Beach City Grill, Santa Cruz, Sunday afternoon

[lovemykilt]

Priestly habitually slammed his way in and out of the sandwich shop, so it wasn't a surprise when he did so, today.

The vengeance with which he slammed his way in was. He couldn't help it, not when he saw that Piper, Tish, and Jen were all already there, and yet he hadn't heard word one about how last night had gone.

"Alright!" He tried to ignore how Jen flinched. "I've been sitting by the phone, waiting, wondering, I demand a full report. I want all the details. What happened?"

Weirdly, it was Tish who came over. Priestly frowned. "What?"

"Okay, look. There's a good reason we didn't call you." Tish leaned in to tell him, and any other day, Priestly would be going all EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE like he had at the unicorns over how close she was standing, but today --

"You're shitting me," He looked from Tish to Jen and Piper. "Jen. Please tell me you didn't leave Fuzzy just sitting down there wondering." Jen looked away, and Priestly felt his anger surge. "Goddammit, Jen."

"Look," she said. "I don't expect you to understand."

That hurt. They'd only been living together for years, now. Well, not when he was in Asia, but still. He knew her. He thought he did, anyway. He didn't much like what he knew, now. "No, I understand. I understand that you wouldn't talk to him because you were terrified he would judge you on the basis of your looks. Yet you're completely comfortable doing the exact same thing to him. Unbelievable! God!" He spun back to the door, not able to look at Jen pouting and being miserable at him any more. They'd talked about this. She knew how he felt about appearances, about the bullshit that always seemed to be packed in along with them. He thought she got it. But she was just like all the others.

Of course Tish, damned, infuriating, gorgeous, looks-obsessed Tish was the one who came running after him.

"Hey. Hey! Hey!"

Priestly shot her a glance, his hands shoved deep into his pockets. "What?"

"Why are you pissed at me?"

"I'm not pissed at you." He turned to start walking again, his shoulders swinging forward as if he could block her out with them alone. "I mean, not you specifically, more as a representative member of your gender."

"Oh come on. That was really hard on Jen."

"Oh really?" He stopped and turned to face her. "Really, Tish? 'Cause I'm sure it was a picnic for Fuzzy, too."

"Why are you suddenly Fuzzy's best friend? Huh? Why?"

"Because it's pathetic, Tish, okay? It's pathetic that she can't rise above all this superficial horseshit that's swirling around her. I mean, why is it some people can't see a good thing when it's standing right in front of them, huh?" He tried to pretend he wasn't choking up, but god, he'd wanted to yell this at her for so long. "What is it that screws all that up? Can you tell me?" And she just stared back. She didn't get it. Of course not, she was all over Tad of all people. "I swear, you're like two year olds. You're more interested in the wrapping paper than what's inside."

She pursed her lips, and Priestly turned away again. He didn't want to deal with this, right now.

"Wait," she called after him. He glanced back. "Are you talking about Jen . . . or me?"

It took Priestly a moment to work out an answer to that. "If there's a difference, let me know."

And he turned and walked away again, hands shoved deep down in his pockets. He'd have to make his way back to the grill eventually -- he was scheduled to work closing with Jen even -- but for now, he just . . . couldn't.

He'd really thought Jen understood. What hope was there for any of them if she didn't?

[ooc: melodramatic Priestly is melodramatic. Scene riffed completely from canon. Open for phone calls on SP, as I'm about to run out the door for the evening.]

Comments

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

*riiiiing*!

Details! People want details!

[lovemykilt]

For the first time possibly ever, Priestly actually wasn't sure if he wanted to talk to Dinah.

But, well, she really was one of the few people he thought really got it, so. . . .

"Why are people fucking idiots?" he asked, in lieu of hello. "Seriously."

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"What?" Dinah leaned back on her futon, and frowned upward. "Seriously? You want a serious real-world answer?"

[lovemykilt]

"You know what? Yeah." Priestly had made it down to the beach and sat down on one of the rocks. "Why the fuck can't people see what's right in front of 'em? Why's it always gotta get fucked up?"

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"What happened?" Dinah asked, dismayed. "Something happened. What?"

She was working on her answer to the question in her head, though. Momoko and Jaime had given her plenty to work with.

[lovemykilt]

"Jen ditched Fuzzy. Freaked and ran 'cause he was too good looking, or something."

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"What?!" Dinah sat up, stared at her phone, ideas blown from her mind, then repeated herself. "What!?"

[lovemykilt]

"Apparently, 'no guy who looks like that would want a girl who looks like her'. So tell me: what is it that fucks that shit up? Who came along and decided, oh, all you people, you fit some cosmic ideal, so you all go over here and you're not allowed to talk to or go with anyone else. And all you others, don't you think you can talk to those people, they're all dicks. Who does that?!"

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

Dinah collapsed backwards, muttering under her breath. "Crap. I... God." She groaned. Poor Jen. Poor Fuzzy, too. Dinah was too overwhelmed to be outraged at the moment. "The fashion industry? Movies? Advertising? High school? Which, we got to miss a lot of that, 'cause Fandom was all about the weird, or survival, not the cliques, mostly."

[lovemykilt]

"But it's bullshit!" Priestly stood up and started pacing on the rocks, still all worked up. "She didn't even give him a chance! She just left, no word, no nothing. What chance do -- do any of us have if we just . . . leave everyone hanging?"

And how many people, pre-mohawk Priestly, had looked at him and said "no, he's too good looking, he'll just be an asshole"? How many more awesome people just gave up before they even got a chance?

"God, I'm so angry!"

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

Wincing, Dinah bit her lip, rubbing her eyes. "Yeah, that was... God, I'm sorry she chickened out." Which sounded harsh, but she was more sad than anything else. Frustrated, but oh, she got it. "She should've talked to him." She listened to Priestly, and her chest ached. "And of course it's bullshit. Total bullshit."

[lovemykilt]

"I just --" Priestly let out an explosive sigh and sank back down on the rocks, rubbing his forehead and staring out at the water. "I thought she got it. I really did."

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"That looks don't matter? That it's what's inside?" Dinah always felt like she had an advantage in seeing that. Which didn't make it easier. "It is true. And Jen's not shallow, she isn't, but... it's scary. This is the first guy she's liked who liked her back." She sighed. "People are just...I don't know. Dumb. Sometimes."

[lovemykilt]

"That looks don't matter in either direction. I mean, it's one thing if it's someone you don't know at all and you're intimidated, but they've been talking forever. She should know better!"

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

Dinah couldn't even argue with him on this. Because why hadn't he ever asked out Tish? But saying that wasn't going to help. He liked Tish for Tish, and just didn't think she saw him like that. Saw him.

Oh, Priestly.

"What did you say when she told you?"

[lovemykilt]

"That she didn't want him to judge her, so she went all judgey right back." Not quite in those words, sure, but close enough. "And then I kinda stormed out."

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

Dinah winced again, hurting for Priestly, but hurting for Jen, too. Jen was hurting over losing Fuzzy and her nerve, and now Priestly's respect. Priestly all disappointed and disbelieving. "I'm so, so sorry. That she disappointed you like that."

[lovemykilt]

"Yeah, well." Priestly rubbed his forehead. "Fucking people." He stared out at the water for a moment. "We're both scheduled to close tonight."

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

Dinah swallowed, thinking how quiet and awkward that was going to be. "I think people are stupid like that when... they want something so bad, they can't believe it'll ever happen." Thinking of Momoko not telling Jaime she had a crush, of Jaime thinking Dinah was out of his league. "And with not trying, they at least get to keep the dream." She bit her lip. "It isn't smart. It's just how it is."

[lovemykilt]

"Yeah, well, it's full of crap. At least with Tish I've seen what her type actually is. Jen has nothing to base this off of than 'oh no, Fuzzy's too good looking'."

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

And how good-looking guys had treated her in the past... but then Dinah thought of Priestly, and realized that Jen really hadn't been thinking straight. "Yeah." She sighed. "Wish I could help, somehow. Both of you guys. Wish I was there."

[lovemykilt]

"Yeah," Priestly said. "Wish you were, too."

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"I'll see you in three weeks," Dinah promised. "And you call if..." If what? "Just call if you need to, okay?"

[lovemykilt]

"Yeah. You, too, okay? Next time, we won't just talk about me."

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"Next time, it'll be good news. For somebody." Dinah sighed. "Love you, Priestly. Talk to you later."