Exploring Ghost Town

[Juliette Caraway]

"Oh," she said, nodding. She wondered if he'd gone to any of the local schools, or if he'd gone to the school up the hill. She didn't consider asking of course, as not everyone knew about mutants and she wasn't about to reveal that secret. She only knew about them because of her brother and the simple fact that her father seemed to hate mutants and everything about them. She wouldn't have been surprised if her father started parading back and forth outside the school, waving some kind of hateful sign around. Now, imagine her father found out she'd met that mutant boy in the forest... He would have been furious. "Well, welcome back I suppose," she said, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

Personally, Jules couldn't wait until she was old enough to move away from home. It was still a few years into the future as she had to have enough money. It wasn't like she could simply skip off once she turned eighteen. She didn't even have a job. And she wouldn't be finished with high school by then either.

"I make no promises," she chuckled, a sheepish smile forming on her lips. "I mean... I'm not clumsy, but I do have my head in the clouds a lot." She was easily distracted and tended to get completely lost in her various daydreams. It was both a gift and a course, she supposed, and it annoyed a lot of people. Especially her father and her teachers. Like, when she took photos, she often entered her own world.

[Akeem Ten-Amen]

Welcome back? Not really. Akeem wished he didn’t have to be back. There was little to interest him around here. He saw it more like a prison: he would do his time and then he’d be free. But not totally. Yeah, just like a prison. He should have been more careful. His place was not there. He controlled his power very well, he didn’t need more training. What did it matter to them if he used his power in ways they were not totally fine with? It was his life and his power. Yeah, sure, he wanted to be a lawyer and wouldn’t have been against using it then. They could be so annoying at times. Moralists.

He realised he had to say something though and not let it show too much that he didn’t like this place. She was from here. For all he knew, she might like it here. She might feel suddenly loyal to her town just because he didn’t like it. “Thanks,” he said to her. He dared not smile for he knew it would likely look more cruel than it should. Because he didn’t really want to be back.

Joking about her clumsiness chased away any dark thoughts the previous topic brought up. “It’s not exactly the place you want your head to be when you’re walking. Or roller skating I suppose.” Akeem didn't think he was much of a daydreamer. Sure, there were times when he paid less attention to his surrounding, like everyone, but he didn’t think he was easily distracted. “You come from here? Or your mother just decided to see what the shops in Kalispell were like?”

[Juliette Caraway]

"Yeah," she spoke softly, head nodding. He was right. She couldn't argue that. It really wasn't the best kind of place to keep your head, and even though it wasn't always intentional, she supposed she could only blame herself. She didn't at all mean to, and couldn't always control it. It seemed to be one of those things that happened on its own volition. "I do," she said, lowering her gaze. "I live on a farm at the outskirts of town," she shrugged.

She didn't really want to talk about it. Sure, she didn't mind the simple details, but sometimes, those simple details lead to questions, which lead to even more questions. Many of which the brunette didn't want to answer. Her life was complicated at best, and honestly, not everyone cared to understand. She had met her fair share of people who were less than friendly about it, and somehow, she didn't think this boy was the kind of guy who'd hold down his tongue.

Besides, who told a complete stranger about their family problems anyways? She was hardly looking for attention. If she was, she would have taken notes from all those bimbo girls in her class, that dressed less than vulgarly to gain attention.

[Akeem Ten-Amen]

If this girl liked to daydream, it was of no concern to Akeem. He just wished their first encounter had not happened under such circumstances. It will be hard to forget although he was not sure he would see that much of her afterwards.

And just as he thought that she had to admit living on a farm. He tried his best not to look like he judged her too much for this. He thought he achieved it well enough but who knows. He had never been on a farm, it seemed cruel of him to have such a low opinion of it then. No, it was not true. He had been, once. His elementary school thought it was such a good idea. Akeem had been so bored he even wished he could scared some of the chicken in the coop. And he got mud on his shoes. He was definitely not made for a more rural life. “I’ve never been to one,” he said despite the fact he just realised the opposite. His tone however didn’t sound like he wanted to see one. This fit perfectly with hers that told him she didn't want to talk about one.

“Must be nice to visit the town then, no? It doesn’t matter how much you like a place, at some point you need to leave for a while before you start thinking of it like a prison.” If he was not talking of a farm for his part, he was referring to the school and the way it seemed to try and accommodate the students in their every need so they wouldn’t go out. Not likely to happen with him. Nothing pleased him more than to go out of there, even if that meant visiting Kalispell. Even the name was weird! It sounded like something out of some fantasy RPG or something. The kind you can download for free and have a bunch of morons arguing whether you were a girl or not.

In other circumstances, Akeem would have likely abandoned Juliette. But having the attention on him, even that of a girl who was visually enjoyable at best was enough to make him reconsider leaving her to torment some other guy. He groaned as he realised that some flies started to eat on his lunch now that he neglected it. The garbage bin not being too far, he stood so he could throw it in there. it was not all that appetizing anymore. This only made her even more interesting, since he could not even eat to pass the time.

[Juliette Caraway]

"Good," she laughed. "It's not the kind of place you want to get stuck at." All in all, as much as Jules loved the animals there, the farm life really wasn't for her. She was biased, sure, simply because she was forced to stay there. But that hardly mattered. She wasn't a farm girl. She didn't want to be one. But she had no choice. As long as she was too young to make her own decisions, there was little she could do about it all.

"Yeah," she spoke, nodding. She averted her gaze then and looked out over the park. He was right. It was nice. And being on the farm did feel like being in prison. But it was less about the place itself and more so about her parents. Thankfully, she wasn't about to overshare. She knew better than to do that, and somehow, she felt as if the guy didn't really care. "I want to go to one of the big, famous cities one day," she said absentmindedly, smiling slightly before turning to look at the boy again. She shrugged. "Like New York, Seattle, Los Angeles or something..."

Jules fell quiet as the boy stood up. She fully expected him to leave now. She'd probably said something, or done something that had turned him completely against the idea of furthering their conversation. She seemed to have a habit of doing that these days. She could hardly blame the boy. She wasn't overly interesting, and she didn't live an very interesting life.

[Akeem Ten-Amen]

That he might not want to visit a farm let alone live on one was one thing, but he was not really expecting her to agree and respond to him in such a way he could believe she liked that as much as he did. “Why are you staying there then, if you don’t like it?” This was asked because he didn’t get why she stayed if she hated it so much. Despite the fact that he probably was the best placed to know the reason: no other choice. He thought she had though, unlike him. They might as well watch him, if not warn his teachers of what he could do if he studied elsewhere. What kept her there, if it was not for her?

He was not surprised to hear her want to go to a city instead. It was the oh-so-common little farm girl dream. How many had it before her and left in the hope of making a name for themselves? She didn't say she wanted to be famous or anything, but why else would one want to go to L.A.? He had stood up and tossed the remains of his lunch in the garbage before he would turn to answer her. “I get you. It’s tempting. I never thought I’d miss Portland and I do being here.”

He looked at the girl. She appeared sort of defeated, as if resigned he would leave her alone to try and do roller skating on her own until she hit someone else. He nodded in direction of those. “Put them back on, I want to see how you do it.” Hey, it was not like he had anything better to do.

[Juliette Caraway]

Frowning, Jules looked down towards the ground. Placing her hands on her knees, she shrugged at the question. "Because I have to," she replied silently. Firstly, she wasn't an adult yet, and secondly, her dad would never actually let her leave. At least, he'd do everything to stop her. Of that, Jules was certain. It surely didn't help that Jules pretty much did everything he asked. She'd been raised to believe that he was meant to be listened to. It was old-fashioned, sure, but it was just how things worked.

"Portland?" she croaked, eyes widening slightly in a mix of envy and amazement. "I've never left Montana," she said, looking up at the sky. "Portland must be really cool," she said softly, smiling slightly.

The request caught her off guard and for a moment, Jules simply stared at the boy. Blinking, her head tilted to the side. After a few seconds though, she nodded faintly and leaned forward to put the skates back on. She tied them and made sure they'd hold before unsteadily trying to get back on her feet. Swaying slightly from side to side, the brunette flailed her arms until she felt that she could stand up without tipping over.

[Akeem Ten-Amen]

Obviously, this girl was not the kind to disobey her parents. She wouldn’t just walk away to try and live her dream. She probably feared said dream would not end the way she first imagined it, that it could take a sour turn or not be as nice as she dreamed it. Unlike her parents, he would not stop her. Of course, he would not be the one living with the consequences should something bad happened so it was easy to push her one way or another. “Just tell yourself it won’t always be the case,” he said as she shrugged to her. Although, something told him she might not get out, not unless she had more backbone than she showed him. Maybe she had. She dared talked to a stranger after all, share some minor details of her life with him. Or that might just prove why she shouldn’t get out of here and her parents’ care. It depended on the way you wanted to see it.

“You clearly didn't go to a lot of places if Portland sounds that exciting to you,” he said in irony. He shrugged again at her comment. “It’s a bigger town than Kalispell for sure. But there’s still plenty of woods and water around.” After he said that, he turned to look at her and a small smirk formed at the corner of his lips. “Might be a good town for you to go first, before New York, Seattle or L.A. You won’t feel too much like a fish out of water,” he said. He was teasing her of course, but there was also something serious in his tone as he named the cities she said she wished to see. Then again, she was free to visit, or not, any town she wanted.

The way she stared at him, Akeem wondered if he might not have gone too fast here. They didn’t really know each other and here he was suggesting he helped her do some roller skating. Eventually, she nodded and put them back on so he understood she only needed some time to agree to this. He grabbed her hand to help her stand up. “Let’s see how that goes,” he said. His idea was to stand next to her so she’d be able to grab his arm should she ever felt about to fall over. Obviously, he didn’t exactly think about the fact he might have to run behind her when she’ll get some speed.

[Juliette Caraway]

"You make it sound so simply," she said with a wry smile. She couldn't blame him though. He knew nothing of her home situation, and she'd much like to keep it that way. No, it wasn't nearly as easy as the boy made it seem, but even Jules appreciated the gesture. In fact, he made her feel slightly more confident even if she knew that it was only a fleeting feeling. Something that wouldn't last for very long. It was still a nice lie to allow herself to believe in. If only just for a fleeting moment.

Laughing, Jules covered her mouth with the back of her hand. "Well, I've never left Kalispell, so it's not that weird, I suppose," she shrugged. She new very little of the places around - save for what she learned at school or saw on TV. Though, anything had to be better than here, right? Even Portland. "I think nature makes towns or cities more charming," she said, her eyes growing dreamingly for a moment. She then looked over at the boy and lowered her hand. "I don't know..." she began, brows furrowing. "Being a fish out of water doesn't sound so bad."

Her body tensed slightly when she felt his hand against hers. Her cheeks flushed crimson red, but she didn't pull away. Instead, she peered up at him through her lashes and offered him a small smile. "Okay," she spoke, her voice barely above that of a whisper. Her entire body felt tense and warm. It was amazing that she could even talk properly without stuttering like a damn fool. Nodding then, she turned her attention forward. "Here goes nothing..."

[Akeem Ten-Amen]

“It is that simple,” he argued even if he knew it was not. Sometimes, it just was. “One day, you’ll go to college. Perhaps even outside of town if you’re lucky,” he told her, making college her ticket out of here even though he knew, as she said, that it was not that simple. If she didn't have the money or the grades... but he didn’t want to bother with those details. He bothered only when it concerned himself and he knew he had no money or grade problems so he never bothered about that.

Akeem was a city kind of guy. He could take a bit of nature but didn't like being surrounded by it. He preferred downtown, with a park or two if someone really wanted trees around. He was fine with that. He’d never be able to keep a plant alive if you gave him one. He was about to tell her that, in a polite way since she seemed to like nature, but her comment had him stop. She wanted to be a fish out of the water after all. Well, she was just one of those country girls who dreamed of a bigger life. Sounded cliché but there was a reason why such things became clichés in the first place. “You better be careful though. It’s not fish you’ll be swimming with, it’s sharks,” he warned her. He couldn’t picture New York or Los Angeles like Kalispell. Here, people seemed to know each other or at least enough to trust one another. There were neighbourly. It was not everyone in their own bubble and you better not step in their personal space kind of mentality. Although he remembered something he read once where people purposefully dropped wallets to see who would pick them up and send them back and New York was one of the first cities in the world in the list of those who did it. Surprising. Still, he could see the city eating her whole if she did not watch out.

He noticed her blush as he worked on helping her on her feet. There was something nice about seeing someone so flustered after only a simple and innocent contact. At the same time, he figured it might not be too hard to make her blush. The struggle he might ever have with her, should he decide to flirt, would be to make her get that he was flirting with her. Akeem actually ended up jogging near her when she was going fast, trying his best not to be hit by her hands. “I think you need to stand straighter. You might have better balance. You won’t go too fast unlike when you’re leaning forward at the very least,” he suggested, improvising himself a rollerskating expert all of a sudden. “I'm Akeem, by the way.”

[Juliette Caraway]

Jules fell quiet. Instead, she offered him a small, almost a little wistful smile. There was little point in arguing. Now, had she been braver, she might have stood for her opinions, but she was too scared to anger or upset him. It hardly seemed worth it. It wasn't like anyone was ever interested in what she had to say anyways, so why would this guy be? Surely, he had plenty of much more interesting friends out there that had so many cooler things to say than what she ever would.

She was nothing compared to them. He probably knew plenty of really pretty girls too.

"Sharks aren't all that bad though," she started, her lips parting slightly. "They're not as dangerous as people make them to be -- I mean, yeah, they do attack humans and all, but usually just because they mistake them for being seal." Immediately, the brunette flushed scarlet red and turned her gaze down towards the ground. Oh boy. She probably should have kept her mouth shut. After all, that wasn't really what he'd meant, and she somehow didn't think he was overly interested in a lesson about sharks.

If only she could have been as cool as all the pretty girls at her school. More suave and chill. Instead she was just awkward and weird.

Nodding at his words, Jules attempted to do what he said and started swaying slightly, which in turn made her wave her hands as she attempted to regain her balance. After a short while, she managed to stand straight without actually falling, though as she focused on straightening, she completely forgot to move her feet. She had already slowed down a lot. "I'm Juliette, but most people call me Jules," she croaked, her brows furrowing as she tried focusing on where her feet was going, and not the guy's pretty eyes.

[Akeem Ten-Amen]

Juliette was right to think Akeem cared little about her words, unless they were meant to talk of him, but she was wrong if she thought he cared much more about his friends’ opinion. Each to their own, really. He was not the kind to cry when a friendship was over. If two people were taking different paths, there was no reason to stick around each other, for nostalgia’s sake. He was not nostalgic. If they served him for nothing, whether to further advance himself, amuse him or just be there when he needed someone to be there, there really was no point in keeping them around.

He was not expecting her to give him a lesson on sharks. He looked at her with some skepticism for a moment, not really sure if he heard right and if she really went on about sharks like this, making them not so bad. “Maybe, but human sharks are worse. You have to be certain of what you want and be ready to fight for it if you don’t want them to eat you,” he told her. It was an advice he believed she could use, to stand up for what she believed and wanted. She couldn’t spend her whole life dreaming it away. Or she could. But by then, Akeem would have erased her from his book a long time ago.

There was something very awkward about her. Akeem could deal with that. Awkward girls usually didn’t expect being complimented or even talked to so that alone would win him points if he wanted to do anything else with her. Pretty girls always expected more, they wanted all of the attention. The attention had to go on him too, it was an imperative. By helping her out, he got enough attention from her and that no matter whether she’d get better or... no, she couldn’t really get worse. “Jules? Julie sounds more appropriate for you.” Unless she liked how it phonetically almost sounded like jewels. But he doubted calling her Jewel was a good idea. “I’ll go for Julie, if you’re fine with that.”