Guess Then...I Kinda Got Arrested

[assassinrue]

The captions of this girl's life in his head were fuzzy. It wasn't the same as lying, it was more like she didn't know the truth either and his powers couldn't interpret that.

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Astrid took another drag on the cigarette and blew the smoke in his direction. "So what's your story? How'd you end up here?"

[assassinrue]

Kendrick shrugged again but looked critically at Astrid. The subtitles of her life were blurry and shimmery. Not so much because she was lying, but more because she didn't seem to know the truth either and his powers didn't know how to handle that.

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Astrid rolled her eyes. "Fine, don't tell me. I'll just go now." She tossed the cigarette butt on the ground and stomped it out with the toe of her black boot. "Bye, stoner guy."

[assassinrue]

"My parents abandoned me." He called after her. He watched her carefully, almost hoping she might stop.

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Astrid didn't stop, but she did pause and glanced back. "Yeah, well, mine are dead. I'm not sure which is worse."

[assassinrue]

Kendrick shrugged. He didn't know either.

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Astrid turned away and continued walking toward the gates that led off the school's campus. She got there without interference, and let out a soft sigh of relief as she slipped out. She took two steps before breaking into a flat-out run. She was so out of there.

[assassinrue]

The bell rang and Kendrick put out his cigarette in the dirt. He stood and looked over his shoulder to where the girl had disappeared. He was very curious about her.

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

The last thing Astrid wanted to do at this point was go home. After being absent overnight, most parents would have started to wonder where their daughter was, but she'd not come home before, and her foster parents didn't really care that much anyway. She ended up going to a place she usually hung out with her 'friends.' None of them would probably be there right now, but it was likely she could find someone to score some drugs off of.

[assassinrue]

The only reason Kendrick passed classes was because he learned to write down what the teachers told him instead of what the subtitles told him. It amazed him how many of the things taught in school were just flat out wrong. The teachers didn't even know they weren't telling the truth, the fuzziness of the subtitles told him, but they were clear enough to read, because the universe knew the truth.

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Astrid returned home late that night. She tried to sneak up to her bedroom without being noticed, but her foster father was awake and watching tv. He looked up when she entered and Astrid cursed in her head. "Hi," she said casually.

"Where have you been?" he asked.

"Out." She expected him to say something else, maybe something snide. He didn't, though. He just shrugged and looked away. It seemed he'd given up on her completely.

[assassinrue]

Kendrick went where he always went after school, behind the library. There was a cove under the bridge there where he was well hidden. He rearranged the few things inside and settled down to do his homework.

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

(How should we get them together again?)

[assassinrue]

(Wellll.... they could both get arrested lol. I mean you can totally get brought in for living under a bridge and well, shes a mess)

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

(LOL. Or she could get arrested for possession... either way)

[assassinrue]

(that sounds more like her lol)

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

(Heh... yeah)

Get home late and leave early. That was basically Astrid's routine. She spent as little of her time at home as she could, if you could call it a 'home.' Before she left, she stuffed some of her stashed cash into her pocket. She'd been smuggling a dollar or two out of her foster father's wallet every other week for almost a year now, so she had decent amount of money saved up. He had no idea. She didn't think he'd noticed the missing money at all. Instead of going directly to a dealer--which would be much more expensive--she called a friend who she knew would have some he'd be willing to sell her for cheap. He owed her a favor, if you can believe that. People didn't typically owe Astrid favors, since she didn't make a habit of helping other people. It was usually her who was in debt.

[assassinrue]

Kendrick always rose with the sun. It was hard not to when you were living outside. He sat and ate his meager breakfast by the bridge, watching the rest of the world wake up, wondering what today would hold.

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Everything was fine until the sound of shouting and shrill sirens cut through the air. At least a dozen other people were in the small bar, owned by her 'friend,' and every one of them was smokin' something illegal. So of course everyone made a break for the door, but the police already blocked their way. Astrid didn't bother. She just sat where she was, a joint between her fingers, and took another drag. No use trying to escape. It wasn't the first time she'd been arrested, and probably wouldn't be her last. At least she was still 17. Not an adult.