Assistance Please → Lily and Isabel
As much as she wanted to tell herself that she had the situation at hand under control, the anxiety racing through her thoughts proved otherwise. This discovery was enough to remind her of the uncertainty of what was to come. Of course, even if she hadn’t learned about her predetermined connection to Isabel, tomorrow was just as unknown as it was now. It was just easier to blame her feelings on the current situation even if it wasn’t exactly right. Lily was willing to do anything to justify just how nervous everything was making her feel. People were always willing to spit out stories about how soulmates always seemed to work out, but she didn’t have enough faith in the system to rule out the idea of the norm just being a self-fulfilling prophecy. Her frustration at the possible flaws was something Lily knew she couldn’t blame Isabel for. They were both the subjects of whatever was at work in the world. Neither of them had a say about whose name was written on their arms.
Lily didn’t want to think about whatever implications came with the recent discovery. Just because a name was there on her arm didn’t necessarily mean that anything had to come of their meeting. She just didn’t know what Isabel expected from all of this, which wasn’t helping the feeling of uneasiness that kept growing in her thoughts. Changing her life just because of one little fact was something that she refused to do. At least Isabel didn’t rub her as the type to be eager to drop everything over something so arbitrary, even if her more optimistic demeanor was definitely questionable for Lily. It would be easy enough to push any further work that the other woman needed onto someone else in the IT office. For now, she was confident enough that she could at least navigate the rest of this task.
"Just let me know if you ever change your mind about that. It’s not really a hassle to find someone else to fix things if it’s needed." A part of her had wished that the blonde would have taken her up on her offer. Avoiding the problem hand surely seemed a lot easier than confronting it head on. It was obvious enough to her that neither of them really knew what to do with the information that had been suddenly thrust upon them. While there wasn’t any set ‘right’ way to survive a conversation after finding out someone was their soulmate, Lily knew enough to know that there were plenty of wrong ways to handle it. Running away from the problem kept tempting her but she knew it wasn’t going to make either of them feel any better about it in the end.
No one had to point out the fact that the mood behind the desk was becoming quite awkward for Lily to realize that much about the direction their conversation was taking. She didn’t expect Isabel to have any answers of what to do about the news. The fact that the woman was mentioning future possibilities didn’t sit quite right with Lily. In her mind, there definitely was no set end point between the two of them or anyone else. The only thing she knew they had in common was how clueless they both currently were. “If I expected any of this, I might have just called in sick today,” Lily grumbled under her breath as she tugged the sleeve of her blouse down to once again cover up the blonde’s name. “There’s nothing particularly interesting to know about me. I mean, this all is sort of unavoidably forced now, isn’t it? But I’m not really good at this whole… socializing thing, if we’re being honest here.”
Though she found reassurance in the fact that Lily didn't seem to have any greater clue as to what they were supposed to do in this situation, let alone what she wanted to do, herself, Isabel still disliked the feeling of uncertainty that settled around her. She was used to being the woman who kept things organized and who had all the answers when things went wrong. She openly acknowledged that some categories were out of her realm of possibility to fix, with technology issues at the very top of that list. Yet most of the time, she at least had an answer for how to work around the problem and temporarily solve something until someone who knew more could tend to whatever complication stood in their way. But right now, Isabel found herself at a loss for what to do. She could hardly find a way to navigate waters that took two people to cross.
Part of her wondered if Lily wanted nothing to do with this despite the apparent inevitability of it. Asking Isabel what she wanted to do could just serve as a polite way to get out of any sort of responsibility. But even if the blonde didn't want to rush into anything unrealistic when she had only just met the other woman, she didn't want to push away the opportunity for a new friend or the chance to do things at least slightly on their own terms. "I will let you know," Isabel reassured her. "For now, I think this should still work just fine. No one should go out of their way just because I click the wrong buttons." She aimed for a placating smile, although suspected she fell a little short thanks to her internal nervousness.
No expectation of them suddenly becoming best friends and falling in love resonated in her mind, yet she couldn't avoid her slight feeling of disappointment as the IT woman in front of her brushed off their conversation with such indifference. However, that came down to Isabel's general enthusiasm, which stuck with her whether it was genuine or if she was just trying to keep everyone happy. Lily clearly wasn't in a very pleasant mood, and while she couldn't blame her since she was fixing computer errors and facing her future in one go, it still felt like a bit of a let down. "We don't have to do anything," Isabel reasoned with a small shrug. "But if we put it off, it seems it will eventually come back to slap us over the head at some later date. Making the most of it instead sounds like a wiser idea. At least to me. I'm not anticipating we'll become inseparable by next week or anything of that sort." Listening to what the other woman said, Isabel tried her best to remain attentive.
"I'm not sure anyone's great at socializing. I try my best, but ice breakers aren't exactly my forte, so I don't have any good ideas in that department. Asking you questions like your favorite color and all related things seems a little silly, I suppose…" Isabel ran one hand over her opposite wrist, fidgeting with the fabric of her blouse. She really didn't know anything about Lily, and so those questions were ones she needed answers to, but this wasn't summer camp, and with two nervous young woman, one of whom was vocal about not wanting to talk much, there was hardly an easy starting point. "For starters, how is that going?" She gestured toward the computer, not wanting to intrude, but figuring it was a reasonable thing to ask, especially since this was her desk. Aside from that work-based question, she had no idea what to ask the woman with whom she was supposedly destined to spend the rest of her life. Maybe work-related inquiries were the best way to go for now. "How many people are in the IT department? That whole floor always sounds like a vague collection of hardworking people, but I have no idea what the setup is like."
