A Different Kind of Beast (Summer)

[GABE GLATISANT]

Gabe had this jogging routwe absolutely MEMORIZED. Since the minute he came to NYC, he had been craving for a chance to stretch his muscles and get back into the running routine from high school. It had used to be that he would get to run through the backwoods and the forests of Michigan, but now he had to put up with dodging dog doo and flocks of ground-borne pigeons on his path. It wasn't really the same, but he would be able to handle it.

What he liked about this particular jogging route was the fact that it wrapped around the entirety of Central park twice. He loved seeing who all showed up in the time it took him to go the circumference of the park. It was pretty damn awesome to go from the eaaarly morning with just him and a few other hardcore runners to little families out for picnics and people with their dogs.

Damn, he wished the school would let him keep at least ONE dog in his dorm. It was so messed up that he couldn't, though he wasn't really sure who he would bring if he were allowed. There was Sandy and Dixie and Gizmo, and damnit! He just wanted to have all of them with him all the time! He was taking freaking animal science! Shouldn't he be allowed to have an animal with him freaking ALL THE TIME?

Anyway, it was just abbout time that the other runners starting to show up. The sun was high enough for the really devoted joggers to be out and about. Gabe could tell most of them by name. The running gang had to stick together, right? Some seriously bad shit happened to people who just ran with headphones on this early. Just last week one girl had been jumped and nearly raped. It was pretty intense.

Wait, right Jogging. That was actually the thing that Gabe liked the most about jogging. It always let him clear his head and his thoughts would just wander....

[SUMMER SINCLAIR]

Summer loved running. It was the most glorious feeling in the entire world. Fresh air in her lungs, the wind in her hair, earth beneath her feet, heart pounding, music in her ears. There was nothing negative about running. Not even the ache after, not the stitch in her side or the icky feeling of sweat. The exhilaration was worth it all. Now, Summer wasn’t entirely into music and so she never really knew what to put on her music player. Luckily, she’d discovered some really upbeat music that was lyric-less and simply easy to run along with which was good. She’d had a bit of trouble getting up this morning (she had spent most of her night writing essays for English and finishing her science project since her partner had come down with a fever). She’d finally fallen asleep around 2:30am and was dealing with it now, as she ran. Sure, the music was helping and the movement was helping and the exhilaration was helping but she couldn’t help her eyelids drooping and her brain being half-awake. Still, Central Park was beautiful and she was glad to be here. It would have been weird, not coming this morning. She ran every morning so waking up late and missing out on her jog would have thrown her entire day off.

Summer paused, straying off to the side of the path and walked the rest of the way to a nearby bench. She sat, breathing in and out, in and out, in and out, hoping the fresh air would wake her up. Running this early in the morning while being tired and listening to music probably wasn’t a very good idea but she was sure it was safe. It was Central Park, for goodness sake! How could it be any more dangerous than her route around small town Caro, Michigan? Exactly! New York was perfectly safe. You just had to keep a good eye out --- Summer stood and continued her jog down the path --- and pay attention to your surroundings. It really was quite ironic for her to be thinking that just as she began to run again and just so happened to ram shoulders with another jogger. Summer stumbled forward, barely catching herself. One of the headphones fell from her ear and it was strange to hear techno in one ear and park sounds in the other. It disoriented her and she stood still for a second or two, trying to process what had just happened. Finally, she realized that it was probably best to turn the music off and apologize to who she had just run into. Summer pulled the headphones from her ears and wound the headphones around the player before tucking that away and turning to the other runner. For a moment, she thought it was Garrett which confused and frightened her but after another moment; she realized it was someone who simply looked like him. Tall with curly dark hair and… well, that just proved how tired she was.

“I’m soooooooooooo sorry,” she said, fighting back a yawn. As if she needed this to prove her sleepiness. “I really didn’t mean to run into you. I should’ve been paying attention, really. I just… I was just running and I guess I didn’t hear you thinking… Er, no… wait.” Summer shook her head, a blush spreading across her cheeks. “I meant… I mean, I can’t hear your thoughts. I’m not telepathic. I didn’t hear you running and I was thinking… Right? Yeah…” She paused and nervously pulled her hand through her hair. “Yeah. Right. I’m sorry.”

---

notes; hahahaha i love tired summer.
words; 601
outfit; uhmm. jogging clothes unless i decided
to hit up polyvore.

[GABE GLATISANT]

Gabe wasn't really used to having people slam into him whilst jogging. It wasn't that he was at all OPPOSED to said slamming, he was just usually trying to run a bit faster than your run of the mill clumsy jogger. Shit, what the hell had he been doing to let him fall so far down the ranks?

Turning to see exactly who had plotted a collision course against, him, he found that he wasn't all that opposed to crashes if they all perpetrated by girls half as pretty as this one. Sure, she was a little sweaty and raggedy from jogging, but wasn't he the same way? Who was he to judge based on that? Besides, her face more than made up for anything that would have possibly ruined her looks.

Even the way she babbled her apologies was kind of adorable. She was like some nervous fourth grader, trying desperately to keep from trouble or losing approval or something. Well, that or she was high. Gabe really hoped it was the first one.

That's when he noticed the earbuds. Ah, crap, did this girl not READ the papers? Hell, she was just ASKING for trouble with the way that she was running around running into people with her music blasting. He VERY much doubted that she would be able to pull off any self defense in an emergency situation the way she was acting.

Well, that left just one solution. Gabe would have to jog with her, at least to make sure nothing bad happened. It wasn't hitting on her if he was trying to protect her life, right? It was being a good Samaritan, trying to make sure no one got into any trouble.

He smiled at her. It was best to start everything off on the right foot. Besides, he had to let her know everything was cool for running into him. "Yeah, it's no problem. I mean, everyone's a little clumsy sometimes."

He tried to figure out the best way to keep from awkwardly blurting out something along the lines of "YOUR LIFE IS IN DANGER UNLESS I RUN WITH YOU" which he figured would NOT go down well.

"Are you new to jogging around here?" he attempted, coupling it with a jovial laugh. Might as well state the obvious before going into more in-depth stuff such as "You never ever ever EVER listen to music while jogging in NYC" and the famously helpful buddy system.

[SUMMER SINCLAIR]

Summer was trying to clear her mind of random, distracting thoughts that were… well, distracting her. Oh, she was so tired… Summer smiled sheepishly at the boy in front of her and, again, pulled a hand through her hair. She probably looked like a mess and he wasn’t all that bad looking. God, this was embarrassing. “Are you sure? I mean… really, I’m sorry.” Summer wasn’t quite sure why she was apologizing so much. He’d already said it was no problem. Shouldn’t that be enough of a notion to stop stuttering out apologies? Summer shook her head and glanced around the park. It was so peaceful which was nice, of course, but it was making her all the more tired. Which wasn’t good, especially as she was in the middle of a conversation with… with… She hadn’t even gotten his name yet. Summer shook her head before realizing this probably wasn’t the best of answers. It took her a few seconds to form a suitable answer. One that didn’t mix words up like ‘thinking’ and ‘running.’ “No, no. I’ve lived here…” Summer paused. When had they moved here? It was before high school… hadn’t she still been in her pre-teens? “For at least sixteen years,” she finished slowly before nodding as if to confirm this to herself. When had she met Oliver? That would probably help her figure it out. But she couldn’t figure out when that had been. Why was she so tired? Sure, she’d gotten, like, three hours of sleep but still! Maybe she just wasn’t like those other night owls who could handle a day while running on so few hours of sleep.

“But, yeah. I’ve jogged Central Park many a time. I grew up in a small town so I’m used to walking places and such. When I moved here, I joined Cross Country and I’ve loved running ever since.” Summer glanced around once more. “I’m not used to being out this early, though…” Summer looked back to him and tried to figure out if she recognized him. She didn’t really pay much attention to the other runners so he really didn’t seem familiar. “Have you? Er, I mean… are you? Also new to running, I mean. Well, running around he—nevermind.” Summer shook her head wishing the filter between her mind and mouth was working better. Normally, she thought out what she was saying but it was as if she was just speaking whatever came to her first. It was starting to get annoying. “I’m Summer, by the way.” She avoided her last name for now because she had just met him and she’d hate to give her last name to him if he ended up being some creeper. Plus, the alliteration in her name was sometimes a little embarrassing and as she was barely awake, she thought everything at this point was embarrassing.

---

notes; ramble-y post, sorry. i wish i had a pretty template like you do. xD
words; 479
outfit; uhmm. jogging clothes unless i decided
to hit up polyvore.

[GABE GLATISANT]

It was harder than it should have been to try and figure out how to help the girl without seeming incredibly creepy. He couldn't exactly just say "Hey, I don't really trust you, so I'm gonna run with you so you don't get raped by someone!" Somehow, that didn't sound like it would go over ell with someone he had literally just run into.

“No, no. I’ve lived here for at least sixteen years.”

Shit, what? how the hell had she been running around in the dangerous New York streets for sixteen years and yet STILL not know the cardinal rules? Gabe had picked up on them pretty damn quick once he moved from his quaint little Michigan town. This was worse than he had thought if this girl was still up and around after sixteen years of tempting the hand of fate to strike her down with a rape incident or murder. Sixteen years of peaceful living were just BEGGING for it, weren't they? That was like inviting in Murphy's Law to come and smite her! It was like, Gabe's civic DUTY to run with her now! At least to keep an eye on her!

he had to give her credit though. For all her naivety, her credentials certainly seemed legit. Cross Country and coming from a small rural town? She was practically a feminine clone of Gabe! This had to be some kind of great, cosmic synchronicity that hd brought them together on an otherwise normal day. They were obviously MEANT to talk with each other! This Summer girl was meant to have a conversation with him. it was what the universe wanted!

"Well, as luck may have it, I'm actually from a little rural town too, and I was also captain of the varsity Cross Country team in Grand Rapids. I've just been in the city for college though, and like, you can't let that stop you from running, right?"

He laughed, noticing all the similarities between them. How had they not met before? They were so much alike! it was uncanny! Laughing, he continued to his own introduction.

"And I'm Gabe Glatisant, by the way, or G squared if you wanna pick up my dorky nickname."

[SUMMER SINCLAIR]

Summer began to bounce on her feet, in hopes that this would help to wake her up. Movement had been helping before so her standing stationary was not the best of plans. She either needed to end this conversation or invite him to run with her or something. Anything but continue to stand here where she would surely just fall over and fall asleep on the pavement. The very thought of that, though, made her wince just because it sounded painful. Summer’s eyebrows rose a bit as he spoke. He was also… Grand Rapids?! That was in Michigan! And he had been captain of Cross Country?! This guy was like… like her twin or something! “Grand Rapids, Michigan?” She asked, interrupting him without really meaning too. “My little rural town—” she practically quoted him here as he’d phrased it quite well, “is in Michigan! I’m from Caro.” She explained quickly. She’d only met a few from Michigan while living here and they just hadn’t had the same outlook on life as she had. Summer had assumed that they were from the larger cities in Michigan. In fact, since moving to New York, she hadn’t really met anybody who came from a smaller, less known town than she did. Summer shook her head. “I don’t think anything could stop me from running,” she agreed. Or reading, for that matter.

“Nice to mee—” Okay, wait, what? First, she’d heard his name: Gabe Glatisant. She hadn’t thought much of it until he had mentioned his ‘dorky nickname.’ G squared?! Now this twin thing was just getting weird. “I’m sorry,” she laughed, trying to blame her behavior on her sleepiness. “It’s just… well, my last name is Sinclair. And… I’ve got a dorky nickname that just happens to be S squared.” Summer grinned sheepishly, not as embarrassed over this, knowing that she wasn’t alone. “But… uhm, yeah. Nice to meet you, Gabe,” she finished, holding her hand out for a more formal greeting. Or something. Her mind wasn’t working very well, right now. “It’s crazy that we’re so alike and we’re only just now meeting.”

---

notes; yahh.
words; 353
outfit; uhmm. jogging clothes unless i decided
to hit up polyvore.

[GABE GLATISANT]

This was one of the things that Gabe liked about living in the city. He was constantly meeting new people and interacting with different personalities. It was a treat to be able to work through the anonymity of strangers and make new friends. it was so different from when he had lived in Michigan and everyone had known everyone else, and secrets were impossible to keep. Now life was more interesting, and he could branch out in his social bubbles.

Meeting Summer was exactly what he liked about that ability to meet new people. he would NEVER have found someone so into running as he was, with such an eerily perfect name combination if he had stayed put in his little town. It was moments like these, just some chance encounters in the midst of the massive sprawling city, that made the move totally worth it. They reminded him why he had bothered to step outside his comfort zone and leave the place he had always called home.

Seriously though, what were the chances that he'd meet someone with the same weird name alliteration and drive for running as he did? That had to be like, an astronomically low probability. He doubted many people were all that into running in the middle of a huge city like New York, and then you factored in the chances of him bumping into her because they had both decided that it was a nice day and time to run and both be clumsy and and and -

Shit, all that math was making his head hurt. It was easier to just chalk it up to destiny and call it a day.

"Woah, you're totally right. That's gotta be something like Fate. That's just too.... weird, y'know?"

He laughed, realizing how utterly stupid he sounded by saying that some magical force had brought the two of them together. How cheesey was that?

"Sorry. I promise I'm not corny like this all the time."

[SUMMER SINCLAIR]

Summer needed to start running again. She needed to get back into her jogging, back into that smooth swing of things. She glanced at Gabe who seemed to be deep in thought before looking to her feet. She didn’t want to bother him but if she didn’t start moving soon, she’d pass out right here. She pulled a hand through her hair, sighed quietly, and looked back up. “Fate,” she repeated with a short laugh, “right.” Summer figured it was just luck or something. Either way, it was indeed nice to meet someone so similar to her. That wasn’t often here in New York and certainly hadn’t been so back in Michigan. She’d always been a bit of an odd one out, spending more time with books than people. The girls in her middle school called her odd, made fun of her. The move to New York had been a bit refreshing. New people, new chances.

“It’s fine,” she told him with a dismissive shrug. “Do you want to start running or something? I swear, I’m going to fall asleep on the spot. I didn’t get enough rest last night.” She took a few steps as if to prompt him to agree, hoping he’d be alright with that. Conversation should be easy while running, right? Sure. Or, they could just jog in a silence that wouldn’t be awkward because they were totally alike. "I mean, if that's alright...?" She hadn't meant for that to be a question and she paused, glancing back to him.

---

notes; short post; sorry.
words; 254
outfit; uhmm. jogging clothes unless i decided
to hit up polyvore

[GABE GLATISANT]

Gabe wanted to kick himself for being so stupid. What was wrong with him! He was totally keeping her from doing her running! That was what everyone came to the park this early for! He totally was an awful persona and she would probably hate him forever for being so damned idiotic and slow. She probably thought that he was an awful runner who had to take like, intensely long breaks to get his breath back because he barely ever ran and was majorly out of shape and stuff.

"Right, yeah, totally! We can definitely start running! Don't have to ask me! I love running! Running is like, my thing!" He inwardly winced at how utterly retarded that sentence sounded, but he had to prove to her SOME way that he wasn't some kind of lazy slob, right? He couldn't have someone go walking off for the rest of the day thinking that Gabe Glatisant was a slowpoke!

Jogging lightly, he was glad to get the blood flowing back through his veins. It was nice to be able to use the exercise to make him work through any embarrassment or shame. When he was running he didn't have to think about how stupid he was, or how weird he must look to other people.