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Post by Deleted on Aug 11, 2011 23:42:19 GMT -5
Casually, maybe even subconsciously, Tobias’ foot edged closer to rest beside Caroline’s. “I’ll be around,” he said and even laughed. “It’s not like I have the money to get my space back just yet.” He’d probably search for a flat under different management. If he wanted to push for his own space, he could easily lock eyes with whoever was in charge of renting at his new place and they would feel inclined to give him a grace period. It wasn’t, of course, that Tobias was a bully but people tended to diminish under one of his steady gazes.
Unless they were strong willed, and he supposed that’s why he liked Caroline so much. He nodded toward the window. “I’m going to check on that leaky roof of yours, and then I’ll head up to the school and most likely do the same.” He cut into another egg and added, “I’ll probably stay a little later to make up lost time.”
More than likely, Anna-Marie would corner him and chew him out. She might even throw a few swings at him. She did that when she got hot and bothered. It would have been a good if he had called Caroline and asked her to keep an eye on his little sister. Then again he should have done a lot of things that included calling Caroline.
His foot scooted an inch or slow closer to hers as he casually reached for the pint of milk. If anything, he could blame the size of his feet. “But we should carpool sometime.”
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Post by Tempest on Aug 12, 2011 11:32:42 GMT -5
A smile pulled on the edges of her mouth and she asked herself while this bit of news pleased her so much. She wrote it off, telling herself that it was only because Tobias was being exceptionally agreeable this morning. Also, the apartment sometimes got too quiet, though that was probably her fault.
At first, she didn't notice Tobias's foot next to hers. She expressed surprise when he told her he'd look at her leaky roof and said, "Oh dear. I had not been aware I even had a leak." She grimaced and explained, "That could have been disastrous. Some of the books I've been working with here are extremely old and delicate. Water or excess humidity could have disintegrated them." A pause as she finally noticed his foot and desperately tried to tell herself that it was not purposely there. "You don't have to go out of your way. I'm sure I can coerce the super into fixing it. That is part of his job. Thank you for the offer, though."
As for him staying later, she simply stored the information away for later. If she got home early enough, she could run out and get some staples for the fridge. If Tobias did indeed stick around, she'd probably have to change her eating habits a bit (eating take out or skipping meals entirely most of the time reflected poorly on her health.)
This bit of politeness was only half-felt. While she didn't want Tobias to go out of his way, she did know that if she could convince the super to take a look at the leak (which was not a sure thing by any means), he would probably do a slapdash job.
She was getting increasingly flustered by the movement of his foot, which should not have been the kind of thing that could get her flustered. However, then he went and said something that made her eyes glitter with amusement. "Of course," she replied, getting to her feet. "What's your opinion on riding pillion?" It occurred to her that not only had she never seen his vehicle, he had never seen hers. Hell, the town was just close enough to the school that if she got up early enough, she could walk. It might take a while, but the exertion was pleasant in the morning if the weather was cool.
On days like this, where the weather was icky, she usually got a ride from- her eyes widened. "Crud, speaking of carpooling-" Her entire demeanor went a drastic change. Where she had been relatively calm, now she rushed through things. She stuck her plate and cutlery in the dishwasher, put the frying pan in the sink with a absent, "I'll take care of the dishes and stuff when I come back." A rapping on the door let her know that Emilio and Nikolai were waiting.
She bolted into her room and grabbed a tupperware filled with books and carried it to the front door. A very surprised Nikolai took the box and nodded when she said, "Sorry to make you wait. I need to put some shoes on- I'll be out right away." Then she closed the door on his inquisitive face, keeping him from seeking out the source of the smell of food.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 14, 2011 13:11:08 GMT -5
“I’ll take care of the roof,” Tobias said forcefully. “I’ll do it.” He hadn’t meant to bite out his statement and hoped that Caroline didn’t see it as an attack toward her. The leak wasn’t so bad to where a whole business had to be made out of it. All Tobias needed was some tar and a bit of roofing. He could probably even nick it from the maintenance closet anyway.
He collected his dishes and put them in the sink. He’d clean up after he took care of the leak. Then, absentmindedly, Tobias pulled his cigarettes out of his pocket. Thankfully, he remembered his promise to Caroline right after pulling one free and settled for placing it behind his ear. “I’m not really into riding with someone on something that only has two wheels.” Of course he had his own refurbished 1978 Harley tucked away in a storage unit in Ballycastle, but that was a long way away.
“Don’t worry about the dishes. It’s my mess, I can handle it,” Tobias called after her, watching as she darted around. He frowned and shot a glance toward the door. Who was on the other side that she had to be so rude towards? Curiosity pulling him forward, Tobias opened the door and was face to face with…
“Hey Nikolai.” Tobias stood awkwardly and plugged his cigarette into his mouth. It remained unlit as he chewed on the end, wondering if he should apologize for not telling his coworker about leaving.
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Post by Tempest on Aug 14, 2011 13:49:23 GMT -5
She didn't have an answer for him for the roof and the dishes. If he insisted, she wasn't about to start arguing. As for the bike situation, she shrugged and said loftily, "If that's the way you feel... It's probably for the best anyways. Don't really need a tall person behind me to throw me off-balance."
Or worse, incite certain emotions she was trying desperately to quell. Even as she said it, her eyes were sparkling with good-humor. It didn't really matter to her if he preferred to get to school another way. To each his own.
Caroline passed Tobias on her way to her room to put some shoes on and grab a couple more things to take back to the school. She sighed when she heard another male voice float into the apartment. From where she was, the sounds were muffled... and she didn't really want to eavesdrop, so she left the entire matter alone. The only thing was that she wished to keep Tobias's current residence a secret from Emilio. Was Nikolai the kind of person who would involve himself in that way?
---
Nikolai blinked, obvious thrown off-balance by the person who next opened the door. He came to terms with the sudden appearance of a coworker who had been gone for a year and smirked. In his strange accent, he joked, "So this is where you've been hiding. Hope she hasn't been wearing you out." He, of course, knew this to be nothing more than a joke since he had been in residence at this apartment for a month or so up until a few weeks ago.
"Glad to see you're back," he said in all seriousness, "I was getting tired of doing the indoor stuff. The school's too big for a single person to be groundskeeper and janitor." He shifted the box, tucking it easily under one arm.
---
Where had she put her heels? It had been a long time since she felt it necessary to wear them, so they were probably somewhere dusty. Her mouth tightened and she decided upon a set of flats. In any case, they would be much more comfortable.
She started packing up her laptop and making sure she had everything she would need that day.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 14, 2011 17:44:28 GMT -5
Tobias laughed a little and said, “I’m not in such good graces with her as of yet. I’m only here because she’s too nice to have me stay on the streets.” He shrugged and hooked his glasses in his shirt collar, ready to switch back into his contacts. “I’ll be glad to help. Just point me in the direction of priorities.”
Nausea was slowly working on Tobias, and his fingers twitched. Tobias needed a cigarette. The feeling was like holding your breath underwater until your lungs ached and the desire to take in air was overpowering.
After its last hurrah, the rain had finally stopped but the streets were swelling with excess water and the grass was half hidden beneath wide pockets of puddles. The muggy summer humidity was also rising and Tobias raked his fingers, knowing that as thick as it was it would be nothing short of fuzzy the rest of the day. He looked Nikolai over, then lowered his voice and asked, “Do you think you can get Caroline to soften up toward me? Put in a good word I’m meaning.”
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Post by Tempest on Aug 14, 2011 18:23:18 GMT -5
Nikolai shrugged. "That's the way of it with women, isn't it? Any minor thing can set them off." He spoke from recent experience, naturally. He shook his head and shrugged again. "I kept up with the repairs and some of the cleaning, but the tanks in the aquarium could probably use some work and the Sapphire dorms have sprung another leak behind one of the walls." He grimaced. "Bloody water elementals."
Nikolai laughed robustly when Tobias asked a favor of him. He wiped tears from his eyes as he replied in an equally low voice, "Me, influence Caroline Harlequin when she's decided something? Also, you've forgotten that she has not one, but two, overprotective brothers who think you are not worth the mud beneath her boots. Emilio is going to beat the shit out of you when he finds out that you're back." Nikolai's silver eyes glittered with amusement. "Hate to say it, man: you're going to have to prove yourself. But, hey, I do favor and talk to Caroline for you. Maybe she listen. Won't do it in front of her brother, though. He might kill me first for taking your side."
He said no more on the subject since the Vice Principal had just arrived at the door. He nodded at Caroline, who held another box of books and a backpack that was groaning with the weight of the things held within it. "Ready, Caroline?"
---
Caroline nodded. "Yeah. Let's go. See you later, Tobias." She preceded Nikolai, but could have sworn that he winked at Tobias as he turned to leave with her.
Odd.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 14, 2011 18:50:58 GMT -5
Tobias nodded. “I don’t mind taking a look at the leak.” If it was one good thing that his big hands were good for, it was turning wrenches. The downside of course was not being able to fit them easily into tight spaces. He also didn’t think that Emilio could actually kill him. For starters, Tobias was taller and quicker (a natural perk to being part wolf), not to mention that he had gained some muscle since he had been away. But then, he had always been cocky. Little guys have a way of being squirrelly.
“Have a good day,” he added as Caroline left with Nikolai. Now to get to that roof.
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