|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 9:39 pm
Grant was not used to this new campus. He was glad to explore it, though, and found it to be very nice. Of course, it could have been made out of boxes and bits of paper and he would have thought the same thing. Still, to his eyes it was a very clean and efficient campus and it was a very nice place to go to school.
He wasn't upset about his other school misunderstanding his not being there. They had their reasons for removing him from their rosters: he was taking up space and not attending school. How could he expect them to save him a place for so long? And they spared him the stress of catching up on all that homework, which was very nice of them. Sure, he still had to pay for the semester, but that was fair. He had signed up with the intent to finish, and he didn't want to waste their time. Of course, he would have to find a job to do that, as Malbertson's had had a similar reaction to his missing so much work and had hired a new, and very friendly, grocery bagger who was great at their job.
Life was easiest when taken in stride, it seemed. And for the unwaveringly optimistic, life was a piece of cake.
Even after dying.
In truth, Grant did not spend a lot of time thinking about his tenure in space, or the results of being crushed by falling debris. He didn't think about being brought back to Earth and appearing in the middle of the street where he had been helping the old lady before, sans old lady as it had not taken her six weeks to get across on her own. He barely remembered the car that had slammed its breaks and its horns at once at him, or the way he had to bounce out of traffic and then wave apologetically as a finger sticking out a window drove by him.
He was thinking about tomorrow, not yesterday. Not a week ago, not six weeks ago. In the time that had passed since coming home, he had fallen right back into the rhythm of his life, however changed it was.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 10:58 pm
Everything. She'd lost everything. Her parents, her home, her friends. Even her job and her school. Everyone she had ever come to care about thought she was dead, and all of her possessions had been thrown out, sold, or packed up for keepsakes. If not for one of the other DMC taking her in she'd have been on the streets, penniless, with nothing but the clothes on her back. It was a very sobering, bitter thing to go through, so it wasn't surprising the girl had been in a sour mood lately. Oh she'd been trying to cheer up, and every so often something good would come along and make her laugh and for that instant she'd forget about everything that was going wrong around her, but reality always came back, and it wasn't very sunny as of late.
She was still in a gloomy mood when she decided to head to her new school to give herself a tour of the buildings. She'd be starting class that following Monday, and it was probably a good idea to familiarize herself with the layouts and locations of her classes before then. It might be weird, but she was actually looking forward to it. She liked school, loved knowledge and information, and it would be a welcome distraction.
Her fingertips were trailing lightly along the walls as she made her slow way down a hall, humming softly under her breath to escape the quietness that lingered around her. She missed her phone, the collection of music she'd amassed over the years. She needed to get herself a job so she could replace it, get a laptop, get a chunk of her life back.
She didn't realize there was someone walking towards her, not until their footsteps along the tiles became too loud to tune out. It pulled her gaze up from the floor, and what she saw was enough to stop her dead in her tracks, breath leaving her body in a high, startled gasp.
It was impossible, completely and 100% impossible. She'd watched him die! Watched horrified as first Gilbert, and then Grant were crushed right before her very eyes. It had been traumatizing, she still had nightmares about it, yet there he was, strolling down the hall with that same, happy-go-lucky grin on his face. It was him, but he was supposed to be dead.
She didn't realize it until the edges of her vision began to swim, but she was breathing so fast she was on the verge of hyperventilating. Her head spinning dizzily as her body struggled to get enough oxygen. She couldn't stop it, anxiety and panic were welling up within her and she was dropping to her knees before she she really knew what was happening.
It was Grant, her Grant. He was alive! But he wouldn't have a clue who she was...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2011 12:13 pm
Grant heard the gasp and looked around, noticing the girl with tears in her eyes and who was struggling to breathe. These were all things he did not want to have happen if he could stop them, and he hurried over to her quickly. He had no idea, of course, that he was the source of her sudden hyperventilation, or that he was causing her world to tailspin just by being there.
Let alone going up to her to talk to her.
"Here you go, ma'am?" he said, an echo of something he had said the first time they met. He offered her a clean looking cloth, which he happened to keep with him for those just in case moments. His backpack, in fact, was filled with strange little items for 'just in case' moments. After all, one never knew when something might be needed. If he had been in the scouts, it would have made sense for him to have this always prepared attitude.
But he hadn't been in the scouts.
"Are you alright? Do you need to go to the nurse? I can take you!" He wondered if it was an allergy, or if she was having an attack of some kind. She was stuck with him now, though, as he wouldn't leave until she told him to, or until he was sure she was alright. He was kneeling next to her, arms forward, to support her if she needed them, one hand lightly on her shoulder to comfort her.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2011 11:01 pm
"Here you go, ma'am."
It was the first thing he'd ever said to her back when they'd all been trying to bake a giant cake, and it was the first thing he would say now, to someone he presumed a stranger. Deja vu? It pulled a sudden and startled laugh from the girl as he offered her the little square of fabric, and she took it with shaking fingers, staring down at it as she tried to decipher what exactly she was feeling in that moment. Relief, happiness, lose, anger. So many emotions rushing through her in the moments that followed, she almost felt nauseous. There was the faintest hint of a smile tugging at the corner of glossed lips though, there for only and instant before it melted away again.
She shook her head in answer to his offer to take her to the nurse, she wasn't sick, not really, only overwhelmed. This was so familiar, almost painfully so because he didn't realize who she was or how much of this had already happened once before up in space.
She had wondered how total the glamor that protected her was, not having had the heart to go anywhere near her old life or anyone that would have known her. Now she had her answer.
With him so close she couldn't not reach out to touch him, fingertips light against his sleeve before curling into it. Tears falling faster at the solid line of his arm beneath her hand. He was really here, alive and well, and he had no idea who she was. It made her chest ache.
Maybe..
If she couldn't tell him who she was, maybe she could pretend. Be someone that was there, but not necessarily her. It wasn't perfect, but it was something. "I watched you die." Her voice was thick, heavy with emotion and so many things unsaid. "In space, in that battle. I was there too. I watched.." Her voice hitched, and she shut her eyes, taking a deep breath.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2011 12:24 pm
Grant's eyebrows lifted almost off his forehead when she began to cry, not sure what he had done but finding his heart breaking at seeing her so distraught. He was sure he had done something to cause it, immediately feeling guilty and needing, with his very soul, to make it up to her. But how?
"Oh no!"
He thought things had gotten better, he saw a little smile when he handed her the cloth. It had given him a spark of happiness in his own right, thinking he had done the right thing, but now that was gone and he was trying to come up with what to do to make up for it. Make it come back.
He smiled, and listened as she cried and held on to him.
"You... oh! You were there? I didn't see you," he had no idea that he very much had seen her. In his mind, Felicia was still out there, as he was, they just hadn't come across one another yet. She was somewhere, happy and healthy and living her life. Not crying in front of him.
"It's okay," he said brightly, "I'm not dead now. I was only dead for a little bit, and then I woke up here. I'm very sorry you had to see it though, I know it was very hard to see... I saw some people die, too. But here we are! So in a way, you didn't see me die, right?"
His hand touched her arm, near her wrist, as she clung to his sleeve, and he gripped it lightly in reassurance.
"We're both alive, that's what's important."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2011 1:26 pm
Poor Grant, she could see how guilty he felt for her distress. He was the cause, the source, but it wasn't his fault. She didn't blame him for the flood of emotions that had hit her when she'd seen him. She never blamed him for anything, how could she? He was too sweet, too compassionate, the worst cime she could ever see him being truly guilty of was good intentions leading astray.
No no. None of this was his fault, of that he could be assured. The blame for all of this lay solely upon the bloodied hands of the white moon court and their empty promises.
He didn't see the flicker of rage in her eyes, not with her head dipped and ginger curls falling forward, but she couldn't think of everything that had happened and not respond to it. She had experienced too much, witnessed too much, lost too much to ever look upon their time in space and those that vowed to protect them without bitterness.
She nodded to him, forced away the cold frowns and let something warmer take over her features. "Yes, I was there. I suppose our paths simply never crossed." She hated lying to him, but the truth put him and herself in danger. Maybe some day she could tell him the truth, clue him in on who and what she was, but if that day would ever come was unclear. It certainly wasn't today.
"I'm sorry," she murmured after he'd finished his familiar reassurances. "You're right, we're okay now, and that's what matters." Another lie, or rather half truth. He was alive, and that was what mattered.
She couldn't be the person he had met up in space, but she could be someone to him, someone he could talk to about everything that had happened, someone that would understand. That would only be the half of it though. Now that she knew he was alive she was very determined to keep it that way. He would be gaining a guard along with a new friend.
His grip on her wrist had her looking down, and she turned her hand so her own pale fingers could loop around his thicker wrist.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2011 1:46 pm
Grant smiled and looked at her, tilting his head to the side to see if she meant what she was saying. Usually, he believed anything anyone told him: he was very gullible and easy to lead astray. At the moment, it wasn't doubt in her word that made him look at her so intently, it was just making sure there was no lingering sadness in her expression, something not yet addressed or had slipped by the radar.
He could feel something was strange, something was strained, but she was speaking to him and telling him she was alright. That counted for a lot, and was certainly a step in the direction he wanted to go.
He smiled at her, holding on to her as she took hold of his wrist similarly. The touch reassured him, though he hadn't realized he needed it. He appreciated it, anyway, a tension in the back of his mind releasing. The back of his mind held many such tension, unexpressed and mostly unaddressed. Just because he never showed his worries and fears, his sadness, it did not mean he failed to feel them.
He was worried for Felicia. He was sad he didn't know where she was. But meeting this girl seemed to set something right, even if he didn't tie the two together. Meeting someone that had seen him die there gave him hope that he would find her, whenever he was meant to.
That made his eyes glisten with warmth and thankfulness.
"My name is Grant Caudwell," he said gently, "it's very nice to meet you. Just knowing that we might all have come back makes me excited, so thank you for... just coming to talk to me. It means more than I can really say."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2011 9:58 am
He was watching her, and she was very careful not to let the smile slip from her lips while those pretty eyes were focused so intently on her face. There was no recognition there anymore. He didn't have a clue who she was, but he was still every bit as worried about her now as he had been up in that kitchen when he'd had to get her to safety.
Back then she'd been far to distracted to think about it, having only just started breathing again and all, but now that she had the chance to think about it in the abstract something wandered back to mind that brought a subtle wash of pink along freckled cheeks. She hadn't breathing, meaning Grant had had to get her breathing again, meaning he'd had to give her mouth to mouth. Her eyes rolled up to glance at his face, lingering on that ever present smile.
She blinked and smiled up at him, fingers tightening gently on his wrist as he introduced himself. "Grant," she repeated, as though she hadn't already known. "It's nice to meet you." Lie. "I'm Lydia Hawthorne." That name sounded so foreign to her still, but every time she used it in exchange to her own it became a little less awkward.
"Well I'm not sure were can count it as me coming to talk to you. More like we just sort of ran into each other, and then you had to catch me." She chuckled. "But yeah, it's comforting seeing someone else from up there, specially someone that didn't make it through the battle." It made her wonder if the others had come back as well, specifically Gilbert and Felix. The latter she knew how to find, a book store near the campus, she'd have to stop in and check.
Not now though, another day. Felix was still a question mark, but Grant was very much here and alive.
There was a clock on the wall beside them, and the glance up at it showed it was nearly twelve. "Hey, do you wanna go grab some lunch?" She was being a little clingy, she knew that, but all things considered she was justified.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2011 11:53 am
Grant didn't seem to mind at all that a relative stranger was holding on to him as she introduced herself, or that she seemed vaguely confused by him. Put off? He hoped not: he would mind that certainly. He did not want to upset her further, as he had the sneaking suspicion still that he had done something to warrant her crying in the first place.
Since she told him it was the fact that he had been in the battle and had it made it, though, he had no reason not to believe her. He took everything as it was handed to him, and did not like to doubt people by second guessing them. People had a way of saying what they wanted or needed to say, and it wasn't his place to push them beyond that.
But he hoped it was getting a little better now. She seemed happier, at any rate, and he smiled because of that now, and not just to offer comfort and peace to her. Those memories, of the battle and their time in space, would not vanish quickly and he had seen some terrifying and traumatizing things as well. He was lucky, in that way, as trauma had a funny way of sliding off him like water off a duck's back.
Or at least, that's how it seemed, with his constant good mood.
"Lydia?" Grant repeated, and it was almost as if he didn't think that name fit her. Of course, no such thought actually entered his head, "that's a beautiful name! I'd love to get lunch, I was just leaving campus for the day. I'll pay, of course! Do you have any place you like around here?" He offered her his arm properly, figuring if she wanted to hold on to him he could at least be a gentleman about it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2011 12:11 pm
The name certainly didn't fit her, but there was nothing for it. She would get used to hearing and saying it and eventually it'd be like second nature, something that would simply roll off the tongue and not have to be thought about before hand. She'd get used to it, eventually.
"Thank you," she answered happily to his compliment. Letting her hand slip away from his wrist so she could tuck pale fingers within the crook of his elbow, free hand sliding down the front of her dress to smooth away any stubborn folds or wrinkles.
She thought about street and the store fronts she'd passed on her way there, lips pursing, then shrugged thin shoulders. "I'm not very familiar with the area yet, so really I'm open to anything." The girl had a broad palette, there wasn't much she wouldn't eat so long as it wasn't over seasoned. It was one of the few things she wasn't picky about. "Is there anywhere you'd like to go?"
"You don't have to pay," she countered softly. She might not of had much money, but she had enough for lunch at least, and she'd have more once she found a suitable job. That was on her list for later, actually. She'd dressed up nice so she could do a bit of local job hunting near her new campus. The sooner she found something, the sooner she could get on her feet and out from under poor Quinn's roof. She adored the other girl, but she felt like such a freeloader at the moment.
For once the thought didn't leave her feeling depressed, and she suspected it had something to do with the familiar presence beside her. She was damn near overjoyed Grant was alive, and seeing a familiar face, even one that didn't recognize her, was have a wonderful effect on her mood.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2011 12:27 pm
"Well, I know there is a nice sandwich shop nearby! They have a deli and they're very nice there. It feels a little old timey, which is relaxing. They have a soda fountain and do floats, too!" He chuckled, not sure if she liked them but he certainly did. It had been a chance find on his part, as the store front was nondescript and looked like it was on the verge of being closed, but inside was a different story.
He led the way, walking with her arm in arm, glancing at her as they strolled.
"Do you mind if I ask what you are studying in school?" He wasn't trying to make conversation, actually interested in the subject. He liked getting to know people, as best he could, and he didn't want to upset her by asking her more about her time in space. she must have been on one of the other outposts, though, and he would be lying if he said he wasn't a little interested in hearing about it.
And he wasn't a liar, so he just tried not to bring it up and force himself to ask something uncomfortable.
At the cross walk, the sandwich shop just on the other side of the street, Grant seemed to hesitate. It wasn't purposeful, but his instincts told him to. As the light flashed a little walking man for them, he couldn't seem to bring his foot from the sidewalk for a moment, but he got through it without a word of complaint or even a flicker of a frown. Whatever it had been, that hesitation, flitted away unheeded.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2011 1:50 pm
Hazel eyes actually lit up at the mention of the little shop as Grant spoke about it, an eager grin sliding along pale lips. Deli sandwiches sounded just about right, something light and delicious, and there were floats! Ugh, she hadn't had one of those in what felt like years. Her mind was already dancing around the various soda flavors, and they hadn't even left the campus yet. "That sounds perfect."
This day had started out rather sour, but in less then an hour things had taken a dramatic turn for the better. It was enough to chase away the lingering funk of depression for a while so she could just relax and enjoy herself. Something she hadn't been able to do since before they'd all been abducted.
His question towards her studies snapped her out of her inner musings on flavor combinations for floats, and she glanced back up at him, smiling. "Biology and anything I can find on computers and technology." She adored electronics, and animals were a close second. "Honestly though, I'm a little sad there isn't a big music program," she shrugged, grip on his arm tightening gently. "That's what I'd really love to study professionally. It won't hurt to knowledge of other things though." What she really wanted to do with her life was play the Cello professionally, but that was sort of a pipe dream.
"How about you?" It was a good thing he didn't ask about the other outposts, or Lydia would have had to lie to him more, and she really wasn't keen on doing that anymore then she had to.
When he hesitated she blinked up at him, head tilting gently to one side, but they were moving again before she had a chance to ask what was wrong. That ever lasting smile hadn't so much as wavered though, so really, she wasn't entirely sure something had been wrong. Maybe he simply hadn't seen the light change at first?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2011 8:24 pm
Grant was glad she seemed eager for the shop. Though he didn't like to have favorites, he certainly enjoyed the shop more than most around the campus at least. And he wanted to share something he liked with her, in the hopes that she might like it, too.
She looked like she really, really needed some cheering up. Floats were the way to go for that.
"That sounds really interesting! I don't think I have the head for that kind of stuff, to be honest. I wish I did, but I bet you're good at it! Computers I mean. I think I'd be a little better at the animal thing then I would computers, for sure. I'm trying to study to work with people, though. Still, caring about living creatures... I think that's a noble endeavor, no matter what you're doing. Do you think you might do something veterinary, or are you just studying biology in general?"
When he got running on his questioning, he really let it get away from him sometimes. He absolutely loved learning about people, and he loved listening to them talk about things they were passionate for. Sometimes he found that not even the things they were saying were the most important part of a conversation: it was how they were saying it.
Passion transcended words themselves, and became feelings, cadence, even hand gestures.
"Oh, music!" he said, looking surprised, "do you play something? I used to play the recorder in school!" He sounded almost proud of himself, like it was a legitimate instrument and deserved a little respect and love as much as guitars and pianos. That, or he had just really enjoyed blowing sour notes into plastic tubes.
His hesitation at the corner was long forgotten, if he had noticed it at all, and now he held the door to the deli open for her, smiling politely.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 11:28 am
Cheering up was definitely needed after the sort of week she'd just had, so she was more then happy for the distraction. Perhaps even overjoyed at her current company, all things considered. There was the lingering feeling that perhaps this was all just a really odd dream, that Grant was nothing more then a figment of her over active imagination, and at any moment she'd wake up in Quinn's guest bedroom and he'd go back to being dead. It wasn't a thought she cared to pay any attention to though, so she stuffed it back to the back of her mind.
She really hoped it wasn't just a dream. It would have broken something inside her to wake up now and find her friend was still gone.
"I love computers," she confirmed, grinning up at him. "I have ever since I was little." Loving them didn't mean she was all that grand at programing or repairing them though, for that she'd need lots of classes and study. She was looking forward to it, always having had a thirst for knowledge, and now she'd be learning about something she had a real passion for. "Veterinary?" She hadn't really thought about it before, but now that he asked she took a moment to consider it. "Maybe. I think I'm mostly taking the biology courses to learn, not so much for a career path."
She honestly didn't mind all the questions, it kept her focused on him and what was going just now, instead of allowing her mind to wander back to everything that happened in space and as a direct result of that. "I play the cello," she offered when he questioned. Shoulders straightening proudly. She couldn't help but chuckle though as he mentioned his own musical experience. "The recorder? We played those in grade school, they're fun." If he liked the little plastic flute, who was she to speak ill of it? It was an instrument, even if a somewhat silly one.
He held the door for her, and she let her hands fall free of his arm so she could step through and wait for him.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 2:33 pm
He followed her in, offering her his arm again as they went to the counter. They had to order their food there, but it would be delivered to their table for them when it was made. Everything was fresh and he assured that it was delicious, and they could design whatever kind of sandwich they wanted.
Grant wanted a meatball sub, though he got a smaller one. He was not a bottomless pit, as many men had a reputation of being. He actually had a dainty appetite when he was in company. Maybe it was because he didn't want to be offensive about chowing down, or he was just being polite by ordering a reasonable amount. Or he was just shy about eating in front of people.
Despite most evidence to the contrary, there were a few things Grant was shy about.
He looked at her and smiled, letting her order.
"Do you mind if I pay for this? I really would like to, and I think it's the least I can do." He was asking for permission to pay for her lunch. He looked at her with his doe eyes, hopeful and eager. he had his wallet clasped in his hand, ready.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
