In a New York minute.

"Okay, good. Because I'm not like that or anything." The blonde tried to wave it off and playfully roll her eyes but the bridge of her nose scrunched and something about the reaction wasn't entirely sincere. "You know," Eliana leaned in a little conspiratorially, "desperate." It was mostly about the two previous book not getting as rave reviews as this current release. The critics had commented about how offer her game book 5 and 6 seemed, and were calling this book 7 her comeback to true form. If she ever wanted to dethrone James Patterson then she needed herself front and center. People needed to keep buying and devouring the novels she was churning out.

Thankfully he seemingly moved on and hadn't seemed to mind. Though, that left Eliana standing there almost awkwardly since his presence had thwarted her plan. At least it was her book that he'd picked up and that alone returned the smile to her face. Even more so in seeing him flip around through it. Before Eliana knew it the male was noticing her author portrait and recognizing her to be the one to put together this work of art. If you asked her, at least.

"Oh my god, don't apologize," she laughed lightly and easily, "it's so random, right? Go into a bookstore and the author is right there." Unknowingly she preened a little under the recognition. "But yes, that's me, Eliana Kendrick. The author of that very book in your hands." And because she couldn't help herself, she continued on, "have you read it, or any part of the series?"

He suddenly lowered his voice and leaned forward, as if he was about to divulge a harrowing secret to the author. "Can I be honest? Your books not being ranked above Patterson is a travesty." He glanced around to check no one was hearing him. The last thing he wanted was a Patterhead coming after him. "Book Five deserved a top spot. If not Five, then Four at least."

Giddy as a fanboy, he beamed widely as he clutched Eliana's book in his hands. "But hey, what are you doing here? Don't tell me you're actually a Blue Harbor resident?"

until she came to blue harbor, at least.

i understand, he said, and she hoped that was true. that was what she really wanted. someone to understand her completely. she nodded her consent from him to join her, a little pleased that her crying netted someone nice. back home in l.a., people would probably just walk right past her and not even spare her a glance. “thank you, i'd love that.” tefi sniffled noisily. “so, your birthday being in a few weeks… does that make you a leo like me, or a virgo?”

A small smile crept across the professor's face when she asked him about his birthday, though her question, much like her current situation, also left him stumped. "Uh," he started as he scratched his head, "I don't really know zodiacs but uhh... Yeah, I think I'm a Leo." He shrugged. "Guess we're... zodiac buddies? Is that a thing?"

He chuckled. He hoped that stupid stupid quasi-joke would make her chuckle too. "Hey, how about this," he said, leaning forward in his chair, "What was the best thing that happened to you this year? There's bound to be at least one thing."

The two hit it off thanks to their love of books, and inevitably, coffee shops, which was where the both of them were sat at the moment. James, transfixed at Jasper's story, rested his face on his knuckles which contorted his face and made his spectacles go askew. It wasn't until the other had finished that James broke out of his reverie.

"Wait, what?" he said incredulously. "What? It was the mom?" He leaned back in his chair as he tried to process what Jasper had just said. "That is... wow." Heaving a sigh, he took a sip of his coffee before speaking once more. "Okay, I really need to read one of that author's books sometime. These twists are just insane."

He took another sip from his steaming mug. "How's the library been? Sorry I haven't been in a while but I will be soon. I need a change of scenery when hunkering down for papers and I've got a ton of papers coming my way in a few days."

"Yeah, okay, I'll be in there," she announced finally, pointing toward the bathroom as she carefully scaled the walls of the room so as to avoid any small accident that could have happened—not that she could even think of one. Immediately upon entering, Safiye took a moment to stare at herself in the mirror. 'What the f–ck is happening?' she thought to herself, cupping the sides of her face as her cheeks warmed again. She took a few deep breaths, trying to reel herself back in after all that had happened so far. What she had thought would have been an sweet little trip to Chicago had turned into such a mess at every turn, and yet...her inner monologue was reminding her she was having fun despite every hiccup.

After she had taken care of her business, she stepped out of the restroom as quietly as possible so to avoid arousing James if he had fallen asleep already. Still fully clothed in the same outfit from the day—because she wouldn't have been caught dead producing the same scandal as he—Safiye felt a new rush of energy pumping through her. "Hey," she let out softly, placing herself at the edge of the bed and looking in James's direction, "I know things today have been completely unconventional and...but, uh, well– I think it was a good time to make a story out of at least." Right? She was choosing to be completely and utterly vulnerable then, in sharing how she felt even just about their day together.

The bathroom door flew open and James bolted upright on the bed. He leaned against the bed frame and tried (unsuccessfully) to seem casual like he wasn't lost in his thoughts just a few seconds ago. "Hey. Hello. Yes."

He relaxed a little bit at her words, chuckling and shaking his head. "It's definitely a good story. I don't think I'll ever share it to anyone because people will rightfully think I'm a dumbass but definitely a good story." If Nilay heard about this, she's gonna have a field day.

"Look," he started, leaning forward from the bed frame. "Let's just, uh, enjoy the rest of the night. We've got a great room. We might as well make the best of it. And remembering all that—" he gestured to the where the closet was, "—is definitely not making the most of it... right?"

Being busy was good. Keeping her mind occupied was good. Unfortunately though, everything had just been a bit too quiet for Phoebe’s liking. The staff at the paper were clearly perturbed by her sudden insistence on helping with any and all tasks round the office, and she had to blink back tears when someone asked if she was okay, because she was acting strange. 

She was, she insisted. She was fine.

After that, they gave her the afternoon off, and she decided to go see if the professor running the creative writing seminar she had signed up to attend was in, or to at least find out their office hours. When that too turned into a fruitless endeavor as they were in class, Phoebe unexpectedly found herself lost. And alone. And susceptible to thinking about the last forty-eight hours. 

Then it was like someone somewhere answered her prayers when she spotted James Bennett walking across the campus and in her direction. She didn’t know him that well outside of being Nilay’s friend, and then felt a pang of guilt when she remembered the comments Eli had made about the curator working a lot more than usual lately, but couldn’t pinpoint why. So wrapped up in her own bubble, she didn’t even know what was going on with her friend. But maybe James did, so she waved him over when he happened to glance up. “Hey! James, right? Fancy seeing you here!”

Wonderful, he thought as he walked to the restroom, got some tissues, and tried to wipe it off—uselessly.

He stepped out of the restroom hoping that the nth wipe would make a difference when he heard his name being called. He looked up to try and fins who it was and saw a somewhat familiar face.

"Hey! Uhh... Phoebe, right?" he returned to her verbatim. The two of them had met at a party Nilay threw but weren't really well acquainted. "Oh, I work here actually," he said. "It's great." His smile faded as he glanced down at his coffee stained shirt. "Most days."

"What brings you around here?" he asked. "Are you taking a class? Or perhaps teaching one?"

She snorted. "Sorry, not in the Hebrew dictionary," she mused. If she truly wanted to add more insult to injury, she would've fake gagged as he described himself as being "ruggedly handsome". He was her brother, after all. However, she supposes that the rough stop would also suffice for it.

Pressing her lips together, she glanced over at James. The corners of her lips had pulled up into a smirk and Nilay shrugged. "Perhaps I'm not," she admitted. Finally laughing before reaching out to rough up his hair with her hands. "Okay, I am. A little bit. You are all good, right?"

Nilay lovingly rolled her eyes. "She'll think you're an idiot but will be too nice to say that to your face, because she loves you." There was that dreaded question everyone seems to ask of her lately: how is everyone? For the girls and the cats, it was an easy answer. For Elijah and herself...

"We're doing good. Hattie's excited for summer break to end and her schooling to come back—yes, I know, she's my daughter, shush. Rhia's really loving daycare and has been making a lot of friends. Eli's been busy with work, myself as well, so that's been fun navigating. And the cats are still as mischievous as always, if not even more so. I don't know where they get that from. And of course. How about you and Rey? Aside from the fucked up arm, anything new with you?"

He chuckled and shook his head at her. James knew all too well that no matter how much she tried to feign ignorance, Nilay genuinely cared. "As long as we get to the ER in the next five minutes," he said.

"Yeah, well, I'm not saying that's true—because it's not," he said, squinting his eyes at her, "But even if it was... I'll enjoy it while I can because in a few years she probably will think I'm an idiot and actually say it to my face."

James shook his head. "You're a bad influence to your kids. I should have them for a weekend sometime. We'll do a Star Wars marathon. Build the Rivendell Lego set. I'll teach them how to trash talk losers in COD."

He heaved a sigh as he thought where to begin. "Rey's loving the new place. She's already made some friends at the park. He corner at home is cozy and comfortable though you already know that. You basically designed my house."

"And me?" He shrugged. "Just... work, really. Oh gosh, I'm turning into you." He groaned. "This hurts more than the arm."

Finally, they arrived at the ER. James walked up to the reception counter and smiled very calmly. "Hello. Evidently, I need some assistance." When he was asked what happened, he quickly replied while pointing to Nilay, "She pushed me down the stairs."

"Well," the blonde smiled as best she could, "I did it in their honor. But I'm worried that people in Blue Harbor don't seem to throw a ball around."

He gave a dismissive wave. "He'll be fine. He's a professor. There's bound to be a student he pissed off that's around here."

"There are some that do. They're just not in my class," James said as he looked around to see if he was going to piss yet another student off. "Not a lot of jocks take Literature."

"Well, Blue Harbor isn't that big. We'll probably bump into each other before you, uh, complete your 'pass through'." James scratched his head. "I think you did a great job with that throw. I think the water concussed me or something."

After running the towel through his hair once more, he replied, "No, I moved here a couple of months ago. A bit of a change from a big city but a good one. How about you? How long do you plan to be here for?"

"It's official. She loves you," James said as he took the coffee and raised it as a way of saying thank you. "Now you've set a dangerous precedent. She's going to think you have treats for her everytime she sees you."

The professor took a sip of his coffee as he settled back in his chair. "By the way, those croissants I bought at the market that last time? Absolutely phenomenal. Even held up after a two days. Just had to heat 'em up." He smiled. "What's up with you, Raf?"

At this point, Izulu has no idea how long she's been standing here. The painting in front of her is so huge, and so vibrant, and so entrancing that she's been lost in it for ages. Every slight movement of her eye finds something new to see and admire, and she's stuck here, imagining full scenarios and stories happening inside the world of the painting. It's only when she thinks to herself how excited she is to show this to her students on their field trip next month, that she remembers she's a person, and is brought back to reality. When she comes back to herself, there's a person standing next to her, looking at the same painting. "This one's my favourite," she smiles. Understatement of the century. "Do you have a favourite painting?"

He approached another painting who had a woman transfixed and soon he found himself being drawn in too. It was only when the woman spoke that he was shaken out of his reverie.

"Uhh," he stammered, suddenly stricken by the inability to talk after being silent for almost an hour. "Well, there was one back there of a lighthouse that's still in my brain but this one is trying to inch it out from my memory." James gazed at the painting curiously. "It's amazing how people can make something like this. I can't even draw a smiley face properly."

AFTERNOON, at a book store/book section of a store.

Like a moth to a flame, Eliana Kendrick was drawn to the front table displaying a number of the hot new releases. Seeing her name had caught her — hook, line, and sinker — reeling her in without a fight. Screaming Through Cathedrals had been her latest release, somewhere around six months prior, the next installment in her Rose Haven series. The success wasn’t new to the blonde, she’d been at the front tables and had big displays many times before. She’d won awards in her genre and some prizes, been on the best sellers lists every time, and yet, Ellie still couldn’t help herself when she found that her thriller/suspense novel had taken up residence on the side of the table rather than front and center. It didn’t matter that the featured book was a brand new release, she picked one of the small stacks up with some intentions. That was until someone came up to the table and brought her to pause as she eyed them in her periphery. “I wasn’t gonna switch the books. I’m not that vain.” Except, that had been exactly what she had been about to do before she was interrupted.

open starter — assume connections if you'd like!

@bluestarters

The professor was busy perusing, occasionally looking past his glasses to look at the titles and covers. He reminded himself to try and mask his expressions. He became a little too excited when browsing books. He walked over to a table displaying a few titles and was about to pick a book up when the woman who had been there before him spoke up,

"Oh, I... didn't think you were," he said. Weird, he thought. Why would he think that anyway?

But it wasn't until he got a second glance at the woman that he finally realized why she'd said that. He glanced back at the book he had been looking at. Then back at her. Then back at the book. And then he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep tonight unless he asked.

"I'm sorry," he said, laughing sheepishly. "This is dumb, I know, but... you're not Elian Kendrick, by any chance, are you?" It made no sense why the author of the book he had been reading a few months ago would be here so surely his eyes were deceiving him.

'Oh.' No big deal for Safiye. She had seen half-naked men a million and one times, and a good amount of fully naked ones, in her life. This was nothing special, well, except that she was forcing herself to maintain eye contact with James instead of studying every visible feature of his body. She couldn't look like a dog. No, no—eyes up there. She had a crush, yeah, but that...was all. "Yeah, okay. Right, my turn." She stood up to and stretched for a moment, looking away for just a moment as she waited for James to continue on with his business of getting proper and decent.

But then...he let go of the towel. And with it, her eyes sank, too. "Oh my God." It had been uttered completely involuntarily in a single collapsed breath. Surely, her cheeks had immediately grown redder than the berries that decorated the dessert they just shared. Flustered, her entire body immediately returned to where she was facing the window of unrelenting weather. Of course, she could still see him reflected in the glass. "I–I'm sorry? I, um, yeah, maybe this room is a little small." But other things in the small room weren't so. Her hand pressed over her mouth as she tried to gather herself and her thoughts enough to figure out what the next best thing to say, or do, was. "I thought we'd established this wasn't even a first date yet," she taunted with an inaudible laugh, still facing her back toward him, "I didn't take you for someone who was so forward, James Bennett."

She certainly wasn't going to allow any room for his mistake to happen to her.

His reflexes were quick. His arm shot out to reach the cabinet door and he jumped to hide behind it, but even he knew it wasn't quick enough. His head still visible to Safiye, he gave a sheepish laugh as he tried to reach for the bathrobe without looking, causing the hangars to come crashing down with a loud bang before he finally got the robe around him.

Due to all the chaos, nothing she said really registered except the word "small". The best thing to say when a man was bare naked.

"What?" he couldn't help but blurt out. "Oh, the room! Yes, the room. Uh, sure, it's uh... Above average, right?"

He wanted to die.

When he finally tied the ribbon of the bathrobe securely (he made sure of it) around his waist, he stepped out from behind the cabinet door. His face was red, and despite having just gotten out of the shower, he was sweating profusely.

"Do uh..." he stammered. Say something. Break the awkwardness. Anything! "Do they have nuts?" NOT NUTS. "WATER. WHERE'S THE WATER. I'M SO THIRSTY."

Not only did he expose himself to her but now he was yelling at her. James went to where the water is and let out a incomprehensible grunt as he poured himself water four times and downed it all in one go.

"Please, you can take a shower now," he begged. "Please."

When he approached and it was a compliment that seemingly came from his mouth, the alpinist was actually surprised. "Thank you," Selina accepted with a humble shrug.

"Nah, I just grew up with three older brothers," the Big Sky woman dismissed, "I'm actually much more talented with my feet. I was a soccer player. I suppose you just reminded me of them a little with your heckling."

"Oof, a lot," he replied. "Couldn't keep count. They were all pretty livid they couldn't dunk me. They're probably even more livid that the one who dunked me wasn't even a student of mine!"

He stretched out his hand for her to shake but quickly retreated it and dried it off before offering it again. "I'm James, by the way."

"Glad you're able to remember your Hebrew name," she grumbled. Though... He was her favourite chamor. Even though this whole situation was stressful as hell and she was worried about him, Nilay knew that she were to go through this situation with anyone, she was glad that it was with him. Though... She would probably be more calm and in control of herself if it was with someone else... Never mind, she just wishes that this situation hadn't happened and that James hadn't fucked his arm up. There we go.

Her eyebrow raised. She loves him, she truly does. But... At his words... She couldn't fucking stand anyone saying that she couldn't or wouldn't do something. She couldn't stand being underestimated. Nilay braked the car a little sharply at the Stop sign. Looking over at him and saying, "Oops. Are you okay?" Her words a deadpan while her eyebrow raising up at him. Soon driving off again.

"Yeah, yeah, shut up." A soft smile was finally beginning to show. "I'm sorry for braking the car like that," she offered. Glancing at him for a moment before turning her attention back to the road. Nilay chuckled as she thought of her daughter. She loved James so much and would be so worried. "She would've freaked out; You know how she gets when you get even a paper cut. Though maybe she'll think you're a badass once you get your sling. Or that you look ridiculous as hell."

"OW," he said though he couldn't help but also laugh.

"You're not sorry," he said playfully as he sat back in the seat. "Yeah, I don't want the image of my arm in that way to live in her head." He raised an eyebrow. "Oh, wanna bet? She'll probably think I'm really cool."

"How is everyone, by the way?" he asked. "By the way, remind me to drop off the gift I bought for Rhia. I keep forgetting to take it to work so I can give it on my way home."

Following his hand waving toward the bathroom with her eyes, Safiye shook her head in several contradicting directions. "–we—I mean yes, I am but you can go first," she offered politely before moving across the room to put as much space between her and the bathroom as humanly possible. "I'll...go see what this view's about." As she parted the curtains, peeks of half-lit Downtown Chicago came through the blurring rains—which she had completely forgotten about being the reason she was there in the first place. 'Ah, what a view,' she thought mockingly to herself. "Or, I don't know, maybe I'll just close my eyes for a second.." she shrugged her shoulders as yet another yawn fought to leave her body. (And won) Though far from a bed, the nearest thing to her had been an accent chair in the corner of the room, which she immediately leapt into. Pulling her legs to her chest, she watched the rain from her seat until she slowly started dozing off.. ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁

"Get some shut-eye, I'll wake you up when I'm done," he said, entering the bathroom. The shower was a welcome moment to recollect his thoughts and calm his nerves. This was really how the night was going to go. He would have preferred to have been infiltrating a compound in a war zone.

He stepped out of the shower and began to dry himself with a towel as thoughts continued to run through his mind. It was only when he felt sufficiently dry that he realized his mistake: he didn't bring a bathrobe in with him. Kicking himself mentally, he wrapped the towel around his waist and hoped that Safiye was asleep so he could get the bathrobe on.

But as soon as he stepped out, he felt eyes on him.

"Uhh..." He stood there like a deer in headlights before managing to actually say something. "It's, uh, your turn." He gave a nervous chuckle as he reached for the cabinet. "Sorry, I forgot the bathrobe was in here."

And that was when he made the ultimate mistake. The wisdom passed on through generations was a simple yet profound one: you always—always—hold the towel with one hand.

But instead, James reached. And sure enough, down went the towel, leaving James standing there bare.

When she was finished with her business, she couldn't help but look up at him and let out a little laugh. The entire thing was quite comical, really. What were the odds? —and then, what were the odds with them every single time something—anything—happened to them? "You better say it looks like it'll do because we both know that if anyone's sleeping in the bathtub, it'll have to be me. You're never going to fit in there comfortably," she added in jest.

The awkwardness hung there once more and the nerves once again started to creep in, but he caught onto something Safiye said. Narrowing his eyes and giving her a playful look, he asked, "Are you saying I'm fat?" At the accusation, James couldn't help but break out in a full laugh. "Wow, that's a first," he continued teasingly. "Never thought I'd be told I wouldn't fit in a bathtub on a first date."

Whoops. It only occurred to him once he had said it out loud that they hadn't really technically specifically said this was a date. Clearing his throat, he finally moved on and said, "Well, yeah, I think the bed should fit both of us fine." He gestured to the shower. "Are you gonna shower? If not, I'll, uh, go ahead."

Rafael hesitated then shook his head. "In an official capacity, I'm afraid I'd have to say no. I've set a firm boundary about treating anyone who lives here just in case there's a conflict of interest. I'm more than happy to be someone you can talk to though, especially until you find someone you like. Free of charge."

James nodded. "I get it, I'm sorry for asking. I knew that was improper." He looked at Rafael quizzically before not being able to hold back a chuckle. "I think what you're describing there is also known as 'hanging out'." He broke out in a full laugh. "Sorry, I kid. But of course. One needs new friends in a new town, right?"