InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "We will survive."

Erika Rae Forsythe (sprouted) wrote in light_of_may,
@ 2014-01-14 17:52:00

Entry tags:

2009-10-01, erika, evan

Traveled down the road and back again
WHO: Erika & Evan
WHERE: Seeds of Beauty
WHEN: Morning, after Evan's interrupted beauty sleep

Confident enough that no one was going to come into the store at eight in the morning on a Thursday, Erika ran up the stairs to her apartment to grab her coffeemaker. Balancing the items in her arms, she took more time getting down. She wasn't the type to fall - she'd learned that early on - but there was no reason to tempt fate. Once she was back in her store and Petunia reported that there had been no changes in the few minutes she was gone, Erika settled into making coffee. She wasn't entirely sure where Evan was supposed to get cake from this early in the morning, but she was going to leave that to her brother to figure out. Heaven help him if he walked through that door without the promised sweets. The idea that she'd dated too many guys in high school wasn't really bothering her. If it'd been bad, she probably would have gotten a reputation of sorts. She hadn't. And she was friends with most of those who had stayed in town.

Kicking her feet up on a small stool she placed taller flower designs on, Erika stayed behind the counter of her store and listened to the coffee brew. She'd still dressed nice today, even if she doubted anyone would show. She was, after all, a smart and professional businesswoman. Seeds of Beauty had a casual, friendly environment (or at least that's what she tried her best to create) but it was still her workplace. Grabbing a handful of flowers and some petals from a nearby bin, Erika started to work on floral hairpiece that would eventually go into her hair. She checked her phone occasionally to see if Evan had given her an ETA, but she was also enjoying the silence of her store. Well, she would prefer it was loud and busy with customers, but just being surrounded by plants and serenity was soothing. It was something you got used to as a Forsythe kid, she supposed, despite the number of siblings she had.

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_prettyodd
2014-01-16 02:51 pm UTC (link)

Everyone who knew Evan knew he was something of a night owl. Okay, his schedule was pretty much nocturnal - he'd never be a morning person and he'd made his peace with that ages ago. So when Erika texted him at 8 o'clock in the morning, it wasn't like he'd wanted to answer it. If the phone hadn't been right by his head, he might not have heard it go off at all. But, Erika was his sister, and Forsythes stuck together, as it were. So if his sister needed to talk about boys, Evan would be there to talk about boys. Oh, and to eat cheesecake. He couldn't forget the most important part of this whole conversation, after all.

Not bothering to shower - he could do that when he got back from Erika's, and besides, he did check that his clothes were clean and he didn't smell nasty - he threw on some jeans, a tee, and a hoodie and headed out. Finding the cheesecake proved to be the hardest part, and in the end he ended up at the grocery store, not knowing if Shelly's Bakery was open quite yet or not. The fact that Evan even remembered where the bakery was this time of day was saying something, truly. Getting a full sized cheesecake was a must. They had little baby sized ones, sitting there in the pastry case, but if Evan was up this early, he was planning on eating at least his half of the cake. They were adults. They could make adult decisions.

Just before 9 o'clock, Evan stumbled into Seeds of Beauty, spotting Erika behind the counter. "Coffee or the cheesecake gets it," he said, yawning as he held up said cake to show her. "Also, good morning."

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sprouted
2014-01-20 01:07 am UTC (link)

It wasn't as if Erika was lacking for friends. She had girl friends she could have talked to about this, but everyone that sprung to mind quickly was mostly caught up in the situation at the high school. And despite the fact that this idea was now eating away at Erika like most everything else that went through her mind, she didn't have the heart to pull someone away from a family member or friend at the school just for the sake of talking about boys. Besides, Evan would tell her the truth and tell it straight. It was the up side of talking about things with her brother; he kept it real. The only other person that came to mind was Ben, who she remained very close to, but that was a little weird. She didn't want to come off like she regretted dating him, which she didn't.

"I drank it all because you took too long," Erika responded as she flipped the other mug she'd brought down with her over and poured the sweet-smelling liquid into it. She was pleased to see he had gotten a huge cheesecake instead of a bitty one. Her brother knew her well. And she did sort of feel bad for waking him up. She'd expected not to hear from him until noon, even if he pleasantly surprised her otherwise. It was a sentiment that did not escape Erika's gratitude. And only confirmed that she may have the best siblings in the world. Not that either one of them would ever hear that out loud unless she was toasted on blackberry wine at Christmas. Because she was still the eldest sister and had earned the right to be obnoxious.

"Good morning yourself, sunshine. Your skin looks better already," she teased, eying the cheesecake box so Evan would have absolutely no question as to what she was trying to communicate to him. Cheesecake for breakfast? Their parents would be appalled. But they were adults, damnit.

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_prettyodd
2014-01-21 01:58 pm UTC (link)

It wasn't to say that Evan wasn't worried about everything going on at the high school, because he was. The longer it went on, the less it seemed they were able to do about it, too, which concerned him even more. But he still had to go to work, and he didn't see the point in standing around just waiting for something to happen. If he could help, he would. Until then, he would go on as normally as he could, which included answering texts from his sister at what was (to him, anyway) an ungodly hour of the morning.

In truth, Evan didn't mind the so-called "girl talk" with Erika. He'd always been happy that he was close to his sisters, even if he ended up being the butt of their jokes more often than not. So many of his friends always complained about their families, how they didn't like this or that, but not the Forsythes. They might not have been what everyone else considered "normal," but he wouldn't change them for anything. Even if that meant getting cheesecake at this hour and settling problems Golden Girls style. It worked.

"Hey now, don't joke about things like that," he said, setting the cheesecake down on the counter and watching as Erika poured his cup of coffee. Sweet, sweet caffeine, how Evan needed you right about now. "It's a lot of hard work to stay this pale, thank you very much." First things first, he took a good long sip of his coffee, then popped open the box on the cheesecake. Then he dug out two plastic forks, still wrapped in plastic, from his pocket and handed one to Erika. "So. This Jax guy, refresh my memory about him."

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sprouted
2014-02-23 09:33 pm UTC (link)

Erika took two quick bites of the cheesecake before answering Evan's question. She had one of her own: what bakery was even open at this hour? And selling cheesecake? Well, cheesecake was something made the night before and refrigerated for the next day, probably. But still. She was impressed. "Afraid it might ruin your image? Come on, mom and dad's clients have better skin tone than you." Not really, but in this family, if you couldn't keep a positive attitude about death, then work got really depressing really fast. Taking a sip of her coffee, she hesitated more as she thought about Jax.

"I don't know...his family was from town, I think...still are, I think. I actually don't think I met his family, which is weird in and of itself. I am totally keeper material," Erika joked. Yeah, right. If she was such a keeper, she'd probably be married by now. As it was, she wasn't. Not that she regretted that. Part of her wanted to settle down and be steady with a job and kids and all that. The other part of her still sought some adventure. Just not adventure that including getting onto a plane. Putting her cheek on her palm, Erika thought about it for a second. "Actually...I might have. Oh yeah, totally did. Dang, high school was a while ago. He had the two cute sisters. Mom's still a medium in town, maybe." Erika was going through her filing cabinet of memories now.

"Jax himself was athletic and sweet and friendly and he came over for dinner a couple times and, you know, soulful blue eyes," Erika shrugged. "But it isn't about him. I dated someone all the way through middle school and high school and do I have a problem?" Erika knew for a fact that her sister had seen more people than she ever did, but it was still troubling to think she had dating issues. Maybe she needed therapy or something.

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_prettyodd
2014-02-24 09:31 pm UTC (link)

If he could have gotten bakery cheesecake, he would have, but this was just as good. Because it was still cheesecake, and he was eating it for breakfast. So there, logic. Actually... the fact that Evan was eating breakfast at all was something of a feat. Usually he was up in time for what most people considered lunch, and his last meal of the day was more like a midnight snack or a late run to Taco Bell. Really, whatever worked. He didn't judge. He pretended to be offended, hand back against his chest, before laughing. "Me? Worried about my image? Never." Just for good measure, he stuck his tongue out at her before digging into the cheesecake.

Evan sat back and listened, taking sips of coffee as Erika spoke. At this rate he was going to finish this cup before she finished her story, but that was okay, there was more. And if not, he could make more. Contrary to popular opinion, he did actually know how to use a coffee pot. "You are keeper material," he said, because she was. He'd always thought Erika was awesome. "And high school was a while ago," especially for her since she was older than him, "so I think you're allowed to be a little fuzzier on all of his family details. Like, if he remembered all of us, I'd be surprised." Wait, had Evan made a scarring impression on this guy? He didn't think so, but it was always in the realm of possibilities.

The last thing he needed to hear about was Jax's soulful blue eyes, but hey, this was gossip hour and Erika needed to get that out there, Evan guessed. "You don't have a problem," he said. "So you haven't settled down with the husband and the 2.5 kids yet, who cares? You have a business, you're happy, you do your own thing and you don't worry about what some other asshole might say about it. You'll meet a guy when you meet a guy, I guess." It wasn't like Evan was one to talk, as he hadn't had a date since Dorcas. There was Savvy... and as much as he had a bitty little crush on her, it wasn't like she reciprocated. At least, not to his knowledge, which meant Evan was going to leave well enough alone.

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sprouted
2014-03-09 09:29 pm UTC (link)

Unlike Evan, Erika had always been a morning person. She enjoyed mornings, daylight, and sunrises. She'd always been a dawn sort of kid, even in high school. She was usually the first one up in the house and she'd always venture outside for a run or just to watch the sunrise. Nothing much had changed for Erika in that aspect and she often aggravated her siblings by forcing them to face mornings and mother nature. They were more into labs and late nights. She was the exact opposite. She needed people and animals and plants. People that spoke back, at least. "Right, isn't that part of the whole image, though? Not caring about the image?" She matched his facial expression with a wrinkling of her nose.

"I feel like you have to say that as my brother, though," Erika rolled her eyes. "Just like Mom and Dad." She stabbed her slice of cheesecake and scooped up a bite, rolling bits of crust left behind around on the plate. "Actually, I'd be more surprised if he doesn't remember us. Mom and Dad aren't creepy, but the house leaves a pretty lasting impression on most people." Erika swirled more crumbs around her plate before adding, "Not to mention the fact that one encounter with you can leave a man scarred for life."

Of course, Erika wasn't exactly worried about not being quite settled yet. She hadn't exactly been a big planner, knowing full well that life would work itself out in her favor. There was something to be said about letting life happen to her instead of making her life happen, but Erika didn't agree with forcing things to happen. What was meant to be would find its way sort of thing. Like this flower shop. It hadn't been her plan, exactly, but she loved doing it and she was wonderfully happy. "Right, no problem. I believe you, Doctor Forsythe. Now that we have my love life squared away, what's going on with yours?" Always been a delicate conversation, considering the bee that had just picked up and run off with Evan's heart, but he had to move on sometime, right? Maybe Erika could help with that.

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_prettyodd
2014-03-31 11:58 am UTC (link)

"You know, there are people who say they don't care when they really do, but I mean it when I say there are absolutely zero fucks given about my image." Okay, so that was only 95 percent true, because Evan did care just the tiniest bit, but Erika knew that. Really, he only cared what his family thought, because even when he didn't want to agree, they were usually right. They'd been right about Dorcas, after all, as much as it hurt to see it at the time. He was over that now.

For grocery store cheesecake, this was still pretty decent, and Evan took another few bites before continuing on. "I don't just like, say things for the sake of saying them," he said. "If I was following the little brother rules of giving advice, I'd just say you had cooties and no one would date you, which isn't true. I don't believe in cooties anymore." He shrugged. "I don't remember scarring Jax for life, but it could have happened. I'd promise not to do it again, but you know." Sometimes opportunity just fell into his lap, and he couldn't pass it up. Like that time Jasper had the best walk of shame ever, and ended up with pancakes from their mom. That was priceless.

His love life, however? That was a different story. Evan snorted into his cup of coffee. "I'm having cheesecake for breakfast with my big sister. That's my love life. That's the joke." Was he seriously almost out of coffee already? He only had a few more sips left. "Nothing to report. No weird shit from Dorcas, either, thank fucking god for that." And nothing new on the Savvy front either, which he was sure Erika would bring up sooner or later.

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sprouted
2014-04-05 12:37 am UTC (link)

"I believe you," Erika responded straight-faced. "Although I want you to remember that I am your oldest sister and, therefore, required by every universal law to push as many of your buttons as I possibly can." Erika used (and abused) her older sister powers often, though she was always rather kind about it. And, on any given day, she would flat-out full-body tackle anyone for saying anything about either of her siblings. Like Dorcas, by the way, if that shallow little...oooh! Even just thinking about her made Erika's blood boil a little. And the stupid presents. Ugh, it annoyed the hell out of her that there was never a resolution to that. All that and Jezebelle disappears from the town on top of it. Not an auspicious situation. But she'd told herself she'd let it drop (for the moment) and she was going to. She was.

Smiling genuinely at Evan, Erika put her cheek in her palm. "You're a good guy, Evan Forsythe. And not at all bad for a little brother," she told him. She sighed. "I don't know why I'm letting myself get freaked out over this. It's really not that big a deal, right? Right. Okay. I'm going to get over this," Erika punctuated that last sentence with her Erika-style conviction. And she was, too.

Reaching over to refill Evan's coffee mug before a riot started, she made a face at Dorcas' name. Keep your cool, Erika. "Yeah, no additional leads on that one. Hate to say it, but with Jezebelle skipping town, I am straight out of ideas. But if I smell anything in air, I am on that like a bloodhound after geese." Did bloodhounds even chase geese? She didn't know. But if they did, that's how she was going to be about this. "How about Savvy? You guys still hanging out?" Hah, Erika was predictable. Sorry, Evan.

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_prettyodd
2014-04-25 12:37 pm UTC (link)

"Well, duh." Evan just raised an eyebrow. "Right back at ya, sis." It was all good natured; their teasing always was. At the end of the day, he knew Erika had his back, and Erin did too, just like he had theirs. You didn't fuck with the Forsythes and expect there not to be repercussions for it. Like how if Dorcas ever came back to town, or if he got one of those creepy as fuck presents from her. He could just imagine how Erika would blow her top over that, and Evan was going to let her. Dorcas deserved that and then some for the way she'd bailed on him. Evan was over it, but he was still allowed to be bitter about it. Some grudges never did really go away.

He grinned around his bite of cheesecake, remembering his manners and not talking with his mouth full. Being a good guy didn't necessarily win you all the awards in the world, but hey, at least he was happy with himself. That was worth more to him, at the end of the day. "Why thank you. You're pretty bad ass yourself." He raised his coffee cup in her direction. "And yes, you are." He studied her for a moment. "Soooooo are you going to see Jax again? Yes, no, maybe?"

Cup now refilled with the magical elixir of life, Evan took another sip. He'd need all the caffeine in the world to keep him awake right now. "I'd like to say that all's well that ends well in that regard but I also suspect some bullshit, but you know. Nothing to do except go to England and find out what's wrong with her, but I'm not going to do that, so...." He let his voice trail off, and he shrugged. "And yes, still hanging out with Savvy and she's still awesome. Still has no idea how awesome I think she is, though." He didn't sound pathetic when he said that, did he? Oh god, Evan hoped not.

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