Devereaux Parks and Recreation

[GGJ5]

The Devereaux Parks, named in honor of the old family who donated the land to the city, have several areas spread throughout its acres: a set of tennis courts; a playground with two sets of swings, a rusty bur working merry-go-round, a rock wall to climb, and two slide sets with monkey bars dotting the sand; a baseball field; and large areas of open grass dotted with a few oaks and pavilions with benches underneath. The grass can get terribly mushy after a heavy rain, enough to loose a shoe or two in it for those goofy enough to refuse the sidewallks throughout the park after some storms pass through.

[GGJ5]

OOC: YAY, first Amane interaction, too! SKILLS, y'all. BIC:

Erin Spenser

During the late afternoon, it wasn't too hot too wander around the park aimlessly, which Yukito and Erin were now doing. It was too humid, though, to keep her hair down and in control, so Erin had pulled it back into a high ponytail that bounced and swished as she walked with her hand in his, talking about whatever happened to be on her mind-- right now it was on Cassie's party and Erin's ideas for gifts for her. "I was looking at a calligraphy set for her, 'cause you know she'd be awesome at it and get a kick out of it, but all the really good ones are sooo expensive, and I kinda wanna spend money on other stuff too," she said, not mentioning that it was on things for him. "Then I found these really snazzy looking art sticker things for your laptop, but I dunno if she even has her own laptop or if she'd even like that, 'cause she does so much of her own stuff, so then I was looking at one of those 1001 craft ideas books, but then for Cassie that'd be kind of lame, don't you think? 'Cause she could already do that all herself I bet..."

As they walked onto the grassy area, Erin paused to slip off her flip-flops and then continued her walk with Yukito, carrying the shoes in her free hand. "And I picked out stuff for costumes for her party, too! I want to do something together, and I think we could do a good Aladdin and Jasmine! Like from the movie, okay? Oh! And I also thought I could get Cassie this really cute charm wishing-type necklace I found with stars and stuff like that on it. Oh, free swings!"

She kept Yukito by the hand and hastened her step to them, dropping her shoes in the sand next to one long metal pole suporting the set and quickly claimed her seat, laughing at her victory."I win! Yukito, sit next to me before it's taken!"

[More than Music]

OOC: Planned interaction between Ren and Yukito.
BIC:

Clarence "Ren" Morgan

"Clarence, Clarence, Clarence!" the little boy called, hopping behind him. Ren rolled his eyes, letting out a sigh.

"What?"

"Clarence, Clarence, Clarence!"

"What?"

"Clarence, Clarence, Clareeeeeeeeeeeence!"

"TIMOTHY!" he yelled, "SHUT UP!" This made the happy little boy freeze in place, looking up at Clarence slowly. Tears invaded those huge, childish eyes, making Ren let out a long and frustrated sigh. "Don't do that, okay?"

A little 'mm-hm' from a throat filled with tears and pursed lips was his half-brother's reply.

'Great, kid, make me feel bad. That'll make everything better, won't it? Like the fact we're here because your dad and my mom at our house, doing God knows what. Just leave me alone, won't you? The only reason I put up with you is because, if you didn't live with us and I didn't take care of you, you'd have to live with your "dad" and I know what a bastard he is.'

Ren reached over and ruffled Timothy's longish black hair, big brown eyes watching him with hope. "I'm sorry. You want me to teach you how to play tennis?" he asked, and Timothy nodded fervently, making Ren smile just a little bit. 'Good. Don't cry. I don't want my mom to yell at me again because of you and your unstable emotions. Just because you're three doesn't mean I should have to baby you.' "Got your racket?"

Haru paused for a very long second. "What racket?" he asked, not even looking at the small black tennis racket in his tiny hands.

Ren held up his own racket in demonstration. "Racket."

This made the little boy's face light up, and he held up the object he now knew he was suppose to. "RACKET!" Timothy cried with a laugh, and Ren just shook his head. 'No, kid, that' a different kid of racket you have in mind. Just get this over with so I can practice already.' "What I do now?"

Moving behind the kid, Ren reached his arms around his little half-brother and held Timothy's thin arms into the right position. Timothy looked worried and uncomfortable to have the young man's arms around him, which made Ren wonder, but... no, he wouldn't get into that. "Okay, like that, got it?" Ren stepped in front of the kid, standing in the ready position he'd just set his half-sibling into. "Like this."

Seeing Ren doing it seemed to make Timothy more aware of what he needed to do, because the kid struck the pose like he'd been born to play tennis. It made a small smirk come onto Clarence's face for second. But this expression faded from the older boy's face once he realized it was probably from Timothy's father's side.

'Remember what you're dealing with, Clarence,' he advised himself. 'Think about who his father is. Don't get attached now of all times. Don't be an idiot like everyone else who's come before you.'

Clarence nodded in approval, then swung the racket a bit. "Try that."

Haru swung, but ended up spinning around in circles. "Woooooooooooooooah..."

Clarence shook his head. "No, don't do that, you'll just--"

Boom. Timothy landed right on his bottom. Ren knew what was coming: Huge tears welled up in those brown eyes - something that was definitely from his father, because all of Ren's family had blue eyes - and those curiously full lips began to tremble. "Cl-Cl-Clareeeeeeeeeeeeeence..." the little boy sobbed.

Ren rolled his eyes, kneeling beside the boy. "Sh..." he whispered, trying to get the kid to shut up so they could keep going. 'Why me, huh? Why couldn't mom take care of him? She's turned him into a brat, and I don't want to deal with him. Why did they have to have a kid anyway? Everything was better when it was just me.'

"I... I... I gotted hurt!" Timothy leapt forwards and wrapped his little thin arms around Clarence's neck, holding him tight. "I gotted HURT!"

"Oh, crap." Ren muttered, standing up. Timothy hung desperately from his neck. "Come on, kid, you just fell on your--" He froze in his sentence to see Haru looking up at him with wonder. 'Crap. Mom's probably already taught him about cussing, right? Now I'm the bad guy. Again. Fun.' "Look, you'll be fine." He tried to pull the little boy off of his neck, but was unsuccessful. His little half-brother's arms were locked in place, shaking with the sobs that were ready to burst from the small child. Ren sighed. "Don't cry, okay? Mom'll know you've been crying, and I'll never live it down."

Timothy's lips still trembled. In fact, the whole child was trembling. "You... Yous not... not mad at me, are you Clarence?"

Put on the spot, Clarence didn't know what to say. Not because he didn't know exactly how he felt - he was quite upset, and that was clear and not wrong in his eyes - but because he knew that if he told the kid 'yes', that would make him cry. If he told the kid 'no', he'd be making a liar of himself. He thought for a moment.

Lying was better.

"No, I'm not mad, Tim. Let go so we can play some more tennis already. Tim. Hey, Tim."

No movement. Clarence sighed, more and more frustrated by the minute. He closed his eyes and tried to stay calm, but he was ready to pop.

"TIMOTHY!"

[Elda Forever]

OOC: I'm gonna have to wait on Clarence/Yukito for another post or two, until I can combine Amane/Yukito into one post or something. Because that will get confuzzling really, really fast. Sorry, seester. I WANT Clarence/Yukito/Timothy, though. It will TOTALLY happen. BIC:

Yukito Maki

It felt weird to just be walking around aimlessly in the park with his hand in someone else's, but that was exactly what Erin had wanted to do, and he had no reason or desire to argue with her. He was content in an odd way to just stay near her and listen to her. He didn't want to keep up his half on the conversation, and - he hoped - she didn't mind making enough for both of them. "I was looking at a calligraphy set for her," she rambled, talking about gifts for her best friend Cassie, "'Cause you know she'd be awesome at it and get a kick out of it, but all the really good ones are sooo expensive, and I kinda wanna spend money on other stuff too. Then I found these really snazzy looking art sticker things for your laptop, but I dunno if she even has her own laptop or if she'd even like that, 'cause she does so much of her own stuff, so then I was looking at one of those 1001 craft ideas books, but then for Cassie that'd be kind of lame, don't you think? 'Cause she could already do that all herself I bet..." He made a little 'Hmm' as all of his response, actually thinking about what she said, but also keeping half his concentration on the feeling he was experiencing with her hand making his sway back and forth between them gaily and without any sort of hindrance. Easy, and simple. She made him stop and took her shoes off, placing them in her free hand and continuing on barefoot. Yukito smiled - if anyone was easy-going and carefree, he would have to say it was usually Erin who could get away with it. He wondered if her parents would have gotten after her for wandering around without shoes, and how often she ignored them.

"And I picked out stuff for costumes for her party, too! I want to do something together, and I think we could do a good Aladdin and Jasmine! Like from the movie, okay? Oh! And I also thought I could get Cassie this really cute charm wishing-type necklace I found with stars and stuff like that on it. Oh, free swings!"

He didn't have time to react before she tugged him semi-violently along to the swingset nearby. She ditched her shoes and jumped into one as he stood, still absorbing what she had just said. "I win! Yukito, sit next to me before it's taken!"

Yukito hesitated, his expression a freakish mix between amusement and skepticism. "Wait...what costumes?"

[GGJ5]

Erin Spenser

"And I picked out stuff for costumes for her party, too! I want to do something together, and I think we could do a good Aladdin and Jasmine! Like from the movie, okay? Oh! And I also thought I could get Cassie this really cute charm wishing-type necklace I found with stars and stuff like that on it. Oh, free swings!"

She ran ahead, though not willing to let go of Yukito's hand in the process until she dropped her shoes in the sand and hopped into one of the empty swings. "I win! Yukito, sit next to me before it's taken!" Erin commanded, already pumping her swing with bare feet brushing the sand.

"Wait...what costumes?" were Yukito's only words as Erin leaned far back in the swing until her ponytail could brush the sand below her.

As soon as the words came from his mouth, Erin started laughing. "Kareshiii, you're such a sucky listener! If you're not gonna talk you could at least listen!" Still swinging while laying backwards on the seat. "I said Cassie's having a costume party and I have ours picked out as Jasmine and Aladdin." She sat back up and started increasing the force of her swinging so she could stay higher up than Yukito. "But if you don't like that, I could always go with plan B..." The smile grew on her face at the thought.

[Elda Forever]

Yukito Maki

"Wait...what costumes?" was all he said, as he stared at Erin trying to get her swing moving. Faster-faster-faster!

She laughed openly at his confusion, and he couldn't find a reason to really be mad at her for that. "Kareshiii, you're such a sucky listener! If you're not gonna talk you could at least listen!"

"Well, I'm sorry. I can't quite keep up with you and sometimes need a translation." he held both palms up and made a confused face, "No...unlrstand...!"

"I said Cassie's having a costume party and I have ours picked out as Jasmine and Aladdin." She pushed the swing harder, already impatient with it as he finally sat down on the swing next to her, pondering her words before replying. "But if you don't like that, I could always go with plan B..." He glanced over and saw her face was lit up with a mischievous smile, his view of her face split in half by the chains on the swing, moving evenly back and forth. Back and forth.

He pushed off and, being a competitive sort, started to catch up with her, "Jasmine and Aladdin? Who're they?" he smirked, "And what is plan B?" Another kick forward, he was gonna be as high up as she was. "Do I even get a choice in this?"

[GGJ5]

Erin Spenser

Wait... what costumes?"

Erin couldn't help but laugh at the lost sound in his question as she pumped the swing into motion. The cooling feeling of the air rushing around her head was one of the best feelings in the world, she thought fleetingly, then answered Yukito's question: "Kareshiii, you're such a sucky listener! If you're not gonna talk you could at least listen!"

"Well, I'm sorry. I can't quite keep up with you and sometimes need a translation." The comment caused another round of laughter from Erin as she watched Yukito raise both hands up in mock surrender and made a confused face. "No...unlrstand...!" he told her in an exaggerated accent, making Erin roll her eyes at him.

"Omigod, you're such a liar!" she said with a laugh. "I said Cassie's having a costume party and I have ours picked out as Jasmine and Aladdin.... But if you don't like that, I could always go with plan B..." She couldn't stop the mischievous smile had she wanted to. Which she didn't.

By this time Yukito had started to swing next to her, already pretty closely matching her. She glanced at him with a playful smile and pumped a little harder, then closing her eyes to keep from seeing the ground below her. "Jasmine and Aladdin? Who're they?"

Erin laughed again. "Don't even try to play that card, Yukito, I know they have Disney in Japan-- you freaking have Tokyo-Disney and I know they have that movie there. Even if you're gonna be a mean Disney hater, you had to have had a teacher play it in class or something. God, it feel so good out here today!"

"And what is plan B?" To that Erin only answered with a cryptic laugh.

"Do I even get a choice in this?"

More giggles. "Well, that's why there's two plans! If you don't like my first idea, I was thinking we could always fall back on Wizard of Oz!" She burst into more laughter, leaning back so her face looked to the sky even with closed eyes, then immediately reverting to sit upright again when it caused her to feel like she was sitting on a very stormy boat. "Woah..." Her grip tightened on the swing's chains as Erin slowed herself to a much gentler rock back and forth, and she glanced back over at Yukito and laughed a little one more time. "Got dizzy," she explained, still with a few traces of giggles, still feeling just as lightheaded. "So what's the plan for Cassie's party?"

[Elda Forever]

Yukito Maki

"Jasmine and Aladdin? Who're they?"

Erin laughed again. "Don't even try to play that card, Yukito, I know they have Disney in Japan-- you freaking have Tokyo-Disney and I know they have that movie there. Even if you're gonna be a mean Disney hater, you had to have had a teacher play it in class or something. God, it feel so good out here today!"

He worked his lip a little, fighting a pensive frown. "Um...I think I've seen Bambi once..." It was the truth - his mother had never been into Disney films, preferring the sort of weird edu-tainment stuff when he was a toddler, claiming that he could see Disney films when he was old enough to really understand the 'deeper morals' or something like that. Then, by the time he was older and would have been likely more interested in films with good music and more American-styled cartoons, he was so set against films his mother would ever like that he hadn't considered trying them out as she held them out to him. I guess Disney is bigger here than I thought...

"And what is plan B?" Erin laughed at that, and he added a skeptical, "Do I even get a choice in this?"

More giggles. "Well, that's why there's two plans! If you don't like my first idea, I was thinking we could always fall back on Wizard of Oz!" He narrowed his eyes at her as she erupted in mocking laughter.

"That's just mean..." he said with a pout, but he couldn't hold it long until it morphed into a smile.

"Woah..." He looked over at Erin, who was now going significantly slower. "Got dizzy. So what's the plan for Cassie's party?"

"Um...I don't know...." he muttered uncertainly. "It sounds to me you're the one who wants to make the decisions around here." He smirked in her general direction, slowing his swing down until he could twist it from side to side instead, making everything spin. He pushed his foot against the ground and turned himself around, tightening the metal of the swing as it coiled on itself. Then he released, and it sent him spinning in circles.

[The Phantom of Paris]

OOC: Cassayaki date FTW! BIC:

Cassandra "Cassie" Wright

Her hand in Kagayaki's, Cassie walked through the familiar park, swinging the picnic basket in her other hand happily. "I used to come here all the time when I was little," she said, looking around with a smile. "Adele--she was more of a nanny than a cook then--would take me and Shelby and my brother here almost every day." She pointed over to the merry-go-round with a laugh. "That's where Shelby tackled a kid to the ground when he insulted Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter books. She was six or seven, I think...she literally ran after him and tackled him. It was awesome." Shelby used to be awesome.

She sighed quietly as she thought of Shelby and how close they used to be...so radically different from the Shelby she knew now. No. I'm not gonna think about that right now. What used to be isn't important today, what's important is what's happening right now. I can worry about Shelby another day...I'm not gonna worry about her right now. She doesn't even want me to worry about her at all, but I can't really help that. I'm a worrier. It's in my DNA or something.

But I'm going to worry tomorrow, and have fun with my boyfriend today. She still got a little thrill every time she referred to him as her boyfriend. The whole ordeal had a surreal quality to it, and there were times she thought that it all had to be a dream she would soon wake up from and realize that none of it had ever happened. I don't want it to be a dream.

She stopped walking, looking around at a small grassy field-like area in front of them. "Do you want to sit at a picnic table, or here on the grass?"

[GGJ5]

Erin Spenser

She started laughing a bit more, knowing what was coming. "Well, that's why there's two plans! If you don't like my first idea, I was thinking we could always fall back on Wizard of Oz!" The look on his face at the tease increased Erin's mirth.

"That's just mean..." Yukito said, sounding wounded but Erin doubted he was really wounded. In fact, the comment kept Erin laughing a little even as she slowed back down the swinging.

"Woah... Got dizzy. So what's the plan for Cassie's party?" Erin drug her toes through the sand below the swingset, enjoying the feeling of the grains along her feet.

"Um...I don't know...." Yukito responded vaguely. "It sounds to me you're the one who wants to make the decisions around here." Erin glanced over at him at that comment, then smiled herself after seeing the expression on his face. She started to laugh again, pushing herself a little without her feet moving from within the sand. Meanwhile Yukito made the swing spin him in circles over and over, making Erin grin at his silently carefree attitude.

"Hey! Yukitooo!" Erin started pushing herself into a hearty swing once more. "Did you see any water fountains or anything? I wasn't paying attention, so I dunno... I'm thirsty now."

[Elda Forever]

Yukito Maki


"Woah... Got dizzy. So what's the plan for Cassie's party?" Erin started playing with her toes, probably really happy now that the shoes had been discarded.

"Um...I don't know...." Yukito muttered uncertainly, "It sounds to me you're the one who wants to make the decisions around here." He smirked at her, and she met his eyes, taking a moment to catch up to the verbal poking. Then she let out a laugh, and he started to twist his swing around in circles, releasing it and letting it twirl him around in a steady, calming motion. He felt Erin watching him and looked over to smile at her.

"Hey! Yukitooo!" Erin started pushing herself into a hearty swing once more. "Did you see any water fountains or anything? I wasn't paying attention, so I dunno... I'm thirsty now."

He didn't stop his swing at first, tilting his head up to look skyward, making him feel dizzier than before. "I don't think so..." he halted, hearing a distant sound that would have horrified him if he didn't know what it was...and wondered what Erin's reaction would be. Ice cream. He forced his smile to remain hidden for the moment, stopped his swing, and stood up, "I'm gonna go look for something to drink. You enjoy the free swings. I'll just be a minute, okay?" He started down the path, losing sight of Erin after a few moments, one ear inclined toward the ice cream truck he knew was wandering around somewhere in search of the Erins in the world.

"I... I... I gotted hurt!" a little voice distracted him, and Yukito's head turned over towards the little boy who was throwing his arms around neck of the guy he was playing tennis with. "I gotted HURT!"

Yukito smirked, looking at the pair as one tried to cling and one tried to remove the clingy object. Obviously, the older boy - who looked around his age - had been trying to teach the little one to play tennis, and it wasn't working. He walked over to the fence and watched them for a moment.

Yukito looked up to see the guy with the kid getting more and more frustrated by the moment. The kid had released him now, and Yukito arched an eyebrow as he considered the younger of the two boys. He looked under five years old, with a messy head of black hair and expressive eyes that held apology viewable from a distance. He couldn’t help but notice the kid looked familiar. His older companion, Yukito also noted, didn’t look a thing like him.

“TIMOTHY!” blond guy called out, fury in his tone. Since the kid was kind of adorable, and Yukito wanted to figure out where he’d seen him before, he decided to do the little guy a favor and distract his current guardian, or whatever he could be referred to.

“Hey, do you want to play a quick match?” Yukito asked, “Maybe he’d learn better by just watching for awhile. After a short game he might be ready to give it a shot.”

Yeah, so I sound pompous and like I’m teaching you how to raise the kid. So what. Leave him alone for awhile, will you? And just play tennis. Yukito remembered learning how to play tennis – he didn’t know how old he was, but he couldn’t have been more than six or something like that. The age where age meant nothing, really. But a number to impress your friends with. At lunch hour during school there was a group of older kids that played. He had no real companions at the time, so, bored out of his mind, he had taken refuge in a comfortable tree next to the courts. After a few weeks of playing, he had wandered out and silently inspected all the equipment, and then boldly demanded he be taught how to play. Looking back on it later, he supposed that he had been seen as amusing, so the teenagers had obliged. Soon after his mother had learned about the game sessions, she had indulged in the sport, and Yukito very quickly stifled any of her hopes of him playing for more than his own entertainment. Now, Yukito looked down at the deep brown eyes of a youngster, seriously thinking that watching was a good way to get a handle on the game. And Erin? She would wait for just a few minutes, she had her swings. Besides, could she have said no to the look on this kid's face?

------------------------------------------------------

Amane Ourmura

Okay, she was one step away from buying binoculars. She had really just happened to be in the park by herself today when he had wandered by with her. Yukito and Erin. They were inseparable now. And she loved to accidentally bump into them like this...to be able to see he was happier. Did Erin see that? Did she notice how much more he smiled these days? Or that he relaxed more, went outside more, and spoke more now?

Amane let out a quiet sigh from her spot on a park bench. They were on the swings now. He was making his swing spin around and around, looking absolutely adorable and having no idea what he was accomplishing. Erin sent him a smile - she had insisted he join her on the swing right next to her. Amane looked mournfully at the swing on the other side of Yukito - it was empty. And she was too much a chicken to go over and swing with them. To swing next to him. So she just sat and tried to pretend she was texting, while she was really snapping pictures of them on her phone. I'm so pathetic sometimes, and other times I'm so ninja. They had absolutely no clue, did they?

Then he got up, and Amane couldn't repress a disappointed look. He was going? She couldn't make it look like coincidence if she happened to get up and start going in the same direction as him. But he left Erin, so as least there was hope he would be back. She would wait for him. Her eyes flickered over Erin, and she wished she had the confidence to go over and ask her if she knew how lucky she was. I envy you so much now.

[GGJ5]

Erin Spenser

“Hey! Yukitooo!” she drawled out as she started swinging fully again. “Did you see any water fountains or anything? I wasn’t paying attention, so I dunno… I’m thirsty now.”

“I don’t think so…” Yukito responded as Erin watched him happily as he slowed down his spinning.

“You sure?” Erin asked, drawing a deep line in the sand with her toe. “I kind of want lemonade or something, though… or a snowball! I love snowballs, especially those wedding cake ones, or pina colada, only sometimes those taste like sunscreen, and that’s gross… or bubblegum snow-cones, or frozen coke, or those little cheesecake milkshakes you can get at the gas station stores, or those mint chocolate wafer things, or anything involving mint chocolate, really… or just chocolate…”

By this time Yukito was on his feet, causing Erin to give him a very curious look. “Where are we going?”

"I'm gonna go look for something to drink. You enjoy the free swings. I'll just be a minute, okay?"

“Mmm… okay,” Erin agreed. “But if it takes too long to find anything then you can just come back,” she tacked on, kicking one foot and then the other repeatedly as she sat on the still swing.

Soon Yukito had walked too far off, and Erin tilted her head back, up to the sun. Being with him was so good. She couldn’t even describe how right it felt. Everything was right. How had she gotten so lucky? The thought made her smile, then give a laugh as she swung herself harder. She started alternating between humming and singing the song that was stuck in her head at the moment, then in mid-swing opened her eyes again.

Her eyes fell on some girl nearby, one that looked vaguely familiar but Erin didn’t remember talking to her much… if ever. If she had, it hadn’t been anything important, apparently. Then she noticed that the girl had been looking directly her way when Erin first noticed her, and she raised one eyebrow curiously. Do I know her? Maybe I do… Still with a bemused expression, Erin lifted one hand from around the swing’s chain and waved very briefly before curling her fingers back around the metal links and glancing back down the walk Yukito had disappeared on. How long was he going to take?

[Elda Forever]

Amane Ourmura

She watched Erin playing lightheartedly on the swings, her fingers playing with the hem of her striped red and black shirt, a pair of cherries sewn on the left shoulder. It was a little warm to wear black, but she knew people did it all the time, and that was reason enough to ignore her discomfort and remember Yukito's favorite colors were red and black. And his favorite fruit is an apple, one of the easiest things to find out. Do you know that, Erin? Or do you just monopolize his time and not even think about it?

Amane felt her breath stop short when Erin caught sight of her. For one insane instant she felt sure Erin knew what was up, that Erin could read her thoughts over the distance between them and knew exactly who she was and what she wanted.

Erin gave a careless little wave and diverted her gaze to something else, and Amane began to breathe again. If I don't go over and find out, I'll never know if she could ever appreciate him in the way he needs.

She took a deep breath and walked over to the metal supports of the swing, straightening out her black miniskirt to keep her hands busy as she stood there awkwardly. "Hi," she said in a quiet voice, sending Erin a smile. What do I say? Her mind screamed as her face continued to smile. As smoothly as possible - and ignoring the thickness she could feel in her throat as she spoke - she pointed to the swing closest to her, the one that would have put her one swing over from Yukito and two from Erin, and asked, "Is anyone using this swing?"

[GGJ5]

Erin Spenser

That girl suddenly hopped up and waltzed over to Erin and her swing set, and for a minute she just kind of stood there. It kind of bothered her-- if she wanted something, she should just say it. "Hey," she started.

"Hi," the girl responded, her voice really quiet as if she was afraid of scaring her off or something if she was to loud. "Is anyone using this swing?" she asked, gesturing to one a couple of swings down from her.

Erin snickered, feeling the timidity was a bit overdone-- why should she care if the girl took a swing? It's not like she was the goddess of the swingset or anything. She's a funny one... She shrugged. "You are." Another glance at the girl and Erin found herself smiling more genuinely now. "Hey, I have a shirt just like that!" Then, "Um... okay, I know I know your face but I'm going totally blank on how I know you..."

She started pushing off harder on the swing again, craning her neck to see as far down the path that Yukito had vanished down. What's taking so looong?

[Elda Forever]

Amane Ourmura

"Is anyone using this swing?" Amane found herself asking in a quiet voice. So quiet, she was hoping Erin could still hear her. Get some guts, Amane. She's not going to eat you. She's going to help you...to figure this out.

Erin snickered with amusement, and Amane felt her cheeks starting to burn. "You are." A shrug from her rival. Why was she so calm and confident? Was that why Yukito liked Erin and not her? I can't think like that right now...What am I even doing here? Spying on the enemy? I've already been doing that! She sat down on the swing, one hand in her jeans pocket, gently touching the phone there that held so many pictures....why did it always feel so wrong to keep them? What was she hurting by this? Why couldn't she stop thinking about him, and worrying about him. And why was it Erin knew and she didn't? Why couldn't she get close enough? I have to try harder.

"Hey, I have a shirt just like that!" Erin said with a warm smile, and Amane looked up at her and returned it.

"Really?" she was seriously disappointed about that, but her expression made it look like she was excited by it. Amane ran one hand across the sleeve, "It's really comfortable..."

"Um... okay, I know I know your face but I'm going totally blank on how I know you..." Erin stated simply, going for the all-blunt approach that Amane realized mirrored Yukito's most of the time.

She looked down at the ground, starting to swing a little as Erin's attention waivered. "Um...I think we go to the same school...you're Erin Spenser." The girl who is dating the guy I'm in love with. She offered a little smile, "I'm Amane....I'm...sort of a friend of Yukito's."