wake me up - open

[RIDLEY EVANNA FREY]

OH, MAKE MY BLOOD THUMP 7, 8, 9
• M A K E M Y H E A R T B E A T D O U B L E T I M E •

“I don’t pay you to sit on your butt, Ridley.”

“You don't pay me at all." Ridley drawled and with a roll of her eyes, shifted from the stool she'd been perched on for the last fifteen minutes. Richard could be such a royal pain in the ass. He’d been promoted only last week and now he was strutting his stuff like he owned the damn place. Most days Ridley didn’t mind his ‘I-have-a-stick-wedged-up-my-ass‘ bossy attitude. But that was because she was usually kept busy with the work load and didn’t have time to pay attention to his snooty orders. Today, however, was a slow day for work. Very slow. The Café wasn’t anywhere near as busy as it usually was which spelled 'b o r i n g' for the lively brunette. It was torturous. She chalked the lack of customers down to the crap weather. No one likes to pop out to cafes when it’s raining buckets out. She figured the people who were sat in the cafe now were only here because they'd been looking for a place to take refuge from the gray sky and it's merciless downpour.

“Your break is done Frey, get back out there.” Richard snapped as he whipped by, a tray carrying a mug and a small plate balanced on one hand. Ridley couldn’t help the automatic eye-roll that had started to happen whenever Richard spoke. “Yeah, yeah I’m going, Dick.” She had to bite back on her grin then when Richard snapped his head back to glare at her, clearly offended. “What?" she shrugged her shoulders, her face the perfect picture of innocence. “It’s a nickname for Richard” she decided to make a quick exit then before he could try to threaten her with a pay cut or something equally ridiculous. The most Richard could do with his almighty new promotion was report her to their boss. Scary. Not. Rachel, their boss knew how much of a dramatic stiff Richard could be and would no doubt side with her if he were to try and pull rank over something stupid.

“I’m taking my break, tell Mike will you?”

“Sure thing, Dick.” Breezing through the double doors and into the front of the cafe, Ridley strolled over to the blonde-haired boy stood behind the counter, looking just as bored and miserable as she felt. “Hey Mikey, captain asshole is on his break.” Mikey grinned at her and immediately whipped out his cell, obviously hoping to get in a few texts before Richard returned. With a sigh, Ridley turned to face the café and its occupants, all of whom were either busy reading magazines and papers or talking with each other. Her eyes did a quick scan of the tables, checking to make sure they were clean and free of empty cups and plates. They were, everyone appeared to be nursing their hot drinks. She couldn’t blame them, she wouldn’t want to walk out into that torrential downpour either.

Unsure of how much more of this boredom this she could take, Ridley leaned forward to rest on the counter. She'd already wasted time by cleaning, so besides waiting to serve someone there wasn't much else she could do. But even though it had been a slow day Richard had still been on her back, she was pretty positive that he hated her, probably because when he gave her lip, she gave it right back. He was such a fucking pain that Ridley often wondered how the hell he'd even been promoted. Oh, yeah ‘Because I’m efficient at what I do. The work force could really use more people like me, willing and determined and-’ blah blah blah. Ugh, he made her want to quit working at the cafe. Now that sounded like an amazing idea. It was just too bad she needed the money. Which meant that, unfortunately, she'd have to put up with Richard and boring, wet Sunday afternoons.

SHOUT WHEN YOU WANNA GET OFF THE RIDE
• I ' M A P E N N Y I N A D I A M O N D M I N E •

lyrics;; sour cherry - the kills
outfit;; here
tagged;; open!
notes;; feel free to join! =]

[caleb]

The weekend mall scene was about as good a place to pick girls up as the party scene. People came here hoping to meet people. Well, the mallrats did anyway, and while they weren't as drunk as he tended to like his women, Caleb was more than content with picking a few up here. Unfortunately for him, it looked like the pickings were slim today. Everyone here was old, ugly, or working. And Caleb wasn't the kind of person that could just wait until someone's shift ended and pick them up later. His worst enemy was time. It let people ruminate about their decisions, and smooth talking and a pretty face only really had their effect while Caleb was close to someone. The moment he stepped away, he was out of sight, and he'd soon enough be out of mind. It was his curse, but it didn't affect him often. Just times like this. Times when he needed something new to do.

The truth of the matter was that he didn't even really feel the need to go out and try to hook up with someone today. It was more of a way to kill his boredom than anything else. That was just how he worked. Recreational sex with strangers was more or less a hobby for him. And that was something that he was becoming well known for, unfortunately. It kind of made making people think they were special to him difficult. Because they weren't. Not the ones he'd hook up with at parties anyway. They were all a dime a dozen. In truth, he only cared about a handful of people, and even then, he didn't really treat them like they were special. He should have. But he didn't. That would show that he was vulnerable, and he'd spent too much time making himself look like he didn't feel anything at all to break down those walls now.

He was about to give up and go back to the academy when he noticed a familiar face in the cafe that he was walking by. Thank god. He'd have a source of entertainment here after all. Even if it looked like the girl was working. Caleb and Ridley had attended enough of the same parties over the years to be good enough friends. They'd also hooked up a couple of times, but in Caleb's eyes, that was just what friends did. It just made them better friends. Still, it was rare that he saw her outside of those kinds of drunken adventures. Mainly because he never seemed to stop drinking. Oddly enough though, today he was sober. And he hated that about himself. Caleb strode into the cafe and leaned over the counter to greet her. "Hey cutie," he said with a smirk. "Come here often?"

[RIDLEY EVANNA FREY]

OH, MAKE MY BLOOD THUMP 7, 8, 9
• M A K E M Y H E A R T B E A T D O U B L E T I M E •

One hour, thirty four minutes and forty eight. . . forty seven. . . forty six. . . seconds and she'd be home free. ' less than two hours. not bad', she thought. Except it felt like an eternity when you were bored and had nothing to do but take abuse from your co-worker, who happened to be a pretentious egomaniac. Ridley frowned, her large eyes squinting into a glare at the clock hung on the wall, as if she could speed up time just by staring at it really hard. Unfortunately, it wasn't working and if she kept it up she was going to start getting weird stares. Groaning quietly, she dropped her gaze from the clock and did another lazy sweep of the Cafe with her hazel eyes. Still quiet, still nothing to do. Ugh, why did it have to be raining? She had nothing against rain most of the time. In fact she kind of liked it, when she was nice and dry and warm in her dorm with no intention of doing anything for the day but stay in her PJ's, eat ice cream and watch old horror movies. Any other time however, like when she had to cancel plans because of the crappy weather, she hated the rain. There was nothing great about cold and wet.

Ridley didn't know if it was because she was Fire that she disliked the rain and cold weather in general but figured that it had something to do with it. Even as a kid, she had always been drawn to warmth - heat. She was all about sunshine and humidity, bonfires and beaches. When her brothers had been building snowmen and getting into snow fights in Decemember, she'd been inside keeping warm by the fire. Only when she was wrapped up tight, buried beneath scarfs and hats and gloves and coats, did she ever venture outside to join them in the snow. Had that been because of her affinity to fire? Probably. She remembered, vaguely, that they'd discussed it in class once, but she'd been too busy planning a party with a friend to be paying any kind of attention. It didn't matter.

One hour and 22 minutes.

A quiet groan rumbled somewhere in the pit of her stomach and she remembered that she hadn't eaten in what felt like forever. Automatically her eyes were drawn to the plate of muffins sat on display on the top of the counter a little to her right. No one was going to miss one muffin, right? Of course not. Nine minutes and the tyrant would be back from his break. Ridley pulled her eyes away from the clock and chanced a glance over her shoulder. Dick was nowhere to be seen. Satisfied, she leaned over the front of the counter and helped herself to a double choc chip muffin. She caught Mikey shaking his head mockingly and she shrugged her shoulders innocently, pressing a finger to her pursed lips, silently telling him to keep quiet. It was all for show, Mikey wouldn't tell on her for taking any money out of the till (not that she would), let alone for taking a muffin. He was a decent guy to work with. Cute too, which was always a bonus in her book.

The bell on the door chimed just as she was breaking off a piece of muffin. She popped it into her mouth, licked at her chocolate covered thumb and then wiped her hands off on the small apron tied around her hips. It took a lot of effort on Ridleys part not to jump for joy like a complete moron when the chime went. Sitting around doing nothing was not the norm for someone as lively as herself and was doing nothing good for her mental state. She leaned forward, resting her arms on the counters surface, a grin lighting up her features at the familiar male stood on the other side. "Hey yourself." She had to admit, it was strange seeing Caleb here, out of his usual habitat of parties, without a girl on his arm and apparently sober.

She squinted her eyes at him, her expression a mix of confusion and mild curiosity "Are you lost Cross?" she waved her index finger in a circle at their surroundings. "You know this is a Cafe and not a bar, right?" a cheeky grin quirked the corners of her lips and she bit the tip of her tongue lightly. "So are you here to play hero and rescue the damsel in distress? Because I could do with some rescuing." she gave him a smile and fluttered her eyelashes, nailing what she figured to be the lovesick-damsel-in-distress look pretty well, before picking at some muffin and popping it into her mouth.

SHOUT WHEN YOU WANNA GET OFF THE RIDE
• I ' M A P E N N Y I N A D I A M O N D M I N E •

lyrics;; sour cherry - the kills
outfit;; here
tagged;; caleb / open!
notes;; hope it's okaay. =]

[caleb]

Ridley knew Caleb too well. He wasn't meant to be a mall person. Well, he supposed that anyone could have figured out. It was clear that he didn't belong here. He wasn't a mall rat by any stretch of the definition. He didn't shop much. He stole, sure, but it was easier to do that when there weren't rent-a-cops and security cameras everywhere. Other stores were easier to do that in. The mall was just a place for the rich to flaunt that they had money, and teenagers who didn't have a place to party or access to alcohol. People like Caleb, just cruising around and looking for action, stood out like a sore thumb. He was so out of his element. Especially since he was sober. If he was drunk he'd at least have been able to pretend that this was a party. Because to drunk Caleb, everything was a party. He could make an adventure out of anything, after all.

Caleb looked around the Cafe as if he was confused. "This is a cafe?" he asked, mocking shock. "Oh my god, I thought it was a club!" he exclaimed, probably disturbing people from their polite, ambient environment. "Wait," he started in a hushed voice. "What's a cafe? Do you serve booze here?" he asked, half-serious. He knew damn well what a cafe was, but he had no idea what the whole alcohol protocol was here, and he was praying that he'd be able to get some liquor before he went back into the chaos of the mall. It'd save him a lot of insanity. Unfortunately, he was almost sure that there was nowhere to drink in the mall, and any nearby bars would surely card. Here Caleb was without his fake id, too.

Ridley played the damsel in distress act perfectly. Unfortunately, Caleb was the farthest thing from a hero. He was a villain at best, and a supervillain with minimal effort. He was a monster, and anyone who thought otherwise didn't know him yet. He liked when people thought that he'd do right by them though. Because that made him try to please them. Well, most of the time. Especially when he liked someone as much as he liked Ridley. "I'll rescue you from your prison, princess," Caleb exclaimed, hopping over the counter and holding his arms out expectantly. "This is the part where you jump eagerly into my arms and we run off together. Public bathroom stall work for you?" Even on his best behavior, Caleb was still a pig.

[/size]

[RIDLEY EVANNA FREY]

OH, MAKE MY BLOOD THUMP 7, 8, 9
• M A K E M Y H E A R T B E A T D O U B L E T I M E •

The corners of her mouth quirked up into a faint smile as Caleb played along. If there was one thing she liked about Caleb Cross, it was that he didn't take himself too seriously. Unlike a lot of people she knew, he wasn't afraid to poke fun at himself. There was nothing worse than someone who got all uptight and stuffy over being teased. At least for someone like Ridley who loved to tease and laugh and play. Caleb was always up for a laugh - a good time, which in Ridley's book, made him a pretty cool guy. When booze was mentioned she couldn't help snorting on a laugh. His expression threw her and for a second she wasn't sure if he was still playing around or if he seriously wanted a drink. If she had to guess, it was probably both. She didn't peg him for an idiot, he knew that there was no alcohol here. But she also had a feeling that if she were to pull out a bottle of vodka and offer him some, he wouldn't say no. "No, but we do a really strong coffee." She grinned, knowing full well that caffeine wasn't the kick he was looking for.

Clasping her hands together, she batted her lashes again, feigning delirious excitement. That was what Damsels did, right? They were all sighs and fluttering eyelashes and squeals.. or something. Ridley wasn't entirely sure but didn't quite care all that much either. The second Caleb hopped over the counter however, her facade completely crumbled. "What are you doing!?" she shrieked with laughter, her her mouth gaping open in a wide smile. For a split second she was tempted to jump into his arms. Caleb wasn't your typical knight in shining armor, but he'd get her the hell out of there. Which was why she couldn't do it. She wouldn't put it past Caleb to actually take her from the Cafe. And as much as she really wanted to be saved from the mind numbing boredom of her job, she needed the money, so she had to stay put.

Gasping, she pressed a hand to her chest, clearly appalled. "That is no way to speak to a lady." She wriggled her brows, grinning, because they both knew that she was not a lady. At least, not in the conventional sense. Her gaze shifted from Caleb and to the rest of the cafe, where the majority of the occupants were staring at the two of them, whispering amongst themselves and shaking their heads. Ridley didn't have to hear them to know what they were thinking. She glanced back to Caleb and then to the double doors, where Richard was taking his break. "Get out of here you perverted dork, before you get me fired" she whispered through a laugh that completely ruined the half serious expression on her face. She pushed at his arm, urging him to get his butt back over the counter, her eyes flicking back to the double doors again. She could see it now, Richard storming his skinny ass through those doors and firing her on the spot.

SHOUT WHEN YOU WANNA GET OFF THE RIDE
• I ' M A P E N N Y I N A D I A M O N D M I N E •

lyrics;; sour cherry - the kills
outfit;; here
tagged;; open / caleb
notes;;

[caleb]

Coffee? Did this girl know him at all? Caleb never drank coffee. Caffeine was only good in energy drinks, because it'd get him amped, but even then it wasn't worth it when someone lived their life the way that Caleb did. He was always either drunk or hungover, and that meant that either he'd get more fucked up than ever, or he'd just prolong the hangover. Even though he was sober for now, he wasn't sure that he'd be able to continue with that for long. He was hoping to be wasted at some point today, and caffeine would only ruin that. He shook his head at the girl's offer. "I think I'll pass," he responded with a sigh. It was a shame, he really could have gone for a drink in this cafe right now. That would have definitely took the edge off of this scene. He was growing to hate the mall more and more with each passing second, and he was hoping that Ridley could save him from that torture, just like she hoped that he'd save her from her job.

Ridley asked what he was doing, and he raised an eyebrow at her. Wasn't it obvious? "I'm saving you," he responded with a grin. If she was smart, she'd jump into his arms, because that would at least get them somewhere fun instead of in a cafe in the mall surrounded by pretentious coffee drinkers who were all staring at them by now. Not to mention, if she took Caleb up on his offer to take her to the bathroom, they'd have even more fun. Caleb was known from his sexual prowess. He'd had plenty of practice to get this good, after all. Now all he wanted was Ridley, because she was here, she was cute, and he was bored. God, the mall scene made it hard to hook up with people. He didn't know how he'd be able to have fun in this place. It was too preppy and constructive for him. Caleb could only score preppy girls when they were at parties - wasted and slumming it for the most dangerous boy they could find. That boy was almost always Caleb.

Caleb shook his head and smiled when the girl told him that his language was inappropriate. She wasn't a lady. No girls who hung around Caleb were ever ladies. They were just like him. Whatever that meant. No one would ever call Caleb a gentleman. And that was for good reason. He was a waste of space, and he was a silvertongued monster whose soul purpose in life seemed to be getting girls into bed. That wasn't something that gentlemen did. At least, not as directly as Caleb seemed to. "I do apologize m'lady," he responded in his best renaissance fair voice. "I do request that thou accompany me to the nearest restroom post-haste." There. He rephrased it. Now she had no excuse not to come with him. Other than the fact that she had to work, but that was just a silly reason. Caleb believed that being a teenager meant living expense-free and living recklessly. And he felt this his friends should do the same. It pained him to see someone wasting their time behind a counter. Still, he didn't want to get the girl fired, because then she'd be mad at him. He jumped back over the counter. "So when do you get off? We should chill," he asked nonchalantly, as if no one was watching the way the two fire students were interacting.

[/size]

[RIDLEY EVANNA FREY]

OH, MAKE MY BLOOD THUMP 7, 8, 9
• M A K E M Y H E A R T B E A T D O U B L E T I M E •

Her grin grew as he backtracked and rephrased his request, all gentlemanly and suave - He was a good actor. But it didn't matter because she still couldn't leave. Ridley couldn't afford to lose her job, especially not for a quickie in the toilets, which she presumed was exactly why he wanted to whisk her off there. She half rolled her eyes, amused, Caleb was such an animal. But it wasn't like she had room to talk because so was she, when she had an itch that needing scratching. The only difference between them was, Caleb was pretty much always on the hunt for someone, anyone, to get down and dirty with. She wondered, vaguely curious, if he even had any standards - a type? She'd have to ask him one day, but she doubted he did. Ridley, on the other hand, only went in for the kill when she had a hankering for some action and even then she had to be into the guy before she took it any further than first base. She wasn't going to sleep with just anyone. She'd been there, done that and had had her poor little naive heart broken because of it. Now she kept everything on her terms, no guy was ever going to treat her like shit again. Hooking up with her FWB's and having heavy sessions that didn't quite pass second base with whichever cute guy she met at a party, kept her more than satisfied. "Maybe next time, Romeo." she commented, a sarcastic smirk pulling at the corner of her lips, because they both knew that Caleb was no more a Romeo than she was a Lady.

Luckily, Richard didn't show, so she figured he hadn't caught Caleb's little stunt on the security cameras - because those were what he watched when he went on his breaks. Work Nazi, She leaned forward, resting her forearms on the counter and returned to her half-eaten muffin. Breaking off a chunk, she popped into her mouth, her eyes glancing to the clock when Caleb asked when she was off. "Just over an hour." she drawled through a slow sigh, her eyes moving from the clock and to the rest of the Cafe. Maybe if she sucked up to Richard a little he'd let her leave early, because really, it wasn't even like she was needed here. She'd spent the majority of the day stood around doing nothing - literally. And whilst Ridley didn't mind getting paid to stand around and do nothing, (easy money right?), she didn't take well to being bored. Caleb's arrival had made time go a little faster and she was grateful that he'd managed to spark some life into what had been a very dull day for the brunette, but she doubted he planned to hang around for much longer. Although she'd only really ever spent time with him during parties, she didn't peg him for a Mall rat, or a guy who liked to sit around waiting - doing nothing, which meant that she'd have to suffer through another slow hour, bored and alone.

"You are a bad influence Mr. Cross." she breathed a defeated sigh, her decision on whether or not to stay at work made. It wasn't like she was needed and losing an hours pay was hardly going to affect her Savings. She'd much rather hang with Caleb than spend anymore time at work. "What did you have in mind?" She sucked the crumbs from her fingers and gave him a pointed look. "Better be something good if I'm going to ditch work for you." She gave him a slow smile, to show that she wasn't being serious, she was just happy with the prospect of getting out of work. Whether Richard would let her leave early though, was another story entirely. It all depended on whether he wanted to be a vindictive asshole or not, and Ridley knew how much he loved to play the vindictive asshole. He could make her stay, out of spite, or he could let her leave because it meant that she wouldn't be paid for the rest of her shift. Hell maybe she could feign being ill. Now that was an idea.

SHOUT WHEN YOU WANNA GET OFF THE RIDE
• I ' M A P E N N Y I N A D I A M O N D M I N E •

lyrics;; sour cherry - the kills
outfit;; here
tagged;; open!
notes;; bamf.

[caleb]

If there was one thing that Caleb was good at, it was acting. He could make himself seem however he wanted most of the time, and that played to his advantage most of the time. He was proud of that. Oddly enough, he wasn't doing well in theater class back at school. But that was because he never learned lines, and he spent most of the time in class trying to sleep off hangovers. He'd probably have excelled if he'd apply himself. That was something that teacher used to tell him all the time. They stopped last year when he started coming to class and just sleeping all the time though. He showed no potential to them, and thus they didn't tell him that he had any. People also seemed to be confused about his type frequently, and it was pretty simple to sum up: hot and easy. That's all he cared about. But it wasn't like he'd ever confess that to people. He'd have to come up with some kind of eloquent description for most people. They'd judge him otherwise. And that'd hurt his reputation. Caleb just replied to Ridley's calling him Romeo by sighing and shaking his head disappointedly.

Great, the girl was getting off in over an hour. Something told Caleb that he couldn't just loiter here for that amount of time without being kicked out. This seemed like the kind of place that wouldn't take kindly to the fact that he wasn't going to buy anything here. He was probably killing the atmosphere of the place by just being here right now. He wondered if Ridley would expect him to wait for her. He probably wouldn't. He hated waiting, and he hated having to wait for people especially. Because then he had to entertain them after just sitting around for a while. It was just annoying, and something that he tried not to be a part of. Still, Ridley was someone who'd always kept him entertained in every way she could, and that meant that he kind of owed her a similar courtesy. Today wasn't the day to pay her back though. He couldn't just sit around. He wasn't drunk enough for that. "That's torture, baby," he responded sympathetically. He couldn't imagine standing behind a counter for that long. He had to wonder how long her shift was in the first place. The fact that she could stay still for that long was impressive.

Caleb loved being called a bad influence. It was empowering. It meant that people had fun when he was around. Because fun and destruction went hand in hand most times. Even better was the fact that people did what he wanted them too most of the time, because Caleb Cross was known to be a very persuasive person. It kept him feeling like he was on top of everyone else. He was better. He was in control. He also probably had a complex, but he wasn't going to let that stop him. Especially when he'd never even consider the fact that maybe he didn't think like other people to begin with. He knew how to have fun. That was enough. Ridley was willing to drop everything and come out with him, and that meant that his day was going to take a turn for the better. "Well, it's a boring day. So nothing's going to be as exciting as usual. Wanna go somewhere and get wasted with me?" he asked. It was the best he could do right now. After all, look where he was. If Caleb had any other ideas for what to do today, he wouldn't be hanging around in the mall today.

[/size]

[RIDLEY EVANNA FREY]

OH, MAKE MY BLOOD THUMP 7, 8, 9
• M A K E M Y H E A R T B E A T D O U B L E T I M E •

She furrowed her brows, rearranging her features into an annoyed frown - her lower lip popping out into a pout, because yes, having to spend another hour standing around like one of the undead really was torture. It wasn't so bad now that Caleb was here but she knew he wouldn't hang around. She could tell he had no intention of staying by the way he’d looked at her when she’d said she had an hour left. And it wasn’t like she could blame him; it wasn’t like they were close friends or anything. They were party buddies who sometimes played in Friends with Benefits zone – it wasn’t like he owed her anything. And that was too bad because she kind of liked hanging around with him.

Maybe if she had something to bribe him with he would wait, like an unlimited supply of muffins or free coffee refills. Except the muffins weren't hers to give away, she’d already taken one for herself, anymore and Richard would notice. As for the coffee, he'd already passed on that earlier. It really was too bad that she didn't have some liquor to offer, she was more than sure that he'd park his ass on a stool and wait the next hour if she had alcohol on tap. But she didn’t and besides, he was starting to look out of his element – lost, like he wasn’t sure what to do with himself when he didn’t have a beer in his hand or some girl wrapped around his neck. Trying to make him stare here just because she wanted to be kept entertained was kind of unfair. If she wasn’t happy with her situation, and she really wasn’t, then she knew she had to fix it herself. So it was with little effort on Calebs part that she decided to ditch work.

Ridley finished off her muffin as Caleb spoke. Screwing up the wrapper, she dumped it into the small bin by her legs and wiped her hands off on the small apron tied around her hips. Go somewhere and get wasted, her eyes moved to the clock as she weighed up his idea. It was four in the afternoon and a Sunday, she had school tomorrow. Getting wasted didn’t seem like such a great idea when she had classes the next day, not when she factored in the hangover she’d be nursing throughout the majority of tomorrow. But, it wasn’t like she could think up anything better right now, she just wanted to get the hell out of there. Besides, she didn’t have to get wasted. Caleb could get wasted, if he wanted, she could just have a few and chill with him. “Sure, okay.” She shrugged her shoulders and reached behind her back to untie her apron. Pulling the knot loose, she pulled the apron free and folded it up in her hands. “Give me one sec.” She grinned, holding up a finger and then spun on her heel.

Pushing her way through the double doors she made her way into the back where Richard was still taking his break. She was pretty sure his break had overrun but hey, if taking another ten minutes meant he wasn’t terrorizing her out front, then that was fine by her. “Hey, Richard –“ she stopped in the door way to the supervisors office, her eyes wide with surprise and her mouth falling open in shock. “Oh my god! Sorry.. I was just- i mean, i didn’t know you were..” Richard fumbled behind his desk and began to sputter and screech about how it wasn’t what it looked like before ordering her to close the door. Ridley was pretty sure it was exactly what it looked like. Quickly closing the door, she leaned back against it and bit down on her lower lip hard, attempting to contain the laughter bubbling its way up her chest. “Um, I was actually going to ask if I could leave ear- -” Richard shouted a yes before she even finished speaking and Ridley snorted on a laugh. She slapped a hand over her mouth mumbled a “thanks” and then made a quick exit before she broke down into a fit of laughter.

A minute later and she was rushing back through the double doors, because the last thing she wanted was to have an awkward run in with Richard. She cringed at the thought of having to see him next weekend when she came into work and then she was smiling, another laugh escaping her lips because she couldn’t believe that Richard, Richard, of all people, had been getting down and dirty with his hand at work. She had to wonder what the hell he’d been thinking because she didn’t think he'd be stupid enough to jack off at work. Surely he knew he could be fired for pulling a stunt like that? Her shoulders shook with supressed laughter and she shook her head, still in shock.

The bad news was the image of a red faced, sweaty Richard was going to be burned into her brain for all eternity. But the good news was that she now had Richard under her thumb, she doubted he’d be giving her any trouble the next time she was in. “Come on, let’s get out of here.” Jogging around the counter, she waved a quick ‘bye’ to Mikey, hauled her bag onto her shoulder and then grabbed Calebs wrist, pulling him after her through the Cafe’s door and out into freedom.

SHOUT WHEN YOU WANNA GET OFF THE RIDE
• I ' M A P E N N Y I N A D I A M O N D M I N E •

lyrics;; sour cherry - the kills
outfit;; here
tagged;; open!
notes;; sorry for the lameness. D=

[caleb]

Caleb didn't exactly understand what was going on, but he was sure that getting off from work was not normally that easy. He was impressed by that. It was as if this was a decent working environment. The kind of place that didn't give a fuck whether you were there or not. Caleb wished that every place was like that, because then he'd be able to keep a job. He'd had a string of part-time employments in the past as a waiter or a cashier and various other jobs, but none of them ever lasted long, because it wouldn't take much to make Caleb irritable, and he almost always showed up to work drunk. Needless to say, he was not financially independent at this point in his life. His parents still paid for everything, and unless he could figure out some way around that, they would be for a very long time. People had talked to him about some business opportunities at points, but they weren't exactly legal, and he wasn't sure that dealing was the thing for him. Not yet anyway. He wasn't desperate yet.

Still, it impressed him that Ridley could just walk in and out, and suddenly be able to leave. It was promising. It meant that his day was getting a lot better. He'd started out with no plans at all, and now he was dragging a girl out of work and heading god knows where. That was how all of his best stories started. Well, there was usually more liquor involved in that by this point. Sobriety was rare for Caleb, so rare that most people just assumed that he was drunk 24/7. He was the kind of kid that you always saw with a bottle in hand, and the kind of person that people didn't hang out with unless they wanted to get trashed. And that was just who he wanted to be. Which was why this was going to be such an interesting day. Caleb was being dragged on the wrist by a girl without even having to drink. Now all that they needed was to find out where they were going.

"So where to, darling?" he asked, as they rushed out the door and into the mall's busy floor. "Because, seriously, we definitely need to get out of here." Just about anything would be better than staying in the mall. He couldn't take this scene, and the fact that he thought that he could at the beginning of the day was a mistake, and a big one at that. Mall rats were strange people, and while most were definitely looking for a hookup, the lack of Caleb's drunk goggles made them ridiculously unappealing. His standards were high when he wasn't intoxicated, which was why sobriety was such a mistake. Well, one of the many reasons.

(This post is awful, and I made you wait far too long for it. I am so very sorry.)

[/size]

[RIDLEY EVANNA FREY]

OH, MAKE MY BLOOD THUMP 7, 8, 9
• M A K E M Y H E A R T B E A T D O U B L E T I M E •

She couldn't stop thinking about Richard and the more she did the more she was warming to Calebs earlier idea to get wasted, because she needed something to erase, or at least blur, the image from her brain. Shifting her bag on her shoulder, she glanced up at Caleb as he spoke, a slow smile coming to her lips. It was evident he didn't want to be here and she wondered what had brought him to the mall in the first place. He didn't have any bags with him so he hadn't been shopping. Maybe he'd just been bored? Probably. "Actually, I was kind of hoping to buy some things." she started, a mischievous shine in her eye. "Nothing much, I just want to hit-" she paused here, glancing up at the high ceiling in thought as she counted silently on her fingers "Seven or eight stores. It'll just take an hour. Maybe two. That's okay with you, right?" she blinked up at him, feigning ignorance to his obvious dislike of the idea.

Ridley knew from experience, what with growing up with three brothers, just how much guys hated shopping. There was nothing worse than waiting around whilst girls shopped and tried on outfit after outfit after outfit, at least, that's what her brothers had said. To be honest, Ridley had never been a big shopper herself, but then maybe that was because she'd never been a girly girl. She usually got bored after around an hour of shopping and had to go home. "I mean you could hold my bags." she stared up at him, managing to keep her expression serious for a good twelve seconds before she had to bite back on her lower lip to stop herself grinning like a goof. "Come on, Romeo." she bumped her shoulder against his arm, he was too tall to even attempt a shoulder to shoulder bump, and then led the way through the mall.

"My car is out front," and thank god for that because she really didn't want to be walking around in the rain, especially since she'd just realized that she'd left her jacket back in the cafe. But thanks to Richard and his extracurricular activities, she didn't want to head back to get it. "Want to head to my place? I'm thinking food, beer and a movie?" She didn't know if he'd be up for that, it wasn't like they'd ever hung out outside of parties together before. But she was starving and wanted to chill. Besides it wasn't like he had much else planned for the day so she figured he'd be okay with it. "Alright, you ready to run?" she asked as they weaved their way through the shoppers and mall rats towards the Malls entrance. Her car wasn't too far away but since she didn't have her jacket, she didn't plan on strolling over to it, not in that torrential downpour. "Ugh, i hate the rain." she muttered, digging around in her bag until she pulled out a set of keys. "Let's go." She cut across the car park at a fast jog and once she reached her car, unlocked it and threw herself inside.

SHOUT WHEN YOU WANNA GET OFF THE RIDE
• I ' M A P E N N Y I N A D I A M O N D M I N E •

lyrics;; sour cherry - the kills
outfit;; here
tagged;; open!
notes;; your posts are always great, don't worry about it! =] <3

[caleb]

For a moment, Caleb couldn't tell if Ridley was joking or not. If she actually wanted to shop today, Caleb was sure that he'd die of boredom. He was also more than positive that he was one of the few people in the world that could literally die of boredom if it came down to it. He was like a shark: if he stopped moving, he'd probably die. And that was fine with him, because if he stopped moving, he deserved to die. That's when people fell into things like dead-end jobs, monogamous relationships, and anything else mundane. Things that he couldn't ever see himself doing. They were all things for old people, and Caleb didn't think that he'd ever get old. He couldn't. Because old people didn't live the way that Caleb did. And if they did, they died soon after. Most of them were already long gone by fifty, and he was pretty okay with that as long as he was having fun.

At the suggestion that Caleb could hold Ridley's bags, he raised an eyebrow. That wasn't something he'd ever be caught doing. Not just because someone asked him to, anyway. There would have to be some kind of reward for him first. "I will if you'll make it worth my while," he replied quickly. It was nice that he didn't have to censor himself with people like Ridley. People he considered his friends. Unfortunately, he was still a pig, and that meant that anything sexual was fare game in his eyes. Especially since he'd slept with her before. What would stop him from bring it up again and again? He couldn't think of anything. As he finally realized that Ridley was joking, Caleb let out a small sigh of relief. "Thank god," he muttered under his breath. He didn't want to be here anymore, and Ridley just made his day by telling him that he didn't have to be.

Food and beer sounded great. No matter what else happened, just having food and beer made Caleb content. He was always hungry, and always ready to get trashed. Especially the latter. There was never a bad time to get wasted in his eyes. He absolutely loved the feeling of intoxication, and the fact that he hadn't had a drink all day was getting to him already. "Sounds divine," he replied with a grin. Really, he would have said that to anything just about now. Anything that would get him out of the mall. Away from all these annoying people and their stores. The fact that beer was included just made everything a little better. As they got outside, Caleb took a more leisurely approach to getting to the car. Sure, he still jogged to keep an eye on Ridley and the positioning of her car, but he wasn't rushing. He didn't care about getting wet. He'd woken up outside under sprinklers and during storms too often at this point. His life was probably a wreck in everyone else's eyes. But what didn't kill him sure as hell made his stronger.

[/size]

[RIDLEY EVANNA FREY]

OH, MAKE MY BLOOD THUMP 7, 8, 9
• M A K E M Y H E A R T B E A T D O U B L E T I M E •

"I can't wait until it's Summer." she groaned as Caleb slipped into the passenger seat, a lot more wet than she was, which was saying something because she felt drenched. And there was nothing worse than having to sit around in wet clothes. It was a good thing they were heading back to her place, at least she'd be able to change into something dry and warm. Jamming the key into the ignition of her jeep, she started the engine and pulled out of her parking space. "Sunshine, beaches, warmth..." a longing sigh slipped from her lips. Ridley might have been born in the coldest month of the year but she was definitely a summer child. "The first thing I'm going to do is throw an amazing beach party." Beach parties were by far her favorite kind of party. Who didn't love to party in their swim wear, under the sun and then the stars when it got dark? People were in better moods in the Summer, which meant that parties were usually way more fun. "You can come, if you're a good boy." she glanced at him from the corner of her eye, a half smile dimpling her cheeks because everybody knew that Caleb was anything but a good boy.

Ten minutes later and Ridley was pulling up out side her home downtown. "Home sweet home." she sang and climbed out of the jeep. Her dads car wasn't in its usual spot, which meant he wasn't home and she was kind of glad for that. He was usually pretty chill with letting her do whatever she wanted, just as long as she took care of herself and made sure she stayed out of trouble. But whenever she brought guys home, he turned into the stereotypical protective dad and started grilling them with question after question, intimidating them and testing them until they were gone. It was embarrassing and as much as she loved her dad, he could a huge pain in the ass.

Climbing the steps to her front door, she unlocked it, stepped through the threshold and held the door open for Caleb. "Anybody home? Dad?" She called out, doubling checking that her dad wasn't lurking around somewhere or one of her brothers. Though it was pretty rare that her brothers ever came home anymore. She didn't much either, at least, not during the week, it was easier to stay up at the school. But during the weekends and whenever she got too drunk to make her way back to the school, she stayed at home.

When there was no answer she closed the door behind Caleb and immediately kicked off her ankle boots. "You've never been here before, have you?" she asked, thinking back. She didn't think she'd ever brought him back here but there may have been a time when she'd been too drunk to remember. And there had been many drunken times and parties with Caleb. "Okay so, beers are in the fridge." she pointed straight down the hallway at the kitchen door. "Living room is through there." she pointed to the left this time, into the spacious living room. "And i'll be back in two secs." Because there was no way she wanted to stay in her wet clothes. She was already disappearing through a door and down some stairs into her basement bedroom when she called back over her shoulder "Mi casa es su casa!" Your home is my home. She didn't want him to feel weird about helping himself to whatever he wanted.

SHOUT WHEN YOU WANNA GET OFF THE RIDE
• I ' M A P E N N Y I N A D I A M O N D M I N E •

lyrics;; sour cherry - the kills
outfit;; here
tagged;; caleb
notes;; hope this is okay!

[caleb]

Caleb hated summer because it meant that he wasn't able to stay in Maple Hollow, or if he could, he'd have to depend on someone else. Breaks were tough that way. The last thing that Caleb wanted was to go home. That would have ruined his social standing for a while. He needed to be the guy at every party, and that would ruin everything. This past winter break involved living with Hunter, and while that was fun, he hated to be the burden on his friends that he was. Caleb was fine with using and abusing others to get what he wanted or needed, but doing that to people he respected was a different story all together. Hunter was willing to do so much for Caleb, the least Caleb could do was try not to make a habit of using him. So Caleb resolved to try and have a house by next break. Speaking of parties, a beach party seemed fun. There'd probably be booze and scantily-clad girls running around. What wasn't to like about that? Only one problem. "Being a good boy seems like stretch. I'm sure we could work something else out though," he said with a smirk, his hand moving to touch her thigh ever so slightly. Sex was his way of getting most things he wanted, and it was more or less instinctive at this point.

The fact that no one was home was probably a good thing. Parents hated Caleb, and rightfully so. He was a vulgar, self-destructive, petty criminal, and parents seemed to treat that as a bad thing. Kids seemed to like it though - enough to sleep with him, and that was a plus. But even siblings of his friends and fuck buddies were against him, saying that he was a jerk with a reputation for using people. An empty house was always a good sign because of this. The fact that it was an empty house with beer was even better. Beer made everything better. He was bordering on alcoholism with the way that he'd kick back any beverage that came his way, and the fact that he wasn't even used to being sober at this point. His liver probably hated him, but that was a small price to pay for happiness.

Caleb wasted no time in finding the beer and grabbing two, with only a slight hesitation to decide whether or not to follow her. He knew she'd be changing, and the pig he was saw that as an excellent time to go down and get an eyeful. He even thought about trying to seduce her down there, but he didn't see it working out. He wasn't good enough to go into someone's bed room while they were changing and put the moves on them immediately. If anyone was that good, he'd have liked to meet them and ask for their autograph, because they'd be his new hero. Instead, Caleb found his way to a couch, put one beer on the coffee table for Ridley and cracked open the other. It didn't take any time at all to start drinking. He hadn't had a drink all day, and that was getting to him.

[/size]

[RIDLEY EVANNA FREY]

OH, MAKE MY BLOOD THUMP 7, 8, 9
• M A K E M Y H E A R T B E A T D O U B L E T I M E •

A smile pulled at his lips and she half rolled her eyes when he reached for her leg and commented that they could work something out. Being a good boy would definitely be a stretch. “Hmm, bribing me with sex...” She mused, her expression thoughtful and serious as she squinted out through the heavy rain. “Tempting.” Her expression slipped into an easy grin and she wriggled her eyebrows at him suggestively, playing along. Okay, so chances were, Caleb was being serious, but she could never be sure with him, so she chose to pass it off as him kidding around anyway.

Once they’d reached the house and she’d disappeared down into her bedroom, she made a quick change. Peeling off her wet clothes, she dried herself down with a towel until she was nice and warm and no longer covered in goose bumps, and then pulled on a pair of cut off shorts, fresh socks and an old Nirvana t-shirt that she’d stolen from Jake back when she’d been fourteen. It was way too big for her but she only ever wore it around the house or for bed so she didn’t care all that much. Grabbing a scrunchy from her nightstand, she pulled her damp hair up into a ponytail and made to head up stairs, stumbling to a stop when she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror. She looked like a bum, with her hair up in a messy ponytail and her shirt hanging off her left shoulder, she wondered for a brief moment if she should make more of an effort or something but shrugged it off. She doubted Caleb would care at all, and it wasn’t like he was an adult she had to look presentable for or anything.

Grabbing her Iphone from her bag, she took her stairs two at a time and then headed for the kitchen. Her stomach rumbled as she tore a pepperoni pizza from its wrapping and banged it in the oven. Once she’d set the dials and made sure nothing was going to explode, because she was such a bad cook that she even managed to burn things in the microwave, she grabbed some twizzlers from her stash in the cupboard and headed into the front room where Caleb was waiting. “Pizza’s in the oven” she commented and swiped the beer from the table before dropping down onto the other end of the couch so she had enough space to curl her legs up. “You like pepperoni, right?” She probably should of asked, that was bad hosting on her part, but she figured he could always pick off the pepperoni if he wanted.

“Is this weird?” She asked, glancing at Caleb. “I mean, I think this is the first time we’ve ever hung out. No crazy parties, no crazy amounts of alcohol, no hot sex.” She grinned at him here and bit off the end of her twizzler. “Y’know just.. hanging.” It wasn’t weird for her; Ridley was pretty sure she could hang with just about anybody and find something to talk about. She liked Caleb enough when she partied with him, hell she liked him enough to sleep with him, so she figured she’d like him enough to hang with. But Caleb, she wasn’t too sure about him, he was kind of an enigma since she knew little to nothing about him. Did he mind hanging with her? She figured he wouldn’t be here if he minded but the last thing she wanted was for him to feel like he had to stay if it was too weird or he didn’t want to.

SHOUT WHEN YOU WANNA GET OFF THE RIDE
• I ' M A P E N N Y I N A D I A M O N D M I N E •

lyrics;; sour cherry - the kills
outfit;; here
tagged;; caleb
notes;; this is kind of terrible, sorry! D=