down alone*[DARBS]

[ARTHUR COLE ROBERTS]

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if i'm gonna go down

then just let me go down alone

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[style=width: 288px; font-family: arial narrow; font-size:10px; line-height:91%; text-align:justify; background-color: #e1e1e1; padding: 15px; color: #000;]Ordering a book because he didn’t have it was a common occurrence. The small space this all occupied couldn’t fit every book there could have been. It was always a good idea to keep business going in offering a book ordering. The only thing that made this successful was the fact he was really the only bookstore in town. There was a library, but it was in the upper state and he knew how intimidating those places were if you were a nothing. Nothing but a boy on the street playing for food. Oh, Arthur would forever have those memories haunt him and continue to change him to the man he was today. Made him give a different perspective on the rich versus the poor. One of the reasons Charles Dickens was his favorite author. All of his books portrayed something about how the rich were constantly ripping off the lower class. On occasion, the story would talk about some rich person with heart, but there were always others. Beautiful work.

That wasn’t the one he was ordering right now though. This one was actually one he hadn’t heard of, but it was Darbs who had asked for it, and he didn’t argue with that wonderful girl. Because of age, he still considered her a ‘girl’ so it was strange for him to ever call Darby a woman, but he supposed technically speaking. Still. Arthur didn’t like a lot of people. People tended to get on his nerves and the only reason he was smiling brightly was simply because it was professional. The rest of the time, he was secretly wanting them to go grab a book and leave as soon as they could. Whenever they stopped to talk to him, he always felt like he should act as a mute or something. Trying to give short answers but ending up just starting an invitation to the longest story. There was no way he was able to break that while still remaining proper. Arthur had spent too many days not being proper, so he wanted to try to make up for it. Man, it was hard.

Not for Darbs. At first, he wasn’t sure what to think about her. But she was so pleasant and sweet. No random outbursts of loud noise. No child-like behaviors. No attempts to flirt. No airheaded in the clouds. Arthur gave a frown as he thought of the last one. That one girl that came in. Jesus Christ that woman had been something else. Romance books she said with that fluttery little tone that was bubbly and bright. It was really annoying that she came in just to aggravate him, and she always left some imprint on his head. His thoughts came back to her, which just annoyed him further. Arthur knew that she was going to get a slap in the face in reality one day. He wasn’t going to be sorry. He was going to be shaking his head and telling her that he told her all along. Everyone faced the reality, some later than others. He faced it at an unfortunate young age. Causing him to be quite the cynic on life.

Opening up the package and trying to forget about it once more, he slipped out the ordered book. Bright shinny and new, he put it at a price where he only gave a little bit of profit. She had been loyal enough, she deserved some benefits. Sometimes she just came in and read the book. Which was fine. Arthur didn’t mind that considering he knew how it was not to have money to buy every copy that was interesting. Sending a quick email to the firetamer to say that her book had arrived, he placed it on the corner below a dusty old sign that read ‘PICK-UP’ The paint at one point was red. Now it looked a bit like a dark maroon color. Arthur made a mental note to go up there and clean it sometime. Not on his list to do.

Running a hand through his hair that really needed a cut, he walked to the corner where the coffee place was. Most of the time, he had someone here to take care of that, but weekdays were pretty slow and he was able to take care of it. Most of the time, it was just needed in the mornings anyways. Not too many people wanted coffee at three in the afternoon. Arthur was just grabbing himself some, remembering to put it on the tab, charging himself. That sounded like the crazy part of business. Paying yourself. But if that wasn’t maintained, it could go down fast. He had just finished making his coffee when he heard the familiar bell ring in his store. Turning around and being attentive, he peeked to see who it was and a small rare smile came across his face.

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KEL/DARBS. SORRY ITS THE EXACT SAME PLACE AS OTHER THREAD BUT LIKE COULDN'T PICK ANOTHER PLACE THIS WAS TOO PERFECT FOR THEM C:

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TILLIE AT CAUTION

[DARBY GRACE ELLIS]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 366x; height: 190px; padding: 10px; background-color: #dcd4c7; border: #eae4d8 10px solid;] we thought everyone was on our side It was that time again when Darby needed to go get another book to read. She had finished the stack of things she had to read much quicker than she thought she would, which really wasn’t surprising. The girl was forever thinking it’d take awhile for her to read something and then she’d get sucked into a book and be finished with it in a day. And then before she knew it, Darby had a pile of books she already read and needed to find something knew. It happened more often than Darby would like to admit. She was going to end up spending all her money on books. It really made more sense for her to just go to the library and get books out with how quickly she went through them, but there was just something about owning a copy of her own that Darby couldn’t get over. She liked to underline her favorite quotes and dog ear her favorite passages so when she went to reread it, she could stumble over these reminders and fall in love with them all over again. Or, if she lent her book to someone, they could see why she enjoyed the book so much. At least she had a wonderful place to shop for books. Darby had wandered in one day and fell in love with the place immediately. There were books crowded onto shelves that were pretty much floor to ceiling and those shelves took up a majority of the shop. The only place these shelves weren’t found was the corner of the shop that had been converted into a coffee shop of sorts, Darby’s favorite place to sit while she read. In all honesty, it was pretty much Darby’s version of heaven. She didn’t think there could really be any better place. Luckily, the shop owner didn’t hate her for sticking around so much. Darby had been afraid that he would. She had heard so many rumors about Arthur Roberts and she wasn’t quite sure what to expect when she walked into the store. But Darby was one who tried to keep and open mind when it came to new people. At first, she had been super nervous around Arthur, simply because Darby always was that way around new people. The firetamer never knew what to say or how to act and therefore she just didn’t interact with people. The first couple of handfuls of time Darby was there, she didn’t talk to Arthur other than to say hello when she first walked in. She’d prefer to spend forever looking for a book than ask him for help. Eventually though, Darby began to realize that Arthur wasn’t quite annoyed with her almost near constant presence like she thought he would be. He seemed content to let her browse at her own pace and also didn’t seem to mind the lack of conversation that would go on even if Darby spent longer than what was probably acceptable at the bookstore. That was the point when Darby realized they were really similar, feeling content being in the presence of likeminded people but not necessarily having to interact with one another. At least that was the impression she got. So slowly, Darby began to ask Arthur questions about where books were and eventually she became brave enough to ask him if it was possible to order books that he didn’t have in stock. From there, Darby was comfortable enough to actually have conversations with Arthur and she started to consider him her friend. She wasn’t sure if the feeling was mutual, but for her it took a lot to decide someone was a friend. At the very least, if Darby was going to spend all her money on books, she was happy it was going to Arthur and his store. She’d much rather it did than to some other place. And speaking of books, Darby had just gotten an email from Arthur about something she had asked him to order. Perfect timing. That was the other thing that Darby appreciated about Arthur; he wasn’t one to mess around. If she asked him for a book, he was quick about ordering it and prompt about letting her know. So she was on her way there to buy the book from him. She enjoyed the walk there and could feel herself getting more and more excited about walking into Arthur’s shop. Finally she made it and pushed the door open, the ringing of a small bell announcing her arrival. Darby was hit with the smell of coffee and books and she couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across her face. She really did love this place. “Arthur?” Darby called, seeing that he wasn’t at his usual spot behind the counter. The firetamer didn’t want to bother him if he was in the middle of something, but she also wanted the chance to say hello before she got the book he had ordered for her and she started wandering around the shelves looking for another book as well. WORDS: ENOUGH . TAGGED: EMILY . OUTFIT: HERE

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[ARTHUR COLE ROBERTS]

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if i'm gonna go down

then just let me go down alone

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[style=width: 288px; font-family: arial narrow; font-size:10px; line-height:91%; text-align:justify; background-color: #e1e1e1; padding: 15px; color: #000;]Having friends? Perhaps. Arthur found that for some reason or another, people seemed to like him sometimes. He wasn’t sure why considering he was overall a very pessimistic being who hardly found joy in anything around him, but he supposed the wasn’t alone in that. If you got along with Arthur, you knew it. He thought he was a pretty good professional actor when he had to be, but the entire hiding everything didn’t work out so well. He didn’t talk very often, but he was blunt when he did so. Anyone that dared ask his opinion was going to get it straight forward. Sometimes those that would have been enemies or annoyances before were caught in a state where Arthur sympathized. It was really hard for him to feel bad for someone. It wasn’t that he was heartless as some might have guessed. It was simply that his opinion of ‘going through a rough time’ was very small. Being stressed because of school was nothing to be ashamed about. That was life. Though this place seemed to be some sort of haven for misfits. It was what drew him in the first place.

Despite his small soft spot for those that had been stomped down to the ground- routing for the underdog-, he also appreciated those who were just an underdog in life. Nothing truly horrible happen. Those people were fortunate and didn’t come very often in the city, but there was this era that they brought with them whenever they went. Arthur wasn’t the one to pry on people’s history, so he actually didn’t know too much on Darby, but she was an Ellis. It had taken him a couple of years to really comprehend and understand the way the supernatural families all functioned between one another. There wasn’t a witch and warlock family he really knew much about, but he did know the Ellis. Actually, Arthur hadn’t really known that Darbs was Darby Ellis until he actually figured out her last name. She didn’t seem like the type that would come from that kind power lusting family. There were exceptions to all the rules he guessed.

She was certainly a quiet little thing. If it weren’t for the bell on the door, he wouldn’t have stopped to hear if someone was going to say anything or if they were just going to go straight to browsing what he had to offer. He couldn’t count how many people came in there assuming he was an owner of a library. That was one of the worse. No, one person couldn’t check out a book and leave. There were many that came and read it in the store instead which he didn’t mind. He did it to his own books all the time, so there was no reason someone else couldn’t do it. If they really liked it, they would buy it. It was a good way to see if it was worth the money and such, but those that thought they could just walk out. Not very many people knew it, but he actually put a spell on the doors. That’s right a functioning spell, could anyone believe it? It had taken him actually a couple of years to come up with it. It prevented someone from stealing. Couldn’t leave with a book unless it was brought. All of it was rather tricky, having to define a bought book as opposed to one just off the shelf without first visiting his counter. Not very many people were stupid enough to try it though, so it didn’t actually get much use. At least it was a successful spell. An accomplishment he couldn’t’ brag about very often.

When he heard her voice, he smiled lightly. A small curve to his lips that actually made his cheeks hurt a little bit. When a man that didn’t smile very often did smile, it was like some kind of strain to the face. It was common though. Arthur peeked around the corner, warm coffee mug in hand, putting one hand in his pocket as he remained more casual. Most of the time, he would have put the coffee cup down on the counter and went to see if he could help with anything, but regular people seemed to ease their way into his relaxing zone. Made most people also at ease and more personal with it. That was his entire little plan, he guessed. ”Ah, hello Darby.” Arthur was a really hard name with nicknames. He thought it was just better that way. It didn’t leave the open gate for the nickname he despised anyway- Artie. He wasn’t sure why people felt obligated to end his name with a little ‘y’ sound you might have used on a dog.

Arthur would have probably put Darby in the category of friend if there was such thing as that category. He realized it every time he saw her again. She was such a sweet kid. He had to put her as ‘kid’ because just about everyone that was younger than him was considered a ‘kid’. Plus, she had too young of a face to think very differently. That teenager look about her. Arthur didn’t know if she was in college or just graduated high school (or for that matter if she was near his age), but it was always going to be implanted in his brain. ”How have you been?” She hadn’t been there in a while, actually, if he remembered right. It was hard to really tell when most of the days blended together. It had seemed like a while, but she could very easily respond with a ‘week ago’ and it wouldn’t have surprised him. The days were something that he easily lost track of. He tried to note them in his journal, but it was difficult to keep up with that.

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KEL/DARBS. <33333333

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TILLIE AT CAUTION

[DARBY GRACE ELLIS]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 366x; height: 190px; padding: 10px; background-color: #dcd4c7; border: #eae4d8 10px solid;] we thought everyone was on our side Friends were kind of a new concept for the little firetamer. She had gone through most of her life not having any. Sure, in elementary school she casually hung out with some other kids, but it had taken a lot of effort for her. By the time she hit middle school, people were interested in being popular and she kind of melted into the background. That was how high school had gone, too. Darby had her books. She told herself that was all she needed to be happy and for the most part that was true. Yeah, it got lonely from time to time, but Darby didn’t have long to dwell on that when book after book could take her to far away lands. It wasn’t until Darby met Ryden that she actually started to make friends. It sounded dumb, she knew, like every cheesy romantic movie plot that involved a shy girl and an overly charming man. But it was true. Being around him had made her a little bit more confident, even if it hadn’t entirely cured her crippling shyness. There was just something about knowing you had someone who would love you no matter what, who would never reject you, that just made Darby a little bit better around strangers. She still took forever to actually initiate conversation with people, but that was better than she had been before. Because of this little confidence booster, Darby had actually started to branch out and make friends. One of the most important friendships she had made so far was with Blake Lewis. And Darby counted this friendship with Arthur as important too. Though she did have to say, even if she felt comfortable around Arthur, she still felt her nerves start when she didn’t see him in the shop at first. Normally he was at the counter when she came in. But Darby was afraid she had come at the wrong time and somehow missed him. It felt kind of weird being in the shop without Arthur there. She knew the bookstore was a public place and meant for people to shop and all, but she always thought it had a personal feeling to it too. Like someone’s house or something and her being there without him was like walking into someone else’s house when they weren’t home. It was just strange. But then Arthur came around the corner with a coffee mug in hand and Darby felt herself relax, a smile spreading to her face. Good. She was just worrying too much over something really trivial. That was pretty standard for Darby. She guessed she’d much rather over worry about things and have them proven wrong than not be worried over anything and have that get her into trouble. Sometimes being a worrywart just proved to be better. “Hey!” Darby greeted back, wishing she could sound a little bit more mature. That was a skill she still had yet to master. Darby figured it’d probably take a little bit more time, considering how long it took her to get to this point. She didn’t really worry over it too much though, which was surprising for the girl. Arthur asked a question and Darby found herself blushing at the answer that came to mind. It really wasn’t like it was all that special and Darby thought anybody else in her situation wouldn’t blush, but her cheeks always turned pink at the slightest thought. “I’ve been good! Very good.” It was the best way Darby could think to describe her past couple of days. What else was she supposed to say? Yeah, I finally spent the night at my boyfriend’s house? The circumstance leading up to it wasn’t all that great and all we did was cuddle, but it was still important? Because it was. Darby had never spent the night at Ryden’s place. In fact, they had never spent the night together. That in itself was a big step for Darby. She had never even spent the night with anyone of the opposite sex. Just being able to snuggle with him for an entire night and waking up to see his face first was enough for Darby. She would love to repeat the experience over and over again, though it was kind of tough when her parents hated her boyfriend and were very restrictive. But it wasn’t like Darby could explain that to Arthur. She’d just sound silly so the “very good” would have to work. “How about you?” the girl asked, genuinely curious. Despite the fact that Darby considered the two of them friends, she didn’t know too much about Arthur. He seemed like a very private person who didn’t feel comfortable talking about himself. Darby understood that and wasn’t the type to pry so she just left it at that, but it didn’t stop her from wondering what his life was like when he wasn’t at the bookshop. He couldn’t possibly spend every second of every day just working here. The firetamer would bet he was really interesting because she thought he seemed like he would be but of course she wouldn’t know unless he decided to tell her. WORDS: ENOUGH . TAGGED: EMILY. OUTFIT: HERE.

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[ARTHUR COLE ROBERTS]

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if i'm gonna go down

then just let me go down alone

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[style=width: 288px; font-family: arial narrow; font-size:10px; line-height:91%; text-align:justify; background-color: #e1e1e1; padding: 15px; color: #000;]Perhaps Arthur should have been surprised that he would lighten up to a sweet girl like this. She was extremely timid. Very painfully shy from the experiences he had seen and heard of. Still, despite all of this, she was rather delightful. Not to say that Arthur didn’t like shy people. It was more like shy people didn’t really like him. He was rather quiet outside of the business eye and didn’t mean to socialize. Shy people- for the obvious reasons- also didn’t like to socialize. So usually the pair wouldn’t even bother crossing paths unless they were forced to. Sometimes Arthur would speak up, but he knew it was better just to hold his tongue. There was a time in his life where saying the wrong thing could pick a fight with the terribly wrong people. It only took him a few smacks in the head to figure out that wasn’t such a good plan on his end. He learned. How he managed to get Darby to speak more, he wasn’t sure, but he was glad for it.

Little sister he didn’t want? Not really that either. Arthur wasn’t sure why others had to go and figure out what specific kind of friends he had. He just had friends. Darby was correct. He didn’t really like sharing. There was nothing positive and influential in his life that he wanted to talk about. Everything always brought a bad memory. How did you get this place? Was one of the more frequent questions. Even this place that saved his life had some bad memories attached to it. He remembered stacking books with the old fragile man, looking outside and worrying about Sadie. Where was she? He hoped that she wasn’t out stealing again. Arthur was only able to argue the case so many times before the police just ignored his bullshit. Even memories of her, knowing that she was shot while trying to escape with him. Nothing was pleasant and nothing really wanted to be repeated out of his mouth. Every once in a while he would find someone from those days walk into his shop. That was the only exception. Unless someone else was going to come around and convince him otherwise.

Another reason he enjoyed her company. She didn’t ask. He was sure she was slightly curious about the matter- as who wouldn’t- but she didn’t even hint at him that she wanted to know. Made talking to her a lot more pleasant. She didn’t remind him of what he couldn’t say. She always just responded in her bright, happy tone. A tone that usually annoyed him to no end, but it was more of her young tone instead of bouncing all over the place I have no idea about how the real world is tone. Having a particular girl in mind. As he asked a simple question, he saw very bluntly that her cheeks turned pink. Arthur raised his eyebrows in harmless question. Something was behind the tale. Despite Arthur not wanting her to ask too many questions, he always felt the obligation to ask someone else questions. He was always the listener. Never the story teller. He was never good at telling stories anyway. ”Anything particular? Can’t read minds, but I don’t have to, to know something specific came on the top of your mind.” Probably one of Arthur’s more blunt features. He felt safe being that way with her. If it was ‘very good’ perhaps she would like to talk about it.

Arthur was doing like he was always doing. Going through motions. Nothing exciting, but he was praying for nothing exciting in his life. Whenever someone exciting in his life would come, it seemed they always slipped away in some manner. Like a curse put on himself. With the way he worked magic, he was sure he accidently pushed that on himself somehow. He was terrible at it. He was very good with potions when he knew what to mix, but magic, predicting, and everything that was not as tangible he always was struggling with. Nothing really had entered his life to cause a giant dent or fill in it. Was it lonely? Of course. Darby didn’t need to hear about that. The last thing he wanted was pity. He isolated himself from everyone by his own doing. ”Ordinary. Nothing truly exciting.” He grinned, indicating that was a good thing. Another thought came to him. He heard recently that a cousin of hers was killed by a hunter. Tragic, really, no matter who you were. Hunters were forces to be reckoned with. What he understand of it though- it happened a while ago. Should he bring it up to her? For her sorrows with a small I understand? Probably not. That prickle of obligation was still there though. Perhaps over coffee. Or tea. He had supplies of both. Like an off-brand Starbucks. ”Would you care for some coffee or tea?”

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KEL/DARBS. <33333333

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TILLIE AT CAUTION

[DARBY GRACE ELLIS]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 366x; height: 190px; padding: 10px; background-color: #dcd4c7; border: #eae4d8 10px solid;] we thought everyone was on our side The firetamer hated her blushing in the worst sort of way. It always made her look like a little girl and constantly gave her away. Honestly, Darby couldn’t lie if her life depended on it. If her blush didn’t give her away, she got really nervous and fidgety and it was just as big of an indicator. She had really hoped Arthur wouldn’t see her blush and ask, though it wasn’t really surprising that he did. In all the time that Darbs had known Arthur, she had known him to be a rather observant individual. And while she rarely asked questions, he didn’t feel the need to shy away from them with her. Darby didn’t mind, though sometimes she felt like it meant she talked way too much about herself. At least Arthur was always a good listener. If Darby didn’t always feel so bad after complaining to someone, she thought he’d probably be the type of person she’d want to go to talk to. But this was embarrassing, which was why Darby hadn’t really wanted to talk about her and Ry to Arthur. Yeah, the night spent at Ryden’s was a big deal to Darby. She’d never been that physically close to anyone. But for most people? Stuff like that barely even phased them. What type of 20 year old hadn’t had sex by now? To be so excited over something that was probably insignificant to a majority of the population was really humiliating to admit out loud. What could she do though? Arthur had asked and she had already established that she was awful at lying. She almost wished Arthur could read minds just so she wouldn’t have to say anything out loud. “I s-spent the night at my boyfriend’s for the first time,” Darby said, her cheeks turning a brighter red. And then she realized how that sounded and scrambled to add, “N-not like that! We just cuddled.” The firetamer found herself cringing at her own words, wishing she could erase the entire situation. Hopefully, Arthur wouldn’t judge her too harshly because Darbs was already being hard enough on herself. She wished he had said something interesting about how he had been so she could divert the conversation away from herself. Darby had never been too good about having the spotlight on her and the moment she could weasel out of it, she was going to take it. But right now she felt stuck and couldn’t stop herself from rambling. It was like she was trying to embarrass herself, to be entirely honest, like it was her social anxiety’s automatic defense. She just shouldn’t have brought anything up. At all. Should’ve just said ‘good’ and left it at that. This was what Darby got for trying to branch out her conversational skills. Ended with her looking like a complete fool. Thank god Arthur changed the subject rather quickly. The suggestion of coffee or tea seemed to come out of the blue but at this point, Darby wasn’t going to question it. A warm drink would be nice after all, since she seemed to always find them rather relaxing. Maybe talking to him over a cup of tea could help her – and Arthur, ideally – to pretend that the last two minutes hadn’t actually happened. She knew she’d much rather they both forgot it than to continue feeling awkward about the whole thing. Darbs couldn’t help but think her babbling would make him uncomfortable too. Who really wanted some weird girl gushing to them about staying overnight at someone’s house, after all? First, Darby had to make sure she had enough money to cover the books Arthur had ordered for her and to pay for a cup of tea. The Ellis family might’ve been rich as a whole but by no means did it mean Darby had a ton of extra cash lying around. Just because her family as a whole was rich didn’t mean she had access to it. And considering the fact that Darby couldn’t hold down a job, she had to rely on what she’d get here and there as her source of income. She didn’t want to suddenly find she couldn’t pay for everything after asking Arthur to go through all the trouble of ordering the books for her and after drinking a cup of tea. Digging through her purse, the firetamer managed to find her wallet and quickly counted the bills inside. Definitely had enough. “Tea would be lovely,” Darby said with a smile, really appreciating the offer. “as long as it’s not too much of a hassle,” she tacked on, not wanting Arthur to go out of his way for her. WORDS: ENOUGH . TAGGED: EMILY. OUTFIT: HERE.

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[ARTHUR COLE ROBERTS]

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if i'm gonna go down

then just let me go down alone

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[style=width: 288px; font-family: arial narrow; font-size:10px; line-height:91%; text-align:justify; background-color: #e1e1e1; padding: 15px; color: #000;]This enormous blush rose in her cheeks, and it made Arthur smile with amusement. Blushing wasn’t something that actually annoyed him, believe it or not. It was a way of showing embarrassment. A way of showing an emotion rather than by just having a facial expression. This was also Darby he was talking to, and this wasn’t the first time that pink rose in her cheeks. The more they talked, the less it came, but as he recalled, it was a common occurrence. She seemed embarrassed for her… well embarrassment, but it wasn’t anything that Arthur focused on. In fact, all it was doing was making him prepared for an interesting story. At least one that clearly made her happy. Some people got the impression that Arthur didn’t like seeing other people happy. That wasn’t true. He liked seeing someone like Darbs happy. It was when they were giving the room an overkill with unreasonable measures. He didn’t want darkness on the world.

At her story, both of his eyebrows lifted in the air in surprise. That was something to be happy about, he supposed. He honestly was surprised, but the girl was clearly happy about her decision. Quickly, she recovered herself, stammering unsurely as she did so. Arthur’s stance relaxed. Oh, he should have known. It was wrong for him to assume such things. He should have taken what she said literally in the first place. Damn society and it’s easy slang to make something so innocent sound like more than it had been. If she hadn’t corrected herself, Arthur would have shamefully thought what most others would have by that sentence. At least she didn’t say ‘slept with’ and meaning fall asleep next to. That might have been worse. ”That’s sweet.” And he half meant it, which was incredible for someone like Arthur. It was a nice gesture. Something cute among the couple. Arthur didn’t believe in the fairytales, but he also believed in happiness for others. He saw it sometimes on rare occasions. It wasn’t a love thing of course, but they enjoyed each other’s company. Whatever it was. ”Congrats. Big step.” He smiled at her encouragingly.

Darby almost felt uncomfortable talking about herself. He did understand that, he supposed. He usually just didn’t want to bother others with his story. Again, he wasn’t a very good story teller. It wouldn’t be interesting and quite frankly, he was sure others thought he was just making it up as he went along. That would have been a better reality, wouldn’t it? Darby just didn’t seem to like the one to have the attention even in the crowd of two. Arthur was a good observer. He understood at least most of the signs of not being comfortable in a situation. Though sometimes with Darbs, he couldn’t tell if she was just feeling unsure in general or unsure to the point he should probably move onto a different topic. This would just be so much easier if everyone were as blunt as he was. At the same time, Arthur didn’t do well with other blunt people. They generally told him how much of a downer he was, and that just started a whole different level of annoyance. Arthur got annoyed a lot he noticed. If only he cared enough to change.

She got out her wallet and Arthur shook his head. Although it was a bookstore, it was also his home. If he offered it, he wasn’t going to force someone to pay for it. A couple of bucks wasn’t going to put him under or anything. It wasn’t as if he offered it to everyone who walked in. Only to those he liked. Which anyone could imagine how few of a number that was. ”Oh, put that away.” He mused lightly. She only really needed to pay for the books that she ordered. The tea was going to be on him. He slid over to the back counter, saying, ”Never a hassle. Quick and easy.” Grabbing some of the stuff he needed, fixing it up in record time. After doing this so many times, one really just went ahead and made everything without a second thought or motion for it. Having it in one hand, he offered it to her, ”Let me know if it needs anything.” A small smile giving. Polite and professional, as was most of his life and how he interacted with others- even friends. It was how he knew how to function. It was better than he used to be.

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KEL/DARBS. Darbs is so adorable <3

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TILLIE AT CAUTION