"You brought this down upon yourself Grey. Yes, the hero knows your name. Not every lady you grab from a date is just going to sit pretty. Some of us are right smart and will knee you in the gut. My name is Rain." She now wrapped her arms around his neck to help her hold onto dear life, settling into his arms. "You may not have said you were charming, but body language precedes your words Monsieur." She sighed. "Where are you taking me?"
(I like the idea alot actually. Rift it is!)
“Oh I didn’t expect you to sit pretty. But o also didn’t expect you to attack me. Especially since you seem to know who I am from your dear hero.” He laughed softly and shook his head “I guess I do deserve that. Again I’m sorry if I scared you, I truly meant no harm to you, Rain.” He said earnestly, glancing down at the woman. “Ah so you think I’m charming? Well that makes one of us, though I doubt I deserve any sort of compliment from you.” He smiled softly “Well first, we’re getting you a pair of shoes. I don’t think I can carry you all night. The rest is a surprise.”
"You act charming at least. We best hurry, for I'd bet my bottom dollar he's hunting for you. He probably has my shoes and headband too. A surprising adventure sounds much better than falling asleep and face planting into my soup." She said with a smile and a gentle laugh, as she settled into his arms. "Also. If a dangerous man were to grab you, and you didn't know his intentions, wouldn't you attack him as well? Really Grey, I expect better then that from you. Be better prepared."
Grey shrugged, not really too worry about Rift finding them soon. “If you’re so bored why continue seeing him? Why not just ditch the man? I’m certain he'd respect your wishes if you ever decided to not see him.” He sighed softly, probably thinking to high of the hero.
“I guess I would, that is if I could match their skill. I would be more successful with getting away as soon as possible instead of stay and fight.” He looked down at her, his smile gone “then you expect too much of me my dear. From what I’m sure Rift has told you time and time again, you shouldn’t be this calm around what you just called ‘a dangerous man.’” He looked away from her as they headed towards a small town, lights and restaurant so alight in the twilights as they readied for their evening patrons, mostly tourists or couples looking for a nice date night
"You aren't heartless. A heartless man would kill me, or throw me down. He wouldn't carry me, and buy me new shoes. Or pay for the debts he's made. And again this was our first date. I wanted free dinner from my favorite restaurant." She cast her eyes upon the smaller city and smiled gently. "I love the boardwalk fair there. It's beautiful at dusk."
Grey simply nodded, not really knowing how to reply to Rain’s statement. He wasn’t heartless, he believed no one truly was but he also wouldn’t call himself the best person to be around. There were better out their than him. He sighed softly and adjusted his hold on Rain, pulling off his jacket and throwing it over her shoulders for warmth. He gazed out into the boardwalk as they neared the small town, a sense of calm washing over him. “It’s one of my favorite places to go when I have free time.” He agreed, stopping for a few moments to just enjoy the view before heading towards a small boutique off the side of the beach
She slipped it on, and then climbed out of his arms. "I can walk. Beaches are made for bare feet and swimming anyways." She stepped into the boutique gracefully, as her quiet and careful nature returned. She immediately began to look upon the cheapest of the shoes, trying to find ones in her size that would match her outfit. The clearance section was pretty spread thin, and so there wasn't a very big selection in the tiny store.
He set her down carefully And followed her inside, nodding to The older woman at the counter. She smiled politely, probably thinking that they were some couple out on a date or something. Grey stayed close to Rain, occasionally glancing over at the door. He wandered over to few racks of clothes, flipping through a few shirts as he waited for Rain to make her choice.
She picked out a simple pair of black shoes with little white fake jewels on the toes, and smiled as she handed them over to the lady at the counter. They hurt her feet and would rather be wearing tennis shoes, but she was used to it. Ballet flats and regular ballet shoes were made the same, but one was made to be broken into for dancing, and the others were meant to not be worn long.
Grey by now had picked out a few black button down shirts to purchase along with Rain’s shoes. He had take off his mask a few moments ago, thinking it wasn’t necessary and probably less suspicious if the upper part of his face wasn’t hidden. He pulled out a wallet and card, handed it to the older woman. “Will this be it?” She asked sweetly handing back the card as well as their purchases. Grey nodded and took the bag of clothes, handing a Rain the shoes so she could put them on
She put on her feet hurting shoes and followed him out, still wearing his jacket with a small smile as she stuck her hand in his pockets, and pulled out a small little ring with a button on it. "Oh how curious…I wonder what this does…"
Grey glanced over at Rain and laughed softly, shaking his head. “I wouldn’t press that if I were you. Who knows, something might explode.” He teased with a laugh. “You all call me the villain but my sisters worse. The little prankster doesn’t know when to give up. The little shock ring in Rains hand was omen of the thousand pranks Greyson’s sister would play on him, knowing he was careless enough to press the button without inspecting what he was actually holding. Just the thought of her brother getting shocked was more entertaining than physically being there to see it. “Catia has what we like to call a twisted sense of humor.”
"Reminds me of an old friend of mine, from yonder years. She was a rather…curious cat. Probably up in New York now, making it big…" She sighed as she twirled around in her shoes, looking about the city lights, as she put the curious ring back in his pocket.
“Hm, I’m glad she’s doing well. What about you? What dreams do you have?” He asked, not really interested but it was something to keep the silence from getting awkward. He shoved his hands in his pocket as they walked around the small town, occasionally gazing out onto the bay.
"You don't care." She said simply. "There's a coldness in your eyes. You won't listen to it, nor take it too heart. So my dreams are about as worthless as the leaves. I will not tell you, for how dare you offend my hard work in such a way." Then she shot off towards the bay. It was an interesting quickness. It was precise, and almost dance like, with careful grace in each step as she headed to the fair.
Grey blinked a few times, completely taken aback by Rain’s accusation. she has a point. with a heavy sigh, grey followed Rain out onto the beach, carefully jogging down the hill to the coast line. Instead of hitting the water, grey broke off towards the boardwalk, pasting by a few fisherman and couples. He leaned against the railing and watched as Rain danced off towards the coast. It wasn’t that he wasn’t interested, he just didn’t know what to do with the information afterwards. It wasn’t like he could help her achieve her goal or anything.
She headed off towards the fair, buying only herself a ticket, and waited by the booth for Grey to catch up. Then suddenly, Rift appeared. "RAIN! There you are mon cher!" He hugged her close. "Are you alright? Where is that dirty mongrel?" "I'm alright. He's taking me to the fair. He bought me new shoes, and is paying for our dinner reservation." "I am sure I can find you better shoes. Here." He handed her the shoes she had been wearing, and helped to put the headband on her gently. "I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner." He slid Greyson's jacket off, and put his own on her, which was over sized and flopped around her. It was adorable in a way as she snuggled into it. "The beach is rather chilly for a night like this. I gave our reservation to an elderly couple who had been waiting in line for a long while. So we'll have to make do. After I find where that no good idiot went and teach him what happens when he steals you away from me."
Grey had been heading back towards the beaches to join Rain at the fair. He’d already gone through the conversation in his head. Ask, no, beg for her forgiveness, and then ask again what her dreams were, promising that he’d try his best to understand why they were so important to her, even if he himself couldn’t imagine himself in her position.
That was until Rift appeared. Grey watched as the hero hugged and coddled Rain, and Rain in returned seemed to enjoy the attention. He should have expected nothing less. She deserved him, he was the hero, he was the one saved people, evidently from people like Grey. Why did he expect a change? And they seemed happy, which was all that mattered. Grey was just some minor inconvenience. One that would be dealt with promptly if he didn’t get out of there. He turned his eyes away from the couple and started to head back towards the sidewalk that lined the beach, hunching his shoulders and ducking his head so the cool wind from the ocean didn’t bother him as much.
Suddenly Rain pushed Rift into the water. "That's for letting him take me! You're boring! We're through! You only talk about yourself and punching Grey in the face! I'm gonna go ride the Ferris Wheel on my own and get my OWN jacket!" And she threw his jacket in the water and stomped off. "Baby wait…let's talk about this!" And he teleported after her, trying to convince her. She was frustrated. "NO! I don't want too! I'll stab you with my heel if you don't back off! You're so fucking BORING! Do you hear me? You have no material to you!" The hero got mad and turned around to see Greyson walking away. "You. It's his fault ISN'T IT! You're just a pawn in his little game. You're probably his sister or even worse, HIS girlfriend!" "Wait n-" But before she could do anything he was racing off after Greyson.
Grey suddenly straightened as the yelling from the beach escalated. He turned slightly, just to make sure everything was alright. He almost regretted that. He feigned left and slipped into the shadows before appearing again behind Rift.
He realized a long time ago Rifts and his powers were very similar. Moving to one spot without being seen. The only difference was that Rift relied on breaking through the dimension to move through space. Greyson willingly let himself be take by the darkness or what some would call the grey area between worlds to travel. Despite having similar abilities, Grey was always the problem Rift wanted to get rid of. Every time Rift opened a break in the dimension, it would leave a tear in the grey area. Enough tears and the grey area would dismantle, meaning no one, not Rift and not Grey would be able to use their abilities. So each night or so, Grey would slip into the grey area and slowly mend the tears. When Rift has realized he couldn’t take the same breaks to places, he blamed Grey for preventing him to do his job.
He took a deep breath, making sure to control his breathing as he once again disappeared into the shadows cast by the shops around him. When he appeared a few feet away from Rift his eyes gave off wisps of black smoke. “First of all, I don’t play with people. Second of all, if she were my sister, I think dating you would have been a great reason to take her away. And if she were my girlfriend, which she’s not, doesn’t that say more about you? Dating another man’s woman? Really dear, I thought you better than that.” He grinned and again moved away from Rifts attempt at an attack. “All I wanted to do was liven things up a bit. I wasn’t going to hurt her or anything. Plus, what better way to show off all your heroics that to save the woman you love from a villain, right? You should be thanking me.” He dropped the little act and glared at Rift, emotionless. “Instead of trying to fight me, maybe try and win her back.” He promptly turned on his heal and started walking away.
"This is YOUR fault! We could've had a nice dinner date, and you go ahead and steal her away. You're the reason she left. Whisking her away, like some damn fairy tale!" He hissed and crossed his arms, brown curly hair flopping into his face, which he quickly smoothed back. "You had to ruin the first date. Why must you ruin everything? And hell no am I thanking you. My heroism will win her back." Rain meanwhile had found that 3 girls from her ballet troupe were at the fair, and had joined up with them, glad she had brought a little money purse which had been tucked away in the pockets of her dress.
He shrugged, and smirked over his shoulder. “What better first date than one that shows off your heroism?” He asked, the smoke wisps disappearing from his eyes. “Have fun at the carnival!” Grey walked off back towards the boardwalk. He planned to come back later with Catia, both to retrieve his jacket and to enjoy the rest of The evening with his little sister.
He sighed as he watched Grey disappear, and figured that a big fight wasn't worth it now. He headed back too the boardwalk to see if he could win Rains heart back. The proved fatal, since he was still dripping wet, mad, and wouldn't stop talking about himself through her arguments. It looked like they were doomed from the start. The girls from her troupe were of no help to Aaron, siding with Rain. He ended up going home defeated. It would be about midnight when Rain finally walked home. She was alone, since the girls lived in the small city, and they all had lives to get on with. She assured the girls she was fine, and continued on in the dark, keeping an eye on the shadowed alleyways, scared and meek now.
Grey had gone home to his apartment, picking up apology chocolates for his sister.
“I do hope you know…this doesn’t pardon you for being late.” Catia called as she lounged on the couch, munching on the chocolates as she waited for her brother to change.
He came out in one of the shirts he had bought as we’ll a small some tight black jeans. “I know, but that’s why we’re going to the carnival.” He said with a smile, swiping one of her chocolates. She slapped his hand away and pouted. “Fine, But no promises I’ll have fun.”
He flipped down beside her and pulled on his shoes “aw why not kitten? Too old for the carnival?”
“Grey I’m 17…there is no ‘too old’ for fun!” She argued, hugging her big brother and bouncing about. He smiled softly at his little sister and nodded “let’s go then.”
She waved to Grey as the two passed her, and continued on her way home. She walked in the door to her second story apartment, and was greeted by a turtle shell cat, and her little sister fast asleep on her couch. "Aww Alice…" She turned off the Looney Tunes her little sister was watching, and picked her up, placing her in bed. Her parents weren't great, and so she took full custody over her little sister, and loved caring for her.
Grey whipped around when he saw Rain walking back towards what he could only assume was home. He took another glance just to make sure it was her before hesitantly turning to his own sister, conflicted. She gently touched his arm ”You poor ghost. Go, I’ll head home.”
But what about the carnival? I promised you-“
“Greyson, if you don’t make sure that young woman is safe I swear I’ll never forgive you now go. We can go to the carnival later.”
He sighed softly and nodded “stay safe kitten, I’ll be back soon.” He pressed a kiss to her brow and went after Rain, disappearing into the shdows before reappearing a few feet away. He eventually mad even it to her apartment or at least what’s he hoped was hers. He knocked softly and waited “Rain it’s me, I was just checking on you, I didn’t see you with Aaron. Is everything alright?”
She came out in a black bunny onsie, her little sister sleepily clinging to her side. "Oh. Hello Grey." "Cloudy whose that" She smiled gently. "A friend Alley Cat." Her little sister was indeed in a cat onsie. She was only 8, and a jumping jelly bean when not exhausted. She hugged her sister close and rocked her. "Just go back to sleep." She pet her sisters head. "Why are you here?" She said a bit gruffly, obviously protective and suspicious, especially with the side of town she had to live on.
(Bump!)
“I-i-“ why was he here? Obviously she had made it home safely. She wasn’t in any danger. Hell if she was, she could hold her own. He took a deep breath. “I didn’t see you with him when you were walking back so I assumed you two werent on speaking terms. I just wanted to apologies for yesterday. Despite Aaron being..well Aaron, he’s still a good person. You deserve someone like him. And I’m afraid I put your relationship with him in jeopardy. I’m sorry for that.” He sighed softly, having never really had the urge to apologies to anyone about his actions. He glanced at the young girl in Rain’s arms and smiled softly. “Well, uhm that’s it. I guess I’ll leave now. Sorry for interrupting…again.” He offered a lopsided smile before backing off and backtracking our of the apartment building