mischief and mishaps (nikolaj)

Maybe it was her fault. Erin had always been too carefree for her own good. She was actually going on a date. Well, date might have been an overstatement. She was going to meet this guy with the truly outlandish last name that she hit up on BBT a couple weeks ago, and was kind of feeling confused about it. She had never been the girl to rock guys’ worlds, especially on first glance. They didn’t turn around when she walked down the street, she was… too soft, too innocent too.. plain. (We're talking about a girl who bawled a eyes out when her cactus died. Why can't I do anything right! She even wondered if she had to bury the thing... But then she had wiped hear tears off and swore to herself that she'd never fail her plants again. I'm such a child, she thought after the box of tissues was entirely gone.) But what the hell. She had been way more flirtatious that she usually was, and frankly she was trying to learn how not to give a fuck. Whatever, he was very good-looking, straightforward, and seemed like an interesting person.
What could go wrong? (One important life lesson: if there is ever a moment when one has to ask themselves what could go wrong, it means that something’s about to go wrong.)
Obviously Câlin had felt quite early on that he wasn’t going to be the sole focus of Erin’s affection today. “Sorry lovebug.” She said, trying to get his huge paws out of her lap. “You’re staying home today.” He squealed. “Please stop.” Erin has never been good at resisting her dog. Honestly he could do whatever he wanted with her, and she wasn’t complaining (most of the time). She was about to head out the door when a last pleading squeal made her cave in. “You’re such a spoiled brat.” Erin said with a smile. Her leash in hand and her dog happily strutting behind her, she left.
The streets were crowded, and Câlin was starting to get angsty. “Told you you should have stayed home buddy.” She scolded him lightly. God, I should stop talking to my dog so much. I look like a freak. And here she was, daydreaming again about what would happen if one day I could ever manage to speak to my dog and how it would be interesting to get him on a board like in movies it would be quite funny actually I wonder if I could ever pull this off well it doesn’t ever hurt to try I should work on that next week be maybe I could ask Jamie for help I don’t know maybe she’s busy I should tex-
She almost bumped into someone, and soon felt her dog pull at his leash. He was growling at another German Shepherd, leash-free above all else, who probably wasn’t nearly as sweet as Câlin was. She started to feel tense, afraid the situation would soon escalate. "Câlin! Quit it!" And, instead of handling his dog and pulling him away like any sane person would, the guy just stood there and let everything unfold right it front of her eye. “Watch it.” She snarled. “Can’t you restrain your animal? It’s dog training 101.” She was sweet, but didn’t take no bullshit. What the fuck is up with this guy?

It wasn’t his first round in the dating world, certainly not. Niko was very eager to meeting new people, specifically new women and more particularly their body. They had agreed to meet today, with no further thought given to the matter. Something simple, at least in the Icelander's mind. A bar or something could do the trick, and in Niko’s head, the end of the evening was very clear. The girl, named Erin, seemed to be funny, straightforward, in addition to her beautiful pictures. At least, she didn’t seem to worry more than necessary, according to the first impression he got of her. Perfect for him. Before going to the meeting point, a cosy bar downtown, Nikolaj decided to take Cyrox for a walk. Although the boy didn’t give the impression of being a very caring person, he was nevertheless very attached to certain things, like his dog, which he had rescued from an animal shelter a few years ago. Demonstrating love and affection wasn’t his forte, but he was still attentive to his dog needs and loved him a lot. It was his buddy, his bro’, whatever you wanna name it. Walking between the townspeople, who seemed to be embracing the more moderate temperatures to take to the streets, Niko suddenly heard the muffled barking of Cyrox. He did’nt react immediately, being jostled by someone, and hearing a voice of reprimand. « Hey, calm down, sweetheart. » It was obviously not his dog he was talking to, and anyone would have wanted to have their eardrums ripped out at the sound of such a macho remark. But he was totally comfortable with it. And this was no less the case when he recognised Erin, the one he was supposed to meet for a drink. « Oh, hey, Erin, right ? So, this is your superior race dog ? » he joked with a smile that was immediately more casual. "Cyrox, sit." he addressed his dog with a brief glance, but his tone was firm. The German shepherd immediately obeyed, stopping his barking and listening for a possible further command. « Sorry, he can be quite a piece of work, but he’s not mean. » And I can be too, he certainly should have added.

"Sweetheart. That's all you can come up with?" She sneered before looking straight into the guy's eye. She was used to men's overtly confident treatment of women but that was still something she had a hard time dealing with. To be honest, she was kind of a sweetheart, but that's not something she overtly displayed, especially on dates where it could easily be turned against her.
She finally looked up, and saw herself faced with her BBT date. What a great way to introduce yourself. What had she done wrong wrong this week for her karma to be this bad? Okay, he was cute, Erin conceded. Probably a dick, but very cute nonetheless. Don't judge a book by its cover. Even though it was quite the nice cover. She had never thought of herself as superficial but to be honest she was as bored as she had ever been. She had scrolled Bowen Bow Tie without reading much of the bios and just mindlessly clicked on the profile of guys who seemed attractive and capable of holding a decent conversation.
She didn't want to cause a scene, but this guy kept digging his own grave. He was lucky he looked like he did because otherwise she just would have walked away. And maybe spat in his shoes, but she was almost thirty and pettiness wasn't probably the best move right now. Even though he probably deserved it. And she liked his dog. he didn't deserve such a cute dog.
"You're Nikolaj I presume." She raised an eyebrow. "Yes, this is Erin. And this is Câlin." she said, pointing to her dog. Maybe she should have gotten a Great Dane, he might have taken her more seriously. "You don't know him. He's very menacing." she said, looking at Câlin whose tail was now wagging happily. "Yeah he's tired at the moment." She said with a smile, scratching at the head of her dog who had never hurt a fly in his entire life.
Cyrox. Okay great. It sounded like a name for dogs involved in underground fights. "Cyrox ?" She chuckled. "It's... unique? I guess" She laughed. But honestly it fit his vibe. They seemed to be like day and night. She was supposed to hate this guy and she was now chatting with him like nothing ever happened. She has no resolved whatsoever. "So do you wanna get a drink or should I let you back to your occupations ? Which seem to include being a douche to women." She said with barely hidden irony. A drink what was she was going to need. Honestly she should have left, but she couldn't bring herself to. Keep it in your fucking pants Erin.

Digging his own grave, that sounded exactly like Niko. Even though he knew he could do better and get out of certain situations, it was as if he enjoyed sinking even deeper with a poor choice of words, most of the time. « Well, I'm open to any other suggestion. » he replied with a pleasant smile, without reacting to her tone. Again, it was typically him. « Correct. » nodded the dark-haired boy. She confirmed that she was indeed Erin, even if it wasn't necessary, then introduced her dog. Cyrox, for his part, waited quietly, sitting down, watching the dog in front of him attentively, calm and ready to socialize. Niko smiled playfully when Erin introduced her dog as threatening. « I'm sure he is. » he said with an air of conviction, but with a malicious glint in his eyes. Well, this beautiful blonde seemed to have a sense of humor and responsiveness. And her sharp gaze gave him pleasant information about what he could guess about her personality. « Yeah, I think so too. I didn't think much about it when I took him out of the animal shelter but I think it's the name of an old metal band. » he said with a shrug. Score one for himself, for placing that he was adopting animals from the shelter. Well, an animal, so far. Erin confirmed the Icelander's impression of her character, firing another shot that he hadn't seen coming, but which he appreciated. She had quite a temper, and that fitted her perfectly. « Sure, you can teach me how to make you like me. » he agreed with a dazzling, totally exasperating smile. « Where do you wanna go? » he then asked, thinking of a place with a terrace, so they could sit with their dogs in peace.