maskormenacelogs | a month late for playing cupid...

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a month late for playing cupid...

WHO: Laurie Collins and Jonathan Joestar
WHERE: Heropa to John Pennenkamp State Park
WHEN: Saturday, March 18th
WHAT: Josuke invited two people on an outing. It was a lie. Or at least a half-lie.
WARNINGS: n/a

[ Laurie had been full-on jotting down notes during her conversation with Josuke, and she does indeed show up at the designated bus stop at the designated time, large beach bag full of possible essentials. She's got a bathing suit, and extra change of clothes, a towel, sandwiches, water, and a little room for knick knacks.

She's a little jittery, but she'll blame that on the cup of coffee she's holding. Josuke's never been anything but nice and fun to be around, but a prolonged social outing is still something that she can get mentally tied in knots about. And with her primary social outlet ported out... She's really got to do more work establishing a larger network of people she can be easy around, doesn't she?

That anxious eagerness, along with her natural tendency to keep appointments, has her turning up just a tad early. There's nobody at the bus-stop just yet. She pushes any paranoia that she's misjudged the clock and parks it, bag resting between her feet as she drinks her coffee and waits. ]

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[she won't have long to wait; it's only five or ten minutes before that bus stop becomes a little more populated. Jonathan had the appointment in his mind when he'd risen early for his daily ripple exercises, but even still he'd run a little over schedule. thankfully his morning grooming routine was small, and with some hustling he'd kept from being late.

he's even dressed almost like a human being in anticipation of the fun times ahead, the small backpack from home slung over his back in case of exceptional souvenirs. there's no coffee in his hands, but he does have a warm smile when he spots a familiar face sitting on the bench.]

Oh, miss Laurie! Off to an early morning today?

[with no reason to mistrust Josuke, the pieces haven't clicked together for him yet. it's nothing more than a pleasant coincidence, a nice turn of events to help pass the time until the bus arrived.]

Jonathan. Hi. Yeah, I got invited on a day trip with a friend.

[ The pieces don't click for Laurie right away, either, mostly by merit of not having been with Jonathan and Josuke together before, but... They're related, right? Hadn't they had quite a few relatives pop in and out of this place? They're whole family line or something like that? ]

Um... By Josuke, actually. I wasn't sure if it's supposed to be a group thing or what. If that's-- If that's why you're here, I guess it is.

[ So Josuke (and anybody else) ought to be showing up soon, right? ]

He hadn't told me that anyone else was coming along; I suppose that it slipped his mind in all the excitement.

[rather than looking put out at the revelation, the expansion of their groups seems to put Jonathan in an even more cheerful mood than before. there was nothing better than exploring someplace new with friends, and this promised to be quite the invigorating outing. it's wonderful to have Laurie along.

however...he can't help but crane his head to the side for a moment or two, straining for the figure which doesn't arrive. Josuke is cutting this awfully close, isn't he?]

I hope that setting an alarm didn't slip his mind as well. The bus ought to be coming soon.

It is getting down to the wire.

[ Laurie's checked the time on her phone and everything, and stands after slipping it back into her bag. She also gives the immediate area a once-over, not that she'd catch anything that Jonathan wouldn't. He's got a better view from his height, after all.

So he can probably see the bus coming just as well as she can. ]

Oh, geez. What do we do? Should we call him?

[he makes a tsking noise in the back of his throat, fishing his phone out of his pocket as the bus lumbers closer. it isn't really like Josuke to be late to plans he himself organized...but there were always exceptions to people's usual habits. for all Jonathan knew the weather was being particularly cruel to his attempts to get his hair in place.]

I'll give him a ring, but in the meantime I think we ought to hop on when it comes around. The next one will be too late for any of us to do much but turn around by the time we get there.

[it's not the sort of decision he's thrilled to make, but that's what you had to do when such long travel times were at play. it would be a shame for everyone to miss out on some fun because of one mistake.]

Edited 2017-03-30 02:35 (UTC)

[ Laurie nods at the choice. It's not one that she'd be able to make if she were all by herself, here. She'd just give up and head home, but... Even if Josuke misses the bus, there's probably another way he can catch up if he needs to. Pretty much everybody has a teleporter or a speedster they can dial, right?

So the bus stops in front of them with squeaking breaks, and Laurie scrambles for her wallet to pay her fare. Once she takes her seat, she bounces her leg and looks up at Jonathan while he makes his call. Is there going to be a knick-of-time arrival?

Probably not, but it'd be a relief. Laurie would feel bad to think that somebody got left behind. ]

Anything?

[thankfully Jonathan's fare is within closer reach than his phone had been, and he's able to clamber onto the bus while the call rings into nothingness. the drive receives an apologetic look all the same; it's terribly impolite to be ringing someone up while interacting with another person, whatever the reason.

by the time he settles into a seat near Laurie, he's already left a brief message on his great-grandson's voicemail. the look on his face is mildly troubled, but he manages to shake it off. the sun has been up for some time now - it's almost impossible for Dio to have done anything. he probably just couldn't get to the phone in time, too busy with his morning routine.]

Nothing. He must have oversleep, but I -

[the bus pulls away from the stop, effectively committing them to the trip, and a few moments later Jonathan's text sound cuts whatever he was about to say off.]

Oh, there he is now.

[there, he'd been worried about nothing! everything was fine, nothing more dire than Josuke having to haul his behind to meet up with them at the park at relatively the same time.

it's with a quiet sight of relief that he flicks the message open...only to be met with a text as simple as it is horrifying: ღ꒡ ᴈ꒡)♡⃛(꒡ε ꒡ღ and nothing more.

a strangled noise escapes Jonathan's lips before he even realizes it. he can't relate the turn of events to Laurie just yet; all he can do is stare dumbly at the message, ears slowly turning an impressive shade of crimson.]

[ She perks up a little when the message comes in, both relieved and curious. She leans in a little, but certainly not so far that she's reading somebody else's phone. She's just waiting for the word on the situation, but... All she gets is a silent reaction. She waits for a moment or two, maybe expecting an explanation. Had Josuke said something rude? Was he a gifted rustler of Jonathan's vintage sensibilities?

The question stuck on her tongue shifts from 'is everything okay?' to: ]

Are you okay?

[the question is well timed, right at the moment where Jonathan was poised to jump down another spiral of total mortification. someone else being concerned for his well-being is more than enough to shake him out of that paralyzing state of embarrassment...even if he's still quite red.]

I-it's alright. There's nothing to worry about.

[which is quite true, thankfully. he laughs a little, the sound somewhere between amused and horrified.]

I'm afraid that we've been conned quite thoroughly, Miss Laurie.

Conned? Are we... Are we off to reform school or something?

[ That's a joke, because she's trying to put her finger on the right spot between Jonathan's fluster and Josuke's apparent skipping out on them. It takes her a second, but...]

Oh! Ooooh. [ She draws up with a surprised expression before sinking down again just as quickly, brow furrowing slightly. It's not anger, though, or even quite annoyance. It's more like... Exasperated confusion? Trying to figure out if this is really happening? ]

Well, geez. If he's trying to set us up, this was a really elaborate way to go about it.

[he makes another noise that's a little closer to actual amusement than the last, pocketing the communicator and running a hand through his wild hair before straightening up. he's not even going to dignify that message with a response of any kind.]

It's my fault, really. I mentioned to him that I was feeling a bit lonely...and no one in my family can do anything the simple way.

[including him, sometimes, which is likely where the rest of the clan gets it from. it's endearing most of the time, but moments like this have him just wanting to lovingly wring his great-grandson's neck.]

I'm truly sorry that you were caught up in all this. It's too late to cancel, but I hope we can at least try to have an enjoyable time.

[and...maybe just ignore that this happened?? at all??? he doesn't know, this is so far out of his wheelhouse that he's surprised he hasn't managed to fall into little scarlet pieces by now.]

[ Laurie's face is fixed on amused sympathy, a position that attempts to accommodate how mortified Jonathan seems by this turn of events. She almost offers that she's lonely, too, so awfully, TERRIBLY lonely, but-- Again. Mortified. He didn't want to be shoved into something like this, and she bites her tongue around it, like she always does, to keep this from seeming any heavier than it ought to be.

Because it should just be fun, right? Nobody should feel embarrassed or obligated. She'll just do what she always does on dates: accept that her chances are poor and appreciate what she's been given. It'll be easy. Jonathan's sweet. He reads.

She shrugs and settles back into her seat, trying to make herself look very easygoing about it. ]

No 'try' about it. We'll have a great time. The park sounds awesome, so... We'll go look at some fish, tag Josuke in some awesome selfies, and make him sorry that he missed out.

[it’s exactly what he needs to hear at the moment. Jonathan’s distress has less to do with the upending of his own mind and more with the fact that Laurie has been unwittingly put on the spot and there was nothing he could really do about it - but it seems that she really doesn’t mind.

he has no idea how much of that is genuine, but his bright heart leads him to assume it’s all sincere. and if that was true...well, it’s a great weight off his shoulders.

Josuke was still going to experience the supernatural noogie of a lifetime, of course, but it made the present so much more manageable.]

Ah, that’s going to take some doing. Josuke’s developed quite a tolerance when it comes to fun.

[his ears may still be an endearing shade of crimson, but the playful smile Jonathan flashes now is a clear sign that he’s slowly rebounding from his distress.]

Are you certain you’re up for it?

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a month late for playing cupid...

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