Very Awkward Movie Style First Meeting

who: Isaac and Dierdra
where: Trowbridge Park
when: early afternoon

At her mother's insistence, Dierdra had skipped the lake today, opting instead for the park. For some reason, her mother had the thought that now that they had settled down in a more permanent manner that her teenage daughter should make friends. And apparently, the lake did not count. The park, Trowbridge Park, she believed it was called, was very nice. But it wasn't the lake, not even close.

It did have a fountain, however. A very nice, big fountain, with clear, cold water. She had settled down comfortably on it hours ago, hoodie pulled up to conceal her from curious passerbys while she ran her hands through the soothing liquid. Anyone looking closely enough would see the water swirling unnaturally around her hand, but thankfully, people were keeping their distance... for the most part.

It was odd; people in this town were very friendly. People kept saying hello as they walked past, and it was unnerving. Blending in was apparently hard to do in Marquette, Michigan, but she was going to give it a try.

It wasn't hot, but Isaac was still sweating. It was because he was running, and running pretty hard. He hadn't felt really ... well when he woke up. His stomach had been dodgy all day, he'd barely touched breakfast or lunch, and even fooling around on the bass a little bit hadn't made him feel better. It was Jamie. The girl was so ... just plain awesome and confusing and funny and adorable and he just ... didn't know what to do at all. He felt like shit for making her feel bad; he really didn't have any room to do that at all. It wasn't like she belonged to him. It sounded, in fact, like that was exactly what she was trying to avoid.

He wanted to talk to Thom, but the bastard hadn't been home when Isaac dropped by. So, already in big sweatpants and a t-shirt, he'd decided to go to the park to work off some nervous energy. And he was doing well, with the cooler air pumping in his lungs, until his sneaker hit a patch of loose gravel wrong as he was coming around the fountain. Isaac lost his footing and his legs kept moving foward as he lost the very quick battle with gravity and landed hard on his back. He grunted and slid to about a foot away from some girl sitting at the fountain. Well fuck me, he thought bitterly as he tried to force breath back into his lungs.

Dee found herself blinking owlishly at a boy around her age. That spill looked like it had hurt. Badly. The twinge of sympathy nearly had her calling out to him, but she held back, looking around anxiously instead. If someone else had seen it, they could--sigh. No, it was just the two of them at the moment. She rose to her feet uncertainly and took a hesitant step forward. "Are you all right?" she asked, her voice quiet, face still concealed by both her hood and her long hair.

Being an athlete -- and kind of a rough-and-tumble boy anyway -- had Isaac pretty used to getting hurt. He'd only landed halfway on the concrete around the fountain, so that wasn't too bad. He blinked and squinted just a touch at the girl who was only barely in his line of vision. It had knocked the wind out of him, and he knew just to lay still and let it come back, but speaking wasn't an option just yet. Instead he gave her a thumbs-up.

Well, that was good. Relief surged through her then, before being replaced by panic. Because now, she'd inadvertently started a conversation... at least, kind of. Sort of? What if he wanted to talk to her now? No, no, he would just go back to running, once he caught his breath. That made sense. That was the only thing that made sense. Dierdra shrank back, sitting back down on the fountain and eying him warily from underneath her hood. Just go away. Catch your breath, get up, go away. Please. I'm not really here, I'm just a figment of your imagination. Honest.

Isaac did eventually get himself to breathe again, and he sat up with a faint wince. That was going to hurt tomorrow, even more than it did now. He probably had some road rash on his back. But who the fuck cared, right? Not like anybody was going to be seeing it but him anyway. He stood up, glancing over at the girl who seemed to have retreated. She looked kind of ... timid and scared. He armed some sweat off of his forehead and gave her a nod, twisting his arm around to try and brush some of the dirt off his back. "Sorry ... 'bout that," he panted.

She blinked rapidly (not that he could see it). OhGod, OhGod, he's talking to me. And he was apologizing! Why was he apologizing!? That didn't make any sense! At all! Not even a little bit! She dropped her hand into the fountain, letting the water swirl around her fingers soothingly. That was a little better... "Um... why're you sorry?" she managed to ask, her voice still quiet, some of her bafflement leaking through.

He blinked, because ... well, that was kind of a good question. Habit? Manners? He'd very nearly kicked the shit out of her legs by accident? Sheer stupidity? He wasn't sure he had a good answer, so he laughed a little breathlessly and ran a hand through his messy brown hair. "For being a total klutz, I guess. I didn't kick you, did I?" he asked, peering at her with one eyebrow arched a little. He didn't think so, but ... he had just wiped himself out.

Dee shook her head quickly, nearly loosing her hood in the process. "N-No, I'm fine." She quickly reached up and fixed her hood, pulling it back so it hid her eyes. "It's, well..." she began, hesitantly. "It's not really your fault. There's some gravel that shouldn't be there, you see?" She made a little gesture with her free hand. "So you aren't a klutz," she explained, because that seemed important. It hadn't been his fault, after all, so why should he blame himself?

Isaac smiled faintly, not bothering to look at the gravel. He knew it was there. He'd seen it the second before his foot hit it. He wondered idly if she was cold or if she just didn't really want him to look at her too hard. A normal person, faced with this dilemma, would probably leave her alone and go away. And he was tempted. But also curious and ... well, kind of lonely, quite honestly. Maybe he could get distracted with a stranger. He limped a little closer and gestured to the side of the fountain next to her. It wasn't deep enough to make him nervous. "Mind if I sit?" he asked.

She drew her hand from the fountain at that, the water no longer soothing. Dierdra began to fidget with the cuffs of her hoodie, watching him with wide eyes. "G-Go ahead, I don't mind." People in this town were most definitely friendly; much more friendly than she was used to. She was never coming to the park ever again! She watched him warily, feeling very confused and out of sorts. People didn't talk to her. Especially people her age. Especially boys. Why was this one different?

Her eyes were incredibly blue, and something in him hesitated for a moment. But she looked about his age, but he hadn't ever seen her before -- he would definitely remember this one -- so maybe she was just new and shy and shit. Isaac knew shy people. He sat down with a good foot between them and made a face. Ugh. Spine pain was the worst. He brushed his hand off on his pants and offered it to her. "I'm Isaac," he told her. The second thing he said wasn't a question. "You're new."

"Y-Yes." She dropped her eyes down immediately, but she did (hesitantly) take his hand. Handshakes made her nervous; her grip was always too cool and not at all tight. Her father had always said firm handshakes were best, but she'd never been able to pull it off. It was just another thing she failed spectacularly at. "I'm Dierdra," she offered quietly, glancing back up at him. "Are you... Um, are you sure you're all right?"

"Dierdra," he repeated, to make sure he had it right. It was an interesting name. His own handshake was warm, but not firm. Not for this girl. In his opinion, female handshakes were best done gently. Isaac was looking at her curiously, trying to see through the hood and the hair a bit more. It was challenging. "Nice to meet you," he said, offering her a little smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. Kinda used to it, really." Yeah, that was the most brilliant thing to say. "How long have you been in town?"

Nice to meet her? What? Really? Her? ...oh, right, people had manners, didn't they? She should probably work on that, herself. "It's... It's nice to meet you, too. We just moved, um, two weeks ago," Dierdra managed awkwardly, still moving her head somewhat evasively and trying to be subtle about it. Gah! Why was he trying to look at her!? People didn't do that!

He picked up on it, perceptive as he was, and attempted to ignore the downtrodden voice in himself that wasn't at all surprised. So Isaac pointed his face out to the area in front of them. Getting up abruptly and leaving wasn't exactly an option at that point, since he'd already started talking to her and everything. And he didn't really want to, he just ... wasn't feeling right today. "That's cool, that's cool," he said mildly.

She hesitated for a long moment. He was upset. She could feel it. Oh God was she bad with people. She'd already said her minimum five sentences today! Her hand slowly went up to her head and pushed back the hood concealing her face. Hopefully that would... do something. Make him happier? But why would he be happier to see her face? That seemed very egocentric of her. It wasn't like she was pretty or anything. Now was the part where he looked at her, got creeped out by her too-big eyes and ran away like people normally did. Well, normal would be nice. Self-esteem shattering, but comforting.

Isaac didn't look over right away. He was busy brooding and being sullen. And probably rather stupid. Yeah, that was the most likely option. Stupid. He glanced back over at the Don't Look At Me girl to find that she was looking at him. The 'sorry to bug you' kind of died in his throat and he stared for a beat. Wow. Those were some gorgeous eyes. And someone really needed to shoot him in the face. He forgot to talk for a second. Then cleared his throat. "I've lived here a long time and ... I am really sorry, I can totally go away if you want me to. I'm very pathetic today, I really don't have an excuse for it."

Dee gazed at him for a long moment, completely and utterly confused. None of what he'd just said made the slightest bit of sense. Well, maybe it did. He'd stared at her, and now he was offering to leave. But he was being nice about it and apologizing. And calling himself pathetic? That didn't really compute. At all. Talk about extremely mixed messages. Was this his way of trying to run away from the creepy girl, or was he genuinely feeling pathetic right now? "Y-You're not. Pathetic." That would be me. She fidgeted for a moment, lowering her head. Hair wasn't as good for hiding, but it was better than nothing, right? "Since you're the one injured, and it's your town and all, I should probably be the one to offer to leave," she suggested hesitantly.

He looked honestly surprised at that. Then realized she must think for some reason that he wanted to be alone or something. "No, no ..." he trailed off into a soft, unsure laugh. "No way, you were here first, and it's not like it's my park. You just kinda seem ... uncomfortable, is all." Which he hoped didn't make her more uncomfortable by him mentioning. It probably would, 'cause he just rocked that way here lately. "I am though. Pathetic. So I'm sorry." It felt a little better to admit it fully to someone, even if she was a complete and utter stranger. "Don't wanna like ... impose my company or anything."

"Y-You're not imposing." She shot a dark look to the gravel. Stupid gravel. She blamed this awkward conversation and his unhappy mood solely on it. "It's nothing personal, I'm just... bad with people?" Dierdra offered uncertainly. "I don't really understand why you aren't gone yet, that's all. I'm weird and creepy looking. And my conversation skills are lacking." Well, if he was going to keep insulting himself, she could do the same, right?

Isaac looked at her like she was nuts. Which might not've been a good idea, but that was his knee-jerk reaction. "You're not creepy-looking," was the first thing out of his mouth. And she wasn't. She just looked very different from any girl he'd ever seen, and shy. Shy people didn't creep him out. "And fuck, who cares about weird. It's like ... if I hear another girl blather on and on at me about her hair or where she gets her nails done or what her friend said another friend said that their cousin said about some jerkoff I don't even know or ask me if Thom is single and looking ... I think I'll drown myself. I really swear to God, I will. I'm goddamn tired of 'normal'. Fuck that noise." Okay, well, it seemed like his day to rant like an insane person. He blinked and flushed a little, looking at her again, his expression a bit pained. "Sorry, I ... ugh, I dunno." He put his face in his hands and leaned forward, elbows on his knees.

She cringed at that look he shot her. The 'you're fucking crazy, girl!' look. Yeah, that was normal, all right. Something she was used to. Just not combined with that sentence. Or anything close to that sentence. She nearly jumped up to run right then and there, but then he started talking. And the tone of his voice? Oh yes, she definitely wasn't leaving now. He was hurting. Or something. Maybe she was (okay, she definitely was) crazy, but she wasn't about to leave him after that. She didn't know who Thom was, but she didn't really think that it mattered at the moment. Hesitantly, she reached out and rubbed his back, right between his shoulders. "You don't have to say you're sorry for telling the truth."

He was honestly surprised by her touch. One wouldn't really think that a skittish girl like she seemed to be would be the first to initiate contact. Isaac stopped himself from looking up and around at her, because he had the thought that that would make her stop. Her hand was kinda cold compared to the blood-pumping warmth of his back, but it felt nice regardless. He kind of hadn't ... been affectionately touched in a while, besides the weird little hug with Jamie. He dipped his head down a bit to run his fingers through his hair. "I just ... only met you five minutes ago, I didn't mean to ... kinda get all ranty on you," he said from where he was.

Dee continued to rub his back in soothing little circles. He wasn't screaming at her to stop, and he hadn't twitched or moved much, so everything seemed okay. "It's fine. I don't mind, honest," she assured him, her voice quiet. "I'm a good listener," which was an understatement, really, "so you can talk all you want. I don't mind."

It was soothing, even from a complete stranger. Which probably only added to his patheticness. Not that ... she wasn't an attractive stranger or she'd been a bitch or anything. He was just being a huge baby and he knew it. "I just ... dunno, I feel like I don't understand anybody anymore," he muttered half-miserably. "I don't get where their like ... snap judgements come from. It's stupid, y'know? And I know that probably doesn't make any bit of fuckin' sense, but ... that's the best I can explain it right now." Which wasn't very good at all, he knew.

To any other person, this might have been an uncomfortable situation. Dierdra wasn't most people. He was miserable, and she couldn't stand that. He was the first person her age... ever really, to be so nice. To her. Even if it was really just him being polite and stubborn. "No, it makes perfect sense to me. You're tired of people judging you based on only one part of your personality, right?" she asked quietly. "You're tired of shallow people and relationships. You want something deeper in life?" she questioned, suddenly feeling paranoid. Maybe she was wrong? She usually wasn't, not when it came to people's emotions, but... well, she was an utter failure at everything else. Why wouldn't she fail at cheering someone up when it mattered, too?

Then he did look up, but he didn't exactly straighten up (because the back thing really did feel good). Isaac eyed her for a brief moment before he smiled faintly. "Yes," he said quietly. He was surprised that she'd summed everything up so well when he wasn't sure if it even made any sense to him. "That's it exactly." And he couldn't stop staring at her. She definitely wasn't hard on the eyes, but that was only part of what suddenly had him fascinated. Anybody else would've probably been fidgety and uncomfortable hearing this sort of thing from some douche who'd just invited himself to sit down.

She hesitated then, because now? Now was the part where she was completely out of her depth. She could understand, she could sympathize, probably more than he'd ever imagined anyone else could, but that didn't mean she knew what to do, or what to say to make everything better. It didn't help that Isaac was staring at her, sparking up a sudden insane panic that she had something on her face (besides, of course, her insanely creepy eyes). The hand on his back stilled, but she left it where it was. He was smiling, so that was good. She'd done something right. "I... I can't really say everything will get better," she admitted quietly, finally averting her eyes to the ground. It was far easier to talk that way. "But there are people in the world who are deeper than that. You just have to find them." Not that she was one to talk. She'd never met anyone (before today, apparently) who didn't run off after thirty seconds of conversation (or attempted conversation) with her.

This was perhaps the weirdest encounter with another human being that Isaac had ever been through. Usually first conversations were light and surface-y and cheery and ... not at all like this. Her face and that way she spoke -- laced with some sort of sadness that was too large to hide -- only heightened the surreality. If this was a movie, I'd probably be kissing her by now, he thought. Which was ridiculous enough to break through his paralysis. "That helps," he said, oddly (in his mind, at least, it wasn't something you said very often to comfort). Because she seemed to need to hear it. He smiled a little broader, as well, though it still had a soft edge to it. After a beat, he added, "I'm not usually so melodramatic." He felt like that needed to be said too, but mostly for his own sake.

Dierdra blinked in surprise, though she kept her gaze averted to the ground, only occasionally peeking up at him. "It doesn't bother me," she insisted. Please don't smile like that at me... "I really don't mind. I... I'm glad I helped," she muttered, hiding behind her hair and wondering if he really meant that. Maybe he was just being nice? Belatedly, she realized she was still touching him, and withdrew her hand quickly. Isaac was warm, and that was very strange. Usually she hated warm things, warm temperatures. Apparently she didn't hate warm people.

Isaac was not-so-vaguely disappointed that she took her hand back, but ... what could one do? Absolutely nothing. He straightened up a little and glanced at where her gaze was pointed. Nope, just grass. He felt pretty strange, like none of this was really really happening. And now he was completely at a loss for words. Even though she'd said that his wangst or whatever it was didn't bother her. He honestly felt ... better about it. Like it didn't need to be talked about because somebody -- even somebody absolutely random -- understood. So he just sat there and looked at some point in the middle distance, hazel eyes pointed vaguely around where her hands were.

For awhile, she fidgeted with the sleeves of her hoodie. She felt suddenly naked without the hood pulled up to conceal her, but she wouldn't put it back. Not until he left, or she left, or, hey, leaving sounded pretty good right now, actually. So why wasn't she moving? Dee continued to fidget, feeling more skittish now than she ever had before. Finally, reluctantly, she dropped one of her hands in the fountain, trailing her hand back through the water and immediately feeling soothed at the feeling of the flow through her fingers. It looked like she planned to stay for awhile... at least until she knew for certain he was okay. He didn't give off the same lonely, stressed, sad vibe as before, but her suddenly announcing her departure could change that. It wasn't a risk she was willing to take, slim though it might have been.

He kind of wished it was a movie, so the scene could fade out and he wouldn't have to think of a way to ... try and wrap this up. If that's what needed to happen? Isaac really wasn't sure. He glanced at her again. She must've thought he was nuts. "So ... " he began. That was some sort of start, wasn't it? "I'm really ... not sure what to say now." There, honesty was good. People liked honesty. Usually. He smiled at her, a little ruefully. "Except thanks. So ... thank you." He wanted to talk to her, get to know her better, but his footing was so shaky right then that he really wasn't sure how.

Ohh, why did he keep doing that? The saying so many things and mixed messages thing? Right when she was about to suggest she leave him alone, he went and thanked her!? So not fair. So not fair! "Um, you're... you're welcome?" Wait, that wasn't supposed to be a question! Oh God, I completely suck at this. Please somebody stop this social train wreck. "I-I'm not sure what to say either. I told you my conversation skills were lacking," Dee pointed out quietly, shooting him a quick glance. And still she wasn't running. Why wasn't she fleeing? Fleeing was good.

"That's okay," Isaac told her. "There are worse things to have lacking." Like brains. And she seemed to have those, so that was a good start. "We can start simple --" 'cause yeah, she's really made it glaringly obvious that she wants you to stick around and talk at her. Idiot. ''-- Where're you from?" he finished up, promptly ignoring what was really coming to be a Voice of Self Doubt. Stupid ... high school crap, stupid girls, stupid everything. Except this girl, because so far she'd been really ... nice. Very different.

For a second, she wondered what those 'worse things' were. Looks? Interesting hobbies? Sanity? She was out all three of those... But then he asked The Question. Oh. Oh crap. Her mother hadn't given her a story to tell to people. Cue mental flailing time. Dierdra's eyes widened at him. "Where am I from?" she repeated hesitantly. "You... you really want to know... things? About me?" Yes, that would work for stalling while she tried to think of her cover. Besides, she was genuinely curious. Nobody ever wanted to know things about her. At least, no one had for the past two years...

"Yeah," he said slowly, as if that should be obvious. He'd asked her, after all, hadn't he? He was looking at her a little sideways, but not unkindly. She seemed like a much quieter, more timid version of Kaysen, so far. With the suspicion and the not wanting to really talk. Though he wasn't sure that Kaysen would go out of her way to comfort a total stranger. She probably would've run away by now. "Is that okay?" he asked Dierdra. "I'm just ... interested. You can tell me to piss off if you don't want to answer though," he added with a small grin.

She twitched visibly at the word 'interested.' But he was... was that a grin? Dee eyed him a little incredulously. He really was? Interested. That was... wow. And she still hadn't come up with a lie, and she wasn't going to not answer, so... he'd get (partial) truth. Wow. "Um, I'm... I grew up in Oregon. Seaside, Oregon. It's tiny. Even smaller than here, I think," Dierdra murmured vaguely, swirling her hand in the fountain. Was that enough information? Hopefully he wouldn't ask why they were in Marquette, or when they left, or something equally messy. Lying sucked. And she was bad at it.

Isaac, who usually had at least a feeling about this kind of thing, couldn't tell if he was crashing and burning, or if ... that was just how she normally reacted to things. He nodded in acknowledgement of what she said. Another tiny town. Oregon to the UP was quite a jump, but she really didn't seem keen on talking -- at all -- about it, so he didn't ask any more questions about it. In fact? Now would probably be a good time for him to quit bothering her and leave. That twitch of her's kind of ... he didn't know. Didn't bode well. He'd seen better reactions before. "We moved here when I was eight," he told her instead of leaving. "So ... if you need to know where anything is ... let me know."

Oh thank God he had switched the topic back to himself. She could go with that. Hurray! Dierdra bit her lip, thinking carefully. Now, what to ask? "Eight, huh... how long ago was that?" Was that a creepy question? No, it would be creepy if she also asked the other half a dozen questions that had suddenly popped into her head after he'd said that. You just weren't supposed to ask people their entire life history after only meeting them a few minutes ago. She had to remember that. Maybe I should write it down on my hand, she thought to herself, glancing at her blank palms.

"About ten years ago," Isaac told her with a faint smile. Yes, he was technically an adult. A fact that never failed to startle him when he thought about it. Which wasn't all that often, really. He didn't seem to take it as a creepy question, more just a subtle sort of inquiry to how old he was. He was okay with that. "I was eight, my little sister was six. We moved from New York, but it's all kinda ... fuzzy, I don't remember it well." At least he didn't ever really have much trouble talking about himself.

Dierdra was absorbing all of this; the little details that most other people might forget by the second meeting. Isaac was eighteen, had lived in Marquette for ten years, had a sister who was sixteen (or around that age), and had spent his early years in New York. "The city?" she questioned, liking details. Details were good. "I'm seventeen," she added as an afterthought. It was a minor fact, but she knew how old he was (along with other stuff, now), and her age wasn't a detail that had to be concealed for her and her mother's welfare. It was only fair to tell him what she could about herself, right? Even if he probably wasn't interested. ...except, he had acted interested before... No, no, that was just too weird, and she wasn't thinking about it anymore.

"Yeah, the city," he confirmed. "In a pretty good neighborhood, but my mom was a cop. She saw a lot of bad shit," he said with a faint frown. It wasn't something she ever ever talked about. Not with them, at least. Then Isaac shrugged a shoulder, oblivious to her fact-noting. He actually was thinking she was probably kind of bored and uninterested. "So they decided to move us to Small Town, USA, to try and keep us safe I guess. It's pretty well worked so far." He nodded as she told him how old she was. "Will you be a senior?" he asked, arching an eyebrow at her. He wondered in a vague way if she had as much trouble in school as Kaysen did, and that was why ... she was like she was. He hoped not. He'd be getting into twice the fights.

"Yes," Dee affirmed with a nod, still storing all the little facts away he continued to give. "My f..." She went silent for a moment, eyes going glassy. Father. Father. She still couldn't say that word aloud. "My parents, they were... strict. With school. And my teachers said when I was younger I was smart enough to be in a higher grade level. So..." Another moment of silence. She drew her hand away from the fountain, the little bit of water suddenly not soothing. Father "My parents had me skip a grade. I took the placement test here and I'm a senior, but I'm a little behind so I probably won't graduate this year."

Since Isaac was looking right at her, and he was a perceptive little shit anyway, he caught the change in her face when she talked about her parents. That was telling, wasn't it? Screwed up families usually bred anti-social behavior, didn't they? Though, he couldn't know any of the details. But he flagged it in his head as a sensitive topic. "Well you never know," he said to her last statement, trying to sound optimistic. "Maybe our system won't be too hard to catch up with. If you need any help or anything ... I was in the honor's society last year." It was an offer of help as well as an indication that he wouldn't mind seeing her again. If she was willing, that was.

That earned him a full on, surprised look and a blink. Several blinks, actually, before she turned her gaze back to the neutral line of trees. "I... Really?" she questioned, picking up on the offer and what it really meant. He wouldn't mind spending more time with her. Even though she was very weird. Ohh, talk about confusing behaviors. Isaac took the award for them, that was for sure. "You would? T-That would be... it would be nice," she said honestly. "But you don't have to or anything!" she added on hastily. Oh God, what if he was just pitying her? People did that sometimes, the pity thing, and she didn't want him to feel obligated.

Isaac smiled faintly and shrugged one shoulder. "I know," he said. He knew he didn't. But he didn't mind. He never really minded helping people if they needed it. "Here," he said. He dug around in one of the pockets of his sweatpants and pulled out a random receipt and one of those small sharpies. He jotted down his name and number and offered it to her. "Just give me a call. I can't guarantee I won't be like ... in the middle of something, but don't let that stop you. Been having a lot of downtime lately." He made a rueful face.

She took it with wide eyes, staring at the number, and then up at him, and then back at the number. Dee's face fell, just a little. She knew she'd never call him. "I... thank you. B-But you should know, I probably... um, I probably won't call," she managed to say, her tone very apologetic. "I'll talk myself out of it. Or hang up when you pick up." This scenario wasn't entirely new to her, after all. He should at least get fair warning of her complete failures when it came to phone interaction. That way, he would know who the creepy person was who kept calling and hanging up. At least it would save him some paranoia.

... oh. Well, at least she was honest, he guessed. Her explanation took some of the sting out of it, but he had a gut-feeling of damn anyway. Girls? Twenty million. Isaac? Zero. "Will you answer if you give me your's?" he asked. It seemed like a fair enough question in his head. If she told him no, he'd know not to waste much more time with her. It wasn't like he could twist people's arms about being friendly.

Her hands shook a little at the question. No one had ever asked her that before. "U-Um. Yeah. I would." Because she'd feel too guilty if she didn't. Besides, he was... fascinating. She'd never met someone this persistent before... Though she was already at the point where she wanted to just babble apologies at him for being so difficult to deal with. Yep, she sucked. After a moment's hesitation, she reached in the pouch of her hoodie and drew out a small notebook and pen, then flipped to a blank page. She wrote her number down carefully, mostly because her hands were shaking and she wanted to make sure that if he didn't call, she would know it wasn't because she'd made her sevens look like ones. "H-Here," she murmured, handing it over to him.

Isaac took it with a small smile. He looked at it -- half to make sure that it was even in this area code and not something entirely fake -- and tucked it into his pocket. "Okay," he said, for lack of anything better or more intelligent to really say. "Thanks." His back still was throbbing just a little from his new patch of road rash, but he felt otherwise okay. He wasn't quite sure how he felt about getting Strange Girl With Pretty Eyes In The Park's number ... it definitely hadn't been the normal exchange of information. But he'd already said he was sick of normal anyway, hadn't he? Though Jamie's words -- not to mention Jamie herself -- drifted back to him. They should be as interested in you as you are in them. And this girl looked like a deer in headlights. So. Maybe not. He should probably say something else. "Well ... think I'm gonna finish my run," was what he settled on, standing and stretching to pop his back. "It was nice meeting you."

It was? was the first thing to pop into her head. Thankfully, she didn't say it out loud, but she did blink rapidly in surprise. It was just one of those polite things to say in normal conversation, that was all. Right? Right. That made sense; much more sense than she might have sort of possibly made a... an acquaintance type person. Who was a boy. "O-Okay." Dierdra eyed him cautiously, wondering if he was still hurting. "Please be careful."

He chuckled wryly. Yeah, he hadn't exactly been all suave and grace with this girl, had he? Isaac nodded. "I'll try," he said. "You too, okay?" Because even though Marquette was a quiet, sleepy town ... some bad shit had been happening lately. "Don't stay out after dark. Take care." He gave Dierdra a little wave and bounced on the balls of his feet. Turning, he started to jog off. At least when he ran he could think about his breathing and nothing else. That was kind of what he needed.

The moment he turned away, she pulled her hood back up, instantly feeling much calmer. And less exposed. That was good. Unfortunately, she also felt a tiny pang of loneliness. That? Not so good, but also not exactly something new in her world. He won't call. "Bye, Isaac," she said quietly, not really expecting him to hear it. Then she stood to her feet and headed off in the opposite direction. She needed a swim after this.