Here Hold These (George)

[Deleted]

So once again, Phoenix was helping Oriel get his shit together without ever knowing it, just by being himself. Seeing Phoenix try, knowing that Phoenix was so much a better person than Oriel was, inspired Oriel to strive to be the same. He was.....a looong way off, though. But, it just took one step at a time, right? And so, here Oriel was at the mall, taking one of those steps.

Or maybe two.

Because the first would be that Oriel was actually scoping out the mall with the intention of being there for more than a quick trip to the clearance rack at the cheapest store he could find. He hated the mall, he hated the crowds, he hated having to weave in an out of people that were going too slow and too close to one another so he couldn't even get around them or especially those annoying guys who cut you off out of nowhere and then stop in the middle of the only path.

The second would be Oriel actually thinking that he could make it in normal society and get his act together enough to get a job. That actually paid. Money even.

There was no expectation to find anything today, that wasn't the purpose. The purpose was to get an idea of what he might like to do, or what he thought he could do...though the mall was probably a bad place to look, fuck, did Oriel really think he could interact with people, smile and shit, and above all, be pleasant to them.

Nope....this was a very bad idea. Oriel needed to take a break, rest, take cover somewhere. The best he could do was duck into the video game store. Well, more like stand outside it and watch some kid half his age kick ass on a Rock Band demo. Damn, how did people even do that? It seemed impossible, just looking at the screen confused the hell out of him. He rubbed his eyes, trying to relieve the strain from staring to hard.

[Georgina Speer]

Ugh. Shopping was stupid. But it definitely depended on where you were. So far today, George had gone through multiple shops and had bought another multitude of hats, both fashionable and comedic, as well as the occasional t-shirt and pair of earrings. She had money to splurge, thanks to her left over birthday 'earnings' and her family's generous donations on Christmas. She was happy because she was around hats, not because she liked shopping as a hobby.

No, oh no. She hated people in town centres, they were mostly idiots, either on their phones and incapable of looking around and realizing that they were in the way, or they were in groups of twollocks, giggling at every half decent looking guy that even dared to look their way. It was painful, especially when they stopped walking to look at things and people and YOU HAVE LEGS AND THEY AREN'T DIFFICULT TO WORK!

George found herself between the racks in a gaming store, incapable of dealing with everyone outside anymore. She had a fair few bags on her and although they weren't particularly heavy, they were getting annoying. She jostled them on her arms and looked around, hearing the familiar sound of clicking keys behind her of some kid playing a video game. Eh, whatever. She could probably own at that game... if she bothered to try. She looked around and grabbed a few games off of the shelves to buy, mainly computer games. She placed them on the counter and looked around as she waited for the assistant to get the discs. She was about to get out her money and pay when... was that Oriel? They hadn't talked in ages. This was a great oppurtunity! And she had the perfect hat; royal, but not obnoxious. She handed over her currency and looped yet another bag onto her arm before scrounging through them and finding the garment she had in mind, which she donned in place of her other before going outside.

"You alright, your highness?" She asked the boy, grinning and trying to cross her arms and look 'cool', but instead almost dropping her bags and falling over a little. Smooth, as always. She shuffled her carriers onto one arm and got some gum out of her pocket, unwrapping it awkwardly and chewing on it. If she was going to fail, she was going to do it properly. She shoved her rubbish in her pocket and rearranged her shopping - this was why she didn't do this on a regular basis.

[Deleted]

Oriel averted his eyes from the screen, instead focusing them on the kid's fingers which flew over the buttons on the controller guitar….Nope, that was still dizzying. He looked away and rubbed his eyes again. That's when he heard a familiar voice.

He blinked. "George?" And what the hell was she wearing. The corners of his lips twitched upwards and he lowered his head, laughing softly through his nose. "Beats the fuck outta me, your ladyship." He watched completely amused as she tried to pose, but made an epic fail on her "cool" check. Oriel shook his head. "But might be doing better than you, Princess Tumbletoes."

Automatically, he reached over and practically snatched a couple of the bags from her arms and started rifling through it. "Oh…well," he started as he stared into one. "What do we got here? Lingerie? And I didn't think pink was your color." Oriel flashed up a mischievous grin, still holding the bag open under his face.

[Georgina Speer]

"That was my name, the last time I checked." Georgina smirked and looked at Oriel, he was there when she last checked after all. Yup... that had been such a fun day. She kept her awkward as cool as awkward could get, "Hey, that's Princess Tumbletoes the Third to you!" She continued to flail around until Oriel took some of her bags.

"Yes, that's fine Oriel, you can take my bags, thanks for asking." Honestly, she was glad, but she couldn't help but be sarcastic; it was in her blood - in her bones. When he announced the 'contents' of one of her many bags, a woman walking past shot them both a pretty disgusted look, but George had to hold back her laughter; Oriel was a proper dork. "If there's one thing I love more than hats, its pink, lacy underwear." She giggled, playing along.

It was a nice surprise, but interesting... Oriel didn't seem like the type of person to like... people. So, "Any reason why you're shopping?" She chewed a bit on her gum... mmm, fruity.

[Deleted]

"Sure you ain't having another identity crisis? 'Cause I could've sworn it was a lot more girly last I checked." He held up his hands in surrender. "Fine, as you wish, your majesty." Oriel gave her a mock bow.

Oriel ignored her non-protest when he stole her bags. Really, what kind of man would he be if he couldn't carry a few bags for a pretty girl. He ignored the look from the woman, wasn't any underwear in there anyway. "Fine, I yield. But really, a sexy maid outfit? I cannot see you wearing that anywhere 'cept in my bed."

George would be right. Oriel didn't like people. Well, he did and he didn't. He didn't like crowds of people and that was the very definition of the mall. He was doing surprisingly okay, though. Oriel shrugged. "Ain't exactly shopping. I'm uh...scouting." He brought up a hand and nervously scratched the nape of his neck. "Phoenix got a job so was thinking 'bout following suit."

[Georgina Speer]

George sent the tall boy a look, 'girly' was not a word you could find him her dictionary. She held up her nose and pouted snobbishly, "That's the respect I expect from peasants like you." She paused, and bowed stiffly, laboured arm waving in front of her awkwardly, "Your excellency."

She raised an eyebrow; he was gonna go down that alley? She'd still bite, "Precisely the reason why it's in there." She wiggled her eyebrows 'seductively' and winked, deciding to be ignorant of any passersby from now on. They could think whatever the hell they wanted.

That was news - Phen got a job? Yippee! "Oh, tell him I say 'congrats'." She was glad to hear he was employed, now he could buy his own sweets! Or something. But Oriel with a job? "Please tell me where you get employed so I can avoid you at all costs." She said it in the nicest way possible, she was joking! And if she did find out, she'd probably just go to screw something up or distract him. Get on his nerves or whatever; it would be funny. The little hat lady was genuinely curious and interested, under all of her sarcastic words, "Had any luck?" She considered considering a job... but HA, what idiot would hire her?

[Deleted]

"Indubitably, your Ladyship," he started with a supercilious tone. "It is my honor to caress you with unnecessarily extravagant and grossly pretentious praises of ass-kissery." He straightened himself, resting his arm pompously across his torso, and stuck his nose in the air like a snooty socialite.

And oh yes, Oriel went there, without the slightest hesitation. Unlike George, who had to consciously ignore the impressions this loud, obscene conversation would give, Oriel didn't give two shits…Or rather, he made it purposely obscene and vulgar or the express purpose of disturbing others. Such was his nature. "Now all we need is the whip and feather duster, and I think we're set." Too far?

Oriel grinned as he nodded, lowering the bag to hang at his side. "Yeah, I'll do that. Both of thats." George was cute. Her energy made him smile. And she was easy to talk to, especially when she played along with his ridiculous jokes. "Well, I'm stuck between the hell that is not making progress and making even less progress. I ain't exactly a hirable guy." Especially since polite was the word that described him the least. And patient. "'less I can find someplace shallow enough to hire me based just of my good looks and charm - well, maybe just my good looks - might just be SOL." He shrugged. If he didn't find anything he thought he could so reasonable, Oriel'd probably just give up for the moment. His heart wouldn't be able to stand the rejection for too long. It was discouraging enough as it was.

[Georgina Speer]

Indubitably? What the buggeration was that? Georgina really needed to read a dictionary or something. The rest of that posh shit was understandable for the British girl, but ergh, she was struggling to keep up now. So, she nodded and then went on her toes to pat his head, "You're a special royal buggeration, you know that?" She grinned cheekily and winked, bouncing on her toes. She was strange.

It was slightly unsettling, honestly. She'd still got this a few times, recently, problems with being in public. She felt too... open, unprotected. And she hated it, she hated being concious of some kind of judgement someone would be making of her. She used to not give a fuck, but now... she didn't know what to do anymore.

Oriel was cool though, even if that comment was probably crossing some line somewhere, "Totally." She replied, unable to conjure up something funny about whips. Guess she was all whipped out! Ahaha! Oh, she was just too funny... heh.

Her head danced happily on her shoulders, as she smiled contentedly. She needed to get this insanity of hers under control. "Goody gumdrops." She listened with concern to his job problems, frowning a little. She wanted to be encouraging and convincing and helping Oriel get his game face on, but fuck if she knew how to be supportive in the least. OK, she could, but not today. "You just need to find a place where the manager is a ditzy 16-year-old girl, and then you can use your... heh, good looks, to convince her to give you a job." She announced, trying to cheer him up a little, "Its perfect!"

She looked at her bags in his arms, "Or you can make money by carrying people's bags for them." She smirked, "You're doing a pretty good job already."

[Deleted]

The question someone ought to be asking was not what these words were but how in seven hells did Oriel even know them? Well, the answer was simple, he had ears. And he had always had a guilty pleasure of trying to sound posh especially since he was obviously not. Low class humor, some had called it. But it made him smile. "Oh, I know. I expect nothing less from myself."

Had George expressed her discomfort with the topic, Oriel probably would have changed it. Or dove into it more until she either turned the color if strawberries or smacked him across the face. It really depended on his mood, though considering he was stuck in a store that had a massive crowd if directionless people right outside, he was more likely to do the latter. Stress relief.

George was....looking ok. Probably. He honestly wondered about that as she seemed hesitant and short in her responses. Maybe he was just imagining it? Then again, it wasn't like Oriel didn't have years of experience doing the exact same thing. He ran a hand through his long locks and chuckled nervously. "Yeah, it sounds interesting and doable, 'specially for me, but I'm not sure if I want to sleep my way to the top." Though he probably could.

"Or....I could do that. Be like them - what do they call 'em? Personal shoppers? - only I'd be a personal bag carrier." He rolled his head back with a weak laugh before looking down on the short girl again. "Seriously, though. You need help with these?" He held up what bags he had looped in his arms, eyebrows raised expectantly.

[Georgina Speer]

A lot of people thought George sounded 'posh'. She was almost lucky, in a sense, not to have picked up an American accent, seeing as she was in the country for a large portion of her time now. By watching British YouTubers, and going back to London on a regular basis, her true accent had remained in her voice. Which meant some idiots had asked if she knew the Queen, but whatever. She shook her head in amusement, Oriel was ridiculous.

She hated this constant pressure, because she wasn't used to it. It was like... one day, having to carry around a heavy bag everywhere you went. And you couldn't put it down, because it had something valuable in it... and it was like, super-glued to your hand. It was a burden, made everything more difficult and held Georgina back. She couldn't understand what was going on, and why it had to happen to her.

"It's an idea." George stated, shrugging her shoulders. Of course, she was only joking, but she had to agree. If you were going to get a job or a career, you would want to get there by your own achievement, not favours... she was thinking into this way too much.

She looked at the bags that Oriel held and thought... hmm. She didn't want to be a pain, but it wasn't like she was coping before. And he was already holding them... "Yeah, if you wouldn't mind." She wasn't sure if she was going to stay in town much longer, but she wouldn't mind the help. George looked up at the taller boy, "So... what were you planning on doing around about now?" She asked. Seeing as she didn't know what she was doing herself, she could tag along with him, or something.

[Deleted]

Ridiculous was Oriel's middle name, along with asshole, jerk, idiot, and dork. So put them together and…Oriel had a fucking long-assed middle name! He was glad, however, that George at least knew him by some of the nicer sounding ones. He wondered how she'd react if she saw his not-so-nice side. Specifically the one that had landed him in the hospital, where George had been nice enough to visit. And first hand experience, not hearsay. Gossip never really told the tales accurately.

If George knew about that side of him, then she might also realize that he too carried around that kind of baggage wherever he went, and it was because of that that he was the way he was most of the time. It was the easiest way Oriel knew how to make it all bearable. Though they certainly weren't techniques that he would recommend for someone sweet like Georgina.

Oriel grinned at her playful "suggestion", though the thought of it made him uncomfortable. Oh, well, it was his own fault for opening that door and turning it into a joke. Oriel would rather be hired and succeed based on his own merits and what he had rather than what people wanted him to have. Unfortunately, this probably meant that a normal path, going to college and getting a stable drone job, was out of his reach.

Oriel shrugged. "Not really. 'sides, I got nothing better to do." Oriel didn't plan on sticking around this place much longer. Or at all. "I dunno, probably just head back to campus. Maybe grab a couple things at the pastry shop." He gave a low chuckle, dipping his head to look at the floor. "I pretty much reached my limit wandering 'round here." He was seriously going to murder someone if he had to maneuver through these crowds for another minute. "I ain't good with crowds. Or people really. Definitely not people." Oriel shot her a sideways grin. "What 'bout you, your Ladyship?"

[Georgina Speer]

George didn't think that Oriel was an asshole! OK, so there was that one time when he tricked her into thinking she was some princess and almost caused her a kind of identity crisis, but that was whatever. She didn't understand why people were so uptight sometimes - she probably would've done the same, in his position. Maybe not exactly the same, but they weren't the same person, were they?

So obviously, Georgina was still completely ignorant of Oriel's other side. Maybe she was lucky not to have met that person yet. She didn't know, she didn't even know that there was 'another person'. She just knew the dorky twerp that was in front of her right now. Ah... people.

"Carrying bags is an art form, mister!" She teased, nudging him a little. She giggled, "Ooh, pastries! I want one!" The Brit girl announced, beaming widely at the idea... mmm...

Well, she definitely knew that feeling. If you knew George, you would know that she liked people and being around them, but everyone had their limits. And she wasn't that patient. "Slow walking people can die." she proclaimed with a nod of her head, almost making her beanie fall off. She flicked her head back a few times in and attempt to get it on her head better without using her hands... it really didn't work.

"Almost the same as you, your Highness. Actually," she pretended to consider something, but she already knew of her own plans, "Now the exact same as you. I want sweet things! But the people around here are gonna make me lose my marbles." That reminded her, she still actually had a marble stuck in her shoe.

Don't ask.

"Shall we go forth?" George asked, grinning and crossing her eyes a little, pointing vaguely off in the distance. Why she hadn't been put in a mental asylum by now was beyond her knowledge.

[Deleted]

George had been lucky that the worst she'd seen of Oriel so far was the mischievous prank he played on her when she'd gotten temporary amnesia from overusing her power. Really, and that was immediately after he told her not to overuse her power. Was it just a given that people had to do the exact opposite of whatever Oriel said just to spite him?

Okay, Oriel hadn't exactly been the nicest to her then either, so he was probably responsible…partially….like 2% responsible.

But if George ever happened to witness the other side of him, the vicious troublemaker who was a violent asshole to boot…the one with fucking problems…who knew how long she'd stick around.

"Oh, is it now?" he exclaimed, mimicking her accent. "Perhaps you can tutor me in the proper handling of bag carrying? My lady." He offered a cheesy bow, his arms still chock full of the bags he'd stolen from her previous encumbrance. Oriel grinned at her excitement, dropping the faux accent to address her childish demand. "Fine, I'll get you one too." He should be able to afford it.

Oriel nodded in a hesitant agreement. He could say he was very similar to George in some ways. He liked people…..no, he hated people and that was the problem for the extrovert. Oriel liked being the center of attention, but had issues with being around people. He liked them and hated them all at once. It was annoying and made him feel…very ostracized.

But George happened to be one of the people he could tolerate being around for more than 3 seconds, and her company was much appreciated. "We shall," he agreed, puffing out his chest and tilting up his chin like a snob. Putting one foot in front of the other, he strode off with her like a high-class douche-bag.

It was a little quiet for a moment between them before he finally brought up the difficult subject that'd been on his mind. "George….I was wondering…seriously, how you doing? You know, after……Phoenix told me what happened. That was…that was shit of him to…" He couldn't complete a sentence at this rate but Oriel hoped that she understood.

[Georgina Speer]

George was not good at following instructions. 'Nuff said.

So really, she was just as responsibilized as Oriel was about that whole... memory situation. If not, more. 'Nuff 'nuff said.

George laughed and shoved Oriel's shoulder a little, at the accent he had picked up, "You butt. And just 'cause I know its an art form doesn't mean I understand it." She shimmied a little stiffly, "You saw me earlier."

The English girl could've squeaked at the promise of foooood! Well, she practically did, "Yay! You're brill!" Inwardly, she felt like she was supposed to say something like 'No, no, young Ori-face, I shall have a boiled egg; do not worry your pretty little spleen about me!' But to hell with that - if she was offered food, she would take it.

"Offered".

George... had varying opinions to the amount of attention she liked to draw to herself. If she wasn't thinking too much, and was enjoying herself, she was cool with whatever, but the more time she was given to think about what she was doing, the more self concious she became. Which was crapsicles.

Georgina began walking herself in a very sillly manner, legs wobbling around beneath her, and face grimacing stupidly. This was one of her good moments, clearly.

Her steps became regular and normal, and then... that question. She... she almost started straight out denying it, saying 'No, I'm fine, what are you on about?', but when her mood swung, it was clear as day that something was wrong. "I..." she sighed, feeling a little heavier the more she thought about it. In some kind of recollection of what had happened before, her jaw twinged. "I'm... I'm fine." Okay, so maybe she was about to lie. Maybe a little. She stared straight ahead, not wanting to see Oriel or let him see whatever was showing on her face (which was probably a mix of sadness, fear, shock and paranoia).

George gulped a little, and looked down, "It's... confusing." He could cope with hearing a bit of this, right? She... she did need to talk to someone about it after all. "I don't feel the same. And I hate it."

[Deleted]

"Alright fine, point made, you waddling walrus." Which he said with all the affection in the world.

Today was one of those days that Oriel felt like he could just say "fuck it" to the rest of the world and act as silly as he wanted…because he had someone to act silly with him. Had Oriel been alone, he might have been self-conscious and full of scowls towards anyone who got within 10 feet of his extra-large personal bubble. But since George was there, and even if she hadn't decided to join him on his silliness, Oriel might have put on his ridiculous mask just for the sole purpose of entertaining her, regardless of what other people thought. Actually, if they looked with faces of disgust, amusement, or just plain "wtf?", then Oriel would say that his job was done.

And so he followed, with Her Ladyship by his side, acting like the pompous butler who'd been brought along as a high-class bag-carrier. A very and most important position it was, coveted and envied by all who laid eyes upon the hard-working lad, trailing about his his Lady's wake.

But then the tone of the conversation took a more serious turn and Oriel almost regretted it. However, he had been concerned…and he wanted George to know that he was there to help support her. "….I talked to Kodi…" Oriel wasn't sure if George knew that the two were…sort of…friends. "….he feels bad about what happened," even if he won't even admit it to himself, "Might take a while for him to get his shit together, but he's going to apologize." It had take Oriel and Phoenix nearly four months to apologize to AJ after they each terrorized her on separate occasions.

Though Oriel wasn't sure what else he could say without sounding like he was taking Kodi's side. He didn't, hitting a girl was just about the lowest you could get. But Oriel could sympathize with him. The internal chaos that each of the boys had within them was frighteningly similar. Knowing that, Oriel couldn't bring himself to hate him. Even though he probably should.