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Post by JONATHAN WARNER BRASS on Aug 16, 2011 15:41:32 GMT -5
She looked okay, and sounded okay, but it didn't do much to stop him from worrying, even when she stretched up to give him a light kiss. Most of the time at home he slept bare-chested, but at least he had a shirt on to offset the fact that he was just in his boxers. Never mind that these people had raised him- he was suddenly, inexplicably feeling self conscious again. When she suggested she go out for a run, he reluctantly agreed- reluctant only because he didn't want to be left to make conversation. He knew if he complained about it he'd probably get a smack and a stern talking-to about why that wasn't a good option, so he kept his mouth shut.
Sneaking some more bacon, despite a warning glare from his mom who had suddenly noticed, he crossed his arms, looking uncomfortable when he heard the front door shut behind Scarlet.
"Are you going to give her a tour of the town?" His mom's voice brought him out of his thoughts again, and he looked up with a frown. "Uh, yeah, I was. Is that a problem?" He tried not to sound so defensive about it, but Mandy was already shaking her head. "No, no problem, I was just wondering if you would be around later on. We could have a barbecue and everything out on the porch." She smiled hopefully, and he instantly felt bad for snapping, looking to floor to avoid the curious gaze that he could feel his father shooting his way.
"I'm just going to get dressed..." He muttered, knowing it was best to get the shower before Scarlet got back and wanted it.
By the time she came home, and back to the kitchen, Jon was lounging in the chair opposite Mike, while Mandy pulled out the plates of bacon and pancakes that she had been keep warm in the oven. Jon swung around as soon as he heard Scarlet come back up the stairs, dark eyes searching her glowing face. She looked like she had literally soaked up the sun, and he grinned, pushing out the chair next to him so she could sit.
With the food out in front of them, Jon wasted no time in stabbing a few pancakes and scooping eggs onto his plate, the typical starved young guy.
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Post by SCARLET JOOK-LIANG LANCASTER on Aug 17, 2011 13:43:03 GMT -5
Scarlet smiled at Jonathan when she saw him grinning and pushed him slightly when she sat down, piling on bacon and eggs to her plate, along with a bunch of pancakes. She slathered it with maple syrup and spread some butter over the pancakes, before digging in excitedly. After running, she really, really needed to eat. Even when she didn't run for very long. Her metabolism ran faster than average, so she had to eat a lot to keep in a healthy weight-range. She was actually a couple of pounds underweight at the moment, but she planned to pack on the pounds soon enough. She hated how bony she was, and definitely needed a little padding. Which brought up another point in her mind. If she was pregnant, she'd have to gain a lot of weight to keep a baby nourished. If she kept it... If Jonathan wanted to keep it.
Letting a worried look cross her face for a few seconds, she bit her lip and played with her fork slightly, as if she looked like she was trying to remember something, before returning to her breakfast. It was delicious. Mandy had really outdone herself. "Thank you for the breakfast, Mrs. Brass." She looked up to Mandy and smiled brightly, still glowing from her run, plus the way the sun beat in through the kitchen window. "It's really delicious. My dad isn't that great of a cook, so it's a nice change from poptarts and cereal." She nodded in a matter-of-fact manner and stuffed another forkful of pancake into her mouth happily. It was true, though. When she was younger, her mother would always leave for days at a time, and Jeremy would be left to feed the hungry youngster. This lead to two things; the early development of Scarlet's own cooking skills, and many, many nights spent reading cook books with her father trying to figure out how to make a turkey dinner.
Pushing these thoughts aside, she looked down to her phone, sighing when she saw that her father hadn't texted her, or called. It was a bit upsetting, but she kept her smile on her face. It was fine right now. Everything was dandy in her head. And Jonathan was behaving, which was a definite bonus in her books. It actually made her really happy that he was making the attempt to be better with his parents. Such a sweetheart.
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Post by JONATHAN WARNER BRASS on Aug 17, 2011 14:20:17 GMT -5
Mandy settled in at the table, daintily picking at her food while Jon and Scarlet practically shoveled it into their mouths. Mike was just preoccupied with the paper, smoothing it out on the tabletop every now and again.
"It's really delicious. My dad isn't that great of a cook, so it's a nice change from poptarts and cereal."
Jon looked up, about to speak with a forkful of pancake on its way to his mouth, but he set it down instead. "Scarlet's the chef, though." He was pretty sure she didn't need his help when it came to setting up the right reputation, since it already looked as though his parents had fallen head over heels, but he wanted to point it out. He felt a little bad, actually, thinking that maybe he should be keeping his fridge better stocked in the apartment if she was going to be visiting more often. That was sort of a fail as a boyfriend, as the bacon incident had illustrated the other week.
He noticed her glance down at her phone, but made no move to lean over and see what she was looking at. She seemed to be checking her messages a lot lately.
Mandy took up the charge, asking about Scarlet's other interests while they finished breakfast. It wasn't an uncomfortable place to be, but Jon was getting a bit bored of being in the house. Taking his dishes to the sink, he started edging away toward the front hallway. "I'm gonna take a look in the garage before we head out. Scarlet..." He stared at her for a moment, holding open a door next to the front closet that lead out, wondering if she wanted him to rescue her from having to sit at the table with his parents while they finished their coffee.
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Post by SCARLET JOOK-LIANG LANCASTER on Aug 17, 2011 15:34:12 GMT -5
Scarlet smiled and shrugged slightly when Jonathan said she was the chef. She wasn't spectacular, but she made some pretty damn good food. After a bit of time of discussing things with his parents about her interests and such, Jonathan suddenly got up from the table. Had she bored him with the talk of what she liked? She blinked her lip and watched him carefully as he walked out, announcing that he was going to the garage, before tilting her head when he stopped and offered to show her to the garage. Smiling, she nodded and stood up slowly, taking her plate to the sink. She rinsed off the maple syrup so it wouldn't get caked on and turned to Jonathan's parents, smiling sweetly. "If you'll excuse me." She waved politely and teetered out of the room after Jonathan, following him into the garage.
Humming quietly, she took his hand and kissed up his neck to his cheek, before grinning against the skin. "What are we going to do today?" She asked curiously, stopping him when they were down the little set of stairs, and in the actual garage. She looked around, bright-eyed before looking back to him, tilting her head. She really wanted to fall asleep somewhere with him; she slept so much better when he was around... Especially naked. They'd be able to do that in her house, but here... She wanted to respect Jonathan's parents, considering they weren't on the best terms with their son.
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Post by JONATHAN WARNER BRASS on Aug 17, 2011 16:40:37 GMT -5
He smiled when she went to join him, quietly leading her away to the garage. "Have fun," Mandy's voice followed them before he shut the door to the house, pressing a button the raise the garage door. The room was full of the usual stuff: rakes, a lawnmower, just a general disarray of things for every day chores. There were shelves set up on one side, full of tools and such that were covered in dust.
"We," He slipped his hand out of her grasp only to rest them on her hips with a grin. "Are going to go out for the morning, so I don't have to share you." He rolled his eyes, stooping to kiss her. He would have lingered, but he was faced with the chance to show her something about his life that he actually enjoyed, and was proud of.
He stepped away, turning to weave through all of the clutter to the far wall, where several bicycles were leaning against something under a thick canvas. He moved the bikes, and pulled off the cover, dust puffing up where he tossed it in a corner. Considering how his last visit had played out, there hadn't been a chance to go for a ride, but now he was back to look after his baby.
There stood an outdated Norton. It was fit to run, but would have shocked any enthusiast with the lack of attention to the looks. He had done his best though- repairing something like this took time and money, so he had opted to fix only the mechanics. The seat was slightly ripped, and it looked like it had at one point suffered some sort of accident judging by the dings on the handlebars. But Jon beamed, clearly satisfied with how it held up. "I saved up for this since I was ten or something." He laughed, patting the gas tank. It was still oddly impressive, with the all black paint job and gold Norton lettering still intact- old, but mighty. He pushed it out toward the driveway, coming back to finally glance excitedly over at Scarlet. "It's great, right?" He didn't even wait for an answer, heading for the shelves to look for something. He pulled out a helmet, holding it out for her, apparently absorbed in his own little bubble of happy.
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Post by SCARLET JOOK-LIANG LANCASTER on Aug 17, 2011 22:46:20 GMT -5
Scarlet was floored when Jonathan pulled off the canvas cover and tossed it to the side, staring wide-eyed at the motorcycle. Her boyfriend. Had. A motorcycle. Her breath hitched in her throat, and for the longest time after, as he flitted about the garage, she just felt like ripping all his clothes off and banging on the seat of the bike. "Hmmm?" Dazed, she glanced to Jonathan when he held out the helmet, before grinning excitedly, taking it from him. While he got some more things ready, she took the time to tie her hair up into a bun, and pull on the helmet, grinning cutely at him before putting down the wind visor. "I'm ready!" She raised her arms excitedly before sitting down on a stool that was set up just beside a shelf full of old tools and manly things that would normally be kept in a garage.
Scarlet was excited. The last time she had been on a motorcycle was when she was very little, and it wasn't the greatest experience for her, because she barely remembered it. Jeremy had bought a motorcycle in an attempt to get over his wife leaving every couple of days and coming back smelling like another man. It wasn't exactly a pleasant feeling, so he soothed it with long bike rides. The last night he rode his bike, Scarlet was with him, and he nearly got hit by an 18 wheeler, so he had sworn never, ever to ride his motorcycle again. Which kind of depressed Scarlet, because being 10 years old and riding on the back of a motorbike was pretty much the coolest thing she had ever done in her entire life. Though she respected Jeremy's decision to keep her safe by not riding anymore. It was his bike, and his choice. Maybe now she could try talking him into it again.
Humming quietly, she swung her legs a bit, before catching Jonathan in them as he walked by. She took her helmet off slowly and set it aside, pulling his face down to kiss him softly on the lips. Her mouth broke into a little smile against his skin and she kissed him a couple more times before pulling away from him, keeping her legs wrapped around his. "Carry me." She reached her arms up and wrapped them around his neck, nipping at his nose. "I'm excited to see where you grew up."
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Post by JONATHAN WARNER BRASS on Aug 17, 2011 23:42:01 GMT -5
He found a cloth to wipe the dust and grit off his hands, oblivious to Scarlet's departure into her memories. Weirdly, it occurred to him that this was something he probably should have told her about before- it just hadn't seemed useful at the time, mainly because he couldn't have it at his apartment in Seattle, and he had never had to give other people rides, so it became just a personal thing.
He heard Scarlet go sit over near the shelves, apparently watching him while he made sure it would run smoothly. After filling up the gas tank using the small reserve he kept in the garage, he passed by her again, only to be caught in her swinging legs. She just had that irresistible look that said if he took one step away he'd regret it, so he let her pull him down. "You're really good at distractions." He pointed out with a grin when she wrapped her arms around his neck, tossing the empty gas canister to the side before hoisting her up so that she was straddling his hips. Setting her back on her feet next to the bike, he snatched the helmet up again and handed it over, back to business.
"Have you ever ridden a motorcycle before?" He didn't suspect it would be a problem, unless she was planning on flailing wildly every time they took a corner. Either way, it wasn't like they were going to be popping wheelies or looking for trouble- she had the only helmet he owned, and he wanted to keep his skull intact today. Swinging a leg over the bike, he moved the kickstand, pulling it upright, waiting for her to get on.
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Post by SCARLET JOOK-LIANG LANCASTER on Aug 18, 2011 1:07:15 GMT -5
Scarlet grinned a bit proudly when he commented her on her distraction technique, before giggling when he lifted her up and set her down next to the bike. He was such a sweetheart. She hopped onto the back of the bike with him rather expertly, putting the helmet on him instead.
"Driver wears the helmet. No give-backs." She kissed his shoulder and grinned cutely before wrapping her arms around his torso tightly and holding onto him. Her head found the little groove between his shoulder blades, and her eyes slid shut, waiting for him to take off. This was going to be a good day. Hopefully. If not, she could always just punch him again. That seemed to make him smarten up. But she didn't feel like today would have any issues. Although if Paul was out with friends, wouldn't that mean that they had a chance of running into him at some point? Not literally of course. She didn't think Jonathan was the type to run over his own brother. That would just be cruel.
Her thoughts wandered away from the motorcycle, now jumping over several other topic that were going on in her head, right to the issue of Paul. She wanted to meet him, and she felt really bad that they had sent him away after hearing that Jonathan was coming. Or maybe he had chosen to go away? She bit her lip, looking extremely distraught by this fact. She would have killed for brothers and sisters, but the two brothers had no intention of seeing each other. That depressed her quite a bit. If she actually had brothers and sisters now, she wanted to know. And at least meet them once. Maybe form some sort of relationship with the family that developed while she sat alone with her father in a run-down house before he got his pay raise in the military. Penelope had left a lot of debt for him to pay off, so they had lived in an apartment for a bit; a little worse than Jonathan's, if she was being honest, but it was home for a good year while Jeremy worked off Penelope's debts.
Sighing slightly at all these sad thoughts, she pushed them to the back of her head and snuggled her face into Jonathan's back, feeling the bike start and pull out of the garage. Her legs came up and in tightly to their normal position, and she tightened her grip on Jonathan slightly, opening her eyes to see the driveway and house disappearing behind them. How exciting. She grinned and put her chin onto Jonathan's shoulder, watching excitedly as they drove. She was such a big sucker for any kind of bike.
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Post by JONATHAN WARNER BRASS on Aug 18, 2011 2:47:57 GMT -5
Jon grumbled a refusal, turning in the seat to unceremoniously press the helmet back onto her head with a glare. "Forget it, I'll tuck and roll if we crash. I think I'd feel worse if it was your brain on the pavement rather than mine." He turned swiftly back around, standing slightly to kick the bike into life and roll smoothly out of the driveway.
He took them out of town first, speeding along the country roads that wound their way past fields and forests. The lakes lay in the other direction. He could have carried on for hours, but Scarlet's grip on him was a reminder that he had promised to show her the town, too. Somewhat reluctantly he brought the bike around to the heart of La Porte, leaving behind the scenery that had once given the place its name. With an attitude that was more 'let's get the painful part over with' than anything else, he started to point out the different landmarks when they slowed along the main street. He felt bad, knowing that it was coming across so...vague. But the truth was that he didn't have much of a personal tie to even his hometown. He had never been the kid who hung around outside the quaint little shops, or played soccer with friends at one of the many parks. His commentary on everything was just a bit bland while he struggled to come up with more than just historical facts, or remarking how this and that had changed since he was young.
After awhile he ran out of material. But he had an idea to make up for it, so once again they retreated from the busy streets, out towards the lakes. There were campgrounds out here, and a lot of the local kids liked to spend the summer out on the water. A short way from each of the beaches sat small parking lots. He made the effort to choose one that didn't seem to be running rampant with people, in front of a beach that was more rock that sand. There were jumping stones further out in the water, where a few teenagers were leaping off, spiraling in the air before splashing into the lake.
Leaning the bike so she could get off more easily, he too dismounted and nodded out toward the water. "Thought you might want a break." In hindsight he probably could have suggested she bring swimwear if she wanted, but he hadn't had much of a plan until he got out on the bike. Besides, it had to be getting near lunch, so this could just count as a rest stop before they headed back into town.
He took hold of her hand, seeming to scout out a good place. There were maple trees close to the parking lot, with some picnic tables clustered underneath in the shade. He led her over there, hopping up onto one, glad that he had opted to go without a heavy jacket for the ride. The sun was out, and they were back to those brutal summer days. At least back here they were sheltered, unlike the people on the beach.
Jon hadn't sat down for very long before he glanced up, suddenly sitting very still. It wasn't some extra sense that made him look up, just coincidence, but he saw him, trudging back up from the beach with the group of kids that he been jumping off the rocks. It would have been hard to see the resemblance even with the two of them standing next to each other, mainly because Paul was so much that Jon was...not. He had a shock of dark blond hair, similar to Mike's and blue eyes. His smile was wide, a grin that put even Mandy to shame. He was skinny, and not as tall as Jon, but he had the sort of air about him that said he was just a bit cocky. He looked like a bit of a jock; maybe not a football player, but perhaps soccer or something. Almost as if he knew he was being watched, the boy turned, and the smile was wiped from his face. He continued walking nearer with his friends, two other guys and three girls, who had apparently not noticed anything yet, and his gaze darted from Jon to the girl next to him, eyes narrowing.
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Post by SCARLET JOOK-LIANG LANCASTER on Aug 18, 2011 23:06:15 GMT -5
Scarlet was enjoying the ride immensely. Every time he pointed out a landmark or important part of the town, she laughed softly at how vague his explanations were. Her heart pounded slightly whenever he sped the motorcycle up, grinning a bit behind the visor on the helmet. Her boyfriend was the shit. She closed her eyes and let her head rest on his back, humming softly to herself as they left the city and headed towards the lakes, and trees. She was excited to dip her feet into the water, but the looming feeling of the intuition that something bad would happen soon was constantly bugging her. Something was really wrong. She just didn't feel good. She vaguely wondered if all demigods had this... intuition. She bit her lip and got off the bike, smiling to Jonathan when she took off the helmet. He had said something about a break, and she set the helmet down onto the seat of the motorcycle, looking around happily, before kissing his cheek. "It's lovely here. I like your hometown." She nodded and let him take her hand into his own, before letting him lead her to the perfect spot.
Once she was there, she sat down on the rock and let one of her hands drop into the sun before laying down. It wasn't long before she heard the gaggle of teenagers moving towards them and sat up once more, looking to Jonathan, before up to the group of teenagers walking closer and closer with every step. The colour drained from her face slightly (not that it could all the way; she was in the sun, after all) and she bit her lip, looking back to Jonathan awkwardly. She noticed the resemblance to Mike, and slightly to Mandy, but she had no idea how Paul and Jonathan would ever be related, other than the fact that they were both very, very attractive. His smile was amazing. But the second he saw Jonathan, the amazing smile was wiped off his pretty little face, and his eyes narrowed, as if he were scrutinizing her for being with his brother. She didn't like that.
Looking to Jonathan as Paul edged nearer to them, up the little bank that lead to their spot, she glanced awkwardly around, before brushing off the little legs of the shorts she was wearing. What an uncomfortable situation. "I take it that's Paul?" Scarlet whispered to her boyfriend silently, sliding her hand over his gently. "We can go if you want..." She looked genuinely worried about him. She didn't know what had happened between the brothers the last time Jonathan was here, and she certainly didn't like being stared at so callously.
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