Amalgaverse High

Aside from going to school and work, Ryan really hasn't ventured out into public since he began his sunny trip down withdrawal lane. There's about a bajillion reasons why not, ranging from his rampant irritability to the non-stop headaches he's been dealing with. But it's been almost a month now, and while he's still anxious and a little paranoid, he's stopped flying off the handle at the tiniest thing, and his head's been cutting him some slack. So when Levi mentioned he had a job interview at the mall, Ryan decided he might as well tag along. Because being cooped up all alone for a few hours sounded very unappealing, and now that he's not buying snorty coke, he has money to spend. And that means shopping. While Levi's at his interview, Ryan hits up his usual stores of choice- Urban Outfitters, Hot Topic, and Journeys- then grabs a seat at Starbucks (not /that/ one; the one by the food court) and goes for some highly caffeinated something or other, which is new crutch as of late, and people watches. Because that never fails to be entertaining.

As usual, Dakota is trolling the mall for customers. Because of her chosen profession, she has to be available all the time, and right now is the prime time for people to come looking for a fix. She hits all her usual spots-- the water fountains near the back entrance, the girl's bathroom, Spencer's, and Abercrombie and Fitch-- and then, with a good hundred twenty five in her wallet, decides to go splurge a little on herself. This means ridiculously high priced coffee, obviously. Starbucks is not the best place to lurk, because honestly, it's too quiet and Dakota doesn't have very many hipster customers, but she's pretty much made her quota for the day. Any more customers, and it'll just be a bonus. When she walks in, she doesn't immediately spot Ryan. She's not exactly /looking/ for him, even though he seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth. After she's bought her coffee though, Dakota /does/ spot him, and after chilling by the wall for a moment, decides to go say hello. She'll be greeting him with a, "You never call me anymore, Letowski. I'm hurt."

"So, where are we meeting the fabled Guy?" Levi asks, taking Ryan's hand once they're out of the car. A beat, then: "... Does he know about us, or do I need to let go of your hand?"

"I dunno, we're gonna have to scout him out." Ryan swings Levi's hand as they walk across the parking lot. "Huh? Oh, no, he knows, I told him." Guy was the first person Ryan told about his newfound sexual preference, actually, but that's neither here nor there. Once they're inside the store, Ryan walks through the different sections, tugging Levi along until they reach the area where the graphic novels are housed. There's a boy their age stooped down in front of the shelves, flipping through a hardcover Spiderman comic.  "I see you're working hard, as usual," Ryan says, coming to a stop a few feet in front of his friend. Guy looks over and up, and smirks. "All day every day." He sets the book back on the shelf and stands up, putting his hand up for what looks like a high-five, but ends up being a rough sort of handshake that he inflicts upon Ryan. "What the hell is up, Brotowksi?" he asks, and Ryan shrugs. "Not much. Guy, this is Levi. Levi, Guy." The blonde boy eyes Levi for a second, then points a finger at him. "Your hair is fucking epic." This is Guyspeak for 'hi, nice to meet you'.

(Wake up, take a shower, and then...)

Correction, there's /always/ reason to be lewd. Ryan grins and moves his hands across Levi's chest in little circles. "I bet you could." Seriously, he has not doubt in his mind of that. A pause, then, "Okay- brace yourself, because this only happens like once a year, tops- I think I'm actually hungry." Gasp! "So maybe we should, I dunno, legitimately shower now?"

Levi makes a content little noise at the hands on his chest. That feels good, in a relaxing way-- of course, he's so bonelessly content right now that just about anything feels fantastic. Then Ryan speaks up, and Levi puts on a mock-shocked face. "Should I alert the media?" Levi asks, scooting off the wall to put them more directly into the spray. "I think we can manage that. And I still have that surprise for you." Levi hums, and then he's totally just going to wash Ryan's hair like it's no big deal. Because Ryan can't possibly do it himself.

 

 

Poor Levi. Getting Ryan into the passenger's seat of his car was a feat unto itself, and now the hyped up scrawny boy is bopping up and down with barely contained energy, feet shuffling back and forth on the floor mat while his fingers drum on his kneecaps. A seat belt is out of the question right about now, obviously. Ryan either didn't notice the disapproving look on Levi's face outside the club, or if he did, he's choosing to ignore it. More likely the prior of the two. Once Levi gets in the car, Ryan looks over and smiles. "Hi!" Somebody must have done a lot more coke than usual; this is pretty over the top behavior even for him.

Oh, the things Levi is willing to do for you, Ryan. Levi sighs and slips into his car, pulling the divider up and sitting so that he's facing Ryan. There's no way he's going to attempt to drive with Ryan flailing around like this. Levi's face is just the slightest bit disapproving, but honestly, he's more concerned than anything. He hasn't ever seen Ryan this hyped up-- didn't really think he had the capacity for it. Levi rests his head against the headrest of his seat and frowns. "Hi, baby. Are you okay?"

 Partying on a Thursday night? Hells yeah. It's not like the kids here probably care about their school days or even getting up at a reasonable hour at all. Besides, Thursdays are 18 and under nights at a lot of clubs in town, so that's why most of the student population gets out and goes to them. All the normal nightclub prequisites are present: dark corners, loud, pumping music and a lack of booze and drugs. At least, booze and drugs that you can acquire legally. Smoking isn't allowed in the building, but there's a fine (completely not creepy or rape-y) fenced-in patio in the back where you can get your nicotine fix.

Dakota is making a living tonight. Somehow she has managed to get into the nightclub with her jacket full of illegal substances without being caught, and it... probably has to do with the fact that she bribed the bouncer. In any case! She's hanging out on a couch, occasionally texting, and watching the crowds. She's pretty sure the word is out that she deals, especially after the brownies she'd sold that Luke kid. Anyway, she's waiting for customers, but she can be persuaded to get up and dance.

 Why is Ryan here? Because Guy said he's meet him here after work. Which ended an hour ago. Still no sign of the Bearded Wonder, and texts are going unanswered. So Ryan's going to give him twenty more minutes before leaving, because being alone in a nightclub is awkward and he's so, /so/ not going to dance. His plan is to park it somewhere and glare angrily at his phone, and hey that couch looks like a good enough place. Hi Dakota, there's a ticked off looking boy sitting by you.

So Wal-Mart. It's cheap, it's easy, and it's... well, not fast, not with how many people are usually there. It's the afternoon after school on a Friday, so there's a good amount of people, but this doesn't seem to matter to Clara. She's dragging her boyfrand around, pushing through crowds (a little violently) and looking for jewelery to go with her dress. Classy, this one.

Alec walks along behind Clara as she plows through the people. Hey, it leaves him free to carry that industrial sized bag of Starburst and the giant box of Snickers! Most guys would be looking for a bench to sit and hide while their girlfriend does the shopping thing but no, not him. He looks quite happy to tag along.

Guy and Ryan have a brodate to go see that sweet 3D Piranha movie, but it doesn't start for another half an hour, so here they are, killing time in the electronics department. Because this is decidedly the hippest place to be in a WalMart. Right now, Ryan is looking at an iPod touch longingly, and Guy is drawing crude male genitalia on the laptops. Really, who leaves MSPaint open on these things?
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Ryan considers for a moment. "I don't know what's playing. We could, uh, get food and maybe check if anything good is starting soon?" He has no idea, but agrees that as long as they're hanging out, all is well. "Or we could do something ridiculous like... I dunno, go putt-putt golfing or whatever it is the cool kids do on dates these days." Smirk.

Snerk. "I'll pass on the mini-golf, sweetheart. I might get bored and have to push you up against the windmill, and we don't want to ruin the family fun, do we?" Well, Ryan and Levi would, but the management? Not so much. "Food and a movie sounds wonderful. Any preferences on food?" Are there such things as hipster foods? And-- boy, does Levi have ~plans for the movie.

 

 

School's out, time to head home. For Ryan, that means footing it, because no way in /hell/ is he going to be caught dead on the bus. Today he chooses to cut through one of the quaint little parks around the area, because when you live on the bad side of town, sometimes you want to take a nice route home. He's got his headphones in, of course, messenger bag slung across his chest, eyes flitting lazily here and there until- holy shit, are those /feet/? Just poking out from under the bushes over there? He freezes up, coming to a stop and staring, horrible thoughts running through his head; 'is that a dead body oh my god it is isn't it what do i dooooo?'

Those are indeed feet! And they're not moving. It could be a prank or some kind of horrible dumping of a corpse. Who's to say? There doesn't seem to be blood or anything gruesome about but maybe that just means things were cleaned up very well. HMM.

And school is indeed out. Levi's on his way home in his lovely piece of crap car, but he spots Ryan on the way, and figures hey, why not ask him if he wants a ride? So Levi pulls up next to the park and-- well, he'd yell for Ryan but the boy has his headphones in, so he parks and gets out, approaching. "Ryan!" He says, coming up next to him. "Ryan, I wanted to ask-- ... are those feet?"

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Evening in town means most people tend to disperse, some off to parties and some off to their homes. Most that continue to remain out through the evening aren't necessarily less-than-savory, but they're probably not the kids that get A grades. Stranger things have happened, though. Phoenix, however, is taking a walk across town on her way home from her boyfriend's place.

Ginger, be at home? Around her annoying parents? Screw that. She'd much rather spend her evening wandering the streets, puffing away on a cigarette with the hood of her jacket pulled up over her face.

Then there are those that /are/ less-than-savory. Like Deacon, who's decided it's dinner time. This means a trip to McDonald's- if McDonald's is code for 'heading downtown trolling for delicious hoomans'. So down the street he goes, dressed in, surprise surprise, all black, walking with what can easily be classified as a swagger to his steps.

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