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Ally & Annabeth
message 101:
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[deleted user]
(new)
Feb 05, 2016 05:07PM
Sloane giggled again, liking his laugh even though it was short and quiet. "Well I like it. I'm not giggly so this is fun," she replied with a nod, speaking as if it were a very serious topic but then giggling lightly again after it. "I agree with her. That's smart. There are only a few truly special things that we get in this world and when we find them, we've gotta treat 'em right," she agreed, not noticing that he got quieter. "And catch 'em all," she added with a laugh, her grin lighting up her eyes with a rare joy in them.
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Kaiden nodded and said, "You're right. That is a very good point." He smiled at her and then faced the road again. He saw them pull onto her street and then into her driveway. He didn't really look at the decorations or the house since he was still thinking a little. After a few seconds, he turned off the car in the garage and looked over at here. "We're here," he said before going to her side of the car.
Sloane smiled, pretty impressed with herself. "That's funny. I never usually have good points," she told him with a laugh, her eyes on his smile as she looked his driving. She hopped out of the car before he had a chance to do anything at her side. Leaning down, she picked up her shoes and padded into the house in her bare feet, leaving her shoes by the door and heading straight for the kitchen. Taking the cake, she cut two slices with a bit of effort, played them and took out two forks. She offered once to Kaiden before starting to eat her own. "I love cake."
Kaiden walked in and shut the door locking it. "Thank you," he said taking the plate. He looked down at the plate and sighed. "This looks very good. Do you cook a lot?" he asked getting a large bite on his fork. He saw the little crumbly pieces and soft inside parts and he had to make sure he didn't eat so fast. He took a bite and nodded at how good it was.
"Mmhhmm," Sloane mumbled as she ate, shrugging her shoulders at him. "If you didn't notice it already, you and me are the only ones here. Mom and dad are away at some conference convention networking thing but even when they're here, they've got an apartment in the city that they usually live in to be closer to the action. But other than a maid that comes like once a week, it's usually just me. We used to have a cook but we got rid of her when I learned and I've been cooking ever since," she explained, freely giving details that she usually would have kept closer to her, setting her plate down on the counter and hopping up so she was sitting on it before starting to eat again.
Kaiden nodded and said, "Oh yeah, I hadn't thought about that. Isn't it lonely all by yourself here then?" He had never really been at home alone growing up so he was used to always having someone be there. It was different when he went to college but that was different since it was supposed be kind of more independent or focused on studying.He ate some more of his cake and soon he finished it so he set the plate down in the sink to be cleaned later. He leaned against the counter and looked sideways at her.
Sloane sighed softly as she finished her cake, partially because her cake was gone and partially because of Kaiden's question. "Yeah, it gets horribly lonely. It's the reason I go out so much. There's no reason to stay here, no one to come back to and relax with. It's just me and it can be super upsetting," she answered, reaching over and setting her plate down in the sink as well. "I keep myself busy though, I've got enough stuff to do," she added with a shrug, leaning her head back against the cabinets.
Kaiden frowned feeling upset for her situtation. He knew that her parents had to work but parents should see their children at some point. "I'm sorry to hear that but since I'm here now, maybe we can do stuff together. I mean, if you want to hang out with the babysitter," he said with a smile hoping to cheer her up. Maybe if they were friends, his job would be a little easier for both of them even though he had never really befriended one of his clients.
Sloane shrugged, starting to feel tired rather than giggly. "Maybe. But you're the babysitter so when my parents decide that you're not needed any more, you're going to leave and go to the next person," she told him as she hopped off the counter and walked over to him. "I'm tired. G'night Kaiden," she said, wrapping her arms around him and hugging him softly before pulling away and walking out of the kitchen.
Kaiden frowned and thought about for a second when they would dismiss him and he would have to find another client. "Good night, Sloane," he said. He was surprised when she hugged him but he quickly hugged her back. He stayed in the kitchen as she walked out. Before leaving, he cleaned their plates and put them away. Then he went to his room to get ready for bed.
((I'm going to skip to the next day. Is that cool?))
Sloane took a bottle of water from the fridge and knocked the door closed with her hip. She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand and gulped down the entire bottle. Her muscles were aching from her workout and she just wanted to collapse but it got rid of the buzzing in her head that she'd woken up with. Rolling her neck, she leaned against the counter and fixed the strap of the sports bra she was wearing. She started mentally running through her day, trying to think of what she needed to do.
Kaiden woke up at his normal time and got up. He took a quick shower and changed into a pair of jeans and t-shirt. He dried his hair somewhat but it was still wet when he went into the kitchen for breakfast. He was surprised to see Slaone up but he smiled at her. "Good morning," he said, opening the fridge for something eat. "Early morning work out?" he asked when he pulled out the egg cartoon.
Sloane tried to get rid of the blush that crept up her neck as she saw Kaiden. She remembered everything that she had told him the night before, the way she had acted around him and she was terribly embarrassed about it all. "Yeah, every morning," she replied, crossing her arms as she avoided looking at him. "What are you making?" she asked, wanting to forget about the embarrassing things that she'd revealed to him the day before. She'd even hugged him. She had just met the guy and she had spilled a bucket of pitiful information on him.
Kaiden said, "An omlete." He got out a bowl from a cupbroad and put it next to the carton. Would you like one?" he asked looking over at her as he cracked the eggs into a bowl. He did remember last night's conversation but wasn't going to mention it figuring she hadn't meant to say it, especially with what Jessica told him about her being emotionally distant with people.
Sloane reached up and pulled the tie out of her hair, letting her blonde hair fall passed her shoulders. She was actually kind of surprised when he offered to make her an omelet and after a moment of deliberation, she nodded. "Yeah, sure. Thanks," she answered with a shrug, filling up her bottle with water again. After another moment of awkward silence, she turned to look at him again. "Did you sleep well?" she asked curiously.
Kaiden added more eggs to the bowl for the both of them and swirled them so the yolks would break. "Yes I did surprisingly since normally it takes me a while to get used to new places and be able to sleep," he admitted with a small smile. "Did you? I know you drank some last night so I don't know if that made it worse," he said pouring the eggs into the pan on the stove.
Sloane nodded at his answer, strangely satisfied that he had a good sleep. She was starting to dislike Kaiden but only because she kind of liked him. She knew she'd gotten jealous when Jessica flirted with him the night before and then she was happy that he had a good night sleep. It was strange but he was different to other people that were around her, he was normal. Just a normal person who treated her like a normal person. "Oh yeah. I'm mean, then I'm touchy, then I'm giggly and then I'm tired and out like a light," she replied in a nonchalant tone.
Kaiden laughed a little. "It wasn't a problem. At least you were here when you were acting like that. I wouldn't want anyone to see you like that," he said before regretting what he said. He knew that that probably sounded offensive but he hadn't meant it to be. "I mean, other's might take advantage or make fun of you if they saw you like that," he tried to add. That was what had happened to his sister and he knew that now he over reacted if he knew anyone who got kind of drunk in public. He stopped talking because he would just make it worse so he kept cooking.
Sloane raised a confused eyebrow at him when he began, saw the regret in his eyes and then nodded slightly when he explained further. "That sounded terrible but I get it. It's not unusual for me though. You should have seen me a couple of years ago," she replied with a laugh that had an edge of humorlessness. She had gotten herself in a few bad situations but that hadn't stopped her from drinking. Unlike the night before, she wasn't about to spill anything to him. "You sound like you have some experience with that though," she added with a shrug.
Kaiden listened to her and smiled, like her, humorlessly before dropping the smile. "It wasn't me but someone I was very close to," he said without emotion. Then he turned off the stove. "The omelets are ready," he said changing the subject. He moved them onto two plates and handed her one of them. He sat down at the table and started to eat, though it was still hot from cooking.
His lack of emotion spiked her curiosity and she soundlessly took the omelet from him and followed him over to the table, sitting across from him and watching as he started to eat. "Close to you? Girlfriend?" she asked, tilting her head to the side as her eyes scanned him over. "No, not girlfriend. Your...sister? Was it your sister?" she asked, not caring that he clearly wanted to change the subject.
Kaiden took the burning eggs into his mouth and ignored how it burnt his tongue. He set down his fork and looked up at Sloane. "Yes it was my sister but I don't want to talk about it," he said with the same tone. Why didn't she get the hint? he asked himself. He looked back down at the plate and took another bite. Kaiden didn't look back up at Sloane hoping maybe that would make sure stop the conversation. He had never told this story to anyone and he hadn't planned to, at least anytime soon.
Sloane picked up her fork and twirled it between her fingers as she watched him. There was more than a story behind it, there was an emotional saga and she terribly curious to know what it was that had happened. "How long ago was it? Were you young or was it more recent?" she persisted, not caring that he said that he didn't want to talk about it. She wanted to know and she was going to find out one way or another. She took a forkful of omelet but she didn't eat it, she just waited for his answer.
Kaiden looked back up at her. "It was a couple of years ago," he said slowly as if he was trying to hold the words back in. Kaiden thought that if people knew, they would pity him or treat him differently especially if they were his clients. They might not trust him on the job and he didn't want that. Kaiden took another bite trying to finish his breakfast and getting away from the conversation.
Sloane nodded, eating a bite of omelet and looking down at the plate before back up at Kaiden. "This is really good," she complimented, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "So a couple of years ago, your sister got drunk? Like proper wasted? And I'm guessing someone took advantage of her?" she asked, not thinking about being insensitive, just wanting to satisfy her curiosity. It was terribly selfish of her but she had accepted that fact.
"Thanks," Kaiden mumbled and for a second he thought that she would stop asking about it. When she didn't, he sighed. He set down his fork again and leaned back in his chair. "Fine, here it is. A couple of years ago, my older sister and her then boyfriend went out to a party. She begged me not to tell my mother, who had kept her from parties knowing there would be alcohol, and made me promise not to tell. Of course I did, since I was only 12 and didn't know what would happen. She left and a couple hours later, my mom came home from work. She asked where my sister was and I said I didn't know. I didn't, I hadn't thought to ask," he said with a sad smile."My mom called her repeatedly and no answer. We didn't hear back. We only got the call that she had been drugged at the party by her boyfriend and his friends and taken advantage of her. They were all drunk and soon the guys fell asleep. My sister died there at the party because she had drank too much and been drugged on top of it," he said, "If I hadn't promised or let her leave, then she wouldn't have died."
He got up and put his unfinished omelet on the counter. Kaiden stood at the counter not looking back fearing her reaction to that story.
Sloane was actually quite surprised when he told her the story. She felt an unpleasant feeling settle in the bottom of her stomach as he spoke and she knew that she had made a mistake. It wasn't often that she felt sorry, genuinely sorry. She apologised a bit but that was mostly because she wanted to get something or she wasn't in the mood to deal with their anger. But when he stood up and walked away, she felt terrible and she knew she had to apologise. Standing up as well, she walked over to him and hesitated multiple times before she gingerly placed her hand on his back. "Kaiden," she started, not very experienced in apologising. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have pushed you to tell me. That was...insensitive of me," she tried, not quite sure how it sounded. She just didn't want him to think she was apologising for his sister. It was tragic, obviously, but it wasn't her fault and it wasn't Kaiden's. As bad as it probably sounded, it was all his sisters fault but she wasn't going to say that to him.
Kaiden didn't hear her get up still thinking about what had happened and how it was his fault. He had never told anyone that she had made him promise not to tell in fear that they would say it was his fault. Instead, he told it to himself every time he saw his mother or his sister's old room or photos. He jumped slightly when he felt her touch his back. Kaiden nodded and said, "It's fine. You didn't know." He looked over at her for a second and was relieved not to see any pity or fear that he wouldn't do his job right from hearing the story.
Sloane bit her lip, almost forgetting that her hand was on his back before she slowly took it away. Still not sure if she was doing this whole 'comforting' thing correctly, she decided to keep talking. "You know it wasn't your fault right? I mean, you were twelve and you trusted your older sister. You couldn't have know something would go wrong. So stop blaming yourself," she told him, trying to keep her voice soft even though she wasn't used to it.
Kaiden frowned and couldn't help but sound more emotional. "It was my fault. I should have know something was wrong when she forced me to promise. If I had told someone than that wouldn't have happened," he said almost urgently. He didn't mean to sound so weak but he couldn't help letting this out, especially since he had never told anyone this before. Then he shook his head and looked away from her. "Sorry, you don't need this bothering you or your bodyguard being this weak," he said.
"And if you had told someone it would have happened at some other point but you wouldn't have known about it. I've been there Kaiden and once you get caught, you don't stop. You just get more creative. She clearly didn't want to stop so wasn't going to and there was nothing you could have done," she replied, feeling herself start to get slightly emotional but she pushed that away. She didn't like getting that way, it only caused problems and attachment. Getting attached never worked out. "Don't apologise," she told him before walking back over to the table, sitting down and eating her food once again.
Kaiden listened to what she said and part of him accepted it. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed shakily. He tried to get rid of his emotional state and he turned back around to lean against the counter. "So, what are you going to do today?" he asked with a smile, that was a little forced, but he hoped that it would help resolve the tension that the story had held.
Sloane completely blocked out the story he had just told her, forgetting the weird moment they'd had when she'd attempted to comfort him. "I have a dress fitting for the gala next week. And then after that I just have to finish up a few assignments for college. I think that's all I have to do today," she answered as she finished the omelet, pushing away from the table and heading over to the sink. She washed her plate and put it away, frowning at the way the plates were stacked and taking all of them out and rearranging them before putting them back up.
Kaiden nodded and though surprised to hear that she was going to a gala. "What's the gala for? he asked curiously. He watched her put away the plates wondering if he had put them away wrong the night before. He figured gala's were just fancier parties but he knew that they could be for business, and since her parents were always working, he thought it could be for their jobs.
Sloane turned to face him one she was done, rubbing her hand against the back of her neck. "I'm pretty sure it's for a charity. I think it's something to do with hungry kids but I stopped paying attention to the names of these charities a long time ago. They're not even for the charities. I have to be there to smile next to my parents to encourage family oriented business people, philanthropists and politicians to give them money," she answered with a shrug. "It's all a boring chore at this point."
Kaiden said, "I guess it would be if they're only using you to get more money. I've always pictured that they would be kind of boring since its just a big flashy party for wealthy people." Part of him thought that there had to be some good to be going to those since it might raise more money for children who need it but not if the money wasn't going to go toward them.
Sloane nodded, agreeing with him to a point. She understood that her parents were using her but they always had so it didn't really bother her anymore. "It can actually be pretty good. It all depends on who's attending. You see, there comes a point, late at night, when someone gets just a little too drunk on champagne and wine and all the secrets come out. If you wait it out a bit, you get to witness a good bit of entertainment. It's quite hilarious," she informed him with a small chuckle.
Kaiden smiled. "That would be kind of funny," he said laughing imagining that happening. "How many times has that happened?" he asked wondering if that was something that happened sporadically or more often.((sorry that one's short))
Sloane smiled at his laugh but then dropped it when she realised that she actually liked his laugh. "Oh quite a bit. I've only ever gotten to witness ten proper melt downs however. I've heard of a few more but I've only gotten to see ten. It's lucky it's a party for rich people though because I've never seen so many broke dishes," she answered with a small smile.
((Oh it's no bother.))
((Oh it's no bother.))
((okay thanks))Kaiden saw her smile drop and was going to ask what happened before laughing again hearing about the plates. "Hopefully it wasn't the good china," he said joking before adding, "I wish I could have been there to see that. What were they doing during their melt down?" Kaiden turned so he was facing Sloane more and be able to talk easier to her. He crossed his arms across his chest and smiled a little.
Sloane's smile widened and she unconsciously angled herself towards him, her arms dropping to the counter from where they had been crossed under her chest. "Well the woman had a few too many drinks and she started hitting on this guy around my age. Now bear in mind that she was well into her fifties. Well her husband saw and started freaking out and the two of them started screaming at each other. Plates when flying, glasses were smashing. And that's when it came out that the district attorney had been sleeping with his secretary for months," she told him, remembering the time with a laugh.
Kaiden chuckled and said, "That sounds very dramatic! More reason to go there, right?" He smiled and shook his head still laughing but quieter. "I wonder how they would react later once they realized that they were partly drunk and had totally overreacted to that whole thing in front of everyone," he said almost rhetorically thinking about how that made other people see them or think about them.
Sloane smiled, nodding at his question. "It's really the only good part about it. That and free drinks but it's super difficult to get any with my parents dragging me around everywhere," she replied with a roll of her eyes but her smile still in place. "Oh there was a public apology and he resigned, they got a divorce and the two of them moved away," she told him with a laugh, shaking her head slightly, her shoulders moving just a bit as she laughed softly to herself.
Kaiden said, "I imagine it would be but I guess you get enough drinks at Wesley's." He smiled teasing a little at that before saying, "Goodness, that is a lot of damage from one night then." That must be a consequence of being in the spotlight or being well known, he thought. He smiled at the story and seeing Sloane enjoy herself more.
"Ha ha ha," Sloane replied sarcastically, sticking her tongue out at him but she had a smile on her lips despite that. She knew he was teasing, she wasn't taking it seriously. She quite liked the lightened atmosphere, it was comfortable. "The bigger they are, the harder they fall," she said with a light laugh. "The reason everyone had PR managers is because the secrets can break a person's entire life and being in the public eye just makes it all so much worse," she told him with a shrug. She knew she had to leave but at that point, she honestly didn't want to stop talking to him.
Kaiden smiled and teased, "Very mature, you sticking your tongue out at me." He nodded as she talked and said, "I know that some people would like to be famous and all, but that is definitely not something I would want. I'd hate to have people staring and watching my every move."
"Well I am just a teenager," she teased in reply, surprised at herself when she did so, a smile on her lips. "You either got to not care or be super careful about what you do. It's a struggle. I mean, I can complain because I never wanted it in the first place. People who put themselves in the position to become famous, they can't complain," she replied with a shrug. "So what do you want?" she blurted, curious about the man standing in front of her.
Kaiden chuckled hearing that remembering when he called her a teenager when they met and she was insulted. He was surprised by her question and it made his smile pause on his face. "Honestly? I'm not really sure. I haven't really thought about it," he said, "Ever since my sister, I've wanted to protect others and stop that from happening to anyone. I don't know even know if this was what I would have wanted." He put his chin in his hand and smiled a little just realizing that what he said was true.
