather than checked the time. While she could understand why, looking up places on your phone took the excitement out of just wandering around and seeing what you could find on your own. Technology could ruin adventures sometimes.
With that, she got to her feet, picking the soggy napkins off the table and walking away to throw them in the trash. She couldn't just leave that mess there, that would be rude. Besides, Colin's fellow cult member didn't need any more added work at this time in the morning. And with that done and out of the way, she returned to their table to grab her purse, then grinned at Colin as she asked, "Ready?" They could argue over whether they were walking or taking the car once they were out of the cafe; right now, they needed to blow this popsicle stand.
She didn't wait for him as she flitted out the door, stepping back out into the cool morning air and taking a deep breath. Between the coffee and the weather, this was shaping up to be one of their more memorable mornings. At least Julie was enjoying herself, and she sincerely hoped Colin was too- if he got hung up over spilling her coffee, she was going to murder him. She had dragged him out here to cheer him up, not give him more things to worry about. She was pretty sure he wouldn't though; he had looked like he was done and over it after she snapped at him. Which was a good thing, since they still had time to kill.
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Post by COLIN COX on Jun 6, 2013 15:04:36 GMT -8
"A punishment pastry? That makes no sense. How are you supposed to make me eat something I don't want to--" His sentence was however cut short by the other's declaration that they were just going to wander around, and that not only were they not taking the car, he wasn't allowed to use his phone-- okay, that was where he drew the line. Colin shook his head as he got up from where they were sitting, watching as his girlfriend picked up the tissues from the mass of destruction so she could drop them into the bin. Much as it sounded like a good idea on paper to have a spontaneous adventure by foot without any aim or direction of where they were going, it was most certainly not.
"Ju, I know it might be more fun on foot, but we aren't in Santa Monica. I don't know how safe it'll be." Granted, their neighbourhood wasn't particularly dangerous. Colin had picked it for a reason: they could have gotten a nicer place in a shadier location, but he had absolutely insisted that they lived somewhere that he would at least feel safe walking down the street. He was paranoid by nature and the constant feeling of having a target on his back when he walked down the street was not pleasant to say the least. It was something he'd managed to avoid for so long up to this point; he was not about to return to feeling that way now. Theoretically, a walk around the neighbourhood at night should have been fairly safe, but he didn't want to take too many risks. Frowning as he tried to come up with a compromise, he managed to stutter out as he caught up to Julie, "At least let me use the phone to make sure we don't stray too far from where we are. There's the distinct possibility that we could end up somewhere dangerous."
The thing about Los Angeles was that you could be in a nice, wealthy area one second, and the next you would be in a dark part of town where shadows lurked at every corner. He didn't want to get hurt, and more so, he didn't want anything to happen to his girlfriend in the process of her inevitably trying to save his sorry ass. Whether he wanted to admit it, the odds of that happening were sadly quite high. In terms of physical fitness, she could probably run miles around him: Colin had never been in particularly good shape, due to being a sickly child, and he'd never really had the opportunity to get fit. Slipping a hand into hers as they stepped out of the cafe, he glanced at his cell phone, then back at her. "I promise I won't take it out too often," he said with a smile. Swinging her hand up and down, he toyed with her fingers once again. Catching sight of a row of buildings in the distance, he gave her a light nudge.
"We could walk there and see what they have. That's still within the neighbourhood, I'm quite sure." He could at least do that. The security blanket of having a car suddenly seemed just a little more unnecessary than it had ten minutes ago.
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Post by JULIETTE DUBOIS on Jun 6, 2013 22:03:11 GMT -8
If rolling eyes was an Olympic sport, Julie would have won the gold medal by now. To be fair though, Colin had a point; she could be a little reckless at times, doing what she wanted without thinking the consequences through first. While he worried about security too much, she didn't worry about it nearly enough. It wasn't so much that she was arrogant as she was simply confident that she could handle anything life threw at her. She had done it plenty of times before, after all. "Don't you know the possibility of getting mugged is what makes this all the more exciting?" She asked sarcastically, since she couldn't admit that he had a point. That'd just be inviting all sorts of smug.
Heaving a heavy sigh, she conceded, saying, "Fine, fine. But no Googling places nearby, got it?" She narrowed her eyes at him, like she was supposed to be intimidating him or something, before he held her hand in his and played with her fingers. She smiled a little to herself, squeezing his hand in return. Okay, boyfriends were dumb, and her's was probably the dumbest of all, but he could be kind of cute sometimes. And that more than made up for the times that he ticked her off or got on her nerves. Sort of like- no, exactly like a puppy.
They had only so many hours in the morning before they really would have to head back, so they might as well waste them all goofing off and being dumb. The direction he indicated they should go in was the very same way she wanted to go, so she simply nodded, grinning as she replied, "Okay, sounds good to me." Before they set off, however, she stood on tip toe and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, smiling slightly as she pulled away. This reminded her of their first late night adventure, when they had first started going out. They hadn't gone very far then, either, but all at once she was reminded of just how lucky she was- that Colin would even do something like this with her, even though it was against his very nature to do so.
Tugging on his hand, she led the way down the sidewalk, letting the quiet settle around them before suddenly asking, her tone all too mischievous, "So when do I get to meet your wives? They must be something else." If she was going to be sharing her boyfriend with 5 other women, you better believe she was going to want to meet them. They could complain about Colin together and have slumber parties, it'd be fun. Then again, Julie complained about Colin to everyone. It often led to questions like 'why are you dating him?', to which Julie could only stare blankly at the person who asked before replying, 'what.'
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Post by COLIN COX on Jun 6, 2013 23:01:48 GMT -8
"Yes. We're doing this so that we can be mugged and killed, gunned down in the middle of the street. Because we're a pair of reckless idiots with no sense of consequences," he said, giving her a smug smirk. He'd won this round, at least, or rather they'd managed to reach a compromise. In the aspects of their lives that they were total opposites in, the two of them tended to walk the lines of two extremes. He was paranoid, while she threw caution to the wind. He was quiet, reclusive even, while she could charm anybody she wanted to and always seemed to know the right words to say. But it all balanced out in the end-- put together perhaps they could be one completely rational, functional human being.
Or maybe not.
"Fine, fine. No Googling." He gave her a little bump of the shoulder. "You didn't say no using Yelp though, or no reading books on my PDF Reader." But he wasn't planning to do that anyway. If she wanted a spontaneous adventure, she could get one. It was a rarity that Colin would allow someone to make him do things completely against his nature, but a little coaxing from Julie always did the trick. Not that he was complaining though: he felt like he had lived so much more after meeting her. Why else would he try to do the same for her, and plan adventures and dates and surprises for Julie weeks and weeks in advance? Flushing a little as she suddenly gave him a kiss on the cheek, the red tint on his cheeks just visible enough to see under the glow of the streetlamps, Colin couldn't help but feel the edges of his lips quirk upwards once again.
"Love you too."
He couldn't help it. He was a complete goner, wasn't he? The two of them continued strolling towards the row of buildings. "Think we might find a couple of dead bodies in there?" Colin mused. "Or discover a conspiracy?" That would have made for quite the fruitful adventure. Admittedly, if any of this happened to him in a real-world context he would probably be terrified, but the idea of stumbling upon a mystery was tantalizing to say the least. Julie enjoyed exploring old buildings, and while he didn't have the physical strength to be able to jump from platform to platform like a monkey he did like the idea of it too. It was then when he mentioned his wives though, and he snorted. Gone were the days when he pretended to have any dignity around her.
"I'm not sure when I'm going to let you meet them. What if you don't get along? I know for sure that Elizabeth is the clingy and possessive type. She might not want to share me with yet another woman. But it's difficult being a pimp." Of course she was going to bring that up once again. Some days, he questioned just exactly why he was dating her, but then the one and only time somebody had dared to ask them out loud because "all you two seem to do is fight", Julie had looked at Colin, then back at them, and answered with a straight face "For the sex." He hadn't been able to ask himself that question without feeling a little embarrassed in public after that, and just on cue, Colin flushed.
"Come on, we're almost there," he said, tugging on her hand as they approached the buildings. Now they were closer he could see that they were run-down townhouses, and probably hadn't been used for a good thirty years at the very least. How had he not noticed them before-- wait, never mind, he wasn't exactly known for being particularly observant. "Do you think they'd be safe to go into?"
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Post by JULIETTE DUBOIS on Jun 7, 2013 6:00:15 GMT -8
A frown marred her face as he pointed out he could still use Yelp, and she poked him hard in the side. "You wouldn't dare." She retorted, a pout on her lips. That was rude and unacceptable, and she wasn't having any of it. He could do that on his dates, but this was her adventure and she was making the rules. And if the rule was no phone use, then there was going to be no phone use. Otherwise she really would march back into the cafe and buy him a punishment pastry, and make him eat every last bite until he wanted to explode and die.
But she grinned at the blush that lit up his cheeks, resisting the urge to kiss him again. Colin could be so cute sometimes, it just wasn't fair. Could you blame her for wanting to cheer him up and make him smile? She swung their hands between them, replying to him with, "Eh, you're pretty alright." Nothing to quite ruin the mood like a little neutrality, but she knew that he knew what she really meant to say.
('I love you.')
They began their walk towards the row of buildings, street lamps illuminating the decrepit houses as they approached. She laughed at his suggestion of dead bodies and conspiracies, walking into him as they made their way down the sidewalk. "Maybe." You could never really say with any certainty what you were going to find when you went crawling through old buildings. Just ask her; she and her best friend Cal had had many a late night adventure exploring everything from depleted hotels to abandoned hospitals. LA was their playground, and they never seemed to run out of new things to discover.
"Elizabeth?" She quirked an eyebrow. He so would marry a fictional woman named Elizabeth. And she didn't have a single doubt in her mind that he had named her after some fictional character. It was just so typical of him, she almost wanted to laugh. But she had to keep a straight face, especially since this was a serious topic of discussion. Meeting her fellow- w-wait, she wasn't thinking about marriage or anything. It was just a silly conversation, after all, she wasn't thinking about that at all! (That's a lie, and boy, the small flush creeping up her face was telling of that.) "Well, I'm sure Elizabeth and I can sort out our differences. We're mature adults, it shouldn't be that hard. Besides, worst comes to worst I'll just punch her out."
She forgot all about her own embarrassment though, when Colin took the lead and tugged on her hand, leading the way as they finally reached the townhouses. Again, he reminded her of an excited puppy, and she nearly laughed out loud at the thought. It was so fitting, she couldn't help it. Instead, however, she nodded at his question, answering, "Yeah, they're safe. Cal and I explored them a while ago." It had been one of the first ones they had decided to check out, now that she thought about it. There were a few squeaky floorboards and a rat or two scampering around, but otherwise there wasn't much to worry about.
Turning to him, she asked, green eyes sparkling, "Want to go in?" She stopped just under a sign that read 'TRESPASSING IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED,' reaching up with a hand to hold on to the chain link fence and grinning at him. The gate had a lock, but it was simple enough to get off from the other side of the fence. Last time she and Cal had been here, they had both just jumped over, but she didn't quite trust Colin to manage that without hurting himself somehow. Better to get the lock off and open the gate for him than risk a 4 a.m. hospital visit. She really had been meaning to bring him here one of these days, it just so happened that 'one of these days' was today.
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Post by COLIN COX on Jun 7, 2013 7:44:20 GMT -8
Colin squinted his eyes, trying to assess the safety of the building, the security levels of the entire situation at hand. On one hand, the placed looked relatively solid; it didn't seem as though it was going to collapse at any moment, and that was a definite plus. He couldn't see any visible cracks in the walls, not too many falling tiles from the roofs, and the grass might have been tall but certainly didn't resemble poison ivy in the least. However, the sign that read 'TRESSPASSING IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED' seemed foreboding, and Colin took a step back in surprise at the big red words-- well, he hadn't noticed them before. Then again, he had never exactly been known for being observant.
"You're joking, right?" Colin muttered underneath his breath. One would think that if somebody had abandoned their building for so long, they wouldn't care who went in and out, but apparently some homeowners were more than slightly possessive. He watched as his girlfriend leaned against the fence, and asked him whether he wanted to break in despite (or, knowing her, because of the sign). He gulped.
"Are you-- are you sure?" His sense of danger suddenly heightened, and now his voice was barely a whisper. They could get caught, right? "Ju, I know you explore abandoned buildings all the time, but I didn't know it was illegal." Then again, she hadn't gotten caught up to this point, had she? Colin bit his lip as hazels met greens. He could tell from the wicked gaze that she wasn't going to back down on this any time soon. And he wasn't going to lie, he wanted to go in. He wanted to see what it was like walking around abandoned buildings like Julie always did late at night, because it certainly sounded interesting, and from what he'd seen from the pictures that Cal had taken it looked rather tempting.
He'd never been able to follow her up to this point, so he wasn't sure whether he would be competent enough, but it did look like, dare he say, fun. The danger of being caught weighed too heavily on his conscience, though, so the next question that arose was, "How are we going to get in now, anyway? Since I didn't... Even realise that the fence was locked before..." Maybe he needed to get his glasses fixed, or he needed to work on his observation skills. She could probably vault the fence no problem and help him over, come to think of it-- with every second, going in to explore seemed more and more like a good idea. He just didn't want to get arrested, or anything like that.
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Post by JULIETTE DUBOIS on Jun 7, 2013 9:56:18 GMT -8
Julie watched him with interest as Colin stared up at the buildings. She could almost see the gears working in his mind; he wasn't going to be breaking and entering into any buildings if he didn't think it was safe. These townhouses were almost tame though, compared to some of the places she had been in. There was no need to tell him about that though, otherwise he might just very well have a panic attack. Instead, she grinned and replied to his muttered question, "Nope!"
Trespassing was srs bsns, Colin should know that.
As he continued speaking, Julie just shrugged. "Yeah, of course I am." She replied, her head cocked to one side as she met his worried hazels. These townhouses had been a walk in the park for she and Cal, she was positive Colin would be able to handle it just fine. An evil grin spread across her face as she continued, casually, "And it's not really illegal. The signs are more like friendly suggestions." Tomato, tomatoe, right? "Besides, it's not illegal if you don't get caught!" With that, she winked at him, then turned to stare up at the fence.
It didn't even have any barbed wire along the top, so obviously they weren't trying that hard to keep people out. It was the kind of chain link fence you saw surrounding high schools; nothing she couldn't handle. Taking her purse off her shoulder, she placed it on the ground and grinned at him. They were doing this man. They were making it happen. With little noise, she climbed up the fence effortlessly, making it look easy as she pulled herself up and over, hopping down on the other side and shooting Colin a wide grin. There, simple!
"How crappy would it have been if my shirt ripped on the fence?" She asked with a laugh, dusting off her hands on her jeans as she walked over to the gate. The lock was a rusty old thing that had seen better days- while it was impossible to reach it from the other side of the fence, from here it was all a simple matter of twisting it with a hard yank and---
The lock fell off with a clatter, and the gate swung open with a loud creak that sounded like something from a horror movie. She smiled at Colin and gave him a sweeping bow. "Welcome to the Grand Estates of Sir Tress Pass de Strict Prohibit." With a skip she was in front of him of him, barely any space between them as she looked up and searched his eyes. "It'll be fun, I promise." She smiled and grabbed her purse off the ground, before taking his hand in her's and tugging on it gently. "Shall we?"
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Post by COLIN COX on Jun 7, 2013 14:41:13 GMT -8
He wanted to go in. Colin would have been lying if he said that he didn't sometimes dream of adventure, that he didn't have occasional urges to go out and do something out of his comfort zone. It was why he took so much joy out of planning days out with Julie, of carefully selecting things he knew that he normally wouldn't do, because it was liberating to try things that he would have once considered out of his league, to have someone to experience these things with that would appreciate the, albeit in a different way that he did. For someone so stagnant and stationary he did daydream about doing many things that he wouldn't normally do, though it was only in recent years that he would actually do them.
However, none of what he'd previously done had actually been against the law. Considering the most he'd tried in the past was to download movies illegally on the Internet, to see Julie climb up the fence and pull herself over was absolutely terrifying. Hazels widened as he watched her effortlessly hoist herself to the other side, before actually mentioning that her shirt could have ripped against the fence-- right, she wasn't wearing a bra, he thought once again with a flush. He seemed to be doing a lot of that this night. It probably spoke a lot regarding the state of the lock that she managed to twist it open, and it fell to the ground easily. He felt his heart stop for a moment as the gate swung open, and Julie gave him a bow. All he needed to do was take one step, and he would be in illegal territory. She was there already, he thought as she took hold of his hand. It would just take a single step...
He did it. Faster than he had ever felt his own feet move before, the blonde practically leaped beyond the gate, closing it behind him as quietly as he possibly could. He squeezed Julie's hand in return, trying to keep his tone neutral as he spoke.
"Yes, it would have sucked if your shirt had ripped open. I'd have to sacrifice another human to the gods of plaid." The thumping of his heartbeat was almost loud enough to drown out the sound of his voice. He was inside. He was actually inside. He was actually going to get to go inside an old building and poke around and do the kind of thing he'd never imagined he would, that he'd thought was only for people in comic books and movies and dkjsgldsjkgd he was doing this, actually doing this, oh gosh oh gosh oh gosh-- Colin squeezed Julie's hand, giving her a wide grin, unable to contain his excitement. Though just in case...
"Got any wet wipes, or anything? Should we cover our tracks?" Then again, it seemed as though nobody cared at all. They probably wouldn't even notice that the two of them had been in there. Deciding that maybe it was worth not following up for an answer to his question, Colin picked up the lock, stuffing it into the pocket of his jeans so that they would remember to shut the gate before they left. Tentatively, he took a few steps towards the building, actually leading the way, trudging through the grass and the mud towards the door.
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Post by JULIETTE DUBOIS on Jun 7, 2013 18:49:08 GMT -8
The pause before he joined her felt longer than it actually was, but when he finally did make his move, she was surprised by how quickly he closed the space between them. He was on the property and closing the gate, making some comment about plaid gods and squeezing her hand. "What does that even mean?" She laughed, nudging his side with her elbow as he closed the gate behind them.
He squeezed her hand yet again, the grin on his face sending her heart thumping against her chest. See, spontaneity was what was expected of her in most relationships, whether they were romantic or platonic. It was because she fit the stereotypes; she was blonde and cheerful and hyper. She had to be this and do that, or people wouldn't like her, or worse yet, they'd stop liking her. It got so tiring though, always being expected to have the bright ideas, to come up with adventures off the top of her head like she lived and breathed the stuff. And she did, to an extent, but she was a selfish person, just like everyone else: she liked being taken care of sometimes too. She liked someone else taking her on dates and adventures every once in a while, surprising her because they knew what she liked.
Now that was all well and good, but she'd be lying if she said that she didn't mind being the one to take Colin's hand and lead the way- not if it meant she got to make him smile like a little kid and actually want to throw caution to the wind, and do everything his instincts were screaming at him not to. She knew that he was her exact opposite in so many ways; that while she was a hurricane of energy, fearless in going after what she wanted, he was content to stay in one place, cautious almost to a fault. They balanced each other out though, in so many ways- he made her think about the consequences, made her keep her well-being in mind when she went through with her schemes and ideas. And she, in turn, pulled him out of his stagnation, tugged his hand and made him do the things he would otherwise be too shy to do by himself.
Still, she couldn't help but snort at his question.
"Oh my god Colin, they're not going to make a federal case out of a couple of dumb kids running around the building late at night." She replied, a brow raised and a grin on her face as he picked the lock up off the ground. He pocketed it before he set off towards the house, leading the way much to her surprise. He was so much like an excited puppy right now, she had to stifle a giggle with a hand pressed to her mouth. This must be what it's like to take your dog for a walk, and he pulled you along by the leash down the street. Colin's excitement was contagious, and while she had been here before she found herself looking forward to this as well. If anything, she couldn't wait to watch him; he was so happy right now, it was adorable.
They approached the building, walking through the overgrown grass towards the door. She reached into her purse and grabbed the thin flashlight she kept on her person for just these sorts of occasions. Just in case! You never know when you're going to have to go running out the door at 2 a.m. when your best friend came knocking. Julie took a step ahead of him so she reached the door first; the knob barely stuck as she turned it, the door swinging open with a groan. She gave him a smug smirk, saying, "See, the door's not even locked. If they really didn't want anyone here, they would have worked harder, no?" (She decided not to mention that she and Cal had decided not to bother locking it again the last time they had been there.)
Flicking the flashlight on, she led the way into the dark interior of the building, the narrow beam of light moving across wooden floorboards and blank walls. While it had been quiet outside, it was dead silent inside. It gave the illusion that there was someone watching, someone listening in on their conversation. Taking a deep breath, Julie broke that silence with a loud shout. "HELLO! If there's any squatters here, please leave immediately, I'm on a date with my dumb boyfriend!" What? It was better to be safe than sorry, and Colin was all about safety. What do you know, they didn't need to watch a bad horror movie after all. They were living one right now.
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Post by COLIN COX on Jun 8, 2013 9:12:52 GMT -8
But he didn't expect her to be spontaneous all the time, just as one couldn't always expect him to be rational and collected and quiet and compliant. He knew all too well how difficult it was to try to fit in a box that other people had saw fit to place him in, when in reality human beings were all changing, evolving creatures, and who a person was was dictated by their actions and feelings rather than some base personality that had been slapped onto them. Nurture above nature, he believed. How else could he have had an identical twin and turned out so completely different? Yet if you wanted to grow, you wanted to change, you could, because the Colin from three years ago would certainly never have dreamed of breaking into an old building. Life and experience had changed him for the better, and dare he say he'd grown up a lot. Even if it meant that he was now more willing to do stupid things.
But he was in an old building, at three in the morning. He was actually exploring an old building, with someone who he cared about and loved and maybe he wouldn't mind spending the rest of his life doing things like this, doing things with her. And while he tried to contain his excitement it was impossible to hide the grin on his face, the extra spring in his step as he approached the door after her and it swung open with a creak. Julie was right-- it really couldn't have been all that prohibited, if the door was open. It was beginning to seem like the signs were all up there for posterity rather than anything else. Colin stepped through the door, watching as Julie pulled out a flashlight as though she'd planned this all along. Hazels followed the trail of light as it moved up and down, registering the paint peeling off the walls, the dead silence in the middle of the building. He squeezed Julie's hand again, his cheeks starting to hurt with how much he was smiling, and that was when Julie shouted into the distance. He gave her a sharp elbow.
"Shh, they might hear us." But the fact that he was (still) smiling showed that he was joking, even if he was normally the careful one between the two. The fact that there was no reply indicated that things were probably safe, weren't they? "I'm sure we could learn to coexist quite easily, you know... But thanks for checking." After all, he hadn't thought to do so, and this once he'd follow her lead. Julie would know what she was doing more so than he did. But old building, old townhouse that looked like it could have been from the 1920s from the architecture and style, though this was hardly his expertise. He was standing in the midst of what could potentially be history though, and that alone was enough reason to be excited.
"W- where do we go?" If he had been correct, he'd seen an old dining table and chairs with intricate carvings in front, and he was curious. He wanted to take a look, but what if he did something stupid or wrong? Arguably, this was all stupid and wrong, but for once he managed to push that voice at the back of his mind away. "Could we go up and take a look at the stuff in front?"
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Post by JULIETTE DUBOIS on Jun 10, 2013 18:48:55 GMT -8
A sharp jab to the side of her ribs wiped the grin off her face. "Ow." She shot him a pout, a wrinkle forming between her brows as she rubbed her side where he elbowed her. To be fair, it really didn't hurt that much, but still, it was uncalled for. She was just looking out for them, he didn't have to do that! "That was kind of the point." Julie retorted, taking a step farther into the house and pointing the flashlight at the ceiling. No holes, so at least they didn't have that to worry about. She shrugged as he continued to talk, replying, "I suppose." She hadn't actually met any squatters while she was in an abandoned building yet, but she had always half-wondered what would happen if she ever did. It'd certainly be interesting, right?
Well, they didn't have to worry about it this time, if the resounding silence was any indication. Julie took a deep breath of musty air and turned back to Colin, her lips quirking up at the expression on his face. Honestly, he was like a kid at a candy shop. It was way too cute, but she decided not to bring it up- it'd ruin the fun. Besides, she could tease him about it later, when they were back outside and wandering through the streets again. She glanced back the way they came, to the open doorway and the dining room beyond.
"Sure, of course." Still holding his hand, she led the way across the dusty floor and into the large room. If this had been her first time in the house, she would have gone slower, been far more cautious, but she had been here before. While it had been a while ago, she still remembered this place, and knew that it was safe. If it hadn't been, she wouldn't have dragged Colin in here. No, the most they had to worry about in this old building was choking on a dust particle.
She swept the beam of light around the room, noting the intricately carved table and chairs before wordlessly handing the flashlight over to Colin. He wanted to take a closer look, after all; she flashed him a grin, as she remarked, "Still no sign of any dead bodies, I don't know about you but I'm disappointed." Now, wouldn't that be fun? Stumbling across a dead body in the dead of night, in an abandoned old building? Who knows if the killer was still lurking in the shadows, just waiting for the right moment to strike and get rid of any witnesses to their crime... it'd be like an episode from one of their favorite crime shows! Though as fun as it would be, she'd rather Colin's first adventure in an abandoned building didn't have too many unpleasant surprises- she'd like to do this again, but not if Colin was dead because a serial killer took him out. That'd suck.
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Post by COLIN COX on Jun 12, 2013 5:32:08 GMT -8
Colin squeezed Julie's hands tightly as she led the way. It was what most people expected of her, he knew, and sometimes he felt guilty when he let her do so, but this was different. They were exploring, this was completely uncharted territory for him, and most of all, they were they only ones there. Which made doing this so much safer, seeing as they didn't need to think of any unwanted outsiders, and dare he admit it? The solitude made this so much more romantic. He was in an abandoned building with somebody that he loved more than anyone else save for his family, she was showing him around, and the blonde felt his heart skip a beat as she handed the flashlight over to him.
"The only way we're going to find a dead body in here is if one of us creates one." With that, he shone the torchlight on his face, casting overdramatic shadows on his face. Whoever said that she was the theatrical one between the two had clearly never seen him interact with people that he was close with. "I'd be very afraid if I were you, Juliette." Colin stretched the last word out, trying to sound as menacing as he could; granted, he probably wasn't very menacing to Julie (or to anyone, but he liked to pretend he could be), but he could try his best. Refocusing the light on the table and chairs ahead of him, he couldn't help but feel struck by awe.
"Wow," he muttered, slowly, cautiously walking up to take a closer look. It really was all quite beautiful-- antique furniture like this would probably have been sold for hundreds if it had found its way into an auction house. Since the place was so accessible, it was a wonder that nobody had come and pilfered it yet. Closing his eyes, he could picture Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan having a meal together at the table, perhaps just before some swing dancing at a lively party. He'd adored the book, though he was hesitant regarding the upcoming movie. And picturing the characters in front of him, it reconfirmed the fact that nothing could ever be like leaving the appearances of the characters in a novel to your own imagination.
"Is there some unspoken rule about urban exploration?" Colin piped up. "Leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but photographs? This is all beautiful," he muttered, shining the flashlight around the room. He could see that this house had definitely once been grandiose, and some of the traces still remained. "I wonder what made the owner decide to abandon it, leaving so much behind." It was then when he shone the flashlight on his own face again, trying his hardest not to laugh.
"Maybe it was haunted."
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Post by JULIETTE DUBOIS on Jun 12, 2013 14:25:19 GMT -8
She couldn't help it- she burst out laughing when he pointed the flashlight under his face, and spoke in what he must have meant to be a dark, spooky voice. Her laughter seemed to fill the empty space, and she suddenly felt self-conscious, like she was disturbing the peace by being so loud. Still, she couldn't hide the snicker in her voice as she asked, with a smirk, "Is that a challenge?" Normally, she would have made a snarky comment about him using her full name, but given the situation, it was more funny than annoying. Colin was being completely, undeniably, stupidly cute, and she was trying hard not to point it out.
Colin turned his attention back on the furniture, and she followed behind him, amused more than anything by his awe. It was just furniture, after all, but whatever. She wasn't going to be a dick and ruin his fun. Besides, the chairs and table were pretty nice, she supposed. It wasn't exactly made of gold or inlaid with diamonds, but in it's own way it kind of was like forgotten treasure. She could at least appreciate what it must have been worth before it was abandoned.
"And break nothing but silence." She replied with a nod; there were a few other rules too, but nothing that should really concern him. Mostly about not telling other people about the places you've found, and always bringing a buddy along with you in case they needed to call 911 for your sorry ass. Thankfully, she had only ever had close calls up until now- it was a good thing she was as fit as she was, otherwise she probably would have ended up in the emergency room long before now.
But then he had to make that comment about it being haunted, and she had to stop herself from laughing all over again. "Don't jinx it, you doof." She nudged him in the side, grinning as he held the flashlight under his face once again. She didn't believe in ghosts or the supernatural; it was all just a trick of the mind. Still, she couldn't quite deny there was something explainable. There was a reason why most of her favorite TV shows involved the supernatural.
There was only so long she could stand around and stare at a few chairs, though. She gently tugged on his hand and asked, with a grin, "Upstairs?"
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