For Lala and me only

I'm sorry I hate doing one liners especially in advanced but...

Devon stopped playing and Mercy stopped singing as a cop car stopped by in front of them. The window rolled down and the cop leaned out the window. "I'm assuming you guys don't have a license?" They both shook their heads. The cop sighed. "Why don't you kids just get a job? Devon, you're surely old enough..." Devon shrugged. "No on wants to hire me." He said softly. Mercy looked down. "Not when our brother is...." The cop interrupted Mercy. "Not when your brother is Travis, huh." The cop sighed.

Aaron looked over at Claire. "Well, instead of that drink - which you probably would have given me anyways - how about you tell me what's wrong??"

Books do you wanna rp? ;0

Monroe

I just stood around looking like a total fool. The cop, the boy, and the girl never looked my way... Almost as if I wasn't even there. Everyone did that to me, so I was pretty much used to it. I guess speaking to people on occasion might help. "Uhm..." I started quietly. "I know a place you could work... You know, if you want to." I worked at a few different places to keep myself busy and to earn some money to put in my microscopic college fund. I worked at Hot Topic in the mall on Mondays and Tuesdays after school, a small coffee shop downtown on Sunday mornings, and I worked as a waitress at Ruby Tuesday's on Thursday nights. So I made about seventy dollars every week. And all the places I worked at were always looking for new employees...

Claire

I sighed and stood up, brushing myself off. "Adam and my mom." Lately I'd been considering running away. I entertained that idea multiple times and it actually made me happy, the thought of just getting away. But then I remembered it would destroy my mom worse than already.

Sorry, writer's block :/

bump....

Aaron sighed, now understanding why she had been acting so down. Aaron had to admit he was impressed, she covered her troubles so well – but even in the little time Aaron had known her, he knew that she wasn’t acting like herself. She just seemed so distracted, almost detached. Yes, she joked around with him and smiled genuine smiles but when she wasn’t laughing and talking to him, when she was just quiet and looking down, he could tell. The fact it was her family that was bothering her explained a lot. Though he had never met Adam in person, Aaron knew enough about Claire’s older (?) brother. He had also never had the pleasure of speaking to Claire’s mom in person but he had talked to her over the phone. Claire didn’t have any form of transportation to get home, and Aaron had offered her a ride. She was reluctant but would agree if Aaron talked to her mother on the phone and got her approval. Aaron was a pretty observant guy, and it seemed by the way she was acting that her mother would have freaked out if she came home on a stranger’s bike. So, Aaron introduced himself and submitted to a two-minute lecture of what would happen if Claire didn’t come home safe. Despite their relationship, just from that one conversation with Claire’s mother, Aaron could see that the two deeply cared for each other.

Aaron wished he could say the same, but unfortunately the situation was entirely different. Aaron had six other siblings, almost all of who had different last names. His only true sibling was a girl named Daniela (he liked to call her Danni) who currently lived on the other side of the country. They shared the same striking green eyes and olive complexion, completed with brilliant black hair. Aaron himself wasn’t the most attractive guy on the street, but he was fairly good-looking. Daniela, however, was what many people would describe as a ‘knock-out’. Though she seemed so pretty and perfect, she tended to get into a lot of trouble, which is what separated her from her brother in the first place. So, Aaron was pretty sure he had experience with receiving grief from a mother and sibling. Aaron bit down on his lower lip, moving it to so it was almost like a side smile but his lips were puckered. He thought of what would be most appropriate to say.

“I’m sorry,” He said, deciding that was the most appropriate response. He preferred to keep it simple, his voice hinting at sadness as well. He fell into step with her and slung an arm around her shoulders in an attempt to comfort her. “What’s going on?” He asked, deciding he’d be a good friend. He looked away and across the street, looking at their reflection in the dark glass of a window in a shop. He liked the way they looked together, her head high enough to rest on his shoulder and his arm wrapped around her shoulders comfortably. He looked away, not liking where his thoughts were going and looked back at her.



OOC: Wasn't sure how to describe his expression but this was how his lips moved::

Alexis elbowed him in the side. "Was that her? Or just some one you knew? You were staring at her like she was a cold bottle of water in the middle of a desert and she looked really awkward." She said, sounding unsure. It probably was, but then again she never really paid attention to what the people everyone was gossiping about looked like. She just remembered names, though matching those names to a face was a whole other thing.

Claire

Tears welled up in my eyes and I looked away from Aaron. "They just... They're always fighting. They get into verbal arguments over the dumbest things... And then they start yelling, then screaming, then throwing things. Aaron I just can't handle it..." My voice cracked and a few tears streamed down my cheeks. I wouldn't look at him, not knowing how he would react to me crying. Whether he would say something mean, or try and comfort me. Though, I had a feeling he would try to comfort me.

The tears stung my eyes from having cried so much lately. Also lately, I'd hardly slept when I was at home. When I stayed the night at a friends' house I slept perfectly fine. "Aaron, I've actually considered running away. I hate it so much, I just can't handle it anymore. Adam's only been here a few weeks and he's making my house hell! The only reason I haven't run away from home yet is because of my mom, it would destroy her." I felt terrible for Aaron having to listen to all this, but he was the only one I knew who would listen to my problems. None of my other friends really had the attention span to listen...

Then I realized Aaron had his arm around me. It felt comforting and awkward at the same time. Finally I looked up at Aaron, tears streaked on my cheeks, mascara and eyeliner slightly smeared under my eyes. "It just hurts me so much...." I murmured. Suddenly a thought crossed my mind. Did anything I was doing make me seem like I was flirting? Then I figured I was being stupid, especially when I was this upset, flirting was the last thing I wanted to think about. Without realizing at first, I started crying again. And when I did realize, I couldn't stop. My eyes hurt from crying and my heart hurt from trying. Sometimes I can't always be strong, and when that time comes, I need someone to be strong for me.

Sorry it's crappy compared to your post.

Thayer

I sighed and nodded, staring off in Molly's direction depressingly. Then I tried to pull myself together and turned around to Alexis. "That was Molly..." I shrugged and tried to act like it was no big deal, but for me it was a huge deal. "Do you wanna like... Go do something? As friends, of course..." I asked awkwardly. I felt like I was being super rude to her, even though I wasn't trying to be rude. Although I realized soon I was being pretty rude. Whatever. I had an excuse. I had just gotten brutally dumped by a girl who meant the world to me, and my heart ached. "We could like... Go get some coffee, or go to lunch, or.... Whatever you wanna do. I totally get it if you don't want to though...."


Sorry, crappy post.

Monroe

I just stood around looking like a total fool. The cop, the boy, and the girl never looked my way... Almost as if I wasn't even there. Everyone did that to me, so I was pretty much used to it. I guess speaking to people on occasion might help. "Uhm..." I started quietly. "I know a place you could work... You know, if you want to." I worked at a few different places to keep myself busy and to earn some money to put in my microscopic college fund. I worked at Hot Topic in the mall on Mondays and Tuesdays after school, a small coffee shop downtown on Sunday mornings, and I worked as a waitress at Ruby Tuesday's on Thursday nights. So I made about seventy dollars every week. And all the places I worked at were always looking for new employees...

Aaron bit his lip, not liking the sight of Claire sad. He honestly couldn’t say he knew what that felt like. His mother was mostly concerned in getting good on the table and making sure everyone went to school. He couldn’t say she was the best mother, but she tried and that was all he cared about. Two of his older brothers moved out of the house as soon as they could and they never looked back, claiming their childhoods were terrible. Aaron didn’t know what to think about that, as they were the oldest and had watched four other siblings pop out of their mother. He thought his mother had done a decent job raising them all, not to mention mostly alone. He didn’t have a dark and horrible childhood; it was just harder than most kid’s. It still seemed that Claire had been dealing with this for a while, and by herself. He thought of his brothers, and what he would have done to make them stay. Except Clare wasn't a boy, nor his older sibling. She was a girl he happened to like a lot.

It was then that he saw how tired she really looked, tears streaming down her face and leaving little trails down her cheek. He dug around in his pocket and handed her a wrinkled, but clean, napkin. It was one of those softer, white napkins; unlike the normal rough, brown napkins most restaurants offered. He wasn't sure how to comfort a crying girl. So when she finished blowing her nose, he wrapped his arms fully around her and gave her a slight squeeze. "Don't run-away. Please don't," He said, feeling slightly awkward. He didn't want his mother or brother feeling guilty by what happened if Claire ran away. He listened quietly to what she had to say, chewing on his lower lip nervously. He rested his chin on top of her head, happy she couldn't see the pained look on his face. He was really uncomfortable, feeling bad for Claire as well.

She had stopped crying, so Aaron let go of her slowly and took a step back. Her tears had dried and she looked a little bit better. Aaron wasn't sure to do, but it was obvious that what he was about to do wasn't the right thing. It felt like the right thing, though, as Aaron leaned forward and placed a hand on Claire's cheek. He pressed his lips against hers in a chaste, but long kiss. He wanted to comfort her, but he wasn't sure whether this was the right way. The entire time, he was hesitant, wondering whether he should pull away. His mind was racing and he was distracted he couldn't tell whether she was kissing back or not. His eyes were close so he wasn't sure whether her eyes were open or not either.

Claire took the napkin willingly and blew her nose. She ran her thumbs across her face to wipe up the smeared makeup. As they passed by a park bench and trash can she threw away the napkin. Claire had no idea what Aaron's background was. Or his childhood. She knew almost nothing about his past. He told her not to run away and she looked up at him. The pained look on his face killed her, she frowned and nodded. "I promise. I won't. Pinkie swear." She hooked her pinkie finger with his and shook it. Pinkie swears were just kind of Claire's thing, it seemed childish but she always used Pinkie swears. They were always a thing with her and her best friend, Eliza. But Eliza had died in a car crash back in seventh grade. So Claire continued their little tradition on her own. It felt nice the way Aaron rested his chin on her head, like they were close friends. Close friends were something Claire hadn't had since seventh grade. Everyone assumed she was just the freaky friend of that one girl who died.

Soon after she promised, she stopped crying and the tears dried on her face, leaving light streaks on her cheeks. He placed his hand on her cheek gently and she blushed, thinking he was just going to tell her everything would be okay. But then he kissed her, gently and sweetly. At first she was shocked, and frozen. Then she pulled her self together and kissed him. She closed her eyes and moved her lips with his. After a long, amazing kiss they both pulled away at the same time. Claire grinned as she stared up into his dark eyes. "You...Like me?" She blushed and looked away. Claire had liked Aaron ever since she met him, but she always though he considered the two of them as "just friend-zone." So she never flirted with him or tried anything. But now it was obvious to Claire that he liked her the same way she liked him.

Without really waiting for his obvious reply, she turned slightly and continued walking. Nervously, she slipped her hand into his, weaving their fingers together. She was anxious at first, convincing herself he was going to reject her and yank away but he didn't. He held his hand with hers, making her grin again.

Sorry it's kinda cheesey.... But can you reply....?

Aaron stopped, even though Claire continued to walk. She finally stopped and looked over at him, a questioning look in her eyes. His lips curved into a slight smile, and he seemed amused. "I never replied, you know. How are you so sure I like you? Maybe I just wanted to kiss you..." He said slowly, though it didn't make that much sense. It was somewhat true. Though, if it were then Aaron probably wouldn't be smiling softly like he was. Instead, he would have something even worse than his usual, indifferent expression painted on his face and taking over his features. Still, there was possibility that he perhaps kissed her out of pity/sympathy or felt it was necessary. There was always the rather ugly truth that it was just sexual attraction and he was taking an opportunity from her current vulnerability to steal a meaningless kiss. His smile grew into a growing-not-so-rare grin and he shook his head. "Are you okay? Really, though."

Claire stood there, feeling awkward but knowing by the small smile on his face he might have been kidding. She nodded when he asked if she was okay. "I think I'll be alright... If I need to I know the manager at the hotel near my house... I worked for him without pay for two months so he gives me free stays..." She looked at the ground, feeling awkward yet again. Claire thought about how miserable the job at that hotel had been, how boring, how stupid. Now the boring, miserable, stupid job was proving to be worth it. At least she had somewhere else to go if she needed to get away from home. Ugh! Why didn't I think of this before I decided to sleep on park benches to get away?!

When she had worked at the Hampton Inn, she sat at the desk handing out keys and answering phone. She had worked there four hours a day last summer, 4 days a week. And the worst part, she didn't get paid. Claire had only taken the job because her mom was going to ship her off to stay with her dad if she didn't find something to do over the summer. She couldn't handle seeing her dad yet... Her parents had only gotten divorced a year ago, but they had technically split up almost three years ago. They had seen each other off and on in those three years, but since they had been divorced, Claire had only seen her dad on significant holidays.

Claire looked back up at Aaron and half-smiled. She had just realized that she had zoned out again. Lately, every time she had started thinking about anything other than what she was talking about, she zoned out and started thinking instead of talking. Claire thought she had heard Aaron say something, but maybe she was wrong and had just had a moment when she was lost in her own dream-land. She didn't want to ask him what he had said, because she felt rude for zoning out while he might have been talking.

"Hey... How do you get to school in the mornings?" She finally looked him in the eye for the first time since right after they kissed. Her tears had dried on her cheeks and left light stains on her already-pale cheeks. The only makeup on her eyes that had been smeared was when she had rubbed the tears away from her eyes and smeared her mascara. Other than that her makeup was the same as it had been before she had had her little melt down.

The reason she had asked how he got to school in the mornings was because she was hoping his mom or dad took him, so maybe they would take her too. Her mom had always left for work at seven and school didn't start until nine so that ruled itself out. None of the school buses came to her area, and she refused to take the city bus because of the area she lived in. She didn't trust anyone outside of her little "safe-circle."