Contemplation (Open, Any)

[Sebastian Flambert]

The Pier

It was very pretty.



Ever since he was a small child, Sebastian enjoyed watching sunsets. Something about the myriad of reddish-gold and orange colors blending into a single indistinguishable haze struck a chord in the boy's soul, giving him some sort of release from whatever problems plagued his life. For a few minutes, all anxieties and feelings of isolation faded away with the setting sun, giving him the chance to soulfully reflect on every aspect of his life..

He smiled softly as the sun's rays fell upon his face, and licked at the pistachio flavored ice-cream cone he held in his right hand. His baby-blue blanket, a relic of his childhood, was wrapped snugly around his slender shoulders and offered some degree of warmth from the chilly October air. Of course, he had clung onto his baby blanket more so out of habit than necessity.. an everlasting reminder of a tormented childhood that, despite how much he tried, he was incapable of forgetting.

Clara.

Sebastian frowned at the very thought of the girl, a long-gone spectre of a girl that had haunted the boy years after his departure from 'the Rose Garden', and seemed to lick at his ice-cream cone with less enthuasiam.

I wonder how she is?

He had spent most of his childhood in an parish-run orphanage situated in Marseilles and had endured years of abuse from his caretakers before being adopted by Shayne Warren, his mother. During this time, a girl several years older than him served as a sort of 'maternal figure' in his life, helping him cope with the horrendous environment through her own brand of storytelling and imaginative play.

Clara had made such an impact on him that years later, long after his departure from France, he still mused on the whereabouts of this particular girl.. Flashbacks and powerful memories of her and the 'Rose Garden' came to him at particularly stressful situations, greatly affecting his relationships with other individuals.

Fallon..

Sebastian's head fell in shame at what he had put his former girlfriend through.. While he had tried earnestly to build a meaningful relationship with a bright and optimistic girl dedicated to the betterment of his mental state, Sebastian's conflicted past and emotional scars proved to be a deal-breaker for the two, causing both to withdraw quietly several days prior after a heated arguement over none other than Clara.

He allowed the side of his cheek to rest against his free hand, and continued to lick despondantly at his ice-cream cone. The 'Fallon' issue had flung him into a depression further exaberated by the particularly difficult counseling sessions with Dr. Vlahos (his psychiatrist)..

"I ruin everything..." he murmured, staring at the horizon.

Almost in reply, a small drop of the green-colored ice-cream splattered onto his cordoroy pants and left a blotch on the fabric.

The boy cursed softly in French, and quickly maneuvered the ice-cream cone away from his body. Frantically, he rubbed at the stain in an effort to remove the offending blemish, before giving up completely and slumping down against a nearby wooden post in defeat..

[Dean Wallace]

"Dad, I'm at the boardwalk. No, I'm alone. No, I'll be fine by myself. Dad, you remember the time you told me I should tell you when you're smothering me? Yeah...this is that time. Dad. Dad. DAD! Yes I'll be home as soon as I'm done. I love you too dad. Yes very much. I feel the same. Very much so. Okay. Good night dad. I'll see you soon. Okay. Okay hanging up now. Alright bye." Dean pressed the red phone icon button and slipped the heinous contraption into his side pocket as he walked along the pier.

Today had been his first day of school as a sophomore and to be honest, he didn't see why it was better for him to be in a public school than being tutored at home by his father. Or some other qualified person. There were way too many people walking through the halls, the lockers were a confusing maze of numbers and the teachers...well. Needless to say, Dean would have liked it better if he was still living in the Stone Caves in Malaysia.

But his father had been excited for him and frankly, Dean didn't like disappointing his father, hence the trip down the boardwalk. He was trying to collect his thoughts so he could barrel through tomorrow. The first day hadn't been good for him since he didn't really have time to make friends but tomorrow...maybe tomorrow he will have more luck in that department. He was sure of it. He will be signing up for the clubs and for sure he will meet someone! Positive thinking, that's all it took.

Just as he got up to the pier, he heard someone curse in French. Dean lit up and turned to where the voice had come from to find a boy looking down in the dumps over by the benches. Slowly, the sophomore approached the boy and raised his hand in a form of a peace sign. "Um...bon nuit." He waved at the boy. "My name's Dean. Mind if I sat beside you?" He asked, purely in French.

[Sebastian Flambert]

"Y-Yes.." stammered Sebastian, taken back by the boy's sudden appearance. "You may.."

He glanced over the younger boy hesitantly, unsure what to make of this fellow Francophone, and scooted slightly to the left to allow Dean room to sit beside him.

"Canadian?" inquired Sebastian, also in French. "Your accent is.. different.."

Sebastian glanced down towards his ice cream cone, and licked miserably at the pistachio-flavored treat, the thoughts of Clara and Fallon still hot on his mind.

"Erm..." he mumbled, groping about for the proper words. "I-It's nice to m-meet you too.."

"I-I'm Sebastian.."

A brisk wind blew from the east, causing Sebastian to shiver from the cold. Despite having lived in Canada for several seasons, he had never taken to cool weather, and had resolved to never live in Toronto ever again.

"It's a bit cold.." spoke Sebastian, a hint of anxiety detectable in his voice. "I usually d-don't go to the pier too often, b-but I think I've been needing to do it r-recently.."

He turned to glance at the sunset to the west, and smiled at the beautiful display of reddish-gold pigment staining the horizon. Golden rays of light poked boldly through the crimson-tinted sky, reaching upwards with the delicate beauty of a child's hand.

The water below reflected the magnificent display perfectly, and seemed to possess another sunset within itself. Above, shades of violet and dark blue began to overtake the day's last remaining minutes of light, bringing with them the first stars of the night.

"The sunsets, a-actually.." he continued, pointing towards the horizon. "I just come for the sunsets.."

"No matter where you seem to go, sunsets always seem to stay the same.."

[Dean Wallace]

"Thank you very much," Dean replied politely when he was granted permission. When asked if he was Canadian, Dean laughed and shook his head. Surprisingly enough, Canada wasn't one of the places he had visited or stayed in despite being rich in culture. He must convince his dad to visit there some day. "I wish I could say I was a native of some place but I don't actually have a home. I've been traveling my whole life." Dean explained to his new found friend. Possibly. "Are you Canadian?" He asked sort of as an afterthought.

Seeing Sebastian shiver, Dean almost immediately took off his first layer of clothing and offered it to Sebastian without hesitation. His father always bundled him up with so many layers of clothing so he wouldn't catch a cold wherever he went. Today, he had on a white wifebeater [which he hoped hadn't been used to beat wives] a dark blue long sleeve t-shirt that clung him like second skin, a short sleeve brown and white plaid button up shirt, an old college hoodie and a faux leather jacket which he had offered to Sebastian.

"You should use it. Being so close to the sea with this wind might cause hypothermia. I wouldn't want you to collapse on me." Dean smiled and nudged the jacket towards Sebastian. "I myself have never been to the pier before. I mean I've been to piers before of course but not here." He admitted. His eyes followed where Sebastian pointed and Dean understood why anyone would be out here in the cold just to marvel at the beauty presented above.

"It's one of those things you can rely on despite your location." The younger boy shrugged. He was awestruck by the mingling colors overhead. "So Sebastian..." he started when he realised they had been silent for too long. Dean didn't like silence much unless he was sleeping. "How long have you been here? In LA I mean."

[Sebastian Flambert]

He was taken aback by the Dean's sudden display of generosity and hesitated for several minutes before gingerly accepting the offered jacket. A delicate individual even as a child, Sebastian's slender frame offered very little insulation from the cold and almost always left him prone to catching chills in all but the warmest weather.

"You could say that.." replied Sebastian, musing briefly on the circumstances of his citizenship. "French-Canadian would be a h-halfway accurate term t-to put it.. though I originally came from Marseilles."

The boy shivered at the mention of his home city, remembering all too well the bad memories and experiences that made up his first ten years of life.

"T-That's in France, actually." he continued, brushing off the bit of information as nonchalantly as possible.

"S-Shayne, my mother, happens to be Canadian.. so I spent a good time living in Toronto and Montreal."

"Toronto is cold." he added matter-of-factly. "S-So is Montreal, but at least it reminds me of home.."

He paused momentarily, before continuing on.

"I've been here i-in the States for almost seven months now.. s-so not for too long.."

[Dean Wallace]

Dean nodded at Sebastian's answer, wondering why he was stuttering. Was it due to nerves or was it his condition? Dean couldn't imagine if he had that particular disability. He was an excellent speaker and he did well in social circumstances. He wasn't awkward at all and though he listens well, he was better at speaking. If he couldn't speak properly, he wasn't sure what he would do about himself.

Knowing where Marseilles is, Dean just nodded when Sebastian explained where it was. He couldn't say he had been there but he had been to other parts in Southern France on a trip with his father's excavating crew. "I don't really mind the cold to be honest. I once spent a week in an igloo with nothing but long johns because the wind blew all of my clothes away and I only had the long johns. It was a pretty lucky thing that I actually didn't get frostbite or hypothermia." He grinned.

"Wow, seven months that's longer than me for sure. I just got in like last week," Dean chuckled. "So you go to school here?"