#c1 | scarlett blackwood.

[graysonheller]

WHO — @scarlettrxse WHEN — whenever works! WHERE — margz & margz

With his virgin margarita in hand, basically just a fruit slushie, he slid into the seat across from the redhead without any preamble. When they made eye contact he offered a dimpled smile and shrugged slightly. "Hope you don't mind... the place is kind of packed." He also wasn't really in the mood to eat alone yet hadn't felt like calling or texting anyone to meet up with him. "We can swap a slice of each other's pizza, pretend we're besties and then go on about our lives," Grayson suggested as though that would sweeten up his commandeering half of her table. "If you want to eat alone just pretend him not here."

[treykingston]

It was a relief that she had taken it so well. Part of him had been expecting whomever the owner was to yell at him and it would be fair, it would be incredibly frustrating and an unexpected hassle to deal with. Trey visibly relaxed now but still shook his head. "Nah. I insist that I pay for it. Accident or not this isn't an inconvenience you needed." For a moment he watched her and only further confirmed that the vehicle was hers by unlocking and tossing her belongings inside. When she started mentioning a repair shop nearby Trey nodded and then had to take a moment on remembering which direction. He'd never had to use the shop so it wasn't a fixture for him. "Yeah, it's a couple of blocks south if you take the main strip, then take a left... you wont be able to miss it. If you want you can follow me there?" He'd mostly grown up in this town so it was nice to know other people were picking up on the vibes and becoming residents as well. "So, you just moved here?" Trey asked as he moved over to the back passenger door and tossed the football in his hands into his vehicle.

Scarlett by no means wanted to come off rude to him, she just wasn't sure if this was a ploy to keep her away from the one man she traveled here to truly find. When he explained to her what happened she visibly relaxed, the man she was after wouldn't have sent any of his people to throw a ball through her window and stay behind afterword to apologize for it. "Oh no, no, don't worry about it," she shook her head, waving a hand in the direction of the car before continuing. "This car has been paid off for years and It's an easy fix. It was an accident anyways." she stepped towards her car now, pulling her keys out and pressing down on the unlock button before pulling on the front door handle. "I think there's a shop around here anyways, right? I'm still figuring out the place...you think it would be open today?" she tossed her keys inside of the car, wishing she had gotten two of the sweet treats instead of just one—she was for sure going to need it.

[graysonheller]

A smirk immediately formed at her question and what it implied. He'd not expected the conversation to take that turn, at least not that quickly. This woman was witty and had an edginess to her that had actually doubled down on the bestie vibes they were trying to portray, for the sake of sharing a table in a busy establishment. "Pretty sure this doesn't even register on the list of favorites, bestie." And then Grayson listened as she assessed him. It only further amused him and he sipped on his soda while she claimed it wasn't supposed to be creepy. "Power play is good... you have me pegged a little bit, I'm just not sure on the whole student, teacher dynamic. Maybe I never had a hot enough professor." She'd seemingly read his confidence well and being an attorney it almost felt she'd picked up on that as well. "You want another guess?"

Then they had another relatable moment and this all began to feel... serendipitous? "You're not alone in that," Gray had told her when he'd set his cup down. "Especially these days, more people struggle with their mental health... I keep myself busy. Heavy case load... works like a charm. What helps you, though?" It was interest more than curiosity because his head could often be a wild and dangerous place, so if he could pick up tips from someone else? Might as well. Her laugh made him grin even if he wasn't sure exactly what part had made her laugh so hard. But when she'd found it relatable on a poor relationship with a father he rolled his eyes and grabbed a slice of his pizza. "Too many fathers out there ruining their kids lives. How could you be fucked for that?" He laughed. "You heard my comment and I'm pretty sure I mean it, too." Did he love his old man? Grayson wasn't even entirely sure. He didn't wish death on him but he wouldn't necessarily mourn the loss either.

Hating wasting time thinking about his father more than he was already troubled to he was glad for the introductions and change of topic. Something light and fun. She'd gotten his reference easily and he laughed with a shake of his head. "That's not how the game works, Miss Scarlett... we take our games seriously around here," he joked. "I don't think they have nay games here but we could always go pick up a board. I didn't peg you for a rope gal," his finger tapped on his chin, "candlestick, dagger, even revolver feel more your speed..."

"So is this your favorite kind of roleplay? Or do you have another scenario that tickle your fancy?" she egged on, sipping from her margarita yet again before raising her index finger to stop him from commenting. "Wait, wait, let me guess since I'm supposed to be your bestie already," she cleared her throat. "I'm gonna say.....well you look like a power dynamic kind of guy....would it be something along the lines of you playing teacher and whomever is the student? In the loosest terms possible—not trying to make it creepy." her smile widened, giggling a little at her long winded guess. It was probably going to take him off guard, but with the idea of not having to sit through the entire night with just her margarita and her own thoughts she figured she could have some fun. "I hate being in my own head, it's not always the nicest place to be for me." she shrugged, fingernails tapping against the table. Scarlett found herself laughing out loud now, immediately moving a hand to cover her own mouth to try and stop. "I-i'm so-sorry," she continued, tears forming in the corners of her eyes as she settled down. "Wow...I'm so sorry, I don't mean to laugh...I just got the biggest sense of relief with that comment. Like, I'm not the only one who feels that way about their dad." shaking her head, she continued to wipe a the corner of her eyes. "Oh God, I must seem so fucked for that. I'm sorry again," she added in quickly, taking another long sip of her drink. It had felt like almost everyone else she had run into had the most amazing dads and to not have that feeling of safety in telling how her dad basically abandoned her and her mother at the worst possible time was...well, tiring. Her brain had focused now on the small callouses she could feel once they shook hands before snapping back into the moment when he mentioned his name and the game related. "Well shit, do you think they have the game on hand? I say we really get this night rolling! I call the rope though."

[graysonheller]

Amused, brow raised, "exactly... like roleplay." Of course anytime he'd engaged in such a thing it was never quite in this form and given that the female across from him now was a stranger Gray refrained from making that joke. "Why does it terrify you?" Always a curious one he had to ask but it was something he'd always wondered about. Why were people ashamed of doing something so normal alone? Maybe he just liked his own company so much that he'd never questioned it before, or maybe he'd always felt safer on his own. "Preaching to the choir, bestie. I'm always a bit avoidant and it doesn't seem like that's going to be a change in my life. Unless my father kicks the bucket." Before he sipped his soda he smiled as though his comment were a simple every day thing. Gray set his drink down and dried his hand of the condensation before he took hers offered across the table. It was so delicate and soft in his much larger grasp. "Ah damn," he chuckled, "we belong on a Clue board. I'm Gray."

By now, Scarlett was a frequent enough flyer of the establishment that she sat at the same table (as much as she could) and the workers there—no matter if it was different shifts with different people—all knew her by name. What could she say, the pizza was always good and the margaritas always had just enough alcohol. Plus, she had needed to find a new pizza spot. She was just taking another sip of her margarita when a figure came into her view. For the first time since she had sat down she could hear the noise around her, eyes looking at just how many people had actually come in during the last hour. "No, no it's totally fine.." she waved her free hand at him, sending him a smile in return. "Ooh, so like roleplay?" she quickly joked before taking a sip of her passionfruit margarita. "Eating alone normally terrifies me, but I've been a little....avoidant lately. So I'm definitely going to take you up on this fake besties offer." she smiled again before she brought her hand up over the table extended in his direction. "I'm Scarlett."

[treykingston]

Many things ran through his head when he saw the redhead approach and then hesitate when seeing him. They were far enough from Chicago that this shouldn't be a profiling issue, plus he was still in his scrub pants from his shift earlier. The scrubs top had been removed leaving him in his white tee, but still... the fancy Range Rover should've also conveyed he wasn't up to no good. "Ah, sorry..." Trey rubbed at the back of his neck then over his hair and top of his head. "Nah, nobody broke in or anything like that. My friend and I were tossing the ball around and well... he threw a wild one and..." He grimaced as he turned and jutted his thumb at her busted window. "My buddy had to run off but I didn't want to leave your car like this with just a note. I'll pay for all the repairs and everything."

Scarlett had pushed herself deep into her work over the last few days, trying her best to get a certain man out of her mind. Hoping to avoid him for as long as she could—even if a part of her wanted to run into him to torture herself. She had parked her car over by the park and taken a walk, stopping in to a few nearby shops to grab a sweet snack and a coffee. The redhead was confused when she began walking back towards the car and saw a random guy stood by it, his car blocking her in. Eyebrow raised, she slowed her steps and jept herself a couple of steps back when he spoke—she wsnted to make sure she wasn't going to be taken again even if it was in broad daylight. Eyes widened once he moved and she saw the damage. "Oh shit...yes, it's mine..." she took a step, trying to look into her car and see if anything had been taken from it. "Did someone try to break in or something?"