Who: Olivia and Brian
When: About 2pm, shortly before the shift change
Where: Diner

Olivia was back at work. It felt strange after having so many days off, but it was a necessary since she was pretty much broke and rent would be due soon enough. Which meant working - lots and lots of working. She managed it all right, ignoring the customers that pissed her off and chatting up or flirting with the tables that didn't. Anything to get an extra dollar in her tip was worth it. She was relieved not to see Brian - though she wondered how he was against her better judgment. Mya had stayed true to her promise to switch shifts, although Olivia did feel mildly guilty about Brian working night shifts now, unless he had preferred it then perhaps she did him a favor. Wiping down her last table, Olivia returned to the back to pull off her apron and grab her things. Briefly she considered going to see Mathias, but she honestly didn't know if that was entirely a good idea. But when had she been full of good ideas lately? Olivia wrinkled her nose a bit and hung up her apron. At least she had some free time before Babylon. Maybe she would stop by the arts thing happening in town instead. That would give her something to concentrate on... browsing at things she couldn't afford. Always a fun time.

Brian was early for his shift; he wasn't actually due in until half past the hour. But this was when Olivia was off work, and he wanted to at least see her, see how she was, and see if she still hated him. If so, he'd leave her alone-- for a while-- but he at least had to make an attempt.

Besides, coming in early beat sitting around at home trying, and failing, to reverse his spiritual sight problem, and with the remains of a hangover, at that. So he pulled into the diner parking lot in his big, dirty truck-- really needed to get it washed-- right around two and swung out, cane in hand, to limp up to the diner door, opening it with the familiar tinkle of the bell. Maybe she'd see him, maybe she wouldn't, maybe she'd make a run for it out the back door, he had no idea. He just had to see what she'd do, or say, before he could know where he stood and if he'd be standing there forever.

Olivia slipped her bag onto her shoulder and headed out the front, already craving a cigarette when she spotted Brian. She paused in her steps, vaguely wondering if she could get away with turning and running out the back, but that would look awfully cowardly, and she wasn't in the mood for that. She'd asked to work a different shift specifically to avoid this and yet there he was - thirty minutes early - standing in her way. She didn't really know what to say to him, if she was even suppose to say anything. So she just stood there by the front counter, hesitating and wondering if he would make it easy on her and just go to the back without a word.

Well, she wasn't turning tail and running, and she's definitely seen him. Brian gave her a small smile and a hesitant little wave, first, to see how she's take that: glare, shout, quail, wave back against all odds... whichever. At least he had a legitimate reason to talk to her, too-- an excuse, a reason for showing up early on purpose to talk to her. She might not agree that it was legitimate, but it was a reason, flimsy or not.

Olivia didn't respond to the smile. Or the wave. She knew she ought to. She knew she shouldn't blame Brian - and a tiny part of her didn't. But it still hurt to look at him, knowing what his family did to hers. Knowing that he knew, or at least suspected, and didn't tell her. Her face remained impassive and she reached up to clutch at the strap of her bag before she spoke. "Why are you here so early?" If he came to see her, she wasn't sure how she would feel about that. If he just came in to do paper work or something as equally mundane rather than talk to her, well, she didn't know she would feel about that either.

His faintly hopeful little smile fell away at that. All business, then. Brian came fully in, heading past her around the counter as he spoke. "Gotta talk to you. I promise," he added with a faint grin, "I'll make it quick. Can you hang around for just a minute?" He had to check in with Mya, make sure he had use of her office for a couple minutes, then coax Olivia back there.

Olivia very nearly said no, she didn't have a minute thank you very much... but she couldn't find it in herself to be outwardly cruel about it, so she pursed her lips together irritably before releasing an impatient breath. "Okay... just a minute, though, I have things to do." Which, really, she didn't, but she didn't want any reason to be there longer than what was comfortable for her.

"Thanks," he said, and resisted the urge to reach over and touch her shoulder. He doubted she'd appreciate it. He instead limped quickly back to the kitchen proper to give Mya a quick kiss on the forehead, explain in brief that he needed her office and yes he knew Olivia was there and not happy to see him, and then beckoned Olivia to follow him back.

Holding the door to the office for her, Brian just got started right away. "Two things, then I'll leave you alone, promise. I won't even ask you to sit down." He did close the door behind her, though, if she actually deigned to come in.

Olivia waited, shifting impatiently from one foot to the other until Brian motioned her into Mya's office. Privacy - just what she didn't want. Olivia hesitated again, wishing she could reach deep down inside of her and tell him off before storming out- but she couldn't. She instead found herself following and once she was inside, she stood just to the side of the door in case she felt like making a quick escape. "Two things, then," Olivia agreed, her eyes on him. "What are they?"

Letting the door drift shut behind them, Brian turned back to face her. She certainly looked impatient and ready to bolt at the first sign of trouble; maybe the friendship really was ruined. "First off, I ran into a guy in town who knows you. Name's Aiden, Irish-Scottish-something accent. I don't know if you'll want to look him up, or avoid him, but I thought you ought to know."

Aiden's name caused the first reaction in her otherwise icy expression. She winced, and then wrinkled her nose distastefully. "I know he's here... but no, I don't think I'll be looking him up." The asshole. And then she paused and looked at Brian more clearly. Obviously her name came up if Brian was aware Aiden knew her. And she wondered just what Brian knew now, if anything. "Did he say anything I should know about?"

"Just that he knew your dad, and that the two of you didn't get along," Brian shrugged, leaving out all the bits with him disapproving of Olivia being upset about her father's death. He doubted that one, Olivia needed to hear that kind of disapproval, or two, that she's appreciate being talked about that personally, even if the one she hated right then had been trying to defend her. "I'm trying to be charitable, but I don't think I like him much. Don't suppose you know if he's a hunter...." Or would tell him if she knew.

"You don't have to be charitable," Olivia snapped and then forced herself to stop and regroup. She sighed and lifted both hands over her tired face before taking a breath. "I'm sorry... I don't mean to be a bitch." Seeing Brian again just reminded her that her dad was dead. But it wasn't just that he was dead, it was that he was killed and sometimes she started to think about just how he'd been killed, and if it had been painful and if he had suffered and... Olivia swallowed and dropped her arms back to her sides. "Aiden's a hunter, yes. The kind that hunt for money, actually." And she didn't give a rat's ass if she told the entire town about Aiden's job. "Why?"

Brian had to actually hold back his first retort, which would have been a definitely uncharitable "yes, you do, that's all you want to be to me, it's pretty damn obvious," but he didn't want her really going off on him. He had more important things than hurt feelings and slowly growing exasperation to talk to her about. Hell, at least she'd apologized. He nodded, quietly taking that in stride, and said calmly, "Mayne I'm just being paranoid, but that's just something I worried about when he said he knew you through your dad. But if he is, I know to be more careful with him, if he comes back." Willworkers were worth a hell of a lot of money, he knew that. Even Manhattan had confirmed it. "Thanks for telling me."

She shrugged in response, her own form of 'you're welcome'. "He won't come after you unless he finds out what you are... or someone else does." Not that it would make him feel any better, but she felt the need to put it out there. Olivia crossed her arms against her chest and took a breath again. "And what's the second thing? Or was that all?"

Hence, the being careful. Brian doubted anyone he knew now would be spilling his secret to anyone, unless vampires made a habit of seeking out hunters instead of taking their own revenge. "No, there's one more thing. Was wondering if, uh, you know anything about lifting curses... magic, demon, whatever." Brian knew about witches, of course, but not a lot about what they did or how they did it, and demons were a definite hole in his education. Because he thought an explanation might be in order, he scratched at his head a little and added, "I've got a friend, he might be under one... not sure, but I'm lookin' into everything I can that might help."

That really wasn't she was expecting to hear and she took a moment to just stare at him before responding. He wanted to know if she knew anything about lifting curses. For a second she remembered her conversation with Dorian in Nevermore. Black magic was probably the only way to do it... and even then it could go badly and be fatal. She was cursed. If she knew a way to lift it, she definitely would have done it by now. "I don't really know much about lifting curses, no. I was told trying to lift a curse could be dangerous, depending on the strength of it. What kind of curse do you think you're friend is under?"

The pause made Brian think she finally was going to go off on him, for daring to ask for her help after what he'd done-- or not done, or whatever. He slumped back to half-sit against Mya's desk when what came out was civil, if surprised, bracing his hands against the desktop to either side of him. "Something to blind him to the supernatural. I had to rescue the man from vampires, and he hardly remembers any of it. I started glowing in the middle of a restaurant, and he didn't notice. Lots of little things-- could be other things, but a curse I can at least do something about, y'know? Maybe, anyway."

Olivia considered this, chewing on her lip as she did so. "Could just be a spell you know, might not necessarily be a curse. In fact, I don't know if I would consider that a curse, really. Some people, I think, would prefer not to be aware of the supernatural. But, I guess you'd have to research some more, talk to him some more... if you've done things in front of him and he's still completely oblivious, maybe it's magic, or maybe he's just that stupid. Some people rationalize the stuff they don't understand, no matter how weird. I don't have the answers for you, but I'd recommend trying to read up on it and see if you can put a name to it."

"There's a difference between a spell and a curse?" Brian blinked, then grinned a bit. "Shows how much I know right? I don't think it's rational-- ration-- what you said. It's just like he forgets it, and then starts flailing when I bring it up. Or blanking out and changing the subject." Or starts shifting the blame.... "The only other thing I can think of is some kind of hard-core repression, but that idea makes me skeptical, so...." He shrugged. "This, I'm more comfortable with." Kind of sad that he was more comfortable with the idea of a curse or a spell than a psychological reaction... but maybe that was what living with the supernatural did to you

"I'll see what I can dig up, though all my-- all my notes are on my kind of shit-- physics, reality, forces, not magic.... Can you even buy books on this stuff that're even remotely right?" He knew there were a couple arcane-ish bookstores in town, but he'd not so much as stepped inside, figuring them to be full of bunk.

"Yes, I think there's a difference. Just like there's a difference between white magic and black... and most curses are black. At least, that's what I've always come to understand. Maybe I'm wrong." She didn't know Brian's friend, so she really couldn't give him a more in depth answer. All she knew was what she saw, and what she'd read. "Try Nevermore. Most other stores that carry books on this stuff carry books that I think are full of it. Nevermore seems to be legit. Maybe it'll help." And she realized she'd been trying to help him when she was suppose to be mad at him. Olivia fell silent and glanced behind her at the door before shifting her gaze back to his face. "Is that all you need?"

For a moment he'd been warming to her and the subject, himself, but when she looked away Brian remembered, too, that she was supposed to be mad at him. "I wouldn't mind being friends again," he said quietly, tucking his hands into his jeans pockets. "But I can't really ask for that unless you want to give it."

She had sort of figured he was going to bring that up when he asked to speak with her, so it wasn't a surprise when he did. Olivia could have very easily reverted back to being angry and difficult, but she was too tired at the moment to keep it up. "I don't know if I can," she admitted, going for blunt honesty. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. "It's just... whenever I look at you, I think of my dad... and not the way I used to when I thought he was alive. You reminded me of him, a little... and now that just hurts more."

"Well, that's better than hating me outright," Brian sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Marginally. I'll leave you alone, if that's what you really want, but I think it might be better to give a go and see if you can before you go cutting somebody outa your life like that. I'll stick with my shift and you stick with yours," he suggested, "but maybe we can at least, I don't know, keep up the cooking lessons somehow, or something."

"I don't... hate you," Olivia said after a moment's hesitation. "I hate your father. And when I see you, I think about it, about what he did. And then I think about my dad, and all the stupid things I did that I can't apologize for. It's like a never ending cycle of memories and pain. And I don't know if I can work beside you every day and get past that. Maybe... eventually." She didn't know how she felt about continuing the cooking lessons. She wanted to, because she had enjoyed them, but she didn't know if that would be any easier. "Can I just... I just need some time, okay?"

Which, Brian was pretty sure, translated into a no. She might not mean it, she might not think it now, but if he was out of her life now, she wouldn't bother to ever let him back in. Out of sight, out of mind. He'd seen it before, and he was sure he'd see it again. At least he had the self-esteem to be able to think that it was her loss, and put a little belief behind it. "Sure," he said heavily. "Take some time. You know how to find me if you change your mind. Thanks for seein' me even this long, you were a lot of help."

Olivia wasn't necessarily an 'out of sight, out of mind' type person. Even when people she cared about weren't around, that didn't mean she didn't think about them. And she did care about Brian. It was just too... fresh for her at the moment to pretend everything was okay. "I know how to find you," she agreed, and then turned to reach for the door. "If... you need any help with anything else... you know how to find me too."

"Yep. You have a good afternoon, Olivia," Brian said, dredging up a smile for her. He'd have to go get himself a hug from Mya before he got to working, he thought. That'd help him feel better. At least she hadn't blown him off completely-- that was something.

"I will. You too," Olivia managed before opening the door and slipping out. She headed directly for the front to leave, somewhat upset and feeling a bit guilty. That small, rational part of her knew she shouldn't blame him for what happened. But she needed someone to blame, as horrible as that was. Maybe once things settled in her life and she could get past the harder parts things would be okay with Brian. And she acknowledged the part of her that hoped that was true.