spirit in the night | noelle

[aaron seymour]

I WONDER IF I'M WITH YOU NOW
OR JUST CHASIN' SOME FINER DAY

____________________________________________

Saturday night had come around sooner than Aaron first thought it would. Usually when a person was excited about something it took forever to get to whatever they were excited about, and then it flew by and was over before you could blink. So far the date with Noelle wasn't going quite that fast, but at an enjoyable pace. All day he had been trying to decide where to take her, not wanting to give too strong an impression by taking her to a quiet, intimate place. He wasn't even sure himself if he could handle that, and he didn't want to make things awkward. He also didn't want to make himself guilty all over again for doing such a thing, thinking he was pushing the memory of his wife aside. Aaron didn't want to bring Noelle to some hamburger joint where they used paper napkins and there was a family with three kids screaming three tables over either. They ended up somewhere in the middle. Gale Street Inn to be exact. It was a popular and family-oriented place, but there was also room to get away if that was what was preferred.

He showed up at apartment 3C around 7:10 that evening, hating to be punctual because he felt it gave people weird vibes about him, so he often lagged to purposely be late. Ten minutes was a reasonable amount of time, anything over fifteen was pushing it. Forty-five and you might as well eat something because he ain't coming, or there was an emergency. Might want to check on that first before blowing up and looking like a fool. Aaron had thought about showing up with flowers, but he thought better of it. He enjoyed playing the secret admirer and he had a feeling Noelle did too since she hadn't tried to guess if it was him. Or she really had no clue. Of course, he could show up with flowers of a different variety from a different florist, but he chose not to take the chance. Instead, he offered his arm to escort her to his newly washed Lincoln. If the car had been black it could have easily been mistaken for a limo, but it was gold. Always the gentleman, he opened the door for Noelle and closed it when she got in. She kept inquiring as to where they were going, but he refrained from telling her, liking to keep things anonymous until the last possible second. It wasn't really much of a surprise, but it's the thought that counts. When they parked, he went around to the passenger side to let Noelle out, then offered her his arm again until they made it inside and were seated. Yes, he even pulled her chair out for her.

Now they were sitting across from each other with a bread basket, their salads and drinks between them. It was Saturday night at Gale Street which meant there was a live band playing. They were rather good, playing some popular oldies songs with a few of their own creations woven in between. They were seated against the window, on left side of the band if you were looking at the stage head on. In front of the stage was a dance floor that was surprisingly occupied by two couples, the rest of the restaurant was eating or watching them. It was pretty full, but there were still some empty tables within sight. He'd say all in all Saturdays were good business nights, although Fridays were always packed, which was why Aaron chose a Saturday night for a date. They would at least be guaranteed a table.

He finished his salad then looked across the table at Noelle as he returned his cloth napkin to his lap. After watching her for a moment his eyes then turned toward the floor and the band who were starting up a new song. "Care to dance?" He ventured, tipping his head toward the middle of the room. At least he couldn't be turned down with the excuse that she wasn't a good dancer that would be a lie. If she had asked him it could have been his excuse, but he was the one willing to look embarrassed (well from her angle) with his moves. Although, she couldn't deny that he was probably good enough to carry her across the floor. He grinned to himself on the inside, remembering their first lesson when he had said he wanted to learn just enough to carry a girl across the dance floor. At the time he hadn't thought it would be the young woman sitting across from him, but that would only be if she agreed.

They still had time before their entree arrived, but if she preferred not to then he was perfectly comfortable just sitting and engaging in conversation. So far it hadn't been lacking. It surprised him, that Noelle was one of the few people he got along with well enough to hold a conversation without making it awkward, in most cases. He had thought that after he asked her out, things would be awkward, but they hadn't been. Aaron tried his hardest to make certain of that. Actually, he had been so intent on getting close enough to Noelle so she would trust him that he forgot the whole reason he was doing it in the first place. To see how much she knew of the man she saw on the roof that night last week. Apparently not enough to recognize that suicidal man as the one sitting three feet away from her, that was enough for him.

The night before their date, Aaron received another job two streets away from Noelle's and he nearly lost his nerve and therefore his target just thinking about it. Fortunately for him, not for the target, he hadn't missed the shot. The morning of the murder had shaken him up badly enough with another message from the person stalking him. They had went a level up and sent him a gruesome image from five years ago of his wife's battered head in the parking garage. Aaron literally became sick to his stomach. He still recoiled at the memory that was now 36 hours old. But he was trying his darnedest now not to think about it, or look at his phone. He saved the picture message, for evidence in case things got worse and he needed the proof. Whoever this person was had to have been affiliated with Martin Stanley five years ago. How else could they have gotten such an image? Aaron had tried so hard to put his wife's murder behind him, but it was looking like the past was coming back to haunt him.

____________________________________________

LYRICS are from ANTICIPATION by MANDY MOORE
IMAGE is by ME
OOC heh, i originally had 4 paragraphs but i wanted to add something that was supposed to be a couple sentences and it turned out to be a couple paragraphs lmao!

[noelle ackerman]

i'll take you just the way you are
imperfect words inside the perfect song
________________________________________________________

The week had flown by for Noelle, mainly because she had been able to keep herself in high spirits. Compared to what the previous week had brought her, that was nothing short of a miracle. Now, she wasn't coming in to work tired because she didn't sleep, she was coming into work tired because she wanted to sleep more. Granted, neither were fun, but the woman definitely preferred the latter. On top of her high spirits, she had been looking forward to tonight ever since Aaron had asked her if she wanted to join him for dinner. Luckily, even with this date hanging over their heads, they were able to keep things from getting awkward during his dance lessons or wherever else they happened to run into each other. It was another miracle, because Noelle had been next to certain that by the time tonight came they would be sitting in stiff silence, unsure of what to say to one another.

Aaron hadn't gotten to her apartment at exactly seven, which was more than okay since after Noelle decided that she would rather wear her hair down instead of up (to keep her neck warm from the cold) she needed those extra ten minutes to take it down and make sure it was how she wanted it. Now, it fell in dull waves around her shoulders, and reminded her that it was starting to get too thick and long and would be in need of a cut soon. Aaron was a man though so she doubted he would notice, or really care for that matter. It wasn't to the point yet where she looked like a shaggy dog so all Noelle had to do was run a brush through it and push it back behind her ears. She had just finished up when there was a knock at her door, and the woman had opened it to see a very handsome Mr. Seymour waiting on the other side.

After she had slipped her coat on and grabbed her purse, Aaron offered her his arm and the two went down to his car. She knew that he was very gentlemanly, from the short time they had known each other, but it still managed to surprise her sometimes. There had only ever been two other people who had ever opened a car door for her like him. The first guy things just didn't work out with, and the second ended up parking the car in some obscure place outside the city and tried to get her to take her clothes off. If she remembered correctly, that was the last guy she had ever gone out with, until now anyway.

The whole ride to the restaurant Aaron had refused to let Noelle in on where he was taking her, which was torture. She liked to know these things! At the same time, though, it was nice to not ruin the surprise. Needless to say, she had been delighted when their car pulled up to the Gale Street Inn. Noelle had been here once before and remembered loving it, and there wasn't a thought in her mind that tonight would make it any different. What made it even better was that on Saturdays they had a live band play at the restaurant. When she had come it had been a weekday, so there was music but it wasn't from a live band. Adding that factor to it made it all the more memorable. They ended up getting a great table, in her opinion anyway, since she loved sitting by a window, and was again a little surprised when Aaron helped her with her chair. Despite her upbringing, Noelle still wasn't used to being doted upon in this kind of way. Still, it was nice.

Their evening began with a bowl of breadsticks in the middle of the table and a light salad for the both of them. To her surprise, they were able to easily hold a conversation while they sat together, as compared to some dates when the two people sit there and stare at their plates while fishing for something to say. That was usually when you got into the "Nice weather we're having" and the "You know, I saw on StarWars.com that..." Thank heavens that wasn’t what they had been reduced to. It was probably thanks to the dance lessons actually, because they had gotten to know each other and become even more comfortable with one another through them. Noelle felt like she could say with confidence that he was the kind of person the woman could put her trust into. That was what made her feel the most at ease around him.

When she was finished with her salad, Noelle set her fork down and carefully wiped her mouth with the cloth napkin before replacing it in her lap, as Aaron had done. One of her phobias was that she would be on a date with someone and half the night there would be a bit of dressing on her chin that she didn't know was there, and the person wouldn't tell her because they had too much amusement in it. So, she found herself constantly and discreetly wiping her chin when he wasn't looking, almost every time finding nothing on the napkin afterwards - thankfully. Her eyes rose from her lap when the girl heard Aaron ask if she wanted to dance. For a moment, Noelle's gaze drifted to the dance floor where a few couples were already in their own worlds in their dates' arms. Smiling delicately, she looked back at him, "I'd love to." Not only would it be fun to see if their lessons had paid off, it would be nice to dance with him for the sake of dancing, not for the sake of teaching him anything.

________________________________________________________

`Status: Finished!
`Tag: Aaron Seymour
`Word Count: 987
`Lyrics By: David Cook - Declaration
`Notes:

[/font] pic by me
Outfit: Clickie! (with longer hair LoL)[/blockquote][/size]

[aaron seymour]

A DEEP BREATH AND BABY STEPS
THAT'S HOW THE WHOLE THING STARTS

____________________________________________

Aaron found himself gazing, actually gazing, at Noelle as she wiped her mouth and returned it to her lap. When was the last time he had done that? Again, the last time he could think of was five years ago after he found out Kate was pregnant. Whenever she slept he lay awake just watching her, gazing at her stomach where his child, their child, was growing. He had been so happy to learn he was going to be a father, so damn happy he could have peed. He had never been, and probably never would be, as happy as he had been at that moment. Not even his wedding day, but it was a close second. He wanted a girl, a beautiful little girl that looked like her mother, but he would have been just as happy with a son. He never did find out what sex the baby was and from time to time he found himself wondering and imagining how things would be different. There was never a day that went by he didn't dwell on the "What if"s.

The corners of his mouth lifted in a smile when Noelle's eyes lifted to his after his invitation to dance. It had turned into a habit now when he saw her. He didn't even find himself worrying that she would say no, because he was enjoying her company and could do that from right where they were. When she did accept though, it lifted his spirits and the events of yesterday faded to the darker corners of his mind where they belonged. Picking up his napkin from his lap, he folded it onto the table so he could push his chair back and stand up. Setting the chair under the table so no one tripped over it, he walked around to Noelle's side of the table and stood off to the side of her. He offered his hand for her to take, the other wrapped around the back of the chair to help pull it out when she stood up.

It was really a surprise that a man like Aaron had such manners. He certainly didn't get them from his home life. Actually, maybe he had. His father was never the gentleman; sure he held the door open and made dinner once in a while, but it was nothing like what Aaron was showing Noelle now. One might even go as far as saying it was overkill, but Aaron called it chivalry. Whoever had said chivalry was dead obviously never met Aaron. No, Aaron got his manners from watching his father be a male chauvinist. Doing what his father never did. His view of women came some from his father as well, but more from his wife's death. It was never as profound until then, which made him feel guilty that he hadn't treated his wife as well as he should have, hadn't cherished her enough. But whenever he voiced these ideas to his friends back in New York, they told him Kate couldn't have found a better guy. That he couldn't be Superman, no matter how bad he wanted to be.

Leading Noelle between the tables and onto the dance floor, he found a space enough away from the other couples and twisted to face her. "All righ', let's see if yer teachin' paid off." He took the proper stance, one hand at the waist the other entwined with her own. Just for show, he tipped his head down to look at his feet as they started swaying with the beat. When he found his rhythm he looked up again, with a broad grin on his face. "So far so good." He teased, sliding his hand back a bit further to her back.

____________________________________________

LYRICS are from LONG SLOW BEAUTIFUL DANCE by RASCAL FLATTS
IMAGE is by ME
OOC -ish sorry- i've been letting others get in the way of our plots! -shame shame- lmao. but how can you be upset with that post! so cute! ^-^

[noelle ackerman]

i feel you closer than you are
and i've been waiting far too long
________________________________________________________

The soft smile that formed on Aaron's lips after Noelle accepted his invitation to dance made her heart flutter in her chest. There was something so different about Aaron, in every aspect of the word. He looked at her differently than any other man had, he touched her differently, he spoke to her differently, and the woman loved it. It made her feel like he appreciated her presence rather than, well, not. Plus, a smile was a powerful thing, and his was so beautiful and cute that it completely lifted her spirits whenever she saw it. His smile was probably part of the reason that Noelle had been in such a good mood the past few days, because it made her feel warmed. It was easy to see the difference between his genuine simper and the commercial toothpaste grin that a person had when they were forcing one or trying too hard. Maybe that was why Noelle liked him so much, he seemed real.

Noelle picked her napkin back up and placed it on the table when Aaron came around to her side, then smiled up at the man and took his hand as she stood up out of her seat. She continued to feel spoiled by his gentlemanly manners, but enjoyed it all the same. Again, it wasn't something you found every day. Even if some men found it corny or other women argued that they wanted a "bad boy," there was no denying the charm of a guy who helped you with your chair or opened the car door for you. Yes, it was old fashioned, but why did that have to be a bad thing these days? Good manners had become lost in the world of High Definition TV and iPods. Noelle wasn't perfect, but she always tried to be well mannered and lady like. It amazed her what she saw some of the young woman in her classes doing sometimes.

Another couple had come out onto the dance floor as well, but all the same it was still pretty empty. That was fine though, it meant that they wouldn't bump into anyone, and it gave them a calmer atmosphere. "All righ', let's see if yer teachin' paid off." Noelle laughed quietly and placed her hand in Aaron's, then rested her other on his shoulder while he set his on her lower back. It was funny how they had been doing this same exact thing for the past few days, but the change in circumstances gave it a completely different feel. There was a band playing soft music behind them, quiet lighting, and the soft murmur of other couples around them. It made it all, dare she say, slightly romantic. The woman managed to push that aside for now though, because she didn't want to ruin a good thing by over thinking everything like she usually managed to.

They swayed quietly with the music, Aaron seeming at first very intent on getting his footwork down or not stepping on her toes. Then he looked back up at her with that adorable smile again and Noelle's heart melted just a little. It felt like when you looked at a 3-week-old puppy, it was too cute. "So far so good." Noelle hadn't doubted for even a second that he would be fine in their dancing. "You're doing great. You can carry me around the dance floor any time." She gave a small smirk, referencing back to his first lesson when Aaron had said he just wanted to be able to "carry a girl around the floor." Noelle felt bad now that she had giggled at the comment then, but she couldn't help it at the time. It wasn't that it was funny because he had said it, it was just...she couldn't explain it. Feeling comfortable with the idea that they would not be giving each other any new bruises to take home as a souvenir, Noelle stepped a little closer to him and moved her arm further around Aaron's shoulder, feeling incredibly relaxed by simply having him this close to her.

________________________________________________________

`Status: Finished!
`Tag: Aaron Seymour
`Word Count: 700
`Lyrics By: David Cook - Declaration
`Notes:

[/font] pic by me
Outfit: Clickie! (with longer hair LoL)
That first paragraph felt so contradictory since
Aaron is...well...lying to her xD[/blockquote][/size]

[aaron seymour]

A DEEP BREATH AND BABY STEPS
THAT'S HOW THE WHOLE THING STARTS

____________________________________________

Somehow the restaurant had grown quiet, more quiet than it was when they had arrived. It was a soft murmur now, just a buzz in the air. He wanted to look over Noelle's shoulder to see why it had gotten so quiet, but he couldn't find the will to pull his gaze away from her. Maybe it wasn't really that quiet at all, maybe he was just in his own world that included only Noelle and himself. Or perhaps the restaurant was transfixed with the couple. There were two others though so it probably wasn't because of them. Then again, it could be. He would never know because he could never look. As they slowly moved around the floor, in more of a circle, he could see the occasional shadow of another couple, the glow of the lights at the tables and on the stage. Faintly, he could see the television on the other side of the partition that divided the bar and the restaurant, but there was no sound coming from the bar. It was it's own room, but the top of the partition was glass to the ceiling.

Aaron only grinned when Noelle said he was free to carry her across the dance floor any time. He was sure there would be a next time because he was more than willing to take her up on that offer. It felt right to him being with her, but the feeling never lasted too long before the guilt seeped through the cracks. It was a battle between his head and both sides of his heart, they were pulling in all different directions and he didn't know how he was going to choose between them or get them all to collaborate. So far, he was working with all three, but it was pretty early in the game yet. Things were bound to get complicated soon, it was only a matter of time. There were just so many variables to take in and each one needed to be carefully scrutinized. Aaron always kept himself far away from new relationships after Kate, and he had done good for five years. It was time to move on, but he wasn't sure he was ready.

The song was beginning to come to an end but before it did, Aaron removed his arm from around Noelle's waist and used the other to raise both their arms higher so she could spin out, then his hand tightened around hers to bring her back in and return his arm around her waist. He ended up pulling her back in closer then what they had originally been, only noticing when his arm reached further around her back than before. He didn't step away though, smiling softly down at her. They were so close he could feel her breath on his face. A trickle of warmth flowed through him as his eyes caught hers. Slowly, his lips began to part and his head drifted closer to hers. He hadn't noticed he had stopped moving with the music. Then, the music stopped, people clapped, and the lights on the dance floor became brighter. His trance had been broken and Aaron stepped back, releasing Noelle's hand and body as the band said they were going to take a short break.

His eyes searched hers for a moment before he simply smiled and gestured toward their table. "Looks like our food is here." He didn't really know that for sure since he hadn't actually looked, but they couldn't stand on the floor any longer. And he suddenly felt weird about almost kissing her. He had wanted to and he knew if there had been a few more seconds he would have, but somehow fate had cut in. This hadn't been the right time to do it, when there was a right time it would happen. He was a great believer in fate and destiny. As they made their way back to the table, a waiter was just removing the tray from the stand and folding it back up after having served their plates. At least the food hadn't been sitting there long enough to get cold.

____________________________________________

LYRICS are from LONG SLOW BEAUTIFUL DANCE by RASCAL FLATTS
IMAGE is by ME
OOC lol i didnt feel like looking for new lyrics... plus i like those.

[noelle ackerman]

it's my declaration
to anyone who's listening
________________________________________________________

The last time Noelle had danced with a man like this was, well, not something that she wanted to think about because it would probably ruin this moment. It had been a while though. She had danced with male partners for auditions and a competition and such since then, but nothing like this. The woman had forgotten what it felt like to be this close to someone that she liked. It reminded her how she had felt when she was in love. It was probably the most amazing thing in the world to love someone so deeply and unconditionally. Noelle had never been as happy as when she had once known what that felt like. But, that was all over now. The woman no longer held a grudge over everything that happened with that man, but she had obviously let it get to her enough that she hadn't dated anyone else - until now. It felt good to be here with Aaron and to give it a try again, not to mention that she felt safe here with his arms around her. She couldn't have asked for anyone better than him to unknowingly help her get back into the swing of things again.

The room had long since fallen away, and Noelle felt lost in their own little world where the other couples didn't exist, the tables didn't exist, and the band didn't even exist - just herself, Aaron, and the music. That was what happened when you enjoyed the other's company, she supposed. Her eyes watched his as they swayed, a light smile on her lips while Noelle silently tried to figure out their shade of green in the darker lighting. They looked like they had a bit of gray mixed them, enough to make them look brighter and icier. The color of his eyes wasn't what made it so hard for the girl to look away though. Aaron looked at Noelle with such a gentle and tender expression that it seemed almost wrong for her to look away. For a moment, all of the worries of the world were forgotten from that simple, calming look. It had almost the same effect on her as those anonymous flowers did. All week, whenever she inhaled their sweet perfume her muscles relaxed and Noelle felt as like everything was fine and there was nothing she had to stress over.

She felt his hand tighten around hers, then stepped away as Aaron spun her out away from him. The woman's smile widened, and she laughed quietly as he brought her back into him. This time they were even closer than before. Instead of Noelle wrapping her arm around him, it was stuck between them against his chest and her hand resting carefully on his shoulder. His arm was even farther around her waist, bringing them near enough to each other that his warm breath tickled her skin. It made her heart pound dully against her chest as Noelle lifted her gaze to meet his again. Next thing she knew, the girl was inhaling deeply as Aaron slowly leaned in closer to her. What was he doing? Was he going to kiss her? Gosh, it had been so long that Noelle felt like a fourteen year old again, unsure of what she should do. Did she want him to kiss her? Yes. Maybe? Yes. Her lips parted with his, her eyes closing as he came closer to her.

Then, almost as fast as the moment has begun, it was over. The music stopped and her eyes opened again, seeing him step away and leaving her feeling... she didn't know. Noelle felt both relieved and disappointed. Trying to push it away for now, the girl looked up at the band when they said they were going to take a break and clapped for them along with everyone else. "Looks like our food is here." Noelle glanced toward their table, seeing the waiter setting down their plates of food. "Yeah," was all she could manage to say. She still felt a little taken back by what had just happened. When they had made it back to their table, Noelle set the napkin in her lap again to protect her clothes. The food smelled wonderful and made her all the more hungry, but before they started eating she felt like she had to say something. As Noelle struggled for what that might be, she said the first thing that came into her mind, "You're a good dancer." And he was, she meant that truthfully, she just wished she could have come up with something better.

________________________________________________________

`Status: Finished!
`Tag: Aaron Seymour
`Word Count: 777
`Lyrics By: David Cook - Declaration
`Notes:

[/font] pic by me
Outfit: Clickie! (with longer hair)
I hope that first paragraph wasn't confusing...[/blockquote][/size]

[aaron seymour]

A DEEP BREATH AND BABY STEPS
THAT'S HOW THE WHOLE THING STARTS

____________________________________________

While heading for their table and the delicious looking food on it, Aaron remained a step behind Noelle, allowing her to lead the way. It gave him time to wear the bewildered expression he had been trying to disguise since the music had stopped. It wasn't a long enough distance for him to completely work out why it had happened, but there was enough time for him to realize that he actually had wanted to kiss her. For the first time in five years he hadn't felt guilty about it, until his brain was shoved back into his skull anyway. Now he didn't know what to make of the situation. He liked Noelle, sure. She was a lovely person inside and out and he was...well... He was... To her he was a Scottish history teacher who knew how to treat a lady with no past, present, or future. But he wasn't, entirely all of those things. She was missing a rather large piece of who he was. A monster. A killer, someone who plays God and takes human lives. His past was bloody and broken, his present was a lie, and his future was dark and probably dingy. It all went back to his reason for staying away from relationships. If he disappeared now, what would happen? Something was wrong, not only with the picture, but cinematic, spine tingling, bone chilling, wrong.

Aaron erased the expression from his features, trying to hide all traces of it and hoping he was successful. He took his place across the table from Noelle and looked down at the food on his plate. He had already forgotten what he had ordered, but it looked like chicken. He dropped his napkin onto his cleanly pressed pants before reaching for his forked and spearing a tender carrot from the dish. It was the first to go in his mouth and he wasn't disappointed by the burst of flavor. He knew he always loved food. For a moment, Aaron's gaze remained on his plate until Noelle commented him on his dancing. His eyes then rose to hers. "I've had a good teacher." He flashed a quick smile of appreciation before cutting into his chicken.

Conversation from then on was kind of slow, but not lacking. To be honest, Aaron was enjoying his dinner too much to interrupt it with talking. That, and he didn't want to look piggish trying to talk with food in his mouth. He never sent a date home wearing his dinner and he didn't intend to start now. The waiter returned to check on them, asking how the meal was and if they needed anything, the whole sh-peel that got them tips, of course while they were in mid-chew. Aaron was at least. Not a moment after the waiter left and Aaron swallowed did he feel his pocket begin to vibrate. He started, having forgotten his phone was in fact in his pocket. "Sorry. I though' I turned it off." Reaching into his trousers, Aaron retrieved the device and looked at it out of habit, even though he had planned on ignoring whoever wanted to disrupt his date. His stomach dropped when he read 'Restricted' on the small screen. For a long moment he stared hard at the phone, until the screen went dark, deeply debating on whether or not he wanted to look at the message.

With his thumb, Aaron flipped open the cell phone and pressed 'OK' to open the message. It was a picture and from what he could see of it, it was a dark one. Using the down arrow Aaron revealed more of the image until he saw the window panes, the very ones that they were sitting in front of. Scrolling more he saw into the Gale Street Inn to the windows on the other side of the restaurant, and finally he saw himself. Himself sitting across from Noelle, his fork frozen on its way to his mouth. Her head tilted down, gathering something onto her fork. That now familiar heat began rising to his head from the pit of his stomach. That anger and fear and mushed together to create one deadly emotion. His eyes darted to the window, unable to see much because night had nearly completely fallen. He looked back at the phone and finished examining the picture, looking for a message at the end. There was one, "Be careful" was all it said. What did that mean?

Snapping the phone closed roughly, Aaron's head tilted up to look at Noelle. "Would ye excuse me fer a moment? I'm gonna go find the men's room." He slipped his chair back, crushed his napkin in his fist and dropped it on the table then headed toward the bar where the restrooms were. His poor cell phone was dying a painful death in his fist as he stopped short of the hall to the restrooms and stormed outside instead. "Come on ye bastard. Show yerself." He growled, stepping away from the light of the building toward the shrubbery on the other side of the parking lot. He kept his eye on the window to make sure he couldn't be seen by Noelle if she happened to look, but he was behind her so unless she craned her neck she wouldn't see him. He found a break in the foliage and slipped through, prowling behind the bushes until he was at the approximate spot the picture was taken from. There was no one. "Ye bastard. Coward. Can send me pictures but ye can't face me? What do ye want? Revenge? Well, here I am. Come get it." He didn't expect his stalker to show himself, but he wanted him to. He wanted to pound the snot out of him and leave him for the roaches to finish off. He wanted to inflict as much pain on him as he could handle until he got the answers he wanted before showing mercy. He wanted to hear him beg for mercy. "I know yer still here. I can feel yer eyes." Which actually make his skin crawl as his own eyes sifted through and tried to make sense of the shadows in the quickly falling darkness. "I'll get ye. Ye can bet on tha'" Aaron knew he would get the bastard who was making his life even more complicated. He would slip up and that would be how Aaron would catch him, catch him in his own mess. He would do it, and he would do it with a grin on his face.

____________________________________________

LYRICS are from LONG SLOW BEAUTIFUL DANCE by RASCAL FLATTS
IMAGE is by ME
OOC 0.o the end of that post was rather fun. xD and I even got creeped out a little with the 'I can feel your eyes' thing, made me look over my shoulder. lmao!

[noelle ackerman]

you're my inspiration
as i stand alone against the world
________________________________________________________

The soft murmur that had been present when the music was playing now seemed a little bit louder without it, but that didn't bother her at all. In fact, Noelle barely noticed. She was in good company, and that was enough to keep her attention. On top of that, though, their food was here and it looked delicious, and she was very hungry. She was one of the kind of girls who liked to not eat as much when they were going out to dinner later that day because they wanted to be able to eat while they were out. Noelle had eaten, yes, she wasn't one to starve herself, but it wasn't enough to make her feel like she wouldn't be able to finish (or at least get most of the way through) her dinner. No, she liked to come hungry and leave full. On top of enjoying a fine meal, the woman thought that it made the man feel more so that the date was a success, rather than if she had just eaten three bites and called it quits.

Aaron's returned comment made Noelle smile brightly and look down at her plate, a small blush rising in her cheeks. Trying to hide it, she lifted her gaze enough to see him and replied, "Well, it is easy when I have a good student." That didn't sound as good out loud as it had in her head. A good student? What was she going to do, give him a gold star? It had seemed so much more complimentary in her head. Hopefully he wouldn't take it the wrong way. Frowning inwardly to herself, the woman finally cut into her food and took a bite. Perfection. The conversation following was a little lighter than it had been before the food came, but that was expected. They weren't going to carry on long drawn out sentences when they had chicken in their mouth. That would be a real turn off. No, they seemed to find the right balance so that the talking didn't lack but it didn't take away from their dinner either.

Then his phone went off. Normally, that would bother her, but his sincere smile and genuine apology made it very difficult. It happens, right? Sometimes you forget to double-check it. Noelle had done the same thing before. "It's all right." She said with a smile, silently recalling the one time back when she was nineteen that the same thing had happened to her, only her phone wasn't on vibrate, and to top it off it wasn't her phone. So, yes, the entire restaurant got to here a nice little rendition of "I Wanna Sex You Up" by Color Me Badd. It goes without saying that that moment was probably the reddest her face had ever been. She and the guy did have a second date, but it wasn't for the reason she thought. She broke up with him after that next date was over.

"Oh yeah, of course," Noelle said in response to his "Would ye excuse me fer a moment?" She watched him as he stood up until he passed by her chair to head to the men's room, and then turned back to her dinner. Now came a bit of thinking. It was so good, and she was really hungry, but she didn't want to be almost finished by the time he came back, then risk having him feel awkward being the only one eating. Noelle decided that she could have a few more bites, but then would slow herself down a little bit. He wouldn't be gone too long anyway - he was a guy. He didn't have to go through the whole carefully pushing down and pulling back up the pantyhose thing that took up at least three minutes. It was a pain but on a chilly night like tonight Noelle's didn't want to be barelegged.

Five minutes passed, which was nothing, but when five minutes turned to seven, and then to ten, that was when the woman began to have a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. It was times like this when she started over thinking, and pictured things like her date crawling out the bathroom window. Noelle set her fork down; realizing that she had absentmindedly made her way through half of her meal, and crossed her hands on the table in front of her plate. Taking a deep breath, she looked over her shoulder nonchalantly, but didn't see Aaron making his way back from the bathroom. Her eyes started to turn back toward her table, but not before she met those of a woman not to much older than herself looking at her from across the dance floor with an odd expression on her face. The girl smiled warily and looked back at the table, telling herself that he probably just got caught up on the phone or something and would be back any minute.

________________________________________________________

`Status: Finished!
`Tag: Aaron Seymour
`Word Count: 849
`Lyrics By: David Cook - Declaration
`Notes:

[/font] pic by me
Outfit: Clickie![/blockquote][/size]

[aaron seymour]

A DEEP BREATH AND BABY STEPS
THAT'S HOW THE WHOLE THING STARTS

____________________________________________

There was an eerie silence behind those bushes that made the hair on the back of Aaron’s neck stand on end. He knew his stalker was around, watching him. He could feel it. Aaron remained completely still trying to catch a rustle of leaves, snap of a twig, or patter of footsteps. All he could hear was the light breeze and the cars on the nearest road. He was listening so intently that he even began to notice his own breathing that, for an instant, he mistook as someone else’s. His gut leapt into defense mode but was just as soon settled down. The slits his eyes had turned into widened as he looked over each shoulder and finally through the shrubs into the window that he and Noelle had been sitting in front of. He could see her, staring down at her plate then look back over her shoulder. Suddenly he felt guilty, realizing what she must be thinking. It certainly wouldn’t take him this long to empty the dragon. Admitting defeat, Aaron growled under his breath and made his way back along the shrub-line to the gap he had gone through previously.

Re-entering the restaurant, he carefully peeked his head around the doorframe toward the table. When he didn’t think she was going to look over her shoulder again, he stepped into the restaurant, regained his composure, and headed back to the table, cell phone in hand. He was still gripping the device rather tightly he could almost hear it creaking under the force. His other hand reached out to rest gently on Noelle’s shoulder when he was close enough to let her know of his returning presence. ”My apologies, I received an important call on my way back and stepped outside for a momen’” Of course he still felt guilty for stretching the truth to fit his need for a cover-up, but he hoped his sophisticated “I’m sorry” would trump his absence. Aaron slid back into his seat, returned his napkin to his lap and glanced down at his plate. Suddenly he felt his dinner begin to come back on him and no longer wanted to look at it. He didn’t want to force himself to chew and swallow when he knew he wouldn’t be able to hold it down. He also didn’t want to interrupt Noelle’s dinner either, that wouldn’t be fair. He glanced across the table to her plate, noticing she had made her way through most of her meal while he was gone.

”I don’ wan’ to sound rude, but would ye mind if we cut dinner short?” He was usually one for giving good reasons, but he couldn’t think of a good enough one to tell that wouldn’t make him seem like he was lying. So he just left it at that and if she looked for an explanation he would try to fabricate one. He would prefer not to, but she also did have a right to know why he was cutting their date short after having been the one to ask her out in the first place. The fact of the matter was, he didn’t feel comfortable in the restaurant anymore knowing danger was right outside the window. He didn’t know what it’s intentions were and he wasn’t all right with the idea of Noelle being an easy target. He would never live with himself if she were to get hurt…or killed… he couldn’t bear to lose someone he cared for again. It would certainly push him over the edge this time to the point where he either ended up in jail for first degree murder or dead.

As if sensing the tension, their waiter arrived to ask if they would like dessert. Aaron glanced in Noelle’s direction before dismissing dessert and asking for the check. A rather rude move and he knew it, but he would apologize once they were in the car. If she had wanted dessert, he would be okay with stopping somewhere that wasn’t the Gale Street Inn. His fight instincts had stepped aside to allow the flight ones a turn and he was anxious to get out of this cage. The check arrive rather slow but Aaron was already waiting with his wallet out. He never carried credit cards because they could be traced and that would be a stupid move on his part. Looking at the bill he quickly calculated 15% in his head and put down enough cash to cover the bill plus tip. After the waiter thanked him and left, Aaron was out of his seat and behind Noelle’s offering his hand again. At least in his haste he hadn’t forgotten his manners.

Outside in the chilly air, Aaron placed himself on the outside of Noelle like a shield, while his eyes went straight for the shadows. He felt like he was reverting to animal instincts, protecting his “mate” from being stolen by another male. This was somewhat the case only not so tribal. He didn’t utter a sound until he let Noelle in the car and was in himself. He locked the doors and started the car, immediately turning the heat on. He somehow felt safer in the car, knowing that he could bolt at the first sign of danger, so he didn’t pull out of the parking lot right away but sat there while the car warmed up. ”Would I be pushin’ it to seek forgiveness again for my behavior?” At first, he stared only out the windshield, but felt that to be rude so he turned his body enough to face Noelle, hoping it was dark enough for her not to see the expression in his eyes.

____________________________________________

LYRICS are from LONG SLOW BEAUTIFUL DANCE by RASCAL FLATTS
IMAGE is by ME
OOC i hope i didn't go too fast there at the end, i wanted to finish so badly and i was just typing whatever came to mind. lol

[noelle ackerman]

cause you love, and you bleed
and you stole my soul to set me free
________________________________________________________

Anyone who looked at the young woman right now would easily be able to see that she was not pleased. Noelle's elbows were firmly on the table on either side of her plate and her fingers entwined in front of her, on which she rested her lips. Could you blame her? Any woman who had ever been left sitting at their table alone for a while waiting for their date to return would automatically assume the worst, and even if Aaron were still here she was angry with him for leaving her by herself for so long. If people started to notice then she would be getting those sympathetic looks that said "Poor girl, her date skipped out on her." Any sort of sympathetic look at all she hated. Not to mention, this was the first "first date" that she had allowed herself to go on in a long time and she wasn't expecting Aaron to leave for the bathroom and never come back. If it turned that he didn't come back, it would probably be a while before she went on another first date again.

A gentle hand touched her shoulder and made Noelle jump out of her tense position before she looked up to see that Aaron had in fact returned. This fact did ease her mind, and made her feel a little less angry, but she could tell that there was still a bit of heat in her cheeks. Unfortunately for her - and fortunate for him - being the woman that she was, the second he smile Noelle no longer had the heart to be angry with him. It was true, she had a very hard time holding a grudge unless the person has really wronged her. If Aaron had not come back, then the next time she saw him in the halls at school she would probably ignore him. But, he did, so it seemed silly to hold it against him. Especially since he said he was sorry and offered an explanation. It seemed now like she had been angrier over what could have been rather than what was.

When the man finally sat down again across from her, he seemed almost distracted by something. It made Noelle curious, but she didn't want to pry at the same time, at least not until he said, '”I don’ wan’ to sound rude, but would ye mind if we cut dinner short?” A confused look crossed her features and she looked back down at her food for a second. To tell the truth, she wasn't as hungry anymore anyway, since she had been sitting and waiting for a little while her stomach had had the time to feel full. Of course, she was a little disappointed that he was asking if they could end the date early, but she didn't want to force him to say. What was she supposed to say? "Yes, I mind, I want to stay." There were probably worse ways to say it but that in itself just didn't seem like an option, not for her. Noelle was a polite person, even if she didn't want to be sometimes. Looking back up, she shook her head. "No, not at all." Well, that was a lie if she ever heard one.

The woman waited patiently while Aaron dismissed desert and paid for the check. She could really go for something chocolately right now, but she supposed she could find something hidden in her cabinets at home somewhere. If there wasn't anything, then there was surely somewhere open that she could get some chocolate ice cream or something. Actually, Noelle would probably forget about it by the time she got back to her apartment. Has that ever happened? You crave something really badly and know you'll be able to get it soon but then by the time the opportunity arises it completely slips your mind, and then you remember later on and you want to kick yourself. Though, Noelle wouldn't be kicking herself if she didn't get chocolate, it wasn't that big of a deal...really.

She took Aaron's hand when he offered it to her and they left the restaurant together. The whole walk to the car the woman wanted to ask if there was something wrong, because his tension was making her feel uneasy. For some reason however, Noelle was almost afraid to ask. She didn't know if it was because she was afraid of his reaction or of his response, but whatever it was it made her hold her tongue. When they climbed into the car and he turned on the heater, she felt immediately grateful and held her fingers up to it for a moment to relieve their chill. Her hands fell when Aaron began speaking and she turned her gaze to look at him. He was apologizing, again, which made Noelle smile in a forgiving way. "No, you wouldn't. It's fine, really." It would take a bit for her to be completely over it, but if something had happened then she could understand.

________________________________________________________

`Status: Finished!
`Tag: Aaron Seymour
`Word Count: 858
`Lyrics By: David Cook - Declaration
`Notes:

[/font] pic by me
Outfit: Clickie!
I'm not sure how much some of that made sense, I felt like
I was talking in circles LoL, but my muse is a-comin'!![/blockquote][/size]

[aaron seymour]

A DEEP BREATH AND BABY STEPS
THAT'S HOW THE WHOLE THING STARTS

____________________________________________

Aaron’s expression was tense as he waited for Noelle to come out and say that he had disappointed her and ruined the evening. To him it seemed like that was precisely what he did, but his tension wasn’t from the fear of Noelle speaking her mind. He just didn’t like this new side of him very much, this paranoid side. Of course, Aaron always had to be careful of what he said, what he did, and who he spoke to but it was all second nature to him now and he barely had to think about it. This new sense of imminent danger was something new and, quite frankly, he didn’t know what to make of it. He could handle it to the best of his ability, which was what he was doing but there seemed to be no rhyme or reason to it. As far as he knew, there was no cause. It could be a lot of things, but it was most likely revenge. How could he know that for sure? He needed to find this person and meet them face to face. He needed to know what they wanted so it could be settled and he could go on with his life and Noelle with hers, without him as a bodyguard. He didn’t even know if Noelle was in any danger at all but if the mission was revenge, she was a good way to get it and Aaron just couldn’t take that chance.

His eyes searched her face for the hidden answer, but it was too much in shadow. However, when she simply answered that he was forgiven he could see her lips curve into a light smile. For just an instant, if felt as if their dinner date had ended normally and not from creepers in the bushes. If only that could be the case, then they probably wouldn’t be sitting in the car as they were now, but still inside finishing dinner and perhaps deciding on dessert. He tried not to let it bother him that he might have just dropped some points as he faced the windshield again and pulled the Lincoln out of Park. Glancing in the rearview mirror to check that no one was pulling out behind him, he eased on the gas and turned around in the seat to see out the back window. Out of habit, his arm reached around to rest on the back of the passenger seat to make it easier to turn his body enough so he could see. Instantly he received a nose full of Noelle’s perfume again and had to hold his breath to keep from reacting as inappropriately as he had earlier in the evening. Clear of the cars, he removed his arm, put the car in Drive then headed out of the Gale Street parking lot onto the main road.

Aaron wasn’t sure what to say to Noelle at this point. Should he continue the conversation they were having over dinner, start up a new one, or just be quiet altogether. From his indecision, he ended up just driving in silence with the heater as the only form of noise. By the time it became too much to handle and he thought about turning the radio on, it hit him that it was the first time all night he actually didn’t feel comfortable speaking. Earlier in the evening, the words just flowed out of his mouth and thankfully he had trained himself enough not to say anything he wouldn’t normally. Now he felt as if he had been picked dry. Staring hard at the road ahead, he gripped tightly to the steering wheel with both hands, cursing the person who was fucking with his life. Had it been a few weeks ago he would have tracked down the bastard and killed him before he got to Aaron, but now the status quo was gradually making a shift and Aaron was not happy about it.

Aaron figured by the time they were halfway back to Noelle’s apartment that any talk would be meaningless small talk and it wasn’t even worth the fight to get out. He didn’t turn the radio on either since the time had passed that it wouldn’t be awkward and an obvious silence filler. Although the heater and the car engine were going a good job at that. At least Aaron didn’t have a ringing in his ears that drove him insane, as if he wasn’t fucked up enough already. A red light looming ahead, Aaron began to apply the break by didn’t come to a full stop before the light changed to green and they were headed down Noelle’s street. He slowed the speed of the car when they neared her apartment building and pulled into a parking spot. He put the car in Park and let his foot off the break but didn’t turn the car off, just leaned back and turned his head to look at her building, then up slightly to her windows. ”Home sweet home.” He said, looking the building up and down again, scoping the place out. It looked all right from down here, but with her lights off it was hard to tell if the place was actually as empty as she had left it earlier in the evening. Slowly his head turned away from the window to the inside of the car and Noelle. He could see her a bit better now that they were under a streetlight and forced a small smile onto his lips. ”Come on, I’ll walk ye in.”

____________________________________________

LYRICS are from LONG SLOW BEAUTIFUL DANCE by RASCAL FLATTS
IMAGE is by ME
OOC heh...still trying to get the hang of not being able to make a complete post in one shot. so..thread completed? wanna start the new thread at noelle's apartment? no rush though, obviously haha