Welcome!

[turkoizdog]

The door opened and the comfortable coffee-scented warmth of Starbucks was once more invaded by a gust of air. Elaine closed the door behind her and stepped into line, her stomach grumbling for breakfast and her eyes scanning the menu. She peeled off her black trench coat and slung it over her arm, revealing a simple red shirt, jeans, and black boots. She dug her hand into the pocket of her coat and pulled out a white leather wallet, clutching it in her hand.

She glanced over at all the baked goods sitting behind the glass, just to the right of the cashier. Bagels, muffins, cookies, cakes, and breads all called out to her, but she already had her taste buds set on a banana nut muffin. She looked back up at the menu on the wall. The special was a pumpkin spiced latte. Maybe she should try that? After all, she always liked trying new things. The line inched up slowly and the door opened again, inviting another gust of wind and a potential customer.

[Keane Ashford]

Kris had promised himself he would find someplace better then this to get himself coffee. Promised that he wouldn�t stoop to drinking this coffee again. So can anyone explain to him exactly why he was back? Even McDonald�s coffee had to be better then this. He still couldn�t quite understand why Starbucks was so famous. If you asked him they were highly overrated, their coffee wasn�t that good, unless of course you liked burnt coffee. It was a mystery to him how they got so famous, maybe it was some form of mind control serum in their drinks? And maybe he really had to stop thinking such things, those thoughts made him sound even crazier, but at least that would explain things some. Kris thought their coffee sucked, yet still they were able to open so many different stores. To many if you asked him. He was convinced that they were trying to take over the world, one location at a time. They already got Manhattan; the rest of the city though wasn�t so easy to fall.

He still hated Manhattan though; there were better places in New York City then Manhattan. Everything here was too overpriced, who had twelve fucking dollars for a movie ticket? Sure his family could afford it, but who would want to? He sure didn�t want to spend twelve dollars on a ticket for a movie that would probably end up sucking anyway. Still he kept finding himself here, usually running errands or something for Dean and them. He was tired of being their errand boy; he had better things to do with his life�okay maybe he didn�t. But still he rather not waste his time running back and forth between here and home. It just wasn�t his idea of fun.

Kris hesitated in the doorway of the coffee shop, Cynara at his side as he quietly eyed the interior of the coffee shop. It wasn�t too crowded yet, it still to early in the morning to draw a large crowd. He couldn�t help but let his attention land on the girl that was standing there, eyebrow rising slightly. He looked crazier then he did, who wore a trench coat in the middle of summer? Sometimes he doubted his own sanity for getting coffee in this weather. But he needed the caffeine and he didn�t drink any of the fancy cold stuff. Just coffee for him, plain black coffee, no sugar, no milk, nothing, he liked he strong, always had.

He approached the counter, waiting only a few second to see if the girl was ordering before he stepped around her to lean on the counter, waiting for the cashier to notice him.

�A Grande Coffee�

What was with the Italian? Did they think it made them cute, or fancy? It didn�t, it really didn�t. it was more lame then anything. Paying for the drink, he stepped away from the cashier moving to the second counter where he would get his drink. He said nothing more, leaning on the wall as he waited, Cyn at his side.. Cyn sat at Kris side, ever attentive to him.
Kris just rested his hand in her fur, keeping to himself. Kris wasn't social, people were beyond his ability. So he didn't interact with them unless he had to. Nothing would make him approach anyone, he just wasn't comfortable enough.


Cynara

[turkoizdog]

Finally, it was Elaine's turn in line. "Grande Pumpkin Spiced Latte and a banana nut muffin." she said. Grande meant Large, so why was it actually a Medium? Venti meant twenty, which she supposed was twenty ounces, but Tall certainly didn't mean Small. She would know; French and Italian were both Latin-based languages, and even though her accent wasnt as thick as it used to be, she still spoke fluent French.

Opening her white leather wallet, she pulled out a crumpled ten and handed it to the cashier, dropping the coins of her change (pennies and nickels) in the tips jar, but keeping the leftover bills.

She noticed the guy with the dog standing next to her. "What's your dog's name?" She asked him. It was Border Collie, she knew that much. Actually, her neighbor back in France had a Border Collie that she used to play with.

[Keane Ashford]

Kris didn�t know why they used the terms they did, they were nothing short of ridiculous in his mind. Sure venti made sense, it meaning twenty, but that was the only one. The Grande sure wasn�t the large and tall was just out of place all together. In his mind it was just further proof of what a joke Starbucks truly was. While Kris was a native, born and raised in New York City to be exact, and the only accent he carried was the somewhat heavy New York one that often made him hard to understand. He still spoke fluid Spanish, and decent Italian. His father�s family w as from Spain and he was raised speaking Spanish in the home, so he now spoke it fluently.

Pushing himself off the wall, he moved to grab his drink as it was called. He looked around again, looking at the many tables that littered the small area, debating if he should stay or not. He wasn�t so sure he really wanted to stay and sit, today was a bad day and he was already starting to feel flighty and panicky. While he was perfectly fine here the other day today he was feeling trapped. Leaning back against the wall, drink in hand he concentrated on his breathing trying to relax.

Startling slightly as the girl spoke, his breath hitched as he pressed back into the wall a bit. But that was enough of a distraction to get his mind off his racing thoughts and the panic didn�t surface today. Looking down at the dog as she was mentioned, almost as if he had forgotten about her he lifted his head to look back at the girl. The look he gave her though wasn�t exactly friendly, wasn�t openly hostile either, he just wasn�t the warm friendly type. Those that broke through to him, the few friends he had, learned to deal with that about him.

�Cynara, her name is Cynara�

His tone was a bit harsh, but again he really wasn�t the warmest of people. he was standoffish with his own siblings, the siblings who had given up everything to try and raise. That had failed of course; in the end they decided he wasn�t suitable. Kris and his youngest brother went into the custody of Dean, apparently the biological father of his baby brother. Dean didn�t take the twins though, from the last update he got Ana was adopted, he thinks, but Ral was still parentless. She was likely to rot away in the group home, no one wanted her. Kris did but they wouldn�t let him have her, it was a vicious cycle and it drove him crazy. He deserved that life more then Ral did, but it was Ral that got left behind. He didn�t understand that� and it bothered him. a part of him hated Dean for that decision and he probably always would hold that against him to a degree. That again was just Kris though, he held grudges against people.

Looking away from the girl he eyed the door quietly, squirming slightly uncomfortable. Damn it, he just wanted a cigarette and he wasn�t in the mood for dealing with the issues pulling out a cigarette in here would cause. Instead of pulling a cigarette he edged away from the wall moving to the station with the sugar and napkins, snatching a stirrer he placed it in his mouth chewing on it, not the most satisfying way to fight the urge but it would work.

Cyn still remained at Kris� side, standing slightly in front of him as he moved to lean on the wall again; she kept herself between him and the rest of the crowd, seeming to study the crowd. Kris ignored her though, letting her do her thing. He was thankful for the lack of issues he got about her at the moment; he wasn�t in the mood to get into another argument about dogs not being allowed in the store. Looking back to the girl he watched her a bit closely, before back to the door. Maybe it was time to escape? He just had to relax himself more and he will be okay, right?

[x_socks]

Chandra walked into Starbucks, studying the crowd. Why couldn't she get used to the fact that there had always been a crowd, and always will be? She didn't know. She did know one thing, though, and it was that she didn't care for Manhattan. She didn't mind it, but didn't like it either. At least she had been there for a few years and was used to it. When she first got to Manhattan she absolutely hated it. She was in Tennessee before she came here, and there is only half the people there.

As she continued to look around, her eyes spotted a border collie. Were dogs even allowed in the stores? She didn't think that they were. Oh well, she wouldn't say anything. She usually wouldn't say anything. Chandra was shy, but at the same time she could always speak her mind.

Chandra started to think about her job. She needed to submit five more decent pictures by Friday, and it was Tuesday. 'What will I take pictures of? I don't have anything.. Hm.. Flowers? I guess it could work. Or the moon, but those take sorta long. I could do the sunset, but I've done to many of them. I don't know what to do.' she thought. Finally, she had an idea. She walked over to Kris, Elaine, and Cyn.

"Hey, I'm Chandra. Listen, I'm a photographer and I am sorta running out of things to take pictures of, so I was wondering if I could take a few pictures of your border collie. I'll even give you some copies, if you want. What's her, or his name?" she asked, trying to forget about all the things rushing through her head.

{that took me like 20 minutes to write AND its not as long as it looked when I was typing it.}

[turkoizdog]

"That's a nice name." Elaine said, just trying to be nice and make conversation. "My neighbor used to have a Border Collie. I wish I had a dog, but the apartment I live in doesn't allow them. Yet they allow cats. I have a gray one named Nino at home." she said.

Then a girl approached them and asked for a picture of the dog. She didn't say a word; after all, the dog wasn't hers. Her drink was called, so she went to get it and returned, taking a sip. It was really rather good.

[Keane Ashford]

Kris didn�t like crowds even if he was used to them by now. Being a native New Yorker one became accustomed to large amounts of people. Still Manhattan always made him uncomfortable; it always seemed as if it was crawling with people, evenmore so then the rest of the city. That was probably because Manhattan was the main tourist attraction, though Kris couldn�t understand why. There was plenty to see in New York City outside Manhattan, such as the Bronx Zoo, Hall of Science, or even Coney Island for starters. Though he wasn�t so sure if Coney Island was worth the time anymore, wasn�t there talk of Astroland closing down?

It wasn�t rare for Kris to run into problems about having Cyn with him. Sometimes it was worker of the establishment he was at, telling him that they didn�t allow dogs. Other times it was other noisy people who couldn�t mind their own business complaining to either him or the owners. Sometimes he felt it would be a lot easier if he just left her at home, he would avoid all the conflicts that way. But that would sabotage everything, and he refused to let them win in that way. Cyn was staying with him, if they liked it or not.

One thing Kris has noticed since he got Cyn was that something about having her always seemed to draw attention to him. It was almost like having a dog with him made him easier for people to approach. What was it about having her made him come across as approachable? Did she make him look more open, friendlier? He didn�t know and he really didn�t care. He did know that he didn�t welcome them, still that didn�t stop them. It seemed he couldn�t go anywhere without being pestered in some shape or form. He just wanted to live his life. He could handle the questions sometimes, when he was in the more social moods. During those moments he actually didn�t mind the questions, but other times it was just too much. Why did people feel it was okay to approach him anytime anywhere, even when he was with friends or family? And speaking of such, here came someone now� lifting his eyes he looked at the approaching female fingers tangling tighter into the Dog�s fur. Shrugging slightly at the girl�s question, that was a new one.

�If you don�t disturb her, she on duty� and her name is Cynara�

Kris should have known better then to leave the house without Cyn in her vest. She didn�t legally need it, she didn�t need any sign that she was anything special. Even without the vest she couldn�t be denied access anywhere. Though it wasn�t needed the vest did make things easier. It seemed that when she didn�t have her vest on that people have a hard time figuring out that maybe a dog in a place that otherwise didn�t allow dogs maybe equaled that dog was a service dog.

His attention returned to the original girl as she spoke again, something about her neighbor having a Border Collie, her apartment and her owning a cat, or something. He remained quiet for a moment after she spoke, taking a sip of the coffee. Mmm, tasted like crap, it really did, but he the caffeine made it all worth it. yeah maybe he was a bit of an addict, but who cared? It was the least of his problems. Taking a moment to enjoy the caffeine he rested his head back against the wall. Caffeine didn�t feed the cravings, he still wanted a cigarette, but it did help some. Looking back at Elaine he shook his head a bit

�Cyn�s not a pet�

She was more then a pet to him, she was his way of life. She let him live life as normally as possible, let him function. Without her he wasn�t so sure he could handle going out in social at all, let alone survive some of his darker moments. Sure she was his best friend in ways but she was more then that, she was almost a extension of himself. She functioned in ways he couldn�t. She was more then a pet to him, some people seemed to forget that though. Service dogs were not pets, no matter how close to their owner they got.

[x_socks]

"Oh wow, thank you so much!" Chandra said. She pulled out her camera and started to snap a few pictures of the dog. She wished that she was in a studio. It would make the picture look so much better. But she decided that nobody had to know that it was just in Starbucks. She would take a picture of just the dog's face.

Chandra walked to the side of the dog, continuing to snap pictures. One after another after another. Normally she would pay a little more attention, but she was in a hurry. The dog's owner didn't seem very friendly and she didn't want to upset anyone.

Finally after about five minutes she decided she was done. When she got home she would look at them, and pick the best one. But after that she still needed four more pictures.

"Thanks a billion times. Where do you live? I'll send you copies of my best ones." said Chandra, walking over to the counter.

"I'd like.. A slice of cheesecake and a vanilla bean frappuchino{sp?} with no coffee, thanks." she told the guy at the counter. Chandra walked back over to Kris and waited for an answer.

[~Flyff~]

Alesandese once again pushed open the door to Starbucks, letting the smell of coffee wash over her. She'd been here 3 times over the past week trying to catch Kris again. The last, and first, time she'd seen the slightly shady guy with the assistance dog had been nearly two weeks ago. Kris was one of the few people Alle knew that lived, or at least hung out in, the area. There was nothing else to do before the school year started other than just make some friends in advance, and she figured that Kris would be a better start than none. Besides, his grumpy-ish silence fascinated her. They'd spent 20 minutes sitting at the same table over coffee, and all Alle had really managed to get out of him was his name, and that was basically it.

She was wearing a pair of extremely comfortable, light grey sweatpants that were rolled up so high they were almost the length of bermuda shorts, and an extremely baggy maroon NYU hoodie. Her dark, voluminous hair was up in an artfully messy bun, secured with an enormous black clip, and both her double piercings had small white-gold hoops in them. They were the only thing that gave anything away about her family's wealth. Although most girls with her money would've been flaunting Dolce & Gabbana, Alle had gone through that spell already. She'd tried those clothes. In the end, though, she'd decided to settle for normal.

Today, she was actually here for coffee. Her quest for Kris was momentarily out of her mind. But as she strode across the shop to the counter, she saw him. It was unmistakably him.

"Kris!" she shouted exuberantly, an enormous grin lighting up her face. Her throaty voice seemed to fill up the place. "Hey! I just knew I would catch you around here!" She almost jogged over to where Kris and two other girls were standing. "It feels like I haven't seen you in ages! It's been, like, almost a month by now!"

[Keane Ashford]

Kris gave a hint of a nod in response to Chandra�s words, though he didn�t say anything. The Camera didn�t faze Cynara, she was used to them. �Back home� she had her picture taken a lot, a friend of a friend often liked to snap candid shots. She probably wouldn�t be so calm for posed studio shots, especially if she was expected to leave Kris� side. Being kept away from Kris often stressed the dog out, as she knew she was expected to be with him at all times. Candid shots were better anyway, more interesting, at least in Kris� opinion.

He pressed himself back against the wall, remaining quiet as the girl took the pictures. A hint of tension showed in his shoulders and back as the girl moved around him. He knew that it was silly, that there was nothing really to �worry� about but he still couldn�t help the discomfort.

So he was somewhat relieved when she seemed to decide she was done. It was only about five minutes but it felt like it was much longer. He wasn�t trying to come across as cold; he just wasn�t good at being social. He didn�t like crowds, they made him feel vulnerable, and he hated that feeling. Looking to the girl as she spoke, he gave a slight shake of his head.

�Don�t worry about it, I don�t live in the City�

He actually lived about an hour away and it seemed a bit silly to him to ask her to mail the pictures. He had plenty of pictures of her so far thanks to War. He didn�t want to be too much of a bother, especially over something like that.

The sound of the door opening again, caught his attention though he made no move to turn and face whoever it was. Instead he kept his attention on the two girls who were already around him. At the moment they were the important ones, after all he didn�t expect to know whoever just came in. he didn�t know many people in this part of the city. Most of the people he knew lived in, Queens, and the Bronx. This just wasn�t a place they would frequent.

He might come from money but it was often hard to tell. His jeans were almost always worn to the point of being ripped, his shirts faded until it was almost impossible to tell what color they were. He came from money, but he never showed it. His father didn�t like to spend money on the kids most of the time, at least not in terms of what many would consider important. When it came to Kris� father, family was the bottom of the list of priorities

He couldn�t help but wince as he heard his name shouted seemingly across the whole Starbucks. Breath caught in his throat, he tried to slink back away from the forming crowd. This was a bit too much for him, too much going on, too many people surrounding him. Lowering his hand to burrow into Cyn�s fur, he steadies himself the best he can before he lifted his attention to the new and loud arrival. She was a bit much for him at times; he didn�t do well with to much attention on him. he much rather be over looked and forgotten, it was safer.

Slow and quiet was always better with Kris, like dealing with some abused animal. The quicker people realized that about him the faster they are able to figure out how to deal with him. the moment they rushed him, or cornered him he reacted, usually violently.

�hey�

He spoke quietly, it coming a cross almost forced. It was a bit overwhelming to him. He studied the girl though, trying to recall her name. he remembered her face, remembered meeting her here a few weeks ago but he could not put a name with her. He was never good at names.

[x_socks]

Chandra looked over at Kris and said "Okay then.. Bye?"
She walked off and sat down at a table to enjoy her lunch and think of something else to take a picture of. She figured that she would just have to take a picture of a flower or something, but she did alot of flowers. Mostly sunsets and the moon though.

'That's it! I'll just do the moon. I haven't done it in awhile.' she thought as she finished her cheesecake. She left the plate there, grabbed her coffee, and exited Starbucks to go home and feed her dog.

[~Flyff~]

Alle couldn't help frowning slightly when the other girl left. And there went a chance to meet a new friend, something that she always loved.

Turning to Kris, smiling and pretending not to notice his slightly lukewarm greeting. She wondered if he really remembered her. She thought she was pretty remember... able. After all, she remembered Kris, and his service dog, the border collie. She smiled a bit at it, once again resisting sinking her hands into its lovely-looking, silky fur.

She turned to the other girl, who was sipping a coffee. "HI, my name is Alesandese, but you can call me Alle," she said brightly, sticking out her hand.