A Day Off // open

[TOBIAS JACOB MARILLO]

Toby was very, very glad he had a day off. He just needed to...think, clear his head, that kind of thing. He'd seen both his sisters two days ago and needless to say, they were feeling pretty awesome and the fact that they had barely anything to worry about got Toby thinking. It had been so long since he'd gone out and just cleared his head, or had a good time, or even just had some peace and quiet. So naturally the day off was brilliant, and he could put it to good use. So there he was, wandering around Larton Square, not worrying about anything. That was definitely a bonus.

As Toby walked around, he suddenly got a book character idea. He chuckled as a drawing of this character appeared in his mind, and instantly he started working out the details. He'd call her...Rachel. Rachel Marie Karthwright. Why? Because it seemed right. Her background...she got along with both her parents but they died in a car crash, so she lives with her aunt. Toby began thinking about the story, his mind in a world of it's own. However, since he figured he should be relaxing, not brainstorming, he made a mental 'save' of Rachel for later, and he continued to wander around.

A small smile tugged at his lips as he watched kids on their bike, or playing together, and families sitting down or wandering along. A sad thought crossed Toby's mind as he briefly wondered what it would have been like if he and his father had gotten along, as well as his father and his mother. His expression hardened and he shut the thoughts out. His face soon turned back to it's normal, calm, happy one.

Finally Toby came to a stop at a deserted bench nearby and he sat on it. He glanced around him, pushing his sunglasses further up his nose. Sure, wearing sunglasses wasn't considered cool, but that wasn't why Toby was wearing them. It was a very sunny day, first of all, and second, he kind of liked sunglasses, so at the first opportunity he instantly liked wearing them. A happy grin appeared on Toby's face. Absolutely nothing could dampen his mood today. Nothing at all. He wished he had days like that more often; it was depressing when his mood was...well, depressed or annoyed or snippy. He hated being those things.

[HADLEY CLARISSE FAIRCHILD]

OUTFIT

She'd been working for a couple of weeks now, and Hadley finally had a little bit of extra money. For the most part, she was using it to pay for necessities like furniture and bedding. However, with the holidays rapidly approaching, she wanted to get some shopping done. With everything Ken and Jack had done for her, she couldn't very well let Christmas pass without recognizing them. She couldn't afford much, obviously, but she could at least endeavor to find them something unique that they might not think to purchase for themselves.

When she had gone shopping with Ken, she remembered walking rather quickly through the square, passing by a series of shops she couldn't afford to comfortably step into for fear that she might break something she couldn't pay for. Today, she took her time, though, venturing into each store and carefully making her way through the aisles in search of something that called out to her. Several stores later, when she hadn't found anything, she figured it was time for some caffeine. Something about espresso, warm milk, and caramel always made the day feel better.

Unfortunately for Hadley, it seemed as if everyone else in the area had the same idea. The line at Starbucks was so long that she spent at least five minutes waiting in the cold before she managed to get inside the door. Rubbing her arms, she glanced around the coffee shop, starting to second-guess her decision. She'd come too far to turn back, though, so she settled in to wait as the people in front of her ordered and received their beverages. When it was finally her turn, Hadley ordered a caramel macchiato and stepped to the side to wait for her drink.

Beverage in hand, she quickly decided to head back out onto the street. While it was chilly, it was quite sunny, and there were infinitely fewer people outside, making it far more comfortable for her. Breathing a quiet sigh, she hurried down the street once again, hardly paying attention to where she was going. All at once, her boot-clad foot caught on something solid and she felt herself falling. Before she'd really registered what was happening, she was on the ground by the feet of someone who was now wearing her coffee.

"Shit," she hissed, quickly climbing to her feet and turning to see who she had drenched. "I am so sorry! I wasn't looking and I just... I mean... God. I'm really sorry..."

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[TOBIAS JACOB MARILLO]

Toby watched families passing by, often giving a smile to either the parents or the kids, and mostly it was returned. He had been told by his sisters that his smile was contagious, but he had never believed it himself. The sound of birds, laughter and just general nature/daytime sounds floated to his ears and he smiled.

The next bit happened so quickly it was damn near impossible for Toby to be able to react. Someone tripped and coffee went all over him, and then the person ended up sitting at his feet. Toby tried not to laugh at the situation and he glanced down at the person. It was a blonde woman, and she looked absolutely mortified. He would have helped her up, but she got up by herself.

Then she started apologizing and a chuckle escaped Toby's lips as he shook his head. "Calm down, it's fine, really. I should be apologizing for wasting your coffee." he said with a grin. Sure, he was now covered in coffee, but he was used to that kind of thing, since his mother and his sisters were all very clumsy and they were always spilling things. Not to say that this lady was clumsy, or anything, but merely that he was used to getting drenched by now.

Toby thought. Maybe there was some way this could turn out better? He could go change, so obviously that was fine, but he felt like the coffee being spilled was his fault (as he thought about pretty much everything, but that didn't matter too much). "I'm Toby, by the way." he said, grinning at her. "What's your name?" he added to the end of his sentence. Hopefully he'd make a new friend out of this. Hopefully.

[HADLEY CLARISSE FAIRCHILD]

The thing about spending years with someone who convinces you that everything is your fault is that you eventually begin to believe it. Hadley was neither graceful nor truly clumsy, but she was quite sure that this mess was very much her own fault. She hadn't been paying much attention to where she was going, and if she had, she probably wouldn't have tripped. Instinct taught her to prepare herself for an angry response, particularly when she realized the feet she'd fallen at belonged to a man. Before she'd quite processed what she was doing, she was apologizing, and she found herself rambling in hopes of preventing him from yelling at her, pushing her aside, or otherwise behaving in a way she was used to.

Much to her surprise, the guy didn't seem to mind. In fact, oddly enough, he was apologizing for wasting her drink. Chuckling, Hadley tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "No, no," she insisted. "You have no reason to be sorry. I just wish I was drinking straight coffee... You'll be sticky when it dries." Her eyes and tone were still apologetic, but she was slowly realizing that not every man she met would be like Phillip. If Jack and Ken were any indicator, the majority of men must not be like that at all.

A blush heated her cheeks as Hadley realized that she had all but missed the guy's introduction. After a moment, though, she deciphered what he had told her and smiled in response to his bright grin. "Nice to meet you, Toby," she replied, taking a seat on the bench beside him and turning to face him, her knees pulled up to her chest. "I'm Hadley. And I was, evidently, too absorbed with my Christmas shopping to realize that I ought to be watching where I was going." Biting her lip, she stifled a chuckle. "What brings you here?"

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