The Fault In Our Stomachs

[Poppy Lockwood]

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| Tagged: Darcy I. Pearce |

| OOC Note: Shh I'll get to the banner in a bit... |

New York City, 2006

A family of three took a two week vacation to New York City. They stayed in a hotel that accommodated their every need. It was a very practical and a much deserved break for the couple. And a bonus for the little seven year old girl. The summer break had just started and she had no complaints about being away from home for two whole weeks. She was with her parents -- that was enough.

That morning, Poppy Lockwood woke up for the fifth time in the morning of the bustling New York City. Today the plan was to take the free ferry ride to Staten Island and explore what they could there. At seven in the morning, the little girl was all dressed up in her blue jeans and green tee. Her parents were still sleeping like a log so Poppy decided to roam the hotel herself.

It had been five days since they checked in, the workers there recognized her so she felt safe to be out on her own. Besides, she was only planning to go to the buffet room. With a hungry stomach, she followed the directions on the walls and found the room easily. On the door was a sign that said 'Opening at 9am'. It would not be opened for another two hours but the doors were ajar.

Her curious mind lead her feet into the room. The sight that greeted her gave her a little shock.

[Darcy I. Pearce]

The Fault In Our Stomachs.

TAG poppy
NOTES none

How dare her dad trick her into this little trip! The nerve he had... Kendall Pearce had invited her to a trip in New York City, see the sites. She had been so excited. Not only was she finally getting out of the small town that is Kalispell, but her dad was paying her some attention at last since his marriage. But he never mentioned his wife joining them. Fucking hell, did that woman have to butt into everything?

The girl had been in a sour mood the whole time. That morning, she felt particularly ticked off so she went to exploring in the hotel. She saw the locked buffet room and couldn't help breaking in--it was too simple and she really wanted to let off some steam.

She started with spray-painting the walls and tables first--never leave home without a can. She opened the covers from food and tasted all of them, sticking her finger in the cakes and licking the icing off cupcakes. With a pocket knife, she slashed the cushioned chairs.

Her mistake was forgetting to close the door properly. When Darcy finally looked at the entrance, she saw a little girl staring around at the mess. Keeping the knife in the pocket of her leather jacket, she glared at the newcomer. "Scram, kid." Dressed in all black, she looked pretty menacing and the anger hormones raging around her accented that.

[Poppy Lockwood]

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Scratch that, it was not a little but in fact a huge shock for the little seven year old. The older girl told her to scram but Poppy Lockwood stayed put. She did not liked to be talked to that way. "If you want something, you have to ask nicely." Crossing her arms, she gave the girl a pointed look and raised her eyebrows. "Clearly you don't know a thing about manners."

Her eyes darted around the room, scanning the damage that was done. It was only yesterday when she had been in this room and everything was neat, tidy and pretty. With the graviti on the walls and tables, scratched chairs, the sight was definitely anything but pretty. "Your decorating skills are Horrible. With a capital H."

The girl was dressed in dark clothing like the moody kids in movies. Always in black and with a permanent frown. Before she could make another comment, her eyes found the food table. The sight made her want to cry. The covers were opened, the cake looked disfigured and the cupcakes had no icing!

Poppy walked over to the table with trembling hands. "Y-y-you...wh-h-why?"

[Darcy I. Pearce]

The Fault In Our Stomachs.

TAG poppy
NOTES none

Darcy raised a single eyebrow at the response she received. "Do I look like I care?" she replied. Her own dad lied to her--sort of. She followed the little girl's gaze. The black graffiti was barely readable but it served its purpose. Feathers from the cushions were flying about the room, falling like snowflakes. "I'm not here to make things pretty, girly. Deal with it."

The stranger looked no older than eight maybe, appearing oh so adorable... Darcy was willing to bet she never knew a moment of real sadness yet. But she herself had her anger hormones raging wildly around her. Even when walking through the lobby, what employees were up at the time became influenced by her aura. She wouldn't be surprised if this kid felt angry the same way and frankly, she didn't care either.

If I can't reach heaven, I will raise hell.

The older girl climbed onto a table, her black boots dirtying the cloth, and spread out her arms. "Feast your eyes kid. The real world isn't great--you'll learn. Better face it now."

[Poppy Lockwood]

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All the food were ruined. Especially the delicious desserts Poppy Lockwood loves. She could not stand the sight of the icing-less cupcakes. That was the tastiest part!

For some strange reason, the seven year old felt angry. Angrier than she should have been over some desserts. Poppy was fuming with rage. "If you had to destroy anything, you leave the food out of it! You aren't the only one who wanted the cupcakes."

The older girl than climbed onto the table and the little girl's face had the pleasure of meeting her boots. Pretty. She stared up at the girl with displeasure. How would she feast now if everything was ruined.

There was no place to seat. The walls and tables were dirty with smeared spray paint. Moreover, there was no food left that had not been contaminated by the moody girl.

"Oh yeah, it ain't great because there's people like you!" She was so so angry. "Y-y-you monster!" Taking a cupcake, she slammed it onto the girl's boots.

[Darcy I. Pearce]

The Fault In Our Stomachs.

TAG poppy
NOTES food fight!!

Darcy snorted. Of all the things she could fuss over, she chose the disfigured cupcakes? People can say whatever they wanted about Darcy, but this little girl was equally selfish. She only got upset at the part that affected her, everything else barely mattered as much. She stared down at her.

People only care about themselves.

Her dad never even asked her how she felt about Maria joining them. Selfish. Even kids weren't excluded. Darcy opened her mouth to retort but then her boot was rudely introduced to a cupcake. "You little..." She closed her mouth before she started cussing. Settling for narrowing her eyes, she said through gritted teeth, "I see, you like to play."

She jumped off the table and grabbed a cupcake which she hadn't licked yet. "So you wanted icing, right?" She smeared it across the girl's shirt and then pushed the desert onto her head. Smirking, she stepped back. "How's that for decoration?"

[Poppy Lockwood]

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Anger.

Anger.

Anger.

That was the only thing that ran through the little seven year old's body. She did not know why but she was just so angry. Even though it was only cupcakes, the fire inside of her burned brightly and strongly.

Therefore what the older girl did next only fueled Poppy's fire even more. "You're s-s-so mean." Indeed she was. Perhaps the little girl deserved it for smudging the girl's boots but still. Was it not supposed to be the bigger girl to be the bigger person? Now she was acting like a child just like Poppy.

Still fuming with rage, the seven year old refused to back down. Taking the disfigured cake, she slammed it onto the older girl's front. The cake left a huge stain that it illicited a giggle from the little Poppy. "I think that is better. Oh wait..."

She scraped a piece of the cake from the shirt and jumped up as high as she could to smear it on her face. After managing to do so, she stepped back and observed her handy work. "Now you look better."

[Darcy I. Pearce]

The Fault In Our Stomachs.

TAG poppy
NOTES none

This was one of the worst side-effects that came with Darcy's powers. When she felt any particular emotion strongly, others were easily influenced by this. And when someone else was hormonal, she became influenced too. So as a result, things just kept escalating until someone got a grip regained control. That was the situation right then.

Poppy couldn't be blamed--she was too young to know this was unnatural. Darcy herself was only dimly aware. Looking back on that day, she would cringe at her younger self. That heartlessness...

But at the moment, she was overwhelmed with anger as well. The smearing of cake across her body--including her chest--didn't help. She wiped the mess from her face and glared at the child. She could easily just pull out her knife from her back pocket but she wasn't that cruel.

Instead, she went back to the buffet table for more ammo options. Just playing with deserts wouldn't be much fun... There. She scooped with one hand--ick. "Weak," she commented. "You could use a little protein, kid!" Turning, she hurled the chunk of meatloaf at her opponent.

[Poppy Lockwood]

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As the older girl moved behind the table, the seven year old's gaze never once wavered. Her sight never left her enemy. She kept it there and steady. Every move the older girl made, little Poppy saw it all. If she let the girl out of her vision, she would not know what the next attack was.

Unfortunately, even with a scruntinized look, the little girl did not know what to make of the chunk of meat in the other girl's hand. Before her mind could process the situation, Poppy felt the meat splattered on her face. It was moist, slimy and..."Eeewww!!!" She rubbed the meat off her eyes so her visions cleared. Her eyes stared daggers at her opponent.

Anger.

Anger.

Anger.

Poppy did not know what to think. She did not even think but instead acted on impulse. It felt...strange but yet familiar. Moreover, it was so very satisfying when she hurled the orange juice in the big jug in the direction of the moody teenager.

[Darcy I. Pearce]

The Fault In Our Stomachs.

TAG poppy
NOTES none

Laughing wholeheartedly, Darcy even felt weak at the knees. Her enjoyment ended abruptly though when the orange juice splashed over her. Worst of all, she had it in her eyes and gosh, did it sting. "Shit!" she yelled through gritted teeth. Grabbing the closest thing in front of her--mashed potatoes with gravy, she drew her arm back.

But before she could do anything else, she heard someone else scream. Following the voice, she saw a man in a suit standing by the entrance. Damn it. His eyes scanned the room before settling on the two girls. Her vision cleared enough to see the redness of his face.

The mess got even worse since the food fight. Bits and pieces of food littered the floor around them. Darcy had hoped to be out of there before anyone saw but that little girl... Shit, she can't get her in trouble! Sure, she was a brat but she was just a kid influenced by Darcy's hormones. "Uhm..." was all she could get out.

[Poppy Lockwood]

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The seven year old felt good -- no, more than just good -- when the older girl's eyes suffered the citric acid courtesy of the orange juice. With her face covered with bits and pieces of meat, Poppy laughed at the girl rubbing her eyes.

Everything that happened next looked like it all happened in slow motion. One minute the little girl was laughing at what she had done, the next minute the older girl was already taking aim but before the food was launched, a scream brought the two out of their food fight. Heads snapped up pinpointing the source of the voice.

The fact that it was a man made the whole thing a little more hilarious to Poppy because the scream had sounded like a girl's. But the expression on his face removed anything hilarious about the situation. The man looked furious. All red and veins popping to the surface furious.

Poppy too was furious. She was going to get into trouble thanks to the moody teenager. Nu uh! She pointed to the other girl and the words rolled of her tongue easily. "She did it!"

FIN