The X-men run missions and work together with the NYPD, striving to maintain a peaceful balance between humans and mutants. When it comes to a fight, they won't back down from protecting those who need their help.
Haven presents itself as a humanitarian organization for activists, leaders, and high society, yet mutants are the secret leaders working to protect and serve their kind. Behind the scenes they bring their goals into reality.
From the time when mutants became known to the world, SUPER was founded as a black-ops division of the CIA in an attempt to classify, observe, and learn more about this new and rising threat.
The Syndicate works to help bring mutantkind to the forefront of the world. They work from the shadows, a beacon of hope for mutants, but a bane to mankind. With their guiding hand, humanity will finally find extinction.
Since the existence of mutants was first revealed in the nineties, the world has become a changed place. Whether they're genetic misfits or the next stage in humanity's evolution, there's no denying their growing numbers, especially in hubs like New York City. The NYPD has a division devoted to mutant related crimes. Super-powered vigilantes help to maintain the peace. Those who style themselves as Homo Superior work to tear society apart for rebuilding in their own image.
MRO is an intermediate to advanced writing level original character, original plot X-Men RPG. We've been open and active since October of 2005. You can play as a mutant, human, or Adapted— one of the rare humans who nullify mutant powers by their very existence. Goodies, baddies, and neutrals are all welcome.
Short Term Plots:Are They Coming for You?
There have been whispers on the streets lately of a boogeyman... mutant and humans, young and old, all have been targets of trafficking.
The Fountain of Youth
A chemical serum has been released that's shaving a few years off of the population. In some cases, found to be temporary, and in others...?
MRO MOVES WITH CURRENT TIME: What month and year it is now in real life, it's the same for MRO, too.
Fuegogrande: "Fuegogrande" player of The Ranger, Ion, Rhia, and Null
Neopolitan: "Aly" player of Rebecca Grey, Stephanie Graves, Marisol Cervantes, Vanessa Bookman, Chrysanthemum Van Hart, Sabine Sang, Eupraxia
Ongoing Plots
Magic and Mystics
After the events of the 2020 Harvest Moon and the following Winter Solstice, magic has started manifesting in the MROvere! With the efforts of the Welldrinker Cult, people are being converted into Mystics, a species of people genetically disposed to be great conduits for magical energy.
The Pharoah Dynasty
An ancient sorceress is on a quest to bring her long-lost warrior-king to the modern era in a bid for global domination. Can the heroes of the modern world stop her before all is lost?
Are They Coming for You?
There have been whispers on the streets lately of a boogeyman... mutant and humans, young and old, all have been targets of trafficking.
Adapteds
What if the human race began to adapt to the mutant threat? What if the human race changed ever so subtly... without the x-gene.
Atlanteans
The lost city of Atlantis has been found! Refugees from this undersea mutant dystopia have started to filter in to New York as citizens and businessfolk. You may make one as a player character of run into one on the street.
Got a plot in mind?
MRO plots are player-created the Mods facilitate and organize the big ones, but we get the ideas from you. Do you have a plot in mind, and want to know whether it needs Mod approval? Check out our plot guidelines.
Janelle wilted a small bit under the flat look that Erik was giving her, not in a bad way, but in a way that he made her feel silly for her doubts. That was actually a good thing...right? It kind of made her want to smile when he said things that made her feel so...validated.
A visit to this...Sanctuary might be in order, when Erik had time to take her. Something in his tone made her feel like his presence would make any visits far more productive than simply walking up and knocking on the door. Ideas were already starting to form in Janelle’s head about what she could do with the funds she had access to from her family. Generally her parents didn’t care what she did with her funds, as long as it was legal. They usually didn’t even look unless the accountant pointed something out...which had only happened once in recent history when she’d been squirreling money away for something that never had panned out.
Janelle was still spacing out, thinking about what she could do with that little nest egg when Erik leaned in and whispered in her ear.
Shoulders scrunching just slightly at the proximity and the warm breath on her ear, Janelle couldn’t help but smile as Erik spoke, the smile growing to a grin he kissed her cheek. That was something she could get used to.
Erik spoke again, and the grin softened to a slightly sad little smile and she returned to poking at her food, spearing and eating a few vegetables as she considered how to answer. It was a somewhat difficult topic, and something she hadn’t talked about much. People had a hard time understanding.
”It’s not exactly that…” she said, turning to look Erik in the eyes as she spoke. ”Though it kind of is that...growing up like I did, around the kind of people I grew up around...everything is a competition.”
It was true. The people in the lower levels of the social circles always felt the need to prove themselves to the people in the higher levels, and some of the people in the higher levels felt the need to lord themselves over everyone and assert themselves as the top of the proverbial food chain.
”People want to show everyone else how great they are and how much they have. They want the best of everything, and the best is generally determined by what’s the most expensive or the fanciest.” Janelle shrugged and dropped her eyes. The whole thing made her feel gross.
”None of it ever really made sense to me, and it was always kind of hard to tell who was being genuine and who just wanted to be the best. Sometimes they didn’t even know they were doing it. I just...never really know if people value me or who I am.” It had been kind of lonely growing up that way once her friends had realized their relative positions in the pecking order.
There she was again...complaining about things like this to someone who had literally had to break the law to survive when he was younger. The redhead winced, ”I’m sorry. This must all seem so silly.”
Erik spoke and Janelle listened intently. It was hard to wrap her mind around a life where violence and even death were commonplace because the concepts were so foreign to her, but she was relieved to see that Erik didn’t think he was bad. As she’d said, there were far too many good things about him for her to entertain the notion.
In fact, there he was again, validating her and her privileged existence. The fact that he was even teasing her about it was good and she almost stuck her tongue out at the quip, as childish as that would have been.
”It’s exactly the opposite, in fact. I was commenting on how kind it was of you to take time to talk to me.”
Honesty was another virtue, and Janelle could tell by how this conversation had gone that it had cost Erik a lot to bring all of this into the open. Janelle nodded her head as he commented, wishing she had something to reciprocate that would show him that she was worthy of the information.
Did he make sense?
”Of course you make sense...I can’t say that I love the idea that your life has been so violent…” she said, brows drawn slightly together in a frown. They were young the very thought that Erik had been through so much was super upsetting. ”But that’s hardly your fault...I like you and as terrible as so many of those things have been...they’re the things that made you who you are.” she said, cheeks coloring once more as she stumbled a bit to try and find the right words.
”At least I don’t have to worry about you getting hurt? Right?” she said with a slightly exaggerated smile and a shrug of her shoulders. Hopefully a tiny bit of levity was appropriate here.
”I want to meet these kids...the orphans. If there’s one thing I have, it’s resources. I’m not much in a fight...but I can help too.”
A server approached, arms laden with food and gave a slight scowl at how the two had changed the seating arrangements to suit their apparent needs. How was one to serve a proper meal to people who were not seated properly?
At any rate, the plates were laid, and after the brief interruption, Janelle fiddled with her fork, poking a bit at the chunks of beef in the rich beef stew she’d ordered.
”Your life sounds pretty exciting...I hope I don’t end up too boring.”
Erik laughed and Janelle couldn’t help but grin ear to ear. He didn’t laugh enough, the redhead decided, making a personal note to make sure it happened more often in the future. There was something so endearing about him when he wasn’t being serious and quiet.
The grin faded slowly when he continued though, something about the way he was looking at her setting Janelle on edge. An edge that only seemed to sharpen as he started to speak. Heat flooded Janelle's cheeks at Erik’s words, unused to such exaltation from anyone, let alone a significant other. It was something in his tone though that made her so wary, it was that it all sounded so sad...not at all the way she would have expected something so romantic to sound.
This almost sounded like a goodbye. The thought made Janelle’s heart beat faster than it should have been and suddenly the roomy restaurant felt small and stuffy.
It didn’t seem right to interrupt at this point, but the things he was saying really didn’t make any sense. Erik seemed to be suggesting that he wasn’t a good person. He kept talking and she squeezed his hand as he spoke. Some of the info wasn’t exactly new but if she was being honest, Janelle hadn’t understood the depth of violence that was apparently an integral part of Erik’s life.
Until tonight, Janelle hadn’t known a lot about that life. It was still a bit surprising to her to realize just how much she had ended up talking about herself in their conversations, how little he had ended up sharing. A few things stuck out to her though.
”Erik…” she said, frowning slightly as she continued to look him right in the eyes, ”Bad people don’t spend time thinking about whether or not they’re a good person...at least in my experience.”
That was a start...and her experience was admittedly limited...however…she took a couple of slow, deep breaths while she organized her thoughts.
”I’m admittedly a bit aloof, but I understand that my experience with having powers and growing up is not typical. You’re not the first person I’ve heard of who had to fight their way through growing up…” Janelle hoped she didn’t sound cliche.
”Bad people don’t help orphans get enrolled in school Erik...and bad people don’t text with a silly spoiled rich girl for an entire summer just because she’s bored…or make her think that even though she’s got silly princess powers she could change the world.”
This was a leap of faith, especially considering she hadn’t asked for details...but thinking of Erik as a heartless monster just didn’t seem to fit…
”Until I see something to prove it otherwise...I think you’re just like anyone else doing the best they can with what they’ve got.”
It was somewhat amazing to Janelle that Erik could be so self-possessed and so self deprecating at the same time. The ideas he came up with and the suggestions he made in relation to her powers had come to him almost on a whim, but had been things she’d never really thought about herself...and they were her powers.
What could she do with her background in plant science. Could she get a lab at NYU to allow her to work with her powers? Was that something she even wanted to do? Janelle had heard of mutants doing incredible things with her powers...she simply hadn’t ever thought that she could be one of them.
Erik seemed to think that he would have been something of a rebel in high school even if he’d have had a more, “normal” upbringing than the one he’d had. Janelle wanted to tell him that he was wrong about her upbringing, but her friends had been carefully screened and checked up on. It wasn’t that her family was high profile and afraid of scandal, but her friends had all been carefully screened and parents were required to be met before she could spend time with anyone outside of school. It had been Janelle’s luck to have the only rich parents who actually cared about their kid.
A sudden thought occurred to the redhead and she frowned slightly in thought. Erik’s life to this point sounded very...exciting, and Janelle’s life had been anything but. Maybe she wasn’t boring but...she definitely didn’t have the kinds of stories he kept alluding to.
There wasn’t much to say though, she just shook her head, bemused at his attitude and turned her attention to the menu as he pointed out that the chicken looked good.
”It is good.” she said, ”Everything is good...I think I’m going to go with the good old fashioned beef bourguignon.” It was basically a deep, rich beef stew, that would go well with everything they had gotten as appetizers.
The waiter returned and they ordered, eager for the next course.
As for the info she had shared, Janelle hid a slight smile behind her menu as she tried to decide how much to share...until Erik pointed out that his story wasn’t family friendly. Again, Janelle felt as though her story was somehow trivial...until his hand closed over hers.
Something about the warm contact broke the slight haze of concern that had dampened the moment and Janelle smiled a bit conspiritorily, leaning slightly closer to share her story.
”We were sitting in the grass in a friend’s back yard playing truth or dare. I got dared to kiss a boy that was also at the party…” Pausing for a moment in fond reminiscence, Janelle continued, ”I couldn’t balk, so I did it...and when it was over…there were flowers blooming everywhere around us.” she giggled, ”People were talking about it for months. I was a middle school celebrity.”
That was all there really was, part of Janelle wanted to ask Erik for more info about his story, but he’d seemed to be very clear that he didn’t really want to talk about it. She didn’t want to push, so she just waited patiently, seeing where the conversation would take them next.
Erik began talking about all of the interesting ways Janelle’s powers could be applied and she felt that seemingly ever-present blush that assailed her whenever he was around creeping back up her cheeks. He was technically right. All of the things he spoke about were things that she probably could do if she tried hard enough. The more she thought about that particular thought, the more possibilities became obvious. If she took more chemistry, maybe she could extend the medicinal properties of certain plants.
It was definitely an interesting thought, and Janelle wondered why nobody had ever suggested something similar. Was it too late to add a chemistry minor to her degree? Was it ever too late to learn something new?
That train of thought would need to wait though. Erik continued to speak and Janelle once again marveled at the sluice gate of information that seemed to have opened the moment they decided they were a couple. If she’d have known that was all it would take, Janelle couldn’t help but think she would have insisted upon the declaration weeks ago!
The story was sad, though. Despite her mutant abilities, Janelle had lived a pretty standard, if privileged, childhood. Her powers weren’t scary, and had never been. Her friends had even started to view them as something of a party trick by the time her parents had decided that Xavier’s was a good place for her to spend some time. Since she’d left home, Janelle had lost touch with a lot of her friends, but she chalked that up more to college and the standard changes that occur with growing up than her powers.
Erik’s experience was completely different. He hadn’t felt like there was a place for him in those kinds of experiences and Janelle’s heart went out to him. It wasn’t pity, Erik didn't seem like the kind of person who would appreciate pity. It was strange too, the lonely, isolated youth that Erik seemed to describe seemed almost antithetical to the person that Janelle knew.
Erik commented that it was easy for him to talk to her and Janelle smiled, ”I’m glad. You have a lot of really important things to say. Someone should get to hear them.”
Janelle liked to think that she was as wordly as it was possible for her to be, considering her upbringing, but it was still strange to her to try and envision what it would be like to not know where your next meal was coming from, or to not be able to call your parents when you needed them.
’I’m sorry it was like that for you. I think I’d have liked you in high school.” she grinned at the thought, ”You’d have been a nice prom date.”
By this time the waiter was back, and Janelle realized they hadn’t even taken the time to look at entrees. Asking for more time, she watched his retreating back and shrugged her shoulders.
”I guess we should look at the menu...don’t worry, the entrees are really small. They know how many appetizers people usually order.”
As she perused the menu, another thought occurred to Janelle and she laid the menu down.
”How did you find out you have powers? I found out during a game of truth or dare my freshman year of high school.”
Erik working security in her building. Janelle had to grin a bit at the thought. No place she had ever lived had had armed security...at least not obviously armed security. Still, ”I don’t think that would be good for anyone, you’d never get any work done.” she said, ”And my parents wouldn’t care one way or another. They just have a certain way they do things and it’s best to pick my battles.” Declining a nice apartment was one of those battles she wasn’t going to pick.
A tour of his place was offered by Erik and Janelle made a mental note to arrange the tour as soon as practically possible, and said as much. For some reason she was deeply curious to see where Erik lived, how he arranged his things, what kinds of pictures were on the walls, and what was in his fridge. The nice old lady who was his roommate sounded fascinating as well, considering that Janelle’s house growing up had almost felt lonely sometimes.
The more Erik explained about his gifts, the more amazed Janelle was. Even more amazing was the fact that they had managed to avoid this topic for so long when it was obviously such an integral part of Erik’s self. Growing back limbs? Fixing injuries that couldn’t usually be fixed?
”Wow…” the redhead breathed, eyes wide with the implications and possibilities. He didn’t even have any scars.
There were so many other questions Janelle could have asked...wanted to ask, but Erik was asking her things about herself now and Janelle smiled and nodded her head.
”A bit of both, I think, though I still can’t do a whole lot. If the plant is already there, I can make it do pretty much anything. I can help it grow larger, I can make it change color, I can make it move…” She paused for a moment in thought, ”I haven’t really had to use them for much other than cosmetics though, so I’m really not sure what all I could] do. My parents sent me here to school so I could learn enough to not hurt myself or anyone else...but I can’t imagine being able to do anything that could do either of those things. It’s not very special, to be honest. ”
If Janelle had been blushing before, now her cheeks were absolutely burning. That had been an awkward verbal mistake. Erick seemed to take it in stride though, and Janelle couldn’t help but smile as he told her how novel it was that she could be sick.
Being sick wasn’t something Janelle enjoyed, but she was still so fascinated by the idea of Erik’s powers that she didn’t spend too much time dwelling on the mistake she had made. The proverbial dam had broken and they were sharing things now, things that they hadn’t even talked about over text on those lonely summer nights.
Erik offered to ask his land lady if she knew of any other rooms for rent in the area and Janelle had to shake her head and laugh just a little bit.
”My parents gave me the name of their real estate guy. As much as I’d love to live somewhere with character, I have a feeling that I’m going to end up with something with a lot of security, high in the sky.”
It was true, while her parents were happy to let her have a great deal of freedom, Janelle didn’t want to push things too far.
”I’d love to see your place sometime though.” That was also true. Now that they were sharing, she wanted to see where he spent his time. You could tell a lot about a person by the way they arranged their space and the things they kept on shelves.
Erik asked exactly how it was a person ate snails, and Janelle grinned again. This was something she was good at. Reaching out, the redhead grabbed one of the tiny forks that had come with the escargot and easily removed it from its shell.
Then she ate it.
Escargot was something she’d had enough to expect the texture and the very buttery and salty taste. She couldn’t help but wonder how Erik would react, considering it was his first time.
”Like that! she said. Then it was back to the sharing.
”Regenerating?” she said, brows rising ”Like...healing?” she said, followed by”You really don’t sleep?”
”Dating magazines are dumb.” Janelle said with a small smile when Erik called her out for turning questions back on him instead of talking about herself.
He could hardly blame her, he had to know that this was probably the most words he’d ever said at a single time since they’d met. It was simply too rare an occasion to waste talking about herself.
Besides...he didn’t sleep, and never got sick. Apparently it was part of the whole mutant thing. Strangely enough, in all of their conversations, powers had never come up. It had always felt weird and unnecessary to ask, and they’d had plenty of other things to bond over. Erik, apparently, didn’t need to sleep though, and had some kind of super immune system.
Was there more? Janelle decided she may have to ask for more details at a later time because Erik had moved on to the second point she had addressed with her questions.
If she thought hard, Janelle could remember Erik mentioning that his job was something to do with armed security, it had never really sunk in though. It was strange for her to try and imagine him doing the types of things that a person did when they could shoot things that were meant to shoot.
It seemed so very gauche to ask if he had ever shot someone, and Janelle decided that she didn’t want to know right now. Obviously if he had, it was because it was something that had to be done. The same people who helped mutant orphans find families did not go around shooting people willy nilly. She simply nodded her head in acceptance of his answer. It all made sense and could be delved deeper into later if need be.
It was quiet now, and Janelle realized it was her turn to talk.
”I do stuff to plants.” she blurted out, unsure what else to say right that moment. It was as good as anything, she supposed. It had been far more eloquent in her head though and she giggled nervously as she took a drink of her water before elborating.
”I mean, I can make plants do things...that’s my gift.” she said, ”Though I need more sleep than I like to admit, and I’ve definitely been sick before.”
As for the rest of her summer, ”I’ve kind of been looking for a place to live, outside of the Mansion. I love it there, but I kind of want to know what it’s like to be on my own. I’m not in a hurry though.” It was something she had discussed with her parents and they’d immediately offered her their apartment in Manhattan. It was too big and too...them though. Janelle wanted a little place to call her own...and maybe a cat.
Those sorts of things took time though, and she had classes to register for and dates to go on. As if on queue, appetizers arrived and Janelle actually rubbed her hands together as they were set down.
The foi gras was her first target and the redhead took a liberal portion smeared on the accompanying crostini.
Janelle smiled and nodded as Erik pointied out how she’d have managed to survive the summer. In all honesty, Janelle knew that she shouldn’t really complain...when all was said and done she had gotten very lucky in the parent lottery. While someone snobbish and out of touch, they loved her and genuinely wanted Janelle to be happy. They still seemed to think her life in the city was some kind of phase that she was going to grow out of, but they didn’t mind the idea of her going to school and working. They hadn’t even minded when she’d said she was kind of seeing someone. It hadn’t been an intentional topic of conversation, but even Janelle’s parents had noticed her increase attachment to her phone.
The redhead was prepared for a vague yet sufficient answer to how Erik had been lately, because that’s how their conversations about such things always went...what she was not prepared for was for him to move his chair closer.
Janelle couldn’t help but laugh a little. It was the kind of thing that would usually have been severely frowned upon in a place like this, but she knew that they wouldn’t dare say a thing to her or her date. There were sometimes that the world she came from had its perk, at some point she would have to explain to Erik just what he was getting himself into.
Proximity was nice, especially when one was attempting to have a conversation in a room full of other people. It wasn’t necessarily conducive to eating, but that was a problem that could be dealt with later. Besides, one was supposed to sit near to ones boyfriend or girlfriend, and that’s what they had just decided they were.
To say that Janelle was surprised by the deluge of information she received as a result of her question was an understatement. It wasn’t that they hadn’t ever had meaningful conversations, it was just that Erik had always been fairly conservative of his descriptions of his job and the things he did in association with it.
It was a lot.
There was a philanthropic side to what Erik did that almost made Janelle get emotional. He literally signed kids up for school and made sure they had the things that they needed to get started. The redhead filed the information away for later, that was something she could definitely help with. School was important, especially for mutant kids, even more for kids who were no longer living at home. Janelle also filed away the info about the Mansion, that was something else she could help with.
The things she couldn’t wrap her head around...weapons and their use. For some reason it wasn’t difficult for Janelle to imagine Erik helping an orphaned kiddo buy school supplies and get up in the morning to catch the bus...the bit about him fixing his landlady's deck wasn’t even a stretch...but using a gun? It was just too difficult to picture.
There was something else. ”You don’t sleep?” was what came out before she even started to think about what she had been doing. How did she not know that? ”And your job involves guns?” The questions weren’t asked with judgement, surprise and eagerness evident in her voice and open curiosity painted on her face. Janelle just wanted to know more and Erik seemed to be in a mood to share. Unsure if this was the new status quo or this would pass, Janelle wanted to get all the information she could, while she could.
Erik looked uncomfortable after Janelle finished speaking and she watched the different plays of emotion move across his face...he was at least as uncomfortable as she was...that was fair, wasn’t it?
It was also strange...uncomfortable was a word she wouldn’t have applied to any of her previous interactions with Erik. In fact, that was part of what had made all of this so good...everything had been easy...until now. It was so difficult to understand intention over text though, and that had been how a vast majority of their recent interaction had occurred. It wasn’t outside the realm of possibility that she’d taken things the wrong way. So Janelle waited until Erik spoke, then softly released a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding when he said he’d missed her.
So she hadn’t been misreading the situation. It was weird how pivotal moments seemed to make the world around you slow down and get quieter. Sounds were filtering in again now as Erik suggested it might be better if they made things official. Some people chafed at the idea of labels...Janelle was not one of those people and a slow smile spread across her features as she nodded her head. The blush on her cheeks had intensified as Erik spoke and her heart was doing the little tap dance it tended to do in situations that made her giddy and nervous at the same time.
”I like you too…” she responded, unconsciously reaching up to tuck her hair behind her ear, ”And I don’t know how I’d have made it through the summer if we hadn’t started texting.” It was true, more and more time away from the city felt torturously boring...no matter how her parents thought she needed to be seen at events around home.
”So I think I’d like that...a lot.” she finished, hands now fretting with the menu as the waiter arrived to ask if they knew what they wanted. Soon enough, the appetizers and drinks were ordered and they were alone again.
Janelle couldn’t help but let out a slightly nervous little giggle, ”Well, now that that’s out of the way...how have things been?”
Well, no matter his past troubles, Erick now had a tailor and was in a position that he could call in favors. If nothing else, his intrapersonal skills were excellent.
Now that they were settled in their little eating nook, the real conversation could begin. It appeared that he was eager to try anything she recommended and Janelle immediately began scanning the menu for her favorites. Erik had mentioned escargot though, and the redhead couldn’t help but pull a bit of a face.
”Escargot is one of those things…it’s very salty and has a really…special texture.” . Janelle was not a fan, put many people were.
”I love foi gras though…we’ll definitely need some of that, and maybe a cheese plate? I think that would all go well with the escargot…” . She nodded to herself, pleased with the selections. It had been a while since she had done the fine dining thing and was getting excited just sitting there and deciding what the profile of the meal should be.
Erik said something else and Janelle was so caught up in the menu that it didn’t register for a moment, when it did she looked up and tilted her head slightly to the side, expression neutral. Had she been misinterpreting things?
”I mean…isn’t dating what we’ve already been doing?” she asked, laying her menu down on the table and leaning slightly forward, ”Or have I been reading into things too much?”. There was that darn blush again, heating her cheeks as her confidence ebbed. Surely if Erik had gotten a suit tailored specifically for this dinner, it hadn’t been silly of her to spend so much time getting ready.
A hard line on punctuality was one of those things that Janelle had never understood…especially in New York City. Between train delays, lack of cabs, traffic, and entire city blocks being closed off due to X-Men activity...it was a miracle that anyone made it anywhere on time. That being said, when Janelle received Erik’s text she was more impressed than anything...he’d very nearly pulled off the impossible.
Scanning the usual crowd of people making their way down the street, it took Janelle longer than she would have expected to spot Erik on his approach...then again she hadn’t expected him to look like he’d just walked out of one of her parents’ cocktail parties.
As Erik called her name, Janelle grinned in greeting, instantly feeling her cheeks darken at his compliment. Darn light complexion...maybe the lights on the street would keep him from noticing. ”You look fantastic too...how did you get a suit tailored on such short notice?” there was no way that was straight off the rack...when a suit actually fit a man it just looked different.
An arm was proffered and Janelle took it with an easy, practiced motion as they made their way into the restaurant.
Le Lieu was one of her Parents’ favorite places when they came into the city and the Maitre D recognized Janelle and caught her eye as she and Erik made their way through the doors. There was no need to mention the reservation and off they went to their table...set for two in a quiet area of the restaurant.
”I hope this is okay…?” Janelle said, once seated. ”The food here is honestly more french than a lot of places in town...and the menu is in english.”
Where had the time gone? It was always an odd question to try and ask oneself because obviously time simply went day by day, hour by hour, and minute by minute. The weird thing was when those increments seemed to move more quickly than they were supposed to.
It had been months since Janelle had gone to a pizza shop with a guy she’d met doing one of her student outreach events. It was still, to this day, the only good thing that had come out of that gig and the redhead idly wondered if that singular experience had made the whole thing worthwhile.
She and Erik had seen each other a few times since, always briefly and always to simply catch a bite to eat and catch up. Were the dates? It was hard to tell and Janelle had never had the gumption to ask such a question. Sometimes they felt like dates, but it was never a good idea to presume. Then summer had come and an invitation to come home from her parents, it had been almost impossible for Janelle to refuse because she had decided to take the summer off from classes, so she’d left the city to return home...but she’d still had her phone and she and Eric had spoken quite often. In fact, when she’d mentioned she was heading back to the city they’d decided that it was time to try that French Restaurant that Janelle had mentioned back on their very first outing together.
So here she stood in front of her closet, trying to decide what was going to be appropriate for what had to be an actual, real-life date. It had been a long while since she’d gotten dressed with something like a date in mind and it was a mind-bogglingly difficult decision.
Finally making a decision, Janelle pulled a little black cocktail dress from the hanger and got to work getting ready. The dress was black with a high-sided v-neck that tapered into tiny straps over the shoulders...pretty generic, but it was the skirt that made it unique. Fitted and asymmetrical, the right side of the skirt came to a point that nearly touched her left knee. The left side, however stopped mid-thigh, just high enough to be trendy, but low enough to be classy. It would do nicely. Her hair was in loose curls, her favorite way to wear it, and she slipped her feet into short heels that would compliment the dress without feeling like torture devices.
Ready to go, Janelle unlocked her phone and booted up the app for her favorite ride-share.
It didn’t take long to get to “Le Lieu” and the driver didn’t feel the need to chatter awkwardly the whole way. It was kind of nice and Janelle shot Erik a text to let him know that she would be there in just a few minutes. They’d decided to meet at the restaurant instead of trying to coordinate driving. It was fine with Janelle, but did leave that slightly awkward first interaction for a highly public area.
The driver pulled up to the curb, Janelle finished her review (5 stars) and gave the tip as she exited the car, slipping her phone into her purse as she perused the slightly busy New York street for her date.
Janelle occupied the next few minutes nodding and eating. It wasn't that she had nothing to say, she just wanted to give Erik a chance to talk for a while. It was enlightening, plus given the revelations about his driving lessons, she wasn't sure she wanted to know exactly why it would be beneficial to be able to pull of a good impression. It was interesting, this man's background, and Janelle found that she wanted to know more. It would be rude to ask so soon after meeting though, so she simply listened and started stockpiling questions for a later date. Surely he wasn't dangerous...dangerous people didn't show up for college open houses and eat at pizza shops...did they? She'd simply wait and see, reserving judgement for a time when it was more appropriate.
Erik's place of choice was indoors, but also a place that would probably rank in Janelle's top 5. "I agree completely...I think that you really learn the most about a person when you get a chance to see what they create. When you think about it, everyone creates something. The way they do it, the care they take, the materials they use, the aesthetic of the end product can tell you more about most people than they can verbally." Sometimes those things revealed more than people wanted to give away.
Janelle always felt like that when she was working with plants, like she was putting a piece of herself into whatever she was modifying or creating. It was more than just work or self-expression, they were a part of her and she was a part of them.
As for what she was going to do after college, Janelle shrugged her shoulders, "I like living on my own...my parents seem to think that once I'm done with school I'll be happy to come home and carry on...whatever it is they want me to carry on. I don't know though, I think I may stay here, try to get a job in my field...work for a while. There'll always be time for what they want later...what about you? Is New York just a stop on a grander plan, or is this somewhere you're putting down roots?"
Was that disapointment Janelle heard in Erik’s voice about the dress code? An eyebrow rose slowly at the response, most “modern” young men didn’t like to dress up very much. It was something to note if they continued to see each other...if he wasn’t opposed to fancy dress there were many possibilities.
The offer to learn to drive was a sanding one, which was good, it seemed that their hypothetical plans were starting to stack up and one only had so much free time. As for whether or not her parents had a car…
”We had cars...it just never really made sense for me to drive so I didn’t take lessons or get a license.” she said, trying not to give too much away. People were so intimidated by the fact that she came from money sometimes that she tended to shy away from sharing too much about it too fast. It just seemed to get in the way of things otherwise.
Though...by Erik’s reaction to her taste in music, Janelle guessed she wasn’t doing a great job of hiding her slightly sheltered upbringing. She smiled at the jest, but it was a bit brittle, ”Nothing like that!” she said, cheeks coloring slightly, ”They just thought that there was more…value in the classics.” she finished, a little weakly, ”Not that I agree, of course.”
Erik’s impression of a documentary narrator was actually very good and Janelle had to shake her head a bit an giggle, ”You might be missing your calling as a narrator… she teased, her voice regaining some of the warmth it had lost earlier, ”There’s people who are world famous for their narrations...I’ll have to show you ‘The Secret Life of Plants sometime, it’s amazing how a good narrator can make the film come to life.”
It seemed they were at an impasse for getting to know you questions though, and they were moving on to unadulterated flattery. Janelle had to laugh a bit at the compliment and though her cheeks colored again her eyes may have rolled slightly to the ceiling.
”Now you’re just laying it on thick…” she said, taking another bite of her pizza. She’d leave it at that and consider the subject closed…
”What’s your favorite place in the city?” she asked, to move things right along. She could carry the conversation for a bit...there was still food to eat, after all!
”Mine are obvious...the botanical gardens are spectacular, and there are a few rooftop gardens that would rival real natural spaces. It’s surreal to sit on top of a building, surrounded by nature, and watch the whole world pass by on the streets.”
