[open] * they don't hear your cries ?!

[union]

[size=1

Sometimes one needs to get out. Alice had always been keen on the fresh air, and now living in Addison she found her main exercise, other than horse riding, was jogging. It was nice to stretch your legs fully after a long day of sitting cramped up in an office, answering telephone calls and doing paperwork that belonged to someone else. Alice couldn’t complain too much, it was a good paying job by secretary standards and it kept her, her sister and the horse afloat. It was the tedious routine that got to her. Despite checking the job sections in newspapers every week, she still hadn’t found anything. She also tactfully left the papers on the table circled in red pen for her sister, but Vika never got the message. As much as she loved her sister, the partying habits and the lack of bills were beginning to pile up.

Alice had gone straight to the yard to sort out Paris. She hadn’t ridden today, the chestnut gelding had a sore leg which came and went from time to time. It was a pain, not only from her perspective but Paris got bored very easily and having him shut up in a stable resting wasn’t the best thing for him. She had washed the leg, dressed it with ice and walked the seventeen hand gelding up and down the length of the stables so he could stretch his legs before mucking him out and putting him to bed again. He hadn’t been his usual cheerful self, Paris tended to sulk when he went lame. Alice felt sorry for him, there was nothing better to see him racing up and down the field with her sister’s pony like they were in the Grand National or something. But he had been better today, so hopefully tomorrow he could go out again.

After tucking up Paris in his stable she had gone back to the apartment to have dinner - a chicken salad. Vika was out, and it was probably for the better. Alice felt low after her monotonous day at work and liked to be left alone until she was warm and fed. And now after lounging about the apartment simply enjoying the bliss of the quiet solitude, she decided it would probably be a good idea to go jogging. So she found some jogging pants, a white sports top and a pair of old trainers. Reluctantly pulling her long dark hair back into a ponytail she rummaged through her bag to find her ipod. Locking the apartment and shoving the keys into a back pocket she started off towards the park, untangling the mischievous earphones as she went.

The weather was muggy, as if it had just rained and the sky darkened to a milky twilight. Taxis and cars roared by the street as Alice crossed the road and headed into one of the many pathways into Addison’s park. It wasn’t particularly busy, a few other joggers, dog walkers and a couple of businessmen on their way home from a long day in the office. The brunette jogged happily along, music turned up loud and her dark eyes downcast. Really she was looking for an accident. It was only when she felt something as solid as herself collide with her that she stopped, pulling out her earphones and stumbled back to examine the poor person she had just bumped into. “I’m so sorry!” She blurted out, colour already rushing to her pale cheeks as she spoke.

[/size]
tag; open!
words; 585
charrie; alice morgan
muse; stay - shakespeare's sister
notes; i will give you eternal glory if you reply xD[/blockquote]

[lincolnharper]

Eternal glory, eh? I like the sound of that. Shall reply when I get home from work, but if anyone else wants to before I do that, then go ahead, I won't eat you.

And, won't be posting with Lincoln, can't be bothered switching accounts right now xD

[Logan Charles Patterson]

I feel bad, but I can't reply tonight, but I will before work tomorrow, so in a couple of hours. I've started a reply, but my day's gone pretty shittily, bad day at work and found out some stuff's gone pretty badly for a good friend over the past few days, so my mood's just...yeah. I promise there will be something up in a few hours, I just really need sleep now.

[Logan Charles Patterson]

A stroll through the park, was exactly what Logan needed. Alfie had let him go, under the usual condition that he be available to return to wherever he was, which happened to be his apartment right then, at a moment’s notice. The park wasn’t far from the apartment block he lived in, in fact, just cross a road and you were there. Still not knowing his way around Addison well enough, he didn’t venture too far, again. He had never missed the fifteen minute timeframe the businessman usually gave him to get back to him, and he wasn’t going to miss it now.

He was beginning to wonder what he was going to do with his free time from now on. He hadn’t had a proper ride in years, that had all sort of gone down the drain when he had started working for Alfie, the man rode occasionally but not often, and he found himself too busy to get anywhere near a stable on his own terms. And being in a new country, he didn’t know anyone bar his employer, and a few people he had met through him...not that he would call them friends and just pop on over to say hi whenever the fancy struck him. He’d find something, eventually. Until then he would just have to content himself with wandering the town, acquainting himself with it.

His phone vibrated, so he stopped dead in the middle of the path, removing his hands from his coat pockets, fishing the small device from the pocket of his jeans that held it. Hitting the little green answer button, already knowing it would be Alfie, he moved it to his ear, listening to him shoot off questions as soon as he heard him pick up. “Yes, I’ll make sure it’s ready for you first thing in the morning...dinner reservation? Will anyone be joining you? Yes, I’ll...” his side of the conversation was full of silent gaps as he listened to Alfie speak, concentrating on memorising his instructions (it wasn’t hard, he had been doing it for years now and now very rarely made a mistake), not realising he was standing right in the path of an oncoming jogger.

She connected with him, and he almost dropped the phone in surprise.

“I’m so sorry!” the woman apologised, turning a delicate shade of pink.

He blinked, still trying to figure out what had just happened, hearing Alfie’s voice in his ear barking “Patterson, are you listening to me?”

Holding up a finger to her, a sign that said, wait a moment, he focused his concentration back on the phone call. “Yes, yes, I heard, consider it done. But right now I have to go, a young lady has just run in to me, and what sort of valet would I be if I didn’t offer some form of assistance and see if she’s alright?” he answered, a soft chuckle escaping from him. He hit the end call button once he heard the beeps indicating that Alfie had hung up on him, returning the phone to his pocket.

“No need to apologise, I shouldn’t have been standing in the middle of the path. And there was no harm done,” Logan replied, flashing her a crooked grin.

Tagged Soviet!
Words 543
Outfit Clickeh
Muse If This Ship Sinks (I Give In) - Birds of Tokyo
Notes Finally done, sorry I made you wait. Felt like using Logan, love him at the moment xD

[union]

Alice stumbled back, pulling an earphone out of her ear wildly in case the stranger had been talking to her. She glanced up and was met by a finger, indicating that once he was off his phone he wanted to talk to her. Accustomed to people telling her what to do; it was the basic job description after all, she said nothing and silently began to sort herself out. She turned off her I-pod, which had continued to blare out music whilst the man was on his phone and stuffed it and the headphones into her pocket. A few unruly strands of long dark hair had fallen beside her face. She checked herself over, and once seeing there was no harm done, turned her attention to the gentleman she had rudely bumped into.

He was smartly attired, which made Alice’s stomach drop to an even lower level than before. Having much experience round this type of people, they tended to not like it when things, including people got in their way. She had the horrible feeling he was going to shout at her once he had finished his phone call; and briefly thought about running off which was her preferred option, but she decided not to be a coward and stay.

Her arms hugged round her midriff in an attempt to make herself feeling better and half listened to the conversation, not wanting to look like she was just staring at him; Alice couldn’t think of anything worse. She caught the words ‘valet’ and ‘assistance’ and glanced up at the man again in a different manner. Her father used to have a valet before his death, so this guy was like her, some form of servant? Well, being a secretary wasn’t complete slavery but it felt like it sometimes.

Perhaps she had been a little numb from the shock of running into someone, but for the first time she noticed the same clipped English accent. And suddenly, for this and a multitude of other reasons she warmed to him. With inward humour she knew if Vika was here she would label him as “fit” but it was more because he was comforting, in an odd way.

“Well I’m glad there was no harm done.” She said with a small smile. “But I should have been looking where I was going, I do it all the time. At this rate I should have run into a wall or something.” Alice finished with a small chuckle, her arms relaxing to her sides. “So whereabouts in England are you from?” She asked, shifting her weight onto her left foot. It was rare that she got the chance to speak to anyone about it, her siblings thought America, land of promise, was wonderful and her mother associated England with their father and refused to speak about it.

tag; logan!
words; 473
charrie; alice morgan
muse; juggernauts by enter shikari
notes; no problemo they'll probably get along just dandy

[Logan Charles Patterson]

The brunette woman, who looked to be around his age, looked a little nervous as she waited for him to finish speaking to Alfie on the phone. He wasn’t that intimidating, was he? He’d never thought himself to be intimidating, the only way he really ever thought it might be the case was when Alfie was with him, the look the businessman carried about him almost screamed that he could pretty much crush you...legally, financially, whatever struck his fancy at the time...with a word. Which, he pretty much could, if he felt like it.

Or maybe it was the choice of dress...it was habit these days, Alfie liked everything to be neat, so he had to dress to suit that. Not that he minded particularly, it wasn’t really too far off how he had dressed before he started working for him, just smarter. He didn’t mind, honestly, it was half his fault anyways, he really should’ve known better than to stop right in the middle of a pathway he’d already seen several joggers using whilst he had been walking.

He chuckled. “Better me than a brick wall then. A whole lot less painful,” Logan answered, tones cheery as he smiled at her. She seemed to suddenly relax, maybe it was hearing his accent, her own was English, something he had picked up on immediately. She wasn’t the first he had heard with the same accent since he had arrived in Addison with Alfie, after their little meeting with Lord Theodore Uppingham. Git.

“I’m from Wales, actually. Cardiff, to be exact. I’ve spent a lot of time in England, however, the boss does a lot of business there,” he replied, smiling at her again.

Tagged Soviet!
Words 283
Outfit Clickeh
Muse Replay - Iyaz
Notes Sorry, that sucked

[union]

It was too late before Alice could realise she was doing her fidgeting thing. It was only natural. She was an extremely nervous and agitated individual almost all the time, and the nature of her work and the people she worked with only worsened it. Even if she had nothing to do with it, she would take the blame. She was settled into this routine that she continued to act this character outside of the office. The only person who she never took the blame for was her sister, and that was because Alice was positive that nearly a hundred percent of those things were Vika’s fault.

But the most relieving thing was that he didn’t shout, or just ignore her and go on his way, he simply started talking back to her like a normal human being. It wasn’t like he looked any different, but Alice tended to think of businessmen all the same; egoistical, proud, arrogant. It was rare when they actually showed any compassion. This man made her feel relaxed, there was something about his cheery expression, or the lightness of voice or the fact he had chuckled at her feeble joke made Alice feel a lot better after running headlong into him.

Still, it was uncommon to hear the accent here. Her employer was American and so was everyone who lived around here, obviously. She heard it everyday on the lips of her siblings but now this evidently British man was standing in front of her conversing happily away. There is something powerful about foreigners that find themselves in a strange land; they immediately warm to someone of their own nationality where as otherwise they might not have given a backward glance. Alice was distracted by a small buzzing noise, and realised it was her music still on. She reached into her pocket and firmly pulled the headphones out of the device and cutting the sound, giving an apologetic smile to the stranger. It really wasn’t her evening.

“Ah Wales. I’ll refrain from the sheep jokes then.” She said with a grin; typical English response. Ironically, Alice didn’t know any sheep jokes referring to the Welsh but she had no doubt her brother was full of them. “That’s a pity. Welsh accents are far more interesting than stereotypical British ones. You would have no idea how many times people have asked me if I’ve met the Queen.” She said with a grin. She was a little worried she was just rambling on again, and stopped speaking then, in case he had places to go.

tag; logan
words; 428
charrie; alice morgan
muse; empire state of mind
notes; don't worry xD

[Logan Charles Patterson]

Hey, sorry I haven't replied yet, shall do it in the morning. Have had the attention span of a teaspoon over the last two days -_-

[Logan Charles Patterson]

It was definitely a breath of fresh air, hearing another British accent besides his own and Alfie’s...no, he wasn’t going to count Theodore Uppingham in his list of fellow Brits. Git. Perhaps he was still a little riled from the encounter with Lord Uppingham, but who could really blame him. The man had treated him like dirt and had just been downright rude the whole time, even to Alfie. He understood Alfie could be an ass when he wanted to be...but at least he usually had a good reason besides just because he could.

Logan chuckled. “Thanks. Though if you feel like throwing one or two in there I won’t hate you for it,” he answered. Actually, he was quite as likely to make those sort of jokes about himself, he knew the difference between a jest and being vindictive. Plus he’d had to learn what fine lines to walk in his years of service as a valet to Alfie, he had to deal with a lot of extremely fussy people, and the slightest wrong word could set them off...okay, maybe he did tend to put his foot in it, but he did know when not to say anything.

“Oh, been there. Can’t say I found it too interesting though...royalty doesn’t excite me much, especially when it’s royalty and my employer talking business. Her corgis are rather friendly, however,” he answered, quite seriously.

He grinned. “You know, I don’t think I’ve introduced myself yet. My name’s Logan Patterson, valet to Burton A Harper the second...in other words, the only other person walking around Addison with a Welsh accent...unless, of course, you’ve had any run ins with his delightful cousin, Lincoln. If so, I congratulate you on coming out unscathed,” Logan said, holding his hand out to her in a friendly fashion after he had finished his little spiel.

Tagged Soviet!
Words 308
Outfit Clickeh
Muse Big Girls Don't Cry - Fergie
Notes Sorry it took a while, I've been so distractable...don't think this cutting down on coffee thing is working well >.>

[union]

She smiled, relived that he seemed light hearted about it. Nationality was a funny business, some people couldn’t give a toss about where they came from and others were complete patriots and were easily irritated by a harmless jibe. Alice thought she was somewhere in the middle, she quite liked her background but didn’t like the stick that came with it. Nevertheless, in the world of work, particularly the business side, you had to keep your head up and ignore it. “Well, if I feel the urge to I’ll let you know.” She said with a grin, folding her arms as it was quite cold; although she hadn’t noticed when she had been jogging and keeping herself warm.

She wasn’t expecting the reply she got, but listened politely, her eyebrows half raised with pleasant surprise. Alice wasn’t a huge royalty fan, they were alright but had no desire to meet them. She had seen Charles when her boss had flown back to London and she had to go too, but that was about it. She laughed at the statement about the corgis. “Lucky thing. I suppose One’s dogs must go everywhere One goes, even if One is at business.” She said, putting on a false Queen’s accent and hoped she hadn’t stuck her foot in it as usual. “I love dogs, my sister’s allergic to them though. She lives with me and the strangest things set her illness off.” She said cheerfully. It wasn’t that serious, she was convinced Vika feigned most of it anyway, but as soon as she had shaken the teenager off she was getting a dog. Or two.

Logan Patterson. His name wasn’t familiar, but his employer’s was. Not in a direct way, more like she had heard his name in a conversation with her boss and his clients or they had a meeting or something. She was probably getting confused. She smiled. “I’m afraid I haven’t, although the way you said it that seems to be a good thing. Your boss’ name…I’ve heard it somewhere before. A business mogul am I to assume?” The tone was friendly, conversational. She didn’t really care that much, he probably had more money than she would ever have. Alice thought there was something very wrong in the way the world operated these days.

“Its lovely to meet you Logan. I’m Alice Morgan, and I’m no one really.” She grinned. “Secretary doesn’t sound as fancy as a valet.” She added, taking his hand and shook it before letting it go.

status; complete
tag; logan
words; 420
muse; cooler than me
comments; blah...no muse...bad mood, sorreh

[Logan Charles Patterson]

I grinned. “A little warning never hurts,” I joked. I had to admit, it was good talking to someone besides Alfie, or any of his business associates, or anyone else he had been in contact with since I had been in America. I counted Alfie as a friend, even if he was one of the sort of people I tended to avoid, but it was good to talk to someone whose head wasn’t running figures or scheduling meetings or whatever he happened to be doing at the time, making normal conversation hard when he kept dropping things for me to do in every few minutes.

A burst of laughter escaped me when she put on the mock accent. “You know, I think I’m going to get along with you just fine,” I said, grinning at her again. I listened to her spiel about her sister, sticking my hands in my pockets, a thoughtful look crossing my face.

“Well, at least you know, that if you ever want to get rid of her, getting a dog would be the way to do it,” I said, grinning again. Well, I wasn’t to know that she wanted her sister out in the first place, and it was just a joke.

“It is an extremely good thing. And yes, business mogul, entrepreneur, whatever takes your fancy. I prefer to call him an irritating git, however,” I said, grinning easily at her. People often were shocked that I would call my boss such a thing, but then again, I quite frequently told him that to his face and he seemed to be amused by it. I guess I had been in his employment for long enough, that he counted me as a friend, like I did him, and I had the feeling he liked having someone around who, as well as doing their job well, didn’t immediately jump to do his bidding and suck up to him.

I shrugged. “I wouldn't say that. Each is just as important as the other, pretty much the same, I just never get let out of my job unless he lets me,” I answered, smiling.

Tagged Soviet!
Words 356
Outfit Clickeh
Muse Where The Lines Overlap - Paramore
Notes Ugh, sorry, that sorta sucked -.-

[union]

yeah I fail >.< post coming