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Post by JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE on Dec 12, 2012 12:00:24 GMT -5
Joshua was stubborn—too stubborn for his own good at times. The jar pickles was proving to be a difficult opponent for the Fire as he braced himself yet against and tried to give it a persistent twist. "Ah, fuck," he gasped as pain shot through his wrist, screwing up his expression and tightening the grip of his left hand around the lid so that he didn't drop the jar while he waited for the agony to fade. "You okay, Josh?" He hadn't seen Annabel standing in the archway that led into the kitchen. She looked concerned as she watched him struggle with the jar. "I could help..." That was what he always worried about with his broken wrist. He didn't like being treated like anything was different, like there was anything wrong with him. It was bad enough that he didn't feel safe going out his own front door in the morning, having his family and friends take pity on him and offer their assistance was embarrassing. "Nah, I got it. My, uh, my hand slipped." It was clear that she didn't believe him as he grasped the jar again and gave it a hard twist. Nothing. His movements were still stiff after the removal of the cast and he couldn't grip as tight as he wanted to. "Didn't the doctor say you shouldn't put too much strain on it?" That was his sister, nosy as ever. How had she found that out? "I know what the doctor said," he snapped. "Don't you have somewhere you need to be?" She looked affronted but Josh didn't care. His pride was injured, he wasn't going to apologise.
She scowled at him and shook her head before going out of the kitchen and out the front door, slamming it behind her. He pressed his lips tight and considered going after her to scold about slamming a glass-paned door but decided it wasn't worth it. He wanted to get this damn jar open. It took another couple of tries but at last he was able to twist the lid off the top and he sat down at the kitchen island to take a breather, massaging his wrist and moving it gently back and forth. How long will it take before it's back to normal? Annabel was right, the doctor had told him to take it easy, but Josh was not the kind of guy that felt comfortable asking people to do things for him. He wasn't even comfortable letting them if they offered. The pickles tasted pretty good, at least, possibly because of the effort it had taken to wrestle them from their glass prison. He didn't eat too much but he had wanted a snack before his friend came over so that hunger didn't distract him from whatever time they had. He and Matt were both busy guys, they didn't have a whole lot of time to spend with friends, so Josh liked to make sure that any second spent with his buddy was well spent. Speak of the devil, he thought when the door bell chimed rather obnoxiously throughout the entire mansion. Ah, the toys of the rich. He put the jar back into the fridge and went to answer the door.
It was indeed the expected friend and he grinned broadly at Matt, pulling him into an almost brotherly embrace before stepping back so the Water elemental could get through the door. "Hey, man, long time no see." It hadn't been incredibly long, not like months, but any length of time without seeing a close friend felt like a while to Josh. He held up his still-healing wrist and smirked. "Got the cast off last week. Thank fuck for that, too. That thing was a nightmare to deal with." He blew it off like the injury hadn't been all that bad at all because that was what Joshua wanted everyone to believe. He had told Matt and almost all of his close friends with the exception of Skye and Lark that he'd got into a car accident thanks to a drunk driver. Skye hadn't been likely to believe the car accident lie once she'd saw through it the first time and Lark knew enough about his dealings with a gang in the past to understand that everything wasn't always what it seemed to be on the surface. He hadn't told anyone the real truth, however. How exactly did you bring up that the mob was after you? Kind of awkward. "So how've you been? We've gotta catch up on some stuff, eh?" Damn, medical school had left him so swamped. He wondered if his friend was having as much of an issue with his own schooling. "You want anything? Fridge is full as always—you know Nell wouldn't have it any other way." He grinned as he spoke of his wife. "She's out, though—Annabel, too. We've got the place to ourselves." Which was saying a lot, since it was a mansion and all.
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Post by MATTHEW FUYU CHANG on Jan 9, 2013 11:45:26 GMT -5
Part of the process of growing up was realizing that everything you had hated about other people before was, more than likely, some part of you just waiting to escape and take hold of the reins. This wasn't true for some things, like bullying or obnoxious self-entitlement, but in the case of Matthew vs. organized structure, he was beginning to lose pretty badly. Long gone were the days where he could just file away homework and meet-ups with friends in his mind and relying on his brain to remember all the tiny details, and now were the days where he actually had to write everything down in a planner or else his life would be a mess of missed deadlines and, even worse, missed moments in friends' lives. Obviously the big things were always on his mind -- finals, birthdays, weddings, the like -- but blandly put, he was becoming like the next Sheldon Cooper and that was something he wasn't very keen on. Sandra had started calling him a neatfreak, though her opinion never really mattered on account on one, her being his sister, and two, she could make a hoarder look neat, but even he was a little freaked at how accurate the statement was becoming.
Every morning started with coffee, and this day was no different as he waited in line at Tim Hortons to get his, and to pick up a dozen donuts for later. The coffee was for right now as he had to hightail it to the town library to teach a beginner's art class and there was no way he was going to be able to deal with a bunch of elementary kids on a Saturday morning without it, but the donuts would be for later when he went to Josh's -- never show up somewhere empy-handed. He never understood that until he somehow morphed into an actual, real life boy functioning adult and needed to, at least, appear to be one in order to make some cash and get through life. It wasn't like Josh particularly needed donuts, either, but Josh liked donuts, so there that was. He just hoped that Josh wouldn't mind Matt stealing one in the middle of the art class -- he usually didn't deal with breakfast even though everyone including his mother yelled at him for it, and the class would encroach on his usual lunchtime, and donuts were delicious. Common sense would dictate that he should have just bought an extra single donut but who buys one donut? Come on, son.
He weaves his car through the roads of Maple Hollow to get to the nicer part of town, a side of town he doesn't have much reason to go to unless he's visiting Josh, but he's considered coming around, parking his car off to the side and jogging through the neighborhood. The only reason he hasn't is because he probably looks like a street urchin ala A Tale of Two Cities in comparison. His car probably fits in better than he does, he thinks as he parks, grabs the box of donuts and strolls up to the front door, ringing the doorbell. "Yo, right back at you!"
[/color] Matthew beams, returning the hug. "Sweet deal! To commemorate, I brought donuts! Though one may be missing."[/color] Matt waved the box around, setting it on top of the counters in the kitchen after. "I'm surprised Nell hasn't made you buy another fridge, full stop."[/color] "Ugh, I've been about the same as usual. School, work, extra work, homework, all with a side of residual heartbreak."[/color] Okay, the last thing was a little overkill -- he had this girlfriend for a little while and they broke up an equally long time ago, but she had a new boyfriend and it was kind of rough seeing that paraded all over campus. Little does that dude know that she's crazy, but still. It also didn't help that he was kind of a giant woobie and in the face of Nell and Josh getting married and the season of love approaching, Matthew's "forever alone" feels were starting to clog up his neurons. Or maybe those were his allergies already acting up. "How's your wrist holding up otherwise, though? Feels like forever since you hurt it to begin with."[/color] If memory served him right, he actually last saw Josh around the time he first got the cast. He wasn't sure how long wrists took to heal, but it sure as hell felt like a long time, damn.[/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify] |
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Post by JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE on Jan 9, 2013 12:59:13 GMT -5
Being rich meant that Joshua didn't really need a whole lot of things in his life. He was often pegged as hard to buy for during the holidays because his bank account could get him anything that he wanted. This was true. However, little gestures of friendship like the box of donuts that Matthew brought with him on his visit were always much appreciated. He grinned broadly and nudged his friend. "I reckon it's hiding at the bottom of your stomach, eh?" His tone was warm and friendly with a teasing edge. It was clear that the Fire graduate was in an exceptional mood as he let his friend inside and locked the door. Locking it was a habit ever since the break-in. He hadn't told any of his friends about that but it had changed his subconscious in several ways.
He glanced at the large fridge when Matt spoke. It was stainless steel and double-doored, the kind of fridge you'd expect to see in the kitchen of a restaurant. Or a mansion, as in this case. "It's a big fridge." He chuckled, knowing that Matt was only playing, and added, "We do have a mini-fridge now, though. It's up in the room." It had been one of Joshua's Christmas gift's to his wife. The other had been a dollhouse, something that only Nell could truly appreciate for what it was.
Josh was fixing up to make a joke about the amount of times Matthew had mentioned work in a single sentence when his friend continued, causing the Fire graduate's thought process to derail faster than a train on a broken track. "Woah, what? Geez, Matt, what happened? I thought you broke up with her a while back?" It had been a while since they'd spoken, though, at least in person, so he supposed that it made sense there might be some fresh news on the matter. His expression was sympathetic as he shook his head. "Shit... I wouldn't take it too hard, man, she obviously wasn't the right girl for you. You can do a lot better than her." He had resisted the urge to say 'than that bitch'. The protective side of him wanted to spit a couple insults her way to make Matt feel better but he knew that it wasn't the best way to go, especially when the wounds were fresh. Sometimes love still remained and sometimes, even worse, the couple got back together. Then you'd end up paying for whatever you said in a moment of rage. What a bitch. Who the fuck does she think she is, hurting him like that? Matt was his buddy, his bro. That was not all right.
He had completely forgotten about his wrist when he was focused on getting the latest news about Matt's failed love life but it was brought back to his attention with the question. He glanced at it and rolled it around in a circle as if testing it. "Eh, it's a little stiff but it's way better than it was. I'm just glad I can put a fucking shirt on without having to wrestle with the damn thing." His fingers were fine and he was able to pull it on easily enough, it was getting the clunky cast through a sleeve that had been an issue. "It's a lot better driving now, too." He had stubbornly refused to stay off the road when his wrist had been broken and the doctor hadn't forbade him from driving but it was definitely less stressful when his wrist was freed from its plaster prison. "It's been a little over a month but... yeah, definitely feels longer. I'm just glad it's off." He rubbed at the skin, remembering how it had itched underneath the cast. God, that had been an asspain.
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