Evangeline "Cajun" Babineaux's Story

Ding dong!

“Unnh...”

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

“Nuuuunnnh!

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding dong!

Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof!


Evangeline finally caved in and let her eyelids flutter before she slowly opened her eyes fully. A quick glance at her clock showed that it was seven in the morning on a Saturday; And on her birthday, nonetheless! Shouldn't she be sleeping in...? But the constant ringing of the doorbell, the banging on the door, and finally the deep, bass toned barking of her Great Dane, Juno made her grumble her way out of bed. She bumped around her room as she struggled to pull some spanks on under the big Hello Kitty! T-shirt that she had worn to bed the previous night. “Juno! Shut it up!”, she yelled at the big dog, shooing her away from the door as she unbolted and opened it. A sleepy gaze fell onto the young man at the door; Danny. “Danny....Its seven am. On mah birthday. On a Saturday. What do you want?” She sighed, not meaning to sound so agitated as she held back Juno from pouncing on her playmate.

Danny looked down to Evangeline, his head throbbing from the dog barking, already regretting the many drinks he had at the party the night before. He was stuck in the horrible phase between being hungover and still being drunk, everything just hazy in general. Raising his sunglasses slightly to see clearly was his first mistake, his eyes blinded by the light, frowning as he blinked, his headache getting worse. The most he could do was pull out the several sticky notes that had been scattered around his apartment all saying 'Cajun's Birthday Today!', unable to help but smirk slightly, "I set up a few reminders for myself, wouldn't want to miss it."

His voice was a little hoarse from last night, but he still had his normal cocky attitude, his hair obviously not having been styled this morning. He groaned a little when he pulled his glasses off, squinting to Evangeline, "You missed one hell of a party... at least I think it was a good party... to be honest the whole thing is a little hazy. But next time you should come with me, maybe we can get you boozed up." Danny teased, knowing his friend wouldn't drink even if he begged her to.

She rolled her eyes as he squinted at the rather dim lighting of her apartment – Sheesh, how much did he drink? “So, you're sayin' you remembered it was my birthday and thought you'd drop by and wake me up at seven in the mornin' instead of letting me enjoy sleepin' in?” She put her hands on her hips, chastising him lightly for waking her up. But, unable to stay mad at him for too long, she put her hands on his shoulders and softened her gaze. “C'mon, cher. You gon' sleep or somethin' and I'm gon' make breakfast.” The problem with Evangeline was that once she was awake, she couldn't go back to sleep.

It was because of it that she had actually gotten to spend more time with the playboy Danny who was known to come banging on her door at three in the morning for dinner. She pulled him inside gently and pushed some blonde curls from her face as she closed the door. “Bacon, grits, steak, waffles, biscuits, and scrambled eggs again?” She lifted a brow as she began to pull her hair into a ponytail, watching as Juno practically shivered with excitement, waiting for him to acknowledge her presence.

Danny smirked for a second, "Well, since you offered..." he smiled, feeling a bit better in the comforting aura of the apartment. He stretched, yawning loudly as he did, knowing he most likely smelled of alcohol still but smiling a little as he looked down to the large dog before him, "Hey Juno? How's my puppy? Come on girl!" He laughed as Juno pounced onto him, making the man stumble back a bit as the dog happily licked his face, "Alright, alright Juno, I get it, you missed me!" Danny joked, his head still aching as he went to lean against the counter close to where Cajun was cooking, Juno following and sitting beside him. With a small laugh, he reached down patting her head, "Aww Juno, you're my best girl. Don't worry Cajun you're a close second." Danny teased, winking.

“I swear, I don' know what dat dog gonna do when I move from here and she don't see you anymo'.”, she teased right back, rolling her eyes as she pulled out all the necessary ingredients. She was glad that Keira went grocery shopping yesterday evening; Evangeline didn't have time to because she went straight to work after school, but she had left her share of the grocery money on the counter for her friend to pick up.

Her mood picked up some as the smell of cooking bacon wafted under her nose. She really could not be anything but happy when she cooked – It was her passion. Her mother used to tell her that cooking while you were feeling negative would make your food taste bad because of bad juju. Therefore, Evangeline always made sure to cheer up when she cooked. She couldn't have someone telling her that her food didn't taste anything but amazing!

“I'd ask you to help, but I don' want chu throwin' up on the food. Speakin' of which, you go 'head and get dat trash can or a bucket from under the sink. I jus' mopped these floors last night.” She teased some more, becoming increasingly chipper as the scent of food on all four burners began to slowly fill the apartment and waft out the windows and under the cracks of the doors.

"Please, what kind of partyer do you think I am? I'm halfway sober at this point at the very least." Danny says, an ever cocky smile on his lips as he continued to pat Juno's head. And what he spoke of was true, if he ever had a hangover it normally didn't ever last very long. He felt as though he might have been beginning to develop an immunity to alcohol recently. But at the moment all he wanted to do was eat, getting a little closer, practically drooling at the delicious smell of the food.

"And if you move from here I'll just move right behind you. I could never be away from Juno! Isn't that right Juno?" He smiled down to the dog who already had her tail thumping against the ground at the mention of her name, "I want a dog but I don't think I'd be too good at taking care of it. Not as well as I take care of the girls coming in and out of my apartment, can I get an amen Juno?" He smirked again, chuckling lightly as the large black dog gave a loud bark in response.

At his last comment, Evangeline really could not hide the cherry red color that had consumed her face. “Danny...Jus'....Stop talkin'. Kay?” She rolled her eyes as she used a fork to stab the porterhouse and flip it over. “Juno, don't listen to him. He's a bad influence.” She resumed her teasing, turning her back to Danny as an excuse to hide her face, cracking eggs into a bowl. “At least make yerself useful and give Beezel his mouse for the mornin'.” She pointed over to a gerbil cage that housed ten white lab mice. “He's in my room on the bed.”

She often kept Beezel's cage open which would lead to him slithering into bed with her sometimes. Usually he coiled around her legs, but this time he had just coiled around her pillow instead. She did her best to ignore Danny, busying herself now with chopping up cilantro and dicing tomatoes and onions.

Danny smiled brightly, looking like an excited little boy at the mention of being able to feed the python, "Seriously? Holy Crap, this is the moment I've been waiting for my entire freaking life!" He grinned, grabbing a mouse from the cage, grinning to himself. He wandered into the room slowly, holding the now terrified mouse by it's tail, "Breakfast is ready Beezel!" Danny hung the mouse over the snake's head, grinning as the python hissed and moved quick as lightning, snatching the rodent from the air.

Wiping his hands off on his pants, he walked back into the kitchen, "I swear you have the coolest pets, it's like a petting zoo in here." Danny leaned right back against the counter, "You should pay admission at the door to make a little extra money on the side." He joked, a small smile on his face, "I would pay it everyday... Well as long as you'd let me pet you too." Danny teased, instinctively winking even though Evangeline had her back turned to him.

She rolled her eyes as Danny's voice inflated with excitement at being able to feed Beezel. “I swear, you are so ridiculous.” She sighed, though she couldn't hide the light smile that danced across her lips. “Yes, because people will pay big money to play with a dog, a cat, a snake, and a marsupial.” She snorted softly, emptying the beaten eggs into a large sauce pan. At his mention of being able to pet her, she gave a light cough. “Now. You come to my apartment at o'God thirty in the morning practically every other day. I make your breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day. I let you sleep in my bed while I sleep on the couch. And I let you play with all my darling little animals every day. All of this without pay. But you're sayin' your willin' to start forkin' out money if I let you pet me?” She gave him an incredulous look, putting her hands on her hips as she faced him.

Danny smiled slightly, rubbing his chin as if in thought, "Well you know, most the time I don't have to think through the things I say when flirting, most girls just giggle and go along with anything I say then leave in the morning." He thought for a second, "Really it's much easier when they're drunk I guess." He nodded thoughtfully to his own explanation.

"And I already pay you for all the stuff you do for me. Just instead of money it's with being able to see me all the time." He grinned, flexing and kissing his muscles. "I also offer sex but you haven't cashed that in. Yet. But seriously I'd whore my body out to you in exchange for your food any day of the week." He laughed mainly to himself, his smile illuminating his face.

Okay, so now she really looked like the tomatoes that she had just finished dicing. “I will have you know that I'm not one of your groupie floozies. I am a respectable woman. I don't want your money and I'm definitely not paying you or anyone else nor will I accept any payment for sex. So...So...” She was flustered, unable to think of something else to say. Ever the hopeless romantic, talk of sex and whores unnerved her. She usually just left the room. It took her a moment to realize that she had raised her voice with him and that her eyes were watery.

“I didn't mean to yell at ya, cher...Sorry. Early birthday mornin' jitters...” She wiped just under her eyes really quickly as she mumbled before turning back to the stove where she unloaded the steak, bacon, grits, and waffles. She poked gingerly at the eggs and took a deep breath before exhaling slowly. She could feel Juno nudging her thigh with her massive head. Inwardly, she cursed herself for getting so worked up over nothing.

Danny frowned a little at her, shaking his head, "I'm sorry Cajun, it was just a joke. But I know that you don't like to talk about those things. Here I'll shut up officially now, would that be better?" He questioned, feeling uneasy seeing Evangeline upset. Really, when ever Danny saw a girl cry before, he was never really phased by it, but it really was different with his friends, it just made him want to back track and make them feel better.

Despite his earlier promise, he continued to speak, honestly nervous at the possibility of losing a friend. "You know you don’t have to explain to me how you are, I get it, that's why I like hanging around here, cause you really are different and I like that. Just don't get mad, kay?" He said, hoping he had managed to maintain all his nervousness from slipping out.

The eggs were ready so Cajun turned off the burner and let them sit there as she moved and wrapped her arms around him, giving him a tight hug. “You know I ca'int ever stay mad at you. Damn chucklehead.” She smiled as her head rested on his chest. Oh, the lovely awkward yet sometimes touching moments they had when she was tired and he was hungover. At least those moments gave her reason to hug him so tight.

She released him from the hug and again wiped at her eyes, giving a soft 'phew'. The apartment smelled absolutely delicious! The food was laid out around the stove and counter. She never made food for a single person unless she was making a bowl of cereal or ramen – She always cooked in bulk because she never knew who all was going to come over looking for food. Except Danny – He was always over looking for food. “You go ahead and fix you a plate. I gotta go get a shower.” She had to stand on her tip toes to kiss his cheek before heading out of the kitchen and towards the bathroom.

Danny smiled down to Cajun as she turned to hug him, a feeling of relief washing over him as he hugged back slightly tighter than her. "Oh thank god, I'm storing that information and using it against you from now on." He teased, really contented that she had said that. He had lost a lot of friends in the past because of his teasing and flirty ways. At the mention of fixing a plate, Danny rubbed his hands together already looking to the food, "Alright, you go do that Evan, don't worry about rushing though, I'm gonna be here for a while." He just smiled slightly as she kissed his cheek, and being as experienced as he was, really saw it as nothing. He served himself a big plate, sitting over at the table as he stuffed his face with food. Danny pulled his phone out, seeing several messages from random girls always made him shake his head. He just put them under the grouping he always put them under, 'Hot Chicks from the Club'. He raised an eyebrow as he saw there was no text from his roommate and bro, Jack. Danny shrugged a little, figuring he was still asleep. He sent out a quick message: 'Hey Lightweight, Not still tired from the party last night right? We should go for round two on that drinking contest, see if you can beat the master. But you better get your ass out of bed, don't forget you /have/ to come to Cajun's party or i will bash your head in. -Love Danny He smirked to his text going back to his food. He finally paused for a moment looking down to Juno who was looking from Danny to the plate of food in front of him. He chuckled, grabbing a piece of bacon and throwing it up, the Great Dane snatching it out of the air. Danny laughed, patting the dogs head. There was no possible way for him not to be entertained in the apartment. "Hey Eva?" He yelled out, hoping she could hear him and he wasn't talking to himself, "We should go out to the gym later! Or just out in general, you know for your birthday." He yelled out as he was eating. It was already decided that it was his job to make sure that Evangeline was kept busy and away until the surprise party rolled around, so he wasn't about to take no for an answer.

Walt looked blindly to the legal papers of his mock case, trying to decipher the words through his sleep deprived eyes. How long had it been since he last slept anyways? Looking over the clock reading 3:46 AM in big blaring red letters, he blinked slightly. That would make it around 20 hours at his point. "Oh that's practically nothing." He muttered to himself, shaking his head, trying to wake himself. "Come on Walter, you have to be able to do better than this." He spoke to himself, standing from his very organized desk, setting his pen down in it's usual place. Walt paced around his room for a few minutes, which of course was always kept very clean and organized. He always tried to resist being a freak about the cleanliness of his home, but he couldn't help himself most the time. With a large sigh, Walter fell back onto his neat bed, closing his eyes for a split second. When he opened them again it was to his phone buzzing. He looked over to his clock, several hours had passed in a matter of seconds. Walt groaned, picking up his phone, slightly refreshed after the few hours of sleep he did get. He couldn't help the small smile on his face from the text Luz had just sent him. It was short but knowing Luz was enough to figure out all there was to know in the short text. He fired back a quick reply, 'So what did the landlord jerk do this time? And are you are planning on going to Evangeline's party today?' he sent the message, which actually reminded him to send a quick message to Cajun, 'Happy birthday! Say out of trouble!'. He hopped out of bed, smoothing out the sheets before heading downstairs to the kitchen, still in his pajamas. He poured himself a bowl of cereal, half heartily eating half the bowl before throwing it out and cleaning the bowl quickly. Before he did anything else he went up to his room, opening the closet that displayed his outfits in an organized fashion, color coded and all his shirts hung up, pants neatly folded and shoes in rows on the floor. Walt quickly pulled out a plain white dress shirt and jeans. He changed just as quickly, still buttoning up his shirt when he knocked on his roommate's door, "Hey Leelo! Wake up call! Guess who's birthday it is?" he asked, smiling to himself, it was of course obvious that Leelo liked Evangeline, to Walt at least, "So are you going to... try tonight? or at least ask her out?" Walter questioned, prying into his friend's life was rather uncommon for him but he really couldn't help it, he was excited for his friend. But of course what kind of friend would he be if he wasn't willing to help his friend get the girl he liked? Not a perfect one, that's for sure.

Evangeline opted for a bath over a shower – Really, she just wanted to be in some hot water. She groaned as she slid into the tub, letting her hair tumble down around her stomach before leaning back. She closed her eyes until she heard Danny calling out to her followed by the creaking of the bathroom door. “Gym first! Then the zoo! And the pet shop! You're getting me a new pet!” She glanced at the creaking door, snatching a rag to cover her exposed goodness until she saw that it was just Beezel. “Sugar, this bathtub will fall clean through the floor if you get in here.” She giggled at the snake who simply rose his head up some before turning around – Cajun imagined he was pouting.

“Can you feed Mornin' Glory, Juno, and Moto? And please give Beezel a couple more mice. I think he's still hungry. And bring me my phone?” Cajun felt comfortable enough with her playboy friend to have him moving around the house and tending to her animals as well as walking in on her in the bath – It wasn't the first time. He once got in the shower with her because he was too drunk to realize that she wasn't the girl that he had left at his apartment.

Danny chuckled to himself, shaking his head at Evan's amusing demands. He looked down momentarily to his now empty plate as Cajun asked him to feed all the animals. Once again he was excited. It really was like a petting zoo and now he got to feed all the animals. He put his plate in the sink, heading to the pantry where most the animals' food was kept. First was two bowls, a large one filled with dry dog food and the other smaller bowl filled with dry cat food. The large black dog came first, beginning to eat even before Danny could set the bowl down. Moto came towards the food at a more leisurely pace but began to eat as well. With a smile and a quick turn towards the kitchen, Danny had to struggle slightly to remember what it was that Morning Glory was fed. It took him a few minutes before he recalled sometime when Cajun had been chopping up fruit for the Sugar Glider. He pulled out a few pieces of fruit, chopping them up and putting them in a dish, putting the dish in Morning Glory's cage, running his thumb over the top of it's head before going towards Eva's bedroom.

He grabbed the phone from the bed, entering the bathroom and smirking, "Are you trying to make a move on me?" He teased coming a little closer to her and handing her the phone, peaking down for a split second but finding that she was practically covered up. He stepped back, almost tripping over Beezel. "There you are, you little snake." he muttered, gathering as much of Beezel as he could into his arms, still most of him being dragged out, "You better start thinking about what you're getting and it better be awesome." Danny nodded towards Evangeline, referring to the pet he was to buy. as he dragged the snake back into the bedroom onto the bed. He fed the giant python at least three more mice, smiling as he pet the scaly skin as the snake ate. "You're welcome by the way!" Danny said loud enough for Eva to hear from the bathroom.

“Yes, because we all know that I'm cravin' for you somethin' fierce.” It was true - Except the part about people knowing. The Bayou Belle rolled her eyes yet again as she took her phone from Danny's hands. “Thank you – And I plan on getting three more Sugar Gliders!”, she called out after him, checking her text messages. A smile graced her face as Luz's was the first one she read.

[Aww, thanks sug! Hope you got me somethin real nice! You remember that real pretty purse with the fleur d'lis on it, right? ;) Definitely up for lunch! Can we do Ruby Tuesday's? And please don't be eatin stale pizza for breakfast again. You know my door s always open. Silly. *kissy face*]

She sent off the text message before getting to Walt's. Oh, how she adored Walt! He was better than the older brother she had back home.

[Thanks! And that's a big order to fill – Danny's taking me out for the day. Isn't that nice? Oh! And breakfast is ready. <3]

She smiled as she sent it before putting her phone on the floor. She only soaked for a little while longer before getting out of the tub and draining it.

She disappeared into her room, wrapped in a towel only to find Danny there. Shaking her head, she grabbed some clothes after rummaging through her dresser and went back into the bathroom, emerging a few minutes later wearing a pair of white sweatpants and a tank top that outlined her body very well – Danny had bought it for her to wear to the gym a few months ago. Needless to say, she was sure he bought it half a size too small on purpose. She didn't say a word as she sat at the table and looked down at the empty spot, highly expecting Danny to fix her plate – It was her birthday, after all. She tapped her fingers gently on the tabletop, waiting for him to return to the kitchen area where she was starving.

Danny raised an eyebrow as she came out wearing the outfit that he had bought her so she could actually have something to exercise in. It was rather innocent, he really just wanted someone to work out with and Evangeline was the first person to come to mind, he picked up what he thought her size was and apparently it was too small. But damned if she doesn't look good in it. Danny couldn't help as his eyes trailed down her frame as she walked to the kitchen.

He cleared his throat, taking a moment to adjust himself before following her and sitting beside her. It took a moment to read the signs but he eventually did get it, he stood, smirking, "You know what, let me make you a plate." he laughed softly to himself as he walked over to the food she had made, making her a plate and making himself another plate. He sat down placing her plate in front of her and his in front of him. It wasn't uncommon for him to eat multiple servings of her food, it was the best of the two buildings after all. "Are you really going to get more Sugar Gliders? What are you trying to do, build a Sugar Glider army?" He teased, standing, "I got to go change if we're going to the gym. Don't touch my food." He said, walking towards Cajun's room, already pulling his shirt off.

As he entered the room, he automatically went towards the drawer that contained his things. It hadn't started out as anything really and hadn't really been declared his drawer, it's just that he had accidentally left his things around so often and Eva would always leave them in that drawer. It just sort of became his drawer. As it was changing it sort of dawned on him how all of his stuff was here already sort of like a... "Hey, it's almost like we're dating, with all my stuff over here, just you know, no sex or kissing or any of the good parts at all." He said, sort of uneasy at the prospect of being in such a serious relationship but shaking it off. 'We're only friends.' He thought to himself, trying to reassure himself that it was nothing more and that she wasn't trying to use him at all. He shook his head, walking out in his basketball shorts and a cotton v-neck and sitting down, eating again.

She smiled, pleased as she began to eat her food, though in mock spite she stole three strips of bacon from his plate and scarfed them down before digging into her own food. Oh, dear God her food was delicious! She savored each and every chew, counting the carbs in her head. She had a figure to keep, after all. She lifted her head up some as Danny came back into the kitchen with his remark. She lifted a brow at him and snorted. “Yeeeaah. You're undateable, Danny...No offense.” It was her turn to do the teasing now, sending a wink and a smile his way.

Danny scoffed, putting on an expression of mock anger at the comment, but it quickly faded into laughter as he shook his head. He looked down to his plate raising an eyebrow, "You ate my bacon. I'm sorry but I can't be friends with bacon stealers." He teased right back just a tad flustered at being 'undateable', "Pshh, who needs to date when I have you to cook and take care of me. That and when I'm getting laid every night?" he gave a cocky grin, leaning back in his chair and folding his hands behind his head. For some reason he always liked to brag about how many women he's been with, to everyone he'll brag, it's like a natural conversation piece at this point in his life. "Besides, who would I even date?" He questioned, more rhetorically than anything.

“Who needs dating? I don't know. People who like knowing that there's someone that really loves them. Someone who likes comin' home to tight hugs and gentle kisses after a long, hard day. People who don't care about havin' nothin' as long as they got that someone that makes their eyes light up and their heart skip a beat when they see 'em or hear from 'em. People need love, Danny.” She answered him with that dreamy look in her eyes that she got when she watched movies like The Notebook and The Vow.

“And, if you don't want to be friends with a bacon-thief, then I guess that means I don't have to take care of you no more.” The teasing never ended with those two. Though with his last question, she just coughed and blushed, shoveling a forkful of eggs into her mouth while looking the other way. She didn't dare tease him with the answer “Why not me?”.

He was a little mystified at the dreamy look in her eyes, she seemed in her own world as she explained exactly why she thought people needed love. With the shell that Danny had developed over the years, he'd learn a lot of lessons with 'love'. Like how painful it actually was. And how he neither needed it nor wanted it. Danny was tempted to say all his thoughts out loud, express his actual contempt for the word 'love' in general. But the look in Evangeline's eyes make him keep his mouth shut. She really did believe what she was saying, she still thought it to be true. Who was he to disregard her hope as misplaced?

Danny just smiled slightly to her, "Well even if you stopped taking care of me, you're not gonna stop cooking for me, you're food is too good for me to just stop eating it." he took a bite of his biscuit as if proving his point. He chewed thoughtfully as she seemed to avoid eye contact with him, prompting Danny to raise an eyebrow at her. "Is something wrong?" he questioned.

“I'll stop cookin' for you whenever I feel like it.”, she retorted, giving a light scoff. Though, she honestly couldn't imagine she ever would. Except when she started dating someone or got married – But that was probably forever and a day away. She was like Danny in the way that she wouldn't give her heart out so easily after having it crush – He had been used for money and she had been used for sex. She paused for a moment, actually thinking about what it would be like to date Danny. Honestly, she couldn't see much changing.

She cooked for him, sometimes she cleaned his apartment, they hung out a lot, he teased her, she teased back. It was as he said: They pretty much already were a couple minus the kissing, cuddling, and sex. Minus the good parts, as he said. She gave a light smile and a giggle, though she quickly looked up at his question, shaking her head quite vigorously. “Huh? What? No! We should head to the gym.” She blushed and stood, having hardly touched her food.

Danny was officially confused at the very moment she giggled then looked up to him, acting very nervous about something. Exactly what that something was was a mystery to him. The weirdest part to Danny was that she had left the plate filled with her food. He tried to shrug it off, just nodding and picking up his plate, but something was off. He practically stared a hole through Cajun as he stood, trying to find a clue as to what could be bothering her. Clearing his throat, Danny made an attempt at conversation as they started to walk towards his car, after having to stop Eva's animals from following them out the door, "So has anyone else besides me actually wished you a happy birthday?" he asked, still glancing over to her.

As she slid into the passenger seat of his car, tucking her simple HTC Inspire between her flesh and the band of her sweatpants, she gave a nod. “Just Luz an' Walt so far. Its not even nine yet. An' its a Saturday.”, she reminded him. For a moment, she wondered where her roommate was – But, immediately assumed that she was at Jack's apartment. Sometimes Keira would sleepwalk down to the cafe and Jack would be the one they called. Mostly because the Belle's phone didn't do shit to wake her up, always going to voicemail. It took a great deal of noise to wake her up from her usual dead sleeps.

“Since...I'm turnin' twenty-one an' all. That means I can drink legal now and get into HUB...I want y'all to take me there tonight. But you gotta promise that you'll take me home. To my apartment. Not yours. She warned him, not wanting to end up as just another girl he slept with.

Danny chuckled to himself, looking to her as she started up the car, "And I'm the only one so far to come and actually greet you in person, aren't you just so grateful to have a friend like me?" he joked, smirking. He looked over to her as she made her demands for the second time today, these much more amusing that the first set. "Hell yes we're taking you, we're gonna get you smashed." Danny smiled widely, looking to the road, his smile dropping slightly but pulling it right back up, "Okay we'll sleep at you're house then." He teased, "And yes that was a joke, but I am going to see you again in the morning because I've always wondered what you'd be like hungover." He said honestly, "But don't worry about it, besides, I can name a few people that would kill me if I actually had sex with you while you were drunk." He smirked, chuckling to himself.

“Well, I ain't got to worry about that because even though you are a...what's dat word? Cad. Yes. Even though you are a cad, I know you wouldn't do that to me because I'm special.” She smiled widely, her face looking as innocent and pure as it ever had, though completely genuine in its sweetness as she spoke. She had no problems with him sleeping over at her place – He often teased that he might as well move in, considering how often he was over there. But she always just rolled her eyes.

Donning a wider smile, she rested her head against the window as they drove to the gym, a soft hum coming from her. It didn't take long to get there, and when they did, she immediately went for the treadmills. She knew that Danny was going to be lifting weights that were nearby, so they could still talk while they worked out.

Danny pretended to be offended at such a comment but ended up laughing. When they did get to the gym he smiled as they took the place they took basically every time, with her on the treadmill closest to the weights and him lifting weights at the machine closest to the treadmills, "So I take it you wouldn't be interested in a competition if we do happen to go to HUB? You know, a little drinking competition? Normally it's customary for the loser to pick up the tab but since you're the birthday girl I guess we could just make it a friendly competition in this case." He winked in her direction as he begun his exercise as he normally did, with pull ups, hardly breaking a sweat as he did a few sets.

“Let's not and say we did, 'kay?” No way was she going to get into a drinking competition with him. Of course she said that now, but she probably would end up doing it anyways after a few shots of tequila. She smiled as she started jogging at a 5mph pace, setting her phone in the holder for water bottles. She noticed from the side of her eyes that a group of four guys were moving with gusto towards Danny. As soon as his weights were set down, they wasted no time in assaulting him.

“Danny!” She seriously fell off the treadmill like the way you see in those funny videos on YouTube, her head smacking into the belt that was still moving. Grunting, she forced herself up and ran to him as he was pushed off of the weight bench. And of course the lazy manager of the twenty-four hour gym wasn't around to do anything and there was hardly anyone else there. But those who were already had their phones out to call the cops.

That didn't stop Cajun. Oh, dear no. She immediately threw herself into the fray, pushing off who she could before her fists and feet started flying. She thanked the Lord that she had started going to the gym with Danny and that she had started dancing – She was stronger than she was in her teenage years when she was simply brawling. Maybe it would help if she took up boxing...

Either way, she got thrown down and away from the group a couple of times but she kept getting back up and fighting them off until the cops came with an ambulance right behind them. They had to pry her off of the main guy who was screaming at Danny for having slept with his girlfriend. Cajun was on his back with her legs wrapped around his waist as she tried her best to choke the life out of him with a sleeper hold.

Afterwards, it took a lot of crying and sniffling, but she managed to slide both her and Danny out of a trip down to the police station after they had given their statements. Instead, they were headed to the hospital. Of course, Cajun didn't know because she passed out on the pavement. But, when she did come to, she felt like shit. Her body was aching something fierce and she could feel the bandages on her face and a brace on her wrist. Shit! How was she supposed to do the Spring Recital with a sprained wrist?

She blinked rapidly and groaned until she could see straight. She felt someone on her bedside and glanced to see Danny sitting on her left, feeling his hand resting on hers. She felt a wave of dizziness before letting her head slam back into the pillow. Her head was pounding! Slowly, she began to remember a bit of what happened. All she could get out of the flickering images of her memory was beating up some guys...hurting her wrist...talking to the cops....and blackout.

She took a moment to catch her breath before speaking slowly. “You tell anyone that I fought today...And I will kill you, Daniel Foster. Never speak of this again.” Her voice was a weak whisper as she closed her eyes again, feeling his fingers curl around her hand.

He glanced over at her, remembering exactly what the doctor had said. She passed out from a concussion and hitting the pavement didn't exactly help that, she sprained her wrist on someone's jaw, and other than that, she just has some cuts and bruises on her face from hitting the sidewalk. He had suffered fewer bruises, a busted lip, and a nasal fracture. He had gotten his nose fixed, thankfully. Couldn't have his Adonis-like face ruined!

It wasn't but another five minutes before they were discharged from the hospital - Much due to their complaining of not wanting to be there. They skipped out on getting a prescription because the doctors were taking too long - Nothing that ice, good food, and some ibuprofen couldn't fix. The ride home was silent - Except for the time when she told him that if he told anyone, she would kill him, again. He was curious as to why she wanted to keep her epic brawling abilities a secret, though. There really was more to her than met the e and he was going to figure it out.

It was barely a two minute ride from the hospital to home and when they got there, he picked her up and gave her a piggy-back up to her apartment. She mumbled a thanks as he set her tenderly on the couch. "I really don't want to ditch you like this, but I should probably get cleaned up...I'll send Keira over." And he was gone, headed for his apartment. When he got there, he caught sight of Jack and Keira sharing breakfast. "Uh...Hey...Keira? Cajun's kinda broken." He still hadn't thought up of a decent lie to cover for her, so he just left it at that and assumed that Cajun had something planned already as he ditched towards the bathroom for a shower.

[Really need you right now. Bring the sappy stuff? I got snacks <3] She texted Leonard before tossing her phone over by the television. She wasn't mad at Danny - She couldn't be because it was her own fault she got beaten up. But she couldn't just stand there and watch. But, she was aching too much to think too hard about it for now, so she simply lay in wait for Keira and Leelo to get there, which no doubt would bring around Luz and Walt as well. She smiled softly knowing that her friends cared for her so much. Though, she was a bit sad that she didn't get to go to the zoo or the pet shop. She was going to cash in on that later, though. For now, curling up with Leelo watching her favorite sappy movies would be great.

---

"Patience?" Walter muttered, "Oh I think I need to work on that too." He nodded slightly, making a mental note to start that night. He watched his roommate head back to his room, shaking his head slightly. His friend was much closer to perfect than he was, always creative and passionate about the things he loved. Walt didn't even know what he loved. Well he loved his father, that's why he was doing all this. He wasn't even sure what he would do after making his father proud, it wasn't a very specific goal to begin with, and he wasn't even sure how he'd approach the man in the first place.

The apartment was silent for a moment, until Leonard yelled out something about time paying off. But before Walt could even open his mouth Leelo was already gone. So Walter was left alone in the apartment building, with only Fluffy. Now would have been a good time for him to practice that whole patience thing. "Nah." He shook his head, ploping down onto the couch, placing Fluffy in his lap. He took his phone out, trying to find a distraction. He saw the text message that Evangeline had sent him [Thanks! And that's a big order to fill – Danny's taking me out for the day. Isn't that nice? Oh! And breakfast is ready. <3]

Walter smiled at that, contemplating heading over for some Cajun made breakfast. Then an image of her large, black, terrifying Great Dane popped to the forefront of his mind, just the thought of the monster dog jumping on him made his shiver slightly, petting the much smaller cat curled up in his lap shaking his head, 'I think I'm good with breakfast, Juno's probably still over there and I'm not sure i need to have a heart attack today thanks. But if you go out with Danny at least be sure to be safe! And maybe spend more time with someone... nicer... like not Danny. But don't tell him I said that... seriously I don't want to die Cajun...'

He smiled slightly as he sent out the message, hinting at Leelo but not realizing that his friend was already over there. He frowned down at his phone as he saw there were no other new messages. He sent another message to Luz rather than wait for someone to text him, 'You should come over! I mean I'd come over but no boys allowed right? :P'

---

---

|| On The Couch With Leonard ||

---

“Y'all stop worryin'. I jus' need some ice cream and rest. Like I said, I got my Leelo takin' care of me, so everything is gonna be just fine. Y'all know the healin' powers of The Breakfast Club.” She kept her tone light and cheery, adding at the end a cheesy yet often-found adorable joke at the end, polishing off her entire act with a bright white smile, a twinkle on the surface of her blue eyes. Keira gave a lift of her brow at my Leelo, simply smiling and giving a shrug of defeat. “Alright, I'll leave you with your Leelo, then.” She winked as her roommate went a brighter shade of red. Aw, they were so cute together. She glanced to Leelo and gave him a thumbs up and a wink, trying not to enjoy Cajun's frustrated expression too much before leaving, closing the door silently behind her.

Evangeline turned some, facing Leelo once more. “Ain’t y'all ever heard that friends don't tell secrets and secrets don't keep friends?” She gave him a playful smack on the arm before doing her best to mess up his hair. Content with the damage done, she stuck her tongue out playfully before turning her attention back to the television. She picked up her bowl and shoveled the Sunday flavored ice cream into her mouth with a wistful sigh.

“I swear, there ain't no good, ol' fashion romantic guys left in this world. Hollywood has some nerve. Gettin' up the hopes of girls like me an' then leavin' 'em to get crushed when we realize that you might end up havin' to settle instead of gettin' your dream guy.” She was practically pouting as she ate her ice cream, though with a quick glance at Leelo, she laughed bashfully. “Don't pay any mind to my ramblin'.”

She gave a light yawn, a wave of exhaustion washing over her. She finished up her ice cream with a few more shovels and set her bowl down before setting her bowl back down and pulling her blanket around her. She gave another yawn and lay down, resting her head in Leelo's lap, curling up some. “Thanks for comin' over, Leelo.” She smiled up at him with that small cute smile that she saved for him whenever she could actually manage to.

Keira had made her way back to Jack's, gently pushing the door open and popping her head in slowly. “Danny! What the hell happened to Evan?”, she called out into their apartment, frowning some. “Why didn't you call any of us while you were at the hospital?