#interactions ft. matty foster

[leilabarak]

closed starter for @foster-notmatty at the break room

There was not a world in which it made sense to allow Leila Barak into the Break Room. The already chaotic activity of busting things apart and throwing axes around was a recipe for disaster with a normal person, let alone with Leila. Yet, there she was bouncing around the axe throwing area with a sharp one in hand, grinning over at Foster as they got set up with a lane. "I've never done this before. I'm really good at carnival games, though, and this is like, kind of the same." She could throw darts or baseballs or rings, so why not also an axe?

[leilabarak]

The only travel Leila ever did was for her job and that typically found her staying in private lodging rather than a big hotel, places that would give her space and room to still work. "Never been to a Hilton before, sounds like I may have to give them a try," she decided with a firm nod. If there were no reports of cult activity, that seemed like a better choice already than the creepy rabbit motel. "Dunno, though! Phoebe wanted to stay somewhere close by here, so probably still that. Wherever she wants to go, really!" Leila had no bug to travel herself, but for a friend she'd be happy to go just about anywhere.

@foster-notmatty

"Yeah, I guess," he shrugged. He didn't know what he'd even said it; it wasn't like he was some expert. He traveled, but most places he ended up surfing on couches. "Not really," he admitted sheepishly. "But I've been in them? I've been to quite a few places, and so far no word yet of any cults based out of a Hilton..." At the very least, you could count on them to be mostly clean — and he was reaching the age that was starting to be important to him... "Where are you thinking you might go next time?" He'd already offered to take Phoebe to Philadelphia, but he knew getting out of Colorado at least once was important to her.

[leilabarak]

closed starter for @foster-notmatty at condom sense

It wasn't unusual to find Leila out and about at various local businesses helping to find ways to improve them and help the town thrive, her small way of helping give back to the community that she called home. Condom Sense wasn't a place she often found herself under any circumstances and when she found herself turning a corner and coming face to face with Foster, she remembered why. Her eyes blinked a few times, trying not to look down at anything he was holding. Before she could stop herself, however, her mouth blurted open. "Are those for Ph - no. No," she managed to cut herself short before the full question came tumbling out of her mouth, though there was little mistaking what the rest of the words would have been. "Hi, Foster."

[leilabarak]

Leila couldn't quite place what it was that felt off about the interaction now, but there was something that had shifted. Her brows furrowed together in thought, brain whirling back to try and figure out what might have been the cause. The only thing she could think of was that Foster must hate dogs, a fact that had Leila now very suspicious of him as a person in general. "Yeah, yeah I'll get with her about date night with Brock, she's always down for it," Leila agreed, her eyes still narrowed in suspicion. "I'll let you get back to it, though and I'll see you soon with Phoebe and Brock?"

@foster-notmatty

Everyone loves him. Foster was well aware he was contrarian by nature, but his first thought was 'well, we'll just see about that...' He was suspicious of anyone who operated on rave reviews, and that wasn't even factoring in the fact that Phoebe was so fond of him. He looked down, eyes catching on the box of condom's he held in his hands — reminding himself that was all he had really asked for. "Well, I'll let you and Phoebe coordinate that." Not Brock, pointedly. He preferred if Leila acted as a middle man.

[leilabarak]

The shift in Foster's facial expression brought a skeptical look out of Leila, whose eyes narrowed suspiciously. Anyone that didn't like Brock or had anything bad to say about the dog obviously couldn't be trusted. She hoped that wouldn't be the case with Foster. "He is great. The best, really," Leila confirmed with a very firm nod, wanting to make absolutely sure that Foster understood that. "You'll get it when you meet him. He's very charming. Everyone loves him." Leila's affection for the dog bled through in everything she said about him and she could easily sit and gush about him for hours if given the chance.

@foster-notmatty

He... tried his best not to let his face fall too much when Leila mentioned Phoebe and Brock snuggling. Not a partner then. A roommate? A brother? None of that mattered quite as much the idea that Phoebe had someone else in her life. It wasn't like he could be upset — they weren't exclusive by his own design, but he just thought... Phoebe had a tendency to let her mouth get away from her; he thought she'd tell him if there was someone else. "Oh. Yeah, he sounds great," he said shortly, his words less than convincing.

[leilabarak]

"Well, that's disappointing. We'll find somewhere to stay eventually," Leila mused, now trying to work through what type of place they could pick if motels and resorts were both out. Eventually, she hoped, she'd get out of town with Phoebe on a real vacation. Her brows lifted a bit at the suggestion, giving a half nod. "So, like a Holiday Inn or something? Very generic, but I guess that's what the appeal is. No danger of being kidnapped. Mostly. I think. Do you stay at hotels a lot?"

@foster-notmatty

"As someone who's worked at a resort before, I promise they're not any less culty," he warned helpfully. It had been the shortest time he'd even spent at a restaurant, lasting only 3 days before he'd had enough weird interactions with staff and guests to get the fuck out of there. The best just looked dead inside, but the others... those hollow smiles were the things of nightmares. "Your safest bet is to stay at those mid-tier chains. They're soulless, but... I guess that's kinda the draw here."

[leilabarak]

"The best. I don't cook like pretty much ever, I mostly eat takeout. It'd be way better if Phoebe was cooking nuggets instead." At least in theory having a best friend that cooked sounded like a good idea. In practice, there was a non-zero chance that somehow between the two of them the entire apartment got set on fire from them trying to make something. "That's good. She's fun to be around, so yeah. It should be fun for both of you." Leila bit back anything else she might have wanted to say, doing her best not to totally overstep. She would, however, be grilling Phoebe after the weekend was over to see how it all went. Her head bobbed again happily, always willing to bring Brock along to a hangout of any kind. "Yeah! He'd love that. He loves Phoebe more than just about anything, they snuggle a lot. I'm sure he'd like you too. Easy guy to get along with."

@foster-notmatty

It's okay. That was enough to get a genuine laugh of out him, the mediocre review being better than either a good or a bad one in these circumstances. "I'll put chicken nuggets on the curriculum for next lesson," he assured her. His ears felt a bit hot when she told him it was company that mattered more than the location — ironic considering where they were right now. "Yeah, we usually have a good time, so it should be good." His purchase would hopefully seal the deal... Phoebe hadn't told him anything about Leila's Brock before, but he assumed it was some sort of partner and in an obvious attempt of being agreeable and getting Phoebe's friends on his side, he said: "We'll have to set up a hang for the four of us sometime."

[leilabarak]

"Oh! I've been there before. It's okay," she nodded. The food wasn't really up her alley, her taste buds being far more along the lines of chicken nuggets and snacks. With Leila, the simpler the better when it came to food. "That's brilliant. You should teach her how to make really good chicken nuggets. Like the ones from McDonalds!" There were probably better nuggets out there, but as with her taste buds in general, Leila's eating habits were as simplistic as they came. Takeout and fast food were more meals than they should have been. "I mean, that sounds better than what we did ourselves, so, total win. The place doesn't matter so much anyway, it's the company that matters most." Phoebe seemed to be quite keen on Foster, so Leila could only assume they'd have a wonderful time together whether the hotel was great or not. "Oh, it will! I'll stay at the party a little bit and probably end up back at home with Brock. Best way to spend the night."

@foster-notmatty

He huffed out a little laugh at her words: I like restaurants. "Well, I'm working at the Glass Onion right now, so mainly French fare," he shrugged. "But I've been trying to teach Phoebe some things — mainly whatever calls to her." A true chef, in his estimation, knew enough principles to be able to try anything. At this point, he'd tried his hand at most every type of cuisine. His smile softened into something small and fond when Leila assured him she was sure Phoebe would love his plan. "I hope so. I honestly don't know too much about the place. Only that my friend could get it in my price range and they don't have any rabbits." The important part was getting a break from it all, and Phoebe finally being able to say she'd been outside Colorado. "That sounds like a pretty good plan. I hope it works out for you."

[leilabarak]

"That's how I felt about it!" Leila chirped back, nodding eagerly in agreement. If someone had to swear up and down that they weren't a cult, there was a pretty good chance that they were, in fact, a cult. This situation especially had given off such weird vibes that it was hard to think anything different about it. A giggle escaped her lips at Phoebe's newfound word to describe rabbits, Leila completely understanding where she was coming from. "I think, you know...once we get past the concern that they're going to find us, totally will be a good story," she agreed, hoping that would be the case. As crazy as it had been, there was a big part of her that felt rather proud of the fact that there was a story there at all, something she wasn't used to having in her life. "Next time we'll go somewhere way safer. Not a motel. Maybe a hotel. Or a resort. Something less culty."

@foster-notmatty

"Oh, yeah, anyone who has to insist they're not a cult is definitely a cult," Foster agreed, and if he was being just a little too agreeable, it wasn't anything to do with the idea of putting a good foot forward with Phoebe's friends. He didn't care if Leila reported back that he was charming or cute, nor if Phoebe would blush prettily if anyone were to ever bring up his name unexpectedly. "Well, if nothing else, it'll make a good story eventually. I mean, if Phoebe can ever get up the nerve to say the word rabbit again. Last I heard, she was calling them floppy-eared fucks..."

[leilabarak]

Dumb as it may have been, Leila was glad that the activity was there anyway. It was something new to do and try and that was good enough for her. Whatever danger there may have been to worry about could be worried about if something bad actually happened. "A little dumb, but it's okay. No one's died from axe throwing probably," she waved off, not actually all that confident of that fact. "But, of course we should trust her. It's fun, so like, why would we not trust her?" If the guys running the place were willing to hand them the axes, they were the experts and she was all in. "I'd be more worried about us when she throws it, so maybe just like, duck y'know."

@foster-notmatty

As he watched the Leila rotate the blade away from her, Foster realized the advice maybe wasn't so misplaced... He understood now why Phoebe felt so protective of her — for as smart as she clearly was, it appeared her curiosity could come at the expense of common sense. "Yeah, it is pretty dumb, now that you mention it," he agreed. And for as much as he worried about Leila, he thought Phoebe might be even more of a risk. He looked over to where the brunette was still chatting with CJ. "You think- I mean... should we trust Phoebe with this kind of activity?" He very much liked her with all her limbs attached...

[leilabarak]

"Oh! That's fun! I like restaurants," she chirped back with a half nod. Her favorite foods were the staples of chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese, but sometimes she tried to step out of that box and eat something a little different. "What kind of food do you make?" In her head it was some fancy place that served things like snails and sea urchin, all things she would never choose herself. "A resort sounds way fancier. Definitely better than the motel. I'm sure she'll love it." Leila wanted to promise that she wouldn't say a word about it to Phoebe, though there was no guarantee that she could keep her mouth shut if the topic happened to come up. "I hope it's fun. If not I will just...leave and do something more fun."

@foster-notmatty

"I work in a restaurant," he explained. "I say shit show, but that's actually the part I kinda love the most about it." The adrenaline. The idea that everything was on the edge of falling apart. He thrived on that kind of chaos. "No, definitely no motels," he agreed. "I've got a friend who works at a resort in Utah. He pulled some strings to get me a good deal on a room for the night. Don't tell Phoebe, though. It's still a surprise." Phoebe was doing everything in her power to try to coax the info out on him, and it only occurred to him after the fact that Leila might spill. "Peak Seasons should be fun." He didn't actually believe that, but it was a kind thing to say — town gatherings here had never really been his thing.

[leilabarak]

"Foster. I'm Leila," she greeted back with a half nod. The name didn't stand out at all, so she simply assumed that he was just another of Phoebe's friends. Her shoulders lifted up in another shrug, cult being the only word that made sense in her head to explain the group. "The group were very insistent that it wasn't a cult, so maybe that's the wrong word, but um, it feels like the right word." The weird rabbit worshiping, the mention of blood sacrifices, all of it felt like prime cult behavior. "We thought it was a good idea to stay at a motel. It was not. In retrospect, totally see where we went wrong. Should have read the reviews."

@foster-notmatty

"I do," he confirmed, glad that fact eased her mind at least a little. "I'm Foster." He didn't know what, if anything, Phoebe had told her friends about him, so he left it without any further explanation. They were friends; there wasn't any need to complicate things beyond that. "Cult?" he repeated, his eyebrows raising at the term. Phoebe hadn't exactly shared a plethora of details; the word 'rabbit' was practically a four letter word. "She left out that part. Or well, she didn't use that word. How'd you guys manage to get yourselves into that kind of situation?"

[leilabarak]

At some point in time Leila maybe had been told what Foster did for a living, but the memory of it escaped her. A non-stop shit show sounded like an awful way to spend the day or, really, any day. "What do you do for work? That sounds awful," she asked, nose wrinkling at the idea of it all. Leila had never been someone that could have worked on a schedule. Things happened at her own pace and that was just the way her world worked. Her brows lifted at the mention of a road trip, a girlish smile curling at her lips. "A road trip. That's very nice. No rabbit motels, though. No motels at all, maybe. Stay somewhere nice." Anywhere would ultimately be nicer than the creepy motel that she and Phoebe had tried to stay at, so it wasn't a huge bar to meet. "No plans for me either. I think there's some thing going on at the Peak Seasons or something, I might go to that."

@foster-notmatty

Foster decided he liked Leila — he liked the logical way she approached the world, and the way she fit so perfectly with all the stories Phoebe had told him about her. And he especially liked the way she seemed incapable of hiding a single thought that crossed her mind, his own already thinking of all the ways he could one day exploit that. "I'm working on the day. It's pretty much a non-stop shit show." Reservations booked all night, with more hoping to snag a table. "But I'm taking Phoebe on a road trip that next weekend." It wasn't for Valentine's Day, because they weren't even dating, but if Phoebe's friends thought he was treating her well, what was the harm in that? Was it wrong to want the other people in Phoebe's life to like him? "How about you?"

[leilabarak]

Leila, who had already turned the axe towards her to look at it, shot another sheepish smile towards Foster as his first tip was to keep the sharper part pointed in the other direction. Slowly, she twisted the axe handle around to face it the other direction, giving a firm nod in response. "Sharp parts pointed away, that's easy enough," she agreed, taking the advice far more seriously than Foster was intending it to be taken. "No danger in my organs coming out either. Probably. I don't think these are all that sharp." Leila poked a bit at the axe, a small chuckle leaving her lips when she realized that it was actually a good bit sharper than she would have expected for an activity like this. "Kind of wild that they just trust people with sharp stuff like this," she mused, not counting herself in the group of people that shouldn't be trusted with them.

@foster-notmatty

Her explanation comforted him a little bit, knowing it wasn't just misplaced confidence and she actually had some experience. Unlike him, who had been spurred on in his carnival game failure solely by the desire to prove Phoebe wrong. All of his pointers seemed stupid in light of that, though, as his expertise in sharp objects was limited to slicing and dicing and ended long before they became airborne. His initial thought of 'chill out when you've got that shit in your hands' seemed more likely to damper Leila's mood, and the last thing he wanted was Phoebe thinking he couldn't get along with her friends. Seb and CJ were one thing, but Leila was easy to like... He decided instead to play it off as a joke. "Well, I find that, generally speaking, it's better to keep the sharp parts pointed away from you," he said, trying to make it exaggeratedly clear he was pointing out the obvious. "And your internal organs — you're gonna wanna try to keep them that way..."

[leilabarak]

The fact that he seemed to know Phoebe lowered Leila's guard completely and a sigh of relief escaped her lips as she hopped back down from the tree. "I am! You know her?" she asked, realizing too late that she probably should have confirmed that before throwing herself into the possible danger of another rabbit worshiper. "The rabbit cops might be who we need, though, really. Someone should probably arrest the cult," she mused. She had no proof that they were up to anything sinister, but reading between the lines of everything they had said, she was willing to bet money that they were sacrificing people to the rabbits.

@foster-notmatty

Foster was familiar with that defensive stance and the weariness in her eyes. He liked to think he had soften, that 'danger' was not the first thing people thought when they looked at him, but... some people were just jumpy. Or so he thought, until she mentioned the 'rabbit people.' "You must be Phoebe's friend," he replied, maintaining the same distance she imposed. "I promise, I'm not the rabbit cops" He still didn't know the full story, but he knew enough to know Phoebe was freaked. It would be a hell of a coincidence if there were two groups of rabbit people.

[leilabarak]

Choosing to accept that Foster wouldn't say anything to Phoebe, Leila gave a grateful nod, the concern pushed out of her mind and instead now replaced with only curiosity. "No, nothing from the rabbit people yet. I'm not convinced that they're gone yet, though. Somewhere out there in the world a group of insane rabbit worshipers are definitely plotting how to sacrifice Phoebe and I," she answered back with a shake of her head. While it was mostly out of the forefront of her mind by now, the lingering concern that there was a threat out there wasn't fully gone. "Are you...doing anything for Valentine's Day?" It was thrown out casually, though for Leila that still meant that it was painfully obvious the question was anything but casual.

@foster-notmatty

"My lips are sealed," he assured her, and for the most part he meant it. But he couldn't imagine a scenario where he didn't tell Phoebe about his run-in with her flustered best friend when he was finally buying condoms. He might slip in some mention of Leila being protective, if he thought Phoebe was in the mood to appreciate that kind of thing. Or maybe just to watch her blush the way she did when she got embarrassed. "I'm pretty good," he nodded. And he was — outside of the few rough patches with Phoebe, everything had been going fine. "How about you? No mention from the rabbit people, eh?"