Five Days Done • •

[xanthe morrigan ravencrest]

Her parents were coming to visit. For nearly three years she had managed to keep them away from New York, but Rigs was now completely out of luck. They would ask too many questions, expect too much from the life she only pretended to live in the city. Plus, they would talk about the things they expected when Rigs returned home to England; the one thing she was still trying to get out of doing. England meant settling down, wearing the dresses and drinking the champagne. It meant going back to the life she wanted to avoid. Sure, she had been raised with the elegance and the splendour, but that didn’t mean she had to care for it. Rigs would rather get her knees dirty on the hockey field, come home with scrapes and bruises, and then eat until she felt physically sick and full of junk food and pizza. She wanted the absolute opposite of her parent’s ideal. If she told them that though it would be like Armageddon. There was just no way she could do that to them. It would break their hearts and while she didn’t agree with their plans for her life, she loved them too much to crush them like that.

Everything in the last three years had been a lie. Even how she lived with Ransom was a lie. He saw the truest reflection of who she wanted to be - a girl who pigged out, who was a complete slob, but who loved sports more than anything else, but he knew nothing of the world she came from. Her wealth was hidden in bank accounts she didn’t touch, and their apartment was completely paid off and owned before he moved in. He was unknowingly another part of her ‘average student’ cover. His ‘rent’ went towards bills and food, just like she put a portion of her monthly wages to the cost, but if he thought hard about it he might realise that their warehouse converted home was a little on the large size for what they ‘paid’ each month. Still, he had never asked, and she never told. Until now. If Rigs dared to stay in New York beyond her graduation she needed to put a plan into action now. There needed to be seeds sown when her parents flew in in two weeks’ time. In her desperation she could only think of one thing that might work; a romance. Given the situation she was in, and how precarious it was, there was really only one person she trusted to lie to her parents with her; the same guy whose laundry she was currently folding alongside hers.

The fact that Rigs was actually doing some chores was a sign in itself that something was wrong. She was typically the one who let the sink flow over, and who used plastic cutlery because nothing had been washed up. She would ignore the laundry until she was desperate for a clean sports bra, and as for the rest of the chores…well, they didn’t exist. It wasn’t her rich upbringing where staff took care of things that made her that way. Rigs was just a slob who didn’t mind living with a mess around her. Right now though she was waiting for Ransom to come home and trying to work out where to begin, or how to even ask him for what she needed. He was the only person she could turn to for this, but there was no guarantee he would even trust her again once he knew the truth. She knew she was taking a huge risk here, putting her whole New York life on the line for something that might not even work. Her parents might still want her back in Bucks in a year’s time. They might not approve of what she turned Ransom into. Or the whole thing might crash and burn on the first day they’re in the city. All the possibilities were driving Rigs crazy. She bundled up another pair of socks that weren’t hers, and turned the radio volume up so she could drown out her own doubtful thoughts with the sports commentator instead.

• • •

TAGGED! Ransom Vincent Castlewood
WORDS! 697!
OUTFIT! Long & Lean!
LYRICS! Night People - - - You Me At Six
NOTES! <3

[Ransom Vincent Castlewood]

Growing up Ransom had lived a bit rougher than he should have. His mother tried her best and his grandparents were always there whenever they needed something or just wanted to hang out at theirs for a bit. It had never been an issue. His father was an entirely different story, claiming he had a time consuming, travel related job. The truth hurt a hell of a lot more when it came out. Cheating and fooling around would have been terrible enough, finding out he had an entirely different family just a town over was absolutely heart wrenching for everyone involved. He'd hidden it well, keeping the original family in a nice enough home, making sure his money was split well enough that no one noticed. The truth that he'd actually had a much better job than anyone had ever known was a pill to swallow but obviously not the hardest thing to wrap thoughts around.

His mother hired the best lawyer and took him for all he was worth of course and the family was so much better off afterwards but it was all so much. Ransom in all that time, had tried not to think too much about it all. It was adult stuff and he'd been just a kid who wanted to play video games and get help from his grandmother with his homework. He had wanted to keep things simple even though he was old enough to understand what was going on. When he was old enough to get out of there, get away from all the drama that continued to follow them, he did. He wouldn't say he ran away since he returned home often enough but for him, life was just a little bit easier to live away from his family.

Ransom had been able to find a job working for Cole part time while he finished up school. It was what he'd been doing back home, just with a hell of a lot more cash in his pocket. He had a pretty sweet apartment that was an absolute steal. He was not about to ask questions because he didn't want to find out there had been a murder or asbestos or something that meant they really shouldn't have been living here in the first place. Feeling stiff, Ransom stretched his back out and rolled his neck, waving away his boss's attempt at getting rid of him already. He'd only had one class and it had been in the morning, so he'd fond himself at the shop afterwards, wanting to tinker. And whenever he started to tinker, he couldn't stop until the job was done; or at least part of it. Some of the bigger jobs were a few days' work but the little jobs could easily be done in a few hours and he liked checking them off the list so the owners could have their cars back.

A quick look at the clock told him he really did have to go though, so after finishing up what was left, which took all of five minutes, he cleaned up his station and called out to whoever was left in the garage. If the rumours were true, the petite blonde who owned the shop lived there in some crypt or secret space accessed only by a secret door in her office. He would have said it was ridiculous except he only saw her leave when she was going to see her family or because she was picking up a new toy to play with. Hell, Ransom was pretty sure she was covered in more grease than he ever was so maybe she did live there; or she was a vampire and worked through the night because what else was she going to do with her time? Scratching his head and chuckling at his own ridiculousness of having spent the entire trip back to his shared apartment thinking about his boss and her sleeping habits, Ransom let himself in and pushed all thoughts of work away. "Honey, I’m home!" He called out, figuring Rigs was around somewhere.

♦ ♦ ♦

Tag || xanthe morrigan ravencrest
Words || 682
Clothes || Messy Mechanic
Music || One Night At A Time --George Strait
Notes || <3

[xanthe morrigan ravencrest]

It was important to know that Rigs had nothing against her family. She loved them. She was close with her sister, and if there was time in the world for the two of them they could waste a day catching up and teasing each other via Skype. Phaedra was the only person who knew what Rigs really wanted out of life, and had done her best to keep their parents from getting too close to her sister’s secret. Rigs didn’t want to lose her family, she just didn’t want to live the life they had planned for her. She wasn’t destined for high society and afternoon teas. She wanted to find her own path, to stay in New York and chase her destiny with sports broadcasting. There was just no easy way of telling her parents that she wanted to break generations of Ravencrest tradition. It was more complicated than a few words, it was practically taking a cut of the family tree and replanting it somewhere else, asking it to be something totally different.

She was also asking a lot of the guy who had come to be her best friend. She expected her story to sound completely insane to Ransom who had seen the side of her that she wanted to show off. He would probably think she was on some kind of drug, or completely losing her mind. Still, Ransom was her only hope. Rigs needed someone she could trust and who could be relied upon to have her back while her parents were in town. It was shaping up to be a mess already, but it was her only way to stand a chance at staying in New York. One day she would know how to approach her parents and tell them the truth about what she wanted out of life, but it wasn’t going to be during this visit. It also wasn’t going to be while they were in New York. Rigs needed to be the one with an escape option when that day finally came; whenever it might be.

Rigs tossed another pair of socks down just as the door shut and Ransom’s voice travelled through to where she was leaning against the counter. “I hope you’re in the mood for tacos tonight. Tequila and tacos.” She called, flicking the short hair out of her face and glancing out of the window that offered a view of nothing particularly exciting. It was just the bland street of the city. “Lots and lots of tequila.” Hand her a bottle and she might just drink the whole thing herself. It was important to speak to Ransom though, and before she had the chance to get distracted with a million other little things. “Alright, so we need to have one of those serious ‘mummy and daddy are getting a divorce’ talks.” She said, walking to the arch of the kitchen to greet Ransom before he could find her, or pass her by to go and do something else, like shower or change. She was thinking it was best to approach this like a grimy week old plaster; quick and as painlessly as possible.

• • •

TAGGED! Ransom Vincent Castlewood
WORDS! 533!
OUTFIT! Long & Lean!
LYRICS! Night People - - - You Me At Six
NOTES! <3

[Ransom Vincent Castlewood]

Ransom hadn't known where life was going to take him after he finished school. He'd always thought he would go back home, live there until he could save up enough for his own place and work for his grandfather. The older man still worked at the shop, he just didn't do a lot of the heavy lifting anymore. The whole family joked that they'd find him under the hood of a classic when it was his time to go because he just refused to stop working on cars. He had a couple in his home garage as well, pet projects of his very own that were gathering dust because he was too proud to as for help. He would have had it in a heartbeat if he'd asked but ol' Gramps didn't want to be a burden on his family. He was meant to be the man in charge, the man with all the answers; Superman. He hadn't quite figured out that even Superman had help.

Growing up, Ransom had always been out there in that garage or down at the real shop whenever he could get the chance. Of course, his granny wanted his homework done first but the second it was over, and they weren't falling into dinner time, he was free to do as he pleased until he was called in for bed. He might have come a very broken home but it had been filled so much love and the knowledge that it wouldn't change if he did. There was a time when he finally realised he could be himself and be happy that his grandparents though, perhaps he was gay. They asked him about it, told him that they loved him anyway but that they suspected and at about fourteen years old, Ransom had teared up from laughing so hard. He'd been so happy that his family would love him if he were gay and he appreciated just how lucky he was but he told him he wasn't gay, just enjoyed being a little flamboyant. Nothing had changed since then either, he was wild and free and didn't care how people reacted to him because he knew that he had the love of his friends and his family. That was more than enough for the mechanic.

"How much tequila? If I have to cancel tomorrow, I need to know now." He called out, tossing his keys on the table and pulling his wallet from his back pocket. He left his phone where it was for the time being but if he needed to pull that free to cancel any and all plans for the next day, he would do it. Whenever tequila was involved, and it was more than one shot, he was done for the next day. It was his kryptonite; damn deadly. He was toeing his boots off when she walked out to meet him. "Uh oh, are you finally kicking me out?" He asked with a smirk. "I have to tell you, I'll be taking my clothes with me." He added to lighten the mood because he hated serious talks. For Ransom, serious talks led to nothing good in the short term but he would still sit through it and talk to Rigs about whatever it is she needed to tell him; he was at good enough friend for that, always. "Come on then, out with it." He said, scrubbing a hand through his messy hair.

♦ ♦ ♦

Tag || xanthe morrigan ravencrest
Words || 574
Music || One Night At A Time --George Strait
Notes || <3

[xanthe morrigan ravencrest]

Rigs had always kept conversations about her family vague. She’d say they’d kill her if they knew half the stuff she got up to in New York City, but never mentioned why. People didn’t usually have their families plan out most of their future, expect them to follow in century old traditions. Plus, money made people change. Not just having it, but knowing someone had it was often enough to cause a personality shift. People either wanted to “borrow” some with the intention of never returning it, or it just made people uncomfortable. The less Rigs hinted at the life she had left behind in England, the less likely it was that she was going to lose friends. The people in her life now were the kind of people she wanted to keep around. She also suspected that some of them were not the kind to handle wealth well – at least not at this point in their lives when they mostly bonded over balancing work and school and the long hours when they wished they could be catching up on sleep.

She had the money to live comfortably, and it was easy to slip back into that habit every now and then. Sometimes she’d buy extra things at the grocery store that normally wouldn’t be in the “budget”, or she’d grab lunch from a place typically out of their price range. She’d blame in on rainy day money, or claim she found an extra twenty in the bottom of a bag. Mostly though, Rigs enjoyed living on the money she made as a waitress – which was easy when she didn’t have to factor rent into it, although Ransom still had to discover that their apartment was outright owned by her. She expected he was about to discover the truth pretty soon though.

“You might want to cancel the rest of the week.” This wasn’t some small revelation she was about to dump on him. This was the nuclear bomb of revelations. She managed a smile and an eye roll at his question. The last thing Rigs would ever do is kick him out; he was the one person who could probably live with her and not complain so much. “I mean, I’m not sure you’ll want to stay after this talk, but this place is your home for as long as you want it to be.” She told him honestly. If he did decide that he couldn’t stay, she’d be devastated. Ransom was her best friend, and he saw the true side to her that she couldn’t yet reveal to her family. She grabbed his hand, dragging him to the couch and waiting for him to sit down. “My parents are coming to town. They think I’m living with my boyfriend.” She paused, giving Ransom a brief moment to see where this conversation may be heading. “In a penthouse in Manhattan that I own.” She added, gently nudging open the door to the rest of her story. She figured it would be better to work through this bit by bit, giving Ransom the chance to ask questions as they went along rather than just dumping everything on him at once and letting him drown under it.

• • •

TAGGED! Ransom Vincent Castlewood
WORDS! 544!
LYRICS! Night People - - - You Me At Six
NOTES! <3