Public Relations [Closed] - Printable Version

Public Relations [Closed] - Printable Version

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RE: Public Relations [Closed] - saronym - 09-10-2017

It wasn’t until nightfall that Renton’s resolve to stay at his own apartment alone began to weaken. The sunset on the city below him and the city lights flickered on shortly after. He could hear the voices of groups of friends below on the sidewalks. It all left him with a feeling of anxious anticipation. It was too much like the night he was finally arrested. Alone in some anonymous apartment with nobody to call but his lawyer.

Tonight was different. He did have someone to call.

Renton knew he was a social being but he also knew that he rarely ever used his charismatic nature to formulate deeper relationships with others. That was a deeply regretful fact.

And so it was that feeling of longing that deposited him on Julianna’s doorstep equipped with an overnight bag packed with clothes for the next workday, his favorite set of monogrammed silk pajamas, and an arguably unnecessary assortment of personal grooming products.

He rang the doorbell and waited, gripping his Louis Vuitton duffle. When she opened the door he sucked in a deep breath and smiled at her. It wasn’t his classic blinding beam but something much more subdued and perhaps a bit sad.

“So about that sleepover?” He lifted his head and sniffed the air that wafted from inside her home to him on the threshold. “Is that Chinese food?”

RE: Public Relations [Closed] - megs - 09-25-2017

The ring of her doorbell was surprising. Ears twitched to the rhythm of steps in the hall but they were mostly ignored in favor of her reading. She hadn't been expecting anymore. She looked up and frowned at her door. It wasn't that late, but she thought potential company may have called.

Julianna stood and crossed the room. She checked the peephole to see Renton, which was even more surprising. She quickly worked at unbolting the door and throwing it open. When her gaze focused on him he was already smiling, but she could tell the difference by now. Ears pushed to attention and her tail swayed behind her knees. "Hey," she greeted, stepping aside she beckoned him inside with a sweep of her arm. "Yeah, it is," she answered his questions but not without a question tone of her own. She closed and locked the door again.

"Are you hungry?" She was already moving towards the kitchen with the intent of making him a plate. "You can put your things in my room." She sort of rushed through this preliminary pleasantries to get to the question she mostly wanted to ask.

"Is everything alright? I thought you were staying home."

RE: Public Relations [Closed] - saronym - 10-03-2017

Renton could hear her approach the door and saw the peephole darken as she looked through. He sighed heavily before she opened the door to expel his embarrassment at having run to Julianna like a scared little boy.

“I’m starved.” He insisted, gripping his stomach dramatically to emphasize. “That smells wonderful, thank you.” He said as he turned to drop his bag off in Julianna’s room as directed. “I hope you don’t mind if I change. I brought the most comfortable pajamas.” He sang as she made inquiries regarding his well-being.

In her room, he swiftly removed stately set of navy silk pajamas from his bag. He took off his work clothes and folded them neatly inside before dressing. “I’m fine.” He called from her room, peeking his head out of the doorway. It was easier to answer her in lies from another room away. Not that Renton wasn’t a good liar. He just knew that she would know the truth. That she already knew the truth. His presence on her doorstep was an admission that he wasn’t fine after his assault. He simply didn't feel like looking her in the eye when he lied.

“I just thought it would be nice to have that sleepover.”

He had even brought slippers which he put on before shuffling out to meet her again in the kitchen. When he arrived in the room he spread his arms wide and turned around to show off his set.

“What do you think?” He asked before moving closer and offering her the hem of his shirt. “They are so comfortable.”

RE: Public Relations [Closed] - megs - 10-19-2017

Julianna decided against probing Renton for the actual answer to his surprise visit. It was obvious really, and she wasn’t going to make him uncomfortable or bring a weird tension to the room by trying to force it out of him. “I do enjoy a sleepover,” she commented, mildly, watching as he walked towards her in his stylish pajamas.

She’d never known a man to look so put together, even for bed. Her tail swayed, and she pushed a plate of food towards him. Ears twitched as she reached out for the hem he offered. The corners of her mouth curled as she fingered the soft material. “Ohh, those are comfy,” she replied, genuinely. Julianna liked that it wasn’t that he was dressing up for her; being well put together was just how Renton was. She could relate to wanting to look good just for herself. Even she had gone through the effort of cute sleep clothes, even though she had planned on being alone for the evening.

Turning away from him she moved towards the refrigerator. Popping open the freezer she pulled out a carton of black cherry ice cream. “So, what shall we do first?” she mused, with mocking girlish excitement. She continued to move around the kitchen for a bowl and an ice cream scoop. “Stalk our coworkers on social media while a cheesy romcom plays in the background? Nail painting? Prank phone calls?”

RE: Public Relations [Closed] - saronym - 10-23-2017

Renton found the plate of food Julianna had prepared for him on the counter. When she turned to retrieve her frozen treat, he helped himself to the plate he assumed was intended for him. Renton having not eaten that day since lunch was starving and shoveled a large bite of fried rice into his mouth while she listed off suggestions for the evenings’ activities. He didn’t bother to find a place to sit yet, he’d follow Julianna to wherever she had been nesting when he knocked.

“Oooohhh!” He exclaimed at her around a mouthful of rice. He gestured excitedly with his fork while he swallowed his bite. Electric blue eyes were wide with his enthusiasm. “Yes! All of it!”

Taking an enthusiastic bite of an egg roll, Renton’s eyes rolled back as if thrown into ecstasy by the taste. When he had chewed and swallowed that bite, he added arrogantly, “I’m a pro at internet stalking. Which you have probably already gathered.”

He stabbed at a piece of marinated chicken but got too excited about the prospective plans to put it in his mouth. “So, who would you want to staaaalk?” He asked tauntingly, hoping she would name the same person he already had on his mind. He popped the chicken into his mouth and chewed slowly while he waited for her response.

RE: Public Relations [Closed] - megs - 11-04-2017

Julianna filled her bowl with a generous helping of the pink frozen treat. She couldn’t help but grin at Renton’s enthusiastic response to her cheesy suggestions. Her tail swayed pleasantly behind her knees as she pressed the lid back down on the carton, and returned it to the freezer. She giggled as she liked ice cream off the scoop. She put it in the sink and traded it for a spoon.

“Really?” One of her ears fell off the side of her head as she dug into the ice cream. “I never would have guessed that the hacker-” she paused, spooning ice cream into her mouth. “I’m sorry, alleged hacker would be good at stalking people on the internet.”

Picking up her bowl she moved out of the kitchen and towards the living room, knowing that Ren would be content to follow her. Tossing some throw pillows onto the floor she made space for her next to her on the couch. Julianna cocked a brow at Renton as she made herself comfortable on the couch, pulling a knitted blanket off the back and arranging it over her legs with her free hand. “Do I really have a choice?” She teased him. “Does he even use social media enough to be interesting?” She asked, knowing that they were talking about Owen.

RE: Public Relations [Closed] - saronym - 11-16-2017

Renton settled himself into the couch and continued working at his dinner while they spoke in their roundabout way about Owen. He dusted his fingers of crumbs from the eggroll he finished and abandoned his only partially started dinner. Renton hummed and rolled his eyes as he considered Julianna’s question about Owen’s online life.

“He uses Twitter the most. But he only Tweets about politics.” He gestured as if gagging to show what he felt about that type of content.

“He is on Facebook though. I haven’t looked at it in a while. We could check that out.” Renton was already reaching for Julianna’s iPad on the coffee table. “Here sign into your Facebook,” he said passing the device off to her in a show of respect for her privacy.

“Oh, he’s also on Instagram but he’s posted all of like ten pictures in the past two years. And none of them are of him. So.” Renton waved his hand dismissively of Owen’s underuse of the favored photo sharing platform.

When Julianna opened her Facebook, Renton comandeered the tablet and searched for Owen's profile. He scooted close to her and scrolled down his feed first stopping at the most interesting statuses.

Renton giggled out loud at the top most status which was several weeks old. "See? He hardly posts." He kept scrolling.

"Didn't I tell you he got divorced recently?" Renton asked as he hovered over a post announcing Owen's marital status.

Renton had fallen silent as they scrolled through his facebook posts. "Maybe we should just look at his pictures?" He recommended to break up the intensity of Owen's very personal statuses. "Oh! Add him as a friend. Let's see if he'll add you back!" Renton shot up to the top of Owen's profile and clicked the plus sign before Julianna could consent.

RE: Public Relations [Closed] - megs - 11-16-2017

Julianna cuddled closer to Renton and rested her chin on his shoulder. Looking down at the tablet he held. She made a face to agree with him about posting about politics and accepted the device back to quickly log into her own account before handing it back.

“I’m not surprised,” she explained after they had laughed together over his recent post. “He doesn’t really seem..social. Let about social media-y.” Despite Renton’s warning that Owen barely used the Facebook page she kept watching as Renton scrolled. Her tail swayed quietly over the arm of the couch and she nuzzled her face closer to Ren’s neck. He still smelled like cologne that had yet to face.

She nodded and hummed. “Yeah, you did.” She glanced down her nose at the thread of comments. They passed a few updates about the passing of his father and her ears fell off either side of her head. “A divorce and his dad died?” She curled both her arms around Ren’s that was closest to her. She was practically clinging to this point. “He’s had a rough year.” Julianna could sympathize, having had her own experience with death and disappointment.

“I guess his ex-wife wasn’t exactly a prize?” They’d reached a string of comment where Owen and his wife had gone back and forth quite viciously. “But I mean, who knows, I guess? She was probably just upset.”

Julinna’s head popped off of Renton’s shoulder and she grabbed at the tablet when he added Owen. “Wait! No! Don’t!” It was too late by the time she reclaimed the device. The add button had brightened to a bright blue to announce her pending request. Her ears pinned backwards in something like distress. “Why did you- I’m going to cancel it.” Her tail tapped a more agitated rhythm as she went to do just that. Her finger hovered over the cancel button, but she was too late. Her screen lit up with the notification that Owen Hart has accepted your friend request. You can now see his latest photos and post on his profile.

Julianna visibly paled, somehow. “Oh my god,” she said in a monotone staring down at the screen. She was instantly filled with an anxious dread, thinking back on old pictures and statuses and everything that could be seen on her page. How far back would he go? “He accepted.” Her voice pitched higher. “Why would he accept? He doesn’t even like me.”

RE: Public Relations [Closed] - saronym - 11-17-2017

When Julianna embraced his arm with both of hers, Renton laid his cheek down against the crown of her head. “Yeah…” He agreed with the observation of Owen’s rough year. “I think that’s why he’s so...you know…” He trailed off not wanting to actually insult the man he was feeling kind of sorry for. Mean, grumpy, dismissive, didn’t seem fair in light of what he’d been through.

Renton lifted his head when the topic came to Owen’s ex. He shrugged. “Couldn’t say. I’ve never met her. Break-ups bring out the worst in people.” He sighed as if he had some personal experience to that effect. “But damn did they have to hash it out on public comments like that? Where’s a PR rep when he needs it.” He nudged at Julianna with the arm she continued to hold.

Renton tried to keep Julianna at bay when she grabbed for the tablet. He held his arm out in front of her and extended the other out with the tablet as far from her grasp as he could keep it. Laughing Renton teased, “Are you scared? Is the big bad public relations expert scared of a little friend request?” He didn’t carry on the joke too long and let her have the tablet so she could cancel the request if she so wanted.

He watched her finger hover over the button. “Lame.” He teased before the notification popped up that Owe had already accepted the request. Much to his surprise.

“Oh my god!” Renton intoned in time with Jules but his expression was far more excited than hers.
“Clearly, he does like you.” Renton felt a pang of jealousy thinking back on when he had tried to add Owen as a friend.

“He denied my request.” He confessed, but added the caveat. “I don’t know if he knew it was me. I use an old alias on Facebook. Miles Young. But it’s probably just that he didn’t want to be publicly friends with a felon on social media.” Renton seemed perturbed by this and he reached for food to occupy his hands and attention before he rambled on any further.

"I can't believe you're friends with the Brigadier General on Facebook now." He rolled his eyes. "It's probably because you're hot."

RE: Public Relations [Closed] - megs - 12-10-2017

Julianna hummed her disagreement in her throat. She stared down at the glowing screen and the little red “1” that signified the notification of Owen having accepted the request. Her ears stood at attention. Socializing was literally her job, but here she was, stricken by the idea of being personable with Owen. Or, as personable as one could get when it came to interacting on social media.

“He’s just being nosy,” she concluded. She quickly logged out of her account and set the tablet aside. She was mortified by the idea that he might message her if he saw her online. “Just like we were. My account is more private.” She said this sounding very matter of fact. Private at first, but a flood of information about her past once you were on it. Her ears fell off either side of her head as she picked up her bowl and resumed eating her half melted ice cream. “He doesn’t think I’m hot.” She added quickly before spooning ice cream into her mouth.

Her brow furrowed as she thought of something. She hummed again as she pulled cleaned silver from her mouth. After a few silent seconds of careful consideration she frowned and pointed her spoon at Renton. “You better not use my account to sneak-talk to Owen,” she warned, with a playful tone.

RE: Public Relations [Closed] - saronym - 01-05-2018

Owen had been shocked when he happened to check his Facebook notifications to find a friend request from none other than Julianna. And she wasn’t wrong. He was curious. And he was thinking about sending her a message. His mobile messenger app notified him that they were now connected via messenger and encouraged him to say hello to her. A little green dot showed him that she was online just then. He opened a message to her and considered what he might say. Maybe he should have teased her. What couldn’t find me on Linkedin? He chuckled at that thinking she might be annoyed if he pegged her as the kind of person who used Linkedin. But the light showing her online status went from green to grey. She was gone again. He closed the message app and went to her profile instead to peruse her pictures and posts.

___

“Oh pooh.” Renton said before he scraped together some more of his dinner on his fork and shoved it into his mouth. “We should have chatted with him.” With that bite he found he was no longer hungry and abandoned his plate again. “So what if he’s just being nosy? It means he’s interested enough in you to even be nosy. That’s something.”

Renton sighed wistfully as if he were jealous of Julianna’s new social media relationship with Owen. He twisted around and threw his legs over the arm of the couch. He leaned back until his head was resting comfortably in Julianna’s lap. He had a view of the bottom of the ice cream and her face from below.

“I don’t need to use your account to stalk him anyways.” He sighed again, dramatically, as if the burden of his skills were too much to bear.

“What’s so private about your account anyways?”

RE: Public Relations [Closed] - megs - 01-05-2018

Julianna could have kept insisting that Owen didn’t like her, but it wasn’t what Renton wanted to hear and she didn’t want to seem combative. Instead of responding, she spooned the last of the ice cream into her mouth. She let black cherry and chocolate flavors slowly dissolve over her tongue as an excuse no to answer with a full mouth. She didn’t look at Renton as he adjusted and made himself more comfortable on the couch. Staring out the sliding glass doors across from their perch that led to her balcony, she toyed with a chunk of dark chocolate between her teeth.

Instinctively, she placed one hand against his hair when his head appeared in her lap. She set the empty bowl aside and dropped her eyes down to find sweet baby blues looking up at her. “It’s not that it’s private,” she said, petting hair away from his forehead in a slow rhythm. “Just personal.” As if that was really any different. “Like, it’s not a business account or anything. It’s my actual life. I don’t really share a lot of personal details with just anyone.”

There were posts about her mother’s condition. The accident that had killed her fiance and put her in the hospital. Kept her from finishing school. She wondered how much snooping Renton had done. How much he knew about her already. Julianna waved her free hand suddenly, and forced a smile. “I’m just pitching a fit over nothing. Let’s go cuddle in bed. I’m tired.”

RE: Public Relations [Closed] - saronym - 01-07-2018

Julianna’s eyes seemed to stare out at infinity as her hand met his hair. He responded by nuzzling against her and smiling sleepily up at her. He felt a pang of guilt like a tightening in his stomach as she fretted over the personal things that peppered her Facebook account. He wasn’t sure whether she wanted him to confirm or deny that he had looked at her information. It wasn’t like he looked out of malicious intent; he had only wanted to know what kind of person the person essentially in charge of his fate at the CAF would be.

Renton sat up obediently, but instead of pushing himself from the couch, he smiled sympathetically at Julianna. “I’m sorry if what I did I pushed you into sharing things that you weren’t ready to.” He looked down at his hands. “I get carried away. And I have the bruises and the lack of friends to prove it.” He joked self-deprecatingly.

Before he could think of what he was doing he took her hand in one of his. His thumb brushed back and forth over the back of her hand. “I’m glad I have you though. If you ever wanted to share personal details with me…you know they would be safe. I’m good at keeping secrets.” There was a mischievous glint in his eyes when he smiled.

RE: Public Relations [Closed] - megs - 01-07-2018

Julianna followed Renton’s gaze to his hands. His apologies were making her feel bad for protesting to adamantly. Her ears pinned backwards and her eyes lifted to the bruises he mentioned, still decorating his jaw. “It’s okay,” she murmured, turning to face him on the couch. She lifted her hand and pushed a lock of hair behind his ear with a curl of her fingers. Her touch lingered on his face, just barely cupping his cheek in her hand. “Maybe this will be a good thing, hm?” She smiled at him encouragingly. “Maybe this will get that grumpy general to be a bit nicer to us.”

When she removed her hand from his face, he intercepted it. Which surprised her. Ears pushed to attention. She was usually the one to touch him, outside of mutual cuddling. Eyes tracked the movements of his thumb. I’m glad I have you though. Julianna felt her face grow hot as a blush flared over her cheeks. There was a tightening her chest brought forth by a sudden onset of unexpected feelings. She had been avoiding the thought, but it was in her head now. That there was something more she felt for him; something beyond just taking care of a client.

She grinned, ears twitching atop her head. “You’ll be the very first person I come to.” That sensation in her chest was urging her to kiss him. She wanted very much to do so, but the knowledge of Owen’s crush and Ren’s reciprocated attraction held her back. She settled for kissing his cheek instead, but it didn’t help. Julianna stood and gathered their dishes before heading back to the kitchen.

RE: Public Relations [Closed] - saronym - 01-12-2018

While Renton and Julianna got ready for bed, Owen lay alone on his couch with his laptop propped up on his chest and a drink nearby scrolling with avid curiosity through Julianna’s Facebook feed. He wasn’t sure what he had expected to find there, perhaps those kinds of insipid positivity posts and go-getter motivational messages. He didn’t know why he thought that’s what she would post. Maybe it was her oh-so-put-together appearance. Everything matched always. And that perfect click click of her heels. Her model smile.

He was surprised though and moved by the evidence that tragedy had so recently touched her life. There were certain parallels with his own life that he recognized in her posts.

He wasn't surprised that she looked good in a bikini. That was entirely expected.

The 'babe' referenced in her picture turned out to be a man she was engaged to. She had never mentioned an engagement.

Owen learned that Julianna had survived a serious car accident. But lost her husband-to-be. Which explained why she never mentioned this man. Owen wondered, morbidly, as he nursed his drink and frowned his way through a newspaper article detailing the grisly accident, what she had done with the ring.

The article, he noticed, had be shared by a man who shared her last name. He found out that they were siblings. So, she had a family.

Julianna had narrowly survived the accident. Her husband-to-be wasn't so lucky. With his father's funeral so recently passed, Owen understood the importance of that kind of ceremony to say farewell and get closure. Julianna, hospitalized and recovering from her injuries, hadn't been able to even attend her lovers' funeral.

To top it off, her mother had been placed in a nursing home for full-time care of advanced Alzheimer's disease. He had found the nugget of that fact in a post she made about Alzheimer's awareness month. A bit more digging and he had discovered the motivation for that post.

Owen felt a pang of guilt for having been so hard on Julianna. It hadn't occurred to him for even a second that anyone else suffered other than him. She had had a difficult time and somehow managed to stay put together. He hadn't noticed any cracks in her facade. Apparently, she was much stronger than he.

_____

Renton was only half aware of the expectant way he was gazing at her. He wanted her to kiss him as much as she wanted to. When she leaned towards him, his heart leaped in his chest and fluttered. Her kiss landed on his cheek and his eyes fell closed as he sort of leaned into her mouth.

He stood to help her pile up the dishes in her hands and followed along to the kitchen. "Thanks for letting me stay." He gushed from the doorway. "I honestly didn't want to be alone tonight. I hate to admit, I'm still kind of...shaken from last night." He admitted to the worries that had brought him to her door which he had so adamantly glossed over earlier when she'd asked.

Renton moved into the bedroom and pulled back the covers to make himself at home in the bed and waited for Julianna to join him.