you break me down, austen

[ispybritton]

she wasn't supposed to be going out. her parents had established the rule that after seven o'clock she was not to leave the house for any recreational purposes. britton would lock herself away in her room, claiming that she was tired and did not want to be disturbed. what that really meant was britton had already established plans and soon would be sneaking out to meet her company for the night. for tonight she had set up a coffee date with someone who was a near stranger. not really a stranger, but a name that she could not clearly recall. but he had offered her a ride and his company seemed to be enjoyable. she was paying, so of course britton figured that he wanted to stay for coffee and indie music that played as background noise. to escape the mansion she climbed down the terrace that was right by her window, so conveniently placed that britton had to chuckle. she had to edge to the front of the house, knowing that she if stood to close to the gated entrance someone would notice her. she cautiously walked down the street, knowing it would be better if austen picked her up further away from her house. she had no clue how long it would take for him to get there and she hadn't given him directions either. she kicked at the ground, shaming herself for this thoughtless plan. britton hadn't even gotten his number, though it wasn't like he would be texting her while driving. he didn't keep her waiting very long, pulling up beside her in a red wrangler. britton didn't wait, opening the door to slide her tiny self into the passengers seat. "hey stranger," she greeted him amiably, managing to slide a tiny smile onto her worn face. "do you know how to get to this coffee shop of wonders?"

[AUSTEN DAVID BISHOP]

[style=width: 240px; height: 240px; text-align: justify; color: 272727; font-family: tahoma; font-size: 9px; overflow: auto;]Austen exited the chat window, and grabbed his keys, idly wonder why he was going to pick up a girl he barely knew and drive across town with her. It wasn't like he had any other plans that night, of course, but that didn't change the fact that it was so random. Austen never imagined himself to be spontaneous, but perhaps he could list it in his personality traits now. He slipped a hoodie on in case it was chilly, and then went downstairs, where Lucy was curled up by the front door. She sprang to life as soon as she heard Austen coming, and her tail wagged happily as she waited in front of the door. Austen laughed and said, "I don't know Lulu. I think she's allergic to fur or something." Lucy just stared up at with her big brown eyes and he sighed. "Ok, whatever, you always get what you want anyway." The duo made their way to Austen's Jeep and then on to "the big mansion" that Britton lived in. That was all the description she'd given, and, after a few minutes circling and wondering where he was, Austen pulled up next to a girl he hoped and assumed was Britton. She jumped in, and he was relieved that it was her. "Hey. I'm Austen, this is Lucy," Austen said in greeting, motioning to himself and Lucy in turn. Lucy was curled in the backseat but she looked happy. "You're Britton. And now that we have the weird introductions done, no, I actually have no idea where this place is." Austen drove away from the mansion, noticing how she'd come out to meet him... He didn't give it much thought, though. If she wanted to sneak out, it was her deal. "So, if you could point me in the right direction, that would be great," he added with a smile.

[ispybritton]

britton hadn't even noticed the black lab that was curled up in the back seat, panting happily and looking at with warm eyes. she only settled in the passenger's seat, clicking her seat belt into place. safety was important after all. her head turned back to take a glance at the dog, who went by the name of lucy. britton tipped her head to her, like she was an actual person. "lucy's cute. she looks like she would make a nice cuddle buddy," britton commented, giving a grin to austen. she didn't like dogs as much as cats, but at least she could handle being around them. lucy looked like a nice dog, like the kind britton would want to play with in the park with a frisbee or something. they were introduced and everything seemed casual, not awkward like they had only became acquainted a hour before and now britton was using him as her mode of transportation. britton settled back into the seat, glancing over at austen and giving a slight nod of her head. "it's not all that hard to get there. you just go straight down this road about five minutes," she said to him, returning his smile with ease. britton looked back over to austen, trying to think of where she could have seen his face before. a year had been spent away from manchester but with her memory she impeccably recalled everyone that she knew. he wasn't someone that she knew. "i don't understand how i don't know your face," she said lightly, pursing her lips. she was guessing that he would be a senior this year, but she knew very little about austen in general.

[AUSTEN DAVID BISHOP]

Austen smiled when Britton complimented Lucy, replying, "She is a good cuddle buddy. Aren't you Lulu?" Lucy swiveled her head to face Austen and yipped and then panted, looking pleasantly comfortable curled up in the back seat. Austen was happy that this hadn't turned into an awkward situation, although awkward situations rarely happened around Austen. He was outgoing and knew how to make people feel comfortable. Besides, he had a way of bringing attention to himself so that the other person didn't feel embarrassed. Britton hadn't done anything embarrassing but if she did, he knew how to handle it. "Just straight for five minutes? He questioned. It didn't seem very "across town" to him, but he was already here and the prospect of coffee was too great to say anything. He turned his attention to driving for a moment, unaware that she was scrutinizing him until she said something. "Well, maybe it has something to do with your missing school last year? Or it could be our grade differences; I'm just a junior." He shrugged, not having any real idea. "Have you ever been to a school play? I've been in them all." He gave her a sideways glance and a smile, and then watched the road. "You'll have to tell me when we get close, because I don't think I've ever seen it..."

[ispybritton]

lucy looked like a loyal pet. her brown eyes looked to her master adoringly and she didn't seem to be like the kind of dog who misbehaved for the hell of it. she seemed like more of the pup who was the exact definition of a man's best friend. lucy made britton want a dog of her own. a big one, who would be like a companion or something. she turned around to look at lucy once more, smiling at her like she was the greatest thing in the world. "lucy is making me want a dog. but i tried that once, and he ate my mom's expensive persian rug," britton said, more for the sake of talking over thinking that austen actually cared. she was comfortable, siding with the assumption that austen wouldn't turn out to be a creep. or something along those lines. britton nodded, glancing sideways to give him a sheepish smile. "it's not exactly across town, but it's far enough that i couldn't walk all the way there," she admitted to him. her stamina was lacking and a long walk like that would have worn her out for the entire day. austen being a junior had to be reason why she could never recall his face or his name. ah, he was a drama kid. she wouldn't have been able to tell that by just giving him a simple glance. "i don't go to a lot of the school events. i draw more attention than i like..." she said, blinking. she was fine with how she was known but she didn't like being exposed more than she had to. britton stared down the road, knowing that the shop wasn't coming up for a little while. "there is a big coffee chalkboard outside and the awning is cream and blue striped," she said.

[AUSTEN DAVID BISHOP]

Austen could hear the hint of longing in Britton's voice when she talked about Lucy, and he glanced back at Lucy through the rear-view mirror. "Yeah, Lucy's a good dog. I'm also fairly certain she's a materialist, so she would never chew on an expensive Persian rug." He could see that she was sheepish when she told him that she couldn't walk five minutes down the road, but he didn't know why. She did have a brain tumor after all, and that had to make it pretty hard to do stuff sometimes. He was the one that should have been feeling ashamed for forgetting; it would take a little time getting used to her condition, when most of his friends were in near perfect health. Austen shrugged and said, "No big deal." He did, however, give her a shocked look when she said she didn't attend school events. Austen could kind of guess why, but... "Well, you should definitely come to some of the plays. I do star in a lot of them," he winked at her, half-joking. Upon receiving her description, he turned his eyes to their surroundings before he finally pulled into the parking lot of the right coffee house. He turned off the ignition and then looked back at Lucy. "Do you think they'll let her in? I have a leash." Lucy was, of course, already begging him. Austen hadn't exactly thought that part through.

[ispybritton]

=

britton hadn't really considered ever going to one of the school plays. her mom enjoyed theatrics, but the only plays she enjoyed going to were the high end ones put on in nyc. having an open mind to everything, britton decided that once the next school play was being held she would go and buy herself a ticket. she nodded at austen, pursing her lips to look thoughtful. "you've convinced me. i'll to go a school play. i'll make a sign to cheer you on and yell whenever you come onto stage," she said with false enthusiasm, the glint in her eyes telling austen that she was wholly kidding. britton could be respectful, and in the atmosphere of a performance she would never do a thing like that. they were at the coffee shop sooner than britton had expected, and once they had parked she quick about letting herself out. a shot of mocha was the shops name, and it always made her smile. at austen's question, she looked back at the canine and then back over at the shop. "it's worth a shot. the worst that can get happen is that we would get kicked out," she said with a shrug. it wasn't that big of a deal. britton have lulu a wide smile then proceeded to the door, figuring that austen was following behind her.

[AUSTEN DAVID BISHOP]

The image in his head of Britton cheering him on from the audience, waving around giant signs was as amusing as it sounded, and Austen couldn't stifle a laugh at her suggestion. He didn't say anything except, "That would be so helpful," knowing that she wasn't being serious. The smile hovered on his face as they arrived and exited the jeep, but it faded ever so slightly as he attached Lucy's leash to her collar. The chocolate dog jumped out of the back of his Jeep, and she padded around the parking lot as far as her leash would let her, sniffing the ground. Austen gave the humorous store a quick once over, noting the "No Pets Allowed" sign in the corner of one of the windows. He sighed, feeling dejected for Lucy, and was turning to put her back in the car when he noticed that there were patio chairs surrounding the little coffee shop. Austen smirked with an idea, and said, "We won't have to get kicked out if we never go in, right?" He grinned crookedly at her, and then walked Lucy over to one of the many vacant tables. The moon was high above them now, so the outside patio was nearly deserted. He turned towards Britton and said, "I'll have whatever you're having." He smiled motioning to the entrance. Austen sat, and added, "If I remember correctly, you were buying to make up for the gas. I'll just wait out here with Lucy." Lucy took her place curled up at Austen's feet, and looked up at Britton. Austen hoped that Britton had good taste in coffee.

[ispybritton]

the no pets allowed sign became clear to britton when she had turned back to see that lucy and austen were sitting at one of the tables placed outside of the shop. she furrowed her brows for a second and then gave him a blazing smile, nodding at him. "it's a nice day, so we can enjoy our coffee outside. once i order, of course," she said to him, lingering outside of the shop for a moment. she glanced over at austen and finally turned, entering the shop with her order already on her mind. she didn't mind paying, since she had enough money and no idea what to spend it on. in only three minutes britton was back outside, holding two white mocha frappuccinos in her grasp. "i hope you like white mocha, because it it is what i order every time," she said to austen with a tiny smile. she had herself at the table, thankful that an umbrella was placed over the table to deflect some of the heat. she sipped at her own drink, pushing austen's over to him.