Walk of Shame

[Jacob Adams]

Lucky for him, he'd never made any promises to stop turning tricks, just because he didn't have to. He'd expected to, sure, now that he “didn't have to”. He made more than enough money from stripping. So why did he keep doing this? Granted, the fact that he didn't remember leaving the club the night before told of more than a little bit of drinking. For all he knew, drinking was just the beginning of the things he'd done last night. Of course, he could blame whatever substance all he wanted, he knew he would have done this regardless. It pissed him off more than it confused him. He didn't need to understand, he needed to stop. Or, he needed to get home.



Problem was, he had no idea where he was. He'd woken up next to someone, said his polite goodbyes, grabbed the money he had apparently requested the night before, and walked out of the apartment, barely giving himself the time to zip up his jeans. He'd grabbed a sleeveless hoody off the floor, but now that he was outside, he was pretty sure this wasn't the shirt he'd arrived in. Man, did he wish he could think further into the future than his nose reached sometimes. He wasn't sure if it was because of the morning weather or just some hangover effect, but he was freezing. In California. Not a great morning for Jake.



Deciding he could hate himself all he wanted when he got home, he turned his attention to the problem at hand. He didn't think he'd ever been here before, all he could really see was apartment buildnings. Did buses even go here? He'd walked around for a while, arms wrapped around himself to keep some kind of warmth. Finally, he spotted someone. Thinking he had little to loose, he simply walked up to them, mustering up some kind of a resemblance to his usual smile. “'Scuse me, uh, could you tell me where I am?” If he'd bothered to think first, he could have also asked for a bus station. Yeah, that would have been better. Screw it.

[Amber Fletching]

Amber's liked her foster parents, as they were very nice to her, but she was weary of them.  They seemed to really care about her, but she did not understand why.  She had no idea what reason they might have to care about her at all.  Yet, everyone that she had met since she woke up in the hospital and her brother had disappeared seemed to really care about her.  She did not know about anyone that she had encountered in the ambulance and the hospital before waking up, as she had been focusing on her big brother and the extreme pain that she had been in, nor did she know what they had done to her, but it made it stop and for that she was grateful. 

She knew that she had a lot to be  grateful for, at the moment, but it didn't make her happy because she did not believe that she deserved it and she was not allowed to see Jackson.  She had allowed the baby in her belly to come out dead, or at least she believed that that's what had happened, even though she had no idea how she had let it happen. 

Amber was excited to be presented with a brand new bicycle.  Her foster mother tied Horsie around her waist, so that she would have her hands free, and she road it up and down the street a few times before they told her that she did not have to stay on the street but could just go and ride around.  She was quit surprised by that, as she had never even  been allowed outside by herself. Amber road off. She soon wished that she were with Jackson, riding on his former bicycle, wearing his baggy handy down clothes.

Horsie was enjoying the ride.  Amber had never needed him when she went outside to play, as she had always had Jackson with her then, so she would leave him under the covers of Jackson's bed. Horsie would have been happy even if her wasn't going for a bike ride, however, as he was just excited that Amber was finally away from her mother.

After she had been riding for awhile, Amber stopped and looked around.  She had been riding for awhile and, being so used to just following Jackson and not needing to pay attention to direction or anything, she had not been paying attention to where she was going.  Horsie had not either. 

A man, who had not scared her when he was a ways away, walked up to her.  She tensed up when he approached.  When he spoke, she paused for a few seconds, and then shook her head.  She took a few deep breaths, thinking about how he was lost and so was she.  "I-I'm sorry.  I don't-don't know."  

[Jacob Adams]

He hadn't even realised just how young this person was before she answered. The fuck was she doing out all alone now? On the other hand, he wasn't really sure what time it was, either. Probably wouldn't have bothered him as much if she didn't look so freaked out. He leaned backwards slightly when he realised just how much of a stranger danger situation he'd put her in. Still, he didn't very well wanna leave her alone now, either, if she was lost, too. Considering what he'd been doing while out on the streets at her age, he'd rather stick around until he was somewhat sure she was okay.

He took a while answering, having to fight through the crippling hangover in order to think about how to proceed without scaring her further. ”... Aight. Are you okay? I mean.. do you know where you're going?” Not that he could help point her in the right direction, but he wasn't about to leave her to it if she needed help, unless she asked him to.

[Amber Fletching]

While the man was hesitating to respond, Amber brought one hand down to grasp Horsie and squeeze him tightly. Even though he was alive in her eyes, she could squeeze him really tightly and never risk hurting him, both because he was still a stuffed animal and because she considered him magical.  When the man did speak, something in his voice made her a little less scared of him then she was seconds ago.

"Um... I wasn't re-really going anywhere, but I don't know how to get back to the Hallier's house from here."  Mr. and Mrs. Hallier were her foster parents, who Amber failed to realize that this man had probably never heard of.  She wondered if this man would be able to help her any more then she would be able to help him. "Are you lost to," she asked? She was pretty sure that he was, from the first thing he had said, but he hadn't actually said that he was, and she had never been able to trust her own judgment.

[Jacob Adams]

He nodded when she spoke, and thought for a while, looking around as if he'd somehow just randomly realise where they were. Didn't work this time either. He didn't think asking too many questions right now would be very effective, dispite wanting to know who these people were and why they weren't just ”mom and dad” or whatever. But no, problem first, questions later. ”Yeah. I guess I am.” he answered, smiling slightly. ”I.. have this map-thing on my phone, but I've never been able to figure it out. Do you think we could figure it out?” he asked as he reached for his phone, looking slightly relieved to see that it was still in his pocket.

As he brought it out, he made a point of making sure to hide anything he didn't think a child should come across, althewhile knowing he had no idea how successful he was at that project. After a somewhat desperate swiping-project of removing suggestive or downright crude text conversations from the New Message-screen, he finally handed her the phone, althewhile feeling, once more, that he might want to rethink his lifestyle a bit. If some sick person sent him a text while she was looking at his phone... well, he'd have a very uncomfortable conversation to look forward to with Mr. And Mrs Halliwhatever, anyway.

[Amber Fletching]

"Um... you can try," she replied, when he spoke of the map thing. She feared that, if he could not figure it out before, he wouldn't be able too now.  She assumed that if him, or anyone else, could not figure it out, then she would not be able too either.

She watched him on his phone, and assumed that he was trying to figure it out. She was surprised when he handed it to her, and did nothing to try to hide her surprise.  She decided that he just could not tell how worthless she was, and neither could Mr. and Mrs. Hallier.  She slowly reached out and took the phone.  She had seen her brothers and her mothers phones, and this one did not look much different from theirs, but it was the first time that she had ever held one in her hand.

She saw a map with a dot on it, and she assumed that the dot represented where they were. She touched the screen, and flinched when she saw the map move. She looked at the man, held the phone out so that he could see the screen, and pointed to a button with a word on it.  "What does this say," she asked?

[Jacob Adams]

He looked at it for a while, realising that she'd managed to zoom in on the place where they actually were, or at least kept the map from going batshit and landing on Russia or Europe or whatever like he always managed to do. Good enough. ”Uh... Witchester Road? I guess that's.. here, then. Hah, well done.” Considering the trouble he'd had with this piece of crap, he looked honestly impressed. He didn't even register the fact that she couldn't read it herself, too distracted by concentrating on not fucking up the map again.

”Do you know the adress for where you're going? I can try to help you find it, if you want. Don't really have anything better to do.” he said, keeping him eyes fixed on the unpredictable phone as if it'd run off to another country as soon as he looked away. He took the phone back after a while to try to remember as much as possible before it gave up on him, as well as keep her as shielded as possible from anything else that he might open on accident. Being careful not to touch the display in fear of screwing up their progress, he realised he did know how to use Google. He could probably find the adress regardless.

[Amber Fletching]

The man gave her an odd look, and it took her a little while to realize that he looked impressed.  Amber was surprised, and a bit uncomfortable.  No one had ever looked at her that way before, and she was sure that that was because she was not good enough to ever deserve it.  "Um... thanks but, um... I really do-don't know how I did it."

"Thank you," she said, to his offer to helping her.  Amber thought about the address and thought back too when the social worker who drove her to the Hallier's house was trying to find the place and started talking to herself out loud.  "It's um... it's on Willowy Road and starts with 46.  At least I think it does."  She second guess herself simply because of lack of confidence.  She did not think that she could ever get an answer to a question right.

[Jacob Adams]

He smiled, almost giving out a giggle, but stopped himself at the last moment. She might not appreciate him laughing; it wasn't worth risking her thinking he was laughing at her. ”Honestly, that's how I feel whenever I do something right for once, too.” Of course, he felt equally confused whenever he did something wrong. Like waking up at a strangers house when he'd expected his own bed. Still, one had to learn to appreciate the times when it did go well.

He gave the map a look, not really knowing how to search, but instead trying to read the roads manually. Then came the problem of actually reading the map... well. Maybe he could just pretend he knew what he was doing to give her some kind of piece of mind... then again, he'd never believed in lying to kids. ”Aight, I'm not great at this, but I'm stubborn as cra... p.” well, at least he'd realised his mistake, even if it was too late to do much about it. She should be able to swear by now, anyway. At least if she was to survive in school. ”... so, you know. It might take me a bit, but I'll get you home, eventually. Alright?” How did he always manage to get himself into these situations when he was tired as shit?

[Amber Fletching]

Amber was a bit confused by his giggle, but then he explained himself.  She looked down and smiled slightly.  For a second, she wondered if she really had done something right and it wasn't just a coincidence, but then she told herself that that was not the case. Her brother used to tell her that she was special, but she knew that that was not because she could do anything because he had explained to her what made her special. It was because she was beautiful, the sound of her crying was a magical sound, she was his girl and had a remarkable devotion to him, and there was nothing more fun then playing with her body.

She flinched when he used the world crap.  Her mother voice rang in her ears, telling her that she was a worthless piece of crap.  Yet, she still managed to catch what he said next, that he would get her home eventually. Where she was going back to was not actually home, but she didn't bother telling him that. Instead she just nodded and said, "thank you. Are you going to be able to get yourself un-lost too."

[Jacob Adams]

He took a few more seconds of thinking about where they should go, turning the phone around in his hands as if that would force it to make more sense to him. Eventually he pointed in the direction he assumed they were supposed to go, and started walking. ”Yeah, I'll figure it out after I drop you off. I always do.” he answered happily. He wasn't exactly screwed if he didn't. He'd been lost for days before without dying. It wasn't even cold yet. At least, that's what he told himself, somewhat bitterly. ”Oh, I'm Jake, by the way. Whats your name?” he said, realising he hadn't even managed to introduce himself properly yet. Or had he? Damn.

Speaking of which, he hadn't even looked at himself in the mirror before leaving. Obviously he didn't look bad enough to send the girl running, but he probably didn't look presentable enough to drop a kid off to her parents, either. Well, that'd be their problem. Wasn't him who lost the kid in the first place, anyway.

[Amber Fletching]

Amber walked her bike along beside him. He seemed to know what he was doing now, and she did not question the fact that he seemed to now and didn't before. Amber hadn't ever realized that they didn't know each others names until Jake introduced himself. She liked how he had a J name, like her brother, but she did not bother to mention that. She had not realized it until then but he seemed about the same age as him, not that she was too good at guessing someone's age. She smiled, slightly, and introduced herself, "I'm Amber."

She wondered how long she had been gone. She had figured out how to tell time on a digital clock, during her years of having to get all of her chores done before her mother got home, but she did not wear a watch and she hadn't known what time it was when she left. She wondered if Mr. and Mrs. Hallier had realized that she was lost yet.

[Jacob Adams]

He took his eyes off of his phone to give her a smile and a nod at her name, before turning his attention back to his phone, up for a brief time to look at the streetsigns he could see, and then back again. Okay, so at least he understood enough to be able to make a guess. Man, he should have payed attention in school. They'd probably tried to teach him this kind of crap at some point. ”How long have you lived here?” It was in his nature to keep asking questions about other people when he met them, to keep the conversation going, sure, but also to simulate some kind of interest in the other person. In this case, of course, he was dying to know more about the kid, she seemed.. different. Odd, maybe. He didn't exactly have to feign interest, it was more like he had to back off a bit, to make sure he didn't freak her out further, still aware enough of his own stranger danger-situation to keep himself somewhat distant. He stopped for a while at an intersection, thinking for a while before pointing in the direction of the street he thought they were supposed to take.

[Amber Fletching]

 She saw him looking around and wondered if he knew where he was going.  She reminded herself that he must know more then her, and wondered how she would even know that he was not sure where he was going. Maybe she wasn't as dumb as she thought, or maybe she was.

"Sin-since the day before yesterday," she answered. Those had been an odd few days. Mr. and Mrs. Hallier seemed to want her to do what she wanted to do, most of the time, but she usually did not know what that was, except for seeing Jackson.  When she had woke up in the middle of the night, crying for Jackson, they had rushed into her room to check on her, but they did not stay the whole night, like Jackson had, back when they had separate rooms. She had even been stopped, when she started cleaning the house, and told not too.

"Do um, do you live around her?" she asked. She wondered if that was a normal question or a very odd one. Still, she felt like she should say something and she did want to know more about the guy who was helping her.

[Jacob Adams]

He looked a bit surprised when she told him how recently she'd moved there, even though it made sense, considering she was lost. Still, why send a kid out alone when they didn't know the neighboorhood? Although, who was he to judge. He didn't know how to watch children, or even keep a plant alive, for that matter. ”Welcome to the neighborhood, then! I'm sure it's a good one. Seems fancy enough.” he said, nodding slowly to himself as he looked at the houses surrounding them. He looked back down at her when she asked if he lived there, laughing softly. ”I strongly doubt it. Seems way too fancy for me. I live somewhere around Downtown Los Angeles. If that's around here, that'd be great news, but I have a feeling it's not.” Already mentally planning out what the hell he would say if she asked him why he was there, he quickly decided to wing it, cause that always went great, and put his attention back to trying to figure out how the map and reality matched together.