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Post by ashestoApples on Mar 11, 2015 0:15:41 GMT -6
Conrad felt his face growing hot as she (was she doing this on purpose???) hugged him and tucked her chin on his shoulder. He tried to keep his cool, nonetheless, and revved up the scooter in response to her. Purposely going a little faster around curves than normal, he got out of the parking lot by taking a back road (he didn't care what anyone said or even if they saved gas or not, back roads were fun, pure and simple) and avoided the highway completely to go underneath the overpass. He was well aware that this way would take them through a valley-esque area where life seemed to slow down around them. It was a bit of a drive (though not too long), so he thought they might as well enjoy it. They even passed by a bed and breakfast with a terrace garden overflowing with ivy that helped set the mood in a 'we're alone even though there are people around' type of way. This area was more of a crossroads area than anything, so traffic was fine (good for his scooter). He actually hadn't realized how perfect this particulare back road was- he just knew it was an easy way of getting from downtown LA to central LA on his thirty-minute time limit.
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Post by kryss on Mar 11, 2015 1:00:56 GMT -6
Skylar: She looked around in delight as they drove through the scenic route. She hadn't even realized this was down here, and she thought she knew L.A. back to front! She pulled a little away from Conrad as she looked around, although she pulled back to him tightly as he did his fancy driving around the corners. By the time they got to Pink's, she was almost disappointed that the ride was over. Still, she took off her helmet, her cheeks flushed from the wind, gave it to him, and went inside.
She fixed her hair as she walked to the counter, not even bothering to look at the menu. The line was pretty bad, considering it was a Saturday. When they finally got to the counter, her stomach was growling.
"One Millenium dog with bacon on it, and a side of onion rings, add cheese and a-" Wait. Damn. No. He was paying. "Ah, sorry. Scratch that. Um, I'll have a Guadala-"
"Skylar!" came a pleased cry from the kitchen. A man bustled out, flashing her a good-natured grin over the counter. "How have you been? I haven't seen you in so long!"
"Hey, Andrew! Sorry! I've been kind of busy!"
"Ah, of course, of course. And how is your father?"
"He's good! Very, very busy with work though. I basically never get to see him."
"Ah, yes, not surprised! I look forward to it!" The man caught sight of Conrad, "Ooh, and who is this?"
"This is Conrad. Conrad, this is Andrew."
"Oh ho ho, it is very nice to meet you!" the man said, nodding in place of a handshake. "Well, I will not hold up the line any longer! Have a good day, Skylar!"
"You too!" she called, before giggling and turning back to the boy behind the counter, who had sat by politely while the exchange took place. "Um, sorry! A Guadalajara dog, french fries, and a lemonade, please!"
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Post by ashestoApples on Mar 11, 2015 1:10:23 GMT -6
When Skylar made a fake order at first and started changing it, he was very suspicious. Could it be that she was trying not to spend money on his account? While that was sweet, he-- Ah, thought interrupted. He regarded the guy-- Andrew-- with a smile and a nod while Skylar talked about her dad and work. It was only with a fleeting thought that he wondered about her dad- most dads tended to work a lot, or at least most dads he was around. Conrad couldn't bring himself to say anything to Andrew, but he did wave!
After Skylar ordered and he remembered what had happened he laughed a bit. "Skylar, it's not like the prices here are going to break the bank- not even my bank. Order whatever you want." Don't say you picked this place for a reason, that's pushing it. When she hesitated he raised his eyebrows and smiled lopsidedly. "Seriously."
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Post by kryss on Mar 11, 2015 1:13:35 GMT -6
Skylar: She glanced at him for a moment, and also didn't believe him at all. Didn't pizza workers make like... 7 dollars an hour? No one could live on that! Plus, she knew the unwritten rule of dates was that the boy spend as much as possible on the girl and the girl require as little money as possible. She shrugged, "No, I'm fine. But since I was gonna ask if you wanted to split the fries anyway, would you want cheese on them?" she asked, winking at him.
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Post by ashestoApples on Mar 11, 2015 1:25:15 GMT -6
Conrad: He did drop it when she was firm in her decision (he might have put some money aside for this, but any extra was a plus), deciding that she might have just changed her mind on what she wanted.
"I would," he said with what he hoped was a charming smile ((it was)). "I would also like a Classic with extra cheese, please," he said to the cashier. Nailed it. He might have been rehearsing the order in his head since they got on the scooter, but that wasn't important. The cashier said the total (it ended up being less than Conrad had expected, actually) and Conrad had no trouble handing over the money as well as putting a tip-that-was-decent-but-he-still-wished-was-larger into the tip jar. The cashier handed them a sign to put on their table and as Conrad passed a lady handing Skylar a lemonade he remembered he'd forgotten his drink. Ah. Too late now, in his opinion. Why talk to a cashier twice when you could instead... not talk to a cashier twice?
"Where do you want to sit?" he asked as they got to the condiment station and he started snatching napkins and anything else he thought they'd need. He was hoping Skylar didn't notice the drink thing, or if she did she'd just assume sometimes he didn't order drinks and not that he was just a loser in social situations even though it actually was the last one.
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Post by kryss on Mar 11, 2015 1:33:24 GMT -6
Skylar: "Let's sit by the window!" she said, maneuvering her way through the crowded restaurant. She took a seat by a small two person table, wedged right up against the window, offering a view of the crowded street outside. It wasn't until they'd sat that she noticed he hadn't gotten a drink with his meal. She bit her lip, trying not to smile. She had the feeling it had been a mistake rather than intentional, but she didn't want to make him feel worse.
After not too long (she figured Andrew had something to do with that) their food came to their table, and Skylar dug in, only slowing when she remembered she was on a DATE and supposed to be acting like a LADY.
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Post by ashestoApples on Mar 11, 2015 1:46:19 GMT -6
Conrad got his hot dog (smothered in chili, yesss) and grinned at Skylar before trying (and succeeding pretty well, considering!) to eat his mess of a meal neatly.
"Who was that Andrew guy?" he asked between bites, only just now realizing he looked semi-important. A semi-important ex maybe? Nah. Or... or was he....? Who hadn't a pretty girl like this dated? Why wouldn't she date everyone? No, no, that was enough. He wouldn't think about that right now or hopefully ever.
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Post by kryss on Mar 11, 2015 1:52:45 GMT -6
Skylar: "Hm?" she asked, looking up from her concentrated efforts to be clean. She wiped her mouth with a napkin before the question registered.
"Oh! He's, uh, well," she laughed a little. "He's the owner. Inherited it from his parents, I think. My dad and I used to come in here all the time, so we got to know each other pretty well." Not in the least because EVERYONE, including shop owners, would make time for her dad. "I haven't been in here in several months, though. I think he was a little offended," she said with a lopsided grin. Taking one of the fries and watching him, she couldn't help but ask,
"Are you thirsty?" Without waiting for an answer she got up and grabbed another straw, heading back to the table and popping it out of its wrapper and sticking it in the lid to the lemonade. "There. If you don't mind sharing?"
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Post by ashestoApples on Mar 11, 2015 2:13:27 GMT -6
Conrad blinked a few times, now feeling bad he'd only managed a smile, a head nod and a wave. This place was super popular and actually pretty famous, he could have at least said 'hey, nice place you've got here.'
"O-oh. That's... pretty h-- awesome." Did I almost say 'hella' in front of a girl? "No wonder we got our food so fast," he said, looking around. No one was giving them dirty looks though, so that was a plus.
"Ah, no, I'm an idiot but I'm fi--" and she was gone. He watched her, ready to get up if she neared the counter, and instead was surprised when she brought back another straw until he realized. Oh. Oh.
"N-no, I don't, uh, mind," he said with too much difficulty, feeling the familiar heat on his cheeks again. "Th...thanks." He hadn't dared take a sip yet, though. He didn't know if he was brave enough. After a while he got distracted trying not to look at her directly and picked up the drink to sip nonchalantly before realizing what he'd done. Okay, ice broken sort of. Could you call it that? Probably not. Whatever. He set down the drink and ate a couple cheese fries dipped in some ranch he picked up. He remembered some people thought that was gross and hoped Skylar wasn't one of them.
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Post by kryss on Mar 11, 2015 2:19:14 GMT -6
Skylar: Now trying to be conscious of how much she was drinking, she finished her meal quickly. Lazily taking the last fry (at least there was still a healthy amount of cheese on it! She hated getting dry-fries) she said,
"So, where to next? Are you taking me to Paris? Or maybe Rome? Or somewhere a little closer, maybe Niagra falls?" She winked, letting him know that she was joking. She really did want to know what he had planned though!
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Post by ashestoApples on Mar 11, 2015 2:46:16 GMT -6
Conrad was feeling the nerves a little, now! He did manage to smile (albeit nervously), though!
"How about we keep that a surprise?" he said, standing up from the table and gathering their trash (but leaving her the drink). "It's a pretty small place, so I'm not sure if you've been there, but either way I think it'll be fun!" He threw the trash away and replaced the tray before going back to the table to finish his thought. "There are a lot of things to do even though it's small, though." He shoved his hands in his pockets and gestured toward the door with his head.
"Ready when you are!"
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Post by kryss on Mar 11, 2015 2:50:08 GMT -6
Skylar: "Ooh, mystery!~" she said as she stood. "Lead the way then!" She followed him to the trash cans, finishing off the drink, and then followed him outside. Strapping the helmet on, she settled in behind him again, wrapping her arms snugly around his waist. He really was very fun to hug. She'd have to see how much more of it she could get away with.
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Post by ashestoApples on Mar 11, 2015 3:06:16 GMT -6
Conrad was getting used to it, and was starting to wonder himself if he could get away with hugging her back one of these times. He took off out of the busy restaurant parking lot and back down the road they came off of before, this time turning off the road and toward some redwoods off in the distance.
Having to talk a little bit loudly, but not enough to shatter the magic that was this area, he said, "It's a little bit of a drive from here, so get comfortable!" He sped up a bit, taking note of the occasional house they passed and how cute they were. He passed over a small creek before getting to the forest where the path curved here and there and eventually got to a section where it turned into a bit of a rougher road he'd almost forgot about.
"Hold on!" Conrad stopped for a moment and revved his scooter so he could make it off a small ramp and over the creek that wound around again, putting them in the air for a split second before hitting the ground again. He wouldn't want to admit to his boss or his sister or most anyone that he had practice with small ramps like that, but he'd admit it to Skylar who he hoped found it impressive.
They were nearing their destination now, and the ferris wheel in the distance gave the rest of the evening away.
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Post by kryss on Mar 11, 2015 3:13:36 GMT -6
Skylar: Once again she marveled at the scenery around them. He was showing her places of L.A. she DEFINITELY hadn't known existed! She didn't even get nervous when they detoured into a forest. Instead she just had the amusing thought that maybe he was going to take her to a cottage laced in honeysuckle with singing animals. When they went over the ramp she cried a little in delight, her stomach tickling while they were in the air.
It took her a while, but just before they could see the gates themselves she spotted the ferris wheel.
"Ooh!" she cried, squeezing him a little tighter. She loved fairgrounds!!
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Post by ashestoApples on Mar 11, 2015 13:58:30 GMT -6
Conrad was feeling thoroughly proud of himself and his choice by the time he'd found a place to park (which was easier than he expected it to be, with this place being so out of the way). He tucked their helmets under the seat and rounded the corner of the fence to wave at the door greeters and just kinda strolled right in. This place didn't have an entry fee or tickets, you just paid at each ride. The rides and vendors and games were all pretty cheap selectively, but once you'd done several it added up quick. He didn't mind, he'd saved much more for this place than for eating (and by 'saved' he meant mostly taken some out of his honestly pretty massive tip jar- sure it was mostly thanks to Skylar, but on average he usually got pretty decent tips anyway). "So," he said, looking around. "What do you want to hit first?" He couldn't imagine she was still hungry, but if she was it would be a good time to try some funnel cake.
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