Christian stepped off the bus and landed in the hustle and bustle of New York City. He was supremely out of his comfort zone, but for once he felt excitement - not nausea.
He slung his backpack over his shoulder, said goodbye to a fellow passenger, and headed down the sidewalk. A fleeting thought crossed his mind of how many people could mindlessly be wiped out if a bomb just happened to explode right here right now. Being mid morning on a Monday he'd expected... a little less people? He didn't look forward to peak hour, that was for sure.
He'd left rehab barely a week earlier, and taken a suggestion by one of his inmates to heart. "New York is where dreams come true, you know, for those artist-types. If you want to do something with your paintings, I'd head there."
Vaguely catching sight of a news stand, he ducked through the crowd and grabbed a paper. After paying the guy, he began looking for somewhere to stay.
A studio apartment caught his eye. He fleetingly remembered joking to someone once about having his own studio apartment. It may have even been Tanya. Figuring it was reasonably priced, he began to head in its direction.
It took a couple of hours searching, and in the meantime he got the full brunt of a New York lunch hour rush, but he finally found the studio. He'd called ahead and organised the owner to be present, so enthusiastically made his way up the stairs.
"Hi. I'm Chris," he shook the hand of the suited man waiting by the door.
"Jethro. We'll need to be quick, I'm afraid, as I have someone else coming to check it out very soon."
"No problem," Chris assured as the man unlocked the door.
"The lift is busted, but we have maintenance coming to work on it in two weeks," Jethro flicked the lights on as Chris walked in.
To... nothing.
He looked around the empty space, noting the slightly rotting floorboards and watermarks on the ceiling. There were strategically placed wooden pylons holding up the ceiling, and a crack in one of the windows.
He made his way over to it.
"Full disclosure, we've had some rat problems. But so has everywhere else," Jethro shrugged, "exterminator is on speed dial. Though... we don't actually have a phone line set up in this particular space..."
"No problem," Chris held up his cell.
He stepped up onto a landing and looked out the window. The view immediately took his breath away.
"Wow..."
Jethro checked his watch.
Avery
Avery remembered that the landlord had told her to just come up the stairs because the lift was busted, just as she had walked over to the lift. She shook her head slightly, and then turned in the direction of the stairs, looking around as she walked.
She had been running late from a photoshoot that had run overtime, and she wished she'd had time to go home and change. She wasn't sure what kind of message she would send by turning up the way she was dressed. Her long tan legs were bare, almost to the tops of her thighs, where the ripped light denim shorts began, slither of perfectly toned midriff, before the loose fitting white singlet. Her makeup was still in place, even in the heat, and she’d pulled her hair back into a ponytail, the long honey brown locks curling in cascades down her back.
She reached the apartment shortly and knocked on the still open door, tugging at the hem of her shorts.
Jethro appeared shortly and she felt the familiar up and down look she had become accustomed to from men in New York.
"Hi, I'm Avery, I called about the apartment?" she offered, holding out a hand for him to shake.
Christian
Christian turned at the sound of her voice, realising the other person to see the apartment had arrived.
He sighed, deciding if he should keep looking or put up a fight for this one. The view really was incredible, and sure to inspire him in more ways than one...
He made his way back over to the door.
"Jethro?" he caught his attention as the man shook the girl's hand, "I'd like to make an offer."
Avery
Avery looked up when she saw someone approach the man she was talking to and she did a double take.
He looked a lot like...
"Taylor?" she hadn't meant to say it out loud and she blushed slightly.
Christian
Christian blanched, then realised that hadn't happened in a long time...
"I thought you said your name was Chris?" Jethro frowned, "look, we don't need your type around here-"
"It is Chris, see?" Christian pulled out some ID, "I don't know this girl."
He looked back at her, then squinted.
"Wait. Avery?”
Avery
Avery was still blushing and she nodded as Christian recognised her. She realised she had changed a lot since he had last seen her.
"Sorry," she said to both Jethro and Christian, making up a lie quickly to cover what had happened. "I used to call him Taylor when we were younger."
Well... not a complete lie. There had been that period where... she shook her head, forcing herself not to dredge up that past history.
She stood awkwardly for a moment. "Umm... well, if you want the apartment, I guess I could just go look at others or something."
Christian
Christian raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"Wow. You grew up," he said as a compliment.
"You don't want to even look at the apartment?" Jethro almost begged, obviously preferring to have a young, attractive woman lodging there than him.
Christian looked between them, a little worried. He could see the looks she was getting.
"Could you give us a moment?" he asked Jethro, before pulling Avery aside.
"What are you doing here?"
Avery
Avery shrugged and smiled, the dimples appearing in her cheeks. "It happens."
She could still feel Jethro's eyes on her, even when Christian pulled her aside. She looked over at him, even after all this time, still not used to talking to someone that looked so like Taylor, but not being him.
"I live here now... well, not here, here, but in New York," she replied, raising an eyebrow. "What are you doing here?"
Christian
Christian shrugged.
"I'm... I don't really know. Yet," he admitted.
He looked over at where Jethro stood, eyeing Avery off. He turned away as soon as he saw Chris looking.
"So you need a place to stay, huh?"
Avery
"Yeah, it didn't really work out with Mack," Avery explained. She could feel Jethro's eyes on her and she tilted her head in the direction in a gesture to Christian.
"It's ok, I can just fix that, if you get me." She tapped on the side of her head.
"You don't need to worry about me, it happens a lot."
She realised that might sound really conceited and she rushed on to explain. "It's just because it's summer and I didn't have time to change and... people just stare."
Christian
Christian looked confused.
"That doesn't really account for dressing like a..."
He rushed for a word to replace 'whore'.
"...Slut."
He instantly kicked himself mentally.
Avery
Avery raised an eyebrow and folded her arms across her chest. "Not that it's any of your business, but I was rushing here from a photoshoot, so I didn't have a lot of clothing options."
She shook her head.
"I'm not getting into this with you. It's summer, and I'm allowed to dress how I want. Girls out there dress much worse than this, so, just calm your tits, ok?"
Christian
"For Brazzers?" Christian chuckled, unable to contain the humour of the situation any longer.
Avery
"You wish, you perve," Avery replied, giving a seductive twist of her hips.
She let out a laugh.
"Now, are we gonna have to fight it out for this apartment, or should you go find something else?"
Christian
"Why don't we both take it?" Chris suggested suddenly, a little wary of her reaction but deciding to go for it.
"It'll halve the rent. The place is big enough. I promise to stay out of your hair. And... I'll limit the number of girls I bring home?"
Avery
Avery eyed him suspiciously, then figured it was as good a deal as any. It was better than living with a creepy roommate.
"You're gonna get a job, right?" she teased, then picked up on the next thing he'd said. "Ok, you limited the girls you bring home, and so will I."
She winked, a smirk playing over her lips.
Christian
"You can being as many girls home as you want," Christian insisted.
"And I'm... sort of looking. For a job I mean."
He shrugged.
"It's not a priority."
Avery
Avery rolled her eyes slightly. "Alright, well, don't ask, don't tell, ok?"
She was still unsure of the situation, it was definitely not something she'd ever imagined, nor could she imagine bringing it up with her brothers, but she needed somewhere to live, and here was a solution.
"Ok, deal."
Christian
Christian grinned and shook her hand.
He turned back to Jethro.
"Looks like we're both moving in!" he announced.
"Excuse me?" Jethro frowned.
"Bring on the paperwork. We'll take it," Chris dumped his backpack on the floor and stood waiting.
Jethro looked at Avery, quizzically.
Avery
"What he said," Avery shrugged, folding her arms as she waited for him to organise the paperwork.
Jethro took another look up and down her body and she rolled her eyes, and used her telepathy so he would see her as someone physically unappealing. She knew it worked when he recoiled and averted his eyes, getting the paperwork and handing it to Christian.
She smiled faintly.
Christian
Christian smirked, noticing what had happened.
He took the clipboard and began filling in the necessary paperwork. He got about halfway through, before handing it to Avery.
"What's that part mean?" he asked.
He'd been making huge headway with his literacy classes, but he still wasn't an expert.
Avery
Avery took the clipboard when he handed it to her and scanned over what section he was talking about.
"Oh," she said, taking the pen and starting to fill it out. "Just the stuff about who is liable for damages and stuff."
She finished the rest of the form and then signed her name down the bottom of the agreement and handed it to Christian so he could do the same.
Christian
"Thanks," Chris took it back and signed off.
He pulled a wad of cash from his pocket and clipped it to the board.
"And here's your deposit, and first week's rent," he smiled as he handed it back to Jethro.
Jethro smiled, more glad now to have Christian on board than Avery.
"I will get this sorted. You can move in right away," Jethro nodded, "rent will be on a weekly basis, to be paid in cash to my deposit box on the second floor."
"Not a problem," Christian assured.
Avery
"Thanks," Avery echoed, noting that Jethro now couldn't even look in her direction. She turned to Christian.
"I'm guessing you don't have a lot of ... stuff," she said, looking down at her backpack. "I've got furniture and appliances from my old place, so... that's not a problem."
Christian
Chris looked down at his backpack.
"This is it," he shrugged, "but I don't exactly have much else to do... need some help moving in?"
Avery
"Yeah, but I might need to hire removal..." Avery trailed off, remembering his power.
"Sure, but the heavy stuff might have to wait until night so no one sees the lack of touching."
She stood awkwardly for a moment.
"Ummm, alright, come on."
Christian
"Aren't you forgetting something?" Christian's eyebrows rose, "this is New York. Who sleeps in New York?"
He chuckled as he followed her out, taking the keys from the door where Jethro had left them.
"Don't worry, I'll look like I'm struggling. Or something."
Avery
Avery let out a chuckle at her own blondeness. "Also, ummm, I can just make them not see us."
She padded down the stairs, hair bouncing perkily with every step she took.
"It's not much of a walk from here," she told him when they'd reached the lobby. She led him outside and they were immediately hit with the thick humid air.
She took her sunglasses from her bag and slid them onto her face, then led the way.
"So, what've you been doing with yourself since I saw you last?"
Christian
Christian shrugged, shielding his eyes with his hand until they could adjust.
"Got out of rehab on Wednesday. You're the first person I've really seen since being back, so..."
Avery
"Ah, yes," Avery nodded, crossing the road and keeping stride with Christian.
"I mean, I probably should've moved somewhere... less noisy, but New York is where I need to be for art school, so... here I am."
Christian
"Art school?" Chris looked up in surprise.
"Huh," he mused to himself.
Avery
"Who knew, right?" Avery laughed. "The girl has something to offer, artistically."
She guided them to her old apartment building and opened the door to the lobby, before leading the way to the lift.
Christian
"I got into art while in rehab," Christian admitted.
"I turned the whole place into a living mural that the kids could keep working on. Change it with the times, you know. One of them said New York was where I should go if I wanted to do something with art, so... here I am."
Avery
"Oh, that's awesome," she said, honestly.
Avery glanced at him in surprise as the lift doors opened. She stepped out and headed for her apartment, opening the door and letting him in. Packed boxes were stacked in the corners of the living room.
"New York is definitely where you wanna be, it's amazing here, the street art and the galleries, you have to check them out, so much inspiration."
Christian
"Guess I'll do that," Christian nodded, looking around at everything.
He headed over to the boxes.
"Who were you living here with again?"
Avery
"Mackenzie," Avery replied over her shoulder as she headed for her bedroom.
She pulled out her phone and dialled in her trusty teleporter's number. "Hey, Bill? Guess who..."
She let out a laugh. "No seriously, I know it's hassle and I will owe you biiiiig time for it... thank you so so much."
She hung up and came back out of her bedroom, carting the two suitcases of her clothes with her.
"Ok, so I've got a teleporter coming to move all the stuff over, and then..." and here she smiled charmingly at Christian. "You can arrange it in the apartment?"
Christian
"Awesome," Chris nodded.
He sat on one of the sofas to wait.
"Mackenzie as in your little brother, Mackenzie?" Chris held his hand at about the height he would have been in 2003.
Avery
Avery let out a laugh and held her hand up to just under her own height.
"Yep, the very Mackenzie."
Moments later, there was a knock on the door.
Christian
Christian raised an eyebrow at the height difference.
It took until well after dark, but they managed to get everything transported into the apartment. After saying goodbye to a very tired teleporter, Chris looked around at the furniture and scratched his head.
"Where do you want the TV set up? We can go from there..."
Avery
"Maybe, over here," Avery said, walking over to an empty space and standing in it. "That way there's no glare from the windows."
She stood with her hands on her hips, thinking about the layout.
Christian
Christian began moving the sofa and tables accordingly, setting them up around where he'd moved the television to.
Avery
By the time the living room furniture was set up, Avery noticed how dark it was outside. She felt her stomach grumble.
"Hey," she said, getting his attention. "I'm gonna order some pizza, what do you want?"
Christian
"Everything would be good," Christian tried to remember the last time he had pizza.
"Meatlovers maybe? And some soda?"
Avery
"Sure," Avery said, then dialled the number for her favourite pizza place.
"Hi there, could I make an order for a large meatlovers, a large vegetarian with no cheese, a bottle of Coke and a bottle of diet Coke? Great, thanks. Yep, that's all." She paused, then rattled off the address.
"Ok thanks a lot."
She hung up and tossed her phone down on the couch.
"About 20 minutes."
Christian
"Great," Chris nodded, heading over to the window again.
He studied the crack, before fixing it with his atom manipulation.
Avery
The pizza arrived shortly and Avery and Christian took a break from arranging the furniture to eat.
After dinner, Avery was beat so she called it a night, heading off to her room and leaving him to his own devices.