royal_musings | Being There for New Friends [for Shelby]

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Being There for New Friends [for Shelby]

It had been a while since she'd been back in the US - not since she'd finally gone over to make peace with everything that'd happen. Since then, Piper had been staying at either Adonis' stupid and ridiculous penthouse or the house that she'd promise to return more often. But it was okay. More importantly she was okay. Or would be.

She had made a decision to herself around Halloween, that she would return to the places that she'd put off for so long, being too afraid of the memories that had haunted her on occasion.

Truth be told, Piper had hesitated on taking Shelby up on her offer of visiting. It was one thing to meet in the Nexus where whoever may be still out for Piper's blood decidedly wasn't but it was another to bring any potential trouble to Shelby's literal front door. Which was why when she decided to visit Indianapolis, a city she hadn't been to in a number of years, she opted to stay at least the first night in a hotel in downtown Indianapolis. This gave her plenty of time to get a good feel of the city and see if it was a hotbed of supernatural activity - or if she'd have anything to worry about. She didn't get this far by being laxed in her own personal safety. Piper was sure that most ended up closer to Chicago which was only a few hours away.

Once she was settled into her room, somewhere around mid afternoon, Piper pulled out her phone and shot a text over to Shelby.

Hey, I know this is random but I'm in Indianapolis for a few days. Are you free for dinner and/or drinks?

She didn't want to put pressure on the other woman by any means, especially since it was her who randomly showed up in town.

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Her mouth quirked up. "I haven't either but I've heard that they still do it right," Piper agreed. She'd tried to stay away from London for the last ten years. She loved the city. It was her second home but because of that, she'd had the hardest time going back where she'd spent the most time with Jordan and David. "It's always been my second home so I figure, I should go and do it right this year." It would be nice to spend the holiday with a friend.

"Thanks, Shelby. I appreciate that," Piper said. "You know, in some ways, you'd think having magic would make life simpler but it really doesn't. But that's really just life in a nutshell. Oh, I love cake."

"There's a black forest cake upstairs."

So before Shelby could lapse into stories about how she earned this trophy or where that photo was from, things she didn't think Piper was interested in, she forced herself to pull away from nostalgia and head back upstairs. Her roommate, having done the dishes, was now sitting on the couch channel-surfing. He gave her a look to see if she was okay and she nodded that she was.

"Where's the cake?" she asked, as if to completely move off any serious topics of conversation.

"Sentences you don't get to say often enough." Peter stood and headed for the kitchen which, for the first time, made the height discrepancy between him and Shelby more obvious. At just over 5'5" she was nine inches shorter than her best friend, which made them look even more cute or ridiculous depending on how you looked at it. Especially since Shelby had never learned how to run in heels.

"Sounds delicious," she smiled and followed the other woman up the stairs.

Piper watched the two together, how they communicated without words needing to be said and the height difference. It was adorable. Even if they hadn't communicated it out loud to each other, Piper could tell how much they obviously cared for each other. Whether that was care and love for a friend or a potential romantic partner, time would tell. But either way, Piper always thought it was good to find that person who knew you like that.

"Hopefully, you'll get to relax now for the next couple of months," she said to Shelby. "Decompress and do things that you like to do in your free time. In between the busy holidays."

"Mostly eating," Shelby could admit as Peter went to get the leftover cake out of the fridge. "Not that I'm going to get fat or anything but I'm on a diet most of the year so I like to indulge when I'm finally allowed to."

She was lucky in that she had a decent diet that didn't require her to count calories or eat a bunch of bland things. She just had to use a bit of common sense. But still, she would relish the opportunity to be able to eat whatever she wanted, and maybe try out a few new recipes, especially around the holidays.

Plus, now that she had someone else in the house, she'd want to make sure he was taken care of. It was fine to stop by the Taco Bell drive-thru when she was living alone but she was trying to make more of an effort since they were pretty much stuck with each other. The current state of the world had precluded even things like going out to dinner unless they ordered takeout.

"Does your job really give you breaks or is that a year-round thing?" she asked. Of course she knew what Piper was really referring to but the question was valid either way.

"That's fair. I'd say that's good though that you have time where you don't have to be so strict about what you eat," Piper agreed with a grin. "Honestly, dessert is the one thing I never have a problem indulging in."

She ultimately worked the sugar off anyway.

Piper considered the question for a moment. "Honestly, it's dependent on what's going on. Sometimes, there are breaks and lulls but it's an always on call sort of thing." Some people never cared if it was a holiday, birthday or anniversary and in fact enjoyed making a ruckus on those days simply because they could.

Shelby nodded. "We race from March until September. Add in preseason testing and fitness, and it's basically January till September. It's a lifestyle, not really a career."

Not that she minded. She was so single-minded, and so focused on her trade, that she didn't have anything else pulling her away. As long as she got the holidays off to spend with her loved ones Shelby was fine with being immersed in work. Even on her days off she was watching other races or thinking about what was going to happen next.

She turned to help Peter get the cake onto the table and then relaxed in her chair. "This is pretty much all I've been doing since I was ten, though, so maybe I'm just wired this way. Part of the reason this breakup sucks so much is I've only had three boyfriends and I'm 34."

Piper smiled. "I can absolutely relate to that." She had, at one point, considered going for an actual career and was working toward it. Until... everything happened. "It's not so bad though. If it's something you've always known and it's in your very bones, it doesn't feel like a job. It's just part of life. What I do, is what I've always known on some level." Which would be hard to explain to Peter who didn't know her situation.

"That's understandable," she agreed. "I've been in your shoes. I'm about your age and I've had two serious boyfriends. I haven't been in a serious relationship since my last boyfriend." Course, she had spent that time avenging his and Jordan's deaths so she'd had more important things on her mind than finding someone else to be with. She had been sure she was going to spend at least most of her life with him and not being able to was still hard to consider.

"I dated in high school," Shelby explained. "And then dated someone about four years ago, for about four months."

It was funny, but the two people she'd say she had been in love with weren't either of the people she had dated. She'd loved Peter once in their first time around together, and then there was Tobey Marshall, her friend and mentor in New York. But neither of those had led to actual relationships. Most of the time she was celibate, unable and also unwilling to commit to anyone.

"I should point out her father owns a shotgun," Peter interjected, perhaps not wanting her to feel pathetic. "And threatens to use it on anyone who tries to date her." Because she had a lot of male friends (most of them were men actually) so that part he understood.

"Everyone except you," Shelby pointed out.

"I'm still not convinced he won't."

Even if he hadn't brought up information about her dad, there was no way Piper would have considered Shelby pathetic. Everyone had their own priorities, there was nothing wrong with that. "I get it though. When you have other more pressing things to focus on - your career for instance or what have you, time just blurs together."

As it stood, Piper couldn't even begin to imagine herself in another relationship yet. Although it had been a decade, she hadn't properly grieved as she should and it still felt a little too raw at times. She didn't need to bring that up at dessert time. No one needed to be brought down by her own sad story.

"I'm sure if you've lasted this long without being threatened, you're probably safe," Piper said with an amused look, sitting back in her chair.

"I'm not entirely sure," Peter admitted. He had a good relationship with Shelby's father Richard, having worked with the man for five years, but the other man was intimidating and so he'd never quite grown out of that fear. Even being invited to dinner with the Manning family made him a little bit nervous, and he was headed for 40.

"Dad loves him," Shelby replied with a laugh. "Dad's always loved him."

Piper could probably figure out why already. He was an upstanding guy with a steady job, a college degree, and who had his head screwed correctly on his shoulders. He was an easy person to love. Shelby was already giving him a nudge across the table.

"He hated my high school boyfriend," she added with a laugh. "I dated a guy who could be loosely classed as a 'bad boy.' Not a terrible guy but in with the wrong crowd. Rode a motorcycle, the whole deal. I ran into him a few years ago...now he's an oncologist!"

"Put it this way, if what you say is true, I think you'd know by now if he didn't like you," Piper said with a grin. She had no doubt that if a man who had no qualm about threatening his daughter's potential boyfriends didn't like you, you'd know it. "He doesn't seem like the type to shy away from saying so."

And as far as guys went, Peter seemed like a really good guy. He wasn't overbearing like so many she'd come across and had a steady job. He also seemed like he had a sense of humor which was always a plus in her book.

"Hm, so maybe the 'bad boys' can change their ways. Good to know," she remarked with a grin. She'd always hoped that would be the case but it was not always the case.

"At least Landon did." Shelby laughed softly. "But yeah, dating is not my forte. Dad casts a long shadow and I've been non-stop busy with my career since I was still in college. I mean, I can't even remember to return my mom's phone calls a lot of the time."

When she was in season, her complete focus was on racing and that was it. She rarely looked at texts or calls and usually forgot to return any of them. Luckily so far no one had been trying to reach her for any real emergencies, because she wouldn't notice. But that was the way she was successful; she was completely dialed in and no one could touch her.

A dry chuckle. "If Peter weren't here I'd be talking to myself. I mean literally," she added.

"You and me both," Piper agreed with a grin. Though it wasn't so much the Dad part as it was everything else in her life. All the same, she could still relate to it on some level.

The cake had been delicious and she was glad she had reached out to Shelby that evening.

"Well, I always said the first step to madness is talking to yourself and answering yourself. But you're in good company because I have definitely been there."

"Good, then I feel less neurotic."

Shelby chuckled as she got up to clear the table. Peter had done it the first time, so she felt it was her turn to handle the dishes. At least she hadn't talked Piper's ear off about her various racing accomplishments, especially when surrounded by the memorabilia from said accomplishments. She was able to have a normal conversation about normal things. And vent all the things that had been rolling around in her head for the last two weeks.

"We'll have to get you out to a race sometime," she said. "I'd be busy, but you should come out and enjoy the sights."

She'd be busy doing her job but every IndyCar race weekend always had a lot going on, whether it was food trucks and lifestyle expos to go-karting and driver Q&As. If she wasn't working them Shelby would be walking around with roasted corn on a stick and taking in all the stuff happening.

"Absolutely, that'd be a lot of fun," Piper grinned. "I used to go to car shows a lot. My boyfriend and my best friend were definitely car guys. I've never been to an IndyCar race though."

If she did attend, she wouldn't expect Shelby to show her around. She knew the girl would have to focus and work. That was simply the nature of the beast. But Piper was outgoing enough that she wouldn't have a problem.

"Thanks again for having me over tonight and for dessert. The cake was fantastic."

"Thank you. Baking is one of the things I do well."

Shelby laughed and stood to walk her friend to the door. She didn't want to keep Piper any longer than necessary especially since she had a long road trip ahead of her. She gave her another hug at the front door.

"Give me a text when you get there," she suggested so that she'd know the other woman had made it okay. "And if you need anything, call me anytime." She'd be home for the next few months and more than happy to help if she ever could.

Piper smiled and gave her a hug. "Thank you, I absolutely will." It had been nice to just visit someone, share a great meal and relax a bit. It wasn't something she often did these days, her life being what it was.

"You and Peter are cute," she said in a whisper, giving the woman a teasing smile. "Let me know if you need anything on your end too. Have a great evening, Shelby."

She had a trip ahead of her and needed to mentally prepare herself for whatever she'd face back home in New Orleans.

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Being There for New Friends [for Shelby]

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