Realistic or Modern We'll Get Through This Together

[DrCompton]

Tommy grabbed various things and put them in the cart, "what do you absolutely love? What's your favorite food?" He looks at Cassie and smiled at her. "Maybe you and I could go grab it together sometime?"


"What the hell are you doing you idiot!?"

 

[goldcat16471]

Cassie stopped momentarily and glanced at Tommy, "Um.." Maybe she was over thinking what he what he said, but it still made her nervous. She decided to go about it casually. "Well I don't know, It's hard to pick." She thought for a moment, "I guess there's this pecan chicken I always used to like, but I haven't had it in forever. I don't know if I'll even like it anymore." She shrugged and turned away putting more stuff into the cart. Thoughts were racing through her mind, but she tried to keep them off her face.

 

[DrCompton]

Tommy blushed a little and was quiet .


"You dope! I told you she wasn't interested. Shut up. No, you shut up ya big idiot! She doesn't like you like that and you shouldn't mess up your friendship. I guess you're right. Of course I'm right!"


Tommy looked at her and smiles, "Well maybe you'll find some." He kept pushing the cart, "think this is enough Noms?"

 

[farewell]

Having brushed her teeth, Vinaya cautiously surveyed the shower stall. At least it had a curtain which was worn, but didn't have any holes in it. She pulled it back carefully and examined the actual shower. The tiles were stained dark and the shower head looked, at the very least, rusted, and perhaps a little too loose for comfort. She decided that the shower was too dilapidated to be safe and so, as she got dressed, she resolved to find somewhere to wash elsewhere, at the very least grateful that she'd decided to shower before leaving the orphanage. When Vinaya returned to the main room, dressed and looking presentable, she noticed Aspen had rejoined them and Nicolette was softly strumming her guitar. The latter baffled Vinaya, who'd never felt an attachment to anything material in her life. The guitar seemed an awful burden to carry, especially when you're escaping from somewhere, but Vinaya had been too preoccupied when they were actually leaving to say anything. And now that she had it, well, there wasn't much point in questioning her - at least, until they had to move, which Vinaya felt they inevitably would. At that point, she'd say something, but until then, she didn't see much harm in Nicolette having it. Besides, maybe she could play on the streets to earn a few bucks here and there. As for Aspen, Vinaya never questioned what he did; he'd never given her any reason to. "Any word from the others?" she asked.

 

[goldcat16471]

Cassie smiled relieved in the topic change, and nodded. "Yeah this should be enough to keep us comfortable for a week. Maybe." She sighed softly, and started walking to the check out counter. Cassie thought more about what Tommy said. She highly doubted he had meant it like a date, no matter how much it sounded like that. Besides now wasn't the best time to talk about dating. As she thought more about it Cassie realized just how much that was an excuse. Cassie never dated, talked about dating, and hadn't ever thought much about it either. Being in the orphanage it was kind of difficult to have a relationship so she never found it reasonable to think about. Of course, she was just as prone to attraction as any other teenager, she just never took it to heart. And entering something that was completely unknown, scared her to death. She shook her head slightly trying to stop thinking about this, and put a small smile back on her face.

 

[Gold Phoenix]

Aspen slipped in and stood silently in the corner, watching the proceedings. He was happy that everyone seemed to be managing quite well with their new situation. Once he was satisfied that everyone was doing okay, he noticed the gentle sounds of guitar music. He closed his eyes for a minute, enjoying the familiarity of music, before locating the source of the sound and smiling over at Nicolette playing her guitar.

 

[AviouslyPTX]

After finishing the song she was playing, Nico (gonna shorten it up cuz I'm tired of writing out the full name) started playing an unfamiliar tune, only to stop after a few moments and find a pen. After writing a bit in her journal, she held the pen in her mouth as she started playing again and humming softly, smiling in satisfaction before stopping and writing again. She repeated the process for a while, her smile getting bigger each time.

 

[SirDerpingtonIV]

Issac was still away in his hiding place, reading. A warm draft of air drifted in through the broken window, and washed over him. He smiled slightly, looking out the window, watching the sun begin to set. He had always liked sunsets, for they were beautiful things in this city of ugly stone and steel. He sighed, longing for the calm forests and tranquil streams he had read of in so many of his books.

 

[DrCompton]

"I will meet you at the checkout counter, find the others." Tommy walked away from Casie to an older man with a manager tag over the left side of his vest. Tommy had always been an easy talker and soon had the man laughing lightly. The man put his arm around Tommy and nodded a little and they walked toward the back office of the store

 

[Gold Phoenix]

Aspen turned to Vinaya. He found her to be slightly intimidating so he kept his reply short. "Nothing yet. They just went out for some supplies. I'm sure they'll be fine, and they should be back soon." He frowned slightly. "I hope they'll be careful." He turned back to the music, noticing the smile that lit up Nicolette's face. It was obvious that she enjoyed music so, deciding that they had enough in common to hold a conversation, walked over to her. "You're really good at the guitar. I've never heard that song before though. It's beautiful." He smiled.

 

[goldcat16471]

"Okay..." Cassie watched him momentarily noting that he didn't head to the checkout counter. She frowned wondering what he was doing, but wasn't going to make any assumptions. She was sure he knew how to take care of himself. She sighed and started searching for the others. She wished they had all made a meeting point and was frustrated with herself for not thinking of that. She glanced around for Xavier and Adam and went to the hygiene aisle for Kira. "Kira, Adam, Xavier..? Any of you around?" She asked out.

 

[AviouslyPTX]

Nico froze and looked up, not realizing she was still smiling. "Thanks," she said softly before adding, "You haven't heard it before because I'm writing it." She blushed at her comment and looked back down. She situated herself on her makeshift bed and sat her guitar down beside her before nervously handing him the journal so he could read it.

 

[Gold Phoenix]

Aspen smiled encouragingly at her. "I've never tried writing my own music before," he mused. He took her journal and scanned the page, analyzing the song. "I think if you changed this here." He pointed at one spot on the page. "And maybe this line too..." He paused for a moment, thinking, a concentrated frown on his face. After making his decision, he tentatively reached out a hand towards her guitar. "May I?"

 

[AviouslyPTX]

Nico looked between him and her guitar skeptically. She hesitantly picked it up and handed it to him, hoping he didn't notice her shaking. She stuffed her hands in her lap and looked down, feeling slightly embarrassed as heat rose to her cheeks in a light pink blush.

 

[farewell]

Vinaya nodded and, watching Aspen and Nico interact, she realized that perhaps she was too out of place staying there. Besides, she was feeling rather unproductive just standing around waiting for the others to return, so she quietly took her leave without a word to anyone. As she reached the street, she contemplated what their next moves should be. If the others were buying supplies now, they should all be set for a little while, but after that, she figured they should probably get moving as quickly as possible. No doubt there would be people looking for them soon enough, which she found ironic considering they were all orphans and nobody ever bothered doing that for them - or for her, at least; the others may have had parents or other caretakers at some point. If that were so, they'd need to lay low for a while, keep an eye on the news, and cover their tracks. They may as well be refugees, which irritated Vinaya, but she ignored it. She was seventeen, after all. Soon enough she'd be eighteen and she could see about getting a high school diploma and getting into college. The thought however, though it was her dream, made her feel a twinge of guilt. It was such an independent choice; what about the others she'd escaped with? Most were younger than her; how could she leave them behind for her own aspirations? Never mind that now, she told herself, rounding a corner. I'm not even eighteen yet. In the meantime, she'd have to get a job that would accept her no questions asked, which was risky, but there was little choice. Something she could do to earn a meager paycheck after a week and leave without repercussions.

 

[Gold Phoenix]

Aspen took her guitar without a word. He sat down on the floor next to Nico, and once he was comfortable began to play. At first he played what she had written out, then he played it again with the changes he made. Eyes closed, he became so focused on the music that he forgot about everything and everyone around him. It began gentle and soothing, rose slowly and became somewhat more upbeat, and fell again before repeating, rising and falling like waves. But as the song was drawing to an end, he returned from wherever the music had taken him. as he played a final note, he opened his eyes. After realizing how quickly he had gotten lost in the sound of the guitar, he blushed and looked down at the floor. "Sorry," he mumbled.

 

[DrCompton]

Tommy jogged up to Cassidy grinning like an idiot and scooped her into a bear hug, "Guess who just got a job as a stock boy!?" He set her down and put his hands on her shoulders while laughing lightly. "He said if I showed up every day next week he'd give me an advance on pay to help us out... If we save enough money we can get out of here!" He rubbed her shoulders, "the whole gang." His hands realized what they were doing and he jerked his hands away, as if she were fire and his face turned a deep shade of red.

 

[goldcat16471]

Cassie laughed from the bear hug and grinned slightly nervous, and looked at him. She blushed softly from his blushing and glanced away smiling, "That's great news!" Once she got her bearings she looked back at him and smiled, "I'm really happy for you. For all of us." She thought for a moment and looked away, "And thank you. I feel like we're asking a lot of you, so really, thank you." Cassie wasn't always good at expressing her feelings, so this was a little tough for her to say. She looked down thinking. Were they going to be able to stay here longer than a week? She hoped so.

 

[yistae]

Xavier wandered around the store, heading to where all the bedding stuff was. They didn't have any real mattresses in the old apartment building and they were probably gonna be moving a lot, so he just got a sleeping bag and pillow for everyone, and a few extra blankets for when it was cold. He wasn't really sure how much any of it cost, let alone all of it together, so he just went to the checkout area and found the others. He held the big bundle of stuff towards Tommy and Cassidy. "Will you guys check this stuff out? Holding it is making my arms tiered," he lied easily, knowing there was no way he'd admit to not understanding what any of the numbers ment.

 

[AviouslyPTX]

Nico sat there listening to the music intently. It had somehow relaxed her and she smiled. She couldn't help but giggle softly when he blushed and looked down. "Don't be sorry," she said softly and added, "it was beautiful." She wrote down each change he had made and smiled widely. "I loved it," she said, studying him closely.

 

[goldcat16471]

Cassie took the sleeping bags from Xavier studying him curiously. "Thanks for getting these." She turned towards the checkout counter and started paying for the items. Once finished she turned back towards Xavier, "Have you seen the others by any chance? I don't want to leave without them but everyone who stayed are probably hungry and waiting for us."

 

[Gold Phoenix]

Aspen looked up at her again. He smiled when she giggled, and realizing she was laughing at him, blushed again. "I used to play a lot of different instruments and stuff," he said almost wistfully. "But it's been a long time since I've held an instrument. It's kind of nice to be able to play. And I'm glad I still remember how," he added with a chuckle. Playing Nico's guitar had made him realize that he missed all the music lessons he used to have. One of his favourite memories came to mind, the image of a petite young woman with black hair flowing down her back playing a grand piano with the light of the full moon shining through a large window.When she turned around to see him standing in the doorway she smiled and beckoned him over. That was the night he first started playing the piano, and the first song he had ever learned, taught by his mother during one of her brief visits.

 

[AviouslyPTX]

Nico smiled at him and lounged back against a nearby wall. She crossed her legs and stuffed her hands in her lap. "The only ones I bothered learning to play were guitar, piano, and saxophone," she admitted, her face turning a deep shade of pink as she blushed again. "And yes I was a major band geek in middle school," she added looking him dead in the eye. She wasn't afraid to admit it, and frankly, she was proud.

 

[SirDerpingtonIV]

Issac closed his book with a sigh. He had finished it. He looked back out, over the city, watching the urban dwellers go about their bustling business. And not for the first time he wondered why he even bothered joining the escape. He might've been able to live a normal life, not that he wanted one anyways, he didn't fit in with other people well. He didn't fit in with any of the other escapees either. He wasn't sure they even realized he was gone.


He sighed, picking up his book. He brought this one with him from the orphanage. He'd keep this one, as it was his favorite book. He'd have to find something else to read though, maybe he'd steal a book from someone else here? If anyone else had a book that is, which he didn't think they did. No matter, I could just take one from a library or something, and return it when I'm finished. I read quickly anyways, they won't even notice it's absence, just as no one notices mine. He put his book on the floor beside him, before getting up, and leaving the room. He didn't want anyone to ask where was going, so he didn't go by the "Main room", instead he took an alternate path, avoiding the "Main room". He arrived at the stairwell, and looked behind him, making sure no one was there, before he began his descent.

 

[DrCompton]

"I'll look for the others, you two go ahead and head back." Tommy smiled a little, "Just have a plate ready for me when we get back please, Im starving." Tommy winked. He took a little money to pay for the rest of the groceries and walked away, looking for the other two members of their party. "If I were Adam and Kira where would I be hiding?" He knew he'd probably walk right past them, but he enjoyed being lost in his own thoughts sometimes.