when it rains [open]

[grace cassadee mathews]

&& WHEN it RAINS on THIS SIDE of TOWN

it TOUCHES EVERYTHING``

Grace Mathews loved everything about the rain- she always had. She loved the way it looked glistening on people's skin, like hundreds of tiny crystals. She loved the sound of it, drumming on the roof. And the smell of it was something she never got tired of. The deep, rich smell of the air made her feel alive.
She sat now outside the Green Tee Cafe. She was sitting at a table on the patio, just under the overhang of the roof, just watching the people come and go, and the beautiful rainfall. It had been pouring all day, which always put the fiery redhead in a good mood. She propped her elbows on the table, crossing her ankles under her chair. Chin on hands, she watched people run through the rain. Sometimes someone would ride by on a bike, soaked with rainwater. There were people dressed in business suits trying to flag a taxi down. Grace smiled to herself.
She looked down at the sketchbook on the table. She had drawn the city street, complete with rain falling from the sky, and rushed looking people. She picked up her pencil, doodling another person. Her drawings were nothing to gasp over, but she liked drawing. Grace did most things for the sole reason of enjoying herself. She usually didn't mind if she had talent at something or not. The only thing she wanted to do well was sing.
Grace had been singing her whole life. Sixteen short years. She had a natural talent for it, as plenty of people had told her. Hearing people praise her for singing was like getting exactly what you want from Santa for Christmas. Grace smiled to herself, thinking the days when she believed in everything- Santa, the Easter Bunny, leprechauns. Those were good days.
Grace sighed happily, breathing in another breath of the musky air. She watched the cars as they passed, spraying water onto the curb. For the first time since leaving Tennessee to move to New York, she was happy. She was completely content to watch the city.

TAGGED! open!
WORDS! 346!
OUTFIT!clicky
LISTENING TO!Conspiracy, Paramore

[taryn cora ray]

Taryn was bored, but then again, that was how she normally felt. The feeling, however, slightly disappointed her. She had just come back from a traumatic experience (one she didn't feel like directly thinking about)! How dare she feel bored! She should be swimming in a sea of angst. Guilt about not trying to get in touch with those she had gotten close to, fear of the nightmares that disturbed her sleep, and the pain from the bruises and scares that hadn't faded. She ought to be writing poems about slitting her wrists, for goodness sake! Despite how bad all of these feelings would be, had she been experiencing them, she felt a little bit gypped. But back to the boredom. See, the important thing about this boredom was that it inspired her to ditch her house and travel around the city a little bit. After all, if she was going to live in New York, she ought to know how to get around, right?

After a considerable amount of time walking around in the rain (which had started pouring about ten minutes after she'd started walking- thank goodness she'd brought a jacket), Taryn finally found a nice-looking place (after, of course, the slew of nightclubs) called the Green Tee Cafe. It was a catchy name, and her feet were tired, so she went inside. She saw that, even though the tables were filled, there was a fairly short line in store for her. Oh, joy (and this time, it wasn't sarcastic). She took her spot in the line, drying off a stray lock of hair that had gotten wet. She got a dirty look from an old customer, but it wasn't as if she was ever going to come back, so she figured he could get through the day without a heart attack. Geez.

After ordering a regular green tea (it cost a dollar fifty) she scanned the inside of the store quickly. No empty seats. Perfect. She was about to walk outside, planning to take her drink with her back home, when she spotted a girl sitting at a patio table. This was surprising to her, first of all because she hadn't even noticed the tables, and second of all because if one was going to sit alone, why would they display it for the world to see? Taryn knew that if she was sitting alone out there, she'd probably be a little embarrassed, feeling everyone's pitying eyes, and knowing that at least one passerby was wondering if she had anyone to sit with at all. But then again, Taryn was a drama queen.

For a moment, she wondered if she should sit with her. The girl seemed happy enough; maybe she was waiting for someone. But still- what if she wasn't? New York was basically a group of actors, after all. Her mind was made up. She would go against her better instinct (an action that had actually benefited her in the past) and sit down.

So she did. She walked over to the girl, pulled out a chair, and asked, "D'you mind if I sit here?"

Word Count: 534
Tag: Grace
Notes: Finally done!

[grace cassadee mathews]

&& WHEN it RAINS on THIS SIDE of TOWN

it TOUCHES EVERYTHING``

Grace watched a girl her age hurried out of the rain and into the cafe. She didn't seem to notice her, sitting out on the patio by herself. Of course, she did seem to be in a hurry to get out of the rain. Grace shrugged it off, doodling again in her notebook. She felt like writing a song. She doodled a few broken hearts along the edge of the paper. Her pencil traced the shape of a cloud. She loved the mindless doodles that she did when she was bored. They always seemed to turn out to be a beautiful mess. Grace was never going to be a great artist, but she liked to do a lot of different things. Life was too short to live the same day twice.
Grace doodled for a few more minutes before glancing up to see the girl that hurried into the cafe a few minutes before. She was a pretty girl, with brown hair, a few locks of it wet from the rain. In one hand she had a drink that she had ordered inside. She had kind eyes, Grace decided. She pulled out a chair, "D'you mind if I sit here?"
Grace hadn't really been expecting that. Usually people didn't like to sit with her. Something about Grace seemed to repel people. Maybe it was the flaming red hair that made people hesitant to be around her. But she was no punk, as people seemed to assume. Grace was sweet natured, and almost shy, as people usually came to realize. She smiled, the little gap between her front teeth showing, "Of course not! Sit down!"
She studied the girl for a minute, her hazel eyes wandering over the other girl. She looked familiar, vaguely. She had definitely seen her around school. Grace had only been attending Bellview for a few days, but she was good at remembering faces. She tapped her pencil against her sketchbook.
"You go to Bellview, don't you?" She smiled again, holding out a hand for the girl to shake. Grace still didn't know if New Yorkers shook hands or not. She didn’t really understand anything about New York yet. However, it seemed to be the polite thing to do, "I'm Grace Mathews. I'm kinda new around here."
Her Tennessee accent was cheerful, even uplifting. Grace was always happy to meet new people. That was an understatement. She loved to meet new people, as long as they had good intentions.

TAGGED! Taryn!
WORDS! 412!
OUTFIT!clicky
LISTENING TO!Coldplay: Fix You

[taryn cora ray]

Taryn was actually quite surprised when the girl smiled at her. She had been expecting a solemn mumble, or perhaps a confused look. But no, this girl had smiled. Her smile made Taryn smile, something that she hadn't been expecting. She considered, for half a second, wiping the smirk off her face and returning back to her standard sulk, but it was a day of changes, as she had thought earlier when she met her new Best Friends, Zac and Lucy. Okay, maybe they weren't going to become best friends, but it felt nice to at least wallow in the fantasy for a little while.

Okay, that was incredibly creepy.

Meanwhile, the girl was saying, "Of course not! Sit down!"

So Taryn sat down. "You go to Bellview, don't you?" She asked, holding out her hand. For a moment, Taryn stared at it blankly. Finally, it clicked- people usually shook hands in the real world. She put out her hand and shook it a bit violently (although she was oblivious to this fact- hey, she hadn't shaken someone's hand in a while). "Yeah, I go there." She confirmed. She had seen the girl before, in passing. This was a bit epic to Taryn, seeing as she had only just finished her first day. Apparently, I have quite the memory. She thought proudly. "I assume you do too..." She trailed off, looking down at the table. And there goes my confidence. She thought. I've filled up my quota for the day.

The girl, however, didn't seem to notice. She introduced herself. "I'm Grace Mathews. I'm kinda new around here."

And Taryn's confidence was back up. "Really?" She asked, now intrigued. "That's so cool. So am I!"

[grace cassadee mathews]

&& WHEN it RAINS on THIS SIDE of TOWN

it TOUCHES EVERYTHING``

Grace felt a swell of happiness inside when the other girl smiled too. There was something about smiles that the redhead loved. They were so real, so nice. It made her happy to see other people smile. Grace hadn't quite gotten used to New York in that respect. Most people had a grim look on there face most of the time in this city, it seemed.
She was relieved when the other girl shook her hand. Maybe New Yorkers shook hands after all. The girl seemed a bit nervous, shaking her hand almost roughly. Grace didn't mind though. At least someone shook her hand for the first time since she had made the move to New York.
It was a relief to the redhead that she had guessed right. The other girl did indeed go to Bellview. She nodded when the other girl mentioned that she must go there as well. She watched as the other girl's gaze dropped down to the table. She mentioned that she was new to the city, and bam, the girl's eyes were back on Grace. So she was new here too. Grace couldn't help but be happy about that. She felt so alone in New York, with nobody who understood how hard it was to adapt to the city. Maybe this girl would.
"Yeah, I'm from Franklin, in Tennessee. Brand new here. I haven't gotten used to it yet, everything's so big!" She grinned again, pushing a lock of brilliant red hair behind one ear, "What about you? Where are you from? When did you move here? What's your name?"
Grace quickly shut her mouth, turning red when she realized that she was talking too much. She had a tendency to ramble at times.

TAGGED! Taryn!
WORDS! 305!
OUTFIT!clicky
LISTENING TO!Snow Patrol: Grazed Knees

[taryn cora ray]

Taryn, much like Grace, was delighted about the shared smiles being shared between them. Also like Grace, Taryn had assumed that New Yorkers were impolite rapists, but then again, she always assumed the worst. It was part of the baggage that came with being abused, but she didn't want to think about that. If she showed signs of what she was carrying, Grace might start to ask questions, and because Taryn was a bad liar (except in one situation, during which she had no time or energy to think about her lies, therefore being able to be convincing), she could press until she finally told the truth, and boy did the truth suck. It wasn't Grace's burden to bear. As a matter of fact, Taryn didn't think it should be her burden, but life was unfair like that.

When she went all psycho on her (psycho as in shaking hands weirdly, avoiding eye contact, etcetera) Grace didn't seem to notice. And not noticing her habits was kind of a key element if you wanted to be friends with Taryn. Otherwise, it seemed to her that people began analyzing her actions like some kind of therapist, and as badly as she needed therapy, she didn't want it from some teenage maybe-a-friend. They were too judgemental. Who she really needed as a theapist was some kind of mellow hippie, preferably one on pot because after all, even if he did judge her, she could probably use the "He doesn't know what he's talking about because he's high" excuse.

"Yeah, I'm from Franklin, in Tennessee. Brand new here. I haven't gotten used to it yet, everything's so big!" Grace raved, grinning bigger by he second. Tennessee. Taryn had always wanted to live somewhere in the South, ever since reading To Kill A Mockingbird. The whole Southern '50s life seemed so charming, and while she couldn't go to the fifties, she could possibly live in the South. Plus, all of Stephen King's horror novels happened in Maine, which was quite far from Tennessee. "What about you? Where are you from? When did you move here? What's your name?" The girl was saying as Taryn began to picture the countryside.

"Hmm?" Taryn asked, a little distracted. What Grace had said reached her a good five seconds after she said it, and she exclaimed, "Oh! Uh, I'm Taryn. I move around a bit, I just got here a couple days ago. I've lived in a couple city-type towns, but never New York. You can't really compare anything to this city, y'know?"