October 21 2007

   I'm not sure how I manage to be so confused and so comfortable all at the same time. Actually, that's not it - I go back and forth between the two.

Who: Kavin and Jeri
When: Evening
Where: Phoneland then Kavin's house

Once Kyle left his house, Kavin sat around thinking about everything both he and Issac the day before had said. He'd never really thought about Jeri that way. Never thought about whether she was cute or hot or any of that. Sure his mother had always told him, along with Jeri's mother, that they'd end up together, but he'd never really put much time into actually considering the fact that he might actually like her if he spent time with her. In any case, he figured he needed to make up for being a jerk through out the last few years and actually talk to the girl. Kill two birds with one stone. Make up for lost time and find out if he might like her all in one swift move.

So, about five, he called her cell and waited for her to answer.

"This is Jerilyn." She was just finished in the shower and getting dressed from after work. There had been an... issue. With the flour. Suffice to say that the shit had been pretty much everywhere and Jeri had looked like a ghost for most of the day. But now she felt fresh, clean, undusty, and unwheaty. Or whatever flour did. She was about to pop in a DVD in the television in her room, too, but was promptly distracted by her cell.

Who: Peyton and Isaac
When: afternoon
Where: the Marsh house
Warning: NSFW

After leaving Thom to his own lame hermity devices, Isaac really wanted to go see his girl. He didn't bother calling, figuring that she wouldn't really mind if he just dropped in. And if she wasn't home, he could bullshit with Tyler for a few. And if he wasn't home, well ... Isaac would just go find someone else to pester. But he really wanted to see her, especially after two days of being retarded and gushy to his guy friends. Parking the van in her driveway, he got out and tromped through the snow and up the porch steps to knock, glancing at the clock in his phone. He had a while.

Exhausted after dealing with Geo the day before, Peyton was dozing on the couch when Isaac knocked on the door. The sound jarred her awake and she sat up, fumbling for a minute until her legs were untangled from the afghan and she could stand without tripping. She figured it might be Geo again, so she went to the door and peered out the sidelight window. Seeing Isaac, Peyton pulled back from the window quickly and tried to smooth down her bedhead the best she could before opening the door. Unlocking the door, she pulled it open and smiled sleepily at him. "Hi. I didn't know you were coming over..." She felt a bit embarrassed being caught still in her pajamas and looking, in her opinion, like crap. "Is everything okay?"

Who: Rey and Eva
When: Evening
Where: NMU art gallery

Who: Kyle and Isabelle
When: Midafternoon
Where: A delightfully random street corner

Who: Chelo and Rafe
When: evening
Where: outside, then the Delacourt house

It had been days since the masquerade. How many, Rafe didn't know. All he knew was that he'd only been sleeping between short bouts of exhausted sleep, and painting like a madman. Most of them had ended up broken and shredded on the floor, but a couple large canvases had actually survived and he was satisfied with the paint on them. They all had centered around one particular beautiful dark-haired woman, in various states of death and undress, in almost equal measure.

He'd left the house late that afternoon without telling Rey where he was going. He only realized after he'd been standing across the street from Chelo's flower shop for about an hour that he hadn't brought any gloves. Or a hat. He dismissed the revelation, not really caring. He had to see her again, had to, even just a glimpse. The shop had to close sometime, and he was going to wait until it did, positioned perfectly so that he wasn't obvious, but he would see her when she came out.

Who: Claire and Gabe
Where: Claire's House
When: Afternoon

There was no reason to be nervous. Gabe continued to tell himself that, even though he wasn't all that sure that was the case. It meant a lot to meet Claire's mom, even if she was only a friend. Formally meeting a parent was always a significant event, no matter what the status of the relationship. He knew, for instance, that Kyle's parents loved him, which allowed them to get away with almost anything. So while he wasn't planning on pretending to be something he wasn't, making a good impression was still important. As he walked with Claire up the front walk, he realized he'd never even been in her house through the front door. Climbing through her window didn't count.

Who: Jules and Aiden
Where: Phone/Park/Coffee Shop
When: Early Afternoon

Jules would have called Aiden that morning, but she had no clue if he was a morning person, so she kept herself safe from early rants and raving by waiting until well after one to pick up her phone and dial the man's number. It was snowing. She'd been made very aware of that when she went out that morning to grab her paper. She wanted to get out, do something fun and take advantage of the fluffy white blanket that covered everything. She dialed his number and waited for him to pick up, half wondering if he'd ignore her name on the screen.

Who: Seph and Syn
When: nighttime
Where: dreeeeeeeeeams

Who: Thom and Isaac
When: mid morning
Where: Thom's place

Isaac felt like he hadn't really talked to Thom in a while. And he wasn't terribly cool with that. So he woke up Sunday morning determined to do something about it. He took a shower, threw on some clothes, grabbed his bass, and headed out the back door to tromp through the snow and go next door. He knew his friend would probably be up -- likely for hours already -- so he didn't bother to call first. Even if he wasn't, he was getting up. They had chilling to do, that was more important than sleep. He walked into the back and started for the kitchen and the basement first.

Thom had, in fact, been up for hours already - and he was downstairs in the basement, twiddling more than anything else. He'd bought new strings for his acoustic yesterday and he was fitting them at the moment, making sure they were in and tuned to his liking, taking his time over it - and good lazy Sunday job as far as he was concerned. He looked up as he heard someone coming down the stairs and smiled as he saw Isaac. "Hey man, how's it going?" he asked.

"It's going, you hermity bastard," he said and threw Thom a grin. He came all the way down the stairs and moved to hand off one of the soda cans he'd snagged from the kitchen fridge before he'd headed down. Then perched on one of the amps and ducked out from underneath his bass strap. "Same old shit, different day, what's up with you?" he asked.

"Being a hermity bastard, course," Thom grinned, adjusting what he hoped was for the last time and giving the strings a strum, trying an E minor chord. "Needed new strings," he added, propping the guitar against his chest and reaching for the can. "Thanks."

who: kaysen, thom and porter
where: all over
when: mid morning

who: billy and maddie
where: their house
when: late afternoon

Who: Jesse and Nic
Where: Family Video
When: Late afternoon

Who: Kyle and Kavin
When: Early afternoon
Where: Kavin's house

It had been on Kyle's agenda for the weekend to check in on Kavin. A few texts here and there didn't really count as being there so when Kyle woke up on Sunday morning, he knew the first thing he needed to do before anything else was to go over to Kavin's and make sure he was still living. Of course, that came after the breakfast and shower. He rode his bike, thankful that the roads were decent enough that he could. Snow was everything and it was fucking cold outside. It left his face pink from the wind and his fingers nearly frozen in his gloves by the time he reached Kavin's house. He left his bike resting up against the side of the house before making his way through the snow to the door. He rang the doorbell twice before knocking, just to make sure his friend could hear.

Kavin had surprisingly actually made it to sleep the night before. He didn't get much sleep, but it was better than he'd been doing. So when Kyle rang the bell and knocked, he had already been up for hours. He'd actually even gotten dressed that morning and didn't look quite as bad as he had the day before, and much better than the day before that. He was still barefoot, despite the frostiness outside and the snow that he'd seen through the window. He might feel better, but he definitely wasn't ready to handle trekking through the snow anywhere. Padding over to the door, he checked out the window before pulling the door open and letting Kyle inside. "Hey, man. I feel loved. Braving the snowy winter and freezing your balls off just to come see me. How sweet." he teased.

who: caleb and dean
where: phone
when: late afternoon

Caleb had dealt with the Rose phonecall earlier in the day, and generally just wanted to talk to someone that he could say whatever to, and he didn't want to go bother Nic again, and do something stupid like start wearing out his welcome. Also, speaking to another guy? Really warranted right now. So, he was in the living room, feet propped up on the living room windowsill as he sat in the easy chair. Listening to the phone ring in his ear, he wondered what the fuck time it was in England anyways.

What the fuck time it was in England was 'late' and Dean scrambled for the phone, pulling it to his ear and shuffling across the bed as he answered, leaving the sleeping girl behind. "'Lo?" he asked, blinking himself awake in the darkness. He kept his voice low, but didn't whisper - for the benefit of the rest of the house than Thia, who didn't need it.

who: eury and open(for anyone attending the event today!)
where: maritime museum
when: around noon

Eury hadn't actually been by the museum. In fact, she hadn't even known it existed til she'd seen the flier for the end of the season event, so she had closed her shop to go see it. So far, it was quaint. Interesting if small, and she was letting herself enjoy the time even if she was constantly having trouble lately getting her mind off of things. She just couldn't seem to get past it entirely, and every time she sat down to think properly on anything--it just didn't happen.

She needed to get her ass in gear, needed to figure things out on a more coherent level, but she was so very stuck. She needed a better catalyst, perhaps. Something that might propel her forward into actually dealing with what had gone on in her life, and help her set up a structure for it's continuance. It was just all easier said than done when one's entire life fucked off, and shattered.

And yet that didn't take away her child-like amusement at the things in the museum for the time being, as she walked to the parascope, and pulled it down, peeking into the viewfinder.

Who: Dylan and Leija
When: Evening
Where: Phones, via text

Dylan had Leija's number and he had promised he would use it if he didn't see her at the bonfire. That had been on Friday but it was Sunday now and he hadn't bothered to pick up his phone yet. He had spent Saturday hungover and thought it would be too soon. Over breakfast on Sunday morning, he thought about inviting her to the book faire but went alone in case she thought he was weird for what he planned to buy. It wasn't until well after dinner, some eight or nine hours later, that he remembered he had wanted to text her. After getting Nate to check the message didn't have any spelling errors, he sent her a text:

i dont think i saw u at the bonfire or if i did, sorry if i was drunk Hope u had fun and didnt do anything too silly Will see u tomorrow, can i please sit with u at lunch?

Who: Manhattan and Open
When: Evening
Where: Random Bar

Manhattan had taken up residence on a stool at the far end of the bar. Bottle of beer that was half empty, or half full depending on how a person would chose to view it, sat on the counter in front of her. Her leather jacket on the barstool to her left where it had been haphazardly tossed when she first arrived. The night was young by bar standards which meant there wasn't much traffic in the place, the weather also playing a part in it as snow and wet streets had a tendency to keep people indoors. So until business started picking up Manhattan was under the illusion that she'd be able to at least enjoy one beer before someone felt the need to interrupt her solitude.

Who: Dylan and Nate
When: Evening
Where: Alden residence, car and grocery store

After roaming through the park and falling on his ass in the snow a lot (fun times), Nate finally returned home believing he was victorious in his search for Nic's tag. At least he hoped it was hers because damn the work done there looked cool. He got home, cold and wet and shaking but triumphant, heading straight for his and Dylan's room to change into something dry.

Who: Mathias and open
Where: Babylon
When: Late evening

Who: Leija and Nate
When: Late afternoon
Where: Leija's house and around town

Who: Caleb and Rose
When: Afternoon
Where: phone-land to start with

Who: Dorian and Rose
Where: NMU Book Faire
When: Noon

It was the last day of the book faire and even if Rose really didn't see it as a huge priority now, she knew she'd beat herself up about not going later. So she dressed up warm to try to stave off the cold or flu that was still bothering her and headed out to the main building. She needed a couple of books for literature and they were easy to find. She then picked up a book by Neil Gaiman she hadn't read before and planned on heading straight out again once she paid. The plan kind of fell through as she spotted Dorian on her way back out, instantly recognizing Caleb's brother from that night in Ohio where they'd come to meet her. It made sense for him to be there, he owned that bookstore she remembered now so it shouldn't surprise her. So she wandered over to the Nevermore table and gave him a little wave once she was there. "Hi," she said, lips twitcing into a small smile. "We met last week... I'm Rose." There was an unspoken question in there as she didn't want to just assume he remembered her.

Dorian looked up and smiled. Of course he remembered her. They might not have spent all that much time together, but it wasn't all that long ago and she'd meant quite a bit to Caleb. Or it seemed that way to Dorian, at least. "Hey Rose, how's it going?" he asked, piling the books back into a box. He'd been out there an hour and that was about all he could take. Dorian was far too impatient to stay after lunch, figuring that if they'd missed his table the past three days, it was their own fault. "Liking Marquette so far?"

Who: Dorian and Dylan
When: Late morning
Where: NMU, Book Faire

Dylan had left the house a little later in the day than he had originally planned but he had been taken aback by the sprinkling of snow. He hadn't seen proper snow before and for a moment, he debated if he shouldn't go out. It looked cold and the streets looked wet but he wasn't driving and the worst that could happen was a slip or two on the sidewalk. Besides, it was the last day of the Book Faire and there were things he needed to buy.

Who: Leija and Nate
When: late morning
Where: phoneland

It was Sunday, and Leija felt she desperately needed some interaction with someone that wasn't tinged by trauma. She'd caught up on some sleep the night before, after being called down to somewhere in South America for a particularly nasty death she didn't even really want to think about too much. But now she was awake at an hour that most other people were too, and the only person she could think of to bother on a Sunday was Nate. He'd said to remind him about the books, after all, so it was a good excuse.

Plopping down on her bed after scarfing some cereal, she thumbed out a text message to send. Morning. Have you recovered? Just a reminder to bring me books tomorrow, its your job to entertain me. :) -L

Who: Dean and Thia
Where: Manchester, England
When: Morning

After an incredibly full and exhausting day of touristy type things with Dean's family, Lullaby had been just tired enough to crawl into bed and completely crash out. She'd been tired anyways, after spending as much energy as she had trying to make sure Dean slept in. It had worked, but it left her drained for most of the day. Though holding Dean's hand for a lot of it helped, all he did was sustain her, he didn't put out enough energy to really recharge her back up a ton. Or, at least, not without prolonged exposure, which she was thinking sleeping had done. She was slightly better when he'd woken her up, when they decided that they were going to sneak out of the house before anyone else was awake, just so they could have a little bit of time together as opposed to being carted off for more group activities. So, they'd gone out. It was an overcast, rainy day, which was best for her, not having to deal with sunlight was a good idea. It was a little cool though, so she'd decided to wear his blue hoodie again. She was holding the umbrella for the two of them, as they walked down a path, going...wherever it was Dean was taking them.

Dean led them out from the footpath onto the road running through another housing estate, heading them towards what his mum had always referred to as 'pretend countryside'. There wasn't a whole lot of actual countryside around here, but there were areas of green where if you ignored the constant hum of the motorway, you could at least hope to suggest that you were alone. He'd just wanted to get them out of the house for a while. He was used to spending more time alone with her than they'd managed yesterday, and after everything the day before, he wanted some her-time.

Lullaby was of a similar mind, but then again, she generally was. She liked everyone else in the world just fine, but she started to get twitchy if she didn't get proper time alone with him. So this was nice, they didn't even have to be back at a set time, so she felt freer than before, when they'd had obligations to tend to after arriving. Or...after she woke up, anyways. She had things on her mind, but wasn't sure when she was going to actually start talking about them with him. Mostly because she wasn't sure she wanted to, even if she knew she should. And she would! But...yeah. That didn't mean she was chomping at the bit to get to it. "So where are we headed?" she asked.

Who: Porter and open
Where: Washington Street
When: early afternoon

Day two in town, and Porter was feeling pretty good about things. For all the awkwardness he'd had after helping Kaysen the night before, he was proud of what he'd done. Really, it had helped him sleep deep and peacefully, and he swore he'd had the dream about getting a power ring again. He'd woken early, letting both his parents sleep in as he went about fixing himself a small breakfast, then had gotten back to unpacking his things.