Opposites Attract (Hadley McGarden and Run Rabbit Run)

[Hadley McGarden]

_____The past few years had been rough for Jamie. Or, as he often thought to himself, the past lifetime had been rough for Jamie. With a father he'd never met and a mother who couldn't care less, his childhood hadn't been the easiest, and it only grew worse when the other children began to notice how much littler he was than them. Possibly the hardest time in his life had been the years between second and sixth grade, a time where he was relentlessly harassed due to his small stature, pointed ears and strong mind. Fortunately, he'd turned it around before he started middle school. Who would have guessed that a leather vest and a pair of heavy combat boots could change so much? At the time, the rebellious Jamie had been nothing but a mask, a defense mechanism, but now, it was as much a part of him as the timid child had once been. Though still rather scrawny, he had grown into his intimidating reputation well. With cold eyes and shockingly white hair, many of the school population feared him, knowing from experience that although he may be little, he was fierce, and he had a technique when it came to fighting that almost guaranteed his success. (It was rare that he fought, but there had been a few who'd tried to take his title, and that always ended in a brawl.) Sure, at times he wished he wasn't so bitter, or so cynical, or so gruff, but it protected him, and by this point, there was no changing it, so he didn't even try.


______"Jamie, kid, get your head out of the clouds," at the voice, Jamie turned his icy gaze from the window to the docile teacher standing in the front of the classroom, a clipboard in his hands, "Did you hear me?" Jamie rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest and resisting the urge to groan. What a stupid question. Whether Mr. Charnley was referring to whatever it was he'd said while Jamie's mind was elsewhere or when he'd managed to catch Jamie's attention, the answer was obvious. To the former, it was obvious that he hadn't, considering he hadn't replied, and to the latter, he clearly had, since he'd turned around. It was a foolish thing to ask, so Jamie didn't dignify it with a spoken answer, merely shaking his head and tapping his foot beneath the desk. He almost wanted to see the vein in Mr. Charnley's temple pop out, or glimpse his fingers curling when he thought the students couldn't see, just to give some sign that Jamie's sour attitude was annoying him, as was the case with most teachers, but he didn't. In fact, the teacher offered him a gentle and understanding smile, which only made Jamie more aggravated. Mr. Charnley didn't understand anything, and there was sympathy in his eyes that made Jamie feel sick. Why does he always look at me like that?


_____"I said that your partner for this project is Daniel," Mr. Charnley repeated patiently, irritatingly calm as he pointed to a fairly attractive boy about his age, "Please move to sit with him so I can continue with the pairs." Trying not to roll his eyes again, Jamie tucked his binder under one arm (it could be noted that the binder was covered in drawings, most done in vibrant red sharpie so they'd stand out on the black binder) and walked over, dropping into the empty seat beside the other boy. He cast him a glance, eyes darting across his features for traces of malice or ill intent before he looked away once more, slumping a little in his seat. He wasn't entirely sure what this project was on, but knowing Mr. Charnley, it was some hippie bullshit about discovering and embracing their spirit, or maybe he was going to have them write and act out a skit about a misunderstood middle age man reconnecting to the earth and defying the system to prove his loyalty to Mother Nature. A tiny grin quirked at Jamie's lips at the thought, easily able to picture the flower child teacher giving such an assignment. After all, in the past he'd taken them to the park to study the simple but happy life of the birds as they gathered worms and fed their precious young. The only thing Jamie had learned from that experience was that the sound of baby birds chirping was annoying as all hell.

 

[Run Rabbit Run]

Daniel

​

Unlike his new partner, Daniel was not spending the lesson dwelling on his past or his current reputation; instead, he was eyeing the head of hair sat directly in front of him. Jack Spencer. The hockey team's star player, massive and bulky at six foot two and god knows how many pounds of solid muscle, and the boy currently harassing some poor bastard next to him by blowing spit balls at him like a six year old. It was quite fascinating to watch the hunter in action, slowly wittling down at the self-esteem of the lowly nerd he was bullying. Daniel, fortunately, was sat behind him, out of his line of sight and therefore safe. Jack, however, was directly in his line of sight. And a regular, grade-A asshole.


Daniel did not miss Alent, his best friend, giving him a warning look from across the classroom. He knew that he himself possessed a very particular expression when he was plotting some great act of vigilante justice, and no doubt the red head across the room had spotted it. Alent, paranoid and nervous as he was, was convinced one day Daniel's antics were going to land him in shit. But, until that day came, Daniel revelled in getting to act out his own little comic-book superheroes acts of heroism.


He was interrupted from his machinations, however, by the teacher calling his name. He glanced up from the back of Jack's head to look round for his partner. James Overland. The name felt familiar; wasn't that the grumpy punk kid with doodles on everything he owned? Relinquishing his plotting, Daniel looked around and spotted the white-haired male walking over to take the empty seat beside him. As he did, the rest of the class, with their pairings soon finished being assigned, broke into chatter, greeting their partners, or bitching openly to their friends about the shitty assignment.


Daniel watched his routine as Jamie checked him out, and then averted his eyes. He seemed kind of shy, or at least a little cagey. Distracted yet distant, cool and aloof yet... well, yet he was remarkably cute. And why shouldn't Daniel notice that? He was a teenage male with hormones. And with Jamie, it was hard not to notice his cute nose, or his sharp blue eyes. It didn't help that he then started smirking to himself, and the expression gave him a kind of cocky, badass punk air that matched his attire. Combined with the obvious need to alienate others, Daniel liked him immediately.


"Hey," he said lazily, looking the boy over. "Daniel. Ready to get to know one another's souls?" He asked, quoting the teacher. The assignment made him want to hang himself, but if he was partnered with a cute, grumpy punk kid, maybe it wouldn't be so bad. He glanced down at the handout Mr Charnley had passed around, scanning over the shit they had to do. A whole term of getting to know and understand another person. A 'real life character study', as the title announced, with a massive essay and presentation due at the end. Given how it accounted for nearly half their grade of the year, Daniel couldn't afford to shirk it.


"Let's make this as painless as possible," he said with dry amusement, watching the punk boy and studying him closely. "Says here we have to document our 'time spent together' and keep diaries like six year old girls, although they failed to mention the similie. So; want to meet up some time?" He wasn't sure exactly how to breach the cold wall of antagonism that shrouded Jamie, but, he was more than willing to try.

 

[Hadley McGarden]

_____Jamie narrowed his gaze at the patient teacher, wondering if his constant mentioning of free love was referring to shitty, street-side, ten cents per minute prostitution. His smirk widened and he tightened his grip on his arms, before the gentler aspects of his personality scolded him for being so mean. He didn't dislike Mr. Charnley, not really. In fact, somewhere deep in the depths of his bitter and cracked heart, he even liked the man. After all, Mr. Charnley had let him wear sunglasses in class whenever he came to school with his hood up and his head pounding, and had even pulled him aside once to tell him that drinking a lot of water helped with a hangover. All in all, Mr. Charnley was pretty cool, but some part of his being irked Jamie in a way he couldn't explain. Maybe it was how happy the teacher constantly was, how content he was with himself and the life he led. It didn't make any sense to him. How could someone be at peace when there was so much wrong with the world? It seemed silly to be so joyous when there was so much corruption and cruelty to witness in a lifetime, but yet here Mr. Charnley was, the epitome of merriment despite his simple life. Jamie supposed that, in a way, he was jealous of Mr. Charnley's bliss, but he'd never admit that. Never in a thousand years. How would people take him saying that he was envious of a teacher, of all people? He'd be judged, and that was not something he wanted, so for now, he kept his opinion on Mr. Charnley purely to himself.


_____Jamie blinked, drawn out of his thoughts, when a voice came from his right. He turned his gaze to his partner, cocking a brow at the almost lazy greeting, noticing how Daniel's gaze quickly wandered over him before meeting his eyes once more. To be perfectly honest, although he may have noticed Daniel in the past, Jamie had never paid him once mind. He was rather attractive, Jamie could admit that, but they were on opposite sides of the social spectrum. Sociology was the only class they shared, as far as Jamie knew, and they'd never had any real reason to speak to each other, so they hadn't. Then again, Jamie didn't really speak to anyone. The only friend he really had at the school was Camilla, a tall and willowy senior with a pierced nose and violet hair that hung down to her shoulders, cut in a choppy and uneven fashion, courtesy of the Queen of Rebellion herself. (Or, that was what Camilla called herself at least.) Preferring to go by Cam, she had taken Jamie out of her wing back in seventh grade, and they'd been exceptionally close ever since. Once again, the other boy's caught his attention. Jamie snickered as Daniel quoted their hippie-esque teacher, his gaze flickering briefly to Mr. Charnley before moving back to the boy. He hesitated at the question before sitting up a bit straighter, trying to cloak how horribly awkward he was with a cool exterior as he gathered the courage to speak, which was more difficult than he let on. He'd pulled wild stunts without a second thought and yet speaking to another human being made his heart constrict with fear. Why was that?


_____"Jamie," he introduced himself simply, keeping his expression uninterested, "And may as well. Got nothing better to do." That was not completely the truth, he supposed. He had work to do at the local daycare, children to babysit and paintings to finish. All of the other activities he liked to take part in were less than moral, but he supposed they were other things he could do with his time, so including his less positive habits, he also had parties to attend, theaters to sneak into, beers to steal and cars to hotwire. (Only for brief joy rides - he'd never kept any of them. He may have crashed one when he was fourteen, but that was beyond the point.) He then rolled his eyes at the question, giving a tiny sigh. "I guess we should, huh?" he grumbled, opening his binder just enough to tear a slip of paper off a math sheet he hadn't turned in, "As cheesy as this project sounds, it does count for half the grade, and I don't want to spend any more time in this shit hole than I have to." He scrawled out his number, address and apartment number on the shred of paper, sliding it across the table to Daniel. It was rare that he gave out his private information so easily, since he was more than a little ashamed of where he lived and who he lived with. He'd like to keep his private life as private as possible, so the only person he'd ever invited over was Camilla, and he could distinctly remember feeling his face burn the whole time she was over, able to hear his mother stumbling around the kitchen and drunkenly flirting with her boyfriend as they chatted in his room. She'd politely ignored it, but the way she squeezed his shoulder when she left made it clear that she'd heard.

 

[Run Rabbit Run]

Daniel

​

Mentally cheering at getting Jamie to both look over at him and speak to him, Daniel decided then and there that this could work out quite nicely. Admittedly, he was a little disappointed he hadn't been paired with Jack; a whole term of opportunities to give him some pay back would have been fun, but maybe it was healthy for Daniel to take a break from being an asshole on the sly. What would Jamie be like on that front, he wondered? He'd heard rumours about the punk boy shoplifting some, and apparently he'd stolen and crashed a car once? Maybe they could go on crazy joyrides together and Jamie could teach him how to pick locks in case he ever wanted to become a spy.


Awesome.


Leaning on his hand, his elbow resting on the desk, he watched Jamie. The guy had a nice laugh, a little shaky, but that was more endearing than anything. "Well," he remarked dryly, "honoured to be so high on your priority list." He got the impression that Jamie's disinterested attitude was a little on the showy side, but who could blame him for having a front in this hellhole? Daniel was just glad he hadn't been brushed off entirely; this project would be hell if his partner refused to work with him.


"Going back to mine is kind of out of the question since my dad's home and will slit our throats if we make any noise, so, yours alright?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at the punk who had handed him his address. Where Daniel knew full well he himself lived in the nicest, safest neighbourhood in town, Jamie seemed to live in the polar opposite; from what Daniel had heard, six of the seven recent stabbings had occurred there, and he was pretty sure a drug den had been recently busted just a block or two away from where Jamie dwelled. Perhaps Daniel should have been scared, since everything about him, from his neat combed hair and knitted sweater vests screamed rich kid and easy mark, but instead he felt a surge of adrenaline. Maybe this project wouldn't be as flimsy and boring as it sounded when their hippie teacher spoke about it with airy fairy words.


"If not, we can grab coffee or something," Daniel said with a shrug, in case Jamie wasn't keen to have a nerd hanging round his neighbourhood and making him look soft. Taking out a pen, he caught Jamie's hand and scribed his own number on the back of it, along with his address, email, skype username, and twitter account. No excuse not to keep in contact now. He glanced up at Jamie and grinned crookedly, examining him. Getting to know each others souls would be fun and all, but really, he just wanted to learn why the punk boy who apparently terrified the whole school seemed so oddly endearing to him.

 

[Hadley McGarden]

_____Jamie gave an absent nod at the sarcastic statement, gaze wandering the room as he tried to locate Camilla. It wasn't hard, considering her hair was dyed a vibrant shade of purple. She'd been paired up with Tallie, a pretty blonde with emerald green eyes and freckles on her cheeks. He found that quite amusing, because, just as was the case with Jamie and Daniel, they were basically polar opposites. There was Camilla, who was exactly what came to mind when someone imagined a skater girl, from her heavy eyeliner to her scraped knees and scuffed sneakers. She was a rough n' tumble tomboy who didn't mind getting a little dirt on her hands and had a very large pet spider kept in her room. Tallie, on the other hand, was the cheerleader stereotype, delicate and feminine. As the whole school knew after an incident where she saw a beetle in the Math classroom and fainted, she had an extreme fear of bugs, and had been shown to be squeamish when it came to mud. Camilla looked up as Tallie chattered away, catching Jamie's eye and beginning to grin. As many friends do, they began to communicate with each other from across the room using only facial expressions. Camilla pulled a face, scrunching up her nose. Can't believe I'm paired with her. Jamie raised an eyebrow, glancing at the cheerleader. She can't be that bad, even if she's a little perkier than necessary. Camilla's gaze wandered to Daniel, darting up and down his form before looking back to Jamie, waggling her eyebrows. Looks like you nabbed a hot one, huh? Gonna make a move? Jamie rolled his eyes, fighting off a grin at her antics. Riiight, yeah, no.


_____"Hm?" He turned back to Daniel, blinking a few times, when the older boy spoke, "Oh, my place is fine. Just don't be surprised if you see some less than pleasant shit while you're over. How 'bout this afternoon?" He could feel Mr. Charnley's gaze linger on him briefly, no doubt scolding him with his gaze for using vulgar language, but not actually speaking up, which Jamie appreciated. Even if he faced a talking to from a teacher with a raised eyebrow and cool expression, it gave him the same uncomfortable feeling that it gave all students. Again, he had to admit that in this sense, Mr. Charnley wasn't really all that bad. However, Jamie's mind didn't linger on the teacher for long, quickly moving back to the pressing issue of Daniel coming to his apartment. Even if he acted casual about the situation, the truth was that it made him far more anxious than he let show. His mother was, to say the least, unpredictable. There was no saying what she'd be doing when they arrived. If he was lucky, she'd be black out drunk on the couch, too tipsy to do anything but lay there and mumble to herself, but when taking his mother's track record into account, that was unlikely. She wasn't the type to pass out when drunk - she just kept going. Much more likely was the woman stumbling around in a drunken stupor as she tried to find something they didn't own or sitting in her boyfriend's lap in as they locked lips. Neither of these were things that Jamie wanted Daniel to see, partially because he didn't want the boy's pity and because it was simply embarrassing, but he supposed only time would tell what would be going in when they hung out at the apartment.


_____Jamie jolted, brows knitting together beneath his bangs, when Daniel suddenly grabbed his wrist, pulling his hand over and turning it so his palm was facing the floor. Who the hell was he to not only touch him without his permission, but to draw on him? Yet, despite his annoyance, Jamie didn't protest, simply sitting with a frown on his face as the older boy scribbled some information on the back of his hand. He allowed his gaze to wander the room, taking in the familiar faces and noticing how quickly people turned away whenever he got close to meeting their eyes. It had been like that since middle school, since he'd swapped the colorful shirts for band tees and the leggings for jeans. His current t-shirt read Team Free Will across the chest in white block letters, sharply contrasting the black fabric of the shirt. Beneath the band title was the band's emblem, a skill with two streams of tears pouring from the eye sockets, colored inky purple, with a crown of thorns sitting atop the skull's head. They were his favorite band, and he personally thought the emblem was pretty cool looking. Come on, a skull crying ink and wearing a more badass version of a flower crown? Was there anything about that that wasn't awesome? His gaze came to rest on Daniel once more and he jolted when he realized the boy was peeking up at him, a small grin on his face. Despite his attempts at fending it off, Jamie felt a blush rise to his cheeks and cursed the universe for his pale skin.


_____"What?" he asked tensely, trying to conceal the fact that he was more than a little flustered.

 

[Run Rabbit Run]

Daniel


"Less than pleasant shit is fine by me." Anything to have an excuse to get out of the house whilst his father was in town. It wasn't that his father was abusive or a drunk or anything melodramatic like that, but Daniel had his own reasons to despise the man, and being around him felt like hell. So whatever Jamie had to offer him had to at least be a break, if not more exciting. "I'll meet you at the gates after school, yeah? Because let's face it, if I walk there alone I'm probably going to turn up a lot less cute than I started out." He smirking dryly at the idea of being beaten up, but this time by hardened criminals rather than angsty jocks. Overgrown cavemen with inflated egos he could handle, but even he wasn't cocky enough to get involved in a knife fight.


He could feel Jamie jump a little when he took a hold of his hand, and probably should have felt guilty, but it was a little funny too. The angry punk that had the whole school terrified was scared by him holding his wrist. Either Daniel was a lot more imposing than he'd ever before realised, or Jamie's tough act was just that.


"Nothing," he said casually, still grinning. "Just think it'll be interesting to get to know your soul, and all that bollocks. Teach did a good job of pairing up opposites, huh?" He lingered on holding Jamie's hand, and he would insist it was unconscious if questioned, before letting him go and sitting back in his seat. "It might be a stupid as shit assignment but at least it'll be fun."


He glanced over to find Alent paired with- god fucking damn that bastard. He'd managed to nab Jack Spencer. Jammy sod. It was especially tragic because knowing Alent, he'd be infinitely patient with Jacks bullshit, forgiving to a fault, and do all the work to ensure they both got flawless grades. Which meant no more hanging around Alents house as an escape; he'd be too busy coaxing jock boy into submission.


Sighing, Daniel looked back at Jamie. Just you and me then, he thought, and was surprisingly okay with that fact. As the bell for the end of class rang, Daniel gave Jamie another signature half cocky, half friendly smile. "I'll be seeing you later then, punk." He was so witty. "And we can start on that shitty questionaire thing tonight." Standing, he held out his hand like a formal twat, but didn't care if it looked weird; he liked that. "Pleasure getting acquainted with your soul, Jamie."


((Sorry if it's short,


On phone in work break ))

 

[Hadley McGarden]

_____Jamie gave a small nod at the suggestion, leaning back in his seat and rolling his eyes at the rather cocky comment Daniel chose to add to the idea. Being rather insecure himself behind a thick layer of forged confidence, he didn't understand how anyone could be even the least bit arrogant. How did anyone feel so good about who they were that they could brag of it? That just seemed impossible, especially for someone like Daniel. Jamie knew of the older boy's reputation, and though he personally didn't see anything wrong with being intelligent, he knew that many seemed to think that being a "nerd" was an absolutely terrible thing. Then again, now that he was speaking to Daniel, he didn't really seem like what came to mind when someone pictured a nerd, but all the same, they were always the target of the jocks' taunts. Shouldn't that have effected Daniel's confidence in some negative way? He supposed that Daniel was slightly larger than the average nerd, a little taller and with a little more muscle, but the rule still applied to some extent, he was sure. He remained rather quiet at the explanation for Daniel's strange gaze, eyes flickering over his face for signs of deception as the older boy finally released his wrist, pulling it back to himself. His gaze flickered over the multiple means of communication scrawled across the back of his hand, one eyebrow shooting up as he looked up once more, looking almost amused at how many different options Daniel had given him when it came to getting in touch with him.


_____"Worried I won't be able to contact you?" he deadpanned, dropping his hand back to join the other on the desk. Considering it was rhetorical, it was no surprise that he didn't get a response, blinking a few times when Daniel held a hand out to him. He hesitated for a moment, brows furrowing beneath his bangs, before he slowly reached out and accepted it, practically able to sense Camilla snickering somewhere behind him. Please tell me I don't seem as awkward as I feel. He noticed, much to his chagrin, that Daniel's hand was somewhat larger than his own small and callused one, retracting his hand as soon as it was released. He offered nothing but a small hum of acknowledgement in response to the final statement, getting to his feet and tucking his binder under his arm. He headed into the hallway the moment class was dismissed, being one of the first in the hallway.Camilla came out soon after, throwing an arm around his shoulders and walking with him to their next class. The rest of the day's classes were pretty uneventful, spent sitting in the back row and sassing teachers whenever they asked him why his homework wasn't done. Why the hell would he spend time on homework? There were so much more fun things that he could do instead of a Math worksheet, hence why his binder was so thick; it was filled to the brim with unfinished or failed homework assignments, covered in doodles and F's that he'd turned into monsters. Just as he'd been told at a parent-teacher meeting that his mother didn't make, if he applied himself, he could do so much better than he was. He knew he had the brains, but there was no way he was going to put his mind his mind through the tedium of schoolwork. Soon enough, the day was done, and he found himself standing at the school gates, only raising his gaze when he heard someone approaching him.


_____"Ready to go?" he asked dully, before continuing without giving Daniel a chance to talk, "Follow me." He walked around to the back of the school, heading in the opposite direction of the majority of the other students. Sliding his hands into the pockets of his sweatshirt, he led Daniel silently down a familiar road, taking a left into an alleyway. Though his quietness could easily be seen as him simply being distant, the truth was that he was very heavily focused. Not on the path, because he had that completely memorized after years of walking home alone everyday, but on his surroundings, making sure that he didn't happen to run into a certain person. Actually, two certain people. The last thing he needed was to run into those old pals while leading Daniel around. He hadn't seen them in about three years, but he heard they'd been let out of jail recently, so he was expecting to see them any day now. There was no doubt in his mind that he was going to be the first to be paid a visit as soon as they were completely free to do as they wished. He stopped briefly to greet the older man who sat against the wall, clothing tattered and a plastic jar set out in front of him, calling him by name. The man replied courteously, asking how his day had gone and thanking him when he left a dollar or two in the container before continuing down the path. After walking for about twenty minutes, a half an hour at the longest, they reached the apartment complex. He guided Daniel up the stairs and onto the third floor, walking to apartment 223. He slid his key into the lock, unlocked it, and began to push the door open -


_____"James!" He jumped back, pulling the door shut and feeling his face burn. He turned to Daniel, trying not to look embarrassed as he was. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't think that she'd, you know..." he apologized, forcing causality into his tone, but there was a tension in his shoulders that made it clear that he wasn't feeling as nonchalant as he acted. He could hear his mother scrambling around in the apartment and trying to pull on her clothes, hearing fragments of her conversation with her boyfriend as she did. ("Get dressed!" "- don't see why - not like he hasn't seen it -" "- got a friend with him - clothes on, Jerry!") Hoping beyond hope that Daniel couldn't hear it as clearly as he could, Jamie bounced his leg anxiously, pushing open the door after a few minutes and shooting his mother, who was still adjusting her shirt, a look.


_____"I didn't think you'd be home this early!" she snapped as Jamie grabbed Daniel's arm, pulling him through the main room and to his bedroom door, ignoring Jerry as he greeted him with a belch of Hey, champ, still not wearing his shirt and reaching for the remote to turn on the cheap TV. Jamie pulled Daniel right passed them, pushing the door closed behind them and letting out a small breath of annoyance.

 

[Run Rabbit Run]

Daniel

​

Having scored a handshake with the scariest punk in town, Daniel felt like he was having a pretty good day, and things only got better from there on in. At break, he got a text from his father saying he had another business meeting scheduled and would be leaving first thing tomorrow morning for the week. At lunch, he successfully avoided Alent's vigilance thanks to Jack harassing him and managed to bin the entirety of his meal. Come the end of school, he had Jamie to look forward to. What more could he ask for?


Meeting up with the punk, he didn't really mind the cold treatment. From how quiet Jamie was, he'd already deduced the guy was shyer than he let on, and Daniel could respect that. He'd always found being extroverted and loud to be the best form of covering up social anxiety, but people coped in different ways he supposed. Tightening the strap of his messenger bag, he followed as instructed, keeping close. This served two purposes: one, he got to play study Jamie, and two, it meant potential vagrants wouldn't see rich boy nerd kid wandering alone. Way he saw it, Jamie would be enough to scare anyone off for the both of them. That was, assuming everyone in his neighbourhood was as scared of him as the school populace was.


Playing the silent observer, he watched as the terrifying, deeply feared rough-tough punk of the school chatted amiably with a homeless guy, and even gave him a couple of dollars. "You know that guy?" Daniel asked, curious as to why Jamie was being so nice to him. Sure, maybe he was just that nice, but school rumours would suggest otherwise. Either way, it piqued his interest, and he wasn't once bored even during the long walk. The time was useful for mulling over the question that was Jamie, and Daniel began to find their Sociology teacher less of an asshole; he'd been right, studying others could prove informative. Especially mysterious punks who gave to the poor.


Things turned from interesting to comedic entertainment when Jamie opened his front door. Daniel had to cover a laugh at walking in on a semi-naked couple, who failed to dress all that subtly or quickly. He was hardly scarred by the experience - he did, after all, have internet access at home - but the amusement faded a little at spotting Jamie's reaction to the hysterical scene. He looked so... uncomfortable, and more than that, upset. Was this a regular occurrence, rather than a one time mishap?


"Don't mind us," Daniel said cheerfully, right as Jamie grabbed him and dragged him past the couple. He even gave a wave, determined to brush over the whole thing so that maybe Jamie would look less horrorstruck. "Nice to meet you Jamie's mum." He only dropped the sunny smile when Jamie had slammed the door shut, his face relaxing. Jamie still looked so irritated, but it was refreshing to at least see him expressing so much emotion for once, instead of the guardedness of the classroom.


"That'd make for a good diary entry," he said with dry amusement, "though maybe not one appropriate for class, however much of a free-loving hippie our teacher is." Looking around Jamie's house, Daniel felt the usual rich-privilege guilt at how different Jamie's living conditions were to his own. It wasn't that he minded staying there, but rather made a mental note to invite Jamie around to his instead as often as possible, both so he could escape from watching his mother and her boyfriend screw, and so he could put luxury to good use and pamper him. The grumpy punk seemed like he could do with some of that.


Going to find somewhere to sit, Daniel yanked his bag round and tugged out the assignment booklet, leafing through it with disinterest. He less cared about the classwork now, more actually about finding out about Jamie. "That happen often?" He asked quietly, nodding in the direction of the door.

 

[Hadley McGarden]

_____"Pah, champ. How old does he think I am, nine?" Jamie scoffed, glaring at the door for a moment before turning and looking over his room. As usual, it looked like a hurricane had recently struck, clothes and discarded notebooks laying randomly around the room. An easel stood in the corner, the canvas resting on it had a lovely and almost whimsical painting decorating it, courtesy of Jamie himself. A poster of Team Free Will's logo was on the wall, along with a sign that read Fall Out Shelter and a childish drawing pinned above his old dresser. His bed was basically a mattress shoved in the corner, a simple blanket thrown over the top of it and the pillow nothing but a wrinkled lump at the top of the mattress. A guitar stood against the wall, obviously secondhand but still beautiful, and picks were scattered across every open surface.


_____"Sorry 'bout the mess," he mumbled, beginning to gather the clothes that covered the floor in patches, putting them together in a laundry basket and setting the basket at the base of his bed, "I don't normally have people over." He grabbed a sheet out of the laundry basket and walked over to the canvas, tossing the sheet over, bristling lightly at the question. "More often then I'd like to admit," he muttered, walking over to the window and pulling it open, "You'd think that, after three years of getting home at practically the same time, she'd expect me to be home about now." He then snorted, turning and taking a seat on his black bean bag, since the only actual chair in the room was currently occupied. "Not that it really matters to her, but whatever," he added, more to himself than to Daniel. Mere minutes after he had pushed open the window, a large, scruffy, one-eyed calico cat climbed up the fire escape and hopped up onto the windowsill, though Jamie didn't seem bothered.


_____"That's Snitch," he informed Daniel, gesturing to the cat, "He doesn't have rabies, but he does have an extra claw on each paw, so don't pull his tail or anything." The cat flicked what was left of his tail and jumped off the sill and into the room, strolling over to Jamie and pawing at his arm, meowing softly. Jamie rolled his eyes, turning his attention to the cat once more. "I don't have food for you," he stated simply, reaching for his patched up backpack and pulling it over to him, "I might have something left over from lunch, but it's nothing you'll like." The cat meowed again, nudging his forearm with his paw. "Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you," he sighed, pulling a paper bag out of his bag. From the bag, he produced a half eaten sandwich, setting it down for the cat and watching as Snitch began to sniff it before looking up at Jamie, apparently unimpressed. "Have at it," Jamie said to the cat, gesturing to the sandwich, "It's all you're getting from me." Snitch stared at him for a moment, then turned back to the sandwich, pushing the bread aside with his nose and beginning to tentatively nibble on the lettuce that lay below. Jamie rolled his eyes and turned to his bag once more, rummaging through it before pulling out a notebook that was originally intended for math work. That didn't last long. A tiny grin formed on his lips at the thought, and he flipped to a page that wasn't covered in meaningless doodles, raising his gaze to Daniel.


_____"So, how are we going to do this?" he asked, squirming to get comfortable in his bean bag and doing his best to ignore the heavy scent of alcohol beginning to drift into the room from around the cracks in the door, "Just...ask questions and get answers?" He resisted the urge to scrunch up his nose at the smell, praying that his mother and her boyfriend wouldn't take up where they left off once they were drunk. That wasn't something he wanted Daniel to hear. He almost wanted to believe that it was his own secret stash of beer giving off the scent, but they were all tightly closed and well hidden - speaking of which, he could really go for one right about now. He was tempted to get up and grab himself a Budweiser, but his gaze fell on Daniel once more and he hesitated, unsure of how the older boy may react. He could always ask if the boy drank, and if he did, if he wanted a beer, but he wasn't too keen on sharing his limited supply. Besides, it wouldn't be wise to send Daniel home drunk, especially if he had a parent home. (And Jamie knew he did due to his earlier comment about his seemingly strict father being present.) He didn't want to be tattled on, either, and since he couldn't know for sure if Daniel was the type of guy who would alert an adult about Jamie's underage drinking, he supposed he better not risk it. Sure, the majority of the school's population knew he got drunk from time to time, considering he'd come to school with what appeared to be a hangover more than once, but they didn't have any real proof, so he'd never really had to worry about them ratting him out.

 

[Run Rabbit Run]

Daniel

​

Feeling restless, Daniel tossed aside the paper booklet and dumped his bag upon it. Standing, he went to take a turn about the room as a Jane Austen novel would say. The guitar was obviously the first thing to catch his attention, and because he was a kinetic learner with no regard for personal boundaries, he crouched down before it and gently ran his thumb down the side. "Guess he's trying to be friendly," Daniel said to the Champ comment with a shrug, admiring the guitar. So pretty. It had a worn, aged look, but he'd always liked that in guitars. "You don't expect adults to be in touch with the modern world, do you?" He glanced back at Jamie with a wry smirk, watching him as he covered the painting.


"Mess is fine. And hey, it was an entertaining introduction to your mum." The band poster on the wall catching his eye, he left the pretty guitar behind to go inspect it. Looking between that and Jamie's shirt, he twinned the two together and made a mental note to go look up whatever the hell Team Free Will was. He liked the room though, the clutter kind of comforting; small, cramped spaces had always made him feel more relaxed. "Your mum a bit of a ditz?" He asked as Jamie spoke, not wanting to right out say 'so tell me about your mother', but curious to understand the not so subtle contempt layered into Jamie's voice.


Everything was all well and fine until- "Kitty." Daniel went to crouch by it almost immediately, content just to listen as Jamie rambled on to the cat much more than he'd ever spoken to Daniel in the entire day. Being as prone to just touching things as he was, the one thing he had learned not to simply begin petting was cats. Angry bastards. But so endearing nonetheless. It was so cute though; the battered, missing-bits-and-pieces ones were always Daniel's favourite. Unfortunately his father had never let him keep any of the mangy strays he'd brought home, because apparently they were worth less than the carpets they pissed on, and probably had fleas. He supposed that was one of the advantages of living in the trashier part of town; strays were a part of life.


He couldn't help laughing at Jamie's scolding tone towards the cat, glancing up at him. There was something unfairly charming about Jamie, but largely when he was talking to other people. It served only to make Daniel want to earn that, to earn whatever trust meant that Jamie would actually talk to him in full, non-drawled sentences.


Catching himself, realising he'd just been staring and smiling lopsidedly like a moron, he returned his attentions to the cat. Cautiously, having learned the tricks of the trade from years of harassing strays, he petted the ginger tom cat, watching him nibble at the lettuce. It yowled in complaint to begin with, focused on its food, but with a little bit of coaxing and a good base-of-the-tail and ear-scratch combo, Daniel just about managed to get Snitch to purr. He'd never been more proud of himself.


Staying seated on the floor playing with Snitch like an eight year old, he looked up at Jamie upon being questioned. "Guess that's the best way to start," he agreed with a shrug. Leaning back he yanked his questionnaire from where he'd dumped it on the bedsheets, along with retrieving his glasses from his rucksack and pushing the spectacularly dorky horn-rimmed pair up his nose. Leafing through, he couldn't help laughing. "Was teach high when he wrote this? One of them is 'what's you're favourite flavour of ice cream'. That's a little bit personal, don't you think? Might let me see into your soul a little too much." In all fairness, some of them were a little too prying. Did they have to answer these all honestly? Some were corny as fuck, i.e. number 34) What is your worst fear? Where as others were just a tadge disturbing, for example 12) Have your parents every physically harmed you? Maybe this was all secretly a disguised child protection scheme project.


"Weeeeeee could go through these and groan about them together. Or we could write our own answers to them then swap? Apparently we're supposed to 'discuss' them though. Fuck it. I don't know." He was feeling uncomfortable enough already, and restless; the only thing keeping him sane was the fact that Snitch had just clambered up into his lap and curled up there, taking the lettuce with him. A pungent scent of alcohol came drifting through; it was not one Daniel was particularly familiar with, but he could recognise it. Bit early, wasn't it? Given what he'd just witnessed, and how distressed Jamie looked, it was probably a social lubricant so Jamie's mum and the guy could continue doing what had been interrupted.


"Why don't we walk and talk?" He suggested, standing and picking up Snitch. The cat meowed in protest and leapt off of him, back onto the windowsill and looked a little disgruntled at being displaced from his lap seat. "Sorry Snitch," Daniel said humbly, before plastering on a grin and turning to Jamie. "You can show me what it's like where you live, that crosses like five of these questions off, and then I can ply you with unnecessarily personal questions on the way. Best mandatory, school-enforced date ever or what?" He didn't care that he was rambling, he was feeling shaky and lightheaded, which he blamed on the heavy stink of alcohol, and figured at least Jamie might feel better if they got out of the house before anything awkward happened with the adults next door.


Not even giving Jamie time to answer as his vision went a bit funny, he slipped out of his room and gave a cheery "Bye Jamie's mum and guy person!" From school rumours he knew the guy wasn't Jamie's dad, but boyfriend, step-dad, whatever, he didn't know. All he knew was he felt much better when he was outside the apartment in the clean air and leant back against the wall waiting for Jamie. He had no idea what had brought on the sudden anxiety wave, be it the future questions, Jamie's discomfort, or the smell. He just hoped Jamie thought he was an over enthusiastic nerd rather than a proper nutjob, and thus was careful to greet him with a grin when he next saw him. "Escort me on a tour of your estates, wont you?"

 

[Hadley McGarden]

_____"That's the understatement of the century," Jamie scoffed, itching for a beer now that he'd considered grabbing one, "She's the Queen of the Ditzes. New boyfriend every week, and I'm not exaggerating. Not even a little bit." He frowned slightly, folding his hands like two pale birds nestled in his lap. "Stopped keeping track of names years ago. Think this one's name is Jerry, but I'm not sure. They're all the same, anyway. All pig-headed assholes with no real affection for her, only looking to screw and dump her. Seriously, she has the worst taste. Nine out of ten of her boyfriends are complete sickos." Jamie's frown deepened at some of the memories that resurfaced at the statement, quickly pushing them away and turning his attention back to his notebook. Considering that only one person in each partnership got the questionnaire and they weren't given a page to record their answers on, since they were going to compile it all into a few paragraphs by the end, he was going to be using the half empty notebook to write down any and all information he gathered. He raised his gaze, cocking a brow, at the inquiry about Mr. Charnley's condition when he wrote the questions, rolling his eyes at the question about personal preferences when it came to ice cream flavors. All the same, though, the little comment at the end managed to make him grin just a little bit, which was a major accomplishment, considering the stone wall Jamie usually had his emotions hidden in. Unfortunately, the smile faded fast, and had completely vanished by the time Daniel suggested they go for a walk while they talked, being able to tell that the boy was getting uncomfortable fast - he didn't need to be an expert people reader to be able to tell that. It was obvious in Daniel's tone, his face, his posture, his everything.


_____Still, he nodded and got to his feet, sliding a pen he grabbed off his dresser into the spine of the notebook and then tucked the notebook itself under his arm, following Daniel into the main room of the apartment and feeling irritation creeping up on him again when he spotted his mother and her boyfriend on the couch, lips locked in a sloppy kiss. Margaret at least had enough maternal instinct to look up when she heard Jamie heading for the door, pulling back just long enough to speak.


_____"Where are you going?" she asked, not paying any mind to her boyfriend beginning to kiss her neck, neither of the adults noticing (or at least neither caring) how Jamie squirmed upon witnessing this.


_____"Out," he stated stiffly, continuing towards the door. Margaret rolled her eyes, Jerry beginning to leave kisses along her exposed collarbone.


_____"No shit, out where?" she countered, gradually becoming distracted by her boyfriend's wandering lips.


_____Jamie didn't cast her a glance, keeping his gaze locked on the open doorway as he responded, "It doesn't matter." That was enough for Margaret, and she resumed her messy make-out session with her boyfriend, neither of the two looking up when the door slammed. Rolling back his shoulders, Jamie gestured for Daniel to follow him and headed down the hallway. Back down the stairs and out the doors, Jamie relaxed once they were standing on the sidewalk, as rundown and shady the street was. Turning to Daniel, he clapped his hands together. "Now, since I'm not looking forward to those questions and would like to put them off for as long as possible, I'm gonna give you a little tour," he told the older boy, leaving no room for argument, "Show you the finer points of our shitty part of the city. Follow me." The next half an hour was spent walking throughout the collection of crumbling streets that made up Jamie's neighborhood, the younger male pointing out things such as the pizza place ("Best pizza ever, way better than the place uptown serves, and it's way cheaper. Bill's is the superior pizza joint.") the local convenience store ("It's a charming little shop, but I'm kinda not allowed there, so you'll have to check it out some other time.") and the park. ("The playground's okay, but the rest of the place is druggie paradise. Try not to spent too much time there.") Finally, he'd run out of finer points to show Daniel, and sighed, taking the questionnaire and looking it over, a frown forming on his face. "I suppose we should get this started, huh?" He grumbled, looking none too pleased by the prospect, "Can't put it off forever, right? Guess we should -"


_____"Hey, is that Jamie Overland?"


_____"I think it is!"


_____Jamie bristled, grabbing Daniel's elbow and pulling him along the sidewalk. "Walk faster," he hissed out of the corner of his mouth, keeping his head down and his steps quick. Unfortunately, he didn't get very far before a meaty hand clasped onto the collar of his shirt, pulling him back and giving him no choice but to release Daniel's arm. He was pushed back against the wall, two brawny redheaded boys looming over him, predatory smirks on their lips and their eyes narrowed.


_____"It's been a while, hasn't it, Jamie?" the first mused, the calmness of his tone possessing an underlying malice. Jame tensed, but didn't reply, his gaze flickering rapidly between the twin boys.


_____"You know, we've missed you the past few years," the second added, a gauze patch covering one of his eyes, "We really need to catch up; rumors can only tell us so much. We hear your mother's been getting busy. A different client everyday, as they say on the street."


_____"Shut the fuck up!" Jamie growled, his fists clenching. He may not have been on the best terms with his mom, but she was still his mother, and only he was allowed to rip on her. His reaction caused the two boys' grins widened.


_____"Ooh, seems I struck a nerve, didn't I, Ron?" the one with gauze patch chuckled, his one good eye roaming Jamie's slender form.


_____"It would appear you did, Jon," the other replied, crossing his arms, "But now isn't the time for that, as fun as it would be to rile 'em up. We have much more important matters to deal with."


_____"Indeed we do. Now, tell us, Jamie, where've you been the past few years?"


_____"Because you know where we've been, don't you? That jail cell was awfully cold without our little mouse to warm us up." Between the nauseating intertwining of their voices, that last phrase stood out especially clear, and Jamie felt his face flush, his glare intensifying.


_____"I'm not -" he began, but he didn't have time to finish before the twins had started up once more.


_____"Fortunately for you, we're very forgiving," Ron cooed, reaching to twirl a lock of Jamie's hair around his finger and smirking at the way the smaller male tensed.


_____"Of course we are," Jon added, stepping closer, "But all the same, three years of our lives were sacrificed while you got out scott free. That doesn't seem fair, does it?"


_____"Not at all, Jon."


_____"So, for that reason, we're going to ask you for, ah, a favor. A few favors, actually. Play along, and we'll be very nice," he drawled, looking down at the petite teenager in front of him, whose brows had just furrowed.


_____"A favor? What the hell do you -" At that moment, one of the older boy's hands wandered to grab a place it certainly should not have been, and Jamie gave a startled squeal in response, instinctively grabbing Jon's wrist and twisting it as far as he could, relishing in the yelp he got in response, "Don't fucking touch me!"

 

[Run Rabbit Run]

Daniel listened quietly to Jamie's rant about his mother's boyfriends, surprised the boy was talking so much but glad that he was doing that instead of shutting down. He admitted he had to be grateful his father seemed almost asexual in his romantic habits, Daniel never once having seen other women around the house, and he'd definitely never walked in on anything scarring. He wanted to ask how long it had been going on for, but felt he'd pried enough and thus bit back on any further comments, focusing instead on the cat.


Later, once they'd both fled the apartment, he grinned at the brief argument Jamie had had with his mother as to where they were going. "Sassy," he remarked dryly, able to recall plenty of similar ones with his own father. Albeit his father had been less half-naked and drunk, more faintly bored. His smirk softened into a smile, watching Jamie now as he seemed at least a little more open than when they'd met in class, and definitely more animated. "A little tour sounds wonderful."


And it was. Jamie made an excellent tour guide, more comical than informative but hey, at least Daniel knew where to get good cheap pizza now, and which parts to avoid if he ever ended up spending more time around these parts. He tried to be a good listener, snickering when Jamie was being funny, and slowly relaxing out of the weird anxiety that had popped up earlier. It was surprisingly nice, being shown all the odd bits and pieces of downtown. He had to admit that when Jamie nabbed the questionnaire - which he had completely forgotten about - he was a little disappointed.


"I think someone's calling you," he remarked as people shouted out for Jamie. Was Daniel about to discover his rough-tough fellow punk friends? Judging by Jamie dragged him away, he would guess not. Out of curiosity he looked back over his shoulder at the two quite frankly ugly men who were pursing them. "Your besties?" He guessed sarcastically, matching Jamie's pace. His heartbeat quickened when Jamie was grabbed though, and the chilled, joking atmosphere of the tour vanished in an instant. Who the hell were these assholes? And just how scary did they have to be to be messing with Jamie?


He was helpless to do much more than watch as the two men, Ron and Jon apparently, plied Jamie with insult after insult, manhandling him and the like. Stood on the sideline, Daniel tried to distract them and break it up by clearing his throat a couple of times, but they ignored him completely. He was about to run and get help when the assholes in question went about grabbing Jamie in areas they had no right to be grabbing him, and Daniel froze. Oh. So they were the worst kind of assholes.


His expression calmed even as his heart raced faster, and his body language changed. From awkwardly shying away, his shoulders squared and he turned so that he was at an angle. They seemed to have dismissed him as a useless dweeb, which would come in handy. Element of surprise and all.


Jon was the one largely pinning and touching Jamie, so Daniel focused on him. He had a nice big face, which made for a lovely nice big target. Inhaling, he tried to remember how people punched in films, and what he'd learned from scraps in the past, and just sort of... went for it.


It was a good punch, he got that from the loud cracking noise the guy's nose made. More important, Jon or Ron or whatever he was called was caught off guard by it, and his hands went on automatic to his possibly broken nose. By extension, Jamie was released. Step one completed.


Step two was a little less badass. Daniel didn't really fancy hanging around to get pulverised by two men who clearly knew how to handle themselves. So, instead, he grabbed Jamie by the wrist and yanked him out of there, physically dragging him out from where the two cavemen had him pinned. From there on in it was a matter of dead sprinting and dragging him down the street by the hand, turning into a more populated area where two giant apes couldn't go unnoticed when harassing someone. It was a temporary shelter, but shelter nonetheless.


Catching his breath, his vision and head spinning way more than they ought to be, Daniel released Jamie and doubled over. "You want to explain what the fuck they meant?" Daniel asked breathily, glancing up to check Jamie was still alive and that the apes weren't coming.

 

[Hadley McGarden]

_____Jamie didn't stop - he didn't want to. Though not a particularly violent person, he was a defensive one, and when he felt as though his sense of security was being breached, his main goal was to get back to a point where he felt safe. Currently, to do that, he had to make sure it got through Jon's thick skull that no, that was not allowed, not okay. "Woah, woah, easy there, mousy," Ron hissed, stepping forward as if to pull Jamie off of his brother. The next thing Jamie did was purely instinct. Sure, kicking someone in the crotch when you felt threatened wasn't generally the best instinct, but in this case, it was very beneficial to Jamie, as it put one brother out of commission for a bit. Now there was only one left, but before he could think about doing anything other then bending his wrist the wrong way, someone stepped in and handled Jon for him. Jamie blinked in surprise, his gaze shooting to Daniel as Jon shouted, hands automatically moving to cup his injured nose. However, the shock wore off when Daniel grabbed hold of his wrist and Jamie took off beside him, having built up quite a bit of stamina after years of weaving around angry shop workers and dodging some of his mother's more aggressive boyfriends. Needless to say, he was very fast, and was only slightly winded by the time they reached a more crowded street, ignoring the strange looks passerby were giving them. (Those looks stopped pretty quick after Jamie glared at a particularly noticeable young man who was gaping at them. He hurried off, and the rest of the crowd averted their eyes for the most part.) He forced himself to straighten up, gaze flickering around the street as he searched for the two brutes, visibly relaxing when he didn't spot them anywhere on the street. They seemed to have decided that it was wise to clear off, much to Jamie's relief.


_____"Assholes," Jamie grumbled, running his fingers through his hair, "I was hoping I'd never see them again, but I guess that's too much to ask for, huh?" Resisting the urge to kick a rock at the nearest stranger, he turned to Daniel, frowning lightly. Obviously, it was a matter he didn't want to discuss, but he figured he owed the older boy something after the help he'd given when it came to dealing with the twins. "Let's make a long story short, okay?" he replied curtly, crossing his arms over his chest, "When I was younger and dumber, I started hanging out with a really bad crowd, got into some really bad stuff, did some really bad things. Like, jail-worthy things. One of these things involved Douche One and Douche Two, and while I got smart and ran, they stayed behind and got arrested. Their fault, not mine, but they obviously have a very different opinion on the matter." It wasn't supposed to be loaded. He flinched and turned away, eyes moving up the road and his grip on his own arms tightening to the point where his knuckles turned white. "Come on, they avoid the playground like the plague because of all the adults," he informed Daniel, gesturing for the other boy to follow him before beginning down the street, "Normally, I steer clear too because people tend to think you're a creep if you're any older than thirteen and chose to sit on the sidelines, but if we seem distracted, the parents are less likely to find us alarming." He walked down the sidewalk, maneuvering around civilians and growling at anyone who got in his way. Naturally, people moved out of the way pretty quick, frowning at him but not arguing upon seeing the less than cheerful expression on the teenager face. As many of them knew, teenagers were terrifying, so they carefully avoided stepping too close to the scowling boy. Finally, they reached the playground, currently occupied by a whole bunch of frolicking children, and finding a bench. He sat down, looking over the questionnaire he still held in his hand. "You know, you weren't kidding when you said some of these were pretty personal," he mumbled, flipping through the few pages there was, "Do we have to answer all of these?" He sighed and flipped back to the front page, looking over at Daniel. "So, should we just -"


_____"Jamie!"


_____The boy in question got to his feet almost instantly, immediately assuming it to be the twins and not wanting to deal with them again, but before he could take so much as a single step, a bundle of brown hair and bright smiles tackled him around the torso. Jamie stumbled, but managed to remain standing, relaxing a great deal when he recognized the child pulling herself up his clothing to sit on his hip, arms weaving around his neck.


_____"Holy shit, Em, you scared me," he sighed, boosted her higher on his hip and holding her carefully, expecting the gasp he got in response.


_____"Jamie, that's a bad word!"


_____"I know, I know, I'm sorry," he muttered, "Wasn't thinking." Fortunately, Emma let it go pretty fast, nuzzling his cheek in a way that wasn't unlike a kitten.


_____"What are you doing at the playground?" she asked happily, pulling back to look up at him.


_____"I'm here to work on a project for school," he told her, slowly sitting down with the child in his lap. She nodded, and then took notice of Daniel.


_____"Who's that?" she questioned inquisitively, tilting her head as she looked at the other boy.


_____"Ah, that's Daniel. We're working on the project together," he explained, glancing at Daniel as well, "Daniel, this is Emma." The brunette shifted so she was sitting with her back against Jamie's chest, grabbing a pale hand and beginning to play with the fingers.


_____"Why are you so tired?" she continued, ever the curious child.


_____"We were running laps," Jamie lied, a tiny grin quirking at his lips as Emma scrunched up her nose.


_____"Ew, running. Why?" she said in disgust, pressing the cool knuckles of Jamie's hand against her cheek. For some unknown reason, Jamie was always strangely cold, but some people, like Emma, found it comforting.

 

[Run Rabbit Run]

Daniel had known that Jamie was a bit messed up. Maybe it was a takes one to know one situation, or just because he had experience with really messed up people, but he didn't realise how bad it was until he started explaining to him what had just happened. Sure, Daniel had done his fair share of casual criminal acts, but that was on the rebel teen side of things, not the kind that actually got people arrested, and never with older ape-boys. Going by Jamie's body language, whatever it was had been rough, and affected him deeply. On automatic, because the guy looked like he needed it, Daniel touched his arm lightly. "Least you ran," he said quietly, getting the impression that something had happened, something really bad, but he didn't yet have the confidence to ask what. He grinned to cover up the apprehension of the situation. "Good thing too, or I'd be stuck with a much less exciting project partner. First day and there's already been a chase scene. I want to play me when they make the film of your life, okay? Except I want to look like more of a badass with that punch there." He shook his hand out, over exaggerating the mild sting he felt in his wrist. "That really fucking hurt. Jon or Ron or whatever has a head made out of brick or something."


Thankfully, the park sounded like a good escape from dark-past awkwardness, and Daniel's own ability to just pour shit out of his mouth. So he followed obediently and took a seat on one of the swings next to where Jamie was sat, so he could piss about if he got another restless kick. He was all ready to begin contemplating his favourite flavour of ice cream when out of the blue appeared: a child. His cocky grin faded pretty quickly as the girl clearly knew Jamie, and Daniel went unusually quiet. She was so small, and tiny, and happy. And small.


The way she and Jamie bickered were kind of cute, and Daniel had to admit, he was surprised. He'd never expected Jamie to be good with kids. When they weren't next to said little girl, he'd definitely be making some jokes, but he never knew how to speak around kids. He had a tendency to just swear like a sailor, and moreover, kids were terrifying. If they didn't like you they didn't fuck around, they just said it. If they wanted something, you better damn give it to them. Since Daniel hadn't been in school during most of his formative years, he'd never had much experience with other little kids, and now had no idea what to do with them. His exposure to them had been limited to watching them throw public tantrums, and this one time when some five year old had kicked him in the leg and told him his glasses looked stupid. That... that had been a weird day.


"Hey Emma," Daniel said with an uncertain smile. What if children were like dogs? What if they could smell fear? What if this whole project was ruined because this small person deemed him unworthy of Jamie, who clearly thought quite highly of her for one so small. Children always looked so fragile to him; not like something he should be allowed to be around. "I... how do you two know each other?" Did Jamie just go around befriending small children? He was bros with the homeless guy, so why not. Either way, Daniel was left feeling a bit surreal, which with his head still feeling fuzzy after the sprinting, left him a tadge disorientated.

 

[Hadley McGarden]

_____Jamie sat silently, watching as Emma played with his fingers, noticing a ring with a large fake gem on one of her fingers. A big pink heart glinted in the sun, glued onto gold plastic. It suited her perfectly.


_____"Ooh, pretty ring!" he complimented, fully anticipating the bright smile he got in response. He knew just how to make her smile, and he had for quite some time. Emma was an open book to him; with a glance he could tell when she was down, all he had to do was catch a glimpse of her face to know that something had gone wrong at school or she felt like she was going to vomit. Of course, children were generally easier to read because they rarely bothered to hide their emotions, but Jamie could read Emma almost better than her parents could, and he personally found that to be rather impressive.


_____"Thank you!" Emma chirped before she seemed to remember something, reaching into the pocket of her skirt, "Oh, I got one for you too!" She fished another ring out of her pocket, turning in his lap to face him and holding it out. Unlike hers, it didn't have a gem. It was purely bright orange plastic, the outline of a bat pasted onto the front of it in the same shade. "I wanted to get you a blue one, but we ran out of quarters before any blue ones came out of the machine," she chattered, taking his right hand and sliding the ring onto his finger, "We got a whole bunch of them, but I figured you'd like this one the best because it has a bat on it." Jamie inspected the ring briefly before smiling at the nervous child, waiting eagerly for his opinion.


_____"I love it." Emma visibly relaxed at the response, beaming up at him for a moment before tilting her head so her scalp was facing him and giving a small whine. Jamie rolled his eyes fondly at the familiar cue, leaning to press a kiss to the top of her head. Once he'd pulled back, Emma turned to face the front once more, squirming until she was comfortable, tucked into his chest. Jamie had often described her as being quite similar to a puppy - playful and physically affectionate, she loved to cuddle and goof off and overall just have fun with the people she cared for.


_____"Hm?" Jamie looked over to Daniel at the question, beginning to weave Emma's dark locks into a braid, "Oh, I watch her sometimes. You know, when her parents are out."


_____"Every Tuesday and Thursday!" Emma piped up, closing her eyes as the cool fingers slipped in and out of her hair, "And sometimes on Saturday. We watch movies and go for walks and draw and -"


_____"I think he gets the picture, princess," Jamie chuckled, raising his gaze when he heard someone call the child's name. A man with dark hair and a secondhand leather jacket was walking over to them. He had a kind face with crinkles by his eyes and light stubble along his jaw, warm brown irises brightening when he recognized the boy his daughter sat with.


_____"Ah, Jamie! Good to see you," he greeted kindly ("Good to see you too, Mr. Frost") before lowering his gaze to Emma, "For Pete's sake, Emma, let me know before you run off. I was worried." Emma offered him the winning smile she always used to get out of trouble, bumping her heels lightly against Jamie's shins.


_____"Sorry, papa," she chirped, holding back her hand to offer Jamie the hairband around her wrist as he reached the end of the braid, "I wanted to come say hi and give Jamie his present." Mr. Frost rolled his lovingly and held out his arms.


_____"That's sweet, dear, but just remember to warn me in the future," he scolded gently, "Now, come on, we need to head home." Emma pouted but hopped into his arms, both of them offering light goodbyes before they left. Jamie then turned to Daniel, clearing his throat and pulling his relatively small notebook out of the large pocket on his sweatshirt.


_____"So, uh, figure we should just write out our answers and exchange? We can discuss or whatever later on."