#mambosfive

"rita," she says with a soft voice, worried eyes trying to find her old friend. "you know i wouldn't. you're my friend. but you look like you-" she takes a breath and tries again. "is everything alright with you?"

" well, they were probably right." trying his best not to let the disapproving tone that he used to have when he was a teacher slip through. even if it was hard at the moment. " this isn't exactly the nice part of the city..." shifting the back that hung on his shoulder, having just come from an alleyway a few blocks over to do a quick change. his eyes moving to look around the block before they came back to rest on her, " you want me to walk with you? to at least keep the weirdos and ruffians away? I promise, I'm not one..." his voice trailing off as he made a slight face at his own words, " okay, I'm a bit weird but...not compared to some of the people around here. like--the perfectly balanced kind of weird." offering a small smile to try playoff his lame attempt at a joke.

peter had to shift his entire face, his focus shifting down and to his left as he tried his best to suppress a laugh. unsuccessfully at that, " I uhm--" he started, pulling his lips into his mouth before he looked at her. " I was thinking the same thing, I'm glad you said it...I mean, I said it too. just--you know--internally." quickly turning his gaze back towards the street vendor that he guessed was the target of her wrath, " seriously, I've been going there for years and never seen him get that worked up..." looking the woman over for a quick moment, " if you want--I can go say something to him? unless you're content with calling him a...bench." letting out a small laugh through his nose, it honestly sounded like the kind of dorky insult that he would say. and he was a bit jealous that he'd never thought of using that one before. " and just so you know...I'm gonna steal that insult, and claim it as my own."

it took him a few seconds to actually understand what she was saying, blinking a few times and looking around the restaurant. turning up his bottom lip before he grabbed his bag of food and dashed out right behind her. definitely the last one out, but saving face so he didn't give anything about himself away. " okay, uh--why exactly are we running out of the restaurant?" opening the bag to make sure he actually grabbed the right order, his eyes going back and forth between her and the food before he gave a half smile. " you didn't dine and dash did you? cause, being a tattle tale is something I'm...not entirely against."

" what ? " confusion in his voice made it clear he had no idea what she was talking about. " you can. " he tries to assure her but it's obvious she seems to have made up her mind. " can you at least tell me what happened before just going off on me ? " his mind is racing, searching for a slip-up on his end the past few days. he never mentioned their conversation to anyone else nor can he recall any other situations that might have given anything of what they talked about away. " what's going on ? "

"my photos!" he bends down to grab them, countless photos face down on the ground. "oh, these?" he asks, even though nobody has asked him a question related to the photos. "they're just modeling photos for my cat. my friend owns a modeling agency. it's a goof. a gag. a gotcha."

" yes, it is. it's called objectophilia or something, i think. " it sure as hell is possible, she's met enough people on her travels that have been attracted some of the most obscure things. the thought of it makes her shudder and she flashes the other an uncertain look. " what object are we talking about right now ? "

" well, i was. " she states with a simple shrug. blunt as she always is with little to no remorse. that is until she sees the expression on emira's face and a groan then escapes her. " what do you want me to do ? go and apologize ? say i'm so sorry ? "