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Post by Iceheart014 on Dec 5, 2016 9:30:16 GMT -5
"Ya, that's fine!" Xander relied with a nod, he wasn't usually one to disagree. He took the helmet and put it on. He too was becoming familiar with the routine, beside the fact that he would probably still be terrible at getting onto the bike. "Do you like your job?" Xander asked as he took in the store logi and Theo's name tag. He was trying to make small talk to ease some of his nerves.
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Post by 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘯 on Dec 5, 2016 10:19:06 GMT -5
Theo shrugged. "It's not bad, I guess. I make enough money to live off of, which is more than I could say for a lot of people our age. And the management is nice, they're fine with me taking the afternoon and weekend shifts so I can stay in school - though I think that's mostly because I volunteer to take the shifts nobody wants, so they pay me off with the shifts I ask for outside of that. The customers are awful, but that's the price to pay." He shrugged again. This was all true. He worked a lot - three, sometimes four, afternoons plus weekends every week - but that didn't bother him. He had enough time left to do things outside of work and school anyway, especially now that he was in his final year of high school and had half the amount of classes he'd had the year before.
Realising that he'd been talking about himself for a while, he looked up at Xander. "What about you? Do you work?"
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Post by Iceheart014 on Dec 5, 2016 23:13:10 GMT -5
Xander had been listening intently as he climbed onto the back of the bike. The question being returned caught Xander a little off gaurd. "Uh- no..I don't have a job." He hated to admit it, but there was no point in denying it. Xander's parents paid for everything. And there was no way that his mother would allow him to get a job. That would mean he was away from the house for too long. He got a small allowance for chore that he had saved up over time. After all, he wasn't ever out of the house to spend it. The whole purpose, as his father says, is to save for college.
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Post by 𝒞'𝑒𝓈𝓉 𝐿𝒶 𝒱𝒾𝑒 on Dec 6, 2016 0:30:33 GMT -5
Sorry for disappearing. Can we still rp?
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Post by 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘯 on Dec 6, 2016 5:16:39 GMT -5
"No? Huh." Theo was surprised, but not overly so. With the neighbourhood Xander lived in, it wasn't unlikely that his parents covered his expenses for him, which negated the need for a job. He didn't even consider asking if that was the case because it seemed so obvious that it was. Instead, he simply shrugged again. "You ready to go?" he asked after a moment had passed, figuring that this conversation was drawing to a close and realising that there was no better time to stop talking.
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Post by Iceheart014 on Dec 6, 2016 7:38:46 GMT -5
(Ya! Of course!)
"Yup, I am ready!" Xander replied. He was greatful for the lack of questioning and the end of the conversation.
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Post by 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘯 on Dec 6, 2016 7:57:27 GMT -5
Theo nodded and brought the bike to life. He took off towards his own home, a few miles away on the other side of the city. The neighbourhood wasn't a bad one, nor was it particularly good. It was the home of the working class. Theo himself lived in a block of flats in the middle of the whole thing, and he liked it here. He didn't need more than this part of the city gave him. He pulled up outside, waiting for Xander to dismount before following himself and locking the bike up. "I'm up here," he said, pointing to the closest building.
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Post by Iceheart014 on Dec 6, 2016 8:12:42 GMT -5
Xander couldn't help but look around in awe. He thought that the houses and apartment complexes were beautiful. To anyone else, they probably just looked normal. But Xander loved the simplicity and messy perfection of the neighborhood. Of course he had seen these neighborhoods before, but only in passing. He climbed off of the bike as he was looking around him, eyes wide.
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Post by 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘯 on Dec 6, 2016 8:19:47 GMT -5
Theo, catching the look on Xander's face, couldn't help but laugh, genuinely amused. "What are you looking at?" he asked. He wasn't mocking, but curious. To him, there could be nothing less fascinating than the concrete block he lived in. He started to walk, gesturing for Xander to follow. He punched in a four digit code and the door to the complex opened, revealing a small hallway, an elevator and a narrow and steep flight of stairs. "I'm on floor five, so I recommend the elevator."
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Post by Iceheart014 on Dec 6, 2016 13:27:20 GMT -5
Xander followed Theo closely. The look of awe never left his face as they entered the hallway and waited for the elevator. His eyes continued to wander the area. Xander wanted to take in as much information as he possibly could. "I've never been anywhere like this." Xander finally answered Theo's question. "It is so beautiful, and unique."
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Post by 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘯 on Dec 6, 2016 14:50:54 GMT -5
Theo scoffed. "I'm not so sure," he said. "You'll find areas like this in any city you visit, and, in my experience, they're all the same." He was surprised to hear Xander describe it with these words, more so than he'd been surprised by anything the other had done previously. He'd never thought it to be either.
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Post by Iceheart014 on Dec 6, 2016 15:06:55 GMT -5
Xander shrugged his shoulders, but didn't say another word. Despite what Theo said, he still thought it was beautiful. however, he made a mental note to seem less enthusiastic about things. He watched as Theo pressed the button for the fifth floor and waited as the elevator started moving.
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Post by 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘯 on Dec 6, 2016 15:51:54 GMT -5
Theo realised too late that his words could be taken in the wrong way, but made no move to correct himself. Instead, he shut up, keeping silent for the entirety of the elevator trip. It stopped with a ping, and he stepped outside, fishing his keys out of his pocket.
"Here we are," he said as he opened the door. It was a small place, but it was enough for one person. It wasn't particularly tidied, but it wasn't complete chaos either. "Make yourself at home," he said, gesturing to the small apartment. "I'll be back in a few." With that, he disappeared into his bedroom to change out of the uniform as quickly as he could.
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Post by Iceheart014 on Dec 6, 2016 16:01:56 GMT -5
Despite what Theo had said, Xander did not make himself at home. He stood near the door and glanced around the apartment. It didn't take him long to realize that Theo lived alone. Even though he was quite surprised by this, it only made him admire the outgoing and carefree boy even more.
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Post by 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘯 on Dec 6, 2016 16:11:04 GMT -5
As promised, Theo reammerged a few minutes later, wearing a far more comfortable set of clothes. The added bonus, of course, was the lack of those awful shades of blue. "Did you want anything before we leave?" he asked, noting silently that Xander hadn't really moved from his spot.
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Post by Iceheart014 on Dec 6, 2016 16:14:44 GMT -5
Xander turned to face Theo when he spoke. "No thank you." Xander felt suddenly extremely aware of how awkward and nervous he was feeling. Not only for the fact that he was hanging out with Theo, but because his mother would murder him if she knew that he was here.
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Post by 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘯 on Dec 7, 2016 2:16:06 GMT -5
Theo nodded. The guy clearly wasn't comfortable, and he wondered if it was something he'd done. He wouldn't be surprised. "Fine. Is there somewhere you'd like to go today? Take advantage of this freedom or something." This was a genuine question - and a somewhat desperate one. He had no idea what Xander thought he'd been inviting him to, and though he had an idea or two, he wasn't sure how appreciated they'd be.
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Post by Iceheart014 on Dec 7, 2016 8:32:37 GMT -5
Xander paused for a moment. He hadn't really thought that far ahead. His main concern up until now was making sure he could get out of the house without his mother following him. Honestly, he didn't even know what all there was to do. He ended up just shrugging. "I don't know, I was hoping youd have something in mind."
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Post by 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘯 on Dec 7, 2016 8:42:39 GMT -5
Theo nodded. He'd expected this - he had been the one to suggest this - but he hadn't prepared, for once. "Okay, sure. We could drive out of town, there's a lake nearby, I usually go there weekends to cool off some steam, you know? Get away from everyone." Okay, so it wasn't a theme park or a day down in the city, but Theo rarely had money for those sorts of things. He made do with what he could - he watched DVDs instead of going out to the cinema, he cooked his own food instead of ordering takeout. And yes, he spent his weekends hiking or, if it was warm enough, swimming in the nearby lake.
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Post by Iceheart014 on Dec 7, 2016 8:56:31 GMT -5
"Okay! That sounds fun!" Xander nodded in agreement. He hadn't ever really spent much time outdoors in his life. Of course his family did take the occasional camping or lake trip, but that usually involved an RV or a big boat.
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Post by 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘯 on Dec 7, 2016 9:00:22 GMT -5
Theo breathed a sigh of relief. Good. He didn't have much else to offer. "Alright, good. We'll go there then." Theo gave a genuine smile and scooped up his keys. "Sure you don't want anything? Water, anything?" he checked, looking around his apartment on more time as he pulled the door open again.
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Post by Iceheart014 on Dec 7, 2016 9:03:46 GMT -5
"I am okay." Xander insisted as he exited the apartment before Theo. He stopped in the hall to wait for the other boy to close and lock the door.
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Post by 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘯 on Dec 7, 2016 9:16:18 GMT -5
Alright then. Theo wasn't about to ask a third time, so he left the room, closing and locking the door on the way out. They took the same route down as they'd taken up, though the stairs would be easier going down. It wasn't long before they were back at the bike, Theo handing his helmet to Xander as he hopped on.
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Post by Iceheart014 on Dec 7, 2016 17:12:07 GMT -5
Xander pulled the helmet over his head and climbed onto the bike, like always, and held on tight.
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Post by 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘯 on Dec 7, 2016 17:33:28 GMT -5
Theo checked that they were both secure and then took off, driving even further away from Xander's home and out of the city entirely. Just to the north was a forest, reasonably large given it's proximity to the city, and so it took no more than thirty minutes for him to reach their destination, pulling the motorcycle into one of three parking spaces this far into the woods. He sighed heavily, drinking in as much of the air as he could in one breath. "This is it."
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Post by Iceheart014 on Dec 7, 2016 22:53:42 GMT -5
Xander had held on tight the entire ride. When he let go, he flexed his fingers to regain some of the lost feeling before climbing off of the bike and taking off the helmet. He didnt say anything. Instead, he turned around in a slow circle to take everything in.
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Post by 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘯 on Dec 8, 2016 13:50:57 GMT -5
"Have you been here before?" he asked as he dismounted the bike. The woods themselves were a pretty common place to go for days out during the warmer months of the year, but people tended to keep to the outskirts of the forest, where there were larger open areas. Out here, there were wide trails but not really any larger clearings, so it wasn't as busy, though there were people around on the weekends.
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Post by Iceheart014 on Dec 8, 2016 15:44:06 GMT -5
"I think once when I was a kid... but I might have just dreamed it or something. My parents aren't really outdoors people." He turned to look at Theo then. The slight noise of the woods around them was calming. "Do you come here often?" Xander asked him curiously.
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Post by 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘯 on Dec 8, 2016 16:11:15 GMT -5
Theo nodded, leaning back against his bike comfortably. "Yeah, I get out here whenever I have time to waste. I don't have enough money to spend it on nights out or trips downtown whenever, so I come here instead." His tone was fond, betraying what he felt for this place. He'd been coming out here for as long as he could remember, since long before he'd left home. It had been a nice break from his parents, and he doubted they'd ever noticed him go.
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Post by 𝒞'𝑒𝓈𝓉 𝐿𝒶 𝒱𝒾𝑒 on Dec 10, 2016 22:20:58 GMT -5
Fantastic! So where should we go from here?
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