|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Thu Feb 24, 2011 2:15 pm
It was weird to be home again, even if it had only been a few weeks - in a way, his apartment did not feel like home, not truly. The people that had made his stay at Bell's house to recover what it had been were missing, and the apartment seemed colder than it actually was because of it. There were some things that were very distinctly missing - Ainsley's voice, Bell's hum while she baked, the smells that came with it, the music pulled straight out of musicals that played in the background most of the day.
Yet on the flipside, it felt good to be back, to be standing in his little 4th story apartment and not to have to put up pretenses - he certainly had not felt like burdening Bell and Ainsley with his own decisiveness and questions. Even though they probably wouldn't consider it burdening, he certainly did. He was likely to just return to his previous pattern of spending much of his time at Bell's anyway, so why did it feel so different ?
Technically he should still be there - technically he was still under complete house arrest. But the doctors did not know that he healed much faster than a human did - he had no idea if the stitches could actually have come off as this point, but he wasn't willing to risk it. He also had appearances to keep.
A part of him, that gripping apathy, the feeling of failure rooted into him, certainly didn't mind playing the injuried boy for awhile longer.
For now, he was idly dusting - music coming out of the radio where his ipod was plugged, hopefully low enough not to disturb anyone.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2011 9:24 pm
It wasn't that Tate had been disturbed by the music as she visited her friends on the third floor, despite her own general distaste for anything that required attention to enjoy. Ambient noise was her preferred sound set--just people puttering around near her made her happy, even if she didn't necessarily want to talk to them. Nor did it bother her that she could hear something other than sexy noises through the floor or ceiling; the DCU assholes downstairs always made sure to only bring home the screamers, she guessed. The music did, however, remind her that she hadn't seen the boy who lived over Grayson and Paul for a very long time. To hear music from overhead was... well, a relief.
She excused herself after a moment, ducking back into her own apartment to collect the bag of "day-old" goods she'd gotten from work the night before. Brownies, mostly; the scones were all hers, and she wasn't going to share. The nosy girl arranged the welcome-back gift on one of her nice green plates and covered it with cheap, store-brand saran wrap. Then it was upstairs to knock on Xavier's door, plate propped against one hip.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 2:43 pm
There was a knock on the door, and Xavier stilled - he hadn't expected anyone, Tallulah and Bell almost always called before dropping by his apartment. Which left the unattractive possibility that it was his mother on the other side of the door.
Tate was a much better outcome than that, thankfully. "Oh, hey." He offered, smiling. She had nothing to do with his problems, and he would do his best not to take it all out of her. He already had to dance around not coming back home from patrol at the same time that she came home from one of her jobs, the last thing he needed was to make that more difficult.
Well, usually that was an issue. It hadn't been for sometime. "Is the music too loud ?" He spoke, before he belatedly noticed the plate. "Ah... Come on in ? It's a little dusty, but it shouldn't be too bad."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 9:05 pm
"Don't mind if I do," said Tate, self-consciously tucking up her collar as she stepped inside and set the plate on a nearby counter. The last thing anyone needed to see was the bruise there from Zinkenite; with all the buttons of her work polo done up, she probably wasn't in any danger of that but you never knew, someone might be as observant as she. Dusty, he'd said--which fit with her observations. Usually she saw him leaving when she got home, or getting home as she did. It made her wonder what a fairly pampered college kid like Xavier was doing out so late, but maybe he had some kind of DJing job.
Or else he was a senshi... or even a Negaverse officer. But Tate was not going to speculate on that--who knew who Taranis was, anyway, if you read comic books you knew that sometimes an entire appearance could change... She'd go with the DJing idea. For now.
She shrugged, giving the radio a bit of a dirty look when it looked like Xavier was distracted. "No, we can't hear it over Paul's angsty piano playing. It's just ambient noise by the time it gets to their apartment. Where've you been? I haven't seen you for a while." It was really just beating around the bush, right then. Hoping to get a pretty good answer, Tate wiped down the counter with the flat of her hand, making a face at the thin sheen of dust.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2011 12:00 pm
He took a side-step to let her come inside, not seeming to notice either her bruise or the dirty look she gave to his radio. Unfortunately, his own wounds weren't so easily hidden - he hadn't kept his jacket on, and the stitches on both arms could very clearly be seen - at least those that went lower on his arm than his t-shirt covered were. There was no telling what the shirt was hiding.
"Better than I've been, I guess." Came the answer, and he anticipated the question. "I came home from work one night and something jumped me in between the bus stop and here. I can't remember too well... I just remember a black shadow, nothing else." He pulled out a chair for her to sit, and then sat in the one next to her's. "I tried to run, but it didn't work too well... I must have hit my head and passed out, because next thing I knew I woke up in the hospital. Had to go stay with my dad for a bit while I healed. I still can't pick up anything heavier than my cat." He said with a sigh.
It was at least more credible than the version he told his father. And he figured him staying with his father was more credible than him staying with his girlfriend, even through it had been much better to have been in the care of someone who knew the truth of what had happened.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2011 8:03 am
It definitely wasn't drugs, at least, not unless he was better at hiding it than she would otherwise expect. The apartment was too neat, despite dusting and Xavier being a teenage boy. Tate just shrugged after a moment, looking over to Xavier and catching sight of the stitches. They looked ugly, and she was about to ask where they'd come from when he began to answer. He'd come home from work one night and something jumped him. Why'd he take the bus when the subway stop was closer?... Maybe it took longer from where-ever he worked.
A black shadow... well, it was cohesive with some of the reports in the newspaper. Tate itched to write it down--how had he escaped the Negaverser going for his starseed? Between Wolframite and Zinkenite, she knew that was how it went. Could senshi even take starseeds? That was another question for Taranis when she saw him.
"You're lucky, then," said Tate, peeling off the cover to the brownies with her fingernails and then shoving them over towards the blonde-haired boy. "Be more careful, okay? If any more DCU frat boys move in here, I'm going to scream." Which was Tate-speak for You're a decent neighbor, we should be friends, but unfortunately the side effect of Tate-speak was that you had to already be friends with her to understand what she meant.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 5:24 pm
"Yeah... I got lucky." He agreed with that, reaching for one of the brownies. "Thanks for the brownies, by the way." He managed to give her a smile. "It's really nice of you to think of me." To be honest, he'd been wondering if anyone even noticed that he wasn't here. The aforementioned frat boys probably hadn't.
The Tate-speak did throw him off a bit. "Let me guess, they still bring home the screamers ?" Business as usual. Really.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Apr 16, 2011 5:50 pm
She shrugged a little bit, making a face. It was a bit embarrassing to get called on the whole... noticing people as being gone thing. She got a lot of play out of pretending she didn't care about other people too much; to have been caught out was a little annoying.
"Yeah, well, better just lucky than dead," she said, pseudo-cheerfully, "Don't go jumping in front of monsters anymore, okay?" She fluffed the ends of her auburn hair, settled her chin on her knuckles to look at him. Yeah. Just tired, probably, she was thinking. "Yeah. All three of them. Seriously, if they think we're all impressed, we're really not. Isn't there like, a family on the first floor? with babies?" Blatantly disrespectful. At least Dani and Parker only did that once in a blue moon, right?
Tate stretched her arms up over her head, set the heels of her hands on the table. "How's classes, Xavier?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Apr 16, 2011 6:30 pm
"True... and yeah, I think my days as a vaillant monster-hunter are over." Ha. If only. Xavier chewed on a brownies thoughtfully as Tate answered his question, and he frowned. "Yeah, there is, isn't it ? If they keep that up, they'll probably get evicted sometime. I try to call the landlord when I catch them, but I've been working pretty late lately."
"Classes are going... okay, I guess. I've applied to DCU for the next semester, through. I kind of feel like im wasting my time in Sovereign. My year has been a lot like senior at Meadowview was. The general classes are like that, at least." DCU would get in into more music programs, as well as classes that would help him start on his path as a DJ once he was done with it. Still not what he'd rather be doing, but... well, more useful.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Apr 16, 2011 7:34 pm
Wasn't Xavier, like, a DJ? Wouldn't he theoretically always be working late, she wondered. Somehow a lock of that auburn hair had ended up in her mouth, and she was chewing it as she considered this fact. Apparently he'd been working later than usual. "It's alright, I've got us covered. That's me, Neighborhood Watch, twenty four hours seven." And she wasn't afraid to pull it on her own roommate, either, which was good for her.
She adjusted the collar on her work shirt and grinned at the mention of DCU. "Yeah, that's what I was told. Sovereign's good if you want to save money, but if you want to get a bachelor's as fast as you can, you have to go right to DCU. And AP classes in high school but I missed the boat by like three hours on that one. Well, except English." She grimaced, remembering the seriously unhelpful Mr. Gordon on that one. He was dead, which was sad, but still. Not one of her favorite teachers, that honor had gone to a history professor.
"What're you gonna study?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Apr 16, 2011 7:47 pm
"It's mostly general courses, with some business stuff thrown in. And also some music courses. They have a whole lot more options that sovereign has... They have a class on music history, the evolution of instruments and trends over time. It sounds so amazing.." And there he was, practically geeking out right in front of Tate. A lot of his apathy with school, once he had actually gotten started, was that nothing really held his interest. It was just more of the same.
There was passion in his voice as he spoke of this, of music - it made him look a little less like a beaten-up boy with stitches all over his arms, and bruises all over his chest. Through, thankfully, Tate hadn't, and wouldn't see those.
"I mean, I don't want to work at Gamestop all my life... And this will be all very useful when I actually get to DJ more, get to actual bars rather than just doing an event there and there. The main market in DC is nightclubs and bars, and I can't really do those until im 21." Moving... wasn't an option, not anymore.
"Did you want something to drink ?" It suddenly occurred to him thay it might be a good idea to offer something. He made a poor host, really.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2011 5:18 pm
She rubbed her chin thoughtfully. Some people really did light up when talking about their educational options. Giselle had been one of them, although now her best friend had been out of touch for so long that she was having sort of a time making herself care about Miss Petrova. More than a little resentment colored the feeling, but she wasn't going to examine her deep personal thoughts overmuch.
"Oh," she said. "I thought you were already DJing. Welp... that just proves me for an idiot." Man, she would've loved to work at Gamestop. Instead it was just... Teasvatta. Forever 18. And now the stupid print shop and a cafe. (Maybe she should have taken her uncle up on that offer to help her pay her tuition...)
With a little shrug, she scrubbed a spot just behind her ear. "Nah. I'm good, I just got off shift so I'm buzzed on like eight hundred cups of coffee and crap like that. If you're not working a nightclub, what's up with getting home when I do?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2011 5:35 pm
"No, no, you're not an idiot ! Most people don't realize unless they see me at work, or I tell them. Probably because once you get me started about it, I never shut up..." And that was true. Getting Xavier started on the whole idea of music and DJing was a recipe for getting to listen to the normally quiet boy ramble for hours and hours."
He got up to get himself some water, looking like he was just about to start rambling again, until Tate came up with the ultimate combo-breaker.
...He hadn't thought about that. He took a swig of water in an attempt to buy himself a few seconds. "I often stay pretty late after closing. When you get the new stock of games you need to stay after closing to prepare the storefront so that the morning crew can just come in the next morning and get going. Then there's the whole closing, dusting, that kind of stuff... I gotta count the register cash of every person who worked during to day to make sure no money's missing."
He leaned back in for another brownie. Really, technically he wasn't lying - but it didn't take him as much time as he pretended.
"We used to be two, but now there's just me. The other dude moved out for college somewhere or another and no one wants his slot. Takes me forever some nights, but I can just listen to music and I get paid overtime, so it's not so bad."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2011 8:50 pm
She rolled her eyes at him. No need to soften the blow, the gesture said, she knew she was an idiot. She also knew what they said about assumptions, and didn't fancy making an a** out of herself in front of someone that she wanted to be friends with.
Unless a**-making was required. Then she'd probably just make him look like an a** and see how he took being thrown under the bus. "Oh, well, yeah. That makes sense." She knew how closing went. Her second job might be at a twenty-four hour coffee place but she still had to pretend to close and then open it back up before the start of the next shift. At least Xavier got to lock the door, right?
"Has any money ever been missing," she asked, her tone within the range of respectful but definitely edging towards cheeky.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2011 1:13 pm
It was accurate to say that Xavier wasn't all that used the mannerisms of the rare creature known as Tate just quite yet, so he decided to just let the matter lie in hope it just wouldn't come up again.
The question did surprise him a bit, but he was mostly just glad she wasn't looking at this any further than she had and see that he was stretching reality a little bit. "I caught a few people, yeah. Mostly the younger kids. They all seem startled when they get fired, too, like they'll get away from stealing from their workplace." Oh, he'd gotten those cases since going part-time assistant manager. It was never fun. "It's rarely ever even, but we overlook a small margin as human mistake since you gotta calculate change pretty quickly, especially when the shop's full. The register doesn't do it for you, through I think the new ones we're getting do."
The brownies were quickly dissapairing, one by one. Well, Xavier was a male teenager who had eaten more hospital food than he cared to lately, so it wasn't really surprising.
"Though if I get one more granny who pays for a sixty bucks game for her grandkid with 1 bucks and rolls of 25 cents while there's a line a mile long behind her, I think im gonna flip my s**t. Counting 60 bucks worth of change while the shop's open sucks."
Retail woes. They could share them.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
