[Monroe Montgomery]

let's fast forward ► to 300 take out coffees later ◄

Monroe was trying this thing where he was trying to actually maintain friendships. It was something that had fallen to the wayside since he’d dropped out of college. Maybe if he was honest, much more before that. Most of his acquaintances were frequenters at the café and Annabelle was no different. He knew from talking to her that she taught beginners ballet and when. He didn’t know anything about ballet, other than that you had to be graceful, which was kind of funny because Annabelle always seemed to be in a rush and a whirlwind of chaos following her, but he hadn’t seen her dance. The dance studio wasn’t far down from the coffee shop, a brick and mortar building with large windows. It looked like the class was ending as he approached, a latte keeping his hands warm in the crisp autumn air, but the coffee wasn’t for him. After all, he’d already had three cups today, and this one was for Annabelle, her usual order. He figured after the class that she’d stop by anyway to get her caffeine fix, but then he realized he could save her a trip and bring it to her. His shift had just ended anyway and instead of in an apron, he was in a long coat. Pushing open the door, he surveyed the room. Kids were bustling around with their parents fighting them to put on their coats and get out the door and Annabelle was just finishing a conversation with one of the parents. He waited patiently, looking around at the wooden floors and bright lights and wall of mirrors, catching a glimpse of himself in them. Even from this far, he could see the dark circles underneath his eyes. He made a mental note to ask Annabelle about concealer. She had to know about that, right? Or was that lame to assume? When the parent stepped away to move to the door with their daughter, Monroe stepped forward towards the dark-haired woman and held out the paper cup. “I’m guessing you need coffee?” He knew that she was busy, working several jobs to support herself and her dreams. Anybody working that hard and having that many commitments needed a pick me up. Annabelle Lucas //BOINK OF GS

[Annabelle Lucas]

[nospaces]

[attr="class","ANNABELLELyrics"]All the good girls go to hell[break]

'Cause even God herself has enemies. And once the water starts to rise.[break]
And heaven's out of sight. She'll want the devil on her team.

[break]

[attr="class","ANNABELLEBody"]

It had been a tiring week already and it was only Tuesday. Annabelle was running on caffeine, chaos, and a sense of determination. Lately, it seemed like there was never much time for anything outside of work. She didn't mind it, though. She was living out her biggest dream, working in the field that she had always wanted to go into. Performing was her passion, and she enjoyed teaching a great deal as well. She looked forward to seeing the tiny little dancers in her beginner classes, they were always so excited. [break][break]

Her third job as a cocktail waitress wasn't her favorite of her jobs, but it was necessary to continue supporting herself. If Noel or Jason had moved to Los Eurosia when she did, she would have considered getting a place with them. She couldn't fathom living with anyone else, definitely no roommates that she didn't know well. So she worked hard enough to make sure she didn't need to rely on having a roommate to keep her bills paid while she worked her dream job. [break][break]

The last class of the day began to file out. Some of the little girls were jabbering to their mothers, excited to show them a pile or a pirouette. Little kids were adorable when they were excited. [break][break]

As the students filed out the door with their parents, Annabelle had one mom who wanted to chat. Her daughter had missed a couple classes while they were out of town, and she wondered if it had affected her performance. Annabelle assured her that, while consistency was important at this stage, it was okay and her daughter hadn't set back. The mom was relieved, and her daughter mumbled an ‘I told you so’ as they moved over to get her jacket and bag to leave. [break][break]

When she turned around, Annabelle noticed there was a newcomer in the room. She smiled, taking only a split second to recognize her favorite barista. Monroe approached as the mother and daughter left. “Well, this is definitely a surprise, thank you! You are absolutely correct. The coffee shop was going to be my next stop.” [break][break]

Annabelle gratefully took the cup from him and took a sip. It was her usual latte, and she was aware that he’d had the drink memorized for a while. She didn’t generally have to tell him what she wanted, unless it was a rare day when she got something different. [break][break]

“So what brings you this way, bearing caffeine?” While she was grateful, she wasn’t sure why he’d brought her coffee to her tonight. [break]

[attr="class","ANNABELLENotes"]Monroe Montgomery[break]
Let me know for any changes!

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[Monroe Montgomery]

let's fast forward ► to 300 take out coffees later ◄

“My shift just ended and I figured your class would be wrapping up and there’s nothing like getting caffeine in your bloodstream immediately,” Monroe replied, feeling a little unsure of himself, but he hoped it wouldn’t show on his face. This was him trying to make friends and keep friends. Although he’d admit that he hadn’t really thought past bringing her the coffee. He’d just known he’d wanted to do that. “Uh, are you free or do you have another one of your jobs to run to?” He definitely should have thought about that ahead of time. Annabelle worked three jobs and was usually so busy she couldn’t stop to take a breath. He respected her work ethic, but it did make it hard to actually establish a friendship with her beyond the barista who knows your coffee order. It wasn’t a bad thing to be, but Monroe had really been awful at keeping up friendships since he dropped out of college and folded into himself. Annabelle was someone who he felt could understand him. She didn’t like her gift either. It was nice to be around someone else who felt the same way about it. A lot of people just didn’t get it, not like he told a lot of people, but still. He’d even seen a few people who’d bragged about having gifts as if it wasn’t also dangerous. It would just be easier without powers, and even if he had one that was super useful, he wasn’t sure how he would feel about it. If he was given something like being able to heal others...something that would help, would he feel differently? Annabelle Lucas //BOINK OF GS

[Annabelle Lucas]

[nospaces]

[attr="class","ANNABELLELyrics"]All the good girls go to hell[break]

'Cause even God herself has enemies. And once the water starts to rise.[break]
And heaven's out of sight. She'll want the devil on her team.

[break]

[attr="class","ANNABELLEBody"]

Monroe was literally the nicest person Annabelle knew. He had been one of the first people Annabelle had really met when she moved to Los Eurosia earlier in the year, and thanks to her crippling caffeine addiction she had seen him nearly daily in the months that had followed. Even so, she didn’t know him well. They’d had a few deeper conversations, and she would definitely label as a friend, but she wasn’t the best at making connections with other people lately. She was always on the go, always busy with one job or another. It made it hard to make new friends. [break][break]

Perhaps because of that, she was surprised that he’d go out of his way to do something so kind for her, so thoughtful. “You were absolutely right, the coffee shop was going to be my next stop.” She smiled and shook her head at his follow up question. “No, this was it for work today. I’m not at the bar until the weekend this week, thank goodness.” [break][break]

She’d originally planned to only work her cocktail waitress job on the weekends, but that hadn't worked out. She ended up picking up shifts any night of the week when they needed help, unable to prioritize downtime for herself. So far, she had been keeping everything together, she’d been able to keep herself under control. [break][break]

There had only been one panic attack, one time when she had nearly lost control. It’d happened in the coffee shop, and it was how she and Monroe had learned about each other’s ‘gifts’. Or, how they both thought of them, unwelcome burdens. Annabelle had started to panic, started to gasp for air, and then bolted for the door when she realized what she was doing. [break][break]

The next day when she stopped in for her caffeine fix, they’d had one of their longer conversations and he asked her about it, he’d recognized the struggle and the fact that it was a gift. He was the only person outside her family or Noel and Jason that she’d talked to about it, and he was easy to confide in since he had a similar experience with not liking his own gift. [break][break]

“So if your shift just ended, what are you up to now?” She questioned as she walked toward the cubbies on the side wall where her duffle bag was. She hadn't been planning on doing much of anything after the last class today, but she had a pair of jeans and a sweater in her bag that she could put on over her leotard and tights if he wanted to hang out. Keeping extra clothes in her bag was a habit she’d kept since she started college. Jason and Noel had always insisted on dragging her places right after she was done, and it just took too long to have to go back to the dorms to change back then, so instead of just having the sweats she normally threw over her dance clothes, she carried an outfit she would willingly be seen in. [break]

[attr="class","ANNABELLENotes"]Monroe Montgomery[break]
Let me know for any changes or if I assumed too much.

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[googlefont=Karla][googlefont=Caveat][googlefont=Dancing Script]

[Monroe Montgomery]

let's fast forward ► to 300 take out coffees later ◄

"Yeah, well someone else could have made your drink I guess, but this way it's free and it's going to taste best, because I made it." Monroe was mostly joking, although he would vouch that he was the best with the espresso machine. He took excellent care of it and cleaned it often so that they could get the best possible pull of espresso shots. He relied on those espresso shots after all. He smiled at her after taking a sip of his coffee. "Well, I'm glad you're getting a bit of a break then." He half expected her to run off to her next thing. Annabelle was a whirlwind, and Monroe was just grateful to be caught up in it, if even a little bit. She was definitely someone who understood him, who felt similar about their 'gifts.' Finding out that Annabelle suffered from panic attacks was weird for him. She seemed like she had it all together, but it definitely gave him a new perspective and made him feel even more comfortable around her.  He was realizing that he hadn't thought ahead very far when he'd thought to bring her coffee. He also hadn't expected her to be free. "Believe it or not, I don't have any plans." Monroe used to be a busy body like Annabelle, or at least more so then he was now. Now he just worked shifts at the coffee shop and spent all of his other time trying not to invade others' privacy. HIs power was not a gift. It was an inconvenience and it wasn't like it did any good going into others' dreams. All it did was make him uncomfortable.  As she walked over to grab her things out of her cubbie, Monroe followed slowly behind. He felt odd in social situations, like he had to force them, but Annabelle didn't seem like she didn't want him there. "I don't want to interrupt your probably one actual free evening, but if you wanted to hang out, I promise it'd be lowkey. I mean, why wouldn't it be? I don't do anything crazy." He wouldn't judge if she wanted to head home, shower and take a nap while she could. Annabelle Lucas //BOINK OF GS