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[♔ LANA PEARSON]

Lana couldn't even remember the last time she had been to a fair; before her parents had died, certainly, before she'd moved to New York and left Honolulu behind, but when it had been, exactly, she wasn't entirely sure. She vaguely remembered getting distressed because there was too much background noise, taking her hearing aids off and throwing them to the ground in a strop, which meant that she couldn't have been more than about ten, but then she'd never been particularly fond of wearing the things, and had taken them off at every opportunity. They were too uncomfortable for the amount that they helped, and she didn't really see the point, since she could communicate just fine without them. Even now, she could, and it wasn't like they made much of a difference at all; someone had to be standing very close to her for them to help her hear, otherwise they just weren't useful whatsoever. She was being good, however, and wearing them today; she'd decided that it wasn't the best idea, to bring Mei out to a fair; it was a far louder environment than her dog was used to working in, there were far more people and distractions, which would have made it very unfair on her, and Lana couldn't just tie her up while she went on rides, so it had seemed best to leave her behind. The sort of things that she helped Lana do weren't ones that she expected to encounter here, anyway, and they'd both be happier if she had a few hours off and stayed at Lana's apartment, she decided. She'd just make sure to stop off at the store on her way home and buy her some treats; she'd only had her a few months, and already it seemed really strange to be doing things without her. Dogs really were family, especially when they were working dogs. Honestly, part of the reason that Lana was wearing her hearing aids was so that other people would see them; as a child, she'd been horrifically self-conscious about that, but in a place where she was going to encounter strangers, where she'd have to talk to them to be able to go on the rides, play the games, buy food, whatever, having the visual indicator of oh hey, I can't hear you too well actually helped a fair bit. They wouldn't really help her hear, she needed somewhere quiet for that, but it didn't really bother her anymore. She had more than proven that it wasn't a disability, that it didn't impact her life greatly, and sure, adjustments had to be made, but she could live her life just as independently as anybody else. Lana could have asked her brother to come with her, today, gotten him to take some time off work, but she hadn't really seen the need. She'd gotten the bus out to the fair, and she would be absolutely fine doing this by herself. It would be fun, she was sure of that, and she didn't mind going solo; she had some friends here, not as many as she'd had back home, but that didn't mean that she couldn't do things by herself occasionally. Going alone meant that she had the time to do the things that she wanted to do, not have to wait for people going on the rides she didn't care about, and she could eat as much junk food as she liked without being questioned about whether she was going to get fat, or something. It was a fair, she really didn't give a crap about that for one day, as was probably evidenced by the fact that she had just bought some cotton candy, so focussed on that that she didn't realise she'd left her purse with the food vendor as she wandered away.

[ADRIAN MORGAN]

I'LL WAIT HERE, YOU'RE CRAZY

THOSE VICIOUS STREETS ARE FILLED WITH STRAYS

›phony people come to pray. look at all of them beg to stay. phony people come to pray.‹

As a kid, Adrian had never gone to fairs. At least, early on, it wasn’t a part of his life. His mom hadn’t really taken them much of anywhere. They didn’t have the money or she wasn’t in a state of recovery that really amounted her to doing much more than staying in or searching for her next fix. Though, it was better that he hadn’t, because he figured that he wouldn’t have cared for fairs if it had been common when he was a kid. There had been a few places that he had gone with his mom when she was doing better or when she was actually taking her responsibilities as a parent seriously. There was still a park that he avoided at all costs for that very reason. Fairs though, were pretty awesome. And the first one he’d gone to had probably been with his older brother, because unlike his deadbeat parents, he actually had taken him places and hung out with him quite a bit. To be honest, he liked events where there were a lot of people. It was easier for him to hang out around crowds than it was for him to be by himself. He liked noise and he enjoyed being around people, in general. Yeah, there were times where he liked that for the sake of money, but it wasn’t constantly about that. And he sure as hell wasn’t going to be selling anything at a fair. That was a little too risky and he didn’t feel like opening up the door to getting arrested. Plus, he was there to have fun. There had been people that he knew there, but somewhere along the line, he wound up on his own and was all right with that. It wasn’t actually boring to be hanging out on his own; at least not here where it was pretty cool regardless and there was a lot to do.

Currently, he was in line at one of the vendors. He hadn’t paid a lot of attention to the woman in front of him, except for once he was handing his own money over to the vendor and noticed the purse still there on the counter. When the vendor confirmed that it was hers, he grabbed it in his free hand. And while Adrian didn’t typically have the reputation for being all around good or really the most helpful person, he wasn’t a thief either. He could be, because he knew how to steal if he needed to. But, he wasn’t about to take some woman’s purse at a fair. He liked to think of himself as way more respectable than that. The only places he took from were usually stores and not even that if he could help it when he had money. What he wasn’t going to do though was leave someone without their purse. He knew what he’d be like if he left his wallet somewhere. That was one thing people didn’t want to lose and so he grabbed it and took a quick glance around before he saw the girl and jogged to catch up with her. He noticed the dog, but stopped when he caught up, reaching a hand out to her shoulder to get her attention. “Hey, excuse me,” he said, knowing that usually it was more or less startling when a stranger ran up to someone out of nowhere. But, he held the purse up, figuring that was a strong indicator as to why he went chasing her down to begin with. “You left this.” And along with noticing the dog, he could see the hearing aid, which he didn’t think too much of. That didn’t tell him how well or how poorly she could hear him, just that she apparently had problems with hearing.

made by cupcakesss of Caution 2.0

[♔ LANA PEARSON]

Lana liked being around people, but that didn't mean that she hated her own company, or anything like that; she was generally an outgoing person, but she didn't understand the kinds of people who literally could not survive on their own. Sure, she'd rather have company, but in all honesty, her dog was as much company as she needed, sometimes; she spent the vast majority of her day in a laboratory on her own, or with other techs coming in and out, but they were all focussed on their jobs and what they were doing, and there wasn't anything else that needed to happen there. She talked to her colleagues over lunch, or if they were discussing something work related, but beyond that Lana liked the quiet, because it helped her think – metaphorical quiet, of course, given that everything was quiet as far as she was concerned. It was just distracting to have a lot of people around, and while most people could multi-task and hold a conversation while they were working, Lana couldn't do that because she needed to be able to watch the person she was talking to. She didn't hate company, far from it, she had always been a bubbly, sociable person, but Lana needed to be able to concentrate on her job, too. She loved what she did, after all, and she knew how important it was for her to do well at it, when she was one of the newest technicians here and it probably would have been pretty easy for them to fire her if she wasn't working well. Lana had to be indispensable, and she liked to think that she was getting to that point, at least. She'd worked hard for this, had always known that something like this was likely to be where she ended up once she got her degree, and to have been scouted by the FBI, of all places—Lana wasn't going to do anything to jeopardise this career. It was hard work, though, the hours were long, and it really was nice to have some time off for a little while, without a doubt. She didn't mind the hours because she loved what she did, but there was never going to be a time in her life when Lana appreciated getting called at three in the morning to crawl around on a muddy crime scene collecting samples from a messed up, stinking body—but that was what she had to do, and as one of the newer hires, she was always going to be the one who got selected to do that first of all. It would wear off soon, because there were some new people in the department and Lana was more senior than they were, but she still preferred to collect her own samples wherever possible. She had a way in which she liked to do things; anybody who'd spent any time in a lab would have, she thought, and she'd been studying for, what, five or six years now, she'd more than developed her own habits, after that much lab work. She knew that she was pretty young to have a doctorate, but that didn't mean that she wasn't good; she had experience, at least in the university setting, and now she had experience from life, too. It was good. Lana loved what she did, and she was absolutely the sort of person who liked to love life. There was a lot of good about it, and yeah, things hadn't always been too kind to her, but she was an optimist, without a doubt. She turned as someone touched her shoulder – she might have jumped at that, once, but when it was the best way for people to get her attention, Lana had taught herself out of that, unless she was really lost in her thoughts – frowning a little as she didn't recognise the guy, until she saw her purse in his hand. God, she was an idiot! “Thank you!” she said, maybe a little too loud, but she knew that fairs were loud places and it was better to be too loud than too quiet, reaching out to take it from him, a self-deprecating smile on her face. “I'd forget my head, sometimes.”

[ADRIAN MORGAN]

I'LL WAIT HERE, YOU'RE CRAZY

THOSE VICIOUS STREETS ARE FILLED WITH STRAYS

›phony people come to pray. look at all of them beg to stay. phony people come to pray.‹

Adrian wasn’t as fond of his own company. Not that he couldn’t stand being alone sometimes (because didn’t everyone want to be alone sometimes?), but most of the time, he wanted to be around other people. Adrian thrived where there was noise and where he could be around people that would distract him from his own thoughts. He didn’t have to think when he was in the midst of loud company. He did a lot better when he was surrounded with people. Adrian was sociable, although not always the easiest to get along with. It was just that he wasn’t very shy in the least bit. It would take a lot to reduce him to that kind of silence or shyness. Usually, he could say just about anything to anyone without a second thought. That was both a gift and a curse, given that the things that he said weren’t always the nicest and he tended to make enemies the same way that he made friends. He could say too much and speak his mind without thinking about the consequences or the other person’s feelings involved. If he liked someone, then of course he’d be a little more careful. Because, while he didn’t get too close to anyone he met, he didn’t want to be mean to everyone either. And there were acquaintances and friends that he really liked the company of. He just kept that pessimistic view that something could go wrong and at the end of the day people didn’t have a difficult time stabbing other people in the back. That was just the way of it. Adrian didn’t have an easy time trusting anyone. He had his brother and that was the extent of who he trusted. Really, anyone else and he didn’t feel that compelled to trust them with anything too serious.

Sometimes it wasn’t easy being nice to someone or trusting them for that matter. People had a way of disappointing you and it sucked, but that was life. It happened and you got over it. At least, that’s how Adrian viewed it. He was sure that there were other people that had more of a positive outlook on people in general and they probably had a lot of reasons for that. Some people had better friends, he guessed or a different way of life than he had. Adrian wasn’t an idiot. He knew that people lived differently from him and that not everyone had the same experiences or idea of fun that he might. That was a given. As she took the purse, he gave a warm smile. “No problem.” Honestly, if it were him leaving his wallet or something behind, he would have wanted someone to bring it to him. He didn’t think that everyone would be of the same mindset to help in one of those situations. Honestly, a lot of people would have probably just taken it. And really, that wasn’t what he had any intention of doing. Adrian had no qualms with stealing, but it was impersonal in stores, not from another person that happened to leave their bag laying around. “Hey, it happens. Especially in a place like this.” It was easy to lose something, what with all of the people around. Not to mention, it was distracting and loud and if you were looking ahead to something else, sometimes things were left behind. Adrian figured that anyone would get it and he didn’t think too poorly of anyone for leaving something behind. After all, he’d probably done it a thousand times before. He didn’t know many people that hadn’t.

made by cupcakesss of Caution 2.0

[♔ LANA PEARSON]

Lana wasn't a talkative person, and there were obvious reasons for that; she was bright, she was sociable, certainly, but keeping up a decent conversation was absolutely a difficult thing for her, and it was a lot harder work than it would have been for someone who could hear what they were saying, who didn't have to concentrate on what the people around her were doing so that she could follow the conversation; multi-tasking wasn't something that Lana could do, on those occasions, in the same way that the majority of people could. If she was having a conversation, that was all that she could focus on. It was easier around her friends; they knew this, for a start, and she hadn't known those of them in New York that long, really, but they'd still made an effort to learn at least a little sign language, so that she didn't have to work as hard to keep up, all the time. She appreciated it, certainly; sign was her first language, now, and any time she could use it, the better. But she was happy just to be around people and not talk, sometimes; she couldn't follow the conversation if there was a large group, which was why she seemed much more like a loner, but Lana really wasn't. She'd always been bubbly, she'd always been the kind of person who made friends wherever she went, and sure, she didn't get along with everybody, nobody could do that, but she tried. She really tried, because who wanted to go through life making enemies left, right, and centre? Not her, at least; it was one of the last things that she wanted, in all honesty, and she wasn't ashamed of that fact. She liked people. Being here, at the fair, was likely to be quite difficult, because there were a lot of people around and they weren't going to be considerate, she was going to have people barging into her here and there, because that was just what it was like to be in a busy place, really – and there were so many children here. Of course she wanted them to have fun, that was exactly the point of the fair, but it might have been nicer if they'd been a little bit more considerate, she thought. Just a little, right? But that was life, she had to deal, and Lana wasn't going to be getting upset about it, or anything. She might if someone yelled at her for not getting out of the way, when she couldn't hear them at all, but other than that, she just wanted to take it as it came. She was here to have fun, go on some of the rides, and maybe that was a little sad to do on her own, but honestly, Lana didn't even care. People could think what they liked, she liked doing things, and sometimes it was just easier to do them herself. They couldn't make it, and Lana wasn't just going to not go because of that. She was having a good time, and candyfloss was tasty. She wouldn't have bought it if she hadn't liked it, after all, although given what she'd left behind, it would probably have been better if she hadn't decided to give herself a cavity. “Yeah, there's a lot going on,” she agreed, and she was just glad that he seemed nice enough to be able to help her out, and not just steal her money. She'd have been extremely frustrated if she had to contact her credit card company. “I'm glad you brought it back, though.”

[ADRIAN MORGAN]

I'LL WAIT HERE, YOU'RE CRAZY

THOSE VICIOUS STREETS ARE FILLED WITH STRAYS

›phony people come to pray. look at all of them beg to stay. phony people come to pray.‹

Just because Adrian didn’t have a lot of close friends and was equipped with trust issues a mile long didn’t mean that he wasn’t sociable or that he didn’t like people. He wouldn’t have spent most of his time around people if that was the case. He had a skeptical outlook, certainly, but that didn’t mean that he was unfriendly or didn’t like meeting people that he could carry on conversations with or have fun alongside of. Being a friend and having someone to hang out with didn’t mean that he had to trust them with his life or anything. Adrian liked to have fun as much as the next person and he wasn’t really much of a loner. Everyone liked their time to themselves now and then and he wasn’t an exception. But, he really did like being around people more and crowds didn’t bother him. Frankly, he felt a lot more at home in a group of people than he did by himself. He was used to being around crowds. It was easier for him than to be alone. There was more to focus his thoughts on and he didn’t have to sit down and brood about himself. While Adrian didn’t think of himself as the brooding type, he definitely had a lot of time to feel poorly about himself when he was alone and stuck inside. As arrogant as he could play up to be, he didn’t feel that great about himself; not really. He didn’t have a lot of self-confidence or confidence in other people. Though, he definitely trusted himself more than he would trust someone else. After all, he had his best interests in mind and he could never tell what someone else was interested in. It was all right to get along with people, to have friends, without ever letting them in too close.

And at the fair, he was bound to run into people that he didn’t know. Hell, there were even chances to run into people he did know, but that was a little harder to do in the crowd of people. He came here with the expectation that he would socialize with people and that he’d be able to relax and have a good time, even without being with anyone that he really knew well. And while he wasn’t always the best person to be around and was definitely shady in some opinions, he wasn’t about to steal some girl’s purse. He wasn’t that bad off and he could sympathize a little. He knew what it was like to leave behind a wallet and then to endlessly search for it and hope that it showed up. Usually, something like that wouldn’t, not until you found out about outrageous credit card bills and realized someone must have taken it. Though, if you left something like that around, it wasn’t surprising someone would snag it. He wasn’t like that, however, and so he had no problem delivering her purse back to her. If it was him, he knew he would have wanted the same. No one would have wanted different. “Yeah, a lot of people here,” he agreed. It was busy and hectic and difficult enough to pay attention to just one thing. It wasn’t hard to lose something in that mess of people. “Sure, I know how bad it sucks to lose something like that.” Most people would, he guessed. And even if they couldn’t, it was easy to feel sympathetic, especially if you were carrying around something important or had money on you. Really, money was the last thing that he wanted to lose.

made by cupcakesss of Caution 2.0

[♔ LANA PEARSON]

Lana was smart, there was no denying that; she was twenty-three and already had a PhD, after all, and that was including the time she'd had to take out because both of her parents had died, she'd been in hospital, dealing with the complete loss of her hearing and moving to a state that was practically an entire country away from her home. New York and Hawaii couldn't have been more different, after all. She was an expert in her field, she was good at what she did, and yeah, school had always been easy for her, that was just a fact. But that didn't mean that she always did smart things; she was clumsy, and apparently she was extremely absent minded, given that forgetting her purse, of all things, wasn't exactly the best thing that she could have done today. She needed it; it had her credit cards in, and she wasn't stupid enough to bring a ton of cash to a fair, but yeah, it had money as well, and she'd have to go through the effort of contacting her card companies to get it stopped, and that was just a huge hassle she really could have done without. The fact that a stranger had actually been nice enough to help her out here was a good thing, undoubtedly; some other guy might have stolen it, instead, and not gone to give it back to her. Lana always wanted to believe that there were nice people in the world, but sometimes it was hard to see, she had to admit that. This restored her faith in humanity a little. Or at least in this guy, anyway, which was something. Out of all the people here, she guessed she was lucky that he'd been standing behind her, instead of someone else. She nodded, a little frown appearing on her face as she had to concentrate hard; there were so many distractions around, and as she had to look directly at him, it made keeping up a conversation hard work. She was far better in a quieter environment, but she hadn't exactly anticipated having a huge conversation here, or anything like that. It was part of the reason that coming alone instead of with friends was a better idea, she thought. They'd all have been talking and Lana couldn't concentrate on that and on watching where she was going. “Definitely. It's such a pain,” she agreed; she'd done it before, and unfortunately, she'd probably do it again, but not this time, at the very least, which was something. “I'm Lana,” she added, holding out her hand; they probably weren't going to be best friends, or anything, but introducing herself only seemed to be polite, at this point. A nudge at her leg, however, caused her to look down at her dog, and she frowned; a child she hadn't even seen come up was pulling Mei's tail and trying to get her attention, while Mei was trying very hard to keep doing her job, and God, children were irritating sometimes. You didn't just let your kid go and pet somebody else's dog, especially not one that was wearing a service dog vest, seriously, and Lana couldn't even see who might be this boy's mother. “Sweetie, you can't pet her,” she said slowly, trying to remove the kid's hands from her dog, even if he seemed to be taking little notice of her. Was she talking too quietly? It was a possibility. “She's working. Please leave her alone.”

[ADRIAN MORGAN]

I'LL WAIT HERE, YOU'RE CRAZY

THOSE VICIOUS STREETS ARE FILLED WITH STRAYS

›phony people come to pray. look at all of them beg to stay. phony people come to pray.‹

While Adrian wouldn’t travel as far as to call himself stupid, he sure as hell wasn’t book smart either. He hadn’t done all that well in high school; although he made sure he passed and in turn graduated at the pressure of his older brother. There had been moments where he didn’t think he could even go that far, much less go beyond it. He didn’t think school was right for him, much less any education beyond that. And it was only in the last year or so that he decided that maybe he’d make something of himself other than a drug dealer—not that he was giving that up or really aiming for anything higher. He just wanted a skill that could represent him as well as being able to talk people out of their money and into an addiction. Book smarts hadn’t been required for most of his life. He was street smart, because it was better to be. He spent a lot of his time dealing with junkies, dealers and people that’d be willing to kick the shit out of him if he crossed them somehow. Because of it, he knew how to deal with people, who to fuck with and who to step back from, even when he wanted to be aggressive. Adrian spent most of his time around people, frequenting parties and clubs or wherever else he was going to find good business. And because of his dealer status, he also managed to have people willing to fight on his behalf if he didn’t think he could take the particular junkie that was holding his money hostage. While Adrian knew his way around a fight and could take down guys bigger than him, he couldn’t fight off everybody. Adrian might have been good in a fight, but he definitely didn’t have the same build as the guys that made people back off with just a look.

With the kinds of people he wound up in contact with, it was hard to deny that there were shitty people out there. There were a lot of them that wouldn’t have delivered her purse to her without some kind of reward or something in it for them. A lot would have just dug through it and left it at that. But, he wasn’t interested in some woman’s money or her purse. There were limits to what he would do and robbing someone of their purse because they left it at a food stand was one of those. He didn’t think he was the nicest guy around (the thought was a little laughable, at best), but he wasn’t cold hearted or cruel either. As she reached out her hand, he met it in a quick, loose shake. “Adrian.” He introduced, distracted only by the sudden switch of attention to the kid that was trying to pet the dog. Were you even supposed to pet service dogs? Frankly, Adrian didn’t know what the standards or rules were. He had never really been around them, much less thought about whether or not people ever ran up and petted them. He imagined that they shouldn’t, given that it wasn’t just some random dog out for a walk. Though, running up to a strange dog was dangerous even in those situations. The last thing he thought a little kid would want is to reach down and get their hand chomped off by a dog. At first, he wasn’t going to say anything, but it looked like she was having trouble enough getting the kid to stop what he was doing. Honestly, he didn’t have a lot of interaction with kids. When he thought about it, he couldn’t think of one person that he knew closely that even had a kid, much less one that would be around him at any given moment. Though, with his occupation and the people he surrounded himself with, that was probably for the better. A kid didn’t need to be in that environment. “Hey, kid. That dog’s not here to play. Let her be.” He raised his voice enough to get the kid’s attention, under the idea that he might be more willing to listen to the stern male voice that wasn’t too concerned about talking quietly.

made by cupcakesss of Caution 2.0

[♔ LANA PEARSON]

Lana's brain had been what had gotten her through. Things hadn't been easy for her, especially not in the past year or so, and a lot of people would have decided to take a break, to step back from things for a while; she'd had to deal with losing her parents, with moving to somewhere that wasn't home – and never would be, not quite, however settled she was – and with the loss of her hearing, which had been more of a shock than she was ever going to tell anybody. Sure, she'd not been able to hear great, Lana knew that, but it had been different, somehow, it had been something that she had been able to deal with. She'd been able to hear enough, especially if she wore hearing aids...and then nothing. The silence was odd. But she could have wallowed in that, she could have decided not to do anything that at all...but she'd continued working, finished up her thesis and become a doctor, and a lot of people wouldn't have gotten that far—or at least not as quickly. Lana knew that she was young for it, but that just went to show that there was a brain inside her head – that she wasn't retarded, like some people seemed to think her deafness made her. Sure, she talked a little funny, she couldn't follow conversations, she preferred to talk with her hands. But she had a PhD, she worked for the FBI...there was no way in hell that she could ever have been called stupid. She didn't think that she was better than everybody else, though, not by a long shot; Lana just wanted to live her life, to get on with the things that she was doing, because despite everything, things weren't actually all that bad. She had a job and money coming in, and sure, her apartment was a little smaller than she might have liked, but she wasn't a trust fund kid anymore – at least not until she turned twenty-five and could access that money, but having had to support herself, Lana knew that she wasn't going to just blow what she'd been left by her parents. She had good friends, people that she trusted and who she was happy to spend a lot of time hanging out with, she wasn't starving, her dog was fantastic...things were pretty good, all things considered, even if she did spend too much time at work, and had to deal with the fact that every now and again, some kid would come along and think that they had the right to touch her dog just because Mei was cute. “Nice to meet you,” she replied, making sure that she caught his name before she tried to stop the kid. Lana didn't really know how she felt about children. She liked them, most of them, sure, but she wasn't sure that she wanted them herself. They were a lot of work, after all, but maybe she just hadn't found anybody she wanted to have them with, she didn't know. It wasn't really something that she spent a lot of time thinking about. The child looked up at Adrian and shook his head, mumbling something that Lana couldn't catch about how dogs were meant to play and the lady was being mean by not letting her dog play, refusing to leave. Mei was a good dog, but she knew that she was working, and no animal would have been happy at having their tail pulled; she tried to move away, closer to Lana's side, and Lana reached a hand down to stroke her head reassuringly. “Please leave her alone. Where are your parents?”

[ADRIAN MORGAN]

I'LL WAIT HERE, YOU'RE CRAZY

THOSE VICIOUS STREETS ARE FILLED WITH STRAYS

›phony people come to pray. look at all of them beg to stay. phony people come to pray.‹

Adrian really never had a lot of confidence in his intellect. He didn’t think he was an idiot or stupid, by any means. He was capable, but not a genius. In high school, he had just barely passed and managed his way out of it. He would have dropped out if his brother wouldn’t have kicked his ass for trying to. It wasn’t as if he had finished high school, after all. But, he always seemed to expect more out of him than he did himself and yeah, Adrian got that. He was old enough to understand what his brother was trying to do. And he was in college now, which was saying something, right? It was a trade school, but one of the better trade schools and he was proud of himself for being involved in it. And there, it wasn’t as if he was failing. He was passing and doing well for himself. That was worth something. It meant that he could be more than a goddamn dealer if he wanted. Although, he didn’t know that he would ever give that up or ever utilize his skills as a mechanic. Though, it was better to have a job too, in order to look less like a suspicious member of society. When he made money but showed no signs of employment, people had to wonder where he was getting it. But, dealing gave him enough to support himself. He was lucky in that. It wasn’t the same for everyone. Though, he also had the upside of not having an addiction himself. The dealers that were also supporting their addictions didn’t do too well. They faltered and fucked up. The smart ones didn’t become hooked on their own product, because they knew better. And while he was all for recreational drug use, there were a couple that he kept away from, knowing full well what they were capable of.

Being around so many junkies and having always been in that environment, Adrian was smart to what drugs to touch and which to be wary of. He watched enough people wind up nothing more than shaky addicts taking up space on the streets, begging and bartering whatever they could for their next fix. He saw enough people dope sick and fucked up in need of the next hit that he wasn’t about to wander down their road. He would feed their addiction if they paid him, but Adrian wasn’t a junkie himself and he looked down on a lot of his customers. For someone who was happy to give for money, he had a judgmental streak. But, the first half of his life was spent with someone who cared more about her next high than she did anything else. Adrian wasn’t going to fall down that road. His life wasn’t half bad. There were people that would frown down at him and he was sure there were a lot that thought of him as some kind of horrible, waste of space. But, that was their deal. He didn’t give a fuck what other people thought of him. Because, caring about that kind of thing didn’t do him any good in the long run. He didn’t need to lose any bit of confidence over it. “You too.” Adrian said, glancing down at the kid again. Well, fuck. He didn’t really know how to deal with kids, since he had been in contact with so few. He never even gave consideration to having them himself. His lifestyle wasn’t equipped for it, really. “She doesn’t want to play with you.” He replied, and looked around momentarily, for any sign of a set of parents missing a kid. “They’re probably looking for you, kid.”

made by cupcakesss of Caution 2.0

[♔ LANA PEARSON]

Some people just didn't know when personal space was needed, did they? Lana didn't, for the most part, have an issue with being close to her. She liked that, she was comfortable around other people, and she was absolutely the kind of person who'd give her friends hugs and would happily pat someone she didn't know on the shoulder. She needed to be close to people to be able to read their lips, too, and she could get uncomfortable if someone was crowding her, or something, but most people would listen if they were asked politely to take a step back – and failing that, she could be the one to step away a little. It was hardly rocket science, at the end of the day, was it? And she could excuse this kid from the very fact that he was a kid. They saw a cute dog and they wanted to pet it, Lana got that, she did, and she knew for a fact that Mei was gorgeous. She was biased, of course, given that she was her baby, but even objectively, she was a beautiful dog. But children should have been taught that a service dog wearing an obvious harness weren't there to be petted, because they were working. It was something she'd always known, before she'd become deaf herself – and if they didn't know that, then both Lana and Adrian had asked the boy to leave Mei alone, and he wasn't doing so. For God's sake, was it really that difficult to understand. Her dog was getting uncomfortable, and Lana couldn't have that, she needed her help here, and she was meant to have as comfortable a working environment as possible. Having her tail and ears pulled wasn't comfortable, and Lana, who was so even-tempered, usually, was getting annoyed. The boy needed to listen, and his parents needed to come and control him. Maybe he couldn't understand her, or something, because she knew that she couldn't always speak clearly, not being able to hear what she said. But Adrian was, she was sure, far clearer, and Lana thought that this wasn't exactly what she wanted. She was here to have fun, not for some kid to not do what he was told when he was asked to leave a dog along. What if Mei had been vicious, and bitten him? There was a reason that you were supposed to ask permission before stroking someone's dog; she knew those who were absolute darlings, but they didn't get on well with children. Mei was the most mild-mannered dog she'd ever known, but she was still working. This wasn't how it was supposed to be, and she was getting frustrated. “Find your mommy and daddy,” she added, leading Mei away from the boy; he wasn't her responsibility, and she was far more concerned about the fact that he was upsetting her dog – the dog who helped her live her life normally, and who Lana was pretty sure that couldn't live without. She'd only had her a few months, but already she had made things so much simpler. She crouched down, glancing back at Adrian and the boy, hoping the kid's parents could come along now so that they could resume their conversation, wrapping her arms around the dog's neck and hugging her, stroking her ears soothingly. There, that was better, wasn't it?

[ADRIAN MORGAN]

I'LL WAIT HERE, YOU'RE CRAZY

THOSE VICIOUS STREETS ARE FILLED WITH STRAYS

›phony people come to pray. look at all of them beg to stay. phony people come to pray.‹

It seemed obvious that you didn’t run up and pet a strange dog. That was common knowledge, wasn’t it? Adrian was sure that he had never been the type of kid to rush up to a dog and to pet them without express permission to touch the animal. He wasn’t even sure it was something he learned from his mom or his brother. At this point, it was just common knowledge, because you couldn’t be sure if that dog was going to snap at you. And working dogs, well, they were in a different class. But, even if that wasn’t common enough and the kid was just being a thoughtless kid, he was told to stop. Of course, not all kids were going to listen. Adrian didn’t think of himself as a kid person or someone that could handle them at all. No, actually, he would suck completely. But, he knew that most of them were going to listen and go away if you told them to. Well, apparently a different kid other than the one that was obsessed with the dog right now. He felt bad for Lana, because it had to be frustrating. And while he tried to help get the kid to stop, it wasn’t as if he was doing any better at it. It was probably better to just try to walk away. The parents would probably find him, wherever they were. He wasn’t too concerned about the kid, except for getting him to go. It wasn’t even like it was completely his business and he barely knew the girl in question, but that boy was a little ridiculous. So, if he could help get the kid off, then that would’ve been worth something. Of course, he really didn’t manage and when Lana started to lead the dog away from the situation, he glanced back at the kid. “Go.” He repeated and headed after Lana.

He only looked back once, to check if whoever was responsible had finally grabbed the boy or at the very least, he wasn’t following. When he wasn’t coming after to bother her and the dog, he walked up to them. “That kid was a real pain in the ass.” He commented. Frankly, he was. Although they had just met, he didn’t mind continuing the conversation that they were having prior to the kid interrupting them. She seemed nice enough and it wasn’t as if he had any other plans. Adrian was social. Although he came on his own, it didn’t mean that he had to spend all of his time by himself. He was good at meeting people and being sociable with a crowd of people that he didn’t know. It was hard to intimidate him when it came down to being around strangers. Usually, he mixed in well. Shyness and nervousness around strangers just didn’t happen for him. He had known some people that didn’t thrive half as well in the same atmosphere that Adrian made home, but to each his own. Adrian had always been a conversationalist and someone that had no problem starting a conversation out of nowhere. In fact, he would much rather meet someone than to spend his time by himself. Although he could appreciate time by himself and quiet now and then, it wasn’t necessarily where he did his best. He did his best when he was with other people and able to talk and mingle. Given he wasn’t that close to anyone, really, it wasn’t as if talking to strangers was all that different from talking to people that he knew by name.

made by cupcakesss of Caution 2.0

[♔ LANA PEARSON]

Lana was used to people not listening to her, to deciding that what she thought or wanted didn't matter because she was 'disabled' – and God, she hated that word, because she lived her life perfectly normally, she just happened not to be able to hear. There had to be a few adjustments, yes, but it didn't mean that she was entirely incompetent, because she wasn't. She lived alone in New York City, of all places, for crying out loud; she wouldn't have been able to do so if she had been unable to do things that people who could hear could do. So she had a dog to help her, she talked in sign as much as she could, she couldn't follow a multi-person conversation, she wasn't going to be playing an instrument any time soon. What being deaf didn't mean was that she was retarded, or just plain stupid, or that her wishes should have been ignored, or that she should have been treated like a child. She was cleverer than a lot of people, thank you very much, she was of perfectly sound mind. And yet people seemed to think that because she didn't quite talk the same as them, somehow that meant that they had to do everything for her, that they got to take away her independence and make decisions on her behalf. They didn't. She was a doctor, for fuck's sake! She worked for the FBI. There was a lot of discrimination around, from people who were so ignorant that they didn't even realise that what they were doing was wrong, and Lana hated it. She was smart and independent and more than capable of looking after herself. She just happened not to be able to hear. But that still meant that a child was going to distress her dog and not listen when he was told to go away; Lana didn't know if that was because she sounded funny to him, or just because he was a brat who liked to torture strange dogs, but she was pissed about it, of course she was. Mei was unhappy now, and she'd been distracted from working, and Lana was considering going home, in fact, because it was considerably less fun when her dog was upset. Mei was Lana's best friend, her baby; she wanted her to be happy. Still, she was glad for the help that Adrian had given in getting rid of the child, and she smiled up at him as he came back over to her, scratching behind Mei's ear as the dog licked sugar residue from the cotton candy from Lana's fingers. “Thank you,” she said, because she really did appreciate his help; a lot of people would have just walked away and left her to deal with it alone, especially given that the two of them were strangers. She kissed Mei's head and stood up again, smiling at him, before looking around them at the fair. “You want to go on something?” They might as well since they were here, right? It would certainly be easier for Lana if she was with someone else on a ride.

[ADRIAN MORGAN]

I'LL WAIT HERE, YOU'RE CRAZY

THOSE VICIOUS STREETS ARE FILLED WITH STRAYS

›phony people come to pray. look at all of them beg to stay. phony people come to pray.‹

Adrian knew how to get people to listen to him. Usually, he liked to think that he could carry himself in a way that people wouldn’t give him too much shit. He was blunt and didn’t beat around the bush too much if he didn’t have to. His attitude often put him where he wanted it to. Sometimes he rubbed people the wrong way, but if he did, then usually he didn’t care too much about that either. Not everyone was going to like him and frankly, Adrian didn’t think that he needed a lot of close friends. He never had a fucking need for it. People were more likely to use him than to be those that he could really trust. It didn’t mean that he couldn’t hang out with someone or have friendships. It just meant that no one was going to get too close to him. Adrian still liked to have a good time and he didn’t want to be alone all of the time. If anything, he’d rather be surrounded by a group of people than alone. The less time he spent by himself, the better. But, at the same time, he didn’t need anyone breaking down the walls around him. They were there for a reason and Adrian was happy the way that he was. He saw no reason to change. If anything, this was better than any alternative. It was how he had always been. Adrian didn’t think that he was doing poorly. There were a lot of people that would judge him on his choices and on what he did, but it didn’t matter what they thought. What mattered was that he was comfortable. As far as he was concerned, what other people thought about how he lived or how he coped with his environment didn’t matter. His life was fine.

It couldn’t be so bad if he could carry on a random conversation with someone and be on all right terms with them. Lana might have been a stranger, but Adrian wasn’t without giving a damn about other people. He could stop and help if he could. It wasn’t as if he was ruthless or went out of his way to care little about other people. He wasn’t the best influence, but he also wasn’t a horrible guy. At least, he didn’t think so. Lana seemed nice and friendly enough. And now that the kid was gone, he didn’t see any reason why he shouldn’t hang out if she wasn’t doing anything else. He didn’t have anything better to do and fairs were a little more fun when you were with other people. He didn’t mind being on his own, but at the same time, this wasn’t so bad. “It’s not a problem. That kid was a punk.” Really, he was. He didn’t know if he meant to be or if he was just ignorant of common sense. But, someone needed to teach that kid not to pet other people’s dogs and then refuse to get off when he was told. It was obvious the dog was a service dog. At the question, he flashed a bit of a smile. Why not? It wouldn’t hurt to go on a ride with someone. Besides, it was a little more fun to go on rides with another person. Just because he didn’t show up with people to hang out with didn’t mean that he couldn’t have a change of plans. “Sure. What type of rides are you into?” He barely knew anything about her, much less what kind of rides she was interested in.

made by cupcakesss of Caution 2.0

[♔ LANA PEARSON]

Lana liked kids, she really did; she volunteered down at one of the deaf schools in the city, and it was pretty much the best thing that she did. Part of her just liked to be around people who understood what it was like for her, who she could sign with and not have to spend so long focussing hard to be able to read their lips; it was a difficult endeavour, without a doubt, and it was exhausting. Lana was used to it, by now – it was the only way to get anywhere – but she did like being around people who could sign. When she went to see her brother, it was great, because she could just relax; sure, there was still a lot of concentrating that went on, but she'd been signing since she first lost her hearing at six, it wasn't too much effort for her now. What she didn't like was having her personal space invaded, she didn't like her dog being interrupted when she was working, because now Mei seemed a little jumpy and Lana couldn't guarantee that she was noticing everything – not something she'd have blamed her for in the slightest – and she definitely felt put off by it. She was here to have fun, not to have her dog petted unwantedly; regular dogs weren't even allowed inside the gates, and Lana was not some sideshow to be stared at. Seriously. If Adrian hadn't been here, she probably would have just headed home, which she didn't want to do because she was entitled to some fun as much as the next person. But meeting someone new was no bad thing, even if it had been one awkward event after another. If she'd had to give someone their lost purse and then pry a stubborn child away from their service dog, while they were noticeably deaf, Lana was pretty sure that she'd have wandered off by now; it wasn't exactly the easiest of meetings, and she wouldn't have blamed him at all. She was just a stranger, after all, and he had no obligation to help her. She was glad that he had, but she'd have been perfectly okay with it if he had gone off to do whatever it was he'd been doing before this whole thing. But hey, she wasn't going to complain about hanging out with someone new, either; Lana liked people, she really did, and she liked getting to know new ones. Adrian seemed like a nice guy, from what she could tell, certainly not hard on the eyes, either, and if he wanted to hang out for a bit, then she was absolutely okay with that. New friends were not to be sniffed at; Lana had been in New York two years and still didn't have as many friends as she'd left behind back home, and that wasn't wholly because she worked funny hours – although that was inevitably a part of it. Murders never happened at regular times, of course, so she couldn't predict when she'd be paged in if she was on call. Lana got that it was probably annoying for her friends, she really did. She smiled, glad that he hadn't just brushed her off, at least; nobody would like that, and Lana was no exception. “I'm a pretty big fan of the big ones,” she replied, gesturing to the roller coaster up again. “You?”