Starring:
Summary: Daisy has a very nice chat with a very nice man. Yes.
Date It Happened: December 19, 2001
On Broadway
North Hollywood Regional Library
It's a quiet evening in the library. But then, most evenings are quiet in a library, what with them being quiet places and all. Tonight, it's also quiet in the sense of not being especially busy, just people working diligently spotted around here and there.
Daisy can be found in the back, in the computer lab, taking advantage of a bit of downtime to check her email. A cellphone, set considerately on vibrate, sits out on the table beside the computer mouse, and she glances at it every few moments, as though expecting a call.
Though he doesn't quite know why, Julian finds himself… drawn. He's not sure what he's being drawn to, but something is making him wander towards a part of the library he would normally never even consider entering - new-fangled technology is too much of a hassle for him. But he still stops at the door and looks into the computer lab, taking in the rows of machines in policy-respectful silence. Finding it vacant except for a single woman, the half-demon's attention is soon totally focused on her. It's probably kind of creepy.
Daisy puts the finishing touches on a long, involved email before hitting send. While she's waiting for her inbox to load again, she picks up her phone to make sure she hasn't missed a call. But before she can get much further than that, there's that feeling of being watched, the hairs on the back of her neck prickling slightly. Or maybe it's just in the silence of the otherwise empty room, it's easier to tell she's not alone anymore. She turns in her seat to look over at the door, flashing Julian a friendly if slightly uncertain smile as she spots him standing there. She glances back quickly to her screen, scanning the unread mail.
Julian is a bit of a weird sight: tiny men in tailored three-piece suits and extra-shiny shoes don't crop up everywhere. But as soon as he's given a smile he's found an outlet for his own, grinning ear to ear as he starts sauntering into the room without so much as an invitation. It's a public building. He's allowed. "Evening, miss." He wanders towards Daisy's spot, soon sliding into a chair at the desk opposite her own. "What's keeping you so late at a joint like this?"
"Good evening," Daisy replies pleasantly enough, one of those genuinely friendly souls, it seems. She checks off a few spam emails and makes to delete them, turning her attention back to the man as he sits down opposite her. "Oh, I had some free time, so I thought I would check my email," she explains, waving a hand towards the screen. "Is it late? I must have lost track of the time." She gives a quick grin, shaking her head at her own foolishness.
As far as women are concerned, genuinely friendly ones are the best kind. Julian is also friendly, even if email is a puzzling and potentially hazardous subject. Judging by the way he quickly eyes up the screen in front of Daisy, he's not a fan. "It's getting to the later side of things, yeah. I'm Jack, by the way. You come here often?"
Daisy doesn't seem too put off by his distaste for her electronic communication, just shrugging a little. "I'm Daisy," she replies with a nod of greeting. "I come here when I can find the time. Not that often, I guess. But sometimes you just need a little quiet, you know? And then sometimes, you just need to use the computer," she adds with a quiet laugh.
The man (who is an Englishman, judging by his accent) is still not a fan of the whole computer idea, but he did ask. "Peace and quiet is something pretty rare in this day and age. People are so rushed they don't take the time to sit down and just enjoy themselves. Or enjoy someone else's company, for that matter." Julian smiles again, leaning back just a little so he can fold his arms comfortably across his chest.
"Yeah, you're not kidding," Daisy agrees with an emphatically wide-eyed nod. "You'd think everyone was late to everything, all the time, from how they rush around." And so saying, she can't help but take another quick glimpse at the cellphone, but catching herself doing it, she has the good grace to look a little sheepish and then promptly tuck it away in her pocket. "I guess it's part of what I like about coming here. Everyone just sort of stops to take a breath. A quiet breath. I don't mind the noise and excitement, but sometimes it's nice to take a break." So she babbles a little.
Julian fixes Daisy with a wry grin as she takes a peek at the cell phone, but doesn't comment. To do so would be petty. And probably rude. "Well, lots of places used to be made for taking breaks. If you really want to enjoy yourself," he suggests knowledgeably, "take a cruise. A nice, long cruise. And make sure there are enough life boats aboard." Everyone knows how the biggest cautionary tale in history on that subject turned out.
For now, at least, the cellphone stays hidden away in her pocket. Daisy hopes she'll feel it vibrate if someone needs her. "A cruise? Yeah, I bet that would be fun. I don't think I could afford that though. The library has the added bonus of being free," she points out with another little laugh. "It would be nice to see more of the world though. But, well, maybe someday." She gives a hopeful shrug. "Have you been on one then? A cruise, I mean."
"Oh, you have no idea." That smile gets even brighter and Julian tips his head to the side, watching the woman in front of him steadily. At least he's probably less creepy now that he's introduced himself. "Are you interested in maritime travel? Consider cost to be no object: what is it you'd most like to do with yourself?"
Daisy still seems a little uneasy under the unrelenting stare. Less creepy but not NOT creepy. Still, she's been blessed with the ability to chat with strangers. "Not maritime travel, per say. Just … I guess I'd like to do more things in life. I've hardly travelled anywhere. But the real reason I'm here is because I want to act," she admits. "That's what I'd most like to do."
"Acting is a tough business to break into. Most people I've seen haven't really made it, except for the lucky ones. Or the really talented ones. What kind of acting do you do?" Whatever the reason, the mention of acting seems to have made Julian far more interested in the conversation.
"I know it won't be easy," Daisy replies with a determined smile, as though she has heard the speeches about it being the impossible dream more than once. "I've mostly done theatre up until now, school plays, community productions. But I just … wanted to go on to bigger and better things. Otherwise, I think it would just always be a hobby, you know?"
It's not an impossible dream, just an improbable one. "There's nothing better out there than musical theater, in my opinion. If you can succeed on Broadway you can pretty much do anything. Act. Sing. Dance. I'm not sure what the theater scene is like here, since I haven't been in town in years." Many, many years. Julian isn't too fond of the west coast. He smiles anyway, because the Pretty Girl is still talking to him.
"I can sing … okay, I guess. Not amazing. Acting is what I'm really good at," Daisy says, before giving a laugh. "I didn't mean that to sound so … full of myself. It's more, of the things I can do, acting is probably the best. It comes easier than anything, if that makes sense." She gives her shoulders a little shrug, not quite sure if she's putting it into the right words. "But maybe I'll keep Broadway in mind. Though I should probably stick it out here a little longer."
"It sounds like you're more comfortable in someone else's skin than your own. I can relate - and it's good for a budding actor. Or actress," Julian adds after a second, gesturing towards Daisy with one hand. "You might be the next Hedy Lamarr. Who knows?"
"Yeah, I guess it's something like that," Daisy replies with an easy grin, tucking her hair back behind her ears again. "Do you act too, then?" she asks with some interest, considering his comment and the nature of this town, being in Hollywood and all. "So while I know it's a risk, I just… had to take it," she goes back to her original thought. "Something will happen, I just know it."
What a question. "I dabble on and off. My last long run on Broadway ended a few years ago. And now I'm here. One more person out of the business makes room for one more person to go in. Maybe that's you, if you get a lucky break. Had any success?" Julian eases forward in his seat as he asks, his chair wheeling slightly in the woman's direction.
"Broadway, wow. That sounds like more than dabbling to me!" Daisy says with an impressed grin. "I guess you'd know then, about what it takes to make it on Broadway." She gives a thoughtful look as he asks her about her luck. "I'm not completely destitute yet, which some people seem to think is luck. I'm still working my way up, though I did get to skip a few rungs on the ladder, I think. I might just be an assistant, but at least it's to one of the big names in town."
"Well, fine. I do more than dabble. But I'm certain you'll rise higher than a simple assistant. You've got the looks for it." It could be empty flattery, but the way Julian says it? It might just well be the truest thing in the world. "I take it your interest lies in motion pictures rather than being live on stage. Most young people tend to overlook it."
Daisy goes a little pink at the flattery, offering a shy smile, empty or true or anywhere in between. "Um, thanks," she replies, tucking her hair back a little self-consciously, but not necessarily in a bad way. It takes a moment to give his question due consideration. "I guess movies and television just seemed more … not accessible, exactly, but … it seems so hard to actually get to the point where you can make a living, acting on stage." Not that Hollywood has done her much better. "And if you can't make a living at it, then people are only going to see it as a hobby."
Julian sees the gentle smile and raises Daisy's bet with a broad grin, entirely pleased with her reaction to the compliment. Modesty, even in small amounts, is hard to come by. "I don't know how easy or difficult it'd be to get involved with things these days. When I started, all you needed was talent - and the right friends. I can't imagine it's changed much. My advice to you is this: make those friends."
"I'm working on it," Daisy replies with a wry grin. "Just like any career, it's all about who you know, right?" She shrugs her shoulders, not seeming too surprised about that. "Not much I can do but keep on trying to be friendly, and maybe working on being in the right place at the right time. And hey, sometimes you meet people when you least expect it," she points out, with a little gesture to the otherwise deserted computer lab.
That gets a laugh from Julian. "Being friendly will no doubt help you on your way, doll, but I'm not sure I can be of that much help. I'm not exactly well-known around these parts. However-" He pulls his jacket to the side slightly and fishes into a pocket of his waistcoat, eventually producing a pen. "I'd be happy to give you my number if you'd take it. I might be of use."
"Not that I'm just thinking of /using/ you," Daisy points out quickly, even if he seems rather okay with that idea. "Friends are useful for just being, you know, friends. But of course I'll take your number, if you don't mind. I can do with all the help I can get." There's another genuine smile, before she reaches into her bag and comes out with a rather busy-looking day planner. She flips it open to the back and offers a blank page for him to write on, holding it out towards him.
Julian takes the planner in hand when it's offered, setting it down on his right knee so he can very neatly scribe his name onto the page, followed by an address and a local phone number. He's nothing if not thorough. And unlike every other male in the twenty-first century? His script is legible. It's almost like a perfectly-formed font. "Friends are useful, yes. I would very much like someone to help me get acquainted with this place again."
"I don't know if I'm exactly the first choice the play tour-guide. I haven't been here all that long myself," Daisy admits with a wry grin. "But if there's anything I can do to help… One good turn deserves another," she states with a small shrug, nodding towards the book to make clear she means the contact information as the one good turn deserving of another. "It's a hard city to get into sometimes," she adds with a knowing nod.
Another beaming smile makes an appearance as Julian hands the book back over to Daisy, his pen trapped underneath a thumb so she doesn't have to dig for one of her own. "Just like show business." He rolls his chair closer to Daisy's with a few scootches of his feet, getting just close enough to still be at a polite distance while nevertheless being quite a lot nearer.
Daisy gives a little laugh to that, nodding in agreement. "Exactly like show business, yeah. I guess the business and the city really are entwined." She takes back the book and the pen, using the corner of the same page to jot down her own phone number, labelled with her name, before she carefully tears that part of the page off for him. Her own script is large and looping, neat in a carefree sort of way, and very girly. She hasn't failed to notice him getting closer, but just responds with a grin as she offers the pen and scrap of paper to him. "And I think maybe the only way to survive either one of them is to find some people you can rely on."
"Feel free to rely on me. For anything. We'll do dinner sometime if you like - and you're definitely more familiar with the city than I am. I've only been around a couple of days. If you're already someone's assistant, I feel confident in your guiding skills." Julian takes the offered paper and pen happily, tucking both neatly away into the concealed pocket that the pen had been produced from in the first place. He rises from his seat after a moment and nudges it back into its original spot with one hand.
"Well, I don't know. I took a wrong turn just the other day and wound up in South Central, so I'm just saying, you might want to bring a map," Daisy replies with a self-deprecating laugh, though it's equal parts joke and putting herself down just a little. "But I'll be glad to do what I can, and I'll try not to get you lost doing it." Sensing that he's readying to leave, she gives a sincere smile. "It was nice to meet you, Jack."
"Oh, hush. I'm sure you'll find your way around just fine without a map. Besides, getting lost can be great fun." With that wonderful little tidbit the man winks at Daisy, setting his hand gently down on her shoulder to give it a squeeze. "A mutual pleasure, I assure you. Hope to see you soon." And then he's walking off, headed for more bookish parts of the library. The dusty volumes are far more his speed.
"You're right. I guess even that little side trip turned out okay," Daisy concedes with a grin, her gaze flickering towards the hand, but she doesn't pull away from the touch. Instead, she just gives a little nod of affirmation that he may well see her again soon, before turning back to her computer screen, pulling out her phone to check for any missed calls while she's at it.