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 Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2017 7:39 am
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If anyone could claim to know all the best nooks and crannies the beachfront had to offer, it was Jamie. He was a lot like Kaleb, not super fond of the large crowds that flocked there in the summertime, even if a majority of them were locals. It was always too much of a conflict mentally and emotionally; he wanted to be noticed, wanted to be something other than invisible, but if anyone looked at him there was an immediate anxiety in the pit of his stomach.
If nothing else, Jamie could say he was getting better about that. With Shiloh's help, with the help of everyone who treated him with the respect any ol' human being deserved, he was adapting.
Didn't mean he'd stopped savoring these moments when the air was crisp and the beach was all but abandoned.
Bundled in his dark grey peacoat, a pale pink scarf hiding his neck, he happened around the side of a rock and into the very same alcove Kaleb had already claimed. It was an unexpected twist of fate that caught Jamie off guard, leaving him momentarily silent, his mind trying to decide whether to lead him somewhere else or say hello.
It didn't register immediately that guy was vaguely familiar.
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Posted: Fri Feb 03, 2017 6:55 pm
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Kaleb also stared for a second, blinking up at the other youth with surprise. But he was at least somewhat quicker to pull up an association. Try as he might, it was hard for Kaleb to ever truly forget that frightening night in the woods, when they all jumped into a giant void. No name came to mind, but he remembered the young man's face all quiet and determined, and trusting.
He hadn't expected anyone to actually find him there, all hidden away as he was. His discovery even brought an unexpected pang of shame, like he had been caught hiding away with his books like the socially inept nerd he was.
"Hi," Kaleb started, still sounding a little surprised, and a little awkward. "You're Shiloh's friend, right?"
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Posted: Sat Feb 04, 2017 6:38 pm
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That he wasn't the first to speak was what eventually brought Jamie back into the present and back into a mindset right for conversation. It was fine, even if he felt a touch bad for intruding. They were past the point of no return now that pleasantries had been made.
"Oh, um, yeah!" he answered a little too enthusiastically, then reigned it in. "We..." he tongue danced around the idea of directly bringing up the whole void episode now that it clicked where they'd met (in the loosest sense of the word). Instead, he shook his head and tried again as he took a step or two closer, "I'm Jamie. Hi," cue a small, timid sort of 'I'm trying, sorry I'm not very good at this' laugh, "Nice to see you..." he trailed off, fishing for a name.
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Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2017 1:27 pm
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"Oh, no, it's no problem," Jamie assured, hands raised and waving in a don't worry about it sort of way. "I just don't usually see a lot of people at the beach this time of year. Or over this way. It... caught me off guard."
There was something to be said for camaraderie in awkwardness. At least that way, even if the conversation wasn't super snappy, no one was expecting a lot, anyway.
"It's great back here," he agreed as he moved to sit on a rock near Kaleb. "For reading and um, well, I like to play games back here and stuff. Especially during the, y'know, busier months."
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Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2017 5:37 pm
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With a shy smile, Kaleb moved a couple of his books to make more room for Jamie to sit nearby, as though there wasn't already enough room for the both of them to take advantage of the quiet alcove.
"I avoided the beach a lot when I got here," he admitted, glancing out over the water. "There were so many people out, and not always the sort you want to run into..." Kaleb didn't specify, but he could clearly remember the type. High school had been fresh in his mind even a whole summer after graduation, with it's cliques and popularity contests, and the unfavourable labels one such as himself tended to attract. He had no desire to risk the attention of Ashdown's 'popular' teens after finally escaping those in the city.
He shifted his glance to look around the sheltered rocky niche, almost seeming to withdraw into himself like a nervous turtle. "But if this is your place I wouldn't want to intrude or anything, quiet places like this can be hard to find..."
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Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2017 9:00 am
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Even implied, Jamie thought he understood to a degree. If nothing else, he and Kaleb would've likely agreed on the whole 'popularity' thing. High school had been an uncomfortable competition for many, but for Jamie it had been a fight to stay under the radar long enough to avoid getting shoved into a locker. It hadn't been fun.
At the same time, he'd met Shiloh there. Senior year had made up for everything else he faced before that.
"Oh, no no, it's not my place," he assured quickly. "I mean, I come here a lot, but it's, um, just a place, y'know? So we could both come here whenever." He scuffed the toe of his shoe into the sand. "It's like you said, quiet places are hard to find, so we should... take advantage of it."
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Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2017 6:38 pm
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Kaleb's lopsided smile seemed a little less forced than his usual shy expression. Perhaps it was the mutual appreciation of really nice quiet places, in addition to the willingness to share. Sometimes when people found something they liked they would want to keep it to themselves, and Kaleb was just happy he wouldn't have to give up the little alcove.
"I promise I won't be too loud," he replied, smiling, but still deferring to Jamie's first-to-find seniority.
The freckled teen was quiet for a few seconds, brushing a stray bit of sand off his book as thoughts ran awkwardly through his mind. He kinda wanted to ask about magic, because Jamie had been there on Halloween... But even if he wasn't so nervous when it came to social interaction, magic was now a hard topic to approach without raising any suspicions. It seemed there as more at stake now that just being thought of as a weirdo.
"How have things been, since November?" He asked timidly, now picking at the book's binding, and entirely unable to meet Jamie's eyes.
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Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2017 10:15 am
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That promise, unnecessary as it was, made Jamie smile. Now that they weren't in the middle of an earth-shattering, end of the world experience, he felt confident in what he'd thought about Kaleb during their brief meeting at the edge of the crater. They were pretty set to get along.
Of course, they had more in common than likes or dislikes or even personality. Kaleb was the first to delve into it deeper, albeit vaguely, and Jamie knew it wasn't an easy thing to talk about when you had to worry about people overhearing. Back in the day, when people didn't know magic was really, really real, the worst that would happen was someone thinking you were a little strange.
"Different," he said, testing the word, "Things have been different. Some things are the same, but a lot changed. Sometimes I feel... pretty unsure what to do. I apparently had my life pretty well together, but that... wasn't me, y'know?"
Meaning the 'him' he'd replaced in this world, of course. Everyone he'd spoken to from the void had the same experience, so he guessed it was the same for Kaleb, too.
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Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2017 2:31 pm
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"I know that feeling," he said with an audible sigh. Even around his own parents he was cautious, unwilling to make them suspicious, and even more so unwilling to make them unhappy despite knowing they'd be there to support him no matter what. There were things he knew were different—the exact way he became a moonwalker, for example, or when and how he got his fish—and the last thing he wanted to do was contradict something he should've known. Unfortunately, it was hard to ignore his own memories.
"It's nice to have someone to talk to who knows," he emphasized that as he chanced a glance at Kaleb. "I agree, though, I don't mind going to the Otherworld as much now. It feels more normal." He laughed. "But what even is normal anymore?"
Now his gaze wandered, lingering on the books Kaleb had piled up in the sand. He tongued once at his lip ring in thought before saying, "I guess school is still kinda normal. What're you studying?"
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