Home For Christmas [Run While You Can & elphy_and_fiyero]

[elphy_and_fiyero]

My heart was full of excitement as I piled all my clothes into my luggage. Sarah, my roommate, watched me with a smile as I was running around. I knew what she was thinking. It was all too easy to assume. I looked like a fool. Either that or a small child getting ready to see Santa Clause. But I didn't care. I was going home for Christmas to see one of my four best friends.

I placed my camera in my carry on and faced my roommate. This was it. My time for departure was coming soon. A car honked from outside and I looked down form our window. The taxi was waiting for me. Now my departure was much sooner than we both thought. I faced my roommate and embraced her. It wouldn't be the last time we would see each other. After all, we were practically like sisters. Our worlds would always be connected. "I'll see you after Christmas." I told her.

"Call me when you get there so I know you made it." I agreed and she helped me with my things. The plane ride home took longer than expected. Several times I had to change flights but I made it home, nonetheless.

As usual, I greeted my family. My brother wouldn't get in until later the next day but it was good to see my parents. I informed them about meeting Chris at the Waffle House for dinner. He and I had so much to catch up on. Instead of borrowing the car, I took the same road I had taken so many times growing up. The same road that led to the same restaurant with the same sign.

The bright lights of the Waffle House seemed to smile at me as I approached. Though, instead of reading Waffle House like it was supposed to, it read Affle Hose. Mikey still hadn't replaced the light bulbs that had burnt out several years in high school.

The little bell dinged as I walked through the regular entrance. A familiar smile greeted me as his eyes met mine. "Well, well, well. As I live and breathe." Mikey smiled behind the counter. "Sophie Taylor. Long time no see, Kiddo." Mikey walked around the counter and embraced me in a hug. "Good to see you. You hungry? I'll make you your usual."

"I'm starving and my usual sounds just what I need." He patted my shoulder and went to cooking in the kitchen. I looked around the restaurant and noticed that Chris hadn't come yet. Our specific instructions were to meet here and catch up.

I looked around the restaurant and smiled as our normal booth was empty. As I sat down, I even noticed our nicknames were still marked in the booth. Bubbles, for me, Rocky for Chris, Miss Kitty for Holly and G-man for Jonathon.

My fingers traced along the nickname for Jon. It had been only a few weeks since I had talked with him. I wanted to see if he would come home for Christmas but he was on some internship with some Congress representative. There was no way he was coming him. At least I would see one friend I hadn't seen in awhile.
 

[Run While You Can]

C h r i s t o p h e r

I Need To Be Myself // I Can't Be No-One Else
I'm Feeling Supersonic // Give Me Gin And Tonic
You Could Have It All, But How Much Do You Want It?...

'Cos My Friend Said He'd Take You Home // He Sits In A Corner All Alone
He Lives Under A Waterfall // Nobody Can See Him
Nobody Can Ever Hear Him Call...

S u p e r s o n i c

((I haven't ever written a roleplay in first person before... I probably would have been able to do it if I were playing a girl, but writing like that for a guy seems far too weird for me. I hope you don't mind if I write in second person!))

Even though there was no snow falling, the air beyond the coach window seemed to radiate with cold. The landscape beyond had long since changed from the blurred outlines of buildings to the empty, wide spaces of the open country. Fields and trees sparkling with a layer of glittering frost zoomed into focus before falling instantly into the distance. It was a remarkably pretty view, but Chris was not enjoying it.

Shifting impatiently in his seat, he glanced down at his watch. The afternoon was trickling by; it couldn't possibly have been only five minutes since he last checked the time, and yet, the clocks seemed to disagree. As he turned in his seat to lean his head against the window again, her face seemed to flash in his mind for the thousandth time that day. She would already have arrived, perhaps days before. In a way, he was glad to postpone the meeting as long as possible, to somehow try and plan a moment that was utterly unplannable. So many things to be said, and all in a split second - and her hair, had she dyed it? Did she still have the same taste for bright, simple clothes? Her voice; had it changed in tone, perhaps lost some of the softness that a life in the country had given her? And she, herself, could easily have changed alongside it...

Chris couldn't deny that he had been through some drastic changes himself. He had thrown out those plaid shirts and muted tees the moment he had arrived in the big city. It was necessary, his manager had told him, to conform to a new image. Soon, his favourite jeans had been replaced with darker denims, ripped at the knees, and he had taken to wearing several pendants around his neck, most notably his shark's tooth. He fiddled with it now, watching his breath paint a small, misty circle on the pane before disappearing over and over, as the coach wound its way further and further along the highway.

***

"WATCH IT!"

"Don't you yell at me, buddy!"

"That's a Fender antique, and if you drop it again, I'll be using it to knock seven bells out of you, alright?"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah! And furthermore, I ain't your f**king buddy."

Swearing angrily under his breath, Chris grabbed his guitar from the driver and launched it onto his back. For a moment, the driver looked like he thought a punch was an offer he welcomed, but he seemed to think better of it. Contenting himself with an angry grimace, he slammed the door of the luggage compartment and trudged back up to the front of the coach. As the driver hoisted himself into his seat, Chris caught the words, "F**king pre-madonna".

"Go to hell!" called Chris over his shoulder, dragging his suitcase out of the road as the coach revved away from the curb. The driver responded with two pointed fingers before pulling around the corner and out of sight.

Scowling, Chris marched along the icy lane. A couple of people who had left the coach at the same stop were staring at him; biting back his words, he avoided their eyes as his feet crunched sharply on the cold pavement. When he had imagined his long-awaited arrival to his hometown, this was not what he had in mind.

It was not until he had pulled up directly outside the Wafflehouse door that he stopped cursing his decision to catch the coach from the airport and realised what was about to take place. Pausing outside the heavily decorated window, Chris shielded his eyes end peered into the cafe. It seemed emptier than it had since the days he had spent there - or was that simply due to the absence of his friends? There were a few dark shapes stirring; Chris couldn't make out her face amongst them.

The moment had finally arrived. Steeling himself, Chris laid a gloved hand upon the freezing doorknob, and, with his heart beating in his throat, turned it and stepped inside.

 

[elphy_and_fiyero]

[No worries. It's all good. Though, I can do second person if you want. If it helps any.]

The doorbell dinged and I looked up, wishing it was him. I had been sitting at our table for half an hour. The elderly couple walked in, hand in hand, and greeted Mikey at the counter. In a way, I wanted that. Someone to grow old with. Several times in my life I had imagined it with Jonathon but I was too chicken to tell him how I felt.

I checked the clock on the wall. It had only been two minutes since the last I had checked. 10 more minutes, I thought to myself. And then I'll text him.

Mikey was still working on my usual. Chocolate chip Waffles with powdered sugar, 4 strawberrys, and 4 blueberrys. Evenly distributed, colorful and delicious. Not to mention with a tall class of freshly squeezed orange juice. Morning, noon and night it was what I always wanted. All of my friends, Mikey especially, tried to get me to order something else. Something different. But I just told them chocolate chips waffles with powdered sugar, 4 strawberrys, and 4 blueberrys and a glass of orange juice.

While at college, I had changed somewhat. Instead of a regular shirt, jeans and boots I wore designer clothing and tighter jeans. My hair had gotten longer but it was more styled. I knew how to take care of my looks. Spice things up. Not to mention, I was actually wearing more make-up. The most I had ever done was foundation and mascara. Now I wore it all. The basics, anyway. Foundation, eye-liner, eye shadow, concealer, mascara.

My legs were jiggling and I was twisting my hair. I was nervous. Why was I nervous? No, I was excited and anxious to see one of my best friends who I hadn't seen in almost a year. It felt like more.

The bell dinged again. This time a mother and her little boy walked in. The boy wanted Mickey Mouse waffles and Mikey was more than happy to grant his wish. My orange juice stayed cupped in my hand as my fingers drummed against the glass.

"You got a date or something, Soph?" Mikey asked behind the counter. A big smile was plastered on his face. We had been through a lot together. Us and the gang. We grew up here. Mikey knew everything about us. He even knew who I was in love with.

"No," I smiled and halted my legs. "Just waiting for a friend." His smile broadened and her went back to his cooking. I stared looked up at the clock. It had been five minutes since the last time I had checked. My eyes went down to my orange juice, trying to decide what to do.

Maybe he wasn't coming. Maybe he got stuck somewhere. Just as I was about to text him, the bell dinged and in walked a familiar face. Every outward appearance was different but his face was the same. "Hey! Rocky-star!" Mikey smiled and greeted. I stood up from the booth and didn't wait for him to look at me. I ran up to him and jumped on his, wrapping my legs around his waist.

"It's about time, Rocky!" I laughed as I pulled back. "I was waiting for almost half an hour. Not to mention, I'm staving!" I hugged him again. I had missed him Chris and all his little habits and quarks. I jumped down from him and stepped back. I wolf whistled as I got a better look at him.

"Look at you!" I laughed and walked around him. "Oh my word! You have a butt!" I teased and walked back to face him. His eyes were on me I figured there was something different about him. Something deep. "You look good."  

[Run While You Can]

C h r i s t o p h e r

I Need To Be Myself // I Can't Be No-One Else
I'm Feeling Supersonic // Give Me Gin And Tonic
You Could Have It All, But How Much Do You Want It?...

'Cos My Friend Said He'd Take You Home // He Sits In A Corner All Alone
He Lives Under A Waterfall // Nobody Can See Him
Nobody Can Ever Hear Him Call...

S u p e r s o n i c

((Honestly, whatever you prefer is fine. Actually, I kinda like the fact that Sophie's in first person and Chris isn't; I almost makes it more her story.))

"Hey! Rocky-star!"

Good old Mikey. Chris grinned fondly at him, and opened his mouth to reply; before he could utter a word, however, he found himself straining under a sudden mass of blonde hair and laughter.

"It's about time, Rocky!"

"Sophie!"

She was different, but it didn't seem to matter. She leaned back, and Chris held out his arms to support her. He'd been waiting a long time to hear that laugh...

As she chattered away, Chris opened his mouth momentarily to reply, only to close it again as she leapt down from around his waist and circled him. Her voice was louder, her manner of speaking less like the Sophie he remembered; and yet he drank it in, an amused smile playing upon his lips.

"You look good."

Had she finished talking? Chris waited for a moment before replying to make sure.

"As do you, sunshine!" he told her, gesturing to her carefully arranged outfit. His suspicions on the coach had turned out to be more accurate than he had expected: her eyes were made up in smoky black, and her hair was straightened to perfection. However, the changes only served to make her more beautiful than ever. Chris grinned childishly again as he swept her back up into his arms.

"And for your information, it's not a butt - it's a certified rockstar a**, baby!" He answered, raising one arm above his head in a mock-defiant stage pose and nodding copiously to a phantom audience.

 

[elphy_and_fiyero]

[Good point.]

I was caught a little off guard when he scooped me up again in his arms. "Oh I'm sorry. My bad. Your certified rockstar a**." I said rolling my eyes. People were starring and watching us. Well, the few that were in the restaurant anyway. The bell dinged and my head turned toward Mikey.

"Pick up!" He yelled and winked at me. My waffles were finally done.

"OOoOo my waffles are done." I jumped down once again and went back to the table. "Come on, Rocky. Come have some waffles with me." I smiled as my usual was placed in front of me. It smelled delicious. The waitress gave me an extra knife and fork for Chris. The names carved in the booth seemed to stand out more now that Chris was here with me.

"Chris, look." I pointed at our names. It had been several summers prior to this year that we had carved our names into the booth. At first, Mikey wasn't very happy that we vandalized his booth but he grew into it. Said it would become his most famous booth someday. People would come just to see our names. Maybe even have other people put their names on the other booths. Make things more interesting. So far, ours were the only names in any booth. "They're still here." I smiled at him. Chris sat at the table and I pushed the waffles closer to him.

"So, Rocky," I smiled as I took a bite of the waffles. I sighed at the familiar taste. "Oh," I sighed. "Holy Mother. Mikey, you haven't lost your touch. These are incredible." I shouted a little to him. Mikey smiled and waved his spatula in the air as a thank you.

"Sorry, anyway." I said, turning back to Chris. "What's new with you with the whole music career? Do you have a hot fan girl waiting for you back home?" I asked a little playfully.