This isn't crazy (Dylan)

[Idalia Tsavaris]

It was date night! Idalia hadn’t been on a date in a long time so when she rose from bed at four in the afternoon she immediately set herself up for some coffee. She’d gushed about a date all night and now that it was here her stomach was in knots. What to wear? What to wear? Ike sat up from his place on her bed and beat his tail against the mattress. He was going to be here in a few hours. She hoped it was enough time. Popping herself in and out of the shower she made sure her skin was smooth and her hair smelled of flowers. She let her hair air dry and to her pleasure it was curling the way she wanted with just a little application of product. She sat in a pair of pajama shorts and a tank top eating cereal for a moment, while she watched the five o’clock news. She yawned, she’d need some coffee before she went out.

She started to brew it and moved to the pantry and as soon as she opened the lid to the dog food she had an excited Great Dane pushing against her legs and wriggling with excitement. “Where’s your bowl?” She asked in an excited voice and Ike gave a loud bark in reply and Idalia pushed past him and scratched his head as she retrieved the bowl. Filling it she held it over her head as the large dog bounced up and down on his feet whining for the food. He was such a food hog. And while he was eating he was less likely to bother her while she was putting on her makeup. She pulled a pair of old silver glasses off her nose and put in her other pair of eyes. Blinking a few times she sat at her vanity and started on her face. Ida loved a natural look and the makeup consisted of a little powder, mascara and a light brown eye shadow.

Ida found herself laughing a little. This was going to be a full one eighty from how she looked when they had first met. Finished she went to her closet and started sifting through outfits. She passed by her suits and work clothes in favor of the more flirty and pretty dresses and blouses. She heard the dog before she saw him as he hopped up on her bed. She smiled pleasantly and asked aloud, “Pants or a dress? It’s a little hot for pants though, don’t ya think?” she was glad she had someone to talk to and this wouldn’t be considered insanity. Ike was a very good listener. She passed by a green dress and a blue one and her eyes fell on a red and black one. “Oh, this may do.” She selected another purple and black one and a straight black dress and went out into her room and rested them against her body to check. “What do you think? Red? I’m feeling red.” It was a short strapless dress with red flowery lace over satin black with a satin black belt. With it on she smiled. This was definitely the dress.

She selected a pair of black stilettos and settled herself on the couch to wait. She listened intently for the door and watched the news. She checked her phone for the time as the time grew closer and she started to feel butterflies. Then there it was, a knock on the door followed by the bellowing bark and the sound of feet scrambling as Ike flew out of the bedroom. “Ike, Ike hush!” She said grabbing his collar and pulling him back. “Just a minute!” She called to the person who was hopefully Dylan, or else she was going to have a fit out of her nerves. She grabbed her clutch and opened the door wondering if she could slip out without Ike… and well, it was too late. There was Dylan and now he had a dog giving him a full inspection. “Hi.” Was all she managed.

[Dylan Alexander]

It was in the middle of buttoning up the third shirt he had tried on the last hour that Dylan realised he was actually getting ready for a date. With a woman. Who voluntarily said she wanted to spend time with him. Alone. For several indefinite hours. It was too much for the shadow manipulator to handle!

Yet, all he could do was giggle to himself and do a little dance. Chuckles, his terrapin, swam lazily in his aquarium as his owner went through a series of emotions in a span of two minutes before collapsing on his bed. That was, until he realised that he would be late if he didn't leave his house in five minutes time.

Rushing through getting ready, Dylan checked his hair twice in the bathroom mirror and once in the reflection of his window before feeding Chuckles.

"Be a good boy for Daddy, Chucks." Dylan bopped the tiny turtle on the head with one finger before leaving his house to go to the address Idalia had texted him to.

While driving, a panic attack hit Dylan, causing his shadows to flare up uncomfortably. He had to stop his car at the side of the road to calm himself down. It was ridiculous he was still having these attacks at this stage of his life. And only from going over to a lady's house to pick her up! Ridiculous.

Once he was feeling better, Dylan drove on to the address, parking his car at the kerb and walking up the few steps to the apartment before remembering he had gotten Idalia flowers. That he had forgotten in the car. What a dud.

Rushing down to his car to fetch it, Dylan rushed back up, calming himself again in front of her door. Knocking it several minutes of psyching himself up later, Dylan waited until the door opened. The sight of a rather different Idalia caused the shadow manipulator to stare at her blankly for several seconds. Some would even call it gawking.

"H...hi." He stammered, taken aback by Idalia's transformation. Dylan had thought she was ridiculously good-looking at the gym but now...well, he was speechless by how even more good-looking she was.

It was only then that he even realised there was a dog at his feet, looking up at him imploringly. "Hey there buddy!" He cheerfully took a 180 turn in persona when faced with a Great Dane. He reached out a hand for it to sniff. "What's his name? Or hers...?" He asked without looking up at Idalia, intent on making a good impression on the woman's pet first.

[Idalia Tsavaris]

Idalia couldn’t help it, she struck a pose when she opened the door and saw his face. She beamed at Dylan, he was so handsome! And apparently her change in appearance had his stunned. She felt herself puff with pride, very pleased with the reaction she received and glad that it wasn’t a gaping look for someone who didn’t know how to dress themselves. She looked him over and smiled, he cleaned up quite well himself and he too looked loads better clean and well put together. As the silence stretched on she caught sight of the flowers and felt a warm feeling fill her heart quickly followed by the icy cold hand of nerves up her spine. She allowed herself a moment to dream, maybe this time it would work out. So many times she had tried and every time it ended in ruins. She had had one breakup that hadn’t resulted in tears and eventually loathing. She really hoped that this time it was different.

“His name’s Ike.” Idalia said patting the large dog on the back and letting him pretend he was the big tough guy he thought he was. She grinned at Dylan, he was so very cute and the fact that he liked dogs was a major brownie point. She petted Ike’s back knowing he had a tendency to get really excited over new people. Just this once she hoped he would be nice. He’d all but tackled her neighbor a few days ago. Ike sniffed his hand and before she could stop him he reared up and planted his paws on Dylan’s shoulders and gave his face a good couple of kisses. “Ike! Down!” Idalia grabbed his collar and pulled Ike back from Dylan. Mortified, her face took on a crimson shade. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry.” Idalia held on tightly to Ike who kept hopping a little bit and whining because he couldn’t jump on Dylan.

Well, Idalia considered, at least I have a wonderful guard dog. If anyone broke in Ike would probably come running at them hoping for some love and with a dog his size someone might be scared away. “Are you ok?” She asked Dylan risking taking a hand off of her dog to touch his arm. She scratched the dog’s head. “Now if you can be nice you can say hello,” she told her dog. He sometimes listened and sometimes didn’t but thankfully this time he sat his wriggling behind down and licked at Dylan’s hand. “He really likes you,” Idalia said with a giggle. Well, Ike liked everyone who had the potential to give him treats and head scratched, but Dylan didn’t need to know that. She’d have to walk him tomorrow morning, before Idalia herself went back to bed with the intention of getting up the following afternoon for work.

Idalia realized they had been standing in her doorway for a while. “Do you wanna come in for a minute?” She asked, unless he wanted to get going.

[Dylan Alexander]

"Ike...that's a perfect name for this one." Dylan grinned, letting Ike do whatever he wanted. The dog was huge, being able to actually reach his shoulders at all! "No, no! It's fine. It's really a huge compliment to have a dog be this friendly to you." He laughed, scratching behind Ike's ear as Idalia tried to reign the dog in.

"I'm absolutely fine. Nothing says okay more than being mauled by a monster." He joked, already put at ease just with the presence of Idalia's pet. "That's really a good thing to hear, your date's pets liking you. I'm sure Ike does this to everyone you know though." Dylan mentioned, not willing to accept the compliment.

At the invitation to come in, Dylan hesitated just slightly before grinning sheepishly. "Um...okay. Oh...uh..." Dylan berated himself mentally as he took the flowers from behind his back and presented it to Idalia. "I...wasn't sure what you liked so I just got some pretty-smelling ones. I hope you like it." The music teacher smiled softly, looking down at his feet. The flowers were arranged in a symmetrical with white roses surrounding a circle of baby's breath, little lilacs and some green leaves. It looked complicated to Dylan but it did smell nice.

[Idalia Tsavaris]

“Thanks!” Ida said brightly and shrugged her shoulders. Watching the man and dog interaction she couldn’t help smiling. Dylan was adorable beyond all reason and the fact that he was a dog person made him infinitely more attractive. Ike absolutely loved him. Idalia felt a twinge of guilt. It might be because of Idalia’s strange work schedule he never got to get out much. He was a puppy still and needed a lot of exercise and attention. Idalia laughed. A huge compliment indeed, she didn’t think Ike had the ability to dislike anyone. Really anyone with opposable thumbs that could get him food was alright in his book.

Idalia laughed, he had a strange sense of humor but she was certainly liking it. It was just the kind of dry humor that she loved. When he called her out Idalia blushed furiously and laughed. “Ah… no, no, he really likes people, but I think he really likes you.” Idalia fumbled terribly. It was a really good thing that all she had to do on television was talk about the weather. Otherwise she’d be screwed. She was not very good with words at all. Very occasionally she was accidentally pull off something clever but well, most of the time she just had a direct mind to mouth problem.

She opened the door and clapped her hands calling Ike away from the door. She scratched his ears and he scrambled around as if unsure whether he wanted attention from his mamma or the new person. Turning back Idalia’s eyes softened and her mouth formed a little ‘o’ before breaking into a beaming smile. “Oh, they’re beautiful! Dylan, thank you!” She cradled them in her hands and drew close so that she could smell the flowers. Her eyes slid shut as the pleasant smell slipped through her. Blinking them open she raised her eyes to Dylan and smiled shyly at him. “Mmm, they do smell very pretty. Let me get a vase for them really quick, then we can be on our way.” She turned away and was glad for her heels as they made looking into cabinets easier. The vase was a simple glass semi-cylinder with a slightly swirled pattern. She filled it halfway with water and set it on the counter. She swooped back and retrieved the flowers and settled them neatly into the vase. “I love these, they’re so beautiful. Thank you.” She smiled over the flowers at him.

[Dylan Alexander]

“No problem.” He gave Idalia a wide unencumbered smile when her response was nothing but positive. Her smile made her whole ensemble all the more beautiful and had Ike not been there [bless him for being there, though], Dylan knew he wouldn’t have been able to keep his eyes off her. He then felt just slightly bad for objectifying the woman so he kept his attention on Ike.

“I’m glad, I’m glad. Animal rejection leaves a more pronounced scar than that of a human being’s.” He said seriously before breaking out into a huge smile. “Nah I’m just kidding. Maybe.” He said the last part a little quietly. In truth, he really did believe that because animals didn’t lie, plain and simple. He did think it was adorable that the pretty weather girl had trouble with her words.

That little spark in the dark haired woman’s eyes made Dylan melt a little inside as he followed her in. He concentrated on the way her hair swayed against her back and how the little muscle in the back of her arms tensed a little every time she moved.

Dylan smiled back when she thanked him again for the flowers. He waved a dismissive hand in her direction. “Don’t mention it. Mm…so Ike stays here alone when you’re out?”

[Idalia Tsavaris]

It was easy to smile at the hope of something new. Idalia caught herself running away into her emotions. She was so bad at doing that, it was a terrible habit. It was easy to be optimistic at the start but if Idalia’s past experience had taught her anything it was to stick to her guns. Independence was not something Idalia gave up easily, in fact that was part of the problem some times. She refused to be taken care of. As much as she would love for someone to be able to take all of her problems and sweep them away she knew that relying on one person was dangerous. Now, Idalia was not one to refuse help if it were offered, and more than she cared to count she had swallowed her pride and admitted that she had no idea what she was doing.

For a moment Idalia stared bemused at him. Was he really serious? She hadn’t rejected him. Was he going to reject her? Was this an elaborate trick? Idalia smiled and relaxed with his smile. She tsked herself silently, elaborate trick. This wasn’t a movie or some drama. Things like that didn’t actually happen in real life. “Maybe?” She echoed and quickly turned the conversation before it could get depressing. “Man, you’re lucky I don’t have cats, you’d be getting rejected all over the place.” Idalia was not a cat person. They were all adorable assholes in her opinion. She’d met maybe two cats in her life that she liked and could get along with. All the rest were either too aloof to come say hello or swatted at her when they did get close.

Idalia’s heart fluttered excitedly. He had such a beautiful smile. Hopefully, she’d see it a lot tonight. Ike was having so much fun and he was bumping his head against Dylan’s hands and legs demanding to get more attention than his mamma. Ida giggled at them and clicked her fingers and Ike’s attention was called to her. He was getting better at this whole listening thing and came to her side eagerly. Idalia had no doubt that he would protect her if necessary, but she also had no doubt that if someone broke in the apartment that he would show them right to where the food was kept. “Yeah, I feel really bad for him sometimes. He’s such a trooper with my crazy schedule.” She scratched his ears and paid no mind to the strong tail beating against the wall. “If I work days I usually drop him off at my parent’s on my way, but nights, I try to make it back to let him out.”

She knelt and hugged the dog. “I’ll be back soon. C’mon.” She went to the pantry which got the large dog prancing on his huge paws. His nails clicked on the tile with anticipation. “Go to your crate.” She commanded. Ike whined knowingly. She crossed her arms and repeated it. Again he didn’t go. She walked a few steps toward it and pointed. Finally Ike relented and Idalia crouched and rubbed his head and gave him the treat. “Oh what a good boy! I’ll be back soon.” She closed the crate. The big dog had a large bowl of water and he wasn’t going to be fed until later. Idalia rose to her feet. She smoothed her hands over her dress and looked up shyly at Dylan. “Shall we?”

[Dylan Alexander]

"Oh God no." Dylan elongated his last syllable with a laugh. "Anything but cats. They're the worst. They make me feel so unwanted." He responded, a little tickled by how honest he was being with this woman. Self-depracating as well but mostly honest.

Dogs were just so free with their affection and attention that it would probably be a lot more hurtful if they were to reject him. Good thing Ike actually liked him.

Watching the interaction between Ike and Idalia made Dylan grin. The dog was clearly trying his best to listen to his owner but being so full of energy, it just did not land. "Yeah, the only pet I have is a small terrapin I call Chuckles. Don't judge me. The lady at the pet store thought I was hilarious."

The look of shyness Idalia gave him bowled him over, leaving him biting his lower lip to stop it from spreading any wider. When was the last time a girl looked at him that way? He couldn't even remember. Or maybe he just never had the opportunity to notice. Either way, seeing it right now was doing things to his internal organs that had never happened before.

"Y...yes. Shall. We. I mean we should." He stumbled over his words before offering his arm to her.

[Idalia Tsavaris]

“Oh my God I know right!” Idalia exclaimed. “It’s like, ok fine I don’t like you either.” Idalia shook her head and scratched Ike’s head. She was much more of a dog person and he was even more attractive now that she knew for sure he was a dog person. The more she watched him with her dog the more she found herself falling. She smiled to herself and carefully pulled herself away from the thought. She couldn’t jump into things, she’d done that a thousand time with different guys and she always invested more than they did. Dylan was sweet, but she was going to be careful this time around.

But he was so beautiful when she caught sight of him when he wasn’t looking at her. She felt herself get a little giddy and she quickly had to reign in her heart as it threatened to tackle him. Idalia couldn’t help it and she laughed. “That’s cute! Chuckles,” she giggled, “I bet he’s got quite a sense of humor as well.” She grinned as she teased him. A terrapin! That was a new one! “What’s he look like?” Idalia asked fascinated. She’d only seen small turtles around in the lake and she was fascinated by all things aquatic. She wondered what he’d think when she told him that she rowed. Maybe he’d go with her one time, they needed more members. Usually recruiting for rowing was not a good first date thing. And partially selfish she wanted to see the swim instructor shirtless.

Sometimes Idalia wondered at her ability to turn into a teenage girl when she was around men and she almost hopped when he offered him her arm. Instead she reminded herself that she was a grown woman and she used this. She wondered if she was having the same affect on him that he was on her. She glided expertly on her heels and snagged her small clutch on her way to him and she gave him a bright look as she linked her arm with his. “So this is a Jazz club?” She inquired casually. She’d actually never listened to much jazz. This was going to be an experience for sure. Now that she was closer to him she could smell his cologne and it was intoxicating, she could feel the muscle of his arm that she’d gotten a peak at in the gym. Often times Idalia felt objectified and muscles scared him because she didn’t like being weaker than someone. But Dylan was definitely different. She felt safe.

[Dylan Alexander]

Dylan laughed at Idalia's response, enamored and so amused by her liveliness. He then realised he was staring way too much. Again. He tried to concentrate on something else that wasn't too directly in her perimeter. It was sort of hard. Or maybe it was because he wasn't even trying that hard.

"Oh you have no idea. He cracks me up all the time, munching his leaf like he doesn't have a care in the world." He waved a hand in a dismissive manner before chuckling at his own silliness. When asked what he looked like, Dylan was torn between showing the actual picture he had of holding Chuckles when he first bought him or just be a little less creepy by making a shadow animal.

"Oh! Well...um..." he cleared his throat before gathering his shadows and constructing them into a slightly larger version of Chuckles. So yeah, she didn't need to know he kept a picture of his terrapin in his wallet.

And had she mentioned her rowing, Dylan would not have been able to conjure up a more perfect woman. And that thought would just destroy all his chances with Idalia because he would start becoming awkward and prepubescent and just all around weird. She most definitely did not deserve that.

When she looped her hand through his arm, Dylan felt sort of proud of himself for having gone this far without really jeopardising anything.

At Idalia's question, Dylan was brought back to the present from the little somewhat daydream he had been in while they walked. "Yeah. It's a little smokey but you get used to it. I mean you're not here for the visual effects and you kinda get forced to just listen to the acoustics. It's amazing." He gushed lightly.

When he saw that his favourite bassist was on stage, he got a little excited inside. "Let's grab a seat there." He guided Idalia over to the table opposite the stage.

"This is one of our favourites to cover," the middle-aged lady on stage started to say as the band tuned their instruments. Dylan could hear the people in the back start to clap slowly with a few laughs and a few 'Yeah's and he got a bit more excited. "I know y'all know Billie Jean." The singer crooned a little and Dylan's smile widened. It was one of the songs he himself had tried so hard to cover.

Momentarily, he sort of forgot Idalia was even there. The poor woman. Maybe this hadn't been such a good first date idea.

When the singer started to count them down, Dylan's foot bounced as his lips moved to the song. He quickly got into the song, mouthing the song and bopping his head to the music.

"She said I am the one," his raspy voice sounded before he continued to just enjoy the music.

[Idalia Tsavaris]

Ida laughed clasping her hands in front of her excitedly. She loved his sense of humor! “I hope I get to meet him sometime,” Idalia said before she could stop herself. Was that too much? Was that desperate? Or was that an okay thing to say on the first date? Oh dear, one would think that the whole awkward first date thing would go away after a while, but it never did. He was such a nervous man, but somehow that made it easier because Idalia knew she wasn’t the only one dealing with nerves. If he’d been someone who had been arrogant Idalia probably would have been quickly turned off of him. He was sweet and she liked that. She’d dated enough meatheads at the gym to be over the whole macho-image thing some guys got. She was glad the Ike had been here to break the ice a bit. Dogs had a way of connecting people.

Idalia’s brown eyes widened in fascination as she watched the space between his hands start to darken with shadow until there was a turtle shaped shadow hanging in the air of her living room. She didn’t even notice that her mouth had dropped open and she bent forward to get a closer look. Without being able to stop herself she reached out and poked the shadow shape with her finger. It passed through without even a hint of resistance. She wasn’t sure what she expected from shadows. Perhaps a ripple or something on the surface of the shape. “That’s so cool. Do the shadows ever become tangible?” She asked. Careful, Ida, your geek is showing. She chided herself with an internal laugh. Idalia would have liked to say that she didn’t feel a pang of jealousy that she didn’t have his power. Everyone had different skills and she should be glad for the ones that she had, both meta and not.

Entering the club Idalia immediately knew what he was talking about. The whole place seemed hazy and it took her lungs a moment to adjust to the thickness in the air. She couldn’t tell if it was candle, food, or cigarette smoke that was causing the fuzz in the air. Ida smiled, Dylan really liked jazz, that was obvious. Now, she had to at least try to appreciate it. She never really listened to jazz and she was very worried that she was going to get bored, but she was going to strive her best to not fall asleep. She nodded and she partially hoped that it wasn’t too hazy to see him, or too loud to speak to him. Idalia watched Dylan for cues and when he smiled she smiled as well. He had such a great smile, it was unshielded and full of the truth of the emotion. It was a good thing too, because she had no idea what Billie Jean was.

Turning her eyes to the stage she listened for a bit and smiled, this was pleasant. Not what she was used too. Idalia was much more of an alternative rock fan, and on occasion pop. This wasn’t bad though. It was smooth and soothing. She knew why he liked it. It was a little strange to hear the band and she liked it. She glanced at Dylan and caught a chance to look at him while he listened to the music. Her lips turned at the corners as she saw his lips moving and his foot tapping. It was always precious to see someone singing along to music that they loved. God knew Idalia had no kind of singing voice, but when a good song came on she didn’t give a damn. After a while she turned her eyes back to the stage and wondered where she might be able to get a drink. She stifled a laugh at the thought. Most people drinking at this time was normal, for Idalia this was like drinking at 8 o’clock in the morning.

The sound of his voice caught her attention and she grinned. She reached across the table and gently touched his arm to call his attention, as he seemed to have gotten lost in the music. “You should sing up there,” she said half teasing, half honestly.

[Dylan Alexander]

Not even hesitating for a second, Dylan grinned widely and nodded. "Absolutely. I'm sure he loves company. Maybe. You never know with turtles." He joked, not at all aware of any form of desperation coming off from Idalia's request if any at all. He could say with certainty that had the roles been reversed, he would have done the same thing.

Everytime he played with his shadows, Dylan can't help but look at the people watching his 'show'. He always found it mesmerising, seeing people's reaction. Especially if it was one out of wonder, like the one on Idalia right then. But it looked to be a terrible idea because it made him lose focus almost instantaneously. There was something going on here. Something intense and he wasn't sure if he should be feeling it because this was just their first date for goodness sake! And they weren't even out of the house!

"Uh...y-yeah." He stammered, his hands quivering as the shadows retreated into him. "Well, not really." He corrected himself, scratching the back of his neck in mild embarrassment. "I mean I can make you feel them but they can't like...grab you or anything." He explained, hopefully explaining it well.

The touch of her hand sent goosebumps throughout Dylan's whole body as he turned to face her, shivering slightly. He laughed and shook his head. "No way. I'd be up there with the greats and I'm pretty sure I'd just choke." He waved her request down gently with a small smile. He was, indeed, a little scared of going up on stage amongst his favourite jazz talents. Most of that had to do with his own insecurities. He felt he was good but not good enough.

But...maybe he could sing to her sometime...

"I'm so sorry, how rude of me...would you like something to drink?" he asked when he realised they had gone through a set without refreshments. What a bad date he was!

[Idalia Tsavaris]

Dylan had Idalia giggling all over again. And for once she wasn’t fake laughing at some guy’s bad joke because she wanted to flatter him. She really loved his sense of humor. It was dry and matter of fact and she loved it. She occasionally found herself hilarious but her own humor tended to be lost on other people. She remembered when she had taught a little bit in college. Most of the time it was blundering through a lecture and when she cracked a joke it was usually met by blank stared and at that point it was best to just keep blundering on. So when this blunder came out of her mouth, “It’s probably hard for him to come out of his shell around new people,” she felt the need to apologize for it. “I’m sorry that was so bad,” she said shaking her head at herself.

The shadows were indeed mesmerizing. It was far cooler than anything her power could do. She could tell you if it was going to rain, sometimes she could even tell you when it was already raining. She was almost sad to see them go, it made a chill run down her spine and she wasn’t sure if it was because of him or because of the shadow’s retreat. Idalia nodded along fascinated by the whole thing. Well, at least they weren’t tangible. “I bet you can do a mean haunted house,” she grinned up at him. Idalia was the kind of person who loved Halloween. She loved haunted mazes and houses but only so long as she had someone to cling to. And said volunteer should be prepared to lose all feeling in said arm.

“You wouldn’t choke,” Idalia encouraged with a smile, “I bet you’d do really well. You already know the words.” She grinned at him. To be honest she was practically swooning at the idea of someone singing to her. No one had ever been super romantic with her, she’d had a few romantic dates every once in a while, but in reality it was every girl’s dream to have a guy like one of those guys in those romantic comedies. The ones that hit clichés on the head and drove them deeper into imagination. Though usually those comedies did deal with some form of a dramatic end. Idalia really was tired of drama, she was too old to get sucked in to it.

Idalia smiled, glad he had figured it out himself and she didn’t have to ask where she could get a drink. “No, no, you were feeling the music. But yes, where would we find something to drink?” She asked. She had woken up this morning and though most people didn’t usually wake up and start drinking, when she was backward to everyone else’s schedule she had to adapt. Though she really could do with some more coffee… and maybe orange juice. She blinked and shook her head. “Are you a beer person or a liquor person?”

[Dylan Alexander]

"Oh you did not just." Dylan covered his mouth before chuckling into it, glad he didn't make that joke himself because it was really bad. But heck, if a pretty girl like her didn't mind laughing at herself, Dylan was pretty sure he'd hit the jackpot. She was...pretty perfect. "That really is bad though. But I forgive you for that. Made me laugh, didn't it?"

At the mention of a haunted house, Dylan grinned widely. "I did do that once. At my nephew's thirteenth birthday. He loves horror movies and so my cousin told me to do that for him. Of course, who would pass up a chance to scare some kids, right?" He chuckled. It was a hit though, as far as he was concerned, and nobody was harmed. It had been a great night and his cousin said her son could not stop talking about it.

Idalia's encouragement made Dylan's cheeks heat up but of course, he wouldn't go up. He couldn't. It was a little harrowing. "Maybe next time." He chuckled, a little sheepishly.

"Uh, I'll get them for you." He said, pushing his chair back a little. When asked about which alcohol he consumed, Dylan forgot to mention he didn't drink, didn't he? "Oh...um...neither." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I don't drink." He said before looking up at her. "I hope that's okay? I mean I don't mind getting one for you but I usually just get soda."

[Idalia Tsavaris]

She scratched her head and her face became a shade similar to her dress and she cast her eyes down feeling the need to shrink. She giggled and looked shyly up at him. Well done, Ida, she thought to herself, she was officially way far from the normal woman he probably was used to dating. He was certainly a far cry off of the people that she normally date. Hell he had her melting with every smile and when he laughed she could just become a puddle. Oh dear, she was falling way too fast. “I know…” Idalia gave a half hearted laugh in agreement. Her smile grew and she threw a fist in the air and declared: “Success!” So maybe she was a little loopy, but in her defense this was technically her morning. She needed more coffee.

“What kind of thirteen year old loves horror movies?” Idalia asked in shock. It had taken her until college to be able to sit through one without making a break for the exit. “That’s awesome though, I love haunted houses.” And October was just around the corner. Maybe if this wasn’t a disaster there was potential. Though that might lead to him washing his hands of her. She was all about jumping on people and throwing people into danger when it came to haunted houses. Then there was the time she’d backhanded her friend’s cousin… Well… He shouldn’t have popped out at her like that haunted house or no. She got lost in her thoughts the corners of her lips tilting up at the memories.

Idalia smiled, she knew that was a no. He was shy, he probably had an amazing voice from the slight harmony she’d heard from him earlier. But he was shy. Idalia knew the feeling, she’d probably just start laughing if someone wait that to her. Ask her to get up and do her forecast and that was no big deal, but then she didn’t have to look at anyone when she did it. Occasionally and intern or someone from the local news was there to watch but really it wasn’t very interesting to watch someone stand in front of a green screen and waved her hands to and fro at things she could only see on the screen herself.

Opening her mouth to offer to go with him she stopped herself suddenly. Cocking her head to the side she immediately felt like a jerk. Oh no! What if he was a recovering alcoholic or worse knew someone who was in his family or… oh dear. “Oh no no! I mean that’s totally cool. Um…” Now Idalia was faced with a hard decision. She could lie and claim she didn’t drink either or she could just keep blundering down this road. Well, it was a bit early. “You know what, I’ll just have whatever you’re having.” She said and started to rise. She was very much a fan of paying for her own meals and well, a drink or two didn’t hurt but she definitely had a stubborn streak and she wanted very much to be able to take care of herself and throw the helpless woman stereotype out by its hair.