It's a Day Out [open]

[kayla]

Since the current season was winter, she had bundled up today. Her mother’s old, expensive peacoat was wrapped around her tightly as she crossed her arms around her middle. The exposed chain on her locket necklace and post earrings were starting to grow cold on her skin as she walked a brisk pace to help keep warm. Instead of wearing a cami and t-shirt, she wished she had put on a long sleeved shirt or even better- a turtleneck.

Sighing, she slowed her pace as a certain commotion could be heard from not far up from where she was. She glanced around briefly before walking towards the noise. She frowned at a scuffle between a gifted and one of the guards as they stuffed them into a car before most likely heading back to the slave post. She stayed to the sidewalk while the car drove past, eyes shut against the tears. It was sad and she probably could not have helped him anyway. She had little money and even everything she bought clothing wise was bought from different places that were cheap. Other things like her peacoat had been handed down, the same went for the jewelry. She had not been born into a wealthy family and sometimes she struggled to get by as she aided her grandparents, but she supposed it just enabled her to enjoy the little things in life more.

Her eyes opened then as she gathered her emotions, yet her eyes still looked a little glassy and she sniffed. Glancing around she moved over to a lone row of small and old shops. One was for clothing, another looked like a used book store. Making up her mind, she entered the old bookstore and smelled the scent of old pieces of parchment. At least it was warmer in here than outside. She took her time as she went to one of the back aisles and made her way down it to glace at the titles of the books. One caught her eye as she picked it from the shelf and opened randomly to a page in the middle. As she started reading, it took her a minute to realize what exactly she was reading- a certain, steamy, adult scene in the book. Blushing, she quickly shut the book and shoved it back into its place on the shelf before looking around and wondering if anyone had seen her. At a glance to the small sign above the aisle, she was mixed between laughing or groaning as it said, Romance.

Outfit: here

[skittles]

The boy, almost a man but not quite, shuffled through the book store. He worked here part time and attended some, crazed school the other time. He was putting books away and organizing others. He seemed rather caught up in the task, glancing over leather covers, paper covers, and hard covers. Of course, being your typical teen boy, he snickered at the mere mention of hard. He was seventeen, going on eighteen. Beneath the immature exterior lay a pounding heart of gold.

"You're no good for me, baby, you're strychnine in my stew. Someday you're going to kill me. Still I'm in love with you. Don't know why I come here. I shouldn't but I do. My life's a mess but I love you, yes, I'm your faithful Mister Blue."

[/color]

He spoke as he worked, putting away the books with a gentle fondness. All work and no play..[/color] He mused silently to himself. On several occasions, patrons looked at him as if he were a freak of nature. He wouldn't be the one to deny them their opinion, considering his choice of clothing. He was wearing a pair of denim jeans and a blue shirt that proudly proclaimed, "I facebooked your mom." Of course when he got the look, whether it be from young or old, male or female, he turned to them and pointed to his shirt with a cocky grin.

Some poor woman had the misfortune of muttering something along the lines of how great it was that they had a place in the work force for the mentally challenged. Just to be an ass, he showed her exactly how mentally challenged he was. He had walked right up to her without a care in the world and smacked her posterior with a firm thwack of his hand. Then he moved on and turned, staring at her with his customary grin. Her cheeks were flushed, and her mouth was hanging wide open like she was trying to catch a fly. She was about to go off, but he was faster. He always had a catty remark ready for times like these.

"Aw..shucks! Me sorry, lady..me no know any bettuh."[/color]

He snickererd and walked away from her before he could do anymore damage. Of course his boss, not much older than him, found it hilarious so he never got fired. He could do anything he wanted in retaliation, within limits, and not get in trouble for it. Some had been asking for it. Others had simply been a pawn in his crude joke. He shrugged it off at this point, nearly bumping into a female patron who looked down on her game and was browsing the romance section of the store. An automatic apology flew from past his lips.
[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[kayla]

Romance novels just happened to something she liked to read, but she usually skipped over those parts. She continued to look through the various books and titles and pulled out another and flipped to a random page. She began reading again and realized it was one of those scenes at the same time someone spoke. A startled squeak caught in her throat, only letting out some of the startled noise as she glanced towards a guy and blushed, the book still open. Her eyes could not meet the person who spoke to her and quickly darted back to the still open book- her face growing pinker by the second. That was, until she realized she had not responded to the boy’s apology and that steamy scene was still on that page. Her eyes winded as she shut the book quickly, thinking that he had managed to catch her reading something she actually had not purposely tried to read.

”Oh, um sorry- I mean uh…” she shook her head to hopefully clear it and its jumbled thoughts. "It’s ok,” she said and looked at the boy before turning back to look down and at the book. That was embarrassing. Had he managed to quietly sneak up behind her and read over her shoulder? No. She would have noticed! Sometimes she just could feel eyes on her or something like most people could get that weird feeling. She would have even heard him breathing! Had she really just been oblivious to the world around her because of one scene from a book? No, she couldn’t have. Still looking down at the closed book and moving her hand to see the front cover, she saw the chest of a beautifully sculpted male. Mentally she groaned and brought her hand up to cover her eyes before ghosting it over the rest of her face and looking up to place the book back.

Please have not seen that, please have not seen that. Her plead repeated for a few times before stopping as she finally calmed down enough to see if the guy was still there. Her face was warm and knew it was probably tinted a darker shade of pink than normal. Her fingers were currently cold and she looked away back to the shelf as she brought her hands to her cheeks and let the cool flesh rest against the warm. Soon enough she pulled her head out of her hands and turned to the male who was not much taller than her. ”Oh! I’m sorry! Am I in your way?” Today just did not seem like it was going to be a good day.

[skittles]

He frowned and shook his head. Slender fingers slid through his hair. "Naw."

[/color] He gave her a lopsided grin, extending his hand. "Name's Shawn, but folks call me Blue."[/color] He paused, thinking for a few moments. He quickly added something else.

"I work here part time. I do the boss's work at times."[/color] He gave her another lopsided grin. He fell silent for a moment or so, debating on what to say. He had several ideas in mind, but he'd allow her to speak before he flapped his jaws like the idiot that he usually was. He rolled his shoulders, leaning against the book case. His eyes flickered to the title of her book.

He attempted to recall the title but fell short. He wasn't one for romance novels, but he knew that they no longer purchased or accepted donations when it came to that book. It wasn't normally one that flew off the shelves like the others. They had to do what was best for a profit, after all. He was quite the ass when it came to his pay check and called the shots more than his boss could ever dream to do. Slender fingers slid through his hair yet again, tugging at the silken strands. He was still rather childlike for his age, but he had no qualms with it.[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[kayla]

When she asked if she was in his way, she was a little relieved to hear that she was not, but was still a little tense from before. He held out his hand and she took it with a small smile, ”Nice to meet you, I’m Kyla.” She only hoped that her hand and fingers weren’t too cold for him and took it back soon after. Blue was an interesting nickname, maybe his favorite color was blue? Her thoughts were brought to the forefront now as he spoke to her again. There was that grin and Kyla found it slightly adorable, but composed herself enough to turn back to the book shelf to scan the titles.

”Even though you only work here part time, you end up doing some of your boss’s work, huh?” She waited for a moment, bringing her hand up and used her index finger to scan the titles now. She stopped though and looked back to Shawn. ”Well, I hope they pay you enough, don’t want that hard work to go to waste.” At this, she flashed a grin and scanned the titles some more, using her index finger to keep her place. A few seconds later she had placed her hand back to her side and shifted her weight and herself a few more inches away from the boy. She spare a glance back towards him quickly to see his frame leaning against the bookshelf. Something about males looking casual… she shook her head, not caring if he saw her, and went back to browsing the titles. ”Then again, you don’t seem to be working much even when you’re here. Leaning against the bookshelf looking all casual and all…” Her tone was challenging, wondering if he would pick up the bait for a little fun banter. Even when she finished speaking her eyes stayed trained on the spines of the books, trying to keep a grin from breaking out.

It had been a while since she had a nice, friendly banter with someone anyway, maybe he would enlighten her? Despite being all nice and such, she could have a more… daring and nasty side to her and it all depended on what was going on. Looking back on things, Ky realized that she was actually more out of her shell now than she ever was. She had grown bolder in some cases even though she still appeared to be the shy and quiet type for the most part. She was growing up. With her grandparents needed watching over, she sort of had to grow up. When she had time and could afford it, she loved hanging out with some of her friends (however few) somewhere. Sighing, she dipped her head before shifting her gaze to look up at Shawn from under her lashes. An attempt to be cool about this, would it work? Would she be able to have a little fun today?

((UGH! It’s crap! I’m sorry. >_<))

[skittles]

He shrugged. "Bossman isn't quite normal. Me, being a senior in high school, my hours are quite limited."

[/color] He frowned for a moment. "As for the amount of work I have, I got it done when I got here. Ever since the gifted thing went down, the store hasn't been getting a lot of business."[/color] He sighed, rubbing his wrist.

"When people fear beings like gifteds and know that they try to use this as their escape point, they steer clear of it."[/color] He gave her a wry grin. "Makes my job easier when the bossman sits back and watches the television for hours on end."[/color] Slender fingers tore through his light blond hair as his brow knitted momentarily in thought. His thoughts drifted toward his brother, but he shoved it away before he could dwell on it. He would need to save the sob memories for after work. His eyes flickered towards the titles of the books that she kept glancing at as a frown etched into his features.

"Reading might bring some enjoyment and let you think you're getting the full experience, Kyla. I've learned the hard way that it never compensates for what one lacks. Sure, it brings small comfort but it's only temporary."[/color] He paused, giving her another grin. "Yah dig, dawg? Seriously, though.."[/color] He mused. [/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[kayla]

As he spoke, she listened, but she was still looking at books instead of him. Just because she was looking somewhere else did not mean that she was not giving him the majority of her attention. What a lazy boss he had then. She glanced over to him in time enough to see him run his fingers through his hair. He seemed to do that a lot… a nervous habit, maybe? Some girls twirled their hair as a habit and nobody is perfect and everyone was entitled to their flaws. The gifted situation made her think of one of the gifteds she had met before- a time ago. That was back when she was still wrapped tightly in that shell of hers. The topic switched however, and Kyla froze, her eyes growing a little wide to show a little shock.

Did… did he just- insult her somehow? Her arms went to cross over her chest as she angled herself towards him and set her knee to bend a little in an “oh yeah?” position. ”Who says that I want the full experience?” That sounded defensive didn’t it? Shoot. ”Learned the hard way, meaning you have had experience with the whole thing? Please, I doubt it.” Yikes, maybe that was a little harsh. Ok, granted she had wished that some of what happened in those sappy romance novels happened to her, not the sad parts, just the happy ones that would make her heart flutter. But what the heck, “dawg” is the word he used. Despite his grin from earlier, she glared at him. She could not stay mad for long and shook her head, letting out a sigh and dropping her arms. ”The books may not give you the whole experience, but they let you dream and don’t leave you.” She shrugged after saying this as if pointing out a well-known fact. She had never had a boyfriend or her first kiss, but she was a girl and she could dream.

[skittles]

He grunted. "I guess."

[/color] His voice was mumbled. He debated on whether or not to reveal tidbits of his past. "....Not every guy you meet is an airhead, Kyla."[/color] He sighed and slid his hands through his hair again. Well one could say the proper term is that he ripped them through the silken strands until his eyes watered.

The pain radiating on his scalp didn't register until several moments later. When it did, he dropped his arms lamely at his sides. He grunted again, sliding his hands into his pockets. He wasn't sure what to do, and the girl made him nervous. Unsure of himself. "Some guys have morals."[/color] He murmured faintly.

He knew he should pay more attention to his job than the girl, but he couldn't help himself. She just seemed so...vulnerabale. It made his insides twist into knots before he could even get a word in edge wise. He closed his eyes momentarily. "Sorry for prying."[/color] He purred as smoothly as he possibly could. Luckily for him, she didn't know him well enough to guess that he was a nervous wreck..at least he hoped she couldn't guess.[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[kayla]

Her name came from his lips and something inside of her leaped as she drew her mouth shut and looked away. She felt bad now, she shouldn’t have been so snapping with him dang’it! She hated feeling guilty and… well, she had started the whole verbal feud. This was her fault and she needed to fix it, but how?

When he grunted, she couldn’t help but to look at him this time to make sure things were alright. She was not smiling anymore and when he mentioned some guys having morals (which she knew to be true), she started to chew on inside of her bottom lip. Her mouth should have been glued shut earlier. Somehow, she planned on making things better between the two of them. He probably viewed her as some stuck-up… witch. She didn’t want that. She was determined to change his view of her- assuming he viewed her in a bad way.

Kyla closed her eyes for a moment to think and shook her head, her arms moving so that she was hugging herself. ”No, I’m sorry. I sort of… wasn’t being nice. I’m sorry.” She only glanced at him once before looking off to the side. Her voice had been soft and she cheeks were flushed by now because she was embarrassed by how mean she had probably sounded to him. Sighing, she brought her head back and lifted her hand to rest her cold fingers against her right temple as she looked down. Her left arm was still around her torso and her fingers dug into her side in a self-conscious movement.

[skittles]

He shrugged slightly. "It's not a big deal, Kyla. Just forget about it and don't mention it again."

[/color] With a sigh, he stood straight and ran his trembling fingers through his hair. A normal person would try and get back to work. After all, it was against store policy to speak to patrons while on the job. Then again, he'd never been one for following the rules.

He rocked slowly back and forth on his heels, never bothering to make another attempt to speak. He'd never been the type that was smooth around females nor did he pretend otherwise. Brown hair partially hid his eyes from view. "So..uhh..is there a specific book you'd care to find?"[/color] He queried gruffly. He hadn't meant to sound rude, but he was clueless when it came to the ipposite gender. She could understand that, right?[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[kayla]

Slightly relieved, Ky found herself able to look at the boy again. Not only that, but he said her name. For some reason that she couldn’t place, the “him saying her name” affected her. She watched when he repositioned himself to stand straight and returned her posture into that of a relaxed state rather than the one before where she had felt defeated. Were his… fingers shaking a little? Was he nervous? He had been running his fingers through his hair a lot. After a while, she thought it would start to hurt. Her gaze traveled to his heels and then back to his face as he rocked back and forth. Another nervous habit perhaps?

It took her a little to respond, but she finally shook her head slightly and spoke. ”Um… no, not really. I just browse normally until something catches my eye.” His tone he used to ask her his original question caught her a little off guard, but she shook it off. She had acted a little mean to him in the first place. She wanted to forget that something unpleasant had even been shared between the two of them. ”Hey um… when do you get off- off of work I mean. I feel like I still owe you for being a little mean earlier. We can go hang out someplace since there are other small shops around here.” Would he like to join her? On the inside, she was really hoping he would say yes. On the outside, however, she kept only a calm, inquiring posture and tone.

[skittles]

He shrugged lightly, rubbing the back of his head. "Uhh..sure, Ky.." He mumbled sheepishly, looking away as a flustered tint crept into his tanned features. He was more than ready for his shift to end so he could clock out, but he also didn't want to hurt the girl's feelings. Normally, after work, he was the type to go to his empty apartment, strip, and crash on any piece of funiture that could support his weight. A soft chuckle left him. Beyond the laugh, he remained oddly silent.

He had never spent this long in the presence of a female nor was he used to one actually knowing he existed. He had grown used to not being on the radar and after a while, he preferred it. Another chuckle left him as he leaned once more against the book case. He was tired and ready for a nap but the girl did intrigue him. He chose, in that moment, to learn as much as he could before they parted ways. It couldn't hurt, could it? It wasn't as if he was attempting to harm her.

//Sorry it stinks..not feeling well and didn't want to keep it waiting any longer..x.x..\\

[kayla]

Hopefully he would say yes because Ky didn’t want to spend the day alone like she would if she were to go home after being in the bookstore. Her grandparents were currently staying at one of their friend’s houses a few hours away for three days to visit and catch up. You would think being old would mean they stayed in bed, but in this case… no. Earlier this morning her grandparents’ friend’s son had picked them up and then he would be bringing them back three days from now. She would have the house all to herself and it would be lonely no doubt. Part of the reason she wanted to go to the bookstore was to pick out a few books to read while her grandparents were gone. Maybe focusing on trying to make a new friend would help her feel less lonely at home. Shawn spoke and soundly oddly nervous, but she had stuttered too a little before. He also had picked up on her nickname and she offered a smile. She couldn’t tell if he agreed reluctantly or if he was just nervous and suddenly realizing this, she decided she needed add a few things. ”Of course, you don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

When he had chuckled, Ky blushed a little, wondering if he was laughing at her or something since she had been in such a rush to tell him that if he did not want to hang out that he didn’t have to. To her, an awkward silence seem to stretch between them and she used the time to glance around as a sound caught her interest. A little boy around six years old or so had dropped a book while walking by the aisle and bent down to pick it up before rushing to whomever he was here with. She smiled at the scene- the boy had a mop of curly blonde hair that in some places, stuck out here and there. He was a cutie. As another chuckle was heard from the direction Shawn was in, her attention focused back on him and she raised an inquisitive look to her features. Had he been watching the little boy too? ”That little boy was adorable,” she finally said as the smile returned to her lips. Sure little kids could be annoying, but she still adored them. ”Um, so… how much longer do you have? I have to get home before dark and if you happen not to get off until later…” she trailed off, wondering if she really was about to say this, ”I can give you my addresses and as long as you promise not to do anything, you can stop by my place and we can hang out there and watch a movie or something.” After getting all of that out, she felt like she had rambled and shut her mouth and in that instant, looked away, and felt a blush creep up from her neck. Could she really trust this stranger? Kyla was not weak- oh how that was proven some time ago- and she… well, maybe she had a little problem of trusting too easily in this world.

((It’s ok, hope you’re feeling better! My post tends to ramble and I was in a rush to type this up, so I didn’t proof-read it, so sorry for mistakes or some weird things in there.))

[skittles]

He tilted his head, gently grasping her hands in his. "I would be honored, but let's go dutch. If you can wait five minutes, my shift is nearly over." He gave her a grin which lit up his entire face. Shaggy, blonde hair fell before his face. He patted her head gently, chuckling softly. What was it about this girl that got to him?

"All children are cute." He mused with a chuckle. "And I promise not to be a creeper." Another chuckle came past his lips as he hugged her gently. "Cheer up, aye?" He purred. Glancing toward the clock, a sigh left his lips.