Henry took a deep breath and leaned against the wall. "That's true. Babe it's just.. you can't always solve your problems by beating people up. You could really get hurt." He wouldn't meet her eyes, fixing his own on the bottom of her bed.
Apaixonar: The act of falling in love.//OxO//Romance//CLOSED
"And what, those boys get t' get away with what they did t' my brother?" Babe's eyes sparked as she stood, somehow managing to look slightly scary, despite the oversized New York Islander's hoodie she was wearing.
Henry lifted a hand and yanked it through his hair, frustration leaking into his voice. "No, Babe. They… They did deserve what you gave them. But you can't go through life like this. You need to talk to people to solve problems."
"I tried, Jacobs." Babe said, shoving one hand in the pocket of her hoodie as she turned away from him to pick up the dirty shirt she'd dropped. "I don' throw the first punch, y'know. I'm an instigator, but I ain't no idiot."
Henry raised an eyebrow. "That sounds about right." He sighed deeply, turning to Rico. "How have you kept her alive this long?"
"Beats me." Rico said, watching his sister with a slightly pained expression. "The worst part is, I get where she's coming from. I wouldn't have started a fight, since I'm hopeless with my fists, but…"
Henry nodded. "Exactly. She makes a fair point, but it's just so…" He made an unintelligible frustrated noise. "It's so Babe"
Rico snorted, nodding. "That's my sister for you." He looked over at Babe, who was plopping down on the ground next to her guitar to pull it into her lap, plucking at the strings. "She's kinda scary sometimes."
"No kidding." Henry stretched and moved to stand by the door. "If you can manage her for the rest of the night, I'll get going. Places to be and all that."
Babe looked up from her guitar, frowning for a split second, before meeting his eyes. "Thanks, I guess. For coming t' pick me up."
Henry stood for a second longer, watching her intently. "Yeah, no problem. Stay out of trouble." He moved out of the room, rubbing his confused head as he went.
((Skip?))
(Sure! Saturday night karaoke?)
((Sksksk I forgot he roped her into that. Heck yeah. Your start!))
Henry's smile was back as he pulled into the parking lot of the store. He could hear the faint pulse of music, and see the lights sparkling off the windows and doors. He walked in, looking around for Babe.
Babe was sitting on the counter with the register, talking animatedly to Kevin. She'd decided to dress up a bit more than normal, even going as far as to have Rico do her hair. She waved her hands about, using them to emphasize her point to an amused Kevin.
Henry relaxed as soon as he saw her. He walked over, dodging the people and the business of it all. "Hey, you're early. Did I miss seeing you sing?" He asked, shooting a glance at Kevin. He hadn't realized some of the team was coming…
"I haven't gotten up yet." Babe said, wrinkling her nose at the thought. "Do I really have to do this?" She went to tug a hand through her hair, pausing as she remembered the braiding Rico had done. Instead, her eyes lit up, and she slipped off the counter to move around it, pulling something from the shelf underneath, handing it to Kevin. "That's where I put it."
Henry grinned and leaned against the counter next to her. "Do they have a signup or something? You totally have to do it. It'll make us even for the other day."
Kevin took the cd Babe had handed him, raising an eyebrow as he looked between the two in confusion. "What happened the other day?"
"Eh, nothing much. Babe totally beat me at hockey, and I'm not a huge fan of being embarrassed like that." The lie slid out smoothly, and Henry stayed perfectly calm, acting natural.
Kevin snorted, pulling a couple bills from his pocket and handing them to Babe. "I don't doubt that. Next time though, you need to record it for the team." He said, pointing at Babe.
Babe laughed, picking up a clipboard and holding it out to Henry. "I just might."
Henry shook his head. "That's not necessary, we don't need proof of my shortcomings. I'll admit to it readily enough." He took the clipboard and looked down at it, looking for Babe's name.
Babe had conveniently 'forgotten' to put her name down on the list, and avoided looking at Henry as she waved goodbye to Kevin. She'd mostly covered the bruises on her face with makeup, but the ones on the rest of her body hadn't been quite as lucky.
Henry grabbed a pen and wrote Babe's name down in the neatest penmanship he could manage before passing the clipboard along to someone else. "you're number 13. Do you have a song picked out?"
"No." Babe shook her head, fingers tapping anxiously on her leg now that she couldn't get out of it. "Any suggestions? If I give it a listen before, I'll be able to memorize it in time."
Henry raised his hands, a dramatic shrug. "You're the music person here. What are the kinds of songs you would, I don't know, sing in the shower?" He held back an excited smile, starting to bounce from one foot to the other.
Babe bit her lip, thinking. "I have a couple ideas. It'll be a surprise for both of us I guess." She said with a shrug. She was nervous, but the idea of deciding while up there was somewhat comforting.
Henry was grinning, looking around to see when it would be her turn. "I think you'll be up soon." He craned his neck up to see above the people.
Babe paled a bit, her fingers resuming their tapping, quicker this time. "I don't-do I really have to do this? I can-I can get you a discount at the store or something t' pay you back…"