Closed Out For a Run

[Elizabeth Whitney]

Beth was slowly growing out of her shell since leaving home. Going no contact with her mother and father in law had been hard, but ultimately worth it in the end. She'd been accepted into a school fairly far away from home, a whole different country even, and it was so far the best decision she'd ever made. She'd been shy, almost catatonically so. She was still shy, but she was getting a bit better. She'd gotten her first tattoo, her schooling was going well, she'd even gone out and bought all the clothes she'd wanted, switching from the hand me downs from the thrift stores to clothes that were actually her style.

Perhaps the biggest change had been her joining the Volleyball team. She'd worked hard those first few years, and had been promoted to captain. She'd changed her lifestyle a lot since joining the team, eating healthier and even going on runs when she could. The morning sun was rising a bit higher in the sky now, and she was on her way back to her flat, her honey blond ponytail bouncing as she made her way down the path.

 

[Doran Purcell]

Doran was still getting used to his new surroundings when he went out that morning to get some exercise done before he would have to help his Dad clear out the old shed behind the house. His parents had moved to New Zealand about a couple of weeks ago and were kind enough to offer him one of the many spare rooms. Naturally, Doran had graciously accepted their offer as he was more than happy to get out of his ridiculously expensive and very small apartment in Kaikōura. The problem with moving houses, unpacking boxes and redecorating his room for a second time, however, was that he had barely gotten the chance to get out of the house and actually explore his new surroundings. Going out for a run was therefore the perfect opportunity to get to know the neighbourhood a little better.

It honestly seemed like a lovely neighbourhood and so far everyone he had talked to seemed really nice as well. It also helped that his late grandmother, the one his parents had inherited the house from, was reasonably well known in the community for her charity work. Deep in thought and unaware that he was running on the wrong side of the path, Doran accidentally ran into someone else.

 

[Elizabeth Whitney]

-godmod approved-

Beth wasn’t really paying attention, lost in thought as she was, when someone knocked into her. Caught off guard- literally, Beth toppled back onto the ground, the stranger with her, yelping as she hit the ground. It took a second for the stars in her eyes to clear, and when they did, her eyes widened. Laying on her, his face insanely close to hers, was a strange, handsome man. She could feel the burning of her cheeks. “...Hello,” She offered, waiting for him to get off of her.

 

[Doran Purcell]

If Doran had not been so distracted by his own thoughts, he reckoned he could have avoided running into the other person. Had he actually known that he wasn't allowed to walk or run on the side of the path he was on, he would have probably avoided the accident all together. But he was distracted and he didn't know which side to run on. When he opened his eyes again and looked up to gather sense of his surroundings, the man realised that he wasn't lying on the ground but actually on top of someone. His cheeks turned bright red out of embarrassment. "I am so, so sorry," Doran said, immediately jumping up on two feet and extending his hand to get her back up as well. "I'm stupid, I'm sorry. I should have paid attention to the path in front of me."

 

[Elizabeth Whitney]

Beth let the man help her up, wincing at the aches it brought out. "Well, it does make for an interesting story," she winced, rubbing her backside from where she'd hit it. "Are you okay?'

 

[Doran Purcell]

Doran didn't feel anything that indicated to him that he was in pain but as a Quidditch player, he often didn’t feel a thing until he checked for it. He didn’t think his well-being was all that important at the moment, though. They had run into each other pretty hard, and since it was quite clearly his fault, he wanted to make sure that she was okay first. ‘’Yeah, totally,’’ he said, brushing it off. ‘’Are you okay, though? I’m sorry, I’m such an ass. I should’ve looked better.’’ It would make an interesting story at some point but not until he felt better about it.

 

[Elizabeth Whitney]

Beth straightened herself up, stretching out a bit and testing her limbs. She seemed to be alright. She gave the man a shy smile. "Well I'm a little flattened but I'm okay," she teased him. She reached back, tightening her ponytail again. "No real harm done."

 

[Doran Purcell]

Glad to see that the girl seemed to be fine too, Doran relaxed a little. He would have genuinely felt bad if she got hurt because he was not paying attention. ‘’Ha-ha, I see what you did there,’’ he said, shaking his head a little but still smiling. ‘’I’m Doran, by the way. I’m sort of new here so I wasn’t quite aware of the path rules yet.’’

 

[Elizabeth Whitney]

Beth smiled in return, offering out her hand easily. "Elizabeth. Everyone calls me Beth." She countered. "In case you missed it, runners go that way," she chuckled, pointing back behind him.

 

[Doran Purcell]

Doran took Elizabeth’s hand and shook it, smiling sheepishly at her. ‘’Right, how dumb of me to miss that entirely,’’ he joked, slapping his hand to his forehead. He was happy that the girl seemed to be lighthearted about it because he still felt a bit bad for running into her as hard as he had done. ‘’But that’s definitely good to know for the next time I go running here. You run here often?’’

 

[Elizabeth Whitney]

Beth smiled. "Usually," she told him. "I don't usually get bowled over," she teased him. "I need to stay in shape so I tend to run at least every other day," she told him easily. "Do you?"

 

[Doran Purcell]

Doran closed his eyes and chuckled slightly. She was not going to let him forget about this anytime soon he reckoned. ‘’I started running only recently. My jobs required me to stay in shape but I don’t do it every other day though.’’ He couldn’t even imagine how sore he’d feel if he had to run every other day on top of Quidditch practices.

 

[Elizabeth Whitney]

Beth smiled. "Fair enough." She countered. "Well, it was nice being smashed first thing in the morning but I should finish my run," She gestured past him, indicating her desire to continue on.

 

[Doran Purcell]

Doran held back a laugh at Beth’s words and moved out of the way for her. Even though he was kind of keen to get the conversation going, more so because he was new here and didn’t really know anyone else, he also didn’t want to hold her up in case she had other things to do. And he also wasn’t going the way so was running at. ‘’It was nice meeting you, Beth. Maybe we’ll run into each other here again?’’ he said, pun very much intended.

 

[Elizabeth Whitney]

Beth laughed lightly. On impulse, she grabbed his hand and scribbled her number on his palm. "Why don't you just call me instead and we'll grab some food sometime?" She gave him an impish grin. "You're too dangerous out here," she teased.

 

[Doran Purcell]

Doran did laugh at Beth’s words this time, thinking that she might be right if he didn’t switch paths again. At least he knew now so he wouldn’t make the same mistake again. He was surprised that she give him her phone number and almost didn’t want to continue to run in case he might sweat it off. ‘’I might just take you up on that,’’ he told her, grinning back at her. ‘’Be seeing you later, then,’'