COLORS IN THE SKY // JAMES

[ispyvienna]

"you'll be going shopping today, is that what you told me?" uncle nate questioned for clearance, looking over at his niece while he absently dipped his tea bag into his mug. vienna had asked for permission to make a shopping trip the night before, deciding that she should at least try to slowly place herself back into the world. a functioning human was able to go shopping without any or close to no issues. vienna would only need to speak with the store employees, maybe not even if she could just use a nod to signify a yes or a shake of the head to tell them no. she would refrain from asking questions of any type, she was not comfortable enough yet to go that far into a conversation. uncle nate and his housing staff were the only people who had heard her speak full sentences for close to a year. she only nodded in response to his questioning, figuring that he had heard her talk enough the prior night. she had been arguing with the chef over the redness of her steak when he had made an abrupt appearance in the kitchen, promptly dismissing the chef and giving vienna a blazing smile. he had heard her furious speech and the colorful words she had directed at the chef. red meat gave her a case of an upset stomach that would last the entire week. her slim fingers wrapped around her own mug, lifting it up to her lips for her to gingerly sip at her chai tea. she would set out uptown after she was through with drinking her mid-morning cup of tea.

it was closer to the later part of the hour once vienna was finally through with her tea. she was british, meaning that tea was held in high regards and not something that she gulped down. pop could be chugged, or some other drink, but not tea. uncle nate sat with her the whole time, not watching over her but still keeping an eye on her. he had this deal about himself where he wouldn't be doing something but still was doing that thing that he wasn't actually doing. it hurt vienna's head to try and fathom it, but she knew that it happened. she chocked it down to being apart of the his being a psychiatrist. "i'll be heading out now. i'm just going to go on foot. it's too beautiful of a day to waste by taking the car," she frankly explained to her uncle, standing and pushing out her chair. her mug was left on the table for the maid to come by and grab once they had both cleared the table. nate called out a goodbye to his niece, adding on that she would be safe and call his personal cell if there was anything that she needed. vienna felt the need to tell him that she was no longer a child, but she only kept silent and focused on heading back to her room to go and grab her bag. she would not be able to do much shopping if she forgot to bring her bag along. her wallet was in it, and in her wallet as the assortment of credit and debit cards that were listed under her name. she didn't have any money of her own, it was just the funds that her father had put under her name for her to access when she had come over to the states. he had told her that it didn't matter what the money was spent on, as long as it was something dedicated to her own self. in the past year she had spent only a little over a thousand dollars, a low amount that had made her mother gasp when they had gone over her credit card records.

vienna had made sure to at least look presentable despite the fact that she would not be looking to interact with anyone. appearances were something that charlotte had beat into when she had been younger and the lesson still stuck with her. that, and the dress that she had put on had been sitting in her closest for a while. wearing a dress that was over a season old made her more comfortable with the thought that she would be more likely to go unseen. her tiny self turned out to be more noticeable than she had ever thought possible. people seemed to know her name and face, because both her uncle and dad were well known people, and apparently there had even been rumors going around as well. vienna tried her best to ignore the gaping stares she got from the brainless girls who had nothing better to do then feed on gossip. her focus was on shopping and nothing would deter her from her wish to reform her wardrobe with newer and more stylish pieces of clothing. she darted into countless stores, browsing briefly, grabbing something that caught her eye, then proceeding to the checkout to hurry out of the store. it wasn't the kind of transition that vienna had been hoping to conquer. a few bags hung off her arms and she was weaving through the street, deciding that there were a few more stores on the other side of the street she wanted to check out. vienna stepped off the curb, glancing both left and right before she hurried across what she thought to be an empty street. there was a car coming that she had not seen when she started to make her away to the other side, and it was speeding pretty fast. she was only three fourths of the way across the street when she noticed and her eyes went wide. the driver slammed on the brakes and only just managed to avoid smashing into her. she stood routed there, frozen from shock, and finally said something when the driver of the car stepped out. "a hit and run would have messed up the grill of your very expensive car," she spat out, looking at the fancy car with a scowl.

WHAT SHE IS WEARING.

[james]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-color: #343434; padding:20px; border-top: 10px #af9390 solid; border-bottom: 10px #af9390 solid;] repair your broken wings ( 1023 ) WORDS ( VIENNA DAY ) TAGGED ( COMPLETE ) STATUS His breath was coming out fast as his eyes focused on the building in the distance. The card he needed to get in was safely tucked into his pocket, and the last thing he wanted to do was wait for some freshman loser to come and help him into the dorm building. Granted, he wasn’t much older than most of the incoming freshmen, but he liked the idea that he was old enough to scare them a little bit. They were the newbies, the ones that had no idea what was coming and most of them thought that they would either be the coolest kids on campus or the ones that would do the best in their class. Rarely did most of the freshman complete those silly goals, and James knew that. After all, he had entered Northeastern University as a freshman the year before with dreams of being the smartest in his class and the coolest kid. While he was clever, though defiantly not in the top twenty percent, and friendly enough to be known, he was content. Already the minor league was scouting him for some upcoming tryouts and the idea that he could become his childhood dream made him ecstatic. When people asked James what he wanted to be and he responded with ‘a professional baseball player sir/ma’ma’ they would smile and nod, as though they thought it would be impossible for some blond boy from the heart of Boston to do something like that. Obviously they had never had dreams, and considering he had been recruited from one of the top schools on the East Coast for sports, his dreams could come true. But when it came to adults, he kept his mouth shut. That, at least, was something his father had taught him. As his pace slowed down to a jog, the building was looming over him. James stopped, high fived his buddy that was exiting the building and snuck in, making his way to the second floor, room B2. His roommate, Mike, had gone to Connecticut for the weekend to visit his girlfriend. That meant the whole thing was his, and he pretty much could do whatever he wanted until Mike came back from said little vacation. James thanked the lord that he had no one to call to. Granted, he was lonely and wanted some sense of companionship, but no one ever seemed interested in getting to know him. People thought that just because he was a pretty face, and yes, he was a little rude and partied a little too hard, he was still a college boy trying to find his way. Everyone was at this point, and he knew that there was someone out there in the eight billion people that would want him. His shower was short and sweet and he threw on a pair of shorts and a white beater shirt before grabbing his wallet, sunglasses, and cell phone and making his way out of the dorm. He needed a new pair of socks and cleats for baseball, considering when he was home for the summer, his dog had chewed right through them. Or, well, what he could call his summer. It was required for students that attended Northeastern to take at least one semester of summer classes, and James had wanted them to be out of the way. Hence the reason why he was pretty much the only one out of his baseball buddies or regular friends that was still on campus. His father hadn’t cared where he was for the summer, that much was true, but his sister had. It seemed like Leah wanted him home more, and while he was only a little while away from their penthouse, she was still lonely. His father wasn’t exactly the hugging type, and considering his mother was…well…who knew where, he was Leah’s best friend. She stayed in the dorm, but it wasn’t the same as staying at home with her. Yelling at some cars that were speeding just a tad, James rolled his eyes. There was a reason when he drove; it wasn’t on the streets of Boston. He liked driving down country roads far away from the city. People here were just so impatient and in a rush all the time, they rarely got to understand and appreciate the little things. He went in a store, grabbed a Frappuccino and continued his ways down the street and off to the sports store. A petite little brunette was a couple of inches in front of him, her bags weighing down her arms and he almost asked if she needed help. Almost. It seemed like the girl was radiating this sense of ‘do not disturb’ message, and it was slightly intimidating. His eyes glanced away from her and towards the signal light, which still held the red hand that meant ‘do not cross’. It seemed like the girl didn’t notice it, or chose not to, and began making her way across the road. James saw the car before she did and he had already been making his way towards her to move her if it came to that when both she and the driver noticed each other. The driver seemed to gather his bearings and slammed on his breaks, stopping in just enough time to miss her. Her witty response did not go unnoticed and James held back a chuckle, but a small smirk was toying on his lips. Her British accent was thick to his ears, but he liked that she was able to defend herself. ”Well, watch where ya goin’ missus,” the driver barker, his Boston accent thick with annoyance. James huffed. ”Maybe if you paid attention to where you were going instead of whatever pathetic text message you received, you would have noticed that a pedestrian was crossing. People have the right of way, you know,” James retorted, hoping the girl didn’t mind the help. ”Now hop back into your little sports car before I call the cops and tell them your license. I bet you’d get a hefty ticket for speeding down a popular crossing street, now wouldn’t you?” any and all notes can go here

table by CALIFORNIA DREAMING of CAUTION 2.0, lyrics by maroon 5

[ispyvienna]

a piece of the old vienna had been uncovered by the fatal accident that fate had decided she didn't deserve. the vienna prior to the death of odessa had that fire cracker personality, quick to speak up when someone did something that she did not like. having someone almost hit was categorized under the things that vienna did not like. she had tried to bury all traces of her past, but they refused to suffocate and perish along with the past that she had murdered. vienna still had bits of each version of her former self infused int the stoic girl who had chosen to become a selective mute. the douche bag in the sleek looking sports car deserved the biting remark that her mind had wittily formed. that kind of cleverness had been apparent in the days when she had associated herself with marley, the girl with the wicked motives disguised by a candy sweet smile. vienna had not meant to say anything, but her brain was not one to listen to the commands that she had carefully laid out. snappy tones and fighting words were not the weapons she needed to go unnoticed, they would draw attention to her that she had tried to shrug off by hiding away for a year. good going, vi, she thought sourly to herself. a few of the people who were still hovering around the potential accident scene were looking at vienna with curious stares. she tried to disregard them, choosing to focus on the prick with the slicked back and polo shirt, who finally decided to get out of his car. she could only imagine what he had to say in retaliation of the razor words that she uttered out.

the look on his face was enough to tell vienna that her little near death act was trying his patience. he probably had somewhere to go, to the country club maybe, or to go and hang out with the grade a douche bags and the sluts who somehow maintained a pride factor. she gave a tiny shake of her head, trying to dispel the judgmental thoughts that were swiftly knitting themselves together. she molded her face into a look that was unreadable and glanced over at him, awaiting to hear whatever it was he had to say. his boston accent made her want to initially grit her teeth. she had not believed that anyone had accents until she had been shipped over to boston, where the natives accents made her ears want to fold up in pain. her proper yorkshire accent sounded funny to them and their boston accent sounded hideous to her. that had almost been enough to cancel out the fact that he had directed a subtle warning her way. almost. vienna was still in touch with the fiery sixteen year old, and that vienna had a lot that she wanted to say to mister sports car. "i am not missus. vienna, my name is vienna. have enough respect to at least address me correctly," she carefully said in response, her quiet tone making the words seem more menacing. the tiny girl with the shopping bags hanging off her arms was not to be taken as a joke. there wasn't much more for her to say, or that she was able to say, because another stranger found it in him to interject. it was probably the smarter choice, because vienna felt that the next thing she had in mind to say would have caused serious lacerations. she quieted down, letting the refined looking blond man commandeer the situation.

vienna remained silently fuming while the sports car man glowered at the two of them. he was silent for a moment, hovering by his car door, as if he wasn't sure what his next choice of action should be. finally, he looked at the two of them, saying, "your girlfriend is a ditzy bitch. she should have been run over, dumb hoe." he was back in his car and racing over before the two of them could either form a reply to his venomous words. vienna only managed a ghost of a smile, finding it hilarious that he had formed such incorrect opinions because of one senseless choice on her part. she wondered how many senseless choices that the douche had made that had put him right in the way of death. she was thinking too much about the alteration that was already through. dwelling on it would not change a single thing. it would only give her a headache because of how she would over analyze the whole situation. though she didn't want to, she figured the proper thing to do would be to thank the stranger for his random act of chivalry. her voice was already hurting, she hadn't talked this much in months. vienna guided herself over to the curb, setting her bags down and standing back up to straighten her jacket. she glanced over, only slightly surprised to find that the stranger was still hovering by her. "you're help was unneeded, but thank you," she politely said to him, the closest thing that he would receive to a compliment. vienna didn't do compliments, they only boasted the ego and were meaningless things that people already knew. she had to tilt her head slightly to look up at the stranger, her face kept composed and unreadable. if the stranger had been expecting a girl who bounce over to him and shower him in thanks, he had been horribly mistaken.

WHAT SHE IS WEARING.

[james]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-color: #343434; padding:20px; border-top: 10px #af9390 solid; border-bottom: 10px #af9390 solid;] repair your broken wings ( 611 ) WORDS ( VIENNA DAY ) TAGGED ( COMPLETE ) STATUS While he had grown up in Boston his whole entire life, he was still adjusting to the busy life everyone seemed to lead. To him, there were so many more relaxing things you could possibly do and everything could happen at a slower pace. Maybe he was just kidding himself with the idea of relaxation and time, but that was how he was. His father was an asshole who spent his entire life trying to make more money and getting the best things faster, while he was here barely getting homework in on time and lounging around his dorm room when not out with his friends. Some people would call him lazy; he just assumed he did what he wanted in life. Granted, he had a bucket list and wanted to accomplish things before he died, but he was only in his early twenties. He had years left before he died, unless, of course, people kept driving like this idiot in the sports car. God, he hated sport cars. His father owned one, and James had driven it once before claiming that it was just too damn fast for him. It was ironic that a boy would pass up such an expensive and fast car, but he wasn’t into cars. He was more into sports, and that was pretty much the only thing he and his father bonded on. Maybe that was the subconscious reasoning as to why he wanted to become a pro baseball player; it would give him and his father something to bond over during Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner. James grinned to himself at the sharp and witty words that the fiery brunette seemed to respond with. The jerk probably was going to some club, ready to play golf and spend money that he made by sitting in an office and playing solitaire. But that was just his sarcastic and rube assumption. He focused his attention on the brunette, who was a little shorter than he and had a strong English accent, most likely from the north. Yes, he was familiar with the English Countryside. His grandfather had a small cottage up in England and when he was younger, he had spent most of his summers bonding with an old man and listening to stories about the way life used to be simple and precious. Besides, most of those summers had erased whatever Boston accent he would have normally been graced with and he, instead, spoke like a normal American and managed to pronounce every word without making other people flinch at accents. He liked certain accents, but the fact that most Boston natives couldn’t pronounce and put together a plausible sentence. As he watched the man drive away without bothering to correct him, he sighed and followed Vienna-that was her name, he realized-over to the curb. He was about to reach and carry some bags, but she had already made her way to the curb by the time he had grasped his bearings. She was a speedy little devil, James realized. He stood next to her, and the crowds were already going back to the normal day. He ran his fingers through his hair and gave her a small smile. ”No problem.” an akward pause settled over the two of them and he hated those pauses, so he simply began to talk. ”I’m James. I know you probably didn’t need help, but I hate drivers. I haven’t driven in years after I realized how fast people tend to go.” he mentioned, with a small smile. He hadn’t expected even a small thank you, but it was enough for him to enjoy the girl and want her presence. any and all notes can go here

table by CALIFORNIA DREAMING of CAUTION 2.0, lyrics by maroon 5

[ispyvienna]

this day had already worn vienna out. she had been expecting to run into some unpleasant people, but she not expected to come close to death and have to handle the king of douchebags. those sort of people were the reason why she wanted to remain tucked away from the world, completely forgotten and overlooked. she could not handle them properly, she became snappy and only further worsened the situations. with odessa she had once been an expert at smoothly navigating herself along, glossing over any bumps and soothing problems with words that were carefully chosen. her words now had only infuriated the man more and caused him to insult her with biting words. vienna had not felt the slightest bit burnt from his words, only wanted to laugh at him for thinking that he could cause her any kind of harm. her mind was already warped and transformed, a place that no one would understand if they ever gained entry to her mind. she had already been through so much, more than the fancy car driver would ever be able to imagine. to him she was just some big headed girl who thought that she owned the world and was entitled to do whatever it was that she pleased. that was far from the case, but she would never be able to correct the way that stranger now saw her.

sat on the curb, she couldn't help but allow a tiny sigh to pass through her lips. her shopping experience was now done, because she knew that she would not be able to focus on the clothes and the prices or anything else. the experience with the driver left her completely rattled and unsure of her bearings. she wanted to rest her head in her hands but was sure that this guy, james as he had just said, would assume that something was wrong. there was actually a lot wrong, but nothing that she was willing to share with a stranger. her mind had not stopped spinning since the guy had peeled out, going way too fast for the slow speed limit that was posted for the pedestrian popular road. so instead, she tilted her head back slightly to look up at the guy, james. he was not someone who she had ever seen before. there were many people that she did not know, which was pathetic for having lived in boston for a tad bit over a year now. people had been a subject she had not even been able to stand a year ago, but after she had finally opened up to her uncle nate she realized that she could possibly transition back into an average life. shockingly, vienna realized that this was the test that she had been waiting to face. james was being perfectly pleasant and here she was sulking on the curb like her puppy had just died. no, she could let this opportunity pass without taking advantage of it.

vienna stood, her height making her feel like a midget standing in front of james. she bent over, collecting her shopping bags on her two arms and straightening up again. her eyes connected with james' and she took a step back, signalling that she was going to keep walking forward and he should do the same. she turned, her back facing him, and soon enough he caught up to fall into step besides her. "i may have seen your face around before. i've been living here for a year," she carefully offered as conversation, slow to speak about anything personal. vienna was not about to go around spitting out all of her life story. james didn't know it, but he was lucky that she was even bothering engaging in a conversation. the only people that she had talked to in the past year were her uncle and his housing staff. she was going to make an extreme effort to at least maintain this conversation. at one time she would have been able to talk his ear off or bat her eyelashes and convince him that she was in love with him. "i haven't done much driving. i have my uncle drive me around or i walk. it's too much of a hassle trying to get the hang of america's odd ways," vienna cordially said as a response, sounding a bit stiff but still completely friendly. this was a challenge, not something that was meant to be easy. she titled her head back, looking up at him with a ghost of a smile.

WHAT SHE IS WEARING.