"We're going to be late," Gray calls, staring at his reflection in Claire's mirror. He adjusts his cufflinks, feeling awkward and stupid in his suit. It's the same one that he wore to his mother's funeral, the only one that he owns, but he won't get into that right now. Cliff frowns next to him, figuring out a way to make his ponytail look presentable for the black-tie affair. Kai begins to straighten up his bow-tie, making a face. For a plain looking farmhouse, Claire's place is big enough for them to all get ready in. Maggie barks at his feet, circling around the group until Gray reaches down to pet her.
"We're almost done!" Ann replies from across the room.
"You are so annoying, Gray," he hears Claire say. Popuri is blocking her in an attempt to finish up her makeup, but she manages to poke her head out, with only one of her eyes coated with mascara.
"Stop moving around!" Popuri huffs.
"Yeah, it's gonna hurt like a bitch if I burn you with this curling iron," says Ann, wrapping a lock of Claire's golden hair around the heated barrel. Claire just sticks her tongue out at him.
Immature weirdo. But Gray can't help smiling to himself.
"Hmm," says Kai, pretending to be lost in thought. He slugs his arm around his shoulder.
Gray rolls his eyes, peeling his arm off of him. "What?"
Kai shrugs but gives him a knowing look, the kind that he used to give before they talked to any girl that they liked in high school.
Yeah right. Gray isn't falling for that pint-sized, childish, pain in the ass.
Right?
It's the evening after the Cooking Festival, which Ann, Claire, and Kai all tied for first place in. Apparently, it's Mineral Town's thirtieth one, making Gray wonder just how old that large, pretentious asshole Gourmet is. To commemorate the anniversary, Doug suggested a large party at the inn that he'd willingly cater. Which, Gray doesn't totally mind attending; free food is free food, and if that means a corresponding social gathering to attend, then he'll just have to bite the bullet.
Claire's acting as his date tonight, which he also doesn't mind. Given that Kai's usually busy with Popuri, and since he has no other friends to call up, Gray's been hanging out with her pretty often these last few weeks. She's forced him into rounds upon rounds of twenty questions, effectively pushing his goddamn buttons, while he keeps finding ways to bicker with her.
But the thing is, he doesn't hate being around her. She actually makes him laugh, believe it or not (and no, he's not just laughing at her every word because she's good looking). Claire's genuinely funny, and tolerable to be around, which is saying something for Gray.
But you didn't hear that from him.
"You know, the only reason I come here is to eat your food and hang out with your dog," Gray had told her after his shift one night, mouth full of an oatmeal cookie she'd baked. They probably weren't intended for him, but he ate half the batch regardless. Picking a piece off, he threw it to Maggie. "Right?"
"You know, the only reason I allow you to come here is because your grandfather promised me a discount if I agree to hang out with you." Claire turned to him, her face deadpanned. "Right?"
Gray scowled. "Shut up."
"I'm serious! He did. I believe he described it as... charity work?" She grinned at his blank expression. "Oh, and I think my discount is actually coming out of your paycheck."
What a goddamn pain.
But Claire's fun. She gives as good as she gets. And even though she's probably clueless to the fact that he finds her attractive, he doesn't hate being around her.
What do you call two people lacking in romance, yet making do with a budding friendship, and still fighting like cat and dog?
A fucking dysfunctional disaster. Gray slips his cap on as Kai snatches it from his head. "What are you doing?" his friend questions.
He grabs it back. "It's my fancier, black version," Gray argues, unwilling to give up the hat. "Plus, Gourmet wears one."
"You tell him, Kai," Claire says, before letting out a painful, "Owww!"
"Told you not to move," Ann replies, patting at Claire's singed scalp.
"Okay, you're done!" Popuri exclaims. "Just put the lipstick on yourself. I'm so bad at it." She moves out of the way, rubbing any makeup dust off of her powdered pink dress. Ann rises, raising the iron over her head to absently curl wisps of her braid that have fallen out. She wears light yellow linen shorts, and a pale blue, short-sleeved collar shirt; the closest that she'll ever get to dressing fancy. Claire emerges between the two of them, shimmying past in her off the shoulder, capped-sleeve red dress.
It looks like her hair has been chopped a few inches, given that it's coiled tightly in shiny blond ringlets that spill down from the top of her head. Popuri has smoked out Claire's eyelids with grey shadow, lengthening her lashes with a dark mascara that makes her eyes pop. The bodice of her dress is tight with a modest plunge and loosens below her waist, hitting right at the knee. Gray can't help but have his eyes stay fixated on her.
Claire looks up at him quizzically, before applying the 90's-esque nude lipstick that sits on her dresser. Ann and Popuri stand beside her, marvelling at their work.
"You look like you saw a ghost," Claire says, when she catches his reflection in the mirror. She places her tube of lipstick down, turning around to adjust his tie.
"No, you just look different," Gray mumbles, watching her hands move. Claire's recently been going bare-faced since she started taking her farming seriously, but she's wearing significantly more makeup than he's ever seen on her. She doesn't even need it; she's a knockout regardless.
"Good different or bad different?" Claire asks, bending down to slip on her heels. Gray tries not to stare at her cleavage, but Kai is already gawking. Ann elbows them both with a scoff.
"Fine," he decides. "Your eyebrows are... darker."
He's clearly very good at the whole flirting-thing since moving here, in case anyone hasn't caught on.
"Uhh, good observation?" Claire's tone is perplexed at his stupid remark. She bends down to secure the clasp on the back of her shoe. "They are darker."
She had told him that she got these heels for her confirmation when she turned fourteen, and they've been her only pair ever since. The shoes don't do much for her height, maybe adding an inch or two, even though her head still barely hits his shoulders. But nonetheless, the two of them manage to look... pretty good, standing next to each other like this.
Popuri sighs at the sight of them together. "I haven't seen Karen wear this dress in forever," she tells her. "But, I still kinda wish you went with her backless one instead."
Claire looks uneasy. "I don't do 'backless.'"
Kai leans over and whispers to him. "Doesn't backless means no bra? Because, I mean, you wouldn't mind-"
Ann reaches over to muss up Kai's gelled curls, leaving him horrified. "Karen always says that you're about as discreet as Cher performing," she scoffs.
"Do better," Cliff tells him, giving Ann a smile. Any kind of pent-up fear that she's expressed about him thinking that she's a whore seems to be immediately replaced with a sigh of relief.
"Ready?" Claire asks. She threads her fingers through her hair, loosening up her head of curls with a shake.
"No," Gray says, honestly. She just copies his signature scowl that's been plastered over his face, taking his arm.
"I don't think that I can dance," Ann complains. "I ate so much." She dramatically collapses forward on the table, like she's been placed in a food coma. Remnants of sauced stains, confectioners sugar and crumbs linger everywhere. Her father's mixtape of 70's and 80's music is blasting across air, with "Got to Be Real" by Cheryl Lynn pumping in everyone's ears.
Cliff shakes his head, poking at her skinny belly. "I never believe how much you eat until I physically see it."
Claire pushes her plate of unfinished cheesecake away and clutches her stomach with a groan. "All I can say is thank God for Spanx," she mumbles, watching Gray eye her plate. "Um, do you… want-"
"Ah-huh," he interrupts, taking the cake from her. He smiles coyly as he dives his fork into it. It's as if he hasn't gotten a piece tonight, even though this is like, his fourth one now.
"Yo!" Karen calls, rushing over to their table. She gives Claire a hug from behind, reaching one arm over to pinch Cliff's cheek. She's wearing a sexy, slinky black number that accentuates her boobs. With her hair all pulled back like this in a high ponytail, her sharp cheekbones stand out even more prominently, and her eyes look extra angular and sultry. Three small, golden hoops dangle from each of her earlobes. "That dress is so bitchin' on you! Like, is it hot in here, or is it just you?"
Karen is pretty much everything that Claire wishes she could be: a total bombshell, wise-beyond-her-years, and fearless; she's also witty and unafraid of confrontation. One time, after she bet Duke in a drinking contest, Thomas let her know how incredibly trashy this was, but he wasn't done there. He then asked if she preferred soju like her Korean father (even though Jeff can't drink because of a condition), or vodka like her Russian mother (despite the fact that Sasha prefers margaritas any day). Also, who appointed this dumbass as mayor again? Karen just told him that her drinking was really none of his mother-effing business, and plus, it was ignorant to associate someone's alcoholic preferences with their country of origin. For instance, she explained that she loves Spanish sangrias, because the more that she drinks of them, the more her vision starts to blur; meaning that she doesn't have to look at Thomas' fartknocking face any longer.
She really is quite the character.
Claire laughs. "Thanks for lending it to me. I totally love it."
Ann pokes Karen's hip. "How come you never boost my self-confidence with pickup lines, Kare?"
"Ummm, maybe because I don't like you?" Karen grins. "Take the hint."
"You're just not clever enough," Ann replies absentmindedly.
"Ew, fine. I got one." Karen scoffs. "Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?"
"This is the lamest one," says Gray, mouth full of cake.
Ann rolls her eyes. "No-"
"So, your face just looks like that?" Karen snickers, holding out her hand. "Can I get a fist-bump or what?"
"Word," says Kai, after a brief minute. He reaches over to hit his knuckles against hers. "That was actually a decent diss." Ann pushes the tip of her nose with her middle finger at them.
"Don't worry," says Cliff, taking her free hand. "You're very pretty."
Ann just looks away, sharing a blushed smile with him.
"Why didn't you and Rick sit with us tonight?" Claire asks. She turns to see Popuri behind her, handing her mother a glass of water that she retrieved from the bar.
"Um, you think I want her here?" Ann quips.
Karen flicks a piece of a napkin at her. "Because apparently when you're engaged, you have to behave like an adult. We had to sit with my parents and his mother." She sighs. "Don't worry, though. I haven't forgotten any of you; you're all still in my wedding party." Removing Gray's hat, she tousles his hair. "Even you, Gray!"
"Lucky me," he echoes, pushing his now-empty plate aside.
This is the first that Claire is hearing any of this. She didn't expect to be accepted in Mineral Town so quickly, or to be included in a wedding party. She's not been one to easily fit in places, given that she can be seen as a total weirdo, and although everyone here is different from the people that she's known in the city, she likes them a lot more.
As Cliff leaves to grab Ann a Tums, Kai motions for Popuri to join him on the dance floor, to which she happily complies, much to Rick's disdain.
"Did you try these?!" two little voices ask in unison. May and Stu, two children from church, run toward their table, waving candy apples in their tiny hands.
Claire nods at them, her teeth hurting from the plethora of sweets that she's munching on all night. "Yup. Ann actually made them."
Ann smiles amidst her food-coma. "Ah-huh."
"They're so good!" Stu cheers.
"I bet I coulda made them better," Karen replies, brushing imaginary dirt off of her bare shoulders. Ann rolls her eyes.
"Yuck, you're the worstest chef in the history of the planet," May tells her with a disgusted face. "Remember that one fall harvest festival, where we all got super sick, and everyone blamed you, even your mommy, and-"
"Talk to the hand, kid," says Karen with a scoff. "Also, that was total speculation."
"Speculation, huh?" Gray pretends to be lost in thought. "Children don't lie."
"Specu- what?" Stu asks, pondering. Gray takes this moment to steal the candy apple out of his hands. "Hey, Gray!"
"These give you cavities," he points out, pretending to take a bite out of it while laughing. Stu pouts until Karen snatches it away from him, giving it back.
"Gray, you're one to talk," mumbles Ann, groaning. "Damnit, I need that Tums."
Claire pushes Gray. "Are not even children spared from you being an ass?"
He just smirks, pulling his eyelid down at her the way that she does.
Elli, the town nurse that Claire met at her first church mass in Mineral Town rushes over, trying to seize the candy apple from her little brother. "Stu! You know how I feel about caramel," she scolds. He ducks away from her, laughing with May as the two children run their way under the dinner tables. She turns to apologize to them. "Sorry, if I let him OD on it, he'll be bouncing off the walls all night."
Gray shrugs. "I tried to help, El. But apparently I'm an ass."
"You are," the four girls say in unison. They laugh at Gray's annoyed expression.
"Oooh, Elz, you look so good. You're like a tall Carrie Bradshaw," Karen says, marvelling at Elli's flower printed, ruffly maxi dress.
Elli smiles sheepishly. "Weird, I'd like to think of myself as more of a Miranda."
"Who are these people?" mutters Gray.
"You're definitely a Samantha," Ann tells him. "Maybe with a dash of Miranda. And I only know that 'cause Karen made me watch the show."
Since the convent did not offer HBO television, Claire had to find a way to watch Sex and the City, given that it was all anyone was talking about. One of the girls in her home economics class passed a note along, asking if Carrie deserved Aiden, to which she wrote back duh, of course!, despite never seeing the show.
Evidently, this was not the right answer. Apparently someone like Carrie deserved Big... whatever that meant.
She was curious, and besides, if watching Friends (which talked about sex) was kind of permitted, then what was so taboo about this show? She and two other girls from the convent had decided to rent the VHS of the first season from the public library, just to see what all the hype was about. Plus, someone else at school told Claire that she was a total Charlotte; making her determined to find out if this was good or bad. After obtaining the tape and watching three racy episodes, one of them hid it under her pillow before bed, but the head nun discovered it the next day. Since it was Claire's idea, she took the full punishment, and a sermon on temptation was conducted the following Sunday.
"Are you going to church tomorrow?" Claire asks Elli, but she doesn't hear her. Someone from across the room motions Elli over, towards the inn's front doors. It's a man; older than her, wearing a light-coloured coat. Her heart flutters at the sight of him.
Tall, dark, and incredibly handsome.
He looks like a male model on Vogue. Not Teen Vogue - no. Legit, real Vogue. His sharp face-shape rivals that of a young Gregory Peck. In the brief glimpse that Claire gets of him, she notes his angular features, chiseled bone structure, and deep-set almond eyes that bore into her own.
And then just like that, he's gone.
"Sorry guys, I'm grabbing Stu and heading out," Elli calls as she walks away, waving. Claire's eyes go to her, then dart back to the spot where the guy was standing; he's still nowhere to be found. Did she just hallucinate all of that?
No way; they locked eyes. He had to be real. A chill crawls its way up her spine. She's about to ask Karen and Ann if they know or saw the man too, but they've also fled the table.
"You look like you saw a ghost," Gray says, motioning around the room. He's managed to obtain a bowl of homemade ice cream, spooning some into his mouth contently.
She's definitely not about to ask him if he saw the man. He'll lie and say something stupid, like it was just the ghost of hospitality haunting the inn.
He wasn't a ghost... Handsome Man was totally real.
"Yeah," Claire answers, trying to shake the guy's image out of her head. That was totally weird. "The ghost of your once-healthy pancreas. Stop eating so many sweets!"
"Gourmet is on his nineteenth slice of pie, and he still looks great," Gray says with a shrug, mid-bite. Claire watches the huge food connoisseur in question as he unhealthily forks dessert down his throat. You should have seen him during the main course portion of the evening.
A large crowd of the townsfolk begin to join Kai and Popuri on the dance floor, their footsteps almost harmonious. Karen Reebok-dances with Rick behind her, in an unsuccessful attempt at shielding him from seeing how close his sister is dancing to her boyfriend.
Saibara comes up to their table, tapping his foot. "Are you always eating?" he asks his grandson, bothered.
"Hey," says Gray. "I don't see anyone asking Gourmet that question. But 'cause I'm slim, it's alright to point out how much I'm eating."
Saibara dismisses him as a hopeless case. He then turns to Claire, eyes sparkling beneath his thick, white eyebrows. She hasn't realized their colour is the same icy blue as Gray's. "You two should dance," he suggests, stroking his long beard.
Claire looks over at her date, but he just rubs his neck. "Aw, Gramps. being out in public like this is punishment enough," Gray complains, until Saibara pulls on his ear, hoisting him up from the chair. "Ow." For an elderly man, Saibara is nearly at his grandson's height. She always feels extra small when she's around tall people like them.
"Hi, Gray." Mary walks over, flashing him a winning smile, before adjusting her glasses to give Claire a once-over. She has on the same outfit that she always wears, as if she didn't get the memo to dress up tonight. Saibara lets go of Gray, and slowly backs away, like he's anticipating a shit show about to unfold. Which, given what happened last time, is a fair assumption.
Gray blinks at her. Claire quickly stands up to pull on his hand. "Sorry, Mary. We were just about to dance!" she says. She avoids Mary's uncomfortable gaze by maneuvering into the middle of the dance floor, so that the townspeople surround the two of them.
"Look, I saved your ass," Claire tells him.
"My hero." Gray rolls his eyes. "Can you even dance?"
"I can Cha Cha Slide away from my responsibilities."
"Really, eh? What else?"
"Mony Mony" by Billy Idol comes on, and Claire grins. "I can dance to this." Has she mentioned that she loves the 80's? It's all that her mom used to listen to when she was a kid, and hearing anything from that decade really just takes her back to a time when things seemed a lot easier.
Grabbing Gray's hand, Claire snaps with her fingers, hopping around and laughing. She's careful not to lose her balance on her heels as she moves her hips and keeps her feet busy. The last thing that she needs is to take a klutzy tumble in front of everyone.
"You look stupid," Gray tells her, hardly containing a smile.
"That's why I've got your hand; so people will associate you with me."
Kai and Popuri glide over behind them, snickering as they point to Gray.
"You look stupid, man," Kai tells him.
"How the hell do I look stupid? I'm not doing anything."
"Exactly," Karen chimes in, grabbing her other hand as she dances with Popuri. Claire spins along the dance floor, relishing in the sense of finally, truly belonging somewhere. The lights are shining above her, the music is resonating, and she feels a sense of freedom wash over her.
When "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" by Elton John comes on, Popuri claps her hands. "You can play this one on guitar, can't you?" she asks Kai.
He winks as he busts his moves down, grabbing her hips and rocking against her. "Gray's dad taught us."
Rick glares, crossing his arms over his chest, but Karen pushes him toward Duke, laughing as she dances with his mother, Lillia.
"Can you play this on bass?" Claire yells over the music.
Gray looks at her as he takes Dukes's wife, Manna's hand, spinning her over to crazy old man Barley. For a second, Claire wonders if he's even going to answer her. Anything that deals with his father is a touchy subject.
"Nah, piano," he finally yells back.
Doug is whirling Claire around, so much so that she's starting to get dizzy. She tries moving her arms to the beat, in hopes that this will also help her catch her balance. When her feet start stumbling, the music slows down, trickling into "Drive" by The Cars. She loses her footing and falls into Gray's chest, grabbing a fistful of his dress shirt. Claire looks up at him with big eyes as his hands steady over her back, hovering above her scar tissue.
"You're a disaster," he tells her.
From the corner of her eye, Ann emerges, dimming the lights with Cliff by her side. She gives out a thumbs up.
Claire just clears her throat and straightens up. "But is it really that bad being here with me?" she asks, watching the townspeople get into their respective pairs. Kai is embracing Popuri so lovingly, while Rick clutches Karen by the hips. Almost instinctively, Gray begins to lower both of his hands down Claire's spine, settling on her waist as he pulls her closer. Tentatively, she brings her hand up to his broad shoulder as their chests press up against each other. This is making her kinda nervous; she's never danced with any guy like this before. Come to think of it, she's never even been held like this before either.
"Hmm?" Gray says, pretending like he didn't hear her. "Oh, yeah. It is."
Claire arches her brow up at him. "You're the worst. If this is your version of flirting, then I don't know how you get so many girls."
Mary squints at them from across the room, but Gray spins Claire away in perfect timing. She actually may have just been giving Ann a dirty look from behind them, but no one can say for certain.
He just smirks down at Claire. "I don't know what to address first; the fact that you apparently know how many girls I get, or the fact that you think I'm flirting."
"So you're not." Claire says it more like a statement. She glances around the room one last time for that man, but he's definitely gone. Unless he was just... never there to begin with? How freaky.
"With your little blonde ass? No. However..." His voice trails off. "With the Gourmet…" She giggles, dancing to the beat of the music and the soft murmuring of the lyrics.
"Bring Gourmet up one more time, and I'll let him know how obsessed you've been with him all night," Claire warns, pointing at the chef critic, who is now sipping on three strawberry milkshakes. At the same time. Yikes.
"Don't reveal my secret," Gray says, spinning her around. He gives her a smug smile. "It's really Mary who I want." Claire just allows him to lead her against the soft melody of the calming tempo, hoping that it'll slow down her thumping heart.
So he isn't interested. Not like she is either. Yeah right. Claire isn't falling for that arrogant, volatile, jerk.
Right?
A/N: Throwback to the graphics in MFoMT where Gourmet is just positively stuffing his face at the cooking festival... like, just truly shovelling food into his mouth. I can rate it, and I can relate it xD
Also, I love Karen. I too, wish I could be like Karen (BUT NOT IN THE 2020 SENSE OF THE NAME LMAO) Those meme Karens have showcased their own stupidity and done themselves dirty this year, I can tell ya that much.
Hopefully you guys get the Sex in the City references. And if you don't... well, you're not missing out on that much lolz
