Ash had oil and grim on his body, his exposed chest smeared with it. He didn't mind, though as he was doing what he loved, fixing cars. He had a break in a minute or so and then Jack would take over until he was ready to go again. For some reason, he enjoyed the work more then he enjoyed the breaks. He couldn't pick why, probably because he could focus on the task at hand and not think about anything else.
he felt a nudge at his leg and he pushed himself out from under the car, smiling up at his mentor, long time friend and boss, Jack. They exchanged few words but Jack threw a small towel at him, telling him to clean off a little if he intended to go out. Alex just waved him off, taking a bottle of water and the towel outside the shop.
Red was careful with where she stepped, the sidewalk cracked quite a bit. Taking out her phone, she double checks her money. That should be enough… She walked with a purpose suddenly aware that there were people watching her. As she turned the corner, she could feel hear footsteps behind her. Of course, she knew how to hold her own, but that didn't stop her heart rate to pick up a little.
A quick glance behind her told her that two seemingly full grown men were walking not too far behind. She walked around town so much, it didn't bother her as much as it did other young girls, but she still made sure to pick up the pace a little. Just past the auto-shop….
Ash drained his water bottle, through the plastic on the floor without a care in the world. He rubbed the rag on his face, cleaning up the dirt and oil that lay there but didn't bother with his chest, he'd just shower after his work out later. He rested against the wall, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. He took a hit, letting the smoke blow out slowly and carelessly. He ran a hand through his hair a second later, messing up the brown strands before taking another hit.
Red obviously did not have her size to her advantage, but she did, however, have agility. If needed, she could dart through a back road or something, quickly losing her tail that seemed to continuously be getting closer. Their steps were loud- they didn't seem to care if they were heard. In fact, after a few moments of her wondering of how close they were, she began to hear the calls.
"Hey, Missy! You lost?"
She ignored them and continued even faster now. Their chuckles seemed to echo through the street. No one seemed to be around, but with a quick glance she saw a man sitting on the steps smoking. She didn't necessarily trust him either.
Ash, through the cloud of smoke, noticed her and the men that were trailing her. He read the situation quickly, knowing those creeps wouldn't leave her alone until they got what they wanted. He quickly stomped out his cigarette, leaving his other things behind and jogged up to her, "Babe! I thought you were never going to show! Did you forget that my break started five minutes ago?" He said loud enough for the two to hear.
He stood behind her, almost like a shield between her and the men. He leaned in a little, looking like he was going to kiss her but instead muttered, "Just go with it, they'll leave you alone if they think you're with someone, especially a boyfriend."
The man startled her at first. She stood there, unsure of exactly what he was doing until he told her. Relief struck through her. He was right though. As soon as she put on a fake smile to match with his little charade, they seemed to back off a little. Not all of the way though. She leaned back after the "kiss" seemed an average length.
"Sorry, I forgot. My dad kept me back for a second." That made them back off. They made their way past the "couple" and were on their way to go find someone else to harass.
Ash made sure that they were completely out of sight before he took a step back, giving her room, “Stars, I’m sorry. I didn’t know what else to do and those assholes looked persistent.”
He ran a hand through his hair slowly, “Nice to meet you, Miss. I’m Ash.” He smiled lazily at the ground before looking at her again.
"Yeah, thanks for that," she responded. "I could have handled myself though." She knew she couldn't have, but she was trying not to be the "damsel in distress." This damsel would much prefer the tower of solitude than the castle.
She cleared her throat before looking back up at him. "I'm Red. Real name's Mackenzie, but don't call me that." She added a bit of a threatening tone to it, not entirely returning the smile. She still wasn't sure exactly how much she could trust him.
Ash raised his hand in a surrender motion at her threatening tone, a light chuckle escaping him as he did so. He liked this chick, she was different then the others he'd met before and it was nice and refreshing, "I woulnd't dream of it, Red. It's a pleasure to meet you. Sorry, I look like a mess but uh, I've been working all morning." He rubbed at the back of his neck, smiling sheepishly.
Red crossed her arms over her chest. "Yeah, you too." It wasn't until he mentioned how he looked like a mess when she really took a look at him. You don't look like to much of a mess to me. She quickly pushed the thought away. No attachments. "It's fine. Nothing wrong with doing your job."
Ash hummed his agreement, looking over his shoulder at the auto-shop and grinning, “Yeah, you don’t tend to care if you’re a mess when doing something you like,” He shrugged, looking back at her, “What about you? You have a job? In school, collage or something like that?”
"None of the above. Graduated a year early, and I don't feel like leaving for college quite yet." That was true. Not for college at least. "I've got a small job though. It's right over there." She turned and pointed to the corner store at the end of the street. It wasn't her favorite place she'd ever worked at, but she needed money at the moment. "This your entire life right here?" She motioned to the shop.
(Me realising I’ve been using the wrong name the entire time and going back to change it oops)
Ash nodded, “Yup,” He said, popping the ‘p’ “Been my entire life since I was seventeen.” He explained, shrugging afterwards, “Only thing keeping me sane.” He rubbed at the back of his neck, sighing. Hopefully she wouldn’t ask questions as to why as that was a story he didn’t want to tell.
(XD It's chill)
"Ah, okay. I can understand that." The thought of leaving was the only thing keeping her sane and from leaving without a plan. While she wanted an adventure, she knew better than to leave without the right supplies and such. She gathered her hair brought it to the side, and let it fall behind her back. "Well, thanks again for that." She began to walk away, suddenly realizing that talking strangers was bad if you wanted to go without a sound. As soon as someone showed up with her picture, she was sure he'd say something.
Ash narrowed his eyes at her back, tilting his head to the side as he watched her go, not really knowing what else to say or if he should even call her back. Eventually, he turned back into the shop with a frown, trying to shake the thought of her away. It was just one conversation and he doubted he'd ever see her again, right?
(Shall we skip to another meet?)
(Alright, cool. Any ideas?)
(Um… maybe Ash gets into a fight and Red watches and goes to help him after the attackers are gone?)
(Ooo yeah. Who shall start?)
(Coolioso,whenever is chill XD . I'm pretty sure we live in different time zones, so sorry for the late replies.)
(All good, it happens a lot with me on this website so don't apologise)
The sun was setting over the horizon, casting a hazy orange glow over the town. It was quiet out, most people having gone home from work or school a while ago and were settling in for the evening and currently, Ash was heading home to do just that. After a long day of manual labor, all he wanted to do was eat and go to sleep but, luck clearly wasn't on his side.
As he turned the corner, he was pulled into an alleyway and immediately punched in the stomach, causing him to double over and cough. He looked up, only to see six, big men in front of him. Now, Ash wasn't a small man, he was quite muscular but these men were a lot bigger.
"A'right kid, give us ya phone, wallet and any other 'spensive items ya have on ya." One of them held out his expectantly while Ash just chuckled and shook his head.
"Now why would I-"
He was cut off by a kick to the shin, causing him to fall to the ground and grunt a little. Still, he refused to give the men what they wanted, and the real beating began. Ash didn't even have an opening to hit them back.
(Sorry! I was catching up in school and life and all that jazz!)
Red was out and about. She liked to be outside when the sun was setting. Everyday it seemed to be a different color, and today it happened to be one of her favorites. The orange, hazy glow tended to give off a nostalgic affect. The feeling was about the same as butterflies roaming around in her stomach. As she walked down the street, a loud "bang" sounded her. Any other person probably have ran off back to their houses, but Red didn't want to go home yet. Instead, she began trying to find the source of the sound, becoming more aware of the grunts and rustling in an alley nearby.
(All good, makes sense :D)
The fight was easily in the men’s favour, obviously as it was six against one. Alex didn’t have a chance to get a punch in, though he knocked one off his feet hit only just. He knew he had at least a broken rib, maybe a sprained ankle and lots of blood and bruises. The beating went on for about five minutes before the group heard Red heard their way and they bolted, leaving a broken Alex in the alleyway.
