July 03, 2004.07.03.04. - SLUUUURP [rumor][riverfront]
(rumor)
Night. The shadows dancin fromt he lights in the trees.
Back at the bench. James's Vacation spot where she had met up with him once before.
Ollie up the curb. Back down to the concrete while she waits...
Baggy jeans riding low on her hips and todays T-Shirt reads i do what the Voices in my head tell me
Hair dyed from the black and purple back to brownish with some red streaks. Fairly normal once more.
She was a bit early. The message had just said
"Hey man, if ya get time, ill be by the vacation bench, swing by if you can"
And now up the curb and back down. Manila envelope sitting safely on the bench in front of her. Eyes watching it, no one would grab it without getting a skatebord to their head.(james)
tonight, James had time
up ahead the board slaps treads against the curb
wheels clatter to resume their oiled olliefied roll
and one firecracker of a kinfolk plonks down on the benchit's about a half block and closing she can hear the deliberate scuff of his boot
though before that - she may not be hard-pressed to feel his approaching presence
cause the Thunder Moon's just about to rise into the night
portent to the storms gathering to wait on Chicago's horizonhe seems to pay it no mind, though
left arm coming into view over her shoulder
holding out one sweating cup full of Shrek day-glo green Slurpee(rumor)
Slurpee cup appears, and as she turns her head it is almostlike the (classic film) Waynes World.
lights and ---oohhhh dreammmmmmwever....---
A pause.
cobalt blue eyes rest sit momintarilly still on James.
stop.
Breathe. (again all that in only seconds...that felt like hours of silence)
and ......back. with a blink taking the slurpee out of his hand with a wide eyed grin.
"Hey, you did have time?" she moves over and offers him his vacation spot on the bench.
If i was only older.
another breath and she picks up the manilla envelope.
Pause, smile.
"Thanks for swingin by, must have got vacation time eh?" she chuckles and pauses.
Silence was nice. James was one of the few that didnt make her jumpy.
"Had a couple a things to talk to ya about"(james)
beyond the boundaries of all-but glowing Slurpee rests a crooked smile
it's not one of those make-you-uncomfortable types of lopsided things
instead, it's just the normal James look these days
easy grin forever lopsided by the awry pull of scarred tendons
framed by the forever bed-headed tangle of long brown dreads"Yeh..... leas' til th' moon ri'e."
deep umber eyes stray towards the silhouette distant buildings create on midnight's velvet sky
already, the neon-light glow's enhanced by the moon's heavenward creep
at least the growing weather's enough to block out realization's full effect
(James doesn't make her jumpy, but will tonight prove different?)
the Ahroun settles down on the bench, slouching until boots prop on the table
base of the icy-cold cup resting just above the line of wife-beater getting pulled up in the movement
showcasing a hint of the new scar ravaging his belly beneath
attention is drawn away from that, however, as chin nods towards the manila envelope
Eagle pack sign language for Go on. I'm listening.
(rumor)
A crooked smile that never makes her feel uncomfortable. (Will tonight prove different?)A deep breath of the nigth air, the city poluted fresh? air. The smells of smoke and garabge and the water all meshing into the scents around. She had no hightened senses, but when one took the time to stop.
sit.
and just be...these elements all could be sensed.
Eagle pack sign language...she didnt know it as that, but the attention, the nod and the silence told her the same thing."Roxy left, something bout her dad dyin, and Tampa" a pause. so many questions for James, she didnt wanna overwhelm him...but Rumor is what she is...
and here came the avalanche."She called me, told me to meet her at the garage, when i got there it was empty, i was bummed, thought i was gettin canned...but she sold it...i dunno she was tryin to tell me how blood is thicker then water, and how family is more important then pack shit...
but thats like completely opposite of what i was gatherin after me n you talked...i mean...you had explained to me so much, and Tristan has like taken me in like on of his own..."
she looks around once and continues "So anyways, she sold the garage, man it was my coolest job ever...but i guess she had to do what she had to do...anyways, i dyed my hair back and am lookin for a job, butshe gave me this other garage by Dustin and Tristans garage, and its FREE AND CLEAR...as long as someone can sign for the title...like you, and i told Kemp he could come by any time, and I got $3000 from her, but i gave Tristan $2000 for him to keep safe for me and i used the rest to put stuff in the garage, i mean i can tinker with their car there and there is also living space...like couch and shit....so its like perfect, plus ill get the job back at the diner...ya know?"
FINALLY a breath
Finaly a pause
and more.."Hey James...I mean i know Kemps all weird n shit...and has no interest in girls, but once, ONCE, he mentioned somethin in passin, and i dont get it... he said, no way man have to be like a little sister to me, cause James would kill me...yer his" now her face turns as red as could be, even in the darkness it could be seen...
"i mean...what i mean is, what the hell does that mean?"
she shrugs
"ok i dont get it"(james)
avalanche
just...... avalanche?
what came out of Rumor's mouth in a single breath went far beyond the means of a mere landslide
it's enough to get the Ahroun to pause mid-swallow of Slurpee
lime-green ice and syrup melting on his tongue
it's when brain-freeze looms near that he finally remembers to swallow
blinking a time or two (or... three) to sort all that out into pointsdeep breath, Jamey-boy
"One." finger's held up, before a detail notes and directs it towards his mouth so that a drip of Slurpee can be licked off of it - nobody likes sticky fingers "F'r summ people, blood iz thicker'n pack. S'a delica'e balance.... 'n I guess f'r Roxy she fel' it was 'mportan' a go deal with'r pops 'n fam'ly shit. To each the'r own, 'm guessin'. You'll figger out th' fin'r points 'n time wi' more 'xplanin'."
pause. mental rewind through what he caught of the verbal downpour. nod.... moving on.
"Two." double digits this time, sans excess drips "I'll sign f'r th' title.... if they'll le'me. 'n three." another pause, this time he doesn't bother with holding up fingers cause by about now, he's lost track ".... run three by me 'gain."
(rumor)
She smiles proudly
amazed he kept up, what just a little ritalin would do to her.
Although it would make her less "Rumor" and more zombie."Kemp...the whole...James would kill me you are his....thing?"
she blushes again
"I mean, heh, obviously im not yours" a chuckle now, as she already knows shes blushin, may as well joke bout it
"cause if im yours, and i didnt know...man id be kickin myself in the ass"grin.
SLURP(james)
grin.
SLURP.
SLUUUURRRRRP.
time bought to figure out exactly what it is she's referring to
a sidelong glance beneath furrowed brows as.... welllll.....
he's never considered Rumor his in any shape or form
and the connotations in the last bit... about her kicking herself.....
well....
SLURRRRRRP.one hand scratching through the heavy mane of dreads
pointedly ignoring what may exist of her blush
SO unprepared to deal with THAT"Well." pause. once more: SLURRRRRRP. "'m thinkin' he's ref'rrin a you bein'.... mine.... by blood'n Tri'e. I've claim' ya by rites a Tri'e, 'n I"m guessin' cuz 'e Fenrir that it's'a bound'ry he dunn' think he c'n cross cuz i's like I'm y'r Guardian...." pause. ".....'r s'm'thin'."
he takes a breath to ask a question
curious to clarify the latter part of her statement
but that very breath creeps out in a rather non-articulated sigh(rumor)
A pause and she smirks. That was a whole lotta slurpin and a long pause before words.
rendered speechless??
She listens and shrugs.
"dunno, or hes blowin smoke up my ass cause hes too chicken shit to even think about a girl as anythin more then tits on legs, which is fine, im fine bein his bud, but till he gets over his girl-o-phobia i swear his brains gonna explode"
Slurp
a shrug and a smile...."donno why he thought youd kill him, unless it was just an excuse"
she shrugs.
"thanks, on the garage title thing, i gave tristan my $ to save for me n stuff, i wont let anyone down"
and she chuckles a bit, another shrug.
"what...." that was to the question not asked.
Only the breath taken.(james)
yes, the Eagle Pack PR guy rendered quite speechless
or at the very least choosing a preference of dancing around the subject at hand
(just not quite sure how to handle that, eh, Jamey-boy?)
indulging in another SLURRRP before speaking beyond acknowledging nod"Yeh..... may be smoke, may be'n excuse a skirt 'round committin.... 'r.... may be truth. Woul'n't 'ave a pro'lem w'th it long'z he took care a ya." palm's wiped on BDU covered thigh to assure it's clean of offending rogue Slurpee bits, and he's holding out waggling fingers for the paper "Be happy a sign title... jus' dunna 'f I can."
and then her final question is all that remains
teeth nibble on lower lip before James is ready to suck up to that one"Jus'....." breath whooshes out into a laugh seemingly quite out of place with the Full Moon rising ".....jus' won'erin' why you said you'd be kickin' y'rself."
(rumor)
She now is rendered speechless back.
Slurp
biting the inside of her cheek and pickin the right words.
"if you hadnt noticed. It takes me a good ful 60 seconds to actually speak when you come into view. Of course then the words come out all at once, but that 60 seconds, thats usually to get the lump outta my throat..."
she now has no problem just sayin it like it is."Bein 15, i can look up to ya, hell i can drool and hear church organs as you come into view, but if i was yours in a way i didnt know" she nudges him
hint hint
"Like it was just a fact, and no one told me, and i could have..." she does a once over pointin at him on the bench...
then jokingly fannin herself.
"think you got the point there" she chuckles.(james)
"......Oh."Oh.
now would be James' turn to get a little color into the tanned skin on his face
breif glance skirting over beneath raised brows.... and running away right quickly
another strafing run of fingers scratching through heavy mop of dreads
crooked grin curling into something of a soft (shy? embarrassed?!) laugh
good Gaia Almighty
OH"No...... nev'r notice'..... course..... you'd 'ave a hi' me w'th a Mack truck a gemme a notice I gotta fan club." good-natured grin easing whatever sting may come of his complete obliviousness to matters of the heart, reaching to ruffle fingers through this week's rather tame coloration of Rumor's hair before a stretch picks up the folder and papers within "Think y'r outta my league."
he got the point allright
he's just trying to make the best of it
and not crawl under the fucking bench
yes.... let's focus on the papers. that's it, Jamey-boy.(rumor)
If hes climbing beneath the bench she'll be right there with him at the ruffle of her hair and the make it all better uncomofrtable-ish comment that was supposed to instantly remove the blush from both sets of cheeks (meaning hers and james, not somethin else get yer head out of the gutter)Fingers ruffle the currently mostly normal hair and she freezes for a second. (which seems like an hour) and instantly laughs.
Laughing can sometimes make the weirdness disappear."well im highly doubting im out of your league, but hey if it was meant to make me feel better thats cool, plus, every girls gotta have the hot guy who makes her heart do the pitter patter dance right?"
If she was supposed to notice he was embarrased, she hasnt, in fact now shes rather stupified that she even SAID it to begin with."Ya know, the fantasy guy, much better to be able to look at the eyecandy rather then actually get it" she smirks
pause.
Slurp.
and watches him with the papers. Then
for fun
she adds..."Plus whether you notice it or not, id be wayyyyy at the end of the line anyways, so by the time you got to me, id probably be 18" she chuckles and leans back on the bench.
"So garage is mine...ours...heh so we got a new safehouse"
she pauses and FINALLY changes the subject to ease the awkwardness."Think you can help me with the Kemp thing, i mean just maybe talk to him, i know hes had it rough, i am not lookin to be bumpin uglies with him, hes so weird about that, always thinking its like wham bam thank you maam or nothin at all, but maybe give him a lil push in my direction?"
a pause...
"I mean normal girls make him crazy, i am hardly normal, n im not lookin for some instant horizontal bop" (second sex reference) shall i tell ya what i imagin doin with you Jamey boy?"Really we get along so well, n i know hes been through hell in a ringer, but maybe if he heard it from someone else, ya know, that its ok, i mean, nothin wrong with hangin with someone on a couch, or like eh fuck it i dunno, guess its all stupid anyways, Kemps deadset on the whole cant touch this" she points at herself.
"and maybe its just a tactic to be nice"
or maybe she doesnt understand the whole--property thing-- cause Kemp is awfully freaked out bout Rumor bein James's and him killin Kemp(james)
the subject FINALLY changes to ease the awkwardness
it's supposed to work. REALLY it is.
thank Gaia he's studying the damned papers
because if not he'd truly be under that bench
not exactly irrecoverably mortified to be hearing such things
but you can't say Jamey-boy isn't being thrown for a loop
(the honest part being he never really thinks about who's heart's pitter pattering or next in the proverbial line)never. in a million years. would the guttermutt peg himself as someone's fantasy guy.
(and lookie here, Jamey-boy, that's two in as many weeks!)
in fact he starts a humorously self-depricating quip about this supposed line
but etuiquette gets the better of him and it comes out chuffing laughchange. of. subject.
"Gotta pen?" dark eyes finally raise from the papers after appraising exactly what's required of the title-holder and their delightfully non-existant background check "'n I'll talk a Kem' f'r yeh. See if I c'n clear things up."
(rumor)
She smiles. "dont have a pen, but you can just come by the garage another time or take them with ya, i dont really know what we haveta do with them anyways."
a pause and a chuckle.
"remember...kid gloves, careful, say the wrong thing the boy thorw a Kemp-tantrum and gets all freaked out" she grins."been workin on it a while...n even when i dont do or say anything the strangest things come out of his mouth that he assumes im thinkin" she laughs.
"no matter either way, i can just hang out at the end of your fan line for a couple-a years right?"
that time it was a joke.
that time she didnt blush.
that time she smirks and
Slurp."thanks for the slurpee, thanks for the talk, thanks for watchin out fer me, and thanks...."
board drops to the ground and she gets up...
Brushin herself off and turnin to flash him a grin
"...for bein my eyecandy for a little bit" she winks and smirks."Cant say i got bad taste ya know" she smirks and hands him a set of keys.
"Spare set, to the garage, since its yours n stuff, i already got some cool stuff there, and workin on dustins car, but theres livin area and stuff, so if the factory gets too crowded or you need alone time, swing by, and i can always go bother Tris and Dustin...yaknow"(james)
that time it was a joke
that time she didn't blush
that time she smirks and
SLURRRRRPnot a stretch to find James collecting himself after THAT farewell in another gulp (or four) from the Slurpee
rare the times that anyone else can get the better of him
much less a fifteen-year-old firecracker of a kinfolk
cause for the better part of two minutes: the guttermutt is rendered speechless
... again"Welc'me." tongue finally untangled enough to form a closing remark, most likely inspired by the weight of keys in his hand, for that silly little grin is still intact above hands folding papers back into the envelope "I'll get it sign', 'n bring it by f'r ya.... Rox'll prolly need it f'r transf'rin' title'n deed leg'lly."
not even touching the eye-candy remarks with a ten-foot pole, is he
Posted by james at July 03, 2004 12:00 AM
simply quirky another trademark lopsided grin to substitute as goodbye