MOUTHWASH *pigsday thread*

[GEORGIANA 'PIG' SPENCER]

Standing in the halls of Frank L. Baum Academy, Pig was honestly considering feigning ill. She was so over this day, it wasn't even funny. Leaning against her locker, her pale blue eyes stared at the ceiling, Pig stalled on the action of going to class, hugging her penguin back pack tightly.

A few eyes would find her, here and there, as always, because of her brightly colored attire. Psychedelic leggings, a far to widthy olive belt, a denim bubble skirt, an orange loose tube top, navy arm bands, long and gray converse shoes that went up to just below her knee, her old dog Pepper's collar resting on her neck. She had a few breast cancer awareness bracelets on his wrists, though to be honest she had bought them because the word BOOBIES was scrawled across them, and it would make The Governess pitch a fit. Not that she wasn't sympathetic to the cause of fighting breast cancer...

Thumbing her lego ring with her green-chipped-nail polished nail, she tried to think of a good excuse. She was ill? But she didn't look ill, and she wasn't that fantastic of an actor. Cramps? No, she used cramps as an excuse last week to get out of running laps in phys. ed. Her cat was ill? No, she didn't own a cat. Well... bother. Puffing her auburn hair out from her face, Pig tried to think of ANYTHING.

Hell.

Frick.

She was going to have to go to class.

That sounded awful.

No, she was certain she did not want that to happen.

She just wasn't any good at this. She need a pro. Starting down the hall, Pig's eyes scanned the hallway for a tall, dark, haired youth. Luckily, she found him, standing at his locker. At least, she was pretty sure it was him. He stood like Oz did, and it was Oz's locker...

Approaching, she leaned against the locker to his, eyes straight ahead. "I don't think I want to go to class today." Pig started, not even saying hi. "I need an excuse... but I can't think of anything. Got a quiz?" Got a quiz meant to be taken as her asking if he had any ideas. She had no reason, after all, to wonder about if he was getting a mini test. And it had little to do with the conversation at hand, if she did mean for it to be taken in such a way, which would be ridiculous.

The thought of simply walking out the front door of the school had never occurred to you Pig. She had, thus far, lead a rather quiet, obedient, well behaved life. Perhaps that's why she liked (like as a friend, certainly, not like like. >->) Thursday so much. Even though he seemed a bit gloom and sad, there was always a twinkle of mischief behind his brown eyes.

[THURSDAY DAVENPORT]

To be honest, Thursday really didn't feel like going to class today.

Of course, when Thursday didn't feel like going to class, he did what any good troublemaking teenager did and just skipped class. Screw the excuses. He could come up with something brilliant later. Like...one of his relatives was in the hospital. Or something. He could always forge a note. Or he could just take the detention for skipping class and wreak havoc at that point in time, instead. Besides, if he got detention, he was fairly certain Tuesday would do something detention-worthy enough to get them stuck in the same detention.

Well, if the teachers hadn't caught on by now that putting the Davenport twins together in ANY scenario was a recipe for trouble...

Anyway. Might as well make a decision now. Tuesday wasn't around to scheme with...maybe he should just go to class.

He sighed, zipping up his black jacket and shutting his locker. His wardrobe was still criminally dull. Somehow, wearing what he used to wear just seemed...wrong now. Whenever he tried, all he could see was the river, and all he could feel was cold water.

Fu--he couldn't think like that. That was over. Things were getting better. They were.

"I don't think I want to go to class today."

Huhwhat?

Thursday started, looking over his shoulder to see none other than the brightly-dressed, always-lovely Pig, voicing his own concerns in her charming British accent.

...lovely? Charming? What the hell?

"I need an excuse... but I can't think of anything. Got a quiz?"

He turned to her fully and raised his eyebrows a little. "Well, hi to you too, Ruby," he said with a bit of a smirk before leaning up against the lockers. "I was thinking just the same thing. But I've got a better idea. Let's just go, and we'll worry about excuses later." A bit of his old mischief sparkled in his eyes. "It's better to ask forgiveness than permission, right?"

[GEORGIANA 'PIG' SPENCER]

"Well, hi to you too, Ruby," Pig only offered a small, wry, grin. Of course, she'd never really let on how much she enjoyed having a nickname... It wasn't that big of a deal, after all, and she had given him one first. But it did, secretly, please her. Quite a bit. "I was thinking just the same thing. But I've got a better idea. Let's just go, and we'll worry about excuses later." Her smile shrank, and though it was a very small change, her grin had been originally so small that the shrinkage made it vanish altogether. Not that the idea offended her. But... well... she had never just skipped school before. Her eyes were wide with curiosity and a sudden nervousness, that the rest of her face did not display. "It's better to ask forgiveness than permission, right?"

She considered, her usual air of caution prevalent in her face. What would happen if they got caught? Detention... but wouldn't she just be in detention with Thursday? That didn't sound all that terrible, actually. What would they do today? Whatever they wanted, she supposed. Though there was the obstacle of cash... of course Thursday had been around this school for quite awhile! He'd certainly know free activities that they could do... What if they hung out and he realized she was boring and drool? That... that was honestly concerning. But the mischievous twinkle in his eyes was more pronounced that she had ever seen before... Yes. Yeah, this would be good. She was fine.

"Right." She finally agreed, looking around. Tugging a little at her skirt, she nodded, a bit more confidence filling her voice. "Right, yes. Let's do it. It'll be... fun." Fun. That was something in Pig's life that she had definitely had a shortage of.

In fact, that was why Pig was so.... stoic. Why a smile gracing her features was so strained on her face. It actually sort of hurt, if she did it too much. She was raised to do this, and do that. Do as you're told, don't be too loud, don't get dirty! Not now, Georgiana, I have to work. Go on Georgie, try and find something quiet and constructive to do. Her name and her cloths were really the only rebellion she had gotten to get away with, truth be told.

So she wasn't passing this up!

"Let's go then. We can slip out undetected, if er go when their are stragglers in the hall..." Putting her bag on her back, Pig started nonchalantly down the hall to the doors.

[THURSDAY DAVENPORT]

Thursday was quite excited to begin this little excursion, so he was apprehensive for Pig’s response. He watched her cute little grin (cute?) shrink and disappear from her face, and he felt his heart sinking into his stomach. Would she, like so many girls before, be averted by his general mischief-making ways? It wasn’t as if they were about to change, after all—it was kind of a big part of who he was, something he hoped he would never have to change. Whether or not Pig accepted that part of him was going to be a huge deciding factor for him when it came to whether or not they could be friends.

So he waited, shifting from foot to foot a little bit. Why was he so nervous? He’d had people turn him down for stuff like this plenty of times. It was why he just always did this shit with Tuesday. Tuesday was always ready to hop into some rule-breaking adventure with his older twin, and he hoped… well… they hadn’t exactly done anything since… that, but Tuesday was still up for it. Right? Probably.

Oh, crap. Now he was thinking about awful things again and he needed to stop stop stop. He’d made a promise… a promise to himself that he would try to be happier, more optimistic, instead of sinking into hopelessness like he had. He couldn’t let himself do this.

"Right." Thankfully, Pig’s voice cut through his thoughts and provided him with a much-needed distraction. He grinned at her answer, and it only grew as she continued. "Right, yes. Let's do it. It'll be... fun."

”You’re durned tootin’ it’ll be fun,” he replied, and couldn’t help himself from snickering a little bit. Ah, mischief. Skipping class. This was his world. ”Trust me, Ruby. I’m a pro at this. I’m like… the freaking George Clooney of class-skipping.” He glanced around, checking that the hallways were clear before strolling after her.

"Let's go then. We can slip out undetected, if er go when their are stragglers in the hall..."

”Follow me,” he told her. He grabbed her wrist and led her down a hallway; there were no doors on either side to indicate classrooms, and there was a door at the end. ”This hallway is the godsend for all class-skippers,” he explained, quietly opening the door as they reached the end of the hall. He thought for a moment about holding it open for her like a gentleman, but decided she probably wouldn’t like that; instead, he only held it enough to make sure it didn’t hit her in the face.

Taking a deep breath of the outside air, he turned to Pig, smiling. ”Freedom feels good, huh?”

[GEORGIANA 'PIG' SPENCER]

”You’re durned tootin’ it’ll be fun, trust me, Ruby. I’m a pro at this. I’m like… the freaking George Clooney of class-skipping.”Pig loved how he talked. It was so... She couldn't describe it with a word. It was... like how she dressed. Colorful, fun, different.

Casually strolling down the hall, Pig was not expecting him to take her wrist in his hand. ”Follow me,” He said, thinking nothing of the contact. Stamping back the pink in her cheeks, Pig followed quickly, decided to also think nothing of it. ”This hallway is the godsend for all class-skippers.” Pig nodded, understanding, still not quite sure what to say. How would he react, if she were to take his hand instead of just having him hold her wrist? Before she could stop herself, or think about why she would want to do such a thing, her fingers started to move. However, they reached a door, and he released to open it.

Following him outside, a grin played on her full lips. Holy cow. She was really doing this! She was really just about to ditch. With a boy! Oh, her Mother would faint! AND MARY ANNE! ”Freedom feels good, huh?”

"It feels great." She said, instantly, without her usual consideration. Even for the smallest things, Pig would dwell a great deal on, making sure to answer precisely. Or, usually. She was a bit off today, honestly. "Right then, Oz Clooney, you busted us out. Now where to?" She did want to put some distance between the school and her, honestly. As much as she loved this sudden act of rebellion, she couldn't say she fancied the idea of Mary Anne screeching in her ear.

She grinned at him, with her quiet little smile, her eyes glancing at him from the corners, and started to walk in a random direction. "You coming then, Ozzie?"

[THURSDAY DAVENPORT]

Thursday was grinning.

It had been a damn long time since he had grinned like he was grinning now. Not since...well, not since all this shit had started to go down and he had...

No, hey, hey, man. We're not going to think about that. Okay? It's over. Pig is here right now and she's got her awesome clothes on and she looks freakin' adorable--

Okay, uh, new topic.

They were outside. They were skipping class and it was going to be awesome and nobody could stop them. Definitely not. They were the freaking champions, and the world was theirs. Like...that one book--I mean, movie, of course! Thursday definitely didn't read books or anything. No way.

"It feels great." It surprised Thursday a little bit how instantly she spoke. He was used to Pig taking a moment or two before she said anything. He kind of liked it. It didn't make him impatient, he just sort of found it endearing. "Right then, Oz Clooney, you busted us out. Now where to?"

He shrugged his narrow shoulders. "Wherever we want!" he replied, eyes glinting. "We can get ice cream or play bumper cars, go to the arcade, whatever you want." Half the purpose of this trip was making Pig happy, after all. He would never, never admit it, but it was. He wanted to make Pig happy.

He loved that quiet smile.

Watching her walk off, he hurried after her. "You coming then, Ozzie?" she said, and he smiled, falling into step with her.

"Sure am, Ruby."

[GEORGIANA 'PIG' SPENCER]

He looked so excited, his smile was infectious. Not even Pig was immune, though it was smaller. But it reached her eyes, non-the-less. There was a relaxed glitter to the curious blue eyes, a certain joy concerning this new freedom. "Wherever we want!" What a strange concept. Pig.. Pig had never been able to do just whatever she wanted, all willy nilly. Her life was structure, and boundaries. And right now... she felt limitless. "We can get ice cream or play bumper cars, go to the arcade, whatever you want." As they walked, Pig considered.

Ice cream did sound nice. The day was warm, with thick cumulus clouds filling the sky, like thick and puffy blankets of cotton. She pointed up at them, as they got about a block away from the school. "I've always liked when the clouds looked like that." It was such a strange thing to say, as they were not discussing clouds. In fact, they had been discussing something else completely. Pig was being rude. And she liked it. "When I was younger, I would think about jumping out of a plane and falling into one. I pictured it to be... hrm. Like one of those blankets with all the little white feathers in them. Not the kind that squish down and get all flat, but the kind that are really full. I always thought it would be like that, but the outside would feel like velvet." Pig gave a small laugh, remembering staring up at the clouds as a kid.

She shrugged, the small smile continuing to play on her lips. That was not how Pig smiled, usually, mind you. She would have choppy smiles, if the moment called for it. Something would amuse her, she'd grin for about ten, maybe fifteen seconds, then her stoic face would return, and her lips would form a straight line. But now, the smile continued, it persisted.

"Of course now I realize that what would actually happen is that I would fall right through. That the water particles would not just soak me, but be freezing cold and probably painful. And I'd just pouf, right through, falling to my death, wondering why the bloody hell I jumped out of that plane..." She chuckled a little, looking up at the sky. her voice suddenly became hushed, as she stopped walking, looking up at the sky. "But sometimes, I like to pretend..." She spoke as if it were a secret, as if she might be in some sort of trouble for pretending.

Her eyes staring up at the sky, Pig's mind went back to the topic at hand. What were they doing today. "Ozzie?" She asked, watching a one eared rabbit cloud drift by. "What are bumper cars?" Meeting his gaze, she looked a little embarrassed that she had to ask. "I mean.. I know that it's a ride. And that there are cars, and that they bump into things. But..." She shrugged, feeling sheepish. Pig wished dearly she had just said ice cream. She knew what ice cream was. "I've never been... on a carnival ride before. Or... a carnival." Shrugging, she couldn't think of anyway of following that up, and so she started walking again, sort of hoping he had just spaced out for that entire bit.

[THURSDAY DAVENPORT]

This was perfect. Dammit, nothing could be more perfect than skipping school on a day like this with a girl like Pig. They’d just strolled right out of there! It was an accomplishment, a deed for the ages! He had to tell Thursday about this later.

He looked over at Pig, and he had the unwelcome feeling that he wanted to touch her hair. That smile…she was STILL smiling. It was amazing. He’d never seen her smile for so long.

"I've always liked when the clouds looked like that."

They hadn’t been talking about clouds, but he stopped to look up at them, anyway. Hell, Pig could talk about anything she damn well pleased. Thursday wasn’t too keen on manners himself, so if she wanted to interrupt him or change the subject, that was cool. As long as they were both still having a good time, everything was totally fine. This was all totally fine.

"When I was younger, I would think about jumping out of a plane and falling into one. I pictured it to be... hrm. Like one of those blankets with all the little white feathers in them. Not the kind that squish down and get all flat, but the kind that are really full. I always thought it would be like that, but the outside would feel like velvet."

Thursday laughed too, and nodded. ”You know, I used to imagine that,” he admitted. ”When I was really little, I thought maybe there were, like…castles up there. Floating castles that you could just…sail around…and go wherever you want.” He chuckled, more thoughtfully. ”It was pretty stupid, but I was like, six, and I thought, ‘If the Care Bears can do that, so can Tuesday and I.’” He looked over at her and shrugged a little. ”I thought they would feel like…really soft. Like this nice blanket I used to have when I was a kid. Really soft.”

He watched that smile with an intent he spared for very few things.

"Of course now I realize that what would actually happen is that I would fall right through. That the water particles would not just soak me, but be freezing cold and probably painful. And I'd just pouf, right through, falling to my death, wondering why the bloody hell I jumped out of that plane..." He laughed a little bit at that. "But sometimes, I like to pretend..."

Thursday’s eyes turned momentarily serious, and he touched her shoulder. ”Hey. It’s not a crime to pretend. I do it a lot. But don’t tell Tuesday.” He chuckled secretively.

"Ozzie?"

”Yeah, Ruby?”

"What are bumper cars?" She met his eyes, and Thursday raised his eyebrows, a little shocked. "I mean.. I know that it's a ride. And that there are cars, and that they bump into things. But...I've never been... on a carnival ride before. Or... a carnival."

Thursday was quiet for a moment, and then he said, very quietly, ”Ruby my friend, today we are going to find a carnival and we are going to carnival the shit out of that carnival. And I don’t care how far we have to walk to find it. I will walk to flipping Michigan if I have to, but you are going to a carnival today, because God knows no respectable young person to exist anywhere can say they’ve lived until they’ve ridden a bumper car.” This time he did grab her hand, not really thinking, and led her confidently off the school campus.

[GEORGIANA 'PIG' SPENCER]

Pig almost expected Thursday to scoff at her childhood day dreaming. Of course, that would have been out of character for Thursday, but a part of her had been afraid that he would. Instead he laughed. Not a mean, patronizing laugh. No, it was thick, and clean, and pure, and nice. ”You know, I used to imagine that, when I was really little, I thought maybe there were, like…castles up there. Floating castles that you could just…sail around…and go wherever you want.”

Pig smiled at the musing, picturing a younger Thursday playing make believe, using his bed as a boat and a broom and a sheet as a sail, with pillows piled around as clouds. ”It was pretty stupid, but I was like, six, and I thought, ‘If the Care Bears can do that, so can Tuesday and I.” Tuesday must be his brother or sister. They hadn't really discussed families, since they had started to hang around one another. Partially because Pig had an aversion to speaking of hers, and she usually started the conversation. Perhaps she should ask... But that might open the door for him to ask about hers. ”I thought they would feel like…really soft. Like this nice blanket I used to have when I was a kid. Really soft.”

Pig smiled, a strange sigh/giggle combo coming from her. Damn, she sort of wished she could make normal noises. One at a time, like a damn person. Perhaps her brain simply would not let her giggle. In fact... she couldn't remember the last time she had... Her laugh had always been quiet, short, almost private. Sometimes even a single noise. Her going: Heh. That's funny.

That didn't seem normal.

Her smile had started to falter, on her brain's dwelling on her little weirdnesses, when she felt Thursday's warm hand touch her shoulder. Which, usually would have been no big deal. But given the cut of her shirt, it was his bare hand on her bare shoulder. To most, no big deal, but the warmth of his hand tingled from where it sat, all the way down her back, and forward into her gut. How strange... ”Hey. It’s not a crime to pretend. I do it a lot. But don’t tell Tuesday.” The secretive laugh brought the almost perished smile back to her lips, and she nodded. He was probably kidding, but as she had never met Tuesday (yet), Pig did not think she'd have a problem keeping her secret.

As she made her inquiry, Pig ignored the curious flip in her already tingly gut as he called her Ruby, and instead focusing on his grave expression. It would seem she had said something wrong. "Don't worry about it, I-"

But he was worried about it.

And he sounded so very serious. Even the first day they met, with the rain cloud of doom hanging over his head, he had not sounded this serious. That day he just sounded... gives-no-fucks. He gave a fucks about this, that was for bloody sure. ”Ruby my friend, today we are going to find a carnival and we are going to carnival the shit out of that carnival. And I don’t care how far we have to walk to find it. I will walk to flipping Michigan if I have to, but you are going to a carnival today, because God knows no respectable young person to exist anywhere can say they’ve lived until they’ve ridden a bumper car.”

Again, she protested. "Oz, it's fine. We don't have to go through any trou-" He took her hand, causing Pig to inhale quietly. Otherwise, she reacted quite calmly, externally, following obediently as Oz lead the way. Internally, she was pondering the meaning behind this. Because everything, absolutely everything, had a meaning. So this meant...

They were friends.

Though it was apparent before, it had not been established exactly to Pig, until this moment. They were friends. Pig had a friend. One she didn't give a damn if her parents or sister approved of. Because she approved. A lot. Her smile still on her pale face, despite the fact that her face was becoming steadily sore, she laced her fingers delicately around Thursday's.

It was Pig's way of returning the compliment he had given her... She was his friend too.

[THURSDAY DAVENPORT]

Pig clearly did not understand the severity of this situation. Any human being who had not been to a legitimate carnival was seriously lacking in life experience, and that was not something that he could allow to continue. He had to remedy this today, or...like...at least this week, or else his name wasn't Thursday Wellesley Davenport.

"Don't worry about it, I-"

"No, Ruby. No. I'm worrying about it," he said with an air of confidence, marching off the school grounds. He felt her fingers intertwine with his and a jolt ran up his spine, but he couldn't place it. What sort of feeling was that...? He didn't know. But he liked it. Being with Pig made him...happy. Even if they hadn't spent too much time together. He felt all...like...warm. Or something. Good. Yeah. Good.

"Oz, it's fine. We don't have to go through any trou-"

"It's no trouble at all!" he insisted, looking over his shoulder at her and grinning brightly, wider and happier than he had grinned in weeks, months. "Listen, listen. We're going to find a freaking carnival and it is going to be the most awesome day ever. It's gonna be like...like all those eighties movies I haven't seen. Yeah." He nodded decisively and continued to walk, quickly but not so quick that he was dragging her. As soon as they reached the sidewalk, he slowed down a little more and let her come up beside him; before he had been walking a bit too fast for her to do so.

"So I actually, uh." He bit his lip, looking over at Pig. "I don't actually know where we're gonna find a carnival or anything, but. I'm going to find one. Like. Today. There's gotta be one." He thought long and hard. He really didn't have a good enough phone to get on the internet and look up something like this, so he'd just have to...like, wing it.

Wait. Wait. Coney Island. That was an amusement park, right? That was carnival-y. Maybe it was a carnival. He couldn't remember; he'd only been there, like, once.

"Hey, hey, did you hear anything about stuff going down on Coney Island?" he asked, brow furrowing a little bit. "Uhhh...like...I dunno. Nevermind. Let's just, like...check out that place. I'm sure there'll be something, you know?" Looking over at her again, he smiled and said, "Let's try that first. Coney Island. Come on, let's go!" And with that, he took off running, clutching her hand in his.

[GEORGIANA 'PIG' SPENCER]

A part of her was very please she had brought up the Bumper Cars thing. After all, here they were, on their way to do something Pig had always longed to do. On the other hand, she was terrified. What if they got caught? What if Mary Anne convinced her Mother to forbade Pig from ever seeing Thursday again. She snuck a glance from behind a loose lock of her auburn hair, and the answer came rather easily to her.

She do it anyway.

Such bold rebellion! Mary Anne would faint, and poor Lizzie would... probably just stare at her in confusion that someone was named Thursday. And her parents... If her Mother knew what she was doing, right now, with a boy... In fact, Pig hadn't the slightest idea what she'd do because this had never before been encountered by the Spencer family. This was new ground: Pig was an explorer.

Grinning at Thursday, as they walked down the sidewalk, she squeezed his hand gently for his attention. "My sister would be having a fit right now, if she knew where we were going." A very pleased grin crossed Pig Spencer. "Mind you, she'd detest it all. Me running of with a bo, quite scandalous. But, especially to go to Coney Island." She stopped, taking a deep breath, her stature becoming very stiff and straight. Like an uncooked piece of angel hair pasta. Her voice became a mockery of her sisters, also stiff, nasally, utterly-better-than-you. "Georgiana, you can't possibly tell me you're planning on spending any duration of time in that Godforsaken place of debauchery and sinful pleasure! Sodom and Gommorah, Georgiana, Sodom and Gommorah!" A startled little laugh came from Pig, who looked around as if afraid that Mary Anne was going to pop out from behind the bushes.

When she did not, she kept going, still not releasing Thursday's hand. It was warm, not too soft. Overly soft mens hands irked Pig, as it suggested that a great deal of his extracurricular activities involved lotion. But his hands weren't overly rough and cracked either, suggesting proper hygiene. Holding his hand sent a tingle through her, that assisted with the tiny smile on her lips. It was... excitement. Anticipation.

But what was she anticipating?

While she pondered on this, she did not even realize that she had just informed her Ozzy Klaus that her real name was Georgiana. It was not something she advertized, not at all. Her family were the only one to use it, and it was a great deal of grudge for the youngest Spencer. To Albert and Elizabeth Spencer she was Georgie, or Little G (her paternal Aunt being Big G, and also quite the rebel of the family, oddly enough). To Victoria and Mary Anne, she was simply Georgiana. Pretentious, awful name that sounded no good when anyone said it. At least Georgie was alright, she supposed.

But Pig did not realize her faux pas for a moment, and instead reached a bus station. It was then she understood that they could not foot it the whole way, and her inanimate trainers spiritually thanked her for this. They were riding PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION! Pig felt like a child on Christmas, as another notch would be taken off her experience of life belt. Oh goodness, what if she actually hollered or screamed today? Why, she had not done that since infancy.

Finally letting go, and regretting it almost instantly, she sat down. A part of her wanted him to take her hand again, and another realized he had no reason too. He looked lightened today, more lightened than she had ever seen him. Curiously, Pig wondered if she looked the same. He had striking cheekbones, but mostly it was his eyes that Pig was fond of. Expressive eyes, that Oig found herself quite kindred too.

Mischievous.

Intelligent.

Shy.

Adventurous.

But mostly lonely.

[THURSDAY DAVENPORT]

Making mischief and breaking the rules was all an average day in the life for Thursday, but it felt a little different without Tuesday around. Usually, when Thursday was keen on mischief-making, he shot his brother a text message and the two of them went cavorting off to cause as much mayhem as they possibly could.

But today, it was with Pig. Pig. The girl with a lovely rare smile and a wonderful nickname. He couldn’t have asked for a second-best partner in crime as her, not in a million years.

He glanced at her as she squeezed his hand. "My sister would be having a fit right now, if she knew where we were going." Thursday chuckled, admiring her grin. "Mind you, she'd detest it all. Me running of with a bo, quite scandalous. But, especially to go to Coney Island." She drew in a breath, and he waited, seeing what she would do—and what she did turned out to be a very funny impression of her sister. "Georgiana, you can't possibly tell me you're planning on spending any duration of time in that Godforsaken place of debauchery and sinful pleasure! Sodom and Gommorah, Georgiana, Sodom and Gommorah!"

Thursday burst out in true, honest laughter, grinning and squeezing her hand in approval. “More than accurate, I’m sure, though I’ve never had the, uh...pleasure of meeting your sister. Here’s hoping I don’t for a while.” He grinned and offered her a joking salute. From the little he’d heard of Mary Anne, she sounded positively horrid.

He didn’t mind that she didn’t release his hand.

He really, really didn’t mind.

Her hand was so small and nice and smooth and cool and he really, really liked the feeling of their hands together and oh, God, he was being totally ridiculous right now and she was completely going to notice.

Oh, God.

Wait.

Okay, wait, she had said Georgiana. Was that her real name or something? He wasn’t sure. She’d said it like it was, but, uh...well, couldn’t be sure from that, and besides, anything to get his mind off her beautiful, delicate little hand.

“So your name’s Georgiana, then? Not a born pig?” he asked her casually, his voice neither dismissive nor overly prying. He was fairly good at reading the atmosphere at the right time, and he could tell that Pig really wasn’t fond of ‘Georgiana.’ He didn’t blame her. It was pretty, but...well...pretentious.

As they came to the bus stop and the two of them sat down, Thursday found himself immediately missing the feeling of his hand and hers intertwined, but he swallowed that feeling and focused on Pig instead.

“So. Public transport. First time?” he asked, casting her a mischievous look.

[GEORGIANA 'PIG' SPENCER]

Pig had a sudden fear, as Thursday gave a cheeky salute. It was a deep, twisting, penetrating fear. Like someone had just stabbed her right in her appendix, and was twisting it sharply. What if he ever met Mary Anne? It seemed unavoidable, now that Pig thought about it, and that made Pig utterly afraid. Why? Why is it that The Governess had to loom around like a big haunting shadow over everything that was nice in Pig's life? Still, she forced out a weak grin that looked rather pained, and saluted back to her friend. "Here's to me envying you for being able to avoid it as long as you can, Mate." The graveness in her voice could not be missed, but she looked forward and kept her strides proud, not wanting to dwell on it.

Oh, she had spilled out her name. Again, it was something about Pig that seemed inevitable for him to find out. She had never realized how secretive of a person she was, but there you go. Here she was, keeping things on the hush and hush. Though, if anyone was up for the task of dissecting her words to figure out her mysteries, it would certainly be Thursday, wouldn't it? "Oh no, I was born Pig. Unfortunately, my family doesn't see it so well, so they pegged me with Georgiana." She offered a smile, though it was less sore around her cheeks. "Dad and Lizzie call me Georgie, which I can't say I'm fond of. In Secondary the kids would sing that stupid song about Georgie Porgie Puddin Pie. I hate pudding. Mare and Mum are really the only one's who cling to my good and proper lady like name, though I've never asked to be good and proper." She had a certain air of indignation as she swung their enclosed hands in pace with their walk.

She enjoyed how much she spoke around Thursday. Something about him lulled a part of her out. Not that she was shy, but she had a strong case of not really paying anything any mind unless it was of direct interest to her. A mouthful of a diagnosis. "It's actually Mary Anne's fault I'm 'Pig'. She use to call me a little piglet all the time. Telling me I could go eat slash live slash dress in a sty if I was going to continue to do whatever is applicable to eating or living or dressing. So I started signing my school papers Pig. It just took off from there." She explained, a mischievous nostalgia to her. Oh, Mary Anne had been so furious the first time she heard one of Pig's peers call her Pig. She had wanted her little sister to be affronted, and instead Pig responded with polite and vaguely amused smiles and words. Pig's method of trolling was quiet, but effective.

They sat on the bench and their hands released. There was a distinct feeling on her fairy tiny hands, like she had been wearing a cozy glove for hours and now had to take them off. She tried not to dwell on it. "Well, aren't you Mr. Nostradamus? However did you put that together?" She teased, a grin lifted at the corner of her mouth. She held the gaze for a moment, before letting out a quiet chuckle and looking away in what appeared to be a movement to search for the bus. Nervously, however, she was thinking. All women had wiles, right? Like Wendy's kiss in Peter Pan. It just need to be prodded out of it's cage. Like a sleeping bear that needs to ride a tricycle. Or something. Keeping her gaze elsewhere, Pig set her hand on the bench between them, breath partially held, in hopes that he would take it.

[THURSDAY DAVENPORT]

She was so very on edge about Mary Anne, it seemed, and Thursday didn’t like that. He didn’t like it one bit. He so disliked it, in fact, that he was ready to march right up to this Mary Anne and give her a very stern pranking, if only because she caused Pig so much concern.

Because, rather abruptly, he had realized how very protective of Pig he felt. All the time.

“Well, thanks. I’ll, uh. I’ll do my best,” he said with a laugh, grinning at her to dispel the caring feeling swelling in his stomach.

He laughed at her explanation of how she had gotten the name Georgiana, endlessly amused by her sense of humor. Just...Thursday loved it. It was so great. “Well, you certainly weren’t born A pig, so there’s that,” he noted, snickering fondly. “Still, what a disappointing change. Although Georgiana’s a pretty name. Just not...you. Not Pig-ish. Not...hm. There’s got to be an adjective for this.” He seemed to think it over for a second before it occurred to him there was no such word. Then, he decided to make one.

“It’s not Pigful enough. There. Pigful,” he said, nodding in affirmation. “But anyway, I can see how the whole Georgie Porgie thing would get annoying. I often felt that way about accidentally being called Wednesday or Friday or Monday because people couldn’t remember which day of the week I was named after.” he offered her a sheepish smile which then faded to a genuine one at her indignation. It was cute.

“Well, that makes sense,” Thursday mused as he took a seat on the bench. “I bet she was shocked when she heard people calling you that, though. Wish I could’ve seen the look on her face.” He snickered again, reflecting on how great of a practical joke that was. Pig would make a great prankster. She was already a fantastic troll.

...oh, God.

They would make the greatest trolling couple in the history of the world if they got together. It would be fantastic. Pig’s subtlety combined with his outright bold prankstertude—(that was now a word as well) it would be perfect.

He felt a sudden rush of warmth run through his body, and he found he couldn’t control his smile.

“You’d be surprised how many people have thought I was lying when I said my name was Thursday and my brother was Tuesday,” he noted, leaning back a bit and glancing over at her.

Thursday faked a look of offense at her question. “I beg your pardon! It’s a perfectly valid deduction!” he gasped, intentionally using large words that sounded wrong in his mouth to emphasize his melodramatic tone. It wasn’t that Thursday wasn’t smart or anything, he just didn’t like to use a bunch of big words if he didn’t need to. (What was the point in the word ‘supercilious’ when you could just say ‘stuck-up’? He didn’t get it.)

Reflecting on that earlier daydream he’d had about the two of them together as the greatest practical joking couple ever to unite their powers in the name of chaos, he glanced down at her hand resting on the bench. Then he reached down and took it in his own.

[GEORGIANA 'PIG' SPENCER]

Pigful. She liked that. Georgiana Spencer was 'Pigful'. He explained his own childhood worries about names. It was quite the curious thing, being named after a day. She wondered if he was born on a Saturday. Certainly not a Tuesday or Thursday, as that would cause some for jealousy. She wondered if Thursday ever became jealous of Tuesday. But the idea that he'd be confused for anything other than possibly Tuesday seemed ridiculous. "I doubt you would be, Oz. Didn't you ever hear the poem?" Pig took a deep breath to recite to him."'Monday's child is fair of face, Tuesday's child is full of grace, Wednesday's child is full of woe, Thursday's child has far to go, Friday's child is loving and giving, Saturday's child must work for a living, but the child that's born on the Sabbath day, is fair and wise and good and gay.' You're not full of woe, at least not with me. And, I mean, you're giving in your way, but not in the general sense. I wouldn't call you fair faced, more ruggedly handsome in a skinny boy way." It was one of those moments where Pig might have been joking and might not have been. Spoiler: It's the latter. "I see you like Thursday though. I mean, you know, total bloody nirvana. Working for your happiness. It's understatedly noble."

Understatedly noble. It was a pleasant way to think of Thurs. After all, it wasn't obvious. everyone could see that he was shy in his way, that he was smart when he let himself be. And anyone who happened to look in his eyes- those dark, mysterious, handsome, sex- ANYWAY... anyone who looked at him could tell he was mischievous. But understatedly noble. Like taking her out right now. He could insist that they do what he knew he enjoyed doing. But instead he found out that she had never done something, and was insisting on taking her.

Understatedly noble.

When he took her hand, a faint pink crawled over her cheeks, though her face remained passive. She didn't want to make a big deal about it, despite the warm bubbling feeling in her belly and the quickening of her pitter pattering heart. So, this is what one third of those bloody Taylor Swift songs were about. Hell. But, then again, she could belong to the other third of Miss Swifts lyrical mastery, where he could like her. But not like like her. Damn, this stuff was annoying. Yet, somehow, the usually impatient Pig had no inkling just to wash her hands of this nonsense.

Odd.

The bus came, and Pig found herself increasingly worried. "My family went to Spain one summer. My Father had business with a man there. I was so excited... I was expecting this grand and beautiful and exotic land. And I remember getting there, and seeing trees. I was so disappointed that there were trees there, because there were trees in England too." The story felt rather unprompted as they sat on the bus, the words escaping through little nibbles on her bottom lip. "My Dad teased me that I always had too big of expectations for things... I guess I'm worried that applies to this situation a bit."

In more ways than one, certainly.