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 Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 2:02 pm
His phone was good, still seated in a cup holder. His school bag where someone would rest there feet as a passenger. He just had wanted to check those two things. As he left the front of his suv and went around to see what she was looking at, a smile in place. She seemed to appreciate and like what he'd painted.
"I haven't had much time to paint recently, so a few are older. "A truly unfortunate thing but duty came above all else, including school. Though aside from the two days he'd taken off, due to the surrounding, he hadn't yet had the two things clash. He was sure that would change drastically at some point. He just hoped it wasn't any time soon, he didn't need more shocks to his life.
"I was going to offer your mother her pick. I don't do anything but keep them in the room I paint in. So if you'd like one." He said with a light smile. "Perhaps one for yourself and one for your mother. I think she'll enjoy one as much as you seem to enjoy the sight of them all." He didn't mention why the flowers and plants had such detail, didn't mention that he studied them and had many of the flowers in his possession so he could stare and paint them as they were.
"I like the soft look watercolors afford." Maybe one day, with sufficient prodding he'd move in to using other sorts of paints. But he liked his water colors and used only them for now.
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Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 9:57 pm
Harmony was quite taken with Alex and grinned at his offer. She thought it was a shame that these beautiful paintings would be sitting away somewhere without being seen. The purpose of art was to provide beauty to the world. She would know, she created it herself. But if his contribution to that beauty was hidden away, well, that was like wasting his talents. She couldn't have that and made a mental note to drag him to her studio/work room someday. It was a chaotic mess but she loved it down there.
She considered her choices carefully. Her mother's was an easy pick. Simply a sprig of orchids across the canvas with a simple multi tonal background. Her mother liked orchids and the colors would match her bedroom beautifully. Harmony's choice was something a bit surprising and nothing that stood out as certainly her personality might imply. It was a simply done fall landscape with rich Earth tones and a line of maples across some hills. It could have been a park. She liked it. The colors and the feeling of it called to her and made her feel warm.
"Thank you." she told Alex, hugging him. "I love it. I'm sure mom will love it. You know, you should see my studio sometime. I'm not a painter like you are but I dabble. I've created a space and a mock dark room for myself in the basement of my building. Do you maybe wanna come see it with me sometime? We could have some fun tossing some clay around."
Yes, she'd certainly made a new friend whether he liked it or not. Harm didn't like hearing the word no particularly when she made up her mind the other way around. It didn't seem like Alex minded her company and for that she was infinitely grateful.
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Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 10:30 pm
He had no place to put his art and didn't care for fame. He was modest, he knew he was good, but he didn't boast about it. So they got stuck in his painting room and remained there for a few people to see, whenever people came in to bother him (such a his mothers friends). He didn't mind it but he did want to share his work with people he was close to and people who would appreciate it. Not just anyone would be offered a canvas, not being prideful or anything, he just wanted his paintings finding homes with people who appreciated art.
Watching to see what was picked he smiled. The orchid one was a personal favorite. He'd brought an orchid in from his green house, after making sure no bugs were on it, and sat with it on a stool next to him. Bending down to look at the flowers and leaves, to get them just right. He'd enjoyed working on that painting, even if it was simple and time consuming. The second one picked was anything she wanted it to be, apiece from his own imagination. That was why he liked landscapes, he could pick the place and it could be anywhere for anyone. It was something everyone took something from and felt something from.
"Smiling he brought his arms around her back and returned the embrace. "Your welcome. I have a room in my home where I paint, it's dedicated to just my painting." He said with a smile, thinking of the size of the room she may have, all to herself and her art. "I'd like that, it would in fact be a pleasure to see where you work. "I have never worked with clay, or anything aside from paints unless you count the failed black and white photography class I took." No, he didn't mind she had decided he was a friend. He rather liked it in fact. Even as his mind screamed at him about piling on one more thing to find time for. He'd work on figuring it all out. he needed time to do that. He would find the time.
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Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 10:47 pm
She set the paintings on the car for a second and really returned the hug. Like her mother she found him easy to talk to. Friendship decided she grinned and fished her cell phone out of her pocket. She stretched it out to him so he could program his number in.
"Here. Give me your number. I'll text you or something. Anytime you wanna see me during the week, for the most part, I'm at work. It's this little coffee house called Espresso Yourself. A lot of artists hang there. My photography is there, too. I take a lot of pictures of customers. It's kind of our thing. You should come by. Anything you want is on the house first visit."
Of course, though she didn't know it, she'd hit on a gold mine. Offering him espresso. They specialized in the stuff as their name might imply. The owner was an Italian man who shipped the coffee over from Italy for their espresso and house blends. A lot of customers thought it was too strong or too bitter. Two shots could keep you up for days. They didn't serve more than two.
She thought he'd rather like it.
"I also work for Mr. Darrow, the librarian, some afternoons and weekends. Finding time might be kind hard but we'll get together and I'll show you my studio and we'll get good and messy throwing around some clay."
If he was going through the same situations it might sound like avoidance, keeping busy so she didn't have too much time to stop and think. When she did, like him, she had nightmares and couldn't rest properly. They were similar in that way, just for opposite sides of the spectrum. He killed. She died. It was all the same in the end.
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Posted: Wed Oct 26, 2011 12:05 am
Taking her phone he went around to the drivers side of the suv and opened is door. Leaning in he fished out of the cup holder his own cell phone. Pulling up his contact she added her number to his phone, then returned the favor. "You can text me as well, I may not answer right away. But I will answer, I'm afraid I have a lot of time devoted to various activities. But I will find some time to spare." A smile sent her way, over his shoulder. Turning around he offered her, her cell phone back.
"I've never been there. I go to another artist filled cafe, Witches Cauldron. It's down a little side street in town." You could barely manage traffic both ways, and if cars were parked on either one or both sides of the road it became impossible. "I'd like to go there though, where you work. Tell me you have cherry or pomegranate syrup for your espresso." It was rare, especially the pomegranate syrup but he loved the stuff. Maybe it was just his odd taste, and the place he went to having all kinds of odd mixes offered. But he was a bit spoiled on the stuff.
Funny how he'd found a similar spirit in her and didn't even know it.They were enough a like and were clueless about this. "You like to read?" He asked suddenly, as he caught on to her mentioning of working at the library. "I don't go there, to the library I mean. I do the typical thing and find everything online." Though with that school project he had gone, but who was Mr. Darrow, had he even been there that day?
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Posted: Sat Oct 29, 2011 1:29 pm
She frowned when he talked about going to another place for his espresso. She made a mental note to start stocking the small pumps of pomegranate syrup. They didn’t carry it often but when they had their green tea month. She thought maybe they had some left over from that. Maybe. But cherry they carried often enough. Her chocolate covered cherry java drinks sold like gangbusters.
“I think we have both right now, actually, though I’ve never added them to the espresso shots before.”
Most people she knew liked their espresso straight up. They knew the owner was an Italian and was particular about what he served. She wasn’t against flavoring it up. She wasn’t a fan of coffee herself. She liked the more subtle taste of tea or the sweeter taste of juice or smoothies. And she almost never needed the caffeine jolt to stay up and active. When he questioned her she shook her head.
“I wouldn’t say I like to read very much, no. Some books catch my eye now and then. I’m more like Mr. Darrow’s assistant. I help with the paperwork and the background stuff. It’ll help me get into college. I guess there’s a lot to do when you run a library.”
She was quickly finding that out. Every time she came in to help him there was a mountain of emails and books to be processed. She was a bit more modest than to think of herself as his savior but, really, she made sure his world ran a little smoother and enjoyed what she did. She couldn’t ask for much more. In exchange he held books aside for her for school work or hobby and they were getting to know one another, one day at a time.
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Posted: Sat Oct 29, 2011 3:41 pm
"You should try it, and add a little cream and whip cream. It's good." He said, his eyes lighting up as he thought of the drink. It really was good, perhaps odd taste. But it really was just picturing flavors he liked mingled and seeing it on the menu of the place he normally went he decided to go with it. He'd made the right choice, he'd known that at first sip and had been hooked since.
He'd had espresso straight up before, it was strong, it needed flavor and cream/milk and whip cream gave that nicer texture with a certain thickness but the syrup was the flavor it needed.
"It will help I'm sure. I have a friend in college and I'd say the paperwork and knowing your way around a library will help." Though he would admit, if asked, that he would get lost in a library trying to find anything. The old, Knightside, lessons from the school librarian on how to find books using those book numbers was long since forgotten. But it also helped Harmony to be able to juggle things, something he could normally do but was falling apart with now.
"Do you have any plans right now?" He asked, rather suddenly.
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Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2011 1:06 pm
“I’m not much of one for espresso. I serve it but I don’t drink it. I stick to tea, mostly, or juice.”
She nodded at his thoughts on her job with Tony at the library. She strictly called him “Mr. Darrow” though, as a formality of respect. It wasn’t usually her habit to be so formal with adults but she actually liked this one and respected him and, in her own way, wanted to show him that respect. What he was doing for her was nice. She got to kill time safely, buried away in paperwork, and he got to have things get done when they overflowed on him which could be often sometimes.
When he asked about immediate plans she paused, surprised, and looked at him. As a matter of fact, she didn’t. That’s why her mother had asked her to stay because she didn’t have to work that night. And she found herself really enjoying her time with Alex, for whatever reason. She didn’t want their time to be over.
“No. I don’t have any plans as long as you don’t mind stopping by my house so I can change.”
She really didn’t want to stay in this uniform any longer than she had to, especially if she was going to be seen…in public. She shivered, too, in the fall weather. Had it been this cool when she left? She didn’t think so. Maybe a sweater wouldn’t be out of line. Or a jacket. She looked to Alexandre and smiled, not wanting him to think she didn’t want to spend time with him.
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Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2011 5:33 pm
"Of course not. I'd like to do that myself but I won't make you wait for me to do that." It could take some time, plus he lived outside of the city. It would be rude to ask her to wait and bring her to his home just so he could change out of his school uniform, no matter how much he disliked being stuck in his own uniform.
The coolness bothered him though, maybe a shopping trip just a run in and out of a store and he could come out in new clothing? It was a good idea, the best he could come up with, in order to change and get in to some warmer clothing. "You wouldn't mind if after a stop to your home I run into a store and get something I can change in to?" He asked, hoping she wouldn't mind.
"hen we can go to where you work for some espresso, and tea for you...?" He didn't know if she'd have tea or juice, so he trailed off giving her the opportunity to correct him.
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Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2011 1:22 pm
“Probably tea” she agreed, looking at him. “Do you want to follow me in my car or take yours?” Or hers. Whatever. She really didn’t care. It was all just logistics and could easily be solved in moments with a few simple decisions. He’d agreed to let her change anyway. “Here, why don’t you follow me back to my place and then we can take your car to the coffee shop? I’ve walked him from there plenty of nights. It’s not too far.”
With that resolved she went off to get her car from further on in the parking lot. It certainly wasn’t a Lexus but it got her from here to there and she liked it alright. Not bad for a sixteen year old, anyway. She had to remind herself that she was nearly seventeen now….well, sixteen and a half. She drove it by his, waving him to follow her. It was a quick trip to Crystal Academy from their townhouse. Her mother chose this place especially when she was hired on. It was a longer trip to HiTS and with them no longer going to the same place a car for Harmony seemed necessary.
She dashed inside when they arrived, inviting him in and taking the paintings with her. She left her mother’s on her bed with a note attached and then moved into her room, closing the door. When she came out she looked a lot different but more like herself. The outfit she wore was flattering, comfortable, and had a few gothic and burlesque edges that she liked.
“Are you ready?” she asked, picking up her bag and dropping her cell phone and keys into it.
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Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2011 7:32 pm
"That sounds like a good idea. I don't like the idea of either of us leaving a car." Not that he expected anyone to come here to steal or vandalize, or break in to, one of the two vehicles. But it was best to be on the safe side, and he really didn't want either of them suffering some damage to their car. He knew he personally wouldn't like something happening and would be well and truly pissed off if something were to happen to his car.
Watching her walk off he got into his own and buckled up and prepared to follow her, shifting in to drive as he waited. Following Harmony he kept as close behind as he could without tail gating, he didn't want someone cutting in between them and possibly get lost. Harmony wasn't kidding when she said she lived close. "Alright." And inside he followed her, glancing around at everything.
"Of course, again though I hope you don't mind if I make a pit stop to just purchase some warmer clothing. I live out of the city so going home is rather out of the question." Going home, out of the city which they were in and then coming back into the city. It didn't make sense to do that. "I can make a quick run in and out if you don't mind waiting in here when we get to the store." A smile flashed to the green haired girl as he walked back out to his waiting car with her.
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Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2011 8:40 pm
“Oh, God, no! I don’t mind!”
How could she when he’d been so patient with her? Besides, she was a girl and did like to shop. It was sort of a perquisite, she thought, for being a teenager. Besides, he seemed like a nice guy and she could already tell they were going to be friends. She looped her arm through his and led him toward her front door. She locked it up again and slid her cell phone back into her pocket. Her mom might call and she didn’t want her to worry about her. They’d both been through enough of that to last for quite a while, if not forever.
“I have a serious shopping problem” she admitted. “Believe me, I could have lots of fun dressing you up like a doll.”
She didn’t mean that in the literal sense, of course, but in the I’m gonna pick out clothes for you to try on way. She liked choosing fashion for people. She was actually pretty good about it, too, and specialized in finding the best part of thrift stores. All of her clothes came from thrift and vintage stores and she rarely spent more than ten dollars on an outfit. Here and there she’d splurge and get an expensive something from the vintage store, like the hat cocked on her head currently. It suited her in an old movie mobster kind of way.
She mixed genres well, anyway.
She led him away from the house and dropped her keys into her purse and waited to see if they were taking his car or hers. She could point him to any number of shops in the area if he needed the direction. She had a feeling he didn't come to this part of town often. They were near a private school, sure, but her mom wasn't exactly rich. Harm had been attending Crystal on scholarship and on discount because her mother worked there. Nothing but the best for her education. That's what her mom always said.
"Well, do you have somewhere in mind to shop or should I start giving directions now?"
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Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2011 8:25 pm
"My parents made a mistake in giving me a debt card." He stated, he too had an issue with shopping. He rather enjoyed shopping weather it be for clothing, books, plants, or candles he had a big love for shopping and he had a fashion sense to go with his need to shop. It really was a need at times, like right now!
"I'm glad. I didn't want to intrude upon any time you may need for something else by spending time to get something proper to wear before we spend more time having espresso." He said as he lead her, by the arm, to his car and even opened the passenger side door for her.
"I tend toward...the high end stores." He stated, giving her a look as if asking, silently, if she minded. "Dior, Guuci, Burberry." Burberry being his favorite closely followed by Guuci for shoes. He really was bad about shopping and spending lots on what he bought, but he didn't have to worry about what he spent. If she really wanted to see him shop she should get him into a candle store or a planet nursery in spring or summer.
"If you want why don't you show me this fashion sense of yours and aid me in picking a single outfit at Burberry." He spoke, flashing a smile as he stood with the passenger side door open and waiting for her to get in, as he leaned against the side of his car. "Just don't worry about price."
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Posted: Fri Nov 11, 2011 4:00 pm
He was letting her dress him up in Burberry and she didn’t need to worry about price? Had she died and gone to heaven? She hopped into the car next to him and laughed, looking over at the driver’s side in wonder. She couldn’t imagine being given carte blanche at a high end store. Sure, it was for him but that offer was a dream come true! She couldn’t help her grinning as they drove.
“You’re serious, right?”
He certainly seemed so and once they got to the store she was like a kid in a candy store. Harmony liked using her powers of observation for good instead of evil. She scanned the racks, bringing him along, and held up many things to him to see how they fit. She shook her head to most of her initial suggestions, only clinging to a few objects. When she was done she went with him to the dressing room to have him try on everything.
The coat and the watch weren’t necessary, strictly speaking because she was sure he already had a coat and probably a watch, too, but they completed the look she had in mind that bore up to how formal he seemed to be and how casual she wanted to be with him. He had kind of a classic taste about him and she wasn’t at all shy about straightening things up when he came out. She inspected him thoughtfully, padding on light feet around him in a circle.
“Hmmm.” She brushed the shirt off, straightening the shoulders, and nodded. “Looks hot.”
She was rather proud of herself and how things came out. It was like they'd been made for him specifically and for a moment or two she felt a rush of attraction toward him though she knew that ship would certainly never sail. It seemed like all of the good ones were either gay or taken, much to her dismay.
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Posted: Fri Nov 11, 2011 9:53 pm
"I am, why wouldn't I be?" He questioned, glancing toward her for a moment. His eyes returning to the road as he moved through the city streets. The high end stores coming closer and closer to them, or rather they were coming closer and closer. He had a brief moment of fright over what she may pick for him, but brushed it away. He trusted her, he trusted her mother and had a feeling she was rather similar to her mother. He could be wrong though, but he'd find out.
When he had parked, fore stores down, the walk to Burberry was a short one. Harmony seemed intent on getting in as fast as possible, and looking at everything in the store. Glances given to the racks of clothing, most of the bags ignored, he did spare a few bags a glance as he followed after his friend.
Trying on the various items of clothing she picked, a smile on his face, Alexandre let her walk about him. The watch he liked, though he did indeed have one already. There was no reason to not have another, the same went for the coat and he needed it due to the coldness right now.
"So then I'm good to go?" He asked, he had to agree it did look hot really.
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