Lonely Youth

Paige. Nobody now. [1x1 RP Account]

[nelldanes]

first it’s the spark || para

[thatpaigenewton]

nelldanes

“Definitely a unique personality. Who else has a fascination with eggs like she does?” Nell questioned with a chuckle. “Eggs on cars, specifically.” she mumbled. 

Nell tried to dodge the sponge being thrown by Paige, but it hit her chest. “What am I gonna do? I’m literally armed with this.” Nell gestured to the hose. “There’s a lot of damage I can do.” Nell smirked as she charged at Paige and wrapped an arm around Paige’s waist while the other one sprayed Paige. “What were you saying earlier? Let’s go? I don’t see you going anywhere, though.” Nell teased with a laugh. 

Otis Danes, Nell’s uncle, heard the commotion happening out back of his diner and furrowed his eyebrows. He thought it was just some rowdy kids horsing around in the back, but, as he walked over to the laughs coming from the back, he saw it was Nell with Paige. While he had never officially met Paige, he had heard enough about her from the times Nell had talked to him about her. 

“What’s going on here?” Otis spoke up, his voice gruff. Nell stopped spraying Paige and turned around to face her uncle. “Oh, we’re just…washing my car. It got egged.” Nell explained. Otis hummed. “Your friend looks more drenched than your car. You should work on fixing that.” he told Nell who nodded as she looked at Paige. “I can multitask.” 

When Nell ran up to her, Paige let out a slight squeal of panic, trying and failing to run away before the other girl had her in her grasp. "Nonononono!" She protested, holding her arms up to defend her face as Nell began to spray her with water. Even as the cold water hit her, she couldn't help but laugh, shoulders shaking. Even though it was silly, it was nice to just be able to laugh and mess around like this. "Okay, I give up!" She said, raising her hands in surrender.

At the sound of a gruff voice, Paige glanced up and saw that Otis had come out to see what was going on. Slipping out of Nell's grasp, she pushed her wet hair back from her face and offered a bright smile, one that she reserved for adults. "I'm sorry about the noise, sir. I'm Paige, by the way." She said with a small wave. A slight breeze blew through, causing her to shiver slightly in her damp clothes. Glancing down, Paige realized that Otis was right-- she was soaked. She'd bitten off a bit more than she could chew when she'd challenged Nell.

[nelldanes]

first it’s the spark || para

[thatpaigenewton]

nelldanes

“Some, yeah.” Nell nodded. “And weirdly enough…I was suspended for ditching too much. Pretty logical, huh? Punish me for ditching by making me not come to school. Didn’t mind it so much, though.” Nell shrugged. 

Nell chewed on her lip when she noticed Paige stiffen. Yeah, she figured maybe it was a little too personal to talk about. And her and Paige weren’t that  close to tread around that kind of territory. “Gotcha.” Nell nodded. “Sucks you’ve had to witness anything Chrissy related. She gives me a huge headache just from her face alone.” Nell joked, hoping that would help Paige relax a little. 

Nell laughed when Paige threw sponge at Nell and put on an innocent smile. “Is that all you got, Newton? Just one throw?” Nell teased, clicking her tongue. “I thought you were better than that. I expected more. I’m a little hurt you only settle on a sponge throw for me. I thought we were closer than that.” Nell smirked as she walked closer to Paige and started spraying her with the hose. “Let’s see if this does any sort of motivation!” 

The way Nell shifted the topic away from fighting to ditching school didn't escape Paige's notice, but she decided against addressing it. At least Nell didn't mind being suspended, even if the entire school's discipline system was a mess. 

"Mhm. She's... definitely got a unique personality." Paige hummed in agreement, shrugging. Chrissy hadn't always been as bad as she was. In fact, she would have said that Chrissy used to be a nice person at one point. But, now that she was on the other side of the social circle, it made her wonder if that was ever true or if she'd just let all of the horrible, mean things slide.

Paige let out a shriek as the water was shot at her again and she held up one of the towels to protect her from the spray. "That's not fair!" She protested, while reaching for another sponge floating in her bucket. Paige ducked behind Nell's car before popping out to throw the sponge at the other girl. "C'mon, let's go. What are you gonna do, huh?" She said with a laugh.

[nelldanes]

first it’s the spark || para

[thatpaigenewton]

nelldanes‌:

Nell laughed at Paige’s gesture. It was cute. Nell hummed. “I’ve been suspended a few times during my years in high school, so, nah, they’ve never been for show.” Nell mumbled. 

Nell raised an eyebrow. “Sounds like you’re getting a little personal there. I figured Chrissy just likes to bother everyone because that’s how she’s like, but did she ever do anything to you? Besides the teasing, I mean.” Nell asked, tilting her head. Chrissy had never messed with her up until now. Then again, Nell hadn’t made it her mission to be known by anyone at school. Not until Paige showed up. 

“Yeah? Want me to wash it off?” Nell asked, feigning innocence as she reached for the hose. “Oh damn, I see some egg bits on here.” Nell sprayed some water on Paige’s legs. “There, it’s off. You’re welcome.” Nell winked with a laugh as she went back to scrubbing off the car. 

“Oh?” Paige asked, curious. It didn’t surprise her that Nell had been suspended-- with as often as Nell skipped school, it was a wonder she hadn’t been kicked out yet. No, it was the why behind it that intrigued her. “Get into a lot of fights?”

Paige’s back stiffened, hand pausing as she stared at the soapy exterior of the car for a moment. “I've just seen more of what she’s done than most.” She said, her tone dismissive. There really wasn’t any reason for Nell to know about her and Chrissy’s old friendship, what they used to do to other people. It didn’t matter now.

“That’s cold!” Paige squealed, jumping back from the spray. “Mhm, how about I return the favor?” She asked, dipping her sponge in the bucket next to her and tossing it at Nell, smacking her in the arm with a wet thump. “Oh darn. I guess my hand slipped.” Paige said with an innocent smile.

[nelldanes]

first it’s the spark || para

[thatpaigenewton]

nelldanes‌:

Nell’s eyes trailed back Paige’s legs when the other girl stretched across the good of the car, making her skirt ride up a little and–Nell cleared her throat as she willed herself to look away. Nell could admit that her friend was attractive, right? She had eyes, so she couldn’t deny that Paige was an attractive girl. She’d be stupid to, right? 

“Don’t tell him that, it’ll get to his head.” Nell chuckled. Nell shook her head. “Of course it did.” Nell sighed as she continued scrubbing. “It’ll come off eventually–might as well use these arms for something good.” she chuckled with a shrug. 

“I can’t imagine doing something like that and finding enjoyment in it. It didn’t hurt me, but I hate the idea of someone hurting someone else–which, yeah a little ironic for someone who likes to box. But you know what I mean.” Nell mumbled. Nell had her reasons for taking up boxing at a young age. She did grow up with an overly trusting, free-spirited mother, after all. 

Nell noticed how tense Paige got over talking about Chrissy and them, so she figured she’d switch to something a little more lighthearted. “Hey,” Nell walked closer. “You said you had three other skirts, right?” Nell asked. Before she could let Paige answer, Nell smeared bubbles across Paige’s cheek. “Not your skirt, but it could get there.” Nell smirked. 

“I’ll be sure to keep quiet when he’s around, then.” Paige said, miming zipping her lips and throwing away the key. At Nell’s comment about her arms, she glanced over at the girl, watching the way her muscles flexed as she cleaned the car. “Mhm, good point. Gotta prove that those guns aren’t just for show.” She teased.

Paige shrugged at Nell’s comment. “Boxing is a lot different from what they do. The people you box with know that a fight’s coming. People like Chrissy prefer to take you ought before you even see it coming.” She said, her tone bitter. That was exactly what had happened with her, after all. The second Chrissy found out about what had happened, she’d gone out of her way to spread a rumor that went across the school like a wildfire. 

“Hm? Oh!” Paige was startled as Nell smeared a trail of bubbles across her face. Gasping, she glowered at the other girl, “That doesn’t mean I want egg bits all over my clothes!” She said, retaliating with a splash of sudsy water of her own.

[nelldanes]

first it’s the spark || para

[thatpaigenewton]

nelldanes‌:

Nell nodded and smiled tightly, feeling a little awkward (and maybe a little nervous) at having thrown the friend card out there. Paige took it well, of course, but still. Despite Nell being a brutally honest person, this was a different type of honesty. “It is nice, yeah.”

“If you say so…” Nell trailed off as she took a moment to actually look at Paige’s outfit. Paige had nice legs. Which, you know, made it an obvious reason why Paige wore skirts in the first place. Nell was just making an observation, of course.

Nell chuckled at the thought of her uncle Otis being a hotshot lawyer–heck, even the thought of him wearing a suit seemed weird. He only wore one on very special occasions, but it always looked weird to Nell when the man always wore t-shirts and flannels. “Yeah, he’s pretty great.” Nell said softly as she kept scrubbing off the egg from her car. “Jesus, what kind of eggs did Chrissy buy?” Nell muttered as she scrubbed a little harder. There would be no need for her to hit the boxing gym after this since her arms would get quite the workout from this.

Squirting some soap onto her sponge, Paige scrubbed at the next filthy patch of the car, unaware of the way that Nell looked at her. She stood on her tiptoes, straining across the hood of the car to reach a spot on the windshield.

“At the very least, he makes the best pancakes in town.” Paige said with a grin. She’d only ever been in the diner once or twice before meeting Nell, but it was true. The food there wasn’t anything her family would be caught dead eating, though. “I saw them pull into the parking lot at the beginning of the class period, so it probably got baked on there.” She said with a sigh.

“This is just the shitty kind of stuff they like to do. Her and her awful boyfriend.” Paige grumbled. Fucking James. God, he and Chrissy deserved each other.

[nelldanes]

first it’s the spark || para

[thatpaigenewton]

nelldanes‌:

Nell raised an eyebrow. “You’re not…” Nell paused. “You’re not someone I put up with. We’re friends.” Nell told her, the word sounding very foreign to her. This was the first time in a long time where Nell admitted such a thing. A label. That her and Paige had a relationship of sorts. It was weird. 

“You sure? I don’t want you to ruin your cute outfit. Do you wanna borrow something of mine?” Nell offered, watching as Paige insisted on helping. Paige sure was stubborn. 

Nell grabbed the other sponge and started to help scrub off the caked-on eggs. “Hm? Yeah.” Nell nodded. “I saved up money for it and it was all I could afford. My uncle taught me everything I know. Plus it helped with bonding, I guess.” Nell shrugged. She loved her uncle Otis, even if she was still standoffish with him despite how many years it’s been since he took custody of her. “I know he looks like a total grump, but he’s got a good heart.” 

Paige quirked an eyebrow at the other girl’s phrasing. Friends? High praise from someone who claimed not to have any. But, she didn’t push the subject. “Well, I’m glad to hear it. It’s been nice to have a friend again.” She said, offering a small smile across the hood of the car.

“It’s fine, really. I’ve got like three other skirts just like this at home.” Paige said with an off-hand wave of her hand. It was more like five, all hand picked by her mother and approved by her father because of course they were. Her mistakes be damned, she was still a representative of the proud Newton family.

“That’s really cool. I’ve never done anything like that with my parents, let alone my uncle. He’s some hotshot lawyer out of state.” Paige laughed, shaking her head at the idea of him working on a car with her. He’d probably have a fit over getting oil all over his nice shoes. “I can picture that, actually. He looks like the softy with a heart of gold type.” She said. Just like you, Paige thought to herself. But, Nell probably didn’t want to hear something like that. Even if it was true.

[nelldanes]

first it’s the spark || para

[thatpaigenewton]

nelldanes‌:

Nell shrugged. “Don’t say sorry, it’s not your fault. You can’t stop people like Chrissy from being shitty human beings.” Nell reached over and patted Paige’s thigh in reassurance before focusing on driving again. “Besides, if it means she lays off you for a minute, then it’s worth dealing with her reign of terror.” Nell couldn’t understand why people like Chrissy felt some weird need to cause terror over anyone who was supposedly below them. High school would eventually end and then what? Popularity contests and your title at school doesn’t transfer over to adulthood. It’s usually where you start fresh. It’s why Nell couldn’t wait for it. 

Nell parked her car once they reached to the back of her uncle’s diner/apartment. “I’m gonna go get everything.” Nell told Paige as she took off her leather jacket and stepped out of the car. Nell gathered what she needed: a hose, buckets, sponges, soap, and towels. As Nell filled up the bucket with water, Nell looked back at Paige. “You don’t gotta help. You can just keep me company.” Nell told her, scrunching up her nose as she started to spray water on the car. Gross. 

“Well... thanks? I mean, not that I’m glad about what’s going on. But, thanks for putting up with this.” Paige said, crinkling her nose a little in embarrassment. She still didn’t get why Nell put up with all of this. There was a lot she still didn’t want to talk about, even though Paige knew that Nell wouldn’t care. Because, she would care. 

Nodding as Nell headed inside to grab some stuff to clean off the car, Paige set her backpack down and pulled off the light jacket she’d worn. Her blouse and skirt combo weren’t exactly car wash ready clothes, but she wasn’t about to make Nell do all the work. “Oh no, I don’t mind,” Paige said, turning to face Nell as she filled up the water bucket. Pausing, she blinked at Nell’s appearance. Something had changed... As the girl pointed the stream of water at the car, Paige realized she’d taken off her ever-present leather jacket, displaying her toned arms. Ah. Picking up a sponge from the bucket, she tossed it back and forth between her hands while she waited. 

“Did you and your uncle fix up this car together?” She asked as she began to scrub at some of the caked on bits of egg.

[nelldanes]

first it’s the spark || para

[thatpaigenewton]

nelldanes‌:

“Don’t be sorry. I’m not gonna show her I’m upset.” Nell paused. “That’s eggsactly what she wants from me.” Nell stifled a laugh at the lamest pun she just pulled out. She figured she’d ease Paige’s mind that she was upset. 

Nell took the keychain pocketknife. “That’s perfect. At least one of us is prepared for situations like these.” Nell chuckled. “And as soon as my car is free, I’ll hand you something to wipe your hands with.” Nell promised as she used the small pocketknife to rip the poor, old car free of its egg-y, saran-wrapped chains. Nell scrunched up her nose as she gathered a bit of the egg-filled saran wrap in her hands and walked over to Chrissy. “Hey, figured I’d give this back to you.” Nell pushed the saran against Chrissy’s chest. Before she could witness Chrissy’s bitch fit, Nell walked back to Paige. 

“Pretty sure she wants to kill me even more now, so let’s get going.” Nell told Paige as they both got in the car and sped out the school’s parking lot. “Jesus, they’re the worst.” Nell shook her head. “If Chrissy thinks this is going to silence me or something, then she needs to come up with better material.” Nell scoffed as she drove back to her uncle’s. He wouldn’t see them unless he took peak out towards the back of the diner. Besides, Nell was pretty sure he’d be a little proud at how long Nell had stayed in school for. And she had an excuse! She needed to wash this car immediately. 

Paige bit her lip to stop the small laugh that threatened to escape at Nell’s dumb pun. It was stupid, but it brought some humor to the otherwise shitty situation. Pulling her hand to her face, she did her best to hide the laughter from Chrissy. But, her efforts were in vain, as Paige noticed the girl’s shit eating grin morph into one of irritation.

And when Nell tossed the mess of plastic wrap and egg shell at the cheerleader, Paige could have sworn Chrissy looked like she was about to explode with rage. “You’re not kidding, Jesus. Let’s get out of here.” Paige said, slipping into the passenger seat. As Nell hurried out of the parking lot, she chanced a glance in the side mirror to see Chrissy swearing loudly, the nasty saran wrap tossed on the ground next to her.

“I’m really sorry about all of this... I knew that Chrissy was bad, but I never thought she would do something like this.” Paige mumbled, eyes downcast. But, in hindsight... this is exactly the kind of thing she and her friends would have laughed about just a year ago. Some rando, getting their car trashed just because they could do it? That tracked with everything Chrissy was, everything she used to be.

[nelldanes]

first it’s the spark || para

[thatpaigenewton]

nelldanes‌:

After turning in her calculus exam to the teacher, Nell realized she had no other reason to stick around the rest of the school day. Nell was staying almost full school days, though. Paige would somehow coax her into staying. Nell’s kinda gotten use to having Paige around quite a bit.

To their surprise, the two had several classes in common. It just took Nell actually bothering to show up to find out that fun fact. Nell could only tolerate classes because Paige was there and most of the time it felt like they were in their own little world of academia. 

That is, until one of Paige’s bitchy ex-friends would interrupt that. It would start off with snide comments directed at Paige and Nell never hesitated in saying a snide comment in return. They weren’t big fans of that, but Chrissy was the relentless one. With Nell’s seamless way of appearing tough and intimidating, she quickly bumped up to #2 on Chrissy’s shit list (Paige was still #1). Did Nell give a single fuck about that list, though? Not at all. 

Nell walked out to the school parking lot and towards her old Sedan car she bought. It was junk car, but she and her uncle worked together to restore it back to its original glory. As close to it as possible, at least. But right now? It looked very much similar to the day Nell purchased it. 

“What the fuck?” Nell furrowed her eyebrows as she saw her car egged and wrapped in saran wrap.  As Nell walked closer, she noticed Paige trying her best to clean up and unwrap the car. Nell was about to speak up before hearing laughs coming from behind her. And sure enough, there was Chrissy with a smug look on her face. Nell scoffed before turning back to Paige. “I got this, don’t worry about it. She was due for a wash anyway.” Nell shrugged. She would not give Chrissy the satisfaction of looking absolutely pissed. She’d think of getting back at Chrissy later. “At least she gave me more reason to ditch the rest of the day. Wanna come?” 

Paige grimaced as she did her best to peel back the egg soaked layers of saran wrap from Nell’s car. She’d been zoning out during her AP Art History class earlier when she’d seen Chrissy Cahil’s Jeep zoom into the parking lot from the 2nd floor window. And while that wouldn’t normally be anything she cared about, when she’d seen the Jeep circle the parking lot as though they were looking for something, Paige had gotten worried.

And here she was now, late to her last class of the day, because she was desperately trying to peel away layers of egg smeared saran wrap from Nell’s car. On the one hand, Paige knew this was just icing on the cake for Chrissy-- her peels of laughter were proof enough of that. But, on the other... she owed it to Nell to at least do something about it. The girl had been nothing but kind to her over the last few weeks.

At Nell’s exclamation, Paige whirled around, hiding her egg streaked hands behind her back. “I-- I’m really sorry about all this, Nell.” Paige said, glancing over the girl’s shoulder to see Chrissy sneering at them both. When she offered the opportunity to ditch school, Paige barely hesitated before nodding. One of the unfortunate side effects of hanging out with Nell meant she was ditching class more often. Even if it was her senior year, it still set a bad precedent. “Sounds good to me. Here,” Paige rummaged around in her bag and pulled out a small keychain pocketknife. “This should help with the saran wrap, right?”

[thatpaigenewton]

Lonely Like Me || Para

[nelldanes]

thatpaigenewton‌:

Paige’s drummed her fingers against the side of her knee as she listened to Nell. “Thanks.” She said, her tone light, as though the comment didn’t really matter. But, even though it was coming from someone who didn’t know her from Adam… it really helped to hear.

The girl’s eyes narrowed as Nell shrugged off her question. It being “just who Nell was” her ass. Up until this year, Paige had spent her entire high school career watching and analyzing everything about everyone around her. She saw how her friends desperately clung to the status quo and she saw how everyone, no matter who you were, wanted friends. Even the weird kids who no one else liked, they stuck together because they needed other people around. So, Paige called bullshit on that. But, she didn’t want to rock the boat right now– if Nell said that’s just who she was, that’s just who she was. “I see. Well, it seems like you’ve at least got some people around here who like having you around.” She said, gesturing to the people around the boxing gym.

Nell kept her eyes on Paige at her comment. “Yeah, I guess there are some people here who like having me around…” she trailed off, looking away moments later. It was a ridiculous thought to believe Paige was referencing to herself. She was obviously referencing to her dumbass gym buddies like Gabe or Ian or Ash. But the thought was nice for a moment. “I’m a fun opponent so I heard.” Nell shrugged. “I pack a good punch.” 

It was hard for Nell to admit who her friends were and who she saw genuine friendship in. Being along was an easier alternative. You have nothing to lose when there was no one around to face loss of to begin with. 

There was one thing though. Nell didn’t know it yet, but there was one person in the room that would be something to lose–something monumental. And the thing was? That same person was as alone as Nell was. 

[thatpaigenewton]

Lonely Like Me || Para

[thatpaigenewton]

nelldanes

"Well, you’re better off without ‘em. You don’t need people that suck around you. They just help bring out the worst side of you, I think.” 

Nell’s lips tightened at the question. She wasn’t sure how to answer that question. Nell wasn’t a liar, but answering the question completely would result in a much longer answering session that Nell wasn’t looking to have. “I…” Nell paused as she collected her thoughts. “It’s just how i am.” she shrugged. Never mind the fact that the idea of forming meaningful relationships made Nell uncomfortable because of the fact that she spent a good 11 years of her life moving from place to place to do her mother’s inability to create a stable household for Nell. By the time Nell would form a meaningful relationship with people, it was time to leave. 

Nell figured this was just a philosophy about life: Don’t bother because shit always changes. Sure, she was forming some type of friendship here with Paige, but she fully knew it wouldn’t last. Whatever Paige wanted to get out of her–even if it was filling void of lacking friends at the moment–Nell would let her. Paige would jump ship eventually, right? 

Paige's drummed her fingers against the side of her knee as she listened to Nell. "Thanks." She said, her tone light, as though the comment didn't really matter. But, even though it was coming from someone who didn't know her from Adam... it really helped to hear.

The girl's eyes narrowed as Nell shrugged off her question. It being "just who Nell was" her ass. Up until this year, Paige had spent her entire high school career watching and analyzing everything about everyone around her. She saw how her friends desperately clung to the status quo and she saw how everyone, no matter who you were, wanted friends. Even the weird kids who no one else liked, they stuck together because they needed other people around. So, Paige called bullshit on that. But, she didn't want to rock the boat right now-- if Nell said that's just who she was, that's just who she was. "I see. Well, it seems like you've at least got some people around here who like having you around." She said, gesturing to the people around the boxing gym.

[thatpaigenewton]

Lonely Like Me || Para

[thatpaigenewton]

nelldanes

Nell shrugged. “Fair enough.” Nell repeated in the same polite tone Paige had used earlier. She was teasing, of course. She figured there was more that Paige wasn’t telling her, but she wasn’t going to pull it out of her. Nell wasn’t a fucking dentist or anything. 

Nell nodded with a soft smile. Anymore. Interesting. So Paige had friends before? Nell wasn’t gonna question it. Again, it wasn’t her business to know and Paige wasn’t obligated to tell. “Well your friends suck for dropping you.” she told Paige. “I don’t really have friends either. I choose to have no friends, though.” 

Paige frowned slightly at the other girl's response, but brushed it off. She wasn't going to explain all of her... baggage to someone she'd just met. Particularly when Nell was the only person who seemed to not know anything about her. It was comforting, in a weird way, that Nell didn't know. Which is why she had no intention of explaining further.

"Mhm," Paige nodded in agreement, "They kinda suck yeah. Some of them sucked before they ditched me, but they definitely do now." She said, with a slight wince as she remembered just how cruel Chrissy and Amber had been even when they'd been friends.

"Why's that?" She asked, confused. If Nell had been here for 7 years, how had she not made any friends? Or rather, why had she chosen not to have any?

[thatpaigenewton]

Lonely Like Me || Para

[thatpaigenewton]

nelldanes

Nell paused from punching and grabbed the punching bag. “I’m not gonna compromise who I am for the sake of people who are allegedly my friends. Losing them doesn’t seem like that much of a loss if they feel the need to only want to bring me down.” Nell replied. “Shit, I think I’d make it my mission that no matter what they try to do to me, I’m not gonna stop being me. It’ll piss them off to no end that they can’t break me and that’ll be my ammo to throw back. I am who I am and I’ve done things that maybe aren’t perfect, but no one out here are ever going to get things right all the time. And if they can’t understand that? They can fuck off.” Nell shrugged as she went back to what she was previously doing, still listening to Paige. “Yup. That’s what I’m saying.” Nell nodded. Nell wasn’t a bullshitter. When she said something, she meant it. “But only if you want to. No pressure.” 

Paige was a little surprised by the quick flow of words from Nell-- it was the most she'd said to her at all. And while it gave her a lot to think about, most of it just... didn't work for her. She couldn't go back to being herself because who she was depended so much on her friends. Her entire identity had been tied into who her friends were and now that she was on the opposite side of things, she wasn't even sure who she was anymore. But, she couldn't tell Nell all of that. For one thing, if she did, she'd need to air out all her baggage to the other girl and she did NOT want to do that. "Fair enough. I just don't think that would work for me." Paige said politely.

As Nell resumed hitting the bag, Paige shrugged. "Thanks. Like you've already noticed... I don't really have any friends anymore. That'd be nice." She said with a small smile.

[thatpaigenewton]

Lonely Like Me || Para

[thatpaigenewton]

nelldanes

“There are always options.” Nell argued. “And one of those options is keeping your head down. You can do more than just that, though.” Nell nodded back at Paige. “But we should probably find a better place to ditch since the library is too dangerous for you.” Nell teased as she walked over to a nearby punching bag. “Not saying we only have to ditch, but…you don’t have to sit in the hallway is what I’m trying to say.” Nell turned her attention to the punching bag. “Like I said, you got options.” Nell said before starting to throw punches at the punching bag. 

Crossing her legs, Paige hummed for a minute at the other girl's answer, considering the advice. "Well, let's put it this way. Say you're in my shoes-- all of your old friends either hate you or don't understand you and they're... not the nicest of people. And you can't do anything to fight back against them because that only gives them more ammo to throw at you. What would you do?" Paige asked as she laced her fingers together. "Hm? Are you saying you actually want to hang out with me?" She asked, confused.

[thatpaigenewton]

Lonely Like Me || Para

[thatpaigenewton]

nelldanes‌

“I can respect that.” Nell nodded. “However, I do think allowing them to treat you that way isn’t doing you any favors. It only makes their pea brains believe that they’re allowed to keep treating you that way. You don’t gotta punch ‘em to show them they can’t fuck with you like that. Or that’s what I think.” Nell shrugged. “I’ve never competed, but I am pretty experienced. So I guess something of a pro, yeah.” Nell responded as she stood up and started to do some warm-ups. “Like I said, offer’s always there.” Nell felt weird saying that. Almost as if there was going to be more occasions where her and Paige would spend time together. Nell wasn’t one to think about the past too much or dwell on the future, so this was a first. 

But she deserved it. Paige couldn’t help but think that, because it was true. She deserved to be ignored, she deserved to be... hated. And it sucked, but that was just what happened. “I guess. But, it’s not really an option for me.” Paige said quietly. Settling down on one of the benches around the gym, she watched as Nell began to run through some warm ups. “I’ll keep that in mind.” She nodded. Did this mean that Nell wanted to hang out with her again? Paige couldn’t really understand it, but who knows.

[thatpaigenewton]

Lonely Like Me || Para

[thatpaigenewton]

nelldanes‌:

Nell nodded. “Yeah, I took up boxing when I was younger. It made me feel like I was a lot tougher than I actually was. I was pretty scrawny as a kid.” And it made Nell feel like she could protect her mother when she was dating the not-so-nice boyfriends, but those were details Nell felt weren’t appropriate to share to someone she barely met. “Now I just use it to build up muscle and to release any pent up anger I have. Like I said before, whatever I feel will come out in some way. Whether I say it or punch it out. It helps me.” Nell shrugged as she sat down on a bench and started to wrap her hands in white cloth. “You know, I wasn’t kidding when I said I’d teach ya how to throw a punch.” Nell offered, making sure her wrapping was tight enough around her hands. “They deserve to have a manicured chipped off or whatever.” she chuckled. 

Humming in acknowledgment, Paige watched as the other girl set about wrapping her hands up. Without her leather jacket on, it was clear that Nell spent a good amount of time in the gym, what with her muscle tone and defined arms. Paige had a runners build herself, honed from years of running relay on the track and field team. She missed being active, but boxing didn’t really seem like her speed. “Oh, no thanks. I’m not really into, like... violence. Like I said, it’s easier to keep my head down.” Gesturing to some people sparring, she continued, “That’s cool that you’ve been doing this for so long. You must be some kind of pro then, right?”

[thatpaigenewton]

Lonely Like Me || Para

[thatpaigenewton]

nelldanes‌:

“Point taken.” Nell chuckled before shaking her head. “Nope, I don’t mind you coming along at all. Maybe I can even teach you how to punch some of those assholes that give you a hard time.” Nell told her with a soft smile before starting to walk towards the direction of the boxing gym. 

The gym was only a few blocks away, so it didn’t take them very long. Once they arrived, Nell greeted the familiar faces who also took the opportunity to chastise her for ditching school once again. “I see you brought a friend, Nell.” Gabe, one of the trainers, teased. Nell looked over at Paige and then back to Gabe. “Yeah, this is Paige.” Nell was oblivious to the teasing. Gabe snorted. “Nice to meet you, Paige. Can’t say you’ll enjoy your time here since it’s mostly sweaty people beating each other up, but, hey, you can try.” he chuckled. Nell quickly went to change into proper gym attire, walking back to Paige. “I hope they’re not giving you a hard time. They always like to tease newcomers.” Nell told her. 

A small smile spread across Paige’s face-- not because of the idea of smacking the people who had gone out of their way to make her life miserable. No, she was mostly just... surprised that Nell even cared. And it was nice, in a way. To hear that someone else cared.

Following Nell to the gym, Paige was met with the sound of people grunting and knocking around punching bags, a few of them jumping rope, others throw punches at imaginary enemies. It was a much more intense environment than she was used to, but Nell just walked through the gym with ease. “Nice to meet you too.” Paige said shyly, “I’m mostly just here because it’s better than the alternative.” When the other girl returned from the locker room, Paige shrugged. “No, they’ve been fine. I see you’re regular here too though?”