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 Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2007 8:14 pm
... because I felt I needed to update my wardrobe a bit. It had been a while since I'd last had the chance to try on new outfits...
He definitely loved to write everything he did in his journal as often as he could, whenever he got a break from school and during weekends, if he wasn't busy at work. Walking idly from window to window among the long aisle crammed with stores, he thought about possible new combinations, about a nice new messenger bag to bring along to class, and about that new pair of Converse he'd been wanting to buy for quite some time now.
"Well, if I were to buy a new pair of pants and two shirts... or a jacket, maybe... hm, that could be a bit much. Well, I do have the money, but... ah, maybe I should eat before shopping so I won't have to set money aside... ah, but if I eat, then I probably won't fit so well in those clothes..."
A couple stared at him for a second as they walked past. People who talked to themselves out loud were considered to have a rather unnerving habit, because who would ever care to hear the ramblings of a stranger? But, being as observing as a mule, he didn't notice - and if he did, he didn't mind. He liked the attention, after all. And deep down, very deep down, he had a purpose: to find himself a nice date before the summer was over! His shopping trips were half a necessity, and half an opportunity: so many people shopping every day, he was bound to find someone sooner or later.
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Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2007 10:34 pm
As Firefly walked down the sidewalk, everything about him seemed crestfallen. From his drooping wings and ears to his low hung face, everything about him seemed to give off a bad vibe, and most people walked around him to avoid being caught up in his foul mood. A large white bandange adorned his right cheek, the only visible 'reward' from his encounter just earlier that day. A kid from one of his class had been harassed by a group of thugs, so Firefly, playing the hero...again...and jumped into the middle of it. The kid got away fine, but Firefly walked away with some new bruises and an even more bruised ego.
He certainly wasn't the strongest person around, his muscles merely being toned, not builky. But he had a tenacity most people lacked, though it often got him into more trouble than it got him out of. While stewing in his thoughts he was wandering around aimlessly, not really paying attention to where he was going...and not really caring either.
Mulling in his thoughts, he stopped suddenly, his anger at himself reaching a boiling point, he let out an exasperated "Argh!" and punched the brick building next to him. It took about 10 seconds before he started regretting his action. He cupped his newly lame hand in his good one and sat hunched over in front of the wall he had just violated. Tears formed in his eyes, but he didn't let them flow on to his cheeks. Why am I always such a sore loser... He thought bitterly to himself. I'm the good guy, I should be able to beat the crap out of idiots like those guys...
After squatting for a few more moments of self-reflection, he stood up, still cupping his lame hand, and started walking in the direction he had been going before his outburst. However, not even two steps later, he ran into someone, knocking himself and the other person to the floor. A small "Ouch" escaped his lips as his rear connected with the concrete...at least he hadn't landed on his tail, for that would have hurt far worse.
He looked over to the person in front of him, about to go off on him or her about how they should pay attention to where they were going...though it was kind of a 'pot calling the kettle black' situation. He saw the other person on the ground, a few scattered packages here and there. Seeing the other person in the same situation as himself, maybe worse off, his immediate anger vanished as quickly as it had come. He sighed and stood up, not bothering to brush himself off.
He extended a hand to his fellow fall-ee, muttering a small, "Sorry 'bout that..." as he did so, genuinely being sorry.
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Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2007 11:50 pm
In the middle of his monologue, he'd been so rudely interrupted by a stranger who, apparently, was as scatter-brained as him. He hit the floor with a loud sound - mostly due to his many bags and packages -, and a loud cry.
"Ow!" His face contorted in grief as his hip hit the floor, but he managed to prevent his face from suffering the same fate with his hands. Of course, he bumped his elbow on the hard surface good, and it hurt enough to make him wince, but otherwise he was fine. And he didn't have much time to wallow in his grief before he noticed a hand offering him help standing up. His eyes traveled up to look at the owner of said hand, and it was... almost magical. Ah, like those romance novels his classmate read! He'd fallen asleep through it more than once and thus quit in his quest to finish it, but he distinctly remembered the part about a fateful encounter, an unforeseen twist of fate.
... then he reminded himself life didn't work that way.
Accepting the hand to pull himself up, he smiled at the other male with light annoyance in his expression. "Thank you, but you should really watch where you're going... you could've hit someone much harder that way, you know?" But upon closer inspection, he noticed the other male to be quite troubled - at least enough to make his eyes look rather humid. His expression changed yet again into one of concerned as he crouched to pick up his scattered possessions, though his gaze didn't leave the other man's face.
"... excuse me, are you alright? You look kinda troubled."
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Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2007 12:43 am
Firefly didn't really appreciate the snary retort of someone he was helping...it's not like it was completely his fault...'Takes two to tango... he thought bitterly. However, when the boy then changed his tone to concerned, asking about his well-being, Firefly wasn't quite prepared for it. It shocked him enough to create a momentary blush on his cheeks, before he shook his head slightly to get rid of it.
Showing more of an interest in the boy, Firefly finally took a good look at him. He was a bit taller than Firefly...of course, most males were, as Firefly was decently short for his age group. The boy was a pony, like himself, though of the Unicorn class, not his own Pegasus. Still, they weren't very common in these parts. He felt a kinship with him, even if they turned out to have nothing else in common.
Not wanting to lay his troubles on another, since they were starting to wane anyway with this new encounter, he merely replied, "Eh? I'm all right....could be better, but it's nothing a night of sleep won't fix." He tried to smile for added persuasion, but it looked a bit forced. Hoping to get off the subject he looked around for something...anything..."Oh, your packages!" He dropped quickly to the ground to help pick up the spilled goods.
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Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2007 10:04 am
It could be said that Lou was very easily distracted, but he needed a little more than a forced smile and a sudden change of topic to satisfy his need of knowing. He didn't immediately press on the matter, smiling up at the other male as cordially as he could.
"Oh, it's alright, don't worry too much... I didn't buy anything fragile, I'm sure nothing's broken..."
Was this encounter supposed to mean something? Why else would it be so perfect and so sudden? Truth be told, he still had hopes of finding someone in an unsuspected manner like in the novels simply because it was nice to daydream about meeting someone special. The friends that knew of this little silly dream of his often teased him calling him a hopeless romantic and reassuring him that he would eventually find someone, but he should definitely stop being so childish about it. After all, he was 23 already.
Once all his belongings had been gathered with help of the young man, he gave him a little nod in gratitude. At least he'd been polite enough to help him with his things. But he couldn't ignore the fact the man still looked somewhat distressed, and the bruises on his face made it hard to believe he was fine like he say. The unicorn thought about it for a moment: a stranger bumping into him looking like a puppy caught under the rain, but insisting he'd be fine. Could he really walk away leaving him like this and not regret it later? The answer, most likely, turned out to be a 'Of course not, don't be stupid.' So he decided to take a risk, a shot in the dark. Smiling at him in that sweet, innocent, I-don't-mean-anything-by-it manner, he made a little suggestion.
"Thank you for the help. You know... I was on my way to eat something, want to come with me? You really don't look fine like you said, but food really makes everything better!"
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Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2007 12:59 pm
As Firefly reached for the last of the packages, he turned to the young male at the sudden invitation. His hand still outstreched, his eyes locked with the other's for a moment of silence. As crappy as Firefly had been feeling before, this one instance of kindness seemed to compeltely obliterate the dark cloud that had been hanging over him. There are still decent people in this world after all...
"Sure! That sounds great!" This time when he smiled, it was genuine. He stood up after grasping the last package and proceeded to take all the packages upon himself, even those from the other. "Since we're both going the same direction, and I was the one that bumped into you, I'll go ahead and carry these, okay?" Although it was an offer, he said it with a firmess that meant refusal wasn't an option, he was determined to carry the items.
"My name's Firefly." His tail flicked a bit. "What's yours?"
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Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2007 1:28 pm
The smile on the unicorn's face widened, and his eyes seemed to sparkle a bit. Yes, yes! Just like in that novel, fate intervenes and brings about a brand new opportunity to meet someone, to explore a new dimension of personal relationships! Ah, this day was proving to be quite exciting already. It was hard for him to hide how thrilled he was by the whole situation, but he managed to keep his excitement in check.
"Glory Lou. You can all me Lou."
You'd think he'd be seriously embarrassed by such a ridiculous name, but he didn't seem fazed by it. He'd hated it for a very, very long time, but eventually he decided there was no use in getting offended by it anymore. Some people laughed, some people arched a brow wondering what his parents were thinking when they named him.
"It's a real pleasure to meet you, Firefly. And what a gentleman you are!" the grin on his face was unmistakable: he felt both flattered and pleased with his newfound companion. And he'd make sure the man enjoyed himself as much as he could - this encounter... it had to be fate! "Well, now, I was planning on eating at this Thai restaurant, it's right here in the mall. Does that sound good enough?"
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Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2007 2:14 pm
Firefly blushed a bit at being called a gentleman. He was just doing what he thought was right. He also thought Glory Lou...er, just Lou, had a nice smile. He turned his head away a bit, hoping the other wouldn't see his flushed cheeks...he always got embaressed too easily, especially with compliments and gratitude. "I...it's nothing..." >///>
As they walked, Lou mentioned a Thai resturant. Now Firefly would be lying if he sad he didn't like Asian Foods, especially the spicy stuff. He also loved the large pots of food that everyone at the table shared, though people usually got on his case for trying to take all the meat. He was drooling a bit in his food fantasy, sparkles in his eyes. After a moment he realized he was fantasizing and quickly snapped out of it. "Uh...yeah...Thai sound great..." He laughed a bit weakly. This would have been a moment to put a hand behind his head, had his hands not been full of stuff.
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Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2007 2:44 pm
Lou was rather pleased with the effect he had on the man. He never considered himself to be too charismatic and thus not always able to grasp someone's attention, but today was different. It made him happy. As they walked, he took the chance to introduce himself a bit more. Maybe once the man felt more comfortable with him, he'd see fit to share whatever had caused him grief earlier... and that guaranteed a second encounter.
"I decided to do some shopping before the new semester starts. Got up, took a shower, had a cup of coffee and came here. As you can see, I'd been here for a while..." he tilted his head towards all the packages the man carried, the fruit of his efforts. "I'm glad you bumped into me now and not later, too. I would've had to eat on my own otherwise."
And now that they were getting a bit more personal - at least Lou was, anyway -, he could bring up another doubt in his mind.
"And you? What happened to your face?"
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Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2007 11:03 pm
"Eh, this? I just got into a fight, and..." Urk...the mood had been so good, Firefly had answered without thinking. His ears drooped a bit in defeat. Lou really knew how to create a relaxed atmosphere, though Firefly wasn't quite sure if it was planned or coincidental. He sighed once as he gathered himself. He'd already started, he might as well finish. Besides, it might be a good therapy to at least tell someone about it and get it off his chest.
"Earlier this morning, at this college I attend, some thugs were hanging around outside. I didn't really think much of it until I saw them bullying another student. I'm not quite sure what it was all about, but I couldn't stand to just do nothing when something was clearly wrong. So I walked up behind the biggest guy and kicked his lower back, so that he fell to the ground. Aaaand, as you can see, it all just went downhill from there..." Firefly grimaced with a not-really-happy smile as he remembered the good beating he'd gotten for it.
"Of course, it wans't all for nothing. The kid got away at least while their attention was...diverted." He gave a weak smile that said while he was happy about the results, he hadn't been too terribly thrilled about the process to getting that result.
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Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2007 11:52 pm
Lou listened intently at the tale as he walked, nodding every so often to demonstrate he was indeed paying attention. So, Firefly was in college as well? Interesting, very interesting. The fact the man was willing to stand up for someone being bullied was rather touching, too... he knew many people would do it, but actually take the blow for another one instead of just threatening people to call a teacher? That wasn't common. He noticed the other man seemed rather depressed at losing, however... so he gave him one of his charming smiles to try and cheer him up.
"Well, then you did the right thing. It's a pity you got hurt in the process, but the fact is you helped someone who couldn't really defend himself, right?" And that was quite admirable.
... if it were him, he would've probably thrown something at the attacker and taunt him from afar. Not nearly as brave.
He rose a hand to pat Firefly's shoulder in an effort to comfort the man a little more. Maybe that sad face would go away. "And those wounds will heal in time, no worries. Oh! And with the food we're about to eat, they'll heal even faster. Eating good food makes bruises and the sort to go away at double the regular speed!" Or so he said.
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Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2007 1:25 am
"Is that right?" Firefly smiled. He knew Lou was trying to comfort him...and it was working quite well, actually. As they neared the food court area, Firefly began looking for the Thai resturant. He didn't know the name, and it must have been set up in the last two months, since that was the last time Firefly had come, and the resturant hadn't existed then...at least, not that he'd noticed.
Fortunately it was easy to spot, as were all the resturants among the fast food places, and this was the only clearly asian-themed one. Firefly could feel his mouth watering once again at the prospect of the spicy Thai food. "We have so got to get a hot pot..." Firefly thought outloud. Then Firefly wondered if Lou would be okay sharing a meal, since hot pot's were usually for friends, lovers, co-workers, or familes, although Firefly hoped he and Lou would be lovers soon....wait...NO! Firefly mentally slapped himself. Friends...I hope we'll be friends soon...gah...what am I even thinking about?!
Firefly's face flushed again...honestly, why did he get embaressed to easily? And why had he thought the wrong word in the first place? So many questions started flying around Firefly's head, it made him feel a little dizzy, as he wasn't used to processing so much at once...
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Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2007 11:56 am
"Oh, definitely!" Lou replied, completely unaware of the thoughts going through Firefly's head. He was much too busy thinking about the food they'd have, how delicious it was... oh, and nutritious, too. No wonder the place was usually full, they might even need to wait for a table. But he didn't mind. "Yes, let's get one and share. Would you mind sharing with me, Firefly?"
He gave the other male a wide smile, his trademark move that totally said "I'm making this cute face just for you, so you can't back out!". It had proven to be quite effective in most situations, so why not in this one?
A waiter peeked out at the line of people that stood outside the door. One, two, three... five in total, counting the two newly arrived males. His hand rose to signal waiting time, approximately. Fifteen minutes? Not bad, Lou thought, using his hand to brush a messy strand of hair away from his face. Fifteen minutes wouldn't be too hard to endure with company.
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Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2007 12:13 am
It took Firefly a moment to snap out of his thoughts and catch all of what Lou had said. He faltered a bit replying, "Ah...eh, yes. I mean, No! I wouldn't mind...sharing with you that is." He laughed feebly. "I was...kinda thinking about the same thing, actually." Obviously he wasn't going to talk about what else he'd been thinking, it was awkward enough as it was.
After the waiter signaled the wait time, Firefly looked around for an open chair or bench to sit on while they waited. There was one empty chair, a nice cushy seat in the waiting area for the resturant; or farther back in to the food court were a bunch of plastic tables and chairs. Either way, he was a bit anxious to rest his arms from the load he was carrying.
"Do you wanna sit?" He jerked his head in the direction of the cushy chair. "I don't mind standing." He smiled his gentlemanly smile. Even if he wasn't sitting, he could still set down the packages while they waited, and he'd like Lou to be comfortable during the wait time.
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Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2007 4:41 pm
"... shouldn't you be the one sitting? You're the one carrying all those packages..." though they weren't all that heavy individually, carrying them all at once could prove to be a bit of a pain after a while. But then, he'd given him such a nice, sweet smile... it would be rude to refuse the offer. Brushing that annoying strand from his face, he took the offered seat and stretched out his arms to take a couple of the packages to place them on his lap. There, much better! Perhaps Firefly would complain, but he'd play deaf ears. Courtesy had to come and go, after all.
Once he was comfortable, he looked up at his companion with a smile. "So, Firefly... what do you to do for a living?" He figured since they were eating together and everything, that was the perfect excuse to find out more about the man. Ohh, he'd have so much to tell both his classmates and co-workers. So they thought special encounters only belonged in novels, did they? Hah! What a delight it'd be to prove them wrong! His lips curled further at this particular thought, as his eyes scanned the other man's face once more. It was still bruised, of course, but he seemed to be a lot more relaxed now - which was good. Maybe later on, he'd accept an ice pack for his cheek...
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