So, her dinner date with Ian didn't exactly go as planned last night. He had started dropping very unsubtle hints that working with Erik was a little much for him and that Erik should go. The thing was, as much as she joked that Erik was like the crazy uncle in their weird little family, he really did feel like family, though more of a father than an uncle. Jane might as well be her sister and Erik reminded her of her Dad so much sometimes it was painful and made her homesick. Darcy had hated seeing Erik in that mental hospital, those places just gave her the creeps, but it wasn't like Erik even needed to be there. The older man was perfectly normal…he had just developed a few quirky habits after New York. If anyone asked she would say his little oddities made him more interesting than he had been before.
"Darcy, Erik's doing that thing again," Ian sighed, scrunching his nose in a displeased look as he glanced back at the scientist. The younger woman glanced up from her work to see Erik wandering around without his pants on again. Thank god he had switched to boxers. It had been more awkward when he wore tighty whities and did this. Now it just looked like he was wearing shorts. Darcy shrugged when her boyfriend looked over to her and his frown deepened.
"Darce, he can't keep doing this! It's not normal!" he whined, striding over to her.
"Well if it bugs you so much maybe you should leave. He does live here after all," Darcy muttered, turning back to her work and idly wondering where Jane had wandered off to.
"I'm supposed to live here too!"
"You have your own apartment that you still pay for and most of your stuff is still at. Technically this is mine and Jane's apartment," she replied.
"The only reason I still have my own flat is because this place is too small!"
"Well Ian, I guess we're at an impasse right now then. I'm going to the library to work on this. Leave or stay, it's up to you. Erik, I'll see you later, please stay in the apartment. I don't need Mrs. Norris from across the hall to call the cops again." And with that Darcy swept all her things into her bag and practically flew out the door.
Darcy really loved the library, but she especially enjoyed its peace and quiet this evening. There were hardly any people here and she was able to find a nice quiet corner away from everyone where she could listen to her music loudly and talk aloud without disturbing anyone. Despite her blasé, careless attitude, she sometimes did consider other people.
"I don't give a damn 'bout my reputation…I've never been afraid of any deviation…An' I don't really care if you think I'm strange…I ain't gonna change…An' I'm never gonna care 'bout my bad reputation…Oh no, not me, oh no, not me!" Darcy was madly drumming away, completely ignoring her study materials as she attempted to dance while remaining seated. Towards the end of Joan Jett rocking out her Bad Reputation song one of her pencils went flying out of her hand. The young woman cursed, standing to go find it and hoping she hadn't flung it into anyone who might have been passing nearby. When she turned from her table she was surprised to almost run smack dab into Lawrence.
"Oh! Hey dude, didn't expect you to be lurking so close by. How's it going? And I see you caught my pencil!" she rambled, smirking and she plucked her writing implement out of his hand. He gave her a small smile, stepping back slightly to give her space.
"And I didn't expect you to be flinging things all over the place. I have been fine, and I see you have been busy," he mentioned, glancing over to the book covered table.
"Yup, getting a jump on this assignment, though it's hard not getting distracted by my music. I mean, you have to be crazy to not rock out to Joan Jett!" she laughed, falling back into her chair.
"I must admit, I haven't listened to music in a while and I'm not familiar with her," Lawrence said, taking a seat across from her. Darcy couldn't help but gape.
"Really?! Dude, you need a crash course in classic rock. Seriously, it's an awesome genre. Anyway, what are you doing in here lurking around with the other grad students?" she asked.
"Looking for a book, there is an area of research I'm particularly interested in at the moment," he answered.
"Oh? And what would that be? What's your area of study anyway?" she asked, starting to shuffle her books and papers into some semblance of order.
"History. I'm looking into mythology at the moment," he answered.
"I have a Bachelor's in Political Science and now I'm working on my Masters in Political studies. I never was into history all that much but I have to study it," Darcy sighed, glancing down at the history book in her hand before tossing on top of her pile of study materials.
"That's too bad. I find history fascinating, especially the myths and their origins. Norse Mythology is a particular interest of mine," Lawrence said. Darcy squinted at him for a moment, wondering why the comment on Norse mythology struck her as weird. Most people knew about Thor now that he had been involved in two huge battles on Earth, but she doubted that Lawrence was one of those fangirls who switched their majors to history just because of the blond.
"Something the matter?" he asked as she stared at him for too long.
"Norse mythology is kind of a weird area to study," she replied, shrugging, "most girls study it now because of that guy who wrecked the school a few months back."
"Ah, yes…that was a rather awful event. It was particularly tragic losing so many historic architectures, especially the artwork in the painted hall."
"Oh my god, yeah! I loved staring at those paintings. I felt like I would find something new each time I would look at them!" she said loudly, waving her hands dramatically. As Darcy resumed packing up her materials. She knew Lawrence was staring at her like she had been staring at him just a moment ago, and she was suddenly sorry for all the people she ever creepily stared at because it was damn unnerving.
"This may seem a bit forward…" Darcy jumped slightly when he suddenly spoke, but turned to look at him curiously, "But would you like to get a coffee with me sometime?" he asked. The young woman could feel a slight flush come over her face and she smiled at him.
"That would be cool, but I'm seeing someone," she replied.
"Oh? And that would stop us from meeting up for coffee as friends?" he smirked.
"Well, I guess I'm good at assuming the wrong thing," she chuckled, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
"So, coffee sometime?" he asked again.
"Sure, maybe the weekend? I work most of Friday but I'm free Saturday," she said, tugging her hat on before finally turning to face him.
"That should be fine. Shall we meet at about ten at that place down the street?"
"Perfect. See you!" Darcy called as she walked away, waving over her shoulder. Lawrence gave her a small smile and a slight bow of his head before turning and disappearing into the stacks. Darcy found herself smiling almost all the way back to her apartment.