It wasn?t that he didn?t understand the difference between right and wrong.
It was just? sometimes Charlie was completely incapable of caring, letting the lines blur.
It was its own sweet, exquisite form of insanity.
It.
An appropriate word, used to describe him more than once, reaffirmed that very night in a moment that had gone from sedately saccharine to disturbingly painful following his departure from the Outback. A stolen moment in a nearby alley had rendered his loss irrelevant. The event itself was enough to set the unsettled young man adrift and further from Dragon?s Gate until the deepening hours of the night found him tucked away in a corner booth at Baillow?s Sleepy Corner Sip ?n? Nom, ignoring a fresh Belgian waffle. The waitress had been easy to ignore after that, until the growing number of small paper trinkets filling up the rest of the table piqued her curiosity enough to press for an explanation and the subsequent stare she received sent her hurrying away once more.
Beside him sat the box given to him by the pretty blonde asian girl he?d been keeping so much company with of late, most of the gore spattering it having been wiped away without disturbing the gift(s) within. Charlie glanced at it occasionally, which served to but a mild curve to the oft thin pensive line his mouth had made throughout most of the night, provoking considerable thought about the gesture as much as the giver. The kindness wasn?t lost on him, though it?s significance was a source for a great deal of confusion, and how he would respond was?
Troubling.
It wasn?t that much later that he drew up short of the apartment building?s looming shadow, pausing for a few short moments to seek out one particular balcony before seeking the familiar comfort of the darkness and letting it obscure his trek across the lot. He lifted a look straight up.
205.7 feet to destination.
8 balconies.
97.4 feet of sheer surface.
30.1 feet of of non-linear electrical piping.
Child?s play.
By 21st century standards, the security was premium. By Charlie?s standards? It was an impatient annoyance at best, a scattered handful of moments that left him exposed on the balcony for longer than he?d like, punctuated by a soft red-orange glow that lasted long enough for the muffled Aha! of victory that granted him access to the Chae Fortress of Prostitude (he?d called it that once in jest and had to tersely remind Jen about the touching rule when she punched him in the arm). The lights in the living room had long since been shut off, save for the faint glow of the open refrigerator door spilling out of the kitchen and drawing him up short. He froze there, coiled up tensely and denying the instinctual urge to seek the refuge of the nearest shadow or spring forward? only to find the familiar stare of KC?s greeting his when she stepped into the open space with a pint of ice cream in one hand and the spoon stuck in her mouth in comedic fashion.
?Dude,? she managed, muffled around a mouthful.
Before she could say more, she was silenced wisely by the lift of a finger to his lips and the silent warning of a Shhhhhhhh.
The surprise for him came when the younger Chae did little more than roll hers eyes, throw up a flippant talk to the hand gesture and disappear back into her room. In the end, he was sure exactly what had happened there, but was loathe to look a gift horse in the mouth.
He was, afterall, on a mission?
The hallway that led to Jen?s room was dark, save for the thin sliver of light that peeked from beneath her door, producing a brief look of consternation before purpose outweighed his apprehension and Charlie stalked silently down the hall on bare feet (the busted sneakers would have squeaked too much). Carefully, he listened at her door until he was sure that?
...why would she sleep with the lights on?
It was like the gallery spotlight showing off a piece of art, the way the pale illumination of the lamp poured a soft circle of yellow across her bed, softening the darkness permeating the rest of the room and fortifying the wrinkled untidiness of her bed against the vulnerability of Jen in restless slumber. She tossed and she turned, fitfully, unwaking but burdened in sleep with the promise of tomorrow?s fatigue. It was a sight to both enamor or concern, though his own face remained thoughtfully impassive for a time uncounted, studying her from the shadows with all the pretense of a sentinel?s burden until the purple of deep night finally began to give way to the first amber-orange glow of dawn.
It told him that he?d lingered too long.
Dark eyes fell to the backpack he?d discarded in the corner much earlier, reminded of its contents and the purpose for the invasion. Ten minutes later, his work done, Charlie reached out for the pretty blonde girl, fingers curling around the ends of the sheets when she?d become tangled in them and gentle rearranging girl and fabric until she was tucked snug underneath.
He was gone soon after, but the evidence of his presence lingered:
https://weekendartisan.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/dscn1104-e1282008270610.jpg
http://media02.hongkiat.com/origami/elephant.jpg
http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2010/117/7/1/Girl_in_dress_sketch_by_fishingforcats.jpg
The last, a sketch, was of one Jin Chae as she'd appeared that very night, framed in many multiples of lines that were comprised of words and letters from a half a dozen languages. A puzzle to go with the gift. Attached to it was a note:
Jin,
It appeared tonight that you took time from work to support me in my challenge. I don?t think I can accurately explain the level of significance that has to be and I?d would like to repay that kindness to you very soon. I count myself fortunate that, for however long it will be, that you have made our time together important. If I believed there was a heaven, you were a vision of it tonight.
-Charlie.
It was just? sometimes Charlie was completely incapable of caring, letting the lines blur.
It was its own sweet, exquisite form of insanity.
It.
An appropriate word, used to describe him more than once, reaffirmed that very night in a moment that had gone from sedately saccharine to disturbingly painful following his departure from the Outback. A stolen moment in a nearby alley had rendered his loss irrelevant. The event itself was enough to set the unsettled young man adrift and further from Dragon?s Gate until the deepening hours of the night found him tucked away in a corner booth at Baillow?s Sleepy Corner Sip ?n? Nom, ignoring a fresh Belgian waffle. The waitress had been easy to ignore after that, until the growing number of small paper trinkets filling up the rest of the table piqued her curiosity enough to press for an explanation and the subsequent stare she received sent her hurrying away once more.
Beside him sat the box given to him by the pretty blonde asian girl he?d been keeping so much company with of late, most of the gore spattering it having been wiped away without disturbing the gift(s) within. Charlie glanced at it occasionally, which served to but a mild curve to the oft thin pensive line his mouth had made throughout most of the night, provoking considerable thought about the gesture as much as the giver. The kindness wasn?t lost on him, though it?s significance was a source for a great deal of confusion, and how he would respond was?
Troubling.
It wasn?t that much later that he drew up short of the apartment building?s looming shadow, pausing for a few short moments to seek out one particular balcony before seeking the familiar comfort of the darkness and letting it obscure his trek across the lot. He lifted a look straight up.
205.7 feet to destination.
8 balconies.
97.4 feet of sheer surface.
30.1 feet of of non-linear electrical piping.
Child?s play.
By 21st century standards, the security was premium. By Charlie?s standards? It was an impatient annoyance at best, a scattered handful of moments that left him exposed on the balcony for longer than he?d like, punctuated by a soft red-orange glow that lasted long enough for the muffled Aha! of victory that granted him access to the Chae Fortress of Prostitude (he?d called it that once in jest and had to tersely remind Jen about the touching rule when she punched him in the arm). The lights in the living room had long since been shut off, save for the faint glow of the open refrigerator door spilling out of the kitchen and drawing him up short. He froze there, coiled up tensely and denying the instinctual urge to seek the refuge of the nearest shadow or spring forward? only to find the familiar stare of KC?s greeting his when she stepped into the open space with a pint of ice cream in one hand and the spoon stuck in her mouth in comedic fashion.
?Dude,? she managed, muffled around a mouthful.
Before she could say more, she was silenced wisely by the lift of a finger to his lips and the silent warning of a Shhhhhhhh.
The surprise for him came when the younger Chae did little more than roll hers eyes, throw up a flippant talk to the hand gesture and disappear back into her room. In the end, he was sure exactly what had happened there, but was loathe to look a gift horse in the mouth.
He was, afterall, on a mission?
The hallway that led to Jen?s room was dark, save for the thin sliver of light that peeked from beneath her door, producing a brief look of consternation before purpose outweighed his apprehension and Charlie stalked silently down the hall on bare feet (the busted sneakers would have squeaked too much). Carefully, he listened at her door until he was sure that?
...why would she sleep with the lights on?
It was like the gallery spotlight showing off a piece of art, the way the pale illumination of the lamp poured a soft circle of yellow across her bed, softening the darkness permeating the rest of the room and fortifying the wrinkled untidiness of her bed against the vulnerability of Jen in restless slumber. She tossed and she turned, fitfully, unwaking but burdened in sleep with the promise of tomorrow?s fatigue. It was a sight to both enamor or concern, though his own face remained thoughtfully impassive for a time uncounted, studying her from the shadows with all the pretense of a sentinel?s burden until the purple of deep night finally began to give way to the first amber-orange glow of dawn.
It told him that he?d lingered too long.
Dark eyes fell to the backpack he?d discarded in the corner much earlier, reminded of its contents and the purpose for the invasion. Ten minutes later, his work done, Charlie reached out for the pretty blonde girl, fingers curling around the ends of the sheets when she?d become tangled in them and gentle rearranging girl and fabric until she was tucked snug underneath.
He was gone soon after, but the evidence of his presence lingered:
https://weekendartisan.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/dscn1104-e1282008270610.jpg
http://media02.hongkiat.com/origami/elephant.jpg
http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2010/117/7/1/Girl_in_dress_sketch_by_fishingforcats.jpg
The last, a sketch, was of one Jin Chae as she'd appeared that very night, framed in many multiples of lines that were comprised of words and letters from a half a dozen languages. A puzzle to go with the gift. Attached to it was a note:
Jin,
It appeared tonight that you took time from work to support me in my challenge. I don?t think I can accurately explain the level of significance that has to be and I?d would like to repay that kindness to you very soon. I count myself fortunate that, for however long it will be, that you have made our time together important. If I believed there was a heaven, you were a vision of it tonight.
-Charlie.