A Ride Home: Kye Tag Ezra

[Kye Whittemore]

Kye tossed the rest of his into his locker and shut it. He had homework but none of it was dues until next week and Kye was a pretty big procrastinator. He usually turned something into his teachers even it the work showed little effort, so he tended to scrape by but that was all. Kye just wasn't a guy who was used to really caring about his grades. His mom didn't care...his sister didn't care...his mom's evil boyfriend didn't seem to care. Sure there was always the allure of college, but Kye knew he'd get into somewhere even if it meant going to community college for a year or so. In fact he preferred to do that. He at least wanted to stick around until Landon graduated...help keep her away from the creeper their mother lived with...

But today Landon had plans. She was off with some friend that he couldn't remember the name of, so Kye would head home alone...or go somewhere else. He wasn't sure. Normally, he'd text Jude, see what she was up to, but Eddie seemed to be getting extra protective lately... He'd been cool in the beginning but it seemed the more time Kye spent with his crush the more her boyfriend seemed to dislike him. Kye couldn't really blame him though, after all, if Jude was his girlfriend he wouldn't have liked it if some guy was hanging around her all the time, even if that guy was him, who so obviously never had a chance anyway.

As he turned to leave, head out to the parking lot where his large VW bus (which looked totally out of place amongst all the fancier cars) was parked, he noticed Ezra at her locker. He wasn't really expecting anything. She always had been nice to him...and they had been friends for the short time before she'd been sent away, but secretly Kye wondered if she was just being nice to him because she thought he was really pathetic. That's what Kye thought of most people, probably because he thought of himself as really pathetic.

But still, he smiled and walked over to her. "Hey, Ezra, what's up?" he asked.

[Ezra Kingsley]

Okay, so school blows. Ezra for one was glad the bell finally rang. With Isaiah out of school, she was out of options of going home and she had argued continously with her parents that she didn't want them to pick her up so they decided on having her go home by the bus. They had memorised the bus schedules by heart and knew how long it took for her to arrive home and so far, Ezra had kept her promise.

Today however, she didn't want to go home by bus. She wanted to eat out and incur the wrath of her mother just because she could. Lucky thing she found a ten dollar bill stuck under one of the books in her locker. After witnessing a rather heated conversation between the school's hunky quarterback Nolan Ahlstrom and his supposed to be ex girlfriend Sloane Taylor, Ezra left the building with every intention of going the opposite way of the bus stop.

Just as she was about to cross the carpark, someone called her name. She turned and a smile lit her face when she realised it was Kye. She waved and when he was right beside her, she pressed her lips on his cheek, knowing it would get a rise out of him. Of course, Ezra didn't do it just because of that. Ezra actually liked Kye. He was such a sweet and cute guy and his crush on Jude Sheffield was amazingly adorable.

True she had started out being friends with his sister but she hung out more with him than with Landon anyway. "I've got ten bucks and I wanna get out of the bus route. Wanna get an early dinner with me?" She asked with a big smile.

[Kye Whittemore]

Kye smiled at the girl's enthusiasm. He wondered if she was only offering because he'd bought her lunch the other day, although Kye totally wasn't the type of guy who would ever push for her to pay him back. His grandmother made sure that Kye and Landon always had more than enough money at their fingertips even though their mother didn't give them much. Sometimes Kye wondered why they didn't just go live with her, although Landon was always quick to remind him that she had way too many rules. Still, Kye appreciated his grandparent's way more than his actual mother who didn't do anything if it didn't serve herself.

"Sure," he said about the early dinner, "I'm usually pretty hungry after school anyway," he said. Usually he'd end up getting a snack after school and eating dinner later, or eating dinner after school and having a snack later. So this idea of going to get dinner immediately after school let out was nothing out the ordinary.

"And don't worry about the bus. I can drive," he said, kind of nodding toward his car, well minibus, in the parking lot. "Landon went somewhere with one of her friends anyway," Kye said, "so I was just trying to decide what I felt like doing." Ezra knew enough about Kye's home life to know he didn't like spending much time at home. She knew that he wasn't a fan of her mother's boyfriend. However, as to the details of why, he'd left those out as he left them out with most people. Kye didn't want to come off as some sort of sob story and he didn't want anyone pitying him. After all, people pitied him enough just for being the loser that he was.

"Come on, I'm parked this way," he said starting to lead the way. "What kind of food are you in the mood for?" he asked as they walked.

[Ezra Kingsley]

"Awesome," she grinned when Kye agreed to the dinner. "I've got money to spend and I think I deserve a treat for the week I've had. And who better to splurge it with than you?" Ezra meant every word, mostly because Kye was possibly the only person who didn't see her as the slut the football team had painted her out to be and she appreciated that. A lot.

The minibus pointed out made her laugh. "Wow, what an upgrade from a bus." She teased, elbowing the older boy beside her before slipping her arm through his while walking to his ride. Ezra listened as he explained about his situation with being deathly bored and she understood. Given the fact that she did know at least a little bit about his home situation, she of all people understood that as well.

Asked about what food she wanted, Ezra shrugged before grinning sheepishly. "Anything for ten bucks?" She slipped into the passenger seat without bothering to belt up. She waited for Kye to get in before turning to him. "I'm feeling like a plate of some really greasy pizza."

[Kye Whittemore]

Kye found himself uncharacteristically blushing when Ezra said she'd rather splurge with him than anyone else. She always seemed to give Kye what he considered to be undeserved attention, something that he did appreciate. She wasn't Jude...no one every would be, but she was still fun to hang out with. Oh but Jude...there mere thought of her drove Kye into a bit of a frenzy as he navigated through the parking lot. And then there she was...Kye even blinked his eyes for a moment to make sure he wasn't hallucinating given that she'd appeared on cue. But she was on the other end of the lot, walking arm and arm with Eddie, much like he and Ezra were walking, so he kept his mouth shut knowing that she wouldn't hear him even if he was to call out to her... Plus she just looked so happy with Eddie...happier than she'd ever be with him...

Ezra's words startled him as they reached his vehicle. They might have been arm and arm but he'd been so consumed with the image of Jude walking and smiling from a distance that he'd sort of forgotten then blonde beside him. Ezra was really pretty too...but it just wasn't the same. "Yeah, well its very roomy...perfect for road trips too," he said, given that there was still a matress and sheets in the back from his and Landon's road trip over the summer. They had stayed in hotels but the mattress had served them well so they could switch off driving while the other rested or even both crash out back there and the few occasions when they couldn't find anywhere decent to stay. "I know everyone here looks at it like its out of place or something but I like it," he said with a shrug as he got into the driver's seat. Jude had disappeared around a corner anyway so he could focus on the girl who actually wanted to hang out with him now...

He waited for Ezra to get in and then started it up and navigated his way out of the parking lot. "Greasy pizza," he echoed her, "I know just the place," he grinned, quickly switching the turn signal on. There was a pretty good pizza place 5 minutes drive from school. He'd go there sometimes for lunch when he didn't feel like walking somewhere or eating in the cafateria or the days he didn't bring a packed lunch which was what he usually did.

"So, how do you like being back at school?" he asked conversationally as he continued to drive.


OOC: I believe I said the VW bus was light blue at some point but for the record (since I'm not sure that they have these cars everywhere since at least in the US they don't make them anymore but the old ones are still decently popular in SoCal...but anyway this is it img.wendmag.com/uploads/1971_VW_bus.jpeg )

[Ezra Kingsley]

His defense of the minibus made her smile and Ezra looked over the old vehicle and shrugged. "I could get used to it, no doubt." She nodded with a smile. "Dude, this is California. It's the one place where everything is out of place. Difference is, your minibus is outstanding. And I bet no one else has this." She patted the headboard gently. "Everywhere is all Mercedes and Volkswagens and Mini Coopers...they're all sellouts if you ask me,"

Ezra hadn't noticed Jude and Eddie at all but if she had, she would have teased the stuffing out of Kye for not concentrating on Ezra herself. But in a way, it was a good thing that Ezra didn't notice Kye staring at Jude instead of focusing his attention on her because Ezra would have kicked into a super neurotic paranoid self-conscious mode which made her a little pathetic and she did not want to be that way. She had enough condemnation from that stupid church camp and she didn't need it, especially coming from such a good friend like Kye.

She clapped in child-like abandon when he announced that he knew a good place for pizza. It was a bit of a strong reaction for just a pizza but Ezra hadn't had a good and decent fattening meal since she left five or six months ago and there was no way she was passing up this chance. Kye's question was a loaded one. On the one hand, anything was marginally better than that stupid camp but at the same time, no one looked at Ezra the same way they did when she was still there.

It was a mix of pity and obviously false understanding. She heard the rumors about her being sent away because she was pregnant and there were also idiotic rumors about her being sent to rehab and a psych ward - which coincidentally was what the church camp felt like. But her personal favourite was the one where people were saying that Ezra had been jealous of her brother marrying Raven so she went away on her own accord because she didn't want to witness the happy couple's nuptials. That one really did make her laugh.

"Uh...interesting." She laughed at her own answer. Smoothing her hair down over her left shoulder, she played with the ends a bit. "I dunno, school's school. I kind of miss Isaiah being around to whack anyone who dares talk bad about me. I'm sure you've heard the rumors about my disappearance." She leaned back on her headrest and turned her head to look at Kye with an exasperated look.

[Kye Whittemore]

Kye asked as Ezra joked about the other cars being sell outs. The funniest part of it was that Kye secretly believed it was true. Who needed something fancy or new? He liked his VW Bus. Obviously, he could afford a better car if he wanted to, however he'd decided long ago that if his bus ever broke down beyond repair that he'd simply buy another one in better condition.

He was pleased that Ezra seemed to be so enthusiastic about the pizza. He hoped that it lived up to her expectations. Although Kye was pretty sure it would. After all, it was hard to make bad pizza. Oh, it was totally possible to make bad pizza, but it definitely was easier to make good pizza. Mostly because pizza was just good.

He nodded as she went on about school, not sounding very enthusiastic. "Yeah...I have heard some rumors," Kye admitted as he pulled into the parking lot of the pizza joint. "But I knew better to believe them, don't worry," he said. He parked . "What really happened?" he asked, "Well, I mean...you don't have to tell me if you don't want to," he added quickly. He didn't want her to think that she was trying to pry or anything.

He got out of the car and waited for her to get out before locking up, not that he was really worried about anyone taking it. He then headed inside glancing at the large menu. "You wanna get slices or a whole pie?" he asked. "I'm pretty open to whatever topics or we could do half one thing and half another if you want," he offered with a smile. He was planning on offering to pay too...letting her keep her $10 that she was so excited about but he didn't mention this yet and figured he'd wait until it was time to pay and then he'd just do it so she didn't have time to argue with him over it.

[Ezra Kingsley]

Ezra blew a sigh of relief when Kye reassured her that he didn't listen to the rumors. She didn't think he would obviously, if not he wouldn't be hanging out with her. But her paranoia tended to kick in in full gear whenever it came to people closest to her. She always starts to overanalyse their intentions for hanging out with her so much.

She slid out of the car just after Kye asked his question. She supposed it was time to tell Kye. He'd been so sweet not to ask before so she decided to answer him finally. Again, slipping her arm through his, they walked into the pizza joint and the smell of cheese and tomato sauce wafted through the air, making Ezra's stomach grumble. She laughed and patted her tummy. "You would think it hadn't eaten for days."

"I'll do slices unless you want a pie. If you want a pie then we'll do half and half. But we should get a regular coz ten bucks ain't payin' for a large one." Ezra grinned. Not knowing he was going to pay, she just ordered a regular pizza with half her choice of toppings and waited til Kye pitched in with his own toppings. Once they settled their orders, they chose a corner booth and she took a bit to arrange her sentences.

It wasn't that big a deal, telling Kye where she was the past few months but it was a bit embarrassing. For the most part, Kye knew her relationship with her parents weren't a good one. Taking a deep breath, she looked at Kye with a smile before spilling. "I was at church camp the whole time. Although I did come back for Isaiah's wedding and spent the last week of summer on lockdown at home.

"My parents thought I was getting a bit too...unpredictable and they kind of thought I was going to be a bad influence on Isaiah's baby and they wanted me gone before she...or he came into the world." Ezra shrugged. "They wanted me to be purged of my sins before I can even hold the baby."

[Kye Whittemore]

Kye nodded and ordered his pizza accordingly. He went with pepperoni, mushrooms, and olives. Really, he'd eat any type of topping mostly but seeing that they were each getting their own thing he had decided that this was what he was in the mood for. They also grabbed two sodas before heading to the booth where Kye slid in the seat and slouched down a little like he usually did.

"Church camp," he repeated, "whoa, that sucks," he told her with absolute honesty, in fact he sort of blurted it. Kye wasn't familiar with church at all. Not really being raised religious, or in any one religion really --well his mom had decided they were all Buddist for a bit and then switched to some new aged thing for a bit before settling back on the no religion track, but Kye had never followed those. He'd grown up knowing people who went to church, mostly neighbors of classmates, but truth be told, Kye had never step foot in a church before not even for historical landmark reasons. His only visions of them came from the outside architecture and the inside of churches on TV and in movies.

"That's so lame. If anything you'd just teach the kid to be awesome," Kye said before taking a sip of the Dr. Pepper he'd ordered. Kye had never really known Isaiah. He'd met him in passing but had never exchanged more than a few words with him, so really all he had to go on was the things he'd heard about the guy from Ezra. And Kye's final verdict had been that Ezra was probably much more fun...or at least seemed that way.

"So, has the baby been born yet?" he asked, "Are they still keeping you away from him? It seems kind of ridiculous, but I guess parents are ridiculous sometimes," he admitted, knowing full well that his mom was a big bag of ridiculous.

The pizza came out and they started to eat, falling to silence not because they had nothing more to say but because they were both hungry. In fact, Kye laughed, pointing out the silence as they both continued wolf down their pizza like they'd never eaten before. When the bill came, Kye snatched it away before Ezra could manage. "I have plenty of money, saves yours," he told her, hoping that he wasn't coming off like a snob or anything for admitting he had a lot of money and pointing out she didn't. After all he was just trying to be nice.

Unaware that he had a spot of sauce on his chin, he smiled across the table, "You wanna do anything else before heading home?" he asked.

Tag for Wrap

[Ezra Kingsley]

Ezra just laughed at Kye's response. "You can't imagine my own reaction to it. Severe doesn't even cut it." She pushed her hair out of her eyes as she settled into the booth they were in. Her reaction was rather severe to say the least. She had kicked up a fuss, torn her room apart, screamed her head off and then proceeded to run away from home.

Her father found her about fifteen minutes away from home eventually and talked her into listening to her mother for only a few months. Then she could come back. It hurt her that her father was willing to make her go away just to appease her mother but she did. She left without a fuss and spent those God-awful five months in a camp where their idea of fun was sitting around the campfire quoting their favourite scriptures.

"I think Raven's due soon. I dunno. But they're staying in the guesthouse. Whenever my mom's away I get to see them. But I'm sure she won't be able to stop me from seeing the baby once he's born." She shrugged. Ezra was quite optimistic about that as she couldn't wait to see her nephew. To hold him in her arms and teach him how to be awesome.

When the pizza came, they ate peacefully but she laughed as well when Kye pointed out the fact that they were quiet. She was about to pay the bill when it arrived but Kye took it and paid for their pizza. She frowned and stuck her tongue out. "I was going to splurge on you," she made a face rather petulantly. Spotting the sauce on his chin, she chuckled before grabbing the napkin on the table to wipe it off.

"You had sauce on your chin." She explained with a grin. His question was met with a shrug. "Anything. I wanna stay out of the house as late as possible. You got plans? Care to kidnap me?" Ezra held both hands out and tilted her head sideways with a grin.

[No wraps no wraps!!]