I've got a better idea.

CRITICAL DAMAGE

hdu chilly

runs over to the treehouse half-naked “eLLIE-”

       ❛ small talk. right. small talk i can do. ❜ there’s a healthy pause where he battles with whether or not that’s actually true. his own feelings—which he liked to consider unbiased (as unbiased as they could be in a conversation in his own head)—aren’t something he’s even trying to spare here. it was just sort of empirical fact that the last time he’d tried talking to one of ellie’s teammates he’d crashed and burned. ❛ …don’t suppose any of them are abstract algebra fans? ❜

        he’s joking, but also gleans that he won’t be the issue of the night—ellie never seemed to take one at all with the way he conducted himself—and a tense brow melts into a genuine smile…followed by a knowing roll of his eyes at the mention of alvin. she wasn’t wrong if a flashy entrance wasn’t what she was looking for. if he was any number of things, composed and appropriate were two of them.

        ❛ good point            subtlety’s something he speaks about as well as french. ❜ simon’s gangly limbs seem to get in the way for a moment, finally folding awkwardly as she readjusts him to her level and a hand, now free from work gloves and the solution on the table, ghosts over his cheek.

        ❛ d-don’t mention it. ❜ seriously. or all the “acting” she’s expecting from him this friday might be a little too inspired.

Let’s skip ahead a bit: to the night of the gala.

Eleanor is all dolled up in a fluffy little evergreen dress that ended a few inches above the knee and had hand stitched embroidery along the sweetheart neckline and the hem. Her hair was down from it’s usual adorable pigtails, replaced by a thin headband to keep her bob tucked behind her ears. She wore short dark green heels in a vain attempt at better matching her ‘date’s height.

As soon as the two munks got near the event hall, Eleanor had taken hold of the taller male’s arm as a way to show anyone who saw the who she was with for the evening. Upon walking in to the hall she looked all around at all of her teammates and kids from other schools. So far she didn’t see that creep Jason anywhere, but her grip on Simon’s arm tightened just a smidge regardless.

She stepped in front of her lanky date and adjusted his tie as she began running the plan by him one more time.

“Okay, so we’re cool so far. Just stick close to me, and if any convos get super awkward or you don’t know what to tell people about us or anything just...... adjust your glasses and I’ll step in. Kay?”

Eleanor smoothed out Simon’s lapels then patted his chest fondly and flashed him bright grateful smile.