passive | ☀ ic contact.

[Bethany's response comes maybe fifteen minutes later, because she had to sit and stare at it for a little while.]

Do you want to meet somewhere?

[ Just when he thought she wasn't going to reply, there it is. That's a little relieving, at least. ]

The park, perhaps?

Yes, that's fine.

I'll be there soon.

All right. See you in a bit.

[ Smooth, Nathaniel. Well, he at least has the forethought to send over where in the park he actually is.

Aaaand now the part where he waits for her to show up.

Well, this is awkward already ]

[Well, to her credit, she doesn't take too long to show up.

And when she does, she forces a smile, trying not to show how nervous she is. It's okay, she tells herself. They're both adults. This doesn't have to be weird.]

Ah. Hello. [Welp. It's a start, at least.]

Bethany. [ He does actually look please to see her. He wouldn't blame her for dragging her feet, all things considered.

But this is Nathaniel, mister straightforward and practical. He doesn't exactly dance around issues. ]

I owe you an apology.

Nathaniel... [She holds up her hands, shaking her head.] No, you don't. You've nothing to apologize for.

Don't I? The way you ran off suggests I do.

Maybe I ought to be the one apologizing, then. [She gives him a sad little smile] I'm still used to running away from everything, I suppose.

It was the drive, wasn't it...? You did nothing wrong.

The drive?

[ Long pause. He had to think long and hard to come to this conclusion, but if nothing else, he owes it to her to be honest. ] Not entirely, no.

I... [Bethany has done some heavy thinking of her own, of course, and so she's spent the past couple of days preparing herself for this conversation. They would talk things over, like they are doing right now. And he would let her down gently, and perhaps she would be a little hurt, but then they could both move on with their lives, forget all this happened, and continue to be good friends.

This scenario has played in her head a hundred times, and she's managed to convince herself that this was how things would go down.

So that statement, naturally, takes her by surprise. She opens and closes her mouth a few times, trying to find something, anything to say.]

What?

[ He watches her a moment, gauging her reaction. She's surprised, obviously, but not outright angry, which he'll take as a good thing at this point.

Still, best to tread carefully. ]

I... may have not been acting entirely on the whims of the drive.

[Nathaniel is the most serious and genuine person she knows. This isn't a joke; he isn't teasing her. Even so, even knowing that, she has a hard time believing him. This isn't another hallucination, right? This is actually happening? IS THIS THE REAL LIFE.

So, no, she's as far from angry as she can get. If anything, she looks hopeful.]

You... meant all of that?

Of course I did.

[ Drive or no, he doesn't just flatter people. ] Every word.

[There's a long moment of stunned silence before a tiny smile starts to tug at her mouth. And it's not one of resigned sadness, like before — she actually looks happy.]

I've spent all week trying not to get my hopes up.

[ He gives a little laugh ] It's good to know I haven't frightened you off.

[ She got all flustered when he called her on using the word "date", after all. He really wasn't sure how she'd react.

Ah, but speaking of dates ] I was wondering if, perhaps, you'd like to join me for dinner?

You're going to have to try a lot harder to get rid of me, I'm afraid.

[She got flustered because she never thought her silly little crush on him would ever actually go anywhere, okay.

The dinner offer causes her to brighten even more. Best day ever? Best day ever.] I'd love to.

I've no desire to actually get rid of you, so that's good to know.

[ Her smile is catching, because he's wearing one of his own. ]

I'm glad, but it would be a shame not to take advantage of being in the park in the meantime.

[SMILES FOR EVERYONE. She's pretty sure she's not going to be able to stop smiling for the rest of the day.]

I wouldn't mind walking around some. Especially now that I have comfortable shoes again.

[ Just gonna offer her his arm then! ]

Just don't go losing one of them, hm?

I'll do my best not to.

[Laughing, she takes his arm, annnnnnnd we're walking~]

...Well, so much for boredom, I suppose.

There are far worse things that could have happened.

I can't think of anything better, though.

Funny, neither can I.

[Oh, Maker, she is too happy for words right now. She's just waiting for something to go horribly wrong. Or to just wake up. Or ~~her terrible siblings to show up and ruin everything forever~~ something.]

We're in agreement, then. [She grins.] Good to know.

[ text ] nope never gonna stop

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