takecourage | (no subject)

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caleb

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It's a weekend but Darlington has to work at the museum -- some kind of special event -- so Alex texts Caleb and asks him if he wants to meet her for lunch. The weather is pretty pleasant - some sun, warm enough to just be wearing a t-shirt and jeans but not so hot yet that she's sweating. She sits outside the cafe they've arranged to meet at, shades in place, idly flicking through her phone. Sometimes, she wishes she as the kind of girl who'd have a paperback in her bag for this kind of thing, this kind of waiting, but she isn't, so she doesn't. No matter how successfully she might reinvent herself into Darrow Alex, she figures that some things will always be true and Alex has never quite had the knack of reading for pleasure.

So she waits.

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"I mean, it would be good for your endurance," he points out, not at all deterred by her withering glare. "But I was thinking, like, squats and lunges, really build up those muscles."

"I'll do you a deal," she says, sipping her water. "I'll do squats with you if you come and learn some moves on the pole with me. It'll do wonders for your core."

Caleb laughs. "No, no way," he argues, grinning even as he blushes a little. "I do planks, my core is awesome."

"Well, so's mine," says Alex, shooting him her best shit-eating grin. "But I don't do fucking planks." She reaches for her coffee cup, draining it, and then catching the waitress' eye. She orders herself pancakes, which she knows are good, a side of bacon, more coffee and then hands over the menu and waits for Caleb to decide.

Caleb orders something called a Breakfast Scrambler, which has two eggs, bacon, sausage, diced potatoes, and his choice of waffles, pancakes, or toast. He takes the waffles, since Alex ordered pancakes. He orders tea on the side, because he's not a big coffee guy, and then he leans back once the waitress heads to place their order for them.

"Yeah, well, I'm not a pole guy, so." He huffs a laugh, cheeks flushing as he even thinks about it.

"You should reconsider," says Alex, grinning. If anything, she enjoys trying to embarrass him more and more the closer they get. "Face like that? You'd make bank from the guys who are into twinks."

That has the effect she wants: his face heats and he laughs. "Oh my god, I can't believe you just said that," he says, shifting bashfully in his seat. "Why are we friends?"

She makes him blush, exactly what she'd been hoping for and she cackles in triumph.

"Because you fucking love me," she says. "That's why."

"Ugh, you're right," he says, but he's grinning too much to even feign disgust. He glances up when his tea is brought, and he smiles at the waitress in thanks before turning his attention back to Alex.

Alex murmurs her thanks to the waitress as she receives a fresh cup of coffee.

"So, how's school?" she asks. "Anything nice?"

"Oh man, um. I dunno, school's school? I need to get some stuff ready for the fall." He'd found out in April that he'd gotten accepted into Barton, which he'd told Alex about at the time and then had promptly tried not to think about until after finals were done. Just a few weeks, now.

"Oh,shit, yeah. College." She grins broadly, flipping her hair over one shoulder. "Danny is still trying to talk me into going back to school, but I just...yeah. Don't know what I'd go for."

"Isn't that what the first year's for, anyway?" Caleb says. "Figuring out what you want out of it?"

"Yeah," she says, nodding, because she knows that - she really does. "I just...didn't even finish high school, Caleb. I don't think college is for me."

"I mean, if it's not, it's not," he says easily. "But don't discount it unless you're sure, y'know?" He sips his tea, then makes a small face and adds some sugar from a packet to it. "Like, it's your call, obviously. I just don't want you miss out on something just because you're, like..." He shrugs a little. "I don't want you to think you can't do it, that's all."

"Now you just sound like Danny," she says, though she says it fondly. "Jesus fucking Christ. Why do I keep surounding myself with men who just want me to better myself and shit?"

"Mm, yeah, no idea," he says dryly. He laughs a little. "It's almost like we care about you, or something."

"Shit. Is that whatit is?" she says, nudging him under the table with the toe of her boot. She's joking, but she does love it, really; other than Mira, nobody had really cared about her that much her whole life, not until she got to Darrow.

Now, these days, she's got more love than she knows what to with.

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