✰ rock 'n roll

perhaps starting a fight with an uneven ratio wasn’t a clever thing to do, but fires are often hard to diminish once started, and to be fair, mickey has never been the kind to look before he leaps, let alone, think before he acts. rich boys and their filthy money — a combination that turns mickey from a human being to a human torch; mirroring an explosive act possessed by an erupting volcano. he could feel a pair of eyes piercing through his body from the corner of his own as he quickly and roughly wiped his bloody nose. “are you just going to stand there?” he couldn’t help but point the person out, his tilted head turning to acknowledge the lurking figure. “… or are you going to come over here and lick me clean?” 

casper rolled his eyes, with a slight smile as he kept flipping through the book. “of course i’ll be fine, i’m fucking awesome and know how to charm people. he’ll be a piece of cake.”

“normally i would have just replaced them all by now, but that might be the smartest thing you’ve said.” karina considers the suggestion for a moment before shaking her head. “if it was that simple, would this still be an issue?”

“i guess that’s what you get for underestimating me.” julia tells the girl with an innocent giggle, shrugging. “have you tried it yet?”

     “yeah, it sure will.” she replied with a nod, putting the cassette on the walkman. “oh. thanks.” harper said with a fakeish smile – she’d been wearing those glasses for years ( like, about twelve years ), so she found it odd that julia was just now complimenting them. still, she let it slide. “got them in the city, though, so it’s a bit of a long drive.”

The two used to be close, but they weren’t really anymore, and she wasn’t sure she could trust her to watch her son, so she just shook her head after checking to make sure he was alright in his stroller. “It’s alright. I’ve got a couple babysitters I can call if I need anything.”

“you sure?” julia asked, able to tell that the other was clearly uncomfortable with the idea. “that’s fine. i get where you’re coming from. but i mean -- if you’re ever in a weird place and need help...” 

              “SO, I ACTUALLY ended up at a party in dallas last night, with some friends from uni.” andy takes a puff of her cigarette as she looks at the person opposite of her. “it was a bust, though. the cops showed up and everything. i barely got out without being arrested; thank god for first floor windows.” andy pauses, watching the smoke rise in swirls from the end of her lit cigarette. “so, do you know of another party going on, say, tonight? my day’s been particularly shitty.”

“there’s a crazy fuckin’ ran down house a couple towns over that i’ve heard is worth the drive. dunno where we’d crash but it’d be something to do.” beau pitches, lighting his cigarette in order to copy andy’s motions. “or we could go to one of the clubs in dallas -- drop a x and go where the night leads us?”

“depends what you have in mind. i might be free, but i still have standards and i will not be seen in a grimy bar.” karina tells him. “got experience with pissing girls off? doesn’t sound like a compelling reason for me to come out with you.”

“could take a trip and stop by a party that’s supposed to play acid house...” beau begins, eyes searching for some sort of reaction from the brunette. he was all for crazy and reckless -- few people shared that mentality in mansford. “or we could do something a little bit more... chill... dunno. it’s up to you.”

“Oh, yeah,” she mused, “that’ll be perfect. My two-year-old’s first bar fight. How cute for the scrapbook.” She was smiling though, and perked up at the description of the fight, “really?” She asked. “God, I can’t believe I missed that.”

“so fuckin’ rad, penny.” beau told her, grin riding his cheeks. “it’s too bad you gotta be all responsible with everything now, you know? boinking finally ended in tragedy for you.”

hattie shushes him with a small smile , a hand waving in dismissal , “ i know how to have fun , beau thompson. maybe i’m just concerned that you can’t keep up , seeing as you seem so easily excited. ” she laughs, “ if you wanna have fun , we’ll have fun - without the sadism.  ”

now, hurt unfurls into comfort.  now, you care more for her emotions than yours.  she’s in trouble, YOU’RE going to help her.  yes –– and she hopes julia doesn’t disappoint with those retorts.  that brain of hers could rival amity’s.  if only she would learn to use it like a SCALPEL, instead of a hammer.  ‘  what would make you think that, lia?  ’  soft and muffled; she speaks like a blush.  it’s how comforting works, isn’t it?  amity inches closer, stare wide and alert.  ‘  tell me, i want to be a better friend.  you deserve a better friend.  and i’m just so…  ’  finally, she looks away.  people shy from their flaws.  pathetic.  ‘  obtuse sometimes.  ’

not the outburst she was hoping for.  boring.  ‘  of course not.  just wondering why you asked if i’m going out tonight.  ’  doe-eyes never stray from his form.  maybe she should turn up the volume; have HIM make a bigger scene than just an inability to maintain eye contact.  she leans back against the table with a smile impish enough to seem teasing.  ‘  so, which one of your parents taught you how to be a burn-out?  ’

“take a chill pill?” brodhi repeats with a tilt of his head. “jules, i can’t do that. have you heard how good queen is?”

‘ You should probably get that checked out. ‘, he suggest with bold frows drawn together in what can only be described as confusion as to why he didn’t have earlier. He’s lost count of the amount of times people have used the term weird to describe him and by now, it appears as more of a trait rather than an insult. Maybe he is weird. And that’s just him. ‘ Gross. ‘, the boy adds, taking two steps towards the tall male’s opposite direction . . Just to be sure. After all, he said it himself, he could have Aids. ‘ Seriously, you could carry a virus that attacks your immune system until it’s so weak that a simple row of sneezing completely blows out your brains. ‘

     “sure, i’m gonna be here for a while anyway.” she replied, glasses half down the bridge of her nose. “uh, of course – that would be rad, thanks..” harper took a break from the frantic search for the glass houses cassette and handed the other blonde her cup, spotting the corner of the cassette as she lifted the cup. quickly pulling it out from underneath the stack of papers, she smiled at julia and sighed in relief, popping the cassette into the walkman. 

     “i guess.” she said hesitantly, stuffing her hands on the pockets of her jeans. “you should be able to guess that i have not.” harper replied with a chuckle, the mere difference in attire giving her a hint that the two might have different interests – he was more leather jackets, she was more oversized sweatshirts. “but i’ve read about it – on numerous occasions.”

“i’m not geeking out, i’m just saying pablo garcia is one of the best artists of this century and he’s coming into the shop tomorrow to see the boss who is a friend of his.” he said, looking through the books of designs that said man drew. “he’s one of my inspirations.”