An Unlikely Pair [ R/M | BayMickey ]

[Greed]

Ophelia pushed her red-rimmed glasses back up her nose as she took a seat in the corner of the coffeehouse, content to be as far in the back as she could possibly get. For a writer, who sometimes went to conventions, she was rather antisocial. At least, she was, most of the time – especially so when she was working. It wasn’t that she intentionally didn’t want to meet people. It was usually that she was focused enough that she just…she never cared to make friends. She didn’t know whether or not she came off as cold, or anything like that, but she supposed she must’ve. Or maybe people found her creepy. Stalkerish, even. She hoped that wasn’t the case. She was just doing research for her novels… Ophelia sighed and dropped her purse over the edge of the chair, reaching into it and grabbing her overused notepad and pencil, flipping to an empty page and leaning against the table, tapping the pencil against her lips. Her eyes scanned the area, hopping from person to person.

Some people seemed very happy, conducting idle chatter with one another. Friends or boyfriends/girlfriends, Ophelia didn’t know, but she could always construct a scenario in her head if need be. Much to her dismay, however, she didn’t find anyone that completely took her breath away with…well, whatever charm they possessed that would encourage her to write things down about them. Their appearance, mannerisms, things like that. Everything that she could attain from simply looking at them. Sometimes she inferred things, too, like how she thought they might act, or how good of a friend they might be. She’d learned a lot about reading people well from having people-watched for such a long time now. Okay. So it wasn’t that long, because she wasn’t that old. 25 wasn’t old, right? Maybe some kids these days thought so. Ophelia shook her head slightly, the action causing her to have to push up her glasses once more. Tucking some hair behind her head, she continued to scan the room until her eyes landed on someone particularly interesting.

Interesting, in all honesty, was quite an understatement. Mesmerizing, was more like it. She’d never quite seen anyone like him before. Perhaps it was the red hair. She didn’t see redheads all that often. Maybe it was the tattoos. Resting her chin on the palm of her hand, Ophelia stared at him for a few moments, taking everything in. After a minute or so, she looked down at her notepad and started jotting down notes about his appearance. After she’d gotten a few down, she looked back up at him, wrote some more, and continued for a moment before tearing her gaze away from him to write some things down about how she think he’d act as a person, which was always the fun part. She glanced up at him one more time before deciding it’d be best if she stopped staring, in case he saw her or something… She’d been caught staring a few times, and it’d always ended up awkward for her when it was a guy. A lot of the times they’d taken it in a way she hadn’t intended it… Shaking her head again, she pulled her hair behind her ear again and continued to jot down notes.

[ Not much to work with, I know… forgive me ;A; ]

[BayMickey]

Today was just a seemingly normal day in the coffee house where Luke worked.It was a quiet little shop in a quiet part of town, and other little dainty shops that hipsters and music lovers would go to. Luke particularly liked the music store across the street, but could only look at it through the windows while he was on shift. "Hello. My name is Luke, how may I help you today?" Most people just answered back with their order of a mocha frappe or hazelnut macchiato, but more times then often the customer would look Luke up and down, sneer at his tattoos or his lobes, then, in a snooty, uptight voice, say their rather expensive order. As you can imagine, Luke didn't particularly like those customers. But he had to smile and ring them up. And he always did. Luke needed this job, and a rude lady was not going to lose it for him.

Today, the cafe was filled with almost the usual. Couples flirting and laughing with each other. college kids with beanies, faces shoved into a laptop screen. Kids with headphones over their ears, mouthing the words to some reggae song. Women in suits who chatter endlessly into Bluetooth headsets. One girl stood out today. Luke saw her while he was cleaning off a table. A lady had asked him for napkins, and he looked up, and there she was. She didn't see him, hopefully, because he stated for a little bit. She scanned the shop, her eyes moving from person to person. Luke then looked up at the customer. Without a word, he nodded, and retrieved a handful of napkins. The customer smiled and thanked him. Luke glanced back at the girl one more time. This time, she was the one staring at him. Looking back down, he turned, and went back to the counter, ready to take another customer's order. He would occasionally look up to see the girl, who would do the same in between writing. Luke smiled and handed off a coffee cup to a business looking man. During the whole time, his cheeks felt hot with blush, which he was certain that everyone could see coming up onto his place skin. Luke moved a piece of ginger hair out his eyes, gazing back over  to the girl. She was writing, and he got a chance to look over her.

She was different. He hadn't see many girls like her around this part of town. Sure, attractive girls came in sometimes, but she was better. Luke cleared his throat, trying to get his mind straight. No girl like her, or what he thought she was like, would like a tattoo-covered, pierced ginger guy like him. But why was he thinking she even would? Luke sighed inwardly. What was wrong with him? Usually, he didn't desire that a pretty customer like him. [i]But she's different, [i]he thought to himself. Luke looked around the cafe at the other people, moving from behind the counter. He walked from table to table, asking the customers if they needed anything. Almost everyone declined, and he finally reached the final table far in the back. He stopped, standing right in front of it. Hopefully she couldn't hear his heart beating faster like an idiot, but he managed to speak up. "D-do you need anything?"

[it's kinda short, i'm sorry. but there ya goooo.]

[Greed]

[ It was fine! ^_^ Funny thing being I went to Starbucks today and got a hazelnut macchiato… xD ]

Ophelia paused every now and again to reread what she’d written down, doing her best to keep her eyes to herself and on her paper, fighting back the urge to steal another glance. He really was an interesting…specimen, for lack of a better word. She enjoyed people who were different. They were the people she most often ended up using in stories. Average Joe characters weren’t always as fun to read, anyways. She was glad she’d come here today. After another moment, she let out a thick sigh and let her eyes meander over the customers before inadvertently ending up at her main interest…wh0m for now she was calling Red – for obvious reasons. Ophelia tapped her pencil’s eraser on the notepad for a moment, once more rereading her notes. So far, she had a good physical description, and, out to the side, had sketched some of the tattoos – or sketched them as best as she could from what she could see from where she was sitting. They were very incomplete, but it wasn’t a problem to her. She could make up the parts she couldn’t see – if there were parts she couldn’t see – when she actually sat down at her laptop to write.

After a few more lines of bulleted personality traits, Ophelia reached into her purse and pulled out yet another notebook, flipping to another open page. The book had almost been filled to the brim. She only had about three pages, front and back, left before she ran out of space in it. It was also falling apart. She needed to transfer all of the writing in it into her laptop, fast, before the pages started falling out, which she could tell by looking at it and from experience wasn’t too far off. Pushing the smaller informational notepad to the side, she leaned over the book and started to write a paragraph introducing Red, and the story she had swirling around in her head. She had gotten a good paragraph and a half when somebody stopped at her table. She’d been absorbed enough in her writing that she hadn’t heard anyone coming up until they spoke. The brunette started slightly, one hand moving over her writing as if to hide it, although she didn’t know why. She didn’t have anything to hide.

Although when she looked up, she supposed that she maybe did have something to hide. Most people she was writing of didn’t stop by her table, unless… well, that wasn’t really the point. Ophelia took a moment to gather her wits about her before offering a bashful smile, “N-No, I’m fine,” Ophelia bit her lip hesitantly, “Uhm, thanks though,” she said, trying to be polite. She stole a glance at his tattoos up in personal now, looking back down at her sketches before momentarily forgetting who exactly was standing before her, picking up the notebook, erasing something and editing it, glancing up again at his tattoos before back at her work, “There,” she nodded before looking back up and blushing a bit, “O-Oh. Sorry…” she stammered. “I…don’t mean to be weird or anything…”

[BayMickey]

Luke watched the girl write. She did so fast, so fluently. Her hand glided across the page. She must have been doing it for years, he assumed. Not many people Luke knew could write so smoothly like that. He knew he couldn't, laughing inwardly at the thought of his own scratchy handwriting. Then she looked up, answering his question, and unfortunately for him, bit her lip. Damn. She was pretty. No, no. More than pretty, Luke thought. Maybe gorgeous was the word. Now that he could she her more clearly, it was obvious that his attraction wasn't in the wrong place. He then broke off his thoughts, and nodded, glancing down again at her paper.

Wait. Was that him? Had to be. It was too well drawn to be mistaken not to be. Plus Luke was the only guy in the coffee shop with two full tattoo are sleeves. His green eyes widen, a grin spread across his face. He looking back up at the girl, watching as her cheeks grew pink with blush. He wanted to laugh, to chuckle, to tell her he was kind of happy that she chose to draw him, but, being Luke, he couldn't do it. Usually, he might have said "Have a nice day.' or at least smiled at them, but he just walked away. Just moved one foot after another, not saying anything, and stopping behind the counter. Luke felt his chest heaving, and didn't look back at her table. What was that? She was drawing him? Why? Why him? And why didn't he ask! Luke scratched his head, ginger hair probably sticking up where he just ran his finger through it. He served another customer before he looked up again, trying to at least smile at her after what he just did. Hopefully he didn't cause a scene, or seem weird to the other customers. No one was staring at him, so that was a good sign.

Why am I so stupid? he thought.

[ agh. i'm so so so so so so soooo sorry. i got punished and couldn't get on til today. and it's kind of short again. ew. sowwy. ): ]

[Greed]

[ So I had around 1,000 words typed up when my computer decided to be a total jackass and delete it all. And then my Mozilla Firefox stopped working altogether. So here I am, downstairs, on my dad's laptop, at 1 in the morning, doing this because I really wanted to write. My computer needs to burn in hell. This reply is a bit shorter than I intended for the reasons stated above, as well. -.- Sorry about that.Technology... ]

Ophelia wished she knew what he was thinking. She wished she could peer into his thoughts for just a second, to see how his mind worked. Mostly, however, she wanted to know if he thought she was a total weirdo loser stalker type person or if he was planning on just brushing it off and pretending she was normal. Which she wasn't, really, at all. She didn't usually do that though. She'd never actually started to draw a person, or a part of a person, when they had been standing right in front of her. Usually she had more common sense than that. However, the temptation of being able to draw the tattoos picture perfect had been too strong and she just couldn't resist. He probably thought she was some stalker now, didn't he? It seemed likely. Ophelia lifted her hand in an awkward wave when he just walked away before slapping her palm against her forehead.

"Li, what the hell were you thinking? He probably thinks you're a serial murderer now or something," Ophelia muttered to herself, sighing thickly and pulling some hair behind her ear. She was so stupid. So stupid! Were all authors like this? Because she sure as hell didn't want to be the only super weird stalker author in the world. There were seven billion people on the planet...no way she was alone, right? Ophelia hazarded a look at the stranger again, catching his eye once more. He really was attractive...it was such a shame that she'd probably come off as those creepers who drive white vans around. If he was any less attractive, she wouldn't have cared, really. She went out with her girlfriends sometimes to go people-watching. Although it was more boy-watching, and she'd never really cared much for boys. But the mixture of the redhead's difference and the surprisingly soft smile he gave her made Ophelia want to know more. She wasn't content with just having the bare minimums. She didn't want to make his character up entirely on her own anymore.

He looked like the kind of person that would be stereotyped - God forgive her - as a bad boy. And she had no problem with bad boy characters. In fact, she tended to like to write them a lot. Now, in real life, she'd never go for an actual guy like that, but many of her readers were young women who drooled over every bad boy there ever was, is, and shall be. It was a strange obsession. Ophelia picked up her pencil and tapped it against her lip, a long-time habit of hers that dated back to her freshman year in high school, and stared at him for again. She doubted she could make herself be any creepier already, so she'd kind of given up on trying to make herself seem like a normal people-watcher...not that people-watching was exactly a normal thing to do. She was so tempted to go up there and do an interview of sorts, so she could learn more about him. But he was working. And he probably didn't want anything at all to do with her.

Ophelia groaned and put her arms on the desk, resting her head against them. What are you going to do with yourself, Li...?

[ I apologize this gives you pretty much nothing to work with. =\ ]

[BayMickey]

[ it's fine. i've been absent. i'm so so sorry. i went out state this weekend and haven't had the chance to get on! ]

Luke sighed. He put his elbow on the counter, a little too hard actually, and after he grimaced, put his chin in his hand. This was the long stretch where no one came in, and it would be a while before anyone went out of the coffee shop. Luke watched everyone, but his eyes always seemed to skip over that one corner - the one where she was. He should go over there and talk to her. Maybe if she's the last to leave, he thought. Yeah, that'd be good. Luke squeezed his eyes shut, contemplating fixing himself and cup. He turned around and looked at the clock. 7:26. The shop closed in about and hour and a half, so maybe she would stay that long.

Luke started fooling with the machine, filling his cup up with black coffee. He passed up on the extras, like the creamer and sugar. That was one weird thing about Luke, even though it's not like he didn't have any. He only like his coffee as strong as it comes and with nothing in it. Straight black, with maybe a shot or two of extra expresso. Most people would catch smell of it and wince, but he loved it. He took a sip, and immediately knew it was way too hot. Way too hot. He gagged, the liquid in his mouth burning his tongue, and grabbed a napkin. He spit the hot coffee into in, fanning his boiling mouth. He ran to the mini fridge in the corner of the cashier's desk, pulling out a small bottle of milk. He twisted the cap, and gulped the whole thing down. Luke cursed under his breath. That was stupid.

He went back to the register, picking back up his coffee. He looked down, staring at the drink in the mug. Then he looked back up, back in her direction. She was still there. He noticed something new about her. Her hair was the exact same color as the drink in his hand.

Now that's creepy, Luke. Hey, but she was drawing a picture of me.

He chuckled at himself, probably looking like a freak. Luke really didn't care. He glanced back over to the girl, catching her gaze again. He kept it for a while, before looking back at the clock. Hopefully she would stay until closing time.

[Greed]

Ophelia had eventually pulled herself out of her 'holy shit, Li, you're such a creepy stalker,' mental beating and had gone back to writing some things down. She'd gotten everything down about him that, for the moment, she wanted to know, but for some reason she had the strangest feeling that she was going to be back here someday, sitting in the corner of this little coffee shop, staring. Oh, what a creep. She was never going to find a nice guy and settle down if she kept this up. How could anyone think she was normal enough to date anyways? Ophelia wasn't even certain she was looking for someone to date...she admitted it would be nice, but first of all she needed to find someone who was willing to put up with her strange author tendencies... like going to coffee shops to stare at people and maybe just draw their tattoos, too. She needed a tattoo of her own, now. One that would go right on her forehead that read 'STALKER.'

Great. Ophelia grimaced. She wasn't usually this...weird. Her thoughts were usually more professional than this. She didn't often have people coming up to her and her starting to draw them right in front of them...so that might just be what was messing her up. But now she'd gone back to writing in her elegant handwriting style that'd taken forever for her to perfect. Ophelia lost track of time, looking up once more during that time she'd been writing down ideas of what he would say and/or do, catching his gaze once and holding it for a second. Really...she wanted to know more about him. Call her crazy, but he just...he seemed different. She wasn't used to different, even though she as her own person was incredibly different. She still had a set of rules she lived by and rarely did she ever step outside her boundaries or break those rules she'd set in place for herself. Some people may think that just showed she had an incredible amount of discipline and self-control, but some days she found herself wondering what it would be like if she ever found someone that would force her out of her comfort zone...and whether or not she'd like it. Maybe it'd be a whirlwind romance like the ones she'd written about before.

Now feeling a bit less awkward about the staring considering she'd caught him doing it to, now, she pulled her gaze away with less difficulty. She wrote, and wrote, and wrote, getting the basics of a good story down before her eyes cut to the clock. It was two minutes before closing time. She hadn't realized how long she'd been there...she'd been there for a good two hours or so. it was definitely time to head home. Maybe she'd come back tomorrow...maybe not. Ophelia finished her sentence before closing her notebook and letting out a huff of air before standing up and beginning to pack away her things. It had been a good day for her, most definitely. Her eyes traveled back to the redheaded male once more before she shouldered her bag and pushed her glasses up her nose a bit more. Perfect timing. The shop was due to close any second now. Out of courtesy, Ophelia said, albeit somewhat shyly, "Have a nice night."

[ This didn't give you anything to work with either TT___TT I'm ashamed of myself. And it's fine - no worries! I understand (: ]

[BayMickey]

Luke watched her walk towards the counter, and was shcoked to notice she was walkign towards him. Nothing like this had ever happened to him. Ever. Why was he so hung up on a girl he had literally just seen an hour ago? He sighed, and smiled when she talked to him. Wait. He made a notion to reach for her, but stopped himself. "Wait, um, hold on," he said awkwardly. Luke winced, then went on, "Um, was, was that me, you were drawing, back there?" He nodded towards the table she was sitting at. He again ran his fingers through his hair.

[ ugh. i'm sorry. i know i suck at excuses, but i'm sick and tired and i'm trying to keep posting quick but my muse is kaput. ]

[Greed]

Ophelia had started for the door when she heard him speak again, looking over at him and giving a sheepish smile. In her head she had no problem saying, 'Oh, yeah, hope ya don't mind if I use your face in one of my novels. Thanks for letting me borrow it. Oh, and nice tattoos.' Because in her head she could say almost anything and she wouldn't be afraid to say it - it was like putting her thoughts down on paper, and why the books she had published were filled with lines she'd never say in real life. She loved the quotes she wrote, though, so as long as she could express them somewhere she didn't mind. "Umm, yeah..." Ophelia said, pulling a piece of thick chocolate hair behind her ear. "It's..." she paused, trying to figure out a somewhat normal way of explaining herself, but she was coming up short. "Well, I'm an author. I use the way people look as templates for my characters sometimes. You just seemed...interesting, so I took a few notes and drew a little bit." As if realizing it seemed kind of stalkerish to be saying those things, she put her hands up in front of her and waved them side to side a bit, "I don't mean to be weird or anything. I hope I didn't creep you out or something..."

[BayMickey]

Luke shook his head. "No, no. It's fine, I guess." He blushed again, the pink on his cheeks probably contrasting with his hair. "Um, if you were wondering, my name, it's Lucas. But everyone calls me Luke." He held his hand awkwardly, letting the offer of her shaking sit in the air. Lord, he was such a loser. Luke had an internal battle with himself in his head. Why had he made it more awkward? He could have just let it be, and said nothing. the two of them could have gone their way. No question about why she was drawing him or anything. Just to be less complicated. But no. Luke had to make it worse. Whatever, what is done is. Anyway, he was curious exactly why she ad chosen him to draw.

[Greed]

Ophelia felt her cheeks heat a little. Real smooth, Li. Ophelia's embarrassment lessened a bit and she smiled when he gave her his name, nodding. "Nice to meet you, Luke," Ophelia replied, hesitating a moment before taking his hand and shaking it before returning her hand to her side, "My name is Ophelia," she added in. Of course, that wasn't the name she wrote under (that was Ingrid). "Most people call me Li, but I'll respond to either," she said with another smile. "I'm.... I'm sorry, again, if I...was being weird or anything. You just looked interesting to me. Sometimes my writer tendencies make me look weird in front of other people..." Ophelia pulled some hair behind her ear and averted her gaze, feeling her cheeks heat up again. "I'm sorry. I should probably go, it's closing time. I don't want to keep you any later than you have to be."

[BayMickey]

Luke shook his shaggy head. "Um. Let me, let me walk you out to your car?" He left the supposed-to-be-sentence hanging in the air as a request. It was pretty dark outside. He glanced toward the huge window in the front of the shop, seeing the street lights get turned on one by one.

[Greed]

[ Hello. I realize you haven't been online in a while but I do like this RP so I was kind of hoping if you're up to it we continue. So I'm replying. ]

Ophelia didn't want to say no to him - had no reason to say no to him, and therefore, she couldn't think of any reason to say no to him. "Yeah," Ophelia replied, "That's, um, perfect. Thanks." She turned to follow his gaze. She wasn't a fan of the dark and honestly she was happier to have someone walk her to her car instead of going alone. "Well...let's get going, then. My car is just around the corner."

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