The new girl.

Who: Isaac and Charlotte.
When: Early afternoon.
Where: E Ridge Street.

Moving had turned out to be a lot more excitement than Charlotte had anticipated. There were trees and wildlife everywhere! Charlotte had lived in a nice house in a nice neighborhood with a big back yard, but nothing like this! Charlotte had been constantly freaking out since they got off the ferry and realized she would be living in an area like this. "Oh my God, oh my God! Mom! Mom! Is that our house? There are raccoons! I can hear them! Mom!"

Isadora's reply had been something to the effect of 'don't use foul language', of course, but that was okay! They'd pulled into the driveway and Charlotte couldn't scramble out of the car fast enough, full of pent up energy from the long, fifteen hour drive. Of course, most of that energy was going to go into unpacking and unloading the moving truck that pulled up in front of the house, but that was okay. After running around the inside of the house for a few minutes, she emerged into her new front yard, ready to happily haul boxes for however long it took.

Isaac was just heading back from the park and feeling pretty damn good. Pretty damn good, if he did say so himself. And he did. He was whistling, the bass he'd carried with him slung across his back. His steps slowed as he was getting closer to his house. Was that a U-Haul? Well it was big and partly orange, so he assumed so. Someone was moving into the old Johnson place, it looked like. Nice. He didn't mind having new neighbors. And was, in fact, feeling bold and gregarious enough to just saunter over in their direction. He wondered if they had enough help; he could honestly stand to work off that lasagna. Since Thom had seen fit to point out in front of Jamie how much he ate anyway. Not that ... that bugged him or anything. He saw a girl in the front yard and gave her a wave.

Ah, Charlotte's true super power weakness: other people her age. Oh God, I'm going to have to talk to him. What if he's my neighbor? What if I say something stupid and nerdy on my first day here? She'd definitely been the weird geek girl up until now in her school career, and it was one her mother was very eager to break her of. Valen too, actually. 'The girl needs human friends.', he grumbled about it all the time. Charlotte was suddenly very aware of the fact that she'd been in the back seat of a car for fifteen hours, and she had a white feather a bird had given her at a rest stop braided into her hair, even though Valen said she was going to catch a disease that way. Wave back!, she realized. So she did so! And felt like she'd somehow managed to nerd that up, too.

Well ... that was a good sign, right? She looked kind of young-ish, and Isaac always held out hope that someone would come around or move in close that would actually be friends with Kaysen. He ambled a bit closer, stopping at the curb in front of the yard. She was cute, he found. Really cute. But again ... young. Young-looking, at least, who knew these days, right? Isaac gave her a warm smile. "Hi," he greeted. Then gestured behind himself. "I live over there. Right across." She looked a little ... shellshocked. Or horrified, one. He wasn't sure, but he gave himself a quick glance-down to make sure nothing was out of place or bleeding profusely or anything of the kind. Nope, all good.

"Hi," Charlotte replied, trying not to sound shy as she tucked her hair behind her ear. "I'm just moving in." Well, that's a little obvious, isn't it? Charlotte mentally winced and cursed herself. "Well... obviously. Um... yeah. I'm Charlotte." Charlie? Am I going to start introducing myself as Charlie? Is that cooler or just sad? Crap! "We're from the LP. Auburn Hills." Is that too much information?

Isaac nodded. Yup, he'd noticed the big fuck-off truck in her yard. He never failed to cut anybody slack, though, so he just kept on smiling. "Nice to meet you," he said. "I'm Isaac. Lived here since I was like, eight, so that's all foreign country to me." He chuckled a little and tucked his hands in his pockets, putting one sneaker up on the curb. Would it be way too obvious to ask her how old she was? She might get insulted. Or end up being fourteen or something. "Welcome to the neighborhood and all that. Sorry I don't have a fruit basket." He grinned a little.

Charlotte smiled warmly, though she knew the expression was still going to be shy. He seemed nice. Or at least they'd managed to have two exchanges without him making her feel stupid, yet. Now as long as her mother didn't come out of the house and start either jumping in joy or crying at the fact that her only daughter was talking to a boy, life would be lovely! "That's okay." she said, giggling lightly. "I'm just glad to be walking around again. It was a really long drive."

Okay, really cute. Marquette was steadily improving. "Yeah I bet," he sympathized, 'cause ... well, everything was a long drive from here. That's how it felt, at least. He waited a beat, then thought up a way to guesstimate her age. "So what year will you be starting?" Ah ha. So clever. He shifted his shoulder to adjust the bass on his back and just looked at her with a quirked eyebrow. "If y'know ... you're not homeschooled or anything."

Charlotte immediately decided not to tell him that she had been homeschooled, once upon a time. Until someone asked her what it was like to be amish when she was nine and she pitched a royal fit until her mom agreed to send her to a real school. She blushed a bit, looking down for just a second as she told herself that he so didn't have to know that. "I have to take a test this week to see what grade I'll be in your school system. I was going to be starting my junior year back home, I'll be seventeen in a few months. I've never gone to a public school before though, I'm kind of excited." she confided. That's geeky, isn't it? Is that geeky? Do people hear about private schools and picture stuffy nerds? Wait, no, Britney Spears probably killed that. Score one for me!

That piqued his interest a bit more. So almost seventeen. That was older than he expected and above his cut-off limit for age-gapping. He nodded, looking impressed. When he thought of private schools, he thought of smart kids with money. Which he was one of, but had never had the drive to insist on a private school. It just wasn't his style at all, and he probably wouldn't be having the least bit of fun there. Not like here. "Well cool," he said amiably. "I'll be a senior next year, so I can show you the ropes pretty easy, help you get settled." He offered her a grin, leaving off the part about him being a legal adult. That tended to wig parents out. Not that ... that was his train of thought or anything. 'Cause yeah, five minute acquaintance. But she was cute.

Charlotte's ears went a little pink at the offer, but that wasn't noticeable, was it? "That's nice of you." she said, sounding shy again. She heard it, and tried to force herself to immediately move past it so he wouldn't pick up on it. "I'd like that. I'm glad I got here before the school year started, so I didn't miss anything. Do you... um... do you like the school?" she asked, hoping she sounded casual and conversational. Was that a question people asked each other? Sure it was, right?

Isaac didn't notice the ears. And his mind skimmed right over her tone. She was just a little shy, nothing to draw more attention to. He got it sometimes from girls, though he was never sure why. "Yeah, I love it," he answered honestly with a grin. "It's a shitload of fun." He was tempted to assure her that she'd fit in perfect and life would be totally peachy, but he didn't really know to say that, did he? Again, five minutes. Maybe six now. "Which we need, 'cause there's not much else to do here."

Oh my God, he cursed! Charlotte thought, a little awed by that. Her mother would kill her if she cursed. She thought it sometimes, but one of the dogs overheard her once, and it was hard to explain what some of those things meant or why calling her mom a bitch was a bad thing when she couldn't even properly link yet! She smiled widely though, glad to hear it was fun. She always thought that school was fun, but people rarely agreed with her! "We moved here so my mom could breed horses." she said. And because it was a much safer job for Valen. No more getting called when someone got stabbed after the Pistons game. "She bought a stable down in Harvey. I don't think I'm going to have enough hours in the day. It seems great up here!"

He chuckled, her enthusiasm just making her even cuter. He didn't know any horsebreeders personally. Or even really of them, but it confirmed again that her parents had money. Though, nothing wrong with that; his did too. Somewhat. Though he thought her excitement would wear off pretty damn fast, he wasn't going to tell her that. Not just yet. "Well we're ... glad to have you. Anything that breaks up Marquette monotony is awesome." He glanced over as someone came out to open the back of the truck. Which made him randomly glad that they hadn't moved in forever.

Valen and the movers had started some of the work, Valen looking over to Charlotte with a critical, is-she-really-talking-to-someone-her-age-and-is-that-a-good-thing expression. Don't come over here. Oh dear God, don't come over here. You hate me, but if God loves me, you won't say anything. Maybe if he started she could try to talk a bird into pecking his eyes out. Although Valen would be better than her mom, hands down. Looking back to Isaac, she offered a small smile. "Step-dad." she offered, quietly. "He's a cop. It's just him and my mom and me. And a lot of animals. Do you have any siblings?"

Isaac gave the man a friendly I'm-not-hitting-on-your-daughter-sir smile. That was why he'd stayed down by the curb and she in the yard, after all. Such things took feeling out. He returned his attention to Charlotte and nodded. "Yeah, a little sister. Or well ... not really little anymore, she's just younger than me. Her name's Kaysen, she just turned sixteen." And she's a weirdo. I'll try to not let her terrorize you. He nodded vaguely in the direction of her step-dad. "My mom used to be a cop, too, so I can kinda ... sympathize." Isaac offered her another small grin.

Charlotte felt a little encouraged knowing a girl her age would be living across the street, but she wasn't about to make any guesses on whether or not said girl would actually like her. This seemed to be going okay though! Giving a chargrined smile at the thought of cop-parents, she nodded. And in her experience, cop-step-dads? Positively evil. "Maybe he'll chill out after living in a better area for a while." she said, shrugging a bit. Or maybe he won't have enough people to smack around and he'll take it out on me. No, that wasn't a dark thought. And Charlotte refused to linger on it. "My mom was a vet." she offered. "She quit to take care of the horses. My real dad was a cop, too." No, it wasn't hard to see what her mom was a sucker for. Not at all!

Ahhh, a serial cop-marryer. Isaac almost said it, but stopped himself. He didn't know what happened to her real dad, after all, and he'd just met her. So. No toe-treading. "Maybe so," he agreed. "It's kind of a quiet town." ... Well, except for the murders that he so wasn't telling her about just now. If her step-dad was a cop and strict? Isaac really doubted she'd be leaving the front porch after dark, much less wandering around town. He was quiet for a beat, then gave her a nod. "Well, if you ever get bored or anything, feel free to wander on across. My best friend Thom lives in that house right there," he said, pointing. "And mom loves company, so. Prepare to be fed and asked a bunch of boring questions." He grinned a little.

Charlotte blushed again, wondering if she'd ever be brave enough to take him up on that. "Thanks." she said though. "I'm glad to have met someone in town." she admitted, because yeah. She most definitely was. "And... you too." she offered, feeling a little stupid. "I don't know what I'm going to be doing until school starts, other than going to Harvey when my mom will let me."

Isaac thought about inviting her over then, but ... figured her family might not be keen on that as they were just moving in and all. She was probably needed to arrange her bedroom or something. He gave her a nod and a wider grin. "I'll show up randomly to kidnap you to watch movies or something," he said. And he meant it. There was a reason Isaac knew everybody. Even the shy people.

Charlotte grinned a bit, and dodged a raised eyebrow from Valen as he carried a few boxes up the driveway. "That'd be fun." she replied, belatedly. She didn't get to watch movies much. Until they came out on video and she rented them. She was about to say something to the effect, until her mom stepped out of the house, spotted her daughter with another teenager, and smiled brightly. Oh God. She's going to...

"Well Charlotte! Who's your friend?" Isadora asked cheerfully.

"Isaac." Charlotte answered, shifting from one leg to another nervously. Her mom was just as likely to weep uncontrollably at the sight of her daughter with a teenage boy as she was to say something encouraging and embarrassing. She'd really been pushing that 'make human friends' thing on the drive up. "He lives across the street."

This? Was where Isaac really shined. Okay, there were a couple of places that happened. But he could totally do parents. He amped up that boyish grin of his and actually stepped up into the yard to offer the woman he assumed to be Charlotte's mom his hand. "Isaac St. James," he expanded, giving her a friendly nod. Parents liked to have last names. "I just saw your truck on my way home, figured I'd wander over and welcome you guys to the neighborhood." Oh yeah. Hello manners.

Charlotte watched nervously and wide-eyed, still waiting for her mom to embarrass her somehow, or for God to just take her out of her misery. Isaac was impressive though, she had to give him that. Isadora looked absolutely delighted with him. "How sweet of you, Isaac! I'm so glad to see Charlotte actually talking to someone with two legs!"

And there it was. Eyes going wider, Charlotte looked over to her mother with the official, patented, Horrified Teenager Look. After blinking, she managed a calm response. "Birds have two legs." And you married a pig, so I guess that makes us even.

Isaac laughed, though there wasn't anything derisive in it at all. He glanced at Charlotte and gave her a really small wink. Was he flirting now? Maybe so. She was cute, (most) girls liked to be flirted with, and he was in a damn fine mood, so why not, right? "Sometimes they're easier to understand than people," he said to Isadora with an easy grin. 'Cause it was true. Damn complicated women. "So maybe she's on to something. It's good to meet you, though, I hope all the settling-in goes okay."

Okay, wait, what was that? Charlotte actually forgot to be horrified with her mother, and looked back to Isaac with her mouth hanging partially open. Did he wink at me? Does that mean something? Oh God, did MOM see it? She wasn't sure which of those questions had priority right now, but her face promptly went beat red and she looked at the ground, smiling faintly.

Isadora still had a big grin on her face, and looked very much like she might want to go get the camera to remember this day as a precious Kodak moment forever. Luckily for Charlotte, it would take her hours to find that in all the boxes. Score two for me! "Maybe she is." Isadora agreed, blessedly releasing Isaac's head. "I'm Isadora, by the way, and you stop by any time! I'd love to see Charlotte meet people before school."

"Sure thing," he said, tucking his hand back in his pocket. There was something very non-threatening about standing that way and looking very slightly sheepish. Not enough to arouse suspicion, but enough to make them think that you really didn't much know what you were doing. Yes, those were the sorts of things he thought about. Regularly. He turned his smile on Charlotte, utterly ignoring the fact that she was blushing like her head was going to explode. "It's good to have some new faces around. If you all need anything at all, feel free to come on over. I know how stuff disappears when you move."

"It does tend to do that." Isadora agreed, still smiling warmly. And in the one moment Charlotte ever appreciated him, Valen chose that moment to call Isadora into the house. Yes! God loves me again! "It was nice meeting you, Isaac!" Isadora called, as she hurried back up towards the house. Well. That was only slightly humiliating. I just might live. If I can look at him. Oh, God, he winked at me.

She turned a small smile up at Isaac again, managing to feel even weirder than she had earlier. "Thanks," she offered, though she realized it wasn't entirely clear why. Oh well. "I should, um..." she gestured lamely at the truck and house, kind of forgetting what the stupid word was. "Help." Yes, brilliant! "And unpack and stuff." Before she decides to come back.

She was really and truly edibly cute. He chuckled and nodded, starting to back up and down to the curb again. "Yeah, sure," he said agreeably. It was what he'd been expecting, after all. Isaac gave her a little wave as he glanced to make sure he wasn't about to be creamed by a car or anything. "Nice meeting you, Charlotte," he told her. "Good luck with your unpacking and stuff."

"Thanks, Isaac." Charlotte replied shyly, hands behind her back. "I'll see you later." And before any fate could possibly doom her again, she took off and ran inside to see what her bedroom looked like. And to try and figure out what a wink meant.