dazed and confused ┊CHARLIE (P)

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[align=center][div style="width: 350px; text-align: justify; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 1.4;"]maverick never really had any fond memories to look back on regarding her life up until now. the first five years were kind of fine, if she had to think about them. she was obviously very young when they happened so she didn’t really remember the finer details, but it was before her dad decided to leave without a goodbye and her mom still acted like she even existed, so they had to be okay compared to the pile of shit her home life was after all of that happened. all her mom did after that morning was stay in her room all day and drown her sorrows with beer that tasted like shit and cheap wine that tasted even shittier. she didn't remember much of her father, but if he was shitty enough to leave his own family, she didn't know how her mom could be so caught up on him after all these years.

at first, she thought it was kind of cool to not have an active parental figure in the household. mav got to go where she wanted and do what she wanted without being scolded, so it seemed like an ideal situation as she entered her teenage years. it wasn't long before the silence in the household really set in. the longer she was home, the more the quietness began to eat away at her and the more she began to realize that she missed having someone around to scold her for the stupid shit she did. she missed not having to be her own parent and not having some type of consistent influence at home.

one consistent face in her life had been charlie. even though their friendship had been a pattern of her shoving her way into whatever plans he had without actually inviting her, she probably considered him her closest friend. she had gotten quite good at reading him after all the years of being at his side, so, of course she had gotten the feeling that he was about to leave sometime soon. she would be lying if she said that she still hadn’t been holding onto a small piece of hope that he was going to eventually ask her to tag along before he did it, but that time still hadn’t come yet. mav was more pissed off than anything, but there was a small part of her that felt hurt by it. she wouldn’t be surprised if he hadn’t ever listened to her (she talked a lot, she wouldn’t blame him for tuning her out from time to time), but she definitely had brought up her dad and that whole ordeal regarding him, so she was a little upset he would just leave without saying a word.

she always had a bag packed and ready to go waiting under her bed. there wasn't much tying her down to the group they were in now, it was only a matter of time before she decided it was time to go and with charlie on the verge of running, it seemed as good as any other time. she finished putting some last minute things in her bag before wandering out into the cool night air, blue eyes scanning around to see if anyone else was up. she hung around by the side of the building as she waited before her attention was quickly caught by charlie exiting the building.

"wow. not even a goodbye? after all we’ve been through? i’m hurt, wilde." there was a dramatic tone to her voice as she caught up to his side and looked towards him. yeah, she was bothered by it, but she wasn’t going to say that. "there’s no way you’d make it without me there to protect you, you wouldn’t last five minutes." maverick hadn’t officially stated that she was tagging along, but she knew he was bound to catch on sooner or later.

[member=534]vix[/member]

[OLLIE.]

[align=center][div style="width: 500px; text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: #494949; font-family: karla; font-size: 9pt; letter-spacing: 0.2px; word-spacing: 1px; margin-top: 10px;"]i guess you could say charlie was fortunate.

he grew up in a relatively stable household with his single father and 'aunt-but-actually-not-his-aunt' hopps. sure, there were a few mishaps here and there— like the fact that his father didn't get along with a lot of people ( and by a lot of people it could then be assumed it was much more people than charlie could count on fingers ) and his aunt judy found herself trying mend the relationships so none of them died ( despite her own temper )— but it wasn't anything charlie couldn't handle. in fact, he found life's uncertainties sort of exciting.

only by the time that charlie is twelve, it's not anymore. things kinda turned around . . . fast. he and judy lost track of his father, and after looking for him for not even three months, aunt hopps decided it'd be best they settle; and so they did and for the last twelve strenous years charlie has settled, alright, into this false sense of stability where everyone was housed in 'units', which was a simple term for "apartment buildings". the men, when not scouting, drank beer until they fell out and the women joined book clubs for some poor attempt at normalcy but step out of line, and they'll throw you out into the street like a stray.

he couldn't say he hated hopps for this, no.  he didn't hate her, but there was most certainly a grudge. had he not eventually sensed her poor attempts at trying her best, he would have aired his vexation to the world, but he decided to spare her any more pain. it was hard for her, she said, just as it was for him. but no, she didn't understand. that was his father and after giving up for months. . . no- he wouldn't let himself get antsy about it. if he thinks about it too much, he begins to dwell on what might have happened and. . . he just can't think about that.

he could only play into this narrative for so long; he's moderately impressed with how long he even had. the clothes, they waited there on the side of his bed ready to be thrown into a duffel bag. the goodbye note, written from three years ago, but relevant nonetheless. sitings of his father went to some rough-n-tough place called the badlands, to some beach called northstar, but as of recently. . . "bluestem praire." his father could be alive somewhere and if he was going to leave, he had to do it before the group's milita expected him to devote to play soldier. charlie was not a soldier. he was an artist . . . a con artist (god that sounded a lot better in his head.)

charlie knew people, so finding someone to distract the patrols away from his getaway is relatively easy. just pass the fence, and he'll be free. he held the repercussions of getting caught in mind— but this is why he won'. many years of mischief to unsuspecting peers prepared him for this moment.

he heads to the emergency exit, down to the first floor, pushing the door open to be welcomed by cool, crisp air. in hand, he has his papers— the ones that swear he is supposed to be out— just in case. 2am training sometimes happened to teens so it'd go without question. in mind, no one else knows he's escaping, no one but him. he was foolish to think that anyone wouldn't have come to know him so well. maverick. her voice is vexing, distinguishable to the silence causing charlie to slowly freeze. he could ignore her, but she'd keep blabbing and the last thing he needs is to draw suspicion. sighing in exasperation, he cranes his head — slightly — to address her, but continues to walk. 

"i don't have no time for goodbyes, skip, i have business to attend to. and besides; wanted to save you the tears. you're welcome." charlie hasn't caught on to the fact that she was tagging along. he knew her life wasn't the best, didn't mean he'd think she'd actually leave it all behind. it's when she speaks again does he turn to face her, his eyes landing on her bag. his eyebrows crease, just slightly, as he connects the dots. he gives a shake of his head. "uh-uh. no can do." he tries to plant himself in front of her. "what from the big scary convicts? listen, i think you've forgotten whose dad was a wanted conman around here. and you have what? a virtuosity in, i don't know, being annoying? the last thing i need is you getting us caught." he lifts his eyebrows, a ghost his infamous smirk casting over his facial features.

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[align=center][div style="width: 350px; text-align: justify; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 1.4;"][align=center][div style="width: 350px; text-align: justify; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 1.4;"]charlie trying to push her out of his plans was just as predictable as maverick’s attempts to sneak her way into those said plans were. honestly, she would have been more surprised if he actually did go along with her wanting to leave with him. it was almost a daily occurrence for the pair and had been for years, he would want to do something and she would find out about it and try to get involved, only for him to finally let her after he got tired of her persistence. maverick just needed a few minutes to wear him down and then they’d begin their little journey… to wherever they were even going. she should probably find out that out soon.

maverick let out a huff of laughter as he spoke to her, scrunching up her nose. "’you’re welcome’? why are you sayin’ that to me? you would be the one with the tears, ya big softy." she lightly punched his arm with a smile.

truth be told, maverick didn’t know the exact reason on why she wanted to tag along on his adventure. it was probably a mix of reasons. one of the answers she’d be more willing to share was simple - she was bored. she didn’t wanna spend the rest of her life knitting sweaters and going to book club meetings (she didn’t even go to any now, but they would start making her sooner or later and she didn’t want that to happen). she could use some new scenery and a change of pace. why should charlie get all the fun?

"yeah! the big scary convicts are exactly who i gotta protect you from." her eyes squinted slightly before shaking her head at his words, waving her hand to dismiss it. "yeah yeah, here we go again with the “my daddy is a wanted conman” crap. is that what you’re gonna tell a big scary convict when he’s about to rearrange that pretty face of yours?" she tried to make her expression more serious as she spoke, but the corners of her lips still twitched up into a small grin. "there’s no way they’d even get the chance with these bad boys around to save you!" she jokingly lifted her arm and made the movement to flex it, which didn’t do much, but it was good enough for her.

"besides, you and your big feet clonking around would get us caught way before anything i could do would." maverick’s hands went back to hold onto the straps of her backpack. "so, where we heading?" she questioned, once again making it a point that she was going without really saying so, even if he was going to protest it.

[OLLIE.]

[align=center][div style="width: 500px; text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: #494949; font-family: karla; font-size: 9pt; letter-spacing: 0.2px; word-spacing: 1px; margin-top: 10px;"]his feelings towards maverick were. . . complicated. 

when charlie arrived here, he wasn't interested in making friends— not because he didn't want to, although now he'd persist that he didn't care— but it's just that he hadn't the time for it. charlie wasn't about trios, or even duos. he wasn't relatively good on sharing currency, or even credit. maverick, however, didn't care about that. she stumbled her way into his life with persistence that that left charlie exasperated. eventually— he thought— she'd go away, but he here to was five years later attempting to follow his trial as she always seemed to do.

you would be the one with the tears, ya big softy. charlie almost laughed. almost. he didn't want to give maverick that satisfaction, though, so instead he rolls his eyes. "only in your dreams." sure, he felt a tad bit sad about it; but he'd never admit that to her. maybe not even to himself, it was annoying to admit. what else would you expect, wilde? he thought. she's been a constant in your life since you arrived here. could even say she was a friend. charlie's grimaced slightly. yeah. definitely not saying that out loud.

as always, maverick stands her ground insisting that she could handle convicts. sometimes she really did overestimate herself and god, it was annoying. charlie amused her, as he always did, though. biting the inside of his mouth, eyes scanning the scenery to insure no one else was listening in on her glorified defense and finally she finished, finally, charlie sighed, once more, with silent exasperation before saying the words he always found himself saying, "okay." 

he had a reason, though. they still had to walk a good fifteen minutes under suspicion and undetected. this wasn't like the silly little biddings in town, where they could easily be home by nightfall. there was a chance that if they got caught, they'd be in trouble. and once a they passed, there was an even bigger chance neither were coming back. while he had thought this through, as he always had, maverick was more impulsive. she wasn't there for the befores, only the afters.

charlie began to trek through the quiet city, his hands grasping onto the strap of his duffel bag. "we're going to a place you've never been to, blondie." he says intently, eyes flickering towards the shorter individual beside him. "chances are that if we're caught, we're dead. but even if we're not caught, we might be dead so if that doesn't sound exhilarating to you then you might as well go back home and get back to bed... not that I'm not trying to convince you otherwise." there. he sees a shadow of someone, presumably night watch, cruising down the street. his initial plan was to look like he belonged there, hoped questions wouldn't be raised. but with maverick, that wouldn't be so easy.

he tugs lightly on maverick's shirt, drawing her along with him to the nearest alleyway, breath hitching in his throat. when the watchman passes, his eyes are back on a girl who he hopes has a change of heart. "i'll even walk you."