Tobias Flynn's Story

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He sat huddled behind a police box, his hood pooled around his countenance to hide his face from passerby. Not that anyone would notice him holding an open flame to the bottom of a bent spoon. They were too consumed in their own lives to notice the young man shooting up on the pavement. His golden tresses clung to the side of his face beneath the wool beanie, his hand shaking slightly from early signs of withdrawal. If there was anything Toby hated more than a bad supply, it was the shakes. He couldn't even hold his lighter still when he got real bad. Luckily he managed to fill the syringe, holding it in his moth as he shoved up the right sleeves of his windbreaker, hoodie, and long-sleeved shirt. He was right-handed so getting the needle point in the right place took a minute or two. If his vein didn't look damn right ghastly, he would've stuck it in his left arm. He shoved the hammer down and laid his head back against the side of the metallic surface he was leaning up against. The drug coursed through his veins, filling his body with a warmth the both soothed and elated him. Tucking away his supplies in a paper bag, he tucked it in his pocket before making his way to the community centre.

Two other people his age were already waiting outside the doors, a large brawny black man blocking their entrance. One of the adolescents was a female, Asian from what he could tell once he shoved his was between the two of them. To his right was the other, a Hispanic male. Toby was aware that he looked homeless compared to them but he couldn't bring himself to care. He was on Cloud Nine, musing to himself how this was some kind of white meat sandwich. The big guy cut his eyes to him and glared.

"So you're the other one then," He grunted.

Toby smirked, his hands shoved in his pockets and a cocky smirk plastered on his face, "Was that rhetorical?"

With his face screwed up in aggravation, the guy—whom Toby assumed to be the parole officer—leaning over at the waist to get up close and personal with the blonde Brit. Toby didn't cower, merely cocking his brow in amusement, his eyes half-lidded. A snarl shaped the officer's lips as he spat out, "Are you stoned?"

"Generally-.... Yeah." Toby replied without missing a beat, "I'm getting there."

The man huffed, grumbling to himself, "Sod this" Looking between the two new recruits, his meaty hand grasped the door frame. Get changed into your jumpsuits. Tell those other rat bastards that I'll be there to introduce you later."

"Oh we don't get a tour?"

"You'll get another week added to your sentence if you don't shut it." The man barked before yanking the door open.

With a lazy roll of his eyes Toby walked listlessly inside, ahead of the other two. He made his way through, following the sound of voices to the locker room though he's served enough community services to know where it was by now. As he entered, he counted three boys and two girls. One of the boys had tanned skin and a small afro of dusty brown hair, he seemed to be looming over the pale raven-haired boy as if he'd just been pestering him. Toby wasn't too surprised, the kid wasn't much. A strong enough breeze would be enough to knock him over. As for the other boy, he was leaning against the lockers with an aura of friendliness that sparked Toby's curiosity. Why would his happy as be here? What'd he get charged for? Excessive happiness?The girls, much to Toby's delight, were a sight for sore eyes. The black girl was one of those pretty ones, with enough tits and ass to drive a young man crazy. The other, a ginger, was thinner with less to offer but she had a nice face on her. He might have to hit that before his service ended. Their conversation stopped as he entered but he offered no greeting except a curt nod and a smile.

He stripped down to his knickers immediately, standing in front of the locker that'd always been his that had thankfully not been taken. It was beside the happy fellow, who looked like he wanted to say something but didn't. Pulling on his jumpsuit, he looked through his locker for a hair tie, just to get his hair out of his face. When he didn't find it he frowned, turning to the red head. "You got a hair tie I could use, doll face?" Though she seemed unwilling to hand it over, she snagged one off of her wrist, handing it over with a scowl. He winked at her and pulled his hair back, his eyes following the gaze of everyone else as the only two finally made it in.

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Rae woke up with a sudden jolt, gasping for air to escape the water she had fallen into in her dream. Heart still pounding, Rae glanced over to her alarm clock. 6:00. As if on cue, the device blared to life. Groaning, she turned the siren off and crawled out of bed, sluggishly making her way to the bathroom. After her daily routine was over and she was dressed Rae quickly made her way outside. The August air would have been quite pleasant if she had not been wearing long sleeves, but she didn't give herself the option of short sleeves anymore. Anything that showed her scars had to be thrown out of her wardrobe or adapted.

By 8:00 A.M. she had made it to her new assigned place- the community center and was ushered over to a large black man. She introduced herself, but was cut off by the man. "I know who you are." Blushing, she looked to her shoes and then over to the Hispanic standing beside her. Part of her wondered why he was there, but the majority of her reminded her that she didn't care. Her brown hues stared at the ground, waiting for who she guessed was their officer to tell them what they were to do next. It wasn't long before another figure joined them... well, sort of joined them. Mostly barged past them, but close enough.

"So you're the other one then," the officer huffed. Rae took a moment to sneak a glance at the new arrival. His hair looked like golden silk, but his features were damn near gauntly. He had a certain look about him, a look that she knew well. That far-off gaze, that easy smile. She stiffened, and mentally made a note to stay away from this kid. He would be trouble for her. Already her alter ego was purring, soaking him up, and revealing at the promise that hung in the air around him. He knew where to get It... and by the look of his high, he knew where to get the good It. Rae dug her nails into her palms, forcing herself to look away from him and to the man who was shoving an obnoxiously orange jump suit into her hand.

Her mind finally jumped back onto the current page, picking up on their current conversation. The officer had asked if the late guy was stoned. What a stupid question, it was written all over his demeanor but.. maybe it wasn't obvious to everyone else. Just an ex-user, maybe. Ex-user. She smiled a little, and perhaps it looked like she was smiling at the boy's snappy comeback, but what she was actually smiling at was the thought she had conjured. Ex-user.Ex... as in, not anymore. Pride bubbled in her chest, but she forced herself to pay attention to what was happening around her. "Get changed into your jumpsuits. Tell those other rat bastards that I'll be there to introduce you later."

The man's tone caught her completely off guard. Did he really just--... "Oh we don't get a tour?" Rae's eyes snapped to the white boy, widening at his blatant disregard for authority. "You'll get another week added to your sentence if you don't shut it," the officer growled before yanking the door open for them. Rae rolled her eyes at his display of authority. It was completely unnecessary. The gauntly looking boy who hadn't bothered to give his name took off down the hall, as though he were on autopilot. Rae glanced cautiously over to the boy beside her and then followed after the blonde, assuming that where the boys changing room was there would be a girl's room.

There wasn't. As she rounded the corner after him she was met with possibly the most terrifying sign she had seen in a while. The stick figure girl was separated by a thin line from the stick figure boy. A unisex changing room. They have to be joking... The blonde had stepped through the door without hesitating; meanwhile, Rae stood glued to the spot. They couldn't be serious. Wasn't this breaking code? Cautiously, Rae stepped toward the door and gingerly pulled it open. In her arms she held her jumpsuit like a shield, prepared to avert or cover her eyes if the unexpected happened to be on the other side of the door. What she was met with shouldn't have surprised her, but for some reason it did. A group of mixed genders, mid-changing process, either ignored or looked up at her as she came in. "You got a hair tie I could use, doll face?" the blonde was saying when the door closed. A beautiful girl with red hair handed one over, but she didn't look too happy about it.

"Are there really no girl's only changing rooms?" Her voice seemed stable enough, though there was an obvious mix of nerves and distaste in her tone. "Of course there are," Nathan glanced up, sarcasm brewing in his voice and taking root in his expression. "They are in right next to the stripper and the unicorn you walked pass, mate." Rae locked her jaw, desperately trying to stop herself from playing the game. A million retorts bubbled up into her throat but she managed to swallow them. She wasn't that girl anymore. She was going to be good. Do her time, and get out. "Thanks," she managed to say. The urge to play his game tickled the back of her throat, but she turned away instead. That wasn't her anymore.

With a small sigh she hugged her orange suit a little closer and looked around, walking out from in front of the door in case someone needed to come in. As she walked she spotted a row of showers toward the back. Perfect. Rae made her way over to the showers and opened the curtains on one. Luckily there was a small space between the actual shower and the curtain, allowing a place for her to change without standing under the shower head. Rae pulled the curtain closed and looked down at the orange bundle in her hand. As if picking up trash wasn't bad enough.

She changed quickly and folded her clothes neatly. She pulled the curtain and walked back out to the lockers, selecting one a fair distance from everyone else. From her pocketbook she pulled out a padlock and clicked it onto her locker after putting her stuff inside. She thought about introducing herself but changed her mind after the last comment she got. It was better this way, anyway. If she didn't make friends, then she wouldn't be distracted; she could get her work done faster and the sentence would seem like it was over sooner. Brilliant. It would be just like the last place she worked at. Lonely and uncomfortable.

"Felix! Wake up!" His mother's voice shouted from outside his bedroom walls. Following her impatient(and inconsiderate attitude towards his need of sleep) words were multiple sounds of her fist banging against the door, demanding to be let in.
Opening an eye, the boy glanced at the clock and through hazy vision looked at the numbers staring back at him. 7:23AM. He still had plenty of time before he needed to roll out of bed.
"Felix, I am not joking. Get up! His mother insisted, this time sounding like she was full out attacking the poor door.
Felix groaned and shoved the blankets off of him. He was already awake now, there was clearly no point in trying to go back to sleep. "In a minute!" Felix snapped, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"No, now!"
"Okay, okay!" The boy gave in, rising to his feet and making his way over to let his mother inside the room. The moment the 'click' sounded, the doorknob turned and in burst the furious, scowling faced, wrinkle lined woman he occasionally was embarrassed to admit that raised him. At times Felix didn't understand why his father was still married to her, but he wasn't even going to begin questioning.
"You're late! Come on, I have your clothes ready for you." Monica said, grabbing her son's wrist and dragging him out into the main hallway of the house. Felix frowned and pulled his arm back. It was a nice thought, but he was eighteen and fairly sure he could pick out his clothing just fine. Besides, from what he knew of community service, he wouldn't get to wear the fancy shirt and dress pants anyway.

It took a bit of arguing, his mother's pleading for him not to go around in his pajamas, and a few reminders that jeans and t-shirts weren't really considered sleepwear, but in the end Monica Basilio won.
Off to community service Felix went, dressed in his fancy shirt, nice pants, and perfectly clean shoes.

He arrived at the South East Community Centre at 7:59AM, took a little bit of time to fix his shoelaces, and when he stood up again he saw an Asian girl and standing beside him.
Apparently he took a lot longer to tie his shoelaces than he thought.
The girl introduced herself as Rae to the dark skinned man who was glowering down at them, but he didn't seem very interested in who she was. Truthfully Felix wasn't either, but it was nice to know at least one person's name.
"I'm Felix." The boy said, flashing a friendly smile towards the girl.

Footsteps sounded behind the three of them and the dark man's scowl seemed to deepen, "So you're the other one then," he said, still no trace of joy to be detected in his voice. This guy was definitely the definition of friendly.
Felix casted a glance at the new arrival, and in one look he rolled his eyes and turned away. The blond was pathetic, not at all worth his time. The dark man, who Felix had just come to realize was their 'officer', asked if the newest arrival was high. It was a question that Felix chuckled at, but one cold glare from the officer shut him up. A second later, the officer was shoving an orange jumpsuit into his hands, "Get changed into your jumpsuits. Tell those other rat bastards that I'll be there to introduce you later." He snapped.
"Oh we don't get a tour?" The blond asked.
"You'll get another week added to your sentence if you don't shut it." The officer warned before yanking open the door to let them in.
The stoned white boy strolled on through, walking quicker than Felix and Rae and seemingly knowing where he was going. Felix caught the Asian glance at him, but quickly she followed after the blond.
Shrugging, Felix trailed behind the two.

Now, not a lot of things surprised mister-I-drive-cars-through-walls, but a unisex changing room was a bit on the unfamiliar side. Not that he minded, but Felix had at least thought there would have been some sort of barrier separating the two. However, the view in front of him told that his guess was wrong.
While Rae and the others began to chat, Felix got straight to finding a spot and switching in to the orange jumpsuit that was certain to catch eyes. Really he thought that the outfit was humiliating, but then he realized that that just might be the point.
Whatever, though. Community service wouldn't last too long.

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Charlotte eyed the new members of their little family, almost reassured when Nathan immediately showered the new girl in sarcasm at her idiotic question. Why would the girls be in here changing if there was a girls' locker room? Honestly, the ginger thought in revulsion, some people really didn't use their common sense. And why, for that matter, were there three newcomers instead of one? Wouldn't a replacement match the number of those being replaced? The lack of logic within these walls never ceased to amaze her. She turned to her locker and shut it with slight annoyance, still miffed about giving her hair tie to this guy who seemed to think he owned the place. After he pulled his hair back, Charlotte's eyes began cataloging all of the visible tattoos in an effort to ignore the other arrivals. She spent a few minutes in thought, ignoring everyone the best she could. A goody-two-shoes Asian trying to put her life back together wasn't her idea of good company. And as for the Hispanic boy, well, she'd learned the hallway what happens when she associates with some men in their group. Not that she thought Noah's incarceration was in any way related to her, but it was a weird coincidence that she couldn't help but feel self-conscience of. Better stick to talking to Dan, she decided with a disgruntled sigh. Or perhaps, she thought as she cut her gaze to the blonde in front of her, someone she wouldn't mind see leave.

"So what're you in for?" She inquired lightly, catching his attention.

A small smirk graced the blonde's thin lips as he scoffed, "More like what aren't I in for, rather." He turned to her completely, leaning up against the lockers with his arms crossed, "What about you?"

"Armed robbery." She stated simply, as if it were something trivial like the weather.

At her monotone reply, his clouded eye's glistened in amusement, a soundless laugh shaping his mouth into a full grin. He glanced into the corner where the Asian girl was putting a combination lock on the locker she chose and he smirked, nodding his head in her direction as he met Charlotte's unrelenting gaze, "Good thing she brought that then."

Charlotte simply shrugged, ignoring the girl completely, "I never steal anything without a gun."

"Nice," the blonde chuckled, nodding his approval, "I like a girl that can pack some heat. So what's your name, freckles?"

"Charlotte."

"I think I prefer freckles."

That irked her, "Well what's your name?"

"Toby." he replied. The amused glint in his eyes an indication that he knew where this was going.

"I prefer Cokehead, personally."

He shrugged nonchalantly, "That's only because you've never watched Roots." At this Charlotte cocked her brow, narrowing her eyes in question before the parole officer tramped through the door of the changing room like a herd of buffalo. No small feat, the ginger decided, even for a burly man such as himself.

"Alright maggots," He hollered in the small space, "Because I doubt that any of you bothered to learn the names of our new members, I'll tell you who they are. The girl's Rae and the Spaniard is Felix, or something like that."

Charlotte watched as Daniel snapped his attention from the blonde back to the parole officer, "But-...what about him? He's supposed to be here right? What's his name?"

The officer had opened his mouth to retort but the blonde beat him to the punch, interjecting with a laugh, "Go on Kyle, tell him." With his mouth he made a whipping noise, gesticulating to match the sound, "What's my name?" This he shouted with a toothy grin, clearly pleased with himself at some joke Charlotte didn't get.

"Toby." the parole officer spat, glaring daggers into the blonde. "We'll be picking up trash today in the park. I'll be waiting outside so don't hold me up." With that he turned on his heels and left the room, leaving silence in his retreat. Charlotte's eyes drifted over to Toby, her eyes doing the talking for her as she silently wondered what the hell was wrong with him.

He put on a meek face as he shrugged before stepping over the bench, leaning in close and muttering, "You've got to love his bedside manner."

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"So what're you in for?" The question caused Rae to pause as she finished at her locker. She made a point to stare straight at the metal, pretending to be uninterested even though she was.
"More like what aren't I in for, rather." It was the blonde haired boy who answered. "What about you?" Rae rolled her eyes and continued adjusting things in her locker.
"Armed robbery," the red head stated simply, as if they were asking each other about how their families were doing. "Good thing she brought that then." Rae didn't have to look up to know he was gesturing towards her as she locked her locker.

She slowly locked her jaw, refusing to say anything that might cause trouble. She wasn't that girl anymore, and she wouldn't start trouble here. She would be good, and she would put her life back together, damnit. "I never steal anything without a gun." The girl's answer was reassuring, at least. Besides, there wasn't anything worth stealing in the locker anyway. Rae sat down on the bench in front of her locker and rubbed her hands over her arms. It was strange having them exposed after so long of wearing long sleeves.

"Nice, I like a girl that can pack some heat. So what's your name, freckles?" She wanted to puke. What was it about community centers that did it for people? How could he be flirting with her in a place and time like this? Rae glanced up to the red head. "Charlotte." The look on her face gave Rae some comfort. At least she wasn't air-headed and falling for whatever crap the blonde was trying to pull. "I think I prefer freckles."
"Well what's your name?" "Toby." "I prefer Cokehead, personally." Rae smiled, unable to stop a small giggle. Immediately she pulled herself together. Whatever Toby had said in response was lost to her as the officer came barging in.

"Alright maggots," The officer yelled as he came in, "Because I doubt that any of you bothered to learn the names of our new members, I'll tell you who they are. The girl's Rae and the Spaniard is Felix, or something like that." Rae glanced up at her name, and felt a stab of anger as the officer refereed to Felix in such a rude way. So far, Felix had been the only one to show any sign of possible tolerance. She knew better than to hope for friends, but perhaps- her eyes cut across to the sarcastic one from earlier, the boy with messy dark hair- allies. She quickly directed her attention elsewhere, back to the officer. She didn't want to start anything with the sarcastic boy. He looked skinny and small, but in her experience that didn't mean shit. It meant he would be the first to throw a punch. "Toby."

Rae glanced over to Toby as the inside of her left arm started to itch. "We'll be picking up trash today in the park. I'll be waiting outside so don't hold me up." Her attention drifted back to the officer as he left the room. Rae knew that in any other situation it would be time to learn the names of everyone else in the room, but she couldn't bring herself to ask. Was it that she didn't care, or was it that she didn't want to test her temper with the smart-ass remarks that would inevitably follow any other questions she posed to the group.

Feeling uncomfortable and out of place, Rae ran her hands over her bare arms. She felt exposed and heat began to rise in her cheeks. The jumpsuit was short sleeved and left her scars unprotected. Crossing her arms in an effort to hide the insides of her elbows, Rae turned to Felix. "Hey. Felix, right? I've seen you somewhere... on the news.. Are you that guy that drove a car into the mall?" Her tone was curious if anything, with possibly a hint of awe. It was the type of thing you saw in movies, but certainly not something that came up in real life. It sounded like something off of Grand Theft Auto or Fast and Furious.

"Sorry," she added after a beat, glancing to the door, "it's none of my business." Glancing around at everyone else in the room, she tried to think of how they all got there even though she had no plan to ask. "Guess we should get going.. no point in delaying the inevitable.." she muttered, more to herself than to anyone else. With a sigh she went to the door and stepped outside to wait with the officer.