run baby, run.

Grace realized in a small town it was notable to be sitting in a diner way past midnight. So she should have expected the man, who was probably a local, to take notice and talk to her. When he acknowledged her response she glanced up at him and noticed the way he held his abdomen accompanied by the soft hiss from his teeth. He was in pain and trying to hide it. She recognized it all to well having plenty of experience in that field. However, she was surely not the one to comment on it but she made a mental note of it. “Grace.” She replied gently as she took a deep and calming breath. She didn’t need to be as cautious as she was so she tried to put on a semi-friendlier face. “Oh um-..” She gulped and nodded her head. “Yeah sure... I haven’t really many places yet.” Grace had tried to stay out of the public eye as much as possible. Her curiosity pegged the question as to why he was in the diner at that hour but she wouldn’t ask him. 

Grace was annoyed with the man who was continuously asking questions and not believing her bullshit story. It wasn’t all made up. It was true she had taken a job in this town but the reason for coming there was much more ugly. “What’s not to buy?” She asked shrugging her shoulders and pressing her lips together. “Why-..” Grace took a frustrated breath in and let it out before clearing her throat. “I don’t think it’s really any of your business, frankly.” Grace wasn’t usually that forward or rude but since coming there she had been much more standoffish. 

Grace glanced down at the papers on the table as the woman asked about her teaching. “Oh um-...” She swallowed and cleared her throat. “I teach mostly 5th grade but I also teach a few classes of older students as well.” She told her. “Currently grading my older kids’ papers.”

Grace raised her eyebrows at his comment about her cooking. “How do you know I’m even a good cook?” She asked raising an eyebrow. “I could be terrible.” She smirked. When he admitted he didn’t know what chess pie was her jaw dropped slightly and she gasped. “What? Are you kidding?” She shook her head. “That hurts my southern heart.” Grace said putting her hand over her heart on her chest. “You’re in for a good ol’ southern treat.” She told him with a smile before he started to push her cart and teased her about a list. Grace’s eyes glanced around the store and she jokingly pushed the list in her back pocket down a little more. “Me? A list?” She shook her head. “Never...” Grace actually hadn’t stopped smiling since Cliff showed up next to her in the store so when he commented on it she blushed and nervously looked down. “Yeah yeah..” She laughed softly. “I’ve gotta hand it to you, Cliff...when I got here I thought I would just mind my own business and keep to myself. But somehow you managed to literally pry your way in and-...” Grace laughed again. “I’m happy you did.” 

wesley nodded before letting out a slight chuckle,  “only slightly. i’ve been in this business a while now. you learn to spot the virgins”  he voluntarily offered up the information, before smiling politely. had anyone been there, they could’ve seen that her blonde hair and small frame was sort of a funny contrast to his tall and dark self, especially in the old school decor of the studio. when she pulled out a reference photo, wesley smiled again.  “we can do that”  he bit down on the cap to the marker, and begun drawing up something similar to what she’d shown him, with few alterations in the design, while chewing on the cap to the marker. when he finally pulled out the cap and placed it on the table in front of him, wes nodded  “i like the idea. setting yourself free and flying away. you settin’ yourself free from anything in particuar, darlin’  ?”  he asked, just trying to make conversation. when the woman showed him where her scar was, he bit back the question of asking how she’d gotten in, but rather focused on his work of art. as he finished drawing, he showed her the pad of paper,  “whatcha think  ?”  the man asked, not for approval of his work, more for her to be happy with what he was about to brand on her body for life.

Grace was a ball of nerves so his friendly demeanor and smiles to her were helping and letting her calm down a bit. When he teased her, she let out a genuine soft laugh. “I'm Grace by the way and I don’t know if you remember me but you offered to help me move boxes the other day and I was pretty rude to you. I’m sorry about that.” She wasn’t necessarily afraid of getting a tattoo but more of showing her scar to someone else. Something she had tried so hard to keep hidden. “Umm-...” She stuttered and hesitated to answer his question. “You know just, getting a fresh start in a new town. It’s freeing.” Grace hadn’t completely lied. She knew it was only a matter of time before Wesley asked her how she got the scar. It clearly had not been treated by a medical professional based on how it healed not to mention the strange location. Grace couldn’t tell him that her husband had thrown her down onto a glass coffee table that shattered and the glass and iron structure gave her the scar. She’d think of something. She watched him draw and when he finished and showed her the picture, her blue eyes lit up. “That’s-... that’s perfect.” She smiled again but this time wider and with less nerves. 

After a moment, Grace dropped his hand and nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. The blonde was going to protest again but he had already turned back around to buy her a coffee and there was no use in stopping him. She let out a sigh and waited for him to return. When he did she said, “You really didn’t have to buy me a coffee. It was my fault I knocked over my coffee.” 

Grace was happy to help out a stranger in need. While it went against her ‘trying to lay low’ status, she couldn’t just sit idly by while a stranger potentially lost all their money. She shot the blonde a small smile back and nodded. “Happy to help.” When she asked if she was new, Grace took a breath and nodded again. “Yeah I am. Apparently it’s easy to spot a newcomer in this town.” Grace laughed softly. Literally everywhere she went someone was able to point out that she was new. 

When he asked yet another question, her jaw clenched and she look up at him with a half annoyed look while still trying to maintain her composure. Grace scoffed slightly and looked down at her papers. “Not much of a story. There was an open job here so I took it. But I’m kind of busy grading these papers so...” She trailed off, obviously not giving the full story and trying to end the conversation she did not want to be apart of. 

Grace smiled when he agreed to the plan and seemed to trust not only her but the school. When he inquired about his number she nodded. “Yeah it should be in the school directory.” She told him. “Okay, well umm-...” Grace smiled. “You have a good day, Edward.”