Broken Homecoming (Emma)

[JAMES MILLER]

"You go out there and get your ball! Just be careful the lanes are really slippery."

That was all the encouragement James really needed. He wasn't exactly thinking straight at the moment and after fumbling to his feet he stood at the end of the lane, his hands on his hips as he took in the mission at hand. Get the ball. He could always try and throw another ball down the lane to try and get that one going, but knowing his luck he would miss it completely, probably repeatedly. Emelia could probably do it, but then again what was the fun in that? He turned and offered an award winning smile at the girl before marching on down the lane.

James didn't exactly get far before all hell began to break loose. He was only a few feet in when one of the alley employees noticed what he was doing and yelled for him to stop. James, in turn, did what any person would have done in that situation; crack up. He pointed towards the ball and then cupped a hand near his mouth to make his voice boom louder. "The balls stuck. Just gonna get it, yeah?" The guy was yelling and charging over and James laughed again, moving towards his ball, but then he slipped. The worker was fast approaching so he moved faster down the lane, wriggling mostly on his stomach.

"GET OFF THE LANE!" The worker called as James finally made it to the He picked it up triumphantly and attempted to get back on his feet, but only began to slip and slide all over the place, stuck. "Seems I'm a bit stuck!" He called back, managing to get onto his back and staring at the ceiling, still cracking up as the ball lay in the gutter beside him.

"Em, help me!" He called out between fits of laughter.

[EMELIA BIRCH]

The average sane person would walk along the side of the lanes where it wasn’t slippery, the way that they would have seen employees walk up the lanes for whatever reason they had for doing it. But clearly James wasn’t your average sane person, was he? Then again the same thing could be said for Emelia, who egged him on and was now laughing as he slipped and slid around the lane like it was some sort of.. well.. slip n’ slide! It wasn’t just a ha ha you slipped sort of funny either, it was a gut-wrenching-keel-over-and-hold-your-side-as-you-laugh-as-loud-as-you-possibly-can funny. And Emelia felt a stitch of pain in her side as she cracked up. “Ow.. ow..” she managed to say between gasps before bursting into more laughter.

”GET OFF THE LANE!” Did this joker really think he was going to get James off the lane? Maybe James would be obedient and listen, wiggling around helplessly like a beached whale. He got up and -- oh wait. Nope. He was back down and on his back this time. ”Seems I’m a bit stuck!” She couldn’t take it.. she was laughing so hard she was afraid she was going to pass out and braced herself by gripping her knees and staring at the ground. If she didn’t stop looking at him she wasn’t going to be able to catch her breath, and considering she was under the influence of both alcohol and drugs she was really having a difficult time controlling her little fit of laughter.

”Em, help me!” She looked up and saw that the employees were almost at their lane and although she knew she could run up the side to get to him without falling she wasn’t thinking clearly. Backing up away from the lane she braced herself and with a short running head start she stuck her right foot out in front of her and the left behind as if she was getting ready to surf and really that’s what she was doing, surfing down the lane. Her arms came out to the sides for balance but she only managed to get a quarter of the way down before she started flapping her arms and losing her balance. “Wah!” She shrieked and fell backwards onto her ass, still sliding down the lane until she collided with James getting all tangled up with his legs. “Move your foot!” She shouted at him even though she was wrapped around his leg with one hand behind his knee and the other on his foot that seemed to be moving around trying to kick her in the head.

“We’re going to be stuck here for a while!” She called out to the guys who were making their ways up the side. “Oh shit, we’re in trouble now!” Emelia bursted out laughing again and tried to roll to the left and trying to take his leg with her like it was the only thing sturdy that she could grab hold of. They were coming too fast! But would they be able to get to them if they couldn’t see!? Emelia looked up toward the black lights that hung from the ceiling and got the best idea ever! If they wanted to catch them they’d have to find them first! It took more concentration than usual with how funky the tree had been acting, but she said the words quickly and softly, “abesse lucem in tenebras tegens.”

The black lights began to flicker off and on before turning off entirely, leaving them in total darkness. She heard a distinct thump of someone falling in the lane to their right and roared with laughter. They couldn’t walk on the sides if they couldn’t see where they were going! Another one fell to the ground and they could be heard shuffling around while the other bowlers shrieked and started bumping into things, asking what happened to the lights while The Beastie Boys’ Brass Monkey boomed over the speakers. “Go go go!” She squealed and rolled onto her stomach and started to hit the ground trying to find something that wasn’t slippery so she could pull herself off the lane. She was kicking her legs out in the air trying to push her forward and felt her foot jab into something soft and... humany. “What am I kicking?!” She kicked her foot into it again as if that would give her a better understanding of what it was.

[JAMES MILLER]

James looked up just in time to see Emma sail down the lane towards him before clambering down onto her butt, flailing on the ground after like a fish out of water. He lost it all over again as she slid to a stop at him. He reached for her, trying to steady himself and using her as a brace, but he wasn't quite coordinated enough for that and they ended up getting tangled in one another. “Move your foot!” She shouted at him even though it was her that was tangled around him. "Yer wrapped around my bloody leg!" He reminded with a laugh, flailing just as much as she was, though he didn't realize how dangerously close to her face his foot was. Luckily he didn't get her.

“We’re going to be stuck here for a while!” James looked at the men and shrugged. "She's got a point. Sorry, mates." He grinned but the grin was wiped off his face as they started coming up the gutters towards them. “Oh shit, we’re in trouble now!” She began to laugh which immediately made him laugh again as he frantically tried to get to his feet, but to no avail.

Before the guards could get them the lights suddenly flickered and turned off. The place was pitch black, even though the music was still pumping through the sound system. "Shit!" He laughed hearing someone falling somewhere. The people after them? “Go go go!” He heard Emma squeal and he grabbed her, not sure where she was or where they were going. His lighter was in his coat which was by the table! "Ah!" He groaned when he felt something hard slam into his side. “What am I kicking?!” "Ow!" He yelped, grabbing at her foot. "That'd be me, love."

James flailed around, wriggling onto his stomach. He felt the gutter and grabbed hold of it. "Here!" He waved his hand and grabbed whatever part of her he could, not entirely sure what it was. "Crawl down the gutter, one leg on either side. C'mon!" His legs fit perfectly in the dips and he managed to slowly slide his way back to the end of the lane.

"You with me, love?" He called, unsure if she was following him or not. They needed to get their shoes and coats and book it! When he got to the end he managed to get to his feet, slipping a little with the bottom of his shoes all slicked up now. He reached down and undid the velcro before kicking the shoes off, quite literally, in random directions. Left in his socks he looked around the dark alley. "Em?" He called out, still chuckling a little. "Where'd yeh go, love?"

[EMELIA BIRCH]

They were such a mess. Emelia wasn't usually this clumsy but then again she had the slippery stuff from the bowling lane all over her. How did they make the lanes so slippery anyway, was it wax? "Ow! That'd be me, love." He grabbed her foot and she stopped kicking at him now that she knew what it was. The more he shifted around the more she slipped and slid, getting closer to the pins. "Here!" She felt someone grabbing her arm and she shrieked since she couldn't see what was going on but after a moment she realized it was just James. "Crawl down the gutter, one leg on either side. C'mon!" She used him to turn herself in what she hoped was the right direction. "You with me, love?" There were only two of them to choose from and after sticking her feet in the gutters and sliding her way down she found she chose the right direction. "Yep, I'm-a comin'!"

She reached the end and could hear James already shuffling towards their shoes. She staggered and bumped into the bowling ball returner.. thingy, almost falling over it but catching herself quickly. She didn't even bother with the velcro on the bowling shoes, kicking the first off easily and then banging the back of the second against the floor until her heel finally slipped out of it. "Em?" "Yeah!?" "where'd yeh go, love?" She could barely make out his silhouette and she had thought she was standing in front of him but really she was standing behind him. Snatching up her shoes in one hand she closed the small distance between them quickly and jumped at him, her arms coming around his neck and her knees pushing into his sides. "HEY! Well THAT didn't sound like James!

The man started to thrash around and heaved Emelia off of his back. She couldn't believe she just jumped on a stranger's back. Well, yeah she could. James was practically a stranger and she'd tried to jump on his back to scare him so that counted. "Where'd you go!?" She called out and then felt the plush padding inside of the shoes she was holding. She had worn Chuck Taylors that night which felt like canvas and didn't have any padding whatsoever. Well, she'd jumped on some random guy's back and she was holding someone else's shoes. She tossed them over her shoulder hearing them clatter to the ground and she picked up another pair. Nope. What lane was she even in?!

"James!" She called out trying to find out where he was but someone was trying to grab hold of her and she couldn't see who it was. "No! Leggo!" Emelia swatted at them and climbed over a group of chairs and up the stairs feeling the rough carpet under her feet through her socks. "Grab my shoes!" She called out in general since she didn't know where he was or even where the hell she was at that moment. She spun around and she saw the lit EXIT sign and went running straight for it. Hopefully he'd grab her shoes. If not? Well then she'd just walk home in her socks! She slammed right into the door and it swung wide open. She felt like she was free! But the exit let out into one of the dark side alleys and not the front of the building. All she could see was a pair of dumpsters and heard the sound of rats scuttling on the ground. "Blechk!"

[JAMES MILLER]

James couldn't see anything and had no idea where he was going. He was feeling around trying to find his stuff, but he wasn't sure if the stuff he was finding was his or not. It felt enough like his.. was that his coat? Were those his shoes? He tried to find the lighter in the pocket of the jacket to see, but he couldn't even find the pocket! "Hell.." He grumbled, trying not to laugh even though he was a little frustrated with the power outage.

"Where'd you go!?" He heard her yell from somewhere nearby and he stopped searching for the lighter and looked around as though he might just happen to see her, but naturally he did not. "I'm right here!" He called out as if that were a sufficient answer. Than again, what did she want, coordinates? Actually, those would be pretty nice! "Where are you?" He asked, trying not to laugh.

"James! No! Leggo!"

The humor left him as he heard her struggles with someone else. "Hey! Le'go of her!" He yelled to no one, not entirely sure where she was to even help her! "Grab my shoes!" She called out towards him but how did he know where her shoes were? He held onto the coat he had grabbed and grabbed the shoe's he'd been holding plus another pair he had found beside them. They might be theirs!

James saw the exit door opening and shutting before he really knew where Em had gone off to, and assuming it had been her that had run out he followed suit, shoving his way through the double doors. He was glad it was her out there! "We made it!" He breathed, the humor suddenly coming back to him and he began to chuckle. "Yeh think they'll let us come back an' play tomorrow?" He teased before looking down at the goods in his hands. That was not his coat. In fact, he was pretty sure judging by the way it fanned out and the bright green color that it was a ladies overcoat. He pursed his lips not recalling Emelia having worn that when they had walked in together, but he supposed it would look nice on her. "Nicked yah a coat." He said with a wide grin, holding up the shoes. "Er.. these yours?" He asked eyeing them up suspiciously. "Cause those definitely don't belong to me."

[EMELIA BIRCH]

“Yeh think they’ll let us come back an’ play tomorrow?” Emelia stared at James for a moment before her cheeks puffed out like she was trying to hold back a laugh and then she turned and roared with laughter. “Yeah, they’ll forget all about us by tomorrow!” She watched him shake out a green coat that didn’t resemble the coat he’d been wearing earlier at all. Not to mention it looked a tad too small and definitely feminine. She watched his face as he looked at it before holding it up. ”Nicked yah a coat.” She crossed her arms over her chest and watched him with mild fascination as he tried to sort himself and everything he’d grabbed out. ”Er.. these yours? Cause those definitely don’t belong to me.”

The shoes he had were definitely a pair of women’s shoes but they weren’t hers. Not by a long shot. One, because her Chuck Taylor’s were actually men’s (they were cheaper than the women’s) not that it made a difference, and two, because they were a pair of wedged heels. Emma didn’t do heels but because the freezing pavement was nipping at the bottoms of her feet through the thin material of her striped socks, she took the shoes from him and slipped one foot after the other into the pair before standing there a little wobbly. Then she grabbed the coat from him and threw it on over the sweatshirt she already had on making her look bulky and awkward, not to mention it wasn’t really that comfortable since her arms felt constricted under all the material but it was warm and she didn’t want to struggle out of it now.

“I know this guy who knows a guy who works here. I’ll tell him to sneak our stuff out because chances are they’re going to hold it hostage to see if we ever come looking for it. Because you know, you get seven to ten years behind bars for sliding down the lanes of a bowling alley,” she teased him knowing that the only thing the bowling alley could really do is ban them from coming back. But seriously, who would remember anyway? It wasn’t like hanging at the bowling alley would become a regular thing and they wouldn’t remember them the next time they came in she was sure of it. It wasn’t likely they were going to go there again together anyway.

She started to walk down the alley away from the bowling building, passing a few trash cans that smelled of rotten food and a rat or two that scittered alongside the buildings. A lot of people were creeped by the dark alleys but Emelia found them to be pretty nice. Most of the time you’d find yourself alone in an alley and it was also a nice place to have a hit of whatever you had on you at the time when you couldn’t wait to get home first. If there were other people in the alleys she’d just take a detour and go another way, no big deal. She was smart enough not to put herself in a stupid situation.

“Sooo.. now that we drank all the beer and we’re out of cigarettes what do we do now?” She could head home and just chill in her parent’s garage, light a few incense and smoke until she passed out. They were heavy sleepers and as long as they were in bed she could do whatever she wanted without getting nagged incessantly. She reached into the pockets of the green coat curious to see if there was anything inside. She found a pack of gum and a tube of lipstick. The gum she’d keep but the lipstick she was definitely going to trash.

[JAMES MILLER]

Judging by her facial expression the shoes weren't hers. That was fine, because the other shoes weren't his. Fortunately they belonged to a guy with feet bigger than his and he slid them on, tying them tight to keep them from slipping around too much as he walked around. He nodded when she mentioned she knew a guy who could get there stuff, and then laughed at her joke. "Good, cause I've got that one coat and now.. well I s'pose I'll be a bit chilly the next few days, yah?" He laughed, knowing he would need to give the girl his number in case she got his stuff. Actually, he sort of wanted to give her his number, or rather get hers. She wasn't nearly half as bad as he'd suspected, and he'd quite enjoyed himself so far that evening with her.

James could see his breath as he walked and lifted his hands to his mouth, breathing into his hands and rubbing them together to keep warm. The rats scurried away, but Em didn't seem to mind and he liked that about her. She wasn't afraid of silly things like some women he knew.

“Sooo.. now that we drank all the beer and we’re out of cigarettes what do we do now?”

James had a few ideas, or rather one, but he knew it was just the beer talking in his mind. He wasn't big on taking random girls home and having sex, but then again he knew her by this point. They'd spent the better part of the evening enjoying themselves. But he also didn't really have a home to go back to, not unless he wanted Lizzy to hear his extracurricular activities, which he didn't.

"Dunno." He said with a shrug. "You're the local, anyplace good we could warm up in?" He asked pulling out his tin of cigarettes but realizing he didn't have his lighter. "Fuck.. can't smoke one of these without no fire." He grumbled before sliding the tin back in his back pocket with a sigh. "You could come home with me if yeh like. I won't try anything funny. I'm bunking up with my sister, so.. puts a damper on trying to do anything funny." He threw Emelia a little wink and a grin. "Think she's got some brandy, too."

[EMELIA BIRCH]

”Dunno. You’re the local, anyplace good we could warm up in?” There were a few places but nothing sounded appealing at the moment. She was wearing someone else’s shoes and the more she walked in them the more she realized they were half a size too small. That or maybe it was because she was wearing socks with them? No idea. She watched him take out his cigarette holder and raised a brow. He did still have his cigarettes. She thought they were in his coat, but since they weren’t then they could still smoke them! ”Fuck.. can’t smoke one of these without no fire.” She rolled her eyes and was about to say they could make fire but then she realized that she didn’t know him that well. And the likelihood that he’d be a crazy dingbat witch like herself was slim to none. ”You could come home with me if yeh like. I won’t try anything funny. I’m bunking up with my sister, so.. puts a damper on trying to do anything funny.” She caught the wink and she snapped her fingers, “Damn, and I do like my ‘funny’,” she said. ”Think she’s got some brandy, too.”

It was tempting but then not so tempting at the same time. She didn’t know how far he lived and she didn’t want to walk in those heels. Then again she knew how far she lived and wondered if he lived closer or further away. That would probably be the deciding factor. But right now she had nicotine on the brain and she was eyeing his damn pocket. “Give me a cigarette.” She demanded but she was impatient and reached over to pluck the tin out of his pocket herself. “Please.” She added as if that would make the whole action a bit more polite, but she had a feeling he’d comment on her helping herself anyway.

Once she plucked a cigarette out of the holder she handed the tin back to him and held the cigarette up in her hand, looking around for something.. anything that she could use to sort of make it look like there was some sort of trick to lighting it up. But there was nothing around that would be warm or even remotely.. there was a battery on the ground! She crouched down and picked up a discarded double A Duracell battery and held that and the cigarette up to show him. “Have you ever lit a cigarette with a battery before?” She asked him and cocked a brow at him like she had some witty idea, something that he didn’t know about. But truth be told she just really hoped he was gullible enough to not ask questions. She held them both out for him to take and then pointed to the side of a building that was made out of brick. “Rub the positive side of the battery against the brick and then put the end of the cigarette against it and start puffing. It releases some weird chemical and will catch fire but you have to do it fast.” God that sounded so dumb. But they’d been smoking and drinking all night so maybe it would work? She just needed him to believe it as she actually used her abilities to light the damn thing. What she wouldn’t do for a smoke.

[JAMES MILLER]

He waited for an answer, but instead what he got was a grubby paw in his pants. He cocked a brow and turned his head a little to watch her snatch the little tin from his pocket, adding a soft “Please.” after she'd already helped herself. "No worries." He teased. "What's mine is yours apparently." He didn't mind too much. He could make more later with his sisters stash. He had the feeling she might be growing or know a guy who's growing since she had quite a bit of it.

When she offered his tin back to him he took it with a curious sort of smile on his face. "How very generous." He teased sliding it back into his pocket. "But now how you gonna light that?" She didn't answer but instead moved to search for something on the ground. Had she seen a matchbook? An old lighter? He hadn't, but then again he hadn't been looking.

James watched with curiosity as Emma picked something up, tilting his head a little to watch. “Have you ever lit a cigarette with a battery before?” She asked him and cocked a brow at him. In response he stared at her as though she had nine heads. She might as well, it was more believable than using a battery as a lighter. “Rub the positive side of the battery against the brick and then put the end of the cigarette against it and start puffing." She said offering him the cigarette and the battery. "It releases some weird chemical and will catch fire but you have to do it fast.” Did she think he was some sort of baffoon? She must with that crock of shit.

"You're mad." He teased but he took the items anyway, shaking his head. "This won't work, but i'll humor yeh." He went to the wall and looked at the battery, deciding which side was the positive one before pushing it against the brick. "Better not be like that salt trick." He teased, not sure if she knew what the sale trick was. If she didn't he would surely teach her. He scraped the battery against the brick and then held it to the cigarette and puffed like it was a lighter. Sure enough the end lit and smoke came through.

Surprise wasn't the word to describe how James felt. Shocked, maybe? He pulled the cigarette away and looked between it, the battery and Emma, a confused expression over her lips. "The hell?" He asked, sliding the cigarette in his mouth again. "That's wicked, where'd yeh learn that?"

[EMELIA BIRCH]

”You’re mad.” Maybe she was a little mad for asking him to do this. It was real careless but she didn’t care, she wanted a damn cigarette! ”This won’t work, but I’ll humor yeh.” He was going to do it! She smiled, waiting for him to do the bullshit ‘trick’ that she made up on the spot. ”Better not be like that salt trick.” Salt trick? She looked at him confused but then it dawned on her just what the salt trick was. “Don’t worry you’re not going to look like you’re jerking someone off into your mouth.” She told him and laughed at the thought. She remembered when someone had told her that and she’d done it like an idiot. She still liked to pull that prank on people every now and then who didn’t know it.

Her eyes fixed on the end of the cigarette, watching as he put it against the brick wall and started to puff on it. She mumbled the little words under her breath and watched as the tip turned orange and smoke started to form out of both the tip and James’ lips. When he pulled out the cigarette he looked as if he was staring at a purple hippopotamus and she had to laugh. ”The hell? That’s wicked, where’d yeh learn that?” She grinned and then shook her head. “That’s my secret and I’ll never tell!” Emelia teased and wiggled her nose at him, tapping the tip with her finger.

She reached for the cigarette, snatching it out of his hand and bringing it to her own lips, puffing away on the pot laced stick. “Nothing like a good cigarette on a cold day,” she said and blew the smoke out, handing the cancer stick back to him. “So where are you staying? If it’s too far you’re going to have to switch me shoes.”

[JAMES MILLER]

“That’s my secret and I’ll never tell!” Emelia teased and wiggled her nose at him before stealing his cigarette. He still didn't believe it worked and still thought it had to be some sort of weird trick. But he'd seen it happen with his own eyes! But he was also drunk and high, a bad combination to be seeing unbelievable things. If he couldn't get it to happen again he would wonder if it had ever really happened at all, he was sure.

“Nothing like a good cigarette on a cold day,” she said and blew the smoke out. He took the smoke as she passed it back to him and slipped it between his lips and inhaled deeply. He loved the way it heated him and gave him that nice warm feeling inside. “So where are you staying? If it’s too far you’re going to have to switch me shoes.” So she wanted to come home with him? He smirked and let the smoke slowly drift through his partially opened lips, getting lost in the cool night air around him.

"From here? 's about a ten minute walk or so. Only 'bout five blocks?" He looked around and then nodded. "Yeah, not too far, love." He took another quick hit and then passed it to Em. "Yeh think you could walk there in those shoes? Need a piggy back ride?" He asked with a big silly smile on his face. Wouldn't be the first piggy back ride he'd given. Hell he used to let Maxi do it all the time, and his sisters for that matter, once he was big enough to bear their weight, anyway. Being the baby had been rough until he'd grown up a bit. "'Cause I'd rather carry yeh then switch shoes. Heels look ridiculous on my feet." Again he grinned.

[EMELIA BIRCH]

”From here? ‘s about a ten minute walk or so. Only ‘bout five blocks?” She watched him turn his head and look around, probably checking out the landmarks to make sure that he was right. ”Yeah, not too far, love.” When he finished his hit she took the cigarette back and took a deep drag, looking down at the burnt tip before blowing the smoke out. ”Yeh think you could walk there in those shoes? Need a piggy back ride?” A piggy back ride? Was he serious? Emelia had gotten piggy back rides from people before but usually they were people she knew. Then again she had known this James for a few hours, right? Even still she wasn’t going to ask for a piggy back ride.

“Please,” she scoffed at him and handed the cigarette back before starting in the direction that he had pointed out. “I can handle five blocks.” Really she wasn’t sure if she could make it five blocks in those shoes. She sucked at walking in heels. And as if right on cue her ankle gave out and her foot went sideways causing her to stagger. She righted herself before she could fall flat on her face. She brushed her hair away from her face with her hands and averted her eyes to the sidewalk. “You didn’t see that!” She said loud as if the louder she was the truer her words would be.

The walk wasn’t too bad and apart from that one staggering moment Emma was able to walk in the heels. She braced herself by putting an arm around James’ shoulders a few times, the pair of them passing the cigarette back and forth and laughing like stoned idiots. Which was exactly what they were; stoned idiots. “Are we almost there? We’ve been walking since yesterday!” They’d only been walking for a little over seven minutes but when you were high that seemed like forever and a day. At least it did for her, she wasn’t sure about him. “And how cool is your sister? She’s not going to like go apey on us, right? Do we have to whisper?” She leaned closer to him and spoke in a very loud whisper, “like this? Is this how we’ll have to talk?”

[JAMES MILLER]

James shrugged when she said she could handle the walk and then laughed when it became clear she might be unable to do that at all since she nearly face planted on the sidewalk. “You didn’t see that!” He chuckled softly and shook his head. "See what, love?" He asked, playing along for her benefit, but his laughter told her otherwise. He had seen and he had been very, very amused by it.

The walk back was a little slow with Emma walking the way she was. She grabbed onto him now and then and he had to constantly stifle his laughter, not wanting to upset her. Maybe she could fit into a pair of Lizzy's shoes and borrow them to get home later or tomorrow.

“Are we almost there? We’ve been walking since yesterday!” He looked around. Were they almost there? "Just up there." He said leaning towards her a little and pointing to a building far enough in the distance that she wouldn't be able tot ell which it was. “And how cool is your sister? She’s not going to like go apey on us, right? Do we have to whisper?” She leaned closer to him and spoke in a very loud whisper, “like this? Is this how we’ll have to talk?” "Yes." He whispered back in the same volume she had. "We should probably whisper just like this!" He insisted playfully and then laughed. "No, we could probably talk real soft. She's cool. Lizzy's laid back, won't get angry 'less we're bouncin' around acting stupid. Dunno about you, but I don't feel much like bouncin' anyway." And it was true, he was still stoned out of his mind and buzzed from the beers.

They walked a little further and he knew it wouldn't be long before they were there. "If she's got a problem she'll gimme a good smack and a talkin' to in the morning. You've got nothin' to worry about. Not unless yeh break something. I won't take the fall for yah, so you know. I'd definitely point the finger at yah." He smiled at her, obviously being playful, but maybe a tiny bit serious.

After another half block they came to a semi tall building and Jamie waved at the door. "Here we are." He opened the door and let Emma in before following her and going to the elevator. "'ts only a flight up but I know yer havin' a wee bit of trouble with those shoes." He teased as the doors to the elevator opened and he stepped inside, pressing the two. He stretched his arms up over his head, his back cracking a little before folding his fingers together and resting them behind his head, an inch of his stomach showing above the waistband to his jeans. The elevator stopped and he clambered out, moving to the door a few feet down the hall. "C'mon." He insisted, jiggling the handle after he stuck the key inside and twisted it open.

The apartment was small and decorated in light greens, navy blues, whites and light blue. It looked like something from ikea with its sleek, thin, apartment designed furniture which was all white, navy or green. There were loads of plants and tons of bird figurines. Colorful paintings decorated the wall and it was comfortable and cheerful. "My sister's a bit of a nutter." James explained kicking off the shoes he was wearing and moving into the apartment straight to the kitchen which was clear across the room and open, seperated from the rest of the apartment but a cute, granite island with two breakfast stools hidden below. The boy reached into a cabinet and pulled down a bottle of apricot brandy, that he knew was reserved for his sisters baking, and twisted the lid off, taking a deep sip before moving to the navy couch and plopping down, slouching low. "I won't bite." He promised, offering the bottle up to her. "'less you ask me real nice to."