To Steal It All Away From You {Jamie}

[JOEY ROOKS]

Bonfires were fun, if only for the s’mores and hot-dogs. Maybe someone would make burgers? A burger sounded so good, so, so good. The power had gone out in New York City, and as where most of the population had gone a bit haywire—word spread like wild-fire through the dorms that there would be a bonfire on the outskirts of the city. There had also been flying rumors about looting possibly starting, and Joey who didn’t like being in small quarters—didn’t want to be caught in something she couldn’t handle.

So in the autumn night without a hoodie—who needed one when you were going to be around a fire?—she flew down the sidewalk on her skateboard. It felt like such a long time since she had been on the skateboard. She had been a little bit afraid of going out at night alone. She was the fearless Joeymonster, but those thugs over months ago had put a little bit of fear into the daredevil. As the purple wheels ticked over the cracks in the sidewalk, her murky green eyes watched the corners, and turns. She was going to scare herself into eating the dirt or something.

Instead, as she cruised down the sidewalk, she pulled her phone out of her pocket and texted Jamie. Telling him about the bonfire, and that she was headed over there if he wanted to come. She did want him there, but she didn’t want it to be like that beach disaster. Something that had started out as a perfect Jamie and Joey day, had turned into an awkward Jamie and Jemissa day with an awkward Joey third-wheel. Jemissa was a nice girl but for some reason that Joey herself didn’t understand, when the girl was around Jamie, it caused an angry beast to rise up in Joey’s chest.

It had changed Joey; just a little. It made her stare at the window of a Sally’s for what felt like a long time, trying to understand. She was tired already of the flat, fire-engine red that her hair was—but it was also still so brittle. If she bleached it one more time, she was pretty certain that it would just fall straight out of her head. As she had been contemplating, a very, very tall and lanky blonde slid up next to her. After several moments of talking, Joey had followed him into an abandoned subway and actually let him fix her hair. There were weird stares from some of the other homeless people down there—but this was an adventure, this was excitement. There hadn’t been much fear in her, and she had left the tunnels after giving up fifty bucks. Her hair was about ten times softer, and the color was still that bright red, with spirals of blonde and orange going through it. Joey wasn’t much for decorating her hair but somehow….she had been driven to being more of a girl than usual.

She scratched the back of her head while her hair blew, whipping with the wind. It had grown in the several months since her last cut, and it looked even more like the fire she was seeing in the distance. Joey grinned when the huge abandoned lot came into view, and she jumped off her skateboard, slamming her converse on the back to flip it into her hands. People were already crawling through the area, and while she made her way closer to the smell of roasting hotdogs and the heat of the flame—she was doing her best to keep those green eyes peeled for Jamie.

Outfit:DIS!

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HER HAIR IS LIKE IN THIS VIDEO AND STUFF, ENJOY!

[JAMIE SHOEMAKER]

Jamie got a text in the midst of digging for a flashlight in his pile of things in a box that he never unpacked. Joey wanted him to go to a bonfire. He almost said no but then he realized he kind of needed to apologize for getting too high to stand up straight and making Joey take him back to his dorm. He still wasn’t sure what happened that night but he was certain it wasn’t pleasant. He did wake up with a dinosaur jacket on. It was the nicest gift anyone had ever given him. So of course he had to wear it to the bonfire.

Ew, bonfires. It wasn’t that Jamie was scared of them. That would be silly. Scared of fire? What was he, the Scarecrow or something? No, he just didn’t like them. He wasn’t really sure why but being around a big, huge fire unnerved him. It was like at any second he could fall in and turn into a Jamies’more. Ew. But then their were some good things about fire. It was pretty for sure. The different colors flickering in the wind. They reminded him of Joey’s hair. The thought made him laugh. He love the fiery red she wore almost all the time. He knew he’d never lose her in a crowd and it really fit her personality.

So with that image in his head he called a taxi and gave him the address. It was on the outskirts of town so he was sure none of the guys would show up. His time with all his friends was ticking away and he really didn’t want to have them there reminding him of it. He also wasn’t sure what Joey would do if she saw them. He hated the look of fear in her eye when the guy pulled out the gun. It constantly replayed in his head whenever he thought of not going back. Would they really go after him?
Jamie shook off the feeling of trepidation away and stepped out of the cab. He instantly spotted the flaming red hair but it was different once again. He smelled some delicious food roasting and realized her hadn’t eat really anything today. Hopefully the people would share. “JOEY!” he yelled over the crowd. “Joeyjoeyjoeyjoey!” He walked up to her turned her around and promptly gave her one of those spinning hugs that always made him laugh and very dizzy. As soon as he set her down, he felt a twinge of guilt from that night. “Eh, sorry for being a stoner and making you rescue me,” he mumbled. “And thanks for the jacket! I love it!” He spun around in it and flopped the hood on. He hoped she would forgive him.

[JOEY ROOKS]

Joey’s head snapped up when she heard her name being called. She didn’t have to look to see who it was, because she didn’t see him at first—but she instinctively spread her arms wide and waited. It wasn’t long before the breath was almost knocked out of her by Jamie grabbing her and spinning her around. She wrapped her arms around her shoulders, and bent her knees backwards so they didn’t drag and she laughed with him. This was something that Jemissa could never take from them.

She wobbled on her feet when she was set back down, and she smoothed out her shirt, pushing her freshly dyed hair out of her face. “It’s alright, don’t apologize for that. I know you had a lot of stress and a lot of things to deal with.” She took a step back when he pulled the hood on, and she wished she had brought hers with her for a well needed dino-fight. “I’m glad you like it. Did you see the blackout? Everything’s dark, there’s riots and looting going on in the city. I’m really glad you came out here though, as good as the food smells, it would have been sucky and boring without you here.” She grabbed his hand and dragged him around the edge of the fire where a large platter of hotdogs were waiting. She snatched one up, and took a huge bite out of one, her stomach roaring happily as she swallowed it down.

“So, how’ve you been? Are you hungry? These hot dogs are totally amazing. Nothing like a freshly charred hotdog, and I think they’re gonna do s’mores later. Ugh, I love campfires. We use to have them all the time out in Las Vegas. I haven’t actually been to one since I moved out here, it’s pretty amazing.” She crammed another bite of the hotdog into her mouth, and annoying voice in the back of her head telling her that if she was trying to impress Joey, that stuffing herself like a savage wasn’t going to help her very much. She quickly shut that up with another eager bite, and stifled that voice.

“How are you feeling, like…injury wise?” She asked, her expression falling a bit. It was a while ago, but some of the injuries that Jamie had sustained could have lasted longer—she had never seen injuries like that, and wasn’t exactly sure how long they would last. Her own had healed up pretty fast, with no lasting scars. Part of her was mildly disappointed, because it could have been a cool battle scar to show off, but she also wasn’t sure if she could handle that look of guilt in Jamie’s eyes.

Outfit:DIS!

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HER HAIR IS LIKE IN THIS VIDEO AND STUFF, ENJOY!

[JAMIE SHOEMAKER]

“It’s alright, don’t apologize for that. I know you had a lot of stress and a lot of things to deal with.”

A small frown appeared on Jamie’s face. He didn’t want to think about his stress. Joey didn’t know that. It’s not like she could read his mind or anything. She was just being understandable. He nodded and for the first time he really didn’t have anything to say. Though thankfully Joey didn’t notice and continued to talk.

“I’m glad you like it. Did you see the blackout? Everything’s dark, there’s riots and looting going on in the city. I’m really glad you came out here though, as good as the food smells, it would have been sucky and boring without you here.”

Jamie smiled. “I am entertaining to watch! But you totally could entertain yourself with your awesomeness,” he argued. He happily let her drag him towards the food and watched in amazement as Joey nearly ate half of the hotdog. Jamie wasn’t exactly surprised at being amazed with Joey. She never ceased to amaze him. The adorable Joey who slightly reminded him of a baby kangaroo though it might just be because her name was the same as one.

“So, how’ve you been? Are you hungry? These hot dogs are totally amazing. Nothing like a freshly charred hotdog, and I think they’re gonna do s’mores later. Ugh, I love campfires. We use to have them all the time out in Las Vegas. I haven’t actually been to one since I moved out here, it’s pretty amazing.”

Jamie nodded and grabbed a hotdog for himself. Before he could take a bite of it though he had to gawk. “You lived in Las Vegas?” he asked. "That's so cool!" This made Jamie slightly envious. Vegas sounded awesome! The shows and the cool buildings and the people and the shows. Jamie would seriously just go to see some Circus action. Wait, did they have circuses in Vegas? Well, they should!

“How are you feeling, like…injury wise?”

“Oh, I’m all healed up!” he said trying to stay positive. The dread of that not lasting very long killed his mood. He needed to enjoy being with Joey. She was his best friend after all! He took a bite of his hotdog. Mid chew, he picked up the sound of an acoustic guitar. And a beautiful sounding one at that. He looked over to see a dude fumbling with it like he had no idea what he was doing. It made Jamie slightly cringe but he kept eating.

[JOEY ROOKS]

“Dude, I am pretty awesome. But I’d get bored of myself after a while.” Joey shrugged and leaned against Jamie while she continued on with her hotdog. She wished blackouts happened more often. This was nice, fun, even. No Jemissa around to make things awkward, or make Joey feel like the third wheel. “No, Vegas is crap. You’re probably thinking of the Vegas Strip, everyone does. The Strip is just a single road in the town. The rest of the town sucks.” Joey hated Vegas, she really…really hated Vegas. She would never set foot in Nevada again if she had her way.

Her expression softened a little at the news of Jamie being all healed up. She knew what that meant, what would happen soon. His chipper tone was clear to her, and what he was trying to hide at the same time. She coiled one arm around his middle and gave him a careful squeeze. She was close enough to see the cringe however, and glanced over to the guy with the guitar and raised a brow. Joey could play, it wasn’t her forte, but she knew enough that she knew THAT dude didn’t know squat. “You could do so much better.” Joey nudged Jamie and raised a brow at him.

Remembering something, Joey crammed the rest of her hotdog in her mouth, swallowed, and pulled something green out of her back pocket, and tugged her favorite hat down on Jamie’s head. “Senor KeroRibbo missed you.” She gave her best friend two thumbs up, before flinching as she heard one of the strings twang unpleasantly. “God, I think he’s trying to play Wonderwall. Apparently, most guys think that song is a chick-magnet. When in reality, it makes them look like a doucher.” Joey shook her head and stared back at the guy with the guitar, who looked up and flashed a smile towards Joey.

And the little firecracker, being the firecracker she was frowned, then turned her attention back to Jamie, and her face lit up again. “You’re gonna be famous one day, a rock sensation. And so will I. I’ll start a band, and one day we’ll go on tour together, and it will be awesome and amazing. But first, you have to go show that dude how it’s done.”


Outfit:DIS!

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Note:BAWWW. A nod to the little AU fic. BAWW.

HER HAIR IS LIKE IN THIS VIDEO AND STUFF, ENJOY!

[JAMIE SHOEMAKER]

“Bored of Joey? You be crazy!” He laughed and put his arm around her. “Well, I still want to go to this strip. We should go when we can gamble. Maybe we’ll strike rich,” he said with a laugh. “And maybe I’ll grow a goatee.” He stroked his imaginary one. A goatee would be bad ass but Jamie was certain it wouldn’t work on him.

Jamie was glad to make Joey happy. He just hoped he’d stay healed up for a while. It was highly doubtful, he would but he didn’t want to say anything to her about that. He hated when people worried about him. He knew it was just because they loved him or something but what did love do but hurt. Okay, okay, he was getting all down. Think about happy things. Although it was hard with the torture that was occurring with a perfectly good Gibson.

“You could do so much better.”

“Shoosh yeah,” Jamie said before he could think. He bit his lip and added. “I mean I really don’t play much anymore.”

Luckily Joey changed the subject with his favorite froggy hat.

“Yes! We meet again little hat,” he said while petting one of Senor KeroRibbo’s eyes.

“God, I think he’s trying to play Wonderwall. Apparently, most guys think that song is a chick-magnet. When in reality, it makes them look like a doucher.”

“I guess I’ll take that one off my cover list,” he muttered to himself. Jamie had thought about picking up a guitar again and just playing covers in coffee shops. It would be an easier thing to do to make some pocket change. He hadn’t got the strength to really play though. Usually he’d pick up his guitar, play a few chords and set it back down. He never felt it anymore. It was odd.

“You’re gonna be famous one day, a rock sensation. And so will I. I’ll start a band, and one day we’ll go on tour together, and it will be awesome and amazing. But first, you have to go show that dude how it’s done.”

Jamie wanted to protest but the look in Joey’s eye made him fall silent. He knew she wasn’t going to back down on this. Maybe this was just the push he needed. He just hoped no one recognized him from years ago. He was only a little famous with his band Breathe but still... there were a lot of hipsters in New York. Jamie resigned to walk over the the guy and ask politely, “Mind if I play your Gibson?”

“My what?” the guy said with a blank expression.

“Your guitar man.”

“Oh sure!” The kid handed him the guitar and Jamie sat down to play. It was a nice guitar for sure. He strummed a few strings and tuned it up. Then with a smile he looked up at Joey. “This one is for KeroRibbo!”

He began to play a hispanic melody plucking skillfully at the strings. He stopped in the middle and said “Olay,” very seriously before going back to strumming. Within a minute, he burst out laughing. “I’m just kidding. I’ll play something. How about an original?” he asked. Jamie noticed he was drawing attention. With this he got that feeling he’d been missing for a while. Performing used to be Jamie’s only drug of choice. And honestly he preferred it above the rest. But performing wasn’t addictive so the real drugs caught up with him before he could run. Now he was clean and it felt good. Just the pure awesome of performing. He began to play a catchy tune. He gave the guy next to him a beat and that guy began to hit a bucket. It felt slightly like a musical as Jamie began to sing.

When he was finished, he looked up and smiled at Joey.