Re: The Vagabonds [Andrew][Marjorie]

by **Andrew** Fri Jan 18, 2013 8:22 pm

He let out a soft sigh of relief. Good, she was too young to be thinking like that just yet (nevermind that he had been prostituting himself out by her age. That was besides the point). And he could understand what she meant by people not keeping their word. He had dealt with that enough as well.

"I'm not offended. It's fine. And I understand." He gave her shoulders a quick squeeze then opened the door for her. "Yeah, they serve us. The owner's grandkid is one of us so they're pretty relaxed, so long as we don't start anything and no one else does."

He led her in and requested the table he had mentioned. When they were led over, he sat her down so her back was to the windows and therefore the sunlight as well. He sat across from her and thanked the waitress for the menus before ordering water to drink. They both looked at Marjorie for her drink choice. The waitress bustled off after getting it, saying that she'd be back with their drinks shortly.

by **EllaKey** Fri Jan 18, 2013 8:37 pm

She had ordered milk after a moment, staring at her hands in her lap for a minute or too, not sure what to say. It was really warm in the café though, so she tugged on her hoodie, pulling it off as well as the gloves and pushing the sleeves of her shirt back. She got caught in the hoodie for a moment, making a couple disgruntled noises as she pulled it over her head. Her lower arms were criss-crossed with bright white scars, a couple still faintly pink from recent cuts. Her left hand had a deeper, raised scar across the palm. She pulled her hands into her lap again, smiling a bit sheepishly. “Sorry but it’s really hot in here, y’know?” Her head was still throbbing; she shook it and the tiredness off. “You said that you were an artist too, yeah? What do you like to draw?” Part of her wondered if he would comment on her scars; she was sure he saw them before she hid them under the table. Part of her wanted to tell it all, her whole story, but she was still a bit nervous around him and besides, who wanted to hear that?

by **Andrew** Sat Jan 19, 2013 4:14 pm

He waved off her apology about taking off her hoodie. He could understand wanting to enjoy the warmth without layers in the way. He didn't normally care if he was a bit warm though, it was better than being cold in his opinion. And he did notice her scars, green eyes lingering on the thing lines momentarily before he looked at her again.

"I prefer pencil sketches and I'll draw whatever though my preference is people. I like to catch the emotion and movement that people have. And I find it easier to be able to convey the way I view people through a sketch than I can by talking about them. It's a lot easier to tell a story through visuals for me." He shrugged, looking aside as he scratched the side of his nose in embarrassment.

After a moment, he nodded at her arms. "Everyone has scars. Don't be ashamed of yours because they're a part of you and tell your story." He winked at her. "And you know what? I've got my scars too."

by **EllaKey** Sat Jan 19, 2013 5:41 pm

She had started to reply to his comments about drawing when he mentioned her scars. She looked down at the criss-cross pattern she was creating, folding her arms against her stomach. “It’s not a story I’d like to be a part of,” she replied honestly and softly, making a fist. “Besides, it’s nothing special. I’m a cutter. So what? I use my blood with my ink to make my power more stable and last longer. It’s nothing…” She trailed off, pulling her arms up to look at them better again. Her skin here was much paler here, almost a reverse farmer’s tan. “Besides, all they do is hurt.” She ran her finger over her left arm softly as the waitress returned. She jerked her arms back to hide against her stomach, staring at her glass of milk until the woman left again.
“Do you really have scars?” she asked, looking up at him shyly now. “Like, real ones that you have to hide, not those metaphorical ones that people are always talking about.” She watched his face carefully, a little suspicious and cautious but wondering if this was someone she could put her trust in.

by **Andrew** Sat Jan 19, 2013 7:50 pm

Andrew smiled with his normal boyish charm. "You'll be happy for it some day. You wouldn't be who you are without them."

He grinned at the waitress as she took their order and walked off again before looking at Marjorie again. "And of course they do. They're not done healing. But there'll be a time where you don't even notice any more, and that's when they're done healing."

He reached out to sip his water, nodding as she asked about his scars before setting the glass down again. He turned in his seat so that his back was to her and tugged his jacket and shirt up. She could see that his back was as tanned as the rest of his exposed skin, except for the small circular scars spread a bit sporadically as well as some long, thin lines that were a few shades lighter than the rest of his back.

Letting his clothes drop again, he turned back toward her, watching her calmly and waiting for her reaction, taking another sip of water as he did.

by **EllaKey** Sat Jan 19, 2013 9:56 pm

Marjorie had ordered the blandest thing on the menu, requesting no salt. She stared in surprise when he turned about, almost reaching out to touch one of the marks. “Cigarettes?” she guessed, feeling lucky suddenly. “Who did it?” She looked down at her arms again, rubbing lightly and unsure. “I mean, I’ve lost a tooth thanks to my fucker of a brother but all of these are mine. I remember making most of them.” She squinted, trying to figure out if he could’ve done it himself. Wouldn’t he have done it like on his thighs or something though? They weren’t so easy to hide on a guy…especially since it was obvious he went out shirtless. She got herself mixed up and confused, her head sending her a twinge of pain as if to remind her she wasn’t done getting over her restitution. She groaned and rested her head in her arms on the table. “I hurt all over,” she said, speaking to the table, grumbling mostly. “I fucking hate my restitution.” She rubbed her forehead, peeking up at Andrew, Vertigo, whatever his name was.

by **Andrew** Sun Jan 20, 2013 9:34 am

Andrew nodded in answer. "Yeah, cigarettes. My own older brother actually." He let out a wry laugh, grabbing the ketchup and squirting a small pool of it onto a clear section of his plate before picking up a fry to swirl through it. "He's a class A jackass. Used to hit me and pushed me down and off and out of stuff." He shrugged lightly. "I'm pretty sure he only took up smoking just to do that," he added on, jerking his head to the side a tiny bit to indicate his back.

"I got kicked out of my genetic donors' house when I was around your age, maybe a little younger, because I got fed up and beat the shit out of him when he tried to do the same to one of my little sisters." What he didn't say was that one of his brother's friends had tried to rape him shortly before and that had contributed to it.

When Marjorie complained of being sore, Andrew reached into the backpack he had tossed on the bench next to him and pulled out a bottle of aspirin, setting it on the table. "Go ahead and take a couple. Might help." He shrugged a shoulder again since he didn't know if it would help her in particular, but he did know that there were some harbingers who used medicines to help with their restitutions.

by **EllaKey** Sun Jan 20, 2013 12:11 pm

She listened in silence, only half looking up at him as he spoke. “Genetic donor?” she asked before thinking it out. “And wow…we come from some pretty fucked up homes then.” She tried to laugh it off, looking at the bottle he had set down. Aspirin. She had run out of that ages ago, after stealing a big bottle from her parents’ shop. She grabbed it, pouring a couple out and swallowing dry. “Thanks,” she said quietly, picking up her spoon. She had ordered soup, as hot as it could be. It came with saltine crackers, which she quickly pushed to the side. The first lip scalded her lips and she grabbed her milk again to sooth it…
“Hey Andrew, can we be friends?” she blurted, sitting up again as she waited for a second spoonful. She bit down on her spoon and waited for an answer, ignoring the metallic taste. She felt shy and ashamed of herself for being so desperate for a friend. But maybe it was time for her to actually branch out. Maybe eventually she could even get away from Carter.

by **Andrew** Sun Jan 20, 2013 5:14 pm

"Yeah, 'genetic donors'. They're not exactly parents, you know? She was either drunk or lost in a haze of prescription meds most of the time and he was just an ass who hated me and couldn't be bothered to acknowledge my existence more times than not. To be fair, most of my family is like that. There's a few exceptions though." He shrugged and took a bite of his burger, crunching into the lettuce and onion on it. He also nodded in response to her thanks, not wanting to talk with his mouth full and gross her out. Plus, he wasn't that rude.

“Hey Andrew, can we be friends?”

Andrew had been about to take another bite when that registered to him. He blinked and looked at her, setting his food down again. "Sure," he said with a surprised smile then leaned forward, reaching out to ruffle her hair gently. "I'm always happy to have more friends. You can't ever have too many of them." He pulled his hand back and turned toward his food again, still smiling, and popped a fry into his mouth.

by **EllaKey** Mon Jan 21, 2013 10:43 am

When he described his family situation, she winced sympathetically, keeping her family details to herself for now. And when he ruffled her hair, she grinned widely, catching her spoon before it fell into her soup and made a mess. Her heart lifted as well as she realized this was her first true friend. She started back on her soup, forcing herself not to eat too quickly, lest she upset her stomach from the sudden introduction of rich food. She didn’t say anything for a long while, not trusting herself to talk and far too hungry anyway. She did offer him her saltine crackers though.
When she had finished eating, she pushed her bowl away and finished off her milk as well before she risked speaking. She had carefully planned out every word and action. “Well, if we’re going to be friends, this is where I stay at most often…” She scribbled out an address on a paper napkin, pushing it towards him. “I don’t have a phone though. Yet. Maybe soon.”
She twirled her pen, doodling a bit on another napkin.

by **Andrew** Tue Jan 22, 2013 2:30 pm

Andrew was fine with eating in silence, especially considering that this was his first meal of the day. Of course, eating lunch first was better than dinner being the first meal of the day.

He looked at the address when she pushed it over and nodded. "I know where that is. Blue door, brick building, a few blocks over from that one night club, uh... Nightlife, right?" He popped a fry into his mouth, letting half of it hang from his lips as he lifted a hand in a 'one moment' gesture. He reached out to snag his bag and start digging in it. He thought that he might have a spare burn cell in here somewhere...

"Ha!" He pulled his hand from the bag, grinning victoriously, then started to tap the buttons on the phone he just pulled out. A soft chime came from his pocket and he put the phone in front of Marjorie before fishing his from his jeans and tapping on it as well. "Okay, I programmed my number in already. That one is like fifteen credits a month so you should be able to afford it. Call me if you need help or a place to stay or a meal or anything, okay? There's another number in there. If you can't get a hold of me, call that. Haze can help you." He had a feeling that she was slipping into the place he had and he'd like to prevent that if he could.

by **EllaKey** Sat Jan 26, 2013 10:35 pm

“That’s the one!” She smiled. “It’s not much, but it’s a dry roof over my head. And a mattress. On the floor. With a comforter. But it works.” She shrugged. Her eyes went huge when he handed her the phone. She flipped it open, staring at it in awe. “I’ve never had a phone before. Well, yeah, no. The house phone was kept out of reach.” She tapped on the buttons for a few minutes, completely absorbed. “This is so, so awesome. Thank you!” She jumped up, moving to hug him tight. “Thank you thank you thank you!” She looked at the phone, unable to stop grinning. “I’m going to try and call you know to make sure it works.” She pulled up his number, hitting send and holding it up to her ear to listen to it ring, literally bouncing. She heard his phone start ringing and laughed. “That’s so awesome.” She hung up before he could pick up, hugging him again. “And it’s only fifteen credits? That’s so, so cool!” She sat down to finish her food quickly.

by **Andrew** Sun Jan 27, 2013 9:54 am

Andrew smiled back, refraining from saying that her apartment, though she might think that it wasn't much, was more than he had. Oh, sure, there were plenty of people he knew that he could stay the night with if he needed to, had taken many of them up on that as well. But he didn't have somewhere that he could call his own, never had, and was a little envious of people who did. Hell, even Trevor's clinic was preferable.

Speaking of, he should go bother Trevor since he hadn't seen him since Halloween. He blinked as he realized it had been two months.

He laughed brightly at how excited Marjorie was, happily hugging her back. His phone rang on the table, vibrating in a slow circle when she called it. He laughed again with the second hug then leaned back as she sat to finish her food, watching her and smiling at how happy that had made her.

When they had both finished, Andrew paid and waited for her to get her layers back on before slinging an arm around her shoulders and walking her out, saying "So, Marjorie, why don't you tell me a bit more about yourself and I'll tell you more about me?" as they went.

~~~end~~~

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