ArchivedLogs:Nice Guys

Nice Guys
Dramatis Personae Gaétan, Harm, Kyle, Nic
In Absentia	2017-09-14 "People around here /do/ just -- help each other out sometimes, right?"
Location <WES> Sinkers and Suds - Salem Center
Taking over the spots where a popular coffeeshop and burger joint once stood pre-zombiepocalypse, this diner, though very new, has modeled itself in the throwback style of Salem Center's main drag. Black and white checkerboard floor underfoot, steel stools cheerfully upholstered in bright red vinyl, brushed chrome tables both standalone or in the booths that line the walls. The servers are impossibly perky, the jukebox only plays oldies, and the seats at the long counter also often include conversation with the very chatty soda jerk manning the fountain there. The smells of fried food and fresh coffee generally fill the air. It would be near the late evening, and as such, there is still a nice crowd there who like to arrive for dinner time and maybe dates, or just catching up with friends and family! Kyle would be there for none of these things however, merely enjoying some fun and a nice meal. Entering with his jacket over his shoulder and a longsleeve shirt with 'Tough Laoch' (translation, tough luck.) and baggy pants with tenneshoes. He wears a beanie on his head to keep his messy hair in check...and it looks really good on him. He goes to the lounge counter area to order a sprite, smiling and for the most part keeping to himself. He has plenty of his mind, and it's nice to go to social spots to clear his head. Though a friendly face may attract any number of visitors. A young man slips through the door briefly letting in the evening air, he wipes the back of his wrist against his forehead before making his way over to the counter. This night he's also without other friends or a date, he has in fact just finished a cool down jog after a workout with his trainer, and decided it would be nice to hit the diner before heading home. Nic is wearing an unzipped navy blue track shirt, and matching pants, the unzipped portion reveals a red t-shirt with a black silhouette of a surfer. Sidling up to the counter next to Kyle he returns the smile he sees before ordering himself a rootbeer "Hey man, how's it going? Nice night out there isn't it?" Gaétan is trailing in a bit after Nic, holding the door open lazily behind himself with a heel before continuing in properly. He's unassuming in his dress -- faded old bluejeans, black Chuck Taylors, a black lightweight corduroy button-up worn open over a red tee. "... cheap enough and their pancakes are decent," he's telling his roommate as his eyes skate over the room. Frown at the busy tables, eventually look over at the bar. He frowns at that, too, but after only a small pause saunters over, grabbing a pair of menus and hopping up onto a stool at Kyle's other side. "You go to school with us, don't you?" Following close behind Gaétan, Harmony is looking all around, wide-eyed and curious. They're wearing a purple heather hoodie unzipped over a green linen tunic, a fairly normal pair of fraying blue jeans and black sandals. There's a bag slung across their chest made from bicycle inner tubes, the ends of lacquered wooden knitting needles sticking out from beneath the flap. "Oh, hey!" they say, also sitting down and leaning forward to wave at Kyle. "How's your week going?" Kyle takes a sip of his Sprite and was just savoring the taste of the drink before Nic slides on over to talk to him. At his greeting, the young man would smile to Nic with a friendly, welcoming smile. "'ello." he says in a -strong- Scottish accent "That it is. 'ow's it goin' for ya lad?" he asks in return, extending a hand in greeting regardless of how he answers. "Me name's Kyle. Kyle O'reilly. Might I ask yer name?" Then Gaeten enters on the other side of the young Scotsman, and he too is greeted with a kind smile. "Ello lad. I've seen ya around, though I don' think we've actually met." he smiles, extending a hand to him also "Kyle O'reilly. Nice ta officially meet ya." he then looks to Harmony "'Ello Harm. I'm doin' fairly alright I guess...classes be goin' well, so I can' do much complainin'. How 'bout you?" he smiles, suddenly surrounded by friendly faces. Nic blinks taking a second to process the strong accent before grinning to the other teen "Oh, good good, my trainer was in... well not exactly a good mood, but not a bad mood, I got off pretty easily tonight." Nicodemus reaches out to take the hand offered "Nicodemus Montoya, though most folks just call me Nic." Seeing the others come in the teen offers them a smile as well "Schoolmates? You guys go to school around here? I'm Nic by the way, in case you missed it. Just started my senior year at Rye." Gaétan's brows hike up, one eye a little squinched up just a little quizzically. He leans forward just slightly, eying Nic -- then Kyle -- in curious assessment. He sets his menu down to shake Kyle's hand -- a little stiffly -- then picks his menu back up again. "Uh. Gaétan. Guess I can't really complain much about school either, gramps." He sounds more bemused than anything else, voice mild as his eyes drop to his menu. "Oh, man, malts. A giant chocolate malt is /pretty/ much dinner, right?" His eyes flick back up when Nic introduces himself, and he flashes a very quick smile. "Yeah? You like it up there?" Harmony bobs their head, not so much a nod as a greeting, just short of an actual bow. "I'm...getting used to things, still. Gaétan was very kindly showing me around. I'd barely seen this town except passing through it on my way to..." They hesitate, glancing at the other two Xavierites, uncertain. "...campus. I'm Harm, by the way, and..." They give a small, careful smile. "Do you /mind/ being called 'Nicodemus'? I really like that name." Kyle happily shakes Nics hand "Oh really? Sorry ta 'ear ya'r trainer was in a bit o' a gruff." she shrugs a little, taking another sip of his sprite. "Nice ta meet ya Nic. 'appy ya got off nice and neat." he smiles, though he looks to Gaétan and nods to his question "Nice ta meet ya too, Gaeton." then looks to Nic as if asking the same question as Gaétan does. "I don't know if a malt is considered a dinna friend." he laughs faintly, looking then to Harmony "ah, 'appy ta 'ear it." he smiles to Harm "I 'ope ya two 'ave been having a good evenin' so far?" he looks to Nic again, as if asking him that question too. Nic gives a wry smile to Gaétan at his question, and shrugs his shoulders "I guess so, it's school, you gotta go somewhere. right? To be honest though I find most of the students really hard to connect with, a lot of them only care about the superficial stuff... Apparently it's top notch education though, the teachers are really good. Mostly I like being in New York, and hanging out with my uncle." The gymnast grins towards Harmony when they explain they're being shown around "Well that's pretty sweet of Gaétan, you two like... an item?" The boy chuckles and shakes his head at the question of his name "Nah, I don't mind at all, and I don't blame you, it's a pretty great name, most people just seem to prefer something shorter. And you? Sorry I don't think I caught your name." He shrugs his shoulders in response to Kyle's comment "No worries she's just..." he pauses for a moment trying to find the best way to describe his trainer "Intense I guess. She's very serious about her work. Anyway it's nice to sit back and relax after the workout, maybe I'll take a page out of Gaétan's book and have a malt for dinner... just don't tell." "Maybe some French toast," Gaétan is musing absently over his menu, still evidently stuck on the theme of Sugar. He sets it down again, turning a bland look at Nic. "Yeah, definitely. I mean, that's the plan, anyway. I only do friendly things for people if I want to get in their pants." It's just as mild as before. Conversational. "And we won't rat you out." His finger crosses solemnly over his heart as he looks back in front of him. "Maybe /two/ malts." Harmony just blinks at Nic for a moment. "An item?" They glance at Gaétan, blushing. "We're roommates and he knows the area better than I do. People around here /do/ just -- help each other out sometimes, right?" Their eyes drop back down to the menu. "Anyway, I'm thinking Belgian waffle. With a big pile of fruit on top. And /Harm/ -- that's my name." Kyle smiles faintly to Nic, nodding a few times in understanding "ah, I see. May I ask who yer trainin' lady is?" he asks curiously, then looks to Gaétan "French toast sounds pretty good yeah." he sips at his sprite a little more. Though he may or may not become uncomfortable when talks of nice things to get in someone's pants is involved. Joking or no. He then turns to Harmony and chuckles faintly "ah, gotcha. I was a wee bit curious meself on that. I'm assumin' ya like roomin' with each other?" he asks Harm and Gaétan. "Err right, well I guess I'll keep that in mind in case you ever offer to do something nice" Nic says to Gaétan's bland response. Turning his attention back to Harm he smiles "Yes, of course people help each other out, but people /do/ also have relationships here, I was just asking, didn't mean to imply you should be, or anything. Having a friend as a roommate sounds pretty cool, I've just got my uncle at home, which is great, but we don't like go hang out or anything." Looking back towards Kyle Nicodemus shrugs "Sure, her name's Nadia Ilyanov, she trains me up in basic workout and gymnastics, and insists this is going to be my year... it's not even an Olympic year though, so I don't really get that." Gaétan looks Nic up and down. Loooong and carefully. Kind of lingering. "Don't worry," he says with a bit more cheer after this lengthy assessment, "There's no danger of that." He props his elbows on his menu, leaning just slightly forward to catch the eye of a young man manning the counter. "We literally just met last week. S'going alright so far though." Offhand, to the others. His smile brightens as the server comes over. He does /not/, in fact, order two chocolate malts. Only one. To go. "I don't really know how they do things around here," he adds to Harmony. "We're in the wilds of the suburbs, now, it's like a whole new culture." Harmony doesn't actually /stop/ blushing at Nic's reassurance, though their tone is even and confident now. "You were curious...about why two people might hang out if they weren't dating?" This with a small lift of one eyebrow at Kyle, a small sliver of a smile. "But he's a very considerate roommate, and we haven't found the need to draw a line down the middle of the room yet." To the server they very politely -- if carefully -- ask for a fresh fruit waffle to go with maple syrup on the side. "Wait, so /are/ you training for the Olympics?" Kyle nods a few times "the lass sounds nice..maybe she's meanin' that you'll see improvement in ya gymastic skills yeah?" he smiles, attempting to be encouraging. He then glances back to Gaétan with a small relieved sigh. Though he does smile "Happy to 'ear it." he nods a few times "I wonder what kind o' roomate I'll have?" he questions, not having been put with one yet. "The suburbs is a nice place yeah? I like it. Relaxin', minus all the noise." a small chuckle. He actually orders just a chicken basket and another sprite, having a small meal it seems. He does shake his head at Harmony "Nah. I was curious if ya were. Ya neva know, and I figured it was safe to ask. It 'was meant as a jest more than anythin'" he shrugs lightly, sipping on the last of his old sprite now, awaiting when the new sprite that he orders would come. Nic raises an eyebrow at Gaétan's long look, then laughs at the results of the assessment "I guess that means I didn't pass" Nic ends up not ordering a malt, and goes for an omelette instead. "Well glad to hear you two get along well enough, and here's hoping you get a great roomie too Kyle, I'm guessing you're at a boarding school if everyone's getting roommates." The teen smiles at Kyle's answer about being curious "Exactly, ya never know, unless you ask, and it's always good to know where you stand on the whole dating thing right? For instance I now know not to expect any /nice/ things from Gaétan." He says jovially then smiles at the question of his trainer "Yes I know she means well, and seems to be doing a great job, it's just rough sometimes." His eyes shift to Harm and he shrugs his shoulders "I guess I'm what you would call a hopeful, I don't know if I'm good enough to make it though." He takes a long sip from his rootbeer. "Do you ask every pair of dudes you meet if they're dating?" Gaétan wonders idly -- but then with a sudden widening of eyes, a sudden look of /understanding/: "Oh! Are /you/ two dating?" A small wave of his menu to indicate Nic and Kyle. "If this is like a first date I didn't mean to interrupt." He's pulling out his wallet already to pay for his order. "Glad someone enjoys the suburbs, at least." Tucking his menu carefully atop Harmony's, his quick smile returns. "/Yet/. I totally bought painter's tape today to do just that." "I've -- never lived in the suburbs," Harmony admits freely. "I don't think it's quite my speed, but to each their own." They eyes dart to Gaétan, then quickly down to their bag, where they are busily digging out a wallet -- also made from bicycle inner tubes -- to pay for their dinner. "I /do/ like knowing what to expect. /Sometimes./" They snerk quietly at Gaétan. "Well, as long as I get at least half of the window, I suppose. I hope you got a nice /color/ of tape, at least." Then, earnestly. "Good luck on your training, though. If you're not good enough now, then it's all the better that you have time!" Kyle smiles faintly to Nic and nods at his words "Thanks for tha well-wishes and the like. ya never know unless ya try your best yeah?" he says encouragingly to Nic, before glancing to Gaétan, though he shakes his head "No. First time I've met the lad. and I don't swing that way." he shrugs, before tilting his head at Gaétan, then looks to Harm....HE'S A DUDE?! he smiles somewhat apologetically. He shrugs though, resting his head on the counter after taking another sip. He looked sleepy. before he lifts his head to cover a yawn respectfully. "I sometimes ask questions about things I'm curious about to pairs of dudes, other pairs, or individual people, it helps me learn about things and people. If the question bothered you, or is like a touchy subject I'm sorry I didn't mean anything by it." Nic says to Gaétan, then smiles at Kyle's answer "Yeah, we met like seconds before you two got here, no worries about interrupting anything. Not that Kyle doesn't seem like a great guy, but I also don't really swing that way, and already have a pretty awesome girlfriend." Following suit with the others Nic produces his wallet to pay for his meal as well. "Thanks for all the well wishes guys I'll keep pushing hard and working with Nadia, maybe you'll see me as a representative in a few years." The teen says with a grin. Gaétan just looks at Kyle, slow and flat. "Harm is my roommate," he says again. This time his words come out slow, too, carefully and precisely enunciated. He looks greatly relieved when their orders come, nudging Harmony's boxed waffle to his roommate, sliding off his stool and picking up his shake. The lift of the cup to the others is quick and perfunctory, a vague and idle salute of farewell as he starts for the door. For some reason, Harmony is blushing /even harder/ now, accepting their waffle with a quick duck of their head at the server, and then at Gaétan. Their mouth opens, but they stop just short of actually saying anything here, nodding instead. They pick up their supper and dipping their head in another half-bow to Kyle and Nic. "Have a good evening," they say, before hurrying after their roommate. Kyle waves at Gaétan and Harmony as they both take off, before appropriately head-desking. "Ugh, I don't think when I'm tired. Whateva." he Scotsman pays for his meal and rises out of his chair. "See ya Nic...nice meetin' ya lad." he nods faintly, taking his meal to go and putting on his jacket. "Good luck wit' tha Gymnastics and such." he nods faintly.