Where We'll Shine • •

[Dylan Ellis Griffin]

His life was busy and that was just the way Dylan wanted it to be. He liked having something to do all the time and it kept his mind from wandering to a land of what ifs and other implausible possibilities. No one could every say that he was wasting his life, not when he spent so much of it saving others these days. His job took up more time than he cared to admit to, but he didn’t mind it knowing that he was changing lives, saving people and giving them back the lives they once had. It was tiring, yes, and some days he came home and fell on his bed with his shoes still on, but it was totally worth it and had long become his reason for getting up in the morning too.

The Irishman had a life away from the hospital too. When he wasn’t in the operating room, treating patients or guiding lost and apprehensive interns, he was with his family and friends, living his life and enjoying the remaining years of his twenties. He knew how to switch off; a skill many doctors and surgeons seem to lack. Dylan had seen the tired faces of the men and women who took their home with them and he had vowed long ago not to become one of them. The hours might have been long and being on call often left him in need of something stronger than an espresso, but he had to have something else in his life or else he might have just gone crazy by now. That was why, at every chance he got, he left the city for a few days away from everything. He’d go to his step-father’s cabin in the woods, travel down the coast for some scuba diving or even find himself a cave diving expedition to tag along on. Dylan had a long list of ways to clear his head and they kept him balanced and got rid of all of the stress that accompanied the hard work of being a neurosurgeon.

He had just returned from one of his cave diving adventures, and upon arriving back at his apartment was greeted by his two dogs who had been cared for by a neighbour in his absence. After putting all of his heavy equipment and gear away in one of the spare rooms, he sat down at his dining table to sift through the mail and phone messages that had been left for him. Dylan might have only been out of the city for three days, but that was a long time for New York and the non-stop lifestyle it brought. Once everything was looked through, he pushed his short hair back from his face and glanced through his leather bound planner, checking meeting times for work and other little things, like when he was supposed to pick up his dry cleaning. His piercing blue eyes fell on something else scribbled onto one of the page and his lips twitched upwards into a small smirk.

Grabbing a few things that he needed, Dylan was soon out of his apartment again and mounting his motorbike, moving across the city with the rest of the hectic traffic, stopping only to run into two stores to grab a few bits before continuing towards the apartment of a young photographer he knew well by now. It wasn’t often he met someone from close to home and when he did they were usually drunk and trying to claim him like some prize. Parking his bike safely, he removed his helmet and smoothed out his hair before picking up the quick purchases and moving to buzz up to Jack’s apartment. Her birthday might still be a few days away, but the likelihood of Dylan having the time to spare to visit her on the actual day was slim, so he was making the most of the rest of his afternoon off and choosing to surprise her now with a pre-birthday celebration.

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• • •

TAGGED! Jay!
WORDS! 669
OUTFIT! Neat Neuro
LYRICS! I Go To The Barn Because I Like The - - - Band of Horses
NOTES! <3

[Jack Makenzie Greyson]

Jay had plans when she woke up that morning to finish off the workload she’d set aside from the studio the night before. She’d had the finishing touches of her school projects and assignments to do, and do again since she was a perfectionist with her craft. Her plans for that morning included her iPod set to her yoga playlist for an hour, a trip down the street to the market for some fresh produce and a side trip for a cup of coffee, followed by a quick cab ride across town to the studio to pick up a new portfolio for one final school assignment for the year. For school she usually just used a cheap portfolio, or if it needed to be colourful, she picked up a photo album. Frankensteining a portfolio together was easy and a little lame considering she knew first hand that clients weren’t looking for the most creative exterior on a portfolio but for what creativity showed between the glossy pages of the interior.

She did these things, even taking a lunch with her boss at the little bistro down the street. She told him why she needed the portfolio. This particular assignment was to put together a collection of prints from the entire year as professionally as they could get. Jay knew for the rest of the class, it would be a basic black book with glossy pages inside able to hold two pictures per page. Hers was a little different but still boasted the same as the basics. She wanted a good grade in the class, and though she was at the top, she wanted that edge of using a proper portfolio and not the ones any old Jane or John Doe could pick up at Borders. She was a perfectionist.

Once she got back to her place, she cranked the music in her studio, sat at her desk and got down to work, bopping along to the songs on her iPod as Avie slept soundly at her feet. It didn’t take her long to finish the school work, only an hour and she was back on the non-existent pile of work from the studio. Within five minutes, she was bored with retouching every picture she’d already done and sent off. The only thing left to do was update her on portfolio and she already knew what prints she was swapping out. They were cut properly and waiting in a folder on her desk, already!

She would have been starting to think of what to make for dinner right about now. But since she and Leander were in whatever they were in, it was just her and she just didn’t feel like eating. Work was her stress relief. So, she planned to sit in that room and work until she woke up with pictures stuck to her face. She was just grabbing another bottle of water from her kitchen when she heard the buzzer. She checked the clock, confused. She hadn’t been expecting anyone, but that was usually how her entertained happened anyway. Friends just popped by on a whim because they felt like it or they heard about some gallery opening or music showcase she just had to tag along to. So, without even checking, she buzzed whoever it was up, calling through the buzzer that the door was open; which it was. She was the youngest one on the floor, in the building really, living alone. There were a few kids, just a few years younger than her but they still lived with their parents, and none of them could afford a place on the top two floors.

She wasn’t boasting riches beyond belief, but at her age, it was quite the accomplishment. She was nineteen and owned her own place! Her father had to co-sign because of her age, but the place was purchased with her own money! She had a place on the top floor of the five floor converted shoe factory. It was one floor but it boasted a great view and an outside sitting are just off the living room and another smaller space outside her bedroom that she’d done up as a little Zen area for her yoga. The space outside the living room was more for company. “Out here,” she called, when she heard the door to her apartment open. When she was taking a break from work, she almost always found herself sprawled out on the chair outside with her feet hanging over the arm. She tilted her head back when she heard the footsteps getting closer. “Oh, hey, Dylan! What a surprise! I didn’t think you would be back for another little while,” she said, readjusting herself so she was sitting up properly, twisting in her seat to see the only other Irish person in her life whom she wasn’t related to. “What’s up?” she asked, sipping the water in her hand.

Tag || Dylan!
Words || 820
Clothes || Unexpected Surprise!
Music || Wild at Heart --Gloriana
Notes || <3 <3 <3

[Dylan Ellis Griffin]

It was hard to plan his life around people’s plans. He was the guy who missed parties and events because he was already scheduled to be in the hospital that day or night. No matter how often he reminded people that if they were planning something that they should tell him the second the date was confirmed, regardless of if they had a venue or not. At least with a date he could pull some strings with the rota and try his best to make the party or dinner. Birthdays and weddings were missed and meals postponed or rushed, but he couldn’t help that; it was his job. Dylan had even found himself running off on a date when his beeper interrupting the moment, killing the mood and reminding him of his role in the grand scheme of things. Saving lives always came above personal fun and fancies.

It could be irritating, even to him at times, but it was what he wanted to do with his life and nothing was free and perfect; everything came with a few personal sacrifices here and there to balance everything out. Plus, seeing someone’s face when he got to tell them that they’d walk again or that they were in recovery and would be going home soon was more than enough to make up for a few missed dinners and apologetic phone calls to his mam. It was a feeling that he couldn’t describe and that others couldn’t understand unless they had the same title of Doctor as he did. He had stopped trying to tell his family about it all and just reminded his mam about how he brought happiness to parents like her when they didn’t know if they children were going to be well again. He always left out the bad stories, not believing that anyone needed to hear them; they were his personal burden and another sacrifice for the job.

Once he was upstairs, Dylan pushed open the door to Jack’s apartment and looked around, hearing her voice coming from outside and spying her sprawled out on the chair. Shaking his head, he walked over with his usual charismatic smile firmly in place. Leaning against the wall, he looked over at the brunette and shrugged. “Some of us can’t be dilly dallying around with photographs and long breaks. Some of us have to poke around in people’s heads.”

[/color] He teased, playfully. Dylan had a creative streak too, but it was mainly focused on restoring old furniture and decorating places. He dabbled with paint and a canvas from time to time too, mainly when his thoughts wouldn’t settle or his nightmares were back and plaguing him again, though anything he did paint usually found a home in his attic. “A little birdy told me that it was someone’s birthday at the end of the week when I’m scheduled for a lumboperitoneal shunt.”[/color] He stepped away from the wall and reached into the bag, pulling out a small bottle of vodka first and then two party hats, leaning down to slip one over her head before snapping one on his own and taking a seat opposite her. There were two glasses out next and then a quickly wrapped gift which he pushed towards her. “Dinner is also on me.”[/color] He slid the variety of menus across to her and then leaned back, smirking. He enjoyed hanging out with Jay, despite their differences and an evening of hanging out, take out and a few drinks to make the conversations more interesting was exactly what he needed before another long week under the fierce lights of the OR.
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• • •

TAGGED! Jay!
WORDS! 648
OUTFIT! Neat Neuro
LYRICS! I Go To The Barn Because I Like The - - - Band of Horses
NOTES! <3

[Jack Makenzie Greyson]

Jay’s life could be just as hectic as Dylan’s could but for very different reasons. She was travelling constantly, lugging around cameras, tripods, lens and lights. Not to mention the computers and cords, the coffee and the bagels she usually surprised the crew with when she was feeling the need to grab a cup herself. Thankfully she didn’t have to spend hours on end poking around inside someone’s head, just listen when they spoke to her and act as if she was really interested in what some model was moaning about. The reality of her job meant a lot of travelling, carrying things and playing shrink to those models who needed a shoulder to cry on and an ear to rant to. If she could pass it on to the make-up artists or hairstylists they hired on top of the ones the studio always employed.

But at least she could boast a very flexible schedule. She could work from home for the most part editing the photos from each set for the clients. There were days though, quite a few despite saying she could work from home, where she needed to run around the city finding places for shoots, gathering pieces for shoots and taking meeting with models, actors and clients. She swore everyone thought her job was the easiest thing in the world, but they didn’t see the parts where she was stressed about finding the perfect location, wondering where in the hell in the big apple she was going to find a specific coloured scarf, belt or hat to accessorize a certain outfit. “You can keep the poking about thing, but one of these days, I’m dragging you along with me. You’ll see whose job is the cushiest!” she said, pointing her finger at him in warning. Sure, she often got to sit for long hours, but it was in front of a computer and after an hour of that, she needed to dig through her desk for the spare glasses she left at the studio.

Jay perked up at the mention of her birthday. She didn’t have anything planned since she didn’t know what was going on with anyone these days. Her boss would probably have something small at the studio for her but aside from that, she was completely clueless about it all. “I have no idea what that means, but the little birdy was right,” she said grinning at the sight of the small bottle he produced from the back. She laughed, happily clapping her hands at the next sight of party hats. It was such a childish thing; she couldn’t help but love it completely. She fixed her paper party hat to have it tilted to the side just a bit. “I love this,” she said as she adjusted it. She watched the wrapped gift slide across the patio table her way before reaching out and plucked it from the table top. “You didn’t have to get me anything, Dyl, the vodka is more than welcome, though,” she said, teasing as tore open the paper. Hidden in the colourful paper was one of her favourite movies, Along Came A Spider. She had a copy of it at one point, but she must have watched it too much since when she went to put it on, it didn’t work. “Dylan I love it! I’ve been meaning to pick up a new copy for forever!” she exclaimed, getting up out of her chair to give her friend a hug. As she sat back down, she took the take out menus with her, going through them. “Those are some of my favourite words,” she said, teasingly then added, “There’s mix if you’d like in the refrigerator.” She took each menu into consideration. She didn’t know what she was in the mood for just yet and everything either looked good or sounded good in the menus.

Tag || Dylan!
Words || 648
Clothes || Unexpected Surprise!
Music || Wild at Heart --Gloriana
Notes || <3 <3 <3

[Dylan Ellis Griffin]

He knew that this was their common joke, their ‘go-to’ the second they happened to bump into each other. They both led busy lives, like most of the people in New York, but their days would never be similar. Jay’s was full of stylists and models and Dylan had scalpels and MRI scans. Really they had nothing to discuss with each other when it came to work, other than to tease each other. That didn’t bother Dylan though; if he needed to vent about a long day at the hospital then he had fellow doctors to do that with and they would understand his moans best of all. “You’ll have to do just that then. Oh, wait, some of us will probably be in several hours of surgery.”

[/color] He said, grinning the whole time.

Shaking his head, Dylan chuckled and then looked at the smaller brunette. “It means I get to go and play with someone’s spine and some very big needles.”[/color] He summed up basically. Obviously, it was a lot more complicated than that; one slip and the patient could be paralysed. He had done the procedure before though, so he wasn’t nervous about that, though he couldn’t be cocky and swan in there like he was the king of neurosurgery. One of Dylan’s biggest problems with his line of work was missing the likes of birthdays and anniversary celebrations. His family had taken to having late dinners on those special days so that their eldest son and brother could make the gathering. He still felt pretty bad for it though, so he went out of his way to make something work on his day or weekends off. He didn’t want the people in his life to think that he didn’t care when in reality he just couldn’t drop everything at the hospital like it didn’t matter to him either. “Don’t be silly. Besides, it was this or some furniture and it’s a little too late to sneak in and get measurements.”[/color] He joked, waving the suggestion of showing up empty handed away. He hugged her back easily enough, laughing at how happy she seemed to be with the simple gift. The last time they had been hanging out, Jack had mentioned something about missing that particular DVD and Dylan had made a joke about how she should pick a new favourite film them. The idea had just popped into his head when he was driving across the city on his bike.

Dylan went and got the mix from the kitchen, coming back outside to pour them both a drink, keeping his on the lighter side, since he still had to take his bike back across the city a little later. He should be okay with just one drink though. “Anything jumpin’ out at you there, hun?”[/color] He asked, peeking over at what menu she was holding now. He really wasn’t fussy when it came to take-out food and so long as it wasn’t burnt or cold, he would be happy.
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• • •

TAGGED! Jay!
WORDS! 546
OUTFIT! Neat Neuro
LYRICS! I Go To The Barn Because I Like The - - - Band of Horses
NOTES! <3

[Jack Makenzie Greyson]

Jay loved being able to tease Dylan about the long hours he worked, just as much as he teased her. In reality, she probably had the weirdest schedule ever. It was pretty flexible when she needed it to be, but there were still the odd call times. The next shoot had a call time of ten at night and she was supposed to be there until well into the afternoon of the next day. That was going to need triple espresso shots with extra sugar and energy drinks. This shoot was definitely going to be one where she couldn’t forget her glasses. “Shame really, being a single, gorgeous neurosurgeon and not being able to meet some of the prettiest women in New York. It really must suck for you,” she said, sounding sad for him. But she figured she ranted to him about how shallow they were enough for him not to be interested in them anyway. “Of course, if I haven’t scared you away from them I do know a couple girls who actually are really sweet,” Jay added with a great big overly cheesy grin on her face.

Jay quickly made a face, wrinkling her nose at the mere thought of surgery. She’d had her tonsils removed when she was eight but that had been the highlight of her hospital experience; aside from having to be in the hospital longer than normal at her birth because of the self-medicating woman who carried her for nine months. She didn’t remember that though, so she didn’t ever count it. “Keep it!” she said, shaking her head. The studio had done a few “Halloween” themed photo shoots before, with blood, guts and gore and she could handle that; but only because she knew it was all fake. Put her in a room with an actual surgery going on and she didn’t know what she would do; probably faint. “Tape measures in the studio down the hall!” she said, laughing, turning her head towards the happy yipping from Avie, who finally emerged from the hiding spot he’d been in all day. In all seriousness though, she’d been really annoyed when she’d gone to watch the movie and it didn’t play at all. She’d tried it in the actual player and in the Xbox and neither read the disk.

“I want quesadillas, or fajitas maybe?” she wondered aloud, biting her lip with the indecision. She flipped through the menus in her hand, looking for one that had what she was looking for. “I thought I saw one but…” she said more to herself than to Dylan. “Hell, at this point, I’d settle for pizza with extra cheese on the garlic bread. I’m starvin',” she admitted, picking up the mixed drink off the table. “Thanks, cheers!” she said, holding her glass up to clink against Dylan’s before taking a sip of the drink. Finally, she tossed the others onto the table, leaving the one for the pizza place in her hand. “Does this place have those potato wedges?” she asked, looking over at Dylan with the menu turned so he could see the front page.

Tag || Dylan!
Words || 521
Clothes || Unexpected Surprise!
Music || Wild at Heart --Gloriana
Notes || <3 <3 <3

[Dylan Ellis Griffin]

“I can meet pretty girls whenever I want to.”

[/color] He said, shaking his head and rolling his eyes. Dylan might have been single, but he wasn’t hopeless. He wanted to complete this year as chief resident and then the rest of his life might get a proper look in. He flirted as much as he liked on the weekends when he wasn’t on the rota for any extra shifts and he could get a girl’s number if he tried, but the truth was that most of them didn’t like that their boyfriend could up and leave midway through a date because a collision at a set of lights had left someone with a bleed on the brain and Dylan had to go and save them. As noble as his job might be, not everyone understood that. “When will you give up trying to set me up? Not all of us need a ring on our finger, Miss Greyson.”[/color] He teased, flicking his piercing blue eyes down to the diamond on her hand and then back up again.

Dylan’s love for his job stemmed from his illness when he was younger, but he didn’t tell many people about that. Jack didn’t know and not even his neighbour, Bridget, knew and they were the people he probably talked to most outside of the hospital he knew only too well. The scar still remained, but it was only noticeable really if someone saw him in the morning after a good night of sleep before he slipped into the shower and combed his hair into style. He didn’t hide it deliberately, it was just the way his hair fell now and his only reason for not talking about it was that it had been so long ago and in the past he had found that talking about it with people only led them to worrying more, even after he reassured them that everything was fine and that he wasn’t about to drop dead in front of them. “Gladly!”[/color] He said with a grin. He loved his job and there wasn’t anything else he’d rather be doing than spending his days in surgery, saving lives and giving loved ones the hope they needed to get through life. It wasn’t always such good news though, but Dylan didn’t tell anyone about that; they didn’t need bumming out by that sort of thing. “Duly noted for next year!”[/color]

Sitting down and flicking his eyes across at the young Irish girl, Dylan smirked and shook his head. “You’re a bottomless pit.”[/color] He stated, not really fussed about where they ordered from since he liked at least one meal on each of the menus he had brought with him. He licked his lips as the taste of the drink settled. He had poured hardly any of the vodka into his own glass, but the taste still hit the back of his throat as always. “Aye, I think they do.”[/color] He took the menu from her and flicked his eyes over it quickly as though he was reading a patient’s chart. “Aye, there they are.”[/color] He pointed them out to Jay and then gave her the menu back as he pulled out his cell phone. The number was already stored in the memory since he had a habit of ordering from the hospital some nights when he was working late so that he arrived home only several minutes before the delivery guy arrived. “So, what are you havin’?”[/color]
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• • •

TAGGED! Jay!
WORDS! 626
OUTFIT! Neat Neuro
LYRICS! I Go To The Barn Because I Like The - - - Band of Horses
NOTES! <3

[Jack Makenzie Greyson]

Jay liked teasing Dylan about his singleness. She knew why he was single and knew if he went out there, women would be falling all over themselves to talk to the handsome doctor. Jack shrugged, agreeing easily enough. “I won’t deny you your ego, I’m just saying I could help. I’ve got nothing better to do at the studio these days other than getting my friends laid,” she said bluntly, blatantly lying. She had plenty to do at the studio but she was fantastic at multi-tasking. Plus, she was like the Boss’s little sister, she could get away with a hell of a lot, though she was not usually up to finding out how far she could actually go. “Whoa, hey now, did I say anything about putting a ring on some girls’ finger? No,” she said elongating the word for emphasis. “Besides that, they’re models, I don’t know a single one of them looking for anymore more than a little fun every once in a while. Tell me, for reference later, do you like chocolate sauce?” She added, teasing.

Jack loved her job. It was the only time in her day when she could really let her creativity loose and do whatever she pleased. Would she like her own studio, of course, someday but right now wasn’t the time for that. Besides that, there was already talk of becoming partner at the studio and that would get more doors opened for her at her age. She was still nineteen for the next few days, and even then she would only be twenty. That was still ridiculously young to be in this industry unless you were a model; which she was not. There were people out there that shook their heads at her, saying how they didn’t know how she put up with the stress and pressure of the job. She thrived on it. She wanted nothing else since she was a small child back in Dublin. If it had been possible to get into the business back then, she would have jumped at the chance, even if she wasn’t aware of the darker side of things back then. “How about the next weekend you don’t have a trip planned and you’re booked off so you don’t fall asleep in some spare bed!” She said, laughing.

“You say bottomless pit, I say picky,” she said mildly, adding a shrug for effect. For the past little while she’d wanted the weirdest things when it came to food; it would just hit her that she wanted pizza or quesadillas. Usually it would just go away, even if she didn’t get it. And she dismissed it, thinking it just meant she was coming up to that time again. Her quirks got odder around then, anyway and it was a plausible reason. The last pizza place she’d called, over by Leander’s didn’t have the potato wedges and Jay spent nearly as much time ordering the pizzas as she did badgering them about why they didn’t have potato wedges. “I want banana peppers on my pizza, no meat. I don’t really care what else. Cheese on the garlic bread and a thing of those wedges, please,” she said, with an extra cheesy grin on her face as she leaned down and gave into the adorable puppy eyes looking up at her. She cuddled her American Eskimo while Dylan was on the phone and sipped at her drink, happy to take the afternoon off from sitting in front of the computer screen.

Tag || Dylan!
Words || 586
Clothes || Unexpected Surprise!
Music || Wild at Heart --Gloriana
Notes || <3 <3 <3

[Dylan Ellis Griffin]

Laughing warmly, Dylan arched an eyebrow and then winked at his younger friend. “I don’t need any help in that department.”

[/color] He joked, remembering the weekends when some girl from a bar did end up in his bed. It hadn’t happened for a little while since work had been his priority and he dedicated most of his free time to seeing his family or visiting those in New York he had the pleasure to call his friends. There was no denying that he was flirtatious and most of the time the charm crept in without Dylan even thinking about it. Going along with the joke, Dylan smirked and then glanced around, as though what he was about to tell her was some dark secret. “Actually, I prefer whipped cream.”[/color] He said in a theatrical whisper, running his fingers casually through his hair and leaning back again.

Despite how many hours he put in at the hospital and the late nights spent in his tiny office catching up on paperwork, Dylan did put the effort in to ensure that he balanced a decent social life alongside it. If you didn’t have a way to relax or unwind in his profession, then it was sure to drive you mad before you could pass it off as a midlife crisis. Whenever he didn’t spend his weekends flying or driving out to a diving spot or cave, Dylan loved relaxing at a bar or restoring some old and forgotten about piece of furniture. It was therapeutic and helped him clear his mind whenever the stresses of work were really bearing down on him. “Ah, I’ll have to check my diary. I’m a busy man, you know?”[/color] He ran his hand over the light stubble starting to grow on his chin, but smiled across at Jack.

“You can phrase it however you want, hun, it all comes back to the same thing.”[/color] He joked, his blue eyes glancing over the menu once more before looking back at his cell phone and finding the correct number for the pizza place. It took a couple of rings for them to pick up, but Dylan was patient. “Hey, can I place an order for delivery, please? Aye, one pizza with banana peppers, one with extra jalapeños, two portions of the potato wedges and a cheesy garlic bread.”[/color] He waited for the man on the other end of the phone to scribble down the order and then gave the address for Jay’s place and his cell number in case the delivery guy needed it. Hanging up, he smiled across at the photographer and slid his phone back into his pocket. “Should be here in thirty.”[/color] He declared, sitting back and relaxing again.
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• • •

TAGGED! Jay!
WORDS! 499
OUTFIT! Neat Neuro
LYRICS! I Go To The Barn Because I Like The - - - Band of Horses
NOTES! <3

[Jack Makenzie Greyson]

Jack bit her lip, making a face. “I don’t know about that, I saw that one girl. The tall brunette you probably don’t remember. I do because I spent the next hour referring to your latest… date as a horse,” she said, sipping casually at her drink. She could see it as though it were yesterday walking down the short hall to his apartment and watching as some tall girl walked out blowing kisses back into the door. Jay had paused for a moment, just to stare at that one before shaking her head and not even bothering to knock on his door that time. “I even called out asking who the ‘flavour’ was. I'm such a terror,” she added, laughing happily at the memory. “Damn it…I owe your neighbour a twenty,” She said, shaking her head sadly. She had met the blonde woman a couple times when she’d come calling on Dylan. Banging on the door enough times to have the blonde teacher come out to tell her he wasn’t even home to begin with. They’d had a few good laughs at Dylan’s unknowing expense. Even once she’d handed over a huge Tupperware dish of baked goods that had Jay floored. It wasn’t until afterwards, when she’d brought the container back to Dylan with the story behind it that she’d learned it had been a bad day for the blonde woman and that she baked on those days.

“Clearly or you would have taken a razor to that fur you’re starting to grow just there,” she said pointing towards his jawline. Jack had never been a fan of facial hair, often teasing the men in her life when they forgot to shave it all off or at least down that morning. She didn’t mind a little, especially if it looked good, made them look rugged or it was for Movember, but when there was a lot, it looked terrible and it was for nothing more than the sake of not shaving for a week, she cringed. She was the same way most of the time these days though. With the new workload she had, she hardly had the time to go out, but she was also able to make the time where Dylan didn’t always have that luxury. Her schedule wasn’t as long as Dylan’s so she could easily put off editing for a night out so long as she put in a few hours the next day. Still, the studio was busy and she was getting a lot more work thrown her way than she had before which was already quite a bit.

Jack shook her head laughing. “Yeah, it means I’m starving or a little piggy,” she said, scrunching her nose up for the last couple words. She hadn’t really eaten much in the last few days, just picked at whatever was handy. Her boss made her eat a proper lunch instead of just grabbing a drink and a croissant like she had planned on doing. And now Dylan was on the phone ordering dinner. She could feel her stomach waking up as he spoke. Casually, Jay scratched behind Avalanche’s ears as she sipped at her dwindling drink. “A whole thirty minutes? For shame! Whatever shall we do to pass the time?” she asked, grinning at her own woe is me routine. "I've had a shit couple days, so fill this again," she said, draining what was left in her glass.

Tag || Dylan!
Words || 574
Clothes || Unexpected Surprise!
Music || Wild at Heart --Gloriana
Notes || <3 <3 <3

[Dylan Ellis Griffin]

“Actually, I do remember her. Her name was Alex and she was at NYU studying fashion design.”

[/color] It hadn’t been all that long ago, and since not all of Dylan’s nights out resulted in a girl in his bed, it wasn’t too hard to remember them. Plus, he had actually been on a date with that one and not just picked her up in some club. Things hadn’t progressed beyond one more date when her vapid personality finally peaked and Dylan had better things and better women to be spending his time with, like his Irish companion before him and his crazy baked goods neighbour. Chuckling softly, Dylan nodded his head and then stared off into the distance of the New York skyline. “If anyone would know my sweet tooth, it’s Bridget, alright.”[/color] He admitted. With the amount of desserts and treats she brought to his door, she probably did know what he preferred most of all, though he had yet to find one of her surprises that he didn’t enjoy. It was just a shame that he knew those treats often appeared when Bridget had a bad day. At least Dylan always had bottles of wine to help her out of them.

Shaking his head, Dylan just threw Jack a look. “Ack, it’s barely visible. Besides, how much time do you think I have in the morning?”[/color] He did usually have a chance to make sure he was clean shaven, but towards the end of the week his routine usually slipped a little bit and some sacrifices had to be made. No one ever caught him sporting a full beard, though. The very thought of it repulsed him and he had never seen anything that looked hygienic enough for his liking; Dylan liked to look clean, rather than half of the kids he saw at the coffee shop most mornings who seemed to think a beanie hat was the answer to all of their troubles.

“Or both. I’d go with both.”[/color] He teased, meaning no harm by his remark before placing the order to the poor guy at the other end of the phone who had to get it all right or else suffer the wrath of the hungry. He was usually pretty good when it came to his own meals, but lunch was usually substituted by coffee and something cheap from a vending machine that he could snack on as he walked to visit his next patient or scanned over the procedure lists for the next couple of days. It was only on the days that he was running late that breakfast was skipped and dinner became a feast of anything and everything he could get his hands on in his kitchen. Before he could offer any suggestions, his blue eyes were distracted by the empty glass and the next sentence spoken by his young friend. Picking up the bottle and arching his eyebrow, Dylan chose not to pry until at least food was in front of them. “Insert comment here about me being the responsible adult.”[/color] He joked as he refilled her glass before placing both of the bottles back in the middle of the table out of harm’s way.
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TAGGED! Jay!
WORDS! 578
OUTFIT! Neat Neuro
LYRICS! I Go To The Barn Because I Like The - - - Band of Horses
NOTES! <3

[Jack Makenzie Greyson]

Jack hadn’t had much of a social life to speak of before she’d gotten the job at the studio and even then she had school work and studio work so she couldn’t get out and socialise with anyone her own age or anyone she worked with very often. And then afterward, when she was able to have a social life, she wasn’t actually old enough to have one. The fake she had in her wallet helped quite a bit with that, as did hanging out with older people, since she was still the youngest and one in the studio, no one bothered questioning her when she was with people from the studio. And then college started and she met Coop and things just sort of took off in the social life department. Coop brought out more of the mischief in the young Irish girl. And then, of course, Avalanche separated himself from his collar and took off, helping his young owner to find love in Central Park. As romantic comedy as it sounded, it had happened. At any rate, it would be a good story to tell when they were older.

With all that though, there hadn’t been many dates that lasted longer than dancing or a kiss goodnight until Leander. The models she’d tried dating were too vain, one in particular was even worse than the rest and ended the night early with a martini poured down the front of his Armani dress shirt. “When one cannot model, they create,” she said, looking to the side when she did so she could pretend like Dylan couldn’t hear her. Jay lifted a perfectly arched brow at Dylan’s remark. “What is in that tone of yours I hear? Is that interest? No, it couldn’t be that Dylan Griffin actually enjoys spending time with someone who deserves his attention? Gasp!” she said, unable to stop herself from teasing the Irish man. Most of the women she saw him with, however rare, didn’t deserve him in the least as far as she was concerned. In Jack’s opinion her friend needed someone who wasn’t interested in him solely because he was a doctor or because he was good looking. “Present company excluded since I’m far too young and not blonde,” she teased, adding the not so subtle reference to his neighbour.

“It’s a good thing you look good scruffy or I’d be taking the wax to your face,” she threatened, rubbing her hands together menacingly. “But if you start wearing those slouchy hats or baggy trousers, we’ll have to talk,” she said, pointing towards him. She hated guys who wore those things. She did not want to go for a walk in Central Park or around the city and see men’s boxers. She saw enough of that when the yearly contract came about for the underwear shoots at the studio. And the only times of the year those hats were acceptable were the late fall and winter months; early spring if it was nippy. Other than that it was unacceptable to be sporting a hat meant to keep your ears warm and a pair of shorts to go with it.

Jack shrugged, “We can’t all be badass,” she said, her grin wicked and full of mischief. If Coop were around, she would be calling the other girl up and getting her to go out for the night. It wouldn’t have taken much to twist her arm about, next to nothing at all. Jay was pretty sure the phone call would have been enough. But she was out finding herself on a road trip and all she heard from her were postcards postmarked from all sorts of different places throughout the states. “Thanks,” she said bringing the glass back to her. She liked drinking when she was with friends and there were usually plans to go dancing. These last few days weren’t the same thing as that but there was only so much tea a girl could drink to numb it all before she had to try something else. It was weird going to bed alone and waking up that way every night. Leander was usually there unless she had some crazy shoot at an hour of the day that just shouldn’t exist. But that was one night out of how many? And this, this was too many nights in a row without him.

Tag || Dylan!
Words || 728
Clothes || Unexpected Surprise!
Music || Wild at Heart --Gloriana
Notes || <3 <3 <3

[Dylan Ellis Griffin]

Dylan could barely explain how he managed to balance a social life with his hectic work schedule. All he knew was that if he didn’t have the nights drinking in the bars or dancing in the clubs then he would very well morph into the crazy brain surgeon on the top floor who the kids made up rumours about. Crazy surgeon was already the next Halloween costume in his repertoire without him needed to support it with actual reality. He might not have the love life and the white picket fence his mother hoped he would have on this slow approach to thirty, but Dylan was just relieved that he could boast a life of his own. The hospital took up a lot of his time, but it didn’t consume him, not yet. He still got his diving trips out of the city and he still took a few weeks in the summer to splurge on a more extravagant adventure complete with sun, sea and beautiful bodies in the form of shipwrecks. The girls weren’t a bad thing, either.

Holiday romances were never serious and neither were most of the dates he went on in New York. He met some nice girls with promising futures, but their paths were just crossing with his, not merging together for the long run. They had their own needs and Dylan couldn’t always fit the mould they had built for the perfect guy. He’d rather work at something with a fighting chance than struggle to twist and bend something else into perfection. Rolling his eyes as Jack’s teasing, Dylan reached for his drink and then settled back into his seat. “You could read into a blank sheet of paper.”

[/color] He stated, arching his own eyebrow to shoot the younger Irish girl with a look. He chose not to defend himself since he knew Jack well enough to know that she would twist anything he did say to fit something in that warped imagination of hers. “You’re getting older.”[/color] He pointed out, reminding her of what had brought him to her apartment this summery afternoon.

“I look good regardless.”[/color] He stated with a mock arrogance that had been part of his humour for some time. He actually didn’t handle genuine compliments all too well, so this joking attitude came in handy to hide the flaw in his usual charismatic personality. Plus, at twenty-seven, he was used to hearing how good he looked. Normally it came from bouts of eavesdropping with a new resident intake or from the social lubricant that was alcohol, but no guy was going to deny that it was a good boost to the ego, especially after his mam would call and chastise him for ‘wasting his looks behind a surgical mask’. She was incredibly proud of his son for his career, but a medical degree didn’t come with a wife and that was his mam’s ultimate wish these days. “You have seen my wardrobe, right?”[/color] He fixed her with a hard look and then shook his head. Even when dressed casually there was an air of neatness to his appearance. Even when he was covered in wood-stain, varnishes and dust from the sander, he looked less of a mess than some of the ‘trendsetters’ New York had to boast.

“Too much badass and I have to clean up the mess.”[/color] Dylan mumbled, brushing his fingers through his hair. Just the other night some idiot hadn’t worn a helmet on his motorbike and had been involved in a pretty bad crash. Dylan had been working and had to delay his own trip home to repair the damage caused to the man’s brain. Luckily, there was nothing permanent, but it had been touch and go for the most part in the OR. It sometimes made Dylan really angry just how casually people could toy with their mortality.
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• • •

TAGGED! Jay!
WORDS! 654
OUTFIT! Neat Neuro
LYRICS! I Go To The Barn Because I Like The - - - Band of Horses
NOTES! <3