Bad Night

[chihiro]

"Thanks...for being here."

Chihiro smiled, it was kind of nice to be appreciated for support, unlike some relations she wasn't about to mention because it would ruin the moment.

"It's not a problem, really. You're...really beat up."

She said, a bit hesitant on the last part. But she didn't really care at the moment. She brushed a strand of her long raven hair out of her face absently, but it fell back a moment later.

"So, where do you have to go?"

[Aureus]

"Home, about four miles that way." Aureus said while pointing to his left. Why he had even walked so far away from home he wasn't sure, but was probably just one of his random urges to go into the unknown. Not to mention, the boy just liked walking. You saw alot of different things around town. Rarely old, always interesting. And because of the distance, if Chi didn't have a car they wouldn't be going anywhere soon.

[chihiro]

Four miles?! Chi swallowed, that was quite the distance, and there was no way Aureus could walk it in his injured state and even if he could, she wouldn't let him. That was too much. The dark haired girl bit her bottom lip thoughtfully, a small frown passing over her delicate features. So what to do? Chi straightened as she was struck with an idea.

"My house is just up the road a few blocks, I can help you walk that far, and then you can use our phone to call your parents, or somebody...if you want."

She offered, as it was really up to him. Things at her house had probably settled down by now, there would be no problem there, and it was a lot easier than stumbling four miles with an injured boy being supported by a slender framed girl.

[Aureus]

"Sounds good." Aureus said plainly in reply to Chi's comment. That was about the only thing they could do anyways. Other than a payphone, but the boy didn't have any change on him. "Alright." He said quickly before attempting to get up. The pain was still present in his leg, though it felt a bit number than before. At least he could stand on his own now. Chi would still have to help him, and probably would even if he didn't ask.

[chihiro]

Alright, so a plan was made. Chihiro bounced to her feet as Aureus made to stand up, she could tell that the wound hurt him just by the way he tried to stand. Her arms moved instinctfully out to support him but she stopped mid-reach. He had preceded to stand up without mentioning a little help, which probably meant that he didn't want to be coddled just becuase he was hurt. Unless, he just didn't want to ask her for anything in addition, which was silly because why wouldn't she help? She was right here.

But either way, she stood there for a moment, her arms partially extended in a 'ready' sort of way, just in case, waiting to see what he would do.

[Aureus]

Looking behind him, Aureus noticed Chi was just standing there. Waiting for him to ask for help maybe? She probably hadn't yet because she thought he didn't want any. It was a reasonable assumption and would have been correct had he been in slightly better condition. The fact of the matter was he wouldn't be able to go more than twenty feet on his own. He needed her. Even so, he still wasn't the most comfortable asking for help. Instead he simply looked at her with a 'Uhh...can you help me?' expression on his face.

[chihiro]

Seeing the expression on his face, the girl stepped forward, ducking under his arm and bracing it across her shoulders, her other hand bracing the other side of his waist...the standard help-a-person-out kind of thing. She shifted her feet slightly to better her balance before looking back at him.

"Alrighty, we're going to go slow okay? No rush."

She assured him, willing to go at whatever pace he was willing to walk. The last thing they needed was for him to get even more hurt from pushing himself.

[Aureus]

"Yea." He said in reply before trying to walk, testing how fast he could move. Despite his injury, he could still go at a pretty reasonable pace. It was the times when he had to stop because of pain in his leg that Chi really helped. It took them a little while, but after about fifteen minutes they arrived at the girl's house. Aureus stayed quiet the whole time, as the walking made him even more tired. Once he was sitting on her porch, he decided to speak up. "I'll wait here." He said curtly. He didn't much feel like meeting her parents and having to talk to them. He just wanted to relax. "Thanks...again."

[chihiro]

Despite the pace, their walk was a quick one, and in no time they'd reached her house. Aureus seemed content to wait on the porch, which was alright. It was a nice porch, quaint. To the right of the door sat two wicker chairs with plushy cushions, and to the left a porch swing. It was all mostly for show, as they tended to use the back deck more than the front.

Chihiro smiled as Aureus thanked her yet again. It was kind of nice to receive such appreciation for once, and yet at the same time, she thought she didn't deserve it. I was only doing what anyone would do if their friend needed help. Were they friends? They hadn't really discussed such a thing, but after a night like this, it was probably a better thing left unsaid. Turning to go to the door so the boy wouldn't see her cheeks burn, she muttered something along the lines of 'I'll get the phone' before pushing open the front door and walking into the entrance hall. Yeah, her house had an entrance hall, another quite useless room, meant to make things look grander than they are. All of the lights were off except for the one in the front room, the doorway to her left. So it was as she expected, both her parents were out for the night, her mother upstairs and her father...somewhere. It was a habit to leave the front room light on after a disaggreement so Chi could still see when she came back. Same thing with the door being unlocked. Talk about routine. So, walking through the entrance hall, past the staircase and into the kitchen where on the wall hung the cordless phone. It was white, like the rest of the kitchen, where everything was uniform. Taking the phone from the wall, she left the kitchen, through the entryway and back outside to Aureus. She sat down beside him and handed him the phone.

"Here."

[Aureus]

There was always something about plushy cushions that weirded Aureus out. Not in a bad way, if that makes sense. He just found them to be odd. They were kinda comfortable and all, but just strange. Either way, once Chi had gone to get the phone he felt like passing out on the weird cushions. Nice, relaxing, healing, deep sleep is what the teen needed more than anything. Well...maybe not more than getting his wound cleaned and properly bandaged, but it was still up there.

After what felt like forever, the dark haired girl came back with phone in hand. "Thanks." He said before dialing his number with his thumb and pressing it to his ear. "Hello?" Ashley greeted/asked in a tired sounding voice. "Hey..." Aureus said, waiting for her to realize who he was. "Aureus, where have you been!?" The woman yelled, obviously worried. "I got jumped...alot. But I'm fine, kinda. I just need a ride home. I'm at a friend's house right now. She really helped me tonight." He replied, getting straight to the point. "Oh? A young lady? Well well. Who'dve known..." "No, no! It's not like that..." Whatever you say, kid. Tell her I said thanks...if you don't I'll make a scene when I pick you up." *sigh* "Fine fine...bye." Aureus said before hanging up. "Uhh...my mom says thanks for helping me." He told Chi, hoping he didn't sound too stupid. Normally he would have realized he didn't have to say anything, as Ash wasn't there to check. But because of his exhaustion he didn't quite think of it.

[chihiro]

Chi tried not to listen to the phone conversation, that would have meant she was eavesdropping, but it was hard as his voice was the only other sound besides the night outside. Instead, she fixed her attention on the small garden bed in front of the porch, the flowers looked really neat at night, just like basically everything did. It was a hobby of her mothers...once. Now they had a gradener do it, and sometimes Chi would mill about in the dirt, if she felt like it.

The girl turned her attention back to the boy when he spoke to hertelling her that his mom said thanks. Chi stifled a giggle, bowing her head a bit and pressing her hand to her mouth. It wasn't that she was laughing at him or anything mean like that, it was just sort of...cute that he would actually mention such a thing. No, it wasn't cute, she reasoned, it was nice. Nice is a safer word than cute. 'Cute' meant trouble. She should know, so yeah, it was nice.

"Heh, sorry..tell her I said 'no problem.'"

[Aureus]

Aureus couldn't blame Chi for laughing. It was kinda stupid, and he would have probably done the same in her place. "It's fine and...uh...I will." He said before a small chuckle escaped his lips. He'd have to remember to get Ash back somehow in the future. But all the plotting and such could wait 'till later. His priorities for the rest of the day would consist of getting patched up and sleeping.

Now that all that was dealt with and there was nothing left to do but wait, Aureus decided to semi-thank Chi again. He really did owe her alot. More than anyone else. "I dunno what would've happened to me without you tonight. Guess I got lucky."

[chihiro]

"I dunno what would've happened to me without you tonight. Guess I got lucky."

Chihiro gave a what she thought was casual shrug, glancing down at her feet, still bare. She hadn't even bothered to put shoes on yet. She wiggled her pink polished toes as she tried to think of something to say in return. It was odd to have someone thank her for something she did. Odd, but kind of nice.

"Yeah.."

Wow, that was profound. Chi even surprised herself at her lack of having anything good to say. She rose her gaze to meet the streetlight across the street, then glancing over at him once.

"..But, it was nothing really, I was just kinda...there. I only did what any decent person would.."

[Aureus]

OOC: Is it me or is this thread becoming repetitive? *sigh* New ideas are so hard to find. ><

IC: You've thanked her like one hundered times. Stop it. Christ, you're horrible at flirting, or just complimenting for that matter. I'm not flirting! Horrible... "There aren't many decent people left." The teen replied. And tonight was proof of that. They wanted him dead, just because he was a Pillar. And the truth was there wasn't much he could do about it. Except be the best. If he wasn't, there would be no one else to save him.

Everything about the situation was awkward. For the first time in a long while, Aureus wanted to say something, but nothing came to him. Most of the time he preferred being quiet, though tonight was different. "Heh, weird how quiet things are now..."

[chihiro]

((ooc: hmmm, yeah))

"Indeed, decency is a rarity."

The girl nodded, swinging her legs slightly from where she sat, her bare feet brushing the wooden porch lightly. He was right, the conversation was getting quite quiet. Dark eyes glanced over at Aureus sitting next to her, he was more or less a silhouette in the darkness. There aren't many decent people left, but there are a few. The girl bit her bottom lip, glancing at the ground, then back at his silhouette.

"So...who's coming to pick you up?"