Post by Erika Conner (Bellefonte) on Apr 13, 2015 10:04:31 GMT -6
Laughing at the mention of Frank, Erika nodded. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Did she tell you about the part where she asked what it would take to blow up a ship?" Erika's head shook as she thought about the messages Frank had sent her. Sometimes, she wonder just how sane that girl really was, but then again, wasn't that exactly why they all adored her as much as they did? "But vampire semen? What?" she laughed. "That sounds wonderful, Franck. I'm really happy for you," Erika said genuinely. She was truly happy that Franck had found someone who made him feel like that.
No one deserved it more. Hopefully it would last.
"Me?" Erika asked, pursing her lips. "I spent most of my time sitting by the pool, getting my tan on," she grinned. There was also that one instance with Beau where he'd gotten drunk, but that wasn't something Erika would share with the rest of the world. That was Beau's private business and Erika was hardly one to judge.
Besides, it was Beau. He had his reasons.
"Other than that... Very little, in fact. I stayed off the radar as much as I could and took the time just relaxing and enjoying myself," she said, shrugging. No, her trip had been incredibly uneventful, and in a way, Erika actually liked that aspect of the trip. It was nice to finally get to recharge her batteries.
Post by François Laffont on Apr 16, 2015 9:16:06 GMT -6
Franck did not hide his surprise when Erika said what their friend had been doing during the Spring Break. “What?” He exclaimed. He knew nothing was really that strange coming from Frank but blowing up the ship? “And I thought she was crazy when she wanted to jump from the edge of the ship into the sea. Why was she interested in blowing the whole ship?” Though, with Frank, there was rarely a reason, or at least none that made much sense. He laughed a little and shrugged as Erika repeated what he just said. “It’s because his name is Jasper. Like Jasper Cullen, from Twilight. And since they glitter, well...” Franck too had been wondering what she meant about him dating a vampire at first. He thought it was something about his personality. He obviously looked too far, it was just a name thing.
He was smiling brightly again as she was happy for him. He had no idea how long it would last, he didn’t think it was a ‘for life’ thing, but he didn’t want to think about it right now. He just wanted to enjoy it. He nodded at her words. “That’s good. You deserved it. And it’s nice to just relax sometimes. And you had your husband with you too, right?” She must have had a good time. Other than Artemis, he didn’t see anyone who did not look like they didn’t enjoy themselves during the trip.
Post by Erika Conner (Bellefonte) on Apr 17, 2015 14:58:32 GMT -6
"Your guess is as good as mine," Erika shrugged. No, Frank was definitely crazy. The good kind, of course, but still crazy. Erika adored the girl, but she didn't think she had the patience to be around her as much as Franck did, so she was a little glad that most of their interactions happened through messages as opposed to real life. "Ah, I suppose that makes sense..." Erika grimaced. Then again, few things ever did when it came to Frank. The girl was a fan of acting before thinking and although Erika didn't doubt that there was a lot going on behind those eyes of hers, she sometimes wondered if Frank at all followed the rules of logic.
Something told her that she didn't.
Frowning slightly at the word "husband", Erika tossed Franck a quick glance before drawing her breath. "About that," she began. She then lifted the cup to her lips and took a sip of the coffee as she contemplated her next words carefully. "It turns out the marriage was... Well, either someone failed to deliver the certificate or it never got approved, so we were never really married to begin with." Erika tossed Franck a small smile at that. "And well... We're not together anymore." She didn't doubt that Franck had heard the rumors about their sexless marriage, but that wasn't exactly something Erika wanted to get into.
"I thought it was the right thing to do, because I do love him in my own way, but there was just never a spark there. It took me so long to notice too. I think I was... Trying to tell myself I was just being stupid, you know? But after a while, when we lived together, I feel like I got the opportunity to really look at what we were, and although we loved each other, we weren't in love." Lifting her hand, Erika brushed her hair behind her ear.
"So, we talked and decided that the best option was to take some time apart, and that kind of lead to us just... Breaking things off, and to be honest, I'm actually kind of happy about that. It feels like... A relief. To finally be over with that. I mean, it's not like I think I made a mistake going back to him, because if I hadn't, I would always have wondered 'what if', but now I know for sure, and with that, I've finally moved on." And then there was Drew, but she didn't know how much she should share right away. At least, she had to give Franck a few minutes to absorb it all, right?
Post by François Laffont on Apr 21, 2015 8:33:43 GMT -6
The things that can go through their friend’s mind sometimes! At least Franck knew it was not like her to intentionally hurt people and no matter how crazy she could sound, he didn’t think for one second that she intended to blow the ship, not when there were people inside who would die from the explosion. To say that Franck’s boyfriend had to be a vampire because he was called Jasper like a character that happened to be a vampire could really make sense only when it was Frank who said it. “At first, I tried to see if one of them had a vampire-like personality. Because she asked if I was dating the ghost of the vampire. Then she explained to me it had to do with their names. I didn't think it would be over that.” Even when discussing the craziest moments in Frank’s life, even when Franck might not wholly agree with her actions, he couldn’t help having a smile on his face. Maybe he was too indulgent with her but he knew all too well that life could be hard on someone, so why should he destroy her little world? He liked Frank the way she was.
Had Franck said anything more, he would have stopped in his track and frowned at the expression he got from Erika. More than her expression, he sensed something coming from her, the same kind of emotion he got when she entered the coffee shop and sat at his table. Back then, she didn’t want to talk to him about it but it would appear he found the problem, without even meaning to. Husband. Did something happen? Marriages could be hard sometimes. But Franck believed in it and putting on all the efforts to have it work. Turned out it was something worse.
“What!? You were never married? How did that happen?” He did get that the ‘not together’ meant a lot more than just ‘not married’, because then she would have simply said that they were not legally married. He blinked. Were they married, to hear she gave them only a few months to break things off wouldn’t be something he’d agree on. He didn’t mean to judge her but he never liked how some people took marriage so lightly, assuming they could just divorce if it wasn’t as magical as they thought it would be. But, in this case, they were not, and Franck tried to remind himself of that. So it was more like they broke up together than they divorced. Still, the intention had been there. She used to want this, the wedding, the life together and all that. Franck felt a conflict inside of him because of this. He would always be on her side but it seemed so easy to just say they were no longer together after how serious they meant for things to be between them.
Erika tried to explain why she took this decision. He listened to her and, again, he was with her. His esteem for his friend was not shaken in any way. It was the idea it was so easy to break a marriage that he didn’t like. It just happened they were talking of hers, or at least the one they all thought she had. If she was relieved it was over, then it was best for it to be over. “Maybe you jumped too quickly into the whole wedding thing. You should have given yourselves the time to know each other better, live together for a while. Then you would have found that out and just be on your way. Though, if you say you were never married, I suppose it wasn’t that much more difficult to part ways...” In the end, he felt like she took a mature decision and Erika could be so impulsive at times.
He took a deep breath and extended a hand to hold hers. He didn’t care if he was to deal with her emotions, she had too and he knew how much of a mess it could be. “I’m sorry it didn’t work out. You’re actually handling it well,” he told her. Since he was touching her, he knew how that made her feel, though having her think of something else would make it difficult for him to get a proper reading of the situation.
Post by Erika Conner (Bellefonte) on Apr 22, 2015 5:55:05 GMT -6
"Sounds like Frank's logic alright," Erika laughed. Well, she wasn't all that surprised to be perfectly honest. That was what Frank did, after all. The girl was batshit insane, and she didn't answer to any rules, logic or no logic. She just did her own thing, and yeah, it did get a little old after a while, but that didn't stop Erika from adoring the girl.
Franck's question had Erika shrugging. "Your guess is as good as mine," she sighed. Erika had a few... Suspicions, but to be honest, she wasn't sure if she really wanted to know. Sure, it was all very sad and straining, and all, but in the end, she was more so glad it was over. "It seems extremely convenient, but... I don't know, Franck." Sighing, Erika averted her gaze, her brows furrowing slightly. She didn't think Drew would do something like that. It seemed out of character that he'd forcefully make such a decision for her. Sure, there was his sister, but she didn't even like Erika, so why would she even do something like that?
Tilting her head, Erika shook her head. "It was hard," she argued. "I'm not going to lie and say that it was an easy decision to make, but it was after all something that had been bothering me for what, the past six months or so? And things just... I don't know," she sighed. "But you're right. I did jump too quickly into all of it. I didn't think it through, and got smacked in the face with a dose of reality because of it." Not that she'd learned a whole lot, considering how she had jumped back into a relationship with Drew, but at the very least, they hadn't got married right off the bat, so there was that. "I think... I think I wanted it to work so badly I didn't give myself the chance to think about it. I mean, Everett came into my life at a time where I really needed him, and I always kind of thought he'd be there, you know? But with everything that has happened between us the past year... I think I needed to know for sure, and not look back and think "what if", you know?"
Well, if Erika had learned anything from the whole experience, it was that she now knew herself better and knew what she wanted when it came to love. And that wasn't Everett. "He's a good guy. But I'm not the right girl for him, and he's not the right man for me." Drew was the right guy for her, and she liked to think that she was the right girl for him.
Laughing, Erika leaned back in her seat. "I'm not sure if I'd call this handling it well, but... I've learned a lot about myself because of this, and it's easy for me to take an objective view on it all now." But, it surely hadn't helped their relationship that she had always had that nagging little doubt at the back of her mind that maybe leaving Drew the first time around wasn't really what she wanted. When they'd met again for the first time after breaking up, she had felt the very same emotions she'd had for him before the break up and they had only evolved from there, and now... "Thanks though."
Post by François Laffont on Apr 22, 2015 10:26:44 GMT -6
It wasn’t always easy to follow Frank. Franck managed to because he was one of those good at going with the flow, wherever it would take him. Though the fact her emotion could affect him probably helped as well. He was still himself in Frank’s presence, he simply tended to become a more hyper version of who he was. He still had enough common sense for the two of them and that was the most important.
Franck couldn’t believe that such a thing was possible but he didn't doubt what his friend was telling him. It was awful. It had to be hard, to have planned everything, to have lived as if it was true and then find out it wasn’t. He had no idea how it happened and despite the fact he asked, he didn’t really cared. It was not what mattered the most here, it was that her wedding never was real even though everyone came to it. The ceremony was not as important as a stupid piece of paper.
“Of course it was hard emotionally. I meant... well, divorces can really bring the worst out of people...” At least she said they broke up in what seemed to be a mutual decision. Of course, when forced to accept it, one might not have much of a choice to agree but Franck tried not to think too much about this. When she said six months however, Franck grew pensive. “It hasn’t been six months already, no?” Maybe he was getting his dates wrong but was she saying she had cold feet even on her way down the aisle? Again, the conflict between his belief and the fact he would always side by his friends no matter what made everything confusing to him. This inner battle between his conviction and the love he had for his friend was not good on him and Franck felt terribly selfish to think about that when she was going through something far worse. But he could not help it. He feared it would show that he had trouble dealing with this and that she might think he was judging her badly because of it.
He nodded as she talked of her relationship with Everett. “At least you found out now. You should take some time for yourself. And try to take things slowly next time, be really sure before you jump.” Erika was a jumper. She’d give it a shot before even being entirely certain. Franck knew he could be a hopeless romantic, quickly falling in love and too much in comparison of the other one but he always needed more time than that before all this to happen.
“You are. I’d be a mess if I were you. It’s a turmoil inside, I know, but you’re getting a grip on it. You’re not letting it defeat you.” Again, Erika thought of Drew and it brought different emotions for Franck to read. He didn’t know what or who she was thinking about however, so he didn't know what it was all about. But there was something and after some hesitation and much thinking about it, Franck dared ask: “Eri, are you in love again?”
Post by Erika Conner (Bellefonte) on Apr 22, 2015 11:03:46 GMT -6
"Look," she began, taking a deep breath. "This is... Very confusing, I know. Trust me, I do." Maybe it was better to just swallow her pride and come completely clean? About.. Everything? "I think... Maybe it'll be better if I just explain everything from the beginning." Placing the palms of her hands on the table, Erika sighed. "I met Everett when I was seventeen. He came into my life when I really needed someone like that. We were never a couple per say. At least, not officially so. And then he left for Paris. He left a note under my door, claiming he loved me, but that he was some broken toy and that he wouldn't risk me... I don't know," she shook her head, her brows furrowing.
"And then he came back a few months later, a while after I turned eighteen. It was good, for a while. But the same thing happened again; he left me hanging." Erika attempted at a smile, but it felt incredibly strained and awkward.
"And... That pretty much explains our entire relationship. Him leaving, me trying to move on and then he comes back and pulls me back in, only to leave again. Even after we got back together again that last time and got married... He was never around. When he was, it was good, but there were so many moments where he just up and poofed, and..." It had been hard. Very hard.
"I think... I wanted it to work so bad, because I remembered how good it had been, and I was always wondering if "what if it'll be different this time?" But that never happened. I think that... Clouded my judgement. Often, and a lot. More often than what I care to admit, and I hurt a lot of people because of it." Like Felix and Drew. She wasn't proud of it. She didn't like admitting to being weak, but she didn't see another way to properly explain her resolution. "And... It affected me in so many ways. It really took a toll out of my confidence, you know? And then, I think I realized I couldn't do this anymore."
And that was a while before she'd left to L.A with Drew, and things had escalated from there. "I know it's hard to understand or even agree with me on, because I've been so back and forth the past year. It's not like I don't know that I've hurt people and acted both reckless and foolish, and there's no excuse for that. I take full responsibility for my actions, but it wasn't meant to be. I realize that now." Shaking her head, Erika pressed her lips into a thin line as she finally looked back to Franck. "I wanted it to work out so bad, I don't think I really noticed what I had in front of me all along. I took everything else for granted. I was stupid, and childish and... It hurt, you know?" trailing off, Erika's gaze dropped to her hands. God, it felt awful admitting to it all. It made her feel so.. so.. Weak and pathetic.
She probably should have told Franck about everything sooner. With this, IMAC, SPECTRE and everything else... Well, she didn't want someone's pity. She had made a mess of everything all on her own. It wasn't anyone else's fault. SHE had made the choices she'd made, and she could blame it on everyone else all she wanted, but that didn't change the fact that she'd still made a choice. Maybe it hadn't been made with a clear mind, and maybe she'd done it for the wrong reasons, but at the end of the day, that didn't matter. SHE had hurt people, SHE had made mistakes and SHE had made the wrong choices. Her. Not everyone else.
His question had the corner of the brunette's lips tugging slightly. Was she in love? Yes. Yes, of course she was. It was consuming, even. "I don't think I ever stopped." The simple fact that Drew had at all taken her back was... Well, amazing. If anything good had come out of all of this, it was that Erika had seen her life, her choices and everything else with such clarity. It felt different than before. It felt... She didn't know. She just KNEW that she'd made the right choice picking Drew and being with him, and she couldn't really explain it. She was scared and she felt guilty, but for the first time in a very, very long time, Erika was truly and sincerely happy. Drew didn't make her feel insecure or feel as if she had to be someone she wasn't. She could be herself, and he'd love her for it. She didn't have to feel like she had to hold back, and she didn't have to feel like it would all end one day, because she knew he wouldn't just pack up and leave. She knew that this was the right choice and the right person.
Lifting her hand, Erika rubbed the corners of her eye with the back of her hand and chuckled. "Sorry," she muttered. "I didn't mean to unload all of that on you, I just-- I don't know, I mean I--" she shook her head. "Sorry." She really didn't want him to be disappointed in her. She had done that enough.
Post by François Laffont on Apr 23, 2015 8:31:04 GMT -6
“You don’t have to justify anything to me Eri,” he assured her but Erika seemed to have the need to do it so Franck simply listened. And hope he wouldn’t hear something he’d rather not. He thought he was safe. It was not like her to give away details of her sexual life and she knew him well enough to know better than to talk about this. He didn’t need that kind of detail.
And so Franck was given a summary of her relationship with Everett. It seemed like they never really gave themselves the chance to really see where that could lead them before taking the big step. It was how it sounded to Franck. “You need someone there for you to be your lover,” he said when she stopped for a moment. He nodded when she claimed she wanted it to work so bad. He could understand that and he could see it was like her to do it. But he was also like her not to like having her lover so far away from her all the time. She was not career-oriented enough to accept seeing her lover only on occasions. She was too social and needed him around. Maybe not all the time but definitely more than she had. He felt like asking her if she ever bothered telling Everett that and see if they could not work things out but it seemed pointless given that she was no longer with him. He did not intend to try and bring them back together.
He held her hand again as she admitted it hurt her confidence. “Eri, I’m like you on that. Maybe it’s bad to want something to work so badly but I still prefer to try it and know for sure that it doesn’t than constantly ask myself if it could have. Not you?” He didn't think she should really beat herself up about that. It happened and she could not take it back. At least now she knew and she could move on. She at least admitted being hard to follow with her love stories. Franck wasn’t even sure that a graphic of it would help, with the amount of time she went back to one and the other. He nodded again, slowly, as she said it hurt. He sure knew, especially with his hand still on hers. But even without touching her, even without his power, he would have known. “It hurts to be the one who loves the most, especially if you find out how different you two may be feeling in the end, or want out of the relationship. Apologizing won’t do much either. You have to accept it, and move forward. It hurts too, but there isn’t much else to do, you know?”
Maybe he did pity her but she was also his friend and he wanted to help her out in any way that he could. There was just not a lot one could do about this, other than be here and supportive while she got over it. Of course, it was easy for Franck to forgive her. Not only was he not one she hurt personally, but he was her friend and his ability allowed him to know just how bad she felt about all of this. To him, there was no reason to make her dwell in this guilt and he wouldn’t let anyone put her through that.
He looked up at her as she answered him. She didn’t stop loving? Well, that couldn’t be Everett, since she just said they broke things up for good. And Felix was with Elsa. There really weren’t that many other lovers of her he knew about. Except maybe... “Drew? You’re back with Drew?” Yeah, he better not try and make some graphic or whatever to follow her love life, because it would be even harder then. He wondered sometimes how she managed to make them take her back so easily all the time. It was like it was impossible not to love her anymore.
He didn’t think about that for too long because she apologized for all of this. “No, you know you never have to apologize about this. It had to come out. Are you feeling any better that it did?” He didn’t want her to feel guilty for throwing anything at him. He let her, he always did, like he did with everybody else. He was not going to stop either.
Post by Erika Conner (Bellefonte) on Apr 23, 2015 9:07:43 GMT -6
She knew exactly where Franck was coming from, as she would have said and done the exact same thing if the roles had been reversed, regardless of her own personal opinions on the matter. She knew that Franck would support her no matter what craziness she got herself riddled up in, and she wasn't sure if that really made her feel any better. Of course she appreciated him and everything he stood for, but sometimes she wondered if getting served the harsh truth would be for the better. Not that it would stop her from going after what she wanted, of course, but it could be a nice thing to have at the back of one's mind.
Sometimes, Erika wished she was the mind reader - or the empath, just so she could really know what people were thinking or feeling.
"I suppose that was part of my reasons... I just..." Sighing, the brunette shook her head. "I don't know." It had been a mess, and once again, the brunette had gotten out of it scotch free with very few repercussions. Of course, she'd had to step up her game by a lot with Drew, and it wasn't like she didn't try to earn the new trust he'd put in her, or try to make her best to earn the love he returned for her. At least, she had tried her best. She would never know if it was good enough, of course, but it did feel good to be the one who had to work hard for someone's love, as opposed to getting it handed over. With Everett, it had been different, because he'd never been around for her to actually try - nor had he done a whole lot to try either. Needless to say, it was pretty obvious that was a fight long lost for the both of them, and no amount of talking or trying to fix it had worked. He'd promised over and over again that he'd stay around, but he always failed to keep his promises.
It wasn't like he didn't know how much it hurt her.
Groaning, Erika's head dropped to the table in front of her. "Yeah, I am," she replied with a sigh. "It happened after Ever and I decided to..." she trailed off. "It wasn't planned or anything, and truth be told, it was the furthest thing from my mind, but one thing lead to the other, and I don't think either of us expected there to be more than that to it... Then he showed up at my house and well." Lifting her head, Erika looked out through the window. Recalling the memories of that night at the Bellefonte Mansion had the brunette shaking her head. "We talked things through, and he told me he wanted to give us another go, and I agreed with him. We still have a lot of things to work through and talk about, but... It feels like..." Like they were better than they'd ever been before. They had never been this close. They had never, ever been this open with each other before.
"I don't know," she replied meekly with a shrug. "I mean, I'm happy. Don't take me wrong. I just wished the circumstances were different. I wish I'd known everything I know now eight months ago." Well, she supposed there was little point in crying over spilled milk.
"And I feel bad for unloading all of this on you after all this time. I feel like I keep doing that and taking you for granted."
Post by François Laffont on Apr 23, 2015 9:48:54 GMT -6
Their views might be different, their opinions not always being shared, but that didn’t change the fact that Franck would support her, even through something he might not wholly agree on. He liked her, it was a fact. He might not always be good at hiding how a situation displeased him but he would not let it change his feelings for her. She wanted to marry him and now she no longer wanted to be with him. It happened. Franck might have done things differently, his views on marriage might make it hard for him to just call it off like that, but it was her decision and he respected it. Especially sensing how she didn’t seem that much in love with Everett anymore and hearing what she had to say. To him, and to her, they rushed things. At least this one could be taken care of rather easily. She might not always be so lucky in the future.
Often, Franck felt like his beliefs were not fitting with the environment he was in. It was like everyone else didn’t think like that. He knew it was not true but he often felt that way. He felt like he was the last in his generation who took relationships seriously and wanted to take things slowly to really make them work. He felt like he was the only one who thought marriage was really serious and you shouldn’t break it up this easily, or do it just because it felt right at the time. He didn't like to talk about this however as he feared he might sound judgemental on how others lived their lives and that was not the case. He had no problem with people wanting only sex or changing of lover as easily as one put on a new shirt. He just didn't want that for himself. And he chose to date Jasper. The thought alone could make him sigh. He really shouldn’t discuss this, he didn't feel like it would end well.
For the sake of their friendship, Franck was going to pretend she meant to say after Ever and her broke things up. He already had to swallow the fact Eri married on a whim, broke up and immediately threw herself in the arms of someone else, he didn’t need to hear she might have cheated on Everett because they didn’t really end things before it happened. “Eri...” he began to say as she explained how it happened. “Just take things slowly this time. Don’t rush because you’re in love and take the time to really know him before planning ahead. There is no hurry,” he asked of her. It was hard to follow how quickly things moved on for her and he was only a spectator. He didn't want to think what it was like to live it.
He had a little smile, trying to lighten the mood around them. “I’ve never complained before. And I’m letting you. Let’s just say that when this whole open relationship of mine will get too much, you’ll have to sit here and hear me pour it all out on you.” Franck was seeing some alarm signals about his relationship after all. He was starting to care too much. But he wanted to ignore them for now.
Post by Erika Conner (Bellefonte) on Apr 23, 2015 10:48:40 GMT -6
"Oh god, I have no intentions of moving too quickly this time." Besides, the two of them, Drew and Erika still had a long way going. They'd just been together for what, a few days now? Yeah, they weren't getting married or anything like it anytime soon. That much she knew. "Besides," she said, offering Franck a smile. "Drew's hardly the type to pop the question." Of that, she was also certain. Not in a million years did Erika see either of them doing that for several years to come. Granted, it was easy to say that with how new their relationship was, but come on. Who would ever look at Drew and think of him as the type who'd ask his girlfriend to marry him? Heck, Erika wasn't even sure that was something that would ever happen.
No, Erika wasn't worried the slightest about them rushing anything. It surely helped that Drew was such a logical person. It helped ground the usually reckless brunette. It helped her keep her feet planted on the ground and her head away from the clouds. It was one of the many things she loved about him.
"You know as well as I do that I'd happily hear you out and do my best to help you." That wasn't even a question. It was a given. And not only because Franck had helped her out so many times as he had, but because they were friends, and she actually wanted to be that kind of person for him, especially since he had to deal with it from so many others, and not just Erika and her first world problems. "You should have a little more faith in your relationship than that, Franck. He agreed to a relationship with you for a reason, even if it's an open relationship. It means some part of him truly does like you. It might not be the best situation to find yourself in, but for all you know, one day he'll realize exactly how much you mean to him." Besides, who would be stupid enough to throw someone as amazing as Franck away anyways?
If the boy did, he clearly didn't deserve Franck to begin with, and if worst came to worst, Erika would do everything in her power to pick up the pieces.
Post by François Laffont on Apr 28, 2015 19:41:46 GMT -6
“Good.” Franck barely managed to hide the sigh of relief he had at the sound of that. It was good to be impulsive at times and not be afraid to jump but it was also important to take your time and be certain before doing the jumping. She hurt herself enough in the past, and others too, it would be nice if her new love story could last more than a couple of weeks. And it would give Franck the time to sort things out. He barely had the time to get acquainted with her boyfriend that she had a new one. She seemed pretty hooked this time though. “Maybe not for now. You never know what can happen in the future. But it’s the present that is important when it comes to love. You have plenty of time to think about marriage, you don’t need to do it now.”
Franck was not thinking about marriage. Not only because it would be ridiculous to think Jasper would want to marry him but also because it was not something he intended to rush. He would have to be sure first, even if that meant living several years with someone before that was to happen. Besides, it was so hard to know which states legalized homosexual unions and which ones fought for it not to be legal. So he was not thinking about it. There were so many things, such a marriage, that he might have thought at some point to be a possibility in the future only to think it was not likely to happen. He preferred to wait for that moment to really start thinking about it.
He smiled at her. “Of course,” he replied softly. He never thought it would be a chore to hear him should he be the one with a problem. With all that he did for his friends you’d expect at least one of them to come over and listen to him when he felt down. He chuckled lightly, his smile still printed on his face as she talked of his relationship. It was true that Jasper was the one who asked him out. Every time he wondered if that thing could really work, he reminded himself of that and immediately felt better. That and how the boy could make him feel. Like he told Erika, he was not used to feel lust that came from him and not others. “I hope so,” he admitted. Wouldn’t that be great? But he didn’t want to be too optimistic and get his hopes all crushed later on. “I try not to think too much about it and just enjoy what I have. I already thought he’d get tired of it sooner than that, to be honest.”
Franck was about to drink but realised his coffee cup was empty. They talked for longer than he thought. The sky however was just as dark and he flinched slightly when he heard some thunder. He tried not to let it affect him. It seemed ridiculous for a guy his age to be afraid of storms.
Post by Erika Conner (Bellefonte) on Apr 29, 2015 8:37:05 GMT -6
"Yeah," Erika agreed with a smile. No, Franck was completely right. Marriage was far from Erika's mind, and besides, Drew wasn't that kind of guy. There was no way she could see him popping the question and them running off somewhere to get married. Heck, they hadn't even met each other's parents yet. Besides, Erika liked where they were right now, and they had so much yet they needed to figure out before even considering getting hitched. Even though Erika wanted this to last forever, she wasn't stupid enough to act on it. She had learned her lesson. Whatever happened from here on and out, would be taken one step at a time, as opposed to trying to plan her entire future at the age of nineteen.
Nodding at Franck's words, Erika offered the French boy a reassuring smile. "Really, Franck," she began, chuckling softly as her head shook. "As surprising as all of this is, I'm really happy for you." And Erika did hope that everything with Jasper would work out, but maybe it was for the best that Franck kept his distance. From what Erika had heard, Jasper wasn't the committed relationship type, and she really didn't want Franck's hopes to get crushed in one fell swoop, but people changed. That was all part of life. They were all still so young, and had so much to learn. Just because Jasper didn't want to commit now, didn't mean that wouldn't ever change.
Erika just hoped it changed while he was still with Franck, and not after. "We should go on a double date sometimes," Erika mused, though her brows furrowed slightly as Franck flinched. Her brown eyes moved towards the window and up at the sky. A storm? She hadn't see those in a while...
"Tell me Franck," she began as she turned back to look at her friend. A mischievous smile splayed over her lips. "Are you afraid of thunder?"
Post by François Laffont on May 10, 2015 20:05:03 GMT -6
Franck believed it was important to be sure. There was nothing wrong in taking the time to be certain you were with the right person before taking a decision as important as to marry them. He didn’t think he was old school when it came to marriage but he believed it was for the better and for the worse and so you couldn’t do it without being certain, claiming that you can still divorce if that did not work as planned. It was no surprise then that Franck was far from read to consider marriage, especially with Jasper. He would be happy if they survived through summer. He was also happy that Erika would take her time and be sure of what she was doing this time before actually jumping into something more serious. She did enough jumping. He could barely keep up with her.
“Don’t think I don’t enjoy it, or that I’m already seeing him leaving me or anything. It’s just... an experiment. For both of us. I really enjoy it, but I also know it’s something that will last the time it has to last before we move on to something else,” he admitted. He liked to pretend, sometimes, that this day was not until a long time and that Jasper was not tiring of him. Still, the more he fell in love with the more, the more he started to think maybe he should break up now, before he realises how little efforts Jasper did compared to him and ended up hurt. For now however, Franck was too into it, savouring each moment, to really care about the bad outcome of it. He smiled, thankful to hear one of his friends at least was happy for him.
He laughed at the mention of double date. “That would be eventful to say the least. And I’m pretty sure Jasper will try to bring his brother along too,” he let out. He didn’t think she was talking seriously. because Jasper with them for a double date would be... special, for lack of a more polite word.
He had a sheepish smile as she asked about his fear. “Actually, yes. I don’t like them,” he admitted, looking outside, in case he’d see a lightning. It didn’t seem likely to turn into a storm with lots of rumbling thunder but he still looked outside. “I mean, I can head home, no problem. I will just run to there, not walk.” He gave her another smile as he said that. He was not going to deny it.
Post by Erika Conner (Bellefonte) on May 12, 2015 7:03:55 GMT -6
Nodding slowly, Erika listened closely to what Franck had to say. She understood perfectly what he was talking about, but even she couldn't help but being a little worried. As much as she hoped this would work out for him, she didn't want to see her friend get hurt. That didn't at all mean she wouldn't support every decision he made, just like he'd done for her. "Well, the point of a relationship isn't how long it lasts. It's all about enjoying the smaller things. Take one day at a time. There's no point in worrying what tomorrow brings. As long as you're happy now." She offered him something of a comforting smile.
It was in these kinds of moments that Erika wished she could reach her hand out for his or give him a hug. But with his power, it tended to make things like that uncomfortable for him, so she resisted the urge.
For now.
"The more the merrier. We'd just have to find someone for his brother too." The twins couldn't be that bad if Franck was dating one of them. They were probably lovely people, and finding a date for the other brother couldn't be that hard, right? Maybe they could set him up with someone. "Does he like boys or girls, or both?" If it was both, that did make the whole process a lot easier.
Following Franck's gaze towards the window, Erika nodded. "I'll drive you," she shrugged. She already had her car parked outside. That was one of the good things about living on the outskirts of Kalispell. She could bring her car to town and not feel guilty about it at all. She turned her attention back towards Franck and offered him a comforting smile. "It's on the way anyways, so don't even bother telling me that I don't have to."