Tea Time

The tea shop was quite empty, which was surprising to Lizzie, but she didn't mind. She needed peace and quiet, especially today. It had been a crazy week, not that she had a job, but it was still stressful. Jack had decided to continuously badger her about things, and at one point she had gotten so angry she started arguing back with him.

"God...I think I'm going insane." she said as she sat down at the back of the shop, near a window. At least since then he had been rather quiet, not speaking a single word to her, like he had vanished, but she knew he was still there. Lizzie would know if he had left her.

Taking in a long, deep breath, she wrapped her hands around the warm cup of tea she had ordered and began taking a sip. It was sweet with the amount of sugar she had put in, but that was the way she liked it.

Placing the cup back on the little table, she looked out the window at all the people passing by, living out their lives, not having to worry about having their twin brother latch himself to them and be declared insane. Shaking her head, she looked down at her hands which were now shaking slightly as she held the tea cup.

"God, please help me." she whispered.

Since when did you drink tea? The voice was heavy with disgusts. It was quite obvious where his thoughts on the matter lied, and they weren't in favour of the beverage.

"Since-" Blanche cut herself off, taking a deep breath and reverting the statment to her head. She had been spending so much time alone she forgot that she looked insane speaking aloud to no one at all; still she felt more insane speaking in her head. Since you decided to be the most annoying being in the world. You're giving me a headache.

I'm the-

Blanche ignored the voice - she was getting slightly better at it - in favour of the woman she just passed. Snorting she rolled her eyes and hovered by the table.

"If he'z helping you," she remarked in her accented English. French was her first and preferred language, though she did know a few others, "Zen do you mind sending him ma way. Mon dieu, knows I need it."

There you go making it about yourself again. You know, Blanche, there are more people in the world than you. The sour look this cause was immediately on her face, and Blanche didn't even care if the other woman thought it was towards her.

Oh, because you were always such a saint.

Spoiler:

Elizabeth looked up from her cup at the sound of an unfamiliar female voice. "Sometimes he does, other days...not so much." she replied with a shrug. She looked back down at her cup, and then feeling slightly rude, she glanced back up at the woman and gestured to the seat.

"Would you like to sit, or...?" she asked wondering whether or not the woman would take up her offer or not.

What are you doing, Lizzie? You don't even know this woman?! Jack yelled to her. Elizabeth had to try very hard to snap back at him, she didn't want this woman to think she was insane. As she awaited for the woman's decision, she made a mental note to get back to Jack later.

Blanche made a face, rolling her eyes and then lounging in the chair that she had been offered. Truthfully the young woman was already migrating towards the chair before the offer had been given and she certainly didn't give a thank you once she had sat down. Blanche had never been too good with her 'manners' - a trait that ran in the family.

"Zat's too bad. I could have use some help."

You could always use help

The cup that she was holding her cup hit the table with a slam, as her jaw clenched. How did I get so lucky to get stuck with such an ass for a brother?

The god's decided to bless you, and doom me.

"I don't even like tea." She made a face as she took another sip.

Raising her eyebrows as the woman sat down, without so much as a thank you, Lizzie lifted her cup to her lips and took a long drink of her tea. Peering over the rim at the brunette sitting across from her, Elizabeth observed her.

"Well, I apologize." she said a little snappy, as she placed her cup on the table once more.

No need to be mean. Jack said to her. Rolling her eyes at him, she muttered, "Not my fault." Just as she said that, her eyes widened at the realization that the girl could have heard her.

Looking up, she saw her take a sip of her tea, as though she hadn't heard anything, but Elizabeth couldn't take chances. "So, if you don't mind me asking, what's your name?" she asked casually.

Always asking the same boring old questions, Lizzie, way to go. "Shut up!" she muttered to herself, lowering her voice a considerable amount, in hopes that the woman would not hear her.

Blanche glanced across the table at the woman, raising an eyebrow at the tone and the muttering. She had certainly a mood about her - it was true that Blanche wasn't the nicest person, when she wasn't trying she wasn't always the easiest to get along with, however in that moment she had hardly thought she had done enough to deserve such a tone.

Look at you, making friends everywhere you go.

"I never said it was your fault. You can still apologize if you want though."

Making a face, she went back to drinking her tea, silently appraising the girl across from her. She opened her mouth to answer, before she caught a bit of the muttering, and made a face.

This one's almost battier than you. Blanche was almost inclined to agree, for once. Even if it was a jab at herself.

"Blanche. Blanche Belanger - what about you?"

Elizabeth merely gave her a shrug of the shoulders.

Taking notice of the girl's face when she muttered, she realized she must have heard her. It was rare for Elizabeth to mutter aloud to herself when responding to her brother, but today, replies were slipping out of her mouth like no tomorrow.

"Elizabeth Foster." she replied simply, not bothering to tell her all of her many nicknames, in which Jack and repeatedly pointed out was pointless to those who didn't give a shit.

There, that wasn't so bad. Not rambling on and on about your hundreds of nicknames. Jack said, his voice ringing in her ears. Lowering her head, Elizabeth glared at the table and angrily began to tap her fingers on the surface.

Blanche glanced at the woman watching her face and her shrug. Raising an eyebrow she frowned slightly. The silences was... not unusual exactly, Blanche was far more chatty than other people were in the situation but, there was certainly, a lack of things to respond to from this woman.

"You're a chatty one, are you not, Lizzie?" She raised an eyebrow, slipping into a nickname automatically for Elizabeth was a long and formal sounding name, and Blanche was lazy and anything but formal.

Ever heard of leaving the girl alone? Roul sounded amused. Blanche was the opposite.

"What you doing here anyway? Don't you have a job, or a man or some adult thing adults are supposed to have that you should be doing?"

Looking up from the table, she managed a small laugh. "Forgive me, I'm not in a right state today." she said shrugging her shoulders. "I usually am, but I'm afraid...well let's just say that if I were to tell you too much about me, you'd think I was insane." she said with a small smile.

God, can't even carry a conversation. Jack scolded, and there was even a laugh.

With a shake of her head, Elizabeth replied, "I'm here to relax, more or less, not that I really can anymore. I er...Just finished school, studying to be an Auror. And no man at the moment. What about you?"

Leaning back in her chair, pushing it with her feet, so that the front legs came off the ground, and looked at the woman with a raised eyebrow and blank gaze in her mind. True, Blanche was already thinking that the woman was slightly unstable - but hadn't she been thinking everyone would think the same thing about her lately?

"Is there ever such a thing as a 'right mind'?"

Not for you. God screwed you up before you were born.

Blanche pursed her lips slightly but ignored her brother's barbs. After all, they were nothing new. Roul had been telling her things like that since the day she was born, it was the way that their relationship worked, and Blanche knew it. There was nothing more than the familiar annoyance.

"Men are more fun if I get to taste a little of everything," Blanche announced easily, a smirk growing on her face, "Work is overrated, though I'm told I'll have to grow up and do it. And I have no idea why I came into this place."

Well, at least you're honest. Roul didn't make that sound like a good thing.

Slowly, Blanche let her chair fall back onto the ground, and then she leaned forward on the table herself. Her blank gaze still looking at the other woman, slow and appraising.

"And you know, you'd be surprised on the things that I don't think insane. I've dealt with a lot of insane recently."

"Not in my world." she replied giving Blanche a nod of her head. It was certainly the truth. In her own world and even in the one she lived on, no one really had their own "right mind".

Elizabeth was surprised then, that Jack made no comment. Usually he had some snarky comment to make about everything she said.

"Ouf, growing up. Where's the fun in that?" she said with a small smirk on her face unconciously matching Blanche's own smirk. "I may be studying to be an Auror, but I never want to grow up. Though I do need a job if I want to live." she said sighing, before sipping her tea again.

Raising an eyebrow at the woman opposite her, Elizabeth placed her cup on the table and placed her face on her intertwined fingers. "Really? Well, that's something not many people tell me." she replied.

Holding up her glass in a cheer's Blanche gave the other woman a little almost bitter grin, "Then we live in the same world, ma ami."

What are you whining about? You were cracked from the minute Mama brought you home.

Yeah, because I came home to find you as my brother.

Leaning back in her chair, she snorted and shook her head. Closing her eyes briefly she grinned, "I'd be an old bag lady on the street before I did something like get a job."

You, a bag lady? You won't even stay in the cabin. What are you going to do when you have to piss on the sidewalk?

Humming to herself, she was in her own world before she looked back up, registering the fact that she was still supposed to be talking to someone.

"Well I'm not a lot of people, Cher."

Elizabeth copied Blanche's gesture and smiled slightly, a small curl of her lips as she raised her glass.

Some world you two live in. Jack muttered. Elizabeth mentally slapped him, hoping he felt it.

Just shut up for a bit won't you? she said in return. She generally liked to reply to her brother out loud, but she was slowly learning to talk to him in her head, the way he did it to her.

"Ah, well. I am looking forward to getting a job, at some point. Maybe not now, but some day." Elizabeth replied with a small shrug of her shoulders as she lightly tapped the table top.

"I can see that." she said, raising an eyebrow sub consiously as she observed Blanche a little closer. She certainly wasn't most people, at least not by what Elizabeth had heard so far.

Maybe she's crazy, like you, sis. Jack suggested, laughter in his voice.

Don't be so quick to judge. Elizabeth retorted, but it was a possibility...

Shaking the idea from her head, she picked up her cup and drained what was left of her tea.

I'm bored.

Blanche actually let out a snort at that. The annoyance and amusement at her brother's childish declaration - like there was something she was going to do about that - was too much for her to keep her reaction all in her head. It was just impossible. Roul was impossible. Out of anyone in the world, out of her entire family, why did it have to be Roul that she got stuck with? Aubrey would have been manageable, hell even Aubrey's wife, kid, Mom or Dad - just anyone but Roul.

Don't worry, sister dear; the feeling is mutual.

And that's supposed to make me feel better? That we both hate each other? You really need to work on your comforting techniques Roully dear.

"Seeing is one thing," Blanche stated, finally calming herself down, and reacting to the woman that was sitting across from her instead of the man that was in her head. She supposed she should be concerned about the uncalled for reaction - the bitter laughter that had escaped her that linked to nothing the woman said - but honestly Blanche couldn't bring herself to care. The woman wasn't even French, easily avoidable should Blanche decide she never needed to see her again. "But the question becomes what are you going to do about it."

She nodded her head across the small cafe, "For example I see a lovely male specimen over there, but I haven't decided if I'm going to do anything about it or not."

Liar, you decided to jump the sub-par mail specimen as soon as you came in.

Shut up.

DONE! THE TWO WILL MEET AGAIN ON THE NEW SITE!

-Agreed by JJ and Clarkey