strip that down

“I’m surprised you even have a heart.” They’d known each other for all of five minutes, and he normally wasn’t one to judge other people so quick, but his preliminary assessment of her was that she had this tough girl attitude she tried to make herself come off as, or maybe that was what she really was— either way, she didn’t strike him as someone who’d make such a comment given how their conversation had been going so far. Still, it was said with some humor, one he hoped she would catch on. He would never knowingly piss off someone like her for something so petty. He quite liked all his fingers intact and his head attached to his body.

Her advice wasn’t something he hadn’t heard before or thought about himself without anyone prompting him to, but it seemed that that was the general consensus when it came to his pursuits. “We do work on it. We’re just… taking a break at the moment, but there’s definitely some exploring on my part. Like, the other day, I discovered that we could incorporate a theremin into our music, make it sound more edgy, you know? So there’s that.” She probably didn’t care, but he was enjoying how he was able to talk about this sort of thing. She did have a point, though, when she said he had to work for something like this, and while he was well-aware of his privileges, especially given his family’s status, this was a venture he only had himself to support. 

     At such a statement, she scoffs. At least it were true, or she enjoyed pretending like it was. “I’ve got the anatomical one.” Mentions of that thing that beat in her chest cause her heart to silently slip over it, hand pressed flat against the top of her ribs as though she were trying to protect it from something. Who knew your aortic valve could see such hurt over the years, yet still continue to pump blood to vital organs? Truly, it put everything into perspective. Made you realise no matter how many parents broke your heart, how many girlfriends smashed it to smithereens, it carried on. Though, of course, it were a separate conversation to be had with someone who didn’t resemble an animated Disney character. 

A gape in his mouth, his lips moved, imitating that of a goldfish’s as he tried to find the right words to say. Thankfully, she handed him what he’d asked for, effectively cutting his thoughts off, and he graciously accepted with a bashful smile as he unwrapped it and gently eased it into his nostril, covering it up with his free hand and turning away slightly. “I’d say knock it off with the Bambi jokes, but I guess it’s better than being Thumper,” he said, once the tampon was secure in his nose. “But for the record, I may have lost it a little at a Taco Bell. It wasn’t my fault, though, I was clearly ahead of the guy, but he cut in line. Like, what asshole does that?”

                  “Just figured out a few moments ago that I’ve been walking around for about an hour with a spiderman sticker on the side of my face from one of my patients. Not sure if I should feel embarrassed or just embrace my childish instincts.”

“Explains why I feel like shit. Never drinking again.” Juliet mumbled, not really registering her surroundings- or the voice- just yet. She yawned, stretching as much as she could without making much impact on her body- or the possibility of just throwing up. It took Juliet a few moments, but she finally looked over at Dinah, nearly sobering up as realization dawned on her. “Oh- sorry. Really. And- yeah. Thanks.” she mumbled, not really capable of anything right now.

It was just another small town life day for Jules, the kind she loved the most. Strolling down main street and being able to recognize almost every face was a nice peace of mind, bad things hardly every happened in small towns like that. Her light hues went to her watch. “Oh god, I lost track of time” She said out loud turning swiftly bumping into something, or had it been someone? She had ended up on the ground. “Ouch?”

“Hey, uh, you wouldn’t happen to have a tampon on you, would you?” he asked, pressing a finger against one of his nostrils to stop the bleeding. Perhaps it wasn’t the most conventional request, but he looked a little worse for wear and just needed something to temporarily relieve him.

“Don’t you just fucking hate when you get a flat tire?” Francis thought out loud, kicking the newly flattened tire of his black corvette. He was already running late for a goddamn meeting and now, he was going to be even later. Francis sighed, fishing his phone from his pocket to send out a text to his assistant to just postpone the damn thing. “Tell me you’re having a much better day than I am,” he said, pressing the button to lock his phone before putting it back in his pocket. 

“What?! No- fuck- where am I? Please don’t tell me I’ve been here the whole night- wait- how did my night end?” Juliet tried to question the person nearby, her words coming out in odd sentences. 

“I’m not in the mood to dispute your claim, nor do I think I can. The complaining wasn’t intentional.”

Charlie listened to the story and tried his best not to smirk at it all. She was feisty and he liked that. If he ever had a daughter he’d probably wish for her to be the same way. “Some dudes have this weird thing about lesbians. I’ve had countless lesbian friends get harassed by assholes who think they’re only there for men and don’t actually exist.” The man gave a sigh and took one final drag of his cigarette before throwing it onto the floor and stubbing it out with his Converse sneakers. “If you need me to walk you home then I’ll happily do that. And no, I’m not hitting on you. I’m just being a friendly helping hand.” He paused. “I’m Charles. Or Charlie.”

“Well, I’ll be sure not to lead myself on or anything. I’d hate to have my heart broken, you know?” he said, words laced together with sarcasm, though he had to admit that he was enjoying this banter—if it could even be called that—in a twisted sort of way. She had that snark about her, in the way she spat out words, so cocksure of herself. She was a challenge, that was for sure. The following words she’d spoken made him aware that she was familiar with who he was, and given the way she was speaking to him, he knew that the knowledge hadn’t affected the way she looked at him, which he had to say was a good thing despite how it seemed to not be working in his favor in terms of the current image of himself he was painting for her. She seemed to have taken a liking to calling him by a nickname now, and it wasn’t a pet name, either. “You tell me,” he said, trying to match her irreverence as he watched her find a spot on the ground. She looked a little out of place, given what she was wearing, but somehow, she made it work. He took a quick puff before dropping the cigarette and putting it out with the heel of his shoe, then joined her in the corner, though made sure to put a considerable distance between them. “You say Heavy House and you’re met with confused looks. It’s been a year since I dropped everything to pursue a goddamn dream and we haven’t gotten any offers yet. The closest thing to a sold-out show we ever played was busking in Brooklyn and in terms of our sound, it’s been a general clusterfuck.”

“I suppose you’re right ‘bout that, I was only… askin’ for help in makin’ a decision that I couldn’t make on my own. I was ‘bout to make both so that I didn’t have to.. an’ then find some people to help me eat it all.”

“Oh sweetie, I’ve been smoking since I was probably your age so I’m not going to lecture you on it. Sure, it’s bad, but you do you.” The older male flashed his signature smile and held his own cigarette to his lips, taking a long drag. “You okay, yeah? It’s just I don’t see girls out here by themselves at this time too often, and you look a little…on edge.” Charlie said with a small shrug, hoping his didn’t offend the woman or possibly come over as creepy. That was the last thing. If the girl was in trouble he’d want to help. “Hell, if I was a girl I’d be on edge too probably. This ugly mug just walked up to you.” He pointed to his face, letting out a small chuckle in an attempt to lighten the mood. “I’d be damn terrified.”

                 “That’s not —- what I’m trying to say, see you’re totally switching me words —-,” she paused, refusing to give the Latina more reason to talk to her in such a tone that it made her insides shiver and want to wither away. Eyes wide and searching for any sense of relief around them, she tried her best to think of a reasonable way to talk to the woman across from her without angering her more in the end. “W—oah, no. No I’m not trying to hit on you. Not that you aren’t attractive, or that I’m not —- I, meant a free check up. I’m a nurse! Of course, I work with children, but I’m qualified to look at more than just children, I didn’t — I’m so sorry. I just – I’ll leave, I’ll leave!”

He didn’t bother protesting– not that he had reason to protest. Big bucks were made in cutting open people’s craniums and saving lives, and when he wasn’t spending his hard-earned money on his fiancee and the life they were starting, he was more than generous with friends and colleagues. “Seems only fair– cancelled meetings are cause for celebration, after all.” He waved to a waitress, gesturing to a menu in his hand, before turning back to the woman sitting across from him. “I can’t celebrate too hard, though– I do have to get back to the hospital sometime today.”

His expression immediately drops and without hesitation he picks his daughter up, placing her gently on his hip, his small girl immediately self-conscious that the stranger yelling was due to her actions. “I don’t use kids to pick up women because I’m also gay so I don’t pick up women. So you not being interested doesn’t phase me in the slightest. The comment just came out like all of my word vomit does. I was just trying to make light of the situation. You have a nice day though.” Confrontation was not something Jeremy was good at and he could already feel a tantrum brewing from Dani and he didn’t have the stamina to deal with the stranger’s tantrum as well, “Sorry for interrupting you.”