The Gazebo

[Administrator]

Sometimes they have bands playing here, but more often than not it's just an empty place to come and sit.

[Alexandreia Halliway]

*NEW DAY ~ TAG:AVALANCHE*

Lexi wondered through the park, finding her way to the gazebo and walked inside to lean against one of the posts. She studied her surroundings, lost in thought. Things were getting better and better for her. She was smiling more and starting to feel more like herself and she was incredibly thankful for it. She'd just come from having lunch with Reid and she couldn't be happier. Her brother seemed to be mending as well and she supposed she had Aurora to thank for that. He had gone on and on about the girl and their adventures. She had felt a twinge of jealousy at what he had been up to, but knew that he had needed the time away.

She hadn't been able to be there for him and she was glad he'd met Aurora who had been able to do what she couldn't. The look of happiness in his eyes made Lexi's heart swell. It was nice that she didn't have to feel guilty for her inability to be there for her brother when he had needed her most. It seemed he had felt guilty as well but she had made sure he knew that there was no reason too. He wouldn't have been able to do anything for her even if he had been around.

Lexi pushed her hair back off of her face and wrapped her hands around the end of her shawl so the wind wouldn't send it flying away. Now she only had to find time to see Dodger and Avalanche. She missed them both dearly and knew that now that things were better she could truly enjoy their company again. If she hadn't had work that morning, she may have wondered into Brooklyn looking for Alex. But she figured she'd see him eventually and she knew she'd see Dodger soon enough.

[Avalanche]

"Oooooh I'm a Yankee Doodle Daaaanndy," he was singing loud and clear as he walked through the park. The park was large. He was in the Bronx, and the wind wasn't cold enough to quite burn his lungs. No one was around, why not sing?

"Yankee Doodle do or die!" As he walked down the path he spotted someone up ahead that he thought he recognized. Either way it looked like a young lady, and Avalanche was always fond of conversation with pretty women.

"A real live nephew of my uncle Sam," as he got closer he recognized it to be Lexi, which was great news to him. He hadn't seen her in ages, and was long over due to speak with her, if just to make some friendly conversation. And just because he saw someone he knew didn't mean he was going to stop singing. It only took him the words, "Born on the fourth of Julyyyyyyyyy," to get up next to her on the path.

He put an arm around her shoulders. "I got a Yankee doodle... Sweet heart," he said giving her a wink. He pulled a pair of gloves out of his pocket. He was already wearing a pair himself, but he'd explain that later. He handed the gloves to her and said. "She's may Yankee Doodle Joy."

He dashed a couple of steps ahead of her and marched backwards giving her a salute. Gotta salute the leaders after all. "Yankee doodle went to London, just to ride a Pony," on the last word he offered his hand out to her, but whether she took it or not he grabbed hold of her and spun her towards a near by Gazebo where the could at least escape the slight bite of the wind.

"I am a Yankee Doodle Boy!" He triumphantly put a foot up on the bench inside the Gazebo before he dropped the act, gave her a big smile and a hug. "And how are you lady Alex?" he said teasing her. "It's been far too long."

[Alexandreia Halliway]

Lexi heard Avalanche long before she saw him and couldn't stop herself from laughing at his words and actions. He always knew how to make people laugh even when he was barely trying. It's one of the reasons she'd missed him so much. He wasn't like anyone else she'd ever met and she absolutely adored that about him. She pulled on the gloves he handed her just before he took her hand and spun her around towards the gazebo. Her laugh grew louder when she spun around and she smiled cheekily at him as he finished his song.

Once he pulled her into a hug, she wrapped her arms tightly around him and buried her face in his shoulder. Another laugh escaped her when he called her lady Alex and she pulled her face away from his shoulder to look up at him, smiling. "Too right you are, sir Alex," She said with in a snooty voice before breaking down and giggling.

As she pulled away from the hug, she wrapped her now gloved hands around her shawl to hold it tightly over her shoulders. "I'm good," Her eyes showed the truthfulness of the statement. Now that she was finally starting to move on from her loss she no longer had to lie about how she was. Before she would've said fine when all she wanted to do was drown in misery. Now when she said she was good, she actually meant it.

"And how is my favorite friend?" She asked, a large smile firmly in place on her face. She was beyond happy that she had run into Alex or rather that he had run into her. It was ironic that she was just contemplating visiting him and he appeared, he was like a mind reader and she was happy for it.

She gave him a sly smile and used one hand to push her hair back off of her face. "I heard you met the newest member of our lodging house." She also had the impression that Jewel was quite taken with Alex but she couldn't fault the girl. She'd been quite taken with him herself once upon a time. He just had that natural charm that drew women in and then when one found out what a wonderful person he was you were inevitably lost.

[Avalanche]

He was smiling ear to ear, and it was making his teeth cold, but it was one of those things he just couldn't stop doing. He watched her quite carefully as she said she was good. When she said it there was no lie, no shadow, no nothing that said it wasn't the truth. "Great!" he exclaimed rather glad to hear it. "Hey let's sit down huh? Brooklyn's a long walk from here," but he never minded, walking was his favorite thing to do. He'd come straight through Queens, up to the Bronx, and then would walk down through Manhattan and home again in a day if he had the free time. All the same, his legs would get tired around the Bronx, but he always found a person to sit with it seemed.

"I'm doin' alright!" he said as he leaned back on the bench circling the gazebo and put his arms on the back of it. "Well honestly, a while back, one of my very best friends, guy by the name of Red left town. Well... a couple weeks ago he came back and so... yeah I'd say life's goin' pretty good at the moment," he said still smiling quite a bit, even for him. He was in a very good mood that afternoon particularly.

When Lexi mentioned Jewel he couldn't help but chuckle. "ya heard that huh?" he said with a sideways smile. "Yeah... nice girl, a little... iunno..." he said he couldn't find the right word for it, "well she's very loving," he said putting it as he could. "She hugged me several times and kissed my cheek at least twice. The thing about Avalanche... he wasn't a ladies man. Yeah, okay, he was, but that was the thing. If he started dating then all his attention would be on one person, rather than the several friends that he had. He liked being able to have girls as friends, and he was worried a girlfriend would get jealous. He wasn't in the market for someone, unless they were just right. And as for just right? Well, at the time 'just right,' wasn't available to him. "How is she doin'?" he asked, hoping she was doing alright in the Bronx, after all, he cared for his friends.

[Alexandreia Halliway]

As she followed him to sit, she chuckled quietly, "That it is." She said thinking of her own recent jaunt into Brooklyn. She hadn't been there long enough to even try to search for Alex. Plus when she left it had started to get late so she'd decided on just going back to the lodging house. "So how come you walk it so often?" Lexi asked with a bright smile.

She listened quietly as he told her about his friend and then she smiled. "That's wonderful that he's back!" She knew if Alex were to leave for a long period of time she would miss him a lot. She considered him one of her best friends and she wouldn't know what to do if she couldn't visit him or have him randomly pop up in her life. It was comforting to know he was always there if she needed him so she was truly happy that his friend was back.

Lexi couldn't help but chuckle at Alex's description of Jewel. "Really?' She questioned when he mentioned how loving she'd been. "Hmm..." She didn't want to say anything bad about the girl, but acting that way with someone you hardly knew could get you the sort of reputation you really didn't want when you lived amongst boys who could be very callous at times. Lexi knew Alex was a special case when it came to guys because as charming as he was he was pretty oblivious to the effect he had on them. Other men weren't really like that and would have no problem taking advantage of Jewel. She'd have to talk with her about not being quite so friendly with men she just met. She was surprised the girl was so affectionate after living with the Brooklyn newsies for several years.

"She's good," Lexi said after a moment when Alex's question registered. "She seems to be settling in fine. She did mention how charming and handsome you are." Lexi couldn't help but tease Alex just a little bit. "Of course, I already knew that." She said while elbowing him lightly in the side. "How's work been?"

[Avalanche]

Avalanche nodded as they spoke of Jewel and listened and agreed with what Lexi said. He was glad that Jewel was doing well though, and glad that she was settling in well. It was always good to hear.

As Lexi mentioned how charming and handsome he was he couldn't help but pretend to be all embarrassed about it. "Aw, ya too much," he said as he rolled his eyes a little. He knew what he looked like, he knew how he talked, he knew most girls were highly interested in him. He also knew he usually missed the cues they dropped and that he really didn't have the need for a girlfriend at the moment. He chuckled at the compliment and nodded in thanks just the same. "For the record, you're kinda a Doll yaself," he said with a small smile.

"Oy, work," he said shaking his head and folding his gloved hands together as he leaned forward on the bench. "It's work... however the water in the harbor has been freezin' lately, so small boats are havin' a hard time with gettin to the dock. They got people workin' on it, but the frozen water hasn't been helpful. I've had a lot of time off. So when I have a day I just get my warm clothes on and start walking until I get up here. After I leave here I'll walk down through Manhattan and arrive home around dinner time. It gives me a chance to see my old friends, talk to some great people," he said nodding to her, meaning her, "and maybe even meet a new one here and there. Plus... it's a nice walk." Lots to see, lots to hear, lots of people places and things. And it got him out of the house. It was like being a newsie without the papers, that was what he liked about it.

[Alexandreia Halliway]

She laughed at his response, "You know it's true." She said with a smile. She had always been extremely grateful that Avalanche was one of the first people she'd met when she'd come to New York. He'd helped her get used to her new surroundings and that tended to figure into his charm in her book. When he called her a doll, she smirked and playfully fixed her hair. "Don't I know it?"

Lexi had always been fairly confident and she certainly wasn't new to getting compliments. She just wasn't the type to flaunt herself, but she didn't mind joking around with Alex. He brought out that side of her fairly easily. She nodded and stayed silent as he talked about work. She figured that his job had to be one of the hardest jobs in the city considering the conditions during the really cold months of the winter. "Well at least you have the time to see all of your friends," She said as she gently bumped her shoulder with his. "I'm glad you came to the Bronx today, I've been meaning to visit you."

She then remembered the gloves he'd given her when he'd first arrived. She raised her hands in front of her with a smile, "You always carry around an extra pair?" Not that she was complaining because she wasn't. She was extremely grateful that he'd had the extra pair because her hands had been starting to go a little numb.

[Avalanche]

Avalanche couldn't help but laugh. She was really quite pretty, and she did know it and didn't flaunt it, and he liked that. She made him smile, they made each other happy, they were great friends, and he was glad with that. "ya too much kiddo," he said giving her a wink and a smile.

He turned and kicked his feet up on the bench. "Yeah, it ain't all that bad," he said with a shrug. "The best part is just bein' able to see everyone when I want," he said with a smile. "I get to see all my favorite girls in the Bronx," he said teasing her. "Yeah, well... ya know I can always tell when ya missin' me... I can read ya mind," he said chuckling. "I was kinda hopin' I'd run into you today, and since you're usually in the Bronx wasn't hard to try and think of where to look."

He looked at her hands that had gloves on them. "Ah, those. No, actually," he said, "I don't usually carry two pairs of gloves with me," he informed her. "However, today I grabbed what I thought was a hat and pair of gloves. Wasn't until I was nearly out of Brooklyn that I realized my mistake... so I put on one pair. When I saw you I realized that my mistake wasn't a mistake. I was just coming prepared."

[Alexandreia Halliway]

She chuckled under her breath and pushed her hair back off her face again. She really needed to pick up a few extra pieces of lace so she could tie it back. "Favorite girls?" She asked in a fake aghast voice. "Are you telling me there's more then just me?" She chuckled to reinforce the fact that she was joking. She knew he had friends all over the city that he kept in touch with. She appreciated that about him because she knew he'd never just stop visiting her.

"I figured it must be something like that. Don't dive to deep in those thoughts, might change your mind about calling me a lady." She smirked and listened silently to his explanation about the extra pair of gloves he'd been carrying with him. She nodded, "Well I'm certainly happy you brought them. I think my fingertips might have been turning blue." She laughed and leaned back against the gazebo. "So tell me more about this Red fellow."

[Avalanche]

More than just her? On rare occasion, Avalanche did have a few favorite girls around the city he liked to visit. "Well, I will tell ya this," he said. "After Prince... you're probably my second favorite girl in the whole city," he said smiling sincerely. "Huh... guess I got a thing for makin' friends with girl leaders huh?" he asked as he smiled broadly at her. He couldn't help not smiling. As long as she was happy he just had to be happy along with her.

"You wanna know about Red?" he asked with a smile. "He used ta be Brooklyn leader, back when I was head of Queens. He and me practically ran the city," he said, as if that were possible. "We duck and ran from the bulls, got in all sorts of crazy trouble, but only got caught once," he said proud of that fact. "Red's another member of my newsie family," he explained. "Kinda a brother... maybe a twin brother, who don't look nothin' like me," he said with more of a shrug this time. "He's a good guy," and if Avalanche said it, well then it must be true.

[Alexandreia Halliway]

Lexi laughed, "I was teasing you anyway. Your ability to make all sorts of friends is one of the reasons I like you, Alex." She said with a grin and couldn't stop herself from blushing from embarrassment when he said that she was one of his favorites along with Prince. "Feeling's mutual." She laughed and ran her hand over her face, hoping it would help the color die down. "And yes you do have a habit of doing that, but I was just a new girl when we became friends."

She listened to the way he talked about his friend and the affectionate was obvious in her voice. It was the way she talked about her brothers and so it made her extremely happy for him that this Red character had come back to the city. "He must be if you hold him in such high regard." Lexi played with the ends of her shawl as she stared out over the park. Even though it was chilly out it was still really pretty.

[Avalanche]

"Well now that may be," he said with a nod to her. "But that just means I saw your true potential," he said smiling along side her.

As for Red? "The man's practically my brother... I don't think I have much of a choice when it comes to what regard I hold him in." And it was true. Red was one of his oldest and dearest friends, and he cared for him. the two had been friends for years, and there was no way that was going to change any time soon.

He slid over a little bit closer to her. Not any kind of flirtatious way at all. It was just cold. He took in a deep breath and as he exhaled you could see the steam from the warm air. He looked across the snow covered park that in some places was as pristine as a perfect painting, not a flaw in sight. In other places you could see where a child had run through the snow making snow angels and having a snow ball fight with friends, and a dog had chased them all over the field. It was nice to look at. "Kinda weird aint it?" he asked. "Snow causes so much trouble when it lands in streets, on sidewalks, in people's way... but then they come here... and they play in it." He chuckled. "Just don't make no sense. When it's right in front of their door, they don't want it, but once it's gone, they come lookin' for it here." Couldn't help but think that interesting in his strange mind of his.

[Alexandreia Halliway]

Lexi chuckled, "I suppose you must have." She grinned as he spoke about Red some more. It was nice to know that he had a friend like that that he could rely on. "I'm glad he's back then." When he moved closer, Lexi leaned against him slightly and followed his line of sight. She agreed with him that people reacted oddly to the snow. She for one was not a fan of it but Perry would drag her out every year to make her have snowball fights with him. It was disheartening that this would be the first year with no snowball fights and no Perry.

"People are odd creatures," She said with a smile. "But that's what makes them so interesting. Their habits are constantly changing, they're contradicting themselves." She trailed off, having gotten lost in her train of thought. After a moment she glanced back over at Alex. "And were you the type to make snow angels when you were a boy?" Part of her wouldn't be surprised to find out he still enjoyed making them. He could be just like a kid at times, it added to his charm because it gave him an innocence that most of them had longs since lost.

[Avalanche]

"Snow angels? No... actually I never really did that. And that's because why would you want to lay down in the snow and move around? That's like begging the snow to go down your clothes! And snow is cold. I don't know if you knew this Lexi," he said playing dumb and trying to make her laugh, "but snow is really cold stuff!"

He chuckled for a moment. "No, I made snow men," he said nodding. "When I was really little I remember me and my brother and sister going out and making little snowmen and then putting scarves on them, carrot for a nose, and lumps of coal from the fire... everything. It was my favorite part of snow. I mean, if people were weird about snow... how do you think snow men felt about people?" he couldn't help but smile at his horrible joke.

Avalanche almost never spoke of his real family. To him they were so far in the past they were hardly worth mentioning. They weren't really a part of him any more like his newsie family still was. But if one looked, a clear glaze was over his eyes as he remembered being a kid... and not being a newsie yet. It seemed like a dream.