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 Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 3:34 pm
Destiny City was still a winter wonderland, but that did not stop Hayden Lynch from playing cards in the park. It took more than slightly chilly—and picturesque, no less—weather to deter her from wiping away the thick layer of snow off of a bench and plopping down on the freezing cold wood. “Care for a round of War, Ace?” Hayden innocently inquired with a sly grin, propping a curious eyebrow at the boy as she shuffled a deck of bright red cards. “Or maybe you would prefer watching my wonderful card tricks?”
She crossed her legs and paid no heed to the winter cold that seeped through her black jeans, which were not exactly the smartest choice of clothing to wear, but Hayden was not the type to carefully think about such matters. At least, this time she had bothered to bring a thicker coat to wear and a pair of black gloves for when it felt like her fingers would fall off. Fortunately, it was not snowing at the moment and another ring of snow would not pool on her head. She refused to wear a hat when she could don her precious green bandana instead.
“Your highlights and my bandana match, don’t you think?” Hayden joked as she began to set up the game, regardless of Chase’s reply. This was not the first time she pointed out the observation, but it was particularly amusing due to the holidays.
The park was fairly empty, most likely because people preferred to stay in the warmth of their homes or were away visiting far-off relatives. A few families that watched their eager children build clumsy snowmen and snow angels, but Hayden conveniently picked a bench away from them. “Try not to get too into War,” she teased, well aware of his pride.
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Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 10:22 pm
"I dunno about that," Chase yawned stretching his arms up over his head. "My hair's too pink for that green of yours," he told her propping his arms on the table they were playing on. He couldn't quite remember how she had managed to get him out here in the middle of the unpredictable, but always icy, weather. He was sporting the blue scarf of his school's uniform with a black double breasted coat with gold buttons and black skinny jeans. Beneath the coat was a light pink long sleeve button-up and a black gold trimmed vest. Yes, Chase was always dressed professionally and fashionably whenever he didn't have to be in his school uniform.
A businessman for a father had taught him that.
"Sure, War's fine," he replied waving a hand for her to start. It was hard for him to be focused lately, hell he had been surprised that the girl had managed to get him out of his dorm room.
The snow globes that had been given out had seriously messed with his head, all he could think about were them and he found himself daydreaming a lot. Even now his focus was shifting in and out. He had a hard time keeping things straight. "Huh? What?"
He hadn't been paying attention.
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Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2010 12:25 pm
“Pink is only red mixed with white,” insisted Hayden as she dealt out the cards, half the deck for herself and the other half for Chase. “Though it’s been a while since we’ve last played it, I hope I don’t need to explain the rules of War to you.” She grinned, her fingertips lightly pressed against the top card of her pile as she prepared to flip it over. “Not like War is that difficult.” Hayden counted backwards from three and on the last count both of them turned their top card over. The one with the higher-valued card claimed the loser’s card and they repeated the process. Sometimes Hayden won. Sometimes Chase won.
“I know you’re a bit distracted at the moment—by my beauty, right?---“ Hayden smirked playfully while she kept her gaze focused on their game of War, “but if you have any bright ideas for a new prank, I’d love to be of some assistance. Or, maybe you need help brainstorming another diabolical plot?”
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Posted: Sun Dec 26, 2010 4:09 pm
"Even still, it's not the same as red," He countered with a sly grin. "It's like calling the sky purple just because it has blue in it," he told her thoughtfully looking up at the sky even as he spoke. "It's hard to forget the rules of war," he replied dropping his golden gaze back to her. It was a statement that had a double meaning, though he didn't make that clear. He was beginning to wonder if all the strange 'terrorist' attacks were part of a war.
Lately he had been thinking about it a lot. Almost as much as he thought about his snow globes.
"Haha, please," he grinned impishly at her. "We've been friends far too long Hayden," he chuckled at her suggestion. It wasn't that the girl wasn't pretty, he just had never thought of her in that way. "I...haven't been working on anything lately, had a hard time focusing," he admitted with a sad sigh.
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Posted: Sun Dec 26, 2010 5:12 pm
“Alas, that is true. Yet, I could easily call pink red if I wanted to. I’d just get a bunch of peculiar stares,” Hayden mused while she idly examined the colored streaks in his hair. “Are you sure those highlights are pink? I swear; it looks like salmon to me.” She honestly voiced her opinion, curiously craning her neck forward to get a closer look at his hair. Of course a woman would begin using complicated color names found only for clothes: brick, lavender, powder blue, periwinkle. The list dragged on and on.
“Regardless, we’ll call it pink if you say it’s pink. Real men wear pink, after all.” She chuckled as she turned her gaze back to flipping then claiming or relinquishing cards. Her smile disappeared when Hayden met Chase’s eyes. She sensed a second meaning underneath the statement, but decided not to call him out on it. Hayden wouldn’t bother about something her friend didn’t want to bring up.
Eventually they both revealed a card of equal value and at last the pair began a war. She drew out a mini stack of three cards to elegantly slide across the bench. One by one Hayden turned over her cards. “Is friendship supposed to get in the way of a casual fling? I never realized, but that wasn’t my point.”
His despondent sigh caused Hayden to briefly look up at Chase. “If you’ve got something on your shoulders, spit it out. I won’t squeal,” she offered in a quiet, sincere voice.
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Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2010 8:28 pm
"Salmon is a shade of pink," he responded quickly as he flipped his three over and found that he had dealt the higher card. He didn't hesitated to collect his winnings, arrange them so they all faced the same way then he shuffled his moderately sized stack of cards to give some variety to the game. "It just has an orange tint," he explained subconsciously running a hand through his spiked locks.
"You know I don't like crossing those lines Hayden," he replied seriously snapping his head up and staring at her. His lips were pressed in a thin line and it was obvious that he was bothered that she had brought it up. "I don't like risking my friendships, especially one that's been as long as ours."
He continued to stare at her as though he was studying her before he suddenly dropped his gaze to his hands focusing on the cards as he flipped the next one over. "It's nothing," he replied honestly because truthfully he would be embarrassed to admit he couldn't focus because of snowglobes.
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Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2010 11:47 pm
She blankly watched Chase claim all six cards. Hayden seemed unfazed, but at the same time she was likely miffed at the win. Regardless, she continued drawing cards and turning them over. After a couple of turns she spoke again, “Funny how you know that.” A math teacher she had in middle school always said that boys should not know colors like “brick” or “periwinkle” for rather stereotypical reasons. He had been a racist and sexist b*****d, but he had also been a damn hilarious b*****d—probably explained why the man still stood out in Hayden’s dull repertoire of past and current instructors.
Hayden steadfastly held her gaze against Chase’s, her usual smirk wiped off her face as she kept up with the mini stare down. Even after he had broken away, she continued scrutinizing him. “You know I was just teasing,” she quizzically stated, “Right?” She frowned, her eyes finally downcast and focused on the deck of cards. “I was probably too casual when I asked though. Sorry.” Though Hayden would normally pester the lad about his odd behavior she remained surprisingly quiet afterwards.
“It’s simmered down, the murders.” Her tone held neither relief nor disappointment, just neutrality. “A nice Christmas gift.”
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Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2010 1:15 pm
"Maybe but you know my mother, insistent that I am not just a 'typical' boy," he replied swiftly thinking of the dark haired woman. He smiled at the thought of his mother because really, with the guide of both of his parents he was far from being a typical boy. What typical boy attended business meetings and helped cater to the parties his mother had the habit of throwing?
It made him wonder if that was why he loved to be a troublemaker, it helped him break from the pristine doll his parents tried to make him. Then again, whenever he was around them he was always on his best behavior for Chase Black was a people pleaser and he knew exactly what to do to sway people to his side.
"Yeah," he replied not bothering to look at her because he knew, deep down that a part of her had been kidding, but another part, the part that made him react so coldly, wasn't so sure that she was completely kidding.
"It has, but I doubt that's because of the holiday season, I think we're just unaware of any recent deaths, the city's trying to keep things underwraps. Destiny City gets enough bad press as is."
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Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2010 3:00 pm
“Your hair is merely one of the many testaments that support your mother’s belief,” Hayden agreed, amusedly grinning. She only had the chance to observe the other said of Chase a few times—all mere coincidences as she capriciously went from one social function to another. He looked the same, but at the same he didn’t. Most people did not appreciate seeing the foreign sides of their longtime companions, but it only intrigued Hayden more. She liked surprises.
The pair churned through their portions of cards until she found that her pile was no longer. “Tch! I lost,” she grumbled with a disapproving click of her tongue. Sighing, she leaned back and let Chase do whatever he pleased with the cards: mess them up, shuffling them, collect them into a full deck, whatever. “Do you want to play another round or would you rather not?” Hayden did not particularly mind.
“Ha. You think the city just realized how useful censorship is? Sure took them a while,” she scoffed as she skeptically smiled, “but I’ll concede that it’s possible, though it’s also possible that there really have been less murder. For one reason or another.” A white snowflake entered her field of vision, happily fluttering in the soft breeze. She whimsically reached out to grab it. “We’ll only know if we try to find out the truth.”
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Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2010 4:00 pm
There were many sides to Chase, that much was true, and hardly anyone saw a different side of him. However the spiky haired boy never tried to intentionally hide the multiple sides of himself, he simply did it subconsciously. It was as easy to him as breathing was. Though he tried to keep it simple, to his troublemaking self.
Life was more fun that way.
He smirked as he gathered up the cards formed them into a neat pile and shuffling them. "How about a different game? Speed perhaps?" He suggested shuffling the cards via a card bridge. He liked the game of speed because it allowed him to showcase his quick fingers and helped with hand-eye coordination sometimes.
"I think they've always known but that doesn't mean that they implemented well, remember that city wide coma fiasco?" He shook his head. "Some times the truth isn't what you want and is better left unfound."
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Posted: Sat Jan 01, 2011 2:03 pm
“A lovely suggestion,” Hayden happily agreed, leaning back and placing her hands on the icy wood. The chill mildly stung her skin, but she refused to reach for the gloves in her coat pocket. Playing cards with gloves on was an idiotic idea—if you wanted to win—and she would have to take them off shortly afterwards anyways. “Not a surprising suggestion either. You like those kinds of games.” She chuckled. Not that Hayden minded; she liked the games that required nimble fingers and a quick mind.
Chase dealt out the cards and she picked up the first five cards as her hand. It was a fairly varied set, but she firmly held onto her poker face. “Yeah, I remember,” she sullenly replied. Hayden had not fallen into the mysterious coma, but a few of her friends and classmates did. Some of them woke up, some of them didn’t. “I didn’t directly say we should know the truth, but that things will never be certain until you find the truth.”
She tried not to let it get to her. It was futile to cry over spilled milk. She concentrated on the game instead, barely thinking as Hayden’s mind and hands instinctively moved.
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Posted: Thu Jan 27, 2011 9:44 am
"Because it requires more than just luck," he replied shrugging as he arranged the five cards in his hand. Just before the game began he looked at his friend's face as if he was studying it, trying to figure something out. Hayden and Chase had always been rather similar but at the same time they were very different. Occasionally he would wonder how they had become friends, or rather, how they remained friends for so long.
Then again he wondered that about every single one of his friends.
The minute the card game began his attention focused solely upon the cards. His golden eyes would flicker from the cards in his hand back to the cards on the table, his fingers flew with a speed that many would not believe possible. His deck was dwindling nicely when suddenly his momentum slowed, then stalled.
He had a stack of three cards and five in his hand as his fingers ran over the tops of the cards ready to lay one down the second Hayden gave him an opportunity. He was so close and he'd be damned if he didn't win.
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Posted: Fri Feb 04, 2011 7:15 pm
“I suppose, but sometimes I like to rely on a pinch of luck. It makes things uncertain and exciting.” Hayden kept smoothly grinning as she calmly organized them from suit than rank. Realizing that Chase was examining her, she looked up and calmly stared into his eyes as she playfully perked an eyebrow at him—what are you looking at?
Like Chase, sometimes Hayden caught herself idly musing over her friendships. Why is it she could handle interacting with one airhead and not the other? Clearly the previous airhead had something mysteriously special that intrigued Hayden, but she didn’t know what it was. People were curious beings, including herself. Sometimes she would ponder over something she just did, something she would likely have never done, but did.
As soon as the first card was placed down she instinctively slammed down a card of her own. Hayden barely registered the fact that card upon card were flung onto the constantly-growing pile. She just kept focusing on the current card on the pile as well as her own hand. Then the entire flaw of the game abruptly stopped when Chase failed to place down another card. She furrowed her eyebrows, curiously staring at Chase before she quickly realized he was waiting on her.
Damn.
She surveyed his remaining cards and compared it to her own—just a couple more than her pile. Not too much to make a difference, Hayden assumed, but assuming was not always correct. Silently, Hayden intentionally dragged out the silence between the two as she cleared her face of any hints of her moves.
Then she lunged forward to begin dealing out as many cards as she could.
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Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2011 9:53 am
"Luck runs out," he replied cryptically and harshly to signify that he was done with the conversation. It wasn't an important one and frankly the boy was just getting tired of discussing luck. Nobody remained lucky forever. Which was why he preferred games of skill to games of luck, it better showcased his abilities as well preparing him for the future. He couldn't rely on his good fortune and luck forever and he knew it.
The game had stalled when he could no longer play any cards only to find that neither could his companion. A smirk slid across his lips as his free hand reached out and flipped the card, hands flying as his pile quickly disappeared. Unfortunately when he laid his final card down so did Hayden.
It ended in a draw. "Looks like we're evenly match," he stated coolly despite is irritation at the tie. He hated losing but hated ties so much more. It was like they were mocking what could have been. He had been so close.
"It's cold."
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Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 11:16 pm
“But you’ll never know when that luck will run out,” Hayden stubbornly pointed out, softly pouting at her cards. She did not bother looking up at Chase, the tone in his voice clearly declaring the end of the discussion. Although she understood his preference for skill-based games, Hayden could not stop advocating luck. Hayden had pride in her wit and intelligence, but it was always nice to have a bit of luck, to have a bit of hope that luck would help her.
Her hand crashing into his as they both simultaneously laid down their final card. She couldn’t bite back a grin. “This time around, at least.” She chuckled, sliding her fingers off of her card. Hayden searched around for her gloves. Once she found them she gladly slipped them on, but frowned when they did not make a drastic difference to her freezing fingers.
“It is,” she agreed, stuffing her hands into the small pockets of her jeans. “Want to go somewhere warm? Maybe call it quits?”
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