Raindrops and Puddles

She was so sassy. Jason laughed a little under his breath, "Not exactly, but I have to say - I'm disappointed you didn't." It would've been nice for someone to be able to prove their little escapade wasn't a complete waste of time and effort. There was no special treatment or sight-seeing. They left their cameras at home and spent the nights in small, freezing tents. Never again, he told himself, would he ever give that creature the time of day.
But, she had been there before, though? He made a little mental note of this before she had stopped talking by his offer of the almighty and tasteful cake on a stick.

Clearly, one could tell from the look on his face, he was not convinced by her passive refusal. "Come on, you know you want it~" He mused a bit playfully, waving the treat around gently in front of her. Jace wasn't sure why she wouldn't just take it when he was obviously offering, it was almost a bit insulting to him on a small level, though he didn't dwell on it too much. "Please?" The Autumn asked, trying one more time. Even if she didn't take it from him, he'd simply leave it by her tea cup and retreat to his coffee, finally taking a sip. And another. Caffeine, work your magic.

She almost considered refusing again, but she knew how it was with these types. He'd keep waving his hospitality in her face until he would be forced to shove it down her throat. I might as well... Resigned, she plucked the cake pop from his fingers and bit into it. It was as delicious as she hoped. Evelyn chewed, swallowed, and then gave a mischievous smirk. "T-thanks." the girl said, wiping crumbs from the corners of her mouth. She waved it in his face this time. "Y-you lost out, t-though." With that, she quickly snatched the pop back and took another slow, deliberate bite.

Evelyn studied his face for a reaction. Jace had a very handsome face, as it happened. For the second time she reflected on how lucky some people were. He had the looks, the right parents, a natural social grace, the looks, popularity, the looks... his dad got shanked, sure, but he lived. Hell, she could name a few people she'd stab to get even half what Jace had. What was his power again? Something with a violin? It sounded useless, but the Winter was willing to trade if he was. She deftly twirled the cake pop with her fingers and sipped her tea with her free hand. Gross... It's getting cold.

Admittedly, he did feel slightly relieved and a bit victorious when she finally took the treat out of his hands, daintily taking a small bite for herself. It seriously confused him why she'd ever even refuse in the first place. Not just that; her shy demeanor, her seclusive habits, hell - even her stutter. The young man didn't entirely understand it, just assuming it had something to do with her gift - but it could be eventually controlled, right? All gifts could, he thought. Would she be able to simply be able to pull herself out of anxious nature? Maybe he was just being a wishful thinker. "I'm missing it already." Jace sighed, feigning a wistful smile as she waved the half-eaten cake pop back in front of him.

He picked up his cup and took a deeper drink of his coffee, having to take a break from looking her way again. There was a painful strain on his eyes, like you would get after staring at a screen for far too long - although he'd only been looking at her for a few minutes. Jason, however, didn't want the conversation to fall to silence though and have her perhaps notice his reluctance to even look at her again. She seemed to be in a rather good mood. He didn't want to ruin it. "Does it rain a lot in Montata?" The Autumn asked, pulling out the first question that game to his, assuming she would know.

It was a surprising question, but Evelyn realized that she was glad he asked. Home was a subject rarely brought up in conversation, as much as she thought about it. It might be good to talk. "Hm... n-not really." She paused to take another sip of tea. It rained, but not anymore than usual. Maybe your definition of "usual" changed from place to place, though. After all, here the "usual" meant fighting off snarks, grumpkins, and creepy werewolves on a day to day basis. "L-less than here, though. It's w-warmer back in M-mont-montana t-too." The Winter struggled to spit out the last part, but forced herself to carry on. "A-at least, I t-think... I dunno w-what it's l-like in summer."

A thought suddenly crossed her mind. Was he from North Dakota? Evelyn didn't know why, but she had just assumed, what with his parents working at the school and all. But if he had been at the school since before they started working there, maybe he'd been sent off on a plane too. Hm... she couldn't help but wonder how long he'd been here. She took another swallow of tea and glanced out the window, to watch the rain batter the world outside.

As far as the north seemed, then  the cold, wet weather was near impossible to escape. Not that he minded, he had gotten used to the weather a long time ago, but it was interesting to know. "Beata in the summer," He mused in thought, looking out the window and trying to imagine how it'd look outside with bright, warm rays of sunlight instead of the pouring rain that had trapped them in the cafe. "It's warm, but never gets higher than the 80s." Jason said simply.

It could be way worse. He remembered in his old house in the summer, the weather wasn't anywhere near as pleasant. He kept his gaze low, taking another drink of his coffee. "I think you'd like it. Everyone is outside, scattered everywhere. In the school yards, in the town, swimming in the lake..." He smiled a bit. Although Beata was technically a year-round school, the teachers were especially lax over the summer.

"Oh?" She smiled. Outside and away from her, he meant. It was a bit unfair to assume that she didn't do anything outside when it was warm out. Swimming in the lake sounded like fun, or would, if it wasn't supposed to be teeming during the hotter months. "I think I w-would." Summer seemed a hundred years away in this driving rain, where sunlight was but a fleeting memory. The girl got the feeling that this was just a taste of what spring had in store for them, and just in time for the upcoming break. Great. Evelyn downed the last of her tea and gently set the cup aside, pausing at the rumble of distance thunder. I've missed thunder storms... she realized. Snow was getting old.

The rain served as a soothing backtrack to the radio's relaxed jazz. It made her wish she had more tea. Instead, Evelyn settled for taking another big bite out of the cake pop. Some small consolation prize for her drink going cold and running out, she supposed. Better than starving on top of being cold and wet... The girl was glad for Jace's headstrong hospitality for once. Looking back, it was an embarrassingly small thing to make a big deal about. Another bite, chew, swallow. His loss, still. she thought. God knows I wouldn't share.

Jason laughed lightly, absent-mindedly rubbing his temple and thinking back to the warmer days. He'd had a rather good collection of fond memories fron the seasomn over the years. "I'll have to show you all the best spots," He mused, taking another drink of his coffee. "In the meantime, though..." It seemed fairly impossible to escape this rain, and he near cursed himself for losing his umbrella a while back. This didn't seem so bad, though, right?
"Hypothetically, if I asked for a real tour of Glacier, would you mind?" Every word that came out of his mouth was slow and cautious, uncertain even, as he kept his gaze glued to the window and the rain outside. It was a lot to ask, and the hypotheticals didn't help much, but...

The question took her by surprise. Confidence drained away. "Oh, uh..." Evelyn shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Would I mind? She really didn't know. The prospect didn't fill her with dread like it might have if somebody else had asked, but there was still apprehension. If there was one person she had to go with, Jace seemed like an okay option... awkward history ignored. Maybe this was his attempt at some kind of reconciliation. Since that day, they had only spoken in the gym and briefly at the Formal. "Yeah. I mean, I w-wouldn't m-m-mind. Hehe..." Her eyes flicked from him, to the table, then to the window, all while wearing a stupid nervous smile.

"You really need to wait up. I'm not going to forget about you."

But then he did. The memory still stung. What had been going through his mind? Why did he do it? Those were answers Evelyn knew she would never get. It's time to move on from that. she told herself. It was just some stupid thing followed by a stupid overreaction by her stupid typical self. Hell, he probably didn't even remember doing it. If "hypothetically" agreeing to a trip to Montana with him was penance for what she did, well, she could think of worse punishments. Like getting kicked in the boob. And the conversation wouldn't be half-bad either... "I w-wouldn't m-mind at all."

He sensed her hesitation immediately, holding back a sigh and opting for another sip of his warm drink instead. Of course she wouldn't want too. Things seemed okay right now, but he couldn't help but recall that thick, awkward distance between the two of them the last few times they had been together. He'd literally went and asked her to help him find and kill somebody. Looking back on it, he really must have seemed crazy - Montare level crazy. He still wanted justice someday, and there were still questions unanswered, but after that show - he couldn't blame her for turning the idea down. The best he could do he supposed was buy her cake and tea, if that would be good enough to make it up to her.

With a slightly weary smile, he waved down their waitress, quietly motioning to refill the small cup of Evelyn's he'd then noticed was empty. The blond had hardly heard her first words after, pausing and wondering if he had heard her right. She wouldn't?
Jace glanced back her, seeing the uneasy smile on her face as she watched the rain for a moment before he instinctively glanced away again. "You wouldn't?"  He tried not to sound so surprised. Jason ran a few fingers through his hair, which was much drier than before, feeling rather relieved at her words. "Maybe I'll look into that, then. Absolutely no tents, though, or sleeping bags or matches or knives. I've had enough of that." He said lightly. If they were going to go, they'd be going like two spoiled upper class white folks in the best lodge with the best view and everything. None of that Bigfoot-searching camping shit.

His little joke lifted the awkward atmosphere, and Evelyn laughed nervously to try and help ease the tension. That's relieving, I guess. "If y-you in-insist..." she said with a light chuckle, momentarily forgetting about her tea even as he waved a waitress down. The apprehension remained, but there was undoubtedly some excitement mixed in there too. Evelyn had never done anything big for Spring Break before, and it had been years since she had last been to the park. And a year since I've been home too, she realized. I really need a vacation. A real vacation, away from Beata, away from monsters, away from life. She could already see a cozy cabin in her head, surrounded by towering hemlocks on the lakeside, a lonely mountain rising in the distance... or maybe it would just be a wooden lodge somewhere bustling with tourists, or a cheap grimy motel on the outskirts. Wherever it was, it wasn't important. The trip itself was what was the only thing that mattered. It sounded more and more idyllic the more she thought about it. What could go wrongthat's a phrase you use a lot before someone interrupts your quiet time out of the blue, don't jinx it eve? Maybe things might get awkward between them, but hell, she was shoveling all of her money to Greg Warner's bastard for a reason. Alcohol was an easy solution to such situations. It was social grace in a bottle.

Her mouth twisted into a wry smile. "But... T-That'll make h-hunting Bigfoot a l-l-lot harder."

Because things worked out so well for her the last time she'd relied on alcohol for social ease.
Jason smirked down into his drink, thinking that settled it then. It did seem a bit strange once he thought on it. Most people their age would be dying to spend their spring break at some place like Universal Studios and Disneyland, or on the coast-line - on the beaches, somewhere wild and crazy. And here they were talking about spending a week at a peaceful, national park one state over, which he could only imagine would be filled with families and old tourists; not two teenagers with nothing better to do.

The Autumn scoffed, shaking his head with a small smile. "Bigfoot can go fuck himself for all I care." Or be left to all the crazies to deal with, with nothing but their stupid theories and reality TV shows. He started thinking about what other things they might be able to do there. Admittedly, he hadn't gone on an actual vacation for a long time himself. The place obviously had tons of mountains and animals. Maybe he could borrow a good camera from the photography club, if Lotte wasn't still upset with him, and take some pictures. There was always hiking of course too, and -
Jace suddenly shot Evelyn a curious look, "Have you ever been fishing?" He asked.

Her giggle trailed off at his sudden question. Had she ever gone fishing? A good question. She'd driven out to a pond every once and awhile with her dad, but it was mostly him doing the actual work. He would handle the rods and she'd just sit there and watch over "her" fishing pole. They always came home disappointed and empty-handed. Her father was more suited to an office than to the great outdoors, and the fish never took the bait. "Hm... N-Not really." she admitted after a second of thought. "Heh. I d-don't even k-know h-how to c-c-cast a l-line." Evelyn had always been glad to let her father handle that as well. She was always terrified of accidentally hitting herself with the hook.

"My d-dad somet-times l-liked to fish, but he n-never c-caught an-anything." Evelyn bit off the last of the cake and let the stick fall to the table with a light clatter. That was always a letdown, but she wasn't sure what they'd actually do with a fish anyways. The thought of eating something that used to be alive made her stomach roil, especially if that something used to live in some filthy stagnant pool of water. Her thoughts immediately went back to poor Sushi, who was swimming obliviously around in his tiny bowl even now. She wondered how he might feel if he knew about this conversation.

Honestly, that hadn't been the answer that he was expecting. "No?" Jace repeated, raising an eyebrow as he thought it over for a second before shaking the mild surprise away, laughing a little. He retreated back to his coffee. "I thought you might've. It seems like something you'd be good at - better than me, anyways." He shrugged. Fishing really only required two things, knowledge and patience - neither were exactly what the Autumn House was known for; although, Jace himself had managed to grasp the concept well enough over they years. Growing up in their area, there were tons of small lakes with open season year round.

He'd almost forgotten about flagging the waitress down for more tea when she had returned with an entire teapot in her hands, held with a soft, knitted oven-mitt. The small metal rim under the rim told him there were leaves inside already brewing in the hot water. He gave her a small nod as she set it in the middle of the table and walked away again. Jason cleared his throat, "Well, fishing is a Wright tradition." He said. Not really, but she didn't have to know that. "I think I can show you the ropes." Then all the damned fish in Glacier wouldn't stand a chance... if they could stand.

She was wondering what that was supposed to mean when the waitress came by and set the steaming kettle on the table. Evelyn smiled resignedly. They were just good intentioned polite gestures, but for some trifling reason it made her uncomfortable. Remembering the whole incident with the cake pop, she decided not to say anything. If he wanted to act chivalrous and gentlemanly, like hell she was going to be able to stop him. It brought to mind Montare and that boy out in the snow. Something with men and their misplaced sense of gallantry. I can get my own tea.

Jace interrupted her thoughts. "Is it?" Evelyn asked, intrigued. That made some sense. There was a pristine lake right on Beata's doorstep, after all. "I t-think I'd l-like that." Her smile widened ever so slightly. My first fish. Hopefully. They'd be lucky if they got through the whole trip without at least one of them getting their lip snagged on a fishing hook, so perhaps hoping for success was naive, but for the moment she didn't consider failure a possibility. They would stab a piece of metal through some poor bastard of a trout's cheek and drag his ass to the shore. Defeat was not an option.

Jason smiled back at her, "I'd suggest that we go on and practice right now if this rain didn't have us trapped here." He glanced out the window again, looking for any sign for the weather letting up. Not for the first time, he thought, it still wasn't all that bad. The cafe was warm and cozy, and the cakes and coffe were just as good. It still brought on a slightly brooding feeling, though, as if there were still something missing.

"I wish I had my violin on me." Jace mused quietly, "I haven't touched it in so long. It'd sound nice with the rain." The one time he didn't have it strapped to his back, before. He shrugged and stretched his neck out.