Back to December Deviation

Kale chuckled and shook his head, taking a deep breath. "I have no idea how Tanner does it. I can't even give a speech." He turned back to Meredith and walked over to her. "Ready to go?" He asked as he slipped his hand into hers as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

Meredith smiled when he put his hand in her's, looking at him a second before nodding. "Yeah...to the apartment now? Didn't you say you have more...art there?"

Kale blinked and then smiled and nodded. "Oh ya, I totally forgot," he chuckled and pulled her gently towards the door. "Come on, those ones are better. Not so...structured. I have more flexibility when I get to do my own art." He held the door open for her and locked it as soon as she was outside. It seemed to have gotten chillier since they had gone inside. He led her to the truck and opened the door for her and helped her in, as usual, then ran to his side after he shut her door and climbed in.

Meredith realized she was still wearing his jacket. She wondered if she should give it back to him, but then 'selfishly' decided that she wanted to wear it still, and hugged herself as if he were about to take it back. "Can't wait to see them."

Kale turned on the heater as he started the truck and pulled away from the curb, heading towards his apartment. He ran a hand through his hair as he kept his eyes on the road. He knew this part of town way to well, and as a result he knew it was a good idea to keep your eyes out for thugs and whatever else might be lurking in the shadows. He relaxed considerably once they got back onto main street. "So, you going to school?"

Meredith noted that he turned the heater on, and wondered what kind of hint that was. Or was it a hint? She wasn't sure...She peeled off his jacket and held it out, sort of. "Do you want this back? And yes, next year I'm going to college. If that's what you mean."

She realized he didn't know her age. How old was /Kale/ anyway?

Kale glanced at her and gave a small smile. "You can have it, it's alright," he chuckled and looked back at the road. "What do you plan on studying?" He asked as he laid his arm on the back of the seat.

Meredith smiled when he let her have it -- er, at least for now -- and pulled it back on. It was very evident on her face that she liked wearing it, just because...she wasn't sure why. Not because it kept her warm, exactly, though that was a plus.

"I'm not sure yet," Meredith said. Her parents wanted her to go to college for the look of it, but they actually had enough money that they said she'd never have to work. Though, right now, she was working -- to teach her "important life lessons" and just to put on another look of something. They didn't want their daughter coming off as a spoiled brat...even if she was one.

Kale smiled and gave a small nod. "Huh," he said as he pulled up to an apartment complex. He parked on the curb and turned off the truck. "Here we are, home sweet home." He slipped out of his seat and ran around to her side so he could open the door for her. "Watch the curb, you never know what they dump in there," he muttered. Once she was on the sidewalk he closed the door and slipped his hand back into hers, taking her up to the appartment and inside.

Meredith got a little bit nervous when they went inside the apartment, especially since they weren't in the nicest part of town. At least compared to where she lived, which was one of the richest parts. She didn't know Kale that well, what if he did something scary to her?

Kale took her to the elevator and hit the top button. "My studio is on the last floor, my appartment is just below it." He looked over at her and gave a small smile. "So, I have a question," he said as he glanced down at the floor before looking back at her. "How did you start working at the knick-knack shop?"

Meredith shrugged, rubbing her arm and trying not to think about how small the space was in the elevator. She had claustrophobia, but didn't like to admit it. She closed her eyes and discreetly took a breath. "The owners are family friends."

"Oh, very nice," Kale said with a smile. The elevator finally came to a stop and he slipped his hand into hers, leading her out onto an abandoned floor of apartment type rooms. He walked down the hall to the room with 437 on the door, the seven crooked and falling off. He opened the door and turned on the light as he led her inside. He led her to what would have been the living room, but was a room that was actually covered with paintings, most of them with a white sheet over them. "This is the studio."

Meredith nodded, looking around at all the canvases covered in sheets. "Are you going to let me see them?" She said with a slight laugh, that came out more nervous than she thought it would. She slid her hand out of his so she could fidget both hands together, nervous in this shabby-looking place.

Kale smiled at her and gave a small nod before going around and pulling the sheets off of all the canvases. Each painting is never the same, some of the starss, of planets, of trees, of landscapes, of people. The one on the stand being one of girl staring longingly at a couple on the sidewalk. "Well, this is it."

Meredith stepped closer to the one of the girl staring at the couple, and felt her head tilt to the side a little as she took in every part of it. The corners of her mouth turned down a little, as she realized how the girl's longing resembled her a little. Not completely, but just a little...she put her smile back on. "They're very pretty, Kale."

Kale smiled as he watched her and looked back at the painting. "Thanks....I mean I know they aren't like amazing, but it's as good as I got." Wow that sounded intellegent. Great going dude, Kale thought to himself as he internally kicked himself. He glanced at the ground, hoping his cheeks weren't bright red. "Uh, so...random question, but what's your favorite flower?"

Meredith bit her lip and thought about it for a second, eyes narrowing a little in thought, looking at empty space for that moment. "Sunflowers? Or maybe white lilies. I'm not sure...I'm indecisive."

Meredith almost asked him the same question back, as she was accustomed to doing, but then realized that was weird to ask a guy. So she sort of walked off to look at a different one of the paintings, closer-up.

Kale raised a brow and gave a small, thoughtful nod. "You want some hot chocolate?" He asked after a moment of silence. He wasn't sure what else to ask her without seeming creeper-ish.

"Um. Sure," Meredith said slowly, thinking of all the possible ways he could use hot chocolate to do something scary. He could poison it, for one. Maybe she'd just pretend to drink it....

"Ok," Kale said with a smile as he went into the kitchen part of the old apartment. The wall between the living and kitchen was open for the most part, only having the support beams and counter to be the dividing point. He warmed up some cups of coco and stirred in the mix with the little marshmallows. He brought her her cup and smiled as he held it out to her, his eyes scanning over the different paintings. He could always pick out their flaws, probably because he was the one who created them, but that was why they were here and not being sold. They all had flaws.

Meredith stared down into the hot chocolate he handed her, waiting for it to cool off. She didn't need to make a fool of herself and spill it all down her shirt, by drinking it before it was warm, or even cold. She cocked her head to the side, though kept her eyes on the liquid in the cup. Meredith wished she was good at small talk, but sadly, she wasn't. "Is this a date?"

Where did that thought come from? And why did she suddenly ask it? Such an awkward child, that Meredith.

Kale blinked and then shrugged giving a small nod. "Yes, if you want it to be," he said with a smile as he glanced over at her. She was blunt. He liked that. He hoped this wouldn't ruin anything at work though, he'd feel bad if she lost her job over him or something.

Meredith blushed, only then realizing how awkward of a question that was.
"If it wasn't meant to be...I mean, if you didn't want it to be...if this isn't..."
She gave up on trying to backtrack.
"I should go." She fumbled to try and take off Kale's jacket to give it back, and then ended up spilling the hot chocolate -- not on herself, though, but on a nearby painting. Her eyes widened and she cursed under her breath.
"Oh no, I'm sorry...Um, I'll...fix it." Somehow. She set her empty cup down on the counter, then quickly found paper towels to try and sop up the brown stain on the painting. Kale probably hated her now.

Kale watched her for a minute and couldn't help but chuckle. He grabbed some paper towels and helped her, not really minding that the painting was stained. "It's ok, don't worry about it. It was a dud anyway." He took the sopping paper towels from her with a wink and stood. "And yes, I was hoping to cross this off as a date."