Lazy Saturday [Kuni]

[Eloise Eaton]

Eloise had been hesitant to hang out with Kuni again after their last encounter. It wasn't that she didn't like Kuni. It wasn't even that she didn't want to hang out with him. It just seemed like bad things happened when they were together. Or... at least very strange and awkward things. Things that flustered Eloise. And if there was one thing Eloise Eaton was not good at, it was dealing with embarrassment. She held onto it far too long. Which is why she hadn't talked to Kuni since graduation really.

What finally drove El to inviting the boy over was the monotony her life had become in the past couple weeks. It wasn't even that Eloise was bored, per say. She was, to be frank, sick and tired of being a third wheel to Monroe and Adaryn. They didn't do it purposely - and most of the problem boiled down to the three still dancing around the vision and the fear that Monroe and Eloise were meant to fall in love. It was hard to hang out with Addie and Monroe at the same time, because El knew that neither of them was completely convinced the vision was off. They both claimed to be over it. They seemed to forget that Eloise was a telepath sometimes...

So not having a slew of other friends, and deciding she had spent an abundance of time with her father recently, Eloise contacted Kuni and told him he should visit. She gave him her new address, and told him that her apartment was the only one up on the third floor. She didn't really know what they'd do, what they'd talk about. She hoped that would be decided quickly and naturally. She wore a simple white skater dress with a purple wide-band fabric belt around her waist- the type of outfit she regularly wore around the apartment on lazy Saturdays. Her hair was thrown up in a messy ponytail. She wore just minimal makeup. She hadn't even thought to bother with shoes (though she had a pair of purple heels she could throw on if need be). Another nice thing about Kuni was that he'd already seen Eloise at her worst... twice... she didn't feel too pressured to go out of her way to pick a perfect outfit or fix her hair just-so. If they decided to go somewhere, she'd probably want to freshen up, though.

[Kunikpok "Kuni" Arrluk]

Kuni had been avoiding.... Nearly everyone since the Talk. Being a very social person in general, the Inuit boy rarely avoided anyone for anything. But the embarrassment of what had happened, very publicly and during an already awkward event, had driven even him to want to hide away for a while until it all blew over. Fortunately, not everyone had known it was him.... But then again, enough people probably did know that his name had likely spread to everyone by now.

So awkward...

Speaking of awkward, Kuni actually leapt at the chance to see Eloise again. Despite their less-than-stellar meetings before this, he really liked the blonde girl, and was looking forward to spending more time with her. He didn't get to see her at all now that she'd graduated, so he was doubly happy that she had gone out of her way to invite him over. He wondered if she knew about the whaling thing being him...

Casual for Kuni, especially during the summer, consisted of a gray, light-fabric tanktop and cargo shorts, which he was honestly displeased with because 'shorts' for men were knee-length and more stifling than he would prefer. Something Kuni had never understood upon moving to the States were how men's and women's clothing were so different. It was just... Weird. But anyway, he was looking forward to a hopefully air-conditioned apartment as he walked up to where Eloise had instructed, hoping he'd found the right door. He knocked lightly upon it and waited, brushing his hand over his cropped hair that he'd just gotten trimmed to help him deal with the summer heat. When Eloise opened, he'd greet her with a broad smile and a somewhat shy "Hello". He would likely never feel not awkward to some extent around her.

[Eloise Eaton]

Hearing the knock at the door, Eloise hopped up off her spot on the couch and ran on her toes to the door. She peeked through the peep hole on the off chance that it wasn't Kuni standing on the other side of the door, but the sight of a grey tank top and broad shoulders told Eloise her tall friend was definitely waiting on the other side. She opened the door, and smiled at the Inuit boy. "Hey, Kuni," she said, pulling the door completely open and stepping to the side to allow the boy to walk inside.

"Come in," she offered. "It's nice to see you. It's been a while," she said, as she closed the door again once Kuni stepped into the apartment. It had been a while... nearly the entire break. It was nice to see a face that wasn't Monroe's or Adaryn's around the apartment. "Make yourself comfortable," Eloise offered, gesturing to the large, leather couch and chairs in the living room as well as the dining set in the kitchen area.

"Can I get you anything to drink or eat? I know it's hot... and not the shortest walk," the blonde offered with a smile as she walked over to her fridge to pull out a pitcher of lemonade - since she wanted something to drink herself. Though it was much cooler in the apartment than outside, Eloise could still go for a cold glass of lemonade on a summer day. "How have you been?"

[Kunikpok "Kuni" Arrluk]

Kuni dipped his head with a smile as Eloise greeted him and walked inside, making sure he didn’t bump himself on the top of the doorframe. “This is a nice place to live,” he complimented, glancing around the apartment. “Is it… Quiet?” He heard that sometimes people in apartments had trouble with loud or rude neighbors, and he hoped his friend didn’t have to deal with that.

“It’s good to see you to! I’m sorry it’s been so long, I… I guess I don’t really leave Hammel much except to go to work,” Kuni said apologetically, rubbing the back of his head. “And, well, I’ve been working a lot during the break, so…” So his time had been pretty evenly divided between working and trips to big bodies of water in order to actually get some powers training in. Especially after the incident at the Talk... “Thank you.” Kuni settled down on a couch in the room, sighing gratefully now that he was out of the heat. “I’ve been swimming as much as I can,” he told Eloise. “Whenever it gets hot, I’d much rather be in the water.”

He brightened at the offer. “I’m pretty thirsty… So that would be great if you wouldn’t mind,” Kuni replied, relieved for refreshments. He peeked over and saw the glass of lemonade – something he’d only had a few times, but remembered liking a lot. “Thank you so much.” Once offered the drink, he would take an eager sip, followed by a thankful gasp. “I’ve been pretty good for the most part,” he replied, taking another drink. “Well, apart from something incredibly embarrassing that happened.” Kuni chuckled. “What about you? Do you have a roommate?” Kuni didn’t spot anyone else yet, so he wasn’t sure.

[Eloise Eaton]

Eloise sat herself down on one of her armchairs, tucking her feet to the side, and leaning on the arm so she could easily pick up and set down her drink on the end table, as well as face Kuni who was sitting on the couch. "It is pretty quiet here," Eloise started, glancing around. "The people down stairs are old and don't make much noise," the blonde explained with a chuckle. And the apartment was pretty far from the busiest parts of town, so there was never really a problem with noise.

"I do have a roommate, though," Eloise explained after taking a sip of her drink. "He's out with his girlfriend I think," she added with a roll of her eyes. Eloise loved Addie, and too a weird extent she loved Monroe too (though she'd never use that word to describe their relationship. It would raise too many red flag given their circumstance). "I actually invited you over because I got so tired of third wheeling," El admitted with a small smile, hoping Kuni wouldn't take the comment as him being her third choice. "It's... nice to have a change of pace," Eloise added, with a nod.

"And scenery... she thought as she glanced at Kuni's arms, tearing her eyes away as she reminded herself that staring was impolite. That always seemed to be difficult around Kuni, but Eloise sure as hell would try if it meant having a friend that didn't sneak off to another room in the house to cuddle and coo over each other.

"So... embarrassing happenings you say?" Eloise asked, with a snarky smile and prying eyes. "Are we talking... naked in a lake embarrassing or throwing up on your friends floor embarrassing?"

[Kunikpok "Kuni" Arrluk]

Kuni nodded as Eloise spoke of her neighbors. “That’s good. Better than being surrounded by, um, partiers, at least.” Although it he was completely honest, Eloise seemed like the type that might like the occasional party. Then again… That might have been him being stereotypical of pretty blonde American girls.

He listened curiously as she spoke of her roommate. “Did he go to Hammel too?” he asked curiously. “Maybe I know him.” Kuni was pretty sociable, so it was possible. He did wonder why she was rolling her eyes when speaking about the boy’s girlfriend, until she explained her situation. “Ooooh… I see,” he replied with understanding. He didn’t really have experience with that himself, but he could imagine. “I’m sure it probably gets, ah… Annoying.” Kuni smiled at her over his drink. “I am… Flattered I’m your choice to come and break the awkwardness. I’m happy to come over any time, or to take you out of the apartment if you need someone to, you know, do something with.” The Inuit boy shrugged; it was something he would offer any of his friends, but he would enjoy it nonetheless.

It was a good thing he wasn’t the one with telepathy, because Eloise’s thoughts would have made Kuni feel incredibly awkward. And this meeting was actually going… Not so awkward for once. Kuni was actually relaxing.

His eyes had been wandering around the room, but at the question, they darted back to focus on the pretty woman. “Oh, uh, well…” Apparently she hadn’t heard. Kuni chuckled at her examples and shook his head. “No, no…. I’d say more embarrassing than either of those, if I can be so bold,” he said. “…. You heard about the uh… The…. ‘Whale’ incident recently, right?” he asked tentatively. “At Hammel? During the Talk?” Kuni figured she could probably tell where this was going.