The Friend Zone

Writers: AL, Heather
Date Posted: 6th August 2014

Characters: Esiah, Meledei
Description: Things just get worse for Esiah and his manly ego
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 8, day 5 of Turn 7
Notes: Notes: alternate title::: No Man's Land =D hehehe

Esiah

Esiah didn't know what to do with the commissioned painting that he
had finished for Meledei. After the humiliation he had suffered when
he had declared his feelings for her, only to be rejected, he found
that he no longer had the guts to even face the woman. The crafter's
embarrassment knew no bounds.

**Stupid to ever think a_goldrider_ would want you anyway. Just a
painter.** He thought to himself as he tried to figure out what to do
about his predicament. Finally Esiah took the painting down to the
harper's quarters and asked one of the apprentices to deliver to
Meledei's rooms. There, that was settled.

The harper apprentice had left on his mission eagerly enough, but his
return was met with trepidation. He inched into the room, eyes
darting about, hands fiddling with each other and looking quite
sheepish. "I uh...delivered the painting, sir."

Esiah frowned a little at the way the boy was fidgeting, "Well? Spit
it out. There's obviously something you need to tell me."

"She said the painting's beautiful but she won't pay for it."

"She won't...." Esiah trailed off, unsure of what to think. Was she
really going to be that cold to him? Hadn't she done enough when she
had told him he was a "nice guy". Shards, she might as well have told
him the idea of kissing him was like kissing her great-great uncle
twice removed. "Well, I guess that's that then. Thank you for
delivering it."

He cleared his throat, evidently not quite done. "She said if you
want your marks you have to come get them yourself." He cringed, as
if expecting the man to hit him upside the head.

**Why? So she can humiliate me further? Rub it in? Try to "explain"?**
If he had to listen to her try to tell him about how he was a nice
guy, or the timing was wrong, or anything else like that he would
probably shrivel up and die on the spot. Those were all of the classic
lines of a girl who just wasn't interested but couldn't say it to his
face.

"Understood. You're dismissed." He nodded to the apprentice.

"Yes sir." Well, he wasn't hit, tossed out, or had anything thrown at
him, so that was good. The boy trotted off before Esiah could change
his mind and try to blame him for something.

Esiah figured those were marks that he would never see because he
certainly wasn't going to go to Meledei and ask for them. Why was she
being difficult anyway?

**A lot of time and effort went into that painting.** He thought
sullenly as he turned to continue working on his latest landscape.

An hour passed. Then two. Finally, a knock rapped upon the door,
interrupting the artist's work.

Pulling his painting apron over his head, Esiah tossed it over his
stool, laid down his brush and then approached the door. When he swung
it open he came face to face with the last person on Pern he wanted to
see at that moment, "Miss Meledei," a polite smile, "what can I do for
you?"

"May I come in please?" She hadn't cared for the title inserted in
front of her name, but Meledei wasn't going to argue over that at the
moment.

What little ego he had left slithered out, **Don't let her in! Don't
let her in! Retreat! Retreat!**

Yet he found himself, polite smile still in place, saying, "Of course.
Come in." He gestured and held the door open. She was looking
painfully lovely, as usual, which only served to make matters worse.

Meledei passed through and paused to admire the painting in progress,
then twirled around. "Really, you were going to forgo your
commission?"

Esiah didn't know what to make of Meledei's question, because it felt
like a trap, "I suppose I was." He wouldn't squabble with a goldrider
over marks either way.

"Come on Esiah, please don't do this." Meledei crossed raised her
hands palms up then let them fall again. "I thought we were friends.
I don't want to lose another friend. Would you at least let me
explain?"

The crafter sat down with a sigh, "All right. I am listening."

"Look. I like you, but I barely know you, we've known each other
what...a month? We just started becoming friends. And I just got
over a really bad breakup, it wasn't pretty, and I've been treated
like crap twice, I really don't think jumping right into another
relationship is a good thing. It's not fair to me, it's not fair to
you. I'm not saying that I wouldn't have any interest in you, it's
just...horrible, horrible timing." The entire tirade was spoken in a
single breath as if Meledei was determined to get it out before the
harper could change his mind.

Esiah stared at her for a moment. "All I was asking for was maybe a
date some time. Didn't say we had to jump into a relationship."

"Uh...isn't...that what going on a date is supposed to be? Something
you do when you are in a relationship or wish to pursue one?" To her
it was, but Meledei had always had a different idea of relationships
than most weyrfolk.

"It's just a date. Something you go on to have a little fun and get to
know someone better. At least, that is how us backwoods holders do
it." Esiah lifted his shoulders in a little shrug.

"To me that's called 'hanging out'. And if you want to 'hang out',
then I'm totally up for that." Meledei didn't mind spending time with
a friend. "I actually like to go to various places. I know there's a
Gather happening this rest day if you want to go with me."

"Hanging out" was what you did with your buddies when you needed to
drink, blech, and scratch.. but he refrained from telling Meledei
that. He also refrained from telling her that she had a strange
definition of what "dating" was and wasn't. "A Gather..." He said the
word, considering it for a moment, "Yes, I suppose that would be
fine."

"So does this mean we're still friends?" Frankly, Meledei was going
to crawl into a hole if she lost anymore cause she might as well just
styop trying. Well, no, she was being over dramatic, and she knew
that, but sometimes she wondered.

Friends. The Friend Zone. No man's land. Esiah supposed that he didn't
have a choice. He didn't want to seem like some brute who was
unsociable when he didn't get his way. "Friends." He agreed.

Last updated on the September 6th 2014

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