Dragging his feet [[Open]]

[aiden]

Aiden found his way back to the park, no more than a few minutes of walking from his house. It was dark enough for the little kids to have been dragged away from the place, usually against their own will, but early enough for there to be light in the sky. Aiden ran a hand through his short hair, sighing lightly. He didn't know what he was doing here, or why he had even came at all. Of course he ran here every night, but later than this. He supposed he needed more time to reflect on his day, but knew it was nothing exciting.

He spotted a swing, moving back and fourth as the wind played with it, he touched the camera around his neck before shaking his head lightly. For some reason he wasn't in the mood to take pictures, an odd thing for him. He took a seat on the swing, pushing off just once, not getting very far and let his feet drag back and fourth in the mulch. He let out another sigh.

He hadn't had anything happen to him today that would have sent him in such a depressed mood, but he found himself unable to get away from the feeling. He pulled out his phone, checked his text message and replaced it back in his pocket without answering. 'Cheer up Aiden, it's a new start here.' he thought to himself, responding out loud, "Maybe I'm tired of new starts." He took his foot and began to doodle in the mulch, erasing it each time before starting over.

wearing-clicky.

[jessica leigh ryan]

~Outfit~

It was late, meaning it was time to walk Sigmund. Sigmund, like Jessica, preferred cooler air. Since the dog days of summer were only beginning to wane, it only started to feel nice and cool when it was darker. It was late enough to be cool, for there to be not many people and no kids around, but there was still light outside. So basically, it was perfect. The late night air felt crisp, reminding Jessica that fall was to come. She could already see a few premature orange leaves on some of the trees, just clinging to that last branch, or begging to be released into the wind (she couldn't choose which one).

Anyway, Jessica decided to take Sigmund to the park, like usual. She would either sit in an open field and let Sigmund run around her (she trusted him to come running back when she called, for she had berries in her pocket) or sit on the swing set and go as high as she could, with Sigmund looking out over the sky from the view from the breast pocket of her shirt. As they walked, Sigmund would stop periodically to sniff something in particular, like a rock or a tree, but only momentarily.

When there were more people around, Jessica would sometimes get funny looks from those at the park who either weren't regulars, weren't locals, or who just didn't get our enough. After all, it's not every day you see a teenage girl walking her pet ferret. Actually, it's not every day you see a ferret on a leash at all, and it's funny how many people apparently didn't know that ferrets had leashes (you know about baby leashes and ferret leashes surprise you?).

When they got to the swings, Sigmund ran over into the dirt and started digging around it it. "Alright little buddy, not right now or you're gonna get real dirty real quick. And we all know how long it takes to get dirt out of your fur." She spoke to Sigmund, picking him up and placing him in the breast pocket of her shirt. She walked up to her usual swing, but there was a boy in the next one. "Is this swing taken?" she asked. She figured he was waiting for someone, and didn't want to steal someone's swing.

[aiden]

Aiden found himself completely engrossed in drawing in the mulch that he never bothered to look up when he noticed a shadow had entered the scene. His mind was obviously elsewhere, and it seemed slightly important, however, in all actuality, it wasn't at all. He let out a small sigh, erasing his newest doodle. "Is this swing taken?" He had heard the voice, he was sure of that, it just took a few moments to register, breaking his concentration with the ground to look at the face behind the voice.

"Huh.. Oh.. Nah, take a seat." He motioned to the seat next to him, looking down for a moment before looking back up at her. Was that a ferret he spotted? He grinned wide at her, staring at it. He figured long ago that if he could have been any animal it would have been a ferret. He would be most content to spend half the day sleeping, bursts of energy, and wandering about without content for his surroundings. Life would be good.

"I've always wanted a ferret... Mom doesnt want one in the house.. said they stink..." Aiden gave a slight shrug, "But hey.. she doesnt smell like a bundle of roses either..." He gave her a small smile, his mood seeming to have lightened for the moment, his gaze had however drifted back to the mulch, allowing his foot to begin doodling again before he forgot his rudeness, he looked back at the girl, "Aiden Schwartz. I just moved here from North Carolina not too long ago.." He extended a hand.

[jessica leigh ryan]

Jessica bit her lip to hold back a smile when she noticed him do a double-take at the sight of her ferret. People did that sometimes. She was used to it. She sat down on the swing, moving back and forth slowly, but not really trying to swing. They were in conversation now, and it would be rude.

She chuckled at what he said about ferrets... and his mother. "Took a lot of convincing to get my parents to let me get Sigmund here." she said, stroking the content ferret's head with her index finger. "Had to do a lot of research. Once I told them that ferrets spend most of the day sleeping and that my sister and I would do everything to take care of it, they were fine, though." she said with a shrug.

Jessica stopped swinging when he introduced himself. "Jessica Ryan. Moved here from Toronto in middle school. So I know what it's like to be the new kid." She said with a smile, reaching out and shaking his hand. She then pulled Sigmund out from her pocket and held him out. "And this is Sigmund. Sigmund, paw." Sigmund stuck out his paw, like a sort of ferret handshake.

[aiden]

Aiden gave a big grin as the ferrets pat tapped his hand, withdrawing it after a second, "Oh, I could make a whole presentation and mom still wouldnt get me any kind of animal-- I dont think I've even had a fidh before... I'dunno. My mom just isnt a pet person." Aiden gave a small shrug. He used to volunteer at an animal shelter back in North Carolina, that was the closest he was able to get to having a pet of his own.

Aiden looked back down at the thought of North Carolina, "Have you ever wanted to go back? To Toronto I mean?" He spoke staring back at the earth under his shoes, "I think if I could I might go back to North Carolina... Even if there isnt anything there for me." Perhaps this was why he had low feelings lately. Perhaps he was homesick, never really having a home he figured that North Carolina was the closest thing to one.

He let out a small sigh and kicked off, swinging back and fourth. "Dont let this confuse you.. I'm usually not all... depressed. And usually I'm the one listening to other peoples problems... I guess after awhile you just need someone else to listen-- What am I talking about-- I dont even know you-- Maybe thats why I'm talking to you though" Aiden shook his head, attempting to clear his mind. "Sorry.. I can get.. confusing something."

[jessica leigh ryan]

"Aww, that sucks." Jessica said. She bit her lip "And yeah, some people just aren't pet people." she said with a shrug. "Maybe someday, though, you could have your own ferret. I mean, you won't be living under your mother's rule forever." she told him. She wanted to take Sigmund with her when she went off to college in two years. Only thing was that dorms didn't allow pets, other than fish. She'd miss Sigmund so much.

"I did when I first moved." she said. "But that was just homesickness. I got used to living here after a while, and I grew to love it. New York's a really nice place." she told him. She listened to what he said next about going back to North Carolina and made a small frown. "Well you just moved here! School hasn't even started yet, I'm guessing you don't know too many people who live here... Just wait till you get settled in. Sure it's different, but there are some great people, and besides, different isn't always bad." she told him. Wow, since when did she get good at giving advice, Jessica wondered. Maybe Mitchel was influencing her in that way.

"You're not depressed, just homesick." she said. "And probably bored too. Not much happens in the summer unless you have a lot of people for it to happen with. It's a very social city. she told him. "And what you said makes total sense. Sometimes it's easier to open up to people you don't know because they're less likely to judge you based on what they already know of you. Which is like, nothing. If that makes sense." she said. "That's probably why so many people blog or join forums online."

[aiden]

"Yeah.. I understood it. Who else better to confine your darkest secrets in but than a total stranger, because they cant judge you because they dont know you." Or something along those lines, Aiden thought. In all reality he hadnt planned on sitting here all night talking about why strangers make the best people to confide in, then again he hadnt planned on talking to anyone. He sighed, moving his legs back and fourth, pumping him higher and higher.

"Yeah.. I figured it was a pretty social city... Everyone seems to be trying to upstage everyone else and everyone seems to be throwing a party. I've got invited to two, and I think theyre both on the same day. Thats a rant between two of my friends who seem to hate each other.. Very dramatic, but I dont even really think they know why they hate each other... If you actually sat the two of them down they'd probably both make it out fine." Aiden caught himself, wondering why he was spilling out his guts about something that in all reality was his problem. He wasnt one to let on about other peoples lives.

"My whole life I've been moved around, military base to military base. I've had no control over where I went or even why. Soon as my dad got out of the service though, we all decided on moving here. I actually had a choice of where I wanted to go. And I'm not even sure about it any more."

[jessica leigh ryan]

Jessica chuckled. "Exactly." Although it sounded kinda weird when you put it that way. She put Sigmund in her breast pocket and started swinging her legs back and forth again, going higher and higher. She heard Sigmund make a soft 'dook' noise. Sigmund liked the swings because he could see everything around, when normally he was so close to the ground.

"Yeah, people around here can be pretty dramatic... get mad at each other for no reason." she told him. "But at least they can be civil to each other. That's more than I can say for many of the people I know who hate each other." she said. "And sometimes, people just don't get along without knowing why. It's weird."

"Oh, wow. That must be tough." Jessica said. "I only moved once in my life. Can't imagine doing that over and over again." she admitted. Moving once was hard enough. "You must've been to a lot of cool places though." she said. There were many places she'd have loved to go visit. Like places in Europe, Mexico, Asia... she hadn't traveled much but maybe someday, she would. "Why'd you choose New York if now you want to go back?" she asked him. If he liked North Carolina so much, he could have stayed there rather than moving... right?

[aiden]

"Why'd I choose New York over North Carolina? Well... down there I was down a river without a paddle and coming to a pretty steep waterfall. I.. I got into trouble alto down there. I drank alto and I used to steal a bit too... I... --" Aiden paused, thinking over his wording quite critically, explaining things was hard for him, and took alto of time to put things together in his mind that sounded someone understandable, "I felt more at home there than I did anywhere else that I've ever lived. I made friends down there that were family-like. I would have given my life for a few of them, and I almost did a few times. They wanted out, and got the chance far before I did. I was alone there after awhile, I was the only one. Complete solitude." Aiden closed his eyes for a moment, looking for words again,

"It gave me time to think, gave me time to realize how shitty of a life I had begun to live. I needed out and after about a year of being alone, I decided to go to the biggest city I could think of." Aiden was surprising himself more and more around this girl, he hadn't spoke these words out loud to anyone before.

"I guess... Even thought I knew I had no life down there, I was able to finally find some sort of home, granted I know it wasn't the best place to consider.. but it was." Aiden fell silent for a few more minutes, listening to the swing squeak slightly as he swung not really knowing what he was even saying anymore, things were just flowing out of his mouth. "I hate having to had gotten use to a place only to be uprooted again, and again. It sucks. Having to start all over again every few years, making new friends that you don't really want to make because in a moments notice your being shipped off again. Packing has become so routine to use that we go on auto-pilot." He let out a long sigh. "I haven't said any of this to anyone before.."

[jessica leigh ryan]

Jessica was silent as Aiden spoke. She heard nothing but the sound of his voice, the wind, and the squeaking of the swings between them. Swings, like rants, were oddly soothing, and here they were doing both at the same time. It was good for him to get all this off of his chest, she thought to herself.

She leaned her head against the chain as they swung, back and forth, closing her eyes. It was more fun with eyes shut, because then there was nothing but the feeling. The feeling of your heart swaying in your chest, going one way before suddenly being jerked in the opposite direction, and the feeling of your hair tickling your ears as it rushes past.

She opened her eyes when he finished speaking. "I can tell." she said when he admitted having never told anyone all of this before. She secretly wondered why she was the first to hear all of this, before quickly being reminded of what she had said just moments earlier about strangers being easier to talk to. And suddenly, despite all that she'd been through (and gotten over), his life just seemed so much bigger to her now. "You'll find a home here." she assured him. "The good thing about big cities is that there are all kind of people and all kinds of things. So no matter what you're into, you won't feel out of place. And you don't have to worry about moving again." she said with a smile. "Plus, you can start over. Turn over a new leaf, if you want. New York is one of the best places for that."

[aiden]

Aiden slowly came to a stop, playing with his feet as she began talking again, it felt a little awkward for him, but he was glad to have gotten things off of his chest. He felt slightly more free, and his mood had improved a bit. "Yeah... I guess your right. I was sitting here thinking about the friends I had lost and hadn't really thought about making any new." He stared out into the empty park. "Thanks.. for listening. I don't much talk about how I feel... I'm usually the one listening, but I believe I have already said that."

His mind began to wonder slightly, realizing that the girl whom he had been sitting with had opened his eyes a great amount, and even if he never said how much she managed to clear his fogged mind, she had done a great deal of helping him. "So... I feel kind of awkward now, but I don't know why... I mean..." Aiden paused for a moment, taking a deep breath in before releasing it a moment later, "What I'm trying to say is that I feel slightly awkward now that I've poured everything that I've been bottling up to you, but in a sense I feel really relived." He shook his head slightly, not quite what he wanted to say but he felt he couldnt have put it into words any better, he kicked off.

[jessica leigh ryan]

"Well, that's what most people think of first. All that they leave behind. Now I dunno how much of this place you've seen, but it's probably nothing compared to what you knew of North Carolina." Jessica paused, trying to think of her words. "Basically, you know what you've left behind, but you don't know what's to come, however cheesy that sounds." she told him.

"Oh, no prob. Actually, I'm usually the one ranting on and on about stuff, so it's nice to be the ear instead of the mouth for a change." she said. Ugh, it sounded much better in my head, she thought to herself.

She chuckled lightly when he said he felt awkward. "Maybe you're just not used to spilling your guts to a stranger?" she said, making it sound more like a question than a statement. "But yeah, it's good to let everything out rather than leaving it all bottled up. Kinda like in this one poem, The Poison Tree by William Blake. I dunno if you've ever heard of it..." Oh no Jess, don't start going on about poetry again. This guy's gonna think you're insa... too late.