Look After You (Travis)

[Amanda Joy "AJ" Lane]

"Yes," AJ finally declared. "Yes, I want to go. And with you." She smiled, matching his grin. She wasn't considering this a date. She couldn't. Not with how fragile Travis was about Michael and the letter he'd just gotten. She shouldn't expect that, but at the same time, it made her feel...wanted. Travis had made her feel that way though, like she was worth being around. It was nice to feel that way.

Dances had never been her thing--even when she'd been slightly more social before her power manifested, but she had to admit, the idea of putting herself out there again was both exciting and absolutely terrifying at the same time, but at least Travis would be by her side. She had to take baby steps and this Halloween dance would be one of the first ones. Besides, she did love dressing up and being someone else for a night--the idea of Halloween was always something she adored.

"You can? Awesome! I'm definitely not good with that, but I love the idea of handcrafting our costumes." She grinned from ear to ear as they reached the tea shop in the middle of the downtown.

[Travis Morgan]

"This is gonna be fun," he said with a wide smile which he unconsciously covered up by chewing on his thumbnail. It was a nervous thing-- not that AJ made him nervous! Well, maybe a little bit at this very moment, but mostly it was induced by the sudden change of relationship status. Even while distracted by other things, everything felt a little different.

He was glad that AJ liked the idea of putting together their own costumes, because it would give him something to do (once they picked something). And it would give him excuses to look for her. He couldn't wuss out and convince himself that he shouldn't bother her.

"I could show you how to sew, if you want," he offered, "it's not hard, once you know what your doing.. Uh, the basics anyway. I'm not like an expert or anything, just.. sort of.. good enough." Travis gave a small shrug, and almost walked past the shop they were looking for. He'd been more concerned with saying the right thing than with paying attention to where he was-- which was one of the many reasons he was wary of venturing out by himself. He tended to get absent minded, and that particular trait made him nervous unless he was with somebody.

"Oh--" he stopped and backtracked a step or two, "this is it, huh?"

[Amanda Joy "AJ" Lane]

"Yes," AJ agreed, going through ideas in her head. She wanted her and Travis to have original costumes. Not something lame that everybody would do, something that they could do together. Something from film or literature. "I would love that. I can't promise I'll catch on really fast, but I'd like to watch you sew anyway. I want to be a part of the process so I can at least say I helped create the costumes."

She'd stopped in front of the tea shop and watched as Travis took a few steps past it, stifling an awkward laugh. "Uhm, Trav..." she begin warily and nodded at him when he'd realized he'd walked too far. "Yeah, this is it. Is your mind somewhere else?" Maybe it was on a mix of Halloween costumes like her mind was. Although she had to admit there was a nagging thought in her brain that kept pushing its way towards the front. Was she seriously attracted to him? Not that it was a bad thing. Travis was very likable, but that wasn't the point. The point was that she failed miserably at relationships and intimacy and everything involved and Michael probably hadn't. She didn't even know how to act.

She held open the door, sending a gentle smile in his direction.

[Travis Morgan]

"Well, technically speaking my mind is always right here," Travis said, tapping himself on the head. "Um, but yeah. I'm sort of distracted." He smiled sheepishly when AJ held the door open for him, and tried not to laugh. He was raised to open doors for girls, because that was polite-- and here he'd almost walked past the store, and now AJ was holding the door for him. It wasn't really that funny. He just laughed when he was nervous, or awkward, or embarrassed. Travis but his lip and ducked his head as he walked through the door.

"Thanks," he murmured before lifting his eyes to look around. He tok a short breath and held it. The shop wasn't hopping or anything, but there were a few people and it was a relatively closed in space. Shops always made him a bit uncomfortable, which was another reason he didn't go out by himself. He was afraid of people, he found buying things awkward, especially when it involved ordering something first. He could do it, but it was hard to think and reason through the panic it instilled. He had to know exactly what he was doing, and if there was a question or something midway through he just.. answered with whatever seemed easier, and it wasn't always what he wanted.

Travis unconsciously lingered a bit until AJ joined him, then moved so that he was next to her.. and slightly behind. He was more comfortable when he could easily see the person he was with, as his other senses were all distracted by the fact that there were unfamiliar people in the same room as him.

[Amanda Joy "AJ" Lane]

AJ let the door fall shut behind her when Travis walked in. She followed him inside and stood, staring at the menu, trying to locate her favorite tea. She wasn't an empath and yet she could feel that Travis felt uncomfortable beside her. She moved closer towards him, a hand landing on his arm. "You okay?" she asked him, with worried eyes. He was off in general today and really, he did have an excuse for it. His jerk of a boyfriend broke up with him in a letter. But she didn't want Travis to stay stuck on it, much like he hadn't wanted her to stay stuck on what was eating her. It was her turn to help him. She'd get him talking about Halloween costumes and what his favorite tea was.

"What are you getting?" she asked.

[Travis Morgan]

"Yeah," Travis answered quickly when AJ asked if he was okay. Default answer. The corners of his mouth tightened. "It's just.. people." Her hand on his arm was comforting, and he moved a little closer to her.

"I, um.." She was asking about what tea he was getting. "I dunno. I like.. Earl Grey." Travis looked up at the menu, but his eye was distracted. He kept glancing away at movement on the edge of his vision. He felt suddenly like maybe he didn't need tea. Maybe.. he'd rather not have tea if it meant he wouldn't have to go talk to the person behind the counter.

Travis chewed on his lip. It'd been so long since he'd tried to do this that he managed to forget that Michael usually spoke for him. It was a simple thing. Other people could order tea. Right now, he had two choices. He could try to do it himself, or he could let AJ know exactly how phobic he was of talking to people.

God that was embarrassing.

[Amanda Joy "AJ" Lane]

"I understand," AJ told him. She really did. She didn't like being around a lot of people either. Usually it was a lot worse. So many people to manipulate on accident. The anxiety was usually unbearable, but her training with Jay must have been helping because she didn't feel as on edge and instead was comforting Travis.

"I've never had that kind," she admitted, gazing up at the menu and pulling Travis towards the counter with her as it was their turn to order. "I'll have a jasmine green tea," she said and then glanced over at the blonde who seemed uneasy. "And he'll have an earl grey."

[Travis Morgan]

She tugged him towards the counter, and Travis wondered if the anxiety was showing on his face. He felt like maybe he was a little pale. Maybe his eyes were a little too wide. Maybe his mouth was a little too tight.

Then AJ spoke, and tacked his order onto her own. Relief crashed over him, and he let out the breath he didn't realize he was holding. A smile tugged the corners of his mouth and he looked down. He was so glad, so glad that AJ just did that. He wanted to grab her and kiss her cheek right there-- he didn't, of course.

He was extremely aware of every person in the shop, and even though they probably weren't paying he and AJ any attention, it felt like being watched. Honestly, he couldn't tell if that was an empath thing, or a social phobia thing.. though one probably fed the other, so whatever.

Quietly, Travis pulled some cash from his pocket and slid it across the counter before AJ would even have a chance to attempt paying for her own tea.