nikolas-tate

[nikolas-tate]

And you were more than just a pretty face But how you fooled me, I'm still amazed babe But I should have known that I would be Another victim of your sexuality But now we're done and over with Don't, don't want you back

#music #misc

[nikolas-tate]

[nikolas-tate]

[nikolas-tate]

[nikolas-tate]

"I'll have to talk to my real-estate agent, figure out what's best for me. I definitely want to downgrade, and if you saw my flat you'd understand why," he explained with a chuckle. But he didn't quite want to talk about himself. That was something that he never did before meeting Raven, but she'd turned him into some emotional zombie, always spilling his guts. "I think seeing your work on the television screen is just as important. That's something that you put your mind and heart into creating. It's pretty amazing, really. I'd definitely watch just to get a chance to see into that pretty little head of yours."

The car turned a corner, and Niko could see the restaurant up in the distance, about a block away. He drove around the block, searching for a place to park. "I really do want to hear about your child-star days when we sit down. If you're up for sharing, anyway." Niko grinned. "I can take you anywhere you want to go. I didn't quite get to choose London, actually. My father wanted his empire to extend, so when I told I wanted to move, he sent me out here to carry on his business. I do work in the offices that he has here when I'm not too busy with my own shops." Finally finding a parking space, Niko pulled in and turned the care off. "Here we are," he said, climbing out of the car and hurrying to the other side to open the door for his date.

Catch || Val & Niko

"Oh?" Valentina tried to picture some of the modern buildings she had seen around London and although she could conjure up those images, she was having difficulty picturing what Niko’s apartment would look like — probably because they had just met a few days ago. "I think I’ve seen a few apartment openings around here, if you like the area," she mentioned before thinking to herself that she had just crossed a line. When he had said he wanted to move, he hadn’t meant closer to her. There was no need for him to pick an apartment here. He could go anywhere he wanted in London. Needless to say, Valentina was thankful when Niko asked her about the X Factor again. She nodded to the first half before laughing and shrugging her shoulders. "Well, if you just watch for me, you’ll be severely disappointed because thankfully, I have zero camera time," she said.

"I try my best," Valentina joked with a laugh. It was always irritating to residents when tourists got in their way and she had set out from the very beginning to not be that way. "When you’re thrown in front of 50 cameras and reporters shoving mics in your face when you’re 8, not much fazes you anymore," she added, this time a bit more seriously, with a slight shrug of her shoulders. Her eyebrows raised for a second in surprise, more at herself for actually being able to distinguish that he wasn’t a native Londoner. "Oh wow," she said quietly, taking in his story. "Why London?" she asked. From everything she had heard, Wales was a beautiful country and she couldn’t imagine leaving. "You’ll have to show me all your favorite spots. After five years, I’m assuming you’ve weeded out the good and the bad," Valentina added on.

#viola! #para #val

[nikolas-tate]

Don't completely ignore her, but... Let her breathe. *takes a deep breath* Only I didn't dodge it at all. Don't laugh at me when I tell you this, because it's awfully embarrassing. When I met her, we slept together on the first date and within the next three weeks she had moved into my flat. 

I suppose you’re right. I’ve just been keeping my distance. That’s exactly my point, I don’t want to end up making a mistake. This girl is special. *grins* Yep, I’m glad you dodged that bullet. But what about her?

[nikolas-tate]

Mind reader or not, taking your time and playing it safe is the best thing you can do. Women are... strange. They won't tell you what they want, and if they do, they demand it. *pushes a hand through his hair* Remember that ex of mine you said you met? Raven?

*shrugs* Eh… I can’t read her mind, you know? I don’t want to assume anything about her that isn’t true, and asking is going to make me look like an ass. If anything, rushing is the exact opposite of what I want to do. *tilts his head* Niko… did you do a bad thing?

[nikolas-tate]

Then let her have what she wants, but you keep working towards that. Convince her, but be relaxed about it, y'know? The last thing you want to do is rush into a relationship. I mean look at me! That's practically my specialty now.

*shrugs slightly* I dunno, man. What if she doesn’t want… exclusivity?

[nikolas-tate]

Niko nodded, as she spoke. "It is like that. I've actually been thinking about moving. My flat is just too... Modern." That last part was half a lie. Though his apartment was very modern and sleek, it also held too much sentiment of his broken relationship. Raven lived with him for four months, and now that she was gone it felt as if the place was haunted. On top of that, the lavishness of the place obviously displayed the carelessness of his age at the time of moving in. He was twenty years old and looking for something big and pricey. It was now that he was twenty three that he realized how silly the place was, sitting on the thirteenth floor of a stupidly modern building. Now that he thought about it, he wanted something new and more mature.

"Right, the show. You work for the X Factor, you said? I've never seen it, but now I'm thinking maybe I should." Niko's eyes widened slightly and his smiling expression was that of surprise. "You really are new here! You're very good at not playing the nervous American in a new city. Are you enjoying it here?" Valentina's confidence was awfully convincing, and Niko would have guessed that she'd been in the city for at least six months. "Ah, no actually, you're right." Niko gave a small nod and chuckle. "This February will mark five years for me. I was born in Poland, adopted by a family in Wales when I was seven, and then I moved to London on my own when I was eighteen. So there's a small handful of accents you're hearing."

Catch || Val & Niko

Valentina took the short second when she was in the car alone as he walked around to the driver’s side to make sure her makeup was still intact in the side view mirror. Satisfied after cleaning up the corners of her lips, she buckled herself in just as Niko opened the door on the other side. Hearing him apologize again, Valentina shook her head once or twice as she responded, “Trust me. It’s okay. You really weren’t that late and I was running late with getting ready anyways.” In Los Angeles, it was impressive if someone arrived within the same hour of the set time. She was used to it, especially after working day in and day out with already established celebrities. Fresh faces at the X Factor would be too scared to show up late, however, and that would be a nice change.

"Thank you," she said, turning her head to look out the window on her side. "I really love it here. It’s what you always see in movies, but never think you’d actually get to live in one like it in real life." Having done the majority of her apartment searching on a Macbook across the pond, Valentina had been extremely proud with her choice when she had first arrived for a viewing back in December. She turned her head back to her date before answering, "Officially lived here since the beginning of the month, but I came over for a couple of weeks in December to help out with the show’s last finale." That was probably more information than he really cared about, but she was too nervous to stop herself. "What about you? Your accent doesn’t sound very British," she said. If someone asked Valentina to distinguish between the different accents in the United Kingdom, she would fail.

#para #val

[nikolas-tate]

"Thank you," Niko responded to her compliment, chuckling lightly. Niko hadn't needed to put much thought into his outfit that morning. After he would drop Valentina back at her home after their date, he would have to rush off to a meeting with his fathers accountant. With that said, the young man was dressed just a bit more formal than he would have liked. He wore a light blue collared shirt beneath a dark navy sweater, and slim khaki pants with dark brown leather Italian boots. Over all of this, he wore a long charcoal-grey trench peacoat that he left open. His tie was in the back seat of his car. He'd have to put that on later.

Nodding as the small girl gracefully glided into the vehicle, he waited until she was completely seated and then shut the door, walking around to the driver's side and ducking in. He started the car and pulled the vehicle back out into the street, starting for the restaurant. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long. I was... caught up in something for a moment." He mentally kicked himself again, telling himself to shut up and stop talking about himself. He looked pathetic. Turning on the radio vey softly, an indie pop song playing faintly as he drove. "Your neighborhood is beautiful," he commented, looking out the windshield at all of the brick row houses. "How long have you been in London, Miss L.A.?"

Catch || Val & Niko

Even in Louboutin pumps, each step came as easily to Valentina as if she were barefoot. For someone who had been found trying to wear her mother’s heels when she was three years old, Valentina had had no problem slipping into her first actual heels at seven years old for her first red carpet event. Her old manager used to joke through the years that she had just never taken the heels off. She smiled up at him, said heels helping her small stature just the tiniest bit against his height. “I’ll let you know by the end of this date,” she said, refusing to break the rule of letting him see right off the bat how much she was enjoying this — being able to spend time with him. It took everything she had to keep a coy smile on her face although she felt like an overjoyed little girl on the inside. How she ever thought she would be able to contain her excitement and nerves was beyond her.

It was a little strange to her, however. She could count how many boyfriends she had had on two fingers. She could count how many males she had really ever gotten this giddy around on one hand. And here she was, standing in front of someone she honestly barely knew, feeling pretty damn excited. Valentina’s cheeks felt hot as she felt blood rush to them as she watched his eyes take her in. For a confident young lady, she still got just as bashful when receiving compliments, depending on the deliverer. “Thank you,” she answered quietly. “You don’t look half bad yourself,” she added on, although that would probably be the biggest lie she ever told him. If half bad was used to describe Niko, it was time to worry about the rest of the male population. With a brightened smile, the brunette nodded, tucking a straight lock of hair behind her ear, as she answered, “We shall,” and took a step down on the curb and slipped inside his car.

#para #val

[nikolas-tate]

[nikolas-tate]

"I'm sorry-" Niko paused on the telephone as he realized that the girl was speaking. "Right, okay, I'll see you in a second then." He smiled stupidly and ended the call. He imagined that if he could kick himself in the face, he definitely would. He'd already made an ass of himself by showing up late, and then he had to ramble on the phone like a blubbering idiot. The last time he'd been on a date was some evening in mid-July. The one thing he was happy about now, was that this was the total opposite of that date. He was picking up Valentina in the morning to go out for brunch, and he intended on keeping it slow. Whereas with Raven, they'd gone out late for dinner and ended up spending the night together. No, he wouldn't make that mistake again.

When Niko spotted Val through the glass of the revolving door, already smiling and giving him a wave, a large grin spread his lips and he lifted a hand to return her wave. She was quite the opposite of Raven, bright and bubbly, as if comparing night to day. And the way she walked to him had him tightening his grip on the car door handle that he held. He pushed his free hand through his hair, only messing it further. "Ah, right. I'll remember next time, if you allow there to be one," he said, a glint of hope in his eyes. "You look, ah..." He gave her a quick once-over, trying not to be rude about it. But his eyes widened slightly nonetheless. "Wonderful." He pulled on the car handle, opening the passenger door for her and motioning for her to enter. "Shall we?"

Catch || Val & Niko

Valentina had barely brought her thumb to the home button to unlock her phone when it suddenly started vibrating and blasting Beyonce in her hand. Just on cue of seeing the name “Nikolas” appear on the screen, her stomach churned and a small smile appeared on her lips. “He—” she started to answer, but was cut off practically immediately. She couldn’t help but laugh quietly to herself as she shook her head, even though he couldn’t see her. “It’s okay, don’t worry. I literally just finished getting ready,” she answered even though she had a feeling he hadn’t heard her. As she listened to him continue, she stood up and walked over to her coat closet, grabbing one of her peacoats to protect her from the wintery cold. Typically, with this outfit, she probably would have gone for her leather jacket and it was killing her that she had to leave it on its hanger.

Somehow, the brunette managed to rest the phone in between her shoulder and ear as she slipped her arms through the coat. “Nikolas, it’s really okay,” she assured him softly once more, pulling her hair out from below the coat and grabbing her clutch and keys as she walked to the door. “I’ll be down in a second.” With that, she hung up and slipped her phone into her pocket. She pressed her lips together the entire way from locking her door behind her to the elevator ride down to the lobby, not wanting to smile too widely. She only let her lips show and, hopefully, a controlled smile when she saw him through the glass of the revolving door. The smile was accompanied by a wave through the glass as she pushed her way out into the bitter air. “For the record, it’s 707,” Valentina informed Niko, slightly in disbelief that she was about to go on a date with him.

#para #val #IT'S OK #STILL LOVE YOU #AND YOUR SNAPCHATS

[nikolas-tate]

Niko sped through the two neighborhoods that divided he and his date, only slowing down in the event that he caught sight of a police vehicle or a pedestrian. Never in his twenty three years had Nikolas Tate been late for a commitment. It was one hundred percent not in his character to do such a thing. The young man's nerves and anxious thoughts were getting the best of him and he didn't like it one damn bit. All he wanted to do was go on this date, look at the pretty girl and make an attempt at getting to know her. He contemplated calling her or texting to tell her that he was sorry, but decided against it. He would see her soon enough and he would apologize profusely then. 

Making the five minute drive into more of a two minute drag race, Niko came to a halt when the GPS declared that he had arrived at his destination. He picked up his phone and selected her saved number as she climbed out of the car. Placing the phone to his ear, he looked up at the building as it rang. When he heard her pick up, he hardly gave her a chance to speak. "Valentina, I'm so sorry. I'm here now- outside. I'd come in but I don't know your flat number and I'm sorry that I'm rambling now..."

Catch || Val & Niko

Valentina’s bedroom looked like a bomb had exploded in it. There were samples she had received from designers all over and shoes strewn all over the floor. The uncharacteristic scene of her room was thanks to the fact that she had kept telling herself she wasn’t nervous for her date with Niko, that it was just brunch with a guy who she got along with and just happened to be seriously attractive. For whatever reason, she had thought leaving getting ready till the very last second would prove just how much she didn’t care, but it had only caused her room of organized chaos to turn into a complete avalanche aftermath. Her eyes darted to the clock near her bed as she added a coat of lip gloss over the nude pink she had applied, noticing it was a couple minutes past 10:30. “Damn it,” she muttered as she pressed her lips together and ran to the living room to look outside the window for Niko’s car — not that she knew what it looked like.

Seeing an empty road, she returned to her mirror to put on a pair of simple earrings. As she stepped back to take in her reflection, wearing a pair of simple black skinny jeans paired with one of her favorite tops and Louboutin pumps, Valentina looked back up to meet her own gaze before shaking her head and rolling her eyes at herself. After first meeting Niko, she knew he must have obviously left an impact, seeing as she gave him her number, a gesture she normally didn’t follow through with, but she hadn’t thought the anticipation of seeing him again would affect her like this. Thinking this was as good as it was going to get, Valentina looked at the clock once more before checking her phone to see if she had missed anything from Niko as she took a seat on her couch with her clutch in her lap.

#niko you sorry fuck #para #val

[nikolas-tate]

Catch || Val & Niko

Niko had been sitting in his car for a good half hour now, hands on the wheel of his black BMW, gripping the leather tightly. But he wasn't on the road. Hell, the car's engine wasn't even on. The sleek black car was parked in the garage beneath his apartment building, and Niko was sitting in the drivers seat, his forehead also resting against the top of the wheel as he breathed in and out and mentally prepped himself for whatever this morning was about to bring. Half of him was ecstatic to be going out with such a beautiful, kind girl. But the other half of him had regretted it deeply, knowing that he probably wasn't ready to be dating again when he was still finding little things belonging to Raven in his apartment.

But Niko had made a promise to Valentina- a handful of promises at that- and he intended to keep every last one. He'd convinced her that he was a man of his word, so now was the time to prove it. He reached around the back of the wheel, turning the key and feeling more calm as the engine purred to life. He glanced at the clock and cursed as he realized that he was already three minutes late, and had a five minute drive ahead of him. Putting the car in reverse, Niko sped out of the garage and onto the street, simultaneously entering Val's address into the car's GPS. "Shit, Valentina... I am so sorry," he muttered to himself as he steered towards her place. "It's too early for this."

#para #val

[nikolas-tate]

[nikolas-tate]

Look at you go!

I can’t remember the last time I was this hungry.

#time for me to bother you #they haven't talked in a while so heeeeeey

[nikolas-tate]