I don't know where I been

[citharede]

who: Athena Parker AND YOU!
what: Catch-all
when: from mid-August through September
where: All Around Ze Town
warnings: None, will edit as needed.



i. shenanigans - backdated to august 8th

[ Athena likes shenanigans, but she is also a giant-ass softie. So here she sits on a park bench with a jar full of multicolored fireflies, feeling guilty over trapping them. They look just like real fireflies, fireflies from home, except they're in there blinking away in their little rainbow.

She holds the jar up to her face. She managed to catch them all without getting bitten, somehow, and the jar is pretty heavily populated. ]

Hey little dudes.

[ Yeah, sure, the original plan was to turn them loose inside a building and retreat to watch the chaos unfold, but she can't stand the idea of the little guys being trapped inside and starving. ]

What am I gonna do with you?

[ Another moment of thought, and then she makes an impulse decision and acts on it, twisting the lid off the jar and upending it over the back of the bench. Not into her lap. She's not that dumb.

The air around her fills with sparkling insects, and for a second it's nothing but beautiful.

And then, y'know, the bugs scatter and go after anyone in the vicinity, Athena included. ]



ii. the good samaritan

[ Athena's thrown herself into the beach cleanup wholeheartedly, working almost every day she doesn't have to go to her job. It feels good to help clean this place up, to feel like she's contributing something. It makes her feel a little more at home here, instead of like a tourist staying in some space equivalent of an air bnb.

It's midway through one of the days of cleanup when she finds a weird, wriggly mammalian thing trapped in a plastic bag in the water. It's hopelessly tangled, and whenever she tries to get close enough to work on the knots it snaps at her with very long, very sharp-looking teeth. ]

Come on, little guy. I'm trying to help.



iii. please note - twofer night

[ It's buy one get one night at Please Note karaoke bar. This applies to songs, to food, to drinks, to the whole place, which means Athena is way busier than normal.

She mostly likes her job. She even likes her uniform, which changes depending on the theme of the week. This week it's Earth-hippies, something that Please Note's owner only barely seems to understand, but by god he's got the place decked out to look as psychedelic as his budget and magical skills will allow.

Athena's wearing a tie-dye shirt and ripped up jeans, a bandana tied around her forehead, serving drinks and occasionally singing along with whoever's on-stage, her rich alto covering up any mistakes the customer might make. All the Earth music is half-off tonight, and there's a lot of Willie Nelson happening.

She'll live. ]



iv. do I know you?

[ So here's the thing. Tell a teenage lesbian who misses her girlfriend that she has to find a partner to pop open a "Man's Best Friend" romcom party favor with her, and her immediate reaction may just be FUCK YOU.

This whole party favor advertising thing seems stupid to her, and she resents everything about this movie and how it's everywhere around town. When she's accosted with one of the advertising party favors, she takes it, steps on one end, and yanks on the other, while glaring at the giver the whole time.

It bangs open, the mist drifts free, and very abruptly Athena's mind goes blank. She's standing there, holding half a party favor, in the middle of a busy sidewalk on a street she doesn't recognize. It's alarming enough that she backs up until she hits the nearest building and can stay as out of the way as possible. The woman who gave her the cracker is already gone, apparently not eager to see the results of her handiwork.

Hopefully no one nearby got hit with the other side of the spell. ]



v. Mini Mingle??? - closed to Jeff, Cam, and Peter

[ Gee, Athena sure has had Peter over a lot lately. She says it's because he's helping her study for her GED-thing, which is probably true, but it also just happens to fall immediately after her meltdowns on Jeff and Cam over, y'know, having a friend who's going to die.

No correlation there, right?

Anyway, today is one of those days where she planned on making dinner for Jeff and Cam, and what d'you know, Peter just happens to be helping her study again. It goes a little long, in fact, long enough that she just asks Peter if he wants to stay to eat.

This won't be awkward at all. Not during Athena's prep to cook (she insisted on doing it herself this time, sorry Jeff). Not when Athena runs to the store to get some ingredients she forgot for what she wants to make and Peter is left alone with Jeff and Cam. Definitely not during the meal itself!!

What could possibly be awkward about any of this. She's just having a friend over for dinner! ]

Comments

[bardish]

[ Athena, you are not subtle at all. And this is super awkward for Jeff! He wants to be able to help Peter-- he's a good kid, and he might have a bully problem, judging by his tendency to show up bruised, and in any case, Jeff knows about that impending death thing-- but he doesn't know what to do with an obvious set-up like this.

You're really putting him on the spot here, kid!

Plus there's the fact that he and Cam just had an amazing first date (and first... a lot of things) the other day, so he's kind of in that nebulous "I want to kiss this person but I don't know if we can casually kiss yet, and also there's a child present so it would just be weird" zone right now. It was fine when Athena was still in the apartment, too, but now it's just weird!

Is he sitting too close to Cam? He'll just scoot away a tiny bit... ]

She... ahhh... is usually more interested in eating food than cooking it...

[ Have another pause. ]

I trust her not to poison us much. I mean, at worst, we might be looking at some light salmonella-- [ JEFF, NO. ] That's a joke, I'm kidding!

[ Cough. Now what? Athena, why'd you go and break the teenager code like this?! Yeah, that's right, Jeff knows all about the code, as a teacher of youths and a father of one, too. ]

She's probably gonna be a while.

[ Let's be real: Jeff has no idea if Athena has any real plans to buy food or cook anything. He's about ready to suggest they just whip something up themselves, and TURN THE TABLES ON HER. ]

[enveloped]

I wouldn't worry about it. Athena knows what she's doing.

Besides, you're at a higher risk for salmonella eating food prepared in a restaurant or grocery store than at home.

[Enjoy your next meal out boys. Cam sips at his tea, entirely unbothered by the situation. Peter is as smart, kind, and polite as a teenage boy can be. Like Athena, Cam doesn't feel the need to simplify his language or water down his opinions in Peter's presence.

Athena doesn't need to tell him Peter has a lot on his plate. It's obvious in the smudges beneath his eyes, bruises on his elbows, scabs on his knees, the way he can't seem to keep his eyes open if you're not looking at him. In his time, he's met plenty of Athenas and Peters. Good kids grown up too fast. Their growing pains aren't just physical. They're mental. Emotional. And they hurt all the time.

Cam's glad Peter has been coming around, because it's important Athena makes friends, and because it gives him opportunities to watch and listen. Without having spoken much to one another directly, Cam feels like they've become comfortable enough to finally speak on a personal level that isn't altogether forced and invasive.]

More tea, Peter? You look a little tired.

[He fills Peter's mug without waiting for a response.]

When I was your age, I was always pulling all-nighters. When I couldn't sleep I studied. Good for my grades. Bad for the bags beneath my eyes. They were so big I should've folded them up and put them away in the pantry before I went to school.

I've never been much of a morning person.

[madeupnames]

[It's okay, Jeff, he's fond of jokes. Dad jokes, cheesy jokes, nerd jokes, whatever goofy-ass quip you got, he'll take it. It's why he offers the man a tiny little smile, humored, before Cam speaks. He blinks at him, mouth open for a response just before the tea is served.]

I — thanks, yeah!

... I guess I just work a lot, lately. I just got approved for my own studio apartment, and they're holding it for me while I work on getting the deposit? So I've been doing extra stuff. [He wraps his hands around the mug, pulling it close but not quite drinking yet. He clears his throat.] But I'm good. A friend of mine is helping me cut back on the 'not sleeping' thing.

[bardish]

[ Jeff pulled his share of high school all-nighters, too, but they were definitely not of the 'studying' variety, so he has no personal anecdotes to offer on that subject. But he does smile, EVEN IF HE'S TRYING NOT TO BE TOO OBVIOUS ABOUT IT, as he pictures a teenage Cameron Waltz staying up all night with his textbooks.

What a nerd. He's so cute.

Still, his brow creases in concern when Peter mentions how much work he's been doing, saving up for an apartment. ]

How much is left on that deposit?

[ Yeah, it's probably pretty clear where this is about to go. But it's just... LOOK. Peter's a kid! He shouldn't have to bust his ass like this just to save up for a deposit! He should be able to have some fun and, like, do teenage shit. It's what he tries to do for Athena, and Peter deserves it just as much. ]

breaks order thanks to nervous teenager syndrome

[madeupnames]

[Oh look, Peter chokes on his tea before he whips to look at Jeff.]

I don't need any help on my deposit, Mr. Calhoun! I'm fine, really! I'm getting by.

[He looks at Cam, as if he needs to say it directly to him, too.]

I'm, I'm aces. Next paycheck and I'm 100% set.

U LIL SHIT

[enveloped]

Mm.

[Sorry Peter, Cam's with Jeff on this one. There's nothing right about an already stressed sixteen year old working himself to the bone. Cam practically has his wallet in his hand before Peter's finished talking.

He thumbs through the contents, grabs a couple large bills and tucks them into the front pocket of Peter's shirt with a smile that won't take no for an answer. Cam glances to Jeff, holding the window of opportunity open for him.]

A housewarming gift.

I don't blame you for wanting to move out of the city provided accommodations. I last a week before I started to go crazy. I'd rather sleep in a storage locker than live in a dormitory again.

Where are you working now? And have you contacted your case worker at all in regards to financial support? At the very least, there's probably a bursary of some kind for living outside of assisted housing. They might even cover the cost of moving.

anxious teen strikes again

[madeupnames]

[His mouth hangs open at the questioning, hand over his pocket, looking like a deer in the headlights.

He looks at Jeff. Looks at Cam.]

I-I-I don't... have a case worker? I mean, I opted out of one. I'm old enough to, anyways.

[HE QUICKLY SIPS HIS TEA BECAUSE HE'S NOT SURE HOW TO ANSWER THE JOB QUESTION T B Q H.]

... I work for, um, a surveillance company, and do some electrical work for them.

Good with technology... Gen Z, and all.

DAMN IT PETE

[bardish]

[ Oh, well, Jeff was going to write a check, because he doesn't carry FAT STACKS OF CASH LIKE SOME HANDSOME MEN-- but he's got... some money in his wallet he can spare, to add to the housewarming gift.

Enjoy double dadding, Peter. ]

Uh huh, yeah, well, since you're set, you can just blow this on something stupid. Or save it! For an emergency!

[ Annnnd... Okay, kid, he has to ask: ]

And you're not moonlighting as a bouncer or anything, are you?

[ THE BRUISES. THE SCRAPES. He's Concerned and trying to mask it behind some laid back humor. ]

[enveloped]

[Cam smiles at Jeff when he adds to the pot, patting his leg beneath the table. His hand stays there. Innocently. They're in the presence of a minor. He's not that shameless.]

Oh, which company? I'm curious to know who's hiring sixteen-year-olds for working requiring a security clearance.

[Cam is a master of communications. He's fluent in many languages, including the language of lying. It's not that he thinks Peter is a dishonest boy, it's just that he's the same kind of vague regarding his own position back home.]

We're just worried about you. It's hard adjusting to this place as an adult, I can't imagine being your age, worrying about work and rent. I would've been a mess.

I was a mess, when I first arrived. Even with all my experience. It's taken some time to settle in, and I still have... moments.

[madeupnames]

[He blushes despite himself. This feels like the nicest police interrogation he's ever seen. To be fair, he's only ever watched them on TV, but he's pretty sure they don't give you cash and worry about how you're acclimating to new places.]

I'm not a bouncer! I just get banged up sometimes. Teen stuff.

[He tugs on his sleeve a little as he talks, feeling the heat.

He's a little more confident when he says:]

And I work for Riverview. I mean, the government has job openings, 'specially for people who come in without much direction? Kinda like how people sign up for Perimeter Guard... It pays me pretty well! I mean, a kid affording an apartment studio here is crazy-easy compared to New York.