TIME WARP| In This Little Number [Jalen]

[Zaeric Blackwood]

Seven years in the Future...............

Oh it felt so good to be home. Er, sort of home. Zaer threw the bag on the couch lightly, hoping he didn't bruise the Guitar inside. The thing was as old as he was, which at the current time was twenty four. It seemed like forever ago he had gotten out of Hammel. After living in Pilot Ridge for a year or so with nothing to do but practice music and run the music store for a bit he had been getting bored. How could he not have been bored really? Life was just too slow for him.

He walked into the Kitchen of the large apartment, wondering if his roomie was home. She was the other half of his band, singer and songwriter like himself. He shook his head. It was pretty early, and he had been out really late last night. In fct, the thought made Zaer check his watch. Five. Five o clock in the morning and he was still wide awake. Well, the party had gone better than he had planned. A little bit of guitar, some piano hidden in there at the later time. Mostly what had been wanted was a techno DJ they had gotten to come kick him off stage. His songs weren't right for them.

That was okay though, because they had let him have free drinks. After the first few whatevers he had had Zaeric had called it quits and vegged on cream soda, a fave since he was little.. He had a sad thought that Annette had always loved cream soda. The young singer thought about texting her but decided against it: to early. She'd be grumpy with him. Instead he grabbed an Arizona Tea and plopped into the long couch. A new song was buzzing around in his ears, along with the nightlife he loved. Cincinatti was definitely a good place for him. He had missed being home anyway. He knew a few other people who had lived here when he went to Hammel. Ah well, it didn't matter now.

He grabbed some paper sitting in a messy pile on the coffe table and a pen. The paper was stained, but he didn't care. It was cooler that way. The pen started to scratch and he was away, lost in a world of music and words.

[Jalen August]

Pilot Ridge felt like a million miles away, especially now that her and Zaeric were doing what they always want to do - write and produce music. He had been a Godsend at Hammel, where she felt like she was the only one who really lived and breathed music. The apartment in Cincinnati they roomed together in was nothing short of perfect. Big enough to hold all their crap but small enough to still feel like home. It was amazing to live with someone who knew you inside and out. He had totally stood by her when she went on to University to get a Fine Arts degree, and was totally stoked to live with her when she graduated and went on to train to be a sort of sound technician. Not something women usually went into, but something she was born for - literally.

Jalen preferred making music than remixing it and editing it, but until her and Z could get somewhere with their music, it paid the bills and she really did love her work. Except for working late and hardly seeing her roommate anymore. Did he miss her as much as she missed him? Rolling onto her side of her bed, the blonde squinted in the darkness. Was she hearing things, or was someone rummaging around in her fridge? The digital read 5:03AM and she knew it must've been a burglar. Zaer would've been in bed by now, right?

Slipping out from under her covers, Jalen grabbed her acoustic guitar, the one Zaer had taught her to play, and tip toed to her door. Nothing was on her mind as she stepped through the door frame and into the living room where someone was on the couch. It didn't cross her mind that she was half naked, wearing black panties and one of Zaer's longer shirts, which were comfy and clean and Jalen enjoyed stealing - it annoyed the living shit out of him. Squinting at the rising sun, the blonde thought whoever they were, must've been drunk out of their mind for breaking into an apartment only to chill out and drink someone else's friggin iced tea.

Raising her guitar over her head, Jalen was about to send the instrument crashing over the guy's head but then she stopped. "Z?" She asked, lowering the guitar. "What are you doing up this early?" She asked, running a hand over her face as the adrenaline subsided. No need to ruin her guitar on Zaer, it would live another day. Plopping herself down on the couch, she leaned forward to see what he was working on. She didn't question the action further. Sometimes when you got up in the middle of the night with good words to write down, you just had to do it. But he wasn't in pajamas... "You must've had one hell of a night," she remarked with a smirk, sitting back into the couch comfortably.

[Zaeric Blackwood]

Zaer's eyes widened in surprise as he saw Jalen standing over him with her guitar raised like she was going to take his head off. Then she sleepily said his name and he had to start laughing. Did she think he was a thief or something? Only a dumb thief would come into their apartment, because someone would get hurt and it wouldn't be him or Jay. She sat down next to him as he continued to scribble words onto the paper and made a sort of sigh.

" Ya, it was pretty crazy. Not much for me to do so I drank for a bit. I couldn't get home sooner because I had to wait until I was sure I'd be good to drive. I really don't want points on my license." He said lightly in the joking tone that never seemed to go away. It was then he noticed she was styling in one of his long shirts. His lips twitched into a half smile, even though it annoyed him. The girl had enough clothes, why did sh have to steal his! He just let the half grumble slide from him like a laugh and went with it. No use arguing anyway. He had plenty of shirts and flannels since he liked them so much. It also might have been the apartment was a tad colder than normal apartments due to the fact that heat just about murdered him.

" What are you doing up so early, other than trying to murder your guitar?" He asked as he let a few more words find their way to the paper. It was kind of catchy, an he liked the theme of red Ribbons. It seemed to fit the sad song and melody he had floating around in his head. Zaer wrapped an arm over Jay and sighed, leaning back to enjoy just being home. He was gone so much now it seemed like he barely ever had time to just chill with her, which was always such a bummer because she was a great fun person to be around and he loved supporting her. She was a great musician, talented and creative, and fun person. Who ever knew the shaky girl from Hammel would be such a great person later in life?

[Jalen August]

Jalen run her fingers through her tangled hair, before giving up with a loud sigh. "You could've asked me to pick you up, then I wouldn't have tried to murder you just now," she said with a grin, obviously teasing the boy. A lot had changed since being in Hammel, but the blonde's personally only grew with age, becoming even more spunky and sarcastic, if that was even possible. Some things just never changed.

"Like I said already, I was trying to murder you, otherwise I'd still be asleep on my day off," she said with a yawn, followed by a stretch which 'accidentally' made Jalen hit Zaer lightly on the head. Snatching up the lyrics he had scribbled out before snuggling into the crook of the boy's arm, Jalen was happy that over the years she had learned to decipher Z's chicken scratch. "Red ribbons... I dig it," she said happily, passing the paper back to him. Home was home now that he was here.

"You never spend any time with me anymore," she said in a very fake, very whiny voice. However, there was some truth in her sentence. Zaer was always doing some shindig while she slept, or worked. While Jalen usually went with him, sometimes she was just too beat to go and see everyone one of his performances, or even perform with him. "Come on, you owe me a date today," she said, jabbing her pointer finger into the side of his ribs. He woke her up, now he would have to deal with her annoying, but still lovable self.

[Zaeric Blackwood]

Her very fake whiny voice made him laugh. It was so Jay. But the truth hit home. He was always out late doing some kind of party or DJ or something like that while she slept. He set his paper down on the table among some of the other coffee stained papers and wrapped an arm around her. His brain was working on something to do today. It was still too early and he needed to think of something she would enjoy. There was the new music store downtown, and that little cafe that had opened a few weeks ago they hadn't had time to go to yet. He wondered if she'd be up for that. There was always the zoo, but that didn't open till eleven which was still six whole hours away. Of course, the music store didn't open till six and the cafe till eight. So he was a bit stumped. Of course, getting to six was alot easier until waiting until eleven.

"Well, we could go to the new music store, which opens in an hour or so, and then that new cafe. After that it could just be.... I don't know, whatever strikes your fancy. The aquarium would be good or we can go to downtown and just run in and out of all the shops there. We've got quite a bit saved up in the pot of fun money if you feel like doing some serious shopping." Which would work for him too since it was about time he got a new jacket and maybe a few more flannels. Zaer pulled a blanket from off the back of the couch and held it as if to drape it over them, eye-ing her with amusement and inviting her for a sort of snuggle brain storming session. It was early and she probably needed some cuddles anyway.

[Jalen August]

Snuggling into the boy's shoulder, Jalen found herself yawning, crunching the blankets up in her hands as she pulled it up to her chin. "That sounds good," she said in general, her sleepy eyes blinking slowly. "Maybe some coffee before we go, you know, pregaming before going to the shop," she said with a grin, a small peck on the boy's cheek was given before she stood up, taking the blanket with her.

The kitchen was made of almost all chrome. It was all new, and much easier to clean. Filling the coffee pot at the sink, Jalen poured the water into the machine and filled the filter with coffee grinds. "You want some?" She asked him, hitting the 'on' button. The blonde yawned again and went back to the couch, snuggling Z again. Maybe the music shop would be a great idea when she was feeling more awake. "I'll have lots of time to get ready before we go." She said, looking at the boy next to her.

"Maybe you should get ready too, long nights make boys stinky," she said, teasing the lad before getting up off the couch again. It was about time he made plans with her, even though the smile on her face said she didn't really mind. They both had full lives to take care off. "I call the shower first!" She hollered, rushing into the bathroom before Zaer would even know what was going on.

(OOC: It's okay that she smooched him right? What kind of relationship do they have again? I don't think we ever decided on that...

[Zaeric Blackwood]

She was right, he probably did smell pretty stinky. He got up off the couch and went over to where she was making coffee, leaning against the counter. She was definitely awake now and lively. He let his head hang back and just kind of chilled for a moment. He was planning out the next hour or so in his head, making sure he had everything so he could just get ready instead of the usual hurried flurry he went through. He moved closer, wondering how much coffee would be in there if he took a quick shower. He hoped it would be full.
" Be right back."


Shirt, pants, towel, soap, all the other stuff he needed. Zaer jumped in and out of the shower in about ten minutes. When he came out he was much better smelling and definitely awake for sure. None of the sleepiness was left, even though he hadn't slept in...a while now. He had to grin as he came back out into the little kitchen.
" Okay, no more ick stink. And I'm awake," He joked, looking around for Jay. Of course, she wasn't the kind of person to sit still and she wasn't where he had left her.

" Jay?" He called, looking around with a puzzled half frown on his face. He sighed, rolled his eyes and grabbed a mug, deciding to get some caffiene in his system.

[Jalen August]

Jalen had managed to get into the shower before Z did, and now she was getting ready in her room. "I'm in my room!" She hollered to the boy, her long body folded in half at the waist. She had to get her mousse in just right, otherwise she would miss parts of her hair and half would be frizzy while the other half looked good. "I'll be out in a minute!" She added, standing up straight and ruffling her hair just right. The blonde was grinning, taking out a tube of mascara and getting to work. Nothing too fancy today, just enough to cover up the blonde roots of her eyelashes, and get her dark brown eyes to pop out.

Her style hadn't changed much since high school, black skinny jeans and a long t-shirt with someone's face on it is what she decided to wear today. Jalen didn't care that her black bra was visible through the white shirt. It was trendy nowadays, not trashy - something she could live with. Hell, she made enough money, she might as well look good. Long gold earrings were put into place and sunglasses were atop her head. Her arms were bare, showing just how thin she really was - she wasn't particularly" fond of having no curves.

"All done!" She said happily, coming out of her room and into the kitchen where Zaeric was holding a cup of coffee. Jalen smiled, went to the cupboards and brought down her own mug. "How's the brew?" She asked, pouring herself a cup and taking a sip right away. Black, just the way she liked it. Some things had changed since high school. "You're smelling better," she commented with a teasing voice, her dark eyes looking over at the boy through the veil that was her eyelashes. Today was going to be great!

[Zaeric Blackwood]

Zaer took a sip of the coffee filled with creamer and sugar and watched Jalen drink hers straight black. How could anyone in their right mind drink coffee straight black anyway! If was crazy. Of course, it didn't help that he had pretty much always hated black coffee, so he stuck with his large amounts of sugar and non bitter stuff to put in coffee. Zaeric looked at Jalen from the corner of his eye, seeing how her style hadn't changed. Black skinnies and a white shirt. Ah well. He smiled. It was so funny, he remembered meeting her and hanging out and just being friends through all of Hammel. She had seemed different then. Now she was....stronger. Internally he shrugged and thought about today.

" The brew is very good. Although I might have more sugar and creamer in here than there is actual coffee." He joked. Hey, it was cheaper than Starbucks, which he hadn't bought actual coffee from since he was in like, eleventh grade or something. One cup of coffee there had ruined Starbucks coffee for all time. They had good tea though. He had to laugh at his silly thoughts and pulled some cereal from the cupboard. Again, something with lots of sugar. He lied sugar, especially mixing it with no sleep. He could run like this for days. The cycle of coffee, sugar, caffeine, pop, and absolutely no sleep.

" Anyway. So the new music store opens in a bit. Wanna go see if we can catch some breakfast out in the world?" Even though he was eating now there was no way he would be filled. Skinny he might have been, but skimpy with his food he was not. It might help that he ate healthy for the most part and was a pretty exercised person, keeping up with his sort of disused soccer skills in the park on saturdays.

[Jalen August]

Jalen sipped at her coffee, a grin on her face. "That's how you're gonna get fat, Z," she said, giving the boy a once over. She doubted he would ever gain weight, he was such a skinny toothpick! They were a perfect match really, body type wise. Tall, but not lanky. Skinny, with just enough meat on the bones. The ability to eat anything they wanted without gaining a pound - a superpower in itself really.

"Yep, let's go," she said, watching with an amused expression as the boy ate some cereal. Seemed like they were pregaming over everything. Grabbing her deep purple purse by the door, Jalen chose to wear red flip flops, and stuck her sunglasses on over her eyes. "Come on sunshine, we have places to go!" She said, holding the door open for the boy. Locking up before they left, Jalen managed to lace her arm through his as the exited the apartment. "So you'll have to show the way," she said, looking up at him with a grin. "And I expect you to know what I want for breakfast," she added, looking up at the cloudless sky. Maybe they should go to the beach yet too.

[Zaeric Blackwood]

Zaer smiled as he put everything away real quick and followed her out the door. Her arm slipped around him, which he thought was nice. She was grinning, which was a good sign. Not grinning was bad. At least he had gotten that through his thick music filled skull during his years of bad relationships at Hammel and after. His green eyes watched her for a moment. Wondering what she was thinking he started to show her the way to the new music store. It would be open by the time they got there and the morning person would be sleepy and not paying attention. That meant no one interrupting their browsing as they worked thier way through the music. That made him happy. There was only one thing worse than bad music, and that was someone who thought they knew music coming up and telling you what you thought you would like. Ugh. Those people are the last thing I want to listen to this morning

Zaeric opened the door for Jalen when they arrived. A softer morning music was playing, something that sounded like Jack Johnson. No one played his music anymore and it made Zaer happy. He looked around. It was clean and looked fairly organized.

" This place doesn't look half bad. Waddaya say Jay?" He asked her, looking kind of like a little kid in a candy store.

[Jalen August]

The way to the music store wasn't that far behind, and Jalen tried to make a mental map as Zaer lead the way. If it was this close to their place, she would definitely want to go back on occasion. It was just good to be out and about the feel the sunshine on her face.

Jalen looked up at Z as he opened the door for him, and entered a lovely little store. "Johnson, not bad Zaeric," she said to him with a happy grin, ruffling his hair as she passed him and headed towards the classical music. She may have worked with new record producers, but there was nothing wrong with getting a little inspiration from the great ones. The store clerk, who looked like the owner's daughter, simply stood there and watched them carefully, probably thinking they were crazy for even being here this early. It didn't look like she would be asking them if they needed help.

"So how's your love life Z?" She asked her best friend, looking up at him with a small grin as she flipped through various CD's. Jalen had always been blunt, and her prodding for information shouldn't come to a surprise to her roommate. The blonde took out one of Meatloaf's albums and another sigh escaped her. "Oh what glory it would be to write fifteen minutes ballads and have someone actually listen to the whole thing," she said, putting it back. She already owned the album, but she still appreciated it.

Her eyes next glanced to the various instruments on the display against the wall. Jay approached the wall and rummaged through guitar strings - she could always use an extra set.

[Zaeric Blackwood]

Jalen split off from him and he grinned as he headed back towards some of the older music from like, 2010 and 2011. There had been a whole bunch of good party music then and he was looking for a few mix cd's. He also roved over the Celtic section of music. They were the best for playing on guitar and there was Celtic music for any occasion in the world. There was always music to fit. Then Jalen asked him how his love life was, and even though he roomed with her it was a little bit of a surprise. Usually it was something he just kind of left unspoken. He wasn't interested in anyone but one person right now, and din't know if she was interestedback. Well, seeing as she was standing across the store from him. Well, he was usually honest but he wasn't going to say anything too honest right now.

" Pretty well. I have a date later with a girl I really like. I might get her some flowers or something." So the boy wasn't thinking about what he said, he just said it. Of course, that's how he always was and he didn't always think about what he said. The fact that Jalen could take it that he was going to see someone after her didn't pop into his mind at all.

[Jalen August]

A frown crossed Jalen's face, but only for a second. She wasn't supposed to be that concerned about who Z dated, but she couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy as he mentioned getting flowers for someone else. "Is she someone I would like?" She asked, keeping her eyes on the titles of the CD's she flipped through, not wanting to look at the boy. Her tone of voice was casual and nonchalant, something she could pull off really well.

Jalen's mind started racing everywhere. Was she really that outside of Zaeric's loop? The blonde glanced at the lovely boy in front of her, someone she knew inside and out, and gave him a look that said her heart was positively broken, before she looked down again. It wasn't up to her who he wanted to be with, and she couldn't be his mother. In fact, that was the last thing she wanted to be.

Giving up on the music, the rocker girl placed her sunglasses on in the store to hide her face and tearing eyes. She had been mistaken about Z. Jalen was never good at displaying emotions. She was never good with trusting people. "Well, I can't concentrate on any of the music in here, I'm completely famished," she lied, making a beeline for the exit. The exit of the store, and also the end of the conversation about Z's love life.

Jalen had also always been a drama queen.

[Zaeric Blackwood]

After living with her for a while Zaer should have known better, but eh always was a failure with tact when it came to girls. The second she spoke he realized he had just said the exact wrong thing. Well now he was going to have to fix that up real quick or risk losing her. He knew her heart would break quickly and that yes, she tended to be a drama queen sometimes. Okay, so how to manage this without looking too stupid. Something cute, something...uh. His brain just wasn't upto the challenge. Girls were like math to him sometimes.

Then she said she couldn't concentrate on the music, and Zaer almost had to do a double take. Wait, she couldn't concentrate on music? When had that ever been true? Never! She said she was hungry, and a perfect plan popped into mind. He checked his watch. The cafe would be open by now. They had actually already spent a goodly amount of time in there without realizing it. He smiled and raised and eyebrow, following her out.

"Actually, you'll love her." He replied mysteriously, then decided to drop the topic all together until he dropped the news on her head like a wave. Maybe that would squish the drama queen unhappiness out of her for a day? He hoped so. He put an arm out for her so he could drag her to the little Cafe and be a horrible person [just like he always wasn't]

Of course on the way he couldn't help but stop and buy flowers. They were creme colored roses, with a sort of slight touch of goldish tinting at the edges. Such wonderful bright roses, in his opinion better than red anyday. Hope she likes them He still hadn't said anything else and was directing them towards the small place. It was open, and no one was inside except for the girl at the register. He picked a both for them in the colorful bright red and gold cafe and looked at the menu, laying the roses down and not saying anything. Mischief was in his eyes, so he had to keep looking down. He couldn't give himself away at this point, not when it would make such a dramatic moment if it worked out right.