Beautiful People #15: Valentine’s Edition

This month’s Beautiful People (hosted by Cait and Sky) is all about romance. Luckily, I am writing a romance (GASP!). I’ve actually been talking about it on my blog quite a lot, because A) even though it’s about 5% written it is my favorite thing I have ever written EVER, and B) my characters are cute, squishy little things who I want to share with the world. The novel is called The Mockingbird & The Hurricane. The main characters/couple are Atticus and Rayne, who have depression and social anxiety respectively. Also, Atticus is allergic to pretty much everything under the sun. And gets headaches.

Poor Atticus is put through a lot.

And, onward to the questions!

How did they first meet?

Rayne came in to Atticus’s parent’s bookstore, Resurrected Trees. Atticus was the one behind the counter at the time.

What were their first impressions of each other?

Atticus thought Rayne seemed very shy. Rayne was more going “oh no I have to talk to a human”, so her first impression wasn’t really anything other than “boy behind counter.”

How long have they been a couple?

The book goes over a course of about six months…so…about five and three quarters months.

How committed/loyal are they to each other? Would they break up over a secret or a disagreement? Could stress drive them apart? Would they die for each other?

They’re pretty committed. Neither of them are things for casual relationships; they won’t date just because they want to date. So, no, they wouldn’t break up over a disagreement or a secret, provided it’s a relatively harmless thing.

List 5 “food quirks” they know about each other. (Ex: how they take their coffee, if they’re allergic to something, etc….and feel free to mention other non-food quirks!)

Atticus is allergic to bananas, shellfish, and tree nuts (almonds, pecans, walnuts and the like). If he eats them he gets hives. He also really likes the flavor of all of those things, so sometimes he still just eats them anyway and deals with the consequences. He also (along with his Mom) is allergic to mold and dust mites, so they take a year-round allergy medication.

Rayne likes her lattes to have a squirt of chocolate.

Atticus defies all artist stereotypes and drinks his coffee with as much milk and sugar as he can possibly fit in the cup.

Rayne hates tofu, and both she and Atticus hate mayo with a deep and burning passion.

Atticus likes his grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato, and he dips them in ranch dressing.

Does anyone disapprove of their relationship?

Not really, no. Rayne’s older sister, Emelie, is a little ticked off because she has been trying to set Rayne up with her best friend’s younger brother for years, and Rayne wouldn’t even go on one date. But she doesn’t really disapprove of Rayne’s relationship with Atticus.

What would be an ideal date?

Coffee and a pastry at Bluebird (where Atticus orders for Rayne when her social anxiety is especially bad), then back to Atticus’s place for a marathon of whatever show they’re watching at the time. It’s not that exciting, but they love it.

What are their personality dynamics? Similar? Contrasting? Do they fight a lot or mesh perfectly?

They’re pretty well matched. Atticus is more outgoing than Rayne, and Rayne is a bit more go-with-the-flow than Atticus. But they’re both introverts who like the quiet and books and are geeks. They don’t really fight, and when they do it tends to be pretty mild.

What have been their best and worst moments together as a couple?

Best: I don’t really have an answer to this…I’ve got so many cute, wonderful moments planned out for them.

Worst: Their one big fight had to do with Atticus. Rayne found out he had stopped taking his depression medication, and she wanted him to go back on, but he didn’t want to because it made him feel so sick. It then turned into about how Rayne hasn’t told anyone about her social anxiety and about how she really needs too and it ended with Rayne running out the door in tears and Atticus in one of his deep depressed moods.

Where do they see themselves and their relationship in the next few years?

They see themselves still together. Like I said before, neither of them really get the draw of casual relationships. When they start dating, they’re in it for the long haul.

Happy Friday,