Got a Smoke? (Rhys)

[Zoelle Heroux]

Zo was bored. 

Of course, this wasn't exactly a new development. Truth was, she bored rather easily. Lately that had gotten a bit better since she had Luke to entertain her, which he did a pretty good job of all confusion aside. Still, there was a lot of confusion there. It was completely out of her comfort zone for one. Not that she was really complaining. It was only times like this when she was left on her own that she began to overthink their situation and freak herself out over it. Even then, it usually faded pretty quickly. 

Of course, he was at some band meeting thing, which left her to her own devices. It was a good feeling though, going out and looking for some trouble. 

Though her options were proving to be quite limited truth be told. Luke was busy, she was afraid to talk to Jen because she knew once she did Luke would come up and that wouldn't end well, and the town was pretty unexciting on a Thursday afternoon. Which left her wandering downtown looking for something - anything - to distract herself. 

She needed to do something or she was going to go crazy. 

At that moment she took notice of someone lighting a cigarette. Well, that was a start. "Hey there," she called out as she walked towards him. "Can I bum a cig?" she asked as she stopped right beside him. He looked young, and he was certainly attractive. Hopefully he'd just be nice, but if he wanted to be difficult, she was fully prepared to flirt her way to get what she wanted.

"One of those days, ya know?" she added with a small smirk.

[Rhys Freeman]

He couldn't believe he'd snagged an interview.  He couldn't believe he was going to actually work for money.  Working wasn't something he did often, but when he did it was at a shop.  He'd have to wake up early, stay out late, and answer to someone.  That was really the worst part about it all.  Rhys wasn't one for having a boss.  He'd never taken kindly to being told what to do, and though he was plenty capable of following orders without question, he wasn't much a fan of it.  Still, it would please his brother and it would get his sister to quit worrying, so he'd do it.  That wasn't to say he was giving up his side business, he was just keeping it quiet now.

Rhys leaned against the wall, pulling a pack of cigarettes from his pocket.  Most people would find their smokes crushed if shoved in their pockets, but most people weren't Rhys.  He no sooner got out his lighter when he saw the figure out of the corner of his eye.  A girl walking down the street.  He wasn't the type to cat call, but he definitely let his pale eyes follow her figure as she drew closer.  

Rhys pulled from the cigarette as the girl called out to him, his eyes fixed on more intently as she asked for a bum.  He considered her silently for a moment, already knowing he would be giving in, but liking the way she smirked at him.  He pulled the pack out his pocket, letting her pull one from it before sliding it back in and taking out his lighter.  After flicking it to light, he cupped his hand around the flame and offered it to the girl.  "It's always one of those days." He mused with a mild smirk, watching her casually as he lit her cigarette.

[Zoelle Heroux]

Her eyes watched him intently as he seemed to weigh his options. Her expression and smirk never wavered though, fully expecting him to give in. Even if he brushed her off, she felt pretty confident she could charm him. After all, she knew that he liked what he saw. Besides, who wouldn't?

He seemed to make up his mind then and her smirk widened ever so slightly. "Thanks," she said casually. Zo offered him a mischievous smile as he offered the pack to her, pulling one out for herself. She didn't even have to ask for a light - he was already pulling his out for her. He was definitely smooth. She could certainly get on board with that.

She leaned forward, lighting the end of the cigarette before bringing it to her lips, taking a long, deep drag. So much better. It had been weeks since she'd smoked. Mostly because it was annoyingly difficult to get cigarettes under age and she was tired of her fake IDs getting confiscated. Plus the guy she used to buy from had graduated the year before and moved away. Talk about a drag.

"Isn't it though?" she responded with a chuckle as she leaned against the wall beside him. "You sure got that right." Zo inhaled deeply again, savoring it. She had never smoked consistently enough to get addicted, but damn, it felt good to light up again. "It has been way too long since I had one of these," she murmured.

[Rhys Freeman]

His pale eyes followed her as she leaned in to light the cigarette, the embers glowing red as she took a long drag from it.  He slipped the lighter back into his pocket before pulling his own out of his mouth and slowly letting the cloud sift past his lips.  The girl leaned next to him on the wall and an amused sort of look passed over his features as he turned to look down at her.  Like most people, she was a bit shorter.  He didn't mind, he was used to it and sort of appreciated it.  Gave him a weird sort of confidence.


Rhys didn't have much to say as he stood there next to the girl.  He pulled at his own smoke trying to think of what to say.  He could try hitting on her, she was definitely cute enough, but somehow that seemed weird given their introduction.  She came to him, which meant she should be starting the hitting.  He could just make casual conversation.. it wouldn't be that hard, but no words came to mind.  Finally, she took it upon herself to speak, giving him an opening back into conversation.

"You tryin' to quit?" He asked, flicking some ash to the wind.  He'd quit plenty of times in the past and it was always such a breath of fresh air when he got his fix again.  Or breath of filthy air.. whatever.. "Cause I don't wanna be the reason you relapsed.  I don't need that shit on my shoulders." It was a serious statement, but it was obvious by his tone he was being a little playful.

[Zoelle Heroux]

They fell into a moment of silence, both just enjoying their cigarettes, inhaling the nicotine and exhaling the smoke into the chilled Vermont air. Zo absently flicked the ash from the end of her cig as he responded to her previous comment. She chuckled slightly, taking another drag as she shook her head.

"Nah, nothing like that," she answered with a shrug. "Never smoked enough to need to quit." After all, being only 17, it's not like she could really buy her own. People in Vermont were hardasses compared to the ones back in Baltimore. Of course, back then, she'd also known guys old enough to buy them for her. Of course they kept the cigs behind the counter so it was pretty much impossible to steal them.

"Don't worry. If I put any weight on your shoulders, it sure as hell won't be guilt," she added with a small smirk. Flirting came as easily as breathing to her and it didn't occur to her that perhaps there was something wrong with that now that she had started something almost serious with Luke. After all, it wasn't like she was planning on doing anything with this guy - it was just words.

"So you've got nothing to fear from me," she added, blowing smoke into the wind as she spoke.

[Rhys Freeman]

Rhys wasn't entirely addicted to cigarette's himself.  He'd made it a point to not do anything to the point of addiction, which was part of the reason he was hesitant to try harder drugs.  He saw what drugs and alcohol did to people, he'd witnessed first hand how it can quite literally tear a family apart.  Though he had no intention of having a family of his own, especially in the near future, he still didn't want to depend on any sort of substance.  But, damn it felt good to smoke now and then.

Her comment about putting weight on his shoulders received a brow raise and certainly more interest in her.  This was a girl worth investing a little time into.  Maybe.. Seems she was interested, and the feeling was becoming more mutual by the moment.  

"I don't know if that's a relief or not." He offered, letting smoke curl out of his own mouth as he looked over at her.  Rhys pushed off from the wall, sort of spinning to face her and taking a few steps back, the cancer stick dangling from his lips as he pushed his hands deep into his pockets and gazed across from her, drinking her all in.  She looked young.. there was a chance the reason she didn't smoke was because she wasn't legally able to buy them.  "Yah know this shit'll kill yah, right?" He asked, the cigarette in his mouth bopping with his lip movements as his head tilted slightly to the side. "Or so they say."

[Zoelle Heroux]

He raised his brow and she couldn't help but smirk at him. There was a certain satisfaction that came from catching a hot guy's interest. Zo had played the game too long to even notice when she was flirting anymore, so she didn't think much of it. It was all in good fun, right?

However, his next words had her quirking her own eyebrow, curious what he meant as he said he wasn't sure if it was a relief. What was he getting at? She watched as he pushed off the wall, spinning to face her and taking a few steps back. She could feel his eyes on her and it only made her smirk grow even wider. After all, she knew that she looked good. Her appearance was one of the few things she cared about and she wasn't some mouse who needed to be told she was pretty. She was smoking hot and she damn well knew it. If anything, she relished that fact.

His next words had her burst out laughing though. "Seriously?" she asked, sarcasm and amusement in her voice. She paused to take another drag. "Isn't that a bit like the pot calling the kettle black?" she threw back at him. Another pause, another drag. Finally she just shrugged at him. "Plenty of shit in this world that could kill you. Why fuss over it?" Besides, it wasn't really any different than drinking a beer as far as she was concerned. Just a hint of poison to take the edge off.

"Everything in moderation, right?" she added with a wry smirk.

[Rhys Freeman]

"Maybe." He countered with a roll of his shoulders, taking a long drag from the cigarette and allowing the smoke to curl out of his lips as he spoke.  "What's the pot know anyway?" He'd always thought that was a stupid saying.  Maybe it made sense once upon a time but now? It was just a dumb, old fashioned saying that meant nothing to Rhys.  "And who said I was fussin'?"  

Rhys studied the girl.  He knew her type well; young, a bit rebellious, ready for anything.  She knew she was cute and she probably got what she wanted a lot.  Except at home.  Maybe she fought with her parents a lot, she had an edge to her, but they probably came through in the end.  She had no idea how rough life was.  They were all assumptions; he had no idea who this girl was.  Hell, he had no idea what her name even was, the most basic information you could know about another human being.

"Everything?" He asked, cocking a brow, taking a casual step closer.  Rhys flicked the ash from the end of his cig, the wind quickly pulling it away before it could reach the ground.  "That sounds like a challenge."

[Zoelle Heroux]

His response about the pot made her chuckle slightly before taking another drag. At least this guy wasn't boring. That was one thing she had very little tolerance for. After all, what use were people if they weren't even entertaining? Definitely a point in his favor. Her smirk grew a little wider though. "No one did," she pointed out. After all, she had never specified that he was or wasn't fussing, just that she didn't see the point in it. "So defensive though," she teased.

It was times like this where she realized how much Luke had already changed her. Before him, there was no doubt that she would have ended up sleeping with this guy. After all he was attractive and seemed just her type. Technically, it was more accurate to say that she would have been trying to seduce him, but in her experience, pretty much no one said no to her when it came to that. But instead, the banter between them was effortless - a cooler version of small talk more or less. Even weirder was that the realization that she wasn't going to sleep with this guy made her smile. Almost gave her hope that maybe she could be the sort of girlfriend material that Luke wanted her to be.

Still, the suggestion in his tone and motion didn't have her shying away. Instead she just casually looked up to meet his gaze. "And if it were?" she asked, curious how he would respond. Finally though she just offered another small shrug. "Maybe I like to keep my options open. Even if I never take advantage of it... it's good to know that I could if I wanted to. Ya know?"