Late Regrets [and stuff]

He almost flinched at her words. Right, hospital... She said it with seemingly so little care but he couldn't help imagine the worst whenever she mentioned it.
All things considered, the last time he'd walked in for some quick sweets in the bakery, he nearly got plowed into by a runaway car. Jason easily assumed then it was probably for the best that the nearest restaurant was most likely the better option, lest bad fortune strike him twice in a row. "Getting fat on Italian it is," He half-day with a smile at her. Luckily, nothing in Rosebury was too far apart, and they got there in no time. He even held the door open for her.

"Ooh, they have an Italian place over here?" There were stars in Lotte's eyes. She never remembered that! She would have become obese on that. The whole way there she walked quickly, an energy in her steps. When he held the door open, she bowed, dipping her head with a, "Thank you, sir," her voice a deep archaic accent, almost British, and she walked in with enthusiasm. It was what she'd always dreamed about at Beata. More good food had always been a dream.

His grin grew a little wider. "There is now," he said simply. It was in one of Rosebury's older buildings, made with a rustic sort of feeling to it: stone walls, ferns and ivy, and thick wooden doors. The restaurant itself, however, hadn't been in town for much longer than a year, at most. Of course, she wouldn't know that though...
Out of guilt, he paused half-a-heartbeat in his tracks, shooting a glance back the young woman's way, her voice light and curtsy low.

And for a moment, he wondered if he should've been bringing her in there at all. Now that he glanced around the dining hall from inside, it was easy to see there were far more couples in the room than there were families or friends. Was it too late to go back for the donuts and ice cream? He probably should've been going to the Winter dorms instead... Emery's words flashed back into his head.

Jace held back a sigh, looking to Charlotte again. She looked completely enthusiastic. This really was just for food, he reminded himself, just old friends catching up. He was over thinking things. "Just don't take any pictures of the food," he near-sang as the waitress walked over, escorting them to their seats and dropping off the menus. A small booth by the tinted, stained windows, with dim candles being the main source of light. In a place dark place like it, it was easy to forget how bright it was still outside.

Lotte gave the waiter a soft 'thank you,' delicate like dandelion cotton, smoothing the back of her skirt as she sat at the opposite side of the booth as Jace. Her hands shot to the menu immediately. A satisfied stomach had quickly become pangful, and she looked through the choices thoughtfully. The food was put in tiny pictures pressed under the lamination, and Lotte ignored them. These people did not know how to make their food look appealing. She debated taking pictures of her own, despite Jace's joke, to show them that it isn't tasteful to leave the flash on for a menu.

"Looks mediocre," she said, "but I'm no chef, and any food seems like it'd be good right now." She peeked over the menu with light eyes, dappled with the swaying light of the taper. "What are you getting?"

Jason raised an eyebrow at her, but said nothing, glancing back down at the menu. He hadn't really put much judgement on how close the food there was to perfection. In a small town like theirs, variety was a blessing, and most anything was better than the same old dishes they served day-by-day in Beata's kitchens. "Well, mio caro..." He mused with a stupid, goofy smile - trying the Italian on for size. It didn't work half-as-well as he would've like, but it didn't seem to phase him any. "I think I'll just be getting the seafood alfredo," He put the menu down on the table, pointing to a plate of spaghetti drowned in a white sauce. "And maybe a mountain of cheesy-bread, if you could help tackle it with me?" Then again, she was such a skinny thing, maybe she had hardly much of an appetite for anything.

Well, Lotte wasn't the type of person to turn down extra food, regardless. "Please?" She didn't even see those on the menu; what would she had done without that offer? The girl looked through the menu with a low hum, and said, "Their veal looks good. I'll get that," and almost immediately afterwords, as if they were two in the same thought, she stated, "So I heard Emery came to school. Did you meet her?" Lotte felt bad for Emery, having to stay in that household with her angry, bitter parents. She hadn't talked to them since her discharge. They didn't want her going back to the school...

He let the menu fall back into the table again, throwing a quick wave to the waiter to let them know to stop by whenever. Lotte's question had caught him off guard as he moved to relax again, thinking back on the younger girl - who'd practically used him as his puppet, but he'd had weirder things happen to him. "Yeah, it was hard to believe you two are sisters at first." Lotte's hair was a sleek black while Emery's had been a warm, summer orange. Likewise, her eyes were a fiery crimson, and her sister's a tranquil blue. They hadn't even had the same gifts. He knew his father's frustrations that she hadn't been able to stay at Beata, not yet, anyways.

"I've met her once," Jason admitted with an exasperated smile. He paused. If Emery had been able to speak silently, then shouldn't Lotte have been able to as well? Out of curiosity, Jace sat up straighter, feigning a suspicious glance around, as if someone could've been around the corner listening. "She's a bit of a loud mouth, if you ask me," He signed quickly.

"Loud?" It took Lotte a while to decode the message, her sign language a little rusty from being away from her sister so much. "No she isn't, Em is sweet and docile and small, shush." She began to sign rapid signs, unsyntaxed symbols, every insult she could. When she was satisfied, she told him, "We're as similar as night and...later that night."

Jason leaned back in his chair, raising her eyebrow as she waved her hands around sloppily, throwing just about every insult in the book. It was a good thing she could be silent about it. Spoken, it certainly would've been more than enough to turn several heads. "Uh-huh..." He mused, his voice dripping with disbelief. "You sure? Compared to you, she did seem like a perfect little angel." The young man smirked, leaning closer to the table again. "She told me a few things about you though, so I could be wrong."

"Like what?" Lotte raised her eyebrows, looking directly into his face though he hadn't been looking at hers when she asked it. She leaned in as well, elbows resting on the glossy wooden table. It wasn't proper etiquette, but it was properly Lotte, and her smile was a thin thread of rosy string. She was always the best at being interested. Nothing seemed to pass her audience.

Jason looked thoughtful for a bit, leaning on his hand as she leaned in closer and stared him down, trying to recall a few things that her sister had mentiomed, though there wasn't as much he would've liked. So he made up a few things on the spot. "Like your stuffed animal collection," He near-sand with a crooked smile. "Or how you talk I'm your sleep." The blond sat back in his chair, relaxing. "Or how you always talked about this one old friend of yours, always, always..." He waved his hand around to help exaggerate a little.

Lotte answered every supposed fact with a defensive "Nu-uh" directly after they were brought up, brow furrowed at the lies. Well, the second one could have been true, and no one would be surprised if it was, not even Lotte. "Nu-uh! Nu-uh! Nu--" She paused, mouth open in a curled sort of defeat. Her mind caught up to it, and yeah, that second one was pretty true. Why would Emery tell him that, though? Lotte slumped back. "Not always," she murmured, sideways like a child, a pout protruding on her lower lip as is pulled to meet the direction of her eyes. Rightward. Oh, that saltshaker sure was interesting.

His smile and gaze softened up as she looked away, seemingly out down or defeated by his words. Honestly, Jason was surprised she wasn't denying it. Just as he was picking out his next words the waiter came over, forcing a longer silence between them. The blond quickly gave him their order and sent him off before speaking again.
"I don't blame you," Jace started with a mischievous gleam in his eye. "I am pretty amazing. I'd talk about me all the time." He laid back a bit with a cool expression before his smile gave way. He spoke way more seriously then. "I thought about you a lot too. It was weird not having you around."

Lotte didn't seem to raise from this place of withdraw. "Yeah, well now I'm back," she said lowly, and louder added: "And you're the one leaving." Her voice was clear and firm, and her fingers painted themselves ivory as they gripped the side of the table. It was a floodgate, a glass scenario more fragile than it seemed. She turned, and looked him in the eyes, amber gaze solemn. Why was he leaving? Why couldn't he stay?

Although the small smile had stayed on his face, the rest of his demeanor had fallen. He could've said that this evening was a pleasant distraction (past the whole being saved from a rolling car thing) from his trip to Europe, but the former Autumn supposed it was only inevitable that it was brought up. Jason hasn't expected to see her so torn up about it though, but then again...

He held back a sigh, catching her eye, his own gaze narrowing slightly. "It's not like I really have a choice here," Jace he said back simply in a strangely level tone. "I signed up to be a Guardian and this is the job they gave me." If she really knew him, she'd know that leaving would be one of the last things he'd volunteer to do.