Second Chances (Anthony)

[katalyie]

The pair had lapsed into what should have been described as an awkward silence. London wasn't taking it that way, though. She was caught up in her thoughts, trying to figure out what she was going to tell Jordan when she got home. He would be waiting up, sitting on the couch in the living room like her father even though she was supposed to be taking care of him. That was the male instinct it seemed, when it came to females like herself. They wanted to be the protectors. She usually let Jordan pretend like he was in charge because it was easier on his ego. She'd have to shoot him down if he tried to press too far into the events of the night. He knew about her first meeting with Anthony, but the red head wasn't quite sure how he would react if he was informed that she'd run into Anthony again. The result probably wouldn't be pretty...

Finally realizing that her thoughts were rambling, London turned her attention back to Anthony in time to catch the tail end of his words. He was glad she was safe? It was possible that those words hadn't meant to be spoken, but they had met the air nonetheless. They brought a smile to her lips, made her green eyes sparkle. He was glad she was safe. That was definitely a good thing.

Oh, so he was an outside person, eh? Interesting. She'd seen he was an artist on the first day they'd met. His hands had been covered in paint as they gripped the steering wheel, she'd been able to recall that much. Artists and creative types weren't usually outdoorsy but there were exceptions. Apparently, he was one.

Anthony's next words caught London off guard. Had they already reached the exit? Not quite, but it was nearby. Damn. "I'm gonna go home, I think. I'd appreciate it if you walked with me." While her words were meant to be a statement of fact, they sounded more like a question. Asking permission to be walked out without really asking. She would be upset about leaving, except for the knowledge that she'd see him again tomorrow. That was comforting. Green eyes glanced toward the exit questioningly. "I'm only a couple rows out, so we don't have to walk far. Took Jordan's car for the night!" She smirked, obviously proud of her efforts. This girl was a strange one, that was for sure...

[adlohse]

Anthony nodded and proceeded to head out of the amusement park with her, though he was standing a few inches closer to her than before. His position was beside her, but slightly behind, allowing her to lead him. If Anthony realized it or not, he was becoming more comfortable with her presence. Not to say that anything was wrong with her, from what he could tell she was a beautiful internally and externally, and very desirious. It made him nervous, more than he usually was around women, but he still remained cool and collected regardless of his insides rattling with unease. You would think that logically, this kind of internal reaction would occur with multiple things, but ironically, he experienced it around women he found uniquely attractive. They didn't have to have only beautiful physical traits for them to fit in that category either.

The night was coming to an end and he could go come and crash. He looked forward to throwing himself onto his nice, soft bed.. burying himself in the pillows and cool satin sheets. His body was already beginning to relax in anticipation of sleep, his body slumped slightly forward and his eyelids drooped down further. "Right, onwards... " he said with a chuckle, grinning lazily, his nonexistent sense of humor evident now that he was loosing willpower due to tiredness. He paused briefly, probably lagging behind her now as he leaned back and yawned, his strong arms stretching out over his head, making him appear even taller than his usual gigantic stature.

[katalyie]

London was aware of Anthony's unintentional nearness as well as the drowsiness that was taking over his body. What sort of Guardian would she be if she hadn't learned to pick up these sorts of clues in humans? It was kind of cute that he was comfortable enough to get all sleepy like that, but London trained her expression as though she had not noticed. She wasn't going to cause him any undue embarrassment by pointing it out either. The angel would just be amused as she walked. That was easy enough. Upon reaching Jordan's car London turned, facing Anthony. The mental image her mind's eye had supplied had not nearly been cute enough to mimic what she now saw. The red head watched him stretch, then averted her eyes as not to seem creepy.

"Well," London said softly, trying not to startle Anthony out of his drowsiness. "This is me. Guess we call it a night and I'll see you tomorrow?" She arched an eyebrow in question, unable to keep a slight smile off her lips. Oh, yeah. There was that. Any disappointment at needing to go home was quickly squashed by the idea that she'd see him again tomorrow. Idly, she wondered if she should ask him for his phone number. It was practical, in case she got lost somehow, but also... she just secretly wanted it. Jordan would die and the look of shock on her charge's face was almost worth the embarrassment of asking for someone's number. Unable to decide, she remained still and just watched the man in front of her. He was endlessly interesting, that was for sure.

[adlohse]

"Mhmm.. tomorrow," he echoed lethargically, grinning still, for no real apparent reason, at least to her. There was just one thing missing. A single shoulder dipped, his hand sinking into one of his pockets, fingers spread and stretched, sifting through objects, seeking out the single black pen that was entangled with his set of keys; muffled jingles. He leaned a bit closer to her. Pulling off the cap to the pen, he readied his arm, steadying its tip over his skin, sacrificing it for the sake of obtaining her number. "What's your number? You can have mine so you can call me tomorrow if you need to. It's my home phone though, I don't have a cell." He hated cell phones. They were annoying, like a leash you couldn't break free from once attached to, strangling you everywhere you went.

It was almost like he had read her mind, but being human, he had no such ability. It was the normal thing to do when something was planned. Getting or updating contact information was the wise thing to do before you left them. It didn't require much brain power to figure that one out. He highly doubted she would have any problem meeting up with them tomorrow afternoon, especially since it was smack dab in front of the first store they had met at initially.

He turned away from her briefly, a hand covering his mouth as he yawned with exhaustion. Drowsiness was setting in quickly.. but he would be OK still to go home. Home wasn't far. Fortunately only a half an hour drive or so, if that.

His dark brown eyes blinked sleepily, and a warm smile spread over his face. "It was nice to bump into you again." He lingered on the thought for the moment, his mind wandering over the day's events.. how unusual yet pleasant they had been. Somehow in the process of leaning his side against her vehicle he managed to stumble over his own feet and fall into her, kicking up gravel from the parking lot, his arm slamming down on top of the car in an attempt to counteract his forward momentum, causing him to end up much closer than he intended to with London.

Gravity was evil and unforgiving when he was drowsy, and it knew just how to take advantage of him. Right now he had the grace equal to that of a half drunk person. He was inches from her now, laughing. It was like some unforeseen force was pushing them together, or at this moment, literally hurling him towards her. He couldn't understand it, but he found the idea thoroughly entertaining. Adjusting his thick-rimmed glasses, he cleared his throat and said,"My feet.. don't seem to be working properly." He peered down at them, as if surprised by their lack of cooperation. After briefly examining them, he glanced back up to her, grinning sheepishly. "I need sleep.. I hope you have a good night .." He slowly stepped back and sighed, relaxed and definitely more awake. "Sleep well London.." And with that he turned to walk away, heading in the direction of his own car.

[katalyie]

London was unable to do anything but grin in response at Anthony's general chance in demeanor. It was a rather adorable change of pace, she found herself admitting mentally. Hey Brain! Do you realize he's really cute and it looks like he likes you? Green eyes widened slightly at this realization before turning her attention back to Anthony when he made noise looking for the pen. She glanced from his face to his hand several times before relaying her phone number for it to be written down. "That's a cell. So you can call me if you need me or anything like that." Good job, Lon. Easy way of flirting. Wait, what? Flirting? No. That wouldn't work. Most have been sleepiness messing with her brain. She was accidentally smooth. That was it. It was definitely not intentional flirting. Just.... no.

He'd thought it was nice to see her? That made the smile on London's features glow, green eyes unusually bright for parking lot lighting. "It was good to see you too," She confirmed, about to say something else entirely when she suddenly found herself very, very close to Anthony. Her instinct was to protect her body from fast moving objects, so she put a hand up between them. He had caught himself, though, so the gesture was unneeded but it had the unanticipated benefit of allowing her to touch him, if only briefly.

Her hand had made contact with his chest ever so briefly, for as soon as she realized he wasn't going to fall on top of her, it was gone. Anthony was laughing, so London laughed too. The laughter was almost nervous, though. Her heart was beating too fast from his nearness and the red head was blushing a lovely crimson. The closeness had been unexpected, surprising. London tried to tell herself that the physical reactions were just in response to the surprise, but she had a sneaking suspicion that something else might be going on.

Shaking the thought from her mind, London looked up to watch him walk away. "Good night, Anthony. Sweet dreams." Her gaze lingered for a moment, just watching him walk away. When he had gained significant distance, London hopped into her car and drove off, turning on some music way too loudly to stifle the thoughts in her head. Upon arriving home, she called out tentatively for Jordan but there was no answer. Must be sleeping... Good. Stealthily, the angel slipped into her own room, her own bed and sighed. The Fates were tormenting her, but London didn't quite mind. Brown eyes were enough of a distraction to allow her to sleep and that was that.

-END THREAD-