September 5 2007

Who: Geo and Sammy
Where: Their house
When: After dinner

Sammy sat in his bedroom, the dinner his mother had given him still sitting untouched on its plate on the floor next to the pallet he'd made now that the hammock had been removed from his room. His legs were crossed over each other and his wrists rested on his knees, while his palms were turned upwards. Each breath in was deep and even, and filled his lungs, and after a few seconds he would let it out. His eyes were closed, unmoving behind his eyelids. If anyone came into his room, they were liable to step on the dinner plate since not only were his eyes closed, but he had the ceiling light off. Everything was quiet; still; calm...

Who: Herbert and Jordan
Where: School hallways
When: Between second and third period

Herbert was on his way back from his locker, on his way to PE, when he spotted a familiar blond head in the hall ahead of him, and caught a whiff, amidst the myriad scents in the hall, of a familiar make-upped smell. The werebear had hardly caught sight of Jordan since school started, for all it was a small school. Maybe it was all the tragedy distracting him, but he felt positively horrible for not seeking her out to say hello, at least.

Better late than never, though. He waded through the sea of people towards her, waving cheerfully. "Jordan!"

Who: Syn and Geo
Where: Printed Syns.
When: Mid-Afternoon.

Man it was gray. Gray and drizzling and gross. The fine mist was making a less-than fine distraction from the papers. Hell, those papers. Geo didn't want to think about it anymore; didn't want to think about towns slaughtered, families murdered, and so close. Eighty miles, hell. You could drive that in an hour - less, if you were insane and had no care for life and limb...like something that would murder families. The thoughts were frustrating and frightening and made his head and his horizons feel as if they were collapsing; as if he'd taken one step too close to a black hole and the event horizon had taken hold.

His bike left wet tire-tracks behind him as he coasted under awnings, wet rubber hissing against dry concrete. He didn't know where he was going - he was just going. Anything to further the illusion to his mother that he still had a job. As a result, it didn't surprise him when he realized exactly where he was going. That photo shop again...

Who: Olivia and John
When: Noon
Where: Mya's Diner

The day? Sucked. She was tired, and hungover, and two cups of coffee hadn't done much more than dull some of the sickly edges of it all. The breakfast rush had been busy but she muddled through, taking as many cigarette breaks as she could get away with. She barely had time to recover before noon rolled around and people began to wander in for lunch. She headed back inside after putting out her cigarette and returned to the counter to put on some fresh coffee. Only four and a half more hours of standing on her feet and waiting on lousy tippers. And then she would have a short break before heading to Babylon to start the same song and dance all over. Hearing the door open, Olivia glanced over her shoulder with a small sigh. There really had to be some place else in Marquette that people could go to if they wanted to eat.

For John there were other places to eat. Well, one other place, really, and that was his home. Home-cooking, where he knew he wasn't going to end up with any meat. But Isham, his 'agent/contact person' of sorts, had needed him to come in to town and sign some more paperwork today. He'd promised to give John a ride home after the consignment/furniture shop closed, but that wasn't for another few hours. And so John was left to fend for himself at lunch time, thus coming to this rather busy diner for his first time. As he entered the restaurant, he was careful to not look around too obviously, in attempt at keeping up his facade of blindness. Using his cane he walked his way further into the restaurant, hoping someone would see him and rush forward to seat him so that he wouldn't have to stand there where everyone could see him.

Who: Eva
Where: Her home
When: Midafternoon

The house was a mess, and had been for nearly two weeks. Eva hadn't gone grocery shopping in nearly that long. Laundry was piling up, dishes in the sink from when she'd still cared about cooking, before running out of most meal-worthy ingredients and before it just became easier to order in pizza or Thai or Chinese or whatever else the phone book revealed to her when she threw it across the room in a fit of pique because nothing else appealed. Her nights were spent with the intention of getting the place cleaned up, getting herself put back together and then studying the jewelry, but whenever she started in on a job, something would intervene. She'd stub a toe. She'd drop something. She'd break a glass accidentally.

Who: Alejandro and Jovie
Where: Kalos Jewelry, and then out
When: 8PM

Heeding Jovie's suggestion, Alejandro came to her shop in torn jeans and an old but still serviceable-- and well-fitting-- t-shirt. After a whole day and a half of internal debate, he'd also left the block at home. There would've been no way he could've concealed that he had it on him, no way he could've kept his distance from her, and nowhere he could've put his jacket with it in his pocket that would've been out of the way and still been accessible-- and safe. He couldn't risk that thing being stolen, it was too valuable.

And since he wanted this little meeting too much to simply not go, he'd had to trust that she'd stay out of his mind. And since he couldn't trust that she'd stay out of his mind, he'd just be watching very carefully what he thought, and watching his thoughts very carefully in case it was possible to notice when a telepath was listening in. He didn't know enough about them to even guess-- just enough to get himself in trouble.

So he wandered into her shop protection-less, keeping his suspicion and wariness hidden behind a cocky grin as his eyes sought her out.

Who: Leija and Caleb
When: early evening, around 5
Where: text messaging

Just got your message. Are you okay? What's going on? Coming home tomorrow. Call if you want, got my phone with me now. -L

Who: Caleb and Mathias
Where: Their house
When: Late afternoon

Mathias was sat on the sofa, leaning forward, his elbows resting on his knees, a look of concerned concentration on his face as he listened to the phone in his hand. He didn't speak much, the odd 'I'm still listening' noise - it was clear that the person on the other end of the line had a lot to say. "Right... No... No, seriously," he said, finally breaking that, an obvious reference to something that he'd said earlier in the now long conversation. He'd been here for a while now, since his brother had first phoned and right now it felt very much like they were going round in circles.

Caleb had been in his room, though had on and off wandered into the hall, kitchen, bathroom, to listen to what was being said on the phone. He knew it was a serious conversation, could tell just from the tone going on in his brother's voice. Finally, he dropped any pretence on just passing through and leaned in the doorframe to the hallway, eyes on Math from there. He arched an eyebrow in silent question, wondering what was going on.

Who: Derek and Dessicant
Where: Outside the Wooden Nickel
When: Evening

Derek was used to having to leave places to smoke so in habit he left the bar, which could only be classified as a ‘dive bar’ for a quick cigarette. He chuckled to himself thinking of what his stock holders would think to see him leaving such a place. It would probably some big scandal that would turn into him having a mythological drinking problem or even worse, a drug problem. Then his board of directors would insist that he check himself into a rehab center to deal with his ‘problems’, when in fact he hadn’t had a drink all night and had already tried most drugs and found them boring. Of course no one would even believe the -real- reason he was there. Gossip.

Derek leaned up against the side of the building and pulled his pack of reds from the pocket of his jeans and his lighter. He’d dressed down for his night out, not wanting to attract too much attention. However, those with a keen eye for fashion would know that even though he didn’t look like a rich business man, everything he wore was still a designer label. Pulling out a stick he set it caringly between his lips and lit it with the small flame from the lighter. Leaned his head back, letting out the stream of smoke from his first drag, watching the sky start to slowly let go of its tears again. It was almost as if it wasn’t crying, but sweating.

2:56PM, Wednesday, September 5
Music: Blue October, Overweight (shut up, I can listen to stupid pop sometimes if I want to)

I'm going back tonight. Back to Marquette. To home? I don't know. I hope the van will last. It made all sorts of funny noises on the way out, and it rattles funny when I go faster than 65MPH. I'm *definitely* hunting down the guy who sold it to me and getting a real dinner out of him. He deserves it. Then I'm dropping the van off somewhere for a complete overhaul. If I'm living this far from my sire, I need a working car.

who: joshua and lullaby
where: outside his place/journey's
when: late

Who: Peyton and Isaac
When: lunchtime first, then after school
Where: MSHS, Peyton's house

Isaac was kind of worried. He hadn't seen Peyton around all day, and he'd been half-stalking her classes in between bells and everything. Which meant she probably wasn't at school. It put a knot of nervous energy into his stomach for sure, and his leg bounced all the way through his class before lunch. Instead of going to the cafeteria, he headed immediately outside where his phone got a better signal. He'd come in a relatively good mood that morning, the time with Thom and warding the house having improved his disposition quite a bit. He'd even brought what he bought her at the carnival with him, stuffed it into his locker, waiting until he could drag her in that direction at some point during the day. But she wasn't there. Thoughts in the back of his head were running a mile a minute, bad ones. She wasn't supposed to be missing. What if she wasn't home? Had he seen Tyler today? He couldn't remember. What if she was hurt, or worse? Pacing in the sunshine, he dialed her number and put the phone to his ear, heart beating hard already.

The phone scared her. Enough that she released a tiny yelp and clasped her hand over her mouth to silence it, as though someone might hear her there, even though no one was home. The school had already called. Her dad had come home after they'd contacted him to check on her. She'd feigned being sick, and given he was a doctor, she knew she must have looked like crap when he actually believed her. Once he left she'd curled up under her covers, her blankets pulled up high over her head, cocooned around her as if she were hiding. But she didn't sleep. She merely chewed on a fingernail and stared at nothing in particular, lost in her thoughts. Whatever those were. She didn't even know after awhile. Until the phone rang. It took her a few minutes to tug her way out of the blankets, her hair staticky and sticking to her face and she dumbly picked up her phone with a trembling hand. It took her a second to recognize the number and trying to pull herself together, she answered. "Hi." That came out way too quiet and hoarse so she cleared her throat and tried again. "Hi."

Who: Herbert and Sammy
Where: School/The Williams'
When: After school

Sammy was impatient the closer classes came to letting out for the day, and it definitely showed. His heel tapped anxiously against the floor as he bounced his foot and his knee jiggled back and forth garnering him looks with "Stop that!" clearly written in them as his knee hit the table leg. He stopped with an apologetic look and made sure that when the bell finally rang to dismiss them all that he was the first person out the door. He made a quick stop by his locker to grab the books he would need for the nights homework, then headed through the streams of people to the door. He was going to get to show someone else the duck eggs which was much more important than making sure to walk slowly and maybe meet new people, and hopefully Herbert wouldn't want to eat them.

Who: Joshua
When: around 5 ish
Where: Lullaby's house

Joshua had been walking for a while when he found himself standing outside of Lullaby's house. Or her parents' house. It was one place he hadn't gone yet, despite her mom's open invitation that people could come. And take things. He hadn't, because he didn't think he could stand doing it. But now, while his head still felt light and buzzy and Bad, there wasn't anywhere else he wanted to be. He set his board on the porch and knocked on the door. There didn't need to be much conversation, Laurie knew by the look on his face what he was there for. She told him quietly that he could stay as long as he liked, and motioned him down the hall.

who: dean and thia
where: journey's old house
when: after school

Who: Brian and Domino
Where: The phone, then Brian's house
When: Around 1AM

Sometimes, being drunk made you stupid. Instead of going to bed, like he really ought to be doing, Brian was fishing out Domino's note with the number written on it from where he'd stashed it in his bedside table drawer and dialing. It was the middle of the night, and he was pretty damn sure the boy would be in bed... but there he was, listening to the phone ring and laying back on his bed, eyes shut but brain nowhere near ready to turn off. Not until he heard from Domino, half-asleep or not.

Dom was far from asleep, this kitties sleeping schedule was anything if normal anymore. Must have been the last full moon, or anticipation of a new one, or the fact that he was just plain insane. Whatever the reason he’d gotten home from work this evening, slept for a little while and then woken up fully refreshed. Currently he was laying in the backyard on the grass, his hands behind his head as he watched the stars. He was imagining he was in the mountains back home watching the stars there like he’d done growing up. *zzzzzz* Dom furrowed his brow slightly. *zzzzz* His pocket was vibrating, for a moment he was tempted to let it be, but he changed him mind quickly and pulled it out. “’ello.” He said as he put the cell to his ear.

Who: Doc and Linn (unfinished)
Where: Marquette side streets
When: Late afternoon

Who: Olivia and Mathias
Where: Phone/Mathias's house
When: 2:00amish

After Brian left from making sure she got home okay, Olivia returned back outside once he was out of view. She sat on the curb of the parking lot for a long time, knees drawn up, chin resting on her folded arms. She knew she ought to go upstairs and take a shower. But she couldn't. She was restless and pacing in her apartment wouldn't do. Minutes turned into much, much longer, though time really wasn't a factor to her. She was enjoying the weather, letting her mind wander and thoughts start to overwhelm. The early morning ticked by soon enough as the alcohol weighed her down, the nicotine cravings began to grow stronger. Finally, she gathered herself together and turned, stretching out her aching legs and beginning to root through her bag for her cigarettes. She wasn't tired, and only pleasantly...drunk? No. Not drunk, really. She was something, sure, but not drunk. Drunk people slurred and fell over. Olivia hadn't been lying when she said she could hold her alcohol. But Brian had certainly given her a run for her money and she was certainly feeling it. She'd have to shower and maybe drink some coffee before having to work later that morning. It felt like she'd been digging through her bag for ages, though it had only been a few seconds, and finally, with a frustrated huff, she dumped it over on the ground in front of her. Grabbing her cigarettes, she plucked the crumpled piece of paper off of it, nearly tossing it back onto the ground before she recognized the handwriting on it.

It was Mathias's note and phone number. Take your time. She had. Sort of. Olivia hadn't spoken to him in...god, how many days at it been? Four? Five? It felt longer. But that was the norm when it came to them wasn't it? Talk, fight, avoid. And after a few days, seek each other out and start the dance all over again. Had she told him she'd call him? Maybe. She couldn't really remember. She stared at the number for a long time before she rummaged through her things and found her phone. She should call. Just to say hi. See how he was doing. That sort of thing. It would be rude of her to take his number and not call. At least, that made complete sense in her fairly fuzzy mind at the moment. Enough to justify it at least. Chewing hard on her lip, it took her three tries before she was able to get the number right. Oblivious to what time it actually was, Olivia lifted the phone to her ear, still holding the receipt.

Who: Dean and Joshua
When: right after school
Where: MSHS

Joshua ...

I've come back home for a bit. Or back to PA, anyway, I dunno if I'd call it home. I'm really not sure where that is anymore.

Who: Sammy and Linn
Where: MSHS; Science lab
When: Second period

Sammy looked warily at the counter in front of him and the different chemicals and equipment that lined the metal top. The very sight of them was displeasing to him as he stared discontentedly at the burners and beakers and different solutions that were all supposed to do something to make something else and, oh, why was he in this class? He wanted to melt into the floor or shift into a bird and make his escape but, really, it wasn't possible and so he could only sit tiredly in terror as the teacher called out who was paired with him in this lab.

Who: Sammy and Billy
Where: His dreams
When: Early morning

Cool; the marble underneath Sammy's feet was cool - icily so - and smooth - practically flawless. In the light from the flickering candles that sat in niches at the ends of each pew he watched the cracks in the stone that marked the end of each block passing beneath his feet as he walked up the central aisle of the large cathedral. Behind the golden, flickering light the shadows reigned, thick and dark, creeping and crawling close with sneaking tendrils of black that slid over the edge of the pew and down towards the candles like searching fingers.

Who: Dean and Caleb
Where: Walking
when: Lunch hour

Dean was exactly where he always was at lunch times - sitting on the side lawn, his bag by his side, rolling an apple between his hands. He figured that Caleb would show - the guy had said that he would, after all - but Dean hoped he wouldn't be long. He'd been thinking all through his morning classes - which he'd gone to, each and every one, getting the notes for Thia as more then for himself - and by the time lunch rolled around, he kind of wished that he hadn't agreed to mean up with the bloke. He had things he wanted to get done, but he'd offered and he wasn't going to back out. He'd just come up with a covering excuse instead. One that was a little more prepared this time.

Caleb wasn't late, he didn't have anyplace else to be besides 'away from the school building' so he'd headed out right away--he just walked slower than usual at current. Either way when he got to Dean, sitting on the same spot he always did, he stopped. "Hey." he greeted. He wasn't sure if he was still welcome or not, so he didn't sit down.

Who: Peyton and Dessicant
Where: Lakeshore
When: 6:30amish

It was still incredibly early by the time Peyton left the house to start her run before getting ready for school. She didn't have her iPod today, as she'd given it to Herbert to borrow for awhile, so she just attempted to sing in her head rather than let her mind wander. The sun was barely rising, and the morning was cool. She had a feeling summer was almost over which made her a bit sad, and at the same time, relieved. She'd had a great summer, seeing her mom, coming home, Isaac...the last couple of weeks had sucked hardcore, but maybe with the passing season, things might get better. Wishful thinking, sure, but the hope was there. As per her usual routine, after she hit the three mile mark and reached the lake, she slowed down to rest. Hands on her hips, she walked along the water's edge, taking in deep breaths to calm her heart rate. The breeze from the water felt good. Calming. It felt like, for a moment, that she was the only person in the world. No worries. No confusion. Just her, and a beach. The rest of the world seemed distant. And she was embracing that for the moment.

Unfortunately for Peyton, she wasn't the only person in the world, and even more unfortunately, she was earlier than usual. The other person sharing her beach wasn't expecting her for another couple minutes-- if, given the impending rain, he was expecting her at all. Dessicant was just finishing drying the lakewater from his scales after a quick swim, catching what little sun there was to catch before the clouds darkened even further. Whether it was his recent meal-- which, given he only ate once every fifteen months or so, was definitely still digesting and dispersing throughout his serpent form and slowly preparing to add inches; maybe even a foot-- or the early hour or the chill making him sluggish or just karma making up for his evening before, he didn't notice Peyton coming. He was too busy gnawing carefully at a feather that was trying to shed itself but didn't quite want to come out, coils bunched together across the sand. At least compact, he stood a little less chance of being spotted.

who: caleb and dean
where: art class
when: morning

Caleb was sitting in art class, sort of half wondering if Dean was going to make it to school today. He hadn't seen him yet(not that he normally did) and the bell was just about to ring. Which meant he was stuck sitting by himself, thoughts churning in all sorts of weird directions, covering Leija, Dean, Lullaby, the town, Mathias, the vampire who munched on Mathias, and something he'd caught in the paper the other day...something about a town slaughtered or something. What this meant was he was highly unfocused, and was actively attempting to ignore the group of girls who he'd glared at the other day to get them off of Dean's case who were looking over at him now and then and giving him the whispery-giggly treatment. Joy.

Dean was running late. Thia didn't have an alarm clock, unsurprisingly and they'd over slept, waking well after the sun was over the horizon. In fact, she'd shaken him awake this morning with a stern admonition to 'go to school' and shooed him out of the house as quickly as she could. He'd barely had time to grab a shower - which he'd insisted on. And he was, of course, still wearing yesterday's clothes, which he'd slept in. He'd stopped on the way to school and grabbed a packet of gum, insanely aware that he was lacking in a toothbrush and dragged his hand through his hair a few times, but he figured he looked basically a mess. But he was a mess with an undeniable bounce in his step. the world was a much better place today as he jogged down the empty corridors to the art room and apologised to the teacher as he reached the class room and headed to his table, dropping his bag by his chair as he sat down and upnodded to Caleb.

Early in the morning, an envelope is taped to Stacey's locker. It's been watercolor painted with various vines and flowers, and has her name written in vaguely scripty handwriting on the front. Inside, there's a photograph of her, colored lights streaked in motion behind her from the carnival, holding her balloon. She isn't looking at the camera, her gaze averted off to the left, and she looks like she's laughing. On the back, written in the same handwriting, it says: