Bull in {Emilia} a China Shop

[faden]

WOW that was an awkward moment. He had just gone from going out with Laura to do random stuff, under her bed looking for shoes to being a very pathetic thrid wheel who had heard a story he definatly wasn't supposed to hear to dashing out of the room as quickly as he could and walking around Vegas at night. So Ben had punched Luke Summitt. THE Luke Summitt. The Luke Summitt who constantly pushed Faden around and harassed him. The guy who used girls and apparently was attempting to use Emilia, such a sweet girl too. Eric Faden had only met her once and not for too long. But long enough to see why her brother liked her so much.

Faden walked along the street. Slipping the jacket off his arms and slinging it over his shoulder. It was warmer in Vegas, even at night. He looked up at all the lights and sighed. Despite it all, and all the crap Vegas got, Faden liked Vegas, a lot. He got to see shows and do this he wouldn't have been able to if he hadn't come. The Adventure Dome was amazing and him and Laura spent hours with Dance Dance Revolution at gameworks. The place was amazzing and he was anything but bored and yet. He missed Lucy, Ed, Rachel and even Doug a bit. Lord, he couldn't actually get close to them. Eventually he would be leaving them as well. He was only 16 and had at least two years left in the foster system, and there wasn't anything he could do about it.

That wasn't going to stop him from getting close to this family though. At least he'd be able to say he has had a family. Multiple. And Laura will always be like a sister. Although there's no saying he'll still be in Valkyrie. oh god damn Faden, worry about it later, when you're not in an amazing city taking in the sites. And with that, his mood was restored and his mind wandered back to Ben/Emilia and Luke incident but only a moment. He was also curious as to what Laura and Ben were tallking about. None of his business. Not my business, he thought to himself glaning upward again, the lights reflecting a bit in his eyes. Be glad to be here and alive.

[krueger]

Emilia felt like she was in a daze. She could hear the sounds of the club, feel the heat of the people around her, taste what was left of the bitter tang of beer on her tongue, and smell what random smells there were to smell in a bar. But she felt like she wan't actually there; it was like she'd detatched herself from the world. She'd come here to have a good time with none other than Luke Summitt, one of Valkyrie's hottest guys. It had all gone up in smoke though, when Ben, her twin brother, had started throwing punches. Emilia shook her head quickly, trying to get her mind off the fight that had occured between herself and Luke after that. At the moment, she knew all she had to do was get out of the crowded building and get some fresh air into her lungs; maybe that would help her feel better.

Weaving her way through the crowd, Emilia ducked out of the door. The night was warm, but it felt cold and harsh on her skin compared to the warm feeling she had housed earlier that evening. She shivered a little, starting to walk down the sidewalk. Cursing as she almost tripped on her heels, Emilia stopped and took them off, carrying them in her hand without a second thought. The pavement was a little rocky, but it wasn't that bad to walk on with only some nylon socks to cover her feet. Sucking in a deep breath, she pulled her hair back into a pony tail. The action was almost comforting. It seemed...Normal. Like something she would regularly do.

With her boots in one hand, Emilia shoved the other into her pocket. Her eyes seemed glued on the sidewalk in front of her, and her face showed entirely no emotion. At this point, anyone else might be bawling their eyes out in frusteration, anger, and pain. But Emilia had a nasty habit of keeping all that inside like she was doing now. Had anyone else just been punched by their older brother, they might have gone and thrown themself off a building or something rediculously stupid like that. But not Emilia. At the moment, she was a brick wall that reached up to touch the sky, not letting anything in or out.

[faden]

And then, as if his thoughts were being read and manipulated by the fates, he saw Emilia. She was walking on the sidewalk, his side of the street. She had her head down, her facial expressions blank, her demenor shut down. She didn't look at all like the girl he had met at the ice rink. Should he go up and say something? Oh yeah like what? He knew he wouldn't tell her he knew what had happened. Ben hadn't even told him, he told Laura, Faden had simply overheard the whole mess.

Plus Emilia might be upset if she knew her brother had told people already. He watched her as she passed by him, not noticing and understandably. He bit his lip for a moment before turning around and jogging a bit to catch up with her. He changed his pace to match hers before looking over to her, "Emilia? It is you! I thought so since I saw you on the street and I thought 'hey she looks familiar and I'll shut up now." He said with a smile, great job loser. He took notice of how shut down she seemed and then said a bit quieter, "Hey, you ok?" He asked simply.

[krueger]

Emilia blinked a few times; her only emotion of surprise. Faden. She hadn’t even seen him walk by until he was standing next to her and talking. From her memory, she tried to recall what she’d acted like the first time she’d talk to him. Ice skating. That was it. Summoning up the rest of the memory, she looked up at Faden, flashing him a quick smile as she walked along side him.

“Hey, Faden! It’s nice to see you again. It’s all right; you don’t have to shut up, I can’t blame you for not noticing me right away. I don’t exactly look like myself right now.” She let out a small laugh that, to her, almost sounded fake. Emilia almost cursed as he asked if she was alright. Had she really been that obvious? Then again, she supposed, shuffling along with her head towards the sidewalk wasn’t a very conspicuous way to hide herself. Most people in Vegas were looking at all the lights and sights, especially if it was they’re first time. “Yeah. I’m fine.” She assured with another forced smile before quickly changing the subject. “How do you like Vegas so far?”

[faden]

“Hey, Faden! It’s nice to see you again. It’s all right; you don’t have to shut up, I can’t blame you for not noticing me right away. I don’t exactly look like myself right now.”

Faden shrugged, "Well yeah...I mean I don't know what you're 'usual' look is since this is only the second time I've met you." God damn, why did he always sound stupider when he spoke than when he thought it out in his head? "Plus you were facing down. But you do look a tad different, maybe the way you did your hair or the fact you're wearing more make up..." Faden groaned, "I'm sorry again. I do need to shut up." Faden was never the best at talking to girls. Except if he counted Laura. Laura and him click perfectly though so he felt he didn't have to try. Everyone else, he felt he needed to try hard to impress...or not offend. He offended people a lot, simply by speaking wrong.

“Yeah. I’m fine. How do you like Vegas so far?”

Fine? Yeah right. But who was Faden to push it? After all, as previously stated, he had only met her once before. She seemed a bit like Laura in the way that, even after a year of being best friends, doesn't mean she will talk. Faden knew what happened becuase he had seen the effects and confronted her. She hasn't really talked about it since. "Oh! umm Vegas? I like it. Gone to a few shows with Laura Stillings, she's my best friend." He added in case Emilia hadn't heard of her. "Avoided the clubs though. Not a big 'partier' if thats what thos elunk heads call partyings."

[krueger]

Emilia’s smile was almost genuine at this point. Even though she’d only met him once at the skating rink, Faden did seem like a cool guy, even if he did seem kind of awkward talking to her. “You don’t have to shut up, Faden. It’s alright; you do have a good point.” She briefly looked down at what she was wearing, shaking her head at herself. Now it seemed useless to have dressed up so much. Her feet hurt like hell at this point, and if she wouldn’t look like an idiot doing it, Emilia might have taken off her shoes. “To elaborate, I generally like to dress more comfortably than this. Little to no make-up, sweats or jeans, over large sweat shirts; not your typical Valkyrie fashion.” Thinking about her old fashions made her want to get her old clothes back out and curl up in them. They meant comfort, and her old life.

“Yeah?” She asked, more curious now. “What shows did you two go to?” Emilia barely slipped the question when he brought up clubbing. She stiffened slightly, the smile dropping off her face for about a second before she realized it. She took her hands out of her pockets now, folding them over her chest tightly. Scenes from moments only an hour or less before rushed into her head. Shoving them out quickly, she looked back down at the side walk and her feet as they shuffled along next to Faden’s. “I can’t say that I blame you. I haven’t really done much while we’ve been here. Just…I was just heading out of a…Club, actually.” She forced another smile upon her own dictation, tucking a strand of loose hair behind her ear.

[faden]

“To elaborate, I generally like to dress more comfortably than this. Little to no make-up, sweats or jeans, over large sweat shirts; not your typical Valkyrie fashion.”

Faden smiled, "Hey wear those too..." He said, "At least when no one's looking...I do wear Jeans all the time though." He added as if it made up for it. Faden dressed up all the time but he knew what it felt like to be the outsider with the out of style clothes. For a girl at Valkryie to wear simple clothes was a big thing. Laura wore simple clothes, a lot of times she wore grunge clothes, but people seemed to let her get away with it more since she was always working in the asbestos ridden and dusty theatre.

"It's not easy being different at Valkyrie." He said with a small but honest smile. He said that in context with the discussion on clothes but he knew it might go along with what she had gone through with Luke as well.

"Shows?" Faden asked himself, and thought for a moment, "That pirate show at the hotel or whatever it was...we regretted that one. We went to a drag show, that was fun, but we are going to see Cirqu De Solei soon and I can't wait. But we also have been dorks and tours. Earlier today we did the Adventure Balloons. Now that was fun." Faden noticed the smile fade the smallest amount but didn't want to say anything, just come out of a club. "Really? Are they as good as people make them out to be?" He asked, partially curious as to her actual answer but mostly looking for her reaction.

[krueger]

She shook her head with a small smile. “I didn’t mean it as a bad thing. I only meant that I wore them at school. Naturally, people looked at me kind of funny.” Emilia shrugged slightly. “And I guess having my nose in a book whenever possible might have something to do with it.” She had never really thought of it as a bad thing, until earlier that day, when she’d run into someone that was coming down the hallway in the hotel while reading. Naturally, the guy had used it against her and for once, it got to her. She then realized a little more why it was she might not have fit in right away in Valkyrie.

“No…You’re right. It’s not.” Emilia mused. Of course, she had known that there were others that didn’t fit in as well, but she couldn’t help but wonder if Faden had never been considered weird at Valkyrie. Or even if he still was. For some reason, he didn’t strike her as a person that someone might find a freak, but you never did know with people.

“Good to know. I was thinking about maybe going to the pirate show myself. But if it was no good then I guess I won’t.” Untwisting her arms, she shoved her hands back in her pockets and nodded at the rest of the things he and Laura had done already. Then, they were back on the club subject. Shrugging again, Emilia attempted to be casual about the subject; she didn’t want the fact that her brother had punched her to get spread around the school. Not that she thought Faden would, he didn’t seem like the kind of guy to do that. “I…They…Um…Not really. Loud people…Loud music… Drunken people…Fights…” Damn it. She hadn’t meant for the last one to slip out. With rambling answers came more questions. And so much for being casual. Now she just sounded like a babbling idiot.

[faden]

“And I guess having my nose in a book whenever possible might have something to do with it.”

Faden smiled, "So you're well read and intelligent. If the closed minded Sir Edgar's at our school think it's weird than screw it." He said with a shrugg. "I hadn't meant it as a bad thing either. People at Valkyrie, not all but a good number are so worried over clothes and dating that they forget what matters. Like their friends and living life for what it could be. Half of the drama they have, they cause themselves. Drama is fine for you when it means something but when it's so shallow as the stuff that goes around at our school..."He shook his head. "I don't know, nevermind."

“Good to know. I was thinking about maybe going to the pirate show myself. But if it was no good then I guess I won’t.”

Faden shrugged, "No problem, the only real point to that show was to see girls in skimpy outfits and I'm not gay or anything but a show needs something to it, romance, magic, adventure, shooting off to the moon, dreams coming true and all that other ultra cheesy things King Arthur instilled into out lives." What could Faden say, he loved the king Arthur story, Camelot, Merlin, Guinivere, Lancelot, Gallahad...all of it. He always wished that his life was one of those classic adventures that he read about alone in his grandpa's attack before he was shipped into Foster Care.

“I…They…Um…Not really. Loud people…Loud music… Drunken people…Fights…”

"Sound like a hell hole." He said looking up at a few of they lights as they walked. It also reminded him of a few foster families he had been with, that almost every kid in the system had lived with or were going to before it was over. It was the kind of foster home that, although very common, were dreaded and prayed against. Why the government weren't a bit more diligent when they search for fit foster homes was a wonder to him.

[krueger]

Emilia looked up at him, her smile fairly genuine at this point. “If only everyone else here saw it that way. I’d fit right in.” She shook her head slowly with a small smile. It felt like she was in some kind of musical; like nothing was real at this point. If it were though, she might have burst into song at this point. Walking down the streets like this, talking to someone while avoiding troubles. It all sounded so cliché to her. “And don’t worry about it, Faden. What you’re saying makes sense. You’re right. People do worry too much about what they look like. So much so that most people forget the things that are most important.”

Emilia nodded. She’d read the story of King Arthur recently, and had loved it herself. “Sometimes life needs cheesy moments like that. Especially in high school, where everything is just pure drama. That’s why I like reading so much. It puts me into a whole different world where I don’t really have to think about the drama in real life.” She laughed a little at herself as she continued. “When I read, I can fly with Peter Pan and the Starcatchers, hunt down the Eye of the World with Rand, Perrin, and Mat; band together with Bartimaeus in search of the Golem’s Eye.” She stopped, chewing the side of her lip for a moment. She'd never told anyone things like this before.“Sorry…You probably don’t know what I’m talking about. I didn’t mean to ramble.”

She sighed. A hell hole. The perfect description of what had gone on. “Pretty much, yeah.” She agreed. Cursing softly as she almost tripped again on her boot heel, Emilia stopped, leaning back on a nearby wall and sliding them off her feet. Taking them in her hands, she looked apologetically back up at Faden. “Sorry if you think this is gross or something, but I can’t stand wearing these things. I only wear them when I have to.” Come to think of it, she didn’t know why it was that she had worn them in the first place. They were uncomfortable and pinched her feet, painful and gave her blisters. These thoughts almost made her laugh. It was the same effect that Luke ended up having on her. He made her feel uncomfortable about herself, he felt like shoes that were too tight, he'd hurt her, and given her heart blisters that she didn't know if she could heal alone.

[faden]

"But I guess what's most important is different for each person." He replied, very honestly as they strode down the street. "For me it's my friends, why? Because I don't have a family to be number one." He said with a smile as if there were humor in there somewhere, hiding. His father was still alive and he still wrote to him. The problem was his father was in prison for life. He had done something Faden couldn't imagine and hated thinking about. His father was a repeated rapist. Faden's mother had been assulted and she dumped the kid, Faden, with his father. But the thing was, Faden's dad wasn't a good man, but he was a good father. "So I guess the big quest is to find what's most important to you." He said, bringing the smile that had faded back up.

"oh No...I am a fan of the Wheel of Time series and the Bartimaeus trilogy myself." He retorted to her. He had read those books and loved them quite a bit. "Of course I'm still parshel to The Once and Future King and Treasure Island." The Once and Future King was Faden's favorite tellings of King Arthur, not to mention the first complete King Arthur Story in Novel form. "I pray for that kind of drama in real life though. Adventure, not the kind we get at Valkyrie but knights, and enchanted swords, magic, chivalry, romance, and music." He smiled over at her.

He laughed a bit as she leaned against the wall and took off those shoes. He had to say, they did look uncomfortable. "No problem, it's not really gross at all." He said and she took the off. He smiled, "god look at those things." He said as he looked at her shoes. "I mean they're stylish but ow...moments like this make me happy I'm of the male half of the species." He said with a grin.

[krueger]

Emilia nodded slowly at his musings. “I guess you’re right. Finding what is really important is one of life’s greatest achievements.” She noted his slightly dropped smile, and almost wanted to ask what he was thinking about. She stopped herself though; she didn’t quite know Faden enough to ask about it yet. She thought herself for a moment, wondering what it was that she considered most important in her life. “For me, I think the most important thing in life is my family. And if my friends are close enough to me, they become my family, so I think they count in that too.” She shrugged slightly. Their conversation did make her wonder though. Was that really what was most important to her at the moment? She supposed so, but how was she to know?

Emilia couldn’t help but laugh in slight relief as he stated that he was a fan of the Wheel of Time and Bartimaeus. She didn’t know many people that had ever read them before, let alone enjoyed them. “Well, now I know that I’m not entirely a nerd. Either that or there are, in fact, people as nerdy as I am.” She nodded slowly at his wish for adventure. She had one herself. Not like the adventure that is going through the doors of Valkyrie academy every day, but an actual adventure like she read about in so many stories. “I know what you mean. It all seems infinitely more interesting than living in California, where the day to day adventure is wondering whether or not someone will get beat up for sheer stupidity.”

She shook her head, looking down at her own shoes. “I know what you mean. There are times when I wish I was a guy. Unless they’re gay, they don’t have to worry about wearing high heels or any other completely uncomfortable clothing like that.” As she looked up at Faden with another smile, Emilia came to a small realization. Maybe she didn’t have to close herself up like she’d done so many times before. This probably wasn’t the first time something like this had happened to someone at Valkyrie. Maybe she could just tell someone about what happened and how she felt, and then have it be over. Her smile dropped slightly as she thought about this, but came back within a second. Even if she did choose to do that, she would have to keep this up until she figured it out.

[faden]

He nodded, good, he was glad she was able to say family was importnant to her even in this crap situation that had screwed up her night. It showed a maturity most in their school didn't have. And even if they did their pride would get in the way of admitting it outloud. He had a saddish smile. But he attempted his best to keep it real and true, for Emilia's sake at least. She didn't need another person in a bad moon around her, not now. Not really ever but still. He thought it important to keep this on her or about books and magic. He had just been thinking about it, the most important thing, it was a bit daunting of a thought. It just sort of worried him that he would never be someone's first choice in life. As close as he was to Laura, he knew she'd pick Chase. And it made sense, Chase had been there for her through the years. Faden couldn't be with people through the years. He wouldn't even be able to spend his senior year at Valkyrie, he wasn't allowed to stay with one foster family for too long. It just sucked.

"Well, now I know that I’m not entirely a nerd. Either that or there are, in fact, people as nerdy as I am.”

He smiled, "Well, according to Miss Anne Levesque I'm not a a nerd but a freak. So I wouldn't judge that kind of stuff against me." He said with a small smile. "In fact, you know that stupid rumor mill? Someone called me Triple F for Freak Faden the Fag. It was so weird." They had also said it might have something to do with 'E's starting their names , Emilia, Elliot, Eric...whatever. He thought it smart at this moment not to mention that one. "Very stupid reasons." He added with a smirk thinking of Doug, his foster brother and some of the other asses around the school. Such as Luke but again, probably not something to say outloud.

He laughed at her next statement. "Actually, oddly enough, Laura and I met a Heterosexual crossdresser. It was so weird, he started hitting on Laura. I was cracking up, because Laura decided to flirt back. I don't get it she's a decent way up the social ladder but she's a real freak." He said with a small amount of laughter. He looked at Emilia and saw her smile fade for less than half a second. "Look Emilia, I just wanted to apologize, you might have been going somewhere or deep thinking and I interupted."

[krueger]

Emilia composed herself quickly, laughing at Faden’s next story. “That sounds interesting. Especially because she flirted back. And I’m sure there are a few freaks in Valkyrie that are high up in the social ladder.” It was probably true, considering she’d been trying to hide her freak like nature to the entire student body; she can’t have been the only one. "And don't worry about it. I wasn't going anywhere inparticular."

Emilia shook her head, her smile dropping slightly at the rumor mill subject. Rumors. They could help someone or hinder them. Either way, they were ridiculous. “I hate rumors. They’re so stupid.” She mumbled, laughing a little as her mind crossed the one she’d heard about herself. “I guess to the people at Valkyrie I’m some kind of weird-o slut that hooked up with Luke Summitt or something.” She shook her head slowly, laughing a little.

Luke Summit. Just his name made her anger grow once more. Suddenly, she didn’t seem to care about hiding any amount of her feelings anymore. “I mean as if. He’s just about the world’s biggest ass hole.” She shook her head slowly, her smile dropping as she looked down at the street and her bare feet. “Coming off like he’s all great and everything, then turning around and trying to make out with me and shit. Where does he come off doing that?” She shook her head, furiously flicking back a loose strand of hair that covered over her head.

“And then Ben just had to come in. I couldn’t believe it when he threw that punch.” The words poured out of her mouth before she could sort through the events. Emilia set her jaw for a moment, trying to block back the tears that threatened again around her eyes. “Luke punched him back, so naturally Ben swung again. But Luke stepped sideways…And then my brother…My twin brother…Punched me instead of him.” She stopped again, leaning back on another wall, suddenly out of breath again. She took in a slow breath, coming to realize what she’d said to him. He probably didn't know what she was talking about anyways.

[faden]

Faden listened as Emilia opened up. She let ther words flow out, she had seemed like she needed to let it out. What a stressful night. He watched her as she spoke. She was such a nice girl. And smart, how could Luke have been such an ass? Ben, of course he had actred rashley and without showing much self control but at least his actions had been out of love, not lust. And it ended up hurting the one Ben had been attempting to protect. He had been right to leave Emilia alone for a bit. People tended to need space from the person that socked them in the stomach for a bit at least.

Lord, Faden hated seeing people like this. He hated seeing the people he cared about hurt. And that's when it his him. He cared about Emilia. She was, to him, a friend. I suppose they were friends before, slightly at least but this was the first time it had registered that he had made a friend, and hopefully a good one. She had decided to open up to him, or maybe it just overflowed and she had to get it out or she'd explode but it was still a good thing that she had told him right?

He looked at her as she leaned against the wall to catch her breath. He tried to keep any sign of pity out of his eyes. He hated being pitied, it made it feel as though they were looking down on him. He wondered for a moment if he should say he knew, but he decided against it. He didn't want Emilia even more angry at her brother for telling Laura. Aftrer all, what would it accomplish, Faden saying he already knew. He walked over and stood beside her leaning against the same wall, he nodded and looked at the passing people, he glanced down at the Pavement, "So...I was right to avoid the clubs?" Gentleness in his voice, hoping to lighten the weight a small amount but without riding it off as nothing. After a moment of silence he looked at her as she breathed. "Are you going to be alright?"