love's not a competition [closed]

[twelfthspark]

WHO: Noctis "would rather be fishing" Caelum, Vera "screw the rules, I have money" Weisz, Prompto "golden chocobo" Argentum and Arlene "do it for the lulz" Sinclair
WHERE: Out and about
WHEN: Valentine's Day, afternoon
WHAT: Local college kids on a blind date stalk other local college kids on a blind date. Hilarity Ensues.
WARNINGS: Possible trainwreck syndrome.

This cut isn't even necessary it's just here so I could finish the song lyric

See comments section for starters ⬇

Comments

[mercurio]

Probably something fancy.

["fancy," not for dumb boys who get powder all over their cheeks and lips after biting into a donut. he cleans up after some more embarrassing seconds of this]

And expensive. Noct probably hates the idea of being out at all.

[twelfthspark]

For sure, expensive. Vera tried to pay with a hundred last time she was at my work. Seriously!

[Oh, sunshine. She breaks into a wide grin at the sight of him with powdered sugar all across his face.]

Hey, you missed a spot.

[Taking up a napkin, she leans over the table and dabs at his nose with it. A couple heads turn their way, which she ignores, entirely focused on gauging whether he's turning red enough under all those adorable freckles.

Seemingly satisfied, she nods and sits back, proclaiming in a sing-song tone:]

Better~.

[mercurio]

[all prompto knows is that his best friend is fucking loaded, and while that's never been a point of interest for prompto, he's always remarkably aware that while noctis' tastes were on the simpler side of things--the guy could afford the finest of five-star locations if he wanted to, no sweat.]

[if there's anything to gauge by his expression, is the surprise at being caught off-guard by the action and the consequent growing flustered under the rather motherly? and embarrassing.. action...]

[look, prompto isn't used to these kind of things]

Yeah! Uh, thanks.

[he's going to be self-conscious of how he eats his donut now...]

[twelfthspark]

[Call her "motherly" to her face and this coffee's going on your shirt, buddy.]

[Awww, he's so cute when he's embarrassed. Arlene giggles to herself, smugly pleased as the proverbial cat that ate the canary. How fitting, given his hairstyle.]

Anytime. You're sure he's not going to, like, stand her up? If he hates it that much.

[She plucks the cherry garnish off the top of her cupcake and pops it into her mouth. Fortunately for Prompto and everybody else in the café, she just bites it off the stem like a normal person instead of trying to do any weird tongue tricks.]

[mercurio]

[keep it cool, buddy.]

[by "cool," it means prompto is glancing down at his hot drink and tapping at it, awkwardness clear. he's not as cool! and confident! as he pretends to be, okay!]

Nah, he wouldn't... He doesn't like making others feel offended or made fun of.

[twelfthspark]

[Time to dial it back for now? Probably. As fun as it is to watch him squirm, she doesn't want to actually ruin their date. After all, he's cute and he's been nice to her so far... and she'd miss out on the opportunity to make him squirm more later.

Which is her real priority here, you gotta wonder.]

[She leans in ever so slightly, curious about the sleepy rich kid she vaguely recalls from high school.]

Never got the impression he cared about much of anything.

[mercurio]

Well, that's the thing. He doesn't care that others did or didn't have an impression.

[prompto shrugs his shoulders, taking a sip of his drink--and finally lifting his gaze, relaxing a bit more.]

He likes to use his energy on things he finds important, and making an impression isn't one of them. He doesn't like letting others down though, for sure.

[twelfthspark]

How about you?

[She picks up her latte and swirls it around, her blue-green gaze fixed on him.]

What do you like to use your energy on? Besides pictures, I mean, everybody knew that.

[mercurio]

[...oh, that's quite the question. he does many things with his energy, but they're probably not the answer arlene's looking for. so, he shrugs]

On being the best kind of person I can be.

[#cheesy]

[twelfthspark]

[Believe it or not, she wasn't looking for any answer in particular. Just getting to know her date a little better.

She snickers a little, raising her cup to hide it.]

Sap.

[mercurio]

You know me. Head in the clouds, and all that.

[he's a simple fool, but he's smiling. and does--not literally--turn the tables on her]

What about you? What is it you do?

[twelfthspark]

[she brought it on herself, and takes it in stride.]

I act! Don't tell me you haven't seen a single play on our fair campus, you'd break my little heart. [She winks at him before clutching her chest dramatically, dipping back in a mock swoon.]

[Of course, that's like him saying "I take pictures." Everybody knows. She makes sure of that. After a moment, she rests her elbows on the table and leans in again.]

I like dancing... people watching... I could take or leave long walks on the beach.

[mercurio]

It's not like I've been invited to any~

[that's easily amendable, without him having to feel guilty about having not done so. but it's true; he hasn't attended a single play because he's either too busy or had no idea they were taking place at all.]

...surprisingly quiet things. You always seemed more the type to want to be the centre of attention.

[from...high school. finishes up his drink]

[twelfthspark]

You don't have to be invited, dork-

[oh nooooo how dare he call her out like this? It's her turn to be awkward, her eyes flicking away from him as she picks at the remains of her cake.]

I'm full of surprises.

[mercurio]

Tell me about it!

[he smiles big, leaning back on his chair a bit, tipping it on its hind legs]

I wonder if others are making new friends out of this blind date thing... Aahh, I hope so...

[twelfthspark]

[please don't fall, prompto. a concussion would just spoil the whole evening

and also your date would probably laugh at you. she'd feel bad about it later, but she'd laugh.

At least she seems to relax a little when he doesn't take the opening to make fun of her.]

That's Sunshine. [She uses the nickname casually- not talking down to him for a change, just making an observation.]

[mercurio]

[he turns his smile at her, grinning, slamming down the chair onto the floor before he becomes another statistic]

Yup. You know me, looking at the bright side of things.

[he clearly has not taken this as offense]

What about you? Having a good date yet?

[twelfthspark]

Hmmm...

[She leans on the table, propping her chin on her hand, her head cocked to the side a little as she looks at him. His smile is contagious; she can't help breaking into one of her own.]

Maaay~be I am. [wink] Ask me again in a little while.

[mercurio]

What's with that?

[prompto can't play these smooth games]

Anyway, wanna check where Noct and Vera are off to next?

[twelfthspark]

[if her being obtuse for the sake of it is coming off as smooth, she's ahead of her game]

Already? [Ugh, why did she agree to take time out of her afternoon for Vera...] Sure, I guess it's time.