EDITED JANUARY 8TH 2023 FOR TYPOS, DIALOGUE COLOR FIXES, AMD A BIT OF WORDING TO BETTER FIT SOLIDIFIED LORE/DYNAMICS
[hider= Decky and Lanie First Meeting]
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Decky ran a hand through his already thoroughly tousled hair, glaring down at the math problems as though it could force them to make sense. Language Arts was easy, but [i]math?[/i] Hell no. [color=DC143C][i]”Stupid fuckin’ PO,”[/i][/color] He thought angrily. [color=DC143C][i]“‘You’ve done so well in Juvie classes, obviously you need to be thrown into the deep end of Northie to continue growing.’ What fuckin’ logic was that? They don’t even teach the same-”[/i][/color] Someone bumped into the back of his chair, forcing it forward a couple inches as his sternum met the table.

“Oops!” Came the fake cry from the offender, and Decky turned around slowly to stare down the hulking figure in a letterman jacket, taking in the short brown hair and pale complexion, the starting scruff of a beard that doesn't quite cover up his acne. The boy was giving him a smarmy grin. “Sorry Southie! Guess you just blend in with the rest of the trash around here,” He laughed, his two buddies following suit. “You should get a job as a garbage man, since you already live like one anyway.”

One slow blink was the only reaction his taunting garnered as Decky didn’t even bother rising from his chair. He stared the idiots down until their laughter awkwardly dwindled, and then took his chance. 

[color=DC143C]”Y’know,”[/color] he said, flipping out his butterfly knife and casually holding the tip against the now frozen boy’s thigh, just close enough to a certain part of the anatomy that it assured the others would make no move. They were staring at him with wide eyes as he let out the grin that had often been, quite literally, bloody. [color=DC143C]”I ‘ppreciate the suggestion, given it’s one-a the few jobs that’ll hire someone with multiple incarcerations. And I mean,”[/color] He rolled his eyes, pushing the tip a little harder while the leader went white in the face. [color=DC143C]”I might as well go big, what’s one more term on the inside if it keeps you’re fugly ass from ever reproducing, hm?”[/color]

As he continued his staredown with the others, he couldn’t believe the lack of security at this school, at least Southie had some rent-a-cops stationed around. [color=DC143C][i]”Ignorance really is bliss, huh?”[/i][/color] he thought, still stuck in the culture shock phase of his time here. 

[color=A442AB]“Excuse me, um… What’s going on here?”[/color]

The willowy blonde in the [url=https://www.hawtcelebs.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/nicola-peltz-out-in-beverly-hills-05-10-2016_1.jpg]white cashmere sweater, thick black leggings[/url] and knee-high black leather boots had no idea what she’d walked into. When she’d arrived at school that morning of the first day of freshman year’s second semester, the guidance counselor had wasted no time in procuring her assistance. There was a new student in her year: a young man from Southie under [i]‘delicate and special circumstances’[/i] was in need of a ‘buddy’ to show him around the school and tutor him in Geometry. And, of course, who else could be more perfect for the job than Edenridge High’s resident ray of sunshine: Lanie Lancaster? As expected, the green-eyed cheerleader had been flattered, and had delightedly accepted this new task. She was to meet her new friend in the library during second period study hall. 

In regular Lanie fashion, she had reached her destination with five minutes to spare. A wide, bright smile illuminated her femenine features, and her cheerful disposition was already in place to greet this new student. But when she arrived at the table Ms. Vaughn had said the new boy would be, she didn’t know what exactly she was staring at. All she knew was that Eden’s resident jock asshole Brian Saunders had a knife to the crotch, his two equally useless lackeys Kyle and Seth stood paralized and looking like their life was flashing before their eyes, and who she assumed was her protegé was the one holding said knife to the nether regions.

[color=A442AB]“Is everything okay?”[/color] Lanie said gently, looking back and forth from Brian and the dark-haired young man with the weapon. She realized this was a stupid question-- things were obviously [b]far[/b] from okay. But she figured it was as good an attempt as any to defuse the situation without getting herself maimed, stabbed or killed in the process.

Initially, Decky only gave a quick glance to the new player on the board, making sure his attention stayed on his prey. Her voice demanded attention in an almost Aphrodite like way, soft and sweet, alluring in its energy. He gave the knife just a bit more pressure in warning before returning it to his pocket with quick, practiced ease. Then he finally got a good look at the girl, keeping his rough grin on the whole time. 

She was pretty. Well, actually, she was downright gorgeous; long golden locks with a healthy athletic figure and eyes as green as his Trip-S tattoo. The predatory grin changed to something just a bit more inviting.

[color=DC143C]"S'all good, Sweetheart, just learnin' ta make friends in Wonderland."[/color]

Elaine raised a disbelieving eyebrow at the boy. Anyone with half a brain cell could see that the exchange currently happening was far from being friendly. [color=A442AB]“Friends… [i]Right[/i]...”[/color] she muttered, nodding slowly before turning her attention back to Brian and his crew. [color=A442AB]“I don’t mean to be rude, Bri, but I think it would be a good idea if you guys found another place to study,”[/color] Lanie said politely, knowing fully well that the last thing those dudes did was study. [color=A442AB]“I was supposed to start his tutoring session five minutes ago, and I’d like to do so with no more distractions, if that’s okay.”[/color]

He kept his smirk in place as the jockstrap squad stumbled away with angry grunts and mumbles. Once they had disappeared, he turned fully to the girl by his table. [color=DC143C]"So, that was fun; kinda reminded me a the sixth grade lunch room.”[/color] he joked, looking unsubtly at the sharpie markings on his hand. [color=DC143C]"So, uh, you’re Elaine? I’mma have to be honest and say I don’t know how much attention I could pay to studying with [i]you[/i] around. What are ya, a fuckin’ model?”[/color]

That wasn’t what Decky had meant to say, and only his amazing poker face kept him from turning red as a tomato. As it was, he simply looked her up and down and gave a leer in hope of scaring her off before she bothered to sit down. It was gonna happen eventually so why would he bother giving her any time?

Lanie had never been a stranger to her peers making comments about her appearance. Some were nice, some were [i]not[/i] so nice, and others were just plain disgusting and rude. By this point, she had started to learn the importance of taking others’ opinions with a grain of salt. But the way this guy had just blatantly said to her face exactly what was in his mind, and the slight second of panic in his eyes after he’d said it, had her suddenly bursting out into a fit of genuine laughter. Her fit of emotion was loud enough to earn her disapproving glares from her fellow students, and even the librarian had to raise a finger up to her lips in her direction in an attempt to get Lanie to sober up. The blonde’s laughs eventually subsided into quiet little giggles, and she turned to the boy with tears of laughter still sitting in her green eyes.

[color=A442AB]“Oh my God, I could only [i]wish[/i] I was a model,”[/color] Lanie playfully lamented, letting out a fake, exaggerated sigh. [color=A442AB]“I could be making so much money letting strange men take pictures of me right now.”[/color]

Decky was bewildered by her reaction. He’d never had someone straight out laugh at any of his bridge burning attempts, and he was unsure how to proceed from there. He did know one thing though, and that was that she even had a beautiful laugh.

[color=DC143C][i]”Fuck.”[/i][/color]

Nervously, he began scratching at the inside of his elbow, exacerbating the already inflamed track marks that could be found there. [color=DC143C]”Uh, right…well, you could always hang on a Southie corner, plenty of men lookin’ for pretty things to take pictures of.”[/color] It was a joke, that was all it was meant to be. Just a joke. Except, of course, for the fact that it was also completely true. He’d steered Danny away from enough of them. When his parents let the house go empty during their stints hiding out in drug dens, Decky...well, Decky had to feed his baby brother. Lanie, however, had none of this context to explain the dark look that crossed his face at the...Joke…

While her earlier comments were meant to be jokes, there was something about the way this young man had said that made her think that he was probably being serious. That and coupled with the amount of unsavory things she had read and heard about the south side of town, she didn’t doubt that his statements were anything but true… Which made her skin crawl under her sweater.

[color=A442AB]“As tempting as that offer sounds, I think I’ll pass…”[/color] she joked, trying hard to lighten up the dark atmosphere that had seemed to settle between the two. [color=A442AB]“I don’t think I got your name before. Ms. Vaughn didn’t tell me, and I was so excited to meet you that I rushed off before it dawned on me that I didn’t ask! You can call me Lanie, by the way. Everybody calls me Lanie.”[/color] She knew she was rambling, but that was just her natural reaction to anything that made her feel uncomfortable.

He arched an eyebrow at her. Excited to meet him? What the hell was wrong with Northie? [color=DC143C]”Yeah, I was…[i]super[/i] excited to meet someone in a library and cram useless information into my brain too,”[/color] He knew he was being kind of mean, and that the girl was probably very sweet. But to Decky, that was all the more reason to keep her at arms length at least, as it was clear she wouldn’t leave.

[color=DC143C]”It’s Boaz. You don’t get to shorten it, and last name only.”[/color]

Lanie found his sarcasm and lack of enthusiasm over having to sit through nearly an hour of some random girl trying to teach him Geometry amusing enough to let out a snicker. In his defense, she probably would’ve reacted in the same way if they had moved to Edenridge when the anger at knowing they were leaving her hometown was still fresh. She didn’t have much time to dwell on this, though, because he had already moved on to finally disclose his name.

[color=A442AB]“[i]Boaz[/i]…”[/color] the young woman repeated slowly, feeling out how the name rolled out of her tongue so she could continue to use in the future. In typical Lanie fashion, her mind was already racing with ideas of many fun, cute and special ways she could shorten or use as a nickname for her new friend. But because he had specifically told her shortening it was not an option, the girl knew it would be rude and disrespectful to go against his wishes. [color=A442AB]“Boaz it is!”[/color] she declared, smiling brightly at Boaz and offering him her extended hand.

He gave a quick flinch at the sudden movement, whole body tensing before he recognized the gesture. He then slipped his calloused hand into hers and have a good shake before retreating again. He appreciated that she had so easily followed his boundaries, and he tilted his head as he stared at her for a moment longer. [color=DC143C]"Okay, Lanie,"[/color] he gave her a small, barely there smile. [color=DC143C]"What the fuck is up with these formulas? My last course was remedial Algebra so I don't have a fuckin' clue what's goin' on."[/color] he turned his attention away from her and back to his book, running his hand through his hair again as he kicked out a seat for her to take next to him.

With a small chuckle at Boaz's exasperation about their subject of study, Elaine gracefully took the seat being offered to her and placed her belongings on top of the table. She went straight into tutor mode: pulling out her textbook, notebook and colored pens from her bag and neatly setting everything in front of her. Once finished, she turned to her classmate.

[color=A442AB]"You want to know a secret?"[/color] she suddenly asked him, lowering her voice and looking around as if worried about anyone listening in. [color=A442AB]"I don't have a clue of what's going on most of the time either,"[/color] she confessed with a playful smile, leaning closer to him. [color=A442AB]"But I definitely know enough to get us on the right track! So, as long as you promise to pay attention and give your maximum effort, I'm confident I'll get you to pass Geometry with at least a-"[/color]

Decky pulled away from her harshly, whole body seizing as he sized her up. He wasn't a stranger to what those lean ins could lead to, whether he wanted them or not, and he'd done pretty well avoiding those chicks since he got out. At this point it would be illegal for them to do anything again anyways given the girls' now adult ages, but that didn't mean they didn't leave an impression. Immediately his eyes turned sharp and he sneered at her.

[color=DC143C]"You gotta get so close, they not teach you personal space in Northie? That's gonna be a fuckin' issue, sweetheart."[/color] he bit out, keeping his whole body facing her as though preparing for a fight.

Elaine pulled away from Boaz instantly, her flushed face now equal parts embarrassed, guilty and ashamed. [color=A442AB]"Oh God, I am so, so sorry!"[/color] she stammered in apology, pushing her belongings to the opposite side of the table to downplay how her green eyes filled up with tears. Never in her life had she experienced anyone having such an aggressive, revolting reaction when it came to her presence. It really made her wonder whether her being the one assigned to help Boaz would do him more harm than good. [color=A442AB]"I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable in any way! Would you rather I sit across from you instead, or find a space that's a little more open?"[/color]

He blinked hard at her response, his world momentarily tilted on its axis as he attempted to find the words that matched hers, and he couldn't. He didn't have any contingencies to that response. Probably because he'd never [i]gotten[/i] that response.

[color=DC143C]"I...I...uh-fuck,"[/color] he stammered, wind taken out of his sales as he hunched in on himself and began avoiding eye contact. That's fuckin' [i]embarrassing[/i]. [color=DC143C]"I misread the fuck outta that. Don't start cryin' on me, they might think I hit ya and send me back to juvie!"[/color] was he panicking? Was that a bad joke for the timing? Did he wish to be high for this situation?

Yes. 

[color=A442AB]"I'm not crying!"[/color] Elaine argued, looking away and repeatedly blinking hard until all tears had disappeared from her eyes. She wiped away the corners of her eyes to make sure none of them had escaped and there was no incriminating evidence of them before she turned towards Boaz again. [color=A442AB]"The misunderstanding was all my fault. I should've been more careful about the way I approached you. You just got out of [i]juvie[/i], after all, and I have no idea where you come from or what you've lived through before. I don't blame you for reacting like you did. I'm just… I'm really, really, [i]really[/i] sorry…"[/color] she apologized again, anxiously biting her lower lip.

Decky had no idea what to do. This girl, this bright ball of energy and warmth was acting differently than he expected at every turn. Their knowledge of how the world works was so drastic that trying to interact in any casual way was quickly reaching Trainwreck territory. What did she want him to do? How was he meant to respond to her to smooth things out? If she hadn’t had such soft words during the apology, he would know to sneer and make a comment about how it must be nice in Northie to feel so safe. Must be nice that you can let someone that close without unwarranted hands or blades finding flesh.

But she spoke like cool water over a fresh burn, and she was softer than anything he’d ever seen, barring his newborn brother all those years ago.

[color=DC143C]”I...don’t know how ta react right now…”[/color] He answered stiltedly. [color=DC143C]”Ain’t been in a situation like this, feel like Dorothy or Alice or some shit…”[/color]

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