Tinsley packs her bag to leave for the weekend, right after her last Jazz class and then her short shift at the local pub. The room feels odd now that one side of it is completely bare; her last roommate suddenly dropped out of the school without any explanations - just two weeks ago Tinsley had walked into the room and she was gone, with no trace she'd ever been there. Tinsley hadn't been particularly close to her, but it still seems weird with her sudden withdrawal from the college. Oh well, today, she is supposed to get a new roommate. As if on schedule, there is a loud knock at the door. Tinsley rushes to open it with a smile on her face, hopeful she'll become good friends with her new roommate.
"I'm Minerva. Minerva Paradizo." The girl informs her, with a thick French accent. The lighting from the hallway makes her golden locks shine. However, her expression is cold and unpleasant. Tinsley doesn't let it phase her though, and extends a welcoming hand, which Minerva refuses to shake, instead maneuvering past Tinsley with her suitcase and depositing it on the empty bed.
"I'm Tinsley Collins." Tinsley says, trying not to let her smile fade.
"I see." Minerva fixes her eyes on the slender girl in front of her, assessing the girl who has taken Artemis from her. "Listen, I think I should make one thing perfectly clear. I have no intentions of being your friend, so you can skip the pleasantries."
Tinsley doesn't know how to react - it appears Minerva hates her already, but she has no idea what she could have possibly done to get on her bad side this early on.
"Oh, well - that's -" Tinsley can't find the right words to say. "Fine."
Her cell phone rings, a notification from her scheduler declaring she has class in ten minutes. "Well, I have to go to class, but I'll see you later."
She slings her backpack over her shoulder, thanking the lord tonight she gets to see Artemis. Thinking about him makes the encounter with her new roommate fade away. She already feels much better. In fact, in the hallway as she walks to class, she shoots him a text to let him know how happy she is.
I love you, you're my favorite!
A few minutes later, as she finishes pulling her hair back in a tight ponytail, her cell phone lights up with an up-tempo melody.
I love you to…
Fowl manor isn't the most welcoming site in the dark of night, but Tinsley is thrilled as she pulls into its long driveway. Her feet are incredibly sore at the moment, dance classes combined with a part time job will do that to a person, but she doesn't let it show on her face as Artemis walks toward her car to meet her.
"Hi, love!" Tinsley greets him, shutting her car door behind her and giving him a hug. Artemis finds his favorite vanilla scent that usually envelopes Tinsley is tainted with the smell of alcohol, a result of her job, but nothing he can do about that. Anyway, he hasn't seen her in two weeks, their school schedules make it difficult to meet up, so he can live with it.
"Did you miss me?" Tinsley asks with a playful smile.
"Naturally." Artemis admits. Butler appears, grabbing Tinsley's big duffle bag out of the back seat of the car.
"Wait - I can get that -" Tinsley starts, but Butler will have none of it.
"This is nothing." he says and slings it over his back as if it were a child's rag doll. Tinsley never fails to be amazed at Butler's strength. She follows him and Artemis inside, into the entrance room where a table is set up with a few cookies and various other refreshments.
"When are they going to be here?" Tinsley asks excited.
"Within the hour." Artemis replies.
Tinsley takes a seat on the couch, holding in her sigh of relief at not having to stand on her feet for a little while so as not to draw Artemis's attention to her discomfort. She doesn't want him to worry about her. A look up at him though, and she finds its too late. He's already sensed something is wrong. The one downfall of having a genius for a boyfriend is nothing slips past him.
"Let me see how bad they are." He requests.
"How bad what are?" Tinsley, even though she knows its hopeless, tries to play naïve.
"Your feet. They're bothering you, I can tell. Your face has been one of discomfort since you first greeted me, though you did try to hide it. Then you walked noticeably slower to the house than normal, combined with the face of relief when you sat down leads me to conclude your feet are causing you pain."
"Well, they're a little -" Tinsley starts. "They're causing me a little pain, but they're fine."
"Is that so?" Artemis says flatly.
"It is." Tinsley says defensively.
What happens next is a blur to both Tinsley and Artemis. Artemis advances to forcefully remove her shoes, Tinsley backs further the couch and extends her leg in a motion to kick him away, but he grabs this leg, surprising Tinsley so much she jumps right as he motions to take off her shoes, causing him to fall, in turn pulling Tinsley down on the floor on top of him, the sight Butler walks into the room to find.
"I can - leave, I suppose." He says with a teasing grin.
"That is quite unnecessary." Artemis says as he and Tinsley stand, him with her right shoe in hand. Tinsley can't move fast enough back on the couch; Artemis sees the thick calluses and a painful looking blister on the side of her foot that's been rubbing against the side ridge of her flats, the shoes she's required to wear at work.
"I want you to quit your job." He says curtly. "Its too much work for you combined with the dance classes."
"No!" Tinsley says, horrified at the thought. "I have to pay for school."
"I told you I can fund your education if that's the sole reason for the job."
"No!" She repeats heatedly.
"I funded your mothers hospital bills before, what's the problem with this?" Artemis inquires, frustrated, and then he feels guilty for bringing up that subject. Tinsley is silent for a moment. Its been a little over a year since her mother passed on, but of course its still a touchy subject. Tinsley just doesn't want to have to rely on Artemis for anything - what kind of a girlfriend does that? She has to prove to him - to herself - she's capable of standing on her own.
"I'm sorry, Tinsley -" Artemis says softly, regretting bringing that up.
"This is completely different. I had no choice then." She finally answers.
"I still think this is too much." Artemis says, gesturing towards her foot.
A pause as Tinsley fully processes the current situation.
"Are we arguing now?" Tinsley suddenly asks, her hazel eyes filled with absolute sadness at the thought.
"This is just a minor altercation." He assures her, softening his expression. Its one they've had a few times before - he never liked the idea of her working a job at a pub in the first place. Mostly because he's afraid some drunkard will ask her to drive her home one night, insisting he has no other driver, and she'll be more than happy to oblige being as nice as she is, and the guy will end up being a psycho and he'll never see her again. Illogical of course, but, and he admits this with a noticeable degree of annoyance, Tinsley makes him feel and think illogically. Love is illogical.
A heavy knock on the door interrupts the minor altercation.
"They're here!" Tinsley beams, excited to the point of showing no sign of the argument she just had.
*A/N* Review, review, sings I!