Title: Half of One Hundred
Summary: They are not Nations, and never will be as long as the United States of America does. But they exist because of the possibility, and America makes sure to visit every one of them.
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1. Every so often, she goes to the park with a book in hand and headphones over her ears and proceeds to ignore and be ignored by the world around her. She is used to being ignored- in fact, she revels in it- but she looks a little lonely, especially when she looks at the large groups of teenagers walking by laughing happily. So, he sits next to her. She is understandably startled, but she doesn't protest and they spend the hour in relaxed silence.
2. She jogs every morning, hair pulled back into a ponytail and eyes wide as she goes through her hometown's streets, classical music faintly heard through her headphones. She likes jogging, and although she isn't smart, she has wit. One day, he goes jogging with her. She protests a bit at his presence, but he glares at her, daring her to protest. Her eyes grumble at him but she lets him jog with her with very little reluctance.
3. He is dying, and will be dead within a week. His only constant companion is his granddaughter. She has a similar face to him and the exact same shade of color in her hair and eyes. He has served in wars, and it shows on his torso, which is heavily scarred. But he is very kind, and likes telling stories about his family and his granddaughter. The little girl leans on him when she climbs onto the blonde's lap, her face bright.
4. He is brilliant but lazy, and only shows his genius when presented with something of interest. He especially loves going to the park and lounging on a grassy hill when the weather is nice, relaxing the day away. When he sits next to the teen, he doesn't even open his eyes. He is comfortable in his own skin, and the pair simply enjoys each other's silent company for the next few hours.
5. She is a very young girl, with very little knowledge of anything outside her world. She is bright and happy and has a slight mental retardation that hinders her learning progress, although that won't stop her from becoming great in the future. He pushes her on the swing when they meet at a park, and he finds himself happy that there is such innocence in the world.
6. He has a very concise schedule. He does things in order with nothing pulling him from it, and has a very mild case of obsessive-compulsive disorder that has definitely not been diagnosed. They accidentally bump into each other at a supermarket, and the man is obviously startled. The blonde smiles broadly at the man, tells him that he is doing a good job, and leaves, knowing that the man would be better off with something that would not radically interfere with his schedule.
7. He is a brilliant baker, although he can't cook for his life (his wife seems to be inversely proportional in the culinary tract). They meet on the 4th of July when the man goes up to a group of children with a rather large platter of cupcakes, wishing them all happy birthday. Noticing his confusion, the man tells him that the 4th of July should be everyone's birthday, because they're Americans, right? The blonde laughs and agrees with him.
8. She is an old woman, with great-grandchildren and almost one hundred years of age. Her hair is silvery, but her eyes are a bright and filled with passion, and he tells her everything about him and his kind. When he goes to see her for a second (most likely the final) time, she is being visited by a young child who has similar eyes. He is very young, not even a toddler yet. They do not talk, but it is far from uncomfortable.
9. She is spitfire, with a loud personality and broad gestures, her violent nature only rivaled by her innate kindness to others. She hates being alone, and she is frightened of being forgotten. One day, he simply follows her around, a nuisance mostly, and she screams and puts up a fight, and he yells and screams right back. At the end of the day, when he leaves, she mumbles a thank you.
10. He is blind, but far from helpless, and although his eyes are fogged over, they are filled with energy. He speaks softly listens to others closely, and has a kind word for everyone. He likes to spend his time on his back porch, reading braille no matter the hour. When the blonde goes to see him, the man doesn't react to his presence, but rather starts to read his story aloud. His voice is strong.
11. He owns a garden, and prefers the natural silence of his backyard, where he can see the stars. His hair is long enough to cover his eyes, and his facial expressions rarely change. He is stern and strict, but he loves his children equally. His wife died after the birth of his twin daughters and he has a heavy aura about him, but that does nothing to stop the blonde as he waltzes over to help him with his garden.
12. She is young, just barely a teenager, and she very much prefers hanging out with friends and walking about with her camera than doing schoolwork. She has a very large album filled with pictures of all of her friends, of things she cares about. She also has a smaller album filled with things she dislikes. She is afraid of forgetting. He knows that she won't. When they meet, he simply poses with her, bright smiles and happy thoughts.
13. He was born two months early, and his diminutive stature proves it. He will never be as large as he should be, he will never be as strong as he should be, he will never have the opportunities he would have had had he been born on time. But there is defiance in his eyes, daring the world to knock him down. The blonde knows his determination to overcome any obstacle will get him far.
14. She is overweight, with big bones and a rather plump figure, but that doesn't stop her from being a very popular person. She has a bright and bubbly personality; her rosy cheeks and loud, boisterous laugh draw people to her. She does not care that she is overweight, because her mind is sharp. He talks to her often, because her mind is like a spider's web; once you are drawn it, it is nearly impossible to leave.
15. She loves physical work, especially the added bonus of the heavy eating that it allows. Her hair is stringy because of a lack of proper care, her face is tanned from working in the sun, and she has faint wrinkles because she laughs so much, so joyfully. She forces him to work when he visits. He never minds.
16. She is an artist, who loves painting and dancing and music, and would rather do pirouettes down the streets than walk normally. She has dark hair and lighter eyes, and she is never seen without her comfortable pair of sneakers and headphones over her head. Once, he walks up to her and invites her into an impromptu dance, which she follows willingly along. People stare at them oddly, but that's the entire point. They laugh.
17. His leg is amputated just below the knee, and his torso and arms are scarred heavily, and he is completely deaf in one ear. He is the picture of weariness, but there is brightness in his eyes. He has not given up. He will never give up. And that is exactly why they compare horror stories. It is one of many times that the blonde is not scared of ghosts.
18. She is shy, painfully so, and rarely leaves her house because of it. But he knows that around those she gets to know, she is loud and happy and so, one day, he kidnaps her (with some help from her friends) and takes her to an amusement park. By the end, she reveals her violent nature and punches him and teases him and she appears much more confident. They part with pseudo-scathing remarks.
19. He is tall, mostly limbs rather than a core body. But he is easy going, and loves sports, and rarely gets angry. He also likes to spend his mornings in his house's rather expansive backyard with a sketchbook, a rather private hobby. When the blonde goes to meet him, he brings along a set of charcoals and pastels, and they spend the morning drawing comical characters.
20. He is afraid of water, after an experience he had as a child in which he almost drowned. But he does like spending time near the water, although he will never venture within 10 feet of it, and would rather listen to music and read a book. The blonde goes to visit him, and proves, that yes, water can be scary, but it can also be quite fun as well, and ambushes the other with a water balloon.
21. She is silent- practically mute—and likes to watch people in an almost creepy fashion, only fueled by the serious expression on her face. Her eyes are a startling color, and that is why even he is unsettled when he sits next to her on her park bench, and spends the rest of the day trying to pull words from her. He does, and when she tells him to shut up, he laughs, because both of them know that she is quite thankful for ignoring her outward demeanor and talking to her.
22. He is a very happy person, and although he acts quite perverted at times, he is very kind, and never raises a hand to a woman. He is also happily married, with a daughter, and often exaggerates his own accent for tourists, because he views it as a job to raise national stereotypes. When the blonde goes to visit him, they enjoy a very large and happy backyard barbeque dinner.
23. He is a very forward person, with a personality that is hard not to notice. His gestures are broad, his expressions easy to read. He does everything with gusto, excess energy put into every motion. His eyes are bright and his smile is eternal, and he is generally, a cheerful person. One morning, the blonde drags him out of his house, forces him to climb to the roof, and makes him watch the sunrise.
24. He is silent, brooding, and has a rather serious disposition. He does not smile often, and he is a stickler for the rules, and would rather be reading books on law or practicing several of his various instruments than doing anything else. Even to his family he is a little distant. Once, the blonde sneaks into his house and starts to play a rather happy tune on the guitar. The man doesn't acknowledge the blonde's presence, but he does play along.
25. He is a large man, and a grandfather, with faded hair and dark eyes. He is stocky, and tall, and he has the build of someone who is used to working on fields. He has a loud, booming voice, and is a wonderful history teacher. He challenges his students, and he is well loved among his community. One morning, before school starts, the blonde visits and discusses history in serious tones. History is important, to them.
26. He is short, but stocky, and is very agile for his heavy appearance. He is a free runner, and every day, runs around town, taking routes though the streets that others would only dream of following. The blonde often follows the shorter man, and they race. They part when they are done and rarely exchange words, but they both share their exhaustion and their sense of accomplishment.
27. She is very beautiful, with long hair and beautiful eyes, and a figure most women would die for, topped off by a singing voice that is clear as a bell. She is very confident with her abilities, and a bit arrogant as well, but she has a very kind personality. Even if she has some trouble understanding those around her. She is singing at a karaoke club when he asks for a duet. His voice is a little plain in comparison, but the whole point is to have fun. They do.
28. She is a petite child, and rather plain, a face that fades into the background. But that is exactly as she likes it. Most people don't like her, but she is trusted because she has one thing that makes her stand above the crowd; she never breaks a promise. He visits her and tells her about him, and has her promise to keep their existence a secret. It's nice to have a confidant.
29. She is naïve despite her age. She trusts everyone and anything, and her heart is so large and forgiving that it's only by her brother's protective hold that she has not yet been taken advantage of. When he comes across her, they play a game of tag, acting young. Much like her heart.
30. He is just barely a teenager, and very curious around the world around him, and often acts before he thinks. People find his curiosity a little troubling because it has gotten him into more and more trouble, and is traded between family members. When the blonde meets him, he tells him that his curiosity is important, that he should thrive in his quest for knowledge. They wouldn't be here otherwise.
31. She is very pretty, but she is quiet, and would rather stay home. She dresses in fashionable but very cheap clothing, and her hair is always pulled out of her face. She is a very quiet person, but is explosive when angry. He manages to get her to play with a Frisbee when she goes to the beach with her family and when she laughs, it's loud.
32. He's just out of college, and preparing for the extra years that it takes to become a doctor. He is weak physically, but has a sharp mind, and his eyes are calculating and observant. When the blonde visits, he is sitting comfortably at the edge of a pier, fishing. The blonde sits next to him with his own line, and they sit comfortably for the remainder of the hour, neither caring that they don't catch anything.
33. She is a bookworm, and reads a lot, and although she spends a lot of time with friends, whenever she is alone, she has her nose in a book. When he goes to see her, he hands her a signed copy of her favorite series. The look in her eyes makes him laugh, and she cannot do anything, out of shock.
34. She is a little wild, with her hair short hair dyed a different color every so often, and dark eyes defiant in the face of danger. She is especially fond of her motorcycle and rides so much that there is a faint smell of gas on her no matter what. Despite this, she has a kind heart, and would rather not see anyone hurt, and has a passion for politics. Their day is spent on the roads, with both of them on motorcycles, and it feels as if they can go anywhere, yet nowhere at once.
35. He is deaf, and only keeps headphones over his ears because he can understand the vibrations of sounds, somewhat, and is hailed as something of a genius because of it. He is also hilariously manipulative, generating pranks in such a manner that it leaves others wondering how the hell it was accomplished. When the blonde goes to meet him, he brings along a book of tricks that haven't been used for centuries, and wonders what the younger man will do with the devastating knowledge.
36. He's extremely kind, and slightly naïve, but he is perceptive of the world around him and figures things out even if he doesn't necessarily understand them. He never questions the world, and takes every word for face value, because he's used to the truth and only the truth. The blonde doesn't talk to him, but the silence is comfortable anyway.
37. She is mute, but her eyes are always sparkling, and she is always smiling. She doesn't understand that there are people out there who would view her as invalid because she cannot speak, that they would want to push her down simply because her language is a little different. But she strives to become a scientist, and anyone who underestimates her is always proven wrong. He goes to see her, and they have a conversation about aliens in silent gestures.
38. She's a very accomplished artist; she can draw like it's no one business and she can play both drums and piano. She is also intelligent and loves having debates. But mostly, she's lonely, her only constant companion the art she creates. He sits with her, guitar in hand, while she is playing the drums, and they open the garage doors. They draw attention from every passerby on the street, and suddenly, she's not quite as lonely as she was before.
39. He's a sarcastic individual, and has turned snarking into an art form. Most of the time, he spends his time indoors on his laptop rather than going out. The blonde sneaks into his house, shuts off the Internet, and locks him out of his own house. When the blonde takes him around town to terrorize citizens, well, his opinion changes.
40. She's scary, even if she doesn't try to be, mainly because her expression stays relatively the same as she is forced to remember all the memories that he tries to forget. She cannot tell anyone else, because who would believe her? and he goes up to her and talks to her, and when she smiles, it's so heartbreakingly beautiful. She's a survivor, and she will never give in.
41. He's a technician, one of those people who actually go up telephone poles to fix problems. He's divorced his wife, sadly, and only sees his children every so often. He's jaded to the world, and his pale eyes are often shadowed by remnants of the past. When the blonde visits him in a small bar, they share a couple of drinks as the man nurses all of the regrets he's had in his life.
42. He's a child, young and naïve, and quite selfish. His parents spoil him terribly, and he is so pampered that he will either become a snob or have a change of heart later in his life. But like a child, he has this view of the world that is so simple. When the blonde goes to visits him, he does nothing but watch, unable to get too close.
43. She's a teenager, with a well-built figure, and heavy bones, and hair cut extremely short because she hates it when it's longer. Her favorite sport is hockey, a product of her family's love for it, and he can always count on seeing her in the rink skating with vigor. He slips onto the ice in his own gear, and the ensuing match is much harsher than what any normal human should be able to safely pull off.
44. She has an identical twin, and both are so similar that it is hard to tell them apart, even making a promise never to date because that would be awkward, having to date the same guy, you know? There is one difference between them though, which he learns of when he goes to meet them. She knows who she is.
45. He's a little person, barely four feet tall, his genetics giving him the bad end of the spectrum. However, his personality can fill a room, and his favorite thing to do is to make people laugh, to soothe their tensions, to make people feel good about themselves. When the blonde goes to meet the other, he tells him that he is a hero, because making people happy when tragedy has struck is just as important as saving a life.
46. He's a large guy, tall and built for heavy hitting. But he's kind, and gentle, and would rather not hurt a fly, and chooses to stay neutral in everything that happens around him. He rarely sticks up for himself, choosing to protect others over himself. And the blonde can respect that, because his gentleness has gotten him friendship from people who wouldn't normally give it to anyone else, and that, somehow, is even more amazing.
47. She is philosophical, views the world through the eyes of a dreamer, and will undoubtedly get far in life. Her conversations always have undertones of something more and whenever she looks at the sky, he can imagine her sprouting wings to take her high into the sky. He talks to her about his own dreams to fly, and how they came true, and the ensuing determination in her eyes makes him proud.
48. He is pessimistic, always seeing the bad in everything, no matter what, but because of that, he can see so much more in life. Because everything has much greater meaning to someone who knows that it's going to end soon. But there's a spark of unending determination, because he wishes to be as optimistic as possible, even as he understands that everything will come crashing down sooner or later. They speak about the country, and how that even they will fall. They are optimistic that it won't happen for a long while.
49. She's an antisocial bookworm and would rather stay inside than go to any events. But she is devoted, and whatever gets her interest, she pursues it with intensity, refusing to let go until she gets what she wants. One day, he gets her into a snowball fight, and learns that despite her very weak throw, she has an incredibly accurate, incredibly painful, aim.
50. She's young—cannot even hold her own head up, yet—and is dependent on her parents to care for her. She will be a traveler later in life, because as he holds her in his arms, she is happy and smiling for a minute, but after that, her eyes wander. Her feet area always moving, striving to get her moving. She will be an explorer, or traveler, and he knows that she will discover great things, no matter what.
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A/N: The numbers are ordered in order of state-hood. I based a few off of my friends from random states, but it's of no consequence.
