We are who we are

          pressman,  get  us  the  hell  out  of  here!!     whatever  the  hell  this  place  was,  had  yet  to  be  figured  out.     he  noticed  some  people  acting  like  this  place  was  normal;  attending  school,  going  to  work.     but,  it  wasn’t.     this  wasn’t  his  home,  but  he  couldn’t  figure  out  how  to  get  out  of  this  shit  hole.     ‘  about  two  months  ago?  ’  he  sighed.     had  it  really  been  that  long?     he’d  only  been  in  new  ham  until  after  the  rager,  not  even  one  full  day,  but  he’d  been  here  for  two  months;  how  the  fuck  did  that  make  any  sense?     ‘  and,  before  you  ask,  i  haven’t  figured  shit  out,  ’  he  nearly  huffed.     albeit,  he  didn’t  exactly  spend  a  lot  of  time  looking  into  this  place  or  anything  —-  playing  detective  was  not  his  forté,  though  he  tried.     but,  he  didn’t  want  to  hear  it  from  allie.     ‘  when’d  you  get  here?  ’

          bright  brown  hues  shined  hazel  for  a  brief  moment  as  his  gaze  landed  on  the  much  too  familiar  blonde.     allie  pressman,  he’d  know  her  anywhere.     despite  his  dislike  for  cassandra,  he  never  had  anything  against  allie;  they  just  seemed  like  a  package  deal,  so  harry  kept  his  distance.     ‘  pressman,  ’  he  called  out,  shuffling  in  his  seat  slightly  to  face  her  better.     it  didn’t  seem  like  she’d  noticed  it  was  him  yet.     either  that  or  she  just  didn’t  care.     ‘  allie  pressman?     i  knew  that  was  you,  ’  he  stated,  pushing  himself  off  of  the  stool  he  was  on,  before  making  a  few  steps  towards  her.     ‘  yeah,  that’s  putting  it  lightly.  ’

today it’s a spot at the counter, which has made him far more strategic about what papers he arranges on the counter. necessity is the mother of invention, or so they say, and thus he’s pared his usual spread of work down to something more manageable. five pauses halfway through an equation, finishing the graceful arc of a y and glancing over at her. he’s traveled more than she can probably conceive of. multiple axes, distance and time. “i used to find it more difficult,” he says idly. as if he doesn’t look like he’s in his early twenties. “i find that, over time, it gets easier. or you find things to ground yourself along the way.”

pride is taken aback, at first, by the stranger seemingly trying to speak to him. he’s only in the diner because it had seemed a good place to get to know more about the town he’s gotten stuck in. there’s no food on the counter in front of him, only a small glass of water. “i haven’t yet,” he replies. “but i’m certain i will soon.” there’s the slightest bit of a smile on his face. “where are you from?”

Morgan glanced up from her laptop at the question, shrugging her shoulders idly as she sat back, letting her hands fall from the paper she’d been working on for her summer school class. “everyone’s different,” she said, bringing her coffee to her lips and taking a sip before going on. “This isn’t the first time I’ve had to adapt to a new place and I’ve been here… going on four years now I believe. It got easier overtime I guess.” She tilted her head to the side as she examined the other girl for a moment. “I’m assuming you just got here recently?”

She sipped her iced coffee, letting the metal straw sit between her lips for a moment, listening to the girl talk. “it’s not mine either–– it’s all just a lot, y’know?” first her parents, then her sister, the drama that ensured and now... now she’s here. But without any friends or a familiar face, she sighed softly, sipping her drink once more. “You’ve been here for four years... wow,” allie whispered in surprise, this place must have begun to feel like home for her. “About a month ago but it’s just a whirlwind.”