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Post by Braxton Reid on Jan 6, 2010 19:19:45 GMT
Braxton was wandering around the stores, thinking how much better this day would be if it would just rain. Storm even. Something to get him excited, riled up. Seemed like everyone here was the same. Preps. Girls. And a ginormous EW to both. He shoved his earbuds in his ears to drown out the giggling. Oh, it was the giggling that was driving him insane and it was the giggling that was pushing him off an imaginary cliff. That giggling was sure to drive him up a fricken wall. He grinded his teeth against themselves as he turned his music up to ear bleeding frequencies. Those girls snickered and pointed at him, covering their mouths with their delicate hands.
"I'll kill you, moron." He mouthed. They screamed and ran off. A smile played on his lips as he watched them flee.
He continued to make his way around, admiring things here and there. Thanks to the music and the drowning of the snickers and giggles, he was beginning to regain his sanity. He looked at his wrists, the tattoos beginning to look loney.
"I really should get more. Or another piercing.." he mumbled, then shoved his hands back in his pockets. "Not today..."
He wandered into a book store and picked up a novel, admiring the back cover.
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Post by Diane McLain on Jan 6, 2010 20:07:15 GMT
Diane was not in a giggling mood today.
She walked into the bookstore quickly ducking through the paths of shelves and curiosities. It had been a while since she had been in a bookstore, or even read a book, but now more than ever was the time for distractions, the time to be in a world of her own and, most importantly, to try and reset everything back to normal.
She scanned the shelves quickly, the titles running through her mind delicately, some screaming recognition while others were unknown to her. None seemed particularly interesting, though. It was then that she remembered what one of her friends had recommended. She looked around quickly, searching the shelves, seeing a smart gap where it should have been. She would have ended her search then, but turning to the side she saw the book; in the hands of someone else.
Embarrassed, she considered waiting for him to leave it, but then it might not have been the only copy and he could have known of the others whereabouts. "Excuse me?" she asked softly, keeping her voice down in the quiet bookstore, "Um, sorry but where did you get that book?"
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Post by Braxton Reid on Jan 6, 2010 22:09:10 GMT
Braxton looked at her, then at the book. He pushed the book her way and walked off, making his way to the horror novels. He plucked one from the top shelf and looked at the cover. Chills ran down his spine as his eyes met the corpse's eyes on the cover. He turned it over in his hands and began to read the back, then preceded to open the book and read the first page.
Deciding he wanted this one, he plucked another novel from the shelf. He went through books like he went through nail polish. And that was a bottle a week. A week and half if he was lucky.
He looked at the cover and shook his head, replacing it on the shelf. Unlike the saying, he did judge books by their covers. And he did it in the most literal sense of the phrase.
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Post by Diane McLain on Jan 6, 2010 22:25:46 GMT
She held the book tightly in her hand, looking down at it. It was exactly the book that she had been told about. "Uh....." she said blankly, looking back at him, and looking back at the book. She walked forward slowly back to him, not sure what she should do but feeling that this wasn't right.
"Excuse me," she said slowly, holding the book back out. "I... You had this first. Are you sure you don't want it?" she asked, part of her just wanting contact with another human who didn't already know her.
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Post by Braxton Reid on Jan 7, 2010 0:28:25 GMT
Braxton looked back at her and pulled out his earbud. Thanks to having a deaf sister, he knew how to read lips.
“No. I do not want your book.” He fished his wallet out of his back pocket and gave her a twenty and a five. “I’ll even buy the thing for you.”
He continued to scan for books. Money had never been an issue for Braxton. His family was pretty loaded. With money and cars. He plucked yet another book from the shelf and began to read the back cover. Deciding that this book was suitable, he chose this too and made his way to the checkout counter.
“That’ll be $23.22 sir!” Said the cashier cheerily. Braxton groaned and handed her $24, then walked off, not caring about his change. He stopped outside to put his books in his booksack.
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Post by Diane McLain on Jan 7, 2010 0:36:05 GMT
She frowned, looking at the book and now at the new note, her face blushing even more. It was strange to be around this boy; did he hate her? Then why would he give her the money for this book. Did he like her? Then why would he act so rude and cold to her.
"Hey-" she began to see, lifting her head to see the cashier taking the money, and the boy starting to leave the shop. Quickly, she walked over to the cashier and paid for her own book with the money - after all, she had a note that was almost exactly the same in her own purse which she could give him back - and quickly grabbed the book, not even bothering to wrap it up.
"Hey!" she said, her steps slowing down to his as she met him outside, nervously brushing her hair behind her ear. "Uh, thanks for the book. You really didn't need to," she said, letting out a nervous shrug and laugh as she said, "As much as I may look like it, I'm not a charity case, y'know."
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Post by Braxton Reid on Jan 7, 2010 1:01:20 GMT
Braxton shrugged and slung his booksack over his shoulder.
“I didn’t want the book anyways. Im not into things like that. The book genre, I mean..” he shrugged and ran his fingers through his hair. “You wanna go grab a drink?”
He looked down at his shoe and bent down to tie it. Come to think of it, he needed some new drum sticks while he was here. Maybe a couple of pairs of new drumsticks. Who knows? He needed a new bass peddle. He pulled a small notepad out of his back pocket and a pen and began to scribble his list on the page. One finished, he stuffed it back in his pocket. He looked back at her.
“So. About that drink?”
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Post by Diane McLain on Jan 7, 2010 1:09:56 GMT
She looked at him, visibly taken aback by his request. He had seemed so distant, so cold, and in a way he still seemed so, but now he was suddenly wanting to talk to her. "Well, uh-" she said, her mind spinning as she looked down to the book, twisting her bag around so that she could look into it while she thought things through. "Uh... what, kind of drink?" she asked, never taking her eyes off the book as it slid neatly into her bag, letting her hair fall over her rosy cheeks.
What kind of drink? The question had been innocent enough, but with so many connotations. Was this a date? She doubted it - even to a point feared it, though it would be a welcome ego boost if it was. Alcoholic, or not? She wondered if she could have a drink without her medication... Not that it mattered.
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Post by Braxton Reid on Jan 7, 2010 1:22:00 GMT
Braxton looked at the girl and raised an eyebrow. If he wasn’t awkward and absolutely despised women, he would think she was interested. The thought brought a smile to his lips. He shook his head and shoved his hands into his pockets.
“A soda. Caffiene? Hell, you can even have an Icee if you want one.” He said, biting his lip gently. He’s forgotten to put his snakebites in this morning, but he really didn’t care right about now. This chick seemed very uneasy around him. And he figured she would be even more scared had he had his lip rings in. Something about her screamed ‘virgin.’ Possibly the way she was standing, her head down, a blush on her cheeks, and her feet close together, as if she was trying to shield herself from something. Had he had a snake, she might had fainted. A smile played on his lips. Oh. And his tattoos?
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Post by Diane McLain on Jan 7, 2010 1:30:33 GMT
She smiled as she buttoned up her bag, brushing back her long hair and finally able to look at him now that her blush was subsiding. "Sounds good," she said with a shrug. It had been a while since she'd just been able to go out and have a drink with someone. It didn't matter if he liked her or not, since either way it meant a chance at a decent and hopefully relatively normal conversation.
She swung her bag back around so that she could walk properly, clutching onto the straps with pale hands, turned white from the cold outside. "Lead the way?" she suggested.
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Post by Braxton Reid on Jan 7, 2010 1:44:11 GMT
Braxton smiled and resisted the urge to skip merrily. He knew it would scare her off. But something about getting a cold soda made him happier than anything. He smiled and made his way through the throng of people, wanting to scream ‘ew’ each time one of them touched him. Not that he was germ-a-phobic or anything. He just didn’t like people.
He found a food court and walked in, taking a booth in the back. He placed his booksack beside him as he motioned for her to sit in front of him. Maybe getting to know this girl would be worth while.
“So. The names Braxton.” He said, extending his hand to the girl.
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Post by Diane McLain on Jan 7, 2010 1:48:56 GMT
She followed behind him as quickly as she could, though desperately trying not to touch him or anyone around. The city she was born and bred in had been a small one, where the people would stay miles apart from others and become offensive if they touched. The business reminded her of the holidays to London she was occasionally forced to take, and the painful memories that went with them.
Quickly, she slipped into the booth, eager to get away as she gave the crowd one last glance, before turning to Braxton. "Diane," she said with a nod, finally dropping her bag on the seat next to her and taking his hand and shaking it. "You native or from the school?" she asked, assuming she wouldn't need to ask which school she meant. Only one accepted so many foreign students.
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Post by Braxton Reid on Jan 7, 2010 2:01:13 GMT
“School. Unfortunatley. Mom don’t want me. Guess it doesn’t matter anyways.” He said with a shrug. He leaned back against the booth. A waiter came up to them, requesting their order.
“Ill take a coke. No ice.” He said glumly. He wanted to prop his feet up on the table but thought the waitress might swat him for it. He rummaged through his booksack, pulling out a small box.
“Are your ears pierced?” he said, leaning to the side to see. He slid the box across the table to her.
“See, I got these. But the holes in my ears are too small. All eight of them. Not that I tried them on or anything. I pulled one out and the back was too small.” He smiled.
Inside the box was a pair of earrings, both blood red stones with little dragons in them if you turned them the right way.
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Post by Diane McLain on Jan 7, 2010 2:10:39 GMT
"Oh, uh... Lemonade, lots of ice please," she said to the waitress quickly as she took in the information. It must have been horrible to know that you were unwanted.
She quickly stopped the box from sliding off the table, opening it cautiously and looking inside; dragons. She had always loved dragons. And the colour was beautiful. Her wide eyes turned narrow as she looked at him, closing the small box. "My mum told me never accept gifts from strangers.... Well, technically she said don't accept sweets, but that was before I knew that tiny objects could blow you up." she said with a cheeky smile, resting her elbows on the table, "So whats the deal? You buy me a book, take me for drinks and just happen to have a pair of earings on you?" she said, looking cautious but she wasn't afraid.
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Post by Braxton Reid on Jan 7, 2010 2:21:56 GMT
Braxton looked at her, a nasty look on his face. Must everyone question what he does? Why are all people like that? Everyone in this world has to question something and it was really starting to tick him off.
“Darling. I would have blown you up in the book store. I believe in good deeds. And no. I didn’t happen to have them with me. I brought them five minutes ago and they don’t fit.” He stood and put and ten dollar bill on the table. “If youre going to complain, Ill leave.”
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