Sidestory:
Here's the Chocolate
by Angie and SkySong
Here's to Chocolate
Rayya Veritas tapped her car horn lightly and then twisted to peer through the passenger side window towards the front door of the building she was parked, illegally, beside. "Geez," she muttered. "I hope Gina hurries up before a cop cruises by. Dad will kill me if I get another ticket this year."
As if cued, Regina came strolling out of the bookstore looking self-satisfied with a small bag swinging off her arm. "Sorry I took so long." she said, jumping in the passenger side and fastening the seatbelt. "The line was horrendous today and I swear if one more person had stopped me in the aisle one more time to ask me if I worked there I'd... do something not nice."
Rayya giggled. "Ah, the perils of being a bookworm," she smiled. "I get that sort of thing in a lot of clothing stores." Glancing in her side view mirrors, Rayya put her small car in gear and pulled out into the street. "Now where to, hon? Remember I'm playing chauffeur to anywhere in Roanoke and we've got the whole afternoon." She shot Regina a smiling glance out of the corner of her eye. "Wanna do lunch or coffee or something entirely different?"
Regina's stomach rumbled an answer for her and Regina chuckled. "Lunch sounds good right about now."
"Right then. I know just the place!"
Ten minutes later found the two girls seated at a small, round table with a view out on the quiet street running in front of the café. Rayya picked up her water glass and swirled its contents thoughtfully, directing a forthright grin at her dining companion. "Isn't this the cutest little place?" she asked. "I found it when I got lost one day and I've been dying to bring someone here ever since."
"It's very nice," Regina agreed while cradling her own glass in her hands. She had never been too fond of chaotic scenes and the silence was doing wonders for her after the hustle and bustle of the bookstore.
"Glad you like it." Rayya smiled at her young friend. "And, believe me, the food's just as calming as the scenery." Her quick eyes had picked up on Regina's tensed shoulders. Conspiratorially, she leaned across the table. "You saw the chocolate mousse listed, right? Well, I hear it's illegal. It's that calming."
Regina perked up noticeably at the mention of chocolate. "Really...?" she said, a small smile creeping upon her lips.
"Oh, definitely," Rayya beamed. "It's a shame they don't do take-outs or they'd be swamped with business."
"Well then, let's indulge ourselves and pig out on chocolate." Regina said, her smile turning into a full-fledged grin. "Mom's gonna kill me when she hears about what I've been eating for lunch... but... ah well, I'm a teenager. I'm not supposed to eat healthy all the time."
"Well, you could always not tell her, you know," Rayya pointed out with a giggle. "I learned a while ago that it's best to keep certain little details from my dad. Nothing major, of course. But definitely what I eat."
Regina also chuckled. "As in 'what she doesn't know won't hurt her?'"
"Bingo! Oh, here comes the food."
Rayya sat back and lifted her hands from the table as the college guy passing for a competent waiter set her plate in front of her. Then she beamed up at him sweetly. "Thank you so much."He grinned back, slightly dopey and dazed, and then turned to set Regina's plate in front of her, sharing the goofy look with her as well. "Anything else?" he asked, one eye on each of the girls, smile going wider.
"Nope, hon. We're fine," Rayya responded lightly. "We'll give a shout if we need you, though." With a slight wave and another bright smile, she dismissed him. "Ready, Gina?" she asked.
Regina nodded. "Yep." She picked up one of her utensils and twirled it between her fingers expertly, grinning slightly.
Poking at her Caesar salad, Rayya nodded. "And this is where we get to have girl talk," she announced. She studied Regina thoughtfully. "Shall we start with any questions you have, hon?"
"Not particularly... I don't really know all that much about you now that I think about it. I know you're a collage student and... that other thing which we are not discussing today, and that's about it." Regina mused, picking up a french-fry and nibbling on it thoughtfully.
"Well, yeah, I'm a senior at Hollins," Rayya confirmed. "A communications major, actually." She beamed suddenly. "But what I really want to do is open and manage a dance club. I think that'd be the most fun a person could have. Legally, that is. As for other stuff?" She shrugged. "I'm a senior so it's a lot of slacking off and hanging around with friends and flirting with boys. How about you?"
"Me...?" Regina paused. "Hmm, I'm fourteen, no clue what I want to do when I get older as long as it doesn't involve a cubicle... maybe I'll be a landscaper. I'm good with plants. You should see my house. It's the most beautiful thing... I've spent almost six years of my life on it and I'm very proud of it. I also like a good story, hence all the books I read, but I also have a Play Station and I play a lot of RPG's on that."
"Playstation... Hmm, never got the hang of video games," Rayya mused thoughtfully. "Don't have the hand-eye coordination, I figure." She smiled. "Gardening I can get behind, though. Even if all that grows well for me are African violets. I remember my mom had the most amazing garden when I was little."
"Hmm...My mom got me interested in gardening when I was about eight or so..." Regina smiled, picking up her hamburger and taking a bite out of it. "Of course, we were cleaning up the backyard, it was getting really overrun with weeds, it needed mowing, and one of the neighbors trees had died and fallen over our fence. The tree was gone then but there were still tons of branches laying about. I wasn't all that thrilled with the idea of physical labor but mom managed to get me to start pulling weeds out of the flower beds. She always kept saying that she'd start a garden one day but she never did back then.
"Anyway, I was weeding and I came across a few overgrown rose bushes. They were a complete mess and not all that nice looking. They had become all gnarled and tangled in each other and some shrimp plants we had back then; but it was summer and they were in bloom. I thought those flowers were the most beautiful things I had ever seen, much nicer than those pieces of jewelry mom owned or that my relatives sent me on holidays. The only problem was that they were the only things that looked nice about the bushes and you had to cut and saw through branches of thorns and leaves to get to them and I really wanted to get to those plants." Regina stopped briefly to take a sip from her drink before continuing.
"Those particular bushes were unsalvageable. They were already too far gone wild for me to re-tame. I didn't really enjoy digging them up and they didn't like it too much either." Regina held up one hand, showing a faded scar going from her wrist to almost her pointer knuckle. "We had this particularly nasty New Dawn rose bush that gave me this when I dug it up."
Rayya gently reached out and tugged Regina's hand closer, inspecting the scar thoughtfully. "Nasty," she commented. "Did you exact vengeance once you got it out?" She smiled and released her friend's hand.
Regina gave Rayya a toothy grin. "Yep, savaged the thing into small cubes and packed it away in a trash bag that is now occupying the bottom of a landfill."
"Good." Rayya again rearranged the salad on her plate and grinned. "One of the reasons I never got on with gardening," she continued. "I'm a bit klutzy without a pair of pruning shears in my hand... So what else do you do? School?"
Regina steepled her fingers and rested her elbows on the table, careful not to get them onto her plate. "Hmm... well, there's not all that much that can be said about me other than what I've just told you. Unless you want to hear about all the scrapes, bumps and bruises I've gotten from soccer, gardening, and automobile accidents."
"Oh, dear, no." Rayya giggled. "We really must leave -something- to talk about later." Then she sobered. "Actually and unfortunately, you'll probably be adding to your list of bumps and bruises now. Heaven knows I did."
"I thought we weren't going to talk about that today." Regina said sternly before her expression lightened. "We're here to eat, drink, and get fat on that desert that you rate this restaurant so highly for."
"Ah, of course. Sorry." Rayya giggled. "Today is calorie day. Alright. So you've filled me in on you. Is there anything you want to know about me?"
Regina "hmm'ed" and took another bite out of her hamburger before asking, "Ok, how about your parents? Any other close friends?"
Sobering and suddenly finding her salad very interesting, Rayya's response began softly. "My mom... Well, my mom died a few years ago in a freak electrical storm." Then she looked up again, taking a deep breath. "My dad moved down here with me, though, when I got accepted into Hollins. He's a partner in a plumbing company." A smile began to grow on her mouth, though, as she continued, gaining volume. "Friends are a whole 'nother story, though, my dear. I've got plenty of those. If you're asking about those who know I parade around in a bathing suit late at night, though... Well, there's Gwyn who is a wonderfully insane and fun Fortuna. Wade who is our resident knight in shining armor. They're probably my best 'working' friends and they're both amazing."
Regina flinched internally, realizing that perhaps asking Rayya about her family wasn't the best question in the world to ask, but Rayya seemed to perk up again at the mention of her friends so Regina didn't pay it too much mind. "Ah. I don't have very many friends... Just two. Mind you, I've known them since I was little and one of them no longer lives in Roanoke."
Reaching out to pat the other girl's hand, Rayya smiled gently. "Well, cheesy as it sounds, hon, I'd like to be your friend. If you want me to, that is." The gentle smile broadened into a teasing grin. "No one's ever going to accuse me of being pushy. Well, not twice in one day, at least!
Regina laughed softly, a sound that came from somewhere deep in her chest rather than her throat. "I certainly don't think you're pushy! Your one of the most lenient people I have ever known."
"Ah, I think you're referring to the topic we're not going to talk about today." Rayya chuckled. "Yeah, Julius has given me many a lecture on
why can't I approach battles like I approach parties and dates." She sighed dramatically."I wasn't referring to your pig, though he is a good example of someone who's been wearing his underwear too tight - that is, if Julius wore underwear." Regina grinned at her own bad joke.
"Alright, Gina, if I get home and find Julius trying on the contents of my underwear drawer, you're going to be paying for the therapy!"
"I knew nothing of it! Honest! I didn't encourage him to wear your black silk undies... err... I didn't do it!" Regina was half laughing as she spoke.
Rayya grimaced. "Oh, now that image is going to stick in my head for days," she whimpered. "Thanks."
"No problem!" Regina grave Rayya a toothy smile. "Anything to give my friends unpleasant images that will haunt their darkest dreams"
"You're really too kind." Rayya poked around at her salad some more, carefully choosing sections to eat. Then she looked up. "Just for that, I should give you vivid images."
"What type of images?"
Rayya grinned, an evil glint in her eyes. "Oh, just the kind that keep you up at night, twitching and whimpering," she replied casually.
"Naw... I don't scare easily and I don't dream much anyway. When I do remember them, though, they're mostly nightmares anyway..." Regina trailed off, losing her train of thought as she stared out into space briefly.
"Nightmares?" Rayya repeated gently. She shook her head slightly. "About your powers?"
Regina came back out of la-la land at the sound of Rayya's voice, her eyes focusing once again. "...I don't know. Sometimes it's just complete nonsense, like the time I had a dream that a rabid furby tried to eat me." Regina's mouth quirked slightly as she spoke. "And other time they're real nightmares, sometimes like the kind where you're running from something and there are a bunch of hallways but no matter how hard you run you never get anywhere and there's something right behind you." Regina broke her monologue by taking another bite from her hamburger, chewing thoughtfully at as she tried to remember any other dreams/nightmares.
"Oh... Those are horrible," Rayya agreed. She rested her elbows on the table and then leaned her chin on her upraised fists, studying the younger girl sympathetically.
"...and then there are... I don't know what they are. Not quite images like most nightmares but... it's really fuzzy and I hear things, people talking and screaming things I don't understand, and other sounds I don't recognize. And when I wake up, I'm angry, not scared like I normally am when I have nightmares. And I don't know why."
Rayya nodded slowly. "I've had a few of those, too," she whispered. "Julius says they're flashbacks to what we used to be." She shivered. "If that's the case, I'm glad that life is over and done with. The dreams are never good."
"Ah, that's not all I dream about but it's what I remember the most clearly and weren't we not going to talk about that today?" Regina smiled, albeit wanly.
Rayya beamed. "Right, we did say that, didn't we?" Looking up, she noticed the waiter approaching again. "How about we switch to dessert talk then, hmm?"
"Fine by me. What's that desert they serve here called? The one with all the chocolate?"
"It's the chocolate mousse." A smile curved Rayya's lips as she tapped the listing in the menu with a violet-painted nail. "Screaming Chocolate Frenzy."
Regina's smile turned into a real one. "Well then, let's get that. How big is it? Or are we going to need our own?"
"We'll get two," Rayya announced definitely. "If we can't handle it, there's always doggie bags." She grinned mischievously. "But, if we can't finish 'em, what kind of women are we?"
Regina chuckled softly. "Indeed, so let's get two then. It's really too bad Evs isn't here. She never passes up a chance to pig out. She always badgers me into having an eating contest with her... I always lose though." She grinned.
"I'll have to throw a dinner party then," Rayya announced. "She and Wade can eat me out of house and home and you and I can watch and giggle."
"Sounds like a plan." Regina laughed softly.
A half hour later, desserts consumed with much satisfaction and giggling, the waiter appeared, grinning at the two young women. "Anything else, ladies?" he offered, somehow managing to keep the touch of smarm at a minimum.
Rayya beamed up at him, nonetheless, ignoring his too-cheery grin. "Mmm, nope, I don't think so. Just the check," she replied. Within seconds, it had been scribbled on and handed over to the brunette. Then, with a final smile, the waiter turned on his heel and left.
"Hmm, he didn't charge the desserts," Rayya murmured, studying the bill. Then she flipped it over and giggled. "Ah, that's why." Offering the back of the bill to Regina, she added, "He put his phone number on the back."
"Ah." Regina snorted slightly, the kind you get when you're trying not to laugh. "I think he likes you Rayya."
"Gee, Gina, what gave it away?" Rayya giggled and dug in her purse.
"Hm... the fact that he was grinning like an idiot, wrote his phone number of the back of the check, and didn't charge us for the chocolate is a dead give away."
"You are indeed a quick study." Rayya grinned and laid the money with the bill under the edge of her plate. "We'll make you into a people reader in no time."
"Oh yea... the people readers never travel in pairs of more than two... the teacher and the padawan." Regina grinned. "Bad Star Wars reference."
Rayya looked thoughtful. "You know what? I've never seen those movies."
"I've only seen the Episode One thing... I'm thinking about reading the book series but I want to finish Lord of the Rings first."
"You're reading that?" Rayya was clearly impressed. "I couldn't even get through the first 100 pages."
"I'm in the middle of 'The Two Towers.'" Regina said proudly.
"Well, my hat is completely off to you." Rayya looked around the restaurant. "Hmm, I think we'd better go before Romeo decides to return. What do you say?" She smiled, standing up and shouldering her purse. "Where to now?"
"Hmm, I don't really care. Maybe a movie?" Regina shrugged.
"Could be an idea. There's a theater nearby that we could check out." Rayya glanced at her watch. "Do I have to get you back at any special time, by the way?"
"Sometime before seven, Mom flips out if I'm not home by then."
"Right, then. It's just past three o'clock so we should have plenty of time to get you back before she flips." Rayya grinned and led the other girl out of the café. Then she pointed. "Theater is thataway, sweetie. We'll just walk if that's okay with you? Parking is hell around here."
"Sure, no problem." Regina said, one hand going into her pocket to search for snack change.
Rayya noticed the other girl digging in her pocket and shook her head." I can cover the popcorn if you don't mind sharing," she announced. "I can never finish a whole one anyway."
Regina stopped fishing about in her pockets and let her shoulders slump slightly as her posture relaxed. "Sure... thanks..."
"No problem. This way."
A brisk five minute walk brought the two friends to the slightly weathered, rather antiquated movie theater. Pausing, Rayya studied the marquis and frowned. "Hmm, is this one okay?" she asked Regina. "Forgot this was a second run theater."
"It's alright, I'm not picky." Regina said, her thumbs hooked into her pockets.
Rayya grinned and looped an arm through one of the other girl's. "Then we're in for about two hours of frivolous escapism!" With a faint giggle, she dragged her new friend into the theater.
"So, what are we going to see?" Regina asked, looking with mild interest at the various movie posters scattered about. "I prefer comedy myself."
Rayya beamed at her friend. "You're in luck. One screen and it's a comedy. Right this way." Paying quickly for the tickets, she steered the other girl through the snack stand and the doors in rapid succession. "This is gonna be fun," she declared.
"... and that one part when she dive-bombed her boyfriend in a helicopter!" Regina giggled, she was in a rare mood, the movie clearly lifting her spirits as she normally didn't chatter. "I love that movie! I'm buying it on tape when it comes out! Or DVD should I ever get one..."
Rayya grinned back at the younger girl, thrilled at her sudden chattiness. "It was pretty good, wasn't it?" she agreed. "Definitely worth the price of admission."
"Mmm-hmm. And that one foreign guy who fell asleep in the lobby standing up for half the film! The kids were all standing around him wondering if he was really alive!" Thusly Regina's rambling monologue continued, flitting from description of one scene to the next without any order or organization of thought, something that was rather unusual for her since she tended to think before speaking.
Rayya merely smiled wider. This was a definitely different Regina, she thought. Cute. Lightly wrapping an arm around the other girl's shoulders, she hugged her to her side briefly. "I'm glad you had fun, Gina," she beamed. "It's good to see each other outside of, well, you know what."
"Of course! Our lives shouldn't be directed by it!" Regina said cheerfully. "Though 'cause of it I met you ya know? It' can't be all that bad then."
"I'd say it's the redeeming feature of this circus," Rayya agreed with a definite nod. "You and the others are the only thing that keeps me from sending the pig to a boarding kennel and hiding under my bed. I've made some amazing friends." She grinned. "You're definitely going to have to meet the others. Maybe a party at my place some time."
"Sounds like an idea. The only parties I've ever been to were a wedding and school functions." Regina made a face. "Not at all interesting, I stopped going to them."
"Then it's settled. I'll just give the others a call and arrange something." Rayya smiled happily. "We'll prove parties can be interesting. Oh, and what's your favorite food?"
Regina gave Rayya a slightly silly grin. "Chocolate, of course, and mint. I love mint."
"Then it looks like I'll be doing a dessert!"
"Seems so." Regina agreed.
Rayya looked skywards, judging the position of the sun. Then she returned her warm gaze to her friend. "So when's best for you?"
"Hmm..." Regina looked thoughtful for a moment. "How about sometime around Halloween? I'll be so full on candy that a little more sugar won't make one wit of a difference."
Giggling, Rayya nodded. "I was planning on doing something then, anyway, so that's a definite. Maybe we'll be able to squeeze something in before then." She beamed at the other girl. "If not, however, I get you for Halloween. Come hell or enemy senshi."
Regina winced slightly. "I'm still not used to this... that... whatever."
"I know, hon. Neither am I." Rayya's usually chirpy voice softened and she frowned slightly. "It's a raw deal no matter how you look at it and, I figure, the moment you get used to it is the moment you become less of a human being. Or something."
"Well -that- was a comforting though. Let's get going Rayya, becoming depressed about it won't change anything or do any good."
"You're right." Rayya smiled faintly. "And I have to get you home by a certain time, don't I?"
Regina nodded. "Yes, at seven." Regina looked up at one of the clocks on the walls. "It's just past six now."
"Okey dokey. Guess we'd better head for my car, then." After taking a few steps, though, Rayya suddenly paused and turned back to Regina with a smile. "Thanks, Gina. This has been a -good- day."
Regina smiled slightly. "Yes, it has been. Thanks, Rayya."
"No problem at all." Grabbing her hand, Rayya began impulsively dragging Gina behind her as she headed up the road for her car. "Now, so as not to displease the parental unit," she giggled, "Let's move our keisters!"
Regina chuckled softly. "Yes, let's go. Maybe I'll show off my garden when we get there."
"Sounds great to me. Now." Rayya suddenly released her hand and grinned over her shoulder. "Race you to the car!" With a sudden burst of full-throated laughter, Rayya took off, somehow managing to bolt ahead despite her platform sandals.
Regina took a moment to be startled before grinning wolfishly and bolting to catch up with little difficulty, her long legs able to take great strides and her body trained to run any distance quickly. Soon she had shot past Rayya and turned around slightly until she was running backwards and grinning without a care in the world. "You didn't think you could get away with that did you?"
"It was worth a try, wasn't it?" Rayya shot back with a matching grin. "Geez, Gina, between you and Wade I'm never going to win any games of tag, am I?"
"Most likely not." Regina said cheerfully, before turning around that way she could make sure she didn't run into anything and slowing down until she was nearly jogging so Rayya could catch up. Regina loved running, racing or not, whether she won or not. It was a simple thrill that the motion never failed to give her.
"Well, that's absolutely no fair." Rayya attempted a pout but found that running plus giggling weren't conducive to such a farce. With a dramatic sigh, she gave up, slowing down her pace. "Okay, you win. The car's only another block and then it's no more physical exertion for Rayya until someone actually chases -me-."
Regina slowed down to a walk and matched Rayya's pace with a little difficulty; Rayya was a bit shorter than the taller blonde. A small smile played across her lips but she didn't add anything and seemed content to walk, hands in her pockets, in a friendly silence the rest of the block.
Within a few minutes, they had reached Rayya's small car and the brunette fished in her purse for her keys, a thoughtful look on her face. "Gina?" she murmured. "Thanks."