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Outcast Boulevard

Setting

Default Location for Outcast Boulevard
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Minimap

Outcast, USA is a part of Outcast Boulevard.

8 Characters Here

Jessa Van Zandt [48] "It's just another chapter in my life I'd really like to skip."
Zack Turriff [42] "Just shut up and toss me another smoke."
Aspen Rivera [17] No matter what I just need to know you'll be okay.
Skyler Gateway [15] Can't keep going on like this. I don't know how much more pain I can take.
Brea Love [6]
Luke Oliver Chrest [5] He loves her... but she's standing in the way of his future...

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Setting

6 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Greyson Fairbaine Character Portrait: Jessa Van Zandt Character Portrait: Emma Papielle Character Portrait: Zack Turriff Character Portrait: Skyler Gateway Character Portrait: Aspen Rivera
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"I've kind of been here the whole time," Jessa teased Skyler. "Don't worry. I've been having an off day too." She shrugged.

From the sound of it, Grey was having a shitty day too. This day was just full of shitness. When her cigarette had reached its end, she immediately started another one. It appeared that they really helped with the nausea. Funny. You'd think they would make it worse, but she just kept breathing in their toxic air.

The conversation betweent a girl who was supposedly named Emma and Grey had caught her attention, and she had been listening to it for the last few minutes. She felt no shame in eavesdropping if she thought her family might be in trouble. And everyone currently residing in the house was her family. She felt more of an attachment to them than the thing growing inside of her.

She looked over at Aspen when she said she was willing to talk to her now. That was much sooner than Jess had expected. She really didn't have time to mentally prepare for the news she was about to break. But hell. She'd never be mentally prepared, she might as well rip it off like a band aid.

"Sure. I can talk now. But you might want to bring a beer, because you're definitely gonna need it for what I'm about to tell you, " She said, causing her to glance over at Zack. God, he didn't have a care in the world. If only he knew about the baby. Maybe then she could let him freak out and she could just calm down for a little while. Ha. Like that would ever happen.

Setting

2 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Greyson Fairbaine Character Portrait: Emma Papielle
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There was so much stillness, so much quiet in the room. Aside from a few of his outburst, there wasn't much yelling, or freaking out. Nothing was thrown across the room, and they'd managed not to call each other any derogatory names. Maybe that meant something. Or it was probably just in their personalities. Even if they had a few differences, their personalities were kind of similar. That's was probably how they got it to work back then. Back when he was child-less. With that in mind, he wished things between them weren't so tense. Greyson really wished they could both walk up to each other with a smile, and just be friends, at least.

"Colby," he mumbled, more to himself than an actual acknowledgement of Emma's words. He slowly nodded at the name, wondering how long after she'd named Colby that she decided to come and find him. It was an interesting name, he guessed. Grey had never met anyone with that name. And it sounded kind of like Kobe, as in Bryant. With luck, Colby might end up being a basketball player and turn out to be worth it after all. Greyson bit his lip - who was he kidding, neither he or Emma were that tall. One other name could disrupt his thoughts, though. Tyler. Where had he heard that name before? It was too familiar to belong to a new boyfriend. Her brother? Yeah, that had to be it. Grey didn't remember ever hanging out with her brother much. They'd occasionally had a few conversations, and Grey was sure Tyler knew his name. Wait... so did she give Colby his middle name because of Tyler?

Greyson pulled his shoes back on. "Um... I guess," he stood back up and tried to gather his words. "I guess we should go see him, then," he looked at her, almost questioning. It seemed like the right step to take.

And he never noticed the park right down the street from The Firehouse.

Grey walked passed her, waving her to follow him. He went down the stairs and glanced in the kitchen on his way to the door. He couldn't have been the only one was having one of those off days. He walked out the front door and waited for Emma.

Setting

2 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Greyson Fairbaine Character Portrait: Jessa Van Zandt
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Zack shifted uncomfortably on the countertop. Not only was Greyson looking uncomfortable in the other room, but the tension in the kitchen was unbearable. Zack quickly gulped the cold beer down and jumped off the counter to grab another. He pulled the beer out of the freezer and slunk off to the tiny bathroom in the firehouse. He had always felt left out, as a child and a teenager, but lately more-so at the firehouse. The displeasure between Jessa and himself was only growing and his relationships with the others seemed to be crumbling before his eyes. An outcast among outcasts, the irony made Zack smirk to himself.

He made his way down the hallway towards the bathroom and found it unoccupied. With his beer in hand he peered down the hallway to see if anyone noticed him and then quietly locked the bathroom door behind him. Zack set the bottle of beer down on the edge of the tub and sighed. He peered at himself in the mirror and ran his hand through his hair. His eyes had dark rings under them and his skin was pale. He frowned and quickly fished around in his back pocket for his pack of smokes. He opened the pack and pulled out a smoke and pressed it between his pale lips, letting the smoke sit there unlit.

Zack pressed his ear against the hard door of the bathroom before crouching down and prying a loose tile from the corner of the bathroom floor After removing the tile, Zack fit his hand into the small opening and produced a tiny vile along with a dollar bill and his old chewed up credit card. He stood up and opened the vile after placing the other two items on the edge of the sink. Fuck it all...Zack thought inwardly as he spread the contents of the vile along the window sill and began to separate the powder into thin lines. He pulled the smoke from his mouth and placed the rolled up dollar bill into his left nostril. All thoughts of being alone and unwanted faded with the euphoric feeling that soon arrived.

The sound of footsteps climbing stairs made Zack jolt as he quickly shoved the items back into his hiding spot. He grabbed the remaining beer from the side of the tub, lit his cigarette and proceeded to his room. Zack gently kicked open the door to his room and flopped down on the cool mattress. His hands wandered over to the nightstand beside him as he grabbed his mp3 player and slid on the headphones. Soft brown eyes peered at the ceiling while smoke filled the small room. Zack's mind began to silently wander as loud music filled his ears. What would it like feel like to not be alone?

Setting

4 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Jessa Van Zandt Character Portrait: Zack Turriff Character Portrait: Skyler Gateway Character Portrait: Aspen Rivera
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"Sure. I can talk now. But you might want to bring a beer, because you're definitely gonna need it for what I'm about to tell you."
"Oh yeah? Okay then..." Aspen was a little unsure now, hoping this wasn't anything too severe. Sure, she loved the fact that people trusted her but no one had ever faced her with a situation that was extremely overwhelming. She wasn't sure how it would feel to know about something but at the same time know she couldn't do anything about it, it probably felt pretty awful. She'd just have to do whatever she could and do her best.
Her attention shifted away for just a second as she watched Zack get up and leave without a word. It was kinda weird how him and Jessa were pretty much avoiding each other. She looked at Jessa carefully to see her reaction to him leaving, but her expression was blank and hard to see through, like she had built up a wall or something.
"Well, we could stay here to talk I guess." She looked at Skyler who was still appeared to be deep in thought and completely preoccupied, "Or we could go into the yard." Aspen felt kinda bad about leaving Skyler when there was obviously something wrong with him as well, but Jessa was needing someone to talk to and actually willing to admit it. Aspen could hear her out first, then assuming that the news wasn't too extreme, go back soon enough and maybe get Skyler to talk to her. She mentally wished herself luck with that one, in a sarcastic way.

Setting

2 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Greyson Fairbaine Character Portrait: Emma Papielle
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Emma nodded slowly as Greyson suggested they go see Colby. She watched him walk out of the room, a little shocked. He hadn't said anything other than "don't you think you should have told me. Was that all he had to say? Did he really care that little? If that was the case, then why was he meeting Colby at all? She followed him back down the stairs past the kitchen and out the door, the untouched bottle of water still in her hand.

She walked slowly towards the park, still contemplating the idea of turning and running. How would Greyson react to seeing Colby? Was he upset about the name? Would he try to fight for custody? Would Colby like him better? Then again, there was also the possibility that he might just send them away without another word. Somewhere deep down in her heart Emma still hoped that they could just go back to the way things used to be, even though Greyson was making it pretty clear that wasn't going to happen. Would he be this cold to her in front of Colby?

Greyson. His name felt strange in her mouth. He had always been Grey to her, but that felt far too personal. She barely knew him anymore. Still, 'Greyson' seemed too formal.

As they walked up to the fence Emma stopped. She could see Tyler sitting on a bench with his back to them a few feet a way. Colby came flying down the slide, laughing uncontrollably as another little boy came down after him. She smiled, watching him play, and for a moment Emma completely forgot about the man standing next to her.

"That's him, right there," she said, "the little boy getting off the slide." It didn't occur to her that there were two little boys on the slide at first, but then she quickly added, "the one in the red shirt."

She was a little scared to see Greyson's reaction, but she looked over anyways, studying his face.

Setting

4 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Jessa Van Zandt Character Portrait: Zack Turriff Character Portrait: Skyler Gateway Character Portrait: Aspen Rivera
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She watched Aspen and Skyler, studying them for what felt like hours but was only a few minutes. She had heard Greyson leave and Zack was doing Lord knows what. Did she mind if Skyler knew? Would he tell Zack? At the moment she wasn't entirely sure, but she wasn't sure she cared either. She hopped up on the counter next to Aspen and shrugged.

"Here is...fine I guess." She looked back at Skyler as she said this. "As long as you both promise not to judge me because I'm really freaking the fuck out right now, and that's the last thing I need." Jessa was shaking visibly and it felt like she was about to burst. She took another drag of the cigarette, wishing the nicotine would calm her more. She bit her lip and ran a hand through her long, wavy hair. What she could really use right now was her guitar. God, why hadn't she brought it down with her like she usually would? Oh right. She had been to busy in the bathroom to think about it.

She took a deep breath and looked at Aspen, then to Skyler, with tear filled eyes. She was really about to fall apart. She never fell apart about things happening in the present. It was always the past that got to her. This feeling, this fear, was all new to her and she was going at it alone. "Zack and I...we slept together you know? Fuck. I'm sure you all know that much. I don't know what's going on. I feel like it fucked up everything. But that's not even the bad part. I mean the sex was great or whatever." She was rambling now, like she always did when she was nervous.

Jessa was crying now.

"But I'm pregnant. Holy shit. I'm pregnant and I don't want to be a mom. And how am I supposed to tell him? It's like we're strangers now. I don't think I'm going to tell him."

Setting

2 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Greyson Fairbaine Character Portrait: Emma Papielle
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Greyson didn't say anything as they walked down the street. His hands hanging limp by his sides, Emma didn't say anything either. He gave her a few glances as they made their way to the park, but he didn't feel like words were the best thing right now. Not that he had any. If he was this silent now, what was he suppost to say to Colby? Hey, it's your dad. No, really. You just don't recognize me because I took off two years ago. He rolled his eyes at his own thought, not aware that they were at the park until Emma stopped at the fence. He could see Tyler - he was sure the guy sitting on the bench was Tyler. There were a couple different kids at the park, and he wasn't sure which one was... his.

The one in the red shirt. Red shirt, red shirt. Grey locked his eyes onto the kid and leaned onto the fence at the same time. So that was Colby? The boy seemed happy enough as he made his way down the slide. If that other boy was a new friend of his, at least that meant he wasn't shy. Grey always felt weird around shy people. Why not speak? He chewed on the inside of his cheek. He still didn't understand why Emma bothered to come find him. Colby had a mom, he had his uncle. Grey wasn't sure how 'involved' her parents were, but Colby seemed happy enough without him. Grey doubted the kid even asked about who or where his dad was.

Then again, he was only two. Not even old enough to go to school and get asked the question of where his dad was by a stranger. Thinking about it, Grey figured Emma would've met someone else by that point. If Colby wasn't calling him dad, he could at least say his mom had a boyfriend. That's close to a dad, right?

Grey wasn't sure how long he had been silently staring, but the fact that he hadn't said anything suddenly came to him. "We did a good job - he's pretty cute," he shrugged, not in the mood to laugh, but feeling okay enough to crack a joke. Even so, he wasn't sure whether or not to go up to Colby and introduce himself, or try to repair the tension between himself and Emma first. Kids were smart. He was sure the boy would pick up the uneasiness between him and Emma, and that wouldn't be a good first impression. Still, he didn't want to keep her waiting, or Tyler, now that he remembered the guy being there. Though, Tyler wouldn't mind watching Colby a little longer, he hoped. Grey didn't feel like meeting him anymore, at least not right now. And he wasn't sure how the brother would feel about seeing the has-been boyfriend who left his sister.

He felt like getting some food. He had some cash in his pocket. "Want to go get something to eat? I'd invite them along, but I think you and I both know we have no idea how to go about this. Me meeting Colby, that is." Grey didn't want to admit he was somehow nervous about the whole thing. Or was she a step ahead of the game and already knew? "If you wanted, though, they could tag along."

He looked over at her. "Or are you leaving now that the big surprise if over with?"

Setting

2 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Greyson Fairbaine Character Portrait: Emma Papielle
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Emma couldn't quite read Greyson's expression, but she was glad she had stopped at the fence rather than walking right up to Colby. She picture Greyson just staring at the little boy, not speaking as Colby pulled on his pant leg or something. She laughed silently at the thought as Greyson made a joke about doing a good job. Yeah, we did great she thought, made a baby and then broke up.

She was a little relieved and a little horrified at the same time when he said he didn't want to meet Colby yet. He'd hit it spot on though, she had absolutely no idea how to go about it. Luckily, neither Colby nor Tyler had spotted them yet. Talking things over definitely sounded like the best option. She had hoped they could do that right away, but somehow everything had been so silent in his room. She told herself it was just shock, but wasn't convinced.

"Or are you leaving now that the big surprise is over with?"

"I'm not the one that left Greyson." Emma said, a little colder than she meant to. Those words weren't supposed to leave her mouth at all, but it was too late to take them back. She wanted to add and I'm the stupid one that didn't chase after you, but it wouldn't come out. Perfect. She was making such a mess of everything. The situation itself was messy, but Emma wasn't helping in the least.

"I didn't mean that." she said softly, knowing it wouldn't fix anything.

He doesn't want to talk to you anymore. Just let him be. Don't ruin his life like this she thought. Nothing was working out right. She desperately wanted to just curl up in a ball and cry for the first time in months, but that wasn't going to happen. Emma turned away from the park, leaning her back against the fence. You should have just said 'yeah, let's go get something to eat' and smiled and kept your mouth shut. she thought.

Setting

2 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Greyson Fairbaine Character Portrait: Emma Papielle
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Greyson gripped the fence as if she'd just shot him or something. He didn't even hear that last part about her not meaning it. Grey stared down at the ground, not sure what to do. She's not the one who left, huh? Well, he's not the one who screwed the other over. Fucking bitch, who was she to try and use that against him? She didn't seem to want anything to do with him back then. And if a relationship isn't going anywhere, what sense did it make to stay with the other?

What sense did it make to stay here?

"I left for a reason," Grey straightened up suddenly, looking right at her, his voice taking on a new harshness. He couldn't bring himself to call her any names out loud, but he had enough to say about her. His fist were clenched at his side and he blanked out for a moment. Should he stay here? Should he leave? Grey looked around, trying not to even look in her direction. Yeah, he'd go and buy himself a burger or something. Get hid mind off of this mess. I'm not the one that left, Greyson. Gosh, he couldn't even get that statement out of his head. He wouldn't have left if it wasn't for her. Didn't she know that?

Or this was a good thing. She'd been tight-lipped and kept her mouth shut the entire time. No deep comment, simple answers, stuttering and looking like a wreck. Now he knew what was going on in her head, a little. Was she trying to make him feel guilty now? He had no idea that kid even existed before today. No. Grey wasn't going to feel guilty for not being there for the kid he just now found out about. He definitely wasn't going to feel bad for leaving her.

"I don't even know why the heck you bothered to come back," he scoffed, though his voice was low. He turned and walked straight off. He wasn't going in the direction of anything in particular, just trying to get away.

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Character Portrait: Greyson Fairbaine Character Portrait: Emma Papielle
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"Grey" she said quietly. Her voice cracked badly as she said it.

"Grey please-" Emma said, walking after him. Why had she come back? What had she expected, that he would just take her into his strong arms and everything would be okay again? There were no words to explain, but she knew she wouldn't get another chance.

She finally caught up to him, gently placing a hand on his arm. "Grey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that, I don't know what I'm talking about. I know I'm the last person you ever wanted to see again, but please just listen to me. I was so young, and terrified, and I'm not all that much older now, but I'm braver. I'm stronger. I should have found you sooner. No, I shouldn't have let you go in the first place. You were the best thing to ever happen to me and I forced you out of my life." Emma said. She looked up at him for a moment before continuing, "and I know you don't want to hear any of this, but I need to say it. Colby is just as much your son as he is mine and I have no right to keep him from you."

She took a deep breath. Emma hadn't stopped thinking about Greyson since the day he left. She hadn't had another boyfriend since, and she didn't want one. She wanted him.

"Now," she said looking straight up into his eyes, "what happens next is completely up to you. If you never want to see me again, that's fine. You have ever right to be mad, I've messed up your life enough. It's okay, I hate me too." Her insides were about to burst, but Emma kept her voice steady, her expression unreadable, and her body still. There was nothing left for her to say.

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Skyler looked at Jessa for a moment seeing what she was trying to say. When she finished talking to them, it almost wanted him to tell them he had cancer and he didn't have the money to pay for the damn treatment, why couldn't the treatment for cancer be free? He barely realised that he was looking down holding the clothes that covered the burning pain sensation in his chest that had been hurting when he was at the clinic. Looking back up at her he patted her shoulder,"Look Jessa, your only going to feel worse if you don't tell him. I would want to know." Smiling trying to comfort her,"Don't cry, everything's going to be alright, you just have to believe everything will work out in the end."

Not knowing if that had helped at all he looked over at Aspen to see what she was going to say, since she was the same gender, she would probably tell her some good advice, he never had been in a situation like this songs doesn't really know much about pregnancy or anything about babies. He felt kind of sick right now, not of the situation but, his physical health. Gripping the clothes that hid the pain, in his chest,"You'll probably feel better if you tell him." Nodding to himself on his own agreement he put his hand on his forehead and finished his third drink, starting on the fourth one.

Man, some people were having problems and he didn't even know it. Well, it was okay to know theirs, but never his, it always seemed like he never had a problem because he always hid it with happiness, which made everything worse. Drinking some more of the beer he dubbed the back of his neck and looked back at Jessa.

Setting

4 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Jessa Van Zandt Character Portrait: Zack Turriff Character Portrait: Skyler Gateway Character Portrait: Aspen Rivera
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Jessa watched Skyler, noticing something was wrong with him. Maybe she should have asked what was going on in his world, rather than spilling her own word vomit all over the place. That would have been the polite thing to do but she was too involved in her own world to think that way. In her head, she made this another reason she wouldn't be a good mother: selfishness. She liked her party every day lifestyle and wasn't ready to settle down. But she brushed these thoughts aside and choked back her tears, drying her own eyes - though the pat on the shoulder from Skyler certainly helped. "Yeah, but...Neither of us want to be parents, I don't think. I could just go to a free clinic, get rid of it, and he would never have to know. It wouldn't be better that way, wouldn't it?" An abortion could end this in a couple of hours, and she'd never have to think about it again.

"Are you okay? Do you need like...some aspirin or something?" She couldn't help but notice the way he was holding his chest, but maybe he was just drunk with bad heart burn. Or maybe this was just another situation Aspen would hear about. Obviously, Jessa trusted her enough to spill her own emotional garbage on. Maybe the others in the house did too...but that had to put a lot on her. Poor girl. Jessa leaned her head on Aspen's shoulder, waiting for her advice as well. If nothing else, at least two people knew now, they were two good people.

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(I'm going to switch my post above yours ^^)

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Character Portrait: Jessa Van Zandt Character Portrait: Skyler Gateway Character Portrait: Aspen Rivera
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(Missed a couple of posts, so I'll be tackling a few at a time here...)

"Here is...fine I guess." Jessa said as she hopped up next to Aspen on the counter. Aspen nodded as Jessa looked at Skyler and said, "As long as you both promise not to judge me because I'm really freaking the fuck out right now, and that's the last thing I need."
"Of course I'm not going to judge you." she said softly as she looked at Jessa her gaze gentle, but attentive. She realized Jessa was close to tears so she reached over and squeezed her hand reassuringly before putting an arm around her shoulders to comfort her.
Jessa told them about her and Zack, and how she was pregnant but didn't want to be, and how she also didn't want to tell Zack. Aspen just rubbed her back comfortingly and let her cry on her shoulder while Skyler spoke, saying "Look Jessa, your only going to feel worse if you don't tell him. I would want to know." Aspen nodded in silent agreement, she didn't see how internalizing things would help, at all.
"Yeah, but...Neither of us want to be parents, I don't think. I could just go to a free clinic, get rid of it, and he would never have to know. It wouldn't be better that way, wouldn't it?" Jessa said.
Aspen shook her head slightly and let out a small sigh, knowing Jessa wouldn't like what Aspen was about to say, "He has the right to know Jess... it's just as much his kid as it is yours. The best thing to do is talk to him and make an agreement together... It's not going to be easy, but just trying to get away with this the easy way isn't always what makes you feel better and it's not always what's best in the end." she squeezed Jessa's shoulder lightly in reassurance, "Don't worry, I won't tell Zack for you, or pressure you into telling him, I can stay out of this if you want, that's just my input on it. It might be the hardest thing to do, but sometimes taking the easy way out is the worst choice in the long run. I know you'll do the right thing." she gave her a hug and when she pulled away shifted her gaze to Skyler who was starting his forth drink.
"Are you okay? Do you need like...some aspirin or something?" she heard Jessa ask him.
"I was wondering the same thing, actually. You doing okay?" Aspen asked, looking at him as concern creased the delicate features of her face.

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Skyler smiled at the two as they asked him if he was okay,"Yea.. I-I'm okay, it's nothing serious, I don't need any aspirin." It won't work for this type of sickness, and he couldn't afford the drug either,"This is about you, don't worry about me, you should tell him Jessa," He nodded again in agreement and looked down at the beer his own vision was doubling the things around him. Taking another sip of his drink, he held his chest, it seemed like everytime he 

The world started to spin he shook his head softly making sure they didn't notice. It felt as if his head was bringing him into his second mode of the day."You know? You two are good people and I know you both can keep a secret!" Not even knowing what he was saying,"Forget the aspirin, let's talk about our problems," Standing up he kind of wobbled but, he regained his legs.

"Now I'm going to tell you both something shocking, okay?" He said that while making a gasping noise,"But. You have to promise not to tell, this is huge if you tell I can not trust you anymore." He nodded, not for sure what to say so he decided to pick up a random thing in his brain and just say it out of his mouth. But, his body wouldn't let him stay and talk to them, starting to walk out of the firehouse, wobbling, then again walking slowly away from it.

Setting

4 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Greyson Fairbaine Character Portrait: Jessa Van Zandt Character Portrait: Emma Papielle Character Portrait: Skyler Gateway
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"Close your eyes, and forget your name, step outside yourself, and let your thoughts drain, as you go insane... go insane!" The loud screams of Slayer blasted Zack's inner ear drums. He shifted uncomfortably beneath the covers, the effects of the drug were already beginning to wear off and Zack craved more. His mind raced as he thought about his friends in the room below him. He was sure Jess hated him by now, the way he had been blatantly ignoring her lately. He couldn't wrap his mind around the fact he had slept with her and presumably ruined their previous existing relationship. It's not like he hadn't had sex sure, he'd been having sex long before he should have been but with someone he was close to, not ever. Having sex with a random stranger was easy, you met, fucked, woke up the next morning and left, never having to see each other again, but this was different. Zack couldn't leave so easily this time and he regretted it.

The unwanted thoughts kept reaping his mind as he turned the music up as loud as the mp3 player would allow it to go but it only made his mind wander further. Zack grabbed the headphones and tossed them on the side of the bed as he stood up, grabbed his wallet from the nightstand and made his way downstairs. As he passed the kitchen/living area, he heard sobs from the other room. It was undoubtedly the sound of Jessa crying. Zack hung his head, figuring he must be the cause of her pain. He quickly pulled his hood over his head and exited the front door without waiting to see if anyone had noticed him.

The sun was still shining brightly as Zack made his way down the street. His mind quickly wandered back to his friends. He felt bad about Jess but he knew he was not the type of person anyone could ever be with more than once. He was trash, an addict, a dealer; he wasn't capable of living a normal life. He was surprised anyone accepted him at all, though he was greatful to have his family at the firehouse. He was never close to anyone, but had started to open up towards Jessa and Skyler over the time he had stayed with them, though lately Zack had even kept his distance from Skyler. Zack was worried about his friend, he had been acting strange himself lately, but Zack was never good with words, he figured if something was wrong, Skyler would have tell him.

Zack's body seemed to be on autopilot while his thoughts were elsewhere because as he made his way through the park near the firehouse, he felt a thud against his legs. Seeming to snap out of his mind, he peered down at the small body that had run into his legs. A young boy with light-blonde hair and a bright red shirt peered up at him with questioning eyes. The boy had clearly not been watching where he was running and had ran straight into Zack.

Zack extended his hand gently helping the young boy to his feet. "You alright there buddy? You had quite a fall there." Zack asked the boy, making sure he wasn't hurt. The young boy smiled widely and nodded as he scrambled back on his feet. Zack grinned back down at him and ruffled the boys hair as if to reassure him. "Alright, just be more careful next time." he said. "Okay!" The child exclaimed as he ran back towards the slide nearby. Zack watched the boy resume playing happily and sighed. If only his mind allowed him to be as naïve.

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Character Portrait: Jessa Van Zandt Character Portrait: Zack Turriff Character Portrait: Skyler Gateway Character Portrait: Aspen Rivera
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She smiled contentedly as her friends comforted her, feeling slightly better than she had before. They were great, the people who lived here. Despite what everyone else on the block might think. They might have been hooligans, drugs dealers, and prostitutes, but at the end of the day they were all good people. Just trying to find a way to survive in this fucked up world, a world that chewed people up and spit them out without mercy, without care.

Jessa understood what they were saying, that she should tell Zack. She didn't have to go through this alone, they were both equally at fault for what had conspired...but part of her, the part that had always been alone - wanted to remain independent. She wanted to deal with it herself, live with what fate had dealt her, and go on about her daily life. It was the way things had always been for her. Since before she ever found refuge at the Firehouse.

She watched a clearly very drunk Skyler stood up. Oh goodness, this was going to be interesting. She could feel it. At least it would be a good distraction...right? Whatever it was, Jessa was clearly happy that the attention had turned off of her and onto him.

"Alright, Sky. Talk about your problems. It's your turn to speak in our Life Sucks Anonymous club." She smiled, lighting up yet another cigarette. What did cigarettes do to babies? She wasn't entirely sure.

"Are you okay, dude? You're kinda drunk...Are you sure you want to spill your guts?"

Jessa raised an eyebrow at him, wondering if this was just going to be some wild made up story about angry midgets in clown outfits or something. She glanced over at Aspen, wondering how she was taking all this.

"I just told you all my secrets. I'm sure I can keep a few of yours." She shrugged, taking a drag.

She heard the door open, and watched as Zack left the house. Obviously, she wouldn't be telling him anything anytime soon. She nibbled at the bottom of her lip, fiddling with the guitar pick that she had hung around her neck as a necklace.

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All Aspen wanted was to know if Skyler was okay and what was bothering him so much. She sighed as he walked out, "I guess I'll go follow him." she said, more to herself then to Jessa. "I'll be right back, okay?" she straightened up her posture and she got off the counter and headed out the door. Once she was outside and she had closed the door behind her, she jogged after Skyler. When she caught up with him a few seconds later, she grabbed his hand to stop him from walking away any more then led him to sit down next to her on the curb of the sidewalk. She looked at him, trying to figure him out, "Please Skyler, I just want to help... I try to be there for everyone but you never ever let me be there for you." she sighed and looked him in the eyes closely.

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Looking at her for a period of time,"You don't want to be bothered with my problems," He said as he turned his head away,"It's boring anyways, who would want to hear my problems? No one! I wouldn't even want t-to hear my own." Looking into her eyes again,"But, I'm going to tell you something very, I mean very funny, you can't tell anyone, if you do I can't trust you anymore." He said slurring some of his words.

Looking down and holding his clothed chest,"I went to the clinic for a check up, because I started to feel this burning pain in my chest, it turns out," He coughed in his arm and looked back at her,"Turns out that, this is the funny part, that I have stage 4 lung cancer." He started to laugh so dumbly, he wiped the laughing tears out of the corner of his eyes. "It get worse and worse, but I'll be alright! I can't afford for the treatment anyways, so might as well as just sit here and live my last days here. Remember it's a secret, hush." Making a shushing noise at her he chuckled some more and smiled at her.

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Character Portrait: Jessa Van Zandt Character Portrait: Zack Turriff
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To be honest, Jessa was relieved with Skyler walked out. Not because she wasn't concerned for him, because she definitely was, but she knew a thing or two about wanting to keep some things private. When he was ready to tell her, he would. Simple as that. She wasn't about to force it out of him...and him walking out gave her an excuse to go outside and look for Zack. It wasn't that she wanted to go look for him, she needed to. She had to talk to him, she had to tell him about what was going on. As much as she hated to admit it, she had to make him part of this.

But part of her, a very large part of her, was screaming at her to remain independent. To leave him out of any decision because that was what was best for her and for him. That was the way she had originally learned to deal with things. She kept them to herself - aside from the occasional breakdown, i.e. the kitchen.

Before she left the house, the first thing she did was grab her guitar. She refused to go anywhere without that thing. Music and that guitar were her life, without them she would have died a long, long time ago. They kept her sane. Music was her escape, while the guitar was a physical security blanket. Protecting her from the outside world and all of the people in it. Her grandfather had given her the guitar when she had turned thirteen and she had kept it with her ever since. Every bad memory and every good one were stored into it, like a flash drive of her life. Plus...if she didn't find him she could always make a few bucks playing some songs on a street corner.

After she had gotten herself together, she went to comb the streets. It wasn't hard to find him, as there wasn't much to do in this damn town. She had watched as a little boy had run into him, watched the way he dealt with it...And it had all been very sweet. It was almost enough to make her smile. Almost enough.

She took a deep breath, trying to decide on how to approach him, trying to decide if she had enough courage to do so. After a few moments of this she had finally gathered enough to walk up to him. When she had finally gotten close enough, she reached out and put a hand on his arm.

"Hey Zack?" She said with a frown. "We need to talk."

Of course that was the most awkward phrase she could have used, but at this point...did it really matter? Their relationship was literally fucked, and everything had been awkward since then. He had been ignoring her and she had been avoiding him. Now it was time for her to be a big girl, a grown up, whatever, and tell him what was going on.

"And you're not going to like what I have to say." She added on as an after thought.

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Character Portrait: Skyler Gateway Character Portrait: Aspen Rivera
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Aspen returned Skyler's gaze steadily, wondering what he had to tell her, wondering if he even would tell her at all. "You don't want to be bothered with my problems," Skyler said finally, looking away.
"I followed you out here, didn't I?" she pointed out to him, "Obviously I care, so don't even try that one. Come on... Whatever it is, I'm sure I can help."
"It's boring anyways, who would want to hear my problems? No one! I wouldn't even want t-to hear my own." Skyler said as Aspen sighed quietly to herself. She might as well just give up, because if there was anything she learned during her life it's that you can't be there for everyone, not all the time, and sometimes it was best to just walk away. But for some reason, she had a feeling this was important, this wasn't just a situation she could avoid and watch it pass by. She looked at Skyler carefully as he kept on talking, nodding quietly as he went on about how she couldn't tell anyone. Then, finally, came the big news. The gentle, caring look on Aspen's face slowly turned to one of disbelief as Skyler said, "Turns out that, this is the funny part, that I have stage 4 lung cancer." he said it in such a passive way that Aspen almost missed it, but then when he said nothing else, she realized he had just told her. She blinked a few times as her eyes widened.
How could he be so indifferent about this? Already Aspen felt like she wanted to burst into tears and just cry for the rest of the day, but for some reason Skyler laughed like it was all a joke and then continued as Aspen looked at him with misty eyes.
"It get worse and worse, but I'll be alright! I can't afford for the treatment anyways, so might as well as just sit here and live my last days here. Remember it's a secret, hush." He laughed some more and smiled at Aspen, but her jaw had dropped in disbelief and she looked at him with bewilderment, not even sure what to say, she was at a total loss for words, "Oh my God... You're joking, right? You have to be joking..." she said in a small, trembling voice. Of course she knew he wasn't joking, but how could he take this so lightly? Didn't he realize there was people who would never be the same without him in their lives? Aspen knew of at least one person, and currently that person was sitting across from Skyler, looking at him with desperate eyes. How could he not realize how much she cared about him and liked him, possibly even loved him? Did he really expect she could just stand by and watch him die without doing a thing about it?

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Skyler looked at Aspen and patted her back,"No, I went to a clinic and everything but, even though there is a way you can cure it, it's just cost too much to pay back. I'm sorry if it's not believable but, it's the truth." Looking down for a while his vision was blurry so he didn't know where he was at, at the moment, he walked back inside the firehouse and jumped down on the couch. Holding his clothed chest again as he stared at the -probably if he could see- the white ceiling above him.

Out of all the people in the world, he was dying, he was dying. Dying of a very common killer to half the people on the planet, he was dying of type four lung cancer which was the worst stage to have. It was spreading, the doctor said it was spreading but, if he had the treatment he would not be worried about all this at the moment. Putting his hand on top of his head he closed his eyes hoping that the pain would last for to night and he would be in a better place. He couldn't pay for it, he didn't have anymore money, he wouldn't even go back to his very crazy and vey rich family members to get help. No never would he or will he get help from them, when all they care about is luxury and fame, they probably wouldn't even cry if he had died tomorrow morning. It was alright because he was never going back to the place he spent his whole childhood in, never would he want to.

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Character Portrait: Greyson Fairbaine Character Portrait: Jessa Van Zandt Character Portrait: Emma Papielle Character Portrait: Zack Turriff
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Grey felt shivers go down his spine as she put a hand on his arm and tried to stop him. He didn't have time to shake her hand off before she started rambling and spilling word-vomit all over. How she was sorry, didn't know what she was doing, and he was the best thing to ever happen in her life. He stared ahead, refusing to look at her. Should he? What was he suppost to say in response? Greyson didn't even think she felt all of that. He assumed she came back for money, and when that was proven wrong, he wasn't even sure what the motive was. Angry, confused. There was nothing left to yell, nothing left to say involuntarily. He heard her take a pause before talking about Colby. His kid; their kid. Considering his involvement, or lack there-of, in Colby's life, he may have been Colby's dad in a technical, physical sense, but Colby would be just fine not knowing about Greyson. At all. What was the point? Would he go and say hi, and then watch Emma and Tyler take him back home, where ever they lived. Grey didn't think they'd get stuck out here. He looked down at Emma just in time for her to look up, right into his eyes.

The next move was up to him. Well, his last move involved fleeing the scene, so to speak. He'd tried being civil, he'd done the whole explosive anger thing. His mind was racing with thoughts that wouldn't help this conversation. And she hated herself? She was still and stiff as a board, not letting any emotion slip from her face, like a poker player. Hmm. Guess their relationship was at stake? Not that there was anything left of it. But he wasn't as convinced as she'd probably like him to be. Her words sounded like they were deep, coming from suffering, but her look didn't suggest that, and that's were Grey was confused. Honestly, neither of them were ever emotional people, and he liked her for that. Clingy, needy, girls who wasted words always annoyed him. However, he never thought he'd actually wish she'd snap at him. At least then the physical expression would match up with the words and he'd have a clearer picture.

But, if she wasn't jumping down his throat, maybe it would make it easier to tell her, Tyler, and Colby to kick rocks. Not that he would, not now, but it was always an option. Greyson looked around, never even noticing Zack walk by. From the way he looked at the park, something was wrong with him. God, he hated not being in the loop. He hated knowing his 'family' was in trouble even more. Grey watched him and Colby collide for a moment, then return to their previous states; Colby playing and Zack looking like a wreck. Then Jessa went by. She met up with Zack and they started talking, or at least she did. He was about to get lost in someone else's issue when his own came back to him.

Then a thought came to him. Did he consider Emma and Colby family?

Grey looked back down at Emma. "Sorry," he mumbled, hating having to apologize to people. He was at a loss for real words after hearing so much come out of her. Maybe words weren't even necessary at this point. Without really thinking about it, Grey reached down to give her a hug before pulling back quickly and keeping his arms back at his side.

It didn't mean he felt anything different toward her, but he was willing to work something out.

You know, for Colby.

"My offer's still good if you wanna go get some food." Grey rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, wondering what everyone else in the world was up to. "Or... whatever you want to do."

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Character Portrait: Greyson Fairbaine Character Portrait: Emma Papielle
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For the millionth time today, Emma wished she could read Greyson's mind. That, and that she could have just kept her mouth shut. He was probably thinking that too. No, he was probably wishing he had just sent her away the second she walked through his door. God I'm pathetic she thought. Time seemed to pass impossibly slow, but she kept her gaze locked on Greyson. Even as he looked away to something off in the distance. She couldn't bring herself to look away, paralyzed by the fear that he might disappear.

The longer Greyson stayed quiet, the weaker Emma's defenses got. He was blasting impossibly large holes in her armor without a single word. He's going to send me away. Tell me to get lost, grow up, move on, fuck off. I just messed everything up, again. Greyson's silence was the only answer she needed.

Suddenly she was in his arms. Was he accepting her appology? Was he saying he felt the same? Was this an answer to all the questions she hadn't been brave enough to ask? The embrace was over just as soon as it had begun. That warmth that Emma had come so accustomed to, pulled away again. His discomfort was clear, probably just as much as her disappointment. I guess it's really over. He's gone.

She understood the underlying message in his offer. Any contact they had from here on out would be solely based around Colby. Emma could feel the tears welling up in her eyes, blinking them away quickly, hoping he hadn't noticed. Emma nodded, looking back up at him. Did she look as broken as she felt? She wrapped her arms around herself to hold herself together, Emma couldn't let herself fall apart yet.

Emma forced a smile, although it didn't reach her eyes. "Where did you have in mind?"

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Character Portrait: Greyson Fairbaine Character Portrait: Jessa Van Zandt Character Portrait: Zack Turriff
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"Hey Zack?" a voice suddenly appeared from behind. Zack flinched as he felt a hand reach out and lay gently on his arm. He turned on his heels only to face the person he couldn't stop thinking about. Jess was looking at him with red, puffy eyes. She clearly had been crying previous to her walk over here. Zack was slightly taken aback, not only did Jessa not usually break down, but she usually wouldn't have anyone see her in a weakened state like this. Why now? his mind ran a rampant race. I can't see her right now, I need to get high... He took a long drag from his smoke and pulled it free from his lips with his free hand.

"We need to talk; and you're not going to like what I have to say." Jess stated firmly. Great, this day keeps getting better and better. Zack tried to recollect his thoughts and come up with a half decent response. Time seemed to screech to a halt as Zack tried to think of an appropriate response. His hand dove into his pocket and he pulled out the red Bic and immediately started to flick it repeatedly. Only before his mouth began to respond did he notice a stunned looking Grey at the edge of the park. Zack's eyes quickly scanned the park. What was he looking at? Zack all of a sudden felt an uneasiness in the pit of his stomach. He'd distanced himself so much from everyone lately, he had no idea how anyone else was doing. The sight of Greyson made Zack wonder about his friend, he missed hanging out with him lately. Zack inwardly promised himself to catch up with Grey later.

Zack's mind suddenly snapped back to the situation at hand. Jess peered questioningly at him as she waited for a response. Zack mouth moved but he couldn't find the words he wanted to come out. Talking with people had always been one of his weaker points. Much to Zack's dismay, the only thing that ended up leaving his mouth was a half-hearted response. "Sup?"