InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "You, you bought this."

Mircea Nicolau (caulfieldish) wrote in genome_project,
@ 2013-01-10 21:20:00

Entry tags:

aaron lavigne, january 2013, rielle mckenzie

Who: Rielle and Aaron
What: An actual ride on the subway. Burglary free
When: Tonight (But you know, in the fuuuutuuuurreeee)
Where: The closest stop to Shear Madness

Cynthia had let Aaron go a little early in order to run "an errand". That was how he'd explained his sudden need to leave and get Rielle on a subway once and for all. The truthful answer would have raised too many questions, and once the other hairdressers got into it, he'd never hear the end of it. Never mind that he wasn't actually interested in Rielle. Seriously, the girl had to ask if wearing heels on the subway was a good idea. If you were a seasoned pro, sure. If you worked on Wall Street, or were going to see a play, yeah, good idea. But even then you probably weren't going to run around in those crazy monster heels fashionista types always had on. It was ridiculous really. It was almost as if they were asking to be pushed over and have their purse snatched. Duh. Common sense, ladies.

He was waiting just outside the shop. Out of view of any windows, so that his "errand" wouldn't become fodder for salon gossip after all, but where Rielle would see him when she got out of her "cab". As if. The girl had a driver and she was probably going to use it. Whatever, she'd agreed to try the subway again, which was actually pretty impressive. The fact that she'd even consented to go again was pretty brave, considering. He leaned against the cold brick wall and zipped up his jacket, wishing she'd hurry up. Brave or not, he'd rather be inside.

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caulfieldish
2013-01-11 06:13 am UTC (link)

"Yeah, okay, I guess." It wasn't a bad part of town or anything. That stop in particular wasn't interesting, but it was far enough away for a decent subway experience. It wasn't much for an adventure or anything, but apparently she just wasn't the adventurous type. Whatever.

"We don't have to do anything. And I can afford my own food." He rolled his eyes, now she was being annoying again. "But generally if you're riding the subway you should actually know where you're going in the first place. Hence the need for a destination." Duh. "You don't just hop on random trains."

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justlikeflying
2013-01-11 06:22 am UTC (link)

And he was being annoying, too. "Obviously, if I'm going to ride the subway for any reason, it will be to go somewhere. Don't worry. Apart from tonight, I'm not going to be riding it for the joy of it." But thanks for the advice, Aaron. Rielle made a sarcastic mental note to make sure she had a destination the next time she traveled. She rolled her eyes.

"I wasn't implying that you couldn't afford your own food," she added. "Relax. Don't be so defensive." If he didn't want people to think he was poor, then he probably shouldn't snap at someone offering to buy him something as a gesture. Sure, she didn't say it all happily and grateful or whatever, but still. A gesture was a gesture.

She took a few steps away from the map, towards the middle of the station.

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caulfieldish
2013-01-11 06:28 am UTC (link)

In Aaron's opinion a gesture wasn't much of a gesture unless it was meaningful, so her 'gesture' sounded more like a slight than anything else. Besides, he wasn't even hungry. And didn't buying him dinner or something make it seem like a date? People bought each other meals on dates, didn't they?

And really the trick wasn't to keep people from thinking he was poor, it was keeping them from thinking he had money. You didn't get mugged on the subway platform if people thought you had nothing on you in the first place. Even if you rather dangerously kept a pocket full of cash on you most of the time. But that was neither here nor there.

"Whatever, I'm just saying, you don't want to do this half assed." He ignored the rest of what she said on purpose. He wasn't being defensive. Really.

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justlikeflying
2013-01-11 06:34 am UTC (link)

A hot dog from a street vendor didn't necessarily constitute as a dinner date. That $50 in her pocket was just for emergencies. And if they were going to sit down for dinner, they'd need more than that anyways at any of the places she liked to eat. But that was neither here, nor there. If he didn't want her to buy him anything, then she wouldn't. If he was going to take some odd offense to her being nice, then she wasn't going to offer anything anymore. It was that simple. She had a problem with being generous anyways. It didn't come naturally to her.

"Alright. Fine. I'll keep it in mind." Her hands were starting to get clammy now, and her heart was starting to race. This was about the time that she got raped. Not necessarily this time of the night, but rather, she'd been down in the station about the same amount of time as before. Quickly, she glanced over her shoulder. Her and Aaron were still alone. She rocked back and forth on her heels slightly.

"How much longer until the train comes?" She tried to ask casually.

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caulfieldish
2013-01-11 06:40 am UTC (link)

Which would explain why she was so very good at it. Being generous that is. Just saying. Could have fooled him.

Aaron glanced at his watch. "Couple minutes. They're usually on time." He looked back over at her. The whole pretending not to be nervous thing wasn't really working anymore. She seemed pretty obviously uncomfortable rocking back and forth on her heels like that. Good thing she wasn't wearing anything high heeled or she'd fall over.

"Did you... Literally need me to hold you hand?" It was sort of a joke, but he was serious.

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	Meant mugged, not raped!!!!! Whoops. justlikeflying 2013-01-11 06:47 am UTC (link)
	Couple minutes? Geeze Louise that was a long time. Or, it sure felt like it anyways. She glanced over her shoulder again, then directed her attention on Aaron. "They're all sweaty," she said, embarrassed, before shoving them in her coat pockets. "I don't need any sass about how gross they feel or whatever." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	I gotchoo caulfieldish 2013-01-11 06:52 am UTC (link)
	Aaron gave her a huge exaggerated eye roll, "I wash hair for a living, sweaty hands are nothing compared to gross, greasy hair." He stuck his hand out in case she needed to take it after all, "I'll keep the sass to a minimum. About clammy hands anyway." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

justlikeflying
2013-01-11 06:58 am UTC (link)

After hopping on her toes a few more times and eying his hand, she finally succumbed. Sighing loudly, so he might get the impression that she was doing it more for his benefit than hers, though that clearly and obviously wasn't the case, she took a step toward him and grabbed a tight hold of his hand. She did wipe most of the sweatiness off on her pant leg first, though. Just to lessen his potential snark.

"Thanks," she said after a moment, looking down at the ground. "I appreciate it."

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	caulfieldish 2013-01-11 04:42 pm UTC (link)
	Her sigh and pause to wipe off her hand received an exaggerated eye roll from Aaron, but once her hand was in his, he gave it a little squeeze. Or tried, anyway. She had a pretty tight hold. Tighter than he expected from her, truthfully, but he was trying to be reassuring. "No problem." He shrugged, looking straight ahead. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

justlikeflying
2013-01-11 07:43 pm UTC (link)

She could only look behind her so many more times before she lost her mind. A couple people, two guys, were on their way down the stairs. Subconsciously, she moved closer to Aaron, her free hand clenched tightly around the cell phone in her pocket. She listened as they talked to each other, laughing about something as they put their tickets in the turnstile, and then they were standing close but not to close to them.

She looked at Aaron for a distraction. "So, um. You mentioned before that you've been hit in the face? Do you get into a lot of fights?"

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caulfieldish
2013-01-11 08:38 pm UTC (link)

Two guys wouldn't normally set Aaron on edge, but his ears perked up all the same. He was sure they were just guys from the neighborhood. People he knew, who were on their way to get something to eat, or head over to a friend's place. No big deal. But considering his company, his ears were open for anything fishy.

He was a bit taken aback by her question. He hadn't been expecting it, and it was a subject that'd been dropped while he was doing the makeup to cover her black eye. "I used to. A lot more than now." He gave her a quick glance, just because he couldn't believe they were talking about this. "Every once and a while."

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justlikeflying
2013-01-12 12:22 am UTC (link)

Hmm. But Aaron was so nice and charming and friendly to everyon-- no. Rielle couldn't even make that joke in her own head. To say she couldn't, for the life of her, come up with a reason why anyone would want to hit Aaron LaVigne, would be a lie. She could come up with plenty of reasons. Though, honestly, she wasn't sure she still subscribed by all of them. Here he was, standing next to her, holding her hand and distracting her from her fears. Apparently, he was pretty nice, if not a little overzealous with his opinions.

But those opinions were probably what got him into trouble. Still, it was polite to ask more than it was to assume and drop it, right? At least this way it looked like she didn't sometimes want to hit him too. "Why? And...who?"

She glanced behind her again, at the guys, and bit her lip. They noticed her looking. She turned back quickly before they could say anything. She heard one of them mutter something to the other, but she ignored it. "Were you picked on a lot or something?"

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caulfieldish
2013-01-12 12:51 am UTC (link)

Aaron continued to stare forward, though whether it was to avoid eye contact with Rielle or to keep from turning to size up the guys behind them wasnt clear. Probably both, but mostly the former.

"Just guys from school." He shrugged, "Someone might have said something about my mom, or my sister. The usual."

At the notion that he had been picked on, he smirked a littl. It had been a long timr since he'd been a subject of ridicule. Wes pretty much taken care of whatever he hadn't on his own, "You mean by someone other than you?" He asked, finally turning to look at her with a curiously quirked eyebrow

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justlikeflying
2013-01-12 01:55 am UTC (link)

Her eyes narrowed, but not in a suspicious way. She just couldn't believe that people said things about his mother or his sister. Well, she could believe it. It was high school. But the majority of the people in their high school didn't know his mother or his sister, nor were they really in a position to say anything about them. She was one of the most judgmental people in the world, and even she wouldn't talk shit about his mother or his sister.

"I don't pick on you. And I've sure as hell never said anything about your mother or sister. If anything, your mother surprised me by how well she cut my hair. My mom loves her, actually."

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caulfieldish
2013-01-12 02:42 am UTC (link)

Aaron laughed. Honest to goodness laughed because it was funny. "Well, neither has anyone else since I was like... Eleven or some shit." Making fun of the members of ones family was so middle school. There was always an occasional jab about his mom cutting his hair, but for the most part, Cynthia and Amelia were not topics of conversation if people knew what was good for them.

"Now if I get into fights, someone has probably insulted me personally." He looked pointedly at her, but he was mostly teasing. Mostly. "But thanks. I'll let her know you said that."

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justlikeflying
2013-01-12 04:57 am UTC (link)

Well, that explained a couple things. For one, it explained why she'd never really witnessed Aaron getting picked on, or into any fights. For another, it explained why he didn't really get into them anymore.

"Even that sort of thing is still kind of like, childish. I mean, we live in New York City. It's not like there aren't a ton of people here. If someone doesn't like you, they just shouldn't talk to you. Or just be nice anyways. Not you. Them, I mean. But you, too, I guess."

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caulfieldish
2013-01-12 05:06 am UTC (link)

Every now and then he'd get into a fight about money. Money owed usually, but he wasn't about to share that little tidbit. Generally he liked to keep his "second job" on the down low, unless someone needed to... Procure something that he might be able to get his hands on. She wouldn't have witnessed any of those fights, since they tended not to get physical, and he tried to keep them off of school grounds whenever possible. But since high schoolers were his best customers--really like 90% of his customer base considering he was one as well--it didn't always happen. Rarely did he get punched in the face, because he was not often wrong about who owed him what.

"I guess. Some people are bullies though. They go out of their way to give someone a hard time." He shrugged. Surely she didn't think the world was rosy and everyone just avoided people they didn't like or didn't understand. "Like I said, it hasn't been a problem in a while. And Amelia hasn't really started dating, so I haven't had to kick anyone's ass in her honor."

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justlikeflying
2013-01-12 05:21 am UTC (link)

Now it was her turn to let out a real, honest to god, laugh. The image of Aaron kicking someone's ass in honor of his little sister was just... hilarious to her. She tried to hold it in, but she couldn't help it. A laugh rang through the empty (save for the four of them) station.

"Sorry," she said, after a moment. "It's just. I don't know, isn't that cliche? Teaching your sister's boyfriend a lesson?" She laughed again. "You're cute." It was probably the first nice thing she'd ever said to him. And it didn't feel forced!

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caulfieldish
2013-01-12 05:27 am UTC (link)

"Well it's not like she's got a dad to do it for her." If he hadn't been holding her hand, he would have crossed his arms indignantly. He was very protective of his sister and his mother, because he had to be. He was in charge. Well, no. He wasn't quite so old fashioned, but not having a dad around sort of put a little chip on his shoulder about what his duties as a brother and a son were supposed to be.

Her second comment took him by surprise and he sort of just stared at her with eyes as big and round as teacups. He was what?

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justlikeflying
2013-01-12 05:45 am UTC (link)

"Oh, right. I forgot." That quieted her laughter down a little. "I'll probably do that with my little sister too, actually." She had parents, but they didn't really care about either of their daughters to have an active role in their lives. Of course, Rielle didn't necessarily take any reigns or raise her sister either. But she probably cared more than anyone else at this point.

"And by that, I mean I'll probably at least give her boy advice, a butchered sex talk and a condom."

She glanced up at Aaron with a smile on her face, then frowned immediately. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

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caulfieldish
2013-01-12 05:51 am UTC (link)

"Oh god." He snorted. Amelia was not allowed to have sex as far as he was concerned. But he'd let his mother deal with that one. She was, after all, the parent. And unlike Rielle's parents, she tended to play an active part in the lives of her children, even when she was at work for long hours. "That sounds awful."

Aaron had to shout over the sound of the train rushing into the station ino order to answer her question. With another question, naturally, "Did you take inventory of the words that came out of your mouth?" He wasn't sure if she'd actually meant to say them.

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justlikeflying
2013-01-12 05:58 am UTC (link)

The train had shown up! To say Rielle was mildly distracted from their conversation was an understatement. Her nerves, which had previously been all but forgotten about, were starting to return. And in spades. What did she do now? Obviously they were supposed to get on. That was a no-brainer. But what if a hobo punched her on his way off? What if someone grabbed her, reached into her pocket and stole her money before running away? What if-- Well. There were a million what-if scenarios here, and all of them were running through Rielle's head.

"Now what?" She asked, her own eyes now big as saucers, putting a pause on his question. This required their attention at the moment.

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	caulfieldish 2013-01-12 06:02 am UTC (link)
	"You wait for the doors to open, and get on." Sometimes it amazed him that a person could live in the same city as him their whole life and have no idea how to get from place to place on the most basic of public transportation. As soon as they slid open, he gave her hand an tug and led her to the train. "Watch your step." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

justlikeflying
2013-01-12 06:09 am UTC (link)

She did as she was told, minding the gap between platform and train as she went. She was surprised by how... not dirty it actually was once she was on it. Now, it wasn't winning any cleanliness rewards or anything, and she wouldn't eat off the floor. But, for all intents and purposes, it was pretty sans hobos and STDs.

"Can we sit?" She gestured two seats next to each other in a more secluded part of the car, away from the other two guys that had followed them on. "It's not like, uncool to sit or whatever?" Either way, it was her turn to lead him over and sit down. Once her bum touched the chair, she let go of his hand. She figured he wouldn't want to hold it the whole ride anyways.

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caulfieldish
2013-01-12 06:13 am UTC (link)

He rolled his eyes at her question. Of course they could sit. Who the fuck would call them out for sitting? Since when was sitting "uncool", that was what he wanted to know. He sat down next to her, sort of glad to have both hands free so he could cross his arms again.

"It's not so bad, right? No rodents of unusual size, or wads of gum all over everything." And no crazy muggers as far as the eye could see. Or, well from one end of the car to the other end. Who knew about the next car over?