[Backdated to the Flynn-Cabot Ball; closed for Coop]

[seas_open]

April would say the past few weeks have been a strange series of events, but she'd be lying. The truth is that her life has been one long strange series of events ever since arriving in Siren Cove and in any other town, in any other situation, she knows she'd be long gone. She hasn't stayed anywhere for longer than a year since she was eighteen years old and free to get out of the foster care system and while she hasn't been in town quite that long, it's long enough that she's beginning to get nervous. She's here and she isn't working anyone. She's here and she isn't making any money except the income she's making legally working for Coop.

There are a few things keeping her here. Les, of course. Caden, certainly. Her father, though she will never admit that to anyone.

And the ridiculously handsome man currently crossing the room toward her.

The amount of affection she feels for Coop is a bit surprising from time to time. She hasn't slept with him, she hasn't even kissed him, and while that's certainly not required for her to form an attachment to someone, she's formed so few over the past ten years, that any kind of attachment comes as a bit of a surprise. But she can't pretend he doesn't make her feel lighter simply by being there.

"We probably shouldn't have come," she tells him when he's close enough to hear her. She knows she looks stunning in her long silver dress and he looks incredible as well. "We're just putting everyone else here to shame."

Comments

[coopdetat]

"That's the only reason we shouldn't have come?" he teases, glancing around with an amused smile at how many ass-kissers and schmoozers had shown up to this party. It's not really his style, a ball, Coop tends to find them unnecessarily stuffy most of the time, but he's here because his neighbor had invited him and he doesn't want to be the guy who doesn't show up when he says he will. He hadn't really been expecting the cameras, even though he probably should have, considering it's a Corinne Flynn and Will Cabot-hosted party, but he'd managed to escape that very special bonus layer of hell relatively quickly.

He'd hightailed it to the open bar, as evidenced by the champagne in his hand--his fifth so far already, but he's never exactly been a lightweight--and he's going to be ready for another one really soon if he doesn't take it easy this time around. Getting drunk at this thing does admittedly sound like a much easier way to deal, though. Not even just with being here but with things in general, and he knows damn well it's not a good way of looking at things but here he is.

"I do agree with you, though, I look good," he says, turning back to April so he can lean in to leave a quick kiss on her cheek. "You look even better, which begs the question, why the hell are you standing here all by your lonesome?"

[seas_open]

"Hm, I think my boys are mingling," she answers, smiling when Coop kisses her cheek before she looks around for the two of them. She calls them her boys because she isn't sure what else to call them. Since they've begun dating, she's only referred to Les as her boyfriend once and that had been almost in passing, a teasing little question for Caden about the three of them.

She isn't sure why she's here, really beyond the fact that Les and Caden were obviously invited. It's strange to be in this crowd of people she doesn't really know, some of whom she's related to, but she supposes it's not any more difficult than Thanksgiving had been. And at least Coop is here. At least in this crowd she has a better chance of avoiding her father.

"Have I told you that I'm related to the lovely bride?" she asks, tilting her head slightly to look up at Coop. If there's a hint of sarcasm in her tone, it isn't Corrine's fault. In truth, April isn't sure what she feels about any of this. It isn't anger, exactly, or any real anger she does feel is directed at her father, but she's not sure it's even that. Disappointment, perhaps. The urge to run, to make sure she doesn't get too closely involved with any of this. The knowledge that her father has information on her criminal history grates her, too, and she's not sure she can leave Siren Cove without making sure that's taken care of.

[coopdetat]

"Uh, you didn't but my lovely cousin sure did," Coop answers with a teasing grin. The whole goddamn family, apparently, though he doesn't think it'll go over especially well if he shares that with April. Besides, it's a conversation meant to stay between him and Genevieve, even he doesn't think April will mind that her name had been dropped in between. "I'd be offended that I was overlooked but I get to see you almost every day so I think I actually got the better end of the deal."

Somewhere along the line, April had become incredibly important to him. She's more than just someone who'd showed up at a few of his parties, more than just someone he'd hired, even more than just a friend. He doesn't really know how to classify her in his life but in a way, that seems about right because April isn't very classifiable in the first place. He definitely wouldn't say she's like family because he'd still jump right into bed with her if she were to ever extend the invitation and for a second, he wonders if that makes him a shitty friend to Les and Caden. The reminder to himself that he'd do the same thing with either of them makes him decide that it doesn't.

"You sound super happy about it, by the way," he says with a slight roll of his eyes. "I'm guessing you two don't really get along. Color me shocked."

[seas_open]

She laughs at that and relaxes a little, shaking her head. "No, I have no ill will toward Corrine. It's not her fault. It's not anyone's really, besides our shared father and to be honest, I don't know that I have enough energy to be angry at him either. I don't really know any of them." There seems to be some reason that she's here, in this small town, of all places. She could have gone anywhere after leaving Vermont, but she'd come here and here is where apparently her entire family had been waiting for.

The parts of it that aren't dead, anyway. The parts that haven't escaped this bullshit life. Her sister seems to be doing well in Canada, though they've never had contact. She knows enough, though, to find her and to find out the details off her life. She's married, she has children, she seems happy. April doesn't understand it, but she doesn't begrudge her the life she's chosen either.

"It's a little strange is all. I haven't had any contact with them until now and a lot of them seem very interested in making connections I don't have much purpose for," she admits. "But here I am." Because Les wanted her to be here and, despite what she's beginning to suspect might be brewing between Les and Corrine, she still wants to do what she can to make him happy. She knows it isn't much, that she isn't good at being the type of woman most men want, but she'll do what she can and she can be here.

[coopdetat]

That peaks Coop's interest, the idea that making a connection with someone would only be good for a particular purpose, because he's never really thought about the ones he's made that way. He loves being around people, loves preening and giving attention and getting attention because it always just feel better to smile, to forget that there could be anything in his life that he isn't happy with when the truth is never too far behind. He's not a tragic figure, he knows that, there are a hell of a lot of people in this town who have gone through way more than Coop thinks he could ever handle but then again, it's not supposed to be a competition.

Everyone has to deal with the bullshit that comes with being a human fucking being, that's just the way it is. He doesn't do trust as well as he used to because he'd given it all to one person once, and it had blown up in his face. That doesn't make his life especially difficult, just a little harder sometimes, and that he can accept. It's the days that make him wake up feeling like maybe it's time to give up for a little bit and make a quick getaway that leave him pissy because that's not who he is. Coop's never been a quitter--but maybe there's a first time for everything.

"Here you are," he says, scrubbing a hand against the stubble on his cheeks as he struggles to get back on track with the conversation. "Maybe they're interested in connecting with you because they can see what a great person you are. Which sounds like total crap, I'm realizing, but whatever, I'm trying to be real, okay? You're the best assistant I've ever had and sure, you're also the first, but still." He gives her a crooked smile as he rolls his eyes. "I like having you around, that's all I'm trying to say."

[seas_open]

He has no idea.

She smiles anyway, bright and genuine, because she is flattered and she doesn't have to fake that at all. Even in Siren Cove, being herself, not trying to con anyone, she's been in several situations where she's had to pretend to be something else. But with Coop she's never had that. The woman he claims to like, that's as close to the real April as anyone here has gotten except perhaps her father, but she's lied to him time and again. Caden and Les get a version of her that's almost close to the truth, but she's kept parts of herself back from even them.

But even so, even though he might know the closest version to herself that she's given in a long time, he doesn't know everything. He's trying to be real and April might be the least real person in Siren Cove, but that doesn't mean she can't appreciate what he's saying. She doubts that's what her family actually feels, she thinks they're all just trying to do what they think they're expected of them, but she doesn't know how much of it is really genuine.

"I guess that works, I like having you around, too," she says. He certainly beats her family, though she's not sure she'd say that out loud. Where things stand right now, she's trying to tread lightly, not to avoid hurting anyone's feelings, but because she's not sure where she might need someone down the line.

[coopdetat]

When he'd been stuck in the cave, Coop had gotten to wondering if anyone in his life would actually miss him. He doesn't mean people he can call acquaintances or friends and would maybe show up to his funeral or send some flowers or something, he's talking genuine, long-term mourning. He's not supposed to wonder that, he's pretty sure, but there hadn't been much else to do in that cave so thinking about things he shouldn't be thinking about had won out as the primary activity. His parents would, obviously, and he thinks Owen would probably be pretty torn up about it. Maybe Sylvie, since she'd come all the way to Siren Cove for whatever the fuck is or isn't going to happen between them.

For the most part, he thinks everyone would be pretty okay. It's the difference between, say, how he and Spencer had felt about Dane's death. Dane had been Spencer's brother, of course the guy wouldn't be fine, especially when it's only been a couple years, but Coop doesn't wake up every morning thinking about his dead friend. To be fair, he doesn't know if Spencer thinks about his brother every day either, but it's entirely possible. Coop's strangely content, though, in knowing that being gone wouldn't disrupt most people's lives too greatly. He loves making friends, loves just knowing people, but if he were to pack up all his things and take off tomorrow, it wouldn't send anyone to ruin.

It's a carefully crafted thing to reach a point like that. After Sylvie had left, Coop had taken special care not to get too close to anyone. He trusts, but he doesn't trust fully. He's an open book but there's a hell of a lot of fine print. It's just easier that way and that's what he likes. No pressure. It's just that sometimes, being very aware of the way he operates and why can get a little draining. Owen's his closest friend here, the one who knows him best, but even he isn't aware of any of this, of the way Coop always tries to stay one step ahead of the game so nobody can get too close to seeing what he's really doing, what he might be hiding.

"I think I'm going to take a vacation soon," he says, glancing down at the glass in his hand and swirling the champagne in it before taking a sip. "No idea where or when, but I think I might, maybe after the new year hits. Just need to get out of town for a bit, there's too much shit always going on around here."

[seas_open]

"You should," April says and she doesn't know what, exactly, is going on with Coop lately, but she watches people. It's what she's always done. She watches them carefully without letting on that's what she's doing and while she might not know the details of everything that's happening in his life, she's sure there is something. Whatever it might be, if he needs a break from it, he should take it. She understands that need to just get out for awhile and it's an urge she's been fighting for awhile now herself, although she doesn't know why she's bothering. If she needs to go, she should just go.

But she's fairly certain there are people who wouldn't understand. Les might, but she has a feeling Caden might think he's done something wrong. It isn't her job to make sure everyone is happy and she's never really cared what people might think before, but now she does. She doesn't understand it most of the time and she's just trying to ignore it.

"If you need to get out of town, you should do it," she tells him. "Just go. Not that I'm trying to get rid of you, but sometimes taking off for a little while is the best thing in the world a person can do for themselves and, to be fully honest, everything you should do should be at least partly for yourself." She doesn't understand this urge that people have to make sure everyone around them is happy and comfortable while ignoring their own happiness and comfort.

[coopdetat]

Coops's quiet for a minute while he turns her words over in his mind, deciding that he hasn't stayed in town for anyone else but because he just hadn't really known what else to do. The thought of leaving for a little bit, even if it's just a weekend trip to anywhere but here, had been something that had only recently come to him, and he realizes that it might be for the best but the fact of the matter is, he still has clients. He has a job, his own goddamn business, and it's not like he can just close up shop whenever he pleases because there aren't a whole lot of other places people can go for veterinary services like his.

He's checked the schedule, though, and he's got a pretty good chunk of clear time right after the new year. There are a few scattered appointments but nothing major, nothing that can't be shuffled around to a different day, and he's thinking he should take advantage of that before it gets too crazy. All he needs is more time, that's what he's been telling him. He needs more time to process what's going through his head, to work through the confusing shit that has come with getting out of that cave and being alone with his thoughts for way too long.

"I need to be away from Siren Cove," he says, practically a mumble because he's not sure he'd actually meant to say that out loud. Still, he can't take it back so he flashes April a wry smile. "Too many distractions here. I just need to clear my head or at least fill it with something else for a little bit. So consider yourself on vacation from work after the first, I guess."

[seas_open]

"I'll make the most of it, boss," she says with a small smile and a flip of her fingers in his direction. Now that Coop is talking about getting out of town, though, April is beginning to feel a little more restless. If she has the time off work anyway, maybe she'll get away for a bit as well, find herself a little of her other work, the kind that makes her a hell of a lot more money than she's making as an assistant. Not that Coop doesn't pay her well, but it's always easier to take a bigger cut from the other sort of work she does.

He doesn't need to know that, though. No one needs to know it. Most of the time it pisses her off that her father knows it. He shouldn't know it, he doesn't have any reason to know anything about her.

"Any plans for where you might go?" she asks curiously, leaning against the wall behind her and surveying the crowd. There are a lot of people here, a lot of them unfamiliar faces and she thinks she should make more of an effort, but sometimes she feels like she isn't going to stay in this town for much longer. It's not the place for her, not in the long run.