The Taste of Addiction (Loch)

Nightstripe · Sep 14, 2015

She blushed a little bit at his compliment to her reasons. "Y-You think so..." She busied herself with writing for a moment before answering his question. "I lived in St. Louis for... my memorable life, I think we might have moved there when I was a baby..."

She flinched a little when his emotions hit her, blinking a little before averting her eyes and brushing a bit of hair behind her ear. She felt like she was intruding just a little, having her ability in this situation. She payed closer attention when he spoke of Addy, licking her lips idly as she tasted the flavors of his feelings.

She made a small noise, and blushed heavily when he spoke about his 'female companionship.' "I... I-I see... Um..." She once again tried to distract herself with her writing, this time the embarrassment wasn't so easily shaken. "... I-I'm enjoying it. There are a lot of interesting things, and I've m-met a lot of nice people... N-No, I'm an o-only child..."

She fidgeted a little, trying to think of more questions but drawing a blank. "S-So... U-Um... I-Is Addy... o-one of your c-companions?..."

@"ReD"

ReD · Sep 14, 2015

"St. Louis, Missouri?" Lochlann asked, looking up a little bit. "I lived in Missouri, too, before I came here. I honestly can't remember the town name though--it was this little place along the river. I don't think the city was unreasonably far, though."

He seemed pleased that they had this in common, though Lochlann couldn't explain why.

He jotted only only child and since she didn't make any reference to her mom, Lochlann didn't ask. He knew better than to broach the subjects of parents on an island like this one.

Lochlann shook his head, feeling another rush of anxiety thinking about Adelene.

"No," he said. "she's my best friend."

And then, probably because of the rush of interest that came when he looked into her eyes, Lochlann gave her a low, slow smile at met her gaze.

"What about you? Do you have a significant person in your life right now?"

Nightstripe · Sep 14, 2015

Emily giggled a little bit. "I seem to remember there are a lot of places like that... Nondescript little suburbs along the river... The city was nice, th-though I didn't really go out much. I Just stayed at home and read a lot... Sometimes my friends would take me out, and that was usually fun... There were a lot of p-people, but a lot of flavors t-too..."

She causally made a reference to her ability, forgetting that Loch didn't know about it. She wrote a few more lines in her notebook and looked up again, meeting Loch's suggestive look and opening her mouth to continue her lone of questioning. Her mouth closed again as the blood rushed to her face once again.

"Wh-What?! Uh-Um... N-N-No..... I don-t h-h-have anyone l-like that r-right n-now no..........." She fidgeted around again, this time refusing to bring her eyes back to his at all. Emily didn't know why this embarrassed her so much, perhaps because she was more acutely aware of how people felt then most.

@"ReD"

ReD · Sep 14, 2015

He heard her comment about flavors, but since she just said her friends were taking her out, he drew the conclusion that they were talking about places to eat.

"What sort of foods do you enjoy?" Lochlann asked.

His question might have seemed random, but he was following his own conversational thought and didn't question too much. He was still achy and tired, but now that he'd fixated on Emily he was looking at her with a keen interest.

She was blushing.

That might be a good sign.

She could be interested.....or she could be upset. He watched her carefully while he licked his lips and asked, as casual as he could, "Is it a personal thing--like are you not looking for someone right now? Or have you...not been asked yet?"

She wouldn't meet his eye and that was okay. Lochlann didn't want her to feel like he was pressuring her, so he gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder.

Nightstripe · Sep 14, 2015

"Oh, I like all sorts of foods, I have to be careful though, or it gets ruined..." She twirled a lock of her hair around one of her fingers. "... I... can taste emotions... so it depends on the c-compony what tastes best... things get mixed up and can mess up the flavor..."

She pressed her hands together and twiddled her fingers around each other, her eyes looking everywhere but at Loch. "I-I... I m-mean... N-No... I-I haven't been a-asked......" Why was she letting him bait her like this, she knew what he was after...

@"ReD"

ReD · Sep 14, 2015

Taste emotions?

Lochlann's eyebrows raised in surprise. He jotted that into his notebook.

"You can taste emotions like...when you're eating?" He asked.

He wasn't quite following, so he didn't think he was in any immediate danger of having her sense his emotions, otherwise he'd panic. Right now, there was just a nice mix of curiosity and a small tingling of lust running after him. Maybe lust wasn't the right word--he wasn't thinking about her in a lewd way, but more or like the possibility that she might be receptive to that kind of look.

"It's okay to have never been asked before," he said, his voice quiet. "I didn't mean to give the impression that it wasn't."

He looked at her and gave her a soft smile.

"I would ask you, just like this, 'Emily, you seem nice, would you like to get dinner with me later if you're not busy? I know a good burger place right off campus'."

He thought about it, and then Lochlann decided he was going to have a little bit of fun. He inched closer to her, just a bit, and leaned forward and whispered, "Or, I would dramatically dip you back outside the classroom and kiss you and scream out OH EMILY, I COULD NOT BARE TO LIVE ANOTHER DAY WITHOUT KNOWING IF YOU'D GET DINNER WITH ME."

And then, after a moment, Lochann said, "Would it be okay if I asked you? The first way, I mean. The second way is dramatic and embarrassing. "

Nightstripe · Sep 14, 2015

"W-Well... No... I can taste them all the time... it doesn't turn off..." She fiddled with her fingers again. "It's not always c-clear what the flavors mean... Emotions a-are complex, and not everyone i-is the same... but there are some patterns..."

Her notebook was completely forgotten at this point, here pen lying neglected on the table. She just watched Loch, allowing herself to be calmed by his smile and words. His first proposition once again caused a red stripe to cross the bridge of her nose, but the second caused her whole face to flush.

She drew in a breath and leaned back into her chair, slumping down slightly as she covered her face with her hands. Her own embarrassment coated her tongue, and Lochlann might be able to detect physical signs of an addict getting their fix on her. While it wasn't really the same thing, it more or less manifested the same way.

Emily peeked at Loch through her fingers, slowly calming down again and sitting up in her seat. She coughed a little but and smoothed out her skirt before speaking again. "I... I th-think I'd be okey w-with that... b-but as friends... Not... 'C-Companions'..."

@"ReD"

ReD · Sep 14, 2015

Lochlann should have felt some anxiety about this, and he did, but not as much as anticipated. He tilted his head in curiousity and said, 'huh.'

He thought about it for a while and then figured he might as well be direct. "Can you taste my emotions?"

He wasn't able to taste hers, but she did look really cute with her face all red and her hands over her face. He patted her again to comfort her.

"As friends," he said, nodding. "But I would still like to bring you flowers. If you've never been properly asked, the least I can do is bring you something nice for the evening. "

He clapped his hands together and then leaned back in his chair, rocking it so only two legs were on the ground and his knee was resting against the table.

"Tell me about what emotions are your favorite."

Nightstripe · Sep 14, 2015

Emily nodded a little to Lochlan. "I can, y-yes... They seem a l-little erratic, and I get a bunch at o-once sometimes... But that's okey, it's f-fairly common..." The pats did help a little, though not much really, Emily wasn't sure how she felt about them.

She fidgeted around a little, her eyes bouncing all around the classroom. "...Uh-Um... O... Okey... y-you can bring flowers... I-If you i-insist..." The confusion showed on her face over this boy who had basically said he slept around all the time being so nice to her.

"M-My favorites... My f-favorites are... My own... Th-That probably sounds silly, b-but they're... I-I don't taste them normally, so they have to be... R-Realy intense... F-For me to taste them..."

@"ReD"

ReD · Sep 18, 2015

So she could taste his emotions.

He didn't know how to feel about it, which was a tad ironic.

He didn't know if it scared him, if it made him uncomfortable, or if it interested him. Knowing this did all three of these things, but also none of these. Lochlann was more preoccupied with wondering if that was all she could taste from him, and if she was the kind of girl who like to taste new things.

"I do insist," Lochlann said. "Do you have a favorite kind of flower, or should I surprise you?"

He misread the confusion on her face as confusion about the flowers. He knew it was a bit outdated to bring a girl flowers, but he liked doing those little gestures. Some would think it was a little weird, here take this beautiful plant chopped from the ground and watch it wither, but Lochlann hoped she would see flowers the way she did, as the personification of summer: Fleeting, colorful, fragrant.

"What counts as a really intense emotion?" Lochlann asked. He tried to think about the most intense thing he ever felt, and frowned, because he was thinking about the first time he met Her. Not Emily, but the woman who'd left multiple scars across his body and ego.

He guessed, "Like....fear?"

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