a penny for your thoughts? ;; jamie!

[JAMIE SHOEMAKER]

Cleo seemed to get four times more energetic. She looked like any adorable bunny rabbit when it smelled carrots! Jamie had forgotten how much Cleo liked candy. This would be perfect! And then maybe they could share one of those big icing cookies that had TONS of icing on them. This could be exciting. He loved being hyped up on sugar. It made everything five times funnier than usual. And right now, he could use a nice laugh to break this lousy mood that was creeping over him. Thinking about… the past so much did that to him.

“WHAT? Don’t worry Little Red. I’ll guide you to candy heavens!” Jamie shouted, jumping up next to her. Without a second thought, he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the candy shop. There were so many things that he wanted to go home and thing over but now, they were all put aside for some Cleo time. But one question lingered in his mind. Did he like Cleo still? Even after he decided to not be that guy anymore, did his feelings for Cleo stay? That guy never really had any relationships after Cleo left. Mostly just had the wrong kind of fun. The thought of it sickened Jamie and he slowed down his pace for a second.

Don’t think too hard, Jamie. He couldn’t figure what his feelings were. All he knew was right now they were at the getting close to the candy shop. He stopped and let go of Cleo’s hand. “Okay, now close your eyes. It’s so much cooler if you get your first look in the middle of it.” After she did he pulled her along slowly right into the middle of the shop. “Now open.”

-------

word count: 290
notes: he's so disney perfect x3

[/size]

[CLEO EVERETT]

Candy, candy, candy. Candy was the only thing on her mind right now. Everlasting Gobstoppers and Kit Kat bars and Reese’s Pieces and maybe even Candy Corn even though it wasn’t anywhere near Halloween. Then there would be lollipops and Laffy Taffy’s and Nerds and M&M’s. Her mouth was watering. Was it possible to be buzzed by the thought of candy? If this was her before she’d even had any, she couldn’t imagine her after a few pieces. While Jamie calling her Little Red stung a little, she had to let it go. Sure, Little Red had been what he called her (for some reason, she couldn’t think his name; it just felt too weird). Somehow, when Jamie called her Little Red, it brought back the uncertainty of that past relationship. She was making mountains out of molehills.

He suddenly had her hand and was pulling her along to the candy store. “Candy heavens?” She laughed. “Sounds like absolute perfection.” Why hadn’t she learned of this candy store sooner? Maybe she spent too much time at Gingey’s. Perhaps she did need to get out more. Maybe her tactic to avoid New York was wrong. Perhaps she needed to open up. Maybe she should go exploring. No matter. She could figure all of that out later. Cleo watched her feet as Jamie led the way to the candy store. She’d been spending only, what?, thirty minutes with him and she was already getting a ton of crazy ideas. It made her a little uncomfortable. Cleo with him had been full of crazy ideas, ready to take on the world. She hadn’t liked that Cleo.

Jamie slowed and then he stopped. Cleo looked at him, a little confused. Close… her eyes? Immediately, her mind went on red alert. Shortly after, guilt overwhelmed her. Why was she suddenly feeling like she couldn’t trust him? Of course, it might just be that she hated closing her eyes and letting others guide her in the first place. After a moment of hesitation, Cleo closed her eyes. The moment he had her hands again, she held on tightly, her stomach full of the bad kind of butterflies. It was okay. She could trust him. She was safe. It was alright. No big deal.

Now open.

Cleo did so quite willingly. Jamie had been right. It wouldn’t have been the same had she seen it all from the entrance. It was colors everywhere, bright and loud. Cleo’s smile was probably from ear-to-ear. “Look at all of the different kinds,” she murmured, in awe.

notes; aweee, i lovee himmm<3.
words; 426
outfit; juniper breeze!

[JAMIE SHOEMAKER]

“It is!” He couldn’t believe that he was here with Cleo. Just a few months ago he was detoxing and in so much pain that he felt his life would end at any moment. And before that…it hurt worse. Today was once of the first days he could feel really happy with someone from his past. It had been over a half hour of her and him. And he didn’t want it to end. Would he see her again after this? Would she call him? He shook his head and kept moving. Besides, it’s best to live in the present. The future can wait.
He felt her hands tighten around his when he walked her into the candy store. He tried not to think too much into that when she quickly snapped her eyes open. Rows upon rows of rainbow colored treats lined the walls and made him stand in awe. Of course he had seen it before but he’d never shared the experienced with anyone else. He looked over at Cleo and made a crooked smile. Her wholed face was lit up and a grin reached from ear to ear. He’d really never seen her like that before. He nodded his and hesistantly let go of her hands. “After you.” He stepped back and tried to guess what she would pick first. Most likely the gummy worms.

What was with him? He was in a candy store, for heaven’s sake and all he wanted to do was watch Cleo as she ran around the store putting candy into little bags. He found the gummy bears and scooped out a big bag out them before returning back to his spot in the center of the store. What else could he get? He looked over his shoulder a few times looking for Cleo as he tried to find the rock candy. That stuff was amazing.

-------

word count: 314
notes: candy vs. cleo. A tough decision indeed lol

[/size]

[CLEO EVERETT]

The more she looked around, the better it all seemed. With each glance, she was aware of more types of candy. There were candies she’d never heard of (was that even possible?) and candies she hadn’t had since she lived in California. This place was perfection, it was “candy heaven!” She squealed before taking off. Of course, she could’ve waited a little longer to thank Jamie but… THIS WAS A CANDY STORE. For one to expect Cleo to wait around for even more than two minutes was outrageous. Sweets were her life (okay that was a bit of an exaggeration). Where was she even going to go first? Evidently, the gummy worms held the most of her attention. Cleo hadn’t had candy in awhile. It was all about pastries lately. Cupcakes and brownies and muffins from Gingey’s. Baked goods were basically her diet.

She scooped out two… scoopful… things? Cleo wasn’t even sure what they were called. Once she was satisfied with the amount of gummy worms, she moved onto the chocolate covered raisins. Then there were the Reese’s Pieces and the Nerds and some Laffy Taffy’s. Once her arms had started to hurt from carrying the heavy bags, she looked around for Jamie. Finding him right where she’d left him, Cleo wondered if he’d gotten any candy for himself. She hurried back, positively glowing. “I’m sorry I rushed off like that. It’s just… well, it’s a candy store!” She laughed, embarrassed. “Thank you, by the way.” Cleo smiled at him, sincere. Looking to his selection, she frowned. “Just gummy bears?” Cleo shook her head. “You need more than that! This is candy!” She showed off all the sorts she’d picked out. “You need lots!” Cleo had never felt so young. Well, she hadn’t felt this young in a long while. It was refreshing.

notes; so jelly of them right now. /wantscandy.
words; 304
outfit; juniper breeze!

[JAMIE SHOEMAKER]

Jamie couldn’t help but give himself a mental pat on the back for guessing right. He still knew Cleo. The month of withdraw didn’t take that away. He could feel her excitement building and it seemed to be rubbing off onto him. He loved seeing her so happy. Suddenly, he found himself humming one of his old songs as he was looking through the candies. He stopped ubruptly and tried to think of the words to it. It had been so long since he had sang any of his songs. After he moved to Barrie, he couldn’t find the words anymore. The lyrics had just disapearred out of his head. They just didn’t seem like him anymore. Really… they weren’t. Then why was he singing this one? Well, they were still good lyrics and if he could find them it would be nice to just sing a little. He thought about the words and began to sing them under his breath.

“I’m happy knowing that you are mine. The grass is greener-“

“I’m sorry I rushed off like that. It’s just… well, it’s a candy store!”

He flinched and got quiet. Only delaying a second, Jamie turned around and smiled. “It’s fine! I mean. When I first saw this place, they had to like, kick me out because I wouldn’t leave,” he said laughing. “You’re very very welcome.” He hugged his gummy bears to his chest defensively and said, “Well, well, I was looking at some rock candy. And maybe Skittles. Oh gawd, Skittles are the bomb. Maybe some Starburst? What do you think?” he asked. He liked all candy but he kind of wanted to see if Cleo remembered his very very favorite candy. Lemonheads. He couldn’t even describe how awesome they were.

-------

word count: 294
notes: dude, now I'm hungry too lol

[/size]

[CLEO EVERETT]

Cleo thought maybe she’d heard him singing, but she couldn’t be sure. She’d talked as soon as she had arrived by his side and there was a shriek of laughter as two kids rushed into the store. If he had been singing, she wasn’t quite sure. She decided not to bring it up because that might be a little awkward. So, instead, she just continued smiling and looking around, bouncing on her feet. Where to next? How much was all this candy going to cost anyway? “How expensive is this stuff?” she asked Jamie suddenly, looking to the bags worriedly. Hopefully not too much. She didn’t want to get rid of any of it.

Cleo laughed. Part of her was concerned because she didn’t want to be kicked out but another part of her found it really amusing because she could totally see that happening. But why would you kick a customer out? They were giving you money! “Rock candy?” Cleo stuck her tongue out. Sure, it could be good, but she’d always had a preference for gummy candies. “Taste the rainbow!” She quoted, laughing. Once he’d finished his suggestions, Cleo looked around some more. While all of those did sound like perfect options, she knew something much better.

Shaking her head, Cleo grabbed onto his wrist and pulled him in the opposite direction of the Starburst and Skittles. She could see the rock candy was this way, but it wasn’t where she was headed. “I know just what you can get…” she muttered, feeling a little sneaky. She’d spotted them on her way back from the Nerds. They came to a stop and she pointed to the container. “Lemonheads!”

notes; caaannddyyyy *o*
words; 280
outfit; juniper breeze!

[JAMIE SHOEMAKER]

Darn it, the words were gone! Jamie hid a frown and looked up at the tags over the candy. “I thiiink it’s five dollars a pound. But I can’t be sure,” he mumbled. He never really thought about the price of things that weren’t big things. His dad never told him about money or any of the issues they had had back in the day. Somehow his dad would come up with enough to get Jamie anything he asked for. . But now, Jamie could get an idea of what his dad did to get the money and he didn’t like it. So maybe Jamie should try and not get too much. He abandoned the rock candy(it was the heaviest) but not before sticking his tongue out at Cleo in return. “I’ll have you know, rock candy is the sugariest of all the candies and therefore will give you the best sugar rush,” he explained in a mock snobby tone. “So there-Where are we going?” he asked as he was pulled mid comeback. She had totally done that one purpose. They passed up all the candy he had suggested and instead headed towards the Nerds. He made a face. It’s not that he didn’t like Nerds, they just got stuck in his teeth waaay too much. He expected her to stop but they kept going and she kept pulling him. He tried to ignore the tingly feeling of her hand grasping his wrist. It was just a sugar rush or something. Eventhough the candy hadn’t gone anywhere near his mouth yet.

Cleo was looking extra sneaky and she presented his all time favorite. It made his heart jump and he wanted to hug her. “Lemonheads! You remembered! Oh, I remember this one time you got me those lemon warheads instead and I was like,” he rambled giving an exagerated sour face much like the one on the package. “Dude, I thought my face would never be the same again!” Jamie paused for second realizing he was talking about the past… and it didn’t hurt. Weird. He shook it off and went to work filling up the little baggy. He started to hum this song again unknowningly.

-------

word count: 365
notes: x3

[/size]

[CLEO EVERETT]

Five dollars per pound? Jeez, that was expensive. She’d probably have to get rid of every bag except for one. How was she supposed to choose between these?? Pouting, Cleo examined her candy, trying to make up her mind. Maybe she could mix them together. Yes, that was a good plan! Cleo laughed. He was defending rock candy. It was kind of cute, somebody defending a candy. Then again, she defended lots of seemingly silly things. It was just one more thing they had in common. Maybe she would try rock candy another day – at a store that wasn’t going to break the bank. “Well, I’m sure I can get just as good a sugar rush from gummy worms as I can from rock candy!” And there she went, defending her gummy candies. It felt nice, acting childish.

Cleo beamed at him, happy to have remembered. And for him to know that she remembered. The fact that he hadn’t realized what she was up to until it had happened made her all the more pleased. Surprises could be nice. “Of course, I remembered! Things like this are much more important than the periodic table!” Which she actually did have memorized but nonetheless. Cleo laughed. “Lemon warheads! I know! I’m sorry, but that had been hilarious…” She paused and grinned, a little embarrassed. “Until of course I tried one. I swore to never buy those again.” She shook her head, ignoring her mirror neurons for bringing back the sensation. Cleo looked around as he filled up a bag of Lemonheads. “I don’t think I need anything else,” she muttered.

Cleo had been about to say something else when a humming distracted her. Cleo looked to Jamie and focused. Was it… it was him. She tilted her head curiously. Did she want to ask? Should she drop it? No. Dropping it was boring. “What’s that your humming?”

notes; mirror neurons = pysch knowledge!
words; 315
outfit; juniper breeze!

[JAMIE SHOEMAKER]

Jamie couldn’t get over fact that she remembered. She did say she missed him but it had been a year and remembering a person’s favorite candy was something small that could easily be forgotten. But Cleo had said it was more important than the periodic table. He couldn’t stop smiling. “Yea, you tried them eventhough I warned you your face would never be the same again. It was so cute though. You looked like you were about to sneeze,” Jamie laughed. He piled the lemonheads high and stopped himself from getting one last scoop. He thought he heard Cleo say something but he figured it wasn’t to him. Humming some more, he attempted to find a scale. They should totally have one here like they do at the grocery. He always loved piling up fruit into it and leaving it there for the next person when he was a kid. It looked like they only had one at the register. Well, that’s stupid. How was he supposed see how much he got before he bought it.

“What’s that you’re humming?”

And that time Jamie knew Cleo was talking to him. He didn’t realize it until now that he was humming. The same song. What was he supposed to tell her. He couldn’t say nothing that would be lying. “A song,” he answered teasingly. He knew it was a song that…that guy wrote. Why was he humming it now? It was so weird. Maybe Cleo could help him find the lyrics again. “I think it’s something that…” he paused before saying the next words, “I wrote. I can’t remember though. It’s been so long.” She probably thought he was a bit looney for not remembering his own music(even if it really wasn't his much anymore). Though everyone thought he was a bit looney so it was all good.


-------

word count: 308
notes: sorry for the wait!

[/size]

[CLEO EVERETT]

Her stomach growled. Okay, they needed to pay for their candy and leave so she could eat some. The Laffy Taffy’s were calling to her, for goodness sake. Cleo laughed and nudged him with her elbow. “Thanks for that, hun. I swore off of sour candy after that.” It was true. She made an exception for sour gummy worms because they weren’t that bad. But, like, really sour candy that made her pucker her lips and squeeze her eyes shut tight? Those were totally off-limits. No more Lemon Warheads for her. Cleo looked around, still awestruck by the sheer amount of colors. Could she just live here for, like, ever? Seriously. Maybe she should apply. God, she would be the best candy store employee ever. One register? Uck. That wouldn’t be fun, though. “Should we go check out?”

Cleo took hold of his wrist and tugged him towards the check-out counter. She was gentle and a bit slow, as he answered her previous question. “Oh, that’s not vague at all, doll.” Cleo rolled her eyes and smiled, making sure he knew she was kidding. The humming was hard to hear in here, especially when she wasn’t focusing. All she could hear really was the laughter of kids and out-loud arguing over what kind of candy they should get. Once they were waiting in line, Cleo looked at Jamie. “Well, I don’t know if I remember. If I could remember your favorite candy, though, I’m sure a few lyrics could come to mind.” Cleo shrugged, “if you want help figuring it out.”


notes; UGH THIS POST IS LATE AND IT
SUCKS I AM SORRY. :C
words; 261
outfit; juniper breeze!

[JAMIE SHOEMAKER]

Jamie didn’t realize how impatient Cleo was to eat her candy until she was dragging him to the register. The lady smiled at him and he payed for all the candy not even thinking about it. Plus Cleo seemed too busy looking at the store. He knew she would probably get mad at him but he wanted to. Jamie got enough money here and there to pay for candy anyway. He’d be okay. She was being really nice to him so he’d be nice to her. He really didn’t deserve it. Even if he was a new person. He didn’t deserve her nice, sweet smile or anything like that. Not at all.

“I like vague. You can always be vague. Being specific on the other hand can sometimes be impossible,” he said. It was a very stoner statement. He really felt out of it right then. All of the past hour was fun but it brought him really close to that line that he needed to stay far away from. They walked out of the store and Jamie was sure he was running on borrowed time when it came to being with Cleo. “I don’t know. I don’t have my guitar or anything. And…” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and saw the time. It wasn’t too late but maybe if he rushed off… things wouldn’t end badly. “Oh, I’m sorry. I probably kept you from something or… someone. I’ll go. You probably need to shop anyway. I need to catch up on my… yeah. Sorry. Nice seeing you!” He gave her a quick hug and ran too the nearest exit. When he got outside, he felt the stress of his past pull away. Without looking back, Jamie hailed a taxi. He couldn’t face his past and he knew it.
-------

word count: 302
notes: SAAAAD

[/size]

[CLEO EVERETT]

Cleo kind of wanted to go over to that little girl and tell her to skip out on the Whoppers. They really weren’t even that good, especially compared to bite-sized Kit Kat bars. She was here with a friend, though, and it would be super rude if she were to just wander away. Especially if she were to wander away to bother some little girl that she didn’t even know. Cleo focused back on Jamie – and realized he was paying for her. “J-Jamie!” she stammered, gesturing uselessly. It was too late. “You… you didn’t have to pay for me.” Cleo could feel tiny butterflies in her stomach, though she tried to ignore him. Still, he’d paid for her and it had probably been expensive. “Thank you, though.” She smiled at him as they headed out of the store.

His statement sort of surprised her. It had been like that time she was talking with Kayden, when she had said something about how beating around the bush was a waste of time. Sudden and rather sad, but really quite insightful. “I suppose,” she agreed uncertainly. Being out of the candy store and back in the mall was weird. It went from colorful and loud to dull and, well, still loud. The people out here weren’t nearly as interesting as in that store. That store was California in a way. Surprised by that sudden thought, Cleo nearly missed Jamie’s last few sentences. She looked at him as he checked his phone. It seemed as if something was wrong. “Are you--?” Before she could say anything else, he was saying goodbye. His brief hug threw her off guard and before she could say ‘bye, thanks, it was nice seeing you again, he was gone.

Cleo stood still for a few minutes longer, wondering if it had been some sort of joke. Had he really just left that quickly? Cleo frowned and decided it was probably just best to get moving, and head on home. Heading back the way they’d come, towards the fountain, because that’s where she’d told her mother she wanted to be picked up. They were going grocery shopping later, anyway. Cleo pulled her phone out and began a text to her mother as she walked past the fountain. Something caught her eye and she stopped suddenly, looking to her right. Was that… Cleo stepped closer and picked up the bag. She peeked inside. This was Jamie’s… This was perfect! Now she had an excuse to see him again. (That sounded serious and she didn’t like serious so she quickly dismissed the thought). Holding onto the bag tightly, Cleo continued on.

notes; FIN!
words; 441
outfit; juniper breeze!