social cues

Lucy had seen this man too many times to count on her daily walk past the auto body shop, so she felt it would probably be a good idea to introduce herself. Not yet owning a car in the states, she had no reason to ever stop in. As she was passing by again, the Englishwoman stopped and offered him a smile. “I’m Lucy, by the way. I figured we might as well learn each other’s names since I see you here, what, four or five times a week?

 @travis-armstrong​

Travis was taken aback by the accent. Sure, he had seen her walk past, practically every day, but they never said hello. He was either busy or just waiting for a car to come in. “Oh, hi.” He smiled, extending his hand. “Yeah, I guess that’s only polite, huh? I’m Travis.”

“i think you’re wrong,” she stated, quickly adding, “sorry.” ( @frostfordstart​ )

“I mean, you can debate me, but I think beer is the best drink. It’s got great qualities. Too many to name, really.”

“A cheat day, exactly.” He nearly cheered, he should’ve known Travis would be understanding. “I work out, I run every day, I eat pretty decently most of the time – I deserve to get buck wild with some cheddar biscuits if I want to.” He continued, putting a hand on the other’s shoulder. “You get me, man, you know that right? Have I told you that lately?”

“You’re a football god, Boone. Can’t always be actin’ like one, though.” He nodded. He was always understanding of his friend. “Exactly. I think you can go a bit crazier than cheddar biscuits, but whatever floats your boat.” He nudged him in the shoulder. “You haven’t. Please, say it again. I ain’t gonna lie, man. You’re one of the only ones that gets me. We got each other.”

“Close! I convinced a man to drive me to Montgomery in exchange for cheese fries and I ended up at the gay bar. There may have also been a feather boa involved if the feathers on my chest were to tell me something.”

“Well, damn. You’re not sounds like a lot more interesting and fun than mine. I mean, you do look like quite the character, but I think it suits you. If it was a good party, that’s all that matters.”

“Long week,” Maisie groaned as she took his hand and hauled herself to her feet.  “Just got off work and the sun was so warm- couldn’t help it. How’re things down at the shop?”  

“You mean you’re off work and you don’t got any sweets on you? I thought if you worked at a bakery you’d always be on a sugar rush.” He joked. “Eh, same old. Good for me that people have shitty cars. Never ending business.”

Lightly taking his hand, she stepped down outside of her house, her sister would soon come up to the door, giving the both of them a once over before closing the door behind her and locking it. “She’s … just watching my cats while ‘M gone..” Aileen knew she didn’t need to explain why her sister was in her own home, but she did it anyway. “You don’t look so bad yourself, Mr. Armstrong.” If at all possible, she was completely positive her heart and stomach were dancing in perfect harmony to the tune of her nervous stomach. “Mm… ya kinda predictable, ya know?” She laughed softly as she looked him in the eyes. “But I don’t wanna ruin the surprise for myself..” And with that, she climbed into the passenger seat and took a deep breath, looking down at her hands to make sure she’d done a nice color on them. It wasn’t like he would notice anyway, but she wanted to go the extra mile.

He could sense that another pair of eyes were watching him but he was unsure of what to do. When Aileen mentioned it was her sister, a nervous chuckle escaped his lips. He wanted to do right by his ex and that meant proving everyone else in her life that they were wrong about him. The compliment went straight to his cheeks, a light pink tint spreading across them. It felt like years since he was so happy. After a nod to indicate thank you, Travis couldn’t help but smile. “I may be predictable, but I hope not tonight.” Shutting the door he ran to the driver’s side and got in. “I think you’ll have an idea of where we are going, but oh well.” He had everything set up in the back, he was beyond excited. Starting the truck, he couldn’t help the grin that appeared on his face. “So, how’ve you been? It’s gonna take a bit to get there.”

“You sure ‘bout that? ‘Cause it looks like a bit of a problem to me.” She frowns, sitting back, refusing to shift her gaze. “You’re really gonna sit there and refuse to tell me what happened?” She sighs. “I’d rather talk ‘bout you than me.” 

“I know you’re a doctor, but maybe you need to get your eyes checked.” He joked, shaking his head. “I’m not refusin’, Mel. I scorned a woman and she punched me. It wasn’t Aileen, though, I’ll tell you that much.”

Nathan nodded, as if he could sympathize with Travis’s plight, except the worst thing his ex had done to him was… nothing, really. Not text him back? He nodded again, though this time with a little shrug, unsure if Travis was just thinking out loud or what, when he said he was a good boyfriend. Though from his experience, however little that may be, nobody who was actually nice or good ever had to say it out loud. “Oh! No, I think my tires are actually good right now? I’m not really sure, I’ve been driving it for six years and never changed them, but they seem fine to me.” A laugh suddenly escaped him, “But even if they weren’t, I can’t afford it! Anyway, is it okay there? Or do you need me to put it somewhere else?” he asked, about the tire propped up against the wall.

“I’m sorry son,” he paused, “six years? You’re gonna need them changed soon. The tread is probably completely gone. I’ll give you a discount and everything for it. Only nice of me to do since you returned my tire.” He laughed, nodding. “Yeah, it’s fine there, no worries.”

“It’s okay. My car is more important.” She eyed what he was working on. “What’s the problem with it now?”

“I mean, nothin’ much. Just some problems with the air filter, but I’ll replace it and it’ll be good as new. My advice, though? It’s old. You might wanna invest in a new one.”

Aileen would be lying if she’d said she wasn’t at all nervous about her ‘first’ date with her ex-husband. Her room was a mess of dresses she’d rummaged through, tried on and ultimately decided against wearing. She vividly remembered her wide hips and curvy figure being a source of insecurity for herself when she was younger and Travis was the reason she came to love it. So, what better way to remind him of that than a simple, short and black dress that hugged every curve and dip, highlighting the silhouette of her figure? As she opened the door, she looked up at Travis with an obviously nervous grin. “Hey..” there he was, standing at her door and looking even better than before.

Her dress hugged every inch of her and Travis tried his best to not stare too long, but his eyes obviously lingered for a second more than they should have. At her welcome, he smiled, reaching out his hand for her’s. “You look stunning.” He smiled, leading her down her driveway. He still drove the beat-up pickup they bought when they first got married, but he made sure to get the guys at Big Toms to help him clean it up, so it looked a bit nicer for Aileen. “I’ve got a surprise for you tonight.” He smiled, opening the door for her. “You’ll never guess where it is.”

It was one of his pet topics, the ‘dying’ industry of print journalism. Even when he was in college and technology didn’t have the same presence it has now, they had warned him about the downward trends, but he was passionate about then and he was passionate about it now. However, he was sure Travis did not mean to sign up for a discussion on the topic, so he just smiled at his friend. “We do the best we can.” And that was true. That smile faltered at his friend’s reply. Sure, Nash couldn’t deny that Travis had made the mess himself, but it didn’t mean Nash didn’t still sympathize with him. “I hear ya,” he replied, taking another drink. “And ya know, I’m always around, if you ever need a friend or need a drink or need both.”

Travis was lucky to still have friends, especially friends like Nash who truly showed him kindness in moments where he felt like he didn’t deserve it. “You’re always right, ya know that?” He laughed, shaking his head. “I’m glad you are. Now, you gotta tell me what’s been up with you. I feel like it’s been forever man.”

“Considerin’ I’m married, of course,” she gave her brother a smile, shrugging. “You know me, I love these type of events especially if it means that I’ll get Mark to talk to people and see how much it hurts him to have to be friendly.” Taking a small step back she took a good look at Travis, then leaned in so he would be the only person around to hear her, “You’re too handsome for someone of these girls though.”

“I know how he is, I think we should call him the grinch.” Travis joked. Sure, he didn’t get along great with Mark, but he loved him because he made his sister happy. At her comment, Travis rolled his eyes back playfully, nudging the woman in her shoulder. “C’mon, you know that ain’t true.” Plus, he wasn’t trying to impress many women at the event. “Aileen’s here, y’know?”

“Pshh, you can rig anything, Trav. With darts you could…. do some trippy shit with magnets, or do somethin’ to the pointy ends of the darts.” She retrieved her failed attempts from the wall, not thinking they needed to scorecheck that awful excuse of a turn. And while she could acknowledge her turn was dreadful, that didn’t stop the gasp that left her lips at the slight to her aim, and she spun around to face him. “Wanna test that theory out?” She wiggled her eyebrows and held up a dart, mock aiming it at him. “Promise not to hit anything valuable.” 

“Oh, you a conspiracy theorist now, Cass?” He joked, his head turning slightly at her words. “You’re real funny, y’know that? I think you could be a comedian.” He smiled, reaching his hand out for the darts. “I’ll show you how to do it, okay. Just watch.”

“if animals could talk which do you think would be the rudest and why?” ( @frostfordstart​ )

“Giraffes. They’re just too tall. Somethin’s wrong with ‘em.”

“Sleeping? Pfft. Nah.  I was just, uh, distracted?”  Maisie lied.  She didn’t mean to doze off, but she was a little lacking in the sleep department with her whole situation with her parents.  “Gimme a hand up?”

@frostfordstart​

“Nah, we’ve all been there. You ain’t gotta worry.” Travis fell asleep at work more than he would like to admit. “Sure.” He smiled reaching his hand out. “Long weekend?”

Now that the school year was officially over, Boone found himself with some free time on his hands. He’d been doing private coaching here and there, but even that hadn’t picked up in full force just yet. Both very valid explanations as to why he was on his third visit to Beulah’s today. “It’s the cheddar biscuits, they’re addicting.” He explained, spotting someone he’d seen just twenty minutes prior. Maybe he should’ve waited longer to come back. “I swear I don’t usually get this much take out, I’m just – satisfying a craving. That’s all.” @frostfordstart​

“You ain’t gotta lie man.” Travis noted, taking a sip of his sweet tea. “We all love the biscuits. Plus, everyone’s gotta have a cheat day. I don’t judge.”

“I have no actual reasoning behind the glitter other than I woke up like this and the glue won’t come off, but you have to admit, it looks damn good.” Zach chuckled and let the light catch the glitter and gemstones on his face. “Word of advice though, be careful how much you drink because you may wake up in a bar in a different town.”

@frostfordstart​

“What did you go to, a goddamn rave?” He joked, before turning his head. “Did you go to Tuscaloosa? Those people are a different breed. Wouldn’t surprise me.”