In a Different Light

Talia nodded. "Better safe than sorry," she added regarding the phone. "I hope to run into you too," she replied with an earnest smile. Then the man left and she looked back at her computer to resume work. She sighed and smiled. Maybe Cassie was onto something.

Talia was walking to the train station when her phone rang. It was an unknown number so she considered ignoring it. But then she remembered her meeting with John earlier that day. And bit her lip. She hit answer and slowly put the phone to her ear. "Hello?" she asked in plain English instead of Japanese.

100,000 pardons, please! Thank you for not getting mad about my absence or that Iâ€ve been invisible a lot the past week or two.)

It wasnâ€t until the phone call was answered that John realized he had no idea what to talk about. “Uhmm….Hello Talia, this is John, er, from this morning.” John said with a chuckle, passing about his little private locker room in Tension, the one reserved for the champ. It was a bit rink compared to the one in friction, but it had A MINI FRIDGE. HOLY SHIT A MINI FRIDGE.

“I was glad to find your number today.” He sounded pretty friendly, it was clear from his voice that he wasnâ€t bothered or weirded out. But he did wait for Talia to speak.

Talia hesitated but it was unwarranted anxiety. He sounded fine after a few seconds, like he was cool with the little thing she put on his phone. She couldn't help but smile at his little stutter. And then he said he was glad to find her number. And she grinned widely. "Hey, yea...I was glad to hear from you. I hope that wasn't too...umm, you know...sneaky of me?" she asked with her own little stutter. She, too, wasn't sure what to say. She hoped he would do all the talking this time.

"So...I've had a lot of time to think about what you told me four months back...when we were sight-seeing. About...you know, spending time together if I needed a friend?" She paused for a moment, realizing just how odd her words probably sounded. "And well...do you want to do things together? You know...like hang out?"

Talia was still at work when she noticed the reply from Cassie. A great big smile formed across her face and she quickly typed out a reply before her manager could see.

It's great! Want to meet at that sushi place across from the arena?

“Naaaaah, thought it was fun.” John said, grinning back into the phone. “Surprises are good, keeps life interesting.” He said. As he spoke, he reclined back into a chair in the locker room.

John unconsciously nodded a bit as Talia spoke, listening to what she had to say. It didnâ€t sound terribly odd, it was normal for someone to want to reach out. Plus, from what John had actually seen, face to face, of Talia, she seemed like a pretty nice person. She may have made some mistakes, but everyoneâ€s done that at some point. “Yeah, that sounds awesome.” John said without hesitation. “Have anything in mind? We could get lunch or something, I dunno.”

"Y-Yea! Lunch sounds great," Talia replied with a smile. "I umm...I'm gonna be a little busy the next few weeks but...I'll text you when I have some time alright?"