[01:50] dark77778: As soon as Raven got the message she raced upstairs to her room with the phone where Rumkai was waiting, still going at a piece of lettuce from the night before. Dialing Alex's number she let the phone ring.
Phone: *riiiing* *riiiing* *riiiiing*
[01:57] Cliche: The messy little apartment had been quiet all morning except for the gurgling noise of Izzy's snoring on the couch. It was an unnerving fact. The solitude had been taunting Alex as he sat, huddled on the ground against the couch's base. His knees had been drawn up to his chest as he gawked at the television set. His fingers had clicked on the buttons slowly to flip through the channels in an uneasy manner. Now and again his lip had twitched. He would glance up at the couch, or around the room precariously. Then he would return to the television set in his idle discontent.
It was during one such moment that the obnoxious jingle of the telephone had ripped throughout the air. Alex had fumbled, the remote dropping to the floor as he let out a squeak and jumped. His heart had pounded as his eyes locked with the ringing phone. It was the first time he had seen the house phone ring at all. Usually, Izzy was just picking up his cell phone. House-Calls are for important things only. He had recalled Izzy saying.
Swallowing the start he had been given, Alex stood up. He had clicked off the television, again dropping the remote to the realm of the floor. With a bit of curiosity in his mind, he had curled his fingers about the phone. He had picked it up, set it to his ear, and cleared his throat. "Hello?"
[02:02] dark77778: "Hello? Sorry to bother you but does Alex live at this number?" Raven asked a little flustered, not recognizing the voice of whoever it was on the other end of the phone.
[02:08] Cliche: Alex had winced inwardly at the sound of Izzy rolling over on the couch. The man had kicked the arm-rest and mumbled some awkward noise. Such a noisy sleeper, and in many ways it made Alex uncomfortable to stand near the night stand on the phone. With a deep breath, he had extended the chord as far as it would go, lingering as far away as he possibly could go.
The sound of his name had captured his attention, however. He had gagged a moment, pressing the phone hard against his ear. Who could possibly be calling for him? Who even knew Izzy's phone number? He hadn't seen anyone in such a long time...
"Huh? Alex?" He had breathed, smiling wide at the sound of the voice. There was something to it, though he wasn't entirely sure what. "My name's Alex - who's this?" He had paused, turning pale with a thought. What if it was the court? What if the adoption agency had changed their mind about Izzy? His body had stiffened. It seemed the only logical answer. Who else would have the house number and be calling for him? "Uh...Uhm." he had began, falling silent.
[02:16] dark77778: "Alex? Is that really you!?" Raven blurted, her heart racing, finally recognizing the voice on the other end being that of her dearest friend "It's me! Raven! You sound different, where've you been, what's that noise in the background, are you okay?" These questions she just blurted out rapid fire, all of them resounding the message of 'I've missed you'.
[02:28] Cliche: Alex had felt the corners of his lips tugging. His mind was veering in many directions as joy encompassed him. The silence, the snoring, the boredom, and the insecurity. Each negative feeling had seemed to evaporate instantly as he felt himself jitter in place. Anxiously, he had bounced on his toes, biting his lip so not to begin laughing. In the end, he had failed at containing himself. He had laughed joyously, nearly twirling into the phone chord. "Yeah, it's really me - is it really you?" He had chimed eagerly. "Oh wow! I don't believe it! How'd you find the number?" His voice had piped. It seemed almost too good to be true. Was he dreaming?
He had paused a moment. His wings had fluttered in his excitement. "Noise? Oh, that's ... That's Izzy. He's loud when he sleeps." He had wrinkled his nose. "He's loud when he's awake too. You should hear him when he takes a shower." He had shaken his head to himself. "and you sound different. Where have you been?" Alex had coined. He felt his wings flapping behind him, the earnestness driving him wild with glee.
"They put me in this weird place and made me move around a lot. All sorts of crazy people! There was even an old lady with, like, twenty cats." He had paused in thought again, thinking back to those days. They only sent a tremor up his spine. "But who cares? You called!"
[03:05] dark77778: "Yeah Alex it's really me, hee!" Raven said barely able to contain her own excitement at Alex's obvious excitement, she beamed as she listened to her friend's story, until he recalled his tale of his recent misadventures. "Wow, sounds like it's been hard for you too? I was in the hospital for a long time and then mom disappeared. There was also this other lady that was supposed to take me back but she never came for me, so I was stuck there until Shou finally showed up with another man who I'm living with right now...but I don't really want to talk about any of that, it's in the past." Spreading herself across her bed, she hugged a butterfly shaped pillow to herself in one hand and waved her feet back and forth in the air.
"So who's this Izzy guy though? He's not bad is he? And where exactly do you live now anyways, maybe I can sneak over there or something. I know that Shane, the guy I'm living with, is taking me to the compound in a couple days, if I can't meet you around your place could we maybe meet up there? I really can't wait to see you!"
[03:24] Cliche:
Her laughter. Her voice. It was sweet and sonorous for his ears - a new symphony to fiddle with his mind and offer a sense of utter complacency. He slank against the wall, sitting down quietly. Each thought was almost a treasure, and, deep inside, he could only recall the number of times he wondered if the day would ever come for him to hear that voice again. That voice, that name. He was happy. "You were in the hospital?" He had breathed. "You're alright now, aren't you?"
Izzy's snoring had jarred him again. He had shivered, casting a bitter look in the direction of the couch. He had given a grumbling noise about the necessity of duct tape, and how he wondered if earthquakes were possible just from the sound of someone sleeping. It seemed almost logical with the occasional deep sound emerging from the couch. "Izzy is..." He had began, heaving a sigh. "I don't know. I met him on accident and he said I could stay with him. Signed the papers and everything, so I don't have to go back to..." He had gulped at the thought. "Getting pushed around by fat old ladies with cats." His lips had pursed in idleness. It seemed unusual to think of Izzy as either nice nor bad. He was neutral. A strange blend of alien-nature and calming stability. Life was certainly different than it had been with his mother. "He's weird. And he doesn't know how to cook." His eyes had wandered to the dirty apartment. The clothes littering the floor, the cans and paper plates settled on top of one another like towers of old junk. He wasn't sure he wanted to mention such a mess to Raven. "But he doesn't yell or anything. He's okay. Just weird." He had given a firm nod before blinking. Raven was in the same boat as him it seemed, being lodged up with a stranger.
[03:24] Cliche: "We live..." He had looked at the apartment again, wincing in mild discomfort. He did not really want Raven seeing it. At all. The apartment complex wasn't even appealing. Everything about his 'home' seemed unappealing so suddenly. It was enough to drive his mind haywire with thought. "In Barton. There's an apartment complex. Uhm... It's really close to that one place. With all the trains? Right across the tracks; it's easy to see and it has a lot of lights and cars and stuff!" His face had distorted again as he watched the apartment. He did not feel inclined to clean it himself, but something within him was pushing him towards the idea.
"I can't wait to see you either."
dark77778: "Oh," Raven said with a bit of a frown, Shane's house wasn't that close to Barton. Actually, it wasn't too close to much of anything, because he seemed to like his privacy. If the house wasn't so much like a normal one, she'd almost call the place an estate. "I know where that is, I could probably walk there in an hour and a bit if Shane can't drive me. I don't think he'll mind much though, especially if I talk to him about it, but he really doesn't like the city. That or...maybe you can come over here." Raven said, blushing outright.
"Oh you're sneaky aren't you?" Rumkai piped up as he fluttered to perch in Raven's hair, the fact that Rumkai noticed her plan made Raven blush even more. She knew that Shane was going to be out for the next couple days, and she was old enough to stay home by herself but not to babysit them, so that would be the PERFECT time to have Alex over...and all to herself.
Cliche: Alex's wings had twitched. He felt his stomach knotting as he uncurled himself from the phone wire. His shoulder had been pressed against the wall; the phone had been pressed against his ear. Quietly he had listened, occasionally watching a shadow skitter across the ceiling when he looked upward. "An hour? Is it that far?" He had asked. His voice had been laced with something - that lack of satisfaction. An hour was a long time, and it did seem such a way to go. In that, there was a disheartening nature to it all. "The city's crowded." He had smiled faintly as he began to stand. One loose hand had gone to brushing himself off. There were two options: either he was having her come to him, or he was going to her. Og those two options, there seemed even less choice to the matter. Izzy's apartment was a disaster, and Izzy himself was weird. He didn't want Raven near any of it; not so soon. It was the first time they would be seeing each other after such a long time! "Well, I'll go there. Izzy's out like a light; I don't think he'd care if I left for a while." He had licked the edge of his lip, glancing back towards the couch.
"I'll just leave a note or something." It would work. No problem! He had reassured himself as he tugged the rim of his shirt. "Where's that Shane guy live, anyway?"
dark77778:[Due to AIM glitches, I forgot to copy down what Raven said at this point, but it was something along the lines of “Wait no don’t come now!” *has to get ready to get the house in order and wait until Shane’s gone* “Come in two hours, the address is 5782 RocTail Run”]
Cliche:"Why not?" Alex had protested. His voice had trembled at a height as he held the phone closer. Nervously, he had given the couch a disdainful look, wondering if time were in his favor at all. He had no ambition to explain himself, or to ask permission. The feeling of answering to the man was absent. As far as he was concerned, they simply shared living quarters and benefits.
Two hours. Two hours? He had frowned as his shoulder sank. Izzy slept like a rock, but he wasn't certain how much longer he would truly be asleep. But maybe ... No. He would sleep for a while. Alex was confident. He was a lazy man after all, yet ... He wasn't sure. "I don't know. He's out of it now, but he's been out for at least two hours already." Alex had murmured in contemplation. "We'll find out." He had given a nod of his head, smiling at the sound of the road. Roctail Run? 5782, Roctail Run. Alex had repeated the number and name over and over again, hoping he might be able to remember it. At least until he found something to write with.
"I'll find a way to get there - don't worry!" He had boasted suddenly. "Two hours. Two hours it is."
