Participants:
| Scene Title | Moving On |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Magnes makes a surprise stop at The Verb to talk with Elaine. |
| Date | April 02, 2011 |
Village Renaissance Building: Elaine and Quinn's Flat
The smell of brownies is still in the air, even as Elaine covers the leftovers and puts the milk away in the fridge. The brownies aren't warm anymore, but she's not about to let the rest of them go bad as she simply puts plastic wrap over the plate of them, moving to find a good spot for them on the counter. She makes a face at the mixing bowl in the sink, reluctantly dragging herself over to start getting dishes into the dishwasher. Not good to have that stuff sit overnight. It'll just get stuck on.
Quinn has more or less returned to where she had been previously - tired and laying across the couch with an increasingly lethargic feeling and overly apathetic attitude towards her surroundings at the moment. Fingers slide across the screen of her iPad as she messes with a music notation app - it would appear, of all things, that she's actually using the device to write a song. Technology is awesome like that, right? It's only when she hears Elaine putting things into the dishwasher that she sits up, angling a look towards the kitchen.
Knocking on the door a few times, Magnes is in a black blazer over a white buttoned up shirt, with some blue jeans and red Chucks, wearing his Rickenbacker 4003 bass across his back. Arms crossed, he looks a bit uneasy, deciding to announce, "It's uh, me, Magnes." before going quiet to wait for an answer.
Hearing the door and who's on the other side, Elaine moves from the kitchen towards the front to unlock it. "Magnes, hey… wasn't expecting anyone else for the evening. You just missed Sable. Come on in." She offers, stepping out of the way to let him inside.
The knock draws Quinn's attention away from the kitchen, eyes following Elaine as she moves to door. When it's opened, she smirks. "Magnes!" she waves with the iPad in hand, lifting herself up form her seat a moment later. She doesn't immediately move to greet him, though. Instead, her iPad is tossed on the coffee table, and she ehads to the kitchen where she resumes the task Elaine had been at. "What brings you by?"
Magnes immediately reaches out to lightly touch Elaine's side with a very concerned look. "Are you alright?" he asks, looking down over her stomach as if trying to find something. But then he remembers why he's here and immediately pulls back, taking a deep breath. "Sorry, I'm forgetting why I came. I… well, I need to know if you meant everything you said that day. It came from somewhere, there had to be some truth…"
The concern causes a bit of surprise before Elaine looks back at Magnes. "C'mon, come sit," she offers, moving to the couch herself. "I don't hate you, if that's what you're asking, Magnes. I had a shitty day. Someone I trusted did something to me that was not okay, and then I couldn't do anything about it because after that she had an emotional breakdown. Not like you can do anything after that. The day turned out pretty bad and so a lot of that shit just made me upset. I took it out on you and I'm sorry for that. You make me mad and make me frustrated sometimes, but I don't hate you and no, I didn't mean everything I said. It was shitty timing."
That's what Quinn thought was going on. It brings her a smile, hearing that Magnes actually showed up tp talk things out with Elaine. "I'll be in here if you need me," she notes, even though putting things into the dishwasher is just going to take her only a few minutes… and besides, she can hear most of what they say when the sink isn't on. Though that brownie bowl may hang her up a bit. Elaine may have to rerinse that, because there's a good chance Quinn’s just tossing it into the dishwasher and applying tried and true method of "add more soap" instead of rinsing.
"I believe you, Elaine. It just hurt a lot, I guess… hearing you say those things. I feel like such a failure, you have no idea. I've been going after a woman just because she tells me what to do and makes rules to follow. I figured if I screw up thinking on my own, maybe I'll do fine if I don't have to." Magnes reaches over to take Elaine's hand, then places it against his cheek. "But after talking to Sable I've decided that I'm going to be celibate. I can't get over this guilt that I'd be cheating on you, so I think this is the next best option."
"Everyone feels like a failure once in a while. I do a lot, you can even ask Quinn. And Magnes, people telling you what to do isn't exactly always the best thing. You need to be the one to decide what to do or you're just being some mindless zombie under someone else's control," Elaine says with a sigh, looking back at Magnes. "I think you only screw up because you don't take time and think about things. You're emotional and rush into things." She sighs again. "Like celibacy. You really think that's the right choice? Denying yourself sex because you're afraid of being guilty and then feeling even guiltier when the second some woman walks in your path you can't get it back down and that's all you can think about? It's not the answer to anything."
From the kitchen, there's a bit of laughter, and Quinn walks out of the kitchen with a wet plate in hand. "Two things." Because she's not going to touch the topic of Magnes feeling like he's cheating on Elaine, that's something only they can work out. "Don't ever let someone make up your mind for you. Let them guide you, but don't let them tell you want t' do. It's better t' live your own life and fuck it up than t' let someone else live it for you." She shakes the plate as she talks, sending bead of water flying through the air and in their direction. "Second, celibacy is a load of shit an' you're just going t' make yourself more unhappy." And the shaking stops, and she moves back towards the kitchen a bit, pausing in the entrance way. "That's just my opinion. Sex is nice. Celibacy is just going to make you crazy. I know it would make me crazy, Magnes, an'… I'm pretty sure that's somethin' we have in common."
With that, she moves back into the kitchen, settling that plate into the dishwasher. Not, of course, without slamming her shin into it as she turns the corner and forgets it's open, but this is a normal occurrence.
"Letting Elvira make the rules just feels easier. I'm so worried about screwing up, I'm not even dating her, I just… I don't know. I’ve never really been broken up with before, Claire was… an odd situation, but I was never outright broken up with." Magnes frowns, staring at his lap, her hand clasped in-between both of his. "Being celibate is a way to avoid the guilt. Sex, in my mind, is something that I do with you. I'd probably feel horrible if I went and slept with someone else. Sable says I should just be celibate in moderation, like not make it an outright restriction, but I still feel like a bad person for even thinking about other women sometimes."
"Elvira… isn't that like, a vampire name or something?" Elaine questions, rubbing her neck with her free hand a little sheepishly. Her glance shoots to Quinn as she bangs her shin, wincing a little but unable to hide a bit of a smile. She squeezes Magnes' hand as she looks back towards him. "The easy option isn't always the best one. Trust me, I know this. Sometimes you have to fight hard and take a harder route to get something good out of it. And even if you don't succeed… you'll be a better person for trying. For putting your efforts into something." She strokes his hand with her thumb.
"Magnes, I just don't get why you feel guilty. We aren't together, so it's not like it's cheating. What's made this definition of sex in your mind have to be with me? Are you afraid that it just won't feel good, that it won't feel right with someone else?" She offers him a smile. "If you're feeling those things, Magnes, then you probably aren't over me. Sometimes wounds take longer than we'd like to heal. Sometimes they just need time. I wouldn't say be celibate… you're just going to get yourself caught up in something worse if you do that. What I would say is… don't try to make such a big deal of things. Sex was something we did as a couple. It was part of our relationship. So having sex without a relationship might feel weird to you now. So if you have sex… just don't go into it thinking about a relationship. You just need to calm down and slow down and take things a little bit at a time. Meet a sweet girl in a bar, and don't think about it. You're just overthinking."
This is where Quinn more or less steps out of the conversation, turning herself to back to the sink and the dishes that sit in it. Really, she should be doing this anyway. Elaine made the brownies. And cooked the hot dogs. She even toasted the buns, which Quinn had totally not thought of at all. So a standard of her hot dog eating habits from here on out.
"I don't care how it'll feel or anything like that, I feel like I'm doing something bad to you. And… I just…" Magnes sits up straight, keeping his eyes averted as a result of his uneasiness. "I don't like that you want me to sleep with other women, it makes me want to do it even less. It feels so wrong, this whole situation feels wrong. Like, this isn't how things are supposed to be somehow. I guess, in a nutshell, it feels like there's something wrong with our relationship even though we don't have one, and if I go and sleep with some other woman, I'm saying 'that's it, it's over'. And that sounds even stupider since that's the whole reason I wanted to do it in the first place."
There's another sigh, and Elaine leans forward to try and look Magnes in the eye. "Hey, there's no reason to feel guilty. We aren't together, and I've moved on. I'm having sex, Magnes. It isn't like I'm not having sex, so there's no reason why you shouldn't." She reaches a hand to tilt his chin to face her so she can look him in the eye. "You have to admit that it's over sometime, and once you do that you'll stop feeling guilty. Having sex won't make you admit it's over. Hell, having sex just for that reason is pretty stupid."
"It still feels like yesterday, like this is all just temporary. But this is how things are now, I guess… I really care about Elvira, so I guess I should stop feeling so guilty about just caring. I'm still gonna try the celibacy thing a little longer, but I promise I won't go overboard, alright? Just long enough to get my head in a good place." Magnes finally looks her in the eye, and then raises her hand to kiss the back of it. "I often ask myself how can I still love you, and care about another woman at the same time. It makes me feel like I'm cheapening how I feel about you."
He removes one of his hands from hers to dig into his pocket, raising his Droid to switch through a few pictures, and holds one up of Elvira at some sort of gala, all done up with hints of a nice dress outside of the frame. "That's her."
"Some things were better six months ago. Kinda feels weird, but… I think I'm in a better place now," Elaine smiles, looking back over at him. "I don't think the way you feel about me is cheap. If you value it so highly, then it must be worth something." She peers over at his phone, scooting a bit closer to peek. "Oh, I've seen her before. At the party for the ballet and I saw her on the street one time. Still think that's a weird name." She looks to Magnes. "I don't know why you love someone who just tells you what to do all the time… but I'm not going to tell you what to do with your love life. I'm glad you're finding someone to care about, at least."
Magnes can see it from where he sits. Elaine can't. It seems that Quinn has overheard them talking, and is returning to the couch. But this time, she's decided to make her emergence more… amusing. Well, for most of them. In on hand, held out and palm out sits a healthy stack of soapy suds, no doubt from the sink where she's rinsing dishes. And so, she tiptoes forward, for once managing to stay rather quiet as she neaks to the back of the sofa - and reaches around, splattering the suds right into Elaine's face, sending some scattering into the air all around them. And of course she can't help but laugh as she slides over the back of teh couch, and into the seat besides Elaine, her attack done and the arm that had done the deed still draped around her.
She did have a point in returning to the room, though, and once her giggling subsides, she looks up at Magnes, her chin resting on Elaine's shoulder as best as she can. "I wasn't going t' get involved in this part of the conversation. I feel like this is something you two really need to work out on your own. But I did just want t' say one thing, an' if you think I'm bein' mean or unfair, let me know Magnes. I don't mean t' be." Sitting up, she scooches a bit closer - mostly so that she's closer to both of them, and not just Elaine.
"I know what it's like t' love one woman, an' care about another at the same time. It's… weird. I know our experience with it wasn't exactly the same, by any means. But the ending is the same, in some ways. The key, Magnes, is knowing when t' let go. An'… it's hard, I know that. I spent almost two months tryin' t' figure that out. An' it doesn't come easy. But eventually, you have t'." She angles her head to look at the phone, smirking. "She's cute. I think I've seen her around a few times now. But you need t' know fall int' the problems I have in the past, and some… other people I know. You have t' let go. It hurts, and it's hard, but it'll make everything better. I promise."
Magnes immediately holds his hands up to shield his eyes, smiling when Quinn takes her seat closer to them. He pulls one knee up on the couch to face them, nodding as she speaks. "Elvira's a bit… different. She has lots of rules and she's very strict, she was raised a certain way. But I feel like she's very closed off, and I think she just needs a bit of happiness, which she thinks is overrated. I'm trying to move on from Elaine, I really am, but half a year is hard to let go. Half a year of being intimate almost every single day, feeling like you're a part of that person…"
There's a startled shriek as the suds find their way right into Elaine's face, the redhead quickly shutting her eyes to keep from all the bubbles getting into her eyes. She reaches up and wipes the suds from her face, rubbing her eyes a bit as she grumpily leans in against Quinn. "Jerk," she mutters although there's no retaliation.
Once the suds are out of her eyes and she can see without having to blink from a bit of burning, she looks to Magnes. "It wasn't every day," she protests, but smiles anyways. "And in some ways, Magnes, you're always a part of the person you were intimate with. It's not like I go and forget you exist. I might have moved on, but it doesn't mean that you don't mean something to me. Doesn't mean I don't remember that part of my life or how you made me feel or the things you did right."
Quinn actually reaches out a hand, placing it on Magnes’ knee. "I know you are. I didn't think you weren't. I'm just saying… when that moment comes? Take it. If you don't, you never know when another chance to let go will come." This, she knows from experience. She makes no comment on the frequency of their intimacy, instead choosing just to move on to her other thoughts. "I think rules, strictness, all that? Give it a shot, you know? It could do you a lot of good, particularly if she thinks happiness is overrated, cause- honestly, that's stupid. But don't let rules become you. That's when life stops being fun. Don't let her control your life. Let yourself become a part of it. There's a difference." Having been called a jerk, her only response is to lean back and kiss Elaine’s cheek - though right where a clump of suds remains, leaving her sputtering and trying to rid her mouth of that soapy taste.
"Well no, there were nights too." Magnes teases, teaching over to lightly poke her in the arm. "So basically the lesson here is moderation, again, and learning to let go. I think I can keep both of those in mind. I actually don't think I feel as guilty after this… there was always this fear in the back of my mind that if I slept with someone else, Elaine would hate me."
Elaine can't help but laugh as Quinn ends up sputtering. She nudges Quinn gently in a sort of serves-you-right motion before she looks back to Magnes, laughing and actually blushing at that. "I won't hate you, Magnes, unless you screw someone that I'd be mad about. There are plenty of chicks you can screw, just don't screw my friends or anything, got it? Granted, most of them prefer the company of females, but… those who don't… just don't go sleeping with someone that would make me mad, alright?"
"I think all my friends these days except Nicole are lesbians," actually sounds a bit like a lament from Quinn. And even then, Quinn knows about the dates Nicole and Sable went on, and whether or not Elaine officially counts as one of said lesbians goes unstated. "An' Adel. But she's off limits! No sexing the drummer." Grinning only lasts for a moment, before her expression sours a bit, and she rubs her tongue against the short sleeve of her shirt like a Neanderthal, wanting to get soap off her tongue, but not wanting to get up.
"At any rate, I told you she wouldn't hate you." She actually seems very pleased. This has gone much better than she hoped or expected. "An' man, you got days and night?" she teases back, giggling as she looks over at Elaine. "If only I could be so lucky. Anyway, I really need something to drink, my tongue just won't let up on this sud thing, so… we have orange soda, cola, Sprite, an' beer. What do you guys want?"
"I guess I'll take an orange soda, I don't like to fly buzzed. And I guess this means I won't be sleeping with Delilah ever again, but I guess I can live with that." Kinda, sorta, maybe. Magnes isn't sure. "Oh man, that reminds me. I forgot her name, but apparently I have a fangirl. She seemed to absolutely love my singing and I took her for ice cream."
"Yeah, no sexing Adel. You didn't do in-band relations anyways, so… no sexing Adel." Elaine glances back to Quinn. "Orange soda sounds good for me, too," her gaze moves back to Magnes. "Yeah, and Dee's totally off limits too. She's Sable's, anyways, and Dee's a friend and… yeah, that'd be weird." She pauses. "Oh, but a fangirl! That sounds promising. Maybe you should go for her."
"Yeah, if we can't sleep with Delilah and Adel," Quinn starts, not really thinking about the implication of that statement before she makes it, "you can't either." Getting up form her seat, she heads over to teh frige, retrieving three of the glass bottled drinks. "So, you have a fangirl, an' I had a stalked come by work the other week. We're gettin' a head start on the whole rock star life thing, Magnes. It'd really make it official if we slept with them," she teases, plopping back down and handing out teh drinks.
"She seemed a little young, but probably no younger than Elaine. I think I'd go for it, I mean, she seems enthusiastic…" Magnes crosses his arms, hmming to himself in brief thought. "Of course I'm not the type to just, y'know, dine and dash, but I guess that depends on what her attitude is after. I mean I certainly wouldn't hurt the girl or anything."
"I'm not that young. I'm nineteen tomorrow. As long as she's legal, Magnes, that's all that matters," Elaine grins. "Age of consent! Besides, if she's really into you, Magnes… and that's what she's after or maybe interested in… that's not so bad. Don't just… hoist it on her, though. Pay attention to her and act all nice and maybe she'll let you know she wants you." She nods. "So just see how she feels about doing it in the first place, and then see how she feels after. It's not like you have to be in a relationship with her… or that you have to ditch her either."
"Dine and dash. Well, that's a new way t' look at eating out," Quinn muses amusedly, before shaking her head. "Make sure she's, like- 18 first. Though age of consent is lower, it never hurts." A nod from Quinn, who takes a sip of her drink as she leans in against Elaine. "Shit! That's right. We're doin' a little somethin' tomorrow. You should come. I'm tryin' t' get Sable an' Delilah out for it, at least. But… yeah, gauge interest from this girl. She what she thinks. You don't have to get committed after the first time. If she likes you, see what she wants."
"I don't feel so bad about this. Even Elvira says I should enjoy myself, since she has zero intention of showing any affection at all." Magnes holds his hands up, as if to focus his gaze straight ahead. "Narrow my focus. See what this fangirl is all about. I like that idea. And I can probably make it tomorrow, I haven't gotten to spend a birthday with Elaine yet."
"Maybe Elvira," Elaine stops to stifle a giggle. The name will always get to her, "is a better friend since she's not interested in sex with you and you should go after this fangirl." She offers a nod. "I didn't meet you until… mmm, three weeks after my birthday, I believe, last year, Magnes. So this will be my first I get to celebrate with you guys. We just figured we'd do something, even if it's kinda last minute. Y'know, just our friends and some alcohol and cake and food. Maybe some Rock Band or something. You should definitely come."
'Definitely some Rock Band," Quinn corrects, raising a finger. "An' now we have enough instruments for us t' all play it proper like. I might call Rue too. I imagine she'd have fun. But yeah, I'm really lookin' forward t' getting all of us t'gether for Elaine’s birthday. We'll give her a really good one. Also glad that you're thinkin' about the fangirl, Magnes. I think I agree with Elaine."
"I don't know, we'll see. Fangirl seems nice enough, maybe we've got things in common." Magnes points to the kitchen. "Can I have some of those brownies to go? I need to fly home before it gets too late. I didn't bother bringing the car."
"Yeah, of course, lemme grab you some brownies and then send you on your way," Elaine gets to her feet, heading to the kitchen. She quickly wraps up some brownies, bringing them back towards Magnes and offering them towards him with a kiss to his cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow, Magnes. Just drop by at what… one?" She glances back to Quinn. "I think we can do one or two. Just drop by in the afternoon."
"Drop by whenever, I'm throwing this party," Quinn remarks as she rises up to her feet, a wide grin on her face as she looks between the pair of them. "And that means the party never ends."