The Sweetheart

[Blair Da Costa]

Blair sat on the bench, her feet dangling in the air as she enjoyed her cup of ice cream. She didn't have any plans for the moment and for now, she was rather content just enjoying the serenity. It was a rare moment that her schedule wasn't packed - and not just with work related things. No, she seemed to have quite the habit of keeping herself busy. She grew bored and easily restless. It was her vice, she supposed.

Still, she couldn't really complain. She didn't exactly have the worst kind of life. She enjoyed it - at least, she enjoyed it enough.

Once she finished her ice cream, she tossed into the trash can right next to the bench. She looked around then, pulling her wavy hair away from her eyes as her brown eyes studied each of the passing faces. She had always found people watching interesting; she wondered what kind of stories hid behind the millions of faces she saw throughout her life. Some looked happy, some sad and some had this kind of blank, expressionless stare that made her even more curious.

And then there was a familiar face in the crowd; one she hadn't seen in quite some time. Furrowing her brows, she leaned forward to get a better look; It was him, wasn't it? She was sure of it, though, he looked much older. That, naturally, was to be expected. She looked older too. Blair pushed herself off the bench and made her way around the man, making sure she wasn't noticed as she stepped up behind him and put her hands over his eyes.

"Guess who!"

[Felix Nicholas]

Felix had quickly readjusted to the hot, long summer days of Glenhaven. New York had been warm, true, but it was far from the heat the sun beat down on California. This day was no different, with the warmth of the afternoon drawing out large crowds downtown; Felix among them.
He took a deep breath and breathed out, narrowing his eyes as he peered upwards towards the sky, pushing his hair back; It certainly was warm. He'd only just stepped out into the sunshine, having spent most of his morning at the local radio station, and had now found himself with not much to do. Since coming back from New York, save from heading out to see Eri, Felix hadn't spent much time exploring the new areas of downtown... Glenhaven seemed to have grown, and this casual wander seemed like as good a time as any to take it in. 

He went to take his sunglasses from where they were hooked onto the collar of his shirt when he suddenly was brought to an abrupt stop, jumping slightly in surprise as his sight was suddenly blocked by the cool skin of hands... And a famulier voice, one he hadn't heard in a long time... To the point where he momentarily doubted if it was who he thought it was. It couldn't be... surely?
Despite himself, a small, sad pang teased him somewhere in his chest; She had been wildfire... A vibrant, bright soul. She could drag you astray with little to no effort, and at one point in his life, had commanded perhaps more then she realised of Felix's heart. But distance is a cruel thing, and breaking things off had been the kinder choice for the both of them. But that had been years ago... Could it be her?
"...Blair?!" He spoke in surprise, before bringing his hands to his face, taking her hands in his and turning round to face the young woman, a wide grin breaking out across his expression at the familiar face. "Why, if it isn't Miss.Da Costa!" She looked... Different. Older... But then again, so did he.

[Blair Da Costa]

As he turned and looked at her with oh so familiar grin of his, Blair couldn't quite help the almost shy smile that formed on her lips. She held his hands still, giving them a light squeeze as she chuckled softly. It had been such a long time - sure, she had always been a wildfire, someone that couldn't fully be tamed, but at the time the two of them had been an item, she had been so young and so in love. Ironically, it was the first and last time she'd ever held a relationship for that long.

"The one and only," she replied. He was slightly taller than her, but given her own 5'9, she only had to lift her head by a bit to properly get a glance at him. Getting older had done him good. He no longer was the young teen she remembered him as. He had now entered the stage of being a man wonderfully. He was still dashingly handsome. "I saw you and I couldn't quite believe my own eyes," she continued on, the shy smile turning somewhat sheepish. "You look good."

She took a step back, holding his hands still as she gave him a once over; he'd grown much taller and broader, though, she supposed, that was only fair. It had been what, six years since the two of them had left high school? And like she always did, Blair let herself run along with her feelings and quickly found her arms wrapped around the taller man, offering him quite the bear hug.

[Felix Nicholas]

Felix's grin faltered slightly when she cast him a shy smile, his own turning a little sheepish; She may be older, but held the same beautiful shyness she'd had as a teen... Felix had always felt special when he was around her, that he could see this gentle shyness hidden behind her wild, carefree personality; That she either felt safe enough with him to show that side of herself, or that he'd gained a heightened perception of her feelings while around her he wasn't sure... But either way, it felt like a privilege.
He gazed at her a moment, taking in the new older shape of her face, how her features had slipped perfectly into adulthood. He then blinked at her when she heard her compliment, feeling a small warm rush to his cheeks. "I look good? Come on, Blair, you know I always did," He joked, chuckling a little as the young woman kept a hold of his hands, the young man blinking at her as she seemed to take a few moments to examine him.

"I'm still the same ol' Felix," He reassured her with a raised brow. "Just a little taller I thin-" He was however cut off by Blair throwing her arms around him, Felix quickly returning the gesture, hugging her close before picking her up and twirling her round once, laughing before putting her back down. "It's been YEARS, Blair! How are you? I mean, how have you been? Did you go into modelling, I-" He then paused with a chuckle, waving a hand at her. "Sorry... I guess there's a lot to catch up on. Do you... Do you have a free afternoon?"

[Blair Da Costa]

"Your arrogance is giving you less points on appearance," she countered easily with a smirk. Of course he was right, though. Felix had always looked good. Naturally, it wasn't why she had liked him, but it had been a huge part of why the two of them had even started talking. It was shallow, but at least she could easily admit his looks had nothing to do with falling for him. He was a kind soul, often unappreciated, but still, that counted for a lot.

The swirl had the brunette chuckling softly against the fabric of his clothes. Once settled down, he started bombarding her with questions which brought the shy smile back upon her lips. Shrugging lightly, Blair chuckled sheepishly. Bringing up her phone then, she opened her calendar and cleared it for the whole day. "I do now," she said with a smirk.

She then gestured towards an ice cream stand. "Before you start interrogating me, let's at least get something for the heat." She didn't wait for him to respond before she started walking towards it, already wondering what kind of ice cream she would buy for herself.

[Felix Nicholas]

She countered his playful joke easily, much to Felix's amusement; She'd always been quick off the mark when it came to their light hearted jibes at each other, and it was good to know that aspect was still very much a part of Blair. It was strange, seeing her again now after so long... Somehow, like Erika, it was almost as though the two had never been apart; But surely that would come to be barely surface deep? Felix knew Blair, but he'd known Blair from years ago... She'd obviously been through things he'd no idea about, an of course would have grown as a person. Still, he felt comfortable with her already, despite their lengthly time apart. He took a further deep breath with a sheepish smile when the young woman referred to his hurried questions to an interrogation, before watching as she turned with a sweep of vibrant hair to the ice cream stand.

With a smile on his lips he couldn't prevent, Felix followed, standing beside his old friend in the queue as he ran a hand through his hair, narrowing his eyes to look up towards the bright sky; He breathed out a whistle. The sun was beating down heavily, a dry heat which very much needed the soothing sweetness of an ice cream. "You know, I'd like to think I've adjusted to the heat but at times like this I'm not sure," He spoke lightly, before pulling his glass from where they'd been clipped on his shirt collar, slipping them onto his face. "... I'll get these, by the way. Least I can do for stealing away your afternoon." He grinned then, lightly shoulder bumping her. Felix was eager to hear all about her life since they grew apart; His, he felt, was overall far from interesting a tale, but it was one he'd tell her if she wanted to know... It would do him no good bottling it up.

[Blair Da Costa]

Looking up at him, Blair offered him a toothy grin. "If you wanted somewhere colder, moving back here wasn't a very smart decision," she playfully chastised him. Although Blair would prefer somewhere chillier herself, she had adjusted so much to the warmth, she didn't think it would ever be possible for her to live somewhere colder. When Felix offered to pay, Blair didn't refuse. She had her own money, of course, but she loved being spoiled rotten and used every opportunity to be exactly that.

They were both offered each a scone of ice cream, of which Blair accepted with a light squeal of pure glee. She bounced backwards as she waited for Felix to follow her. She pointed eagerly towards a nearby fountain. "That should offer you some shade," she added as she took a bite of her ice cream, wincing slightly as the cold reached her brain. But thankfully, it quickly passed and she could go right back to enjoying the sweet deliciousness melting on her tongue.

Once they reached the fountain, Blair jumped on top of it and started balancing on the edge. "I quite enjoy the heat," she said, tossing a quick glance at Felix. "Our bodies aren't meant to be covered in several layers of clothing," she added with a playful smirk. If it was up to Blair, she'd go naked all the time.

[Felix Nicholas]

Felix gave a light hearted shrug of his shoulders with pouted lips, a gesture that pretty much agreed with her observation; It wasn't that he was adversed to the heat, but more it wasn't what he was used to. After living in New York for a while, your body kind of adjusts to the distinctly colder way of life; Still, it wouldn't be long before the burning warmth was pretty comfortable again. After they were given their cones Felix gladly paid, before smiling as he watched his old friend bound her way over to the fountain. She was the same bundle of energy she'd always been, it seemed.
Felix took a long draw on his tongue over the frozen dessert, the cooling sweetness a welcome relief from the heat of the Glenhaven sun, as he casually crossed the short distance to the water feature. Flurries of cold spray spouted up periodically from the centre, making it a draw for those feeling a touch overheated. Felix sat down on the fountain's edge, grinning and chuckling as Blair effortlessly balanced her way along.

"Hmm, I'd think the police would have something quite different to say about that," Felix joked, taking another bite of his ice cream. Yes, she seemed like the same wildfire he'd known way back when. He leaned back on his free hand, with a gentle sigh, the cooling mist the fountain was graciously sending into the air greatly helping the poor ex New Yorker. "... So, back to my interrogation, Miss.Da Costa. Of course you have the right to remain silent, but would you mind telling me what have you been spending your time doing these past few years?"
She'd expressed wanting to go into modelling when they were younger, and with her confidence, and not to mention her stunning looks, Felix would be immensely surprised if she hadn't managed to achieve that.

[Blair Da Costa]

Chuckling softly, the young brunette shrugged her shoulders. She'd much rather have a simple, carefree conversation than talking about life and her work, but it didn't seem as if Felix was about to let it go quite that easily. She couldn't really blame him, though. She too was curious about what he'd been doing in New York. She wondered if he had a girlfriend - or if he'd been romantically involved with anyone lately.

She thought better of asking, of course.

"I got into modeling," she finally said after a moment of silence. She sat down next to him as she finished her ice cream cone. "People keep telling me I'm not taking it seriously enough," she continued with a wrinkle of her nose. They were right, she supposed, if one looked at their side of the story. "I don't know. It's not that I don't like it, but there's just so many other things I like more." Like partying or being around people she cared for. One couldn't really make a living out of that, so she supposed she didn't have much of a choice.

And to think that modeling had once been everything she'd ever dreamed of and once she'd gotten into the business, she was already growing restless and bored.

[Felix Nicholas]

Felix was eager to learn what had passed by in the life of his friend, someone he had once loved so dearly; It wasn't that he no longer cared about her, far from it, but he wasn't a lovestruck kid anymore. He waited for her reply, hoping that she'd managed to achieve all she'd wanted to, as he slowly finished the rest of the cone. He listened intently as she began to bring him up to speed, the fact the fiery young woman had fought her way into the on occasion cruel business in such a short space of time warmed Felix, bringing a gentle smile to his expression; This feeling however quickly faltered as she went on, her words speaking of her lack of either confidence or commitment in her choice of career, Felix wasn't too sure, but she had made it clear that his childhood sweetheart wasn't completely settled in her life as a model.
"You know, that doesn't surprise me," Felix spoke after a moment of silence, slightly tilting his head to look at her. "Blair, if modelling makes you happy, stick with it. You were never one to give up, and I think you're just..." He trailed off a little, considering his next few words. "... I think you're just nervous to commit to it."

Blair, as passionate and wild as she could be, had always struggled to promise herself to anything completely... Even if she adored modelling, Felix could sense her restlessness, her desire to yet still push herself into something new. "Then again, if it doesn't, I have every faith that you could do anything you put your mind to," Felix added, lightly nudging her shoulder with a warm grin. "Although seeing your face plastered across every advertising board isn't a wholly unappealing image." He chuckled then light heartedly, before giving a gentle sigh. "... My own life hasn't exactly been as exciting. Went to New York to study, it wasn't exactly for me, then I came home..." He raised his hand, running it through his hair with a slightly pained expression. "Dad's not happy, but then when is he ever?"

[Blair Da Costa]

Furrowing her brows, Blair looked at him. Nervous to commit to it? She supposed it made sense. She wasn't one to fully commit to anything. She always needed an easy way out, something to help her feel free. She'd always been like that, though she wasn't always aware of it. Or rather, it was something she rarely ever admitted to. Instead, the brunette played it off as being too dumb or too naive to understand. That, likely, would never stop. "Please," she snorted, waving her hand. "I'm not giving up," she said defiantly, "I'm just bored."

Still, the praise she was offered went a long way to rid her of the spur of childish defiance she had been feeling only moments before and a grin quickly grew on her lips. "That's true," she said, nodding in agreement, chuckling softly as she did. Felix offered his own little update and Blair looked at him, her head tilted. "Well, like you just told me... Do whatever makes you happy. If your dad don't like it, then screw him." She paused then, her eyebrows raising. "Not literately, because that would be weird."