These happy places we go to

She glanced towards him as he sat down but she didnt want to sit there and just stare at him. Though that would be quite romantic... for couples, something that they werent. “Egg and wheat,” she remarked with a wrinkle on her nose but she was looking at the fishes. She was hungry enough to just grab one of those big fish and feast, but she knew it wouldnt be acceptable. Though it would probably made Ethan laugh his ass off and there was nothing else she’d rather see now.
He mentioned the spring rolls and it made her fold her lips a little excited as she hadnt thought he would remember a thing like that. Maybe she had judged him a little too hard on the playground, but she couldnt possibly believe that there were a bigger meaning to the words he had said. She ordered some fried rice with lightly roasted meaf, just so she wasnt a dead giveaway. For drinks she just wanted some lemon water, since she like the way sour things tasted. She looked back at the fish and he seemed to notice. “Do you remember that time Gareth took us all out on his boat? Where he told us it would be a short trip but before we knew it, we sailed along the coast of France?” She asked, looking back at Ethan.

She chuckled with him as she recalled how mean she was as well, hyping up that if they didnt take the money, all of them would be sent to french jail. She shook her head. “You got a nice tan. A real summer tan,” she remembered, thinking it looked quite well on him though it wasnt that she disliked him as he was. It was just something that fit the summer-mood, like she also liked seeing him wear some oversized homeknit sweater during christmas. She laughed as he spoke of Darren’s burn, shaking her head before sticking her tongue out in a soft gag. “He kept peeling off his skin and throw it at me,” she remembered in a disgusted tone but she chuckled.
She definitely wanted to experience something like that again. And it seemed that Ethan felt the same way. She nodded in agreement. “I mean Gareth has his boat. We just have to say when,” she remarked, but it was just about when. Because Gareth’s impulsive France trip hadnt supposed to be that good weatherwise, but it had been all sunny days and warmth. She sighed. “Only thing I didnt like was the small cabins. I mean I got to spoon Ayalla, but I could imagine you and Darren had a swell time,” she teased him with a chuckle. Of course Gareth had a bigger boat, but he had said that they would have realized if he had picked that one instead of the smaller one he chose.
“But honestly? If you ever feel like just getting away, all you have to do is say so,” she said, feeling her heartbeat increase at the thought if it was just the two of them going.

“I bet you snore,” she mocked back before sticking her tongue out at him in a playful way. As she realized what she was suggesting, he asked. She swallowed hard and looked down at her napkin before she shrugged. “I...” she tried but he apologized and she hadnt known what to say anyway. The thought of them just going the two of them made her feel a little out of breath but it seemed like fairytale thinking. He would just get bored of her when it was just the two of them, that’s what she told herself.
His suggestion made her smile bright as she nodded. She pulled up her phone and sent a quick text before she looked at him with a happy face, “I will make sure Samuel isnt planning something then. We should do it,” she agreed. Their food arrived and she looked at the waiter, asking if she could get a couple of their spring rolls in a box when they left. She hadnt forgotten about her favorite, she just wanted to bring them home. She looked at her food and grabbed her fork. “I do have one condition. All of the guys will have to wear ugly norweigan sweaters,” she chuckled.

“You’ve got them,” she chuckled, shaking her head as she could already imagine just how he would look. She didnt mind the way he was eating, but she was different, her back straight and her manners just on point. But it was funny how easy it was to ingrain such mannerisms with a stern teacher. At least Ethan could feel free to eat the way he wanted to.
Then he asked if he could come stay at her house, which surprised her a little. She was just about to ask as he explained himself. “Sure, you can stay as long as you want. The apartment is pretty big and if Ayalla is with Darren,” she said before she shrugged. “Your landlord always smiles at me when Gareth let me tag along,” she remarked, frowning a little to herself. Of course she hadnt heard Gareth curse about the landlord to Ethan everytime that happened. She finished the meat pretty fast but that just left her with the fried rice.

“What a dick,” she scoffed, knowing that Ethan wasnt the kind of person who would try to skip out on his rent; he may not be as well standing as the rest of them, but his pride sure was as if he was. “Well, anything for you,” she said almost softly, not caring if it was showing something it shouldnt. She couldnt let him be on the street if his landlord was planning on keeping him out, that just wasnt up to discussion.
She always did this whenever she was out eating. Seperating what she didnt need from what she did need. She looked up as he started giving her his meat, raising her eyebrows thankfully, but then he stated the obvious. “I just dont want to be weird,” she mumbled. Rich resturants didnt have this problem, they had food for all species’ wants and needs. But a cheap chinese resturant in the southern district most definitrly only meet the need of the masses. “They’ll notice that you dont eat any of it,” she objected, stirring around her rice. “You really pay attention,” she said as she noticed, looking up at him a little confused. Was he like this with all his friends? He had to be, it couldnt just be her.
“I’ll tell them to bag the rice. I havent touched it, and it would be a shame to throw it out.” She said before she looked down at her plate. “I’m glad you showed up... By the way... I actually worried that you wouldnt,” she then suddenly said as she realized she hadnt yet.

It was true that she wasnt long from grabbing the fish but she also wouldnt just embarass herself. “Fine. On the go,” she accepted, folding her lips for a second. She knew he did this out of good intention and the fact was she was quite unbearable if she didnt eat enough food. His promise made her smile, but she frowned a little. “It’s meatless though,” she warned him in case he wondered if there would even be a small piece in there.
His confession made her smile, looking down at her plate as it made her quite happy. “Likewise,” she mumbled. The waiter came to ask if the food was good, making Vanessa look up as she nodded with a bright smile. “It’s really good,” she said, before she took the opportunity to ask for a check so they could just walk out whenever.

She didnt really want him to pay but she could understand that she couldnt cover everything for him, even though she really wanted to. So he paid for their food and as they got out, she felt the fresh air in her face. She chuckled as he seemed happy with the food, sighing to herself. “Alright. But if you stare, I’ll throw a slice right in your face,” she warned him, grabbing the box before opening it. She pinched a piece, eating it as if it was just some snack. She liked the taste of raw meat far better than cooked meat. There was just something about it she couldnt describe.
She felt a slight rush in her stomach as he said he didnt have to go work tomorrow, but then she made a bummed out awh-sound. “I was hoping I could come and see my favorite clerk,” she teased him, but she was actually quite happy that they could spend time together, granted that he wanted to spend his day off with her. “Dont you get tired of working all the time and then spend your days-off on hanging out with us?” She asked curiously. She wasnt allowed to have a job so she wondered how it worked.

“Oh noooo. How unfortunate,” she joked but she was quite visibly happy with the way she couldnt seem to stop herself from smiling like a fool. But she wouldnt let that show for long, stuffing her mouth with the meat to focus on that instead. After all, a Prideux were supposed to hold their cards close to their body and show as little emotion as they could. Gareth was good at controlling his emotions, but Vanessa was still young.
She scoffed as he called his simple, if there was a word she would describe him with, it would never be simple. “Well, I’d trade mine for just one parent that cared,” she said with a short smile because she really just kidney-punched herself with that one. But Vanessa had never really used her money like she was overly rich, most of her clothes were thrifted if it wasnt that her father had agreed with some designer for her to wear their clothes. Even outside the facility, Samuel still found ways to use her for his own profit; but at least the clothes were nice.
He mentioned the movies and she frowned a little, not really thinking of Ethan as the big movie-watcher. “Are you talking about King Kong? Because I absolutely loved that movie, despite how creepy it actually was,” she said a little excited. She nodded. “It’s a date then,” she chuckled, stopping as she checked her phone. “It’s quite far to walk from here... I’ll call a cab,” she said, ringing the number before she told the driver where to pick them up. As soon as she hung up, she put her phone down in her pocket. “We can split it, if that’ll make you feel better?” She said with a chuckle. “Though I wouldnt mind washing Samuel’s money down the drain, only that he wouldnt care and it wouldnt even hurt him,” she added with a tone that revealed how lost she felt when it came to her father. She really wanted to hate him for what he had done to her all her life, but mostly she was hurt for knowing how little he had cared for her all along. “He only cares about keeping the Prideux name clean and rich, which means he barks an order and I follow or face the consequences,” she said as she sat down on the sidewalk as the driver had said it woulf be a while.

She frowned at his ponder, if there was something she didnt want, then it was to turn out to be like her father. But realistically, it seemed that Samuel wanted her to. She looked out on the street as he spoke, but looked down as he asked whether she would be like her father. “I hope not,” she mumbled, scratching her neck a little. Samuel had mentioned some sort of ordeal of her taking over his firm at some point; but she didnt feel smart or strict enough to run something as her father’s business. She didnt quite believe it anyway, because if there was one thing for sure, then it was that if Samuel had to give up his position in his firm; it would be someone wringing it from his dead hands. So it just didnt add up.
She was pulled from her mind as Ethan spoke again, glancing shortly at him before she shrugged and turned her eyes to the street, “I dont think you’ll turn out that way,” she said truthfully, smiling a little to herself. “Sure, I couldnt ever imagine you be a father. But I doubt that you would want your kid to go through the same as you,” she said, nodding to herself as that was what she thought at least. The cab arrived a good ten minutes later and she got in before telling the driver her address. He looked at her in the rear mirror, like he couldnt quite believe it, but he started driving towards the destination once they both were inside.
She looked out the window most of the way to not get carsick, her box of meat had been closed though she was sure the driver could smell the metal. She just seemed to be thinking to herself or not wanting to say something the driver may remember. It was only because she was certain that no matter what, her father would never let her have just a moment of privacy to herself.

She just kept thinking about whether she could trust this driver or not. She noticed how he glanced at her in the rear mirror and either he found her funny looking or else it was because he knew who she was. She heard Ethan’s mumble and turned to look at his screen, but seeing how cracked the screeen was, she couldnt see much. She just decided to keep looking out the window and notice whether the driver kept staring at her. Ethan’s question made her hum as she looked at the screen, narrowing her eyes a little. “I think we shooouuld, sit here,” she pointed to a few seats in the back before she chuckled, “If the movie’s boring then we can flick popcorn around,” she said, though she didnt think it would be bad. It didnt really matter though, because she just wanted to spend time with him.
“Yeah. The building Ayalla and I live in is almost desolate, because they’re all just on some fancy holiday to the Bahamas, or where ever they go,” she remarked with a shrug. She really didnt like how she could tell the driver kept staring, reaching out carefully to grab Ethan’s hand, if not to alert him then to just calm herself. She also felt like she couldnt recognize the roads anymore, but it wasnt like the man was taking them down any sort of shady path.

She just kept her eyes on their hands, shaking her head lightly at his question. This was far too much for her, showing actual discomfort in this way. She felt a little weak as Ethan gave her hand a squeeze. The driver eyed the human as he raised his eyebrows, clearly not impressed by his words. He scoffed and seemed to ignore the warning. Vanessa was trying her best not to seem affected by it but it was hard at this point. It felt like the only thing that really made sense in this cab was Ethan and she felt like a horrible friend if she didnt find a way to control herself.
“Home soon,” she mumbled after his promise, closing her eyes as she drew in a deep breaths. She was shaking a little at this point, even though the driver seemed to have lost interest, it wasnt just about the staring anymore. “I’m sorry,” she whispered as she closed her eyes, feeling them well up under her lids. This was pathetic, she felt pathetic. They arrived at the apartment and she just pulled out some cash that she handed Ethan before making a quick exit of the vehicle. She grabbed onto a streetlight to support herself, shaking her head at herself as she begged in her mind for it to just pass.

This was bad, at least in her mind. She had spent so long trying to just hide this part of her, with the exception of that one time at Gareth’s place where it all just happened so fast. She had told herself it wouldnt happen again, and now it was just happening and she couldnt stop it. He asked her to look at him and as she felt his hands hold her face, she did. Tears were running down her cheeks but she looked at him; even though looking him in the eye was something she couldnt at this point. He was so gentle with her that she couldnt help but feel safe, but she could have been that way with anyone. It was about trusting the right person, because trusting the wrong person to give her this false sense of security could just about break her.
She followed his lead, keeping her eyes down as he could be leading her anywhere he’d want at this point. “I’m sorry,” she just mumbled hoarsely, like other words couldnt come to mind. Inside the apartment she seemed to calm somewhat down, but she just stood by the door, touching a necklace that was dangling from a nail in the doorframe. She found great comfort in her trinkets, but if it was up to her, she would be standing there all night. “I’m weak,” she whispered as she looked down and wrapped her arms around herself.