The Park, Tuesday Afternoon

[wannabe-pan.livejournal.com]

Andrew had a bag of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, a stack of books, and a pocket full of action figures. Sprawled out in the grass, he was attempting to reenact one of his favorite Space Battles fight scenes, but his heart just wasn't in it. His imitation blaster sounds just didn't sound as authentic as usual and he skipped his highly practiced action figure death throws in favor of simply flicking the figure backward.

[open like a park!]

Comments

[ihaveniceteeth.livejournal.com]

After getting out of Aly's class, Gwen found herself wandering in the park. "Afternoon."

[wannabe-pan.livejournal.com]

Andrew peered up from his spot in the grass. "Hi there," he replied with a smile. "I don't think we've met."

[ooc: lunch! brb]

[ihaveniceteeth.livejournal.com]

"Probably not," Gwen said, smiling back as she sat down. "I only just arrived on Friday. Gwen Cooper."

[minnesota-teen.livejournal.com]

Amber was out and about, running a few errands before her 5th period class. Cutting through the park she noticed Andrew and after her conversation yesterday with Liir, she figured she should say hello.

So that is what she did. "Hi, Andrew."

[wannabe-pan.livejournal.com]

"Nice to meet you Gwen Cooper," he said. "I'm Andrew, Andrew Wells."

Andrew reached over and grabbed his bag of sandwiches. "Hungry?" he asked. "I made extra."

[wannabe-pan.livejournal.com]

Andrew looked up and smiled. "Hi, Amber Atkins. Enjoying the lovely day?"

[ihaveniceteeth.livejournal.com]

"Nice to meet you too, Andrew," Gwen said, reaching for a sandwich. "Thank you, I am a bit hungry."

[minnesota-teen.livejournal.com]

"It's pretty, yah," she smiled. "Mind if I sit down and join you for a bit?"

[wannabe-pan.livejournal.com]

"I would offer you something to drink," he said looking through his bag, "but I seem to have forgotten that part of the whole lunch thing. Probably for the best though. I think I'm bloated."

He stuck his hand out towards Gwen and flexed his fingers. "Do these look swollen to you?" They were pretty normal looking.

[wannabe-pan.livejournal.com]

"Sure, I'm not the type to turn away the company of a pretty lady," he replied. "We haven't chatted in a while. How ya been?"

[ihaveniceteeth.livejournal.com]

Gwen considered them carefully for a moment, nonetheless. "No, they look just fine to me."

[minnesota-teen.livejournal.com]

Amber plopped down on the grass almost directly across from him. "I've been good. Keepin' to myself mostly but now that classes have started, I'm darin' myself to get out a bit more, you know? How are you; I heard you've been gone?"

[wannabe-pan.livejournal.com]

Andrew pulled them back and examined them closely. "I guess you're right," he said, frowning.

He started to line up his action figures in the grass in front of him. "So where are you from, Gwen? Let me guess..." He squinted at her and finally said, "South Africa," with a nod of certainty.

[wannabe-pan.livejournal.com]

"I am a mixed bag of emotions at the moment," he replied, absently picking at some grass. "These past few weeks have been... different." And the one person he thought would be able to appreciate it all seemed upset with him over it.

[minnesota-teen.livejournal.com]

"Mmm, maybe you should just pluck one from the bag and go with that for the day," she suggested, going for encouragement. "And then pick a different one tomorrow."

She paused, picked at some grass herself. "You went and saw your brother?"

[ihaveniceteeth.livejournal.com]

"Wales, actually," she said, watching him with the figures. "I actually have a mate named Andy back there, although he's more of a Z-Cases man. How about you, Andrew? Where are you from?"

[wannabe-pan.livejournal.com]

"I would be afraid to do that," he admitted. "There are some pretty crap emotions in that bag right now."

He cocked his head at her. "Did you talk to, um, Liir?" he asked. Aside from John, Liir was the only person he had told what he had done.

[minnesota-teen.livejournal.com]

"And crap, in any manner, stinks," she glanced down at his action figures. "So emotions cast aside in favor of playtime fun?" she grinned, though very slightly.

Amber nodded. "Yesterday."

[wannabe-pan.livejournal.com]

He snapped his fingers and nodded in agreement. "Wales, right! That's what I was thinking. Just, you know, those accents are so close."

He pointed back over his shoulder. "I'm from Sunnydale, California," he said. "It's a beautiful little town full of mystical and demonic perils." He learned a while ago that it didn't pay to lie about where he was from, as most everyone around here would run into someone else from Sunnydale eventually.

[wannabe-pan.livejournal.com]

"They take my mind off things," he said, repositioning a few figures. They weren't doing such a good job today, though.

"So, how is he?" he asked. "Did he seem okay?" He really wasn't sure how he wanted her to answer that question.

[minnesota-teen.livejournal.com]

"Bad things?" she guessed.

Amber really wasn't sure how she should answer that question. She decided she wasn't much of a liar. "Angry. He was angry, Andrew."

[ihaveniceteeth.livejournal.com]

"Sounds a lot like Cardiff," Gwen said, since if he was telling the truth it didn't matter, and if he wasn't she could just claim she was joking. "Just substitute temporal and alien in there. There was that giant life-sucking demon once though."

[wannabe-pan.livejournal.com]

That was not what he had been hoping to hear he realized, and it made him angry just to think about Liir being angry. "At me, I assume," he said. He sat up. "Angry because I didn't track him down when I had to leave for home." He seriously didn't get this.

[minnesota-teen.livejournal.com]

"Maybe he thinks you don't care about him," she replied softly. "...is your brother okay, Andrew? Everythin' at home okay?"

[wannabe-pan.livejournal.com]

"..." Andrew opened his mouth, but nothing would come out. He just stared at Amber.

"Did he say that?" he finally asked. "That I d-don't care?"