Song: Dreaming-( Blondie )
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"why are we here? i understand for physical reasons like exercising, which i don't mind, but wouldn't you rather do it where people won't stare at you? or distract you from your concentration?" after breakfast Billy had escorted us to an outdoor gym, i didn't seem to mind it since i found bettering the body, strength and health wise a good thing. though i wasn't one to participate in activities such as this, i did find it interesting to watch the progress of it all. to go from thin and wispy to almost a mountain of muscles never ceased to amaze me, speaking of which, the men that were in the gym eyed Billy curiously, as if they were trying to find out why he was here with a girl. it was almost like they had never seen a girl side by side with the golden god.
"nope." he said as we squeezed passed the sweating and grunting men. their eyes stuck to us like magnets as Billy went to find an open pull up bar. but as i began to question the method of exercising in a crowd rather than in peace he continued to shut me down. his full attention on the men around him, each one he came into eye contact with he stared down like an enemy of sorts. such a look made me shiver with fear.
"and why's that?" i asked as we stopped in front of a non-vacant pull up bar.
"i'd rather have them be intimidated. to show not to mess with me." he grunted as he took off his shirt and messaged the palms of his callused hands. watching the bright sunlight shine off his golden skin made my cheeks dust over with blush, my eyes couldn't look away from him no matter how much i wanted to. but quickly my mind snapped back into working order and i quickly glanced away from the god like man.
"ah i see. well i'll leave you to your work out i'll just wander around. if you need me you know my name." giving me a curt nod in response i walked away from him and down to the sandy banks of the beach. while i looked out at the ocean and the sky mirror one another i began to think about my leave, in two days i would be back out on the road again most likely heading to Reno, Nevada. and being back on the road meant i wouldn't see Billy ever again. sure, i've met some people on the road who really stuck out to me and often i would give them my home phone number or address so we could write letters or, in some cases, call me up when something was happing and they couldn't cope. i was a "guardian angle" to some of these people and to Billy i was his, i wanted to help guide him on that good path and relive him of all the emotions he kept bottled up inside of him.
i had a fear deep down that if he didn't let those emotions out soon the bottle would explode and erupt into a thunderous rage, a rage that was so violent he could possibly hurt somebody. and in order to have that anger subside and vanish i had to help him talk it through, or else the worse would happen. thinking about the people we came in contact with over the past couple of days i began to see a pattern, they all saw what was on the surface which was a strong, flirtatious, and dangerous man. but what i was seeing was something more, a man with emotion and a man with a heart.
"hey hot stuff." thinking that voice was for somebody else i ignored it and continued my deep thinking, until the voice called out again.
"i was talkin' to you cutie."suddenly i stopped walking when i felt a presence beside me. glancing up at the stranger i took in his teenage features, long, dark brown hair wild and all over the place, his light brown eyes observed my blue ones and his lips were curved into a smile. he seemed nice, considering the fact his aura seemed friendly and optimistic, yet, with a hint of mystery. something deep with in his was brewing but it would take a year or two to realize what it was until it was too late. what a shame.
"oh, sorry i thought you were talking to someone else."i lightly laughed. the man's stature loomed over mine as he too began to chuckle. his hand ran through his dark locks with ease as he then scratched the back of his neck nervously.
"sorry for the confusion then. i'm Jack by the way." he said as he extended his free hand out to me. smiling at the name i took his hand in mine and shook it lightly.
"well Jack, i'm River." still holding on to my hand he lightly took it to his lips and kissed the back of it. the action causing a light blush to rise to my sunburnt cheeks. much like Axl he seemed to be quite the charmer with his rock 'n' roll sense of style and cheeky attitude. i always found the rock n roll music and style fascinating with it's different styles and sounds it was almost an endless world of anything!
"River? cool. i like that, what were your parents hippies?" giggling i nodded my head from side to side and shoved my hands in the pockets of my jean shorts.
"my mom was, my sisters name is Opal believe it or not." letting out a laugh he grinned and nodded.
"nice. you live around here? i haven't seen you in these parts before." his eyebrow raised in suspicion as he, much like many others, tried to figure me out.
"yeah, i guess you could say that, we're just passing through." i smiled as i glanced back out at the separated lovers.
"oh really? so you like travel and stuff?"
"yeah. every summer. we start in Arizona and we branch out from here."
"nice, nice. so uh how long you stayin'? cuz if not long then i would i like to take you out and grab a bite with me?" blushing at his kind offer i shook my head and thought back to Billy and Paul. it would be rude of me to ditch Billy out of the blue and go off with some stranger, and Paul was my nightly friend someone i could run around and hide with in the dark, it would also be rude to ditch our plans with out him knowing.
"i can't actually i-"
"ah, don't tell me you already got a boyfriend. but then again someone as beautiful as yourself probably already has one." letting out a light laugh i shook my head again.
"i d-" suddenly a heavy force made its way towards us. the aura of the said person was so heavy and dark that it made me stop in my tracks. the footsteps felt thunderous as well, with each step the person took the more chilling and angry it became. but for some reason, even with out looking, i could still tell who the person was. but the reason for his sudden anger was unknown to me.
"back off Lawson, she's with me." he growled as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders. my body suddenly thrusted against his hot sweaty form. the smell of sunscreen and sweat overwhelmed my senses like a heavy cloud. it was comforting almost, but the sudden anger and feeling of violence was not.
"hey Hargrove. no hard feelin's man i didn't know she was your girl." Jack chuckled nervously as he put his hands up in surrender. the look on the mans face showed fear, it was like he was afraid of Billy but then again most people seemed to despise him. for reasons i'm sure to find out along the way.
"damn right she is. now you tell Rose to stay the fuck away from her. i know he put you up to this." Axl? what would he have to do with this? if him and Jack knew each other surely it was a coincidence. i wouldn't believe that somebody had put a nice man like Jack up to this harmless interaction.
