InsaneJournal

Who: Rogue and Alice Cullen
When: First week in August
Where: The Mall
What: Catching a pickpocket, making a friend
Rating/Warning: Low/None
Status: Complete


Alice was shopping. She was trying to take her mind off of the strange Dreams, off of work (as she’d been told by her boss that she was spending too much time working) and off of school coming up. As excited as she was about school, she was also dreading it a little bit. New people, new places, and plenty of opportunities to be out in the sunshine. That made her more nervous than she’d liked to admit. What if she started sparkling??

So today, Alice was standing in front of a window, looking into a clothing shop. She had some money, expendable money, from her new job. She wasn’t paying rent or food at the moment, so she was milking it while she could. Some new jeans for the new school year? Or... that trenchcoat-style coat looked absolutely fabulous. It was more fun than shopping, and she could consider it work, too! She was researching fashion!

Rogue moved through the mall with languid ease. She loved malls. Like markets and concerts they gave her plenty of choices to pick from. And people here always seemed to have too much money on hand. Rogue loved doing her part to make their wallets just a bit lighter. She rarely stole merch from the stores - too many cameras, too many tags that beeped - but people, well most of the time they were too busy on their cell phones or chatting with friends to notice her. Besides, bumping into people in the mall was kind of part and parcel of the place.

Today she was dressed to hide in plain sight. Comfy clothes that afforded her a few extra pockets, and a wide headband to cover up the braided back strands of white. No one needed to see those unless she wanted them too. But she’d been too proud of them to dye them. She felt weird if she did - she’d tried a few times - but it wasn’t quite right. She spotted the girl staring at the jeans in the window, and grinned a bit. She looked a bit like she was daydreaming about it all and pondering things, so she’d be an easy mark. Right? Rogue made her way towards her, keeping out of the reflection in the window, preparing to knock into her lightly, carried by the people passing by, and dip her hand into a purse, or pocket, to grab whatever money she could without drawing attention.

Alice wasn’t to the point yet where the smells of the humans around her would be too much for her to stand. She was terrified that she’d get there some day--that she’d actually turn into the vampire from her Dreams. For now the pale skin, the strength and speed... those were wonderful things. She was actually enjoying that part of the Dreams bleeding into reality. There was a slightly heightened sense, too--almost as if she could anticipate things just before they happened. It made her reaction time quite a bit faster.

So when the bump came from the other girl--the girl who actually looked quite a bit like her--Alice found her hand moving almost of its own accord. It was faster than her brain could process. Alice’s hand shot down to stop the girl’s hand from moving into her purse, and wrapped around the other girl’s wrist. It was only then that Alice processed what just happened, and she turned to look the other girl in the face.

Rogue’s face was utter shock for all of a second before it disappeared under a careful mask of patience. Her wrist was in the girl’s hand, the grip tighter than she wished it was. Despite the mask of cool, calm and collected her eyes were sparkling with a touch of panic. This was not how things went. She made the dip, she came up clean and richer. That’s how it worked. Then her eyes narrowed. The woman had moved too fast for her to even notice. That wasn’t how things worked, either.

“Sorry ‘bout that.” she said in her quiet southern drawl, trying to figure out her next move even as she still was stuck in the woman’s grasp. Tugging away felt like it would end badly for her. But she desperately wanted to get away from her. There was also a moment of examination - the girl before her looked similar to herself. It was eerie and distracting to Rogue, who wasn’t used to seeing anyone familiar to her.

“I uh... it’s all right.” Alice said, looking and sounding almost as shocked and slightly more confused than Rogue was. There was the similarity thing, sure, but this was the first time that Alice’s new, vampire powers had come in handy in a real-world setting. Totally bizarre. She was still gripping the other girl’s wrist.

“Were you... going to steal from me?” She asked, then reached her free hand down to zip her purse closed. Not only did she catch someone nearly stealing from her, but the woman looked an awful lot like her. They were about the same age, too. She wondered if this is how she would have ended up if not for Carlisle Cullen.

Rogue just stared. It was like looking into a mirror that showed you with a different hair style. It was creeping her out but she couldn’t figure out what to say to address it. Rogue was left speechless. Until Alice opened her mouth and spoke first. “Yeah, ‘course it is.” she said back before looking down at her wrist still caught in the girl’s grasp.
“Was. Ain’t gonna’ now.” They looked similarly aged, but Rogue was a bit older. Not that she really looked it. She was quite young looking, it helped a lot. She wasn’t dressed nicely, now that Alice got a good look at her - she was in torn jeans and a shirt that had obviously seen better days. Rogue wished she could look good but really, running and jumping shit didn’t lead for a long life for her clothes. Being a thief meant getting dirty.

Alice let go of the other girl. Finally. She cleared her throat and dusted off her blouse. “Well, good.” She said, then glanced from the jeans in the store back to the other girl. “This is going to sound... like, absolutely ridiculous and I don’t mean to offend you, but... can I buy you something to eat, instead?”

The new jeans could wait until her next paycheck.

She massaged her wrist a bit, before looking at the girl, and sighing. Twice in a week she’d gotten caught so easily. She felt like she needed a vacation just to refresh her skills. She looked down then back up. “Ah apologize.” she said after a moment. She’d picked the wrong mark here. She took a deep breath before tilting her head. Who knows. Adventure was her life and maybe meeting this woman was another adventure. Might as well grab it and go, right? “It’s a bit silly soundin’ after all, ah did attempt to steal from ya, but ah won’t argue that. ah wouldn’t mind a bite ta eat.”

Alice was glad that she hadn’t pegged the girl wrong. It could be that she just liked stealing, and had a great home life with caring parents, or whatever. Alice had assumed the opposite. That she was stealing to survive, not just for the rush. And, apparently, she’d assumed correctly. “You’re lucky it’s pay day.” She said, breaking into a little of a smirk. “A little unlucky that you picked me and my crazy vampire-like reflexes.” She turned to lead the way to the food court. “I’m Alice.”

’A pleasure, ah’m Rogue.” she said lightly before smiling a bit. “Most unlucky for me ah suppose. ah’m used to not having to worry about people with really good reflexes.” she said with a tiny smile before following her towards the food court. “ah’m sorry to ‘ave bothered ya, ah hope ah didn’t ruin your day.” Rogue liked the thrill but she did steal to survive. The thrill was just part of the fun and not the whole of the habit. And rarely did she bother with actual goods, money bought stuff she needed. Money she stole but details, right?

“Rogue, that’s an interesting name,” Alice said, turning to watch the other girl for a moment as they walked. It wasn’t that far to the food court. Alice didn’t mind the walk, though. The dreams had made her stamina go up as well. It was crazy the physical changes... she’d only started noticing. “Mmm. Yes, I suppose it’s a shame that I was too quick for you. Must have thrown off your whole day,” she added, almost teasingly. Money was just money. Sure, it might have irritated her a bit, but she’d make it up. It wasn’t like Rogue was hurting her, or stealing her blood.

”Thank you. It ain’t mah real name but ah’ve been called it for so long might as well be, ya know?” she grinned a bit, as she walked. She seemed light hearted and at ease but, well, there was a darkness lurking in her eyes - beat on, put down, downtrodden - it just settled and clung to her. Even if she tried very hard to get rid of it. She laughed nervously. “Ah yes, but it happens. Ain’t the first and prolly won’t be the last, if we’re being honest and open.” she pushed the hair from her eyes. Rogue smiled at Alice, though, no harm no foul.

“Yes. Boy, do I ever know.” Alice said, nodding once. “...Alice is my middle name. It’s the name I decided to have when I was adopted by my parents. I gave up the names that the people who gave birth to me called me.” That girl was long gone. This was Alice Cullen, and always would be.

“Just so long as it’s the last with me, I think you’re fine,” Alice was...kind of teasing. Being playful. She liked Rogue. “...you should consider finding something a little more stable, though. Especially if you’re out on your own.”

”Alice is pretty. Ah like it. Ah think it suits you.” she said with a smile. “Anna Marie is mah real name.” she remarked, giving the woman a measure of trust. “It’s a fine choice, no matter the circumstances.” she said with another small smile.

“Oui, ah promise, ah won’t target you again.” she nodded firmly. “Ah may be a bit o a thief, but mah word’s good. Ain’t broken a promise yet.” she said with a finality that bore little room to deny that it was the truth. “Ah probably should but ah ain’t got any good skills - all ah got are farm skills and these.”

“Thanks.” Alice said, giving Rogue a smile. “No, I think your real name is what you choose. Rogue is good. It suits you.” She said, nodding once. “...who cares what it says on your birth certificate, right?”

Alice moved over to whatever food place was the closest to where they were standing. Chinese? Whatever. She was starving. “Well, that’s good. I mean, that you keep your promises. And I don’t really have any good skills, either, but I found a job. And hey, if I can do it, anyone can.”

Rogue smiled as they wandered towards food. “Thanks. Ah appreciate it. The only people who care about the birth certificate are my mum and dad and the government.” she laughed softly before shrugging a bit.

“Ah don’t know. You probably had a better education than ah did. And ah really did just a lot o’farm work, ah don’t even know the half of how to run a register, or work with people.” she looked down a bit shyly.

Alice gave a grin and a nod. Her mom and dad didn’t care, apparently, and her adopted parents obviously didn’t care. She loved her new family, sometimes more than she should have.

“Eh, those are the kinds of things you can pick up pretty quick. Or... maybe you could go talk to the people at the Farmer’s Market. They might be looking for people who are experienced with farm work.” Alice suggested, stepping forward in line. There was only one person ahead of them. “What would you like to eat? They have these lunches with like, meat and veggies and rice or noodles, or whatever...”

Rogue listened to the woman’s suggestions without comment, shaking her head a bit. She wasn’t fond of people, not in the traditional sense. Slender fingers ran over her arms delicately. “Oh.” she looked at the menu before it was their turn to order. She ordered a teriyaki chicken dish with rice. “Thank you, again. Ah mean it.” she said softly, taking a breath.

Alice just made it two. They could eat the same thing. She gave a gentle shrug of her shoulders, and then shook her head. “Really. It’s a whole lot better than having to scrounge for lunch.” She paid, then the girls took their trays over to a table nearby. “And a whole lot better than having to call and cancel all my credit cards,” Alice added, giving the other woman a wink.

Rogue smiled a bit. “Ah got used to scrounging, Alice. Ah got here and it wasn’t like home. Ah scrounge and honestly, you can find some good stuff free, and not stolen.” she said with a shrug. “ah, ah rarely steal credit cards, too easily traced.” she teased back with a smile as she started in on her lunch. “Ah may be a bit o’a thief, but ah ain’t entirely dumb.”

Alice gave a little chuckle. “Well, I can’t condemn it. I can’t condone it, either, but I definitely can’t condemn it. I’m not about to try and turn you in, or anything.” She settled in her chair and gulped from her soda. “If you ever want some lunch, you can call me,” she added, softly. “I just got this job that I really don’t deserve, and they’re paying me well. I’d be more than willing to spring for lunch.”

Rogue smiled faintly. “Ah’d like that. Hopefully sometime Ah can return the favor, ya?” she grinned a bit as she tucked a leg under her. “Oh? What kind’o job?” she tilted her head as she ate, really enjoying her food and smiling as she did so. It was the smile of someone who doesn’t eat good food all the time and really did enjoy what she was eating.

“Yeah.” Alice gave Rogue a smile. “You can absolutely return the favor.” She sipped from her soda once more, and poked around at her food with her little, plastic fork. “I’m working for a woman who’s organizing this crazy fashion extravaganza. It’s going to be brilliant. She’s putting together different designers to have different runway shows to show off their new designs. And I built the website for it all.”

”Oh wow that’s kinda cool.” she grinned. “very very cool, actually!” she took a bite and then followed it with a drag off her soda. “Nothin’ like crazy fashion extravaganzas to be a distraction from life, and a bunch o’fun, too , ah bet!”

“It’s sure to be absolutely amazing.” Alice said, nodding once. She continued eating while they talked, sipping from her soda and not quite satisfying her hunger. She’d been hungry a lot lately, hungry for more than just food. “I can get you a ticket to one of the shows, so long as you promise not to nip any wallets while you’re there.”

Rogue smiled. “Ah’d like that and ah promise, no thieving while in attendance.” she pushed her hair out of her eyes and smiled, finishing off her food and sighing softly. “Ah’m really sorry.” she said again, lifting her eyes to Alice’s.

Alice nodded once, letting her eyes meet Rogue’s. She was smiling warmly. She’d never imagined that she’d meet a friend today--especially not one trying to nip from her pockets. “It’s okay. Really.”