Making New Friends (Fallon tag Sebastian)

[Fallon Cotton]

Fallon had heard about the food fight. She heard through Ezzie about it all. And about this apparent new guy named Sebastian, who seemed very cool. Especially since he saved Ezzie from getting hit by a tray. Fallon just smiled as Ezzie told the story during the park clean up. Ezzie loved anything that made a good story. Fallon was shocked Thad had not said anything yet. Oh well. She was sure to hear it from home anyway.

Fallon was helping with the clean up. She was doing her best to help, but with Ezzie talking Fal kept getting distracted. However, she did pick up enough trash for two bags to be filled. When the clean up was over Fallon cleaned herself up as much as she could. She was glad for the weather because she did not sweat as much and thankfully she did not have work tonight either. Which was nice. Fallon could take her notebook, go to the Pier and sit and draw. Which is just what she planned to do.

Fallon was walking with her bag slung over her shoulder and walked down the grassy hill. She was looking at a drawing she had made and was contemplating turning the jeans into one with rips, but sideways rips. It seemed better in her head. She was trying to picture it when she ran into someone. Her body bounced off the other person, and sent her back a few feet and she landed on the ground on her ass. Fallon looked up at the person she hit, "Sorry. Apparently I still have problems with walking and being distracted at the same time." Fallon said laughing.

[Sebastian Flambert]

"N-no.. It's m-my f-fault.."

Sebastian smiled lightly, and rose to his feet in one smooth movement. Moments earlier, he had been reading an anthology of Hans Christian Anderson's best-selling fairy tailes, before being bowled over by the girl lying before him.

"I'm s-sorry."

Sheepishly, he knelt to help Fallon up from the grass, passing the girl's drawing notebook into her hands.

Having survived the calamity of the first day of school, Sebastian had opted to join the other students on the annual park clean up in lieu of his adopted mother's absence at home. While it could hardly be said that he had a large group of friends at this function, Sebastian felt that an hour spent at the park was preferable to hurrying off to an empty home.

Despite his lack of interaction with the other students, he thoroughly enjoyed being out and about with nature, and had wandered away from his main group to enjoy the pleasant quiet. While the other students looked away, he discreetly took his familiar baby-blue security blanket and anthology of fairy tales from their hiding spot in his backpack, and snuck off in search of a comfortable place to read.

While an everlasting source of embarrassment and ridicule, the blue blanket he often carried around was (sadly enough) a familiar companion that had seen him through his tumultuous lifetime, having been given to him during his stay at "The Rose Garden" by a nun who had noticed his tendancy to stay away from the other children during recess time.

As long as he could remember, he had always slept with it at his side, an ever loyal guardian offering comfort in a cruel and inhospitable world.

It was also, to his great embarrassment, in his hand.

"Erm...." mumbled Sebastian, trying his best to conceal the baby blanket behind his back, "M-my n-name's... Sebastian."

He stuttered whenever he was nervous, a mannerism that had first surfaced during his third year of residence in the "Rose Garden" orphanage.

When Father Francois first took a liking to him....

A sudden wave of nausea struck him in the stomach, accompanied by a string of unpleasant memories that he immediately forced away with great difficulty.

The quiet room...

He bit his lip.

The touching...

"I-It's nice to meet y-you.."

Averting his gaze down to the ground, he shyly reached out a hand in acknowledgement, noting that his book lay several feet away on the grass.

[Fallon Cotton]

Fallon just blinked as the guy spoke. She caught sight of something blue, but it was whisked behind the boys back before she could make out what it was. Fal's first impression was that the guy was cute and either he was new or he did not attend Gould. Fal listened as he stuttered. Her next impression was he must be shy around women. "Thank you." She said softly as he helped her up and handed her back her drawing book. If she ever lost that book, she would surly go crazy. That book, along with many others like it, was her life in a nut shell.


"I'm Fallon. Nice to meet you Sebastian. Are you feeling okay?" He looked a tad sick in her eyes. Why did that name sound familiar. Fallon had to think for a moment as Sebastian reached out his hand. Fallon reached out and shook his hand with a bright smile. Then she looked down and brushed off her knees while catching sight of the book on the ground that had probably been in Sebastian's hands, since it was not her book obviously. Fallon walked the few paces and picked the book up. "Is this yours?" She asked in a sweet voice, "I hope so, because if not my next comment will be sorely misplaced, but you happen to be reading on of my authors. My personal favorites are 'The Snow Queen' and 'Thumbelina'. here you are." She handed his book back to him.

Then it hit her as she held out the book for him to take, just where she heard the name from. "Okay this might seem strange, but are you the same Sebastian from the lunch room in the food fight. My friend Ezzie was telling me about this guy from the lunch room named Sebastian, and I guess I am assuming, and hoping I assume right, that you and he are one in the same." Fallon said sweetly. "If you are that Sebastian, then you also met my brother Thad, the guy with the crutches." Fallon was talking in a sweet voice and rambling. She could tell from the earlier stuttering Sebastian might be nervous so she wanted to talk in hopes he would feel more comfortable along the way.

[Sebastian Flambert]

- "If you are that Sebastian, then you also met my brother Thad, the guy with the crutches?"

Sebastian nodded in assent, smiling as he took back his fairy tale anthology. There was something about this particular girl that seemed to put his mind at ease, though he wasn't entirely sure what it was. Like her brother, Thad, she seemed a different from most other students, albeit in far less "crazy" way.

"I-I like..."

There was something in her eyes that seemed to show that she meant no harm... Kind eyes.

"I-I like 'The Ugly Duckling'... Th-the best.."

A twinge of guilt shot through him, which soon dissipated as Fallon smiled in acknowledgement. She liked fairy tales too, and didn't seem to judge him in the way most other kids had throughout his life.

Relaxing slightly, he pulled he blanket up from behind him, letting it rest lightly on his shoulders. A familiar warmth seemed to follow, along with the pleasant smell of fabric softener.

"I... I did meet your b-brother earlier today, Fallon.. T-though it probably wasn't in the b-best of situations.."

Sebastian grinned to himself as he remembered the day's earlier events; on the very first day of school, he had somehow gotten into the middle of a ferocious food fight in the school cafeteria, barely surviving.

"He certainly was... a character.."

Somehow, he, Thad, and several other students managed to sneak away from the mayhem without being reprimanded by the incensed faculty, throwing (no pun intended) several good parting shots in the process.

Glancing back, he noticed that Fallon's attention was still focused on him. His grin faded slightly, and he once again turned his eyes back to the ground.

"Erm.."

He hoped he hadn't offended the girl.

"H-how i-i-is... he, b-by the way?" Sebastian inquired, his stutter noticably returning.

[Fallon Cotton]

"The Ugly Duckling is a really good story. I would have to agree with you there." It might not be one of her two favorites, but it was in her top five. Fal saw when Sebastian pulled out the blanket from his back and placed it over his shoulder. She just continued to give him a kind smile. She understood all to well the comfort some things provided. Despite her books only one other thing got her through the tough days and especially got her through her tough summer at the Institution. "That's a beautiful blanket. I love the blue color. I have this stuffed dog named Tink. Its green and I got it from my dad when I was younger. The dog...well its a long story. One saved for another day when I can actually show it to you." The dog is what gave her, her first inspiration to make clothes.

The dog was dressed in a ballerina outfit with wings and that started Fallon on a fairytale kick, which led to her wanting to make clothes for a living. It was funny how things happened. "My brother is fine. Knowing him he is still laughing about the food fight. Thad is tougher then he looks." Fal admitted to Sebastian. "I can't imagine a better way to meet people. Imagine the story you get to tell people. It will have people laughing in no time. Which is good. Laughing is a good way to break the ice." Fal told Sebastian. A good story always helped, especially when there was an awkward silence.

"I assume you are new, I have never seen you around before...where are you from?" Fallon was always curious about new people. She lover hearing about other people's lives and adventures. Fal did not care if the person was home school mast of their lives, it was still an adventure to her. Everyone had their own lives and those lives were adventures in her eyes. Fallon just ignored the stuttering for now. "Do you want to sit down? There is a bench right there. I know we have been on our feet all day from the clean up, so a seat might be good right now."

[Sebastian Flambert]

- "I assume you are new, I have never seen you around before...where are you from?"

Where was he from? That was a great question, seeing as throughout his entire life he had never seen himself as "from" a particular point or place. Shayne, his adopted mother, often moved around due to the demands of her job, never really giving Sebastian the opportunity to claim any place his "home".

He stiffened at the question, but almost immediately relaxed as he saw a genuinely sincere look in Fallon's eyes. While he rarely liked talking about his troubled past with anyone, there was definitely something about this one particular girl that seemed to "coax" him out from his shell... Though he couldn't quite put a finger on what it was.

"Yeah.." Sebastian replied, following Fallon to a place on the vacant park bench. "That'd... b-be great.."

The park was truly a beautiful place to be in this particular time of the year, green and full of life with Spring's early arrival. Flowers were beginning to bloom, painting the earth's green canvas with an awesome collage of different colors.

Children were playing several dozen meters away in a nearby playground, with several parents watching close by.

Sebastian smiled as he observed this, contemplating in his silence his life story.

"I.... I was born in Marseilles, France..." spoke Sebastian, after what seemed like a long time.. "To... Grimoire and Madeline Flambert, I think.."

He had very few memories of his parents, the only ones he could remember being that of a three year old child being neglected by a pair of irresponsible teenage drug addicts ill-equipped for the realities of society, let alone parenthood.

Dirty rooms, needles, endless bottles of alcohol littering the filthy three-room apartment that was his first home. Even at the age of three he felt that something was horribly wrong.

"They..." continued Sebastian, watching a child happily hug at his mother, "They..."

"Just leave the little bastard here, Madeline.."

"Shut up, Goddammit!"

"They couldn't take care of me.."

"Fucking whore.. Why didn't you get the damn abortion like I told you too?"

"In fact.." continued Sebastian, watching mother and child walk away from the playground. "They kinda just... left me one day.."

He glanced up from his narration, smiling sadly.

Abandoned on the filthy streets of Marseilles' Red-Light District would be a more fitting term. Of course, she need not know the entirety of the truth.

"Erm..." mumbled Sebastian, "I-I... I lived at an orphanage for a while.. Until I was ten."

The Rose Garden was a horrific time and place in Sebastian's life, an orphanage run by one of Marseilles' parishes dedicated to the upbringing of troubled youth. On the outside, it was an immaculate institution succeeding in its idealistic goals.

For the orphanges in its charge, it was a different experience altogether.. A horrific place of unspeakable abuse and religious hypocrisy that often covered up the numerous abuse allegations with the help of the Bishop of Marseilles

Such memories were better off left alone..

"I... I was adopted by Shayne Warren, around that time.." he added, forcing a smile as he hurridly changed the topic. "S-She's my 'mom', and took me all around the world."

"Erm.. She's a businesswoman, of sorts... and travels all over the place. W-We last moved here, to Beverley Hills after st-staying in Montreal last year.."

He clutched his blanket tightly, his attention suddenly drifting to a single white butterfly fluttering almost an arm's length away from his face. Elegantly, it seemed to dance about in the air before flying away.

"Wow.."

Sebastian glanced sideways towards his companion, trying to get a feel for what she was thinking. For a brief moment, he thought something flash in her eyes.

Was it sadness? Pity?

A familiar ringing noise dispelled these thoughts, causing him to immediately look around the area for its source. Within a few seconds, he found its origin, and was not at all disappointed.

Ice Cream!

It was the local Ice Cream man, going about his daily rounds.

"H-Hey." called Sebastian, his face positively glowing with happines, "I'm hungry.. Do... Do you wanna g-get some ice cream with me?"

"My treat?"

[Fallon Cotton]

Fallon just listened to the sad story. She instinctivly reached out a hand to cover his in a small friendly touch. It was slow, so hopefully Sebastian did not feel threatened. As he talked about his family abandoning him, a flash of familiarty was in her eyes. It was something that said, 'I know what its like to be abandoned.'. Although Fal's story was not like Sebastians. The poor kid had suffered more then she did, but Fal still felt her father had abandoned the family, so she knew all about having a parent leave. Even though her mom was around Fallon saw her mother as being on the Harlot's side, so she felt her mother was against her. Another abandonment. At least she had her siblings.

"Such a tragic story. I am glad you were adopted to a good mom." She told him with a kind smile. Sebastian deserved it. Her head snapped up when he mentioned ice cream, "Its like you read my mind. The moment I heard the truck, its what I craved." Fallon said with a laugh. She stood up from the bench and reached out her hand in a friendly gesture. "Come, let's go catch the truck."

Fallon let out a giggle. "You enjoying America?" How long have you lived here? Your English is very good." Fallon could speak fluent historical english from the medievil period, but not a foreign language. Although perhaps he did not speak french. In which case, in typical Fallon fashion, she just made a fool of herself. "I will have a strawberry snow cone please." She asked in a sweet voice. This guy was so nice and sad at the same time. Some how Fallon felt drawn to him in a way. He would definatly make a good friend.

[Sebastian Flambert]

Sebastian was surprised at the amount of strength Fallon had in her hands, and even more in awe of the girl's success in getting him (often the subdued introvert of the crowd) to interact in a fairly pleasant way. Lifted up from his seat in the park bench, both boy and girl charged gleefully towards the stationary ice cream truck less than thirty meters away, hand in hand.

She's really nice.

He couldn't help but smile as the unfamiliar warmth of another person's hand coursed in his own, a pleasant change from the usual days of long solitude.

I like her.

The pair narrowly beat a crowd of rambunctious grade schoolers to the truck, sprinting the last few meters with the usual vigor of the adolescent sugar-addicts that both Fallon and Sebastian were. It was truly an unusual sight, one that drew stares and smiles alike from all over the park.

The ice cream man, an elderly gentleman with a mustache, grinned knowingly at the two teens as he passed over a strawberry snow-cone and a triple-scoop vanilla-pistachio-cheesecake to Sebastian's hands. His eyes wandered over Sebastian's happy expression, and eventually onto the blue security blanket he had slung over his shoulders.

"Cute kids.." commented the older man, winking at Fallon, "You've got quite the boyfriend, kiddo."

Sebastian's eyes raised high in surprise, and nearly dropped his entire ice cream cone onto the dirt, prompting a series of childish giggles from the crowd of little girls lined up behind him. Staggering to readjust himself, he nevertheless managed to prevent disaster from occurring, and pretended to ignore the older gentleman's teasing.

Fallon seemed to find this funny, accepting the strawberry snow cone he held out in his left hand.

"I've been around, mainly.." spoke Sebastian, trying his best to brush off the 'boyfriend' comment in as casual a manner as possible, "So.. I haven't really stayed here in America for too long."

He took a huge lick out of his ice-cream cone, getting a small speck of the treat on the edge of his nose.

"But... They t-taught us English at th-the orphanage when we were younger."

The very mention of the "Rose Garden" almost made him lose his appetite for ice cream altogether, almost being the key word. When it came to ice cream, there was little in the world that could make the perennial toddler that was Sebastian Flambert lose his appetite.

Nevertheless, he frowned slightly, as if to banish a foul memory. The pair continued on in their stroll, maneuvering around kids and parents alike as they made their way about the park.

Sebastian paused momentarily to savor a particularly tasty lick of his ice cream, before immediately sitting down on a grassy knoll overlooking the park's main playground. Children were still at play, running about the playground in groups of three's and four's.

He glanced upward, smiling happily, before laying his blue blanket out beside him in an inviting manner. A small wave of the hand motioned for Fallon to sit down next to him.

"Erm..." mumbled Sebastian, trying to figure out what else to say. "I guess.. Shayne's been okay.. This is the first week we've actually been living here in California, so I can't really complain too much.."

"I like the weather, though.. It's very warm."

He smiled again.

"Not like Quebec."

[Fallon Cotton]

Fallon could not help but find Sebastian's shy nature absolutly adorable. She herself had moments of being shy, but in all honesty, Fallon was far from shy. If anything there were times she could be more outspoken. It just depended upon whom she was with. Bring the step mother anywhere near Fallon and she would not hesitate to make her disgust for the other woman known. Fallon had her moments. She briskly walked, or rather ran with Sebasitian to go get ice cream laughing. This was turning into a fun day. Fallon blushed a little when the ice cream man called Sebastian her 'boyfriend' and the girls giggled, "I am very lucky sir, he is a great boyfriend."

Fallon took the snow cone and gave it a lick. There was a glint in her eyes as she looked at the group of girls who were giggling, "Just wait till you all are older and have a cute guy." She smiled playfully and laughed as she walked off with Sebastian. As they came to the grassy knowl that Sebastian sat down on. "I think those girls had a crush on you." She smirked as she took a seat next to him.

"Well you speak English very well...." When Fallon finally did look at Sebastian she saw the ice cream on the tip of his nose and laughed a little, "Hold on...you have some right here...." she used a napkin to wipe it off his nose, "There." Then she went back to eating her snow cone. "I am glad you found a good woman to adopt you. I am sure an orphange cannot be a happy place sometimes." Although Fallon herself was not adopted.

"I know what its like to feel abandoned. Although it was not like your situation at all. my father did not leave because he did not want us, he left because my mother cheated on him with anothe r woman and he could not handle it." At least that's how it happened in Fal's mind. "He packed up one day told me and my siblings good bye and walked out the door. That was a few years ago and I have yet to hear from him."

Fal sighed her eyes looking distant and sad, "My mother soon had a commitment ceremony with her girlfriend and now I have a step mother I do not like. The step monster as I like to call her thinks she knows what is good for me." She admitted. Fallon just shook her head at the idea. The evil woman had her scent to a mental institution. But Fallon was not about t scare Sebastian away with that story.

Fallon went along with the subject change, "Yes I love the weather here too. By the way, about the boyfriend comment I said. I could not resist. They were adorable, the old man and the little girls. Did you see how they reacted?"

[Sebastian Flambert]

Sebastian looked downwards in slight embarrassment, taking another lick out of his ice cream cone. Relationships, especially those of the romantic kind, were definitely not his forte and he didn't quite know what to say regarding the 'boyfriend' comment.

"Erm..." mumbled Sebastian.

"Y-Yeah..."

He was definitely enjoying this afternoon, though, and made a silent reminder to note this experience in tonight's journal. It had been a long time since he had anyone act so nicely to him, and he was honestly starting to like this peculiar girl who had taken an interest in his person.

Sebastian scooted closer to his new companion, eventually touching shoulder to shoulder with the girl. Looking sideways, he grinned happily towards Fallon's direction, bringing his head down lightly to rest on her shoulder.

This girl seemed to understand him, even if only for a short while.

He let it rest on her shoulder for a few seconds, before sitting upright, and turning his attention back on his ice cream. The day was starting to end, and he was quite sad to see this newfound happiness go away.

"You know.."

He'd have to go home soon, and he would definitely miss this girl's company.

"You... You should have d-dinner with us t-tonight.." he spoke, looking up with a gleam in his eye, "I.. I l-live in Hollywood, and I-I'm sure Shayne wouldn't mind the company.."

He smiled, hoping that he wouldn't have to cut this day short after all.

"We.. We can get you back h-home before nine.. If y-you've really need to.. b-be somewhere."

Sebastian paused momentarily, hoping he wasn't being too forward. He was really hoping that he'd finally have someone to take to his house, a very large Hollywood villa that was more often than not, empty.

"Erm.. It's not too far away.. and I'd really l-like to.. t-talk to you s-some more.."