you want whipped cream? [london]

London was so used to being called beautiful by the men that took her out that she had missed most of the times that he'd said it. The way that he said it caught her off guard because he wasn't trying to have sex appeal or anything of the sort. He was being nice.

"You keep saying that," she said. "Thanks." She didn't know who Aven was, but it didn't matter. It was just a silly mistake.

"Yep, I'm done," she said, closing the door to the cabinets. "Thanks for walking me home." Shit...home. She was never proud of her home. It was small, more like a large box, just four walls and some rooms. It was a mess, too. It always was.

For some reason, she felt comfortable with Lucas. She felt that he wouldn't judge her for her crapshoot of a home.

Lucas smiled, "You're welcome. But you do know what this means, right?" He grinned playfully at her, walking over to her and lacing their fingers together. As they passed the coat rack, he pulled his coat on over his shoulders.

He opened the door for her and locked it behind them. "Any guess?"

Woah. Was this guy holding her hand? No one ever held her hand before. This was a new sensation, even if it was in a friendly way. Where had London been before, when she was supposed to be having fun and making friends like this? She had been missing out on life.

"I have no idea," she replied, Laur getting up and following her to and out the door. "What does it mean?"

"It means," Lucas said, "that now, you have to find me someone to date." He grinned, throwing his arm around her shoulder. "I haven't been with anyone since Aven and I broke up." Imogene fluttered after them.

London couldn't help but laugh. She didn't know anyone. How was she possibly going to find someone? "I'll try," she said. "If I find anyone that would be suitable for you, I'll make sure to let you know." She smiled, thinking about the situation. Who would've guessed that going to a coffee shop instead of a bar would turn out to be like this? "I'll m ake sure to keep my eyes peeled," she added.

Lucas nodded, appreciatively. "Thanks."

They got closer to the Solas Valleys. "So which of these houses do you live in?"

"No problem," she said, looking around at the houses in Solas. "Uh," she said hesitantly. She licked her lips out of habit, looking right at her little "shack." She wasn't sure if she should tell him or not...she felt fine telling him, but she never felt fine about anything. She was a little worried that she felt fine.

'You're paranoid,' Laur said. 'Just tell him.'

"It's...that one," she said, pointing to her house. "That one right there..."

Lucas turned to face where she was pointing. He didn't know what to say. Like, it didn't strike him as being odd that her house was small, but he didn't want to offend her.

He squeezed her shoulder, sighing, "Home sweet home," he walked her closer to it. "Do you live alone?"

London couldn't help but smile at Lucas. She appreciated that he was trying to make her feel better.

"Yeah, I live alone," she said. "I've always been pretty...independent. My dad left me the house."

Instead of saying, "left me with the house," she decided saying "left me the house" was a better route. She hated making clio pity her, so she tried to make it seem like a normal situation.

"You wanna come in for a little while, or do you need to go?"

"Oh," Lucas smiled. "I am now. Independent, I mean. My grandparents spoiled me, so I guess I just wanted to start spoling them. I know that doesn't really follow, but I wasn't the normalest child."

He grinned. "I live alone, now, too, since my grandparents both passed away."

He listened to her invite him in. "Nope, I've got no where to be, I'd be happy to come in!"

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said when he mentioned his grandparents passing away. She was now feeling sorry for this guy. Wow, she'd come a long way in only a little bit of time. The power that some clio had on others...

Her face lit up when he said he could come in. She was glad.

'You're cute when you're happy,' Laur said. 'You usually aren't.'

'Shuddap,' she replied jokingly.

"Sorry it's a crapshoot, but no one really comes here." She slipped her hands into her pocket, taking out a key and unlocking the door when they reached it. She opened the door and used her handy Eilemaiden to light up the house for them.

She took a look in front of her. There was a old couch against the wall that sagged a bit in the middle; the floor was covered with clothes and some garbage here and there; the coffee table was faded and covered with cups and paper plates. The kitchen was attached to the living room, and fortunately was not lit enough to show the messiness.

'I should really clean up more often,' London said.

'Well now you have clio to clean up for,' Laur replied.

"Oh, it's alright," Lucas smiled. "I dunno what made me talk about that." He looked at his feet. Then back at her.

"It's no problem. My place is just as bad...I mean, no problem." He carefully stepped around things on the floor. "...Maybe you..." Lucas felt weird asking, "...you'd like me to help you out? I could help clean up." He blushed. "I wouldn't mind."

London was delighted! She had never imagined that he would offer to help her clean up. "That would be awesome," she said with a laugh of disbelief. This guy was unbelievable. Were all friends like this? She needed more.

"I know we just had stuff to drink at the coffee shop, but if you want anything to eat or drink, help yourself," she said, forgetting her manners. "Or I can get it for you...or whatever." She smiled and bent over to pick up a sock. "We can just throw stuff into piles and organize from there...thanks."

END?