Sometimes Ehan had to question his friend's ideas. Now was such a time. They'd gone out for a bit of "fun" late at night. It turned into a bit of a hectic one. They'd gone to a bar. Innocent enough. Yet his friends couldn't leave well enough alone. They were already fiery. Adding drink to the mix only made the blow-up bigger. Someone had made a wrong comment. Fists had gone flying and bottles were broken. Only the noise of sirens had halted the brawl.
Things went to hell. Ethan ran. Had his friends gotten out? He would find out later. For now he dashed into the street and avoided the flashing red and blue. The darkness blurred and whirled around him, making him wonder; was that last drink really necessary? Yet eventually he slowed. The sound of pursuit was far away from him. Safe.
He stopped and wiped his nose. It came away wet and warm. Vaguely he remembered the sharp pain that had caused it. Some distant memory now. Was his nose broken? He couldn't tell. His eyes turned moved away and searched. Where was he? How far had he ran?
Riley cursed under her breath as she stepped through the gates of the building she'd been in. She held her phone high, hoping that once she'd gotten outside, she'd get a reception. She'd dropped her phone earlier and hoped that hadn't been the cause of the sudden loss of reception. Hopefully, it was just the building blocking her phone.
Lifting her eyes as she heard the approaching footsteps, her nose wrinkled in disgust at the sight she saw; a man, seemingly around her age, with a bloody nose. God dammit. This was exactly what she got for hanging around these parts of town. But, alas, it couldn't be helped. She needed to be here. Or rather, she had needed to.
She made a quick assumption of the scene; the man had a bloody nose, his breath was heavy... perhaps from running and he looked around, either lost, looking for someone or hiding. And as such, she responded.
"Standing there won't make you look any less suspicious."
A voice spoke up suddenly. Ethan looked up sharply. It was a woman. One who was staring at him in disgust. Standing there wouldn't make him look any less suspicious. Ethan frowned at her. He knew he likely didn't look too good. He's just been in a fight. Yet he didn't need a reminder from a complete stranger.
"Thank you for the kind reminder." His tone came out smooth and sarcastic. He couldn't help it, even in his current state. It was just his nature. "Do you think I should just keep running then?" He offered with a raised brow. "Do you think I'd meet someone who would actually ask 'oh hello there, it appears you're bleeding. Are you alright?' like an actually kind soul would?" His eyes went to her phone and he smirked again. "Or will I just find someone else looking for working service?"
The witty sarcasm spilling out of the man's lips had Riley's lips pulling back over her teeth and into a smile. "Considering how I'm not that kind, asking me for advice is probably not in your best interest," she replied casually, her shoulders shrugging. Looking down at her phone then, she pursed her lips. "Not a psychic, so I wouldn't know." She supposed she enjoyed the witty remark, but the questions were purposely stupid.
"And by the way," she continued, placing her phone into her purse. "Most people when they see someone bleeding - at least, around these parts, would assume the worst and stay clear." People were selfish and cynical, it was only right. Sure, there probably were some naive fools willing to help just about any filthy creature off the streets and so forth... Riley clearly was not one of them.
Surprisingly, she smiled. Not what he'd expected, but he wasn't complaining. Considering how she wasn't that kind, asking her for advice was probably not in his best interest. And she wasn't psychic, so she wouldn't know. Ethan had to chuckle once she was done. Fortunately the woman had a sense of wit, if not compassion. "That's a shame. I could use a psychic right about now."
She put her phone away and continued. Most people would assume the worst and steer clear of anyone bleeding. At least around these parts. Blunt words, but true ones. There were a few token people who might've shown concern for him first and suspicion later. Yet the majority- the girl included- would show caution. "Clearly you're like 'most' people then." It came out teasing. "And here I'd hoped to run into someone unique. What a pity."
"Well," she drawled, using her arms as if to gesture their surrounding area. "Seems like you're in the right kind of neighborhood for that kind of thing." Well, truth be told, this place wasn't quite that shabby, but it was far from what Riley was used to - by a long stretch.
Grinning now, Riley issued a low chuckle. "That depends on your definition of most people," she countered easily. No, she was far from being like most people. And not simply because of her upbringing or the numbers of zeros in her bank account. Oh no. But alas, the man didn't need to know exactly whom he was dealing with. He'd learn eventually, she figured. "Most is such a broad term. Could mean literately anything."
Well it seemed like he was in the right kind of neighborhood for that sort of thing. Ethan arched a brow and gazed around. His vision adjusted to the darkness, he didn't see anything particularly bad about the place. In all honesty, it looked pretty nice. He had been in far worse neighborhoods. Some of his friends did not have the best of luck with housing and money.
Now she was grinning instead. Chuckled even. No, she wasn't like most people. Most was a broad term, and could literally mean anything. It was a good counter. Ethan might've found someone interesting. At least she could keep up something of a banter. "Ah, please excuse me. Should I have been more specific?" He checked his nose again. The bleeding had slowed, so he should be safe. "Although I suppose you aren't so typical. After all, you're still here while saying most would avoid me." The smirk was back.
"Yes, perhaps your should have," she replied with ease. In truth, though, Riley didn't really care one way or another. She was a hard person to pin down. Mainly because of the many facades she had built over the years. Her head tilted then, watching the man with something akin to amusement. "I wouldn't say that," she began, gesturing towards the distance between them.Then she smirked.
She saw no reason to neither near nor away from him. She was perfectly fine standing a few feet away. She was in no immediate danger and could easily remove herself from the situation. Not that she thought she'd have a reason to. After all, the man seemed nice enough - as if something like that really counted for anything.
Yes perhaps he should have. It earned a wider smirk from him. She certainly seemed sharp. Initially Ethan thought the meeting would go badly. Especially from her initial reaction to him. Yet now he found himself enjoying it. She seemed amused as well. At least from how she looked. Amusement was in her gaze.
She wouldn't say that. The distance between them was clear. Smart. Either could easily escape if one had been hostile. It was safe. But that didn't matter. He waved it off with a dismissive gesture. "Yes, yes you've got your distance from me so I can't do anything. Not that I would anyways." There was no reason to. "But you're still here talking to me. Which reminds me; should I even bother asking your name? Or should I assume the answer will be no." She had no reason to give it. Especially with him looking like this.
"Riley Harper," she replied with ease. "I'll admit I'm a little surprised you don't know that already, but ah well," she added with a shrug. She knew her name and the legacy of her parents went a long way, but she'd always known that not everyone found the world of celebrities all that entertaining. She couldn't find the urge to even care for a single bit.
She pursed her lips then, studying the man. Luckily, he didn't look like a Bill. "And don't take my short span of brief interest as a compliment. It'll pass quicker than what it arrived," she brushed him off. Chatting him was nice and all, she supposed, but she didn't know how long she'd stay interested. After all, most people bored her.
Riley Harper. She was surprised he hadn't known that already. A statement that cause his brow to arch. Clearly she was someone with a bit of a reputation. Or at least she thought she was. Yet the name "Harper" did sound vaguely familiar. Why? Ethan couldn't quite put his finger on it. So he simply shrugged. "Sounds familiar, but I can't say that means anything to me." Frankly he was surprised to get a name at all. Although she seemed to carry an air of superiority about her. It was more amusing than annoying.
She pursed her lips and studied him in turn. He shouldn't take her short span of brief interest as a compliment; it'll pass quicker than it arrived. The remark might've irked others, but only proved to amuse Ethan more. She was certainly not the most polite of souls. She was blunt. Refreshingly so. "Oh I would never dream of mistaking this for anything at all." He drawled, slightly mocking in tone. "Because clearly I'm in the presence of someone important. Or someone who believes that themselves at any rate."
Arching her eyebrow, the bemused smirk continued. No, she wasn't very polite. She could be, of course, but she saw very little reason to. Being polite in public was only an option when there was any press around - or well, anyone that could potentially harm her reputation. This man though, she doubted he had that kind of power. "Well, I'd say that would depend on your definition of importance, but I can assure you, it's not self-inflicted," she drawled.
After all, it wasn't as if Riley had chosen this life. No, she'd been born right into, much thanks to her parents. The man seemed to take it with good intentions and she wasn't about to go on about her life story. "Besides, you're holding yourself awfully high and might," she continued. "Mocking a stranger doesn't exactly put you in any better spot," she added with a grin.
That depended on his definition of importance, but she could assure him it wasn't self-inflicted. Ethan scoffed and rolled his eyes dramatically. "You do realize that's probably what everyone says?" Who would admit their importance was self-inflicted? The type of people who would didn't call themselves important in the first place. But her last name was oddly familiar without him knowing her personally; that had to mean something at the very least.
Besides, he was holding himself awfully high and mighty. Mocking a stranger didn't exactly put him in any better of a spot. Both statements earned a chuckle from him. "I like to think of it as holding myself to high standards. Although I admit I do enjoy mocking strangers." It came out a tad teasing. "Because it's always fun to see how they react. Like you, for instance."
"Yes," she replied without missing a beat, "But not everyone choose what family they're born into," she quickly countered. She only lived the life she'd been born into. She shrugged her shoulders; Her life hadn't been a choice - she could only embrace it and make the most of it. It was exactly what anyone else in her situation would do - unless they were willing to lose their family over a matter of pride.
Nodding, the brunette folded her hands together. "Ah, yes," she said, her lips pursing. "Classical bully right there," she added, unable to keep the mirth out of her eyes. "Well, you can either be a hunter or be the hunted. Survival of the fittest and all that." She could easily respect that, she supposed, even though she knew that wasn't quite what he'd meant.
Yes. The answer came with hardly a missed beat. But not everyone got to choose what family they were born into. Something he could understand quite easily enough. He hadn't asked to have been born in his family. They'd been alright in the beginning. Yet the moment he started going against what they wanted, he was shunned and kicked out. "A fair point."
Ah, the classic bully. Ethan arched a brow at the evident amusement in her tone. Although he couldn't claim not to share some of it. He could either be a hunter or the hunted. Survival of the fittest and all that. Now he found himself smirking again. "Well I'd much rather be the hunter than the hunted. Although I wouldn't use the term bully, I think. I'm just someone who doesn't let others step all over me. Life's already chaotic enough without that happening too."