Players:
Summary: Alessia becomes protective of Jeremy at July's expense.
Date: December 21, 2009
Log Title Grand Central Clash
Rating: PG
NYC - Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Station is one of the main hubs to get in and out of Manhattan. The main concourse is vast with marble covering the floor and walls. Looking up at the ceiling is looking at a piece of art, mapped out is all the constellations in gold on a blue background. In the center of the main concourse is a circular information booth displaying departure and arrival times of the various trains. Once you leave the Main Concourse there are many expensive shops to be found. There is also a major food court within the Station, where visitors can feast and chat before their train arrives.
There's a nice layer of snow on the city and with the cars and pedestrians walking around, it's wet and snowy, not to mention cold. Which is why Jeremy has decided to try to find shelter in the food court section of Grand Central Terminal. He's sitting on one of the long benches with his backpack as his feet with a cup of hot coffee in one hand and a buttered roll on the table that he's slowly picking at. Lucky for Jeremy there are the breakfast carts outside where you can get a simple breakfast for under two dollars.
No blues on today, instead the redhead is purely in Civilian wear. Low heeled boots, dark jeans, black winter coat, black leather gloves. Red hair left loose, coiling damply over her shoulders and back from the snow. A hot chocolate procured, before she's moving to try and find some space to mindlessly people watch.
July is coming into the Central Station wearing qutie the thick clothes, shivering a bit, "Whew…" she rubs her arms, "If this keeps getting colder… I'll freeze! I can't believe I might end up locked inside the school again…" she sighs, lowering her head softly and shaking her head, before sighing again, longer again, and then lifting her head, and heading inside, wandering apparently aimlessly.
Jeremy is wearing the same outfit he's been wearing the last few weeks, ragged jeans, a leather jacket, a pair of gloves and ragged sneakers. It'a always obvious by his dress what his living situation is. His hat is off and his hair is a bit messed up in dishevled, but he's happy to be out of the cold. He looks around a bit as he picks at his roll, not caring that he's eating it with gloved hands. His eyes eventually go to July and he debates moving for a bit before seeing Alessia, the police officer who helped him out a while back. "Hello officer." He says to her as she walks by the area he's in.
Alessia starts heading for one of the benches, before she hears that 'officer'. A turn, because honestly? She doesn't look very authorative today. But there's a slow, warm smile. "Well hey there, trouble. How have ya been?" Wandering his way. "Ta mind if Ah join ya?" He's got to know blue eyes are taking him in. Planning. Again.
July was walking around while rubbing her gloved hands, and then she adjusts her hood, pulling it down slowly now that she's out of the cold. She looks around, and the first thing she notices is that there's a redhead here, followed by WHO is with said redhead. "Jeremy?" she mutters softly, tilting her head softly as she mutters the name to herself before walking toward the two, slowly.
Jeremy looks away as the word trouble maker is mentioned, he hasn't exactly been keeping out of trouble but he won't admit that. "Cold." He says taking a sip from his coffee. "It's hard to find a place to stay warm this time of year." He can only stay in Grand Central for so long before getting kicked out or it closing for the night. "You can sit with me, it's not like I'm expecting company." He says giving a small smile.
Alessia smiles more brightly. "We'll have ta work on tha cold thing." In other words, Jeremy, if you're not careful, the redhead will drag you off shopping. "We'll think o' something." Sitting back with her hot chocolate. "So how ya been, kiddo?"
Jeremy shurgs. "Okay I guess. I mean, it's the same thing." Not much has changed for him in the last few weeks, let alone the last few months. "You don't have to think of anything, and it's the north, it gets cold in winter. I did get in invite to go somewhere, I don't know yet."
"Oh yeah? Where's that?" Not that Al will check up on the place or anything. Noooo, not that! "An' yeah, Ah do." She eyes his roll. "Let me get ya a better breakfast, at least. Someplace 'round here has ta do bettah."
Jeremy stays quiet for a bit, he's just kind of awkward about people helping him at times, even if he does appricate it. It's just he kind of feels like it's a debt he'll never be able to pay off. "It's just some half way house, I haven't gotten the courage to check it out yet." He's afriad he'll get kicked out of there too. "You really don't, but thanks. If you want to, I don't mind just this."
Alessia gives him the /look/. All women have it, just an innate thing. She pulls out a ten, offers it over. "You're a growing boy. My momma would never let me hear tha end of it. Now go get somethin' more fillin' than a roll."
Jeremy hesititates before taking the ten. "Thanks, and I'll be right back." He says getting up, and actually leaving his backpack behind, as he runs to a near by place to get a breakfast sandwhich and some orange juice to go along with it. At least they're already in the food court area, but it does take him a bit of time to get it and come back.
Some people with a curious streak might try to poke through his backpack. Especially a cop who knows that he's hiding things in there. But! Alessia is off duty, and has no intention of disrupting his privacy.
After about five minutes he comes back and sits down next to Alessia again. "Thanks." He says offering the small smile again as he starts to eat the sausage egg and cheese he got. After a few bites he reaches in his jacket pocket and hands the change to her. He even eats his sandwhich with his gloves still on. "I've been eating a lot of buttered rolls lately." He confesses.
Alessia pushes the change back. "Save it for lunch." A frown when he tells her he's been eating a lot of buttered rolls lately. "Should have ya over for dinner, sometime." Because she does love to cook. Must be the southern genetics.
July approaches Jeremy and his friend, and she smiles a bit, "Hi, Jeremy." the rubber band girl says, waving lightly to the duo, "I wasn't expecting to find anyone I know here. It's too cold to move around." she giggles a bit, before she looks at Alessia, "Hello. You're Jeremy's friend? I'm July."
Jeremy tenses a bit as July approches. It's not that he doesn't like her, it's that he's really uncomfortable about the school. "You don't have to invite someone like me over for dinner, you just gave me money for breakfast, that's enough." Jeremy says before looking up at July again. "Hello." He says quitely.
"When are ya gonna realize Ah don't do anythin' because Ah /have/ to? It's all about wantin' to." Al shoots back at Jeremy, before she's giving July a suspicious once over. "Ah'm his acquaintance, yes."
July smiles and waves again, and she giggles, "Glad to know Jeremy here has some good-looking friends." she says, nodding gently, before looking at the guy again, "So how are you doing, Jeremy? I hope everything is alright?"
Jeremy seems a bit shocked that July just said what she did. He maybe a street rat but he was a kid who was brought up on respect, especially those older than him. "July, she's just someone whose helped me out, she's a police officer." It's probably the first time he seems irritated. "Sorry." He says to Alessia. "It's just…it's weird having people offer stuff like that."
Alessia gives Jeremy a look, that states 'Is she serious?', with one eyebrow arched and everything. But then Jeremy states what he does, about her being a cop. "Yeah. Not a lot of people want to call cops their friends." At least not guys like Jeremy. A slant of a blue look his way. "Will ya get over it already?"
July blinks softly, but then she giggles softly, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." she says, nodding gently, before looking at Alessia, "Well, maybe not a lot of people want to call cops their friends, but I sure don't want a cop to be my enemy." she giggles a bit again, before looking at Jeremy again, "Anywyas, Jeremy, how are you doing?"
Jeremy looks down and is quite for a bit. "I just don't really call anyone my friend." Jeremy confesses softly. The only one he probably would is Tim cause he's been able to open up to him and Tim is a former street kid. "It's hard to get over, having to depend on the charity of others, it's not easy." He finally blurts out. "I've been surviving." He says to July with a shrug. For Jeremy, that's a good thing.
"Ya should be. Teach ya some manners, maybe. Or maybe jus' teach ya not ta jump to conclusions." Here's a whole new side to Al for you to see, Jeremy. "Ya know what they say about assumptions, right? Ya make an ass outta you, an' 'mption." Digging into her wallet, she slides Jeremy a card. "Charity is what ya give ta people ya don't know, an' don't wanna know. There's a difference. Come find me later. Or call me. Whatever."
July blinks softly, and then she sighs, "I'm sorry, ok. I didn't mean anything with my comment, I just thought you were his friend." she shakes her head softly at that, "I guess I should go then. Happy Holidays to you two." she says, waving lightly.
Jeremy takes the card from Alessia and nods. "Umm…I don't really have a way to call you." Well there is always a pay phone when he has change but he usually uses that for food. "Thank you." He says even if he doesn't understand why she wants to get to know him. He looks at July and feels really awkward at the moment. "I was wrong, I probably should have called her a friend, she's been nice enough to me."
"Then jus' show up. Ah'm off tha next couple of days." She means it, too. A look at July, sighing. She sort of tries to take the edge off of everyone's awkwardness with her empathy. "Ah'm tryin' ta get ta bein' his friend. He doesn't know me very well yet."
July sighs softly and nods, "Yeah, I guess. Still, I should better go, shouldn't I? Unless I threaten to shove my foot up my mouth again." she chuckles softly, smiling a little bit. "Plus, I'm sure Jeremy here doesn't want me asking him to join the school again." she shrugs lightly.
The awkward feelings go away and Jeremy starts to relax a bit. "I'm not going to that school, espcially with that one guy there." He's scared of John. He just looks to Alessia and shrugs, not many people know him that well. "Sorry, I just…have a hard time opening up." Otherwords, he has a hard time trusting people.
"School?" She looks at Jeremy, brow cocked up again. "What school?" A wave of her hand. "Ah'm not expectin' ya ta become my best buddy overnight, sunshine."
July smiles softly, "Which guy, Jeremy?" she asks, stopping her retreat, before looking at Alessia as she's inquired about the school. "Oh, it's Xavier's School." she says with a smile and nods gently. "He could enroll there, but… well, no matter how much I try to convince him, he just refuses." she shrugs.
"Some school that she goes to." Jeremy doesn't remember if he told Alessia that he's a mutant or not, so he keeps that quiet. "I don't want to go there." He states flatly. "And the kid with the fire, I don't want to be around him." There is a definate fear of that kid as Jeremy talks about him. "I'd just be careful around him if I were you."
He most certainly hadn't. "There's a…private school? That ya could go to?" She's confused. "Kid with tha fire? What, is he a pyro?" She means a pyromaniac, not a pyrokinetic, but.. "Jeremy."
July rubs the back of her head, "You mean John?" she then sighs softly, "He's cool, man. He's a teenager just like you and me." she says, arching one eyebrow for a moment, before shrugging lightly. "That place would be good for you, man, if only you'd give it a chance. I really can't understand your fear of going to school."
"I'm not afraid of going to school." In fact Jeremy misses school like crazy, he was an honour roll student. "I won't do well there, it's just…not for me, okay. Please, stop asking me." He's a bit irritated. "And yeah…he's a pyro. He's dangerous."
"I'm not afraid of going to school." In fact Jeremy misses school like crazy, he was an honour roll student. "I won't do well there, it's just…not for me, okay. Please, stop asking me." He's a bit irritated. "And yeah…he's a pyro. He's dangerous." (re)
Alessia is quiet a moment, thinking. Feeling what she can pick up from Jeremy. "If he's dangerous, you shouldn't go. No one should have to go where they don't feel safe." Looking up at July. "And pushing him isn't going to get you what you want. Nagging never really works. You should respect his decision."
July sighs gently, "I'm not trying to force him. I gave up trying him to get there. What I am trying here is to make him stop calling a friend of mine 'dangerous'. He's a nice guy! He made some bad decisions in the past, got a kid being this young, but he's responsible! He's a hard working guy!"
"We've all made bad decisions, I'm far from perfect, but you didn't see what I saw." Jeremy says sounding a bit irritated. "You don't know because he didn't tell you. I didn't want to find out but I did. It's not my fault he touched me. He doesn't like people like me."
"Whatever you see in your friend, clearly isn't what Jeremy sees in him. Not gonna change that, no matter how ya try." A sharp look at Jeremy. "What do ya mean, people like ya?" Hello protective momma hen in full force.
.
July sighs softly, and she pinches the bridge of her nose, "Please let my patience be as stretchable as my body…" she mutters to herself, before looking at Jeremy and Alessia, "At least could you stop difammating my friend while I'm here, please? I don't like people saying bad things about my friends."
"I'm not trying to put down your friend, I'm trying to tell you to be careful because of what I saw." Jeremy says as he's not just making stuff up to be spiteful. "I was trying to be nice to tell you to be careful, but nevermind." He says starting to shake a bit, and it's not from anger. It's just the frustration has left him feeling like he needs a fix to calm himself.
"Ah'm not sayin' spit about your friend. Ah don't know him. Jus' sayin' if Jeremy doesn't feel safe around him, that's that." A hand out to Jeremy's arm. Trying to use her empathy to calm him down, feeling his frustration rising. "Relax, sunshine."
July sighs again. "Listen, Jeremy. People don't just simply join the school where I go. People get interviewed, the headmasters make a…" she thinks a bit, "A background check on everyone who applies to the school." Actually, people get a background check and then invited to join on most cases. "So believe me when I said that John isn't dangerous as you think. If he truly was a danger to the other students, the headmasters wouldn't allow him in." She tries to explain.
Jeremy rubs his arm a bit and just stays quiet and sighs. "Nevermind, really, just never mind." He says as he did his own 'background' check on John and he saw him kill his uncle. "I need a cigarette." He mutters running a hand through his tangled, messy hair. "And if they do a background check on people, I'm not gonna go there."
Alessia gets to her feet. "Listen, July, is it? Stop it. He's said he doesn't want to go. He says he thinks your friend is dangerous. That's that. That's his opinion, and maybe you should back off and respect that. Stop harping on it, huh? Because you're only going to upset him." And that is something the redhead apparently isn't okay with.
July doesn't say anything for a few moments, and then she shakes her head, "I'll just go, then." she says, rubbing her hands again as she looks outside the station for a bit, not really feeling like braving the cold outside, but the proverbial cold here for her is worse. "Good luck." It's all she says as she just walks away, giving a single, slight wave to the two.
"Thanks." Jeremy mutters feeling a bit odd about being in the middle in a sense, but he really was trying to warn July to watch out for her. So if John decides to flambee her as well, he did warn her. "I should probably just go too." He says but he doesn't make a move to go, as it is cold out there.
Alessia looks over at Jer. "Honey, she was pushing you. It wasn't very nice of her." A bite at her bottom lip. "Come stop by later? Ya can help me try ta put up my tree? Ah'm not tall enough, really." Total excuse!
"Thanks." Jeremy mutters feeling a bit odd about being in the middle in a sense, but he really was trying to warn July to watch out for her. So if John decides to flambee her as well, he did warn her. "I should probably just go too." He says but he doesn't make a move to go, as it is cold out there. (re)
Alessia looks over at Jer. "Honey, she was pushing you. It wasn't very nice of her." A bite at her bottom lip. "Come stop by later? Ya can help me try ta put up my tree? Ah'm not tall enough, really." Total excuse!
Jeremy hesitates a bit and as much as he wants to, he's a bit afraid. "Maybe." He says, knowing he is taller than her and not exactly short a five foot ten. "I usually just go to Rockafeller Center to see the tree, and her, she's really not that bad. She was trying to help but she just couldn't take no for an answer."
"Ah'd like tha company." And just maybe find a way to get him some new, warmer clothes and a truly filling meal for a change. "Well, Ah've just got an artificial one, don't want needles all over my apartment." A shrug. "Well, she needs ta learn ta back off, is all."
Jeremy looks down and fiddles with the zipper on the leather jacket that Kaji gave him a while back. "I get a decent meal once in a while." Not that often though, he wants to protest again but he just keeps his mouth shut. "Do you think I should check out the half way house?" He just asks, figuring someone's opinion might be nice.
"Do Ah think so? Yes. Especially with this weather. It's too cold out, Jeremy. An' Ah worry. Ah know ya don't really wanna spend a lotta time around me, ya feel like Ah'm givin' ya charity. But you're a good kid. A nice kid. Ah jus' wanna make sure ya do all right."
"I'm really not that good of a kid." Jeremy says hating being called a kid, but what teenager really likes it. "The guy said he could help me get back on my feet and I hope he's right it's just…I don't know anything about it." He confesses as he has trouble with trust. When your family rejects you, it's hard to trust anyone else to not do the same. "It's not my first winter out here."
"You're not much of a kid, either. But you're good enough ya don't go around hurtin' people ta get what ya need." Al says softly. "Jeremy.. it's my first winter knowing you, though. Ah worry."
"I don't like touching people." Is Jeremy's response and what that means is up for interpretation. "I do what I need to get by, that's all." He says really thinking about going over to Alessia's tonight. "If…I come over tonight, can I borrow your shower?" He asks timidly.
Alessia smiles, an easy, honest smile. "Ah don't much like it eitha. Hate it, a lot of tha time. An' Ah know ya do what ya need ta get by. But ya've been nice, respectful ta me. Is it so bad Ah wanna make sure ya keep gettin' by?" A grin. "Shower an' we can wash your stuff."
"But, you don't know me. You don't really know much about me, just that I live on the streets. You could find out something about me and hate me." Espeically since Alessia is a cop, that's what Jeremy thinks at least. "I'm a survior, at least, I think I am."
"And?" Al retorts. "You could find out somethin' about me, an' hate me too, couldn't you? It's called tha risk of makin' friends." She shrugs. "Ya are. An' maybe Ah jus' wanna make sure that keeps happenin'."
Jeremy stays quiet for a long period of time. She's a cop, he shouldn't be getting close to her, not in a friendly way. He's a drug addict and he knows that it's not a good thing. Though he doesn't enjoy that he is. "Okay…I'll help you with your tree tonight." He says resigning himself to it.
Alessia smiles. "All right. Ah'll see ya then." A wink for him, dropping her empty cocoa cup in the trash bin nearby. Heading off, back into the cld.
