Melody (ampedto11) wrote in light_of_may, @ 2010-03-30 18:35:00 |
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Entry tags: | 2009-07-08, melody |
A meeting and maybe a bed?
Who: Melody & Sadie
Where: Sunny's Diner
When: Evening
Sadie dragged her feet into the diner, the euphoria from her stop at the bakery and her time in the sun having begun its fading, leaving behind the road weary girl she was. Yet no email from Seeley telling her he was coming, and she was faced yet again with the lack luster choices of where to sleep. She could go back into Ann Arbor and hit up a shelter, or she could go wolf and rough it out... neither option held much interest, years of going between both choices killing the 'on the run' glamor.
She walked on up to the counter and claimed one of the stools as her own. After being handed the menu and asking for a water, Sadie settled down. So, long bike ride and shelter, or rough it as wolf? Sadie frowned into the menu, wishing she had a non-smelly or insect ridden bed to sleep in. Really, she almost forgot what it was like to sleep in a real bed.
Damn Riley's father, if only the blasted man had kept away, keeping his work away from the home. If he had only just stayed... gone! Then she'd be back home, living happily with her parents, Bastian, Seeley and... Riley. They'd likely still be together, planning on going for the long haul. Seeley and Riley would still be friends, no killing glares being shared, no fear of him pulling out a gun and shooting Seeley and herself in the back... no more pain.
Really, life was nothing but a major pain in the ass.
Melody, on the other hand, was lovin' life and having a great day. But it was a rare thing for Melody to have a bad day, annoying as that was to certain people. Oh well! She'd spent the day at the festival, and likely would have spent the majority of the night there, but she had an early session in the morning. So after the bands she had wanted to see had played, Melody hit the road. Food was necessary before going home though, so she hit up the diner on the way.
Sunny's was crowded, but then again, everything in town was crowded tonight. Lots of tourists for the show, added to the previous spike in tourism due to Heme. After taking a look around and spotting an empty stool at the counter, she headed her happy ass over there. "This seat taken?" she asked, hopeful grin offered to the teen occupying the next stool. If not, well, she'd be taking her artery clog to go.
Sadie looked up when she heard a voice pipe up, seemingly pointed toward her. For a moment, as her eyes met that of a young woman, though older than herself, expression relatively blank before a half smile appeared for a brief moment. "No," she said, not being mean enough to lie. Yes, the diner was rather packed, likely due to whatever festival was going on in this little town. Sadie had to admit, it made blending in around here a little easier, though the packed diner was a bit of a hassle.
Sadie glanced out of one of the diner windows to check on her bike, making sure it and the duffel back on it were still safe. Not that they'd get much. What little bit of money she did have was in her pocket. She downed half of the glass of water when it arrived, the lack of fluid intact the past few days showing. Once it was sat back down she gave the woman next to her another glance before returning her focus to the menu. Why was grilled cheese sandwiches always the cheapest?
A quiet one, eh? Well, that was okay. Melody plunked down and dropped her bag on the countertop, managing to resist the urge to tap her hands along with the music stuck in her head. She was ridiculously sunburned and probably smelled like beer - but she considered the day a success. "Did you go to the show tonight?" she asked, and if she didn't get an answer, that was okay too. It took a lot to bother Melody. She could just pretend she was making conversation with the frazzled waitress. Across the diner.
The social part of Sadie, the one that had been getting some exercise lately, was excited over the fact to have yet another female who wanted to converse with her. But really, she should try and reign herself in some. She had promised Seeley she'd be careful, that she wouldn't draw attention to her, and she was sure that talking to a bunch of people in one day was considered drawing attention to her.
"No," another one word answer as she tried to take Seeley's warnings to heart once more.
A-ha, so this kid was going to be a challenge. That worked for Melody, it was clearly going to be a while before she got the waitress' attention and got herself some cheesesteaky goodness. "It was good!" she said, as if she was talking to someone who gave a crap about what she was saying. Melody did not think that was the case, but... well, she was Melody. Since when did she care? "I liked the local bands. And that politician's daughter actually didn't suck. I totally lost a bet there, but I won't hold it against her. You a local then?"
Sadie listened to the woman talk, glancing over at her as she pretended to be occupied by taking small sips of her water. She was now disappointed that she had not gone to check out what the fuss had been about. A gathering with bands? That definitely was the kind of place people her age would be at, and how long had it been since she'd been around other teens (Seeley and that girl earlier today excluded)? Far to long.
And then Sadie was frowning a bit into her cup. Local? Did she look like a local? "No, I'm not." There, three whole words in one go, proving she had slightly more than caveman intelligence
Oh hey, three words! Improvement. Though curious. She looked too young to be a vampire tourist. This probably falls under the heading of Not My Business, Melody thought. Oh well, at least she knew she spoke English. "You from anywhere interesting?" she asked. Eventually this girl would realize she was her temporary entertainment, and everything would work out great. And in the meantime, Melody had patience and cheer in spades. It was sort of her thing.
Sadie bit her bottom lip, wondering what she should say. She shouldn't actually tell the woman where she was from, that would be asking for trouble. But then where? And what if this woman knew details of the random place she chose, details she did not know herself? After an agonizing moment of contemplation she figured on something nice and safe. "South," a given what with her southern accent, and yet another one word reply.
Man, this girl was really working Melody's skills of forced conversation. But hell, if she could manage it with her family, she could manage it with anyone! "My mom has family in the south. Oil tycoons I guess. We only heard of them once in a while, they were pretty stuck up." And considering Melody's family? That was saying something. They made Kendal look like Mother Theresa. "Gotta love Southern food though. And Southern rock," she grinned. Yeah, like Melody could talk for two seconds without mentioning music. Not so much.
At the mention of southern food and music Sadie let out a longing sigh without thinking. "I miss sweet tea. Not even McDonald's has it here." She said this all without really thinking about it, of course. Sweet tea... fish fries... Even fried chicken tasted better when done in the South. Northerners just didn't do it right. As if the eternal flatnesses of the North wasn't enough to have her homesick, now it was worse.
HOT DAMN, IT WAS A SENTENCE! Two of them! Melody smiled sympathetically. "Homesick, huh? McDonald's should get it soon. Actually, Denny's has sweet tea. I don't know if it meets with southern-born standards, but this close to Canada you should probably just be glad you can order fries without worrying if they're gonna be covered in gravy."
Sadie bit her bottom lip to keep back a giggle at the woman's comment. But really, gravy on fries? Surely she was joking! But Denny's? She was sure that it may be a little out of her price range. So she would have to be alright with adding tons of sugar packets to any tea she ordered. Then, as if the two sentences earlier had exhausted her capability to speak, she simply smiled and nodded.
Oh no, she wasn't getting off that easy. Now that Melody knew she actually knew how to talk. "Do you get to go home soon? Or did you move up here?" Melody had never had to worry so much about homesickness. She'd never left Scarlet Oak, and she frequently needed a vacation from her family.
Sadie ever so slightly flinched at the other woman's words and looked away from her, completely. This was not a good subject for her, and one she wished the other woman had not brought up. She had no home to go back to, and she had no idea if she and Seeley would be staying here. Well, that is, once Seeley actually joined her here.
But then, would they ever be able to have a place to call home again? Would it ever be safe enough for that? Thankfully the waitress deemed it alright to make her presence in front of the two women, asking if Sadie and her were ready to order, apparently thinking they were together.
"We're not together," she said hastily, in order to correct the waitress' misunderstanding. "I'll have the grilled cheese with fries, not chips." Oh yay, another grilled cheese.
This girl was pretty damn determined to not talk to Melody. Almost edging Melody's little brother out of the record-holding spot on that one, actually. Melody just shrugged it off and turned her attention to the waitress. "Philly cheese steak, fries, Coke," she grinned. "Cheesier the better." That was her motto. Well, one of many.
"I don't know how you keep eating this way without hitting Fat Bastard territory," the waitress replied, shaking her head as she went to put the order in.
"I'm magic!" Melody shouted back, grinning as she pulled her phone out to check her email. Melody just had a habit of making friends everywhere she went.
When the waitress left, leaving a refilled glass of water, Sadie slumped down, shoulder hunching. She was now thoroughly depressed once again. Even she could see she had been utterly rude in what she had said, how she had been acting. And God, she was so tired.
"I'm sorry," she said, though her eyes were on the counter before her. "It's just... things are complicated. I don't know how long I'm going to be here for, and I have no idea when I will be going home, wherever it is." This woman was a stranger, and she wanted her to talk, had been trying to get her to talk, and Sadie was just to tired of keeping it all to herself.
Well that was interesting. Basically give up on prodding the girl, and then she wanted to talk. Melody raised an eyebrow over her phone, quietly lowering it as the younger girl spoke. "You wanna talk about it?"
In all honesty, the fact Sadie had tired so much now to keep to herself when earlier this day she had been rather social, it was a little much. The people she had talked to before, they all had seemed fairly nice and non-threatening. And this woman gave off the same vibe. So, why not unload now? She was likely to never see this woman again. There should be little to no risk in it so long as she only chatted. She had lost all sense of the hunters soon after separating from Seeley, so them being on her trail now would be unlikely.
"I probably shouldn't, my brother wouldn't be to happy. I'm just sorry for being rude." She turned slightly and gave the woman a smile.
Melody rolled her shoulders in an easy shrug, putting her phone back in her bag as she turned to face the teenager, propping her head with her elbow on the counter. "I can take it," she said, easily. "You think you're rude, you should meet my family. You just seem... troubled." Like she was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders, really. No one should have to go through that, and especially not alone.
Internally, Sadie laughed. Troubled? Of course she was. She saw her family killed and was being hunted like a wild animal, and now was in a strange place, all alone hoping that the emails saying her twin was still alive would keep coming. Instead of laughing and looking slightly insane, she merely smiled again.
"My only trouble is finding some kind of job and a place to sleep..." She closed her mouth immediately, face flushing as she realized what she had just said. Ok, so those were the least of her worries nowadays, but to admit she had nowhere to sleep as an underage teen? Shit.
"Any chance you could forget what I just said?"
Well, shit. That explained a lot. Melody smiled a soft, sympathetic little smile, but shook her head. "No," she said, quietly. "But I won't call juvy on you, either." For whatever reason, this girl was clearly avoiding the state, and reporting her would just scare her off. She could have just needed a little help and guidance. Melody wasn't looking to harbor a fugitive, but this girl didn't seem dangerous. "How long have you been on the streets?"
The woman's reply had Sadie wary. An adult who wouldn't report her? She didn't hide the fact that she was now try to calculate if this woman, as nice as she seemed, was someone she really didn't want to be talking with. "That depends on if whether or not you are some kind of kid abductor or something."
Melody laughed lightly. "No," she answered. "I'm not. But do you think one would really tell you if they were?" Points for trying, though. That was something. Though it did lead further to the belief that this girl should not be on the streets. "My parents disowned me a few years ago," she said, perfectly conversational, as if this didn't bother her at all. Strangely, it didn't. She felt like it should, and sometimes tried to force her brain to get worked up about it, but... no luck. "I still have dinner with them every Sunday, but really, they're just checking up on me to see if I've come to my senses yet and have turned into something they're willing to claim. When that happened, I was an adult, and I had enough warning to get myself set up somewhere else. But if it had happened differently, if I hadn't been so fortunate, I would have wanted someone to help me."
Sadie listened, studying the woman's face as she spoke. Now, Sadie wasn't trained to be some kind of human lie detector, but she was pretty certain that she wasn't making things up. So, Sadie relaxed a little, though not completely. "I've been on the road for over a year, and the only family I have is my twin. He's suppose to be meeting up with me around here." Her answer was not the complete story, but it was true. "So, even if you did turn me in there wouldn't be anyone to claim me."
Melody didn't believe she was being lied to, either. She acknowledged that there was probably a lot more to the story, but maybe not so important right now. "You shouldn't be on the streets," she said, though she knew the girl already knew this. "Scarlet Oak is a good place, but after the demons... no place is as safe as it used to be. I assume you've tried shelters?"
Yes she knew she shouldn't be on the streets, and it was something that she tended to hear from adults when they did figure out that was how she lived. So it was hard not to roll her eyes in typical teenage fashion. "You can never stay in shelters long. Eventually they start asking for actual proof that you're eighteen. As for the demons." She gave a slight shrug of her shoulders then. "Haven't bothered me yet."
"That doesn't mean they won't," Melody replied. "I won't say you've been lucky, considering you're in the situation you're in, but you could be dead." Even this wasn't said unpleasantly. Melody just wasn't an unpleasant person. "When will you be eighteen?"
It may not have made sense to other people, but to Sadie 'death by demons' was not her top priority when it came to worrying. They were an none encountered threat, whereas the hunter's were a very well known threat. So she kept from saying anything regarding to the demons and chose to answer the relatively harmless question of age. "In December."
Melody clicked her tongue. Five months. She was well old enough to file for emancipation, but to do that, she needed a residence and a job. One of those things, at least, Melody could help her with. "You can stay with me, if you want. I live on my own, there's a guest bedroom. You can come and go as you please, and if you feel uncomfortable you can go. But I can try to help find you a job, something under the table."
Sadie was staring at her now. She had no idea what she was thinking the woman would say, but it had not been that she would offer up a place for Sadie to stay. Sadie licked her lips and thought it over, forcing herself not to automatically agree. It seemed to sweet of a deal. She'd have a place to stay, free to come and go, could leave completely if she wanted to, and this woman would help her get a job under the tables?
"One condition. I have to have the address to email to my brother, and he'd be joining me when he gets here."
Boy, if Melody's family knew of this, they'd disown her all over again. Oh well! "Fine by me," Melody shrugged, briefly looking through her bag. She pulled out a business card - one that had her name, address, phone number, and email on it - and offered it to the girl. "That's me, Melody Hathaway. I run a recording studio out of the house, so I work at home. But I know a lot of people, and a lot of musicians with day-jobs that owe me favors."
Sadie took the offered card and looked down at it. Once she read it over she looked up and smiled. "I'm Sadie Ryder..." she chewed on her lower lip for a moment. Would it be rude not to tell Melody she was a werewolf? Yeah, probably. "I hope you're not allergic to dogs." She lowered her voice a bit. "I'm a born werewolf, so I wouldn't need one of those cage things."
Melody has an onset of synesthesia after her head injury, causing her to taste sound. To her, the name Sadie Ryder tasted kind of like a county fair. Cotton candy, funnel sticks, lemonade, with sort of a whole-wheat overtaste. It was a good name. Melody blinked at the revelation of being a werewolf, and grinned in surprise. "That's okay," she confirmed. "Psychic amplifier," she said, holding a hand up. "We'll get along fine."
Well, it would be the first time she had ever been around a psychic of any kind for long periods of time, let alone an... amplifier did she say? Should be interesting. "Yup, I think so too." She was now completely revived a more like her usual self. The prospect of not having to hunt for a safe place to sleep as well as having someone she could talk to made any signs of depression disappear. Could she dare hope this was the first sign of things turning around for the better?