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Ching Tai - Friday Evening

Neil couldn't help himself and so there he was, like a dork, holding the door for Andrew.

"I've heard they make some great currey dishes here, do you like spicey?" He asked, giving the place a quick glance and hoping they could find a table pretty quickly.

[ooc: Neil and Andrew are here on an official daaaayyyte and their thread is locked to them. Otherwise, open for your Chinese snacking needs!]

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"Thank you," Andrew said, walking through the door.

"I like spicy foods, but I have to be careful. Sometimes my stomach can be tres senstive." Andrew grabbed at his tummy and then thought that maybe that was a little too much information. "But, um, bring on the spicy! I'm feeling adventurous tonight."

Maybe just a touch but come on, Neil had spent most of his life in an all boy's prep school. He'd seen, heard, smelled, been subject to and had probably done worse.

Letting the door close behind him, he nodded to the waitress who came forward to seat them -for two!- and let Andrew take the lead.

"Currey is kind of more a strong flavor than what I'd consider dangerously spicey. Like the sauce they use on Kung Pao chicken or beef is just way too much."

"Well, I'll give it a try. I'll try anything once!" Andrew exclaimed as he took his seat.

"This is a nice place," he observed. "I really do need to take a day and explore the island a little more. I spend way too much time couped up in my room."

He looked over the menu.

"Did you hear about the miniature golf course that's supposed to open today?"

If anyone spent more time couped up in his room than Andrew it was Neil.

Taking his own seat, he picked up a menu, though it was a symbolic gesture since he -like most people- already knew what Chinese food he wanted to eat.

"No, I hadn't," he said with a bright grin. "Do you know where it's supposed to be? Maybe we could walk down there after dinner and see if it opened?"

Because, hey ... miniature golfing with Andrew would definitely be fun!

"It's supposed to be somewhere near Galatica Point. Though, I'm not even entirely sure where that is."

He studied the menu a moment longer before sighing and putting it down. "Would you order for me?"

Eep!

Looking a bit flaily for a moment, Neil quickly opened the menu and rescanned some items.

"Um, how do you feel about iced green tea?"

"Sounds good to me," Andrew replied, actually enjoying the fact that Neil seemed to be a tad bit flaily. He wasn't used to having that kind of effect on someone. He could definitely get used to it.

"I trust your judgment." He smiled at Neil.

Definitely more than just a tad!

Oh, Neil had always been known as a gracious escort but it had been easy to be gracious when the girls he was escorting hadn't held any real attraction for him.

This? Something entirely different.

Hemming and hawing over the menu, Neil ended up ordering an aray of ~~completely moddable~~ dishes with the idea that they would each have a plate and could share.

This done, he was glad to see the menus go bye bye and smiled across the table towards Andrew.

"So, which one of those Stevens poems is your favorite?"

He'd read the book...twice already!

Andrew just grinned as Neil ordered the food.

He picked up his chopsticks and fumbled about with them as he thought over Neil's question. "I feel like I should say I like one of his longer poems, but honestly, I think the one I've read the most and, um, I guess was, you know, moved by would be 'Stars at Tallapoosa.' Of course, that might just be because I like saying Tallapossa so much."

"Oh yes!" Neil agreed with an eager bounce, obviously just simply adoring the subject of poetry.

"That one has beautiful, sharp imagery in it. You can almost see snapshots of the pictures the different lines invoke. Also there is a very mystic spiritual edge to it as well."

Realizing he might have just sounded a bit ~~a lot~~ like a dork, Neil attempted to tone himself down a bit and picked up his own chop sticks.

"I used to belong to a society that was big on reading poetry. Our moto was 'to suck the marrow out of the bones of life'."

Andrew leaned back and closed his eyes, trying to remember the last verse of the poem.

"Their pleasure that is all bright-edge and cold;
Or, if not arrows, then the nimblest motions,
Making recoveries of young nakedness
And the lost vehemence the midnights hold.

He smiled, a little proud that he could actually recall it.

"To suck the marrow, huh? Sounds kinky," he said absently and then looked horrified when he realized he actually said that out loud.

Neil could only chuckle as he studied the chopsticks under his fingers.

"For our time and place, actually we quite were," he admitted. "We'd sneak out of the dorms after 'lights' and go down to this old cave at the edge of the school grounds. Then we'd sit around, read poetry, smoke pipes ... occasionally Nuwanda snuck in a girl or two."

Neil paused, eyes going wide and he quickly waved his hands.

"Nothing, happened with the girls. I mean, back then getting a kiss was considered wild and risque."

Andrew was intrigued. "And did you, um, did you get many kisses?"

"Nuwanda and Knox got most of them," Neil admitted with a grin. He hadn't exactly pursued the kisses.

"And Nuwanda, was he Native American or perhaps a demon of some sort? Cause I totally recall reading about a demon named Nuwanda. Or maybe it was Nuwandi..." Andrew's face scrunched up as he tried to remember.

"A demon?" Neil said with a blink and though it wasn't for the first time that he recognized that there was something unique about Andrew he began again to feel it more keenly.

Not in a bad way, more in an ... omgI'mgoingtobetoonormalforacoolguylikeAndrew, kinda way.

"His real name was Charlie but Nuwanda was his Dead Poet's name and he started insisting he go by that, especially..." Neil paused here as they were starting to get too close to shadows best left alone.

"So, there's a Nuwandi demon? What's it like?"

"Dead Poet name? Do you have a Dead Poet name?" Andrew was intrigued. Neil never really seemed to give up too many details about himself before changing the subject.

"And I'm not even sure about the Nuwandi demon. I could totally be making that up. There are, um, a lot of different demons out there."

Neil shook his head, though it was possible he was trying to shut down conversation on the topic of the Dead Poets.

Picking up his tea, he turned his attention to Andrew and asked.

"Really? How ... I mean, how do you know about them? If you don't mind my asking?"

"Well, it's not that demons are common in Sunnydale, but once you know about them, they seem to pop up all over the place. My older brother found out about them and started messing around with summoning and stuff. I picked it up from him, mostly."

Andrew shrugged, "And now that I'm here, I'm getting some private lessons from Mr. Giles. He thinks it's best if I formalize my interest a bit."

[ooc: Sorry about the extreme SP this weekend!]

"Is that how you were able to summon the monkeys?" Neil asked curiously.

[ooc: SP is love and understood! :)]

Andrew nodded. "I started researching them a while back. I thought they would, um, work nicely in that situation."

Luckily, he had been right.

"Wow," Neil said softly, genuinely impressed by what Andrew had been able to do.

"Personally, I thought it was an awesome touch," he admitted. "You're really smart."

Andrew had to laugh. "Mr. Giles says it was stupid. I don't regret it though."

He looked at Neil and asked, "So I don't freak you out?"

Neil, actually gave Andrew's question genuine thought, rather than just throwing out some pat answer and eventually he shook his head.

"No," he said quietly. "You kinda awe me and maybe scare me a little but I don't think you're freakish at all. I think you're really smart and talented in that you make your brain work for you."

"I scare you?" Andrew didn't know how to take that comment. He had often imagined himself as being all scary and powerful, but he never actually thought he was capable of actually scaring someone.

He hung his head a little, "I don't want you to be scared of me."

Ack!

Inwardly ... okay and outwardly also, Neil flailed, cause he didn't like seeing Andrew hang his head like that!

"No, I mean ..." he stumbled over his words and then sighed.

"You scare me because you ... belong to this world, to this time and eventually someone who is more dynamic and interesting and just ... more powerful is going to come along and I can't really offer you anything to trump that kind of oppertunity."

Oh but that was hard to admit to and Neil sighed a bit, looking down at the napkin he was busy crumpling up.

"Also, I get scared for you at times also because you do, do some things that sound pretty dangerous."

Okay, that was really sweet.

Andrew looked up at Neil and said, "You, my good sir, have nothing to worry about. You're one of the only guys I've met that I feel like I can be honest with. I like that. I like you. A lot.

"And I don't really deal with anything dangerous. Mr. Giles won't let me."

Blushing slightly, Neil peeked up at Andrew and smiled.

"I ... like you too, Andrew and I always want you to feel like you can be honest with me, I mean it. I ... like that you talk to me."

Shifting a little as he saw their food was about to arrive, Neil's foot might have accidentally bumped Andrew's under the table.

"Just, be careful okay?"

What was it about teenage boys that a simple bump of the foot could send their minds reeling into interesting scenarios and feverish daydreams?

It took Andrew a moment to regain control of his thoughts.

"I'll be careful. No summoning the man-eating demon unless I'm sure of what I'm doing. Promise."

He smiled eagerly as the food was sat down.

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Ching Tai - Friday Evening

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