Tribulations

[maddie]

Maddie gave a start when apparently her words made Darius jump out of his skin. She cringed, her own heart still pounding at the mild shock. She had expected the entire glass to go crashing to the ground and had closed her eyes in anticipation for the smash, but none came and immediately her eyes shot open again to assess the damage. Water pooled on the ground in front of him and Maddie actually felt awkward for him.

“Don’t worry about it,” she muttered, trying wholeheartedly to lighten the minor mishap. “The amount of times I’ve dropped or spilled something on this floor… its surprising they don’t have to retile every time I come to stay.”

The smile that was absent from her light hearted ramble appeared automatically on her face as Darius mopped up the spilled water with a nearby towel. She could sense his nerves, and for once she couldn’t decide whether that made her feel better or worse. In one way, his nerves meant that it was ok for her to feel nervous too; that this wasn’t something all that terribly normal that she was overreacting to, and that her nervousness was perfectly fine and understandable, no matter how inconvenient they where. On the other hand, him being nervous made her even more nervous and it was easy to worry about why he was so nervous; did he not really want to go, perhaps? Maybe he was only taking her because Dodge had suggested it and he didn’t want to say no. Gods sake, she wished she could make up her mind.

She was still debating all of this in her mind when she looked up from the now dry patch of tiled floor and met Darius’ brilliant gaze directly. Her heart gave another thundering flutter. Damn it. She could only smile then when he said they should go, and she let him almost too willingly lead the way back out the door again. As she crossed the threshold she plucked her bag from one of the hooks just inside the door, swinging it over her shoulder as she stepped into the mildly warm afternoon sunlight. She followed the exceedingly handsome man at a safe distance across the cobbled car park, at least one step in every three fighting to turn and flee back to the safety of the inn. Then he opened the car door for her and she stopped in her tracks.

“And who said chivalry was dead?” she blurted before she could stop herself. The last time someone had held a door open for her was when she was too small to do it herself. She beamed at Darius as she passed him to climb into the passenger seat with a little less grace than she had hoped for, and settled back into the deceptively comfortable seat. The thud from her door being closed echoed in her ears as she watched indiscreetly as Darius walked around the car to the other side. Stars above, he was beautiful, and her stomach gave a lurch as she realised with a crashing blow that she was going to be spending the entire evening with him. Just him. Alone. Ugh. She had to heave a deep breath as he climbed into the seat next to her, the fresh air from outside filling her lungs for one last time before they would reach Marseille. She closed her eyes against the sudden rush of nausea that washed over her…

’And then the newly acquainted pair made the journey to Marseilles, thus beginning a great adventure.’

She cracked one eye open and peered at him sideways. Did he really just say that? Opening both eyes then, Maddie looked straight at the dashboard, pursing her lips together to avoid letting free the laughter that fought to reach the air. Sure it was funny, and highly embarrassing judging by the blush that ran over Darius’ cheeks, but she couldn’t very well just laugh at him. Besides, she didn’t want to embarrass him any further. Especially when in actuality she found his verbal leakage unbelievably endearing. It was, in a word, ‘cute’.

“Food sounds good,” she managed to say eventually when Darius’ speech ran dry. “I’ve been craving Italian for about two weeks, to be honest, but whether that’s Polenta Pasticciata or a meatball sub, I don’t mind.” That, at last, had laughter on her breath. She glanced sideways at him again, offering another smile that was as much to calm her nerves as his, and she realised that his other questions needed answers.

“This time three weeks ago I was in Abruzzo, in Italy. A few months before that I was in Greece. So, yes, I travel a lot. Too much, maybe. But I’ve never been able to stay in one place for longer than a few months. I get so restless and nowhere ever feels like ‘home’, you know? What about you? Are you one of the many that get trapped in San’s snare and cant escape?”

She hadn’t noticed her nerves all but disappearing as she rambled.

[darius]

Darius's fingers were sticking to the steering wheel. Sweaty palms? Fast heart-rate? These could be signs of some kind of serious illness, but Darius knew that it was all brought on by the young woman sitting next to him in the car. Being in such close proximity made him want to... well, strangely, it made him want to get even closer, to maybe touch her hair or her skin. She was so lovely, so appealing in every way, and he knew that if he wanted to develop any kind of relationship with her, either friendship or otherwise, he had to get over it and hold a conversation like a damned human being. He would at least try to do just that. A tiny and determined grin grew onto his face, something that he didn't try to hide.

The scenery was rushing by, and for whatever reason, Darius wished it would go slower. That the day would go slower. It would mean more time with this amazing girl he had just met, more time for him to make a good impression and maybe get the opportunity to... make plans for another time. Sure, he was thinking ahead... way too far ahead, probably. First he had to figure out where the hell he was taking the girl for lunch. Italian... Italian... where was there an Italian restaurant in Marseilles? Darius was panicking slightly, but Maddie's talk of her travels was a convenient distraction from that. That. and the smile he had managed to catch. He returned it, and he wondered how many times the two would exchange grins. He didn't mind seeing hers. The exact opposite, in fact.

Dear God, he felt like a damn teenager again, all sheepish and unsure. Darius was a twenty-something year old man who had to take care of two younger siblings and keep an apartment, a man who had a job and responsibility and... and everything else. All of that was brought back to him the moment Maddie mentioned him being trapped in San. Funny, that was one of the things that he and Dodge had found they had in common when the two had first met on the internet.

Darius's tone darkened, but not considerably. He didn't want to make Maddie uncomfortable, after all. Because if he screwed up and made the situation awkward, it would definitely be a long ride into Marseilles. And a long, long day. So he chose his words as carefully as he could. "I wish I could travel more," he admitted, shrugging his shoulders gently. "But, uh... Well, I guess I am trapped in the snare, as you put it." There was a grimace on his face that might have been mistaken for a sideways grin... a very humorless one.

"I have a little brother and sister to take care of, so... Until they're on their feet, independent and all, I can't go anywhere else. That's all that's keeping me here, really." And it was true. Darius would give anything to be able to leave San, to leave France in general, and see all the other countries he'd only ever dreamed of. Like Italy! Maddie had just been there... and Darius wished he could have been there, too. With her, would have made it even better. And England... Germany... America, Australia... There were so many places he wanted to go, so many things he hadn't seen. All in all, Darius's existence to that point had been terribly limited, and it was something he was aware of. It wasn't something he could change - because God knew Scarlett would take a long time yet to actually grow up - but he still had some hope. However scarce it was.

The fact that Maddie had been able to travel so much was something of an inspiration to Darius. Sort of... making it seem like it would be possible for him, too, if it was what he wanted. It was a nice picture, the one she had managed to unintentionally paint in his mind. He had been sort of high, having just met this girl and realizing how amazing she was, only to go through a crashing descent at the reminder that he had a somewhat depressingly permanent residence in San... but now she was slowly going to built him up again so he could sit on that cloud. He figured it would be a repeating process, and one that he really, really didn't mind going through.

"So," Darius continued after a pause. "How long do you think you're going to be staying in San?" He glanced at his blond-haired passenger, genuine interest in his eyes. Sure, the question was a way to continue their idle conversation, but he also wanted to know. Perhaps her answer would determine just how hard he was going to try to impress the girl that day. Or maybe he'd try so hard he'd make a fool of himself either way, and this was just something he could later use to excuse his behavior. Urgh, if Darius truly embarrassed himself that day, he'd definitely go back to Dodge, and probably scold her for forgetting about him and then suggesting he and Maddie get together and then doing whatever sort of female magic she had done on her cousin to make her look absolutely stunning, which was making the situation even worse than it would have been if Maddie had traveled in her grease-stained get-up... and all of this just because he didn't want to admit that he was being and immature fool that should have gotten over the love-at-first-sight shock-value that came with seeing a pretty girl.

Darius shifted his hands on the steering wheel. The passing scenery was changing from the windy roads and wooded areas of San to something a bit more civilized and populated. And Darius still hadn't figured out where in the hell he was taking Maddie to lunch.

[maddie]

So he was responsible for his siblings. He had something that tied him to San rather than he just settled down as he was passing through. That was honourable, to say the least, thinking of his family before himself; it was something Madeline had been slowly failing at over the years. She left home, in England, several years ago – as soon as she was legal to do so – and since then the open road had been her ‘home’. She went back to see her parents every now and then, for about a month every year, where she knew she could get a full-time temporary job in the bookshop they ran, ‘Page’s Pages’. It was cheesy enough to report it to health and safety for unnecessary exasperation. There she’d work all the hours god gave her so she could save the money to move on again. Then in the next place she’d stop she try and get another job, in another little shop or strawberry picking or offering her steady hand to painting and decorating companies for a few weeks. She’s tried her hand at everything, but she’s never minded. If she’s safe, surviving, and healthy what more could she ask for?

Well, to be honest, there was a lot more. Deep, deep down Madeline wanted to find a home, and stay there. The closest she had was San where she could stay at her sister’s inn for free, help out around the establishment, and if she was staying more than a few weeks she could almost always find a job in Marseille. Even Blaize once or twice got her a job in Nuit Noir, but this time she didn’t want to step on peoples toes. She’d find a job maybe doing secretarial work down by the port, and then when she had enough money to survive on she’d move on again. She wasn’t one of the people to stay put in San; perhaps the idea that family was there even deterred her somewhat. It would be conforming to the masses that got stuck in the tiny village’s snare, and she didn’t want to be like them. She didn’t want to be like everyone else. All her life she never felt that she belonged, and it wasn’t about to happen any time soon, so why stay put in one place when she could ‘not belong’ half way around the world? At least there she knew she wasn’t meant to belong.

“Long enough,” she answered when he questioned how long she’d be staying. It was the usually answer she usually fed to people when they got too nosy, but this time it slipped out before she could stop it. She clamped her mouth closed in a mild wince before flicking her dark brown eyes in his direction, apologetic. “I guess as long as it takes to save enough money to move on again. Or until my feet get restless…” That didn’t exactly answer his question. “A couple of weeks, a month… two, I don’t really know. Usually I stay for two or three weeks; there’s always someone somewhere in Marseille or San that’s gone on holiday and needs replacing at work. Its just convenient.”

Stars above, that sounded like her mother. ‘Convenient’ was her mother’s way of saying ‘little other choice’. With a short, blunt sigh, she slumped slightly slower in her seat and rested her head back against it. Her eyes left Darius’ face to look out of the window, and it was only then she noticed that the rolling fields and dappled forests were all but gone and in their places were houses, buildings and, eventually, huge, ugly grey warehouses. The worst part about Marseille was that to get there from San you had to drive through it’s ass hole.

“We’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto,” she muttered, her light voice betraying her better thoughts that keeping outbursts like that to herself. She hoped Darius hadn’t heard, and as she turned back to glance in his direction she could feel a faint blush rushing to her cheeks. Damn it. How could he not have heard her?

“Say, Toto,” she started, daring the blush with a smile to challenge her new bravery as she sat up straighter in her seat and turned slightly to face him. “You don’t happen to know where a girl can get a job in Emerald City, do you?”

What shame?

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OOC || "BEKKIT, Breaking Your Posts Into Bite-sized Bits!"

[darius]

Darius was somewhat taken aback by Maddie's response to his question. 'Long enough,' she said. It seemed sort of defensive, and instead of getting needlessly angry like most people would, he simply furrowed his brow in concern. He managed to look away from the road in time to see the apology in her eyes, and his expression softened. Maybe he had tread on her toes. Damnitdamnit. But she continued, and he decided not to dwell on whatever mistake he had made. He frowned at himself a little bit, but that was the extent of it. "Must be nice," he managed to observe gently when she was finished. His insides were writhing unpleasantly; she was only staying a few weeks minimum? "Having that sort of freedom to roam where you will." Something he'd never have, that's for damn sure. That freedom was for the lucky people, the ones that were able to take care of themselves. God knew Darius hadn't taken care of himself in years, not when he was responsible for two other lives. Even before the three of them had moved out of their parents' house, he had been the mother and father and big brother to Scarlett and Darien. And then they had moved out, and there was the added bonus of having to bring in money to pay for everything. The Bennet parents' monthly check was hardly enough to pay for a few days' worth of food, let alone all the other living expenses.

But enough of that. He loved his brother and sister and would do anything for them. Anything at all. He just wished that... that Darien would act more like an adult, that Scarlett would remember that she wasn't a twelve-year-old child anymore. That's all. Darius stole another glance at Maddie and was disappointed to see that she was sitting a little lower in her seat, staring out the window. He had definitely asked the wrong question. Damnitdamnitdamnit. He felt terrible, and a large part of him wanted to reach out and take her hand, maybe hold it to comfort her. But even as he unclenched his fingers from the steering wheel, she spoke up again, the statement reminiscent of the one he had made, in narration, when they had first set out.

Where his comment had made her smile, hers made him grimace slightly. No, they certainly weren't in Kansas anymore. This was definitely the worst part of the drive, going through the nitty gritty part of Marseilles before things got less dirty and more attractively urban. It was a drive that Darius had to do every single day, so he had learned to ignore it. But having Maddie point it out made him remember.

“Say, Toto, you don’t happen to know where a girl can get a job in Emerald City, do you?”

The grimaced shifted into a more amiable grin. Toto. Cute. At the very least, she owned up to her strange outbursts, whereas he just blushed and sputtered. God... she was fantastic. "A job in the Emerald City," he repeated, a laugh in his voice. He took a moment to think, then realized that he was an idiot. Of course, he could always talk to the manager of the music shop, ask him to make room for Maddie. Not fire anyone, of course, but maybe... cut his hours, or cut one of those damned teenagers' hours. Naturally a better choice in an employee would be an adult rather than an irresponsible and unqualified teen. "Well," he started tentatively. The thought of having Maddie work in the same place as him was making his heart beat way too fast for comfort. "There's always the music shop. I mean, if you can't find anything better. I'm sure if I put in a good word..." He paused, glanced at her with what could be described as a smirk. "Employee of the month nearly every month since I started there. I think I deserve a favor. And the manager definitely owes me one."

An advantage to being so. Damn. Nice. was the fact that people sometimes felt the need to repay him. Most of the time he minded and wouldn't take anything in return - why should he be rewarded for acting like a decent human being, for acting like everyone else should have, for being the kind of person his parents and the world had made him? But in this case, he could use the favor from his manager. The amount of overtime Darius worked was ridiculous. The poor guy practically ran the shop. The system by which everything was organized had been done by Darius himself. He made the most sales. He opened and closed with ease and by himself.

In the midst of all Darius's musing, he briefly remembered there being a tiny Italian joint a block or two away from his humble employer's place. So that would absolutely work. And the realization had come at a good time, considering the fact that the music shop was fast-approaching. Darius pulled in front of the store, easing his car into its parking space with practiced skill. He turned the engine off and made for his own door, but before he got out he flailed somewhat in Maddie's direction, and it was somehow a gesture for her to stay where she was. "Holdonaminute," he said quickly, then jumped out of his seat. He closed the driver's door behind him, ran around the front of the car (fought the urge to do an awesome slide-y thing over the hood, because he would surely just fall on his ass), and opened the passenger side door for Maddie.

He couldn't help it. Habit. "Anyway," Darius said quickly. "Uhm... There's an Italian restaurant down the block." He pointed. "We can go there or we can stop and shop in the music shop first. Up to you."

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OOC|| Let me know if you want me to just take them into the shop or the restaurant if you don't have enough to reply to. <3

[maddie]

If Madeline ran and hid every time she slipped up or had her words embarrass her she’d never see the light of day. So at a young age she developed a way of getting around the embarrassment, which was to face it head on. Sometimes it worked out for her, other times she ended up getting even more red-cheeked than she was. But she had to try. Luckily, this time it paid off, or so it seemed if the grin on Darius’ face was anything to go by. And yet a faint blush tried to chase up her cheeks at the sight of it. She took a deep breath, not shifting the smile from her own face as she turned her troublesome gaze to the road ahead. Maybe if she didn’t look at him her tummy wouldn’t turn to mush. The problem with that though, was that Madeline actually liked looking at him.

While she was trying to decide her best course of action, Darius replied, and her attention flew back to him at a speed which took her breath away (of course it was the speed, what else could it be?). Her brown eyes widened slightly. Work with him? Was he serious? She hadn’t realised her mouth was open as she stared at him and she shut it with a clash of teeth-on-teeth. Slowly, the idea of working with Darius – spending more time with him even if it was under orders – has a smile spreading across her face and it was all she could do not to squeal at him.

“You’d do that? I mean, you could do that?” Maddie wasn’t used to people being so helpful, to be honest. When you travelled you didn’t have friends doing you favours. You were on your own. Friend… was that what he was? Already? Maddie’s hand tightened on the handle of the door as they pulled into a parking space somewhere unfamiliar to her. She wasn’t sure if considering him a friend already was a good thing or bad. Having a friend was good, obviously, but f she could call him friend before she even left the car, what would she be calling him come the end of the evening? She lifted her hand as if to tuck her hair behind her ear – a habit she still hadn’t shaken from when a month ago she had a full head of hair – and instead grabbed one of the shorter tufts behind her ear and tugged lightly on it.

She wasn’t even ready to get out of the car when Darius sort of flailed in her direction and she found herself choking on a laugh. Well, it was hysterical! The half panicked expression on his face as he held both hands up to her, as if her moving an inch would destroy the world or something equally ridiculous. She pursed her lips together to fight the laugh that flared her nostrils and made her eyes sparkle. She watched him, fighting that urge, as he left the car and went to her side to open the door. In his absence she drew the deepest breath of the day and left it out in a strangely happy and nervous sigh before the door under her hand opened.

She climbed out of the car, her eyes finding his as soon as she could. He lay out their options, and Maddie frowned in thought. She was hungry, but that was quickly vanishing with the thoughts about work and working with Darius in particular that were flooding her already muddled mind.

“Uhm,” she started, tugging on the hair behind her ear again. “Let’s do the music thing first. You can tell me the chances of your plan actually working.”