I will be able to see the light

"That's good to know, I guess." Ella said a bit baffled and then moved her hands through her hair as she walked down to the Corner cafe. "Are you local? I haven't seen you around?" Her voice was inquiring as if she wasn't sure she was supposed to b asking... and if anyone should be surprised they haven't met, with her "common" social activities

Danella

"Oh... oh, I'm Ella!" She said in a rush and extended a hand to awkwardly shake the man's hand. "It's nice to meet you Luca, contrary to the expected" she said as a way of a joke, tho she wasn't sure it worked as one.

“Well, okay… then we should head back to the corner. I like my coffee from there. Black with a pinch of vanilla.” She said, having found the joy of flavored coffees back at Starbucks while back in Australia.

“I guess I would feel bad if I say no in this case then” she said and gave her hand out to shake his. “Ella. It’s nice bumping into you.” She offered the joke with a sheepish smile. “I usually watch where I step.” She but her lip.

“Certainly.” She elevated the word he had used twice in just a few seconds, finding herself just a bit more comfortable with every sentence until she didn’t again and his expression made her blood boil again. “It’s not really something that big… but if you certainly want to.” She said with a slight stutter, looking away again.

She smiled a bit more when the man laughed, wishing the warmth in her cheeks away unsuccessfully. “You did, yes. But it is good that I have it. So it’s not a strange sentence.” She said and tried to sound matter of factly rather than flustered. “It’s okay. I can just go back, it’s a few minutes away.”

"I usually don't..." she groaned more to herself and then just stood there awkwardly, not sure if she should just get going. It was ridiculous how hard social interactions were getting with the little practice she was getting aside from Dianna and uni classmates. "That's... that's okay. It's about a year old so the guarantee is still valid." She said quickly with a momentary grin to make the sentence light. She looked down at the puddle of coffee with a silly sadness. She had to go back now to refuel herself for the evening. Coffee was her best friend that helped her go round.

Trying to look smart but not too smart to threaten anything they say

Luca had just dropped Cass over at her mother’s and was making his way back home from it. It seemed to be a calm day in Ecrin; though the unusually cold one they were having, right in the middle of May, could probably explain it. Winter remnants, he thought to himself. Absently, he took a deep breath and inhaled the cold air. When he let it out, a small cloud of condensation formed from it, leading him to blow out a few more breaths just for fun, watching as it dissipated in a couple of seconds. Luca’s phone vibrated in his pocket, which reminded him he was waiting to hear back from the people he’d had an interview with days before. Retrieving his phone, he checked out the latest texts, hoping to find something new on the matter. He could have sworn he hadn’t taken his eyes off the road he’d been walking for longer than a few seconds, but it was already enough for a disaster.

"I wasn't looking either." Ella admired and a furious blush began creeping on her face. She hated being clumsy and it was so rare that when t happened it made her feel embarrassed with how little attention she had been paying to the world outside her head. She took the phone thankfully, not daring to look down at it and check if it works. "Thank you..." she said and then nodded, looking down while more and more blood kept rushing in her face. She was momentarily out of words as she fidgeted with her hair. Honestly, after Daniel, she wasn't sure she knew how to properly act in front of men anymore, be it one that she almost plummeted to the ground with her absentmindednes. If she had acted okay, he would have wanted to see her again, right? That meant she must have made a fool out of herself again, just like with Zack all those years ago. She wondered if she would even have male friends if it were that her class at uni had any other girls beside her.

“I’m sure there should be a statistic on that somewhere.” Ella said and then suddenly laughed, shaking her head. “Do you want to grab a bite and go at my place? Ma’s working a late shift today.” She suggested. She really missed hanging out with her best friend like they had at highschool.

“I think you’re probably the only person who would ever scoured the internet to look something like that up.” Dianna smirked at her friend before nodding. “Well sure– of course. I haven’t really got anything on tonight and I wouldn’t say no to hanging out with you.” She beamed linking arms with Ella.

"Research is research." She Rose her hands in surrender and laughed. "We haven't really had a nice evening out since Amara went away." Ella noted, thinking longingly about her other best friend who had gone abroad again.