reckless serenade

“that’s why i’m not taking that risk, i know a lot of people would love to watch me get stuck in a random ride. not gonna let them have that pleasure.” beth said with a shrug. “this isn’t for me anymore, i’m more for the gigs and alcohol if i’m being honest.”

                         mia can’t help but chuckle at that. she’s also sort of glad that beth didn’t get offended by the comment. she wasn’t in the mood to bicker. though she was sure it was only a matter of time. “ good riddance then. i guess i can say the same. i might be done ith the rides & games .. do you wanna grab a drink or something ? ”

“You would find time for the doggo!” Ollie told her. He wasn’t sure if that was actually true, but he liked to hope that anyone who wanted a dog would be able to manage one. He knew from experience how fun it was to own a dog after all, so he wanted that joy for everyone else. “Ohhhh, right! I love it there! I wanna volunteer there! Now that I’m back in town I’d like to do that! I actually adopted Wolfie from that shelter! I wanted a husky and I saw they had one on their site so I went to meet him and I fell in love right away.” 

Ollie’s eye twitched as Mia spoke, shaking his head. “I didn’t wanna be rude! She was talkin to me! I wanted to hear what she had to say! Not like she was cussin me out or anything! She just wanted to tell me what she saw, which was kinda true! I’m still shook how she did that!” It did make him wonder, but he didn’t ponder too much on it and rather just enjoy the experience that it was a fun little thing that happened. 

He fumbled in his backpack for his wallet, since he had stuffed it with the prizes he won that day. When he looked up, though, Mia had already paid for it and he gasped. “What?! Oh, gosh!” he exclaimed to his friend. “Ya didn’t have to do that, wow, thank you! I’m just an unorganized mess here, my monies get buried under all my goodies!” He made sure to securely put it away before digging into the cotton candy. Through a mouthful he replied, “I’ve had purple before! It was grape flavored, very yummy! The most popular ones are pink and blue, ya see em the most!”

                          “ you should, ollie ! the more, the merrier, we can always use some extra hands around the shelter. you’d honestly have a blast, too. ” mia encourages with a grin. she’d be happy to have ollie around at work, she already enjoyed her job & the current volunteers that hung around, but ollie being there would be fun, too. “ of course, you didn’t. ” mia’s giving a little eyeroll, but it was lighthearted & playful rather than full of ill mannered attitude. “ no, but that sort of stuff is freaky ! i’ve always been too anxious to go & have my fortune read, i mean, what if they predict something bad & then you’re all anxious expecting it to happen ?? ” the thought is a bit of an unpleasant one. more so because she believed s o m e people could read fortunes.                           watching ollie’s reaction when she paid first draws a chuckle out of her. “ don’t worry about it. it’s not even that expensive or anything. it’s fine. ” she waves his words off. “ i know i didn’t have to, but i wanted so & so i did. ” she really didn’t mind. it wasn’t all that expensive anyways. “ you can save that money for some games, sound good ? ” she offers a wide smile. “ ew, grape ? never mind. i’m not very fond of the grape flavoring. ” she comments, picking at the cotton candy in her hand. “ yeah, i feel like they should add more colors though ! ” she starts leading them through the crowds. “ so what’s your favorite ride here so far ? i haven’t had the chance to ride many. ”

“on no thank you, i rather be with my both feet on the ground.” she said shaking her head slowly from side to side. “i was on the ferris wheel, but on the other things, it’s not gonna happen. i don’t know how the machine works and it probably will break down somehow. and for the games, i do play, but something i can play far from the stand.” beth explained how she is in the carnival.

                          “ well, giving your luck - or you know all that bad karma just might finally come into play .. i wouldn’t take that chance if i were you. ” mia poked fun at the other woman with a chuckle. she wasn’t sure if beth would find it funny though. “ that really narrows it down .. you’ve just ruled out like, nearly every game & ride here. ”

“Like a ravioli only not Italian. Kind of a Polish thing, I guess. Pittsburgh is very much a central European area. Polish food is very present in the city,” she nodded softly with a smile. “They also have potato and onion ones. Wait, can you have anything pasta like? I never really thought about it. I completely forgot how to make them, to be honest. The one time I tried, they did not look appetizing at all. My grandmother would have shunned me,” she gave a small laugh as she shook her head. “It was really bad and a little embarrassing.”

                         mia nods along, interested in the food she was describing though she’s unsure if she could eat it. “ i’ve never had polish food, i don’t think. sounds interesting though - almost makes me wish i weren’t vegan. ” she says with a chuckle. “ that depends, if it’s homemade pasta - usually no .. most make it with egg. packaged pasta though, i can have. ” she finishes, nodding her head. “ i don’t think i’ll take a chance, but i will definitely live vicariously through you. i’m sure it wasn’t that bad. ” mia says with a chuckle though she doesn’t even know what went into making it & if it looked unappetizing to begin with. “ wit’s the thought & effort that counts, right ? ”

Finley’s gaze flicked downwards just as Mia’s did. She was right, there Maisie was, sat right between their feet. Her pink tongue lolled from her mouth as she panted up at them happily, with her sweet puppy-dog eyes and fluffy tail beating against the kitchen floor. It was probably more the food she was really after, but Finley preferred to imagine that she was admiring her handiwork. “She definitely knows. I mean, look at her! She looks right pleased with herself.” His laughter danced in his eyes as he swept them back up to Mia, meeting hers with a spark. Upon seeing his date’s coy smile, Finley snorted softly with amusement. Even with her gaze averted from his, he paused to admire her profile as it was coupled with the effect he seemed to be having on her. She was certainly not alone.

Even with all their unashamed flirting, Finley was very much aware of how cheesy it was to be offering Mia a bite of food. And though that played in the back of his mind, he could still feel himself swoon over the sight. “I know, I know. Commendable, really.” He laughed, setting the fork back down on the counter and taking another sip of wine as he let her tease him. “Edible. Oh good. I like where those expectations are at.” The chuckle in him died to a gentle hum when Mia moved closer. The touch of her hand was light, but he was keenly aware of it. “Well, you’re very welcome.” His voice soft and breezed with a chuckle. In return, and almost automatically, he reached out for her too. Brushing the tips of his fingers up and down over her tricep as he spoke. “To be fair, I wasn’t sure you were serious about wanting a git like me to cook for you either. But I’m very glad you said yes.” He stood there a moment with his bottom lip drawn between his teeth, relishing how close she was before moving to drain the pasta. The bowls were in a cupboard over Mia’s head but instead of excusing himself, he stood behind her and rested one hand on her shoulder while the other reached up to retrieve them. “It’s such a lovely night out – I thought we could eat out on the porch and watch Maisie run rings around the garden.” 

                          mia tries to bite back the giggle that leaves her, but she fails. “ not only am i easily pleased, i’m also easily impressed. you’ve gotten lucky, i tell ya. ” she jokes. her words aren’t entirely true, but she blames it on how charming he is & how much she’s enjoying herself spending this time with fin rather than having low expectations. she was somewhat skeptical taking him up on a dinner date so quick into their meeting, but she had a feeling he wouldn’t let her down despite the burning of the food & a rather simple dish ( although it was impressive that he accommodated her choice of diet ). brown eyes take in his features & she revels in having him so close. the touch to her arm doesn’t go unnoticed, it brings a hint of a smile to her lips. “ ah, i think you secretly know how charming you are & you knew i’d say yes. ” she teases a little, “ i had little reason to say no, ” she continues, speaking honestly after her light teasing. “ & i guess i just .. didn’t want to. ” mia didn’t date much, but she certainly wasn’t opposed to good ( & attractive ) company.                          when he reaches over her for the bowls, she makes no effort to move. his suggestion makes her chuckle, bottom lip being pulled between her teeth. “ it is such a lovely night out .. so why not ? ” she likes that suggestion. sort of adds to the vibe they had going tonight. “ wine, homemade dinner on the porch - you must do this for all the ladies. ” she comments, though she wouldn’t quite be offended if that were true. " tell me what to do - i can help set the table outside ? ” she didn’t want to just stand around & watch fin do all the work.

“Well, hello to you too!”, he added as he hugged her back tightly. “What have you been up to? Got any more dick pics sent your way by accident?”, he joked as he let go of her, the two of them immediately being brought back to fear at the sight of the haunted mansion, even if Moonie tried to distract it lightly with small talk. “We are not backing out or punching people’s faces”, he added while laughing, as a reference to the story she had shared with him over text. “They say the mind is powerful enough… maybe we should just imagine it is a tunnel full of cute puppers, we can close our eyes”, he joked. “Okay… deal”, he nodded. “I’m pretty hungry right now so I don’t want you to spend 50 bucks on hot dogs for me, you better stay strong”, he teased. As they walked closer to the entrance, he sighed to himself in preparation as he closed his eyes before he offered his hand for her to take it. “Okay let’s do this”, he added, pretending confidence. Fake it till you make it, right?

                         mia can’t help but laugh at moonie’s questions, “ god, no. & thank goodness for that - no more random dick pics .. so far. ” she adds, jokingly with a scrunching of her nose. she really was thankful for that. one time was more than enough. “ nope ! ” she exclaims firmly. “ no punching people - i got this ! ” though an amused grin on her face, she really does feel like she’s got this. “ oh yeah ! mind over matter, right ? it’s just people in costumes ! ” she says, convincing herself, really. “  i don’t know if i can fool myself into thinking it’s a tunnel full of puppies though, moonie - that might be a bit of stretch. ” she chuckles, “ puppies don’t making the sound zombies do ! ” she realizes it was a silly bet to make - her choice of foods around the carnival were limited giving she was vegan. that meant she had to stay strong or else she’d be spending a lot more money on moonie than herself. “ god, i r e a l l y do. ” she says, chuckling. “ it’s alright ! i got this. ” again, she feels as if she’s convincing herself rather than moonie. sucking in a deep breath, mia takes his hand in hers & her brown eyes are looking over at him. “ now or never ! ” she says with a nervous laugh before she’s pulling moonie along inside with her, her grip on his hand tight as they walked into the dark & gloomy entrance, the spooky sounds coming from inside were already scary.

theo sighed in relief and smiled at the woman before her, “what a relief, i must admit.” she said, a chuckle escaping her lips. it was not her intention to say that out loud but it slipped by impulse. “pleasure is all mine, mia,” she smiled, accepting the hug that was offered and returning the embrace. “i don’t mind at all. i shake hands all day at work, so this is a nice change,” she explained truthfully. she hated the formalities of her job sometimes and she tried to be easier going off the clock. her cheeks flushed at the compliment and smile formed on her face as she took a seat. “thank you, that’s sweet. i must admit, i feel the exact same way. you’re even more beautiful in person, and i didn’t believe it was possible,” she admitted, followed by a nod. “sure, i’d like that. what were you having?”

                         a sigh of relief escapes her & mia chuckles because she’s also feeling s o relieved that theo was who she said she was. also because theo accepted her hello, nice to meet you hug. “ good - because i’m definitely more of a hugger. i leave the handshaking at the door when i leave work. i also sometimes don’t know what personal space is, so feel free to give me a nudge if i’m too close for liking. ” she admits with a chuckle although giving this was their first meeting, she’s almost sure she’ll keep her distance. respectfully so. she also briefly wonders if that’s something one should even say when first meeting someone on a first date. she shakes it off quickly though because soon after, she’s smiling upon hearing the compliment from theo. cheeks warm signalling a faint blush. “ oh .. wow, that’s awfully nice for you to say - thank you. i’m glad you think so though .. i’m also glad we matched - ” that feels weird to say. this tinder dating thing was all so weird. but being in front of theo now .. maybe it wasn’t as bad as mia had thought. “ uh, a blue hawaiian - tasty, but strong. these tend to sneak up on me & i’ve only had three now. ” she chuckles, “ what about you ? what’s your drink of choice ? first rounds on me. ”

Ollie frowned, stomping slightly out of frustration before settling down. It was certainly something he did improve on from when he was younger, which was controlling little outbursts like that better. Especially when they were over something small. It did make him smile to hear that dog was a golden doodle, since it was similar to one of his own. “Aww, so cute! Ginger’s a labradoodle, but golden doodles are cute too! All dogs are the cutest ever! You should adopt one for sure! Any doggo would be v lucky to have you as their momma!”

For a moment, Ollie tilted his head out of slight puzzlement. Then, he let out a laugh and a snort following. “Ohhh, cause a Benjamin Franklin is more money! No offense, George! Welp, it was part of her prediction so I can’t argue with it too much! We just started talking in the park, like, I didn’t ask for the reading it was like a freebie! I told her I liked her purple eye shadow and then she’s all ‘do you see what I see?’ and at first I thought she was startin to sing a Christmas carol but then it was my fortune! No wonder she didn’t keep singin along with me! ‘A child, a child’,” he sang the last sentence with a giggle. 

When Mia released his arm, he freely flapped it while he trotted over to the cotton candy cart. Ollie never wanted to be rude, only finding the courage sometimes to actually voice to someone close to him he didn’t want to be touched. He was relieved when they just got the message and gave him the space he needed. “Yeah! I miss it but I’m happy to be back! I like that New Jersey is quieter than New York! The city can be really loud, like all the time!” He grimaced and shuddered just thinking about the constant sirens and honking. As soon as he saw the cotton candy, he pushed it out of his mind. 

“Pink or blue?” Ollie questioned out loud. “I did have blue before….. maybe pink this time. Then I’ll get a purple tongue!”

                           “ oh my god, labradoodles are adorable, too ! - honestly, what dog isn’t adorable ? we love them all ! & they are all worthy of our love. ” mia’s arms wrap around herself as she says that. she felt strongly about animals & one of the people she let that show tenfold around was ollie, because he got just as excited about them than she did. “ i know, but i don’t think i have the time to really give a dog, you know ? maybe one day though. definitely one day. in the mean time - i get my fix at paws 4 love. ” she was there 5 days a week & helped care for the many dogs & cats in shelter - she definitely got her fix there.                          mia hums, “ that would be correct ! no offense to george, but a benjamin is always preferred. ” she continues with a faint chuckle before she’s listening to his story about the fortune teller. her brows furrow together. her opinion on fortune tellers had her skeptical. “ that’s sorta freaky - i think i would’ve turned her away. with my luck, she’d tell me how unlucky i am & give some bad news. ” she wasn’t the unluckiest of people, but that was always a mild fear when thinking about getting her fortune told - that she wouldn’t like what she heard.                         brown eyes sparkle as she watches ollie trot over to the cotton candy cart - her friend was so innocent & pure, it was always a treat to see. & a rare one. she smiles at him, but doesn’t respond about the differences between the city & springhill - she’d never left so she couldn’t particularly relate. “ i wish they had purple cotton candy, but i think i’ll take .. pink this time. ” she decides & before ollie could even think about paying, she’s handing over payment for both of theirs. “ i wonder if they’ve got a house of mirrors or some sort of mirror maze - that’d be fun. even though i think i nearly broke my nose when i was a teen running through one of those. ”

Finley: And what a big line that is! Are we ready for that, Mia?

Finley: I bet you get about 10 minutes in before you have to turn it off. I'd definitely prefer you watch it alone. I'm starting to regret telling you about it actually 😂 I'm cringing now just thinking about it. But anyway, that's definitely not true! I think it's more she wanted to keep you all to herself.

Finley: I'm going to need a little more convincing. Don't be sad, I'm not sad. I really don't feel like I'm missing out on much except being scratched and stared at.

Finley: We got those good genes. And by we, I mean mostly you 💁‍♂️

Mia: Such a big line!! Goodness, I don't know. Maybe not. I don't let anyone but my cats see me cry, after all 😜

Mia: Bet? What do I get if I make it through the entire movie? 😆 Awe, I'm sure it can't be THAT bad, Fin! You're probably just overly critical because it's YOU on the screen. Maybe. We have a lot of fun! I'm not surprised you're related, now that I think about it. You're both charming as hell.

Mia: I could try to convince you, but it'll be a wasted effort! You're allergic 😪😪 cats are really awesome though. I especially like that they tend to take care of themselves. Giving how much I work at the shelter and with my photography - I don't have the time for a dog. They require much more time and attention.