[open/active] ...Believe me, I've been kicked out of enough of them to know

[godofcologne]

Characters: Thomas, Anyone!, Everyone!
Location:  Two for the price of one: House of Hair or Starbucks (Please indicate in post)
Time:  Thomas will take care of you ALL WEEK LONG
Format: Flexible, prose or brackets
Content: Socializing. Flirting. Charming. Attempts to figure out what his sister is up to.
Warnings: Flirting. Innuendo. The smile in the

Comments

Starbucks

[summerandthrall]

Elaine didn't venture into town as much as she did when she had first arrived at the school. She had finally settled into a (somewhat awkward) way of life, and had adjusted accordingly. Classes were fine and nowhere near as dull as she had thought "real" school would be, she had a better grasp on her powers (illusions of invisibility were still her strong suit, but she was beginning to branch out into different aspects of her power), and socially...well, she didn't exactly have a large circle of friends, but there were people she liked and talked to, even if she didn't count them as close friends

[godofcologne]

The bell attached to the door had given Thomas warning, so he didn't fall on his ass when a feminine voice spoke up. He finished drawing a brown blob reindeer brown blob on the blackboard next to the word 'Mocha', then pocketed the chalk, running his hands under the faucet before turning to the new customer.

He grinned almost involuntarily at the sight of her, somehow managing to straddle the line between 'cute' and 'hot'. "You don't. I just have to learn the language to work here," he replied. "Can I get you something, or would you like a translator first?"

[summerandthrall]

She was looking down and digging in her wallet when Thomas turned to reply to her, fishing for a few dollar bills. Really, did these coffee menu items have to be so expensive?

"Do you guys have simple black coffee?" She looked up with a raised eyebrow and small laugh, catching Thomas's eye and seemed unfazed by his smile. "Or is it called a this-is-ridiculous-cafefrappimocha?"

[godofcologne]

"Coffee we've got," Thomas reassured her. He eyed the grinders, then added with a grin. "Would you like Fair Trade Java, Sumatra, or the Morning Blend?" As if that wasn't enough, he added helpfully, "Drip brew, French press, or the new Clover brew?"

[summerandthrall]

Oh, you've got to be kidding me, thought Elaine as she glanced at the young man. She crossed her arms and gave him a slow but decidedly wicked smile, one that promised snark and more trouble than a simple troublemaking whipped cream canister.

"I appreciate those choices, but I just want regular black coffee with room for cream," she said. "You're the barista, I'm sure you can figure out what a high school student needs in order to stay awake to finish papers for class. I'm sure one of those fancy machines is useful for doing something simple, right?"

[godofcologne]

Thomas grinned back, nowhere near cowed by her response. It was always more fun when they came back at him. "Easy there, princess," he teased. "I think it's as ridiculous as you do." He picked up a paper cup and eyed the menu. "If you're looking to stay awake, your choices are either the coffee or the red eye." He raised an eyebrow and added a quick explanation. "It's black coffee with a couple of shots of espresso added. It'll keep you awake forever."

[summerandthrall]

"'Princess?'" Elaine echoed, unable to hide the distaste in her voice. "I'm nothing like those ridiculous damsels in distress you hear about in fairy tales. I prefer to be the one kicking ass." Seriously, this guy's tactics were sad. He almost reminded her of someone else's constantly misplaced chivalry except less...ridiculous about it.

She handed a few dollar bills over the counter, shaking her head in faint amusement. "Red eye. I'm behind on my papers."

[godofcologne]

Holding up his hands as if in surrender, Thomas chuckled, adding, "Sorry, sorry. It was meant to be a compliment on your regal bearing, not any lack of ass-kicking ability." He bounced the empty coffee cup in his hand as he grabbed a marker to write on it.

"Besides, I have to call you something since you're not wearing a nametag announcing it to the world." He pointed at his own with the marker. "And 'hey you blondie' just sounds rude."

[summerandthrall]

"You're an awful flirt," Elaine groused, rolling her eyes but unable to hide her smile. Yes, it was ridiculous the lines this guy was throwing out, but there was something amusing about his demeanor. She tossed her wallet back into her bag and then settled the back-breaking bag onto the ground while she waited for her drink. No need to risk being hunched over for the rest of her life while waiting for something as small as a coffee.

She peered at the man's nametag. "Thomas, huh? I would've thought you'd put down something like Casanova just to be a smartass." She wrestled a ponytail holder out of her pocket and then pulled her long blonde hair back into a more manageable ponytail, not particularly fazed by the "hey blondie" comment. "My name's Elaine, if you're that curious."

[godofcologne]

After writing the order on the cup, Thomas set the espresso shots to brewing. "Well, if I'm awful, I should keep it up so I can get better," he said practically with an irrepressible grin.

It was policy to write the name of the customer on the cup, so of course Thomas had to ask for her name. It was probably not corporate policy to add write it to say For Elaine, the ass-kicking princess, but it made a dull job more interesting. "But then the manager can't use it to be sarcastic. Then he'd try to come up with more creative names and his head would explode." Thomas smiled innocently as he poured the espresso into the cup and began filling the rest of it with coffee. "I'm just being thoughtful."

[summerandthrall]

She looked at the scrawled title on the cup and refrained from groaning. "I think you should stop while you're behind." The smell of the coffee made her smile though - it wasn't anything fancy, just basic coffee which was fine with her. If she wanted to do something crazy, she'd add sugar.

"I like your manager already," she teased, grabbing a few napkins at the small table that sat just a few feet from the register. "Someone who works here needs to be able to think on their feet without flirting."

[godofcologne]

"You're going to send me straight into the back room to sob my eyes out," Thomas said with a well-practiced effective well-used pout. "Then my manager will come out here and lecture you on the proper terminology for the double shot dark roast cafeaulatteccino." He left enough room for cream, and placed a lid securely over the cup.

"See how well you like him then," he teased, stepping away and grabbing a package of biscotti from the jar near the register. He slid it across the counter along with the drink. "On the house. Sustenance for the papers."

[summerandthrall]

"You're a big boy - I'm sure somehow you'll survive it." She picked up the cup and carried it over to the same table she picked up the napkins from. While pouring a small amount of milk into it, she glanced at the wrapped package of biscotti he had placed down on the counter. "So chivalrous."

[godofcologne]

"Sure, but I'd be a pale shadow of myself," Thomas countered. "Could you have that on your conscience? To know you'd broken the spirit of an innocent man?" He was laughing as he spoke, knowing full well he was being absolutely ridiculous and loving every second of it. "As for chivalry, hardly. I just want you to come back so I can keep talking to you," he scoffed. "Purely self-serving interests. But at least I'm upfront about it, so I get credit, right?" He beamed at her.