Rough And Rowdy Ways • •

[Dexter Zachary Naismith]

With another year of school over, Dex had more time on his hands than he knew what to do with. He had picked up extra shifts at Gotham, but he still had a lot of free time and there were no shows to audition for to try and pass the summer with. He’d go home to Michigan for a bit at some point and hang out with his old friends and his family there, but that would be two weeks of his summer at most. For Dexter, summer was a time for adventures and trips, but he had nothing planned for it by the time college let up for the summer and his final performance was out of the way. It was only a few weeks later that he managed to coerce Lottie into making a trip back to Boulder into a road trip adventure.

Only moving to America in his teens, there was still a lot that Dexter had to see of the country and his geography skills were seriously lacking when it came to pretty much everything now. He didn’t know what was up or down, east or west and had reached the point where he just waved his arms instead of specifying it all. The only places he knew well enough were Lansing and now New York, but he couldn’t spend the rest of his life with that being the limit of his knowledge, especially when he might end up anywhere for a career. Road trips gave him a chance to see more of the country and explore new places while doing the crazy things he loved doing best. Plus, he knew Lottie enjoyed some unusual sports and hobbies, like himself and he was always keen to try the things he hadn’t heard of before. Most of his hobbies were water related, aside from his old gymnastic talents, since he had lived in a seaside town up until he was sixteen and most days found himself on the beach or in the ocean once school let out.

It was the one thing he missed now; New York didn’t have the atmosphere Shaldon did, or the Smuggler’s Cave entrances to hidden coves and beaches that spun the best waves for water sports. He needed to find some more, newer, hobbies to take up his time when the nostalgia hit him and New York wasn’t quite good enough. Still, with a packed rucksack and a travel mug of hot, sweet tea in his hand, Dex felt ready for anything! The morning air was still cool when he walked the lengthy trip from his apartment to Lottie’s. Most people questioned why Dexter lived so far out from his place of work and the university campus, but to him it had never been a problem. His apartment overlooked the harbour, reminded him of the view from their home in Shaldon and was enough to calm him after a stressful day of whatever. He didn’t mind walking places thanks to his iPod and big headphones and he had his car for the days when the weather was bad, so it wasn’t all that bad. He was soon outside the building where he knew Lottie lived with her big brother, but he was useless with remembering apartment numbers and he didn’t want to buzz the wrong one and wake someone up if they were still sleeping in and making the most of the summer lazy days. Pulling out his phone, Dex sent her a quick text and then leaned back against the wall of the building, running his finger over his iPod to change the song.

[/size][/justify]

• • •

TAGGED! Lottie!
WORDS! 640
OUTFIT! Goofy Guru
LYRICS! Down In The Valley - - - The Head and The Heart
NOTES! <3

[Lottie Aaliyah McAllister]

Now that school was out, it was Lottie’s time to relax and breathe a little easier. There were no assignments piling up on her desk at home, collecting dust while she took her time getting to the work. Her desk was empty, even more so since she’d packed her laptop the night before. There were two times a year when she took all her saved up holidays at once; a couple times throughout the summer and winter break. It was a little over a day’s drive from New York to Boulder, so sometimes if she had a few days off in a row, she found herself in the car with Rocky in the backseat of the Jeep she drove. It stayed parked in the lot for the most part; she liked skateboarding almost everywhere, or walking. And when she did need a car, she took her brother’s since it was smaller.

Lottie had been planning this trip home for months now. This was her first year of University out of the way, only three more to go. At the beginning of the year, she hadn’t been used to being so far away from her family. She had stayed back a few years to help out at the family restaurant and figure out where she wanted to be, what she wanted to do. Once she’d figured that out, she packed her bags and went. She’d been home just once since getting to New York and it would be good to spend a little more than a handful of days there. She’d managed to get two weeks off work right off the bat to go home. Her bosses were pretty incredible when it came to the students working at the Café. She talked with Kael the night before about Rocky. Kael’s job didn’t give him the time needed during the day to get Rocky to the park, so Lottie was taking him with her.

She packed her things the night before, leaving the bags by the front door and packed a cooler of food and drinks in case they wanted to drive through lunch or something. It was twenty-nine hours from New York to Boulder; a drive she could do easily and had done before. She had a good Jeep, older but sturdy and she’d trust that ride in the mountains of her home in the middle of the worst blizzard. A text came through, bringing her phone to life just as she was out a couple bagels from the toaster. Whenever she was up this early for a road trip, she didn’t usually like stopping for extended periods. It was already a long drive and the sooner they got there the better. She hated driving the length alone and could usually con Kael into going home with her, but he was on deadline with work and Dexter had been talking about road trips through the country for as long as she’d known him. So, it wasn’t that hard for him to twist her arm into inviting him along. She sent him back a text telling him she would be right down. She finished adding cream cheese to the bagels, filled her travel mug and called for Rocky.

She clipped Rocky’s leash to his collar, though she wouldn’t use it until she hit the sidewalk, picked up her bags and cooler, made sure the bagels she’d made were on hand and grabbed her coffee. Her hands were full but thankfully, Kael was still home so she didn’t have to shut the door. She called out a quick see yeah, and yelled that she would call him when they got home. “Rocky, button,” she said to the dog and smiled as her German shepherd jumped up to hit the down button of the elevator. When she got downstairs, Lottie went to the front door to let Dex into the building. “Morning, Dex, ready?” she asked, holding the door open awkwardly to let him through. “We’ve got to go through to my ride,” she said to Dex before turning to Rocky. “Rock, Jeep,” she said to the dog and watched him run to the other door. Pushing through she followed her shepherd to the bright baby blue Jeep sitting in the spot she’d left it.

Lottie dropped everything at her feet before pulling out her keys. “I made some sandwiches and salads and things for the drive, I don’t usually stop through lunch long enough to actually eat, but we can if you want. I made bagels for breakfast in there,” she said pointing to her purse. “Let me get this ragtop off and we can toss everything into the back,” she finished by hitting the alarm and going through the motions of removing the ragtop roof. The doors would go once they pulled into the drive of her family home. In Colorado, she hated using them, but for the drive there and back, they would be there; she hated highways with a passion. She folded up the roof, slipping it into the storage spot. She tossed her things into the bag, careful of Dex’s things, leaving the cooler and her purse aside. “If you want to stop for breakfast, there are a few good diners along the way, but I did make bagels,” she said laughing, opening the door and letting Rocky up, unhooking the leash once he was settled. There was a lot to take, but she’d done the trip a few times and had it all figured out. Lottie slipped the cooler into the back, behind her seat, pulled her phone and the wrapped bagels from her purse before tossing that back, too. “You’ll have to be in charge of my phone,” she said, grinning wickedly. Her father knew they were coming and called a million times when he knew she was on the road. Normally, it depended on what time he called, because Kael was with her, but this time around Dex didn’t know the way, so it was all her. “The chance of it being anyone other than my dad or Gavin is pretty slim and even then they’ll only be calling to check in locations,” she said rolling her eyes as she put the key into the ignition, buckled in and started the Jeep up. She was the baby of the family, her father was overprotective but had eased off a bit since she’d gone to Kendo classes and participated in other martial arts. It didn’t stop him completely from worrying about his little girl, but it did give her some breathing room. It didn’t take her long, even with the terrible traffic of the city to be on the right street to get out of the city.

Tag || Dex!
Words || 1 120
Clothes || One More Time
Music || Wild at Heart --Gloriana
Notes || <3

[Dexter Zachary Naismith]

Whenever Dexter headed back to the family home in Lansing, he didn’t think of it as a possibility for a road trip. It took up most of a day to get there, but he had done it a few times already and now it was more of a chore than something he could make fun out of. Still, he enjoyed long drives, but when it was just him with Roscoe and Einstein in their cages on the back seat it was mainly twelve hours of him singing along to the radio or going over lines and musical pieces from whatever production he was part of next. He much preferred travelling with some company though; just to keep him from being the strange kid in the car who was dancing at the stop lights, singing full blast and drumming on the steering wheel.

Grinning his usual crooked smile as Lottie appeared, he took one of the bags from her to make it a little easier on the young girl. He only had his travel mug of tea and the rucksack that was on his bag, so it seemed like the right thing to do since Lottie looked pretty swamped with her own gear. “Let’s do this!”

[/color] Surprisingly, Dexter was quite the morning person and usually always out of bed pretty early unless he had been out the night before, so he was all ready and set for the long drive before he had arrived at Lottie’s building. He nodded along with what she was saying, noting that she seemed excited to head home to Colorado. “I have biscuits and some sweets in my bag too.”[/color] No long journey was complete without junk food to munch on along the way. Even the short four hour journey from Shaldon to his grandparent’s house in Portsmouth had been filled with travel snacks of gummy bears and liquorice. “I’m usually pretty good for stops. I just need to stretch my legs at some point or I’ll faceplant the ground the second I step out.”[/color] He said with a deep chuckle. He didn’t like rest stops in the middle of nowhere that seemed to be on those suspicious little side roads from the highways. They reminded him of horror movies that never had a happy ending and he avoided them like the plague when he was driving along. Dex would rather make a detour and go to a small town, even if it added an hour or two to a journey.

Opening his rucksack to grab the treats he had mentioned and his glasses case, just in case, he smiled again before tossing the bulky bag into the back of Lottie’s Jeep. His glasses were only there in case he needed to read something, but it would be a lot easier to toss them next to him than have to try and route around mid-journey for them. “I had a bowl of Cheerios before I left, but I’ll knick a bagel.”[/color] The longer he could go before his stomach started growling the better it would be. “And if I start singing too obnoxiously just throw something at me.”[/color] Half of the time he burst into song without even thinking about it and Lottie wouldn’t be the first person who would get annoyed at him for it! He laughed again, shrugging his shoulders as he settled into the passenger seat, getting comfortable for the long ride. “And you’re leaving the Englishman in charge of locations? They’re going to think we’ve ran off on them, you know that, right?”[/color] He joked, shaking his head at his own terrible geography when it came to America. “If it’s anyone else I’m going to make up stories and see how long I can keep them on the line for.”[/color] He said with a wicked smile, his jokester side shining through as bright as the morning sun. He was excited for their little adventure, cheering loudly as they reached the city border.
[/blockquote][/blockquote][/size][/justify]

• • •

TAGGED! Lottie!
WORDS! 703
OUTFIT! Goofy Guru
LYRICS! Down In The Valley - - - The Head and The Heart
NOTES! <3

[Lottie Aaliyah McAllister]

Lottie wasn’t exactly a morning person. In fact, she had to set her alarm for a half hour before she actually had to get up just so she could hit the snooze button six times as she made sure her alarm went off every five minutes to annoy her enough to roll out of bed just to get away from it. But days like these, she went to bed early and got up on the first sound of her alarm so she could do some sort of exercise to wake herself up. “Thanks,” she said, laughing at herself. How she’d even managed to get out of her apartment and down the elevator she didn’t know. She didn’t normally pack so much, but one bag had her archery gear and she wasn’t about to leave her bow at home with Kael. The last time she did that, it mysteriously broke. It was as dismantled as it could get and she didn’t pack any of the arrows she had upstairs. The other bags held her clothes, laptop and a couple books she’d been meaning to read for a while now just hadn’t had the chance. She let Dex take one of those from her, making sure to hike up the one with her bow in it.

“You seem really excited for so early in the morning,” she remarked, walking through the building. She was, too, but for different reasons. She shook her head just once at Rocky who sat right next to the door, patiently waiting for her and Dex to catch up. It had taken quite a bit, but he was a good search dog and an even better pet. “Oh, please tell me some of those sweets happen to be fuzzy peaches. I love those,” she said, grinning. Lottie snorted a giggle at the image of Dex falling out of the car. “Well, Rocky needs to get out for a couple minutes every few hours. He’s pretty good usually but, you know,” she said with a shrug. It was usually those stops that she ate what she could, put the lids back on and went again.

At least with this drive the highway went right through a few dozen cities, so stopping at fast food places and coffee shops were always options, though the only one she stepped foot in where the coffee shops. About halfway through the trip she was usually in need of a serious coffee break. Those were probably the longest stops during the entire trip. “They’re cinnamon raisin, I hope that’s okay. Kael nearly chopped my hand off trying to grab one of his everything,” she said rolling her eyes at him. Her brother was a pretty great guy but like all brothers, he could be a huge pain in the ass. They shared all the food, obviously, everything but the bagels. She loved the cinnamon and he favoured pretty much everything but those. She made a face at the cereal. “Bleh,” she added. She had never liked cereal, even as a child. Saturday mornings consisted of pancakes, bagels or surprise waffles on someone’s birthday. The weeks were filled with bagels; at least, for her it was. “It won’t be me to say something. If you get too annoying, he’ll tell you,” she said, laughing, nodding her head towards the dog curled up on the backseat. She liked the noise and it was usually her singing along to the music, in most cases a little bit off key to annoy the hell out of Kael.

She really should have picked up a Bluetooth speaker for the car, but she drove with no roof, usually with no doors and always with the windows down. So it would have been useless on trips like this anyway. “Don’t worry, I’ll tell you where we are. Otherwise you might have us in Texas,” she said, holding the signal to switch lanes. “But do what you’d like with the others.” It wasn’t uncommon for her to answer her own phone with something ridiculous whenever she was in an odd mood. So someone else doing the same would just mean a different voice. Lottie let out a deep breath as that city limit sign flew past in the rear view mirror. Two weeks of freedom was on its way.

Tag || Dex!
Words || 717
Clothes || One More Time
Music || Wild at Heart --Gloriana
Notes || <3

[Dexter Zachary Naismith]

Dexter had always been one of the first awake in his house for as long as he could remember. Even when he was a teenager he hadn’t gone through a lazy stage of sleeping half the day away. His parents would wake up and find him tucked up and playing video games with an empty bowl of cereal on the table. He always had been like that, even if he only had a few hours of sleep. It made his life a lot easier, especially when it came to morning rehearsals since he was one of the few who would be in character and ready to go without needed to sip at bad coffee or without forgetting his lines due to exhaustion. It was a good thing really, since Dex couldn’t stand the taste of coffee! He was used to the jokes by now and had heard them all, just nodding along whenever someone ‘realised’ how he lived up to the English stereotype and kept tea in his travel mug, unlike most of the college students who lived only once five cups of Starbucks’ best was in their system. “I’m always like this in the morning. I don’t get crabby.”

[/color] He said with a careless shrug and a happy little smile. Laughing, he pushed his shaggy hair from his face and shook his head. “I honestly don’t know! I just grabbed whatever was on the shelf in the corner shop last night.”[/color] He confessed. He hadn’t even looked in the plastic bag full before he had shoved it in the top of his rucksack on top of everything else.

He glanced across at the dog and smiled fondly. His own pets were being looked after by a neighbour who found Dex’s unusual little critters to be quite endearing. “Fine by me; it’ll stop me from cramping up.”[/color] He was a tall guy and long journeys in cars always bit him in the ass if he didn’t stop once or twice along the way. He didn’t need much time, just a minute to stretch out and probably a tea refill at some point too. Dexter shrugged again and smiled across at the smaller blonde. “That’s fine. Food is food to me.”[/color] He wasn’t a bottomless pit, but the drama student also wasn’t a fussy eater either. He had his preferences, but there were very few things that he didn’t like eating and they were mainly vegetables and powerful curries. Grinning, he looked around at the large dog and winked at the animal. “I’m sure I know something to his taste.”[/color] He joked. Not every production was a musical, but Dexter had found himself in a good handful of them so if he did start singing it wouldn’t be unbearably out of tune and off key.

His eyebrows furrowed together and he tried to picture the USA and how it looked in the old atlas of the world that he knew existed on some bookshelf back in Lansing. Geography really was not his strong suit and whenever someone called him out on it now he pointed out his accent and reminded them that he had only lived in America for five years and it was hard enough to learn two cities! “Is that in the opposite direction?”[/color] He asked, honestly clueless and unable to picture a map right now. It was probably a good job that his future was only based on him remembering lines and not map routes!
[/blockquote][/blockquote][/size][/justify]

• • •

TAGGED! Lottie!
WORDS! 619
OUTFIT! Goofy Guru
LYRICS! Down In The Valley - - - The Head and The Heart
NOTES! <3

[Lottie Aaliyah McAllister]

Lottie wasn’t a crabby person in the mornings exactly but she wasn’t all sunshine and daisies either. She liked to think she was a happy balance between both, though Kael would gladly give up the bad morning habits Lottie had to anyone who asked. She would quickly admit that she needed at least one cup of coffee in the morning, two if it had been a long night. Her morning routine was pretty simple, crawl out of bed, wash face, down coffee and open eyes! After that she could do whatever else needed to be done, whatever that may be. She wanted to wish Dex luck though, being in her house with her father and Gavin if he “had laundry” to do. The man had a place of his own, but hardly ever stayed in the swanky apartment. They had all figured one of the kids would end up staying at home, but most of them had thought it would be Lottie! She was the youngest; the one without the mother figure while the other two had had time with their late mother. And yet she’d been the one to move the furthest away. “If not, I packed my own and the house is usually stocked with them when dad knows I’m coming home,” she said, laughing at her own predictability.

Even Lottie needed to get out and stretch every few hours. She may have been tiny but by the time she got to the half way mark of the trip if she didn’t stop, she was usually stiff as a board and it took her more time to get out than she needed to walk around. Lottie figured if they stopped around noon, let the boys stretch out and do their thing and she could be hungry by then. She had a long list of cheap coffee places they could stop for washroom breaks and pick up coffee for her and tea for Dex since she was aware of his dislike for the dark drink Lottie adored. Normally, she wouldn’t have driven and eaten but this was her breakfast and she couldn’t make Dex drive when he didn’t know where he was going in the first place; it wouldn’t have been very nice. Rolling her eye, Lottie chuckled. “As long as it isn’t off key, it’s his favourite tune,” she said, biting into the bagel half in her hand.

Lottie took her eyes off the road just long enough to glance at Dex, remembering that he didn’t grow up in the country and didn’t have to go through the hours or torturous geography she did. She had a good sense of direction, why did she need to know where exactly on the map Ohio is? If she wasn’t going to find herself there, she didn’t need it. “A little bit. You turn south, south west at some point,” she said with a shrug. She hadn’t travelled through the entire country, only the states she needed to pass through to get from New York to Colorado. Absently, Lottie turned the radio on low. She didn’t want to deter conversation but she couldn’t drive without music playing in the background for very long.

She kept up a good conversation with Dex as they drove, stopping once around lunch for Dex to stretch out and for Rocky to do the same. She pulled out one of the salads she’d put together and the dressing and ate most of it, not realizing she’d been so hungry. They were back on the road again, teasing and playing driving games as they went while Rocky snored softly in the backseat. It was nearing dinner time when Lottie got off the highway again and headed in to the closest coffee shop to the highway. She parked the Jeep, cutting the engine. “Alright, I need coffee and I’m sure that mug has been empty of tea for hours now,” she said, taking the keys from the ignition. “Stay guard, Rock. I’ll be right back to let you out,” she added, shutting the door after grabbing her purse from the back.

Tag || Dex!
Words || 683
Clothes || One More Time
Music || Wild at Heart --Gloriana
Notes || <3

[Dexter Zachary Naismith]

Dexter usually got along pretty well with the families of his friends…until he opened his mouth. He spent so much of his life with that immature mind full of innuendoes and double meanings that half of the time now they just slipped out without him realising it and then he had to backtrack to try and explain how he had meant it to be an entirely innocent remark, which usually felt him babbling on unsure of what was complimentary and what was offensive. Usually, by the time he shut up and slunk away again, the family was a little unsure about the boy and in the past had nicknamed Dex “the weird friend”. It would probably happen at some point on this little trip too, but Dex would find the time to worry about that when something actually happened. He might have been a talented actor, but once he was away from the stage and the scripts he often fell quite neatly into the role of the fool! “Ah, a parent approved sugar rush.”

[/color] Dex did not need sugar to have his bouncy energy and as a kid had been given a strict sugar ban to try and control just how much running about he did on a regular basis.

He let out a boisterous laugh and shook his head. “Luckily for him then, I’m rarely out of tune.”[/color] He was never going to be touring the globe as a hit star whose concerts sold out in a matter of minutes, but he did have a decent enough voice for the roles he took on. The drama department only had an optional course of study for musical theatre and Dex was one of the kids who spent the extra hours on campus to be a part of it. It was more of an extra and didn’t really change his major much at all, but put him in another two or three shows a year and broadened his skillset, meaning that he would have more to throw down on his resume when it came to fighting for those roles once he didn’t have the university productions to fill up his evenings. He may have passed out on his couch a number of nights on the run from going from class, to rehearsal, to work and then home, but it was worth it for the Englishman who had felt at home on the stage for as long as he could remember.

Dex’s own torturous hours of Geography had ended when he was fourteen and had chosen with no hesitation to drop the subject from his studies. He did not need to spend any more of his hours studying limestone and riverbeds! He could read a map if given one and following signposts was pretty straightforward too, but he had never been forced to sit down and actually learn the entirety of an atlas. He looked at Lottie silently for a few seconds before speaking up again, still feeling just as confused and as clueless as ever. “So…we’re not going that way?”[/color] He probably should have glanced at Google Maps or something before he left his apartment this morning, but since Lottie knew the way off by heart, nothing like that had sprung to mind for the shaggy haired dramatist.

He enjoyed their journey entertainment and only interrupted their games and conversations for a few songs that came on the radio that Dex felt the need to sing along with as though he was on the stage right there and then and not in Lottie’s Jeep! When they pulled over at the coffee shop though, he had to nod in agreement. He had a half full soda bottle left from their lunch stop off, but he needed some more tea. He didn’t like how sugary drinks left his mouth feeling sticky after a while and tea was his usual go-to cure for that sort of thing. “You have got that so right.”[/color] He said, stretching out as he hopped from the car, following Lottie inside the shop and then gasping. One of the greatest songs ever played was coming from the speakers and Dex being Dex, wasted no time in singing like he was on his own, or in the shower. “I could spend my life in this sweet surrender, I could stay lost in this moment forever. Well, every moment spent with you is a moment I treasure!”[/color][/i]
[/blockquote][/blockquote][/size][/justify]

• • •

TAGGED! Lottie!
WORDS! 777
OUTFIT! Goofy Guru
LYRICS! Down In The Valley - - - The Head and The Heart
NOTES! <3

[Lottie Aaliyah McAllister]

Lottie didn’t feel like there were many friends she had that would fit into her family’s dynamic. They were a little crazy and were often far more crude than they really needed to be. Lottie grew up knowing to word her conversations right or walk right into the innuendos the men of the house loved so much. She thought Dex would fit right in though. From the few times they hung out at her place with Kael around, it looked promising. Even if he wouldn’t have gotten along well with her father at least, she wanted him to go with her to the mountains. It wasn’t like they were going to be spending all their time cooped up in the house, however big it was. “In my house, you pretty much need to be on a constant sugar high with a caffeine edge,” she joked, laughing. She was just obsessed with the peach flavoured candies and since it was pretty much the only candy she ate, Frankie allowed it. Really, he should have been more concerned about her addiction to coffee since she’d been drinking the stuff since she’d been twelve! The most that was said though was that if she hadn’t started drinking coffee, she might have been just as tall as the rest of the family. But her mother had been a petite little thing too, so clearly she was taking after mother dearest.

“He usually has to listen to me and Kael so you’re definitely a step up,” she joked, looking in her rear view to glance quickly at the big dog sprawled out in the backseat. Lottie could carry a tune just fine, but she kept her talent to car rides and the shower. Her brother on the other hand couldn’t carry a tune to save his life and it was terrible being stuck in a car for him for more than twenty minutes when they had a good station playing on the radio, or he made some new CDs from his iTunes playlists. Lottie had never felt compelled to try out for any of her school’s productions, preferring her world in the art classroom. She had some skill, but creating art wasn’t her passion. She loved the classical, long since passed artists. It sometimes amused her friends, and definitely Kael that she worked at a restaurant as a bartender instead of putting her vast knowledge to good use being a tour guide at one of the countless museums in the city.

Geography wasn’t Lottie’s strong suit, but she did have a good sense of direction. At the very least she could get herself from point A to point B. Lottie shook her head. “No, we’re not this time, maybe the next,” she said, pulling free her sunglasses from her shirt and slipping them onto her eyes. It was going to be a long trip and the weather called for sunshine and only a light breeze thanks to the roof of the Jeep being gone and the windows down. The few stops they made for Rocky were enough to get them through to what Lottie considered the real stop at the café. She took a minute once she got out of the driver’s seat to stretch herself out before grabbing her bag and heading inside with Dex. “Aerosmith, too? Is there anything you don’t know?” she teased playfully. Truthfully, Lottie loved this song as well, but whenever she sang a song, it was inevitable that she messed up half the lyrics, so she tended to stay away from singing in public. Still, she bopped along to the beat of the song as she stepped up to the counter and ordered her caramel macchiato with double shot of espresso and extra caramel sauce. She handed over a few bills and stepped aside to grab her coffee and doctor it with chocolate shavings.

Tag || Dex!
Words || 645
Clothes || One More Time
Music || Wild at Heart --Gloriana
Notes || <3

[Dexter Zachary Naismith]

Dexter’s own family were a little unique and he couldn’t just sum them up in a few short words. Joe needed the extra attention for obvious reasons and Brian was the sensible one dedicated to being successful and having that white picket fence dream. The eldest child had followed in his parents’ footsteps, but Dexter had found a whole route of his own, meaning that he was the only one to actually put some distance between himself and hospitals. With doctors as parents and his older brother, and then a brother that was admitted regularly for therapy sessions and other complications, Dexter found himself needing that in his life. He loved them all to bits though and friends of his were usually welcomed too, but they always commented on how wacky Dex was compared to the rest of his family. His dad had joked for over ten years now that Dex must’ve fallen on his head at some point to explain the noticeable differences. “That is pretty much my natural state.”

[/color] He said with a small nod. After hours and hours of rehearsals leading into the late of night, Dex was one of the few still bubbling with energy and could show up the following morning with more of the same.

“Several steps up.”[/color] He teased lightly, not really meaning it. Dexter wasn’t arrogant and didn’t take compliments or praise well. When he was younger, if someone commented on his singing voice then he usually just shrugged and made some half-assed comment that rarely made much sense. Even today he just shrugged or nodded and then got on with whatever he had planned to do next. Criticism he could handle well, but not the praise. He didn’t really discuss that with anyone, but he had a theory that it all came down to the many years he had been bullied for; it had toughened his skin from harsh comments and only made him strive to be better at what he loved. People still asked him about a back-up plan for the future, but Dexter thought that having such a thing only seemed to put a damper on someone’s confidence, almost acting like a little voice telling them that they’d never be successful in chasing their sought after dreams. He never expected riches and fame, but he just wanted to do what he loved most of all, even if it meant he was late on the rent and worked at Gotham for the rest of the time that he wasn’t on a stage. Happiness was the most important thing to Dex.

He was still heavily confused about where they were going and where they would be driving through. Signposts he could deal with and actual directions scribbled down, but ask him a general geography question and he was ninety percent likely to get the answer wrong. He might have been better at it if the family had moved when he was younger, but Dex had been sixteen and that meant he actually had a combination of things to learn and his English heritage often overpowered everything he had learnt back in his Michigan high school. It had taken him pretty much the remaining two years there to adjust. “So, Colorado is nowhere near Texas?”[/color] He asked, knowing that he was probably driving Lottie crazy by this point, but Dex had a habit of just speaking and then dealing with the outcome a little later.
Grinning down at the blonde near him, Dex shrugged modestly. “I’ve probably spent the greater part of my life with headphones on.”[/color] He said, remembering that it had been the quickest way for him to memorise the lyrics to the songs in the school productions. Along the way he had discovered regular bands too and even now most of the space on his laptop was clogged with music for all kinds of moods and times. Ordering his tea just the way he liked it, Dex prised the money from his wallet and handed it over, wasting no time with any of the “extra” bits on the counter. He valued the simplicity of a good cup of tea and didn’t care about any “English” jokes that came his way because of it.
[/blockquote][/blockquote][/size][/justify]

• • •

TAGGED! Lottie!
WORDS! 743
OUTFIT! Goofy Guru
LYRICS! Down In The Valley - - - The Head and The Heart
NOTES! <3

[Lottie Aaliyah McAllister]

Grinning, Lottie passed a slower moving car. “Then you will fit right in. Just don’t let Gavin pull you into all his plans. He likes the mountains and thinks everyone else does, too. I’ve lost count the amount of times he’s woken me up at the crack of dawn because it had rained the night before making the trails mud.” That was probably not exactly the best of scenarios since she’d been up and out of bed in a matter of seconds after hearing that. She loved taking the dirt bikes out after a good rain and tearing up some mud. Laughing, Lottie reached over a smack Dexter’s arm. “Hey! Don’t make me pull over and watch you walk back to New York! I’d also like to remind you that you’ve never heard Kael sing. I’m the next big thing compared,” she said, lying like a rug. Gun to her head, she could carry a tune when singing along to the radio but other than that, she was a hopeless case.

“Border to border I don’t think it’s more than a couple hours actually, but there’s a small bit of New Mexico and Oklahoma between the states. I’ve never actually been, so I don’t know for certain,” she said, trying to think about it all. They had been down to New Orleans, but they’d gone to Memphis first, so they’d never had to go through Texas like the route would have taken them. “All those musicals had to be memorized somehow,” she said, thinking she understood. She had headphones in some of the time, too but it was just so she could get through her homework without hearing one or both of her brothers yelling about the restaurant, hitting the hill for a few turns down the mountain or hitting the beach. Back outside, Lottie let Rocky out for a stretch and get him some water and a bit of food while she ate half of one of the sandwiches she’d made. After she finished that though, Rocky was sitting next to her, wanting back in the Jeep. “Ready to go again?” she asked, Dex, letting Rocky up and gathering up the garbage to throw out.

The rest of the drive went smoothly and a litter after one, New York time, Lottie was driving down the familiar streets of her hometown. For a small place, Boulder was pretty big, nestled in at the bottom of the mountains. Lottie pointed out places on the main drag that she used to go to and the family restaurant. She knew before had made plans to visit home that she would have to pick up a shift or two. Every one of them had to do it and it didn’t matter if you were a hotshot like Kael was. Eventually, Lottie turned onto her street. It was a nice neighbourhood, a lot of kids her age growing up and the neighbours were a good distance away; which was good for the amount of parties the McAllister siblings had thrown. Not that it had mattered all that much since most of the neighbours were at these parties.

She was wide awake and wired for sound despite driving for five hours over a day, when she pulled down the drive and cut the engine to her Jeep. “This is it, Welcome to Wonderland Hills,” she said excitedly, opening the door so Rocky could jump down without fear of hurting himself. The area the family lived in was called Wonderland Hills. It had made her laugh, growing up and telling people she lived in Boulder by way of Wonderland Hills. “You’ll want to adjust your phone for the time. It’s only after eleven,” she added grabbing her bags. Lottie never stopped to think that the house might seem big or mansion like. All the houses surrounding Boulder were on the large side and they always seemed to be getting bigger the farther away from city center that you got. Theirs backed onto one of the parks, so when it had been built, they architect made it blend into the surrounding mountains. It was four stories, but with the way the family was, it never seemed like enough space. It had actually been a little weird moving in with Kael in New York. The apartment was big but when they were all so used to basically having a floor to themselves and then having to share such closer quarters. For the first few months the two of them were tiptoeing around each other, careful not to make too much noise when the other had to get up. But they got over that and now it was like it had always been; only now they really didn’t need to yell or use the walkie talkies they had when they were small children.

With one empty, she just tossed it onto the porch lightly but she was careful with the others. “Around back is the old barn we turned into storage for all the toys and there are plenty of trails right behind the house, too, if we don’t want to take the truck out,” she said, climbing the porch steps. Lottie pushed the door open easily since her father knew she was coming. “I’m home!” she yelled just so she knew she would be heard through most of the house. It depended where everyone was if they heard her. ”In the kitchen, Lot,” her father called. Rolling her eyes, Lottie walked right over to the left stairs and dumped her bags there. “Alright, so we can drop our things here and go eat, or we can bring this stuff upstairs, have a look around and then eat. Either way, we’ll find ourselves in the kitchen,” she said laughing and leaving the decision to Dexter. It didn’t matter to her what they did, it was just nice to be home.

Tag || Dex!
Words || 979
Clothes || One More Time
Music || Wild at Heart --Gloriana
Notes || <3

[Dexter Zachary Naismith]

Grinning, Dex shrugged. “The crack of dawn is pretty much around the time I wake up anyway!”

[/color] It was usually an hour or two after if he was going to be specific, but it was still early compared to most of the students he knew. He liked to make sure that Rosco was okay for a day alone and that Einstein wasn’t living in a cesspit of a cage. Some mornings it was as simple as feeding them both, but other days he had to deal with Rosco’s claws and then change Einstein’s bedding, which was usually something he was better doing before he got himself ready for the day. His professor didn’t like his excuse of “sorry, I was filing my pet skunk’s claws down” though. “I’m sure some dashing truck driver would take me back if you abandoned me. Don’t forget that I’m an actor. I could make up some story about how you broke my heart, ran off with my brother and topped it all off by just turfing me out at the side of the road.”[/color] He said, grinning and giving Lottie a quick wink.

“This country is far too complicated. Take me to an airport; I want England back.”[/color] Even if he spent the rest of his life stateside, Dex didn’t think he’d understand half of the geography here. He preferred his island, with the royal family, silly old traditions and even the terrible weather than threatened his home every winter when the winds and the storms hit. He was happy in New York, or else he wouldn’t still be there, but Shaldon was always going to be where his heart was. “Exactly! I once cheered an old lady up by singing Luck Be a Lady at the bus stop!”[/color] It had been during a production of Guys and Dolls and Dex had forgotten where he was and burst into song when he was waiting for the bus home. It had made the old woman smile and he’d had quite the conversation with her too. She even ended up seeing the show when it came around that winter!

He kept his eyes on the views, listening to Lottie’s stories as they found themselves closer to the place she called home. It looked like a nice place, definitely nothing like New York. “Can I please introduce myself as the Mad Hatter?”[/color] He begged, turning around to look at the blonde driver with wide, dark eyes. He dug out his phone – the only source of time he had – and quickly changed it to fix the time zone, though he figured that he’d barely notice it and just feel very confused for a bit. He was like that on family holidays all the time. Dex was used to big homes. Both of the houses he had lived in with his family had been on a larger scale, especially when Joe got his electric wheelchair so that he could get about on his own. The family had needed the space for him to manoeuvre the chair around the house without taking a bookcase with him each time. He never spoke about it, but his family were wealthier than he seemed to let on. He preferred to live on the wages he earned, but he knew that with a phone call his dad would transfer some money to his account if there was an emergency and he needed it. Back in Shaldon, the back garden had overlooked the bay and it was something he missed, which was why his apartment in New York overlooked the mariner. He needed that view back and if it cost a little more each month in rent, then he believed it was worth it.

He pushed his hair back from his face with one sweep of his hand and then he moved to grab his bag, hauling it over his shoulder and then helping Lottie with what was left, his eyes still fixed on their surroundings. He glanced around the house he stepped into, though interior design was hardly anything he knew much about. His mum had yelled at him often enough for feet up on the coffee table because there was something special about it, but it wasn’t anything he paid attention too usually, just so long as he knew his way around. He was contemplating their options when his stomach seemed to make the decision for him, letting out a huge growl. “I guess we should eat first.”[/color] He said with a laugh, dropping his bag just out of the way for now and stretching out.
[/blockquote][/blockquote][/size][/justify]

• • •

TAGGED! Lottie!
WORDS! 806
OUTFIT! Goofy Guru
LYRICS! Down In The Valley - - - The Head and The Heart
NOTES! <3

[Lottie Aaliyah McAllister]

These days the sun was rising, or just about to before Lottie was finally falling into her big warm bed, especially now that classes were done for the year and she took on more shifts. She was a good bartender, with plenty of experience from home. She hadn’t needed the training occasionally requested when a new bartender was hired; she’d already known it all. It all meant that once she was done her classes and exams, she was added more and more to the rota. She wasn’t flirty but she could talk sports with the guys easier anyway, and the girls gave tips by getting tips on talking to guys as if they know what they’re talking about. Lottie didn’t know when she became a relationship expert or shrink but when she was behind the bar, she was both; at least for the women she was. For the guys, they kept ordering more drinks, giving her bigger tips so she would stick around to talk. In those few short minutes, she was the perfect girl for them and then she walked away. “Don’t say that too loudly either way,” Lottie suggested, laughing. It wouldn’t matter if you were just crawling into bed; Gavin would have them up and demanding they get their asses in gear, that they were losing daylight. Lottie wanted to spend the next twenty minutes just staring at Dex in the passenger seat, but she couldn’t, she had to watch where she was going. “You obviously don’t know many truck drivers,” she said, shaking her head.

“Tell me about it,” she said, agreeing with Dex. The only reason she knew how to get to Boulder and New York was simply because she had to know. If it weren’t for that, she would probably be just as clueless as Dexter about it all. She couldn’t stand Geography, it drover her crazy in school and it continued to drive her crazy behind the wheel. She definitely would have preferred the airport and a short plane ride over the Jeep but she couldn’t take Rocky with her and with the hours Kael worked, he couldn’t properly take care of him either. For everything, it was just easier to drive. “I can absolutely picture that,” she said, laughing at the mere thought of Dex forgetting himself and bursting out into a catchy song wherever it was that he was standing.

Lottie missed her home in Wonderland Hills though. It was where she grew up, where everything had happened. Of course, she’d needed a change of scenery, but the plan was always to come home for a month, maybe more when school was all done and over with and relax; maybe work at a gallery in Boulder where the walls where lined with work from local artists looking to sell their pieces. She wanted her own gallery someday, just a small one with just her and maybe an assistant taking care of everything. It didn’t matter where it was but Lottie was thinking it would probably end up being right there in Boulder, Colorado. “Only if you call me Alice,” she said, laughing. Being home instantly had Lottie relaxing. There wasn’t much of a change in the petite blonde if she were being honest. She was still crazy, bordering on ridiculous but it was just the feeling of being home that seemed to change her. “Excellent choice, Sir, if you’ll follow me,” she said, sounding purposefully like she was so posh tour guide.

She led Dex down the hall that past her father’s home office, the small library and dining room that was hardly ever used. The only time that space was used was when they were having a big family event with extended family coming in and holidays. Other than that, it was the couch in the very lived in living room, the rec room down the other hall or more often than not the breakfast island in the spacious kitchen. Lottie checked a hip into the swinging door of the kitchen with a huge smile on her face. “Hey-o, daddio. Whatcha make me?” she asked, skirting the island to be pulled into a big bear hug by her father. ”Welcome home, Lot, who have you brought along with you?” he asked, pulling away to finish setting the plates. “Father, this is Dex, a friend from school. Dex, this is Frankie McAllister, chef extraordinaire,” she said by way of introductions as she reached her hand to steal a carrot stick but her father slapped her hand away and left her pouting. ”Nice to meet you, Dex. Was the drive alright? I don’t know who gave that girl a license,” Frankie said, teasing his daughter. He didn’t get to do that as much these days with her on the East Coast, so he took his chances when he got them.

After a bit of conversation, Frankie asking Lottie about her brother and the city and asking Dex how he liked the city and what he did there, he set a couple plates down in front of the pair. ”I’ve got to go into the restaurant now. I pushed it for as long as I could to be here when you got home. Come on down later and see everyone. I’m sure you’ll be showing Dex the sights,” he said, drying his hands on the towel as he walked around the island. He pulled Lottie in to another hug, pressing a quick kiss to the top of her head before shaking Dex’s hand after tossing the towel onto the island top. “Alright, we’ll do that. See you, Dad,” she said, taking a big bite of the BLT her father made.

Tag || Dex!
Words || 947
Clothes || One More Time
Music || Wild at Heart --Gloriana
Notes || <3

[Dexter Zachary Naismith]

Living in the houses he had grown up in, early morning rises seemed to be the only way to get out of the front door on time and avoid all the hot water vanishing from the showers. He thought that it might’ve been something that’d change once he moved out of the family home and into his New York apartment, but it really hadn’t. Even if he was kept late at the comedy club after a long day of workshops and rehearsals, Dex rarely passed out and missed most of the day. It was as if his body was so used to getting up at the same time every day by now and that only seemed to change when Dexter caught the flu, which usually only happened in the Fall when he was run off his feet with the classes and the Christmas show rehearsals. Plus, he was usually the overenthusiastic drama kid who volunteered to help with the extra workshops that they put on as sort of a taster trial for those considering the theatre as a way of life. On top of that he also had the drama society, which he was actively a part of. He needed all of his energy to keep moving really, once someone looked at everything that he did on a regular basis. There had already been nights where sleep seemed like a far off thing from his past. “I know British truck drivers. They’re great people. I slept in someone’s cabin once.”

[/color] It was one of his cousins who had offered to take him to London and back when he was eyeballing schools before the family had moved to Michigan and everything had changed.

Dex hadn’t been to the place he called home in a few years now. They had no relatives actually living in Shaldon and when the family few back to the UK for Christmas it was hardly the best time to drive to the seaside hamlet; he had lived there for sixteen years and he remembered the stormy weather only too well. Still, it was home and he had his fingers crossed that he’d get to go back there soon, even if it was only for a short break once school wrapped up for good. He let out a chuckle and shook his head. “But Alice didn’t live in Wonderland, she only visited.”[/color] He pointed out with his typical lopsided smirk.

He smiled and waved pleasantly to Frankie McAllister, chucking at his fatherly rapport with Lottie. “Ditto, Mr McAllister. And, to be honest, I sang most of the way to stop myself from screaming.”[/color] He joked, adding to the teasing of the petite blonde. Dex had been so busy enjoying the journey with the laughter and the joking that any near death experiences had gone right over his head. He didn’t claim to be an expert on the road either though, which was why he often chose to walk or catch the subway. “However, I do think I need an atlas after that.”[/color] His mind was still boggled as to where the hell he was in the country and what was nearby that he already recognised.

Dex politely thanked him for the food and his stomach seemed to echo the sentiments as he took the first bite into the freshly made meal. Road trip treats may have tied him over while they were in the car, but nothing could beat this right now. “So, what do you have planned for me now that we’re in Wonderland?”[/color] He asked Lottie as her father left, wiggling his eyebrows playfully.
[/blockquote][/blockquote][/size][/justify]

• • •

TAGGED! Lottie!
WORDS! 638
OUTFIT! Goofy Guru
LYRICS! Down In The Valley - - - The Head and The Heart
NOTES! <3

[Lottie Aaliyah McAllister]

“Then I wish you luck,” she said, grinning. Lottie did enjoy driving home but she could do without those eighteen wheelers on the highway with her; especially when she’d been on the road for more than her fair share behind the wheel and she was getting cranky. Kael wasn’t usually very helpful in keeping her friendly, so when they drove together, by the time they got home, Lottie was in a terrible mood and just wanted to crawl into her bed for a couple hours. This time around, she was enjoying her trip back home. Last Christmas when she’d snuck away with Kael to be their father’s Christmas presents it had been a nightmare, though thankfully her father had been at the restaurant by the time they’d gotten there.

This trip he was expecting them so he wasn’t going into the restaurant until she and Dex arrived. “Technicalities,” she said brushing it away. “Besides, I don’t live here now, so I am visiting,” she added, sticking her tongue out at her friend. Lottie loved coming home whenever she could. It wasn’t often anymore since she started college but when she got the chance to go home, she took it, no questions asked. The land behind the house was used for some of her favourite hobbies that she couldn’t indulge as much in the city. Here, with the park bordering their land, it was easier. She and Kael were able to shoot some arrows in their own backyards while in the city they had to drive to another borough for an indoor range.

“Gee, thanks guys. I love you, too,” Lottie said blandly but rolling her eyes. It was good to be home again, even with the teasing. Lottie snuck off to peek into the refrigerator but found nothing she wanted right then and there so she moved back to the island again. “There’s a map in the library,” she said absently, poking at things on the table. She was starving and the sooner she got to eat the better she would feel. Lottie held her hand to her mouth, chewing the food she’d stuffed in there faster. “You mean after we unpack and I give you the grand tour?” she asked laughing, once the food was gone. For Lottie, there was so much to do around Boulder but thinking up something right then when her mind was wholly on food was a little difficult. She was sure she’d think up something by the time they were ready to leave the house again.

Tag || Dex!
Words || 422
Clothes || One More Time
Music || Wild at Heart --Gloriana
Notes || -___- <3

[Dexter Zachary Naismith]

All Dexter could do was pull a face at Lottie and settle back in his seat, his hand reaching for some of the sugary treats they had with them. He really only made the long trip back to Lansing in his own car and for the rest of the time he was mostly in New York, and he had yet to find a fault with the subway system, or his own legs. If the family ever went away anywhere then he usually wound up in the car with his dad or brother and they preferred to drive themselves, rather than put the drama student behind the wheel in a country he knew very little about navigation wise.

“Now you’re the once prancing about with technicalities.”

[/color] He teased, pretending to mimic her voice for a little added touch. Dex was actually pretty good when it came to accents and he could do quite a few different ones. He had found that it was pretty beneficial to practice and improve them all the time, since he never knew what role would come his way next. The only thing he could be certain about was that having a vast arsenal of accents and impressions could very well open up more doors for him than just keeping his normal, southern English accent in place all the time. Plus, ever since the move to America, it seemed odd to have one random Englishman in the cast and on the stage if everyone else was American and if there was no legitimate reason for whatever character he was portraying to actually have a very distinct English accent.

Grinning, Dexter reached out and ruffled Lottie’s blonde hair. Teasing her was quite a fun pastime for the young man and it was only made better by the fact that she could take it. He had caused too many problems for himself before by teasing girls who didn’t know how to take a joke, or understand his sense of humour. “I think unless it’s tattooed on me, I don’t stand a chance.”[/color] He chuckled, shaking his head and taking another bite out of the delicious sandwich. He already had three pieces of ink adorning his skin and a map might seem a little out of place. Then again, not many people seemed to understand what his tattoos were about, since not many of his friends spent their evenings on the PS3, putting in the hours to perfect whatever game he was currently playing. “Yes. I am an impatient man and you ought to know better than to keep me waiting.”[/color] Dexter joked, shaking his head while he finished off the sandwich in his hand.
[/blockquote][/blockquote][/size][/justify]

• • •

TAGGED! Lottie!
WORDS! 484!
OUTFIT! Goofy Guru
LYRICS! Down In The Valley - - - The Head and The Heart
NOTES! <3