This Place Blows (Open)

[Deleted]

Jared didn't have to go to school...yet. There were still a bunch of things to figure out with that, but he was told that he'd be starting up nice and fresh next week. Which gave him the opportunity to spend his first weekend in this dump wandering around town, looking for anything anywhere possible that could redeem this place as civilization.

After some very clever inquiries at the tea place that surprisingly didn't suck(the cashier there seemed a little Stepford Wives-ish, creepy...), the 14-year-old found himself descending the stairs into some run-down place known as Atmosphere. Supposedly an underage club. Or where all the kids hung out. They better have video games. Did a place this out in the boonies even know what video games were?

He ran his fingers back through his thick hair, then covered it with a Yankees baseball cap(hopefully there weren't any haters here?), sliding it around so the rim was behind him. He stuffed his hands into his oversized pants held up only by a belt around his hips. The waistband of his boxers was at least hidden by his loose-fitted Lakers jersey, which fell down well past his waistline. Jared popped the gum he'd been chewing on for the past half-hour, already sour that the taste had vanished from the gummy morsel, but didn't have the motivation to put in another piece. He'd probably stick it under a table at some point. Where else was he supposed to put it?

The Atmosphere, however.....yeah...this was supposed to be the "happenin'" place of the sticks? Yeah, there were other kids there...but shit, it was already afternoon! Weren't they supposed to be doing more than just sitting around....talking? Soooo tame. And lame. Tame and lame, lol.

Jared sighed and repeated the procedure of removing his hat, running his hands trough his hair, then replacing it backwards on his head before venturing in further. He placed a hand on the arm of a person passing by to get their attention. "Hey..." he started, his thick eyebrows twisted about dubiously. "So...what do y'all do for fun here?" The faintest remnants of Texan twang was hinted in his voice, despite only having lived there the past two years.

[Cleo Warren]

Cleo didn’t know why she chose this place to do her homework. She was looking for a place where no one would bother her. She had a over a million options to choose from; she lived in the middle of fucking nowhere for crying out loud. She could have sat in the middle of the laundry room at school and it would have sufficed. But no. She decided to leave campus and come all the way to Atmosphere.

It’ll be a nice break from campus. She thought. No one will bother you there. She kept telling herself.

Well, no one was bothering her here, but this place was way too loud. Alright, maybe not that loud, but she couldn’t concentrate on her essay because of the dull chatter that buzzed around the room. She tried putting her headphones in - she was really pulling out all the stops here - but she couldn’t concentrate if the volume was too high. She could still hear the obnoxious conversation coming from the two girls sitting next to her when she set it to her normal level.

Ughhh…. This was never going to get done here. She’d been staring at her computer screen for the last half an hour, silently willing the words to appear. Ed Sheeran was playing through her headphones, but all he was really doing was putting her to sleep.

Sorry, Eddie. You have the voice of an angel, but it sadly doesn’t help explain the restricted role of women in The Bell Jar.

You’d think the daughter of two lit professors would be better at bullshitting an English assignment. In all honesty, Cleo just didn’t want to write a paper today. Or ever. Every time she sat down to do it all she could think about was all the things she’d rather be doing.

Fuck it, I’ll finish it later. It was decided; she’d call her dad for tips and finish it tonight. Maybe tomorrow morning. She swept up her notes, and messily shoved them into her back pack, before more carefully shoving her MacBook in as well.

Swinging her bag over her shoulder, and grabbing her sunglasses, she moved toward the door. And then she felt a hand on her arm. She heard someone speaking to her, and then the real world faded into the background. It was quick, just a few snap shots of…sparkles? Yeah, a shit ton of hot pink sparkles, wiped across someone’s granite countertops. Three seconds later and she was back at Atmosphere, a boy - younger than her - looking at her perplexedly.

Well that was fucking weird. She blinked at him, raising an eyebrow. It looked like he was expecting some kind of answer. Had he asked her a question? “Sorry, what?”

[Deleted]

It was an older girl, and pretty damn hot if you asked him! Nice hair, though to be honest, she seemed like one of those ‘hipster-chic’ gals who didn’t have time to interact with the rest of society because she deemed herself ‘too cool’ for their attentions. Of course he’d find one of those out here in the middle of nowhere.

Maybe he should’ve asked someone else instead of just the first person he saw?

She didn’t respond right away, and Jared simply stared at the blonde, frowning slightly in his impatience. It was a simple question. She was acting like she’d never been asked a question before. Or maybe she was slow? Those sort of people existed out here too, right?

The response she finally gave had Jared itching to roll his eyes and give up on the chick. She obviously didn’t have time for this bullshit. “Here. This place. Fun,” he said, speaking as though she were a child. “What. Do. You. Do?” Jared raised his eyebrows up to his hairline, trying to make his face seem just a little bit brighter as his frown turned upwards into a polite, though small, smile. “Or don’t you people know what fun is?” He wouldn’t be surprised.

[Cleo Warren]

When Cleo really got a better look at him she realized he was a good couple of years younger than her. Maybe a eighth grade? A freshman? She looked him up and down quickly, coming to the conclusion that he looked like a walking billboard for mainstream sports teams. A basketball jersey and a baseball cap? Really? He was definitely a freshmen; that seemed like the typical getup for barely pubescent douchebags.

But he spoke to her like she was the child. Yeah, like it was her fault that she didn’t hear his question; he was the one who induced her weird, glitter-filled vision. She raised an eyebrow, suppressing the urge to scoff and roll her eyes.

“Aren’t you a little, you know, young to be here alone? I would think your mom would be wondering where you are.” She was being snotty in retaliation, but there was a bit of truth in there. She had occasionally seen freshmen here from school, but they usually all came in a huge group. Right now, there didn’t seem to be anyone younger than fifteen or sixteen.

But she did empathize with him; there was nothing to do here. Maybe it was because she grew up in the city, where everything is always gogogo, but it just seemed like everything and everyone here moved in perpetual slow motion. It’s like the people couldn’t even get out of their own way. Cleo constantly felt the urge to shove people aside because they moved so. Fucking. Slow.

She let out an exasperated sigh. “It’s better on the weekends, I guess.” She offered, with a shrug as she glanced around the room. It was true, but that didn’t mean it was always fun. She glanced back at the boy in front of her, running a hand through her hair. “But I’m gonna be honest with you, you’re in Bumblefuck, Vermont. Don’t expect anything spectacular.”

[Deleted]

Just as he thought. One of those girls. With the high-and-mighty tone directed towards him just because he was younger and happened to be a little short. It wasn’t his fault he was only 14! That was going to change in a couple of months, at least, so he preferred to not consider it. Jared didn’t think himself as whatever sort of idiot bumpkin this girl clearly labeled him as.

Jared returned the scoff, a smirk turning one corner of his lips upward in a haughty fashion. “Sorry, t’disappoint. Mom’s still got a couple hours left ‘fore she realizes I took off.” Serves her right for being a maniac. “Thought I’d do the explorin’ thing, find out if there’s anything all t’do around here that ain’t straight up boring.” Jared looked out to the room and scanned it dubiously. “Don’t seem t’be nothing, by the looks of it.”

Aaand looks like he was right, as the girl confirmed his growing suspicion. He pursed his lips out in disappointment, wondering again why his mom decided to drag them out to the sticks like this. All the other places they’d moved to prior had always had some level of civilization in the heart of town. Jared looked up to the girl again. “Ain’t there even an arcade? Pizza place? Something?” he asked with a half-hearted laugh, though his eyebrows were pressed together in worry. “I’m gettin’ a little desperate think, if you haven’t noticed.”

Jared blinked thoughtfully, looking her up and down once again before nodding his chin up at her in interest. “Say, what’s your name?” he asked with a leer that was too adult for a kid his age.

[Cleo Warren]

The way he talked basically confirmed Cleo’s suspicion. He had the same freshmen mindset her brother had at that age. Too cool for school and everything else that came with still being too young to do much on your own. Cleo probably had a similar mindset when she was thirteen or fourteen, though it does tend to manifest differently in girls. According to Cass, she was quite the little bitch at that age. She still is really.

“Yeah, there’s not much to explore.” Despite his attitude, she couldn’t help but agree with him. There wasn’t anything to do, and she wasn’t going to stand here and debate about how great Pilot Ridge was once you got past all the trees and shit. It was nice, but it wasn’t incredibly thrilling.

There was probably something he’d find interesting, if he looked hard enough. Cleo had been here long enough to know the ins and the outs of the small town, so she figured she could throw him a bone or something.

“There’s a few bookstores and movie theatre downtown. And a community theatre if you’re into that sort of thing.” There were a ton of stores in downtown, although not all of them would be appealing to everyone. “And a comic book store.” Teenaged boys like comics, right?

“No arcade.” She confirmed, with a shrug. She’d never seen one or heard anyone talking about one, but she supposed she could still be wrong. “You could try the mall if you’re bored. That’s where a lot of the high schoolers flock to.” Cleo only went there if she needed to buy something. It got boring if that’s all you did every single weekend. “And a lot of people go to the lake in the summer time.” There was a bit of a wait for that activity though. That was everything that she could think of, as she figured nothing else around would interest him.

The look he gave her next almost made her roll her eyes. She let out a sigh, leaning her hand against the empty table next to her. “It’s Cleo.” She stated, figuring it couldn’t hurt. Although, now the polite thing to do would be to ask him his as well. “And you are…?”

[Deleted]

Jared wished he could say that he'd been in worse places, but so far, despite having been toted across the country more than a few times by his mom, Pilot Ridge, Vermont was still by far the worst of them all. they didn't even have an arcade (that he knew of)! He was surprised that they even had something as modern as a movie theater, or even a comic book store. "I guess that's something at least," he said crossing his arms over his chest as his expectations of this place continue to be squashed. "I bet their selection sucks though, just like everything else in this godforsaken place."

He protruded his lips upon hearing that no, there wasn't an arcade, and then trilled them in boredom when the girl suggested he try out the mall instead. "No thanks," he said with a disgusted look. "I found out a long time ago that the mall sucks ass if you're not there to actually buy something." Considering that Jared was draped from head to toe in an oversized wardrobe, it was obvious that he didn't have the means to buy anything new anyway. He wasn’t so much a lake person either, though maybe he’d change his mind once it warmed up and there was shit else to do?

The boy grinned so his pearly-whites peeked through just the slightest bit. Maybe this hipster girl wasn’t so bad, since she was at least humoring the new arrival. He nodded upon hearing her name, lifting his eyebrows in interest at the exotic-sound of her name. “As in Cleopatra, or did they just chop off the 2nd half, and call it a name?” That was like naming someone Danny, when that was clearly supposed to be short for Daniel. It might’ve been a slight peeve of his. “I’m Jared,” he introduced himself. “Though friends call me J.D..” He’d answer to both, honestly. “So, Cleo,” he continued, sliding up against the same table she was leaning on, placing his hands on the ledge behind him in a clear pickup-artist posture. “Now that we got that outta the way, let’s say you show me around this joint?”

[Cleo Warren]

Cleo gave a noncommittal shrug; she couldn’t confirm or deny whether or not the comic book store’s selection was subpar. She’d never even thought about going inside. Marvel and DC were entertaining, but she’d stick to the big screen adaptations. She frequented the movie theatre often enough. It was small, but they played new movies, as well as a few classics every now and then. The snacks were definitely better than the artificial shit that Regal always sells.

To be honest, Cleo really did like the downtown area. It was cute, quaint really. It was no SoHo, but it was great for such a tiny town. If you were looking for something exotic or new though, than you were shit out of luck. What she wouldn’t give to find good Thai food. Every time she went back to Manhattan for break, she always dragged her brother or Maddie or someone to her favorite Thai restaurant. She supposed she couldn’t complain too much though; comparing Manhattan and Pilot Ridge wasn’t exactly fair.

“The mall isn’t anything special.” She agreed. It was like every other mall in every other town. She didn’t know how her peers managed to spend hours on the weekends just wandering around the place.

For some reason, a lot of people assumed her full name was Cleopatra, like it was a common thing or something. She was thankful that her parents weren’t eccentric enough to actually put that name on her birth certificate. She wouldn’t be too thrilled writing Cleopatra at the top of her schoolwork. She wrinkled her nose at the thought. “It’s just Cleo.” She didn’t really feel like going into how she technically was named after Shakespeare’s Cleopatra. That was a story for another time, and not for a complete stranger.

“J.D.?” Cleo usually associated initialed nicknames with embarrassing or really long given names. Jared wasn’t embarrassing though, or particularly long for that matter.

She raised an eyebrow as he perched himself against the table she was leaning on, and barely suppressed a snicker at his proposition. “Didn’t we just agree that there’s not really much to show?” She gave him props for being so bold, but he was like…practically a baby still. Although, Cleo thought of everyone who was more than a year younger than her as a baby.

[Deleted]

Jared liked the Marvel movies just about as much as the next person. Which was a lot! The existence of a comic book store and their limited selection was was more an excuse to highlight just how far out of civilization these people were. There were too many stories and alternate universes for him to keep up on the comics. As far as he was concerned, the movies were canon enough. Oh, well, it didn't really matter anyway. It still just left Jared with nothing to do.

"I didn't think so," he said with a nod. The more he talked with this girl, the more his hopes of finding anything redeemable in this town were turning into a faraway dream.

"Cleo, then," he confirmed, running his tongue along the inside of his teeth, pressing the flavorless gum he still had up against the enamel. He really should get rid of it soon, but he didn't want to waste another piece just yet either. "Not too bad, really," he continued on the subject of her name. "Kinda hard to not imagine what you'd look like with a sexy black bob, though. Ever think of doing that, just for the irony?" Jared probably would have. Maybe.

He wouldn't consider his first name embarrassing, nor even his middle name. He just thought it sounded better, like he was a varsity football player or something. They always had cool nicknames, right? "Yeah, J.D.," he repeated, puffing his chest out slightly with pride at how cool he probably seemed right now.

Of course he expected her to take up his offer. The offer he basically forced on her. "Yeah, about that, maybe it'll not suck so much once we got someone to despise it with?" That made sense. Misery loves company, they say. "Besides," he continued, animating his point with his hand waving through the air. "We exchanged names, we talked, ain't we friends now? Always good to hang out with friends. We even physically touched! You're practically my girlfriend now! You're not gonna leave poor, little ol' me all by his lonesome to fend for himself, are you?" Jared pouted and pointedly protruded out his lower lip towards her, then waved his hand over his face. "How can you resist a pathetic face like this?" He leaned in slightly. To give her a better look of his cuteness, of course.