orangetoughguy | phone post

I ain't half bad at it either.

[Freddy is beyond lucky to be from LA at a time when indoor smoking laws hasn't been hammered down in place. Yet. He catches that look though and pauses with lighter in hand.]

You mind? [His 'gentlemanly' manners are belated.]

I think that judgment's reserved for me.

[Still not a euphenism... okay, whatever. She shakes her head no over the rim of her mug.]

I quit a few years back with the occasional slippage. It's just the whole smoking still being allowed in restaurants here.

If you got a handle on performance, sure.

[Nope not innuendo at all. Now he sparks that cigarette and takes a deep satisfying pull.]

Well I don't see any non-smoking section signs... [He leans over to look around though just in case, possibly giving a glimpse of the healing wound.] I wouldn't wanna get you in trouble though, dirty your good name with my bad behavior.

[Freddy grins, settling in again.]

I'm keeping score in a little book. [She taps at her right temple.] Besides, I think I'd dirty your good name with my bad behavior.

[The smile fades from her lips as she notices the two fading dots and she looks down at the fries, picking one absentmindedly.]

Does it hurt?

Edited 2010-11-24 05:25 (UTC)

Don't tease me.

[Freddy smiles, cigarette waving at her to indicate his good humor over her bad behavior. But just as quickly his demeanor loses some of that enthusiasm.]

What does? This? [While the two dots were the deepest, the area around the punctures have left a slightly raised ridge, not at all uniform but at least not unsightly either.] Kinda brings 'a pain in the neck' to a different level huh?

[He sips his coffee.] A little grief but nothin' I ain't gettin' over.

You shouldn't have to.

[As much as Angela wants to say the opposite and keep looking on the bright side, she can't lie to his face and say it's something to brush off. Vampires are real and they're scary and if one is free to run around like that, then they need to be watched carefully, regardless if Angela knows them personally or not.]

Have you seen him since?

No, not face to face.

[Freddy shakes his head.] I guess he ain't one all the time or whatever, but my bloodwork came back clean. I'm not supposed to be worried about anything now, no grudges.

[That last one's a little harder to swallow.]

[Angela stirs a whirlpool into her coffee, trying to think back if she's ever seen Amory vamp out like that before. Granted, she doesn't know him well at all, but if he had done it before, shouldn't the network have heard about it? Nothing is kept secret in this place.]

You sure about that?

[She's not questioning him to make him tell her the truth. She's just concerned that he used the word supposed over anything else.]

[Freddy leans back, one arm stretching across the back of his booth seat, the other just bends for him to puff at his cigarette. There's an ashtray on the partition, he's not rude enough to tap it on the floor.]

Medically yeah, somethin' about white cell counts or whatever. I've got a clean bill of health. [But as for grudges...he licks his teeth.] He coulda fuckin' killed me, but it wasn't his fault...

[Right?]

He was cursed?

[Angela stops in mid-bite to ask that. Somebody was cursed to be a vampire for a day? First time she's heard that one.]

Yeah, that's the story anyway.

[And after what Larry did to him Freddy's convinced it's true.]

He should at least apologize.

[Easier said than done, but it's something Angela's never hesitated to do herself whenever she acted out of order because of a curse. It's far too easy to excuse a person's behavior, or your own even, because you drew the short straw when curse days came around.

Suddenly, she doesn't feel as hungry anymore and the plate of fries gets pushed over to Freddy's side of the table.]

It won't fix things or turn back the clock, but it's a start.

I don't even care about an apology so much you know? I mean a little regard for human life? Some kind of responsibility? Accountability? Just a little [Freddy gestures a pinch with his fingers.] awareness that shit like this ain't okay, it ain't a fuckin' walk in the park either.

[He taps ash and goes for a fry, nodding thanks to her.] No one enjoys waiting around for some goddamn tests to come in telling you if you gotta live with Hepatitis or AIDS for the rest of your fuckin' life.

[Her coffee's down to a few sips at the bottom of the cup now. Those are dealt with and Angela pulls her sweater sleeves over her hands, shifting again to tuck her legs underneath her. The position makes her look more like a teenager than a grown woman.]

That would help too. A genuine sort of something would say 'Hey, I fucked up. My bad.', but I can't think too much of a person who can't even do that much.

[Not that she thought much of Amory to begin with but Angela is the loyal sort of person for a reason. Anybody who hurts her friends without any regret is on her shit list.]

[That makes two of them although at the moment Freddy isn't channeling his inner teenager. He needs his Speed Racer shirt and a box of Cap'n Crunch for that.]

Just a little somethin' that you know what you coulda done, maybe how to fix it. I ain't sayin' you gotta get on your knees and atone for fuck's sake, it's a 'curse' or whatever, I get that.

[Another puff, and when he blows the smoke out it's certainly away from Angela.] Ain't like I'm gonna kick the shit out of that little son of a bitch, that ain't right either...

At this point, getting on his knees might be what's needed. A curse doesn't excuse you from responsibility.

[They're speaking impossibles now since it truly seems like Amory isn't going to own up to what he did.]

As tempting as that might be, there's no reason to stoop to his level...

[Angela almost slips and calls him by the nickname she gave him, but no, Chris doesn't fit anymore. Steve? Frank? George? She'll get back to this.]

Just somethin' you know, somethin' showin' that the guy cares about what he can do to other people. Who knows if it's happened before or if it'll happen again?

[Yes there's a bit of wounded pride thrown in somewhere but Freddy genuinely believes someone who acts this way about what he's done would easily walk away from a hit and run. He waves his free hand before grabbing another pair of fries then popping them into his mouth. No he won't talk with his mouth full.]

It ain't even stoopin' to his level. Fucking him up's just not right, it's getting even, but it's not bein' the better guy.

[That sounds a lot more than just a little bit to Angela, but she doesn't comment on it. Doing so would invalidate Freddy's experience and what he feels is just as important those who worried about him felt. Maybe Claire's words about Amory were true and not just spoken from one or two bad experiences with him.

He's going to choke himself on those potatoes. Leaning over, Angela grabs his wrist gently, holding his fingertips still with her other hand.]

There's no crime in wanting to get even. The problem comes when you actually do it. I don't think you're the type of guy to do that.

[Her contact is unexpected. Freddy looks down at Angela's fingers before his attention draws along her up and up to her face.]

No. Not like that, not by kickin' the shit out of a guy.

[Unless he willingly and knowingly kicked Freddy or anyone else he knows around unprovoked. Is that a double standard?]

[It's something she can't help. Angela's a tactile person. She's the type to hug a complete stranger if it looks like they're having a bad day. Touching Freddy now serves the dual purpose of letting him know somebody is there for him and that somebody won't let his bruised pride kill himself on french fries.]

Exactly. So I'm sure none of us has to worry about that much happening. [Angela raises her eyebrows and makes a face.] I wish I could do something about the rest.

Edited 2010-11-24 08:36 (UTC)

No, no you don't gotta worry.

[He reaffirms with two nods. Freddy can't say the same for other people he knows, people who have already gotten back at Amory. He doesn't know if he ought to feel better that Angela understands how he feels or worse because it drives that wedge deeper.]

There ain't much for anyone to do, nobody owns the guy...

Well, I wouldn't say there's not much...

[Angela falls back into the booth as she lets go of his hand. There's a smile on her face that says she's been thinking bad thoughts again.]

A well-deserved cussin' out can make you feel a whole lot better.

[He sees that look and it piques his curiosity but Freddy won't ask, at least not yet.]

Tried it. Went over not too good but I wasn't expecting it to. [He pulls that cigarette closer to the filter, exhaling through his nose.]

I didn't say it would work on him. But did it at least make you feel better while doing it?

[Because that's what her point is. Five minutes of verbal release can do a lot.]

Yeah...it did, I guess.

[Freddy was over it, already moving on, until someone brought it all back to the forefront again. Is she still touching his hand? Because if so his fingertips are absently rubbing against her skin.]

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