All The Same • •

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Cash thought he was going to be late for his lecture that afternoon. The day was nothing different to his usual plans for a Thursday, but it hadn’t been as predictable as he liked it to be. His truck had struggled to kick to life that morning, so it had taken him half an hour of routing about under the hood to figure out what the problem was and sort that out. Cash wasn’t a genius when it came to repairing cars, but he knew his truck like a parent knows a child. It was the one thing that had come with him from Lawrence and had stayed with him ever since. Clothes, knick-knacks, and any other bits had found the garbage truck over the short years New York had been his home. He wasn’t big on clutter, or on things looking like he had found them in the dumpster. Plus, he kept his older clothes for when he was working at the animal shelter, and within a few shifts there, most shirts were ready to say goodbye to a spin cycle and move on to whatever life was waiting for them next.

When his truck had finally been fixed and was sounding as healthy as it ever did, Cash managed to make his way over to the animal shelter. Whenever he wasn’t in class or working, he tried to put in as many hours as he could here. He was never happier than he was around the animals, and he loved seeing some of the strays come in and get healthy and well again. He loved being a part of that, too. He felt like someone might have been mocking him though, because when he got in today, one of the senior staff members gave him an apologetic smile and told him that some of the cats needed flea baths and there was no one else in for it but him. Cash laughed softly, but he knew that he was going to come out of this worse for wear. The cats in the shelter managed to dig their claws into him at least once a week, as though it was their own private mission, or they were communicating in coded messages via the scratches on his arms. By the time the cats were scrubbed clean, they were howling and Cash’s arms looked like he’d been in a knife fight with Freddie Krueger. He was also behind schedule and New York’s traffic was not sympathetic to the fact.

He only just made it onto campus and into a parking space with about two minutes to make it across to the lecture halls. He had to run. Cash felt the eyes on him, the heads turning in his direction, but he just kept telling himself that he wasn’t the first kid to be late to class and running across the quad and through the atrium. He fell into a seat in the very back of the lecture hall just as the rustling of bags and notebooks was dying down and his professor was introducing the topic for the day - a follow on from what he had explained to them all the day before. Cash was breathless and missed the first five minutes with his own fumbling for pen and paper, and trying to regulate his breathing. Eventually he managed to scribble out a page and a half of semi-legible notes, and then it was all done with. The class began to file out again, but Cash remained in his seat. He was too scared to see what fate might throw at him when he stepped outside that door, even if there was another class due in after his left.

• • •

TAGGED! @savannah
WORDS! 619!
OUTFIT! Quiet Guy!
LYRICS! Where I Belong - - - The Wanted
NOTES! <3

[Deleted]

New York had been a huge culture shock to Savannah's system. She was used to people being overly nice, drinking super sweet tea, and women's hair touching the ceiling. Here, in NY, the tea was unsweetened, people cared only about themselves, and women had flat hair. The other main difference, the one she cared about the most, was how they used their land. Savannah had grown up on a huge farm, and she was used to waking up before school to go help take care of the barn animals. Here, they had buildings touching other buildings. The only place she could find any land for her and Lance was a half hour away, which meant she had to drive to class every morning. She didn't mind too much, though. It meant she could convert an old barn into a place for her to sleep in at night, which she had done over the summer. It also meant Lance had land he could run around on. 

The only thing wrong with her commute was the traffic. She lived a half hour away if there was no traffic. When there was traffic, it was more like two hours away. So, she had to leave extra early in the morning to get to class on time. Savannah had an old pick-up truck that her father had given to her when she decided to move to New York. It was a little old, but she took great care of it. It ran pretty well. The gas mileage sucked, but that was to be expected. People gave her strange looks when she drove the old thing around the city, though. They had nicer, newer cars and taxis there. 

When her morning commute was over, she grabbed breakfast at a little cafe on campus, and she headed to class. She was normally super early for her class because she wanted to leave with enough time to fight the horrid traffic in New York. She walked in, and she noticed someone sitting in the back. Normally the place was empty. She was about to walk past him when she noticed that he looked a little off. So, she furrowed her eyebrows, and she sat beside him. 

"You alright there, hun? You look like you've just seen a ghost."

She told him. Her accent was pretty thick, considering she was born and raised in the heart of the South. Considering that, she was also the kind of person to go out of her way to make sure everyone was okay, even if they didn't enjoy that in the north. 

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Cash didn’t miss home like many college kids did. He also wasn’t overwhelmingly thrilled to be far away from it either. His truck was the only thing that had come with him from Lawrence, aside from a few items of clothing that had been stuffed into a duffel bag. His apartment held no photos of his family purely because there were no photos of them. Cash’s upbringing had been shattered for the first time when he was just six and the pieces had never been put back together, just scattered further ever since. His eldest brother, Erik, had just told him that getting away for college would be the best thing for him. He had told him that since Cash was about thirteen, and he was probably correct. Since arriving in New York City there had been no toxic arguments in which Cash had to take sides or listen to what was being said. He was able to just get on with his life and what he wanted to do; something which had been denied to him for so many years because of feuding parents, and a conveyor belt of step-parents.

His step-mother had treated him the worst, living up to the dark image painted by fairytales from years gone by. Breaking the spell that Stella had over his dad had been incredible, and something Cash had honestly thought would never happen. It was still too late though. She had damaged him enough to have him second guessing things for years to come, to have him hating what he saw when he looked in the mirror. There were times even now when Cash grew angry at himself for getting upset or feeling emotional about something that was happening. He was the type who always wore his heart on his sleeve and she had punished him for it. It left him very confused as to what he ought to be and completely unable to accept that he was totally fine the way he was. It was only now that he was beginning to understand that, but he was still shy and reserved compared to so many of his classmates and the students on the NYU campus.

Cash was still catching his breath and processing what a hellish morning it had been when he became aware of someone else in the lecture hall. He was just turning his head to see if this was the start of the next class filing in when she spoke to him first. Cash managed a ghost of a smile, so fleeting that if she blinked she might miss it, and then shook his head. “I’m fine. Rough morning.” He was a man of few words at the best of times, and always quiet. If he was in a loud venue he was the one who had to repeat themselves three or four times simply because his version of speaking loudly was still on the quiet side.

• • •

TAGGED! @savannah
WORDS! 492!
OUTFIT! Quiet Guy!
LYRICS! Where I Belong - - - The Wanted
NOTES! <3

[Deleted]

One quality that Savannah had inherited from her mother (aside from the blonde hair) was being a people person. Savannah had grown up watching her mom become friends with everyone she met. Her mom always hosted parties: dinner, Mary-Kay, etc. If they went to the store together, Savannah was certain that her mom would take at least three hours because of all the conversations she would be having in there. That one quality was what made Savannah think that maybe her mother wasn't pure evil after all. Maybe her mother had just been trying to protect her little girl from the dangers of the world when she had done what she did. As hard as it was for Savannah to admit, she missed her mom sometimes, even if she had left without telling her. 

So, when Savannah saw the boy sitting alone in the lecture hall looking like he had a hell of a morning, she knew she could talk to him and become his friend. She knew that he could probably even use a friend, and she was thankful that her mother had been a people person and passed it down to her. 

"Well, you look like you could use someone to talk to."

She replied, placing her bag on the ground beside her feet. She put all of her attention on the quiet man in front of her. If Savannah hadn't had such a passion for animals, she probably would've gone into social work or psychology. She had a knack for helping people out in their worst times, and she found it easy to relate to people in tough situations. 

"That is, if you don't mind talking to a stranger. You can just tell me to buzz off if you want. Completely up to you."

She added, not wanting to make him uncomfortable. She could come off as overbearing sometimes, but her heart was just filled with the want to help. 


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I promise my posts will get better soon.

[Deleted]

Cash was friendly enough, but he was shy rather than outgoing, and he had never been able to trust anyone after watching his parents and their attempts at playing happy families. He knew he wasn’t going to be anything like them, and he would never live his life making those same horrific mistakes, but going through a childhood with countless step-parents had left a mark, even before the inclusion of a step-mother worthy of joining the ranks of the evil step-mothers the fairy tales spoke of. It all made Cash the kid who was difficult to befriend. Not because he was horrible or anything, but because he could be rather unforthcoming with details about himself, and often was the quiet one so quiet people had on occasion forgotten about him even though he was right in front of them.

Cash sighed to himself, mentally telling himself to pull it together. There wasn’t a lot that could fluster him these days. They hadn’t been allowed to have bad days or get caught up in the bad things when they were younger and under the wrath of the step-mother from hell. Cash didn’t think about her any more since she hadn’t had any control over his life in years, but it was obvious that he still bore the scars from everything she had put him through. He had been the one she favoured when it came to her bullying. He was telling himself off for having a bad day when everyone had them once in a while. “It’s fine.” He insisted.

He had never been the type to complain or moan about anything. Cash put his head down and soldiered on, regardless of his own problems or what was going on in the world around him. It was just his nature. He checked his bag, making sure he had all of his things in there. Cash didn’t want to leave anything behind and have to run back for it only to interrupt the next class or anything. With the way his day was going he predicted that would be exactly what would happen, and it didn’t sound like fun for him. “I’ll be fine. Sorry, it’s not you. I just…I’ll be fine.” He smoothed down his hair, which was fine to begin with, and zipped up his bag again.

• • •

TAGGED! @savannah
WORDS! 391!
OUTFIT! Quiet Guy!
LYRICS! Where I Belong - - - The Wanted
NOTES! <3

[Deleted]

<sub>Savannah was easy-going around people, but sometimes she wondered if the reason she got along better with animals was because people seemed to have hard hearts. They cared only about themselves. They were constantly busy, and they wanted nothing to do with you unless you had something they wanted. Animals, though...Animals had hearts of gold. They wanted nothing more than to please their masters. They looked out for each other. They were fine laying around most of the day and just relax. They weren't in a hurry to go anywhere, unless humans made them want to rush. In more than one respect, Savannah saw herself as a human with an animals heart. She often got told she was like a dog. She was compassionate and empathetic like a dog. She was lazy and energetic at the same time, meaning she would rather stay in than go out, but she liked running. She was also loyal to a T, just like a dog was. Sometimes Savannah wished she were an animal, just so life would be a little easier for her. Other times, when she got to help someone or something, she loved being a human and having the intelligence to help them out. 

When she heard the guy speak again, she nodded slightly. She wasn't going to push him; that's not how she was. She smiled at him, standing up, slinging her backpack over her shoulders again. She began to walk down the steps of the theater-style classroom, and then she looked back at Cash again. She walked up the steps, standing in the aisle beside him this time. 

"My name is Savannah, by the way."

She told him, hoping he would talk to her a little more. She didn't want to let this one go right now. Savannah believed that everything happened for a reason, so there was a reason this boy was sitting here by himself. There was also a reason that Savannah went to class a little earlier than usual today. 


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Given a choice, Cash wouldn’t spend a great deal of time around people. Sure, he was friendly enough that he could make friends and keep a few, but even those he only saw on a semi-regular basis and only for a few hours at a time. He didn’t party hard like many of the college kids, and he wasn’t a regular face in the bars around the city. Cash only ever went inside if everyone else was going and he had to play nice for a little while. His past had scarred him, and he wasn’t able to rebound from that as easily as his family seemed to think. Cash wasn’t even entirely sure he wanted to. He had seen the worst sides of human nature and he wasn’t sure he wanted to risk seeing anything close to that again.

He’d feel much better anyway once he was back home for the day. Cash had a few more hours of college and errands to get through, but then he’d retreat back to his apartment. All of his worries seemed to wash away when he was inside his place with George for company. Man’s best friend really did prove to be true in the case of the boxer dog that had been at Cash’s side since he moved to New York City. He had adopted the rescue puppy when he was on his second week in the city, but that seemed like such a long time ago now. Still, George was loyal and always brought a smile to Cash’s face when he was around the spoilt dog who liked sleeping on the couch a little too much when he had a considerably large and cushioned bed in the corner of the apartment for himself.

Shouldering his bag, Cash made to move out of the lecture hall. He knew there would be other classes in soon enough, and probably not a class that he would know anything about. He has cast aside most of his high school knowledge when his college class had started. He didn’t need Civil War facts if he was going to be a vet, just like he didn’t need to know the detailed analysis of Pride and Prejudice. “I’m Cash.” He mumbled quietly, scratching his jaw awkwardly before jogging down the steps towards the exit. He pushed the door open with ease and slipped through it, glancing around the thinning crowd as he tried to decide what he should do first on his to-do list. He figured the girl – Savannah – was still with him, but for how long he wasn’t sure, or why, for that matter.

• • •

TAGGED! @savannah
WORDS! 440!
OUTFIT! Quiet Guy!
LYRICS! Where I Belong - - - The Wanted
NOTES! <3