Time Warp: Give Me a Reason

[Sawyer Lynn]

Set the week before this

She needed answers, answers her boyfriend would probably not answer. So she went straight to the source and despite not wanting to put any more unnecessary pressure on the bride to be, she called Penelope to get those answers.

She had chosen a quiet place so she would be forced to not give in to raging urges. She was getting better at controlling her anger in public so a coffeeshop was a perfect place to meet up with her best friend [no longer] by proxy.

Having ordered a macchiato beforehand, Sawyer chose a seat at the back, making sure it was clean. A habit she just recently picked up due to reasons.

When the English teacher finally appeared, Sawyer waved her over, a smile forced across her lips. "Here comes the bride." She chuckled lightly.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

To be honest, Penelope had been trying to avoid this. It wasn’t that she didn’t enjoy Sawyer’s company; by then they had managed to develop an interesting friendship since their first encounter so many years ago. No, it was because Penelope knew very well what it was about. A slip of the tongue that the voice mimic picked up on.

And clearly she wasn’t going to let the Brit get away without explaining it.

She entered the coffee shop, and it hadn’t taken long to spot Sawyer sitting in the back. Penny had very much heard the comment, and she couldn’t stop the smile that tugged at her lips. Instinctively, she looked down at the ring on her left hand, sucking in a light breath. One week.

“Chamomile tea, please.” Of course she got tea. Even now, she didn’t drink coffee. Her fiancé had enough of it for the two of them.

After ordering, she headed towards the back of the coffeehouse, taking the seat across from Sawyer. Mechanically, she scanned the table for any signs of crumbs or split liquids. Clean. The Brit folded her hands on top of it.

“You’re early.” She stated simply, glancing at the clock on a nearby wall. They were both early. "How was work?" Anything to push off the subject that would inevitably come up.

[Sawyer Lynn]

The smile she saw on Penelope's face made Sawyer's smirk soften. It wasn't often that the voice mimic felt certain about things but Penelope and Lucy was the surest thing she had ever invested in. And seeing that smile just made it a lot easier to root for them.

She couldn't help but swell up with admiration that this was the very woman who managed to get on Lucy's good graces and then steal her heart in what had looked like one fell swoop. Their romance was one for the books, Sawyer believed. And boy did she believe.

Noticing how the psychometrist hadn't done anything to the surface of the table had Sawyer biting down a smirk. Even in a dire situation like this, Sawyer could find the humour in her best friend's specific cleaning habits. Her remark got Sawyer to shrug and the smirk came on full force. Partly because she knew the Brit was stalling. "Had to find the best seat in the house." She said, unconsciously stealing a line from her other best friend.

"Work is not cutting me any slack actually." The voice mimic admitted. Truthfully, she too was stalling. She wanted to postpone the inevitable. She couldn't let herself believe the thoughts she'd had about Rowan the past few weeks. "Lu told you about the promotion I'm up for right? Yeah, they're basically wringing me like a sponge to see if I actually deserve it." She rolled her eyes and ran her fingers through her hair.

Smiling up at the waiter who brought over their drinks, Sawyer took a sip of hers and looked over to Penelope. "Did Michael let you know the florist just confirmed?" She asked.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Fortunately for Penelope, Sawyer decided to not dive right into the conversation they both knew they were there for. She’d stall as long as she could on it, and if it happened to not be brought up all together...well, she would be perfectly fine with that.

She raised her eyebrows as the voice mimic talked about work. “She did,” she stated with a nod, “Although I’m sure it’ll be worth getting hassled in the end, no?” A promotion was a promotion after all. She knew that the girl deserved it. “I’m sure you’ll get it.” She added in honestly.

She looked up just as her tea arrived, and immediately she thanked the girl who brought it out, giving her a polite smile as her hands wrapped around the warm teacup. Penny sat it on the table, her thumb running across the rim of the cup as she brought her attention back to Sawyer.

“He called me about it this morning.” Penny resisted the urge to let out a sigh, and instead kept her face neutral. She was excited to marry Lucy, but this wedding was becoming more and more exhausting. “He also got the photographer.”

[Sawyer Lynn]

Penelope's quiet reassurance made Sawyer smile, appreciative that the woman opposite her had the same faith in her work ethics as she did. Without sounding like a douchebag, Sawyer knew she was the best at what she did. She was on track to making partner. It was an impressive feat, especially for someone as young as her.

"Thank you. I will." She shrugged with a smirk Penelope should know by now meant she was joking.

Sawyer, though now a terror when it comes to recognising the minutest change in facial expressions, merely frowned at Penelope's, chalking it up to exasperation with her brother's ridiculous expectations for the wedding. "Oh great. I was hoping he would. I'll let him know how appreciative I am that he couldn't tell me that straight. I know how to work a text now, hello. Keep up with the times." She joked.

As she took her second sip, Sawyer knew they couldn't stall the whole day, so with a sigh, she looked at Penelope seriously and cleared her throat, making sure it was her voice that came out, instead of the person in question.

"You don't make offhanded comments like that often, Penelope." Sawyer started, looking down at her coffee mug with a quiet sigh. "If ever, I mean." She shrugged and looked to the side, suddenly unable to look at her best friend in the eye. "So what gives?"

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Although Sawyer seemed to be joking, Penny gave a nod in agreement. She will. She had no doubt in the voice mimic.

An amused smile played about her lips as Sawyer complained about Michael. It was interesting seeing the two work together. Yet the pair managed to get along well enough, even if they often made jokes like the one Sawyer just offered. “I believe he was planning to call you tonight.” She offered, trying save her brother from being teased too much.

She lifted the teacup, bringing it to her lips and taking a sip of the warm liquid as she looked over at Sawyer. Buying her time. There was no point trying to act like she didn’t know what the brunette was going on about, and she weighed her options as to how to go about responding. Slowly, she withdrew the cup from her lips, but still held it between her hands as she spoke; “Really, I meant nothing by it, Sawyer.”

…It was worth a shot.

[Sawyer Lynn]

Amused at Penelope's defense of her brother, Sawyer grinned and shrugged. "I'm pretty sure he's got a lot more pressing matters to attend to." Their relationship was one filled with professional camaraderie and the teasing was part of it.

She liked the bond she had with the older Blaise. He was relatively easy going, something Penelope was only now adopting slowly. She could do with a lot more loosening up but Sawyer wouldn't deny that she'd grown rather attached to that side of Penelope. It was unyielding.

Penelope's last attempt at letting the subject rest had Sawyer sighing. "I know you didn't, Pen. I just..." she paused, pursing her lips. "You know me. By now, I'm confident that you know I wouldn't let something like that rest." She figured she might as well explain her stand to the dark-haired psychometrist. She wasn't going anywhere until everything was out in the open.

Part of her wanted to know because she had been trying to find an excuse to let Rowan off the hook. Her not being able to conceive was not something she wanted him to know. She still felt that it was her fault somehow. Maybe...maybe Penelope would let her blame Rowan instead. It was fucked up but she didn't want him to stay and be disappointed with her. She couldn't bear disappointing someone she loved.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

“I know you wouldn't.” Penny sighed, bringing the cup to her lips again. Rowan was a hard subject for the Brit to speak about as it was, and now Sawyer was asking her to speak freely about the boy. To tell her the truth that she was holding on to for years.

She set the cup down, allowing her fingers to trace lightly across the table idly. For a time, she remained silent. Countless times, she had gone over how this conversation would go in her mind. Yet she honestly never thought it would happen. This was a problem that she had been dealing with for over a decade with this boy, and she was suddenly expected to express it.

It wasn't that simple.

“Sawyer,” Penny started slowly, dropping her gaze to her cup. She allowed her fingers to graze over the rim of the cup, her lips pursing as she tried to wrap her mind around the situation she put herself into. “I'm sorry.”

[Sawyer Lynn]

Sawyer grimaced at the apology as she sat there, staring down at her cup. She knew it was too much to ask from the psychometrist. But Sawyer was selfish. And she wanted to get to the bottom of this. For her sake and a little bit for Penelope's sake.

The voice mimic knew this wasn't going to be a bonding moment between the two. It could even lead to an argument and Sawyer was prepared for that. She'd gotten into a lot of arguments with the Brit over the years and they'd gotten out relatively unscathed. She was fairly confident that they were past the point of petty stubbornness to win. But it still didn't change the fact that she wanted the other woman's take on what happened because, like she said before, the Brit didn't just throw around remarks like that.

"Pen...what's holding you back?"

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Again, Penelope brought the cup to her mouth, taking another sip. This time, instead of setting it down, she rested the rim under her lip. She tried her best to suppress the sigh that threatened to escape, but it fell passed her lips regardless.

There was no point denying that something wasn't wrong. If she had felt that she was in a position to confront anyone about Rowan, she would have years ago. Yet she wasn't. This was her fiance's best friend, and one of her best friend's partners. If she were to speak up, she'd be that person. The person Rowan constantly accused her of being.

“I can't.” she said. It wasn't a logical reason, nor was it a valid reason. Had someone said it to Penny, the Brit likely wouldn't have accepted it. “Please understand.”

[Sawyer Lynn]

In this aspect alone, Sawyer noted that she and Penelope were similar. It was a half-baked answer that she knew even the teacher wouldn't accept had the tables been turned. Unfortunate for Penelope, Sawyer was stubborn enough to push through.

"Pen, I wanna understand why you can't." Sawyer urged, her grip on her mug tightening out of frustration. Not at Penelope, mind, but at the situation they found themselves in.

"There's gotta be a reason why you even subconsciously thought of it in the first place."

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Penelope knew Sawyer wasn't going to give in. She also knew that she lacked the energy to fight it. This had been something slowly taking her energy over the years. She was tired.

Penny set her cup down, looking across the table at Sawyer. “I know you do.” She appreciated Sawyer's concern, really. Honestly, the Brit was surprised that this conversation was even happening, that she made the slip in the first place.

“You know he hates me.” Penny said finally. She felt her jaw clench as she looked down at her now empty tea cup, having downed most of the liquid as a means to buy time for herself. She lifted a hand, politely motioning the waitress for another cup. “It's nothing new.”

[Sawyer Lynn]

Sawyer smiled painfully at Penelope's response, her eyes drawing down to her mug, wondering what was so awful that Penelope couldn't even say. In that moment, she felt anger towards her boyfriend. And then some towards herself for not having done anything about it. Yes, she didn't know the whole story but she knew the animosity the dancer had towards the psychometrist.

When Penelope's answer, unsatisfying though it was, finally came, Sawyer sighed softly. The anger towards herself building a little. It was selfish of her to think that this was at all about her but she felt guiltier now that it was out in the open.

Sawyer waited until the waitress came back with another cup before looking up at Penelope. "I wish I could somehow convince you that he doesn't." She admitted, scratching her forehead as a means to do anything really, with her hand.

She wanted to continue by saying that she wished that because of their growing relationship, Rowan would have backed off with his obsession with Lucy. But she couldn't.

"How did he even..." Sawyer started, not sure how to end the sentence. She wasn't even sure if she wanted to. It just felt...cruel.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

She raised her eyebrows at Sawyer with genuine surprise. “He does.” She replied simply, her expression quickly reverting back to a more neutral one. “Let’s not pretend otherwise.” She was sure if Sawyer asked him, he’d be open to admit it, even. Then again, she knew little about their relationship behind closed doors.

Penny remained silent for a while, her gaze fixing on the new cup placed in her hands. It was frustrating, to say the least. Her lips pressed into a hard line, considering just leaving the conversation. It would be so easy to lie and just let everything go back to how it was.

“He’s upset.” She stated finally, exhaling slowly before granting Sawyer eye contact. ”He doesn’t want me to marry her.”

As the words passed her lips, the Brit looked back down at her cup, lips pressing into a hard line. She was tired.

[Sawyer Lynn]

"I'm not. I swear I'm not pretending." Sawyer shook her head and sighed. She hated that she didn't nip this in the bud and now this discussion was even happening.

Penelope's response was still not satisfying. Sawyer so badly wanted more of an explanation but she knew she couldn't push the psychometrist.

"Do you have any idea...why?" She asked slowly, trying to wrap her head around her partner attempting to stop something that made two people happy.