Free fallin' [Gabe] [M]

[Deleted]

Kiara knew she had overreacted last week. That she should have thought her words through before letting them slip out. Of course apologizing had not been an option back then – something which she had begun to regret the last couple of days. While her need to apologize to Everett wasn’t that strong yet, mainly because she was convinced that her brother had to make that move first, the blonde did feel like an apology was in place when it came to Gabriel. Sure, he shouldn’t have interfered and been judgmental to begin with, but now it sort of felt normal for him to have backed up his roommate. It was why Ki found herself heading over to the apartment again.

If Everett would open up, she wasn’t going to mention what had happened about seven days ago. Not until he expressed his regrets. Instead the girl planned on addressing Gabe. Or, well, that was her intention. She was still pretty emotional over it all and it was difficult to predict just how this would go down. Kiara couldn’t plan every detail. Of course she would find out soon enough as her hand gently knocked the door about three times. Then a miniscule step was taken back and she patiently waited for someone to open up. That someone ended up being Gabe.

“Hey… Is Everett home?” Not that Kiara really wanted to do this in the hallway, but if he was… she might just get the apology out and leave again before her brother got the chance to appear behind his friend. Luckily this didn’t seem to be necessary though, which felt like an incredible relief to the girl. “Can… I come inside?” If not, Ki couldn’t blame him. He had seen a bad side of her.

(((Outfit!)))

[Gabriel James]

Gabe had been having a bad week. Between the recent depressing reappearence of his high school sweetheart and some bad news given to him by his sister-in-law, he couldn't bring himself to get out of the apartment. He hadn't really shaved all week, despite having to teach his classes at Hammel, and he was sure he looked an utter mess - even if he did try otherwise to appear mostly put together. He grew a beard faster than any person he knew.

When Everett had insisted that Gabriel go out with him and a few other guys, the man declined, claiming he just wanted some alone time - which was accurate. He was hoping for a quiet night of wallowing, watching bad movies and drinking some hard liquor. That's why at the moment he was lounging on the couch, no shoes or socks, navy blue shit completely unbuttoned, and a bottle of ale in his hands. He had stolen Ev's copy of the original Adam West batman movie - possibly the greatest bad movie of all time - and was happy for the quiet evening of lonely drunkenness.Well... he wasn't drunk yet. Just planning on it.

When there was a knock on the door, Gabriel cursed under his breath. He ran his hand through his hair, messing it up more than it already was. He looked through the peephole, and made a questioning face before opening the door the other Lilian. "Uh... Ev's not home," Gabriel said, when Kiara asked. He suddenly became hyper aware of his appearance, and tried to pat down his hair quickly. "But yeah... you can still come in if you want... I dunno when he'll be back though." Gabe really didn't hold any ill will toward Kiara, even if she did go a little crazy a week ago. Hell, he'd been in bad breakups before, and he'd acted much worse. Gabe could be quite the drama queen. He stepped aside to let Kiara in, and closed the door behind her. "Make yourself comfortable."

[Deleted]

Of course Gabriel’s appearance rose questions. Her arching an eyebrow might have been the first cue of that. Blue eyes briefly took him in for a second, only for her to judge this to be rude and to slip inside a moment later. Once inside, Ki made sure to take off her booths. It had been raining outside, so she rather didn’t leave any prints on the floor. Soon her coat followed, having it draped over her arm while turning around to face the man again. Something gave her the feeling that he was in a rather depressing mood, and it turn she would ask about it. First, however, the main reason why she had come here in the first place.

“I actually didn’t come here for Everett…” It didn’t need to be said that she was there for Gabe. He was the only other person living there, so it would have been abundant to add that detail. With that, the blonde moved further into the apartment and finally placed her coat down on one of the chairs in the living room area before arms folded against her chest. “I wanted to apologize… for last week. You shouldn’t have witnessed that. Sorry.” Perhaps her brother had expressed some regrets as well, even though she could only imagine him complaining some more. After that, Ki lightly pursed her lips as her gaze drifted around and back onto the man.

“Hopefully that wasn’t what made you this down?” A soft chuckle joined in as a hand gestured at him, hoping he could understand she was just trying to make a joke and to hopefully avoid them from getting into detail about what had gone down the weekend before. “Unless it’s a habit to forget to shave.” A smile was still there. Kiara wasn’t sure if he wanted to talk about it though. It’s why she approached it like that.

[Gabriel James]

"Oh?" Gabe started, wondering why else Kiara could possibly come knocking at their door. Though she quickly explained, and Gabe could only chuckle. She really didn't have a whole lot to apologize for. "It happens. I'm no stranger to siblingly disagreements," Gabriel said with a shrug. He was raised through a combination of his parents yelling at him and his older brothers yelling at him and beating him up. The little yelling match the Lilian's had gotten into was something Gabriel was very much used to. "I have two older brothers so I kind of understand how things can get. Just be happy that Everett doesn't give you wedgies or duck tape you to ceilings."

"It didn't phase me at all, really," Gabriel added, sitting back down on the couch, offering Kiara the seat next to him, "I promise." She had taken off her shoes and coat, and it was raining pretty hard, so he had the feeling she'd stay at least for a bit. He didn't mind though. He took another sip of the beer in his hand and sighed.

When she brought up his face, he laughed lightly, rubbing his hands across his cheeks, "Sometimes I just feel like I need to be a hobo," Gabriel offered, knowing that the excuse was lame, but still humorous. His niece liked to call him a hobo when he wasn't clean shaven. "Honestly though, it's just been a rough week. One of those... I don't want to wake up early to fix my face so I'm not going to type of weeks," Gabriel said, taking another long sip of the alcohol in his hands.

He leaned forward and stood up, somewhat suddenly. "Oh god how rude, can I get you something to drink? Eat?" he asked, embarrassed he'd waited this long before offering his guest a refreshment.

[Deleted]

Kiara chuckled softly. “He would be dead if he tried.” Of course this was also a joke. Despite their disagreements, and the current dislike she felt towards her brother, she wouldn’t be able to live without him. He had been there for as long as she could remember, and he had often put her needs before his own. Right now it was just the stubbornness that ran in the family which kept them from decently interacting. Either it would dissolve itself if they were to avoid each other long enough, or one of them had to take the first step. At this moment, Ki refused to be the bigger person. Perhaps at one point Ev would understand that if you loved someone, by offending them, you also hurt the other person. She had given up on trying to explain it.

For a second Kiara hesitated if it would be a good idea to stay longer, especially if her brother was going to come home soon, but eventually she did cut the knot and took a seat next to Gabe. It was raining quite heavily after all. Besides, the girl could feel that the tension that had been having a grip on her before entering the apartment was slowly starting to ebb away. She actually chuckled again at the statement about his need to be a hobo. “Ev was serious then, huh? He really must have been desperate to find a roomie.”

But yeah, the blonde did get a tad bit more serious because the reasons behind his emotions seemed to be. “I’m not sure if my brother is any good at listening to problems, but in case you want to talk…” She was sitting there anyway, so she might as well offer. If he didn’t take the offer, Ki wouldn’t drag it out of him.

Either way, something to drink would be nice. Kiara knew she wouldn’t have to get up from the couch as well, but she did either way. “Do you happen to have a bottle of wine open?” No need to especially open one for her. Eat actually sounded great as well. The only reason why the girl might be considering to accept it was because of the fact that half of the stuff in here was her brother’s. His food; she could eat it. “Annndddd, what kind of snacks?” A little sheepish grin appeared.

[Gabriel James]

Gabriel chuckled at Kiara's humor in regards to her brother. He hoped it was all in good fun, as it seemed, because he wanted to believe the Lilian's had a better relationship than his family did. "Yeah Everett doesn't mind having a straggly roommate," he joked, rubbing his hands on his face again. He kind of liked how it felt, but knew it made him look... less than professional. He'd at least trim it tomorrow morning.

"He's also not the best listener," Gabriel agreed, while walking toward the kitchen, "But that's why I talk to my guitar." He didn't realize how weird that sounded until it came out. But Gabriel had been dealing with being ignored for a large chuck of his life. He coped with his music. "I wouldn't expect you to want to listen to me rant about my woes. That's what the billboard top 100 is for... if I ever get there..."

There was a pause as Gabe walked into the kitchen. "Red or white?" Gabriel asked, pulling two open bottles of wine out of his fridge, and grabbing two wine glasses from the cupboard. He also opened up the pantry to reveal their small variety of snacks for Kiara to choose from. "We're clearly the classiest establishment," Gabe joked, realizing he was offering wine and goldfish or rice crispy treats.

[Deleted]

“He has always been so classy.” Kiara decided with a nod. Talking about Everett like this, despite it being in good fun, did eliminate some of the annoyance that she felt towards him. Perhaps she would be capable of forgiving him after tonight. She would also have agreed to the statement about her brother not being the best listener, but the small addition that followed caught her attention more. “Well… if you ever get there, make sure to do a good word for me?” After that, the briefest of pauses occurred. “My guitar also listens better than Ev, just so you know.” And then a sheepish smile. Perhaps that would make him feel less weird.

Once in the kitchen, Kiara stood behind the opened door of the fridge while blue eyes scanned the bottles. “White, please.” With that, she moved over to the pantry. Omg, goldfish treats! “I love these!” Taking the bag in her hands, the blonde made it obvious that her choice had been made. “This definitely is the classiest and most awesome establishment I’ve been to during the last couple of weeks.” Ki grinned widely. The only reason why she didn’t purchase it herself as of late was because she was too pessimistic and all of them would be eaten during one night. It wouldn’t do her body any good.

With a happy smile upon her lips, the blonde moved back into the living room where she reclaimed her previous spot on the couch. Despite hardly knowing Gabriel, Ki did put trust in them… because that was exactly what her brother did as well.

[Gabriel James]

"Well I happy we could please the guest of honor," Gabe sail, flashing Kiara his charming smile. He popped the cork off the bottle of wine, and poured two glasses, ignoring the bit that he spilled on the kitchen counter. He followed Ki back into the living room, and offered her a glass before taking his seat - Indian style on the other end of the couch.

He wasn't super interested in the batman movie, anymore. It was more for background noise for his brooding earlier. Now that he had company he was wearing a bit of a happier face. He took a long sip of his wine, though. The buzz made it easier.

"So you play guitar too?" Gabe asked out of curiosity. He didn't know a lot about Kiara - just that she was Everett's little sister. Everett talked about her a lot, but for whatever reason Gabe had rarely interacted with her in high school, beyond occasionally running into each other, or seeing her at Everett's house when he visited one summer. "It's a good way to cope with things," he admit, glad that he wasn't the only one who turned to music in times of turmoil.

[Deleted]

Once Gabriel stepped into the living room as well, Kiara made sure to take the glass of wine. A glass or two and she would be feeling more than a buzz. For some reason it always had quite a fast effect on her, possibly because of her slender figure. Either way, it did not stop her from taking a sip as she grew comfortable with legs pulled onto the couch and her shoulder leaning into the back of the couch in order to face her brother’s roommate when he spoke to her. Politeness and all that.

With a nod, eyes fell to the wine. “Mhm, but I haven’t really played it the last couple of weeks.” A small smile got offered. It indeed was a good way to cope with things, yet it also brought along lots of memories of her playing the guitar for Gabe. She had pretty much being avoiding the instrument ever since. “Too many memories.” Ki smiled weakly, then shrugged. Another sip of the wine.

“I changed my major to Music this year… Realized that Psychology wasn’t really my thing.” Ki wasn’t sure why she added that information, but yeah. For a second she paused. “You were good at it… during my fight with Everett.” It made her chuckle softly.

[Gabriel James]

"That's really awesome," Gabriel said with a smile when Kiara talked about switching majors. "I thought about college, but unless it was business school my parents weren't helping me so... I just hightailed it to LA." He chuckled a bit at the memories of being young and stupid. He was still pretty much both... definitely still stupid at least. He took another sip of his wine. He had gotten a headstart on the drinking front, so he was feeling pretty good.

"So no more psychology? Can't get into my mind?" he asked with a chuckle. "Are you one of those girls who can pick a guys mind? Tell them everything that's wrong with them by the end of the first date?" Gabriel was mostly joking, of course. He wasn't really aware of how rambley he sounded. He reached over to steal some goldfish from the bag that was sitting next to Kiara.

[Deleted]

“Did got me to waste a year though.” Kiara chuckled weakly. To some it might not make sense for she had flawlessly passed all her classes, but she simply wasn’t feeling it anymore. Music had always been her passion, and it wasn’t as if something was stopping her from this. No one to keep in mind. “You could try to combine your job with college?” She offered, even though she was not in the right position to figure out if that was even an option or possible.

“But no, no more psychology. And I don’t know about that…” The blonde had a small grin appear while pondering about his words. Clearly she had not been too good about telling what was on Jackson’s mind before he ended it. Love made blind. Blue eyes followed his hand to the bag of snacks, then they drifted to the man’s face again.

“I can tell them everything that’s wrong with them at the end of the relationship.” A chuckle could be heard. “That doesn’t mean I won’t try to get in your mind though.” A teasing tone sneaked in as another sip followed, as long with a couples of fishies being popped into her mouth.

[Gabriel James]

"I think that ship has sailed," Gabe admitted with a shrug, when Kiara suggested that he could still go to college. "I'm not exactly fond of the idea... being a 23 year old freshman I mean," he explained with a laugh. He stuffed the fish into his face, not noticing the crumbs he left in his beard. "I'd rather be that creepy guy playing music in the street for money than that creepy guy hanging out in a dorm with underage girls."

Gabriel could always laugh at himself. Even when he was feeling down. His smile faded for just a moment when his mind trailed away from the idea, but he snapped out of it just as quickly when Kiara brought back up her psychology. "Well then tell me... what was wrong with the guy who broke your heart and sent you on this downward spiral?" Gabe asked with a little hint of charm in his eyes. Of course, he was wearing his glasses, so he couldn't actually use his power, but every now and then he would subconsciously try to use it when asking a question that could be precieved badly.

"I mean... come on. I could tell this asshole really hurt you by how emotional you got last week. Venting would probably feel pretty good miss 'I-havn't-touched-my-guitar-in-weeks'." Sure, Gabriel wasn't doing so hot either. However he had already gotten quite a few lyrics out of it. And he was sure he'd have more on the way. "I'm open ears, if you want."

[Deleted]

Kiara, on the other hand, did notice the crumbles gathering in his beard. And while it was tempting to reach out and to brush them away, she had yet to consume enough alcohol for that. If she waited a tad bit longer, she wouldn’t be this hesitant anymore. The blonde didn’t mention it either. At least not yet. She was still figuring out what was worse: letting it be or commenting on it… “Sounds fair enough.” The girl decided.

Her mood had been lightened for a second, but then Gabriel brought up Jackson and her expression visibly faltered. She did make an attempt to force a small smile onto her lips – to no avail. After that, Gabe actually managed to drag the weakest of chuckles out of her. In turn Kiara gave a soft nod. Part of her did not want to talk about it… unless the guy could live up to one request. “Don’t tell Everett, okay?” Not that she thought it would make too much of a difference, but she would never hear the end of it.

“He pretty much put a job above me. A modeling contract in New York.” For a moment she focused on the wine before gazing up at her brother’s roomie again. “He had a son – Gabe, like you.” Ki paused for a second, taking another sip of the alcohol. A bitter smirk followed swiftly afterwards. “He called me mommy…” Perhaps this wasn’t what Gabriel judged to be venting, but the blonde figured no other details were required to make it clear why she had indeed been really hurt.

Kiara brought a hand up, squeezing at the bridge of her nose, squinting eyes closed to keep back any possible tears. “Sorry”, she mumbled.

[Gabriel James]

Gabe watched her mood deterorate before his eyes, and his own smile faded, suddenly feeling awful for dragging it out of her. "My lips are sealed," he promised, though. He kicked his legs down off the sofa and scooted closer to Kiara as he took his wallet out of his back pocket. "That really sucks... those artsy types are bad news you know," Gabe offered a light joke, hoping it would help.

He sighed though, fiddling with the wallet in his hands. "Just remember... that you're an incredibly lucky person. And that even though this jerk is... well... a jerk... there's so much good in this world." He opened up his wallet and showed Kiara the slightly torn picture that was just inside. A little girl with big brown eyes similar to Gabe's, long brown hair, and a toothy smile stared up from behind the protective plastic sleeve.

"I have someone breaking my heart too," Gabe explained. "This is my niece McKenna. When she was two she had Leukemia. She's four now, but earlier this week I found out she relapsed," Gabriel said, his worlds slowing as the story went on. "So... you know... things could be worse. As long as little Gabe is happy and healthy, whoever this guy is can suck a big one for all I care."

Gabe sighed again and after a moment, he stood up from the couch, "Seems like a good time for a refill."

[Deleted]

His light joke only helped for a split second. After that the weak smile faded again during a sigh. Luck… Her own ability couldn’t help her out with this one. When Gabriel fumbled to get his wallet out, Kiara finally opened eyes again and had her hand drop down to the nearly empty glass. It only rested there for a second though; soon fingertips gently drifted over the plastic sleeve. When Gabe spoke up, blue eyes drifted to settle on his face. “I’m sorry… Are the doctors optimistic?” While it might not be good to get into more details, she just wanted to know if he had any more information on that.

Her hand finally withdraw and ended up in the bag of fish crackers instead. Her gaze settled on the couple of snacks in the palm of her hand. “The world isn’t fair.” She also wanted to add that Gabe should be with her, but just how greedy would that be? Instead the girl held her glass out for him to indeed refill it. “Or maybe we should just drink from the bottle…” The added chuckle was weak, but hopefully a successful attempt at lightening the mood again.

Ki couldn’t help but keep thinking of McKenna though. Upon manifestation, her luck had healed her grandfather. Perhaps it could have a positive effect on the little girl as well? For now, however, she shook it off and refocused on Gabe. “I could offer a hug if that makes you feel better…” Maybe it wouldn’t, but Ki knew it would have helped her had Ev given her one.