Log:The Awkward and the Audience

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The Awkward and the Audience
Participants

Paige, Kip, Haruki, Crystal

4 May, 2017


Paige goes to ask Kip a question, and has an audience offering advice.

Location

Homepage

The shop is open. Kip is fumbling with his phone, changing the music that plays very very softly in the background. It's usually some sort of ambient music, the kind you can easily forget is there. And the volume is very faint, mostly because Kip is still not used to loud things. And so he sits there with his ever present coffee mug, perched in a seat behind the counter, phone in hand and a stack of books on the counter nearby.

Why are there morning people? How can anyone be chipper before noon? Paige's secret is probably lots and lots of highly sugared coffee, because she shows up to the bookstore entirely too bouncy...though there are most definitely nerves radiating from the harpy. When she steps inside and sees Kip she hesitates, glancing behind her, then back to Kip before she takes a deep breath then takes the plunge. 'The plunge' in this case means walking over to him and saying, "Hi Kip!" while her cheeks go a little pink.

Crystal is the early bird, out fetching that worm, except she's no bird at all. Slow constellations revolve around her, and her mirrored eyes reflect as well as fancy shades might, a strange effect. There's a momentary smile to Kip, but when Crystal meanders in the door again, she turns a little to study the shop first. Almost as if a little familiar with the proprietor.

Kip glances up from his phone and peeks around, giving Crystal a smile but not stopping the movement of his gaze to find the owner of the voice. "Paige!" he calls out to her in a returned greeting. His voice is whispery and soft, but the volume is a bit high to show he's actually shouting-ish. "I was changing the music." As if they didn't know that's what he was doing. Also Paige would notice the lack of sunglasses and the fact that he's more put together than the hungover version of himself she saw the day prior.

Paige glances to Crystal then looks back to Kip, smiling as she heads up to the counter. "So I hear. You're looking better--I mean, you look like you /feel/ better than you did yesterday," she says, quickly correcting herself. She's without her backpack today, or the spiral notebook, which leaves her hands empty. So...they just tucked in her pockets for now.

Crystal is something of an avid eavesdropper these days as she situates in her new living space. She's somehow familiar to anyone who might watch local television, given she's started being that face who explains what the weather will be, even if she's in plain clothes today, no cute little dress like she wears before the green screen. Crystal wanders behind a row of books, but it might be obvious she's paying half her attention on the other pair, not quite shy of manner about it.

Kip is behind the counter. He was just changing the very faint ambient music to a different bit of very faint ambient music, so his phone is in his hand. Because that's how we roll in this age of phones controlling every aspect of our lives. He's not ignoring Crystal, but for the moment his attention is all on Paige as she bounds inside and up to the counter where he's sitting. He leans forward, elbows on the counter top, arms crossed in front of him, phone in hand. "I do. Feel better. Bets made me drink water before she left for class and she was right, it helped. Plus I actually /slept/ last night. Wait, I look better? You mean I looked as bad as I felt yesterday?"

Paige flushes and shakes her head. "No! I didn't mean /that/. I just meant you look like you're feeling better. I mean, no sunglasses," she explains quickly, clearly trying to undo any accidental insult she may have given. "It's good she made you drink water though, and glad you slept. Best thing for a hangover, I hear. Never quite drank enough to get one. Yet." She /does/ own a bar, after all. It's bound to happen sometime!

Haruki's come to look at the photos on the wall. He's maybe a little skittish as he enters, looking around with wide eyes.

DrunkKip (DrunKip?) is surprisingly capable of being less of a nerd. He's not always stammery and second guessing himself and a big ball of anxiety. But Kip seems to have sworn off this version of himself from ever coming to light again when he cringes and states, "I think I'm done with scotch for the rest of forever." Until he's not. "I'll stick to beer. But it was fun while it lasted. Anyway, did you change your mind? You want that book back you gave me?" He's teasing. It's kind of obvious. "I'll warn you, though. It's full of butts." Butts? Buts? They sound the same. Does he mean he defiled a book and drew pictures of rear ends in it? The horror! But he seems to assume Paige will completely understand what he's talking about. And yes, there are a few framed photographs on the wall. They're not /quite/ professional quality but they look pretty cool anyway. They're just a few random pictures from the park. Kip took them. He's proud of them. But he's not looking at them because he's watching Paige.

Paige does seem to know what Kip's talking about, because she grins. "The things you learn about a person...But no, not here to ask for the book back. It's yours, for as long as you want to keep it. Unless you lose it, but I can still probably find it if you do so...back to as long as you want." She hesitates and glances around, before smiling as she spots Haruki, but she doesn't immediately say hi to her skittish friend. Instead she looks back to Kip and moves a little closer, voice dropping a hair. "I uh...just wanted to ask you something, and not about th ebook."

Haruki's here to look at the pictures, and maybe meander through the self help and psychology section. Just a glance at them. Best not let anyone see he's looking. The photos though, they have him smiling. He doesn't intrude though, although he might be eavesdropping.

All the eavesdropping. At this rate, Crystal, somewhere in the stacks, will no doubt comically run into Haruki. And even more comically risk recognitionâ?, either as the News 19 Weekend Weather girl, or as resembling someone from a brief chance encounter. Could go either way. At least she's covering for her interest, sitting on the floor with a book about palmistry that she's pretending to pay attention to.

"Oh?" Kip asks Paige, blinking at her almost owlishly for a moment. "Is it about the scavenger hunt? Because I already said I'd do it. For you. I mean because you asked. I mean you /asked/, not because /you/ asked, though we're friends so of course I'd do something nice for a friend who asked, so I guess because you asked, but-- I'll do it." Uh huh. He gives that goofy smirky grin of his as if to say 'Imma shut up now.' Sorry Haruki, he hasn't seen you. And he hasn't really paid much attention to Crystal yet either. It's the whole tiny package of chaos that is Paige that has his attention.

Haruki does glance at Crystal and there's that flicker of recognition and not quite knowing how he knows her. He does smile, nice and warm and friendly as he tries to work out how he knows her. And just to cover the staring he says, "hi, nice day."

Paige chews lightly on her lower lip while Kip goes inot his rambling. She's used to it by now, and has done her own share of rambling. "No, it's not about the scavenger hunt, though I am glad you're helping out there," she says, before she glances around. People, eeeeeeek. She takes a deep breath, seeming to brace herself for whatever the question might be, and turns back to Kip. Sadly, when the question comes out, it's said in a bit of a rush. It can be made out, but it may take a second or two. "Do you wanna have dinner with me sometime?" Cue the blush. "Like a date sort of dinner?" Awww.

Crystal looks up from her book, both to take in the date offer, which produces a small soft sound of amusement, then a glance up at Haruki. "Oh. Um. Am I in your way? Probably awful of me to sit here on the floor like this, what am I, ten years old?" she babbles.

Kip sits there at the counter, arms still crossed, phone still in hand, just kind of staring at Paige for a moment. "Like a /date/ date?" He asks her as if to clarify. "Paige-- I... Are you sure?" Kip looks like he's kind of confused, like maybe somehow while drunk he switched bodies or something because... he's /Kip/. "You don't have to. Because I'm helping you with the scavenger hunt. Unless-- you mean it? Oh. You mean it? Like /mean/ it mean it? For real?" Kip babbles worse than Wesley Crusher on a coke binge.

AWWWWWW!!!! Haruki's definitely eavesdropping, even if he's not looking over at Paige and Kip. He shakes his head at Crystal, she can likely tell that he's eavesdropping. "No, it's fine. Reading in bookshops, that just shows you love the books, hmm? It's good. I was just wondering if we'd met, before. You seem familiar." He listens for Kip's answer and keeps smiling. No interfering this time. No.

Paige's blush only deepens when Kip questions the question. When he talks about the scavenger hunt being the cause she shakes her head. "No, not because of the scavenger hunt. I'd have to ask Hazel out, too, if that was it. I just...um...yeah, I mean it, for real," she mumbles. "Not as payment for anything but because I...wanna go on a date with you."

Kip starts to gesture somehow, only it makes the phone slip out of his hand when he moves his hand and it hits the counter with a loud KERTHUNK. He grabs it and sits up, no longer leaning forward on his elbows. Yeah. Totally smooth there, Kip. "I-- I mean I thought-- are you /sure/? I mean yeah. Yes. Of course. I just... you know I'm not secretly cool, right?"

Crystal is basically just as obvious about treating this as a kind of street theater of her favorite kind. Which surely is very comforting to poor awkward Kip, to not just be asked out, but to face an audience while it happens. Worse, Crystal is a Shakespearean heckler type. "Come on, how is that hard? She's adorable, so unless you crave boys instead or are committed to someone else, say yes. Trust me, no one thinks you're secretly cool. She knows."

Crystal adds to Haruki very quietly, "You know, I get that a lot.

Haruki laughs gently at Crystal's heckling. "They're so cute." He murmurs. "Kip's adorable and Paige is amazing. And..." awwwwwww. His words are quiet, whispered though meant only for her.

Paige jumps a little when the phone hits the counter. Nervous much? Her head tilts when Kip talks about not secretly being cool. Then slumps a little and does her best to blush even deeper when she hears Crystal. But she decides to answer in her own way. She moves around the counter, hesitates for half a second, then just...kisses him. It's chaste, it's quick (assuming he doesn't dodge it altogether) before she says, "I'm /sure/."

"Atta girl! I swear, some guys need a brass band and fireworks before they get the hint." Her fellow eavesdropper is subtle, but Crystal is not. "But when the sparks fly, it just makes you feel good about the world again," she sighs in contentment.

Kip doesn't dodge. Maybe it takes him that much by surprise. Maybe he doesn't /want/ to dodge it. But he doesn't dodge it. And when Paige plants the kiss on him and then pulls out of it, for the briefest hint of a microsecond he sort of kinda sways forward as if to follow her lips back. But he doesn't. He just stays sitting there, staying still with his eyes fully on Paige as if trying to figure out if she's serious or not. Or maybe he's trying to make sure it's her and not an imposter. He clearly did not expect either her invitation or the kiss. He blushes. The lightning that faintly glimmers around him to those who can see it sizzles and flares for a moment as if to indicate he is blushing or something. He's ridiculously awkward as he sits there, unmoving, just stammering. "I-- uh-- you were-- that... nice."

Haruki smiles and nods at what Crystal's saying. This seems to have really brightened up his day. He's smiling and happy now.

Paige is blushing while Kip is sparking, even though she's the one who kissed him. Or maybe it's Crystal's comment. She bites her lip as she waits for a response from Kip, then gives him a shy smile. "I...um...yes, it was, but...is that a yes?" she asks hopefully.

Crystal circles fingers in a "get on with it!" gesture just for Kip. At least she doesn't hoot laughter or offer pointers.. Yet.

Haruki's just here, enjoying the show. Awww! Dates! So cute. So sweet. His expression says it all.

"Uh-- yeah, it-- it's a yes," Kip blurts out. He's stunned out of his stammering by finally realizing what was said. "Wait, I'm cool," he protests to Crystal, looking over in time to see the gesture. "I mean-- not /cool/, okay but... cool adjacent," he mumbles. But then he looks back to Paige and clears his throat a little and gives a hint of a grin. "So uh, when is this uh date? And where do you want to go?"

"You're warm," Haruki calls out to Kip. "Which is better than being cool. Don't worry about it. Everyone's cool to someone."

Paige gives a deer in the headlights look for a moment before she grins, a touch sheepishly. "I hadn't thought about the when. Um...Saturday? And just someplace where we can have a nice dinner?" she says, glancing to their audience briefly.

"Not Crossroads," Haruki pipes up, oh so helpfully on dating place suggestions. "Movies then dinner is good, gives you something to talk about. If you like movies that is."

Look, lovebirds! You have noisy dating angels watching over you. Crystal agrees, "Not Crossroads. That place is way too busy, you'll get interrupted. Think about places you can focus on one another. I'm a fan of the long walk, somewhere. Though I couldn't tell you the local hot spots yet. Only been in town less than a month."

Look, lovebirds! You have noisy dating angels watching over you. Crystal agrees, "Not Crossroads. That place is way too busy, you'll get interrupted. Think about places you can focus on one another. I'm a fan of the long walk, somewhere. Though I couldn't tell you the local hot spots yet. Only been in town less than a month."

"Why not Crossroads? I like Crossroads," Kip says to Haruki, seeming to finally be aware of him. "I mean is Crossroads bad or something?" No Kip. It's just not a date place. Sheesh. He hasn't grasped that concept yet, but he hasn't stopped to think about it. So at least it's good at Crystal chimes in to explain it. "Oh. Yeah I guess it's busy. But uh-- Saturday. I don't think I have anything happening on Saturday. We can do Saturday." He glances to their audience to see if this works for them.

"Yeah not Crossroads," Paige agrees after a moment, nodding slowly. "Um...the long walk isn't bad either. I can find a nice restaurant and we can go there then do the long walk? I like that idea." She glances to their audience as well, but it's less checking with them and more 'Oh god they're still listening aaaaaaaah!'.

"There's lots of lovely walks around," Haruki says. "Better for a second date though. On a first date you want to be able to easily bail if it's not going right. Not that there's the risk of that when you're friends first. It can be nice and peaceful to, to just talk and get to know eachother." To Kip he says. "Crossroads is a lovely place. It's a day to day place, not a date place though. For a date you want to go somewhere different from where you normally go. Somewhere special, where you're not suddenly going to find five other people you know wanting to join your table and interupt."

"True," Crystal says to Haruki, her partner in peanut gallery matchmaking. "I was mostly thinking that they already clicked, so they could skip to a later date. Wiggle room if you already know you like a person. Are either of you good at ice skating? Lots of rinks around here," she observes. "They get better for dates when it's not the winter season. That could be fun." Does she want to kill Kip? Awkward -- On Ice!

"Uhm, I don't care?" Kip ventures, though it comes out with an almost questioning sound at the end of it. Unintentionally, of course. He swallows hard as if he's not sure of what to say or do. "I uh, like walks. We went on a walk yesterday," he points out.

Paige studies their audience for a moment before whispering to Kip, "I like ice skating, but I'd rather go on the walk." She smiles. "It was a good walk. Mostly." Another look to the peanut gallery. "Um...I think I'm gonna go now, though," she says, sliding her attention back to Kip. "But I'll see you on Saturday?" she asks, taking a step back from the counter.

"Iceskating's so much fun," Haruki says. "And romantic, especially if you're not good. It's a reason to hold hands to stop falling over. And awkward collapses onto eachother, then gazing into eyes..." Yeah he's a romantic at heart. That's probably not as fun as in the movies though. "Bye Paige! Congratulations!"

That's a great idea. Put Kip on blades and put those blades on ice. He can't even take a sweater off without breaking something. So he looks almost scared at the talk of ice skating, but he's still kinda half terrified of the fact that it's hitting him that he's going on a date. With Paige. A date date. Like /date/ date. Which is something he doesn't think he's ever done before. Or if he has, it was so long ago that he's forgotten it. Quite literally. "Uhm, food and walk. I like that." Steer Paige away from the thought of skating. "I like food. I mean we all like food." He gulps a bit. "Uhm, bye. I mean... I'll talk to you soon." He starts to sway forward in the seat like he's going to get up but doesn't. He's not really sure what to do. Wait. He stands up from the seat and steps toward Paige and cranes his neck out to kiss her cheek.

"Nice to almost meet you, then, Paige," Crystal says, mirror eyes literally twinkling. She couldn't be smiling more. You'd think she was the one who got the date. "Awwww!" she choruses when Kip kisses the bird woman on the cheek. "That's the way it's done! " She then asides to Haruki, "I'm Crystal. Dorian." Flip, flop name.

Paige is just about to turn and leave when she gets a kiss on the cheek and she returns it with a shy, but happy, smile. "I'll talk to you soon. And no ice skating. Promise." She'd probably do okay, and the hand holding part probably does appeal, but providing first aid on her first date doesn't seem like that good of an idea. She waves to Haruki and Crystal, and is still smiling as she heads out of the bookstore.

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