Chase Underwood (darkwanting) wrote in 2145ic, @ 2018-03-03 15:37:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | chase, mazie |
just trying to get out in the real world
Who: Chase and Mazie
Setting: Central Park, Fireworks night
He’d had to pull a little, but Chase had not only gotten Mazie to leave her computers, but also to take a damn shower. Of course he’d had to sit on the counter in her bathroom to make sure she actually did get in the shower and not just turn the water on, but hey, little victories. She wasn’t dressed like he wanted, but it was better than nothing.
Fireworks though, they kind of brought out everyone. That was the glamour of the night. He made sure to get them each a drink and popped his collar against the cold, and looped his arm with hers. “See? Fresh air. It’s good for you.”
Mazie, for the life of her, never understood why Chase cared about this kind of thing. She had a role to play tonight; keeping the feeds dark so that the party could go unpoliced and uninterrupted. But he’d been insistent, to the point of serious annoyance, and finally his stubbornness gave way to her own. At least she could take her tablet and monitor her work from the park. And for the most part, she didn’t actively despise the people in the park, so that was something.
But even now, showered with her damp hair hidden under a ratty old pink wig and wearing the same clothes she had been before her shower, she was more focused on keeping those cameras off. “You know I work during the party, right? It’s the same every year, I don’t know why you can’t remember that.” She said, clearly ignoring his love of fresh air. The air here wasn’t fresh; it was just less stale than everywhere else.
Chase had grown up in this park. Honestly, this was the one time a year that he came back. He usually avoided it, hoping mostly to avoid his parents and their horrific cult of a community. But there were so many people here, which meant that it was much easier to avoid them all together.
“Seems unfair that you have to work so much when the rest of the world is out here having a good time. When do you get to enjoy yourself? Meet someone new, use those fingers of yours for good?” Of course, her clothes still smelled a little, but at least she was mostly clean. It was a start or something. God love him, he loved his silly little hacker that had set up his website so perfectly, and he felt it was his duty to attempt to save her from herself. Or at least her own squallor.
“This is my fun,” She said, looking up from the bright screen of her tablet to catch his eye. “You know that too. And you know that no one else could have this fun if I didn’t work to keep those cameras off.” But he had a point, even if she wouldn’t admit it. It had been too long since her fingers had touched something that wasn’t plastic.
She took a minute to glance around the party, seeing all types of people melt together. Dancing, drinking, making out. All things that normal people did when they were at a party. But this was work. “You can try and set me up if you want to. You know how well that usually goes.”
“Then why does it make you scowl so?” Chase said, reaching to push at the line between her eyebrows. “Also, I’d like to remind you, lore, you’re not the only hacker out there.” He arched a brow at her then shrugged.
“I don’t know. You were generally less cranky for a little bit there. I mean, I got a solid two weeks of you being in a good mood and something that bordered on relaxed.” And the last time she’d gotten laid, she’d updated his website to give him a lovely new interface, without him asking, but because she was feeling bright and happy about things. He’d paid her, obviously, but it had still worked in his favor.
“I don’t scowl, this is just how my face looks,” She said, lifting an eyebrow at him as he poked at her temple. She might not smile much at Chase, or really express a lot of friendship in a more traditional way, but the fact that she hadn’t ripped his arm off when he poked her meant that she did love him in a similar fashion as he did her. He was important to her in a way that other people were not.
“I’m not the only hacker, I know that, but we all band together tonight to keep the streets dark. It’s how this party even works.” With a sigh, she put her tablet away into her jacket’s giant pocket and held her fingerless gloved hands up to him. “You have ten minutes before I go back in.”
“You do scowl, love,” Chase told her gently. He mocked her face with his own, but then broke into a laugh when she put her tablet away. He took her hands and pulled her into the crowd. “Come on, let’s find you something lovely to at least look at,” he suggested, drawing them over to a vendor who was handing out something warm and alcoholic that smelled like cider, though the chances of of it being made from real apples were low.
It didn’t take long for him to pass off a couple of the meal bars he usually purchased with credits that his clients gave him for two drinks and he handed the spare to Mazie. He turned her towards the crowd. “Now, come on. Tell me what piques your fancy.”
She sniffed the drink and made a face but took a sip anyway. It wasn't horrible but it was sweet in a way that she knew would leave her with an ache in the morning. With a sigh, Mazie turned to look at the crowd. She tried to peer through them and find girls who weren't clumped in groups or ones who did the look like they'd be screaming their drunken heads off when the fireworks started.
Her mind was on work and it was hard to get it off that topic and into play. “My tablet.”
“Love,” Chase said, poking her side. “We are not looking for porn.” God, he was porn. “We’re looking for actual, human contact. Touching a real person. That isn’t me.” Which really was funny for him to say given that he wasn’t sure how long it had been since he’d touched someone else. He certainly never had for a reason other than work. Still, he could want that for Mazie.
Mazie sighed again and this time she actually tried. It was hard, because none of these people were ones she felt particularly interested in, but Chase seemed desperate to get rid of her and maybe if she let him introduce her to some random girl, he’d wander off for a while and she could get back to work. “Her,” She said, haphazardly gesturing toward a redhead by some idiots playing bucket drums.
Chase tilted his, head, looking at the girl before nodding. “Alright, good start. Now, be a doll and actually try for real this time?” he suggested, leaning back and crossing his arms, waiting for her to pick something she did actually want instead of trying to appease him. Plus he knew better. If they went with her first pick? She’d get distracted or realize she hadn’t really thought about it.
Mazie let out a low groan. “Why do you care, man? You know you want to be out there partying. I’m already here, in the fresh air. Just...go do your thing and swing by to pick me up later, or send me a note saying you’re going home with someone. You don’t need to babysit me.”
Chase made a tiny face. “I’ve never gone home with anyone,” he said shaking his head. “That’s not how this works.” He wrapped his arms around her, turning her so she was facing him. “I’m happy with just spending the night occasionally dancing with you when I peel you away from that tablet. You really think I’m trying to get rid of you?”
“Kinda,” She answered, giving him a tiny face back. “I’m not interested tonight in any of these people. I’m working, and when I’m not working I’m only out here because of you.” It was true, Chase was the main reason she was in such a public area. Typically when she left her apartment, it was to go to dark bars or gritty restaurants, not into big open spaces where she couldn’t make a getaway if she needed to. Places like this made her itch a little, knowing that her screens were so far from her.
“Where else am I going to go?” Chase looped his arm with hers again. “New plan, we dance, I let you do some more work, then we dance some more? There’s not anyone else I want to hang out with anyway.”
“Sounds like a much better plan,” Mazie said, giving him a little quirked grin as she tipped her cup up to take another long swig of this half-gross cider. Maybe now she could actually have some fun.