toparadiise:

  he smiles as he hears her answer, straightening his tie quickly,
  surely,           this will have him forgiven for bumping into her so
  ridiculously. again, he should be more careful, and he will make
  sure to keep it in mind. but for now, it seems they’re in for a new
  tea. 

        ❛ henri baurel, c’est un plaisir de vous rencontrer, evelyn 
          bien entendu, les circonstances auraient pu être meilleures ❜    

  everything had to have a good side after all – and maybe
  meeting her was the one there was to this situation,   and
  the awkwardness of it all.    but her voice, she surely was
  not from here,     and that could be another thing to speak
  about. to get to know her without rambling too much about
  just how strange the situation had been. 

       ❛ vous n’êtes pas d’ici, si ? ❜    

  now, maybe, instead of standing there in the street, they should
  get going. he doesn’t think twice before leaving his hand on her
  back, as if to guide her. 

      ❛ je connais un excellent salon de thé, just
        un peu plus haut.    ce n’est pas bien loin.
                  PROMIS, vous ne serez pas en retard en cours.❜

               _{‘ LA MÊME  à vous, et n’inquiétez pas, c'était ma faut. ‘}

  _{HER FINGERS  relax at the hem of her scarf, through she’s careful to leave as many of the black marks hidden as possible still, if not for this henri, for the others that crowded the street. her smile now is slightly warmer even with the chill of impending winter in the air. she’d not had a decent conversation with one so seeming intelligent in ages, but this, of course, was partially her own fault as well. she didn’t dare go out much, & this was to suggest she was even invited.}

                 _{‘ AH NON,  j’suis une élève étrange. j’suis de les êtats unis, mais je ne me senti pas j’suis de null part. ‘}

    _{& IT  was mostly true. she didn’t feel as though she truly belonged anywhere, there was simply no home to her. it didn’t so much bother it, it was nothing but a simple notion. home was nothing - she lived where she lived, studied where she studied. this wasn’t all that important for some stranger, besides she spoke perfectly good french, so it should hardly matter to him}

                  _{‘ PARFAIT,  et merci. je ne connais pas mon chemin d’ici déjà. ‘}

   _{HIS HAND  on her back causes an involuntary shiver, she starts to shrug it off, but leaves it, deciding to allow the foreign and yet somewhat comforting gesture to remain against her. she was so adverse to contact, so unused to touch that was not violent or mocking. and it was both frightening and far too enjoyable.}

toparadiise:

   the days often went by all the same. the days,   actually, always
   started  in   streets  too crowded  and maybe with a little  bit of a 
   push to get into the right subway  and be wherever he  had to be
   on time.   and walking too fast and not looking around enough, a
   little too caught  up in his thoughts,  or just used to how busy his
   HOME could be.  but this street really was not all that busy,  he
   just got a little too caught up in looking around — rediscovering,
   each day, the colors of the sky. and the shock is not violent, but
   he’s surprised enough to let go of his case.       a bit of a squeal.
   but he’s quick to smile anyway, get to the floor to get it back, as
   well as a book that surely doesn’t belong to him.

         ❛ oh, ce n’est pas grave, ces choses-là arrivent
                     et c’est tout autant ma faute que la votre.
           enfin - ceci vous appartient.  ❜    

  he just hands it over to the girl, a faint blush on his cheeks. oh,
  if he had looked a little better,     maybe he wouldn’t have been 
  a bother. and another thing on the floor to hand her - a mug that
  probably was emptied on the ground.
                                    or maybe not, but he still has to apologize.

        ❛ il a dû se renverser -
                 en voudriez-vous un autre ? avec mes excuses. ❜     

   after all, there was a tea shop, just a few streets away, and
   if it really did fall because of him, getting that girl a new one
   was the least he could do.

       _{SHE’S TAKEN  slightly off-guard by his forthright kindness and gentility. fingers haphazardly lift a black scarf further up her face, hiding the unconcealed scars. eyes search his jacket for signs of her spilled tea or perhaps the DUST of her load of books, but thankfully there is none to apologize for. as her mind catches up she realizes the book is outstretched to her, hands leaping to retrieve it with a bit of haste & embarrassment to her pale cheeks.}

             _{‘ AH, OUI ——– merci, monsieur. j’en ai besoin pour mes courses. ‘}

       _{SHE CONSIDERS  his offer, simultaneously PUZZLED by his finesse & how someone of his clear pride would offer her a thing. true, that she had ALREADY finished most of the tea, but the cold air that had begun to set in on the city took its grip on her throat, it seemed she could never get enough. by the ring of the downtown clock she could hear she wasn’t needed for class for another hour. perhaps one more cup couldn’t hurt.}

                          _{‘ POURQUOI PAS,  encore merci. oh, eh, je m’appelle evelyn ——– et vous? ‘}

thinksradically:

schrrecken liked for a starter —
what was good enough for you - bonnie and clyde obc

“ — that’s how the west was won.”

       _{‘ I DON’T know… I just think there must be MORE, things they cut out of history because they could, because they won. do you not think, melchior? what if the NATIVES were to speak on it —— would it be a different story? ‘}

turningitoff:

    schrrecken (cont’d)

  ❝THAT’S — that’s very… wow, you have a
  fridge in your dorm,    t-that’s something.❞

     _{IT’S HER  roommate’s, not hers. as if she could AFFORD something so stupid. but he didn’t need to know.}

    _{‘ AND A  large collection of sex toys ;; vibrators, dildos. pretty sure I have some for males too if you wanna try. come on, jesus boy, come to the dark side. ‘}

bruiseyou:

(   schrrecken   )

          “ you HONESTLY believe that ??  ”

       _{‘ & IS it truly such a SHOCK to your system that someone could actually think something that contradicts the words of your parents &  preachers? I’m tired of it, so ( fucking ) tired. aren’t you? ‘}

       _{IT’S A BAD  habit, how her mind is so constantly focused on something such that where she’s walking is too often ( ignored ). she feels herself press into the man before, books &  near-empty travel-mug of tea toppling out of her hands. her eyes lift in embarrassment, and perhaps and unhelpable touch of annoyance, not at him so much as the situation itself.}

                              _{‘ J’SUIS DÉSOLÉE,moinsur. je n’ai vu pas où j’suis allé. ‘}