archie andrews (sixmorereasons) wrote in madisonvalley, @ 2017-04-27 20:25:00 |
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Although Ash had ended up with two great kids, he found it a relief when they returned back to whatever future universe they were from. One day, he’d love to be their dad - but right now, he wasn’t at all ready to even think about that kind of thing. It was a good thing that Katniss was on the same page and even seemed amused by the fact that he’d had two kids show up, or else they would’ve had to have an awkward discussion about it. Another advantage to the kids being gone was that he had free time again, which he spent walking around town with his camera. Spring was around the corner, and he could already see the first buds of the year on tree branches and in gardens. He went around snapping pictures, planning to start a series documenting the seasonal change in Madison. *** The nature of this place was just beginning to settle in with Archie. There were still elements he was working on adjusting to, but he was in a better state of mind than he had been a month ago. Then children began showing up claiming that their parents were spattered around the town. How could you explain that? How could anyone even understand that? Different ages, different timelines, different worlds altogether. Archie was lucky his brain hadn’t actually exploded. It was impressive, though, at how some people handled it. It was even more impressive that this had happened numerous times before, and much of it seemed to be a giant family reunion. Now it was all said and done. Everything was over, and things continued like normal. As normal as it could in this place. As he did whenever he was thinking too much, Archie was out for a run. Even during the chilly months, Archie made sure to get a run in whenever he could. It helped clear his head and take out any frustration from trying to understand this place. Taking a turn, he nearly found himself colliding with Ash. Fortunately, he caught himself before any disasters happened. “Whoa! Sorry man. I was running and…” He waved a hand to indicate what had been the almost accident. *** “Whoa!” Ash, too, managed to catch himself before anything terrible happened. Like him dropping his very expensive camera. Keeping a protective hold of it, he backed up quickly. “Yeah, no problem I should’ve been watching where I was going.” It was a bad habit of his, to back up without looking where he was going to catch that perfect angle for that perfect shot. As much as he’d hate to admit it, he was probably one of those people who’d fall off a cliff trying to take a photo. He had to content himself with assuring himself that at least he wasn’t taking selfies. *** “Is it okay?” he asked, gesturing to the camera. That was the last thing Archie wanted on his hands. Especially if he couldn’t offer to pay for it. Perhaps Sue would help, but he’d have no means to pay her back. Not to mention how bad he would feel having to even ask that sort of thing. “No, it’s cool. I think the universe is trying to tell me something. You’re not the first person I’ve almost taken out while running.” Archie grinned, shaking his head in a quiet form of rebuke. “I’m Archie, by the way. Getting any good photos?” *** “Ash. And yeah, it’s fine.” Ash probably would’ve covered it with his body before he’d let it get damaged. There was no way he’d be able to afford another one. “I did get a few good shots, though.” So nearly being run over was worth it. He stepped closer to the other man to show him a few shots on the screen. Ash didn’t go for the ordinary; he was looking for interesting angles to show the buildings in a different light than they normally would be seen in. *** The pictures, with their different views and angles, reminded Archie so much of Jughead. They definitely looked like things he would have taken and shown off. Probably under another name, but it would have made a showing somehow. Or one of them would have done it for him. Talent needed to be seen, heard, and experienced in any way. “Nice. Kind of neat to see this place from a different view like that.” It made it look normal, which was something it had not been lately. Speaking of… “Kind of weird to have all those kids wandering around, wasn’t it?” *** “You’re telling me.” It wasn’t even his first kick at the can, but Ash still found it difficult to deal with - especially since he had not one kid, but two this time around. Having finished showing his pictures, Ash turned off the camera and put the cap back on the lens. Couldn’t have that thing scratched. “Any show up for you?” *** “Ah, no. No, I think I was one of the lucky ones.” Fortune was more like it. He couldn’t imagine what it would have been like to have a kid calling him ‘Dad’ show up out of thin air. Even if there was a reality where the kid was from - which was still strange for Archie to think about - Archie was not ready to be a Dad. Not in the least. He saw how difficult it had been for his own Dad to raise him, even up to the present. He had enough to handle on his plate. “I hope other people get to see those pictures, by the way.” Between music, art, and photography, this place had a lot of talent lurking around here and there. “Kind of surprising not to see all the artists having a gallery viewing or something.” *** “Yeah, there was someone who ran a gallery at one point,” Ash said. He only had vague memories of the woman; they’d never crossed paths. “But I don’t think she ever did a viewing or anything. The festivals are where people bring out their work.” He adjusted the strap of his camera. “You do any art?” *** “Music. I was working on getting into it before I came here. Not without a few bumps, though. Oddly enough, that’s one of the things that has been the easiest to continue.” It made a difference when the parental figure you were living with was supportive of everything you wanted to pursue in life. Not that his Dad hadn’t been supportive of his choices. It was complicated. It always was it seemed. “I did a quick performance at this last festival. The stuff I saw and heard there was pretty incredible. If worse came to worse, at least we’ll have talent around to keep us occupied.” Although Archie wasn’t sure he wanted to know what could be worse than having random children show up without any knowledge of having them in the first place. “I’m definitely looking forward to the next one. I might see what I can do in the meantime.” Anything to get out of doing homework was a good thing. *** “My friend Kami runs a fashion show every so often,” Ash offered. “She's always looking for help. I think she was thinking about live music for the last one but couldn't make it work in time.” Ash himself had dabbled in guitar once, but hadn't kept it up after they'd had to move - again - and he'd had to leave it behind. Now he wondered if he should try again, especially with so many people here who could teach him. *** “Fashion show? Huh. Maybe I’ll see if she’s still looking then.” It definitely couldn’t hurt, and the more practice he got playing for others, the better he would get. His confidence was definitely better than it had been before playing at the festival. Getting over that initial stage fright had been a victory in Archie’s book. Glancing down at his sport watch, Archie blew out a breath and shook his head. “Hey man. I should probably get going. Still have a mile or two before I finish up. It was great to meet you, Ash. Nice to get to know more people around here, you know?” After a moment, Archie added, “And sorry again about the almost broken camera.” *** “Don't worry about it,” Ash said, flashing the golden smile that made mothers want to take him home to their daughters and possibly small woodland animals to follow him around. “I'll let you get back to it. Good to meet you, Archie.” |