I'm (Not) Okay [Jayd + Piers]

[Mayhem]

--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay--

6 April 2015

* Mayhem sat in a nice little corner stall of a nice little pub. A large mug, fries and chicken tenders and no crazy women! .. Well, besides the few stumbling around on their stools at the bar. But those ones had nothing to do with him. Though, he was surprisingly spaced out and not in the way he usually was, being attached to his computer. No. He was simply staring at the food on his plate, ignoring the few humans that actually inhabited the Live House.

* Piers rubbed his sweaty palms on the thighs of his jeans and looked out into the night. He stood outside of the pub for the last twenty minutes, scoping out the streets for any sign of his supposed client. After his third cigarette, he gave up, squashed out the remainder of the still-burning cig, and entered into the pub. He didn't make eye contact as he moved through the cramped interior, at least not until he saw a little fellow looking a little too uncomfortable. And in a corner booth no less. Piers tugged the opposing chair away from the table and slid into the seat, hunching over the table so as to have some privacy. "I was waiting for you outside for almost a half hour."

* Mayhem continued to stare at his food for a moment. While his vampiric senses did pick up the approaching human, his mind was stuck in it's idling thoughts. When his every rushing brain finally caught up with his senses though? His head whipped up to look at the other man. He then looked around. What was he looking around for? To see if this man had men with a straight jacket following him. What it probably looked like? Making sure no one was paying attention, "Who asked you to wait outside in this weather, you weirdo?"

* Piers stared at the other man, his face blank to show his unhappiness with the sudden sass. "I'm not the one waiting for someone to come and cut his chicken nuggets up for him," he countered. He sighed, his eyes darting around the rest of the pub. No one paid them any attention, so he reached into the right pocket of his heavy coat and pulled out what looked like a change purse. "Let's make this fast. You aren't the last on my list and I swear this cop's been following me around for the last few days."

* Mayhem narrowed his eyes at the object. Oh god, this guy was.. Jayd leaned forward in the booth, rolling his eyes. This should be a laugh. Jayd idly slipped two grand under the table to the other man like it was nothing. Which, for the business minded young man it wasn't. Besides, he didn't know how much or what the real client had requested, or the dealer's going rate.

* Piers boldly placed the coin purse down on the table, freeing up both hands. He took the money from under the table and tucked it into the pocket of his coat, but he was distracted. The food on the gent's plate looked tasty, so he reached forward to pluck one of the chicken tenders from the small mountain of food. Piers grinned as if he were thanking the man for the food donation, and then proceeded to squirt some ketchup along the length of the breaded chicken. "It's all there," he spoke, talking in between bites. "You want to give it a go here? The night's young." He wiggled his brows and shoved the rest of the chicken tender into his mouth. He had to lean forward in his seat to grab one of the napkins on the table, but he managed.

* Mayhem quirked an eyebrow at the Chicken thief. Being this relaxed, how many times did he get caught as a Dealer? Jayd focused on his Enchanting Powers just as a precaution in case of any nosies and gave it a try. Despite not being a frequent abuser he'd done enough with Lil. He took a gulp of the mug of beer he had, rubbing at his sinuses, "You're really bad at your job. Though, you got more than your real client would have given."

* Piers snorted. The man finished wiping his hands off and balled the napkin up, leaving it on the table for an employee to collect once he and the man across from him left the table. "I'm great at my job. I got a pretty big tip, didn't I?" The smirk slowly spread across his lips, staying there even as he reached a hand into his pocket to rifle with the stack of crisp bills. It took a moment for him to decide if he wanted to stay or go, but he chose to stay in his seat. Piers grabbed a pint of beer off a passing tray, held the glass up as if he were toasting to the stranger, and took a long and fulfilling drink. The refreshing brew left some foam on his upper lip, which he licked away. "Since you aren't my real client," he sighed, quite happy with his beer, "I'll let you know I cut those and you're going to enjoy that first one for a very, very long time."

* Mayhem had the feeling it backfired on him. He expected the other man to book it out of there like a deer caught in headlights. Jayd kept his cool fairly well though, eating one of the chicken tenders and downing it with a gulp of his mug. It should be okay... As long as he leaves within twelve to twenty minutes before it takes hold of his system and makes him behave like a mewling kitten. Jayd focused his eyes on the other man, squinting them at the other, observingly. "Since I'm not your real client," he put the coin purse with the rest in his pocket, "I'll let you know you have piss poor business sense. What made you assume I was your client anyways?"

* Piers laughed, a loud and almost obnoxious sound compared to the low chattering coming from around them and the music pouring out of the speakers. It felt good to laugh though, even if it was at an insult. "My piss poor business sense got me this far," he grinned, bringing his glass to his lips for another taste of the brew. "Between us," he stopped to take another drink, "you don't fit in here. It's a tiny place, charming in its own way, you know. You look like a suit and tie." With his drink back on the table, Piers reached into his pocket and took out a single pill, popping it into his mouth without a single word. Maybe he had a headache. "You," he stopped again to chase it with a swig of his beer, "have way more money than you need, judging by the cash in my pocket. Probably a control freak, since you can't just enjoy this meal we're sharing." He winked then and snagged a fry from the plate of food.

* Mayhem always had some retort or another. However, it seemed as if Jayd would have to choke on his words because he hadn't been expecting to have to respond to something like that. He narrowed his eyes at the other. His mind was already beginning to fog, but he kept his suspiciousness of the other at the for-front to try and keep some semblance of focus, "How much money I have is my own deal because I made it all myself from the ground up. So what if I'm a control freak, OCD just means I have an organization. And -you- look like your typical relaxed nothing matters one way or the other so you can live your life however you please type. Shouldn't you be in some rave, rather than meeting clients at a small Live House?" Jayd patted his pocket for his wallet and pulled it out to glance in it before putting it back. Eve had put a 'Lost Child' tag in it. Normally, he'd feel insulted. But in this case, it may end up coming in handy. Which was closer... One of his shops... That apartment... or that... house.... not a home. Jayd's eyes rolled back in exasperation and defeat, shoving the plate to the middle of the table, "Smacking your hand away isn't going to work, is it?"

* Piers immediately thought of his bitter little supervisor. Someone always had to call him names or point out his obvious flaws. He did enjoy raves and he would have rather been at one, but it was too late to trudge across town just to have a few hours of euphoric dancing followed by a day of vomiting. "I don't meet my clients in a place like that. It's obvious. Besides, the raves don't have good food." He took a few fries then and savored them, somehow sobered due to the turn in the conversation. When he finished the fourth and final fry he'd captured, he cleared his throat. "Look, I'm not going to ask you why you came here or what it is you're hiding from, because something's going on with you," he motioned toward the man across from him, "or you wouldn't have taken something a total stranger gave you. Be someone else tonight. You can pick up your baggage on the come down." He rubbed his palms together to clear some of the crumbs and extended a fist for a bump. "The name's Piers."

* Mayhem pursed his lips. He rolled his head back, languidly, before dropping it back down to stare the other in the eyes. As painfully irritating as it was to admit, the man wasn't totally wrong. He rubbed the back of his neck before finally going ahead and bumping his fist against the other's, "Jayd - Jayden. Believe it or not. This is totally my type of place. I don't do up tight and social and uppity and blablabla well. I'm pretty bad at that part of business. Money's great, but it can't beat sitting back and playing video games until you realize you have two hours to finish your school work."

* Piers let his blue eyes wander over Jayden. "So you're a nerd hidden behind a business suit," Piers deduced, his tone light to try and show he wasn't insulting the boy. He finished the last of his beer and nudged the empty glass toward the end of the table. One was a good start. He was stingy, so he expected to leave the pub and enjoy the remaining cans of beer at his apartment. "I'm working on Call of Duty again. I want to get through all the games I have, maybe find something else." He fumbled around for a moment as he searched for his pack of cigarettes and his lighter. "You want a smoke?" Piers pointed the open end of the pack at Jayd, the lighter clasped in his other hand.

* Mayhem twitched a bit but he forced it into a goofy grin, "One of a kind." Jayd finished off some of the fries and another chicken tender before eyeing the offered cigarette. His eyes rolled back up to the top of his head like in thought, "Three vices in one night? Why not. Not gonna remember it in the morning anyways." He grabbed one of the cigs as he referred to it, the beer, and the other content that had entered his system. Putting the butt between his lips, he let it hang there, loosely, rubbing at his temples.

* Piers raised himself out of the chair and leaned over the table. He held the lighter's flickering flame to the tip of Jayd's cigarette and then followed suit with his own. The cigarette dangled for a minute as he chuckled. "That's the spirit, Jayd." There were glasses and a bottle of whiskey on the empty table next to him, so he leaned back to grab the bottle and one of the glasses. "I've still got a little bit before mine kicks in. Do you want to go bowling?" He was in the middle of pouring a shot when he asked the question, as if it weren't the most outlandish thing to say at the moment.

* Mayhem took a puff of the cancer stick between his lips. It wasn't like it would kill him. He watched the other steal the bottle and one of the glasses and snorted at the suggestion, "Bowling, my ***. I'll be lucky to remember my way home!" He leaned back against the booth and glanced around at the thinned crown from the originally small crowd, digging his wallet out. He did the math in his head, surprisingly for how fuzzy it was to put the correct amount down.

* Piers raise the glass to his lips and downed the shot. He cringed at first and then finished with a smack of his lips. "Ahh," he sighed, a smile on his face once more. Alcohol was always a weakness of his and he enjoyed it even more with company. "Come on. Live a little. One game. It's on me," Piers continued, now less interested in continuing with shots of whiskey. All of his plans for the evening were blown when he wasted time going out of his way to the pub they were currently sitting in. "I'm a shitty bowler, so you'll win without even trying." He took a long drag from his cigarette and turned his head, blowing the smoke to the side so it didn't go into the other man's face.

* Mayhem rolled his head back and forced himself to his feet, making sure he had everything by patting himself down and looking at the booth seating he was in. Upon confirmation everything was accounted for, he slid out of the booth and languidly tilted his head, taking a drag of his cig. "You actually know any places around here or am I going to have to pick a bowling alley?"

* Piers planted his feet on the floor, gaining the leverage to push the wooden chair away from the table. He'd had a few drinks even before he got to the pub, but he held them well. Standing beside the table, he stretched until he heard his back give off a satisfying little 'pop' and then he was back in the moment again. "I know places around here. There's the mall in Gullsborough. It's not too far." He was starting to see a halo around the lights in the pub and it wasn't just because of the unusual fixtures. Without saying anything, he waved a hand toward Jayd and shimmied past a few other patrons to get to the door of the establishment.

* Mayhem followed the other with a roll of his eyes. He'd been raised her. He used the chance of slipping past the other pub-goers to stretch out until he made it out the door and tried to orient himself. Years of running around this town weren't going to disappear just because of a little booze and substance, right? "The... Station is... West of here?"

* Piers looked over his shoulder, a bewildered and almost amused expression coming over his features. Jayden was obviously feeling the effects, his mind more than likely muddled. Piers liked to describe his trips as being underwater or being in outer space, but every one was a little different than the last. “I’ve got it.” He didn’t want to grab at the man he’d just met, so he simply turned toward the right and led the way to Westwall station. Something told him he didn’t need to check to make sure Jayden was following, not that he would have cared anyway. If he ended up at the bowling alley by himself, then so be it. It just would have been a waste. Halfway to the station, he had to stop and think of where they were going. The few people around them began to walk a little slower, their faces distorted in the lights of the street lamps. “****,” he muttered, drawing the word out. “Are you seeing this?” His footsteps slowed as he reached the station and he found everything around him so much more interesting than before. He had begun his ascent toward ecstasy.

* Mayhem would follow of course. It was probably a good idea on the man's part to not grab ahold of Jayd. He had use to be quite the cuddle-bug until he became obsessed with work. Who knew what the current mood brought on by active ingredients in his body might cause. Jayd had found himself to be a very odd vampire. He could see his decaying reflection, he could eat and taste it, and he seemed to be affected by toxins just like any human. Not that he was complaining. He was perfectly happy with the way he was and the light feeling he had at the moment in time. He blinked, focusing in on the other man and stretching out his steps to catch up, "I have eyes." As if that were a yes.

[Piers (DELETED 6390)]

--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay--

* Piers fumbled around in his pockets until he produced a pass to flash at the station’s attendant. He glanced over at his newfound friend and then forked over a few bills, trying his best to be discreet. The fare was cheap and he just noticed how crisp the bills felt on his fingertips. Had they always been so smooth? The bills and the loose change were chilled by the night air, cool to his heated hands. “I’m glad you can see. You’ve got brilliant eyes. Let’s go.” It wasn’t meant as a compliment, nor as an insult. He boarded the train and took the first available seats. The train was practically empty, so no one even looked up at the addition of new passengers.

* Mayhem had followed suit with the other man and flopped into the empty seat next to the other, rolling his head back. He let his eyes close with a hum, "Now why didn't I think of turning to this earlier?" It felt pretty nice not caring about the things that usually plagued his mind. He glanced around the train as it started moving, ".... Floating?" If he were in his full senses, he would be so ashamed of the illogical question that he'd dig a hole to die in.

* Piers mimicked Jayden by tilting his own head back to stare up at the ceiling of the compartment. When the train jerked and began moving, he gripped the seat as if the earth were moving beneath him. He couldn’t help laughing. It was more like a giggle, but he didn’t even care. “You’ve never done this before? You’ve been missing out. It’s,” he stopped to sigh, a blissful one at that, “it’s great. ****’s not always fun on the downfall, but it’s great now. I’ll take care of you tonight.” He leaned over to bump shoulders with Jayden, but he couldn’t quite make it with the way the seats were. It was the thought that counted. “I usually walk high, but this is good. I don’t mind this.”

* Mayhem blinked, once, twice. And then he laughed, "Pfff, haha. What's with that? You'll take care of me? Save those lines for when you meet a pretty girl!" He pushed his fist against the other's shoulder, though it was a light action rather than a violent one. Thankfully Jayd didn't tend to train himself to use the same brute force other vampires did. He snorted, "I may have to add you to my phone. This feels pretty relaxing. I use to do stuff like this with Lil before things went all shitty." He stretched out in his seat, grinning like there was absolutely nothing wrong in his world -for the time.

* Piers snorted, his head bobbing slightly from side to side as the train jerked. He had tried the line on his ex-girlfriend, Kelsey, and she’d expected him to do just that, but he’d bailed when he had the chance to prove himself. “You paid me pretty well. Next time’s on me,” Piers replied, his eyes drifting closed. The movement of the train coupled with the humming of his body made him feel like he was being jostled in a crowd on the dancefloor of a club. “If it feels so good, and it does,” he grinned, “then why give it up? Nothing is better than this.” He truly believed that. He didn’t have a care in the world, not until the morning after. And even then, he picked up the pieces and moved the **** along.

* Mayhem tried to remember the reason why he had given up recreationals -for the most part. His mind seemed to be too euphoric to want to deal with such care, but he did manage to pull the answer some, "I'd **** up my businesses. I suppose I have enough money I could retire early and live happily in ... whatever land it was... Wonderland! Yeaah, there."

* Piers brought a leg up, holding it tightly to his chest. His worn sneaker slid over the edge of the seat until he found a perfect balance. Surprisingly, he was comfortable. His other leg was bouncing, the heel of that foot constantly making contact with the floor of the compartment. “You aren’t happy?” Piers had only heard a portion of the response, so he put together a whole meaning based on those couple of words.

* Mayhem snorted, looking at the guy's bouncy foot like it was the most interesting thing in the world. He put his legs up so he could wrap his arms around them and lay his head against the knee to continue staring at the moving appendage. He had a ditzy little grin on his face as he rolled his eyes in a big, exaggerated manner. One hand came to make a pretend motion of his brain blowing out, "Not for a lonnnnnggg time. This is the best I've felt in ages. It's completely great. Like. Could get hooked to feeling this happy. But it's just one of those things, yanno? I'm a mature responsible adult now, I can't just self destruct just because nothing in my life is going right. No one would survive like that. It'd be funny as hell though."

* Piers nodded along to Jayden’s words, as if he truly understood the deep meaning behind them. The man wasn’t exactly happy, yet wasn’t willing to do what needed to be done to correct the problem. It didn’t make sense. Nothing made sense. “Mature responsible adults need release. When’s the last time you got laid, man?” It was blunt, but he didn’t care. He was always that blunt. He got even better after a few pills and a few shots.

* Mayhem normally Jayd would choke on the words that hadn't even been his and throw a fit over how rude and intrusive it was. But as he was? He just nuzzled his face into the crook of his arm, since his arms were holding his legs and his legs were being makeshift pillows, "Never. Women want to coddle me. Women want to protect me. Women want to love me. Women think I am cute and cuddly. Women do not want to do me." He grinned, a dorky grin, as if he should be proud women think of him like a little pet rabbit.

* Piers turned his head so he could stare at the younger man. He wasn’t sure what to say at that point and thinking of something appropriate would have left him exhausted. A good response was impossible. “You’re sucking it all in, aren’t you?” Piers tilted his head back and laughed, a sudden and obnoxious sound. His foot slid off the edge of his seat and he planted both of them firmly only the floor. When the train gave another jerk, his hip slammed against the side of his seat and he started cursing. “Hell. Ah man,” he groaned, “roughing the passer. I think we’re here.” He didn’t have to say anything else because the doors to the compartment opened out onto the streets of the Gullsborough district.

* Mayhem choked on the man’s words and was about to reply with a teasingly snarky comeback when he found himself flopped face first by the sudden pull of the train stopped. The vertigo it gave was one hell of a ride. He quickly picked himself up, dusted himself around, and like a dork glanced around as if ‘no one saw that!’ despite the fact Piers was one of the few people other than him on and in that particular compartment. He grinned, making an X with his two index fingers, “Iiiii don’t suck anything, man! Unless it’s one of those orange sherbert push up things. Or a popsicle… Or….” Jayd trailed off thinking of all the lovely junk food that you actually did have to suck to ingest. He blinked back to his thoughts and pointed to the doors, “Le’s’go before they shut!” And out he darted, like a five year old trying to race.

* Piers looked after Jayd with wide eyes. There were so many implications in the last few sentences that he didn’t know whether Jayden meant to be perverted or whether the lights had long gone out in the boy’s mind. He forced himself to his feet and slowly made his way off the train, much more content with taking his time. When the doors of the train closed behind him, Piers fished around in his hooded sweatshirt for his pack of cigarettes, his body already craving the nicotine, but he fumbled and ended up dropping both the pack and his lighter on the asphalt of the Gullsborough road. “Slow down there, cupcake.” Piers stopped to recover his property and then he set off after his companion, a cigarette dangling from the corner of his lips.

* Mayhem paused to look back at the man when he was told to slow down. In any normal case, Jayd would be throwing a glare at the man for calling him cupcake. But… certain things given? All he could amount to do was fall on his *** laughing at the fact the other had dropped the pack and the lighter. What was so amusing about it? Who the **** knew. Jayd probably wouldn’t know himself. Maybe it was just the amusement of the clumsy act. Jayd snorted something akin to a rather unmanly ‘gigglesnort’. Getting himself stood back up, “You want to beat me at bowling with that kind of hand-eye coordination?”

* Piers closed his thumb and index finger around the exposed portion of filter and pulled the cigarette from his mouth. He didn’t know what to say to Jayden’s sudden lack of coordination, so he just watched the boy try and recover. What was so amusing about dropping his **** on the ground? Even as he tried to think about the humor, he started to laugh. “And you’re rolling all over the ground. Come on,” he grinned, walking right by Jayden to lead the rest of the way to the mall. The same familiar lazy steps came back onto the scene. Everything about that night, about that moment, was beautiful and thrilling, even though there was nothing particularly unusual about the night. “I’m a brilliant bowler,” Piers had to add as an afterthought. When he finally got to the entrance of the mall, he opened one of the doors. One hand on the handle of the door and his foot pressed against the bottom, he took one last drag on his cigarette and then brushed the cherry tip against the side of the building. Piers tipped his head back and let out one last stream of smoke, savoring the last taste before he went into the stuffy interior of the building. Just before the door closed behind him, he flicked the rest of his unsmoked cigarette into one of the mall’s decorative bushes.

* Mayhem let his eyes flicker to the man as he walked by. Jayd moved to follow, pausing momentarily as a wiff of wet iron scent hit his nostrils. The pause lasted only that moment, however. Jayd was afflicted with having lost his fangs and he was not one to drink from a person anyways. He preferred to pretend it was tomato juice in a cup. His mind, full of it’s curiosities, wondered about the vampires that had a harder time. Some in controlling their blood lust, other’s in the fact they seemed incapable of standing the idea of drinking blood. Jayd was, luckily, a comfortable in between. He was not so ravage that he could not control himself, neither was he so guilt-ridden that he could not stand it even in a cup. Jayd smiled, ditzily as the woman and the little girl -who had gotten a splinter in her little hand- walked by and wandered back to catching up with Piers, “I am an awesome bowler. You will rue this challenge.”

* Piers had to dodge a few people as he entered the lanes. The only downside to bowling came in the form of rented shoes and borrowed bowling balls; he wasn’t into the sport enough to get any of the equipment for himself. “Let’s skip the shoes and play in our socks. Come on,” Piers encouraged, nodding toward one of the free lanes. The bumpers were already up on quite a few of the lanes, but he purposely picked one of the lanes without them. There were balls waiting and the scores had just been cleared by the computer system. Everything beckoned him toward the spot.

* Mayhem followed the other and blinked but nodded. They were going to skip paying? Jayd would usually balk at that. Now, however. He just wanted to bowl. He didn’t even know why. It just seemed like such a great idea at this current time. Jayd followed along and started pulling his shoes off as he walked. It wasn’t like the flimsy as **** shoes bowling alleys offered protected your feet from the ball dropping on them anyways. Jayd sat his shoes on the bench and went to steal one of the balls, “Ready to lose?”

* Piers sat down in one of the bowling alley’s plastic bucket seats and proceeded to yank his canvas sneakers from his feet. He didn’t bother untying the laces, since they’d been tied since he bought the shoes. He nudged the footwear under the seat and then slid across the floor to the lane. Since Jayden took one of the balls, Piers had a few left to choose one, all of them of different weights. He snagged a colorful ball near the back and tested it out, mostly just to have something to do with his hands. “I’m already winning.” He stepped up, bent down, and gently rolled the ball down the alley. The ball became a blur of black and blue as it tumbled over and over again. “******* fantastic, if I say so myself,” he laughed, resting on his knees near the end of their lane.

* Mayhem snorted at the ‘already winning comment’. Competitive little tart that he was, and without any desire to hide it at the moment. Jayd went to stand behind the other, inspecting his own bowling ball, “Luck! Absolute luck! It’s because of those damned arms! But even if mine aren’t that thick, the noodle-ness makes them more flexible for a more pliable throw!” ...Noodle-ness? Jayd would not want to remember this night. At all. But unfortunately, he probably would. Maybe not, hopefully not. Jayd gave a few practice swings while he waited for the other to get out of the way, “What do you do anyways?”

* Piers turned his head to look back at the other man. He had to roll himself out of the way, but he stayed on the wooden portion, unwilling to return to the plastic seating. What did he do? How did he spend his time? Who was he? Why did he exist? Piers thought about these questions as he waited for Jayden to take a turn. “I fix things. Cars. I,” he stopped and held up both hands, miming a wrench motion and a hammering motion. “I fix up old cars.” There. He’d finally put his thoughts together. “What do you do?”

* Mayhem thought the question over and snorted. What didn’t he do? His first business was very successful with all genders. His second business was successful with women. His third business? Was turning out to be a clunker. He diversified his business ventures, “Primarily? I create robotic pets with artificial intelligence. I have two other businesses, but one is geared toward the female audience and the third is… not so great. I’m going to have to liquify it to save my assets.” In truth, Jayd could probably make it work, somehow. But… It wasn’t really his thing. It was his previous thrall’s cup of tea. He threw the ball and glanced at Piers, “Wanna go see where I make the Robotics?”

* Piers immediately of a robotic dog or a robotic dinosaur. If he weren’t so far gone, he might have laughed at the idea of a little guy like Jayden pushing robots for a living. Once the ball reached the end of its course, Piers forced himself to his feet and slid along the lane to gather their shoes. He didn’t even answer as to whether or not they were going. He didn’t have to. Piers was down for anything and everything in his current state. When he came back with their shoes, he handed off one pair and then spent some time pulling on his own. “Let’s go see your toys, man.” Piers ended the sentence by pulling on his second shoe and steadying himself on his feet.