A Fallen Star [1x1] (LynxAmelia x Vizzy) [Inactive]

When did he ever mention that he was a solider...Walter could have died right then and there, if he weren't already technically KIA from about 43 years ago. Her relentless barrage of questions was almost like getting punched in the gut six times over, big mistake to reveal a profession he can't back up. Well, if she could see he wasn't lying about that, what would it hurt to give her the whole truth? Or, most of it. "Yes" Walter said calmly "I was draf--enlisted as soon as I turned eighteen, I stayed with the military for four years when I was sho---given the discharge papers.". Walter cursed himself, he didn't tell the whole truth, but he seemed relieved to get that off of his chest. Walter wiped the sweat from his brow and coughed "And I though Saigon was a rough place.." Walter mumbled under his breath.
 
"Oh..." Hayley said. She wasn't fully satisfied with the answer but it seemed to ease her curiosity somewhat. Indicating a fairly normal couch in the room, she said, "Do sit down," her voice seemingly fragile right now. Her eyes were lowered as well. "Would you like something to eat? Or drink? And I mean non-alcoholic," her tone was a touch morbid and her energy and fight seemed to have drained. The house as such was just a 2 bedroom affair with a shared bathroom and a tiny kitchen. It was all they could afford given the allowance her uncle seemed to provide them out of pity. It was sheer luck that she had struck upon a scholarship to study medicine in a university, which she would join right after these exams of hers. She looked up at Walter once more and opened her mouth to say something but shook her head a little, lowering her eyes instantly.
 
Walter's lips twisted somewhere between a smile and a smirk as he placed a hand atop Hayley's head. "How about we head to the kitchen. Then you can yell at me for ruining your book and think of ways I can try to make the damage better, okay?" Walter suggested with an unease, offering himself to the wolf was about the only idea he had. He just knew that this particular room wasn't very healthy to be in for the young girl, let alone sit down with a stranger in. "And, what was that I heard about boyfriend earlier?" Walter couldn't help but snicker as he tried to steer her out of the room by taunting and teasing in ways that he thought might set off the bomb.
 
Hayley just shrugged, "It's fine," she said, heading towards the kitchen, "I'll.. fix it somehow." She didn't especially mind being ushered out of the room, she just seemed.. off. "And the boyfriend bit is nothing, mum n' dad usually freak out whenever I get someone to meet them, especially a guy. They told me I shouldn't have one till I finish college and get a job." She just kept walking until she nearly bumped into the stove. Then she turned around to Walter, "What would you like?" she asked, "I bet you're hungry." Then she looked around at the kitchen, "I'm sorry but we don't have much here, I could get you toast and coffee if you'd like...." She seemed strangely blank until she shook her head a little and looked up at him once more. "My brother probably won't be home tonight, he's out on a date," then she blinked a couple of times, "How did you like my parents? You should be happy they didn't yell at ya."
 
"Toast and coffee would be lovely, and your parents are good people. They have to have been to raise you the way you are." Walter stated with conviction. "I was actually kinda hoping to get yelled at, it's not everyday your daughter brings home a boy she had to clothe herself." Walter jested whilst taking a seat at the small table in the kitchen. It was so different from how she was outside, either the deaths of her parents were recent or she never really accepted the reality of it. Judging from those tears it seemed like a mixture of both. "So, you said you were a student? Mind clarifying that?" Walter asked, just to make sure he wasn't robbing the cradle. Much less in a home where the older brother is overly protective of a teenage sister from the mean 'old' man.
 
Hayley then turned to the stove to make some coffee as well as some toast. "I'm gonna finish high school," she said, her voice perking up a little, carrying just a shade of pride, "I'll be studying in the Uni here. I got a scholarship for it and they told me I needn't do pre-med!" Suddenly, she seemed all smiles. Studying, probably the only thing she was good at. That and arguing, but she couldn't make a job out of arguing - she didn't want to be a lawyer. Then she put out the toast on a plate and pour the coffee into a mug and placed them on the table before sitting herself down on one of the chairs. "I have to go study in a little while," she said, putting her hands on the table and placing her chin on top of them.
 
Walter was mildly impressed, mostly because she seemed more passionate about school than he was at her age. Those were different times then, but it most likely hadn't changed much. People like him didn't like sitting still for very long, unless it was an interesting subject. College was out of the question for him though, having lost all chances when the draft was issued. "Ambitious and a doc-in-progress to boot." Walter shook his head and lifted the cup to his lips before sipping the black lava and wincing before putting the mug down. "I myself couldn't wait 'till they released me from school, best day of my life to not study anymore." Walter took a small bite of the bread on the plate and tilted his chin to Hayley as he swallowed the food "What kind of medical you going to be doing? I heard doctors are pretty busy dealing with all them soldiers coming back. Field medics can't do much out there..".
 
"I don't know," Hayley began, "I would like to be a surgeon but I can't really pick a specialty till the end of the basic course. We'll see." Letting out a soft sigh, she lifted her eyes back to the math book Walter had pretty much ruined. She flipped open to the soiled page before picking up a soft rag and starting to wipe it clean. After a work of around 10 minutes, the stains had finally gone away and a smile flitted onto her face. "I don't think I want to be a field medic though," she said, "Too much death and I can do nothing about it. I would much rather have a chance at saving someone before they die or at least have a hand in the death," she let out a soft chuckle, "It is painful to see people die without a chance at being saved." Her eyes flitted to the door that led to the living room for a moment before returning to Walter.
 
Walter cleared his throat; obviously the topic was making a full circle. Walter took a sip of the coffee, and glanced around the kitchen. Just being in the small kitchen he could see that things certainly had changed from when he was alive, who knew how hard it would be to integrate back into the population. If it weren’t for Hayley he’d be some bum begging for scraps, but his pride wouldn’t allow that and he’d go without as long as possible. “Right...You said you had an older brother. What is he like?” Walter was curious to say the least about what relationship she had with her brother. He didn’t have the chance to make much of a bond with his younger sibling before being shipped off. In this day and age who knew how siblings interacted. It couldn’t be too much different. “I can see he is some sort of ladies man…This stuff smells like it came out of a Frenchman’s closet..” Walter commented as he lifted the collar of the shirt to his nose and inhaled.
 
Hayley just laughed. "He's something like that," she confessed, "But hey, he has a job, I don't. I can't complain much about it. And though he's capable of being sweet, he chooses not to. At least with me." She then looked deep in thought. In a couple of seconds, she reached into her pocket to pull out a small purse and counted out the money. "There," she said, placing over half of what she had on the table, "When you get time, probably tomorrow, go get some clothes that fit you," she said, looking up at Walter, "That doesn't look comfortable at all, and you probably don't like wearing clothes that belong to someone else. I know I won't." Then she chuckled lightly again, "And I'd need to put those back in my brother's closet before he finds them missing. You can keep the shoes though, I haven't seen him wear those in ages." Then she bit her lip as she looked down at the money, "I know it isn't much, but you can buy something right?" she asked, a little hopefully.
 
Walter wasn’t fond of this ‘big brother’ already, who on earth would be anything but sweet with this girl. He was also hesitant to accept money from her, let alone when she’d already said they didn’t have much. Walter picked up the bills and counted them out, it wasn’t until he had done so twice that he furrowed his brow and gave the girl a very hurt look. Talk about extravagance, he could have rented a house for this much. Walter slipped what seemed to be a measly $25 dollars out of the bills and slid the rest across the table. Walter lifted the twenty and the five up between his forefinger and thumb “This is more than enough to clothe myself. You should use the rest of that for much more important things, like school or rent.” Walter used his free hand and tapped the small pile of bills to emphasize his statement. “I’m already mooching enough off of you and your brother as is, but I will not accept money when you need it much more than I do.” Walter partly scolded his hostess, but then allowed a lopsided grin to slink into his features “I dunno though, I think I might like this tight clothing style..Really makes me look like I’ve got a classy chassis.”.
 
Hayley looked down at the money and then back up at Walter incredulously. "That definitely won't be enough. Let's see you try shopping with it," she scoffed before picking up the rest of the money. She seemed in thought once more. "I don't think Charlie would like seeing a stranger in the house if he gets back in the middle of the night," she mused, partly to herself, "And his room is out of bounds. He'd murder me if he saw you in his room." Hayley shrugged once before looking up at him, "Guess you're stuck with me, at least for the night." Then she nodded to the toast, "Eat up, I don't want you waking me up in the middle of the night if you get hungry. IF I get any sleep that is," she said, picking up the math book and a single sheet that had been ripped from it. Then she rubbed her eyes a little before looking at her watch, "Do hurry," she said, "I've got a lot of studying ahead of me."
 
Walter only nodded, and carrying on the conversation about money seemed to be only adding to the danger he face while treading on thin ice as is. Not liking to leave a lady waiting Walter scarfed down what remained of the toast, and downed the piping hot coffee in a record time. “Yes ma’am.” Walter huffed as he wiped his mouth and stood to take his dishes to the sink, rinsing them as accustomed when he lived at home. It wasn’t until he turned away from the sink that it hit him. He’d be spending the night in a girl’s room, for the first time in his life; one that wasn’t related to him by blood. “You sure that’s a good idea? Me being a guy an all?” Walter began as he rubbed the back of his neck “Don’t you think your brother might be a bit angrier if he found me in your room?” As Walter spoke, his cheeks darkened and his amber eyes flitted about the room.
 
Hayley patiently waited for the man to clean his dishes. At least he was trying to be a nice guest. "Charlie won't find you in my room, mainly because he won't get into my room in the first place," she said, "And you will be coming with me when I go for my exam tomorrow, meaning we'll be out before he gets home or out of bed, whichever fits. And if we get you new clothes by the time we get home, you can pass off for a stranger who is homeless and whom I helped out," she stated her plan, with a slight inflection at the end of each statement. "And don't worry about him, if anything, he'll just be mad at me. And, if you want, you could probably repay us when you get a job, but only if he insists." For the first time, she had a warms mile on her face. She felt rather happy to be able to help out a person in need, even if it means getting into trouble herself.
 
“I insist on it already...” Walter grumbled as he folded his arms over his chest and leaned back against the kitchen counter. “It’ll have to be an under-the-table deal…I don’t have identification.” Walter stated with worry, he knew how the system worked, and it most likely hadn’t changed much from when he went to find a job at sixteen so many years ago. Identification was a large part of being able to work, and he highly doubted that someone would accept a 40-some year old name with a 23 year old body. “I’ll make sure to find something, as for you…Don’t you have to study?” Walter asked, pushing off from the counter as he unfolded his arms and went to push in his own chair. Walter figured he was already being a nuisance, no need to add to the problem by giving his problems directly to the studious girl. They’d only distract her at some point or another. That and working was a man’s job, as far as supporting the house and home went. Walter waited for the girl to lead him to her room, the idea of which still had him in a flurry. Sharing a room with a woman who wasn’t to be your wife..Pops would have had his hide for doing something like that, much less to someone who just plucked him off the streets. Either way, his eyelids felt like a good ton each. No reason in particular, expect just having lots of new excitement. Even though his last ‘nap’ was only minutes ago he felt ready to drop at the snap of someone’s fingers. As such, he yawned, covering his mouth and shaking his head, trying to shake the sleep and muffle the obnoxious sound.
 
Hayley just sighed. "I'm sure some garage or grocery store would give you a job," she said, thinking once more, "I have a friend's dad working in one of them. I could talk to him to give you a job," she smiled, "I was thinking of working there till Uni starts myself. Maybe we could work together," she said rather cheerfully. "And yes, I do have to study," she said, glancing at her watch once more, "Let's go to my room." She carried her book up the stairs adjoining the kitchen but not before she called out, "Night mom, night dad. See you in the morning!" She unlocked the door and stepped into the rather tiny room. It had just enough space for a bed, a closet, a study table and a computer. She walked to her closet and picked out a spare pillow and a rather thin blanket and threw it onto the bed. "There you go," she said, dusting her hands a little. The bed was already far too big for her tiny frame and she doubted it would be a problem to share it with Walter. "Don't worry, I'll probably fall asleep at the table," she said with another wry laugh.
 
Either she was about as innocent an naive as the day she were born, or she was just testing him. Walter followed her up and took note of the minor repairs of which he could blatantly see were needed in the small old house, but upon being told where he was sleeping looked about as white as a ghost. He was even more so displeased about hearing the unhealthy sleeping habits of passing out sitting up. Once again, his brows furrowed. "I'll sleep on the floor. You.", Walter pointed to her, "Will be sleeping on THAT bed" he pointed to the furniture as he pulled off the pillow and set it on the ground with a huff. The last four years of his life he'd slept in a war-zone, and he wasn't about to make some young girl sleep at a desk simply because he wanted to be comfortable. Not to mention he'd developed the habit of being a light sleeper who woke up ever fifteen-twenty minutes. Simply put, Walter was telling her a solid 'No'. That, and considering the last encounter where he was asleep, who would want him in the same bed, let alone the same room. "What time are we leaving anyway? 16:00?" Walter grunted as he lowered himself to the ground with a light 'thud' and leaned back onto the pillow.
 
"Hmm.." Hayley hummed a little. This man had quite a bit of nerve to tell her what to do in her own house. But then her back was rather achy from carrying all those books so she didn't mind at the moment. Perhaps she would study lying on the bed. She merely walked to her bedside table to set up the alarm for 7 in the morning. "We will be leaving when I say we will be leaving," she stated, "And could you step outside for a moment?" she asked, "I need to change." Without any further delay she walked to her closet and pulled out an old baggy tee and a pair of shorts before ducking into a corner that she had found for herself in the room, away from the prying eyes of the neighbors and anyone who might peek into the door. She didn't exactly care if the man looked anyway, he wouldn't see much. She had pulled a screen around the corner before slipping out of her uniform and tossing into the laundry basket and donning her night clothes. "I'm done," she called out, in case the man had indeed stepped out. Then she headed for the books on the table and picked one of them up. Lying down elicited a grunt from her, it gave her back a much needed rest. Then she bent her legs at her knees and propped her book against the thighs before starting to read.
 
Hayley didn't give Walter much time to do anything really, and he wasn't the type to go against a woman's wishes..But what was he to do? Well, even though Walter placed his hands over his eyes, he couldn't help himself from peeking. The screen hid almost everything, but just the sound of cloth being shuffled about and knowing who it was undressing and redressing was enough to make the male violently blush. "Different times indeed", Walter uttered under his breath. Walter laid on his back and stared at the ceiling in enough time to see that she was just coming out from behind the screen. Some relief that he wasn't caught red handedly gawking in her direction. The floor was cold, hard, and smelled strongly of lemon cleaner. But it was better than putting Hayley out more than he already had. Seven O'clock was the time they'd be leaving? He'd be up and rested by five...The times were only proving to be stranger and stranger. "I know you're studying and all, but do you believe in god?" The question was out of the blue, and something that really didn't need to be asked. He hadn't seen any crosses around the house, and knowing religion it changed it's appearance faster than a woman with makeup.
 
Hayley, poor little Hayley, sleepy as she was and trying hard to study, she only replied, "I believe in God alright. Just not the kind that tells people to kill others and forces people to worship it or him or her or whatever God is." She thought for a moment, "Also not the kind that killed my parents last year on the eve of my birthday. I don't believe in that kind of God." Hayley then looked at the time. 12.00 a.m. "What an un-Godly hour," she said, laughing at her own pun. She shut her book and resorted to hugging it as she curled up on her side, peering over at Where Walter lay, "Why do you ask?" she asked, "Gonna preach or ask me to go to church every Sunday? If yes, then forget it. I don't believe in that God."
 
That type of mindset was going to make things all the harder if he ever is asked to explain just who he is. Walter just shook his head where he lay and cleared his throat, "No, nothing like that." was all he could really say at the time. She was tired, and the topic seemed to be overly sensitive. She had a whole slur of reasons to hate the big guy, maybe he was just sent as some lame form of atonement. Walter looked to her with pity in his eyes, mostly because she'd had it rough. Parents gone the night before her birthday and a brother who isn't all that into interacting with her? Yet she still had the heart to help someone who wakes up naked in the woods? Either she had a heart of gold or her parents gave her some sorta iron will. Walter's mouth felt dry when he opened it to speak, he had to close it again just to take a deep breath. "Thanks, Hayley. For everything." Walter spoke as he exhaled.
 
Hayley's eyes had drooped shut by then, her head rolling off to one side as she tried hard not to doze off. "You're welcome," she mumbled, propping her book open against the bed and attempting to hold it open. Eventually her head nodded off again, her glasses askew as her hand finally lost tone and let the book fall onto the bed. Her position was rather similar to an animal lying on its side as her arms were extended despite her legs being slightly curled. It didn't take her long to drift off into the land of nod pleasantly, happy to have a dreamless and a nightmare-less sleep.
 
Hayley's attempts to resist sleep was futile and adorable, Walter's heart must have melted because all he uttered was the phrase "Awwwh..". Walter waited a moment before getting up onto his knees and shuffling over to the bed as quietly as possible. Walter removed the book from the bed and stood to go place it on the desk, the floorboard groaning under his sudden change in weight distribution. Once he was done having a heart attack he placed the book down and returned to tend to the awkwardly positioned young woman. Walter was delicate with her glasses, sliding them off of her face and folding them so they wouldn't get bent before setting it down in the case he assumed they belonged to. He even went as far as to cover her up with the thin blanket she had gotten for him to use. Walter laid back down with a smile on his face and entered the nightmarish world that await behind his closed eyelids, and relished in the relief every fifteen minutes when he awoke for a moment to survey his surroundings. His rest was very unsettling and uncomfortable.
 
"Ah.." Hayley yelped a few hours later as the precariously positioned alarm clock landed on her head in the process of ringing. She then sat up, rubbing her head with a hand as she muttered curses under her breath before slamming her other hand to shut the clock up. Her hands then fumbled for her glasses on the bed and then on the table. "Where the hell is it.." she mumbled as she stepped off her bed and almost directly on Walter. And, for the second time in less than 12 hours, Hayley fell flat on her face and on top of the strange man. She couldn't be blamed, she couldn't see at all. She attempted to pull herself off the man and resumed her search, reaching a hand under the bed to find her glasses. "Not today," she whined, "Please, I don't even have a spare for you," she said seemingly talking to her lost pair of glasses.
 
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Walter was just about to wake himself before a fairly light weight came crashing down over his own body. All it did was really knock the wind out of his lungs, and Walter couldn’t help but enjoy the show as she scrambled around looking for the glasses. “Did you try the case?” Walter rasped, sleep hindering his voice “You fell asleep with them on so I just thought…” Walter continued as he rose, his back making various pops and cracks. “Mmm.” Walter groaned in discomfort and turned his head to the side eliciting even more bony pops. “I just thought you might not want them all bent out of shape and put them away since I was still up.” Walter mumbled as he rubbed his eyes and wiped the corners of his mouth to make sure he didn’t have drool crusted there. “You also seem to have a fascination with laying atop people while they are sleeping, don’t you?” Walter mused as he began to stand, his body aching and popping as if he hadn’t moved for ages.
 
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