One Rainy Night

[Quinn Woods]

As she turned down his offer, she could feel the rain pick up and she knew that by the time she reached her apartment, she'd be soaked to the bone. And although she didn't mind a little rain, she wasn't keen on the idea of walking in a downpour. Especially because it was harder to keep herself alert. Maybe she should have accepted his offer, but the idea of changing her mind and sounding a little desperate wasn't something she would accept for herself. He'd offered, she'd declined, that was that. Still, she glanced up a little hesitantly and she knew that at this rate, it was not going to ease up any time soon and she was going to be blinded by the rain as she walked.

He extended the umbrella towards her and she bit her lip in deliberation. Even with the umbrella, cheap as he'd stated, she knew that the wind would no doubt wreck havoc on it before she made her way back to her apartment. It was pointless to take it, but she was starting to really regret her earlier words. It was as if the sky had opened up, laughed at her remark and decided to simply pour water down on her.

Quinn sighed, "Actually, may I change my mind? I'm fairly certain it's only going to rain harder and I can't very well walk if I'm blinded by water." She laughed with a little hesitation and wiped at her face as water slid down her nose all the way to the corner of her mouth.

[Richard Maddox]

Her expression changed. Her posture shifted. Suddenly she seemed hesitated. Glancing towards the sky. Richard joined her. Felt the movement in the wind. The slight increase in the downpour. It was getting worse. She could tell too. She bit her lip when she looked at the umbrella. He knew she was debating on his offer. Which, he wasn't sure. He'd give it nonetheless.

She sighed. She changed her mind. She laughed too, but it wasn't as full. She was embarassed, it was easy to see. Even for him. He nodded in answer. Led her towards his car instead. Richard hoped she wouldn't be nervous. Yet he would understand if she were. He was a stranger. Distrust was bound to follow. "You can point me in which way to go." He said, opening the side door for her.

[Quinn Woods]

Quinn was nervous, but calm. The fact was, if he ended up being some kind of creep who tried anything, she had plenty of self-defense training and a fair amount of strength behind her. Perhaps that was why she decided to take his offer because she knew that she could handle herself. Stranger or not, he was offering her a ride in the rain and had been kind enough to even let her change her mind after declining at first. Perhaps to someone else his quiet nature would have seemed intimidating and a little unsettling, but the same could be said about her, despite the slight bit of expression she'd shown thus far.

He opened the door for her like a gentleman, and she gave him another polite smile before sliding in. Guilt did start to wash over her when she realized that she was going to potentially soak his car, as she was already so wet. Maybe she should have asked if he had a towel first, she didn't want to ruin his seats. Quinn should have thought this through more, she should have been prepared for this and yet she was caught on a day that she felt disoriented by her lack of preparation.

"It's in Alpine Grove," She answered quietly as she settled into the car, folding her hands in her lap and turning her attention to the window.

[Richard Maddox]

She sent him another smile. This one felt more polite. Not forced. Learned. He wasn't offended. He nodded instead and shut the door. She seemed calm when she got in. Hopefully that meant she was relaxing. Richard got in. Shut the door and started the engine. She gave the location. Alpine Grove. He knew the general layout of the town well enough to get there.

She was silent. A little distant staring out the window. Richard didn't mind. He was comfortable in the relative silence. The rain still tapped against the hood and his window. It calmed him down further, and hopefully would do the same for her. They drove. Time passed. They reached the complex. Richard found somewhere to park in front of it and got out. He opened her door and nodded. "I can walk you to your door. Your decision."

[Quinn Woods]

Quinn was content in silence, she was comforted by it more often than not, especially when she was outside of the school. At work, she was surrounded by insanity, abilities running amuck, teenagers hooting and hollering about whatever sparked their interest on the particular day. If she could choose to have silence, she was most definitely going to. And it wasn't an awkward one that settled between them, it was understanding, a commonality that they seemed to share. The rain was all the noise that patted on the hood and the windows and Quinn was fine by that.

Once he pulled into the lot, she was quick to unbuckle herself and climb out of the car when he opened her door. It was still raining steadily. Standing beside him, she was taken aback slightly again by his offer, but this time she didn't decline. She nodded, "I'd quite like that." It was perhaps more time for her to at least get his name. She led him towards her apartment number and dug her keys out of her pocket. Once they reached the door she stuck her key in and turned over her shoulder before the door opened, "Did you want to come in for a cup of coffee or something? It's the least I can do."

[Richard Maddox]

She got out fast. The rain was still pouring. She looked startled by his offer. Yet she didn't decline. Had she gotten more comfortable? Or maybe realized he wasn't going to do anything. Richard hardly thought he could take her. He wasn't that type of person. Even if he was, he doubted he could do anything. Something about her stance told him she knew how to take care of herself. Her demeanor too. Much of her did. An aura of confidence. While he usually came off as foreboding.

She led the way. Richard followed. The rain had gotten heavier. Driving back would be a nuisance. He could go slow. He had patience. But then there was a question. One he wasn't expecting. Would he like to come in? It was the least she could too. Yet Richard was caught off guard. The surprise showed in his expression. But then faded. "Only if you're fine with it." Coffee sounds good. He forgot when he last ate or drank something. He didn't realize the passage of time in the library.

[Quinn Woods]

She wiggled her key in the lock and finally pushed the door open. Her apartment wasn't much, it didn't give any insight to who she was, especially with the countless boxes that were still stacked around in the corners. She had been so busy with the problem she had come home to take care of that she hadn't had much time for unpacking and although the clutter was driving her half mad, it wasn't her priority. She had already decided on a day that she set for unpacking and reorganizing everything. "I apologize for the mess, I've had very little time to do much unpacking. I can assure you, it never looks like this."

Quinn was well-organized, a control freak of sorts, so for someone else to see her living space a mess did sort of bother her. He didn't seem the type to pass judgment however, and even if he had, it wasn't like she'd take offense to it. She didn't quite care what others thought of her. She was no longer in high school when that sort of thing had mattered.

"Coffee, tea or water? That's all I have currently," She laughed a bit, feeling much more relaxed in her own environment. Quinn shrugged off her jacket and hung it on a peg where she had kicked off her flats on the mat that was spread out beneath it.

[Richard Maddox]

He closed the umbrella while she unlocked the door. Inside were boxes. Stacked in piles. Many unopened. It was a new home. But she didn't feel new. She seemed experience. Or so he thought. He could be wrong. He wouldn't care either way. She apologized for the mess. Richard shook his head. "It's fine. Unpacking is a hassle." Yet Richard hadn't had much to unpack. He hardly cared for material wealth. Experiences were what he valued. Fleeting. Yet all the more beautiful in memory.

A question once more. What to drink? "Tea, please. Any you have would be fine." He answered. "Thank you." She looked more relaxed. Richard was still tense. This was her home. He was but a guest. Still, he felt like a trespasser. it was a natural feeling. To him at least. She took off her jacket. He followed suit but kept it. His eyes wandered. Searched. Observed. Even unpacked, there was much a room could say for its inhabitant.

[Quinn Woods]

She nodded, "It definitely is." And she had more pressing matters. Still, the mess was going to need some serious tackling once she had time. Perhaps she'd recruit some help from said pressing matter. The least he could do was offer to help her since her little runt of a pseudo brother was the reason she'd returned. Her mind had been wandering to him frequently, but she tried to remain focused on the person that was currently in her home, rather than one that was on his way to Glacier National Park. Quinn shook her head to physically shake the thoughts away.

Tea, she could do tea. She had a wide variety of different kinds that she'd picked up while she traveled and settled on her favorite that she'd gotten when she went through France. As she heated up the kettle, she settled into a chair and gestured for him to have a seat as well. She was still wet, but the furniture she had was by no means worth worrying over.

"I never did introduce myself, I'm Quinn by the way. Quinn Woods," She offered with a smile.

[Richard Maddox]

She nodded her head, and then the topic changed. For a moment she went distant. Busy with her thoughts. Much like he could get. But she pulled herself out. Her eyes refocused. He wondered what it was about, but didn't ask. She moved off to make tea. Richard stood there awkwardly. He wasn't sure where he could go. What was ok. This sort of thing wasn't something he did. Ever. He didn't have friends to visit. This was a first.

Finally she gave him direction. Motioned towards a chair. Richard took it gladly. She gave her name. Quinn Woods. It came with a smile. It was unique. One Richard was sure he hadn't heard before. "Richard Maddox. It's nice to meet you." It was only he give his now. "Thank you for inviting me in."

[Quinn Woods]

Quinn pulled her legs up on the chair and crossed them like a pretzel. It was something she had always done when she was trying to get comfortable. It was a little strange, especially as she was nearly thirty and looked about half her age when she did it. As she did, she studied him a bit closer. She had noted before that he was detached from people, the way that she was. He also seemed a bit uncertain of social interactions and although she was reserved, she knew how to handle socializing. She worked at a school filled with people of different personality types, it was only natural that she became accustomed to how it worked. Still, she did feel awkward at times with how to react to certain things. That was one thing reactive adaptation didn't cover.

"You as well. Do you go by Richard or something shorter? Just for future reference," She asked with a slight tilt of her head. Not that Quinn ever really called people by their names or given nicknames. Quinn often had nicknames to go with the people she was friends with, though she wasn't quite at that stage with him, as they had only just met. She was sure he wouldn't take well to any of them anyway. Dean, Gabriel and William certainly didn't.

She smiled again, "It's no problem at all. The rain was getting nasty and you did offer me a ride. It's the least I could do."

[Richard Maddox]

She crossed her legs. The action was different, but Richard didn't comment. He was different. A loner. A social outcast. Him saying anything would be hypocritical. So he didn't. She spoke. Another question. For future reference. Did that mean they would meet again? The thought shocked him. Yet he answered. "Richard is all." He had no nicknames. That was something a normal person had. Someone with friends. Someone normal.

She smiled again. Richard didn't understand why she was offering him so many. She replied to his thanks. It was the least she could do. Richard didn't think he did much. It was only polite. He shrugged but nodded once. His eyes roamed the room again. Then returned to her gaze. He wasn't sure what else to say. Conversation was not his forte. "What kind of books were you looking for in the library?" It was the only topic Richard knew how to talk about.

[Quinn Woods]

Just Richard. That was peculiar to her. Of course her name couldn't be shortened to anything that didn't sound childish or as simple as the first letter of her name, but somehow people had managed to use both with her. Q was used most frequently by her peers and fellow staff members, while Quinny was reserved for a select few people. Even then, she wasn't quite thrilled when it came out, typically from her dunce of a co-worker who also was like a pseudo brother to her. Dean was probably the only one who could get away with it unharmed.

"Well, Richard it shall remain, then." Quinn nodded to herself and glanced up at him when he asked his own question. It was a safe topic of conversation. Books, she may not have been the most well-read person, at least not like one of her students was, but she could hold her own on material to discuss. "Well, I suppose I'm mostly into classic novels. Your Tennyson and Coleridge. On occasion I can handle a few Shakespeare plays, but only the good ones. And yourself? Being a writer you must be versed in all sorts of books." Which was fascinating in itself. She enjoyed talking to people who were willing to read more than she could handle.

[Richard Maddox]

She seemed pensive. Richard wasn't sure why she would be. Maybe it was his lack of a nickname. He wasn't about to tell he had no friends to give him one. That should be obvious. At least he thought so. Yet she agreed to call him Richard. He was glad. Richard didn't know how he'd react to a nickname.

The topic changed. She answered his question. Tennyson and Coleridge. Occasionally Shakespeare. Richard nodded, faintly impressed. Yet somehow it fit. Then came the question. What did he like? She was correct in one thing. Richard had spread his knowledge of books far. "Classics are good. I've read my share of Tennyson and Coleridge. Yet I've read Stephen King to Rowling to others." He admitted. He found himself fascinated with some of the more modern works. "What genre do you like then?"