T.oni

You make me feel
Like I'm livin' a
Teenage dream
The way you turn me on
I can't sleep
Let's run away and
Don't ever look back

It's said that beauty is only skin deep. But when you see a girl like Toni, all you see is sunshine, rainbows... She makes you want to believe in things that can't exist. Leprachauns. Unicorns. Hell. Dragons. She's a pretty thing, with pale blonde hair that falls down in waves and is soft to the touch. Long legs and a thin body. She moves gracefully, years of ballet evident in every step she takes. When she smiles... Its incredible. A french aristocrat, she moved to Atroe city about a year ago at the age of nineteen with her sister, Alex, and opened up an orphanage. The place was pretty quiet now, with Shasta gone and the other children adopted out. She felt lonely almost. Alex had her horses to play with and Toni had... Well... Her garden. The East Side of Atroe City was a place she shouldn't be, but she couldn't help it. She needed some new plants, something to make her garden sparkle. And she hoped that someone here could help her out, because she didn't know what she wanted. She wanted color. Orange, red, blue, yellow, pink... Splashes of color everywhere. Maybe she would even start a little vegetable garden. Yeah. She liked that idea. Smiling to herself, Toni began wandering down the rows, looking at the flowers on the table trying to decide what to take home. Her dress today was a pale blue, accentuating her curves and making her look erotically... innocent. The thing about her though, was that Toni was much like a rose. So beautiful to look at, but guarded by thorns.

My heart stops
When you look at me
Just one touch
Now baby I believe
This is real
So take a chance and
Don't ever look back

Sean AlgruzÍo

Nothing really makes sense in my head anymore. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm not crazy. I just think too much, way too much. About life and death and the usual crap that no one ever really puts much thought into, because they shouldn't. You start seeing everything in a completely different perspective and start seeing so much value in the smallest, dumbest and most pathetic things. Now, in a chick, this would be an acceptable thing, makes them seem smart and sexy I guess. But, in my case, as a guy, it's just weird.

My brother tells me it's just me being lazy and dumb and that I should man up and get back to work. I'm not lazy really, I just think that we only live once and we should enjoy it. Its strange, ever since our parents died Jay has changed. He always has to have something going on, has to be moving. It's like his mind just can't function without the insanity of a busy lifestyle. The kid is suffering, he just won't admit it.

Hi, I'm Sean. I'm Irish/Italian, emphasis on the italian. It's just Jay and me, has been since he was 3 and I was 4. Jay got the Irish side of the genes and I got the Italian, you wouldn't even be able to guess we were siblings if you didn't know it. I'm tan smaller built with a more italian accent than irish. Other than that, you don't need to know, hell I am me and thats how it is, shouldn't need to explain it.

Anyway, here I am in this herbal garden type of store, on of my favorites. I'm supposed to be back at the car waiting around for Jay to get back from his lunch but fuck like thats gonna happen right? So I wandered off, like I always do. I'm on my 7th cigarette in about 20 minutes, bad habit blah blah blah. I dunno I kinda like it, its something that won't change you know? So here I am wandering around looking at nothing in particular but seeing thousands of different thing that would make great mixes and create all different atmospheres. Of course it's all useless, not like we're gonna be living here long enough to need any of these things anyway.

Absentmindedly I puffed on the cig and scratched my bare back. That's another thing about me, I hate shirts. Normally I just wear some button down flannel and it ends up chillin at my waist if only to keep my pistol hidden. Like I said, bad habits.

T.oni

The one problem with a girl like Toni is that she tends to forget to pay attention. She was so absorbed in the plants, she just.... Wasn't looking. Her dress was light and moved with her every move, swaying side to side she hummed softly, Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" drifting from those full pouty lips. She inhaled the sweet smell of a rose, its velvety petals touching her finger tips gently. No... Every garden has roses. She murmured softly. She moved on, still not paying attention, her eyes seeing only the flowers until suddenly her back bumped into something... Hard? She frowned and turned, looking to see what she hit to find something that explained why she couldn't explain what she bumped into. Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! She said to poor Sean, the "object" she ran into. She smiled an apologetic smile, but then a flash of orange caught her eye. That. I want THAT. She carefully stepped around Sean, her fingertips moving delicatly along the petals of the orange clivia flower. Isn't it beautiful? She murmured the question, to him, to herself, who knew? But it would give him an opening. She came alive looking at the flowers. Her blue eyes were over bright and full of joy, her skin flushed from the heat outside. She looked so sweet. Oh dear.

Sean AlgruzÍo

Clearly, I need sleep. Or I really do just think too much, because otherwise I would have noticed the slim figure absentmindedly making a war path towards me. But, I didn't, and in the midst of taking another puff of my cigarette and staring at this odd little fountain type thing, I was nearly knocked over. No she didn't sidelong herself into me, but the impact scared me and caught off guard, nearly caused me to lose my balance. I found myself stumbling a bit and playing hot potato with my cigarette after it had gone flying from my hands, trying not to burn myself or her.

Once I had regained my composure I turned to stare, at her curious as to why she hadn't seen me. It's sort of hard to miss a guy standing in the middle of an aisle with his shirt off, seriously it is. I stopped mid sentence though because she was really quite pretty. I mean, not some little girl playing princess or some model or nothing, actually genuinely pretty. I smiled my kindest smile as I brushed myself off a bit.

"it's fine really, are you alright though? I didn't burn you or anything did I?

My words however fell on dead air as she suddenly shifter her attention to something behind me. I sidestepped out of her way quickly seeing as she wasn't going to wait for me to move. My hand hung in midair, my mouth open awkwardly in mid-sentence. What a distracted type of person this woman was. Boy was she pretty though.

I must have spaced out again for a moment because I answered her question, though I don't think it was directed at me in particular. I stepped over to stand next to her, cupping my hand on another of the same type of flower.

"clivia's. And yes, they are some very beautiful flowers"

I mumbled it though, so instead of my usual clear english with a faint italian irish accent, my heavier italian accent came out making it slightly hared to understand.

T.oni

He knows what it is. Her eyes became even brighter and she almost very nearly hugged him. She turned a blinding smile at him, her happiness over the top. You like flowers? I love flowers. But Alex tells me that they're to frilly, then goes and sulks in the barn. Alex. She said the name lovingly, as though Alex were a boyfriend. She faced Sean. Alex and I run the orphanage. Its kind of quiet though. I hate the qui- Why are you shirtless? She frowned. Not in disapproval, but more of a furrowed frown as though she were working out some sort of puzzle trying to figure out why in the world he would be walking around a store without a shirt on. He was cute. She'd give him that. And lonliness was starting to hit her hard. She missed having friends. Sure, Alex was great and all but the two were complete and total opposites. Alex was edgy. Sexy. Put her in a pair of high heels and leather and you'd have a dominatrix. Thennnn theres Toni. Sweet, simple, Toni. She likes color. Gardens. Music. She smiled a bit, a quizzical smile. She extended her hand to him. I'm Toni, by the way. Her mind worked quick, jumping from one subject to another.

Sean AlgruzÍo

I don't know what I had expected, maybe a slight nod of acknowledgement or a shrug, nothing huge. It's just a flower right? But the reaction this woman gave me was simply brilliant, her whole damned face lit up like a christmas tree! I found myself staring at her with a dumbfounded look all over my face and an odd sideways smile of amusement. When she asked if I liked flowers I looked back at the clivia's and shrugged my shoulders.

"well, yeah. I've always liked them, they're just so colorful and different you know?"

I would have asked about the sulking Alex she had mentioned but didn't get the chance before she went off on another spiel. The difference was that this time it actually caught my attention. She mentioned an orphanage, it hit home. It was a strange type of feeling and it made me freeze and wince inside myself, I hadn't really talked about, or heard anyone talk about anything related to orphanages in a long time. Thank god this woman had such a quick train of thought because she just stopped mid sentence, again, and out of the blue asked why I was shirtless.

I have to admit, I blushed a bit. For years I have walked around without a shirt and not once has anyone asked me why. My reply started out as a bit of a stammer, my one hand wandering up to scratch the back of my head in thought while the other nervously played with my cigarette.

"well gee, I never really thought about a reason, just too hot I guess"

My voice had gone back to it's normal characteristic self, that smooth hint of an italian accent beneath my deep tone. It was then that I took her hand. Compared to mine hers felt like soft velvet, and boy were her hands small. I was almost afraid I would hurt her by shaking it.

"hi Toni, It's nice to meet you. Um you mentioned an orphanage?"

No sense hiding from it. She seemed like someone I might want to get to know better, but to do that something told me the subject of an orphanage would come up more than once, better to get it over with now.

T.oni

She blinked at the feeling of his hand, so rough compared to hers. But her smile was still bright and cheery. Orphanage. She tilted her head a bit, then plucked the cigarrette from his fingers and twirled it between her own. Bad habit. You need to quit. She said it mildly, holding it in front of his eyes, then tucking it behind her ear. It looked ridiculous there, like she was trying to be a rebellious teenager and showing off to her parents that she was smoking. But, she was older then him. She may not be bigger, but damn it she was older. That counted for something right? she laughed quietly at her own inner conversation, then smiled and kissed his cheek.

I'll take you there. To the orphanage. We're having a barbeque. Its basically... A house. A mansion. "The Castle" as its called affectionatly here in the valley. Alex and I run it. I told you about her, remember? She's my sister. She almost frowned, but it came across more as a pout. She's... more your type. Edgy, sexy, and gorgeous. She said this quieter then the rest of her words, but then she smiled, changing topics once more. A bunch of people are coming to the barbeque though. You should come. Bring any friends you want. We have all sorts of space, and things to do.

Sean AlgruzÍo

I was stunned. You ever had that sudden moment where you can't believe something that just happened right before your eyes, you get all stuttery, blink a lot, the whole shabang? Well thats what I was struck with when the small woman delicately plucked the remaining short of my cig right out of my hand. I found myself making that ridiculous repetitive couple of grabs at the air where the cig would have been, as if it would do any good. I was rendered at a total loss for words and movement, All I could do was blink and laugh in utter amusement. This random chick, this lady that I just met had the nerve to take my fuckin' cigarette, wave it in front of my face and tuck it behind her own ear. Bitch. Hope it burns her.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not an ass. But a guy has his things, his habits, and he doesn't like it when they get messed with. If Toni didn't look like a little kid that had given into peer pressure and if she wasn't so entertaining and damned pretty, I know I would have flipped and socked her square in the nose right there. I like my cigs dude. Unfortunately, she did look like a little kid and she was entertaining and pretty so I ended up laughing wholeheartedly,

"I think this particular bad habit suits me a bit better than you.

Then I reachied over and took the short right back from her, following up with a nice long inhale of the remainder. As I let out the smoke I smiled my nicest smile and flicked the but into the trash conveniently placed near us. Sure she was older, and yeah you're supposed to respect your elders but what can I say? I always did like to rebel.

"look, I know it's a bad habit, but its kinda all I got. Hell I'll cut my hair, I'll shave my back, I'll rid myself of any other habit if ya want. But I need my cigs"

The last statement, oddly enough, ended up not really being directed at her exactly, it was just a weakly mumbled excuse. Luckily I was saved by possibly the least expected interruption of a train of thought. The woman kissed me on the cheek, it was gentle and quick but it wasn't awkward at all and it sure as hell shut me up about my cigarette fetish. This also made me much more aware of what she was saying, and what she was saying involved the orphanage. Apparently the place was like a castle, rich with horses and all that jazz no doubt. I shifted my weight to lean more on the table with the clivia's on it while I thought. She said she would take me to it, but did I really want to go? I had no idea what would happen if I ever ended up going back to a place like that, I told Jay that we wouldn't ever go back, he hated the orphanage where we were brought up.

I snapped back to reality in Toni's mid sentence about the Alex character again. I don't know why but the way she had talked about them before, it made it sound like some lover, boy was I wrong. I also ended up breaking out into near hysterics when she said her sister was more my type.

"now, why in god's name would you think that would be my type? Look, Toni, if anything, I don't even have a type! Hell, my type is the one that doesn't exist. And if it did it would be the exact opposite of what you described your sister as. Now my brother, that kind of girl is definitely his type."

I was rambling, I was just trying to reassure her... for some reason.

"Uh,yeah sure I would love to come. I'll bring my brother"

T.oni

She tried to hide a smile. She was sweet. Innocent. Sweet. You can keep your hair. I like it like that. She gently picked up a couple of the clivias, then some other flowers, all ranging in colors from blue, to orange, to yellow to purple. Her arms were full and she started to walk blindly towards the counter to pay. She tossed over her shoulder, assuming he would follow her. There won't be to many people there. Alex sticks with her horses. I stick with my garden. Aralyn might show up. She's really sweet. You'll like her. She'll probably bring her two children, Blaire and Ravyn. Cute kids. Ravyn looks nothing like his mom. I love kids. Shasta, she's kind of an odd ball but she might show. Nathalie Somners and her brother might come. Basically, the nice people in town. That was the thing about Toni. She loved everybody. You could give her the Godfather of the Mafia and she would sit down and have a cup of tea with him, perfectly content with the man looking at all the goodness in his heart. Then... There are the not so nice people in town who might show up. Malachi will probably be there. He's not... Bad. But he and his "brother" Griffen run a "mob" around here. Organized crime. They stay out of drugs, that I will give them but they have plenty of illegal weapons filtering through the town. Thankfully though, Jaden and Ghost won't show up. They know better. That normally wouldn't stop them, but Ghost has respect for the orphanage and Jaden has been busy lately. I don't ask with what. She was rambling again. Giving him basically the whose who of the town. Her talking so fast though, it let her french accent filter through into her voice. She had mostly gotten rid of it throughout the few years that she had lived here. She took a pen and paper off the counter and wrote down directions to the Orphanage. Bring your brother. I'll introduce you to everyone. She smiled as she offered him the piece of paper. Welcome to the Atroe City, Sean. I really hope you can find what you're looking for here. The way she said it was almost sad. As though, she herself had never found what she was looking for. Maybe she didn't even know. She picked up the flowers carefully, balancing each one with tender care. I'll see you in a little while, Sean. She headed outside, her steps light and dance like. She headed out to a jeep wrangler, a vehicle that she had bought spur of the moment. Not something you would normally see her in. But what the hell. Go the distance when your already halfway there, right?