| It Doesn't Always Make Sense | |||||
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| What: Running into Jeremy on the street, Fern invites him up for cannoli and talk. | |||||
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It's in the evening, approaching sundown, and the streets are fairly calm. The weather is still cold, and there's a light drizzle, but some people have to be out. Others, like Jeremy, don't necessarily /have/ to be out but simply are. The boy isn't going anywhere in particular--just wandering somewhat aimlessly, trudging along with a distracted look about him and his hands in his pockets. He's wandered rather near the convenience store where he first met Fern, now. Despite the cold, he's not wearing a coat, and he's clearly paying for it, shivering as he walks...but for all that his body's acknowledging the cold, he seems to have his mind on something else. His eyes are reddened, and he's sniffling a little.
Fern was at a museum earlier in the day, then stopped at Anita Bella and stayed to help around the restaurant a bit. Now she's finally almost home, heading up from the subway stop nearest the apartment building where she lives. As she hits the top she turns, dodging traffic to cross the street and start for home. There's a small box tucked under one arm, Anita looking out for her and making sure she eats, and she hums lightly as she walks briskly.
Up ahead she spies a familiar figure, calling out, "Hey! Jeremy!" brightly. As she gets closer, she notes everything else at once; the lack of coat, red eyes. She frowns, stepping it up even more, her voice softer and concerned, "Hey, what's up? Are you alright?"
Jeremy doesn't seem to notice her at first, and almost continues walking along, but after a few moments it dawns on him that someone called his name. He blinks a few times, quickly rubbing at his eyes to try (unsuccessfully) to hide the telltale signs that he's been crying. "Um, um..." He looks around, and finally spots her. He looks around a bit, judging the possibility of a quick disappearance into the crowd, but decides that's not going to work easily. "Oh, um...Miss Fern...hi...um, yeah, I'm okay. I-I just, um...I wanted to take a little walk."
Fern's well familiar with the look of someone trying to hide something, and she doesn't miss Jeremy's cast around for escape. As a means of preventing that, she steps closer, not reaching to touch him, but well within reach. "You look cold. Wanna come back home with me, chill for a bit?" She holds up the box, giving it an enticing shake. "Cannoli." It's a magic word in most cases, bringing the strong to their knees. Especially if they've had Anita's cannoli before.
Jeremy looks a little nervous, taking a step back unconsciously, but finally seems to realize that, why yes, he /is/ quite cold. "Um, um..." He chews his lip a bit, and finally gives a little nod. "B-but I can't take your food, Miss Fern. That's, um, that's your dinner, and...and I can get some for myself, so...but...um...I think it'd be good to warm up. I guess I forgot to borrow a coat." He hangs his head. "Sorry...to make you do this."
"Now shush," Fern says softly, "It's just a little treat, and what fun is a treat really if there isn't anyone to share it with?" It's solid logic. "Sorry to give me some company instead of me having to go back to an empty apartment? Believe me, it's nothing to be sorry about." She starts walking, letting him come along without more prompting. The brisk pace is back, more so this time that she's mindful of getting him inside, pronto. One hand dips into her jacket pocket for her keys, and as they reach the door she has one poised to unlock the door. She holds it open for Jeremy.
Jeremy goes quiet, following along while he mostly stares at the ground. He's not arguing with her, but it's clear he's still not entirely sure it's okay for her to share. As they reach the building, he pauses at the doorway, looking at her for a few moments, and then finally sighs, stepping inside. At least it'll be warm.
Fern waits patiently, then pulls the door closed behind them, making sure it latches. "Lemme just check the mail," she says, stepping over to the bank of mailboxes along one wall. It's a practiced movement as she unlocks her box, pulls the door open, then shuts it again. So practiced, it's not until it's shut again that she realizes there was something in there.
Key twisted again, she pulls a box out, small enough that it fit easily into the space. "Hm." Block letters have her name and address, there is no indication of return address. Even the postmark is New York City. She shrugs, locking the mailbox again and turning. "C'mon, I'm fourth floor." She heads to the stairs, leading the way up.
Jeremy blinks a little, watching Fern check the mail quietly. At the sight of the box, he starts to step over curiously to take a look, but goes a bit red and reconsiders, stepping back. "Um, sorry." He looks up at the stairs, and nods, following her up the steps. "Um, um...thanks f-for doing this for me, Miss Fern. I was...um, I wasn't thinkin', I guess, so...I guess it might've gotten kind of bad if I was walkin' out there still."
"You're welcome, Jeremy," Fern tosses easily over her shoulder. The four flights go quickly, and Fern pauses at the door to her apartment. Out of the six locks that line the door, she uses the key on locks two, four and five. She steps into the apartment first, flicking a switch for the lights, and heading immediately for a kitchen table to put the boxes down.
It's a small apartment, one room, but unlike most of the apartments, this had a fresh coat of paint when Fern moved in. She couldn't stand how dingy it looked. The kitchen is only so in name, off to one side of the room. It's small, but functional. In addition to the table and two chairs, there is a sofa/bed and a coffee table, with a chest tucked under the sofa and an old boombox under the table.
"C'mon in, stand by the radiator." She waves with one hand as the other picks up the box from the mail again, and she looks it over curiously.
Jeremy blinks a bit at the array of locks, and as the door opens, he looks back and forth between Fern and the door. "Um..." He steps inside, looking around, and smiles a little. "Um...you have a nice home, Miss Fern. I like it." He moves further in, about to follow her instructions, but pauses, looking back at the door. "Um, but why do you have six locks? That's kind of...um, that's a lot, isn't it? And you're only usin' three?"
With the box in hand, Fern steps back to the door, flashing a grin at Jeremy, "If I don't lock them all, then anyone who tried to pick them to break in is always going to be locking three." She laughs softly, not really believing that, but it doesn't stop her from doing it anyway. Just in case. There's also a metal bar that braces into plates on the floor and at the center of the door. Maybe overkill, but it's Harlem, and a girl alone needs to be careful. In contrast, the windows by the fire escape outside the building are practically screaming 'break me!'.
Jeremy blinks, and laughs a little, smiling. "Um, that's actually kind of a good idea!" Well, he buys it, anyway. But after a moment, he looks thoughtful. "But, um..." He taps his foot a couple times, furrowing his brow, and finally ohs, pointing over at the window. "Um...the door's pretty good, but wouldn't somebody just break the window and pop in that way? That seems like it'd be faster, and there's a fire escape out there, right?" He walks over to the window, inspecting it thoughtfully.
Fern sighs, looking balefully at the windows. "I try not to think about them. They lock, and that's apparently good enough." She moves back to the kitchen, calling over to Jeremy, "When you're warm enough, come sit. Want a glass of milk to go with the cannoli?" Even as she's asking the question, she's starting the process by getting a couple of glasses from the cupboard.
She lets a moment pass, until she's pouring the milk, before she asks, "So how come you're out and about without a coat? It's Spring, sure, but it's not exactly warm outside." The question is light, sounding simply curious.
Jeremy looks back over at her. "Um, maybe you could get some of those bars they put up, like for shops? Oh, but...that'd make it hard to climb out on the escape...plus I bet those cost a bundle." He frowns, realizing he might have worried her a little, and tries to cover. "Um, but...but...you know a guy who can, um, teleport, kind of, right? So...maybe people won't want to come after you anyway!" Yes, because every criminal in the city is aware of Fern's relationship with Kurt. He walks over to a chair, and looks over at the milk, sighing a bit and nodding. "Um, thank you...um, oh, right, no coat. Um...h-honestly, Miss Fern, I just...I wasn't thinkin'. I got all upse...I mean, I was...I mean..." He sits down, hanging his head. "I-I was just...upset about some stuff that happened, and I was tryin' to figure some stuff out, and...and I didn't think about it bein' cold. I-I guess I knew it was, but...it didn't seem to matter."
With the milk poured, Fern slides into the other chair, reaching to open the box from Anita Bella. There are four cannoli inside, freshly baked by Anita herself. She even dips the ends in a dark chocolate, and then in chopped nuts. They are little tubes of heaven. The box is first offered to Jeremy, then Fern reaches in herself, and withdraws a cannoli. "I know what that's like," she says softly. "What stuff happened?" She takes a bite of her cannoli, eyes on him across the table.
Jeremy hesitantly takes one of the cannolis, looking at it, clearly impressed. "Wow...that, um, looks really good." He starts to raise his to take a bite, but pauses, looking distant for a moment. He bows his head, closing his eyes, and speaks quietly--praying before his meal, one would guess. That done, he opens his eyes again and takes a bite, chewing and swallowing before he answers her question. "Um, um...I'm...not really sure I should talk about it...or...or that I even know how. Um, it w-was..." He looks away, thinking hard. "There were some bad things going on...and...and I kind of got wrapped up in it, and...and it messed with my head, and...I don't know how to explain." He hangs his head. "People...kids...were gettin' hurt, and...some...a-anyway...that's over now. I just...I didn't know what to think, so I was tryin' to figure it out."
Fern frowns at Jeremy's words, her eyes softening. She nods, offering softly, "I think I kinda understand that. I had something happen too. Bad things that I got wrapped up in. I still have some nightmares." Yeah, she might have a clue. "Is there someone you can talk to about it? And if not, you can talk to me. I know that some pretty weird things go on around this town. Sometimes it just helps to get it off your chest to someone who will listen and won't keep trying to solve your problem for you."
Jeremy looks up at her in concern. "I-I'm sorry...somebody like you should never have anythin' bad happen to them. You're so nice..." He takes another bite of his cannoli, chewing and swallowing again before he continues. "This is really good. Um, thank you..." He takes a few moments to think, and sighs. "Um...really, I-I don't know...I mean..." He looks up at the ceiling. "Um...it was really bad, what was happenin'. I don't get all of it, really, but, um, I thought I could help so I-I went with some folks who were tryin' to stop it, and we got in trouble, and...and the bad guys were...I guess they did somethin' to our, um, our brains or somethin'. So...so we remembered things wrong and then bad things happened in...our...I don't know, dreams or somethin'?" He's just all confused now--it's hard to explain something when you don't fully get it yourself. "Um...anyway, we got out, but...I was kind of...I got all mixed up about what w-was real. I-I...I still kind of...all that stuff was so clear, and...I-I don't know. I-I gotta maybe talk to Mister Gabriel about it sometime, I guess...or somethin'..."
Fern lets Jeremy talk, even when he doesn't seem to make complete sense. There's a lot that doesn't make sense in the world, and she's not going to push him to look more deeply at anything. There's a nod, "I think talking to Gabriel would be good. He's easy to talk to, and you can trust him." She pauses for a bite of cannoli, before speaking again. "Well, I'm real. And this little piece of heaven is real," she adds, holding up the treat. "I don't always know much, but I know that." She hides the concern behind a smile, saying gently, "I know you'll be able to work through this. You're tough, little dude." She doesn't know much about him, but that much is obvious to her.
Jeremy sheepishly smiles a bit. "Um, sorry...I know that didn't make a lot of sense. It's just...there's stuff I-I don't want to talk about 'cause it's...sad...and stuff I can't really figure out /how/ to talk about. I-I think I'm gettin' there, though...and I'm glad I ran into you. It...kind of pulled me out of thinkin' on my own, and I wasn't gettin' anywhere with that." He looks away a bit, but then returns his focus to her. "Um...tellin' the truth, Miss Fern...I-I'm kind of all kinds of screwed up. But, um...Mister Gabriel is..." A pause, and a blink. "Wait, you know Mister Gabriel?"
"It can be really hard to make sense of some things, Jeremy." There's a sadness to her voice, but Fern doesn't elaborate. Her brows lift, then ease back down as she smiles. "I do know Gabriel. He just mentioned you the other night, in fact." She points up and off to the left, "He lives just upstairs." The brows are right back up as she gets an idea. "Hey, why don't you take these last two cannoli and go see if he's home? I know he likes them. And if he's not, bring them back down here, and we'll leave a note on his door telling him he missed out and to come down."
Jeremy blinks, and his eyes widen a bit. "Wow, really? That's...wow, what a coincidence. Um, he's been helpin' me out a lot...I'm glad you know him too. He's a nice guy." He thinks for a few moments, and nods, standing up. "Um, yeah...I'll go do that. Thanks a lot, Miss Fern. I-I'm sorry I...um...never mind. You said that was okay so it's stupid to apologize again." He blushes a bit, and coughs. "Um...yeah...I'll go see if Mister Gabriel's in." He takes the box, and nods to her. "Um...thank you. I'll be okay now, I think." With that, he heads for the door.