am i ever gonna reach the surface?

I wasn't raised to shoot for fame. I had the safety on. I cut my ties, I sold my rings. I wanted none of this.

[mollychill-blog]

ambrosejoshi:

Ambrose just laughed self-effacingly, shrugging his shoulders again. “No, no, you’re probably right about that. My mouth has a mind of it’s own. Which is good because my actual mind doesn’t really pull its weight most of the time. I sort of gave up trying at this point.” Seeing the offense rise to her face, Ambrose was quick to raise his hands in a gesture of innocence, hoping his rambling would find a way to redeem him somehow. But honestly he doubted that it would. Getting ready to be attacked, Ambrose prepped an apology in response  to whatever she had to say. “Sor–wait… oh! That. Well uh… I figured you were headed home, like I said. But what you don’t want people to know and why you were so quick to catch on to someone watching you is that you secretly live in one of those amazing houses out on the outskirts of Town with a butler and maid and cook and all of that. Three dogs: a husky, a pure bred shiatsu and some puppy mutt you picked up off the street when no one was looking. Because you’re secretly a princess, right? One of those exiled by an evil plot a la Lion King and are hiding out here and trying to live a normal life but accidentally giving yourself away by being too graceful or amazing at stuff. And I was going to say that your tragic flaw was that you don’t know how to do laundry, but now that I’ve talked to you I’m getting more of a Xena vibe so you can probably take care of yourself. So… no castle, just probably an apartment. And possibly one dog. Which would mean that your fatal flaw is that you’re too nice to walk away from the clearly nuts guy who won’t stop talking nonsense? Because that’s the only one I’ve got for you right now. Unless there’s some kind of witch’s curse or you’re a werewolf or something. But that’s sort of more cool than it is a fatal flaw.”

Why Molly was still standing here and listening to this guy stutter and ramble all the while, she wasn’t sure. She had never been a fan of wasting her time doing something that wasn’t work. Something that didn’t have profit, which is how she’d managed so long without friends in Town, but even if she wanted to, she wasn’t sure if she could find a way out. He started in on ‘her story’, and all Molly could do was stare in disbelief. The fact that he’d thought that deeply into something involving her, without even knowing her... she wasn’t sure whether or not to be creeped out or flattered. Of course she leaned more towards the first option. Molly prided herself on being good at most everything she did, but... she waited until he was finished and let a short silence fall between them before clearing her throat. “It’s not that I can’t do my laundry. I just don’t have to. A guy across the hall does it for me. He’s in his fifties and he’s kind of a creep but they always come back folded and wrinkle free, so I can’t complain,” she murmured. “I don’t have a dog, though. Too much work. I’m not home enough, and if I was a princess I definitely wouldn’t have relocated in Town, but... interesting. I guess.”

[mollychill-blog]

ambrosejoshi:

Ambrose was so used to judgmental looks at this point that it hardly fazed him in the slightest or encouraged him to babble less. “Well, the name’s Ambrose technically but most people call me Josh. It’s a thing. But I’m not that worried about what people want to call me really. Which was still more explanation than you needed. And I was about to go on more. You really should tell me to stop.” Shaking his head at himself, Ambrose set about collecting his thoughts to figure out how to express himself well, an effort that was doomed from the start. “Right, the staring thing. Well…” he trailed off, rubbing the back of his head with a sheepish look about him. “I was just sort of thinking about how you were probably going home and where that would be, what you’d do, who’d be there… oh god, this sounds bad. Not… not like anything weird. I do that to a lot of people… that’s not helping me, is it? It’s a story thing. I like to people watch and try to guess what their stories are. I guess I got a little too caught up in yours…. please don’t report me or anything, I swear I’m not as creepy as I’m making myself sound. You know what? If you need me, I’m going to go find a hole to jump in. Maybe then I can finally learn the art of silence.”

This guy couldn’t be serious. As she listened to him attempt to explain his variety of names, all she could do was tilt her head to the side and try to figure out what was going on. “I get the feeling that even if I tell you to stop, this is going to keep happening,” she decided, tapping her foot a few times as she waited for him to try and explain himself. As he started, Molly’s offense and distaste was clear. It was easy to assume the worst when he started off with wondering where she lived, but as he went on, she found herself less defensive. Though that didn’t particularly show in her expression, still as grumpy and confused as ever. She stayed quiet until he seemed to fall into a deep hole of despair, and she knew she’d have felt guilty later if she left it there. “... What do you think mine is, then?” Her curiosity definitely had got the best of her in that regard, anyway. She always wondered how others saw her, so she couldn’t help but ask. “My story,” she clarified.

[mollychill-blog]

ambrosejoshi:

“But your hair does look really nice. I mean, totally worth staring at. It uh… wasn’t exactly what caught my attention at first, but it’s nice, you know what I mean?” Realizing he was rambling and just saying the same things he had been before, Ambrose caught himself and shook his head. “Right… let me try this again. I’m Josh. Or Ambrose. Or whatever you want to call me really. And I was… well there’s really no way of saying this without making me seem a bit weird. But it’s probably too late for that anyway, isn’t it? Uh… where was I? Sorry… I babble when I get nervous. Not that I have anything to be nervous about… okay, you’re a little intimidating but I swear it wasn’t anything weird. God… absolutely none of that made any sense. I’m shutting up now.”

Instead of reply, Molly kept the same judgmental stare as the man tried to explain his staring. Poorly. “Yeah,” she dragged out, crossing her arms over her chest and settling to face him. If he tried anything, Molly was sure she could defend herself, but he seemed to nervous, anyway. “Whatever I want to call you?” She lowered her chin, raising her eyebrows. “You were explaining why you were staring at me. That’d be nice  to know,” she suggested, tilting her head to the side. “Ugh... Molly.”

[mollychill-blog]

ambrosejoshi:

“Oh… was I staring?” Ambrose asked, realizing he’d been caught and offering a sheepish smile to the other person. “Sorry. It’s just… uh… your hair looks really nice? Yeah, definitely worth staring at. It was completely meant as a compliment. And, if it helps, I promise I’m not crazy.”

Molly didn’t respond to the question, grip on her purse strap and hip jutted out as she narrowed her gaze on the boy. Even when he finished attempting to explain himself, she didn’t speak at first. She was more or less feeling him out, deciding whether or not to shrug it all off and move on, find herself concerned, or initiate conversation. He seemed nervous about getting caught, but she still found herself wary. “You weren’t looking at my hair,” she finally pointed out, quirking an eyebrow. 

[mollychill-blog]

♀ How do you feel about Molly's lack of a stable career and her various odd jobs? Do you even know about them?

“I know of them. I'm unaware on what her various jobs might be, but I still believe college and an actual degree in something would have been far more beneficial alternative to whatever choices she’s made, and my opinion on that won’t be changing any time soon.  Until, of course, she learns that she can’t live like that. She had a good life, full of opportunities, and my disappointment in how she’s decided to live her life won’t be going away. She’s much better than what she is wasting all of her talents on.”

[mollychill-blog]

geezzoey:

Zoey couldn’t say that she cared much for the way the other girl was phrasing things. Warnings tended to imply threatening consequences and Zoey wasn’t much good at holding herself back. Much though she liked to think she’d risen above it all, threats and warnings still never sat well with her, harmless though they might be. “I have too…” Zoey said quietly, this time clearly no kind of contest. The words brought up a few memories and it was a while before she fully processed that Molly was speaking again. It took her a little bit to shake herself from her thoughts and slip back into her usual short manner. “I know what it fucking is. I said I always sound like that, I never said it was a problem. It’s just how it is and people either deal or they don’t. It’s that simple. Besides, average people suck ass, so screw ‘em.”

“Oh, yeah?” Molly raised an eyebrow, not sure whether or not to keep the conversation going with how small the girl’s voice seemed to be. Was she saying the wrong thing? Not being the best at making or holding conversations, Molly didn’t really recognize social cues too well, but that only meant she spent a lot of time worrying whether or not what she was saying was the right thing. It’s the biggest reason she tended to seclude herself, remaining rather monotone or annoyed by everything, she wasn’t the best at this. “What were they? Or don’t tell me. Whatever,” she tacked on, shaking her head and moving her shoulders up and down. She bent down as she started to work on the fabric, humming. “Do you ever actually meet people who deal?”

[mollychill-blog]

geezzoey:

Some part of Zoey wanted to apologize again, but she’d never been much good at dealing with people normally. She let it go, choosing silence over the possibility o having to explain anything. “Got it. Won’t ask,” was all she said, assuming that was what Molly had meant. Zoey would have been lying to say that she was honestly curious anyway. “I…. oh.” At first, Zoey was slightly confused by the response, but she supposed it wasn’t a surprise. Even when she tried to hold a normal conversation it sounded lke she was accusing or berating. That was normally why she didn’t try. “That’s not… I wasn’t trying to make it a contest, just a conversation. But then again I always sound like I’m trying to start some kind of fucking confrontation so it doesn’t really matter. This would probably be significantly more comfortable for the both of us at this point if you hurried the fuck up and we shut the hell up.”

When Zoey seemingly took her words to heart, a small grin tugged onto the corner of Molly’s lips. It was oddly endearing to her, though she wasn’t entirely sure why. Even more so when the girl seemed confused by Molly mentioning a competition. But, as she went on, her frustration seemed to bubble back up and turn pointed back at Molly. Taken back, she probably would have glared at the harsh words from whoever it was and kicked them out, but she desperately needed Zoey, and she couldn’t exactly find the heart to get angry. Yet. “I was just warning you. It’s a competition you’d lose. I have... some experience when it comes to different jobs,” she responded after a couple of minutes in silence, letting Zoey’s words sink in before finding herself comfortable enough to attempt to ease out of it. “Also, I think it’s the cursing. And the glare. You kind of look and sound like you’re seconds away from stomping me down. That tends to scare the average person, from what I’ve heard.”

[mollychill-blog]

geezzoey:

“I said it was fine,” Zoey snapped, her irritation arising more at herself and the situation than Molly. Actually quite aware of the sort of person she was, though, Zoey closed her eyes for a moment to take a breath. “Sorry. It’s really okay. Let’s just get it over with? Besides, if you have to ask me to do this, clearly your situation is sort of fucked at the moment.” Still, Zoey appreciated that the other was taking her–mildly irrational–feelings into account. She tried to keep in mind that she had agreed to this and that nothing about this was Molly’s fault. Not that something like that had ever really stopped Zoey from being rude. “Or something,” she muttered, forgetting her resolve to be civil almost immediately. An amendment was tacked on hastily. “A gas station actually, which is fucking worse. Full of pervs, drunkards and the scum of society, really. No sane person goes to a gas station at two in the morning, so I get left with the psychos. Fast food’s not sounding so bad now, huh?”

Molly’s eyes widened unexpectedly when the girl snapped at her, not sure how to respond. “Right,” she hesitantly murmured, nodding her head. “We’ll get it over with. I usually have mannequins for this, but they are... otherwise preoccupied. Best to leave it at that.” Molly tried to ease past whatever tension and uncomfortable feelings might have been built on her side, but it seemed to be coming back with the girl snapped at her for having a worse job, narrowing her gaze before shuffling behind her. “Nah. Fast food still sucked. I mean, that sounds like it’s horrible, too, but... doesn't make what I did suck any less. Not interested in having a battle over shitty jobs. Also, that explanation sounds incredibly similar to when I worked as a bartender. The worst of the worst hitting on you and trying to feel you up while you’re just trying to get a few bucks. Always a blast.”

[mollychill-blog]

geezzoey:

It occurred to Zoey that this was pretty much the last thing she wanted to do on her day off, fifty bucks or no, but she’d already made the commitment, so she just continued to stand there, though the tension in her back likely gave away that she was still not pleased with the idea. “It’s fine, I guess. I already agreed so… whatever. Just do what you need to,” she responded, not really feeling like explaining herself or her reaction any. “If I did, I wouldn’t be here. I have the day off for once. As long as we’re done before ten or so, it should be fine. Besides, this is more than I’d make at work in a few hours anyway…” she mumbled the last part, mostly to herself, just realizing this and not particularly pleased with the idea.

With the tension in Zoey’s body, all Molly could feel was guilt for asking the girl to do this in the first place. She took a small step back, moving around to face the girl. “Sure, you agreed, but that doesn’t mean I’m making you stand here uncomfortably for however long I want and then send you on your way,” she said, raising an eyebrow at her. Her mouth opened and closed a few times, before shuffling to try and finish adjusting as quickly as she could manage. “Do you work in fast food, or something? Not the best business. It ruins the the place for you, most of the time, which sucks,” she muttered. Work was always something Molly could talk about. “I got out of it a couple of years ago once I realized that I couldn’t handle working in cheap places which made me not want to eat at those cheap places, but it was also all I could afford. Messed up system, but I can’t be too picky. I’ve done worse.”

[mollychill-blog]

geezzoey:

“It’s Zoey,” she said, sighing slightly to herself, but figuring it would be more convenient to say that much. Besides, Zoey was more willing to be cooperative if she looked at this as a job. Zoey’s normally confident manner faded a little bit with Molly’s eyes on her and she shifted between her feet slightly. “Alright,” she agreed with a nod, standing straight. “I really don’t see that being a problem. I don’t cry easily.”  Her eyes remained focused on the other’s movements, especially as she got closer. The first time Molly tugged at the dress, Zoey couldn’t help her reaction, physically flinching and tensing even more. With her eyes shifting away for a moment, she just shrugged. “Sorry. It’s a reflex. I’m not really a fan of… never mind. Doesn’t matter.” Shaking her head, Zoey focused on keeping her thoughts on other things, just nodding in response. 

“Zoey,” Molly echoed, nodding her head. She hadn’t expected a name, but she wasn’t too affected either way. “Molly,” she offered, deciding it was fair. Especially so if the girl was now standing in her apartment. Molly would have felt guilty if it wasn’t part of her routine to see where the dress fit. Her guilt only came when she saw the girl flinch. She loosened her grip on the dress, raising an eyebrow at the back of the girl’s head as she tried to explain herself. “It’s fine. I’ll try not to be so... rough,” she concluded, clearing her throat. “If you’re uncomfortable, or I’m being too - you know, just tell me.” This time around she backed off a bit, pulling the fabric together. “You, uh - don’t really have anything else planned today, do you? Not that this is going to take all day. Maybe a couple of hours.”

[mollychill-blog]

geezzoey:

Following after the girl in silence was a relief. Zoey didn’t imagine that she was all that interested in making friends anyway so this ought to be an easy fifty bucks. Setting her book and thermos down on an empty table to grab later, Zoey only had a moment to look around at her surroundings before the dress was being offered to her. The look on her face probably said volumes about what she thought about wearing the thing, but she took it without complaint, nodding. “Alright, sounds good.” Taking the money, Zoey pocketed it with a great deal of care, only looking up in discomfort at the final suggestion. “I… uh… that’s not going to be an issue. If I decide I want to leave, you can have the money back. I’m not a thief.” Grumbling that last part to herself, she took the dress into the bathroom, looking at it dubiously. He few experiences with dresses had never been enjoyable and she doubted that this one would be much different. Regardless, she put it on with a sigh, stepping out into the room again. “There. Just tell me what you need me to do and we can get this over with.”

“You never know. I try not to stereotype,” she replied with a shrug. “I don’t know your name, or anything about you, but... good to know that,” she ended lamely, before rolling her eyes in annoyance with herself and moving off to grab her needle and thread. When Zoey came back out, Molly lifted her head to look over at her, nodding slowly before looking her up and down. “Like I said. Stand there and be still. And, if you’re not still, try not to cry so much when I poke you,” she instructed, before glancing around her apartment and gesturing where she wanted Zoey to stand. After a minute she turned music on from her phone, deciding that it was better than silence between them and might make things more comfortable. Though, with the situation at hand, that seemed a little difficult to accomplish. Still, she started to tug at the dress, tightening it in certain areas. “Telling me if you can’t breathe properly is also ideal.”.

[mollychill-blog]

geezzoey:

“Whatever you want to call it,” Zoey just replied with a shrug. At the request, Zoey made a bit of a face, not particularly liking the idea of having to dress up and specifically not in a dress, but the mention of money made her pause her rejection again. She didn’t like how quick she was to jump at the idea, but she couldn’t help it. She honestly hadn’t been expecting an offer that high. “In that case… I guess it’s alright. Lead the way or whatever.”

The agreement had definitely thrown Molly by surprise. She had asked, and hoped, that the girl would say yes, but that didn’t mean she actually thought there was a chance that she would. Or, at the very least, she expected the girl to ask for more. Molly would convince herself that she was interested in wearing a dress, but by her style, and the look in her eyes, Molly didn’t think it was anything but for an extra fifty bucks, and she’d take it. Molly wasn’t the chattiest, which meant she was quiet as they walked to her apartment building. Luckily it was close, so they weren’t in awkward silence for too long, and soon enough they were in her place. It was a mess, but due to the clutter of junk she’d collected more than actual messes. She didn’t say anything as she disappeared into her bedroom and reappeared with the dress, letting out a breath and looking over at the girl. “Here,” she said, offering it over. “You can go to the bathroom to change into it.” She reached into her purse and pulled out a fifty. “In case you were doubting me, you can have the money now. Just know if you try to run off I can box, so you’ll most definitely regret it.”

[mollychill-blog]

geezzoey:

Despite the fact that she really should be savoring the fact that she’d managed to get a day off for once, Zoey actually didn’t know what to do with herself. She’d ended up feeling a bit stir crazy and going to the park. She didn’t act any differently than she would have at home, simply reading a book and sipping home brewed coffee from a thermos, but the fresh air was nice. She’d almost forgotten that she was out in public at all until someone approached her. Raising an eyebrow, Zoey looked up from her book and then down at herself. “My body type?” she repeated questioningly. “Short?” Pausing for a moment, Zoey considered it. Generally she would have sent the other girl packing already, but she did have time on her hands today. “Two questions,” she concented after a moment, holding up two fingers for emphasis. “What are you expecting me to do and are you planning on paying me?”

“I was thinking more... petite, but sure,” she said, shrugging her shoulders and waiting for the girl’s response. The questions weren’t the ones she was expecting - she was looking more for ‘are you going to kill me’ or something similar to that, but she wasn’t complaining. Well, she was in her head over the mention of payment, but she could shrug that off for now. “Wear a dress and stand still?” She pulled her eyebrows together, before crossing her arms over her chest. “I don’t know. Fifty bucks?”

[mollychill-blog]

Molly didn’t have friends - and no, she wasn’t sad about the fact. With how much she moved around, from locations to jobs, she didn’t really take much time to get to know the people around her at a personal level. So, when in an emergency, she didn’t have anyone to call to help her. Instead she was rushing down the streets of Town and into every shop she passed, looking for mannequin torsos she could buy. Which she was finding to be impossible, though she knew that the easiest way to buy them was online. She didn’t have time, and she didn’t have a model, but the longer she was searching, the more desperate she found herself. Looking around, her eyes fell on someone in particular, and after having an eternal battle with herself, she slowly approached them. “Hi,” she awkwardly started off, “I could really use your help. I have clothes I need to work on, but I need someone with... your body type to wear it while I do adjustments. I know that sounds really crazy, and creepy, trust me, but I’m getting a little desperate, here.”