shopping {OPEN}

[Peter Bishop]

Chase checked her pocket book again, seeing if she had enough money. Today was her shopping day. And no, this wasn't holiday shopping, this was Chase time. She had all ready bought everything for everybody she had been planning on giving something too. Today, was clothes shopping. Every girl had to love shopping for clothes, unless they were Tomboys. Chase would know, she used to be one all the way up to fourth grade.

The one thing she loved about the holidays were the sales. Every single store had sales around Christmas time. Chase sighed, as she stood in front of an old book shop. The sign in the window said that they were going out of buissness and that everything was 50% off. That was a pretty good deal, even though she was supposed to be clothes shopping, this was just one of those exceptions. Shopping at Barnes & Nobles was overrated, everything there is extremely overpriced. Independent book stores is where the good deals are at, especially the ones going out of buissness. Chase pushed the door open and walked inside, escaping the cold.

`

[brock]

It went without saying that Eddie was not one for shopping. He was an in-and-out sort of guy and there was nothing worse than getting stuck behind a meanderer with money burning a hole in her pocket. His philosophy in making a purchase was to know what you’re going for and do just that. He was never the type to get hung up by the tempting offers or big red signs indicating just how much you would save by spending a little more. Christmas seemed to be the worst, and for that he would never expect an argument. Oh, the holiday was swell if you had someone to spend it with, which he didn’t now, but the necessity to get someone a present? It was agony. Maybe it was not such a bad thing after all that he had become entirely isolated from his remaining loved-ones.

Today Edward was breaking his philosophy. Not only was he in a store with ‘discount’ signs about the size of their front windows, but he was also meandering. However, this was not because he was actually looking for a deal. His one vice was literature and there was just something about an old bookshop’s musty smell and darkened aisles that towered above a person. One of the attractions of an independent bookstore was that there was a large used section that had books that just felt alive, textured from the fingertips of their previous owners.

Edward’s thumb grazed over the corner of such a book, it’s roughness like a familiar old friend. His back was to the front of the door, and he did not look back as the overhead bell chimed at someone’s entrance. His shoulder leaned against the shelf as he looked over his book.

[Peter Bishop]

Chase sauntered into the dim and quiet book shop. There were maybe about four people in the store, including herself. To her, it was somewhat refreshing. She was tired of the department stores that were full of people, yelling and arguing with other people about how they grabbed the shirt or pants or whatever first. It was a shame that the bookshop was going out of buissness, it was quaint and peaceful, unlike other bookstores. Chase looked around the store again, and saw a man looking at her from behind his book. She smiled at him, he looked really familiar. But then again, half the people she has seen in the past few weeks has looked familiar to her.

She paced around the store, looking at all the books. Some were new, some were old, some were big and some were small. Chase was an english teacher, so maybe she could find something to base her next lesson on. After all, any book can be a good book if you give it a chance. Chase ran her hand through her hair, and looked at the fiction section. Her last assignment was on a nonfiction book, so she thought her next one should be on a fiction book. She closed her eyes and randomly picked out a book. That was what she always did when she just needed something to read. The book she picked out was The Pigman, which instantly made her smile. Chase remembered reading it when she was in middle school.

[yeah, I know this post is really bad. i couldn't think of anything, sorry!]

[brock]

[it’s not bad at all, no worries.]

Eddie’s bicep was exposed beneath the sleeve of his light blue shirt and the wood of the shelf was cool against his skin. As his eyes drifted up to the door, a woman walked in the jolted his notice. Her attractiveness aside, a sense of affinity waved over him as he took in her slender form. It took a few moments for it to occur to him, but he soon came to realize that they were both new teachers in the English department at South High. He did not know her by name, but he recognized her from conferences and such. It sufficed to say that glancing her way was a little more entertaining than an old droning lecturer. It did not come as much of a surprise to see her here. There was just something about old bookstores that attracted their kind.

At first, Edward ignored her being there. Just because they had things in common did not mean that he was going to approach her while she was out and about. She initially took to another aisle anyway. Not a particularly inviting gesture, if she recognized him in return. It was not until she made her way towards him that he figured he might as well say something. Sliding the book he had back on the shelf, he turned towards her, struck with curiosity as she reached towards a book with her eyes closed. His brow furrowed at this peculiar way of selection. As she smiled at the book, Eddie cleared his throat with a cough. “X-ray vision?”

[Peter Bishop]

Chase almost jumped as she heard someone say something to her. She thought that she was alone, which apprently wasn't the case. “X-ray vision?” She looked at whoever had said something and noticed it was the guy she thought looked familiar. Chase laughed a little. "Nooo. That's just how I pick my books out sometimes.." She said and realized how childish that sounds. "Because half the time I don't feel like searching for a specific book." Chase added, in order to sound a little more mature. Nailed it. She searched his handsome face, she knew she had seen it before.

Okay, he definantly has to teach at South High because I swear I have seen him there before. Chase held her hand out for a handshake. "I'm Chase Pennington...do you teach at South High School?" She asked, fingering the Pigman with her free hand. Yeah, he seemed even more familiar now, possibly from the many conferences and orientations they had at the school.

[brock]

For anyone of the ordinary, such a question would have been a joke. That was the beauty of his introduction… if he was wrong about where he knew her from, then it could be misconstrued as one. However, he was sure that he was right, as he often thought, and had little doubt that he knew her from South High, a school where teachers and students alike were ‘gifted’. Unfortunately, that did not mean there were any more students who set the curve. Many of them where as average as they looked. It made it difficult to figure out who could do what. And he did not mean in the sense of reading and writing.

Eddie grasped Chase’s hand, consciously restraining his strength to prevent from crushing her hand. It was a biased consideration. For all he knew, she could be made of iron and even stronger than him. The possibilities were endless, it seemed. Of course, all this superhuman ability was rather new to him. “I do. I just started.” Edward withdrew his hand and placed it casually in his jeans pocket. “I’m originally from New York; I used to be a writer there. How about you? How long have you… fit the specification for South High?” Continuing to lean against the wall, Edward’s peripheral vision sized Chase up. Though he could still exercise a measure of tact, the change within him made it very difficult. The closest thing he could relate the new feeling to was a surging of testosterone and hormones like a teenage boy.

[Peter Bishop]

Chase shook his hand and then gripped both hands around her book. She was happy she was right, plus this was around the fifth person she has run into that worked at the school. It was a good thing too, because having friendships with other teachers may just be the best thing for her at this point. Chase had been living alone and had worked from home for the longest time, it was good that she had taken this job and was actually meeting people. “Wow, a writer from New York?” She said and smiled. He must have been a pretty good writer to get a job in New York. Chase couldn’t even get a job as a writer in Gotham, let alone New York.

She shrugged at his question. “Uhm, I spent most of my life in Gotham. Haven’t exactly had any interesting jobs, like being a writer.” Chase smirked at him. He was pretty cute for a writer. Her stereotypical writer would be the nerd in the glasses with suspenders and carrying around a small notepad everywhere he goes. “Oh, I’m not exactly special. I’m just pretty good at hand to hand combat,” She explained. “I don’t believe I caught your name?”

[brock]

Eddie was not above feeling flattered at Chase being impressed with his previous work. It was clear that she was not taking into account how young he was and that he must have gotten the job as quickly as he had lost it. Which was entirely the case. He was not about to openly say that he had been fired. As he saw it, the loss of his job had been unjustly unfair, and the arachnid responsible would answer for ruining everything in his life. Spider-Man would pay, and that was Edward Brock talking, not whatever this thing was that had become a part of him.

Expecting Chase to have something on the supernatural side that had happened to her as well, Edward was disappointed not to find someone who’s brain he could rack for advice. But disappointment did not last for long. She had much more to offer to hang up on one little detail. “I’m Edward. Brock. Some people call me Eddie; you’re welcome to do so.” It would be refreshing, actually, to hear it from someone other than his ex-wife. An ex-wife, a career change, and contracting a terminal illness all by the time he hit twenty-five… he really did have a lot under his belt.

[Peter Bishop]

Chase smiled at him. "Well, its nice to meet you Eddie." She said and noddd slightly. Chase rocked back and forth on her heels. She had no idea what she should say or do next. There was an uneasy silence between the two. "So, are you just a writer? Or can you do something 'special'?" She asked and smirked at him. Chase had just remembered she worked at a school full of gifted kids who could easily kill within five seconds. Maybe he could do something cool or unordinary like most of the students.

She had all ready met one man who taught at South High, and he was a complete phsyco. They ran into each other at Starbucks and he was oddly polite and weird. Plus he has these scars on his face which made him even more creepy. Then they ran into each other at the school library. They insulted one another and then he left, making a huge scene in the normally quiet library. She was sure that he was crazy. But Eddie didn't seem crazy at all. Which was good, because Chase could not afford to have any phsycotic friends.

[brock]

Edward smiled as Chase greeted him. There was something refreshing about the affinity he felt while talking to her. She seemed so easy going and friendly; he believed that she was sincerely pleased to meet him. He knew better than to trust that she would feel that way for long. Everyone who knew him would attest to a roaring temper and now the ability to do horrible things if he was angry. The things he wanted to do even when he was in control were bad enough. This… being that possessed him, that had chosen his life to preserve, was not a good influence. It was just a matter before time that it would take him over completely.

He laughed uncomfortably when she asked him what essentially brought him to Gotham to teach at South High. It was such a heavy question, overriding even her calling him a writer – which he hardly considered himself anymore. He never wrote anything respectable anymore. And the ridiculous thing was, the news in Gotham was as absurd as the tabloid fiction he was able to get published. “I’m… enhanced.” His brows furrowed slightly to assess whether she would accept this or not. There were many at the school who could be called ‘enhanced’, it was the specifics that made them interesting. “Let’s just say that my weight training is a little redundant. I haven’t earned the entirety of my strength, as you have.”

[Peter Bishop]

Chase was curious as to what Eddie meant by saying he was 'enhanced', but if he really wanted her to know, he would have told her straight forward, so she didn't ask. She shrugged at what he said after that. "Well, being normal isn't all that exciting," Chase smirked slightly. She moved her one hand into her coat pocket, feeling around for her phone. As she took the phone out of her pocket, she grinned at him. He wasn't like the other men she had met around the city.

Chase gasped when she looked at the time. Woa, time flies.She thought, as she put it back. "Well, I have to go or else I'm going to be late...again." She laughed a little at that, even though it wasn't too funny that if she was late again she would lose access to the school coffee maker, which would be torture. "Maybe we could go out for coffee, or hang out sometime or something." Chase added and started edging away. "I'll see you in school!" She headed towards the old lady at the cash register and purchased the Pigman. As she left to turned back one more time to give Mr. Edward Brock a small wave and then walked out the door.