Bad Luck: Laced with Chocolate (Katy)

[Niko Gallo]

Wow, this had been a weird month so far. Tearing apart that poor guy's suit after a mix-up at the dry cleaner's, trying to find him and fix it up, then getting chased by geese around the lake. GEESE. And with how much had been going around the office, too, the Greek was almost convinced that Pilot Ridge was being pranked by a probability manipulator.

Oh well. Today'd been a day to relax, so he had - slept in, then dressed down since he wasn't working and headed to the mall for some last-minute shopping. Those "final weekend" sales were usually pretty good, so he got his money's worth. And with family flying in tonight, this was his last chance to get things wrapped up before anyone tried to pester him about it. But as the morning turned to afternoon, hunger gnawed at the phaser. But he didn't want to spoil his appetite for dinner, so...

Hello! An ice cream parlor! Perfect!

Walking in off the outside street, Niko kicked his boots at the front door to keep from tracking in snow, then looked around. Very festive, and playing the coolest old music! Seriously, Frank Sinatra? Awesome. Dropping his bags and satchel into an empty booth, the brunette bent down and tied his shoes for what felt like the hundredth time that day, then made his way to the ice cream counter and ordered a chocolate and peanut butter sundae.

Hey, why not spoil himself a little? He wasn't eating again until dinner, after all. Give it one of those fresh blondies, too - white chocolate was delicious.

As the clerk went about making his order, Niko happened to glance over and spot a thin girl looking over the choices. He smiled, his grin very cat-ate-the-canary. "Lots of choices," he ventured, his tone friendly. "It's all great, though, so no matter what I think you're good."

[Katy Bishop]

Katy was having s good day. She woke up at sun's first light (which was about 7:30 in the morning) ate her advent chocolate and put a slice of toast in the toaster. The Bishop household took decorating seriously, with a large tree in the lounge and lights and tinsel and Santas and snowmen in every room. Feeling pretty festive and, seeing as no one was up, Katy decided to get some present wrapping and shopping done. Yeah, maybe she should have got everything done a little earlier, but she wasn't the most organised of people and, besides, it gave her an excuse to go shopping again.

The mall wasn't very far away, so Katy didn't bother waking her parents. She should really learn to drive, but she had never really needed to. Pilot Ridge wasn't a big town and most of her older brothers could drive, if she needed to go further out. If they weren't free, she would just catch a bus. She didn't even leave the house every other month, so her family didn't mind running her around.

When Katy arrived at the Mall it was 10 AM and the place was heaving. That's what you get for shopping this close to Christmas, Katy. She thought to herself. As it was only going to get worse, she decided to get all of her shopping done quickly and then leave. Soon she was completely sorted for Christmas, with a new top, leggings and converse as well, which she was wearing. Her pockets practically empty of all money, Katy decided to call it a day. As she was on her way out though, something caught her eye. The ice cream parlour. Now she thought about it, she was kinda hungry, and it wasn't that cold outside. Fine, she said to herself. But just one. And no toppings! I'll be putting on enough weight over Christmas anyway. Grinning, Katy walked over to the shop.

She stood at the counter and looked up at the different choices. Would she choose a plain old Vanilla sundae, or would she go with something more exotic, like Mango and Passionfruit? Or maybe something a little more festive, like Cinnamon waffles? Tapping her foot and humming along to Sinatra, she was suddenly aware of a guy to her right as he spoke to her.
"Is that right?" She replied. "Then I think I'll have a black forest sundae, please. With almonds on top, if that's okay." Yeah, she was breaking her own rules, but it was Christmas. When the lady behind the counter turned to make her sundae, Katy turned to the guy. He was pretty cute.
"I take it you come here often then?"
Small talk really wasn't Katy's strong point.

[Niko Gallo]

While small talk may not have been her strong point, it was definitely something Niko excelled at. Give him an inch and he took a mile in a conversation. It was the Greek in him, he supposed - his grandmother was the same way. Tell her anything and within half an hour she had your life story. As an artist, the brunette was kind of the same way; people asked about his architectural drawings and within a conversation he had a new friend.

So, smiling brightly, he laughed and shook his head. "Nah, not as often as I'd like," he admitted. "I work downtown, so it's a bit of a ways, but I had the day off and was shopping so... why not? Same for you?"

The last statement was punctuated by a nod to the bag she had, which had a logo from one of the stores in the mall. Either she shopped there a lot, or she'd just changed clothes; he'd seen those leggings while he was looking around for something to pick up his baby sister, thought they were a fun pattern, and (mostly) forgotten about them. But seeing them on a living person was a lot more fun than on a mannequin. Not that Niko was checking her out or anything, but those leggings did slim her right up. Very cute.

"Oh, I'm Niko, by the way," he stated, introducing himself with a casual handshake.

[Katy Bishop]

Katy quickly gave the guy a once over. His jeans, t-shirt and coat combo was a little scruffy, (and the scarf was a little... much, but it was Christmas, so who cares about that? She had to admit, the jeans suited him, with his long legs and tanned skin. And what a tan it was! There was only really his face showing, but it was more than enough to impress Katy. He must have been Hispanic or Greek or something to maintain the olive skin throughout winter in Vermont. Come to think of it, he did look sort of Greek, with the hair and features and things. His grandparents were probably from Greece, or their grandparents or something. Plus, he looked pretty muscly. Even better. Not that she was checking him out or anything.

Katy smiled cheerfully. "I'm not too far from here, but I hardly ever come here. I can't be bothered to leave the house half of the time and even then I usually have lunch in Starbucks or something. They do the best paninis in Starbucks! The erm... the Croque Monsieur is my favourite, you know, the cheese and ham. And then I have a coffee of course." Katy forced herself to shut up. She laughed nervously and looked towards the menu again, resisting the urge to bang her head against the counter. First cute guy she finds in a long time and she goes useless and rambley, if that's even a word. Luckily, the woman came with the Sundae just at that moment. Saved by the bell. Katy thanked the lady and turned back to the guy, who she now knew was called Niko. She leaned over and shook his hand with a smile.
"I'm Katy. Katy Bishop"

[Niko Gallo]

Niko laughed, the sound shaking his shoulders in its honesty and boisterousness. "Remind me to take you to this little shop downtown I like," he replied. "It's not my grandmother's Greek, but they make some of the best hot-presses in town. But if you're a pastry person, the Velvet-Tone is one of the best coffeeshops around. Surprisingly ethnic, too, and there's even stuff for people with dietary restrictions. But since you like ham, cheese and bread, I'm guessing that's not a problem."

He said this all in good-natured humor, the tease at the end cheerful and in no way malicious. It just wasn't the type of guy the clerk was.

Cradling the ice cream bowl in one hand, his other shook her hand with ease and friendliness. "You know, I went to school with a Bishop while I was at the Hammel Institute couple years back. Any relation?"

"I've got a booth right over here," he stated, jerking a thumb over his shoulder to the table. "Mind sitting and chatting with me a while? I've got nowhere special to be for a while."

That, and the brunette never objected to talking to a pretty girl. (Well, talking to most anyone, but especially to pretty girls.) Despite what most guys thought, girls had a lot of interesting things to say if someone would just listen to them. Get a girl talking to you and you'll learn all sorts of things; about her friends and family, her school or job, her interests, her hobbies... and more than anything, her. People and architecture were the most interesting things to the young twenty-something could imagine talking about, and most girls were more than willing to humor him.