Bad habits make for good memories.

[hostage]

WHO: Jesse Pinkman & OPEN
WHERE: Heropa & Maurtia Falls
WHEN: June
WHAT: It's a catch-all for everyday situations involving Jesse.
WARNINGS: ...Drugs. Like. Obviously.

HEROPA - YOUTH CENTER

[As soon as the kids' painting class lets out, Jesse hops outside for a cigarette. It's more out of habit than need, these days. Nicotine does nothing for him. Nothing does anything for him. But he likes it: the smoke in his lungs combined with the sweet summer air around him, salt on the breeze and the sun on his skin. He keeps away from the building's entrance - doesn't want to make the children breathe second-hand smoke, of course - and wanders the grounds instead. It's a good chance to survey the area for any creeps lurking around, too. The place doesn't have much in the way of security, and if there's one "heroic" job he's willing to do, it's protecting these kids.]

MAURTIA FALLS - RED BRANCH

[It's funny. He's been living in Pennsylvania for over a month, but he couldn't be assed to explore the place very much. Honestly, he doesn't like Pennsylvania. There's not nearly as much sun as he's used to and it just isn't his scene. Downright gloomy, sometimes. But he's slowly getting used to it, and his leisurely exploration finally leads him to the imPort pub on the outskirts of town. It's cool-looking, at least. Not a place to hang out on the regular, but definitely a place to look at. He snaps a few photos as he hops up the steps, and does the same when he walks in. That's going on his instagram, for sure.]

HEROPA - THE STREETS

[It's about time for dinner. Jesse never cooks for himself - he doesn't need to save the money and it's lonely as hell eating in his apartment by himself - so he heads straight from work into town to scope out the options. Sometimes he'll choose pizza. Sometimes tacos or a burger. Sometimes he just grabs ice cream, because he's a responsible adult. Anyway, he parks his stupid banana-yellow convertible off the street and hops out to look around. There's probably someplace he hasn't tried yet. He'll just walk until he finds a good one.]

MAURTIA FALLS #001 - CLOSED TO GREED

[It's the worst time of night, when Jesse has to come back to this place. Half the time, he doesn't even bother. It's often hotels for him, wherever he happened to just be partying. But since he couldn't land a girl for tonight, Jesse comes shuffling into his government-sponsored apartment as soon as the bars close. He smells strongly of liquor but he isn't remotely drunk, which is his curse, really. No one should have to be this sober. He tosses his jacket over the nearest chair and opens the fridge to grab a beer, not quite ready to sleep yet. He rummages around for some leftovers, too, but they're all gone. That's great. The roommate probably ate them again. He heaves a mildly irritated sigh and wanders out of the kitchen, chugging his beer.]

AT THE DRIVE-IN - CLOSED TO SKYE

[Okay... So he was honestly only half-paying attention to the movie, if that. He's been mostly focused on Skye, because he's a teenage boy at heart, and who really goes to a drive-in to watch the movie? But now the credits are rolling and the engines of the cars around them are starting up. Jesse sits back and looks up at the starry sky over their heads, letting out a quiet laugh.]

Over already, huh.

Comments

YOUTH CENTER aw yeah

[hoboagogo]

[He'd seen Jesse around the place, talked to him on the network maybe twice- Enough to get a feel for the guy being cynical and suspicious as shit, but not a whole lot else. The way he looked and spoke over the communicator was reminiscent of the punks and thugs out behind the station at night... but when he usually saw him at work, it was surrounded by kids and seeming to support the fuck out of them.

Needless to say? He's curious.

So he steps out from the center and into the heat, inwardly cursing the damn sun here (Florida was too damn hot--) and following Jesse's trail, up into the grounds. He pulls a hand from his dark pants in casual greeting as he approaches, slate eyes flickering from the man's face to cigarette, to the center, and back.]

Hey. Can I bum a smoke off you?

[With a faint nod to the cigarette. He's never been much of a smoker, didn't like the acrid feeling quite so much: but it's a way to start the conversation, a way to give him a reason to stand out here in the fucking sun away from the center, a reason to spend a few minutes sating his curiosity.]

Are you done for today?

[hostage]

[Oh, it's this guy. The other junkie - or at least Jesse's pretty sure. It's funny they both ended up here. Maybe it's the government's idea of a rehab program... though Jesse doesn't quite know how to feel about them populating the youth center with the shadiest guys around.

Never one to deny a request, Jesse pulls out his cigarette carton. When he flips it open, the keen observer would notice it's half-full of joints among those ordinary cigarettes. It's not really an accident that Jesse leaves them on display as he draws out the cig Shinjiro asked for. He offers it over, along with his lighter.]

Yeah, that was my last group.

[hoboagogo]

[A nod of thanks, but his hand pauses for a second before taking the cigarette- It's not too hard to notice the hand-rolled black sheep in the otherwise-unremarkable carton. His brows lift up behind his bangs, lips quirking on either side mirthlessly.]

Those just for special occasions? [It's a half-hearted, light comment- not terribly prying, but curious. But he takes what he's been offered, bringing filter to lips and flame to tip, one hand shielding from the breeze as he takes the first drag, and hands the lighter back.]

My last appointment was a no-show, so I'll be outta here soon. [Casual, dumb work conversation, sure, but the curious glances are more than enough to show his interest in learning more (or figuring out) the other imPort.]

[hostage]

[Jesse glances down like oh, what, these? As if he totally wasn't trying to tempt the guy. He gives a sheepish little smile.]

Um, more for social occasions. But if you wanna toke up before you head out, I know a spot.

the streets

[vaccination]

[Ellie doesn't wander too far from Joel. He doesn't like it, and she doesn't like it. Sometimes, though, she needs some air. Teenage girl and all--and Ellie's sure he's secretly grateful for an hour of his own time. So she promises to keep her communicator close, not go past certain landmarks, and be careful. Very careful. She's not as worried as she once was walking around, but she's still armed. A gun in her backpack and a knife in her pocket.

She's more subtle than Joel.

Speaking of subtle... she knows that totally unsubtle car. Jesse. A few moments of scanning the streets leads her to spotting him on the opposite side.

At least she looks both ways before darting across the street.]

Hey!

[hostage]

[She's going to give him a heart attack, running into the street like that.]

- Hey!

[He gives a quick look back to where she came from, searching for Joel. When the asshole is nowhere in sight, Jesse's shoulders drop an inch in relief.]

[vaccination]

What are you doing here?

[Their last conversation was a little heavy, and so she feels a little bad about maybe making Jesse do things he didn't want to. She greets him with a smile. See? No ulterior motive here, and no Joels lurking about.]

➥ Maurtia Falls #001

[nestingdevil]

[He's halfway down the stairs when he hears the door open. Truth is, the government-sanctioned digs serve a similar purpose for him. As a place to go to when he's got no other options, or when he needs something else to snatch. Tonight's more leaning on the first. The bar's closed and there's still the matter of a file he has to take care of.]

[Of which, Greed has snatched up in his fingers the moment a flash of yellow comes pouring out the fridge. He pauses on the step, listening to it groan. The irritated sigh isn't a voice he knows, but it doesn't sound too much like a threat.]

Ah-? [The Sin takes one more step and his smile brims. Practically slithering out of the dark and the shadows on the wall move as a stray car or two passes by just outside. They sink him in muted blacks and grays before passing on.]

[Greed lowers himself down another step, firmly blocking the rest of the hike up. And he coils around the bend of the staircase; dipping his shoulder, easing into his spine. An uncomfortable position for anyone that wasn't him.]

[A slow ease out of the ankle as him pushing his heel into the next stair, letting that curved-tip of his boot sway out. The kid doesn't look too old; a middle ground, even with his mouth half shoved into the bottle.] You must be the other one. [The Sin finally says. As if he wasn't just creeping out of the dark. A reach behind and he's shoving the folder into the back waist-line of his leather pants.]

Sorry - I don't plan on staying here very long.

[hostage]

[- the fuck.

Jesse starts, nearly dropping the bottle. He didn't know anybody was home. The room was dark and this guy must have been moving in silence. Or else he was standing there the whole time. Or else he's like that other asshole, Pitch, and just loves to jump out of random shadows. Because people around here don't have anything better to do than scare each other.

He wipes at his mouth with the back of his hand, smoothing his expression. Let's pretend he didn't almost piss himself there.]

...Whatever.

[nestingdevil]

Hmn-? [The off-put frown is almost laughable on that strong jaw. Bringing his whole face down as both his eyebrows shoot up past his shades. It's not the greatest greeting in the world, but it is something he expects.] Not very friendly, are you?

[The slight pause has him eyeing the bottle in hand; it's a middle-ground beer. Something a little cheaper, easy to get. Greed tosses a hand from his hip, gesturing out to nothing.] Didn't mean any offense, kid.

[Still while he is here, he may as well make the best of it. The Sin hooks a finger in the space between him and Jesse. Gesturing out with all targets set on the bottle.] You know, I have something a bit better upstairs. [The metaphorical olive-branch extended. Greed drags his foot back to the stair he's occupied on, turning himself a bit sideways.] Figured we may as well get to know each other, right?

[Wrong. But hey, it's a try.]

[As he tips away, Greed sinks a thumb near the folded-up paperwork at his backside. Even if the kid isn't a threat, he's not about to chance losing that kind of information. Not freely, anyway.] Ah, right. [A lull of the skull turns him back Jesse's way.]

The name's Greed - [He states; as if that doesn't raise enough red flags as is.] - why don't you and I be good friends, hmn? [He doesn't wait for the other to follow. Instead, the Sin heads right back up from where he came from. The lights are all off upstairs and a faint burn of smoke tumbles down.]

[Whether the kid takes the offer or not doesn't really matter.]

[He'll be gone as soon as he's done.]

[hackitude]

Seems like. Good movie, though. I really liked the bit with the explosions.

[That's a joke; the whole movie was explosions. Skye had ended up deciding on seeing a cheesy action flick after all, rather than a cheesy rom-com. She worried at first that it might have hit too close to home, but she used to love action movies and she didn't want to have to swear off them just because she joined SHIELD. That was stupid. In the end, the whole movie turned out to be so ridiculous, she needn't have have worried.]

... You sound surprised, though. It's not like they've been telegraphing the end of the movie for the last ten minutes, or anything.

[hostage]

[He's quietly grateful he didn't have to sit through anything boring. But, again, the movie itself didn't end up being all that important.]

I'm just having so much fun. You know, time flies.

[He turns a stupid little smile to her.]

[hackitude]

Uh-huh. [Skye just grins and gives him a little eyebrow-raise, like she knows exactly where his attention has been.]

So-- what do people usually do on a traditional first date after this part, anyway? I mean... this is going to sound weird, but I've never actually been on one. Wow, that sounded way less lame in my head. Please don't laugh-- I swear I've been on dates! Just ... not like this.

[Not where you have sex first and then have your first date later, she means. And her ex she knew long before they started dating.]

I think we're supposed to go for ice cream? Or something.

youth centre

[shittybirthday]

[An old '57 red Chevrolet pulls up outside the Youth Centre. It's old; it looks old and it sounds old, with the way the engine loudly shudders as Joel puts it into park before he kills the ignition, and the driver side door creaks with a metallic groan as he opens the door to climb out.

He spots Jesse just up ahead, skulking around while smoking a cigarette, as he slams the door shut. He takes to studying the Youth Centre building as he locks the car and pushes his keys into his pocket.

He's just come to check out the place. Ellie spends time here, so he wants to know what it's all about. But being Jesse is here, well, that's a bonus. Means Joel can follow up from their last little meeting.

And so, his hard eyes set on Jesse, Joel starts walking straight for him, and maybe Joel looks a little intimidating with the way he's approaching, all 6'2" of pretty solid muscle and a hard expression on his weathered face like he's coming to beat Jesse's skinny little ass up. But that's just Joel.]

[hostage]

[Jesse's heart drops a little when he lays his eyes on Joel. He'd assume the guy was here for Ellie, except Joel's walking straight towards him instead of inside. And Jesse sighs, because he's not sure what he did to piss the guy off now. Did Kara make a move?

Anyway, Jesse stops and waits for Joel to catch up to him. He takes one last drag of his cigarette while he's standing there, then crushes the butt underfoot. If he's going to get punched, he doesn't want that thing to go flying.]

[shittybirthday]

[Joel slows as he nears Jesse, and crosses his arms over his chest once he comes to a stop in front of him. He throws a glance over at the Youth Centre.]

So, this is it, huh? [A glance down at the discarded cigarette.] I see you're workin' hard.

The Red Branch (obv)

[heartstings]

[Kenzi, on the other hand, loves the gloomy weather of Maurtia Falls. It's not as cool as home but it's close enough and she loves it. Then again, she's also the sort that spends a lot of time in doors, if she's not home (which she hasn't been since Gil vanished) she's likely in the Red Branch working or just chilling (and currently living). Her pet dragon, on the other hand, doesn't like it as much so he's being a grumpy little thing on a shelf he's claimed for himself behind the bar.

Kenzi's pretty much all over the place in the bar, chatting with people or grabbing things for them. She's a hostess so she's just doing hostessy things. When Jesse comes in she pauses to greet him, offering her best smile.]

Hey, welcome to the Red Branch. Need a menu? [There's already one floating up from the box near the door so Kenzi can give it to him.]

[hostage]

[He'd been distracted by messing with his communicator, so her approach had gone unnoticed. But now that she speaks to him, he turns to look at her and -

Jesus fucking Christ. For a second there, he thought he was seeing an actual ghost. But she isn't Jane. That much becomes clear as soon as he gets a better look at her. She's just another girl who never gave up on the '90s goth scene.

...And she's got incredible eyes.

Jesse swallows the lump in his throat. He's been staring at her for a good five seconds now. Maybe he shouldn't be so fucking creepy.]

Uh... Yeah. That'd be great.

[heartstings]

[Kenzi stares back him for a moment, brows raised high enough that they nearly vanish completely beneath her bangs. His expression and the way he seems to chock up for a moment doesn't go unnoticed but she chooses not to comment.

The menu is already in her hand by the time he speaks. She nods slowly and passes it to him.] Feel free to sit anyway and be sure to check out the specials. [She motions toward the board that has a few things listed as well as "Happy hour for imPorts, all day e'eryday!" written on it.

With that said she gives him a smile and turns to go check on other customers. If he lets her go she'll be back a little later to check on him, once he's settled down somewhere.]

too late?

[notmymom]

[Connie still doesn't know what to make of the assortment of food available here in Heropa. It's everywhere he goes! As soon as he finishes work at his corner for the day (as a crossing guard, that is) he wanders the city and gets himself vaguely lost. The hours here are short, and as far as he's concerned the pay is great. He could buy some mysterious food if he wanted to! After the experience with the cheese and the malted he's mostly just picked up fresh produce from market tables and kiosks, but it's probably about time to give something new a shot.

When he sees an older man who looks like he belongs in this place more than Connie does, he wanders over like he's been invited. The idea that he should be careful around strangers never seems to occur to Connie, even though at only 5'1" he might make a good target for someone who wanted to cause trouble. It's not anything he's ever had to worry about before, so he greets the other man with confidence.]

Which kind is the best?

[He doesn't even know what that stuff is, but the smell of it makes his mouth water. Obviously it's food. He's hungry after a long day (okay a few hours) in the sun anyway. His stomach growls right on cue.]

never too late

[hostage]

[Uninvited or no, Jesse's happy to have someone to talk to. He's not sure if he's seen the kid before, on the network or around the youth center. If he has, he doesn't think they've spoken before. So it's funny the kid's looking to him for advice.

From the question, though, Jesse gets the sense the kid's from one of those worlds that's way different.]

That depends. Whaddya usually like? Salty stuff? Crunchy stuff? Sweet stuff? Spicy?

cool thanks!

[notmymom]

[That's...a lot of choices. More than he expected, even knowing how much food there is here. Spicy? He's never even had anything full of spice. That sounds promising! And salt! How can it be that some average person here like Connie could be offered salt, when it's such a precious resource? Even sweets! He stares at the man in surprise, wishing Sasha had come along with him. She'd know exactly which one to pick.

Actually she'd just ask for it all. Connie licks his lips and rocks on his toes to hide his sudden excited energy. The sunburn doesn't even hurt anymore. In this world, spices are for peasants!]

I don't know...uh...uh...anything that isn't bread and vegetable stew!

[Was that helpful? That was helpful, right?]

Maurtia Falls

[attractedtodarkness]

[Violet hadn't expected to run into Jesse here. It's been a while since they last talked but she felt comfortable enough to sneak up behind him while he was snapping a picture and unceremoniously said]

Boo.

[hostage]

[It's hard to be scared by the voice of a familiar teenage girl, but Jesse fakes it anyway. He gives an exaggerated jump and whirls around, throwing his hand dramatically over his heart.]

Oh my god! Are you trying to kill me?

[He's obviously kidding, though, since he breaks into a smile a second later.]

[attractedtodarkness]

[Violet laughs, amused by his exaggerated response]

I'll try harder next time.

[she grins]

How's it going?