misstykAL

Grace: lmao, it's fine. what are you streaming?

Grace: i could just come over if that's easier?

Grace: i feel like all you've eaten is like. taco bell and doritos and that is just tragic. i feel like i have a moral obligation to come feed you.

Alyssa: kingdom hearts. i'm thinking about speedrunning the whole series because...why not.

Alyssa: but like. i mean, if you want to? that'd be okay? or like. i mean. if you don't want to be in the stream, idk. some people like don't like that.

Alyssa: soo i know i said i was going to call you later.

Alyssa: buut. i have a 24 hour stream going and like. that could be...weird.

“I know what you mean,” Grace laughed, shaking her head. “I’m just the worst at like…saying shit, basically.” She really wasn’t the most delicate of people, and that extended to talking about feelings. Which, admittedly, Grace hated doing. She was trying though. She was just…dumb. “I think I’m the same way,” Grace admitted. “Like…I don’t believe in soulmates, you know? Like one perfect person that will fit in a way no one else has. I think…I think there’s lots of people out there that you can be happy with. Lots of people you can grow with, you know? It’s just a matter of finding someone that you can click and grow with. I don’t know if that makes sense.” She just didn’t believe that one single person was supposed to make you happier than anyone else. Anyone in a relationship had the capability to bring happiness, Grace thought. The soulmate thing was bullshit, in her opinion. “I think you click with other people more than others, but I just…I don’t think there’s a single person in the world that you’re supposed to find. Like…how are you supposed to do that if you’re born in the US and your soulmate’s in fucking…Mongolia or some shit, you know?” Pausing, Grace took a moment to think, biting her lower lip. “I…actually have no idea? I can’t imagine you couldn’t. The money’s yours, the bank can’t monopolize it, I don’t think. I’m not sure they’ll let you make a mass withdrawal like that but…” Laughing, Grace pressed forward, pressing a kiss at the corner of Alyssa’s mouth. “Oh my god, you’re totally the mom friend, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, that...that makes sense. Soulmates just...I don’t know. It seems so dumb to think that someone out there that’s perfect,” she agreed with a soft shrug. It was a nice thought, that maybe someone really was out there that was put there just for her, but Alyssa didn’t think the universe worked that easily. Relationships were work, they didn’t just get handed to you like some perfect fairytale romance. “It would totally be my luck that if soulmates are real mine is like. In Antarctica or something. Somewhere I’d never meet them. And I’d just be alone the rest of my life.” It was probably a fortunate thing that the concept was complete bogus. There were probably plenty of people out there that could work for anyone, it was just a matter of finding someone you were willing to make the effort for. Face twisting up, Alyssa shrugged, not sure of the answer herself. She’d like to think that if she wanted to grab that much cash she would be able to just for the video, but she had a feeling it wouldn’t be quite so easy. “Probably won’t, but I might try. I’ve kind of always wanted to sit in a pile of money.” She’d worked hard for it, so it was something she definitely thought she deserved to at least try. “But um...yeah, I think....probably the mom friend. Yeah.”

It was an optimistic view of things, but not to the extreme. Alyssa’s explanation, at least, made more sense to Grace than anything else. “I guess I can see that,” she agreed, “Like…loving someone despite the imperfections kind of…makes it perfect for the relationship?” She furrowed her brows, giving a brisk shake of her head. “That was the worst way to explain that, but I’m a dumbass, so it’s the best I got,” she laughed. “Honestly though…do you think like…there’s a perfect person out there for you then?” It wasn’t meant to be deep, Grace was curious. It was a roundabout way to ask her opinion on soulmates, but that was alright, she thought. Her face fell into an expression of pure disbelief before Grace groaned. “Oh my god, Alyssa, no, you cannot buy a Taco Bell. It will only fuel your bad habit,” she teased. Well. Half teased, anyway. “A sturdier apartment door is probably a good idea. Maybe just toss it into savings, if there’s nothing you want. Like an emergency fund or something? I don’t know, I don’t think I’ve ever even seen that much money.” She’d certainly never had it herself. Her job didn’t pay that well. “One whole drink, huh?” she asked, amused, “That does sound pretty crazy. Absolutely wild, really.”

“Sort of. I guess. Okay, that sounds a little dumb when you put it that way, but you know what I mean,” she shrugged. Maybe it wasn’t something that held true, but it was a nice thought for Alyssa anyway. If something could be perfect even with flaws, it gave her some hope for herself. Biting her lower lip, Alyssa let her head thud against the couch before shrugging. “I hope so. I...well, I don’t know if I believe that there’s one perfect person out there. But, I think that you can grow with someone to be perfect for each other.” There would always be kinks in a relationship, that was just natural, but it was how you handled them and grew through them that made something what it was. “I guess that kind of...goes back to the perfect relationship thing. I dunno. Do you think there’s someone perfect out there for you?” Alyssa wasn’t sure, exactly yet, what it all would mean, but she at least had hope that someone out there would work for her. Smile lifting at her lips, Alyssa tapped a finger against her thigh with a brief nod. “You know what, that’s actually kind of a cool idea. Can I get that much in cash? Like, that would be a really cool video for my channel.” She couldn’t imagine that being possible, but...if it was, it would be a pretty damn awesome video to make up. “It’s the best I could do. I have to kind of babysit some of my crew.”

“Okay,” Grace said, cheeks warming with the compliment. It had been a while since she’d seriously blushed. “Well, I’m pretty good at sticking around, generally speaking,” she teased. “I am so glad you said that,” Grace groaned, flopping back against Alyssa’s couch. Cooper attempted to follow her up, but she sighed, pushing him resolutely back down. “That there’s no such thing as a perfect relationship, I mean. So many people think there is?” She shook her head. “Maybe it’s a pessimistic view of things but like…people aren’t perfect, and they fuck up. I think that thinking that a perfect relationship is just going to like…be without work is…nuts.” They took work, and a lot of blood sweat and tears, regardless of how compatible two people were for each other. Outside factors were a bitch. “I think so too though,” she said more softly, “I mean…I think we can…I think we can be really good.” Now was the time to ask to be official, but Grace chickened out. She wanted to wait a few days. This conversation was emotionally charged as is. “I saw,” Grace laughed, “But god, eleven million dollars. That is just…what even are you going to do with all that money?” Quirking a brow, Grace cocked her head to the side, laughing. “Wild, huh? Good wild, I hope? Nothing super exciting though, please. You won a huge tournament. That is totally exciting.”

Alyssa certainly hoped that Grace was good at sticking around. So far, it seemed to be the case, but she was still expecting her to leave at any moment. “I think...well, I think maybe there is such a thing as a perfect relationship. It’s...I mean, obviously no relationship is ever going to be without problems and struggles and all that, but the imperfections kind of make it what it is? And that’s...pretty perfect when you get it right and manage to make it work despite any issues.” It was, perhaps, the optimist’s version of what Grace was trying to say. She knew it would take work, would be a constant struggle, but if the other person was worth it, then all of those things didn’t seem quite as daunting. Alyssa’s lips pursed together as she nodded, glad that at least Grace seemed to be on the same page with where they were potentially headed. It was still early, things could still go to hell, but for not it felt like they were in a good direction. “I...you know, I don’t know. It was split between us, so it’s not like...I get the whole thing of it, but um. I dunno. Buy a Taco Bell. Or a sturdier apartment door. Haven’t thought about it.” It was a lot of money, a crazy amount for just one event, but it wasn’t life changing necessarily. Alyssa was doing incredibly well for herself without it, after all. “But oh, yeah. No. It was just...you know. I had a drink? So that’s...pretty wild.”

Her mouth was open to interject nearly immediately, but she snapped it shut again with Alyssa’s proclamation. Sighing, she nodded her head. “Okay,” she said, frowning. “Okay. I…want to help you work on it, but I don’t think I really know how. So I guess just…if there’s anything I can do?” It seemed lame, how Grace had offered, but she really wasn’t sure what else to do. She couldn’t fix this for Alyssa, unfortunately. “I can too,” she agreed, a hesitant smile slipping across her face. “See something, I mean. And honestly? I think we’ll both kind of…screw up. I think that’s jut how these things tend to work.” They’d already established not dating other people during this time, which was good, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t fuck up in other ways. “It’s been…it’s been a long time since I actually tried to…make anything serious,” she admitted haltingly, cheeks reddening. “I’m good with people, but I haven’t…I haven’t made an effort in quite a while.” Since college, if she were being honest, but admitting that out loud made her sound like a commitment-phobe. Which, unfortunately, wasn’t entirely incorrect. “So I’m pretty…I think I’ll screw up too, and I think…I think that’s okay.” It was unrealistic to have a picture perfect romance, Grace thought. Real people didn’t work like that. At least…not in her experience. “Good though,” she said with a sigh, “I feel better now.” Leaning forward, she pressed a swift kiss to the corner of Alyssa’s mouth. “So…tell me about the time out of town. Did you do anything neat?” she asked, wincing as Cooper chose that moment to ram his paw into her diaphragm.

Alyssa didn’t really know that there was something Grace could do to help her work on it. It was something she had to do for herself, she knew that, much as she wished it were different. “I...don’t think there is, it’s...okay, though. It’s...good just having you around, um. It helps,” she shrugged. Having someone that cared about her, that thought she was worth something, even if it didn’t fix it, it made things just a bit better. Grace was right, there would always be things they both screwed up on, but that was okay. They could still work through it, find a way to make the relationship function. “That...no, it’s...it’s okay if things aren’t perfect, I don’t...really think there’s such a thing as a perfect relationship, but um. I think...maybe it’ll be close.” Alyssa hadn’t been in a relationship since moving to Orlando, had probably never been in a very functional relationship at all, so she knew that all of this would be new for her, something she had to get used to. But, for Grace, she felt that maybe it was all worth the trouble. Her lips lifted in a smile, glad that thing seemed to be back on track. They were talking about things now, which would only make things easier as they tried to move forward together. “Oh, uh...aside from winning eleven million dollars? Not really. It was all business and then...well, we went out and celebrated? That was...wild.” Alyssa’s nose wrinkled as she laughed a bit. “And then...you know, I came back here and...yeah. Nothing like...super exciting, I guess.”

“I don’t think they’re all out front and center,” she said with a furrow of her brow. “I think…well. I think I’m in the same boat as you. Just because you’ve got less than desirable qualities in there too, it doesn’t detract from the overall package.” She wrinkled her nose, giving a brisk shake of her head. “That’s like the worst phrasing, but you know what I mean.” Frowning again as Alyssa seemed to push the topic aside, Grace sighed, unsure of what to say. She didn’t want to keep pushing, not really, but she also didn’t want to just let this fall to the wayside either. She wanted to let Alyssa know that she was perfectly desirable in many ways, and to many different people. It seemed counterproductive to do that though, if Grace was the one wanting to date her. That seemed like a topic for another day. “No,” she muttered, mostly to herself, “But the point of a conversation can change.” Shaking her head, Grace set her jaw, moving in closer. “No, I do need to apologize. Because instead of just talking to you like I should have, I did what I did. And sure, we’re both kind of at fault, I think, but that doesn’t mean I don’t owe you an apology.” Grace was a firm believer in owning her shit, and she wasn’t about to let herself off the hook for this one. “But listen…if you don’t want to get serious with it…I’m okay with that, you know? I’ll need to take some time to kind of get myself in the headspace for it, but I’m not going to be a dick about it either.” She held her hands up to silence her before Alyssa could interject. “I don’t think that’s what’s going on here, but…I just want to reassure you of that. You can change your mind, or tell me no or whatever without fear of me turning into a huge ass.” Heaving a sigh, she nodded her head. “I think…I think that’s a good plan though. Just to…to figure it out together. I think…I think we should make a deal to talk about it if anything bothers us, okay? Like…right when it does.”

Generally speaking, Alyssa disagreed entirely about it, but she didn’t really want to argue the point either with Grace. It was one of those things that they could talk in circles all day about, but probably wouldn’t agree on. At least, not yet. Someday, it was possible, perhaps, that she would gain some self-confidence and really believe that Grace felt that way about her. “No, it - the phrasing was...it was fine, just. I don’t know. I guess I just don’t feel like I have a lot to offer,” she shrugged, chewing at her lip. “I’m working on that, though. I am.” It was a long process that Alyssa had struggled with for years and she knew it was just a matter of finding a way to love and appreciate herself. Pursing her lips together, Alyssa nodded towards Grace. It was a mature way, she felt, to handle what had happened. Both of them were accepting partial responsibility and both of them, she hoped, wanted to move past it and correct the situation. “Well, that - thank you. I...apology accepted.” Much as Alyssa wanted to deny that Grace needed to apologize, sometimes she knew that it was best to just compromise and find a way to make things work out. The comment from Grace about Alyssa maybe not wanting to get serious had Alyssa about to interject immediately, her mouth opening to comment before Grace held up a hand. Alyssa let her head drop a bit, nodding slowly. “That...no, yeah, it um. I do, you know...I do want this to become...something serious. You’re...I just...I can see something here, I guess, um. And it’s...kind of scary and I...know that maybe sometimes I’ll screw up, but...I want to try. So, yeah, that...that sounds like a deal. Anything comes up, we just...be open and honest.”

She was no expert on body language reading by any means, but even Grace could see that she was closing off a little. Even though things weren’t stellar between them at the moment, Grace couldn’t just stand for that. She leaned forward, giving her enough space to not crowd, but close enough to make it well known that she was there. “So?” she said after a beat, adjusting her position to move closer. “So what? Sure, I’ve got a decent job and I have good skills when it comes to talking to people, but that doesn’t mean you’re any less desirable than I am, you know that right?” She frowned, sitting back and running her hands through her hair. “I have all those good qualities, but I’ve also got bad qualities too. I’m not this paragon of virtue, Alyssa, I have flaws. I know I have flaws.” She was stubborn to the point of bullheadedness and crass, she was quick to anger…there was plenty of bad to even out the good. “It’s just a matter of finding someone who can deal with both. But you…you’re smart, and funny and you have this resilience that take me aback every time. You have good qualities too, Alyssa, it’s just a matter of you accepting them.” She leaned forward, pressing a kiss to her cheek just to drive her point home. “Well…” Grace said, “I guess…literally any of the rest of it? Or did you kind of blank out from that point on?” she asked with a laugh.

Alyssa’s eyes flickered up when Grace got in closer, but ultimately she didn’t move at all, staying where she had settled on the couch as Grace started speaking. While it was true, sure, that everyone had their less desirable traits, Alyssa didn’t find that it detracted from Grace at all. Not like herself, where she felt her bad qualities completely masked anything that could be considered remotely good. “It - mm. Yeah, there...may be some bad qualities there, but they don’t...seem to matter so much with you. Like, with me it’s...they’re all just...right out there front and center, it’s...not so easy to embrace them.” Grace could be loud and bullish about certain things, but it had never been something that had turned Alyssa off to her, just something that worked in with her personality. Her eyes dropped down to her lap at the compliments, teeth gnashing together nervously. “But I guess it’s...that’s not really...the point of what we were talking about anyway,” she mumbled back with a half shake of her head. Getting to the point where she could accept compliments like that would take time. “But, no - it, no...I was um. I was paying...attention, okay. Okay.” Alyssa’s energy was nervous, chaotic, trying to come down to a point where she could really focus and just talk to Alyssa. In times like this, where her brain was all over the place, it was often hard for her to really focus on what she needed to. “It...you don’t need to apologize, though, it’s...I think it was kind of both of our faults to an extent that um...that things ended...ended up the way that they did. I’m uh...obviously not...really great at all of this myself, it’s...no surprise there. I get uh...spooked? I guess? Easily. And just...I didn’t uh...didn’t mean to get weird with it, I’m still just...getting used to the idea that uh...that maybe you’re actually like...kinda serious with all of...this,” she gestured vaguely between them, not sure what to call it yet even. “I think uh...maybe it’s...all something we can um...we can work on together, though, maybe.” 

“Oh! Alyssa! How are you? It’s nice to see you here!” Katrina asked with a smile after clinking their glasses together and taking a sip. “Did they hire you or are you a friend of the owners doing a favor?” She smiled and held out her hand for a handshake and noticing that the woman seemed to be on her own tonight for the event. Given that their last encounter was seeing Alyssa breaking down outside which was then followed by both girls going to subway to eat lunch, it was nice to see Alyssa be out and about.

“Oh! Katrina, uh, hi, yeah. I’m good. I think. Generally? How are you?” she asked, blinking rapidly once she started to process the fact that she somewhat knew the other woman. They’d met, at the very least, and had a lunch together. “But oh, kind of just doing them a favor. I don’t...really know them, but um. They reached out since I do this kind of thing for a living?” It was just one of many facets of her job, but it was a prominent enough one that she’d gotten the invite.

There was a new place that was opening up this weekend and who would Katrina Addams be if she wasn’t there supporting the local community with such an accomplishment?! Katrina smiled wide and proud for the owner who she found out had built this place up from nothing and now their dream had finally come true: opening up an authentic hispanic restaurant with a dance floor to allow both those who danced and had an apatite come and satisfy their needs. “Cheers!” She yelled out with the rest of the group with a smile and held up her glass with all the others before turning to the person next to her and giving their glasses a cling. 

Going out to anything with a crowd wasn’t usually something Alyssa ever wanted to do, but sometimes her job made it necessary. The owner opening up the restaurant had reached out to her to help cover the opening on her channel, hoping to bring some extra traffic in over the opening weekend. Alyssa was hanging there, sort of awkwardly, filming what she could of it to make the video as compelling as possible. “Oh, uh, yeah, cheers, of course,” she mumbled back as the girl next to her clinked their classes together. 

In all honesty, Grace hadn’t been expecting that sort of reaction. “Why not?” she asked, eyebrows arching high up her head. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m glad I’m not hopelessly pining here but, uh. What makes you think that it’s so impossible?” She had a sneaking suspicion Alyssa just had no idea how pretty and how engaging she was. She was shy, sure, a little socially awkward, but that wasn’t going to be something to stop people being interested. Grace just knew it. “C’mere,” she said, beckoning her over to sit next to her. Cooper was wandering around the apartment, sniffing various items that caught his interest. He’d be fine while herself and Alyssa spoke. Grace had a sneaking suspicion this conversation was about to be more serious than she’d originally intended. “There’s no reason that I couldn’t be more into you than you are to me, you know that right? It’s happened before, it’s not unheard of.” It felt…strange arguing the point, but Grace wanted to make sure Alyssa thought more highly of herself, as impossible as the task seemed right now. “Also, you might want to respond to like…the rest of my statement there,” she teased with a soft smile. 

The fact that Grace didn’t get it, didn’t see that Alyssa was so inferior in every way was something that Alyssa just didn’t understand. From where she was standing, it was such an obvious thing that she had no idea how to convey it in a way Grace would understand if she didn’t already. “It’s -- mm,” she went to speak, cutting herself off with a frown as she ran her hands through her hair in a clear frustration. It seemed so simple to her, but somehow it was so hard to put into words just how little she thought of herself. After taking a few anxious paces, Alyssa went over to Grace, sitting on the couch as Grace asked of her. She curled herself up, sitting criss cross on one of the cushions. Her body language was drawn inward, though she was trying her best to stay open and inviting so Grace knew that she was trying. “You...you’re just this wonderful, charismatic, gorgeous person and I’m...this. You can go out and talk to people and you have a badass job where you save lives and it’s so, so easy for people to fall for you and - there’s just...no way that there’s anything about me that could even remotely  make it possible that I’m anywhere near that level,” Alyssa explained, her words coming out rushed as she tried her best to explain it. Long story short, Grace had every reason for people to fall in love with her and Alyssa, well, she just didn’t see anything in herself worth loving. As many positive strides she’d made over the years since leaving her family, she just wasn’t fully there yet when it came to understanding that she wasn’t some horrid waste of a life. “But, right - right, um. What...what was the...the other part I should...have responded to?” 

“Is it something that you can really see yourself enjoying?” Eleanor asked. “I mean if it’s something you love and you would not regret spending that kind of money on, why not?” Eleanor was no stranger to spending a lot of money on frivolous things. With her salary, she knew that she could afford it and with hardly any social life, she made more than she could actually spend so she often bought expensive and pointless things. “That’s good. How has work been?” she asked with a soft smile before shrugging. “Things are good on my end. Work has been kind of slow I suppose but nothing bad.”

“I...well, I suppose so yeah?” she shrugged. It was definitely something she could see hanging in her apartment for when she was filming, if nothing else. There was no better game series to have hanging on her wall, after all. The expense was beyond her normal budget, but she had a lot of cash to spare nowadays. “Work...well, busy? Good, but um. Busy. I was gone for a month for like...I was doing work.” Alyssa tended to avoid really talking about what she did with people that she didn’t already know were into the kind of stuff she did. “Slow is...well, in your field it’s probably kind of a good thing?”

“I do too,” Grace responded needlessly, adjusting the painting slightly. This was one of her dumber ideas, but at least it looked like Alyssa wasn’t going to comment on it. Nailed it. Heaving a sigh of relief, Grace set the picture down against the side of the couch, rubbing the spot where the edge had dug in without thinking about it. “Oh, nah, I’m alright. Thank you though.” She stood for a moment, unsure of what to do, before she took a seat on the couch, frowning down at her hands. “Okay, so like…here’s the deal. I’m not good at this stuff.” She gestured vaguely around her, figuring Alyssa would pick up on what she meant. “I just – being vulnerable and stuff like that, it’s…I don’t like it. It makes me uncomfortable, and it freaks me out a little bit. I don’t…” She stopped herself, frowning. “I don’t know why. It probably has something to do with like…my shitty asshole of a college boyfriend, but I can’t blame it all on him. So when I got kind of open with you and things got a little weird I just…I panicked and kind of shut off because I didn’t want to get hurt?” She didn’t know if it made sense, but she was on a roll now. “And I kind of freaked thinking maybe I was way more into you than you were into me, which was dumb, but I’m also kind of dumb, so you know. That’s why I closed off like I did.” She was ashamed of it now, but she was talking openly about it, so she figured this was the best she could do. “…I now realize that I probably should have warned you before I launched in, but I’m also dumb as hell so…there it is?” She winced, glancing over to Alyssa and awaiting her reaction.

As Grace took a seat on the couch, Alyssa wasn’t entirely sure if she was meant to sit down herself or just awkwardly hang around to listen. She was sure that she probably looked stupid standing there, but Grace started to talk and so she chose to just stand there swaying nervously, eyes trying to keep towards Grace as she spoke. Mostly, she stayed quiet, letting Grace get everything out and nodding here and there to let Grace know she was definitely still engaged and paying attention to everything that was being said. It was a lot to take in, but the second Grace proposed that somehow Grace could be the one with more of an attachment than Alyssa, her eyes jarred open with a confused expression. “It - that’s not...there’s literally no way that you could possibly be more into me than I am into you, like. It’s just...there’s no way,” she blurted out, her head shaking with a clearly bewildered look. Even just looking between the two of them, Alyssa could see no possible reason why Grace would be at all more into her than she was into Grace. Grace had everything going for her and Alyssa, in her own opinion, had nothing of the sort. The thought was an utter absurdity to Alyssa, which probably wasn’t going to help matters at all. She didn’t want to seem like she was discounting Grace’s explanation at all or pushing it aside, but it simply didn’t make sense in her mind. The idea that someone could like her enough to be emotionally hurt by her was almost laughable in her mind and it left her with a look of just sheer confusion. 

Having never seen the movie, Danica couldn’t really comment one way or the other, but it must have been something special for Alyssa to be as into it as she was. “I’ll have to watch it someday, see if it lives up to the hype.”  She had enough spare time now to go watch some movies. Danica gave her an encouraging smile, hoping she’d go through with the purchase and not end up regretting it later. If she had the money, there was no reason not to spend it really. “A month? That’s quite a long time. What took you away for so long? You’re…in the gaming business, right? Me, though? Not much to speak of. Same old.”

“Definitely. It’s like - well, if you’re...well. You might like it,” Alyssa replied, head shaking softly as she tried to gather what she was trying to say. Really, she wanted to come out and just admit that the film was a gay girl’s dream, but that was simply something she hesitated to come out with ever. She had to assume Danica was okay with it, since she seemed supportive of her and Grace, but you never knew. “Erm, yeah though. It was a tournament? So, I had to like...be there to compete and stuff,” she nodded. “So, yeah, gaming. I...play them for a living, basically. It’s...you know. It’s good. What did you say you did for work?”

Admittedly, Grace figured this was a stupid idea. The painting wasn’t heavy, but it was awkward, and it took a moment of fumbling before she was able to fit it uncomfortably under her arm. “Not even an issue,” she said, full of fake bravado, even if the edge was currently digging painfully into her chest. “Yeah, alright. Your apartment is good. Maybe we can…can come back after, catch some of the bands.” That would all depend on how the talk went, obviously, but Grace was somewhat confident. “I’ll help you put this up too,” she promised, tapping the newly purchased artwork. “Lead the way.”

It didn’t look particularly comfortable, but Alyssa figured it was one of those times where letting Grace act like the knight in shining armor was the easiest way to go. Telling Grace she couldn’t do it would probably just make it dumber. “Okay, yeah that sounds...good. I like music okay,” she agreed with a half shrug. Being out in crowds for too long wasn’t her favorite thing in the world, but she would be with Grace, so perhaps it wouldn’t be terrible. Taking the lead, she navigated them back to her place, opening up the door to let them both in. “Do um...you want any water or anything?” Considering she’d been out of town for so long, she didn’t actually have much to offer aside from some old crackers and the last can of Mountain Dew, but it would have to work.

“Ah, sure, of course I’ve heard of her before. There was a new movie out sort of recently for it, no?” she asked. She’d seen a trailer or two while she was away, at least she was pretty sure it was the same thing. Games had never been her thing, though they were apparently Alyssa’s. “Definitely, though. If that’s something you’re into, I think it would be a great addition to your wall. If you want it, go for it, that’s always been my motto.” A motto that had gotten her in plenty of trouble, sure, but still one she lived by. “So…how have you been, Alyssa?”

“Yeah, that’s the one. It was...I mean, it was just. It was great,” Alyssa nodded. The whole movie had basically been designed for her, she was pretty sure. Danica had a good point, there was no reason not to get it if she liked it and it would be a cool piece to add to her apartment even if it was just there for sitting in the background of her streams. “I  well, yeah, no. You’re right, it’s...I should get it,” she nodded, motioning towards the artist that she wanted to go through with the purchase before glancing back at Danica. It was a simple question, but felt loaded all things considered. “I’ve...been busy? It’s um...I was gone for a month for work stuff. What about...you?”

“Alright,” she said quietly, content to wait while Alyssa made her purchase. Cooper, realizing who it was, began wagging his tail, pulling against his leash as he tried to get to Alyssa. With a sigh, Grace gave him some slack, and he moved over, letting his butt hit the dirt as he leaned happily over into Alyssa’s leg. Huffing out a laugh, Grace held her hands out. “Gimme that. I’ll carry it for you. My wingspan’s a little wider.” Not by much, but she wasn’t about to make Alyssa tote that thing around by herself either. “But uh…huh. Maybe somewhere a little less crowded? A little quieter, away from the main bustle? Would that be alright? We should probably…you know. Talk.” Frowning, she pinched the bridge of her nose. “That sounds so fatalistic and dramatic and I swear it’s not, I just – I feel like I owe you an explanation or something, you know? It’d be a lot easier face to face, I think. If that’s…if that’s alright with you.”

Carrying out the transaction had take much of Alyssa’s attention for the moment, but she still let a hand drop to her side, scratching at Cooper’s fur when he pressed up against her leg. With her purchase in hand, she let a small smile tick at her lips, nodding as she held the painting out for Grace to carry. “Yeah that...that sounds good. Um. Quiet and stuff is always...good for talking.” She paused then, chewing anxiously at her lip. It did all sound super dramatic and serious, which she was hoping it wasn’t, but it was enough to make her feel uneasy about the whole thing. “Maybe erm. I mean, my apartment is...just up the way, it might be like...the best place?” Certainly nowhere around the festival would be a good place to try and have a serious conversation.