ROLEPLAY HQ - fatefully-reunited

Five Years. They always ask you where you see yourself in five years and it’s never really accurate. Zendrick Brighten was the star of the football team, captain of the baseball team and excelled in his studies, but here he was at his five year reunion with little to show for it. He was still in college, working on his masters degree in psychology and playing ball for his scholarship, but he wasn’t the NFL/MBA superstar or famous movie actor he said he wanted to be. Being popular in school was his downfall and now, everyone would be looking to him to see how far the mighty have fallen. He sat in his car in front of his old high school and stared at the building that built him. He had enjoyed his time there, but he wasn’t looking forward to walking through those doors. Begrudgingly, he pulled himself out of his hybrid SUV and took careful steps towards the building, suddenly becoming very aware of his almost business attire button up shirt and jeans. Should he have worn his lettermen jacket? Should he just push his glass up and pretend to be someone else? He pushed the doors open and made his way into the gymnasium where everyone was gathering, trying to keep his aire of confidence about him. As he stepped through, he saw an array of people that seemed almost recognizable. Everyone had some features or dressed a certain way that told him who they were, but he wasn’t about to approach any of them. Instead, he wakes over to the buffet table that had a wide variety of snacks and drinks, pouring himself a sprite in a red split cup. He took a drink and turned around, admiring how nerds were chatting up jocks and how some cheerleaders had babies in their hips. @maryyelenorr

She wasn’t excited. Not even a little bit. Evie sat in her small car, in the middle of the parking lot of a high school. Her Alma Mater. Wretched place that she never wanted to go back too. She finished her four years of education there, and swore that she wouldn’t step foot inside again. Long hallways, classrooms that reeked of teachers’ disappointment. Lockers that squeaked a little too loudly when you opened them. The only good memories Evie had were occasionally skipping class to smoke weed in the forest nearby with her friends. And yet, here she was. Her hands gripped the steering wheel of her car as she watched her old classmates go in and out of the large double doors at the front. She contemplated heavily just going home, lighting a joint, and watching a movie. Anything would be better than making awkward small talk with the class she graduated with. But she promised her friend she would go. C’mon, I think you’ll have fun. What’s the harm in one evening spent with them? “Fucking- fuck.” Evie groaned to herself, reluctantly leaving her car and walking towards the front doors of the high school. She was clad in a black dress and short heels. Probably a little too… dressy for an occasion as such, but not for Evie. She had managed to stay away for five years, only keeping in touch with the small friend group she had during her years in what she lovingly called a hellhole. Walking into through the doors of the gym, Evie quickly scanned the crowd to look for the friends who convinced her to show up. “Evie Daniels?” A voice pulled her from her thoughts, looking towards a woman with a clipboard. “Yes?” “It’s so nice to see you, here’s a name tag. Have fun.” The woman said, handing her a small white sticker with her name on it. She begrudgingly put it on her dress, sighing lightly as she turned to the drinks table. “Aaaand no alcohol. Expected.” Evie mumbled to herself, pouring herself a cup of suspiciously warm soda before turning around.

18:43

Scanning the crowd once more, Evie became slightly afraid that her friends had decided to ditch the event at the last minute. As usual. Taking a sip of her drink, she paid more attention to the crowd. She recognized most of the people there, though they weren’t the people she would have talked too in school. Now though? She wouldn’t be opposed to awkward small talk, she supposed. She just wouldn’t enjoy it. @💙ShayBae💙

Zendrick stood at the end of the drink table and watched as his old friends conversed with people they wouldn’t normally, watching the false sincerity plaster their faces. ’Some people never change.’ He could tell exactly what his former teammates were thinking as they spoke with people they maybe said five words to in high school and it agitated him. At the sound of pouring soda next to him, he saw a beautiful woman who looked properly annoyed standing near him. He tried to place her face, but while the familiarity was there, he couldn’t quite place her. When she turned to do the same thing he was doing, he smirked to himself and looked out at the crowd again. “Surreal being back, eh? Who would’ve thought our class could get alone this well.” He laughed before he took another drink, looking over at her to alert her that he was in fact talking to her. @maryyelenorr

With her arms crossed against her chest, the red solo cup still in hand, Evie turned towards the person speaking to her. She let out a scoff that sounded vaguely like a laugh. “Surreal, yeah.” She replied before taking a sip of her drink. Her eyes darted around the gymnasium, really taking in the scene unfolding in front of her eyes. Athletes and Straight A students conversing, Cheerleaders dancing, everyone trying to put on a smiling face as they awkwardly talked about how their life unfolded over the past five years. Some were going for their doctorates, some still worked in a dead end customer service job. Some were starting families while others talked about the ‘totally banging date’ they had last weekend. It was surreal. Evie looked over at the guy again, cocking an eyebrow as she tried to remember his name without looking at the name tag. She had spent the majority of her senior year high, but she knew the name was somewhere in her subconscious. “Z…Zendrick? Right?” Evie said, looking down at the sticker that somehow constituted a name tag. “I think we had calculus together? Maybe biology?” She tried to remember, but couldn’t for the life of her. @💙ShayBae💙

It want until the woman completely turned to face him that he stole a glance at her name tag and instantly remember who she was. He mentally chided himself for not remembering her, but in his defense, he couldn’t recall a single time they talked. “Yup, that’s m—Ohh shit! Evie! Umm.. right, we had… Chemistry together… Which.. saying that out loud is..” His nervous laugh was breaking apart his sentences, causing him to feel like he was making a fool of himself. He quickly took a drink of his soda and looked at her again with a soft half-smile. “You were nice.” He want the same boy he had been in school. His dress was a little neater and he seemed to be more of an observer now than an initiator. His eyes took in the whole scene until he was sure he knew everyone in the room and yet he still didn’t excuse himself for better company, not even when his high school best friend walked in. He simply stood at the end of the drink table and conversed with Evie as long as she would let him. @maryyelenorr

Evie let out a laugh, nodding her head as she listened to Zendrick speak. “Chemistry, that’s what it was.” She spoke, her voice just barely louder than the awfully bassy music that sounded throughout the gymnasium. After one more cursory glance into the crowd, Evie realized that she was in fact ditched. Her friends had decided not to show up, leaving her there. Normally, she would have been upset, walking out of the reunion without looking back, but she had seemed to find herself good company. “Well, how was the last five years of your life?” Evie asked, letting herself smile softly as she turned fully towards Zendrick, deciding to fully immerse herself into the meaning of the reunion. @💙ShayBae💙

There it was, that dreaded question. He let out a soft sigh as he stared down into his cup, contemplating his best to phrase it. “They…. Weren’t what I thought they would be?” He chuckled to himself as he half shook his head before turning properly to face her. “I think I shot too high. I had all these plans and while I’m not doing awful, it just wasn’t what I thought it would be.” He quickly brushed him aside though, looking up at her with his bright golden-brown eyes. “How was yours? I’m assuming it was better than the four years of high school seeing as you seem real enthused to be here.” He laughed again, creasing his eyes from his wide smile. @maryyelenorr

Evie tilted her head to the side as Zendrick spoke, trying to remember what exactly Zendrick did in high school. Sports…? Or was he a straight A kid? Both, maybe? Her thoughts rattled in her mind, but she pushed them aside. No point in dwelling on the past. She let out a small bout of laughter before she shrugged her shoulders. “It was… okay? Better than high school. I’m… kind of a co-owner of a bar?” Evie tried to explain. She mostly worked as a bartender while her other friends took care of more of backend business stuff, making sure the business stayed afloat and made a profit. Definitely wasn’t where she saw herself ending up, but again, Evie didn’t know what the future held for her when she walked out of the high school five years ago. All she cared about was that she was out of there. “Besides that, it was pretty much normal.” Evie glanced at the cup in her hand that held her soda, which was just… unappealing. “But I guess that’s about what happened with everyone else, right?” Evie gaze diverted to the crowd for a fleeting moment. “I think the majority of us didn’t end up where we wanted too.” @💙ShayBae💙

’I think the majority of us didn’t end up where we wanted too.’ That simple phrase made him feel a bit better. Maybe that was the case, he was just more disappointed with himself than anything else. He nodded at her explanation, but was genuinely happy for her about the bar. “Co-owner?! That’s great! What’s it called? Is it local?” He couldn’t imagine her staying in the small town, but he had. He couldn’t afford to move yet and when he did, he wanted it to be where he wanted to settle down. A group of people started to make their way towards the drink table, causing Zendrick to step farther to the side and hopefully bring Evie with him. @maryyelenorr

Evie chuckled, placing her plastic cup down on the table. She was done with the drink, opting to find a vending machine instead when she had a chance. Anything would be better than the drinks they had on the table, but the snacks did look somewhat appealing, silently hoping they would be at least edible. “Hm? Oh it’s Crooked Tap, downtown-ish.” Evie explained with a small laugh. She had quickly noticed the group going to the table, stepping aside. Out of the corner of her eye, Evie saw Zendrick stepping further away, so she followed. Her heels clicked against the waxed floor of the gymnasium, though it would barely be heard over the music and loud chatter that filled the air. “What about you? What did you do after graduation?” Evie asked, looking at him with a faint smile on her features. Even if she didn’t like being at the reunion, at least she had someone nice to talk too. @💙ShayBae💙

Zendrick made a mental note of the bar she owned and gave her a smile. He was happy to see that someone was doing something they loved. His golden-brown eyes looked over the crowd and saw the cliques slowly forming back up. The jocks were all to one side, the band kids on another. Everyone seemed to be chatting up their friends now that more people were arriving, but he remained where he was. The people he use to hangout with weren’t exactly his crowd anymore. ‘What about you? What did you do after graduation?’ He turned back towards Evie, gave her a light sigh and looked down into his also empty cup. Holding it at his side he looked back out towards their classmates. “I did manage to get a full ride scholarship for basketball, but when I got there… I just didn’t want to do that with my life. I ended up majoring in psychology and just kept up enough with the team to not be the worst one. After my first year, I dropped the basketball team and had to pay my way through the rest of my degree. So now, I’m a certified counselor at a practice I’d eventually like to take over.” He pressed his lips together a bit and nodded as he watched the football team hug each other. “Yeah.. So, like I said. I’m not doing horrible, but it’s not what people expected.” As he stared off at their classmates, he noticed one of his teammates look over at him. He quickly jerked his gaze away and moved to sit his cup on the table before looking back at Evie. “I.. I think I’m going to go. Would you like to… I don’t know, get a drink? Or some food?” @maryyelenorr

Evie listened intently as Zendrick spoke of what he’s been up to after high school. Why she was so interested, she didn’t know, but she found herself invested in his story. Basketball, he played Basketball. She thought to herself, finding a wall to lean against. The gymnasium had been filled, and people quickly reverted back to their high school groups as the night went on. Of course, none of the groups that took up the gymnasium were groups Evie ran in. Jocks, musicians, cheerleaders, and more. People catching up, explaining details of their lives, though most of the people had been keeping in touch with each other since graduation. She half expected Zendrick to go off and find his friends, people he probably would have had a better time talking too. People who weren’t Evie. But when Zendrick had invited her out, she was pleasantly surprised. A drink sounded much better than going home to smoke a joint alone, and it sounded way better than staying at the stale reunion. “Sure, I’m down.” She pushed herself off the wall, adjusting the hem of her dress before making her way to the door. “Did you drive here? I brought my car.” She said, almost surprised to find herself smiling softly as she looked back at Zendrick. @💙ShayBae💙

‘Sure, I’m down.’ Zendrick found himself more excited than he thought he would be at her acceptance. Once she had adjusted herself, he led the way out of the gym with a more than content smile on his face. ‘Did you drive here? I brought my car.’ “I did. We can drive separately or we can ride together. It doesn’t matter to me either way.” He turned his kind features to her as they walked out of the gym and into the hallway, thankfully missing the eyes of anyone who would blatantly recognize him. He shoved his hands in his pockets as they walked down the hall, looking straight ahead as they made it to the front door. He was embarrassed to be seen there, but it had nothing to do with Evie and everything to do with his own accomplishments or lack there of. Once he pushed the door open for Evie, he followed behind her and looked out over the parking lot. “Well, your ride, mine or separate?” He smiled, twirling his SUV keys in his hand. @maryyelenorr

Evie glanced over her shoulder as she walked out of the gymnasium, giving one last glance at the crowds that filled the room. As she did, she exhaled a sigh of relief, happy she wouldn’t have to attempt to politely mingle with others. Apart of her didn’t think she would be leaving to hang out with someone from her high school days, but she never really had a problem with Zendrick. They just… ran in different crowds. Her heels clicked along the waxed hallway floor, a sound that brought a sickening sense of nostalgia, thoughts of running to class after getting high in the parking lot bouncing around in her brain. “Hm?” Evie turned to Zendrick for a moment before looking at the cars in the parking lot. “Uh, maybe your car would be better?” Evie said with a small chuckle, leaving her car keys in her purse. Her car was… drive-able? But nothing she would actively show off. It got her from point a to point b- most of the time. “Any idea where you want to go?” Evie asked, letting Zendrick lead the way to his vehicle. @💙ShayBae💙

‘Uh, maybe your car would be better?’ He was afraid she would say that. His SUV was nice and well kept, but it was still the classic Mom Mobile™️ and it embarrassed him a bit if he was honest. However, he gave her a wide, restrained smile and nodded as he led her to his vehicle. ‘Any idea where you want to go?’ He sucked air through his teeth as he hit the fab and unlocked his car, opening the door for her while he thought about it. “Honestly, anywhere but here.” He would wait for her to climb in before shutting the door and walking around to the drivers side to climb in as well. He pushed the START button and waited for his engine to kick to life before he leaned back and rubbed at his chin with an arm whose elbow was resting on the window sill. “How about somewhere with food? I’m.. starving.” He turned to look at her to gauge her reaction, if she seemed to enjoy the idea, he would start throwing out types of restaurants. “What do you like? Mediterranean? Mexican? Chinese? Italian?” @maryyelenorr

(( @maryyelenorr Do you want to list as inactive for now until you get all settled and moved in?))

A small smile crossed Evies face as she walked up to his SUV. It wasn’t the type of vehicle she imagined Zendrick driving, but it wasn’t a terrible vehicle either. Definitely better than her shitty hatchback that needed repairs that were more expensive than the cost of the car itself. Once in the chair, hearing the engine turnover smoothly, Evie pondered his question. “Food sounds good. The snacks they had in there didn’t seem all that appealing.” She joked, looking out her side window. “Chinese sounds great.” She shrugged. Evie may not have seemed that interested in doing much of anything, but she was immensely happy to get out of the shitty reunion. With her small purse resting comfortably in her lap, legs crossed at her ankles, Evie kept her eyes on the passing scenery as they drove. “I know this great Chinese restaurant by my bar. 37th avenue, it’s not super popular but the food is tremendous.” She suggested, looking over at Zendrick with a small smile. “Unless you have something else in mind?” @💙ShayBae💙

As soon as she said ‘Chinese’, his heart instantly melted. Once he had offered it up as an option it had made his mouth water, but after telling her he would take her anywhere he didn’t want to throw in where he would rather go. He immediately started driving towards town and when she said she knew of a really good restaurant, he mentally plotted the road she was referring to and made his way there. “Nope, that sounds perfect. Honestly, there isn’t many Chinese restaurants that don’t take all of my money, so whichever one you prefer is fine by me.” He said it as a joke, but this man could put away some food. He had always been able to eat more than he looked like he could, but now that he was older the portion sizes only grew. If he hadn’t have kept up with a workout routine, he would surely be massive. It wouldn’t take them too terribly long get onto 37th and when Evie pointed out the restaurant, he happily pulled into the small parking lot. “Alright, I have some rules… You don’t pay for anything and if you insist on paying me back, I’ll take it in the form of one drink at your bar. Deal?” He laughed as he shut the car off and turned to her. If she agreed, he would exit the SUV, make his way to her side and open the door for her before shutting it once she was outside of if. He knew it wasn’t a date, but he never invited people to dinner unless he had the funds to pay, just in case. With an elated smile, he walked with her into the establishment and let her pick the booth or table. Once seated, he would order a water for a drink and start looking over the menu. “Something tells me you come here a lot if it’s right nest door to your bar?” @maryyelenorr

Evie inhaled sharply as if to ponder the terms and conditions of Zendricks ‘deal’. “Ooh, you drive a hard bargain, but I think I could manage that.” She joked, nodding her head with a playful smile on her features. Once inside the restaurant, seated in a booth, Evie scoured the menu that she had already memorized. She ordered herself a drink, a Diet Coke, before looking over at Zendrick. “You got that right.” Her small laugh carried through the almost empty restaurant. “I come here a lot after some of my night shifts. I never have the energy to cook after dealing with some customers. The discount is nice, and the food is good.” She smiled, putting down her menu. Evie knew what she was going to order, and the waiter probably knew too. “Are you two ready to order?” The host asked after setting down their drinks. “I’ll have the chicken fried rice, and an order of spring rolls, please.” Evie said, seeing the waiters knowing smile. She turned to Zendrick, tilting her head to the side slightly. “The kung pao chicken is good, same with the sweet and sour pork. Just my suggestions, if you’re stuck on what to order.” She laughed, realizing quickly that she was starting to ramble. @💙ShayBae💙

‘Ooh, you drive a hard bargain, but I think I could manage that.’ He couldn’t help but smile at her when she said it. It was sarcastic and playful, two adjectives he knew of Evie, but never genuinely heard them together. She seemed to be opening up a bit and he couldn’t help his lingering gaze. She was funny and as she explained just how familiar with the restaurant she was, he found himself searching her eyes as if to find every color in them before speaking. ‘Are you ready to order? The waiter’s voice through him off track for a moment, as he jerked his head towards him as if pulled from a trance. Zendrick cleared his throat and glanced down at the menu again, knowing what he normally ordered from a Chinese restaurant and simply decided on that until Evie spoke up. “.. Well, how can I say no to that? I’ll have a regular kung pal chicken, an order of crab rangoons and a small lo mein.” He took Evie’s menu from her and handed them both to the waiter with a smile before returning to her eyes. How had they never had a decent conversation until now? The longer he looked at her the more he realized just how much he missed out on in high school and decided he wasn’t going to let that happen again. He grabbed his water and casually looked at her as he spoke. “Alright, Evie Daniels. You made it through the most excruciating four years of your life, you graduated and then you bought a bar? Fill in the blanks for me. I feel like I missed out on getting to know you during our high school career and if you’ll let me, I’d like to rectify that.” He smiled at her before he moved the straw to the back edge of his cup and drank from it. His stomach was aching and while he couldn’t wait for food, he was more interested in getting to know the woman across from him. @maryyelenorr

As the waiter walked away, leaving Zendrick and Evie alone to their own conversation, Evie listened intently to what Zendrick had to say. She let out a small laugh, pushing aside a few strands of hair before speaking up. “Heh- well… not too much happened. Got into a relationship and promptly broke up six months later. Worked as a waitress right out of school and moved in with three other people. My life was pretty much just work for a little bit. Then we bought the bar, after a lot of saving and loans and paperwork. Started to make enough money from bartending that I could move into my own place not too far from here, actually.” Evie paused for a moment as she took a sip of her drink, the ice cubes melting into the dark liquid of her soda. She pondered her thoughts for a few moments, trying to think about anything exciting that happened after high school. “I guess that’s really it. I haven’t really left this town, despite how often I talked about leaving while I was in high school. I just… haven’t had a reason to leave. I love my job now. I make good money, my friends all live here, it’s nice.” Her voice trailed off into soft laughter, shaking her head. “And what about you? How’s life been treating you since you graduated?” @💙ShayBae💙

He listened to her story, something he felt like he owed her since he didn’t pay hardly any attention to her in high school and as he did so he learned a great deal. She had an amazing work ethic and she was a scrapper. It took a lot to move in other people and share a space and one hell of a drive to work until you could buy a building. He couldn’t help but smile at her as she explained everything she had done and when she finished, he nodded at her. “That’s admirable. You really did a great job.” She didn’t need his praise and he knew that, but he was still proud of none-the-less. Then the dreaded question he knew was coming next, what had he done since graduation. With a sigh, he pushed his drink away and laid his arms over each other on the table as his golden eyes stared into hers. “Nothing that I thought was going to happen, for sure. Uhhhmm. Well, as you know I was a big sports guy in high school. Baseball and Football were my specialties and I wanted to go to college for either, but… that didn’t pan out. I actually got a scholarship for basketball and after one year of it, I decided it wasn’t for me. Not to spend the rest of my life doing, anyway.” He took a breath and leaned back into his seat, pushing up his glasses as he looked around for a moment before continuing. “So, after that, I had to pay my way through the rest of my college experience, but now I’m working on my masters degree in psychology. I think I mentioned it back at the school, but I’m a counselor at a practice that I hope to take over some day. It’s not a bad gig and it pays well, but it’s just not what everyone was expecting, ya know?” He smiled at her warmly as their moment was interrupted by the waiters bringing them their food. Their plates nearly filled the table and when the staff left, his eyes were transfixed on the food before him. He waved a hand over his plates and looked up at her with a warm smile.

19:08

. “You’re welcome to try any of this if you want. Don’t hesitate.” @maryyelenorr

“Yeah, I think you mentioned that.” She laughed lightly in a joking manner. Her eyes darted down to the food that covered the table in front of them. The aroma was amazing, and it looked twice as delicious. Chopsticks in hand, Evie reached over to grab a crab rangoon, studying it for a moment before eating it. “Mmm, those are good.” She chuckled, wiping the corner of her mouth with her napkin. After taking another small sip of her soda, Evie propped her arm on the table, leaning her head against her hand. “So, psychology. I can’t remember if I asked, and if I did, I apologize, but what made you want to major in Psych?” Evie prodded, careful not to be too loud to disturb the other customers. She was somewhat surprised, seeing how easy her and Zendrick got along together. Maybe we would have been friends in high school. Evie thought to herself as she awaited Zendricks answer, taking a small bite from a spring roll she picked up. @💙ShayBae💙

Her laugh made his lips curl into a wider smile as his golden-brown eyes slowly came back up to meet hers. He watched her take a bite of his food as he dug into his lo mein. She was a beautiful woman, even when she teased him. It made him regret his actions in high school to see her sitting there, resting her head against her hand and looking down at her food. They probably would’ve been great friends and now he would never know. ‘…what made you want to major in Psych?’ He cleared his throat before answering, taking another drink if his water as he thought back all those years ago. Sitting his cup down, he chewed on his lip for a moment as he watched her chopsticks dance around her plate. “Honestly, I was required to take a psychology class for associates degree. I would never have taken it otherwise, but I found that I really enjoyed it. The next semester, I changed all of my classes around to focus on psych and never looked back. Maybe we have that in common. It… just kind of comes easier when you find the thing you love.” He looked back up at her, unable to stop the faint blush that tinted his cheeks. He brought his forearms to the edge of the table as he leaned a bit forward in his seat to show her he was actually paying attention to what she said. “Alright, Daniels. Since I missed out on getting to know you in high school, catch me up. Favorite color… favorite holiday… favorite book? Come on, girl. Give me something.” His smile split his entire face as he asked her his questions, coming back to dig into his food while he awaited her answers. @maryyelenorr

Evie kept her head propped against her hand, tilted slightly to the side as she stared at him, listening to his words as he explained. The shock of the situation had long since passed by that point, Evie was no longer wondering how she found herself in this situation. Instead, she thought to herself why she hadn’t done this sooner. She was fairly different in high school, she supposed. Always upset, she usually stuck with her small friend group, rarely took the chance to make new friends whenever the opportunity arose. A stoner and an athlete? Being friends? That was unheard of. But Zendrick always seemed so nice. Evie saw that in high school, how kind he was. Maybe that was a reason why she never spoke to him, afraid she would somehow taint that kind heart he had. “Me?” She laughed. “My favourite holiday is probably… Christmas. I usually work, we’re one of the few places open on Christmas. Which sounds… sad, but it’s really not. The other owners will cook food, y’know, Turkey and ham and all the sides. Customers will get food for free. Usually it ends up being homeless people, or people who don’t have family to celebrate with.” Evie paused for a moment, seeming to ponder her thoughts. “Y’know, if you find yourself in a rundown dive bar on Christmas night, it’s not because you want to be there. So, the other owners and I decided to make a thing out of it. Hot meals, cheap drinks. And the staff will do secret Santa, which is always a blast.” She laughed, sitting up straight before taking a bite of her food. “Favourite colour? Green. It’s… welcoming. Book? Hmm, that’s a hard one. I don’t… read a whole lot. I liked the Hobbit when I was younger, I guess I never really stopped liking it.” The food was delicious, and the conversation even better. Evie was having a great time, enjoying every second she spent with Zendrick so far. This was leaps and bounds better than standing around awkwardly in a high school gymnasium with people she hadn’t seen in years.

17:16

“What about you? Fill me in on everything I missed when I was too busy getting stoned while skipping our chemistry class.” Evie laughed, half-joking. Though she was genuinely interested in getting to know him. @💙ShayBae💙

TW: Drinking, Cussing, Sexual Content, TBD

'Me? My favorite holiday is probably...' 'Halloween' The thought shot into Zendrick's mind and it almost passed through his lips when she said Christmas instead. His eyes went a bit wide as he stopped chewing and focused on her eyes. As she explained it made sense why she would love it so much, it just wasn't what he had expected of her. The same look of shock came again when she said her favorite color was green. He had pegged her for a black or red kind of girl and it was then that he sat his utensils down and leaned back in his seat. His presumptions were likely exactly why they hadn't met sooner and if he was honest with himself, he was a little ashamed by that. "I'm really sorry. Learning all of that makes me realize that I pictured you as someone completely different and if I had just taken the time back then... Who knows. Maybe we wouldn't be having this conversation now." He took another drink of his water and let out an abashed sigh as he thought of all of his favorite things. "My favorite holiday is probably Thanksgiving. I... I love food and while I don't exactly agree with the history of why the date is significant, it always brought my family together and sometimes... That was all I could ask for... My favorite color... Hm.. Orange, maybe? Is that weird? Fall is my favorite season and all of the reds, oranges and yellows just makes me wants to carve pumpkins and sit around the fire with those closest to me." He didn't take his eyes off her as he explained. He felt like he was connecting with a long lost friend and the more he spoke, the more comfortable with her he felt. He couldn't wipe the smile of his face and when he looked down at his almost empty plate, he shrugged as he continued.

22:39

"As for my favorite book, it's probably Sophie's Choice and if you haven't heard of it, it's because it's required reading material for Psych classes and I doubt anyone would read it willingly. I'm also not a big reader, or at least I wasn't, and all of the other books I read for leisure I read back when I was still in middle school. So, I couldn't tell you what they are about now to save my life." He laughed as he finished his food and pushed his plate to the side, drinking more of his water before looking back at Evie. "Favorite kind of music? I bet you guys really let your customers have it at the bar." He laughed, leaning back in his seat with a wide smile. @maryyelenorr