Universes Across

  • So many newbies lately! Here is a very important PSA about one of our most vital content policies! Read it even if you are an ancient member!
Status
Not open for further replies.
S

SurpySoup

Guest
Original poster
Kimber woke up the same way every morning. Alarm at 5:30, snooze button, alarm again at 5:39. Grumbling, she would climb out of bed and stumble across her small apartment to the bathroom. Morning rituals, then change for the day. Small breakfast. Out the door by 6:30.

She doesn't quite know why she kept this routine for so long. It wasn't like she had any reason anymore. Her job switched her hours, she wasn't in school anymore.. she could easily sleep in. As she thought about it, her alarm went off for 5:39 and she got up as usual.

Kimber took longer this morning, catching herself staring at her reflection in the mirror twice, frowning at her plain and too-straight brown hair, muddy green eyes, and freckled nose. She followed the rest of her routine, dressed, and left her apartment armed with a scarf, hat, and bag containing her notebook laptop, a notebook, and an assortment of pens and pencils.

The weather was overcast, but it wasn't too cold. She just liked having a scarf and hat. And so, by 7:00, she was out the door and walking toward the park. It was still too early to really do anything else, and she normally spent an hour or more walking aroubd, enjoying the quiet morning. And so, amthat is exactly what she did.
 
Alex stretched, yawning. It was early, about 5:20 am. He sighed. "Why is this such a habit.." he muttered to himself, standing. He pulled on a pair of black shorts and a grey hoodie before glancing in the mirror, his blue eyes startling from behind a shock of jet-black hair. He brushed his hair back, picking up a pair of scissors. He cut his hair to a reasonable, shorter length, ruffling it back to it's disheveled look, though, on him, it looked nice. He smirked. "Now off to the park for an early morning job before work.." He turned, grabbing his keys.

Several minutes later, he was jogging down a path in the park, enjoying the cool, but not cold, breeze, letting it keep him from overheating as he jogged. He was watching the clouds and didn't notice the brown-haired girl ahead until he bumped into her. Out of reflex, his hands shot forwards, grabbing her shoulders to keep her from falling. "I am so sorry.." he said, letting go, his eyes wide. He knelt down, picking up the bag. Nothing had broken. "Are you okay?" he asked quietly, returning her bag to her.
 
Admittedly, she had been distracted by a couple of squirrels in a tree, so she wasn't paying attention either. She gasped, loudly, as her breath was knocked out of her. Hands held her steady, and she was reeling as her bag was handed to her.

Blinking, Kimber looked up at the voice. She nodded, then inhaled and fixed her hat. She held her bag tightly.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, I should've been watching where I was stopping." She laughed nervously. "I hope I didn't throw off your groove."

She took a second to glance at the jogger, as she was now certain he was. She caught herself before she stared too long and smiled again. "Not usually many people out here this early. Or at least, not this path.."
 
Alex smiled slightly, rubbing the back of his neck. "As long as you're not hurt." he chuckled, shaking his head. "You didn't." he smiled. "I decided to take this path today just because it's the only one I haven't been on...you come out here a lot?" he asked, tilting his head slightly. He usually took different sets of paths just for the simple fact that doing the same thing every day didn't keep his mind on it's sharpest point, and that was something he needed, a sharp mind, quick reflexes. "Mind if I walk with you?" he added to his last question. He'd gotten in enough of a jog to start walking now, his heart still racing and his breaths just now regaining themselves to a normal pace. He ran a hand through his hair, smiling. She looked nice...he felt bad for bumping into her.
 
She fidgeted with her bag's strap for a second before nodding. "Sure. Company's always nice. I was really just looking for a nice place to sit."

She hurriedly looked away from the man, suddenly nervous. She had been thinking about sitting under the trees the squirrels were playing by, but she wasn't sure how her new friend would feel about that. So she started walking, acutely aware of the sound her shoes made on the pavement.

"Oh, I'm Kimberly. I.. I prefer just Kimber, though," she said quickly, spinning around on her heels to face the jogger with another awkward smile.
 
Alex nodded. He kept up with her. "I'm Alex. Nice to meet you Kimber." He says with a bright smile. He looked around a little and remembered something he'd seen on the map. "Ya know, there's a little pond ahead where we could sit, if you want to sit somewhere." he said, smiling at her. "You know..your kinda cute." he smirked, chuckling a little. He noticed a biker ahead and put and arm around her, pulling her out of the way. "Slow down!" he called after the man, who just continued. He let go of Kimberly. "Sorry..habit." He blushed a little, running a hand through his hair, glad he cut it this morning.
 
So much was happening this morning. What had happened differently that the entire routine would be so out of whack? She stumbled as she was pulled out of the way of a cyclist. She couldn't help but laugh nervously.

"It's alright. I rather like not being a pancake, so thank you." She smiled, having not heard the comment about her apparent cuteness. "Wanna lead the way to that good sitting spot?"

She probably knew where Alex was talking about, but it was actually nice having someone else walk with her.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Alex nodded. "Okay." he smiled, offering her his hand as he took a step forwards, smiling at her. She did look really nice..he felt his heart skip a beat and he forcefully looked up at the sky. He looked back at her and chuckled slightly, smiling. It was nice to be able to talk to someone, walk with someone, and for him, it was a rare occurence. He was too busy with work mostly, being a journalist, mostly he was interviewing, instead of making friends. I should do this more often..especially with Kimber.. He thought to himself.
 
She giggled, her hand slipping into his offered one. His stride was longer than hers, but she kept up easily enough. She was able to look around again, but kept catching heself staring at Alex instead.

"So you come jogging out here often?" She asked, looking away.
 
Alex nodded, smiling slightly as he looked at her. "I do. It's beautiful here, and it's always so calm in the morning, cool too, even in the summer." he said honestly. He loved to come out and jog, to be in nature. "I know all the routes in this park back and forth." He said. Of course, he had them memorized like tha back of his mind. He smiled. "What about you?" he asked.
 
"I don't jog," she answered with a grin, "but I do come out to walk. But I stare at everything else too much to know any of the routes by heart."

She smiled up at him, her hand feeling very small in his. Her chest felt oddly tight and it made her want to laugh, but that would've been silly. Instead, she looked away, at the scenery, as they walked.
 
Alex smiled. "Okay...it is very beautiful.." But not as pretty as she is. He thought to himself. Wait..where'd that come from?? He shook his head slightly. "Hey, we're almost there." he motioned to the fountain ahead, smiling at her. He wanted to hug her, but that would be awkward. He glanced around a little. It was fairly empty. "What are your plans for today?" he found himself asking. why'd you ask that??..gah... He thought to himself.
 
Kimber skipped the rest of the way, the sight of the fountain making her giddy. Her hair flapped behind her, her hat threatening to fall off, and she came to a stop right by the water.

"I was going to walk around here for a while, get some work done this afternoon."

She stopped and spun around, staring at Alex, her mind racing. For one, that was an odd thing a stranger would ask another, and two: why did she answer so freely? She looked away and sat on the edge of the fountain.

"You must be a busy individual if you come out to jog so early." She tried to change the subject, hoping to dispel the weird tension growing in her chest.
 
Alex shrugged. "Not really..I just like to get an early start." he said, sitting on the ground by her feet, resting his head back on the fountain and looking up. "After this, wanna go get a cup of tea or coffee before we split today?" He asked. He had no idea where the question came from, but he said it anyway. He felt a strange urge to rest his head against her knee, but refrained from doing it. A wise choice. Keep calm, keep a cool front. He thought to himself, searching the sky as he let out a long sigh.
 
It took her a second of thought before she replied. "Tea sounds nice, actually. I know of a real nice place downtown. I usually go there once I finish my walk."

She kicked her feet against the cement beneath her and touched some wet stone gently with a finger.

"What do you do?" She asked, tilting her head to look at the man. She smiled, timidly. He was attractive, she'd give him that.
 
Alex looked at her and shrugged. "Sometimes I go home, sometimes I go get tea from a friend of mine, he runs a business, and sometimes I have deadlines to meet. Today I was going to get tea.." he smiled a little more at the coincidence, "then I was going to go home and find out when all my deadlines are for this week." he said. "What's the name of this place you know? I don't get to go downtown often.."
 
She nodded slowly as he spoke, smiling. His day didn't sound much different than hers. She turned slightly to look at him closer.

"Cornerstone Cafe. They have treats there, too, and coffee and tea." She smiled. A strand of hair fell from behind her ear. "What do you do for a living?"
 
"Ah, yes. My friend works there!" he smiled up at her. "I'm the head journalist for my newspaper..Silver Gates? It's kind of small, so I doubt if you know it." he shrugged, but did not seem the least bit faded. He loved his job. As a child, he had always adored the local newspaper, and promised his parents that the years he went to a writing summer school would pay off. His journal wasn't very known, but it did earn enough money for an okay living, a spectacular one in his opinion. He took a lot of pride in his newspaper. "There's fifteen people on my entire team." he said with confidence.
 
Kimber held her bag tightly and smiled. "That sounds really awesome."

She giggled a little and readjusted herself on the edge of the fountain. She pulled out her phone and checked the time. It was getting to be about 8:20-ish, and the coffee shop would definitely be open. Plenty of early movers that went in for a cup before work, she was one of them. As she mused on it, she started to stand and reached for Alex's hand in the process.

"Well, let's go. The coffee shop is still a ways away, so we'd better get moving if we want to get there before the 9 o'clock rush." The girl laughed, knowing how absurd that sounded. But still. Coffee or tea with this guy sounded like a great idea. He was so intriguing.
 
Alex had zoned out, watching the sky. When she started to stand, his focus re-placed itself on her and he smiled. "Okay!" he chuckled, reaching up and taking her hand and standing. He didn't let go of her hand, chuckling a little. "Would you like me to lead?" he said, despite the fact he knew very well that she knew the way. He felt so relaxed and happy, which made him chuckle again. "What time is it?" he asked curiously. He'd forgotten his watch and his phone was off to save battery.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom
Back