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Post by Luke Rice on Aug 1, 2006 23:52:17 GMT -4
Manhattan was a city Luke had been too several times, but it never ceased to amaze him. There was something to do on every corner on every street on the city, and that's a whole lot to do. Luke was happy to be out here once again to enjoy everything the city had to offer. The main difference this time was he was not alone, he was with a beautiful girl who he had just helped destroy the bedroom of one of her... well, friends isn't really the right word for Jade.
He remembered his first time in the city, it had been a while ago, but it was like yesterday to him. Wandering through the streets, going from store to store and resturant to resturant. He had come here so many times he had lost count, but there was still so much he didn't know about Manhattan that he could easily find another million things he'd never done here.
Luke turned to her as she spoke to him, and he agreed with what she said wholeheartedly. "Shopping's alright, but you're right, something to eat sounds good."
Rice looked around the city, from building to building. His eyes skipping across all the things in the city. The backdrop of the various colors ripping across the sky behind the steel, stone and glass that made up the skyscrapers in what had for ages been dubbed the greatest city on earth. The various faces walking down the street, men and women from all walks of life. The beautiful blonde beside him...
Luke looked at her for a moment, but then he quickly shook his head, coming to his senses.
"Any place special you want to go?" He asked, wondering if there was a favorite resturant of hers around here, or someplace she had a preference for.
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Post by Lainey Carson on Aug 2, 2006 17:59:20 GMT -4
She wasn’t exactly familiar with Manhattan. Lainey had a sense of what stores were in the whole city, but she didn’t know which streets they were on or what they were next to. She tended to feel her away around, going somewhere new each time she went out so she’d hopefully make some kind of map in her head. And she had gone to a few restaurants and diners, but none really stuck. So why not go somewhere new? Perfect question. She was always in the mood for Mexican and luckily for her there seemed to be a Mexican place right down the street. Lainey grinned up at Luke.
“That place looks pretty good,” she pouted, hoping he was up for it and if he wasn’t, hoping the pout would take care of the rest. Then she smiled and took his hand and lead him down the street and into the Mexican restaurant.
As soon as they entered they were greeted by the sweet aroma of spices. The restaurant itself was actually bigger than it looked. The windows had blinds and kept the light out. It was dark inside with colored lights hanging all over the place. There was a bar back in the corner next to the kitchen. Like normal restaurants the kitchen was in another room, but they made pizza in the main room. So if you were sitting at the bar, you basically had a front row seat to the magnificent art of making pizza. But Lainey wasn’t up for the bar so early, so she stood in front of the desk while the hostess looked for a non smoking seat on her chart. Once again, it seemed they were in luck because they didn’t have a wait. They even had a nice booth seat. A waitress walked by and placed chips and salsa on their table along with their menus. She looked through hers while chomping thoughtfully on a chip. Then a choice finally appealed to her and she shut her menu, looking around.
“Just to warn you,” she said tapping her fingers on the table, “I actually eat. I’m sure most girls you’ve gone out with stick to salads, but…I don’t.” She shrugged and smiled, looking questionably at the boy in front of her. “So what are you getting?”
She popped another chip in her mouth and watched the people around her. Oddly, one of Lainey’s favorite activities was people watching. It allowed you to be quiet and relaxed, but almost live through the people you were watching, kind of like TV in a way. A large family were loud and obnoxious next to them. The father was reading through the drink list trying to ignore his misbehaving kids while the mother was scolding each one of them at different intervals. ‘Jimmy, don’t touch that!’ ‘Hannah, stop talking so loud, please, honey. No, Hannah, don’t throw the salsa!’ ‘Ryan, get off the floor.’ And on and on while the baby cried in the uncomfortable wood seat. Behind them, a group of five women sat together. They all looked young, college age, and only a few words floated back to her: cheating, lying, dirtbag, get back at him, etc. And at a table diagonal to theirs, a late twenty-ish couple sat talking and laughing. She tilted her head and watched for a bit.
“Sorry if you’re not a Mexican fan,” she said to Luke and then grinned, playing with a strand of hair. Lainey’s eyes went back to the people, one of the college girls who seemed to have launched into a long and emotional story. She wondered if anyone else did this or if anyone else was watching her. What were they thinking about her?
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Post by Luke Rice on Aug 4, 2006 22:01:52 GMT -4
"No, actually I love Mexican." Luke replied from his end of the booth. He leaned back for a moment and let his eyes wander the room. There were a lot of people here, from the patrons to the waiters to the hostesses to the bartender. Luke's eyes buzzed around the room for a few moments, and then they settled back on his own company. Luke replayed events in his mind and he wondered how he'd gone from wrecking someone's bedroom to sitting in one of Manhattan's many restuants. It didn't really matter, but it did make Luke smile. Things like this never happened to him, and he was glad that that was all changing.
"Haven't decided yet." He said in responce to her earlier question. He flipped open a menu and studied the various choices for a moment, until he settled on something. Then he returned the menu to the edge of the table, where it would remain until the waitress came to take their orders.
After trying one of the chips and sampling the salsa dip, he looked back to her. It occured to him that even after spending all day with her, he hadn't learned a lot about her -- aside from her obvious distaste for Jade. Luke took a drink from the glass of water that is always set in front of everyone, and then he turned his sights back to her.
"Tell me Lainey, what do you like to do for fun?"
Luke wanted to make conversation, because to be honest it had been a long time since he'd had a friend. Hawthorne was his chance to change that, that's what he'd been thinking since he came here. Now an opprotunity had fallen right into his lap, and he wasn't going to waste it.
(Sorry it's short. Braindead lately. I have ants in my room and I haven't gotten a lot of sleep.)
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Post by Lainey Carson on Aug 4, 2006 22:54:25 GMT -4
“Fun?” she took a second to think about it. “It’s sick but I play sports for fun. Um, I love to dance, like in clubs, you know? Anything with other people really, whether it’s just like sitting at home and watching TV or partying. It’s all fun.”
She always had fun at practice, because despite being incredibly tired, things just happened that made you laugh. People getting hit in the face or tripping, stuff you’re not supposed to laugh at because it’s rude. And after practice you always felt so good about yourself. Blair had shown her the true art of dancing, exactly what you needed to do with your hips and arms and face which would ensure you were getting action later that night and burning calories at the same time. Although Lainey didn’t want to and probably couldn’t get as much action as Blair Banks. There’d been countless times when her and Paige had just sat and talked for an hour or more and she’d had more fun than she expected. And tonight, she wanted to have fun, whatever that would take.
“How about you?”
She listened to his answer as the waitress came and asked them for their drinks. She politely ordered a Diet Coke and then the waitress asked if they were ready to order their food.
“You ready?” she asked Luke, then said, “I’ll have steak fajitas, please.”
Lainey looked at him, wondering if she should ask what she was thinking. She was really into asking personal questions to people she’d just met. It was the easiest way to get to know them and the best way to break the ice. Someone had to do it, so she took it upon herself to be that someone. Luke was still a mystery—the good boy of Hawthorne Academy who’d just trashed Jade Delanvers’ room with her. There had to be something else behind that blonde hair and those blue eyes and that “I’m innocent” smile. He could secretly have a foot fetish or be Speed’s biggest customer. She couldn’t be sure of what to expect after this afternoon.
“Okay, Luke,” Lainey smiled mischeviously. “personal question time. Think you can handle it?”
She muttered a ‘Thank You’ to the waitress as she brought their drinks. The blonde, mildly freckled girl plopped her straw in her Diet Coke and took a sip, not breaking eye contact with Luke, challenging him. She had to think of a good question, not one too personal because that would possibly offend him. Something that would let her get to know about him and his past a little bit—which was obviously one subject: girls. You could always tell what a guy was really like by his taste in girls. Guys who liked the obvious sluts were assholes, but most would overcome it by forty five. The list goes on; there are always exceptions, but most are right on.
“Tell me about the girls in your life,” she said slowly, thinking, a smile forming on her face. “Girlfriends, crushes, unrequited love. Were they pretty? What happened? Answer and you can ask me something, and make it good.”
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Post by Luke Rice on Aug 9, 2006 19:32:33 GMT -4
Luke put a hand through his blonde hair and sat back. What did he like to do for fun? Well...
"To be honest, I'm usually up for anything. Going on out the town, parties, movies... anything really. I just like things that get you completely wrapped up in the moment. It's no fun when you're stuck doing something, but your mind's a million miles away. As long as I'm having enough fun to keep me completely occupied with here and now. You have to enjoy life, right?"
Luke liked Manhattan for the very reason he had just said. When you were here, it was everything. Whether you were at a club, a resturant or just out on the street. You couldn't be preoccupied with what happened that morning, what you had to do in school, or what had happened years ago in a orphanage. Luke liked that feeling, where all you had to worry about and care about was right here and now. Right now he wasn't even giving a thought about what Jade would do if she caught them. All he was thinking about was the unlimited possibilties of this day.
Luke turned his eyes down to the menu quickly, since the waitress had appeared and he now had to order. He ordered the enchilladas, handed his menu to the waitress and thanked her, then he turned his blue eyes back to Lainey. No sooner had he done so, than she asked decided to ask him personal questions. Heh, that might throw some off their step, but Luke didn't mind discussing his personal life. It wasn't a secret, per sey, but no one ever asked, so very few people knew about his life before Hawthorne. Then again, very few knew about his life now, while he was at Hawthorne, so he supposed he was a mystery. Well, if she was going to be the one to figure him out, that was fine.
"Sure, ask anything." Luke said. He wasn't sure what she'd come up with.
Of course she took him up on that offer, and asked him about the girls in his life. Not that that was a terribly long list. There had been a couple of girls in the past, but no one really special... well, aside from one specific person back at the shelter.
"Well, if you really want to know, there was one girl who was important to me. Haven't seen her in several years. Her name was Angela, we were both at the building where I grew up. We were too young for things to be too serious, but she did teach me to be easy going. I used to be so wrapped up in the details... I was so busy trying to make everything in life perfect that I didn't stop to enjoy the ride. I'm glad that changed."
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