Allison's assumption is, of course, correct. Ben is waiting in his usual black hoodie, black jeans, black simple boots. In a way, that outfit is like armor for him. He hides himself in it, blends in, fades into the background. The idea of trying anything else is... scarier than he wants to admit. But he knows that armor can be a kind of shell, and all Allison's coaxing and encouraging has him willing to step out of that shell, at least for a few minutes, to see how he likes it.
He greets his sister with a wave, trying to match her encouraging smile, although his own is much smaller, with the nerves behind it all too clear. As she starts unpacking items from the bags, Ben catches sight of a hairdryer, and something striped, and then he looks away. It's stupid to feel so anxious, but he does, and all he can do is try to mitigate it.
Fortunately, there's a knock at the door then, and Ben announces:
"Oh, good, Cho's here."
And he goes to let her in. At least, in theory. In actuality, he opens the door and then just stands in the way of her coming inside, because he's too surprised to move. She's dressed up fancy. Like, extremely fancy. Her hair is all in big curls and they definitely must've taken a lot of time, right? And he might not know a lot about fashion but that outfit looks like something out of a magazine. So he blinks at her a few seconds before remembering himself and moving aside to let her in.
"Um, wow. Okay. You look super nice, come on in!"
He is running through his memory trying to recall if he'd given the impression she had to get super dressed up for this, and he's worried that he'd implied that now and she'd gone out of her usual style to try to impress. Is it 'cause she is meeting Allison? Ben had mentioned that she's a movie star. Maybe Cho had felt like she ought to. He feels bad for not being clearer. All that fuss just over this stupid... clothes trying-on session.
That feeling of unease, of people going out of their way for him, of being at the center of someone else's attention, is stirring a little in Ben's stomach, but he tries to ignore that queasy feeling. If coming out of your shell were easy, people wouldn't need shells in the first place.
"Um, Allison, this is my friend, Cho Takahashi, and Cho, this is my sister, Allison."
He gestures between the two of them. An efficient introduction, right? Oh he is bad at this, isn't he?
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He greets his sister with a wave, trying to match her encouraging smile, although his own is much smaller, with the nerves behind it all too clear. As she starts unpacking items from the bags, Ben catches sight of a hairdryer, and something striped, and then he looks away. It's stupid to feel so anxious, but he does, and all he can do is try to mitigate it.
Fortunately, there's a knock at the door then, and Ben announces:
"Oh, good, Cho's here."
And he goes to let her in. At least, in theory. In actuality, he opens the door and then just stands in the way of her coming inside, because he's too surprised to move. She's dressed up fancy. Like, extremely fancy. Her hair is all in big curls and they definitely must've taken a lot of time, right? And he might not know a lot about fashion but that outfit looks like something out of a magazine. So he blinks at her a few seconds before remembering himself and moving aside to let her in.
"Um, wow. Okay. You look super nice, come on in!"
He is running through his memory trying to recall if he'd given the impression she had to get super dressed up for this, and he's worried that he'd implied that now and she'd gone out of her usual style to try to impress. Is it 'cause she is meeting Allison? Ben had mentioned that she's a movie star. Maybe Cho had felt like she ought to. He feels bad for not being clearer. All that fuss just over this stupid... clothes trying-on session.
That feeling of unease, of people going out of their way for him, of being at the center of someone else's attention, is stirring a little in Ben's stomach, but he tries to ignore that queasy feeling. If coming out of your shell were easy, people wouldn't need shells in the first place.
"Um, Allison, this is my friend, Cho Takahashi, and Cho, this is my sister, Allison."
He gestures between the two of them. An efficient introduction, right? Oh he is bad at this, isn't he?