Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeey long time no see

... hehehehehehe...*creeps off with nervous giggling*

12: Dating Tally

"At Eight! It's quarter to seven now!" the brunette screeched frantically, flapping her hands in an attempt at shaking the panic from her body and replacing it with calm, the technique was not working.

"You got an hour and fifteen minutes to get ready! It's fine!" Claire waved away casually.

"No it's not! I need to shower and re-do my make up! Plus how long do you take!" Hannah threw a hand out to motion to her friend.

"What do you mean how long do I take? I'm not the one asked out!" Claire pulled a face like she had just sucked a lemon.

"I'm not going on my own!" Was all the dark haired woman screeched and suddenly everything was pushed into motion as Claire also clicked on the lack of time if she was also to get ready.

"Shit get moving!" The blonde yelped, shooing her frantic friend off.

000

Hannah had managed to blast herself in the shower, quickly slap her face on and throw her hair into rollers.

"Claire come on!" She whined, shifting from foot to foot as the minutes passed by.

"Says you, you still have rollers in your bloody hair!" The blonde huffed from where she sat straitening her hair.

"And I ain't going any where with kinks in my hair!" She stated.

"I have to take them out last minute and quickly back comb the roots or my hair will go flat like strait away!" Hannah groaned out like it was the most obvious thing in the word and over exaggerating her hair volume issues.

"Will you chill! It would seem stalker-ish to turn up on time!" Clair rolled her blue eyes.

"We're like ten minutes late already!" The frantic brunette exclaimed despite the time only showing Seven thirty one on the clock.

"Yer! That's fine! Ten minutes is less stalker-ish but still too eager!" The blonde mumbled, half her attention on the scolding hot tongs she was pulling threw her hair.

"What…do you have like a time chart or something for the perfect date entrance?" Hannah had managed to calm slightly at her friend's odd words.

"Yup! Half an hour early, you're weird. Twenty minutes early, you're desperate. Ten minutes early, you're novice…not sure why but arriving ten minutes early is like you've panicked because you've never been on a date, so it's novice!" Claire shrugged ignoring Hannah's gawping look and simply combed threw her hair.

"Bang on time is just stalker-ish, no one does that! Ten minutes late shows your eager. Twenty minutes late, say your just so desirable you'll just have to wait that little extra, plus it gets them checking their watches!" The blonde gave a wink to her friend threw the reflection of the mirror.

"Half an hour late or more then your just an obnoxious bitch!" she then finished quickly with a flap of her hand.

"Great! So I'm going to seem like the obnoxious bitch!" The dark haired woman rolled her eyes with a huff, her energy levels seeming to deflate.

"No your not! It's only…seven thirty five now!" Claire frowned, having paused so she could check the time on the clock.

"We ain't even ten minutes late like you were flapping over before! Now, we are going to leave here at ten past, so that means he'll only have been waiting ten minuets!" With that said the blonde turned off her straighteners and picked up a tube of lip gloss.

"But it'll take like ten minutes to get over there!" Hannah frowned lightly while Claire paused her lip gloss application, her lips still pouted.

"Then he'll be checking his watch, because your just too desirable," the blonde smirked.

"I'm going to take the rollers out and back comb my hair, you better hurry," Was all the dark haired woman mumbled as she turned on her heels and left her friend.

"Aw see! Look who's going to make us late now!" Claire called with a laugh while Hannah simply rolled her eyes from where she was, delicately removing a roller from her hair before giving the roots a quick back comb.

000

"I'm over dressed aren't I!" Hannah flapped as she and Claire headed towards the bar.

"Your wearing jeggings! And a cardigan! How is that over dressed!" The blonde frowned watching as her panicking friend ruffled her loosely curled hair.

"Well I have heels on!" She frowned.

"Yer! So do I, but you don't want to look too casual, the heels just dress it up slightly!" the blonde waved away with a huff before pausing at the door to the bar.

"Right! Let's check you out!" She grinned stopping her friend from walking with a groan.

"Seriously!" Hannah rolled her eyes, standing in a slight slump.

"Let's just sort out your neck line," Claire mumbled twisting and tugging at the long leopard print top Hannah wore, the blonde had originally told her to wear the top as a dress seeing as it was long enough, but Hannah was having none of it.

"Whoa easy!" Hannah then cheered, slapping her friend's hand away as the red lace of her bra was exposed.

A few more cheers sounded right after Hannah's shocked one, these cheers sounding far more pleased and with a scowl Hannah shot the three men a glare as she tugged her top back up while Claire gave a cheeky grin and wink.

"Alright, go in now while your still in the desirable time frame," Claire then started to shoo her.

"Don't shove me!" Hannah squealed like a shy school girl, slapping her blonde friend's hands away as she was backed up with prodding little pushes.

"Just go! When was the last time you had a date!" Claire exclaimed with a joking raise of her brow.

"Shut up! And this isn't a date!" Hannah couldn't help but shriek, totally horrified and fearful at the mention of the word.

"Oh come on! It so is!" Claire rolled her blue eyes.

"No it isn't!" The brown haired woman fussed, trying to move the matter on.

"Hey, at least it'll bring your dating tally up!" The blonde shrugged with a laugh.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Hannah shot her friend a suspicious look.

"From zero to one… Helloooo, I do know you've never been on a date," Claire rose her brows with a patronising shake of her head.

"Hey! It's not my fault I don't get asked out!" Hannah gawped, holding her hands out in an open shrug totally useless.

"Well you do turn into a bit of a pratt when asked… you just freak out," Claire nodded with thought.

"I thought you played it very cool earlier in the hall," She then continued.

"That's because I wasn't being asked on a date," Hannah mumbled in irritation.

"Nah, I think it was because you already used up all your pratt cards, you know with the whole piss your self incident…plus you did majorly freak out the moment you closed the door," Claire rambled on, rolling her hand as she explained.

"Are you quite finished?" A brow rose on Hannah's face.

"Are you ready to go in? For your date?" Claire questioned back, a brow also raising on her face.

"…no…" Hannah then mumbled quietly.

"And it's not a date! Stop piling the pressure on!" she then quickly defended herself.

"You've never been on a date! Will you just accept this as one!" Claire then yelled, far too loud and far too shrill.

"No, because it's not one!" Hannah yelled back, growing far to agitated over the matter…she had nothing against going on dates, it would actually be nice to be taken on one for once, she just had a small idea of what she wanted when it came to setting up a date.

For starters, she wanted to be taken out on a date with someone who actually liked her, and wanted to take her out, she'd also like to like the person taking her out and of course she'd like to know it was an actual date, not a meet up, a get together, a few drinks…nothing sideline like that, she will only take something as a date, if it is stated.

But perhaps these factors where the reason her Rocket ship of love had yet to leave the ground, well scratch that, had yet to leave the air hanger.

"You've never been on a date?" The question was asked, soft and smooth after the girl's bickering and on a deep voice of amusement.

The question caught both women's attention causing Claire to lean to her right to look around Hannah and Hannah her self to turn on her heels, her face becoming like that of a deer caught in the head lights.

"Tch no!" She instantly scoffed with an elaborate eye roll, trying to recover her image.

"Yer! She goes threw dates like Kleenex tissues!" Claire also scoffed, trying to be helpful in her own special way but with each word that fell from her lips, it caused a cringe to drop further on Hannah's.

"She hands them out to each heart she breaks," The blonde held a hand to her chest with a tiny pout.

"To wipe away the tears…" She then lifted a hand to her face and brushed away an imaginary tear.

"I DO NOT!" Hannah had turned on her friend like a wailing banshee.

"Yer sure," Claire waved her friend off before moving to step around her and the man.

"How's it going Doyle," She nodded with a catty grin, quite happily leaving her friend awkwardly panicking on what to do.

"I was actually worried you wouldn't come," He answered with a shrug.

"Really?" Hannah frowned lightly, actually recoiling for shock, even as she tried to contain herself. Luckily the sniper noted this and chuckled.

"Yer, you had me checking me watch, I thought perhaps I was too forward…given the situation and all…" He looked around the darkening area outside the bar, as if hinting at the area around and the reason why it was like the way it was.

"Oh, no, you were fine," Hannah quickly waved away, knowing full well her situation.

"She's just so damn desirable is all," Claire's voice added helpfully in a whisper behind Doyle, having paused half in the door way, causing the man to turn around and raise a brow while Hannah shot her a seething look and with a giggle the blonde was gone.

"I was simply held up but her," Hannah continued to explain, motioning to the now closed door with a defeated sigh, she was suddenly tired and unsure if she wanted to be here, after the continuing chain of embarrassing incidents.

"And please, don't listen to a thing she says," Hannah gave a small smile.

"Ever!" She added more sternly.

"I quite like her," Doyle then gave a rather boyish grin.

"What! Why?" Hannah once again recoiled, both with shock and suspicion… and perhaps a defensive form of paranoia as the thought of him taking more of a liking to her friend popped to mind, she was slimmer with blonde hair and blue eyes after all.

"I learn more things about you when she's around," He gave a rather coy grin while Hannah gawped at what to say, or do for that matter.

"…s-she…she lies," The dark haired woman stuttered before finishing more confidently with a shake of her head, while a brow remained raised on Doyle's face as did his grin.

"So where you just leaving?" Hannah then looked around the front of the bar, noting awkwardly they had moved no further than the two steps in front of the door and she was unsure if this would be where she was left.

"No, just waiting for you Miss Jocelyn," He smiled, holding the door open for her and motioning her inside, causing Hannah to shake her head with a laugh at the name, before stepping into the bar with a nod of thanks.

000

The hours pulled further into the night and Hannah noted with another round of vodka inside her the conversation had grown far more confident and dare she say it flirty, but a very low key hardly there, more of a wink of flirtation… Hannah wasn't too big on flirting, she never thought she could do it properly and the last thing she wanted was to look like an arse.

The talk hadn't started off too bad before the alcohol mind, and Hannah put that down to the already friendly and casual talks they've already had. But she was shaken at the start, the word 'date' echoing around in her head hauntingly, but then again that part was down to her friend.

Things were rolling along well but Hannah knew it shouldn't have lasted for long, and the bad omen came in the form of a blonde bomb shell.

"Hey Miss Valentine! I got my self a Valentine!" Claire cheered, looping an arm around Hannah's neck and tugging her towards her in a tight hug, nearly yanking the poor woman off her bar stool.

"Hey Claire!" Hannah forced a smile and fake happy tone.

"You're drunk.." She continued, her happy tone lowering thou the forced smile remained, even as her left eye twitched in utter hate and irritation.

"Tch! I ain't that bad! But I need the room key!" The blonde held her hand out expectantly and Hannah nodded and reached for her bag on the bar before she paused.

"…Wait!…Why?" She eyed her friend with suspicion.

"Because I forgot mine!" Claire simply shrugged still with her hand out while Hannah slowly worked it out of her bag, unsure.

"It's weird, you know!" The blonde continued stupidly, but this time turning her attention to the poor sniper, sat rather confused and quite irritated at having been interrupted.

"Her surname is like a curse to her, but a lucky charm to her friends!" She shrugged with a grin, causing Doyle to lean away from her slightly, seeing as she was talking louder than need be.

"How so?" The sniper oddly enough decided to humour himself, he might after all learn something and with that thought a small cheeky grin lifted at his lips as he shot the dark haired woman across from him a quick glance and seeing her look of stunned dread he listened in to the blonde.

"Well, with a name like Valentine you'd think love! But no! She get's no luck, but any friends around her do!" Claire grinned while Hannah was busy mentally banging her head on a sharp corner as she sat with her elbow probed up on the bar and her head in hand, her other hand dropped down onto her lap, holding the room card weakly.

"How crazy is that!" She then cheered before snatching the card from the dark haired woman's hand and marching off in an odd zigzag fashion, linking arms with a tall guy at the door.

With a deep inhale threw her nose, Hannah slowly dragged her head up and looked across the bar and to the door just spotting her friend and mysterious feller vanish.

"Whoa wait!" She then perked, sitting up strait causing the already grinning Doyle to choke on the swig of beer he just took.

"What!" He followed up in alarm.

"Who'd she take with her?" Hannah frowned.

"I don't know, why?" Doyle shook his head, answering questions for a reason he had no clue to.

"Well…she took the room key so I can't get in…and she's taken a guy with her so…" Hannah left the situation speak for it's self.

"I ain't bringing her here again!" the dark haired woman then crossed her arms in an annoyed sulk.

"Well…" Doyle started with a one shouldered shrug, lifting his beer bottle to his lips as he took another drink, giving a dramatic pause and baiting the woman across from him on what he was going to say.

"Valentine is far better than Jocelyn!" He gave a broad, boyish grin.

"I like it," He winked.

*continues to creep off*

I'm sorry... this was just like a directional chapter... tiz simply directing the story to the next up coming situation

...if u can guess what it is ;]

and i couldn't just plonk them in said situation... they just had to wind up finding them selves there...

...and i used a good old, pratt around best friend to do just that! :D

soooo... yaay for said situation (if u can guess it) in the next chapter :D