2019-11-02 - Getting The Lyric Wrong

Well, he'd finally done it. Despite all of his concerted effort to find an opportunity to ask Lyric on a date when they were together, fate had prevented him at every turn. So, figuring his chances would only dwindle the longer he waited to ask such a beautiful girl out, Tyrone had finally decided just to ask her out via text. It was something that went against every bit of decorum and chivalry his upbringing had instilled in him, but hey. He'd made his best effort. This was his last resort.
Dinner was proffered and accepted and a time and place arranged. Tyrone had picked someplace that would hopefully provide adequate romantic scenery, looking out over the ocean, and had arrived early. Of course, he's dressed up a ways from the normal. Since he's out of the Marines, he can't wear the dress blues that cause so many swoons. But he can put on a blue sport coat over a dark red turtleneck and some nice looking black slacks. And the spit-shined dress shoes go with anything.
Waiting nervously at a table, Tyrone watches the door, the small bouquet of flowers he'd bought presently hidden on his lap. Now he just has to wait for his date to show up! ... and constantly read back over their text messages to make sure he'd been clear that he was asking her out on a romantic date and not just a friendly get together. Because there's no sense of tone in text messages, which is why they're terrible at conjuring romance!

Romance wasn't really a thing that Lyric considered, especially when it came to scenery. She's wearing a dress though because she knew enough about dates that one wore dresses on them mostly. Unless it was to the beach. Her dress is pretty simple, it's dark pink, nothing classic, so far as that goes, but trendy, something someone her age would wear. It fits her well and her hair is fixed and cute. She comes in and finds him right away, a wave of her hand towards him as she walks over. "Hi," she says happily.

(Okay, don't stare, don't stare don't staredon'tstaredon'tstaredon't...)Oo. Tyrone chants to himself when he sees Lyric enter the door. ANd then she's waving and he's smiling back and waving. "Hi!" And he stares. Lyric was already pretty hot, just in general. Like, really hot. And seeing her in a dress like that? There's a stiff swallow before Tyrone's brain screams at him to move and he pulls back from the table, rolling out into the aisle so he can greet Lyric. Oh yeah, flowers! He remembers them at the last second and holds them out at full arm's length. "These are for you!" In case it wasn't obvious. Poor Tyrone is floundering.

Lyric either doesn't notice the staring or doesn't mind it, she's never been one to really worry about looks so much, especially in herself. She's happy go'lucky for the most part. The flowers though, they bring a smile, "Thank you!" And she does what she always does, leaning down to hug him carefully. "They are beautiful." Lifting them to sniff once she lets him go. "You look super nice, Tyrone."

"No problem," Tyrone responds about the flowers, hugging her back with his free arm. He's put on some Axe body spray of the Phoenix variety. It's not super strong, but he's made an effort to smell nicer than normal. As they hug, he closes his eyes and is suddenly impressed by her scent. He isn't obnoxious about inhaling or anything, but when you hug someone, you can pick up on things easier. And he does. As they loosen the hug and she manages to compliment him first, his brain screams at him again, chiding him on letting her drop the first compliment. So, of course he must overcompensate. "Yeah, but you look really amazing, Lyric. Like, seriously." And the pause that follows might be a little pregnant, but he snaps himself out of it quickly enough and moves to pull out the chair next to his parking space for her. "Would you like to have a seat?" he offers, presenting the empty chair to his date.

He does smell mice and Lyric notices, but the way someone smells isn't generally something that she comments on. What he says pleases her though, "You like my dress? Well it's Lucy's, I borrowed it from her. She's really nice." The offer has her moving to the chair and slipping into it. "Thank you. And thanks for inviting me here."

"Oh yeah, the dress is awesome," Tyrone affirms. He helps Lyric to the table and then returns to his parking spot, grinning to beat the band. "Oh, thanks for coming. I'm really glad you did. I hope this place is alright, I'm still kinda figuring out what's what here. But, I just thought, beautiful girl, beautiful view ... maybe they'd combine and make it a beautiful night?" And, even as cheesy as it sounds, he says it earnestly, totally unaware.

"That's really sweet Tyrone." Lyric tilts her head as he goes back to sitting across from her. "I do like the view here, Easton owns it I think?" As far as she knows. She places the flowers beside her on the edge of the table and looks over across at him. "Is the town growing on you any yet"

Tyrone actually sat next to her, instead of across from her, and he shrugs a little at her question. "I mean, as far as towns go, it's fine. I like that there's not a ton of gangs or organized crime here. But ... this whole Glimmer business isn't awesome. Thankfully, except for that first time and a couple times when I was sick, I haven't actually gone into it at all." He then shrugs a little and smirks, glancing at Lyric sideways. "There are certain things that I'm really starting to like, though."

"I seem to find myself in dreams almost every other day. Or at least twice a week. One time was the movie Pleasantville. Earlier, was Men in Black. I got to kill some aliens and I wasn't hurt, but It was weird. I was Agent L." Lyric smiles at that. "It mostly happens when I spend the night with Lucy. I like going over there though, there's a lot more privacy. BUt my bandmates are great."

Tyrone quirks an eyebrow as he listens to the frequency of Lyric's Dreams and chuckles at Agent L. "Well, if you're having fun, I suppose that's great. Unfortunately, none of my experiences over there have been any kind of fun. But, I haven't been hurt, so I guess I won't complain too much. Also, sometimes I can walk over there, so there's that."

"Sometimes the dreams are bad, sometimes not so much, sometimes they are funny. The Pleasantville one was fun and I had a husband and everything. It was funny." Tilting her head, she considers him a moment. "You can walk in your dreams? That means maybe you can without the dreams. Maybe?"

"I could walk in the dream where I fought the dragon. I couldn't walk in the nightmares I had while I was sick. One of them, I couldn't even roll," Tyrone explains with a shudder. "As far as walking outside of the Dreams? I've settled on never walking again. IF it happens, amazing, but it's not something I'm worried about. So ... who knows? Honestly, figuring out how to fight some of the nasty ish I've seen over there is a higher priority for me."

"I can go into the veil whenever I want to. I can open a door there. So if you ever wanna go, I can take you. But it's best if we do it near the sawmill cause that's the only door out that I know of. So I like to be near it." Lyric looks down at his chair, tilts her head and looks back at him. "Is it hard to live in a chair?"

Tyrone listens to Lyric's offer to take them into the Veil and shrugs, shaking his head. "Maybe someday. Not in a hurry, though." And then she asks about being in a chair and Tyrone leans back, shrugging and balancing in a wheelie for a few seconds. "Obviously I can't say it's easy. Even when stuff is accessible, don't mean it's easy. Plus, people all treat you different. Even here."

"I didn't think it would be easy. I remember you mentioning your laundry, plus you can't really carry things and roll the wheels at the same time. It seems like mostly it would be inconvenient. Does anything hurt on you? Your back or your legs or anything?" Lyric is at least curious. And she's not afraid to ask. How else can she know?

"All very accurate points," Tyrone agrees. "My shoulders are pretty much always kinda sore, and my back comes and goes. Usually dpends on how long I've been up in my chair. But my legs are just plain numb. I can't feel them for anything." And it's at this point when the waiter shows up and Tyrone lets Lyric open first before ordering his own food. And then it's back to the conversation. "But ... I dunno. I'd say it's more than inconvenient, but less than bad or terrible? I dunno."

"It does sound inconvenient and just a little bit complicated." Lyric just can't imagine the day to day details. Not all of them anyway. She does place her order then waits for him to place his but she does listen to his responses. "I never had food here before, I bet it's good."

"Yeah. And sore. But, not completely terrible. I can still do stuff. And I'm here on a date with you, so that's definitely a plus," Tyrone says, smiling at Lyric. He then places his order with the waiter and hands his menu over. "Yeah, I've never eaten here, either. But, if it's bad, I'm friends with the head bartender so I know just who to complain to," he says, grinning. "So, what about you, Lyric? What's your story? Or is it a song?" As if she's never heard /that/ one before.

"I know you can still do stuff." Lyric tells him, giving him a smile when he gives her one too. "I like hanging out with people and this is fun." She does know how insistent he had been in calling it a date though. "I know people eat cheese sticks here. I've seen them eat them. And I know Easton too but I thought he owned it." He asks her story, she gives a light shrug. "I don't know. I lived here in Gray Harbor all my life. I got friends and all. My mom lived here too when she was alive."

Tyrone glowers a little when she calls it hanging out again. Then he shrugs and settles back in his chair a little, folding his hands in his lap. "Right, but that doesn't tell me anything about who you are. I know you're a DJ. And I know you've started a band ...," he trails off. He sighs, looking down at the table for a second as he thinks. "So what do you think is the /least/ interesting thing about you? What is the most boringest, normal, plain fact about you that anyone could possibly guess?"

"I don't know who my dad is." Of course saying it first probably means it's the most important thing to her, but Lyric tries playing it off with that. And to keep it up, she continues. "And I like every kind of music there is. I know so many lyrics to so many songs, And I don't make promises cause everyone lies."

Tyrone blinks when she leads off with not knowing her father. And then she adds a couple more in that also don't fit the criteria at all. "... well then. Um, I'm sorry? I mean, you seem like you're okay with it, but ... that sounds like it really sucked for you," he offers. Then he leans forward, resting his arms on the table now. "Would you mind telling me about it? The whole not knowing your dad thing, I mean. Because that actually seems kinda unique to me. Me and my dad were super close."

It's the blink. No, maybe not. Maybe it's the questioned apology. He was humoring her and Lyric could be really sensitive to things like that. "Are you asking if you're sorry?" For the moment, it's all Lyric says in response. Or asks.

"No, /I'm/ sorry. To me, that sounds pretty sad. But, the way you say it, it doesn't seem like you feel the same way. Or, maybe you're over it. Either way, it didn't exactly sound like you were interested in sympathy," Tyrone tries to explain. And that's just the moment when the waiter brings the food. Yay for awkwardness! Tyrone swallows and then waits for the waiter to finish before he continues. "Also, I was caught a little off guard because I asked what the /least/ interesting thing about you is. And I don't think that's uninteresting at all. Which is why I asked if you would tell me about it; I'm interested in knowing."

Lyric had been attempting to get defensive because that made people back off. When he doesn't and he stays patient with her, she watches him again and she is like that when the food comes. She tells the waitress thanks in an offhand manner. "I don't usually answer questions about me. No one ever really wants to know. Did you notice most people ask you questions so they can talk about their answer to that question? Try it sometime. Let someone ask you, give a short answer, then they will talk about themself forever." She smiles though to lessen how bad t hat sounds. "It's not bad, some people just need to tell about theselves. I don't."

Well, that makes Tyrone blink again. Hopefully not in a way that gets him in trouble this time! He sits back, considers that, glances upwards, contemplates ... then 'huhs.' "You know, I think that's actually a really good observation, Lyric. I know I do that, sometimes, too, depending on who I'm talking to." He then shrugs and scratches the back of his neck. "But ... I really /do/ want to know about you. I really do think you're pretty fascinating. I've always had, like, a million things I wanted to ask you, ever since the first time we met at that pizza place. I mean ... so ...," he trails off, glancing to the side for a second and grimacing. He decides to go ahead and be honest. "I've honestly wanted to take you out again since the very first time we met, just /because/ I'm so interested. But since I'm so new here, I didn't wanna come off like a creeper or anything."

"I just gave short answers so you could tell me about you. I don't talk about me very much. Most people don't really care. I like to listen to others better too, better than I like talking about me. I've kept everything secret so long I don't know what to tell." Lyric does look interested in the food when it comes and she takes a few bites of it, actually seeming to enjoy that. Since they'd met she'd always been the one asking him questions and now she had one more to ask, courtesy of him. "What was it like growing up with your dad?"

"... oh," Tyrone says, and when she starts to eat, he starts picking at his own meal. When she asks about him growing up with a dad, he purses his lips and continues picking at his food quietly for a second. He glances at Lyric, then back at his plate, then back at Lyric again. "Are you asking because you're curious how it was different from how you grew up, or because you don't want me to keep asking questions about you?"

"Because it sound like it made you happy and I always like to find reasons that people find to be happy. I never see you happy as you just hinted at when you talked aboutO

him and growing up." Lyric says as she starts eating a few more bites.

Tyrone blinks again. And then he /peeeers/ at Lyric, leaning forward a little. "... um, hello? ... have you /not/ seen me every time you walk in a room? Or any time you come give me a hug?" he asks her. "Being around you makes me happy. Heck, I even came to your job because you're there, even though I felt so out of place."

"How come you talk like that?" Lyric is once more curious. "Wouldn't it be weird if I said back. 'Oh, Hello, Tyrone. I guess I haven't seen you. Or yes, I've seen you. I don't think people should make their own happiness be about someone else. People should find their own happiness and then share it around. If you depend on someone else to be happy, people will be very disappointed sometimes. People don't last forever."

"... you're right. They don't. That's why, if you have people that you are happy to be around, you should try to be around them as much as you can," Tyrone says, shaking his head a little and pushing the food on his plate around with his fork. "But maybe that's not how you feel about stuff. And that's cool. People can have different opinions. Everybody's different."

Lyric bobs her head. Maybe she does agree after all. "Every one is different. I like that people aren't the same, it makes them much better to get to know." There's a tentative smile she gives him. "You know what I saw last night?"

Finally forking some food into his mouth, Tyrone shakes his head. "What did you see last night?"

"Superman." When she says it, she sounds so terribly utterly sad. But she still wears a smile for some reason.

"Yeah? The movie?" Tyrone asks, continuing to eat. "Or was it in the veil or something?"

"Neither one. It wasn't a dream. I was on the porch giving away Halloween candy and he came up wanting candy. So I was giving him some. He was scared though, there were sticks and branches and things. It was almost like the veil, but the veil had come to our world for Halloween. Oh Tyrone, he was scared. I hugged him and told him he'd be safe. I sang to him so he wouldn't see the scary things. We went to the neighbors porch and they fended the scary things off." Her voice hitches, a testament to how much she had been affected by it all. Tears even pool in her eyes. "We asked him his name when it was safe again. His name is Brandon Campbell. He was about 5 I think. We asked where he lived. He pointed at my house. I didn't live there long so I thought maybe he did before and got confused. Then the caretaker of the cemetery came. The boy knows him and the caretaker promised to take him home. His home in the cemetery." She chokes up a little. "He died several years ago, I guess. And he came to play with the other kids for Halloween. Kids aren't supposed to die, Tyrone. No one is safe from it. No one ever."

Tyrone looks over at Lyric, frowning sympathetically. He sets his silverware down and moves away from the table a little, holding his arms open in case Lyric wanted to come over for a hug. "You don't have to tell me that, Lyric. I got shot in a war. I've seen death up close and personal-like. I've even killed people. So, I know better than anyone that death is inevitable. That's why it's so important to live while you have the chance. That's why I'm here, trying to figure out what's next in my life now that I'm not a Marine anymore, and why I'm still here when so many of my teammates aren't."

Lyric does hug him and boy does she cry. She never cried for herself for anything she's ever lost, but the boy got to her, it had been so unexpected. She buries her face against him and cries. Finally, she sniffles and sits up. Damned if she isn't a pretty cryer, no hugely puffy eyes, but the tears are there on her cheeks and she reaches for her napkin to wipe them away. "I don't want him to be dead." But even she knows people don't get everything they wish for. "Thewlin gave me his bucket but I want to go back to the cemetery and I'm gonna plant flowers for my mama and for him."

Tyrone holds Lyric gently and lets her cry, totally not caring about the people who may be looking. He gently strokes her back, holding her close until she's done. "That sounds like a wonderful idea. I think they would both appreciate the gesture," he says, reaching up to very softly pull a few strands of her hair away from her face. "I don't know what you believe, but I honestly believe that no one is ever truly gone if we keep them in our hearts. I believe our spirits are eternal, and that if there is someone we love that has passed on, we can still feel them with us when we are still. Do you think so?"

Lyric smiles when he pushes her hair from her face and she sits back all the way in her chair again. She doesn't apologize for her outburst. "I don't know what I believe. My mama never told me anything to believe. The foster families didn't talk much about it either. But I hope so."

Tyrone hrms and purses his lips. He thinks for a second and then reaches inside of his shirt and pulls out his dogtags. He takes them off from over his head and holds them out for Lyric to take. "When a soldier dies overseas, this is how the military identifies him. Even if he gets blown the hell up, as long as these are still here, the military won't forget him. Every soldier has their own, unique tags," he'll explain, intending for her to look at them so she can see. "But as long as someone remembers, they're never totally gone. There is always proof they were here. Just like your visit from Superman. All we need is for someone to remember us, someone to prove we were here."

Lyric reaches for the dog tags and crinkles her forehead. Dog tags seemed like a bit of a harsh name, it's there in her expression, but she doesn't vocally argue the point. She runs her finger over his name, his number and his blood type if all that is still on them. They jingle a little flatly in her hands and when she offers them back, she's smiling. "So you think there's someone with a big book of names of all of the people ever made so that someone always remembers them and no one forgets?"

"I think it's our job to remember and never forget, and to tell our children so that /they/ remember and never forget," Tyrone explain, accepting his tags back and returning them to their spot hanging around his neck. "Like I said, I think our spirit is eternal, so as long as there is somebody who remembers them, a person is never truly gone. Not until the day we /all/ get back together on the other side."

Lyric nods, watching him put the necklace back on. Finally, she lifts her eyes to his and smiles. "Maybe you're right. Thank you, Tyrone."

Tyrone shrugs a little. "We won't know if I'm right til we get there. But, earlier, when you were talking about being happy on your own and stuff? For me, that's what makes me happy. Thinking I can still feel the folks I miss, even though they're not here."

"But it's something to believe in, I guess. And that's better than nothing. If you're wrong, then you're still just as dead as if you were right." Lyric smiles a little and eats some more of her food until she's full. "Thank you for bringing me to dinner tonight, it was really good."

"Thank you for /coming/ to dinner. It was my pleasure," Tyrone says, nodding to Lyric.

"Thank you for /coming/ to dinner. It was my pleasure," Tyrone says, nodding to Lyric. "I'm sorry it got so ... I dunno." He shrugs a little and looks back down at his plate. "Honestly, I really just wanted to learn more about you and get to know you better."

"Did you learn anything about me?" Tilting her head, Lyric regards him a moment, curious for the answer.

Tyrone nods. "I did. Several things," he responds, smiling softly.