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Post by Austin Hancock on Jan 20, 2010 15:23:13 GMT -5
Austin was having one of those nights were he would put on one shirt and then decide to change it. Never had he had one of those nights. He finally settled with a light tan, almost white shirt that had a couple buttons at the top. He ran the brush through his hair and then just let it fall whichever way it wanted to.
Running his hands over the top of his jeans, Austin left his apartment and locked the door behind him. He figured that he would take Paige out to the Muggle part of London, especially if they were going to go see a movie.
Nervously, he made his way to her apartment, stopping by and picking up forget-me-nots, which he remembered were her favorite. Austin wasn't sure if he really should have gotten flowers, but he remembered seeing her face when he brought her some the first time. He thought maybe he would get to see her face light up again.
Remembering where she lived from the time he walked her home, Austin made it into the building and up the lift. He arrived at her door and knocked before running a hand through his hair.
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Post by Paige Owen on Jan 20, 2010 16:37:28 GMT -5
Paige wasn’t exactly the sweet and innocent type, and she didn’t think she had ever been nervous before a date before. Come to think of it, she wasn’t entirely sure she’d ever been on a proper date before. Usually she went out alone and came home with a guy she barely knew and would never see again, or, if she was actually “dating” a guy, he would usually just show up and say something really romantic like, “hey baby, let’s go out.”
But no one had ever really tried to romance her or sweep her off of her feet. Not until Austin came along. She actually rather liked it, but it scared her, too. She just kept wondering why he was doing it. She couldn’t imagine that he would be interested in her for who she was or that he could actually see her as being worthy of his attentions. Trust had never come easily for Paige, and she couldn’t help but expect that if she let him into her heart, she’d wind up getting hurt again.
Still, she got ready for their date with a kind of nervous excitement. Being slightly OCD, she took the whole day off from work, because she knew that she would end up changing her clothes, her hair, and her makeup multiple times. Her first choice was a red dress that swept over her shoulders and dipped into a low V, exposing a fair amount of cleavage. She paired it with a black belt to emphasize her waist, and a pair of black high heels. Her hair she wore up in a loose bun with a red silk flower on one side.
Then, after studying the overall effect for a little while, she decided it was all wrong and started over again, this time in a pale blue dress with a mandarin collar. It was fitted, clinging lightly to her curves until it stopped just above the knees. She paired this with high heels in a darker blue and a matching purse, and wore her hair down and straight.
This was wrong, too, she quickly decided. In the end, she went with a classic black dress with thin straps, a sweetheart neckline, and a skirt that flared slightly. She wore red heels and a red purse and added a sheer black scarf draped around her neck. This time she curled her hair slightly and wore it down.
She had just finished applying her makeup when she heard the knock at the door. Her stomach gave a nervous rumble, and she took a deep breath before she stood up and walked to the door.
“Hi, Austin,” she said as she opened the door. “I’m just about ready. Please come in.”
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Post by Austin Hancock on Jan 20, 2010 16:55:48 GMT -5
Part of him wondered if Paige decided that this whole date thing was a bad idea, but a smile crossed his face when she did open the door. "Hi," he greeted her. Austin was relieved that everything was going good for the moment. "These are for you." He offered her the forget-me-nots he held in his hand before he entered her apartment.
Austin took a moment to take in Paige's attire. "You look very pretty by the way." He wanted to make sure he did compliment her. It wasn't that he was aiming to have some kind of reward for doing so, he just felt it necessary. The more he looked at her, the more he thought that he probably should have dressed a little nicer, but it wasn't like he put on his worst clothes. He did wear his nicest pair of jeans, shirt, and shoes. That had to count for something right? Austin didn't own but two pair of dress pants and they both happened to be dirty.
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Post by Paige Owen on Jan 21, 2010 0:05:08 GMT -5
Paige smiled at the flowers. He had remembered that they were her favorites. She shouldn't have been surprised that he remembered, and yet, somehow she was. Usually guys thought roses were more impressive. But something about the tiny blue flowers seemed somehow innocent and old-fashioned, almost humble. Roses were big and showy, but unoriginal.
"You remembered," she said, taking the flowers from him. "They're beautiful. Thank you."
She stepped aside to let him the rest of the way into the apartment, then closed the door behind him. "I'll just put these in water... I'll be right back."
Ducking into the kitchen, she found herself wondering what he would think of her apartment. His had been messy and casual... lived in. Paige's apartment was meticulously decorated and precisely cleaned and organized. It was so neat that if a book was left out of place, she would notice it immediately. But the trouble with her apartment was that there was nothing personal about it. No pictures of family, nothing to make it look like home. She had paintings on the wall, vases on tables, beautiful lamps and little ceramic pieces... but none of it revealed the personality of the owner.
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Post by Austin Hancock on Jan 21, 2010 11:09:53 GMT -5
"Of course I remembered," he said smiling. He watched as she took the flowers and headed for her kitchen. Austin took the time to look around her apartment. It was extremely neat. Everything was completely organized and not a thing was out of place. He did notice that there weren't any pictures of her family or anything. From that he wondered if she was close with them, but he wasn't going to really bring that up.
He thought that her apartment was sort of like her in a way. Her apartment was set up one way and only let him see certain things. Paige would only let him see certain things about her. It was Austin's goal, however, to see more than she allowed anyone else to see. The last time they went out, he did get to see a little bit, but that little bit made him want to see more.
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Post by Paige Owen on Jan 21, 2010 22:49:10 GMT -5
Paige's knees felt weak as she went into the kitchen with the bouquet of forget-me-nots in her hands. This was crazy. She was no shy schoolgirl; she shouldn't be feeling weak in the knees because a guy showed up to take her out and brought her favorite flowers.
She was getting in deep, she realized. She was starting to like him just a little bit too much, and it worried her. She knew all the warning signs. She had taken nearly 3 hours to get ready for their date, and hadn't eaten anything all day. The day's copy of the Daily Prophet was shredded into little pieces and now sitting in the trash can. And now her knees were weak. This couldn't happen... if she was smart, she would tell Austin that she wasn't feeling well and couldn't go out. Maybe she could just keep avoiding him until he gave up. Because if she kept seeing him, there was a very good chance that she would fall in love with him.
She found a crystal vase in the cabinet underneath the sink, exactly where she had left it. Putting the flowers in the vase, she added some water and spent a couple of minutes arranging the flowers in the vase. Finally, though, she could stall no more and she emerged from the kitchen with the vase in hand. "They really are beautiful," she said, smiling at him.
She set the flowers on the table by the door, perfectly centered between two lamps, both of which were painted with a display of blue flowers. "See? They go perfectly, right here."
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Post by Austin Hancock on Jan 22, 2010 7:57:45 GMT -5
Paige's return to the room drew his attention and he looked toward her. He returned her smile. The thought of saying 'yes you are', crossed his mind but he thought maybe that was just a little too cheesy. Austin would make sure that Paige knew he thought she was beautiful with whatever compliments he said.
"Yeah, they are." He watched as she placed the vase on the table with his hands in his pockets. There was still a light trace of a smile on his face. "Perfect," he said once the flowers were set where Paige wanted to the to be. Austin didn't know too much of where things would really perfectly fit, but that didn't matter.
"I could have brought you other flowers, but they still had forget-me-nots and personally I think those are better because they're not huge and you don't seem like a rose, tulip, or daisy kinda girl to me."
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Post by Paige Owen on Jan 22, 2010 15:36:37 GMT -5
Paige felt a bit of heat creeping up on her face. It wasn’t even that he was flattering her; rather, the fact that he’d thought about what “kind of girl” she was made her feel uncharacteristically shy. He kept trying to figure her out, and it made her so uneasy. If he got to really know her, she was sure he would decide she wasn’t worth it, and she’d be left with her heart broken.
That is, if she let him in. She didn’t intend to do that. And yet, what was she planning to do? How could she keep him at her side and at arm’s length at the same time? And if she didn’t want to fall for him, why was she going out with him at all?
Merlin, she was so confused. All she knew was that, right now, she wanted to be with him. She wanted him to tell her that she was pretty and make her feel warm inside.
“I like the little flowers,” she said. “The big flowers… they’re just showing off. The little flowers seem sort of shy and innocent.” Then she giggled nervously. “I guess that sounds weird, huh? They’re just flowers…”
She turned away from him and quickly checked her reflection in the gilded mirror that hung on the wall behind the two lamps. She really needed a different color lipstick, and her hair was drooping just a little. “I look a mess,” she said. “Let me fix it. I’ll be right back.”
She started out of the room, walking past him as she went.
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Post by Austin Hancock on Jan 22, 2010 18:00:55 GMT -5
If he knew what Paige was thinking, he would sit her down and talk to her. Austin did know that Paige was probably going to hold him at arm’s length if she could. The day when she ran out of his apartment was always brought forth in his mind and he didn’t want to have that happen again.
“No, it doesn’t sound weird. Flowers can be flowers, sure, but each flower can represent something else. Sometimes flowers can reflect a person’s personality, but then again sometimes not.” It was the analytical part of his brain working. “Besides, I like the smaller flowers.” Austin gave a smile. If she had liked the bigger showier flowers, he would have bought those for her too.
He just watched as she checked her reflection. “I think you still look perfect,” he spoke honestly. So what if her hair was drooping a little? Austin liked the messy look for her, but if she wanted to fix it, who was he to really stop her? He knew that she would fix her hair away.
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Post by Paige Owen on Jan 23, 2010 17:21:45 GMT -5
Paige had an almost pathological need to be perfect. And yet, she never was quite good enough in her eyes. She could always do better. And if she went back into her room to "fix" the little flaws that only she could really see, there was a very good chance she'd change her dress, and her shoes, and pretty much everything else. But his choice of words--telling her that she looked perfect--made her stop in her tracks. She turned to look at him, a strange sort of look on her face.
"Do you really think so? I was just... I thought maybe a different shade of lipstick.... and my hair's looking droopy... It'll probably be flat by the end of the night. I thought I'd just put it up."
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Post by Austin Hancock on Jan 23, 2010 18:40:58 GMT -5
"I wouldn't have said it if I didn't think it was true." Austin gave her a light smile. "I think the shade looks good on you, and so what if your hair is a little droopy?" He didn't quite understand the meaning exactly, but he thought that it looked fine the way it was. "Your hair is perfect. I like it down and if it falls flat, I'll still like it down."
He did understand the fact that sometimes girls did need to be reassured about some things sometimes. Well, it wasn't just girls that needed to be reassured sometimes, but Austin found that Paige liked things a certain way. He could tell by her apartment how everything was perfectly arranged. Quite honestly, he liked the idea that her hair wasn't supposedly perfect in her eyes.
"Honestly, you look perfect."
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Post by Paige Owen on Jan 24, 2010 0:09:02 GMT -5
Paige didn't really believe that she looked perfect. However, she probably would also never believe that, no matter how many times she changed or redid her hair or makeup. She looked at him another moment, weighing the almost uncontrollable urge to go back into her room and change with the logical part of her brain that knew she'd never really be satisfied.
"Um... OK. If you're sure," she replied at last. "Let's go before I change my mind."
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Post by Austin Hancock on Jan 24, 2010 21:18:06 GMT -5
"I'm positive," Austin said confidently. "I never say anything I don't mean." That was true. He always thought that saying what you meant was better off rather than trying to beat around the bush. Sometimes if you couldn't come right out and something, a song could do it justice.
He reached for her hand and started to lead her out the door. "I hope that you're going to enjoy yourself tonight."
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Post by Paige Owen on Jan 25, 2010 0:10:32 GMT -5
"Never?" Paige said, startled. People who actually said what they meant... they were dangerous in a way. Sometimes the truth could hurt, and maybe it was better to hear an insincere "you look great" than an honest "you look like crap." She was used to that. Most guys would just nod their heads and smile and she knew not to believe a word they said. But honesty... She didn't quite know how to handle it. Lying was easy; the truth was hard.
"I... I hope I... I'm sure I will," she amended quickly. She grabbed a coat from the coat rack and slipped it on before shyly taking his hand.
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Post by Austin Hancock on Jan 25, 2010 12:41:49 GMT -5
"Well, unless I'm joking around," he added. "But other than that I always say what I mean." Austin knew that sometimes honesty could hurt but it was something to grow on. However, he wasn't just going to say that he thought someone looked down right ugly. He couldn't be that mean, besides no one really and truly looked down right ugly. Everyone had their upsides.
Again, he noticed the shyness that he had witnessed before. Austin knew that he was going to have to go easy and slow with Paige. He didn't want to chase her away. He had gotten the feeling that she hadn't really been in a good relationship and he hoped that he would be able to provide her with that experience. Austin was doing it because he actually liked her.
"Glad you're optimistic," he said trying to bring in a light sort of feel. Austin closed his fingers over hers and led her toward the lift.
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Post by Paige Owen on Jan 25, 2010 22:38:32 GMT -5
It wasn't even that she had been in bad relationships. There was at least one relationship that she would consider a bad one--the guy had a terrible temper and one night, he got drunk and hit her--but she walked out immediately and didn't look back. She had enough pride not to stand for that sort of thing. But most of her other relationships just hadn't been good. She'd been with guys who were just using her for something or other, even if it was just for sex, and she'd been with guys she was using for some reason. A couple of times, she had started to have feelings for the guys, only to get dumped. She'd been through so much that she just didn't know how to believe in love anymore.
So here was Austin, with his honesty and sincerity and his nice words and flowers.... and she wanted to trust it so badly. She wanted to trust him. But trust didn't come easily to her, after all she had been through. It was easier to tease and flirt. She understood those things, and she wanted to get back to it.
"I'm a little disappointed you didn't bring your guitar so you could serenade me while I stood on the balcony," she teased.
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Post by Austin Hancock on Jan 26, 2010 10:24:17 GMT -5
"I actually thought about that," he said with a teasing smile, "but I sort of thought it would be a little much at first. Maybe you'll get your wish one day." Austin gave her a wink. He was going to attempt to pull out all the stops to let Paige know that he wasn't using her like anyone else had in the past. He wasn't using her at all. From the first night he met her, which happened to be the night he first walked her home, she would enter his mind from time to time. Now he had the chance to spend time with her and not have just be some guy that she went home with and then after she left the next morning that would be it.
"I still have to play for you anyway. Maybe we could do that sometime soon. You could come over and we'll have a dinner there and I could then play a thing or two for you."
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Post by Paige Owen on Jan 26, 2010 16:54:31 GMT -5
There he was again, making future plans. Most guys she had been with would never commit to a second date, let alone a third or a fourth. But everytime she was with Austin, he would start talking about all the things he wanted to do with her in the future. She wasn’t used to it, and it always threw her off.
“That sounds nice,” she said, a note of hesitancy in her voice.
She took a breath, trying to silence the doubts and just enjoy whatever time she had with Austin. “So tell me, where are you taking me?”
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Post by Austin Hancock on Jan 26, 2010 21:15:37 GMT -5
The way Austin looked at it, this was already the second date. He never thought that the first date should be formal or anything like that. It should be laid back because after all, they are trying to get to know each other. He always thought that he could learn a lot more if they were in a laid back type of atmosphere, like they had been at the diner the other day.
"It'll be fun, promise." Austin understood the hesitancy but he was going to do his best to make that disappear.
"I can tell you one place, but I can't tell you the other because that is a surprise." He smiled. "We're going to go to the movies first, but you'll just have to be patient to find out the other place."
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Post by Paige Owen on Jan 27, 2010 22:24:49 GMT -5
He had such a nice smile. She never would have admitted it, but made her heart beat a little faster. Luckily, it also made things feel a little more normal. They were flirting again, and the fun, easy atmosphere was much easier to handle than when things got too personal.
"I like surprises," she replied playfully. "It makes the date feel a little like an adventure. But what movie are we seeing? Or is that a surprise, too?"
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