ONCE BURNED was made by MEL. Copying, altering, or stealing any of the site's content is prohibited. All of ONCE BURNED's characters are the original work of their owners and may not be replicated or stolen. All images and graphics belong to their rightful owners and ONCE BURNED does not claim to own any of them.
The idea alone had Emmett laughing, because she could think of no other person that would suggest such a thing. She recalled what her lawyer had warned her of, and although she'd been offering playful banter over text messages, she didn't think this warranted as anything too reckless. "Fuck yes!" And just like that, Emmett was out of her seat.
She really had no idea how to find the person responsible, given that even the police were struggling to put together the pieces, but she determined that a little adventure would be well worth it to both of them. If Emmett didn't need the distraction, Alex probably did. "Let's get out of here."
Alex Harper
Ask me how I'm doing I'll say okay, but ain't that what we all say?
And that was why they were friends. Emmett didn't make her feel like a freak for suggesting silly things like what she had. Although she wasn't scrappy or great at fist fights, she had been protecting her brother her whole life and she wanted to help protect her best friend too. She didn't deserve that kind of behavior.
"Yesssss, let's do this!" Alex slammed down some money onto the bar and slipped off of her barstool, staggering the tiniest bit. She might have been a little more intoxicated than she thought, but she was still feeling the bit of adrenaline that made her want to do something risky. "Where d'we start? I think we need to find clues! What kind of clues d'you got for me?"
The moment Alex stood, Emmett was quickly aware that of the two, her friend was the more intoxicated one. She immediately put a hand on the brunette's back, keeping her steady as they started for the exit. At the very least, some cooler air would do them both a little good if they wanted to scheme revenge. "He took the first Gretzky jersey I ever got." Emmett explained, exhaling as she caught sight of her breath in the winter air. "It's the only fucking evidence they found." And the police had searched thoroughly.
"Where do you think we should start with that?" Emmett asked, curious as to where her friend's mind was going.
Alex Harper
Ask me how I'm doing I'll say okay, but ain't that what we all say?
Alex had no idea what a Gretzky was, but she knew jerseys were for sports and she could recall the one that Emmett was referring to. Why would anyone want to take that? It would make sense for it to be a guy, she didn't see a girl doing this kind of criminal act. Girls were petty and catty, this was neither of those things. It was mostly just stupid and ignorant, something she found to be about most men. But where did they start with a Gretzky jersey?
"I mean, we're at a bar, you'd think that would be a good place to start," She shrugged. But outside of that, she was relatively clueless on the type of people that would steal a jersey and vandalize a garage. She was clueless on how people worked in general sometimes. "What other bars could we check out? Maybe they're there? They're there. Heh," She covered her mouth and snorted.
A bar really was the best place to start, if only because it was all anyone in this city seemed to do. Emmett's lips scrunched to the side, eyebrows quirking up at her friend as she found humor in the play on words. Slowly, it drew a grin out of her before she gave the brunette a firm pat on the back. "Well, we could at least hit up some sports bars." Given the person responsible had stolen a jersey of all things, it wouldn't really be a surprise to see him turn up at a bar.
"We'll see where that gets us, but there isn't a game on tonight." Otherwise she herself would be watching it. "C'mon." An arm wrapped around Alex's shoulders as she started to lead them down the street. "It's only a few blocks." And the cold air would likely be good for them. "Tell me what's up. How's classes and shit?"
Alex Harper
Ask me how I'm doing I'll say okay, but ain't that what we all say?
She was pretty excited to be going on an adventure. Her mind was dulled which was keeping the technological devices around her at a low mumble. She didn't feel quite as crazy which aided in her ability to socialize. It helped that she was with her best friend, the only real friend she had. Part of the reason she went out when she could was to feel this way, to feel relaxed and human. "Let's do it!"
Alex was looking around as they started walking down the street and towards where a sports bar would be. It wasn't often that she'd say she was going to a sports bar, not unless she was there to hang out with Emmett. She glanced at her friend and shrugged her shoulders, "Classes are okay. I'm happy to be almost done with them. Although that means real world stuff and I have no clue what comes after school."
There were a lot of factors to consider about her future. The biggest one being Sam. She couldn't leave him and she was hoping he wouldn't leave her, but they hadn't talked much about where they were going after the academy.
At least the trek wasn't far, and there was more than enough to catch up on while they walked towards the closest sports bar. She kept the brunette close, grinning as she explained that she had no idea what to do once school was done. Emmett was lucky to have found her passion early in life. "Well you better be staying here," the mechanic joked easily, letting out a little laugh. Though, she really couldn't blame Alex if she left; once Emmett had graduated high school, she was quick to leave Montana. It was a lucky coincidence that Bellefonte moved to her home state, and even the city she chose to settle down in, otherwise she might not have seen Alex again.
"I mean, you and Sam are gonna do great though." There was confidence in her tone, because if anything, Alex was stubborn enough to not let anything get her too down and Sam would follow.
Alex Harper
Ask me how I'm doing I'll say okay, but ain't that what we all say?
Emmett's joke made Alex smile and she rolled her eyes, "As if I'd willingly leave you behind. You're pretty much the only friend I've managed to maintain, not something I take lightly." It wasn't that she believed they wouldn't maintain a friendship if she moved, but she couldn't honestly think of anywhere she'd rather move to. Montana was a bust, she couldn't very well go anywhere near where she'd grown up as a kid and she didn't do much traveling.
The confidence her best friend had in her brother sticking around was almost comforting. Except, Alex had been dwelling on their separation for most of their lives. It had struck her hard when he manifested weeks before her. She thought she'd never see him again. Alex wasn't keen on having that sickening feeling wash over her again. If she had any say, Sam would be stuck forever.
"Unless he miraculously finds someone else that can put up with his weirdness. It's a long shot, but, y'know, so was making any friends at all in mutant school."
In the time she'd known them, it was impossible to imagine Alex and Sam separated. Emmett honestly doubted it would ever happen, but she had no real way of knowing the inner workings of their relationship. Siblings carried a weird connection. More, were twins. These two might have had a strange relationship, but they made it work. And though she didn't wish for her friend to move away, she wouldn't entirely blame her if she had. Emmett did, after all.
"Hey, you never know. He might, and then you'd just have to get used to someone else being around." She laughed, shoving her hands in her pockets to combat the cooler air. "I mean, does he even want to go out into the real world?"
Alex Harper
Ask me how I'm doing I'll say okay, but ain't that what we all say?
The thought of getting used to someone else was cringe-worthy. She'd come across temporary people that she didn't mind having around for a certain timeframe, but they either expected too much from her or they got bored. Companionship wasn't easy to come by, but she had Emmett and that was honestly the only friendship she needed to rely on. She didn't think she'd ever find anyone that would fill the hole that would be left if Sam separated his life from hers. He'd always been such a constant factor. She needed him for the stability. It was a weird relationship, for sure, but it was the only one that made any sense to her.
"He hasn't mentioned it, but he's starting to venture out more. He's being integrated into social life more each day, kind of testing the boundaries of his ability. If he gets it under control, he'll have nothing stopping him," Alex shrugged. She wanted more than anything for her brother to gain control over his ability. The risk it had over his life was too much and she wanted for once to not have to worry about his heart exploding. "I'm sure I could survive on my own and all. I just don't really want to I guess."
