x.Chasing Sunshine

[KERFUFFLE]

It's pretty darn freezing here right now. It's down to -1, though it should get colder during the course of the night again.

Admittedly, that was not at all the response Brandon had been expecting. He hadn't even thought that it could be that.. They must have been too late, or just unlucky after that first time. He sat silently, really at a total loss for words, but he wanted to say something because he had to be supportive and be there for Avery. He pulled her into his arms very gently. "I'm a little shell shocked right now. But I want you to know that I'm going to be here for you and.. this baby," he said softly. He sighed, "I'm so sorry. This is my fault." He already knew that the impact of this would be unimaginable. He'd seen himself in this moment before, but this was not how he envisaged it; years down the line, when they were married, had been to college.. When they were ready.

As she pulled him along, he still answered her question, just to make sure that she was aware that he was willing as well as able. "Oh, sure," he said, and by that stage they were nearly already on the dancefloor. Admittedly, he was a little shy when it came to this kind of thing at first-- it was always the way, tentative at first, and by the end of the night you don't want to stop.

 

[Penguins.]

Haha, I hate cold weather but it was much better today.

She pulled away from him after a bit, still completely in a state of shock. "What are we going to do?" she asked, though she wasn't expecting an answer. "Gosh, what are my parents going to say? What will your aunt and uncle think? What...what happens now?" She sat there, stunned by the enormity of the whole situation. They had never expected this to happen, let alone thought about it.

Cassandra had started dancing almost as soon as they got on the dancefloor. She was good at it too, not a professional, but enough to garner some attention. More than that, she knew she was good, which was obvious by how comfortable she was.

 

[KERFUFFLE]

Oh, good. Well, here it's two degrees colder than last night xD

Brandon ran a hand back through his hair, a look of helplessness about his expression. He didn't know the answers to some of her questions, but he did know that her parents would dislike him even more than before, and his aunt and uncle wouldn't be best pleased, to say the least. But he didn't know what would happen, or how to deal with it. He sighed and said, "I suppose that you and I have some.. very big decisions to make about what we're going to do." He knew they would figure something out, but it would certainly have been better if there was nothing to figure out in the first place. He was so angry at himself for letting it happen.

Cassandra's confidence seemed to make Caden feel a little bit more comfortable. Well, he obviously had musicality, and soon enough he was fine, too, and doing a pretty good job of it, too. The timid features were replaced by a smile as he relaxed. IT wasn't often he got to have fun like this.

 

[Penguins.]

Ahh! I really should be studying now, but I'm procrastinating. xP

"What do you want to do?" She asked him, rather quietly. She wanted to know his opinion before making any decisions. Part of her didn't want to discuss the situation at all, but logically, she would have to eventually and she figured it was better to do it now than to wait any longer.

After a few songs, the DJ transitioned to a slower song and Cassandra placed her arms around Caden. "So is the rest of your family in Boston like you?" she asked him.

 

[KERFUFFLE]

Ah, I'm sure you can afford to have some time off. I don't blame you, to be honest. Finals in the last week of school. Ew.

Brandon said to her, "What I really want is to let you know that, at the end of the day, I'm going to be supporting you whatever. Of course, I'm the father of this baby, but at the end of the day you're it's mother and I can't even begin to comprehend what that's like. I can't tell you how you should feel about that, you have to know what's right for you."

Caden put his arms around Cassandra when she did and he said, "Well, my sister's moved to Maine, but otherwise, we're all still in the area. My parents live just outside the city, with most of my other family members, and I live in the city itself. And, well, Maine obviously isn't too far, so we get to see my sister often." He then asked her, "I take it a lot of your family are in New York?" He guessed at that, since it was the best place to be for the modelling industry.

 

[Penguins.]

I guess. The only work I did was work on my project for my technical theatre class. But it's almost done. So...

"I don't know." Avery murmured. "I need to think. I just, I can't decide right now. I don't know what I should do. But, you have to have an idea - what would you do? I just need to know before I make any decisions."

"My sister lives here, you know that. So does my mother. But my dad - my parents are divorced - he lives in Florida with my stepmom and their kids, who are my half-sisters," Cassandra said as they danced. "And then there's my brother. He lives..well, he moves around a lot. But he usually stays in Europe with a few of his friends and whomever he's dating at the time. He's hard to keep track of."

 

[KERFUFFLE]

That's alright then. Well, good luck with it all =D

"I know, and I wouldn't expect you to be able to decide right now," Brandon said. He really wasn't sure what to do, either, but he knew that his opinion was important to her. "As for what I think.. Well, really we just have to consider everything that comes with it. We have to bear in mind that we'll have to get jobs, college can't happen, and we're so young that we're not ready and not prepared. Personally, it feels like we'd be throwing out all the future we'd planned, but I should have thought of that before this could happen.. I mean, there's the other options, but that's where my input can't be too helpful because you're pregnant and I would have no idea what it's like to be going through that, and so if I were to say that we shouldn't have this baby-- which is not what I'm saying at all, it's just an example--, it would be much easier for me than for you."

Not as many as he'd thought, then. But, of course, that was because he'd assumed that her parents were still together like his. Caden smiled and said, "I suppose some people may call him stupid, but in a lot of ways I kind of envy your brother. I'd like to go to Europe and just go wherever I liked. But I am lucky with this job that I do get to travel, anyway, that's something else I really like about it." He asked her, "How often to you get to just, you know, relax? Or travel around to places that aren't for work places?"

 

[Penguins.]

Thanks. We have to make either a set or publicity design for a play we read. I started doing set but I got tired of making the models so I switched to publicity and I spent about 4 hours on Gimp since I hadn't used it for anything other than editing photos before. But eventually I finished and I really like the outcome.

Avery nodded. "I think..." she said "that the best thing for me to do right now is just to sleep on it. I just need a while to think. I'm sure you do too." She leaned against the pillows on the bed, thinking. She had no idea what to do now. After a few minutes she asked "Don't we need to go back to the hospital every few weeks or something? To check on the baby? I'm not really sure..."

"Well, most of the shows we do are in the city and it's always hectic when designers are releasing their next season's lines. Occasionally a few more pop up when things aren't so bad, but between all of that we're free to do what we want. It's usually only a week or so of downtime at most so I usually either stay here or visit my father," Cassandra said. "And then twice a year there's fashion week here and it's also in London, Paris, and Milan, of course. I usually get to walk those and after those four weeks the models in those shows get two to three weeks of vacation. At least, that's what our company does."

 

[KERFUFFLE]

Gimp is just amazing. I've been doing a ton of stuff on there lately. I just can't believe it's free and that Photoshop costs hundreds.

"I think so, we should take a little while to think things over. Deciding will take as long as it takes, there's no rush," Brandon agreed. He then thought for a moment about her question. "I think so, yes." It struck him then how little they knew about any of this, and just how far from being ready for this they were. "I think we visit once, and then after that we'll be reminded for when we need to go again."

Caden said, "So you really are very busy. You'll have to let me know when you think you'll be able to get sometime to come on a trip for the charity with me, like you asked. I'll be much more flexible than you." Of course, he was busy, too, but because he ran his own timetable he could organise it around his social life, for the most part.

 

[Penguins.]

I love Gimp. It basically does the same thing Photoshop does at a much lesser price.

"So are they going to remind us for our next visit?" She asked, slightly confused. She should have checked up on it before leaving the hospital but in her state of shock she hadn't even thought about it.

"Only in the day time, really." she said. "My nights are always free. My friends - who I'm neglecting for you, by the way - and I usually go out somewhere." She laughed and stepped away from him as the song ended. "Come on. I think it's time for another drink."

 

[KERFUFFLE]

Exactly. It's just amazing.

"Maybe, I don't know. They might not because we don't actually live in New York. We'll see, I suppose," Brandon said, pursing his lips in thought. He ran a hand back through his hair and sighed at how confused he was about everything-- but that was likely to happen when your world had just been turned upside down-- and in frustration with himself. "I get you pregnant and then I don't have the first clue about anything," he murmured, mostly to himself, but it was loud enough for her to hear.

Caden chuckled a little bit. "Oh, well, I'm sorry if I'm keeping you from them. You only have to put up with me for this evening, though," he said, following her over to go and get another drink. "Okay, what are you having?" he asked her, while he decided he was going to have a Mojito.

 

[Penguins.]

I love it <3 I made two versions of the poster and I can't decide which one I like better. But it's so exciting that I figured it out as much as I did.

"Brandon, it's not your fault," Avery said. "It's not like I know any better and it's just as much my problem as it is yours." She pulled her hair up in a ponytail, unsure of what else to tell him. She didn't want him feeling bad about it, though.

Cassandra shrugged, tucking a few strands of her light blonde hair behind her ear. "Surprise me," she told him. "But make it something strong. I definitely have a higher tolerance for alcohol than you would think."

 

[KERFUFFLE]

I'd be happy to pass my judgement but, well, I can't see it so.. I'm sure they're both great, though. Is it for a particular show or something?

"But I feel like it is," Brandon said. He couldn't explain why, he just did. Really, they were just unlucky. Really unlucky, because Avery had taken pills and their success rate was so high that they were right not to expect it to happen. He was worried about a lot of other things, too. Avery's parents already didn't like him, goodness only know what they would think when they found out, he didn't know them that well but he had images of being told by them to never see their daughter again and such, and that thought alone was worse than knowing that they were having a baby.

"Okay.. We'll both go strong, then," Caden said. He turned to the bartender and told him, "I'd like two Freddie Mercuries, please." His friend had told him once that they were really strong, if not the most. He had no idea what to expect, but, hey, they were both willing to give it a go. He paid and then handed her cocktail to her before taking a sip of his own.

 

[Penguins.]

Yeah, we were each assigned a show. I got No Exit. https://goldstars.tumblr.com/post/2183590141

that's what I'm going with. The other was just different colors, but I like this better.

A Freddie Mercury? Like from Queen? I've never heard of that as a drink, lol.

"It's going to be fine, okay?" she said. She moved from her place on the bed so that she was sitting behind him. "It's just as much my fault as it yours," she told him, hugging him from where she was sitting.

"Thank you," she smiled and took a sip from her glass. "I should have a few weeks off in a bit," she said, in response to his earlier comment. "We always get a break at the end of summer. I was planning to go visit my brother since I haven't seen him in a while, but I could always put that off if you have one of your trips going on then."

 

[KERFUFFLE]

I really like it, it's definitely eye catching

Neither did I, I Googled strong cocktails and that one came up xD

I hope your finals go okay, if I remembered rightly and they are this week!

Brandon placed one of his hands over hers and tilted his head back a little against her shoulder. He said softly, "Not that I think about it, I really don't think we should dwell on who is to blame anyway-- it's an accident, it was fair for us to think it wouldn't happen. And I know we can figure something out, too. We always do."

Caden said, "Oh. Well, I mean, if you were planning to go and see your brother and that's your priority then carry on with that, we have plenty of other times that we can go if you can't this time around." He would feel bad if she skipped out on visiting her brother just to come on a trip with him.

 

[Penguins.]

Aww, thank you!

Yep, they start tomorrow, or today when you read this. But they won't get hard until Thursday...soooo...

did you just say rightly? That's so funny!

"It's going to be okay," she told him again. She sat still for a while, not quite sure of what to do now. She wasn't tired, she wasn't hungry. Sitting felt correct, and she did just that. "Do you need anything?" she asked finally.

"Yeah? Are you sure? I really don't mind." Cassandra said. But before he could say anything, Cassandra's face lit up. "Oh! You know what? Maybe if you're not doing anything, you can come with me. Didn't you say you envied that? Just going around and traveling? I'm sure he won't mind if you did come." She seemed genuinely excited about the idea. She didn't really know Caden very well, but she did think he seemed nice and she did like him, so it didn't seem like a bad idea at all.

 

[KERFUFFLE]

You're welcome

Ah, okay. Well, good luck!

I didn't realise it was funny to say rightly..?

Brandon shook his head and said, "No, I'm fine, thank you. I'm quite content just to sit right now, unless you need something." He wasn't quite sure what else to do now, his mind still wasn't really functioning properly from the shock, but he was alright now, because they knew they'd figure something out.

Caden seemed surprised by her offer considering that they hadn't known each other for too long. But he thought it was really nice of her, and as much as he didn't let on how exciting it would be when he spoke, inside he thought it would be amazing. "Really? You'd take me with you? Well, I would definitely love that, so long as you don't mind me coming along with you. Thanks for asking."

 

[Penguins.]

Well, I've never heard anyone say rightly before. Only correctly.

Avery shook her head. "No, thank you," she said. "I'm all right." She lapsed back into silence, wondering about what they would have to do next and if they were ready for any of it. Her thoughts towards the pregnancy were mixed; she wasn't really sure what to think.

"Of course you could come. You could meet me there if you have to, if we don't get off work at the same time. I don't mind either." She said. "I'll just have to ask my brother where he's going to be at the end of summer."

 

[KERFUFFLE]

Oh, okay. Well, people say it quite a lot over here, I think

The silence made Brandon slightly uneasy; it wasn't like them to be this way, not sure what to say to each other, or what else they could be doing. Intense quiet always caused him to fall into a deep thoughtfulness, and sometimes it was good to be thoughtful, but sometimes you can think too much about things and you worry or misinterpret, and it was hard to pull him back out of it sometimes. There was just too much to wonder about right now.

Caden sipped at his cocktail-- which definitely was strong, and his friend was right about it, he discovered. "Well, I'd like that very much. I guess I'll organise something with you when you know a little bit more about it, then." Wow, this was exciting, he'd never been to Europe-- in fact, though he travelled a lot around the states near Massachusetts, he'd visited very little elsewhere. "And of course, the option for you to come on a trip with me another time is always open."

 

[Penguins.]

Ah, it seems so different.

Finally, Avery stood up. "I'm going to have a shower," she told him. She probably didn't need to have a shower now but she figured it was a good way to clear her mind and think. She almost felt as though she needed to be alone for a while.

Cassandra nodded, wondering when exactly her break started. She got out her phone and checked her calendar. "Well, my break starts two weeks from now," she told him. "I'll probably fly out as soon as possible." She sent her brother a text message, though she didn't expect a quick reply due to the time difference, as to where he would be at the time. Last time she had visited, it had been in Dublin, so she was interested in seeing where he was now.