Knox Rodriguez (robotdreams) wrote in mcdermott_game, @ 2009-08-03 00:55:00 |
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Entry tags: | knox, thisbe, thisbe/knox |
Who: Thisbe and Knox
What: Wal-Mart shopping!
Where: His truck, Keaton, Wal-Mart mostly.
When: July 29th, afternoon.
Rating: PG-13 for some language and brief mention of a drug.
Status: Complete
Thisbe didn't know what had possessed her to do this. Maybe she'd been sitting in her room for too long, staring at the computer. Maybe she was going a little stir-crazy.
Maybe she just got a weird sort of pleasure from the fact that Juliet was busy with classes, and Thisbe knew she could get away with it.
Whatever the reason, Thisbe found herself crossing campus on Wednesday afternoon, to meet a guy she didn't know so that they could go to Wal-Mart and buy cigarettes or something. She was nervous, but she was a little excited, too. Which really said a lot - who the hell got excited about Wal-Mart?
Rolling her eyes, Thisbe approached the entryway to Keaton, but hesitated outside without actually entering the building. She folded her arms, and glanced around to see if any of the students looked like they might be looking for her.
Knox, honestly, thought nothing of it. At the moment there wasn't much that got him way nervous about a girl. Maybe having to see the girl face to face would make the difference, but even then he didn't stay jittery if he got jittery. Not a single girl stood out like that in his mind to be worthy of the continual nervous jitters that came with knowing a particularly amazing one.
Besides, he was used to making friends with all sorts of new people. His R.A. title guaranteed such things!
Knox was running mildly late all due to an inability to find his favorite aviators. When he found them he ran down several flights of stairs to the tune of 'Danger on the Tracks' by Europe, which made the whole thing that much more exciting. When he finally made it outside it was at just the right moment where the drums started and he practically jumped down in front of who he supposed the girl.
She looked like she was the girl, anyway, when she kept glancing about like that. "DAAAANGER on the tracks... WHOAAA-OH! Hey! Thiz-beeee?" He paused his ipod with a wide smile.
Oh, lord. Thisbe was just slightly taken aback; her eyebrows went up a little, and she instinctively took a tiny step back - she just hadn't been expecting him to come flying out of nowhere like that.
"Um, hi," she returned, regaining her composure fairly quickly. She tucked her hair behind one ear, giving him a sort of hesitant smile. "I mean, yeah, I'm Thisbe. You're Knox?"
This always happened. Or, at least, usually did. He freaked people out, made a big entrance and scared the bajeezus out of unsuspecting friends to be. Oh well, he didn't mind being so obnoxious at times if they didn't mind it. He stuck out a hand as he pulled the headphones out of his ears with the other.
"Yes mam. You a Keaton girl? I'm an R.A. for one of the boy's floors.."
Thisbe took his hand, her firm shake contrasting with her earlier nervousness. "No, I live in Ralston," she replied. "I'm not a senior, though, before you ask. It's a long story." Actually it wasn't, but Thisbe offered no more; she withdrew her hand again, and folded her arms because she didn't know what else to do with them. "Are you, though? A senior, I mean?" He looked like he was older. She could imagine her father's reaction if he discovered that Thisbe was going off with some senior, even if it was completely innocent.
He drew his hand back to fish around in the pocket of his jeans for some keys. "Uh, long story, check. Yeah I am. Come on."
Knox motioned for her to follow him to the nearest parking lot. His truck was easily distinguishable among the nicer four-doors parked around it. It was ancient, a small two door, black pick up with old bumper stickers on the back of the bed. He opened the passenger side for her before slipping around to his side and getting in.
"Ralston and not a senior? What's the hook up?"
My father's a dictator? Thisbe shrugged as she settled into her seat, adjusting her seatbelt and glancing around at the interior of the truck. There were a couple of CD cases laying on the dashboard, and she reached over to pick one up, turning it over to study the song listing on the back. "My sister's a senior," she said instead. "They let me live with her."
"Ohhh.. crazy, what's her name? Maybe I know her.." he started up the clunker and shifted into reverse. Despite looking old it ran excellent, the beauty of standard trucks. The radio crackled a bit and then popped on to the CD option as he left last it. It was some Sage Francis in particular Sea Lion.
"I don't know if you like this stuff.. slam poet stuff. I got other stuff. Uh, that's the new Regina Spektor album and I that other one is Lamb of God Wrath. Inteeeense!"
"Her name's Juliet. My parents have a thing for Shakespeare." Thisbe rolled her eyes, leaning back against her seat as the music filled the truck. She'd never heard this before, but she liked it. "You're pretty into music, it seems like," she went on, glancing over at him. "Are you a music major?"
Juliet. Juliet. He narrowed his eyes in thought and pushed his sunglasses up further along the bridge of his nose. "Doesn't ring a bell.. hmmm.. maybe I call her something else. I'm always giving people weird nicknames and forgetting their real names."
He smiled. "Yeah I am! I'm a percussionist! I love music! I don't know what I'd do without it! What about you? What are you majoring in?"
Yeah, he seemed like the kind of guy to do that. Girls probably thought it was charming, Thisbe observed. Girls always fell for stuff like that, or at least, in Thisbe's experience, that was the case. She hoped he wouldn't decide to give her a nickname, too.
"I'm an English major," she answered, returning his smile. "It's kind of boring, but I do like to read, kind of. It's mostly my dad's idea for me to major in English, though. I would've picked dance - that's my minor. Ballet, actually. I kind of feel the way you do about music - I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't dance at all."
Of all the nicknames. Thisbe shot him a look, and then just shook her head. "I wish he was a zillion miles away," was all she said. "Actually he's about five miles away. Even closer when he's on campus. He's head of the English department."
The frown that might have accompanied her statement - as it usually happened when she talked about her father - was lost when she paused to listen to the music, however. "Hey, this is pretty good," she added, and smiled instead. She liked the sound; it was relaxing and perfect for a hot, July day.
"Are you serious?" He laughed out of disbelief and then laughed again at the situation. No wonder she was living with her sister! He had heard of that guy... and now he was a mite bit worried about this little trip with his daughter. Oh well. Knox was always getting into some kind of trouble whether he meant to or not.
"Well. Still. He can't be... all bad, at least you get to minor in it? Oh, yeah, they're great.. from Colorado. I'll burn you a copy of this CD when we get back."
"That'd be awesome," Thisbe said; a smile was still lingering on her lips, although this one was more from Knox's reaction than the music. It was kind of absurd.
"He's not all bad," she agreed. He just ... thinks that I couldn't do anything with dance. I don't know why he bothers with an arts college since he thinks academics are so important. I'll probably end up being an English teacher." The thought was enough to make her want to launch herself off of the nearest bridge. "Parents suck," she finished simply.
"Lame, that doesn't make sense. He should be at.. Haaaaaaah-vahrd or somethin'.. man don't do it!" They were pulling into the parking lot of the Wal-Mart when she said parents suck and he turned the truck off.
"At times they're worse than hoover vacuum cleaners. Now, listen," he got out and quickly edged around to fling open her door. "Don't tell daddy ol' Knox here is telling you to ignore him but.... ignore him. Work that dancing thing, Frisbee. It'll be worth it!"
Thisbe couldn't help a grin as she hopped out of the truck. "Sure," she agreed. "He won't mind at all."
He locked the door. "Hey you gotta do your own thing, birds gotta fly you know? He may not like it at first but he can't stop you forever."
"Okay, I'm supposed to get hair spray and bobby pins for some girl, but what KIND of hair spray? She never said!" He began walking toward the entrance. Knox pulled a list out of his jeans and uncrumpled it to read it. "And a small pillow too."
Thisbe walked alongside him, considering what he'd said. No, her father couldn't stop her forever, but she was afraid to find out what would happen if she tried to make him aware of that. He probably was already aware - that was why he held on so tightly, never giving her any space to breathe.
She lifted one eyebrow at Knox's list. "Hair spray is hair spray," she told him with a shrug. "I'll help. Is that for your girlfriend?"
"Nah, for just a girl who is a friend. She's with some dude named Auden I think." He was trying to decipher is hand writing when she asked and he glanced up. "Aren't there like.. different types of holds? I just use that Got 2 b glue stuff."
"I don't use hairspray that much," Thisbe admitted, tugging lightly on a long lock of her hair. "Unless I'm dressing up and I have to do my hair or something. Then I use strong hold - you know, medium? That's probably what she wants. It keeps your hairstyle but doesn't make your hair all crunchy and stiff."
"Yeah, medium sounds right I guess..." he grabbed a cart and put a foot on the edge. "Wanna get in? I'll run up and down the aisles with you. Cheaper than going to an amusement park for a rollercoaster ride."
He grinned and wiggled his eyebrows. "We can pretend we're playing that crazy shopping game that's always on like four in the morning when I can't sleep."
Thisbe's eyebrows went up again, and she looked from Knox's expression to the shopping cart, and back again. "Are you serious?" she asked, but she was beginning to smile a little, despite herself.
“Hop in! Come on! My sister and I do it all the time!" He gestured to the empty cart. "Come onnn, you know you want to.. all the cool kids do it!"
"I've never been one of the cool kids," said Thisbe, but she couldn't help it; she lingered on hesitance for another moment before she blew out her breath, and found herself climbing into the cart, even though she felt totally stupid. "I bet this is how you get all the girls," she said dryly, shooting him a glance over her shoulder, her expression amused despite her tone.
"You know it! They're all like 'Oooh Knox, you're so sweet, pushin' me in a cart like some sort of... mom.. pushing a kid.. in a wal-mart." He smirked and took off. The greeter was giving them the eye but he didn't care. He eased by that guy but then once they were out of his gaze he sped out.
"You're like the R2D2 of my cart!"
"So does that make you Luke Skywalker?" Thisbe asked, a laugh escaping her as they sped into the store. She couldn't help it; it was kind of fun.
"Yes!" They took a sharp turn down the hair prouduct aisle and he about ran into some kid. "Whoa sorry little dude." The kid stared and then ran off.
"Medium Hairspray, grab some, whatever you think is best." He made sure she could reach some from the where she sat as he sprinted over to grab a pack of bobby pins and hair ties. "What did you need here?"
Thisbe reached for a can of hairspray, picking the same brand that she used, and dropped it into the cart beside her. "I need batteries," she said. "Also another pair of headphones; mine broke."
"Batteries, annnnd headphones. BEEP BEEP, comin' through!" He did a one-eighty to turn them around and went flying down the aisle, nearly colliding with an old lady and her grandchild. "SORRY, CAN'T STOP. BRAKES ARE OUT."
Knox was a devil, to be sure, but at least he had fun even if it scared the hell out of old ladies. "Don't let me forget the purpose of my trip here is smokes, kay?"
Thisbe was laughing, despite herself, at the near-miss; they'd probably given that woman a heart attack, and they'd never know it because Knox barely slowed down or looked back.
"Smokes," she repeated, tossing him a smile over her shoulder. "You know, you shouldn't smoke. It's bad for you." Despite her words, though, she didn't really care that much if he smoked or not.
"I shouldn't do a lot of things, but I do," he grinned. "Because, they're terrible for me and I love torturing myself. I flirt with danger to get a rise. I steal candy from babies and make love to women married to marines and cops. Sometimes I even... jaywalk. Don't tell anyone that last bit, I don't want that getting around school." He had slowed down near the electronics aisle and stopped completely by the batteries.
"What kind?"
"Double A," Thisbe said automatically; she adjusted her position in the cart, so that her back was to the front end and she was facing Knox directly. She drew her knees up, and then added, "Do you really do all those things, or is that, like, some movie quote that I should know you're referencing?" The thing was, she really wouldn't have been able to tell - he seemed like the kind of guy who could get away with murder if he wanted to, because he was stealthy enough to pull it off and then charming enough to give a smile and a wink to anyone who might've questioned him. It was kind of appealing, she had to admit, although it was dangerous, too. Maybe the danger was the appealing part, though.
"Double A," he repeated, grabbing a pack and chucking them into the cart. He made sure to not give her a bruise on the leg with them by being so careless in his throw. They continued on to the headphones and then stopped again in front of them. "I jaywalk, yes, I don't steal candy.. haven't made love to a woman in a while, and she wasn't married. I'm quite good friends with several cops, here and back home. Back home it is a love hate relationship though..."
"What do you do, speed too much?" she inquired with one eyebrow raised, as she turned the pack of batteries over in her hand, absently.
"Nope," he smiled and gestured to the selection of the headphones as if to ask her which kind. "Cocaine."
Now both of Thisbe's eyebrows went up; she pointed randomly at a set of headphones, similar to the ones she'd broken. "Those," she said, and then looked back at him, adding, "Really? Or is that a joke, too?"
He grabbed the set and set them in the basket as well. His bright blue eyes locked on hers and for once he looked dead serious. "Yeah. Really. I did a shit load of coke back in high school.. had to go to rehab after some jail time in LA."
He turned the cart around a bit and pushed them out to the home and bed section to find KJ a small pillow. "That freak you out, or something?"
"No." Actually, it kind of fascinated her, and she didn't know why, exactly. When he'd looked at her, eyes serious for the first time all afternoon, she'd almost felt some kind of odd kinship with him, even if just for that brief moment. She was surprised that he'd admit it to her at all; he could have played it off like it was a joke, considering that he didn't even know her, but he hadn't, and she liked that.
There was a part of her that also got some sick satisfaction about the fact that she had gone off for the afternoon with an ex-coke addict who'd been in jail. Her father would go ballistic. "I was in jail once," she told him, wondering what he'd say to that. "Sort of."
"Oh, really?" There was a hint of a playful smile at the corner of his lips. It was if he didn't believe her for a second, but he was very much willing to listen to the story of how she went to jail. He sailed past comforters, and then went too far when he got to lamps only to have to turn around to get back to pillows.
Knox began testing them out by smooshing the side of his face against them one by one. "Explain."
"It was in high school," Thisbe told him, watching him test out the pillows. "The blue one," she suggested, and then went on, "I was kind of involved in a car accident. Drunk driving." She left out the fact that she wasn't the one driving, nor was she even drunk at the time; she thought that for the long-lasting effects it had had on her life, she should at least have had a bigger part in the fault.
"Anyway, nobody got hurt, but they called the police anyway, and I went to jail. My dad left me there," she told Knox, and now her eyes were serious, just for a moment. She still couldn't get over that. "And hence ... I was in jail."
Blue it was, he chucked it in and continued on his way through the store. The rest of his time there was simply trying to see if anything called out to him. He ended up filling the basket with a new fleece throw, a five-dollar copy of The Iron Giant, and then he glanced over the selection of flip flops.
"You're a real terror! Well, we're jailbirds together I guess so that explains our connection, you know.. why I knew I liked you before you said anything."
"You like me, huh," she said, giving him a slightly sardonic smile. She was now leaning against the back of the cart, the blue pillow tucked behind her head - actually, it was pretty comfortable. And she was enjoying herself, she couldn't deny that, either.
"Well. You don't smell, so sure, why not?" Knox figured they were done for the most part so he started up to the front, making sure to go through the line that sold tabacco. "Hope your dad doesn't straight murder me, dude. That would suck. Uh, carton on camel menthols. Yeah. Thanks." He began piling things up for the lady to check out.
"That's the greatest compliment you can give a girl," Thisbe told him with a roll of her eyes; she shifted, reaching into her back pocket for the twenty dollar bill she'd stuck there before leaving her room; she held it out for Knox to cover her stuff, and then passed him the pillow, too, so that the cashier could ring it up.
"He will," she added, a little cheerfully. "Bury you in the backyard, and all that. He's a little strict, in case you couldn't tell."
He took the twenty and gave her five back in change before handing the rest of his cash over to the cashier. He began taking the four bags of stuff and piled them in the cart by Thisbe's feet. Then, he took the receipt and saluted the cashier. "Cheers!"
He made sure to take it slow by all the employees but the moment they were out the door he went speeding off with her in the parking lot. "NO BRAKES AGAIN, SHIIIIIT!"
Thisbe grasped the side of the cart, but she was laughing. She liked the speed; it was exhilarating. She really needed to get out more. "We're going to get arrested for illegal racing," she told him. But it would have been worth it.
"Hell yeah, but that's were we belong! Jailbirds, remember!" He came to a screeching halt by the truck and leaned heavily on the cart. "Whew, brakes came back just in time. Last stop: my truck!"
She grinned at him, and then hopped out of the cart, more gracefully than she'd gotten into it. Her sneakers landed hard against the pavement. "Thanks," she said, reaching for a couple of the bags.
He took the other two and pushed the cart toward a docking area for carts before unlocking her side of the truck. He opened the door. "Settle before I layer these bags on you, kay?"
"Sure." She climbed into the truck, making herself comfortable before she took the other bags from him, settling them on her lap.
He shut the door and practically skipped around to the other side to slide in beside her. Knox buckled up and started the truck. "Okay, for our listening pleasure on the way home.. Sleepyhead by Passion Pit . Let's make like a prom dress after prom and be off."
"Sounds like a plan." Thisbe leaned back against her seat, content to fall into silence and simply listen to the music, as they headed back to campus.
The drive wasn't too far so really there was only time for a few songs. Sleepyhead, and then The Reeling and soon after a very mellow Blood Bank by Bon Iver. Eventually, when the middle of My Girls started they reached the parking lot. Knox turned the engine off and hopped out so he could wrench the door open for her before she could bother.
"Thanks," Thisbe said to him, giving him a smile as she got out of the truck. She handed him a couple of the bags back, and fell into step beside him as they headed toward Keaton's entrance. She wanted to say she'd had an awesome time, but that sounded too much like this was the end of a date or something, and besides, it had been Wal-Mart, not to the prom. So she was quiet as they walked, lightly swinging the bags that she carried alongside her.
"Well. Miss Frisbee... you're a great, not smelly, shopping partner! It was a real thrill." He tucked the pillow under his arm and glanced to the stairwell once they were inside. "Gotta head up stairs and put my loot away but hey, you ever need anything remember I'm an R.A. so I usually haunt the offices a few hours a day.." He waved best he could with one hand and turned on his heel to walk away.
"See ya," Thisbe said, watching him leave before she let out her breath. Once he had disappeared into the stairwell, she let out her breath; then she crossed over to one of the chairs in the lobby, dropping down into it with a sigh. Oh no.