Okay, so, my teacher gave us a prompt in class and this is what I came up with. A friend of mine insisted I post it, and I thought, why not? Maybe someone will tell me how bad and random it is.
Topic: A famous character is stuck on (or near) a bus (or train). Describe the feelings and reactions they would have, and who they meet.
Vincent Nigel-Murray stepped onto the now stationary subway, quickly taking a nearby seat. The train carried on smoothly down the street, which left him alone with his thoughts for a long while. As the bus pulled to a stop, Vincent found himself staring dully out the opposite window. He only looked up when someone sat down beside him, his eyes widening as he did so.
For, sitting there was a stereotypical version of a gangster with a slight bulge in his jacket. He must have been staring quite obviously with at least a dozen emotions flickering across his face because the man laughed and stretched out slightly, seemingly enjoying the slight flinch he inflicted.
"Name's TJ." He said, grinning at him and Vincent's mouth opened and closed repeatedly before finally snapping shut and swallowing thickly. "I'm… I'm…" He trailed off, a desperate look taking over his face. "Did you know-" he blurted out instead, "that the blue whale can produce sounds up to one hundred and eight decibels, which is the loudest sound produced by a living animal and has been detected as far away as five hundred and thirty miles?"
TJ stared at him blankly for several long moments where Vincent shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Finally, the man threw back his head, clapped his hands loudly and bellowed out a laugh. Then, he held out a hand and grinned widely.
"Like I said before, I'm TJ, you got a name or not?" Vincent opened his mouth to answer only to have a small squeak escape him instead, and he was definitely not telling Hodgins about this incident. With a long and hesitant sigh, he grabbed the other man's hand and shook heartily. "Vincent." He mumbled out quickly, afraid he would react incorrectly once again. TJ looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "You British?" He asked, noting the accent and Vincent nodded.
"Cool." TJ commented, leaning casually back in his seat and Vincent quietly looked down at his hands, fiddling nervously, unsure what to do next. The bus suddenly lurched to a stop, sending many of its occupants flying forward. The tires screeched and squealed wildly and the driver muttered curses under his breath.
Once he had regained his sense of reality, Vincent slowly sat up, wincing at the burst of pain that flared throughout his side and chest, causing his breath to hitch. A hand fell on his shoulder and he jumped, tensing up but immediately regretting it as he wound up on his back, panting and groaning at the bubbling tension. His vision cleared, and why he had not noticed that it was blurry he had no idea, and found himself staring into the concerned face of his newly acquainted friend.
"Sorry," the man was saying as he fumbled for his phone. "Didn't know you were hurt that bad." The young Englishman groaned painfully. "Fifty-five point one per cent of all United States prisoners are in prison for drug offences." TJ rolled his eyes and muttered something that sounded vaguely like "he's fine…" Vincent coughed lightly and slowly rolled into a seating position, earning him a surprised look followed by a glare. "What are you doing?" TJ demanded. "You lay back down and quit moving!" The intern shook his head, mentally noting not to do that again as the world spun around him.
"What happened?" He muttered, forcing himself to look around. Most of the windows were shattered and many people lay on the ground being attended to by others with minor or no injuries. The seats were on the ceiling like a weird decoration- and he stopped, staring at them in shock. That would mean the bus had flipped over somehow and that would explain why all the bags were scattered across the floor.
"Got hit by a semi." TJ shrugged nonchalantly, still rapidly pressing buttons on his phone and Vincent idly wondered if he should be doing the same but deciding not to. His head hurt too much and it must have shown because TJ was eyeing him coolly with a frown adorning his features. "'M fine." Vincent said, waving a hand dismissively. In the background they could hear the sirens and marginally relaxed at the idea of help coming.
They sat there watching the firemen and policemen handling the situation, waiting patiently for there turn. The two were not as hurt as many others but they still had to have to doctor check them out once they had been pulled out of the remains of the bus. No lasting damages, no problems, not even a concussion, which Vincent was thankful for.
Vincent sank down onto a nearby bench and glanced at his watch tiredly. 1:12AM, and he had to go to work tomorrow, he couldn't risk missing a day, especially since he was an intern. They could easily replace him and he did not want that to happen.
TJ sat down beside him once again and stared at him calmly. He took notice of the glazed look in the younger man's eyes, the way they creased in pain like he was fighting off a headache and the deep, dark smudges beneath them. "You work tomorrow?" He asked quietly, frowning when Vincent nodded. "Come on." TJ muttered, sighing softly as he grabbed the other man gently by the arm and pulled him up. "My girlfriend is coming to pick me up, I'm sure she won't mind giving you a ride." Vincent mumbled what sounded like a grateful reply but it was too unintelligible for him to tell.
Soon, they were in the woman's car and she was driving, casting concerned glances to their friend at every red light. TJ didn't comment and she pursed her lips, knowing she'd get the answer out of her boyfriend later. Vincent nodded off half way through the drive and she almost giggled at how child-like he looked, slumped against the window.
Vincent moaned tiredly as he woke up, forcing his eyes open. He quickly realized he was not in his own bed and he vaguely wondered why before he remembered the events of last night. He pushed himself up and looked through a vision of blurriness at the door as it opened.
The young woman walked in and smiled at him. "Oh, you're awake, I was just about to try and wake you." Vincent stared at her. "Trini?" He muttered softly, hoping he had actually remembered her name and she laughed, patting him on the head. "Glad you could remember my name. Now, breakfast is on the table so get your lazy butt out of bed."
It turned out that both Trini and TJ had agreed that he should not be left alone and brought him to their own apartment. TJ had made the breakfast, much to his surprise and it was delicious. The couple was quick to fill him in on the accident; the semi was sabotaged and the brakes tampered with, the driver had no control over the vehicle. When he glanced at the clock, he cursed under his breath, gaining amused looks from his friends.
"I was supposed to be at work an hour ago." He explained and TJ shrugged. "Yeah, they called this mornin' and I told 'em you had been in an accident last night and would be comin' in late." Vincent's eyes widened before he merely shook his head tiredly. Trini laughed and kissed him lightly on the forehead.
"Now," she said, clearing the table, "We'll be seeing you tonight after you get off of work, all right?" Vincent stared. "What?" He managed to blurt out and TJ chuckled. "She checked out your place, man. It doesn't meet her requirements, so she's gonna be helpin' to take care of you." He explained, laughter in his eyes.
They left quickly for their own jobs as Vincent hopped into the shower, wincing at the bruises he had and the stiffness in his body. As he stepped out, he was quick to realize that his clothes were gone and replaced by others, with a note sticking on top. He quickly picked it up and read it.
'Vince, figured these clothes would fit you. Keep 'em, we both figured they'd look good on you.' He shook his head slowly but slipped the clothes on. His wardrobe consisted of comfortably black jeans and a button-up crimson dress shirt. His phone vibrated and then rang shrilly through the air.
"Hello?" He grunted, not bothering to look at the caller ID as he attempted to pull his jacket over his stiff arms. There was a brief pause on the other side.
"Uh, hey, it's Hodgins." The caller greeted and Vincent's head shot up, glancing at the nearby clock, which read 8:43AM.
"Doctor Hodgins!" He exclaimed, "What are you calling me for?"
"Well, I got this call from a friend of yours, asking me to give you a ride this morning, so I figured, why not? It's only one time." Hodgins said quickly.
"Oh… well, thank you. Where are you?" Vincent asked, not surprised TJ and Trini had made sure he did not drive to work.
When he walked into the lab, tugging a lab coat over top of his new clothes, with a grinning Hodgins behind him, the young Englishman received many startled and appraising looks.
"What's with the new wardrobe?" Booth asked abruptly, staring at him. Vincent shrugged. "I stayed at a friend's place last night, he gave me these." He explained, Booth looked about to ask more when Brennan interrupted.
"Mr. Nigel-Murray, there you are. I want you to examine these bones while I confer with Angela." She instructed and Vincent nodded, immediately pulling on gloves and moving over to the aforementioned table and bones.
Hodgins indiscreetly motioned Booth aside. The FBI agent stared him down impatiently.
"What?" Booth asked and Hodgins shrugged. "That friends of his is someone he's never mentioned before and it's well… its Vincent, he would have mentioned them. The guy's name is Theodore Jenkins, a.k.a. TJ."
"TJ?!" Booth blurted, hushing down quickly as he received many looks. "He's in one of the most famous family's with gang connections here, what was- whatever that interns name is- doing with him?" He must have said that too loud as both Cam and Vincent looked up.
With everyone staring at him, Vincent shrugged awkwardly, turning back to the remains.
"It's a long story.
So, yeah, let me know if it's even in character (-- I'm not sure...). There may be a sequel, if you're interested 'cause my teacher thinks I should extend this for some reason... Anyway, have a nice weekend everyone (or week- whichever it is).