fandomtownies | The Perk, Saturday Late Morning

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$perk,
kate gregson

The Perk, Saturday Late Morning

Actually, so far this weekend hadn't been nearly as bad as Kate had expected. However, that may have been partly because she had dragged Zach away from the park for a walk around town as soon as he'd shown up, and then they'd retreated to the hotel pretty early, which meant they'd been successful in avoiding damn near everyone.

And this morning they were chancing it by starting out their day at the Perk. Zach's charming demeanor and generous tip-giving had achieved the seemingly impossible, which was a giant cup of black coffee for Kate, and life was good. They'd picked a table that wasn't too far in the back yet not too near the windows, and were having some pleasant conversation over their breakfast, occasionally chuckling quietly or leaning across the table to share things that were best kept private.

Of course, relaxed as Kate seemed to be, she was sitting so that she had a clear view of the door. It was just best that way.

[ooc: Post is open for all your Kate/Zach/general Perk-y needs!]

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Well, since she'd had such luck here last time, of course Adrienne was going to return to the quaint little coffee shop--at least until it was time for her to wander off to go meet all of little Emma's teachers and see what they thought of her wayward little sister.

In the meantime, there were certainly going to be a few people here that knew Emma and could be used for information.

Yeah, right now there was at least one of those people here, and since Kate had already been keeping an eye on the door it wasn't hard for her to notice the other girl making her entrance.

She was still listening to Zach joking about opening a Yogohut in Fandom, but her eyes lingered on Adrienne for a moment, because there was a vague sort of familiarity about her. She couldn't help it.

After convincing the barista into making a decent latte--no haranguing or telepathy needed, but a bit of sweet venom in every word--Adrienne sat back at her table and looked around. It didn't taking her long to notice the little blonde. The guy she was with had all the hallmarks of money, but she certainly didn't.

The next time the girl looked her way, Adrienne raised a slim, questioning eyebrow at her. Much like her little sister's expression, actually, though they'd both probably deny that until the end of time.

[Sorry! Fled for a wedding much sooner than I thought I would!]

More little bells of recognition chimed in Kate's mind, but not quite enough. Still, her distraction was enough for even Zach to notice, and he stopped talking which meant she thought she might as well initiate some sort of contact with this stranger.

"Excuse me," she called out. "Do I know you? Or, I mean, someone that knows you?"

[No problem! SP is cherished like pie around these parts.]

Well, that was as good an invitation as any, and Adrienne offered the girl a little smile. "Perhaps," she said. "You wouldn't know an Emma, would you? Emma Frost?"

She didn't mention the part where they were sisters. Who knew what kind of tales crazy little Emma was spreading.

"As a matter of fact I do," Kate said with a brief, somewhat polite smile. "And you are...?"

Zach just watched, for now.

"Frost. Adrienne Frost," she replied, gracing Kate with an equally brief smile before switching it over to the man she was with. Too bad he clearly didn't go to this little ragamuffin school. It would be nice to finally have a conversation with someone who mattered.

But it was the girl who knew Emma, so it was the girl she would engage. For now. "And you?" she asked, bringing her eyes back to Kate.

"Kate Gregson," she replied. "And this is Zach ~~Who-totes-has-a-last-name~~."

Zach inclined his head at Adrienne with a polite "Hello", but said nothing more. Kate had a question, anyway. "Frost, hmm? So, what, are you Emma's sister?"

And for a second there she thought Emma didn't have a sister, but that was only until she remembered that one mention on truth day. And that instantly made her a little wary of Adrienne, not that she showed it.

"One of several siblings actually," Adrienne replied. Hopefully, if Emma had been so gauche as to air dirty laundry, mentioning the others would give her a way to pin things on the others.

After all, it was hardly like Christian could complain about being scapegoated. Again.

"I'm here to check up on my dear little sister, but I've hardly seen her. I do hope that means she's flitting out and about and not locking herself in her room like she used to do at home. Things can get so...noisy for her."

There. A nice, oblique reference to the crazy.

Zach's eyebrow twitched upward, a fact which Kate did not appreciate at all. Was he going to think her friends were crazy and weird now too?

"Mm, well, I'm sure she's somewhere around," she said smoothly. "She's popular, so you might have some trouble finding her, but I'm sure she's out and about."

"Oh, then this school was an excellent fit for her!" Adrienne said, with something like real glee in her voice. Though you'd have to understand her opinion of the school to get the joke. "Emma was never one for making friends at her previous school. The weird and pretty loner. Well, after she grew out of that awkward stage of early pubescence. Before that, she was just weird."

"Everyone at this school was weird at some point, for some reason or another," Kate replied with a smile that didn't quite qualify as friendly. She decided that wasn't actually something that Zach shouldn't hear; he knew she had been an outcast, and why. "And we all thrive here."

"That's so darling!" Adrienne cried. "I'm so glad little Emma found her way here. We were all quite worried about her after she ran away. We tried searching, of course, but we lost her after she ended up on the streets of New York."

She'd just let them interpret that phrase however they wished.

"Mama blamed herself, poor thing. We hadn't seen how bad it was getting for Emma, how much harder it was for her to control her...problems."

"Yeah, you seem like a really caring sister," Kate replied, fake sweetly. "Airing your family's dirty laundry in public."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Adrienne replied just as sweetly. "You just seemed like someone who would understand that. Completely. And this being the kind of school that it is...one that almost specializes in...problems...I just assumed this was all old hat for you."

Puck was only mildly, mildly bummed that no one had come to see him this weekend. On the upside, no Santana versus Quinn catfight.

On the downside...no Santana versus Quinn catfight. So sad.

In any case, Puck totally wanted some coffee, and so had wandered into town in search of some. And as luck may have it, he happened to spot Kate in the Perk, which set him to waving and trying to peek at the face of the guy she was with.

Lucky her.

So lucky. Really. There was maybe a scowl briefly on her face as she spotted Puck, which prompted Zach to glance briefly over his shoulder at the boy. Then he turned towards her again, a little amused. "Is that a friend of yours?"

Kate couldn't help a dry tone as she gave Puck perhaps a mildly unenthusiastic wave back. "Ask me again in five minutes."

And see, that wave back was totally taken as an invitation to wander over as soon as he had his own coffee. "Kate! You didn't tell me you had people coming this weekend!"

He smiled at Zach, who he totally recognized, and it took just a little bit of restraint not to vocalize the thought that his suspicions were totally, totally confirmed.

Kate gave him a dark look, then composed her expression into something a little more polite. "Well, I don't tell you everything," she said, sweetly. It was the kind of sweetness that implied she would not hesitate to punch him hard sometime later if he was too much of an ass now. "I have several visitors, in fact. This is Zach. Zach, that's Puck."

Zach actually got up from his chair to offer Puck his hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise, dude," Puck replied, eagerly shaking Zach's hand and giving Kate a pointed look. He could be nice. See? "I've heard so much about you! You're the yogurt guy, right?"

Zach was a little taken aback by that moniker. "Uh, I guess so," he said, huffing out a laugh. "I do own the Yogohut chain in Kansas." He glanced at Kate with a brief smile. "Is that how you tell people about me."

Kate shook her head. "Not exactly."

"Nah, she didn't like, call you 'the yogurt guy' or anything," Puck assured him. "It's just kind of a thing to remember, you know? Most people our age aren't seeing people who own entire chains of frozen yogurt places! Sticks in your head."

"I'm sure it does," Zach said, maybe a little awkwardly. He didn't like being reminded of the age difference present in his relationship, even if he thought it didn't matter.

While he was taking his seat again, he gestured at an empty chair. "Did you want to join us?"

Kate looked up at that suggestion, almost horrified though she was quick to look a little less panicked. "No, I'm sure Puck has somewhere else to be."

"I think Kate wants to keep you all to herself, Zach," Puck admitted with a little grin tossed her way. "It's okay, I've got a thing to get to, anyway. But it was so awesome to meet you. After all I'd heard about you from Kate, I kind of never believed I'd get the chance!"

Because he initially thought Zach was made up.

Yeah, Kate remembered that more than well and rolled her eyes. Zach on the other hand, gave him a faint smile and a nod. He thought there was something here he wasn't privy to, but didn't let that bother him much. "Well, it was nice meeting you too."

And if this was how well everything was going to go, Kate was going to be amazed.

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The Perk, Saturday Late Morning

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