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Post by Aislinn Dean on Apr 24, 2011 15:14:18 GMT -5
Aislinn felt a little nervous herself, but she knew she had to contain her nervousness. She didn't want to make a fool of herself or anything. She started to play with the fabric on her dress, but then she placed her hands, linked together, on the table. Noticing that Mason started to fiddle with the napkin, she felt just a little better knowing that he was nervous too even if he was a bit more than she.
The people that were around them were focused on the people they were with. In a way, it seemed as if they were alone. Sure, the place was full, but it seemed like things were in a whisper, or maybe it was just because Aislinn could tune them out.
Aislinn felt her cheeks burn as she spoke, "You know," she began, "I've been wanting to speak to you for the longest time, but nothing ever really came out."
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Post by Mason Broderick on May 1, 2011 0:06:40 GMT -5
Mason had finally managed to calm his breathing a little bit. He had been afraid for a moment that he might have an asthma attack, but it seemed to be calming down on its own. How embarrassing would it be if he had to pull out his inhaler right now?
Sitting at the table, the other people in the restaurant seemed to fade into the background. It was just him and Aislinn again. He could relax.
"M-me t-too," he admitted. "I... I u-used to have this... image in m-my h-head... I w-would w-walk up to the counter and w-when you asked me for my o-order, I w-was going to qu...ote a line of poetry... B-but I always b-backed out at the last m-minute."
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Post by Aislinn Dean on May 2, 2011 10:02:21 GMT -5
Just the idea of Mason walking up and quoting poetry to her before she ever really said anything to him, caused her to blush. That would have been the nicest, sweetest, thing anyone had done. Aislinn smiled shyly. "You could have," she said. "I wouldn't have thought anything bad. It would have actually be the nicest thing anyone has ever said." Aislinn tried to distance herself from the customers, yet help them at the same time. She was always so shy, except for when she first talked to Mason. Maybe she could identify with him because he had a stutter and she had a hearing impairment. Granted her hearing impairment didn't always get in her way of living her life the way she wanted to, but she could be self-conscience about it. Then there were some days that her hearing was better than others
"Turns out we're both fairly shy, hm?"
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Post by Mason Broderick on May 3, 2011 23:25:02 GMT -5
Of course, there was more than one reason why he would have chosen to quote poetry to her for the first time he talked to her. Since he rarely stuttered when quoting literature, he would have been able to make a better first impression. But he found that he didn't regret the way it had actually happened. She had reached out to him, and they'd talked, and it all felt so easy. Her smile was like a blanket that warmed him up inside, comforting and soothing him.
It had been silly to be shy... but maybe it was all the sweeter because it had taken so long for them to speak to each other.
"Y-yes... I-I guess w-we are," he agreed. "B-but I c-can't understand w-why you w-would be so shy. I... I mean... y-you're so pretty... I a-always th-thought you'd have lots of friends..."
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Post by Aislinn Dean on May 4, 2011 7:32:15 GMT -5
His words caused her to blush again. He was always so honest. There was more reasons as to why she was shy than just her hearing. Her past still hadn't been put behind her completely. Sometimes the incident would haunt her and cause her to close herself off completely. No one knew about what happened except for her father and Paul. She didn't like talking about it, nor did anyone else so nothing was ever said.
"I only really have Chase, well and now you, but I was teased a lot during school. I was painfully shy then and a lot of things happened before I went to school. Chase was the one who stood up for me and we've been close ever since. You've probably seen her around the shop sometimes." Aislinn debated in her head if she should mention her hearing. She knew about Mason's stuttering, even though it was obvious. She should make it even, right?
"My, my," she paused for a moment, taking a deep breath and looking at the tablecloth instead of him, "my hearing is not the best in the world. I have some sort of impairment that we realized when I was younger. Some days are better than others, but I don't always let it get in my way of doing things."
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Post by Mason Broderick on May 5, 2011 17:49:35 GMT -5
"Ch-Chase... th-that's the b-blond girl, likes to talk?" Mason said. He hadn't known the girl's name, but he had always felt intimidated by her. One time he had almost managed to get the guts to talk to Aislinn, but Chase had been there, and he backed out. He decided not to tell Aislinn about that, however. He didn't want her to be upset that her friend's presence had prevented him from talking to her sooner. "I-I'm g-glad you had her for a f-friend."
He noticed how she suddenly seemed to withdraw from him, taking a breath and looking down at the table, and he froze up a little, feeling anxious as to what she was about to say. But when she spoke, he was surprised by what she said. He never would have guessed she had a hearing problem, but he did remember a couple of times in the past when he'd been too shy to give her his order and had kind of mumbled it, then had to repeat it. Obviously, she hadn't heard him.
"A h-hearing problem isn't a-anything to be a-ashamed of," he assured her, reaching out impulsively and touching her hand. "N-no m-more than my st-stuttering problem, r-right? I-I'll make sure to speak l-louder from now on."
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Post by Aislinn Dean on May 5, 2011 18:48:14 GMT -5
Aislinn hadn't been expecting Mason to touch her hand. Her hand felt cold against his warm one. She looked up from the table to where his hand was touching hers, then to Mason. It wasn't always the fact of her hearing problem that caused her to be shy. In school she was sort of withdrawn and other children would sometimes tease her because she always was off on her own. Younger children could be little monsters.
She smiled a half smile at him. "You don't have to," she said. "I can hear you, but if it is a mumble, I can't hear anything." Her half smile widened a little. Aislinn turned her hand over under Mason's and squeezed his hand. She wasn't exactly sure what sort of reaction she was expecting from him, but she was relieved that he didn't look at her any differently.
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Post by Mason Broderick on May 7, 2011 23:54:18 GMT -5
If anything, Mason only liked her more, knowing that she had a hearing problem. For the longest time, he had thought she was perfect, untouchable, completely out of his league. Now he knew that she wasn't perfect... but her flaws were still so endearing.
"I-I w-won't mumble, then," he said. He didn't need to anymore. He had no reason to feel shy or awkward around her any more, and that helped a lot.
"I-I d-didn't start stuttering until I was s-six," Mason admitted. "I st-started school, and it w-was the f-first time I w-was around kids my own a-age... th-that's when it started."
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Post by Aislinn Dean on May 10, 2011 15:52:04 GMT -5
"Was it some sort of nervousness that started it?" Aislinn thought that Mason's stuttering was adorable. It brought a smile to her face to hear him speak. It really did help a lot that he stuttered. Aislinn didn't feel any more nervousness or shyness around him, especially since he knew about her hearing impairment. Of course, he didn't know about how it happened, but she might tell him one day. She wasn't ready to tell him that much, especially since this was their first 'outing' together.
Right now, however, she was not concerned about her past. She was more concerned about getting to know the man sitting in front of her.
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Post by Mason Broderick on May 11, 2011 23:18:51 GMT -5
Mason had been to a lot of doctors and speech therapists when he was younger, and they had never really come to a conclusive explanation as to why he had started it. And none of them had really been able to completely "fix" it. At one point, it had been really bad, and he could barely even talk. It always got worse when people tried to finish his sentences for him.
"Th-the d-doctors w-weren't sure," he replied. "I d-don't even r-remember how it st-started. I th-think some of the kids w-were p-picking on me before I started it... but I d-don't r-remember if that was w-why it st-started. My parents... th-they took me to a l-lot of different d-doctors, trying to fix it.... I'm a-actually a l-lot better than I u-used to be."
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Post by Aislinn Dean on May 12, 2011 22:13:35 GMT -5
"Well, I don't mind your stuttering," she said confidently. "There's nothing wrong with it. I think it makes you more you and more handsome than you already are." Aislinn was aware of what she said, but it was always good to tell the truth right? She smiled and felt more relaxed. At first, she had to admit, she was slightly nervous, but now she felt none.
Aislinn thought that it was ironic in a way that they both ended up having some sort of hindrance. "Neither of us have anything to be shy about anymore."
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Post by Mason Broderick on May 17, 2011 0:38:34 GMT -5
Mason blushed deeply. No one, except for his mother, had ever called him handsome, and he certainly had never thought of himself in that way. And to hear it from Aislinn, whom he genuinely thought to be the prettiest girl he had ever seen, caused warmth to spread right down to his toes.
"Th-thank you," he said, a shy smile on his face. "I n-never th-thought of m-myself th-that way. B-but I-I th-think you're the p-prettiest girl I've ever seen. I've a-always thought so."
And somehow, now that he actually knew her, and he knew that she had a hearing problem, it really did make her seem more beautiful in his eyes.
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Post by Aislinn Dean on May 19, 2011 17:53:08 GMT -5
Aislinn was about to tell him that he didn't have to thank her for honesty, but she stopped. It was her turn to blush deeply. Obviously she had heard from her father that she was pretty, but it was completely different hearing it from Mason. Aislinn never really worried about if she was pretty or not. With Mason telling her that she was the prettiest girl he'd ever seen, made Aislinn feel shy in a way, yet it also made her feel pretty.
Her gaze dropped to the table for a moment, then she looked back to him with a shy smile. "Thank you," she said her smile widening a little. "And I'm going to be honest. I always thought you were handsome, but I never knew what to say. Plus, there were a few mornings you looked busy with your books and I never wanted to disturb you." Chase had actually been the first one to mention that she should attempt to talk to him.
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Post by Mason Broderick on May 28, 2011 23:45:31 GMT -5
Usually, the days when he had buried his nose in a book had been the days when he was actually thinking about talking to her. He didn't want to be obvious or creepy, so he would distract himself with a book so he could possibly draw inspiration from its pages.
"R-really?" he said, blushing again. The idea that anyone would be nervous about talking to him was something that had never occurred to him. He didn't think himself anything special, and certainly not intimidating. But he supposed that they both had their hangups, and at least they were moving past them now. "I-I'm glad you f-finally d-decided to talk to me."
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Post by Aislinn Dean on Jun 5, 2011 21:20:04 GMT -5
"Me too. Chase is proud," said Aislinn with a laugh. "She would always tease me about not speaking to you when I had the perfect chance." She shook her head. As of the moment, Mason was the first guy to ever get to know her. Aislinn was fairly open if the chance was there. There were just a few things that she never liked to talk about and even to that very day she still didn't talk about them with Chase. No one knew the details of the past other than her father, Paul, and Milo.
"You're a fun person to talk to and a person that I feel comfortable around." It was a first for her to feel comfortable around someone other than family. "Also, just to let you know, this is the first time I've ever been out to dinner with someone other than family."
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Post by Mason Broderick on Jun 26, 2011 23:25:15 GMT -5
Mason blushed again. No one had ever told him that he was "fun" before. In fact, a couple people at school had said he was "impossible" to talk to, because of his stammer. But somehow, it was easier to get his words out with Aislinn. She made him feel comfortable in ways that he never had before.
"I f-feel the s-same w-way about you," he said. "I f-feel more r-relaxed around you than a-anyone but my p-parents."
In fact, he was so comfortable around his parents that he hardly stuttered around them at all. Maybe in time, he would get that comfortable with Aislinn.
"I-I've n-never been out to dinner with anyone, either," he confessed. "A-although I d-did have l-lunch with s-some classmates, when we had to w-work on a p-project together."
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Post by Aislinn Dean on Jul 3, 2011 21:49:13 GMT -5
"Well, there's always a first time for everything," she said. Mason's stutter didn't bother her. She didn't see the point in not liking someone for the fact that they were different than they were. People were more alike than they knew. Maybe that thought occurred to her because she had a small hearing problem. Even something small, such as that, could make people judge others. Aislinn didn't really understand it but because of it, she remained self conscience.
"Besides, things happen for a reason. We may never be able to understand it and we'll question it but something always comes out of it."
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Post by Mason Broderick on Jul 4, 2011 22:06:11 GMT -5
If only he had known how sweet and caring and unaffected she was, Mason would have worked up the courage to talk to her sooner. Or at least, he liked to think he would have. He never would have guessed it would be so easy to talk to her, but now he couldn't imagine what he'd been so afraid of.
"W-well, w-whatever the r-reason, I'm glad we're f-friends now," he said, smiling. "A-and maybe th-this will be the f-first of many times we go out to dinner together. I h-hope so, anyway."
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Post by Aislinn Dean on Jul 11, 2011 22:23:54 GMT -5
For the first time, Aislinn was starting to look at dinner as a date. At the mention of Mason's hoping for more times of going out to dinner, Aislinn's face warmed. "I hope so too. I look forward to many times of going out to dinner, movies, and whatever else we decide to do." Mason really was a sweetheart. He was kind and handsome, even with his glasses. She liked the look on his face when he talked about the things he liked and that sort of thing.
"Maybe we could do something tomorrow. I, I mean, if you're not busy or anything. I don't want to take away from any of your studies or anything."
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Post by Mason Broderick on Jul 13, 2011 23:19:17 GMT -5
It hadn't actually occurred to him at the time, but he was sort of asking her out for other dates. If this was a date. Maybe it was... and maybe that was OK. He wasn't nervous anymore, at least not with her. Sure, there was still that little voice in the back of his mind that made him wonder if people were looking at him with Aislinn and wondering what that beautiful girl was doing with such a nerd. But he found that he was able to silence the doubtful thoughts and focus on her instead.
He blushed again, but it wasn't from nervousness anymore. "I-I'd l-like that," he said. "I have s-some f-free time tomorrow night... M-maybe I could take you to my favorite place."
He had an idea, but he decided that he didn't want to tell her what it was yet.
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