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Post by Minerva "Minnie" Wells on Jun 10, 2016 12:48:51 GMT -7
The burning afternoon sun shone brightly through the trees at Viridian park. Almost too brightly if you asked a certain young woman. Minnie glared up at the trees, speckles of sun shining onto her face. It wasn't that the pale girl hated the sunshine, quite the opposite. It was just that she wished it could tone it down, at least for today. There was too much to do and too many deadlines coming up. That wasn't including the two week deadline her ex had given her to move out of their apartment. Groaning at the thought of him, Minnie reached into her pocket and pulled out a cigarette. She only gave herself two lifesuckers a day and right now she needed one.
Taking a long drag of the toxic stick, Minnie tried to forget about the issues she faced. She was in the park to relax, to leave behind all the nonsense that life was throwing at her. Slowly she blew all of the smoke she had held in out in a small stream. Stepping off the path to let some jogger giving her a dirty look run by, the pink haired woman sat beneath a tree. Watching the ever flowing rhythm of the city's park pass her by. Playground drama at one corner. Couples fighting at another. All with a litany of runners, joggers and other exercise fanatics running rampant through the park. It was like a living, breathing soap opera.
'If this was really a soap opera, I'd be meeting the other main characters any minute now. If there are any.' she thought with a chuckle.
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Post by Aiden Lenil on Jun 10, 2016 13:47:44 GMT -7
It wasn't often that Aiden let himself actually get out, mostly only ever working or asleep at his shabby little apartment. The fresh air was surprisingly nice, brisk against his face in a way he hadn't enjoyed in a long time. Why didn't he come to the park more? He should come to the park more. Hands stuffed into the pockets of his pants, he started to sing a song under his breath. It was something poppy and catchy, likely a tune that had played a million times over the radio during work hours at the florist.
It really was a nice park, all things considered. He might have to stop by more often to grab a nap or two, when the same old scenery got to be a bit much. Pulling out his phone, he couldn't help but snap a picture of some birds whizzing by through the air. Sometimes when there was a good shot, you didn't let the opportunity slip you by. That was the first rule of... Well anything really. If opportunities are passing on by, that's a sure sign that you've simply lost the will to live. Aiden could almost relate in way, though he hadn't quite yet the monotony of life drag him down into the pits just yet.
He let out a sigh and tucked the phone away again, looking for a nice spot to sit down and maybe catch some sleep. He hadn't slept for well over twenty-four hours now, maybe closer to forty-eight, and his apartment was just too quiet to do the trick. His eyes flashed from tree to tree looking for a comfortable spot, when his gaze landed just for a moment on her. Pausing, he frowned. Did he know her from somewhere? He couldn't have, but the face nagged at the back of his exhausted brain.
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Post by Alex Spencer on Jun 10, 2016 16:08:10 GMT -7
It was his lunch break, and rather than sitting inside of the cafe he felt like stretching his legs. So it was with latte in hand and long sleeved shirt he made his way out to the bright sunny day. Squinting now and then when the sun's bright reflection hit his eyes from the wheels of some skates, or a bike. He was cursing himself for forgetting to bring sunglasses today, but the weather channel had said that it was supposed to be overcast. And yet here they were.
He'd make his way over to one of the trees, that just happened to not be unoccupied, paying the pink haired girl a smile as she lit up her cigarette he'd just take a sip of his coffee. It was totally normal for them both to be there, at least he wasn't going to make a big deal about it. He just wanted to be in the shade.
"Afternoon." He'd say with a cheerful politeness, though he left himself mostly disengaged so that she didn't feel like he was just bearing down on her.
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Post by Minerva "Minnie" Wells on Jun 10, 2016 18:38:23 GMT -7
Out of the corner of her eye, Minnie noticed a white haired man looking her way. She stared back at him, bringing her cigarette back to her lips. She felt the urge to make some cruel remark dripping with sarcasm. Something insulting his mother or intelligence. Or perhaps his lack of manners. However it seemed that the universe had another idea. A voice greeted her, causing her to tear her eyes away from him. The owner of the voice was some blonde guy sipping coffee.
"Yo," she responded. Minnie had no clue who he was or what he wanted. However there was no need to be too rude… yet. Her earlier soap opera comment about meeting the other characters replayed in her mind. Turning her face away she blew her smoke. "You need something?" She asked. She kept the corner of her eye on the white haired guy. When he still didn't look away she had had enough.
"Hey, powder head! Take a picture it lasts longer." She told him.
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Post by Aiden Lenil on Jun 10, 2016 21:45:31 GMT -7
Aiden blinked for a second, only to jump as he realized just how blatantly he'd been staring at the poor pink haired girl. What was he, some kind of creep off the side of the road? Sheepishly scratching at the back of his neck, he decided best to try and play it off with a grin. "Be careful who you give that advice to, or someone might just try to take you up on that!" he teased, trying to push the feeling out of his head. No, it was just a coincidence. He spent enough time walking the streets that any face was bound to look familiar.
Now that he'd been acknowledged, was it rude to walk away? Was there some sort of social obligation to keep the conversation going, or was it more of an expectation to leave her alone now? Maybe it was just best to leave her alone for now, since she seemed to be there with a friend. Or he assumed the other guy was a friend, since he'd just walked up and started talking to her seemingly out of nowhere. He wandered over to a nearby tree, trying not to be too invasive or anything.
Sitting down on the dirt, Aiden's head fell back against the rough bark of the trunk and closed his eyes. He was so tired lately. And sore. Tired and sore, without any good memories to show for it.
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Post by Alex Spencer on Jun 10, 2016 21:52:19 GMT -7
"Hmmm?"
He glanced back at the girl, both for her question to him and for her comment to the other guy that was near them. It seemed like she was having a bad day. Maybe this had been the wrong tree to pick? Or maybe she just needed a positive encounter to shift her day around. He imagined she was probably expecting him to drop a pickup line or something. He'd seen that happen a lot, so he could understand why she might be on edge with some random guy just coming up to her. Even if in Alex's case he was just greeting her.
"Just taking my break in my favorite spot. Unless I'm bugging you."
He'd give her a side long glance as he took a sip of his coffee. At least she blew the smoke away from him, so she wasn't being overtly rude at least. Or trying to drive him away.
"I'm Alex, always nice to meet a tree buddy." He'd say raising his cup to her ever so slightly.
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Post by Minerva "Minnie" Wells on Jun 11, 2016 6:37:16 GMT -7
"If I was truly worried what creeps did with my pictures I wouldn't be telling them to take one!" She retorted. It was hard not to smile at the guy, at least a little. He knew how to throw her sassy attitude back at her. Now that she had gotten a good look at him, he seemed familiar. Did she know him? Sure it was possible, but if he did who was he? Where had they met before? Was it high school? Maybe at a store or something? Whatever it was, not knowing was guaranteed to bug her until she remembered. Keeping an eye, as well as half a mind, on him she returned her attention to the blonde boy next to her.
"You're not bugging me at all. It's just a tad unusual to walk up and have a conversation with a stranger for no reason besides hello." She told him. Taking a final drag of her cigarette, she smashed the burning butt in the dirt. When blondie, or Alex, introduced himself she flashed him an honest smile. "It's nice to meet you too Alex. I'm Minerva, most call me Minnie though." She told him, inclining her head in acknowledgement. |
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Post by Aiden Lenil on Jun 11, 2016 21:04:51 GMT -7
Aiden cracked a smile at the girl's comment, leaning back a bit more onto his own chosen tree spot. She was interesting enough, quick to shoot right back at him with her own form of wit. Still, she went right back to talking to the blond guy next to her. There was no reason to interrupt a chat between friends for his own dumb gut feelings.
Except (on complete coincidental accident), he happened to have sat down in perfect earshot of their conversation. Even with his overwhelming exhaustion, sleep wasn't exactly seeming to walk his way at the moment. He let out a frustrated huff of air through his noise, only really half trying to block out the conversation next to him. Even if he mostly kept to himself these days, a natural nosiness is a hard thing to grow out of.
What he was given the privilege of hearing happened to be one of the most awkward and strangely staged meetings that he'd ever heard. Given that he used to be forced to attend awful charity galas back when still on speaking terms with his family, that was really saying something. So then it seemed like the two weren't exactly friends, which made the situation suddenly seem way more strange. Maybe this Alex guy was nice enough, but his way of meeting new people was frankly creepy. Just walking up to random girls, intruding on personal space and declaring them buddies? Maybe it was fine. Maybe he truly had the purest and most friendly intentions at heart.
Something about it didn't sit well in Aiden's stomach though, and he knew that he did not want to be around that guy. If it was fake: he was a creep. If it was real: he was prying and annoying. Not his cup of tea thank you very much.
"Not to be the jackass here, but are you two lovebirds going to keep going at that volume?" he asked, cracking one eye open. "No issues if you are, but I might want to swap out my napping tree for another."
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Post by Alex Spencer on Jun 11, 2016 21:18:32 GMT -7
"Is it that strange?" He didn't really think so. "No different than striking up a conversation in line at the supermarket." You couldn't meet people without talking to them, and there was nothing wrong with a single serving friend. Passing a few minutes time before both went on with their own lives. She seemed to think so too at least given as how she didn't seem to have a problem introducing herself back. And not curtly either, he assumed that meant she wanted to talk.
"Mmm?"
He turned to look at the creepy guy that had only moments earlier been warning her that he might indeed start taking her picture. Kind of odd for him to just plop down near them and then complain that they were talking. Probably just crabby because of personal problems though, so Alex tried not to take it personally. He'd just smile at the guy and raise up his cup in greeting to him.
"Sorry, didn't think we were being to loud." He said with a small chuckle, glancing back over to Minnie.
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Post by Minerva "Minnie" Wells on Jun 13, 2016 6:54:49 GMT -7
"Yeah it kinda is," Minnie told him, "I mean as kids it's normal to come up to people and call them buddy instantly but as adults…" The pinkette trailed off when Powder head interjected. He was complaining about their noise level now? They were talking when he sat down. He couldn't have honestly thought they would quiet down for him. Could he?
"Well considering your napping tree had been claimed first, it's your own damn fault for sitting down." She admonished, albeit somewhat playfully. There was still something bugging her about this guy. A bell in her head and a feeling in her gut were both telling her they had met before. She couldn't stand it anymore and took a good look at his face.
"I don't know why but I feel like I have met you before Powder Head. Any ideas?" She asked. It was possible that Minnie was absolutely bonkers and she had never met this guy in her life. Might just have one of those faces, ya know. Still it never hurt to ask.
"Come on and sit down Alex. It seems this conversation may last longer then just a few moments." |
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Post by Aiden Lenil on Jun 14, 2016 5:48:55 GMT -7
"Okay yeah, you've made your point. I kind of am the jerk here for sitting down and then trying to silence others, and I'm big enough to acknowledge that. I'm going to strike it up to my own weird state of mind and leave you two alone." Honestly there could have been a million better ways to insert himself into that conversation, but he was willing to attribute it to his own tiredness plus that niggling feeling in the back of his head.
Better way one: just mention she seemed familiar like any normal person would do. Like she was doing right now, in fact. He glanced over to the blond fellow she was actually talking to, offering a small shrug as if in apology for butting in still.
"I do think I've seen you," he admitted, shifting to sit cross legged in the dirt. "Though honestly it could be from literally anywhere. I do a lot of wandering the streets, so we might just of passed each other. Or maybe we had like one class together in middle school. Who can say?"
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Post by Alex Spencer on Jun 14, 2016 20:56:38 GMT -7
"I guess I'm just a social butterfly. I talk to all kinds of people."
There didn't seem to be a large point to moving through life in a bubble afraid to reach out and talk to the people around you. Everyone was living together, part of the same community. It just seemed silly to pretend like they were all alone, and for what? Because you are afraid that the other person doesn't want to talk back? Shyness turned into a stigma. You didn't lose anything from reaching out.
Case in point, the other guy was still trying to reach out despite the social fumble just moments before. Most people would have given up trying to insert themselves into their conversation, but he was still plugging away. It was interesting, if a little odd. But he was curious to see where this was all going, so he just gave the guy a friendly smile as he took another sip of their coffee. He didn't know how they might know each other, so he had little to add.
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Post by Minerva "Minnie" Wells on Jun 20, 2016 21:11:43 GMT -7
Hearing Alex call himself a 'social butterfly', the pinkette nodded. With his bubbly attitude it made sense. Especially with how weirdly smiley he was. She'd normally avoid people like him out of apprehension. Or suspicion. Either way. However with the attitude this blondie was exuding it was almost refreshing how happy he seemed.
"Nothing wrong with being a social butterfly. In fact for the most part it is a valuable skill to have." SHe answered him.
Minnie pursed her lips as she sifted through memories. When he mentioned school a bell went off in her head. Tenth Grade. Math. Though if it was the same kid he was definitely different. Only one way to find out for sure...
"I think we may have had math together in sophomore year. You name is Aiden Lenil right?" she asked with a tilt of her head.
If he wasn't who she thought she'd apologize and move on. However if he was she wouldn't mind catching up with a schoolmate. Hell she was already chatting up a stranger. Why not an acquaintance too? |
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Post by Aiden Lenil on Jun 21, 2016 7:10:39 GMT -7
Aiden sent an apologetic smile over to the blond guy, genuinely feeling pretty bad for just blundering his way into their conversation. Maybe he didn't have the right to be judging anyone, given how utterly awkward and jerkish his own entrance had become. No grudges would be held if this stranger had some rightfully awful first impression in his head. "Yeah, being social is a good skill to have. It's a big help for... um..." He was so bad at this. How were you supposed to not seem awful when you forced that upon yourself from the beginning? "Meeting new people."
Luckily, he was saved from more awkward floundering when the pink haired girl seemed to place where they knew each other. He blinked a few times, face lighting up in recognition, but nearly flinching as he realized the implication.
She knew him back when he was the rich boy in high school, overly cheery and minding everyone's business except his own. He liked to think that the only thing he had in common with himself from back then was a decent taste in accessories. What color was his hair back then? A light brown, if he was remembering correct. He thought himself enough of a rebel to dye it lighter, but apparently not so much to break the rule about natural coloration. Nope, he did not like the thought of himself back then at all. Too much enthusiasm, but without any sort of clear goal to put that to good use. He'd been just the wrong shade of naive.
"Right, yeah, I think I remember you. Did you have pink hair back then? Dress codes weren't exactly fun to work around in high school." If he stepped his words right, Aiden could talk around the fact that he couldn't remember her name. Something that started with a W? Wendy? No wait, maybe the W name was her surname. How was she able to remember his when they'd only known each other years ago? "You've got a great memory, if you could place me from back then. I wasn't able to figure it out from the moment I saw you sitting over here."
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Post by Alex Spencer on Jun 24, 2016 20:11:51 GMT -7
"If nothing else it lets you get a brief moment with a stranger you never would have had a chance to share one with."
He'd raise his cup as the two of them started talking, apparently old friends. And now he felt like he was the one intruding on both of them. But he always wasn't going to make a fuss about it. He was just chilling on his break, so he wasn't sticking around long anyway. Taking a sip of his drink he'd let out a small satisfied exhale before giving them both a smile.
"It was nice meeting both of you. Hope you all have a good day."
He'd give them a small quick two fingered salute before turning and walking away. It was a bit early before he had to go for his break. But this would give him a chance to wash up before returning to work. So it worked out either way.
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