Hello beautiful!

“Theo.” James repeated with a nod of his head, flashing her an apologetic smile. “I swear, I’m going to remember it one of these days.” He tapped his temple lightly with a smile still resting on his features. While he might have not remembered her name, James was impressed with himself for remembering that he knew her, that she was Allie’s roommate. It was far better than what he was able to remember most days, especially after only have met someone once before. “At least you made it out tonight. Hopefully you’ll be able to relax and have a good time. Not worry about work and all of that.” James said with a nod of his head as he lowered himself to sit on a low nearby wall. Glad for the fresh away and to get away from the noise of everything that was going on inside. 

Theo brought her hand up to wave it off. “This is only our second time meeting. I’m not going to hold it against you.” She promised him with another smile. She had to be good at remembering names with her job. Knowing regular customers, their prescriptions and if they ended up stopping her on the street to ask her questions about them ( which happened quite a bit ). She was just glad she was able to have that type of memory. “I hope so. Or I’ll have a couple of drinks, go home and fall asleep on the couch.” she semi-joked. “How’s it going for you? I caught a glimpse of you two dancing. You seem to be enjoying yourself.” 

The night had been going great so far and James had actually be enjoying himself. Dancing around with Allie had been great and there had been such a thrill to it that James was sure he hadn’t experienced since he had been home. But like a lot of things, after a while, it got to be slightly overwhelming for him, and after Allie had found some friends, he told her he was going out for some fresh air. Just to take a breather for a moment, to collect himself so he could head back in once more to continue on with the night. He wasn’t expecting anyone else to be outside so when he saw someone, who looked oddly familiar, out in the night as well, James gave her a small smile. “I know I know you.” He said with a smile, concentrating for a second before his smile brighten some. Of course he knew her. “Your Allie’s roommate, right? Are you having a good time tonight?” 

@theogibbs​

Theo just had to pluck a few things from her wardrobe and she was set for the party. A white cropped tank, baggy jeans, work-boots with a flannel shirt tied around her waist. Could you get anymore 90s? She had been outside, just enjoying some fresh air as it began to get crowded and hot outside. When hearing a male’s voice, Theo turned her head to see James. Yes, they only met once, so it wasn’t like she was expecting him to remember her name and was surprised he remembered her at all. “Allie’s roommate and milkshake expert,” she joked, flashing him a quick smile. “Theo.” She reminded him of her name. “I am for the moment. Just tired from a crazy day at work, but I’m here.” 

“I can see that,” Allison responded, meeting her to help her with some bags. “I told you it’s my turn to buy decorations. Don’t worry, you can still pick what they may be. Just let me pay,” she insister, nudging her friend with her arm gently. “Don’t worry about work, though. Who needs work? You got me. I’ll be your sugar momma,” she said playfully with a wink. “I’m good. It was good,” she responded, plopping down on the couch. “How are you? How was shopping?”

“Oh... Pish posh,” Theo laughed at her own choice of words as she waved her hands. Allison should know by now that Theo wouldn’t take any money from her. “You’re not paying. I’m glad we cleared that up.” She put an end to it, moving the bags down so she could sit next to her friend. “Aww, thanks, boo.” She flashed her a smile. “Good and good. It was enjoyable.” She brought her shoulders up into a shrug. “How’s the boy trouble going? Any progress?” 

“Mint chocolate cookie, now that’s a flavor of ice cream I’m pretty sure I’ve never had before. It sounds like it would be very, very good.” James grinned over at her, giving a nod at the idea of having them mix two different ones together. But he wasn’t the kind of person to ask for things like that, to be what might be seen as being a difficult customer. As the line moved, he made his way to the front, ordering his mint chocolate chip milkshake before giving a nod in the girl’s direction. “And whatever she wants to get as well.” Even though she was a stranger, she had been kind to him, had talked to him, and she seemed nice. It was the least he could do. Once she had placed hers, James handed over his card and stepped off to the side, offering her a smile. “I’m James by the way, nice to meet you.” 

“It’s ahhhmazing,” she said with a short laugh. Now that she was thinking about it, she was not considering having that shake for herself. Taking a step forward as the line moved, she was a bit taken aback when hearing him mentioning buying hers as well. It was rare to find someone who was nice to actually do something like that. Thanking him, she ordered hers, going with the cookie and mint idea -- mainly for him to try it since he went ahead and went with just mint. She also asked for an extra straw. With knowing that she had made things a bit complicated, she pulled out her wallet and left a decent sized tip in the jar. She knew what it was like to work in the customer service industry. “James...” She repeated, knowing she had just recently heard that name before. “Do you happen to know an Allison?” She questioned with a raised eyebrow. “I’m Theo. Also nice to meet you and thank you for the shake. You really didn’t have to do that.” 

The more that James looked at her, the less familiar she looked, and he realized he had mistaken her for someone he knew. It was an all too common occurrence for him, and James knew that this wouldn’t be the last time it happened. But she seemed to take his comment in stride anyways and he couldn’t help but grin once more at her. “Alright, good point. Maybe I’ll just buy half of the menu then.” He laughed softly with a shake of his head, listening as she spoke once more. “Honestly, I’m torn between the Oreo and the mint chocolate chip- both sound amazing and at this point, I really just might buy both of them.” He said with a shrug of his shoulders, the soft smile staying on his face as he did so. And really, what was the harm of buying two of them? He could always put one in the fridge for later and drink the other one now. 

“I’m sure they would still appreciate that,” Theo offered the male a smile. Her eyes moved back to the menu, looking at everything that she hadn’t tried and knew she was missing out -- maybe she would be a bit adventurous and step out of her comfort zone. Hearing him speak once more, Theo put her attention on him, a smile still on her face. “You could do that... or. You could ask them to mix the both of them. Have the best of both worlds. It would almost be like the Ben & Jerry ice cream. The mint chocolate cookie... another amazing ice cream flavor, might I add. But if you want to have two -- go ahead and do it. There’s nothing wrong with that.” 

“Theo… that is the greatest compliment anyone has ever given me,” Teagan replied through giggles. “Okay, first, relatable. I live off takeout food but I’m also the world’s worst cook. Did you know that it’s possible to mess up cereal? I completely get how busy owning a business is. If I didn’t have Tierney, I’d lose my mind. It’s also really important to find time for things that bring you joy outside of work so you don’t burn yourself out. Look… I don’t wanna pressure you at all, I’m just blown away by your voice and super fuckin’ excited. I have a studio here in house — would you be interested in stopping by sometime and recording? I have some old songs that we could mess around with as inspiration.” She didn’t want to overwhelm Theo, so Teagan paused to let all the words settle in. “You can obviously take some time to think about it and it doesn’t have to be anything serious. We can just have fun hanging out and blessing me with your angelic voice.”

“What? How on earth do you mess up cereal?” Theo asked with a laugh following. She listened to Teagan as she spoke, slowly nodding her head. She knew that she needed to make time to enjoy life and not just worry about work... and she did. She went out a few nights to have a drink, go dancing, have fun. That’s how she enjoyed herself. When mentioning that she had a in house studio and wanting her to sing some old songs she wanted her to sing, this wasn’t something that Theo could ever imagine. Sure, it would be fun to mess around and sing in an actual studio, she never would have thought that would happen. “You really want me to sing some of your old songs? My voice is not as great as yours. I could never pull off one of your songs.” 

After her eventful day, Allison got home, hoping Theo would already be there. As she walked in the door, she was met by her cat Binx, which meant Theo was probably not home yet, otherwise he would be cuddled up with her. She picked him up, holding him with one arm as she closed the door behind her, dropping her keys in the bowl on the coffee table. “Theo?” she called out as she walked through their apartment, hoping she would pop out from somewhere when she heard their front door open once again. “Hey! There you are,” she called out, walking back into the living room, a smile on her face to see her friend. @theogibbs​

With having the week off of work, thanks to her father, Theo made sure to make the best of it. Each day she did something different. Shopped for groceries, went shopping for herself and for a few things for home. Walking in with a few bags and hearing Allie’s voice, a smile grew on her face, kicking the door shut behind her. “Hey! I just decided to do a little more shopping. Got a few more things to decorate in here -- along with my bedroom. This is one of the reasons why I need to keep working -- so I don’t make myself broke.” She said with a chuckle, moving to the couch to place the bags down. “How are you, babe? How was your day?”

Frankie hadn’t had a great night of sleep, considering the couple in the apartment above his decided to have a party that lasted the entire night. He was rarely a grumpy person, but after only around half an hour of sleep and one of the most stressful shifts of work, he was about ready to crash. He slugged his way to Deja Brew, rubbing at his eyes every chance he got. The second he smelled the coffee, his excitement built. Frankie just barely got his order out coherently, but stepping aside for the person behind him he wasn’t so lucky. He tripped over their food, stumbling into a table. He sighed, pulling a chair out from that table and plopping down into it. He let out a small chuckle, “It’s been a day.. and a half.”

“Making beautiful women blush is my one true passion in life,” Teagan informed her. “But as much as I love doin’ that, I swear, I’m not just saying this.” Teagan scooted closer to Theo and gently lowered her hands from her flaming cheeks. “Listen to me. I’ve been in the music industry for close to a decade now. I’ve heard countless people with talent got lost in the weeds because they just don’t have it. Theo, I’m saying this with all the seriousness in my black, fucked-up heart: you have it. Your voice has so much emotion in it. It tells a story and, to me, that’s what all good music is. People are looking for someone that they can relate to. I really think that could be you, with a little bit of help.” Wheels started to turn in Teagan’s head the longer she spoke. She had never been so certain about anything in her life. Theo Gibbs – as anyone with a brain knew two seconds after meeting her – was special. Teagan couldn’t forget the beauty that she had just heard. “Do you write music at all?”

“I can tell, because you’re very good at it,” Theo pointed out as Teagan lowered her hands away from her face. She still felt them being warm, knowing that it was only a bit evident that she was still blushing from the praise she had gotten from the other female. To hear someone as talented at Teagan tell her how amazing her voice was -- it was something she couldn’t believe. She never thought of singing to be anything except to have fun in the car, shower or when doing karaoke. As she listened to Teagan -- it had to be the first time that Theo had nothing to say -- or didn’t know what to say in response. She had just done the dare that Teagan asked her to do. She was expecting none of what was coming out of her mouth. “What? No -- no, of course not. I don’t have time to write anything besides checks and things related to work. You know how running a business is... plus having to do a lot of the work that contains said business. I barely have time to cook anything. It’s mostly just take out.” 

For James, habit and routine was important for him. It was something familiar and helped him get from point A to point B and back to where he needed. But then there were some days, like today, where he was ready to try something new. Which is how he found himself in line at a milkshake place, looking up at the sign. Thankfully it was clear enough, making it easy for him to read, however is problem was all of the options there was. Everything sounded so good- debating if it would be a bit much to get two or three milkshakes to take with him. However, it was the familiar face out of the corner of his eye that caught his attention and James turned to them, a grin settled onto his features. “Everything sounds so good, you think they would judge me too much if I ordered one of everything?” He joked with a soft laugh, turning his attention back to the menu. “Anything you recommend?” 

@shstarters​

Whenever Theo had a stressful day -- if she didn’t end up at the bar, she would find herself digging herself into a snack frenzy, which started off with one of the best milkshakes in town. Her brown hues scanned the menu, even though she knew that she would just end up getting her usual. That made her happy and why change it? Eventually she would switch things up, but right now, she just wanted something that felt familiar to her. When hearing a male’s voice, Theo turned her head to look at the male, a soft smile appearing on her lips at his questions. “First -- as a business owner, I could tell you that they would appreciate it and they wouldn’t judge. I just don’t know how you would be able to finish them all by yourself.” She said with a soft laugh. “And -- I always get the chocolate chip mint. I can’t seem to pull myself away from it. It’s simple, yet, amazing.” 

“As much as I love karaoke being an option of an activity when drunk, I get what you mean. Though, more of a reason to take advantage of it, right? While we still have it,” Emma responded, a smile on her face. At Theo’s snappy comment to the others, Emma burst out laughing. As if she needed any more reasons to adore Theo, this was definitely the cherry on top. “Well, then this friendship just makes so much more sense now since I’ve been told the same,” she responded, chuckling softly. Emma loved Theo, but if at all possible, she loved her even more when she was drinking. It brought out a whole different side to her that Emma liked seeing when she did. Regardless, the two always had fun, no doubt about that.

“That is true. I’ll be both your savior and your doom,” Allison teased, grabbing two plates and serving some portions on both while Theo took care of the list. “Right? It’s complicated. And with my trust issues, well.. you know how I am,” she responded, placing both plates on their dining table and sitting on one of the chairs. She hesitated when Theo asked for names, for some reason feeling as if saying their names made it all a lot more real. “Frankie,” she finally spoke, sighing before continuing with the other, “And James.” She chuckled and shook her head, “I have no idea what my heart is telling me. But my head is saying run away.”