fandomtownies | The Perk [Thursday afternoon]

Entry tags:

The Perk [Thursday afternoon]

Laurie loved the holidays. And sure, seeing everyone last week was kind of awesome -- Jules had demanded she come home to help decorate her house and Grayson's, and even poor Travis had been pulled home from college (which was only twenty minutes away, yes.) But today, she was enjoying the quiet things she liked -- warming up after being outside, drinking a peppermint...thingie while getting some work done for the building on her laptop, getting bitched at by mistletoe....

Okay, no, that one was new, and Laurie was getting kind of annoyed with it. "Who are you expecting me to mack on, dude?" she asked, flinging her arms wide in exasperation as the plant on the ceiling made little coughing, hinty noises again. "No one here is up to standard!"

The mistletoe was quiet, so Laurie now just looked like a crazy person yelling at a plant on the ceiling. Awesome. And she'd just insulted everyone else in there. "...sorry."

Maybe she'd just go back to her spreadsheets.

[open!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Did I just see you yelling at the ceiling?"

Mike hadn't really meant to come to the Perk again since they had coffee at home, too. But he'd happened to catch that particular sight through the window as he'd been passing by and, well, he was amused.

And looking kind of bundled up. This weather was chilly to him.

"There's a plant...annoying me," Laurie said, realizing how idiotic that sounded. "Sorry. I think it's an island thing. I kinda didn't mean anyone to see me...yelling at it."

She still sounded like an idiot. Oops. "You look all cute and bundled up!" Better.

And then, of course, the mistletoe chimed in, "How about him?"

Stupid plant.

And now Mike was staring up at the plant.

"Did that just... talk?"

Oh yes, it had.

"Okay, definitely an island thing."

"I mean, plants don't talk in my part of Florida, yeah," Laurie offered, eyeing the mistletoe again. "But it's good to know I'm not hearing things!"

"He's cute," the mistletoe offered, since apparently plants could offer opinions on such things. "Kiss him!"

"...how is it even talking?" Laurie wondered, because she was so not taking cues from a plant. Probably.

Mike exhaled a laugh, taking off his beanie. "I don't even know," he said, because he really didn't. "I think that's one of those things that it's better just not to question."

For preservation of sanity reasons.

"It at least has better taste than it did earlier," Laurie noted. "That thing's tried to get me to make out with every person in here."

"I'd stop if you did."

"That's... one pushy mistletoe." And he had a hard time saying that without looking pretty darn amused, so he didn't even really try. "Hasn't succeeded yet, though. You must be pretty stubborn."

"I was holding out for someone better than the barista," Laurie said with a grin. "I'm not twenty anymore; I don't make out with random strangers unless I'm really drunk."

"That could be arranged."

"Not in a coffee shop!"

"What's wrong with the barista?" Mike asked with a laugh. "'Cause, as a member of the part of humanity that sells beverages over a kind of a counter I'm a little offended."

He was not.

"Or it it just the stranger thing?"

"I just don't think he's that cute, and also yeah, the stranger thing. Trying to cut back on that," she noted. "It's no judgment on beverage-slingers. I mean, I don't think I know a bartender here who I wouldn't kiss if mistletoe yelled at me."

It would be hilarious to try with some of them, though.

"Even Tino?"

Well, he had to ask.

"He seems kind of grumpy."

"Generally if I'm seeing Tino, there's someone cuter nearby," she said, smiling sweetly at him. "But sure, in a pinch. Sometimes grumpy is fun. You live with the Grumpiest Grump of All, I might add."

"I don't know," Mike said, finally moving to seat himself at her table. She wouldn't mind, right? "I think Derek... Derek's a different kind of grumpy."

That was a lie: he didn't see that much of a scale in grumpiness.

"But I do thank you for the compliment all the same."

"Anytime," she said, leaning on her elbows a little, while the mistletoe started making throat-clearing noises again. (How? It didn't even have a throat. If Laurie saw the faults in this logic, you knew it was bad.) "I didn't know there were different levels of grumpiness."

Mike was stubbornly ignoring the mistletoe now. "Sure there are," he said easily. "Different styles, too. Tino almost seems like more of a sulker, but with Derek it's pretty much this constant thing that he does."

"I think Derek's faking it," Laurie confessed. "'Cause he seems to have a lot of friends for someone who really hates people that much. Just sayin'."

"I don't know, he might just have super masochistic and stubborn people around himself." Hey, Mike hadn't chosen to be friends with him. It just happened to make living with him easier. And also, Mike didn't make enemies for no reason. "He grumps, but we still stick around."

"Maybe he just has too much leather in his closet to give it up now," Laurie mused. "I mean, he's clearly committed to this."

"I'm not sure he has a closet." That was a joke, except not. Damn their creepy house. "But I get your point."

"Disrupting people's afternoon coffee, I see," Max observed as he strode into the Perk. "Nice. Shakes up the system."

Coffee could also do that, but why be predictable?

"How about him?" asked the mistletoe, and Laurie glared at the ceiling.

"Tell me your heard that."

Max peered up for the source of the noise, then tilted his head somewhat upon spotting the mistletoe.

"I don't know if I'm more disturbed by the fact that it talks or that it seemed to be encouraging us," he decided. "'Cause I'm gonna have to give that a big no."

"She's pretty. Just one kiss?" the mistletoe tried.

"I think it's pretty non-discriminatory," Laurie noted. "It was trying to get me to make out with a chick earlier."

"Traumatizing," Max declared. "I pretty much wore out my use for mistletoe once it consistently failed to help me score when I was on The Real World, and not for lack of my trying. Although if it had talked I might've had better luck landing that guy Jared."

Woe.

"I'm assuming its presence here is connected to the gross Christmas sweaters and happy snowmen from earlier this week?"

"I mean, I didn't put it there," Laurie said, shrugging. "And honey, believe me, if I had talking mistletoe to hang around, you're not exactly who I'd be gunning for."

"Well, duh," Max said. "You'd clearly want to go for the blond guy over there."

The very hot blond guy. Hi, Mike.

Edited 2012-12-13 22:42 (UTC)

"This is why you're a great wingman," Laurie sighed. "And we never have overlap in targets! Genius."

"Well, there's bi guys," Max reasoned. "...Which I should get dibs on because my pool of options is statistically smaller, deal?"

Edited 2012-12-13 23:05 (UTC)

"Fine, but only if you never try to rope me into a threesome," Laurie replied. "I've lost too many friendships that way."

True story.

Max's resulting expression told Laurie she didn't have to worry about that happening. "I don't even do that with dudes," he ~~TMI'd~~ assured her. "Not enough Max time."

OKAY THEN.

He paused, then peered up. "Looks like the mistletoe's done considering me a viable candidate," Max concluded. "Progress."

"I was waiting for you to shut up."

"I'm not sure it's giving up until I kiss something," Laurie said. "Is it not enough that I've gotten like, nothing since I moved here, on the heels of a bad breakup, I might add? Must it be rubbed in my face?"

Max whistled. "Hate to see what the island throws at you for Valentine's Day," he commented. "By which I mean I might actually buy tickets. No offense."

"You'll probably get hit too!" Laurie pointed out, scowling. "Unless you snagged that scary blond guy from your work."

"Who, Eric?" Max perked up somewhat. "You think I could? I'd take that challenge."

Oh, Max. Eric was out of your league like whoa.

"I mean, I don't want him, and Derek's off-limits 'cause of Stiles, and Kitty's hot boyfriend's a no-go, and I have dibs on Mike," Laurie reminded him, "so who else, Max? Who else? Eric has leather pants. I say go for it."

"I do like dudes in leather pants," Max mused. "Much like -- wait, Derek's off-limits 'cause of who now?"

"Stiles! Little high school Stiles," Laurie gushed. "It's so cute."

Max raised his eyebrows. "So that's his type," he concluded, and nodded. "Respect."

"It's so cute. They have pet names." Apparently Laurie would be telling everyone that. "So I say go for Eric, as he's hot even if he scares the bejesus out of me."

"Solid plan," Max said, extending his arm for a fist-bump. "And you go for Mike. Go team."

Laurie bumped her fist against his and also did jazz hands. Apparently it was like a handshake or something, then.

"Go team! Get laid! Whooo!"

Laurie hadn't seemed like the most rational person the last few times Clint had met her, but seeing her yelling at nothing as he came into the Perk was still a surprise. "Hey Laurie, are you okay?" he asked.

"How about h -- "

"No!" Laurie yelled at the mistetoe, then gave Clint a sheepish look. "Um, I'm fine. There's a plant on the ceiling trying to get me to kiss people."

You know, normal things.

"Uh, did you stop by Caritas on the way here, by any chance?" Clint asked, trying not to smirk too much.

Edited 2012-12-14 02:23 (UTC)

"No, but knowing me I'll go there after." It took Laurie a second to catch up, hang on. "I'm not drunk! It's like, mistletoe."

The stupid plant made another throat-clearing sort of noise again.

Clint stared up at that noise and sighed. "Okay, there's something just especially not right about that," he said. "This place really takes the holidays seriously, huh?"

"No kidding," Laurie said indignantly. "It's tried to get me to kiss everyone who's walked in this afternoon. Including a gay dude and the barista."

Stop picking on the barista, Laurie. It's not his fault.

"Maybe it's trying to encourage experimentation?" Clint suggested. "Uh, not that I think you need that or anything."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The Perk [Thursday afternoon]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject