it's just a moment of change --- [private]

James skirted around the corner, not only almost tripping over his ankles but skidding nearly into the path of oncoming traffic. He risked a glance over his shoulder to see if the gang were still in hot pursuit and, upon realizing they were right behind him, set off with all the might in his body. He barged into person after person as he barreled down the sidewalks, cutting through alleys and trying to shake those chasing off his trail quickly. who would've thought they would be so offended over a passing remark about their 'btec' clothing.

((james really had to stop being such a smug jerk and start balancing his responsibilities more)).

A quick spark of motivation set him hurtling up the stairs to his right until he was suddenly bursting through doors in a last-minute escape plan. He knew there was little chance of the gang following him in here, seeing as they would definitely be stopped by security, so he made his way over to a bench to catch his breath and relax for a second after all of that. He didn't want to attract too much attention - living out in NYC for nearly a year had taught him that too much attention caused distractions and slip-ups - yet a brief glance at the girl besides him sent a cough spluttering out of his throat in a smothered surprise. "F-Faye??" he frowned, not really believing what he was seeing. "but what are you doing here?"

ooc; outfit

At the first, the demigod was skeptical that faye was even sat here in front of him, seeing as the chances of him just running into her like this were very slim. But when it finally sunk in, and he heard her return with his own name, he knew that it wasn't just his imagination running wild. He closed his mouth and sat up straight, swallowing the lump in his throat noisily. He didn't know if the Fates could be playing one huge and cruel trick on him, but he approached the situation with as much hesitation as he could muster.

It took a moment for James to process her reply within his mind, yet when he did, he frown turned into a roll of the eyes, "learning, of course. how could i forget, nerd." He didn't want faye to think that he was staring at her, but his uncertain curiosity could not stop his eyes from scanning every part of her: he had tried to dwell little about her since moving away from camp again, because he had realized that staying at camp had not helped him in any way, so he would have to leave camp and faye in order to fix himself.

((that was his justification, at least, no matter how selfish)).

With his hand, he pushed back stray strands of hair from where they had escaped during his chase, and rubbed the back of his neck with an uneasy laugh, "oh, you know me, i'm always game to spend my time in..." he paused for a moment, his eyes flickering to the signs around the room with a dumb expression, "uhhh...wait, where are we?" though clear that he was not the sharpest tool in the box, he shook himself out of it and pressed his lips in a small smile as he looked dead at faye once more. "i've missed you too." he admitted, clearing his throat deeply after as he felt slightly out of his comfort zone (it wasn't like he had really been in the presence of someone important to him in a long time).

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The initial shock of seeing Faye here in the first place was wearing thin, and it left the eighteen year old feeling an array of emotions that he had suppressed from a long time, one of them being the anxiety that sat in the bottom of his stomach. He didn't feel like he was really ready for this, especially without any preparation beforehand. He had barely gotten himself a place to stay with a few old half-brothers in the city, getting his money from relatives and the odd couple of times he would win a large sum at poker night, so to have bad memories brought up suddenly didn't sit easy with him.

((it wasn't that faye was just a bad memory to him, but seeing her reminded him off all the bad things they went through)).

James could not stop the corners of his lips curling up into an even wider smirk when the girl besides him laughed, the sound ringing through his mind as it had many times before. He didn't want to admit that he had no clue where they were or what the building she was mentioning actually was, but he decided that it would be best to just nod his head in agreement, brushing it off completely.

"so am i." he murmured, scanning fay'e expressions softly. in the past, he would not have even hesitated to reach out and brush his fingers against hers, but now the idea just worried him a little, so he tried to keep his hand close, "how have you been? At camp, I mean. you're still there, aren't you?" He knew that she was still there, of course: he had his little brothers and sisters keep tabs now and again, just for peace of mind.

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then the uncertainty came, and james sat there without a clue on how he was going to act. a part of him wanted to leave completely and panic alone and another wanted to stay as long as she please. but james wasn't so much of an idiot to see that she was being as distant and wary as he to her. despite this, his natural smug nature couldn't help itself from remarking, "that's because i'm not there." once he had said it aloud, he felt a heavy weight on his shoulders at the reality and brutality of his words, and immediately wished he could take it back, but only gritted his teeth and frowned in another direction.

before he could even begin to answer faye's next question, two familiar faces in a large group caught his attention, and it took his slow mind to take a second to realize that two of the gang members chasing him had taken their hoods down and followed him in. 'That's just cheating!' He knew that they hadn't saw him yet, but he hoped to move away from the lobby as quickly as possible. He knew that he would probably be fine in a different section, but this was pretty 'peak*'.

James knew what had to be done; he turned to faye with a slightly uneasy but unwavering smile again. he didn't exactly want her to know that he was currently being man hunted by a gang, because then she would see that all his time in nyc meant nothing and he was still getting himself into trouble. don't gamble and then refuse to cough up, kids: even if it's petty cash that barely deserves a battering. "i'm, um, doing alright. same old same old, haha." his collar felt tight. was it hot in here or was it just him? "but do you want to go see another bit? i heard that the, uh, paintings here were...good?" this wasn't working out well. james bravely just ploughed through and tried to smirk his way to the finish. "i mean, we are both here and we both want to, uh...learn, so we could just go see that...now."

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*peak; urban dictionary definition: "Bad luck, gutted. When some shit goes down that is bad on your behalf, peak for you. When something bad happens to a mate , peak for them. Effectively meaning bad luck / proper gutted. English street slang."

Spotting someone in such a busy place like this should be like finding a needle in a haystack, but James was unlucky enough to be quite distinct seeing as he was the only one with only half an arm. He didn't think that focusing on the negatives of the situation would help his case though, so he stood up just as quickly after Faye did, turning his back to where he had seen his attackers.

Despite the rush of emotions and panic going through his mind, he couldn't help himself from studying the side of Faye's face when she started peering at the signs, another reminder of the cute little things he had missed. He bit the inside of his cheek - hard - to try and stop a smile presenting itself again, but found his attempts futile when she turned to him with her own. "Cool." he murmured, stealing a quick glance over his shoulder before nodding. Mammals? "Plants are cool I guess, let's go." Without waiting for her to comply, he started towards the directions given, knowing that once he was there, there was lesser chance of him becoming roadkill.
ooc;outfit real bad post u deserve better than this