Take Me Down to the Paradise City {Xander}

[RIPLEY "TRAMP" GWYNN]

It was well past midnight, in New York City. The entire area was dark, only lit by the dim lights of the school that never shut off, and the lights of the city twinkling against the blanket of darkness in the sky. Tramp had been unable to sleep--she got too use to having other people nearby. The sound of Rose's snoring, or Jeny's laughter in the next room. It made her own dorm painfully quiet; so she had laid in the darkness for an hour, before cursing rather loudly. She shoved her barefeet into a pair of etnies, and plucked open a drawer, grabbing her small bag of weed, her pipe, and a small plastic slip of tiny papers.

Time for a one man party in Paradise. She could deal with silence, and darkness then. Because she could lose herself in daydreams...or would that just be dreams? She pushed the bag, pipe, and papers carefully down the front of her tube top, and slipped out of her dorm. She held her breath, while she tip-toed out of the hallway. Tramp was certain she wasn't the only one sneaking out, but she also wasn't the most liked person in the dorms--so she wouldn't put it past some of the goodie-two-shoes that lived on the floor, to rat her out. Even quieter, Tramp snuck through the corridors of the school, slipping past security. In her head, she was humming the Mission Impossible theme, which seemed absurdly perfect for the way she was peeking around corners, and ducking across halls.

Finally, she made it to that one corridor, and then up the creaky steps, and finally--to Paradise. With it's white gravel on the roof, that was now dim and grey in the darkness. The sound of her shoes crunching on the rocks was home, it was familiar. And she almost expected for Wes and Angel to be sitting in the usual spots, waving at her eagerly. Except neither one of them were there. It was all her tonight. She approached the two chairs, and slunk down into the one that was usually Wes'. Ever since that first day, Tramp had adopted that chair, at least when Wes' ass wasn't in it. She used her feet to drag the cooler over, and switched on the tiny batter lamp that rested ontop, while she began to deseed the bag of weed.

It felt great, on the roof. Breezy, but not enough that her shit was flying everywhere. Cool enough that she didn't sweat, but warm enough that she didn't need a jacket. The air was crisp, and the full moon didn't hide behind a single cloud, bathing her in the silver light. She tilted her head back for a moment, closing her eyes, imagining reaching up and touching the cool, rocky surface of the moon, before turning her attention back to what she was doing. When she got enough of it seperated, she pushed it into the end of her pipe, and sparked the bowl, sucking in a deep breath. This was Paradise, and was close to home in a way. She didn't ahve to sneak onto the roof to smoke, at Rose's apartment, but it had the same freedom, and seperation-of-reality, as the apartments did. And for the most part, no one ever bothered her. No one ever annoyed her. It was the perfect me-time, for Tramp.

Tags: Hedgie / Xander / Olley / Tramp
Notes: TEEHEE~!!!
Outfit: Ooh~ ;D Embarassing.

[XANDER SYKES]

Xander couldn't sleep. For one, he was a bit worried about Nahnie, who had been acting horrible the past few days. Horrible in the sense of acting just like her older brother, of course. He was a terrible influence and he knew it, though it wasn't like he could do a thing about it, because that was just the way he was.

Yeah, anyways. He couldn't sleep at all. So instead of staring at the ceiling like a dumbass, he quietly got up and grabbed his weed, then hesitated. Where would he go? He had heard some mysterious rumors about some kids going up to the roof and smoking, so he decided to check it out. It's not like anybody else would be awake at this hour, right?

Yeah, no, there were probably tons of people up. But hopefully nobody on the roof, because he was gonna go up there and smoke some weed for a while and whoever else was up there could get the fuck over it.

He really didn't even care that he was only in a t-shirt and boxers. In fact, he really wouldn't have cared if he were just in a t-shirt. To be honest, Xander didn't care what other people thought of him, because what he thought of himself mattered most. So what if he thought he was a bad influence, yet right at the same time? It was his mind and he could do whatever the fuck he wanted.

Nodding his head in the dark at the thought of this, he continued to navigate, careful to stay quiet. After all, whoever heard him could get him kicked out of here, and then he would have to spend his time bored at home, at least until he picked Nahnie up from preschool.

Finally finding the stairs, he started up them, making a loud creaky noise as his foot pressed against the first step. "Shit!" he hissed, now like running up the stairs to escape anyone who might have heard him.

As he got to the roof, he stopped to breathe the night air a bit, feel the breeze, y'know? Then, as he was getting everything ready, he noticed something.

There was someone else up here. And it was a girl. A barely clothed girl. Well, not in that sense, but she looked like she was in her pajamas too. He stared at her for a full fifteen seconds before reacting.

"Hi," he said, a perfectly original greeting. Then he sat in the chair next to her. He wasn't at all worried about her, in fact, if anyone asked he would have said he could smell the weed before he got up there, and therefore he concluded that she wouldn't tell on him. Yeah.

notes; YAY FOR XAMP!
OUTFIT

[RIPLEY "TRAMP" GWYNN]

Tramp was going between the bowl, and taking her time to roll the joint. She had never been good at rolling them, but she held up a thin roll, almost certain that Angel would be proud. Tramp grinned, and sparked the end, puffing on it until the paper and weed caught, before drawing in a long inhale. That’s when she noticed the other person on the roof, and she nodded her head, thinking it was just Wes. Until he sat down next to her. And she all but spit out the smoke, scrambling in her seat while she choked. Her hand clamped over her mouth while she coughed, her joint between the fingers of her other hand.

“Y-you’re not Wes.” She sputtered out, staring at this curly haired stranger. This was THEIR Paradise, and by THEIR, she meant Angel, Wes, and herself. She was on her feet now, staring at this boy like he was some demon come to steal her virtue. She whipped her head around, hoping that Angel and Wes wouldn’t suddenly appear. Because she felt that if he just popped up here without any mention, there would be trouble. Especially since Angel kept some of her stash on the roof. “Sorry bro, but you’ve got-ta-geta-outa.” Tramp pointed back to the staircase, while lifting her joint back to her mouth. She could play it cool, she would play it cool. She would be fine. She tugged at the bottom of her tube top, feeling suddenly very wrong. Of course, her and Angel walked around in shirts that they turned into dresses—but leave it to stranger boy here, to make Tramp feel modest. She covered up the piercings in her hips with her tube top, and was doing her best to try and not fix her shorts.

“No, really, dude. Out. This is our spot, go find your own roof.” Tramp kicked at the arm of the chair he was in, trying to topple it over, with him in it. “Unless you’re a friend of Angel’s?” Tramp narrowed her eyes, her foot still on the arm of the chair, ready to push again. “Which I highly doubt, so really. Go smoke in the hallway, or there’s a lovely fuckin’ roof above the office. Get out.” She repeated again, drawing in a long inhale on the joint, once more. She held her breath, letting the weed do its magic, while she waited for a response. She didn’t see a joint, or a pipe in his hands, which made her a little concerned. Here she was, with a joint, smelling like weed, with buds and her pipe on the cooler. This kid could be some random goody-goody, who could go barking at some administrator and give them away. Tramp’s green eyes narrowed, and her jaw shifted. This is when she needed Wes’ brain, to think this through. “Who the fuck are you?”

[/blockquote]

[XANDER SYKES]

Xander hadn't thought this through, like most of the things he did that didn't involved beakers or chemical reactions or triangle, square, circle. Of course, he had slightly been exepecting her to try and kick him out. But he hadn't expected her to mention Wes.

"Nope. Close, though. I'm his roommate." Wes was pretty damn chill and was probably his best friend. Xander noticed how she was adjusting her shirt to cover herself up. Funny, at first glance, she didn't seem like the type to care. Was he seriously making her feel uncomfortable?

Nice.

"I don't want to geta-outa, though," he said, shrugging. The chair didn't move when she kicked it, and wouldn't have noticed if his eyes hadn't gotten adjusted to the light by then. "And I do know Angel. Sort of." Well, he knew Wes, and he knew he hung out with Angel all the time. If he ever really talked, Xander assumed he would talk about her. "Plus I really, really wanna stay up here w-" He had about to say 'with you', until he realized that would have been fucking creepy, having just met her. Still, he wondered where it came from and looked taken aback for a moment. Then it passed and he just smiled his most winningest smile.

Oh, maybe she thought he was going to tell or something? He wouldn't, even if the teachers would believe him, but oh well.

Taking his weed and rolling it into a joint with a but of skill from experience, he realized he forgot something to light it with. Damn. He was tempted to ask her for a light, but that would hurt his pride. Fuck.

Xander weighed his option, and decided that this was a bit more important than hurt pride, though he'd probably regret it later. "So, can I stay and get a light?" he asked, still smiling and hoping beyond hope that she would let him.

[RIPLEY "TRAMP" GWYNN]

Well, that eased her down—when he mentioned that he was Wes’ roommate. Which would probably explain his appearance here in Paradise. Tramp listened in silence, her heart almost stopping when he cut off. Her brows furrowed, and she narrowed her eyes suspiciously, before lowering her leg from the arm of his chair. He looked almost as surprised as she felt, which caused her unpainted lips to twist in a frown. She continued to stand by his chair, placing one hand on her hip, staring down at him while she took another hit off her joint. When he smiled at her, she hesitated, but moved back to her chair and sat down slowly.

She crossed one leg over the other, and watched him from the corner of her eye warily. She scratched the back of her head, her hair messy, tangled, and looked unbrushed. It was a normal style for her, almost never brushing her hair. It often varied in length, depending on how much she had tousseled it, but the dark roots in her bleached hair was almost always present. She looked sideways at him again, and sighed before leaning over to snatch the joint from him. She lifted it to her own mouth, and flipped her zippo open, sparking the end of the joint. She pulled it back from her mouth for a moment, her own joint between her fingers. Without a word, she passed it back to Xander. “Tramp.” She turned her head completely towards the mysterious boy, checking him out rather openly.

“I mean, my name’s Tramp. I wasn’t calling you a…” She sighed, and sunk into her chair, before leaning down to open the cooler. “Dr. Pepper alright? It’s not cold, we haven’t had ice for a while.” She put the joint in the corner of her mouth, before pulling out the two sodas, and passed one to him. This was awkward, and a little strange. She had began to feel safe in Angel’s presence, and even in Wes’. And being on a roof alone with a kid she had never heard of, made her a little uncomfortable. The uncomfortable wans't the 'Oh gosh, he's gonna attack me.' It was more of a feeling of unease, that she rarely--if ever got around males. “So, what’s your name?”

[/blockquote]

[XANDER SYKES]

Xander really didn't mean to make her uncomfortable, he just did and didn't do a thing about it. He nodded in thanks as she took her foot off the arm of his chair and sat down. He had pushed the almost-words to the back of his mind. This girl wasn't too bad.

Especially when she snatched the joint from his hand. He hadn't freaked out as he usually did when peple touched his weed because he remembered that he asked her to light it. This was the one time he had forgotten someting to light it with and it wouldn't happen again.

"Yeah, thanks," he said, thinking speech would come off a bit better than nods. Plus, despite the rebel he was, he could still be polite when he wanted to. Or his definition of polite, at least.

Though that didn't save her from a quizzical look when she randomly said Tramp. It wasn't offensive, just... what the hell?

“I mean, my name’s Tramp. I wasn’t calling you a…”

Ohhhhh.

"Nickname, I'm guessing?" Of course, no one would really name their daughter Tramp, right? "And I would love a Dr. Pepper, thanks" he said, too late. She had already given him one. Well, that was embarrassing.

This was odd. Usually Xander didn't notice/care if he made mistakes, because to him they didn't happen that often. But this time, he was making a bunch and he was noticing and feeling all self-conscious. The fuck?

“So, what’s your name?”

"Xander," he answered. At least he got that right. If not, he woud have just gave the fuck up.

[RIPLEY "TRAMP" GWYNN]

[bockquote]“Yeah, real name’s Ripley. But my mom started to call me a tramp, so I figured the best way to piss her off is to embrace it, ya know?” She grinned to the open air, and leaned her head back on the chair. She inhaled from her joint, and held it, before letting the smoke curl out of her mouth, her arms limp over the edge of her chair. She couldn’t ignore his presence, but it could be like he wasn’t entirely there. The comfortable, crisp summer air. The very slight breeze that came along with being this high up. This high. The thought made her giggle, and she flicked the ash off the joint, turning to look at him again. Either she was getting use to him that fast, or the weed was relaxing her—more likely the latter.

“Xander, that’s a pretty exotic name.” She mumbled, and opened her own soda with one hand, before bringing it to her mouth. “So like, are you new, or have you been here for a while? Cause, that’d prolly why I haven’t seen you around. Cause I’m new, just got here oh like…” She furrowed her brows again, looking up at the night sky, puffng her cheeks out, “Two, three weeks ago?” Tramp looked back at him, before standing up and turning the chair, before plopping down. It was a little uncomfortable having her head twisted to the side constantly, so she turned her chair to face him, and put her shoes up on the arm of his chair. He was in her zone, more or less. So he was going to have to deal with whatever the hell she wanted to do, or he could leave. Passive aggressive, but it seemed to suit her just fine.

“So, like, dude. Don’t be a bore. Dish, you’re Wes’ roommate.” She wiggled to sit up a little straighter, her eyes alight with mischief. The chair scraped against the gravel on the roof, while she moved in closer, eagerly, lifting her joint to her mouth. “Does Wes sleep in footsie PJs? Does he had a stuffed animal he can’t sleep without?” She gasped, then turned her head to the side choking, “Is he gay?!”
[/bockquote]

[XANDER SYKES]

“Yeah, real name’s Ripley. But my mom started to call me a tramp, so I figured the best way to piss her off is to embrace it, ya know?”

"Nice." Xander knew if he had the oppurtunity to piss his parents off like that, he would. Not that he didn't do that as it was, but whatever.

“Xander, that’s a pretty exotic name. So like, are you new, or have you been here for a while? Cause, that’d prolly why I haven’t seen you around. Cause I’m new, just got here oh like… Two, three weeks ago?”

"Real name's Alexander, and there's no way in hell I'd ever be called Alex." He really didn't look or act like an Alex, like at all. Xander took a drink of his soda before continuing. "And I've been here since freshman year, so yeah." He didn't react to her putting her feet on his chair; he really didn't care.

Xander inhaled deeply, then blew out smoke. Damn, this was turning out to be a nice night.

"So, like, dude. Don’t be a bore. Dish, you’re Wes’ roommate. Does Wes sleep in footsie PJs? Does he had a stuffed animal he can’t sleep without? Is he gay?!”

Xander laughed, coughing a little from the smoke. "Well I'm pretty sure he doesn't sleep in footsie pajama's or with a stuffed animal. But how the fuck would I know if he were gay or not? He doesn't talk." He had noticed from the start that Wes wasn't much of a talker. Xander guessed that he was more of a thinker, which was okay. Nahnie obviously thought that was okay, too, seeing as she had the hugest crush on his roommate.

[RIPLEY "TRAMP" GWYNN]

“No, definitely not an Alex. Xander suits you better.” Tramp agreed, watching him closely with raised brows. She decided that she quite liked the way his hair seemed to curl, like it was untamable. Also the way his thick, dark brows seemed to offset the color in his eyes—or the fact that his bone structure seemed to be in that awkward phase of teenage years. She suspected that he had finally filled out, but he wasn’t exactly done yet. Yep. Xander was an attractive fellow.

Xander had managed to stop her in her tracks though and she brought her joint to her mouth again, and inhaled, holding while she carefully brushed the cherry on the edge of the chair, gently snubbing the joint. Instead, she reached into side of her pants where her cigarettes were pressed between her shorts and skin, and pulled one out. She placed one on the arm of Xander’s chair and blew the smoke she was holding before lighting her own. “Doesn’t talk?” She repeated, making it into a question. Sure Wes was the quieter of the bunch, but for what one would deem his normal silence, he was a straight up chatterbox when around Angel.

She grinned at the thought and shrugged. “You just gotta get use to him. Wes is good people, as much as a pain in the ass that he is. I guess you’d say he’s like…” She trailed off, he sluggish fuzzy mind slowing down from the effects of the weed. Then it hit her, and she drew her legs back and sat up, taking on the tone like she was about to tell him the most amazing thing she had ever heard. “He’s like that really fucking annoying older brother that you can’t help but terrorize, but if anyone else fucks with him—they’re dead. Makes sense, yeah?” She eased back into her chair, looking particularly smug. “I’m fuckin’ brilliant.”

Again, she swept her eyes down him; not even bothering to hide the fact that she was indeed checking him out for possibly the umpteenth time that night. “So, Xander. What do you enjoy doing except for the obvious?” She waved her hand at the joint and cigarettes, smoke from her own curling around her ringed fingers while she crossed one pale leg over the other. Yeah. She was keeping this one.

[/blockquote]

[XANDER SYKES]

“No, definitely not an Alex. Xander suits you better.”

Xander inhaled, then turned his head and gave the blonde a look of 'like I said'. He never liked the name Alex since it made him sound like eleven hundred different things that he was not. Mostly, it was just too popular for him. Too mainstream, if you must. Not that he would ever use that term, since these days it was too mainstream to say too mainstream. Seriously, fuck that.

“Doesn’t talk?”

"Nah, he's usually pretty quiet. I mean, he totally talks sometimes, but not a lot. Y'know? Totally made sense. Even though he really just used the word totally, but whatever. It wasn't a big deal, and if you thought so, fuck you. Not like he would use that word without being high anyways. Yeah.

“You just gotta get use to him. Wes is good people, as much as a pain in the ass that he is. I guess you’d say he’s like…”

Honestly he didn't think he was much of a pain in the ass. In fact, that was only when his sister was oogling over him and he took her side that he didn't like him. Other times, it was cool having such a chill roomie.

“He’s like that really fucking annoying older brother that you can’t help but terrorize, but if anyone else fucks with him—they’re dead. Makes sense, yeah?” She eased back into her chair, looking particularly smug. “I’m fuckin’ brilliant.”

Xander's eyes widened furthur. "That's it! That's fucking it!" Not that he felt that way, but it was brilliant the way she explained it. He clapped as much as he could with the joint in his hand, impressed.

“So, Xander. What do you enjoy doing except for the obvious?”

Instantly, a picture of his chemistry set came to mind, but it wasn't like he was gonna tell her or anyone that. "Eh, nothin' special. Ignoring authority figures. Scaring people. Tattooing..." Xander looked her up and down as much as he could when they were both sitting down, noticing that she would probably be the type to have a tattoo. Maybe one day.