Vamonos Vamonos

[Heather Sutherland]

It had been too long since Heather had done something fun with a friend that wasn't Onnie. She missed a bunch of them, and she'd heard through the grapevine (Or an accidental emphatic drive by of Alex's place) That her friend could do with some being dragged out and having a bit of fun. And so she'd arranged to do just such a thing. Drag Alex off of her butt, and the two of them would go out to a mall while neither of them were working, and have some fun.

Heather still had some Christmas shopping to do anyway. She was wearing clothes that were a little more casual than usual, but she wasn't really out to impress anyone, she was out to hang with a friend and have a little fun. She was clad in a black top with a Nightwish design on it, reflecting her music taste. With a comfortable, relatively stylish dark blue button up coat over the top of that, and dark skinny jeans on her legs.

The redhead could tell that someone was in the apartment, she wrapped her delicate fingers together into a fist and knocked on the door a few times, she wore an excited grin on her face. Alex was a bit of a geek, but an adorable one. Heather had always thought she was pretty awesome, and once upon a time while she was shyer, she thought she may have had a slight crush on the other girl, but it was pretty fleeting.

[Alexandra Lawson]

I'm finished making sense
Done pleading ignorance
That whole defense

Spinning infinity, boy
The wheel is spinning me
It's never ending, never ending
Same old story

What if I say I'm not like the others?
What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays?
You're the pretender
What if I say I will never surrender?


By the time the chorus of the song that was pumping through the stereo speakers hit Alex had long forgotten that she was attempting to do the dishes while she was waiting for Heather.  She'd been excited over how the last week or so had been going and that, coupled with the natural redhead getting back in touch after a while, Alex had gotten ready to go out far too early.  In the process, she opted to finish up doing the dishes until the time came to leave.  Within minutes the music was far too loud to be prudent for an apartment building and Alex was prancing about the kitchen, sliding across the tile floor in a pair of bright, pink socks.

The knock at the door was heard through the impromptu, imaginary concert that was going on inside the apartment.  Unfortunately for Alex it came just as she was attempting a wicked slide she'd actually backed into the living room in order to get a running start for.  Part way through the slide the knock broke her concentration as she wondered who could possibly be at the door.  The sudden realization of who it must be was what did her in.  She let out a high pitched squeak of surprise and excitement before veering drastically off course and clipping the kitchen table.  It wasn't enough to hurt but it did send her careening into the kitchen counter where she threw her arms out in front of her to prevent smacking into the counter top.  Freshly cleaned pots and pans that had been balanced precariously in the strainer to dry went crashing to the floor as Alex failed to maintain her balance and soon found herself taking a journey to sit down in the most uncomfortable of ways.

"Not again."  Alex groaned, wincing as a hand moved to rub at a sore butt cheek.  "Come in!"  She called, scooting across the floor to the kitchen table where the remote to the stereo was sitting.  "It's open!"  She called again, still sitting on the floor even as she groped around the table and snagged the remote in order to turn the stereo way down.

[Heather Sutherland]

Heather grinned as she stood near the door. One of the awesome things about being an empath was that when you were around people that were awesome, with any kind of excitement about them, it both felt great to be near, and often rubbed off on you, improving your own mood further. At least, in Heather's experiance. That may well have been one of the reasons that most of the people she tended to surround herself with her hyperactive people.

She let out a giggle when she heard the crash of the pots and pans. Evidently, her knock had been a touch more startling than she had initally intended on it being. She smirked at the girl's call to come in and gently slid open the doorway. She was dressed somewhere between casual upper class and metal fan. Which might seem a little odd, but she'd been told that it suited her. And it made her feel good, so she did it.

Heather chuckled as she walked in, barely heard over the stereo as it's volume rapidly descended downwards. "Hellooooo!" She grinned at the brunette girl. Alex was always someone she had been a teeny bit envious of, as she had always thought that Alex was much better looking than herself, though Heather was far less obsessed with this than other girls, it still effected her a little, not much though.

"Are you, uhm. Having some trouble in here?" She asked with a slightly teasing tone reverberating throughout her voice.

[Alexandra Lawson]

"Hey." Alex groaned as the door opened and Heather's head poked in. The diminunative young woman was seated on he floor, spirits still high, though her egobwqs bruised, just like her bottom surely would be. A few strands of her brightly colored red hair fell into her face. She blew air from the corner of her mouth in a futile attempt to clear her face.

"Oh, uh, yeah." Alex frowned a little before slowly shifting to get to her feet, using the corner of the kitchen counter to help pull herself up. "I was just doing some cleaning while I waited." She explained, hurrying to scoop up the fallen pots and pans. "Let me get my shoes on and we'll go." Her mood was still light buy she grew a little flustered as she hurried in order to keep Heather from waiting. "Oh, geez, I'm horrible." She paused and crossed the modestly sized kitchen to where Heather stood and gave the redhead a tight hug. "Hey, you." She said, eyes gleaming brightly as she peered up to Heather. "How have you been?"

[Heather Sutherland]

The redheaded Brit let out a light giggle at the other girl, who was planted on the floor, it was like those little cartoons where people just sat in the centre of the chaos that they have caused. From her now red hair, to her bright pink socks, Alex was just adorable as far as Heather was concerned. Heather giggled again. "You have an interesting way of 'cleaning' Alex."

Heather smiled widely at Alex's array of shifting emotions. She was just so adorable. Heather wondered what people like Franck saw when they looked at her through Empathy "Alright." She replied while leaning against a wall by the door, smiling and glancing around Alex's apartment.

As the other girl approached her Heather shook her head quickly. "You are anything but horrible." Heather let out a little squeaking sound at the tightness of the hug, embracing the other girl back and grinning. "Hey you right back." She gently bumped Alex's shoulder with her own in an affectionate gesture. "Always better when hanging out with fantastic friends." She said with a level of warmth carrying through her words.

[Alexandra Lawson]

"Yeah, well, it's one of my many skills." Akex replied, sending a a bright, gleaming grin toward Heather. The tiny redhead gathered up the rest of the fallen cookware and started to stack them back up in the strainer but gave up that project quickly and simply made due with pushing them off to one side of the counter before turning her attention fully to her friend.

"Right, so fantastic I drop off the face of the Earth forever until you have to call me up." Alex frowned a little at that though it didn't last long. The smile found her features again and she rushed off to retrieve her shoes.

Moments later Alex had slipped into a pair of sneakers and shrugged on an almost comically oversized coat. "Alright. Where are we headed?" She asked, tugging a bright pink, wool cap (complete with a floofy ball on the top) onto her head. "Just the mall and go from there?"

[Heather Sutherland]

Heather felt a gentle smile spreading across her face as Alex grabbed her shoes and coat. The other girl just had, the cutest style. Some people had styles that she was envious of, others had ones that made her giggle. Alex was in the latter category most of the time. Heather's own style fluctuated depending on who she was with, and what kind of mood she was in at the time.

She stretched out and gave off a little yawn. "I suppose I probably should have grabbed myself a cup of tea or something before I left." She checked her phone quickly while Alex grabbed her things. "Although I guess that's very doable at the mall." She added quickly to herself, mostly speaking to herself.

Heather nodded at the question and smiled. "Yup! General aim is to have some fun and relax. I think we've both been a little too bogged down with work. So we're going to enjoy ourselves. And grab some lunch when it comes to that. Which is on me, so don't even try it" She added with a grin.

[Alexandra Lawson]

Alex gathered her keys and phone, tucking them into her coat pockets while Heather spoke of the plan for the day. Alex nodded, causing the little poof atop her cap to bob merrily. She hadn't been to the mall in what seemed like ages. With Ezra's erratic and demanding work schedule she'd been prone to sleeping at odd hours in order to accommodate her own work times and facilitate at least a little time each day she could spend with him.

"Alright. I'm in but-" Akex managed to get out before being cut off by Heather's insistence on taking care of lunch. The natural redhead had predicted Alex's protest and shut it down before it could start. She pursed her lips and pouted for a moment before her eyes lit up. "Alright. That's fine." She said as she took off for the door, fishing the car keys from her coat pocket. "But I'm driving!"

[Heather Sutherland]

Heather genuinely couldn't remember the last time she'd gone shopping. She'd gotten into retail therapy over the years. Partially due to visits from her older sister entailing that, and partially due to her best friend just being generally speaking, awesome. The redhead had gradually fallen out of it as a habit though, when she had started working at the academy, she had less time to do things like that.

She was guessing that given Alex was full on working like an adult, not a semi-student adult like Heather, she had even less free time to do things like that. Maybe that was part of the reason Heather was getting this sort of vibe from Alex, or maybe she was just imagining things. Either seemed possible. Ultimately though, she didn't think going and hanging out, having some fun and time to unwind would be a bad thing for either of them.

Heather turned to the door and shrugged with a smile. The core of any friendship or relationship was compromise she supposed. "That sounds fair enough to me." She exited first, obviously so that Alex could lock up behind them. "I have to say Alex, it's a little surreal seeing you at your place. I still remember you being that adorable geek I hung out with with snacks and watched movie with when I was still shy as anything." She giggled to herself at the mental image. She really had come a long way.

[Alexandra Lawson]

"Oh, god I know." Alex shrugged almost helplessly as she cast a glance toward Heather. Sometimes even Alex couldn't believe she was actually out in the world adulting and so far nothing had gone horribly wrong. Between the both of them her and Ezra were able to live comfortably. It didn't hurt that they shared a certain modesty when it came to their lives. Neither cared much for expensive things and they worked well when it came to day to day things like chores and bills. "It's still weird to me." She admitted, stepping out of the apartment and into the cool, crisp winter air. "But we're getting by." She laughed lightly and closed the door behind them. "What about you? Gah! I've been stuck in my own little world I've completely neglected my friends."

Within moment Alex was settled into the driver's seat of the hatchback sedan she shared with Ezra. The gloves and get poofy hat found their way into the back seat before she put the keys into the igniton and started the engine. She dropped the gear shift into reverse and hit the gas, sending the car careening backward out of its parking space. A second layer the vehicle was lunging forward, barrelling through the parking lot.

"With Ezra making good money, and I finally got a raise at work I really want to do something nice for him this year for Christmas." Alex spoke calmly even as the small, turbo charged car flew passed the other parked cars around them. She spun the wheel, whipping the car to the left before it came to an abrupt halt at the exit of the parking lot. "I don't know what to get him, though." A quick look over the street showed traffic approaching from the left but didn't prevent Alex from gunning the engine and sending the car lunging out into the street, narrowly missing a vehicle turning into the parking lot and eliciting an angry honk from the driver.

[Heather Sutherland]

Heather settled into the passenger seat of Alex's car. Heather nodded in response to Alex. It was always strange, seeing people who you didn't really picture being all adult-ey, and all of a sudden they seemed to be further ahead, or more stable in their whole life situation than Heather. Who had always been the one with the plan forced on her and laid out for her by family.

She smiled softly. "I'm glad you ended up with him." She replied in regards to the other girl's reference to her boyfriend. "It's really good to see you so happy with someone."She meant that quite literally. Good relationships were the best, and being around the people who were in them made her feel absolutely fantastic.

Heather winced at the aggression she was feeling from the other driver. The redhead let out a little shudder. "And this is why I could never be a member of law enforcement. That is... Scary." She murmured.

[Alexandra Lawson]

"It's still feels weird sometimes." Alex said, gunning the engine of the car and sending it careening down the main street. "I've known him so long and now to be with him like this." She shook her head, though the smile that came to her lips, causing the small dimple in her cheek to surface. "It's been great." She admitted almost sheepishly. "I mean, it's been hard sometimes with Ezra's job and all, but we manage, you know?" Alex offered a faint shrud of her shoulders as she turned her attention back to the road. Alex was not the most talented driver on the planet nor was she particularly even good at it given her habit of speeding. Although she'd never driven in the state there was something distinctly Californian about the way she drove. Something inside her made it nearly impossible for her to obey speed limits, stop signs and just about every other traffic law on the books. In Alex's mind these were merely suggestions, not doctrine to be specifically followed.

The short, harrowing drive to the mall was nothing less than an adventure. It was thankful the roads weren't icy (conditions Ezra insisted Alex not drive in to begin with seeing as how he was well aware of how crazy she was) and even then it felt like the rear tires of the car slipped some as it whipped off the main street and into the parking lot leading to the mall. After narrowly missing a shopper with a handful of department store bags, Alex flung the car into a parking spot, coming to a stop within the space. The front of the car was more than a little skewed, nearly encroaching on the spot to the left of them but Alex didn't seem to car. With a spring in her step she all but hurled herself out of the car, keys and poof-topped hat in hand.

"What about you?" Alex asked, tugging the wool cap onto her head again and glancing over toward the redhead. "You gotta have hella guys after you." She grinned and gave Heather a little nudge with her elbow. "Any of them get your attention yet?"

[Heather Sutherland]

Heather tilted her head as she listened to Alex talk about her boyfriend. Now, Heather is a powerful empath, even more so when she was around people that she knew well. It had gotten to the point where she could pick up the most subtle of emotional shifts, even when someone had good control over them. So when someone like Alex talked about something that they were passionate about, more so a person, when lovey dovey feelings were involved, she melted inside a little bit.

She listened intently, going very quiet while Alex went on about their relationship, and how it had changed. At the same time, listening to her emotions, a broad, goofy grin spread itself off the redhead's lips. Heather, generally speaking of course, was fairly good at controlling herself, her demeanor and such. But when someone she cared about on any level, experienced strong emotions, more so when Heather had some insight into what caused them, it could effect her on a visible level. It genuinely bled into her mood, making her more giddy than before.

Heather had barely even noticed the manic driving she was so taken in by it, she blinked a few times after they stopped moving, bringing herself firmly back into reality. She slipped out the other door, closing it gently. She cleared her throat awkwardly. "Well. Honestly my last meaningful relationship was actually with a.. uhm, woman." She cleared her throat again, trying to force the awkwardness away. "It was really nice. But it didn't really get that far, in terms of physicality. Almost certainly my fault."

[Alexandra Lawson]

Despite the fact that Alex had a severe problem with her body over heating and was naturally inclined to handle the cold weather, the Californian often felt she would never grow accustomed to anything other than the mild winters she found in her home state. It may have been all in her head, the 'extreme' cold in Montana during these months but to Alex that was all that mattered. She remained quiet, the cold driving her to silence as she hurried through the massive parking lot surrounding the sprawling mall. Giving an exaggerated shiver as she stepped inside the preciously heated building, Alex turned her attention to Heather and only just now opted to respond.

Alex had to keep herself from poking fun at the nervous way in which Heather's admission had come out. Instead she leaned over and nudged the other girl with an elbow. Again. "Oh, come on." She said, the smile on her face feeding the bright gleam in her eyes as she looked up to Heather. "There's nothing wrong with that." She insisted, even though she did keep her tone low. This wasn't the sort of talk even she felt was one to be had in such a public area. "I was with a girl for, like, a year." She said, waving a hand dismissively. Alex would forever credit her upbringing for her open mindedness. She supposed that happened when her parents had to explain that their Uncle Kyle was now their Aunt Krysten when the kids were still young.

"And, really, anyone who wants to give you crap for, you know, anything physical or whatever, tell them to go to hell." Alex shrugged at that and immediately reached for Heather's hand the moment she'd taken off her gloves and tucked them into the pockets of her jacket. "Don't let anyone tell you how to live your life." She said with a curt nod before glancing toward Heather. "Right? I mean... that's how it's supposed to go, isn't it?" She frowned a little and shrugged her shoulders with a resigned sigh. "Was that too forward? Unnecessary?" She asked, suddenly worried that she'd come off as a terrible cliche when Heather was merely talking. Her shoulders slumped even as she tugged Heather into the main foyer of the mall and looked around, her slender fingers still grasped tightly around her friends, so long as Heather would allow. "I've been away too long. I forgot how to do this whole 'talking to people' thing." She said apologetically.

[Heather Sutherland]

Growing up, Heather had always lived near the mansion by St Bethany's, and the wide open spaces had always made everything seem much more bitter and cold. Since being in the US, she'd noticed the central heating, and also the air conditioning in the summers seemed to be much much better, so she obviously was less effected by the cold than poor Alex, ignoring the obvious issues of the other girl's power.

Not that Heather's power wasn't without its... Quirks. The second she reached the thresh hold of the foyer it hit her. As they walked in and Alex shivered and tried to warm herself up Heather took a moment to compose herself, blinking hard a few times and trying to force out the riot of people's feelings that were swarming her. It wasn't massively difficult, after all she'd had years to practice.

She turned and smiled to Alex, giving the other girl a gentle bump with her shoulder. "Oh please, you're talking to the original awkward conversation girl." She giggled gently. She was SO glad she'd gotten adept at socialising, the redhead really cringed when she thought about her first few interactions with students at Bellefonte, like Alex and Oneyka.

"It's been quite some time since I've been here, I forgot how... Full on it is." She chirped, glancing around at the retail heaven that was the mall.