Summer never ends discussion

The promenade if filled with stalls, it's got various ice cream vans, food stalls, buckets and spades everything you need for a good day at the beach!

Alyssa walked along the promenade with her beach stuff and her dead iPod. Her flip flops smacking on the boardwalk with each step. The sun was blisteringly hot and was making her sweat like crazy, which was not too hot but whatever. She stopped at an ice cream cart and flirted with the guy managing it until he gave her a free cone.

Hadley sat idly on a bench, debating whether he should stand up and go try to make conversation with someone. It was a pointless debate - he'd never work up the courage to do something like that. He sighed and looked up at the sky, then looked around at the people again. Why did I even come here? I should be playing an instrument or studying or something... it never hurts to be prepared for college early. But he knew that he really should be at the promenade, trying to socialize. After all, one of his summer goals was to break out of his shell a bit. He tugged on the sleeves of his sweater, which he was wearing despite the hot weather. He didn't want to have to apply sunscreen to his pale skin, but didn't want to burn, so the sweater was the compromise.

Alyssa stumbled a bit when a rock got in her flip flop and she cursed, shaking her foot to get it out but to no avail. She looked around then hobbled to a nearby bench and sat down. She pulled of her sandal and a decent sized rock fell to the ground. She sighed and put her shoe back on. She looked to her left and raised a brow at the boy next to her. "Are you wearing a sweater in hundred degree weather?" She asked in disbelief.

Hadley sat up straighter and his eyes darted nervously to the girl next to him. He cleared his throat. Look, someone is actually interacting with you, this is your chance to maybe make a friend... "Um, I don't want to get sunburned. And I'm wearing shorts, so," he said quietly. Wow, clever. He winced slightly at his own lack of eloquence and looked down at his hands, which were mostly covered by the sleeves of his sweater.

Alyssa laughed, "I don't think that cancels out the way you think it does." She said. She herself was wearing a lavender colored tank top and a pair of short jean shorts. "I've got a bottle of spray sunscreen, you don't have to rub it in at all. You wanna use it and take off that sweater?" She asked. She didn't see how it could be comfortable in weather like this. She started digging around in her bag and pulled out the aerosol can of sunscreen and held it out.

Hadley looked up again, a bit alarmed. "Um, no, I mean, it's fine," he said, biting his lower lip and then releasing it. "I... I didn't really plan on staying here long anyways. I mean, I don't really have any reason to be here." Way to reveal what a loser you are. "Thanks, though," he said, smiling a bit at her. Do I seem rude? She already took it out of her bag and everything...

Alyssa shrugged and put it back in her bag. "If you say so dude." She smiled at him, "most people don't really have a reason to be here you know. Most of us are here because there are other people here. I mean really, how many people actually go swimming?" She asked, though it was more of a rhetorical question than anything else. She stretched out her arms and leaned back on the bench. "I'm Alyssa by the way." She said and reached out her right hand to shake.

Hadley considered that, that most people didn't really have a reason to be at the beach, and realized that it was probably true. He reached out to shake her hand, his grip soft and what his brother had always obnoxiously described as "wimpy." "Hadley," he said simply, as a way of introduction. He strained to think of a way to make conversation. "What, um, brings you here? I mean, not to the beach but to the town? I mean, do you live here or..." His face was flushed red with embarrassment. I sound like an idiot, I should have just left earlier before I'd had the chance to make a fool around myself around a pretty girl.

Alyssa laughed again, still smiling. "Yeah I live here, my family owns a restaurant in town. I've been taking a couple of days off while we do some renovations, which is bad timing what with it being the tourist season and all that but a pipe burst so...." She blushed a little when she realized she was telling a complete stranger about her problems. "Anyway," she started to change the subject "that's my story. What's yours?" She asked.

[I'm going off for the night sorry :(]

((RP more tomorrow then :) ))

"Um, I'm... this is my last summer before college, and... I used to live here," Hadley replied, leaving the story unfinished. The way he'd ended it sounded unfinished as well, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to tell this almost-complete-stranger (he did know her name, after all, so she wasn't a complete stranger) about his quest to find inner peace in the town where his grandma had lived and died.

(Okay ^_^)

"Really? I've still got one more year of high school before I'm outta here." Alyssa said. She wasn't sure, but it sounded like there was more to Hadley's story than he was telling. She wasn't going to press the issue though, she barely knew him and doubted he would open up to her anyway. She gathered her long curly hair up behind her and tied it back so that the slight breeze could hit her neck. She sighed and looked skeptically at his sweater but shrugged, to each his own. She thought

"What elementary did you go to? Maybe we went to the same school," Hadley said, eager to bring the topic further away from his reasons for being here this summer. He hoped he wasn't being too obvious in doing this, but he really wasn't in the mood to even think about his grandma. So when will you be in the mood, Hadley? a voice inside him asked. At the end of summer, when it's too late? Never?

Alyssa had to think for a moment before shrugging, "I can't really remember the name of it but it's that local one down the street from jumba juice?" She didn't really have good memories from elementary school so she chose to not dwell on much that had happened in that time. "How about you?" She asked curiously. She didn't think she'd ever seen him around before so she didn't think he had gone to her school but maybe he had, Hadley did seem like a bit of a wallflower.

"Yeah, same one," Hadley said, smiling a bit. Elementary school was one of the best times of his life. He had friends, everyone he cared about was still alive and supportive... "We probably never talked much. You know, since I'm older." He felt a bit uncomfortable, seeing as he did faintly remember her, but he knew he wasn't the most memorable person.

"Oh, yeah? My mom died when I was in fifth grade so I try not to think about it too much." Alyssa said a bit awkwardly. She chewed nervously on her lip and shook her head, mentally chastising herself for being such a downer. She cleared her throat, "so what's your favorite place to eat around here?" She asked, trying to be unbiased when he said something other than her family's restaurant. It's not that they had bad food it was just that they had difficulty bringing in customers.

((Sorry, my WiFi kept going down... and we were doing some house renovations... but I'm back :) ))

Hadley looked away when Alyssa mentioned her mom. Maybe we have more in common than I thought... deaths in the family and such. When she asked him about the restaurant, he answered some vague fast food chain. It was a lie, but he didn't really know any place to eat around here. "Actually... I don't really know any good places. I moved away awhile ago, and... it's been awhile." Another lie - he remembered distinctly a restaurant that his grandma always liked to go to. "Um, why, do you know any good places?" he asked awkwardly, trying to make conversation. You're already talking, may as well be polite, maybe you'll make a friend.

(It's okay)

Alyssa rattled off a few of the local places, but his comment registered in her mind. It seemed odd that Hadley knew where the elementary school was but didn't know of any good places to get food. It didn't make any sense but she wasn't going to hassle him over it. Alyssa stretched out her legs, soaking up the sun. She looked at her tattoo and smiled slightly, her dad still didn't know she had it since most of the time she wore socks which came up enough to cover it.

Hadley frowned a bit but shrugged it off when he didn't hear Alyssa list what had been his grandma's favorite restaurant. Had it closed? That would be a depressing start to the summer, to find out that it had closed. "Well, is that it - I mean, is that all the restaurants around here? I mean... just curious."

Alyssa looked at him curiously, wondering if he really hadn't remembered the local shops. "Well there is my family's place but like I said, it's closed for renovations." She said and told him the name of her family's restaurant. "Other than that there aren't many other places which serve decent summer food." She said, though there was one place which served kick ass soup in the winter.

"T-that's your family's restaurant?" Hadley recognized the name instantly - it was the very restaurant his grandma had enjoyed visiting. Suddenly it came back to him - the girl a little younger than him always hanging out in the restaurant, and how his Grandma had been a friend of the family who ran it. His parents had never really known the owners, though, so they wouldn't have kept in contact when they moved - no wonder he didn't recognize the girl's name. He stared at Alyssa for a second, knowing that he had a freaked out look on his face that could be considered rude, but he didn't seem to care - he was just shocked.

"Uh, yeah?" Alyssa said, her brow furrowing in confusion. By the way Hadley was suddenly looking at her she'd think she'd told him she had an extra finger removed after birth or something. She tried not to get defensive but it was hard. She was very protective of her restaurant, it was like her family's baby and they all loved it. "Why?" She asked and wondered if maybe he had eaten there before.

"Um... no reason," Hadley murmured, and almost visibly went back into his figurative shell, tugging again on the sleeves of his sweater (which was, in fact, getting uncomfortably hot but no way was he going to remove it), and looking down at his feet. "Maybe I went there before, I dunno." So much for that friendship, I can't be friends with her... What if she wanted to hang out at the restaurant? Regardless of what he was thinking inside, he still didn't actually stand up and walk away, he just sat there staring at his feet.

"Okay Hadley, what's up?" Alyssa said, crossing her arms over her chest. "You can't react like that then say 'um no reason' and expect me to believe you." She huffed. He looked so uncomfortable now, like he wanted to be anywhere else but here. She tried not to be hurt by that, the only plausible reason was that something bad had happened at her restaurant with him but she couldn't recall ever seeing him she didn't think. Although they saw hundreds of people walk in and out their doors every month so it was possible she supposed.

Hadley's stomach turned. He suddenly felt extremely hot, and wondered why he hadn't taken off his sweater earlier, but it was a weird time to do it now. He took a sharp breath, what kind of lie can I make up now? but he couldn't think of anything. "M-my grandma," he stammered, all the while thinking, Why are you telling this complete stranger your life story? "She likes to eat there. Liked to eat there." He hoped that would be enough explanation. He took a deep breath, then managed to say "Um - I think I have to, um, go." He got up from the bench and began to walk away, his movements feeling stiff and unnatural after telling a stranger what he hadn't been able to tell even his "friends" for months.

Alyssa scrambled after him, "wait!" She called. "I didn't know your was-" she cut herself off as she caught up to him. "I mean, uh do you want something to eat?" She asked lamely. She could tell talking about his grandma was hard on him and didn't want to pry. They barely knew each other. She chewed her lip nervously and waited for his answer. If he said yes she could apologize for butting into his personal business and bounce some new recipes off him. Win-win right?

"Um..." Hadley blinked and looked quickly at Alyssa, then down at his feet. "Sure. Sure, yeah, I'll go." Maybe this can be a step. Baby steps. He offered a small smile. Maybe he'd dismissed her too quickly. He knew he hadn't really dismissed her, though (even though that was how it had appeared). He had more dismissed the idea of ever being friends with Alyssa - due to her family's restaurant. But maybe this would be good for him.

Alyssa beamed at Hadley and grabbed his hands and started tugging him towards her house. He seemed to shy away from the her restaurant which would be a problem since she lived above it but if they went in the back he wouldn't have to see it. She looked back at hi with a serious expression on her face. "What are your thoughts on orange cream cake?" She asked.

(I was thinking we could switch threads. I requested a house for Alyssa a couple of days ago but haven't gotten a reply so I was just going to make it myself.)

"Um, I... usually have vanilla," Hadley said honestly, slightly ashamed of his little experience with more interesting foods. "Are we going to be eating any?" He wasn't sure how he felt about actually eating food from the restaurant yet, he'd barely made up his mind to go there.

(Ok, you post there first - they can just continue the conversation there :))

(Okay, I'll reply there ^_^)