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Post by jayde on Jul 1, 2009 17:50:36 GMT
 wearing_____________________________________ Gabriel bit her lip gently as she sat in the driver's seat of her car, she'd just pulled into the parking lot outside of Oliver's apartment building. Something she did a lot these days, mentally preparing herself to go inside. Also something she had to do most days. Not that she minded it, if she had been in his situation she probably would be surly and pissed off as well. Though it might seem strange to other people who saw how he sometimes took things, but she wasn't just doing this because he was the guy in the wheelchair. She liked spending time with him, he provided her with witty conversation even if something she was at the end of that biting tongue of hers. Sure it might have been his friend that originally grabbed her attention to get her to sit down with them, and he was a nice guy that she still spoke to now, but there was something about Oliver.
Shaking her head, she slipped her handbag over her shoulder before picking up the various bags of groceries she'd brought just incase he didn't have exactly the things she needed for dinner tonight. She'd only brought a few things for dinner really, tonight she was going to throw something together for that but actually spend some time making cake. Maybe a straight shot of sugar into his blood stream was all he needed to get a big smile on that face, hell it was worth a try she figured. So wrestling her bags out of the car and managing to lock it while performing a grand stunt of not dropping anything balanced on her arms even though they were quite apparently way to heavy for her stature to handle, Gabriel managed to make it all the way to his door.
Again due to some acrobatic talents she apparently had latently hidden within her and shuffled things around to press the button and open the door. Taking the elevator up to his first floor, she looked around and smiled to one of his neighbors that now recognised her. Lifting her arm, she rapped sharply on his door as her arms began shaking now and she shuffled slightly hoping her hurried up and opened the door. Sometimes it took a bit of wrangling but she wasn't afraid to push her way in if need be, Gabriel wouldn't just let him shut himself away like that all the time. However, she was hoping the obvious parcels in her arms and the slight groan from holding them would speed his decision to just let her into his home to start making food for the both of them.
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Post by cassie on Jul 1, 2009 22:19:06 GMT
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Hearing the loud knock on his door Oliver looked over to his side, through his bedroom door and in the direction of the front door. He didn't know who would be knocking at this time of day but he was almost certain that he didn't want to see whoever it was. Anyone that would try to get him out of his bed wasn't his friend right now and that was more relevant to the mysterious door person than anyone else. He'd been here all day. He wasn't even sure what the time was. The light cracking through from the bottom of the shade on his window told him it was still daytime but that wasn't something he wanted to accept. If it was day then the person wouldn't go away until they were sure he was either not here or didn't want them to be here anymore. Either way he'd have to put effort into hiding his presence or getting them to leave him alone. Neither sounded all that fun.
This wasn't the way he'd planned to spend his day. Of course he wasn't. He'd wanted to go out into the sunshine and walk around the park with a beautiful woman on one arm and an ice cream in his other hand. He'd wanted to enjoy the city and take her dancing. Yet, just thinking of things like that firmly planted his head in the darkness. He just wanted to hide away in the world inside his bed for as long as possible. Wanted to dream away his days and get lost in a place in his head where he could still do that. Where he could go out in public and not think that everyone was looking at him with pitying eyes. It was humiliating and infuriating at the same time. He just didn't want to deal with it.
Sighing to himself he realised that with someone from that outside world on the other side of the door he should at least try and be sociable. He didn't want to turn into a self pitying hermit, although he knew he was already well on his way. Throwing the sheet off of himself he reached across from his bed and pulled his chair closer before manoeuvring himself into it comfortably. One upside to this was that at least he was getting ready easier. He was able to pull himself into that seat a lot easier now than ever before, even if he was still in his PJs. He gulped down, trying to lubricate his dry throat in case he'd have to explain to them why he didn't want any visitors, and wheeled his way to the front door. Reaching up as high as he could he unlocked the chain on the door and rolled back away from the door before calling out. "Come in." He requested harshly with his 'morning voice' despite the fact that is was already most likely late afternoon/evening time.
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Post by jayde on Jul 2, 2009 17:52:24 GMT
wearing_____________________________________ Gabriel knew he probably wouldn't be pleased with her barging in like this, he never was and she'd be subjected to his bad temper for a while but she was used to it by now. Standing outside his door, she heard a couple of people wander past her and probably stared at her as she slowly lowered her arms to the ground and bent her knees so her arms got a brief respite as she waited for Oliver to open the door for her. The time ticked slowly, the seconds felt like much longer than they actually were and she sighed to herself. How long did it take to open the door, she was just about ready to knock again and call out to him to hurry his ass up and let her in when she heard the rustle on the other side that indicated him unlocking the chain.
Standing back up straight, she held the bags in her arms and watched the door swing open as she heard his gruff voice telling her to come in before he'd even seen her and she smiled. Moving into his house, she smiled at him as she moved towards his question and with a groan managed to get the bags all on the counter. "Sheesh, hello there sleepy head." She said, her voice a little teasing as she opened up the grocery bags and started pulling out the things that needed to be refrigerated like meat and stuff. Gabriel had decided to make spaghetti for tea, it was easy enough and wouldn't take long. She could use the extra time to make the cake and get in some decent conversation with the man across from her.
"How are you today, Oliver? Obviously very comfortable still in your jammie pants." She said, smiling at him as she shuffled things around into his fridge and leaving the mince on a shelf by itself. Once she was sure that she'd put all the stuff that needed to be kept a certain temperature away, she rubbed her arms gently as she waited for the feeling to come back and the red bands where the bags had been to go away. Moving around the kitchen counter so she actually got to say hello to him properly instead of just barging straight in, though in her defense those things were rather heavy and he took his slow time to get to the door. She knew he'd probably have a problem with it but like always, she would not let him say no to her, she would make him smile at least once.
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Post by cassie on Jul 13, 2009 0:21:37 GMT
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Oliver shouldn't have really been all that surprised by the sight that greeted him on the other side. The undoubtedly beautiful blonde was becoming quite a frequent visitor to his place as of late. It wasn't something he'd really wanted to encourage. Right now in his life he'd wanted nothing more than to just be left alone but she did insist on sticking around, on coming back and making him food when he'd wanted nothing more than to be left in solitude. He was pretty sure there was only so long this self pity could last and that Gabriel was just trying to hurry that along but in all honest he didn't really want to. After what had happened he felt as though he had the right to just sit in sorrow for a while rather than being forced into social interactions. It was exactly this that often caused Oliver to snap at her, even though he knew he shouldn't.
If things were different he would be taking full advantage of whatever crazy twist of fate lead such a beautiful, charming, talented woman into his life. He would welcome her with open arms and do whatever he could to try and make sure she stayed there. But this was different. Every time she looked at him it was like she was just there to pity him, just like everyone else. The only awful difference was that she brought those feelings of pity into his home where he couldn't escape.
Watching her struggle and then unpack just made him feel worse. He wanted to go over and help, to stand behind her and kiss her neck as she prepared the meal she was making for them. He wanted to be something more to her than some sad case. Someone she felt obliged to look after. He ignored her teasing comment about his attire, after all they both knew why he was still dressed like that and it had nothing to do with oversleeping. At least not accidental. "I'm fine thank you." He replied gruffly, as if there was any other way that he would responded. Everything was spoken through gritted teeth most of the time and came off a lot meaner than he would have ever let it before.
Looking up at her as he moved around the counter he sighed and sat back in his chair properly, "How are you?" He knew he should really be more tolerant of her, she was only doing it to make his life a little better, but it was hard to see that through everything else. Holding out his arms he thought he should at least show her some affection before she decided to stop coming to visit him altogether. If that happened then he'd have nothing to complain about or on good days, get excited about.
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Post by jayde on Jul 13, 2009 17:44:31 GMT
wearing_____________________________________ Standing there as she moved around the counter to look at Oliver properly, her eyes swept over him from his pajama clad body, all the way up to his less than thrilled expression and dark hair. Even when he looked unhappy, Gabriel thought he was the most handsome men she'd ever seen. She didn't even think that was the right word. She could look at him for hours, as long as he didn't realise it, she knew he thought she looked at him for a completely different reason but she didn't know how to say she stared because he was breathtakingly beautiful. Not out of any pity for him. Without sounding creepy or desperate.
Sometimes she caught herself thinking about just leaning forward and kissing him, it was so very tempting. She just didn't know how he would react to it, Gabriel hoped that he felt something for her like that, she wanted very much to think that he might and he was just exceptionally bad at showing it. But as of yet, she wasn't able to muster courage to do anything other than continually show up here and cook him food but she'd heard the way to a man's heart was through his stomach so maybe this could work. Hearing him say he was fine, it was an example of why she might be lead to think he felt anything above tolerance or perhaps mild annoyance to her. Even if it was just how he dealt with what happened to him.
Watching him sigh and lean back into his chair as he asked her how she was, she smiled slightly as she looked at him, even if he genuinely didn't like her she wasn't even close to giving up on him. Oliver deserved to live life and she wouldn't let him wallow any more than he needed to. Blinking a little as he held out his arms for her, she smiled a little brighter even though it betrayed how she felt. Moving forward, she leaned down and curled her arms around his back, it may have just been a hug but it made her happier than any old hug would do. It gave her hope. "I'm good, glad to see you again." She said, leaning this close to him and feeling the warmth of his body it made her want to kiss him but she didn't want to ruin a good thing but frightening him off. "I thought I'd just throw together some pasta for dinner and bake a cake, indulge the sweet tooth. That sound good?"
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Post by cassie on Jul 17, 2009 14:06:29 GMT
------------------------------ The shock that seemed to appear on her face as he held his arms open worried him slightly. Had he really been all that horrible to her. Of course he'd been grumpy and a bit of a sod most days, not wanting to be disturbed by her company, but to actually look surprised by the offer for a hug seemed a little bit too much, didn't it? She'd been coming here for a while now and he was pretty sure that any normal friendship (or more) would be up to hugs by now. Did her reaction mean that he'd been such a miserable git to her that she didn't even consider that he thought of her as a friend, let alone how he actually caught himself thinking of her sometimes? Her smile after calmed his thoughts a little, and then the feeling of her arms around him subdued him fully, not that he would let he know that of course.
Oliver was fully aware that the way he was dealing with this whole thing was pretty childish and not his normal character but he couldn't help himself. He just hated the idea that he would be tying her down. Forcing her to live a life with him where he'd have mood swings due to his pain meds and his own feeling of self hatred. She could be as kind and sweet to him as she wanted but until he'd completed his physical therapy and had resumed some sort of life that he could call his own, where he could surprise her with trips upstate then he didn't even want to give her any idea that there could be something more than the relationship they had. "Pasta and cake sounds okay." He stated in somewhat of a monotone voice before looking up to her eyes and feeling guilty for being so abrupt. It was hard to try and get the right mix of mean and normal to keep her from thinking anything more could happen but keep her coming back. He sighed and hung his head slightly before amending his statement. "Pasta and cake would be lovely, thank you." He said in somewhat of a downtrodden way, knowing there was only so long he could keep his act up for before his desires outweighed his concern for her happiness. He was kind of selfish like that.
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Post by jayde on Jul 17, 2009 16:19:01 GMT
wearing_____________________________________ Bending slightly with her arms wrapped around him, Gabriel knew she was probably getting to the end of the appropriate hugging time limit but she still felt reluctant in letting go. Who knew when this good mood would strike again, she'd been unsure how to go about having some sort of relationship with Oliver. She wanted him to know that she didn't visit him because she pitied him or something, she wouldn't go ahead with anything with him until she was sure he understood that. But she wasn't sure if it was working, she wanted some way to be able to be sure, to know for sure that he saw her as someone other than a charitable soul helping the disabled. Though that didn't solve the problem of actually telling him she had feelings for him, the way he acted when she made him food frightened her at the thought of his reaction to wanting to kiss him.
Pushing those thoughts out of her head, Gabriel was resolved to make some nice food and have a good evening with Oliver, make him smile and let feeling type things happen later. They would happen when they happened she couldn't force them, no matter how she wished it. Hearing him say it sounded okay, she wondered what had happened from hugging to grumpy again. Sometimes she felt like she was getting whiplash from his mood swings. Leaning back slightly, she heard his sigh before he said they sounded lovely and thanked her, almost sounded pained for it. She almost laughed, sometimes he acted so peculiar she didn't know what went on in his head. Moving forward, she kissed his cheek gently, knowing she was pushing her luck but wanting to give him some small sign, some indicator of how she felt. "Well, I'm glad. So was there anything you wanted to do tonight? See a movie or something?" She asked him, wanting to see what he wanted to do before she started taking over his kitchen.
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Post by cassie on Jul 23, 2009 12:23:44 GMT
------------------------------ Keeping his arms around her felt nice. Well more than nice. It felt kind of right in his head. He felt as though her body was perfectly shaped for his arms to slide perfectly around her. Oliver was almost certain that if the hug had lasted any longer he would have given himself away but once she'd distracted herself with making dinner he felt safe again for another day. He knew he should just be honest with her, to tell her that there was an ulterior motive to allowing her to come and care for him everyday but the consequences of that conversation were more than he'd like to think. He wouldn't blame her for being disgusted, not that she would show it, she was too kind. However, he could easily imagine how it would go. He would tell her how he felt and apologize for his previous behavior, explaining it was just a self-preservation thing and she would smile and nod. He could see the look in her eyes now, the way she'd smile comfortingly yet her eyes would tell her discomfort at his revelation. After all, who would be attracted to him now?
It wasn't even just the fact he was now bound to a chair. His personality and life had changed because of it and he wasn't sure how long it would be before he gained control of it all again, who would want to deal with that mess? How could he even consider forcing that upon someone he was bound to love? The heat from her lips pressing against his cheek just seemed to justify these worries in his head. She was far too beautiful to be trapped like this. To be stuck wheeling him to places that he couldn't get to on his own. To help him in and out of chairs that he felt too difficult. He knew that this was only really a temporary thing but he just couldn't seem to look past the problems it caused for the near future. The near future was all they had. There was only so long he could hope that she kept coming back before she realized that there was nothing more than this to their relationship, that there could be nothing more. Why would she come back for him after that? Not that he was really deluded enough to think that she would want something more than simple friendship, but still ...
Thinking about her question he tried to weigh up his options. There was no way that he was going to be leave the apartment tonight. It hadn't been a good day so far and he knew he'd only get more agitated if he left now. Plus the hassle of changing just to be out for a few hours bothered him more than anything else. Shaking his head to himself at the thoughts he tried to think of something they could do together that would allow for all things to be considered. It had to be something they could do together, something that meant he could stay in the flat, something that would enable them to stay close but not so close that he would be tempted by her and something that would make her smile. He wasn't quite sure why that last one was a criteria but he knew it had to be. "How about we play a game or something?" he asked, not wanting to have to resort to the obvious choice of watching a movie together. The idea of sitting alone with her in the dark didn't really abide to the not too close rule either.
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Post by jayde on Jul 24, 2009 13:19:55 GMT
wearing_____________________________________ Gabriel leaned back against the counter slightly as she watched him try to think about what he wanted to do for the rest of the day. She tried not to push him too much about leaving his place, if she could see his outline against the wall where he hadn't moved for a week then she would come in ready to drag him out if necessary but she understood his wanting to stay inside. It was safe and warm and comforting inside. And she was there to keep him company so he wasn't alone, that's the part she felt was more important, that Oliver not feel alone. She wanted to be there for him, even if it wasn't the way she wanted to be there, for now she could just be the friend to him.
So as he thought about their plans, she watched him lean back into his chair and suggest that they play a game or something. Smiling at the suggestion, a game would require more interaction then just sitting and watching a movie, maybe she thought too much but it seemed promising. Maybe she was actually getting to him somehow, it was her hope. "Sounds like fun." She said, still smiling brightly as she stood up and brushed her hair behind her ears. "Alright, well how about you pick us out a game while I get started on the cake. I'll even let you lick the bowl." Gabriel laughed softly, moving into the kitchen as she leaned over the sink and washed her hands.
Pulling out the things she needed, she now knew where everything in his kitchen was, she'd slowly been putting things back after she washed them in specific places until it was set up in a proper order. Now she had the oven preheating and she began to mix the cake batter. It didn't take her long for it to be all mixed up and poured into two different sized tins. By the time she'd put them both in the oven and brushed off her hands, Oliver had returned. "What have you picked for us then?" She asked him, moving over and settling the bowl in his lap and as she handed him a spoon like she had for them to get the remainder of the cake batter out to eat.
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Post by cassie on Aug 8, 2009 11:32:14 GMT
------------------------------ Oliver sat for a moment after Gabriel gave her instructions. He hoped she didn't notice but he couldn't help himself. He watched as she quickly went to work in his kitchen, getting things ready and prepared to make him a cake. He wasn't quite sure what he'd done to deserve one in the first place but if he meant he got to watch her at work he wasn't going to complain. He didn't know what it wasn't about a woman cooking that was so appealing in his eyes. He knew that it made him seem old fashioned and misogynist but it wasn't like that. He didn't think a woman's place was in the kitchen, far from it, but if she wanted to be there, he was more than happy to watch it awe or assist in anyway she see fit. Gabriel just seemed so at ease there. Just moving around as though she lived here with him. As though she shared this as their home and she'd designed the kitchen herself to be perfectly the way she wanted for occasions like this.
Shaking this thought out of his mind he wheeled back into living room area just off from the kitchen and looked at their choices. It couldn't be something too competitive because he didn't want to end up making her mad due to his need to win. He'd lost many friendships through badly timed games of basketball or monopoly. He was just a naturally competitive person. He liked to win and if it meant stepping on others to get there, sometimes he was willing to accept those casualties, however, he didn't want to ass Gabriel to that list. Picking out a movie trivia game he reasoned that it was social and laid back enough not to cause any arguments and had a subject area that most people shared in common so there was no worry that he'd make a fool of himself by knowing far too much. That had been the problem when he'd taken one of his ex-girlfriends to a quiz night hosted by his friend only to reveal his extensive knowledge of ancient Greek mythology. Knowing all about Cassandra and Icarus wasn't the best way to get into a beautiful model's bed.
Moving back to the kitchen as she finished up with her preparation he was surprised to have the bowl placed in his lap on top of the game box and a spoon in hand before he'd even realised she was done. "Oh, um, I thought Scene It would be a safe and fun choice." He replied with a slight smile before scooping out some cake mix with his spoon, eating it before he made the mistake of revealing any of his other safety reasons for choosing said game. "Thanks for this." He added with a slightly embarrassed honesty in his voice. It wasn't that he wasn't thankful, he had just acted like a child to her for so long because he didn't know how to balance how he felt with her with what he'd allow himself to do with her. He still hadn't worked out that ratio but he was sure being a dick to her wasn't the way to do go about it.
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Post by jayde on Aug 15, 2009 13:58:57 GMT
wearing_____________________________________ Moving around the kitchen as Oliver wheeled himself off to pick their game, she paused for a moment and couldn't help but sigh to herself. Sometimes, being here and just being the sweet friend who made him food and did things with him it got hard. She didn't just want to be the sweet friend doing these things for him, she wanted to mean more than that to him and she wanted him to want her here as well. Gabriel knew she was foolish for wishing that and continually just coming here in hopes of something happening when she hadn't had the courage to make a move herself. It was just frightening, sure she could force her way in here and look after him like and force her company on him but that was out of a genuine concern about him being alone all day everyday.
Pushing it further than that, actually expressing her feelings to him was completely different and judging by his reactions most of the time when she came here just as a friend, saying she secretly fancied him didn't seem like the most welcoming thought. But then there were moments like today, when he smiled at her and hugged her and she felt like maybe, there could be some hope. Taking a slow breath, she knew she had to stop over thinking all this and worrying about how he felt when she hadn't even told him how she felt. Besides, the worst that could happen was he said no, sure that was still terrifying but it wasn't the end of the world, she had to get the courage to say something to him before she even had to worry about that.
Looking up as he came back over to her, she brought the empty bowl and spoon, trying to relax and not obviously show she had something on her mind. Smiling as he said he'd chosen Scene It, she nodded slightly at his choice. It was a fun enough game, fun and playful though she didn't mind what they were doing, she still had fun with him. Gabriel watched as he scooped up some of the cake batter and ate it with a smile, glad that he seemed to be enjoying it. As he thanked her, she got the feeling he wasn't just talking about the cake but her coming here and spending time with him. Smiling softly, she looked down as she tried not to look completely thrilled that he liked her coming here. "I like doing it."
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