Ride or Die

Part 2

* the rest of this story is under serious construction*

"Hey baby," Jamie says, closing the morning papers as Ava sweeps into the cramped kitchen.
He loves how she seems so swanlike in any environment, even one as inconvenient and embarrassing as his apartment.
"Hi, Jamie."

Slowly, she is getting used to waking up in a new bed. It's been four days since her grand escape, and she couldn't be more glad of it.
"Toast?" Jamie offers, pushing his plastic chair back and squeezing past the stove.
"Sure. What's the plan for today?"
She asks every morning but Jamie always shrugs.
He does so now.
"No plans. I was thinking of tuning in for the Dukes of Hazzard rerun."
"Oh. Okay, well maybe I'll go for a shop then. We're running out of..."
She'd like to say "things that aren't junk" but instead she just wears a mellow smile.
"Groceries," she replaces.
"Okay, you do that."

Ava crosses over to the glued shut window past the TV set, peeking through the curtain to watch the traffic start pumping and the sidewalks begin to buzz. She wonders where a suitable job might be waiting, so that she can support herself and Jamie until she finds a more solid arrangement.
It wouldn't hurt, especially since all of the money Jamie earns from pizza delivery seems to fall right out of his pocket. She glances at the bag of marijuana lying on the small table in front of the television set.
She notices that Jamie has sat down in front of it, patting the sofa cushions for the remote.
He hadn't even made her the toast her offered.
She sighs and goes to do it herself.

Soon after breakfast, she heads out to shop for the groceries. She isn't known for her culinary skills, but if she and Jamie were pitted against each other on a cooking show, she would win by quite a large margin.
Besides, she'd like to get some protein into Jamie. He is pale as pale ever and rarely sees the sunlight.
So, with money from Jamie, she borrows his car and takes it into the heart of the city, just out of curiosity.
The further in she goes, the more exciting it becomes. The stores are larger, bedazzled. The crowds are larger and noisier. The cars rip down the streets, blaring their horns and belching dark exhaust clouds.
Everybody looks so unique, so important. They all have somewhere to be. But they all seem invisible to one another. Ava has nothing remarkable about her. No spiky clothes, no extreme makeup, no exciting colors.
So when she parks and steps out, shopping list kept in a mini notebook in her hand, nobody really cares.
Back in the neighbourhood she lived in, it was news worthy if somebody breathed loud enough.

She squeezes onto the sidewalk, keeping her arms as close as she can to her body, dodging through the rush. Everybody else flows around each other in practiced fashion.
She spies a bakery not far off, and makes a beeline for it. But as she moves into the chaos, she is knocked by a harsh shoulder. In her surprise, she drops her notebook and pen. Ava doesn't get the chance to see who it was because her belongings are being kicked away by busy feet. She scrambles to collect them, dropping to her knees. The walkers adjust their paths and stream around her. 
Although two shoes stop before her, and then a face appears as the owner of the shoes crouches down, picking up her notepad.

"What an idiot," he glances behind him, giving the pedestrian who'd failed to stop and help the girl a hard glare.
"You read my mind," Ava grouches, taking her pen back into possession before it can be kicked away again.
She has a moment to smile at the stranger, but she's surprised to find a young guy with a stunning grin in front of her. She isn't entirely sure what she was expecting, but it wasn't him.
He had a strong chin and sharp jaw, with sparkly gold eyes and a volume of dark chocolate hair.
The words catch in her throat. She isn't sure how to behave.

"What's your name?" He asks, bringing her back to her senses.
"Oh, Ava. That's... Me." She already wants to give up and leave, her awkwardness always betrays her.
"Okay, Ava," he says, a smile at his lips, "Are you okay?"
"I'm okay," she agrees. "Thanks."

Her stranger is wearing a shirt that exposes his arms, on one of which, is a tattoo.
"Mötl" it reads.
Ava thinks it could be German, but she can't quite see the rest of it.

She stands up, brushing her hands on her pants.
"You didn't tell me your name."
He straightens as well, drawing himself up to a six-foot-something sort of height. Ava notices a ring in his nostril, which she'd never seen on a guy before. She quite likes it on this one.

"Jordan," he extends his hand for her to shake. She does, returning the smile.
"Thanks for stopping, Jordan. I'm not used to the business here."
"New, are you?"

She realises they're still shaking hands, only their hands aren't moving anymore, just holding each others. She retracts hers.
"I've only been here a few days. I'm shopping around for a few groceries. Any idea where I might go?"

Jordan taps her notebook against his palm.
"Sure. I'll take you, if you'd like."
While Ava doesn't despise the thought, she can't.
"I don't think my boyfriend would like that too much."

Jordan groans, tipping his head backwards in exasperation.
"Why are all the beautiful girls taken?"
Ava blushes bright pink.
"Y'know what? Fuck it. I think you're gorgeous. Can I take you out?"
"I'm not so sure about that."

Jordan shrugs nonchalantly.
"Forget about him. How could he keep you all to himself when you look like that?"
Ava tries her best not to be charmed by him, not to be tempted.
"What if I have a disgusting personality? I could be on my way back from burning down an orphanage, you wouldn't know."
He laughs.
"I'm willing to risk it."
"I'm not. Sorry."

Jordan pauses, opening her notebook.
"What if we met up to just discuss..."
He skims through.
"Carrots!"
"Carrots?"
"Yeah, totally. Just a normal, everyday conversation. I won't make any moves, I'll pinky swear on it you want."

He flashes an innocent smile that Ava can't help but admire. She's never been chased after like this before. Jordan is especially brave, too.
Her parents would hate the sight of it.
"Okay, yeah. Let's do it."