2007-11-30: Another New Face

Starring:

Fenton_icon.gif KeLyssa_icon.gif Mikhail_icon.gif

Guest Appearance By:

Eric_icon.gif

Summary: Falling to get people's attention? Not such a good idea. But meeting a new person is great.

Date It Happened: November 30, 2007

Another New Face


Greenwich Village

Time flies for those who are having fun, but it also travels at the same speed when nothing else is getting done. For Mikhail, it has been the latter. It's not like he hasn't made any progress on his art junk; he actually finished another giant piece for inspection the next day and it deserves a well-earned dinner…type thing.

The artist finds himself here in the Greenwich area, a familiar setting for everything close to 'home.' Wandering has become a pasttime, but people-watching (and sketching practice) also falls into place once he's settled somewhere in one of the outdoor cafe patios. It's not like anything else is going on…right?

—-

It has been a long day for a certain 19 year old. She's just only recently arrived in New York and she's been attempting to find an apartment for herself. Making her way around, KeLyssa finds a cafe to which she can find a bit of food to end the day. With her food finally ordered and received and a drink of coffee in hand, she makes he way out to the patio and finds an empty seat. Sitting down, she starts munching on the sandwich that she ordered.

—-

The area is calmer and much more suitable for an active skateboarder than, say, Uptown. Fenton takes full advantage of this fact, and being that he hasn't really had the chance to do some serious boarding this whole week, he intends to enjoy himself. Wheels clatter on the cement and scrape against the curb as the young man skillfully guides the board off the sidewalk and then hops it up again to skid along the edge. He turns sharply, pushing off again before he takes another jump with the skateboard, hand grabbing the edge to bring it up with completely as he catches a low brick wall that lines one of the cafe garden areas. The thing grates across the rough edges of brick as it slides along before he hops back off of it, landing noisily on the sidewalk again. He kicks the nose up as he pulls to a stop, taking a look around to see what else he can use for a makeshift course. This place is severely lacking in ramps.

—-

Lines, lines, and more rough lines. It's hard when his subjects aren't standing still. He's able to take down a half-detailed sketch of a man on his cell phone at least, but the pose isn't that outstanding. After staring at the page of scrawls, Mikhail juts out his lower lip in thought. Sticking to seated subjects may work out better since he is already in an area partially full of them. Turning in his chair, the artist leans against the table's edge to keep his balance. Sitting funny works better for him anyway.

The lucky person being his next subject for practice is none other than KeLyssa. Her image is now there upon the other random souls he's captured, now and forever. That is, if he finishes it - the sound of a skateboard totally distracts him from adding more features.

—-

"…your telling me that I can't have the right paperwork that I need for the next meeting?" The voice of Eric Lancaster holds even parts disbelief and frost as he strolls in the caffee patio. The young man's hand holds a coffee, while the other taps lightly against the bluetooth piece in his ear. "Right. I'm going to pretend that you didn't just say that…" He says lightly as he glances idily around. "…and I'm going to have that paperwork on my desk by noon tomarrow, and then I'm going to pretend this conversation never happened. Trust me. It's better for you that way." With that the young man clicks up the phone and finally manages to look around…

…and he notices a pair of people.

He blinks curiously before he shakes his head slightly. "Mikhail!" He calls in suprise as he waves a hand at the young artist…before the skateboard gets his attention as well and he turns his head to spy. "Fenton!" Two for the price of one.

—-

Chew chew chew, and chew again. No, this isn't a train (which goes choo choo), this is merely KeLyssa taking a another bite of the sandwich. Taking a sip of the coffee, she looks about. As a person on a skateboard goes by, her gaze follows him lightly for a moment before going back to her thoughts of apartments and fun times.

—-

The place reminds him of one of the older neighborhoods that his aunt is always so fond of visiting- and oftentimes he had been dragged along. While esthetically they're peaceful and pleasing to the eye, for a kid not yet in his teens it had often been a torment because he couldn't be loud or run around- you know, typical child behaviour. It's the same feeling Fenton gets now as he looks around, but he knows he's not the first nor the last to be practicing extreme sports in the area. He's seen plenty of scuffs and scratches on the cement and stones that are dead giveaway to the presence of previous skaters.
His eyes pass over Kelyssa as he finally notices the young woman sitting there at the cafe, and he smiles awkwardly in her direction, hoping he hadn't been disturbing her meal with all the noise. Fenton is about to set off and away again, gently lowering the nose of his board down to the ground, his other foot ready to push off the sidewalk, when he hears his name being called. Actually he hears one name, and then his name, and the voice saying both names is what seals it. Really, he shouldn't be surprised. They're not all that far from the university. The other day up in Chinatown was a total fluke.
The London-boy turns his head and looks towards Eric, quickly scanning for where the Russ-asian stalker is before he lifts a hand in greeting at the businessman. "Eric."

—-

His hand stops short of waving lamely at Fenton. Unless the guy saw him right away, then it's fine to say hi, isn't it? Of course, he doesn't seem like the type to regroup for on-the-spot get-togethers. Mikhail thinks about it again. Waving never hurts.

Again his head jerks up. There aren't any other Mikhails in the area, right? One eyebrow quirks as voice recognition finally sinks in, eyes brightening slightly. "Oh. Oh hey, Eri—"

The jerk-and-turn move leads to an inbalance in the force for his sitting position, transitioning 'smoothly' into a fall. The chair clatters as paper and pencil fly elsewhere.

Mikhail is…fine, however. Just a little curled up on the floor. "…I'm usually better than this," he says flatly.

—-

KeLyssa gives Fenton a sweet little smile before going back to her food. She doesn't much pay mind to the discussions of those around her. They don't generally involve her. As Mikhail falls in his seat, she mutters a little "Oh my…" under her breath and hurries over to help him. "Oh dear, are ya all right there, sir?" She asks, kneeling beside him and offering one of her hands to help him up. There's an obvious southern accent to her voice.

—-

Eric just pauses a moment before he glances at the pair of them. The man wears the well tailored business suit quite well as he shakes his head in some amusement as Fenton just greets him with one word and the artist seems to smile towards him. Then of course Mikhail does his little spin of doom. He blinks once, then just facepalms. "…first you get punched then you go spinning to the ground. Your on a roll Mikhail." He says cheerfully…only to be intercepted in his walking over to help his friend by a new face.

He blinks slightly towards KeLyssa before giving her a charming enough smile and then a laugh as he glances back to Mikhail. "Usually he is!" He agrees with a smile as he kneels on Mik's other side to make sure his friend is ok, helping him with the other arm.

—-

Way to show your gracefulness, Mikhail. All Fenton's seen of the guy so far has been him falling on the ground one way or another. Well… all right, the first time probably didn't count as Fenton hadn't even seen when Mikhail went crashing into an invisible wall. And the second time was self-inflicted, wasn't it? Nevermind, it's not something he finds too important to be puzzling over, but it proves brief amusement enough as the questioning look on his face smooths into something more of a smirk. He picks up his board to walk over towards the little group rather than be cause for another accident- it isn't that far a way to go anyway.

—-

Like a limp ragdoll, Mikhail comes back to life. Or something else similarly metaphorical in that sense. It's more like he's being picked up like one. "Hah," the artist replies dryly in regards to Eric's earlier response. One of these days, he'll show that he's not always this clumsy. And he does it on purpose sometimes because he lacks a better method to work with at the time.

Being light enough for both KeLyssa and Eric to help up is a good thing. "…Um…yeah, I'll be fine. Thanks," he nods at the young woman as some of his bleached bangs fall in front of his eyes. He then looks back at Eric and the approaching Fenton. Ah, so the skater is going to stay again. Amazing.

—-

KeLyssa smiles as she helps pick up Mikhail. "Good, I'm glad to hear that. That didn't seem like a nice fall, none. And I've seen some bad ones." She says with a little chuckles. "Now, ya sure that your gonna be okay? I don't wanna see ya fallin' down a couple minutes from now."

—-

"He'll be fine," Eric answers for the artist before grinning slightly towards him. "Your welcome to," He adds before turning to reclaim his coffee from his table. He leans against the edge of the thing for a moment before he glances from KeLyssa to Mikhail. Is Mik hiding people from him again? Curse you Mik. Or maybe she's just a nice stranger. Or maybe she's a Company plant. WHO KNOWS. Not Eric at the moment, he's just drinking his coffee. "Thanks for helping though, most people wouldn't." He adds towards the girl before his eyes glance towards Fenton. "…going to join us?" He asks with an easy grin.

Then the ringing of his phone distracts him. He grumbles pulling it out and looking at it. A frown before he shakes his head. "…alright, are you going to join them then. I have to take this call. No rest for the wicked or the employed." He laughs before nodding towards KeLyssa. "Hopefully I'll get introduced later." He adds cheerfully before turning away, the earpiece already lighting up as he activates the call.

—-

Mikhail hasn't gone chasing after him, so Fenton sees no reason to be running. Besides. He can maybe laugh at him instead for falling on the ground. Board tucked under an arm, the blonde-haired skater looks down at Mikhail and KeLyssa. "He's tougher'n he looks," he offers, confirming Eric's own reply. A glance is cast at the young businessman then at his inquiry, but before he can say anything in response the infernal creation known as the cellphone, bane and base to a modern businessman's existance- goes off. His lips quirk at the end. "Does that make all employed, wicked?" Fenton nods at Eric, waving as he sets off before he turns his attention back to Mikhail and KeLyssa.

—-

Wait a minute — there's no way Miki would be able to have such connections with people he barely knows! Only once in a while! Other than that, he's…um…MAGICAL. Yes.

"Ah…" He hesitates in answering. Is he going to be okay? Nothing's wrong with his vision, and it's not like anything will suddenly go wrong… Eric pretty much sums it up for him. As does Fenton. Another beat goes out. "Yeah. What they said," Mikhail adds, his face remaining stoic. A brief look over a shoulder confirms that the young businessman is indeed sticking to his busy schedule, coffee and all. Another attempted wave falls short, his hand drooping over his stomach for a moment.

Sitting on the floor isn't that comfortable. The art student gets up, dusting off his pantlegs. Blue gray eyes fall back on KeLyssa. "Sorry about bothering you from your dinner…"

—-

KeLyssa bows her head a little. "I'll trust your judgement on that, sir." She says kindly and sweetly to Eric. She turns her head once more to gaze at Mikhail and Fenton. But before she can say anything, Eric gets a call and has to leave. "Good day, sir. Maybe we'll get the chance to see each other again." Facing Mikhail and Fenton, once again, she flashes a small little shy smile. To reply to Mikhail's last comment, she shakes her head. "It ain't no problem, sir. Happy to help an' all." She pauses…well, more like hesitates before saying, "M'name is KeLyssa, by the way. I'm new in town, real new."

—-

The girl's really polite from her words and her general demeanor. Fenton smiles at KeLyssa, nodding his head at her as she introduces herself. Since Mikhail's managed to get himself to his feet, that saves him the trouble of offering a hand-up.
"New, eh? I haven't been here all that long myself- little over a month at the least. Nice to meet you, Kelyssa. Name's Fenton." He extends his free hand to shake hers to finish off their end of introductions.

—-

He chuckles, gathering his stuff together as well. "Mikhail. And…welcome to New York, Lyss," the artist says softly with a mild smirk. He also looks back at Fenton. His greeting should have been earlier for the skater in question, but…yeah, the whole running/chasing thing. Nodding, Mikhail directs a thumb in the direction of the runaway businessman. "Eric, he'll be around. He's just doing his thing." His important stuff that keeps him afloat.

—-

KeLyssa smiles at Fenton in her usual, shy way. "Nice to meetcha, Fenton." She extends an arm to shake his. "This city…it's so big and strange…I'm not used to nothin' this big, you know. I'm just from a small town. An everyday place. Where as this…this is all big and confusin'. I don't think I'll ever get used to it!" KeLyssa looks at Mikhail. "Nice to meet ya, Mikhail. Now, how did you know to call me Lyss, though? That's somethin' my brother usually calls me…a nickname."

—-

"Small town? Where're you from?" Fenton asks, lowering his hand to his side again. He can't help but grin as he understands what KeLyssa means by it being confusing a place. He's at least a little used to big cities but there's still a lot of things to get used to here in New York. His gaze slides over towards Mikhail again, a glint in his eyes to go with the smirk that hasn't completely surfaced on his face. The answer to KeLyssa's question would be an obvious one if offered by Fenton, but he decides it would probably be better not to scare the girl, even if it is said in good humor. Of course, who's to say Fenton isn't being serious everytime he refers to Mikhail as the Stalker?

—-

Unlike these two, the youth has grown up around New York's cityscape. And see how it affected him growing up. Mikhail blinks, confusion fluttering over his deadpan expression before he can answer. "Uh…I tend to remember people's names a little better that way," he replies casually, feeling a bit silly for telling her that. But this is what her brother calls her. "But I can always call you Kel or something," he adds hastily, holding up a finger to punctuate his point. Saying this should totally not make him a Stalker. Or foil him completely.

—-

KeLyssa smiles kindly at Fenton. "Ah, I doubt ya've heard of the town I'm from. It's down in Louisiana. And I'm goin' to go about guessin' that if you've been to Louisiana, it's only been to Baton Rouge, or New Orleans." She says quietly. To Mikhail, she says, "If Kel'll help you remember my name, I suppose." She says kindly.

—-

A shrug is given in response to Kelyssa's. "Actually, New York's the only place I've ever been to here in the United States. I'm originally from London," Fenton admits. "I thought going to school abroad might be interesting, so I enrolled in the university here." He looks at Mikhail as the guy momentarily grasps for an explanation to his nicknaming. Weird one, this guy. Fenton supposes it has to do with his being an artist.

—-

Mikhail's face brightens considerably. "Cool," he says with a small smile, "I can work with that." Kel. KeLyssa's face. Kel. Got it. He then looks back at Fenton, eyebrows raising. London. The artist never asked about the skater's background, so it's a first for him too. And yes, he does tend to carry out the 'artsy weirdness' to some extent. "Huh. New York isn't that bad once you get use to the flow of things here. It's crazy, but it makes life a little more interesting," Miki says to both.

—-

KeLyssa smiles a little at Fenton. "Makes sense, I guess. New York's close ta England an' all that. And ya can travel b'tween places pretty easily an' all." She nods. She nods at Mikhail. "I think it'll take a long while for me to get used to the size and business of this place, to be completely honest with ya. I don't know how long it'll take me."

—-

"I guess in a way it is kinda close. Just a lot of water separating… not cheap to be hopping back and forth though, unfortunately." He shrugs again. "Place is pretty busy. I don't think I can get used to all the people that manage to pack themselves in one place. You been to Times Square yet? Can't walk two steps without bumping elbows with someone!" Fenton laughs, slipping his hand into his pocket. "I like that things keep moving here, though," he says, nodding at Mikhail.

—-

He waves a hand at KeLyssa, grinning a little more. "No worries. To each his own pace." When Fenton brings up Times Square, Mikhail laughs lowly. He knows how that can be. The nod is returned — something these two can settle with without feeling any more awkward.

—-

KeLyssa nods along as Fenton speaks. "Lots an' lots of water separating us an' England. Can't deny that too much, can we?" She says with a smile. "No sir." She shakes her head at the question. "I haven't really had the chance to be anywhere yet. My biggest concern at this point is just finding a place to live. Then I thought I'd do all the rest. You know, finding a job, touring the city. Those sorts of things." She smiles a little at Mikhail. "We do all have our own paces, that's for sure."

—-

Fenton knows how much of a pain it can be looking for a place, especially in a city like this. He'd like to maybe move closer to the university area here himself, but for now he's settled for what was affordable for his aunt and uncle. He doesn't want to be relying on them to cover his bills, but he knows better than to not accept the financial help they've offered when he's still just getting off his feet in a new place.
"Sounds good. You come for school too, or just a change of pace?" If the latter, then what a way to do it- head first into urban culture at its finest.

—-

Although he's not sure how all of that goes, he's seen some of his other friends and acquaintances go through some of the same steps. His pacing is definitely not matching the others. And yet, he likes it this way. Again Mikhail nods, putting the drawing pad into his messenger bag. He's still paying attention to the conversation, and this is probably the most he's head Fenton speak. It's surreal…but not.

—-

KeLyssa looks about, at all the tall buildings and the multitudes of people scurrying off in one direction or another. She finally turns back to Fenton to speak. "I just…I wanted a change of pace. I needed to get away to somewhere that I could be a little more free to be me." She says quietly and a little shyly.

—-

So it was the latter reasoning after all. Fenton nods, grinning. "Good luck on that, then. You've gotten this far, so don't stop to look back. Just straight," he says, pulling his hand from his pocket to gesture with it. "-ahead." The advice he lives by. If you looked back, you might regret things. Looking back means looking at things for a second time, having second thoughts. With it builds hesitation, doubt, and then you might just stop altogether.
Fenton pauses to glance at his watch, he actually remembered to put it on this morning although he'd forgotten he'd had it on until now. Just as well, since he told Frank he would be back to pick up his cat and maybe have some dinner if the old man was up for it. "…ah, I probably should be heading back. My flat's a ways from here- gotta catch the subway. See you around, maybe?" He nods at KeLyssa. "And you," this is to Mikhail. "Quit following me." He points at the guy, brow arched, but there's a smirk breaking through, two seconds later.

—-

That's as good a place as any to start. A good reason. It's not like they can fault her for doing so, can they? Mikhail shrugs on the shoulder strap, adjusting the length for a few seconds. However, he pauses, listening to what Fenton has to say about moving forward without looking back. A simple message, but it does hint at the philosophy the skater lives by.

Sniffing, the artist looks over at KeLyssa. "Yeah, I should really be jamming, myself. I hope everything turns out all right, Kel. You can do it." Encouraging words. Of course, all of that sort of crashes when Fenton tells him to stop following. "Wh— I'm not following you!" Mikhail half-yells, the effort strained. His brow furrows, but he keeps a mild smirk on his face. Taking a step back, he points at Fenton, continuing to walk backwards before turning on a heel. One last wave is given to both.

—-

KeLyssa nods a little. "I'll try to keep that in mind." She agrees. "We'll see if we run into each other again. This IS a big city after all." Smiling, she nods. "I'll see you both later…hopefully." She smiles and goes back to her sandwich and coffee.

—-

That's the first time he's heard Mikhail shout. It's kind of funny since it still sounds like he hasn't put his heart into it. Fenton holds back a snicker. "Later." The skateboard is dropped onto the ground, and Fenton waves at them both before he pushes off and is rolling on down the street.

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