cherry coke and other firsts in thirty years or so

Who: Gabe and Lauren
Where: Babylon
When: Night

Restlessness hit Gabe around dusk and by the time the sun had fully set, he was pulling on his coat, just wanting to get out. It didn't matter where to, so long as he wasn't in the house. Telling his mom he was going to Kyle's, he climbed in his car and began to drive around town, trying to decide just where it was he wanted to go. Kyle's place was out, since he'd scared the guy off, and he wasn't willing to just drop by Claire's place on the off chance that tonight was date night with Joshua. He thought about going by Kavin's place, but then he wasn't sure he was ready to hang out with the guy. The last thing he wanted to do was get into a snippy conversation and so he steered clear of anyone he might have to talk werewolf shit with. That didn't leave him with a hell of a lot of people to talk to.

He was thinking about turning around and heading home when he came across Babylon, which was weird because he remembered it being somewhere else the last time he'd been there. Sure, they had a bar that was adults only, but he'd been able to enter the club for the masquerade. Parking the car out front, he headed in, hoping that part was still open for him to enter. He wasn't sure he wanted to go dancing or anything, but maybe there was a pool table, or maybe he could shoot darts. Wandering inside, he started to have a look around, not entirely sure he knew what he was doing. This wasn't the sort of place he usually wandered into alone.

Lauren had seen the place before but she hadn't actually been inside. But tonight she was feeling out of sorts, especially after her screaming argument with that total bitch, and that had just ruined her entire day. Which just made her more pissy because that thought probably brought the dumb girl more joy. That she'd gone and ruined an already dead girl's day, which was fairly hard to do. She was slightly nervous as she headed up to the place, wondering if people were going to start screaming the moment she stepped inside.

That didn't quite happen. Instead of that, she walked in after someone else had gone inside, slipping in just before the door shut, and wheee! She was solid! And it was very abrupt, unexpected, and she went crashing right into the back of the young man who'd preceded her. Having a femur that was jutting out your thigh didn't make walking so easy. She half latched onto his middle, clinging tight as she barely kept herself from falling flat, and squeaked out "Help!" in a tiny voice.

Nothing caught Gabe's attention quite like having a girl wrap her arms 'round his waist on a fall towards the floor. Turning, he moved to help her, his eyes widening as he took in her obviously injured leg. "Oh fuck, are you okay? I mean--shit, we should get you to the hospital," he said, as his arms moved under hers to lift her up, giving her support. It didn't quite occur to him that she might be a ghost, well... because she was solid. The ghosts he'd met so far hadn't been, though he'd admit he'd never been this close to one. Still, she just appeared to be a very injured girl at the moment, one that needed some serious medical attention. And then Gabe got a better look, and began to wonder just what the hell he should do.

Her eyes went wide as he did help her, even if she'd asked for that, because hey! She suddenly had a guy with his arms around her and she stared up at his face for a moment, terribly distracted and she blinked, eyes wide. "I--um--sorry!" she said, recovering after a moment, arms going up to sort of grasp his upper arms. One did just fine, but her right hand only had the two fingers, so it didn't work out so well on that side. "I um...wait---hospital? You're like, thirty years too late for that." she told him. "I'm--it's fine." she said, before dropping into a ramble. "I'm dead, it's fine, I don't know what this place is I've never been here before and I really really don't know why it is I just manifested here but it's a little weird for me and I really didn't mean to crash into you and everything and sorry I did, and I...um...yeah. I'm sorry. And no hospital, I'm way way already dead."

Apparently Babylon was the place to go to meet dead girls and Gabe was going two for two. This one looked a lot more dead than Lullaby did, so he had no trouble believing her, and he'd already had to come to terms with the idea that dead girls could indeed talk. He supposed he should be glad that none of them were actual zombies, otherwise he was certain he'd be missing a chunk of his arm by now. "Oh," he said, still somewhat in shock, mostly because he couldn't get over how painful her leg injury looked. It was hard to reconcile the idea that she couldn't feel it because she was dead. "Okay, no hospital. Chair maybe?" he offered, helping her over to the nearest one since standing seemed to be the biggest problem. And once he realized that one hand didn't really have all the fingers she needed to hold on, he did what seemed easiest and obvious. He picked her up.

"Chair! Yes, please! That'd be...good. With...ee!" she squeaked when he picked her up, not expecting that either, though she didn't fight him on it, a little too bewildered with the move to actually do more than do more wide-eyed staring at him. And then she blushed. It was the first time she'd felt heat in her cheeks in...god. She didn't know how long. "Um...thanks." she said to him, lowering her voice because of the close proximity going on. "I um...yeah, thank you. I really am completely unsure what's even happening right now." Because she didn't feel like she was burning energy, either. She'd just walked in and bang! There!

"Welcome," Gabe said with a little smile as he carried her to the nearest empty boot and set her down on one side. She was pretty when had a little color in her cheeks, though it took him a moment to realize that might be due to his carrying her around. "Sorry, uh, it just seemed easier than walking," he smiled, then slid into the booth across from her. "You said you manifested?" he asked, trying to put it all together in his head, though he realized there were some things he might just not know about. Whatever Lullaby was-- a fade-- wasn't something he'd heard of until she told him. "Are you normally... not solid?" he asked.

And I'll get over being flustered in juuust a minute here. Get it together, Laur. she told herself as she internally rolled her eyes at herself. When she was sat down, that was slightly less embarrassing, at least. Her misplaced bone wasn't showing anymore, and her hand she dropped down to her side so that wasn't there to possibly gross him out or anything. She wasn't used to having to think about this kind of thing, but suddenly finding oneself being corporeal kinda put that in perspective. And just as soon as she stopped blushing, she'd be feeling better. And less like an idiot. "Solid? Oh, no. I'm dead. Er. Spirit...ghost. I'm a ghost." she said, thinking maybe she should try thinking before she spoke, but the whole thing flustered her enough to knock her off her game. "So really not solid. I have no idea why it happened when I walked in...what the hell is this place anyways?" she asked, looking around, so she would quit looking at him for a minute.

Gabe couldn't help the little smile on his face, brought on by her rambling. Most of the ghosts he'd seen, he wanted to stay away from. There was something creepy about them, and he didn't really know how to deal with them at all. But most of them weren't girls around his age, and none had made an attempt to talk to him, let alone crash into him as she had. "You don't look like a ghost," he said, since now that she was sitting, she really didn't. Sure, she was a little pale, but with her leg out of view it wasn't near as obvious. "I don't really know what's up with this place. I've only been here once before, but I'd swear it was somewhere else," Gabe said, looking around briefly, then back to her. "I'm Gabe," he said, offering her his hand.

That had Lauren looking back at him. "Oh my god, you noticed that too?" she asked, a little exciteable sometimes. "I did! I could've sworn this was over on fourth the last time I saw it! And today it really isn't! So...hey! I noticed that too! Maybe I'm not insane!" she said, suddenly smiling brightly at him. Then when he offered his hand, she automatically went to shake it with her right hand--only it was all mangled, and her eyes went wide and she quickly snatched it back under the table like maybe he would not notice. She awkwardly clasped his hand with her good one, and bobbed it up and down a few times, feeling more like an idiot again. And she was flushing with embarrassment to boot. "I'm Lauren." she answered him. "And...um...thanks?" she suggested. "I think? About the not looking dead thing." she clarified for him. "That would...well, kinda suck. I thnk. well, I look mangled, but if I stay right here and stop forgetting about my hand, I can blend in! I...really need to stop talking."

She really was amusing him! And making him feel not so crazy, since he'd already had enough of that for one day that he didn't need to start thinking his memory was failing. "No, you're not insane," he agreed with a grin. "It was definitely down on sixth the last time I was here, so maybe it just jumps around... if... if there's a reasonable explanation for moving buildings," he laughed. "I don't understand that. But there's a lot I don't understand these days, so that's really nothing new. Nice to meet you, Lauren," he said, squeezing the hand she decided to offer. He'd caught sight of her other hand, and reminded himself it was rude to stare. Very rude. She seemed self-conscious enough without him adding to it. "You blend in. Really. Just... don't try to walk on it. Are you sure you're okay? I mean, are you in pain? I... I've never actually talked to a ghost before, so please excuse me if I'm asking stupid questions."

"Exactly! It jumps around!" Lauren said, happy to have it all confirmed. "I have no idea what that means! But okay, well at least it's established now, I can feel much less like I'm losing it. But really nice to meet you too, Gabe! You're very nice so far and cute in the nowadays kinda way, and that was very sweet of you to carry me over here and I don't think that I'll try walking on my leg anymore, I never had before, I didn't know I was going to get solid when I walked in so it was a huge surprise." she said, again, just rambling along, not thinking about what she might've said in there. "and I'm fine! I died in '74, it hasn't hurt in a long time now, but thanks for asking, and it's okay, now you're talking to a ghost, so if you do have questions I could probably try to answer them for you but I give you fair warning that I don't know that much, I just am one, I don't know like, all the secrets or anything. I just know I was on my way to a dance and smuck! Car crash! And then I was a ghost." She had to stop for breath, which confused her for a moment, and then she gave that bright, million watt smile again at him as she laughed a breathy little laugh. "I have to stop for breath!" she said, delighted.

There was so much to take in and absorb that Gabe almost had a hard time keeping up! Luckily, he'd listened to a lot of girls talk in his short life and had learned the great art of paying attention that he knew some other guys didn't see a need for. At times like this, it really paid off, otherwise he'd have been lost by the end! "Breathing is good," he grinned. "And I know what you mean-- just because you are something, doesn't mean you have all the answers. Like I-- I'm not completely human, but I couldn't have even told you that without the help of some of my friends. And I'm still not sure what's going on. So I completely get you there." It occurred to him that he probably shouldn't say things like that to a girl he'd just met, but she was ghost! And if she wasn't, then she was probably bleeding to death beneath the table and a hell of a good liar! He was willing to place bets on the ghost thing though, since no one could look so happy if they were in that much pain. "Maybe it's this place, then. You can be solid in here? If that's the case, we should tell them to leave a set of crutches by the door or something, since I might not always be here to carry you," he grinned. "Not that I mind carrying pretty girls around, but I don't think you'd want to rely on me."

"Right, you don't get like, a membership card and a handbook or anything! There's no secret decoder pins in the mail, or if so, then I'd have one hell of a time finding it--plus it's really late." she decided. If what he was telling her was inappropriate, she didn't give any sign of that. instead she was just listening avidly. "Aw, what's going on?" she asked, concerned. "Maybe I can help. I mean, I don't have all the answers or anything, but I have been in this town for like, fifty years, all things told." She propped her chin on her good hand, big brown eyes staying on him, watching his as he spoke. When he mentioned that it might be the place that was making her solid, she backed up the logic. It made sense, it hopped around, maybe it had other magical properties. Not that she was a subject authority on magic. she knew it was out there, but yeah. Not a whole lot otherwise. When he said that last bit, she flushed dark red, and her eyes dropped down to the table, a shy, but very pleased smile touching her lips. She looked back up at him, through her eyelashes, the hair loose from her ponytail falling around to frame her face. Okay, so she'd just been hit with happy-shy. The last time she'd been told she was pretty had been before she'd gotten into the car where she'd died. She was due. "I um...er...I mean, that's a good idea, a-and, I...I really appreciated it..." You really aren't helping your 'not an idiot' image here, Laur. she told herself. But she couldn't help it.

He'd always been a sucker for pretty girls that blushed and Lauren was no exception. It was so much sweeter than the confident grin that Chrissy had given in return, since she'd been perfectly aware of her own looks. There was something nice about the girls that knew how to take a complement. He didn't know what, but he liked it. Plus, he didn't think she was faking it either. "You're welcome," he smiled. "I'll make sure to talk to someone on the way out. Or something like that." He'd actually have to go find crutches, then come back by, which meant finding the place again. Marquette wasn't huge, though, so he should be able to manage it. "It'd be kind of awesome of we all had membership pins or something. Then you could spot others like you without everyone knowing. It's be like a secret society. Though, I guess if you're not in here, it's not so secret," he said, realizing afterwards that it would be pretty obvious that she was a ghost elsewhere. "But, yeah, I... I recently got bitten by a werewolf," he said, lowering his voice. "Kind of changes things, you know? I just can't let it get around, since there's people that would hunt me down." People that could be there, Gabe though. "Would you like a drink? A soda or something?"

It still took her a minute to get over her little fit of shy, and fight her cheeks back down to normal color. She didn't realize it, but her form kind of blurred a little. It changed, not a lot, just a little. She had initially been wearing a sun dress, but now she appeared in an open buttoned down shirt, little flowers printed on it, a plain shirt beneath it, gold cross against her chest. Her hair was in a loose ponytail, though slightly less messy than a moment ago, hanging over her right shoulder. "That'd be really nice of you--do you think they'd actually do it? Just for me?" she asked. "I mean...I really like breathing again! That's neat, and just talking and everything is really very nice, but I'm not a paying customer. They might wanna shoo me out." she said. Then she heard the bit about the werewolf thing, and her eyes went wide--though not with fear. Concern. "Oh no, are you okay?!" she asked, sitting up straighter, and leaning more over the table. "And yeah, definitely! I won't tell anyone but still, are you okay? I mean...I...I have no idea what would even need doing or anything, I...you look like you're fine, and everything, but..." that had to be a lot to deal with. She knew randomly dying had been. She blinked at the last bit. "You would get me something? I...I can't pay you back..." Ghosts didn't exactly have jobs. Though lord did she want something. Anything, actually. If she could be solid in here, and taste things? Wow. Just...wow.

Okay, now he was staring. Gabe had seen a lot of odd things in the last few months, but he'd never seen a girl change clothes in front of him quite like that. Like, she just transformed! It made him think of some cartoon he'd seen one time where the female character magically transformed, outfit and all. "Did you do that on purpose?" he asked, amazed more than anything else. "Like, your shirt and all? Cause that's pretty kick-ass! And, yeah, I can't imagine why they wouldn't. Surely you're not the only customer to come in with injuries, now that ghosts are wandering around, right?" And for as happy as it seemed to make her, Gabe would be willing to pay someone, just to make sure there were crutches there. It still seemed wild to him that she was dead, since this was not at all what he'd expect of a dead girl. But had he had any preconceived notions about talking to dead girls before? He wasn't sure! "Yeah, I'm okay," he smiled. "I mean, a little confused and all, but I try to keep my freaking out on the inside." He laughed a little, running his fingers through his hair. Today he'd been freaking out a lot. Today he'd ordered himself a freaking cage. "You don't have to pay me back. What do you want? Anything. I don't know if they have food or not, but if it's been thirty years since you've had a coke, or chocolate cake or something, then I think you deserve it!"

"Do what?" she asked, then looked down at herself. "Did I change?" she asked. "I don't...okay I keep hearing that ghosts can change their appearance and everything but I can't get the hang of it, but I know sometimes it does it on it's own...sorry, didn't mean to...y'know. Throw you off." she said, looking back up at him. "I can't get it to work right. Like I can't get rid of my necklace. After I died, I hung out at my church a lot and stuff, but nothing ever happened, no tunnel of light or anything either so I kinda gave up on the idea of God and all. Do I look bad now?" she asked, looking back at his eyes. "I can't really tell...mirrors don't reflect me." so she kind of had absolutely no idea how she looked. For all she knew, her face was messed up too. But he'd said she was pretty... "Yeah, maybe other people could use it too..." she said, really kind of hoping they would do something like that. Or that no one would like, steal them if they did. "You sure? Cuz...god I would love you forever if you got me anything." she told him, giving herself a moment to put her real enthusiasm for just the concept of having something to taste again into her tone. "Coke would be good. Ooh! Could I have cherry in it?" she asked brightly, bouncing a little in her seat at the idea.

"You were wearing a little sun dress before, with flowers," he said, grinning at her own surprise. She was the only girl he knew that would've had no idea about what she was wearing, and she'd probably been wearing it for years. "And really, you look great. Not dead at all. It just surprised me cause I've never seen anyone do that. So, is it some kind of spirit magic? Like, you can learn how to change things about yourself? Or... I guess that's what you meant by being something without the answers. Like me," he smiled. He would definitely have to find out about ghosts now, since then maybe he could help her. He knew how much it'd meant to him when his friends had been able to do the same. "I'm sure," he said, sliding out of the booth. "One coke with cherry in it, coming right up. I'll be right back." Gabe grinned as he hurried over to the bar, ordering them both drinks, then returning to the table. "Here you go," he said, setting her drink down in front of her, straw and all. "If you want anything else, let me know. I can't imagine what that would be like, not having tasted anything in so long. I guess you don't get hungry, do you?"

"Really?" she asked, believing him. And when he said she looked great, she was blushing again, and smiling. Apparently, compliments really made her happy. "And thank you." she said, fidgeting a little bit, ducking her head a moment. "I guess it is! I just can't get it right. I've talked to other spirits before who could change everything about themselves! Like their hair style, their entire outfits, everything, all just by thinking about it, but not me! So, I guess that you got to see this purely because I'm not very good at it." she admitted, not thinking praise suited since it had only happened because she had no bloody control, even though one would really assume that she would have it down pat by now. she'd been dead far longer than she'd been alive, after all. She watched him run off to get drinks, and she couldn't sit still, she was so excited. When he set her drink down, she forgot about her mangled hand again, and brought it up with her other to grasp the glass, immediately taking a drink from the straw.

Really, she would normally have answered him. She'd have gotten to the question about not getting hungry. Because ghosts didn't. It was like not breathing. No systems, no form, so it just didn't exist. But then she got her first taste of cherry coke in 33 years. Her eyes went wide and when she'd swallowed it down, she squeed. She got a bright, insanely exicted smile on her face, and she even went to stand up--her idea being that she was going to grab him across the table and hug him--she just got dropped right back down again by the faulty leg thing. which didn't even put the slightest dent in her rush of Happy. She burst out laughing, at herself and the situation, and she waved one hand in the air a little as she giggled, a half gesture that he should come closer, when she got hold of herself.

Gabe couldn't recall the last time he'd ever seen a girl look quite as happy as Lauren looked right then, and he found himself grinning as her enthusiasm rubbed off on him. If she could be this happy over cherry coke, then he'd have to bring her little treats every time he saw her-- which he'd already decided would have to happen. There was so much he wanted to ask her, though right now it was the little things that mattered. He was especially pleased that he'd gotten the bartender to put an actual cherry in the glass as well. He laughed with her as she tried to stand and failed, sensing that she really didn't care at the moment, and instead leaned forward on the table as she gestured him close. "I take it you like it?" he grinned, elbows on the table as he shared her happiness.

She beamed at him, and when he got closer, she situated herself better, and she flung her arms around his neck to give him a big hug. Which she also hadn't done in forever, so that was nice, and she even gave him a kiss on the cheek, which she considered being forward of her after she'd already done it, but it was just something that she felt he deserved. she was, in fact, stupidly pleased right then. "I love it! You have my undying love and affection!" she promised him, still looking like he'd just told her she won the lottery or something.

Now she'd gone and made him blush, which he really wasn't expecting! Gabe hugged her back, beaming as he settled back down in his side of the booth, his cheeks a definite pink. "Any time you want," he smiled, glad to see her damn happy! Gabe bit his lip and laughed a little. "There's so much for you to try, we should meet for dinner here sometime. Do they serve food?" he said to himself, looking around. Some bars served some food, though they were more on the club side. He was hoping they did. "If not, I can bring you something. Just cause... you're beautiful when you're happy." She really, really was. Gabe had a bad habit of telling girls so when they were, feeling like they really didn't hear it often enough.

Well Lauren sure as heck didn't hear it often enough. Or at all! And she clapped a hand over her mouth when he told her that, a complete sucker for flattery there. She blushed darkly and was still quite obviously smiling wide beneath her hand (which thankfully was her good one). "I--you---thank you!" she said, stuck on that bit for a moment. Yes, she was entirely easy to please in that moment. "I um...I haven't heard that in a really long time." she admitted, thinking she really wanted to spend time with him again. She was having a fabulous time, so much so that she was even forgetting about that screaming argument earlier with Nic. "You would really bring me things? That's so sweet of you! You're sweet. I like you." she told him in no uncertain terms.

"I like you too," Gabe grinned. "I only bring gifts to the girls I like." Which was definitely the truth, though Claire had yet to really understand it. Or embrace it. That was really the problem, plus the fact that she was dating someone else. But he wasn't going to think about her right now, or it would damper his mood. "You've just got to give me hints about what you might like. I don't know if you can take things with you or anything. Do you have a home? A place to go at night?" As a ghost, he thought she could probably go anywhere, but he wondered how that would feel. He knew she was different outside of Babylon, but there was still so much about ghosts that he didn't know how to address. "I'd give you my number and everything, but I was just thinking that you don't have a phone."

Lauren had yet to come down from her high here, and she sipped some more coke. She was happy. She'd made a friend! "I like all kinds of things! And I don't know anymore, because last time I ate, it was 1974. You probably have different things now. And um...kinda?" she suggested, looking slightly sheepish. "I kind of started staying at the Peter White library a long long time ago. Actually, I sorta went quiet there for a while! I was there but not...there. But then they decided to remodel the place, and that kind of disturbed me. I like how they remodeled it, but anyways. That's where I go. My family moved away after I died. And aww, that's sweet. but yeah, no phone. You'll just have to...come to the library and throw rocks at the windows? Or tell me where you live, and I can visit? Though I don't want to freak out your family..."

There was so much he was going to have to get used to with her, much more than any of his other friends that were something Other. He realized after the fact that even if there was a phone, she couldn't likely answer it, which made things even more complicated! "You could come visit," he smiled. "My mom's a mortician, and she's got ghosts all over the place at work. Most of them are cranky, so I'm pretty sure she'd like you. Though she might worry about your leg-- if you were solid, I think she might try to fix it for you, but I don't know if it will heal?" Even if she came to Babylon and got it set, would it just disappear the moment she left? He had so many questions! "But, what I meant was, you wouldn't freak her out, and it's just her and I. But I can also come find you at the library, if that's where you go." It sounded awfully lonely though, and he was inclined to offer her a place to stay. He just didn't know how his mom would feel about that.

"Oh!" Lauren said, thinking if there were already ghosts hanging around and such, then maybe it'd be alright. Which meant she might actually take him up on that. she liked the idea of having a friend. "Well far out, I'll do that then." she said. "I don't think it's fixable though." she said, shifting to look down at her leg, and she poked at the broken edge of the femur. "I mean it doesn't hurt." she added. Then she looked back up at him and sipped more pop. "But either works for me! I mean, if you come to the library, if you come after hours, I could probably manifest long enough to unlock the door for you. It's really nice in there! And there's the movies collection and the rooms where you can watch things. I like turning the computers on and finding playlists, and listening to music. I like music, I like singing. And the acoustics in there are awesome." she said, rambling a bit again. "But I'd like to see where you live anyways too!"

"Great! I'll let my mom know, just in case," he grinned. While he didn't think she'd mind Lauren, it would probably be a good idea to warn her, otherwise there might just be a freak out based on someone suddenly being in the house. Watching her poke at her leg, Gabe thoughtfully tilted his head to the side, thinking. "Maybe white magic would help," he said thoughtfully. He'd have to ask Claire's mom if she knew anything about healing, and even if she did, was it possible to help heal ghosts. If it was, Gabe could start learning... and maybe he'd be able to help Lauren in, like, a couple of years. It was worth a try! After all, she'd had a broken leg for thirty-something already. "Now I definitely have to come by the library after hours," Gabe said, thrilled that she'd offer for him to come to what was, essentially, her living space. "I never thought the library sounded all that exciting, but I've never been there after they closed. Now I can tell I'm missing out. Would I get to hear you sing?"

Lauren thought about that, but didn't know if it would work or not. She didn't actually have a body. Not anymore, anyways. "I don't know if it would work. It's worth a shot, I suppose, but it's not a huge bother for me, so don't stress yourself out over it!" she said, smiling. "And it's great! The way they've redone it, it's really nice inside. Spacious, little study rooms upstairs, just generally pretty with marble floors and statues and things." she brightened when he asked about hearing her sing. "Would you want to?" she asked. "No one's heard me in a long time, but I used to sing all the time. I really like singing. It's kind of what I'd wanted to do? But y'know...car accident. Death. But sure, if you want to, I'll sing you something." she promised.

"No stress," Gabe shrugged. "I'm no brilliant white witch or anything. Right now I can't do more than lock a box." But he liked the idea of doing something that would help her, even if it was only when she manifested, which he realized wasn't often. Even if he could figure it out, it would take him a long time to learn such a thing, and he'd probably only see the results while they were in Babylon, but... it was something to work on! Plus, Gabe figured if he ever did learn, he could ask her to dance. "I have to admit, I haven't spent a ton of time in the library," he said, somewhat sheepish. He was a good student, but far from a book nerd. The school library was where he spent more time, and that was usually because he could find Claire there. "But I'd love to hear you sing. And I think it's great that death can't really stop you now, I mean, you still have your voice," he grinned. Now, if she'd been a dancer, she'd have been screwed, but that wouldn't be nice to point out. "So have you been listening to all the new music? I think that'd been cool, to hear how it's changed as time passes."

"Oh it's been lovely!" Lauren said enthusiastically, pausing to drink more of her soda. "I absolutely adore it. And the mp3 thing? That's brilliant! I love getting the computers to play through things. I spend most of my time doing that! So actually, if you requested a specific song, I could probably sing it for you. Or learn it, if I didn't know it already." she added. "i've got a head for lyrics, if I hear something once? I can usually remember the words pretty well. I love how music has changed though. Like when Nirvana hit the scene? Listening to the way music changed when they came in was fascinating." she said, really liking this subject, obviously.

"Now there's something I would have loved to have been around for," Gabe grinned. "Sometimes I think all the great musical breakthroughs have passed, but then I think that means I just need to spend some time going over all the music I missed. I like what we've got now, but the movements are cool." It was something he'd thought about, but not something he'd officially studied. Wikipedia was his friend. Maybe it was something he could take a class on when he got to college, then official learn something about it, rather than little details picked up from here and there. "My best friend got me a guitar for my birthday, so maybe when I learn to play it, you can sing along. It's not even here yet, so I'm sure I'm getting ahead of myself, but it could happen," he smiled, thinking that would be fun. It was always more fun when it was two instead of one.

"You were around for Nirvana, weren't you? That was like...early nineties." Lauren said. "or do you mean just being able to see it all change? Because seriously, there's nothing quite like that. It really was just amazing." she added. When he mentioned the guitar? She lit right up. "Oh!! Oh yes please! I'd love that!" she was excited now. Highly. "I'm sure you can pick it up pretty easy! What kind of music do you like? What could we do together? There's some lovely songs that would sound beautiful with just a guitar and voice." she said, fully latching onto this, of course.

"I was around, but I was, like, five years old," Gabe grinned. "So, yeah, I mean seeing it all change and whatnot. I didn't really hear Nirvana until I was older. My brother was into it." Though Mike had still been a little young for the first of that moment, he'd caught up fast enough to teach his little brother a thing or two about grunge. "I like all kinds of music," he laughed, her enthusiasm contagious. "I haven't even gotten it yet. Claire said it should arrive soon, but I'll start practicing it immediately," he said. The idea of having someone to sing along was definitely good motivation. "Right now, I'm into a band called Muse. Have you heard of them?"

"God, seriously? Sorry, time kinda..." she shrugged sheepishly. "It kind of doesn't really mean the same thing as it does to other people, I think. Plus there were those years I was like...kinda...there but not." she added, still not even sure how to describe that. It was almost like a really long nap. "I love all sorts of things and oh! Yes!" she said brightly. "I really liked the song Stockholm Syndrome!"

"It's okay," Gabe said. "Time would get away from me too. And, yeah, if you had years where you weren't all there, time would pass differently too." He wondered how that would be, years passing without really paying attention to them. Surely there were things that she'd missed, though he had the feeling that music was one of the things she'd kept up with. "That's a great one," he agreed. "Now you make me wanna go home and sort through my music, try to find things you might like."

She leaned forward, grinning at him. "Would you?" she asked, apparently loving that plan. "I'd adore that! Anything you wanted me to hear, I'd listen to, definitely! I really love hearing different things. So, anything, honestly! I'd love to hear." She was passionate about her music, that was something that had never died out in her. Her faith had, and a lot of other things, but music? That always ran through her system, fueled her.

"Definitely," he grinned. "I'll try to make sure there's good variety in there. And after that, if you'll tell me what you liked, I'll try to find things that are similar." She probably knew a lot more about music than he did, but if it was something they could share, then he was all for it. It was fun to see her so excited about it, though he had to admit, there'd been a lot she was excited about in the short time he'd known her.

She had to humm in thought as she did so, trying to think of what could be done acoustically that would be good to hear, and might be easier for him to play. "I'll have to think of things that have a simple but good guitar line in them, so we can kind of learn things together. You'll have to let me know when the guitar comes in in general, so I can come listen and everything. I used to know a little bit on the piano, but that was mostly by ear things, and we're talking simple stuff, like Twinkle Twinkle...." she said, teasing herself.

"We'd be on the same level, at least," Gabe smiled as he pointed out. "I'll definitely let you know. I wanna take some lessons, since I don't even know how to hold one properly, and then maybe learn to read music. I think if I could do that much, I could learn some things myself, you know?" That was his hope, but he didn't have any idea how it would actually play out in reality. He'd been going out on a limb with the whole guitar thing in the first place, but Claire had actually gone and bought it for him, so now he was determined to learn how to play. "Can you read piano music?" he asked.

"Reading music is pretty simple once you get the hang of it." Lauren said. She didn't know if she'd remember anymore? But she used to know the basic note structure and all. "And I don't know. I used to know trebel cleff? But that was back when I taught sunday school. So it's been y'know...like thirty years or so. That's a pretty long time to forget something. And Bass cleff I never did learn, either. So I might be just a wee bit useless. Besides. I'd just be a disembodied voice anyways, I couldn't play anything."

"I didn't know if it was just like riding a bike or not," Gabe said. Some things he never forgot, were just instinctual. For him, there was probably nothing that could happen that would make him forget how to ice skate. Even thirty years off the ice he was sure he'd be able to do just fine. But he was good at it, which made it different. If he'd only gone a few times in his life, he'd probably say it was easy to forget how. "Would you really be disembodied? Now that ghosts are visible?" he asked. "I mean, how are things different when you're out there?"

Lauren paused for a second. "I guess I wouldn't be now, huh?" she asked. "I'd just be a...really really vaguely bodied voice." she said, giggling a little at that. "Things are very different though. I...well I'm still trying to get used to this whole electricity or energy thing? I can kind of tap into it, and that means I can be heard better, and seen better and all, but I don't really have much control yet. I sort of break things on accident, when I'm not meaning to. So, apologies in advance if I break anything or short out circuits...." she said, looking sheepish.

"Wait, what electricity thing?" Gabe asked, intrigued. "You mean you, like, get your energy by-- okay, don't take this the wrong way, but can you plug into a wall socket or something?" He had this vision of her glowing that just really seemed wrong, but also pretty cool. "Is this a new thing? Or was this something you could always do... or not do, since you're still working on it," he smiled. It was nice to know people weren't always comfortable in their own skin, even after being that way for thirty years. Gabe wasn't sure he'd ever get used to what he was, but not being alone helped a lot.

"I don't actually know if I could always do it, actually." Lauren said. "If I could, I didn't ever notice. Now it's kicked up though, like it's gone into overdrive? If I walk by streetlamps, they flicker, because I'm automatically drawing from them. And I can't so much plug into a socket as I can draw energy from it?" she suggested, looking slightly confused. "Like I said, I don't know a lot about it yet, I just know that people can see me now, but can't always hear me so well...unless I'm at the cemetery. Then they can hear me just fine, but the energy there feels strange anyways. Good-strange. But yeah I'm really not sure how it all goes yet, I just know I've broken a lot of lights by accident."

"I'm sure you're not the only one," Gabe said kindly. How odd that he'd forgotten for a while that she was a ghost. Even now, it was hard to keep that in mind, since she didn't act like one or talk like one or even necessarily look like one when he wasn't faced with her bone-protruding leg. "I'm doing a lot of reading about werewolves right now, but when I think I've learned all I can, I'll have to move on to ghosts and see what I can tell you. At this point, there might be more out there you can ask and get first hand knowledge from. Though, you're the nicest one I've come across. Most of them seem kind of... I don't wanna say pissed off, since I think it's more like confused. But they're definitely not happy." Why would they be? They were ghosts!

"Oh, I was very confused when it first happened. I didn't know what was happening at all. Just, I was out for a walk, looking at all the cute costumes the kids had? I love kids, and I always loved Halloween because you see them all out, and they all look so adorable." she said, face softening to a sweet smile. "There were these little toddler twins dressed like ladybugs? God they were so cute! But...but then everyone started screaming. And running away from me." she said, face falling, and with that, her form blurred again, and she was back to how she'd appeared when she'd first entered Babylon. The sun dress with the little light flowers on it. "I didn't understand why. Now I do...I look...." she shrugged one shoulder, eyes down on the table in front of her.

This time Gabe caught that the change in clothes came with her change in mood, but he didn't know if that had happened the first time around. A little theory began to form in his head, but he didn't want to say anything till he was a bit more sure. Besides, she looked so sad that he didn't really want to talk about her change in wardrobe. "You look just fine," he tried to reassure her. "They just weren't expecting to see you. And your injuries look... painful. Even if you're not in pain, it's kind of shocking, especially for kids. But they'll get used to seeing ghosts around, I think, and people will stop freaking out, and once they talk to you, they'll see how nice and sweet you are and they'll forget about the rest." He knew he had, despite the fact that he'd not actually seen her in ghost form. Even if she was scary, he was preparing himself not to react in such a way.

She smiled a little sadly. "I hope so." she said. She really did, she didn't like scaring people. "Though...I don't know about people stopping freaking once they get to know me. I kinda...had this screaming argument in the cemetery earlier today. That's actually why I was going to come in here in the first place. I thought it might take my mind off of it. It wasn't very nice." she admitted.

"You wanna talk about it?" Gabe asked, his mood changing with hers, annoyed at whomever was screaming at her regardless of the fact that he knew none of the details. "You know, some people just suck. It probably had nothing to do with you and everything with them being a complete asshole or something." Truth be told, he was biased. He liked her, he thought she was nice, so anyone stupid enough to yell at her must be in the wrong.

"I think she just liked making everyone else miserable because she was. First she comes in and starts throwing around the word 'exorcism'. I'm sorry but that's terrifying!" Lauren said, admitting it more easily to Gabe where as she'd been angry with Nic over it. "It's us being just shoved out of this place, we poof and no one knows what even happens! We might not exist anymore if it does, and it's just...it's scary. Very very scary. And then she was going on about how the world sucks and bla bla bla and just how...she spoke like she had decided she was right. Not like she had an opinion, but like whatever came out of her mouth was the only truth there was, even when she doesn't know anything. And I don't know. I don't...I don't find it funny when someone's just saying mean things, sounding all serious, and they then crab at me when I don't get that it was a 'joke'. What kind of a joke doesn't sound like a joke?" she asked, honestly asking there, because she knew she didn't get it.

Gabe was pretty sure the answer was 'bitchy sarcasm', but putting it out there wouldn't help. He'd spent enough time with those kind of girls that he could easily imagine what Lauren had been through. Sure, he imagined it to be someone more like Chrissy than Nic, but that was just because she was usually the first bitch that game to mind, dead or not. "People that are unhappy want company," Gabe agreed. "And you're right, the easiest way to make ghosts freak out is to talk about the one thing that's really gotta scare them. You can't turn around later and say you're teasing someone with something like that when you know it's gotta be a sensitive subject. Plus, she doesn't have the right. You play jokes on friends who know when to laugh or take things seriously, not on strangers. Sounds like a bitch."

"I don't think she knew it was real." Lauren said, since Nic had said she didn't, or something. "But that doesn't give her the right to just...say things like that. I mean, what if it was? And it is! And she just...she made me so mad. I like you much better. You've made me happy. And kind of give me hope that not everyone is like that girl." she said, wanting to get back to more positive things, and she smiled at him. "You've made me feel a lot better. Tons. Far more than I would have thought possible when I got here." she admitted. Because he really had. She'd thoroughly enjoyed her time with him, thought she had made a friend, and wanted to spend more time with him.

He found himself mad at the girl for scaring her, though it was useless since she wasn't even there. And if she had been, what would he do? It was probably better that he didn't bitch out a girl he didn't even know, and he was certain it would have come to something like that. But Lauren seemed to be trying to let it go now, and so he dropped it in favor of cheering her up again. "I'm glad we ran into each other then. Literally. You never know when you're gonna meet someone and things just seem to click," he smiled. This had been happening a lot this year, meeting people that seemed more genuine, like real friends. It didn't matter that Lauren was a ghost; he planned on seeing her again.

"Yes!" Lauren said, latching onto that fully. "Actually, you'll be my first new friend in...god. So long. I met and knew other spirits over the years, but honestly, a lot of them can be very one track. Maybe I am not, just because I don't really know why I'm here?" she suggested, totally unsure about that and that was clear from her tone. She didn't want to give him wrong information. "I know I'm not finished, or I wasn't finished. I'm not sure with what though." she admitted. "Most spirits I met knew what they were missing. Knew why they were hanging around, either they never told someone something, or they needed something else to happen...but I guess I'm just drifting, a little. I don't have any of that clear cut knowledge, I just feel like I wasn't done yet."

"Maybe that's something you'll figure out as you meet new people," Gabe shrugged, then quickly realized he might need to clarify. "Not that I want you to go! I mean, I like having you here, and I don't want you to disappear, but if you want to eventually, you know, figure it out, new friends might help. You never know." That was complicated in that, the more people she knew and the more friends she made, the harder it would be to let go. But then, to be around forever, to be a ghost for eternity, seemed like an awfully long time. He could understand why she would take naps that lasted months or years to pass the time.

"Possibly! I know I want to go to school. Finish that off. I mean, now that I can kind of be there more, maybe I can. I'm going to try, anyhow. Though, I know I'll probably have a fight on my hands." Lauren said. But she smiled. "Good thing I can be stubborn when I want to be, huh?" she asked. "But people'll get over it eventually, right? If I keep trying?" that was her hope, but she wanted Gabe's input there too, since he was a student, or she thought he was.

"Well, first of all, they can't kick you out," Gabe pointed out with a smirk. "So they might as well accept that you're gonna be there and let you finish. Second, I'll introduce you to my friends. Some of them will probably freak out because they're jackasses. Some of them are cool and I think you'd really like them. And one of them, well... let's just say you might never get to meet Kyle, unless maybe you both came here. It's up for debate, but I think he might be some kind of a ghost repellent. He's never met a ghost, and every time he goes near one, they fade away." Which was really the most fucked up thing he'd ever heard of, and he still wasn't sure he believed, but from Kyle's reaction he knew the guy wasn't lying when he said he hadn't seen any ghosts. He just didn't understand how else that was possible. "Anyways, I think you're right. I think people will learn to get over it. And you're awesome, so it's even easier."

She blushed again, smiling and she glanced down, then back up at him through her eyelashes. "Well, thank you. That's really sweet of you. Saying that and offering to introduce me to your friends and everything..." she added, since it was. Maybe she'd have an eaiser time getting involved with classes there if she had someone with a pulse vouching for her. That could help. "I just want to graduate. I was only two months away before I died. And I was a great student! It can't be that hard to catch back up." Granted, a lot of the information would have changed, but some things never would. Two plus two was always going to equal four. The Magna Carta was still going to have been issued in 1215. "Can I count on you to help me study sometimes?" she asked, before rushing forward. "I'm sorry if that's asking too much, I just...can't take notes, and even if I could..." she held up her hand for a moment, the mangled one with only two fingers. "I couldn't write so well." she explained, sticking her hand back down beneath the table. "So even if you'd like...turn pages for me?"

He didn't mind introducing her around, even if it drove his friends nuts. He knew at least some of them were cool enough to give her a chance, and that was what really mattered. Gabe knew half the school, but he didn't rely on all of them to get by. It was the handful he trusted that mattered. "I can help you study," he agreed with a smile. "And take notes, and turn pages. We'll figure out someone in each class that maybe we can just copy the notes from, so you just have to listen to the lesson." He figured she wouldn't follow him around all day, that it'd be better for her to have a real schedule like everyone else... though if she wanted to follow him, she certainly could-- which gave him an idea. "In fact, if you make sure you have the same teachers as me, I'll just copy my notes for you. I can't promise they'll be amazing or anything, but they're better than nothing."

She blurred again, back to the open button down shirt and such, hair in better condition, and she smiled brightly at him. "Gabe, you're the sweetest boy ever!" she said, sincere. "That's...you'd really do all of that for me? Can I hug you again?" she asked, because she really thought he deserved it. They'd just met yet he was willing to go out of his way to help her, and so many people would be dismissing her out of hand. She was already thinking to herself that even if no one else wanted anything to do with her at school, if Gabe was there, she'd be happy.

"I really would," Gabe grinned, pleased to see her smiling again and back in what he was starting to think of as her happy clothes. He leaned across the table to give her a hug, part because he never minded hugging a pretty girl, and part because he thought she needed it. Thirty years without a new friend was a long time to go, and he'd learned lately that he couldn't survive without them. Maybe this seemed like a lot for a girl he'd just met, but he never knew how things might turn out. He could be relying on her in the future, because that's what they did. They were there for each other when they needed them, and right now she needed him, so he'd be there to lean on.