・・step into the sun・・

“Aurora,” Malachy repeated, his thick accent more prominent in such a name. “Sounds like something off of Disney. Not that that’s a bad thing or anything. I’m just saying.” He held up one hand in protest. in fear she would take offence. “But, since you brought it up, I’d say its way better than ‘Dexys Midnight Runners’.” With a raised eyebrow, the Irishman shook his head - he’d not drank too much that evening and he remembered quite clearly how Aurora had gone down, tripping over her own legs during some pretty exuberant dance moves. To be perfectly honest, it was pretty impressive. It was nice hearing her enthusiasm, and Malachy nodded in response. He didn’t exactly know all of his neighbours but he had made enough of a connection with them to assume he would remember them at a masquerade, but clearly, he was wrong. “Luke Skywalker?” he said, eyebrow raised in question. He knew who the character was, of course, but the reference was lost on him. His younger brother Emmett had been a huge Star Wars fan, but he had always had other things to do. “Guessing he puts a mask on and no one recognises him?” With a grin, he added. “Like that Hannah Montana.”

❝Ah, yeah, the famous Sleeping Beauty,❞ Rory couldn’t help but roll her eyes as a sort of instinctive response, though an amused grin was present on her face. ❝Blonde, loves singing, hobbies include sleeping -- honestly, five-year-old me wanted to sue Disney for ripping off my identity,❞ The girl deadpanned, although the entire thing was meant as a joke. She was well-aware the princess had been created nearly half a century before she was born, yet she couldn’t help but make the comment. ❝But my mom suggested using a nickname, so it’s just Rory.❞ The name rolled off her tongue more comfortably than her actual name. She instantly stopped in her tracks, however, as soon as the Star Wars reference seemed to confuse him. Her eyes widened, her mouth half-opening in an attempt to form a coherent response. ❝C’mon, don’t tell me you haven’t seen The Force Awakens. I’m against spoiling people, but I thought it was universally known -- ha, pun not intended -- that he pulled a disappearing act and went MIA on everyone,❞ There was a sudden spur of passion in her voice as she spoke, though it was immediately cut short with a quick laugh once Hannah Montana was mentioned. ❝Okay, wow, I’ve never met anyone who compared a Jedi master with a fictional country singer.❞

“Meh, it’s not all that important anyways,” he let out, waving his hand to dismiss it. “I don’t think so… I think that’s cool, actually. I took a block of Astronomy in high school, and then one more in college, but I hardly remember any of it. High school was all this is this, and that is that, and in college, it was all so much information at once. I think it’s nice to know a little bit about… as much as you can.” 

❝Hey, any conversation that mentions cookies is very important in my book,❞ Rory protested, albeit jokingly, with just the slightest hint of a grin on her face. ❝All that school stuff is shit anyway. They never really teach you anything you want to know about,❞ The girl considered this one of the many topics she could talk about for hours on end. ❝I’ve always wanted to overthrow the education system Les Mis style but the furthest I’ve gotten is...❞ She paused, trying to recall a moment when she did something against the system. ❝Disrupt the class for an hour while ranting about how I hated school.❞

“Eh, I’m hardly ever there, I’m usually working, window shopping or looking at pretty people,” Adelaide said with a light grin, knowing very well that she did more window shopping than any of the other things. “Oh no, a hermit! How do you experience everything life has to offer that way if you’re hermiting it up inside?” The girl teased the other a bit, beginning the walk back towards the complex. 

❝Wow, okay, your life definitely sounds a billion times better than that of a hermit’s,❞ Rory replied, her lips forming into a small yet amused smile. She trudged beside the other girl, all the while realizing that the direction she would’ve chosen to go in -- had no one arrived -- was utterly wrong. ❝But ordering pizza, watching mindless cartoon, and scrolling through my phone ‘till the end of time is just so enticing.❞

Brilliant, thought Malachy, he’d gone and done his usual nonsense - saying something or doing something that was so odd or off-putting that people would eventually just avoid him. Back home, he’d simply been abrasive, rude and unwelcoming. Here, however, it was the opposite which had thrown him. “Aye, sorry. I never got your name that night and that was all I could remember,” his cheeks flushed a little, though that may have been due to the cold, and he rubbed at the back of his neck nervously, handing over the phone. “That would be me, aye. And then you fell flat on your arse,” he added, just to pass on the embarrassment. “Don’t be daft. It was a laugh.” Straightening up a little, he frowned, “You stay at Sterling, as well?” Despite the fact that the building was so large, he was always shocked to hear that more people lived there. “I’ve got it up on Google Maps, actually. But I know the way, roughly. If you just want to like…” Waving vaguely, he pointed in the direction of Sterling. “Follow me?” 

❝Hey, I mean, Dexys Midnight Runners is a more memorable name than Aurora, anyways,❞ Could that have passed as a decent way to introduce herself? Rory didn’t know. For a fleeting moment, however, her eyes widened at the mention of her unfortunate fall.  ❝Ah, well there goes all hope of suppressing that memory,❞ She shook her head, shifting her gaze to the ground in an attempt to look dramatically disappointment. ❝To be absolutely fair, it wasn’t my fault. The song is to be fully blamed for that little mishap.❞ Lie -- Rory and clumsy were nearly synonymous. She’d trip on level ground, but she decided to leave that detail out of the conversation. Her feigned disappointment was quickly replaced with a hopeful -- rather enthusiastic -- expression.  ❝Yeah!❞ She replied, again with an excess of excitement.  ❝I mean, yeah, I do live there and yeah, I probably should follow you -- otherwise I’m going to end up in Canada, or something. Frankly enough, I’m a little embarrassed that I didn’t at least recognize you. Odds are I would’ve run into you at least once. Apparently, you pull a Luke Skywalker and suddenly you don’t know anyone.❞ Again, she subconsciously gave into her bad habit of oversharing unneeded information.

“ oh yes - occasionally we have to go the old school way and ask somebody, i’m quite certain no one owns a paper map anymore so that’s about your only option, ” she chuckles, “ yes, i actually live there myself. i’m headed back that direction if you’d like to tag along, it’s not much further up the block. ”

A squeal threatened to slip past Rory’s lips once she heard the other girl’s offer, though she managed to suppress. In its place a smile -- although still betraying her excitement -- appeared on her face. ❝You just saved my life,❞ Drama was something she definitely didn’t leave on stage, as per her statement. ❝I was thoroughly convinced I was going to have to accept my fate as a hobo on this unknown street and start building my new life from scratch.❞

“Really?” Kit paused before realizing the question was confusing, “I mean yeah, I do, I live there too actually. Small world.” He chuckled lightly, putting his phone away. “I’m actually heading there now to drop off some stuff so I can walk you. It’s not too far from here and it’s actually one of the few places I know how to get to by heart so it’s your lucky day miss.” 

❝Eh, I wouldn’t call it a lucky day just yet. I’m still phoneless after all,❞ Rory pointed out, albeit only jokingly.  ❝Apparently, you leave it on a table to dance to one of the ‘80s greatest hits and it disappears without a trace.❞ Again, she was giving in to her habit of oversharing. Quick to realize this, however, Rory offered a grateful smile. ❝Thank you, by the way! God knows I probably would’ve wandered to another state if I kept going in...❞ She paused, realizing she wasn’t really sure where she was heading in the first place. ❝In whatever direction I was going.❞

“Why only use the one word when they are so many wonderful ones in the English language?” Rurik asked rhetorically with a small smug smirk. He was glad to see that rude attitude had obviously bothered her in some way, why else would her demeanor and tone have changed. Even if it was a brief encounter with a stranger he was likely to never see again it was satisfying to know he’d driven that wedge between them. “Are you going to stop walking with me now or are you going to keep bugging me until I help?” 

❝Believe it or not, but one word gets the point across,❞ Ironic, coming from the girl who was so used to running her mouth -- and who did nothing about the bad habit. Still, she decided to leave that little detail out of the conversation. ❝I think I’ll tag along,❞ She replied nonchalantly, struggling to suppress the tiniest bit of amusement that threatened to lace her voice. ❝Besides, you seem to be enjoying my company, anyway.❞ If Rory had one negative characteristic that she seemed to view in a positive light, it was her pettiness. The guy originally got on her nerves, but now she made it her agenda to annoy him back, seemingly having forgotten her original task of getting back to the complex.

most people get surprised whenever they find out mathieu is a father—when it happened, it was more believable, of course. he was happy, his heart was more open and he was in love; he was a better person, someone else entirely, mostly built by the woman he married. sure, those characteristics were already part of him, just not completely discovered, buried inside of him and almost unreachable. nowadays, that’s what he’s turned: just like his past, as if a woman had never made him pull his heart out and commit to her, as if his son was not made out of love.

however, while the young woman’s reaction is predictable, it’s far from pleasant—her tone, he notices, is as if she can’t see it, as if he is incapable of being a father. although he thinks the same, and so do many people who are close to him, it’s unacceptable to deal with such a judgement coming from a stranger—most importantly, from a slow, rude stranger who made him annoyed more than once, whenever he stopped by.

“oh yes. amazing how things are, no?” mathieu smiles, not lacking of sarcasm. patting his son’s head carefully, he sees the way the boy looks up at him, smiling. “so you know rory!” bernard comments, the childish voice so happy it’s almost touchable. “yes. she’s the one who’s here when i come after work, to get you something before i go home,” it’s a weird, yet only routine he had managed to do for his son, even though it didn’t involve both of them being together, on the same place. “she’s the best!” the kid doesn’t stop, already turning his attention at the woman, asking about the cupcakes. “remember to choose some for beatrice,” he reminds the boy of his nanny, before turning to watch the scene, the kid pointing at the candies on the glass, choosing whatever he wants.

Times like these reaffirmed why Rory so strongly identified with Squidward Tentacles as a character -- a struggling artist who had a job at a restaurant she wasn’t too fond of. The animated octopus depicted her to a tee, except for one, tiny thing: if the girl displayed the contempt for her job and the customers she disliked, she probably would’ve been fired. The creators of the show have made it clear time and time again that no matter how badly Squidward did as a cashier, he kept his job, still. Rory, on the other hand, would be replaced in a matter of minutes.

So here she was, forcing a tight smile on her face, resisting every urge to give in to her pettiness. ❝Did you hear that? I’m the best,❞ A more genuine -- and triumphant -- grin popped onto her face as she said this. Maybe there was room for just a bit of pettiness. The girl realized she had the option of either hurrying things along and getting it over and done with; or she could attempt to get on his nerves and elicit a response that would make this job just a little less terrible. In her finance class -- which she hadn’t thought about in years -- every decision was a calculated risk. If potential outcome was good, then one should accept the risk -- which is precisely what she decided to do.

❝So...what can I get you? Fair warning: the cash register is currently down and I’ll have to do all the computing myself, which will definitely take some time.❞  Rory drawled on purposely, taking her sweet time with the delivery of the statement. The girl could only struggle to suppress the amusement in her voice. God, she hoped she wouldn’t suffer any repercussions from this.

“Oh! Well I’m glad you found me, then,” Addie let out wit ha small laugh. At the mention of the Sterling Complex, the girl’s eyes lit up. “Oh yeah! I live there why?” She asked, blinking a few times before it hit her. “Oh–wait. Do you live there, too?! Or are you going to visit someone? I was just heading back there!” 

Rory had to physically stop herself from heaving a huge sigh of relief as the girl said yes to her question. Offering a grateful smile instead, she exclaimed -- a little too enthusiastically, that is,  ❝Yes!❞ Realizing that perhaps she had just a tad too much excitement in her tone, she cleared her throat to recuperate. ❝I mean, yeah, yeah I do live there. I can’t believe I’ve never ran into you, or recognized you, at the very least,❞ She added, a hint of nervousness in the laugh she let slip past her mouth. ❝Guess becoming a hermit has finally backfired.❞ Rory said, albeit solely as a joke. She, indeed, needed to get out more; but calling herself a hermit was an exaggeration.

Malachy had taken Roland’s advice and decided to explore the city he had grown to call his home. Granted, it meant a lot of reliance on Google Maps, telling him to turn one way, then the next so as to not end up in some Seattle meth den. Did they exist? He didn’t know, but he certainly didn’t want to find out. Ending up in Downtown Seattle, he’d found himself in a few decent places, even having a drink in a bar that looked vaguely posh. But now, following Google Maps once again, he was heading back home. Hearing the voice stop him, Malachy halted in his steps, turning to face the source. For a second, he waited, staring at her. He hadn’t seen her on the night, the mask obscuring her face, but he recognised the voice. “Dexy’s Midnight Runners!” he replied. Shaking his head, he realised what an idiot he sounded. “Sorry. Aye, here,” he said, holding out the phone. “I know you. We met at New Year.”

For the most part, Rory was taken aback by the sudden exclamation. The last response she expected after stating her request was a band’s name – one that led to her losing her phone in the first place, no less. Confusion was very evidently plastered on her face and in her voice as she said, ❝Uh…what?❞ Then his explanation dawned on her, and Rory’s confusion quickly turned into embarrassment – though she was very quick to conceal it with her most nonchalant laugh. ❝Oh! Right! Dexys Midnight Runners – Come On Eileen. I get it,❞ Another chuckle escaped her lips as she nodded, this time fully piecing together what he meant with his words. ❝That’s definitely a new nickname for me. Though I can’t say I’m too fond of it,❞ She joked, a clear tone of amusement in her voice. Just as she spoke, another realization came over her. ❝You’re the random person I grabbed, aren’t you? Oh God, I’m so sorry about that,❞ The girl said through soft chuckles. ❝You wouldn’t happen to know where Sterling Complex is located, would you? I mean, they threw the party somewhere near the building, and it’s just a gamble, but that’s where I’m heading and all.❞ 

“You could always tell yourself that it’s evil and the worst thing you can put in your body to get rid of that feeling. I do that with cookies sometimes. It doesn’t always work, but when it does… it does,” he explained vaguely. Smiling at her words, Roland proceeded to let out a light chuckle. “I think so, yeah. It would be interesting to hear what you’d have to say, and how long you could go. Do you know a lot about that stuff–or is that just an example?” He asked, genuinely interested. 

The blonde quirked her head to the side, squinting her eyes as she tried to understand what Roland had said. The mention of cookies immediately distracted her from the rest of the statement, and truth be told, her mind stopped working. ❝I’m not sure…I follow,❞ She admitted, letting a short laugh slip past her. ❝For fuck’s sake, I need to work on my attention span.❞ The girl added with another chuckle. However, the question definitely pulled Rory back to reality. ❝You sure about that? You just might regret your answer,❞ A hint of humor laced her voice as she countered his words. ❝That’s just one among the many – outlandish topics I know.❞