05.21.1966: Springtime {jon}

[missjuspeczyk]

My heart is beating a million miles a minute.  My hands are shaking as I brush my hair, not quite satisfied with my reflection.  It'll have to do.  It's too late to take a shower and start over fresh

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[gila_flats]

I take myself to the moment Laurie runs out of the house, and in the centre of the resultant shockwave I stand, merely three metres from her. I offer her a smile, remembering how the muscles of Osterman's face shifted.

"Good evening."

[missjuspeczyk]

I'm running, sprinting, calling for Mom to not wait up, and almost tripping over myself in my haste. It's ok. I breathe. I turn to lock the door. I won't be late...not more than a minute or so anyways...

Something isn't right...the ground is shaking! An earthquake? No, can't be. I don't have time to think any further. The blue is blinding.

"Jesus Christ!"

I'm sure I jumped six feet into the air. I blink, hard, several times, trying to detirmine whether or not I am hallunciating. I'm not. He's still there. And he's smiling.

Damn he's gorgeous.

"D-doctor Manhattan," I feel suddenly quite shy. "I'm sorry, you scared me. I mean, um, hello."

[gila_flats]

I am unsure whether she would prefer me to use her name or the one her mother chose for her. I will avoid the use of either, for now.

"I didn't mean to startle you. Were you not told of my abilities?"

[missjuspeczyk]

"It's not that, I--" I feel like such a baby. I feel like such an idiot. He must think I'm an idiot baby. "I knew, I mean, I just wasn't expecting you to appear like that...on my doorstep..."

God if he only knew how fast my heart is racing. My stomach is doing cartwheels. I need to move, or I'm sure he'll see me quivering.

"Um, well, where shall we go patrol first?" What the hell is wrong with me? I sound like a lost puppy! I bite my lower lip nervously and gaze at him sideways, hoping he doesn't notice that my eyes linger longer than they should.

[gila_flats]

She is so alive, so full of heat that the energy trembles out of her. I can see the molecules in the air dance around her, excited, warm. Like the light that surrounds me.

I watch her, knowing the answer; seeing us in the alleyway, then sitting high above the city. Her lips will touch mine.

I allow her the illusion of choice.
"Where would you like to go?"

[missjuspeczyk]

The choice is mine, I guess. I nod, hoping I'm convincing him that I'm not a child, and that patrolling with me isn't a mistake.

"Uh, well, there's the playground a few blocks away. There's always troublemakers hanging around after dark..." I can't even convince myself! What kind of a crimefighter suggests patrolling a playground?

But his face is so gentle...there is something reassuring in his eyes. I dare to meet his with my own, but I quickly look away. Damn it, Laurie! Grow up!

[gila_flats]

Her gaze meets mine for the briefest of moments, but she looks away, perhaps frightened. I know many people are unnerved by the blank white where Osterman's eyes once were. I have been told many times.

I nod, and move a little closer, waiting for her to lead the way.
"Then we will start with the playground."

[missjuspeczyk]

He is standing closer, just barely, but it is enough to send butterflies rushing through me. I wonder what his skin feels like...

Stupid girl! Why are you even thinking about that? He's already got a girlfriend!

"This way." I say, stepping forward, walking a bit faster than my normal speed. "Five blocks north, one block west."

My hands clench into little fists at my sides, and I glance back, hoping like hell he's walking behind me. But just in case, I try to casually slow my strides...

[gila_flats]

I am walking a pace behind her when she looks back, and for a moment I am unsure what the look in her eyes mean. She is tense. I lengthen my strides and keep even pace with her, watching her heart beat, the ripples of air that part before her.

"Do you do this often?" I ask, as a means of facilitating conversation.

[missjuspeczyk]

He's caught up to me now. I relax a little, more at ease being on pace with him. He's asked me a question. I'm too caught up in staring at him to answer right away.

I smile, teeth and all, and I almost giggle. I can't put into words the range of emotions dancing through me. I'm so smitten, I can't stand it.

"Oh well, sometimes. Not as often as the others, I suppose." I shrug a bit as we walk. The city is unfolding around us, but I'm not really paying any attention. Six blocks won't take us long, and we will reach the playground soon.

[gila_flats]

"You seem different to the others," I say, and it's true. While Ozymandias is the only masked vigilante I find to be interesting, Laurie is fascinating for a wholly different set of reasons. I am unsure of her motives for crime-fighting.

We will reach the playground soon, but it will be empty.

[missjuspeczyk]

I decide his words are meant as a compliment, but I don't respond. Instead I just smile, amd continue walking.

We've left my comfortable neighborhood and are slowly passing into streets with shop signs in multiple languages. This block is a melting pot, and young hoods are always on the prowl. The playground is one of the sure spots for trouble.

We reach it presently.

What the hell? The playground is empty! No hoods smoking by the swingset. No ladies of the evening offering their goods by the basketball court. Not even that creepy flasher who hides under the slide, waiting to stalk female pedestrians. All of the usual suspects are gone.

"Hn. Wow, it's empty."

Save for the sounds of traffic in the distance, the city is still. Well, this block is anyways. The sky looks almost purple from the glow of the city below. It's so strangely beautiful. Much like my companion. My eyes fall from the sky to him, and my breathing quickens.

"Where to next?"

[gila_flats]

"Perhaps you could see better from the roof," I suggest, gesturing to the nearby high-rise. It is partially the truth.

[missjuspeczyk]

The roof. I nod. That's a simple enough plan. The advantages are clear enough.

"Ok! How about that building?" I indicate to an apartment building down the block. "There's roof access...but it's a bit of a climb..."

[gila_flats]

I blink, and suddenly we are standing on the roof of the building Laurie suggested.

"Yes. Much of the city is visible from here," I agree, scanning the streets below.

[missjuspeczyk]

The sensation is best described as terrifying. One second the ground is solid and constant beneath you. And in the next, you are displaced, moving, falling. And then, as soon as you realize you are in motion, you come to a stop, and the ground is solid again.

"Ohmigawd!" I almost collapse to my knees. My stomach flies up into my throat before falling back into place. Or at least, that's what it feels like.

And here we are, on a rooftop overlooking the city. It all seems to tiny below us.