••The Webs We Weave {{pierce, buddy!

[Carrie Huntington]

Plunk. Plunk. Plunk. Plunk. The shoes sounded muffled with everyone else's shoes around them doing the same. The shoes were plain blue Converse. Very new and looked almost as if they just came out of the store. The owner of these shoes, Caroline Huntington, was one of the richest people you would ever meet, but no one in this town new that yet. You couldn't exactly tell with how she dressed basically just like them. Like today, with her light blue Old Navy jeans with a black belt looped through it. And then a simple royal blue, short-sleeved shirt with a v-neck towards the bottom. Around her neck itself with a large necklace of black beads, and her earrings were black studs each. Of course, you could barely see her ears anyway under the mass of straight blonde hair that fell to the bottom of her shoulder blades and the bangs hung just over her eyebrows. Her heart-shaped face clad in a very light coat of make-up, with a slightly darker coat of mascara and eyeliner, as always.

Carrie walked with the leash of her Australian Shepherd in hand. Her hazel eyes danced amusingly at the sight of her dog staring at someone carrying a bag of food out of a fast food place. Lilly, her dog, was always eyeing everyone around Carrie, thinking she was a watch dog instead of a herding shepherd. As the dog's two different colored eyes (one brown and one light blue) turned up to glance at Carrie's face, the dog's tongue fell and she panted softly. Lilly's face fell into a friendly look, her ears down and a dog smile on her face. Carrie reached down next to her and scratched Lilly's ear playfully before glancing back up as she moved a bit to avoid a little girl and her mother.

She inhaled as she walked along, closing her eyes to feel the soft breeze flow over her slightly tanned skin before she exhaled slowly. Carrie's hazel eyes opened softly to reveal a really peaceful look. Living here was so relaxing sometimes. Her eyes widened slightly as her ears caught the sound of "Mommy! Mommy! Can we go get some ice cream? Pretty please?" Her head turned as her feet stopped and saw a little boy dragging his mother towards an ice cream shop. Come to think of it, the little girl she'd seen early had an ice cream in her hand. A small smile graced her face and her eyes warmed to see the mother give in and take the little boy inside. It felt like a classic moment to her. One that she never got to experience.

Lilly's eyes stared at Carrie before a determined look crossed her furry face. She jerked Carrie forward, hearing what sounded like a small yelp from the freshman, and stopped in front of the window that peered into the ice cream shop. Carrie stared at Lilly for a second before looking into the ice cream shop. A small grin set itself onto Carrie's face as she watched the little kids point at flavors and start to devour their ice cream. From the corner of her eye she could see Lilly put her paws on the wall to look inside as well and stare longingly at the cold dessert. That's when a saddness welled up into Carrie's chest and her grin began to fade as she watched inside with a lonely expression. She would never be that small again. Never get that experience of being with her mom or dad and begging for ice cream with the perfect little pout on her face. She sighed softly, thinking of whether to go inside or not...

[pierce fletcher;]

READY TO SMILE?

It was summer. During the summer, there was no school. No school meant no rules, leashes, teachers and principals to hold Pierce back. He was a free man. This made him smile. Of course, he understood a few other side effects of the perpetual joy of summer, at the end of every summer came the unsatisfying devastation of finally remembering that you had to go back to school for another year. Torture if you ask Pierce. But that of course was just a minor setback to the happy freedom of summer. The high that the sudden release from that jail called school, there was nothing that he could compare it to, unless you counted a few other naughty things. As the thought swirls through his mind, a wicked smile brightened the features of his finely shaped face. A pretty boy? Of course he is. Acts like one? Most certainly. Not. Sure, he had a pretty face, sure he could just as well be a male model, however. He just wouldn't be able to stand the petty, catty atmosphere of it all, in fact. He'd down right hate it. Pierce is much more...down to earth than that, buying most of his clothes from thrift stores, Ross, and Wal-Mart. Sure, he had the money that he could spend on designer clothes, but that wasn't his prerogative, his adoptive mother kept control of the family bank account, to even think of getting money from her he'd have to get on his hands an knees and beg (something far below his normal dignity level). His adoptive father of course, was there for his mother's pleasure and to actually bring the money home, other than that he was a nice addition to the leather couches in the living room. Pierce liked it that way only because Mom, he found, was much easier to persuade than his father, he knows who to manipulate and who he shouldn't even try to mess with, though that doesn't mean he won't tread on thin ice just for the thrills.

It had started out as a typical summer morning, just his mother and father getting ready for the day as he slept in (he had a long night, poor baby). He woke up to the piquant smell of eggs and bacon. Unlike most other things, the very thought of food could raise Pierce from the dead. He didn't even stop to think that he should look like he had not gotten home at three in the morning (his parents were rather clueless on the subject of his nighttime activities), he had flown down the steps and into the kitchen like an alcoholic to the bottle. Unfortunately, instead of finding just his mother and father waiting with smiling faces and delicious food, his brothers sat beside them, laughing and telling of their college experiences. Now, Pierce was family oriented, but that doesn't mean he enjoyed his own brother's company. Without even the slightest hello, he had ran back up to his room, fixed him self and stormed out the door, planning to spend most of the day outside. Now something like, four hours later, his stomach tattled on him, blaming him for the starving state he had put it in. Still, he was too stubborn to return home. The closest place he could think of was the ice cream shop, a wonderful treat for a hot day. He barely noticed the other people around him as he honed in on the ice cream shop, almost running over a young child in his feverish attempt to reach it (ok, so it wasn't that dramatic, but he felt as if it was). As he reached for the door, he noticed a girl and her dog staring in hopefully at the treats within, he smirked. Toy? He hadn't ruled out that option just yet. Following her gaze to the children inside he let his smile soften, but the wicked tone in his voice remained, Ah, the joys of childhood. Too bad Mommy and Daddy don't do that with teens now-a-days, do they?

[Carrie Huntington]

As weight shifted from one foot to the other as Carrie was about to tear her eyes away, she ended up having to tense up as Lilly jerked. Her eyes flew up to the gaze of some guy talking. He didn't look much older than herself and didn't seem very vicious, so she wasn't sure what Lilly was freaking out about. Moving hazel eyes to Lilly, she grabbed the dog's muzzle tightly, holding it shut. The rumble in Lilly's throat was still heard though. Carrie looked back up again. It was such a trouble only being 5''3. Meeting his gaze, she felt the heat rise to her cheeks as a rosy pink washed over them slowly. "Uh-- yeah. Too bad," she commented softly while she let go of Lilly's muzzle and patted her side softly. She'd be okay for awhile now, hopefully.

Finally getting to actually look at the guy now, she blinked. He had pretty colored eyes, and his facial features reminded her of someone she'd met somewhere in Italy, but it definitely wasn't that 27-year-old man. This guy was much younger than 27. Carrie inhaled slowly - gaining what confidence she could find - and held out her hand with a soft, friendly look on her shy face. "I-I'm Carrie. It's nice to meet you." She silently corrected herself in her head at the studder that slipped through. She needed to quit being so... timid and shy. But Sabrina's reaction to that idea would be nothing, but hell gone loose if she found out Carrie's blushes wouldn't be as frequent. She didn't like the idea of Sabrina getting all whiny, just to get what she wants. She forced herself out of her thinking and noticed Lilly eyeing the leash as Carrie's hold loosened. This dog was just waiting to bite this guy's leg off or something. She tightened the leash hold, sending Lilly a mad look which made her sit down and her ears go back. Then she leaned down a bit, as if starting to lay down, and put a paw over her own muzzle, looking at Carrie with an apologetic expression. She was a smart dog.

[pierce fletcher;]

READY TO SMILE?

He looked down at the dog as she growled at him, his smile softened, What a good dog he thought to him self. Now, most people would scold their dog for doing such a thing, or the victim of the warning growl would yell at the animal them selves, but in his personal opinion dogs that threatened strangers were good dogs, doing what they were supposed to do- protect their owner. His eyes followed her hand as she clamped the dog's muzzle shut, he shook his head slowly, Oh, don't do that just for my safety, I heal, you shouldn't punish your dog for warning me not to make any sudden movements. It was true though, at least...it was in his eyes. But of course, his personal opinion is his own and cannot sway anyone else. He smiled as he noticed her blush as she softly replied to him, of course it was too bad. Teens, they get thrown onto the streets and told to have a good time, or in Pierce's case, he threw him self out onto the streets to avoid the potential 'family conversation' time with his brothers- not one of his more favorite past-times.

As she offered her hand he took it and gently squeezed it in a less verbal form of 'hello', he smiled again to him self, she wasn't that bad looking, and it was rare for him to find someone (especially of the female gender) to be so friendly towards him on the first meeting, he put off waves that seemed to annoy people before they even got to know him. This of course didn't bother him but it sure as hell earned him a few enemies. He chuckled in a small voice as she tripped over her words introducing her self, I'm Pierce, nice to meet you, he glanced down at her dog, Carrie and friend. See, he was nice enough to acknowledge the dog's presence. His parents would be stunned if they found he was being so polite (considering he was one to shoot and ask questions later), but today seemed to be one of those relaxed days, where he had no where else to go, so why not stop and smell the roses? He glanced back into the ice cream shop, remembering how hungry he had been, Perhaps I could treat you to a little ice cream on this fine, hot summer's day? Oh yes, his parents would be very proud of him right now.

[Carrie Huntington]

Carrie raised a brow slightly at his comment on Lilly's outburst. Had he ever owned a dog? Or had no one told him? If a dog where to get violent and attack someone without warning from the owner or a reason to hurt the victim, you'd have to put it down, right? That's why Lilly was trained to listen to Carrie, because she didn't want the dog to hurt someone and have to be put to sleep. "But... if she hurts anyone, she'd have to be put down," she pointed out softly, speaking her thoughts. Thinking about that made her bite the inside of her lip. Lilly was old already, turning 8 this year. She pushed the thought of age away though as he began to intoduce himself. Pierce. That was an uncommon name, but not rare.

Carrie felt her lips twitch into a smile as he said "Carrie and friend." She was sure that no one had ever really said anything to Lilly before. "Her name is Lilly," she intoduced her dog, who's ears went up as she tilted her head at Pierce. Cautiously, Lilly got up and took a step forward, sniffing the boy's leg curiously. Carrie let her hold loosen a bit on Lilly's leash. The dog obviously sensed a change in the atmosphere. Her hazel eyes looked back at Pierce, though, when he started speaking again. A blush fell over her cheeks (again) as he asked her if she wanted ice cream. From his first remark towards her, she wouldn't have expected him to be so nice. He obviously knew what manners where, though she didn't mind when people didn't. It was a change from being back with her family and all the rich and famous "friends."

"Sure..." she trailed off before panicking slightly. "Um-- please." Carrie smiled softly after correcting herself. Her cheeks were still warm, but at least she was being nice. Dogs probably weren't allowed in the store, so she crouched for a second to look Lilly in her different colored eyes. The dog sat still as Carrie tapped her nose with the tip of her finger and stayed still. Carrie stood back up and looked at Pierce, waiting for him to go in first. That was her way of telling Lilly to stay. She couldn't get that commanding voice to tell Lilly to do something unless she was in a panic. So, she usually just used little hand signals to keep the dog in order. One finger up meant sit, holding out her hand meant shake, holding out the other hand meant to shake with the other paw, a finger down meant lie down, and a tap on the nose meant stay. Most of the time, people thought Lilly to be deaf, but she was far from.

[pierce fletcher;]

READY TO SMILE?

An absent smile crossed his face as the hint of disappointed panic entered her voice reminding him that if a dog bit attacked anyone it'd have to be put down, he put out a cautious hand to allow the dog to smell it, without even looking up he said, Of course I know that, one of my families raised dogs, I was taught that a dog who acted like a true guard dog was a dog to be rewarded for their loyalty. They don't have to attack, just warn. You can't put a dog down for growling, now can you? He retracted his hand and looked back at Carrie, she seemed nice enough, most certainly a change from the pigs he calls brothers.

He watched as she looked down at her dog with that loving gaze that can only be gathered through years of partnership, Lilly, that's a good name, after all, all good dogs deserve a good name. He stood still as Lilly sniffed his leg, careful to not make any sudden movements, but took note at the slightly more relaxed posture the dog took on. He smiled at her blush when he asked her (politely of course) if she would like ice cream, but expected her to reject the offer. If she did, he'd be perfectly fine with this, after all, it was odd for a stranger to even offer to buy someone ice cream. It just wasn't natural in today's generations. Then again, he had been raised in many 'courteous' homes, when children got beat with the belt if they did something wrong, and in his humble opinion, all kids needed now a days was a good little whack across the ass and they'd get back in line. But sadly, parents just don't get it any more.

He stood a little straighter as she accepted his offer for ice cream and took note of the slightly panicked 'please' at the end of her sentence, like God would strike her down with a lightning bolt should she forget her manners. And in truth, he half expected it too, she seemed like such an innocent type of person...but then again, these were just first impressions (even though experts say they last), and could very well change in the future. He watched as she told Lilly to stay, opening up the door so she could go in first he asked, Did you train her your self? I like the whole non-verbal commands you got going there, it's how the dogs naturally communicate anyway, more effective. Glancing back in the shop, What's your favorite flavor of ice cream?

[Carrie Huntington]

[ooc] blah, i got lazy about the header lol [/ooc]

Carrie quirked a brow as he spoke. "One of my families raised dogs." The statement had caught her off-guard. Either he was a foster child, or there was some reason she wouldn't expect. She decided to leave it as unkown and thought about an answer to that. "Well, yeah, but if I gave her enough time, she would've snapped at you." Carrie exhaled, thinking of how she'd almost gotten one of the maids once. That was one day she didn't want to re-live. All the maid had done was accidentally bump into Carrie on her first day and Lilly had growled before springing towards the poor lady's face. Luckily the lady was a dog-lover so she didn't mind the few scratches on her cheek.

Carrie smiled softly when Pierce commented on Lilly's name and she nodded gently in agreement. Really, since she had been so much younger when naming the dog, she hadn't thought dogs should have nice names. But back then a Tiger Lilly was her favorite flower - and character off of Peter Pan - so she just named her Lilly.

As he opened the door, she stepped through silently, pausing for a second for him to catch up. Carrie's bright hazel eyes watched Pierce as he talked about Lilly's training. She grinned softly and nodded as he asked if she's the one to train her. Only after she'd trained her, though, had Carrie learned that it was natural for them to follow by silent commands. She hadn't even been 10 yet when she had trained Lilly, so she hadn't a clue. All she knew was that her parents liked quiet animals. Her expression turned to indecisive, though, when she was asked her favorite flavor of ice cream. She had rarely ever had it, since the only things that had been in their house were fancy foods. "Um... Chocolate, I guess," she said, always having a sweet spot for chocolate in her heart. She eyed Pierce after speaking, wondering what he would get himself. Carrie turned her eyes back to the counter where one could see over 20 different flavors. Good thing she had just settled with chocolate before looking over here.

[pierce fletcher;]

READY TO SMILE?

Ice cream. It was a childhood comfort, that no matter how old you are, whether your hair was grey or brown, if you had real teeth or dentures, everyone and any one could eat it. The older people would be brought back down that foggy memory lane as their favorite flavor touched their tongue, reminding them of those long days spent in the company of family and the taste of home-made ice cream. And for the younger generations, it just reminded them how much fun summer was with the lack of adult supervision, the freedom to do what ever the hell they want. Oh was a great combination...summer vacation and ice cream.

He shook his head as she mentioned her dog would have eventually snapped at him. What was a little blood drawn if it meant a dog was protecting their owner? Besides, he had enough scars that he wouldn't mind just one more. He took a mental note at the slight taken aback look on her face at the mention of 'one of his families', poor sap. Adopted out many times, he had begun to think of multiple families as normal, totally ignoring the fact that this was not normal to most other people. As if I'd really report your dog. That's just cruel. Her face softened at his compliment of the dog's name, oh he was on a roll, wasn't he?

Chocolate, it wasn't a bad flavor, however he preferred a more 'colorful' type of ice cream, generally of the sherbet family, the ones with the swirly colors and tropical tastes. He stood aside to let her in, and with one last look at the obedient dog he let the door close behind them, enclosing the two in the land of ice and sugar. Not really taking notice to other people in the shop, he slid up to the counter and stared down at the multitude of colors and flavors of ice cream that he could pick. He felt like a king, how nice of them to do that. He looked back at Carrie and flashed her a smile, Cone or cup? One or two scoops? Such questions in life were important you know. He looked back at the guy working behind the counter and instantly envied the boy's hair, but kept this thought to him self. While she's deciding, I wanna two scoop cone with rainbow sherbet, please?

[Carrie Huntington]

Carrie heard the door close behind Pierce, ringing the bell it had already rung when they came in. It just felt so natural for the bell to be there in an ice cream parlor. It's classic. She inhaled, slowly, a deep breath of air conditioned air as she followed Pierce to the counter, watching him eye all the flavors. Watching his face it's almost as if he had a hint of triumph on it, feeling so proud to be able to choose from the vast amount of goods before him as if they were put their for his decision. Wasn't every store like that, though? Carrie thought for a second about that before looking to his face again as he asked her about her ice cream.

She blinked and began to open her mouth to answer, but plopped it shut as he looked back to the guy behind the counter and began to order. Carrie glanced over to the window, to see Lilly with her paws on the bottom of the sill and peering inside. Carrie smiled softly without parting her lips and Lilly's tail began to wag. She looked back to the counter when Pierce was finished and her voice came out softly. "A cup with one scoop of chocolate, please," she said with a polite, soft smile. She saw the boy's brown eyes dart from Pierce to Carrie and back and a grin spread across his face. "Alrighty, then. A two scoop cone with rainbow sherbert and a one scoop cup with chocolate for the young couple," he said with a smile tugging at his mouth.

Carrie's eyes widened in surprise. Couple? Her and Pierce? It made her want to panic that the guy really thought they were together, but also made her want to laugh that he thought she and Pierce would really get together in the first place. She barely knew him. "Um-- we aren't--"

[pierce fletcher;]

READY TO SMILE?

Was it ever mentioned how much he loved summer?

As he looked back down at all the flavors, a thought occurred to him. All stores allowed you to be a king in your own right, oh what a delighted thought! This memory of places like Wal-Mart and Target only made his day better, reminding him that he in fact was king of his life. Unless you counted the constraints placed upon most teen's lives by parents, he was a free man...until school started back up that is. He watched at the boy behind the counter worked on fulfilling his order, oh how he wanted his hair. But don't get him wrong, Pierce loves his hair the way it is, but there are just those moments when he wished he had much better hair than the already amazing brown mop that he claimed was 'hair' on top of his head, he could do so many things with it, spike it, just brush it, half spike it. His hair provided him with endless opportunities, oh the joy!

He stepped aside as Carrie made her order. She had simple tastes. For a moment he looked out at the dog staring in at them, what a sweet dog, good dog, protective dog. His attention was diverted back to the boy with the nice hair, Alrighty, then. A two scoop cone with rainbow sherbert and a one scoop cup with chocolate for the young couple, It took him a moment to realize that he was talking about him and Carrie. Now, many people may get flustered at the suggestion, however, Pierce sprang on opportunities like such like a hungry animal on food. A large smile broke across his face as he took his cone and handed the cup to Carrie. Then an even deeper thought takes over, he stretches his arm out over her shoulders and pulls her into a hug, his smile growing broader, Yep! Young couple, happy couple. We are just that, right Carrie darling? To add to the effect he brushed his lips across her cheek, waiting for that blush that he felt was sure to surface. Ah, give him an inch, he'll take it a mile. Lowering his voice to where most everyone else could hear, The price for me buying you ice cream is high, love. Still playing the part, his eyes twinkling with amusement.

[Carrie Huntington]

Carrie was cut off as her ice cream was shoved to her hands and she took a minute to balance it in them. She was clumsy, therefore, she dropped everything, fell over everything, and had a lot of scars. She'd had broken bones, sprained limbs, concussions, stitches... just a lot of stuff, okay? And since her parents where never there, it was always her sisters that had to fill out the information - sometimes even the maids. But at the moment, she wasn't thinking about her medical history. She glanced at Pierce with a brow raised in confusion. Was he mentally ill or something? Why would you lie about that?

She was suddenly pulled in by his arm and she almost stumbled, and she looked to the guy behind the counter. She got air up in her throat, ready to say something, when soft lips touched her cheek which sent a shiver down her spine that made the blood rush to her cheeks before he had the time to pull his head back. Carrie had stopped breathing for that split second with the shock and she looked to Pierce with a look saying, "What the hell?" (though Carrie would never be one to cuss out loud) and felt her cheeks deepen in color when he spoke and she looked away. He was obviously playing a game - or so his eyes said.

The thing that happened next had caught her off quard once again. It hadn't been expected from someone working at a family place. Entirely unaccounted for. "Ha-ha, well it's always nice to see young people in love come in here. There's some nice quiet places around town you two could stop by, too," the man said with a wink. Obviously hinting at something Carrie would rather not have put in her head. Then she heard barking, three or four barks, and her eyes glared at Lilly to be quiet. It'd be horrible if she broke the glass to the nice shop. Her eyes looked back to Pierce before she just bit her lip and looked down. If only she had the courage to just storm away.

[pierce fletcher;]

READY TO SMILE?

There were so many times in his adolescent life that he had done things just to see how embarrassed or mad he could make someone. And at the current moment he was doing just that. He felt the heat rush to her face, and knew without even looking at her that her cheeks were burning. Oh how fun she was. To be honest, Pierce had never met anyone like her before, sure the few people he had known were somewhat easy to humiliate publicly, but she was just too damn easy, and as unfortunate as it was for her, he planned to continue to do so until she finally gets enough of his antics and tells him to stop. Sadly, something told him she wouldn't do that.

He winked at her as she went comatose, stunned, just standing there with the blushed cheeks. The boy behind the counter seemed surprised, but it was like he expected it, stupid boy, stupid boy with the nice hair. Pierce smiled to him self, he was just too damn good, the man behind the counter watched the two, "Ha-ha, well it's always nice to see young people in love come in here. There's some nice quiet places around town you two could stop by, too." He wrinkled his nose at the comment, now why the hell did he have to go and say that? He ruined it, he now just held onto Carrie lightly, but his voice changed significantly, It's slightly creepy that you like seeing young couples in here, Dropping his arms from her shoulders he turned to leave, Come on Carrie darling, I won't stand for perverts serving ice cream and neither will you. He marched towards the door in an animated fashion, huffing as he went.

[Carrie Huntington]

Carrie finally blinked as the hold on her shoulders lightened and her face began to return to normal color. A deep breath found it's way down her throat as she began to calm down with the words coming from Pierce's vocal cords. Thank God she wasn't the only one grossed out by the server's pervitity, if that was even a word. As he let go, her face finally returned to it's original, tan-pale color, except the slight add of color at her new nickname. She followed with soft footsteps, already knowing that people were staring, some even following out, and she didn't want the eyes to be on herself. Keep them on Pierce, people. As she finally got out, she found herself reaching for Lilly's leash as the dog growled, so loud Carrie would expect her to be showing her pearly fangs. Obviously Lilly was very happy with having to witness that. Carrie let Lilly growl, getting a slightly evil look as she glanced to Pierce and then to Lilly.

The first thought that ran through her head was to let go of Lilly's leash and let her do what she wants, but the cruel thought made her feel sick. Carrie put her palm above Lilly's muzzle by not even an inch and watched as the dog focus on the hand and stopped growling. Instead, made a low whine as if saying, "C'mon... please? Just once?" Carrie looked sternly at Lilly to silence her before looking up at Pierce with a blank expression that made you wonder what was wrong, or what she's thinking. She looked at Pierce's face and tilted her head slightly. "You have a very... interesting way of finding entertainment," she said, a soft smile flickering to light up her features. Her eyes sparkled softly in the light while looking at him with a friendly after. And all that ran through her head was, "Why am I so nice?"