...Note: Exerpts of this post not pertaining to Ricky Callahan have been removed to ensure a more convenient reading experience. Thank you...
Original Topic Name: Cheer Practice
Location: Franklyn Senior High
The baseball boys had also finished up their practice for the evening, and a select few were currently standing at the edge of the field, watching the ongoing antics of Lexie Williams and her companions. Ricky Callahan, who had just recently moved to New Jersey from Montana, was one of these players. As he overheard the duo of baseball boys talking about the girls in the convertible, he couldn't help but edge closer, curious as to what they were saying. All of a sudden, Ricky felt a thud on his shoulder and saw a grin cross the face of one of the boys.
"There ya go, man. Lexie Williams," he said with a wide grin, referring to the brunette currently in the middle of a seizure-like dance in the passenger's seat of the car.
The dark-skinned boy couldn't help but laugh nervously at the comment his companion had just made, and despite himself, his eyes wandered over to where the brunette was sitting.
"No kidding bro. At least with her, ya know you won't have to work for it. I heard she gives it up on the first date. It's all a matter of convenience. Why work for something when you can get it for free somewhere else? And I'm tellin' ya, with THAT girl, gettin' it for free's a piece of cake."
A stupid grin crossed Ricky's face as his companion made the crude remark, but somewhere inside, the comment actually sort of bothered him. I wonder if that girl knows they talk about her like that...
"Cake?" the other one chimed in, a grin crossing his features as well, "Nah, I'd say more like cherry pie. Freshly baked cherry pie."
The two erupted in laughter and high-fived one another, and almost as if on cue, Ricky chimed in laughing as well. Honestly, though, he didn't find the comment funny. But, when in Rome, right? Besides, he didn't know that girl, and truth be told, he wasn't the slightest bit interested. Especially if what his companions had been saying about her was true. Instead, Ricky's eyes wandered over to the blonde-haired girl sitting in the driver's seat of the Mustang, and a faint one-sided grin showed up on his face. One of the two seemed to notice and a grimace showed up on his features before he began shaking his head.
"You can forget about that one, dude," he muttered.
As if taken aback by the remark, Ricky's attention broke from the group at the locker rooms and turned back toward his friends, an inquisitive expression now plastered across his features. He didn't want to have to ask a stupid question... and surprisingly, he didn't have to. His friend seemed to catch onto his thoughts, and went on to further explain the statement.
"She's fuckin' untouchable."
The second baseball boy took off his hat, revealing a bright orange mess of hair, and spit in the opposite direction before deciding to chime in on the conversation once again.
"She's uptight," the latter muttered after a moment, "And her dad's a freak on top of it. Ya know, the kind who seriously answers the door with a shotgun. Only guy who's ever even been close enough to have a chance to hit that's been Sorenson, and we're all pretty sure he's gay."
At that remark the first boy laughed so hard he actually snorted, and once again Ricky found himself laughing as well. In all actuality, Ricky Callahan didn't know too much about Sam Sorenson, but from what he did know, Sam was actually a pretty decent guy. Then again, his friends didn't seem to like him, so, what did he know?
"But yeah man," the second boy continued, as if ready to conclude his speech, "THAT girl... she's not worth the trouble. Way too many hurdles, if you know what I mean. Then again, I'm willing to bet the reward'd be pretty sweet. You're better off goin' for Lexie, least then you can avoid doing circus tricks for nothin', ya know?"
"Ah..." Ricky muttered quietly.
Adjusting his ball cap so it shaded his eyes, he cast one final glance toward the duo in the convertible, then turned back to his friends as they started to walk off in the opposite direction. Hurridly trailing behind them, Ricky barely overheard the redheaded boy make an inquiry concerning someone named Andy Edwards and a party he was supposed to be throwing. Apparently, this kid threw some pretty wild parties. The thought piqued Ricky's interest, and he'd soon forgotten about the awkward conversation he and the other two had just had concerning the cheerleader girls.
(Continued in http://s10.DEFUNCT_IF_LINK/SurvivalOfTheF...showtopic=946.)
Ricky Callahan
Ricky Callahan
This is an archival account used by staff to port posts belonging to the handler Megami. While this handler hasn't been around in quite a while, should they return and wish to take custody of this account and/or its posts, they are welcome to do so by contacting staff.
Original Post Title: "A Lone Soul at the Bar and Grill"
Location: Benson's Bar and Grill
Posted by: Megami Jun 13 2006, 10:17 PM
((Ricky continued from: http://z10.DEFUNCT_IF_LINK/SurvivalOfTheF...showtopic=891))
As Ricky Callahan stepped through the doors to the small bar and grill that was somewhat of a local hangout, his eyes travelled across the interior of the building and he immediately noticed her. A faint smile crossed his lips and he almost contemplated walking over to say hello. Instead, he immediately saw the companion she had in the form of Matthias Kovalenko. Sam Sorenson, Ricky could handle. Sam seemed like kind of a girly guy anyway. Matthias was another story, however.
He'd always sort of seemed strange. Sarcastic, cynical, and a complete train-wreck when it came to that little sister of his. Ricky never quite understood that, he didn't worry about his little brother. He could handle himself, right? Then again, Ricky had heard the stories about Matthias. Kids say nasty things, stories get twisted around. Despite that... from what he'd heard, Matthias Kovalenko was quite the weirdo. Why would Whitney Acosta of all people hang out with someone like that?.
Whatever.
It seemed almost stupid to get jealous over her being with some other guy, it wasn't as if Ricky ever really spoke to her anyway. He never had the chance. She was always surrounded by people... people like that loud-mouthed Williams girl and Sorenson. It made her seem... unapproachable, maybe? Well that and the fact that his friends would probably nag him to no end for even talking to her, especially after everything he'd been "forewarned" about. Ricky was immediately thrown back to reality at the sound of his friend's nagging voice.
"Dude, what the hell's your problem? You gonna come back from outer space anytime soon so I can get a damned hamburger?"
"Huh?"
It took the hispanic boy a moment to come back from his reverie and return to the real world, but when he did he simply shrugged his shoulders and motioned for his friend to stand in the line to order. Watching his friend eyeball the menu like it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen, Ricky couldn't help but fade back into his own little world. Who would've ever thought that Matthias Kovalenko of all people would be having lunch with Whitney Acosta? Either way, that's certainly what it looked like from Ricky's point of view.
Posted by: LadyMakaze Jun 14 2006, 01:31 PM
Matthias tilted his head to one side in slight confusion as Whitney suddenly began staring at him in a rather scrutinizing manner, feeling only vaguely daunted at being studied at so closely by a girl. He observed her as she observed him, subconsciously deciding that she didn't look half bad, actually. She was quite cute, a pretty face and all. He smiled with hidden incredulity at this thought, and laughed, nudging a finger against the spot on his head where she had pointed at.
He tugged at a brown lock of hair. "Aw, man...that makes the third one I've found all year. Sure hope my memory stays intact by the time they get here." He smiled warmly at her, before tilting his head towards the direction of her gaze. From where he was sitting, he could see Kurai, Sorenson, and Lexie where he was sitting, recognizing them immediately as his fellow classmates. It seemed as though they were up and about getting their lunch before finding a table, most likely they had come with Whitney.
"Brought your friends along with you, huh?" Matthias asked her. "Well that's nice, proves your social life over my lack thereof." He shrugged apologetically and laughed a bit. However, Matthias noticed that her attention had suddenly turned elsewhere, towards something that seemed to make her turn somewhat warm and red in the face before she looked away, as though pretending not to have seen anything. Not buying it, Matthias turned his head, having to lean his elbow against the chair in order to see a full 180 degrees behind him.
Matthias raised an eyebrow slightly at the sight of Ricky Callahan entering the restaurant, unmistakeable amongst the rest of the patrons. He frowned slightly, knowing fully well from observation how pompous Callahan could to others, especially in the pre
sence of his fellow teammates. He wasn't a bad guy, Matthias thought to himself, shrugging as he glanced towards Whitney. Just the fact that the attitude he put up seemed more like a front of confidence more than anything, superficial like his good looks.
Matthias remembered the way Whitney had blushed and turned away at the sight of Callahan, drawing up conclusions of his own, but saying nothing. Instead, he smiled and asked her with a subtle wryness in his tone, "Callahan another friend of yours?"
For the sake of not making Whitney uncomfortable, he decided to quickly change the subject. He crossed his arms in contemplation over her question and rested his elbows on the empty table. "Not too often, I'm in jazz band and the school choir, which demands afterschool practice both routinal and overtime. Also, my sis is in this school-sponsored environmental and global issues club, along with the softball team. I'm the one to walk her home, so I don't have much time for outings."
He smiled, not regretfully, but still sadly at this confession. He noted Andie Colvin, also from Franklin, though he didn't know her that well. As she passed by, he waved to her casually as she walked passed, greeting them shyly. Truthfully, he never knew that she worked here. He continued, refocusing on Whitney. "A shame though, this is rather a nice place, not to far from the school either. Where I live is a ways far off though, all the way in the next district, another reason why I rarely come here."
His musings were interrupted abruptly by the sound of his ringtone, a Vivaldi ritornello of some sort, typical of a nerd, Matthias thought with slight embarrassment. He withdrew his cellphone from his pocket, smiling an apology to Whitney. "'Scuse me for a moment." He flipped it open and held it to his ear.
"Hello? ...Oy, Dad, are you even coming to get me, or are you still at the restaurant?" He shook his head incredulously, then suddenly blinked in surprise before groaning in exasperation. "...Not again! Man, I hope you're insured. Mom is going to kill you for trashing her jeep again."
He paused, before sighing and rolling his eyes again. "...what do you mean, JUST the garage door? ....And what am I supposed to do now? ....No way! Do you know how much a taxi costs to get to the next district? .....Okay, okay, nevermind. I'll think of something. .....Yeah, I'll be alright, don't worry about me. ...yeah, I'll take Jodeen with me, think she's still at softball practice. ...'kay, see you. Bye."
With an exasperated mutter, he repocketed his cellphone and shook his head towards Whitney, smiling apologetically at her. "Sorry about that, Dad called to say he punched a hole through our garage door, and the tire got shredded or whatever..." He sighed at leaned back against his chair.
"But that's fine for him, he just has to make sure he gets the thing replaced before Mom finds out, I think I might have to hitch a ride home or something..."
Posted by: MooCow Jun 16 2006, 12:18 AM
As Andie carefully manuevered her territory the stress of so many customers began to grate on her nerves.
"Miss this steak is medium rare," a woman at a table which Andie was not waiting on stated irritably, stopping her, "I ordered my steak medium! First my husbands soup is cold, then we wait an hour for our meal! I demand to speak to the manager."
Andie stepped back nervously, "umm... well miss."
"Don't say 'umm'," the woman hissed rudely.
Andie couldn't believe the nerve of this woman. She hadn't even been waiting on these people.
"Can I help you ma'am?" a voice said from behind Andie.
It was Fritz the manager. Andie heaved a sigh of relief.
"Andie carry on," he said shortly and began to make negotiations with the woman... he'd probably offer her a free dessert or something.
Andie turned and made her way towards her destination, a refill of soda in her hands. Flustered from her dealings with the angry customers she failed to notice the 'WET FLOOR' sign. Needless to say Andie Colvin slipped, the Diet Coke glass flying from her hand and drenching a nearby denizen of Benson's Bar & Grill in cola.
Getting up Andie groaned inside and hurriedly apologized, "I'm so sorry!"
To her horror she realized that the person she had drenched in the sticky liquid was a familiar face, None other than that of Whitney Acosta.
Posted by: Megami Jun 16 2006, 12:46 AM
Unfortunately for Whitney, her acting wasn't exactly top-notch, and it was apparent as Matthias seemed to catch on to her sudden change in mannerisms upon the entrance of Ricky Callahan. As he inquired gently about the guy, Whitney simply shrugged her shoulders, not so willing to divuldge that "secret" to someone she didn't know very well. Instead, she simply cast him a smile and nodded lightly.
"Something like that..."
As Matthias's cell phone rang, Whitney couldn't help but stifle a giggle at the conversation that proceeded to follow him answering. Smiling somewhat, the blonde mused over the one-sided ongoings she could hear over the phone call, finding it all rather amusing. As Matthias hung up the phone with an exasperated look on his face and proceeded to state what had happened, Whitney found herself laughing at the entire matter.
"You know..." she stated thoughtfully after a moment, "I can give you a ride home... if you want. I'll have to take them back to the school anyway when we head home, won't be a big deal to grab Jodeen along the way. I mean, like I said, if you want."
The fair-haired girl had virtually just finished her sentence when out of the corner of her eye she saw the waitress girl she barely knew as Andie Colvin slip and fall on the wet floor of the restaurant. Had Whitney had the reflexes to do so, she would've helped the girl. Instead, she simply looked on as the diet drink the girl was holding went flying from her hand and sprayed her in a sea of caffeine. Whitney held her arms out in a mixture of disgust, embarrassment, and surprise as she was coated in the sticky liquid.
Quickly jumping out of her seat, Whitney slowly looked down to see that indeed, she was completely covered in the sticky mess. She could hear the other girl apologizing profusely in the back of her mind, though it barely registered to Whitney. Instead she cast a glance to Matthias, to her friends who had stopped to stare in awe, and even a one of absolute horror to the guy of her dreams, who just happened to be standing there watching the entire thing. How embarrassing.
"I... It's fine."
That was all she could manage to say to the waitress. Part of Whitney honestly wanted to punch the girl in the face. She was outraged by the entire atrocity. Part of her knew it was just an accident, but she couldn't help but wonder in the back of her mind if perhaps Andie Colvin had dumped the soda on her on purpose. Girls like Andie... they tended to be jealous of Whitney. She saw it on a regular basis. Maybe this girl was just another one of them. Letting the negative thoughts slip out of her mind, Whitney looked down at her soda-drenched outfit once again and sighed.
What now?
Whitney Acosta simply continued to stand there, embarrassed to no end by the situation that had just occurred and unsure of how to handle it. Maybe she should just leave? Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the manager staring over there. Honestly, she didn't want the restaurant manager to come over and make a big scene of things. It was just an accident after all, right?
Posted by: MooCow Jun 16 2006, 09:47 AM
Flushing crimson Andie knew it wasn't 'fine'. She had embaressed one of the most popular people at her school in a public place. Not that Andie gave a shit about popularity. She was fairly popular herself being on friendly terms with most.
"Let me help you get cleaned up Whitney," Andie suggested, "I've got my break anyway. I'm so sorry."
Posted by: Megami Jun 20 2006, 08:51 PM
(OOC: I'd planned on waiting for Maka but... mahh, no posts for 4 days make me nervous.)
"No, really, it's fine," Whitney started, "...Really. It's... it's just a little soda, right?"
Mustering the friendliest smile she could, Whitney cast it toward Andie, feeling just as bad for the waitress as she did for herself. Sure, she was drenched in soda, and sure, the guy she liked had probably witnessed the entire ordeal, but it could be worse, right? She could be Andie. It could be her boss standing there with a glare contorting his features because of the incident that had just occurred.
Shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly, Whitney excused herself from the table she had occupied with Matthias Kovalenko and proceeded to escort herself into the nearby women's restroom. The door to the bathroom creaked open, illuminating the stalls in a pale glow. Making her way to the row of sinks, Whitney did a quick once over of herself in the mirror. It really wasn't all that bad. Yeah, she had a gigantic wet blotch covering her shirt and a good portion of her lap, but what can you do?
After a moment, Whitney reluctantly turned the water on and grabbed a handful of paper towels from the dispenser. After soaking the towels in the water, she proceeded to attempt to blot the coke spill clean. Finding some success, Whitney smiled to herself. However, the fact remained that there was still a wet spot covering the better part of her mid-section. Sighing irritatedly, Whitney held her head in her hands and stared at the reflection looking back at her in the mirror.
What a nightmare...
***
Somewhere between ordering lunch and the events that had recently unfolded, the frizzy-haired baseball player Ricky had been accompanying to the dinner (Eric) had instructed Ricky to find them a seat, and he had inconspicuously seated himself almost within hearing range of the table being occupied by Whitney and Matthias. It wasn't like Ricky made it a habit of eavesdropping on other people's conversations, but something about the couple didn't sit right with him, and he was curious as to what would inspire the two to have lunch together.
Pretending he hadn't noticed either of them, Ricky stared ahead at the other residents of the bar, awaiting Eric's return and fading back into his own world... at least until Andie Colvin proceeded to trip and douse the blonde-haired girl he'd been listening in on in a sea of Coca-Cola. He was taken aback by the incident and found himself just sitting there, an astounded expression on his face. Suddenly he was in an odd predicament. He could be a gentleman and offer to help her, then probably have to put up with Eric later because of it. He could laugh, which was more than likely what his friend would do, and lose any points he had gained in her book, or he could continue to sit there and stare like an idiot.
Ricky opted for the latter. Looking on in awe as the two girls had a rather tense moment, Ricky could hear footsteps approaching the table, followed by the laughter of his companion. Apparently he'd been right, and Eric seemed to find the situation hysterical. The redheaded boy cackled out loud as the blonde girl took off toward the restroom. Suddenly, a sly smile went over his lips and he kicked Ricky to get his attention.
"Man, that was great! Looks like you got to see more than me though, dude, that sucks. It looked like a wet t-shirt contest going on over here! I hope she kicks Andie's ass, I'd love to see a catfight. That'd be fuckin' hot."
Yet again, Ricky found himself divided. He was honestly pretty repulsed by what his friend had just stated, he didn't think of women as objects for his amusement. Not usually, anyway. Not when he wasn't around his friends. Inwardly, he wanted to stand up for the girl he liked, tell his friend to stop being an asshole, tell him to grow up and act like a man.
"Heh... yeah."
Posted by: LadyMakaze Jun 22 2006, 07:56 PM
Matthias' dark eyes lit up at Whitney's suggestion that she give him a ride home. Leaning an elbow along the table, he asked, "Really? It won't be any trouble at all?"
A wave of relief swept over him as he smiled with gratitude towards her. "That'll be great, Whitney, you don't have to drive all the way to our place you know? It's a ways far off, so you could drop us someplace where we could walk all the way back. And here's hoping that Jodeen will show up real soon-"
The sight of Andie Colvin slipping over on the wet floor came into view as Matthias was abruptly cut short by the splashing sound of flying coke. Indeed, the brown mass of liquid effectively drenched practically the entirety of Whitney's form, staining her clothes and hair in a brown, sticky mess. Matthias could do nothing else but blink and stare at the rather embarrassing situation that had just unfolded. Andie, who had accidentally thrown the drink all over Whitney, was apologizing profusely while Whitney looked on in red-hot shame and disgust.
"Oy..." Matthias' voice stammered weakly, as he stood up, thinking that he ought to help out a bit. But as the shirt doused with coke darkened into blatant transparency, Matthias blinked again, and turned a subtle shade of red. Immediately, he turned away, looking equally embarrassed as he covered his face with a hand. Looking sidelong towards Whitney, trying to look only towards her face, he muttered awkwardly, "Better be cleaning up a bit there..."
Then again, if he was embarrassed....Matthias started to imagine how Whitney must feel, given her current state in the middle of this public environment, in front of so many people she knew from school. Trying to be helpful, he reassured them, "I'll help clean up here, you two go on."
As Whitney Acosta retreated, dripping, into the nearest ladies' room, with Andie in full pursuit, Matthias quickly bypassed the area of wet floor that Andie had slipped on and made his way to the counter, where a napkin dispenser was sitting. Taking the liberty to grab a handful of dry, clean napkins, he made his way back to his table and began wiping it down, first the table surface, then Whitney's seat, both drenched in coke.
He had started cleaning up the floor when his ears suddenly filled with the snickers and hysterical laughter coming from table not too far off. The circular movements of Matthias' arm as he wiped down the floor stopped short as though suddenly frozen, his eyes narrowed slightly as a frown replaced his usually easygoing and good-natured expression.
Demurely, he stood up, ever carefully, at first looking as though he had not heard a word from the group. Then, resting a hand upon the damp table and leaning over a bit, he cast a sidelong glance of disdain towards the group of schoolmates that had made fun of Whitney. Matthias also noted with interest that Ricky Callahan was among them, though he gave no hint that he had noticed Ricky in particular.
"It must be nice, being able to make fun of others without realizing how hurt or embarrassed they might be," he told them in a voice that was casual, yet subtly scathing, making sure that all of them heard his every word perfectly. "Glad to see that you're so amused."
Turning back to his cleaning, he noticed that some of the coke had splattered onto his saxophone case, now sitting in a puddle of coke. He made an irritated noise with his tongue, after all the money and time he had spent getting this repaired, getting it stained with coke was the last thing he needed. Worried, he began to quickly wipe down the outside of the case, making sure it was free from stain. Once that was done, he immediately opened the case, which was in no way water proof, to inspect the well-being of the contents.
Luckily it seemed that little of the coke had made its way inside. Matthias looked over the contents of the saxophone case, his prized alto saxophone, unassembled and neatly lain in the interior of the case, along with basic care equipment, cork grease and polishing cloth. Nevertheless, he set the entire case along the table and began wiping a bit of the inside of the case. Occasionally he cast a glance between the washroom, in case Whitney came out, and the windor, in case Jodeen had finally decided to show up.
Posted by: Megami Jun 22 2006, 09:39 PM
Eric Silvstedt, a.k.a. #17 on Franklyn Senior High School's baseball team, raised his eyebrows in irritation as he was all but scolded by the student who was sitting a few tables away from him. Pushing his chair back and rising to his feet, Eric cast the brown-haired boy an evil glare before looking back at Ricky and motioning for him to follow en suite. Ricky simply cast his companion a questioning glance, but stood up and followed quietly as Eric strode over to the table Matthias was located at.
"You got a problem?" Eric all but shouted, causing a few disgruntled stares from the restaurants other patriots.
"Dude..." Ricky chimed in quietly, "Don't start anything, this isn't the place."
Completely ignoring the hispanic boy's warning, Eric took another step toward the table and placed his hands at the corner, looking Matthias directly in the eye. One thing the majority of the baseball team, as well as probably the rest of the school, knew about Eric Silvstedt was that he had a very, very bad temper. Ricky cowered behind, his mouth somewhat agape, as he watched his friend's immature display of behavior.
"I asked you a question, pansy-fuck. You got a fucking problem or not?"
"Hey Eric, chill out man," Ricky once again interrupted, only to once again be completely and totally ignored by the redhead.
In one fell swoop, the redhead's hand went flying toward Matthias's saxophone case, and in an instant, the open case and all its contents went flying onto the floor, most of the pieces flying out of the case upon impact. A large grin spread across Eric's face as he took another step toward Matthias. Meanwhile, all Ricky could do in the background was hold his hand up in the air and give an apologetic look to Matthias.
Fucking chad.
The thought ran through Eric's mind as he looked at Matthias and he once again smiled, looking down the few inches that divided him from the physically shorter Matthias. If only to put icing on the cake, Eric's foot almost immediately collided with the brown-haired boy's saxophone case once again, this time sending it jumping up in the air upon impact.
"I think we outta fix that problem of yours," Eric mused.
"Eric, seriously man, enough," Ricky spoke up, this time a little louder.
Spinning around momentarily, Eric cast Ricky a hateful glare before shaking his head and glancing back toward Matthias.
"You got a problem too?" he asked nonchalantly, as though he wouldn't think twice about turning on Ricky if the need arose.
"No, no. Just... we don't need to do this here, right?"
"Heh," was all Eric mustered as he looked back toward Matthias once again, as though contemplating his next course of action. He had all but destroyed Matthias's newly renovated saxophone, and all over Matthias reprimanding him for his actions concerning Whitney. Ricky could only look on forelornly, knowing he was completely powerless to do anything to stop Eric's antics.
"You wanna go, little man?" Eric inquired angrily, "You wanna take this outside?"
Posted by: LadyMakaze Jun 22 2006, 11:38 PM
For the moment being, Matthias had all but forgotten all about the boys sitting together only a few tables away, focusing all his attention onto his prized alto saxophone, making sure that it had not suffered any damage from the coke spillage. Luckily it seemed to be in the same condition as it had been when he'd finished getting it repaired: absolutely no less than perfect. He took a moment to admire it for a moment, fighting the urge to whisk it out and reassemble it, and break into sonorous melo-
Matthias felt his hackles raise slightly as he felt the presence of the two boys, Ricky Callahan and Eric Silvstedt drawing nearer in deliberate strides. He regarded them both with a look of caution and nonchalance, then found himself meeting Eric straight in the eye as the taller boy boldly leaned on his table. Not at all fazed by Eric's scathing remark towards him, nor impressed by his brazenness, Matthias held his gaze, evenly looking straight into Eric's eyes but saying nothing.
Though Matthias expression was stoic and emotionless, inside he felt deeply irritated by the nerve of this boy, one Eric Silvstedt. He cast a brief look of disdain towards Callahan, who was not at all liking how this situation was unfolding, but was remaining passive and compliant to Eric's whims.
Matthias opened his mouth to speak, about to tell Eric politely to leave him in peace and to get his greasy hands off the table he had just cleaned. However, he was interrupted as his eyes caught the moving blur that was Eric's arm as he swept the saxophone case, along with the contents within, clean off the surface of the table and into the air.
Matthias could only stare silently, his gaze cold and frozen, as the contents came lose and went flying in a crashing mess across the floor, the ugly sound of brass hitting against the tiled floor in a jangled chorus. Immediately, Matthias stood up, nearly knocking his chair over for all his abrupt movements, and suddenly he found himself face to face with Eric, standing a good number of inches taller than Matthias himself with a shameless grin. Matthias lifted his chin up slightly, staring back coldly into Eric's eyes. All his easygoing manner, all his casual, good-natured, and good-humoured expression and mannerisms had dissolved into the stoic young man standing aloof in front of Eric and Ricky with a look of pure contempt.
Still saying nothing, Matthias watched with a look of eerie calmness as Eric gave his fallen saxophone case a hard kick, sending it into the air before it skittered away a few feet. Matthias could see the mouthpiece that had just fallen from it, landing hard against the tiled floor with a light, solitary 'clack' before rolling away.
Matthias immediately fell to his knees and began to recollect the scattered componants of his precious alto saxophone, the one he had been given two years ago from a teacher who used to lead the jazz band....before he moved away to Portland a ways off. Though his face remained as hard and emotionless as stone, his heart stung as he surveyed the damage done to each componant as he took hold of them.
The conditions were worse than he had expected. The neck, delicately shaped and only just newly repaired, was in worse shape than it had been before, its tuning mechanism broken and ruined. The mouthpiece only suffered a few scratches, along with a slightly bent ligature. And then, Matthias cradled the body of the saxophone in his hands, examining it thoroughly using both sight and touch.
The keys were jammed. Those that were still functional were bent out of place, and no longer fit. Matthias' heart sank. The body of his precious instrument was ruined. Repair would cost twice....possibly four times as more than he had spent just to repair the neck. And even if it were to be repaired, the sound that it would produce....
Silently, Matthias ran his finger along the bell of the saxophone, now bent and flawed from the horrible impact it had been dealt having fallen to the floor. Carefully, despite the shape it was in now, he laid it among the rest of its fellow componants inside the saxophone case.
Closing it, he slowly rose to his feet, meeting Eric with a cold, steely gaze, though this time, his contempt and anger was quite clear, though contained. He broke into a smile, one that was eerily good-natured and calm.
"Very perceptive," he remarked coolly. "I guess you realized that there was now way I'd let you get off lightly after doing what you did."
He heaved the saxophone case onto his shoulder, reaching into his pocket and leaving a ten dollar bill on the table, more than enough to satisfy the bill for the margarita he had ordered earlier.
He nodded towards Eric. "After you."
Posted by: Megami Jun 23 2006, 02:41 AM
An eerie silence had accumulated on the interior of Benson's Bar and Grill as many of the patrons watched the ongoing confrontation between Eric Silvstedt and Matthias Kovalenko. Ricky Callahan happened to be one of those patrons. His pleas with Eric had gone completely unheeded, with Eric even turning on him for a point due to his attempt to intercept the quickly brewing fight. Ricky could only look on in shock and a little bit of embarrassment as his companion continued to harrass his fellow classmate.
This can't look good on me...
Despite the thought, Ricky did nothing. As the two young men stood face-to-face, Ricky only felt a sense of foreboding. Whatever the outcome of this battle, it was not going to end well for either party. He looked on as the frizzy-haired Eric Silvstedt flashed a toothy grin to Matthias as he accepted his challenge.
"No, really," Eric stated wryly as he pulled the door open and ushered Matthias outside, "I insist, ladies first."
The hispanic boy couldn't help but roll his eyes at his friend's almost childlike remark. However, despite how immature Eric was being, there was nothing childish about what was about to happen outside of the bar. Somebody was about to be seriously hurt, and Ricky inwardly hoped that it wouldn't be Matthias. After all, he'd done nothing wrong. Eric had flipped out on him for standing up for the girl that Ricky didn't have the balls to.
The patrons that had been occupying the restaurant were slowly starting to line up against the glass windows of the restaurant lobby, all waiting in anticipation of the oncoming fight. So, what now? Ricky was almost positive that Eric wanted him to help take Matthias out, but that was way past drawing the line for the dark-haired boy. He wouldn't help Eric fight Matthias, he knew that much. Two-on-one, it just wasn't right. Not to mention, Eric was the one who had picked the fight in the first place.
As Ricky reluctantly pushed open the door to the outside of the restaurant, a sinking feeling made its way into his stomache. Yet again, Ricky Callahan found himself in a lose-lose situation. He saw no reason Matthias should be beaten up for standing up for a friend. In the same respect, he didn't really want to see his friend injured. Besides that, if Matthias beat Eric, Eric would certainly expect Ricky to jump in, right? Sighing loudly, Ricky leaned against the wall of the building and watched with a bit of interest as Eric circled the smaller boy.
"I'm gonna do to you what I did to that saxophone," Eric mused.
Not waiting for a reaction, Eric suddenly lashed out, causing a few of the patrons leaning into the windows to jump back in surprise and causing Ricky to scowl slightly as Eric's fist went flying toward Matthias's face in an almost cheap shot and depserate attempt at a first blow. As Eric attempted to hit the younger boy, it finally clicked in Ricky's mind that Eric Silvstedt wasn't playing around, that he really meant business... over such a trivial, stupid incident.
Posted by: MooCow Jun 23 2006, 07:49 AM
Andie looked on as Eric began to pick a fight with Matthias.
What a jerk... if I haven't already lost my job, I'm definately losing it for this...
"Leave him alone Eric," Andie said as she exited Benson's and glaring at the baseball jock. Andie had been notorious back in their sophomore year for getting into fights but it had been quite a while since she'd thrown in her hat and vowed never to stir up trouble again at risk of expulsion. It appeared she may be coming out of retirement in the minutes that followed though. In fact Andie had been in a physical squabble with Eric in the past although they had both kicked eachother's asses so bad it had been inconcise who came out for the better...
Time for a rematch.
Only this time she just had Matthias's back. Still she figured it was a pretty even match regardless of the numbers... unless Ricky got involved. Andie forced herself to look confident.
Posted by: LadyMakaze Jun 23 2006, 12:11 PM
Matthias looked on silently as Eric opened the door, inviting him to go first with a rather childish remark. At this, Matthias raised his eyebrow at the utter nerve of this guy. For all that he had heard about Eric, 17th in the baseball team, Matthias never thought that he'd be this brazen, nor as immature or impetuous. Inwardly, he sighed and looked about, feeling all eyes upon him and Eric as the patrons and staff looked on in apprehension at the brawl that was about to occur. Not at all what Matthias wanted in the first place, but it couldn't be helped now.
After all, there was no way Matthias could let Eric go for what he had just done. As he thought of the saxophone lying ruined inside of its case, he gritted his teeth, fighting to stay calm. With one hand hefting the saxophone case over his shoulder, he placed the other hand in his pocket, and casually strode out the door without casting so much of a glance towards the gloating Eric.
He did, however, spare a glance towards the apprehensive Ricky Callahan, noting quite clearly the look of worry and uncertainty in the Hispanic boy's face. Matthias locked eyes with him for one piercing moment, looking as though he was accusing the boy for all his passivity. Only a split-second later did Matthias break his stare and looked forward again, shaking his head slightly in what seemed to be disappointment and contempt.
Don't tell me that this is the guy Whitney likes.
Speaking of which, Matthias looked about over his shoulder to see if Whitney was out and about from her trip to the Ladies' room. Matthias personally hoped, as much as he found Ricky's compliance cowardly, that Callahan would just stay out of this. After all, it was between Eric and himself, and he would hate to see Whitney's reaction if Callahan got involved.
He walked out into the open promenade, ready to face his opponent, and in his distraction over the thoughts of Whitney and Ricky, he almost failed completely to notice that Eric had taken to attacking him as soon as the two had stepped out, no doubt eager to deal the first blow in this all-out brawl.
Reacting almost a split-second too late, Matthias turned his shoulder, moving his head back as he did so. The streaking blur that was Eric's arm swung in full force towards him, catching Matthias as he attempted to dodge the cheap and cowardly blow.
Eric's fist grazed ever so lightly against the edge of his cheek bone as it went past, nowhere near enough to make Matthias stagger back, but all the same it left a smarting red mark against the side of his face. Matthias could feel it burning hot and stinging lightly from the moderate impact. Stepping back slightly to steady himself, Matthias lifted his face and gazed calmly into Eric's eyes, shaking his head slightly. Of all things...he should have known that someone like Eric would resort to something this childish, this cowardly. This new knowledge only hardened Matthias' resolve.
"It's alright, Andie," Matthias calmly spoke to his schoolmate who had come to watch, for he had sensed her urge to get involved in this fight. "This is between Silvstedt and me, we're just working out our differences."
Never taking his off of Eric, Matthias carefully set his saxophone case to the side. The hand that had rested inside his pocket pulled itself out to withdraw a pair of black, leather gloves. These he often found eased his hands from strain while drumming, and had other uses as well. Turns out this case would be another useful point to the list.
In a calm manner, he slid both gloves over his callused hands, pulling both of them over his wrists so that they fit snugly over his fingers as he flexed them. Despite his serene manner, he was personally wondering whether or not doing this was a good idea after all. He hadn't taken aikido for a while, and his judo skills weren't quite up to par as he'd like...but at least that was better than nothing. In any case, it wasn't as though he would be able to back down now.
With the image of his broken saxophone in mind, he let out a confident smirk towards Eric. Making an inviting gesture with his hands, as if to say, "Bring it.", he began circling Eric in relaxed, walking movements.
Posted by: Megami Jun 23 2006, 01:48 PM
As Silvstedt's fist connected with Matthias's face, a small grin spread across his lips. Upon noticing the impact had been much lighter than was intended, however, Eric let out a 'tsk' and spat on the ground before the smile once again returned to his face. Looking on in mild amusement, he watched as the physically smaller boy brandished a pair of gloves from inside his pockets and slid them on his fingers. Eric couldn't help but laugh aloud at the gesture, it was quite amusing from his perspective.
Who the hell does this kid think he is anyway, Michael Jackson? What good are those gonna do him when I beat him to a bloody pulp?
As Andie Colvin exited the dinner, Eric caught her out of the corner of his eye, and an audible sigh escaped his lips, more one of annoyance than anything else. Normally, Eric drew the line at hitting a girl. Andie was an exception. They'd been in a brawl not too long ago, and she'd nearly handed him his ass, not that he'd ever admit that to anyone else. What would they think of someone like him being beaten up by a girl? If you could even call her that.
Ricky Callahan hadn't breathed a word since that moment he had locked eyes with Matthias Kovalenko, and the look he had given him had almost sent a chill down his spine. Now, as Andie too made her prescence felt, Ricky could only shake his head in what could best be described as aggravation. Eric would have no qualms about taking out Andie either, Ricky knew that much.
After a stand-offish moment of looking at Andie, Eric turned back to his companion for an instant and nodded to the girl who had made an appearance, his face contorted into a frustrated glare. Sure, he'd expected Ricky to jump in if Matthias handed him his ass, which he somehow highly doubted, but this girl... she had no right to step in to this fight, no right to stand up for this pussy.
"Callahan, if you're gonna stand around, why don't you make yourself useful and get this bitch outta here?"
While the comment would've upset many another student, Ricky was breathing an internal sigh of relief at his latest order. Of course, he hoped Eric didn't mean for him to fight the other girl, that was where Ricky drew the line. It wasn't happening. Instead, Ricky made his way over to where Andie was standing, his arm wrapping around her shoulder lightly in an attempt to steer her away from the fight.
"Just let them be, you of all people should know Eric's not as tough as he claims to be," he mused quietly enough that the redhead wouldn't overhear him.
Eric, meanwhile, had his eyes transfixed on the brown-haired boy who was currently circling him. The black gloves that Matthias had affixed to his hands temporarily distracted Eric, he thought they were absolutely hilarious. Fighting back a snort at the sheer thought of it, Eric began to circle Matthias as well, a grin once again crossing his acne-scarred features. All at once Eric let out an almost primal yell and half-ran, half-dove at Matthias Kovalenko in an attempt to catch the boy offguard and completely knock him off his feet.
***
Meanwhile, in the interior of Benson's Bar and Grill, the door to the women's restroom slowly creaked open, illuminating the floor in a pale light for just a moment before a lean blonde-haired figure exited the doorway. For the most part, Whitney Acosta had managed to clean the soda spill from her clothing, though a wet blotch still occupied a good portion of her clothes. Sighing inwardly, Whitney's attention turned back to the now empty table she had just recently occupied. Where had Matthias gone?
Momentarily, the thought crossed her that he might've just gone to the restroom, or gone outside to meet Jodeen, or something of that nature. However, upon noting that both Ricky and Eric were now gone, as was Andie Colvin, Whitney's heart sank a bit. Something wasn't right. Around that time, she noticed the patrons of the bar that had begun to line the windows of Benson's Bar and Grill, and a curious, albeit wary look passed over her face. Against her better judgement, Whitney proceeded toward the windows and after tapping another customer on the shoulder, couldn't help but inquire.
"What's going on?"
Through all the people that had lined the windows, Whitney couldn't see the exterior of the restaurant, but she knew by the looks on the faces of the other customers that something was about to happen back there. Straining to see outside, she could only catch a glimpse of frizzy red hair standing above the rest of the crowd. What that Eric?
Posted by: MooCow Jun 23 2006, 06:35 PM
Andie knew they were all right... this wasn't her battle to be fought. Andie bit her bottom lip and hoped Matthias could take Eric. Then again Ricky was right, he wasn't that tough... after all he had almost gotten his ass handed to him by a girl, Andie. Andie was tough herself though despite being small and scrappy.
"I guess you guys are right," Andie said smirking at the red head, "we wouldn't want Eric to get his ass beaten too badly now would we. The whipping Matthias is going to dish out to him..."
Unfortunately at this moment Eric dove.
"Oh Matthias watch out," she yelled.
Posted by: LadyMakaze Jun 24 2006, 12:42 AM
Not even once did Matthias take his eyes off of Silvstedt's circling form, noticing fully the taunting expression in the taller boy's eyes as he laughed as a way of ridiculing his opponent. Matthias, on the contrary, disallowed himself completely to become provoked by Silvstedts' mocking jeers. His face and form remained perfectly calm and relaxed, yet poised and at the ready. Inside however, was a tidal storm of mixed emotions: apprehension for the outcome of this brawl, anger at the thought of his destroyed saxophone, and the determination to teach this prick a lesson or two. The old fashioned way.
Matthias raised his eyebrows slightly as Silvstedt snarled orders towards Callahan. With a frown, Matthias watched as Callahan quickly moved from his place against the wall to do as Silvstedt ordered, as though on cue.
Who is this guy? Some kind of puppet? Matthias thought to himself incredulously, his mind drifting briefly to the thoughts of Whitney, and the way she had blushed at the sight of Callahan. Then again, it might have been Matthias' imagination, and all but a misunderstanding on his part. Then again, Matthias trusted his own gut instincts, which were often right on the mark when it came to reading the minds of others.
Once again, he was almost completely distracted by his own thoughts, and immediately, he cursed himself for his foolishness. Once again, Eric had taken to attempting a cheap shot at him, lunging at Matthias in a blatant attempt to tackle him completely. But unlike the punch he had dealt earlier...Mathias could see this one coming practically a mile away.
He reacted almost as soon as Andie yelled out her warning, his heart almost coming to a halt in slight panic as he stepped back slightly, not looking at all as though he was about to resist the on coming attack. As Eric flew towards him, Matthias looked as though he were about to let Eric take him down completely off of his feet, until he lifted both arms just as Eric was about to make contact with him.
Using the momentum of Eric's lunge, Matthias allowed himself to be forced back slightly, catching Matthias wrists with each a gloved hand, pulling him in the same direction he had come. Quickly, Matthias sidestepped and locked his foot against Eric's ankle, and lifted it abruptly allowing the momentum to send Eric flying forward past him.
He winced inwardly at the impact he knew that was to come. He did not like at all hurting others like this...but thinking of the way Eric had nonchalantly swept his saxophone case away and onto the floor was enough to remove any trace of pity within his heart.
Posted by: Megami Jun 24 2006, 01:22 AM
A wry grin spread across Eric's features as he charged toward his opponent. The grin spread even wider as Eric realized that Matthias was all but frozen in place, not even making an attempt to dodge his attack. He'd expected the younger boy to be weak, but he hadn't expected the fight to be THIS easy -- halfway through the thought, Matthias lashed out and grabbed Eric's wrists with his hands, then swung his foot around toward Eric's leg.
Unfortunately for Eric Silvstedt, he had been dashing toward Matthias Kovalenko with a hell of a lot of momentum. As Matthias's foot wrapped around and tripped the larger boy, it effectively sent Eric flying directly toward the pavement. A loud thud echoed from the pavement as Eric connected, face first, into the cold concrete sidewalk. Momentarily stunned, Eric let out a few coughs from his fetal position on the ground, noting the red subtance that had accumulated in his mouth when he'd bitten his tongue upon impact.
Quickly rising to his feet, Eric ran his tongue through his mouth once again, this time not so much paying attention to the blood that had accumulated inside. Another smile crossed the boy's features, his teeth now stained a light crimson color. So Matthias was faster than he'd expected. Didn't make too much difference. Now, however, Eric was angry. Rapidly stepping back up to his opponent, Eric once again circled him, his eyes never leaving the smaller figure standing inside of the circle.
Running the back of his hand across his upper lip, Eric was jumping up and down gleefully inside at what he was about to do. He was certain Matthias would expect him to attack again, and he most certainly would, but first... let it be known that Eric Silvstedt wasn't a very honorable opponent, and he certainly didn't fight clean. Almost out of nowhere, Eric launched a trail of blood-filled saliva from his mouth directly toward Matthias's eyes.
Not meaning it as a taunt persay, but more of a distraction, Eric almost immediately swung his fist toward Matthias Kovalenko once again, this time attempting to catch his fellow classmate in the gut and at least knock the air out of him. Matthias might have been faster than Eric, but in Eric's mind at least, he was bigger and physically stronger, thus should have no problem ending this fight with a few hits. Guess he'd never heard the story of David and Goliath.
Meanwhile, Ricky Callahan hadn't budged from his spot near Andie Colvin since he had been "ordered" to keep her out of the fight. He had even gotten enough nerve to look on in mild amusement as Eric had all but face-planted on the pavement. While Ricky would never admit it aloud, he honestly thought that Eric had had that one coming for a very long time. Now, however, he was concerned for Matthias.
While it was true that Eric Silvstedt wasn't as tough as the image he conveyed, Ricky was indeed aware that Eric liked to fight dirty. He'd seen it done before, especially during school when Eric had repeatedly picked on some of his fellow classmates. Somehow, Ricky now had the foreboding sense that this would be another one of those instances. Saying his intuition was right on the money would have been a huge understatement, Ricky saw it coming a mile away as Eric launched the liquid substance toward Matthias's eyes.
It was at that point that Ricky finally decided this had gone on long enough. Now, he wanted to speak up and intervene. However, he continued to stand back and look on helplessly as Eric once again attempted to cheap-shot Matthias, this time going for the other boy's stomach. Shaking his head in what could have almost been embarrassment, Ricky actually opened his mouth as if to protest, but seemed to suddenly think better of it and not say anything at all. Instead, he simply let the fight continue on.
Posted by: LadyMakaze Jun 24 2006, 02:17 PM
Matthias had to admit to himself, at the sight of Silvstedt sent flying to smash face first into the promenade, Matthias could not help but feel a sense of sick satisfied. The feeling, mixed with conscientious guilt at causing someone this much pain, tasted bitter in his mouth, giving him a cold and sickening feeling. Matthias found himself telling himself without conviction that it was not his fault, the jerk had it coming, and Matthias was just trying to defend himself. But as he watched Silvstedt rise slowly from the pavement, Matthias remained thus far unconvinced. As Matthias watched on, he inwardly hoped that Eric would just give up and call it quits, not only for Matthias' sake, but for the sake of the other boy as well.
To his relief, the taller boy didn't seem to be in any excruciating pain. On the other hand, Matthias realized with panic that Eric was not at all ready to call an end to this brawl, contrary to what Matthias had hoped. He waited, in case Eric was about to attack again. This time, he would be more than ready. This time, he would simply-
Matthias was caught entirely by surprise as a spray of blood and saliva caught him in the face, temporarily blinding him. It took him a full second to realize what Eric had just done as a cheap, literally dirty trick to distract him, and it was enough to make Matthias, inexperienced as he was in street-fighting, to be caught off guard.
He felt the blow to his gut coming before it even hit him. Once again, Eric had caught him completely off guard, the dirty fighter that he was. Matthias reeled at the impact, staggering back slightly as he felt all the air forced out of his lungs, giving way to a dull pain in his stomach. However, not once did he utter a groan of pain as he stepped back in the recoil, his hand over his eyes. As he backed against the wall, where his saxophone case was, his hand moved behind him.
By now, Matthias had realized just exactly what people often meant when they said, "All's fair in love and war." If that's the case, then there's no reason he should fight dirty with an equally dirty fighter. After all, it was the only fair thing in this sort of brawl, after all.
Face hidden behind a blood covered hand, he smiled inwardly, knowing how vulnerable he looked and what a perfect target he might pose to Eric, who had likely without a doubt gained even more confidence with the successful blow, and will become even more brazen as a result.
That's right, just come, Matthias hissed silently in his mind in grim satisfaction, knowing that from where he was, Eric wouldn't see that he had wrapped his hand around the handle of the saxophone case while staggering back in pain.
Posted by: Megami Jun 24 2006, 02:41 PM
Beaming with satisfaction as is shot to Matthias's stomach sent him wheeling backward against the brick wall of the exterior of Benson's, Eric couldn't help but be overcome with glee at the successful execution of his punch. As Matthias covered his eyes, Eric continued to grin, feeling pretty good about himself right now. His diversion had worked perfectly, and it had caused him to score another hit in this brawl.
Once again Eric stalked toward his smaller counterpart, this time stopping short a few feet away from him. Anyone who had ever seen Eric fight before would know that by now he was feeling pretty confident, even confident enough to toy with his opponent a bit, and this was exactly what he was doing to Matthias. Had Eric considered this a real fight, and Matthias a real opponent, he would've long since lashed out with a series of attacks against the brown-haired boy.
Yawning loudly, Eric tilted his head to the side in a cocky and egotistical manner and surveyed the opponent he now had cornered. From here on out, it would be easy picking. Even going so far as to take a moment to crack his neck and pop his knuckles, Eric finally stopped toying with his opponent long enough to approach him and once again attempt to drive his fist into Matthias's gut.
Posted by: LadyMakaze Jun 24 2006, 03:06 PM
As Matthias feigned helplessness and resignation as he leaned heavily against the brick wall of the restaurant, coughing and wiping his eyes, he waited. By now he knew exactly what to predict from Eric, having gotten well acquainted with that bold and shameless attitude after such a remarkably short time. Now, Matthias was anticipating his big moment, the drastic turnaround of this brawl.
He felt the presence of the taller boy as Eric approached him, confident and no doubt self-assured with what he thought would be his victory. As Eric took the time to gloat, giving Matthias more than enough time to brace himself for the opportunity he was about to take, the smaller, brown-haired boy smiled slightly at the antics Silvstedt was pulling off, yet again.
Don't you know, friend? Matthias thought as Eric stepped towards again, his hand once again curling up into a fist and poised to strike again. They say cometh pride before a fall. And the higher you fly...
At the same time Eric launched yet another punch aimed towards the smaller boy's gut, Matthias' hand moved away from his face, swiftly thrusting his arm outward. Matthias knew he had successfully blocked the punch when his palm met Eric's fist, effectively absorbing the punch and diverting away from its original target.
Matthias squeezed Eric's fist, making sure that he had nowhere to go. He stood up, and his other arm swung out from behind him, and a large shape of massive weight followed in its wake. It was the saxophone case, and with a slight grunt, Matthias swung the case, allowing the momentum to carry its weight in a half-circle so that it collided square into the side of Eric's head.
Posted by: Megami Jun 24 2006, 03:43 PM
Eric's dark-colored eyes widened in a look of sheer surprise as his opponent thrust his palm forward and Eric's fist slammed into it, harmlessly avoiding the boy's stomach. With a growl Eric lurched forward and attempted to clock Matthias square in the head with his other fist in an almost desperate move. Unfortunately for Eric, Matthias was much faster. Out of the corner of his eye, Eric saw the black case of the saxophone he'd destroyed earlier swinging for his head. Without the speed and agility to dodge it, Eric was helpless as the large object slammed into the side of his skull, once again sending him flying into the nearby pavement.
"MOTHERFUCKER!"
Eric let out a primal roar as he forced himself back to his feet, but, overcome by a wave of dizziness, he was forced to lean against the brick wall of the building. Wheezing slightly as he breathed, Eric cast a hateful glare toward Matthias, than a frustrated one toward Callahan. What the hell was he doing, anyway?
"Callahan, what're you doin' you asshole? GET HIM!"
As he belted out the order, Eric Silvstedt made another desperate move. He began to unfasten his belt from its position within his belt loops, purely with the intention of choking the other boy into submission. Ricky caught this out of the corner of his eye and finally, he made the decision that this fight had to end now before someone got seriously hurt.
Leaving Andie in her spot where she was presumably still observing the ongoing fight, Ricky made a bee-line for the middle of the brawl. Certain he could stop his fellow baseball player if need be, Ricky turned to face Matthias, unsure of what the smaller boy would do. Meanwhile, Eric cracked the leather belt he had been wearing, casting Ricky a condescending look as he stepped into the middle of the brawl.
"That's enough," he muttered, his feigning confidence, "This needs to end before somebody gets seriously hurt."
Feeling a knock to the back of his head, it only took Ricky a second to realize that Eric had slapped him in the back of the head, clearly irritated that he had attempted to stop the ongoing fist fight. Glaring at his companion with a renewed anger, Eric nearly growled out the next sentence.
"If you're not gonna help, get out of the fucking way."
Shaking his head warily, Ricky simply looked to his so-called friend with a look of utter disappointment. The fight itself had been over a ridiculous matter, and Eric had taken it way past the point of going too far. Now, Ricky was honestly concerned that Matthias might get hurt, or if not, certainly put a hurting on Eric. Still acting as a barrier between Matthias and Eric, and once again turning to face Matthias, Ricky gave the boy an apologetic look before once again addressing the frizzy-haired boy.
"Seriously man, this has gone way too far."
In the blink of an eye Ricky Callahan was sent reeling toward Matthias Kovalenko as Eric used a lot more force than neccessary to literally shove his companion out of the way. From the other point of view that had just witnessed the incident, however, it didn't look like Eric had shoved Ricky, but rather, like Ricky was attempting to tackle Matthias into the wall.
"HEY!"
The feminine voice yelled out over the sounds of traffic and the echoing thud made as Ricky impacted the wall. Whitney had been attempting to force her way through the crowd of patrons inside of Bensons for quite a while now, and when she'd finally gotten close enough to discover the brawl that was ensuing outside, she'd rushed through the door just in time to see Ricky go flying into Matthias. Of course, from her perspective, it looked like Ricky had just jumped into the fight, making it an obvious two-on-one.
The blonde-haired girl pushed her way past Eric Silvstedt, casting him an angry glare as she took a standing position next to Matthias Kovalenko. Inwardly, she knew it was a very bad idea to be standing in the middle of a fight, especially a two-on-one. After all, she was pretty much powerless to do anything. Despite that, Whitney forced a look of confidence on her face and stared at Eric.
"I don't know what your problem is..." her eyes traced over to Ricky and a pained expression crossed her face for only half a second before she continued, "Or yours, for that matter, but this is ridiculous. You need to back off."
Eric couldn't help but smirk once again as he was reprimanded by the blonde for fighting with Matthias. Casting a glance toward Ricky, his smirk became an all-out grin as he looked at her, then toward Matthias, then back at the blonde once again. For a moment, Eric actually looked amused by the sudden turn of events.
"What're you gonna do if I don't? Spank me? I might like that."
The rude remark caused Ricky to stare at his companion in a mixture of awe and anger at the fact that Eric had enough nerve to speak to anyone in such a tone, let alone her. Despite that, he'd already felt the brunt of the brick wall for standing up for Matthias, he was in no hurry to do it again. After all, she probably hated him now anyway. Shaking his head in frustration, Ricky simply turned and walked away, unsure of how to handle what had just transpired.
(Ricky continued in: http://s10.DEFUNCT_IF_LINK/SurvivalOfTheF...07entry1285507)
Location: Benson's Bar and Grill
Posted by: Megami Jun 13 2006, 10:17 PM
((Ricky continued from: http://z10.DEFUNCT_IF_LINK/SurvivalOfTheF...showtopic=891))
As Ricky Callahan stepped through the doors to the small bar and grill that was somewhat of a local hangout, his eyes travelled across the interior of the building and he immediately noticed her. A faint smile crossed his lips and he almost contemplated walking over to say hello. Instead, he immediately saw the companion she had in the form of Matthias Kovalenko. Sam Sorenson, Ricky could handle. Sam seemed like kind of a girly guy anyway. Matthias was another story, however.
He'd always sort of seemed strange. Sarcastic, cynical, and a complete train-wreck when it came to that little sister of his. Ricky never quite understood that, he didn't worry about his little brother. He could handle himself, right? Then again, Ricky had heard the stories about Matthias. Kids say nasty things, stories get twisted around. Despite that... from what he'd heard, Matthias Kovalenko was quite the weirdo. Why would Whitney Acosta of all people hang out with someone like that?.
Whatever.
It seemed almost stupid to get jealous over her being with some other guy, it wasn't as if Ricky ever really spoke to her anyway. He never had the chance. She was always surrounded by people... people like that loud-mouthed Williams girl and Sorenson. It made her seem... unapproachable, maybe? Well that and the fact that his friends would probably nag him to no end for even talking to her, especially after everything he'd been "forewarned" about. Ricky was immediately thrown back to reality at the sound of his friend's nagging voice.
"Dude, what the hell's your problem? You gonna come back from outer space anytime soon so I can get a damned hamburger?"
"Huh?"
It took the hispanic boy a moment to come back from his reverie and return to the real world, but when he did he simply shrugged his shoulders and motioned for his friend to stand in the line to order. Watching his friend eyeball the menu like it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen, Ricky couldn't help but fade back into his own little world. Who would've ever thought that Matthias Kovalenko of all people would be having lunch with Whitney Acosta? Either way, that's certainly what it looked like from Ricky's point of view.
Posted by: LadyMakaze Jun 14 2006, 01:31 PM
Matthias tilted his head to one side in slight confusion as Whitney suddenly began staring at him in a rather scrutinizing manner, feeling only vaguely daunted at being studied at so closely by a girl. He observed her as she observed him, subconsciously deciding that she didn't look half bad, actually. She was quite cute, a pretty face and all. He smiled with hidden incredulity at this thought, and laughed, nudging a finger against the spot on his head where she had pointed at.
He tugged at a brown lock of hair. "Aw, man...that makes the third one I've found all year. Sure hope my memory stays intact by the time they get here." He smiled warmly at her, before tilting his head towards the direction of her gaze. From where he was sitting, he could see Kurai, Sorenson, and Lexie where he was sitting, recognizing them immediately as his fellow classmates. It seemed as though they were up and about getting their lunch before finding a table, most likely they had come with Whitney.
"Brought your friends along with you, huh?" Matthias asked her. "Well that's nice, proves your social life over my lack thereof." He shrugged apologetically and laughed a bit. However, Matthias noticed that her attention had suddenly turned elsewhere, towards something that seemed to make her turn somewhat warm and red in the face before she looked away, as though pretending not to have seen anything. Not buying it, Matthias turned his head, having to lean his elbow against the chair in order to see a full 180 degrees behind him.
Matthias raised an eyebrow slightly at the sight of Ricky Callahan entering the restaurant, unmistakeable amongst the rest of the patrons. He frowned slightly, knowing fully well from observation how pompous Callahan could to others, especially in the pre
sence of his fellow teammates. He wasn't a bad guy, Matthias thought to himself, shrugging as he glanced towards Whitney. Just the fact that the attitude he put up seemed more like a front of confidence more than anything, superficial like his good looks.
Matthias remembered the way Whitney had blushed and turned away at the sight of Callahan, drawing up conclusions of his own, but saying nothing. Instead, he smiled and asked her with a subtle wryness in his tone, "Callahan another friend of yours?"
For the sake of not making Whitney uncomfortable, he decided to quickly change the subject. He crossed his arms in contemplation over her question and rested his elbows on the empty table. "Not too often, I'm in jazz band and the school choir, which demands afterschool practice both routinal and overtime. Also, my sis is in this school-sponsored environmental and global issues club, along with the softball team. I'm the one to walk her home, so I don't have much time for outings."
He smiled, not regretfully, but still sadly at this confession. He noted Andie Colvin, also from Franklin, though he didn't know her that well. As she passed by, he waved to her casually as she walked passed, greeting them shyly. Truthfully, he never knew that she worked here. He continued, refocusing on Whitney. "A shame though, this is rather a nice place, not to far from the school either. Where I live is a ways far off though, all the way in the next district, another reason why I rarely come here."
His musings were interrupted abruptly by the sound of his ringtone, a Vivaldi ritornello of some sort, typical of a nerd, Matthias thought with slight embarrassment. He withdrew his cellphone from his pocket, smiling an apology to Whitney. "'Scuse me for a moment." He flipped it open and held it to his ear.
"Hello? ...Oy, Dad, are you even coming to get me, or are you still at the restaurant?" He shook his head incredulously, then suddenly blinked in surprise before groaning in exasperation. "...Not again! Man, I hope you're insured. Mom is going to kill you for trashing her jeep again."
He paused, before sighing and rolling his eyes again. "...what do you mean, JUST the garage door? ....And what am I supposed to do now? ....No way! Do you know how much a taxi costs to get to the next district? .....Okay, okay, nevermind. I'll think of something. .....Yeah, I'll be alright, don't worry about me. ...yeah, I'll take Jodeen with me, think she's still at softball practice. ...'kay, see you. Bye."
With an exasperated mutter, he repocketed his cellphone and shook his head towards Whitney, smiling apologetically at her. "Sorry about that, Dad called to say he punched a hole through our garage door, and the tire got shredded or whatever..." He sighed at leaned back against his chair.
"But that's fine for him, he just has to make sure he gets the thing replaced before Mom finds out, I think I might have to hitch a ride home or something..."
Posted by: MooCow Jun 16 2006, 12:18 AM
As Andie carefully manuevered her territory the stress of so many customers began to grate on her nerves.
"Miss this steak is medium rare," a woman at a table which Andie was not waiting on stated irritably, stopping her, "I ordered my steak medium! First my husbands soup is cold, then we wait an hour for our meal! I demand to speak to the manager."
Andie stepped back nervously, "umm... well miss."
"Don't say 'umm'," the woman hissed rudely.
Andie couldn't believe the nerve of this woman. She hadn't even been waiting on these people.
"Can I help you ma'am?" a voice said from behind Andie.
It was Fritz the manager. Andie heaved a sigh of relief.
"Andie carry on," he said shortly and began to make negotiations with the woman... he'd probably offer her a free dessert or something.
Andie turned and made her way towards her destination, a refill of soda in her hands. Flustered from her dealings with the angry customers she failed to notice the 'WET FLOOR' sign. Needless to say Andie Colvin slipped, the Diet Coke glass flying from her hand and drenching a nearby denizen of Benson's Bar & Grill in cola.
Getting up Andie groaned inside and hurriedly apologized, "I'm so sorry!"
To her horror she realized that the person she had drenched in the sticky liquid was a familiar face, None other than that of Whitney Acosta.
Posted by: Megami Jun 16 2006, 12:46 AM
Unfortunately for Whitney, her acting wasn't exactly top-notch, and it was apparent as Matthias seemed to catch on to her sudden change in mannerisms upon the entrance of Ricky Callahan. As he inquired gently about the guy, Whitney simply shrugged her shoulders, not so willing to divuldge that "secret" to someone she didn't know very well. Instead, she simply cast him a smile and nodded lightly.
"Something like that..."
As Matthias's cell phone rang, Whitney couldn't help but stifle a giggle at the conversation that proceeded to follow him answering. Smiling somewhat, the blonde mused over the one-sided ongoings she could hear over the phone call, finding it all rather amusing. As Matthias hung up the phone with an exasperated look on his face and proceeded to state what had happened, Whitney found herself laughing at the entire matter.
"You know..." she stated thoughtfully after a moment, "I can give you a ride home... if you want. I'll have to take them back to the school anyway when we head home, won't be a big deal to grab Jodeen along the way. I mean, like I said, if you want."
The fair-haired girl had virtually just finished her sentence when out of the corner of her eye she saw the waitress girl she barely knew as Andie Colvin slip and fall on the wet floor of the restaurant. Had Whitney had the reflexes to do so, she would've helped the girl. Instead, she simply looked on as the diet drink the girl was holding went flying from her hand and sprayed her in a sea of caffeine. Whitney held her arms out in a mixture of disgust, embarrassment, and surprise as she was coated in the sticky liquid.
Quickly jumping out of her seat, Whitney slowly looked down to see that indeed, she was completely covered in the sticky mess. She could hear the other girl apologizing profusely in the back of her mind, though it barely registered to Whitney. Instead she cast a glance to Matthias, to her friends who had stopped to stare in awe, and even a one of absolute horror to the guy of her dreams, who just happened to be standing there watching the entire thing. How embarrassing.
"I... It's fine."
That was all she could manage to say to the waitress. Part of Whitney honestly wanted to punch the girl in the face. She was outraged by the entire atrocity. Part of her knew it was just an accident, but she couldn't help but wonder in the back of her mind if perhaps Andie Colvin had dumped the soda on her on purpose. Girls like Andie... they tended to be jealous of Whitney. She saw it on a regular basis. Maybe this girl was just another one of them. Letting the negative thoughts slip out of her mind, Whitney looked down at her soda-drenched outfit once again and sighed.
What now?
Whitney Acosta simply continued to stand there, embarrassed to no end by the situation that had just occurred and unsure of how to handle it. Maybe she should just leave? Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the manager staring over there. Honestly, she didn't want the restaurant manager to come over and make a big scene of things. It was just an accident after all, right?
Posted by: MooCow Jun 16 2006, 09:47 AM
Flushing crimson Andie knew it wasn't 'fine'. She had embaressed one of the most popular people at her school in a public place. Not that Andie gave a shit about popularity. She was fairly popular herself being on friendly terms with most.
"Let me help you get cleaned up Whitney," Andie suggested, "I've got my break anyway. I'm so sorry."
Posted by: Megami Jun 20 2006, 08:51 PM
(OOC: I'd planned on waiting for Maka but... mahh, no posts for 4 days make me nervous.)
"No, really, it's fine," Whitney started, "...Really. It's... it's just a little soda, right?"
Mustering the friendliest smile she could, Whitney cast it toward Andie, feeling just as bad for the waitress as she did for herself. Sure, she was drenched in soda, and sure, the guy she liked had probably witnessed the entire ordeal, but it could be worse, right? She could be Andie. It could be her boss standing there with a glare contorting his features because of the incident that had just occurred.
Shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly, Whitney excused herself from the table she had occupied with Matthias Kovalenko and proceeded to escort herself into the nearby women's restroom. The door to the bathroom creaked open, illuminating the stalls in a pale glow. Making her way to the row of sinks, Whitney did a quick once over of herself in the mirror. It really wasn't all that bad. Yeah, she had a gigantic wet blotch covering her shirt and a good portion of her lap, but what can you do?
After a moment, Whitney reluctantly turned the water on and grabbed a handful of paper towels from the dispenser. After soaking the towels in the water, she proceeded to attempt to blot the coke spill clean. Finding some success, Whitney smiled to herself. However, the fact remained that there was still a wet spot covering the better part of her mid-section. Sighing irritatedly, Whitney held her head in her hands and stared at the reflection looking back at her in the mirror.
What a nightmare...
***
Somewhere between ordering lunch and the events that had recently unfolded, the frizzy-haired baseball player Ricky had been accompanying to the dinner (Eric) had instructed Ricky to find them a seat, and he had inconspicuously seated himself almost within hearing range of the table being occupied by Whitney and Matthias. It wasn't like Ricky made it a habit of eavesdropping on other people's conversations, but something about the couple didn't sit right with him, and he was curious as to what would inspire the two to have lunch together.
Pretending he hadn't noticed either of them, Ricky stared ahead at the other residents of the bar, awaiting Eric's return and fading back into his own world... at least until Andie Colvin proceeded to trip and douse the blonde-haired girl he'd been listening in on in a sea of Coca-Cola. He was taken aback by the incident and found himself just sitting there, an astounded expression on his face. Suddenly he was in an odd predicament. He could be a gentleman and offer to help her, then probably have to put up with Eric later because of it. He could laugh, which was more than likely what his friend would do, and lose any points he had gained in her book, or he could continue to sit there and stare like an idiot.
Ricky opted for the latter. Looking on in awe as the two girls had a rather tense moment, Ricky could hear footsteps approaching the table, followed by the laughter of his companion. Apparently he'd been right, and Eric seemed to find the situation hysterical. The redheaded boy cackled out loud as the blonde girl took off toward the restroom. Suddenly, a sly smile went over his lips and he kicked Ricky to get his attention.
"Man, that was great! Looks like you got to see more than me though, dude, that sucks. It looked like a wet t-shirt contest going on over here! I hope she kicks Andie's ass, I'd love to see a catfight. That'd be fuckin' hot."
Yet again, Ricky found himself divided. He was honestly pretty repulsed by what his friend had just stated, he didn't think of women as objects for his amusement. Not usually, anyway. Not when he wasn't around his friends. Inwardly, he wanted to stand up for the girl he liked, tell his friend to stop being an asshole, tell him to grow up and act like a man.
"Heh... yeah."
Posted by: LadyMakaze Jun 22 2006, 07:56 PM
Matthias' dark eyes lit up at Whitney's suggestion that she give him a ride home. Leaning an elbow along the table, he asked, "Really? It won't be any trouble at all?"
A wave of relief swept over him as he smiled with gratitude towards her. "That'll be great, Whitney, you don't have to drive all the way to our place you know? It's a ways far off, so you could drop us someplace where we could walk all the way back. And here's hoping that Jodeen will show up real soon-"
The sight of Andie Colvin slipping over on the wet floor came into view as Matthias was abruptly cut short by the splashing sound of flying coke. Indeed, the brown mass of liquid effectively drenched practically the entirety of Whitney's form, staining her clothes and hair in a brown, sticky mess. Matthias could do nothing else but blink and stare at the rather embarrassing situation that had just unfolded. Andie, who had accidentally thrown the drink all over Whitney, was apologizing profusely while Whitney looked on in red-hot shame and disgust.
"Oy..." Matthias' voice stammered weakly, as he stood up, thinking that he ought to help out a bit. But as the shirt doused with coke darkened into blatant transparency, Matthias blinked again, and turned a subtle shade of red. Immediately, he turned away, looking equally embarrassed as he covered his face with a hand. Looking sidelong towards Whitney, trying to look only towards her face, he muttered awkwardly, "Better be cleaning up a bit there..."
Then again, if he was embarrassed....Matthias started to imagine how Whitney must feel, given her current state in the middle of this public environment, in front of so many people she knew from school. Trying to be helpful, he reassured them, "I'll help clean up here, you two go on."
As Whitney Acosta retreated, dripping, into the nearest ladies' room, with Andie in full pursuit, Matthias quickly bypassed the area of wet floor that Andie had slipped on and made his way to the counter, where a napkin dispenser was sitting. Taking the liberty to grab a handful of dry, clean napkins, he made his way back to his table and began wiping it down, first the table surface, then Whitney's seat, both drenched in coke.
He had started cleaning up the floor when his ears suddenly filled with the snickers and hysterical laughter coming from table not too far off. The circular movements of Matthias' arm as he wiped down the floor stopped short as though suddenly frozen, his eyes narrowed slightly as a frown replaced his usually easygoing and good-natured expression.
Demurely, he stood up, ever carefully, at first looking as though he had not heard a word from the group. Then, resting a hand upon the damp table and leaning over a bit, he cast a sidelong glance of disdain towards the group of schoolmates that had made fun of Whitney. Matthias also noted with interest that Ricky Callahan was among them, though he gave no hint that he had noticed Ricky in particular.
"It must be nice, being able to make fun of others without realizing how hurt or embarrassed they might be," he told them in a voice that was casual, yet subtly scathing, making sure that all of them heard his every word perfectly. "Glad to see that you're so amused."
Turning back to his cleaning, he noticed that some of the coke had splattered onto his saxophone case, now sitting in a puddle of coke. He made an irritated noise with his tongue, after all the money and time he had spent getting this repaired, getting it stained with coke was the last thing he needed. Worried, he began to quickly wipe down the outside of the case, making sure it was free from stain. Once that was done, he immediately opened the case, which was in no way water proof, to inspect the well-being of the contents.
Luckily it seemed that little of the coke had made its way inside. Matthias looked over the contents of the saxophone case, his prized alto saxophone, unassembled and neatly lain in the interior of the case, along with basic care equipment, cork grease and polishing cloth. Nevertheless, he set the entire case along the table and began wiping a bit of the inside of the case. Occasionally he cast a glance between the washroom, in case Whitney came out, and the windor, in case Jodeen had finally decided to show up.
Posted by: Megami Jun 22 2006, 09:39 PM
Eric Silvstedt, a.k.a. #17 on Franklyn Senior High School's baseball team, raised his eyebrows in irritation as he was all but scolded by the student who was sitting a few tables away from him. Pushing his chair back and rising to his feet, Eric cast the brown-haired boy an evil glare before looking back at Ricky and motioning for him to follow en suite. Ricky simply cast his companion a questioning glance, but stood up and followed quietly as Eric strode over to the table Matthias was located at.
"You got a problem?" Eric all but shouted, causing a few disgruntled stares from the restaurants other patriots.
"Dude..." Ricky chimed in quietly, "Don't start anything, this isn't the place."
Completely ignoring the hispanic boy's warning, Eric took another step toward the table and placed his hands at the corner, looking Matthias directly in the eye. One thing the majority of the baseball team, as well as probably the rest of the school, knew about Eric Silvstedt was that he had a very, very bad temper. Ricky cowered behind, his mouth somewhat agape, as he watched his friend's immature display of behavior.
"I asked you a question, pansy-fuck. You got a fucking problem or not?"
"Hey Eric, chill out man," Ricky once again interrupted, only to once again be completely and totally ignored by the redhead.
In one fell swoop, the redhead's hand went flying toward Matthias's saxophone case, and in an instant, the open case and all its contents went flying onto the floor, most of the pieces flying out of the case upon impact. A large grin spread across Eric's face as he took another step toward Matthias. Meanwhile, all Ricky could do in the background was hold his hand up in the air and give an apologetic look to Matthias.
Fucking chad.
The thought ran through Eric's mind as he looked at Matthias and he once again smiled, looking down the few inches that divided him from the physically shorter Matthias. If only to put icing on the cake, Eric's foot almost immediately collided with the brown-haired boy's saxophone case once again, this time sending it jumping up in the air upon impact.
"I think we outta fix that problem of yours," Eric mused.
"Eric, seriously man, enough," Ricky spoke up, this time a little louder.
Spinning around momentarily, Eric cast Ricky a hateful glare before shaking his head and glancing back toward Matthias.
"You got a problem too?" he asked nonchalantly, as though he wouldn't think twice about turning on Ricky if the need arose.
"No, no. Just... we don't need to do this here, right?"
"Heh," was all Eric mustered as he looked back toward Matthias once again, as though contemplating his next course of action. He had all but destroyed Matthias's newly renovated saxophone, and all over Matthias reprimanding him for his actions concerning Whitney. Ricky could only look on forelornly, knowing he was completely powerless to do anything to stop Eric's antics.
"You wanna go, little man?" Eric inquired angrily, "You wanna take this outside?"
Posted by: LadyMakaze Jun 22 2006, 11:38 PM
For the moment being, Matthias had all but forgotten all about the boys sitting together only a few tables away, focusing all his attention onto his prized alto saxophone, making sure that it had not suffered any damage from the coke spillage. Luckily it seemed to be in the same condition as it had been when he'd finished getting it repaired: absolutely no less than perfect. He took a moment to admire it for a moment, fighting the urge to whisk it out and reassemble it, and break into sonorous melo-
Matthias felt his hackles raise slightly as he felt the presence of the two boys, Ricky Callahan and Eric Silvstedt drawing nearer in deliberate strides. He regarded them both with a look of caution and nonchalance, then found himself meeting Eric straight in the eye as the taller boy boldly leaned on his table. Not at all fazed by Eric's scathing remark towards him, nor impressed by his brazenness, Matthias held his gaze, evenly looking straight into Eric's eyes but saying nothing.
Though Matthias expression was stoic and emotionless, inside he felt deeply irritated by the nerve of this boy, one Eric Silvstedt. He cast a brief look of disdain towards Callahan, who was not at all liking how this situation was unfolding, but was remaining passive and compliant to Eric's whims.
Matthias opened his mouth to speak, about to tell Eric politely to leave him in peace and to get his greasy hands off the table he had just cleaned. However, he was interrupted as his eyes caught the moving blur that was Eric's arm as he swept the saxophone case, along with the contents within, clean off the surface of the table and into the air.
Matthias could only stare silently, his gaze cold and frozen, as the contents came lose and went flying in a crashing mess across the floor, the ugly sound of brass hitting against the tiled floor in a jangled chorus. Immediately, Matthias stood up, nearly knocking his chair over for all his abrupt movements, and suddenly he found himself face to face with Eric, standing a good number of inches taller than Matthias himself with a shameless grin. Matthias lifted his chin up slightly, staring back coldly into Eric's eyes. All his easygoing manner, all his casual, good-natured, and good-humoured expression and mannerisms had dissolved into the stoic young man standing aloof in front of Eric and Ricky with a look of pure contempt.
Still saying nothing, Matthias watched with a look of eerie calmness as Eric gave his fallen saxophone case a hard kick, sending it into the air before it skittered away a few feet. Matthias could see the mouthpiece that had just fallen from it, landing hard against the tiled floor with a light, solitary 'clack' before rolling away.
Matthias immediately fell to his knees and began to recollect the scattered componants of his precious alto saxophone, the one he had been given two years ago from a teacher who used to lead the jazz band....before he moved away to Portland a ways off. Though his face remained as hard and emotionless as stone, his heart stung as he surveyed the damage done to each componant as he took hold of them.
The conditions were worse than he had expected. The neck, delicately shaped and only just newly repaired, was in worse shape than it had been before, its tuning mechanism broken and ruined. The mouthpiece only suffered a few scratches, along with a slightly bent ligature. And then, Matthias cradled the body of the saxophone in his hands, examining it thoroughly using both sight and touch.
The keys were jammed. Those that were still functional were bent out of place, and no longer fit. Matthias' heart sank. The body of his precious instrument was ruined. Repair would cost twice....possibly four times as more than he had spent just to repair the neck. And even if it were to be repaired, the sound that it would produce....
Silently, Matthias ran his finger along the bell of the saxophone, now bent and flawed from the horrible impact it had been dealt having fallen to the floor. Carefully, despite the shape it was in now, he laid it among the rest of its fellow componants inside the saxophone case.
Closing it, he slowly rose to his feet, meeting Eric with a cold, steely gaze, though this time, his contempt and anger was quite clear, though contained. He broke into a smile, one that was eerily good-natured and calm.
"Very perceptive," he remarked coolly. "I guess you realized that there was now way I'd let you get off lightly after doing what you did."
He heaved the saxophone case onto his shoulder, reaching into his pocket and leaving a ten dollar bill on the table, more than enough to satisfy the bill for the margarita he had ordered earlier.
He nodded towards Eric. "After you."
Posted by: Megami Jun 23 2006, 02:41 AM
An eerie silence had accumulated on the interior of Benson's Bar and Grill as many of the patrons watched the ongoing confrontation between Eric Silvstedt and Matthias Kovalenko. Ricky Callahan happened to be one of those patrons. His pleas with Eric had gone completely unheeded, with Eric even turning on him for a point due to his attempt to intercept the quickly brewing fight. Ricky could only look on in shock and a little bit of embarrassment as his companion continued to harrass his fellow classmate.
This can't look good on me...
Despite the thought, Ricky did nothing. As the two young men stood face-to-face, Ricky only felt a sense of foreboding. Whatever the outcome of this battle, it was not going to end well for either party. He looked on as the frizzy-haired Eric Silvstedt flashed a toothy grin to Matthias as he accepted his challenge.
"No, really," Eric stated wryly as he pulled the door open and ushered Matthias outside, "I insist, ladies first."
The hispanic boy couldn't help but roll his eyes at his friend's almost childlike remark. However, despite how immature Eric was being, there was nothing childish about what was about to happen outside of the bar. Somebody was about to be seriously hurt, and Ricky inwardly hoped that it wouldn't be Matthias. After all, he'd done nothing wrong. Eric had flipped out on him for standing up for the girl that Ricky didn't have the balls to.
The patrons that had been occupying the restaurant were slowly starting to line up against the glass windows of the restaurant lobby, all waiting in anticipation of the oncoming fight. So, what now? Ricky was almost positive that Eric wanted him to help take Matthias out, but that was way past drawing the line for the dark-haired boy. He wouldn't help Eric fight Matthias, he knew that much. Two-on-one, it just wasn't right. Not to mention, Eric was the one who had picked the fight in the first place.
As Ricky reluctantly pushed open the door to the outside of the restaurant, a sinking feeling made its way into his stomache. Yet again, Ricky Callahan found himself in a lose-lose situation. He saw no reason Matthias should be beaten up for standing up for a friend. In the same respect, he didn't really want to see his friend injured. Besides that, if Matthias beat Eric, Eric would certainly expect Ricky to jump in, right? Sighing loudly, Ricky leaned against the wall of the building and watched with a bit of interest as Eric circled the smaller boy.
"I'm gonna do to you what I did to that saxophone," Eric mused.
Not waiting for a reaction, Eric suddenly lashed out, causing a few of the patrons leaning into the windows to jump back in surprise and causing Ricky to scowl slightly as Eric's fist went flying toward Matthias's face in an almost cheap shot and depserate attempt at a first blow. As Eric attempted to hit the younger boy, it finally clicked in Ricky's mind that Eric Silvstedt wasn't playing around, that he really meant business... over such a trivial, stupid incident.
Posted by: MooCow Jun 23 2006, 07:49 AM
Andie looked on as Eric began to pick a fight with Matthias.
What a jerk... if I haven't already lost my job, I'm definately losing it for this...
"Leave him alone Eric," Andie said as she exited Benson's and glaring at the baseball jock. Andie had been notorious back in their sophomore year for getting into fights but it had been quite a while since she'd thrown in her hat and vowed never to stir up trouble again at risk of expulsion. It appeared she may be coming out of retirement in the minutes that followed though. In fact Andie had been in a physical squabble with Eric in the past although they had both kicked eachother's asses so bad it had been inconcise who came out for the better...
Time for a rematch.
Only this time she just had Matthias's back. Still she figured it was a pretty even match regardless of the numbers... unless Ricky got involved. Andie forced herself to look confident.
Posted by: LadyMakaze Jun 23 2006, 12:11 PM
Matthias looked on silently as Eric opened the door, inviting him to go first with a rather childish remark. At this, Matthias raised his eyebrow at the utter nerve of this guy. For all that he had heard about Eric, 17th in the baseball team, Matthias never thought that he'd be this brazen, nor as immature or impetuous. Inwardly, he sighed and looked about, feeling all eyes upon him and Eric as the patrons and staff looked on in apprehension at the brawl that was about to occur. Not at all what Matthias wanted in the first place, but it couldn't be helped now.
After all, there was no way Matthias could let Eric go for what he had just done. As he thought of the saxophone lying ruined inside of its case, he gritted his teeth, fighting to stay calm. With one hand hefting the saxophone case over his shoulder, he placed the other hand in his pocket, and casually strode out the door without casting so much of a glance towards the gloating Eric.
He did, however, spare a glance towards the apprehensive Ricky Callahan, noting quite clearly the look of worry and uncertainty in the Hispanic boy's face. Matthias locked eyes with him for one piercing moment, looking as though he was accusing the boy for all his passivity. Only a split-second later did Matthias break his stare and looked forward again, shaking his head slightly in what seemed to be disappointment and contempt.
Don't tell me that this is the guy Whitney likes.
Speaking of which, Matthias looked about over his shoulder to see if Whitney was out and about from her trip to the Ladies' room. Matthias personally hoped, as much as he found Ricky's compliance cowardly, that Callahan would just stay out of this. After all, it was between Eric and himself, and he would hate to see Whitney's reaction if Callahan got involved.
He walked out into the open promenade, ready to face his opponent, and in his distraction over the thoughts of Whitney and Ricky, he almost failed completely to notice that Eric had taken to attacking him as soon as the two had stepped out, no doubt eager to deal the first blow in this all-out brawl.
Reacting almost a split-second too late, Matthias turned his shoulder, moving his head back as he did so. The streaking blur that was Eric's arm swung in full force towards him, catching Matthias as he attempted to dodge the cheap and cowardly blow.
Eric's fist grazed ever so lightly against the edge of his cheek bone as it went past, nowhere near enough to make Matthias stagger back, but all the same it left a smarting red mark against the side of his face. Matthias could feel it burning hot and stinging lightly from the moderate impact. Stepping back slightly to steady himself, Matthias lifted his face and gazed calmly into Eric's eyes, shaking his head slightly. Of all things...he should have known that someone like Eric would resort to something this childish, this cowardly. This new knowledge only hardened Matthias' resolve.
"It's alright, Andie," Matthias calmly spoke to his schoolmate who had come to watch, for he had sensed her urge to get involved in this fight. "This is between Silvstedt and me, we're just working out our differences."
Never taking his off of Eric, Matthias carefully set his saxophone case to the side. The hand that had rested inside his pocket pulled itself out to withdraw a pair of black, leather gloves. These he often found eased his hands from strain while drumming, and had other uses as well. Turns out this case would be another useful point to the list.
In a calm manner, he slid both gloves over his callused hands, pulling both of them over his wrists so that they fit snugly over his fingers as he flexed them. Despite his serene manner, he was personally wondering whether or not doing this was a good idea after all. He hadn't taken aikido for a while, and his judo skills weren't quite up to par as he'd like...but at least that was better than nothing. In any case, it wasn't as though he would be able to back down now.
With the image of his broken saxophone in mind, he let out a confident smirk towards Eric. Making an inviting gesture with his hands, as if to say, "Bring it.", he began circling Eric in relaxed, walking movements.
Posted by: Megami Jun 23 2006, 01:48 PM
As Silvstedt's fist connected with Matthias's face, a small grin spread across his lips. Upon noticing the impact had been much lighter than was intended, however, Eric let out a 'tsk' and spat on the ground before the smile once again returned to his face. Looking on in mild amusement, he watched as the physically smaller boy brandished a pair of gloves from inside his pockets and slid them on his fingers. Eric couldn't help but laugh aloud at the gesture, it was quite amusing from his perspective.
Who the hell does this kid think he is anyway, Michael Jackson? What good are those gonna do him when I beat him to a bloody pulp?
As Andie Colvin exited the dinner, Eric caught her out of the corner of his eye, and an audible sigh escaped his lips, more one of annoyance than anything else. Normally, Eric drew the line at hitting a girl. Andie was an exception. They'd been in a brawl not too long ago, and she'd nearly handed him his ass, not that he'd ever admit that to anyone else. What would they think of someone like him being beaten up by a girl? If you could even call her that.
Ricky Callahan hadn't breathed a word since that moment he had locked eyes with Matthias Kovalenko, and the look he had given him had almost sent a chill down his spine. Now, as Andie too made her prescence felt, Ricky could only shake his head in what could best be described as aggravation. Eric would have no qualms about taking out Andie either, Ricky knew that much.
After a stand-offish moment of looking at Andie, Eric turned back to his companion for an instant and nodded to the girl who had made an appearance, his face contorted into a frustrated glare. Sure, he'd expected Ricky to jump in if Matthias handed him his ass, which he somehow highly doubted, but this girl... she had no right to step in to this fight, no right to stand up for this pussy.
"Callahan, if you're gonna stand around, why don't you make yourself useful and get this bitch outta here?"
While the comment would've upset many another student, Ricky was breathing an internal sigh of relief at his latest order. Of course, he hoped Eric didn't mean for him to fight the other girl, that was where Ricky drew the line. It wasn't happening. Instead, Ricky made his way over to where Andie was standing, his arm wrapping around her shoulder lightly in an attempt to steer her away from the fight.
"Just let them be, you of all people should know Eric's not as tough as he claims to be," he mused quietly enough that the redhead wouldn't overhear him.
Eric, meanwhile, had his eyes transfixed on the brown-haired boy who was currently circling him. The black gloves that Matthias had affixed to his hands temporarily distracted Eric, he thought they were absolutely hilarious. Fighting back a snort at the sheer thought of it, Eric began to circle Matthias as well, a grin once again crossing his acne-scarred features. All at once Eric let out an almost primal yell and half-ran, half-dove at Matthias Kovalenko in an attempt to catch the boy offguard and completely knock him off his feet.
***
Meanwhile, in the interior of Benson's Bar and Grill, the door to the women's restroom slowly creaked open, illuminating the floor in a pale light for just a moment before a lean blonde-haired figure exited the doorway. For the most part, Whitney Acosta had managed to clean the soda spill from her clothing, though a wet blotch still occupied a good portion of her clothes. Sighing inwardly, Whitney's attention turned back to the now empty table she had just recently occupied. Where had Matthias gone?
Momentarily, the thought crossed her that he might've just gone to the restroom, or gone outside to meet Jodeen, or something of that nature. However, upon noting that both Ricky and Eric were now gone, as was Andie Colvin, Whitney's heart sank a bit. Something wasn't right. Around that time, she noticed the patrons of the bar that had begun to line the windows of Benson's Bar and Grill, and a curious, albeit wary look passed over her face. Against her better judgement, Whitney proceeded toward the windows and after tapping another customer on the shoulder, couldn't help but inquire.
"What's going on?"
Through all the people that had lined the windows, Whitney couldn't see the exterior of the restaurant, but she knew by the looks on the faces of the other customers that something was about to happen back there. Straining to see outside, she could only catch a glimpse of frizzy red hair standing above the rest of the crowd. What that Eric?
Posted by: MooCow Jun 23 2006, 06:35 PM
Andie knew they were all right... this wasn't her battle to be fought. Andie bit her bottom lip and hoped Matthias could take Eric. Then again Ricky was right, he wasn't that tough... after all he had almost gotten his ass handed to him by a girl, Andie. Andie was tough herself though despite being small and scrappy.
"I guess you guys are right," Andie said smirking at the red head, "we wouldn't want Eric to get his ass beaten too badly now would we. The whipping Matthias is going to dish out to him..."
Unfortunately at this moment Eric dove.
"Oh Matthias watch out," she yelled.
Posted by: LadyMakaze Jun 24 2006, 12:42 AM
Not even once did Matthias take his eyes off of Silvstedt's circling form, noticing fully the taunting expression in the taller boy's eyes as he laughed as a way of ridiculing his opponent. Matthias, on the contrary, disallowed himself completely to become provoked by Silvstedts' mocking jeers. His face and form remained perfectly calm and relaxed, yet poised and at the ready. Inside however, was a tidal storm of mixed emotions: apprehension for the outcome of this brawl, anger at the thought of his destroyed saxophone, and the determination to teach this prick a lesson or two. The old fashioned way.
Matthias raised his eyebrows slightly as Silvstedt snarled orders towards Callahan. With a frown, Matthias watched as Callahan quickly moved from his place against the wall to do as Silvstedt ordered, as though on cue.
Who is this guy? Some kind of puppet? Matthias thought to himself incredulously, his mind drifting briefly to the thoughts of Whitney, and the way she had blushed at the sight of Callahan. Then again, it might have been Matthias' imagination, and all but a misunderstanding on his part. Then again, Matthias trusted his own gut instincts, which were often right on the mark when it came to reading the minds of others.
Once again, he was almost completely distracted by his own thoughts, and immediately, he cursed himself for his foolishness. Once again, Eric had taken to attempting a cheap shot at him, lunging at Matthias in a blatant attempt to tackle him completely. But unlike the punch he had dealt earlier...Mathias could see this one coming practically a mile away.
He reacted almost as soon as Andie yelled out her warning, his heart almost coming to a halt in slight panic as he stepped back slightly, not looking at all as though he was about to resist the on coming attack. As Eric flew towards him, Matthias looked as though he were about to let Eric take him down completely off of his feet, until he lifted both arms just as Eric was about to make contact with him.
Using the momentum of Eric's lunge, Matthias allowed himself to be forced back slightly, catching Matthias wrists with each a gloved hand, pulling him in the same direction he had come. Quickly, Matthias sidestepped and locked his foot against Eric's ankle, and lifted it abruptly allowing the momentum to send Eric flying forward past him.
He winced inwardly at the impact he knew that was to come. He did not like at all hurting others like this...but thinking of the way Eric had nonchalantly swept his saxophone case away and onto the floor was enough to remove any trace of pity within his heart.
Posted by: Megami Jun 24 2006, 01:22 AM
A wry grin spread across Eric's features as he charged toward his opponent. The grin spread even wider as Eric realized that Matthias was all but frozen in place, not even making an attempt to dodge his attack. He'd expected the younger boy to be weak, but he hadn't expected the fight to be THIS easy -- halfway through the thought, Matthias lashed out and grabbed Eric's wrists with his hands, then swung his foot around toward Eric's leg.
Unfortunately for Eric Silvstedt, he had been dashing toward Matthias Kovalenko with a hell of a lot of momentum. As Matthias's foot wrapped around and tripped the larger boy, it effectively sent Eric flying directly toward the pavement. A loud thud echoed from the pavement as Eric connected, face first, into the cold concrete sidewalk. Momentarily stunned, Eric let out a few coughs from his fetal position on the ground, noting the red subtance that had accumulated in his mouth when he'd bitten his tongue upon impact.
Quickly rising to his feet, Eric ran his tongue through his mouth once again, this time not so much paying attention to the blood that had accumulated inside. Another smile crossed the boy's features, his teeth now stained a light crimson color. So Matthias was faster than he'd expected. Didn't make too much difference. Now, however, Eric was angry. Rapidly stepping back up to his opponent, Eric once again circled him, his eyes never leaving the smaller figure standing inside of the circle.
Running the back of his hand across his upper lip, Eric was jumping up and down gleefully inside at what he was about to do. He was certain Matthias would expect him to attack again, and he most certainly would, but first... let it be known that Eric Silvstedt wasn't a very honorable opponent, and he certainly didn't fight clean. Almost out of nowhere, Eric launched a trail of blood-filled saliva from his mouth directly toward Matthias's eyes.
Not meaning it as a taunt persay, but more of a distraction, Eric almost immediately swung his fist toward Matthias Kovalenko once again, this time attempting to catch his fellow classmate in the gut and at least knock the air out of him. Matthias might have been faster than Eric, but in Eric's mind at least, he was bigger and physically stronger, thus should have no problem ending this fight with a few hits. Guess he'd never heard the story of David and Goliath.
Meanwhile, Ricky Callahan hadn't budged from his spot near Andie Colvin since he had been "ordered" to keep her out of the fight. He had even gotten enough nerve to look on in mild amusement as Eric had all but face-planted on the pavement. While Ricky would never admit it aloud, he honestly thought that Eric had had that one coming for a very long time. Now, however, he was concerned for Matthias.
While it was true that Eric Silvstedt wasn't as tough as the image he conveyed, Ricky was indeed aware that Eric liked to fight dirty. He'd seen it done before, especially during school when Eric had repeatedly picked on some of his fellow classmates. Somehow, Ricky now had the foreboding sense that this would be another one of those instances. Saying his intuition was right on the money would have been a huge understatement, Ricky saw it coming a mile away as Eric launched the liquid substance toward Matthias's eyes.
It was at that point that Ricky finally decided this had gone on long enough. Now, he wanted to speak up and intervene. However, he continued to stand back and look on helplessly as Eric once again attempted to cheap-shot Matthias, this time going for the other boy's stomach. Shaking his head in what could have almost been embarrassment, Ricky actually opened his mouth as if to protest, but seemed to suddenly think better of it and not say anything at all. Instead, he simply let the fight continue on.
Posted by: LadyMakaze Jun 24 2006, 02:17 PM
Matthias had to admit to himself, at the sight of Silvstedt sent flying to smash face first into the promenade, Matthias could not help but feel a sense of sick satisfied. The feeling, mixed with conscientious guilt at causing someone this much pain, tasted bitter in his mouth, giving him a cold and sickening feeling. Matthias found himself telling himself without conviction that it was not his fault, the jerk had it coming, and Matthias was just trying to defend himself. But as he watched Silvstedt rise slowly from the pavement, Matthias remained thus far unconvinced. As Matthias watched on, he inwardly hoped that Eric would just give up and call it quits, not only for Matthias' sake, but for the sake of the other boy as well.
To his relief, the taller boy didn't seem to be in any excruciating pain. On the other hand, Matthias realized with panic that Eric was not at all ready to call an end to this brawl, contrary to what Matthias had hoped. He waited, in case Eric was about to attack again. This time, he would be more than ready. This time, he would simply-
Matthias was caught entirely by surprise as a spray of blood and saliva caught him in the face, temporarily blinding him. It took him a full second to realize what Eric had just done as a cheap, literally dirty trick to distract him, and it was enough to make Matthias, inexperienced as he was in street-fighting, to be caught off guard.
He felt the blow to his gut coming before it even hit him. Once again, Eric had caught him completely off guard, the dirty fighter that he was. Matthias reeled at the impact, staggering back slightly as he felt all the air forced out of his lungs, giving way to a dull pain in his stomach. However, not once did he utter a groan of pain as he stepped back in the recoil, his hand over his eyes. As he backed against the wall, where his saxophone case was, his hand moved behind him.
By now, Matthias had realized just exactly what people often meant when they said, "All's fair in love and war." If that's the case, then there's no reason he should fight dirty with an equally dirty fighter. After all, it was the only fair thing in this sort of brawl, after all.
Face hidden behind a blood covered hand, he smiled inwardly, knowing how vulnerable he looked and what a perfect target he might pose to Eric, who had likely without a doubt gained even more confidence with the successful blow, and will become even more brazen as a result.
That's right, just come, Matthias hissed silently in his mind in grim satisfaction, knowing that from where he was, Eric wouldn't see that he had wrapped his hand around the handle of the saxophone case while staggering back in pain.
Posted by: Megami Jun 24 2006, 02:41 PM
Beaming with satisfaction as is shot to Matthias's stomach sent him wheeling backward against the brick wall of the exterior of Benson's, Eric couldn't help but be overcome with glee at the successful execution of his punch. As Matthias covered his eyes, Eric continued to grin, feeling pretty good about himself right now. His diversion had worked perfectly, and it had caused him to score another hit in this brawl.
Once again Eric stalked toward his smaller counterpart, this time stopping short a few feet away from him. Anyone who had ever seen Eric fight before would know that by now he was feeling pretty confident, even confident enough to toy with his opponent a bit, and this was exactly what he was doing to Matthias. Had Eric considered this a real fight, and Matthias a real opponent, he would've long since lashed out with a series of attacks against the brown-haired boy.
Yawning loudly, Eric tilted his head to the side in a cocky and egotistical manner and surveyed the opponent he now had cornered. From here on out, it would be easy picking. Even going so far as to take a moment to crack his neck and pop his knuckles, Eric finally stopped toying with his opponent long enough to approach him and once again attempt to drive his fist into Matthias's gut.
Posted by: LadyMakaze Jun 24 2006, 03:06 PM
As Matthias feigned helplessness and resignation as he leaned heavily against the brick wall of the restaurant, coughing and wiping his eyes, he waited. By now he knew exactly what to predict from Eric, having gotten well acquainted with that bold and shameless attitude after such a remarkably short time. Now, Matthias was anticipating his big moment, the drastic turnaround of this brawl.
He felt the presence of the taller boy as Eric approached him, confident and no doubt self-assured with what he thought would be his victory. As Eric took the time to gloat, giving Matthias more than enough time to brace himself for the opportunity he was about to take, the smaller, brown-haired boy smiled slightly at the antics Silvstedt was pulling off, yet again.
Don't you know, friend? Matthias thought as Eric stepped towards again, his hand once again curling up into a fist and poised to strike again. They say cometh pride before a fall. And the higher you fly...
At the same time Eric launched yet another punch aimed towards the smaller boy's gut, Matthias' hand moved away from his face, swiftly thrusting his arm outward. Matthias knew he had successfully blocked the punch when his palm met Eric's fist, effectively absorbing the punch and diverting away from its original target.
Matthias squeezed Eric's fist, making sure that he had nowhere to go. He stood up, and his other arm swung out from behind him, and a large shape of massive weight followed in its wake. It was the saxophone case, and with a slight grunt, Matthias swung the case, allowing the momentum to carry its weight in a half-circle so that it collided square into the side of Eric's head.
Posted by: Megami Jun 24 2006, 03:43 PM
Eric's dark-colored eyes widened in a look of sheer surprise as his opponent thrust his palm forward and Eric's fist slammed into it, harmlessly avoiding the boy's stomach. With a growl Eric lurched forward and attempted to clock Matthias square in the head with his other fist in an almost desperate move. Unfortunately for Eric, Matthias was much faster. Out of the corner of his eye, Eric saw the black case of the saxophone he'd destroyed earlier swinging for his head. Without the speed and agility to dodge it, Eric was helpless as the large object slammed into the side of his skull, once again sending him flying into the nearby pavement.
"MOTHERFUCKER!"
Eric let out a primal roar as he forced himself back to his feet, but, overcome by a wave of dizziness, he was forced to lean against the brick wall of the building. Wheezing slightly as he breathed, Eric cast a hateful glare toward Matthias, than a frustrated one toward Callahan. What the hell was he doing, anyway?
"Callahan, what're you doin' you asshole? GET HIM!"
As he belted out the order, Eric Silvstedt made another desperate move. He began to unfasten his belt from its position within his belt loops, purely with the intention of choking the other boy into submission. Ricky caught this out of the corner of his eye and finally, he made the decision that this fight had to end now before someone got seriously hurt.
Leaving Andie in her spot where she was presumably still observing the ongoing fight, Ricky made a bee-line for the middle of the brawl. Certain he could stop his fellow baseball player if need be, Ricky turned to face Matthias, unsure of what the smaller boy would do. Meanwhile, Eric cracked the leather belt he had been wearing, casting Ricky a condescending look as he stepped into the middle of the brawl.
"That's enough," he muttered, his feigning confidence, "This needs to end before somebody gets seriously hurt."
Feeling a knock to the back of his head, it only took Ricky a second to realize that Eric had slapped him in the back of the head, clearly irritated that he had attempted to stop the ongoing fist fight. Glaring at his companion with a renewed anger, Eric nearly growled out the next sentence.
"If you're not gonna help, get out of the fucking way."
Shaking his head warily, Ricky simply looked to his so-called friend with a look of utter disappointment. The fight itself had been over a ridiculous matter, and Eric had taken it way past the point of going too far. Now, Ricky was honestly concerned that Matthias might get hurt, or if not, certainly put a hurting on Eric. Still acting as a barrier between Matthias and Eric, and once again turning to face Matthias, Ricky gave the boy an apologetic look before once again addressing the frizzy-haired boy.
"Seriously man, this has gone way too far."
In the blink of an eye Ricky Callahan was sent reeling toward Matthias Kovalenko as Eric used a lot more force than neccessary to literally shove his companion out of the way. From the other point of view that had just witnessed the incident, however, it didn't look like Eric had shoved Ricky, but rather, like Ricky was attempting to tackle Matthias into the wall.
"HEY!"
The feminine voice yelled out over the sounds of traffic and the echoing thud made as Ricky impacted the wall. Whitney had been attempting to force her way through the crowd of patrons inside of Bensons for quite a while now, and when she'd finally gotten close enough to discover the brawl that was ensuing outside, she'd rushed through the door just in time to see Ricky go flying into Matthias. Of course, from her perspective, it looked like Ricky had just jumped into the fight, making it an obvious two-on-one.
The blonde-haired girl pushed her way past Eric Silvstedt, casting him an angry glare as she took a standing position next to Matthias Kovalenko. Inwardly, she knew it was a very bad idea to be standing in the middle of a fight, especially a two-on-one. After all, she was pretty much powerless to do anything. Despite that, Whitney forced a look of confidence on her face and stared at Eric.
"I don't know what your problem is..." her eyes traced over to Ricky and a pained expression crossed her face for only half a second before she continued, "Or yours, for that matter, but this is ridiculous. You need to back off."
Eric couldn't help but smirk once again as he was reprimanded by the blonde for fighting with Matthias. Casting a glance toward Ricky, his smirk became an all-out grin as he looked at her, then toward Matthias, then back at the blonde once again. For a moment, Eric actually looked amused by the sudden turn of events.
"What're you gonna do if I don't? Spank me? I might like that."
The rude remark caused Ricky to stare at his companion in a mixture of awe and anger at the fact that Eric had enough nerve to speak to anyone in such a tone, let alone her. Despite that, he'd already felt the brunt of the brick wall for standing up for Matthias, he was in no hurry to do it again. After all, she probably hated him now anyway. Shaking his head in frustration, Ricky simply turned and walked away, unsure of how to handle what had just transpired.
(Ricky continued in: http://s10.DEFUNCT_IF_LINK/SurvivalOfTheF...07entry1285507)
This is an archival account used by staff to port posts belonging to the handler Megami. While this handler hasn't been around in quite a while, should they return and wish to take custody of this account and/or its posts, they are welcome to do so by contacting staff.
Original Post Title: Unbreakable Bonds
Location: Residential District
(Continued from: A Lone Soul at the Bar and Grill)
Could today possibly get any worse?
This was the solitary thought of Ricky Callahan as he ambled down the path of sidewalk running down Redwood Avenue. His eyes, still glued to the sidewalk after the embarrassing situation that had occured at Benson's Bar and Grill, every so often rose from their lowered position to look ahead of him. All was quiet on this residential street. Every once in a while, he would pass by an empty car parked on the corner of the road. This neighborhood was a peaceful, middle-class neighborhood. Mostly elderly people and established families, really. Out of the corner of his eye, he couldn't help but notice the group of young boys playing basketball in the middle of the street.
They sure don't make 'em like this anymore.
Indeed, in a world filled with chaos and confusion, it was rare to see the sort of peace and tranquility this neighborhood conveyed, still stuck in its old ways, without the thugs and street trash that had accumulated in many of the larger cities across New Jersey. This was why his parents had chosen to settle down here. The community surrounding Bathurst High School had been the original location, but Ricky had heard lots of bad things about Bathurst. The gang fetish that seemed to flourish in New York had passed across the river, namely to that school in Denton, relatively close by. At least, that's what he'd heard. Looking back, he found himself glad they'd settled down in this community.
His thoughts were quickly interrupted when the pattering sound of running feet began to echo from behind him. Turning around in surprise, Ricky could see the bouyant, bouncing red hair and grinning features of someone he'd considered a friend since his move to New Jersey: Eric Silvstedt.
"Hey! Hey bro, wait up!"
The shouts echoed down the street, and despite himself, Ricky stopped in place, awaiting his friend. If there was one thing he had learned about Eric since their meeting, it was that he was notorious for blowing off big events when it came to his friends. Ricky knew that never again would the incident be brought up where he had been slammed into the wall for standing up for Matthias Kovalenko. Maybe it was better that way, anyhow. Allowed the boys to remain friends despite all the harsh and uncalled for things Eric had done.
Eric skidded to a stop in front of Ricky, and the hispanic boy couldn't help but do a once-over of his rather messy looking friend. Eric was still running his hand over his mouth every so often, wiping away the blood that had accumulated when he'd bitten his tongue during the fight with Matthias. Ricky couldn't help but feel ashamed of the actions of both his friend and himself... after all, he'd done nothing to stop Eric's incessant bullying of the younger boy. It just didn't seem right. Despite it all, Ricky knew bringing up the matter would only result in another dispute between the two, and thought it better to just let it be over with.
"Man, you missed all the fun, dude!" Eric belted out, feeling rather proud of himself for his accomplishments. "Kid's baby sister showed up after you left. She thought she was hardcore, she was actually gonna try to fight me to stand up for her puss of an older brother. Can you BELIEVE that, bro? How fuckin' lame, right?"
Would you just shut up?
"Yeah. Lame."
Scowling somewhat as his friend dismissed the fight, Eric almost immediately shrugged his shoulders as though it were of little concern. Eric was proud of himself, he'd enjoyed what had just happened. Being able to hold himself over his fellow peers, being able to control them and bend them to his will, it made Eric Silvstedt feel powerful. And Eric... Eric liked that feeling. After all, he'd been powerless his entire life.
Powerless to stop his father from walking out the door. Powerless to stop his mother from smoking marijuana in a house full of kids. Powerless to keep her from sleeping with the random men she brought home every night. Powerless to stop her from shrieking and sobbing later on when she found out that she was pregnant again, or that she had contracted something else from one of those random men. Completely, totally, utterly powerless. But not anymore. Now, Eric was the one with all the power, the power to control everyone and everything, and it made him feel good inside. Worthwhile.
The two continued their walk down the beaten path of Redwood Avenue, neither exchanging many words. Ricky couldn't help but wonder why exactly he hung out with people like Eric Silvstedt, or why he let people like that push him around. In the end, he supposed it was because he just wanted to fit in. He didn't want to be that solitary kid in the back of class who never talked to anyone. Just like everyone else, Ricky had needs as well. Needs for companionship, friendship. Although looking back, he supposed that he could've made much better choices in the friends he had chosen to make.
Still, he considered Eric a friend. After all, he was the first person at Franklyn Senior High to ever extend a hand of friendship to the hispanic boy after his move. It was a move that had almost surprised Ricky, but Eric had actually reached out to him and tried to be his friend. Even through the boy's emotional outbursts and often immature attitude, Ricky had never forgotten this fact, and in the end, that was why he'd remained so loyal to Eric. Eric had pulled him into the first bond of friendship he'd ever made at Franklyn High, and without him, Ricky would probably still be that quiet, solitary kid sitting in the back of class.
And in the end, I suppose I owe him. For everything.
Ricky was quickly drawn back from his reverie as the sounds of a cop siren echoed loudly through his eardrums. Looking over, he could see the police officer sitting in the squad car, a friendly smile on his face as he flagged the hispanic boy over. Looking around momentarily for his friend, Ricky soon realized that Eric had bolted from sight upon the arrival of the squad car, and he couldn't help but think that this was probably one of the after-effects of the brawl that had broken out at Benson's. Calmly, Ricky approached the squad car, his hands still in his pockets as a friendly smile came across his face.
"Afternoon, officer," the boy greeted him in a friendly manner.
"Good afternoon, young man," the almost elderly looking officer replied en suite, "Got a call from one of the customers down at Benson's a while ago, said some kids were outside fighting in front of the store. Asked if we'd come down and check it out. Now we can't find the kids who started it, though."
Ricky's stomach sank a little bit as the officer interrogated him concerning the events at Benson's. Ricky had left long before the police had ever arrived. In fact, he had been completely oblivious to the fact that the police had even been called. Surely, they were looking for Eric, probably for causing a disturbance on public property. As Ricky struggled internally over the matter, he kept a calm, cool, relaxed face on the outside, only halfway listening to the officer's comments.
"You know anything about that? Just thought maybe you might've seen one of the hooligans walk past or somethin'."
He's standing in the bushes right over there, officer. He's hiding from you, because now he's afraid I'll rat him out. Afraid he'll get busted for mercilessly beating some poor kid at the bar just because he stood up for a friend. Afraid you'll haul him off for making a public nuisance of himself, not only bothering those kids, but everyone in the entire place with his ignorant nonsense.
"No sir. Haven't seen anyone suspicious like that. I'll keep an eye out for them, though, give you a call if I see anything."
The older man in the squad car smiled a friendly smile at Ricky, and Ricky couldn't help but smile back, still knowing that he was blatantly lying to an officer of the law just to save his friend some grief. It was wrong, he knew it was wrong, but he just couldn't rat Eric out, not after everything, even if he did deserve it.
"Thanks son, that'd be greatly appreciated," the officer chimed, "So many wild kids these days, goin' around starting up violence and acting all crazy. It's nice to see someone like you with some respect for authority. Wish there were more kids around here like you. Thanks, young man."
Yeah... more like me...
With that, the elderly officer waved a goodbye to Ricky and the squad car was once again off, creaking slowly down the streets in search of those who had caused all the mischief and mayhem at Benson's earlier. Fritz sure hadn't taken things lightly. When the officer was completely gone from site, Eric emerged from his hiding place in the bushes, wiping the sweat that had formulated above his brow off with his hand and sighing a relieved sigh. Walking up to his friend, the redhead clasped a hand on Ricky's shoulder and grinned.
"Whew, thanks bro, I owe ya one."
"Anytime... what are friends for?"
Indeed, what are friends for? Despite all the nonsense and the foolish stunts that Eric committed on a regular basis, despite his heartless and cruel use of women, despite his piss-poor attitude toward life in general, and despite his immature and selfish ways, he shared a special bond with Ricky. One that was almost unbreakable. It was the bond of brotherhood, and indeed, the two boys walking down Redwood Avenue shared a special, brother-like bond between them. From the time he had become friends with Eric, Ricky had stood up for him, fought for unjust causes in his name, done things he wasn't proud of just to look good in Eric's eyes. Always had, in in truth, probably always would.
(Eric continued in: What Some Might Call Home...)
(Ricky continued in: Usurper)
Location: Residential District
(Continued from: A Lone Soul at the Bar and Grill)
Could today possibly get any worse?
This was the solitary thought of Ricky Callahan as he ambled down the path of sidewalk running down Redwood Avenue. His eyes, still glued to the sidewalk after the embarrassing situation that had occured at Benson's Bar and Grill, every so often rose from their lowered position to look ahead of him. All was quiet on this residential street. Every once in a while, he would pass by an empty car parked on the corner of the road. This neighborhood was a peaceful, middle-class neighborhood. Mostly elderly people and established families, really. Out of the corner of his eye, he couldn't help but notice the group of young boys playing basketball in the middle of the street.
They sure don't make 'em like this anymore.
Indeed, in a world filled with chaos and confusion, it was rare to see the sort of peace and tranquility this neighborhood conveyed, still stuck in its old ways, without the thugs and street trash that had accumulated in many of the larger cities across New Jersey. This was why his parents had chosen to settle down here. The community surrounding Bathurst High School had been the original location, but Ricky had heard lots of bad things about Bathurst. The gang fetish that seemed to flourish in New York had passed across the river, namely to that school in Denton, relatively close by. At least, that's what he'd heard. Looking back, he found himself glad they'd settled down in this community.
His thoughts were quickly interrupted when the pattering sound of running feet began to echo from behind him. Turning around in surprise, Ricky could see the bouyant, bouncing red hair and grinning features of someone he'd considered a friend since his move to New Jersey: Eric Silvstedt.
"Hey! Hey bro, wait up!"
The shouts echoed down the street, and despite himself, Ricky stopped in place, awaiting his friend. If there was one thing he had learned about Eric since their meeting, it was that he was notorious for blowing off big events when it came to his friends. Ricky knew that never again would the incident be brought up where he had been slammed into the wall for standing up for Matthias Kovalenko. Maybe it was better that way, anyhow. Allowed the boys to remain friends despite all the harsh and uncalled for things Eric had done.
Eric skidded to a stop in front of Ricky, and the hispanic boy couldn't help but do a once-over of his rather messy looking friend. Eric was still running his hand over his mouth every so often, wiping away the blood that had accumulated when he'd bitten his tongue during the fight with Matthias. Ricky couldn't help but feel ashamed of the actions of both his friend and himself... after all, he'd done nothing to stop Eric's incessant bullying of the younger boy. It just didn't seem right. Despite it all, Ricky knew bringing up the matter would only result in another dispute between the two, and thought it better to just let it be over with.
"Man, you missed all the fun, dude!" Eric belted out, feeling rather proud of himself for his accomplishments. "Kid's baby sister showed up after you left. She thought she was hardcore, she was actually gonna try to fight me to stand up for her puss of an older brother. Can you BELIEVE that, bro? How fuckin' lame, right?"
Would you just shut up?
"Yeah. Lame."
Scowling somewhat as his friend dismissed the fight, Eric almost immediately shrugged his shoulders as though it were of little concern. Eric was proud of himself, he'd enjoyed what had just happened. Being able to hold himself over his fellow peers, being able to control them and bend them to his will, it made Eric Silvstedt feel powerful. And Eric... Eric liked that feeling. After all, he'd been powerless his entire life.
Powerless to stop his father from walking out the door. Powerless to stop his mother from smoking marijuana in a house full of kids. Powerless to keep her from sleeping with the random men she brought home every night. Powerless to stop her from shrieking and sobbing later on when she found out that she was pregnant again, or that she had contracted something else from one of those random men. Completely, totally, utterly powerless. But not anymore. Now, Eric was the one with all the power, the power to control everyone and everything, and it made him feel good inside. Worthwhile.
The two continued their walk down the beaten path of Redwood Avenue, neither exchanging many words. Ricky couldn't help but wonder why exactly he hung out with people like Eric Silvstedt, or why he let people like that push him around. In the end, he supposed it was because he just wanted to fit in. He didn't want to be that solitary kid in the back of class who never talked to anyone. Just like everyone else, Ricky had needs as well. Needs for companionship, friendship. Although looking back, he supposed that he could've made much better choices in the friends he had chosen to make.
Still, he considered Eric a friend. After all, he was the first person at Franklyn Senior High to ever extend a hand of friendship to the hispanic boy after his move. It was a move that had almost surprised Ricky, but Eric had actually reached out to him and tried to be his friend. Even through the boy's emotional outbursts and often immature attitude, Ricky had never forgotten this fact, and in the end, that was why he'd remained so loyal to Eric. Eric had pulled him into the first bond of friendship he'd ever made at Franklyn High, and without him, Ricky would probably still be that quiet, solitary kid sitting in the back of class.
And in the end, I suppose I owe him. For everything.
Ricky was quickly drawn back from his reverie as the sounds of a cop siren echoed loudly through his eardrums. Looking over, he could see the police officer sitting in the squad car, a friendly smile on his face as he flagged the hispanic boy over. Looking around momentarily for his friend, Ricky soon realized that Eric had bolted from sight upon the arrival of the squad car, and he couldn't help but think that this was probably one of the after-effects of the brawl that had broken out at Benson's. Calmly, Ricky approached the squad car, his hands still in his pockets as a friendly smile came across his face.
"Afternoon, officer," the boy greeted him in a friendly manner.
"Good afternoon, young man," the almost elderly looking officer replied en suite, "Got a call from one of the customers down at Benson's a while ago, said some kids were outside fighting in front of the store. Asked if we'd come down and check it out. Now we can't find the kids who started it, though."
Ricky's stomach sank a little bit as the officer interrogated him concerning the events at Benson's. Ricky had left long before the police had ever arrived. In fact, he had been completely oblivious to the fact that the police had even been called. Surely, they were looking for Eric, probably for causing a disturbance on public property. As Ricky struggled internally over the matter, he kept a calm, cool, relaxed face on the outside, only halfway listening to the officer's comments.
"You know anything about that? Just thought maybe you might've seen one of the hooligans walk past or somethin'."
He's standing in the bushes right over there, officer. He's hiding from you, because now he's afraid I'll rat him out. Afraid he'll get busted for mercilessly beating some poor kid at the bar just because he stood up for a friend. Afraid you'll haul him off for making a public nuisance of himself, not only bothering those kids, but everyone in the entire place with his ignorant nonsense.
"No sir. Haven't seen anyone suspicious like that. I'll keep an eye out for them, though, give you a call if I see anything."
The older man in the squad car smiled a friendly smile at Ricky, and Ricky couldn't help but smile back, still knowing that he was blatantly lying to an officer of the law just to save his friend some grief. It was wrong, he knew it was wrong, but he just couldn't rat Eric out, not after everything, even if he did deserve it.
"Thanks son, that'd be greatly appreciated," the officer chimed, "So many wild kids these days, goin' around starting up violence and acting all crazy. It's nice to see someone like you with some respect for authority. Wish there were more kids around here like you. Thanks, young man."
Yeah... more like me...
With that, the elderly officer waved a goodbye to Ricky and the squad car was once again off, creaking slowly down the streets in search of those who had caused all the mischief and mayhem at Benson's earlier. Fritz sure hadn't taken things lightly. When the officer was completely gone from site, Eric emerged from his hiding place in the bushes, wiping the sweat that had formulated above his brow off with his hand and sighing a relieved sigh. Walking up to his friend, the redhead clasped a hand on Ricky's shoulder and grinned.
"Whew, thanks bro, I owe ya one."
"Anytime... what are friends for?"
Indeed, what are friends for? Despite all the nonsense and the foolish stunts that Eric committed on a regular basis, despite his heartless and cruel use of women, despite his piss-poor attitude toward life in general, and despite his immature and selfish ways, he shared a special bond with Ricky. One that was almost unbreakable. It was the bond of brotherhood, and indeed, the two boys walking down Redwood Avenue shared a special, brother-like bond between them. From the time he had become friends with Eric, Ricky had stood up for him, fought for unjust causes in his name, done things he wasn't proud of just to look good in Eric's eyes. Always had, in in truth, probably always would.
(Eric continued in: What Some Might Call Home...)
(Ricky continued in: Usurper)
This is an archival account used by staff to port posts belonging to the handler Megami. While this handler hasn't been around in quite a while, should they return and wish to take custody of this account and/or its posts, they are welcome to do so by contacting staff.
Original Post Title: Usurper
Location: Callahan Residence, Carrington Pointe
(Continued from: Unbreakable Bonds)
It had been some time ago now that Ricky Callahan had parted ways with Eric Silvstedt. After blatantly lying to an officer of the law for someone he considered a friend, Ricky couldn't help but feel a bit guilty. Before he'd moved to this town and made his current friends, never in his life would he have dreamed of completely lying to a member of law enforcement over such a trivial matter. Now, all that had changed. The sad part was, it was in a vain attempt to make and keep the people who he thought were his frends. In the end, Ricky knew that, but was unable to quell the urge to fit in.
Sighing aloud, the dark-haired boy now leaned against the Callahans' dinner table, brooding over a complicated mathematics problem. He used to be so smart, used to make top marks in everything. Then again, that was around the time popularity took over, and it became important to be in the "in-crowd" and nerdy to be "smart". Shaking his head somewhat, he couldn't help but condemn himself a bit for trying to actually dumb himself down to fit in with his friends.
There was a time when I wouldn't have trouble doing this...
Though he mused the thought, Ricky thought that perhaps he wasn't as smart as he once thought he was. Maybe he hadn't tried to "dumb himself down", maybe he just wasn't as intelligent as he was made out to be. His parents had always made him out to be the proverbial "golden child", their gift from God brought onto the planet to bless them with knowledge and skill. These days, that term couldn't be farther from the truth. Ricky's grades had slipped from the high marks he used to receive to just slightly above average. He wasn't all that impressive anymore. He wasn't exactly the Callahan's little sports phenom either. He was just now getting to get off the bench and play a bit, and he still wasn't really all that good.
"Hey, bro."
His silent contemplation was brought to an abrupt hault as the voice echoed out from behind them. Raising his head and turning to look, Ricky greeted his younger brother with a slight wave. The younger Callahan sibling, age 16, was currently chugging the pint of milk from the refridgerator, and Ricky couldn't help but muse over the fact, a faint smile coming to his face.
"That's really disgusting, you know."
At the retort, Matt put the lid back on the milk and stuffed it back into the refridgerator. A wide smile crossed his face, and Ricky couldn't help but shake his head and laugh lightly at the milk mustache that had formed over his younger brother's upper lip. It was at that point that Ricky took a moment to really look over his younger brother for the first time in a very long time. Gone was the wide eyed, innocent little boy who used to ride on Ricky's coattails everywhere he went. Instead, somebody completely different had taken his place. Now, that pudgy little boy had turned into an adult.
The messily-fixed, jet-black cowlicked hair had long since been traded in for gelled-up spikes; his innocent, wide eyes had gradually transformed into more mature pools of dark brown; his round, chubby face had become more aged, defined, and mature. In fact, everything about Matt had changed. The tubby little boy had become a young man with a rather impressive physique. Tilting his head to the side at this new revelation, Ricky looked on in a sort of dumbstruck manner as Matt took a moment to wipe away the milk mustache.
"So..." Matt mused, still trifling through the contents of the refridgerator, "I got some pretty cool news today."
"Yeah?" Ricky mused, finally turning away from his brother and staring back at the math homework in a dumbfounded manner. This problem was impossible.
"Coach said that with the way I've been going this season, he's gonna go ahead and bump me up to the starting lineup next year if I keep playing. Cool, huh?"
This new revelation once again caused Ricky to cast aside his homework to look at his younger brother. He had just joined the football team this season. By all rights, he should be on the Junior Varsity team. And now, the coach was promising him starting lineup for next season? Surely he wasn't that good. Surely he couldn't beat out all those other kids who'd been playing for ages in such a short span... could he? Ricky'd been playing baseball since he was a kid, and he was just now getting out on the field in a regular game. Matt had just started playing football at the beginning of the year as a time-filler, and he was being bumped up already?
"Huh. Yeah, that's pretty cool."
Once again turning back to his homework, though now visibly aggravated at the new information he'd been provided, Ricky stared vacantly at the math problem once again, simply unable to solve it. After having been told Matt's "good" news, he was a bit flustered. That certainly wasn't helping his ability to do any math lately. Despite that, Ricky put on a smile, appearing to be quite happy for his younger brother.
"So... congratulations," he mused, putting on a front.
"Hey thanks man, I appreciate it," Matt replied, a smile forming on his lips.
Although the younger Callahan sibling would never admit it, he'd always looked up to his older brother. Ricky was always so smart, always so on top of things. He was down-to-earth and never seemed to lose his cool. Best of all, Ricky was smart, and he could still hang with the popular crowd, and for that, Matt absolutely idolized him. To him, Ricky Callahan was one of the coolest people on earth, despite his short-comings and lack of self-confidence. Perhaps he should've told him that once in a while.
Casually leaning over his older sibling's shoulder, Matt scowered the math problem Ricky currently seemed to be stuck on. It looked pretty complicated, but the lightbulb in Matt's head suddenly seemed to come on, and his face lit up with excitement. It was rare that he got the chance to help his older brother, it was usually the other way around, with Ricky leaning over his shoulder telling him the answers. Now, for once, it was his turn.
"By the way, the answer to that problem's 47," Matt mused.
A content smile formed on the younger boy's lips as he headed off into the living room, the contents of whatever he may have pulled from the refridgerator stowed away in his hand. Ricky's eyebrows raised slightly, as he was clearly taken aback by Matt's answer. Quickly running through the basic steps of the problem again and again, he almost immediately discovered that his brother was right, and that he'd managed to work the complicated problem that Ricky couldn't even do on paper in his head.
Suddenly, a feeling of sickness overcame the older boy. It was something that had been going on for a long, long time now, but it was at that very moment that Ricky finally came to a startling new realization. Not only was Matthew Callahan starting to grow into his own, he was actually starting to outshine his older brother. If this kept up, Ricky would no longer be the golden child of the Callahan family, and that little weasel would have come in and taken it all from underneath Ricky's nose.
In a way, it wasn't surprising. Ricky had been so concerned about playing off academics and improving in a sport that he wasn't really cut out for that he'd never noticed his brother striving for good grades and excelling in the world of sports. Never in his entire life, though, did Ricky Callahan thing that his very own brother, the kid who seemingly wanted to be Ricky's clone for ages, would be the very person trying to usurp his brother's position as the golden child.
Ricky's dark eyes narrowed slightly as he looked on at his brother, who was sitting contently on the living room couch laughing at some program or another on the television. The kid sat there laughing, as if nothing was going on, as if there were no reason for Ricky to be insecure and almost paranoid about what the future may hold. Through those thoughts, only one word ran through Ricky's mind at the time: traitor.
(Continued in: Memory)
Location: Callahan Residence, Carrington Pointe
(Continued from: Unbreakable Bonds)
It had been some time ago now that Ricky Callahan had parted ways with Eric Silvstedt. After blatantly lying to an officer of the law for someone he considered a friend, Ricky couldn't help but feel a bit guilty. Before he'd moved to this town and made his current friends, never in his life would he have dreamed of completely lying to a member of law enforcement over such a trivial matter. Now, all that had changed. The sad part was, it was in a vain attempt to make and keep the people who he thought were his frends. In the end, Ricky knew that, but was unable to quell the urge to fit in.
Sighing aloud, the dark-haired boy now leaned against the Callahans' dinner table, brooding over a complicated mathematics problem. He used to be so smart, used to make top marks in everything. Then again, that was around the time popularity took over, and it became important to be in the "in-crowd" and nerdy to be "smart". Shaking his head somewhat, he couldn't help but condemn himself a bit for trying to actually dumb himself down to fit in with his friends.
There was a time when I wouldn't have trouble doing this...
Though he mused the thought, Ricky thought that perhaps he wasn't as smart as he once thought he was. Maybe he hadn't tried to "dumb himself down", maybe he just wasn't as intelligent as he was made out to be. His parents had always made him out to be the proverbial "golden child", their gift from God brought onto the planet to bless them with knowledge and skill. These days, that term couldn't be farther from the truth. Ricky's grades had slipped from the high marks he used to receive to just slightly above average. He wasn't all that impressive anymore. He wasn't exactly the Callahan's little sports phenom either. He was just now getting to get off the bench and play a bit, and he still wasn't really all that good.
"Hey, bro."
His silent contemplation was brought to an abrupt hault as the voice echoed out from behind them. Raising his head and turning to look, Ricky greeted his younger brother with a slight wave. The younger Callahan sibling, age 16, was currently chugging the pint of milk from the refridgerator, and Ricky couldn't help but muse over the fact, a faint smile coming to his face.
"That's really disgusting, you know."
At the retort, Matt put the lid back on the milk and stuffed it back into the refridgerator. A wide smile crossed his face, and Ricky couldn't help but shake his head and laugh lightly at the milk mustache that had formed over his younger brother's upper lip. It was at that point that Ricky took a moment to really look over his younger brother for the first time in a very long time. Gone was the wide eyed, innocent little boy who used to ride on Ricky's coattails everywhere he went. Instead, somebody completely different had taken his place. Now, that pudgy little boy had turned into an adult.
The messily-fixed, jet-black cowlicked hair had long since been traded in for gelled-up spikes; his innocent, wide eyes had gradually transformed into more mature pools of dark brown; his round, chubby face had become more aged, defined, and mature. In fact, everything about Matt had changed. The tubby little boy had become a young man with a rather impressive physique. Tilting his head to the side at this new revelation, Ricky looked on in a sort of dumbstruck manner as Matt took a moment to wipe away the milk mustache.
"So..." Matt mused, still trifling through the contents of the refridgerator, "I got some pretty cool news today."
"Yeah?" Ricky mused, finally turning away from his brother and staring back at the math homework in a dumbfounded manner. This problem was impossible.
"Coach said that with the way I've been going this season, he's gonna go ahead and bump me up to the starting lineup next year if I keep playing. Cool, huh?"
This new revelation once again caused Ricky to cast aside his homework to look at his younger brother. He had just joined the football team this season. By all rights, he should be on the Junior Varsity team. And now, the coach was promising him starting lineup for next season? Surely he wasn't that good. Surely he couldn't beat out all those other kids who'd been playing for ages in such a short span... could he? Ricky'd been playing baseball since he was a kid, and he was just now getting out on the field in a regular game. Matt had just started playing football at the beginning of the year as a time-filler, and he was being bumped up already?
"Huh. Yeah, that's pretty cool."
Once again turning back to his homework, though now visibly aggravated at the new information he'd been provided, Ricky stared vacantly at the math problem once again, simply unable to solve it. After having been told Matt's "good" news, he was a bit flustered. That certainly wasn't helping his ability to do any math lately. Despite that, Ricky put on a smile, appearing to be quite happy for his younger brother.
"So... congratulations," he mused, putting on a front.
"Hey thanks man, I appreciate it," Matt replied, a smile forming on his lips.
Although the younger Callahan sibling would never admit it, he'd always looked up to his older brother. Ricky was always so smart, always so on top of things. He was down-to-earth and never seemed to lose his cool. Best of all, Ricky was smart, and he could still hang with the popular crowd, and for that, Matt absolutely idolized him. To him, Ricky Callahan was one of the coolest people on earth, despite his short-comings and lack of self-confidence. Perhaps he should've told him that once in a while.
Casually leaning over his older sibling's shoulder, Matt scowered the math problem Ricky currently seemed to be stuck on. It looked pretty complicated, but the lightbulb in Matt's head suddenly seemed to come on, and his face lit up with excitement. It was rare that he got the chance to help his older brother, it was usually the other way around, with Ricky leaning over his shoulder telling him the answers. Now, for once, it was his turn.
"By the way, the answer to that problem's 47," Matt mused.
A content smile formed on the younger boy's lips as he headed off into the living room, the contents of whatever he may have pulled from the refridgerator stowed away in his hand. Ricky's eyebrows raised slightly, as he was clearly taken aback by Matt's answer. Quickly running through the basic steps of the problem again and again, he almost immediately discovered that his brother was right, and that he'd managed to work the complicated problem that Ricky couldn't even do on paper in his head.
Suddenly, a feeling of sickness overcame the older boy. It was something that had been going on for a long, long time now, but it was at that very moment that Ricky finally came to a startling new realization. Not only was Matthew Callahan starting to grow into his own, he was actually starting to outshine his older brother. If this kept up, Ricky would no longer be the golden child of the Callahan family, and that little weasel would have come in and taken it all from underneath Ricky's nose.
In a way, it wasn't surprising. Ricky had been so concerned about playing off academics and improving in a sport that he wasn't really cut out for that he'd never noticed his brother striving for good grades and excelling in the world of sports. Never in his entire life, though, did Ricky Callahan thing that his very own brother, the kid who seemingly wanted to be Ricky's clone for ages, would be the very person trying to usurp his brother's position as the golden child.
Ricky's dark eyes narrowed slightly as he looked on at his brother, who was sitting contently on the living room couch laughing at some program or another on the television. The kid sat there laughing, as if nothing was going on, as if there were no reason for Ricky to be insecure and almost paranoid about what the future may hold. Through those thoughts, only one word ran through Ricky's mind at the time: traitor.
(Continued in: Memory)
This is an archival account used by staff to port posts belonging to the handler Megami. While this handler hasn't been around in quite a while, should they return and wish to take custody of this account and/or its posts, they are welcome to do so by contacting staff.
Original Post Title: Memory
Location: Callahan Residence, Carrington Pointe
(Continued from: Usurper. The below post contains crude language and sexual themes.)
The evening had long since departed into night, the tedious math homework had been painstakingly completed, Mr. and Mrs. Callahan had finally returned from their evening out, and now Ricky lay nestled in the dark blue blankets covering his bed. The day had been long and drawn out, from the earliest hours of the morning throughout his classes, to baseball practice, to dinner at Benson's, to the fight that had ensued, to the talk with the police officer, then to the grueling math homework he'd been assigned. Now, Ricky lay staring vacantly at the darkened ceiling of his bedroom, listening offhandedly to the radio that lay on the night stand next to his bed.
"This is D.J. Skeet with the X's nonstop request block, and that was Panic! at the Disco with their latest hit sweeping America. Now we're gonna slow things down a bit and take you back to yesteryear. Here's Coldplay with "Yellow", requested by Miss Alicia Hayes. Here ya go, Alicia. Enjoy!"
As the first mellow chords echoed out from the guitar and drifted through the CD player into Ricky's ears, he couldn't help but smile a bit. It seemed like eons ago that he had last heard this song. The last time he heard it, he remembered distinctly. It was right after he'd moved to New Jersey from Montana... right after he'd befriended Eric Silvstedt. Somehow, Eric and some of the other baseball boys had conned Ricky into attending one of Andy Edwards's infamous parties, and it was a night Ricky Callahan would never forget. It was the night he met her... the night everything changed for him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Quite the crowd had formed at the abode of one, Andy Edwards - a baseball player infamous for his parties. Above all the talking and commotion, the chaotic techno music that blasted from the nearby speakers was clearly audible. Ricky had entered the party and was completely taken aback by the sheer size of it all. People lined the stairwell and the upstairs corridors of Andy Edward's spacious home, and the floor below, which he and Eric were currently traversing, was even more cram packed. The techno music squealed to an abrupt end as Eric and Ricky approached the buffet that had been set out, as did the wild thrashing that was supposed to be dancing that was being done across the house.
"Alright, alright!" the D.J. exclaimed as the techno music came to an end. "We're gonna slow things down a bit now. Everybody's good and liquored up I trust, so it's time for some baby-makin' music to get your groove on to!"
The words incited a fit of giggles from many of the household's current occupants, most of whom had clearly already had far too much to drink. As the mellow guitar riffs at the very beginning of the Coldplay song "Yellow" boomed from the sound system, a few of the drunken girls grabbed random partners to dance with or got together to dance to the laid-back tune.
"This is for my man Andy, yo! You know he's gotta be kickin' it somewhere, cause he sure as hell ain't out here with the rest of us!"
With that, the D.J. stopped speaking into the microphone, and Ricky couldn't help but shake his head and laugh nervously at the chaos and confusion that was unfolding as a room full of drunken teenagers attempted to dance. Some of them were headed off to the semi-secluded areas of the house, looking for a private spot for a little one-on-one time. His thoughts immediately returned from their wandering state as Eric elbowed him in the stomach and all but shoved a Budweiser into his hand.
Look at the stars,
Look how they shine for you,
And everything you do,
Yeah they were all yellow
"You heard the man!" Eric shouted, clearly already under the influence. Come to think of it, Eric was a lightweight when it came to drinking... one beer usually sent him into a reverie, but it never stopped him from drinking more, "We're gonna get our groooooove on tonight!"
Eric cackled loudly as if amused by the word itself. It sounded sort of stupid in a sober state, but apparently it was hysterical when one is intoxicated. Ricky laughed half-heartedly at the remark, not thinking much of it, and offhandedly took a sip of the beer that had been shoved into his grasp. Eric stumbled forward a bit, still chugging on the bottle of Everclear he had confiscated from the table and was apparently drinking straight, then wrapped an arm around Ricky and patted him on the back.
"We gotta get you some pussy tonight, m'man! You're too uptight! You need to loooosen up!"
With that, Eric began shaking him vigorously, causing Ricky to step back a bit in slight surprise. All in all, the entire ordeal was amusing, but just a little bit on the embarrassing side. Casting a serious glance toward his frizzy-headed companion, he smiled casually, tipping his beer up as he took another sip.
"S'alright. I'm not too worried about it."
Eric was relentless in his efforts, however. He spoke again, his voice getting louder and louder, "Oh c'mon Callahan! Are you a fag or somethin'? What straight guy ain't into gettin' some ass?"
In his drunken state, Eric pulled his arms back a couple times, thrusting his pelvis forward as he did so. Ricky only shook his head and started laughing at the fact that his best friend was making a complete ass out of himself with no regard for the fact. Then again, everyone else was totally wasted too, or so it seemed. Nobody'd remember this, surely. If nothing else, the entire ordeal was providing Ricky with amusement. He hadn't had a good laugh since he'd moved to New Jersey from Montana. It was weird trying to settle in and make new friends. The party and Eric's idiotic actions took his mind off of it.
I came along
I wrote a song for you
And all the things you do
And it was called yellow
Eric's arm once again fell onto Ricky, though now it was apparent that he was using the hispanic boy as a means of holding himself up. Lightweight, indeed. Then again, he was drinking a bottle of Everclear with no chaser. It was surprising he hadn't puked by now. Give it a couple more minutes, the hispanic boy thought subconsciously. It was then that Eric began pushing through the crowd, dragging Ricky along with him as his newfound leaning post.
"Where are we going?" Ricky questioned offhandedly.
"Dude, I TOLD you!" Eric retorted matter-of-factly, "We gotta find us some hunnies!"
Shaking his head and laughing once again, Ricky couldn't help but turn a bit red at the remark. Eric was dead serious. That was the part that truly concerned Ricky. Then again, what Eric did wasn't really any of his business anyway. Sighing inwardly, he continued to walk with Eric through the spacious living room of the house toward the back, where the pool was located. All at once Eric turned, his finger pointed forward in a drunken stupor and a large grin spreading across his face. He grinned so wide that even his glazed-over eyes seemed to light up as he pointed.
"Hunnies ho!" the redhead yelled, causing Ricky to blush a bit in embarrassment once again.
So then I took my turn
Oh all the things I've done
And it was all yellow
Once again Ricky was being dragged, this time to the snack table that had been set up outside by the pool. Eric forcefully dragged him through all the half-nude and swimsuit clad bodies toward the table, the ridiculous grin not once leaving his face. He came to an abrupt halt, causing Ricky to stagger forward, and once again pointed, although not nearly as noticably this time.
Out of sheer curiosity, Ricky's eyes traced the path Eric's finger directed him in, and he finally saw what Eric was pointing at. Near the snack table stood a bubbly looking brunette in a deep red halter-top, a miniskirt that would've easily been showing the world her underwear had it been any shorter, and black high-heeled boots. Ricky wasn't really into the whole "bimbo" look... his attention slowly traveled to the figure accompanying the brunette.
And that was when he saw her. Her long blonde hair fell freely across what had to have been the most beautiful features he'd ever seen. The slinky black sundress she was wearing fit her form perfectly, and was neither too revealing nor too confining. Ricky was taken aback by the blonde, and zoned out for a moment, his face turning crimson in color as she seemed to glance over at him and smile... or maybe the alcohol was starting to get to him, and he was starting to hallucinate.
Your skin
Oh yeah your skin and bones
Turn into something beautiful
D'you know you know I love you so
You know I love you so
"So what d'ya think?" Eric cooed, his attention focused on the girls standing casually near the snack table.
Ricky had to admit, he was curious. Very curious. Not so much about the brunette, persay. She was pretty in her own right, though she seemed just about as intoxicated as Eric was at the moment and Ricky didn't find it very refined. Then again, he was at a high school party, what had he expected? The blonde girl, though... she was more his type. For one, she wasn't stumbling around drunk off her ass. Blondes were more his type anyway. Rather than press further on who the girl was, Ricky simply nodded his head approvingly.
"If you wanna get laid tonight, you should go for the brunette," Eric half-whispered in his ear, taking him slightly offguard, "She's super easy, she'd probably do us both. At the same time, even!"
Eric grinned a ridiculous grin, showcasing his drunken stupor all the more. Shaking his head a bit, Ricky smiled and shrugged. Eric was the one who wanted to "get laid", as he so kindly put it. That was definitely more his thing. Finally, Ricky decided to get brave and inquire about the blonde he'd had his eye on.
"The blonde...?" he mused, and that was all he had time to get out. Before he could even finish the sentence, Eric had jumped in.
"Her name's Whitney, and you can forget about her," Eric noted, getting extremely close to Ricky's ear to whisper, "She's a real uptight bitch."
I swam across
I jumped across for you
Oh all the things you do
Cause you were all yellow
Ricky frowned noticably as Eric stated the fact. Of course, Ricky hadn't been thinking on the same terms as Eric had. Still... at that moment, as if simply to prove a point, Eric began sauntering toward the two, doing his best to hold himself up. In a nervous state, Ricky trailed behind, half amused and half horrified by what he knew was bound to happen next. Much to his dismay, Eric headed straight for Whitney, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and catching her totally offguard.
"Wanna fuck?"
The blonde took a few steps back, away from Eric. This caused the redhead to stumble forward a bit toward Lexie Williams. Ricky was just as taken aback as the others in the group, save Eric. Whitney's face turned a bright red in color as she stared, mouth agape, at the boy who had just asked the blunt question to her. Lexie, however, had a wild smile painted on her lips. Whitney began shaking her head vigorously as if to convey the message, and she held up her hands defensively as she backed away.
"Hey!" Lexie chimed, causing Eric to raise an eyebrow, "I'll do it!"
I drew a line
I drew a line for you
Oh what a thing to do
And it was all yellow
Ricky had approached the group slowly, completely embarrassed by what had just occurred. The deal, however, seemed to be settled, and Eric and Lexie stumbled off toward one of the back rooms. Sidling up next to Whitney, Ricky shook his head and a nervous laugh escaped his lips. What an awkward situation, all around... and the sad part was that Eric probably wouldn't even remember the ordeal in the morning, but Whitney didn't seem intoxicated at all. She'd probably be able to recall it clear as crystal.
"Hey," he mused somewhat, still shaking his head as he watched Eric and Lexie stagger away together, "I'm really sorry about him. He's just a little... well, drunk."
A quiet laugh escaped the blonde's lips as she nodded. Apparently, she wasn't too upset about the entire ordeal. That in itself was probably a blessing in disguise. Ricky took another sip of the beer he'd been toting around for a large portion of the night and rubbed a spot on the back of his head absent-mindedly. He'd gotten this far only to realize that he had no idea what to possibly say next.
Your skin
Oh yeah your skin and bones
Turn into something beautiful
D'you know for you i bleed myself dry
For you i bleed myself dry
"Yeah..." Whitney mused, her lips forming into a light smile, "Just... caught me a little offguard is all. But I'll give him credit, that was blunt."
Ricky laughed, his head shaking a bit in embarrassment for Eric's drunken attempt to hit on her. Come to think of it, he'd seen Whitney around campus a lot. She was a cheerleader and one of the so-called popular girls, after all. He was honestly surprised by her friendly demeanor. Back at his old school, most of the girls like her were stuck-up snobs.
"He, uh, gets a little wild when he's drinking," Ricky confessed, smiling somewhat.
"I never would've imagined," Whitney chimed, laughing lightly at the thought, "I will say, this has been an interesting experience. The whole party scene isn't really my thing... this was all Lexie's doing, I just got dragged along for the ride."
"I hear ya on that one..."
Its true look how they shine for you
look how they shine for you
look how they shine for you
look how they shine for you
look how they shine for you
look how they shine
look at the stars look how they shine for you
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The song gradually faded into non-existence on the CD player and another song began to fill the silence of the room. Somewhere in the short span during which that occurred, Ricky Callahan finally dozed off into a peaceful slumber, physically and mentally preparing himself for the upcoming day ahead. Indeed, it had been a long and drawn out day, and it had left him completely exhausted. The hispanic boy drifted into sleep, one final thought passing through his head before exhaustion took hold and removed him from his reverie.
It's been a hell of a day...
((Continued in: Mi Familia))
Location: Callahan Residence, Carrington Pointe
(Continued from: Usurper. The below post contains crude language and sexual themes.)
The evening had long since departed into night, the tedious math homework had been painstakingly completed, Mr. and Mrs. Callahan had finally returned from their evening out, and now Ricky lay nestled in the dark blue blankets covering his bed. The day had been long and drawn out, from the earliest hours of the morning throughout his classes, to baseball practice, to dinner at Benson's, to the fight that had ensued, to the talk with the police officer, then to the grueling math homework he'd been assigned. Now, Ricky lay staring vacantly at the darkened ceiling of his bedroom, listening offhandedly to the radio that lay on the night stand next to his bed.
"This is D.J. Skeet with the X's nonstop request block, and that was Panic! at the Disco with their latest hit sweeping America. Now we're gonna slow things down a bit and take you back to yesteryear. Here's Coldplay with "Yellow", requested by Miss Alicia Hayes. Here ya go, Alicia. Enjoy!"
As the first mellow chords echoed out from the guitar and drifted through the CD player into Ricky's ears, he couldn't help but smile a bit. It seemed like eons ago that he had last heard this song. The last time he heard it, he remembered distinctly. It was right after he'd moved to New Jersey from Montana... right after he'd befriended Eric Silvstedt. Somehow, Eric and some of the other baseball boys had conned Ricky into attending one of Andy Edwards's infamous parties, and it was a night Ricky Callahan would never forget. It was the night he met her... the night everything changed for him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Quite the crowd had formed at the abode of one, Andy Edwards - a baseball player infamous for his parties. Above all the talking and commotion, the chaotic techno music that blasted from the nearby speakers was clearly audible. Ricky had entered the party and was completely taken aback by the sheer size of it all. People lined the stairwell and the upstairs corridors of Andy Edward's spacious home, and the floor below, which he and Eric were currently traversing, was even more cram packed. The techno music squealed to an abrupt end as Eric and Ricky approached the buffet that had been set out, as did the wild thrashing that was supposed to be dancing that was being done across the house.
"Alright, alright!" the D.J. exclaimed as the techno music came to an end. "We're gonna slow things down a bit now. Everybody's good and liquored up I trust, so it's time for some baby-makin' music to get your groove on to!"
The words incited a fit of giggles from many of the household's current occupants, most of whom had clearly already had far too much to drink. As the mellow guitar riffs at the very beginning of the Coldplay song "Yellow" boomed from the sound system, a few of the drunken girls grabbed random partners to dance with or got together to dance to the laid-back tune.
"This is for my man Andy, yo! You know he's gotta be kickin' it somewhere, cause he sure as hell ain't out here with the rest of us!"
With that, the D.J. stopped speaking into the microphone, and Ricky couldn't help but shake his head and laugh nervously at the chaos and confusion that was unfolding as a room full of drunken teenagers attempted to dance. Some of them were headed off to the semi-secluded areas of the house, looking for a private spot for a little one-on-one time. His thoughts immediately returned from their wandering state as Eric elbowed him in the stomach and all but shoved a Budweiser into his hand.
Look at the stars,
Look how they shine for you,
And everything you do,
Yeah they were all yellow
"You heard the man!" Eric shouted, clearly already under the influence. Come to think of it, Eric was a lightweight when it came to drinking... one beer usually sent him into a reverie, but it never stopped him from drinking more, "We're gonna get our groooooove on tonight!"
Eric cackled loudly as if amused by the word itself. It sounded sort of stupid in a sober state, but apparently it was hysterical when one is intoxicated. Ricky laughed half-heartedly at the remark, not thinking much of it, and offhandedly took a sip of the beer that had been shoved into his grasp. Eric stumbled forward a bit, still chugging on the bottle of Everclear he had confiscated from the table and was apparently drinking straight, then wrapped an arm around Ricky and patted him on the back.
"We gotta get you some pussy tonight, m'man! You're too uptight! You need to loooosen up!"
With that, Eric began shaking him vigorously, causing Ricky to step back a bit in slight surprise. All in all, the entire ordeal was amusing, but just a little bit on the embarrassing side. Casting a serious glance toward his frizzy-headed companion, he smiled casually, tipping his beer up as he took another sip.
"S'alright. I'm not too worried about it."
Eric was relentless in his efforts, however. He spoke again, his voice getting louder and louder, "Oh c'mon Callahan! Are you a fag or somethin'? What straight guy ain't into gettin' some ass?"
In his drunken state, Eric pulled his arms back a couple times, thrusting his pelvis forward as he did so. Ricky only shook his head and started laughing at the fact that his best friend was making a complete ass out of himself with no regard for the fact. Then again, everyone else was totally wasted too, or so it seemed. Nobody'd remember this, surely. If nothing else, the entire ordeal was providing Ricky with amusement. He hadn't had a good laugh since he'd moved to New Jersey from Montana. It was weird trying to settle in and make new friends. The party and Eric's idiotic actions took his mind off of it.
I came along
I wrote a song for you
And all the things you do
And it was called yellow
Eric's arm once again fell onto Ricky, though now it was apparent that he was using the hispanic boy as a means of holding himself up. Lightweight, indeed. Then again, he was drinking a bottle of Everclear with no chaser. It was surprising he hadn't puked by now. Give it a couple more minutes, the hispanic boy thought subconsciously. It was then that Eric began pushing through the crowd, dragging Ricky along with him as his newfound leaning post.
"Where are we going?" Ricky questioned offhandedly.
"Dude, I TOLD you!" Eric retorted matter-of-factly, "We gotta find us some hunnies!"
Shaking his head and laughing once again, Ricky couldn't help but turn a bit red at the remark. Eric was dead serious. That was the part that truly concerned Ricky. Then again, what Eric did wasn't really any of his business anyway. Sighing inwardly, he continued to walk with Eric through the spacious living room of the house toward the back, where the pool was located. All at once Eric turned, his finger pointed forward in a drunken stupor and a large grin spreading across his face. He grinned so wide that even his glazed-over eyes seemed to light up as he pointed.
"Hunnies ho!" the redhead yelled, causing Ricky to blush a bit in embarrassment once again.
So then I took my turn
Oh all the things I've done
And it was all yellow
Once again Ricky was being dragged, this time to the snack table that had been set up outside by the pool. Eric forcefully dragged him through all the half-nude and swimsuit clad bodies toward the table, the ridiculous grin not once leaving his face. He came to an abrupt halt, causing Ricky to stagger forward, and once again pointed, although not nearly as noticably this time.
Out of sheer curiosity, Ricky's eyes traced the path Eric's finger directed him in, and he finally saw what Eric was pointing at. Near the snack table stood a bubbly looking brunette in a deep red halter-top, a miniskirt that would've easily been showing the world her underwear had it been any shorter, and black high-heeled boots. Ricky wasn't really into the whole "bimbo" look... his attention slowly traveled to the figure accompanying the brunette.
And that was when he saw her. Her long blonde hair fell freely across what had to have been the most beautiful features he'd ever seen. The slinky black sundress she was wearing fit her form perfectly, and was neither too revealing nor too confining. Ricky was taken aback by the blonde, and zoned out for a moment, his face turning crimson in color as she seemed to glance over at him and smile... or maybe the alcohol was starting to get to him, and he was starting to hallucinate.
Your skin
Oh yeah your skin and bones
Turn into something beautiful
D'you know you know I love you so
You know I love you so
"So what d'ya think?" Eric cooed, his attention focused on the girls standing casually near the snack table.
Ricky had to admit, he was curious. Very curious. Not so much about the brunette, persay. She was pretty in her own right, though she seemed just about as intoxicated as Eric was at the moment and Ricky didn't find it very refined. Then again, he was at a high school party, what had he expected? The blonde girl, though... she was more his type. For one, she wasn't stumbling around drunk off her ass. Blondes were more his type anyway. Rather than press further on who the girl was, Ricky simply nodded his head approvingly.
"If you wanna get laid tonight, you should go for the brunette," Eric half-whispered in his ear, taking him slightly offguard, "She's super easy, she'd probably do us both. At the same time, even!"
Eric grinned a ridiculous grin, showcasing his drunken stupor all the more. Shaking his head a bit, Ricky smiled and shrugged. Eric was the one who wanted to "get laid", as he so kindly put it. That was definitely more his thing. Finally, Ricky decided to get brave and inquire about the blonde he'd had his eye on.
"The blonde...?" he mused, and that was all he had time to get out. Before he could even finish the sentence, Eric had jumped in.
"Her name's Whitney, and you can forget about her," Eric noted, getting extremely close to Ricky's ear to whisper, "She's a real uptight bitch."
I swam across
I jumped across for you
Oh all the things you do
Cause you were all yellow
Ricky frowned noticably as Eric stated the fact. Of course, Ricky hadn't been thinking on the same terms as Eric had. Still... at that moment, as if simply to prove a point, Eric began sauntering toward the two, doing his best to hold himself up. In a nervous state, Ricky trailed behind, half amused and half horrified by what he knew was bound to happen next. Much to his dismay, Eric headed straight for Whitney, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and catching her totally offguard.
"Wanna fuck?"
The blonde took a few steps back, away from Eric. This caused the redhead to stumble forward a bit toward Lexie Williams. Ricky was just as taken aback as the others in the group, save Eric. Whitney's face turned a bright red in color as she stared, mouth agape, at the boy who had just asked the blunt question to her. Lexie, however, had a wild smile painted on her lips. Whitney began shaking her head vigorously as if to convey the message, and she held up her hands defensively as she backed away.
"Hey!" Lexie chimed, causing Eric to raise an eyebrow, "I'll do it!"
I drew a line
I drew a line for you
Oh what a thing to do
And it was all yellow
Ricky had approached the group slowly, completely embarrassed by what had just occurred. The deal, however, seemed to be settled, and Eric and Lexie stumbled off toward one of the back rooms. Sidling up next to Whitney, Ricky shook his head and a nervous laugh escaped his lips. What an awkward situation, all around... and the sad part was that Eric probably wouldn't even remember the ordeal in the morning, but Whitney didn't seem intoxicated at all. She'd probably be able to recall it clear as crystal.
"Hey," he mused somewhat, still shaking his head as he watched Eric and Lexie stagger away together, "I'm really sorry about him. He's just a little... well, drunk."
A quiet laugh escaped the blonde's lips as she nodded. Apparently, she wasn't too upset about the entire ordeal. That in itself was probably a blessing in disguise. Ricky took another sip of the beer he'd been toting around for a large portion of the night and rubbed a spot on the back of his head absent-mindedly. He'd gotten this far only to realize that he had no idea what to possibly say next.
Your skin
Oh yeah your skin and bones
Turn into something beautiful
D'you know for you i bleed myself dry
For you i bleed myself dry
"Yeah..." Whitney mused, her lips forming into a light smile, "Just... caught me a little offguard is all. But I'll give him credit, that was blunt."
Ricky laughed, his head shaking a bit in embarrassment for Eric's drunken attempt to hit on her. Come to think of it, he'd seen Whitney around campus a lot. She was a cheerleader and one of the so-called popular girls, after all. He was honestly surprised by her friendly demeanor. Back at his old school, most of the girls like her were stuck-up snobs.
"He, uh, gets a little wild when he's drinking," Ricky confessed, smiling somewhat.
"I never would've imagined," Whitney chimed, laughing lightly at the thought, "I will say, this has been an interesting experience. The whole party scene isn't really my thing... this was all Lexie's doing, I just got dragged along for the ride."
"I hear ya on that one..."
Its true look how they shine for you
look how they shine for you
look how they shine for you
look how they shine for you
look how they shine for you
look how they shine
look at the stars look how they shine for you
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The song gradually faded into non-existence on the CD player and another song began to fill the silence of the room. Somewhere in the short span during which that occurred, Ricky Callahan finally dozed off into a peaceful slumber, physically and mentally preparing himself for the upcoming day ahead. Indeed, it had been a long and drawn out day, and it had left him completely exhausted. The hispanic boy drifted into sleep, one final thought passing through his head before exhaustion took hold and removed him from his reverie.
It's been a hell of a day...
((Continued in: Mi Familia))
This is an archival account used by staff to port posts belonging to the handler Megami. While this handler hasn't been around in quite a while, should they return and wish to take custody of this account and/or its posts, they are welcome to do so by contacting staff.
Original Post Title: Mi Familia
Location: Callahan Residence, Carrington Pointe
((Continued from: Memory))
The faint aroma of eggs and bacon entered Ricky Callahan's nostrils even from his position sheltered behind the shower curtain of the second-story bathroom. Even over the crashing of water spewing from the shower head, the harmonious voice of Selena Callahan was barely audible, quietly singing a Spanish tune while she prepared breakfast. It had been like this for as long as he could remember, family time was always an important routine in the Callahan household and it had become almost a religious practice over the years for the family to have breakfast together. Unfortunately, with the boys' busy schedules, they were finding it more and more difficult to do so.
With somewhat of a squeak, the hot water came to an abrupt hault and Ricky absent-mindedly reached for the dark burgundy towel hanging from the nearby towel rack and he wrapped it around his waist before completely opening the shower door and stepping out onto the white tiled floor of the steam-filled bathroom. Bare feet patted quietly across the tile, and Ricky stood straining his eyes for a moment to see through the fog-covered bathroom mirror. His efforts were in vain, however, and the fog was currently impenetrable.
Exhaling a defeated sigh, Ricky grabbed the gel sitting on the sink counter and proceeded to run his fingers through his hair, styling it in a flurry of messy spikes that stood up across the length of his head. Apparently satisfied with his style of choice for the day, Ricky readjusted the towel around his waist before bumbling over to the bathroom door. A gust of steam emitted into the newly opened area as Ricky exited the bathroom. A right-hand turn and a few feet led him to his room, and Ricky couldn't help but laugh inwardly at the fact that in the short time he had been in the shower, his bed had mysteriously seemed to make itself. In addition, yesterday's clothing articles, which had been carelessly disguarded in the floor the night prior, had mysteriously floated into the laundry basket in the corner of the room.
Ricky stepped into the rather dark bedroom, shutting the door behind him and noting as a soft click was made, signifying that the door was indeed shut. For someone who played sports and shared a locker room with dozens of other guys on a regular basis, Ricky was still a bit insecure with himself. Glancing offhandedly into the mirror at his rather toned and defined chest, he didn't really understand why. Then again, he wasn't Matt. He didn't make it a point to run around the house practically in the buff. Sighing and shaking his head slightly at the thought of his arrogant and overconfident little brother, Ricky pulled the black tanktop that had been tossed haphazardly over the television set over his head and changed into a pair of khaki cargo pants that appeared to be clean before once again giving himself a once-over in the mirror.
Satisfied with the messily thrown together look that he'd taken on, Ricky kicked the burgundy towel he'd adorned only moments before into the corner of the room, not bothering to place it in the laundry hamper along with the other dirty clothes. Eventually, the towel too would mysteriously float into its correct position. It always did. Pushing the door open, Ricky was startled as he came face to face with his younger brother. Matt, whose distraught looking dark hair indicated that he'd literally just rolled out of bed, grinned before a yawn passed over his lips. Despite himself, Ricky felt the smile that came over his own features as well. In a way, it was ironic how someone he'd resented so desperately only hours prior could once again find their way into his good graces.
"HIJOS!"
Before either brother had time to speak, the thickly accented voice of the middle-aged hispanic woman in the kitchen rang out through the house. Ricky's mother, having moved to the United States from Mexico in her late teens, spoke what could best be described as Spanglish. While she was quite familiar with the English language, it was blatantly obvious that she was much more comfortable in her Spanish roots. When speaking English, she had a prevalent Spanish accent that made her somewhat difficult to understand at times. In Spanish, that accent was multiplied tenfold, clearly discerning it as her native language.
"Breakfast is ready!" the voice rang out again, the accent duly notible even from the boys' position atop the flight of stairs, "Vamos!"
Shrugging slightly, Matt hopped onto the banister and slid down, nearly missing the landing completely and having to clutch the rail for a moment to regain some sense of balance. Shaking his head and trying to hide the smile that had formed on his lips at the sight of his brother's almost idiotic actions, Ricky followed en suite, rounding out the corner into the southwestern-style kitchen only to see his brother already plopped down at his designated chair and going to town on the breakfast that had been prepared for them. Ricky was taken aback slightly as he was greeted by an embrace from the overly compassionate hispanic woman adorning a white apron.
"Buenos días, mi amor," she cooed, the motherly smile she was quite well-known for passing over her features, "I hope you're hungry."
"Always," Ricky chimed lightly before sliding into place beside his brother at the table.
Selena bustled around the kitchen momentarily before placing a plate of food in front of the older Callahan son. Looking around absent-mindedly, Ricky noted the apparent disappearance of one crucial member of the family, that being Richard Callahan, their father. Most likely, Richard had already had to leave to attend to business. It happened often, even when the boys were growing up. It crossed his mind to ask about the whereabouts of his father, but inwardly, Ricky knew better. Family was a big part of everyday life for his mother, and she might get upset that as usual, his father had missed breakfast. He'd overheard them fighting the other night about the fact that his father missed out on so much on a regular basis. But that was neither here nor there.
Almost as soon as Ricky began to inspect his food, an awkward little habit he had before he'd eat anything, Matt was finished. The wooden chair in which he was seated was pushed out with a loud grinding noise against the floor, which received a slightly annoyed glance from his mother. Just as quickly, Matt uttered something unintelligable and bounded up the stairs, presumably headed for the shower. Ricky simply looked on sleepily at the wide-eyed teenager, thinking that his little brother had far too much energy in the morning. Disguarding the fact, Ricky went back to his food, only to once again be interrupted by the quiet and subtle voice of his mother.
"Mi amor," she stated kindly, saddling up behind Ricky's chair and placing her hands atop it, "I have a favor."
Ricky's eyebrows raised slightly and he tried desperately to hide the disappointed look that crossed over his features. He'd planned on simply spending the day by himself, enjoying what little free time he actually had during these last few years of high school. When mom had a favor to ask, it usually involved Ricky doing some sort of fruitless and grueling labor like cleaning out the garage or mowing the lawn. He shuddered inwardly at the thought. Placing the thoughts in the back of his mind, a faux smile formed on his lips and he turned to his mother with a look of pained curiosity.
"What's up?"
"Pues..." she began, and Ricky couldn't help but bite down on his lower lip as she talked. So much for that free afternoon. "There is much to do around the house today, and I have some... some... errands... that need to be run. You don't mind, do you hijo?"
And there it goes. Ricky watched in horror as his free time grew wings and simply flew out the window. He shouldn't known better than to think that he could get some alone time. It just didn't happen in this household. Besides, how do you tell your mother, the woman who brought you into this world, that you can't do her errands because you want to be by yourself today? So, like the good little puppet son that he always had been, Ricky found himself smiling and nodding. Of course he'd do them, despite the fact that it ruined any and all plans he might've had today, despite the fact that he really didn't want to do it, despite the fact that he detested errands and chores and his parents never offered him a dime for his troubles. He'd do it because he was a responsible person and because he was supposed to be setting an example for Matt. And because... well, because that's what good kids do. Right?
"Gracias, mi amor," the dark haired woman once again cooed, though this time she moved from behind Ricky's chair and grasped a pen and piece of paper before vigorously scribbling various tasks and missions that had to be accomplished that day on it.
"Anytime, mom..."
The disappointment in his voice wasn't apparent, not enough so that Selena picked up on it, anyway. Family was a very large part of Ricky Callahan's life, because family was a very large part of Selena Callahan's life. It was a belief that both he and Matt had had forced upon them for many, many years. Oftentimes, Ricky found himself sacrificing his individuality for the sake of his family. Maybe that was why he ran around with a troublemaker like Eric Silvstedt who obviously had no concern whatsoever for his own family. It made Ricky feel independent, liberated, even somewhat rebellious. The thoughts were immediately flung from his mind as his mother once again embraced him in a tender and loving hug. Family. Indeed.
((Continued in: Distractions and Diversions))
Location: Callahan Residence, Carrington Pointe
((Continued from: Memory))
The faint aroma of eggs and bacon entered Ricky Callahan's nostrils even from his position sheltered behind the shower curtain of the second-story bathroom. Even over the crashing of water spewing from the shower head, the harmonious voice of Selena Callahan was barely audible, quietly singing a Spanish tune while she prepared breakfast. It had been like this for as long as he could remember, family time was always an important routine in the Callahan household and it had become almost a religious practice over the years for the family to have breakfast together. Unfortunately, with the boys' busy schedules, they were finding it more and more difficult to do so.
With somewhat of a squeak, the hot water came to an abrupt hault and Ricky absent-mindedly reached for the dark burgundy towel hanging from the nearby towel rack and he wrapped it around his waist before completely opening the shower door and stepping out onto the white tiled floor of the steam-filled bathroom. Bare feet patted quietly across the tile, and Ricky stood straining his eyes for a moment to see through the fog-covered bathroom mirror. His efforts were in vain, however, and the fog was currently impenetrable.
Exhaling a defeated sigh, Ricky grabbed the gel sitting on the sink counter and proceeded to run his fingers through his hair, styling it in a flurry of messy spikes that stood up across the length of his head. Apparently satisfied with his style of choice for the day, Ricky readjusted the towel around his waist before bumbling over to the bathroom door. A gust of steam emitted into the newly opened area as Ricky exited the bathroom. A right-hand turn and a few feet led him to his room, and Ricky couldn't help but laugh inwardly at the fact that in the short time he had been in the shower, his bed had mysteriously seemed to make itself. In addition, yesterday's clothing articles, which had been carelessly disguarded in the floor the night prior, had mysteriously floated into the laundry basket in the corner of the room.
Ricky stepped into the rather dark bedroom, shutting the door behind him and noting as a soft click was made, signifying that the door was indeed shut. For someone who played sports and shared a locker room with dozens of other guys on a regular basis, Ricky was still a bit insecure with himself. Glancing offhandedly into the mirror at his rather toned and defined chest, he didn't really understand why. Then again, he wasn't Matt. He didn't make it a point to run around the house practically in the buff. Sighing and shaking his head slightly at the thought of his arrogant and overconfident little brother, Ricky pulled the black tanktop that had been tossed haphazardly over the television set over his head and changed into a pair of khaki cargo pants that appeared to be clean before once again giving himself a once-over in the mirror.
Satisfied with the messily thrown together look that he'd taken on, Ricky kicked the burgundy towel he'd adorned only moments before into the corner of the room, not bothering to place it in the laundry hamper along with the other dirty clothes. Eventually, the towel too would mysteriously float into its correct position. It always did. Pushing the door open, Ricky was startled as he came face to face with his younger brother. Matt, whose distraught looking dark hair indicated that he'd literally just rolled out of bed, grinned before a yawn passed over his lips. Despite himself, Ricky felt the smile that came over his own features as well. In a way, it was ironic how someone he'd resented so desperately only hours prior could once again find their way into his good graces.
"HIJOS!"
Before either brother had time to speak, the thickly accented voice of the middle-aged hispanic woman in the kitchen rang out through the house. Ricky's mother, having moved to the United States from Mexico in her late teens, spoke what could best be described as Spanglish. While she was quite familiar with the English language, it was blatantly obvious that she was much more comfortable in her Spanish roots. When speaking English, she had a prevalent Spanish accent that made her somewhat difficult to understand at times. In Spanish, that accent was multiplied tenfold, clearly discerning it as her native language.
"Breakfast is ready!" the voice rang out again, the accent duly notible even from the boys' position atop the flight of stairs, "Vamos!"
Shrugging slightly, Matt hopped onto the banister and slid down, nearly missing the landing completely and having to clutch the rail for a moment to regain some sense of balance. Shaking his head and trying to hide the smile that had formed on his lips at the sight of his brother's almost idiotic actions, Ricky followed en suite, rounding out the corner into the southwestern-style kitchen only to see his brother already plopped down at his designated chair and going to town on the breakfast that had been prepared for them. Ricky was taken aback slightly as he was greeted by an embrace from the overly compassionate hispanic woman adorning a white apron.
"Buenos días, mi amor," she cooed, the motherly smile she was quite well-known for passing over her features, "I hope you're hungry."
"Always," Ricky chimed lightly before sliding into place beside his brother at the table.
Selena bustled around the kitchen momentarily before placing a plate of food in front of the older Callahan son. Looking around absent-mindedly, Ricky noted the apparent disappearance of one crucial member of the family, that being Richard Callahan, their father. Most likely, Richard had already had to leave to attend to business. It happened often, even when the boys were growing up. It crossed his mind to ask about the whereabouts of his father, but inwardly, Ricky knew better. Family was a big part of everyday life for his mother, and she might get upset that as usual, his father had missed breakfast. He'd overheard them fighting the other night about the fact that his father missed out on so much on a regular basis. But that was neither here nor there.
Almost as soon as Ricky began to inspect his food, an awkward little habit he had before he'd eat anything, Matt was finished. The wooden chair in which he was seated was pushed out with a loud grinding noise against the floor, which received a slightly annoyed glance from his mother. Just as quickly, Matt uttered something unintelligable and bounded up the stairs, presumably headed for the shower. Ricky simply looked on sleepily at the wide-eyed teenager, thinking that his little brother had far too much energy in the morning. Disguarding the fact, Ricky went back to his food, only to once again be interrupted by the quiet and subtle voice of his mother.
"Mi amor," she stated kindly, saddling up behind Ricky's chair and placing her hands atop it, "I have a favor."
Ricky's eyebrows raised slightly and he tried desperately to hide the disappointed look that crossed over his features. He'd planned on simply spending the day by himself, enjoying what little free time he actually had during these last few years of high school. When mom had a favor to ask, it usually involved Ricky doing some sort of fruitless and grueling labor like cleaning out the garage or mowing the lawn. He shuddered inwardly at the thought. Placing the thoughts in the back of his mind, a faux smile formed on his lips and he turned to his mother with a look of pained curiosity.
"What's up?"
"Pues..." she began, and Ricky couldn't help but bite down on his lower lip as she talked. So much for that free afternoon. "There is much to do around the house today, and I have some... some... errands... that need to be run. You don't mind, do you hijo?"
And there it goes. Ricky watched in horror as his free time grew wings and simply flew out the window. He shouldn't known better than to think that he could get some alone time. It just didn't happen in this household. Besides, how do you tell your mother, the woman who brought you into this world, that you can't do her errands because you want to be by yourself today? So, like the good little puppet son that he always had been, Ricky found himself smiling and nodding. Of course he'd do them, despite the fact that it ruined any and all plans he might've had today, despite the fact that he really didn't want to do it, despite the fact that he detested errands and chores and his parents never offered him a dime for his troubles. He'd do it because he was a responsible person and because he was supposed to be setting an example for Matt. And because... well, because that's what good kids do. Right?
"Gracias, mi amor," the dark haired woman once again cooed, though this time she moved from behind Ricky's chair and grasped a pen and piece of paper before vigorously scribbling various tasks and missions that had to be accomplished that day on it.
"Anytime, mom..."
The disappointment in his voice wasn't apparent, not enough so that Selena picked up on it, anyway. Family was a very large part of Ricky Callahan's life, because family was a very large part of Selena Callahan's life. It was a belief that both he and Matt had had forced upon them for many, many years. Oftentimes, Ricky found himself sacrificing his individuality for the sake of his family. Maybe that was why he ran around with a troublemaker like Eric Silvstedt who obviously had no concern whatsoever for his own family. It made Ricky feel independent, liberated, even somewhat rebellious. The thoughts were immediately flung from his mind as his mother once again embraced him in a tender and loving hug. Family. Indeed.
((Continued in: Distractions and Diversions))
This is an archival account used by staff to port posts belonging to the handler Megami. While this handler hasn't been around in quite a while, should they return and wish to take custody of this account and/or its posts, they are welcome to do so by contacting staff.
Original Post Title: Distractions and Diversions
Location: Parkway Shopping Plaza
Posted by: Megami Aug 24 2006, 11:48 PM
((Continued from: http://z10.DEFUNCT_IF_LINK/SurvivalOfTheF...howtopic=1211))
How did I ever get talked into this?
The thought passed through the mind of Ricky Callahan as he wandered idly through "El Mercado", a Mexican supermarket that his mother often purchased a majority of their weekly groceries from. How she'd ever talked him into running to the store to pick up a few things was beyond him, and as he'd almost expected, "a few things" had turned into a basket-full. Throwing a bell pepper at random into the hand-held basket as he walked by, he didn't even bother to examine the other produce to see if there was a better one.
Ricky hated shopping of any kind, especially grocery shopping in this ghetto-looking supermarket. Self-proclaimed supermarket, anyway. It was hardly bigger than a convenience store, really. It was run by Alfonzo Lopez, who just happened to be a family friend of the Callahan's, and had been kind enough to allow his mother to set up a charge account at the store for whenever she sent one of the boys in after this or that random forget-me-not needed for dinner.
Turning the aisle to find two rather wide Hispanic women rambling on in Spanish and effectively blocking the entire aisle as they did so, Ricky sighed a bit. The women were turned where their baskets took up the entire length of the walkway, and to put icing on the cake, what could best be described as the herd of children that was divided amongst the two women ran aimlessly up and down the aisle, further blockading it. Glancing down at the list in his hand, he mentally crossed off sugar. Matt could eat his cheerios plain, 'cause there was no way Ricky was going down that aisle.
One of the women cast him a sidelong glance before continuing to chatter away to the other woman, never showing any intentions of stepping out of the way. Sighing forelornly, Ricky turned around and exited the aisle from the direction he had come. Looking over the list once more, as well as the items that had accumulated in the basket he currently toted around the store. He'd decided that the last item on his list was unattainable except by drastic measures, and quite frankly, Ricky wasn't willing to get verbally assaulted -- or eaten alive -- by the two fat women blockading the walkway for his brother's sugar.
Instead, Ricky meandered up to the counter where Alfonzo was standing. The Puerto Rican man lit up into a smile that seemed to overtake the entirety of his face as Ricky appeared. Alfonzo was a good guy. He was a hard worker, and he spent a lot of time down at the store now that he was once again a bachelor. Sad story, really. He and his wife had a nasty divorce. He got the house, she got the kids. And the car. And half his money. Poor guy really got the short end of that stick. Despite everything, Alfonzo seemed straight about the entire incident, as though it didn't bother him.
"Ricardo!" the mustached man greeted him with enthusiasm, "You find everything okay?"
No, there's two cows blocking the middle of your store.
"Always, sir."
Alfonzo virtually removed the basket from Ricky's hands and began checking out and sacking the items that had accumulated inside. Ricky smiled gratefully, though in all honesty, he just wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible. He detested doing errands, especially errands like these.
"So when are you gonna come work for me?" Alfonzo inquired with a grin.
When I die.
"You know me, man. I'm jam-packed with school stuff right now. Maybe this summer or something? Baseball's taking up a lot of my time right now, I doubt you'd want me down here flubbing things up and not being able to show up for work, you know?"
Way to go, "Ricardo". Lie yourself out of another one. You have all sorts of free time, you just don't want to do it. Why don't you just tell the man that you don't want to work in this backwater Mexican marketplace? You're too damned nice for your own good.
"I hear ya, I hear ya," Alfonzo mused, before quickly adding in, "Your total's $21.87. Charge?"
"Yeah," Ricky mused, reaching for the piece of paper Alfonzo offered up and signing it, "Thanks man."
"Anytime," Alfonzo stated coyly.
Grabbing the sacks that the groceries had been placed in, Ricky bid the Puerto Rican cashier adieu before heading for the glass door of El Mercado and out into the beating sun of another day. He still had a lot to do, so needless to say, he was rather glad that none of the food he had purchased would perish anytime soon. Sighing a bit, he headed to the blue truck sitting in the parking lot of the shopping plaza and unlocked it long enough to toss the groceries inside.
Knowing he had chores to do, but desperately wishing to avoid them at all costs, Ricky found his attention lost on the random shops and bistros scattered throughout the shopping plaza. Once again locking the truck, Ricky meandered back toward the outdoor mall, walking idly down the sidewalk whilst looking inside the various shops. He wasn't ready to finish those errands yet, and besides, they didn't have to be done right this second. He could always stop for lunch or something, right? Something... anything to get away from these monotonous chores for a while. Ricky eyed the shops and restaurants, waiting for something of interest to jump out at him.
Posted by: Kaishi Aug 30 2006, 03:23 AM
When you're in the zone, you can do anything. You can jump off a bridge and survive. You can shove your way through a crowd without reprimand. You can play basketball beyond stupid free throw shots. And that was all because things just flowed. Writing, talking, and walking was easier with your fingers faster, your mouth softer, and your feet so much more skippy. Jean was hoping that by the time he had walked to the Shopping Plaza all the way from his home in Carrington Pointe that his muse, so to say, would return. The only thing he had obtained during his travels was a massive headache, mud splattered jeans, and a tear in the sole of his shoe.
His parents would probably kill him for that, even though the shoe thing hadn't exactly been his fault. The messy jeans were because he ran through a mud puddle in a fit of childhood nostalgia. The dirty water hit him right enough to give him an earthquake of a migraine. Needless to say, that naive walking idea had been uneffective. All it was doing was blocking him more than he had been at the start.
This was starting to become impossible. Maybe it was the dorky sweater vest that was getting Jean W. Firenze so down, or the way he had tweaked his hair so it could sweep to the side. The brown locks barely brushed the middle of his neck, making the whole hairstyle look nancy freako at best. If it weren't for the thick sideburns, Jean could be mistakened for a fugly, fat dyke. His puffy-cheeked face was on a long journey to slimdom, its quest enlogated by overindulgence in the form of chocolate. Blame it on his Dutch quarter, Jean had to have a bite atleast once a day. The weak acne gained from his frequent chocofests was hidden cleverly by his bangs. Through the sweater vest, you could see moobs forming from neglecting fitness excercises, ugh. He hid the worst of his body with a pair of jeans and black and orange nameless brand sneakers ("fag bobos" were what some witty Franklynians called them).
El Mercado, that Mexican shop, probably wasn't a good place to go for candy bars. Jean had never heard of a Mexican chocolate bar, after all, which made his search up and down the aisles rather mundane. The search wouldn't've wound up so badly if he had just looked in the appropiate treat section. Oi, empty handed, Jean Firenze went back outside. Now, what could be done in the Plaza with a measly fistful of ten one dollar bills? A straight $10 didn't amount to much, especially in the face of store windows displaying items priced at an upwards of thirty. Jean pressed his face up to a music shop window keeping him away from the glorious, rosewood electric guitar inside. Just looking at it made his mouth water, his fingers jolt, and his heart pound. What he'd do to get the seven thousand dollars needed to play that sweet baby.
Despite his feminine features and his fairy demeanor, he was into blasting out harsh metal riffs and was on his way to doing that overdone throaty scream thing. His ideal dream was to pull a Heafy and get picked up by a band during a talent show, or summat. It was pretty much impossible, though, and, sadly, Jean could admit that that couldn't be any more true. Senior year would be the last chance for that sort of thing, then he'd be shipped off to a New York City college. His hair would be chopped to buzz short, his guitar would be smashed, and he'd be growing up to be Jeanathan instead of little Jeannie boy.
He pulled his face away from the store window and caught a view of Rick Callahan across the street in the reflection. Jean recognized him from class, Mr. Duana's homeroom. He didn't know Rick all that well, beyond him being another one of those endless baseball jocks. Oh, well, Jean was willing to take the risk of ridicule just for a chance at conversation. It'd be...somewhat of a start of finally making friends in his classes. He had enough acquaintances, so it was time to improve his relationships and further develop his character.
"Hey!" Jean turned around and waved to Ricky from across the street. "Wait there, I'll come to you." He ran over trackstar style, pumping his arms for full on dramatization. Skidding to a stop, he smiled, "You're in Mr. Duana's homeroom, right? I'm Jean." He held out a hand, meaning for Ricky to shake it. "S'up, mate?" It must've been something weird to see. A fat kid in a sweater vest's attempt at getting a new buddy.
This'll be fun, don't you think?
Posted by: Megami Sep 1 2006, 10:33 PM
Ricky'd been lost in his own little world as he'd meandered down the concrete sidewalk of the shopping plaza, barely noticing as he passed underneath the various awning adorning the windows of the many small businesses that inhabited the plaza and called their little niché in the wall their home. Absent-mindedly, the dark-headed boy cast a sidelong glance at the reflection of himself in the glass of one of the small shops. His hands were shoved into the pockets of the overly baggy cargo pants he adorned, and honestly, Ricky couldn't help but think that perhaps he looked a little thuggish, even if the black tanktop he'd thrown on this morning did wonders in showing off his athletic, if not a bit scrawny, physique.
He was quickly thrust from his silent reverie as a voice from across the street echoed out loudly. The simple word, "hey", had distracted Ricky, along with several of the other nameless pedestrians meandering their ways down the sidewalk, and Ricky couldn't help but cast a glance, followed by a bit of a smirk, toward the rather heavy-set individual across the street. Ricky was quickly taken aback, however, as he realized that the boy across the street had directed his outburst toward him.
Just as suddenly, the hefty boy took off in a full-on sprint across the narrow street and in Ricky's direction. Despite himself, Ricky continued to smirk at the kid's vain attempt at a run. He had decent enough form, it wasn't as if the kid was flailing his arms out in the air as he ran or anything, but Ricky couldn't help but silently contemplate that perhaps this individual had indulged in one too many chocolate bars. As the boy skidded to a hault in front of him, Ricky eyed him up and down, barely taking the time to acknowledge the fact that he'd been asked a question. As the boy, who introduced himself as Jean, inquired about Ricky's homeroom teacher, it clicked.
This boy had homeroom with him.
The smirk once again turned into a friendly smile, and Ricky couldn't help but shake his head and laugh in mild amusement. "I knew you looked familiar." He should've recognized that sweater-vest adorned by Jean Firenze anywhere, but the fact was, he sat a few seats away from Ricky and the majority of the other baseball boys, and Ricky was normally too distracted by Eric or Gregg to ever even attempt to acknowledge half of the students in the room. That and, well, he was still pretty new, and he wasn't exactly a social butterfly himself, so it was only natural for him to not completely recognize faces, right?
Trying to cover for yourself, Ricky? Fact is, you never gave the kid a second glance because you wouldn't dream of hanging out with a loser like him. Don't kid yourself.
Blowing off the thought, Ricky extended his hand and grasped Jean's in a firm handshake. No sense in being rude, right? Besides, the plaza was relatively empty at this time of day and, Ricky supposed, he could always be in worse company. At least this boy seemed friendly enough, and pretty outgoing. It was a change of pace from the so-called nerdy kids that littered the hallways of Franklyn. Most of them were backward and unsociable, and they just looked at you funny if you attempted to speak to them.
Kinda like you, huh?
"I got conned into running errands for my mother," Ricky mused with a chuckle at Jean's inquiry. The dark-headed boy shook his head a bit before looking back at his newly acquired companion, "What about you? What brings you out here?"
Of course, Ricky couldn't help but notice that the company in question's jeans were spattered with mud, and he couldn't help but wonder if a passing car hadn't splattered the messy substance all over him by accident. Or even on purpose. Some people were just cruel like that. Deciding that it wasn't a polite thing to ask, however, Ricky thought it best not to inquire about the dirty jeans Jean wore. For all he knew, the boy might not be able to afford anything better, and it might be a sensitive subject. Still smiling nonchalantly as he awaited a response, Ricky couldn't help but think that to the passers-by driving through the alley way, they must have looked like quite the oddball pairing.
Location: Parkway Shopping Plaza
Posted by: Megami Aug 24 2006, 11:48 PM
((Continued from: http://z10.DEFUNCT_IF_LINK/SurvivalOfTheF...howtopic=1211))
How did I ever get talked into this?
The thought passed through the mind of Ricky Callahan as he wandered idly through "El Mercado", a Mexican supermarket that his mother often purchased a majority of their weekly groceries from. How she'd ever talked him into running to the store to pick up a few things was beyond him, and as he'd almost expected, "a few things" had turned into a basket-full. Throwing a bell pepper at random into the hand-held basket as he walked by, he didn't even bother to examine the other produce to see if there was a better one.
Ricky hated shopping of any kind, especially grocery shopping in this ghetto-looking supermarket. Self-proclaimed supermarket, anyway. It was hardly bigger than a convenience store, really. It was run by Alfonzo Lopez, who just happened to be a family friend of the Callahan's, and had been kind enough to allow his mother to set up a charge account at the store for whenever she sent one of the boys in after this or that random forget-me-not needed for dinner.
Turning the aisle to find two rather wide Hispanic women rambling on in Spanish and effectively blocking the entire aisle as they did so, Ricky sighed a bit. The women were turned where their baskets took up the entire length of the walkway, and to put icing on the cake, what could best be described as the herd of children that was divided amongst the two women ran aimlessly up and down the aisle, further blockading it. Glancing down at the list in his hand, he mentally crossed off sugar. Matt could eat his cheerios plain, 'cause there was no way Ricky was going down that aisle.
One of the women cast him a sidelong glance before continuing to chatter away to the other woman, never showing any intentions of stepping out of the way. Sighing forelornly, Ricky turned around and exited the aisle from the direction he had come. Looking over the list once more, as well as the items that had accumulated in the basket he currently toted around the store. He'd decided that the last item on his list was unattainable except by drastic measures, and quite frankly, Ricky wasn't willing to get verbally assaulted -- or eaten alive -- by the two fat women blockading the walkway for his brother's sugar.
Instead, Ricky meandered up to the counter where Alfonzo was standing. The Puerto Rican man lit up into a smile that seemed to overtake the entirety of his face as Ricky appeared. Alfonzo was a good guy. He was a hard worker, and he spent a lot of time down at the store now that he was once again a bachelor. Sad story, really. He and his wife had a nasty divorce. He got the house, she got the kids. And the car. And half his money. Poor guy really got the short end of that stick. Despite everything, Alfonzo seemed straight about the entire incident, as though it didn't bother him.
"Ricardo!" the mustached man greeted him with enthusiasm, "You find everything okay?"
No, there's two cows blocking the middle of your store.
"Always, sir."
Alfonzo virtually removed the basket from Ricky's hands and began checking out and sacking the items that had accumulated inside. Ricky smiled gratefully, though in all honesty, he just wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible. He detested doing errands, especially errands like these.
"So when are you gonna come work for me?" Alfonzo inquired with a grin.
When I die.
"You know me, man. I'm jam-packed with school stuff right now. Maybe this summer or something? Baseball's taking up a lot of my time right now, I doubt you'd want me down here flubbing things up and not being able to show up for work, you know?"
Way to go, "Ricardo". Lie yourself out of another one. You have all sorts of free time, you just don't want to do it. Why don't you just tell the man that you don't want to work in this backwater Mexican marketplace? You're too damned nice for your own good.
"I hear ya, I hear ya," Alfonzo mused, before quickly adding in, "Your total's $21.87. Charge?"
"Yeah," Ricky mused, reaching for the piece of paper Alfonzo offered up and signing it, "Thanks man."
"Anytime," Alfonzo stated coyly.
Grabbing the sacks that the groceries had been placed in, Ricky bid the Puerto Rican cashier adieu before heading for the glass door of El Mercado and out into the beating sun of another day. He still had a lot to do, so needless to say, he was rather glad that none of the food he had purchased would perish anytime soon. Sighing a bit, he headed to the blue truck sitting in the parking lot of the shopping plaza and unlocked it long enough to toss the groceries inside.
Knowing he had chores to do, but desperately wishing to avoid them at all costs, Ricky found his attention lost on the random shops and bistros scattered throughout the shopping plaza. Once again locking the truck, Ricky meandered back toward the outdoor mall, walking idly down the sidewalk whilst looking inside the various shops. He wasn't ready to finish those errands yet, and besides, they didn't have to be done right this second. He could always stop for lunch or something, right? Something... anything to get away from these monotonous chores for a while. Ricky eyed the shops and restaurants, waiting for something of interest to jump out at him.
Posted by: Kaishi Aug 30 2006, 03:23 AM
When you're in the zone, you can do anything. You can jump off a bridge and survive. You can shove your way through a crowd without reprimand. You can play basketball beyond stupid free throw shots. And that was all because things just flowed. Writing, talking, and walking was easier with your fingers faster, your mouth softer, and your feet so much more skippy. Jean was hoping that by the time he had walked to the Shopping Plaza all the way from his home in Carrington Pointe that his muse, so to say, would return. The only thing he had obtained during his travels was a massive headache, mud splattered jeans, and a tear in the sole of his shoe.
His parents would probably kill him for that, even though the shoe thing hadn't exactly been his fault. The messy jeans were because he ran through a mud puddle in a fit of childhood nostalgia. The dirty water hit him right enough to give him an earthquake of a migraine. Needless to say, that naive walking idea had been uneffective. All it was doing was blocking him more than he had been at the start.
This was starting to become impossible. Maybe it was the dorky sweater vest that was getting Jean W. Firenze so down, or the way he had tweaked his hair so it could sweep to the side. The brown locks barely brushed the middle of his neck, making the whole hairstyle look nancy freako at best. If it weren't for the thick sideburns, Jean could be mistakened for a fugly, fat dyke. His puffy-cheeked face was on a long journey to slimdom, its quest enlogated by overindulgence in the form of chocolate. Blame it on his Dutch quarter, Jean had to have a bite atleast once a day. The weak acne gained from his frequent chocofests was hidden cleverly by his bangs. Through the sweater vest, you could see moobs forming from neglecting fitness excercises, ugh. He hid the worst of his body with a pair of jeans and black and orange nameless brand sneakers ("fag bobos" were what some witty Franklynians called them).
El Mercado, that Mexican shop, probably wasn't a good place to go for candy bars. Jean had never heard of a Mexican chocolate bar, after all, which made his search up and down the aisles rather mundane. The search wouldn't've wound up so badly if he had just looked in the appropiate treat section. Oi, empty handed, Jean Firenze went back outside. Now, what could be done in the Plaza with a measly fistful of ten one dollar bills? A straight $10 didn't amount to much, especially in the face of store windows displaying items priced at an upwards of thirty. Jean pressed his face up to a music shop window keeping him away from the glorious, rosewood electric guitar inside. Just looking at it made his mouth water, his fingers jolt, and his heart pound. What he'd do to get the seven thousand dollars needed to play that sweet baby.
Despite his feminine features and his fairy demeanor, he was into blasting out harsh metal riffs and was on his way to doing that overdone throaty scream thing. His ideal dream was to pull a Heafy and get picked up by a band during a talent show, or summat. It was pretty much impossible, though, and, sadly, Jean could admit that that couldn't be any more true. Senior year would be the last chance for that sort of thing, then he'd be shipped off to a New York City college. His hair would be chopped to buzz short, his guitar would be smashed, and he'd be growing up to be Jeanathan instead of little Jeannie boy.
He pulled his face away from the store window and caught a view of Rick Callahan across the street in the reflection. Jean recognized him from class, Mr. Duana's homeroom. He didn't know Rick all that well, beyond him being another one of those endless baseball jocks. Oh, well, Jean was willing to take the risk of ridicule just for a chance at conversation. It'd be...somewhat of a start of finally making friends in his classes. He had enough acquaintances, so it was time to improve his relationships and further develop his character.
"Hey!" Jean turned around and waved to Ricky from across the street. "Wait there, I'll come to you." He ran over trackstar style, pumping his arms for full on dramatization. Skidding to a stop, he smiled, "You're in Mr. Duana's homeroom, right? I'm Jean." He held out a hand, meaning for Ricky to shake it. "S'up, mate?" It must've been something weird to see. A fat kid in a sweater vest's attempt at getting a new buddy.
This'll be fun, don't you think?
Posted by: Megami Sep 1 2006, 10:33 PM
Ricky'd been lost in his own little world as he'd meandered down the concrete sidewalk of the shopping plaza, barely noticing as he passed underneath the various awning adorning the windows of the many small businesses that inhabited the plaza and called their little niché in the wall their home. Absent-mindedly, the dark-headed boy cast a sidelong glance at the reflection of himself in the glass of one of the small shops. His hands were shoved into the pockets of the overly baggy cargo pants he adorned, and honestly, Ricky couldn't help but think that perhaps he looked a little thuggish, even if the black tanktop he'd thrown on this morning did wonders in showing off his athletic, if not a bit scrawny, physique.
He was quickly thrust from his silent reverie as a voice from across the street echoed out loudly. The simple word, "hey", had distracted Ricky, along with several of the other nameless pedestrians meandering their ways down the sidewalk, and Ricky couldn't help but cast a glance, followed by a bit of a smirk, toward the rather heavy-set individual across the street. Ricky was quickly taken aback, however, as he realized that the boy across the street had directed his outburst toward him.
Just as suddenly, the hefty boy took off in a full-on sprint across the narrow street and in Ricky's direction. Despite himself, Ricky continued to smirk at the kid's vain attempt at a run. He had decent enough form, it wasn't as if the kid was flailing his arms out in the air as he ran or anything, but Ricky couldn't help but silently contemplate that perhaps this individual had indulged in one too many chocolate bars. As the boy skidded to a hault in front of him, Ricky eyed him up and down, barely taking the time to acknowledge the fact that he'd been asked a question. As the boy, who introduced himself as Jean, inquired about Ricky's homeroom teacher, it clicked.
This boy had homeroom with him.
The smirk once again turned into a friendly smile, and Ricky couldn't help but shake his head and laugh in mild amusement. "I knew you looked familiar." He should've recognized that sweater-vest adorned by Jean Firenze anywhere, but the fact was, he sat a few seats away from Ricky and the majority of the other baseball boys, and Ricky was normally too distracted by Eric or Gregg to ever even attempt to acknowledge half of the students in the room. That and, well, he was still pretty new, and he wasn't exactly a social butterfly himself, so it was only natural for him to not completely recognize faces, right?
Trying to cover for yourself, Ricky? Fact is, you never gave the kid a second glance because you wouldn't dream of hanging out with a loser like him. Don't kid yourself.
Blowing off the thought, Ricky extended his hand and grasped Jean's in a firm handshake. No sense in being rude, right? Besides, the plaza was relatively empty at this time of day and, Ricky supposed, he could always be in worse company. At least this boy seemed friendly enough, and pretty outgoing. It was a change of pace from the so-called nerdy kids that littered the hallways of Franklyn. Most of them were backward and unsociable, and they just looked at you funny if you attempted to speak to them.
Kinda like you, huh?
"I got conned into running errands for my mother," Ricky mused with a chuckle at Jean's inquiry. The dark-headed boy shook his head a bit before looking back at his newly acquired companion, "What about you? What brings you out here?"
Of course, Ricky couldn't help but notice that the company in question's jeans were spattered with mud, and he couldn't help but wonder if a passing car hadn't splattered the messy substance all over him by accident. Or even on purpose. Some people were just cruel like that. Deciding that it wasn't a polite thing to ask, however, Ricky thought it best not to inquire about the dirty jeans Jean wore. For all he knew, the boy might not be able to afford anything better, and it might be a sensitive subject. Still smiling nonchalantly as he awaited a response, Ricky couldn't help but think that to the passers-by driving through the alley way, they must have looked like quite the oddball pairing.
This is an archival account used by staff to port posts belonging to the handler Megami. While this handler hasn't been around in quite a while, should they return and wish to take custody of this account and/or its posts, they are welcome to do so by contacting staff.