Now he's guilt-stricken, sobbing with his head on the floor...

[holdtothem]

It's been quite a while since Cole heard Rose was gone, and only now is he resurfacing from his room in the Conrad. He's out taking a walk in Grant Park, breathing the fresh air and trying to make himself feel like there is a reason to not just throw himself back into the Rift. All his friends are gone, he knows no one here and next week is his mom

Comments

[thecellsiam]

Aubrey's getting a bit of fresh air in the Nifty Little Park that Jet showed xem awhile ago, when xe sees Cole on the bench, head in hands. Xe stops, about ten feet away, staring at the boy. There's some niggling little familiarity in Aubrey's head, telling xem that xe's seen this kid around before, but xe's got no idea where (p'raps they passed in the hallway of the Basement once, xe doesn't rightly know). But more, xe knows -- or thinks xe knows -- that hunched over look, and isn't exactly sure what to do about it. But xe can't just do nothing.

So xe walks over and sits down quietly on the bench next to Cole. "Hey," xe asks, softly, not wanting to startle the kid, "need help?" Xe really has no idea what to say in situations like these.

[holdtothem]

Cole hadn't noticed there was anyone else before, and he sort of jerks up when Aubrey sits down. He... doesn't recognize xem exactly, but it's that sense of having seen someone else before- not exactly deja vu, because he probably has seen Aubrey before, just not realized it.

"Oh, no, I'm fine," he says, sitting back with a tired grin. "Just... kinda worn out." Yeah. That's a great way to describe it, Cole.

[thecellsiam]

Aubrey jumps when Cole does. It's an involuntary reaction; whenever xe startles someone, it always seems to startle xem. Xe kind of smiles at xemself and says, "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you."

Of course, xe raises an eyebrow at Cole at the excuse for the whole 'doubled over on a park bench' thing. "You're sure? I mean, you looked kind of --" Kind of what? Panicky? In pain? Aubrey realizes xe's talking to a complete stranger, and just the fact that xe kind-of-almost-maybe thinks xe's seen the kid around doesn't mean much. "Yeah. Er. Sorry."

A spectacular way to present oneself to a stranger, Aubrey. Well done.

[holdtothem]

Cole chuckles. "Yeah. I'm... been a hard week," he offers. "I sort of just lost some people..." Yeah. Let's share EVERYTHING with strangers Cole. Really. But it feels better to talk about it, even though he's not saying everything.

He lets out a breath. Starting over. "I'm Cole," he offers. Because yeah, nice way to get to introductions. That wasn't random or anything...