With You Around (Lucy)

[Carleigh Davidson]

Graduation had always felt like an end road. Now that the milestone had passed, there was a lot of 'now what?' that Carleigh had to think about; taking her life into her own hands and thinking for herself. With the event in the past, there was a lot to think about, mostly the realization that there was so much more to life than just living and breathing school. So, the blonde decided to take a break, a year to figure things out and figure out what she wanted in life.

Sure, she still had a lot of unanswered questions and general unease with her future but who didn't?

She took a long sip from her sweetened coffee, setting it back down on the table. Across from her sat her best friend, also with a cup of coffee in front of her. They had graduated, and though the fear of losing Lucy after they weren't at Hammel any more had been there, the pair still managed to see each other as often as they could. And she was grateful for that.

"So," Carleigh began, looking up at Lucy. "I got the job as a waitress down at that diner place." She casually mentioned, unsure if she had told her the news already or not. But it was definitely weird working for herself now instead of relying on others. "Don't have a lot of hours right now but hopefully as I learn I'll get more."

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

With graduation came a whirlwind of decision making, really. But in reality, fast as it had been, much of it had already been set in stone. Ivy had offered her full time tattoo work when she failed last year, and as such it was still on the table when the ink manipulator finally did graduate. Stable, steady income, and enough of it to support more than just herself; it worked out better than she could have ever planned it.

Because she lived with Penelope Blaise, but even that had been cemented for months. Settling into something of a domestic life wasn't hard; again, it was something she had unknowingly already taken on. Life seemed normal. Perhaps it was. Or perhaps she was just settled in her own bubble of existence. Because time managed itself inevitably, and so she found those spare pockets of moments where she could venture out and spend time with others. Devoid of work for the afternoon, Carleigh quickly became a greater priority. And as such, there she was.

Dark eyes dropped to the contents of her glass as she listened. Now wasn't the time to do anything but actively pay attention, but when it came to being helpful, Lucy was still sure she was relatively useless. "So how's it going, then?" She asked, raising her eyebrows as her gaze lifted, "Bit of a struggle?"

[Carleigh Davidson]

Unlike Lucy, who had her future relatively well planned out, there were a lot of unknown variables for Carleigh. It was only recently that she landed the job in the first place, her empty resume not providing a lot of substance to convince any place to hire her. She was sure the only reason she got the job was because of her bubbly exterior and unlimited availability since she no longer had to worry about school.

"Yeah," Carleigh said, wrinkling her nose, "Yeah, it is a struggle. I never imagined how hard it would be, you know?"

Rude customers took a toll on her but she had to keep smiling in order to make tips. "I've been practically begging for more hours." She admitted. Carleigh had been holding onto this frustration for awhile, relieved that she had someone to confide in. Someone who cared to listen to the boring details. "I'm renting a place right now but it's not the best." Her gaze met Lucy's as she sighed.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

With her fingers tapping at the table idly and her foot now bouncing with a decent stride, Lucy took the glass before her in her hand. She stared at it idly as she was spoken to, and after a few moments she took a drink. It might have seemed a little bizarre to find the ink manipulator so quiet, but in a contemplative state there wasn't much to add to the woes of her blonde haired wife-type.

"Right, right." She replied, at least to show she was listening. At least to express that she took in the information given. The dire straights.

Tension ran clear enough through her jaw as she pressed her lips together in a tighter line. Lucy was usually relatively adept at controlling her face, but on this particular instance, concern ran through her eyes better than she could hide it. And with concern came a stint of confusion. On some level, the twenty-something graduate was worried for the girl she came to actually care about.

"You're not like, going home, are you?"

[Carleigh Davidson]

Coupled with the uncertainty of the present, Carleigh was also still unsure about what to do in the future. School seemed like the obvious answer; but what would she study? A four year bachelor's program didn't appeal to her. Maybe a certificate of some kind. But right now, she at least had this job to worry about and maintain.

"My roommate is like, the total opposite of me." She added, wrinkling her nose. And where was the fun in that?

Blue eyes shifted, her gaze moving to look up at Lucy, who looked a little unsure. What her best friend was confused about though, Carleigh had no idea. She ran her thumb over the length of the mug, and around the rim as Lucy asked her a question. Instantly, she shook her head. "Oh no, God no. I couldn't do that." She said, her words genuine and honest. After making such a strong connection with someone, the blonde couldn't just go and severe that bond. "Not with you here still."

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

It inevitably occurred to Lucy just how little she knew of Carleigh's future plans. Though the same could be said of herself, it was clear from the minimal interaction they'd had already that the ink manipulator was fine and she, for the most part, wasn't.

So she did her best to piece things together. It seemed like she didn't really like - or perhaps she didn't care about - where she worked. And where she lived didn't sound like something worthwhile either. They were the two greatest things to factor into a life outside high school, Lucy supposed, and it was almost unfair how things had settled so positively for her and so dismally for the girl who spoke with practical sunshine in her tone.

But at least she wasn't leaving. And that forced Lucy to take a breath of relief, if only to lose it seconds later when she heard the latter statement. To be there - at least in part - for the Australian who was so submerged in domestic life that she barely noticed it.

"So how bad is it all? I mean really?" She asked genuinely, intent enough to get to the bottom of the severity of the situation, "And how can you fix it?"

[Carleigh Davidson]

The idea of leaving the small town had, admittedly, come to Carleigh's mind once for a brief moment. Surely it had to be easier to admit defeat; that she was severely unprepared for the realities of the world beyond high school. Maybe if she had a better bond with her family the decision would have been more difficult.

Leaving behind her small circle of friends, specifically the Australian that sat in front of her, wasn't an option at this point. It seemed that things had settled down for Lucy; the blonde felt a pang of guilt for only talking about her own life and not asking her friend the details of hers. It was a lot different than high school, since they couldn't see each other everyday. It just wasn't an option at this point with their respective jobs and lives. But they were adults now.

Exhaling, she looked up from the table. "I mean, it's not terrible. I'm managing." Carleigh shrugged. "It's just something I have to learn to deal with." She wasn't going to get along with everyone in life; which had been a hard pill to swallow, and still was.

"Things seem to be going pretty well for you, though." She added optimistically. "Still at Ivy's?"

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Listening to the struggles of her friend reminded Lucy of how distant she must have been as time slowly seemed to pass. She found herself wrapped in life in the best way; her time looped to an almost mundane comfort that she had absolutely no issues with. "Yeah, still there. Pretty much full time now, it's that good." She replied, completely willing to express just how settled things were when it came to working; it was the one thing she lucked into, and never had to worry about.

"Feels a bit shit talking about it when things are messy for you, though." Lucy explained, shrugging her shoulders at the fact. As much as she wished to be able to remain more calm about the concept, she simply couldn't. "Guess a bit of me misses the way things were, y'know? Like, being all in one place and just coming around whenever I wanted."

But home life was much better than dorm life, and of course that had to be a given for the ink manipulator who shared her space with the psychometrist. "I wanna help."

[Carleigh Davidson]

"That's awesome." Carleigh said, one of her good-natured, beaming smiles on her face. Not a hint of malice in either features or tone of voice. She was genuinely happy that things had settled down nicely for Lucy and was glad to hear that her best friend had steady employment in a job she loved.

She waved a hand in the air, lowering it to hold onto her cup afterwards. "No no, I want to talk about it. It'd be kind of depressing otherwise to dwell on all that negativity." She insisted, before nodding in agreement. It'd be hard for the blonde to disagree; Carleigh too missed the way everything fit before. Her entire life, all centrally located in one place. She never had to leave school to see anyone who mattered. "Totally. It made things a lot more easier. A lot more simple."

"You've helped a lot already. I mean, all I've done is complain," Carleigh frowned momentarily. "Which can't be fun to deal with."

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Carleigh was one of the only people Lucy knew who could genuinely be happy for another person without letting the thought affect herself. She studied the blonde's face and took in the very fact that she seemed to promote a better attitude than Lucy ever could, and about her own life no less. She then watched the way her hand moved, dismissing the ink manipulator's ill thoughts like she had no reason to feel them.

But the thought of the way things used to be was something they could agree on at least. The simplicity of being a few doors away had disappeared, and with it went the simpler way to be so naturally close. It was easier to maintain friendships when distance didn't come into play.

Was the conversation depressing? Hardly. At least, not in the way it might have been for Carleigh. Rather, Lucy felt the depression spiral from the way she herself dealt with it all instead. She shrugged her shoulders once, "I'm not complaining. Not everything's gonna be perfect, and there's not much sense to bottling that shit up." And although Lucy was sure there were better people for Carleigh to talk to than herself, it seemed she felt otherwise. And that was okay.

"Look, though." Lucy started, leaning inward in her seat slightly against the prior laid back approach, "If it ever get too much you can always like, come stay over or whatever."

[Carleigh Davidson]

Being a few doors away from Lucy certainly had its advantages; it was a lot easier to pop on over and see if her best friend was busy or not, considering they had a similar enough schedule in high school. Now, work was part of the picture with Lucy at the tattoo shop and Carleigh at Bessie's on top of other life commitments. Admittedly, it did suck sometimes but with life some distance was to be expected.

For Carleigh, the conversation was depressing to dwell on. For someone who tried her hardest to project the optimistic, bubbly image that so many were use to seeing. Not suffering necessarily, but there were some days it felt that way. "Yeah, I guess. You know me though, I don't like to complain a lot." But here she was unloading it all on Lucy; who didn't appear to mind and for that, the blonde was eternally grateful.

Her next offer resonated with Carleigh; a place to escape to. Instantly, features lit up at the possibility. "Really? I don't want to intrude or anything." Disrupt her routine. "Mess up yours or Penny's schedule." Fingertips tapped on top of the table, thinking. The offer was tempting, though.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Lucy nodded her head a few times, her mouth cracking to a decent grin when Carleigh tried her best to dispel the worries she carried. Of course she knew the blonde didn't like dwelling on the negative. She was literally the most optimistic person Lucy had ever met. So at the very least, she could find some humour in the fact that even now, she was trying to brush the potential severity off.

So the ink manipulator shrugged her shoulders. She supposed that on some level, she could actually offer what Carleigh was searching for. She could give her enough leeway to kill the subject.

"Totally." She replied, nodding her head a few times. "If it gets unbearable, we can totally make room. She won't even care." Well, that was a lie, and perhaps Carleigh didn't know that. Any hiccup to Penny's normality and she was bound to be irked. But her love had trusted the blonde enough to tell her about wanting to marry Lucy before the words had reached her. So it couldn't really hurt, right? "Just let me know."

[Carleigh Davidson]

Really, offering the blonde a place to stay was one of the best things Lucy could say. Of course, Carleigh appreciated her presence alone; listening to her rant and complain about mundane life problems. But this was something else, something she definitely didn't have to do.

"I don't mind crashing on the couch either, it's not like I sleep much anyway." Carleigh added. Though her insomnia had gotten better over the years, she still didn't sleep more than five hours a night. "So that works for sure. I'll give you fair notice if I need to." Unless her roommate kicked her out or something. But why would she do that?

Beaming, she looked across the table. "Thanks again Lucy, you're the best."