How Merry Can This Get

[Lara Jean Reynolds]

Tag: OPEN

Her hands tightened the coat around her as a gust of cold wind blew her way. In the middle of the night, Lara Jean was walking back towards the academy. It was sad and she was more annoyed at herself, especially since it was Christmas Eve - technically Christmas since it was one in the morning.

Of all the things, she had forgotten her bus ticket home and her bag of gifts too. Lara Jean smacked her head again because that was just stupid. Moreover, she did not have enough for a cab back so there she was walking in the cold with her duffel bag over her shoulders. Now, was that not just merry.

After a while, she heard the crunch of snow from behind. Despite it being dark, thanks to her eyes, she knew easily that there was a person there. Fear started to creep up on her. "Don't you dare try anything!" shouted Lara Jean. "I...I'm a cop an-an-and I have a taser gun. I-I swear I'm not afraid to use it."

Lies, she only had a pepper spray in hand.

[James Baxter]

The holidays were fairly low on James' list of things he enjoyed. Since even before he left for Montana, away from his home life, even with the grandeur of Christmas in New York, James had always felt a disconnect towards the holidays. It wasn't his ability that had made that the case, it was the lacking sense of family that he'd had from the very moment that he could understand what his family was. Broken and a fake. They had outrageous Christmas parties for his father's work, the presents had always been wonderful and extravagant, but it was empty. He'd never had a holiday where he felt whole and as though he was part of something deeper and emotional. Perhaps that was what had led to the problems he experienced even now at the age of twenty-two.

Due to the lack of family he had to visit on the holidays, he always lingered in Kalispell and took in the calm that his surroundings had to offer. This particular Christmas he had been out working on his night exposures and fine-tuning the way the snow looked at night with the glow of the street lamps. It was probably the hardest thing he'd been trying with his photography lately, mostly looking at it from a technical aspect rather than doing work for himself. If this was to be his career, he was determined to make it something he was great at.

He had been walking back, the collar of his jacket pulled up to cover his ears. Sure, he could have gotten a cab to help him with his stuff rather than roughing it, but he didn't mind the cold and he didn't mind walking. With his camera bag, slung around his shoulder and his tripod folded up in his hand, he could barely feel his fingers and his face. His eyes were closed against the wind before he opened them and noticed he was following someone back in the general direction that he was going. Funnily enough, as he had noticed her, she seemed to notice him.

James' eyebrows pulled together and he let out a short laugh, the girl was small in stature, especially next to him, but she seemed feisty. "I don't think that'll be necessary," He answered grimly. "I'm just going back to the school, sorry, didn't realize I was creeping." For all he'd known the figure in front of him could be a figment of his own imagination and he was just talking to himself.

[Lara Jean Reynolds]

Was that laughter she heard? It ticked the girl off a bit, wondering if he thought that she was so hopeless that he was unfazed by her small threat. Humph! Even as he explained himself, Lara Jean did not keep the pepper spray away. You can't ever be too safe.

She observed the stranger closely, trying to see if he had any hidden items beneath his clothes. Nope, nothing that she could tell was dangerous. She did spot the tripod in his hands though, but the seventeen year old was 65% sure he was not going to beat her up with it. Her shoulders relaxed.

If he was going back to the school, that meant he would be a mutant too. "This late at night?" she questioned. "I mean, not to say I don't believe you," - she didn't - "but who goes out in the middle of the night, in this weather and today of all days? You have to admit, that is a little suspicious." Of course, she was one to talk. Who was to say he was not wary of her too. "Who are you anyway mister?"

Note: your pb is gorgeous *drools*

[James Baxter]

The idea of beating her up with his tripod hadn't even crossed his mind. Even if he was a stalker, intent on hurting her, he would not choose his tripod to do so. They weren't always the most sturdy things, he'd likely end up breaking it and then would be stuck getting another one. They weren't overly expensive, but along with all of his other costly items that went along with the career choice he'd made, it was an expense he wasn't wiling to pay for.

James rolled his eyes at her questions, though to be fair, he couldn't blame her for the suspicion. Anyone in their right mind would be suspicious of his story. "A photographer who has no family to go visit and suffers from insomnia?" Obviously. Perhaps it was the struggle he had with understanding everyone else's way of thinking, but he figured the tripod gave away what he was doing. The divorce rate gave away why he was doing it on Christmas and the late hour could clearly mean he had trouble sleeping. The explanations were clear if someone took the time to think through them. In his mind, it all made sense.

While his reasoning made sense to him, he did wonder what she was doing out at the same time. It was unlikely that she too was a photographer with insomnia who had no family. Just didn't seem plausible to him. "What's your excuse?" He asked once he pieced together that it was just as weird for her to be out as she thought it was for him to be. "I'm James. James Baxter if that gives you any kind of insight or matters."

[Lara Jean Reynolds]

Oh wow. It was strange how his story mirrored hers, except for the family part. What were the odds of that huh. Lara Jean wrote it off as pure coincidence. With his seemingly nonthreatening look and valid reason, she tucked her pepper spray away into her pocket. Probably would not be needing that.

His name did not ring any bells nor did it gave her any kind of insight. But it was nice to put a name to a face. He threw the question back at her. She should have expected that. Obviously she would have a reason for being out and a simple midnight jog she was sure was not going to cut it.

"Lara Jean," she introduced herself first. "Uh a photographer too...who also suffers from insomnia." She shrugged. Two insomniac photographers out late at night - that was a first for Lara Jean. "On top of that, I missed my bus going back home because I forgot my ticket. And my gifts too." The seventeen year old laughed softly to herself. It sounded ridiculous just as she felt. Honestly, of all the things, those were what she left behind. One might think she might have conveniently forgotten about it just so she would not have to return home that night.

"So erm yeah, I'm walking back to the academy from the station. You uh doing some night time photography I supposed?"

[James Baxter]

Weird. The whole thing was very...weird. James wasn't sure how else to think of it, how else to describe it or how to handle it. He figured it was all coincidental, clearly she couldn't be stealing his life could she? Alright, he was a bit on the paranoid side, but he didn't believe that she was a threat. He was just hoping his judgment would keep him from being murdered on his way back to the school. Who would notice his absence? Luxanna maybe. Tori? Probably. At least there was that.

Lara Jean. Yup, he had no idea who she was, ah well, that wasn't quite shocking. He was a loner by nature, only worked with people when he had to, i.e. when he was doing school work. "That sounds like a very shitty day," He pointed out. Sure, it was obvious, and probably a little too forward for meeting someone for the first time. Of course, he'd never been very good at first impressions and he didn't always care what people thought anyway, but he did note his slip-up. "I mean, like, for a holiday that must really suck. I'm sure your family will understand or something." James shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand.

"Yes. I was. You could say I'm not really a spend time with the family kind of guy for the holidays," That was what happened when parents were separated and he was the only child in the household to deal with it. "So you're a photographer, yeah? Working on anything specific now?" He asked with the intention of sounding interested, though he often struggled in the area of conveying serious emotion.

[Lara Jean Reynolds]

"No no, you're totally right. Shitty yeah pretty much sums it up," she said while nodding her head in agreement, not offended at all. "I haven't actually told them about... all this so, yeah. That's a phone call that can wait." She shrugged. After everything that happened, at the end of the day, there was nothing else Lara Jean could do except to head back to the academy, head up to her dorm and hopefully get some shut eye before the sun comes up. Hopefully. That last bit was not certain. So yes, shitty. And there was no need to add a never-ending-phone-call by her mom about her absence on top of it.

She wanted to ask if he did not spend time with his family because he has none to visit or just because family holidays tend to be a bit overwhelming and not all that fun at times. But Lara Jean thought better of it and did not question further. It felt a little too personal for just a couple of strangers who recently met.

"Oh, me, now? Not really. Uh it's more of a hobby right now. I'm still in high school," she explained. "But I do think of possibly being serious about it." Right after she said it, she wondered if she answered his question or not. "Do you mind if I take a look at your shots and what you did earlier?" Maybe there was a thing or two she could learn from this stranger named James.