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 Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2022 11:25 am
Brooklyn hadn’t been able to make it to the game that Elliot had invited her to. Getting things ready to start school…and her wonderful foster family had seen to that. But, she had managed to get a little computer time in the library to at least figure out what team he might have been on, and now that she was at school and was able to go where she wanted on the weekends…within reason, she had decided to keep an eye out for the next time that they were playing, and when she finally found one, she made her way to the park, wearing a slightly faded dark blue dress that she had managed to steal from a local thrift store as well as a dark blue knit hat sourced from the same place.
Her shoes though, they were her uniform shoes as they always were, bright red and still warm and dry.
She had been given a hand me down blanket by one of the older girls at the school, and it was soft and warm with little pandas on it, and she wore it draped across her shoulders in lieu of a jacket.
It was nice in the sun but quite chilly in the shade, and the wind held a bitter bite.
Maybe…hopefully she’d be able to find a good jacket somewhere, at least for the winter holidays when she’d have to leave the dorms. The best part about St. Mags was the fact that she didn’t have to go outside if she didn’t want to, other than the ten feet or so to get from the dorms to the building that held the classrooms.
As Brooklyn approached the park, she slowed, seeing the crowd of people…and the food trucks that Elliot had told her about. It looked like the game had already started, and she moved closer, slipping in through a gap in the people to the edge of the field. She stood next to someone who looked to be about her age, or around her age. Someone who wasn’t an adult which was what mattered. They were wearing teal too, so Brooklyn supposed that meant they were here in support of Elliot’s team and after drawing in a breath she glanced over. “I like your hat. You know someone on the team? Are they winning? I just got here.”
It had become at least a little easier to talk to people ever since starting school, and that…
That was nice.
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Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2022 4:48 pm
There was still a lot to do in preparation for going to Alastor in a few weeks, but Atticus was excited to be able to watch Elliot play another of his games. He was so good at baseball, and so alive and happy too when he played, so Atticus couldn’t help but find joy in watching Elliot enjoying himself.
Atticus stood at the fence by the dugout, having just wished Elliot good luck before he ran off to his shortstop spot on the infield, and was getting ready to settle back down on the bleachers when a pretty girl his age wearing bright red shoes approached him.
“Oh, thank you,” he smiled at her even as his cheeks flushed a little and he reached up to touch the brim of the hat. Other than the teal shirt, he wore teal eyeliner, which he’d learned how to apply from Devyn, and had part of his hair braided and tucked behind his ear so his bangs stayed out of his face a little easier.
He wore a nice, dark blue jacket over his teal shirt, and wore jeans and lace up shoes as well.
“I like your blanket. It’s cute. You didn’t miss anything,” he promised. “But yes, I know someone. He plays shortstop,” he pointed out, and lifted a hand to wave to Elliot -- oh, but he was paying attention to what was going on and probably didn’t see him.
“Are you here to watch someone play, too?”
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Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2022 5:07 pm
Brooklyn nodded and turned back to the players. “I’m not sure what he plays, but his name is Elliot, he invited me a while ago but…I wasn’t able to show up. But…” She hesitated and glanced back at the stranger. “I was promised that I’d get some food, and even though I don’t really…need it so much right now…I couldn’t help myself when I had the chance to come out and he was playing. I’m Brooklyn, by the way.”
After a moment where she thought about it, she held a hand out and gave a smile that was almost natural, if a little awkward.
“Your makeup is amazing too, now that I’m seeing it. That color looks amazing on you.”
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Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2022 5:08 pm
“Elliot?” Atticus repeated, staring at her for a moment, and then glancing back over to the field. “That’s… yeah, that’s Elliot,” he gestured to the young man with fluffy black hair on the field.
She knew Elliot? Was she a friend from school that he hadn’t met? Well, not high school, but when they were going to the same middle school. It wasn’t as though Atticus met many people, or had many people who wanted to talk to him.
In fact, other than Elliot and his family, there were no others who remembered him from before just a few months ago.
And he was really okay with that.
“It’s nice to meet you Brooklyn,” he smiled again, although he couldn’t help but feel a little dazed, meeting someone who knew Elliot. And she was pretty, too. Oh, but she was saying his makeup was amazing, and he couldn’t help but blush again.
“Thank you,” he mumbled sheepishly, although he’d spent maybe longer than he should have in front of the mirror, trying to get the eyeliner exactly like Devyn’s. “Oh, I’m Atticus. Um. Did… If you wanted, would you like to sit?” he gestured to the bench where he had a colorful blanket laid out on the cold metal.
“How do you know Elliot?” he couldn’t help but ask.
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Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2022 5:09 pm
Brooklyn glanced where Atticus was pointing and squinted slightly, nodding. “Oh! Yeah I guess it is.” Truthfully…she had rather forgotten what he had looked like. It had been such a long while ago and she hadn’t spent much time looking at him.
Especially not after she had the pizza.
At the question, she hesitated and her cheeks grew a little warm. “Oh…we um. He ran into me once at a corner store. And uh. He might have caught me trying to get some things to eat and then I might have gotten him to buy me a pizza and he…uh. Let me know that I could come here and he’d feed me. Said there were hotdogs and food trucks…and that. I’d have a good meal.”
She couldn’t quite meet his gaze now, but nodded and sat down on the bench, grateful for the blanket. Reaching down, she idly ran her hand over it and sighed. “I mean. I don’t even really need the food right now, I get to eat at school and that’s great but. I felt bad that I couldn’t come before and I had the chance now and…I took it.” After a moment Brooklyn raised her head for a moment. “...How do you know him?”
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Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2022 5:09 pm
Atticus stared at her with wide eyes, slowly piecing together what she was saying. She met him… when he caught her trying to get some things to eat? And he bought her pizza? And said he would get food for her?
And she didn’t even need food right now but… but she did when Elliot met her. He could see how her cheeks had flushed a little, and he couldn’t help but watch her sadly.
At least for a few moments, and then he reached over to give her a hug.
“It’s okay. That’s… I mean… we went to school together but,” he mumbled embarrassedly as he pulled back to look at her again.
“He caught me trying to get some things to eat, too. Oh, but yes. He’s very kind, isn’t he? He brought me food at school after that. But… you’re okay now? I mean… I always have snacks with me, if you’re hungry. Before hotdogs later, I mean. My dad likes to make sure I have something -- Oh, my new dad… before, I… I was better off on my own,” he quietly explained as he worked on fishing out some granola bars from his jacket pockets and offered one to Brooklyn.
He didn’t know why he was telling her all of that. Maybe because he wanted to make sure she knew she didn’t have to feel bad about trying to survive.
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Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2022 5:10 pm
Brooklyn had been expecting to be asked to leave, honestly. She had been growing tense and had almost decided to just get up and hurry away. Perhaps this had been a bad idea but…
When Atticus hugged her, she froze and looked up at him, utterly confused. “...You…too? Does he just…find strays and feed them? I mean. You hear about things like that in books or…movies or whatever but.”
The hug was…nice, and after she had decided that it was nice, that it was genuine, she raised an arm and gave an only slightly awkward half hug in return. “Is it nice to have a dad? I mean, I get food with school now…but. I mean…the dorms are great too…I…I’ll still have to go back to my ah. Foster home for winter break but.”
Even though the weather kept taunting her that it was getting closer, she sighed. “It’s. There’s plenty of time still. It’s only early days yet. But. I’ll miss the hot food for those three weeks. I’m getting spoiled…I…” Reaching for the granola bar, Brooklyn gave another little smile. “I’m glad you have a new dad. That’s awesome.”
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Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2022 5:11 pm
Even though he still felt his eyes burn with tears, he couldn’t help but giggle softly when Brooklyn commented on Elliot picking up strays. He was very happy, and very lucky, to be a stray, if that were the case.
“Elliot is very kind. He has a huge heart. And he’s really brave,” Atticus hummed quietly as he watched the players on the field. One of them had just hit a ball between first and second base, and Elliot ran over to cover second base while the ball was retrieved by the other players.
Once Brooklyn took the granola bar he offered her, Atticus worked on trying to get his wrapper open. He tried tearing one end, then tried the other side. He pinched the wrapper between his fingers and tried pulling the seal apart, and then finally bit the corner of it to try and tear the edge with his teeth. But that didn’t work either. He didn’t seem too upset about it, and just lowered it to his lap to hold onto for the time being.
“It wasn’t before,” he admitted, still smiling as he watched the field and fiddled with the wrapped granola bar in his hands. “But my dad now is wonderful. I love him a lot. He saved my life.”
More than once. Elliot saved his life, too, but in a less direct way. Had he not been trying to see Elliot, he might not have crossed paths with Devyn that one night he was attacked, and then Devyn wouldn’t have tried to help him, which eventually saved him. It was a little crazy to think about, but he was grateful every day.
“He taught me how to do my eyeliner,” Atticus smiled brighter. “He wears almost the same color. Oh, I guess I’m just copying him but… I think it looks really good on him, so I wanted to try it out. And he’s really good at sewing too. Like, embroidery. And braiding hair. He helped me with my hair this morning, too,” he said as he gestured to his braid but--
Oh, was that too much for him to be talking about? She asked, and he couldn’t help himself.
Atticus kicked awkwardly at the ground, hoping she didn’t mind.
“Why are you in foster care…? If… if you don’t mind me asking,” he mumbled. He knew there were lots of reasons why kids were put in foster care, so he hoped it was just a case of, well, maybe her parents needed to get back on their feet and they could be reunited, and not something horrible.
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Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2022 5:12 pm
For a moment, she watched him struggle with his own bar, Brooklyn broke the one she had freed in half and handed it back to her new…friend. Maybe friend. Hearing about his new dad, about how to put on eyeliner from a parent it…it sounded like a dream. “Oh um. Me? I was abandoned, I guess. I was found in New York, at this skate park that was under the Brooklyn Bridge? Anyway that’s why my name’s Brooklyn Bridges…they were being super clever, don’t you think?”
Her eyes were back on the ball field and she struggled again to find Elliot, frowning slightly. “I ran away from the group home I was in about a year ago, and then um. Ended up with a nice old lady who had been on a trip to the city, and she brought me back to her home here but. She died and…then I got shifted back into the system here, since I don’t have any real records, they didn’t have to put me back in New York and…I’ve been with this awful foster family now for…”
She wrinkled her nose and shrugged. “I guess almost a year. I was only with Martha for three weeks…but it was the best three weeks I’ve ever had honestly. But…now I’m with this family and I was told that I’d be here until I age out, so. I’m just biding my time or. I don’t know. Hoping that they get into some unfortunate accident while I’m away and maybe I’ll get a fairy tale ending too.”
It was too much. Brooklyn was talking too much, and he didn’t need to know her life story. She never told her life story but…
Maybe some of his luck would rub off on her. Or maybe his father would know someone too and…
No. No that was a stupid thought.
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Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2022 5:12 pm
Atticus looked up at Brooklyn in surprise when she offered him half of her granola bar, but smiled and thanked her as he took it to nibble on.
Well, the smile didn’t last for too long, because not only did being abandoned sound horrible, but being stuck in a foster home that she said was awful was just…
He felt the tears in his eyes before he could even think about what he would have done in her situation. And here he was talking about how wonderful Devyn was, and how lucky he was to have a home. When she was suffering.
“I’m so sorry,” he mumbled, quickly lifting a hand up to rub away the tears before they made too much of a mess. He didn’t want Elliot to worry if he saw that he’d been crying. He didn’t know what he could possibly do to help her. He could talk to Devyn, but he also didn’t know her at all. But she seemed nice! And lost. And needing help.
“I want you to have a fairy tale ending, too,” he said. There wasn’t much he could share about his life. Some of what he’d already told her he knew he shouldn’t have, but he didn’t want her to think that Devyn hadn’t been feeding him! But he also didn’t want to make promises to her without talking to Soleiyu first. Maybe…. Maybe he had an idea or two about what to do. Maybe Elliot had an idea about what to do.
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Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2022 5:13 pm
“It’s not your fault…I mean. You’re being really nice…and you’re…kind of scarily easy to talk to too. These aren’t things I just go pouring out to people but…I don’t know. We gotta stick together, I guess…if you’ve been through the same, or some of the same s**t as me.” Shrugging, Brooklyn shoved the entire half of her granola bar into her mouth and gave herself the time to chew it before continuing.
“...There’s a lot of us out there, I guess. I met this girl, Cara? She used to be a Foster too. She went to St. Mags. Caught me trying to steal some earrings…or. Caught me stealing some earrings because…I did get a pair out without her knowing but…she’s been nice too…it’s kind of unnerving. Like, thought she was just trying to get me out of the store and it was like…okay fair. But she visited me on move in day at the school and brought me two of the earrings that I had put back and a big panda and…I don’t know. I guess. We need to have each other’s backs when we can. So. I’m telling you right now, if it ever goes south with your new dad, not that I want it to but. I’ve got your back.”
Hm. Perhaps that would have been a better time to shove the food into her mouth but…now the food was gone and she could only sigh. “I’ll be aging out soon enough, but…I think that’s the only kind of ending I’ll get so. We’ll see. The school is okay though. So that’s nice.”
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Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2022 5:14 pm
Being told that he was scarily easy to talk to was… a little surprising. He felt his cheeks burn a little, and it was hard not to smile shyly down at his lap. Oh! But he was also watching the game!
Before meeting Elliot, he didn’t have any friends. They all stayed away from him for various reasons. Now at Azure, he was able to meet Elliot’s friends and actually got along with them. It made him sick to know how much power his -- the man he used to live with held over him.
His smile faded a little when she admitted to stealing, and he looked at her with wide, concerned eyes. Not that he cared if she stole things, but if she got caught--
“You can’t,” he whispered, voice desperate and tightening with emotion. He reached to grab her hand, holding it tightly as if that would keep her from being whisked away by some unknown force.
“If you-- if you need anything,” he started but swallowed, remembering that he didn’t have any money to offer her. “If you got caught-- I don’t want anything to happen to you, Brooklyn. The places they take kids like us--”
The rest of the words were gaped silently at her, because he couldn’t figure out how to explain how scared he was of places like Juvenile detention and how he was scared of foster care, too. She was strong enough to survive it, but he knew he wouldn’t have lasted very long.
“I hope you age out. There… there’s emancipation! Elliot told me about it before. It’s like turning eighteen but younger. If you didn’t want to wait to age out. I bet Elliot would be really good at helping to research it. But… thank you,” he said and reached up with the back of his hand that was holding his half of the granola bar to rub at his eyes, but squeezed her hand with his other.
“I promise you don’t have to worry about my new dad, but thank you for having my back. I don’t know how much I can do, but I want to have yours too.”
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Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2022 5:14 pm
Brooklyn gave a grimace and nodded. “I…I know. It’s. I’ve almost ended up in Juvie once back in New York when I got caught shoplifting…but I’ve gotten really good at it now, so…” She blinked and hesitated for a minute, letting her hand curl around his as well, giving a heavy sigh.
“I do make sure that I’m careful…and now that I have food like…that’s been helpful…and I’ve been working. Kind of. I’m going to buy myself a jacket. It’s been helpful to rake people’s leaves…so that’s been something…”
The idea of emancipation...it was one she had thought about but. “...I’d just…I’m afraid to take that step, I guess. I thought I was going to be ready when I ran away from the Children’s Home but…I don’t know. I don’t know where I’d go but…I was kind of thinking about trying it when I turned sixteen…so…two more years. I was thinking of talking to the headmistress of the school when it gets closer to make sure I can still stay enrolled…I…I know I’ll need to work but…the dorms are so nice.”
The assurance in Atticus’s words had her nodding. “Well…good because. I will beat up anyone who hurts you. That’s a promise.” Jutting her chin out, she huffed and then gave him a sideways glance. “...Thanks. I appreciate it.”
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Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2022 5:15 pm
Atticus stared at her for a few moments, then pulled his hand away from hers, wiped away his tears, and reached into his pocket to pull out the phone he’d been given for emergencies (and maybe texting Elliot late at night when he couldn’t sleep). He shoved the unopened granola bar back inside the pocket as he stood up and carefully shrugged the jacket off so he could hand it to her.
“Here, this looks like it could be your size. I have another jacket at home, so it’s okay if you have this one,” he promised. He would just explain to Devyn and Michael that someone else needed it more than he did. He was sure they would understand. And she had an extra snack in case she got hungry.
“It’s okay,” he insisted, trying to hold it out so he could help her put it on. It was a bit chilly out, but he’d handled worse. He knew what it was like to have nothing. Not because the people he lived with had nothing, but because they wouldn’t give him anything. They would have rathered him suffer. And he didn’t want to see that happen to Brooklyn.
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Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2022 5:15 pm
When the hand was pulled away, Brooklyn’s hand felt suddenly cold and she moved it back slightly, wondering if she shouldn’t have said that she’d punch someone…he didn’t seem like he had the tough part of…maybe she was just…
Swallowing, her brows knit, but she found herself reaching out for the jacket, looking as though she had been hit by a bus, utterly stunned. “...You’re…you’re serious?”
Brooklyn’s throat was suddenly thick, but she nodded and let the blanket fall from her shoulders, shrugging the jacket on. “It fits really well, thank you. Thank you. Sitting back down, she reached up and put her blanket around his shoulders. “Borrow this so you don’t get cold…okay? And, if you want to keep holding hands, for luck! For the team…um. It was really nice.” She held her hand out and gave him a crooked smile, eyes far too bright and beginning to brim with tears.
“...Thank you. I’m…I’m really, really glad I met Elliot. You two are…really nice.” Hesitating, she looked at him and rubbed her eyes with the sleeve of the jacket. “...Do you wear earrings?”
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