__++ Life [open]

[River Mires]

River groaned, rolling over on her bed. "Mommy!" The little two year old screamed into her ear, clamouring onto her bed. River put her pillow over her ear, not wanting to listen to her young daughter. It was a worthless effort, because the little girl poked her side nonstop, trying to get the attention of her mom. "Sweety, mommy's tired." She told Mandee, although it was a lie. She wans't tired anymore, just lazy and not wanting to get up. It was a Saturday morning, and like always, Mandee was up bright and early at 7 o'clock, ready to start the day. River, however, would have been content to sleep for the next few hours. The little girl continued her poking.

"Okay, okay. I'm up." River said, moaning as she sat up, then looked at Mandee's face, which burst out into a big grin. River quickily dressed herself, deciding that they'd go to Starbucks or something for some coffee. She took Mandee back to her room and changed her into a pretty pink dress and put a small pink bow in her hair.

Quickily and effortlessly, River fixed her blonde hair, then expertly put on her makeup. Yawning, she traveled to the kitchen, gave Mandee a oatmeal cookie to nibble on and carried her out to her car, buckling her safely into her car seat. She drove down to the nearest Starbucks café, finding a parking spot and getting out, Mandee with her. She shifted the girl's weight to one arm to open the large door to the building. She walked up to the counter, ordering herself a Green Tea Frap, and a small strawberrie smoothie for Mandee to suck on. Getting her order from the cute boy behind the counter, River said her thanks and turned around, looking for somewhere or someone to sit with. What a typical day. Going out for coffee.

[Alexander Grey]

Here it was, about seven thirty in the morning and still, the youth hadn’t gone to sleep. Feeling rather bouncy the almost twenty-one year old moved himself away from his game system, in which he had all hooked up in his dorm room. With a stretch and a yawn, Alexander, or Otter as many people called him, moved to grab a shirt and slip it on. Still wearing his pants and only needed to slip on a pair of Vans. Doing so, the youth grabbed his keys and a comb, leaving his dorm room combing his hair with one hand while he slipped his keys into his pocket.

It wasn’t too early to go out to start bucks, thankful that there was one close by. As Alexander pushed himself past a kid he knew, waving to say hello before he left the dormitories, and moved himself down the steps to where his car was parked. Thankful that no one trashed it last night, he moved himself inside, and started her up. Listening to the engine roar like a wild cat, he smirked to himself, and turned on the radio. Pulling out of the parking lot, Alexander figured The first adventure of the day laughing at himself, he pulled out onto the streets and started for the star bucks.

Not too long after, he arrived at the place he tended to call his second home. That coffee shop in which he used to work. Parking his car, he pressed the lock button on the little key ring and moved himself inside. Smiling at the guy behind the counter, he moved to him, and leaned over it a bit, only to be yelled at, but Alexander only laughed “Chill guy, I was just seeing if Lex was working…” He leaned back before ordering himself a Carmel Frap with a shot of espresso. Waiting for his drink, he paid, and looked around for a moment.

Spotting the blond and her daughter, Alexander smiled as the little girl looked at him. Lifting his hand to wiggle his fingers at her, in a childish wave, he took his drink and moved to sit not to far from them. Well more or less like a table to they’re left. As he sat there, looking out the window, Alex let out a sigh, before he took a drink of his coffee and leaned his head back.

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[River Mires]

Mandee giggled, her little face breaking out into a large grin as the boy wiggled his fingers at her. She loved attention, and wasn't shy at all. Which always seemed to help River. The little girl was facing the opposite direction that River was, and so River turned around to see what was causing her daughter to laugh. It was a boy with dark hair, who had just slipped into the booth to the left of them. River smiled at him, adjusting Mandee's weight so she could see him as well, the smile still on her face.

"Hey, mind if I sit with you?" River asked him a bit shyly, her voice soft. Mandee was gripping her little smoothie with both hands, sucking on it, her eyes wide as she studied the guy. River herself took a sip of her frap, enjoying the flavour. Mandee's weight was getting a little heavy on her one arm, and hopefully the boy wasn't meeting someone else here, River didn't really want to sit by herself. Okay, so she wouldn't be by herself, but she'd like to be able to talk to someone a little more her age for once. River couldn't help herself but look over the boy. He was quite cute actually. His eyes seemed to sparkle, their radiant blue colour was stunning.

[ sorry its short]

[Alexander Grey]

As the thoughts of what he was going to do today raced through his head, he seemed to perk up when the girls voice came to his ears, looking over at the blond with the girl he had waved to, Alexander moved himself to sit up more before he shook his head “Not at all, by all means, go ahead.” He smiled and then moved his drink a little. This would at least give him a chance to work some of his “magic tricks”. Alexander had always been good with little kids, doing the whole. “Pulling the quarter from the ear bit.” Along with some only things that seemed to amaze little boys and girls. As Otter watched the girl move herself so that her and her daughter were both seated across from him, he moved to extend his hand out to her “I’m Alexander.” He smirked softly.

Of course Alexander would have told her to call him Otter, but that was a nick name that not many people liked to use, nor did he want to go into the story of how he was nick named Otter. Licking his bottom lip before he took another sip of his coffee, he set it down and then looked at the little girl. “That’s a very pretty bow, you have in your hair.” He chuckled softly before he smiled down at her once more. There were times when Alex hated that he was so good with kids, it usually meant that they hung on him, or around him far too much. Though he liked the attention, there were times when it was a little too much.

{No worries}

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[River Mires]

River was a bit releived when the boy said she was to sit down. She slid into the seat, letting Mandee sit beside her, although the little girl stood so she could easily see everything that was going on around her. She was incredibly curious about everything, and hated when she couldn't see. "Thanks." River said, setting her purse beside her, and her drink on the table, making sure that Mandee put her's down as well, not wanting the little girl to spill. She was usually pretty good about holding things the right way up, but you never knew.

"I'm River, and this is Mandee." She told Alex, reaching out to shake his hand as he offered it to her. Lots of people, when spelling her little girl's name for the first time spelt it 'Mandy', like most people did. But River, liking the name, thought it was too common and decided to spice it up a bit. Her own name, she loved. It was original and unique, and she hadn't heard of many people with her name.

Mandee, hearing the comment about her bow, reached up to touch her hair, grinning and giggling slightly. "Well, what do you say Mandee?" River asked her daughter. She had always taught her to be polite and say please and thank you, just like a little girl should. "Tank you." Mandee said to the boy in her little, soft, sweet voice. The two year old, almost three, had grown to be quite the talker, but she always seemed to mispronounce words, but River just thought it was adorable, corrected her sometimes, but knew that once Mandee continued hearing other people talk, she'd learn to pronounce words correctly.

[Alexander Grey]

With a bright smile, Alex nodded some to the little girl “Your welcome.” He looked up at River “So what brings you to starbucks so early?” He asked her, just to make for some small talk, though he was never really good at starting conversations, unless he was with a fellow gamer, or artist. As he lifted his hand to push his fingers through his dark hair, he looked down at his shirt and straightened it out a little before he pushed his drink to the side. Usually, Alexander had a lot to say, but no sleep for twenty-four hours could really kill a guy’s brain. After all, he did have insomnia, and what with a new half finished painting in his room, and an unbeaten level on his video game, he found ways to keep himself busy.

Remembering that he had a class today, Alex nearly cursed, but kept it in because of the little girl. She was too cute, and did look much like her mother, as Alex lifted himself a bit to tuck his right leg under him, he leaned himself back once more, trying to find a way to get comfortable “She looks a lot like you.” Alexander spoke once more, talking about Mandee of course. The adorable blond girl who looked as though nothing in the world could stop her from doing what she wanted to do.

Alex remember his childhood and how he used to be like that. The invisible Otter. That thought made him chuckle to himself, even though he was sure that River would look at her like he was crazy or something, but he wasn’t… Well… Not really, but he did have his moments.

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[River Mires]

"Coffee." River told Alex, a smile on her face. She took a sip of her straw, watching the green of her drink rise up the straw and into her awaiting mouth. It tasted heavenly. "And it's impossible to sleep once this one's woken you up." She laughed, poking her daughter good naturedly. The little girl was not so good natured about being poked and put a scowl on her face, poking back. Obviously the little girl had an attitude already, and River could hardly wait till she was a teenager. Oh the joy, not. Although, her scowl was most likely fake. Mandee was just a drama queen, and in a minute she'd be happy again. "What about you?" River asked, returning the question to Alex.

Hearing his comment about how Mandee looked like her, River looked at her daughter. They did look alike, a little bit. "I guess, but she looks alot like... well, her... dad." River said, her voice fading out at the end of the sentence. She really did not want to think about Damien, Mandee's father. He had just up and left without a goodbye or anything when he had heard that River was pregnant, and it crushed her, her heart broke in two, and she didn't even know if she was capable of loving another boy. It's been almost three years since she had a boyfriend, and she was really starting to think of maybe finding someone to love.

[Alexander Grey]

“Well, having insomnia and a need to stay awake for a collage class, coffee is the perfect thing.” He chuckled while answering her question. Moving some, Alexander pulled a quarter from his pocket as he listened to the girl say that Mandee looked more like her father. He could see the hurt in River’s eyes, and could hear it in her voice. “Ah… Well, lets not dwell on the past.” He smirked before moving some to speak to Mandee “Mandee, would you like to see a magic trick?” He asked, before tilting his head. Usually he would have done the ear trick, but she was a girl, and probably wouldn’t think it amazing enough. Waiting for her to nod, or say yes, Alexander, showed her the quarter.

“A real quarter, just like the ones that your mom has in her purse, or at home…” she smiled before he closed the quarter in his fist, and did a quick little movement before he held a lollipop in his hand, and smiled at the girl. “Now, this is a magic lollipop, and it only taste’s good if you’re being good… Now I’m going to give this to your mother, and she’s going to hold onto it. But you have to be good all day today, or it’ll taste really nasty.” He smirked softly before moving to have the lollipop to river. “You can make sure its not like, tainted...if you want.” He smiled, before leaning back in his seat.

Alexander loved those tricks, the always made him smile, well, when the kids smiled, that’s what made him smile.

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[River Mires]

Not rudely, but just submissively, River ignored his comment about not dwelling on the past. She put a fake smile on, but it soon turned into a real one as Alex asked Mandee about a magic trick. The little girl immediately nodded, her large eyes watching the quarter in Alexandre's hand very intently. Her eyes widened even more as he turned the quarter into a lollipop. "How'd you do that?" River said, although she tried not to look too amazed. Of course he probably just had the lollipop up his sleeve or something, but it brought a smile to her face, wondering what happened to the quarter. Mandee on the other hand, was really listening to what Alexandre had to say. She loved lollipops, and she wanted that one. The little girl quickily nodded her head, watching as River took the candy from Alex. Of course she'd be an angel if it meant getting candy.

"Thanks." River said, stowing away the lollipop, saving it for later on that day, if Mandee would be bad, she'd remind her. Why didn't River ever think of that little ploy? It would definately come in handy, expecially when Mandee was younger and always being a brat.

River sucked on her straw again, enjoying the caffine that always made even the worst day's seem better. "Wish I could do magic tricks." She said absent mindedly, not really noticing she had said that outloud. But it was true, throughout her whole life she always wondered how the magicians did what they did, and what happened to the millions of quarters that had turned into something else. They couldn't just disappear.

[Alexander Grey]

Alexander was rather shocked when River asked how he did it. Looking up at her, he smiled and then shook his head “I can’t tell you. That would ruin the magic part of it.” He laughed and then leaned back in his seat once more. When River absent mindedly stated that she wished she could do magic, he chuckled. “I could teach you. Its really not that hard. Though I’d rather not ruin it for Mandee.” He nodded slightly and then looked down at the little girl before he lifted his drink to his lips once more. Already a headache was coming on.

Something common in which Alexander got every time he didn’t get any sleep. First the headache, and they, he’d feel dizzy. He hated that part of insomnia. Closing his eyes before he lifted his hand to rub the bridge of his nose with his index finger and thumb, he moved his hand over his mouth as he yawned. Today was such a good day to sleep, and knowing him, he’d probably pass out in his psychology class. Oh well, it wasn’t like he wanted to be a shrink anyway.

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[River Mires]

River smiled and laughed slightly. Of course him telling her how he did it would ruin it, and she was really perfectly content not knowing how to do magic. It just seemed like it would be cool to know how, which is why she had said she wished she knew how. But, after thinking about it for a minute, she realized it was probably even more fun to walk away from a magic show going 'wow', instead of knowing all the tricks.

"I wouldn't want to ruin it." River replied, nodding her head. River continued to study the boy. Along with his amazingly pretty eyes, his other facial features were quite good looking as well. She adored his snack bites, his nose was nearly perfect, unlike her's, which she beleived was much too angular. When he talked, his teeth looked nice and white, straight as well. His clothing was the kind she liked, and he was relatively tall, from what she had gathered when he had walked past her, River herself was only 5'3", so most people were taller than her.

"So you said something about college. What courses are you taking?" River asked, hoping to spark a conversation. But... she wasn't in school. She didn't have the money.

[Alexander Grey]

As Alex watched her face, he nearly got lost in her eyes, but pulled himself out when she asked what courses he was taking “Too many.” He laughed before shaking his head “Well, for today I have Fine Art, and Psychology… Tomorrow there’s Astronomy 1 and Acting.” He shrugged “And the others aren’t important enough for me to remember.” He arched a brow and then moved to shift himself in the seat again. He hated that he could never get comfortable, it always seemed like such a fucking problem to him.

As Alexander shifted himself, he ended up hitting River’s knee with his own. “Sorry… I hate these seats, I can never get comfortable in them.” He chuckled faintly, more or less laughing at himself because he couldn’t get comfy in chairs that everyone else could. Then again, Alexander was rather picky when it came to things he sits on. Crossing his legs under him, he pushed himself up a bit and then looked at River, before looking at Mandee. “What do you guys have planned for the day?” He asked softly before looking back at River.

Of course, Alexander wouldn’t mind ditching classes to take River and Mandee to the Zoo or some place. Then again, he was Alexander Grey, the famous Otter who loved animals, and all other childish things. Hell, Amusement parks, Carnivals, Zoo’s, every place that a kid liked to go, he liked to go.

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[River Mires]

River laughed slightly as he said his classes weren't important enough for him to remember. Of course they weren't, people never payed attention to their school work outside of school. He seemed to be into the arts, seeing as he was taking both Fine Arts and acting. He seemed like the type that might be into acting, after thinking about it for a second. "At least those are at least half way interesting." River commented.

When Alexandre's legs brushed her's under the table, River sat up straighter so her legs weren't so far under, a very slight blush crept onto her cheeks, but it wasn't really that noticable, expecially in the slightly dim lighting. "It's no problem." She said, a smile coming to her face. Mandee continued to look at each of the older people, her ears trying to take in as many of their words as possible. Although most of them made no sense. She had no clue what psychology or astronomy was, nor could she care less.

"Well, nothing really. I hadn't planned on doing anything special. Just another day in the life of River and Mandee." River said, suddenly trying to think of what they might fill their day with. Maybe it was just one of those days where they'd lay around at home and watch cartoons or something. Hopefully not, because everything Mandee wanted to watch, River was completely sick of, and Mandee couldn't stand what River liked to watch. Grown up stuff was stupid to her.

[Alexander Grey]

Nodding some when she stated that they had no plans for today. “What about the Zoo… I’ll willingly pay for you guys to get in and everything.” He smiled, just wanting to get out of going to class, even though he loved Fine Art, but today, he just wanted to do something fun, then go home and crash. Though already the headache was starting to fade, and going to see some animals wouldn’t be too bad right? “Or we could go to the stables… Get Mandee on a pony.” He smirked and then looked down at the little girl.

Alright, this was rather odd behavior for Alexander, he was hardly ever this nice to people he didn’t know. Though shrugging his shoulders, Alex figured that he would be nice, maybe this was the start of a new friendship, after all, he did get along with Mandee a lot more than he thought he would, besides, River was very attractive, and though Alexander usually went for men, this girl had something special about her.

As Alexander lifted his frap to his lips once more, he took a final sip before placing it down again, and looking up as a rather short girl with black hair walked in, his old boss, Lex “Lexykins!” He yelled, before the girl turned and smiled at him, waving before he laughed. “I used to work here… Old boss.” He shrugged his shoulders before he looked down at the table, and rolled his fingers over the surface.

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[River Mires]

River raised her thin, plucked eyebrows. The zoo? Sure, she loved the zoo, but why in the world would Alexander want to take them to the zoo, and on top of that, pay for them as well? She couldn't help but laugh when he mentioned the stables. She hadn't ridden in ages, and it'd be incredibly adorable to see her little girl on a pony. Mandee would definately be up for that, she loved anything new and exciting. "But you have classes today." River remembered. She didn't want to be the cause of Alexander getting in trouble or missing out on something important. But... doing something with him would be fun. Plus, it didn't look like he cared, at least she couldn't tell.

River looked over to where Alexander was directing his words, seeing a girl with black hair wave at him and smile. For an instant she thought maybe that was his girlfriend. A good looking guy like him was bound to have someone special in his life, no? However, an explanation of who she was interupted her thoughts. Okay, so she wasn't his significant other, but he most likely had one. Mind you, she'd gotten many compliments on her look, and she didn't have a boyfriend. "Cool. I'd love to work here, coffee discounts!" River laughed, rolling her eyes at herself somewhat.

River turned to Mandee, who had emptied her smoothie by now, and had been watching everything that went on around them. "So Sweety, what do you think? Want to go see animals in the zoo or go on a pony ride?" River asked her daughter, who pondered the question. "Both." Mandee said in a slightly stubborn voice. Yes, River probably spoilt her daughter way too much. "Sweety, we can only do one today." River said, but the little girl insisted on doing both. "Bah, she can't even choose between Cherrios or Fruit Loops in the morning." She said, although she smiled, her one hand going to rub her little girl's back.