Another New Face on Campus [OPEN]

[Danton Lloyd]

Danton stood, alone, by a tree on UM campus. Looking around, he sighed, he'd been in Miami for a year now, although his English accent was still perfectly intact. He hadn't come in contact with many Americans, save his grandparents, after all. He looked down at his feet and scuffed the ground a little, rummaging in his pockets for his battered packet of marlboros, he had a feeling that, despite his current isolation, this school would be no different than those he had attended back home. People would still stare at him and he would still rebel, nothing would change. Flipping open the back, he took out a ciggarette, leaving his lucky one till last, as always, and flipped it up to his lips, a practiced skill he had accquired in the many lonely days whilst he had been here. He replaced the box in the back pocket of his tatty old grey jeans and patted his legs, searching for a lighter, when he found one, he lit the end of the little white stick protuding from his lips and put the lighter back in his pocket where he had found it, taking a long drag, he leant back against the tree and looked up through the branches to they sky.

He smiled softly to himself as he felt the nicotine raid his body, he hadn't been able to smoke for a few days and feeling it course into his lungs was one of the best feelings he'd had in a while. He was going to be studying music here at the University of Miami, and he had brought Vanessa with him for his first day, he glanced down at her, his trusty old accoustic guitar, she was also leant against the tree, and Danton's gaze was captured by her as he smoked his ciggarette. The overwhelming desire to play caught him. Once he had finished smoking, he slid down the tree to a sitting position and leant across, picking up Vanessa. He held her in his hands, contemplating what he should play. His song, the one he had written when he had first arrived in Miami all those months ago. Reaching into his bag he brought out his tattered little black book and flipped through the worn pages to a song entitled Spring. Clearing his throat, he tuned Vanessa lovingly and began to strum the rift, getting used to the chords this melody required, before pausing to catch his bearings and diving into the tune.

After a moment of coaxing the beautiful sounds from the old wood and strings, he began to sing in his soft, gruff voice,

"Starting anew in this land so strange,
released and bound, tied to my cage,
I'm not sure how to live,
I'm not sure if I can forgive,
but it's springtime now,
and this is judgement hour..."

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[Lottie Friar]

Usually Lottie avoided the UM campus. Too many male faces that recognize her and too many female faces that judge her. Today was different however, her car had broken down and she was forced to walk and the quickest way anywhere was through the campus. Occasionally she wished she had gone to school here, but after her stunning performance in high school, it was decided by all that she didn’t quite fit the type that goes to college. It wasn’t because she wasn’t smart, it was more of she detested the establishment mind-set that came with college. She rebelled every chance she got and once she turned eighteen she got her job at the strip joint and moved out of her house. Her parents were heartbroken, they had spent years trying to make her feel welcome and she spit it back in their face.

With a sigh she stopped walking, she felt guilty about the way she treated them. They deserved a better daughter than her, they should have chosen someone else. Shaking her head she noticed a boy with a guitar. Heading in his direction she fished fifty cents out of her pocket and tossed it in his case and smiled. Judgment hour? Should we be concerned the second coming hasn’t touched Miami? she raised an eyebrow abd looked at him studying his face.

[Danton Lloyd]

His sharp ears, normally used to detect changes in the sounds Vanessa made picked up on something else and Danton was startled out of his daydream. His blonde head snapped upwards towards the sound of the footsteps. It's not that Danton was a particularly jumpy person, more the fact that when he was so engrossed in something, and didn't expect any interruptions, one would startle him slightly and he would pull a face, much as he was now, that was similar to that of a rabbit caught in headlights.

As his reflexes calmed down, Danton began to study the exotic creature making it's way across the campus, actually, pretty much straight towards him. He wasn't as vain as to think she had taken it upon her self to stroll off of the sidewalk to come and talk to him specifically, however, he did notice that her eyes were trained on him, and then he realised his were trained on her, but then, he expected she was used to it. After all, she was hardly dressed averagely. Danton was aware he was staring, and finally broke the eye contact they had held, dipping his head back down to his guitar and tuning her a little, although she didn't need to be tuned.

Truth was, he hadn't met anyone here yet, no one had deemed him interesting enough to talk to, and he hadn't seen anyone that particularly took his fancy either, and so for the past couple of days, he'd sat alone, just like he was doing now, playing his old songs and cloud watching. Casually, he rearranged himself a little so he was more comfortable, and began to strum a rift he'd had sruck in his head for a few days straight. Sneaking an involuntary, and what probably looked like it was wary, glance back at the girl, although he wouldn't admit it, he was somewhat pleased to see that she was still making her way across the lawn. He bowed his head again and smiled a little to himself.

[Lottie Friar]

With a gentle laugh Lottie stopped, the boy had cast a wary look. It was probably best to approach at a slower pace now, as not to startle him farther. She wasn’t use to the wary look from men, usually it one of lust or confidence that she was going to please the onlooker. That was never a problem with a g-string and pole it was easy to please most. The face she had been studying was one that didn’t fit with Americana that was college and she was immediately curios to find the identity that hid behind the shaggy blonde hair. Maybe like her he was sitting on the grass as a mid point from where he’d been to where he was going, and this campus was merely a means of getting there. Without much of a realization she was now standing just a few feet from the guitar player. Shoving her hands in her pocket she broke her silence.

“Don’t worry, I won’t bite. That is unless you are into that sort of thing.”

A coy smile danced upon he lips as she nodded to him. He was strumming random chords, or seemingly random chords, there was a melody to them if you listened with a trained ear. Music was an important integral part of Lottie’s job and she had become quite the music critic. It would take her hours to select a song or a song set to dance to. In her own way she wanted to tell a story or convey a message. Using her sexuality to do so was how she made the money. Pressing her lips together she contemplated sitting down. Usually she would sit with the homeless who played their instruments on the street but he was not a homeless boy his grooming and clothing told her this.

“I’m Lottie,”

This was highly out of her character to just offer her name to someone. Her name was one of the things she held sacred, one of things she protected from others. Once a name was offered it was easy to find someone and learn about them. Once more she pressed her lips together, as if to keep her words from escaping and revealing more about herself than she wanted to.

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[Danton Lloyd]

Suddenly aware he wasn't alone in his bubble any longer, Danton looked up at the girl standing before him from under his lashes and offered her a cheeky little grin. Up close he could study this peacock-like woman a little better. Her hair was almost the colour of fire, this pleased him. He had a little thing for redheads. Gently, he placed Vanessa down on the grass beside him and unfolded his long, toned limbs. His initial plan had been to stand up straight away, however, a rather violent case of pins and needles attacked his foot, so he resigned himself to sitting on the floor with his legs outstretched. He didn't reply to her first comment, he was the sort to just start a conversation of his own choosing, some people found it annoying, others endearing. He grinned up at her bashfully.

"Pins and needles"

He explained, somewhat apologetically, his rough English accent seeming somewhat plain next to her tone varied American one.

"Lottie? Like, short for Charlotte? I'm Danton, but I guess you can call me Danny, some people like to"

He shrugged and banged his foot on the ground, speeding up the return of blood to it, when he could finally feel it, he stood up. Sitting on the floor curled up around Vanessa, his build hadn't been particularly obvious, but standing beside her, at his full height of 6ft 4 he towered over her, although he supposed, for a woman, she wasn't particularly short. He quickly reconsidered that thought, whilst he'd been in Miami he'd seen some pretty tall girls. She wasn't particularly short to English standards.

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[Lottie Friar]

His bashfulness was appreciated. It gave him a charming sort of flair, of course that could also be attributed to his British accent which, lets face it would drive the American girls crazy. Regardless he was rather attractive and looked like a good time. Not in a sexual manner, but he just looked like he would be fun to hang around with. Thank god he couldn’t read her thoughts, she blushed slightly at the fact she was thinking about sex on the first meeting. She hadn’t had sex and now for some reason she couldn’t stop thinking about it. SEX. Looking down at the ground for a moment her eye line stopped for a moment at his crotch and she closed them. What had come over her in a matter of seconds?

A nervous laugh escaped and she looked back up at his face. That seemed a safe choice at the moment, just look in his eyes and not at the lips and she would be fine. ”Danton, it is then, I don’t know you well enough to call you Danny.” She thought about it for a moment, Lottie very well could have been short for Charlotte but not in her case, Lottie was on the birth certificate. ”Not short for anything my birth parents just thought Lottie was good name so they slapped it on the certificate. There wasn’t much thought when it came to me I suppose. She shrugged her shoulders and seemed to go off someplace distant for just a moment before boomeranging back to earth. Been in Miami long then?

[facepalms
bleh sorry its not that great just wrote a 8 page paper on politics so my creativity is a bit dry.]

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[Danton Lloyd]

Danton's hazel gaze was caught by her and he grinned softly when he saw a soft blush spread over her cheeks, he wondered what she was thinking about, she looked so lost in thought. He stuffed his hands down into his pockets, leaving his thumbs hanging over the edge to brush the denim of his faded old jeans softly. Danton grinned as a thought crossed his mind, he wondered what this girl liked to do for fun, the primarily shy glint in his eyes turned to one of wickedness, he wasn't particularly accustomed to talking to girls, back in high school he was always the broody, silent type. Sure, he was stared at, but hardly any girl was ever brave enough to address him, however, once he had warmed up to someone, their gender never crossed his mind. Unless they were an especially attractive specimen. Tilting his head on one side, Danton regarded Lottie for a moment before replying to her,

"About a year. I've been living with my grandparents and my sister"

He admitted with a small shrug, he had no doubt if he used his maternal name she would know who his family were, which is why he preferred his paternal name. It was a more common sirname, and wasn't well known in the U.S at all. There were days he despised his background, and days he was grateful. He would never have to work for his money, which gave him all the time in the world to strum Vanessa's strings and enjoy his youth, material wise, he had everything he could ever want for, but Danton was not a material man. Pulling his hand out of his pocket, he slid it behind him and retrieved a plain grey woolen hat and placed it on his hat, pushing his hair from his eyes as his did so. He returned his stare to Lottie and threw her a friendly smile.

"do you actually go to college here?"

He demanded bluntly, he had a sneaky suspicion she didn't, the wicked gleam was once again glinting in his warm eyes.

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[Lottie Friar]

It was doubtful she would have recognized his last name. It wasn’t something she really cared about. It may cause her to take a step and consider the situation, if he were like the thousands of others he wouldn’t want to associate with her. But the fact he wasn’t mentioning it either meant he had a hero complex or it was something he didn’t care about. Not that any of this mattered Lottie was none the wiser so she didn’t reconsider her presence or his social status. As far ash she knew he wouldn’t try to swoop in and save the tiny dancer from her sad little life. A breeze blew slightly around them, a welcome reprieve from the heat. Not to mention the fact she was sweating trying not to stare at inappropriate parts of him.

Lottie studied his movements. Mannerisms made up a person and much could be said about someone based on their stream of behavior. He was a difficult read clouded by something, perhaps she was use to American men and not the British ones, and they could be admittedly more difficult to read. They hid behind the Hugh Grant charm and accent. Very clever of them, they could easily score themselves an American Princess, a Grace Kelly. Grace Kelly, she was a favorite of Lottie’s. As were most classically beautiful things, they was just something about them that made Lottie weak in the knees, classic beauty, something she probably didn’t posses, she was more of an unconventional beauty.

“You’ve found me out then. What gave it away? The not so furrowed brow that comes with the studious?”

Of course he found her out. She didn’t fit in on the campus and the lack of feeling like she belonged is clearly visible to those who were able to look outside themselves long enough to catch a read on others. She moved in closer to him, the type of close that made strangers feel uncomfortable. Placing a hand lightly on his arm, this caused a slight electric shock to shot through her for a moment. This was an interesting reaction, it was like immediate chemistry or she had just shuffled her feet on the grass. Regardless of the reason she spoke in hushed tones.

“You mustn’t tell anyone. They may run me off with sticks, or worse pom poms and pearls.”

She gave him a sly wink and stepped back creating the comfortable space allowed by current social standards. She slipped her fingers into to her respective jean pockets and shrugged, like she had been given up and no defense for herself. That was sort of her attitude take her or leave her. Something she found attractive in friends, he after all had been rather blunt with her, a rather amazing quality these days.

“Do you only pretend to be a charming British musician who is really a law student with a trust fund like the rest of the charming musicians I meet on the campus or are you being held her against your will as the charming British musician?”

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[Danton Lloyd]

Of course, Danton had been in America for a whole year now, possibly more, and he had not seen either of his parents since the day they departed, respectively, from the family home all that time ago in England, however, his weather worn skin was used to harsh winds and sharp rain, the sun was practically a whole new experience. The experience was not appreciated. He had spent most of those 365 days wandering around his grandparents extensive manor house, the 200 rooms had kept him occupied, yet inexposed to the American U.V rays. Now, standing out here on the grass with the warmth beating down on the back of his neck, Danton couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable, his hazel eyes darted around, however, the only shade within one hundred meters was the tree they were stood under, he had begun to consider the problem at hand when he heard her voice again and snapped his attention back to her. Cheerfully, he replied,

"Oh no, nothing like that, just if you went to this college, I would have noticed your pretty little face before!"

Danton winked at Lottie cheekily. He pushed his fingers back inside his jeans pockets, his thumbs dangling over, once more and tossed his head to the side, moving the disobedient strands of hair that had slowly fallen into his eyes back across his forehead. The touch that fell on his arm gave Danton a jolt. Not a bad jolt, like when you realise something and your blood runs cold, but not a jolt of surprise either. The jolt that ran through his skin and made the hairs on his arms stand up was none other than a jolt of electricity. He raised his eyes to meet hers, a moment of tension flickering in his hazel ones, before he cracked a grin at her sentence.

"Or perhaps they might even take you under their wing and dress you in little pink cashmere things and those skin tight jeans, with big high clompy things strapped to your feet. Then you'd be sorry"

He pretended to consider it, playfully, for a moment, his grin never falling from his face,

"No you're right, you're much better as you are now. I promise I won't breathe a word, and besides, it would also draw attention to myself, and they could force me to wear a shirt and tye. That would be a true disaster, I assure you"

His eyes flickered around them, looking for some solution to the problem of the heavy sunlight, and shrugged a little to himself. The best he could come up with was that heat always rises. Leaning his back against the tree trunk, he slid back down into a sitting position and looked up at Lottie, a smile on his face as he patted the ground beside him, welcoming her to join him. It was indeed a little cooler here, he noticed, and decided whenever he got too hot in the future, he would sit beneath a tree. At Lottie's next question, Danton threw back his head and near howled with laughter. When he had regained some control over his boundless mirth, Danton wiped his eyes of the tears of laughter that had formed. He did not have an unnattractive laugh, luckily, it was one of those happy laughs that rang out and caught people's attentions. His was very lucky, actually, his father had always laughed like a donkey when he found something funny enough.

"Charming? Calling me charming is like you being called unnattractive. It's never happened before and it definitely won't ever happen again. I'm usually described as 'sulky' or 'difficult'"

He admitted with a slight inclination of his head. He had once even been called a miserable brat by one of his mother's more hoity toity social acquaintances. She didn't have friends as such, just women she liked to be seen in the newspaper with.

"But, no, in answer to your question, I'm not a law student, I'm a bum of a musician, studying music I can already play, in the mild hopes of doing something with my life, but more probably sitting around for the rest of my years strumming little ditties on good old Vanessa here"

He laughed and patted the accoustic guitar besides him, then asked a question that would possibly make or break a friendship, but, of course, Danton was unaware of the implications of the word,

"you?"

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[Lottie Friar]

A pink cashmere sweater, so much is defined by that pink cashmere sweater. Sorority girls liked those with their pearls and Greek letters. She shuttered involuntarily at the thought of her dressed like the rest of them with her big read hair and chunky bracelets. It may be a good act to consider for later when she needs to freshen up her act a little. Men had fantasies about all types of girls and she could make it work, shorten the sweater a little, leave top buttons unbuttoned. She shook the thoughts from her mind; she didn’t want to think about work or sorostitutes or sex. All three were off limits they would lead to nothing but trouble. Today she was hoping to stay out trouble for the day-light hours anyway. When the sun went down so did the morals of the city itself and no one cared who you were or what you did in the anonymous atmosphere the clubs created. She watched as his hair fell into his face again and smiled.

“You should invest in some clips, or hair gel. It may save your neck from whiplash.”

Sitting across from him on the grass she looked back at him. She was just in time to catch him laugh. This was a sight she enjoyed, the raw emotion that was laughter, it was this type of laughter that told the most about a person, he was unafraid and let it all out as if there as nothing to hide. His laughter was quite contagouse and she began to giggle slightly unaware of what he had found so damn funny. For a moment she felt rather self conscious and this caused the uneasy-ness in her laughter to shine through and she stopped laughing, waiting to find out what was so funny.

He had never been called charming before? That seemed a little unlikely, or it easily could have been the fact Lottie found things charming that may never be considered charming like others. A snake for example had its charm and so did a rat but she doubted many people ran out to adopt them as pets so they could snuggle them. With a slight grin she looked at the grass.

“Maybe its because I’m a pain in the ass that I find the difficult and Sulk charming. There is also the possibility I am so bombarded with shiny happy people those who have normal qualities ping rather loudly on my radar.”

Vanessa? Interesting, many liked to keep the name of their most prized processions for the second or third meeting. It was like when a guy kept his girl away from his friends for a while. She is something precious to him, and he didn’t want the other guys to hone in on her before he knew for sure she was his. This was revealing, he didn’t seem to worry that she now knew about the most sacred thing he owned. He wasn’t worried someone may take it from him, or maybe Lottie wasn’t that threatening. Looking at him as he explained his dreams she looked back at t he grass. Here was the part in the conversation where she told him her job, and he looked at her differently.

“Currently I am girl sitting on a campus with a boy who wants to spend the rest of his life with Vanessa. While he knows who he wants to spend the rest of his life with I am waiting for the thieves at the mechanic shop to fix my car so I can go to work and make the money so one day I too can do as I please.”

Well, it wasn’t a lie but it wasn’t the whole truth just the truth at the moment and that seemed alright for the time being

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[Danton Lloyd]

Danton's rather astute senses couldn't help but notice the subtle way Lottie assessed everything he did. Where others would feel uncomfortable, possibly violated, Danton merely noted with the due amount of respect that she must be very intelligent to pay such attention to such small detail, and to read his body language so calmly. Danton didn't much like to stop people doing what they liked best, unless it crossed his own ethics, of course. To be truly happy you must first allow others to also be happy. Yes, Vanessa. He had named her at the age of eight after a character from his favourite t.v programme. She was his first guitar, and his only guitar. That was not to say he did not possess other musical instruments the same as Vanessa, but she was his guitar and was much different to the other lumps of wood and strings that still sat in his room in his grandparent's house. Although he had tried to leave his possessions in England, his old house had been sold and everything left flown over to Miami for the children to sort through. It was as though, for all the world, the births of Danton and Ruane, the relationship that formed them, the very Crew-Lloyd family had ceased to exist. But more than that, it was as though it had never existed.

Danton contemplated this thought for a moment, before returning his attention to his companion. He nodded in agreement at her statement. Shiny happy people. They were so foreign to him, yet so familiar. His mother, for instance, was a shiny happy person, although she may as well be dead for all the contact she had with her children. It was, unmistakeably, something Danton was quite bitter about. He couldn't quite grasp their concept of life, surely it was better to explore life's back roads? Who wanted to slog on down the crowded old highway when there was a beautiful, empty alleway to saunter down at your own pace?

"I'll have you know, Vanessa and I are blissfully happy in our cocoon of melodies!"

was his only reply, a joyful smile spread across his somewhat sexy, full lips. He enjoyed talking to Lottie, although she was most certainly not aware of it, she allowed him to speak his mind and be himself. He didn't feel stiff or awkward like he did with the other girls. He was certain these were the beginnings of a beautiful friendship.

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[Lottie Friar]

Lottie was in the habit of assessing people’s actions and words. It was how she kept herself safe, if she had felt a touch of hostility among them she would have quickly leapt up and left, much like a deer would when they hear the approach of a hunter. Miami was a city that not only had the Will Smith welcome to Miami side but an underbelly of drug runners and gangsters. The murders that happen in the alley ways of the Miami may not bother these college kids but those victims were often friends or those who brought the police to the club searching for answers. A girl had to keep her guard up at all times, that and when the police come to question her she may be able to give them some valuable information on someone. And perhaps she was looking for someone who shared her mannerisms in the way the family does. She was hoping she had a sister or a brother out there who managed to know something more about their parents.

Lottie gave a sideways glance to the gutair that lay on the grass next to them. She has a well loved feel to her. Lucky bit of wood and strings she was to find herself in the hands of a deserving musician. May gutaire shared the fate of being given to a bratty child who would strum a few chords and take lessons for a year to grow bored and throw the thing aside to use as a doorstop or paperweight.

“Then I am truly happy for the two of you, it must be quite nice”

Looking around to survey the surroundings she sighed, the sun had slipped behind some clouds but it would remain the intolerable heat that it was until the sun finally went down and the moon cam out. But then people would feel too tired to come out and play except for those who spent the day sleeping. Night life in Miami was enjoyable as long as you stayed on the good side of things, the higher class clubs and what not, there the crime was drug related and went on behind closed doors. Starting to feel at easy she stretched her legs out and lay back in the grass which was surprisingly cool.

“That cloud right there” she pointed “Looks like a an alligator. And that one, looks like a football player. An American football player.”

Realizing how ridiculous she sounded pointing out clouds she sighed and sat up. Blinking a few times she stared past her companion. It was getting late in the day and she had a few errands to run. Sitting on the grass on campus was the way she should be spending her time but she knew it wouldn’t pay the bills. The mechanic hadn’t called yet, so she didn’t have a n excuse to leave abruptly. The fact she was feeling so comfortable with this Danton was frightening to her. While she could see this friendship as a good a thing she was suddenly feeling the fear that came with opening oneself up to a person, Danton could very easily break her and leave. Pulling her knees into her chest she rested her chin on the top of her knees, her arms wrapped around her legs. She felt foolish and unguarded.

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[Danton Lloyd]

He watched her gently as she pondered what he could only assume had something to do with nuclear physics, a soft expression on his face. He was only new here to the every day life of Miami. He had spent the previous year either alone or associating with whatever irritating rich kid showed up. Mostly, they were related to him, although he got on well with his cousins, he did find them somewhat tiring and pretentious. In a way though, he was pleased he had such a large family. In England, his family had been small, his parents, his sister and himself, but since moving to Miami he had gained a set of grandparents, as his father's parents had long since departed the mortal world, an uncle, an aunt and seven cousins. As he watched Lottie, he couldn't help but wonder what she had seen with those eyes to make them so ethereal, what she had lived through to make her so bold yet so withdrawn. He wondered, but he did not ask.

When she started discussing the clouds, he took a hint and tilted his head upwards, resting the top of it against the cool tree trunk. It was neccessary for him to squit his eyes to look at the sky, for the Floridian sun was much too bright for his Britsh eyes that were used to peering through the fog and the rain. He could indeed see the crocodile, however, he couldn't quite make out the American Football player. He shrugged and grinned,

"It looks more like a bunny with one of those full head brace things on to me"

He admitted with a laugh, scanning the skies that were almost too blue with his hazel eyes. Danton hadn't looked for pictures in the clouds since he was a little boy, yet doing so now with this virtual stranger in a place that was still so unknown to him didn't feel odd or wrong, rather, it felt calming. Danton hadn't been so relaxed since he had been living in England, he smiled softly to himself and raised his arm, tracing a line around a bundle of clouds his eyes had picked out.

"That one looks a bit like It the clown"

He laughed and turned his head to look at her. Laying as she was, her hair, the colour of fire, was lit like a halo on the ground around her by the sun. He smirked at the image, because even though he didn't know much about her, he knew enough to know that an angel was something she most definitely was not.

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[Lottie Friar]

A conventional angel she was not. Though in other ways she remained rather pure and angel like. She often spoke to the cops and told them more than she probably should about the clientele that walked into the club. Lucky for her no one thinks the dancers know anything they are empty headed drones who shake their asses to make a buck. This was a stereotype she gladly played up at the club. Everything was about survival in her world. Without the wall she had built she would be putting her life at risk. Easing back into her spot beside him on the grass she let out a contented sigh. She wasn’t sure why she felt so at ease at the moment but she did and with that she sort of let it go. What was the point of being so in control of one’s emotions. It may have been something she had been holding on to but sometimes you had to let it all go, and who better to do that with than a stranger, a person you could easily start clean with.

She could still see the football player though the bunny was emerging as the clouds moved and adjusted themselves. Her eyes followed the direction of Danton’s hand and located the clown like cumulus nimbus. Propping herself up on her elbows she tilted her head sideways, She wasn’t sure what she was looking at. The clown had morphed into a sort of blob of fluff, like a cotton ball on steroids that was now bulging out in places and shrinking in others. It had been a while since Lottie had done this with someone, usually she spent her time staring at them alone, Francis was the last person lottie had just stared at clouds with and well, since she died it had been something she didn’t feel like doing much anymore.

“Well that use to be a clown anyway now it’s just an amorphous blob like the rest of the clouds.

Swinging so that she gently knocked into him she let out a small giggle. Her head tilting once more up towards the clouds. This simple type of spending time together was nice. Not since the day francis died has Lottie felt this comfortable with someone. This was worth the wait for a new true friendship. Closing her eyes she lay back on the grass the warm Maimi breeze blowing around them. Ah, the simple life.

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