Things are never easy... (Raven)

[Dante Williams]

Dante walked into a cafe that just opened up a couple of blocks away from his new apartment, so he decided that he might as well go to it. He walked in through the door, hearing bells lightly jingle in the background, announcing his appearance. He looked around and observed, It looks kind of empty, pretty depressing... He sighed as he sat down at the nearest table to him. A young waitress, maybe around twenty or so, went up to him excitedely and asked, "Now what'll you be having then?"

"Mmmm..." Dante thought, scanning the menu with a cursory glance, he didn't really come here for coffee, he mostly came here to check the place out, and he liked to help the small businesses, "I'll just have the darkest thing you've got..." Dante said somewhat in a tired tone. The waiter just nodded silently and went away. Dante ran his hands through his hair... Well, you've been doing good without Rebecca... so far anyway...
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After the tournament, Dante was upset with himself for losing, but at the same time somewhat swelled with pride for getting as far as he had. He had beaten a bully that had kicked him around in Varron, beaten up Raven's old boyfreind, which didn't give him as much satisfaction as he had hoped, and he had fought his toughest fight ever with Auroth. But he had still felt something missing...

About a week after the tournament was over, Dante picked Hank's, the man who had managed him in the tournament's, card and called him.

The phone had rang for a while, and then was finally answered, "H-hello?"

Dante smiled, he was still as scared as ever, "Hey... this is Dante, the dick to you in the tournament. I was just wondering, it said on your card that you were an agent/manager, and needed to know if that included an acting agent."

"Actually, y-yes, that's what I specialize in. But business has been unfortunately slow lately..."

"Well Hank Matthews," Dante grinned, "I think I just found you a new customer..."

Hank agreed to become Dante's agent, but he cost quite a pretty penny, but Dante knew that he would be making more money then he cost if things went right, and he needed things to take his mind off of Rebecca. Quite soon after that, Dante became quite active in acting again, and with Hank's help, he soon became somewhat famous in San Fransisco, but that didn't fill the void...
-----------------------------

Suddenely, his cell phone rang, he picked it up and flipped it open, "Hello?"

"Hey this is Hank. Guess what? Got you in an audition for Aida at a pretty famous theater here, and the theater isn't tight with it's money either..."

"Thanks Hank," Dante smiled, he and Hank had actually become pretty close freinds, "I really owe a lot to you."

"No problem, D." Hank hesitated for a while, "and... Dante... I'm proud of you for coping." Before Dante could reply, Hank hung up. Dante looked down, and ran his hands through his hair. He should've been proud of himself, but he still couldn't stop thinking of her. He loved her so much, and she was gone, and there was nothing Dante could do about this. He rubbed his temples slowly as he heard another jingling of bells as someone walked in, Dante turned around to see who it was.

[raven]

The bells jingled over the Russian girl's head as she entered the cafe. She wasn't wearing very cold clothes for the kind of weather they were beginning to get here, but that was what happened when you were from Russia, it took a bit to get you cold period. Raven Jacobs was dressed simply yet somehow she always seemed to find a way to make it elegant without having to try. A pair of dark blue jeans sat on her hips and fell down the cuffs covering her white tennis shoes. Over her torso she wore a simple button up sky blue dress shirt that matched her eyes. Her hair had grown a bit longer recently, just past her shoulders, where her sable locks stopped, in their straight tresses. She tucked her hair behind her ears as she made to get in line.

This was a new coffee shop, It had only opened recently, and Raven worked right next door at the bakery. She was becomming more and more well known for the things she baked, people were coming from all over the city to get the things that she created. But she was off of work for the day, having worked the morning and afternoon shift so before she headed home to Sedrix's apartment she had decided to stop in and grab some coffee, and maybe something to eat.

Was that Dante?

It looked like him. But she hadn't seen him since she had run into him in the mountains the one time that she had been hiking a while back and shared her cookies with him. She gave him a soft smile as she passed him and got behind him so she could get in the end of the line. Raven had always been a very sweet and gentle girl, very quiet and shy, it was rare for her to start conversation on her own. When it was her turn at the counter she ordered herself a black vanilla coffee and chicken ceasar salad. She waited after paying and got her food turning she could see Dante sitting alone, and figured that she had to eat somewhere why not with a friend.

"Would you.." she said softly in her thickly accented Russian voice. "..mind if I join you?" she asked softly.

If he said yes she would sit herself down across from him and doctor up her coffee, if not she would find another place to sit.

[Dante Williams]

OOC: I'll assume that you'll sit down

Dante's eyes widened as he saw who came into the store: It was Raven. Wow, he hadn't seen her since they were at the mountains, and that was about a year ago. She was looking great still. Oh yeah, Dante thought, I used to have a crush on her, didn't I?

She ordered what she wanted, and came up to Dante's table, "Would you... mind if I join you?" She said, still having her Russian accent.

Dante stood up and pulled a chair out, "Of course not!" He said excitedely, then she sat down and Dante sat down across from her. He was about to say something when the waitress came up to him and placed the coffee on his table. Great timing... Dante thought sardonically as he payed for the coffee.

"So," He said as the waitress left, "How've you been? I haven't seen you since the picnic, and that was so long ago. You're looking great!" He was probably flooding her with questions and statements, but he was really excited to see her. It really did get his mind off of things. He took a quick sip of his coffee, and made a grimace for a while, Alright, he thought, maybe I shouldn't have ordered such strong coffee. He didn't even really like coffee in general, he just ordered the coffee to get the waitress to go away.

[raven]

Raven took the seat, that he had pulled out for her, such a gentleman. Blushing she settled herself and sat her purse to the side, tucking her hair behind her ears again she unrolled her silverware from their tight little napkin. Picking up her fork she was about to take a bite of her salad when he bombarded her. She chuckled but blushed further and sat her fork down for a moment so she could answer and not be half way to her mouth because of it. She looked over at him, he was still the same, muchly anyway, he might have changed slightly but that was to be expected in over a year of having seen each other.

"I have been doing very well, thank you for asking. You are looking quite well yourself, and I hope things go well for you." she said with a smile.

"I just came in here on my way home from work. I work next door, and I got off, I heard they had some good food here, so I stopped in. I was surprised to see you." she said with a warm inviting smile.

"How have you been Dante?" she asked curiously. "It's very nice to see an old friend." she said warmly as she finally got in that first bite of her tasty salad. And the rumors had been right, it was delicious, really it was, she liked it and would probably come again, and bring Sedrix this time. "Tell me what you have been up to."

[Dante Williams]

Dante took another sip of his coffee. If he kept drinking it, there was a possibility that he might get used to it if he kept drinking some. As he put his coffee down, he thought of a possible answer that he could give to Raven's question. "Well..." He said hesitantly, "...to be honest, I haven't been doing so good lately. It started out greatly, a while after I met you I got a girlfriend, and we've started off greatly. But just about a month ago, when I figured out I was in love with her, she left to go to England..." He sighed, and took a large swig of the coffee, and withheld the strong urge to gag.

"...and it's just been hard to cope since then..." Dante brushed some hair out of his eyes, "...but on the positive side, I have more time than ever to act, and now I have a place of my own." Then he didn't say anything for a while.

"So," He finally broke the short silence, "You work at the bakery next door? I've never actually been there bef-..." Suddenly, the waitress from before shoved a coffee pot in his face and refilled his cup. Mental note: Don't come back here again... He thought to himself. Then he finished, "...been there before, maybe I should come by sometime."

He took another gulp of his coffee. Surprisingly, he was right, he was getting used to the strength of the coffee, and was starting to like it. "So what have you been up to besides the bakery?" He asked, taking a quick swig.

[raven]

Raven's eyes and face softened slightly when he explained a bit about what had been going on with him lately. She reached over and let her hand touch his, something that she did sometimes. Touch people, it tended to say things that she couldn't find the words for, her English sometimes was still hard to come by. She leaned back and let the silence between them fall for a few minutes. She decided that it would be good to confide in him slightly.

"In a way.. I understand what you're going through completely." she said softly. Her eyes fell, but then when they rose those crystalline blue depths watched him for a moment, they were the color of a summer sky.

"Back in Varron before we all moved over here, I was dating someone named Felix. We were in love, and I had never felt that way about anyone ever before. We lived together for months, planned so many things together." she said softly.

"But, I don't know if you know, but I was adopted a long time ago, from Russia. It is where my accent comes from, and, I needed to know about the past I did not remember. We saved and sent me to russia to find out about myself. And I did. But when I returned, I returned to a note, and an empty apartment. The note said he would never forget me, and that was it, I was alone, no job, no money, no where to go. No love, I was heartbroken and destroyed, for many months I was lost." she explained.

"It was very hard for me, but then, I realized I had to do things for myself, I couldn't depend on someone that wasn't going to be there for me anymore. so I began to concentrate on my baking, my passion, I ran a lot more, and began winning track tournaments left and right, but what I think helped most was my music. But it wouldn't have happened if someone hadn't woken me up. I went through a really bad time there, thought about just ending it all many times but.. someone helped me, a complete stranger, and now.. I am okay. I know you can do it as well, Dante. It hurts, I know it does." she said softly as she took a long sip of her coffee.

[Dante Williams]

Dante started to nod as Raven spoke, and started to sip his coffee. And then as soon as she uttered the name 'Felix', Dante spit all of his coffee back in his cup. He had almost forgotten about the fight that he'd had and won in the tournament against Felix. Better not tell her, Dante thought nervously.

"Sorry," Dante said while blushing the slightest bit, "I coughed..." As he listened on, she seemed to take most of his emotions and bring them out in simple words. As she finished, Dante took another sip of his coffee while nodding.

"I'm sorry, Raven." Dante said finally after hesitating, "I get what you're saying, and it really has helped me a lot, but... I just can't really get over it right now. And I think I'm going to have to get through it alone..." He stopped talking and looked down while sighing. He had really hoped that he had not offended Raven in any way, she was an amazingly nice girl. But still, Dante couldn't figure out any way to get through his heartbreak currently, and he didn't think that anyone could help currently.

"So..." Dante said again after a pause, finishing off his coffee, "...this stranger. Who is this person. He or she must be really good to have cheered you up..." Before Raven could answer, the waitress came again and filled his coffee. Dante shrugged, at least she didn't come at thew worst possible moment again...

[raven]

RAven smiled.

"You aren't alone." she said softly. "Even if you aren't ready for help right now, when you are, I'm here no matter what." she said honestly. And he might think he might not need anyone right now but there would be a time when he needed someone to be around. To get his mind off of everything, to do everything they could to make him feel better. And she could be that person if he wanted her to be. He went on to ask her what the man was like and a gentle smile crossed her face as she remembered the old man.

"Honestly I don't know his name,, and I've never seen him again. But I was at the park. I was ready. To end it all, I had nothing to live for anymore. The things I had found out in Russia the way my life was going, everything was horrendous. I was ready to give up, I had nothing left to live for, nothing to do, nothing that made my life happy anymore. This man came and sat down on the bench. He was elderly, probably in his fifties or so. I told him my story, because he asked and he seemed so interested. And the told me something, that I will never forget. Gave me a little hope, and .. I decided to try again, and found out that life wasn't so bad once I really gave it a shot." she said with a soft smile.

"So tell me, what else is going on with you? What kinds of things are you into?" she asked as she took another bite of her salad.

[Dante Williams]

"Thanks..." Dante said while smiling warmly to Raven. Though they hadn't met very much, only two other times and they were just idle conversations, yet she was already offering to help him when he needed it most, "...that really means a lot to me."

Dante was interested about this elderly man that Raven was talking about. He turned her away from the idea of suicide, and filled her with hope. "Good for you..." He said after taking a gulp of his coffee, "That person seems like quite a guy."

Then she asked how and what he's been doing, "Well..." Dante started and thought about it for a while, then said, "After my break-up, I entered a tournament. And I also got further than I ever had too. I got to the semi-finals and beat two people, and almost got to the actual finals by beating my third match..." He thought for a while, about his sense of accomplishment at the tournament, and that though he hadn't won, he'd gotten his pride back, then he snapped back to reality, "And at the tournament, I met someone, who, later became my agent. And now with him I'm becoming pretty famous in the theaters of San Fransisco, and I have a pretty big audition coming up..."

Then he took a final sip of his cup of coffee and stopped the waitress from pouring him another cup. He didn't need anymore caffeine today. "...and what else have you been up to?" He asked, "Meet any new people? Do any important things?" Then he stopped himself, he was getting pretty hopped up from all of the caffeine he was drinking. He calmed down and simply waited for an answer.

[raven]

Raven smiled. An agent. Dante had always seemed a little shy to her, but maybe it was just her. But still, it was amazing he was finding his own niche in life. She had baking and he had acting. She would definatly have to look into seeing one of his plays, she knew he would be good, especially if he had a big audition coming up.

"That's great! I didn't know you were into acting. If you let me know when one of your plays is, I would love to go and see you doing what you like." she said brightly as she took another bite of her salad. He asked her then what she was doing, anything important and she could definatly tell the coffee had gotten to him so after a brief chuckle she would answer.

"My baking is really coming along. I've been in the paper several times and the little bakery I work for next door, well their business is booming. People come from all over the city to taste my morning batches. i get up so early so they're done but warm when we open and we always have a huge line. I have my own display case and everything, and while some people are still very loyal to the man that owns it, many line up in front of my little display and I always sell out. Rain or shine." she said with a smile.

"Recently, I was given a scholarship to attend the Culinary Insitute here in San Fran, and so when I graduate in May, that's exactly where I'm going." she smiled brightly. "Through my baking I've been able to support myself quite well and I know it's what I'll want to do for the rest of my life hands down. Except for a family, that is my dream and I would probably give up even baking for that." she said with a soft smile.

"But so far I won't have to." she said with her smile brightening. "so what brought you to this coffee shop today?" she asked. "And how is school?"

[Dante Williams]

Dante smiled warmly as Raven replied to what he had said earlier about him being in the acting business, "Thanks! I'll be sure to tell you when my next play is coming up." It was nice that Raven was actually taking interest in what he was doing. Even though he was acting a bit off because of the caffeine.

Then Raven started talking about her business in the bakery and how well it was doing, along with how her little stand was doing. And then she talked about how she got a scholarship. When she was done, Dante whistled, "Wow," He chuckled, "It's awesome that you've been doing so well with yourself! And a scholarship? Wow!"

Then, Raven asked him about school, and why he came to the coffee shop. "Well, to be honest," Dante said, "I heard this place has just opened up, and I decided to come because I always like to support the small businesses." Then he thought for a while about how school's been going. He hasn't really done anything that interesting school related lately, "I haven't really been doing anything interesting in school lately. Just been keeping up my grades and such, not getting in much trouble with the Pillars or the Watchers."

"And the end of the school year is coming up, and I'll be a Junior." Dante said, "which I'm excited about." Dante was kind of embarrassed about being one of the only 17 year olds that was still a Sophomore, everyone thought that it was because he was stupid or something. But it because Dante had to move so much when he was younger, so he had to stay the same grade when everyone was graduating. This really made him worry about whether he could go to a good college or not...

"So..." Dante said, trying to think of something to say, "Got a lot of friends at your job? Out of work? Or anywhere really..."

[raven]

Raven was in the opposite situation as Dante. She was one of the few seventeen year old seniors that would be graduating soon, and even had been given the opportunity to graduate in December though she wasn't sure that she was going to take it, she didn't mind school. Dante told her that he would give her tickets for the next show and she smiled, it would be nice to go, and she would probably bring Sedrix. It would be a nice and new place to go. He then turned the conversation back in her hands as she took a sip of her beloved coffee. She had stopped drinking it after she had met Sedrix, he drank tea in the mornings and it was easy to just drink it as well. But every so often she wished for that cup of coffee and so another reason she had come to indulge in this shop was to get herself some coffee.

"I have a few friends, not many. I'm very shy especially when meeting new people. I've gotten better, especially after meeting Sedrix. He's so.. outgoing. Kind of rubs off on me." she chuckled. "He has to be my absolute best friend though." she said honestly.

And Raven was a firm beleiver that your best friend and your boyfriend/husband should be the same person. And it was for her, Sedrix was the person she told everything to, and he was the one she went to when she had a bad day, or a good one. They shared their lives with each other through and through and truly enjoyed the time they spent together.

"Other than that, there is Felix, and Al, and a few others, some at work. But nothing more than a handful. But they are a handful of good people and good friends, like yourself." she smiled counting him easily among her friends.

"And you? You probably have many friends you seem like the open type." she said with a soft smile. "At least you are with me." she said honestly.

[Dante Williams]

OOC: Sorry for the late reply, I’ve been pretty busy lately, it being the end of the semester and school handing out homework like crazy and all…

IC:
Dante smiled and nodded as Raven was talking about her friends, and how she was getting better at meeting new one’s. It was great that Raven was doing so well with herself, and she was starting to get some good friends. She definitely deserved something like that, he was surprised that someone like her didn’t already have a boyfriend yet, because if he had a girlfriend, he would probably mention her… she was definitely beautiful enough to easily get any guy she wanted, Hmmm… Dante thought, maybe it’s just because she just doesn’t talk much…

He smirked at the thought, then his expression of happiness slowly faded as he heard about Sedrix being her best friend though. Sedrix… He thought, then he chuckled nervously. “Heh… Y-yeah, that’s kind of funny, because see… Rebecca? My old girlfriend? Well, apparently he’s her brother… Kind of a c-coincidence, huh?” He gave a fake smile as he thought, …come to think of it… if it weren’t for Sedrix and Rebecca being step-siblings, then Rebecca wouldn’t have to go to England to take care of Sedrix’s real mom…

No! Dante thought, ferociously, scorning himself spitefully for even thinking like that, This is nobody’s fault but yours! You have no one else to blame but you, Dante! It’s your fault that Rebecca is gone! But Dante couldn’t help but have his thoughts waver into Sedrix again…

A little bit later, Raven talked about some of her other friends, counting himself. Dante smiled warmly about this in gratitude, but underneath the warm emotional mask on his face, underneath his mind was elsewhere. Then he was snapped into reality when she asked him a question. He smiled at her as she added a comment at the end of the question about him. “Thanks…” Dante said while chuckling softly as his cheeks turned the slightest rosy hue, “Truly, I haven’t been thinking much about making friends as I should’ve lately, but excluding you, I’d have to say…” He thought for a while. To be honest, most of the friends he had made lately have either been turned into enemies, like Tiao, or they have moved away… “I’d have to say Martin, Charlotte…. Sedrix…” He was about to list some others, but he stopped there, and coughed nervously.

“So…” He said, trying not to stutter while also trying to change the subject, “It’s great that you seem to be making a lot of friends though…” He said, his eyes shifting.