((I mean, my favorite change everyday and I can’t help myself XD))
And even though Evelyn was outside, that didn’t stop her from doing the thing she does best. She got out her drawing portfolio and a pencil and started sketching something as soon as she sat down.
She smiled a bit, glancing up at Zeke once in a while and returning to the sketch book. If anything, she was probably drawing Zeke but there was no way of telling how and in what form she was doing it. Maybe as Nightmare, maybe as Zeke, maybe by himself, or perhaps with someone else. There wasn’t really a way of telling.
”Hey—“ she started ”—will you be visiting the Heroes’ Ranking event tomorrow?” she asked, still working on her piece.
Zeke was curious to see her drawing, but he decided to wait patiently like a good boy, folding his hands together loosely and resting them on the table in front of him. "The– what now?" Truth be told, he had no clue what she was talking about. He didn't attend many events, considering his reclusive nature. And he was a villain, technically speaking, so he wasn't invited to such events in the first place. "What is that?"
”Oh… right…” Lynn sighed to herself, realizing who she had said that to.
”The Heroes’ Ranking event is held at the stadium. It’s where ‘Heroes’; whether professional or rogue, gather to see their ranking in the past three months. The ranking depends on how many crimes that hero has solved, how many fans the hero got, all of that within the last three months. The top ten heroes within that list will also receive some sort of prize,” she explained.
”Two salmon and chips,” one of the employees came to their table and served the dish. What might’ve been more interesting than the fish and the chips was the tartar on the side which looked great.
”Anyways, dead heroes and heroes who have been revealed to be guilty of committing crimes won’t be counted in the list,” she mentioned lastly before turning to the dish in front of her to which she began with a piece of the chip.
"Ah." Zeke waited until the waiter had left before continuing. "So dead jerks like Wisteria and such won't be part of it. I see." He paused, eyeing the food, though his mind was elsewhere. "So, you're going then, right?" He glanced at her. He didn't say it, but if she was going and she wanted him to be there, he wouldn't be caught dead anywhere else. "Do you think you might be in the top ten?"
”I don’t think so… I mean, I’m not as active as other heroes. Famous people who are actually decent human beings like Arachnid and such would be up there though,” she mentioned with a rueful smile.
”And it’s essential that every hero, professional or not, attend the event as there will be other prizes other than the top ten being popular vote, most rescue cases, and so on,” she mentioned before she took a bite of her food, cutting a piece off first, that is.
"You're a decent human being," Zeke replied defensively, as if she'd just insulted him rather than herself. "Better than decent! You deserve to be up there as much as anyone else." He paused a moment before he realized what he'd said, and then readverted his attention to his own food, glancing down so that the flush creeping up his face wouldn't be as obvious. He cleared his throat awkwardly and began cutting into his fish. "Food looks good," he commented quietly to change the subject.
((Zeke, you adorable human being owo))
”Y-Yeah…” Evelyn had a huge and clear flush on her face as well. That wasn’t something she expected to hear, especially not from Nightmare right here. She really appreciated the fact that Zeke had said that though it did make her uncomfortably warm… well, uncomfortable wasn’t the right term. It just wasn’t so normal for her to feel like this. Nevertheless, she mentally thanked Zeke for what he had said. That really meant something to her.
She finished her dish quite quickly, perhaps because there was really just one huge fillet of salmon and a pile of chips on the dish. Was she full? Physically, not really. Mentally? Very much.
((They're both too adorable for life. I wonder how they'll behave as a married couple OuO))
Zeke picked around at his own food. He didn't look like he was eating fast, but he somehow managed to pace himself just right and had the whole thing eaten in several minutes. He hadn't bothered to break the silence, because he didn't know how to and eating seemed to be a pretty good excuse to stay quiet. But once it was gone, he let his fork drop to his plate and leaned back in his seat, thinking. He slipped his wallet out of his pocket in the meantime so that he'd be ready to pay the bill– just in case Evelyn decided to try to pay and he had to beat her to it.
((Probably still like this to be honest))
The employee walked over when Evelyn called them with the bill.
”That would be $14.50,” the server said. Evelyn was getting out her purse but had realized that Zeke raced her to it. Fineeeeeee. She gave him a thankful smile as the employee went to him.
((Also, SLEEP))
((… but… but… ))
Zeke smiled faintly and paid for the food– which was relatively affordable, though considering he was a poor man to begin with, it wasn't easy to let go of $15. But there was no way he could let Evelyn pay for it. Not when she spent over $150 on clothes for him just moments before. Though, he wasn't sure why she'd bought clothes for him. "Did you… like the food?" he asked, unsure of what else to say but unable to handle the seemingly infinite silence.
(Okay well the giant words scared me half to death and convinced me so Imma obey like a good lil bean)
(Good. We will continue their sweet journey when you come back. Good night :3)
”Yeah,” Evelyn finally answered, giving a small smile. She was still thinking about the defensive act Zeke had preformed earlier. That seemed way too natural to be a forced one. She won’t bring that up though.
”W-Well, about the event tomorrow…” she looked down, covering her face with the hood ”… you will go with me… right?” she asked, her voice almost stuttering.
Zeke's face grew warm. He cleared his throat, unsure of where to look but unable to look directly at her. "… Of course I'll go." He paused. "I mean, if– if you– want me to, that is–" He leaned back in his seat and glanced down at his hands, only because it felt like an excuse not to make eye contact.
”Of course I would love you to, if you promise to not cause any trouble, that is” she gave a teasing smile with extremely reddened cheeks and a clear joyful expression. If anything, with Zeke being at the event would make her a lot more confident. Though she did admit it, the pace at which they changed from practically killing each other to liking one another was a bit much even for her. Maybe it was because the ever so cruel Nightmare wasn’t as bad of a person as a lot of people might say, heck, he might even be a better person than a lot of them teenagers.
Zeke smiled faintly. "Well, now, I'm not sure if I can promise that–" he said, almost teasingly. At least as close as he could get to teasing at the moment. His face was burning, and he felt ridiculous for getting so flustered, but he couldn't help it. This was all new territory for him– new terrifying, weird, territory that he liked but didn't know how to operate in– and it scared him. "But– I'll try."
(I heard the line better person than a lot of them teenagers in an old person's voice and I think I'm insane.)
(Clearly you haven’t heard my voice. Imagining it in an old person’s voice makes total sense XD)
”Thanks,” Evelyn smiled innocently at Zeke’s words. Those words of I’ll try showed her how much he actually cared to make her happy.
”Here’s your change, sir,” the employee walked back with the 50 cents and the receipt. That took a bit longer than wanted but these days? 50 cent coins aren’t exactly common.
(XD XD)
Zeke accepted the change and the receipt, shoving both into his pocket. "Thanks," he said to the employee before they walked off, then readverted his attention back to Evelyn. He offered her a closed smile– the best thing he could muster now, especially since his face was still so warm. Almost as warm as his heart.
(( Also I've been trying to plan for that RP I mentioned awhile ago… the one you and Pyro and a different friend of mine have already reserved spots for in advance. I haven't gotten it up yet but I'll let you know when I do– if you're still interested :3 ))
((Ah, I’m still interested! By the way, is there any more open spaces where someone else could join?))
Evelyn took his hand gladly as they walked out and back into the mall. Honestly speaking, she wasn’t exactly calm with the situation at hand and it wasn’t because she was with Zeke. She had a feeling that something bad was going to happen. It felt like… she was being watched by something or someone and she didn’t like that feeling one bit.
While still holding onto Zeke, she eyed her surroundings thoroughly, looking for something or someone that might’ve stood out…
And she did find something…
”Zeke—“ she nudged him a little before moving to the edge of the floor they were on. As the mall was an open mall, you could see what’s on other floors by the edges. She pointed to a white-haired man who was leaning against the edge of the second floor, one floor below them.
He had one hand in his pocket while his other was holding his phone as he was making a call. The man turned a bit, revealing his shiny and sharp, metallic eyes.
”Isn’t that the hero you were hunting last week, Lancelot?”
((Well, there aren't, but depending on who this someone is, I might make an exception. :3))
Zeke peered down at at the guy and frowned. He lowered his voice until it was barely above a whisper and said, "Yeah, it is. I couldn't catch him because I got– intercepted." Intercepted being that a bunch of police showed up, and he high-tailed it out of there to avoid getting arrested.
”Well, here is clearly not a place to cause a scene so…” Evelyn nudged him a bit forward, trying to stay away from Lancelot as much as possible for two main reasons. One, for reasons she already said, she didn’t want to make a scene and two… she didn’t know what his powers were so if they were going to fight, she was at a disadvantage.
((Well, the dude who pulled you into the puzzle game, SeLosMeMos. He’s a friend of mine who’s actually quite fun and chaotic))
((If he wants in, sure. I also have a chaotic-genius of a friend who will be joining and I'm concerned what will happen if these two interact but uhhh it's fine. XD The RP has been delayed because I have about 15 going right now and I have too many ideas so I'm struggling to pick just one :') I'm going to try to start it soon… maybe even today? If I can get myself on track to do it.))
"Right." Zeke moved on with visible reluctance, though he knew she was right. After all, he couldn't fight here, without his suit or mask. He'd give away his identity, and that would be a big slip-up. He still had a firm– yet gentle– grasp on Evelyn's hand, his fingers intertwined with hers as they moved along.
