all smiles and ice cream [carlin/mary]

[Mary Aoife Stuart]

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[atrb=style,padding:0; margin: 0; background-image:url(http://i45.tinypic.com/ebexie.jpg);background-repeat:no-repeat;width: 600px;height:523px;] "Dialogue." Thoughts. There were very few things in the mall that entertained Mary. There was the small bookstore - though the used bookstore on main street was a little better - and there was a small food court. That was really about it. Unfortunately, though, her mother had reminded her to buy clothes. That meant that she'd had to drag herself into one of those clothing stores and look at clothes. Mary was horrible at doing that. Absolutely horrible. The blonde casually drifted through the store, absently touching the racks. She really barely glanced at the clothes. The clerks were starting to stare at her. Mary made sure she had turned to the side (away from any of those snobby clerks' eyes) and rolled her blue eyes. This is why I always made my mom look for the clothes. It was an odd feeling - shopping for clothes by herself. It meant that she could avoid all the girly clothes her mom had constantly thrown at her, but it also meant she had to actively search for clothes she liked. She hated that. The colors and just sheer amount of clothing in the store, as small as it was, created a war of complete overload. She'd never been known for the amount of focus of.. a goldfish. Or any other live object with less brains than her dog - who did tend to have some of the same character traits. After floating around the store in a few more lazy circuits, Mary found a pretty enough blue t-shirt, some nice boot-leg jeans, and a purple blouse-y thing. The blonde frowned at this last piece. She wasn't exactly sure what it was, but it looked nice enough. Mary was pretty sure it'd fit, and the other clothes were pretty much exactly the same size as the rest of her clothes - the jeans were even the same brand. It wasn't like she really cared about brand loyalty. It was just too much work having to try everything on. Back in Los Angeles, she just bought her stuff at Target. Here, the mall didn't exactly have a Target. Target was more a stop for families and moms trying to save money. Not college students. Stretching, Mary made her way through the line - fidgetting every moment or so until the person in front of her rolled his eyes and let her cut in front of him. Flashing a quick smile, Mary stepped in and continued shifting from side to side. Another reason she hated shopping. It took way too long. When it was finally her turn at the register, Mary mumbled a greeting and lifted the three items for inspection. "Finally decided to buy something?" the clerk asked, but he had given her the receipt at the same time. Bet he thought I'd snap at him! Snapping was really, really over-rated. Who wanted to waste their time arguing when they could be telling jokes or singing? Actually, no. Arguing in itself was fun - a nice competitive sport. Mary just hated the yelling side of it. The blonde shrugged absently, and, muttering another greeting at the clerk, rushed out of the clothing store. Somehow and some way, the blonde ended up on one of those oddly placed benches that sat in the middle of the mall. With a well-deserved ice cream cone. Mary glanced dismissively at the bright orange bag of clothes she'd been given before returning to devour her ice cream cone. She deserved to reward herself for actually going shopping on her own. Maybe, to make it up to herself, she could get a few books. Mary's easy grin crossed her face as she started smiling again - her ice cream cone leaving a small streak of chocolate on her cheekbone. Words: too lazeh to count Tagged: Carlin Notes:

[/font] No idea what you should do. :P I is tired, and I wanted Mary to have ice cream.
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[Carlin Drave]

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[atrb=style,padding:0; margin: 0; background-image:url(http://i47.tinypic.com/sf7xc7.jpg);background-repeat:no-repeat;width: 600px;height:389px;] "Mum, I can't talk right now, I have a date--" Carlin was saying with a sigh as he walked through the loud and busy mall, holding a bag of chips in one hand a crappy phone to his ear in the other. Both him and his brother had left home already; he knew she called him so much because she cared, because she worried and because she was lonely. And normally he enjoyed their conversations -- but he had to get ready for his dinner date with Rebecca. At the sound of the word date, his mother squealed. And Carlin sighed again. "Don't get your hopes up. It's dinner with Rebecca." Sure, while at home Carlin had a few girlfriends, most of them attracted to him because of his voice and how he treated everyone with respect. But those were highschool girls; despite what they claimed otherwise, they wanted excitement and they wanted drama. So it would only be a few months before he would be dumped because he was too nice or they wanted a bad boy. His mother was surprised. "Date with Rebecca? I thought you would be more excited. You've been pining after that gal for years." She laughed. His phone was loud, and the people around him could easily hear her comments. Despite the flush of heat to his cheeks, Carlin couldn't help but crack a bit of a smile; she was right. Dinner with Rebecca, alone. Maybe this would be it--maybe this would change things. "I think if it was meant to be, things would have happened already." By now he had walked himself to the end of the mall, that open area with benches for people to sit and eat. He threw another chip up in the air and caught it in his mouth. He was beating his personal record. He took a seat on the edge of the closest bench; a pretty blonde girl was eating an ice cream cone on the opposite end. "Not entirely, honey. Maybe it's one of those "don't want to ruin the friendship" deals. Girls like honesty. Just tell her how you feel; you'd be surprised. Besides, I've seen your facebook. Been working out, huh baby? I remember when you left home you were this short, skinny pole. Take her out to the beach; show off all that muscle." Oh, God; his mother was so embarrassing. He glanced at the girl beside him; he was sure she could hear everything, which made it all the more horrific. Miss Drave was simply impossible. "Goodbye, mum. I'll call you later in the week-- But before he could finish the call, the battery died and the phone shut down. Perfect. He hadn't accomplished anything yet, and he was running late. The only thing he had accomplished was to buy some junk food, when the purpose of coming to the mall was to get a new bow tie for his suit tonight. And now he had no phone. "Sorry to bother you, but could you tell me the time?" He turned to the girl, flashing her a smile. She looked about his age--probably attended Miala, too. Thinking about it before, he was fairly sure she was in one of his classes.

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[Mary Aoife Stuart]

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[atrb=style,padding:0; margin: 0; background-image:url(http://i45.tinypic.com/ebexie.jpg);background-repeat:no-repeat;width: 600px;height:523px;] Mary jumped a little, startled when a guy sat down next to her. She very nearly dropped her ice cream, and she was suspiciously certain that her butt had left the bench's seat for half of a half of a second. I really need to stop being so jumpy. Mary relaxed a little. Whoever the man sitting next to her was, he looked vaguely familiar. She could almost remember him in one of her classes. She had never been good at faces, but there really hadn't been any surprise on his part when he sat down. He didn't take a second look at her or anything, like he recognized her. That might have something to do with the phone, though. Despite her intention not to, Mary found herself listening to the British accent - she wasn't sure which one yet - coming out through the speaker on the phone. It was rude, sure, but she doubted he would notice. People usually didn't, but then again, people usually didn't turn the volume up so high when their mom was talking to them. Mary smiled a little at the last part about the beach. She glanced at her arms. She really needed to start working out as well. Her dad had constantly teased her about her muscular legs and twig-like arms throughout high school. He still did when he got a chance to before her mother stole the phone away from him. Everyone but her dad was tired of that joke. Mary shifted restlessly, all too obviously listening to the conversation on the phone. She jerked up right and tried to look as indifferent as possible when the brown-haired boy turned toward her. He spoke with the same British English accent as the woman on the phone. A faint blush colored her cheeks as she smiled apologetically. She shrugged to herself. People really should make give some indicator that said 'You shouldn't say anything personal around this person.' Around Mary, you just couldn't start talking on the phone and not expect her to do anything about it. To distract herself, Mary began nibbling at the cone. She wasn't done with the actual ice cream, but that only made it more fun. If it dropped on her shirt, it wouldn't really stand out. It was a dark purple t-shirt, and brown really didn't stand a chance against the purple coloring. Plus, the shirt had those plastic designs on them that didn't really get stained. She loved it when something spilled on those instead of the shirt. She could just lick it off. She mostly did that in her dorm, though. The boy turned to her as soon as the phone conversation abruptly ended. There was obviously some sort of failure going around - a dead battery or signal problem. Seeing that the man hadn't started running around looking for signal, she assumed it was the former. She tensed slightly, figuring he'd accuse her of listening to the conversation. Raising her hands in a placating gesture, she quickly started, "Look, I'm sorry. I should've have--"

[/font] Mary frowned her head tilting curiously. She mouthed a big 'Oh' and grinned back at the boy. Starting to laugh (tenatively at first, but it was growing stronger), Mary shook her head. "Definitely not what I expected,"[/font] she squeezed out, her blue eyes crinkled shut. She lifted her hand and glanced at her wrist watch - one of the sport watches. She'd never really learned how to read the older clocks. She could if she had like ten minutes, but it really was a hassle. Besides, these watches had timers, a necessity for every runner that wanted to actually pace themselves. "Oh! And it's like almost three thirty. Like it's... 3:27 and... thirty-six seconds. If you wanted the exact time."[/font]

Mary glanced up from her watch, tilting her head curiously. "I feel like I've seen you once before, but I'm horrible with faces. Have I? And am I talking too much? Oh, and you weren't bothering me. Pretty hard to do that, honestly. You know what, I think I'll just eat this ice cream and stop talking."[/font] The blonde grinned in apologetically, but she began eating the ice cream again. This time she stuck to the actual ice cream, spinning it around constantly to keep it balanced out.

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[Carlin Drave]

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[atrb=style,padding:0; margin: 0; background-image:url(http://i47.tinypic.com/sf7xc7.jpg);background-repeat:no-repeat;width: 600px;height:389px;] When he took the time to look her in the face, he recognized her instantly. Unlike her, Carlin had no problem remembering names and faces: Mary, that's her name. She seemed embarrassed when he talked to her, stuttering out an apology about eavesdropping. It was kinda funny to him; he simply laughed. "No worries; it's not eavesdropping if we've a foot or two away from each other, and my mother is squawking away. I should be the ony who's apologizing -- I'm sorry my phone is so loud. I have to turn it up; that old thing never left the 90s,and its sound quality is not something to fond over." He settled back in the seat, finishing off the chip bag and shooting it into the waste bin a foot away. Mary's watch was cool, one of those fancy digital ones that runners used. She was probably a runner -- she had the body for it, though that ice cream wasn't doing much for her mile time. 3:27? Not as late as he thought. In fact, he was early - he had about an hour before he had to even begin to look for a bow tie. "I feel like I've seen you before..." The girl started, and Carlin frowned a bit. Really? Figures. Am I really that forgetful? "Actually, we do know each other. Mary, right? I just got a job two weeks ago at the diner you work at -- we usually don't have the same shifts, but I've seen you around." He remember thinking she was pretty, a normal-looking American girl. Though, talking to her now, she didn't seem all that normal; was this girl all right in the head? Maybe it was just him. "We also both attend North Highland. And we have a class together: Literature. I'm that quiet, fluffy-haired kid that sits in the front. I wear glasses sometimes." He smiled a bit. His eyesight wasn't too bad, but in classes he had trouble with he made sure to pay attention to every word written down. English was a hard class, all about deciphering people's emotions and the deeper connections behind their lives. He could barely decipher the deeper connections in his own life, much less Jay Gatsby's or Helen Keller's. A lot of people die in books, too, which he didn't like. Sometimes, he felt like that poor girl in that popular American chick flick: Why can't I just bake a cake full of smiles and rainbows and we'd all eat it and be happy? "I'm Carlin. Nice to meet you...again." He laughed, extending his hand out to her. That ice cream was starting to look really good to him. He had been so worried about tonight, he hadn't eaten anything besides chips all day. And his sweet tooth was relentless. "Say, where did you get that ice cream cone? It looks delicious; my abs can wait." He grinned.

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[Mary Aoife Stuart]

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[atrb=style,padding:0; margin: 0; background-image:url(http://i45.tinypic.com/ebexie.jpg);background-repeat:no-repeat;width: 600px;height:523px;] Mary grinned at the man's insistence that there was nothing to apologize for. Amusement lined her features as she shrugged off his apologies. It didn't excuse her for listening to the conversation, but she'd already felt the minimum amount of guilt and brushed it away. Especially since she'd already started laughing. It wasn't the awkward 'heh heh heh' sort of laugh, either. Mary hated it when people laughed like that. It meant she was acting quite a bit too odd for some people, which was awkward. Because all too often, she was doing it to scare them away. If only to see who was willing to sit through it all. She'd never been able to be able to tell people to go away. She could scare them away, but she could never actually say 'I don't like you.' It was really annoying at times, but she dealt with it. It was even more annoying, though, when people tried to make her go away. Usually, Mary simply continued to bug them. So, it was nice that the familiar-looking guy wasn't being rude. She returned her focus to her ice-cream cone when he started eating his chips - struggling to ignore the gnawing sensation that was going to start turning into a growl. Honestly? She really hadn't eaten anything but healthy food today. Which basically meant oatmeal and a pear. And the ice cream - which she'd convinced her coach was necessary for a calorie and dairy reasons. She'd had fun in the conversation, but she'd had to give up chips during running season for her victory. The crackling of the bag was only a painful reminder of what she was missing. Mary was very careful not to glance at the bag. She might've drooled a little if it weren't for the fact that the ice cream tasted better than potato chips anytime. After he finished the chips, he responded to her long rambling statement. Or, more accurately, about half of it. No one ever answered all the questions she asked. They just overlooked half of them. If she had been any good at psychoanalysis, she would've tried to figure out why, but she was absolutely horrible at it. The blonde turned a bright red in embarrassment. She should have, uh, definitely known that this guy worked at the same place she did. She shifted uncomfortably, looking down. She hated emotions. They were always practically written over her face. "Sorry. I really should've known that. Though, I can't say I'm surprised. I can't even find my friends in crowds half the time." Mary tilted her head, laughing self-deprecatingly. She shrugged absently and then nodded an affirmative at his question - forgetting he'd asked it first. She really wasn't much better at answering the questions. "Yeah, Mary's my name. Kind of simple for a crazy girl like me. Just warning you now. I'm pretty... ditzy with an added bonus of intelligence. Just ignore me half the time. And you sit in the front? That's why your hair's so familiar. I like sitting in the back. I hate it when I'm under the eye of a teacher. But Lit's fun, I guess. If you like trying to think of why curtain's are blue." Mary grinned, silently laughing at her joke. When he said his name, she nodded an affirmative. Carlin. Carlin. Carlin. Mary did her best to commit the name to mind. It should take if she kept repeating it. Taking another bite of her ice cream, she stood up. "Nice to know your name. Now, the ice cream is just down whatever you call this place. Aisle? Corrider? Way? Don't know, but I feel like eating another one anyway. What's your favorite flavor? I like all the chocolate-y ones myself, especially if they have fudgy bits and nuts and peanut butter things in them. My whole fitness training can wait." Mary's bright eyes twinkled as she motioned for Carlin to stand up and follow her. He was obviously shorter than her - she was tall for a girl - but his cloud of hair probably made up for it. She'd always liked fluffy hair personally. She absently scratcher her wavy blonde hair. It was fluffier in the mornings, but it was never as fluffy as Carlin's. Hers was just... messier? Wild? It only got worse as they went on, not helping by her habit with playing with it. Why am I thinking about hair? she mused, wishing she could roll her eyes without looking odd.

[Carlin Drave]

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[atrb=style,padding:0; margin: 0; background-image:url(http://i49.tinypic.com/2vdqryf.jpg);background-repeat:no-repeat;width: 600px;height:565px;] "Dialogue." Thoughts. The girl was odd. Very ditzy, even for an American girl. She was embarrassed to have forgotten him -- that much he could tell by the red hue in the embarrassed look on her face. Maybe she was on some sort of medication or something, that was causing such an extreme memory loss. At least he could pretty much be sure that it wasn't his own fault she had forgotten him -- she said she even forgot the faces of her own mates! That would be scary. What if she forgot what her parents looked like? Her siblings? He could never forget the faces of the people in his life. His mother was too obnoxious, his brother always with a girl on his arm. Rebecca's beautiful hair always picked her out of a crowd, and once he found Rebecca he could always find Lucas. Bevan was too serious, too calculating. And this girl Mary: well, she was simply too strange to forget. But Carlin liked her, though. She seemed nice enough, and he thought they were getting on quite well. And she at least seemed to know she was the way she was; with a laugh, she acknowledged that she was a crazy girl. And yes, the hair -- his hair was always an identifiable factor of his person. His hair was always like this; he didn't style it in the morning. It had a life of its own, and a few years ago he had simply gave up on taming it. And if people didn't point him out by his head full of curls, then it was always his height, or the way he talked. The accent always surprised, sure, as well as the thickness to his voice -- it was simply too deep for someone so small. It was his only hope that, one day, he would reach a growth spurt. Mary stood up, rambling on about ice cream flavors with a bright smile on her face. Carlin stood with her. "Chocolate is definitely the best. I've never understood people who choose vanilla -- if you're going to have dessert, you've got to go all out. I've quite the sweet tooth." She was taller than him - figures - but she was over average height, so it didn't bother him too much. He followed her, and together they walked in the direction of the ice cream vendor. "So, you said you have fitness training? Do you play a sport, or just work out in a gym? I tried basketball in high school, but, well...you can see how well that turned out." He laughed. He had never been good at sports; perhaps if he had worked at it he could have been a star in track, because he could run fast, but he'd never had the patience for it. Too many practices and too much competition. He could never get into the game like the other boys could -- honestly, he was just there to play and didn't care much if they lost. Needless to say, he spent most of his time chatting on the bench with the cheerleaders than participating in the game. He was going to just get chocolate, but after they got there, things got more complicated. There were all types of blends and toppings, and he wasn't too sure about what to choose. He turned to Mary. "Quick: chocolate fudge or cookies-n-cream?"

[Mary Aoife Stuart]

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[atrb=style,padding:0; margin: 0; background-image:url(http://i45.tinypic.com/ebexie.jpg);background-repeat:no-repeat;width: 600px;height:523px;] "Dialogue." Thoughts. Mary did her best to flash one of her brightest grins at Carlin. She couldn't believe it! Someone who finally dealt with her cheerful ramblings without too much hesitation. There was some, and she really couldn't figure out why. Not that it really mattered. The point was that he was listening to her. No one had ever really listened to her. Well, there'd been that one friend, but they were always too busy to talk now and she was really pretty much all alone here. She loved the whole atmosphere here, but her team-mates weren't exactly supportive of her endless chatter. Very few were. That one boy with the guitar had been, though. If only she could find him again. That'd be cool. She nodded enthusiastically at Carlin's statement about the chocolate. She was fully in agreement with him. She pretty much put chocolate on everything she was allowed to eat. Which wasn't much. Her coach had threatened to put a tracker on her and send one of the bigger team-mates after her the moment she was within a mile radius of the grocery store to monitor what she bought. Mary was of the opinion that it really wasn't that bad, but she'd definitely started eating more of the items on the list than before. Most of them tasted rather disgusting. The blonde grinned down at the boy. He was rather short, wasn't he? Not that she minded. He reminded her of her friend back at home - though she was a girl and always traded chocolate for mints. Short, sweet, and tolerant of her endless ramblings. "I have a horrible sweet tooth, too." Mary grinned again because she really could not help it. It was an instinctual movement. As they moved toward the ice cream shop, Mary filled the slightly awkward silence by demolishing her ice cream with a few strategic bites. She narrowly missed dropping some on her shirt, and she did end up getting some on her cheek and on her chin, but she was rather pleased with herself. She noted this and quickly forgot about it. She had meant to get a cup because of the mess she made with cones, but the person had touched the cone already and they would've had to throw it away. Mary hated wasting food. As they waited in line, Carlin started the conversation again. The blonde tilted her head slightly. He'd picked that up? He was pretty good at this getting to know thing. Mary had always been horrible at socially conventions, another reason she was so odd. It wasn't even like she had an excuse. She just couldn't really start a conversation off correctly. She'd butt in, feel a bit awkward and wander off - slightly hurt but not broken. It'd happened often enough that she'd gotten tired of getting miserable about it. Not that it didn't hurt her feelings, but she wouldn't let it get the best of her. Fitness training.

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Mary grinned at Carlin. "I'm actually on the soccer team. My parents are Scottish and it's a big thing in my family. Got addicted." She shrugged absently, smiling fondly. "Do you play? Not to sound stereotypical, or anything. Just curious. Not too many Americans play it, which is why our national team stinks. Not that I could beat any of them, but gosh, I would like to meat them some time." The blonde grinned, cutting off her words. Not too many people here really cared for soccer - which was quite sad. It would be more fun having some competition. She lived for that.

Laughing, she glanced at Carlin again. Her eyes twinkled slightly as she glanced at the menu again. "Definitely the fudge-y chocolate. Oreos are disgusting." She turned to the clerk-server-person and quickly quipped, "I want the extreme moose tracks with a scoop of peanut butter. And no, you don't know me from somewhere. First time here." Mary noticed the smirk on the lady's face, but she didn't say anything. Of course, when the lady pointed at her face, Mary frowned and handed the money over to the lady. Taking the ice cream away and out of the line, the blonde tilted her head toward Carlin, absently talking as she waited for him to finish up. "You're really not that short. And I bet you probably still can play better than I can. How do people get the ball in that hoop? It's impossible." The blonde grinned, then frowned. "Is there something on my face? That lady was looking at me odd."
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[Carlin Drave]

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[atrb=style,padding:0; margin: 0; background-image:url(http://i49.tinypic.com/2vdqryf.jpg);background-repeat:no-repeat;width: 600px;height:565px;] "No, that's not stereotypical. ...Well, I guess it is, but it's not an offensive question." He chucked a bit. "We played football a lot in middle school and in the yard behind the church, and actually I was pretty good at it. But, you're right; the sport isn't very popular here, and there wasn't a team at my school, so I haven't played in awhile. The school put all the money they could into their American football team. You'd definitely beat me out in minutes." She ordered before him, and he asked her to pick a flavor for him. "Oreos aren't disgusting! Have you ever tried them with peanut butter? Like Heaven in a fattening treat." But he ordered the fudge, anyway, with M&Ms and lots of cherries, served in a cup instead of a cone. He was kind of surprised she went back and got seconds -- not that he probably wouldn't be doing the same thing, but he thought, for the training thing, she would have a bit more self-restraint. But what was he saying? He was the one who was supposed to be working towards a beach body. And here he was, ordering ice cream. After they both had their desserts, he offered that they sit at one of the nearby tables. He chose one of the small ones made for two, and he set his ice cream down and pulled her chair out for her before taking a seat himself. He didn't think anything of it; his mother had raised him on strict manners with women, though it seemed a lot of other kids his age didn't have that same upbringing. It was nice to hear from a girl -- or anyone, really -- that he wasn't as short as he always felt. There was hope for him -- there had to be. "And honestly, I couldn't tell you how to make a basket. You could probably beat me in both soccer and basketball, since I spent more time warming the bench then I ever did in a game. Befriended a lot of the cheerleaders, though." He laughed, dipping into his ice cream. "You know, I've been here for six years, and still no one has explained to me why American football has its name. Why would you call a sport that you can't use your feet in, 'foot-ball'? I don't understand." He shook his head with a laugh. And he wasn't going to say anything, but since she brought it up... "Well, I think she's giving you that look because you have chocolate on your chin. Here," He got up and went back to the vendor, grabbing some napkins and coming back to the table. He offered them to her. "I could, I mean.." She couldn't exactly see where the chocolate was, and if she could feel it she would have wiped it off already. At least he thought -- the girl was strange, so maybe she didn't really care. He could wipe it off for her, or she could go the ladies room to get it off. But what if she forgot about him while she was in there? The girl sure talked a lot, but he was enjoying her company. It was a nice change from Rebecca, who didn't like to share much, and Lucas, who did more scheming than anything else. Seriously, he needed more friends who he could have a conversation with. "Dialogue." Thoughts.

[Mary Aoife Stuart]

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[atrb=style,padding:0; margin: 0; background-image:url(http://i45.tinypic.com/ebexie.jpg);background-repeat:no-repeat;width: 600px;height:523px;] Mary tilted her head, indicating she was listening. Because she was for once. It wasn't exactly a rare occasion, but it wasn't common either. She usually got too caught up in talking about herself or to herself or just going on a tangent that people talked over her or around her or behind her back. She didn't get too many chances to actually listen. The blonde flashed a delighted grin at the end of his statement about soccer. And football. Football was the exact opposite of football. One stopped all the time; the other kept going on and on. But the fact that he'd inserted that 'you'd probably beat me' had practically lit her eyes up. Was that a challenge? She was about to ask when the clerk interrupted them. The blonde nodded along to Carlin's comment about Oreos. She disagreed quite blatantly, but she didn't want to ruin Carlin's delusions about what tasted good in that category. She simply grunted her disapproval as she quickly ordered her ice cream. She only ate the frosting - and even those weren't amazing. She turned curiously at Carlin about the last part. Peanut butter? She liked peanut butter and chocolate. Peanut butter alone had a rather cloying taste, but with chocolate it was like heaven on earth. Especially the fake powder stuff they put in M&Ms and Reese's. She loved that stuff. Speaking of which, she told the lady to add some of those and Butterfinger pieces and hot fudge to her cup. The clerk gave her an exasperated look, but she did so because honestly, who else is there to serve but two teenagers trying to get fat? Mary was almost certain that's what she was thinking. The blonde began chopping her ice cream up as she waited for Carlin. And she followed obediently to the table he'd gestured or pointed or whatever indication he'd done (he had done one, though) to show which table they were heading. It was almost puppyish, which was rather interesting considering she'd often gotten compared to a dog. It really, really wasn't her fault she had such great characteristics - loyal, optimistic, and the slight tendency to immediately want to chase after every ball thrown past her. After that had been pointed out, Mary had dug her heels in and refused to watch the balls. She would only go collect them after her friend's forgot. She loved tennis balls. They were extremely bouncy. Once, her friend had thrown several tennis balls... Concentrate. Mary flashed a thankful grin as she slid into the chair Carlin had so nicely slid out for her. "Thanks, though really, I do think I'm strong enough to pull the chair out myself. My arms aren't that scrawny." She flashed a grin in case he knew she wasn't joking. Some people couldn't tell when she was - though, really, it was pretty much all the time. Mary couldn't remember the last time she was completely serious about something. Far too long, honestly. She grinned at Carlin, a reflex action, really. But there was a certain sort of mischief crossing her expression as, once again, the young man mentioned how she could do better than he could. "I couldn't even make my middle basketball team, and I was one of the tallest. They didn't even want to try to help me. So, I'm pretty sure you could beat me at it." The blonde did her best to raise an eyebrow - but failed. She quickly returned to flashing a sly grin. "We could really see who'll win, y'know? Next time we meet. I challenge you. It'll be fun! I love competing. It's really the only reason I vaguely tolerate the whole diet thing I'm supposed to be on. Obviously, it's a very distant following because this is like the opposite of diet, but. Anyways, sound fun?" Mary looked up at the college student hopefully, her blue eyes wide and as innocuous as she could make them. She was just above begging. She wouldn't beg to a pretty much stranger. Even one who she should've known the name of. Carlin's next question confused her, though. Like, she understood it, but quite honestly, she'd always wondered the exact same things. Multiple times. She'd even complained about it to her parents - enough to the point where they only grunted when she asked the question. Mary shrugged and rolled her eyes melodramatically. "I honestly don't know. My parents don't even respond to me when I ask that question, I've asked them so many times. One of the 'mysteries of the world!'" The blonde wiggled her fingers at the 'mysteries of the world' part, laughing. "I do? Huh." She frowned slightly and accepted the napkins. She was about to reach down and grab the water bottle in her backpack when she realized she wasn't carrying the pack. She'd left it in her locker or at her dorm or somewhere that wasn't at the mall. She hated it when she forgot she didn't have it. She glanced at Carlin and blushed. "Oh, no. I got it. Just tell me if I miss anything." Mary licked her napkin and realized that might not have exactly been the... most sanitary... of ways to do it. She glanced at Carlin before quickly wiping off her nose (she always got it there), swabbing at both cheeks, and lightly dabbing at her chin and her forehead. "Better? Not making a fool of us? I tend to that with everyone I hang out with. Which is why I'm probably sitting alone." Mary grinned and stuffed more ice cream in her mouth. That was probably an awkward comment, wasn't it? She was enjoying this conversation, too.

[Carlin Drave]

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[atrb=style,padding:0; margin: 0; background-image:url(http://i49.tinypic.com/2vdqryf.jpg);background-repeat:no-repeat;width: 600px;height:565px;] She remarked on him pulling out the chair, and his reflex was to apologize. "Oh, sorry. I wasn't trying to...insult your strength, or make some move for male dominance. It's just habit -- I grew up with strict manners, or else." He laughed a bit. It was funny how things worked out in this world. He had come to the mall to get in quickly, pick up a few things for the night, and get back home to shower and be early to ensure their reservations. Instead, he had found himself eating ice cream and conversing with a co-worker who was so forgetful she couldn't even remember the names of her friends. But he didn't mind it at all; in fact, he was having a rather good time with the strange girl. She was a bit odd, really, but she kept things interesting, and she liked to talk, which was a trait he needed more of in his friends. And she worked with him and went to school with him, so if they did become friends, there was an great chance they would see each other a lot. Mary was already presenting the opportunity. He grinned. "Yes, it does sound fun. Challenge accepted. Say, the park is just down the block from the diner. Maybe one day after our shifts we could head down there and declare the champion? Soccer or basketball - or both." He swirled the ice cream together and took another bite. This stuff was good; he hadn't had ice cream in a long time. "Well, it's okay; we're both supposed to be eating healthier, but we're young. And you should always treat yourself once in awhile. What does that one American rapper say? You Only Live Once." He laughed; that saying was so stupid, but he used it as a joke sometimes. He looked up at her with a smile, really looking over her face for the first time. She was a pretty girl -- long, blonde hair and blue eyes. Personally, he had a thing for redheads...but he could definitely see the appeal. "No, you didn't miss anything." He crinkled his nose a bit when she licked the napkin; that was kind of gross, but he wasn't going to say anything. She wiped the napkin in all the right spots, which made him think she did this often. A messy eater, he could see. Her next comment was...sad. He could identify with what she was saying, though. "Come on, don't say that. I'm sure that isn't true; you're a pretty girl and I've rather enjoyed your company. But I'm kind of that same way myself. I know you may not believe this from looking at my astounding muscles, but I'm quite the wimp. A pacifist, I am; my friend Becca - a girl - seems to fight my battles for me. So I guess you could say I make of fool of my company, probably more than you do." He was joking about the muscles, of course. And if he ever wanted those muscles, he really should stop eating ice cream with strangers at the mall. "Dialogue." Thoughts.

[Mary Aoife Stuart]

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[atrb=style,padding:0; margin: 0; background-image:url(http://i45.tinypic.com/ebexie.jpg);background-repeat:no-repeat;width: 600px;height:523px;] "Dialogue." Thoughts. Mary grinned happily. She was, for the moment, quite pleased with herself. She'd managed to hold a decent conversation. She'd even come close to calling it close to normal - as close as she could get. "I think both. You should at least get a chance," she replied, struggling to keep the broad grin on her face at a decent level. If it grew too big, Mary knew that she'd have declared him a friend in her mind. Normally, that would be fine. She didn't really get too close to friends. But she actually liked this guy and he talked and listened at the same time, and he was willing to play soccer with her. He had no idea how much that gesture meant to her. Competition was quite literally her life. She wasn't exactly motivated by any means except for beating people. That might have been one of the few things that kept her grades up. She was simply determined to beat everyone she could and make as little a fool of herself as possible. High school had been the most annoying, most exciting, most painful experience she'd ever experienced. She'd had the time of her life getting into trouble. Homework had been the most annoying experience there. And the people there that she actually got along with were always a year or more higher than she was. Not all of them, but far too many. College was way better. She turned a bright red at the odd face Carlin made when he noticed she licked the napkin, but she smiled gratefully when he told her she hadn't missed anything. Taking another bite of her fully mixed chocolate peanut-butter fudge mixture, she chewed for a moment and contemplated the boy curiously. "Healthy foods are annoying. That phrase came from a rap song? I never knew that. I just found it on the internet after I heard my friends mention it. I don't really listen to rap. Too much cussing and police and anger. I like cheery songs." Mary scooped another bite of ice cream into her mouth. She loved the odd mixture of lukewarm hot fudge against the freezing touch of ice cream - both chocolatey but different. Mary wished she could simply take back what she'd just said. She hated it when things like that slipped out. She did it on purpose sometimes, but she still hated it. It started awkward conversations and hugs (though hugs were good) and if there was one thing Mary was worse at than having a normal conversation, it was having awkward conversations. The blonde found it practically impossible to say things gently. Words really just steamrolled right out of her mouth and into the air. She might be smart, but she had never been wise. That whole wise man thinks before he speaks, a fool speaks then thinks was completely her style. Though, if you looked at it one way, it meant you really were bluntly honest all the time. Mary had always been a really, really bad liar. For now, though, she chewed her ice cream - or rather practically let it melt in her mouth. No rush. "Uhh... Thanks. I'm glad you like my endless rambling and odd conversation too. I liked your conversation, too." The blonde tilted her head at the pacifist part. She really wasn't sure if she was a pacifist. She loved ruckus and chaos and all that ensued. She loved trouble in general. She just hated being the only one in trouble and getting glared at and letting everyone's expectations drop. "Not exactly what you would call a pacifist, but I hate fighting. Or rather, I hate getting mad, so I pretty much laugh off all the insults. Except when it comes to sports. Then, I just make sure I thoroughly trounce them." A broad grin crossed the blonde's face. She shifted awkwardly and reached across the table, offering her hand. "Though I guess it's kind of elementary level, asking you that is, I'll do it anyway. Can we be friends? If we aren't already. I really can't tell, and I've never really matured past elementary as far as social skills go. My cousins could probably carry out a more well-mannered conversation than me." Mary grinned and laughed lightly. She'd always liked laughter. As soon as she stopped laughing, she shovelled in another large bite of her ice cream. "How's yours?"

[Carlin Drave]

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[atrb=style,padding:0; margin: 0; background-image:url(http://i49.tinypic.com/2vdqryf.jpg);background-repeat:no-repeat;width: 600px;height:565px;] You should at least get a chance. He grinned. "Those are fighting words. I was going to go easy on you -- be a gentlemen and let you take the win -- but now it's on." Though he seriously doubted he could beat the girl at any physical activity. She was lean and seemed strong, and Carlin hadn't played either sport in a year, so he was going to be rather rusty. But either way, it was fun to joke with her; he had been so stressed about the night with Rebecca, it was relaxing just to sit and get to know somebody new. She seemed to be enjoying his company, as well; she was smiling enough, anyway. Unless she was this way with everyone she met...she seemed like a pretty cheery girl. "Oh, don't get me wrong -- I don't like rap songs, either. I've never liked that kind of music, for all the reasons you said. And not to mention the fact that it's just...saying words really fast. No true talent involved." He only knew the fact about that phrase from something he had seen about it on tumblr. No, the kind of music he preferred had some soul to it: Coldplay, The Script, Ellie Goulding, James Blunt. He didn't mind One Direction all that much, either -- in fact, a few people had told he he holds a striking resemblance to one of their band members. He didn't really see it, though. He continued to agree with what she was saying. He didn't like getting angry, either; he was pretty much the most patient person he knew. Anger was really an irrational emotion, and he rarely ever felt it. He couldn't remember the last time he had lashed out at anyone, or been angry with one of his friends. Rebecca could be tiresome, but he was never angry with her. Though, if she did find some way to ruin this night, he would probably be cross with her. She usually found some way to mess up their plans. She reached across the table, extending out her hand; and her words surprised him. Lets be friends? He hadn't been asked that question since year three over in London. She was right about herself -- her social skills weren't exactly up to college level, but he was rather enjoying her bluntness. Usually with making friends, you went through awkward stages: first being too polite to each other, eventually moving up to that stage where you could tease each other more than you insulted the people you hated. He reached out and shook her hand. "I was thinking we were already friends. We've been getting on rather well, I would say?" He grinned. "Though you may be wanting to end this friendship once I dominant you on the basketball court." He looked down at the ice cream; he was near done, could see the bottom of the bowl. He had saved the cherries for last. "It's good -- too good, really. I'm debating about getting another, but I don't know if I'll be able to finish it all." He picked up one of the cherries and popped it in his mouth, taking a moment before spitting the stem back in his hand, with a knot in the middle. "Maybe you'll have me beat at the soccer field, but can you tie a knot in a cherry stem with your tongue? I'd say I'm quite the expert." He held it up with a grin for her to see. "Dialogue." Thoughts.

[Mary Aoife Stuart]

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[atrb=style,padding:0; margin: 0; background-image:url(http://i45.tinypic.com/ebexie.jpg);background-repeat:no-repeat;width: 600px;height:523px;] Mary grinned at Carlin. It was so on. She grinned and squeezed Carlin's hand. She'd never liked limp hand shakes. She also hated fast ones. As a matter of fact, she'd always been pretty bad at handshakes unless she was the one who started them. She never knew exactly how hard to squeeze and how long to hold it. Social innuendos had always been one of the subjects where there was a wall between her and the typical norm. She did the best she could, but it really wasn't quite up to the par a university student should have. She flashed Carlin a mixture of a flashing smile and an amused smirk. It was one of those expressions only she - and people as used to smiling as she was - could really pull off without a twisted expression. Her bright eyes glittered in the oddly bright lighting of the mall. Mary ran her hand through her hair absently as she stifled a few gasps of laughter. Her face turned a bright red as she barely found the strength within her to stop the sporadic gasps of laughter. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't laugh. Because I really do stink at basketball. But the fact that our friendship is relying on a basketball game? I feel like a kid again!" She stifled some laughter and flashed another grin at Carlin. "Not that that is bad in any way. I loved my childhood. It was so much easier then. I could always win the hearts of my friends through a good game of dodgeball or a race." Another grin bubbled up to brighten the current one. She'd always loved the simplicity of childhood. She loved young kids and their careless affection. Just as much as she hated parents that took advantage of that affection. She didn't want to imagine how broken she would be if she had had those parents instead of the ones she had. She was already pretty mad without having a crazy family. Well. She wouldn't put it past her family to be crazy. She was almost normally in her family. Which had to be saying something. She glanced at Carlin, an amused expression on her face as he displayed his talent of tying cherry stems with his mouth. She carefully fished out the cherry that sat resting on the only untouched part of her ice cream and offered it to him. "Quite honestly, I have no interest in trying to beat you. Cherries are disgusting." Mary pulled a face and wiggled it slightly. If he didn't take it, she was throwing it away. And honestly? It's coated with that syrupy stuff, so it isn't a real cherry. So I'm not missing anything health-wise.

[/font] With her free hand, Mary quickly scooped the remaining three bites into her mouth and scraped her spoon around the cardboard-plastic cup-thing to try to get the remaining hot fudge. Finding a surprisingly large dollop on her brightly colored spoon, Mary ate that as well before glancing at the cup in front of Carlin. She stood up, half-tripping over the chair behind her. She carefully caught her balance - her experience as a clumsy person and balance as an athlete helping her catch herself before she found herself sprawled on the floor. She grinned at Carlin and gestured absently toward the trash can. "You done? We can probably wander around the store for awhile if you have time. I literally have nothing to do. Practice is over for the day and no classes." She shrugged carelessly, but she looked hopefully at Carlin.
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[Carlin Drave]

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[atrb=style,padding:0; margin: 0; background-image:url(http://i49.tinypic.com/2vdqryf.jpg);background-repeat:no-repeat;width: 600px;height:565px;] "Cherries are disgusting? Are you a mad woman? Cherries are the best thing that happened to this planet." He quickly finished off the rest before standing up and tossing the paper bowl into the recycle bin sitting in front of the ice cream vendor. The girl was kind of mad, though -- not because of the cherry thing, but because she was just so strange. She attended college, participated sports, had a pretty face and a fit body..a seemingly normal teenage girl. But after having a conversation with her, you quickly realized she had the social skills of a three-year-old. She had "asked" to be his friend, which he hadn't had in years, and she was so blunt with her thoughts it was like she was seven. However, Carlin found it...refreshing. Sometimes, Lucas was too smart and calculating, and sometimes, Rebecca was too hot-tempered and too reserved. Lucas's social skills were rather non-existent, as well, but not in the same way as Mary's. Mary had a care-free air about her that Carlin was rather enjoying. Sometimes, his friends were too complicated; they made life more difficult than it needed to be, and it was nice to be with someone who just enjoyed being a kid. With Rebecca and Lucas, he felt like the child. Lucas was so smart he had skipped grades, and Rebecca had the bronze of a man twice her size. It was a nice change, to be the mature one for once. She had tripped when she got out of her seat, then grinned at him and offered to continue their conversation. He smiled. "I don't have any classes either, and actually the reason I came here was to get a new bow-tie. I'm meeting a friend for dinner tonight, and...I thought I should add my collection. Fun fact: I collect crazily-patterned bow-ties." It was kind of a weird hobby to have, but it had started when he was little, when his dad had to wear one every day for work. Like every child, his dad was his superhero; he wanted to be just like him, and that meant wearing the same clothes. Later, even after his father had left, the collection stayed behind. A lot of them were still in his old room at his mom's house, but he had brought his favorites to his dorm in college. And he hadn't bought one in awhile, so he thought tonight would be a great night to wear a new one. "Did you know that this mall has a novelty-clothing shop, and an entire section dedicated to bow-ties? One of the reasons I picked Miala." He was joking about that, of course. He had picked Miala because of the scholarships offered to him through his community service, and the fact that both his cousin Bevan and Lucas had gone here...which meant Rebecca, which meant he should follow. "But, anyway, if you wanted to come along with me, since you've got nothing to do...I'd love to have you along." He smiled at her, leading the way towards the end of the mall where the tiny shop was. It was his favorite store, with the best and craziest patterns available. "You could help me pick one out? Don't worry; no designs with cherries." He smiled. No, he already bought that one a few years back. "Dialogue." Thoughts.

[Mary Aoife Stuart]

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[atrb=style,padding:0; margin: 0; background-image:url(http://i45.tinypic.com/ebexie.jpg);background-repeat:no-repeat;width: 600px;height:523px;] Mary smirk-grinned in reply to his question. She loved her smirk-grin. It was one of those expressions she was actually proud of - though perhaps she shouldn't exactly be. You probably weren't supposed to be proud of the fact that you can't stop grinning, but Mary was pretty proud of it. Of course, she didn't like grin during funerals, but other situations that didn't involve crying or death and she was pretty much stuck in a constant smile. There were very few people that could keep a smile plastered on her face as long as she did. It was pretty much natural. But her smirk-grin was special. It was that sort of expression she loved to have on her face when she was almost making fun of herself and felt it'd be rude to fully smirk. "Yes, I hate cherries, and yes, I am quite mad. Besides, chocolate was the best thing that happened to this planet. That or clothing. I don't know how I'd feel if anyone walked around without clothes." She winked at Carlin, laughing lightly. "Don't tell anyone, though. If they know I'm mad, they'll take me away!" Mary widened her eyes and made a show of glancing around worriedly before flashing another bright grin at Carlin. As she disgracefully rose from her chair, she rolled her eyes at the ceiling before lobbing another half-grin at the man who'd eaten ice cream with her. Quite honestly, this wasn't exactly how meeting a "stranger" was supposed to be. Strangers were supposed to be creeps that handed out candy, convinced you to get into their car, and carted you off to some place who-knows-where. She glanced at the guy who supposedly wore bowties. She frowned slightly trying to picture him in a bowtie. Very much like those British spy movies or television show, or even better, the American-run movies with British actors that were way more action-packed and explosive. Literally explosive. She'd always rather enjoyed MI5 even when she had absolutely no idea what was going on. She began laughing, at first coming out as a snort, then turning into some sort of giggle-laugh thing that she did. Pressing her hand against her mouth (not quite hiding her smile), she shook her head. Her wild hair bounced a little as she shook with silent howls of laughter. "I'm sorry. That was rude," she gasped out, her laughter finally slowing down. It'd only taken like thirty seconds. She was still laughing, but it was tamed enough to actually allow her to talk. "Let me explain. It's not the bowtie thing, I promise. That's actually kinda adorable and fun-sounding. If I didn't already spend all my money on books, health food - but that's very reluctantly - and soccer stuff, and if I actually liked clothes, that sounds like just the thing I'd collect. But... Bowties and spies? I totally pictured you as a spy, which probably isn't funny to you. Well, it was to me, and then it got worse. I remembered how I told you not to tell anyone and that's, like, such a cliche'd line in action movies." Mary rushed the last words out before she narrowly kept herself from starting to laugh again. She scrunched her face together in an attempt to stop the laughter, but she eventually just gave up and allowed herself to laugh. Because, honestly! Carlin as a spy would be an awesome movie. Spies were always so cool and level-headed and not the sort to be talking to their moms on their phones. Or, at least the stereotypical ones. That meant that no one would suspect Carlin to be a spy, which meant that he'd actually make a pretty good one. She stopped laughing and mused on this for a moment before glancing at Carlin with what she hoped was a raised eyebrow. It wasn't, but she still hoped it got the whole 'hmmmm....' point across. "You're not a spy, are you? And sure, I'll go with you. Bowties should be easier to shop for than other clothes. Clothes shopping is stunningly boring." She grinned and followed the guy toward the bowtie store. She elbowed the guy lightly and then looked almost apologetically. You don't elbow people with your bony elbows the first few days you meet them, silly.

[/color] She directed a startled glance at Carlin and shrugged. The blonde broke into another grin. "I should hope so. Berries are such a boring print. You should get a bright orange one. Or yellow. Or rainbow. I like bright colors - in case you haven't noticed." She laughed lightly and grinned as they strode into the store.
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