Title: Alternate Perspective
Rating: G
Warnings: None this time, folks. ^^ Except minor cursing. ^^;
Disclaimer: Not mine. I wish. @_@ ::huggles her Ronan plushie::
Author's Note: Wai, I hope I don't mess poor Ronan up too much. >.Oh, and this fic is based mostly off the parts where Ronan and Nita interact, so yes I DO realize a lot of dialouge is taken from the book. It's all hers! I claim none of the dialouge I didn't make up! It's copyright Diane Duane! Can I stress this enough? Oo

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Idly swirling a straw through the murky brown of his carbonated beverage, a young male with shaggy black hair, dark eyes, and a profile with sharp features sat with his elbow propping his head up at an old, beaten down table, one leg spread off into the aisle to his left, glancing casually about the room. Nothing exciting ever went on around this restaurant; in fact, it was rare to have something disturb the usual weirdness and supernatural happenings of Bray. Except that half of them weren't 'supernatural.' They were the work of wizards.

Which was exactly what the punkish teen was, though no one sitting around him knew it.

Feeling that he was about to pass out from the sheer, suffocating dullness of the general atmosphere, he was about to suggest that they ditch the place and find something else to do, when the doors swung open. Naturally, he looked up, as one always does when doors open or close. One black eyebrow arched slightly at the young woman that entered, her masses of bark-colored hair extending far past her shoulders, dressed in a down vest and worn blue jeans.

One word flashed through his head: Tourist.

One half of his sometimes awkwardly wide mouth twitched, and he shot a quick glance to his close friend. She was dressed in a khaki shirt, a beat up leather jacket, and black jeans. Her wild mess of hair was several exotic colors all combined at once, with some black showing through here or there. She flashed a grin at him and stood up.

The male popped his knuckles from habit, causing her to wince slightly. Tossing her a look, he dusted off his tight leather pants and approached the table that the tourist had sat down at. She was sipping a Coke and in no apparent hurry to make conversation.

His temper flared up slightly as he saw the mild look of surprise that settled on her face when she took in Majella's appearance. Damn Yanks. The thought anything different from their safe, routine little lives was something to be scorned or ridiculed. And it didn't help that Majella was like a sister to him.

"You a Yank?" He couldn't hold back the edge to his voice as he spoke the word.

The muscles in her face worked. It seemed she was trying not to get upset. "Somebody has to be. Wanna sit down?"

He stared for a moment before glancing at Majella. She absently fingered her left glove. "You staying in town?"

"No, I'm out in Kilquade." She looked slightly curious.

He flipped some dark hair from his eyes. "Relatives?"

They were so easy to predict.

"Yeah. Annie Callahan. She's my aunt."

"Woooaaa!" He couldn't hold it in. Annie was one of the more wealthy residents of Kilquade, and for the moment, his voice lost the mocking quality that seemed there by default. "Rich relatives, huh?"

"I don't know if rich is the right word," She admitted, glancing at the empty seats at her table.

Majella fingered some of her hair. It was a habit. Her hands always had to be moving. "You here looking for your roots?"

She seemed to take a little bit of time organizing her answer as she glanced first at her own hair, then Majella's. "Still attached to them, far as I can tell. Though finding them around here doesn't seem to be a big problem."

The boy's face relaxed into a grin as Majella and a few people who'd overheard broke into laughter. "Come on and sit with us," He offered. "I'm Ronan. This is Majella," and he gestured to his still chuckling companion.

"Okay." She stood up, brushing some hair from her shoulder. "I'm Nita Callahan."

"Well, Nita, this is Shelia, Cyrus, and Bree." Ronan pointed at he introduced them. The affect on the group was almost instantaneous.

"You have a lot of money, right?" The boy, Cyrus, asked.

"So you get to see movies all the time, I bet."

Bree interjected. "In the States they get them six months earlier!"

Nita looked a slight bit overwhelmed. "Uh, my folks don't let me go see that many movies. I have to keep up my schoolwork all the time or they don't let me go out."

The party almost simaltaneously moaned at her revelation.

"There's no escape, then!" Ronan looked dissapointed.

Shelia was examining her fingernails as a young boy massaged her shoulders. "So."

Bree rolled her eyes. "What a great conversationalist. Why don't you start the introductions, Cy?"

Cyrus blew on his sandy blonde hair. "I live in Bray. Name: Cyrus. Blood Type: AB. Age-"

Majella punched him in the shoulder. "He's just a geek. Bree lives in Bray, too, and so do I. Shelia lives pretty far away, though."

"I live in Greystones. I take the bus here for the crack, though. Can't get it anywhere else."

Nita's mouth almost dropped open.

"Why look so astonished?" Ronan asked. "It's not like you can get any good talk anywhere else."

She abruptly closed her mouth. "Oh, it's nothing."

Ronan shrugged. He turned back to Majella, who was already raving about a disco that they all had to go to. She was going to wear black satin pants that zipped in the back, and a tube-top. Majella had already claimed Cyrus as a date, and Shelia opted to go with the cute guy behind her. A conversation ensued on who would wear what and who else was going with who.

On a sudden inspiration, Ronan turned to Nita. "You got someone to go with?"

An odd look passed over her face. "Uh, no... my buddy's back in the States."

Shelia looked suddenly interested. "Oooh, she's got a buddyyyyyy! Aren't you a little... young for that?"

Amusement flickered over Nita's face as she glanced at the guy massaging her. "Let's just say that in my part of the world we make up our minds about this kind of thing early."

That immediately spawned rude comments and some minor violence. Ronan just rolled his eyes at the group. "So if your buddy's there, what are you doing here?"

Majella butted in. "I know! Her folks sent her here because they were--ahem!" She shook her head and gestured with her hands, implying just what they were doing.

"Well, yeah." She freely admitted after a second's thought.

For some reason, Ronan felt slightly... dissapointed.

"Anyway, I'm stuck here for six weeks."

The indignation of the group was a comic sight. They immediately launched into all of the attractive features of Bray, highlighting things such as the Sugarloafs and Bray's Head. She laughed and asked them if they ever did everything they were telling her.

"Oh, well, those are tourist things." Ronan explained.

"Gee, thanks a lot." Nita was clearly joking.

As the conversation dwindled, Ronan couldn't help but notice that the Yank kept glancing at him. Slightly amused, he glanced back, feigning anger when she turned and stared again. Apparently it worked, because her eyes narrowed in response, after which Ronan's features smoothed out and he almost grinned.

One by one they began to file out, until it was just Ronan and Nita. Whistling, he stood up, making his way for the door. "Don't you get lost looking for leprechauns now, Miss Yank," he called teasingly to her over his shoulder, pushing the doors open and stepping into the bright sunlight.

Stuffing his hands in his pockets, Ronan turned a corner and had a most peculiar thought: that Yank was actually kind of cute.