Spot's peaceful slumber was interrupted rudely by the grating sound of
society's' wheels beginning to turn again.
'Damn, three hours are up.'
He could only pray that he wasn't late for work - after last night's partying he needed all the money he could get. The wavering light from the candle, that he had so stupidly forgotten to blow out, sputtered as he shoved the covers off his body. As much as he would have loved to bask in the shadows of the Larpentur, the jingling goodness of coins in his pocket tempted him more. Quickly snuffing out the candle with his fingers, he kissed two and pressed them to his mother's picture before slamming shut the door to his little room and bolting out into the sun-baked street.
God it was hot. In the three hours he had slept, the temperature had risen several degrees. Running was not helping too much either, which is what he had to do to make it to work on time. As the small brick building came into view, he noted with much annoyance that he was almost the last person to arrive. No, Snog still wasn't there, but Slingshot sure was; sitting on top of a crate and looking at him with displeasure.
"Spot, yoah late!" Sprout called out with a grin. Spot only scowled unhappily, and shook his head. The boys would talk, it was in their nature. It wasn't them he had to worry about, it was Slingshot.
"What da hell do ya tink yoah doin?" she asked, low and deadly, as he took a seat beside her.
"Don't staht Slingshot," he said, exhasperated, "Snog's not even heah yet." "Yeah Spot! Dat's Snog! What did ya expect?" she countered rather loudly. "Da office opens in less den a minute. If ya don't sell, ya don't get payed, and den we's all bagged."
It was obvious she was worried, despite her attempts to be firm.
"Hey," he told her sternly," I'll be okay. Don't ya worry 'bout me. Just had a long night."
At the mention of "night" her eyes lit up, and the formings of smirk began, but she suppressed her urge to comment, and for that he was thankful. One more mention of Hailey Matthews and he would simply explode. A large thunk of the dirty window being creaked open banished momentarily all his thoughts, and a short balding man poked his head out to shout,
"Get your papes!"
Spot took his rightful place at the head of the line, and smacked down his last 10 cents down onto the grimy counter.
~~~~~
Life's pages had turned once again for Hailey, and familiar writing was scrawled out for her to enact. Leslie Benson and a few of her other friends were taking Hailey out for a day in the city to help her recuperate for the "tragedy at the party." Usually she would've come up with some excuse to stay home and avoid the social scene, but after last night's emotional beating, she needed some company - even if they were superficial. So for one day she was going to go against everything she fought on a daily basis and emerge herself in the fancy flutterings of upperclass society.
"Oh Hailey dear," Leslie fawned the instant she stepped inside the entryway. "The girls and I are going to make you forget all about that dreadful party!"
What an excellent way to forget about it. bringing it up.
Hailey managed a small smile, and stepped aside as she and about 4 other girls shuffled inside.
"There is simply so much I want to do today!" Leslie continued. "You haven't been out with us for months darling! I'm overjoyed you finally decided to break out of your cocoon!"
Conversations with Leslie were usually one-sided, though not by choice. The girl just talked so much, and about everything.
"Aside from the little fighting incident between Marcus and that god-awful street rat-" Hailey flinched at the derogatory comment about Spot "- everyone said Mrs. Tanager's party was the best of the year!"
This actually drew a real smile from Hailey. Despite her loathing for such social events, her parents did try extra hard to make the party a success; and Leslie's words about social matters were never wrong. Her parents were the epitome of all things gossip, and as such gave their daughter a one way ticket to the information highway.
"Marcus handled himself quite bravely I thought," she continued, twirling a piece of red hair around her finger wistfully. "It was very sad, the way that boy attacked him so ruthlessly."
Again, a little red flag popped up in the back of Hailey's mind. She was itching to say that it was in fact Marcus who attacked Spot, not the other way around. At the moment though, she found she didn't have the strength to defend the boy who'd hurt her so badly, and let yet another falsehood slide.
"How did he get an invitation in anyway? Mrs. Tanager's party was invitation only."
This put Hailey in a tricky corner.
'Oh yes Leslie!' she imagined herself saying; imagined the look on the girl's face. 'I invited Spot. He's a very good friend of mine. He kissed me as well! Fancy that!'
Instead, being the good little girl of upbringing that she was forcing herself to be on that day, she plastered a look of disbelief on her face and said,
"I heard he mugged one of the other guests and stole it from him!"
Gasps of horrified delight circulated around the small group, as they all took up chairs on the parlor's dark pink furniture. The other girls - Susan, Abigail, Gentre, and Florence - were all on the edge of their seats listening to Hailey and Leslie gossip.
It felt quite out of place, putting on the mask of gossip as she was, but in a way it dulled the pain. Spot never knew this side of her, therefore he could never hurt this side of her. That in itself was a very empowering thought, and though she knew she couldn't keep up this performance forever, it certainly was a way to escape reality for a while.
"Yes," she continued, looking in total seriousness at Leslie, "though we still don't know who. Can you imagine? That poor soul."
No matter how flippant and chattery she was going to be today, nothing would make her sympathize with Marcus. she'd never stoop that low.
"Well now Leslie," Gentre spoke next, hands folded delicately in her lap. "Where did you say we were going to take Hailey today?"
At the words "going to take Hailey" Leslie's ears perked right up. All traces of the worried look provoked by the made up story of the mugging were instantly replaced by a huge grin.
"Yes! Well, I discussed it with the girls," she said, hands waving, "and we decided to take you down Main Street!" 'Shopping. Yippie. Let me go find a container for my joy.' Hailey thought, though kept her musings to herself.
"Sounds lovely." She slid out. Leslie clasped her hands to her chest and bounced happily.
"Its settled. Abigail dear, your father did say we could take his carriage did he not?" she asked. The brown haired mousy girl nodded shyly, and smiled when she was rewarded with Leslie's tender hand pressed briefly to her own in thanks. Hailey had been gone so long from this little clique that she'd entirely forgotten the fact that Leslie was revered as a Goddess among their friends.
"Right then!" Leslie straightened up. "Let us get on with it!"
The streets of Brooklyn were bursting with people. As Leslie and Florence walked ahead, gossiping about the new dress shop down on St. Martin's, she hung back with Abigail and took time to soak in everything. She'd always liked Abigail - she was a quiet girl who adored praise but took it modestly. Though her parents had extravagant amounts of money, she valued above all a good book: making her the perfect person to walk with. It was an unspoken truth between them that silence was to be valued and not squandered.
People from all walks of life bustled around them, speeding about with their baskets and purses. All of her little group was stared at with hidden amazement. While she wore a vibrantly colored dress and walking cape, most of the people were dressed in dusty browns, grays and whites. Much to Hailey's horror, they even passed the occasional newsboy who shouted out the headlines.
"Hailey darling,," Gentre came up beside her, "did you see the scarves over in that booth over there? You simply must come with me and check them out!"
Conversations like these, full of "darlings" and "simplys" were the norm among this group, and though Hailey chose not to speak in such tongues, she found it hadn't annoyed her as much as it had before. So, drawing an excited smile across her face, she allowed Gentre to drag her through the throngs of traffic over to where a small little cart. As soon as the others noticed there was a shift in interest, they too flocked to where the vender stood.
The man running the business was a lanky man with stringy hair and a dusty, beat up hat. His eyes gleamed at the site of their coin purses, and he removed the hat and bowed deeply as they approached.
"Ladies," he drawled out, trying his best to sound regal. "If there is anything I can help you with, anything at all, please don't hesitate to ask."
Susan, who despite her random moments of snobbery had always maintained a caring side, smiled politely and said, "Thank you."
The scarves on the cart really were quite beautiful; and despite the lack of cleanliness of the vendor, the cart itself positively gleamed.
"This would look quite lovely with your dress dear," Susan held up a little silver scarf to match the emerald of Hailey's dress.
"Yes, or this one," Florence popped in with a cheerful red one. They were both so beautiful, such fine things Hailey wasn't used to buying (though she could afford it.) After a long moment of indesicion, she turned to Abigail and asked,
"Which one do you like best?"
Abigail looked almost startled for a moment, unused to the idea of people caring about her opinion. Then, with a sweet little smile towards Hailey, she pointed to the silver one and said,
"That one will bring out the blue in your eyes."
For the first time all day, Hailey was quite glad she got out of the house.
~~~~~~
(A/N= hello happy readers! Ireland was a total blast!! The guys over there are scortching (but none to rival Spot of course) I know it took me a looooonng time to update, but I wanted to make sure there was enough to write when I update. Heres an interesting fact for you. Did you know that only 40% (or so) of readers actually review a story? So could you all be really really nice and review? Cause I didn't get that many, and I've been gone for weeeeks! Shout out time (just cause I always feel special when I get a shoutout in a fanfic.)
Jade Shintz - hey doll! You know what? I got two reviews in a bloody row from you! So thanks a million bazillion! Seriously, I love you to death now
Chewy - Dontcha just love when Spot feels guilty? It makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. bwahahahaha!
Kawaii Julie Sama - you mean, *sniff* that I can keep both the gorgeous guys? I actually hafta give one up?? *waaaaaa* okay fine. I give up Orlando Bloom. But you can't have Spot! He's miiiiinnneeee!!!! Hehe
Melissa - gimme your email addy and I'll drop you a line. And I've been very lazy about cliffhangers. Must write some more soon. Hehe!
Kay kay, love you all to death and pretty pretty please review! With spot on top?? Cause you love me? *puppy eyes* fanfics will slow considerably once school starts so you've been warned. Anywho, skittles! Oh and if anyone knows how to do italics on ff.n I'll give you a prize!!)
'Damn, three hours are up.'
He could only pray that he wasn't late for work - after last night's partying he needed all the money he could get. The wavering light from the candle, that he had so stupidly forgotten to blow out, sputtered as he shoved the covers off his body. As much as he would have loved to bask in the shadows of the Larpentur, the jingling goodness of coins in his pocket tempted him more. Quickly snuffing out the candle with his fingers, he kissed two and pressed them to his mother's picture before slamming shut the door to his little room and bolting out into the sun-baked street.
God it was hot. In the three hours he had slept, the temperature had risen several degrees. Running was not helping too much either, which is what he had to do to make it to work on time. As the small brick building came into view, he noted with much annoyance that he was almost the last person to arrive. No, Snog still wasn't there, but Slingshot sure was; sitting on top of a crate and looking at him with displeasure.
"Spot, yoah late!" Sprout called out with a grin. Spot only scowled unhappily, and shook his head. The boys would talk, it was in their nature. It wasn't them he had to worry about, it was Slingshot.
"What da hell do ya tink yoah doin?" she asked, low and deadly, as he took a seat beside her.
"Don't staht Slingshot," he said, exhasperated, "Snog's not even heah yet." "Yeah Spot! Dat's Snog! What did ya expect?" she countered rather loudly. "Da office opens in less den a minute. If ya don't sell, ya don't get payed, and den we's all bagged."
It was obvious she was worried, despite her attempts to be firm.
"Hey," he told her sternly," I'll be okay. Don't ya worry 'bout me. Just had a long night."
At the mention of "night" her eyes lit up, and the formings of smirk began, but she suppressed her urge to comment, and for that he was thankful. One more mention of Hailey Matthews and he would simply explode. A large thunk of the dirty window being creaked open banished momentarily all his thoughts, and a short balding man poked his head out to shout,
"Get your papes!"
Spot took his rightful place at the head of the line, and smacked down his last 10 cents down onto the grimy counter.
~~~~~
Life's pages had turned once again for Hailey, and familiar writing was scrawled out for her to enact. Leslie Benson and a few of her other friends were taking Hailey out for a day in the city to help her recuperate for the "tragedy at the party." Usually she would've come up with some excuse to stay home and avoid the social scene, but after last night's emotional beating, she needed some company - even if they were superficial. So for one day she was going to go against everything she fought on a daily basis and emerge herself in the fancy flutterings of upperclass society.
"Oh Hailey dear," Leslie fawned the instant she stepped inside the entryway. "The girls and I are going to make you forget all about that dreadful party!"
What an excellent way to forget about it. bringing it up.
Hailey managed a small smile, and stepped aside as she and about 4 other girls shuffled inside.
"There is simply so much I want to do today!" Leslie continued. "You haven't been out with us for months darling! I'm overjoyed you finally decided to break out of your cocoon!"
Conversations with Leslie were usually one-sided, though not by choice. The girl just talked so much, and about everything.
"Aside from the little fighting incident between Marcus and that god-awful street rat-" Hailey flinched at the derogatory comment about Spot "- everyone said Mrs. Tanager's party was the best of the year!"
This actually drew a real smile from Hailey. Despite her loathing for such social events, her parents did try extra hard to make the party a success; and Leslie's words about social matters were never wrong. Her parents were the epitome of all things gossip, and as such gave their daughter a one way ticket to the information highway.
"Marcus handled himself quite bravely I thought," she continued, twirling a piece of red hair around her finger wistfully. "It was very sad, the way that boy attacked him so ruthlessly."
Again, a little red flag popped up in the back of Hailey's mind. She was itching to say that it was in fact Marcus who attacked Spot, not the other way around. At the moment though, she found she didn't have the strength to defend the boy who'd hurt her so badly, and let yet another falsehood slide.
"How did he get an invitation in anyway? Mrs. Tanager's party was invitation only."
This put Hailey in a tricky corner.
'Oh yes Leslie!' she imagined herself saying; imagined the look on the girl's face. 'I invited Spot. He's a very good friend of mine. He kissed me as well! Fancy that!'
Instead, being the good little girl of upbringing that she was forcing herself to be on that day, she plastered a look of disbelief on her face and said,
"I heard he mugged one of the other guests and stole it from him!"
Gasps of horrified delight circulated around the small group, as they all took up chairs on the parlor's dark pink furniture. The other girls - Susan, Abigail, Gentre, and Florence - were all on the edge of their seats listening to Hailey and Leslie gossip.
It felt quite out of place, putting on the mask of gossip as she was, but in a way it dulled the pain. Spot never knew this side of her, therefore he could never hurt this side of her. That in itself was a very empowering thought, and though she knew she couldn't keep up this performance forever, it certainly was a way to escape reality for a while.
"Yes," she continued, looking in total seriousness at Leslie, "though we still don't know who. Can you imagine? That poor soul."
No matter how flippant and chattery she was going to be today, nothing would make her sympathize with Marcus. she'd never stoop that low.
"Well now Leslie," Gentre spoke next, hands folded delicately in her lap. "Where did you say we were going to take Hailey today?"
At the words "going to take Hailey" Leslie's ears perked right up. All traces of the worried look provoked by the made up story of the mugging were instantly replaced by a huge grin.
"Yes! Well, I discussed it with the girls," she said, hands waving, "and we decided to take you down Main Street!" 'Shopping. Yippie. Let me go find a container for my joy.' Hailey thought, though kept her musings to herself.
"Sounds lovely." She slid out. Leslie clasped her hands to her chest and bounced happily.
"Its settled. Abigail dear, your father did say we could take his carriage did he not?" she asked. The brown haired mousy girl nodded shyly, and smiled when she was rewarded with Leslie's tender hand pressed briefly to her own in thanks. Hailey had been gone so long from this little clique that she'd entirely forgotten the fact that Leslie was revered as a Goddess among their friends.
"Right then!" Leslie straightened up. "Let us get on with it!"
The streets of Brooklyn were bursting with people. As Leslie and Florence walked ahead, gossiping about the new dress shop down on St. Martin's, she hung back with Abigail and took time to soak in everything. She'd always liked Abigail - she was a quiet girl who adored praise but took it modestly. Though her parents had extravagant amounts of money, she valued above all a good book: making her the perfect person to walk with. It was an unspoken truth between them that silence was to be valued and not squandered.
People from all walks of life bustled around them, speeding about with their baskets and purses. All of her little group was stared at with hidden amazement. While she wore a vibrantly colored dress and walking cape, most of the people were dressed in dusty browns, grays and whites. Much to Hailey's horror, they even passed the occasional newsboy who shouted out the headlines.
"Hailey darling,," Gentre came up beside her, "did you see the scarves over in that booth over there? You simply must come with me and check them out!"
Conversations like these, full of "darlings" and "simplys" were the norm among this group, and though Hailey chose not to speak in such tongues, she found it hadn't annoyed her as much as it had before. So, drawing an excited smile across her face, she allowed Gentre to drag her through the throngs of traffic over to where a small little cart. As soon as the others noticed there was a shift in interest, they too flocked to where the vender stood.
The man running the business was a lanky man with stringy hair and a dusty, beat up hat. His eyes gleamed at the site of their coin purses, and he removed the hat and bowed deeply as they approached.
"Ladies," he drawled out, trying his best to sound regal. "If there is anything I can help you with, anything at all, please don't hesitate to ask."
Susan, who despite her random moments of snobbery had always maintained a caring side, smiled politely and said, "Thank you."
The scarves on the cart really were quite beautiful; and despite the lack of cleanliness of the vendor, the cart itself positively gleamed.
"This would look quite lovely with your dress dear," Susan held up a little silver scarf to match the emerald of Hailey's dress.
"Yes, or this one," Florence popped in with a cheerful red one. They were both so beautiful, such fine things Hailey wasn't used to buying (though she could afford it.) After a long moment of indesicion, she turned to Abigail and asked,
"Which one do you like best?"
Abigail looked almost startled for a moment, unused to the idea of people caring about her opinion. Then, with a sweet little smile towards Hailey, she pointed to the silver one and said,
"That one will bring out the blue in your eyes."
For the first time all day, Hailey was quite glad she got out of the house.
~~~~~~
(A/N= hello happy readers! Ireland was a total blast!! The guys over there are scortching (but none to rival Spot of course) I know it took me a looooonng time to update, but I wanted to make sure there was enough to write when I update. Heres an interesting fact for you. Did you know that only 40% (or so) of readers actually review a story? So could you all be really really nice and review? Cause I didn't get that many, and I've been gone for weeeeks! Shout out time (just cause I always feel special when I get a shoutout in a fanfic.)
Jade Shintz - hey doll! You know what? I got two reviews in a bloody row from you! So thanks a million bazillion! Seriously, I love you to death now
Chewy - Dontcha just love when Spot feels guilty? It makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. bwahahahaha!
Kawaii Julie Sama - you mean, *sniff* that I can keep both the gorgeous guys? I actually hafta give one up?? *waaaaaa* okay fine. I give up Orlando Bloom. But you can't have Spot! He's miiiiinnneeee!!!! Hehe
Melissa - gimme your email addy and I'll drop you a line. And I've been very lazy about cliffhangers. Must write some more soon. Hehe!
Kay kay, love you all to death and pretty pretty please review! With spot on top?? Cause you love me? *puppy eyes* fanfics will slow considerably once school starts so you've been warned. Anywho, skittles! Oh and if anyone knows how to do italics on ff.n I'll give you a prize!!)