--OPEN-- // FACE TO FACE

[mouse]

You could be anyone today,

[/font][/color]
Maybe I would recognize you On a crowded street,

Maybe you'll take me by surprise, [/font][/color]
Will you be the one I had in mind,
[/center]

Rain. It rained in the spring, that was normal. That didn’t mean Vesper Monroe liked it. True, he’d take rain over snow any day, but he would have liked a nice sunny day too. At least the rain seemed to match his mood, not an outright storm of water… But a heavy drizzle. It wasn’t huge drops, but there was so much drizzle that one was soaked within a few minutes of being outside. Vesper was no exception, and neither was his dog. The rain had been going all morning, but that didn’t deter Vesper. He’d been determined to go see his dog that Saturday, rain or shine. He knew his parents didn’t walk the guy, or really give him all that much attention. That was up to Vesper’s visits. Yankee was the only thing that made Vesper go home and visit at all, that one little furry face. That furry face was also a complete wimp when it came to the rain… or water in general. So, to appeal to the dog Vesper decided to take a break from their walk and sit under a tree. It was a big enough tree to keep the ground slightly dry for both of them. Vesper sat down, shuffling back to lean against the tree trunk then coaxed the soaked dog to his side. It wasn’t cold, so Yankee wasn’t cold but he was wet and didn’t seem to pleased about that.

“Sorry Yank… You big baby.” Vesper mumbled to the dog as he curled his small, grey body up beside Vesper’s leg. He reached out and scratched the wet fur at the side of Yankee’s neck, the place he knew the dog loved best. All dogs had that one spot, and the side of Yankee’s neck was his. The little Schnauzer leaned towards Vesper’s hand, one hind paw twitching slightly. Vesper shifted a little against the tree’s trunk to make himself a little more comfy. For the most part he was okay, but there was a knot in the trunk that was pressing against his ribs, which was rather painful. Hew as still a little battered from his father’s freak out on Mother’s Day, despite the days that had passed. The bruise below his temple was already fading into a nasty yellow color. Did that surprise Vesper? No. The hit wasn’t as bad up there, his father was more tender with the face. His upper right arm though was still a lovely shade of brown and his side was spiralling out in rainbow of colors. Was he angry? Yes and no. He was always angry at first, hurt and snappish like a wounded dog. But eventually he cooled down. He was able to help Hiroko after her incident because he knew how to deal with blows. He knew how to do stitches, keep swelling down, how to pop a dislocated shoulder and elbow. He knew a lot of things, most art students wouldn’t. Not all were done on him, but he’d learned on the just in case scenario.

All in all, there were life lessons to be learned. Whether he actually wanted to learn them or not. But he’d always been told by his mother that someone else had it worse. Vesper knew that was true, but it hardly made him feel any better… Wasn’t your mother supposed to protect you? Not clean you up, pat your head then send you on your way? Then again, his mother was going senile in her old age. Well… At least he thought so, and not that she was old. She wasn’t even forty yet. But she seemed a lot older than she was, not look wise. Vesper was aware his mother was attractive, as a kid he had to put up with all sorts of guys flirting with her. But she had the mind of a really old, really tired, and ready to give up grandmother. It was sad… But there were other things sadder to Vesper. Like the fact he’d tried a page from Trent’s book. Drinking the pain away, except he was pretty sure Trent did it for emotional hurt. Vesper had done it for the physical hurt, and it’d worked. Dulled the pain, but also made him a jerk. So he had to deal with the rude remarks he’d said… Plus a pissed room mate, the hang over and sugar low the next day. Was it worth it? He didn’t think so, next time he’d just take an Advil and crash for the night.

Vesper shook his head, deciding a change of thought was in order. He had to get his mind elsewhere, on something else. That was what he did, he just shoved it away, pushed the thoughts to the rear of his mind. It was like a mosquito though, they always came back. Not to mention the fact the pain always reminded him as well as the bitter argument he was having with Sabina. They hadn’t even been together a week and he’d ticked her off to a point where she told him to fuck off. Sure, they’d probably get over it and stuff, but it would always lurk on his mind. Always be there, and he felt guilty. He hadn’t exactly been the nicest guy about it, he’d been an asshole and rude. He’d lied to her, and still hadn’t told her the truth. He told her she could trust him, but he was lying already. But he had to, and that was the one thing he would lie about… But he still felt guilty. Vesper blinked out of his thoughts when Yankee let out a small growl, his head pointed in the direction of someone else out and about in the rain.

[/size][/center]

Face to face,
Like I'm imagining,

[/font]
Baby, how can I be sure,
That you're the one I'm waiting for. [/right]

Cred:Me || Song: Unmistakable, Backstreet Boys || Outfit:CLICK ||Tag:Open

[hiroko]

Already soaked from a near hour of walking, Hiroko knew she should head to the dorm, dry off, sit down, probably sleep, but she just couldn't. Her sleeplessness had easily transitioned to restlessness, she needed to get out of the dorm, she needed to walk somewhere, she just needed to be out and moving around. Why wasn't she sleeping well? Why didn't she want to sleep well? Hiroko felt no need to dwell on such thoughts, they weren't going to be answered so easily and she still clung to the belief that she would sleep if she really needed to. No matter what her mind told her, no matter that her body practically screamed to lay down in a horizontal manner and lay there for hours. She may be emotionally and physically tired but she didn't want to sleep, she knew she didn't and that was that.

The drizzle was constant and heavy, thin drops of rain made the air look foggy as she continued to walk. Hiroko's clothing was drenched sticking to her skin and her long dark hair was stuck to the back of her shirt. She had set out early enough to get out while the rain had just been a small spattering of drops, but as the sun rose, barely lighting up the air, the rain had increased more and more until it was like a small shower. Fortunately Hiroko had felt no need for makeup so the worry of running makeup was nothing but silliness. The dress she wore stuck to her legs annoying, one leg would push forward, unsticking the dress from her other leg, then it would stick to her other leg. Stick, unstick, stick, unstick. And annoying pattern that she just had to deal with.

Her thoughts went to the people she knew, the people she at least knew from the internet. A sad thing to think about really, the people she knew were all from the internet. A small chuckle escaped her lips as she continued on in the unknown haze of the rain. Hannah, Kiara, Trent, Vesper, Sabina, and Cory, just a few of the people she knew, none of them were friends, except for the ever present Cory. But she had disconnected from Cory as of recently, drawn away really. She didn't need his friendship to continue on. Hannah's recent adventures, which included letting her cousin's cousin get a trip down her rabbit hole, had ruined things between Hannah and Christopher. Hiroko found the girl's idiocy far out ranked many others, except maybe for Kiara's.

Kiara and Trent, such a terrible couple, yet Hannah was stupid enough to think they belonged together. After getting accused and punched by Trent, any feelings for him had evaporated as bruises had formed and now were almost gone, except for dark rings under her eyes which would stay there as long as her sleep schedule maintained it's zero hours slept each night. If what Hiroko had heard was true, Kiara was in the hospital for cutting herself. What a idiot. Trent and Kiara were nothing more then idiots, playing a stupid game of keep away with each others feelings. Did people actually find anything they did romantic? The fighting, the drugs, the cutting, the yelling? Was any of that supposed to make the other one love the other one? Anyone who did was obviously an idiot of the highest proportion.

And then Vesper and Sabina. The two were finally dating but naturally what was a teenage relationship without it's fair share of drama? Nothing, it would probably be considered boring and empty. Sabina was oh so worried about Vesper going off to start his music career while she was stuck here at this school. Adorable really that the girl was so worried that Vesper would find some other girl. Hah, the very idea, really, all throughout this miserable excuse for a high school Vesper had whined and bitched enough about being a loser, he wouldn't loose that personality defect for a long time. Vesper seemed to be having family problems. No one went away to visit their family, come back and say it was a fine visit, and then drink a shit ton of alcohol. Hiroko suspected it had something to do with the fellows father. She had made him pissed a few times referencing it, so it was more then likely that.

Tripping slight, her foot going into a water filled hole, soaking her entire foot and sock, not that they weren't already wet. Pulling her foot out she kept up her exercise of walking randomly. Her joints screamed in agony, having left her pill bottle at home, she couldn't even remedy that problem. But even then, Hiroko didn't like the idea of taking her medication while pregnant, she had done enough possible damage to herself and the fetus. Still unsure of whether she would go through with the pregnancy, she still had a few weeks to terminate the pregnancy. Tearing into her own thoughts, a tree loomed up out in the drizzle, like a deep sea creature slowly moving through the murk of the ocean. For a second Hiroko stopped, her breath caught up in her chest. What a strange thought.

The tree would be good place to lean again, sitting down would be counter productive, if she did, Hiroko knew she wouldn't find the strength to get up again. With a deep breath, she continued the walk towards the tree. Scaring herself, Hiroko saw someone already sitting beneath the tree, for a few seconds she didn't feel like herself but just a frightened small girl with no backbone. She forced her legs to move forward even a little bit. A shocked gasp escaped her lips. "Vesper?" She questioned as she saw that it was indeed him, sitting there with a small dog that had nothing better to do then let out a small growl at Hiroko. Nothing more then what a dog would naturally do. "What are you doing out here?" Hiroko asked stupidly, it should already be obvious why.

[mouse]

You could be anyone today,

[/font][/color]
Maybe I would recognize you On a crowded street,

Maybe you'll take me by surprise, [/font][/color]
Will you be the one I had in mind,
[/center]

There were a few things that one would know about Vesper, on the off chance they knew him at all. One was that he was pretty open when it came to weird things. He had zero self confidence, so when it had been weird things like him getting a girlfriend he’d have laughed. But seeing Hiroko out in the rain didn’t phase him. No. But the fact he appeared to scare her did. He would never have imagined what a frightened Hiroko would have looked like had he not seen it with his own eyes… sort of. The drizzle made it hard to see perfectly, but he got the gist of what he was seeing. Obviously the girl hadn’t noticed him there until after she’d started her approach. Truth be told, he hadn’t really noticed her coming until she noticed him. And only because Yankee had alerted him to her presence. She seemed to catch herself once she realized it was just him. She did question his name though, as if unsure. How odd. Most people were not out wandering in the rain. He was, but everyone knew he was a weirdo, not normal and an outcast. Walking in the rain was what outcasts did, right? Vesper, grabbed Yankee’s collar, just to keep the wet dog sitting. Yankee was as harmless as a fly when it came to meeting people, he was probably a little put off because of the rain and the fact that Hiroko caught him by surprise. Now other dogs on the other hand…

“Vesper, the one and only.” He replied, giving a small smile. She asked why he was out there, and he wasn’t sure what to say. He was thinking, just enjoying the rain. It almost felt like it was washing away the bad things in his life, leaving behind a light cold. A better question to be sure was why she was out and about in the rain. She was pregnant, and getting sick probably wouldn’t be good on the future kid. Then again, she was sure to have as many reasons to be out thinking as he did… If that was why she was out wandering. He moved to the side slightly, pushing Yankee aside with him to offer Hiroko a spot on the ground beside him. He even patted the ground to make sure she got the message. Why was he inviting her? He wasn’t entirely sure, he figured he was simply being polite. It was raining, he was under the cover of shelter. She was a pregnant lady, the least he could to was offer her a little of his shelter. Now that Yankee had seen that it was just a person, he calmed right down, his growling morphing into a low almost howl. It was a mix between a bark, and a whine, a sound Schnauzers made when they were happy or wanted attention. For Yankee, it was both.

“Sshhh.” He hissed at the dog, scratching his ears with a hand. “Don’t worry about Yankee… His bark is worse than his bark. I’m just out thinking I guess, walking the dog. I don’t mind walking in the rain… Until I get cold. But it’s nice today.” He said to Hiroko, moving his hazel gaze from his dog towards her face. Sure, normally he’d be rather self conscious at the mess his hair was, the fact he was sopping wet and looked like a lake monster. But Hiroko didn’t really strike him as the type to comment on his appearance. Besides, it was raining; did people expect him to look perfect when he was dealing with the elements? It wasn’t like anyone else could look much better.

“What about you? You don’t strike me as the type to be out puddle jumping,” Vesper said, still scratching his dog’s ears with a hand, though his face remained in Hiroko’s direction. The girl never seemed to stop confusing him. It wasn’t like he considered her a close friend, so he never expected to know her at any deep level. But there were times like this where she confused him. Why was she out in the rain alone? Why was she talking to him? As far as he was concerned he wasn’t sure if she liked him or not. Sometimes she seemed to like him, talk to him in a civil manner. She seemed to almost treat him as a friend. And then other times she’d attack him, just like anyone else. He wasn’t about to just ask her what she thought of him. He had once, and the answer hadn’t been horrible, but hadn’t really given him a clue to what she thought of him in terms of peer relationships. He doubted she had more than one or two real friends, and he wasn’t considered in that he was sure. And yet she was willing to tell him a story she wouldn’t tell anyone else. Then there was the fact she seemed to read him like an open book… And took joy of pointing out what his pages said.

[/size][/center]

Face to face,
Like I'm imagining,

[/font]
Baby, how can I be sure,
That you're the one I'm waiting for. [/right]

Cred:Me || Song: Unmistakable, Backstreet Boys || Outfit:CLICK ||Tag:Open

[hiroko]

It was fortunate that the day was warm enough to keep her from shivering, or else being drenched, surprised, and exhausted would have set her off into trembling shudders. For once Hiroko was just glad to see someone she actually knew. Maybe exhaustion had stirred up some weird emotions, maybe she was just going insane, or maybe she was just tired and in reality she didn't really care who the fuck was sitting under the tree. Vesper, Trent, some random rapist. None of that mattered at this moment. Editing her previous thoughts of just wanting to get out of the rain, Hiroko knew that now she just wanted to sit on her ass for as long as possible. Going for a walk was idiotic, going for a walk was moronic, everything she did was turning up more and more evidence that she was just a stupid teenager who didn't know better then the next person. And for once, Hiroko didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

When Vesper spoke Hiroko could do nothing more then nod, no snarky comments, no bitchy statements, she just didn't feel the need to say anything. Nodding her head she glanced over at the dog and then back at Vesper. As he scooted over Hiroko felt a hitch in her throat, and for once she was glad to be right when Vesper patted the ground near him. He did want her to sit down near him. Hiroko sighed, not a unhappy one, hell, for another time in just a span of a few seconds, Hiroko didn't know how she felt at the situation that was presented in front of her, but she was in no mood to riffle through her emotions and pick and choose what she felt at the present moment, she just wanted to be.

With a stiff legged gait, Hiroko walked over to where Vesper was sitting under the tree. It blocked out much of the rain, though the sound of heavy drops dripping from the tree branches added a slight bass to the steady white nose of the falling rain. Such a pleasant sound. Hiroko had never liked the rain much, prefering a sunny day with a light breeze, a surprise probably to anyone who knew her, many would probably suspect she liked this sort of weather. But she did enjoy the sound of falling rain, the slight hum of it through a bedroom wall, the light taptaptap of drops on the window. It was a wonderfully soothing noise, it almost made Hiroko's eyelids droop for a second, her head nodding forward, until she realized she was still standing up.

Sitting down slowly, her joints aching and her spine feeling like it had been injected with molten lead, Hiroko finally found herself sitting on the wet ground. Her dress offered no protection from the water but she was fortunate enough to have worn shorts underneath, but it really did no good either way, she was already soaked to the bone. Hiroko didn't know whether to stretch her legs our or pull them in, in a last second compromise, she pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her sore arms around her legs. With a slight glance to Vesper and his dog, Yankee he had called the dog, yes, she spoke up, "Understood, I... my parents, once owned a schnauzer, they're mostly just loud mouth Germans."

Laying her head down on the tops of her knees she looked out at the rain, exhaustion poured into her body like concrete. Quite sure that without help, she would just remain there until she was feeling better, the soaked clothing, the painful throbbing joints, the lance of pain all up in her back, and strangely this was the most comfortably she had ever been. Her eyes opened when Vesper asked her a question, the world swam back to her, as did his question. "Wha... oh yes... no, no puddle jumping for me, I am out because I couldn't sleep, I couldn't sit still, and pacing around in my room seemed stupid..." She ran a hand through her soaked hair, frustration burning up like a fire through dry wood. She wanted to sleep, yet she didn't want to. Stupid fucking thing. Hiroko didn't want to confide in anyone about it, but did she not already tell Vesper she would tell him something already... She couldn't remember... "Sorry, for missing our planned lunch, my apologies." She didn't know if Vesper even remembered those plans, no concern of hers really.

[mouse]

You could be anyone today,

[/font][/color]
Maybe I would recognize you On a crowded street,

Maybe you'll take me by surprise, [/font][/color]
Will you be the one I had in mind,
[/center]

Vesper couldn’t help but notice how slowly Hiroko was moving. She looked sort of out of it and was walking rather stiff legged. In fact, she paused under his tree and almost seemed to nod off for a moment before she took a seat. He felt a throb of concern within his chest. She had mentioned she wasn’t sleeping. That in itself wasn’t healthy, but when she was pregnant? He didn’t know a lot about pregnancy (he didn’t pay much attention to that subject in biology) but had a feeling not sleeping made it worse for both parties. He debating commenting on it, but figured she was probably tired of her pregnancy being brought up. She didn’t seem overly touchy about it, but not everyone let people know when they hit nerves. He was usually pretty good at it himself, except when Hiroko hit them. For some reason she could make him fold like a deck of cards. However, he was getting better at holding his tongue… He hoped. At least with her, he sensed if anyone could do damage with words, it was Hiroko. That just seemed to be the way she was. As irritating as that was, he couldn’t help but still feel rather concerned.

For some reason, Hiroko didn’t strike him as a dog owner. Nevermind a Schnauzer owner. Most people didn’t find them at all that appealing as pets (or so he found). They were as adorable as some breeds, not you Lab or Retriever. They had a certain cuteness to their faces, one that you had to be able to love. Once you got a Schnauzer though, you couldn’t get another breed. Or at least that’s how Vesper felt. Maggie had been a Standard Schnauzer, but she had been a Schnauzer none the less. He’d wanted a Giant, but there were no breeders near Sioux Falls. So he’d settled with a Miniature. Loud mouthed Germans. Yeah, that was a Schnauzer for you. All bark and no bite… Well… Usually. The fact she said that she had known one made Vesper loosen his hold on Yankee’s collar, letting the dog approach slightly by standing on his lap. He kept the dog away in case Hiroko wasn’t fond of them, but let him get close enough to get her scent and see her. “That pretty much sums up Yank. Loud mouthed German.” He replied with a small chuckle, looking down at his every loyal dog with a smirk. Yeah. That was definitely Yankee in a nutshell. That was him in a nutshell too, except for the German part. He’d noticed that lately, that he’d been letting his snarky, loud mouthed side out a little more. He was used to taking a hit, so dealing with the results of that didn’t really bother him. What bothered him was that it was a little like his father.

Once more Vesper felt his concern swell back. Hiroko did seem very much out of it. Her whole ‘Wha… Oh yes’ thing plus the exhaustion that radiated from her made Vesper frown. She was out because she couldn’t sleep… And yet she was sitting beside him, looking like she was going to just tip over and die. Well… Maybe not die, but slip into a coma. Maybe he was over reacting, but that was pretty normal for him. Besides the fact in the past he’d never thought Hiroko looked very healthy at all period. But now it seemed worse to him. “You’re running on fumes Hiroko… You really should get this sleep thing sorted out. I’m starting to sound like a broken record, but it’s not healthy.” he told her slowly, mentally wondering if he was out of line. Who was he to tell her what she should and should not do. What she did was her business. Still… He wasn’t about to just let her turn her brain to mush without telling her his thoughts on the matter. He tightened his hand around Yankee’s collar again without really thinking about it. He wasn’t exactly the guy to stick his nose into other people’s business unless they shoved it in his face. But he couldn’t help but feel concerned for Hiroko. Even if she were his arch enemy, he’d be concerned. There was nothing wrong with not being able to sleep now and then, what with stresses, relationships, school… But he couldn’t remember the last time he’d spoken to her and not asked if she had slept and gotten a ‘no’ in reply. Eventually her brain would shut down and she’d either collapse or go into a coma.

Lunch plans. He had missed her for their lunch plans, but he’d never really thought much of it. It wasn’t like she’d have been the first person to blow him off in his life, and probably wouldn’t be the last. Though he wouldn’t lie, he’d been curious to see what she was going to tell him. She’d said she’d tell him about when she’d been in love, when she’d been married. It still astounded him that she had been married at one point, though selfishly that wasn’t the reason he’d wanted to know. He really wanted to know because she refused to tell anyone else. Especially Hannah, she’d been adamant in refusing to tell the bitch queen. So what was special about him? “It’s alright, I’m sure something came up. Not a big deal, I found ways to amuse myself.” He assured her, unable to keep his lips from upturning into a small smile. He had indeed. “Though maybe rather than make lunch dates, you should go see a doctor, or try and sleep… You look exhausted Hiroko.” He added, wiping the smile off his face immediately. Yes, he was being a little pushy with the topic, but he didn’t want to hear about her falling or something because her body just gave up. Or worse, he didn’t want to be in the area, he didn’t want to see someone’s body just shut down because she wasn’t sleeping. And if her body decided now was a good time he'd have fun getting her back to the school. For one it hurt to breathe, nevermind carry someone and he hadn't brought his cellphone. His car was a good twenty minutes back, and that was just walking.

[/size][/center]

Face to face,
Like I'm imagining,

[/font]
Baby, how can I be sure,
That you're the one I'm waiting for. [/right]

Cred:Me || Song: Unmistakable, Backstreet Boys || Outfit:CLICK ||Tag:Open