InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Phone number sammich with mayo"

Riley Leone [Fire Country] (risingphoenix) wrote in institute_ic,
@ 2016-02-07 17:51:00

Who: Ira Spencer and OPEN
What: Hanging out at a local coffee shop
Where: Coffee shop
When: Sunday evening
Warnings: Will update if necessary
Status: OPEN

His sister had encouraged him to go to The Institute. He trusted her judgement, but now that he was here, well. He was starting to have second thoughts. Who wouldn't? He was away from home, for the first time in his life. He was out on his own, for all intents and purposes, and he felt completely adrift, completely uncertain, and completely in-over-his-head.

His social anxiety had him wanting to stay cooped up in his room as much as possible, but he knew that wouldn't help anything, or anyone. He needed to get out there and do something, anything. He needed to meet people, and live his life. He needed to get a job, something to do away from the apartment when he wasn't participating in an experiment.

But who would hire a guy who heard voices, and talked to people no one else could see? He sighed and sipped the coffee he'd ordered. He didn't have a lot of spending money, but coffee was a vice he couldn't do without. He lifted his gaze and looked around the small cafe. Inadvertently making eye contact with someone, he offered an awkward smile of greeting.

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dakotanewberry
2016-02-08 01:45 pm UTC (link)

Dakota had been out for an evening run when he decided that he was going to stop by the cafe and have some coffee and maybe a late snack. It was something he didn't do often and he didn't need to be home right away so why not take some time to himself? He walked in and the place wasn't as busy as he was expecting but there were still a lot of people there. He grabbed a couple of different pastries and a vanilla flavored coffee and made his way to one of the booths where he could sit down. He saw the newspaper on the table which someone had left but it had no interest to him. He kept up with everything on his phone much like everyone else these days. He took a drink of his coffee and looked around the cafe before pulling out his phone.

He checked his messages to make sure there wasn't anything he missed and there wasn't so all was well at home. He returned to his coffee before looking around the diner again and that's when he spotted someone looking in his direction and the smile they gave him felt like it was one that they wasn't use to giving so it made him curious. He hadn't seen the guy around so he didn't know him but he was sitting alone as well. He rose his hand and briefly waved back at him offering his own smile. He looked around the cafe once more before looking back at the other guy.

Deciding to try something new he mouthed over to him "Care to join me?"

He din't want to yell it across the cafe but if the guy was paying attention he would see his invitation. He would be able to tell if the guy could read minds too or not if he wasn't paying attention but it looked like he was. So he wasn't going to be able to tell.

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risingphoenix
2016-02-09 12:19 am UTC (link)

Ira had noticed the invitation, and he was torn. Some part of him wanted to slide under the table and disappear, but the other part of him wanted to accept. He was new here, and while he had no way of knowing who this guy was, if he lived in this area, if he was part of The Institute, or anything, the simple fact was that Ira needed to put himself out there.

"Shut it," Ira muttered to himself. He decided to go for it. What was te worst that could happen? A lot of things, actually. He could be a mass murderer looking for an easy victim. Ira groaned inwardly as he stood up and gathered his things. He slung his bag on his shoulder, and it promptly fell to this elbow, but he'd already picked up his coffee and he had his danish plate in the other hand.

He wasn't going far, he could suffer with it for a few steps. "Hi." He said as he approached the stranger's table. "Why take up two tables when we can occupy one, right?" He smiled a little awkwardly.

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dakotanewberry
2016-02-09 01:21 am UTC (link)

Dakota watched as Ira got up from the table after a few moments. He had wondered if he was going to take the invite or not but soon enough he was on his way over to him. He watched him for a brief moment before lowering his gaze because he didn't want the guy to think that he was staring at him. He was probably freaking out already due to the fact that a complete stranger invited him over to sit with him. He knew that he would have been if he wasn't the way he was. He didn't mind strangers talking to him and he often got something out of it.

As Ira got to the table he made sure he had room to sit his things and glanced up at him when he said that there was no use taking up two tables when they could just occupy once. That was smart thinking and a good reason to invite him over although there were some empty tables so no one was fighting over them. At least they could keep each other company. "Right." he said smiling up at the man.

He waited until he put his things down and extended his hand to him. "I'm Dakota."

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risingphoenix
2016-02-10 12:54 am UTC (link)

"Ira," Ira settled at the table, dropping his bag to the floor and setting his food and coffee on the table. He took hold of the offered hand, and gave a firm shake before letting go.

"Nice to meet you, Dakota." Ira put his hand around his coffee cup so it would have somewhere to be his other hand rested in his lap. Now that he was here, he felt a little awkward. What was he supposed to do now?

He should probably say something, make conversation. It was easy with the spirits, people no one else could see. But with a real, flesh and blood person, sitting across from him at a table in a cafe, he had no idea what to say or do. He lifted his coffee and took a sip, in an effort to buy a couple seconds.

"So, uh," he set the coffee down and looked awkwardly over at Dakota. "What do you do, Dakota?"

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dakotanewberry
2016-02-11 03:22 am UTC (link)

Dakota had to admit the guy had an interesting name and it made him wonder where he was from or why his parents named him that. He loved learning about names and the meaning of them when it came to other people. He watched him and he could tell that he was nervous but he wanted to make him feel more at ease. He took a drink of his own coffee and placed it back down on the table before looking outside and then glancing back over at the stranger.

"It's nice to meet you too Ira." he said since he hadn't said anything before. "What do I do as in for work?" he ask arching an eyebrow.

If the guy was asking about gifts that would be a giveaway that he was also gifted but he didn't want to assume that was what he was referring to. "I'm doing freelance photography and just random side jobs for people needing help until I can find something a little more steady. What about you?" he ask wanting to make sure he got to know the other man as well.

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risingphoenix
2016-02-14 03:30 pm UTC (link)

"I deliver pizzas," Ira said with a shake of his head. "Not exactly the most thrilling job, but I'm still trying to figure out what to do with my life." And with the spirits so close to him all the time, he had no idea what to do with himself. Delivering pizzas could be harried, at times, depending on the spirits activity at any given location.

"Photography is an interesting choice, though. Have you always enjoyed taking pictures?" In the right setting, in the right lighting, a picture could breech the doorway between worlds. It was rare, but it happened, and it tended to happen when Ira was around since he himself was a doorway between worlds.

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dakotanewberry
2016-02-15 04:20 am UTC (link)

Dakota saw the way that Ira shook his head when he mentioned what he did and he wondered if it was because he thought that was bad or something. Honestly the fact that he had a job was a good thing. It didn't matter what it was. "Might not be thrilling but it's a job and puts money in your pockets for this coffee habit of yours." he said gesturing to the mans coffee cup even though he had a cup in front of him as well. So he had just as much of an addiction.

"I have enjoyed taking photographs. Ever since I was a kid I've been doing it. I won't say that I'm great at it but as long as I love it that's all that matters. I just started doing it professionally of sorts a couple of years ago and even still it's just for people wanting weddings, birthday parties, and things like that. Nothing fancy." he explained.

Ira didn't say anything about it but Dakota did know that it could sometimes catch things from the other side but he didn't want to breech that topic because he didn't know how Ira was about it or what his gift might have been. The last thing he wanted to do was offend him after he had played the nice guy and invited him over to sit with him.

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risingphoenix
2016-02-21 12:06 am UTC (link)

Ira nodded while Dakota talked. He definitely appreciated the pay check, but he didn't think delivering pizzas was a great job. He hated it, really. Except that he spent a lot of time in his car, and not at the pizzeria. He hated being at the store.

"Do you ever get...I don't know. Weird, unexplained images in your shots?" Ira hated having his picture taken for that reason. With so many spirits hovering close to him, trying to be heard, it was inevitable that a strange blur, or a vague shape showed up in pictures taken of him.

"That's a weird question, but...I'm curious." He tried for an awkward smile. Because it was a weird question.

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dakotanewberry
2016-02-21 03:38 am UTC (link)

Dakota rose his cup of coffee and took a drink of it as he listened to Ira speak and ask him if he ever got unexplained shots in his photos. He didn't have to think about that as he knew what he was getting at. It was a weird question but he knew that some people were okay with that sort of stuff and even studied it. If Ira was asking about it he had to have an interest in it or he could do something with it.

He held the drink in his mouth for just a moment before swallowing as he thought whether to admit that he got some shots with weird things in them or not. Once he had swallowed and sat his cup back down he glanced over at Ira and studied him for a brief moment to make sure that he wasn't being tricked into something to be made fun of. He saw the awkward smile and that was a sign that the man was serious and might not have really wanted to ask that question.

Deciding to be honest he nodded his head. "A couple of times I have got something weird in my photos. Like you can see something there but it wasn't there when you took the picture. That sort of thing." he said as he continue to watch Ira to gauge his interest. "Guess it comes down to whether you believe in ghosts and the supernatural. Do you Ira?" he said as a trace of a smile appear at the corner of his lips.

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risingphoenix
2016-02-21 03:07 pm UTC (link)

Ira watched Dakota drink his coffee. He realised he was probably staring too much, too intensely, and he looked away. It took a concentrated effort to block out the buzz from the other world, because the spirits around him had plenty to say about that.

He smiled a little awkward smile when Dakota finally spoke. He gave a slight nod, and wondered why he'd said anything at all. Because now he kind of had to explain why he'd asked that question. He wasn't ashamed or embarrassed about his unique ability, he just knew it was uncommon, and a lot of people didn't believe in ghosts or spirits, or communication with the dead. It was an iffy subject, and Dakota really could go either way.

"I...do. Yeah. Do you?" If he knew what Dakota thought about the subject, he could better gauge how much he could say. Because blurting out how the spirits were talking to him right that moment probably wasn't the best way to make a new friend.

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dakotanewberry
2016-02-21 04:03 pm UTC (link)

Hearing that Ira believed in ghosts put Dakota a little more at ease talking about the topic because the last thing he wanted to do was make a fool out of himself. He simply nodded his head as his only answer for just a second.

"I do believe there are ghosts out there and sometimes they try to make themselves known." he said still watching Ira. Part of him was still thinking that the man would jump up at any moment and laugh at him but part of him wondered if he was serious by the way he answered and sounded nervous at the same time. "There are people that can even talk to them from what I've heard. I've never met one though." he said raising his cup up and taking another drink of his coffee. He didn't take his eyes off of Ira as he watched him to see how he processed that bit of information.

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risingphoenix
2016-02-24 11:09 pm UTC (link)

Ira;s mouth twitched, which probably gave Dakota a hint. He looked down and focused on a spot on the table for a moment before looking back up and across to Dakota. "What if I told you you have met someone who can talk to them? That's why I'm here. That's why I'm going to The Institute. Because the spirits talk to me."

He was either going to accept that, or not. There wasn't going to be an in between. Either Dakota would be cool with it, or he'd reject Ira because he was insane. Ira really hoped it wouldn't be that, but he knew that was most likely. That was what he'd faced any other time he'd told someone about the spirits.

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dakotanewberry
2016-03-07 05:19 am UTC (link)

The little twitch did give Dakota a hint and that made him even more curious as the guy look back to him. His mouth open a bit but he tried not to show to much shock when Ira admitted that he had met someone who could talk to them. He glanced around them to make sure that no one was eavesdropping and then glanced back to Ira. "So do they talk to you all the time?"

Dakota didn't show any disgust or hate when he ask his question. He was naturally curious and Ira had his full attention at the moment. He couldn't imagine if the spirits were to talk to someone all the time. It'd drive a person insane and would be a good reason that someone would keep their gift to themselves and not talk about it. He looked around once more all around Ira this time though.

"Are there any around now?"

He didn't want to cross any bounds that Ira might have set up but he couldn't help it. He could be full of questions at times.

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