The house was a lot smaller than she ever expected to be, for her first house. Then again she expected herself to be with a family by now. It was a nice home, tiny, two rooms, small for a family but for just herself, it was the perfect size. She had unpacked her things, and she was finally satisfied with how everything looked. The furniture was a mixture of old and new, with new couches surrounded by vintage items. She had a loved of eclectic things, such as old tables, lamps and decorative things. It was weird, and quirky but she figured it was more like her.

She placed her hands on her hips and smiled happily. It was a bit of a mess, but a comfortable mess. Looking at herself in the mirror she had placed she looked like a mess. Her hair was up in a messy ponytail, a bandana tied around her head. Her face devoid of makeup, but she knew that she felt comfortable in that way. She was barefoot, she enjoyed the feel of the new wooden floors and took comfort in doing it.

Putting the last few frames on the mantle she knew it was time to work on her plants. She had brought a few of her older ones to place outside. She figured that the air would do nicely with her beloved plants and walked outside. Getting dirty was never a problem for her, and this was obvious as she began to scoop dirty into the pots before repotting the flowers she'd grown over the years. It was saddening to know she had left some with Craig, especially since he'd probably would let them die out of spite. But this was a fresh start, this was what she kept repeating to herself as one by one, a new pot was placed along her balcony that faced the sea.

Humming softly to herself she laid the pots aligned along the balcony, each one place exactly based on how much sunlight they would need. She knew the sea air would help these plants thrive more so than others. She had perennial flowers of different colors, all brightening up her balcony, as well as gaillardias, daylilies, and rugosa rose, her favorite flower.  She didn't bother with more delicate kinds, instead concentrating on the fact that she wanted them to thrive. Humming softly, she didn't even notice that she had someone in her home; she was oblivious that way. Always teased as a child for being so absentminded, and even now, at her age, not much had changed.

Picking up the spray bottle, she made sure to water them, enough to keep that lightness in them, but not enough for them to be stifled by it. Satisfied with her work, she bent down and washed her hands, letting the water fall over the balcony and unto the sand below. A knock on the side of her door made her jump and looked behind her.

Grabbing the cloth tightly against her, as if it would protect her she stood up and walked over to the door. For a second she was worried that it was Craig, her ex-boyfriend. She had been clever enough to make it clear that it was over. But as she quickly cleaned herself up, she stopped in front of the small wind chime she'd put up to wipe her cheek. As she reach the sitting room, she was surprised to see that it was someone new. She briefly studied him. The smile on his face, in her mind, was enough for her to go by; there could be no malice behind him. Smiling politely she hoped to ease her own tension.

"Hello, what brings you here?"

The silence was interesting, and uncomfortable, she didn't like it. She felt the mood shift a bit, that was confusing considering the bright smile on his face. He was handsome, very put together, almost too well, and most of all, the way he looked at her was enough to know that while friendly, he was critical. Something about those eyes just, the face said friendly, those eyes said...she couldn't even read it deep enough. She felt a bit embarrassed to be caught like this, in her simple moving clothes, her hair in disarray, her cheeks unclean. Speaking of, she lifted the clothe to wipe her cheek again, as his eyes lingered in that spot, telling her she failed to do it properly the first time.

She lowered her gaze for a second, simply to get a hold of herself. This was not what she signed up for when she agreed to buy the tiny home. She wanted peace, and quiet and to just throw herself on the bed without any repercussions. Grabbing the door to steady herself, she looked up at him confused as he began to speak.

"I came by to assist you in whatever way I can. Moving in is no easy feat, especially if you're by yourself."

"Thank you?" she replied.

She knew she was on the balcony so was he the neighbor that she was told about. She knew Laguna was filled with them, hoping to get away from everything and buying more of an expensive home to feel comfort. And by the looks of it, he could be one of those people. She shook her head at his suggestions. It was too intrusive; it was one thing him just leaning against her door, an absolute other thing helping her open her trinkets, old letters, memories that made her her.

"You're too kind but no" answered after mulling it over, "You're right it's not easy, but if it's all the same to you Mr....I'd rather get help from someone whose name I know, and who knows more about me other than knowing where I live" she replied, a small smile on her face hoping that rejection was nice enough.

She didn't know what compelled her, but she ended up adding.

"But I can offer you a cup of tea neighbor? I assume you are otherwise this is right out of a horror film." she laughed softly.

Oh he was smooth; very smooth. Aria bit back a giggle; she'd heard about these people, hell even seen them roaming the halls when young. She had never seem them up close, not directly facing her, but rather the pretty popular girls who had a way they twirled their hair and a way they walked. She could tell by the way he trailed his eyes, lazily.

So his name was Codey, as he slid his hand out, she looked at him lazily, similarly to the way he stared at her when he was studying her. She wasn't very good at doing this, she was not an analyzer unless it came to plants and animals. Still, it was an excuse, slowly she took it, noticing how dainty her hand was compared to his. Merlin, her hand wasn't that clean. Well he interrupted your planting her mind immediately said.

"I don't mean snoop, I mean carry things, like furniture." Motioning around, he gave a tiny shrug, and then smirked at her. "It goes both ways, though. I have no interest helping somebody whose name I do not know."

Men volunteered to carry furniture? Not unless they wanted something. Laughing lightly, she shook her head and bit her lip amused at his words. Knights in shining armor no longer existed.

"My name is Ari" she said softly, "Aria, and now that you know, I'd rather you leave my furniture alone thank you. Everything is fine."

"Rest assured, I have no intentions of harming you, and I certainly hope it can be said for you."

Laughing again she shook her head and waved him in. She figured she could handle herself, if she could handle her ex-fiance, she could handle this charming man, whose smile was a bit too wide, and his eyes a bit too charming.

"Coming in?" she asked raising her brow. "My offer still stands."

Aria smiled softly at him thinking she had been offended. That was a hard thing to do, considering she was passive about a lot of things. She wasn't the strongest person in the world, not physically, but emotionally she had learned how to build walls around her. A pretty face was always something to hide behind, a soft smile, anything to keep someone from picking deeper into her. And it seemed that Mr. Codey had done the same; it didn't bother her, she could be nice. People were expected to be nice, niceties got you farther than cunning, because you never had to hurt anyone to do it.

"Do not worry, I don't get offended easily" she chuckled, "I tend to be tougher than I look darling" she said it offhandedly, she always tended to without a hint of romance, "and I don't really need a man here to help with any lifting."

There were no such thing are gentleman, she had learned from her past. They were nice, at least at first, good to stare at, good to hear but never believed. Because they could charm their way anywhere, and everywhere. They were better left in fairytales, because then you could close the book and never be bothered by them again. Smiling at her own analogy, she ignored the comment that he'd mentioned about already being in and closed the door behind the pair.

Shuffling to the kitchen she put the water to boil and washed her hands thoroughly. Lightly wiped a cloth on her face to remove the left over dirt. She didn't care what he looked but she had to try with guests over, her mother had taught her better. Opening the bread box, she pulled out the sweets she had made the night before. She had let herself pig out and eat sweets for dinner, and she had no guilt. Finally putting it in the oven to warm up she smiled warmly, ready for small talk.

"So tell me about yourself" she said straight to the point, arms crossed and a tilt to her head.

As the water began to boil, she covered the top of the kettle making sure it would take less time. She tugged the bandana from her hair, letting her hair fall down her shoulders. She figured if she was out of the sun, it wasn't needed. Her wavy hair fell down and she sighed already having a feeling it was a bit bigger than usual. No matter, she'd been through worst. She began to set up the cups when she heard his tone.

"Do you need help with the tea, or do you not need a man making it?"

Turning over she looked at him and gave him a coy smile. Was he throwing her words back at her? How cute. She laughed softly and leaned back against the counter of her own and smiled, a bright glint in her eye of amusement.

"I've never met a man that could make a good tea, so no thank you" she said amused.

As he began to talk about himself, she gracefully sat on the kitchen counter. She hadn't bleached it yet, so there was no harm in it.

"Well, you know my first name, so let me finish it off for you - Codey Neal Ellingston, soon to be Professor at Merlin's. I'm also a dragon trainer." He paused, giving a light shrug. "What about you?"

Her eyes brightened at the mention of dragons. She had gotten a few cases of injuries from them, and she was always curious why people were so keen on doing such a dangerous career. It didn't seem like he'd be the type though, with the way he dressed.

"Well I'm not that exciting, compared to dragon training now. I'm a Healer, recently transferred to teach at Merlin's Academy actually." moving a strand behind her ear she shrugged, "teaching healing, obviously. You've made my story much less interesting as you talked about dragons just then"

Well, then, Miss Aria, you must not have ever tasted my tea,"

And she was certainly not planning it either. He was too charming, adorable even the way he tilted his head saying his statement. Then he mentioned wine, she was never too fond of wine, the after taste always bothered her more than anything. She preferred the unrefined yet always feminine daiquiris. The fruit taste masking the bitter and dry taste of alcohol. Humming softly at his statement, she hopped off the counter as the water began to signal itself boiling. Turning off the fire, she put the tea bags in the cups and began to pour them. As casual as she was, her mother had taught her some manners and poured them without making a drip on the tray.

"Wine is not my forte Codey" she said amused, her back facing him.

Bending down, she opened the oven and took out the sweet bread. Putting it on the stovetop, she carefully placed the bread on the plate. Smiling softly at how cute they looked, she turned and walked it towards the counter he was facing and placed it carefully. Wrinkling her nose in amusement at him trying to talk up her career.

"Everything is exciting in its own way - healing is exciting because you get different patients with different stories."

"How many years have you been a Healer? I'm sure you've had your fair share of interesting patients."

"Well aren't you a sweet talker" she replied amused before taking a bite into the bread with glint in her eye, "I've been a Healer for almost five years? And I've shared interesting situations but...."she took a sip of her tea, "patient confidentiality, so sorry"

Aria sipped her tea, hiding a smile beginning to form. It was almost improper how quickly she was starting to just casually flirt with someone she had hardly met. She knew her mother would have hit her with a rolled up newspaper at the thought. Her eyes trailed towards her hand, before trailing them back to the windowsill. She had just gotten rid of the tan-line she had from her ring finger, it was a weird thought. The weight lifted off her life seemed great a first, and now it seemed to leave her hollow. Sipping her tea, she noticed how he was studying her.

The comment about wine made her shakes her head. She couldn't help but tease:

"Are you saying I've only drank cheap wine? What do you take me for?" she said mocking shock, "If you must know, I prefer white wine, it's lighter, goes down smoother and can go with almost everything."

"I think you just do not wish to entertain me with the stories," he continued, eyes twinkling with the prospect of a battle of wills.

That genuinely got a laugh out of her and she covered her mouth in amusement. Her eyes couldn't bother hiding her merriness. He was definitely interesting, a bit pushy, but so smooth that it just made it endearing.

"Maybe, maybe I like to keep those kinds of stories to my dates, not my neighbors. Mystery is important you know?" she teased.

Leaning back against her seat, she chuckled at him trying to salvage himself from his words of cheap wine. She was not fond of red wine, she hated it, she hated the burn, how quick she could avoid drink two glasses and get dizzy, how wine was for people that were more high class and it just made her shudder. White wine was safer, and brought the fuzzy nice feeling of warmth that she couldn't get on cold nights. She didn't care for reds unless she needed to, and that was about hearts or anything.

"Yes, whites always have been a woman's drink, so I don't suppose I could blame you. What others do you indulge in? I don't assume whiskey is your forte either?"

At the mention of a woman's drink, she tensed up, did he just think about what he said. Typical alpha male ideology, she bristled slightly at him assigning gender to something as meaningless as wine. Rolling her eyes softly, she tapped her foot against the bar seat and leaned forward. She figured she could play this as calmly as possible and answered with her own mention of alcohol.

"I enjoy whiskey. rum, all kinds of harder liquor" A lie. The fruitier the drink, the better it was for her..

It seemed that her teasing changed something in him. The smirk was enough for her to know that she got him intrigued. Typical man, wanting what he couldn't have, wanting the chase and claim her as his own. She knew that's how she had first gotten her first fiancé, because she'd been to willing to fall for someone so enchanting.

"Do you have any plans Friday night? If so, I must insist you cancel. I will pick you up at 7 sharp for dinner. Oh, and, by the way, it's a formal place, so please do dress up," he continued, calmly, without a trace of extra emotions in his tone. "I will see you then, Miss Song," he concluded,

As he got up, she leaned back and didn't even bother to stop him. Why should she? She got what she wanted, she got him wound up enough for him to leave. Hiding a smile of accomplishment, she frowned as soon as he said that he already was making plans. Them? No. Not happening. If she wanted to end up or be with someone who wanted so much control, she'd go back to her past. And even if she found him attractive, she was not about to go with someone that so casually said to dress up to par to him. That was definitely the last nail on that coffin. It wasn't going to happen. As he left, she closed the door behind him and smirked.

"If he's coming at seven, seems I should find some plans on that day" she hummed to herself.