the people you run into - literally

who: Vincent and Olivia
where: Trowbridge Park
when: Late Morning

Olivia had thought it on more than one occasion, and she was thinking it again. Marquette was a strange town. Everyone was entirely too trusting. Well, mostly everyone. Strangers had no qualms about talking to other strangers, and Eris had offered her a job without even bothering to ask her last name. Mya had given her a job after two questions. Not that she was complaining, because she wasn't. She felt good about everything thus far - well, almost everything - and she should be able to pay the Antique Store Sunglasses Girl back sooner than she thought. Olivia shook her head as she jogged around Trowbridge Park. The running bit was all part of that normalcy thing she was trying out. After meeting Eris, she had returned to the motel and changed into sweats to go for a run. Her lungs were burning already and she made a mental note to quit smoking. Tomorrow.

She jogged for awhile, too far distracted in her thoughts to register she was about to run into someone until it was too late. She fell back onto the grass, only able to mumble an apology before she continued onto her back and covered her face with her hands. Olivia released a groan, not only from the embarrassment of being so oblivious that she ran smack into the back of a stranger, but from the pain shooting through her ankle as well.

Vincent found himself wandering around the town more, getting to know what was where, people's habits in general, where in town was crowded when. Those kinds of things. Part of him was thinking of going back to Vegas, but the other part was liking the low-key, relaxed feeling he could have here in Marquette.

He had been lost in thought for a while, just thinking, and counting his footsteps, when someone collided with him. He fell forward, scraping his hands on the pavement as he caught himself. He groaned slightly as he stood back up, and turned to face Olivia.

"You're supposed to go running to wake yourself up, get the blood pumping. Not if you're going to sleep through the whole thing and run people over." His voice had a hint of sarcasm to it, laced with a chuckle.

"Sorry," she said again, squinting up at him once she dropped her hands away from her face. Pushing herself up into a sitting position, she rubbed her throbbing ankle, praying that she hadn't sprained it. Especially not after taking two waitressing jobs. "I wasn't paying attention," she continued as she pulled off her shoe to examine her ankle. "Are you all right?"

"Just a couple scratches, nothing too big. I'm a guy, I'm used to scrapes and bruises." He chuckled, and eyed her as she pulled off her shoe. "Are you okay?"

"I think so," Olivia mumbled, sighing when she saw the swelling. "Fuck. Excuse my language," she added quickly, glancing up at him again. "I'll be okay, I just need to get some ice on it." She pulled her sock back up and cautiously slipped on her shoe before shifting. Olivia paused and quirked an eyebrow before lifting her hand. "Little help?"

"Sure thing." He replied, stepping closer and offering his hand. "And the language thing, eh don't worry about it. I have a sailor's vocabulary when I'm in a foul mood. And you're injured, it's understandable."

"I'm Vincent by the way." He added.

"Olivia," she replied, wincing when she stood. She released his hands but hissed as she put pressure on her foot. Involuntarily she gripped his arm. "Sorry." She let go again and sighed. "I just need to limp back to the motel, I think." Before she moved away, she noted his hands and grabbed one to examine. "God, I'm so sorry. I hurt you."

Her hands were warm to the touch, but that was normal. As his body temperature was naturally lower then hers. "It's alright, just a scrape. I'll be fine."

He braced instinctively when she gripped his arm, and replied to her apology with a shake of his head. "Is it just sprained? I have my car over that way, if you want me to take you to your hotel or something. Or I can help you walk. Or something."

"I don't think it's sprained," Olivia muttered. Uncaring now, she gripped his arm to test her weight again. She'd already gotten into one stranger's car, and even if she was hurt, it probably wouldn't be wise to keep pushing her luck.

Of course, she hitched her way across the country, so why she was worrying about getting into a strange car is beyond her. Sighing, Olivia pushed her loose hair from her face. All she really needed was to put her foot up for a few hours. "It doesn't feel fractured, I think I just twisted it. Maybe you could just help me to that bench over there?"

"Can do." He replied and helped her to the nearby bench. "So besides the sprained ankle, how's your day going?"

Olivia laughed at the question, reaching down to massage her ankle. "It's been fine so far, but you know, it's early still." Olivia sighed and leaned back on the bench. "I got a couple jobs waitressing so this," she replied, motioning to her foot, "is just fantastic. Besides me giving you a knock to the ground, how's your day?" She felt it was only polite to ask.

"Boring. But being outside is nicer then hermiting at my apartment on my computer." He paused. "Well, a nice break at least. I like hermiting at home on my computer." He chuckled again.

"So you're new in town too? Where are you from?"

"Around," she answered simply before tilting her head. "You're into computers? God, I haven't been on a computer in like two years. The one I had in high school was a piece of crap." Her eyes shimmered with interest. "Are you a hacker, or something? Or are you one of those guys who sit at home and play video games?"

"Hah, I play video games sometime. I'm a computer tech at Marquette Senior High." He kept the fact that he was, indeed, a hacker on the down low. You never knew if the person you told something to was working for the CIA or something.

"Computer tech," she repeated, nodding as she rotated her ankle slowly. "Sounds respectable enough. I knew a hacker when I lived in New York. Got arrested." Olivia smiled at the memory. "I think he was more of a wannabe hacker than the real deal. Identify theft and all that stupid stuff. It doesn't drive you nuts, working around kids all day?"

"Well they aren't really kids, they are old enough to hold a decent conversation with." He thought back to meeting Isaac when he first arrived in Marquette. "I'm there to fix the computers when people screw them up and have problems. Which, for the record, is usually the teacher's."

Vincent snickered. "Sounds like your friend got stupid and left a trail."

Olivia folded her arms against her chest and shrugged one shoulder. "Probably. I don't know what the hell he did. I think he was just trying to impress girls and was sloppy about it. The hacking, not the impressing, though that didn't go over very well either." She paused and took a breath before smiling. "You said you're new here." Is everyone new in town? "Where are you from?"

"Seems that way doesn't it?" He looked to her, finally sitting on the bench beside her. "Las Vegas. Major change in scenery and mannerisms. At least town wise."

"And I didn't think being a nerd was impressive to girls? I just let my natural charm do the work. And well...that hasn't gotten me too far."

"I would love to go to Vegas sometime," Olivia said wistfully. Maybe when she left Marquette. Vegas had been tempting after Chicago, but it probably would have been the first place Marcos would have thought of to go next. She would have asked him why on earth he would trade Vegas in for Marquette, Michigan, but that opened the door to too many other questions.

"Being a computer tech doesn't make you a nerd," Olivia told him with a smile. "But people have preconceived notions of computer nerds, you know, horn-rimmed glasses, no social life, getting off on computer game heroines rather than fantasizing about anyone in the flesh. You don't look like the type. To be honest, I think anyone who knows computers well is impressive, but that's probably because I could barely ever do more than check my email."

"Well, being able to check your email is a start! You have to know how to turn on a computer, and get to the internet to get TO the email." He laughed. "Hooray for being impressive to at least one lady. I should be cliche computer nerd and go home and blog about it." Which had crossed his mind. He kept a blog, but never really wrote anything personal in it. And a handwritten journal was out of the question. His handwriting was hardly legible in his eyes.

"So, two waitressing jobs? Wow, that could get tiring, being on your feet that long. But it'll strengthen your ankles, and if you have the luck of running into a random person again, you might come out unscathed!" It was an attempt at a joke, but he second guessed himself as it came out. He hoped she didn't take it the wrong way.

"Blog?" What the hell was a blog? "Oh! Those online journal things. I have a journal, but it's handwritten. I can't imagine letting the entire world read my personal business." Her ankle was feeling a bit better, the pain dulling. "I do need to strengthen my ankles, apparently. Or start paying attention and stop running into people." She shot him a look. "Again, I'm really sorry. I'm usually a bit more observant of my surroundings. I start working at Mya's Diner tomorrow, so next time you stop in, your meal is on me."

"Yeah I usually don't write in it. And when I do, it's not really very in depth or personal. Heh. Maybe I should start a handwritten one, I think I'd be the only one that could decipher the writing. Except maybe my mom." He laughed a laugh that subsided when Olivia shot that look at him.

"I'm just giving you a hard time, I'm really okay, I promise."

"I had a job, very briefly, transcribing notes from an attorney. I think I could read just about any handwriting after that," she said, remembering that job with a small shudder. She gave him a small smile. "Thanks for being a nice guy about it." She shifted and set some more weight on her foot. It was feeling better. "I know it's none of my business, but what brought you to Marquette?"

"Mmm, I was looking to see something other then Vegas, I guess fate brought me here. If you believe in fate, of course. I like that it's a smaller town, and the people are nice. I'm missing the hustle and bustle and the lights though." He paused, noticing her shift. "Did you still need ice?"

"I miss the craziness of a big city as well, though I'm enjoying the sort of...solitude this place has." Olivia glanced at her ankle again and gave him a sheepish smile. "Probably. Once I get back to my motel, I'll ice it down. Should have done that first thing." She bit her bottom lip, hating to ask a stranger for help of any kind. "As long as you don't think I'm some crazy lunatic, would you mind giving me a ride? I'm really right down the road at Venture."

"No problem. As long as you don't think I'm a crazy lunatic. Because I can assure you I'm not." He smiled and stood up, offering his hand this time before she replied.

With a small laugh, Olivia took his hand and stood, only wincing slightly this time. "You seem normal enough. But just in case, I throw a mean right hook, so you've been warned," she joked as he led her to his car.

"I'll have to remember to duck." He teased as he lead her toward his car. "Seems like the pain is dying down, you didn't wince as bad." He left off with a wink and a smile.

"You noticed," Olivia said, shaking her head. "It's feeling a lot better, thanks." She still couldn't believe she had run smack into him. "So what are you doing while you wait for school to start?"

"Eh, I'm just getting to know where everything is, and enjoying the weather before it gets too bad. Nothing too fancy or anything. Just be me, I guess." Vincent replied.

Ugh. She hadn't even considered the weather. Autumn was on the horizon and then winter and snow. She thanked him when he held her into his car and she reached down to rub her ankle again. When he got inside, she shot him a small smile. "I don't think it'll take you too long to figure out where everything is. I think you could probably walk from one side of Marquette to the other in no time."

"Nah it won't, it's not as confusing as Vegas is the first time you get there. So I'm not worried." He started the car. "But you will have to tell me which way your hotel is."

"To the left," she told him, pointing the way. "It's just a couple blocks." Olivia considered for a moment, then decided that yeah...Vegas would nice to stop by after leaving Marquette. "I appreciate it," she said again, looking out the window. "I know you say it's okay, but I definitely owe you."

"Hah, I'm sure you'll pay me back accordingly, in time." He said as he drove the couple blocks to the motel. It had been rather pleasant, despite being the randomest way he'd ever met someone.

"I'll certainly give it a try," Olivia assured him, relief flooding her when the motel came into view. Once he stopped, she shot him a small smile and pushed open the door. "Thanks, Vincent. Sorry again for sending you to the ground," she said. "And thanks for being cool about it. And thanks for the ride." Olivia paused and tried to think of anything else she should be thanking him for. She grinned and got out of the car. "It's a small town, so I'm sure I'll see you about."

"No problem, and I'm sure I'll see you around. Take care!" He responded before pulling off, deciding it was probably a good idea to head home.