Old Friends [closed ebu/kitt]

How long had it been? A year for sure. Maybe closer to two? She didn't know. Time just seemed to pass. That's the way the things went for her. Not really interacting with anyone, keeping to herself.

Nevertheless, here she was. The school's tennis junkee, back in Rosebury. Of all places to be, she was at the cafe, an espresso in front of her. With the wish of her family for her to do more competitive tennis, she had essentially been forced to leave the school. The place she finally belonged, and didn't have to worry about people questioning how she knew why people didn't feel well. Considering that had really been the only time she talked, many were convinced she was some type of medical genius. While she technically could be, half the time she had no idea what to dub what she saw. With the realm of tennis, luckily half of the time it would be a fracture or a break with the occasional concussion. Enough reminiscing why she can't just spew medical knowledge

With the hot beverage in hand, the raven-haired Spring took a seat at one of the window tables. It had grown out quite a bit, and was held together with a french-braid that rested over her shoulder. The familiar sight of Rosebury brought a smile to her face. How had she ever allowed herself to leave? Several fond memories of the place started creeping back to her the more she watched outside. Being nominated Princess for a winter Formal. Helping out in the infirmary. Last but not least, meeting a few good friends. She wondered if any of them were still at Beata. How many of them had graduated already? How many of them were Guardians, living in Rosebury, or had gone off into the world on their own? Heck, even if she did return to Beata for her last year... Would anyone really recognize her?

That was a question that she didn't know whether or not she wanted the answer to.

On a personal note, the cafe wasn't his most favorite place in the world, and they had no where near close to the best treats or the best coffee - but in a place in the middle of God-damned nowhere like Rosebury, there wasn't exactly the option for a five star restaurant and he couldn't make much better of the situation. There was no helping the sudden fix on coffee that had overtaken him and there was only one real place to satisfy that craving. Soon as he swung open the front door to the cafe, ignoring the chiming bell and the hostess ushering him, he spotted her sitting there.

It had only taken one sweep of the room, but it was impossible to not to notice her, jet black hair and an intricate tattoo laced over her cheek. Hard to see from where he stood, but he still well remembered those eyes of hers, one blue and one green. How could he forget? Where had she disappeared to? When was the last he'd even heard of her, Valentine's... how many years ago? Damn, it was fucking awful, but he couldn't be sure.

It would have been even more terrible of him to waste an opportunity like this, however. He walked to over to her table in a few easy strides. "Taimi," he called. "I thought you fell off the face of the earth."

Her gaze was still focused outside, and she didn't even pay attention to the little bell indicating someone else entering the cafe. Spacing out was something she was notorious for. So when she heard an all-familiar voice saying her name, it definitely caused the girl to jump.

Taimi's head spun over to the voice's origin, her eyes widening in surprise. He was probably the last person she would expect to see in a place like this. Coffee wasn't something she thought would exactly be his thing, but hey, she'd been gone. People change. A wide smile quickly crossed her tanned features, the cup of espresso she was mid-drink quickly being set down. "Hey, Preston." A soft chuckle was given in response to his comment. "How've you been? It's... been awhile." There was definitely a lot more confidence in her voice.

A soft chuckle escaped him as he darted his gaze around the room, scanning the room, for what he wasn't sure. How had he been since he'd last seen her? So much had happened. How was that a fair question? The school had been attacked. He'd got fucked in the tournament. He'd let a lady overdose in a bathtub, even if she survived. His older brother near over-dosed himself, on that fucking note. His almost lost his roommate then saved her again. And then, hell, he ended up winning the Formal King's crown, for some twisted cherry on top...

"Shit, can't complain." Preston muttered with a smug smile, sliding into the seat across from her. "Maybe been a little lonely. Where'd you go?"

She couldn't help but want to follow his darting gaze, wondering what it was he was trying to find. Eventually just keeping her eyes on him, she couldn't suppress a giggle in response. Him, lonely? That hardly seemed truthful. His answer seemed a little... lacking. Surely, the academy that was responsible for magical students had been a lot more eventful. An explosion of powers, maybe an accident or two. Nevertheless, she was the one who basically disappeared off of the face of the earth.

A light smile played her lips. "You, lonely? Now that's shocking." Absent-mindedly tapping her fingers on the cup of espresso, she shrugged. "Pulled out of Beata for my tennis career. Not very fun, but its reaped some benefits." Some was a bit of an understatement. She'd been able to get a nice tan, and her body was even more fit then before. Heck, Taimi practically represented a sports model at this point.

Preston took another look at her, as if he were trying to see her again for the first time. He hadn't considered it much before, but looking again, the difference was noticeable. She had a stronger tennis arm than he did, among a few other changes, of course. His grin cracked a tad wider. It would make sense why she was gone for so long then. What was her power again? It must not have been too harmful if they'd let her off the hook so easily. "I didn't know I was in the presence of a celebrity, shit." He leaned into the back of the booth, shaking him head at himself. "Sucks you're stuck back here."

Setting down the warm cup that was now half-empty, she crossed her arms as he studied her. It had been rather easy to slip out of the school. A soft chuckle was given in response to his comment. "I'm not exactly a celebrity, we both know that's not my thing." She rolled her eyes. If she had been closer to him, she gladly would've rustled his hair without a second thought. Of course, he was just enough away so she couldn't. "Stuck..? Why would that be a bad thing?" She rested her elbow on the table, and her head in her hand. Her finger swirled around the edge of the cup before taking another sip, quickly downing the rest of the drink.

The young man held back a lazy yawn, shooting a nearby waitress a look and waving down a small drink, whenever the lass had the time. He had the great misfortune of missing her top-tier eye-roll before he looked back Taimi's way. I always thought you had the makings of a champion," Preston mused with a casual shrug of his shoulders. He never had much of a chance playing her. He supposed it was never exactly a common sport of his... if he were the type to play sports at all. And at a small border school, there wasn't a lot of competition to bring to the table. "Most people hate the small town life. Didn't you like being out there... seeing the world?"

Her gaze flashed over to the waitress, a quick apologetic look flashing. She herself also missed the eye-roll, but that was probably a good thing. Having her braid come over her shoulder, she absent-mindedly played with the ends that had been too short to fit into the ‘elaborate’ work. An unintended blush crossed her features at his compliment, and she tried to cover her face with her hand to hide it. Sure, she could do well at tennis, especially when compared to other Beata students.

Now that she thought about it… Not a whole lot of students at Beata even seemed to take an interest in sports. Taimi herself was probably one of, if not the, biggest exception to this. She breathed tennis. It was a past-time to take her mind off of the day when she wasn’t burrowing her nose into a medical textbook.

Seeing the world… Honestly, it hadn’t crossed her mind. She had always relished in the company of a select few. Being around a whole lot of people? She shut down. How she was ever able to perform in competitions in front of others… the Summer had no idea. ”I… I never gave it much thought. Sure it was fun, but… I don't know, it's not really my thing when I'm on my own.”

She was so modest, he thought, leaning back into his seat and giving her a curious lookover. The girl might have considered herself humble and shy overall, but she'd already left the school once to compete, and it had seemed it'd turned out just fine for her. She didn't have to come back. Most would have considered it a complete waste of talent. He was almost jealous. "So what you really need is a partner in crime, then?" Preston mused with a crooked grin, shooting the waitress a sweeter smile once she'd finally dropped off his coffee. "Shame I can't play tennis for jack. Maybe then I'd be better company for you." His joke was loose and lazy, more focused on sweetie up his hot drink.

Her gaze kept traveling from him to her empty cup, her finger still dancing around the porcelain rim. While she probably could have stayed away from Beata to keep up her competitive rankings, the schooling the Academy had to offer couldn't be denied. She didn't have as much of a risk or pressure to take medical courses she seemed to "naturally excel" in, and there practically was no tennis team. While the latter could be considered more detrimental then good, it gave her a unique trait she could show off. "I guess..?" Taimi offered a casual shrug, shooting the waitress an apologetic look in response to Preston's behavior. By the looks of it, this was normal. The girl couldn't hold back a laugh at his comment about his playing ability. "You know, I have yet to meet someone at this school who even knows the basic rules of tennis." Leaning back in her seat, she crossed her arms and shook her head. "You certainly haven't changed." A smirk played her lips.

The young man let out a chuckle before bringing the cup of coffee up to his lips, shooting a glance out towards the window. Hadn't changed at all? Considering everything that happened between their little gym meet ups and now, he supposed he would take that as a compliment. Fuck yes, wasn't he as handsome and charming as ever? "I'm going to say... it starts with hitting the ball over the net? Maybe you'll have to teach me the rules sometime." Preston smirked. Another drink. "You haven't changed much either."

Considering how much time had elapsed, it would only be natural that Taimi would fail to pick up on some subtle differences. He was still basic Preston to her knowledge. Flirty, joking... Almost as if life went by on a breeze. One could even almost say he was a stereotypical Autumn student and she'd believe them. Being a Summer student herself, Taimi wouldn't be able to argue. "Sure, something like that." That was indeed the basics. Just make sure to get the ball over the net. Of course, there was so much more to the game. Where to stand in the court, where the ball could land, who could hit it... All sorts of other little things to count.

His comment about her change flicked a bit of a 'you're joking' in the back of her mind. She could rattle off so many things. But then again, he had been at Beata and she'd been off somewhere in the world. Taimi had stopped stuttering so much. She stood more confidently, not cowering as much. Then again, that came with eyes constantly being on her. She was willing to chat a bit more as well. Ah well. "I'm not sure if that's a good or a bad thing." Arms went back to being crossed as she tilted her head slightly towards him. Should she have changed more?

Stretching in her spot, she glanced outside. The weather wasn't terrible. It looked sunny. "Hey... You up for taking a walk around Rosebury?" The words had slipped out of her mouth without much thought. Her mind was focused on what was out there. "A-After you finish your coffee, of course." So much for no longer being the Stutter Queen.

Preston took another sip of his coffee, eyebrow raised as he her entire demeanor had seem to change within the blink of an eye. He didn't chalk it up to much. Girls could be weird as shit in his experience and he'd learned over the years, living with three other girls for the most part (not to mention his sisters) that some things simply worth mentioning or thinking that much about. And maybe that was a guy thing in itself. He shrugged and stretched his neck out, finishing the small, steaming up and setting it back down on the table.

"Oh?" His smile turned somewhat smug. The Autumn pulled out his wallet, grabbing a few bills to toss out on the table. "You missed my company that much, eh?"

Her demeanor had shifted, but it was mainly her entrancement with the current state of weather. After a few more moments she snapped out of it, turning her attention fully back to the Autumn. "Considering you were pretty much the only person I've talked to, I guess so." Giving a nonchalant shrug, she slipped out of the chair she was sitting in to properly stretch. "If you don't wanna go, I understand." Her gaze cast downwards, touching on the fact that he hadn't given a response. To her, that was slightly alarming.

//shitpostbecauseaah