[Again, things move along as normal. Even though she had fun during their last planetarium outing, for some reason Elle has been trying hard to put it from her mind. The memory is associated with thoughts that were too distracting for their own good; if she found herself lingering on them, she needed only to think about how foolish she had acted, and it's dismissed from her mind just as quickly. Of course, she remains bright and amiable as ever before, offering her alien roommate the same consideration as always. Her odd friendship with him -- as discombobulating as it could be -- was something she never wished to compromise.
It's what she told herself, anyway.
She has a day off of her part-time job, and has settled in front of her laptop, when the doorbell rings. Startled, she jumps a little, being unused to the noise; it's not like she gets visitors all that often, and she stares at the door for a little longer, before getting up and answering it tentatively. She blinks. It's her neighbor, the young man who lives on the bottom floor. They'd pass each other occasionally, and she'd give him a friendly smile and a little wave. But beyond that, she didn't know very much about him, and was at a loss as to why he could be standing at her door now.]
Oh... hi, Louis. [She greets him politely enough.] How's it going?
[She finds that the pleasantries run their normal course. The usual "I'm fine, how are you doing?", etc. However, it doesn't exactly answer her burning question of why he was at her door. It doesn't take long to find out.
She asks if there's anything she can do for him, and then the young man mutters out something along the lines of, Actually, I was just wondering if you were free today. Maybe grab a cup of coffee, see if, ah, maybe you'd be interested in lunch too? I know a place nearby that has the best-
Oh, but she's already stopped listening, because Elle knows where this is going. Louis isn't a bad guy -- she's sure that someday he'll make someone very happy -- but she's just... not interested. Not like that. In fact, for some reason that bothers her deep in her chest, going out with strangers is just... the least appealing thing to her right now.]
Oh, um. [She doesn't want to be rude, though. Her eyes flicker to her feet and then back up to her neighbor, chewing at her lower lip. She struggles to find amicable wording.] Sorry, but... [But... but, what?] I'm sorry, but I don't think my... boyfriend would like that.
[On the outside, she keeps a straight face. On the inside, she's cringing. Lying, really? She thought it'd be the easiest way to shoo him off without hurting his feelings. Of course, she's then surprised by Louis' response, which is similar to, Well. He doesn't have to know.
Wow. Her first impression of this man was very, very wrong.]
Er... [WORDS COME BACK. She should just say no, right? Just say no, Elle, she tells herself. Her mind churns for a way to word her response; she wishes he could just type everything out on a word document and recite it from there, god, it'd be easier that way.] I don't know if that's a good idea...
ᴛᴇʀʀɪᴛᴏʀɪᴀʟ ᴄʀᴇᴀᴛᴜʀᴇs.
It's what she told herself, anyway.
She has a day off of her part-time job, and has settled in front of her laptop, when the doorbell rings. Startled, she jumps a little, being unused to the noise; it's not like she gets visitors all that often, and she stares at the door for a little longer, before getting up and answering it tentatively. She blinks. It's her neighbor, the young man who lives on the bottom floor. They'd pass each other occasionally, and she'd give him a friendly smile and a little wave. But beyond that, she didn't know very much about him, and was at a loss as to why he could be standing at her door now.]
Oh... hi, Louis. [She greets him politely enough.] How's it going?
[She finds that the pleasantries run their normal course. The usual "I'm fine, how are you doing?", etc. However, it doesn't exactly answer her burning question of why he was at her door. It doesn't take long to find out.
She asks if there's anything she can do for him, and then the young man mutters out something along the lines of, Actually, I was just wondering if you were free today. Maybe grab a cup of coffee, see if, ah, maybe you'd be interested in lunch too? I know a place nearby that has the best-
Oh, but she's already stopped listening, because Elle knows where this is going. Louis isn't a bad guy -- she's sure that someday he'll make someone very happy -- but she's just... not interested. Not like that. In fact, for some reason that bothers her deep in her chest, going out with strangers is just... the least appealing thing to her right now.]
Oh, um. [She doesn't want to be rude, though. Her eyes flicker to her feet and then back up to her neighbor, chewing at her lower lip. She struggles to find amicable wording.] Sorry, but... [But... but, what?] I'm sorry, but I don't think my... boyfriend would like that.
[On the outside, she keeps a straight face. On the inside, she's cringing. Lying, really? She thought it'd be the easiest way to shoo him off without hurting his feelings. Of course, she's then surprised by Louis' response, which is similar to, Well. He doesn't have to know.
Wow. Her first impression of this man was very, very wrong.]
Er... [WORDS COME BACK. She should just say no, right? Just say no, Elle, she tells herself. Her mind churns for a way to word her response; she wishes he could just type everything out on a word document and recite it from there, god, it'd be easier that way.] I don't know if that's a good idea...