Ouat things

Master of the Underhanded Deed

Kay = Mayor Chern, the man who had once been Chernabog, only put the best in his interior cabinet. Hanna Queens, who also ran the ever popular flower shop Queens Roses, was in charge of keeping the park beautiful and the streets litter free. Billy Sykes, the owner of Sykes Automotive and Mechanics, was in charge of licensing cars in town. Millie Cent, one of the older women in town, ran event planning. Morty Mosker, one of the chiefs of staff at St. Walt’s, made sure the public knew of health scares. Lucas Nottingham, the police chief, stood by Mayor Chern. Then there was Stuart Dickens.

Stuart, while in the mayor’s top brass, was a tad more in it for himself than the others. Stuart was in charge of collecting rent from most of the businesses and even homes. Yes, sometimes he pocketed a few dollars on the side to line his own wallet but prices stayed consistent. He didn’t expect anyone to object to his earnings because he had Mayor Chern in his back pocket. Yes, wealth was his destiny.

Yet, he didn’t know why he spent time at the small café inside of Ralph’s Arcade, such as he was doing now. He had no interest in the arcade games as they buzzed, whirred, and spat tickets out to lucky winners. He was a large man and couldn’t fit in the cars of the rack track next door. No, he preferred the café where he could get a decent cup of warm tea, Papa Bear’s only had the iced sort, and not know anyone. Stuart sat, as he always did, alone watching the groups of friends. The people who thought he was a master at the heart of all underhanded deeds of Yensidia.

They didn’t know how wrong they were.

Me = Even though he was inside the young artist known only as Dante sat with the hood of his precious hoodie pulled up. His cup of water sat untouched as he worked hard on the art pad before him, he seemed to be in almost in a trance as he tried to make the picture in his mind show up on the paper.

Everyone knew the young man had no memories or past and the only way he could get by was the beautiful paintings and drawings that he sold. Most of the people in town were kind to him, Seth Radcliff had taken him in to be his roommate, Garrett would often give him day old baked goods for free and Antonio was the young man's best friend. But he knew people like Mayor Chern hated him, see the young artist had a secret.

Dante was on of the few in town that remembered his past, he had found his object and while his past life wasn't much thanks to him being a ghost he still treasured his object. But with his memories came problems first of which was his gift to draw things that would happen in the future, he figured it was a side affect of remembering, but it was hard wondering if what he drew would come true.  The second problem came in his gift to paint scenes from the past lives of everyone in Yensidia, he knew he had to help people remember the past and so he took to painting beautiful pictures on the sides of buildings. He hoped that people would start to remember if they saw them, but all it seemed to do was make the Mayor angry and Dante was scared that sooner or later that he'd find out that Dante remembered his past.

Finally finishing the drawing in his hand he realized it was a drawing if his friend Seth's object, his red collar from his days as a puppy. Sighing as he quickly pulled his art pad to his chest, he looked tired as he sat there and he slowly put his head on the table to rest.

Kay = Stuart's eyes glanced around the small cafe, resting on a young man that he had seen around town before. The young man put a sour taste in his throat, as if he was trying to remember something that would make him physically sick each time his cold blue eyes landed on the frame of the other man. Everyone in town was kind to him. He had seen Garrett Balington, who was kind to everyone granteed, give him free baked goods. Yet he knew that the Mayor had been having trouble with the paintings that the young man had done around the town.

He stood and walked over to the table, sitting across from him, "You look very tired young man. Could I interest you in a cup of coffee?"

Me = Dante slowly looked up before jumping slightly, he hadn't expecting to see one of the most feared men in town standing there. After all everyone one knew that he was one of the few people that was close to the Mayor, had the Mayor decided to have him checked out. Did he know he remembered, or was he truly being nice to him, "I... Coffee would be nice..." Dante finally answered softly.

Kay = Stuart placed an order with a nearby passing waitress for two coffees and some sugar and cream on the side so that they could add it at their discression. Coffee was one of the few sweeter pleasures that Stuart allowed himself in life. At a young age he had learned that not everything sweet actually was that way. His parents had started out on the under class of Yensidia, living off of the trash outside the Bazaar for years before he was able to make a name for himself. Mayor Chern had been the closest thing he had to a friend for years, not judging the way that Stuart almost hoarded every penny he found or every cent that he made.

"You know, Dante, Mayor Chern thinks that you are an enigma of sorts. From what I can see...you are no such thing. From what I can see, you are nothing more than a tired boy who uses his art to survive."

Me = At the mention of Mayor Chern the young artist hugged his art pad closer to his chest, the mayor scared him with his watchful eyes and he hoped this wasn't just someway for the mayor to find out about his finding his special object. He carefully locked his tired eyes with the other man's eyes, "You... You don't think like the mayor?" He asked softly as the Stuart finished what he had been saying, "But the others working with the mayor all think like him... That I'm some sort of trouble maker..."

Kay = "Well, saying I don't like him isn't necessarily the truth. I'm one of his friends, that's to be said," Stuart smiled kindly, "But I can say that I don't agree with him on the matter of your art. I am a man who believes that art is high culture, should be loved above all. Your art is...well...it's unlike anything I've ever seen an d while I may not agree on the medium with which you do it, I do enjoy the pictures and things that you do."

Me = "I thought about it... But most places won't hire me cause I don't have a past..." Dante said softly, he had been too nervous to try the school.

Kay = "You don't have a past? That is nonsense," chuckled Stuart, "Everyone has a past. Be it good, be it bad, we all have some where we came from and a past because of that. You simply must not remember your past, either by choice or by a severe case of amnesia."

Me = "No one has ever claimed to be my family and I can't remember anything past a certain point in my past...." Dante said softly, not saying the reason was because in his old life he had been a ghost.

Kay = This brought a thought to Stuart's head. Could it be that this young man was from out of town? He had dreams of England, which is where he knew his father had originally been from but he had never made it out of this town. If this young man knew a way out of this dingy old town, he could use him to his advantage, "Well then I would say that you have amnesia, just not a severe case. Tell me, do you remember places outside of this one? Like London?"

Me = "I... Can't really remember... I remember waking up in the park..." Dante said softly, lying to hide he remembered being a ghost. "The picture's I paint of London are said to be spot on though... Like I could of been there..."

Kay = "That is where my family is originally from. My father was a banker," chuckled Stuart as he relaxed in his chair. With a smile across his lips, he pondered the situation that the young man was in. Dante had no past, which slightly troubled him. What sort of man had no past?

"Have you considered going to the doctors?"

Me = Dante looked down at his art pad, "No I've never really thought about that... I don't really have the money to go... I'm not even sure if they can really help me at all."

Kay = Again the talk of money was brought up and Stuart Dickens felt slightly selfish. He fished in his pocket for his checkbook before finding it and making a check out to Dante for the sum of $500 dollars. It was a part of his psyche, he often felt bad that he had so much while others truly had so little. "Here...it should help with somethings..."

Me = "I couldn't sir..." Dante protested softly, he had never liked the idea of taking money without doing anything to earn it. It had been one thing he's picked up from watching humans for a long time.

Kay = "Then I will have you do odd jobs for me," Stuart nodded at the younger man. "That way it isn't like you are just taking the money from me. It will just be as if you were working for me."

Me = Dante thought about this for a couple of seconds before slowly starting to nod, "Alright Mr. Dickens, that would work. What type of work would it be sir?" Dante asked politely.

Kay = Stuart thought about it for a second. What kind of work did he need done? Surely there was something, "Well..." he started, "you said you can paint. Could you do portraits?"

Me = Dante nodded at Stuart's question, "Yeah I can do portraits, both drawn and painted portraits. What type of portraits would you like?" He asked softly.

Kay = Stuart thought aout it. "Actually...it's not of me. You see...years ago when I was in my early twenties...I was engaged to a woman named Belle. Belle...she fell in love with another man and left me..."

He felt foolish as he recalled the situation. Still loving the woman who had no love for him in her heart was madness, many people have tried to tell him so. There was just no one who had capture his heart like she had no.

At least not yet.

"I'd like you to do a portrait of her. For starters."

Me = Dante nodded slowly, "Yeah of course..." He realized it would seem weird if he painted the portrait without seeing a picture of the lady. "You have a picture?"


Kay = Stuart nodded, though his eyes never left the table. He saw how slowly Dante had nodded. The poor boy must have thought him a freak for wanting a portrait painted of his lady lost. "You...you think I'm odd..."

Me = "I.. I don't think so sir.. You still love her, she was very important to you.. I'm sorry she hurt you.." Dante said softly.

Kay = Stuart looked at Dante, studying him. He had an air of lost familiarity about him, as if they were had once almost met and yet had completely missed each other. Was he a friend of Belles? Was he going to run off and tell his ex-fiance that he was still in love with her? That was the last thing he needed. "Don't be. I should be a stronger man for it."

He didn't mean to sound cold but being cold, being a bad man, was the only way that he could keep others out so he would never be hurt like that again.

Me = "Oh.." Dante said softly before giving a small nod, "I'll need a picture of her for the painting sir, its hard to paint someone you've never seen..." He played with one of the pulls on his special hoodie as he said this.

Kay = Stuart nodded, "Yes, of course it would be hard to paint someone that you have never laid eyes on before. Would you like to come back to my place to see the picture? I...I don't carry one on me you know."

Me = Dante nodded, "Yeah, When would be a good time for you to show me?" He asked softly.

Kay = Stuart thought about it. The truth of the matter was the he worked so hard, so often that he didn't really have much free time. Except for on Sundays. Mayor Chern demanded that he take Sunday's off to work on things that may be a problem for himself, such as his health, "Well...Sunday's are sort of my off day but I end up cleaning around the house. If you don't mind coming over on a Sunday, I wouldn't mind it either."

Me = "Will this Sunday be okay? I can bring over my pad and get the sketches of the picture so it'll be easier." Dante said as he nodded slowly.

Kay = Stuart thought about it and nodded, "Yes, it should be acceptable for you to come around this Sunday. There's nothing that I should be doing so we can meet."

Me = "Is two o'clock okay Mr. Dickens?" Dante asked as he reached for his notepad to write it down.

Kay = Stuart nodded as he pulled his schedule out of his pocket, "Yes, yes that should be quite alright. I should give you my number to make sure that you are able to reach me should something happen and you cannot make it."

Me = Dante nodded, "Okay, I'll give you the phone number to the apartment then." He didn't own a cell phone and they were lucky phone line was free at the apartment.

Kay = Stuart smiled and scribbled down his own phone number. The last thing he needed was for someone to overhear him and to make a not of how to get a hold of him. Threats were an already real thing that he didn't feel like living out each and every day of his life. "So, tell me, why are you here alone? Surely you have friends who would be missing your company on a day like today?"

Me = Dante carefully folded up the number and put it in his hoodie pocket before zipping the pocket closed. He looked up at Stuart's question, "Oh well I don't have many friends and my friend Tonio has to work for another half hour... "

Kay = "Tonio...ah you must mean young Antonio Balington who works over at Papa Bear's. Quite an awful place if you do ask me," he chuckled, "Then again, I'm sure you don't know fine dining. Now, Tiana's Palace. That's a resteraunt."

Me = "Yeah Antonio... He's my best friend... And it's more of a dessert café then reseraunt..." Dante said softly, his outspoken side coming out, "No offence to Ms. Tiana's, but Papa Bears is just as good..."

Kay = "Well whatever it is one cannot be expected to eat sweets more than once a week. It ruins the body and makes a man sluggish, which in turn means he cannot preform his job correctly," Stuart spoke as if he were the authority on such things. He couldn't help his attitude, it's how he was raised to be.

Me = Dante wasn't sure how to reply to him, the man had a way about him that didn't allow any argument. He let some of his bangs fall into his face and looked down.

Kay = Stuart frowned, he hadn't meant to make the young man in front of him feel in such a way. All he had meant to do was have a conversation. "I do apologize...I know that I can be quite hard headed when I want to be but...well...I'm sorry."

Me = "Oh its okay, I understand sir... I guess I can be too timid sometimes." Dante said as he looked up at him through his bangs.

Kay = Stuart shook his head, "No, no it's my fault. I'm too boisterous and sometimes my personality can be a bit...abrasive." When Dante looked up at him through his bangs, Stuart felt his breath catch in his chest. He was more captivating than his Belle had ever been.

Me = Dante's green eyes looked up at the man, he was curious and while he should of moved his hair from his face he felt safe behind the thin wall of his bangs. The man had a way about him that drew him in even deeper into him, it was something he wasn't sure he had felt before.

Kay = Stuart's eyes glanced back at his coffee before he took a deep breath, "Alright. So...um...why Ralph's Arcade if you don't mind me asking? Most men your age would be interested in playing the machines rather than this small cafe area."

Me = Dante sipped on his warm drink, "I've never really played many of the games, plus I was working on something that... I needed to draw, it was on a whim really." He answered softly, the drink hadn't helped with the strange feeling in his stomach. He paused when the mayor's voice could be heard going through the café and ducked his head.

Kay = "Stuart!" boomed Mayor Chern as he saw his good friend and the young man they called Dante. He knew that the young man knew who he was and that he could potentially play a factor in helping people remember, especially the man he was sitting in front of talking to now. If there was anyone that could help Ebenezer Scrooge remember who he was, it would be The Ghost of Christmas Past.

Stuart grinned wide and nodded, "Mayor Chern! What a pleasure to see you as well! Such a nice day out, I thought you would be somewhere else."

"No, no, I'm here today. Ralph wanted me to look at some ideas for other areas of recreation in town. What are you doing here with..." his eyes cut to Dante, "with the lower class?"

"Sir," Stuart smiled, "Dante here is a brilliant artist."

Me = Dante felt his cheeks darken when the mayor called him lower class, he knew he was very far from being well off. But it hurt to hear someone call him lower class and he hoped Mayor Chern didn't see, he figured it was what the mayor wanted.

The color on his cheek turned into a soft blush when Stuart called him a brilliant, he shyly looked at Stuart the feeling in his stomach stronger then before and he found himself giving a shy smile.

Kay = "Brilliant artist? He's one of the main men in the investigation to who is doing that ghastly graffiti on my city walls, Stuart. I would have thought it beneath you to associate yourself with possible criminals," Chern sneered again.

Stuart shook his head, "No, sir. He's brilliant. I've commisioned him to do a painting of myself for my den."

"Why get a painting when a photograph captures everything clearer?" Chern asked, rolling his eyes.

Kay = He didn't say anything about being called a criminal, he knew he was considered one for what he did. And while he was scared of being arrested, he had no regrets.

"Sir photographs can only capture what you see, while paintings give the world a whole new feel and look with different paints while also sometimes making a world you've never seen before. There is something so special about looking into a painting when it something you've never seen before and memories can be even more special through the colors of the paint..." Dante said softly as he looked at mayor Chern, his voice soft and strong. "Photographs can be amazing, but art is special..."

Kay = Chern looked furious. No one stood up to him, no one. He stood up straight, his frame massive compared to that of Dante. For a moment, Stuart even thought that Chern was going to hit the man. "Dante," Stuart replied, "how about we meet later? I have to talk to Mayor Chern about some files that I thought were missing earlier. It only just occured to me."

Me = Dante nodded slowly as he looked at Wade, he couldn't help the fear he felt when he had looked into Chern's eyes. He swallowed softly before saying, "Yeah... I should go check in with my roommate Seth... I'll see you soon?" He asked as he quickly packed up his things and stood up.

Kay = Wade nodded and looked down at his feet, "Yes, I suppose that you and I shall see each other soon."

Me = Dante shyly waved at Stuart before glancing at Chern as he slowly moved away, he held his gaze for only a few moments before he looked down and continued walking.

Kay = The next few days flew by quickly for Stuart and, before he knew it, it was the day the picture was going to be done. He made sure that his home was presentable, having not tidied it in quite a bit, before making sure he looked nice. He wore his finest suit, one that was so old fashioned even he wasn't quite sure where he had gotten it.

Me = Dante had kept himself busy the next few days, he found himself counting down the days. He looked forward to seeing Stuart again, he even made sure he had his cleanest clothes on. He even borrowed some deodorant from Antonio, he felt nervous when he stood in front of gated community.

Kay = Stuart smiled as he heard the door the gate for the gated community. "Dante!" he grinned wide, "I thought you and I would be meeting around this time."

Me = " Hello sir. I hope I'm not too earlier Mr. Dickens, I wasn't sure about the time." Dante answered softly as he stood there, a shy smile on his face. It felt strange to be in Yensidia's famous gated community, he had never thought he would be in here.

Kay = Stuart smiled and shook his head, "No, you're right on time actually. Puncuality is something that I highly admire. If the clock strikes twelve, I expect my guest to be there at twelve."

Me = Dante smiled shyly back at Wade, the comment would seem simple to anyone else, but to Dante it brought back to mind his live before Yensidia. He wondered if he had the chance would he go back to being just a ghost? Or would he stay here and live out his life. He pushed his bangs back before saying, "I look forward to working on this painting for you Mr. Dickens."

Kay = "Well thank you, Dante, I look forward to having you here so that I have someone to talk to. This life can be very...what's the word...droll," chuckled Stuart as they walked. "So tell me, have you ever been inside the gated community before?"

Me = Dante shook hos head shyly, he had never even been allowed near the gates before. "No never, its my first time him sir." He answered with a soft voice, he glanced around as they walked.

Kay = Wade waved at one of his neighbors before turning back to Dante, "Well, it's like we're being locked away. Sometimes I think this place only exists because Mayor Chern didn't want us to feel like everyone else..."

Me = "Like those fairy tales almost?" Dante asked softly as he looked up at Stuart, he was pretty sure he knew the true reason Chern had made sure that certain people loved in this area.

Kay = "Almost," Stuart nodded with a frown. "I hate this place sometimes. Though, there are good neighbors. I'll have to introduce you to Teegan Todd sometime. He's a good man."

Me = "Good neighbors can be hard to come by sometimes, or so I've heard, I've not had too many neighbors. I don't think I've met him before." Dante answered shyly.

Kay = Stuart grinned, "You should come to poker night with us. Teegan is one of the best men in town. Course, you probably just know him as Mr. Todd."

Me = Dante tilted his head slightly, he had never been really sure what poker was. He knew who Mr. Todd and he nodded shyly, "Yeah I know of Mr. Todd, I have never met him before."

Kay = Stuart grinned as he led Dante into the manor home that he lived in, "Well...here we are. It's too much sometimes but I have a nice woman who comes in to clean it on Saturdays."

Me = "Its lovely." Dante said shyly as he looked around the manor, "Your house cleaner does a good job sir." Dante would love to draw a house similar to this one someday, he could already see some of the colors he'd use.

Kay = Stuart grinned wide, rolling his shoulders, "I do believe it's one of the nicest houses in all of Yensidia. I like to take pride in it."

Me = Dante nodded as he continued to study the lovely house, he had at least three different angles in his head to paint the house from. "It is sir."

Kay = "Well I'm assuming that you want to start working right away. I will let you lead the painting. Do you want it natural or posed for?"

Me = "Natural looked best, but if you'd rather have it be posed." Dante answered softly as he looked at Wade shyly.

Kay = Wade nodded, "I can do something natural then. What would you have me do?"

Me = "Maybe you can sit? You can read if you like?" Dante suggested shyly, pulling off his backpack.

Kay = Stuart nodded with a wide grin, "Reading. I do have some files to look at for Mayor Chern but it's nothing out of the ordinary." He plopped down in his easy chair, pulling the files from a small cabinet next to him as he cracked them open, leaning back as he began to read.

Me = Dante smiled shyly as he sat down and studied as Stuart read, after a couple of minutes he looked down and slowly started to work. He was at ease as he worked, glancing sometimes at the man he was painting.

Kay = Stuart looked through the file, trying to pin point something that he missed. Some of the funds from public planning had been going missing and he was almost certain that something was going on in town that was being funded by the Mayor. He just wasn't sure what. His eyes glanced up and he smiled softly at Dante before going back to reading.

Me = Dante's eyes shyly turned to Stuart as he paused his work for a few moments, he studied the face deeply. He flushed softly when he saw him smile and looked down.

Kay = Stuart tried to contain the chuckle at what Dante had done. The boy was enticing and he didn't even realize it. With a small smile, he looked back down and spoke, "If I talk is it going to bother you?"

Me = Dante looked up again at the question, "No, talking won't bother me." He answered shyly.

Kay = Stuart smiled and looked at him, "Then tell me about yourself."

Me = "There is really not a lot to say about me." Dante said shyly, his cheeks a slight pink at the change of subject to himself.

Kay = "Well tell me what you can. Is it true you have the notion that you are not from here?" Stuart asked.

Me = "Oh... Well yes... Seeing as I don't seem to have family here and I can't remember..." Dante said nervously, answering as truthfully as he could.

Kay = Wade frowned, "There is more that you aren't telling me."

Me = "I... I'm not sure if I should tell you..." Dante started softly before stopping at the sound of someone knocking on the door.

Kay = Wade stood, crossign to the door and opening it. "What do you bloody want?"

Me = Seth rolled his eyes, "Your delivery from Para Bears Mr. Bennet, we're a little early with it today, but boss wants to close up early."

Kay = Wade nodded with a small smile. There were few things in the world that truly made him happy and recieving his honey cakes from Papa Bears were always one of those things. With a smile, he opened up the door and fished for his wallet. "How many did I order and how much do you get? Excluding tip of course, being early does not make you on time. Had you been on time, I would have given your tip."

Me = Seth rolled his eyes at the comment about his tip, not that he needed it badly. He was making enough at Papa Bears, he hated delivering at this part of town though. He just held the box out to Stuart and answered, "Its the normal twenty and it's the same price as always, fifteen." He couldn't wait to get out of there, he was planning on cooking dinner for Dean and Roman and the early day would make sure he had enough time.

Dante sat quietly as he watched the exchange between the two men, he was almost nervous sitting alone in this big room.

My Own Home

Kay = He wished someone else was like him. Yes, Antonio Balington knew that there were other college students around. He saw them pass as he went around campus, heading to their classes as he was heading to his. College students were like him in the way that they studied and lived, but they were not like him. The only one in town who was like him, that he knew of, was Ann Pearson and everything though she was crazy simply because she knew.

She, like Antonio, knew that there was a life before Yensidia for all of its residents. He knew that he had a home in the jungle with Bagheera, the panther, and Baloo, the bear. He knew his adopted father, in this world, was Baloo in his old world. He wished he could go back to that lifestyle, hoped that one day he could find the object that held Garrett’s memories of his life as Baloo like he had found his basket and his own memories. He wished for his own home back in the jungle.

Right now he couldn’t focus on that, Garrett was at The Alley Cat, so he was in charge of running Papa Bears.

Me = Dante held on tightly to his hoodie as he slowly made his way into Papa Bears, he had managed to save up enough money to get a treat from Papa Bears. Being the only one without a past or family in Yensidia he was barely getting by with selling paintings and drawing, it didn't help that he knew the true of Yensidia. He had found his cloak quickly and while it had been hard at first to hide the fact he remembered he was now able to hide it quite well, he had even turned his special cloak into a hoodie that he wore everywhere. He looked around the room before stepping farther into the room and going to a small booth, he felt nervous and hoped he won't be thrown out like he had from some places. His clothes were very ratty and some of the business's didn't like when he came around, they thought he looked like a tramp. Though they weren't far from the true seeing as he had no job or home.

Kay = "Man you gotta stop sittin' at the back of the place when you come in here," Antonio chuckled at his best friend as he brought him a menu over. "People are gonna start thinkin' that you just don't like it here. Then what would become of our business huh?"

He chuckled and sat across from his friend, "Put the wallet away. This one's on the house. You know me and Papa Bear hate it when you have to shell out money. You need every cent you can get. Go buy some clothes at Enchanted Fashions after this. They run for cheap."

Me = "I don't wanna scare people away." Dante said as he looked up, sharing a smiled with his close friend. "Are you sure?" He asked softly, he hoped he wasn't imposing too much on his friend. "Maybe you could come with me later, I'm not really sure how to even get started with looking for cothes."

Kay = Antonio chuckled, "I was jokin' Dante. You aren't going to scare anyone away. Naw, if we were gonna have people scared to come in here to Papa Bear's it would either be because of me or Garrett."

He produced a cup of coffee from the top of his tray for Dante, "Yes I'm sure. You know, I keep tellin' you to talk to dad to see if he would give you a place to stay. You wouldn't be as cold and you would have everything you need. You should really take us up on that offer."

Me = Dante closed his hand around the warm cup that Antonio had given him, he knew Antonio was right. If he asked, Garrett would give him a room in his and Antonio's home. But Dante didn't feel right putting his burden on his friends, he knew that with the mayor watching him closely that if he slipped up that it could reflect on them. "I don't want to be a burden on you guys..."

Kay = "A burden? Please, if Garrett can adopt a defiant kid like me who didn't show much promise and turn him into what I am now, well, you can be talked to and handled the same way," chuckled Antonio. "So for your fashion...I'm thinkin' we can give you a skater boy look. You know what a skater boy is, right?"

Me = "I know Garrett won't mind... But if the Mayor finds out I'm the one painting... You'd guys get in trouble... Your new employee Seth offered to let me stay..." Dante said softly before smiling and nodding. "Yeah I know what a skater boy is, you really think it would look good on me?"

Kay = "We would take that trouble for you. If Papa Bear can take a tiger, I'm sure he can take whatever it is Mayor Chern is," Antonio spoke lowly, knowing that Dante was one of the few people in town who understood nothing was as it seemed. It was nice to have someone he could share things with. "And of course I think it would look good on you!"

Me = "I don't want you two to get caught in the cross fire if he decides to lock me up too..." Dante replied softly as he looked at his best friend, he was afraid he'd end up like that girl that remembered first. "You'll help me look right?"
Dante asked, changing the subject.

Kay = Antonio shook his head, "Trust me, we'd be more than willing to get caught up in it as long as it meant that you were safe."

Antonio nodded, realizing that Dante was going to change the subject. Everyone in town remember what had happened to the girl who had remembered first, Ann Pearson. She had been sane as any of them and then she had been locked in the mental ward of Yensidia hospital. "Course I'll help you look!"

Me = Dante smiled at his friend, gratefully he had changed the subject. He would make sure Antonio didn't get caught up in his issues with the mayor, he didn't want his friend getting hurt. "When will be a good time to look Tonio?"

Kay = Antonio thought about it. "Well, usually as long as Papa Bear says I can leave, I'm good to go. What about you?"

Me = Dante smiled and chuckled softly, "I'm always free Antonio."

Kay = Antonio grinned, "How about I finish up my shift here and we can go?"

Me = Dante smiled and nodded, "Yeah, sounds good. I'll wait here for you."

Kay = Antonio smiled and ran to the back, "Pops I'm goin' shopping with Antonio. Is that okay?"

"We're on a slow roll so yeah," nodded Garrett, "You two boys be careful."

Me = Dante smiled softly as he waited for Antonio to come back, he was a little excited to hang out with his friend.

Kay = Antonio smiled as he exited the back of the resteraunt, "You ready to go?"

Me = Dante smiled at his friend and nodded, "Yeah I'm ready Tonio."

Kay = Antonio grinned and linked arms with his best friend, "So I heard you had a run in with one of the elite of Yensidia. Mr. Dickens."

Me = Dante nodded shyly as he looked at his best friend, "Yeah... He was nice... But it sort of lead onto a run in with the Mayor as well..." He gave a soft sigh at the last part."

Kay = "Mayor Chern? What did Mayor Chern want from you?" Antonio raised an eyebrow, curious about the situation. That was one bad habit he had left from being Mowgli, he was a curious man by nature.

Me = "He didn't want anything from me I just happened to be there when he was... But I think he wanted to hit me... After I told him my view of art when he photos were better."

Kay = "Shit, real art is better. It captures the moment more and it lasts longer than a photograph," Antonio shrugged as they walked. His eyes were drawn to the looming hospital in the background and a frown came to his face, "You have to be careful though. You remember what happened to Ann...I would die if that happened to you Dante."

Me = Dante nodded slowly before stopping when he looked at the hospital, he remembered clearly what happened to Ann. "I'm scared that its going to happen Toni..."

Kay = "I won't let it happen to you," Antonio promised, "You won't ever be in that place..."

Me = "What if they know though Tonio... What if they know i remember... What if they find out I'm even more different..." Dante asked softly.

Kay = "Screw what they have to say Dante. You're a good guy with a good heart. You don't have to be afraid of what they say," Antonio promised. "I'll keep you safe. I promise."

Me = Dante nodded slowly, feeling safer with his best friends promise. "Thanks Tonio." He said softly to him, hugging his hoodie tighter around himself as he saw a few of the better off people in town watching.

Kay = Antonio gave a small wave before leaning over to Dante, "That was just Miss Dia. Trust me, she wouldn't judge you no matter how much money she had. Besides, I heard you were messing around with Stuart Bennett."

Me = Dante relaxed a little knowing Dia wouldn't treat him like he was different, a large blush filled his face when Antonio brought up Stuart. "I'm not messing around... He hired me for a picture Tonio..."

Kay = "You two are most definitely messing around, at least you wanna be," Antonio chuckled as they walked. "And a picture? A picture of what?"

Me = "He's a gentleman... I'm sure he has a lady friend or something..." Dante murmured shyly, "I'm working on a portrait of him for him."

Kay = "I'm sure he wants you to be his lady friend," he chuckled.

You're Working Too Hard 

Kay = Though Garrett Balington had changed shape after Chernabog’s curse, not that he knew that of course because very few people in town did know, a lot of things had stayed the same. He was still as carefree and as easy going as he had been, but this time as a human instead of a bear. He still enjoyed his fruits, only now on top of eating them raw he liked to put them in the snacks and pastries he served at his own restaurant.

Yes, the one thing that had really changed was his work ethic. In the world before, he had been the big bear Baloo, who didn’t have a care in the world other than the man-cub he looked after, Mowgli. Yes, to Baloo work was just a bad time. The switch between worlds had changed that. Garrett Balington, as he was now called, believed in hard work and dedication. He kept himself running his café, Papa Bear’s, and did very little for himself.

That was a stark contrast to what he was doing now. Antonio, his adopted son, had sent him to have fun and enjoy himself for an evening. Garrett had decided to go check out The Alley Cat bar. His friend Nathan Scatt co-owned it and was always telling Garrett how much fun it was. As he sipped his drink, a fruity concoction that he couldn’t remember the name of, and watched Carter Thomas and his band play, he had to agree with his son.

He was workin’ too hard.

Me = Beca Hunter had been very different before the curse took of her, she had been a lioness and future queen of the Pridelands. But then the curse changed her and now she was a rookie cop, not that she remembered her days as a lioness. The curse made sure of that and she was like many of the others. Beca wasn't even sure why she has let her friend drag her out to Ally Cat's, she wasn't much of a partier and normally she was too focused on work to want to go out. But her female co-workers had talked her into a girls night and here she was, helping Lupa carry the drinks back to the table.

Kay = Becca Smollett smiled as she sat with Lupa and her partner Beca Hunter, her eyes scanning the bar. "Oooh Becs, look its Garrett Balington and he's headed this way!"

Garrett was indeed heading over to the table where his friend Beca sat. They had talked a few times at Papa Bears where Beca often tried out new recipes that he himself wasn't sure about. "Beca! I didn't know you'd be here little britches!"

Me = Beca smiled and turned to face her friend, "Hey Garrett, I think this is the first time I've seen you outside Papa Bears." She softly teased him, "Having a good night so far?"

Kay = Garrett grinned, pulling up a seat to sit with the girls. "Oh you better believe it. I'm usually so busy with work that I don't feel like I can go outside of it. Antonio talked me into comin' here tonight and I have to say, I'm glad he did. The music is great!"

Me = "This is a really nice place, its been a while since I've been in here. The music is really great." Beca smiled at her friend, feeling almost shy around him.

Kay = Garrett grinned wide, "Yeah, the music is great. Do you wanna go dance with me, cut a rug little britches?"

"Go on!" Becca encouraged, "It'll be fun!"

Me = Beca smiled shyly before taking her partner's advise and nodding, "Yeah I'd love to dance." She answered before standing up to go with him.

Kay = Garrett took her out on the dance floor, a smile on his face. Though he didn't look it, primarily because of his age and stature, he was quite lithe on the dance floor. He loved to dance, it was a part of who he was. With a smile, he took her hand as a fast song played. "You ever swung dance before little britches?"

Me = Beca smiled shyly, she wasn't sure if she wasn't much of a dancer. She was quite graceful though, she pushed a piece of hair out of her face. "I've never swung dance, is it hard?" She asked him curiously.

Kay = "Nah," Garrett grinned as he looked at her. "Swing dancin' is a fun time. You just let the music take you. Sometimes the moves can be fast and jerky but mosta the time, you gotta keep yourself loose."

As the music began to play, he took her hand and led her in a slow dancing. She wanted to make sure that she understood the motions of the dance before he led her in a quicker dance.

Me = Beca shyly looked at their joined hands as they slowly moved together, she couldn't believe she was dancing with Garrett. She knew she had some feelings for him, but she had never looked close at them though.

Kay = Garrett hadn't really looked at Beca until now. She was a bit young for a man his age so he had put all thoughts of getting together with her out of his head. But as they danced together, he had no choice but to look at her. Her eyes were radiant, her smile was heartwarming, and yet all at once a person could tell that she was not to be messed with. "So...do you think you're ready to speed the dancing up? Swing dancing is a lot faster than this."

Me = Beca smiled shyly and nodded, "Yeah I think I'm ready to speed up." She looked at him, hoping she wouldn't mess up.

Kay = "If I didn't think ya had the motions ready to go, I wouldn't suggest that you were fast enough to pick up the beat," grinned Garrett as he started to move just a bit faster. "Now, yeh don't mind being lifted and dipped do ya?"

Me = "No I don't mind being lifted or dipped." Beca answered with a shy smile.

Kay = Garrett grinned and nodded, keeping that in mind as they spun around the dance floor together. She was very graceful, Garrett would have to give her that. "Are you sure you've never danced before?"

Me = Beca smiled shyly and shook her head at his question, "No never, I've never really had the chance to before."

Kay = Garrett grinned wide, "Now who in the world would not give a pretty girl like you reason to dance? Even if they didn't dance with you, everyone deserves a good dance. Music, after all, is part of what keeps the world spinning."

Me = Beca smiled softly, feeling a little shy when he called her pretty. "I enjoy music a lot."

Kay = Garrett smiled at her, knowing that she was probably feeling shy and that she had no reason to. "That's good. You know...you should dress up like this more often. I mean...work's important to you and I get that but...well...you look perfect just like this. Casual and fun, like I know you are."

Me = Beca blushed softly when he told her she looked perfect, "Thanks.. I guess I do work too hard sometimes."

Kay = Garrett grinned and held her close, smiling, "We all do. I think everyone needs time to get away. That's why Antonio sent me out for the night. He thought that I needed time to think about what was going on."

Me = Beca smiled back at him as he held her close. "The girls decided we needed to have a girls night out, they were right."

Kay = Garrett chuckled, "You girls practically run that police office. Only male I ever hear anything out of from the force is Mr. Markos. But yeah, I'm glad that you got the night off too."

Me = "I suppose we do out number the men." Beca said with a smile, "But there is the chief though... Da'vid is better though."

Kay = "Of course Da'vid is better than Sherrif Wolff. Sheriff Wolff is a push over," Garrett chuckled, "I've always been a friend of Da'vid's, even when he was just a clumsy teenager who didn't quite get it. You though? You have the potential to do so much more than he does."

Me = Beca blushed softly at the high praise coming from Garrett, "Thanks Garrett." She smiled as she looked up at him, she looked over his shoulder at a cough from a male.

Kay = As the song ended, Garrett turned around to look at the coughing male, "IS something the matter? You sound like you have a cold."

The dynamic duo becomes the dynamic trio

Kay = Working at Sykes Automotive wasn't a glamorous job but it was what Dean Joel did for a living. He would wake up in the morning, grab a Danish from Papa Bear's Diner, and then head to work. After work he would grab supper at Tiana's Palace and, if it was a weekend, head over to the Alley Cat for a good time. Then again, every time with Dean Joel was a good time.

He had seen one of the two men in the lobby at Papa Bears and the other he had seen at The Alley Cat, then again the one he had seen at The Alley Cat was his roommate Roman. There had been a wreck outside of Ralph's Arcade, both of these men involved in it. "So, can you guys tell me again how you wrecked?"

"I was trying to head to the apartment after work," Roman rolled his eyes, "and this yahoo runs into me outside of Ralph's!"

Dean looked over at the other man, not knowing his name, "Is that true?"

Me = Seth Radcliff huffed at the man that called him a yahoo, he crossed his arms and answered with a frown. "This jerk is the one that ran into me, I was trying to get to work when he hit me as I was getting ready to turn into Papa Bears!" Seth was just glad he didn't work at De Ville’s Boutique anymore, Natalie was no where as nice as Garrett was. "And I have a name and it isn't yahoo!" he huffed at Roman.

Kay = Dean put up his hands, telling both of them without words that he wasn't going to tolerate name calling and the like. "Alright, so did the wreck happen outside of Papa Bear's or outside of Ralph's?"

Roman took a deep breah, running his hand through his hair, "It was quite possibly at Papa Bear's...I was a little tired from working..."

Me = Seth sighed as he calmed down, he could tell the other man was tired. "I should of looked better before I turned...." He said softly, pushing a piece of brown and blonde hair from his face.

Kay = Roman looked over at the smaller man he had been arguing with since the wreck happened, "Are you kidding me? I know how I drive. My light was probably red and I just was flying like a bat out of hell to get home. I had a long night, you were in the right and I was in the wrong."

Dean chuckled. If there was anything that his buddy Roman was good at, it was making people feel good about themselves. "Alright, so I can probably get your cars fixed by tomorrow, it depends on if Audrey is working or not. I'll give you guys an estimate once we take a solid look at the cars. It'll take a while so if you feel like it, go on and get your shopping done and come back later."

Me = Seth slowly rubbed the back of his neck, "I should call my boss and let him know why I'm so late, luckily Garrett is really cool about stuff like this..." He looked at the other two before realizing something, "Oh... I'm Seth by the way, Seth Radcliff. And I'm sorry about yelling earlier... I was just kinda freaked out..."

Kay = "That man's cool about anything," laughed Dean as soon as he said who he worked for. Everyone in town knew about how gentle and kind hearted Garrett Balington was. Dean sometimes wished that he worked for Garrett instead of Bill Sykes. Sykes was cold, cruel, and calculated most of the time. "I'm Dean Joel but people call me Dodge cuz I have a habit of dodging my way out of a fight."

"You can use my phone if you want," smiled Roman, a lot more jovially than he had been before. "I'm Roman Burroughs, I'm a bouncer over at the Alley Cat."

Me = "He's better then my old boss." Seth smiled softly, feeling much more at ease now. "Its nice to meet you Dean and nice to meet you Roman." He gratefully took the offered phone, "Thanks a lot man, I forgot to grab my phone this morning even though I charged it so I wouldn't forget it." He dialed the number for Papa bears before spending a few moments talking to Garrett over the phone.

Kay = "Old boss?" asked Dean, interested in what the other man had been through. Dean was a known ladies man who had touches of wanting to be with men. "You ain't always worked for Mr. Balington?"

Roman thought about it, "I think he use to work for Natalie De Ville over at De Ville's Boutique. In fact...I think he was the guy who helped me pick my boots."

Me = Seth smiled and nodded, "Yeah I used to work at De Ville's boutique, I quit just over a two months ago. I'm really glad I did, Ms. De Ville was kinda creepy to work for. She used to be all over my hair... Still don't know why... But Garrett offered me the job after I quit." He smiled and Roman, "Yeah I think I remember helping with that."

Kay = "The De Ville woman is a few screws loose," Dean chuckled and ran a hand through his hair. "Anyways, should be a couple hours before the cars get fixed."

Roman smiled polietly, "I knew I had seen you somewhere before. Those boots worked well for me, they work great for work."

Me = "I'm glad to boots work so well for you, they seemed like they'd do a good job." Seth said with a smile to Roman before nodding to Dean, "Thanks for getting to my car so fast, I'm really grateful man." He smiled at Dean before looking at his watch. At this point there was not much point into going into work, but he figured he might go to wait. "I guess I should head over to Papa Bears."

Kay = Dean shrugged it off, "Oh no problem. Unlike Roman over there, I dunno if you would have a ride to work otherwise. If it came down to it, Roman would walk to work. He's always been all about nature, ever since I can remember meeting him."

Roman laughed and shrugged, "I needed a good pair of work boots to look intimidating. Half of being a bouncer at a bar is looking the part. There are very few times where I actually have to act like a tough guy."

Dean looked at Roman and then at Seth, "You know...Audrey does her best work when I don't hover over her. I could come with you to Papa Bear's if you want? And if Roman doesn't want to go home and get some sleep, he could come too."

Me = "That sounds great, it'll been nice to have some company at Papa Bears, we're slow around this time of day and Garrett has all the baking done always for tonight." Seth smiled at the other two as he spoke, almost sounding like an excited pup.

Kay = Roman nodded, the look on his face stoic and almost ape like. "Sure we can go together. I don't have any other plans for the evening."

Dean grinned, his demeaner cool and relaxed, "Whenever you guys get ready to leave we will."

Me = Seth smiled and grabbed his jacket, "Well I'm ready to go if you two go?" He slipped on his jacket and waited for the other two.

Kay = Roman stood, towering over Seth and Dean. "I'm ready to go boys. Are we gonna walk or are we gonna drive?"

"I'm all for walking," nodded Dean.

Me = "Walk, Papa Bears isn't that far away and it's a nice day today." Seth nodded with a smile, he liked being outside when it wasn't too cold.

Kay = Dean nodded, grabbing his leather jacket before he turned to join the others. Roman liked to joke that he looked like an old greaser most of the time, minus the sunglasses. Dean had just never been able to find a pair of sunglasses that felt like they fit him. With a smile, he nodded, "It's absotively posolutely nice out there today, ain't it Rome?"

Roman nodded, he had been swinging from the top of the doorframe, an old military trick that he had learned from movies. It was a great way to stay in shape and stay agile. He dropped down and nodded, "Yeah, it's great out there."

Me = Seth smiled and nodded, "Yeah, I'm just glad we have a little while before the cold weather sets in. One thing I never liked even as a kid was the cold." He rubbed around his neck, it strangely felt like something was missing sometimes.

Kay = "Cold weather is not fun at all," Roman agreed with a nod, his long hair bouncing as he did so. Sometime he laughed at all the people who were marvelled by his size or by his hair. It was different but it was what made him the man he was and he wouldn't have it any other way.

"Aw it ain't too bad," grinned Dean at his two friends, "It's actually quite nice. Brisk air keeps me awake."

Me = "Yes it is, it makes my nose cold and my ears cold and my toes cold." Seth replied with a slight pout, he really didn't like cold weather. "I don't like being cold... Weird huh." He finished before giving a smile.

Kay = "Not weird," confirmed Roman as he held the door open for Dean and his newest friend, "Some people don't like cold, some do. Its personal preference."

Dean grinned, "You are both weird as hell."

Me = Seth chuckled softly at Dean and stuck his tongue out at him when he called him and Roman weird, "Am not." He added when he finished.

Kay = Roman chuckled, "Aw it's okay. Dean calls me weird from time to time. It's just a part of how we're friends. Him calling you weird means that he trusts you enough to say you're one of his friends."

Dean grinned and shrugged, "Hey, what can I say? All my friends are sorts of weird people."

Me = Seth smiled before giving another soft chuckle at Dean's words, he really liked his new friends. They made him feel happy and he felt content to just hang out with the two.

Kay = Dean grinned, looking at his new friend. He could tell that they had something alike, even if he couldn't really put his finger on it right now. It was something that always seemed to be missing between Roman and himself. He looked up at the sky before speaking, "Have you ever seen a prettier day?"

"Pretty sure I have," Roman nodded as he looked around, "Pretty sure I have."

Me = Seth smiled and chuckled at Roman before looking at the clear sky, it was quite a pretty day. He smiled and pulled his hair back as they walked, it felt perfect being there with Roman and Dean. He had friends, but he felt closer to Dean and Roman then any of those friends.

Kay = Dean looked over at his new friend. There was no reason for anyone to be so quiet. People usually had thoughts in their heads and they were raring to be let out, at least his were anyways. With a smile across his lips, he elbowed Seth in the side, "So, you got any brothers or sisters? I don't. Don't think Rome does either."

"I have Terk but she's not a blood relative. She's just close enough to be my sister," Roman grinned, thinking about the woman. She was sweet and played around a lot, many in town knew her as a trouble maker but never in a mean way.

Me = "I have 14 brothers and sisters." Seth answered with a smile, "My family runs the local orphanage, I've lost count of how many kids I grew up with. They sort of became family to me and my siblings."

Kay = "Fourteen? Woah! I mean, I technically got four adopted siblings but fourteen. How did you all survive?" Dean raised an eyebrow, "Were times tight for ya'll or what?"

Roman chuckled, "I'm sure when it's all that you know, you get use to there being so many of you pretty quickly."

Me = "We had some hard times when I was really little, but I suppose we were pretty well off when I was little. I'm the youngest out of all my siblings, well minus the ones what we grew up with." Seth smiled.

Kay = "Younges out of that many, I can't imagine that," Dean chuckled, "I'm the second oldest in my family and I'm greatful for that."

Roman nodded, "I couldn't imagine being so young."

Me = Seth stuck out his tongue with a chuckle, "A lot of my older siblings are twins and I have a twin myself, only three of my siblings aren't twins." He said as he opened the door.

Kay = "Twins? I don't think I could handle that," Dean chuckled, "Too many mouths to feed all at once."

Roman nodded, "I mean, when I was little a few members of my extended family had twins but I don't think I could look after twins. Hell, I don't think I could raise a family period."

Me = "My parents managed somehow, they were so hard working though and they managed to not only take care of us but other too." Seth smiled softly as he remembered.

Kay = Dean got a little touchy at the subject of parents. He wasn't ashamed of his own, god knew that Fagin did his best to take care of all of his kids that he had adopted over the years. No, he got a little touchy because he had never known what it was like to have two parents. Sure, when he went over to Roman's after school in high school, Kala had always been so nice to him but it wasn't the same thing. It wasn't his mother. He put his hands in his pockets and gave a glum nod, trying not to let the others see it get to him as he opened the door to Papa Bear's letting his friends go first.

Roman, who had been a close friend of Dean's since high school, picked up on his emotion and looked at the menu as they sat down, hoping to change the subject, "What looks good to you guys?"

Me = "Well working here I can attest to the fact that everything here is really good." Seth said with a smile. "I'm thinking of getting blueberry cheesecake."

Kay = "Blueberry cheesecake sounds pretty good," Dean nodded as his eyes scanned over the menu. "I think I'm gonna have something else though. What can you tell me about the orange tart cake?"

"Hmm something with bananas in it for me," Roman nodded as he looked over the menu, "Probably the banana nut muffins."

Me = "The orange tart is really good, the orange icing is great." Seth answered with a smile, "Garrett baked some banana nut muffins just yesterday so they'll be really good today."

Kay = "Yup, its decided, that is what I am having. Orange tart sounds delicious," nodded Dean as he folded up his menu.

"Banana nut muffins made yesterday? I thought Garrett made everything fresh starting in the mornings;" Roman asked with his eyebrow arched.

Me = "Most everything is, things like the cheesecakes and ice cream are made at night." Seth answered, "He made the muffins late last night so they'd be good tonight."

Kay = Dean nodded, "Makes sense. I mean, he does have a life outside of the bakery. I heard he has a crush on that Beca cop lady."

"Beca Hunter or Becca Smollett? I get so confused on which one is which," chuckled Roman as he folded his menu.

Me = Seth gave a small grin, "Don't tell him I told you, but it's Beca Hunter." He knew his boss liked her. "I think she really likes him back too."

Kay = Roman chuckled, "It's always cute to see people who are in love."

Dean nodded as he lounged in his chair, "That'd be nice. It's always heart warming to see when people are in love."

Me = "Yeah I agree with you guys, sometimes I wish I can find love like that." Seth said as he leaned back.

Kay = Dean chuckled and elbowed Seth, "Aw, you'll find the right guy or girl. After all, it took me forever to see that Rome was right in front of me. He's been the best guy that I could ask for since we were in high school."

Roman nodded, looking over Seth. How was he supposed to tell Dean that he thought Seth was attractive? He knew how possessive his love got. "Yeah...you'll find the right one..."

Me = Seth just gave a smile at Dean's elbow, glad to see his new friends were very happy together even if a part of him seemed to feel left out and a little lonely. He wasn't even sure how he had missed that the two of them being together. "Maybe, I've not been really looking hard for a guy lately.." He didn't like thinking about how he hadn't had a boyfriend in a while, he didn't notice Roman looking him over before standing up. "I'll go put the orders in and talk to Garrett."

Kay = Roman smiled and turned to Dean as soon as he had gotten up to give the order to Garrett. "Before you say anything, I gotta know that you still love me."

"Course I do," Dean scoffed, "Just cuz I think he's hot and I think he could fit in nicely with the two of us don't mean I'm gonna love you any less. I just like him now too."

"I dunno if he'd even be comfortable with this," Roman spoke softly, "We'll have to ask him."

Me = Seth saw that his boss was busy and started to get the stuff ready for Roman and Dean by himself, he looked over at the table. Both men were very handsome and it was a little hard to keep his mind on his work, but he also now knew that they were together and he wasn't going to be a home wreaker or hurt his new friends like that. He would have to be content as friends.

Kay = Roman looked over at Seth and elbowed Dean, "C'mon, we're sticking him with making our stuff. Lets see if we can't give him a hand."

Dean nodded in agreement and walked over, "Hey Seth, need a hand?"

Me = "I'm fine guys." Seth said with a smile as he looked up, he was almost finished anyway. "I've got this, I do this almost daily." He gave a friendly grin before picking up the tray with one arm.

Kay = Roman grinned and took the tray from Seth, "It's the least we can do. You've been so nice to us since we've met and we feel just awful that we can't do anything about it."

"That's right," Dean grinned, "You wouldn't deny us the chance to help someone like you would you?"

Me = "You guys are supposed to be my guests here today though..." Seth tried one more time, he had a feeling they'd still want to help.

Kay = Roman chuckled, "Guests, schmests. We're here to help you with whatever you might need."

Dean nodded, understanding that Roman had just laid down an initial offer for Seth to join them, even if he did so in a roundabout way. Knowing Roman, if Seth showed any interest, he would be able to talk the young man into being more than just friends.

Me = Seth gave a small smile and nodded, "Thank you, I'm glad I got to meet you today." He said honestly, it had only been a few hours but he was so happy for his new friends. He half wondered how well he'd be able to hide his crushes, but he'd ponder that later right now they should eat.

Kay = Bullseye.

The initial spark had been laid down and later, Roman would try to plant some more seeds that Seth could be the perfect one to join them. "Well I'm glad we met you today too. Even if it took me crashing my car into yours for us all to meet," laughed Roman.

"C'mon, I'm starved," Dean grinned, "Let's chow down."

Me = "Well despite crashing sucking I'd still have to say meeting you guys was worth a crash, lets both just try and be careful next time." Seth teased with a smile before sitting to eat.

Kay = Roman laughed and held up his hands, "Hey I was careful. It was you who wasn't careful."

Dean rolled his eyes, "Leave it to Roman to try and pick a fight."

Me = Seth stuck out his tongue before laughing, "With fourteen siblings worth of fighting I think I can hold my own in a fight."

Kay = "I dunno, Roman's a tough guy. Spends most of his free time lifting weights and running about town," Dean shrugged, "Kinda into parqour too."

"Nah, I just like to jump off of stuff," Roman laughed.

Me = "Isn't that what half of parqour is? Only fancier and people somehow always have someone following them with a camera?" Seth asked teasingly, entering an easy rhythm with his friend.

Kay = Roman laughed, "I guess so. I just don't like to be video taped. The ones who do it with a camera following behind them don't get the reason for it. It's not a sport to be watched at. It's a sport that should be solitary."

Dean rolled his eyes, "Point it, you're crazy and one of these days you're gonna end up hit by a bus cuz you jumped at the wrong moment. Sheesh."

Me = "Well I'm sure he's good at what he does, but it probably would be good to have a spotter man." Seth said with a smile to the two.

Kay = "Mind comin' along with me after this? I don't gotta work for a while," Roman grinned, laying down an invitation to Seth. "Dean has to get back to work but you and I can go hang out for a little bit."

Me = "Sure." Seth said with a smile, "I've got the rest of the day off so I'd like to man." He took a bit of his food.

Kay = Though he wouldn't admit it, Dean was more than a bit nervous. He had been with men in the past who had decided he wasn't good enough and moved on. How was he supposed to know if Roman would or not. "I...I could always call off work. Tell Mr. Sykes somethin' came up..."

Me = Seth could tell Dean was nervous and he wondered if Dean thought he'd try and steal Roman from him, "As long as you didn't get in trouble I'd like that, its fun hanging out with you two..." He said, hoping he was showing he wasn't going to get between them.

Kay = "Well...I don't think I'd get in too much trouble," Dean grinned at Seth. He loved how Seth was able to pick up on his emotions, even though they had practically just met. With a smile, he patted Seth on the back as a silent thank you.

Roman grinned, "You know Seth...if you're looking for a pair of guys to hang out with...there's almost none better than me and Dean here."

Me = Seth gave a smile to Dean, happy to see he didn't seem to see him as they threat anymore. He smiled at Roman, "I think I can see that man, you two are awesome."

Kay = Dean grinned at him and nodded, "We are, we are. It's a shame no one else in town is as awesome as we are. Except you. You're more awesome."

Roman rolled his eyes, "There goes Dean, he's always been such the charmer."

Me = Seth smiled shyly, Dean really was charming. "He's a good charmer." He said jokingly as he looked at Roman.

Kay = Roman chuckled, "All you gotta do is make sure not to get caught up in his charm too often. If you do, it gives him a bigger head than he's already got."

"Hey! My head is not that big," Dean said around a mouthful of his food.

Me = Seth laughed softly at the two of them, he really enjoyed being with Roman and Dean. He smiled happily before talking a bit of his food.

Kay = Dean watched Seth covertly out of the corner of his eyes. Without thinking he asked, "You're hair reminds me of Miss De Ville's over at De Ville's Boutique. Do you dye it that way or something?"

Me = Seth shook his head, "My hair has always been this way, I used to dye it all black when I was a teenager though." He answered before sipping from his water. "She dyes her hair though."

Kay = "I dunno why you would dye it all black. I mean, that is so weird to have natural hair like that but totally wicked," grinned Dean as he leaned back against the wall.

Roman nodded, "Yeah, instead I just always look like my hair is in dread locks and I hate it."

Me = "I used to get teased when I was ten about my hair so for high school I just dyed it so I wouldn't get teased." Seth answered, "Dude your hair is almost nicer then my hair."

Kay = Roman shook his head, "I always feel like I've been out in the jungle all day with the way my hair looks. I just want it to look nice and neat for once."

"At least you guys can grow long hair," Dean chuckled, "I look like I have an afro when I do."

Me = Seth chuckled softly at his friends, "I'm sure it can't be that bad man." He finished what his plate and pushed it to the side.

Kay = "Oh it's bad," Roman agreed, "Real bad."

Me = Seth chuckled softly, "You guys have pictures?" He asked with a teasing poke to Dean.

Kay = Roman grinned wide, "I have. He doesn't know where I keep them but I have pictures of him that would embarrass any man."

"Oh shut up," Dean rolled his eyes."

Me = Seth laughed softly, "You have to show me sometime man, I'll even see if I can find some of my own embarrassing picture to show you so its fair." Seth said with playful smile, he found himself wanting to get to know them more and more.

Kay = Dean grinned, "It's a deal then. How about you and Roman go do that parkour stuff while I finish out some work or at least ask Mr. Sykes if I can get the rest of the day off. He may dock me some pay but I don't care."

Me = Seth smiled and nodded, "Okay, I'll go add this to my employee card and then I'll be ready to go." He replied before getting the dirty dishes together. "Meet you guys at the door?"

Kay = "Oh you don't have to pay," Roman replied with a shrug, "Mr. Scatt pays me well what I'm worth and a little bit extra. I'll pay full price. I know that Mr. Balington totally deserves to be paid this much for his hard work."

Dean rolled his eyes at Roman, "Show off. If he wants to pay, let him pay. We'll meet him at the door."

Me = Seth looked at Dean before looking back at Roman, "If your sure man, I'm sure Garrett won't mind either way." He pushed some blonde hair from his face. He had a feeling that Roman wasn't going to budge on it though and was ready to follow Dean to the door.

Kay = Roman sighed and nodded, not wanting to seem pushy to Seth. He knew that he had a problem with letting others take over. He brushed his hair off of his shoulder and stood, shoving his hands in his pockets and crossing with Dean to the door. "Look, Rome, don't ruin this for us, okay?" Dean asked quietly as he and Roman stood at the door.

"What?"

"You tend to be pushy and fierce. Nobody but me in town can put up with that, you know that. Around here, you gotta act like one of the pack," Dean replied, patting a hand to his shoulder. "Alright?"

Roman looked out the window, "I'm getting tired of being one of the pack Dean..."

Me = Seth finished paying and carried the dishes to the back, he hoped he hadn't offended Roman by wanting to pay for his friends. He had wanted to do something nice for them, especially Roman since they had hit each other's cars. He glanced at the door where they were and headed over.

Kay = Roman looked at Seth with a soft smile as he turned around to the young man, "So, where to kid? The park, the arcade. It's our day."

Dean smiled, "First I have to stop by work."

Me = "I vote for the park after Dean stops by work." Seth answered with a smile to the two of them, "If that's okay?" He asked the two.

Kay = Roman grinned, "Sure, the park sounds fantastic!"

Dean seemed to almost perk up, "The park is great, I love going to the park!"

Me = "Me too! As long as I can remember it's been one of my favorite places to go." Seth answered, his eyes excited like a puppy. He was happy his new friends and he had so much in common.

Kay = "I know right! And we have so much free room to run around at the park here," Dean seemed to share his sense of excitement about the park.

"It needs more room and more trees," Roman shrugged.

Me = Seth smiled, "You'll be about to run and jump too, your not excited?" Seth asked as he tilted his head slightly.

Kay = Roman gave Seth a smile, "I am but I wish the park had more room."

Me = Seth smiled back, "More room to run would be awesome, but we do have a really nice park!"

Kay = "I guess," Roman nodded with a smile. As they walked he looked up at the sky. How he wished he could see more of the world and not have to worry about things like this all of the time. He took a deep breath and stretched his arms before running ahead of the guys and doing a backflip.

Dean rolled his eyes, "Showoff."

Me = Seth smiled as he watched Roman so his backflip, Roman was very talented. He teasingly elbowed Dean, "Yeah, but he's showing off for you." He found himself pushing an growing feelings he had for his new friends he could have down so he could surport his friends.

Kay = Roman shook his head, "Nah, he's seen me do a back flip hundreds of times. I was showing off for you." The smile that crossed his lips was a flirty one and he hoped he wasn't being too strong.

Dean grinned at Seth, "So ya said you are single?"

Me = Seth flushed slightly at the comment and the flirty smile from Roman before looking at Dean to answer his question. "Um yeah, I'm single." He answered, wondering why they asked.

Kay = Dean smiled again, "So...um...what's your thoughts of three people relationships? Would it be something that you could try or are you deadset against it?"

Me = "Oh, well I've always thought a three people relationship meant that all three cared deeply for each other. I've never been against anything like that, I would be in one..." Seth answered, sounding shy as he talked.

Kay = Dean smiled at Roman who nodded to show that he thought it would be okay to ask the next question. "So...um...what do you think about Roman and I?"

Me = "Well... I like you two... A lot..." Seth started softly, not sure where the two were going with the questions. "I think you two are lucky to have a wonderful relationship... I..." He let his voice trail off.

Kay = Roman took the man's hand, "Would you want to join us?"

Dean gave a light smile, showing that he was carefree about this.

Me = Seth looked down at the hand that Roman held before nodding slowly, "Yeah... I would..." He answered as he looked up again.

Kay = Roman grinned, "Really? You wanna be with us?"

Me = Seth nodded almost shyly as he smiled, "Yeah, really. If you guys really want me."

Kay = "Of course we want you," Dean grinned, "We wouldn't have asked you if we didn't want you to join us."

"Dean's right," Roman confirmed.

Me = Seth smiled softly and nodded, he wasn't sure if he should move closer to them. He wasn't sure what would be overstepping his bounds with them, he was a little unsure what to do.

Kay = Roman smiled and wrapped an arm around Seth's shoulders, "You don't mind do you?"

Dean followed suit, "Nah, he doesn't mind."

Me = Seth gave a small smile and nodded, "I don't mind at all." He replied before glancing at them with a wider smile.

Kay = Roman grinned as they walked, "So are we still going to the park?"

"Of course!" Dean let go, running off in front of the others.

Me = Seth grinned softly before looking at Roman and taking off in a playful run, his playful side winning out at the idea of being in the park.

Kay = Roman grinned and took after the other two, running every bit as fast as they could. He smiled as he grabbed a branch to the nearest tree and swung himself into it, "Ha! Can't get me!"

Dean grinned, "Oh that's so not fair Roman!"

Me = "Totally not fair." Seth agreed from the bottom of the tree with Dean, he wasn't the best climber in the world so he wasn't sure if he should follow.

Kay = "You guys should learn to be better climbers," Roman laughed as he looked down at Seth and Dean.

Me = Seth stuck out his tongue before starting to climb the best he could.

Kay = Roman easily hopped out of the tree before landing with the others. "Alright, alright. You guys don't climb too good."

Me = "Can't climb to good, but..." Seth started before jumping on Roman's back, "I'm a great jumper."

Kay = Roman grinned and let Seth jump on his back. "You are a great jumper."

Dean nodded, though he felt a little left out seeing the two together. "Yeah..."

Me = Seth smiled before noticing Dean looked left out, he bite his lip softly as he thought before smiling and jumping down. "Tag, Roman's it." He said as he grabbed Dean's hand to pull him along.

Kay = Roman laughed, "Oh I'm it? You guys are in trouble because I'm good at sports!"

Dean laughed and ran along, not feeling so left out. "You've made him wanna play now!"

Me = Seth gave a playful grin, happy when he heard Dean laugh. He wanted to make sure both were happy, he pulled Dean into a shaded outcove and sat to catch his breath. "Ro is fast, we'll have to play it smart Dean. Maybe try going two different ways?" He had always been a great tag player and loved getting people to forget they were adults for a little while.

Kay = Dean thought about it. He was street smart, that was for certain, and he was almost positive that in a previous life he had lived a life of somewhat crime. "Right, right..." Dean nodded as he looked around. "You take the left and I take the right?"

Roman stopped, crouching down as he looked around. He could find them. He knew he could find them. It was in his senses to find them.

Me = Seth smiled and nodded, "Alright, I'll go left." He grinned at Dean before running off towards the left, running towards a clump of bushes. He figured it would be a good place to hide for the moment, he moved to hide behind them and catch his breath. He didn't know how close Roman would be so he decided he'd move after a few moments.

Kay = He saw the dash of Seth run across the park and he smirked, chasing him as if he were a leopard tracking his prey. He dove into the bushes, "HA! Gotcha!"

Me = Seth gave a sound of surprise as Roman dove on top of him, he hadn't thought Roman would of come after him first. He gave a laugh as he looked up at Roman, smiling softly.

Kay = Roman grinned down at Seth, leaning down to press a soft kiss to his cheek before standing up. "You're it!"

Gives To the Poor

Me = Alex was walking through the collage campus, taking a short cut back from the recording studio. No one in Yensidia knew that the young bar tender was the famous mysterious singer on the radio, no one knew he gave almost all the money he made from recording the music to the poor people in Yensidia. He didn't look the part of a famous singer and Alex liked it that way. He hadn't been thinking as he walked and he walked right into another man.

Shea = Though Scott Keeton seemed like the usual 'rich person', he could actually be much worse. He normally seemed polite, but that could change fairly quickly. His polite way of speaking off caught people off guard when he suddenly changed.

So far though, this less polite side hadn't really shown through in Yensidia, only back in the jungle where he had been a fierce tiger.

As he normally did when most people were at home, Scott was out on the streets, observing those who were still out. He'd only paused for a moment when someone managed to crash into him.

"Hey watch it!" He hissed, grabbing the young man's arm before actually taking in his appearance before suddenly changing his attitude. "Oh... My apologies. Are you alright?"

Me = "Oh man! I'm so so sorry man! I must of sort of zoned out while walking..." Alex said quickly, hoping the other man wasn't hurt or pissed. "I'm so sorry man."

Shea = "It's alright, don't worry about it." Scott replied, letting go of his arm. "I didn't hurt you, did I?" He frowned, looking the other man over to see if he was hurt, though they hadn't collided anywhere near hard enough for either of them to be.

Me = "No of course not man, I'm fine thank you." Alex gave a friendly smile, "Your okay too right?"

Shea = "Yes, yes. I'm fine. Forget about it." Scott replied, waving a hand dismissively. "I should know better. It was my fault."

Me = I'm glad your okay man, I would of hated to hurt you man." Alex said softly before running his hand through his shirt.

And I Hope To Be

Kay = She had lost the one thing that mattered most. While she had thought that her resteraunt was all she needed, she had since realized that there was a lot more to it. Tiana realized that she missed Naveen, the once playboyish prince who had proved to her that he was different. Tiana realized that she missed Louis, the fun loving jazz aligator who wanted nothing more than to be a member of a real band. Tiana even missed Ray, the Cajun back swamp fire fly who was in love with a star named Evangaline.

She missed her friends and, dare she say, the man she had fallen in love with. She had yet to find them in this town, Yensidia. She assumed that they didn't know who they were yet. For a while, Tiana hadn't known. She simply ran Tiana's Palace as a woman named Dia Macedon. While those who didn't know better still called her Dia, she preferred to be called Tiana. As she got the restaraunt ready to open up, she heard the door open. "Welcoe to Tiana's Palace! Hoep you're havin' a good day so far!"

Me = Bernie checked his watch as he stepped into restaurant, he only had an hour for lunch before he had to get back to his classes. He smiled as he sat in a booth, "Hello miss, what smells so good today?"

Kay = "Bernie!" grinned Tiana as she saw who it was, "How are you dear? We've got a shrimp gumbo in the pot as the special of the day. And I'm makin' my famous beinets."

Me = "I'm doing fine ma'am, getting lunch between classes." Bernie answered with a smile, "No wonder it smells so wonderful in here, I hope the beinets will be ready soon."

Kay = Dia smiled at Bernie. He had always been one who was polite, no matter how many times she had asked him to called her Tiana, it was always ma'am. She nodded, "They should be, sugah. What classes ya got today?"

Me = "I believe almost all of my class's today Ma'am, its Wednesday and they like to remind us by making it so long." Bernie answered with a soft chuckle.

Kay = Dia grinned wide, "You know, I've thought about going back to college for writting. I'm thinkin' about writin' a cookbook."

Me = "That sounds exciting ma'am, I'm sure your cook book will be a hit when you release it." Bernie replied as he smiled back at her.

Kay = Dia chuckled to herself. Of course she knew that in his past life, Bernie Souris had been Bernard, a little mouse who worked with the Rescue Aide Society. She had found that to be most amusing when he first started coming around the resteraunt. He was one of the nicest men in town and Dia was certain that one day he would find his Miss Bianca, "So what have you all been learnin' in class Bernie?" Dia asked as she brought a plate of beignets over to the table.

Me = "Nothing important, mostly about how to treat a client we think is guilty. The pros and cons of defending them and why sometimes we should still do it." Bernie answered with a smile before thanking her for his food.

Kay = Dia nodded her head as she talked to Bernie, "So would you personally ever defend someone that you thought was guilty?"

Me = "I don't know, I think it would depend on what they did..." Bernie answered softly.

Kay = Dia smiled as she listened to the shy young man speak, "Are you alright Bernie? I didn't mean to put you on the spot. Oh!" She heard the ding of the timer in the back and rushed to grab the beinets from the oven. She came back with them on a tray, "Sorry about that! Had to grab the food before it burned!"

Me = "It is quite alright Miss Dia, they smell wonderful today." Bernie said with a soft smile, he quite enjoyed her cooking and loved coming to the restaurant.

Kay = Dia smiled widely, "You know, ain't no more charmin' words then you tellin' me that you like mah cookin' sugah!"