The brunette offered him a hesitant smile before finishing picking out her bread. She wasn't sure what to do; she hadn't spent time with another person in ages, and especially not a stranger. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. Despite the slight awkwardness she felt around others, she still appreciated what he was doing. She felt safe with him, although that might just have been because he looked intimidating and had already scared Alison off twice.
"I'm actually almost done," Evly told him, to fill the awkwardness. "What sort of drink do you like?"
"Oh, coffee is fine," he told her with a smile. "Do you have any place you know of? I'll admit I…haven't been out much…" Since forever ago. "…recently.
He hoped it didn't make him sound too odd, but it was the truth. He knew there were cafes in town, but he couldn't name even one, and he didn't know where any were. He studied her with slowly mounting anxiety. If they did spend time together, it would be impossible to hide how strange his life and habits were and he didn't know if she would be put off by them.
"I do, actually. There's a really cute place just down the street a few blocks. And it's out of the way, too, so there aren't many people." Evly smiled warmly up at him and grabbed a loaf of bread from the shelf, putting it in her basket. She knew what it was like to not go out, if that's what it was that he was implying. For the first three months after the scandal, she hadn't left her house at all, not even to shop. She had lived off of boxed cereal and canned food from her pantry until she had had enough courage to leave.
Even now, it was hard, especially since she saw her so-called friends everywhere. She really needed to move.
Pushing those thoughts away, she made her way to the checkout counter, glancing behind her every so often to make sure Arlath was following. She didn't want him to lose her, since she was short, and she didn't want him to think she was running away. She appreciated what he was doing, even if she didn't think he meant it.
"Perfect," Arlath replied, returning her smile. He followed a respectful distance away, trying not to invade her personal space while still keeping up with her. He kept an subconscious eye out for Alison or any other threat. It wasn't hard to fall back into old guarding patterns. It was something ingrained into him so deeply he didn't even realize he was doing it, or that it brought comfort.
He helped her gather her bags and carry them out to the parking lot, where he paused. "Did you bring a car?" he asked, momentarily forgetting that he was the odd one for walking everywhere.
(Sorry I've been gone, college applications got me like-)
(No, you're good! I understand completely lol, school needs to make people as frustrated as they possibly can be.)
"I- yeah, I did." Evly pulled her purse over her shoulder and shuffled a few of her bags with the other. She motioned to a slightly beat-up navy SUV, scraped and slightly rusted, but still in good condition. "I hope you don't mind riding in there."
She opened the trunk, stacking her groceries instead. Arlath helped her, and she sent him a small. After she had accepted his offer, it was almost like he had changed completely. No- that wasn't right. He just seemed more comfortable, stronger and more confident, as he took care of her. He had followed her in a way that didn't make her feel uncomfortable, which she appreciated. It had been a while since she had been treated so politely, so kindly.
It was strange.
