Gotta get out [PRIVATE]

Nathaniel Dabrowski was upset. Earlier that morning he had been in an argument with his folks about the previous day's behavior. Nate had decided to avoid a family get together by remaining in his room. When his grandmother demanded to see him, Nate had flung the door open and used a few choice words to get her to leave. This of course frustrated his parents, but Nate felt rather proud of himself. His grandmother was stubborn and so defeating her gave him a glowing feeling of accomplishment.

When he awoke this morning his parents were already downstairs debating on how to handle Nate's actions. When Nate wouldn't hear of it he ran back to his room, grabbed the home made rope ladder from under his bed, and dropped out his window, clutching his beanie and messenger bag along the way. It was a bit chilly, so Nate buttoned up his jacket and started galloping down the streets. Normally he wouldn't have done this completely alone, especially heading to the more questionable area of the district, but he felt more comfortable there then at home.

Nate, in his frustration, barely noticed the girl in his path as he darted down the street. He misjudged the distance and clipped her shoulder with his. He would have kept going if it wasn't for the girl's choice to yell after him. Nate stopped in his tracks and turned around. Slightly out of breath he took a moment to inhale and followed her comment with his own response. "Seriously? You were in MY way!" Her sudden stern look gave Nate pause. The girl didn't look like someone to mess with. It wasn't her size, in fact she was quite small. Instead it was the attitude in her eyes that made Nate stumble over his words. "I mean.... yea, well sorry. Guess I didn't see you. They really need to widen these paths, you know? But I guess you could have maybe moved over a bit. Didn't you see that I was running? Maybe you didn't, but you could have heard it right? I don't know, maybe I was just that silent, know when I mean." He was rambling again.

Nate thought for a moment. Normally he would have tried another excuse to make himself look like the smart individual, but he knew that he would just go in circles with this girl. "Yeah, I guess you're right." He turned to walk away and started back in the direction he was headed. Hesitation struck him as he took the first few steps. He didn't really know where he was going after all. His feet had just started moving to get far away from home. What was his plan? Sure, he had a few fuses and a fan belt in his bag, but without his crew he didn't feel safe trying to trade them. What about this girl? It wasn't an everyday occurrence to see someone like her out on the streets alone. Maybe she knew something he didn't. He could always attach himself to her and find a couple of people dumb enough to trade more than what the items were worth. Even if she didn't know people he could possibly pawn them off to her. At the very least it gave him something to do. Spinning around on his heals, Nate blurted out the first thought on the tip of his tongue. "What are you doing out here anyway?"

Nate could feel his face turn red as the girl stated her case about trading. Had he been that obvious? Was he slipping in his lies? Sheepishly he slung his bag back over his shoulder and fixed his posture. "Trade? No, no, nothing like that. I'm, uh, just trying to get out of the house too. Ya know, get some fresh air and all. Seemed like a good time for a walk. Weather is pretty good and no one is really out to bug you. Have you ever noticed that when you want to be alone people never seem to let you be?" Nate's eyes widened. He just called himself out and he didn't even catch it in time. Quickly he ran through topics in his brain. Nothing of much interest. Then his eyes darted to her bag. She had checked it when he ran into her and then again a moment ago. What was so important? Perhaps she had something of value. She didn't want to trade with him but maybe she was going to trade with someone else. "It couldn't hurt to inquire," Nate thought to himself. After all, things couldn't get any worse, unless the girl turned violent. But Nate didn't feel that. He was getting an inquisitive (and sarcastic) vibe from the girl. Nate spoke more measured this time. "So... your bag okay?"

Nate was a bit surprised by the girl's blunt question about what he had. He thought for a bit about whether to tell her, but in the end the few things he had weren't worth a whole lot so even if she was playing him for a fool he wouldn't loose out on too much. Plus he needed something to do for the day, and if he could make a profit, then why not! "Yeah, it's some pretty cool stuff. I've got some fuses and a fan belt in here. It's worth a pretty good trade. I mean, I know you said you weren't interested, but here's an idea for you. How about we split it? If you know anybody who wants it or if you want to help me trade these things then I'll give you half of what they trade. Besides you're out here on your own, might be better if there's two of us. What do you say?"