Awkwaaaaaaaaaaard [Rowan, Charliewhore, Lesleydouche]

"Two coffees, please," Lumi ordered at the counter. Beside her she heard Rowan make a noise of displeasure. She turned to him. "No complaining. You're acting like a child. You're not skipping this next big meeting with the advisers, and you're going to show up looking presentable and professional and...sober."

They found a table--there were only two clean, empty tables left, and they were right next to each other--and sat down.

"I wish you wouldn't be so upset over this," Lumi sighed without pretense.

Rowan was really annoyed that Lumi had pretty much been bitching him out nonstop since he started...er, taking some breaks from work. At the same time he knew she was trying to help (and that he kind of needed her help) but it didn't make it any less irritating. Maybe he wouldn't be so irritated if he didn't have the hangover of his life right now.

"I wish you wouldn't be so upset over this,"

"There's nothing you can do, Lumi," he replied, ignoring the cup of coffee in front of him. He'd probably told her this a million times already and it didn't make a difference. He had already conceded about the meeting thing; it wasn't worth arguing with Lumi about.

Lesley kissed Charlie sweetly on the lips, holding her waist and lightly nudging her inside as he held the door open for her. "Let's find a seat," he said, looking around. He found one empty table, which happened to be right next to a table with that bitch. Seriously? "Maybe we should go somewhere else," he said, motioning Charlie to look and see who was here.

Charlie was a bit confused as to why he suddenly wanted to go somewhere else right after he said they should find a seat, but once she noticed who was there, she agreed with him fully. Maybe they should go somewhere else. "Yeah, that'd probably be best." She turned to leave, but she noticed that Lumi and Rowan happened to be looking at them already.

Shit, she said, not wanting to seem like a coward by running away from confrontation with them. This would be awkward.

Just go along with it, Mae said, a bit nervous herself. She tried to be reassuring, and Charlie appreciated it.

"Actually," she said as Lesley turned to leave. "Maybe we should stay." Lesley looked at her with concern, but if she wanted to stay, so be it. So the two of them (after getting their drinks) sat down at the ONLY free table, which was right next to Rowan and Lumi. Shit, this sucked.

Lumi was about to reply when she happened to look past Rowan at the entrance, and saw the last two people she ever wanted to see. Charliewhore and Lesleydouche, as she had come to call them.

"Oh shit, don't look now," she muttered. She briefly wondered why she had said "don't look now" with the intention of having him look. Rowan looked and then quickly turned away, looking distressed.

Ugh, they were coming over. What was their problem? Why didn't they just leave? What, were they trying to rub their relationship in Rowan's face or something, because that's what it seemed like!

Lumi narrowed her eyes. The bitches...

"Oh shit, don't look now,"

Against his better judgment Rowan looked, and immediately wished he hadn't. He saw Charlie, who looked painfully pretty, standing way too close to a guy who he presumed was the "other man."

He quickly turned away, hoping they would just leave. He didn't want to face them, especially while he was hungover in a coffee shop with a girl who was extremely likely to make a scene. It was pathetic, but he didn't want Charlie to see him like this.

"Just...don't say anything," Rowan muttered with a slight plea in his voice. "Maybe they'll ignore us."

Lesley led Charlie to the table, holding both of their drinks in his hands. When he set both of them on the table, he looked right at Lumi, who had narrowed her eyes at them. "Just don't bother us," he said as he sat down. He looked to Charlie, trying to tell her that he knew what he was doing and that she'd leave them alone, but he obviously hadn't learned from the tavern.

Charlie sat down, wrapping her fingers around the coffee she'd ordered. "Lesley, stop," she said after he spoke to Lumi. "You're just gonna cause a scene." When he looked at her as if he knew what he was doing, she couldn't help but feel bad for the guy. He had no idea who he was messing with. Lumi was a bitch on her own, but now she had Rowan here with her, so it would probably be ten times worse...and more awkward.

"Just don't bother us,"

Lumi slammed her hands down on the table, ignoring Rowan's frantic pantomiming to knock it off. She stood up to get a better look at him. "We didn't come here to bother you, douchebag, in case you didn't notice we were here first!" she snarled.

Then she sat back down and sipped her coffee as if nothing had happened.

Rowan felt his headache get worse as Lumi jumped down Lesley's throat. He massaged his temples and closed his eyes, aware that half the coffee shop was staring at them. He also knew that if Lesley retaliated Lumi would never back down.

"Lumi, just ignore him," he said through gritted teeth.

Lesley was really surprised at Lumi (because he's a dumbass), and was a bit embarrassed at the fact that she had called him a douchebag in public. "Hey, you shouldn't be talking, bitch."

He then sipped HIS coffee, as if HE hadn't said anything rude or obnoxious or loud.

"Lesley!" Charlie said. She hadn't been surprised at all at Lumi's comment, but she hadn't expected that out of Lesley. She couldn't believe that he had sunk down to her level. Obviously saying stop wasn't really stopping him from doing anything, and though she knew that he was doing this for her, it wasn't helping her at all.

"ExCUSE me?" Lumi demanded, getting to her feet again. She was pissed now. "I wasn't the one who came in here and made a shitty comment without any provocation! I was ready to pretend you didn't exist, but you just had to start something! And hey, I might have even been okay if you had only said it to me, but you said it to BOTH of us and THAT is unacceptable. So if you have something to fucking say to me, say it, but say it when we're alone. In the meantime, MIND YOUR OWN FUCKING BUSINESS."

She didn't sit back down this time.

"Lumi, please sit down," Rowan said quietly but forcefully. "People are staring. And you--" he twisted around in his seat to look at Lesley, forcing himself to not look at Charlie too. "leave us alone. We didn't come here to argue with you, and I doubt you came here to argue with us."

He couldn't help but feel a little miffed. What did Charlie see in this guy?

He turned back. This was NOT what he needed right now. "God, you're all acting like children..."

"Oh, right, I'm sorry miss," he said. Damn, he was being a dick. xD The things he did for his woman. "You're right, I had no reason to suspect that you might say something to us. It's not like that ever happened before." Charlie looked at him, practically pleading for him to stop. He looked to Rowan, glad that he was trying to make things a bit more calm. He was pretty curious as to who this guy was anyways.

"Do you know this guy? I think he knows what he's talking about."

Charlie couldn't help but look to Rowan when he turned around. Thank God he hadn't looked at her. She looked down at the table, thinking about how awful this situation was. When Lesley asked her if she knew the guy, she felt obligated to tell him.

"Actually, yeah," she said softly, trying not to make eye contact with...anyone. "That's uh...that's Rowan."

"I did what I did before because she deserved it," Lumi snapped at Lesley. She then realized that it was pretty insensitive of her to be arguing about this with Rowan right there, especially since she had just told Leslie off for that very thing. So with an angry sigh she sat down at Rowan's request and decided to keep her thoughts to herself...for now.

"I did what I did before because she deserved it,"

Rowan turn to Lumi. "What?" he asked sharply. "What did you do?"

Lumi had been Rowan's only confident since...since it happened, and Rowan realized that it was completely like Lumi to go and do what she thought was helpful; that is, to go and tell off everyone she thought was wrong.

"You know what, nevermind. Just don't do it again. Leave them alone," he said in a defeated sort of way.

Lesley raised his eyebrows as he was informed that this guy, the guy who looked like a train wreck, was his "competition." Well, he definitely had nothing to worry about.

"Oh...that's Rowan?" He took another good look at Rowan, glad that he wasn't some hot shot that he should have to watch out for in the future. This guy looked like a loser.

"Yes," Charlie nodded, taking a quick glance at Rowan. Even though he didn't look too good, she still just wanted to hold him close. "That's Rowan," she added softly.

Dammit, no! she said, trying to push away the thoughts of Rowan and her together. I'm with Lesley now.

Oooooh, this Lesley was a bastard. What right did a guy with the name LESLEY have to be smirking like he owned the world the way he was now. But Lumi had backed off now, and she wasn't going to fight Rowan's battles...But judging by the look on his face, she wouldn't have to, she thought with a smirk of her own.

She sat back and watched.

"Oh...that's Rowan?"

Rowan raised his eyebrows in a surprised/offended sort of way. The way Lesley had said it, with the infuriating combination of smugness, incredulity and relief, was enough to get anyone pissed. Especially someone with a hangover who happened to be in the same room as two of his ex-girlfriends, one of which had cheated on him with the very guy who just insulted him.

"Yes, that's me," Rowan said in a deadly serious tone, slowly getting to his feet and turning around to face Lesley. "What exactly are you trying to say?"

Lesley looked to Rowan, who had surprisingly turned around. He hadn't expected that. "Well, I dunno," he said, shrugging. "I was worried about some sort of competition for Charlie, but here you are, looking and smelling like a hangover. I'm just realizing that I shouldn't be too worried."

"Oh my God, Lesley! Stop, he doeesn't deserve that!" Charlie said, in complete disbelief of how rude and mean Lesley was being. How could he be like that? She understood protecting her, but now he was just being plain insulting. And though it was true that Rowan didn't look too great, he was still an amazing guy. She was starting to doubt Lesley was the same.

Lumi made an angry noise and jumped up. "How DARE you!" she shrieked. "Rowan is twice the man you'll ever be! Preston was downgrading when she started seeing you, you're just a second choice, a rebound, a--"

She fell into a shocked silence at what Rowan did next.