|
|
Post by DEAGAN LANE MADDOCK on Dec 30, 2010 2:22:25 GMT -7
  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"could i have a large black, double shot?" the cashier smiled and confirmed. she scribbled on a plastic cup and passed it off to the girl working at the bar. diggy paid the amount he owed. "thanks so much." coffee was possibly the one thing that deagan was more thankful for than anything else in the world. the twenty-one year old relied on the caffeine just to make it through each day. some days it seemed like even that wasn't enough. he'd already had three coffees today, and he needed another one to get through the evening. it was six o'clock, and already dark outside. diggy's body told him to sleep, but he refused. he liked to keep himself busy with other things when he wasn't at school or work. he knew he couldn't let himself turn into a lazy loner. he was perfectly ok with being alone, as long as he wasn't sitting on his ass at home. so most nights he'd head over to seven sons. he fit in with the crowd here rather well, and it was a cool place to chill. there were plenty of tables and couches to just sit, sip coffee, and listen to the live music. lots of times deagan ran into people he knew, too.
diggy's drink was ready in less than two minutes. it was pretty simple to make, just straight coffee with extra espresso, so he could consume as much caffeine as possible. he grabbed his steaming hot coffee from the barista with another thank you, then turned to find a spot to sit. there were plenty of empty places tonight, luckily. he'd been here when the place was crowded with kids. dig spotted the corner couch and decided to snag it. he settled in, taking his coat off. it was freezing outside, but hot in here. it was always pretty toasty in seven sons, due to the smoke from the attached hookah bar, the body heat, and the crappy thermostat. the building was rather old, so the heater probably wasn't able to be turned down. it was constantly a warm seventy five degrees, whether you liked it or not. diggy appreciated it tonight though, coming in from the wintry outside.
his blue eyes scanned the room as diggy took the first sip of his coffee. a hipster looking kid with an acoustic guitar was at the microphone in the corner, singing softly to a complicated melody. it sounded pretty good, actually. it looked like he had a few fans, too, judging by the group of kids sitting at the tables surrounding the stage area. there were a few more high school and college aged kids spread out here and there around the shop, but it wasn't too busy. deagan had been here on nights when there were so many people that it was impossible to hear yourself think over the din of their conversations. on those days, dig took his drink to go, and headed to istanbul for a bowl or two of hookah. the staff at both places knew him by name, and often struck up conversation with him if business was slow. they might have thought he was weird for hanging out by himself all the time, but he didn't care. diggy didn't mind being alone, and he didn't mind what others thought of him. in most cases.
after taking it all in, diggy sat back against the couch to relax. he watched the door, waiting for someone he might know to walk through the threshold. today had been a rough day at work, and he wouldn't mind some company. diggy worked at a nursing home full time. sure, the job didn't really fit him with his tattoos and gauged ears, but he loved it. and the elderly people he worked with loved him as well. taking care of people was just in deagan's nature. so it really hit him hard when he lost a resident. it happened every once in awhile, considering most of the clients were at the home to be on their way out. today millie, a sweet ninety year old woman, had passed away. diggy didn't deal well with death. he was able to block out any sad feelings about a resident's death, but every time it brought back up the feelings over marlee. it had been almost a year since she was killed. that cloud had been hanging over him for the entire day. right now, all he wanted was to try to forget for awhile. he silently prayed for someone to talk to. he wouldn't bring up any of his feelings. he tended to bottle those up. but any conversation would take his mind off of things. he blew on his coffee, lifting the cup to his lips and taking a second sip.
|
|
|
|
Post by chelsea on Dec 30, 2010 20:14:39 GMT -7
 
The second Allison walked in, she was happy. Outside was far too cold for her taste, and the coffee shop felt seven hundred degrees warmer, even if that is a little bit of a hyperbole. This was the only place in town that Allison felt a little at-ease, because there were so many varieties of people. From the kids who, in actuality, weren't horribly younger than her listening to another kid with a guitar, to the middle-aged women who had just ran in for a fix of caffeine in their warmest clothes. Allison knew she didn't look like she belonged, at all. In her white sweater and designer jeans, perfectly matched with jewelry she only had for this outfit, she looked highly out of place. The next time her Father sent his weekly support, she would have to put a bit away for some clothes that wouldn't be worn in New York.
"Can I have a Chai Latte, as big as you have, please?" Allison smiled as she asked the girl for her drink. The total was only three bucks, and as Allison reached into her bag for her wallet, her mistake had struck her. You see, tonight was the first night Grayson had ever been with a sitter, because Allison needed to be out for a little bit. She dropped him off with his diaper bag and such, and has taken her own purse for the first time since Grayson was a few weeks old. The thing about replacing a purse with a diaper bag is, you end up with your wallet in the diaper bag, and the diaper bag with the baby. Allison was without her baby, and therefore without her wallet. She tried to act as nonchalant as she could while digging through her bag. "Ya know, sometimes things just get lost in here!" she chuckle out nervously at the girl waiting to be paid. Finally she fished out a five from God-knows-when and handed it the the girl. She turned slightly and smiled to the rest of the line, awkwardly turning back to receive her change, which she just dumped in the tip jar and stepped to the side.
Allison sat down at a tiny round table and tapped it slightly with her finger tips. She couldn't help but let her mind wander to Grayson. He would probably do great with a sitter, she was around his Grandmother's age, so he might possibly feel more comfortable. At least, that is was Allison had hoped. She knew perfectly well she would not leave her darling son with any teenager, that was for sure. As her min skipped across thoughts of her baby and of home, and of what she would do for the next couple of hours alone, her named was being called. Loudly. Apparently she had not noticed the girl standing with her drink, waiting. Allison jumped up an only half stumbled to get her tea as quickly as she could, then returned to her seat.
So tell me, Allison, you find a great sitter for Grayson so you could spend a few hours doing whatever it is you like, but you find that you have nothing to do without him. She thought to her self as she sipped her drink. It's not that ha any regrets about Grayson, none, actually. Most people would say they regretted having a child so young, but Allison felt differently. When she didn't have Grayson, she had nothing. No real relationships with anyone, just flings and friendships that were based in parties and high school gossip. Allison didn't know what it was like to love someone, to be needed or depended on. Grayson changed everything for her.
Just as she was thinking about things of the baby sort, her bag fell. Well, she thought it fell. In reality, Allison had knocked it with her elbow, cause it to fly to the floor. "Oh great..." She stood up and started collecting the few items she had in her bag. Again, when your life is your baby, and your baby is not with you, there's not a lot you need to carry around.
word count;;
[/u] 692 outfit;;[/u] click.[/blockquote][/size] |
|
|
|
Post by LJ TROSK on Dec 30, 2010 22:47:24 GMT -7
 let's close our eyes & pretend
this night'll never end.
-- seven sons. as soon as i saw the coffee shop, my eyes locked on & my pace quickened significantly. after a day of shopping in indian hills, i was definitely ready to drop. from fatigue or the exposure to freezing conditions, i wasn't sure. i could solve both of those problems by heading to my favorite place to be. the moment i felt the wave of heat as i opened the door, i relaxed. seven sons was the perfect place to be on an evening like this. actually, seven sons was the perfect place to be all of the time. the first time i entered it, i fell in love. heck, i enjoy it so much, i just got hired here. i start next week.
-- i stood in the short line of 3 people, including myself, in the middle. the woman in front of me looked older than dirt & dirt is exactly what her hearing was. she was yelling her order at the barista & i swear i saw her already pigment-less hair turn whiter. people that old really need supervision. i don't want to know how she got here. once she was finally finished barking, i stepped up to the cashier with a welcoming smile. i always wondering how fake those smiles truly were. "hi. um, i'd like a hot chocolate." okay, so i wasn't getting caffeine, but i was going to warm my body up some. i don't want to be wired all night.
-- after paying, i stood off to the side while patiently waiting for my cup of chocolate-y delight was being prepared. my green eyes wandered, taking in the faces around me. i didn't recognize anyone, but my scan wasn't thorough since my order was ready in a jiffy. the gloves that once adorned my hands were slipped into my jacket pocket before i grabbed the cup. i just loved how warm my hands got while sipping on something hot. i found an available table & sat. |
|
|
|
Post by DEAGAN LANE MADDOCK on Dec 30, 2010 23:42:19 GMT -7
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
as creepy as it sounds, people watching is one of deagan's favorite things to do. people are fascinating, and the things they often do are even more so. for example, the old lady screaming at the barista. she obviously needed a hearing aid, but was probably too stubborn to get one. there were far too many elderly people just like that at diggy's work. they just wanted to deny that they were getting old and needed some extra help. ugh, here he was, thinking about old people again. it never stopped. whether he was at work or not, gray haired, wrinkly people seemed to be constantly on his brain. deagan shook his head, as if that would help to banish the thoughts of work and anything associated with it out of his mind. his baby blue eyes skipped to the next person that caught his eye. it happened to be a young woman, who had just managed to fling her purse onto the ground and send all of it's contents sprawling across the floor. just then, deagan felt a light tap against his shoe. looking down, he saw a chapstick that must have belonged to the girl and rolled all the way over to him. a grin crossed his lips and he set his coffee down on the low table, and picked up the tube.
deagan was terrible with strangers. he was definitely getting better as he got older, though. when he was in high school, he couldn't even look a stranger in the eye, let alone talk to one. it had taken him awhile to figure out that not everyone was out to get him. he'd actually found that people were pretty nice in general. a couple of years ago, that young woman would have just been out of a chapstick, because there would have been no way that diggy would even think about returning it to her. today though, it was no problem. he stood from the comfy couch and made his way toward her. he smiled and held the small item out to her, "i think this must be yours?" just looking at her face, deagan could see that the girl's thoughts were a bit scattered. he wondered what she was worrying about. maybe boyfriend drama or something similar. she looked to be a few years younger than he was, and most girls her age were constantly concerned with boyfriends, or friends, or sometimes school. deagan remembered when he was that age and worried about those things. most days he wished he could go back and have a do-over.
after the girl took the stick, he took a quick look at the floor surrounding them. "do you think you found everything?" deagan knew how girls felt about their purses and the things inside of them. marlee always used to freak whenever her purse was jeopardized. he hated it when little things like this reminded him of her. it happened on a daily basis, no matter how hard he tried to block it out. diggy needed something to take his mind off of marlee, fast. he looked up, glancing around the shop for something else to think about. he hoped the girl didn't think he was rude, but it had to be done. he couldn't meet her eyes, or else he would be stuck thinking about his fiance. luckily, diggy's eyes landed on a familiar face. LJ was sitting at a table, all by herself. he'd really gotten to like LJ. she was super down to earth, and didn't make deagan feel nervous or uneasy. his eyes met hers for half a second, and he waved, smiling and obviously happy to see her. the two had met here, actually. not all that long ago, but deagan felt like he had known LJ for longer than he actually had. he wanted to go sit with her and talk, but he couldn't be any more rude to the chapstick girl than he already had been. so he brought his attention back to her, meeting her eyes again."sorry, that's my friend."
|
|
|
|
Post by chelsea on Dec 31, 2010 0:41:24 GMT -7
Allison was still thinking, and searching, to see if she had missed anything when a guy handed her, her chapstick. "Oh dear, thanks. I hadn't even thought anything had flown that far away, oops." She tried to take the item back in a way that didn't seem rude, or too coy, but perhaps it was the first that resulted. It was a bit of a habit for Allison to be socially awkward, an without her social status with the elite, she had nothing to really make up for it.
She scanned his face. He was honest looking, although nothing like any of the boys her Father would have let her associate with. Then again, her Father never would've let her get pregnant before marrying some up-and-coming millionaire either. His blue were shocking and the only thing he had done for her was out of kindness, and maybe that made her nervous. I mean, nice people are not the types Allison was used to. It was not too long, but long enough to tell she was still a bit scattered when she finally managed to reply to him, "Oh goodness, I'm not too worried about it, but thanks. It's been so long since I've carried a bag." She let out a sigh, finally giving up on trying to not look as ridiculous as she felt in front of him. She raised her head back up and reassessed him. He was a few years older than she, not enough to make her feel uncomfortable, but the age difference might be a little more impacting on him.
She met his eyes as he spoke of his friend. Allison looked over to the girl. She had such an interesting look, she couldn't help but stare for just a moment. Noticing her lack of caffeine, but a warm replacement. "Oh of course, sorry. Uhm, thanks again, I didn't mean to, uh, interrupt anything." She looked around at everything she had gathered, and began to put things back into her bag. She gave the guy another smile before look back and mumbling about how diaper bags were really more practical. [/size] |
|
|
|
Post by LJ TROSK on Dec 31, 2010 10:04:22 GMT -7
let's close our eyes & pretend
this night'll never end.
-- nothing - well, almost nothing - can compare to the feeling of going from near hypothermia to all toasty. it was pretty warm in seven sons, always pretty warm. it only took a few minutes & a few sips for my pearly whites to stop chattering. i slipped off my coat onto the back of the chair & settled back in, staring at the swirling marshmallows as they clung & separated. ping. & just like that, i was reaching through my cross-body bag & digging out my camera. earlier today when i had chosen which picture-taker i wanted, i picked the fish eye; i was feeling a bit silly today. i sat the cup on the table, adjusted a few things on the camera & the cup, & my camera was back in the case back in the bag as quickly as it came out.
-- my attention wandered around the room, taking in the chill atmosphere. as my green eyes glanced around, i caught the gaze of a familiar face. instantly, my face wrapped into a warm smile. deagan! he waved & i waved back; i noticed i was getting a bit jittery at the sight of him. he was a truly close friend. & truly sweet. i noticed he was in the company of another, so i figured it would be rude for me to ignore her. especially since the situation appeared a bit awkward. they must have just met, but i wasn't sure of this thought. i left my coat limp on the back of the chair, but took my hot chocolate. taking the hot out of chocolate just isn't the same, so why let it get cold? i paced towards the two, smiling. when i was an appropriate distance from the two, making a triangle as to not exclude anyone, i stopped.
-- hi, i'm lj. i'm deagan's friend. i said with a warm smile, looking at the girl. she was pretty & rather close to my age. i wondered why i'd never seen her before, but shrugged off the thought in an instance. everyone has their own lives to live. after i introduced myself, i looked at deagan & reached to hug him. hey. i said softly. i returned to the triangular position we were in. i was filled with joy to be next to diggy. he was one of the few guys who didn't make me want to gauge my eyes out with something dull. |
|
|
|
Post by DEAGAN LANE MADDOCK on Dec 31, 2010 17:02:04 GMT -7
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
diggy watched the girl as she rummaged around a bit more. again, he found himself wondering why she seemed to scattered and slightly frantic. he hoped nothing was wrong. diggy had a ridiculous sense of concern and always wanted to be taking care of everyone. if he wasn't so shy, he would probably have asked her if everything was ok. but he certainly didn't want to be nosy. of course he was even more curious when the girl said she hadn't carried a bag in awhile. that was odd. most girls always had a purse glued to them. but deagan was only stuck speculating, it would be out of place for him to ask why. he only smiled and continued to help her look for anything she might have missed. it appeared that, between the two of them, they had managed to gather everything up. now was the awkward part. diggy was so terrible with strangers. he wasn't sure if he should offer to stay and sit with her so she wasn't alone, or just go back to his own seat.
dig's body was filled with relief when LJ joined them. just having her beside him made him feel less awkward. a huge grin lit up his face as she approached. he was even happier to see her than he had originally thought. when she introduced herself, deagan felt terrible. he had been so rude, not even introducing himself to the girl! he met her eyes again with a sheepish look, "oh ya, i'm deagan. sorry, didn't even introduce myself." his words were followed by a guilty laugh, hoping the girl didn't think him to be too terribly rude.
when LJ leaned in to hug him, diggy stretched his arms around her, giving her a warm and friendly hug. he returned her greeting with an equally soft "hey, good to see you." and he meant it. he couldn't think of anyone else who he'd be happier to see. LJ had become deagan's close and trusted friend in a short amount of time. which was pretty new for him. he didn't tend to trust people or get close to them very often. LJ was different though, something about her just...clicked. several times he'd even almost told her about marlee, but he couldn't quite bring himself to do it. he never talked about her. even to people who had known her and knew what happened. it was just something that went unsaid, and his friends understood that. whenever he did try to bring it up, the words seemed to choke him. he couldn't let them get past his lips. so most times he just didn't even try. with a little more time and a little more trust though, he was sure to tell LJ about it.
|
|
