Peter Pan is living an awfully big adventure (startotheright) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2015-11-03 20:08:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, caleb rivers, peter pan |
Who: Peter Pan and Caleb Rivers
What: Hanging out
Where: Peter's coffee shop then out onto the streets
When: Recently
Rating: PG
Status: Complete
Finding another person who had been through the foster system and turned out alright was almost akin to finding a pot of gold. It didn’t happen very often and Peter was excited to meet Caleb over the network especially since they were both becoming “Dreamers”. The two had exchanged numbers and Peter texted him earlier in the day asking if the two could meet up at the coffee shop when he finished up his shift. He just wanted to talk to him and see how he was doing with the whole dreaming thing now. His shift was winding down when he caught sight of Caleb coming in and recognized him from the network.
Caleb probably hadn’t turned out as well as Peter. Or maybe he had, now. But it had certainly taken him a lot longer. What with him working for criminals up until about a year ago, always on the move since. Now he was finally settling down, getting his life together with a legitimate job and most importantly making and keeping friends.
Even though Caleb was making friends easily, no one quite understood the way he grew up. It took someone that had lived life the way he had to truly understand. Peter was the only person he had come across like that here. Caleb was looking forward to getting to know the guy better. So when Peter had texted of course Caleb agreed to meet him after his shift.
Walking into the coffee shop he recognized Peter right away and gave him a nod as he headed to the counter to place his order. “Long day?” he asked his new acquaintance.
Peter never judged people based on their past. He had been that kid just like Caleb before the boy’s home. And even for a little bit afterwards, but he righted himself and that is the most important thing. It didn’t matter how long it took as long as you got to a point where you were satisfied and feeling like you were making right choices.
When Caleb approached the counter and asked that question he couldn’t help but let out a laugh, “That’s one way of putting it. Give me a second to grab my stuff out of the back and we can sit or walk or whatever.” He didn’t hate his job, but some days were more tiring than others. He certainly would rather be out on the beach playing music for money right now, but he knew having a real job to pay the bills while he went to classes was the proper way.
It didn’t take him long before he grabbed his wallet and book bag out of the back and made his way back up to the counter. “What can I get you to drink?” he asked once he approached Caleb again.
Usually when Caleb needed a caffeine boost he went for an energy drink. It wasn’t that he disliked coffee, he just preferred energy drinks. “I’ll just take a latte with an extra shot of espresso,” yeah Caleb liked his caffeine he told Peter and then they could take off and talk. Didn’t have to be about the past. Wasn’t like Caleb particularly wanted to relive it all, but just getting to know someone who at least had a basic understanding of what his life was already like just made things easier.
“How long have you been working here?” Caleb asked while Peter prepared his drink.
Peter was more than happy to make Caleb’s drink because he was going to make his own as well. They both ended the caffeine boost, so Peter started working on that as he heard Caleb’s question. “A couple of years. Worked my way up to assistant manager. It’s not my dream job, but it’s something that’s steady and I enjoy it,” he answered with a smile. He knew that he wouldn’t work here forever, but at least he was enjoying it so far. His education would help him move into another field eventually, “Where do you work?”
“Not bad,” Caleb commented. He probably should have gotten a job like this when he dropped out of high school but there was no changing the past. He barely knew Peter, but in a way he already admired him it was obvious he had figured things out a lot earlier than Caleb had. “I work at Stark. Just started a few months ago.” How he had managed to land a job there he still wasn’t sure. But hey, it was working out and he got paid to work with computers all day. Well he had gotten paid for that before it was just legal now.
“Stark, eh?” he let out a low whistle and smirked over at Caleb as he finished steaming the milk, “Fancy pants right now. I should make you pay for this drink.” He was completely teasing and he made sure to show it with a smile on his face as he finished up the drinks and then brought them with him as he went around the counter, “But that’s awesome. What are you doing there?”
“Thanks,” Caleb said accepting the drink. He wouldn't have minded paying. He could certainly afford it. He was making more money at Stark than he knew he could make. Plus he still had some money saved up from his more illegal activities but that was beside the point.
“Trust me I still don’t know how I landed the job.” Okay so it was because he had hacked into Stark and somehow that had impressed Tony enough to hire him. Hey, whatever worked? He was still relieved it hadn’t been a trap. “But I work in the tech department,” it was the easiest explanation really. Some of the things Caleb did were classified, plus trying to explain his job to someone who didn’t exactly know the language wasn’t always easy. “For the most part I’m just happy to have a steady job, you know?” He asked as they headed out of the coffee shop. Peter could probably use a change of scenery. As nice as Stark Tower was Caleb knew he couldn’t wait to get out of there at the end of the day.
The coffee was handed over as the pair started to walk outside of the coffee shop and Peter slung his backpack over his shoulder. He listened intently and gave a nod. “I totally get the steady job thing. That’s what I’m doing with this while I figure out a future career and finish school. The tech department sounds impressive though. I hope Stark’s a good dude to work for. As long as you’re happy doing it then that’s what is most important.” It was a good job to have and Peter knew that finding something like that was hard to come by. It was so nice to not have to scrape by any longer.
“What are you going to school for?” Caleb asked sipping his coffee as they stepped out into the fairly warm LA air, winter was approaching and yet the weather was still on the warm side. That was one thing he missed about the East Coast, seasons. “But yeah Tony is a pretty great guy. The whole environment there is chill.” Hence his casual dress in jeans and t-shirt. He had barely even dressed up for his interview. “I can basically come and go as I please as long as I get my work done.” One of his bosses didn’t seem too fond of that approach but the main bosses (Tony and Pepper) were fine with that and that was really all that mattered. Caleb wasn’t trying to brag, but he really had no complaints when it came to his job.
“I have no idea. I’ve been undeclared for a while, but I’m kind of leaning towards psychology,” which he hadn’t really admitted to anyone just yet. But it seemed like a good fit because he found the subject fascinating. He reached in his back pocket and pulled out the pair of sunglasses that he had slipped in there and put them on, “Dude, that’s awesome. This place is pretty chill, but certainly not that level of chill.” It made for a better work environment when you were able to do things like that. He took a sip of his drink and ran a hand through his hair, “God, I’m so glad to be off.”
“That’s awesome,” Caleb said with a nod. Mostly referring to the fact that he was actually in college. Once Caleb had dropped out of high school he had never looked back. “Psychology seems legit though. Understand why people do what they do and all that.” Caleb wouldn’t mind knowing why his mother had abandoned him and then proceeded to get a new family. “Yeah definitely not the worse place to work. Lucked out there.”
“Yeah and I feel like I’m a good listener because of everything I’ve gone through. Social work is so not my scene, but maybe I can help someone out,” he commented with a bit of a shrug. He knew that the social work realm wasn’t a possibility because he saw how badly the system worked sometimes, but at least he could go in and talk to people who needed help, “You’re very lucky. Well, I think we both are. Things could be going a hell of alot worse for us.” It was a big blessing that they were at a point in their lives when things were going well.
Caleb had gone through his fair share of good and bad social workers. Mostly bad, but there were a few that he knew had genuinely wanted and tried to help him. In his opinion it was the whole system that was broken though. So even if Peter did choose to become a social worker he didn’t know how much of a difference it would make. Psychologist might be the better option if that’s what he felt like his calling was. “Yeah you could work with foster kids,” he sure as hell could have used some guidance or counseling when he was a kid. Although he wasn’t sure how seriously he would have taken something like that back then.
“Yeah. The way I was going, well let’s just say I’ve seen the worse.” As he was sure Peter probably had too. Or at least knew of people who had. Not everyone ended up like Peter had.
“It helps to talk to an ‘adult’ that has been through the same thing. I wouldn’t want to talk to some rich person who had never had to worry about food a day in their life. They wouldn’t fully understand,” Peter explained. The social work was an idea in the back of his mind, but he wanted to try and help everyone. Every person deserved to have at least one person to talk to about their life. He wouldn’t have all the answers, but he could certainly try to find them out for people. He reached a hand up to play with his hair briefly before nodding in response to Caleb’s comment, “Same. Well, I’m glad that I’ve got someone like you to talk to. Not everyone understands, so it’s good to find a kindred spirit.”
Caleb nodded in agreement as he sipped his coffee. He certainly wouldn’t have talked to some rich asshole about his problems. He probably wouldn’t talk to a rich asshole about them now. Well possibly Tony, but that was different. “Yeah that might have helped,” he agreed although he wasn’t sure. Maybe if he had talked to someone early enough. There came a point where he was just too jaded. “People try, but I feel like it’s mostly just sympathy and I don’t need that,” he said adding a bit to Peter’s statement. “I have to admit I’m kind of glad that I decided to post about the crap foster system from my dreams.”
Peter couldn’t help but smile a little and leaned over to gently knock his shoulder against Caleb’s, “I’m glad you did too. It’s good to join forces around here. Now, let’s go find something fun to do before we get all sentimental talking about our crazy pasts. I’m definitely that kind of guy that is trying to look towards the future.” Despite being the kid that never grew up in his dreams he honestly didn’t mind being grown up because his childhood hadn’t been that great. He had certainly learned a lot and now he was a better guy and making more friends. Things would be fine for both him and Caleb.