Rufus Sewell, 1995

            a sigh’s escaping her lips as she hears the foot steps ECHOING through the building get closer and louder but then suddenly STOP and she doesn’t have to look up to know someone is standing behind her. she can feel their eyes on her but she doesn’t turn to look as well. “ please don’t take it personally if I say I really don’t want to see you right now, or anyone for that matter. ”

She goes to copy the other shrug as the other talks. “that fine, you can find some people filmed us on youtube or just find our music online easily but just to warn you, l tend to climb stuff doing shows” oh, she just seems to smile more at that,trying to hide the fact she had a plan now “if you want, l can help you with that"

    “ y’climb on stuff while performin’? sounds epic. ever crowdsurfed? ” as a kid, he’d always wanted to do it. to be honest, it was a lot of the reason why he’d wanted to be a rockstar. but as he’s getting carried away, reminiscing himself into silence, she mentions something about helping him with his journalism, and though his eyes light up a little, his demeanor shifts. oscar stares at the ground, with a bashful shrug. “ i appreciate it, really, but short of a miracle nothin’s gonna set m’career on fire. best thing y’could do for me is get me a ticket to one of yer shows - which’d be amazing, by the way. ”

    ❝ mhm. ❞ he kicks himself up and off of the wall,      discerning on if oscar was fibbing him or not. he     stands now at his, albeit limited, height, head     tilting slightly to the right. ❝ why ain’t i’ like that     no more. ❞ curiosity is feigned, voice too dry to     be considered a legitimate question. 

    smile fades when the kid’s stomach growls, audibly reiterating the malnourished frame his eyes have taken in, and he glances down at the kebab in his hand. honestly, it’s a dodgy, greasy thing, probably the opposite of what the boy needs - which is three balanced meals a day, and probably a bath - but oscar gets the feeling he wouldn’t respond well to him attempting to adopt him. besides, the man can barely take care of himself, let alone a child. he’d be safer on the streets. so all he does is shrug, vaguely proffering the food. “ look, i can tell you’re not the kinda idiot who’d eat something some creep gave you, but - despite appearances - m’not some creep, ” a pause, a shrug. “ besides, m’not hungry. already ate a load today, so if y’don’t take any it’ll just get thrown away. ” lies, probably not all too convincing, but oscar’s no master of psychology.

“sir!” evan calls out, trying to get the man’s attention. “sir, you dropped this!” he waves the wallet over his head. “think it might be a little important.”

    stained hands with bitten nails pry open the wallet, extracting a torn banknote or two. “ look, s’not much, but i’d only spend it on smokes or drinks. y’deserve it for bein’ honest - gotta say, at your age i was so deep in student debt i would’a kept it. ” a genuine smile, becoming a rarity these days, lifts cheekbones and crinkles eyes. “ then again, i was a right little prick. ”

    quite used to strangers staring at him ( always sets him off,     though ; they could be planning shit, which is why he tenses     himself, ready to grab the knife which was always tucked     unnoticeably in his pocket ), he returns the glare, gaze     unwavering. ❝ – what. ❞  

    oscar starts, unsure of how to address this person with the body of a child and the stare of a man, until, “ y’nose, ” he simply says, shrugging shoulders too small for their coat, “ s’like mine was when i was a kid. crooked. happened in a fight - other kid kicked m’arse, though, whereas i’d say y’look more likely to give ‘em a fair run for their money. ”

Other mentions go to: @igguanapop, @dreamcrboy, @shesboundtolose, @flawedlouise, @crazydiamcnd, @halfbrccds, @athenaslegacy, @oflinguistics, @darlingmarilyn, @polaroidsms, @siilverspriings, @kashmiir, @velvetfilth

Rosie sometimes forgot a lighter. When she was in a hurry or a bit spacey, it wasn’t uncommon for her to leave the apartment without essentials; her wallet, ID, and in this case, a cheapo lighter. She had to have dozens around her apartment and somehow, one couldn’t make it into her purse. Some would call it a lovely coincidence that a stranger offered up theirs to use, but on this side of town, Rosie didn’t take too kindly to strangers. She looked the man offering up and down once, thinking he had to be some kind of creepy flasher to be wearing that sort of coat. “…No. I’m fine. Could be doing worse.”

   “ fair enough. might end up with a voice like mine if y’keep it up, though.” his voice, always weak and husky, decided to crack on the last word, thus proving his point. clearing his throat, (fat lot of good that’d do), he looked the young woman in the eyes. “ look, kid, i’m not after anythin’. i live ‘round here, i know what kinda skeevy bastards y’must have t’deal with. i’d like t’think m’not... well, m’a bastard, sure, but i’d like t’think m’not too skeevy. just thought you’d want a light. ”