Sophia was shivering because she was scared, not cold. She didn't say that, however, because she knew Tim was trying to be nice. "Thanks," she said as she pulled the hoodie over herself. It was a bit snug but was comfortable and, admittedly, it smelled nice. It actually did make her feel a bit better, and eventually Sophia stopped her shivering though she kept her arms wrapped around herself. "Whenever you're free this week," Sophia ventured after a while, "we can go shopping. I'll buy you a new jacket since it's my fault you lost your old one." Tim started to protest, but the look Sophia gave him told him that she would do it regardless of what he said. So he consigned himself and gave her a muttered thanks. Sophia decided to move up onto the couch and made herself comfortable, though she made sure to give Tim plenty of space. "So does this mean, like... magic exists or something? Cause if it does I'm not quite sure I like it. I think I might rather stick to books and video games."

"Oh, god, I dunno. Maybe it's just some sort of...supernatural phenomenon? Like, a strange, one time thing that happens to people and never happens again? Like with... with alien abductions or something, y'know?" Tim had grabbed a sweater off the back of the couch and pulled it on as he spoke. It was a light gray, though if one were to look closely they could see very faint patches of pink and green, which made a very faded floral pattern. And the pattern was lightly overlain with another faint gray. It was Tim's favorite sweater. He looked back over at Sophia after he had it on. "And...um... I'm sure that once we get over the initial shock of this, we're going to look back and think 'Oh, fuck, why was I freaking out? That was amazing and it happened to me!' or something like that." He said. He honestly believed it, but he thought maybe it would make her feel a bit better, too.

A small smile crossed Sophia's lips at Tim's words. "Yeah," she agreed. "Maybe you're right." Finally she was starting to relax a little and felt that she could assess the situation better. "The cave with the runes was pretty cool at least," she finally admitted. "Do you think maybe there's a way to translate them? Perhaps it can explain what happened." Even if the runes gave them no clues, or if they could even translate them, it would be something for them to do, something that would help make them forget why they had been afraid in the first place. Then Sophia suddenly decided to add, "But next time we decide to do something together, let's try to make it somewhere inside."

"Absolutely. If i'm being honest, all the exposure today was...a bit overwhelming. And I felt like that before we even got caught up in whatever the fuck happened to us. It's been a long time since... since I've actually... like, talked to anyone for more than, like, a minute. And now I've been out in parks and I'm holding great conversations with someone that is great. And you're also wearing my favorite hoodie and you're in my house wearing it and we are talking in my house. This is a huge leap for me." He let his words spill out awkwardly as he thought of them, because he felt like he needed to say all of it. And because it was Sophia, he felt like he could say it all without really worrying too much about what he said. It was almost like he had a friend now! "And, y'know, I cant handle all that. I cant take all of that craziness at once. _Especially_ after the literal mind fuck that happened at the park. So yeah, I would love to do something inside with you next time, like, in my apartment. I would prefer that, thanks."

Sophia felt her cheeks burning red at Tim's words. She wasn't quite sure why but she felt extremely embarrassed for some reason. She thought it might mostly be due to the fact that she now realized that she was wearing his favorite hoodie and that they were alone in his apartment. It seemed like something a couple would do: a guy sharing his favorite hoodie. But friends did that too. "Friends!" Sophia suddenly found herself spilling out. "That's what friends do. They talk and do things together and share stuff. We are friends, Tim, right?" She was already beginning to consider Tim her friend, but she didn't know if he felt the same way. It was just that he was so introverted and always alone that Sophia worried he might not even want to consider her a friend yet. "Yes," she added quickly. "We can do something here together next time if it'll make you feel better. I can always bring a game system over or something. I'm sure I have some games you might like."

Tim nodded in agreement, taking note that she was the one who seemed flustered this time instead of him. As a matter of fact, he felt...calm, for once in his life. Even after the shit that went down no more than an hour ago, he was still in complete control of himself. That was a new feeling for him. It was great. "Yeah, or we could watch a movie. I have a collection that I'm pretty proud of, so thats an option too." He pulled at the sleeve of his sweater, a little surprised that he was able to carry out this conversation so easily.

"A movie sounds good," Sophia said, relaxing again. "Do you want to watch one now? I can go get some coffee and some snacks from the bakery. If you don't have anything else to do today, I mean. If you need to get back to your work I can just head home for the day." She honestly hoped that he might want to watch a movie. Sophia was beginning to get over her earlier shock of the incident at the park, but she still wasn't quite ready to be alone. In fact, if he wanted her to leave she'd probably go to the cafe or the mall just so she could be surrounded by people in order to not feel so alone. To Sophia's relief Tim agreed to watch a movie and Sophia let out a relieved sigh she didn't know she had been holding. She perked up a bit, managing to smile. "I'll be back in a bit then!" She told him, hopping up from the couch. "Pick out whatever type of movie you want to watch while I'm gone." With that Sophia rush out the apartment and to the bakery downstairs where she picked up cupcakes, cookies, and some eclairs, and then dipped into the Rose Cafe for some coffee. When her mom and dad asked how her day with Tim was going so far she put on a grin and told them it was going great. The walk in Nottingham park had been nice, but now they were going to relax and watch a movie. They told her to enjoy herself and she said she would. Sophia knocked on the door to Tim's apartment, announcing, "I'm back! Could you get the door, Tim? My hands are kind of full." He opened the door for her and she greeted him with a smile. "Thanks," she said, stepping into the apartment with Tim shutting the door behind her. She went and set the stuff down on the kitchen table. "For sweets I got several different types of cupcakes and cookies, and some eclairs. Got your usual coffee again. What movie did you pick out?"

Tim crouched down in front of his shelf of movies and pulled out a clear plastic DVD case, with a picture of two people, a boy and a girl, sitting on a bus underneath pink text. He held the case up, sort of shaking it a bit. "Oh, um, I chose _Must Come Down._ It's super independent and really underrated." Tim was a pretty avid movie goer, and he was a large fan of indy films. He felt that they were far more personal than films with bigger budgets. He had a large collection of these movies he collected over the years, and this one was one of his favorites. He knew his taste might be a bit... off to most people, but he liked it, and honestly, it was all he really wanted to watch right now. Everything else he had was either too depressing or way too happy to watch. He walked over to Sophia, taking one of the pastries off of her , handing her the movie case as he did. He looked at her expectantly. "Are you cool with that?"

Sophia flipped over the case and read the back of it even as she picked up an eclair and took a bite of it. One eyebrow went up in amusement as she read the movie's description. Swallowing her bite of eclair she said, "Yeah. Fine by me," before handing the case back to Tim. He popped the DVD in to the DVD player and turned on the tv. Sophia settled down on the couch, the pastries and coffee now on the coffee table for easy access. Finally the movie was ready to go and Tim took a seat on the couch across from her with plenty of space between the two. "Oh my god. That's why you don't sleep with your boss!" Sophia declared a little heatedly when she found out the reason Holly got fired. "Stupid girl." Sophia shook her head and then sighed. Why did imaginary people have to be so stupid? She always wondered that about characters in her video games and books too, often talking aloud when she was alone and ranting about how everything could have been fixed if they weren't such goddamned _idiots_. Nonetheless Sophia was enjoying the movie and she laughed where it was funny. Eventually the movie was over, the coffee gone, and most of the sweets eaten. Having forgotten the strange occurrences earlier in the day, Sophia was now completely relaxed. She smiled at Tim and said, "That was a pretty good movie. Do you want to do anything else, or should I let you get some alone time now?"

Tim thought for a moment, biting his lip a bit. He shrugged a bit before answering. "Ahh, I really think I should be...um, getting back to work. And probably back to...trying not to freak out about the park stuff from earlier. Heh. Um, but, other than all the crazy stuff, I had a pretty good time...y'know, hanging out and...talking to...um, you. About things. It was fun, we should totally--maybe--do this thing again sometime. If you want."

Tim was the one back to being flustered again, but Sophia didn't mind. She knew eventually he would easily be able to talk to her without feeling so worried or awkward. "Today was fun," she agreed. "Minus all that Twilight Zone shit at the park. And we can definitely do something together again soon." She stood and pulled off his hoodie, checking its size and making a mental note before she handed it back to him. She tried to think of the next time she was free and laughed a bit when she remembered this week was the start of Thanksgiving vacation. "Hey, Tim," she said as she retrieved her shoes and started to put them on. "If you don't have any plans for Thanksgiving, want to join me? I won't make you come to my family's, of course. We can just hang out at my apartment, eat, and play games or watch a movie. If you want to, that is." Sophia wouldn't bring Tim to her family's knowing that they would all want to talk to him and question him, and possibly assume that he was Sophia's boyfriend--all of which she was sure that he wouldn't be able to easily handle. Still, she didn't want him to be alone on Thanksgiving.

Tim breathed in sharply. He was unsure. He liked hanging out with Sophia-- he liked it a lot, if he was being honest. But he really didn't think he could handle so much all at once. He didn't want to ruin their friendship right after it started just because he couldn't handle it at all. That, and for...well, one other reason. He didn't want to tell her about that. He shifted his weight a bit, breathed out, and answered. "Um... I dont know, uh, about that. I think...like, I like being alone, too. I dont...like... hate it at all, or anything. But... I dont know, really like you, hanging out with you and stuff. And also...uh, theres... I'm just not 100%...comfortable...yet. But I-I would love to do..stuff. With you. Lots of stuff! Just...not on that day, if thats okay. I'm sorry, I'm not... I still need time. But I really, really want to hang out soon, again, if you're okay with that." He had pushed his hands into his pockets, and he was constantly looking down at his feet, and back up to her. He didnt know what he was doing.

Seeing that he was struggling to find his words, Sophia went over to her new friend. She placed her hands on Tim's shoulders and gave him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about it," she gently told him, trying to soothe his anxiety. "Just take your time, ok? We can hang out whenever you want to--so long as I'm not at school or at work. I don't want you to push yourself too much at once, Tim. You did a lot today, but you did well. Just relax for a while and take some time for yourself. Here, I'll leave you my phone number and email so you can get in contact with me whenever you feel like it." She borrowed a pen from him and wrote down her cell phone number and email address on the receipt from the bakery and handed it to him. "Call me, text me, or email me whenever you like," Sophia said. "I might not always be able to respond right away though, but I will reply as soon as I can. And who knows? If you text or email me you might find it a little easier to talk. Alright, I'll get heading out now. I did have fun today, Tim, and I hope you did too." She then gave him a light hug and then stepped back toward the door. "I'll see you later," she told him, giving him another smile before shutting the door to his apartment, leaving him alone once more. Sophia walked next door and retrieved her car, then head home to her apartment. Her head was buzzing with the day's events: the park and its strange happenings, watching a movie at Tim's place and getting to talk to him some. It had been a strange day indeed, but a good one. And as Tim had predicted Sophia now wondered why she had been so freaked out about what had happened in the park anyway. Now that her shock and fright had worn away, she was left feeling giddy with excitement. Upon returning home Sophia emptied out her backpack, putting everything away in its place, before finding something for dinner and then hopping in the shower. Afterwards she jumped on her computer and started to play her favorite MMORPG, calling Ally when she appeared online and relaying the day's events--making sure to leave out several details such as the weird happenings at the park and some of the initial awkwardness between her and Tim. Eventually she went to bed as she had work early the next day, and she fell asleep wondering when she might next get to hang out with Tim.

The door clicked shut behind Sophia as she left, and Tim sighed heavily as she did, his whole body relaxing completely. He turned away from the door and walked through his living room, mumbling to himself along the way. His disposition was one that was dreary and foggy headed at the moment. Despite the mostly fun day he had with Sophia, there was still something nagging in the back of his mind, and it was beginning to surface again. _How am I supposed to react to my sons dead body? Huh?!_ "Fuck..." Tim said under his breath, shaking his head as he made his way to his laptop, flipping it open and logging in. "Go away..." _How could you do this to your own mother?! On the **holidays** no less!_ "Go the fuck away, mother." And with that, Tim began to tick away quickly on his keyboard, back in his work zone. He didn't do anything else. HE didnt react to anything, didnt move. He focused on the code and only the code, drowning out any thoughts, negative or otherwise. Tim worked for five hours until he passed out on the couch again, completely drained and with no energy left. He fell asleep with no thoughs on his mind, and he slept a dreamless sleep.

The next morning Sophia returned to work. As always she was her normal cheery self, though today she felt as if she was practically floating on cloud nine. Her co-workers did not fail to notice and Ginger, one slightly older girl, gently nudged Sophia in the ribs with her elbow, grinning as she asked, "What's got you so perked up, Sophia? Did you get a booooyfriend?" Sophia laughed as she flipped the switch on the espresso machine to stop the milk steamer. "Noooo," she replied, drawing out her 'O's similarly to Ginger. "But I do have a new friend! We hung out yesterday. He's kinda bad with people, but he's a nice guy and we had fun." Ginger raised one eyebrow, her expression one of amusement. "So he's a potential boyfriend," she stated more than asked. Sophia rolled her eyes at Ginger's prodding. As she continued to finish off the drink she was making she replied, "I'm not even touching that subject with a ten-foot pole." Clapping her hands, Ginger excitedly exclaimed, "So he is!" "Ginger," came a warning tone. But it was not Sophia from whom the warning her come, but rather her mother who stood behind Ginger with her arms crossed, a slightly annoyed look on her face as she tap-tap-tapped her foot. "Don't you have some work to be doing?" Instantly Ginger snapped to attention, all but saluting. "Yes, ma'am!" She spouted quickly before hurrying off to do her job. "Thanks, mom," Sophia said with a smile as she finished the drink she was making. "You're welcome, sweetie," her mother said as her features relaxed once more and a smile crossed her face. "I know how Ginger is though. She's a good worker but sometimes she likes to gab a bit too much. I'm about to go pick up some lunch for your father and myself. What would you like?" "Anything is fine, mom," Sophia replied. "Chinese it is then," her mother said. Sophia smiled and watched her go as she took the drink she had finished to its table. As she went onto the next order she began to wonder if Tim would show up that day, or even send her a text or email or something.

Tim had been staring blankly at his computer screen for fifteen minutes. He couldn't bring himself to do anything. His eyes would wander to his phone for just a moment before snapping back to the computer. He tried his hardest to write some code, but he just couldnt bring himself to do anything. HE looked back at his phone. This went on for five minutes. "Oh...alright, okay." He reached over and grabbed his phone. He unlocked it, scrolled down to Sophia, and tapped the little word bubble icon next to her name. HE stared at the screen for a few moments before sighing, and typing up a little message. _Hey, Sophia. How are you? Do you want to do something together? We can go somewhere if you want._ _Oh, it's Tim, by the way._ He sent it, and he already felt the anxiety of waiting for a response weigh down on his chest.

Sophia felt her cell phone buzz in her pocket for a moment. Her grin seemed to widen as she thought of who it might be, but she couldn't stop to answer it now. She was still busy with work. Ten minutes later, however, Renee appeared with lunch. Grabbing her portion Sophia gave her mother a hurried kiss on the cheek and a 'thank you' before eagerly scurrying out the back door to sit outside and eat. Pulling up an overturned milk crate Sophia opened up her lunch, balancing it on her lap. She picked up her fork and ate with her left hand while with the right she pulled out her phone and scrolled through it to find her unread text messages. She found the one she wanted and started to read. "Yes!" Sophia exclaimed excitedly to herself when she saw the text was from Tim. Unable to help it, Sophia beamed widely until she almost resembled the Chesire Cat. She quickly added Tim to her list of contacts and then started to reply to his message. _Hi, Tim! ^.^_ She greeted happily. _Doing good. At work right now. But I'm off in two more hours and would love to hang out! What would you like to do? How are you, by the way?_ Sophia sent the message and turned her attention back to eating, though she waited with giddy anticipation to see if she'd get another text from Tim before she had to go back to work. This time, however, she planned to take her full thirty minute break.

Tim read the message he received, breaking his concentration from the ceiling fan that he was staring at so intently when he got the message. He read it and, for some reason, smiled. He caught himself doing it and wondered why. He couldnt figure it out, so he just wrote a message back to her instead. _Wanna go to the mall? I need a new jacket._ He hit send, still smiling.

Sophia's grin seemed to spread even wider than before. She was sure that to anyone who stumbled upon her right now she might look like a mad woman. But Sophia didn't care. Tim had texted her and they were talking and going to hang out again! She couldn't wait for work to be over. _Sure thing!_ She replied. _Just let me take care of your jacket, ok? It was my fault you lost your other one, so I'll pay for this one. No protesting! Would you mind meeting me here at the cafe in two hours? I'll have your usual coffee waiting for you. Promise!_ Sophia sent her reply and once more eagerly waited for a reply as she finished wolfing down her lunch. Not too much longer left on her break. Then only two hours left on her shift and then she'd be free to hang out with Tim.

Tim wanted to tell her not to do that and he felt bad accepting her charity, but he knew that if she insisted, she was not going to let him say no. At all. So he just let it happen, shaking his head as he replied to her message. _Alright, fine. Thats cool, I'll see you in a couple of hours then ;)_ He hit send, and only seconds later realized the mistake he made. "Oh, fucking--shit! No! Fuck!" he shouted at his phone, watching helplessly as the small blue bar traveled across the top of his phone. He watched it waver for a moment, and he prayed that it would stop, but unfortunately, it didnt, and it sent instead. Cheeks burning, he quickly wrote a follow up message. _sorry that should have been a :)_ He hit send, shaking his head as he let his phone fall out of his hand and onto his lap.