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Post by Eddie O'Flaherty on Dec 16, 2009 22:53:27 GMT -5
The walk over to where Jude was sitting was incredibly nerve-wracking for Eddie. His mind was racing so fast it felt like he had spent hours dwelling on what to do, and yet he couldn't come up with an answer that made him happy. The last few days, he had hoped he'd see Jude alone, and had never even considered the possibility that she would be with someone, let alone a guy! He didn't want to be weird. Jude probably had no clue that he even liked her like that, and this guy was no doubt more popular and cooler than Eddie. He was still new to the school, and hadn't quite managed to make very many friends.
Julia and Connor were both quite nice, and they said hi to him on the few occasions they ran into one another, but they hadn't hung out since the first night. Julia had rehearsals with him, though, which was kinda like hanging out, but he was often too busy doing stuff with Trixie or the sailors to hang out with Julia. And Trixie, that was another weird situation. Eddie wasn't sure what to think of her yet. She seemed nice, but something about her seemed a little off. He couldn't put his finger on it, but they sure didn't click yet. And he didn't like that. Mom was nice, though, and she always made time to chat with him whenever they saw each other. But again, outside of rehearsals he really didn't see anyone. He really needed to make a friend, and he hoped that would be Jude.
But it looked like she'd probably soon have a boyfriend. Should he greet the guy first, then say hi to Jude? Or would that seem aggressive? Or maybe that would make Jude mad! Eddie was starting to realize how socially comfortable his life had been. He was pretty much in the top crowd for the theatre department at his old school, and he was well-liked even outside that group. He had a seemingly loving girlfriend, a number of very close friends, and a great life. Then stupid L.A. Had to come along and change everything!
Finally, Eddie came near enough to the pair to say something. “Hi, Jude,” he said, though it was a little quickly due to nerves. He turned to the other guy and extended his hand. “Hi... uh, I'm Eddie.” His eyes darted to Jude, hoping to get some sort of inside info on what was going on. Her cheeks seemed a little flushed. So she liked this guy? Or maybe she was just hot? That couldn't be it, not with the weather. Not to mention girls were always cold. It was a solid fact Eddie had learned throughout high school.
“Sooo... how's it going?” The question was to the pair in general, but Eddie made sure to be looking at Jude when he asked.
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Post by Jude Sheffield on Dec 16, 2009 23:32:56 GMT -5
Jude didn't know if it was her nerves or she was all of a sudden very cold as Mike and her waited for Eddie to finally arrive. His greeting made her blush even more as she shyly brought her hand up to wave at Eddie once more. "Hi Eddie," her voice was soft but clear enough that Eddie should have been able to hear her. But it was clear to both Eddie and Mike that she was flustered. By whom, neither could be too sure. Might be both of them really. She obviously had a little crush on Eddie already but Mike was a potential friend although he had just asked her out. Would this pose as a problem? Eddie looked a bit off for some reason as he asked his question. But he was looking at her...could that ever be wrong?
"Um...Eddie this is Mike. He just came over to accompany me." Jude answered as she patted the area just next to her for him to sit. "I have a bit more of pasta salad if you haven't had your lunch, Eddie." She pushed her container of pasta to Eddie after he sat and took out the bottle of orange juice she had procured from the canteen. It was the only thing that looked trustworthy enough to be bought from the cafeteria. She took a little sip as she waited for the guys to be acquainted.
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Mike Spruill
Inactive
Played by Karen
"Let's party and party and party hard."
Posts: 112
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Post by Mike Spruill on Dec 17, 2009 9:27:37 GMT -5
Mike was never one for competition. Being a hedonist and all Mike liked what he liked and hated for anyone to get in the way. It's what happened with Jade, however, Mike had screwed that up on his own. He had Jade and then lost him due to his own stupidity. So competition or not, Mike was an idiot when it came to relationships. He just knew what kept a smile on his face, and his mind off the pain that he was currently experiencing. Mike noticed when Jude perked up at the other guy, but he had no idea why. Maybe This Eddie guy was a friend, maybe more. Who knows, but Mike had to be good, nice.
He had to prove her could be different. Which was tough. He could really use another painkiller right now, but it was left in his book bag. It was a bad habit. Mike had gone through a week and a half of withdrawal, but going through that alone was not good enough. He should be in therapy. Mike was slowing realizing he may be an addict, but he was not sure he wanted to really stop. Why should her? He had no real reason to....
"Eddie nice to meet you, I think I have seen you around Silver." He told the man. Mike looked at Jude and Eddie. She seemed flustered, but Mike could not tell if it was him or Eddie. Mike shifted a little to give Eddie room. "Yeah join us man. We were just discussing friends and stuff. The more the merrier." Mike said with a smile. Those words had been spoken before, but never in this context. Damn this was all so new to Mike. Normally he would be off getting high right about now, but nope, he decided to sit here with Jude and now Eddie. Which for Mike was the better choice. He got the company of a beautiful woman and, well Eddie, although Mike was not sure what to make of the guy yet, but he would find out.
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Post by Eddie O'Flaherty on Dec 17, 2009 15:35:26 GMT -5
The air around the group felt awkward, at least that's how Eddie perceived it. Whether it was in his head or not, Eddie felt like Mike was sizing him up. Eddie felt like at any moment this was going to turn into some weird dating game show where Jude would have to immediately pick one boy or the other. The other night Eddie thought things were finally going his way, but now it just seemed like a big mess.
“Oh, uh, thanks Jude. I have mu lunch right here.” He held up the paper sack his dad had thrown together in the morning. Most likely some left over spaghetti from last night, a bottle of apple juice, and maybe a few other smaller snacks. Pasta salad might be a nice addition, but he didn't want to eat all of Jude's food.
He turned to the other boy as he spoke again. “Nice to meet you too. I'm still kinda new to the school, so sorry if I don't recognize you. So many new faces, you know?” He really hoped Mike was just leaving, but from the looks of things he was there for the duration of lunch. Eddie thought it might be best if he just left. “I don't want to, uh, interrupt or anything. I just came to say hi. So, uh, hi.” In retrospect, Eddie realized what a terrible excuse that was. Did he really cross the entire lawn just to come say hi? He had to have walked about forty yards just to reach the pair, making it painfully obvious he really went out of his way. A terrifying thought occurred to him: What if Jude and Mike realized he had a crush on her? Eddie could picture the pair bursting out into laughter, just before they started making out right in front of him.
He spun around to walk away, doing his best to hide the embarrassed look on his face. “I'll talk to you guys later,” he mumbled as he began to walk away.
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Post by Jude Sheffield on Dec 17, 2009 22:42:45 GMT -5
Nodding at Eddie's paper bag lunch, Jude pulled her own lunch away from him and finished it up before packing it back into her bag. She took sips of orange juice as the boys introduced themselves to each other. Jude sat there and watched as the two interacted as awkwardly as she had ever seen anyone talk with each other before. It was painful but there was seriously nothing she could do about it, she thought to herself with an amused inward chuckle.
She was about to ask if he was going to sit or not to eat lunch but Eddie started saying that his coming over wasn't permanent and Jude's smile dropped slightly. "But you're not interrupting, Eddie..." Jude's small voice seemed to echo in her mind as a frown made its way on her delicate face. This wasn't turning out to be a good lunch. She liked Mike's company just fine but she had been waiting for Eddie essentially but maybe he really only did come over to say hi. Well crap for her then.
He was starting to walk away and with a glance at Mike, Jude decided to stop Eddie in his tracks. "Eddie, wait!" She raised her voice just a smidge from her normal talking voice as she scrambled to get up. She looked back down to Mike with an apologetic look on her face. "Mike please excuse me." She straightened her bag and bit her lower lip. "Hopefully we'll bump into each other soon." With a small wave, she ran behind Eddie and reached her hand out to grab his shirt but stumbled when she miscalculated a step.
"Ow," she bit her lip from yelling out loud when her knees hit the hard ground. Okay...what happened?
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Mike Spruill
Inactive
Played by Karen
"Let's party and party and party hard."
Posts: 112
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Post by Mike Spruill on Dec 17, 2009 23:31:08 GMT -5
The awkwardness did not escape Mike's notice. He had not meant for things to be awkward, but then again this was Mike. So to him this was nothing new. He had been in many awkward situations before and no doubt would be in many after this. He never meant to make situations awkward, it was more a talent then anything. He just had this tough exterior that made people question him. Part of his facade. Mike was a sweet talker, but sometimes the way he presented himself was an issue. "Yeah I understand the faces thing. Its hard sometimes. I was new once, so you get use to it."
Mike nodded as Eddie left. Mike had no idea if it was him or Jude...or what made the man turn around and run as if he was scared. Mike just shrugged and nodded. "Have a good afternoon Jude. Bye Eddie." Mike called as he stood up himself. He winced a little more before giving a small wave and walking off. He needed to head to his locker, so this was a good thing. Although Mike wanted to know if Jude would go out with him, he also wanted some pain killers and the pain killers were more important right now. That was the addict in him talking.
Mike stopped and turned when he heard the words 'Ow' escape Jude's lips. He took a step toward them, but decided to wait and make sure she was okay. After all, there was a reason she went after Eddie. Even if Mike was a tad jealous she had done so, he was trying to be good with taking a step back, which was so damn hard. Once he knew Jude was okay, he left to indulge in his habit.
<Wrapped for Mike>
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Post by Eddie O'Flaherty on Dec 18, 2009 0:21:25 GMT -5
What a complete dolt he was! Eddie didn't usually get down on himself, but after walking away from Jude he felt like a total jerk. Why couldn't he have just accepted that Mike was there and hung out? Maybe he could have made another friend! Sure, he wasn't necessarily getting a good feeling from the guy, but that was most likely just in his head. He was jealous, that was the real problem. Eddie was starting to get lonely, and it was making him feel really weird. He pulled out his phone and opened up to his phone book. Jessie...
He heard footsteps behind him, then something a bit more chaotic followed by the word “Ow.” He turned to find Jude behind him on the ground. His heart raced. Was she chasing him down? Was she mad at him? Was she okay? “Hey, are you okay Jude?” He knelt down and helped her sit up a bit. Her left knee had a small mess of blood centered on it. “That concrete can be a little tricky, huh?” Eddie smiled, hoping a joke might lighten her up. He took a handkerchief out of his pocket and held it on to her kneecap. “Anything else hurt?”
Eddie was curious why Jude chased him down. In his experience, if a girl was running after you, it was either really good or really bad. It could have been that she wanted to hang out with him so bad she chased him down, which was good. Or it could be that she was really angry he was just kinda rude and wanted to hit him, most likely with a shoe (again, in Eddie's experience). She didn't have a shoe in her hand, which made it much more likely that it was good, but he still wasn't sure.
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Post by Jude Sheffield on Dec 18, 2009 7:54:25 GMT -5
This really wasn't turning out into a good day. When she saw Mike walk off, she bit her lower lip to stop it from quivering too much. Her knees were stinging and she could see blood starting to come up on the surface. She sighed when the back of her eyes stung as a tell tale sign for her tears to come. Her hand which she had used to stop her fall was now sore around the wrist and the heel of the palm had been scraped a little but not enough to draw blood.
When Eddie turned and pressed a handkerchief on her knee, she didn't know if she should smile or be upset but both emotions came out clear in her watery eyes and bright smile. His little joke made a small laugh escape from her lips. She held her palm up to let him see the scrape on it. She put a hand over Eddie's hand that was pressing the handkerchief over her knee and pressed it gently while her other hand wiped at her eyes, hoping she did it discretely.
She looked at Eddie, tilting her head slightly. "Why did you walk away?" she asked softly. "You didn't call me either." Her head dropped a little in embarrassment for bringing that topic up. "Is it because you don't like me? I thought we hit it off quite well that night at the club." Gulping inaudibly, she braved herself to look up at Eddie, completely unaware that her cream white cheeks were tinged with red.
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Post by Eddie O'Flaherty on Dec 19, 2009 14:51:57 GMT -5
Eddie was not prepared for the torrent of questions that seemed to fall out of Jude's mouth. The more she talked, the brighter her cheeks got, and after the final question, Eddie finally realized what was going on. His heart started to race and a combination of excitement and nervousness caused him to tremble slightly. In a movie, he would simply kiss her and everything would be okay, but this was real life and Eddie was still much to afraid to try anything so bold.
“Oh, God, umm... well I thought I was interrupting something. I'm sorry... I...” His tongue felt like it was three times it's normal size. He knew Jude liked him now, and he was still not as confident as he should be. “I like you too, and I wanted to call. It's just... I mean, it's hard for a guy!” Eddie's face start growing red as well, and soon the pair's embarrassment made them match. “I didn't want you to think I was some weirdo if I called too soon. I was going to call tonight, really!” He could hardly put his thoughts together. He didn't expect anything like this to happen, he figured he'd have to put in a lot of time if he and Jude ever dated. He didn't even know if he was ready to date anyone himself!
“So, uh... you wanna hang out tomorrow night?” She probably already had plans, but Eddie figured he'd take a shot anyway. If she was busy, there was always the rest of the weekend.
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Post by Jude Sheffield on Dec 19, 2009 15:34:08 GMT -5
Eddie's flustered apology made Jude feel that much more enamored by the boy. And the confession that he too liked her made her blush even more. His reassurance of wanting to call her made her heart go all a flutter and a smile was so ready to just burst out on her face. She held it back, allowing just a small hint of a smile as she tried to interject just a bit. She had always thought it was a protocol if a girl gave her number to a guy, she expected him to call her at least by the next day.
She was so close to telling him how she had stayed up almost the whole night after they parted recounting what happened. And then the next day, her phone had been with her the whole day in her pocket, just waiting for a text or a phone call from him. But nothing came until she almost gave up hope. She was actually really going to accept Mike's invitation if Eddie hadn't come along. But he did. He actually did and Jude couldn't help her smile from widening.
His indignant cry made her giggle softly as she pulled Eddie's hand down with his handkerchief. She rummaged through her bag to find anything to wrap her knee with but found nothing. Biting her lower lip, she looked at Eddie to ask if he could accompany her to the nurse's office for some bandages when she heard the last couple of words from Eddie.
Her face must have split in two with how huge her grin grew. Finally, Eddie was asking her out. The right boy was asking her to hang out. Not that Mike was wrong but he just wasn't the right one. Eddie was. And he was asking her out! It was unfortunate that Jude didn't have any friends here to scream at for her luck. She supposed she could only tell her mother for now, which she really didn't mind.
Not many people can claim they have a solid relationship with their parents but Jude prided in that fact instead of shying away in embarrassment. Her parents are quite awesome in her opinion. Oh but what her mother would say about this gentleman being a friend...or maybe more to her only daughter who had never been in any kind of relationship other than friendship.
Jude decided not to think too much about it as she rummaged once more in her bag to find the flier she had been saving since she first moved to LA. It was a moving performing arts group that came to town only once for two whole weeks only to move to another town, another city, another country after the two weeks was up. The acts were never identical and they had just about everything. Music, dance, theatre and even carnival attractions. She had always wanted to go but she didn't like going to these kinds of places alone and now she didn't have to. Eddie had just asked if she wanted to hang out.
Finding the flier, Jude smoothed it out on her lap and handed it to Eddie with a huge smile. "I've heard rave reviews of the performances and they're here for two more days and then they're gone. Their theater is amazing from what I hear. Come with me..." she tilted her head slightly to gage Eddie's reaction to the invitation. She really hoped he would agree.
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