So what now? (Katydid50 x 5Bulletproof-Marshmellows)

[5Bulletproof-Marshmellows]

Looking up at him when he spoke, she kept her arms crossed since the wind had picked up slightly. Hearing what he had to say, she raised one of her eyebrows slightly. Sure it most likely wasn't the best idea to get into the car with him and let him drive her off somewhere but his proposal sounded a tad bit like a challenge.. or perhaps not, she didn't know. Uncrossing her arms, she placed her hands on the car for a moment before letting them go down to her sides and then shrugged.

"What's life without risks?" she asked him as she straightened her back and moved away from the car. "Lead the way." she tilted her head since she didn't know where his car was. Some would say that it wasn't exactly a smart move but even if it wasn't, she knew she could get out of it if it turned out to be something.. well something horrible. Her hair was soaking wet by now as well as her shoulders but she could only hope that he had a heater in his car.

((short D: ))  

[Katydid50]

Daniel watched in silence as Elenore considered what he'd said. As the wind picked up, he forced down a shiver. The wind had a bit of bite to it, reminding him that winter was not far off. He would have to hurry up redoing the bathroom. He certainly didn't want to go through another winter with a cold bathroom.

He watched as she raised an eyebrow before lowering her arms and shrugging. At her words, a whole bunch of answers ran through his mind -'Safe', 'long', 'ultimately boring'- but he said none of them. He hadn't gone to school since the eighth grade but he knew when he was being asked a rhetorical question.

When she told him to lead the way, he nodded before walking away from her car. He walked towards the exit of the parking lot, over to where his truck was parked. Even though the other cars parked around weren't the latest sports car, his still looked like it could use a new paint job. He frowned at that but pushed the thought away. He had other things he needed before a new paint job for his truck.

When they reached the truck, he unlocked the door on the passenger's side before walking around to unlock the driver's side door. When he climbed in, he looked over at Elenore, holding back another frown when he saw how her hair was soaking wet. That couldn't possibly be warm. Once he'd turned on the ignition, the first thing he did was turn on the heating before buckling up, putting the car into drive and pulling out of the parking lot.  

[5Bulletproof-Marshmellows]

Following him, she couldn't say she wasn't slightly surprised by the fact that his car was the closest to the exit. Better to be safe than sorry, some would say but she didn't ask him about it. Only now did she realize that he had eaten his lunch without even using a fork even though it would have been easier that way. Her eyes narrowed for a moment but she shook her head, letting go of those thoughts.

"Thanks." she said softly as he unlocked the door for her and she opened it before climbing it, pulling her hair over one of her shoulders so it wouldn't soak the seat. Closing the door, she got in, smiling a bit when he turned on the heater. Hopefully he hadn't done it because of her.. she didn't want to be a burden but she was grateful for the heat nonetheless. Placing her hands against the vent that was on her side for a moment, she let her fingers thaw before she set them on her lap.

Once he pulled out of the driveway, she couldn't help but realize how silent it was in his car. She always had her kids talking or the radio was on if they were just being odd balls and not talking to each other.. though Deserai always asked questions. She never failed to do that no matter what mood she was in or what day it was.  

[Katydid50]

As they pulled out of the parking lot, Daniel glanced around before driving out onto the road and driving deeper into the city. He knew that if he had been in Elenore's position, he would have been curious. What could possibly be in the center of the city that was worth a moment of anyone's time? Well, aside from the people but that was another issue altogether. For a sheltered, middle-class person, there was nothing of interest in the inner city, except for the park.

He cast a glance at her out of the corner of his eye before looking back ahead. He'd found that most people, for their lunch break, walked to a place nearby rather than drove so the roads, though busier than they would have been an hour ago, were not nearly as busy as before and after office hours. He was glad for that. He hated traffic almost as much as he hated the city itself.

After a few minutes of driving, Daniel pulled up to the curb alongside the park. It didn't look very interesting. A stretch of grass with some playground equipment. Behind that were trees. Most people didn't realize just how large that mini-forest was. Not many city people took the time to really see what the woods held. Turning off the truck, he pulled the keys out of the ignition before climbing out of the truck and locking the door behind him. It was still raining steadily but once they got under the cover of the trees, it wouldn't be so bad.  

[5Bulletproof-Marshmellows]

He was headed towards the center of the city as far as she could tell.. Why in the world would he be headed there? Stretching her legs out for a second, she glanced at him. He wasn't a city person and she honestly didn't see the connection. Her eyes returned to the road, hoping that everything would make sense in the end.

Thankfully there weren't a whole lot of cars out on the road. She hated traffic as much as the next person and sometimes she found it easier to just walk to where ever she wanted to go. Elenore was getting slightly comfortable since it was warm in the truck. It almost made her want to fall asleep but that would just be awkward.. besides she wanted to know where he was taking her.

When he parked the car, she looked out to see a long stretch of grass. "Grass?" she asked him, slightly confused before she unbuckled and got out as well, locking the door. She had left her back in his truck as well so she wouldn't have to lug it around. Elenore waited for him to walk to where he wanted to go since she had only been here once or twice with her kids.  

[Katydid50]

Daniel looked over at Elenore with an amused smile. No, they were not there to see the grass. He shook his head, trying not to laugh. The confused look on her face was so cute. "Follow me," he told her before making his way across the stretch of grass to the shelter of the trees. There was a path, more or less, that led into the miniature forest. It was hardly more than a deer trail but it was distinct and smoother than trying to struggle through the brush. He knew it wouldn't have been easier for her, especially in her heels.

He glanced back at her to make sure she was keeping up before following the trail into the forest. It was a lot larger than most people thought. Then again, how many people really considered its size? Only those who saw it from the air really knew how big it was. He himself had never seen it from above but he'd spent many, many nights there as a child and young adult.

Before too long, he veered off the trail. The path he took was more brushy but it still wasn't too bad. Though, it was more of a struggle since he had to duck under trees that had fallen into the crook of other trees' branches and climb over fallen trees. It was the closest thing to a real forest this city could offer.

Finally, the path stopped suddenly. He stopped at the edge of the trees and found himself staring out at a decent sized body of water. A small lake. The water's surface was constantly moving from the impact of the rain. In his mind, there was nothing more beautiful in the whole city than this, especially at night.  

[5Bulletproof-Marshmellows]

She wasn't exactly sure what he wanted her to see her but she followed him nonetheless. Walking along the glass, her heels sunk into the mud slightly but they could be cleaned later on. She really should have worn another pair of shoes today. Biting her lip, she walked between the trees, noticing the small trail that he was walking on. She liked forests but she had never been aware that this was bigger than just twenty trees or something around that number.

Elenore had pulled her hair back into a pony tail so it wouldn't get caught in any of the low branches when she ducked or tried to move around them. It wasn't too bad until he decided to go off the trail. Walking in heels really wasn't helping her and she was tempted to take them off and just go barefoot since she wouldn't be in danger of rolling her ankle then.

Looking at one of the trees that had fallen, it took her a few moments before she found a way to go around it. Wearing a skirt wasn't helping her either but she was still enjoying this small trip or at least she thought it was small.

When she caught up to him, she didn't realize what he was looking at until a moment later. A lake? She couldn't help but smile. She slowly walked up to the water's edge, standing on a rock that had probably been put there by someone. "It's wonderful." she said as she pulled a leaf out of her hair and then looked up at the sky, slowly turning in a circle and then closing her eyes. She didn't feel that cold anymore..

Elenore took a small step back but the heel was in the air now and she suddenly found herself falling. Not good... There was a splash and it turned out that the water was deeper there than she thought. It took her a second before she moved so that she was standing, the water was up to her waist and she was laughing, wiping the water away from her face. So much for not disturbing the peace.  

[Katydid50]

Daniel knew that Elenore was having trouble. He really should have taken into consideration that she was wearing heels when this "brilliant" idea came into his mind. And yet, he couldn't bring himself to offer her assistance. The only help he would have been able to give her was carrying her himself and that was just... He felt awkward just thinking about it. But not the bad kind of awkward. The 'If I did that, I would end up embarrassing myself' awkward, like when boy kisses a girl for the first time and, afterward, neither of them are sure what to say and an awkward silence falls between them. Of course, his own first kiss had been nothing like that. His first kiss would have changed how Elenore looked at him, it was so... something. He'd certainly enjoyed it, and what had followed, but it wouldn't help him with her.

When they finally reached the lake, he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, trying to read her expression. Judging by the smile on her face, she was quite happy with the surprise. He turned to look at her completely as she walked down to the water's edge and stood on a large rock. He considered warning her about how slippery it could get but pushed the thought away. Surely the rock couldn't be that slippery, right?

At her words, he smiled. "I'm glad you like it," he told her. He really was. He watched as she started to slowly turn in a circle. A moment later, his mouth dropped open as she tripped, falling into the water. For a second, he couldn't do anything but stare before he regained control of himself and hurried over. His heart nearly stopped, not for fear of her being hurt or in danger. The water wasn't that deep. He was worried that she would blame him for it. But, instead, she stood up and started laughing. Laughing!

"Are you ok?" he asked from the lake's edge. He, personally, would wait until she got out of the water to check her over. There was no sense in both of them getting soaked, now was there? Besides, he didn't particularly feel like getting even more wet. The shoulders of his shirt was already wet from the rain.  

[5Bulletproof-Marshmellows]

Everything had been going just fine and she had managed to let her mind wander. Shaking her head, she placed her hands on the rock and pulled herself up out of the water so that she was sitting on it. Her ankles hurt and she was soaking wet but other than that she was fine. Grinning to herself for being so stupid, she slowly stopped laughing. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." she told him before she stood up and slowly made her way back over to more stable ground.

Slipping her feet out of the heels, she tried to get the water out of her hair before she realized that her white shirt was see through.. the good thing was that she had a black vest on so she would be fine. "Leave it to me to do something like that." she told him as she smiled, shaking her head as she shivered when the wind blew but it died down quickly.

There was no way she was getting in his truck when she was this wet. Sniffling, she rolled the sleeves of her shirt up and then rubbed her hands together to warm them since her fingernails were already turning a purple-ish color. Standing on her toes, she then picked up her heels and headed over to stand underneath a tree.

((So short D: ))  

[Katydid50]

Daniel relaxed slightly when she told him she was fine. That was good. He hated the thought of her being hurt because of his stupid idea. He watched as she made her way back to shore, going from the water to the rock and from the rock to the shore. Her clothes were soaked through, her shirt and skirt clinging to her like a second skin. However, he didn't ogle her like many men would have, or even he himself would have if the situation had been different.

Instead, he smiled weakly when she spoke. "It was just bad luck," he told her. He himself probably would have done it, years ago of course, had he been a normal kid and had a normal childhood. In fact, if it hadn't been raining, he probably would have done it now.

When she shivered, a frown formed at his mouth. He followed her back to the tree cover, looking out at the lake as the wind started to pick up. "We should probably head back before you catch a cold or something," he said. He didn't want her getting sick. If she did, who would look after those kids? Who would look after her? No one, that was who. He would have, but he was still hardly more than a stranger to her and she to him. It would have been improper and... stuff.

Despite that, he really did want to head back. He wasn't exactly dressed for wet, stormy, cold weather. He was dressed for work and that wasn't exactly the warmest considering he worked inside all day.  

[5Bulletproof-Marshmellows]

If she stayed out there for too long she knew she was going to get sick but going into his car when she was soaking wet didn't seem like a good idea either. Having his seat all wet because of her wasn't something she wanted to do. "Bad luck?" she smiled slightly and shook her head again. Wrapping her arms around her waist, she leaned against the trunk of the tree.

Nodding her head when he said they should head back, she slowly headed down the path, barefoot this time since it would be easier that way. She knew that she couldn't get sick because of her kids. There would be no one to drive them to school and to take care of them in general. walking around the fallen tree once again, she had goosebumps all over her skin.

She heard thunder in the distance and she guessed that it wouldn't subside for a while which reminded her that she had told Aunt Rose to pick Nicolas up. He would enjoy it there but she felt bad nonetheless.. though she did need to have a talk with Grace around her behavior at school.

It wasn't too long before she could see the grass up ahead. Her clothes weren't as wet as they were before but water still dripped from them due to the rain. If only she had been dressed in something else the trip could have turned out better. "How far is Olive Garden from here?" she was seriously considering walking over there just to not get his car wet. Perhaps it was stupid but she honestly didn't think it would be polite for her to do that.  

[Katydid50]

As they stood there, side by side under the partial cover of the trees, Daniel found himself watching her and not just because he was waiting for a response from her. Even soaking wet, she looked beautiful, much more beautiful than any of the past girlfriends, one-night stands and prostitutes he'd had. Yes, his past was quite colorful, and not in a good way. It was just pure luck that he'd come out of it without some kind of disease.

When she nodded her head, he followed her back towards the path, worried about the fact that she was barefoot. Though it was a city park, the ground was still littered with twigs, the occasional pine cone and other debris. He knew from personal experience just how much it hurt to step on a pine cone. It wasn't pleasant. He'd ended up spending the following hour picking bits of pine cone out of the bottom of his foot. That was definitely not an experience he wanted to repeat.

When they reached the path, he glanced up at the sound of thunder, a grimace forming on his face. He wasn't scared of thunder but he certainly didn't like it. It reminded him far too clearly of his first night on his own. He knew it had been the right thing to do but that first night alone had seemed more terrifying than the possibility of his father going into a drunken rage. At least with his father, he'd been able to predict the man's mood swings and fighting style. When he was drunk, his father was a surprisingly good fighter.

When they finally reached the edge of the trees, he looked out across the expanse of grass to his truck that lay beyond. He was just considering how wet they would get if they tried running across when she spoke. He glanced down at her, a weak smile at his mouth. "Half an hour on foot, at full sprint," he told her. Perhaps a little more. He'd run from here to the bar before and that had taken him roughly half an hour.  

[5Bulletproof-Marshmellows]

She blushed slightly when she realized he was looking at her. She was a mess and she knew it. Elenore wasn't good with first impressions or any of that. Biting her lip, she didn't say anything to him though. Once they were standing at the edge of the forest, she glanced at the dark sky. She had to admit today had been fun.. and she would like it to happen again sometime but she had to have a reason for it.

Her feet hurt a bit from walking so much in heels as well as walking on whatever was in that forest. A nice hot shower sounded wonderful at the moment. Closing her eyes, she listened to his answer. So that was not going to happen. She would definitely get sick if she tried walking back to her car.

Rocking back onto her heels, she guessed the fastest way to get to the car was running. "Race you to the car?" she said with a childish grin. For some reason she was open with him and she hadn't decided if she liked that or not. As far as she knew he was nothing like her husband.. but people changed.

She had seen how her father had changed.. he had become a drunk and hand raised his hand once or twice on her. They weren't pleasant memories since she had never fought back.. she had simply dealt with it. The pain had come from her mother dying and she hadn't been able to fix that.. Then her husband.. he had been so loving.. caring.. and then he had betrayed her. Nicolas had changed when she had gotten a divorce. Grace as well..  

[Katydid50]

Elenore must have noticed him looking at her. There was no other reason Daniel could see for the blush that colored her face. He glanced away, wondering if he should feel embarrassed or ashamed for being caught staring. Instead, he felt neither, though he knew he should have felt at least one of them, if not both.

When she spoke about racing to the car, he grinned back at her. How was it that she could make him feel so playful, so carefree? He couldn't ever remember a time he'd been allowed to feel so child-like. His own childhood had been horrible. He sincerely hoped that her own had been better than his. He would never wish on her the abuse he'd suffered, the neglect. He would never wish that on any child, except for those children who were completely evil. Some people said that no child was born evil. He could very much guarantee that there were.

"Sure," he said. "I'll even give you a head start." She would need it. One, she wasn't wearing any shoes and the only shoes she did have were high heels. Two, his legs were longer and stronger, hence a longer stride. He took a step back, motioning her to go. He knew he would still beat her. If he could outrun cops in their prime, he could easily outrun her.

He hadn't considered what they would do once they did actually get back to the truck. He should probably take her home, allow her to take a warm shower and change into some warm clothes. He knew just how easily soaked clothes could make a person get sick. That was part of the reason why he'd been so happy when he'd first found that mini forest. There was shelter and it was warmer. A sick person on the streets didn't last longer. It was, literally, survival of the fittest.
((I have to go))  

[5Bulletproof-Marshmellows]

Rubbing her arm as she waited for his response, she was glad to see that he grinned in return. Elenore didn't like being serious all the time, being carefree was good every once in a while. It let you breathe. Sure, she hadn't had the greatest past but.. in the end there was no point in holding onto it. You learn from your mistakes and you move on.

Head start? She wasn't going to complain about that one. Running in a skirt wasn't always the best thing or the easiest thing to do and she didn't have any shoes on her feet. Once he motioned for her to go, she smiled a bit before taking off down the path that they had gone down in the first place.

Her feet hurt a bit but she dismissed the pain and kept going. It was a simple game, a fun one and the rain was still pouring which wasn't helping her but it made her feel free. She loved the rain anyway. Her natural red hair looked like more of a dark red now that it was all wet and messy.

Shaking her head, she knew that he would most likely run past in her no time but she was fine with that as well. It wasn't about winning or losing it was simply about having fun and doing what you wanted. Elenore rarely let herself go like this anymore. She had kids to take care of .. they depended on her after all and they could have to stay with Aunt Rose if something happened to her.