(Log) "Why the setup?" + Derek

[inheritances]

It was around 11A.M. when Regina found herself near the engineering buildings. She glanced around only to find the students staring back at her, some muttering among themselves. Why was she here again

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[loosenupurwires]

His ingenious plan a few days ago had, by all appearances, gone well. At least, he hadn't heard any loud complaints from either of the involved parties. Sure, Ky had given him Pointed Looks but when wasn't Ky giving someone Pointed Looks. He'd made it through the encounter alive, at least, and with all his belongings in one bag so that little event had definitely been classified as a Success

[inheritances]

She jerked a little and looked up in surprise when he greeted her first. She raised an eyebrow and gazed off to the side, pouting and wondering what she was supposed to say first.

"Hi," she said finally, her voice coming out in a slightly more irritated tone than she intended. "I think," pause, "I think I need to talk to you."

[loosenupurwires]

Derek suspected that if they'd been dating, this is what the 'We Need To Talk' voice would have sounded like. We Need To Talk talks never ended well, at least, from what he'd heard. He didn't know women were even allowed to use that voice when there wasn't even a relationship to Talk about.

... There wasn't a relationship here, right?

"Yeah?" he responded simply once more, trying to keep his voice and his posture casual. It wasn't terribly hard to do if he just kept pretending that Regina was just another girl who was giving him the 'exclusive or bust' talk.

Too bad Regina wasn't just another girl.

[inheritances]

She bit her lip. Somehow, her small irritation was growing. Just a little. She had to close her eyes and give a big sigh before looking at him again--without twitching, anyway, though she did tilt her head this way and that a few times.

"Why did you do that?" She managed to ask, after some seconds of silence.

[loosenupurwires]

... Well shit.

Play dumb. No wait she'll hate that. She'll hate it if you play smart too. How do you play smart without actually being smart anyway. Wait you're internal monologue-ing too much Derek, back to reality.

"'That' as in a few nights ago?" he ventured along the semi-straight and narrow road, shifting his weight onto one leg as he kept his eyes on her. Glancing away, fidgeting, anything of the like would give away how suddenly uncomfortable he felt.

[inheritances]

"Yeah," she replied, her eyes not leaving his. He almost looked like he had nothing to do with it. Perhaps it hadn't been a good idea to visit, maybe she should have let it slide by.

Then again, remembering how considerate he had been to her just a few weeks ago made her curious. She wanted to know the reason behind it--if there even was one.

"I'm talking about exactly that."

[loosenupurwires]

"Sorry I never showed up," he started, keeping his voice honest as possible as he read over an internal speech he'd prepared just for this. He didn't think he'd have to actually use it, but the intellectual side of him, the one he was pretty sure never existed when it came to relationships, had thought it a good idea to have something prepared. So he went with it.

"I got caught up with something. Was dinner that bad or something?" he continued on with a light joke, already mentally scrambling for the next part of his prepared list. Damn why'd he forget most of it already.

[inheritances]

She shook her head at his apology. She was about to say that it was okay, since she eventually ended up returning his jacket to him anyway, but what he said next made her close her mouth and stare.

"No, it wasn't bad at all," she answered some moments later. She kept feeling like someone had hit her with a hammer on the back of her head every time he spoke. It took time before his words registered, so to speak. "But that's not the point."

She put a hand to her temple before shoving it in her coat pocket again. Why were they still beating around the bush?

"I'm not dumb. I know you set us up. I'm asking you why you did it."

[loosenupurwires]

... They weren't dating, right? So why'd he feel like he just got caught cheating on her, or at least something equally guilty.

"I didn't-" he started quickly before catching himself, allowing a brief exhale before allowing himself to look mildly embarrassed. So long as he could keep control of his outward expressions, he could keep control of this conversation. At least, he was pretty sure he could.

"It wasn't anything like that. I wanted to repay you guys for stuff and meant to join you guys eventually, but I got held up." There. That was a solid excuse, right?

[inheritances]

"And if that was the case, why are you only explaining yourself now that I'm here to talk to you about it?"

She felt childish, poking at his words, but it was no excuse not explaining what had happened, how he got held up...

Not that she believed that story anyway, so she quickly moved on. "You don't--" She tried again. "You shouldn't--" ...Okay, here it goes again. "It's probably not... a good idea to set someone up with a friend after you've kissed her twice."

She exhaled and left it at that. Wherever this conversation would go, it would go.

[loosenupurwires]

Well damn he should have thought this through better. He let things slipped when it came to this kind of emotional thing, he probably should have left them both a casual message asking if they'd enjoyed the free dinner, but no he was-

... He was being asked about kissing her well crap.

The flush that flashed through his face briefly before settling in his ears was definitely not something he wanted to happen. Neither was breaking their gaze, glancing off to the side as he suddenly felt thrown.

Did she know? Crap she knows doesn't she, she knows.

"That-..." he started, trailing off immediately because, really how do you explain that.

[inheritances]

"It makes someone feel stupid, okay?" She continued, unconsciously naming it off as 'someone' when that 'someone' was clearly her. It looked like she might get an answer or two out of him, at least, at the rate she had thrown him off.

...She didn't mean to throw him off that much, though. Well, it was more like she didn't know she would take him aback at all.

"After all that," she flailed a hand out in the air, "what is she supposed to think?" Referring to herself as third person was strange, all right. But it was a bit too embarrassing to talk in first person.

[loosenupurwires]

It took him a bit of mental yelling, in his mother's loud and heavily accented voice no less, to get himself back in control of his own emotions, already feeling the burn fade away from his ears. He was still left with that entire feeling of uncomfortable though, which caused him to shift his weight once more between his legs, like a young boy eager to run away during a scolding.

"... What did she want to think before?" Answering questions with questions was usually a good way to go to get the spotlight off yourself.

[inheritances]

"I--" Oh, she was talking in first person again, but what was the big deal now? She had gotten over talking about the most embarrassing part.

"I thought you... maybe liked me." Never mind. This was the most embarrassing part of all. Her voice when she said so was a barely audible mumble. She didn't expect to spill this much when she had first stepped into the engineering building grounds. "I probably took things out of context." She guessed she did, anyhow. It was just an inkling after the mistletoe kiss, that was all. She scrunched her nose briefly.

[loosenupurwires]

Looked like it was his turn to say something along the lines of embarrassing.

"You weren't-" A pause and fumble for the right tense. "Aren't. Wrong."

"Per say."

... Wait, he'd just used the phrase per say, didn't he? Things could only go downhill for him.

[inheritances]

......

...Wait, what?

Regina reached out and flicked his forehead, as if by instinct. "And what does that mean?" She asked, a confused expression still on her face. So she was right? But that meant he liked her? Since when? ...Why?