Thread Roulette: Shoplifting

Some people notice things and like them indeed. Odion happened to be one of those people. A pro actually. It hadn’t been that long since he last nabbed something, but today it would be for himself. You see, the best way to get away with murder, or stealing something, was to do it in such a way that was painfully obvious that no one would notice. Such as going when there were lots of people in a shopping mall. No one would notice if a pretty gold bracelet went missing did they? The metal detectors sure didn’t seem to mind.

Odion did just this as he left the jewelry shop, a sinister smile on his face as he gave the shop one last glance over his shoulder. There wasn’t any reason why a kid his age would be in the shop, but he hadn’t given them a reason to call security either. He had asked to see something in a different size and while the person on duty went into the back, he slipped away with the bracelet already on his skinny little wrist. It was unsuspecting as he pulled the long sleeves of his shirt down, and tried on the ring the clerk had gone to fetch for him. No one would know the wiser.

Unfortunately, Odion was not a novice at pick pocketing. He had been one since he was an orphan in Europe, and once his powers arose after puberty, he's only gotten better. Stopping time made it especially easy to pickpocket people, but he didn’t always like using his powers. Sometimes he did it without any aid for the sake of the thrill. He might’ve seemed like a novice, but that was all part of the act that Odion liked to make people believe: he was the underdog. The sweet look he had usually helped him in this. He’s eagerly awaiting the day that he no longer has a baby face.

His dark blue eyes happened upon a woman who was directly behind him. Odion held his chipper grin and gave her a nod. She certainly hadn’t been from the shop, but he wasn’t dense enough to think that she wasn’t following him. She just had that look in her eyes, and Odi lived to read people. Odion was dressed to blend into the shadows. A pair of jeans that nearly everyone owned adorned his lower body, a long sleeved red shirt over top. Nothing like some of the pants he owned.

Odion let his pace settle into something casual, and he could feel the woman behind him catch up. He couldn’t deny that he was curious as to what she wanted. Odi, usually bitter towards people, remembered his manners around the fairer sex. She stepped into his personal bubble and he looked at her with a gentle grin. Snatching her hand, he pressed a kiss to her knuckles, his European mannerisms poking through. He may have been a street kid, but he was also the best pretender. “Define corruption, love.” He said, releasing the girl’s hand.

So Delilah had seen him. He grinned at her charms, tilting his head to the side. This must’ve been what it felt like for Lani when he had caught the blonde on the rooftops a few weeks ago. Something dark passed over his eyes as she labelled him a novice. Oh, if only she knew… Their paces matched, and like flipping a switch, Odion paused time, slipped the bracelet he just stole onto the brunette’s wrist, and then resumed time as though nothing had happened. He had made his practice flawless. “I assure you darling, that I’m not a child at this game.”

He nodded at her wrist. Odion didn’t mind if he had just given his catch of the day away to a total stranger, but there was more to be had. He still felt better than she was portraying him as. He had been the one with stolen goods, had he not? And now, she was involved whether she wanted to be or not. But from her words, she seemed interested to be involved. Just how many criminals had he missed since being in this small part of America? Quick cash and friendship however, didn’t belong in the same sentence. But he was interested in the minx at his side. “What did you have in mind?” He asked. He paused at one of the many benches in the mall and sat down gingerly, looking at the older girl expectantly to join him.

Just because Delilah wasn’t used to it, didn’t mean Odion wouldn’t show her what proper manners were like. For some reason, people around here seemed to think it was an invasion of space, but he was only trying to bring back a little good into this dark world. It was evident that Delilah didn’t appreciate the gesture, but he wasn’t going to change because some girl was a little uncomfortable. He was in the business of disarming people, and meant no harm unless you harmed him first. He may steal from the innocent, but he didn’t hurt anybody doing it, not physically anyways. If she would have retaliated violently, it would’ve been as easy as hitting a pause button to well, pause her in action.

It would be easy to take the bracelet back if he wanted to later. For now, it was a peace offering. She could take it or leave it, and if it was quick cash she wanted, well, she really didn’t need him anymore now did she? The only trick was, that she was in his debt. And now the question was: did Delilah Pryce care? Odion only dealt with pawn shops, and he made sure to go to different ones whenever he could. It was always the same story: such and such relative had died, what can I get for this? If the piece was too new it would be that his parents bought him x y z and he didn’t like it and forgot to keep the receipt. It was simply, it was devious, and it worked. If Delilah couldn’t figure out what his powers were, that was her problem.

Odion never assumed things, and if Delilah announced herself as a man hater, he wouldn’t be surprised. Nothing was impossible in this world. As for whether she liked him or not, most people were on the fence. Unless he was trying to make people like him, Odi was that wild card no one knew what to do with. In some cases he could be good and useful, other cases just a waste of space or simply annoying. It all depended on what kind of day he was having really.

The act she was playing worked well, and Odion was listening to her. Delilah should really be happy about that. Whatever disgust she felt for him went unnoticed. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes as she spoke. Hadn’t she said none five minutes ago that she wanted to be friends and make money? Unless she was a prostitute, how could she expect him to know what she wanted him to do? Besides, he wasn’t about to just go ahead and listen to someone and blindly follow them. He laughed then, leaning in closer to Delilah. His dark blue eyes looked at her squarely. “Suit yourself.” Wasn’t that her job? She was the one who approached him. There was nothing he could give her really, other than the clothes off his back. He didn’t need anybody. The grin on his face said so.