I'll keep you by my side with my superhuman might...

[stillaboyscout]

Lessons Michael Vaughn really should have learned by now:

Do not go out into the streets. Ever. Really. It's just a bad idea at this point, but dumb Boy Scouts are dumb and do not know when to say no.

Or maybe that's just Vaughn.

Because he's out, again. Without a weapon. Just tromping the streets, practically looking for trouble. The narration

Comments

[megstewart]

Meg is headed down the street, in vaguely the same direction but a few feet ahead. She doesn't have a weapon, either, or if she does, it's not obvious. She's also peering at buildings and street signs with that peculiar half-exasperated squint that says she's lost, and she's not too happy about it.

In one hand is a piece of paper. It doesn't look like a map, though, not even from far away. Meg looks down at it, looks up at the latest street sign, and makes an annoyed noise under her breath. Stupid streets. Why isn't the right one here?

[stillaboyscout]

Vaughn has this thing for girls, all girls. It's not that he's attracted to them. It's just that he has this instant 'MUST SAVE' instinct. Or at least 'MUST HELP'.

He can't help it. He's just the Boy Scout.

"Are you looking for something?" he asks. Because Boy Scouts don't need no damn introductions.

Try not to be too freaked out, Meg. He means well, really he does.

[megstewart]

The voice does make Meg jump a little: she's been preoccupied, which is probably not a good idea around here, and now she's realizing that it's *not* a good idea to be preoccupied around here while simultaneously being embarrassed. "Hey. Um."

She clears her throat. Right. How about *not* looking like you should be wearing a tinfoil hat, chickie? "I'm trying to get to Oak Park," she says. "Looked it up on the map before I left, but...well, I suck at navigation."

[stillaboyscout]

Oh. Awkward. Vaughn forgot that sometimes he makes things awkward. So he steps back a little, tries to recollect himself. He is not awkward. Nope. Not at all. He is a Boy Scout, dammit. And he is super cool.

"Oak Park? Uh... well..." he looks around, trying to get a sense of direction. "That's... okay. You're probably going to want to go..." He blinks. "Did you write down any of the directions?" he asks finally, a sheepish grin on his face.

[megstewart]

"Yeah," said Meg, holding out the piece of paper. It's a bright orange Post-It note, in fact, with a bunch of what can best be described as chickenscratch on it. Meg clearly belongs to the Internet generation: handwriting? What handwriting?

She looks down at the directions, then up at Vaughn. "I'm looking for...Smith Street? I think. I found this one, so I'm about a sixth of the way there."

[stillaboyscout]

Vaughn peers at the directions. He can barely make out some of the words, but he can see, so he'll do his best.

"Okay," he says. "I think--I THINK, and I'm not a native so don't, you know, hunt me down if I lead you astray-- you're going to want to go down this way six blocks, then go three blocks west. And then you should be back on track with your directions." He looks up at her, grins a little. Not bad for a new guy in town.

[megstewart]

Meg grins sheepishly as she watches Vaughn struggling to read the words, and tugs at her ponytail. "If I knew someone was going to be reading it, I'd have been a little less scribbly," she remarks as he reads.

But he deciphered it. And there are directions! The sheepish grin turns to a relieved smile. "Excellent. Thanks very much--and I promise, no hunting you down. Except maybe to buy you a Snickers or something, say thanks and all."

[stillaboyscout]

Vaughn grins, blushes. "Well thank you," he says, "although the Snickers isn't necessary. It's my pleasure. I hope you get where you're headed."

And then he smiles broadly again. Because he's a nice boy, and look, he can have normal interactions! Yaaay.