escape artist.

.

There were key words to what his counterpart said, easy to pick up and suss out some kind of meaning.  Temptation told him there was something at the gathering they wanted to have but felt compelled to avoid.  Dumb idea told him they felt some type of way involving competing desires.  And the apology told him they wanted someone to listen but didn’t want to be a burden.  He wasn’t the most intuitive person, but even he could piece that together.  And, for his part, he didn’t mind being the companion, at least for now. 

“It’s okay.  Why don’t we go together?” He offered, setting his beer on some type of ledge and gesturing to the door.  

—&—

“Are you sure?” Juliet glanced almost nervously from him to the door and back to him. “I don’t wanna pull you away from,” she then gestured vaguely at the celebration going on. The last thing she wanted was to be more of a problem to anyone when it came to her addictions and doing her best to maintain her sobriety, but company and a distraction from the constant temptation around her was exactly what she wanted.

“Ah, yes, McDonalds, I would call that normal fries, with just a pinch of salt, and soggy too,” Dante said, grinning. “Though perhaps I’ve had way too much of their fries and far too little of other franchises. But my kid loves the toys you get with a Happy Meal, and I cannot deny him that,” they admitted. “They’re good right? I think they put different herbs on it, I can see something that’s not salt.”

—&—

At the mention of soggy fries Juliet scrunched her nose and slightly shook her head. “I’m more of a crispy fry girl. I know its not likely to be true but they also seem less greasy to me.” But the mention of his kid and the Happy Meal toys brought back her smile. “How old is your son? He must love the chicken nugget treats.” That was how she had always thought of it on the rare times they’d head through the drive-thru when she was a kid. 

Dec: Are you a 'hey', pick-up line, question, or random fact type of person?

STATUS: open LOCATION: Downtown Gastown’s Halloween Hootenanny

Dante liked these type of events, there were many business opportunities, and there was a lot of room to be social. if anything, they had learned over the past five years that locking themselves up in their house and focussing on business alone wasn’t good for their health. 

“You should try these fries, I don’t know what they put on them, but they’re way better than normal fries,” Dante said, holding one out. 

—&—

All the festivities seemed fun and she was sure in the years past that she really enjoyed them to the fullest, but now, clean and sober, Juliet attended a few of the events throughout the week feeling as though things were a bit dim.

who : open | @vancitystarters​ , 0/4 where: samhain festival, sully’s   when: monday night

He couldn’t exactly describe the Samhain Festival as an annual tradition for himself, because Wilder wasn’t exactly guided by anything other than his mood in the moment.  But on Halloween night, he didn’t want to sit home alone in his apartment, either.  And, if he was being honest, something a little darker and a little more grown up was his speed moreso than handing out candy to trick-or-treaters.  He’d definitely spent some time deep in the woods, in the dark late and night, and some part of him came alive while that was happening.  Maybe that would be the case at Sully’s, too. 

He nursed his beer and, like he did everywhere, mostly watched other people.  Not exactly a wallflower, but always hanging on the fringes and waiting for someone to come to him rather than the central, life of a party.  He was considering sneaking off for a smoke, plenty of opportunity in his pocket, but he hadn’t done it just yet.

“I don’t know, I guess I don’t really have a plan.  Do you?  Or am I it?  I could come up with something on the fly for us if I need to.”  

—&—

“Umm, not really,” Juliet replied perhaps a little too quietly for such a lively atmosphere. “I guess I’m just trying to be social and somewhere around temptation and not give in.” It wasn’t exactly the confession that she wanted to make, especially at a party, that she was an addict in recovery. Honesty and being upfront was the best policy, right? Mostly she had been looking for a distraction and something to keep her away from the bar and people that would keep her offering drinks. “I guess this was a pretty dumb idea coming here,” Juliet sighed.

starter for: @vancitystarters​ where: haunted hayride (medical tent), october 31st

“–like, I don’t know what they expected from a haunted maze. What did they think it was haunted by, corn?” Sawyer’s eyes rolled at the thought, her exasperation clear in her tone. “But, anyways, then the guy in the Jason mask pops out of the maze and totally scares the absolute shit out of the people behind me, and they just completely bulldoze past me, knock me to the ground, and basically trample me on the way out.” Hence, the scraped up hands and the bleeding knees, the former of which are extended palm up for the other to see, currently waiting to be tended to as she sat on the (quite uncomfortable) plastic chair of the medical tent. “They’re just lucky I didn’t get blood on this outfit, you wanna talk about scary.” Sawyer huffed. Her eyes caught sight of her hands once more, frowning at the stinging sensation as she lowered them to her lap. “But yeah, that’s my story. What’s yours?”

—&—

Even though she was tall, Juliet was a slight woman and she doubted if she had been in the same situation that she would’ve faired any better. “You okay?” Voice soft, she asked after listening to the story, her eyes showed concern as they lifted from the scraped up hands. “Had to have been scary.” People died from being trampled. Which, Juliet was glad she didn’t say that thought out loud then. Tired of waiting, she got up from her seat and went over to snatch a small first aide kit and sat next to Sawyer when she returned.