By the pool, He puts pen to paper

[august hartnett]

August settled himself in a deck chair by the pool and pulled out his notebook. Perhaps today would bring more inspiration than the previous. Tentatively he looked around him before putting pen to paper; it seemed that no-one was interested in a late afternoon dip, the rooftop was empty. All the better for him, the last thing he wanted was awkward conversation about the weather or nothing at all. Or perhaps that was just him looking for something to distract him from his task.

He had been contemplating for weeks and weeks what his main character should be like. He’d decided on the somewhat extravagant name Edward Balantyne. Edward was everything that August thought a man should be: intelligent, strong both physically and emotionally, successful and bold. He had yet to give Edward a flaw as yet, which as an author was probably the most heinous crime he could commit. But as nothing had as yet been put down on paper you couldn’t accuse him with merely the evidence of his thoughts. Finally, and resignedly, he closed the gap between his pen and paper.

The rain outside pounded on the windows, creating a reverberating sound throughout the drawing room. Edward sat warming his hands by the fire.

[delia arsenault]

It was hot; too hot for Delia's liking. Shuffling her flip-flopped feet towards the pool area, she hoped she would find at least one other person lounging around the pool. She hated being alone, it wasn't fun. Especially when you weren't planning on swimming since, Delia wasn't a very good swimmer. Actually, she never really learned how. Not since she almost drowned in the first grade.

Peeling her gray cardigan off her shoulders, she entered the pool area scanning her wide, blue eyes for any sign of human life. Spotting a boy sitting alone, Delia was about to skip over and strike up a conversation when she noticed he was trying to write. Was it rude to interrupt someone when they were in the middle of writing a novel or an essay or whatever? After a moments hesitation, Delia decided the only way she'd find out was to go over and say hi. If he wanted her to leave, then he could just say so.

"Hey" Delia greeted, her mouth curved into a small smile. Quickly, she sat down near him on one of the uncomfortable chaise chairs. "What are you writing?"

[august hartnett]

He stopped for a few moments and thought. Perhaps Edward Balantyne was a little too perfect. Not a flaw too be seen in this englishman. He was stirred from his thoughts by a voice enquiring as to what he was writing. His eyes flickered up from his notebook to meet a pair of smiling brown eyes. Oh no, this was bad. Really bad. August had a tendency to become extremely flustered around girls. Regardless of their relationship to him, he always tripped over his words when around the opposite sex.

But no, he told himself, no August, you have to man up for a second. He came to Baltimore to become independant and part of that meant becoming mature enough to speak to people with out having all the blood rush to his face. Damn it to hell, he could practically feel it make its way up to his face already.

"A novel, actually," he managed to stutter "I've been trying for a while now."

There. That was civil and most of it was intelligible, he thought. Good jod August, you're getting somewhere, he smiled nervously.

[delia arsenault]

He seemed a tad bit too nice to tell her to get lost if she was bothering him and really she didn’t want to be a bother. Returning his nervous smile with a wide smile of her own, she smoothed her knee-length skirt. Sitting down had wrinkled it a bit. She hated wrinkles and couldn’t afford to get them. Delia didn’t own an iron; she didn’t have the extra cash to buy one.

“If I’m bothering you, then I can leave” She offered, tapping her nails with the chipped black polish against her leg. Delia wondered what his novel was about, but figured he would most likely want to keep the plot under wraps or something. Maybe she would write her own novel all about her life. “Really, I don’t want to bother you.”

But, she also didn’t feel like going. Delia enjoyed conversation, though this boy seemed kind of shy and nervous.

[august hartnett]

She wasn't going to eat him. Not that he thought she was going to eat him in the first place but he could tell that she wasn't going to talk his ear off about make-up and magazines like his sister's often had when he was a child. They'd corner him at the breakfast table and convince him to let them give him a makeover. Which is why so many of his childhood pictures portrayed him with red lipstick smeared on to his face and wearing his mother's heels. But thats another matter altogether.

She smiled and he inwardly sighed in relief.

"No, not at all," he shut his notebook and turned a little so he could face her "I wasn't really getting anywhere," he paused only slightly awkardly and made to introduce himself. "How rude of me," he drew his hands from his lap and reached across to shake her hand "I'm August. August Hartnett. I live in apartment 102."

[delia arsenault]

"Oh, okay. That's good because I don't really have anywhere else to go" She admitted with a small shrug of her skinny shoulders. Delia had the day off of work and didn't feel like sewing on account of the heat. Other then that, there wasn't much else she did on a daily basis. Scratch the earlier novel idea, she thought with a small laugh, it would be three hundred pages worth of nothing. Certainly not the next best-seller.

"I'm Delia Arsenault. From apartment 123" She told him, shaking his offered hand. "Funny, I don't live to far from you, yet I don't think I've ever seen you around" She was quiet for a moment, a thoughtful expression passing quickly over her face, "Though I tend to move too fast and miss what's right in front of me. So, for all I know I could've bumped into you everyday for a month and still not recognize you" She hoped she wasn't talking too much. Sometimes she had the tendency to completely take over a conversation because she was too busy telling people her life story to notice them attempting to slip a word in here and there.

[august hartnett]

Ok, so she talked a lot more than he did. But it was necessary seeing as someone had to keep the conversation going. Awkward silences ate at him like leeches. They made him so uncomfortable he could cry. It didnt seem like he was going to have any with Delia Arsenault. She looked the type to have enough material to talk - if not forever - for a very long tim.

"We live on the same floor, then," he laughed nervously, he couldn't help being nervous around girls, no matter how nice they were. "Actually, I just moved in a few days ago," he said "I haven't really surfaced seeing as I have so much unpacking to do. I thought I'd take a break by the pool."

He surveyed the rooftop, no-one had come to enjoy the afternoon sun. Unlike most dorks or the socially disadvantaged people at his high school, August preferred to sit in the sun than hole himself up in an empty laboratory.

[delia arsenault]

“I’ve been living here since I was seventeen,” She explained, stopping herself before her whole life story spilled from between her lips. Delia’s parents had kicked her out of the house because they just couldn’t deal with her anymore. At least, that’s what she told everyone if they asked. “If you ever need any help unpacking though, I’d be glad to stop by,” Delia offered, though she generally hated anything to do with packing. Who wanted to sit around all day folding or unfolding clothes into and out of suitcases when all you really want to do is getting started on your vacation or new life or whatever?

“It’s nice here,” Delia told him simply. “You’ll probably like it.” It was a funny thing for her to say, since she told most people she hated Baltimore. But really, it wasn’t true. She enjoyed the city; it was full of interesting people and places. It never got boring.

[august hartnett]

"Oh no, it's fine, I couldn't trouble you like that," he answered politely, his upbringing kicking in. He'd always been tought to behave as gentleman to every woman he met.

"Yes, it does seem like a very nice place to stay, I haven't got a single complaint so far," which really was a silly thing to say seeing as he never really complained anyway, but it was the only un-cliched thing he could think to say "I think it'll suit me just right."

He pondered idly, she'd moved in when she was seventeen. Put in the same situation, he could never have survived. It was only recently that he had even dwelled upon becoming independant. Living by yourself at seventeen would have wrecked him altogether. He was still in school at seventeen.

[delia arsenault]

“Are you sure? Because, honestly, I don’t mind helping,” She offered, her mouth curving into a toothy, girlish grin. Delia wanted him to feel comfortable, knowing how hard it was to start over. He couldn’t have been much older then she was and he made it seem like this was the first time he’d ever been alone in the world. Which, it probably was. Most kids didn’t leave home while they were still in high school.

“There are a lot of cute stores.” She said, quite randomly throwing that out there before remembering he was a boy and boys usually didn’t have a love for shopping in the way most girls did, “And the restaurants are pretty good. Not that I’ve actually been to all of them, but I’ve heard from different people…” Trailing off, she raised a thumbnail to her mouth and bit down. Hopefully that would stop her from rambling on and on and on, eventually boring this polite boy enough that even he’d get up and leave.

[august hartnett]

"I've got a room-mate moving in later today, you could come in then, I'm sure she'd appreciate the help," he could tell she was trying to make him feel more comfortable and with this realization he found that he didn't mind this girl at all.

"I'll need someone to show me around, I've never actually been to Baltimore before," he admitted sheepishly "I imagine i'll be needing groceries quite soon, can't live off take-away forever."

Even though he knew he shouldn't, he felt comforted by the presence of a person who knew what she was doing. He was meant to be completely independant but nevertheless, he was allowed to indulge himself now and again.

[delia arsenault]

She nodded, making a mental note to remember to stop by. Of course, she'd feel horrible if she forgot and she was slightly forgetful at times, so just to be safe, Delia quickly extracted her cell phone from her pocket, tapping in a short note on the notepad before dropping it next to her.

"Oh! I can show you around" She offered, feeling extra charitable today. Though she didn't make many stops to the grocery store herself, Delia knew where it was. Where else would she buy her hot pockets, cereal, and bread for toast? "I eat mostly take out myself though. I can't cook much" She explained, "Except I'm pretty good at working a toaster...and making cereal"

[august hartnett]

"I'd love that, you see, i'm not very good with maps and things," he laughed sheepishly "a genetic deficiency, I'm afraid, my whole family is hopeless when it comes to their sense of direction"

Yes, he reassured himself, he was going to like it here. It inspired in him a strong sense of motivation to make it work here in Baltimore. He could do it. And why? Because he said so. For the first time in his life, he felt confindent in himself.

No-one in his family - extended or immediate - was very good with maps. In fact, they probably couldn't tell the top from the bottom, which was why family trips always ended in something that could be described as nothing else but a complete disaster.

"I don't suppose you know many people in the apartment?" he frowned "I haven't seen many since I've arrived, although admittedly that was just this morning."

[delia arsenault]

"Oh! I know everyone!" Delia lied. Truth was, she did know many people by sight but had never really had a legitimate conversation with most of them. They all seemed boring and what was the point of talking to boring people? "Lets seeeeee....there's Mortimer and Daphne on the first floor. They're married and have two kids, named Mickey and Fred. Then there's a nice girl on the fifth floor who gives out king-sized chocolate bars on Halloween. Annnnnnnd, there's a very friendly girl, if you know what I mean, who lives on our floor but is usually too busy entertaining men to socialize. Unless you're a man....which you are. So you guys might become friendly. Maybe. That is if you're into that type of thing..." Delia took a breath, pleased that everyone she'd listed actually lived in the apartment except for the first couple. But, there could have actually been a married pair named Mortimer and Daphne with twin boys named stupid names for all she knew.

"But, anyway, I'll be happy to show you around." Delia pushed a rebellious piece of hair off her face, tucking it safely away behind one of her ears. "Anytime you need me, I'll probably be free. So don't be afraid to knock on my door" Narrowing her blue eyes ever so slightly while absentmindedly running a thin finger over her jawline, Delia was quiet for a moment, "Unless it's at like, 3:30 in the morning. I'll probably be busy sleeping. So don't knock then."

[august hartnett]

"Girls like that kind of scare me," he pondered. The men she entertained would they be teh big bad kind he wondered. Men like that, as if by instinct, picked on him. When they did, he felt he was being sucked back into the dark hole in his life that was high school.

"I'll be sure to come around though," he smiled up at her, broken out of his revery "you're the first friend i'll have here at Baltimore."

Looking out at the cooling afternoon sky, he thought idly about the coffehouse back home that he'd visit with his friends.

"What do you say we get a headstart. Do you know any good coffee shops?"