(Open - At the edge of town)

[freefromsin]

Caleb scrambles out of the car before it even comes to a complete stop. With his backpack clutched in one hand, he slams the door shut with the other. "Fuck you!" The car takes off, tires squealing, and Caleb gives its bumper a kick as it flies past him, shouting after it, "Fucking perv!"

He rubs one gently trembling hand with the other and stares after the car, making sure it's well and truly gone. Heart hammering in his chest, Caleb lets out a breath and glanced around. It's not cold, but he hugs his jacket closer to his body all the same, wishing he was wearing more than just a tank top underneath. There's probably good money to be made in prostitution, but he hadn't gotten quite that desperate yet. He guesses his good hitch-hiking luck had to run out at some point, and of course it had to happen now. But that's okay, because at least he's gotten to his destination, and he hopefully won't need to do any more hitching right away.

It's dusk, the start of a nice, clear night, but too late to look for his old friend. Street lights bathe him in pale yellow, as he heads father into town. Better find a place to spend the night.



[ooc: Hi! I'm new and so is Caleb. Feel free to tag him when he forcefully ejected himself from the car, or when he's somewhere in town. He's mostly just gonna wander until he finds a public bench he can crash on for the night. Also I guess if you could read his Permissions page before tagging that'd be cool. Unfortunately I'm gonna be gone ALL DAY tomorrow, but I'm impatient and wanted to post this now. So any loose threads I'll get back to on Sunday. ...And this OOC section is about to be longer than my post so I'll stop now.]

Comments

[wastelandflower]

He shrugs. It's the kind of noncommittal answer that transmits a family history of tragedy and the desire to leave, start fresh, all without saying not to ask.

"Why does anyone leave?" He reaches out and opens the door to Quill. "Go have a seat."

[freefromsin]

Caleb nods in understanding, at least in a general sense. He glances around, taking in the decor. It's a really nice place, he bets it's popular.

"Thanks," he says, taking a seat at a nearby table.

[wastelandflower]

"Of course," Rian says. "Get anything you like."

As their server puts menus on the table, Rian goes and gets one of the highchairs lined up against the wall and helps Sophie into it. Careful and still uncertain he's doing this right but at least she doesn't complain.

[freefromsin]

"Thanks so much, man," Caleb says with a tired smile. He scans the menu, already knowing what he wants. He bets the kid approves of his order.

"Grilled cheese with a chocolate milk shake, please," he says when the server returns.

He should probably take advantage of a free meal by ordering a salad or something healthy, but...grilled cheese.

[wastelandflower]

"I'll do the broccoli penne," Rian orders. "And could I have a little bowl so I can give my daughter a few pieces." As if on cue, Sophie burbles charmingly and Rian gestures toward her as if to say you see?

"You planning to stay in Siren Cove a while?"

[freefromsin]

Sophie is so cute, and Caleb can't help but thing of Anna when she was Sophie's age. He doesn't miss his parents at all, but his misses his brothers and sisters every day. It's the only part that hurt about leaving.

Rian's question brings him back to the present. "Oh. I don't know. I don't think so," he says, picking at his napkin. "I have a job lined up in Portland, I hope. I just came here because...an old friend of mine is here. He kind of disappeared a few months ago, and I wanted to..." He pauses, shrugs a shoulder and stops tearing at his napkin. "Say hi."

[wastelandflower]

"What's his name? Anyone I might know?" Rian asks. The town's pretty small and there's a likelihood that he can point Caleb in the right direction. It's too bad that he doesn't plan to stay, Rian thinks; he could use another cashier if this kid proves dependable.

[freefromsin]

"Maybe? His name is Gabriel Fletcher. He's my age- tall, brown hair, brown eyes," Caleb says, giving the worst description ever and trying not to get his hopes up. It'd make things a lot easier if someone could point him in Gabe's direction.

[wastelandflower]

Rian chews his lip thoughtfully. The name is familiar but he can't pin it to a face. "Don't think I've met him," he admits. It still nags at him because he knows that name–

"Finn's. I'm friends with the owner and he's mentioned a Gabe," Rian finally says. The kid's name also conjures up Mira's face, though he can't say why.

[freefromsin]

"Finn? Really?" Caleb perks up, looking intently at Rian. "Do you think...if Finn's around tomorrow, maybe I could meet him and ask?"

[wastelandflower]

"Yeah, he owns a pub with that name. Finn's, I mean," Rian explains. It's his preferred watering hole, particularly when he wants to commiserate on the hellhole that had birthed him and Finn both.

"He's got an employee by that name, I think."

[freefromsin]

Caleb's eyebrows go up, and he smiles without even meaning to. "A pub? Really?"

Gabriel Fletcher working in a pub. Caleb can hardly imagine it.

[wastelandflower]

Rian nods, not mentioning that he's hardly ever seen Gabe there. He's at the pub a few nights of the week and he still can't say which employee is Gabe. If he's there when Rian is, he's quiet and likes not to be found.

"I think he washes dishes and that kind of thing."

[freefromsin]

"Oh, I was imagining bartending," an affectionate smile still on his face. "That makes much more sense. He's...quiet. Plus, I don't think he's much of a drinker."

Unless he's changed, too.

[wastelandflower]

"Funny place for someone who doesn't drink to end up," he says with a thin smile. Rian pauses and leans back so that their food can be set down on the table. Before taking even a bite, he quickly puts a heaping spoonful of pasta into the little side dish and cuts it into tiny pieces for Sophie's enjoyment.

[freefromsin]

"Maybe it's better that way, don't want a drunk employee on the job," Caleb says. But he's distracted now, because he hasn't eaten in forever and suddenly there's food. The grilled cheese comes with a little cup of tomato soup, and he starts eating his sandwich, dipping it in the soup.

[wastelandflower]

Rian snorts. "I'll have you know that I've done some of my best work while drunk. Which makes it especially hilarious that I don't drink or smoke anymore." To say nothing of the various illegal substances he used to casually enjoy.

"I used to be a pack-a-day kind of guy, until my daughter."

[freefromsin]

Caleb raises an eyebrow. "What kind of work?" he asks, mouth half-full.

"That's nice that you quit for her." He bets Rian is a good dad, never mean to his daughter or unfairly cruel. He's really glad for her.

[wastelandflower]

"I was in a band for ten years. You may've heard of us, you may not. We were one of those acts," Rian says without any arrogance to it. The band's collapse had taken much of his ego with it and sometimes it used to be that he took pride in being known to only a select few.

Watching out of the corner of his eye, Rian is unsurprised when Sophie spends more time smashing her fist into the pasta than really eating it. Hopefully, he can convince her of the broccoli at least. "I'd fuc–messed up so much else in my life. I'd better get it right with her."

[freefromsin]

"Oh? What was the name of your band? Caleb asks, interest piqued. He loves music, and he hopes he's heard of them, because that would be pretty fucking awesome if he's sitting here having dinner with one of his favorite musicians.

"I'm sure you will. You seem like a cool dad."

[wastelandflower]

"Enfants Sauvages," he says, still with some pride. "I did vocals but mostly I played the violin." Truthfully, with Lexi in town, it seems that the three of them are inevitably going to fall back into making music. They're planets revolving around one another and their paths are going to align eventually.

"Yes, well, I'm sure she'll disagree when she's a teenager."

[freefromsin]

Caleb winces. "I haven't heard you, sorry. But-- don't be offended, I've only actually been able to listen to non-church sh-- stuff for like...the past three of four months, so I have a lot of catching up to do," he says with an apologetic smile.

[wastelandflower]

Rian laughs, shaking his head. "Don't worry, at our best, we were famous when you were probably a kid." More of a kid than he is now, at least.

"Strict household?"

[freefromsin]

Whoa. Caleb doesn't think Rian looks that old...

He snorts in derision. "Strict is putting it lightly. I was homeschooled and I was hardly let out of the house." He carefully wraps the second half of his sandwich in a napkin and slips it into his backpack for later when he notices Rian distracted by Sophie. "We didn't even own a TV."

[wastelandflower]

He was barely eighteen when they started Enfants, all of them running on fake IDs and overblowm confidence. It had worked well enough, all three of them charismatic and persuasive.

Pretending not to notice the disappearing sandwich, Rian nods, putting the ideas together. A strict Christian household suddenly turning out a punk runaway. He knows that story well.

"So you're looking for freedom?"