Players:
Summary: Lorna runs into Jeremy she offers him something hot to drink.
Date: December 2, 2009
Log Title Coffee Offers
Rating: PG
NYC - City Hall Park
In front of the large white building with pillars, American Flags, and bell tower on top, is City Hall Park with its extravagant fountain. Four sets of black iron gas lamps sit on the four corners of the fountain, there the only gas lamps left in the city. Four spouts of water shoot in the center tier of the fountain and shower down into the water below. Four smaller pools sit on each side of the fountain where water pours into them from the main part. Benches sit all around the fountain with trees and flowers covering the grass behind.
It's already dark out and with the sun down it's gotten quite a bit colder. Jeremy is one of the few people in he park and he's wearing a beat up knit hat, a pair of gloves with holes in them and a dirty jacket. His clothes look quite warn and dirty, it's not hard to tell he's homeless. He has a back pack slung over his shoulder and he seems to be looking around, trying to spot an ideal victem, and lucky for Jeremy, he spots some woman on the bench who would be ideal. She's gabbing away on her cell phone, attention not on her purse next to her, and Jeremy walks up, along the back side of the bench, and casually reaches down over the back of the bench and pulls the woman's wallet out of her purse, and the oblvious lady doesn't even notice.
Likewise, Lorna's gabbing it up on the phone. "Yeah. Friday. Ha, I know. … Yeah, yeah. Really, I think all I have to worry about is him ending up in the medbay with straws jammed up his nose." A purple crocheted beret perches atop the tangle of green hair, and a matching scarf swaddles her neck. She's got a knit bag perching from the crook of her left arm, and a couple of shopping bags dangling from her hand. A little early Christmas shopping has been completed. Gotta take advantage of those sales while they're going. Lorna doesn't notice the sneaky snatch of the woman's stuff prior to her nearby stroll. She slaps her phone shut with a quick, "Mmmhmm, talk to you later!" then pauses to look thoughtfully at the Starbucks while shaking off a chill.
Jeremy doesn't even look to see what's inside the wallet yet, he'll take the money out and dump the rest in a mail box later. As he walks past Lorna, it's either the green hair or the part about jamming straws up his nose that makes him do a double take. He's not sure if he actually heard that right. He can't help but continue to stare, hoping he'll hear it again to confirm what he heard is right. "Maybe you're finally going crazy Jer." He mutters to himself shaking his head.
"A hot latte would be nice," Lorna says to herself. "But," and now she's shaking the sleeve down from her wrist, and checking the studded watch around the cuff of her leather gloves. "Meh, no time really." And then she peers aside and catches Jeremy's stare. Not really so uncommon, really, and perhaps if he looked less raggedy she'd completely have overlooked him. She makes a face at first; not really a foul one, but not really a concerned one, either, and then her expression stiffens. "Can I help you with something?" She finally asks.
Jeremy jumps at being caught out staring and shakes his head quickly. "Oh, no miss, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stare." He says quickly as if afraid he's going to get in trouble. There is definate nervousness on his face as he's a bit of a timid teen. "I didn't mean to overhear what you were talking about."
At his tone, Lorna visibly softens, and almost seems embarrassed. "Oh, er, don't be sorry. No harm, just— you know, uh— Overhear?" She seems puzzled for a moment. "Oh, on the phone?" The green haired mutant laughs. "It isn't like you heard something confidential." She continues to chuckle, while looking him over with a more concerned eye. "Are you alright?" she asks, outside her normal conversation with strangers in the big city.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Jeremy answers almost too quickly as he moves an arm across his chest to grab onto his other arm. He seems to relax a bit but is still on edge as Lorna laughs. "I'm sorry, it's just the nose and the straw thing caught me off guard." He shivers a bit but he tries to hold the shiver in. It's as much from him going through a bit of withdrawal as it is the cold.
Lorna grimaces thoughtfully a moment, but chuckles again upon his recital of a quote from the overheard conversation. "It wouldn't be so alarming if you knew who I was talking about. Do you got somewhere to go in this cold?"
Jeremy nods. "Yeah, I have somewhere to go." A bench in Thompson Square Park is a place to go, even if it isn't ideal. I've survived this cold before, it's not that cold yet." Meaning it hasn't started snowing yet. He brings his backpack around and starts to dig through it, the wallet he just took falling out. He quickly grabs it and shoves it back in before finding his pack of cigarettes.
A green brow raises. Lorna's incredulous stare only deepens as the teen rummages through his bag, and ends up with a bag of cigarettes. "Those'll kill ya, you know. And it's not gonna get any warmer, either." Her fingers shift around the shopping bag as she glances back at the Starbucks. "Do you like hot chocolate?"
Jeremy nods. "Yeah, I like hot chocolate." He's not that picky about what he eats or drink, when you're scrapping by for food he's learned not to be picky. "I know they're not good for me but they help." What they help with Jeremy doesn't quite say as he pulls one out of the pack and goes to light it. ""Unless the smoke bothers you?"
"Well, when you finish with that," Lorna says, shaking her head, "Let me get you a cup. It's on me. They have good Danishes, too; though their prices are practically robbery sometimes," she smirks. She rolls her eyes a little. "I have friends who say they help with stress, too," she replies in assumption, though not really knowing what it is he's speaking of. "Helps 'em right to their grave, in my opinion. But, eh— to each their own."
"It's not a great habbit but there's worse." Jeremy says almost gloomily. "I don't go into Starbucks, too expensive for me." Hot Dog vendors, cheap pastries in Chinatown, that's about Jeremy's financial range. "It's not an easy thing to give up." He says finally lighting it and taking a long drag, hoping to finish it quickly. "Thank you for offereing me food. I'm Jeremy."
Lorna agrees, "Indeed there are. But, like I said, it's on me. Your choice. My name's Lorna." She offers another smile. Rather than continue all this standing around with bags and such, she opts to put some of her stuff down in front of an empty bench and sit down. She keeps her knitted purse around an arm. "So, where do ya come from, Jeremy?" she asks, while adjusting her coat to better fend off the biting cold.
Jeremy nods. "Thank you Lorna." He says trying to take long drags off the cigarette in hopes that he can smoke it faster. "I orginally come from Ohio. I took a bus out here almost two years ago." He says with a bit of a shrug. "I like it better here in New York than in Ohio."
"Of course you do. I mean, you know, no offense or anything, but it's /Ohio./" She chuckles. "But, in all seriousness— two years ago?" Lorna has seen a lot of tragedies with children, mutant and non mutant alike, over the years. It never ceases to amaze her, still, when she meets someone so young and on their own. Still, she takes it with less amazement than most would. "Got any family here, then?" she asks tentatively, but curiously.
Jeremy shakes his head. "No, I don't. have any family out here, or back in Ohio really." He won't call his parents his family anymore. "Yeah, almost two years, when I was fifteen I headed out here. I just…needed to get away." He says finishing his cigarette. It's weird, somedays he's more willing to open up to people other days he's as closed up as a clam.
Lorna crosses her legs, and pulls up the faux-fur cuffs of her boots over her pants for more leg cover. "Fifteen. Good/ness/. Never ceases to amaze me," she says, her eyes on the bare branches of the trees around them. "I can relate. To needing to get away, I mean." She looks at him again, and watches him take the last drag.
Jeremy doesn't get into too much details on why he left home and just nods. "Yeah, I was fifteen. What never ceases to amaze you?" He asks curiously as he's not sure what she's talking about. "Yeah, I never really thought I would have ended up in New York City but it happened."
"Oh, sorry." Lorna brushes stray locks of green back behind her ears. "I work at a.. school, of sorts. Lots of runaways. Outcasts. Etcetera. It never ceases to amaze me how some get by on there own for so long, while so young." She smiles a little sadly. "But anyway, still up for that cup of hot cocoa?"
Jeremy nods slowly at what she says. "I went to runaway shelter for a bit, but I couldn't stay there." He says but he won't say why he couldn't. At the mention of hot cocoa Jeremy nods again. "Yeah, that'd be great, thanks so much Lorna." He says as pride is one of the things he's given up living on the streets.
"I don't blame you. Those are straight up depressing and dirty," Lorna says as she grabs her shopping bags and rises from the bench. "I guess I'll be getting myself a latte after all! Really, it's no problem," she says as they head for the Starbucks.
