Days ago, she’d been confident in her decision to sign up for the speed dating event. Something fun, and easy to bail out of if she needed to. Better yet, something to pass time on a weekend she wasn’t able to hang out with her teammates. Now, sitting awkwardly at her table with Holt buzzing around her head relentlessly, she felt the incredible urge to bail. Casual chatter around her created a dull roar and Kennedy stared blankly at the treats in front of her. Her attention snapped to Date #1 and she gave a slow nod before attempting a smile. “Yes. And you’re Derek, right?” she said getting her introductions out of the way. Her Rotom gave pause to his current mischief of making strands of their trainer’s hair float. Instead, it moved to observe Jonesy instead. [break][break]

“First time.” She confirmed, quietly hoping her answers weren’t too short. “Smart, next question.” The response was automatic, and rather blunt. “Sorry I-..” She took pause, eyes darting to her Rotom who seemed to be silently laughing at her before looking back at her date. “I owe a lot to being smart in my life.” She said before gesturing at him. “What about you?” Ice breakers sounded lie ka smart idea. It wasn’t like she was master conversationalist. Perhaps she had underprepared.


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"It's just speed dating, you don't have to be sorry." Derek says, smiling with some confusion to his features. "As for my answer, I think I would have to go with popular...for the right reasons." Stigma about bailing on his prior station as gym leader still weighed on him. Being smart was the better answer, though for one reason or another it didn't suit him.

In the meantime, Jonesy gestured a hand to shake one of the electric currents Holt had, which he viewed as appendages. A zap, once returned, would cause the pokemon to return to Derek, sniffling into his shoulder. "Well what'd you think would happen?"

Patting Jonesy's head, Derek couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Anyway, what's the worst pickup line you've ever heard?"

kennedy quinn

☉

She nodded, look down at Holt as they eagerly moved to shake hands with the Sobble, only to send it crying. The Rotom sparked slightly, concerned at what had just transpired. Though, Holt stayed where he was, moving back to Kenny for emotional support. “You didn’t mean it…” she said to it in an attempt to comfort it. Dark eyes flicked back to the ranger. “You’re not popular already?” Kennedy asked before they dropped the subject entirely. [break][break]

Kennedy groaned as Derek helped he recall a memory of her ex. Fuckin’ layabout. “They said to me, on night after about…a good 36 hours without sleep, ‘Are you carbon? Cause damn I’d like to date you.’” She gave a half smile before adding. “What’s the best line you’ve ever used?” she returned while picking up a small cookie and feeding it to her Rotom.


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"I haven't used a pick-up line like that in forever, but if I had to say..." Giving it some thought, Derek eventually resided on one or two that he remembered with some shred of fondness. "Feel my shirt. Know what it’s made of? Boyfriend material."

Shaking his head with a smile at the things he used to find himself saying or doing, Derek reached for two cookies, feeding one to the Sobble so that it'd stop pouting next to him. A bite was taken out of his own as he thought of another question, this time something more serious. "What do you do for a living?"

kennedy quinn

☉

She watched him give set up and punchline before covering her mouth to avoid outright snorting in his face. "And that worked?" Admittedly, it would've worked on her. At the very least, she was too curious not to prod for the follow up. [break][break]

"I design toys." She said, distilling her education in electrical engineering into something more palpable. Holt sparked a little moving closer to his trainer to chatter excitedly. "More specifically, toys for older children that curious Rotoms can drive around." she said turning to affectionatly flick at the ghost. There was a small spark between her finger and the ghost but she didn't seem to flinch all that badly, used to it. "I'm typically in my lab most of the time." 'That's why I'm here.' "What about you? You strike me as...a teacher maybe?"
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"It...kind of worked?" For Derek, making a girl laugh was about the best he hoped for. Whether it was at him or not didn't matter, since he never took himself too seriously. Then or now.

The following mention of toy-making catches his interest, reminding Derek of all the movies he watched as a kid revolving around toys coming to life, et cetera. "Sounds like a movie I saw as a kid." The Mouse and the Motorcycle. A classic, if you asked him.

"Wait, no way...really?" Derek imagined himself as a teacher in a classroom for one moment, wondering how that'd work out. It would really depend on the subject he was teaching, but it was nice to be thought of in a positive light.

"I actually work far from any classroom or lab. I'm with the rangers. Not very far up in the ranks yet, but I've got my eye on a position in Petalburg. You ever been?"

kennedy quinn

☉

"Well, it is an interesting opener." Kennedy admitted. She tilted her head not exactly following the reference, but she didn't outirhgt say it. The woman preferred not to think about her short childhood. Any and all entertainment she got back then was something she provided for herself. Everyone else in the family had always been occupied with their own issues. [break][break]

"Yeah, popular with the kids and the parents." she explained, offering the slightest of grins for her reasoning. "No, can't say I'm familiar with it. I've passed through there but that's all. Never got a change to visit Meteor Falls... I don't think I've ever really interacted with a ranger either. Too cooped up in the city I guess." she said. "If you're eyeing a promotion then, you must really enjoy your work though. Good luck."


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