Blake's ability to wiggle out of uncomfortable situations had always been something Nikki admired. No matter how awkward things could get, he could always find a way to ease the tension just with his...well goofiness. And as he waved her fallen tomato in front of her face, she found herself struggling to fight back just the faintest smile. "I just didn't expect you to be here." she mumbled, lightly pushing his hand away from her face.

She leaned back in her chair, trying to look more relaxed. She could get through this. They used to be best friends, she used to tell him everything! Picking up her coffee cup she took a sip from it and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know," Nikki replied running a hand through her hair, "I just needed a bit of a change once school ended, you know?" But she still used that strawberry scented shampoo he loved so much...

"What about you, huh? Still the same old Blake I knew?"

Swirling a chip in tomato ketchup, Blake was taken aback when Nikki said she didn't expect to see him here. "Shouldn't I be the one saying that? Since you ran off to Italy and all." He stuffed a chip in his mouth, and then another, and another, and another. Okay, his appetite hadn't changed much, either, and truth be told, it had only increased with time. "I'm equally as surprised as you are, you know; I just hide it better." He shrugged. If life had given him a break back then, he would've definitely maintained contact with Nikki. With the exception of . . . Helena — it hurt deep down at the merest thought of her; Blake visibly flinched — he'd consider Nikki to be his closest friend.

"Well, it's a good kind of change." He flashed her what could be construed as a shy smile. She looked great, to be honest. He couldn't help remembering all the times he had taken a sniff of her hair in Hogwarts. They used to smell like strawberries; Merlin knew how they smelt now. "You still like strawberries, Nikki? Or has your taste in fruits changed?" Watermelons were Blake's favourite. Perhaps he should drop that vital piece of information casually. Perhaps he would.

Drinking deep from his coffee cup, he raised as eyebrow at her question, slightly amused. "Pretty much the same, except that I have abs now." He winked at her, just messing with her. "What do you say, Nikki, I'm aging well, aren't I?" Smiling, he batted his eyelashes at her. How much of a conceited git was he? Sometimes he surprised himself, too.

Nikki looked up over the brim of her coffee cup as she took another gulp and raised her eyebrow. Was he somehow indirectly hinting that they had lost contact after school because of her? Yes she had been the one to end things between them and run off home as soon as the chance arrived, but it was only because things had gotten so complicated so fast! "What was I supposed to do Blake?" she challenged, "Things weren't exactly working out with us, now were they?" Oh Merlin. Why had she said that! She wasn't supposed to say that. She was supposed to be mature about this whole situation, not bring up things from the past! She closed her eyes and shook her head. "Sorry," she said, "I shouldn't have brought it up."

She blushed though when he complimented her hairstyle and laughed when he asked if she still liked strawberries. "Oh yeah, couldn't live without them." she responded taking a smaller bite of her sandwich. There were like four containers of them in her fridge. "What about you? Still like bugs? Or has your weird obsession with them disappeared." Nikki asked smirking. He had asked her that during one of their study dates hadn't he? Then again there never had been much talking during those study dates...or studying.

Nikki couldn't help but snort as Blake winked at her and asked if he had aged well. Of course he had! She wouldn't have been so awkward in the beginning of their conversation if he had turned ugly. "Yeah, you're gorgeous." she replied sarcastically. And if he had abs now she definitely needed wanted to see them. Where were they when they were dating?!

Oh boy, she was getting defensive. Blake had no intention of blaming her for their fall out; they both shared the blame equally. It would also be wrong to disregard the sticky situation they had gotten themselves into, which had eventually led to broken hearts and strained friendships. On the bright side, they weren't in school anymore, and Blake wasn't one to let past disagreements sour their second chance at reconciliation.

His lips gave way to a smile, and Blake reached across, placing a hand somberly on her smaller ones. "It's quite alright, really. I get it, crap happens; you were obsessed with me, and I, well, I wasn't giving you the time of the day," It took most of his strength to hold back a guffaw as he continued to troll Nikki. It was all in good fun, although, Blake wouldn't hold it against her if she threw a punch at him for all the teasing. "So I can see why you'd skedaddle to Italy." Kill him, kill him now for being so incorrigible. His resolve to not laugh broke at that, and Blake fell back in his chair, laughing his bum off, scaring little muggle children in the process.

"SORRY! SORRY!" He uttered, both hands above his head in surrender. "I'm joking, I'm sorry." It took another thirty seconds for his guffaw to die down. "Yeah, umm, I . . . " He snorted, shaking with another burst of laugh, out of breath. "Ahh, yeah, still . . . still living the bug life; once you, uh, befriend them, they're friends for life." He informed, chugging the remainder of his coffee in one swig.

When she called him gorgeous, Blake squirmed uncomfortably in his chair. Although the note of sarcasm was clear in her voice, it still perturbed him all the same. "You say it like it's a bad thing," He glanced at her, unaware of the blush, as he picked at the chocolate icing on the cupcake. For some inconceivable reason, he felt embarrassed. "But I'll take it as a compliment." He licked the icing off his finger before taking a bite out of it. "Hey, ummm, do you work somewhere around here?" He attempted to change the subject, motioning at the paperwork.

Was she really hearing this? Had those words really just left his mouth? Nikki knew that Blake had a tendency to speak before he thought, but she didn't think he would stoop this low to annoy her. She had not been obsessed with him, and she most certainly had not been one of those girlfriends who pinned for all of his attention--just some of it! "I think you're mixing me up with a different girl." Nikki replied snidely. She was beginning to tread in dangerous waters, but who cared. It was too late to turn the conversation around now, and deep down, all she wanted was some answers to why they had gone from happy to a train wreck in such little time.

She fought hard to keep herself from rolling her eyes when Blake began laughing and claiming everything he was saying was a big joke. She removed her hands from his, though it felt nice having them around hers again, and sulky sat back in her chair. "It's not funny Blake." she mumbled casting her eyes down.

Nikki glanced back at up though when she noticed he squirm in his chair, something she he always did when feeling a bit nervous or embarrassed. You should definitely take it as a compliment she thought before turning her attention to the forgotten paperwork Blake was pointing out. "Oh yeah, um I do. I work at the ministry in the Department of International Magical Cooperation. In fact, I just got promoted to the position of Foreign Relations Officer." she replied smiling proudly. "What about you? Did you find a decent job? I know you said you never wanted to work at the Ministry."

Nikki's reply to his joshing shut him right up. For a second, Blake froze, eyes blinking, laugh faltering, slowly transitioning into an awkward, unnerving silence from his side. What do you say to something like that? Laugh it off? Disregard? Both? Both. And he did just that, laughing and pretending like it never happened, like he didn't hear her over the din of the cafe. It'd take him a second to spat back something venomous in the other girl's defense, but the other girl wasn't here, was she? Happy though, happy thoughts.

He could tell the joke hadn't sit well with Nikki; her eyes gave it away. Why did he have to be an idiot without a filter? Someone should get him a potion to control the nonsense that came out of his cake-hole, it'd do him good considering he was about to start work. "Hey, look, I'm very sorry. I shouldn't have, really. I'll make it up to you" He said, remorse lacing his words. Squinting up at the umbrella under which they sat, he thought of all the nice things he could do for her as an apology.

So she worked for the ministry, huh? A plan began to hatch in his head, and he smirked softly, pleased with himself. "Foreign Relations Officer? Ooooh, sounds fancy!" And he was back to being an idiot. Incorrigible, I tell ya. But jokes aside, he was actually proud of his friend. In fact, all of his friends were going places, at least those he had bothered to keep a check on, and he couldn't be more proud.

It was weird, he should be jealous, what with living in a craphole of an apartment with no steady income, a useless university degree, and an expiring modelling contract. Yet, here he was, beaming at Nikki. "I'm proud, congrats!" He reached across, giving her a congratulatory pat on the head. Sitting back, he slipped a hand in his jacket pocket, lips pursed as he rummaged around. "AHAH! Here you go . . ." Grinning childishly, he extended his closed fist in her direction. He unfurled his fist slowly, revealing a measly Bertie Bott's jelly bean in the flavor marshmallow.

Decent job? "Don't ask about me, Nik." He grumbled, making a face at her. "I switch jobs so often, I have basically lost track." Well, that was indeed the truth, partial truth since he decided to hold onto the news about his ministry job.

Nikki sighed tiredly. This wasn't going the way she thought it would. Everything she said somehow turned into a joke in Blake's mind. "I just...need answers." she sighed running a hand through her hair again. She grabbed her coffee cup and chugged the remains of it. She was beginning to lose hope in them ever being friends if neither of them could get through a conversation without upsetting the other. But his apology seemed heartfelt and sincere, and when he mentioned making it up to her, she felt herself smile. And her smile turned into laughter when he offered her old jelly bean from his pocket. Merlin only knows how long that things been in there... she thought, instead she said "Thanks, I'll treasure it forever."

Slipping the bean into her bag, most likely never to be touched again, she turned her attention to Blake again. Her grin broadened as he expressed his happiness over her promotion. "Thanks. I'm was a little surprised when I received the letter from my Head of Department considering I hadn't been at work for over a year." she explained. Truthfully, Nikki was surprised she even still had a position after being gone for long. Not to add that she had been completely useless as a Magical Product Tester during her first years in the ministry.

She frowned when Blake's happy demeanor suddenly turned a little less cheerful. Money, it seemed, was still not on Blake's good side. She could still remember the summer trips to his home during breaks from school, and how less opulent his lifestyle was compared to hers. "You'll find a job." she stated encouragingly, reaching across the table to touch his hand. "And if you ever need help, with anything, I'm only a phone call away."

A morning without a cup of coffee was not a morning. Almost everyday since she began working at the ministry, Erin made sure she'd stop by at the small muggle cafe for her usual cuppa. Yes, she could of had coffee at home but there was nothing as good as a cafe coffee in its plastic cup, nevermind the tempting aroma of the coffee shop.

Just like always she entered the cafe and headed towards the counter where she orded not one, but two coffees. One of course for later today and one of course for now. She then eyed her watch only to see that she had thirty minutes or so to spare before work. Perfect! She could sit for a little then.

Lightly placing her working bag beside her, she took a seat and sipped at her coffee enjoying every bit of it. Nothing like coffee was there?...Well maybe there was.

Briar's nursery had the day off today, and so Eliora had dropped her off with one of her sisters friends who was going to look after her, and had children of the same age. She'd have used the childcare facility at work, but she hadn't yet scouted it out and wasn't sure if she wanted to use it or not. After a tearful goodbye, like most mornings, she was okay to part and go get herself something to eat and drink to tide her over until lunch.

Choice of the day was a coffee from the café, some sweets of her daughters and a packet of crisps she'd found in her bag from a few days before. They'd be okay. Nothing serious would get into them when in her bag and she wouldn't exactly die. Tapping her nails on her coffee cup, she looked around at the few people in close location. It was early and that woman was not eating. That woman was not having breakfast.

"Sweet?"

GAK! The chips tasted terrible. He hadn't been quick enough to demolish them; they were cold, all soggy for he had drowned them in ketchup. Forcing the last bits of chips down his throat, Blake pushed the still full plate away, wrinkling his nose at wasted food. "Merlin, I hate wasting food. Do you like your chips swimming in ketchup? Because these are close to drowning." That, right there, was a stratagem to steer the conversation in a different, less intense path, or better yet, completely shut it down before things turned completely sour. He got it; she needed answers which he didn't have, at least not the ones she expected. Chips seemed like a good cop-out.

Oh, thank you! Thank you, Bertie Bott's for existing and making her laugh. He sorely needed something lighthearted. Although, poor bean would probably go straight to the waste basket, such atrocity! "I didn't give you the bean to treasure, okay? Eat up, lady, or do you want the one I have been carrying around in my sock, huh?" He folded his arm and let out a loud huff of feigned offence. But, did he or did he not have a jelly bean casually tucked in his sock? You'd never know.

"You got promotion for not showing up for a year? Bloody marvelous! I'm joining your department! " He smacked the table enthusiastically, their coffee cups quivering in its wake. There hadn't been a word from the ministry about his department or his appointment, but Blake had been chalking it up to a tardy owl for the past couple of weeks. What was taking them so long? If he bungled this last opportunity somehow . . . He halted that thought in its tracks. Honestly, he didn't have the heart to muse on the subject any further; it was depressing him! He took a deep breath. Somehow hearing Nikki's words soothed him some. "Exactly! A rat could get a job at the ministry if it tried." He flashed her a breathy smile, shoving back the heaviness in his chest.

After his slight dig at the rodent family, a short lull followed the conversation, during which Blake played with hair, running fingers through his perfectly messy hair over and over. "Hey, Nik," He said nervously, rubbing the back of his neck, and staring at a fly as it buzzed around the plate of chips. "I, uh, I got married." He slowly moved his gaze to Nikki's face, gaping at her wordlessly, gauging her.

Nikki wrinkled her nose at the plate of chips and shook her head no, pushing them away with the tip of her finger. She wiped her hand of any grease on a napkin, pretending she hadn't noticed Blake's oh so obvious attempt to avoid her questions. It was a quality in him that she had always detested, even when they were teenagers. She hated just circling the problem of any situation and never getting to the core of it. It was better to just get to it...wasn't it? Well whatever, if Blake wanted to continue acting as if nothing was wrong deep down between them than Nikki could play along too.

"Blake, if you're keeping Bertie Bott's Beans in your socks, than you're stranger than I originally thought you were." she said laughing. The mood between them was becoming lighter and more fun, and she was beginning to feel comfortable enough to start acting like herself around him. "There is no way I will ever eat anything you give me unless I see you buy it."

She grabbed her coffee cup as shook closer to the edge of the table from Blake slapping the table and shurrged her shoulders at his question. "Well, I didn't really just decide I didn't want to show up." she explained. "I was away on leave to help my dad out." Speaking of him, she would need to write to him soon and tell him all about her new position. He had been more excited than her when she had told him about it. She needed to do a better job keeping up with him.

Nikki lifted her cup up to her lips as Blake began to stutter nervously again and waited for whatever he was trying to say. "Come on Blake, spit it out." she said before taking a sip. She regretted it admittedly. She began to cough wildly and her blue eyes widened as the words flew from Blake's mouth. She stared back at him, her mouth opening and closing a few times as she struggled to find words to say. What was she supposed to say? "Um...congrats." she squeaked out. She felt like running. She wanted so badly to get out of this stupid cafe and run home, run anywhere! But she stayed put, telling herself that running wasn't an option anymore. She wasn't seventeen anymore, she was a twenty-eight year old woman, and she couldn't run form life when it got difficult.

With each sip, Erin gazed about the cafe watching the all sorts of people chatting and chatting. On the one hand she yearned to have some quality company of some sort, yet on the other she was more than pleased to be alone. She did most things alone and minus the odd occasion she actually enjoyed it. Maybe it was because she seldom found somebody she could relate to or maybe she liked to think alone. Either way she never did so to be rude and was in fact highly cautious not to be.

It was due to this that she shyly smiled at the lady talking to her rather than shooing her off or ignoring her. "The coffee? It's just right for me. Not too sweet nor bitter. " ... pause. "Yours?" Or was it strange she asked...and was she meant to offer her a seat?

There had been a time when he carried around all sorts of bits and bobs in his trusty socks; it was the only way he knew to keep his stuff out of the claws of his siblings. However, no bean had dwelt in his socks since Hogwarts. "Oh, come on, you don't mean that. I make a mean lasagna." He nodded enthusiastically. His lasagnas were glorious, loaded with cheese and meat, and a bit hard to digest, but yummy all the same. "Next time I make it, I'm gonna send you some, and you better eat it." He said, his brows raised, pointing his index finger at his blonde friend.

Nikki's dad. He didn't want to think of Nikki's dad. Mr. Finn had scared him when he once visited Nikki on summer break, and honestly, he scared him still. "How is he, your dad?" He inquired to be polite, nibbling at his cupcake distractedly, a bit of icing smudged on the tip of his nose.

He continued to busy himself in his cupcake, although, he was no longer hungry. Nikki's reaction to the news broke his heart. For a split second, she looked inexplicably young, like that Nikki whose heart he had broken once before. The breath he had been holding for numerous seconds finally escaped, somewhat alleviating the tightness in his throat. "Yeah, um, thanks." He gave her a weak smile, showing her his ring finger where his wedding ring sat snugly, glinting wildly in the sunlight. He dropped the half-eaten cupcake on a plate, and stood up hastily, nearly knocking over the table. Mouth opened, he rummaged around his brain for the next set of words, but to no avail. "Well," This escalated quickly, huh? "I'm sss . . ." Sorry? Not the best thing to say, mate. "I should be going, Nik." He swallowed hard, blue eyes blinking rapidly, arm extended for a handshake. Awful, terrible, disastrous!


OOC: ;___; *hugs Nikki, slaps Blake*

Blake can cook? Nikki thought raising her eyebrow. Since when? From what she could remember, he had taken full advantage of the fact that someone would make whatever he desired to have when he had stayed at her house over a summer break. The kitchen elves had been stunned by his ability to eat so much food in one sitting. "If I see you make the lasagnas and where you get all the ingredient, then MAYBE I'll eat it." she replied laughing. She was joking of course. If someone was willing to make her food than she was going to take it! Her cooking skills weren't exactly up to par. Her fridge barely had any real food to make a meal with.

"He's doing okay, I guess." she said in response to Blake's question about her father. She could see the brief flash of fear in his eyes at the mention of her dad, and she couldn't help but laugh a little. "His health isn't exactly the best right now. I left work to help take care of him." And to be with him in case the worst were to happen. Twenty-eight years old, living on her own for over a decade, a job that supported her perfectly well, and she was still worried about being an orphan. "What about your mom? Still as crazy as ever?" As obsessive as Mrs. Wright had been about her, Nikki couldn't help but still love the woman.

No. No no no. She was not going to look like a pathetic, heartbroken girl right now! They had ended things ten years ago and hadn't seen each other since. She shouldn't feel so upset about this. And yet she did. It was like being seventeen all over again and finding out that her own boyfriend liked another girl. A flash of anger flared up in her. It was her, wasn't it?! The same girl who kept ruining everything. Sadness filled her again at the sight of Blake's wedding ring, and she stood as well. "Um yeah, o-okay." she said, her voice cracking a little. "I should be getting home anyway." Huh, how ironic. Those had been her same words ten years ago. She avoided eye contact with him as she hurriedly gathered her work papers with shaky hands and placed them in her folder. He was probably looking at her with pity in his eyes. She didn't need his forced apology.

OOC: Nikki is so bitter haha! I feel more heartbroken for Blake.

Lalalalal LA. Elliot was humming--in her head, of course, she sang like a dying COW most times--having taken the muggle contraptions all the way here. Right. Right. Max had tried telling her how to use the little...underground trains(the tube? Or something of that sort!) but Elliot had gotten...very stuck. In many places. And what made it was was that she had the stroller with her--Hudson was just a year old, and the though the kid was good most times, he had gotten quite traumatized watching Elliot trying to figure out the doors in the subway for like, an hour.

Sigh.

Soaps was probably here already, too--Merlins' socks--she pushed the stroller into the cafe, and she looked around. Her perfectly done hair(as usual) filed down her back, and as the wind of the inside hit her, she widened her icy blue stare...well then. She didn't even see the former puffer yet, what the heck, Sophie?! She pushed the stroller, not caring if the wheels ran over some feet(like seriously, move your feet, people...) and smiled as she found a nice little table, taking Hudson out, and bouncing him on her lap. The baby just clapped and giggled a lot--pointing at the cakes in the little display.

"We'll get some cake, smooches," she said gently, running her fingers through his blonde hair. Oh dear. He was cute. Too cute. Maybe Elliot should try to...tone his cuteness down. Sophie might try to steal him. The puffer was crazy. Well. Could be crazy. It was always the quiet ones, right? She grinned...she wanted to at least show Sophie that having Elliot Morganzo as a friend was a goooood thing.

Very good.

Like, I'll buy you cake, tea, or whatever else your heart desires, good.

Excited at the prospect of cooking lasagna for her, Blake was about to spit out an invitation for dinner at his place which, upon using his brain, seemed slightly inappropriate without conferring with his wife beforehand. What would she say? He wondered, lips bunching together in a thoughtful pout. Oh, why not, Blake, why not, go on and invite your ex-girlfriend to dinner. Helena's voice rang in his head, and a ghost of a smile appeared on his face. Yeah, another failure of an idea. Moving on. "Whenever you're craving something stodgy, just ring me, okay? I'll drop by your place, and cook you my very best lasagna under your scrutiny." He offered genuinely, quite pleased with the modified version of his earlier idea of dinner.

Speaking of dinners, Blake could never stop marveling at the lavishness of the feast that he had had at Nikki's estate. Granted, the presence of her father had deeply discomforted him, but he had pushed through it, and wolfed down till his tummy hurt. "That's very nice of you to look after your dad." He nodded appreciatively, feeling a pang of guilt at his own inadequateness as a son. However, the guiltiness evaporated, and he laughed hard at Nikki's choice of word to describe his mum. "Completely mental, I tell you. She's gone mad, I swear, driving dad up the wall." He shook his head, still laughing. His mother may be a bit loony, but she was his mother, at the end of the day. "Still talks about you, my mum. Always had a soft spot for you, I guess it's because you're both blondes." It was a plausible theory, considering she once mentioned something about wanting yellow-haired grandchildren.

By the looks of it, it seemed that the second blonde in his life would soon become a stranger. He did not want that, honestly. But their situation was very precarious, and he couldn't afford to upset Helena to keep his ties with Nikki intact. They were both important in entirely dissimilar ways. What a dilemma! Mentally berating himself for being an awful human being, Blake helplessly watched her pack up her belongings, his fingers running through his hair in a nervous manner. "Slow down, Nikki. Let . . . let me help." He crouched down to corral the stray sheets of paper that had slipped to the ground after his collision with the table. Once he had made a neat stack, he was back on his feet, anxiously chewing his bottom lips. "Here," He offered her the papers, unsure of his next course of action. "I will see you again, right?"

She was treading in dangerous waters. Inviting Blake over to her apartment to make dinner seemed even worse than him inviting her to his. Either way they put it, it seemed that a certain variable in this whole equation would be getting in the way, whether it was on purpose or not. "Alright, but you're going to have to bring everything." Nikki said. "The only thing in my kitchen is maybe some fruit, cereal, and frozen hot pockets." Merlin only knew how long the milk her fridge had been there. She had just gotten back from Italy two days ago and had spent a majority of those days preparing for work. Her apartment was in a state of disaster which totally bugged her clean/neat freak side.

Nikki's eyebrows shot up at the mention of Mrs. Wright still talking about her. Well that must be awkward, she thought. Her father made absolutely no mention about Blake. He had been quite happy when Nikki had told him that she and Blake would no longer be seeing each other. Of course she had kept the reason why they had broken up hidden. The last thing she had needed was her father hunting her ex-boyfriend down and killing him. "Well, tell her I said hello. I actually sort of miss her."

Deep down, she wondered if Blake's mother felt the same way about her as she had about Nikki. During the summer Nikki had stayed at Blake's for his brother's wedding, his mom had followed her around continuously with wedding magazines asking if she liked this dress with that flower combination, or that center piece with this color scheme. Her eyes briefly became distracted by a young mother pushing a stroller into the cafe and a pang of jealously hit her. That could have been her by now if life had gone the way she thought it would. Nikki ran a hand through her hair trying to pull herself together. Stop acting so pathetic, she thought to herself. She took the papers that Blake had gathered for her slowly, trying to avoid all physical contact with him. "Thanks." she said in a steady voice. She tucked the folder into her purse and looked up at Blake with a tired sigh. "I don't know. It's up to you I guess." she replied. "But, if you don't want to...or can't because of--" she cut herself off. She was going to be mature about this situation. "how uncomfortable it may be, I'll understand your decision either way."

Sophie wasn't late, was she?? Merlin! She wasn't that used to that London area and she almost got lost. But welp, there she was, finally!

She entered the café and quickly scanned the place, looking for Elliot. Was she there yet? She couldn't see her! Maybe she wasn-- O____O

The 18 year-old did a double take and only THEN she realised that woman with a baby stroller - AND an actually baby in her arms!! - was the former Ravenclaw she was looking for. Wwwwwwwwhat! The brunette approached the table and gave her uh....... friend (???) a small, awkward smile. "Hi...!" Sophie greeted Elliot then looked at the baby. "Hii....!" ...Awkward much? She took a seat in front of Elliot and blinked. "How um.... how are you then?" Hehe..... he.....

=S

Elliot was glancing down at the little menu. She would probably be getting a salad, yes. Sounded nice. She hadn't eaten lunch yet because Hudson required feeding too. Apparently kids ate a lot. Like. More than adults. Elliot didn't see how that made sense--they were little humans--but whatever. Nature and all.

Hi?

Elliot looked up, narrowing her eyes, but then saw it was Sophie and smirked, standing and kissing the girl on the cheek as if they were old, snobby, London women. Hehe. She mostly did this to mess with Soaps--since the puffer had a habit of being nervous around Elliot. "Hello, Soaps--sit--please--" she said, sitting back down. Hudson's big, blue eyes just stared at Sophie for awhile before he suddenly smiled, waving a bit. Elliot laughed..."He says hello, too. Hudson, this is Sophie--Sooooophie--" she said slowly, but Hudson just stared. "Ell-yet--" he mumbled, and she rolled her hand through her hair. "This is Max's kid--" she thought she had mentioned this in her letter to Sophie? Maybe not. "Hudson. He's a doll, really," she said, and the boy just clung to her and kept eyeing the cake in the front of the little shoppe.

"So. Sophie, let's jump right in--what will you be ordering? And if you don't mind, I'll be paying, thanks--" she said, not really wanting to argue about this, Soaps. The former 'claw just gave Sophie that intense stare, hoping to scare her into giving into her WILL--but hey, why would she turn down FREE food? Hmmmm?

"Sounds like a plan," He said, drumming his fingers on the table. Their relationship history may prove to be a potential roadblock to this plan, but seeing how Blake had no qualms regarding Helena's friendship with Chris, he figured, and secretly hoped, that his wife wouldn't object to keeping in touch with Nikki, either. In fact, if this news was well-received by her, Blake might as well bring her along to their meet up. Hopefully, Nikki liked surprises. "Dessert's on you, though."

She missed his mum? Blake smiled brightly upon hearing it, incredulous that someone would willingly miss his mother. She was a difficult woman, his mother, and her opinion on Nikki and Helena were poles apart. And both the girls were quite aware of that, much to his dismay. "Sure, I'll pass on your message when I see her in exactly a thousand years." He joked, not very eager to see his barmy old mother.

He was also not very eager about upsetting Nikki any further than he already had. By the look on her face, it seemed that she despised him, and rightly so, because he deserved her hate. He had never been honest to her, and now, when he did come clean to her, look what good it did. Blake coughed to clear the tightness that once again took over his throat. "I know we have our issues, but let's just be friends again, Nik, let's start fresh." He gulped, toying with the zipper of his jacket, dragging it up, then down, up and down, up and down. "I, um, I am definitely on board," He said, and then quickly added, "If you are."

Nikki smiled and nodded her head at the idea. Hopefully the next meal or meet up she had with him would be less emotional than this one. She didn't think she would be able to handle anymore secrets or surprises from this boy before she finally ripped his head off. "Would you be okay with store bought dessert?" she asked laughing. "Because if I use the oven there probably won't be an apartment left for us to eat in."

She chuckled at Blake's comment of not seeing his mother for another thousands of years. She was a difficult woman to get along, that she could understand, but people like her only came along every once and while and she was too entertaining at times to give up. "I'll make sure to drop a hello to my dad for you too." she added smiling sly, waiting for that look of fear that always seemed to flash across Blake's face at the mention of her dad.

Her smile faltered a little as he brought up them being friends again, and she hesitated for a moment before answering. Did she want to be "friends" with him? That would require seeing him more often and seeing him would eventually lead to her having to meet his...wife. The word alone made her want to gag slightly. But Blake had been her best friend in school and as tough as it was to admit it she had missed his company whether they were dating or not. "Okay, deal." she finally said smiling lightly and offering her hand up. "But, no more secrets okay?"

The coffee? Eliora raised her eyebrow, and wiped a lipstick mark from her coffee cup. "I meant.. would you like a sweet?" And just to reiterate her point, she offered the pick and mix bag of sweets. "I saw you weren't eating." And breakfast was supposed to be the most important meal of the day. That was what she told Briar all the time, anyway. Motherly duties to get the kid to eat her cereal and not think that hair was the best place for it.

Whilst she waited for the woman to answer, Eli reached into the little bag and ate a couple of sweets for herself. "My coffee is fine though, thank you. Just right." And she wasn't going to be telling her what 'just right' meant, because she'd already spoken with a mouth full of chewy sweets and felt like her own mother was going to scold her any minute.

Oh my word. Way to embarrass herself, never mind that she was supposed to be the one with brains in the family. Yet on that sweet matter all Erin did was eye the mixed bag and shake her head. "I eat breakfast at home, I just prefer bought coffee. I never seem to get it right like this on my own"..With it's perfect aroma and so on. "Thank you, though."Her small smile grew slightly.

The woman did of course know that sweets weren't exactly the healthiest breakfast choice right? It probably be healthier to not eat anything at all than eat sweets at this hour, but Erin decided not to comment. Each to their own in a case like this. She was not in the court room where her point had to ultimately and strongly be proven.

.............

Her gaze shifted away from the woman as the sweet chewing with simultaneous talking began. Not the kind of sight she so eagerly wished to see, not at all. "That's lovely." She kept her face as it was not to have the woman think she's rude. "Would you--like to sit?" Or was that not why she had made conversation in the first place?

People. Again. Difficult things to understand at times.

"Store bought is fiiiine." He agreed with a shrug. As long as it tasted good and sweet, he held no prejudice against pre-made desserts. He couldn't afford to hurt the feelings of his tiny friends, the sugar molecules.

Her father? Yeah, well, Blake never asked her to communicate his greetings to Mr. Finn, now, did he? What was Nikki playing at? He narrowed his eyes at her, or rather at the amusement dancing on her face. "Enjoying yourself, are you?" He asked, casting her a mock-scowl. His fear of her dad wasn't exactly a secret, but it was kind of humiliating for him to know that she remembered it still. "I'm not afraid of him." He said indignantly, making a face at her. Yeah, you keep telling yourself that, buddy.

His own smile shriveled upon seeing hers disappear. Was it too brazen of him to suggest such an offer? Would Nikki be better off without tangling herself in his life again? Merlin knew he did not want to hurt or Helena, but seeing Nikki after such a long time brought some platonic feelings to the surface. And now, now he hoped that she had enough heart to forgive and forget, and give their friendship a second chance. And judging by the faint smile that crossed her face, he figured their friendship was, after all, not lost. "Yes," He answered, slipping his hand in hers to give it a firm, business-like shake. "Merlin, yes! No secrets." He was beaming now, giddy like a five-year-old on Christmas eve. The no-secrets pact seemed slightly daunting, but a deal was a deal. "Sooooo . . . see you soon? On Saturday?" He said, and bit down on his bottom lip. "Or am I being pushy? What the hell, I am being pushy!" He sighed, shaking his head.

Nikki adjusted the strap of her purse on her shoulder and bit her lip, shifting her weight from one leg to the other in a nervous fashion. Blake may have been overflowing with happiness at the prospect of being them being friends again, but she was still a little hesitant about the whole idea. They may have promised no more secrets, but she had a gut feeling that neither of them would be keeping that promise for long. And didn't Saturday seem a bit early to be meeting up again? Especially after how disastrous this meeting had almost went? Could they really go through another meet up without becoming emotional at some point?

"Um, yeah Saturday sounds fine. What did you have mind?" she asked, reasoning with herself that the longer they put off hanging out with each other, the less likely they ever would. Besides, it wasn't as though she already had plans for the weekend. This was better than sitting home alone with her cat, wasn't it?