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Post by GAIL ADAMS on Mar 2, 2012 14:49:12 GMT -5
Gail stretched out on the beach blanket she had set down. the umbrella was providing some good shade so she didn't mind it one bit. It was still spring out so the weather was fairly warm yet. Fall wasn't too far off but thankfully the weather was holding up.
She tossed her hair over her shoulder and watched a few families with small children walk along the sandy beach. The waves crashed gently against the shore, before pulling back out and repeating the process.
Gail sighed. She wondered why she had come out here again. Beaches always made her nervous for some reason. Yet here she was sprawled out on a beach towel. She slid her sunglasses up onto her head and just people watched.
The warm sunlight was comforting on her arms and legs at least. She didn't like getting TOO burned if she could help it. The sun was peering out from behind a few fluffy white clouds that drifted across. The air smelled of spring, the typical flowery scents hit her nostrils. She inhaled deeply enjoying the peace and quiet. This time of day on the beach was really calm. During the weekends though you could NOT get a spot on here for anything, let alone parking. She popped her IPhone ear buds into her ears and began listening to music.
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Post by lemziipie on Mar 2, 2012 15:53:01 GMT -5
The sun peering through the crack of the blinds that morning told Fletcher that he could probably get some of his sketch book filled in today. The previous week his teacher had riled him about his lack of variety in his book, saying he could only draw the same section of flower display so many times, and that he had to get out more. It wasn't that he was a hermit or anything - but going out meant sometimes having to interact with people. And he didn't know many people. But that morning, the sunlight gave him a little sense of promise, the promise that maybe, he could find somewhere that would spark some inspiration.
That was how he'd found himself at the beach, taking his shoes off and tip-toeing through the sand in his bare feet, searching for a spot that held some shade. Which was of course hard to find on a beach. But lucky for him, it wasn't busy, and he didn't have to interrupt anyone's day finding somewhere to sit. Fletcher placed his grey jumper on the ground and sat himself down, his sketch pad coming up quickly to cover his body from the slight breeze of wind rattling his lithe figure.
With the pencils out of his pockets, placed haphazardly in the grains of sand beside him, Fletcher scanned the beach for something to draw. Although the water was appealing that day, nothing was floating atop it to break the span of horizon, which would make for a boring picture. But closer to the town, along the beach from him, Fletch's eye was caught by a girl not far away, relaxing herself in the sand. Having someone to draw made things interesting, and after wondering how to do so inconspicuously so she wouldn't notice him drawing her, he braved it out and started sketching out her frame, hoping that if she did notice, she wouldn't deem him weird, rude, or inappropriate.
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Post by GAIL ADAMS on Mar 2, 2012 16:05:24 GMT -5
Gail heard the soft scratching of a pencil across paper. She turned her head and spied a young man sketching her. She wasn't alarmed really. he didn't look like some kind of weirdo. Curiously, she got up and approached him, planting herself beside him.
"You like to draw?" she asked him softly as a gentle breeze whipped her brown hair behind her shoulders. "You're really good!"
She liked to draw herself. No one else really knew about that other than her family. She drew her legs up and let her arms wrap around them. She rested her chin on top of her knees.
"I like to draw too" she admitted warmly to him. "Helps me relax. I'm Gail. What's your name?"
She extended her hand out to him and grinned at him. She was a fairly good judge of character and felt that he wasn't some kind of ego maniac that thought highly of himself. He looked like a regular guy. Of course looks can be deceiving. She learned that a long time ago.
The water was extremely calm today. No ships were passing along the horizon or anyone swimming. most seemed to just like to lye back on the sand and soak up the sun. her hazel eyes studied the young man and waited patiently for him to reply
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Post by lemziipie on Mar 2, 2012 16:17:37 GMT -5
It took Fletcher by surprise when he looked down to his paper, focusing on the shadow beneath the girl's face and her brown hair, then looked back up and she was gone. His eyes took a while to refocus and he frowned slightly, blinking back to the paper and the unfinished drawing he now had. But then the sound of crunching sand behind him signified her presence, and he was surprised, nervous and scared by the fact that the girl he was drawing was now there, right next to him, and sitting down beside him.
He could feel the pattering of heat across his skins and the blush creeping up his neck, and Fletcher looked down at his sketchpad instead of staring at her for too long. If she thought him weird, he'd already been staring enough, hadn't he? But then she complimented him, and it took Fletcher off guard. He lifted his head back to look at her and smiled, brightly. "Thank you, I find it very relaxing too. Didn't realise how nice the beach was until now," Fletch felt like the words flowed out easily, and he didn't have to rethink what he was saying in her presence. She had some comforting air to her person that allowed himself to relax, visibly too. His shoulders lost their tensing and he rested his hands in the sand surrounding them.
"Fletcher," He replied, giving her a brighter smile now he knew her name. "It's nice to meet you, Gail." His mother had taught him manners, and Fletcher was never going to be impolite to someone. He pushed his sketch pad away for now and folded his arms across his body, his cotton navy shirt obviously not being warm enough for him, despite the sunlight. "Do you spend a lot of time here, on the beach?"
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Post by GAIL ADAMS on Mar 2, 2012 16:24:05 GMT -5
Gail beamed at Fletcher.
"Yes and no. Sometimes beaches make me nervous. Crowds kinda bother me a bit. I'm not exactly agoraphobic, or anything like that. It's more than likely what happened to me a year ago" She said turning to look at him.
She saw the heat creeping into his cheeks and had to grin at that. it was cute. Gail sighed, wondering what was driving her to speak to him, but somehow she felt comfortable diving into her painful past.
"My ex abused me. He beat me up a few times. I left him. He's in jail now of course but being close to some people tends to get me a bit jittery" She admitted softly. She reached into her bag and pulled out the drawing she had done the day before.
"This is what I drew yesterday. Granted its not as good as yours, but its not bad. My trees look like little green booger bushes" She joked lightly and admired the work he was doing on his pad. It was her. He'd been sketching her. She hadn't minded really. Her thoughts flitted to Leo and her irritation flared up. She cleared her throat.
"What about you? you spend time here a lot as well?" she inquired.
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Post by lemziipie on Mar 2, 2012 16:34:13 GMT -5
Her smile was bright and comforting, and to Fletcher he really felt like it would be easy to spend more time with her. Gail didn't seem rude, impolite; in fact, she reminded him a bit of his mother and how kind she could be, and so he felt even more at ease in her presence. As she spoke, he nodded his head and took in what to say, and although they'd spend only five minutes together, he was already feeling sympathy and the desire to hug her for what she had been through.
"I'm so sorry that you had something like that happen to you," He said sympathetically, truly feeling for her past and her emotions. Gail seemed so lovely, she didn't deserver any of that. Before he had the chance to allow her to dwell on the past, she'd already forked out a drawing of her own, and he laughed softly. "I think it's great, Gail, you're pretty good yourself."
Fletcher looked down to his own hands and shrugged, ever so softly, before looking back up to her eyes. "I've been here a couple of times before, but only at night. It's a lot more peaceful to walk underneath the stars, I find." Fletcher once again looked away from her, feeling his mind running away with the fact they had something in common. They had both been abused by someone they trusted. He didn't want to divulge into his own memories, but something about Gail was allowing him to open up, to trust that she'd keep the information confidential.
"My father started hitting me, when he found out I was gay. I know what that feels like," He said, looking back to her and offering a smile. "But he's out of my life now, and so is your ex. That makes everything look a little brighter, doesn't it?"
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