Jeremy couldn't help a nervous but amused laugh when she said this part of the shop was nice. It was hardly nice. The back office was more or less a glorified supply closet and had been up until recently basically never put to use except for them to just toss things in there to be forgotten and accumulate dust. Lately some cleaning had taken place, a few of the items that were definitely trash thrown out or donated, dust had been mostly wiped away and now the chair behind the desk and the two in front were open to be used, only occasionally now a stack of papers or shipping invoices being rested on them temporarily.
He cleared off some space on the desk so he could put the bag down and begin removing a container of food and then another, picking out the one that he would eat now and then having a seat at one of the small chairs, it creaked and groaned under his weight. He realized he'd never sat down in the office before. Even his eyes were beginning to wander to take in little details.
Sweeping green eyes found themselves back on Naz and he quickly found himself looking away, his heart ached uncomfortably. He wanted to talk to her in the way they had used to. It had never been easy for him to talk so freely but for a while he'd been comfortable with her and now he felt... uneasy again and he didn't like that. Which topics were safe and which ones were off limits, would he be selfish if he asked how she was just so he could hear her speak?
She accidentally snorted when he laughed, quickly covering her mouth with her hand. The siren had been trying to say something nice about the place but it wasn't easy. The space looked mostly unused which made sense given the nature of their work. It could have been worse in Naz's eyes, she had seen worse staff rooms in restaurant's she'd worked at in the past. By comparison, this was very nice.
Hovering by the door, Naz waited for Jeremy to indicate where he'd like to sit before she circled around the table and took the other one. She sunk in further than expected and made a small noise of surprise, feeling even shorter behind the desk than she was. Things used to be easier, things that would make her laugh and joke made her quiet, worried that she'd say something to ruin this. It felt like they were walking on egg shells and her heart couldn't handle a misstep.
Instead she had become over cautious around him, unable to slip into the easy conversations where she would probably talk a little too much. In those quiet moments, she rifled through her bag and pulled out some cutlery, having had a feeling they would need it. Glancing up at him, their eyes met for a moment and her lips parted to say something stupid. One look at those green eyes and she almost slipped right into one of those topics she had to steer clear from now they weren't together.
"Oh you know, the same old. Did you know I have to swim all the time now? I never really liked swimming all that much before and now I do it every day," she said. The nerves were getting the best of her now, causing her to talk too much. "I didn't even like baths that much and I do that a lot now too. But um, how are you doing? How's the shop been?" Naz wanted to ask about the pack and his friends, she wanted everything to be good for him because she knew she couldn't be that, she wasn't anything good anymore.
she nodded as the other thanked her for coming out to the country club, smile still on her face as she looked around the unfamiliar setting. it was one of the few times that eilonwy had ventured out of the gardens without the company of a friend, trying to get out more and more. it was easier when she had someone she trusted involved, like corey, but it wouldn’t always be like that. so, eilonwy simply had to get used to doing it herself.
the fae sat at the table naz picked, carefully placing her canvas bag on the floor as the glass inside clinked together, trying hard not to smash anything in there. “yeah, everyone’s doing a lot better,” so was she, no longer her giant and awkward fae self. thanks to glamour, eilonwy was now able to present as human as she liked.
“sounds lovely, you’ll have to share it with me,” she said with a nod. “a glass of water, if that’s not too much trouble,”
Naz was grateful that the woman took time out of her day to come to the club so she wanted to make sure she was comfortable. The siren was still fairly new to the town as well and was still trying to navigate the different supernatural creatures in the town as well as just meeting new people. As friendly as she tried to be, Naz was acutely aware of how awkward she must seem as well.
“I couldn’t agree more,” she said, knowing that she was doing better now as well. Having limited time to swim had been hard on the new siren. She liked being able to go and swim at night and stretch her tail. Something about the moon and water was comforting even if Naz was still scared of the ocean.
“Actually, I have something I can share with you now. I’ll be just one second,” she said, quickly excusing herself to get them both something to drink. She returned a few moments later with a tray with their water and a piece of cake each. Placing each item down, she took her seat opposite the fae. “It’s honey and cinnamon cake. I actually used your honey for it, it’s much better than with the store bought stuff.”
Often, Mark forgot to eat, always trying to focus on the business and other entrepreneurships. However, moments like these it suddenly occurred to him that he had yet to have a bite of food unless you count the coffee he had for breakfast. One reason he requested the two hold off for a few minutes until he got his order in.
Once the orders were in, the two quickly returned to the subject matter. Slowly inhaling, Mark was not sure if he should place an amount on Celeste, but his wife was a perfectionist who wanted everything to be grand and perfect to the last detail. Yet, he didn’t want it hitting their bank account as hard as in times past. “Alright, I would rather keep it at $200 a person if possible. However, I will allow up to $250, just don’t tell my wife.” He commented. Preferably, he would prefer it to stay under what he specified, but he wanted to keep his wife happy. If she was happy, she didn’t pay attention to how much he worked or what he spent on things he wanted.
-
Naz felt bad that she had jumped straight into business instead of offering. This was his lunch break after all and he was a busy guy, she was taking him away from that to talk after all. Luckily ordering took no time at all, given that they were trying to accommodate him as well. If they were doing business together, Naz wanted to prove that her staff were effective and efficient.
Her lips pursed, trying not to look as guilty as she felt. Naz had never grown up with money so spending someone else’s made her feel uncomfortable. It was part of doing business though. She nodded thoughtful before quickly jotting down the numbers in her notepad she had brought along, finding it easier to write down things so she wouldn’t forget them later. “I think that’s very easily doable, so don’t worry about that. I have some good vendors through the country club so I’ll get a good deal on things.” The most expensive thing was alcohol but given it was for charity, they could mark down things. “I love working with your wife by the way, she’s a real firecracker but in the best way possible.” She reminded Naz a little of her mother, the little she remembered before she passed.
Saying his life had become strangely busy since he had drove back to town a month ago after a much needed camping trip of solitude was an understatement. Each year close to the date he had to run away from his old life he gave himself a week of Aitikaaf, connecting with nature and Allah, with himself and the moon, the wolf and the man. So he can have a full moon to nothing but wild life, and of course returning here for the full moon had been too eventful. He couldn’t say if it was in a good or a bad way.
But now, having had an evening and half a day to himself and a hammer, he was content enough to feel excited about the dinner he was driving to, a bottle of whiskey and a bowl of ezme, anticipating the trip home… at least through his taste buds. He was glad he had made the offer of a shared trip a while back, even enjoying the stories he could hear of people that in another life could have been what his family was.
The door opened and he smiled at the woman. “I am starving… and I feel like I overdressed” he said as a joke, his hair out of the usual ponytail, looking down at her and then at his casual linen top and shorts. With his hands taken, he kicked off his shoes by the door and followed her to the kitchen, his mouth already salivating at the odors filling the whole home. “A hard job, but you’ll feel lighter. Unless we eat the whole thing and roll to the park in the morning”, he said as he observed the what seemed to be enough food to feed a family of five for a few days. Putting his small addition on the table he turned around. He observed the kitchen and dining space, appreciating the feminine touch to all of it. “I like the inside of the place.”
-
“You’re going to need it that hunger, I promise you that,” she assured, waving him inside. As for looking over dressed, Naz felt like it was perfectly acceptable dinner attire. “You should have seen what I was wearing before you got here. I promise I was a mess." Seeing how clean and neat he looked made her grateful she remembered to actually look presentable once he arrived. Taking the ezme from his hands, she lead him towards the kitchen where everything was still laid out and placed his dish in the centre, where she'd saved a place for it.
For a moment she chewed on her bottom lip, knowing she had cooked far too much. "I don't think the run will do that but we'll save that theory for the morning when you have to get a wheelbarrow to push me around," she joked, tucking a loose curl behind her ear. "But don't feel pressured to eat too much, I'm not like my aunties, I promise. I have tuppleware and you can take some home with you." From the amount she made, Abe might have been able to eat for the next three days.
"Oh, thanks! I'm still settling in... I've been here a year and I still feel like I'm settling in," she admitted sheepishly. Before coming to the town, she had moved around a lot out of restlessness but she had started to settle in Greywood. The kitchen was her favourite place to be so it had the most things, from herbs growing on the window sill to little knick knacks about the fridge and pictures of her family and friends stuck on the front with magnets. "Can I get you a drink?" she asked, eyeing the whiskey in his hands.
warnings: drowning, thalassophobia, ptsd, general dark thoughts
It was a strange thing. She had become this creature that needed water, that needs to swim and yet every time she thinks of dipping her toes into the ocean or a river, she starts to fall apart. Her hands shake, sweat collects at the base of her neck almost like she's about to get sick. Her stomach becomes so tight with nerves that she rushes to the bathroom but nothing ever comes up. That feeling hasn't faded. It had been a few months and she still felt that sickening sting of fear when she looked at the depths of the water.
At first it had been worse. The idea of putting her hands in the large basin's at work had frightened her. The sinks were filled with dirty dishes, making the water murky enough that she was certain something was waiting for her. Baths had been worse but her body craved it, the need to be covered in water and survive outweighed her fear but not by much. But the ocean? Naz wasn't sure she would ever swim in it again. The tranquil spot had always brought her comfort and now the thought of stepping in the ocean and seeing beneath the waves was enough to make her want to claw at her own throat, to drown herself again even if it wouldn't work.
Now she had been dragged beneath the surface and knew what awaited her, she was terrified. How stupid it must have seemed, what kind of siren is scared of the water? It felt nice to swim, it made her feel stronger and faster, her heard was clearer. And yet, she still fears the water. What kind of creature was afraid of the one thing they needed to survive?
Naz looks back at her memories, of the beautiful woman who visited her for years. All those promises that she would be saved, that she'd have something better were destroyed. For years, Naz had begged the woman for some hope, for something better like she had offered time and time again. All she had wanted was to escape her father, to escape the brother's who looked at like her she was staff and not family. Even the men she had dated treated her that way, seeing her as someone to push and boss around. The help she asked for was just a weakness to the siren who changed her. She had promised to be there to help her and as soon as Naz didn't need it anymore, she took that from her. Misery had always been the goal for that siren.
The lies are what keeps Naz up at night now. She had felt so close to finding some happiness in a world that had kept it from her. The freedom she had craved and needed were stolen from her, just like her life had been. She had gotten so close to happiness, that light feeling of hope and new love and possibilities.
She thinks if Jeremy, of the what ifs that surround their relationship. He had been her hope, her happiness when she had settled into town. It was too good to be true of course, that kind of happiness wasn't meant for people like her. The ache in her heart hadn't lessened in the slightest. It's the little things that hurt the worst, like when he doesn't take her hand anymore or hug her when they see each other. She could never blame him for it, Naz had to break things off to protect him. Naz fought with her self for weeks, wanting to ask for him back, to make it work.
But then it happened one day, she had taken her tide charm off while working in her kitchen. Filling the sink up with water, she began washing dishes and singing a familiar song her aunties would sing at family gatherings. The tune had carried down the hallway without her knowledge, a song calling forward someone to the water, ready to drown.
When a knock on her door echoed through the apartment, she continued humming all the way to the door. An older gentleman who she knew lived a few doors down was at her door, his eyes glazed over as he stared at her. For a moment she was confused but then that urge rose inside her. There was water in the kitchen sink, enough to cover his nose and mouth. She could continue to sing her song and bring him inside and he wouldn't even flinch.
"Mr Richardson?" she had asked, a song in her tone. His dark eyes turned to her then, wide and trusting with all the hope in the world. It would be so easy, it could be easy, the words echoed in her head. That terrified Naz more than anything. It would be so easy and she was willing to do it. After a few long moments, as silence stretched between them, Naz finally snapped out of it. "Go home, Mr Richardson. I think it's dinner time," she whispered.
As soon as he turned, Naz had shut the door and rushed to put on the tide charm back around her neck. It felt like an noose, a restricting reminder of what she had become.
It was nothing, she said. Jeremy looked at the bag which was filled with enough food for at least a few days. He didn’t need her to cook for him – anymore – but he appreciated it, as always for she was always a great cook and he could already spot and smell a few of his more favorite dishes. It was excessive, even he knew this but he wasn’t going to point it out because he too could be a little bit selfish and part of him like to think that if she was busy making meals for him like this it meant she wasn’t going out making meals for someone else.
Jeremy quickly shook his head, he had no plans, the inventory he was doing could wait as he took a break. The only problem now arose was where and a common occurrence for Jeremy when faced with uncertainty was to freeze, which he did so now, albeit temporarily as his brain worked slowly to slot pieces of information together. Normally he ate lunch in the garage or in the back of the garage in the parking lot where the garage kitten would rub against his pant legs and beg for pieces of his sandwiches but he did not want to eat in the parking lot with Naz. The next option was the small office in the back but that was only viable as long as it was unoccupied. Sometimes, Ryden would use the office when his partner came by to visit and it wasn’t always obvious this had happened until one walked too close to the office door and heard something.
Jeremy decided to risk it though and now was faced with the next decision making process which was to reach for her hand to try and lead her toward the office or not. His green eyes lowered to her hands, small, petite, uncalloused and smooth if his memory was correct. He did not reach for her hand, “We-we-we c-c-an… u-u-u-u-use th-th-the of-fice.” He would stiffly begin to walk after making an awkward gesture for Naz to follow him.
-
Jeremy didn’t have to say anything to know he could see she was fibbing at least a little. No one cooks this much left overs for sharing. Naz had admittedly started cooking with him in mind, things she’d learned he enjoyed while they were friends and had started making for him once they were a couple. It had become habit to her to prep this much but she had nowhere for it to go now. While Naz should have just stopped, it was how she dealt with stress and any anxious feelings that welled up. Lately, she was always feeling that way. “Sorry,” she mumbled to herself, knowing it was silly.
The food was purely for him, not some ploy to have Jeremy spend time with her though it was a bonus in her eyes. Sometimes, she expected him to turn her away and when he hesitated, she thought he might change his mind. Taking a slow breath, focusing on the in and out as her fingers continued to twist together. Eating at the shop felt like the safest choice but she hadn’t really eaten anywhere but besides his workstation, where she would snack on things while he worked.
When his eyes fell to her hands, she stopped her nervous movements. “That sounds good,” she agreed. For a moment, she wanted to reach for his hand out of habit but it was just another thing they shouldn’t do anymore. Adjusting the strap of her bag, she followed behind his large frame. “I’ve never been to this part of the shop before,” she commented, looking at the walls as they moved through. “It’s... nice?” she said. It wasn’t her idea of nurse but she worked in a kitchen that was white and steel so it wasn’t to everyone’s aesthetic.
Relief flooded his features, seeing the young lady not be angry with his tardiness. It was a bad habit, but when he got caught up with work he often put everything else on hold. Naz did not waste any time as she started discussing the event that his wife and her were planning. Mark nodded, hearing the count. It was a large number of people, but if his wife wanted to host such an extravagant event, who was he to say no? Of course his wife would choose pricey items for the event. “First, may we order something? I haven’t eaten today,” he commented.
When the server came by, he ordered a glass of wine with the duck entree. “Please, order whatever you want.” The man wanted her to enjoy herself as much as possible. Especially given the fact she was dealing with his wife, who was a darling but at times could be demanding. “Okay, sorry about that. Please go on.” Mark told her as he began to brace himself over the menu items.
-
The siren began going through all the bits of information she had in place, thinking about how best to talk about money without seeming rude. While she had been doing more of the catering and pricing for items, Naz still felt cautious and not wanting to over step boundaries and budgets she wasn’t aware of yet. “Right of course, sorry. Force of habit,” Naz replied, a sheepish smile on her face. In the time she’d been waiting, Naz had been able to think through everything she was going to say so she’d just jumped into it.
She ordered the mussel entrée and some sparkling water for herself, thanking their server as they took the menu and giving them a small nod. Mark was an important customer and she knew the server would let the kitchen know. She wanted his meal to be perfect. Naz had been enjoying working with Celeste and she didn’t want to lose those opportunities. “No you’re totally fine. I forget myself sometimes,” she smiled apologetically. “I suppose, more than anything else I’d just like to hear what your ideal budget is. I can work within a budget, either per person or as a total.”
the country club was not somewhere eilonwy often frequented, however they had plans to expand with smaller suppliers and somewhere down the grapevine her name had been mentioned. she was known to sell honey, and make her own loose leaf blends of tea from the plants in her gardens. she wasn’t growing her own tea leaves yet, still having to get a supplier for those but, soon enough she would have them to.
she felt underdressed at such a place, her dungarees paired with plimsolls and a large canvas tote bag over one arm with some of her wares in. eilonwy didn’t exactly look like she was going to a sales pitch or sorts, waving back at naz, the siren who’d contacted her in the first place. “thankyou for the invite,” the fae replied with a curteous smile.
“flourishing, actually,” now the mist had gone, she had been able to fully restore her beautiful gardens to their full potential. “how’s the country club?”
-
Naz had been using the honey that Eilonwy made for a few weeks but that was at home, she definitely wanted to introduce it at the country club. There were enough chances to have brunches and breakfasts for events at the club so it would be good to have quality products to provide. She greeted the other woman with a warm smile, allowing her into the restaurant space. “Of course, thank you so much for coming,” she replied. “I appreciate you coming out of your way.”
Stepping further into the restaurant, she ushered the other woman over to a table that they could sit and get comfortable at. “That’s good to hear. I think it’s really lifted the mood of the town too,” she added, knowing that she felt better about it now.
“We’ve been busy which is good, I’ve been working on new menu’s for spring at the moment.” It was her favourite part of the job, testing and trialing new recipes she had been working on. “Can I get you anything to eat or drink? Anything you like.”
What: Reviewing catering options for her private “So Long Summer” Party .
Celeste was unboxing the large shipment of items she ordered for their summer soiree party. Always planning and organizing events for other entities and individuals, the Carlisle was genuinely looking forward to hosting this shindig at her home. It would be about sixty individuals maximum and it would be a nice ode to summer with the season starting to wind down. She was in the family room going through her orders to make sure everything was here when she heard the doorbell ring. “The door is open!” she yelled loudly. Expecting Naz, she didn’t find no harm to leaving it unlocked for the woman. Fostering a great working relationship, if there was anyone she wanted in charge of the food for her party it was Naz. “I’m in here!”
-
Naz might have been getting used to working with the enigma that was Celeste Carlisle, she still wasn’t used to the size of the home. She had been raised as working class at best and she still felt that way and out of place when somewhere fancier than she. Not that Celeste had ever made her feel that way, the woman was kind and her passion and drive was admirable. She arrived at the door, nervously adjusting her best jacket before ringing the door bell. Hearing the fae’s voice, she followed it inside, until Naz found her in a large room, rummaging through some items. “Hello, Celeste. Good to see you,” she greeted with a warm smile, listing a hand in a wave. “Can I help you? Are you looking for something?”
It was no secret that Naz loved to cook for people. She had been doing it her whole life, going as far as going to culinary school. She even delivered meals to her ex boyfriend every now and then and not just because she wanted to see him. It felt good to cook for people. Having Abe over felt like a special ocassion though, she was going to be cooking the meals she'd shared would family and friends her whole life. It was good to have someone over who would appreciate those dishes as well.
From in the kitchen, she had a few pans on the go, something in the oven with a timer ticking away. After she had gotten back from her swim, Naz had begun working on dips and flat bread dough and starting bits here and there. She had been in the kitchen all day, only taking a break to change from her leggings and t-shirt into something more appropriate for a dinner. By the time her door bell rang, Naz had definitely over done it with dishes starting to cover the bench. She just hoped Abe was hungry.
Pulling the front door open, the siren smiled brightly up at her friend. This was her way of saying thanks after all. "So... I might have gone overboard so I hope you're hungry," she said cheerily, inviting him in. "Tomorrow's job is going to be hard, I'm telling you now."
STARTER: Naz & Elora
LOCATION: The Den
STATUS: CLOSED
Elora had just finished preparing the garnishes for the cocktails when Naz appeared as if out of nowhere, pulling herself into a stool directly in front of where Elora was working at the bar. It had been a few months since she’d seen the woman - she’d always gotten on reasonably well with Naz when her and Jeremy had been together. They’d been a cute couple, and Jeremy had been quite clearly infatuated. It had come as bit of shock when they had broken up - it had taken Jeremy a wee while to actually tell anyone, and Elora had felt so sad for the wolf. He’d been soft and sweet with Naz, and Elora couldn’t understand what could’ve gone wrong.
It was a surprise to see the woman at The Den all things considered. She wasn’t a wolf herself, and the connections she’d made at The Den and with the pack had all been through Jeremy. Elora wasn’t quite sure what she was supposed to do. Her loyalties lay with Jeremy, but she didn’t know what had exactly happened, so she wasn’t sure whether to be frosty or kind. Settling for a neutral “hey,” she cast a brief smile over at the siren, tilting her head to the side. “Been a while. You want a drink?”
@naz-ozdemir
-
Naz still felt relatively new to the town. While she moved there about a year ago, there weren’t many places she felt comfortable going out to by herself. In her months of being friends and dating Jeremy, she had come to enjoy visiting the Den. The people were nice to her and the drinks and food were good. After their break up, Naz hadn’t dared to step foot in there again until today. It was hard to know if she would be welcomed, given she had hurt a member of the pack. While it had been for Jeremy’s own good, she knew not everyone would see it that way. Hell, sometimes she second guessed her choice. Or she did until the high tide rolled around, then she was certain she had done the right thing.
Stepping inside the Den, she froze in the doorway, eyes flittering around the bar to see if anyone was watching her or glaring in her direction. When it felt safe, she pulled up a spot at the bar in front of Elora. She could see Elora’s surprise clear as day. The bartender had always been kind to her before and now Naz worried that might change. “Hey,” she greeted, giving her a sheepish smile. “Uh yeah, you know,” the siren replied with a shrug. “But uh, yes please. Just a beer, please.”
Evening had become his choice of time to swim. Asher had tried the early morning thing for a while, tried to make it work, but truth be told he resented the fact that every other siren in Opulence seemed to have the same idea and the same plan, and hated the way it seemed impossible to swim without bumping tails with another. It wasn’t the peaceful meditative experience he preferred it to be, and so he’d switched tactic. The late afternoon, early evening time seemed to be working for him thus far. He’d become accustomed to having the space to himself.
That was, until today, when he arrived to the sight of another siren already swimming. Asher tried to hide his dismay, knowing he didn’t have a right to the pools, that this was bound to happen sooner or later, but his attempt at a friendly wave still came off awkward and stilted. “Oh, uh, hey.”
-
Naz was still relatively new to the whole siren thing. To begin with, she struggled the most with needing to swim and how to find time for it. She had started with mornings but she felt like she had to rush around too much and she still felt that need in the evenings after she finished work. So when she had her next day off, she decided to try swimming in the early evening. She hoped most people were at home, preparing dinner or getting on with something else
To her surprise, the pools were empty when she arrived. It was the first time ever she’d been here along so she stretched out and enjoyed the water, swimming a few laps, acting like she was a serious swimmer. After she slowed, she noticed someone arriving and stopped playing around. “Oh, hello,” she greeted, waving awkwardly in return. “Sorry, I swear I wasn’t just pretending I was an Olympic swimmer or anything...”
Jeremy did not immediately look toward her, it was a delayed reaction prefaced by a deep inhalation of breath to ease the butterflies of nerves that began to flutter in the center of his chest upon hearing her voice break through the silence of the once empty front end of the auto shop but once he’d calmed the pesky insects that had nestled somewhere deep inside of him in a place he couldn’t reach to remove, lifted his green gaze over to her. His first thought: she was beautiful. She was always beautiful. Much too beautiful for someone like him who was often so greasy and covered in stains and broad shouldered and clumsy. For the duration of their relationship he had spent the majority of it in disbelief that someone like her had chosen to be with someone like him. In his eyes, they were on entirely different realms of existence and when they broke up it made sense to him and even though she had done her best to assure him that it was her and not him, there was still the little voice in the back of his head that made him doubt. Because how could she, who looked like she bathed in rose petals and starlight, ever be with someone like him.
He dashed those insecure feelings aside as his lips pressed together tightly, teeth meeting to stop chewing on the inside of his cheek. He already did have a sore spot there. Her kindness hadn’t ceased. Her sheepish expression was mirrored back to her with one of his own. Though he was bulky and serious faced, when it came to her he had a warmth in his eyes that caused the greens of his eyes to burst into a forest fire but he put out the flames and now all that was left was a cloud of soot and smoke. Things were awkward at times. Going from friends to lovers and now trying to retrace their steps to go back to being friends. It wasn’t easy, not when the feelings were still there served with a side of rejection.
Jeremy stepped forward to take the bag of food from her, it was heavy and he opened it up to look inside at all of the containers. “Th-th-thanks,” she didn’t have to keep doing this but he didn’t want to tell her so because he also didn’t want her to stop, the excuse of seeing her even if she was only dropping something off was too great. “D-d-d-d-di-id yo-ou eat?” A question with another unasked question, would you eat with me?
-
It was hard to stand across a room from him and ignore that they had once been lovers. They knew intimate things about each other that no one else did. Naz had thought it would be easier to go back to what they had been but, somehow, it was harder when he was looking directly at her. His green eyes always held so much thought and emotion in them. The unspoken words shone clearly up at her and it ached to stare at them for too long. Naz could see the pain she had created and the trouble she had caused this sweet man and it made her heart ache, wishing she could go back and change her mind. Maybe she wouldn’t hurt him, maybe things would be different because of him.
As much as she wanted to believe in that impossible dream, Naz wasn’t the person she was when they started dating and Jeremy didn’t deserve that trouble on top of everything else. A hand lifted to her chest, absently rubbing against where it had begun to feel empty with the heel of her hand. The feeling wasn’t easily swallowed down but Naz had always been good and ignoring how she felt, wanting those around her to be comfortable and happy.
With the food in his hands, she didn’t have anything to do with her own anymore and her fingers twisted together as he looked over what she had brought. “Oh it was nothing, I just wanted to make sure you had something to eat,” she said, smiling up at him. For them to be friends, Naz knew this was how it had to be. She would deal with whatever pain it might cause her because she wasn’t ready to lose Jeremy in her life. “I haven’t, not yet,” she answered. The unanswered question hung in the air, leaving it up to her. “We could eat together? I mean if you don’t have any plans. If you have plans you can just... it can be for later in the week or something.” Her voice trailed off, knowing she was babbling on when she should just let him answer.
After the fog had lifted, Naz had felt the urge to be in water growing stronger each day. It had been bad before but it felt worse recently, like she was going to go mad if she didn't soak in the bath or at the pools a few times a day. Before her shift at the country club started, she knew she had to go and get a proper swim in. She arrived around lunch time before diving into the water, letting her tail extend out and splash under the water.
It was funny to think that she never liked the ocean when she was younger. She was terrified of what was lurking under the surface. Now she had become the thing she should be afraid off. The siren got lost in her thoughts and didn't notice someone else nearby. She dived under the water and came up, almost face to face with a beautiful woman. A squeak escaped her parted lips, a hand coming to rest against her heart.
"Good lord, I'm so sorry I just screamed at you," Naz said, quickly apologising. "I didn't see you there."
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