Going for an evening stroll (Friday evening)

[Sharise]

[Smooth. ;)]


Phin looked Ace over. "I always managed to not answer anyone's questions..." His head tilted again as he jumped back to the question that had been asked. "I was walking the streets of downtown London. I had been badly beaten, apparently. My already raggedy clothes had been ripped and were covered in blood and dirt. As was my head." He absently twirled the silver band around his middle finger. "I remember reaching in my pocket and pulling out a thimble." He raised his hand to show the ring off. "I never go anywhere without it."



[hehe, And to think.. He's playing Peter Pan in their Law class. :P]

[Kat]

Ace thought about what he'd said, wondering what had really happened. "And no one came to claim you as their own kid? Maybe you were an orphan, living in an orphanage, or something. That might explain the other boys in your dreams." The more he thought about it the more likely it seemed. Probably some cheap place somewhere in the bad part of town, where kids were left on the doorstep. "Maybe it was a little like Oliver Twist, only modern day setting." He wondered if Phin had ever contemplated that idea, or an orphanage. He wondered if he'd ever read Oliver Twist, for that matter.

[Sharise]

"Did that happen in Oliver Twist?" Phin had a way of zoning in on the most insignificant details of a conversation. He was a bit of an airhead at times. "I've never read it."

Slender fingers toyed with the edge of a menu. "In some weird way, I always hoped I had been an orphan... That way I'd never have to deal with the fact that my parents never bothered to claim me."

[Kat]

Ace watched as Phin looked a little sullen as he mentioned not being claimed by anyone as their son. It made him think about his own father. "Well, I wasn't an orphan, but m father left me and my mother six years ago, so I can understand the whole being abandoned thing. I haven't heard from him since. I don't even know if he's alive, actually." That thought had never crossed his mind before. What if something had happened to his father? Surely his family would let them know, wouldn't they? He'd never really gotten along as well with his father's side of the family as he had with his mother's. They'd often seemed a little colder.

[Sharise]

Phin bit his lip for minute, thinking things over. "It seems we've both been dealt some serious shit."

As he looked at Ace, a light bulb sort of went off in Phin's head. "You said you knew how it feels, or something.... " His eyes rested on the blonde's. "What did that mean?"

[Kat]

Ace looked up at Phin in surprise, wondering what he was taking about exactly. Knowing how it felt to be abandoned, or knowing how it felt to have nightmares about abuse? Phin seemed like the type to ignore a comment right away but then pick up on it a few minutes later, and in this case, Ace wasn't sure which option was the right one. So he shrugged his shoulders, his eyes looking away momentarily. Maybe now would be a good time to call for a waiter. "Just that, really. We've both had really shitty things happen to us in our lives, so I can understand in a sense what you must be going through."

[Sharise]

"Oh." Phin nodded. He could be dense at times, but this was not of of them. It was obvious to him that Ace was avoiding the question. He'd done it enough times to know what it looked and sounded like.

"I should have known better than to think you might have abused as a kid, too." He slumped down in his chair. "God, I need a shrink." An empty chuckle sounded from the teen. Ace was never going to trust him.

[Kat]

Bright green eyes stared at Phin in shock. There was no way, how could he know? When no one else, as close to him as they'd been, had ever had any idea how could Phin have guessed so quickly? But more importantly, how could he possibly get out of this one without offending Phin? Still looking straight at Phin, he tried to appear as calm as possible when he was really freaking out on the inside. "I think we all need a shrink at some point in our lives, honestly. Some of us sooner than others."

[Sharise]

Phin saw that Ace wasn't budging. He was a quick one. But there was something in Phin that told him he could get around this. Maybe he had been a real stubborn ass in the past.

"That's for sure." He smiled and shook his head. "So, tell me.." He straighted up in his seat. "What will you tell your shrink?" Everything about him appeared harmless. And he was. He just wanted answers.

[Kat]

"What would I tell my shrink?" Ace looked at Phin, careful not to give away too much. "Well I have a lot to tell my shrink. I'd tell him about my father, and about how my mother hardly paid any attention to me after the divorce and even though we're ridiculously close now, that still bothers me. I'd tell my shrink that I hardly ever get much sleep at night because I'm too busy working out and running for miles at a time before going to sleep. In fact I'd probably tell my shrink that I think I have an obsessive compulsive disorder when it comes to working out and being in shape and that my strict healthy diet is probably a sign of that too." He paused, wondering whether he should go on. "Maybe I'd bring some of my poetry in, that would probably be fun to go over." He looked at Phin and shrugged.

[Sharise]

Phin listened closely. He didn't know what it felt like to be ignored. But some strange voice in the back of his mind told him that he knew what it felt like to be paid way too much attention.

Looking over the poetry comment, Phin went back to something that had struck him. "Why do you obsess over working out? I'm guessing it has something to do with not being fat... but... what's that all about?" Phin had no idea why someone would have such an issue with the way they look. I mean, sure, people get surgery and everything... but this just seemed weird.

[Kat]

Why did he obsess over working out? It could be so easy to just blurt out the truth. Well Phin, I'm obsessed with my weight because all through my childhood my father always stressed to me the importance of being in good shape, and then I got raped by an overwight man and my father left. As simple as it sounded, he knew the words weren't about to come out of his mouth. At least not all of them.

"There's always a reason for everything. Mine probably stems from my father getting me to start working out when I was really young, he would take me out running when I was five, just long enough to get me started, really. By the time I was ten I had a daily routine that involved running, cardio, and weight training. Then when he left I guess it was the only thing he really ever gave me, so I just kept it up to keep me occupied so I didn't think about him so much." He knew that was the reason why he was obsessed with eating healthy and working out, but what hardly anyone knew was that he wasn't just obsessed with being healthy. "You see, everyone knows I obsess over being in good shape. But they expect me to, since my dream is to play pro soccer. But what hardly anyone knows is that it doesn't just end there. It's not just that I'm obsessed with being in shape. I'm afraid of putting on weight. Any weight at all, even just one pound, and it would freak me out." It sounded so dumb when he said out loud, but there was nothing he could do. Every now and then he would tell himself that he was going to kick the obsession with weight and just start eating like any other normal kid his age. But when he looked at the greasy foods his friends loved he just couldn't bring himself to eat any of it. He'd sooner not eat then eat something fried in oil.

[Sharise]

Phin nodded. He understood that parents had a way of leaving a mark on their children. But what he couldn't understand was how someone could be terrified of gaining a pound or two. Especially seeing as how he never got on a scale unless at the doctor's.

At this point, Phin had completely forgotten what he was trying to get out of the blonde. He was genuinely interested in what could disturb someone so severely.

"I don't understand..." Phin shook his head. "How did you get this way?"

[Kat]

Ace leaned on one of his hands, staring at Phin. He felt like he should be totally honest with him, especially after Phin had divulged his own secret. But he just couldn't do it. "I can't talk about it, Phin. I'm sorry. Maybe one day, but today just isn't my day. I just don't want you to feel bad about it, or take it personally. I've already admitted more to you right now than I'm willing to admit to the majority of my friends. But there are some places I just can't go." He looked away, down at the table. It wasn't just that he had a hard time talking about what he'd been through, but he felt like he was sort of betraying other people by being so open with someone he hardly knew.

[Sharise]

"It's ok." Phin nodded. "I understand.... completely. If you ever need to talk, though. I'm here. And I'm the last person that will judge you for anything."

In all honesty, he could already put the pieces together. Or at least make a really good guess. He wasn't going to tell Ace that. He'd already stressed the poor teen enough.

"I'm starving... where's the waiter?"