I'm always walking after midnight searching for you
Who Jamie OT Gideon
Where: Sunnydale, outside, eventually UC-SD campus
When: Tuesday night
There was something a little off about Gideon’s stride as he left for another night of training. Thinking did that. The run normally cleared his mind, offered solace when he found none, but sometimes when things were a little too overwhelming, even the racing of his heart with keeping the steady breaths and time in check wasn’t enough.
Soon, he planned on pushing himself to call home, talking to his father, and shedding this burden. If he wanted a life, it couldn’t be built on lies and false identities that filled him with paranoia, and he did with Adam.
Gideon was trying to figure out the best way back home since apparently he wasn’t traveling alone. Sneaking out felt wrong, and perhaps the company would reinforce his decision to not back down and be trapped in Pittsburgh.
Still . . .
The thought crossed his mind and was the culprit of his undoing. He wasn’t concentrating on the trail ahead, and his right foot caught a root. Reflexively, he spun to try and catch the weight on his left, and he could feel it twist, sending him to the ground.
Jamie detached himself smoothly from the shadow of a tree. Frowning concernedly, he made his way over to the fallen kid, features set in a look of sympathy. "Oh, man. That looked rough. Do you need a hand up?" He extended a hand, taking a moment to study the fallen kid a little more carefully.
"Brilliant," Gideon muttered as Jamie approached him. At first, he took little notice to the hand, but after he spoke, there was a shrug. "Quite alright," he said, attempting a smile as he pushed off the ground to stand up. When he did, it was obviously difficult for him to walk.
Jamie frowned. "Oh, come on. There's a time and a place for nobility, and I don't think this is either one. Look, at least put some weight on me, would you?" He stooped a little, to allow the guy to put an arm around his shoulders. "We're a little far out for you to insist on getting yourself home without help."
Gideon sighed knowingly the distance still left before reaching the dorm, let alone the campus, so he agreed. "Thanks," he said in an almost muttered tone. He was trying to figure out where the guy came from considering the time of night and place.
Jamie nodded. "That's the spirit, man. No worries, we'll get you home in one piece. Where's home, anyway? I did not expect to see another soul out here -- it's pretty much the best place you can go to look at the stars without light pollution, short of the desert, anyway. Now that you've discovered my hiding spot, I guess I'll have to find another." He grinned, then took a few careful steps, working on getting the best rhythm down for the benefit of the injured foot.
"Well, for what it's worth, you're not the only one," Gideon noted. It wasn't that difficult to walk. In fact, there was little pressure at all upon Jamie's shoulder. Before long, it was an easy stride with little stress on his features. "Is this your first time out? I've been running through this area for the last week, and I know I would've noticed someone else out here."
"Not my first time, nope. This particular area is a little new to me, but I figured out that I had to get out of town if I wanted to see the stars. It's a good place to just sit and think. Like I said, I've been coming out here for a little while just to get some space." Jamie looked over at the other guy. "Looks like you didn't hurt it as bad as you thought, huh? Lucky for you!"
"It's not a big deal," Gideon offered. "Just an old injury that I should've watched out for, and you are right about that. I hadn't thought to stop for a moment besides enjoying the silence." He noted the earlier question and added, "And I live on campus, but I should be able to walk on my own before we get there."
Jamie, nodding, slipped out from under the other boy's arm. "If you feel like you might need a hand, let me know." He resumed walking alongside, matching pace easily. "What's your name, anyway? I figure if we've already got something in common we can at least exchange names. I'm Jamie, by the way."
"Gideon, and if you know of a pharmacy, or even a grocery store, still open in this town at this hour, I would be eternally grateful." He could probably wait until the next morning - put some ice on it till then, take a few more ibuprofin than he should, but that type of care would take him out of his training for sure.
"Not offhand, but there's got to be something. I hope you don't need anything too heavy, because then you might be out of luck. We'll find you something," Jamie said, reassuringly. "Campus, you say," he said, looking curiously at Gideon. "Whereabouts? What are you studying?"
Gideon nodded. "Nah, I have something that'll work till morning if not." And that was when he noted the question and had to pause to give a decent answer. "Undecided. The application not quite out there since I'm still deciding if I'm going to stay or not. Why? Do you live nearby? Wouldn't want to pull you too far aside for my mistake."
Jamie nodded. "Yeah, undecided. I'm a communications major, but I don't know if I really like it. I might just ditch the whole damn thing." "Don't worry about taking me out of my way,"he continued, smiling, "I get restless and I go for walks, much like you seem to do. I'm staying on campus too, and it won't be a big deal to get home after making sure you get in alright."
"Whoever said I was restless?" Gideon wondered out loud. "I just prefer it at night. It's more quiet, less distracting, and the temperature goes down. Sunnydale's not exactly the perfect place for cross country." Ok, from the sound of his voice it was more than a little pain. He was just that good at covering it up to that point, and it was showing in his voice. "And I wouldn't," he tried again. "Life's too short to be stuck wandering aimlessly without a clue to do with your life."
"Wouldn't..what, exactly?" Jamie threw Gideon a puzzled look. "And, maybe you're not restless, but I am. That's all i meant. Are you sure you're okay? That looks pretty painful, still." He made sure to match pace, still looking concerned.
"Wouldn't stop the classes. It took a while before I enjoyed this type of training, but now it just feels strange not going out." He shrugged again. "It's fine. Really."
"Okay. If you say so. No, I wouldn't stop classes entirely, but I might switch majors." Jamie resumed his casual stride, taking care not to hover, but making sure to be close enough to help if needed. He noted that the country was looking a lot less wild, and figured they had to be getting closer to the edge of town. He filed this bit of information away, for future use.
Gideon didn't have much difficulty keeping pace - though each time he stepped onto that foot there was a twinge of pain that rode right up from the ankle where the stitches were. No, he didn't need any help, but with that type of thought he wouldn't be getting out all that much tomorrow or soon. "Any idea on what?" Since the guy wasn't about to leave him, the least he could do was keep conversation until to the parking area of the dorm.
"Not a clue. I'm trying not to feel overwhelmed, you know? I was dead-set on this major, and now I'm finding I don't like it, so now I have to figure out what else I want to do." Jamie frowned a little, realizing that, if you substituted 'being a vampire' for 'major', that pretty much summed up how he felt about everything right now.
"Yea," Gideon said softly. He sympathized on that notion a little too well. "There's always taking a break, stepping back from the highlights of student life and returning once your set again." Sometimes you needed to wander to figure out where you're supposed to be going.
Jamie nodded. "Except, I don't really think I can take a break. There's too much riding on this, so I've got to just figure it out and do it." Inwardly, he was confused. You're not supposed to have anything real in common. Just a means to an end, right? Step one on the path to getting back at that bastard. Focus, damn you.
With a frown, he added, "Sorry. I'm sure you don't need any more distractions with an injury like that."
Gideon smiled. "To be honest, it's the distraction thats probably keeping me from thinking about it and therefore making the walking a hell of a lot worse, so please, ramble on." He said quite reassuredly and genuinely. If not for the timing, he probably would've been quite screwed and limping to the hosptial. "Seriously," he added. "If there's one thing I learned, a momentary break from everything that has made you so overwhelmed might straighten things out. Take it from someone that knows . . ."
Jamie nodded again. "Well, at least there's something that good that came from it, right?" Looking around, he still wasn't familiar with the area. He hunted around for something else to talk about. "This really doesn't seem like the best place to run, at all." Without mentioning the obvious reasons, he continued. "Isn't there an indoor track or something? The terrain seems a lot more treacherous than you'd think."
"No idea, but it wouldn't matter. I'm used to running off the pavement and long distances, so if there's a path somewhere . . ." Gideon shrugged. "I wasn't thinking. Normally, I notice little details like roots and cracks." And people. That bothered him. "Guess I'm just as overwhelmed."
Jamie nodded. "Too many homefires burning and not enough trees, huh? Looks like we've got more in common than we thought." He shook his head. "And I'm enjoying the walk, actually. I don't think I've ever been this way before."
"Normally, it's quite refreshing," Gideon admitted. "You forget about everything that's happened, everything that's wrong, and just focus on moving forward." He sighed. "And yea, something like that."
Jamie nodded, eyes narrowing. "For a guy that's only interested in moving forward, what's keeping you here? If it's not school, and it's not a social life, what is it?" He chuckled, self-consciously. "Of course, I'm not one to talk." Suddenly, he slowed, then stopped. The sound of squalling cats echoed from a nearby alley. Probably just a turf war, nothing to concern himself over. Except, there'd been blows exchanged, and someone was probably licking a wound. Someone very nearby. It reminded him that there was a perfectly good source right next to him.. He shook his head. NO, no, no! Not him, you idiot! You have got to get out of here. Fat lot of good it'll do if he doesn't even admit that he knows the fucker. Patience is the key word, here. At a loss for anything to fill the sudden silence, he covered for it by looking around, presumably for the sound of the catfight. "That didn't sound good," he managed at last.
Gideon actually laughed a little at that question. He couldn't help it. Despite his ankle hurting enough to be more than just a sprain, he was smiling. Happy even at the thought coursed inside of his head and through his veins. "There's someone, y'know? Millions of things happening, spinning everything out of control, then that one, single person comes into your life and . . ." It changed. Entirely. He would've finished that sentence, but when Jamie stopped so did he, shifting his weight to the right foot. "Huh. Nope, not at all." Honestly, he hadn't noticed. Too distracted, yet . . . weird. "I probably sound crazier than I did before with the running late at night in an area without lights or much of anything civil."
"Ahh, yeah. Girls do have a way of getting their hooks in, don't they? I know how that goes. I've got one or two that I hang around with, but nothing serious, yet. Just keeping it light. I know all about that. Though, hey, if your girl is a boy, that's cool too. There's this guy I know, I give him shit all the time about that. I think it keeps him humble, myself." He shook his head, grinning.
"Yea, he is." Gideon couldn't help but smirk at the wording. If just one was exchanged for another, it would be right where he was. "To think that just a few months ago I was only passing through . . ." Crap, he thought. That was the problem - he wasn't thinking. It was either his ankle getting to him or the conversation - either way, that slip had to be covered. "Town's tempting to get a transfer asap if not for that one detail." There. That worked. Right?
Jamie grinned. "Aw, some surfer boy finally wrestled your nomad soul into submission? That's sweet. Very in-your-face for the family stereotype." Jackpot, he thought, grinning inwardly to match his outward grin. He idly considered that the rush of having the kid confirm what Jamie already knew was enough to keep the voices in his head quiet, for the moment. Time enough for him to make an escape, anyway.
Gideon had that sour look on his face for the thought of dating a Californian surfer. "Not quite, but close enough." And there they were, across the street from the dorms. Yea, going out would have to wait until tomorrow morning if he felt up to trying. "Well," he said. "This is it. I'd invite you up for introductions, but it's going to be fantastic enough trying to explain the ankle." That and he tended to take his runs when Adam was at work. Last thing that he enjoyed was being alone in that room, thinking about that.
Jamie smirked, distractedly. "Yeah, gotta explain to him where you were, how you hurt your ankle, and then give him the chance to fuss like an old woman, huh? Ah, the ups and downs of relationships. Anyway, Gideon, it was good meeting you. I'm glad I was able to help you out. You maybe wanna get together again sometime? At the very least, you'll have someone around to help you keep your feet."
He scanned up and down the street. He could last a few more minutes, surely..
"The where's the easy part. Even the ankle will be, I'm sure, but the 'Oh, yea, this is Jamie - he helped me home for the last mile or so . . .' after he gets home just wouldn't go well, y'know?" Gideon smiled. "But yea, sometime." He sighed, why not, and fished out a pen and gently ripped a piece of paper he had folded in his pocket in case some project came to when he was running. He wrote his cell number and handed it over. "Because I doubt fate would be silly enough to bring you in my passing a second time even while it's this tiny."
Jamie nodded, taking the number and tucking it into his pocket. "Yeah, it's not wise to mess with Fate." He dug in his pocket for a scrap of paper, and, taking the pen, wrote down his own number. "There you go. Have fun explaining it to the old lady, Gideon." He grinned, and headed off down the street, with one last wave over his shoulder.
Where: Sunnydale, outside, eventually UC-SD campus
When: Tuesday night
There was something a little off about Gideon’s stride as he left for another night of training. Thinking did that. The run normally cleared his mind, offered solace when he found none, but sometimes when things were a little too overwhelming, even the racing of his heart with keeping the steady breaths and time in check wasn’t enough.
Soon, he planned on pushing himself to call home, talking to his father, and shedding this burden. If he wanted a life, it couldn’t be built on lies and false identities that filled him with paranoia, and he did with Adam.
Gideon was trying to figure out the best way back home since apparently he wasn’t traveling alone. Sneaking out felt wrong, and perhaps the company would reinforce his decision to not back down and be trapped in Pittsburgh.
Still . . .
The thought crossed his mind and was the culprit of his undoing. He wasn’t concentrating on the trail ahead, and his right foot caught a root. Reflexively, he spun to try and catch the weight on his left, and he could feel it twist, sending him to the ground.
Jamie detached himself smoothly from the shadow of a tree. Frowning concernedly, he made his way over to the fallen kid, features set in a look of sympathy. "Oh, man. That looked rough. Do you need a hand up?" He extended a hand, taking a moment to study the fallen kid a little more carefully.
"Brilliant," Gideon muttered as Jamie approached him. At first, he took little notice to the hand, but after he spoke, there was a shrug. "Quite alright," he said, attempting a smile as he pushed off the ground to stand up. When he did, it was obviously difficult for him to walk.
Jamie frowned. "Oh, come on. There's a time and a place for nobility, and I don't think this is either one. Look, at least put some weight on me, would you?" He stooped a little, to allow the guy to put an arm around his shoulders. "We're a little far out for you to insist on getting yourself home without help."
Gideon sighed knowingly the distance still left before reaching the dorm, let alone the campus, so he agreed. "Thanks," he said in an almost muttered tone. He was trying to figure out where the guy came from considering the time of night and place.
Jamie nodded. "That's the spirit, man. No worries, we'll get you home in one piece. Where's home, anyway? I did not expect to see another soul out here -- it's pretty much the best place you can go to look at the stars without light pollution, short of the desert, anyway. Now that you've discovered my hiding spot, I guess I'll have to find another." He grinned, then took a few careful steps, working on getting the best rhythm down for the benefit of the injured foot.
"Well, for what it's worth, you're not the only one," Gideon noted. It wasn't that difficult to walk. In fact, there was little pressure at all upon Jamie's shoulder. Before long, it was an easy stride with little stress on his features. "Is this your first time out? I've been running through this area for the last week, and I know I would've noticed someone else out here."
"Not my first time, nope. This particular area is a little new to me, but I figured out that I had to get out of town if I wanted to see the stars. It's a good place to just sit and think. Like I said, I've been coming out here for a little while just to get some space." Jamie looked over at the other guy. "Looks like you didn't hurt it as bad as you thought, huh? Lucky for you!"
"It's not a big deal," Gideon offered. "Just an old injury that I should've watched out for, and you are right about that. I hadn't thought to stop for a moment besides enjoying the silence." He noted the earlier question and added, "And I live on campus, but I should be able to walk on my own before we get there."
Jamie, nodding, slipped out from under the other boy's arm. "If you feel like you might need a hand, let me know." He resumed walking alongside, matching pace easily. "What's your name, anyway? I figure if we've already got something in common we can at least exchange names. I'm Jamie, by the way."
"Gideon, and if you know of a pharmacy, or even a grocery store, still open in this town at this hour, I would be eternally grateful." He could probably wait until the next morning - put some ice on it till then, take a few more ibuprofin than he should, but that type of care would take him out of his training for sure.
"Not offhand, but there's got to be something. I hope you don't need anything too heavy, because then you might be out of luck. We'll find you something," Jamie said, reassuringly. "Campus, you say," he said, looking curiously at Gideon. "Whereabouts? What are you studying?"
Gideon nodded. "Nah, I have something that'll work till morning if not." And that was when he noted the question and had to pause to give a decent answer. "Undecided. The application not quite out there since I'm still deciding if I'm going to stay or not. Why? Do you live nearby? Wouldn't want to pull you too far aside for my mistake."
Jamie nodded. "Yeah, undecided. I'm a communications major, but I don't know if I really like it. I might just ditch the whole damn thing." "Don't worry about taking me out of my way,"he continued, smiling, "I get restless and I go for walks, much like you seem to do. I'm staying on campus too, and it won't be a big deal to get home after making sure you get in alright."
"Whoever said I was restless?" Gideon wondered out loud. "I just prefer it at night. It's more quiet, less distracting, and the temperature goes down. Sunnydale's not exactly the perfect place for cross country." Ok, from the sound of his voice it was more than a little pain. He was just that good at covering it up to that point, and it was showing in his voice. "And I wouldn't," he tried again. "Life's too short to be stuck wandering aimlessly without a clue to do with your life."
"Wouldn't..what, exactly?" Jamie threw Gideon a puzzled look. "And, maybe you're not restless, but I am. That's all i meant. Are you sure you're okay? That looks pretty painful, still." He made sure to match pace, still looking concerned.
"Wouldn't stop the classes. It took a while before I enjoyed this type of training, but now it just feels strange not going out." He shrugged again. "It's fine. Really."
"Okay. If you say so. No, I wouldn't stop classes entirely, but I might switch majors." Jamie resumed his casual stride, taking care not to hover, but making sure to be close enough to help if needed. He noted that the country was looking a lot less wild, and figured they had to be getting closer to the edge of town. He filed this bit of information away, for future use.
Gideon didn't have much difficulty keeping pace - though each time he stepped onto that foot there was a twinge of pain that rode right up from the ankle where the stitches were. No, he didn't need any help, but with that type of thought he wouldn't be getting out all that much tomorrow or soon. "Any idea on what?" Since the guy wasn't about to leave him, the least he could do was keep conversation until to the parking area of the dorm.
"Not a clue. I'm trying not to feel overwhelmed, you know? I was dead-set on this major, and now I'm finding I don't like it, so now I have to figure out what else I want to do." Jamie frowned a little, realizing that, if you substituted 'being a vampire' for 'major', that pretty much summed up how he felt about everything right now.
"Yea," Gideon said softly. He sympathized on that notion a little too well. "There's always taking a break, stepping back from the highlights of student life and returning once your set again." Sometimes you needed to wander to figure out where you're supposed to be going.
Jamie nodded. "Except, I don't really think I can take a break. There's too much riding on this, so I've got to just figure it out and do it." Inwardly, he was confused. You're not supposed to have anything real in common. Just a means to an end, right? Step one on the path to getting back at that bastard. Focus, damn you.
With a frown, he added, "Sorry. I'm sure you don't need any more distractions with an injury like that."
Gideon smiled. "To be honest, it's the distraction thats probably keeping me from thinking about it and therefore making the walking a hell of a lot worse, so please, ramble on." He said quite reassuredly and genuinely. If not for the timing, he probably would've been quite screwed and limping to the hosptial. "Seriously," he added. "If there's one thing I learned, a momentary break from everything that has made you so overwhelmed might straighten things out. Take it from someone that knows . . ."
Jamie nodded again. "Well, at least there's something that good that came from it, right?" Looking around, he still wasn't familiar with the area. He hunted around for something else to talk about. "This really doesn't seem like the best place to run, at all." Without mentioning the obvious reasons, he continued. "Isn't there an indoor track or something? The terrain seems a lot more treacherous than you'd think."
"No idea, but it wouldn't matter. I'm used to running off the pavement and long distances, so if there's a path somewhere . . ." Gideon shrugged. "I wasn't thinking. Normally, I notice little details like roots and cracks." And people. That bothered him. "Guess I'm just as overwhelmed."
Jamie nodded. "Too many homefires burning and not enough trees, huh? Looks like we've got more in common than we thought." He shook his head. "And I'm enjoying the walk, actually. I don't think I've ever been this way before."
"Normally, it's quite refreshing," Gideon admitted. "You forget about everything that's happened, everything that's wrong, and just focus on moving forward." He sighed. "And yea, something like that."
Jamie nodded, eyes narrowing. "For a guy that's only interested in moving forward, what's keeping you here? If it's not school, and it's not a social life, what is it?" He chuckled, self-consciously. "Of course, I'm not one to talk." Suddenly, he slowed, then stopped. The sound of squalling cats echoed from a nearby alley. Probably just a turf war, nothing to concern himself over. Except, there'd been blows exchanged, and someone was probably licking a wound. Someone very nearby. It reminded him that there was a perfectly good source right next to him.. He shook his head. NO, no, no! Not him, you idiot! You have got to get out of here. Fat lot of good it'll do if he doesn't even admit that he knows the fucker. Patience is the key word, here. At a loss for anything to fill the sudden silence, he covered for it by looking around, presumably for the sound of the catfight. "That didn't sound good," he managed at last.
Gideon actually laughed a little at that question. He couldn't help it. Despite his ankle hurting enough to be more than just a sprain, he was smiling. Happy even at the thought coursed inside of his head and through his veins. "There's someone, y'know? Millions of things happening, spinning everything out of control, then that one, single person comes into your life and . . ." It changed. Entirely. He would've finished that sentence, but when Jamie stopped so did he, shifting his weight to the right foot. "Huh. Nope, not at all." Honestly, he hadn't noticed. Too distracted, yet . . . weird. "I probably sound crazier than I did before with the running late at night in an area without lights or much of anything civil."
"Ahh, yeah. Girls do have a way of getting their hooks in, don't they? I know how that goes. I've got one or two that I hang around with, but nothing serious, yet. Just keeping it light. I know all about that. Though, hey, if your girl is a boy, that's cool too. There's this guy I know, I give him shit all the time about that. I think it keeps him humble, myself." He shook his head, grinning.
"Yea, he is." Gideon couldn't help but smirk at the wording. If just one was exchanged for another, it would be right where he was. "To think that just a few months ago I was only passing through . . ." Crap, he thought. That was the problem - he wasn't thinking. It was either his ankle getting to him or the conversation - either way, that slip had to be covered. "Town's tempting to get a transfer asap if not for that one detail." There. That worked. Right?
Jamie grinned. "Aw, some surfer boy finally wrestled your nomad soul into submission? That's sweet. Very in-your-face for the family stereotype." Jackpot, he thought, grinning inwardly to match his outward grin. He idly considered that the rush of having the kid confirm what Jamie already knew was enough to keep the voices in his head quiet, for the moment. Time enough for him to make an escape, anyway.
Gideon had that sour look on his face for the thought of dating a Californian surfer. "Not quite, but close enough." And there they were, across the street from the dorms. Yea, going out would have to wait until tomorrow morning if he felt up to trying. "Well," he said. "This is it. I'd invite you up for introductions, but it's going to be fantastic enough trying to explain the ankle." That and he tended to take his runs when Adam was at work. Last thing that he enjoyed was being alone in that room, thinking about that.
Jamie smirked, distractedly. "Yeah, gotta explain to him where you were, how you hurt your ankle, and then give him the chance to fuss like an old woman, huh? Ah, the ups and downs of relationships. Anyway, Gideon, it was good meeting you. I'm glad I was able to help you out. You maybe wanna get together again sometime? At the very least, you'll have someone around to help you keep your feet."
He scanned up and down the street. He could last a few more minutes, surely..
"The where's the easy part. Even the ankle will be, I'm sure, but the 'Oh, yea, this is Jamie - he helped me home for the last mile or so . . .' after he gets home just wouldn't go well, y'know?" Gideon smiled. "But yea, sometime." He sighed, why not, and fished out a pen and gently ripped a piece of paper he had folded in his pocket in case some project came to when he was running. He wrote his cell number and handed it over. "Because I doubt fate would be silly enough to bring you in my passing a second time even while it's this tiny."
Jamie nodded, taking the number and tucking it into his pocket. "Yeah, it's not wise to mess with Fate." He dug in his pocket for a scrap of paper, and, taking the pen, wrote down his own number. "There you go. Have fun explaining it to the old lady, Gideon." He grinned, and headed off down the street, with one last wave over his shoulder.