InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "I'm eloping you to canada"

Jenna Riley (myluckystar) wrote in genome_project,
@ 2011-08-15 15:12:00

Entry tags:

august 2011

Who: Jenna and Adam.
What: Bumping into each other.
Where: In town.
When: Aug. 15, afternoon/early evening.
Rating: Probably pretty tame.

Jenna had just gotten out of work. Her feet ached and she was more than a little annoyed with her inability to say no. Despite being a tickets salesgirl she somehow kept getting suckered into helping the cleaning crew. Needless to say she was a little distracted by the continued treachery of her co-workers. However, if it weren’t for her inability to say no Jenna would never have found the missing money that as it turned out belonged to Kaylee. So maybe it wasn’t so bad, even if the people she worked with took advantage of it.

For the most part she was looking forward to making it home and grabbing a good book to curl up with in the backyard. Glancing at her watch Jenna realized that if she hurried she’d be able to claim the hammock before her brother did for his siesta before dinner. Unfortunately for her she didn’t take quite a good enough look around before picking up the pace and bumped rather hard into another person.

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stillcharged
2011-08-15 08:46 pm UTC (link)

Heading nowhere in particular after his shift was over, Adam was out to stretch his legs. His uniform was exactly where he preferred it to be, hanging up in the locker back at the police department. In his comfortable jeans and jacket, it seemed that Tristan's recent enthusiasm to sharpen up his image had been in vain - at least until the weekend or the next evening out at the bar, whichever came first. His mind ran in this general direction as he walked along the street flanked with buildings. Not too long ago Jimmy had mentioned hitting the bar some time, and the memory inspired Adam to fish his phone out of his jean pocket, and he started to fix up a text to the guys. Bar, beer, and boys, it was always a winning combination, and if he got the chance, he might even g-

The thought was suddenly cut short by the extremely close presence he sensed only at the last very moment, and if he'd been given just another second, he would have had the chance to absorb the brunt of the impact so the other person went unharmed, but as it was, there wasn't time - he'd practically tripped over someone before he'd even been able to glance up to see it happen.

"Oh, shi-" His hands immediately shot out to the girl's shoulders, as if to make sure she didn't tumble off her feet. "Damn, this is why I should just stick to driving and not walking." He offered her the hint of an apologetic smile, rather hoping she was okay, and if she was, that she wasn't going to bean him around the head for not looking where he was going.

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myluckystar
2011-08-15 09:16 pm UTC (link)

Wobbling a little at the impact Jenna was glad that the man grabbed her shoulders. It would have looked really graceful if she’d gone tumbling to the ground. Steady on her feet again Jenna shook her head at him and tried not to look too sheepish. “It was my fault really. I should probably take a better look around before ‘accelerating’.” She murmured putting air quotes around the word accelerating.

For a second Jenna stood feeling pretty embarrassed with her, thank god none of her family was around to witness her pathetic awareness of her surroundings. “Um, I didn’t step on you or anything did I?” She shifted her bag higher up on her shoulder as she asked her question. That would be just fantastic if she did; walk into him and step on him she was a horrible person.

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stillcharged
2011-08-15 10:19 pm UTC (link)

Tipping her a wider smile, he empathized with the perils of accelerating, very much so, more than he was actually able to admit without giving himself away. For now, he abandoned his partially completed text message and slipped the phone back into his pocket, deciding to give the rest of the world - and the people in it - the attention it deserved.

"Don't worry about it. I've been sitting at my desk for so long today, my feet were already half-numb," he replied in the good humor he usually approached these situations with. It was an attempt to put her at ease, if she wasn't quite there yet, teasing her just enough to show it really was okay.

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myluckystar
2011-08-16 03:13 am UTC (link)

Relief washed over her as the man smiled at her. Perhaps, she hadn’t caused any damage for her distraction. For the first time she noticed the cell phone in his hand as he put it away. Well she didn’t feel quite as bad, understanding to some degree what he’d meant about sticking with driving as opposed to walking. It was nice to know that for once the whole incident had been mutual fault.

Jenna grinned at the good-natured teasing. “I guess I didn’t do all that much damage if you still possess a sense of humor.” Holding out her free hand she offered him a smile, “I’m Jenna.” Introducing herself seemed like the next logical step now that she’d determined she wasn’t going to be the walking away with her ears ringing.

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stillcharged
2011-08-16 07:20 am UTC (link)

"Adam," he replied, accepting her hand, and returning with a squeeze of his own, firm, but gentle enough not to let her think he was having an arm seizure or trying to wrestle. The latter of which he might have done to an old friend, but not a relative stranger, and especially not one he'd almost barreled down the street. He was pleased the joke had gone over well and hadn't uncomfortably hung in the air between them.

"Where were you so eager to get to, or was it a case of where were you getting away from?" He didn't feel any compunction about asking her. It was a large open space, and she could walk away in any direction at any time, though part of him was in no hurry to see her leave. New and unrecognized faces were always of great interest to him, not least because they were rare on the island.

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	myluckystar 2011-08-16 05:49 pm UTC (link)
	A slightly embarrassed expression crossed her face. "It's sort of stupid. We have this hammock at home that's really great for curling up with a good book, but it only really works if I manage to get there before my brother." She waited for him to start laughing. It was quite possibly the most hilarious or pathetic reason to be smashed into. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

stillcharged
2011-08-17 09:39 am UTC (link)

Over the months, he'd heard a lot of excuses for rushing and speeding - they sort of came with the job. They were, albeit, mostly traffic orientated ('You guys must have changed the speed limit', 'My wife is having a baby', 'I just killed my wife and I'm trying to get away from the murder scene, officer.') With hand on heart, he could honestly say he'd never heard any hammock-related reasons until this moment. It cheered up his day to no end.

He didn't want to laugh. He really didn't. He only wished his body listened to his better judgment as he felt the corner of his mouth inevitably curl into an amused smile, hovering just on the edge of a short bark of laughter. "It must be a very special hammock," he managed to say with a level voice.

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myluckystar
2011-08-17 01:00 pm UTC (link)

He certainly didn’t disappoint her expectation. She tried to keep her expression from falling as he laughed. The best she could do though was keeping a frown from completely forming which made Jenna look like she was grimacing more than anything else. Despite having expected his reaction it still chafed a little even if she could understand on some level how ridiculous it sounded. Admitting that fact helped her let the mild annoyance go. She couldn’t really blame him or anyone else that could have been in the same position it was just one of those reasons that was more outlandish than what people usually gave and the fact that it was the truth just made it more necessary to laugh. “Um, yeah you could say that.” She wasn’t really sure how to take his comment.

“So what caused your end of the collision? Cell phone troubles?” It was a good natured question. Hopefully he would realize she wasn’t being confrontational or accusatory. She was curious, and it was only fair seeing as she answered his question for whatever reason. Taking a quick glance at her watch she realized that she would probably have to run after this. This little incident meant she wasn’t getting the hammock but she met someone new so that was something in the end.

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stillcharged
2011-08-18 08:32 pm UTC (link)

He decided not to dig in any further with the gentle torment, in case he unsettled the mood beyond repair. It wasn't unheard of for him to take things a step too far, but he usually recognized the signs when he did. "Not so much trouble, more trying to organize a good time. Someone's got to keep the local bars in business."

Noticing the swift glance she took at her watch, he asked, "You want me to give you a lift? Car's just around the corner, that way." He cast a thumb over his shoulder in the direction she'd been heading. Technically he wasn't supposed to advocate getting into cars with strangers, but he felt bad enough about delaying her to offer.

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myluckystar
2011-08-19 03:51 am UTC (link)

The corner of her mouth twitched. She really wouldn’t know about keeping the local bar in business. Unlike various members of the high school student body she didn’t partake in that crazy party lifestyle or the underage drinking and smoking that so many of them seemed to enjoy.

She stared at him for a moment at the offer. Small island or no she wasn’t entirely sure he was someone she could trust. Normally she was a lot quicker to trust but there were just some forms of paranoia her parents made sure were firmly in place in their daughter. Biting her lip she rocked back on her heels thinking about the offer. “How do I know that you’re trustworthy?” She wasn’t committing to accepting or declining his offer just yet. Mostly she was just curious as to how he’d respond, yet another one of her many downfalls or advantages depending on the situation.

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stillcharged
2011-08-19 04:22 am UTC (link)

"Would it help if I whipped out my police badge? Honest man of the law, and all that." He refrained from actually doing so, because it always felt like he was giving the impression that he was displaying an overly eager sense of pride over his job, or even worse, boasting in some way. He didn't necessarily want to shove that mistaken impression in anyone's face, especially when the department was just a stepping stone to get him to where he really wanted to be. Even so, it was his trump card in terms of trustibility, so he played it as subtly as possible.

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myluckystar
2011-08-20 04:55 am UTC (link)

“I’ll take your word for it, but if it helps you feel like you weren’t misleading me sure.” Maybe some other time he could show her his badge, just that minute though it’d be quicker if she didn’t require it of him. Of course it would also be quicker if she took him up on that ride and well Frye was a safe enough place to live more often than not. She was going to feel like a complete moron later but it was still quite the walk back home. “Lead the way.” She said once again hoisting her bag onto her shoulder, which reminded her that she really needed to empty it out in the near future; she wasn’t entirely sure what was even in it anymore besides her wallet and keys.

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stillcharged
2011-08-28 08:18 pm UTC (link)

Adam was quite glad she didn't laugh when he pulled the 'good cop' type of line. But, really, he owed her at least one laugh at his expense for his earlier slip of chuckling at her.

Since he'd had no destination in mind for the rest of the day, it wasn't an inconvenience at all to turn and backtrack the way he'd came, showing Jenna to where his Ford was parked at the side of the street.

"Jump in," he said to her from across the car roof, swinging open the driver's door before taking his own advice and settling into the seat. "Sat nav has always seemed pointless here, but I've been driving around the area for years, so I can take you anywhere without too many wrong turns."

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myluckystar
2011-08-30 01:35 pm UTC (link)

Honestly, Jenna had found the line particularly cheesy. She just was a little more concerned with the serious nature of the question that led to it to really answer. One track mind, yeah that was Jenna.

She waited for him to start in the cars direction before starting to follow. It wasn't a long walk from where they'd bumped into each other and she noticed that he'd had to turn around to lead the way. Even though he'd offered to give her the ride she couldn't help but feel just the slightest bit like she was being a bit of a pain in the rear. So when she found herself in front of the passenger side door of the car she decided she should apologize.

"Sorry, for taking up your time like this, but uh thanks for the ride." She muttered as she pulled open the door and got settled in the passenger seat. Her seat belt clicking into place once she'd adjusted its slack to her liking. "It is a pretty small island, but you can drop me off at the corner of Sylvia and Driscoll?"

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