(Untitled)

[with_diamonds]

Lucy wouldn't have been likely to admit it, but to say that she'd been out of sorts since what happened the weekend she could only tell the truth would have been an understatement. It hadn't really set in, how weirded out -- for lack of a better term -- she'd been by what she saw until she got drunk at the Council election party, and since then, it

Comments

[theinsideman]

"Hey. You smoke?" Desmond asked as he made his way closer to the steps she was sitting on, a faintly teasing smile on his face.

It wasn't until he sat down next to her that he noticed the serious look on her face.

"Hey.." he said again, this time nudging her gently in the arm with his elbow. "You okay?"

[with_diamonds]

Lucy didn't turn until he'd elbowed her, and even then, she couldn't help but appear slightly distracted. Company would be good, though, she figured. Nothing good would come from her just sitting around by herself.

"Yes, I do," she answered with a slow nod, then took a drag from her cigarette as if to demonstrate. "And...you know, I don't know. I guess so. I don't know why I wouldn't be."

[theinsideman]

Desmond smiled at her again, shaking his head at her. He didn't smoke cigarettes, but that didn't stop him from reaching into his pocket to draw out the joint he'd rolled for himself before leaving the hut today.

"Got a light?" he murmured as he lifted it to his mouth. He wanted to question her weird response, but decided not to press it.

[with_diamonds]

Lucy did have a light, a lighter she'd borrowed, and wordlessly, she reached out to light the joint for him. She'd never actually smoked one herself, but between her brother and Jude's habits, she was comfortable enough around them that it didn't faze her in the slightest.

"So, how are things?" she asked, biting back the urge to add something about them hopefully being better for him than for her.

[anewwaive]

To say the least, Gideon was fucking stressed out.

Not that he'd admit it, anyway. It was only a couple hours until he was expected to produce a date, and he still really had no fucking idea what he wanted to do. It probably would have been easier to plan if he still wasn't sore, but he knew he just had to deal with it.

After another unsuccessful attempt at planning, he eventually wandered outside to get some air.

"Don't happen to have more cigarettes, do you?" he asked, glancing at the girl he noticed sitting outside. He was all out - smoked his last one yesterday, and that meant he'd need to make fucking more before he could have another one.

[with_diamonds]

Lucy sighed as she glanced up at the sound of a voice, though she didn't really get a good look at the guy, already fishing into the pocket of her jeans for the carton of cigarettes she'd gotten from Max. "As a matter of fact," she answered, holding the mostly-full box up. "They're the good kind, like from home, so you better enjoy it."

[anewwaive]

Gideon's eyebrow rose. He didn't even know this chick, but here she was, giving out shit like that like it wasn't fucking rare as hell. He wasn't the kind of guy to take the high road and take it just for that fact, so he accepted that shit with not a second's hesitation.

"Oh, don't fucking worry," he replied, already fishing his lighter out and lighting it up. He took his first drag from it, letting the smoke linger for a long moment in his mouth before exhaling it, before continuing. "I'm going to."

Of course, having this shit made him feel kind of required to talk to her a little, especially because, now that he was looking at her, she seemed kind of fucking off. Instead of asking, he eased himself carefully - very fucking carefully - into a seat next to her.

"Name's Gideon," he said, figuring he'd just get the introductions part out of the fucking way.

[with_diamonds]

Lucy smiled wryly at the first thing he said, but it was only once he was sitting beside her and introducing himself that she really got a good look at him, and at the bruise on his face. "Good God," she murmured, more to herself than anything else, then took a drag from her own cigarette.

"Lucy," she replied, giving him a long look. She'd heard all about the fight in the market -- or, at least, Jude's part in it, and the fact that he wound up looking even worse than Max had left him after he'd found out about Jude's sleeping with Penny. "You know, if I were to guess, I'd presume that you'd gotten in a fight with a certain Limey painter by the name of Jude."

[not_the_grim]

The smell of smoke was like a magnet, and Sirius followed it with all the efficiency of a bloodhound. The bird responsible for it was a nice bonus, he noted, and he hitched up his most effortlessly charming smile as he slid over.

"What do you reckon," he began, and licked briefly against the swell of his bottom lip as he watched her with intent grey eyes, "I would need to do to convince you share some of those?" He was barefoot, a white Rolling Stones t-shirt obscuring most of his sunburn, blue jeans hanging preacriously from his bony hips. If he'd had a pair of sunglasses, he would've looked every bit a rockstar.

[with_diamonds]

Lucy had heard long before about people who looked identical to others, but for a moment, the resemblance was startling, enough to widen her eyes and leave her mouth hanging open. Of course, it only lasted a few seconds; he wasn't Jude, and that was as apparent in his grey eyes as in the way he was dressed, more like something she would've expected to see out of Max's closet. She didn't want to think about the fact that there was a good possibility they'd be doing things like sharing clothes now. It was still too weird. Besides, she figured she'd know the difference anyway, after sharing Jude's bed for so long.

Taking a deep breath to compose herself, she shrugged casually, then took a long drag from her cigarette. "That depends," she said slowly, exhaling a cloud of smoke. "On what you're willing to offer."

[not_the_grim]

Her initial reaction didn't go amiss, but Sirius was well accustomed to girls having a similar sort of reaction when he turned his attention on them, and didn't think too much about it. He had the particular talent of making whomever he was focused upon feel as though they were his entire world. It was that gift which kept so many in his sway when he was all but ignoring them later.

"Well," Sirius began, not much fooled by her calm facade. He fell smoothly into a crouch before her, his eyes never leaving her once. "For you, beautiful, I'd be willing to offer quite a lot, I think."

[with_diamonds]

It felt weirder even than Lucy would've imagined, having someone who looked so strikingly like Jude talking that way to her, but strangely enough, she wasn't so sure she objected. Another one of many things she didn't like to talk about was how much she missed what she'd had with Jude, though not so much Jude himself. She had no idea who this guy was, of course, but it was almost relieving to be conversing with someone all but identical to her ex-boyfriend without fighting.

"In that case," she replied, feigning a look of deep thought, her own eyes just as fixed on him, "how about we start with you sitting down and telling me your name, and then we'll see just what you have to give me." It wasn't much of a question, and to go along with it, she slid over on the step, gesturing to the space next to her with her free hand.

[kaleidoscopeyed]

Karolina walked out of the compound, her long hair hanging wet down her back from her shower, wetting her t-shirt. She stopped when she saw Lucy and considered for a moment. She hadn't really known what to make of Lucy when she moved in a few days after Karolina herself had. She'd overheard snatches of conversation between her and Gert, but mostly tried to keep her nose out of other people's business. Maybe giving her some space would be good? But Gert really liked her, and Karolina wanted to get to know her more because Gert liked her. It was a pretty rare thing.

That decided her. She stepped closer, coming up next to Lucy and bending a little to peer at her. "Too many blonds in one house? Poor Gert will be forced to dye her hair something really drastic." If she can...

[with_diamonds]

When Lucy noticed Karolina, she felt guilty, for a split second, that she'd been caught smoking, but when the other girl joked, she shook the thought off, managing a smile. She did keep her cigarette low to the ground, though, angled up off the cement so she wouldn't accidentally put it out.

"I don't know," she replied, mock-thoughtful. "I could always dye mine, get rid of the problem that way." That wasn't so much teasing as it was true. She'd never been able to see herself as anything other than blonde, but the way things were going now, she saw no reason not to do something so impulsive. The haircut had been a success, after all.

[kaleidoscopeyed]

Karolina shook her head and sat down beside Lucy, downwind of the smoke. "You're too pretty this way," she said smiling. "Your hair is really lovely." She glanced at the cigarette for a split second and looked away from it again back at Lucy's face. "You okay?" Just after she said it, she made a face. "You must hate when people ask you that. It's so not helpful."

[with_diamonds]

The laugh Lucy let out was only a little awkward, and she shook her head, glancing down to her lap for a second. "Thank you," she said, and if she sounded a little surprised, it was because she was. The last person who'd called her pretty in any way had been her brother, and he'd been high on morphine at the time, so she wasn't sure it counted. Jude sure as hell had stopped complimenting her that way, right around the time they stopped sleeping together. "And it's fine, don't worry about it. I'm..." She wasn't sure what it would mean, to describe herself as okay, but it didn't seem right. Instead, she said, "I'll be okay. Things are just crazy."

[listentomystory]

All Jude wanted to do was sit in the rec room and listen to some Beatles and maybe draw a thing or two, and when he saw Lucy sitting alone on the Compound steps, he couldn't help but let out a small groan, wincing (as much as he could with his one bad eye) and run his hand over the purple bruise. There was no way to avoid her really, but he tried. He tried to cover up the large bruise on his face as he attempted to walk by.

[with_diamonds]

"I already heard about the fight, Jude," Lucy sighed, without even looking at him. She was pretty sure that everyone had heard, and even if she didn't know what it was about, she knew enough to know that he'd gotten off worse for it. "There's no use trying to hide it."

[listentomystory]

Jude let out a groan and turned back to Lucy. He hadn't talked to her in sometime, but if she was starting it, he figured it might be okay to take a seat. He sat down and looked Lucy over for the first time in a while. She was every bit as beautiful as he drew, and most the time he couldn't do her justice. There would always been a place in his heart where he would love Lucy, no matter what happened between them, and despite what he had done to her.

He looked away, placed his hands on his knees and breathing out a sigh. "I know I've said it Luce, but I really am sorry," he paused for a moment and gave her a sly smile, "But I've now got two black eyes out of it, if that makes it any better."

[with_diamonds]

There was a tired look on Lucy's face as she scoffed, reluctantly turning to look at him once he'd sat down. "You can't just make it better this time, Jude," she replied tightly, shaking her head. "I know you're with Max now, but...beat up or not, things aren't going to be better between us. And I'm happy for you guys, I am, just...I'd really much rather you leave me alone. You've been sorry before, and, you know, I - I don't really care."

She hadn't really realized that, exactly, until she'd said it, and for a moment, she looked completely stunned, one corner of her mouth lifting in a bemused sort of smile. "So, that's it, then," she finished, and shifting away again, took a long drag from her cigarette.