I'm Not Good at This D: (Blaire)

[Eugene O'Neill]

Eugene's heart hammered as he stared at his phone. He had dialed in all but the last number of Blair's phone address, and a light sweat was breaking across his palms as he tried to get the nerve to press that last button. What if this was a joke? Was she going to laugh at him and hang up? What was he even supposed to say? He had never called a girl before!

Taking several long, deep breaths, he swallowed his fear and pressed the last number. Hand shaking, he lifted it up to his ear, waiting, hoping for her to answer. When he heard the click and greeting, he slumped farther down into the couch he was sitting on, doing all he could to bring his ability into use and make him seem less nervous than he was.

"H-hey, it's um, it's Eugene!" he greeted, already mentally slapping himself for the stammer. "I hope I uh, aren't catching you at a bad time?" His voice went up an octave or two by the end of the question, and he bit his lip, wishing he was better at this sort of thing.

[Blaire Montoya]

It had been days since their last and only meeting at the student's play. Blaire was beginning to reside to the fact that he wasn't going to call her. Maybe she had come across as too strong, or something. She knew that her confidence tended to do that to some people; be intimidating. Nevertheless, she kept the business card she had gotten anyway, filing it away with the rest of them as nothing more than an extended contact.

So when the phone rang, she picked it up off the counter and looked to the number. She didn't recognise it, as it wasn't in her phone. But that didn't stop her from answering.

"Hello?" She asked into the device, "Blaire speaking."

Her dark eyes widened slightly at the stumbling voice on the other end. Eugene? She didn't think this call would ever make it to her. She chuckled at the break in his voice, moving to the living area and taking a seat as she spoke again; "No, it's not a bad time. How are you?"

[Eugene O'Neill]

The fact that Blaire had been so forward was one of the reasons Eugene had forced himself to make this call - he simply couldn't let this opportunity pass him by, no matter how awkward he might be. It really was quite an accomplishment for him to pick up his phone and dial the number.

He shooed Morgan away from his lap as the ferret crawled over him, before breaking into a goofy grin at the fact that Blaire wasn't busy. "Good. I'm good!" He quickly covered the receiver so he could clear his throat before continuing. "How about you? I uh, I'm sorry it took my a while to call back. Things have been uh, pretty busy over here at the theater." That wasn't a lie - they were still putting on performances almost every night, and he taught lessons during the day.

[Blaire Montoya]

"That's good." Blaire repeated, smiling into her words as she spoke. It was odd how easily it was to hear someone smiling over the phone. Optimism and all that.

She shook her head after he spoke. The other thing about phones was that it was so hard to remember that people couldn't actually see her. She was the kind of person who did involuntary things like shake her head, as if that was a good enough answer. "I get that. I mean, we're all busy right? You more than most with shows going on." Blaire replied. She'd never been in a show, not by a long shot. But she couldn't begin to imagine how much work really went into one. So she knew it was a lot.

"So are you calling with a belated rejection?" Blaire's teeth sunk into her bottom lip as the phrase left her mouth. She doubted it, but wanted to clear that up right away.

[Eugene O'Neill]

Eugene sensed Blaire was amused just by her tone of voice, which made him both relax slightly and also made the grin on his face widen even more.

He let out a silent sigh of relief when she seemed fine about him taking a while to call her back. He hadn't been avoiding it purposefully, but honestly, he could have called earlier today - he had spent the majority of it pacing around the theater, trying to get the nerve. "Yeah, this week has uh, been busier than usual, even. I don't always have shows going on, and it can be sorta chaotic making sure everything is in order." He bobbed his head uselessly, as though to strengthen his point. "I've, uh, been hiring this week too, actually. Got some students from Hammel to work part-time." After his thing with Brendan, he realized he needed the extra help.

"NO! Uh, no, no, gosh no," he laughed nervously. "I was uh, actually just wondering what time would, um, work? I don't have any lessons planned tomorrow, and so anytime, ah, works for me, really." This felt way too much like he was asking her on a date, and that idea was so absurd that Eugene sank into the couch a little, ignoring Morgan as the ferret jumped up on his stomach again as he tried to calm his pounding heart. "Unless you're, you know, busy..."

[Blaire Montoya]

"Directing a show. That's a pretty substantial job." Blaire replied. Again, not from experience. But the title of director in any workplace meant a hell of a lot of work and little time to delegate. And when placing a bunch of high school kids in the mix? Well, it was bound to be messier. "I see." It dawned on her then that he probably had no idea what she did besides the fact that her name was Blaire and she was a Hammel-graduate. Sure, she'd offered up her business card. But unless he knew that Insignia was a gaming engine, it probably just looked like a fancy amount of words.

And getting into that kind of conversation would have them on the phone for hours. Then they'd never end up meeting again. It was easier to explain in person.

"Tomorrow?" Blaire laughed at his nervous laughter instinctively. Something about it was still amusing to her. Almost as amusing as the breaks in his voice. She wasn't busy, so it seemed like this whole thing was going to happen after all. That thought had relief wash over her. "No, I'm free. You got me. What would you like to do?"

[Eugene O'Neill]

"It can be, yeah," Eugene agreed, bobbing his head once more. It was definitely a lot of work, but he loved it. He figured it was only helping him in his path to pursue a career on Broadway, hopefully. He still had no idea when or how he would get to NYC, but he was determined to, someday. This opportunity had just presented itself to him, and he couldn't pass it up. It was true he really knew nothing about Blaire - but to him, that didn't really matter at this point. She was gorgeous, had a sense of humor, and actually showed interest in him. That was all he cared about, since even that rarely happened to him.

He bit off his laughter as she did, but couldn't keep his smile off his face. It didn't help when she said that she wasn't busy tomorrow. Another silent sigh of relief. "Oh, um," he replied to her question. He hadn't been prepared to answer it. "I love coffee. We could meet, uh, someplace?" Where, where? "I know this nice place downtown, it's uh, not too far from the theater. We could grab something and, um, either stay there, or we could come over to The Globe and chat there?" His voice squeaked slightly at the end, realizing belatedly what she might think he was suggesting. But no, she didn't know he actually lived at the theater, so hopefully she wouldn't think he was being suggestive at all. Because that was totally NOT what he had meant.

[Blaire Montoya]

"Coffee sounds great." Blaire replied. It was a lifeline for her, but she wasn't about to really admit that. Not over the phone anyway. She was already thinking of good places where they could go, but given that it was his suggestion he probably wanted to make the choice. It really was his place to make the choice anyway, since she was going to allow him to completely ask her out. Though, she really would prompt him through it since he needed it.

The possibility of a suggestive comment was lost on her, thankfully for him. After all, she didn't know he lived there. And if she did, she would probably just laugh at it. He had the ability to crack her up, huh. "Sounds like a plan. I could meet you at the theatre and we could walk there? What time?"

[Eugene O'Neill]

One of the main reasons, really, why Eugene was commonly seen as being slightly neurotic and awkwardly twitchy person was because of his over-consumption of coffee. Of course, the other reason was just because he was an awkward dork, but it definitely didn't help things. The fact that Blaire was up for coffee made him smile again and wrap an arm around himself, almost squishing Morgan in the process. "Wonderful," he replied, slightly dreamily.

She didn't seem to react negatively to his possible suggestive comment, which he was very, very thankful for. "Oh, uh, yeah! That would um, that'd be perfect." Already he was thinking about what he should wear - he wanted to look nice, but not like he was trying or anything. Considering his usual attire consisted of Star Wars shirts and slouchy jeans, well, he might have to dig a little deeper into his wardrobe. "Um, how about noon?" That was late enough to meet if she wasn't a morning person, but not cutting too late into the day, right? At least, that's what Eugene figured.

Holy crap. He was really asking a woman on a date. What sort of madness was this??

[Blaire Montoya]

Blaire nodded a few times as he spoke again, taking in all the information given to her and waiting until he finished speaking before talking again. "Noon I can do." She replied happily, smiling into the phrase again. She reached over the nearby table and retrieved her laptop, sliding it onto her lap before she began typing. The gleeful sound of scurrying paws on the hardwood floors came closer and closer. Seemed the dogs were up from their nap.

"I'll see you then, okay?" She asked, making sure again. After a moment or two, she continued on with a hint of cheerfulness in her voice. "It's supposed to be cold and a little snowy. Make sure you rug up."

[Eugene O'Neill]

"Great," Eugene breathed, feeling like a weight had just been lifted off of him. He had gone and done all he needed to do, now all he had to do was look forward to the actual meeting, and try not to have a nervous breakdown.

"Yeah, see you!" he replied, and held the phone for a moment longer. He was about to hang up when she continued, and he let another half-grin cross his face. "Oh, yeah, I will!" he assured her. Okay, snow stuff. But not dorky snow stuff. Hmmm. He might have more work ahead of him than he realized. Thinking the conversation over, he pulled the phone away and disconnected. For several long moments he just sat there, grinning idiotically at the device, before he leaped up from his sitting position and started, well, spazzing around the room. "Morgan, Freeman, I just asked Blaire on a date!" he yelled, and the ferrets gazed at him for a moment, as if concerned, before going about their regular business. Eugene didn't care - he was too busy freaking out.

[Blaire Montoya]

Blaire laughed. Not at his excitement and responses, but about them. She knew she wasn't making fun of him, but rather enjoying the way he seemed to be.

"Bye." She offered again, before finally hanging up the phone. She wasn't sure what possessed her to check the weather forecast or even mention it, but for some reason she did. Instantly she got up and moved into her bedroom to start figuring out what she was going to wear. The blonde dog trotted along a foot behind her, and the other was still happily resting on the covers of her bed when she walked in and opened the wardrobe up. Sure, picking her outfit was standard practice for her because she wanted to look good whenever she left the house. But this was significantly different.

It was, after all, a date.