December in NYC

[Ryder Xavier Wilcox]

New York in Decenber was freezing. At least, Ryder thought so. Then again, Nikki had always said he was a heat vacuum. Which would explain why he was the one dressed in a million sweaters, curled up under a blanket because he just couldn't get warm. Sometimes it made the young Italian wonder who was the female twin; him or his sister, Nikki. She could run around New York, in the dead of winter,m in skimpy club clothes, and he would be wearing an undershirt, t-shirt, button down and a sweater under his jacket!

Ry sighed shaking his head as he finished up his thought for the essay he was writing. It wasn't due for another week or so, but he thought it better to have it done early than to rush through it later as the due date loomed over head. With his last thought typed into the word document, Ryder saved it, closed down the program, then closed his laptop carefully, not wanting to break it, and set it in his messenger bag. He had never been a fan of backpacks, he'd always had a messenger bag for school. He shoved everything else into his bag before checking his cell phone for the time. He smiled, relieved that he had plenty of time before he had to be back at the apartment.

It was his nights to cook, and Nikki never let him forget it. His cooking wasn't bad, but it wasn't worthy of five stars either. It was edible and that was enough. Ryder edjusted the strap of his bag on his shoulder more comfortably and left the schools' library. He owned a car, but he hadn't brought it with him to the school since the apartment was only a couple blocks away from Campus. If he made it to the subway station in time, he could get down to the book store and back in time to pick up some thing at the store and start dinner.

Ryder didn't run to catch the next train, though. He didn't even walk any faster than normal, which at least, he probably should have. No, instead, he figured he had plenty of time. He did however practically run down the stairs, with his metrocard at the ready to just slide through the turnstalls blocking him from the platform. He made his way through quickly and hopped onto the subway train just as the doors closed. He smiled to himself as he took a seat on the near empty car. A few stops later, Ry got off the train, headed above ground and fell into sync with the crowd, as if he'd been born and raised.

He'd been in New York City for so long that without those summer trips every year to Verona, and always speaking Italian at his parents house- not to mention his own, Ryder thought he might have even started to believe it himself; the born and raised New Yorker bit. After all the twins had only been six at the time of the move. Walking the last few blocks to the book store had Ryder shaking with the cold weather. So much so that as soon as he stepped into the store, he moved out of the way of the door and just stood there vacumming up all the heart from the area around him. Quite a few minutes had passed before he even started into further into the store. He removed his gloves and hat, tossing them into his bag as he worked his way through the aisles to the section he needed; Architecture. After he got his book, maybe he'd look around for christmas gifts for Nik and the rest of the family.

_{[ T.A.G ] OPEN
[ W.O.R.D.S ] 633
[ L.O.C.A.T.I.O.N ] BORDERS BOOKS
[ C.L.O.T.H.E.S ] CHECK THIS OUT!
[ L.Y.R.I.C.S ] KISS A GIRL//KEITH URBAN
[ N.O.T.E.S ] - - -}[/SIZE]

[Allela Katherine Rosslyn]

Allela was used to the slightly odd looks that some people threw her way as soon as she stepped out and closed the door of her metallic pale green VW Beetle. Most people wouldn't dare to brave New York City during December wearing just a hoodie for protection against the bitter cold air and the icy winds that accompanied it. Allela wasn't most people though and the Scottish blonde was used to colder days growing up in her native hometown of Stirling. It was the heat that bothered her the most; the summer days here were just torture on her pale skin. She was slowly adjusting to it though thanks to her travelling days around the world. Nothing would ever replace winter in her heart though. She adored the crisp days and the thick snow that made even the most serious of adults pretend that they were five again. It was one of her favourites time of year and no matter where she was, it was always magical.

The only downside to the season was that it gobbled up Allela's money as soon as it hit her bank account. Sure, Broadway was busy as the days counted down to Christmas so there were plenty of opportunities for her to earn some extra cash, but with Christmas and three of her sibling's birthdays dotted around the over commercialised holiday, Allela often felt run down and found herself having to make endless bowls of pasta as well as abandoning her car in the lot, the lack of gas money forcing her to walk everywhere.
Luckily, things weren't that bad just yet and she was using her day off to make sure that she got a head start on the shopping before the crowds became nasty and as bitter at the freezing winds.
After having a quick lunch of a cream cheese bagel, Allela had left her apartment and drove into the busy centre of the city. It was a nightmare to find a parking spot, but as soon as she did, Allela's determination kicked in and she was down the street in almost the blink of an eye.

She had a few gift ideas in mind, but it was just locating the perfect things for each of her family members. Anything too new or popular came with the risk that someone else would have already bought it for them. There was once a time when the siblings communicated with each others on matters like this, but after Nathan drunkenly blurting out everyone's hidden gifts two days before Christmas morning, it was deemed too unsafe to ever discuss presents again. So now, it was a strategic game of luck and chance.

Her first stop was Borders. Her sister Claire read more books than anyone else Allela knew, so it seemed like the perfect place to find something obscure enough to satisfy her and too keep her busy during the holidays when Allela returned home for the two weeks that she had booked off work. Being Scottish, Hogmanay was the perfect excuse to convince her boss into granted her the busiest two weeks of the year as paid vacation. Right now though, she had to get through the rest of the month first.
The heat of the store hit her as soon as she stepped through the doorway and she recoiled, blinking in surprise at the sudden difference in temperatures. Allela moved towards the book chart that took up one whole corner of the large bookstore, her dark eyes browsing over the new titles; a few authors she recognised, but others were total mysteries to her. She read a little bit in her free time, but she couldn't usually stay settled for long enough to really enjoy a good novel. She usually needed something to keep her more occupied and keep her mind from getting easily distracted by Jesse who would nudge her leg if he wanted her attention to throw a ball or play tug with him.

Allela glanced at a few titles, reading over their blurbs and trying to associate their genre with the creased spine collection that adorned her sister's apartment back in Scotland. Nothing particularly jumped out at her from the stands, so she slowly moved further into the depths of fact and fiction, wondering where to search next. She moved into the romance section, her eyes falling upon an author that she knew took up at least a shelf back home. One was advertised as being new and Allela picked it up, checking the date of publication just to check. It was the perfect present, but would someone else buy it for her? A little voice said that she doubted it. It wasn't in the best sellers and it was only remembering the childhood bedroom that they shared that even helped her mind register the name in gold calligraphy along the top of the cover.

She picked up and began to move towards the counter, the heat of the shop starting to get to her, when someone caught her eye. She stopped in her tracks and watched him walk briskly towards a section near the back wall. Allela ducked up the aisles after him, a smile on her face when he came to a halt, probably looking for a specific title. She jogged closer to him, jumping on his back and hugging him before stepping back, a smirk growing on her face. “And he reads! The girls are going to be falling at your feet one day soon.”

[/color] She joked, grinning at her bandmate.
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• • •

TAGGED! Ryder <3
WORDS! 927
OUTFIT! Just Another Day
LYRICS! Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas - - - Brandon Flowers
NOTES! <3

[cmchewning]

it had been forever since dani had gotten in an acoustic show anywhere and now that borders was letting her do it here, dani was extremely excited. she was still setting up her mic and such, checking sound and adjusting to where it fit the setting of being calm and quiet. her guitar was sitting on its stand beside her mic stand. music had always been a monstrous part of her life, but she didn't realize her gifts as a musician until she moved in with her foster family and came across the beautiful grand piano in the basement that was hidden beneath a gray sheet. as soon as her foster parents found out she could play, the brought the piano up stairs, got it re-tuned and gave her free rein to follow her dreams.

dani sat down on the wooden stool provided and picked up her guitar. her fingers began to move over the strings, a beautiful sound rolling from the speakers that were set up to compliment the gorgeous acoustic melodies. the intro was a good couple measures long, giving people time to catch the rhythm and get into it. finally, she leaned foreward, her lips barely brushing the cool head of the mic, her powerful but beautiful voice resonating through the store. the song she was singing was a smooth sound that showed off her alto range, some notes reaching higher to keep it sweet. the song she was singing about was life and how it moved on even through the toughest times. the toe of her vans tapped to the rhythm of the song. a couple people sitting at the cafe tables turned to watch, but dani didn't worry about it.

her eyes closed then as she really began to feel the song move through her soul. a smile pulled the corner of her lips up, but didn't change the sound of her voice. it stayed as foreward and didn't get the wide, girlsh sound that seemed to be a popular tone for most singers now a day. as the song progressed and the faster, more moving part came to, dani's powerful voice came to its glory and she had to lean back a big so it didn't kill the speakers. after the powerful moment, the last chord of the bridge resonated before she finished it, going back to the gentle sound. the song ended and a couple soft claps echoed through the store. dani smiled and began another song, losing herself in the melody.

life had never been simple for dani. she was born into a troubled life because her mother left, abandoning her and her father to fend for themselves. she barely saw her father because he worked hard to support the two and was normally so exhausted they never got to spend time together. when he was killed, dani was there to witness it and it destroyed her as a child. her young eyes saw something terrifying and she had to live with it everyday. she just chose to keep it buried in the back of her mind and continue to live life to its fullest ebcause she knew that it could be gone in the blink of an eye and to waste each precious second on meaningless things was stupid. thats why dani was so extremely happy all the time.

the biggest thing that kept people from really knowing her past was that she didn't let anyone know she was adopted. it was her second biggest secret next to have witnessing her father's murder. it would only cause people to look at her differently and feel sympathy towards her. that was the last thing she wanted because she didn't want to be the girl everyone whispered about. she wanted to be the girl everyone looked at and said, 'yeah, i've never seen her unhappy.' because thats who she wanted to be. she wanted to be the girl with a smile always on her face. not the girl who had the terrible past and was haunted by it on the outside and cried all the time. she would never move on if she lived that way, so she chose not to.

* * * * * * *

yooo actions.
yooo speach.
yooo thoughts.

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WORDS ! 699
TAGGED ! ryder && allela
JUKEBOX ! x
NOTES ! finished ! hope you enjoy her.
OUTFIT ! this.
CREDITS ! image credits to GIMMIE NAO ?! @ CAUTION 2.0. text credits to COURTASTIC ?! @ CAUTION 2.0.

[/font]

[Ryder Xavier Wilcox]

He started at the beginning of the section, working his way through the stacks because he didn't know the Author of the book he was looking for. It was almost frustrating, the way that Borders alphabetized everything. Of course, if they were going to order their books the same way Ryder did, no one would ever find what they were looking for. Good thing Nik was equally as anal retentive with books as the store or they'd never find anything at home either. Ry sighed, checking out an entire shelf with no luck. Maybe it was in a different section? It could easily be inthe design section, but he'd been positive his professor had said it was in the Architecture area.

He finished looking over the next shelf, about to turn and check the opposite side of the aisle, ignoring the footsteps he heard; just assuming they belonged to employees and other shoppers. Not once until she practically attacked him did Ryder ever think those footsteps belonged to his bandmate and friend, Allela. Then she jumped him, making the poor guitaristlose his balance for a moment before righting himself. Allela and Nikki were the two closest people in his life, other than his parents. He attempted to grab her hands since she was behind him tackle hugging him, and couldn't give her a proper hug in return. But she took a step back and Ry was able to turn around and face her just as she spoke. Ryder nodded thoughfully, playing around. "Yeah, know any?" he asked, almost as if to say that Allela was just one of the guys. Which in some cases, Ryder admitted openly, he sometimes thought of her as. But the majority of the time, Ry seriously worried. Not that anyone would ever harm her, he knew better than that. But he worried like any good guy friend who had a sister the same age. Constantly wondering if they're okay.

He really had to get over that before one or both of them beat him for it; try to knock some semblence of sense back into to his boy brain. Ryder shook his head, getting his longer than conservative hair out of his eyes. Nikki made fun of him for those bangs as she called them. And often joked that he spent more time in the bathroom than she did; which was grossly exaggerated. He spent half the amount of time. "What're you doing at this fine establishment?" he asked, being nosey as all hell. Ry didn't bother hiding his often nosey ways. His grandmother used to ask him if he was a cop or writing a book whenever he was in the kitchen with her. He was Italian, after all, and he did so enjoy the stereotypes; even if he only kept to a couple himself. He wasn't rediculously tanned, or all that muscular. He was actually kind of on the pale side, and toned. But he could cook like no ones business, but he kept that to himself most of the time. There were only a few people whom he'd ever cooked for; Allela happened to be one of them. A thought popped into his mind just as he decided to give up the search for a minute and lean against the shelf. He was probably going to have to look for someone to help him anyway. He'd look for someone in a minute. With Allela there, Ryder could get her opinion on something for Nikki, and maybe even his parents.

_{[ T.A.G ] ALLELA && DANI
[ W.O.R.D.S ] 575
[ L.O.C.A.T.I.O.N ] BORDERS BOOKS
[ C.L.O.T.H.E.S ] CHECK THIS OUT!
[ L.Y.R.I.C.S ] KISS A GIRL//KEITH URBAN
[ N.O.T.E.S ] KINDA BLARG BUT IT SHALL BE INTERSTING XD}[/SIZE]

[Allela Katherine Rosslyn]

Allela would much rather have been in a record store than Borders, especially with the holidays approaching so quickly. The crowds were enough to make her want to step onto other people’s toes and shove them rudely out of the way, especially when they stopped dead in front of her. It was one of her pet peeves; if someone saw something that caught their eye, then step aside, not just suddenly halt. One day, and one day soon, Allela knew that there would be a major collision and a human pileup that would fill ER’s across NYC for hours. Okay, so maybe in her mind it was a little over the top, but then if it wasn’t, then she’d end up having a screaming match with whatever poor soul had caused her to trip over her own feet in an attempt to prevent such a natural catastrophe of limbs and strangers.

Seeing Ryder had pretty much made her day. It meant that she could now allow herself to become distracted by someone she cared about and not have to worry about the rest of her shopping or her family for a little while, even if it was only a few minutes. With a family like hers, sometimes a few minutes was the difference between healthy madness and a total breakdown.
She loved how disorientated he suddenly got when she pounced and the young blonde girl let out a small chuckle as she stepped back, narrowing her chocolate eyes playfully as he turned and replied to her own comment. “I know plenty of girls, but why should I subject any of them to you?”

[/color] She said, folding her arms across her chest, hugging the book for her sister close. She forgot the romantic genre of the book, otherwise she wouldn’t have held it so, almost, proudly as if it were her own purchase. Personally, she hated this mushy nonsense and much preferred something more macabre when she did get the chance, the time and the urge to read a book that wasn’t a music biography or something similar.
There was some truth in her words though, even if they were deeply underlying. She cared for Ryder; he’d been around since she’d pretty much moved to the city and potentially, without him, the young Scot would still be feeling a little lost and forlorn in a place so vastly difference to anywhere she had called ‘home’ before. The last thing she wanted was to see him get hurt, especially by someone she had introduced him to. That was the main reason why she shied away from matchmaking any of her friends, even if she thought they’d be perfect together.
Plus, on a more selfish note, Allela didn’t want to lose one of her closest friends and bandmates to some giggly girl who would enchant him with her charismatic heart and sweet, good natured, tendencies. It was doubtful that that would ever happen (Allela didn’t know any girls of that description to begin with) and she didn’t think that Ryder would be the kind of guy to abandon everyone else for romance, although she could be proven wrong at some point in life.

She sighed, not irritably nor contently, but naturally and flashed the book at her friend. “Christmas shopping. This is one sibling down and still five more to go. Not to mention everyone else.”[/color] Her Scottish accent was prominent in her elongated vowel sounds and she shifted her weight from her right to her left foot casually. She enjoyed the reactions of people when she spoke to them for the first time; none of them expecting the accent and almost recoiling in shock when they heard it. She supposed it was because she didn’t typically look like she was Scottish. The only time her hair had been ginger was when she dyed it, she didn’t have an incoherently thick accent, no freckles decorated her pale skin and she’d stopped looking for anything deep fried the minute she was out of the country (although the urge for deep fried haggis came to haunt her a few times a month).
She dragged her wandering attention back to the moment and pulled her blonde hair back before draping it over her left shoulder - a strange habit of hers - and then smirked casually at Ryder. “What are you doing? Other than trying to pick up girls, of course.”[/color] She joked, winking playfully at her friend.
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• • •

TAGGED! Ryder <3
WORDS! 784
OUTFIT! Just Another Day
LYRICS! Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas - - - Brandon Flowers
NOTES! I‘m on meds, this is why this is so crazy, but it‘s me, so love me for it xD <3

[Ryder Xavier Wilcox]

Ryder thought maybe he'd get Nikki that new album she was practically begging for. There were not so subtle hints all around the apartment they shared. However, he knew that his parents were putting the CD in her stocking so that gift was out of the question. Which left, books. She had a few on her list, that he knew of, because, naturally, she wasn't the most subtle of people when she hinted at something she wanted. But this particular holiday was one of Ryder's favourites, and he tended to go all out for the people he cared about. He didn't have the slightest clue what to get for his parents but he really had two choices for that. Sweet talk his way into getting Allela to go shopping with him, or option two, give Nik money for his half of a better gift than either could afford alone. If he couldn't talk Allela into it, than it would be option two, but they always did that, and Ryder wanted to do something different this year. Of course, he knew that he'd still pitch in for an awesome gift for the people that brought him into this world and raised him to be the darling angel that he was. Ryder scoffed at his own despription. Oh, Allela would love that, he thought, and then immediately dismissed it. They were close and he was basically an open book with people who knew him well.

Ryder slapped his hands over his heart and sent Allela a pained expression. "Oh, that hurts. It really does." Ryder let slip a wicked smile as he leaned on the fairly sturdy bookshelf. "I'm charming, and sweet, and adorable. You love me, so why wouldn't they?" Ryder's eyes sparked with a fake knowing. He stood up straighter and smirked, "I get it. You don't want to pass my number off because you want me all for yourself." he raised his hand, knowing a sassy retort was forming on her tongue. "Shh! Don't deny it. You really shouldn't lie to yourself like that. If you want we'll keep our sordid affair a secret until you're ready to tell the world." He put his hands on his heart again, feigning sadness. "But promise me Nikki will be the first to know. She'd hate us both, forever if we kept it from her the longest." He was joking, of course. He loved annoying her to no end and this would be pushing it. Of course, knowing her, she'd probably do the complete opposite of what Ryder thinks she's going to do.

Ryder snagged a quick glance at the title and author of the book and smirked. He almost wanted to tell her that she was carrying around a romance. See how fast she made a face at it. She'd been holding it closely, and that right there told Ryder that his dear friend had absolutely no clue it was a Romance. He didn't have that particular book in his collection as he had no interest in the author whatsoever. Personally, he thought the writing was a bit too detailed, if that made sense. But to each their own. He nodded, understanding the dilemma she faced. Thankfully he only had the one sibling, because he didn't know what he'd do if there were more for him to shop for. Especially since he hated shopping in the first place. He smiled at her thick accent. Whenever he was in a funk and Allela was around, all she had to do was talk to him and his mood brightened. He thought it was probably because when she really got going, he couldn't understand a single word that came out of her mouth and he spent half the time she was talking, trying to add subtitles. She'd probably kill him if she ever heard half the bull he came up with for some of the slang she used.

"I'll reiterate, you wound me," But he shrugged his shoulders before leaning on the bookshelf again with an easy grin. "I'm here to get a book for class if I can find it. And maybe check out some things for the people on my list. It's a hell of a lot shorter than yours, but it's still frustrating." He already had his grandparents in Italy taken care of and their care package, courtesy of his mother would be sent of two weeks before so they'd have it in time to open. And as for his other set of grandparents, well, his parents usually took care of that for botht heir children. He nodded his head towards his friend. "What do you want this Holiday?" he asked, hoping she'd give him some sort of insight into her gift. So far, he didn't have a whole lot to go on. And what he had planned on getting her, she already had! It may just boil down to enlisting Nikki's help to get that gift done; or giving her a dreaded giftcard for the record store she frequently dragged Ryder to.

_{[ T.A.G ] ALLELA
[ W.O.R.D.S ] 842
[ L.O.C.A.T.I.O.N ] BORDERS BOOKS
[ C.L.O.T.H.E.S ] CHECK THIS OUT!
[ L.Y.R.I.C.S ] KISS A GIRL//KEITH URBAN
[ N.O.T.E.S ] HEHEHE! xD SUPER NERD TO THE RESCUE!!!}[/SIZE]

[Allela Katherine Rosslyn]

Allela loved this time of year and knowing that she’d back home in a few weeks made Christmas even more magical. Sure, she was only going home for the holiday itself, flying back out to New York two weeks later as soon as Hogmanay was over. She had a job and a life here now and despite not being in Stirling for well over six months, she had no intention of dragging her entire world with her back home for good just yet. As a traveller, Allela had rarely spent much time on the cobbled streets of the Scottish city since she left high school, but it didn’t usually bother her all that much. She adored seeing the world and tried to do as many things as possible whilst she was still young enough to do it. Settling down and planning a future wasn’t something the young blonde ever thought about and probably wouldn’t do for at least a few more years and who knows what state or country or even continent she’ll be in when that time comes!

She instinctively rolled her eyes at his reaction. She loved how playful they both were and how they spent more time winding each other up and taunting each other than they actually did focusing on work or the band. Allela also loved trying to distract Ryder whenever he was doing college work too, but it was usually because she was bored without her friends around her to veg out or have their mini jam sessions in her apartment. It was these moments that reminded Allela exactly why she did love spending time with her bandmate. However, two could play at this game and Allela wasn’t going to let him break her that easily, not this time. So, instead, she planned a small spontaneous revenge that she hoped would freak him out just enough for her to teach him a lesson.
Allela bit her lip, and averted her gaze to the floor, pretending to search her head for the perfect words, the perfect lie for this situation. Finally, she spoke up, her voice softer than normal, her words almost whispered. “Then I’ll stop lying.”

[/color] She flicked her dark eyes back up to him, turning on the charm herself this time. If he wanted to go down this road, then Allela was definitely up for the challenge. She stepped closer so that she was right in front of him. She bit her lip again, but this time, flirtatiously as she rested her hand on his chest, the light reflecting off her turquoise nails as she ran her fingers slowly over the cotton of his shirt. “I guess we’ve both been denying this for so long now, but I know there’s a chemistry between us and, oh, if only you knew about the things I’ve longed to do to you.”[/color] It was hard to keep a straight face, but she managed it, licking her own lips sensually, wondering if he’d actually fall for this or see straight through her playful façade. “Every time we’ve been alone together, I’ve found it so hard to resist you, but now that you know, we can be honest with each other. I’ve wanted you for so long now and, damn, it’s a relief to admit this to you. Come on gorgeous, let’s get out of here and go somewhere more…private.”[/color] A smirk threatened to break free at the end as her fingers trailed down in search of his hand, her eyes fixed on his to read his expression.

Allela wouldn’t be comfortable doing this with anyone else, especially not a guy, but she trusted Ryder and there was no one else in this city who she was closer to and because it was all part of a sarcastic joke, she felt no nervous twitches, no embarrassed stammering; just a desperate urge to laugh out loud right in his face and ruin her whole joke. She’d never been with a guy before and was very much still a proud virgin, but she could pull the talk off like a pro thanks to some of her friends and how they loved to share intimate details with her, despite her declaring that she didn’t want to know anything.
She was dying to see his reaction to her little stunt, stepping even closer to him for good measure, just to see if he was shocked by her ‘confession’ or whether he’d notice the joke from the start. She figured that he might, seeing as how she showed very little interest when it came to romance. It wasn’t that there was no one who caught her eye, but it was complex. Love had gotten her crushed before and she had the physical scar on her side to prove that, so trusting someone enough in a loving manner was a hard thing for her to comprehend these days. Sure, she trusted and “loved” Ryder, but it wasn’t the same. He was probably her best friend in this untamed city but even he didn’t know about her scar or the attack when she was sixteen. If it came up, he was the only person she’d tell the truth to, but it wasn’t the kind of thing to blurt out during work in the sound box or in between songs during practice.


She smiled softly and tilted her head to the side at his small joke. Allela ‘wounded’ him a lot, but it was all part of their friendship and the banter they shared never failed to make her smile on a bad day. Seriously, the whole world could be falling apart but jokes and playful insults tossed back and forth between her and Ryder was all she needed to go out smiling. It was nice to have a friend like that, though she daren’t boost his ego by actually telling him that. He’d never let her live it down.
She rolled her eyes again and glanced down at the book in her arms. “Ugh, tell me about it. I dinnae think anyone gave my parents the ‘safety talk’ and I’m sure they only stopped because we ran outta room in the house.”[/color] Allela enjoyed being the youngest in her large family and she had never liked the thought of a younger sibling. It wasn’t that she craved attention, in fact she cared very little for it, but she liked the uniqueness that came with being the youngest. The fact that she didn’t have to deal with quarrelling siblings so often or have to look after the others when the holidays were on, just little things like that.
She ran her fingers over the spines of the books on the shelf, pulling a face at some of the complex titles of them. Who would read half of these? At the mention of a gift, Allela remembered that she still had to pick something up for Ryder, though she was sure she wouldn’t struggle with that one at all. “Oh, y’know, the usual; world peace, for my car to dinnae break down every other day.”[/color] She smirked at him over her shoulder, flicking her hair out of her line of vision before speaking again, “I’m a girl of modest tastes. A record would suit me fine. Or anything unique looking from one of those small original stores that are like heaven in a city full of department stores and super malls. I’ve yet to find one of them yet though, which is a shame.”[/color] Allela had a huge love for thrift stores and independently owned ones that sold unique garments and accessories. New York was so large though that she had no idea where to begin looking to find the best ones.
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• • •

TAGGED! Ryder <3
WORDS! 1330
OUTFIT! Just Another Day
LYRICS! Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas - - - Brandon Flowers
NOTES! Hehe, I got carried away as per usual <3

[Ryder Xavier Wilcox]

Ryder loved the snow, he just wished it would come without the cold. He could still feel snow melting in the pieces of hair that had been showing when he was outside walking. If it could snow and be hot, he'd be a happy man. He could play in the snow in a sweater and not have to worry about bundling up. But, no matter, it was still his favourite time of the year and he'd make the best of it, with the temperature. Unfortunately, the family wasn't going to Verona this year for the holidays to spend time with his mother's side of the family. No, this year they were staying in the States, and celebrating the years festivities with his father's parents. Yipee... A retired Lieutenant General and his wife. It should be fun, considering he was a strict, and slightly bitter old man. How was it Ryder and Nikki's fault that their father didn't want to join the army? There wasn't a need to take it out on them, and yet... It would be an interesting Holiday to say the least. He'd rather be going to Verona, hands down, but he was the only one scheduled to work the Soundboard on the days the theatre was open while Allela was gone home.

Ryder's mouth almost dropped; almost. It probably would have if he hadn't known Ally so well. He waited until she was finished, keeping his face straight, and unreadable. He swallowed and took a minute to 'catch his breath' as he leaned on the shelf. Casually, he pushed off from the shelf and looked into Allela's eyes as he linked his fingers with hers. He wouldn't have done this with anyone else. He reached behind him and as he went down on one knee. "I'm so glad you feel that way, Il mio angel prezioso. I've been waiting a long time to do this. To find the perfect time. And this, I believe is truly it. Please, make me the happiest man on Earth," he paused for just a moment, to bring dramatic effect to the moment. He put his other hand on the one that was already holding hers. "And give up this charade. We can't keep it up for very much longer anyway," he said, standing back up. "we'd eventually run out of things to say. And then where would we be?"

Ryder liked that they could joke around so easily. It was fun, and some the fake situations they got themselves into downright hysterical. He often wondered what the people around them, those who could overhear, were thinking about them. They could come up with almost anything at the drop of a hat and, usually, keep it up for some time. today, it seemed like he had too much going on inside that head of his. His mind was working a mile a minute, and was usually derailed thanks to Allela and her distracting ways when he was trying to study. And really, if he was studying with friends around, he was just waiting for a good enough reason to ditch the textbooks and pick up the acoustic to play a few tunes. He loved their jamming sessions though. They were probably the most amusing times; probably because they stopped trying to write music ten minutes in and just acted like fools with instruments, striking any cord they felt like and hoped for the best.

Ryder laughed. Jokes about her family back in Scotland were usually around in abundance. There was always a joke or a tale about her family, that gave the young Italian just that much more insight into the blonde in front of him. And her stories made Ryder feel like he'd had a ton of siblings growing up as well; which he did not. It was just him and Nikki. He could only imagine what life would have been like in the Rosslyn household growing up; it'd certainly be busy that was for sure. "Now, now. Didn't you ever think they stopped after you because they got they realized they'd never have that perfect child?" He asked, acting oh so innocent, and know she'd probably punch him in the arm with that one. Their friendship was so close, it was almost as if they were siblings as well, the way they carried on sometimes. Ryder rolled his eyes. "So I'm enlisting Nik. She knows where all those little stores are. Besides that, I thought about getting you a record and snuck a peak at your collection to see which one on my list I could get you." Ryder shook his head sadly, "You have them all. And unless you'd like doubles, that's out." Ryder smirked. "Although, the whole world peace thing I could do no problem. I'll just snap my fingers and get the World Peace fairy to wave her magic wand." he looked off like he was deep in thought. "That may only last a few minutes so you should enjoy it while it lasts."

He turned his head, to try and move his hair out of his face that way and noticed the book he was searching for. Wasn't it always that way. You find it when you forgot you were looking for it, or when you stopped bothering to look for it. He crouched down and pulled the thick, hardcovered book from it's snug place among the other books. It was the only copy there, so Ryder chalked up it's invisibility to that. He stood, holding the book in one hand against his side with a victorious smile on his face; pearly whites present and accounted for. "Aha! One errand to scratch off my list," he said, happily. Now, though he didn't need to be in the section. "Where were you headed anyway?"

_{[ T.A.G ] ALLELA <3
[ W.O.R.D.S ] 967
[ L.O.C.A.T.I.O.N ] BORDERS BOOKS
[ C.L.O.T.H.E.S ] CHECK THIS OUT!
[ L.Y.R.I.C.S ] KISS A GIRL//KEITH URBAN
[ N.O.T.E.S ] HE SAID "My precious angel" hahaha!!! <3}[/SIZE]

[Allela Katherine Rosslyn]

Alella coped much better with the cold weather than she did with the heat. Her travelling days had helped improve her tolerance for boiling temperatures, but she was always much happier when the temperature struggled to break eighty-five. However, when it was cold, she coped as if it was spring. Very rarely did anyone see Allela wrapped up in layers upon layers because of a strong wind, or a flurry of snow and that was something that she enjoyed. It meant that, on days like today, she could tease her friend about needing such a heavy coat and scarf, when she was able to walk around in one of her many cosy hoodies and not have the slightest of shivers course through her body.

She kept a straight face as Ryder responded to her little game. Okay, so she had expected him to stand their in shock and have a minor freak out, but it seemed that he called her bluff, which meant that it was time to up the ante. Luckily, they were such good friends or this whole thing could’ve turned out a lot darker and life ruining than it was intended to be. She needed to really sell this next part though. Hell, if he’d cracked out the Italian then she had to work hard to top it!
“Oh, Ry-Ry!” She almost cringed at the ‘cute pet name’, but managed to keep it together for the sake of this wonderful act. “I’m so glad it’s not just me who feels this way. You, you’ve been so amazing since I came to the city and I’ve dreamt about this, what it would be like for so long,”

[/color] she got on her knees so that they were roughly level once more and placed her free hand on his neck, her fingertips toying with his hair, “I never believed in soul mates until I met you. And now, even after this short time, I know this is right; we’re right. Ryder, you’re the a ghrá mo chroí.”[/color] Okay, so Scottish Gaelic didn’t have quite the same effect as Italian and Allela’s use of it was infrequent these days, but it would add more mystery to the little act and, hopefully, make it seem more believable.
She shuffled closer, using her knees, until they were almost touching. This has to get him, thought the blonde as she faked looking at his lips. “No more games Ryder. Please.”[/color] It took so much of Allela’s self control to not laugh in his face as she edged that tiny bit closer.

People had to be looking at them by now, but Allela wasn’t the kind of girl to care about that sort of thing. Plus, she had to make it appear like she only saw Ryder at this crucial moment in time, otherwise he’d know that this was just a bluff; a plan to get him back for the tricks he had played on the young Scot in the past.
Their memories were full of crazy pranks and jokes and, on the most horrible of days, always managed to make her laugh. It was the kind of friendship that was rare to find and hard to keep, but she had no doubt that she’d always be around to bug Ryder and fool him into believing utter nonsense whenever the mood struck her.

Despite living so far away from her family and seeing them only on the holidays or whenever the time zones allowed the perfect chance for a quick webcam chat, Allela loved them to pieces. The Rosslyn’s were raised to be close as humanly possible and not just because their house was cramped at the best of times. She was glad that Ryder never seemed bored of hearing the jokes or stories, because sometimes, they were what got Allela through a tough day, especially when she was feeling nostalgic and wishing the neon lights would fade into cobblestone streets. “I am their perfect child.”[/color] She narrowed her eyes and punched him in the arm. It was lie, she knew it, but it was the only comeback she could come up with. Whilst not being the child who had put her parents through the most stress, she was the only Rosslyn offspring who had been stabbed and hospitalised from a hate attack. Plus, her temper and dry wit were not things her parents always appreciated.
She raised her eyebrows, impressed at Ryder’s work. “You managed to look through my whole record collection? That’s damn impressive; they’re walls of them,”[/color] she moved her blonde hair from her eyes, “and Nik better show me where they are too. I’ve been tearing my hair out looking for them.”[/color]
Her dark eyes rolled at his joke, but the smile grew on her face nevertheless. There were reasons why she put up with this guy, and his ability to make her laugh was one of them. Everyone needed a friend like that.

She looked at the book that he pulled from the shelf and pulled a face. Allela was all for people following their dreams, but some of the work Ryder had to do for college made her need a long vinyl session just to recover from it. She thought music theory was bad when she was in college, but this book looked like it’d put that analysis to shame. She shrugged at his question and glanced around the busy store. “Dinnae ken. Just wandering about until this Christmas shopping list is evaporated. I could go a drink though.”[/color] She confessed, reaching up and toying with her tragus piecing. “You need to go anywhere else?”[/color]
[/blockquote][/blockquote][/size][/justify]

• • •

TAGGED! Ryder <3
WORDS! 1330
OUTFIT! Just Another Day
LYRICS! Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas - - - Brandon Flowers
NOTES! In such a lovely language, she said “love of my life” xD <3 <3 <3

[Ryder Xavier Wilcox]

Ryder enjoyed joking around with Allela. He didn't have another friend like her. Someone he could joke around with so easily. It didn't matter that half the time they caused scenes in public places. It didn't matter that they got odd looks and could hear the snickers from the people passing them. They could tease each other and just have fun with no feelings getting hurt with their sarcastic comments. She teased him about his excessive amount of clothing furing the winter months and little things at work, or at practice, and he could tease her about work, practice and just odd little things that he happens to catch when no one else did. Like now, they were only fooling around, just jokes, but to anyone watching, it was starting to look as though he were either getting his heart handed to him, or he was in for a wild ride being engaged to the blonde before him.

He almost gaged at the horrible little pet name she made up on the spot, but appearances were appearances and he wouldn't allow himself to break character again. She hadn't given up the charade, and now it was possible that he wouldn't either. Although, if he were being honest, he'd probably give up long before Ally did; she had a way with keeping things like this going. Ry almost rolled his eyes at her actions, and then again at her use of the Gaelic, which in Ryder's opinion she didn't use enough. He wanted to be able to understand what she was saying, and because Ally didn't use the language very often, it was difficult to catch on to. Italian was different. He and Nik used it all the time at their apartment and their parents house. When they really got going, they often forgot they had guests and would starting rambling on in Italian, much to everyone else's confusion. The twins had been raised to speak the language of the guest if they had one, so they both knew that if their mother was there, or worse, their grandmother, they'd both be knocked upside the head for their bad behaviour.

He held onto Allela, and checked himself before he burst into laughter right in her face. It was almost a contest between the two; who could get the other to break first. He wouldn't lie, it was usually him. Unless he caught his friend off guard, and managed to get her first. "Oh sweetheart. We belong together. Let's surprise your parents when you go back with a beautiful ring you'll be proud to wear," he said seriously. He would not be the first to break. It wouldn't happen, he thought even as Allela got closer and closer. He refused to budge. He wished he knew what she had said. It almost annoyed him that he had no clue and made him want to run to the nearest employee, find the section and search through the books to find the proper translation. He'd read the saying before in a book, but that had been so long ago, and the dumbass that he is, forgot to read the translations at the back of the book. He knew better for next time. Although, if he remembered correctly, the quotes in the book were Irish Gaelic, but it couldn't be all that different, could it? he was clueless when it came to this though.

Unlike Allela, he didn't live all that far away from most of his family. His parents were in New York, and his father's parents were in the United States. The only ones he was far from were his mother's side of the family. he was close to them, so much more so than his father's side. It was how the Italian's were; or so he claimed. But in truth, it didn't matter if that were honest or not. That was his family, not his paternal side, because his father's parents didn't approve of his parent's marriage, no matter how much they love his mother, they didn't approve of their sons choices. More, it was they didn't approve of the fact that their son didn't want to serve his country like Ry's grandfather had since he was eighteen. Ryder couldn't honestly blame him. He wouldn't want to So, really, he knew what it was like to not see his family, but he also managed to get out there for at least a bit of time over the summer. He could never give up his Italian Summers and he figured one day, he'd invite his best friend to go with him and Nik and their parents and be shown Italy by a true Italian; or two if Nik wanted to join them.

Now, Ryder really did burst into laughter, with an accompanying snort he couldn't hold back. He rolled his eyes. "Sure, and I'm the long lost Prince of Italy," he said between fits of laughter he was trying desperately to calm down. His brows furrowed and he raised his hand to his arm, the exact spot Allela's fist connected to his bicep. It had hurt, although he would lie about that, but it wasn't the worst he'd gotten either. Through out the years, the young Italian had been in many scrapes with mostly drunken men trying to hit on his sister and her friends- even after they've said no about a dozen times. So, when he gritted out, "Ouch!" it wasn't all concocted to humour her, some of it was real.

Ryder lowered his hand after rubbing the spot for a moment. His smile was sheepish as he raised his free hand to run through his long messy hair, thinking in the back of his mind that it might be time to get a haircut. "Well,"tarted but paused a moment to grin, "I may not have gone through ever single record, I mean your collection could rival that of a stores, so after some time, I gave up. I don't want to give you something you already have, so I'm not going to. You can pick out something you want or need." He dropped his hand to cradle the unsurprisingly heavy hardcover text. "I do ask that you buy something frivolous," he asked knowing she probably wouldn't anyway. "As for Nik, I'll mention it to her. She'll make time to show you around. Or I'll kick her ass all the way back to Verona," he said jokingly.

He lifted the book in his hand and shook his head. "This was really all I came in here for. Let's go find a check out so I can pay for this and buy you a drink. Where to today?" he asked, turning away, hopefully towards the nearest checkout. He could use a drink himself; and something to eat maybe. He'd text Nik also and let her know he wouldn't be home to cook her food, so she either had to order take out, meet up with them, go to their parents for dinner or cook something for herself. Besides, it wasn't like she couldn't cook, nor was it like their house was devoid of food to cook. Their mother made sure there was plenty of food in their place, even when they shopped for themselves, she still brought over bags of food.

_{[ T.A.G ] Allela <3
[ W.O.R.D.S ] 1220
[ L.O.C.A.T.I.O.N ] Borders Books
[ C.L.O.T.H.E.S ] Check This Out!
[ L.Y.R.I.C.S ] Kiss a Girl//Keith Urban
[ N.O.T.E.S ] I actually knew what that meant xD I do love books hahaha! <3}[/SIZE]

[Allela Katherine Rosslyn]

People were definitely looking at them now, but Allela didn’t care. This was one of the things that she adored about her friendship with Ryder; they could do silly things like this and cause a scene and neither of them got embarrassed or felt foolish. It was something that was rarely found in a society where almost everything was built on reputation and public actions. She, on the other hand, spend more time acting like a fool than was probably good for her health, but when she had friends like Ryder joining her in such ridiculous stunts, then why should she care? The truth was, she didn’t and neither did he, which made their friendship so much more unique than others where people would threaten to abandon the friend who showed them up at the drop of a hat.

The act was going on further that Allela imagined it would, but the stubborn Scottish girl refused to be the first to relent. This was another part of their friendship that often caused more hilarity than intended; neither of them liked to ‘surrender’ in these games to the other, because they knew that someday it would come up in conversation and they’d never live it down for as long as their friendship survived. Allela could imagine them both being in a nursing home at the ripe age of ninety, still recounting such tales and arguing over who caved in first when it came to these silly games of theirs.
She could break him first, she knew it, and she was determined to do just that. It was just a matter of how far she had to go to succeed. It wouldn’t be easy now, not after he’d bitten the bait and taken it this far already.

She faked a soft gasp and allowed a hand to cover her mouth as she bit the inside of her lip hard to induce tears in her dark eyes; tears of happiness at this sudden ‘proposal’. When her vision was sufficiently blurred, she moved her hand back down to rest it on his shoulder, inching a little closer again in another attempt to break him. “Ry-Ry, do you really mean it? A ring from Tiffany’s? Oh, my mum would be so happy!”

[/color] Truthfully, her mother would probably die from shock, but Ryder didn’t need to know that, after all, this was just pretence; a joke that would have them in hysterics in just a short while. Allela pretended to blink back the tears and then threw herself at her friend in a fierce hug, still pretending to be loved up with the young Italian who she had simply happened to bump into. Who on earth bumps into someone in a bookstore and ends up executing a joke like this?! There had to be some serious screws loose in both her head and Ryder’s.

She laughed silently to herself as she imagined exactly how her family would react if any of this were remotely true. She was the youngest sibling and only her oldest brother was married thus far, putting ten years between them. Her relatives would simply die if she showed up for Christmas wearing a ring and floating around on cloud nine as if a fairytale ending had finally come for her. Ryder was her best friend, but she was fairly certain that her father would need restraining from killing him if this joke ever reached the Scottish borders; as the baby she was the most protected child and knowing her dad, he’d either perceive the joke as a blind whirlwind of lust or he’d think that Ryder was toying with Allela and taking advantage of her emotions. It was a funny thing to envision and she was partly tempted to keep the joke running and get a few of her siblings involved…until she realised how fast that would spiral out of control and how much she’d have to do to stop the joke turning into a hurricane of congratulations and concerns from people who were too blind to see that this was part of their quirky friendship.

Allela blinked her mocha eyes and feigned surprise. “How come you never told me before? I apologise for my brutish behaviour, your majesty.”[/color] She curtsied low to the ground, still intent on causing more of a scene than previously before. When he rubbed his arm, she had to stifle the giggles threatening to splutter from her lips. She knew she packed a pretty strong punch thanks to fighting with her brothers when they were younger and the self-defence class her dad had enrolled her in when she was a teenager, but it still amused her to no ends when she actually hurt someone without even trying. “Sorry…”[/color] She spluttered, one hand on her stomach and the other over her grinning mouth as she tried to compose herself. Hurting someone wasn’t funny at all, but she suddenly couldn’t stop the uncharacteristic giggles that escaped her mouth.

Once composed, she listened to his explanation. “Mmhm, and it’s only taken me seven years to build that collection.”[/color] She boasted proudly. Her record collection was her baby and in the event of a fire, she’d sacrifice herself to save the vinyl discs that adorned her walls on shelves that spread throughout her apartment. Allela moved her white blonde hair from her face and where it was tickling her jaw. “Frivolous, eh? Trying to flaunt that college education, are we?”[/color] She teased, quirking a playful eyebrow as she began to move in the direction of the check out. “Seeing as how it’s you, I’ll do my best ta comply, but I make no promises. I dinnae remember any light hearted records that I’m really looking for.”[/color] One may jump out at her when they were in the shop, but she couldn’t be certain of that.
Allela chuckled and then shook her head. “You do that and I’ll kick your ass, period. We girls need ta stick together, regardless of whether their brother is the Prince of Italy.”[/color] She joked, her accent light and merry as she mock threatened her best friend.

“Aye, I need ta get this too.”[/color]She nodded and hopped towards the growing line behind a larger woman with a screaming child. This was definitely the downside to Christmas shopping. In an attempt to ignore the woman, she turned to Ryder to continue their conversation. “What about the place across from work?”[/color] She suggested, remembering the few times they’d stopped off there for something to eat and drink when they’d been working all day to perfect the sound programmes for a new show. The place was nice enough, but they’d rarely had the time to enjoy their visits there when they were on a time constraint.
[/blockquote][/blockquote][/size][/justify]

• • •

TAGGED! Ryder <3
WORDS! 1174
OUTFIT! Just Another Day
LYRICS! Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas - - - Brandon Flowers
NOTES! <3

[micha]

Cas sighed carefully as she opened her eyes after having them closed for a few hours. She glanced down at herself as she realized she was sitting on the side of a building again. "Did I forget to go home again" she asked the open air as she stood up. She did a quick backhand spring as she cracked all of her bones in her back. She glared at the path behind her that lead to her house she shared with her three older brothers. Lately she had been having a really tough time dealing with them and would find excuses to not come home at night to avoid fighting with them. Unfortunately this was not one of those times. It was early in the morning as Cas recognized the light pink and purple paint the sky a radiant color.

Cas breathed in carefully as she closed her eyes. A cool breeze blew by and she welcomed it gladly. It made her hair trail behind her as she enjoyed the feeling on her skin. Unfortunately when she ran out of the house all she had managed to grab was a scarf. She was currently in jeans and a small t shirt which provided little to no resistance to the freezing cold that was around her. But instead of her being the rational thinker she was Cassandra decided to continue walking hoping she would get warm when the sun rose higher into the sky

She had been so stressed out lately and she needed to get away. So she went to the first and only place she could think of...the streets. She was never at ease at home and the streets were the only place she could actually get some peace and quiet away from those three other idiots who drove her up the wall.
She had noticed a certain change in herself lately. She wasn't the same cynical and jaded person she had been when she had first arrived at New York. She was now calmer, cooler and nicer. She couldn't seem to understand where the change had come from. She just attributed it to her becoming more mature and even growing up.

She relaxed a bit as she came to this cute store just down the road from a huge Borders. She saw alot of people walking by and an idea came into her head. So she pulled out her drumsticks that were in her back pocket and saw a steel drum nearby and sat down. She then began playing a simple tune. Then after a few more minutes people didn't seem to care or even notice her existence. So she tied up her hair and sighed.

"So they want more' she whispered as she smirked. She then began playing beautifully rock music and began wowing the crowd with her skill at the drums. She was playing so well she had her eyes closed. She did this partially because she needed the money which hopefully people would give her and because she loved to show off her skill and get better at it. The music soon traveled down the street and filled the air as this young girl played the drums on the street while people stood by cheering, listening and giving her change. And Cassandra Milo couldn't have been happier

[Ryder Xavier Wilcox]

Ryder wasn't one of those guys that got easily embarrassed by public displays. He wouldn't get very far in the music industry if he was. And with a friend like Allela, one couldn't be shy or against public display of craziness. It was just their way. If Nik had been there at that moment, she would have threatened to call the nice men with the butterfly nets, as she called them, or the nice men that would fit them with their very own brand new white jackets. His twin wasn’t against Ryder and Allela’s antics, she usually loved laughing at them. She just didn’t like their public displays at places she frequented, with one or both of them, let alone by herself. She was afraid that someone would recognize her and she’d never be able to set foot into the establishment ever again. Nikki was a bit of an over-reactor. But that was all part of her charm.

Ryder knew he would be the one to end up stopping the show. It was usually him anyway, no matter how much he said it wouldn’t be. The truth of the matter was that both of them could keep up the charade for as long as they needed to, and that meant it usually went way too far. Allela knew that she could get him to give in first. It was how it almost always went. Ryder would try his damnedest, and then, eventually give in. There had only been a handful of times since they’d become fast friends that Ry had actually won their little game. They’d have these stories to tell until they were sitting in wheelchairs at the Home, with quilted blankets tucked around their legs, watching some silly show on the TV, or something and remembering the good times they had when they’d been young and foolish. He knew even then, they’d still be acting like crazy fools. They’d be a hundred and still carrying on like they were kids still. Ryder thought that if they ever had kids, they’d have their own personal hell on their hands; especially their children were as good of friends as they were. The stars only knew what the next generation would be capable of, and it made Ry shudder at the thought.

Ryder could keep up the jest for a bit still. He knew that eventually they’d have to give it up since they were in the middle of an aisle, in a book store, and they were both clearly looking for something. Allela had found what she was looking for, and Ryder was in the right section, just unclear of the books location among the crowded shelves. His hand lifted to brush a strand of hair from his friends face. Oh, it was on, he thought with a brilliant smile. “Tiffany’s it is. Anything for my darling Alley-cat,” He said moving his hand from her face to touch the one on his shoulder. His own mother would scold him for such a public display that was only a joke. Carinne knew the dynamic’s of Ryder and Allela’s friendship. But that wouldn’t stop her from the “Embarrassment speech” as she called it. Oh, it wouldn’t be for her son’s sake. It would be for his friends. She would and had gone on for over an hour the last time he told her about their shenanigans. She yelled in Italian, she yelled in English. Hell, he was pretty sure at one point, she was yelling in French! And all about how Allela must feel being singled out the way she was. How her heart must have been in her throat, aware of how those other people were watching them with wide eyes. There was no getting into his mother’s head that half the time, it was Allela herself instigating the situations. No. In his mother’s eyes, Allela could do no wrong, and her son, her own flesh and blood was responsible for it all.

Ryder shook his head and rolled his eyes. “It was supposed to be a family secret. I suppose the cat’s out of the bag, as they say,” he said, thickening his accent the tiniest of decimals for added effect. He bowed his head at her curtsy. They could go from one over dramatic scene to the next and the poor crowd that had been watching them would think they were crazy; maybe both even from the same asylum. Of course, they weren’t crazy, they were short a couple marbles, each. “Rise, peasant, I do not need you making a scene when this was supposed to be kept a secret!” he stage whispered. Ryder kept a hand over the spot Allela punched him. He knew she hadn’t meant to actually hurt him, she hardly ever did. “You’re such a brute, Allela!” he said, trying, and failing to suppress the laughter that was pouring from him. He was good at keeping a straight face, but after the dam broke, it was hard to regain his composure so easily. He’d tried his hardest to get through the entire collection, but at the rate he’d been going, it would have been easier to get through the collection at a store! And to be honest, he didn’t have the patience at the time to go through it all completely anyway.

“Every chance I get,” he said with an easy laugh. Really, he wasn’t trying to show off anything, it was just the words he chose sometimes. He could be the average college kid, semi-big words mixed in with a lot of smaller ones. And then, he could act the scholar and boast multi-syllable words without batting an eyelash, and actually understand what he meant. Although, sometimes he has to explain what he’s really trying to say. But when he’s engaged in a conversation that happens to be annoying him or something, he tends to use really big words to get out of it, because then, whomever he happens to be talking to thinks he said something super intelligent and was complimenting them when it reality he was basically saying that the other person was a dolt and he didn’t have the time to waste listening to their dull drivel. He’d done that a couple times when he and Allela were out and they managed to get themselves into a conversation that neither of them wanted to be in. They’d had a good laugh afterward. “How about, and it’s just an idea I’m throwing out there, you get something that doesn’t house music?!” he gasped as if shocked by his own words. “A shock to the system, I know, but think about it,” he said, walking with her to the checkout line. He knew her collection of records was her pride and joy, just as his collection of guitars was his. In case of fire, Nikki and guitars get out first. Most everything else in their flat could be replaced.

Ryder shrugged, as if his friends’ words were just that, words; an empty threat that meant nothing. He held up his free hand in surrender, playing along. “Fine, fine, kick my ass! Protect my sister! See if you get that Christmas gift then!” he said mock threatening her. He adored his closest friend. Besides, he wasn’t as mean as he often played the role of. In the lineup, Ryder rolled his eyes at the woman with the screaming child. He adored children, wanted a couple of his own some day, but he detested when a child was being ignored by their parent. To push the child out of his thoughts, his eyes fell to Allela’s and thought about her suggestion. That place had been quite good. A good crowd and a friendly wait staff as far as he could tell from their few and short visits. He nodded, taking a step forward as the woman in front of them did. “That sounds pretty good. And this time, we can actually stay longer than our average time there.”

_{[ T.A.G ] Allela <3
[ W.O.R.D.S ] 1334
[ L.O.C.A.T.I.O.N ] Borders Books
[ C.L.O.T.H.E.S ] Check This Out!
[ L.Y.R.I.C.S ] Kiss a Girl//Keith Urban
[ N.O.T.E.S ]<3 <3 <3}[/SIZE]

[Allela Katherine Rosslyn]

Allela had caused scenes all over the world, and she didn’t regret any of her crazy moments or the sights that people had seen of her. She was in a band for starters, so people were bound to see them getting up to all kinds of antics at their shows and if they ever broke out of New York City, then things would be progressively crazier and all the members had to be aware of that. Although, the few times they had all been practicing, the rest had been forced to deal with Allela’s and Ryder’s insane moments in which every aspect of their sanity and what they did with their lives could be called into question and hardly any of it made sense. Just like this little ‘moment’ here in Borders. It made no sense and the pair of them didn’t even know what they were saying or doing by the sounds of things. Allela just liked pushing Ry into seeing how far he could go with something; playing forms of ‘chicken’ was one of her common past times and one she adored greatly when she won at it.

Plus, usually, when the game was something like this, she could then mock Ryder about it for the rest of the night and joke that he was afraid of commitment and how he had broken her heart by toying with her emotions for him. She’d tell everyone of how he used her and then left her in the bookstore, crying and seeking comfort from one of the pimply assistants who had been stocking the shelf nearby. Yup, Allela was the kind of girl who wouldn’t let Ry live this down and then at his own wedding in the far future, she’d announce it then, just for a final kick, before laying the game and the joke to rest with the other old ones that no one would understand unless they had been there, watching the scene unfold before their very eyes as the two best friends goofed off like life was one big joke to them…and parts of it were.
Then, her plan would enter its second phase when procreation entered their lives and little offsprings were born. She’d raise her own pale skinned blonde girl to torture and tease his little tanned Italian boy the same way she did to Ry now and by the time they had grown up, Allela and Ryder would be sat laughing as they got the chance to watch themselves, twenty or thirty years ago. It would be hilarious and she could use their separate child to keep playing games and pranks with the friend she knew she’d never grow apart from.

The game was still going strong and Allela struggled to hide her laughter, instead channelling it into a huge smile as she clutched Ryder’s hands a little too tight as she expressed her immense joy. “Oh, just wait until we tell your mother! And mine! Oh, Ry-Ry, I’ve never been so happier in my life. To know you feel this way just makes me feel like nothing can ruin this moment.”

[/color] She threw her arms around his neck, with almost enough power to bowl them both over. She was ready to push this, and push it she would. Resting her forehead against his, she pretended to blink back the tears in her eyes. “This is perfect, I never want us to be apart ever. Think of how happy we’ll be!”[/color] She whispered, pretending to be perfectly caught up in the moment and totally in love with her friend.
In truth, the actual thought of this being real would be hilarious. They were best friends, spent a lot of time together and did silly things like this, but Allela had never felt anything more than platonic for Ryder and she knew that she never would. She saw him like another brother for her collection and honestly didn’t know what she’d do without him in that role.

“I am humbled that you would trust me with such a secret.”[/color] She said, keeping her head bowed as the second act kicked in. If their chosen careers ever failed, then both of them could probably have their own sketch show, bouncing from silly dramatic acts to another as they continued with their silly little games. Her head snapped up and she act was over in a millisecond as she jumped back to her feet and slugged her friend in the arm again. “Who the hell are you calling a peasant?! With people skills like that, you’d be a right failure of a prince.”[/color] She said, folding her arms and acting as though she was annoyed by his words.
Then, she smirked, a twinkle appearing in her dark eyes as she saw the opportunity to mock her friend some more. “Well, one of us needs to be the man in this relationship.”[/color] She said, shrugging casually as though it was obvious to everyone else but Ryder. Then she laughed, finding it too easy to get that remark in without him even seeing it coming.

Her eyes widened, her heart almost stopped and she looked at her friend as though he had a chicken sitting on his head. Something that wasn’t related to music? Allela couldn’t remember a time when something of that nature had even been regarded by her as a gift. Even her resume could tell anyone that she adored music, for every job she had ever had had been in a record store, or working with sound, or organising music festivals and shows. She lived and breathed for the melody and lyrics. Whenever she was home, her apartment was filled with music, even at night when she was sleeping and aside from when she was socialising, her ipod and car provided her with the soundtrack to her long days in New York…or wherever she happened to be at the time. She jumped forward, pressing her hand flat against Ryder’s forehead. “Are you feeling alright? Having any hallucinations? Feeling queasy at all?”[/color]

She laughed, linking her arm with that of her best friend’s. He was probably one of the only people she would threaten constantly, but never act upon it. She may slap him if he did ever do something really stupid, but she adored Ryder more than most people would assume from their constant playful bickering and amusing public scenes. “You love me too much to do that.”[/color] She teased as they took their place in the queue of people. The screaming child made her pull a face. She liked her nieces and nephews and maybe, maybe she’d have kids of her own eventually, but she hated when they screamed and that was usually her cue to leave. Looking ahead at the line, she handed the book in her hand to Ryder and the fished the money for it from her purse. “Here, get them together to save time. Plus, it’ll be funny to watch you end up with that really muscly cashier as you buy one of ‘the top romance novels of the decade’.”[/b][/color] She recited from the cover of the book. Allela would not be seen dead buying a lovey dovey book, but she would happily laugh at Ryder doing it.
She grinned as they decided on a place to eat and then clapped her hands, rubbing them together. “We can actually eat there! Usually, I’m running out the door with half my food hanging out of my mouth.”[/color] She hated rushing meals but work sometimes required her to do so.
[/blockquote][/blockquote][/size][/justify]

• • •

TAGGED! Ryder <3
WORDS! 1,311
OUTFIT! Just Another Day
LYRICS! Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas - - - Brandon Flowers
NOTES! Oh, the irony of this xD <3

[Ryder Xavier Wilcox]

They were crazy; probably even clinically insane. But that didn't stop either Allela or Ryder from having fun around the city, acting like loons, making crap up as they went. That was usually how their little games started; a random comment, either sarcastic or snide that just gets blown way out of proportion by both of them. So much so that it turns into some sort of game, some sort of joke. None of what they did could Ryder ever regret. He loved the randomness that he and Allela shared; it was why they got along so well. And, sadly, Ry couldn't do what he did with Allela with any of his other friends. He tried doing something crazy with a friend in Verona, but it didn't work. That friend’s idea of crazy was going to a club outside Verona. Clearly, that man was a whore and Ryder had spent the next three days wondering how he was still friends with such a manwhore. So, yes, he adored Allela, if only for their odd moments.

And Ryder didn't even mind the fact that he lost more often than he won. Sure his mother gave him that lecture while Allela often sat in the far chair by the window sipping at her tea and making faces at him. But without his music loving blonde friend, Ryder would be one dull person. He thought so anyway. Alley-cat brought out his crazy side; a side that very few had ever seen. So he would go through the spirited games of Chicken, the lectures from his mother, the "remember when"'s when there were a bunch of people gathered and Allela wanted to try and embarrass him. He loved it. He could just imagine what the girl had up her sleeve; for the future and for the present. He knew they were going to him living with their children, or in homes when they're ninety, remembering all the good times, and watching their kids and grandkids act just as ridiculous, and there would be nothing either of them could say except maybe "We were like that when we were their age" or "It was great being that young" and reliving all their glory years through memories and the next generation. Ryder hoped that when they both had children, they'd grow up to be just as close as their parents were; even if it meant hearing about a crazy game of chicken in the middle of an aisle in Borders books one day.

Ryder clung to Allela as if this were a normal thing; fake proposals and all that jazz, happened on a near daily basis for the two. Well, maybe not that particular stunt, but close enough. "Alley-cat," he said, the word filled with emotion; nothing he really felt towards his closest friend, but still. He pulled back a small bit. "If you're happy, I'm happy. Anything you want," he crooned. As much as he was enjoying this spectacle, he could never see a future with this moment happening for really with Allela. They were too close, like siblings, for that to turn out well. And Ryder had never seen Allela in that light. They'd always been friends, coworkers, band mates. She was his other sister; just another person to spoil and joke around with. Even if he didn't spoil like he spoiled Nik.

Ryder shook his head, running his fingers through the messy locks before straightening up once again and putting in an air of princely behaviour; from one act to another in the snap of a finger. "As well you should be," he said with his accent the faintest bit pronounced. He only had to wait a second for Allela to jump to her feet and beat on him again. He laughed loudly, moving his arm to test how sore it would be in the morning; just in case. "I may be a failure as a Prince, but you! You'd never make it to the royal court! Especially if you keep beating up on people!" he scoffed as if he were enraged, which with one look into his pale eyes anyone could see he was not. His eyes widened with a faux shock. He brought his hand to his mouth in a feminine horror look. "I dare say! I am not the girl!" he exclaimed in a horrible version of a falsetto. He was a failure at accents and blamed it on the one he never really got rid of, no matter how many years he'd been in New York. An actor, he was not. A comedian, he could be.

Allela jumped forward and Ryder almost fell back into the stacks. The movement was quick, he knew it was coming, but it was quicker than he'd thought. Ryder shook with the laughter that poured from him. Leave it to Allela to think he was crazy. Of course, expecting her even consider something not music related was an insane idea to begin with. "Actually, now that I think about it... No, Ally, I was being sarcastic," he said, oozing with the sarcasm he'd wanted to hold back. "Hell would literally freeze over if you did that." It was the complete truth, so he said it with an easy, natural laugh. Hell would seriously freeze over if his friend bought anything for herself that wasn't music related.

The line they were in was slowly picking up speed thanks to someone behind the cash calling for help. He shrugged, "I could learn to un-love you," he said, unable to keep the smirk from his face. Ryder accepted the book with a look of resignation on his face. He was completely ignoring the wailing child. It took effort, but he could do it. "Fine," he said on a sigh, but shook his head at her while she dug around in her bag. "You get lunch and we'll be even for you making me get this," he said with something like dread in his voice as he waved the romance novel for added effect. Really, he didn't mind paying for it, he'd gotten so many before this, and it was really nothing new for him. Although, he was pretty sure this was a first for Allela to witness; probably a good thing, he thought ruefully. The line was starting to move faster now, thankfully.

Ryder turned his head to look at Allela and laugh at the image he'd already seen up close and personal a few times before. He nodded his head in agreement, "It would be nice to actually taste the food I'm eating," he said wistfully, as if it didn't happen nearly enough. He looked back at the line to see it had moved up some more and took the steps to catch up with the line. "It's been so long since I've been able to do that," he said, shaking his head.

_{[ T.A.G ] Allela <3
[ W.O.R.D.S ] 1147
[ L.O.C.A.T.I.O.N ] Borders Books
[ C.L.O.T.H.E.S ] Check This Out!
[ L.Y.R.I.C.S ] Kiss a Girl//Keith Urban
[ N.O.T.E.S ]<3 <3 <3}[/SIZE]