Gilbert Kinkaid Walker (veryperceptive) wrote in dc_nextgen,
@ 2011-03-31 02:00:00

Entry tags:

Buy Me Some Peanuts and Crackerjacks (Zoe, eventually Trey)
It was Opening Day at Papp Stadium. Spring was in the air, the Star City Rockets were going up against the Central City Stars, and GK Walker was giddy.
He'd gone to meet Zoe, enough makeup on his cheek to cover the now-healing cut, and now they were walking toward the stadium. "Maybe I should get a car," he said, thinking aloud.

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	zoe_torres 2011-03-31 06:05 am UTC (link)
	"Except you'd have to drive something nobody would want to steal," Zoe pointed out. She walked along with her hands in her pockets, kind of surprised to find herself doing something normal like going to a ball game. "And put it in a garage every night." (Reply to this)(Thread)

	veryperceptive 2011-03-31 06:11 am UTC (link)
	"I think a reasonably old car could be safe-ish on my street," he says. "I'll see." He smiles. "I appreciate your coming, Zoe. Neither guy-watching nor screaming about the quality of players or umpires really works solo." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	zoe_torres 2011-03-31 06:17 am UTC (link)
	"Maybe," she allowed. "If it looks like it won't make it to the end of the block. And nothing fuzzy in the window. It'd be stolen on principle." "Thanks for inviting me. Never been to a game. If I lose control and throw something, don't tell Mom." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	veryperceptive 2011-03-31 06:28 am UTC (link)
	"Well, if I wanted a gold Trans Am with fabulous accessories, I'd live in Orchard Bay." "My lips are sealed." And soon they're there, and he's flashing his tickets, and they're directed to some....really nice seats. Quite nice. "Do you want a hot dog?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

zoe_torres
2011-03-31 03:58 pm UTC (link)

"That'd be a little too camp, don'cha think? All it would need are go-go rims and a gold cape on the spoilers."

The seats were a lot better than she expected. She pictured something in the nosebleed seats that would make watching a game seem like being on a rooftop looking down. From here...no throwing things at the players. She'd be seen.

"I could go for a hot dog."

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	veryperceptive 2011-03-31 07:39 pm UTC (link)
	"Hey, if I've learned from the latest run of trashy pop stars, it's that ultra-tacky muscle cars are a great way to pick up people," he says, giggling. "But the point is moot." There's a concessions person convenient. "Two hot dogs, a ginger ale, and, um --" he looked back to Zoe. "Soda?" He asked. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

dc_citizen
2011-04-01 01:57 am UTC (link)

Zoe will make her choice, but before GK can pay, someone else is handing the vendor a fifty-dollar bill.

"Add a third hot dog, a bottle of water and keep the change, man." Trey Griffin says, offering his best charm school smile.

"No problem, Mr. Griffin. And hey, I'm sorry about your father." the vendor says.

"Thanks, man." Trey says, waiting until everyone's got their items before look at Zoe and GK.

"Hey, Zoe. Didn't know you were a fan of baseball. Are you and your friend liking it down here?" he asks.

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	zoe_torres 2011-04-01 05:55 am UTC (link)
	Zoe could not have been more surprised, but Trey showing up just then or his high handed way of paying for their food. Trey seemed like a nice guy, but it /was/ a flashy move. "I'm not really, but Opening Day makes fans of everybody. GK, this Trey. Trey, my friend GK. GK's the fan." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

veryperceptive
2011-04-01 06:09 am UTC (link)

"Nice to meet you, Trey," GK says as they all take their seats.

GK wants to say 'Ah, Trey. The name of a guy with a family boring enough to make him the Third and the good sense to be embarrassed by it.' But since apparently, Mr. Griffin II died recently, that would be way too tacky.

More tacky than paying for a someone's meal when someone else is trying to do so. Sure, it's not a date, but Trey doesn't have any way of being sure of that, and GK would be feeling really undermined now if it were.

Hey, maybe that's the guy's intention, to scare off the competition. GK keeps his smile mild and would never, ever dream of letting any songs about Zoe, random cute guys, and tree-based seating float through his mind.

...Wait, wasn't there something in the newspapers about a Somebody Griffin the II dying?

"Yeah, I dragged her with the promises of people-watching and possible mockery of poor pitching style -- I mean, I've got high hopes for the season as a whole, man, but I've heard nothing good about the guy they've got starting this year."

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dc_citizen
2011-04-01 11:35 pm UTC (link)

Trey doesn't think anything of what he did, except that he was doing something nice for Zoe. The other guy was /there/, sure, but Trey figured that if anything had changed between when he met Zoe and now, these two would be marking territory in some way.

Also, the fact that his father just died has dialed down some of Trey's give-a-damn.

"Yeah, Torino's gotten some bad press, but I try to give everyone a chance to prove themselves before declaring them worthless." Trey says.

"You guys mind if I hang out for a few? I really don't want to go back upstairs yet." he says.

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	veryperceptive 2011-04-02 12:25 am UTC (link)
	Since Zoe doesn't seem wary of him, he simply says, "Not at all, Trey. And yeah, I'm hoping to be pleasantly surprised." And with a pause, he mentions "Sorry to hear about your loss, by the way," he mutters before digging into his hot dog. It's only right to say things like that, even if he doesn't properly know the guy and doesn't know a thing about fathers. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	zoe_torres 2011-04-02 06:00 am UTC (link)
	Zoe's usual expression softened a bit in a moment of awkwardness. "Mom mentioned she'd heard about it in the news, but I didn't make the connection. I'm sorry to hear it." She attempted a smile. "C'mon and join us. I might need an extra shield if I get caught throwing peanuts." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

dc_citizen
2011-04-02 02:25 pm UTC (link)

"Thanks, both of you. I'm going to hope that the system will do it's job and bring the man responsible to justice, no matter how much money he has to his name." Trey says, his thoughts turning to Keith Queen, the Green Arrow.

He knew /something/ about what happened to Trey's father. Trey had been excited to hear that so many people returned from the dead that day, that he'd gone to the site of the battle and looked expectantly for his father. He could have let all of this go if he could have seen his Dad's face.

But he wasn't there.

"Anyway, how are you two doing?" Trey asks.

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	veryperceptive 2011-04-02 04:29 pm UTC (link)
	"Pretty well, thanks. Mom and Uncle Jed called needing reassurance that I was okay after the whole mess, but that's pretty normal. You don't really get this stuff much in Seattle." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	zoe_torres 2011-04-02 04:56 pm UTC (link)
	Zoe had no hope that the system would provide justice for Trey. "I'll have to go back over the newspaper accounts," she said, more to herself than the others. "The whole mess didn't really touch down in the Triangle. Mom was still frantic, though." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	dc_citizen 2011-04-02 05:17 pm UTC (link)
	"Yeah, the Heights didn't really get any of it, either. Although, I hear people are still a little wary of going toward downtown and such. Good to hear you guys and your families made it out okay." Trey says, taking a bite of his hot dog in order to let someone else fill in the conversation gap for a bit (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	veryperceptive 2011-04-02 05:21 pm UTC (link)
	"It's reasonable for people to be freaked out." He pauses. "You ever play back in school, Trey? I was left field. Not much of an arm, but I could bat well. Zoe, you did some pitching in school, right?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	zoe_torres 2011-04-02 05:34 pm UTC (link)
	"I pitched," Zoe confirmed. "It was that or get suspended for pitching peanuts off the roof at the other kids." One bored day, one roof top, and one angry principal who offered to forgive it all when he realized she hit everything she was aiming for if she joined the softball team. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	dc_citizen 2011-04-02 07:20 pm UTC (link)
	"Nah, no baseball for me. I love to /watch/ baseball. I can't really play it to save my life. I play basketball. My other favorite thing to do is check out the Thunder when they're in town." Trey says. "There's a game next week if you two are interested." Trey mentions. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	veryperceptive 2011-04-02 07:28 pm UTC (link)
	GK's not as much into basketball, but it has its appeal. "That could be cool, work allowing." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	zoe_torres 2011-04-02 07:31 pm UTC (link)
	"Only if you let me buy the food next time," Zoe said, "and still give me an alibi if something happens to go flying across the court at a ref." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	dc_citizen 2011-04-02 07:48 pm UTC (link)
	"Okay, you can buy the food, if you like. Now, if you knock out a ref, I'll just point at a random fan and hope they buy it. How's that?" Trey chuckles. "What do you do for a living, GK?" Trey asks, trying to get to know more about this guy. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

veryperceptive
2011-04-02 08:05 pm UTC (link)

"You know, Zoe," GK says with obvious faux-earnestness. "The first step is admitting you have a peanut-throwing problem." Then there's that prissy countertenor giggle.

"Makeup artist at the theater," he answers Trey happily. "Really looking forward to the upcoming production of The White Devil. Jacobean Revenge Drama. Proud of the fake blood effects I've been working out."

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	zoe_torres 2011-04-02 08:47 pm UTC (link)
	"Grapes were messy, and the red ones made people freak out that they'd been shot or something." She nudged GK with an elbow. "Mom said I was wasting food, too." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	dc_citizen 2011-04-02 09:13 pm UTC (link)
	"My dad was pretty big on theater and the opera. Only one I ever liked was Phantom of the Opera." he says. "But let's plan on the three of us going to the Thunder game next week, then." he says. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)