siren's call, ellis

[SCARLET OPHELIA GARLAND]

[atrb=border,0,true] [/style][STYLE=text-align:justify; border: 1px dashed #a2917a; width:320px; font-size:10px; padding:10px;] Scarlet smiled, waving at various yuppie couples filtering out the door, if there was one thing she hated most about her job it was an open house. The constant tours and smiling, making sure the hor d'oeuvres and champagne remain effortlessly abundant as if they magically appeared on the try without anyone’s help and it was even worse when she got stuck with a super class house. On top of all that she had to make sure the cookies in the oven didn’t burn, after all rich people needed something to mask the smell of hard work – “it makes them uncomfortable”. She waved her last goodbye to a particularly uppity couple “goodbye, have a lovely day” she smiled as she wished she’d picked more sensible shoes than her studded black Louboutin’s to be standing on all day, but alas she’s been sucked in by their pretty shiny silver spikes. Usually standing in five inch heels all day wouldn’t bother her, she did it all the time, but today she was in a bad mood which made her considerably more aware of how high five solid inches was. Her hair was done and down for once, she wore black skinny stove pipe slacks, a cream and black striped sweater and topped it all off with a black blazer pushed up to her elbows. She was her usual monochrome self. Not that she had anything against color; she dabbled in it, but tended to always stick with the ever professional neutrals when it came to work, which she did pretty much every day. To be totally honest color took more effort and ninety percent of the time she was too lazy or late to want to worry about putting extra effort into dressing in the morning. Besides she looked nice in neutrals, so if it ain’t broke. Checking her phone like the big girl she was, she tried to justify it by telling herself she may have missed a call, as if she wouldn’t have heard it ring. He hadn’t called and he wouldn’t call – ever. So she just needed to get over it. Who wants to date an English teacher anyway, right? There actually wasn’t anything wrong with English though; or teaching really. Groaning lightly as she back peddled in her own mind she grabbed the hor d'oeuvres off the table they’d been lovingly set upon earlier. Taking them to the kitchen, she tossed them into a Tupperware container and placed them in the refrigerator for the next day. Then the thought hit her she was going to have to do another one of these tomorrow. Scarlet make her way back to the foyer and plucked her daily planner from her black leather Marc Jacobs purse. Yes, she was one of those rare people that still used an actual daily planner instead of simply putting everything on her phone, one because she’d grown to hate her phone and how much control it had over her life and two because phones broke all the time – it’s reckless really. It wasn’t like they made backup drives for your phone or anything. Or did they? If they did it was probably new technology and being tech savvy she knew it was best to wait out new technology until they worked out the glitches. As difficult as that sometimes was – she had her eye on a new Mac book. As she skimmed that day’s itinerary she found solace in the fact that she was done with work for the day. Though, the idea of returning to her considerably empty house wasn’t quite enticing either. “maybe I should get a cat and become a big fat cat lady like aunt Margaret” she said aloud to herself in a pout-ily snotty voice. She could get a puppy or a kitty, lots of people just fell in love with their pets and told lies like “I don’t need anyone else I have my main –insert gender specific term here – they’re the best”. It was pathetic to her to be quite honest, but so was checking your phone every couple hours hoping you didn’t hear your obnoxiously loud ringtone – which she was doing that very second. So, if she was already being pathetic, why not become one of those people who’s a little too close to their pet? Or pets in her aunt Margaret’s case, sixteen pets to be exact. Scarlet did not want to be Margaret “okay, this end’s now” she spoke firmly to herself throwing her phone into her purse washing her hands of it. Breathing a large sigh she scanned the house, making sure there was nothing else she needed to do. Then she began fiddling with the flowers on the table in front of her, trying to improve their appearance. They didn't need it, but she needed something to occupy her hands and keep her from fishing out her phone again. It wouldn't even be difficult either, Scarlet was one of those women with a very clean and organized purse. No, she wouldn't though, she'd keep fiddling with the flowers until she felt safe enough to retreive her keys. Besides since she'd fiddled with them they actually needed fixing now.

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[LOGAN IAN ELLIS]

It didn't take a particularly special day for Ellis not to like himself. In fact, a person could take any day of the week and expect some kind of self loathing to take place. He was boring, un-stimulating, uninteresting and untalented. He couldn't remember doing anything of value since his senior year in college five years ago and he still thought it was ok to wear the same jeans three times in a row before washing them. Lately, how ever, it had gotten worse. His will to roll out of bed was waining, even if it was to just relocate to the couch. His spurts of animosity were becoming a little too common for comfort. Even a man in depression had his limits. Last night alone he had managed to fall asleep with his face on the keyboard for the fifth time that week. Something had to be done. He had to contact her.

It had been a while since he had seen her last. A while meaning 10 days, eight hours and some change. Her name was Scarlet and she had been the most interesting person he had met since he had moved out of his house and began attending college. She was intelligent, witty, and independent. She seemed to genuinely like him at the time; and she was beautiful. Incredibly beautiful. One of the most beautiful people he had ever seen in real life, in fact. Which made his decision to not call her one of the biggest mistakes of his life. Tonight, how ever, was the turning point. Fixing the collar of his white button down, Ellis let loose a long exhale in attempt to sooth himself his anxiety. Tonight, he was here. And she was there. And he was going to fix this. Tonight was the night that he got to stop counting the days "since," and hopefully start counting the days "until."

That was, of course, f his plan decided to work itself out.
This time.

This week alone, the Scotsman had attended two other open houses in the neighborhood in hopes of finding her. Granted - the free hor d'oeurves and alcohol were nice; but being treated like a single, loaded bachelor in search of a home that compensated his failed love life wasn't. He had all ready gone through that while purchasing his own home in the neighborhood. Still - he persisted. Scarlet mentioned how much she truly hated evening open houses, which insinuated that she did them too often. It was just a matter of time before he picked the right one to attend. Promising each time that this one was the one, Ellis allowed his heart to relocate itself some where in the back of his throat as he approached the door step of this night's venue. Taking a moment to collect himself, he placed one hand on the front door and knocked.

That was protocol, right? It wasn't any one's home, though. Did open house mean open house? He certainly didn't want to come off rude if it didn't. What if she wasn't in there? He wouldn't really care so much, then. But what if she was? That would come off terrible. What if she was in there, and she didn't recognize him? Well that...that would just be the worst.

Why did he do this to himself? He frowned, rotating the drink that was perched in his right hand. Peering at it, he gave a small shrug. Mocha blended coffee. Chocolate chips. Whipped cream. The gesture seemed sweet enough at the time, after all it was the drink that she had spilled on him when they had met. It was too late for coffee though, wasn't it? Sighing, he swapped it over to his other hand, pressing his warm palm against his forehead for comfort. If worst came to worse, he could just pretend that it was intended for him. He could say that he was at the wrong house and he could run away and lay on his couch for another seven days and try again. If things manage to go smoothly though...who knew. It was about time that he did something adventurous with his life. Even if that meant getting dressed up and pretending to buy houses every other night of the week in an attempt to see those eyes again.

[SCARLET OPHELIA GARLAND]

[atrb=border,0,true] [/style][STYLE=text-align:justify; border: 1px dashed #a2917a; width:320px; font-size:10px; padding:10px;] No, Scarlet would not be one of those women who pined over a man for months on end… even if that was kind of what she was doing at the moment. Never the less though, she was going to stop now and potentially get a pet. After fixing the flowers that she’d ruined she picked up her bag and headed for the door only to be greeted by a knock. Pausing for a moment she blinked at the door a bit trying to be sure of what she heard. As she opened the door she spoke in a sweet, but stern tone “sorry the open house is closed” as she was about to offer to show them around regardless her eyes fell on the chowder head she’d been thinking about for the last week and a half, give or take some change – while half-heartedly imagining horrible things happening to him, though it didn’t have the desired effect of making her feel better anyway. So in all honesty it was quite pointless and made her feel a bit bad. He wasn’t a bad man after all he was just doing what was stereotypically expected of him. She herself had expected it, so why was she chastising him and constantly – albeit silently – calling him her equivalent of an idiot. Because she was disappointed – he’d let her down. It was really that simple, maybe it was a bit unfair, but it was what it was. He may have a really good excuse, but she wasn’t going to assume he did. To be totally he honest he likely didn’t anyway, at least not one that would satisfy her. She couldn’t decide whether she was happy to see him or just too displeased with his behavior to be pleasant “are you in the market for a house Ellis?” she spoke with a disbelieving smirk. Good gosh, she’d just revealed she remembered his name, not only his name but his last name too. She was glad she hadn’t finished her statement with the very James Bond-esque introduction he’d given when they first met as she was about to. That would have just been too pathetic, right? She didn’t want to completely embarrass herself the first time she saw him again. Suddenly she became very aware of the fact that she was grateful she’d put effort into her appearance today. Hopefully he’d feel a bit like a dolt for not calling. Logan probably didn’t even remember her name as far as she was concerned and here she was using his last name to address him as if they had known each other for years. Not many people called her Garland, but it wasn’t one of those often swapped last names. Letty was her nickname and the occasional Scar, not that any of that was important at the moment because he probably didn’t even remember that fact that her name started with an S. He probably was in the market for a house, why a teacher was looking at a house that was so far out of his price range she had no idea. Maybe he’d made mad cash off his book and was looking for an absolutely class neighborhood to reside in. Standing her ground in the doorway she allowed her eyes to scan the man, he seemed as if he’d dressed with the intention of looking nice. Whether it was for her benefit she wouldn’t allow herself to assume or even entertain the possibility. He did look nice though, she wouldn’t deny that, but wouldn’t offer it up unprompted either. Her eyes fell on the beverage in his hands “late for coffee isn’t it?” Scarlet drank coffee at all hours of the day and never lost a wink of shut eye because of it. However, not all people were like that apparently and tended to avoid it past noon. She allowed her hand to slip from the door knob and crossed her arms popping her him slightly “I’d invite you in, but… it’s not my house” she said teasingly with a small wink. Oh, how good she was as hiding her own excitement over seeing the man again. Scarlet was skilled at hiding her emotions in general and often that quickly turned into a personality flaw. She step aside allowing him to pass through the doorway if he pleased. She hoped he wouldn’t get the right idea and read into the fact that the small smirk she’d painted on when she saw him hadn’t left her face since. Or if it did, it returned in a flash. It was decided, she was glad to see him again.

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[LOGAN IAN ELLIS]

Sorry but... He didn't hear the rest. Her accent was unmistakable. His heart beat had some how stopped pulsing in his chest and started ringing in his ears. It was working double time. Scarlet was actually here and his plan had managed to work. He didn't care that the open house was over, nor did he really take into consideration that she might have wanted to go home after a long day of work. His plan had worked - that's what mattered. And as the door opened and he laid eyes on her, his lips had managed to spread across the entire front of his face. Hearing his voice, it pushed even farther. It didn't matter at this point how many failed attempts he had managed trying to pull this plan off. It didn't even matter if he walked away alone at this point. Not only did his plan work, but she remembered. Scarlet remembered who he was.

It took a moment for her tone to settle in. There was an air of disappointment. Of course there was - he had never called her. It was too hard to call her. It took too much courage. It was one thing to have her sit across from him face to face. It was another to have her on the opposite phone line. The reassurance of her smile was enough to give him the bravery needed to ask for her phone number in the first place. But at home? Sitting at home in the ruins of his home meant facing himself. It was hard to wallow when a beautiful woman laughed at your jokes; it was impossible to remember why she liked you in the first place. Every moment in that place reminded him of why he had no chance with her; every moment made him realize he wasn't the man he thought he was. Ellis wouldn't blame her if she wanted to hold it against him. He'd understand.

Still, to be disappointed, it meant that she had started out as hopeful. If she was hopeful, it meant that she had liked him. That thought was just enough to give him the confidence he needed to make this whole scenario work.

"Actually, I live up the road. It's a big empty house with all of the lights left on," he explained, taking a step closer to the threshold while tucking his free hand in his pocket. It was easy to play cool in a modeled building that was familiar to his own. This whole thing was so unusual for him that any bit helped at this point. Ellis tucked his smile into a cool smirk, mimicking the coy look that Scarlet had some how mastered over the years. As she crossed her arms and moved aside, he obliged the offer that her body language conveyed. Stepping into the house, he spoke lowly and moved past her, "You look incredible in your business attire, so I'll take my chances when it comes to trespassing charges." Granted, he blushed a little as he complimented her, but he was still playing cool. It was true though - and as he stood in the foyer of the large house, he took a moment to look her over in amazement before continuing on. "You're right about the coffee. It's actually for you though..."

"I thought it'd be a nice gesture. You said you hated these things and I thought you might want a pick-me-up afterwards," as he spoke, he rotated the drink in his hands, taking his eyes off of Scarlet and focusing on it's synthetic shape. It was much less intimidating to look at with what he had to say to her. Now was his moment. The moment in movies where the guy always got the girl. The moment that Ellis always fell short of due to his insecurities. Tonight was different. "If I were to be perfectly honest though, it's more so a relic to try and bring you back to the time when we met. A time when you still had the hopes that I would call you and you didn't yet realize how much of a coward I am with these sorts of things. Because I am. I'm terrible. And you're intimidating..." He paused for a brief moment to collect himself. That wasn't it. He could do this.

"I figure that if you say yes and take it from me, you could let me prattle on for a while about how sorry I am for not calling," he sounded hopeful, giving a small shrug, "And also for how creepy this whole gesture might come off..." There was a soft laugh before he sighed, allowing his tone to drop in a more intimate manner as he continued. "I'm gonna warn you though," he took a step towards her, holding out the drink before him and giving a soft smile, "By the time you've finished drinking it, I'll have had enough time to muster up the courage I need to ask you out on that date I've been thinking about for a week." That was a good line, right? That sounded smooth. Maybe it was creepy. Christ, it was creepy wasn't it. Holding the drink, he kept to his cool exterior, following up with the first thing that popped into his mind, "It smells like cookies in here."

Nailed it.

[SCARLET OPHELIA GARLAND]

[atrb=border,0,true] [/style][STYLE=text-align:justify; border: 1px dashed #a2917a; width:320px; font-size:10px; padding:10px;] As much as she didn’t want to admit it she was glad he was here standing in front of her. She would also very much like to ignore the knot forming in her stomach. It was generally a difficult thing to make Scarlet uncomfortable, but here she was – suddenly aware of every part of her body – self-conscious. Of all things holy, was she seriously self-conscious? Ellis was making her doubt her looks and personality? That was what self-consciousness was right, because she’d never really experienced it before. Scarlet was a strong woman though and wanted to continue to give that impression for as long as she lived, even in moments like these when she really just wanted to grab him, shake him and then kiss him. Was that too girly? Or was it not very girly – he was confusing her mind. This was all beginning to feel like one of those movies she tended to hate, first it was the lunch with Ej which led to her talking about how Ellis would never call and cue next scene where the guy shows up and looks ten times cuter than she remembered. Ew – was the only thing that came to her mind. She’d never been one of those girls who wanted the ridiculously dramatic romantic comedy of a relationship. Instead she’d much prefer a low key simple one. Though, somehow she was glad he was there even if it did remind her of a romcom that she would be in a fit of laughter over. It wasn’t a secret to herself that she did like Ellis and if she were being perfectly honest, she like that he had shown up in a grand gesture of sorts, even if she wasn’t quite sure why he was there still. Gosh, she hoped this didn’t mean she was going to turn into a sappy girl that got upset when a guy didn’t do something romantic every five minutes. No, she couldn’t see herself being that way. Romance was difficult after all, she knew that and that was the very simple reason she would not expect it every few moments. Though, she’d always liked the idea of the occasional romantic gesture to let her know the guy was still interested in her. Was Ellis though? Is that why he showed up at her open house? She nodded trying to say appropriately aloof to what he was saying. She didn’t want to somehow sense she’d been acting completely out of character for that last week or so because of him. However, his next comment caused an involuntary grin to spread across her face. Crossing her arms her eyes fell to the floor – He was in a rare form tonight. At least from what she’d gathered at the coffee shop he was. “well you can’t look like you just climbed out of bed when you’re trying to sell a house worth half a million dollars” she teased with a devious smirk. Her face softened as he continued to speak. Shit, he was sweet. Scarlet brushed hair out of her face taking the coffee from him “you remember my bad day coffee order?” she said trying a failing to conceal how adorably sweet she found the whole gesture. His last comment caused her eye brows to knit together in confusion before raising one of them “I’m not so intimidating am I?” she teased with another smirk. Maybe she was. As much as she wasn’t much of a romantic the little girl in her caused her heart to jump into her throat with contained excitement that he did actually want to see her again and not only that but take her on a date “well if you do gather the courage you have a good chance of getting a yes” she spoke with a no duh type of tone. She was doing what she did best – teasing. Though, sometimes her teasing was more sarcastic making fun of, but never the less she did it often. Tonight, however, was perfectly playful teasing that was in no way meant to be mean. “would you like some cookies?” she teased him further. Okay, so maybe she was being a bit mean to the poor guy.

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