[color=2ECC71][h1][b]Jeremy Lindall[/b][/h1][/color]
The timing, Jeremy decided, had been significantly off.

Originally, he had planned to come here as a way to escape everything, all the miserable crap he'd been dealing with back home, but lo and behold, it turns out that literally [i]two days[/i] after he moved in with his sister, someone had gone missing. Not just any someone either, but the mayors daughter.

[i]TWO DAYS.[/i]

If that didn't look suspicious, he didn't know what was. And annoyingly enough, he apparently wasn't the only person sharing this line of thought, at least if the nervous glances he had been getting from some of his sisters neighbors were any indication. Oh sure, they never did it when they thought he was looking, but years of having to keep an eye out for any potential details that Hannah could use to get into a fight with someone had left him with the peripheral vision worthy of jealousy from the gods themselves! Hell, he figured he'd probably caught [i]at least[/i] eighty percent of them so far.

And then he sighed. If the situation hadn't been what it was, he probably would've felt pretty proud of that statistic. Now he just felt depressed, which wasn't helped by the way his mind had drifted back to Hannah, because [b][i]of course[/i][/b] it had.

"The gardens looking good!" Eleanor said from somewhere behind him, eliciting a yelp from the boy as he jumped up, watering can spiralling through the air. "Jeez, what the hell was that? I'm not [i]that [/i]scary."

[color=2ECC71]"That's a lie and you know it."[/color] Jeremy said, his face immediately reverting back to it's usual boring old self. [color=2ECC71]"You are literally [i]one[/i] spot away from being the scariest person I've ever met."[/color]

"Second place huh? I guess I can live with that." She said, smirking at what most would consider a completely neutral expression, but a select few would notice as a faint glare. "Anyway, like I was saying, the garden is looking good. I reckon these vegetables should be ready by this time next week."

[color=2ECC71]"Are you kidding? I just planted these..."[/color] He said, pointing to the "garden", which was really just a small garden box with a few small sprouts barely beginning to break the surface. [color=2ECC71]"It'll be a while before we see anything other than the radishes, and even then, we've got a good twenty days to wait for that. This is the absolute quickest scenario, by the way."[/color]

"Ah whatever, you're missing the point!" Eleanor said, waving away what must have been approaching his seven hundredth time trying to explain this kind of thing to her. "The point is that you came out here for a reason."

[color=2ECC71]"Yes, to garde-"[/color]

"No, no, you know what I meant." She cut him off. "You came out [i]here[/i], to Emerald City, for a reason. Now you and I both know what that reason is, so there's no need to bring it up again, but the fact of the matter is that unless you stop hiding away here, unless you get out of the house and actually spend some time around the town, you're never going to get over anything. You'll go back home exactly the same person you were when you left, if not worse."

Jeremy paused, not quite sure he could think up a reply. He knew, at least on a technical level, that she was right, but still, it... It just wasn't that easy...

Unfortunately, Eleanor decided to take his hesitation as agreement, despite knowing [i]full well[/i] that it wasn't, and continued.

"Exactly, so go out and do something! [i]Anything![/i] Make some friends, or go fishing or something! You used to love that! Just do [i]something[/i] that isn't moping around here. The garden will be fine, it's not gonna die just because you didn't stare at it in a couple of hours. Hell, go buy something weeby if you really can't think of anything else! I know there are a good few shops here that sell that kind of stuff."

[color=2ECC71]"I... I don'-"[/color]

"Plus I'll totally start letting caterpillars loose in it if you don't."

[color=2ECC71]"God, fine! I'll go look for something to do in town, I guess! Is that good enough for you?"[/color]

"Yep." She said, a cheerful grin on her face. However, it faded noticeably just a few moments later. "And hey Jeremy? There's a town meeting later. It's about Lily. The mayors daughter." She clarified, noticing his confused stare. "I think you should go too. I'll meet you there."

[color=2ECC71]"Are you sure?"[/color] He asked, letting a small, nervous smile appear on his face. He wasn't particularly used to his sister acting serious, and it always made him feel a little awkward. [color=2ECC71]"I'm still pretty new here. Wouldn't it be kind of weird for me to go?"[/color]

"It'd probably be weirder if you didn't." She said with a shrug. "I've noticed the way people look at you. They're looking at the fact that you got here just before she went missing and thinking you had something to do with it. I can't see it getting any better if you're the only person not at the meeting..."

[color=2ECC71]"Yeah, I guess that's a decent point. I guess I'll see you there."[/color]

"Right. Try not to be too depressing once you get to town. The moods already been brought down enough as it is. No need for you to drag it down even further, you know?"

[color=2ECC71]"Yeah yeah, see ya."[/color]

He didn't wait for a response as he went back into the house, collecting a backpack and his helmet and, for what was probably the third time in total since he'd arrived at the house, left through the front door. 

It wasn't long before he was out on the road, travelling at a nice, steady pace on his trusty scooter. It was about a thirty-five minute drive to the city from Eleanor's house, but the long drive didn't bother him so much. It was actually kind of nice to be driving out on the open road, as if he didn't need to worry about anything. Maybe someday in the near future he'd take a ride in the opposite direction, just to experience the country road again. It'd been pretty nice on the way up, after all, so it could only help to do it again, right?

And then, before he knew it, he had reached the city. Honestly, he kind of wished it had taken longer, but in the end, driving around wasn't what he'd been sent out to do, was it? He was here to try and enjoy himself and make a friend or two. Sure, Eleanor hadn't said that last part specifically, but he knew her, and he knew she probably wouldn't let him back in the house without a fight unless he told her he'd made at least [i]one.[/i]

And so he parked the scooter and got to work.

By goofing off and wandering the city streets at like seven in the morning.