[NYC][DEC MP] A rush of blood to the head [tag; Regina]

Blue eyes were locked on the glass pane window of the small coffee shop as a lean frame rested against a street lamp, tattooed fingers lifting to place the lit cigarette between his lips as Ollie turned his gaze to the sidewalk. The blanket of white had not turned various shades of grey and black, the slush splattered onto the sidewalk by the few cars that moved along the nearly empty street in Brooklyn. An ambulance had glided to a stop just short of the red light in front of it and Ollie watched a woman who clutched her bag tight to her frame cross the slippery street to get to the sidewalk.  Sometimes the Wampus hated New York, it was flighty and the people were downright rude, but he had Val even if no one knew he did and seeing her was far more important than the grim on the bottom of his gym shoes.

The space in front of him took on a faint fog like appearance he exhaled the heat of his breath through his nose, the tip of the cigarette illuminating as he took in air to his lungs. Once more his gaze drifted to the window and his jaw flexed in his frustration. Ollie had better things to do with his time than wait, hell he had a few things he felt he needed to do. He needed to see Val because things were tense now after he had drunkenly gone to her in his despair. He still hadn’t spoken to Rosalie even though she had called several times to explain. He didn’t have time for excuses and false apologies, Ben could believe the hype.

The cigarette between his lips was discarded haphazardly, simply flicked into the path of the sidewalk traffic before he pushed from his resting place to walk over the shop door, pulling it open to step in the warmth.  Ollie moved to an empty table, his wet shoes giving a faint squeak with each step before he dropped into a chair with a heavy sigh and lazy posture. The black leather that help shield him from the cold was unzipped to show a long black thermal beneath it as it was shrugged from his shoulders. His red and black jeans hung low on his waist, barely giving him cushion on the hard seat he rested in. His gaze drifted to the clock, it was barely after lunch, and he still had hours to wait.

“Yeah, coffee black. Let me get two teaspoons of sugar on the side though.” He lifted his hand to wave the waitress away as he heaved another sigh. His head tilted as he saw what he thought was a familiar face, the boy’s lean frame slid easily from the chair so that he could walk. The cold air rushed passed him as the door was opened, a long fingered hand lifting to his mouth in an attempt to make his words louder,  “Aye, yo Brooklyn.” He stepped out onto the side walk and his gaze shifted from the girl to a man who brushed to close to his side, “What where you walking.” He snapped out before he looked back towards  the dark curls of her hair and he set off to a jog.

His fingers held his pants up so that he wouldn’t stumble, “Regina.” It had been some time since he has actually used her name but he figured using the nickname on the actual streets of Brooklyn wouldn’t get him noticed. “You got me out here in the cold chasing you down like I’m creeping on you or something. What’s good?” He licked his lips giving her a half smile that looked more like a smirk. “Come have some coffee wit’ me real quick, you know if your royal New York blood feels like slummin’.”


@Regina Basciano

Some people might of found the hustle and bustle and never ending noise of the big city overwhelming but Regina Basciano was not one of those people. The Brooklyn born and bred witch never felt quite as calm and tranquil as she did riding the subway underneath the city. The loud sounds of the train soothed her in a way that the quite serenity of Ilvermorny's mountains never could. She felt antsy when things were quiet and mellow, it made her twitchy. The sounds pumping through her CD player fell into a rhythm with the humming of the train on it's tracks as they passed station after station. She'd spent the last half hour on the subway but that was nothing compared to some days. When the train finally reached her station she reached for her bag and pulled one ear bud from her ear instead of pausing her music. She metal box screeched to a halt and the doors ground there way open just as she pulled her converse shoes down from the head rest of the seat in front of her. She passed by a few muggles, squeezing in between strangers in a way that was commonplace only in the city, before finally exiting the train.

Climbing the stairs to the street she was hit with a refreshing bit of cold air, it was crisp, but it smelt far better than the stale oxygen in the subway tunnels and she sucked it in hard before crossing the road. She was on her way just about no where but that didn't mean she stopped moving. Part of why she loved the city so much was because it never stopped moving. Just like they said, it never slept. There was always something happening somewhere. Always some where that was still open, even at four AM, nothing had time limits in New York. Dressed casually as usual the young witch's long curly hair was half packed up into a burgundy beanie hat. The rest of her curls cascaded down her back over top of a tattered green bomber jacket. She was, as always, covered in layers that included a teal and purple flannel shirt that did not match her jacket in a conventional way and worn black band shirt with the name of a music group no one had ever heard of across the chest. Her jeans were fraying from large holes in the knees and barely came down to where her dirty red converse shoes were laced up. Across the toe of the shoe she had written "dreams" so long ago in black permanent marker that is was barely readable anymore.

She passed shop after shop, browsing from the window but with no real money to spend she always ended up moving on. Reggie wasn't the type to mourn the things she couldn't afford but it never stopped her from checking out what the latest artists were doing. Especially not when it came to shoes or music. After walking about a block she decided to head to Hot Hits, the resale shop for used records and other music type things, it was a familiar haunt for the teenager, but her plans were soon interrupted. She'd heard someone behind her calling out but by design she'd learned not to turn around and look. Getting called at wasn't something she experienced as much as some of the more glamorous stick thin girls she knew from the city but it happened from time to time and she knew better than to encourage it. Keeping her head forward and continuing her walk toward the music shop it took a few more words from the boy behind her before she realized who it was. Turning around just in time to see him limping toward her like a penguin, pants so far down she wasn't sure they shouldn't be considered shin guards, she shook her head at him. "If it ain't the Jersey devil himself." She toyed back, poking fun at him and his dreaded home town all in one go. "I was headed to the music spot." She told him after he asked her what was good as she moved out of the way of a man in a business coat walking way too fast.

Pulling the other ear bud from underneath where her beanie was resting she shrugged her shoulders at him. "I dunno' are you paying?" She asked him with another smile. She could, and probably would, pay for her own coffee but that was regardless of the point. Either way she was going to go with him to the coffee shop, it was exactly the type of thing she was hoping would happen. Regina didn't like to plan things or make a schedule. She liked when random things just kind of popped up and coffee with Ollie definitely fell under that category. She started walking toward the shop she assumed he'd had just come out of, despite the fact that from where they were standing they could get to at least three different coffee shops (five if they included the street vendors). It was just another thing she loved about New York.

"What are you doing out here, Don't your kind get like... hives or something being in the apple for too long?" Smiling at him again she was just getting started making fun of him for being from New Jersey. It was destined to be at least half of what she said to him tonight, but she expected nothing less from him in return. New York and New Jersey didn't always get along despite basically living in one another's backyards.

He chuckled shaking his head a tattooed hand rose to run down his hair.  If only she knew how true her words were he would be sure she would see him differently. Girls always pretended like they could handle the bad, the raw and intense, but Ollie knew the truth. He was a handful in a half and to handle him the girl needed to be a boss in her own right. She needed to be a queen because the Jersey native bowed to no man.  “Well you know I gotta grace these streets wit’ my presence otherwise this place would stop moving.” He glanced down the street as she mentioned the music spot, he knew exactly where it was, and his only response was a nod.

“Oh, so you can’t just chill wit’ me for a bit on love?” He shook his head. “Right in the pockets, come on I got you.” He didn’t mind paying for her a cup or two if she wanted it.  He needed the company since so much was on his mind. His pants were pulled up just right on his waist, the belt there was just for show because moments later the slipped back down over his hips the thick piece of leather stopping them just so they didn’t fall too far. Black Reebox carried him as he walked next to her, reaching out to push the door open looking at her for a moment. 

“You know it’s funny you should say that.” He moved as if he was scratching his frame, “I think its weird smell that’s always in the air.” He moved to drop back into his seat, stretching a leg out. “You must be comin’ out the sewer.” He would never ride the subway, ever. He knew that people had to get where they were going and the subway served as a good choice. It might have smelled and people might have packed inside the compartments like sardines but for some reason it was reliable, or so he was told. “I been out here all day, you know just here and there.” He shrugged.

“Gotta get some s**t off my mind so I came out here to chill. Can’t swing through on nobody.” He knew he couldn’t see Val until later, if he worked up the courage to do that was. His blue gaze shifted as the coffee he had ordered before going out to get her was sat down, a small plate holding his sugar. He gave a nod in acknowledgment before a long finger pointed to Regina, “We can hit the music shop before I head to the Bronx if you want? Unless you like trucking it in the snow in ya’ chucks I mean, Brooklyn, aint yo’ feet cold as f**k?” He leaned more into the chair, completely relaxed.

“Can’t wait to get back to school.” He needed to escape the harsh realities of his life but mostly he just wanted to be surrounded by his friends. The love the street had shown him was nice but the love he felt back on that mountain was indescribable. There was a silent understanding there because in a way each of them were different yet ultimately the same because they were all magical. “What the break been like for you?”

Scoffing at him Regina rolled her eyes, "Grace the streets with your presence, really Ollie?" She couldn't help but chuckle at him even as she wanted to slap the smugness right off of his face. "Infect it is more like...." He was so confident, she always got caught up in his antics, not that that was a bad thing. Honestly she enjoyed his company most when they were jabbing and pretending to insult each other. He was unlike a lot of other students at Ilvermorny, in a weird way despite where he was from, he reminded her of home. He was real in a way that she found comforting and she could be her annoying, low brow, city slicking self right back at him without offense. As they walked back toward the coffee shop she found herself shaking her head at him more and more, curls falling from underneath the lip of her hat each time that she did. "Excuse me you mean the subway." She corrected him quickly, a sassy look on her face that meant business. She loved the subway it was one of her favorite places to watch people, aside from rooftops of course. She'd ride the train all day long if she didn't have anything else to do.

She leaned back in her own seat, dragging the knitted cap of the top of her head as loose and less than smooth curls fell out of it and into her face. She pushed her hair away, patting it down for a second before forgetting all about it. Regina was far from a girly girl, she didn't buy into all of that. Sure she liked pretty things, dark lipstick that made a statement, and matching her shoes to her outfit but she didn't spend hours slaving away worrying about one stray curl. The Thunderbird would rather spend that time hanging out, adventuring, or finding a new track she'd never heard before. She had her priorities in check. "Who are you tryna' swing on?" She asked him, buying into what he was saying and returning it in kind. She had no doubt he had some master plan for tonight, he seemed to always be up to something, and she wanted to know what it was so she could possibly tag along. If he was headed to a party or something fun she'd sign herself up without permission, she was that way. And then he mentioned the Bronx and she smirked, needing no further information. Regina didn't know everything there was to know about everything but she knew enough to pick up on what he was talking about: Val.  She thought about saying something but the notion was quickly replaced by the topic of her shoes. Despite being so far from a girly girl it was comedic Regina did have one thing she cared about quite a lot and that was her shoes. She had more pairs than she knew what to do with and like her CDs the piles of them had claimed corners of her bedroom she was never going to get back.

"Water proof charms." She said proudly, she spent more time putting enchantments on her shoes to protect them than she did doing her homework by far. Instead of being proper and telling him about the charms on her shoes she lifted her foot up from under the table and let it rest haphazardly on the edge next to him, it was awkward and only lasted a few seconds before her shoe fell back down to the floor but it was enough time to show off what she was telling him. "Snow don't even get in." Just as her foot was falling back to the ground her coffee showed up at the table and she avoided the looks from the waitress. Sure Regina knew better than to put her feet on the table, especially in public, but what did good manners matter? Instantly she began pulling lid after lid off of the individual sized creamers left in the little bowl on the table and plopping them into her coffee one by one until it looked more cream colored than black. She stirred it a bit as she frowned at him, "Really?" She didn't want to go back to school, she preferred New York. Regina had basically raised herself and she enjoyed the independence that school breaks gave her. When she was at Ilvermorny she had a schedule to stick to, bed time, places she was expected to be, things to do, she hated all of that rigidity. It made her anxious. Even thinking about it did and she slid around in her seat. "Its been okay, but I dunno' I kind of don't want to go back..." She admitted to him even though he probably already knew it. She was right on the edge of getting serious, a solemn look crossing her face for a split second before it was replaced with another mischievous smirk, a twinkle in her dark brown eyes as she looked up at him.

"I'd rather be in Jersey."

And then she ran with it as she sat back in her seat. "New Jersey, a great place for discount needles..." She stirred her coffee and continued. "New Jersey, where hott chicks wear too much glitter and old men wear too much nothing..." She could keep going all night if he didn't interrupt her.