Table 13

[William Blake]

Table 13

Johnson, Dee
McAdam, Annabelle
Pratt, Oliver
Martin, Luke
Porter, Alliana
Reed, Tobias

--------------------------------

No posting order.

[karen2]

Ben's first thought was to try and grab a seat at table 12 with the others, but the only free seat that had been there was taken by the man who'd been riding the unicycle, and so he'd unhappily gone over to table 13 instead. Apparently there was some truth to thirteen being an unlucky number, because not only did that mean he had to sit at the same table as Anna, but he was forced to sit directly across from her.

Great. Just freaking great. Now he had no choice but to look at her all through dinner. Testosterone was a stupid hormone, always raising it's head when you least wanted it to--like now, as Oliver shifted in his seat next to Anna. He felt mild jealously start to grow in his gut, and he fought it back violently.

Let it go, you moron! he cursed himself. Anna's your superior, first off, and second she's already shown somewhat of an actual interest in Oliver. You just work under her and have shared one, and I repeat, one email flirting session. It was just harmless fun, and you're making a mountain out of a mole-hill with it. If only he could believe himself.

[~ ADMIN]

As Anna took her place at the table she looked up and was surprised to see Ben sitting right opposite her. What... the...? As far as she could see, it had been the only spare seat. The one right across from her. Oh, wonderful. There was no way in hell she was going to be able to not look at him now. His blue eyes were avoiding hers, and he looked distressed almost. Was it really that horrible sitting across from her? Although, hadn't she just been thinking how bad it was sitting across from him? Again, this was ridiculous. If only they'd spoken or something at the beginning of the evening, they wouldn't be in this situation.

She couldn't stand the look on his face, it was making her want to go over there and... she didn't really know to be honest.

Anna looked across at Ollie who was sitting beside her, then she saw Ally and Luke take their seats, Ally on the other side of her. She was glad Ally was sitting with her, otherwise she didn't know what she would have done. The food started descending from waiters' hands onto the table and she attempted to make conversation, "the food looks great, doesn't it?"

[Alliana Porter]

Soon after the chatty small talk, they all streamed in slowly towards their designated tables. Naturally, Ally took the seat next to her best friend, after actively pleading to get seated at the same table. She took Luke's hand and pulled him next to her, holding it under the table. He didn't seem to mind. If it weren't for him she probably wouldn't have even showed tonight, but he did and here she was.

She gave a small contented sigh and took a short glance around the table to see who she had ended up with. Both Ollie and Ben were seated here which seemed to have Anna on a nervous edge. She reached her hand under the table and grabbed Anna's, giving a small squeeze of reassurance. "You okay?" she leaned in close with a whisper. It was obvious Anna was far from alright, and being her best friend, she wanted to be there and figure out why Anna was a sudden nervous wreck.

[~ ADMIN]

Luke let Ally lead him into the hall, deciding it was easier if she guided the way, especially if she wanted to. He could feel how nervous she still was, but at least she seemed more comfortable now they were here, and now no one had reacted to her in a negative way. He had a feeling having Anna around was certainly helping, even if Anna was having problems of her own. Luke linked his fingers with Ally's, reaching to pour them both a glass of wine while she turned to check if Anna was okay.

Anna jumped a little when she felt Ally squeeze her hand, then relaxed when she realised what was going on. She hadn't realised she was so on edge, and Ally had noticed, who hadn't by this point? "Not really," Anna said quietly in reply to Ally's question, making sure no one could see what she was saying, "I think I've got myself into a mess, and I'm not sure what to do." It was times like these when she really needed her best friend. She'd been giving Ally a lot of support, and now it seemed like Ally wanted to return the favour.

[karen2]

It was Ben's own damn fault that he was in this awkward position, really. If he'd managed to keep himself from flirting, his regular fall-back when a conversation with a woman grew dry, maybe then he wouldn't be feeling like this. Again with the "this". How was he feeling, really? Confusion was at the top of the list, but there were other emotions that he couldn't quite name battling in his chest, too.

Hoping to take his mind off things, he slouched down a little in his chair and stretched his legs out under the table, trying to relax. His foot hit someone else's--judging from the placement, it was probably Alliana's--and he started in embarrassment. He had meant to do that. Opening his mouth to apologize he looked up, but the eyes that met his across the table were weren't grey, but green.

Anna.

A block of ice would have been more movable than Ben when he realized whose foot he'd hit, his expression frozen but his eyes bright with utter panic. What if she took it the wrong way and thought he was trying to get a game of footsie in or something? Finally he managed to move again, and he jerked his foot back faster than he thought was possible, straightening up in his seat and averting his eyes.

Don't look at her, don't look at her, don't look at her, he chanted mentally, curling his hands into fists in his lap. Was she looking at him? He was already too uncomfortable to be able to tell if there were eyes on him or not, and he was too afraid to look up again.

[~ ADMIN]

Anna took a breath. She wanted to talk to Ally about all this, but she wasn't exactly sure here at the table in front of everyone else was exactly the right place. She would much prefer to talk to her in private, but they'd only just taken their seats, and Ally's hand was practically glued to Luke's. She didn't want to drag Ally away from Luke, especially when it looked like they were finally patching everything up between them.

That was when something collided with her feet under the table and she jolted in her seat, quickly whipping her head round to see Ben sitting frozen, his eyes wide. Anna could see he hadn't meant to do it, but that didn't stop her cheeks from flushing pink again. Get a grip! she told herself, desperately wanting to just curse out loud and get it out of her system. She couldn't turn as red as a traffic light every time he came anywhere near her, or she'd forever be the colour of a tomato.

Part of her felt like kicking him in return, even if it had been an accident, but he'd already retracted his feet, looking sheepish as he stared determindedly into his lap. Seriously, what was going on? Did he like her? Or was he just scared of doing things like that because she was his superior. They weren't on duty, it wasn't like it mattered if he did do stuff like that. The irritating thing was that Anna was just as confused as he was, and it didn't look like that was going to change any time soon.

Unless she did something.

Catching his attention was going to be hard without waving her arms around like an air traffic controller trying to signal a plane to land. Come on, Ben, look at me. Even though he didn't seem to want to. She shifted in her chair slightly, clinking her bracelet against her glass 'accidentally' to try and attract his attention. Eventually, he looked up, and she gave him the warm smile she'd been meaning to give him since this evening began. Hopefully that would be the start of smoothing things out.

[karen2]

After a long moment, Ben's eyes flicked up to spare Anna a brief glance before they fell to his lap again. Her face, usually so pale and flawless, was deep red, and he cringed a little internally. Great, not only had he embarrassed himself, he'd also embarrassed Anna. That bothered him about a hundred times more than it had any right to.

He tried to look at the situation logically. Anna was a young, beautiful woman, and Ben was a young man. The fact that he found her attractive made sense. But the fact that, in a matter of two days, the very sight of her had come to make him feel like he'd gone into a free-fall without a parachute, didn't make sense.

What the bloody hell's happening to me?! he screamed internally, feeling just about ready to start ripping his hair out. He'd never felt like this before, and all the conflicting emotions were seriously screwing with his head. He felt like he was flying, soaring higher and higher into a clear blue sky, but he also felt like he was sinking in a sea of darkness and despair with nothing to hold onto. Everytime he looked at Anna, her beautiful face and sweet eyes only made him even more confused.

After a long moment he managed to drag his eyes up again, but instead of looking at Anna he looked at Oliver. The medical officer was a fairly handsome young man, and from what he'd heard of him, he sounded like a nice fellow. He seemed to be good-natured and relatively laid back--just the type of guy that would be perfect for Anna.

Not like him. He was a joker, always running around and pulling pranks on whoever he could find--not to mention a closet poet who often turned his writings into songs that were never to be heard by anyone but himself. In fact, he avoided sharing his feelings with anyone or anything but his writing-pad and his guitar. No, he wasn't good enough for Anna.

There was a soft clinking noise, and Ben's eyes instantly shot to the source of the sound. Anna's bracelet had hit her glass as she'd reached passed it for the wine. It was innocent enough, but it had turned his attention entirely on her again. Taking a deep breath he lifted his eyes to steal another quick glance at her face--and she was staring right at him, a warm smile curling her lips.

After a painful moment where his heart seemed to stop dead entirely, it stuttered back to life and then began pounding harshly against his Adam's apple. Had she hit her bracelet against her glass... on purpose? Instinctively his lips attempted to curve upwards and return the gesture, but his conscience wouldn't let him do it, and it came across as more of a grimace.

Damn it, I can't do this, he thought, looking at Oliver. He was better for Anna, wasn't he? So why should he get in their way?

Rather abruptly Ben pushed his chair back and stood up, apologizing as he nearly ran into a waiter. "Sorry," he mumbled gruffly, side-stepping the other man and taking long, fast strides towards the door. If he just managed to walk fast enough, he could get outside. After a few minutes, everyone would have moved on and forgotten he'd even been there.

With him out of the way, Anna and Oliver would be able to hit it off, and then by tomorrow everything would be all right again--well, for Anna anyway. He wished he had a pen and some paper or something. It would suffice until he got back to his room and was able to vent on his notepad. Outside the hall, he tugged his tie loose and sat down on a bench near the doors.

"That has to be the fastest record for entering and leaving a dinner in existence," he sighed, covering his face with his hands. Wasn't he just smooth.

[somerandomhippie2]

Ollie pulled himself up a chair, next to Dee. He glanced around. Ally and Luke seemed couple-y enough. Dee seemed fine. Both Anna and Ben looked like they might throw up, though. Ollie frowned. Were they OK? Must be a tactical thing.

He couldn't hold in a grin as they started setting down the food. Seafood, he could smell it from here. They were spoiling him here. Must be payment for all the bio-mush. "Sure smells good, too," he remarked off-handedly to Anna.

After a few minutes of merry crunching, Ollie could tell something was wrong. Both Anna and Ben seemed to be getting progressively worse. Ally and Luke seemed a little worried by it, too. Then, finally, Ben got up, nearly running into a waiter, and practically dashed from the room. Ollie frowned. Something was definitely up.

After a few minutes, he discreetly sat back. "I'm gonna go see if they have any white wine," he offered as an excuse, getting up and pretending to look for a waiter. As soon as he couldn't see the table any more, he dashed out.

He found Ben on a bench, his tie nearly off, muttering to himself. "Food not agreeing with you?" he called, to let Ben know he was there. He sat on the same bench, a respectful distance away. "Feeling OK?"

[Alliana Porter]

Ally was glad to be back with Luke, but Anna seemed to be in worse shape. She turned, staring at her plate for a moment, before slowly peeling her hand away from his grip.T hey could easily make up for it later. Anna was just as important as Luke in her life and each deserved an equal opportunity of her time and love.

She felt Anna shift away, probably expecting her to be glued to her Lover's side all night, which of course might or might not be planned later. But later was later, and Anna was flustered now. She gave a small breath to Anna's reply. "We need to talk later." As much as Ally had poured about Luke, Anna 's behavior was now proof that there was something stirring in her heart now.

The glass klink and the sudden stupefied look on Anna's face was even harder to miss. She might have to drag her out soon, before she exploded from the heart, that or Ben and Anna would attack each other like animals over the table. That wouldn't settle well with her own continual sexual tension with Luke. She was lucky enough to have conquered that wall already, and now she was watching Anna struggle for composure. Ally leaned back into her chair with a small sigh, feeling the tension and awkwardness continue to rise. She looked back at Luke, wondering if he was also finding it hard to breathe right now. She sucked her bottom lip for a moment, studying the curvature of her wine glass after Luke had filled it. Her mind subconsciously drifted to the last time they had drunk wine together. What she would give for that moment in time again. Was he thinking of it too? He seemed unusually quiet, but then again the tension made words hard to form.

She glanced away from her wine glass back towards Anna and could stand it no longer. She swallowed deep and shot a look at Anna that screamed 'Talk NOW' She was waiting for the perfect moment to rip her up from the seat. Now that Ben and Ollie had left, the table now consisted of Dee who seemed busy with..well with whatever she was doing. Luke was thinking, or looked like it and Penn was probably dreaming about Kiri. The only person she needed to invade into personal was Anna, Luke just sort of happened. If Anna wasn't going to spill, Ally was sure as hell going to force it out of her. Considering they were best friends however, it wouldn't be too hard.

[deejohnson]

Dee had been busy observing her new coworkers. There was obviously something going on between Anna and Ben, although she didn't know what. She looked from face to face, reading everyone's reactions to the situation. When Ben suddenly left the table, she couldn't help shooting her eyes over to Anna, trying to gauge what she was thinking at that moment.

When Oliver left the table, she found herself in an increasingly awkward situation. She was quiet--- for once, and started fiddling with her fork, drawing a random design in a small slab of butter on her bread plate. When she looked up again, she saw Ally casting a curious glance at her. She could see that the rest of the crew had basically accepted her, but she couldn't read Ally's take on her. She decided she would be the first one to break the silence and said, "So......Ally, is it? Luke said you were a Science Officer. What kind of stuff are you involved in?"

[~ ADMIN]

Okay, that hadn't been the desired effect.

The warm smile had been to tell him that everything was okay. The edges of his lips quivered for a moment before they fell into a grimace, then he left the table. Left the table? Oh my gosh. Her head wanted to turn and watch him as he walked out, to see where he had gone, but she fixed her eyes on the table, determined not to make it more awkward. She was sure the whole table knew by now.

Anna dug her heels into the floor, telling herself that she shouldn't go after him. After all, he'd left the table because of her, her running after him could potentially make things a whole load worse, and she didn't want everything exploding in her face, not this evening. But then there was still that part of her that really needed to know if he was okay. It was her job on a daily basis to make sure that he didn't get into trouble or get hurt, he was her responsibility.

She shifted in her seat, tempted to get up when Ollie excused himself from the table under the pretense of going to get some white wine. Oh, no way, he was going to talk to Ben? That was... just... this was all too much, Anna could barely stand it any more. So much for an enjoyable evening.

Anna saw Ally's look, and nodded a little. She needed to burst and just get this all out of her system, and she wanted her best friend to listen. Ally would hopefully have some advice or guidance on what to do, and that would be more than welcome right now. A member of the male of their species hadn't had her feeling confused and sick like this since... she stopped that thought immediately. This was different. Her stomach was churning because she liked Ben.

That was when Dee suddenly piped up and asked Ally a question. She was just trying to make conversation, and Anna suddenly felt guilty for keeping more than half the table involved in this ridiculous thing with their curiosity and/or worry, and making the rest of the table feel awkward because of it. As much as she wanted to talk to Alliana, she needed some fresh air, she had to go.

"If you'll excuse me," Anna said with a smile, before gently easing her chair out, leaving her bag on the table as she headed out. She picked up pace as she got further away from the table, emerging from the hall and coming to a halt. She let out a frustrated "argh!" then turned, her eyes falling on Ollie and Ben who were both staring at her. She froze. Oh holy crap. She opened her mouth to say something, nothing coming out for a moment, then she managed a strange, slightly strangled, "hi." Oh God. Ohhhh God.

[karen2]

Ben had only had a few minutes alone before the hall doors opened again, and who should step out but Oliver. He came over and sat down on the same bench that Ben was sitting on, sounding genuinely concerned as he asked if he was okay. So he was a nice guy. Definitely better for Anna than he was. He wasn't sure he would have run out after Oliver if he'd been the one to rush out of there.

But his compassion had also given Ben a good excuse to get out of there. If he lied and said he was feeling ill, he could go back to the ship and collect his jumbled thoughts alone in his room--with his guitar. Yes, that could work. He just had to lie to Oliver, and then the good fellow would explain to everyone else where he'd gone. He wouldn't even have to go back in to excuse himself.

"Er... yeah, I guess," he lied, trying to make it look like his stomach was bothering him. Which wasn't too hard when it was twisting like it was. He was about to put his plan into action when the doors opened yet again, and the person who came out next made his breath stop.

Anna choked out a strangled greeting, seeming utterly horrified that both he and Oliver were there. Ben cussed under his breath. While he was fairly sure he could have pulled off his lie to Oliver, Anna had heard his lies too often to not know when he wasn't telling the truth. And lying to her about why he was leaving... she'd know in a heartbeat the real reason.

"Uh... I--um... hi," he stammered, oh so eloquently.

[somerandomhippie2]

Ollie pulled a face when Ben almost agreed he was sick. Being a guy himself, he knew that was the most he was going to get out of a macho dude like him. "Hey, dude, you better get back to bed then," he sympathized. "I'll grab your coat, just stay here and... relax, or something." He got up to go back to the table, and stopped.

He heard a voice scream, and blinked as Anna came around the corner. She looked like she had gone through a hay bailer. She froze, obviously mortified, and squeaked out a hello. Ben managed to stammer one in return. Theory proved. They obviously had something going on, which he should probably keep his nose out of.

He relaxed. Think cool thoughts, dude, he thought to himself, trying to back away inconspicuously. That's good. Dude. Du-de. Duuuuuude. He made his way towards a pillar. Make it behind there, he could get away relatively easily, grab the promised white wine, and get back to the table before anyone else got worried.

[~ ADMIN]

Luke was quiet, a lot quieter than he usually was, but he was observing what was going on. The sexual tension had been palpable before both Ben then Anna left the table. He remembered when it used to be like that with Ally and him, and it usually ended in them making out, and eventually... you know. He wouldn't be surprised if that happened between the two tactical officers. Dee started up a conversation with Ally, even though it looked like Ally wanted to go after Anna. She'd pulled her hand away from him earlier in order to leave, but he took it again, signalling for her to stay. He figured Ben and Anna would probably bump into each other and figure things out. Ally could talk to Anna later.

Ben's reply was about as flustered as hers, but at least it wasn't at levels only dogs could hear, like hers. She'd been caught off guard, they weren't meant to hear that frustrated cry. Hence why she was now embarrassed yet again. Her eyes flicked between the two men. She wanted to just have it out with Ben, seeing as he was still here, and she couldn't go on with the tension like this, but Ollie was still there, and she didn't know how he would react or feel, she didn't want to hurt his feelings.

Anna wasn't exactly sure why, but Ollie, who was already stood, started moving away, attempting to make a graceful exit. She didn't want him to feel like he had to leave, but at the same time... she was grateful. Once he'd safely made it away, Anna relaxed a smidgen, glad that she and Ben were finally alone. Finally, she managed a proper, "hey," her voice was steady, and her cheeks were cooling down. Goooood.

"So," she began, not really sure what to say, "footsie, huh?" she said lightly, attempting to make a joke. She offered him a smile, but it quickly faded again. "Look," she said, deciding on the truth, "I don't know exactly what's going on here, but the last thing I want is for things to be awkward between us. Especially when..." I think I like you. That was supposed to be the end of her sentence, but she didn't want to take that gamble if he didn't feel the same way, she was afraid of being hurt.