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It's giving me a complex (Candira and Agnores)

She smiled at his taste in music. "I am tuned in to all kinds of music. Whatever speaks to me at the moment. I like listening to the lyrics too. If it inspires me, I'll do something artistic with it. Draw or write or something. I have my car radio presets on rock, pop, jazz, gospel and the college radio station. Because I like a variety. And my car is old, so I can't just hook up my iPod."

She shrugged and watched traffic while he put the cord back in the glovebox. Not that she didn't trust him, but better safe than sorry. When his eyes were back on the road she smiled. "Do you do anything with the music? Use it for more than just entertainment, I mean?"
 
A soft blush creeped up in Evan's cheeks, and he looked out of his driver's side window briefly. "Uh, yeah, sometimes," he said, but didn't elaborate further; he knew Sophie wouldn't judge, hell, she'd probably be glad he did this! However, Evan still found it a little weird to talk about how listening to music isn't a supplement to other activities. It is something he focuses on. He can get lost in the subtle beats, swim with the rhythm, fly with the melody. Every song told Evan a story, and he was privy to closing his eyes and letting it wash over him.

Often times the story he was told was completely different from the song's actual meaning.

Evan didn't fancy himself a writer, but he did write down a lot of the stories that came into his head from music. They were tucked away in a little notebook in his room, a book that had never been read by anyone before. Evan pulled his car finally out of the movie theatre's parking lot, hitting the road and driving on.
 
"Oh yeah? Like what?" she asked, finding it fascinating. There were a lot of different layers to Evan that she was just finding out about. The music was one thing, but what he did with it was another. She wondered what he did with the music. Plus, he was blushing. Was there anything more irresistible than a secret that made someone blush? It wasn't every day you saw a guy like him blush.

She sat as his co-pilot, chatting away until they reached the restaurant.
 
The were seated at the table of the restaurant before Evan said anything that wasn't, "Uh", "Um" or some other phrase meant to divert the conversation away from what he did with music. Evan wasn't even sure why he was so against telling Sophie about it. He KNEW she would be fine with it. He KNEW it. So why was he so embarrassed about it? Possibly the years of ridicule about it. Or maybe the fact everyone who ever did find out just called him weird.

The restaurant itself was rather large; it supported a full bar at its center, with the tables clearly grouped into sections circling around the bar. The waiters and waitresses mingled inbetween the tables, talking to customers as if they were old friends. The owners seemed to have a penchant for old antiques, as the whole place was decorated with old signs, appliances, and advertisements. The tables themselves had a hard glass top over old newspaper clippings, allowing the customers to read up on important historical events as a person of that time might have.

"They serve anything here," Evan continued about the restaurant, realizing he was rambling now. "One of their special things is they have an actual chef and tons of extra ingredients, so if you want something not on the menu, just order it. He'll make it for you, and you are guaranteed to love it or its free. I've never gotten a free meal, let me tell ya." Evan laughed a little, hoping he had successfully deflected the question away from music.

A waiter came by and took their drink order, bright and smiling warmly. He stayed to chat for just a bit, before a customer elsewhere called him off. "Well, what do you think of the place so far?" Evan asked.
 
It was pretty clear that whatever he did with music was embarrassing. Though she wanted to know what it was more than ever now, she decided to let it go. No point in forcing anything, especially so early in their relationship. When they arrived, she kissed his cheek, just to let him know she'd stop now. The inside of the place, however, had her wondering how he could have possibly known how much she would love a place like this when they still knew so little about each other. The atmosphere was just right, and the design was amazing. She could sketch for hours, not to mention take lessons from whoever had decorated the place. It was amazing!

The colors, the lighting, the sections of tables. It was lovely. The fact that they served absolutely anything you wanted and were guaranteed to love it was amazing to her. It was like something she might have dreamed up in a fantasy. Even the waiter was great, friendly without it being forced or too friendly. "I already love it," she said in answer to his question. "You know, I'm starting to wonder if you're not a mind-reader. This is exactly the kind of place I love. This, the pizza place from before...I'm impressed, is what I'm trying to tell you," she said with a little laugh.

"So how did you find this place?"
 
He laughed too. "The story of this place is...well, much less impressive." He shook his head, wondering why this next story was easier to tell then the music one.

"Ryan has a friend who lives near here. We were at a party, and I was pretty wasted." He paused for a moment, watching Sophie for her reaction. "Last thing I remember was getting rejected by some girl. Ryan and my buddies told me later apparently I had wandered up the street, yelling, asking anyone I saw if I was a 'beautiful man'." He paused again as the waiter brought them their drinks, almost immediately getting drawn away before he could say anything. "I had somehow found my way here and caused a huge scene, running around table to table asking the women there if they found me attractive."

Evan shook his head with a small laugh, taking a sip of his drink. "I got thrown out. Came by the next day to apologize for what I had done, and ended up just staying to eat. That's also how I found out about the deal with ordering anything you want. Met the chef that day. Calls me Screamer."

After a pause and another drink, Evan smiled at Sophie. "And that is how I found this place."
 
Sophie's eyes positively glittered with fascination and humor. The fact that he would tell her such an embarrassing story pleased her to no end. The fact that he was drunk wasn't really something she reacted to. It happened, from time to time, and she had accepted such a thing. Besides, the story was a good one. He would probably be able to tell it at parties and the like to lighten the mood. It was certainly lightening hers. She laughed in all the right places, biting her lips to stop in others. His attempt to apologize was also endearing, and she had to give him Brownie points for it.

"Ohhh, you shouldn't have told me that story," she said with the biggest grin. "I'm never going to forget that nickname. Ever." She laughed and tilted her head a little. "How many women said you were attractive? And what crazy girl ever told you you weren't a beautiful man?" The smirk only added a little bit of a teasing edge. She sipped her drink while she waited for his answers, completely enthralled with the man before her. Not to mention a little smitten. She wouldn't deny it.
 
"Two dates in and I all ready messed up." He laughed, shaking his head. "Call me what you want, but not in public. I don't think I could take it if 'Screamer' got around campus. Knowing Ryan, I'm surprised it hasn't all ready."

He watched Sophie, honestly flattered by her keen interest in him. He was still shocked that the beauty would even waste her time with him, let alone actually be interested. Evan wondered when, if ever, he'd get over that. "I don't remember the girl. She rejected me for Ryan, though, so we all know how important she ended up. As for how many women said I was attractive, I don't even remember the incident, so I don't know. Some people that frequent the bar told me later that barely anyone could understand what I was saying. I was just screaming and scaring the crap out of people."

The waiter showed back up, smiling brightly. "I was wondering if I would ever get to take your order," the waiter said with a small laugh. "What'll it be?"

Evan motioned for Sophie to go first. "Ladies first," he said.
 
Sophie chuckled as he told her he was just scaring customers. Poor guy. She would hold onto that nickname forever, however. She might not use it in public, but she'd sure use it to tease him later on. The waiter came back all too soon and she was left with a serious quandary. What did one order in a place like this? The crimson clad artist decided she could go with a favorite Italian dish in her family. "I think Chicken Parmesan sounds good. With a piece of garlic bread, that would be the best thing right about now." She nodded and hoped that she wouldn't throw the cook off his game. But then, who knew what a man could do until he was tested?

She wondered what Evan would order, and found herself longing to know more about him. Part of it was that she'd wasted so much time pining for a guy who'd never feel anything for her but brotherly affection. Mostly, though, it was because he really was interesting. He had a depth to him that she hadn't noticed before. Now, she wanted to peel back the layers and see what was underneath. She wanted to know him, and she wanted him to know her.
 
Evan smiled at the waiter. "I want a burger," he said. "But that would be too easy. So I want the patty to be lamb. With provolone cheese, nothing else on the burger. Side of regular fries too," Evan said. He had ordered this before, so he knew what he was getting into. He was getting into the best food he had ever tasted alongside the best girl he had ever dated. Damn, he was lucky.

The waiter took down their orders with a smile. "Challenging the chef today, aren't we." He winked, placed the order sheet in his pocket, and bowed. "I'll get the orders in, the chef should have plenty of fun." He laughed as he backed away.

"Lamb and provolone, an match made in heaven." Evan said when the waiter had left. "So, tell me something. You don't mind that fact I occassionally go out drinking, do you?"
 
Impressed by his order, she sat back in her chair and just shook her head in awe. "You are something else." She'd never thought of a lamb burger with provolone, but trust him to make it sound like the best thing to have. She had thought of a burger earlier, but it seemed too simple. How embarrassing for an art major to miss an opportunity to think outside the box! She'd get it next time, though. Yes, she would. She took a sip of her drink and relaxed in his company. It was just nice to get to know Evan like this. She hoped he felt the same.

"Hm? It's not really my scene. I'll go to hang out with people, but I'm not much of a drinker. I don't mind people who drink. I mind having to take care of and clean up after the drunks, though. So you get one and only one drunken phone call where I have to do that for you, and then we're done with that," she said, giving him a little look. "But no, I have no problem with you going out drinking. Why would I?" She asked, tilting her pretty head.

She got that some people got upset by that kind of thing. Usually they had good reasons. Then again, a lot of people like that had bad ones too. Did she seem uptight or something? Curious, she waited for his answer.
 
"Is that a good something else?" He responded with a smile, chuckling a bit.

"Oh, I didn't know if you would or not. I dated someone once who didn't know I went drinking, and freaked right the hell out when they found out. Made sure early on to mention something as early as possible from then on." He shrugged and gave a laugh, taking a sip of his drink. "You won't have to worry too much about me. I don't usually do anything except scream at passerbys when I am drunk." He laughed again, then cocked his head to the side.

"At any rate, earlier you asked me a question if I did anything other than listen to music. I never got to return the question. So...do you do anything with music other than listening?"
 
"Yes, it's a good something...I think." She smirked and listened to his response. "Well, I would hope that you wouldn't go out with the express purpose of getting drunk, but that's a whole different discussion, isn't it? Anyway, as long as you're safe, I guess." She shrugged and sipped at her drink once more, smiling as he asked her what she did with music.

"I'd tell you, but you never did answer my question. So if I tell you, you'll have to tell me eventually, okay?" She gave him a little look and then said, "Yes. I write, I draw, I paint. It depends on what the music stirs in me, or what images it puts in my head. I made a really nice ceramic bowl once and painted it granny smith green because of a song. I can still here it when I look at the bowl."

Leaning back in her chair she looked around a little. "Places like this are amazing to me because somebody put in the time and effort and thought to make it. They had to have a vision for this place. I bet if you looked really hard, you could find a theme for just about everything in here. The newspaper articles, the license plates. And it seems randomly placed, but it's not. There's a pattern. I wonder what music they were listening to when they made this all up."
 
"Hm, never thought about it." Evan looked around, smiling a little bit. "I always just thought someone blew up an antique store and cleaned up just enough so people could fit and eat in here." He laughed, looking at her. The blush was in his cheeks again, feeling warm. "Music...it tells me stories," Evan said, looking away and taking a drink from his glass. "From sappy stories to action stories to just plain messed up stories, it tells me stories." He got quiet for a second. After what she had said, he knew she wouldn't find that weird. She would be the one person in the world who would ask to see his stories, maybe even create something based off of them.

But he couldn't show her. Not right now, anyway. Those stories were parts of Evan that no one knew about. That no one COULD know about.

He glanced back at Sophie, watching her reaction. "I know it sounds lame..."
 
When he finally told her what he did with music, she couldn't help but smile. It was not only nice to know that he trusted her, but also to know they had something else in common. "I bet they're all good stories," she said with a grin. "I'd love to see them some day," she said in earnest. Someday she really did want to read a story of his, maybe even while listening to the music that had inspired it. That blush of his was cute, too. "It's not lame at all. It's a very creative way of expressing ones thoughts and feelings. Honestly, where you get these ideas," she said with a shake of her head.

"Besides, I already told you I write with music, too." She smiled and tilted her head. "It's not always a story, but usually something like that that I can come back to later on."
 
"It is always a story for me, oddly enough."

Evan smiled at Sophie, glad she didn't think it was lame. At the very least, she was a good liar. Still, if she did the same thing, she didn't have a whole lot of room to judge him on it, now did she? Evan took a long drink from his drink, setting his glass down. The blush was gone, finally, and Evan looked at Sophie. "So, beautiful, tell me: if this hadn't happened tonight, what would you be doing?"

He was curious. The question was more to see what Sophie normally did with her Friday nights, just to see if there was anything else they could match up on. If he was lucky, there would be a whole lot of things they could do together, and Evan wouldn't have to head immediately home afterwards. He was glad he was getting to spend all of this time with Sophie. He was especially glad she seemed to have forgotten about Drew, something he had been hoping for since he had met her.
 
She shrugged. "I don't see anything odd about it." She smiled and then sat back as he asked her what else she might be doing tonight, the cleverly hidden compliment not unnoticed. "Well, it really depends. Usually I like to take Friday night and most of Saturday to myself so I can do whatever I want. Sometimes that involves being with friends, and sometimes that involves gaming by myself. Or I might just sit around in my pajamas watching movies for hours at a time. Also, the slow motion pillow fights in my dorm are vastly entertaining," she said with a grin. "But I tend not to make plans on Fridays because I just like to leave them open until that day comes around."

She took another sip of her drink and nodded at him. "What would you be doing? Beating off another hopeful girl with a stick?"
 
"More like beating off hopeful zombies with a stick," Evan corrected with a laugh. "If there is no major test on Monday, I most of the time work on my Minecraft stuff. Gotta pretty extensive thing going on there. That, or I'm playing racquettball." Evan smiled, imagining Sophie in a slow motion pillow fights. That might be something he would have to see for himself. The waiter appeared, offering to refill their drinks, and giving them an update on their food; it would still be a few more minutes.

Evan turned back to Sophie after the waiter left with their drinks. "Now that anticipation is killig me."
 
Sophie chuckled and shook her head. So Minecraft was a little nerdy. She had no problem with nerdyness. None at all. She took a moment to imagine him actually fighting zombies and decided then and there that she had to draw it. Even better would be defeating the zombie with a video game controller or something from Minecraft. Yes, she would do it and it would be the first present she ever gave him. "Minecraft is strangely addictive. I stopped playing for that very reason." She nodded, smiling at the waiter when he gave them an update on the food.

"I'm excited to see how he makes his. Everyone seems to have a different recipe," she said with a little smile. "So...I'm curious to know...had you ever thought of asking me out before?"
 
Evan blushed again, though he didn't look away. "Yeah, I have." He said, smiling. "I just didn't think to actually try because of Drew." He shook his head. "I don't know. You were always complaining and depressed because he wouldn't pay attention to you, and I didn't want to start problems just because I thought he didn't deserve you."

He took a sip of his drink. "What about you? I'm thinking you never really thought of me as date material before now, eh?"

He thought he knew the answer, anyway. Before this whole thing with Ryan happened, Evan was quite sure Sophie never really gave him a second thought. He was just one of the guys she knew. Besides that, he probably had a slightly worse reputation due to being connected to Ryan, who was connected to Amy, who was (at the time) the bane of Sophie's existence. Evan was sure that she couldn't say anything to surprise him.
 
She smiled as he blushed, somehow warmed by the fact that he had thought of it before. A little surprised, but she really shouldn't have been. His reason for not asking her, though, brought a little frown, a blush of embarrassment of her own. How must it have been to listen to her talk about that, she wondered. How annoying and self-centered had she sounded to him? She chuckled and shook her head.

"I was pretty stuck for awhile. I tried to get over him, I did. I know how dumb it is to want someone who doesn't want you. But living with her did not help. And then...well, you know. Looking back, I'm surprised you hung out with me for as much as I talked about it. I'm sorry about that, by the way. I must have sounded like an ass." She looked up at him and shook her head.

"It's taken me a long time to get over him, but I think I finally have. And I have you to thank for it. After awhile, you know, you start to think about what might be wrong with you. You start to feel unattractive and unappealing, even if it's not true. But you were interested in me. You wanted to know about me and see my art and..." She smiled at him. "I was too stuck on myself, really, to think of you as anything but a friend. Someone I always liked being around, but I never thought you might like me. For awhile, I didn't think anyone did."

And now she felt a little stupid. She was bringing up her old insecurities--ones that she'd let go of and were now very embarrassing. But did he know? Could he see how much happier she was now that she could let it all go? And it was all because he wanted to be with her. Like he'd come along and nudged her and said, "Hey, you know you don't have to carry all that around, right?"

"I'm not really sure how it happened, but you made me forget about Drew and just focus on how nice it was to be out with a handsome, interesting guy, who really seemed to like me. I guess you were what tipped the scale for me."
 
Evan's face grew serious as he listened, his eyes fixed on her's. He was, as much as he thought he was prepared for it, hurt slightly by her admittance she hadn't considered him more than a friend, especially considering her alternative was wanting a guy who did not want her. He was having a hard time accepting the fact that Sophie would have ever considered herself unappealing and unattractive, and it was causing an irritation to build up inside of him. He blamed Drew for causing her to feel that way, for creating the slow torture Evan endured when hearing Sophie complaining about Drew. He fought hard to keep his growing irritation from showing.

"I can't see how you would view yourself as unattractive. I mean, you probably have more secret crushes on campus than Ryan Reynolds does in the world." He shook his head, sighing. "I'm sorry he made you feel that way. Wish I would have done something sooner. It is good to see you happy." Evan reached across the table, taking her hand in his. Evan seemed to be about to say something when the waiter appeared, their food in his hands.

"Not interuppting anything, am I?" The waiter asked, his smile big. Evan let go of her hand then, sitting back in his seat. "Uh, no," he said, and the waiter laughed a little bit before placing the plates in front of their respective owners. "Well, then, enjoy guys," and with that, the waiter was off.

"Let's dig in, shall we?" Evan said with a smile.
 
She could see now, that it had bothered him more than he'd ever let on, just like it bothered him now. If she'd only seen it sooner, then she might have...well, there was no point in lingering on the past, right? Look what it had gotten her so far. So focusing on the present was the best thing to do. But that look in Evan's eyes...she'd hurt him, too. It didn't seem right for him to be hurt, but if he'd really liked her, then it made sense. She watched him work through it, telling her how he wished he could have done something. She smiled. Great minds and all that.

The comparison to Ryan Reynolds made her laugh for a few reasons, but the earnest way he told her everything...It made her feel warm inside. She held his hand when he took hers, but then the waiter came and the moment was gone. But in its place was the most delicious looking plate of chicken parmesan. Evan didn't seem to want to pick the thread of the conversation back up, so she let it go.

"Okay. Wow, this looks fantastic. And it smells so nice..." She smiled at him and tried her best to show him that even if she'd been unhappy and foolish then, she was better for having met him. She was happy and she was seeing things much more clearly. She got about half way through her meal before she needed a box.

"Sooo tasty. How was yours?"
 
Evan had devoured his food, tearing into it like a lost man finally returning to civilization. It was glorious, as Evan had expected, and as he hate, he enjoyed the small talk that happened between the two.

When silence fell, however, Evan thoughts roamed. When he had first met Sophie, he had an immediate physical attraction. She was, almost literally, the most beautiful girl on campus (or at least amongst Evan's group of friends, which there were a lot of), whether she believed it or not. The fact that she even deigned to grace Evan with her presence as friends made Evan one of the most lucky (and envied) guys on campus. They had shortly after become friends, and Evan had learned quickly that they would likely never become more than that. She was stuck on some other guy.

At first, Evan didn't fault Drew for it. After all, he was lucky just to be friends with the girl. However, as she began to share her feelings and her problems with how Drew just seemed to ignore her for Amy, a girl that was dating Evan's friend, he remembered over time how fed up he became with the whole situation. It never manifested as irritation towards Sophie, though; it was Drew. Evan began to hate the guy he had never met, and after a while, his dislike for Drew seemed to overtake his infatuation with Sophie. When he saw Sophie, he was immediately reminded of that asshole.

If there was one thing about Ryan that Evan had known since he met him, it was that Ryan was incredibly selfish and by no stretch of the imagination a nice guy. While Evan begrudged it sometimes, he didn't think he could any longer. After all, it was Ryan's assholery that had set this wonderful sequence of events in place. It was Ryan, indirectly, who had brought Evan and Sophie together. Evan was sure that at some point he would have to repay Ryan for the kindness he had done unknowingly.

He finished his meal about the time Sophie was half-done, calling for a box. Evan watched her, with a smile. He was slowly realizing that everything about the girl was perfect. The way she moved, the way she talked, the way he caught her looking at him as much as she caught him; all of it was amazing. Evan was slowly starting to comprehend how enchanted with Sophie he had become.

It only a day or two, Sophie had pulled Evan under her spell, to be lost forever.

At her question, Evan looked down at his plate. "Mine was terrible. An abomination. I just had to get rid of it, and the only way how was to martyr myself and eat it." He laughed, sitting back and his seat and smiling towards Sophie. "In all seriousness, it was great."
 
Sophie hadn't been aware of Evan's feelings for a long time. Though she wasn't sure just how far back they went, she was sure she'd have been blind to them anyway. Now, though, she was determined to learn as much about him and his moods and feelings as she could. She never wanted to hurt him again--not after he was so good to her. Not after he'd made her so happy.

She chuckled a little at his sarcasm. She knew she could count on him for a laugh or a smile. "Good. I'm glad we came here. It's been so much fun." She smiled brightly, not really caring what time it was. Right now, what she wanted was to spend more time with Evan and get to know him and let him get to know her. "What should we do now? I'm up for just about anything," she said, happily scooping her meal's leftovers into the box for later consumption.
 
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