notyourutopian | IC Contact: Recollé

[There's a pause, it's hard to tell if Eleanor is actually listening, just footsteps and printer noises and maybe some typing before she's back, sounding...confused.]

Wait did you say a picnic and stargazing? Uh. What?

[She didn't sound upset. She sounded confused. Why did she sound confused? Was this not clear? It was a romantic idea, yes? Dinner under the stars, alone, relaxing away from prying eyes? That was what Redbook said was a romantic idea, after all. Why was Redbook failing her, god damnit!

She was going to write them such an angry letter when this was over.]

Yes, I wanted to do something different. It... It is boring to simply be asked to dinner and a movie is it not? I want to make a good first impression, so I thought perhaps something ... well, romantic?

A hand-made dinner under the stars, it is romantic, is it not?

Y-yes...I suppose it does sound...

[She falls silent, the only sound the quiet humming of the printer in the background puttering along. Finally there's a faint breath, and when she talks about, Chloe's not on speaker anymore.]

Chloe, are you asking me out on a date?

[The first sounds that came from the other end of the phone line was a dull, rhythmic thumping. It was the distinctive sound of a head banging a couple times into a desk. After that came a low, muted groan of mild desperation. Her voice was faint, muffled.]

Pourquoi est-ce si difficile?

[Bang, bang. Sigh. She sounded a little resigned when she spoke afterwards, bringing the phone up to her lips and replying to Eleanor.]

Y...Yes, Eleanor. I am trying to ask you out on a date.

(OOC: "Why is this so difficult?")

I speak enough french to understand that, you know.

[Eleanor sounded a bit more like her old self, at least when she said that. But then there was another pause.]

Okay. But. Why?

Heh, of course you do...

[She reached up her fingers and dragged them through her hair. Her palms pressed to her forehead. Was Eleanor seriously asking her why she was asking her out? Why did people ever ask someone out? Because they were interested in them. She'd been hinting that she was one of the reasons that she'd been conflicted, hadn't...

Crap, her friend probably hadn't caught any of that, had she?]

Why else would I be, Eleanor? Why else does a girl ask another girl on a date? Because I am... single, and I am interested in you.

[Oh god, she was going to ask why again wasn't she?]

Chloe.

[Well shit. Eleanor sucked in a breath, trying to gather her thoughts.]

You've been single for like a week, Chloe.

... I... know.

[She struggled a little. No, that was entirely fair. She pinched her fingers over the bridge of her nose and clenched her eyes.]

You... don't realize I've been conflicted for a while, do you? It... wasn't roses. She and I've been arguing for months.

Sure, I get that.

But still.

Like. [Christ what was she supposed to say here.]

Seriously. You need to take some chill time before you go...rushing into anything.

... [She reached up and gripped her head. There was a difficult sound on the other side and she shifted a little.]

Like I said... I don't get to take it back once I've said it. Merde. You're... right. I'm lonely, and I'm being foolish. [She leaned back and looked at the ceiling.] But...

Look... I'll take your advice. [She reached up to put her head in her hands.] Just... I know you're being a good friend right now, but if you're not interested in me, that way... you'll tell me, right?

Edited (sorry about the edit. Didn't like how she put that last statement.) 2017-06-08 05:23 (UTC)

[Eleanor couldn't hide a frustrated groan at that, just because she had zero idea how to answer any of this.]

Look...Chloe. You realize I graduate in four days right? My entire world is finishing the newspaper and keeping my mom from freaking out and crying every time it comes up and making sure I actually finish everything I need to before I leave high school forever.

Do not ask me any deep questions right now.

[Chloe froze again. That... wasn't a no. That definitely wasn't a no. If she'd not been interested in her that way at all, or was unwilling to even consider it, she could have just said 'no, not interested that way,' and it would have been ok. She swallowed and smiled, nodding her head even if her friend couldn't see it.]

Don't worry... I'm not going to bring this up again until we're both in hopefully a better place. Promise. [And she sighed.] Th...thank you, Eleanor.

[There was no way in hell she was actually going to tell Eleanor that she had definitely not heard a no just then. She'd already jumped the gun because of being lonely and freaking out, and countless other things.]

You... you have a lot to deal with. I'm going to let you go, ok?

Yeah, thanks. Uh. [Christ. She seriously did not know what she was supposed to say here, and her frustration was probably evident.]

I'll talk to you later.

Talk to you later, Eleanor.

[Click. Ok... that ... definitely could have gone worse. She'd mucked that up pretty badly. But it didn't sound unsalvageable, though the fact that Eleanor clearly was just at a loss for words... no, just she wasn't going to think about it. At all.

She was going to take a few days completely away from this and...

Wait... graduation... she was going to be visiting with friends at graduation. Fuck! Damnit, damnit damnit! God, she was making an ass out of herself the last few weeks. Oh well, she was just going to take a shot of something and go to sleep. Worry about this in the morning.]

IC Contact: Recollé

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