Whining and Dining | Metric School of the Arts

Becca
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Whining and Dining Jul 15, 2015 16:52:50 GMT -5

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Post by Becca on Jul 15, 2015 16:52:50 GMT -5

Annabelle's Outfit (though right now she refuses to get dressed) x Natalie's Outfit

Heavy footfalls reverberated on wooden floors followed by an utterance of giggles. How such loud noises could come from such a small child was a wonder, though the sound was all too common in the Hall household. Annabelle’s tiny legs pumped fast as she evaded her mother’s open arms. She avoided being caught for a good fifteen minutes now and continued to tear around the house, laughing as she went.

“Annabelle, come on! You need to get dressed nice for dinner!” Natalie pled as she chased her little monster around the house. At first she found the game adorable but now she felt out of breath and just wanted her daughter to cooperate and put some clothes on. The little girl had wriggled out of her arms before she could change her clothes and now ran around the house clad in only her Disney princess undies. Resting her hands on her knees, she stopped to catch her breath as Annabelle ran teasing circles around her mother, staying close but just out of reach. For such a shy child she truly was a little terror when she was comfortable in her surroundings.

Natalie was already dressed up and ready for dinner. She thought it would be a good night to have everyone together and enjoy and nice family outing. With Cliff at the house it would be the perfect time to make the suggestion, and when they went out it left him with no place to escape. As much as she loved her son she could not stand when he would disappear without a word. It worried her to no end. There was always an inkling of doubt she would ever see him again. Now she had the chance to keep an eye on him while also enjoying an evening with the entire family. It was not often they all found themselves in the same place. Of course she always had Annabelle and Johnathan around, but Cliff was always so distant.

As annoyed as Annabelle’s little game made Natalie she could not help but smile when she looked over at her daughter and saw her smiling back at her with that impish grin of hers. She made slow movements as if she were approaching a wild animal. Slowly, she slipped her heels off. Now she meant business and, without her heels, it would be much easier to catch the little girl.

Annabelle bounced excitedly as she waited for her mother to make a move and as soon as Natalie walked forward she sprinted off in the other direction. Natalie quickly took off after her and it was not long before she was close enough to reach out and snatch up the three-year-old. Annabelle shrieked with laughter as Natalie laughed and tossed her in the air, catching her before she held her close and carried her to her room.

The child squired desperately in order to free herself from her mother’s grasp but to no avail. “Daddy, daddy, help!!” Annabelle squealed as her mother set her down on her bed.

“Daddy can’t help you now, little girl,” Natalie cooed before tickling Annabelle’s sides which only made the child giggle with delight even louder.

“Stop it, Mommy! Stop!” she begged as she thrashed her little arms and legs out to defend herself.

“Alright, but only if you be a good little girl and get dressed. Can you do that for mommy?” her mother asked.

Annabelle tapped her child as if she were thinking about it before her mischievous grin returned and she silently shook her head. She liked this game far too much to give up! Besides, like any child, she liked running around in only her underwear. Maybe it was not the best attire for a nice family dinner, but she preferred it.

Natalie put her hands on her hips as she stared down at the child. “Well, looks like I’m going to have to bring in reinforcements,” she informed her daughter before raising her voice, “Johnathan! Your daughter refuses to get dressed!” She knew Annabelle had her father wrapped as tightly around her little finger as she was, but it was still worth a shot.

Teachers: Dr. Westley Coxx, Mrs. Natalie Hall
High school: Pippa Scott, Noah Wilson, Issy Romero, Lucian Livingston
College: Gracie Fischer, Wyatt Prescott, Oliver Fischer, Mallory Abbott, Maxine Rossi
Other: Fletcher Willoughby

Shelby
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Joined: March 2013
Posts: 1,028

Whining and Dining Jul 15, 2015 17:31:16 GMT -5

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Post by Shelby on Jul 15, 2015 17:31:16 GMT -5

Johnathan's attire

It was nights like tonight that Johnathan cherished the most and would always remember with a smile on his face and with his emotions elated with happiness. As he listened to the pattering of Annabelle's feet running along the ground with the clacking of shoes right behind her and laughs sputtering throughout the house, the man couldn't help but chuckle to himself as he shook his head and continued to fiddle with the buttons of his buttoned up shirt. Really, it wasn't an odd occurrence any longer to have the little girl running from either Natalie or himself when they tried to get her to get changed and when they tried to put a brush to that wild hair of hers, so to hear it was mostly, now, a nice ring to his ears. A little loud, yes, and he couldn't help but wonder about the scratches that may come up on the wood floors that they had, but the laughter and jovial noises were enough to relax him a bit.

Annabelle was only going to be a little girl for so much longer, after all. She may be a little menace now, but he wanted to relish in these years with her rather than fight and complain about all the trouble she causes when she wants to be difficult. Besides, John always says, jokingly of course, that they'll have enough years when she's a teenager to gripe and complain about her attitude should she turn out to be sour and a brat. Fortunately, he had enough faith that Annabelle wasn't going to turn out that way; she was such a sweet child now, so how could she turn out to be terrible once she grew older?

When it seemed that the running around had ceased for the moment, or at least Natalie since he could no longer hear her heels running around, John rose his brows at the fact before he shrugged his shoulders and dropped his hands from the buttons and moved them to the top of his head to brush back his hair a bit to get it perfect, or at least in his terms perfect. It hadn't taken him long to get ready -really all he had to do was take the jacket off he decided to wear that day to school as well as the tie and put some cologne on so that he could smell nice- and he was ready. But still, getting himself a little more prepared was never a bad thing right? That, and he really didn't want to be the one to run around with Annabelle.

But regardless of that, it wasn't long after that he heard the calls of the little girl calling for her dad to come to his ears. He chuckled at that as well before he went to the door of his and Natalie's shared bedroom and poked his head out to the side in time to see his wife carrying their daughter back to her room while she squirmed and tried to get out of her hold. Honestly, he was a little surprised that Natalie had yet to accidentally be hit by a thrashing arm, seeing as that had happened to him plenty of times in the past. Shortly after his eyes left the two that disappeared into the room and down the hall that lead to the living room, his lips pursing a bit before he titled them back up into a smile. Hopefully Cliff was still in the house, he thought to himself. It was an odd and rare occurrence for the boy to want to be around and actually agree to spend time with the family, so, really, John was happy about that. Perhaps that meant he was beginning to come around to the idea of wanting to spend time with them...

It was an unlikely thought, but he could hope, right?

When his name was called he snapped his attention back to where his daughter's room was before he made his way over there and leaned against the door frame, folding his arms across his chest as he grinned. "How come she's only my daughter when she refuses to do something but she's your daughter when she complies with us?" He rose his brows at that before he belted out a little laugh and walked further into the room. He knelt down in front of the bed in front of Annabelle, raising his brows before he tilted his head to the side and looked to see where the dress was. "Come on, Annabelle; don't you want to go out and eat dinner at a nice restaurant with us?" He figured a tactic like that wasn't going to work with her, however, so shortly after his words he stood back up and reached over for the dress and grabbed it. He came back over to the bed and knelt back down as he held the dress out in front of him, looking to Annabelle now with his eyes wide and with a pout forming on his lips.

"Don't you want to look like a princess tonight? Like one of the ones you see on the Disney movies? If you wear this you'll look even more beautiful then those princesses, and you'll be able to enjoy a nice meal." His look softened a bit as he pleaded with the girl. "How about if you put this dress on we'll promise that you can get dessert at the end of dinner?"

Last Edit: Jul 15, 2015 17:32:58 GMT -5 by Shelby

High Schoolers:

Nora Acker || Chase Smith || Chance Smith

College Students:

Chardonnay Nicholas || Ace Harrison || Max Carter || Niko Connor || Toni Locklear

Teachers:

Jonathan Hall || Leo Fletcher

Academy Staff:

Scarlett Oak

Kenzie
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The best people in life are free.

Joined: March 2013
Posts: 2,535

Whining and Dining Jul 15, 2015 17:52:41 GMT -5

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Post by Kenzie on Jul 15, 2015 17:52:41 GMT -5

Cliff’s Tee | loose fitting blue jeans | The sweatshirt he’ll eventually put on when they go to leave

-x-

Elvis barked at Cliff, who held a very slobbery dog toy in his hands. A wide, childish grin was on Cliff’s face as Elvis wagged his tail, and when Cliff slowly brought the dog toy towards Elvis, the dog bit his teeth onto the little ball at the end and started to pull. Cliff pulled on the string that he was holding onto the toy with, creating a game of tug-o-war.

Elvis was much older than he used to be, and he didn’t like to run around as much as he used to when Rhett was alive and he was a small puppy. But Elvis was still a very active dog and didn’t mind humoring Cliff with this tug of war game and the occasional game of fetch that took place outside.

The sounds of feet running around the house were audible to Cliff and he tried to ignore the sounds of Annabelle’s excited squeals and his mother’s cooing voice telling her to get ready—Cliff had gotten pretty used to ignoring his mother and half-sister by now.

”Elvis! C’mon!” Cliff taunted the dog, eventually succeeding in the tug of war, the toy in his possession. Elvis’s eyes were still transfixed on the toy and he nipped towards it, but Cliff took the toy away before his jaw could clasp around it. The game was cut short though when Cliff heard his mother call out Johnathan’s name and told him to come help Annabelle get dressed. Cliff’s hand lost its strength and Elvis successfully got the toy, though the sound of Johnathan’s name caused him to growl lowly and meander his way between Cliff and the source of the noise, and then bark loudly, dropping the toy he’d fought so valiantly for only a few minutes ago onto the floor.

Cliff rolled his eyes and knelt down, ignoring the sounds of giggles and a male voice he knew all too well, grabbing either side of Elvis’ head in his hands. He gently rubbed the dog behind the ears before he pulled him closer and pressed a kiss to the dog’s fur right on its forehead.

Cliff really couldn’t get out of going out today. Unfortunately he was already here, and his mother had cornered him when he arrived to spend the night. This wasn’t a usual thing, but since he’d already promised to stay until the morning…

Cliff sighed as he pouted at Elvis, as though Elvis could think of a way to convince Natalie to not take Cliff with her. He didn’t know why they decided to go out tonight of all nights—he’d already told his mom he was coming. Family outings with Cliff involved didn’t usually go very well. Especially since Cliff didn’t really consider himself a part of this family. His family was ruined a long time ago.

”C’mere boy.” Cliff wrapped his arms around Elvis briefly before he straightened back up, taking a few steps towards his mother’s bedroom, seeing Johnathan at the doorway. Cliff stared at the back of the older man’s head for a second as he tried to make some kind of deal with Annabelle that she could be a princess or something. Cliff rolled his eyes at how ridiculously cheesy John was. He could hear his mother’s voice inside the room but couldn’t see her face and right now he really didn’t want to.

Elvis, who had followed Cliff towards the bedroom, saw Johnathan and growled lowly, bearing his teeth. Cliff reached over without a word and stroked Elvis’ head, successfully quieting the growl, but neither Elvis nor Cliff was looking at John with any affection.

Cliff said nothing, just waiting for them to go. He was wearing a tee shirt with some pun about tacos on it, and in his eyes that was plenty formal enough for wherever they were going. Though he had a feeling his mother would disagree, Cliff liked to be as inconvenient as possible when he wasn’t happy.

Amy O'Neal || Todd Bennett || Chad Richardson || Arthur Summers || Hallie Grey || Clementine Coleman

Cliff Arkwright || Ash DeCosta || Shyanne Volle || Seamus MacAlister || Savannah Nieto || Daemon Jeong

Ms. Susan Summers || Mr. Jean Audet

Lennox Richardson

Becca
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Joined: June 2015
Posts: 634

Whining and Dining Jul 15, 2015 18:19:48 GMT -5

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Post by Becca on Jul 15, 2015 18:19:48 GMT -5

Natalie took a step back from her daughter and rested her hands on her hips. She never could quite understand how Annabelle grew up to be such a little monster. Her and Johnathan were both rather relaxed people, so how the little girl could be so loud was beyond her. Even as a baby she would keep them up practically every night with those strong lungs of hers, of course now they were accustomed to the noise. It only got much, much worse when Susan came over with Addy. Those two little girls really caused destruction when they were brought together.

She smiled with relief when Johnathan finally entered the room and came to her rescue. Nat really was lucky to have him in her life because she knew she could never make it as a single mom. He had helped her in so many ways that just his presence was enough to put her at ease. Something about him made things so much better for her. Perhaps it was his kindness or his love for her and their family but being close to him made her feel safe.

“Because, darling, obviously her difficult nature comes from your side,” Natalie teased with a laugh, affectionately running her fingers through his hair when he knelt down to be level with Annabelle. She could not help but smile as she watched Johnathan interact with their daughter. He was so sweet with her, it reminded her of how Rhett used to be with Heathcliff. Nat had been extremely lucky to have men in her life who doted so fondly on their children. “Listen to daddy, sweetie,” she encouraged with a small smile as observed Annabelle look curiously from the dress to her father.

Annabelle shook her head deviously when her father asked if she wanted to go out for a nice dinner. She knew going out meant having to get dressed up and that was something she did not wish to do; however, when Johnathan started to pout she erupted in giggles. Taking her dad’s face between her tiny hands, she studied his eyes. “Silly daddy!” she giggled, referring to the face he was making in order to convince her.

When he mentioned looking like a princess, she smiled slightly but was not fully convinced. As much as she admired the Disney princesses she would much rather run around half-naked. Then he mentioned dessert which immediately made her eyes light up. “Cake?” she suggested with a toothy grin as she stood up and hopped up and down excitedly on her bed.

Natalie giggled at how easily convinced Annabelle was once dessert was added to the equation. She gently rubbed her husband’s back and smiled down at their daughter. “Would you mind getting her dressed? I’m going to check on Cliff,” Nat murmured to Johnathan before walking out the door. She did not have to walk far since her son was not far from the bedroom door.

“There you are, hon,” she smiled, her eyes immediately lowering to his less-than-formal attire. As an English teacher she could appreciate the pun, but it certainly was not something one wore to a fancy restaurant. “I like the shirt, but you need to put on something a little nicer for dinner, Heathcliff,” Natalie informed him before her eyes moved downward to see Elvis sitting at the boy’s feet. It did not surprise her the dog was not far from her son. The two were practically inseparable when Cliff came to visit.

Teachers: Dr. Westley Coxx, Mrs. Natalie Hall
High school: Pippa Scott, Noah Wilson, Issy Romero, Lucian Livingston
College: Gracie Fischer, Wyatt Prescott, Oliver Fischer, Mallory Abbott, Maxine Rossi
Other: Fletcher Willoughby

Shelby
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Joined: March 2013
Posts: 1,028

Whining and Dining Jul 15, 2015 18:58:52 GMT -5

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Post by Shelby on Jul 15, 2015 18:58:52 GMT -5

The touch of fingers weaving through his hair when he first walked in the room was enough to calm John enough to the point where all he wanted to do was close his eyes and relax. It was often something that actually did happen to him; if and when Natalie would rub her hands enough through his hair he would generally fall asleep not shortly after or get lulled into a state that made him not want to do anything any longer other than laze around, preferably in bed with her curled and cuddled up next to him since he liked to be so close to her as often as he could be. But, unfortunately, the feeling was left aside when her fingers left his hair, and instead of feeling his wife's hands on him in the affectionate manner he felt his daughter's hands go to his cheeks as she laughed at his attempts of trying to persuade her to put the dress on. He closed his eyes a bit at the feeling before the pout was dropped and a grin took the place of his expression. "I'm not the one whose being silly here; you are little missy!" Okay, so maybe he was being a little silly, but it was all in good fun and he figured that this would be the easiest way to get Annabelle to conform to the idea of looking nice so that she could have the dress on.

But when she shook her head he almost lost a bit of his confidence until her eyes sparked with excitement and she questioned whether or not she could get cake. Ha, it worked! He looked to Natalie and gave her a triumphant look, as if to say that he had been able to accomplish something that she hadn't been able to with their difficult child, before he looked back over to Annabelle and nodded his head. "Of course you can get cake! You can get cake, or ice cream, or anything else that you want at the restaurant. But first, you have to get changed and then eat your dinner when we get it." He watched as the little girl stood and started to bounce on the bed, himself sighing as he shook his head at the sight. How could such a little person have so much energy running through her system? He figured that she should at least be ready for a nap, or to get ready for bed, because of all the running she had been doing. But, apparently that wasn't the case, not that that wasn't unusual either. He missed having that amount of energy in himself.

When Natalie spoke back up, John took his eyes off of his daughter for a second and looked at her, nodding his head and then watching her walk off. He continued to look at her, slowly leaning his frame over enough to see the fur of the dog and Cliff standing right next to the animal. He blinked his eyes at the sight, happy to see that the boy was still here, yet wondering if he was going to try and put up a fight and argument about not wanting to go out to dinner with them. It wouldn't be surprising if that happened, to be honest, though it worried and upset John enough to the point where his smile slipped on his lips again. He didn't want that to happen; he didn't want to see the upset look that would come to Natalie if Cliff tried to get out of yet another family event because he had already seen it too many times in the past. It must hurt the woman, and he knew that, and while he had tried to do something about it before there really was nothing that he could do about it. Cliff had his own mind, and with that mind he had obviously come to the conclusion that he was never going to like his step father and he was never going to listen to anything he had to say. He didn't like the idea of it, really, but what concerned him more was the fact that Cliff didn't even hardly listen to his mother either.

The springs on the bed beginning to squeak as they were contentiously bounced on was enough to snap the man from his thoughts that made him turned to look back at Annabelle. He gave her a soft smile before he raised himself to be higher on his knees with a small groan and he reached out and grabbed the little girl's midsection in order to get her to stop bouncing. "Alright, come on now, Annabelle, your dress needs to be put on. The quicker it's on, the quicker we can head to the restaurant, eat dinner, and then you can have your dessert!" Just keep it coming with the dessert, he told himself. That would surely get him through this.

He straightened the dress out and unzipped the back of it after dropping his hands from the girl before he held it out in front of Annabelle and gave her an expecting look. "All you have to do is step in it; it's easy! You can even hold onto me if you feel like you're going to fall." And then would come the process of trying to get her shoes on, and maybe, just maybe, he would be able to do something about that hair of hers. "Mommy's ready to go, and I'm sure that Cliff is too. You don't want to keep them waiting do you?"

High Schoolers:

Nora Acker || Chase Smith || Chance Smith

College Students:

Chardonnay Nicholas || Ace Harrison || Max Carter || Niko Connor || Toni Locklear

Teachers:

Jonathan Hall || Leo Fletcher

Academy Staff:

Scarlett Oak

Kenzie
Administrator

The best people in life are free.

Joined: March 2013
Posts: 2,535

Whining and Dining Jul 15, 2015 19:21:43 GMT -5

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Post by Kenzie on Jul 15, 2015 19:21:43 GMT -5

Cliff’s expression didn’t change from neutral even when Natalie stepped out of the room and saw Cliff standing there, a few feet behind John, with Elvis at his side as he waited for his step-father to get his daughter under control and thus embark on this excruciatingly long journey. He figured he’d put up with the family for the duration of dinner, eat and say virtually nothing, and then come home to treat himself to some anime since he’d already gone on his daily walk before he showed up at the house.

Cliff glanced down at his shirt when Natalie said something about it, and then looked back up at his mother, the neutral expression twitching down into a frown. Though he expected as much, it still got under his skin to be bossed around and told to dress up. Who was he looking to impress? Was his mother trying to arrange a ‘perfect’ marriage for him, too, like she’d done for herself? Who cared if he showed up in this shirt. This shirt was way cooler than a lame button down would look anyway, and basically to prove his point that was the type of shirt that John was wearing.

”I look fine.” Cliff said, his tone dry, but he turned around on his heels anyway and headed towards his room, rolling his eyes and grumbling underneath his breath the second his mother was out of eyesight and hearing distance. Cliff’s room, even here, was a total mess. The only reason it wasn’t clean was probably because no one but Cliff was really allowed to step foot in it. Well, John or Natalie could venture in there while Cliff was away at his dorm, but who really wanted to swim through a teenage boy with anger issue’s bedroom? Surely they had more important things to worry about than how messy Cliff’s floor was.

Cliff glanced to the windowsill of his room, upon which sat a small Clifford plushie. He lingered on the plush toy for a second before he felt Elvis’ wet nose rubbing against his hand and Cliff wiggled his fingers, lifting his hand to scratch Elvis’ head as he threw around clothes of varying cleanliness across his room, trying to find something that would appease his mother. Eventually he found something curled up on his bed and slipped the sweatshirt down over his head. He puffed it out, flattening it. You could still see the top of the text, but the sweater was nice enough, so Cliff was pretty sure his mom wouldn’t complain. Or if she did, he’d just take even longer to get ready.

Cliff exited his room and shut the door behind him, Elvis still by his side. His thick, brown hair was messy and stick up in odd places, especially from him shoving the sweater over it 2 minutes ago. Cliff folded his arms over his chest as he waited for John and his daughter to come to the living room, and Cliff made eye contact with Natalie briefly before he turned away and stared out the window, watching the California sun as it just started to sink behind the trees.

”Are they done yet?” Cliff eventually asked, still hearing Annabelle’s giggles and John’s words but not seeing them emerging from the bedroom in the reflection on the glass. He didn’t even know if his mom was still listening to him, because his eyes were still focused outside on the gravel.

Last Edit: Jul 15, 2015 19:22:35 GMT -5 by Kenzie

Amy O'Neal || Todd Bennett || Chad Richardson || Arthur Summers || Hallie Grey || Clementine Coleman

Cliff Arkwright || Ash DeCosta || Shyanne Volle || Seamus MacAlister || Savannah Nieto || Daemon Jeong

Ms. Susan Summers || Mr. Jean Audet

Lennox Richardson

Becca
God

Joined: June 2015
Posts: 634

Whining and Dining Jul 15, 2015 19:55:27 GMT -5

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Post by Becca on Jul 15, 2015 19:55:27 GMT -5

Natalie kept her smile on her face even as her son stared at her with a blank expression. Sometimes it was just so hard to get a reading on the boy since he so often showed such little emotion. She would rather have him yell at her then keep up with how scarily quiet he always was when he visited. He was like a ghost around here, barely seen or heard. It made her yearn for the happy-go-lucky little boy he used to be, the one who could brighten her day with a since smile. She had not seen that smile of his in years. It hurt her to see how far apart they had drifted but still she managed to smile, even if it pained her knowing the gesture would not be returned.

“I know you look fine, and I get the shirt…I do, it’s funny, but just please put on something a little nicer?” she suggested, not particularly appreciating she had to beg both her children about their clothes. Natalie watched Cliff walk off with Elvis not far behind before letting out a sigh. She ran her hand through her hair and stood there a moment alone in the hallway. On one side of her she could hear the faint murmur of Johnathan’s voice as Annabelle laughed and on her other was her son and his dog. If that was not a clear representation of her life, she was not sure what was. She was split, stuck with two family since Cliff was so against letting in Johnathan or his half-sister. Nat wanted to badly for these two separate lives to become one.

Taking a deep breath, she walked into the living room where she had pulled off her heels and sat down on the couch as she slid them back on. In her head she gave herself a little pep talk. Tonight would be a nice night, she was determined to make it so. Even if Cliff did not want to go out to dinner with them she wanted them to at least get along for one night. One night would make all the difference to her. All she needed was just a glimmer of hope that they could one day be a family together. She cared so deeply for all three of the people in their house, she just wished they felt the same.

Annabelle giggled when her father assured her she was the silly one. “Nu uh! Daddy silly!” she retorted as she put her hands on her hips, a gesture she adopted after seeing her mother take the stance so many times. She listened intently when her father spoke about the possible desserts she could have at the restaurant; however, when he spoke of having to eat dinner first, she showed some reluctance. “No dinner, just dessert!” Annabelle stated as she pointed at her father defiantly. Like any child, she seemed to have her priorities in the right place. She had quite the sweet tooth and there was no way she would wait through dinner until finally having dessert.

The little girl squirmed slightly when Johnathan grabbed her, though she showed less restraint than when her mother snatched her up earlier. She giggled and looked her daddy in the eyes before reluctantly nodding her head. Annabelle grasped her dad’s shoulder with her tiny fists as she carefully stepped into the dress and waited for him to pull it up and zip if for her. “Cwiff come too?” she inquired with a tilt of her head. She still had not fully grasped the pronunciation of her l’s or r’s and sometimes they came out as w’s instead. The little girl was rather surprised her older brother would be coming to dinner with them because he was so often not around.

Natalie lifted her head when Cliff entered the living room. She smiled appreciatively at his change of clothes. It still was not as dressy as she would have liked, but it would do. “They’re almost done. You know you sister can be quite the handful,” she replied to Heathcliff. Whenever she mentioned Annabelle she had a habit of casually reminding her son that she was his sister. He pushed her away so often it seemed like he often forgot they were related.

Teachers: Dr. Westley Coxx, Mrs. Natalie Hall
High school: Pippa Scott, Noah Wilson, Issy Romero, Lucian Livingston
College: Gracie Fischer, Wyatt Prescott, Oliver Fischer, Mallory Abbott, Maxine Rossi
Other: Fletcher Willoughby

Shelby
Swag Master

Joined: March 2013
Posts: 1,028

Whining and Dining Jul 15, 2015 20:38:31 GMT -5

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Post by Shelby on Jul 15, 2015 20:38:31 GMT -5

"No, you know the rules, Annabelle; no dessert without having dinner first," John chided in, pulling his face back at the sight of the finger pointing right at him. He furrowed his brows and made it seem as if he was hurt by the little girl's little assertion to her not wanting to eat dinner, but, quickly he dropped the face and ruffled the dress to get her attention on it again. Maybe it wasn't the best decision to argue with her about what she could and couldn't eat while out to dinner since that was what he was trying to bribe her with. Nevertheless, he knew that he couldn't and wouldn't just outright lie to the girl and tell her that she could skip dinner in favor of having sweets that would inevitably send her running around with a sugar rush and, possibly, a stomach ache.

It wasn't something that he did very often, but when he heard Natalie and Cliff start to speak to one another in the hallway he tried to strain his ears in order to hear anything that they had to say. What could they be saying, he wondered, to one another? But there was no argument or at least there seemed to not be an argument going on, the only indication to that being the fact that he heard no yelling on either of their parts, which meant in John's mind that things must be going better than he imagined they would be. That was a good thought to have in mind. It was enough to calm him enough to where when he felt Annabelle's hand on his shoulders he blinked his eyes and tilted his head up to look at his daughter, smiling all the while as she stepped into the dress. He pulled it up until he was able to get her arms in the arm holes where he turned her around shortly after to push her hair out of the way and zip it up. "Of course he is; it's a family night!" It was a shame to think that hardly had Annabelle really ever been able to spend time with Cliff since he pushed her off and away so easily, and it was shame to think that he nearly hesitated with answering her questions about the Cliff since he really wasn't sure. It often made John wonder what Annabelle thought of the boy, since he and Natalie tried to always soften the blow of the fact that her brother wasn't around and wouldn't be around too often. Why couldn't he at least be civil with her too? Again he shifted it against the girl's body before he turned her back around and smile to her, reaching his hands up and running his hand through her hair to try and brush it down and do anything to it to make it look a little more tame.

The action hadn't helped that much. It smoothed the few frizzes she had flying on her head but otherwise it looked the same as it usually did; a general mess though John couldn't deny that it was a little cute and endearing. He thought about trying to plead his case to her to let him take a brush to her hair, but on second thought he thought against the notion and just let things be; getting her into this dress was a stretch, and he didn't want to back track on any progress that he had made with this little task. Trying to get her to get her hair brushed would likely take another hour on his part since Annabelle always seemed to protest the notion of getting her hair done more than she did getting dressed every day, and by that time he wanted to be already seated with his meal, possibly having already finished eating as well. So he pat the girl's sides instead and chuckled lightly to her before he lightly grabbed her to get her to sit down on the bed. "See, you look so pretty now! Like a little princess." His little princess no doubt since he treated her as such at times.

His eyes peered back over to the door, only to see that Natalie wasn't standing there any longer and neither was Cliff. He figured that they were probably waiting in the living room for the two of them, and with that thought in mind he turned and headed over to the shoes that had been placed next to the dress that Annabelle was now, finally, wearing. The man clamored his way back over to the little girl and put her shoes on her feet, which had been a bit of a struggle given how she continued to kick and swing her feet back and forth in order to avoid getting them put on. But, eventually, he succeeded in the matter, laughing to her triumphantly as he quickly leaned forward and gave the girl a kiss on the forehead as he smoothed down her hair again with one of his hands "You're too much sometimes, you know that?" But he loved it regardless.

Picking her up after putting her shoes on, he made a little grunting noise as he bounced her lightly in his hold as he headed out the door, turning the light off on his way out, and then started towards the living room. "I finally have the little monster dressed!" He announced proudly as he walked into the living room, giving off a toothy grin as he puffed his chest out a bit.

Last Edit: Jul 15, 2015 20:42:29 GMT -5 by Shelby

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Whining and Dining Jul 15, 2015 21:19:38 GMT -5

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Post by Kenzie on Jul 15, 2015 21:19:38 GMT -5

Cliff stood by the door, his arms still folded across his chest as he listened to the vague sounds of other people existing. His face didn’t change when his mother said that John and Annabelle were still getting ready, explaining that Annabelle was a handful. In response, all Cliff said was ”yeah”, shrugging his shoulders as he continued to wait.

He didn’t confirm nor deny that Annabelle was his sister. Though in his head, Cliff hadn’t ever really considered her a sister. He didn’t hate her or anything, but he did hate her father and what she represented—the start of this ‘new’ family. She was John’s daughter, and she was his mother’s daughter, but in Cliff’s heart she was not his sister because she was not Rhett’s daughter. Cliff stood in silence with his gaze on the sky, wondering what if Rhett had never died but they still moved to Salem. Would Natalie have still married John? Would Annabelle even exist? Such deep, thought provoking questions…

When the two emerged from the bedroom Cliff finally turned around with a blank face, looking first at his mother and then over at John, blinking as he watched John hold her hand in his. Loathe as he was to admit it John, Natalie, and Annabelle really did look like a family. John was doting on Annabelle, there was no doubt that he loved her.

That didn’t mean Cliff had to like John just because he was good with kids. Or that he had to like Annabelle because she was so pure and innocent. At least she had a father. She could live a fine life as John’s daughter, with Cliff nowhere near her. Cliff leaned down and pressed a goodbye kiss to Elvis’ fur covered forehead before he led the way towards the front door, opening it, expecting the rest of the family to follow along at their own pace.

Cliff said nothing in response to John either, and made no motion to acknowledge Annabelle as he opened the backseat of the car and climbed in, buckling up, his head turned towards the window as he watched the rest of the family head out the door. Cliff realized he forgot his music player inside the house and frowned briefly. Darn. You’d think he’d remember that. Especially when he was going to have to sit in the car with his step-family for god knew how long. Especially with Annabelle in the car seat beside him.

Last Edit: Jul 15, 2015 21:22:34 GMT -5 by Kenzie

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Whining and Dining Jul 15, 2015 21:45:47 GMT -5

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Post by Becca on Jul 15, 2015 21:45:47 GMT -5

Annabelle puffed out her cheeks when Johnathan told her no. If there was one thing she hated most, it was being told no. The word was just so definite to such a small child. How dare he set restrictions on when she would be able to have her dessert? She breathed a heavy, dramatic sigh and stared at her daddy, giving him the sweetest puppy-dog face she could muster up. “Pweeeeease, Daddy? Dessert first?” she begged. Although her efforts were quite admirable, she most likely would not end up winning this one.

She complied with her father and allowed him to pull her arms through the arm holes of the dress and zip up the back. The only reason she remained so still was because of the promise of dessert in her future. Perhaps if she asked her mother she would say it was okay to have dessert first. That was a favored tactic of the little girl. If dad said no, ask mom. “Famwy night?” Annabelle replied with a curious tilt of her head before she smiled, “Yay!” It was not often they went out as an entire family and, as far as the little girl knew, Cliff was part of the family, even if he did ignore her. When her dress was all zipped up, she quickly made a move to run away before she could have her shoes put on but failed. Her father was just too quick and knew her all too well. At least she gave him a hard time getting her shoes on by swinging her feet this way and that.

Finally she was all dressed and sat nicely on the bed. Annabelle smiled coyly when her father told her she looked like a princess. She craned her neck and tried to see where her father was looking when he glanced over at the doorway and smiled when his attention was back on her. “Too much what, Daddy?” she asked curiously when, not understanding what he meant by his comment. She giggled regardless when her father picked her up and wrapped her little arms around his neck as he carried her into the living room.

Natalie’s smile faltered at Cliff’s rather short utterance. She could barely get a word out of him lately, sometimes not even a word but just a grunt or nod of the head. It was frustrating having a son who barely wanted to be around. Nat felt like she had failed as a mother or done something terribly wrong. She opened her mouth to ask him how school was but decided against it. The answer would probably be just as quick and abrupt as usual. “I’m glad you’re coming to dinner with us, Heathcliff, honey,” she commented as she looked over at him. It was not like he had much of a choice, but she appreciated he did not throw a fit about having to go.

Standing up as soon as Johnathan entered with Annabelle, she smiled, delighted to see he actually managed to have her all ready. “There’s my beautiful little girl, look at how nice you look!” Natalie commented as she walked over to the two. She smoothed out Annabelle’s hair, wishing her daughter would allow her to brush it or at least pull it back, before leaning over and kissing her husband’s cheek. “Thank you, dear,” she murmured in his ear before clasping her hands together in front of her.

“Alright, everyone in the car!” Nat instructed, barely able to get the sentence out before Cliff already headed outside. She glanced over at Johnathan and smiled fondly over at him before following her son out. Slipping into the passenger's seat, she waited for John to buckle Annabelle up in her car seat.

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Whining and Dining Jul 16, 2015 6:25:11 GMT -5

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Post by Shelby on Jul 16, 2015 6:25:11 GMT -5

At first his eyes landed on Natalie as they walked into the living room, John's eyes certainly appreciating the sight of his wife and the outfit that she wore, however John's eyes quickly went over to Cliff and scanned the boy's features, feeling his own body beginning to tense at the unimpressed and generally unemotional look the boy sported. By this point, John felt as if he should be used to seeing Cliff like this; after all, what other expression had he ever seen on the boy's face other than anger, something that was, surprisingly, rare to see as well? Even throughout the course of the years that he had known and dated and been married to Natalie he hadn't remembered seeing the boy smile, or even give off a ghost of a smile. It was a shame, really; he wondered what Cliff looked like with his lips tilted up, rather than tilted down? That still didn't take into account that John felt usually more tensed in front of the boy, if only because he carefully walked over his words and actions all of the time in front of him just so that he wouldn't say or do anything wrong that would cause an argument or something that would cause Cliff to go more into that shell of his.

Then again, he fact that he was a little more tense probably had a lot to do with the fact that Elvis was in the area, right besides Cliff, and giving John a look that meant he wouldn't be afraid to snap his jaws at him if he got too close. Not that he had ever been hurt by the dog before, but he certainly had been growled at and ignored by the dog enough to know that it was probably a better idea to stay away from him when he could least the dog decide to attack him. Still, why did the dog act that way towards him? Cliff, he could understand a little, but the dog? He hadn't done anything to him! Of course, he hadn't done anything to Cliff either other than try to show that he actually cared and that he wasn't trying to be a replacement and he never would try to be, but humans were different. Or, at least, so he thought. Maybe he just didn't understand dogs that well; he never had any when he was growing up, and had never really ever wanted any before.

John cleared his throat when he felt the kiss being placed on his cheek, causing his eyes to blink before they shifted their view from Cliff and Elvis and back onto Natalie. The warm feeling against his cheek caused him to give off a goofy smile as he turned his head to look at Natalie, his smile softening at the look that she was giving him. Really, he felt like he was too lucky, or blessed rather, to have found a woman like her to spend the rest of his life with. "No problem, my dear," he stated proudly before the act was dropped with a chuckle. "I guess this means we know who's the better at convincing and getting her to do things, hmm?" He rose his brows before wiggling them quickly and chuckling again as he bounced Annabelle lightly in his hold, his head turning to look at her as he reached a hand up and tickled her stomach with his fingers for a second before he dropped them back down.

He followed the rest of them out of the house when it was time to go, going around to make sure that everything was turned off, closed, and locked up once more before he went out the front door and headed out of the house, turning back to lock the door and then heading to the car. He settled Annabelle into her car seat, his eyes every once in a while throughout the process turning to look at Cliff but then quickly glancing back at Annabelle as he started to snap her into the seat. He wanted to say something to Cliff; he wanted to say that he was happy that he was coming but, in the end, John bit his tongue and decided against it. Either he would be met with no reply, or he would be left with a scoff or something else that meant that Cliff wanted to have nothing to do with him, which was already a given really, but he really didn't need to hear or see any more actions from his step son that indicated to that anymore than he already did.

"Alright! All buckled in and safe?" He tugged a bit on the, as he called them, restraints on Annabelle's car seat to make sure they were secured before he pat her legs and leaned back up to close the door. He ran a hand through his hair before going to the driver's side and hopped in, putting his seat belt on and then starting the car up. "How come I'm always the one who drives when all of us are going somewhere?" He teasingly asked as he glanced over at Natalie before he turned back to make sure he was all clear as he started to back out of the driveway and out into the street, himself turning the car then and shortly after starting down the road. Really, he didn't mind chauffeuring his family around; he just liked to tease and poke fun at Natalie when he could.

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Whining and Dining Jul 16, 2015 10:47:31 GMT -5

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Post by Kenzie on Jul 16, 2015 10:47:31 GMT -5

In silence Cliff sat in the car, not glancing over at John as he fastened Annabelle’s restraints with a wide smile on his face. Instead he watched the interactions through the reflection on the glass with an empty expression. Listening to the happy family interact would make most people crack a smile at the very least, but the more he heard them chitter chatter the worse he felt. Part of the reason he didn’t like to be around his step-family was simply because he wanted to be alone, but really, listening to them made him feel nauseous. He closed his eyes as his stomach churned and he thought about the memories he had of his mother and father, of walking downstairs to get a drink only to find them sickeningly in love, twirling in the dim lighting of the kitchen at 11 at night. He had many memories of walking in on his parents doing stupidly cheesy things together and though at a time he’d claimed to find them gross, he really didn’t. It made him happy to see his parents so in love.

Now he knew what it felt like to actually find that kind of behavior gross. He hated listening to John goof off with Natalie or make silly comments to Annabelle. He was a good father, and a good husband, but the fact that he was, was exactly why Cliff didn’t’ like him. He liked seeing his mother happy but not with a man and a new baby. He was mad at her, too—mad at her for moving on, for finding a new love, when to Cliff the love his parents shared had been so perfect. She tainted it by betraying Rhett, he thought to himself, and that made him angry.

Cliff focused his gaze back out the window as John teased Natalie and they started to drive towards the restaurant. He wasn’t really listening to his mother and John as they talked or the occasional gurgle of noise that came from Annabelle at his side, focusing on the trees as they soared past. Though once they left the driveway of their house the trees really faded to gravel and road, and Cliff longed for the thick trees of Maine again, perfect for getting lost in thought in. But no, here they were in Salem—Cliff read the signs of the buildings they passed, trying to use process of elimination to figure out which restaurant John wanted to go to.

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Whining and Dining Jul 16, 2015 12:35:33 GMT -5

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Post by Becca on Jul 16, 2015 12:35:33 GMT -5

Natalie rolled her eyes teasingly when Johnathan made a comment about being more convincing than her. “Well, that does not surprise me. It’s no secret you are the King of convincing. How else do you think I ended up married to you?” she joked as one of her hands caressed his shoulder. She laughed and looked from John to their baby girl. He was right about one thing, Annabelle certainly listened to him more than her. Perhaps it was because, as much as she loved her mother, she was truly a daddy’s girl. Nat could not blame her, of course, because Johnathan was a wonderful man. It had been some sort of miracle having him in her life. He cared so deeply about her and their daughter, and he tried so hard with Cliff. Even though her son gave him the cold shoulder, she never once missed the effort John put forth to reach out to her boy. That effort alone made her happy because most men would more than likely give up and leave, but he stuck around.

In her eyes, John was a saint. He helped her so much when she first came to town, and he had slowly became not only a confidant but her rock. After Rhett’s death she never thought she would love again. There had been so much sorrow and pain she bottled up to try and keep a strong face for Cliff, but Johnathan allowed her to let that all out and accepted her for it. He showed her she could love again. Of course no one would ever be able to replace Rhett, and he would always hold a special place in her heart, but Johnathan helped her to move on. She might even go as far to say he had saved her life. Then again, she never would have done something so rash as to end her life when she still had Cliff. Even though he pushed her away she still loved him just as deeply as she had the first moment she laid eyes on him in the hospital.

The goofy smile on John’s face reminded her so much of their daughter’s smile. It was certainly clear the two were related. She smiled as Annabelle laughed wildly when her father tickled her, tiny hands thrashing around to try and avoid his fingers. Nat was surprised her husband didn’t lose his grip on her with her moving about like that.

Annabelle’s giggles started to slow down as she wrapped her arms around her dad’s neck once more. “Daddy siwwy!” she beamed as she pulled his face closer and licked his cheek as she had seen Elvis do to Cliff before. She smiled up innocently at John and started to babble some nonsense as he carried her around the house to make sure everything was off and locked. When he was sat down in her car seat, she squirmed slightly when she began to be buckled in. Being restrained certainly was not something she enjoyed. Her eyes glanced over to Cliff who sat beside her, big brown eyes blinking up at him. When her father finally had her buckled, she nodded before looking over at Cliff once more. “Cwiff eat cake too?” Annabelle asked him as she reached toward him with one of her little hands, though her restraints made it unable to actually reach him.

Natalie turned toward Johnathan when he entered the driver’s seat and smiled at his question. She reached over and stroked his cheek before silently shaking her head at him. “Because, love, you know a Queen never drives,” she replied before glancing in the back seat at Annabelle, “Right, princess?”

Annabelle’s attention turned from Cliff to her parents before she grinned and nodded. “Yeah, Daddy!” she agreed.

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Whining and Dining Jul 16, 2015 14:28:32 GMT -5

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Post by Shelby on Jul 16, 2015 14:28:32 GMT -5

John couldn't help the little flush that ran against his cheeks as Natalie caressed the skin that she was able to get a hold of. His eyes glanced over to her quickly, in his side vision being able to see Annabelle reaching over for Cliff to try to touch him or get his attention, and smiled at Natalie and laughed at her comment, as well as Annabelle's reinforcement to the statement. Right, because a Queen didn't drive. He shook his head and turned his head to look straight again, his eyes traveling on the road as they continued down on it. Really, John wouldn't have had it any other way in any other situation; he would always offer to drive Natalie or Annabelle around if the situation was deemed necessary, just so that they wouldn't have to worry about that and just so that he could be the navigator and just so that they wouldn't have to drive in general. He wasn't under the impression that women couldn't drive as well as men, however, but it was more so of just his own gentlemanly ways because he didn't want his wife to do anything more than she had to. He figured that she did enough anyway, what with cooking and taking care of Annabelle because lord knew how much of a handful she was and everything else she did.

He almost thought about putting cleaning and keeping the house organized under the list of many things that she did to help, but in the end thought against it because they all knew who in the house cleaned just about every mess that happened; he did. And he didn't regret it one bit!

"Well of course my Queen," he stared, nodding his head as if he agreed with them as well, which he did in a sense. "All you and the Princess need to do is sit back and look pretty while secretly being the ones who rule over everything while us men grovel at your feet and hustle to your demands." The smile on his lips continued to widen as he spoke, soon turning, again, into a full out grin before he rose his brows and turned to look at Natalie with the tilt of his head, as if asking her if he was wrong. To be fair, in his mind, he really would hustle to any demand that she may make to him; after all, he loved her and he just wanted to make her happy and he figured that out of the two of them she was the one who really ran the show. He still had his own mind of course, but if he could do anything to make his family more comfortable and happy, then he would do it. He was happy to do something like that and he loved it. In a way, he felt like that was what he was meant to do, and he took the role with vigor and no complaints.

John held his family high on a pedestal; he thought of Natalie to be his Queen and he thought of Annabelle to be his little Princess, and he wanted to think of Cliff as a Prince while he was the King but he didn't go that far. He figured Cliff wouldn't appreciate that sort of title, and John knew that he was no King in any sort of the word.

"And I'll happily continue to grovel at my Queen's feet if it makes her happy." He spoke the words a little softer then, his smile becoming softer as he took one of his hands off the wheel and reached over to hold onto one of Natalie's, giving it a gentle squeeze when he was able to finally take a hold of it. He looked back at the road and then at the rear view mirror to look back at Annabelle and Cliff in the backseat, his eyes roaming over to Annabelle for a quick second before they lingered on Cliff a little more. He still seemed unhappy and like he wanted to be every where but where he was, and John just wished he could just change that mind set. Unfortunately, he felt like he wasn't going to be able to. But again John told himself that it was a stretch and maybe a step in the right direction since he was with them, no matter how unhappy about it he may be. John thought about opening his mouth and saying something to Cliff, but, like before, decided against it. No need in making him feel more uncomfortable than he probably already did, right?

It hadn't taken them much longer, but eventually they arrived to the town area of Salem where lights were beginning to turn out from the decreasing light as the night was beginning upon them. That was one thing that he liked about this place; he liked that it didn't take more than ten minutes to make it to the general part of town where most things were located at. Easily and like he had done it so many times, John navigated his way through the town until they made it to the restaurant where he pulled into the parking lot and parked the car, soon turning it off and then sighing to himself. "So, who's ready for a nice dinner?"

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Whining and Dining Jul 16, 2015 14:56:55 GMT -5

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Post by Kenzie on Jul 16, 2015 14:56:55 GMT -5

Cliff thought that it would be really, really easy to just sit in the car quietly and entertain his mother’s wish for him to attend the dinner. After all, all he had to do was exist. Cliff kept focused on the window, but without his headphones all he could hear was the sound of his mother and John teasing each other like some honeymooning couple in the front seat. What, they were a king and queen now? Were they moving to England soon, too?! Cliff felt the annoyance that he’d been feeling earlier beginning to fade to anger as they became insufferably romantic.

Cliff had half a mind to snap at them that this gross display was why he hated to be seen with them—that this display was completely wrong and made him want to run away for good. Cliff’s lips were pulled down into a scowl as he listened to John say something about groveling and he couldn’t resist the urge to roll his eyes, just as Annabelle spoke up and said something about cake. The little girl could barely pronounce his name, but if she hadn’t attempted, Cliff would have just assumed she was talking to herself. Cliff’s eyes stopped on Annabelle.

That smile resembled John a lot, even Cliff could see it. But while Natalie found that endearing, Cliff found it revolting. She had the same warm brown eyes as he and his mother did, but that smile was so not either of them… that it pissed Cliff off even to see it sometimes. But he didn’t snap at the girl, no, he was not heartless enough to deliberately upset her, but he did silently fume.

”Probably not.” He told Annabelle and that was that—he turned away from her just as fast as he’d turned towards her the first time. He made brief eye contact with his mother when she turned around to tell Annabelle queens never drove, and sighed, half-rolling his eyes again as he looked away.

They reached uptown Salem and the second the car was put in park Cliff practically threw off his seatbelt and hopped out of the car, slamming the door behind him, the cool air refreshing on his skin. Cliff didn’t respond to John’s inquiry and instead just waited a few feet away from the car for John to unpack Annabelle, his hands shoved into the sweatshirt pockets as he looked at his mother with slightly raised eyebrows, allowing her to lead the way only because Cliff didn’t want to deal with telling the waiter that they had a party of four.

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Whining and Dining Jul 16, 2015 15:57:36 GMT -5

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Post by Becca on Jul 16, 2015 15:57:36 GMT -5

A small smile twitched on Natalie’s face when she saw the flush on Johnathan’s cheeks. It was rather sweet after three years of marriage he was still so affected by her touch. The Honeymoon phase never seemed to end with them. They continued to be a giddy couple in love with each new event in their life more exciting than the next. She was glad she could share the next chapter in her life with him because he made life so much better. Whenever she tried to think where she would have ended up without him she simply could not picture it. Obviously she would still have Cliff but everything else would have been just a giant question mark. Johnathan and Annabelle were both such a huge part of her life now, it was hard to imagine life without either of them.

She laughed at his comment when he told her all she had to do was look pretty and make demands. It certainly sounded like quite the life, and Nat did not doubt for one moment he actually meant exactly what he said. John was such a sweet man, a real gentleman. After losing Rhett she was not sure that kind of guy existed anymore, yet here she was sharing her life with one. Of course she could not allow him to take on all the work while she ‘ruled over everything’. She liked to think her and Johnathan had duel control over their household. After all, Annabelle did listen to him better than she listened to her. “Well, it certainly does help to have such a handsome loyal subject,” she replied.

Her heart nearly skipped a beat at that smile of his. It had been one of the first things she’d noticed after bumping into him in the coffee shop. Even with iced coffee spilled down the front of his shirt he had smiled that enchanting smile of his.

Natalie turned her head to glance back at her children sitting in the back seat. She enjoyed seeing Annabelle attempt to talk with her brother, but Cliff seemed reluctant to even acknowledge the little girl. At first she had been adamant about scolding her son when he ignored his younger sister but soon she began to realize no about of chastising her son would make him connect with Annabelle. “I’m sure you’ll change your mind once you take a look at the dessert menu,” she replied to her son with a small smile which quickly faded when she saw him roll her eyes. Her lips pressed into a tight line as she refused the urge to frown. Instead she smiled over at Annabelle who was more than happy to smile back.

“Daddy, King! Daddy, King!” Annabelle cheered from the back seat as she waved her tiny hands in the air. She could not have been more excited at the idea of being a real princess. The little girl was already dead set on marrying a prince. Turning her head toward Cliff once more, she frowned when he said he was probably not going to have cake. “Cake good, Cwiff,” she assured him with a nod of her head.

“No groveling necessary, my King,” Natalie assured Johnathan as she looked over at him out of the corner of her eye. She smiled girlishly when she felt his hand slip into hers while he drove. It made her feel like she was sixteen again when holding hands was probably the most exciting thing to do with a boy. Gently she rubbed her thumb against the back of his hand as she kept her fingers laced in his.

When they finally arrived at the restaurant, Nat reached over and patted the top of Johnathan’s hand with her free hand. “Would you mind getting the little munchkin out of her car seat? I’ll take Cliff and get us a table,” she suggested before unbuckling, reluctantly slipping her hand out of her husband’s before hopping out of the car. She smiled over at Heathcliff as he waited expectantly for her to start walking. Her hand lingered for only a moment on her son’s back before she gestured with her head for him to follow her. “Four people, could we have a booth? And a highchair and one child’s menu if you have one place,” she smiled at the host when she finally made it inside.

Teachers: Dr. Westley Coxx, Mrs. Natalie Hall
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Whining and Dining Jul 16, 2015 17:59:27 GMT -5

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Post by Shelby on Jul 16, 2015 17:59:27 GMT -5

John didn't want to let go of Natalie's hand when they made it to the restaurant. It was so soft and it fit in his hand so well that he never wanted to drop it and let it go! But, he supposed that, eventually, he would get to hold her hand again, or hold her rather, so he would wait his time until they were going to be able to have the next bit of contact with her. After he spoke his words he turned his head to look at her and then looked back to the backseat, only to see in that next instant that Cliff was already getting out of the car and slamming the door shut. He frowned at the sight, his brows furrowing before he sighed and shook his head and turned his attention to look at Annabelle who seemed excited about having made it, though he suspected that it had more so do to with the fact that she knew she would be getting her cake eventually. Nevertheless, no matter how the thought was enough to get him to chuckle, his eyes still went back over to the empty seat that once was occupied by Cliff, John being able to see the boy standing right outside of the car. He had half a mind to think that the boy was going to leave, but after a moment of staring and realizing that he wasn't going to make a run for it, John relaxed a bit. That was a good thing.

When Natalie spoke back up to him he positioned himself back in his seat before he unbuckled his seat belt. "If I must, my Queen," he spouted out with another laugh, continuing on with the little joke that they had moments before while on the drive to the place. "Your handsome royal servant will gladly take the munchkin princess!" To that he turned and looked at Annabelle, reaching an arm back to poke at her leg gently before he felt his wife's hand slip from his before she got out of the car herself. It probably wasn't the best idea to continue to rile Annabelle up before going into the restaurant, but sometimes the temptation was too much to resist! Especially not after having the words of her calling him 'King Daddy' continued to filter through his head even if he still considered himself to be nothing like a King. Nor did he ever want to be something like that, if he had ever given the opportunity to try and be one.

He pushed the thought aside though. When every one was out of the car he stepped out himself and went over to Annabelle's side and opened the door, giving her a surprised look as if he was surprised to see her there. He stood on his tiptoes a bit and looked out to see Natalie and Cliff walking towards the restaurant, his head tilting at the sight of Natalie's hand resting gently on the boy's back for a second until she dropped it back to her side. He quickly wiped the face off and leaned forward to start unbuckling her, which was a much easier process than it was to get the restraints put on her, and once everything was off her he picked her up from the car seat and held her in his grasp much like he had back in the house when he was carrying her. He walked back and bumped his hip into the door to close it before he reached for his keys and locked the car, settling them back in his pocket after hearing the beep of the lock. "Alright; now lets go catch up to mommy and Cliff so that we can get seated and have dinner."

Once again he bounced the girl in his hold as they made their way into the restaurant, Natalie and Cliff having already made it to the establishment at that point. He pushed open the doors and after making it into the air conditioned place he looked to see Cliff and Natalie just being ready to be led by the host to their table. Quickly, John caught up to them after setting Annabelle on the ground, himself holding her hand so as not to have her wander somewhere she wasn't supposed to go.

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Whining and Dining Jul 16, 2015 18:45:01 GMT -5

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Post by Kenzie on Jul 16, 2015 18:45:01 GMT -5

Cliff ignored Annabelle’s comments about cake being good, instead allowing his eyes to dart over to the restaurant they were outside of. Cliff didn’t really care, either way, about this place—though had he a say in where they went he probably would have picked somewhere his mother wouldn’t have cared about what he wore—maybe a hot dog stand, or something.

He felt his mother’s hand on his back and didn’t shove it off, but he didn’t lean into the touch, either. He simply let Natalie do whatever it was she wanted to do before he followed Natalie into the restaurant, staring at the host as they overzealously nodded in confirmation. Cliff seized this chance to look at his surroundings, spotting a few people at the tables but otherwise it was a very slow night.

The bell at the front of the restaurant announced the arrival of John and Annabelle. Cliff wasn’t paying attention as the host grabbed a high chair and began setting it up. The host spoke to Natalie, assuring her that they did have high chairs and children’s menus, and that they would bring one over shortly. The host turned to Johnathan with a wide smile and said ”good evening, sir,” before leading the family to the booth. Once they were at the right place, the host turned around to grab the high chair from the back, saying that he’d return with it shortly.

Cliff slipped into one end of the booth, fully intending to occupy it by himself with Natalie and John on the other end of the table. However he had no real way to assure this so Cliff just scooted to the end lest he be told to push down, grabbing the menu off of the already set table and flipping it open. Cliff was already staring at the drink options. He wanted to order a martini, but knew the server wouldn’t let him do that. Still, it would probably be funny to see his mother and John’s reaction if the first full sentence they heard all day from his mouth was, “yes, I’d like an apple martini, please”.

The host returned shortly with the high chair and sat it at the end of the table for Natalie and John, with a smile still on his face.

”I’ll grab a waiter for you right away. Here’s the high chair, and here’s the children’s menu.” The host offered Natalie the children’s menu. Cliff wasn’t listening as he flipped through the pages… beginning to wonder if it would piss John off if he tried to order the prime rib… then again, it'd probably piss off his mom, too.

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Whining and Dining Jul 16, 2015 19:35:04 GMT -5

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Post by Becca on Jul 16, 2015 19:35:04 GMT -5

Natalie glanced down and smiled as Johnathan continued the on-going joke from before. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and took once glance back at their princess before heading into the restaurant with Cliff. The atmosphere inside was calming and rather elegant. Luckily she had her son change his shirt because it would have certainly stuck out in a place like this. Smiling at the host, she waited for them to find an available table.

Meanwhile Annabelle bobbled up and down with excitement in her car seat as Johnathan unbuckled her. She was not a fan of car rides, so the little girl was desperate to leave the confines of the car. She wrapped her arms around his neck once more as he carried her into the restaurant, emitting tiny giggles as he bounced her with every step. However, as soon as John set her down on the floor her demeanor completely changed. This was a new environment to her and there were strangers all around. When the host looked down at her and made a comment about how adorable she was, she quickly hid behind her father’s leg and refused to make eye contact. “Daddy, up!” Annabelle practically whimpered as she wrapped her free arm around his leg.

Seeing her daughter quiver behind John’s leg, Natalie couldn’t help but smile. It amazed her how Annabelle could go from crazy gremlin to such a bashful little child in a matter of seconds. She bent down and scooped up the shy child only to have Annabelle immediately bury her face in the crook of her neck. Smiling slightly at the host, she glanced over at her husband before following the man to their table. “You’re so quiet now, sweetpea,” she commented as she stroked her daughter’s hair.

Annabelle lifted her head slightly and pressed one of her tiny fingers to her mother’s mouth and shushed her which only made Natalie laugh. When the host brought over the chair and child’s menu, Nat smiled. “Thank you,” she stated before she slid Annabelle into the high chair and fastened the clasp to keep her sitting. Immediately the child’s lower lip started to quiver and she reached up to Natalie and Johnathan. Natalie knew all too well the tears would be approaching fast, so she placed the child’s menu in front of Annabelle and the two crayons it came with. “Look, Annie, you can color!” she suggested with a smile before she slid into the booth opposite Heathcliff.

The crayons seemed to occupy Annabelle as she grabbed one in each hand before feverishly coloring on the front of the child’s menu on the face of a smiling lion. She looked up, her eyes catching sight of the dessert on the back of the menu. Pointing at what looked like a brownie smothered in fudge, she smiled. “My dinner!” she demanded.

Natalie simply smiled and silently shook her head. She would let Johnathan handle that one. Paging through the menu, she looked over the top of hers and over at her son. "What looks good, hon?" she asked, trying to get him to talk at least a little while they waited for their orders to be taken.

Teachers: Dr. Westley Coxx, Mrs. Natalie Hall
High school: Pippa Scott, Noah Wilson, Issy Romero, Lucian Livingston
College: Gracie Fischer, Wyatt Prescott, Oliver Fischer, Mallory Abbott, Maxine Rossi
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Whining and Dining Jul 16, 2015 20:23:40 GMT -5

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Post by Shelby on Jul 16, 2015 20:23:40 GMT -5

He hadn't taken into consideration of Annabelle's general attitude towards being in an unfamiliar placed filled with unfamiliar people, so when John set her down on the ground and expected her to easily following along the family when they were going to be lead to their table, he was sadly mistaken. Before he was even able to take a step forward the hostess spoke up of how adorable their little girl was, which caused John to smile in her direction and give a small reply of 'thanks' to her before he looked down at his leg that was being help captured by the little girl. Really, it was a cute sight, one that made him smile softly down at Annabelle as he reached his other hand down with a soft chuckle to gently pat the top of her head. "It's okay, Annabelle; the lady is only being nice and complimenting you. There's no need to worry." But knowing that the words wouldn't console her he went to pick her up after her demand, only to have his movements stop when Natalie made the first move and picked up their daughter.

Again he couldn't help but smile, himself taking those extra steps to make it to Natalie where he rested his hand against her lower back as he looked over at Annabelle. Really, she was too much for him sometimes; too much meaning that he thought she was too cute sometimes, even when she was running around the house causing an uproar because she didn't want to listen or do what was asked of her to do a lot of the time. But, that was why he loved his daughter, because while she could be troublesome, she could also be calm when she wanted to. Besides, who could resist that face of hers and who could resist the way she spoke and sounded at times? When Natalie turned and looked at him he couldn't help but raise his brows and shrug his shoulders, as if this was a normal occurrence, which it really was, before he started to follow along the host as they were being led to their table.

He stood to the side of the booth in order for Natalie to get in the inside after she settle Annabelle into the high chair, his eyes glancing over at Cliff to see that he was already looking at the menu, no doubt the product of him trying to avoid doing any speaking to the group that night, but maybe that would change once the menus were gone and once he had nothing else to hide his face in. When he was able to, John scooted himself into the booth and sat down, himself looking down at the menu for only a second before both Natalie's and Annabelle's voices rang out on his ears, though because Natalie seemed to be speaking to Cliff, and since he was closer, John put his attention to his daughter's loud demand. Well, there was her voice again.

He looked down at the picture that she pointed to, his brows raising before he shook his head and turned to look back at her before he went and pulled the high chair a little closer to the table so that she wouldn't have to strain herself to reach the table. "No, not your dinner. What did I tell you back at home? You have to have dinner first, and then you can have dessert." He scooted an inch closer to Annabelle so that he could lean over and look at the child's menu, tilting the paper so that he could read it. "So what do you want for dinner? There's macaroni and cheese, spaghetti, raviolis, fish..." With every item he named off he pointed on the menu to it while trying to make his voice sound convincing enough to get her to pick something on the menu. "You can have anything you want for dinner, except for dessert. Dessert is dessert, not dinner."

A moment after that a waiter came over to the table with a pad in hand and with a small smile on his face as he looked at each of the people at the table, giving them nods before he flipped the pad over and readied his pen for use. He introduced himself and let them know that he would be their server for the night, telling them of the specials that they were having tonight after that, and then asking them what he could start them all off to drink.

Last Edit: Jul 16, 2015 20:24:00 GMT -5 by Shelby

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Nora Acker || Chase Smith || Chance Smith

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Whining and Dining Jul 16, 2015 20:59:08 GMT -5

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Post by Kenzie on Jul 16, 2015 20:59:08 GMT -5

Cliff’s eyes glossed over the options on the menu, his expression not changing. Nothing was really jumping out to him, except maybe a burger. Sure, part of him wanted to order something super expensive just to ensure he wouldn’t be invited again, but he didn’t really want to eat something too fancy. Especially when he wasn’t the one who prepared it—Cliff liked his food prepared certain ways and was a bit of a picky eater. So he didn’t like to go out to eat much.

Cliff ignored Johnathan trying to plead with Annabelle to get something dinner-related to eat and instead drummed his fingers on his cheek as he decided to just go with a cheeseburger topped with onions.

He heard his mother’s voice and looked up from the menu, spotting her looking over at him with a kind smile on her face. Cliff didn’t return the smile, but he did close his menu and look at his mom. He shrugged his shoulders and leaned back in the booth, breaking eye contact and looking away.

”Burger, I guess.” He said, eyes darting to the waiter. He hesitated for a second, knowing that he should just say a lemonade. But that idea he had earlier was too tempting. Besides, that’d be a great story to tell Noah later. So he turned to the waiter and opened his mouth. ”I’d like an apple martini, please.”

Cliff’s expression was just as deadpan as it was before, and the waiter looked surprised. Sure, this happened a lot, but usually the kids who did it laughed before they finished placing the order. The waiter looked from Cliff, over to the people he assumed were the boy’s parents, then back at the boy, giving him a gentle laugh when he realized this kid was probably just better at the act than most others he served.

”I’ll need an I.D. for that, sir.” The waiter joked, and Cliff shrugged, knowing his attempt to get an apple martini would be foiled. Cliff sighed in disappointment. ”I’d like a lemonade, please.”

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Whining and Dining Jul 16, 2015 22:18:14 GMT -5

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Post by Becca on Jul 16, 2015 22:18:14 GMT -5

Annabelle’s lower lip quivered when her father told her she could not have dessert for dinner. She did not want to have dinner, not when she could see other people around enjoying their dessert. Her eyes looked to follow her father’s finger as he read out the options on the children’s menu before looking up at him. Pouting, she mustered up the best puppy-dog face she could manage. It usually helped her get whatever she wanted from her parents, even if it was doomed to fail in this situation. “Pwease, Daddy?!” she begged as she clasped her hands in front of her. She blinked her big brown eyes up at him before reaching over to put her little hand on one of his. It always surprised the child how massive her father’s hands were compared to hers. “I love you fowever if I have dessert now,” Annabelle added, really trying to amp up the cuteness.

Natalie glanced over her menu but when she saw Cliff had actually put down his menu to answer her, she quickly lowered hers. She had been expected a shrug of the shoulders or for him to continue to hide behind the menu but this had been an unexpected surprise. He didn’t hold eye contact long but at least it was something. Perhaps not enough to label as progress but it would be enough for now. Nat just wished he would looked at her more often although he looked so much like Rhett it sometimes hurt. Her boy was growing up so fast, it was hard to see him gradually pulling away from her. He was so handsome, so independent, Rhett would have been so proud of their little boy.

“Well, a burger does sound delicious,” she replied with a smile though she was not going to order one herself. A burger just seemed to too informal for such a nice setting. She looked under the pastas and tried to figure out what looked good. When the waiter came around to ask them what they wanted to drink, Nat looked up and was about to place her order when Cliff spoke up. Her jaw nearly dropped when he asked for an apple martini. She looked over at her son, who looked completely serious, and silently shook her head. What were they teaching him at this high school he went to? “Heathcliff!” she chided gently but was relieved when the waiter took it as a joke. Allowing the tension in her shoulders to relax, she smiled slightly. Okay, maybe it was a little funny.

“I’ll have a raspberry iced tea, thank you,” she ordered for herself. She was about to order a glass of wine but figured it would be much nicer to have one once the kids were asleep. Natalie looked over at Annabelle who was still fussing over not getting to eat dessert first. “What do you want to drink, sweetheart?” Nat asked, hoping to distract her from complaining.

Annabelle looked nervously from the waiter to her mother. She covered her face with her hands, feeling as if all eyes were on her. Peeking out at her family from behind her fingers she quietly whispered, “Chocolate milk.”

Teachers: Dr. Westley Coxx, Mrs. Natalie Hall
High school: Pippa Scott, Noah Wilson, Issy Romero, Lucian Livingston
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Whining and Dining Jul 17, 2015 7:59:04 GMT -5

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Post by Shelby on Jul 17, 2015 7:59:04 GMT -5

It always had, and likely always would, be hard to resist the puppy dog look that Annabelle had grown accustomed to using when ever she wanted something that she figured she wouldn't normally get under normal circumstances. When she used it against him again, John nearly felt his resolve break under the look, especially after he felt the touch of her hand on his hand as she pleaded her case for wanting to have something sugary for dinner. He wanted to cave, oh how he wanted to cave because he didn't want to disappoint his daughter... But he knew that he couldn't relent. "No, I'm sorry. You have to have actually dinner, and then I promise you can have dessert." He had to stick with the plan he had, and really it was just a general rule that you had to eat dinner before dessert. So he looked to Annabelle and gave her his own form of a pout, tilting his head as he looked at her and stuck his bottom lip out. "So you don't love me now?" He questioned, lowering his voice and then giving it a fake quiver. "I thought you always loved me, no matter what."

Shortly after he started to act he had to drop it because of the waiter coming over to the table. John straightened his frame a bit and cleared his throat, though he kept his hand where it was since Annabelle's hand was still on it. He listened to the man as he listed off the specials that they had going on before asking them what they wanted to have to drink, himself looking at Natalie and Cliff first to see what they wanted first before he gave off what he wanted to drink. He hadn't expected Cliff to answer as quickly as he had, honestly surprised to hear the boy's voice at all, however what shocked him most what what he said he wanted for his drink. He rose his brows and his mouth hung open slightly in surprise and his eyes blinked as he tried to process the information.

Well, he certainly seemed serious about all of it, and he seemed confident about what he ordered. Whether or not he was really serious or just trying to pull one on him and Natalie he couldn't tell, but regardless of that when the waiter laughed out a little reply and got Cliff's real order, John cleared his throat and chuckled lightly to himself as he fiddled with the collar of his shirt. "Well, I can't say that I blame him for wanting something like that," he joked, sending a look to Cliff to hopefully try and loosen him up a bit before he turned and looked away. He wasn't a heavy drinker, but every once in a while he figured he could enjoy a little alcohol, though he never drank during the week (unless on Friday night though that was rare) or on Sundays. A small smile took the place of his lips, because really it wasn't that much of a concern for Cliff to have said that, or at least not in John's mind since he didn't think the boy had really been serious about it, so when it was he and Annabelle's turn to say what they wanted to drink he looked to Annabelle when her mother asked her the question. Again, that shyness came to the girl that made him smile wider.

He had to lean in a little closer to hear what she had to say, raising his brows and then giving the waiter a skeptical look at what she wanted. "Chocolate milk?" The waiter gave a sympathetic look before he let him know that they didn't have that here, to which John nodded his head, having expected that, and turned to look at Annabelle. "They don't have chocolate milk, Sweetie. So you'll have to pick something else." Quickly he told the waiter that he wanted just an ice water with lemon, just so that the man could have the order, before he looked back to Annabelle.

Last Edit: Jul 17, 2015 7:59:57 GMT -5 by Shelby

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Kenzie
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Whining and Dining Jul 17, 2015 11:44:20 GMT -5

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Post by Kenzie on Jul 17, 2015 11:44:20 GMT -5

Cliff shrugged his shoulders at the gentle chide form his mother, having expected as much. He spared a glance over at John when the older man responded, not blaming him for wanting an apple martini. The first thought that popped into Cliff’s mind was something along the lines of “I need something like that to get through this dinner” but he didn’t say that out loud, knowing it would just upset Natalie if he was that against it. She already knew he didn’t want to be here. Cliff wanted to be the victim here. If he made Natalie too upset, she’d turn into the victim.

Cliff didn’t pay much attention to Annabelle as she asked for chocolate milk and then had her request denied, just begging that she didn’t start crying again. The last thing Cliff wanted on this trip was to hear Annabelle cry for the whole duration. It would put his already-throbbing head in more pain.

Cliff looked from John to the waiter, who looked very apologetic, as he listed a few other options that he thought Annabelle might like that were popular hits with kids. While they were distracted, Cliff turned over to his mother.

”I’m hungry. Can we order food yet?” He complained, even though part of the reason he wanted to order so fast was to make the dinner as brief as possible.

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Whining and Dining Jul 17, 2015 14:45:04 GMT -5

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Post by Becca on Jul 17, 2015 14:45:04 GMT -5

Hearing the word no immediately seemed to cause a distinct reaction in the little girl. Her nose pinched upward and the corners of her mouth pulled down in a frown. Natalie had seen the face enough to know Annabelle was on the verge of an outburst. She leaned over Johnathan and looked directly into her daughter’s eyes. “The faster you eat your dinner, the faster you will be able to have your dessert,” she reminded her before the waterworks could start. It probably was not the smartest idea to tell her to eat her dinner quickly, but it seemed to work. If she ended up with a tummy ache they would just have to deal with that later. At least dealing with a belly ache at home would be a lot easier than dealing with a crying child in a public restaurant. She glanced over at her husband and smiled slightly. The pouting expression he formed on his face was too adorable. How had he still been single when they met with a face like that?

“Annabelle, look what you did, you made Daddy sad! How could you not love a face like this?” Natalie inquired, reaching over to gently pinch one of Johnathan’s cheeks which made the little girl giggle. Annabelle looked over at her dad and the face he made before mimicking her mother and pinching his cheek. “I do love you, Daddy. I juss kidding,” she assured him. With her desire for dessert still very much there she was excited to finished dinner as quickly as possible; however, when the waiter informed them they did not have chocolate milk, her bottom lip stuck out. She looked around the table, noticing the reaction her brother got from everyone when he asked for his drink.

“Apple Mawtini!” Annabelle demanded with a goofy grin on her face. Natalie hid her smile behind her menu before silently shaking her head. “Now until you’re older, little Miss,” she responded, “How about you have a lemonade like your brother?” The child bit down on her lower lip as she took a moment to think about it before nodding in agreement. As much as her brother ignored her, she wanted to make him proud. Maybe if she acted more like him he would actually notice her.

Natalie immediately turned toward her son when he spoke to her. It was not often he actually addressed her so when he finally did she made her he had her complete attention. She knew he probably just wanted to order so they could leave faster, but she could not refuse her son’s wishes when she catered to Annabelle. Nat did not want her son to feel more left out than he probably did.

“Yeah, I think that would be find as long as we all know what we want to order,” Natalie replied. She turned toward the waiter to make sure if it was alright if they put their food orders in right away to which he nodded in approval. “Why don’t you go first while I decide on what I want?” she suggested before leaning over toward Johnathan, "Try to get your daughter to order something that won't make a total mess."

Teachers: Dr. Westley Coxx, Mrs. Natalie Hall
High school: Pippa Scott, Noah Wilson, Issy Romero, Lucian Livingston
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Whining and Dining Jul 21, 2015 8:07:02 GMT -5

Quote

Post by Shelby on Jul 21, 2015 8:07:02 GMT -5

John couldn't help but grimace at the expression that formed on Annabelle's face when it was mentioned that she couldn't have any chocolate milk, himself just about ready to lean over more to console the little girl and tell her that everything was alright and that she could pick something else out to drink. Really, he didn't like telling Annabelle no and he didn't like it when ever she would throw a fit over not getting her way with something, but, sometimes, it just had to happen. No matter how much it broke his heart to see her start to cry and fuss because of something she couldn't have he was determined not to spoil her to the point where she would go rotten and just expect to get things to be given to her just because she asked and just because she knew that she could get something if she cried enough. That was a terrible way to raise a little kid, he always thoughts.

Of course, in a case like this he knew it was different; she just couldn't get her chocolate milk because the place didn't have it, and that was something that they couldn't help. It didn't seem like she was as put off about the news as he originally thought, however, from how her demeanor quickly changed and her sullen looked turned into a goofy smile before she stated out her demand. Again he couldn't help but chuckle out a sigh as he shook his head and agreed with what Natalie said about her not being able to have that until she was a little older, himself reaching a hand over to rest it against the high chair that she was sitting in. Well, he didn't now whether or not Cliff was that good of an influence on her because of this, but he had a feeling that it was merely a fluke thing, something that she only did because she wanted to get them to laugh like Cliff had. That, and she had no idea what an apple martini even was; in his mind, if Annabelle thought of it to be some sort of juice just because it had 'apple' in it he wouldn't be surprised.

After it was agreed that Annabelle would be happy with the lemonade, John turned to the waiter and reiterated what the little girl would be having. He turned his head to look down at his menu then since he had yet to that do, expecting the waiter to turn and leave with the drink orders so that they would have more time to think over their food options, but then Cliff spoke up, causing John to raise his brows and pick his head up to look at him. Well... He guessed that was okay. He nodded his head and smiled and Natalie and Cliff before taking another quick glance over at his menu. "You two pick first; I still have figure out what I want." But he nodded his head, again, when Natalie asked him if he could get her to pick something to eat, preferably something that wasn't very messy. Well, that meant that any sort of pasta was out of the question, seeing as that was generally messy. "Again, she's only my daughter when she has the potential to make a mess with something," he joked, grinning all the while.

Figuring that it would be best to figure out what Annabelle wanted first before figuring out what he wanted -because he figured that he already had an idea of what he wanted from the previous times he had come to the restaurant- he leaned over again and turned the child's menu so that he could get a better look at it again. "Okay, so nothing messy and something that you'll actually want to eat..." He pursed his lips as he thought, making a little 'hmm' noise before chuckling lightly and tilting his head to give Annabelle a smile. "How about the chicken tenders? You can get fries with those. Or how about the grilled chicken," that made him stop for a second when looking at the item on the menu, but he pushed the thought aside with the shake of his head and listed it anyway, "or the fish sticks with fries, or even the macaroni and cheese," because he thought that that wouldn't be too messy unlike the spaghetti or ravioli. "You have a lot of options, and you have to eat most of it because you can get dessert. So, what do you want?"

High Schoolers:

Nora Acker || Chase Smith || Chance Smith

College Students:

Chardonnay Nicholas || Ace Harrison || Max Carter || Niko Connor || Toni Locklear

Teachers:

Jonathan Hall || Leo Fletcher

Academy Staff:

Scarlett Oak

Kenzie
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The best people in life are free.

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Posts: 2,535

Whining and Dining Jul 21, 2015 11:27:34 GMT -5

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Post by Kenzie on Jul 21, 2015 11:27:34 GMT -5

As Cliff waited for the family to order their drinks he spared Annabelle a glance when she said apple martini, just as he had, having to admit it was pretty funny to hear the three year old say something like that. He wondered, briefly, if her saying that made his mother and John mad. Maybe if he said more things like that, they’d keep him away from Annabelle. Though he knew that probably wouldn’t happen… he didn’t cuss around his mother and he didn’t think he could bring himself to cuss around a three year old girl, either.

Of course, Cliff barely had a minute to think before they were back to that cutesy family dynamic again. Cliff waited for his turn to order food with his elbow on the table and his chin in his palm. He could hear John say something about Annabelle ‘only being his when she made a mess’ or something like that and in his mind he retorted that John could have her forever if he wanted, if he’d only just leave and go away forever. But that definitely wasn’t happening, especially not while Natalie was so in love with the guy. Cliff rolled his eyes as John tried to bargain with Annabelle to get her to order something not messy. He hoped that Annabelle ordered the mac and cheese and then threw the noodles into John’s hair.

”I want a cheeseburger with onions and ketchup. And fries.” Cliff informed the waiter while everyone else waited on precious little Annabelle to choose something. The waiter made note of Cliff’s order and Cliff handed the boy his menu before he turned away, facing the back of the booth, the familial jokes that his mother and John were exchanging making him want to excuse himself for the bathroom and then walk back to his dorm. But no. He already promised he’d stick around so here he stayed. At least he got free food out of the del. This place did have good burgers…

Cliff didn’t look at his mother or at John as he waited for the rest of them to order.

Amy O'Neal || Todd Bennett || Chad Richardson || Arthur Summers || Hallie Grey || Clementine Coleman

Cliff Arkwright || Ash DeCosta || Shyanne Volle || Seamus MacAlister || Savannah Nieto || Daemon Jeong

Ms. Susan Summers || Mr. Jean Audet

Lennox Richardson

Becca
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Posts: 634

Whining and Dining Jul 21, 2015 14:26:20 GMT -5

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Post by Becca on Jul 21, 2015 14:26:20 GMT -5

Natalie glanced over the menu though her focus slowly drifted toward Johnathan and Annabelle as she watched them out of the corner of her eye. The way the two interacted was so precious. She knew John cared so much for their little girl and refusing her was tough but she admired his valiant efforts. Those puppy-dog eyes probably would have worked on her, so it was a good think her husband built a more immunity to them than she had. When he commented about her only being his when she had potential to make a mess, she laughed. “Well, I suppose I’ll have to take the blame for that one, yes? She couldn’t possibly have gotten the messiness from you, Mr. Clean Freak,” Natalie teased in return as she playfully nudged him with her elbow.

Her eyes returned to her menu as she browsed over the options. She felt pressured to pick something fast because she did not want to waste the waiter’s time. If Nat had it her way they would have waited to order, but she really wanted to appease Cliff as much as she could. He drifted so far away from her, so any little thing she could do to make him even the slightest bit more content she would do. She loved her boy and, although Johnathan and Annabelle were a huge part of her life now, it by no means meant she loved Heathcliff any less. He just made it so hard for her to connect with him anymore! Sometimes she just wished she could sit him down and have a long talk with him, but she knew he would most likely just blow her off.

“I’ll have the chicken alfredo,” she finally decided as she smiled over at the waiter and handed him her menu. Folding her hands in front of her, Natalie looked over the table at her son. “So, sweetie, how is school going?” she asked curiously. It was probably a question kids hated the most, but she really did want to know how things were going for him.

Annabelle leaned forward as her dad looked over the menu. She tilted her head slightly and tried to read the words as John said them out loud but only got lost. Clicking her tongue to the roof of her mouth, she glanced hesitantly at the waiter who smiled down at her, immediately causing her to bury her face in her father’s arm. She peeked out and looked up at her dad. “Fwies, fwies and chicken,” she whispered softly, hoping the waiter would leave soon. New people made her uncomfortable and all she wanted to do was crawl into her father’s lap. “Lap, pwease, daddy?” Annabelle inquired as she stretched her arms out to him.

Teachers: Dr. Westley Coxx, Mrs. Natalie Hall
High school: Pippa Scott, Noah Wilson, Issy Romero, Lucian Livingston
College: Gracie Fischer, Wyatt Prescott, Oliver Fischer, Mallory Abbott, Maxine Rossi
Other: Fletcher Willoughby

Shelby
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Joined: March 2013
Posts: 1,028

Whining and Dining Jul 21, 2015 17:24:11 GMT -5

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Post by Shelby on Jul 21, 2015 17:24:11 GMT -5

Grinning at the little nudge that was pressed into his side, John gave a side wards glance over to Natalie at her little quip about which of the two Annabelle probably got her messiness from. "Well, I can't argue with that. After all, you are kind of a mess and have a tendency to leave things laying around," he teased, chuckling lightly himself until he felt a little face press into his arm. His full attention was brought back to Annabelle and the sight nearly made his heart melt. He breathed out a little sigh before he rose his brows and leaned in a little closer to hear what she had to say, nodding his head as he reached with his other hand to lightly pinch his daughter's cheek before he leaned back up and looked up at the waiter. "She'll just have the children's chicken tenders and fries," he replied after the other orders had already been placed and filled out. Now, what did he want...

He furrowed his brows again before he brought both of his arms back and turned his attention to the menu, biting the inside of his cheek as he flipped through a few of the pages before figuring out what he wanted. He picked the menu up and handed into the waiter, telling him that he wanted the salmon, and with that the waiter nodded his head, let them know that he would have their drinks out in a second for them, and then turned and left. Had it been a different time, John probably would have ordered the crab legs, but due to the fact that he didn't want to deal with the mess of cracking open the legs in order to get the meat out, he decided to go for a cleaner option. Besides, he had tried to crab legs at this place before, and while they weren't bad, they weren't his favorite either.

But he pushed the thought aside and figured that the choice that he had picked was good enough. It was still seafood, one of his favorite types of dishes to eat, and he figured that it would be well enough. His attention was quickly brought off of his choice of food, however, when he listened to Natalie's question to Cliff. He was curious to hear the answer, so he turned his attention to look at the boy to see what he was going to say, thinking that, depending on how he answered, maybe a good conversation could be brought into the mix with the three of them, maybe four if Annabelle had anything to add. Except, apparently, Annabelle wanted his attention in that moment. He turned to look at her with her outstretched hands and her asking if she could sit in his lap, no doubt a product of her just wanting to be close to them because of all the unfamiliar people that surrounded them. How could he resist a request like that, especially when he had denied her the request of chocolate milk and having dessert right away? This was the least he could do, he figured.

"Of course you can sit on my lap," he said, smiling as he leaned forward and unsnapped the buckle that held her down to the high chair so that he could pick her up and bring her over to his lap. When he situated her in his lap he leaned back over and grabbed her crayons and kid's menu so that she could play with that while she sat in his lap. "But you'll have to get back in your seat once the food gets here, okay?" He held her in place, just so that the little girl wouldn't accidentally slip from his lap somehow and turned his attention back onto Cliff and Natalie so that he could hear what they had to say.

High Schoolers:

Nora Acker || Chase Smith || Chance Smith

College Students:

Chardonnay Nicholas || Ace Harrison || Max Carter || Niko Connor || Toni Locklear

Teachers:

Jonathan Hall || Leo Fletcher

Academy Staff:

Scarlett Oak

Kenzie
Administrator

The best people in life are free.

Joined: March 2013
Posts: 2,535

Whining and Dining Jul 21, 2015 17:55:11 GMT -5

Quote

Post by Kenzie on Jul 21, 2015 17:55:11 GMT -5

The waiter left and the family was left to themselves with the elevator music playing in the background for company. Cliff was content to just sit there in silence and suffer while he heard his mom and John go on and on about how adorable Annabelle was being or how oh, she’s your daughter, no, she’s your daughter their discussions became. Jesus fucking Christ, couldn’t they both come to the mutual agreement that she was the spawn of both of them and just leave it at that? While most everyone who saw the happy little family beside him found them cute Cliff just felt… indescribably lonely when he was around them. And that made him angry.

At his mother’s question, Cliff turned towards the two, noticing Annabelle was now in John’s lap and everyone was looking over at him. Cliff’s neutral expression tugged down into a slight frown. The question itself was literally one of the worst things for a high school student to answer. And thought Natalie (and probably John too) genuinely wanted to know, Cliff didn’t really feel as though there was anything worth saying. Noah was his only friend. Classes were boring. Yeah, he was good at making the wooden sculptures he attended the school for but he held no passion for them. He supposed getting a B+ on his last project was something worth saying. He hated it here. He hated the fact that he’d been moved out of Maine, the school system in which he actually was one of the most popular kids around. He wanted to go back, he wished they’d never moved. He wished his dad never died. Then his mother never would have moved, they’d still live in Springfield, and Cliff would have his father here at the table, expressing interest in his schooling, instead of John. That was too much to say, though, so Cliff shrugged.

”Good. I guess.” He said, not really any good at sustaining conversation with his family. He was sure that they wanted to hear more but Cliff didn’t want to supply it. Cliff glanced from John, down to Annabelle, over to Natalie, before he shrugged again. If his mother wanted a detailed report of his grades, she could easily check the reports. He didn’t have anything to hide, in that sense.

He continued to look at his mother though he wasn’t really there, his mind was wandering and his brown eyes were darker than they usually were, the light gone. He waited for the food to arrive.

Amy O'Neal || Todd Bennett || Chad Richardson || Arthur Summers || Hallie Grey || Clementine Coleman

Cliff Arkwright || Ash DeCosta || Shyanne Volle || Seamus MacAlister || Savannah Nieto || Daemon Jeong

Ms. Susan Summers || Mr. Jean Audet

Lennox Richardson

Metric School of the Arts
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Whining and Dining (642 views)

Post by Becca on Jul 15, 2015 16:52:50 GMT -5

Post by Shelby on Jul 15, 2015 17:31:16 GMT -5

Post by Kenzie on Jul 15, 2015 17:52:41 GMT -5

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Post by Shelby on Jul 16, 2015 6:25:11 GMT -5

Post by Kenzie on Jul 16, 2015 10:47:31 GMT -5

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Post by Shelby on Jul 16, 2015 14:28:32 GMT -5

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Post by Shelby on Jul 16, 2015 17:59:27 GMT -5

Post by Kenzie on Jul 16, 2015 18:45:01 GMT -5

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Post by Shelby on Jul 17, 2015 7:59:04 GMT -5

Post by Kenzie on Jul 17, 2015 11:44:20 GMT -5

Post by Becca on Jul 17, 2015 14:45:04 GMT -5

Post by Shelby on Jul 21, 2015 8:07:02 GMT -5

Post by Kenzie on Jul 21, 2015 11:27:34 GMT -5

Post by Becca on Jul 21, 2015 14:26:20 GMT -5

Post by Shelby on Jul 21, 2015 17:24:11 GMT -5

Post by Kenzie on Jul 21, 2015 17:55:11 GMT -5

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