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The Perk, Tuesday Evening

Jack and Emma had left rehearsal together, and had been uncharacteristically quiet during their walk through town. Jack couldn't know what Emma was thinking; he knew he was simply hoping he wouldn't screw anything up.

He let her order their drinks and pay, as she'd promised, and stared out the window as he waited at a table.

[OOC:

icecoldfrost modded with permission. Jack's here for one, but the coffee shop is open to other patrons.]

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Emma hadn't really been thinking anything, really, beyond 'I am never listening to Karla and her stupid logic ever again.'

Still, none of her inward qualms were showing as she thanked the barista and carried their drinks over to the table. "Anything interesting out there?" she asked, her tone slightly teasing as she set his drink in front of him.

"Bears," Jack nodded solemnly. "With little girls dressed as ballerinas doing acrobatics on their backs. It was quite a show."

Oh look, there was the 'you're a moron,' look Jack liked so well!

"Astounding," she said dryly, taking the seat across from him. "I can't believe you let me miss such a spectacle." See? Emma was being nice, and not asking if he was still concussed.

Jack sighed, deflating, and went to complete honesty. "I'm sorry," he said. "This -- isn't the kind of conversation I normally have, Emma."

Hence moronic jokes.

Emma's drink was suddenly very very fascinating as she looked down at it. "If you want to know what sort of conversations people normally have in this situation, you're talking to the wrong person," she replied.

"Unless, of course, you want me to poke around in a few people's heads and see if they've ever had anything similar. Cliff notes might be useful."

"You're a telepath and I'm a vampire's companion from 1900," Jack pointed out. "I'm pretty sure whatever Tiffani at the gym said to the waiter at Ching Tai to get him to go out with her, charming as it no doubt was, wouldn't help us."

His drink must have done something to piss him off, from the way he was glowering at it.

Emma couldn't help the small huff of laughter fell past her lips, even as she was still studiously staring at her coffee. "So you're saying this is your way of asking me to go out with you?"

The laughter was encouraging, at least. "Something like that," he said. "It's my way of telling you I don't intend to date anyone else on the island, at least. Is that a start?"

It was costing him valuable hookups in the sexualities group! Emma should be grateful.

Her gaze flickered back up to look at him. "Why?" she asked, completely serious. "I wasn't going to hold you to anything you said while injured, Jack. You know that."

"I wouldn't think much of you if you did," Jack said promptly and a bit bluntly. "We've been friends since May, Miss Frost. We know each other. I've come to like you ... rather a lot. I'm ready to try for something beyond what we've had."

"You know I'm not the hearts and roses and happily-ever-after type of person, Mr. Priest," Emma said. "And neither are you, really." She quickly held up her hands in a placating gesture. "Which isn't bad, clearly, but I'm not sure what 'beyond' you're looking for."

Her eyes dropped back down to her drink, and Emma wrapped her hands around it to keep them from shaking. "It's just... the closest thing I know to 'love' is you and your Sebastien, Jack. So you can see where I'm a bit confused. About what you want."

"I always thought Sebastien and I disturbed you," Jack said softly as he weighed out what to say. "Emma, I only have a few months here. Then I'm off to England and college -- possibly not even in this time -- and you have another year of school. Asking you for hearts and flowers and happily ever after now would be like asking you to shut yourself in a cage. You'd resent it, and me, and I can't have that."

He paused in his speech to sip his coffee. "You don't have any interest in a relationship with Sebastien. I know that. If you did, things would be different. But if I could be your lover until I leave school, that's all the 'more' I can ask for."

It was a long speech, and he watched her anxiously when he finished.

Emma's lips quirked slightly. "I didn't say it I wasn't... bothered by it," she murmured softly. "But that doesn't mean I don't understand what I see."

She tapped her fingers against the side of her mug as she thought, aware Jack was still watching her. "So you don't want to be good friends with very nice benefits anymore," she clarified, looking back up at him. "You want the rest of the package. Me."

Jack thought about disputing terms, but --

"Yes. I do."

Whatever that meant.

"You're insane," she sighed, but it lacked her usual conviction behind the words. "You've had me for the last two months, Mr. Priest."

Which was as close as Emma could come here-and-now to admitting that yes, she liked him too. Rather a lot, actually, and was aware of that fact.

"So...what? We date?" Emma picked at her mug nervously again. "Is it strange that the telepath has no idea how these things work?"

Jack puffed out a tiny bit at that. "Only two months?" he teased lightly, smiling across the table at her. "And, oh, I suppose so. We already spend time together, this is just ... spending time together with a label attached."

"Shut up, Jack." Uncomfortable Emma was uncomfortable, and she flushed slightly as she glared. "Do we have to do labels? I'm not going to walk around calling you my boyfriend or anything like that."

Jack closed his mouth, but he still looked very proud of himself.

At least, until he considered the question of the word boyfriend.

"God, no. I was hoping we could manage without them. So -- things are the same as they were, we've just admitted it and I'm not seeing anyone else now."

Edited 2010-02-10 04:22 (UTC)

"Am I seeing anyone else?" she asked. He had said initially that he didn't intend to see anyone else on the island, but Emma wasn't a fool, and knew that didn't include Don de Ulloa.

And if monogamy was part of this package, Emma needed to talk to Alex.

"Are you?" Jack asked innocently. If Alex hadn't mentioned their agreement, he was hardly taking that task on himself.

Emma folded her arms. "I asked first," she pointed out sweetly.

Not that she thought Jack would ever try and dictate that, but if he had a strong preference, she wanted to hear it now.

Jack decided not to be difficult and point out she was in the better position to know that. He answered the question the way she meant it.

"I'd certainly prefer you didn't, but I know better than to try to stop you."

Jack couldn't not be difficult -- it was Jack.

She nodded thoughtfully. "I need to think about it," she admitted. "I can promise not to flaunt anything at you." Emma enjoyed flirting, but she wasn't tacky. And she did want to talk with Alex before promising anything, since he was her friend and not just a booty call.

...someone was going to be pissy when she found out about a particular 'gentleman's agreement' regarding her.

It wasn't throwing herself into his arms and abjuring all other company, but Jack wouldn't have known what to do with that anyhow. He'd take it.

"That's all I can ask," he said lightly. "Were you going to go to the dance this weekend?"

If Emma ever started throwing herself in anyone's arms and spouting nonsense like that, she'd hope they'd check her for a concussion.

"I was thinking of asking a few of the girls to go again, like we did last time," Emma mused, watching him. "Why?"

"Consider this an invitation," Jack said, watching her right back. "Though I'd hate to come between you and Miss Cooper."

"First you ask me out, then you ask me to the dance? I'm about to start suspecting you of being a bit backwards, Mr. Priest," she teased. "Besides, I would think you'd enjoy being between myself and Rebakah."

No, Emma did not think of her roommate that way, but she wanted to see if she could make Jack blush.

Jack was becoming certain she was teasing him entirely to make him insane. More insane.

"The dance is just a dance," he pointed out, completely ignoring the comment about Miss Cooper. "The other thing I asked for was the larger one."

It was possible -- this was Emma. Driving people insane out of sheer frustration was a hobby.

"Clearly, you've never escorted a girl to a dance. We're much more terrifying when we're worrying about our hair and our dress," she replied cutely. "Although if you like, I am lacking an escort at the moment, and could likely be convinced to save a good selection of my dance card for you."

A tiny smile glimmered in Jack's eyes. "I think all of that could be arranged."

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The Perk, Tuesday Evening

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