Stitches (MaryGold x Lxngdon)

L

lxngdon

Guest
Original poster
l a u r e n​

"Surname?"

"Winter."

"Miss ... Lauren Winter?"

"Yes."

"I see. Welcome to Charmaine."

Lauren Winter was nervous. It was her first day at her new school and she wasn't confident in the slightest. Well, she was never confident, but this was different. At least in New Orleans, she had known her classmates for all of her school life. Here, she didn't know anyone.

To the public eye, Mr and Mrs Winter had moved to Charmaine, Vermont with their young daughter for a change of scenery, and for a fresh start. Lauren knew only the second part was the truth but she would never dare disclose the reason for her family's move. If her father found out she had betrayed him, he wouldn't just yell. She'd be covering bruises for months.

"Okay, Miss Winter," said Mrs Pierce, the Chemistry teacher. "Take a seat next to Mr Hickory there, middle row." She pointed out the boy who was to be Lauren's Chemistry partner for the year, though she didn't need to, since it was the only seat left.

Lauren wondered if it was anyone else's first day as she nervously sat beside this Mr Hickory. She looked timid -- her thin frame swallowed by a white skirt that reached her knees, over grey tights, and a soft pink sweater. Her long hair was out and she used that to hide her small, soft-eyed face. Lauren dutifully pulled her Chemistry book and pens out of her bag and set it in front of herself on the desk.

She just hoped this Mr Hickory was nice. No, she prayed he was nice.

Mrs Pierce came around to them. "Okay, it's the first day of term so you haven't missed anything. Just take all notes and you'll be fine. Mr Hickory will take care of you -- won't you, Mr Hickory?"

Lauren looked at Mr Hickory for the first time. He was very attractive, was one of the first things she noticed, and very tall. And he looked like the kind of guy who knew how gorgeous he was and used that to his advantage. She looked away, unable to keep eye contact with anyone for very long, much less a boy.
 
A N D E R S O N
​
"Of course, Mrs. Pierce." Anders answered with a kind smlie.

Frankly, Anders hated Chemistry class. He felt as if he was dragging himself through it every day despite his grades for it being exceptionally well. He honestly didn't see the need for it with the career path he was heading down. And he didn't like the idea of having a responsibility shoved onto him without being asked first either. But, fuck him.

Looking at Lauren, he took in her appearance. She was a pretty and dainty girl. And from her posture, she didn't seem like trouble. He was thankful for that, he couldn't stand certain types of people and from a first glance, she didn't look too bad.

"If you're confused about anything, just ask." He told her, twirling his pen in his hand.

With that said, he looked back down to his lap where his phone was securely hidden out of sight from others. The device was half the reason he was able to get through the class without nodding off or trying to make something explode, as entertaining as that would be. Instead, he played Fruit Ninja on mute.

Now that he had a partner, he would have to limit that time and actually participate in the class more. It was a headache to think about it.​
 
l a u r e n​

Lauren gave Mr Hickory a small smile when he spoke. He was being nice for now but Lauren had learned over the years to never trust anyone too quickly. She had been hurt by people who were supposed to love her. How could she trust a total stranger? Of course, that was probably her anxiety talking so she didn't say anything aloud to the boy beside her.

She took careful notes, never daring to even look at her phone like the boy beside her was doing, since she didn't want to get in trouble on her first day and she also didn't want to fail this difficult class. They were going to conduct a simple experiment for their first day, which was nothing more difficult than spraying different chemicals onto a flame and observing the colours, then writing a report for the rest of the period. A simple and fun experiment for the first day. Lauren was glad.

She put on her lab coat and safety glasses and stood beside her partner in front of their Bunsen burner. She realised he was very tall, and she was very small beside him. But she was used to that.

"Um ... I'll do half and you do half?" When Lauren spoke, she did so in a timid and quiet voice, with a noticeable Southern twang that was evident of her Louisiana origins.
 
A N D E R S O N
​
"You're going to have to speak up in order for me to hear you." Anders told her politely but he mainly just wanted to get his point across, straight to the point. He honestly didn't like when people were quiet for no apparent reason, he himself wasn't a loud person most of the time, but he liked to hear when he was being spoken to. Of course, he wasn't going to be a dick about it, she was new, and by her accent she was not from the east, like him, but from the south. New and in foreign grounds.

And she did not look like very social, so he somewhat feared for her survival in this school.

Anders had pocket his cellphone and looked to the fire. A small smile crept onto his stunning face as he picked his note taking pen, despite not taking any notes, up and twirled in his hand. And so, they were finally entering an activity that was of some fun and interest to him.

"Chemistry, the only time you're allowed to play with fire."
He said amusingly.

"Wish I could chemistry was the only time I was this close to fire." But that was another story, many stories. "You can start the first half. I'll do the second."

He leaned against the desk, elbow on top and chin in the palm of his hand. He watched the flame with some intent in his eyes.​
 
Last edited:
l a u r e n
​
"Sorry," Lauren said.

She knew that, technically, she hadn't done anything wrong and that this kid wasn't mad at her. But, she was in such of a habit of apologising that it was the first thing that came to her mind and the only response she could think to formulate. After years of living with parents who took their angers and frustrations out on her, Lauren simply automatically requested forgiveness from everyone she interacted with.

She sprayed the first chemical on the flame and watched it turn into a deep sea green colour, which was quite a pleasant shade. She wrote down the colour the flame turned into and then sprayed the second one, then the third, leaving the last three for her lab partner.

Lauren bit her lip. After five minutes of working up to it, she finally had the confidence to say, "Sorry, I never got your name?" She knew his surname was Hickory, of course, but she didn't know his first name. She spoke in a louder and steadier tone, loud enough for him to hear, but still timidly.
 
A N D E R S O N
​
"Anders," He answered in short, spraying the chemicals into the flame and watching a new color arise. It was a fun experiment for how agonizingly slow and boring he found this class, but was no firework making either. Of course, he tried to make the best out of these things if he could and strive through.

"And you're Lauren." He quickly came to recall her name. It would horrendously bad if he wasn't aware of his own lab partners name. But he had a spectacular memory, eidetic memory apparently, so he didn't have to worry about that and a lot of other things either.

He moved on to the the next spray after writing down a quick and short note. "So, where are you from? And why move to this small town?" He was curious, so he asked without any digression. He wasn't sure if that would be considered rude but he didn't care because he had always been that way. Open and rarely ever filtered, only filtered when he wanted to be.

Still, he couldn't see all that much why anyone would move all the way to the east from the south to live in a town. And it wasn't as if Charmaine was some special town, the people were kind if crappy in his opinion and it was divided into the rich, the in between and poor. Sadly, that meant they had to attend school with kids from each.
 
Last edited:
l a u r e n
​
Anders. Lauren committed his name to memory, making sure she wouldn't forget it, both because that would be rude as well as totally embarrassing. She wondered if it was a nickname, then realised he wasn't from the South where most everyone had old-fashioned names so it could very well be his name.

"Louisiana," she replied in the same slightly louder tone -- well, loud for her. She spoke in whispers most of the time, and couldn't help but feel she was being loud when speaking at a normal volume. "New Orleans to be more specific."

She didn't miss New Orleans, even though she had lived there for her entire life and had hardly ever known another home. She didn't miss it because she had little to no pleasant memories of the place, having always lived in a hostile environment where she could never truly feel safe. She wouldn't tell Anders that, though. She wouldn't tell anyone.

She also wouldn't tell Anders why she had really moved across the country to live in Vermont. "My dad wanted a change of scenery," she said, relaying the 'official' reason why they had moved to Charmaine. "He got sick of the marshes and bayous and wanted the forest and the mountains." She shrugged. "I didn't like the city, anyway."
 
A N D E R S O N
​
"How reasonable." Anders said with just a hint of sarcasm as he finished his part of the project. Not that he thought the city or Louisiana was better or anything of that sort, he simply knew things and felt differently about it. And he also thought that was a dumb reason to move considering she didn't look wealthy enough to move across the country so leisurely. Or maybe he was wrong and she carried diamonds in her purse.

"Towns can be just as bad as cities but in different ways." He added as a matter-of-fact. And he wasn't wrong, you could take one look at his friend group and know some things just didn't change no matter where you went. He knew it so deeply it made him sick at times to recall back memories that proved it, when in all honesty he wanted to forget but couldn't. "And definitely not for high schoolers."

Though, things were good. Life was good.

"But, whatever. Welcome to Charmaine, I hope you enjoy your time here." He finished smiling softly more to himself than anything else.

Anders set down his pen, closed his notebook and slid it to the side. And he waited patiently, or as patiently as he could, for the bell to ring and class to end. His eyes wandered over to groups of students who had yet to finish.
 
l a u r e n
​
Lauren wondered what Anders meant, but she was too nervous to ask so she instead just answered with a small smile and a quiet, "Thanks." He was nice, which she appreciated since most of the time, no one was even nice to her at home. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad here.

Her next few classes passed by quickly and soon enough Lauren was standing in line to purchase her lunch in the cafeteria. She stood alone, hugging herself with her wallet in one hand as she mentally prepared to place her order. She had always hated doing things like this. She hated speaking to strangers, and, honestly, speaking at all.

She was about to step up in line when someone knocked into her from behind. She almost fell over, but two pale arms caught her around the middle and steadied her. "Woah, sorry, love," said a British voice, and she turned around to see a tall-ish blond boy looking down at her apologetically.

"It's okay," Lauren mumbled, removing his arms from around her waist. He continued to play with her hair, though, and she felt exceptionally awkward.

"You're new."

"Yeah."

"Where're you from?"

"L - Louisiana?"

"Ha, that came out as a question."

Lauren flushed bright red.

"What's your name?"

"Lauren."

"Cool. I'm Eden. You have any friends yet?" the boy asked as Lauren collected her lasange and Coke.

"Um ... no."

"Cool. You're sitting with us."

"Wh --"

Before Eden even got his food he took her hand and pulled her over to a table where some more people sat. Another blond boy and his blonde girlfriend, a girl with brightly-coloured hair and ... Anders, from Chemistry.

"Guys, this is Lauren. Lauren, this is Claudia, Lucas, Jenna and Anderson." Eden pointed out each of them, sat beside Lucas and tugged Lauren down until she was sitting between the British boy and her Chemistry partner. "Lauren's new so I thought I'd kidnap her."

"Wh --!"

"Edie, you're scaring her," Claudia chastised. She gave Lauren a sympathetic look. "Sorry about him."
 
A N D E R S O N
​
"Please, it's just Anders. I am not particularly fond Anderson. If I could change my name, it would be Wolfgang."

Anders twirled the pasta around on his fork, staring down at his plate of seafood Alfredo that he had brought for lunch. His appetite was weaning, but he continued to eat because his sister had made it and every time he ate what she made, she'd eat some as well. Besides she was a good cook.

"Can we all take short minute to acknowledge how stupid that is." Jenna rolled her eyes at her brother before looking at the person to join their party. "Welcome to the table of uniques."

"That's a polite way of putting it." He stretched his long legs out underneath the table and aimed to playfully kick his sister's foot. "And I already know miss Winters, we share the devastatingly boring class called Chemistry."

"You didn't mention it at English."
Lucas said curiously. He and Anders both shared English and coincidentally it was after Chemistry. And Anders always had something to talk about.

"Well, I'm mentioning it now." He shrugged, digging back into his plate. "Nice to see you again."
 
l a u r e n
​
"N - Nice to see you, too ..."

In the confusion and nerves she was experiencing by being here, in this new school, with a group of people she hardly knew, she forgot that she spoke very quietly and all of the time. So, it came as an embarrassing surprise when Eden loudly said, "We can't hear you, love."

Lauren flushed bright red and looked down at her food, cursing her quiet voice. "I ... I said it was nice to see Anders again," she said, slightly louder, but very timidly.

"Oh. So where did you come from?" Eden asked. Lauren determined that the British boy didn't have a lot of tact or much of an understanding of social boundaries and graces. Currently, he was twirling a lock of Lauren's gold hair around his finger, which she found quite mortifying. She put on her glasses so she could see and opened her food.

"New Orleans."

"Yeah, you sound Southern."

"Edie," Claudia warned again when Lauren blushed. Lauren herself felt like she was going to cry. She felt so embarrassed because she had no idea how to act around these people and she felt incredibly overwhelmed because everything was knew and everything was scary.

Claudia looked at Anders as if to say control your friend.
 
A N D E R S O N
​
Anders only responded to Claudia's look with one of his own full sass, that meant 'who are you my mother?'. Nonetheless, he did not want to see a girl cry, he had enough of that to last him a lifetime. And it was her first day of schools, she shouldn't feel so stressed when she would have to come back the very next day. Her experience should be enjoyable, or as enjoyable as he could possibly be.

"Eden, can you shut up for minute. You're completely overwhelming her." Anders said, leaned back in his seat briefly. He looked to Lauren beside him and tried to offer a comforting smile. He was only this soft with his family, but she was so sensitive she could use some comfort.

"Just relax, okay? We're all pretty chill people."

"Probably the chilliest here." Lucas contributed to his point.

"Yeah, probably." He looked ahead into the room of the cafeteria, watching other students chatter and walk by without a care in the world. By this time, he would probably bailing on the school day. He decided against it for the day. "Eat your lasagne, it's the best thing on the menu."
 
l a u r e n
​
It was weird, but Anders' words really did help her, and she didn't know why. Maybe it was because she had met him before this weird experience, or maybe it was because his calm attitude was such a freshing change from Eden's hyperactive one. Either way, she was grateful for everything he was doing.

She managed a small smile of her own, slipped her fork into her lasagne and took a bite. It wasn't magnificent but it wasn't bad, either. She ate it quietly, and found that sitting with this small group of people wasn't so bad. Eden seemed to be making a conscious effort to not overwhelm her again, and that was nice. They were all nice.

She glanced at Claudia and Lucas as the female kissed the male and he kissed her back. She felt a small twang of jealousy -- Lauren had never had a boyfriend before, but even if she had one, she wouldn't know what to do with him. She'd never even been kissed, and, besides, she would be far too shy to do anything sexual or romantic with him even if she had one.

"How're you finding Charmaine?" Claudia asked Lauren so she could be included.

"Um ... its nice so far, I like the forests. Very different to New Orleans."
 
A N D E R S O N
​
"I bet it is. I've only been once, but I still remember it vividly." Anders pursed his lips, thinking back on the city of jazz. He had been there for a piano competition nearly over a year ago. It was nice as a city if not a lot more hot and humid than he was used to. The weather climate was definitely better where they were, but that was simply his humble opinion.

"If you really like the landscapes around here then Lucas tell you all the right places to go." He gestured to the blonde with his fork with a slight smirk. "He's a photographer, he likes landscape, knows the best spots hidden and what not."

"We could go into the back woods after school, if you'd like?"

"And the town in general." Anders added after it only occurred to him that she may not know her complete way around. Besides, he didn't have much he had to do after school hours. He didn't mind.
 
l a u r e n
​
"Um ... sure, I'd like that."

Lauren's answer surprised even herself and she visibly frowned at herself after she spoke, but she didn't take it back. In Louisiana she had had no friends because she had been one in a thousand teens, blending in with the crowds and not drawing much attention to herself. And she had been fine with this, but now, with these people who just wanted to be nice to her, she wanted a friend at least. She wanted company and she wanted a refuge if it ever got too much with her dad.

"Wonderful." Eden clapped his hands together happily and clapped Lauren on the shoulder. She jumped. "Oh shit, sorry."

"It's fine," she said. She glanced at Anders. "Um, I have to be home by six, though." The curfew her parents had placed if she ever wanted to go out. They were alright most of the time -- only when they were angry did they get violent.

Unfortunately, her dad had been angry a lot recently.

"No problem, Anders will drive you home."
 
A N D E R S O N
​
"Yeah, I basically drive everyone home nowadays, driving one more wouldn't be a problem." Anders informed her with a roll of his shoulders. And taking her home around six? It couldn't possibly be a problem, her curfew was so early compared to his own and even the others.

In fact, he was more concerned if they would be able to show her all the goods with the time they had. It was a town, but that didn't mean there was little to do. There was plenty, especially if she stuck around them.

"If we can't show everything today, we'll pick it up tomorrow and so on. We can take our sweet time." He smiled and finished the rest of the food. "I know, I'm amazing."

"Yep. The best damn chauffeur we have."

Anders scoffed when both Jenna and Lucas chuckled. "I feel used." He pouted rather convincingly.
 
l a u r e n
​
"Naww." Eden leaned over and ruffled Anders' dark hair. "Get used to it, mate."

Lauren had to chuckle at that.

After school, Lauren followed Claudia and Eden out of the school and to Anderson's car. Since there were only five seats but six teens, Claudia had to sit on Lucas's lap and Lauren found herself sitting behind the driver's seat with Eden, who was distributing cans of soda throughout the passengers, sitting in the middle. Lauren hugged her bag closely to her chest as the car started to move. She was quiet, simply because she didn't know what to say.

Lauren took her phone out of her bag and texted her father to let him know she was being shown around the town by some friends she had made. She put the device away before she had to read his reply.

"Where are we going first, Mr Tour Guide?" Claudia asked Anders from Lucas's lap. Lauren watched the loving couple and wondered what it was like to be so happy.
 
A N D E R S O N
​
"You just make sure you are securely seated, young lady." Anders chastised as he fixed his rearview mirror and looked through it only to see Lucas put his arms around his girlfriend's waist. Seeing that he rolled his eyes and made sure he and Jenna both were buckled in the front. She had a habit of never putting her seatbelt on.

"I am not getting pulled over today by the cops today." He said, starting the car and pulling off, passing the school by. Driving through Charmaine was one of the most enjoyable things to do, being able to take all the sights around was wonderful. He could easily see why Lucas biked most of everywhere when he could, it gave him time to take everything in and take pictures

"We are going downtown, plenty to see there and we can walk too."

"While we're there, let's stop by the library."

"Eh, okay." Anders agreed, he wasn't that much of a reader. But most of everyone else in the car was, and he didn't mind going by the library anyway.

"Are you book worm too?"He asked Lauren.
 
l a u r e n
​
Claudia flipped off Anders when he told her off as if she were a little girl, but happily relaxed into Lucas's chest and placed her hands over his, on her stomach. It was such an intimate and loving gesture that Lauren had to look away because she felt like it was something she shouldn't be intruding on, even if it was occurring less than a metre away from her.

"Hm?" Lauren jumped when she realised she had been spoken to. "Oh, yeah, I like to read."

"What do you like to read?" Eden inquired.

"Um ... young adult fiction, like, Harry Potter and The Mortal Instruments, things like that."

"Cool. What else do you like to do?"

"I ... I really like piano."

"Woah, no way. Anders just won a piano competition in Cleveland."

That piqued Lauren's interest. "The Young Artists competition? I got asked to play in that but I couldn't, we couldn't afford the plane tickets."
 
A N D E R S O N
​
"That's too bad, it was fun," Anders smiled somewhat. He recounted his time in Cleveland with ease and competitions before that too. He could recall every little detail that happened on each of those days even if he hadn't one first place.

"Every competition is fun. You get to make a bunch of new friends with a common interest as you. The only annoying part is when someone is better than you. Or just as good as you. But maybe that's just me."

Frankly, it didn't bother him too much because there were people from around the world and it was natural they'd be better sometimes. Besides, he was a quick learner and piano was his greatest passion and ambition, he didn't like anything nearly as much as he did the string instrument. So, if he really worked at it, he found it easy to pass others up.

"There's only one person around my age that's better than me and I don't mind." He shrugged his shoulders, but she too lived in another country. and parked his car in the downtown library parking lot.

"Okay, all of you get out."
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back