Who: Damon and Charlie What: at the fair When: later evening, July 1 Where: Fairgrounds Status: complete, gdocs
Damon had been wandering around with Jake for quite a while, and he finally slipped away to use the restroom. After waiting in line for what felt like a half hour, he emerged back out into the main crowd and realized that Jake was nowhere to be seen. Damon felt sure he’d run into some friends and would catch up to him later. He could always text Jake, but there was no need for that. What he’d do was continue his quest to see how much food he could stuff into his face. Earlier he and Jake had had hot dogs and burgers, then shaved ices, and that should have been sufficient… but. The fair. It seemed like eating way too much junk food was something he needed to do every year.
He stopped at a cotton candy stand, feeling a sudden need to ingest something that was almost entirely sugar. Damon bought a huge bag of blue cotton candy, one that would turn his tongue a color not found anywhere in nature, and then put his wallet away carefully before opening the bag and popping a mouthful in. As he turned away from the stand, he nearly ran into Charlie.
“What’s up?” he asked her, smirking. “Didn’t know you were comin’ tonight. Want some cotton candy?” He was willing to share.
Charlie had arrived at the fair with a couple friends, but like Damon and Jake, had gotten split up at some point after leaving the Hall of Mirrors. It was crowded, and she was texting one of them to find out where they disappeared to when she felt another presence in front of her. She looked up and stepped back quickly enough to keep from bumping into them. A smile broke out across her face at the sight of Damon, and she lowered her phone. “Hey. It was kind of a last minute decision,” Charlie admitted. “It’s my day off, and my friends are pretty persuasive.” She reached out to take a piece of cotton candy. “Did you come here alone?”
It was always good to see Charlie. She, like Jake, was a friend who’d stuck by him the whole time they’d been growing up. She’d always known when to ask questions and when not to, and everyone needed somebody like that in their lives. “Mine was a little last minute too,” he said, holding the bag where she could easily reach it. “Jake texted me a couple hours before. He was bringin’ Cassi and some friends and asked if I’d come with. I lost him somewhere.” He waved his free hand languidly, clearly not that worried about it. “I’m trying to eat my weight in junk food,” he added with a blue-tinged smile.
Charlie had forgotten about the friends she'd arrived with, more focused now on Damon, and... Jake, although he was nowhere to be seen. "I lost my friends too," Charlie said with a smile before she popped the piece of cotton candy into her mouth. It melted against her tongue, sugary and sticky. Terrible for her teeth, of course, but that was just her mother talking in her ear, from when she was younger and had an intense sweet tooth. "I don't mind walking around with you while you look for Jake, if you want. Otherwise I'm just a loser on her phone, wandering the fair alone."
“Easy to lose someone when there’s this many people around,” Damon said, shrugging. He let another big bite of cotton candy dissolve in his mouth before adding, “Yeah, let’s walk around a while.” Despite the fact that he’d been tired earlier and had thought about staying home before Jake had texted him, he was glad he was here. It was good to get out and do things. He didn’t want to become a crusty old hermit at the age of 32.
Charlie fell into step beside Damon. She had to shift and move a little to keep from bumping into people. Occasionally she reached out to snag a little more of his cotton candy. “Are you having fun? It’s kind of funny to see you at a fair, though I don’t really know why.” Charlie enjoyed herself, usually, but it could get a little overwhelming with the amount of people. Charlie had to be careful not to inadvertently absorb someone else’s power and use it without any warning. So far, so good.
“I go every year,” Damon said, chuckling at her. “Usually Jake drags me along.” Not that he protested that much. He thought it was cool to live in a town that still had a fair. “It’s a nice break from working on the trailer.” Charlie had been over and seen it, although not when it was at its worst. He was fairly close to being done with it now; he just needed to replace all the carpet and linoleum. He’d gotten pretty good at DIY. “How ‘bout you, are you having fun?” he asked.
“That doesn’t change the fact that it’s funny to see you here,” Charlie pointed out. She reached for more of his cotton candy, not at all ashamed about it. She would buy him more later to make up for it. She popped it into her mouth and lifted a brow, shrugging her shoulders softly. “I’m having fun, I guess. Sometimes large crowds get a little overwhelming. But I’ve seen some people around I hadn’t seen in a while, so that’s a plus. And then there’s you,” she added with a smile as she nudged him lightly with her elbow. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in a while either, even though I have. The days sort of blend into one another sometimes.”
“Ha ha,” Damon said, unperturbed. Maybe he wasn’t really the shiny happy fair type, but it was cool. He was enjoying himself anyway, especially now that he was mainlining cotton candy. He’d be up half the night on a sugar rush, but that was all right. “Yeah, I guess we’ve both been busy,” he said, because he felt like they hadn’t spent much time together either. Sometimes he got very preoccupied with work and getting his place fixed up that he neglected to get together with people as much as he should. “We should have a movie night, just hang out soon.”
“Sure, that sounds fun,” Charlie said. “I’ve been working extra shifts at work for some extra cash, so I feel like my social life has really taken a hit. What have you been up to besides fixing up your place? How’s work?” She took one more piece of cotton candy and pulled tiny bits off to pop in her mouth to make it last a little longer. It was nice to just catch up with Damon, even if it would only be for a brief moment. Hopefully he would remember to text her soon so they could hang out without a crowd of people around them. Charlie felt like she could talk more openly when there weren’t a bunch of potential eavesdroppers about.
“Work is work,” Damon said after he’d eaten another huge wad of cotton candy. “Living the life, cooking one omelet or burger at a time. I haven’t been doing that much, really.” He had friends, but he had to work at socializing. Somehow it didn’t come naturally to him. Maybe it was his upbringing, who the hell knew? “How about you, any exciting dudes or activities I should know about?” As with Jake, he felt like he could talk about anything with Charlie, and he never hesitated to ask intrusive questions if he felt like it.
“Exciting dudes?” Charlie laughed. “No, no exciting dudes. I’m thinking about buying a home, but that’s sort of… down the line.” She waved her hand dismissively. “Works keeps me busy, to be honest. I don’t think I’ve been out on a date in… well, a while. Not that I need that,” she added quickly, looking at Damon. “But my social life has been pretty pathetic as of late. Which is why I came tonight. I think some of your anti-socialness has started to rub off on me.”
Having goals was important, and home ownership was a good one to aim for. A lot of times being older made one more responsible, but Damon felt like he’d always been that way. Reaching for the next goal, wanting life to be better. Nothing wrong with that. “Being busy keeps you out of trouble,” he said, teasing a little before he turned his head to glare at her. “I’m not anti-social. I’m selective about who I spend time with.” He made a face at her next, amused by how they sometimes regressed to high school during conversations.
“That’s the nice way of saying you’re anti-social,” Charlie pointed out, trying to stifle a smile. She made a face to counter the face he made at her, amused. Yes, it was very high school, but so what? It was so much better than being adults and talking about adulting. “So, since you were allowed to ask me about exciting dudes. What about you?” She elbowed him suggestively. “Any exciting chicks in your life? Would you even tell me if there were?”
“Whatever works,” Damon said with a shrug. He didn’t see the benefit of chatting up everyone in town, so what? He was a busy guy. He kept his nose clean and minded his own business. Usually. He smirked when she asked him about chicks. “If there’s something to tell, I’ll tell it,” he said. As of this moment, he’d been alerted to a possibility, but that was it. Nothing to tell yet, and there might not be. He lifted a finger, licked it and tried to get sugar off the corners of his mouth. “I’ve gotta get something to drink. Want to come with, or do you need to find your friends?”
“I guess I should find my friends,” Charlie said, although she didn’t sound thrilled about it. “They’re either getting drinks themselves, or stalking cute guys. It’s like we’ve never left high school.” She offered Damon a small smile. “Thanks for keeping me company for a while. I’ll text you soon and we’ll figure out a night to hang out, okay?”
“Stalking cute guys,” Damon repeated, amused. “Very interesting. Maybe they’ll catch one.” He grinned at her. “See you soon.” They needed to make that happen; he should consciously take more breaks from all work no play to spend more time with friends. With a little wave, he headed for the nearest drink vendor.