When she entered her apartment and closed the door, Tessa bit her lip and beamed at nothing in particular. They had a decent conversation and were even going to hang out–on a date? Would it be considered a date? She didn't know, nor did she really care. All that mattered was that she was hanging out with Nik.
nik leaned his head back against the wood. he wasn't sure how he should act. based off of her, he guessed on instinct, but a second opinion quickly surfaced.
well i mean, i'll be respectful, i'm not sure its possible to be disrespectful to her at this point, but i'm not obliged to start the relationship back up. i mean there's no danger in it, but neon as a whole is kind of… behind me.
he had expected to date around and find someone new, not stare the woman he had committed arson with. not to remember the feeling of ash on his hands and the hard, dingy streets in his peripherals. a decision needed to be made, and he had no idea how to make it.
Tessa headed into her bedroom, where she had set up a makeshift music studio in the far corner. She couldn't think about Nik right now. She had to focus on making this song.
She put on her noise-canceling headphones, pulled up the program, and began fiddling with the sound. As she worked, she briefly thought about getting out the old guitar skills. Well, I'm gonna have'ta buy a guitar first.
he sighed. i need to finish this story, anyway.
the next day, he shrugged on a jacket and checked the time again. just enough to get to the shop on time. he wondered if she had gotten there early as he headed out, and towards the place.
Tessa had lost track of time, too engrossed in her work to remember she had plans today. But–luckily–she had set an alarm for this exact purpose. The only problem? Noise-cancelling headphones. She stuck out her tongue slightly as she worked on tweaking the music, the majority of it already done. Her phone was going off in her kitchen to remind her of her plans to hang out with Nik.
nik had ordered already, sitting alone at a two person table. the baristas were beginning to think he was stood up, and he heard them quietly discussing if they should just let the bill go. he was starting to partially believe it himself, but tess wouldn't do it maliciously. she'd probably forgotten.
She took off her headphones to get a drink and instantly heard her phone. And then it clicked.
"SHIT!!"
She hastily threw on a pair of ripped jeans, converse shoes, and a ripped, cropped sweatshirt, grabbed her laptop and shoved it into its carrying case, grabbed her phone, and practically bolted out of her apartment while frantically texting Nik. 'I'm so so so so so so sorry!! My phone went off and I didn't hear it and I'm really sorry!! I'm on my way now'
he jumped a little at the ding of his phone in his pocket, quickly flipping it out to check and seeing a text from tess. so she hadn't changed her number.
he swiped over and read it through, letting out a sigh of relief. he put his coffee down to reply hey it's alright! there's still a good hour to listen to the song, see you when you get here!
'Thank you so much for understanding! I suck at staying on time'
She speed walked/jogged to the cafe, sometimes breaking into a sprint when she could get away with not ramming into people. Once she made it, she attempted to comb out her hair as she entered. Her eyes instantly sought after Nik.
he heard the door open, and waved to her as she entered.
She smiled sheepishly as she walked over. "Again, I'm so sorry. I had my headphones on and was so consumed in the music…" She wrung her hands and dropped her eyes to the ground.
he chuckled lightly, gesturing for her to sit down. "it's alright, you're fine. as i said before, we still have an hour. and more time still after my editor gets done yelling at me."
She sat, putting her laptop carrier in her lap. She looked vaguely amused. "You seem oddly fine with getting chewed out by your editor."
"he means well, and im grateful he even puts up with me. i'm an editing nightmare." he smiled, looking up a bit. "i should know, having to do it myself all those years. anyway!" he seemingly snapped back to the present, losing the gentle and almost dreamy aura he had about him. "what about that song?"
"Ah, right." She pulled out her laptop and worked on pulling up the program, simultaneously grabbing some headphones and handing them to him. "Well, I suck at time management and ended up spending nearly all night working, and then today. So, I'm pretty much done. I do need to get my paws on a guitar to do that part, however." She pulled up the demo and connected the headphones to the laptop. "Ready when you are."
he slipped the headphones on, giving her a nod to start it. as it played, he kept a neutral expression, but an occasional flash of conflict could be seen in his body language. brief furrowing of the eyebrows, fidgeting, etc.
when it was finished, he took a breath and gave tessa a smile. "it's really good! i like the vibe you're going for."
She gave him a look. "Liar." She had seen the conflict in him as he listened. She was a highly sought after criminal. She didn't miss much.
"hey! watch the accusations, friend. what makes you think so? did i make a face?" he jokingly put his hands up to chest level, palms out in a "soothing" manner.
"You were conflicted. I could see it." She narrowed her eyes slightly, not sure what to make of the situation. She wanted to be nice and say she was joking, but she was worried about the small flickers she had seen.
he paused, thinking of what to say. "it's a wonderful song, it's just reminiscent of certain things. i think that's great, though! write about what you know about, y'know?"
She tapped her finger against the table. "Kinda the point. Use real life for inspiration." She hoped things wouldn't get awkward now. She didn't want to be the one to ruin it because she made him listen to a song like that one.
"yeah. in other words, i think your new boss'll like it. i can uhh… i know a guy, i can hook you up with a guitar." he kept the conversation going with seemingly minimal effort, determined to not make it awkward.
She offered a small, thankful smile. "Thanks, mind if I take you up on that offer? It'll be just a few hours, then I'll be done with it."
"oh, if you're just looking to borrow then i don't even have to call them, i've got one. i've got to go, though." he glanced at a clock on a far wall, pressing his lips together.
"here, i trust you to not rob me. spare key to my apartment. the guitar is on a stand in my bedroom, which is through the door on the left after the living room. see you after!" he quickly got up and paid, hurrying out. a vague ringing could be heard as well as "fuck, simon! sorry, i'm going to be a little late…"
She blinked, then muttered a 'that went well,' to herself as she twisted around to watch him go. After ordering some food for herself and tweaking the music a bit, she got up and left as well. She didn't immediately go to the apartment building. There was someone visiting that she needed to talk to–and just hang out with in general.
(should i make this harder for everyone involved and have simon as some form of love interest-)
nik rushed into the small building, careening directly into the slight figure of the Editor himself. "hey! sorry, here." he handed off a flashdrive, throwing himself back onto him after in a hug. simon only laughed and caught him, tucking the drive into his back pocket.
(Oooooo drama. I'm introducing another male character too that could be mistaken as a love interest. He's not actually one because that'd be weird)
Tessa walked through the streets, head bowed as she texted someone.
((spicy,,,,))
simon held nik for a moment more, before murmuring a warning and dropping his boneless form to go to his computer. nik lay there while he booted up his computer, and when the document was pulled up he sat up and moved to sit on the ground beside simon's chair.
"so, what's the damage?"
simon read it over.
"not much, actually. you're getting better at having an editor."
"thanks, dear."
Tessa knocked on the front door, stepping back and biting her lip in excitement. He didn't come over often, as he was usually in Hawaii studying for his medical degree. But whenever he did visit, it was usually so much fun. Usually. The two were like peas in a pod, and that sometimes caused for some headbutting and bickering. But still fun, in the long run.
"so, why were you late?"
"oh, here comes the ass-kicking."
"shut it, hun. why were you late?"
nik grinned, leaning back against simon's legs and taking time to wink at him before explaining.
"meeting up with a… an old friend, i could say. she wanted me to listen to a song she wrote. apparently we're neighbors now, so that's pretty neat."
simon raised an eyebrow.
"sounds fun. dont be late again, though. i've no time to spend on the likes of you."
nik sat up, shoving his chair playfully.