(Untitled)

[complicatedguy]

Who: Sawyer and hopefully some other people.
What: Burgers for breakfast and explorin'
Where: All along 12th street and elsewhere
When: Tuesday morning
Status: In progress, open

Comments

[nogirllikeme]

Kate had always felt a sense of comfort from restaurants that reminded her of her mother's diner. Years of sitting at the counter after school and doing her homework while her mother served regulars and families passing through on road-trips and truckers were forever burned into her memory, and it was this reason alone that had caused her to walk into the burger place.

She was sitting in a booth alone, perusing over a menu, when the bell over the door chimed another entrance and a man with a familiar swagger walked in. She quickly raised the menu to cover her face, daring to peer over the top, and her heart practically leapt into her throat when she saw who it was.

Should she leave? Should she stay? Out of all the places in the world, out of all the restaurants, this was the one that Sawyer had chosen to walk into. The urge to flee overrode every other, and she slipped from her seat, not feeling so hungry anymore as she tried to sneak past him. The door was mere steps away, just a few more and she'd be gone before he even knew she was there.

[complicatedguy]

As James turned ta look at the woman on his left, another brunette caught his attention -- a brunette he coulda sworn he recognized. Keepin' one eye on the newspaper readin' woman, James spun a little more in his seat, narrowin' his eyes and tryin' to get a good look at who he hoped goddamn wasn't Kate Austen.

[nogirllikeme]

Kate wasn't about to look in his direction - not if she could help it, at least. But in her haste to make it out the door, she collided with a busboy, who proceeded to drop the tray of dirty dishes he was holding. In the loud crash that followed, she dropped to her knees, apologizing softly as she attempted to help him pick up broken pieces of ceramic. So much for not drawing attention to herself.

[complicatedguy]

James shook his head incredulously, turning fully on the leather stool to face the stooping Kate, clapping his hands on his jean-clad knees.

"What the hell, Kate," he said. It weren't a question. He furrowed his brows, tryin' ta look at least a little angry, but really the man just looked confused, as if he were preparin' to be hurt something awful.

[nogirllikeme]

The busboy had disappeared to find a broom to sweep up the tinier pieces, which left Kate on her knees in the midst of broken plates and leftover food, feeling more than her fair share of embarrassment.

"James," she said, addressing him in a casual tone, as if the history between them was much simpler than they both knew it to be.

[complicatedguy]

Pursin' his lips and ducking his head some as he shook it, James looked like he weren't sure if he should remain sittin' or go to help the woman up. He compromised and shifted awkwardly on the seat, causing the metal to squeak as it rubbed 'gainst each other.

"What're you doin' here?" James didn't feel like lookin' at Kate, weren't really sure what he wanted to say to her.

[nogirllikeme]

Kate got up herself, brushing her hands off on her jeans and flicking her dark hair out of her eyes with a toss of her head. Now that he'd seen her, she couldn't leave. Not without some attempt at conversation.

"What do you think I'm doing here?" she asked, turning the question back on him. "I needed - I needed to get away."

[complicatedguy]

James tilted his head back, eyeing her. "We'll see how long this gig lasts, then, afore ya go off to get away somewhere else." He didn't bother keepin' the bitterness out of his voice, although he spoke softer as he pushed himself off the stool and took a few steps closer to Kate, in an effort to keep them from makin' a scene.

[nogirllikeme]

"I guess we will," Kate said, meeting his gaze unwaveringly. As he rose off the stool and walked closer to her, she squared her shoulders, keeping herself firmly grounded despite the fact that the distance between them was slowly lessening.

"What are you doing here?"

[complicatedguy]

Jerking his chin to the side in something of a nod, James rubbed one hand against his stubbly chin, looking at Kate with thoughtful eyes. "Same as you, I guess, Freckles. Just got inta town, heard this was the place ta go to start somethin' new."

[nogirllikeme]

"Well, there's no rule that says we can't live in the same town," Kate responded, tilting her head back slightly to look at him. Now that the mess had been cleaned up, people were returning to their food, which meant less eyes on the two of them. She felt a little more relieved, but no less apprehensive about him being here.

[complicatedguy]

"No," James replied slowly, lookin' her up and down, trying to ignore the familiar waves of attraction, lust and somethin' he refused to call love. "Guess that's true. Hell, we did so damn well livin' in the same community afore, don't see why it won't work out this time, too."

Of course, she hadta pick the one goddamn little town in Canada of all fuckin' places to show up, just where he had gone ta ferget about her.

Narrowing his eyes, James suddenly asked, "Where's Aaron?"

[nogirllikeme]

She wasn't going to deny her attraction to Sawyer, but she wasn't about to make it obvious, either. Then again, the way he was looking at her was making his intentions perfectly clear.

"We're both adults," she continued, nodding slowly. "I think we can live in the same town without making a big deal out of it."

[complicatedguy]

"'Spect my burger's ready," James said as he nodded and took a step back from Kate. He carefully kept his arms at his side, his chin raised defensively. "Don't let me keep ya, as ye seemed pretty damn ready ta leave a few minutes ago."

(( Ignoring earlier comment about Aaron, as I wasn't aware that

[complicatedguy]

(( Also I suck at coding. ))

[nogirllikeme]

"Didn't think you wanted to see me," Kate responded quietly, her gaze softening as she looked at him, when in truth she had been somewhat reluctant to run into him in the first place.