• This section is for roleplays only.
    ALL interest checks/recruiting threads must go in the Recruit Here section.

    Please remember to credit artists when using works not your own.

Starting Over

"Stanford?" Barrin asked, raising an eyebrow and appearing intrigued. "You went to Stanford? Impressive. I went to a local college back home, University of Pittsburg."


He didn't mention the reason why.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
"And if that wasn't impressive enough, I got in for Mathematics on a partial scholarship. It was pretty awesome. Your brother mentioned something about you going to school to be a surgeon?"
 
"Should I be intimidated?" Barrin asked, smirking slightly. "You're clearly very smart. What're you doing, being friends with my dumbass brother?" He wasn't sure if it was impolite to swear during the first date but he felt more comfortable around Natalie than he did around most other strangers. Besides, Nartai was a dumbass in some respects, always too willing to lie down and be trodden on, forever complacent.


"Oh yes," Barrin said, "I went in for biology with a pre-med track. I finished med school about two years ago and am in my second year of residency at this time. It's something that I just decided to pick up. How'd you decide to go in for math?"
 
"Don't be, I'm not trying to scare you off," she chuckled. "But let's say that your computer engineer of a brother and I work together pretty well when it comes to running simulations. He knows how to plug everything in, and I've got enough brains to figure out the different equations that we need," she honestly didn't care that her date just swore, it was refreshing. Plus, it wasn't even that bad of a swear in the first place.


"I took a lot of those math-based courses in high school. I was a huge math geek, and one of my teachers was like, 'Natalie, you really need to take this AP course, you could go really far if you considered a math-based field', and I did. I didn't know what I was going to do, only that I really liked math."
 
Barrin smiled at her gently. "Well," he said, "at least we know Nartai is good for some things. Do you have any siblings?" he asked.


"My mother would have probably hired you as a tutor for me," he said with a chuckle. "I was downright rotten at math. Trigonometry was hell on earth."
 
"No, not that I know of. I wish that I did, though," she laughed. "Bet you'd think I'm crazy for wanting them when you have a brother like Nartai."


"I wouldn't have minded tutoring you. You seem a bit better than what I usually got for tutoring."
 
Barrin laughed. "I also have a good sibling," he said, smiling at her. "You know, when you have five of them it's a give or take of which ones are gonna be half-decent and which are half-baked. I have a younger sister named Nataxie and my youngest sister is Galene. They're both good to me."


Barrin leaned forward on her next statement, arching a single eyebrow and shooting her a flirty smile. "Am I prettier than most of them?"
 
"Five? Now that is a lot of siblings nowadays," she replied, "I mean, statistically one of them has to be good to you. But, statistically wouldn't be wholly correct, it'd be like half correct because of deviations in the data and whatnot."


She leaned forward slightly as well, looking around as if she was just about to tell the biggest secret of all time, "Well, a lot of them were rich white kids, so I'd say that your far prettier than most of them."
 
"Oh god," Barrin groaned, "don't drag math into this, I was just starting to like you," he added, though he gave her a smile to show he was kidding. "Seriously, math was my worst subject. I hated it because there was always a 'right answer' and I could never figure out how to get it. While medicine is like that in the fact that you have to figure out the root of the problem, there's always a team of people working together so it's less stressful, at least for me."


He smiled at her. "Aw, I'm flattered."
 
Last edited by a moderator:
"Oh no, I'm ruining this date, aren't I? Nartai's going to kill me!" she grinned. "Don't worry, I was terrible at Biology when I was in high school. I think we would've made good study partners."


"Good, good. My plan is working." she smiled, and gave him a wink.


At least they were joking around now so it wasn't as awkward as it had been like ten minutes ago.
 
He had a good time, which was a delightful surprise. Barrin had been prepared to go home and nurse a beer or five for half the night before officially declaring his brother a moron but Natalie was nice to talk to, not to mention pretty. They talked about mundane things, never going too in-depth and that was fine with Barrin. She never pushed or prodded when a few things slipped out and he didn't say anything when a statement seemed to come from left-field for her.


"I've always wanted a dog but apparently you can't have one when you have five other siblings. I offered to trade in my youngest brother, Casimir, for a dog once. My mom got mad at me."


"Part of the reason why I wanted to be a surgeon was because they saved my life once and I wanted to do the same."


"I was on my high school football team. Star quarterback and all."


"Running track always seemed stupid to me. Like, you just run in a circle and occasionally there's a baton being passed around. How's that a sport?"


"Exercise is sort of a cornerstone in my life."


"ER rotations are the worst. Not just because there's a higher chance of people dying; I get called in at like 3:00 AM because someone shoved something up their ass."


"Galene once wanted blue eyes because someone at school made fun of her hair and when she pointed out some other girls also had the same kinky hair they said they were ok because they were 'pale'. I don't think I've ever been so close to punching a little white girl in the face so much before."


"I've only dated three people before this."


"You know Nartai's wife, Auria? She's from Korea and the first time she offered me kimchi I think I offended her by making a face. It was slimy."


"My parents run a business, which was why they could have five kids."


"My mom had my oldest sister when she was just eighteen. Crazy, right?"


"They've been married for over thirty years now."


"The first time I did anything truly 'medical', it was because Nartai accidentally swallowed a fly and was freaking out. I gave him the Heimlich and it popped out. I was laughing the whole time, too."


He told her a few more bits and pieces about his family, nothing really about him or Joseph or his former romantic life or high school. He talked about work and the stress and the crazy hours and the even more insane reasons why. He talked about what kind of weather he preferred and his favorite color and ice cream flavor and how sangria made his teeth hurt. He talked to Natalie and for the first time in over a year, Joseph never entered his mind once as a comparison or otherwise.


Too soon, the check came as he was eating his dessert, a cheesecake drizzled in chocolate syrup.


"I got it," Barrin said, reaching for his wallet.
 
"I always wanted a big dog, a big fluffy dog. But there wasn't any room in the house for it."


"No reason, but I like making sure that people pay for what they get. It's only fair."


"I didn't do sports, but I was a Mathlete for years. There's probably some old footage of me on YouTube."


"I used to keep my hair in the same two braids because that's how my grandma would do it, she didn't know how to style it beyond braids. When I was sixteen I tried straightening it and I think I gave my scalp first degree burns."


"Only one for me. A high school sweetheart."


"I've met her a couple of times, she's really nice. And always something to say."


"I was raised mostly by my grandparents. The whole story isn't good for a first date."


"They've been married for fifty years by now."


"My grandpa used to show me stuff in his old physics textbooks. I got in trouble with my teacher, but it didn't really matter because we at least bonded over it."


She kept a lot of the stuff to the side, and tried to deflect any questions that she wouldn't answer on a first date. Her life was complicated, and she didn't want to scare off the nice man because she told him her life stories. Natalie did a lot more listening than talking, her time to talk would come eventually.


"You sure? I could get the tip."
 
"I can get it," he said, smiling at her. "I'm not a totally broke medical student, my parents helped pick up the tab so I've got cash on me. You could get the tip, if you really want to." Barrin didn't want her to feel like he thought she couldn't pay for herself. Clearly, she could. He slapped on his debit card and signed the receipt while the waitress went to ring it up.


"So," he said, pulling out his phone and realizing that they had been there for over an hour, "can I get your number? I'd rather not have to go through my brother to get to you."
 
She took out her wallet, and rifled through it for a ten. Ten seemed like a lot, but waitresses were paid like shit. She was slightly offended by how little restaurant staff were paid, so she tried to tip generously. "I try to get the tip if someone pays for me. Makes me feel slightly better about someone buying me a meal, you know?"


She nodded, holding out her hand for his phone. "Yup, just text me and say that you're not a serial killer bent on murdering me." she chuckled.
 
Barrin chuckled and handed his phone over, folding his hands and placing them on the table. "Won't make any promises," he teased.


"Did you drive here?"
 
She typed in her name and number, and handed it back to Barrin. "That makes me feel good about giving you my number."


"Yes, I drove here."
 
"Well I suppose it's polite for me to walk you to your car," Barrin said, taking his card back once the waitress came back, getting up from his chair. He glanced down at his phone and sent off a text to the new number.


Natalie Williams
me
Totally not a serial killer.
 
She took her phone out of her bag and looked at it, "Cool, that's more reassuring than you would think it is."


"I guess it is the polite thing to do," she said. All she could do was hope that her car would start right away so it wouldn't weird him out too much.
 
"Well," Barrin said, stuffing his hands in his pockets, "that's what I've usually done on first dates. I'm large and scary so any actual serial killers would probably stay away," he joked.
 
"Yeah, you kind of are. But surprisingly approachable and down to earth," she said, and dropped her phone back in her bag.
 
"I'll choose to ignore that minor slight in favor of the larger compliment," he said with a smile, drawing one hand out of his pocket. He wasn't sure if she wanted to hold it or if they would just walk awkwardly next to each other but he figured he'd give her the option. "Let's head on out and hope I don't get called in halfway to your car."
 
"You do what you want to do, big man," she joked. He had his hand out and she had flashbacks to seventh grade. Did she hold hands with this guy on her way to the car? Or would they walk awkwardly next to each other? Natalie took his hand, and knew that she would want to punch herself in the face later for it. "Yeah, we wouldn't want that, huh? Duty calls, though."
 
Barrin rolled his eyes as Natalie took his hand. "I think the statement 'I do what I want' applies to certain people and I am totally not one of those people." He squeezed her hand slightly in reassurance and led her out into the parking lot.


"Duty is usually some frat boy doing something overly dumb at this hour," Barrin said. "Which way is your car?"
 
She walked out with him to the parking lot, and led him to her clunker. Now really was the time for this baby to start. "That's good though, I never really understood people who think they should do something because they can."


"This one right here," she said, and dug through her bag for her keys. She let go of his hand, unlocked the car, and got into the driver's seat. Natalie sent a hopeful prayer up to anyone listening before she attempted to turn on the vehicle. The old girl gave a valiant effort before she sputtered and died. She groaned, and tried again much to the same effect.


She swore to herself quietly, and tried again, only to get the sputtering and another death. "Crap."
 
Barrin oscillated by her car for a second more before turning to leave when he heard the noise of a car struggling to start. He ended up turning around and tapping on the glass.


"You alright in there?" he asked.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)

Similar threads

Edric Blight
Fandom The Untold Stories of Hogwarts - 1x1 HP RP
55 56 57 58 59 closed fluff harry potter
Replies
1K
Views
7K
Edric Blight
Edric Blight
monkeydoll555
Fandom Threads of Fate (Harry Potter OC 1x1)
Replies
0
Views
76
monkeydoll555
monkeydoll555
beep_56
Realistic or Modern strange high school love
Replies
0
Views
29
beep_56
beep_56
moonrise
Fandom ATLA: Archive of Water [Closed]
Replies
3
Views
114
Lucyfer
Lucyfer
moonrise
Fandom ATLA: Archive of Fire [Closed]
Replies
3
Views
129
Lucyfer
Lucyfer
Back
Top