I Need You Here [Jackson]

[Rufus Lee Bailey]

There was a rule in the school of Whitebridge which made it illegal for any school faculty member to hold a student after school past four pm. At the moment, Mr. Thatcher was taking full advantage of said rule as he sat at the head of the classroom with Rufus Bailey only a few feet away from him. The clock ticked tauntingly above Mr. Thatcher's head. Five minutes until four. Rufus tapped his fingers anxiously on the desk until the teacher grunted and told him to stop. The eighteen year old groaned and squirmed around on his seat. He could handle detention any other day, just not now. Today was important to Rufus. Very important. "Sir, it's almost four. Please I need to g-" The teacher raised his hand, which was holding the oh so hated red pen he used to grade tests, while speaking. "You can last five more minutes, Mr. Bailey." Ruf shook his head in silent protest and looked up at the cruel clock again. He didn't think he could last the hour or so of detention, and every minute counted. Rufus needed to leave when school ended, not an hour after. His father was coming home today. How could Mr. Thatcher make him miss that?

While the history teacher's punishment was entirely justified, least that's how most teachers and adults would see it, Ruf couldn't help but find it entirely mean. Easygoing, quick to forgive Rufus thought that he may hold his first grudge ever after today. Today he'd talked quite a bit in class, as usual, then threw a paper airplane at a friend. At that moment, some gust of wind from the classroom window changed the course of said airplane. The piece of paper swerved to the left, right into Mr. Thatcher's head. It didn't hit an eye or anything, but the teacher's was so pissed his face turned the color of a stoplight. Needless to say, the history teacher spent at least twenty minutes of Ruf's detention lecturing him on why paper airplanes were such a hazard and how he would not tolerate any "dog fighting" in his classroom. The teen spent most of that lecture staring at the clock, and his eyes had barely flinched from it since.

"Alright, Rufus. You can go now. And I don't want to see another-" The door clicked shut behind the teenager before Mr. Thatcher could finish his sentence. Normally, Rufus wouldn't dare be so rude. He was a trouble maker, but not completely disrespectful. Today was the exception. As Ruf ran down the hallways (which was another no-no in the school), he quickly dialed up Jackson's number so he could get a ride to the airport. He'd called his mom before detention to leave for the airport without him since he'd knew he'd be at least a little late. But an hour late? Rufus hadn't expected that. "C'mon pick up pick up pic- Jackson!!" The teenager flew down the school steps and towards the sidewalk while he talked. "Listen, I really need you to drive me to the airport. Okay? I told you earlier that my dad was coming home today, right? Well this teacher clocked me in for detention and now I'm an hour late, my mom already left, and I just need to get to the airport." He gasped for breath before continuing. "I'm at the school. Please pick me up?"

WORDS! 568
TAGS! Jackson
NOTES! Outfit
CREDITS! Haze

[jackson]

Business had brought Jackson into Whitebridge today. A couple parts he'd ordered for the garage had come in and he'd needed to pick them up. Once that was settled, he'd taken to wandering down main street, checking out some of the vendor stalls. Sure the engagement ring he'd given Kat a few days ago could have probably counted as an early Christmas present. Jackson Monroe was better than that though. He had a bad habit of spoiling his girl rotten when he could afford it. And he wasn't going to rest until he'd found her the prefect Christmas present.

All of a sudden Talk Dirty to Me by Poison started blasting from his phone as he looked over the jewelry display of Johanna Yazhi. Kat usually liked what the Native American woman had to sell, so it'd seemed like as good as any a place to start. Someone seemed to have other ideas though and, excusing himself, he walked away a few paces and answered his cell. "Yeah, this is Jackson."

Rufus's frantic voice on the other end of the line caught him off guard. It wasn't common for the good natured boy to be so worked up over something. Waving good bye to Johanna, Jackson turned and started walking back to his jeep, phone pressed to his ear as he listened to Ruf ramble. "Dude, relax. I'm on my way. I'll be there in ten. Now breathe." Maybe sooner depending. The boy had been pretty chatty about his dad's return from deployment ever since he'd found out he was coming home. Truth be told, Jackson was a little excited to meet the boy's father as well, even if an airport reunion felt like he might be intruding. He wasn't about to tell the kid no though. Rufus needed him, and he wasn't about to leave the kid stranded high and dry on such an important day.

True to his word, it wasn't long before he pulled up in front of the high school and laid on the horn. The forest green jeep wouldn't be too hard to spot and Jackson made sure the locks were undone so Ruf could get in without a problem. Flashing the kid a reassuring grin, he pulled out of the parking lot not waiting for seat belts and started heading for the interstate. "Which airport we goin' to?" God forbid they end up going to the wrong one.

tags: rufus&william | words: 422 | outfit: [a href="[click!]"][click!]

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notes: not too terrible a post...
credits: template © 'nali[/center][/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Rufus Lee Bailey]

"Breathing is for days when you're not late for your dad's return. I'll breathe tomorrow!" Rufus clicked the phone shut and anxiously paced back and forth in front of the school. Those few minutes may have only been... well, a few minutes, but to Rufus they felt like hours. Painstaking hours. He even saw Mr. Thatcher leave the school before Jackson got there. So nice to see that the guy didn't look one ounce guilty! Now that just made Ruf's blood boil, which was rather unlike him. The kid was usually much more... level headed, but keeping kids in on the day there dad comes back from deployment? Not cool! Especially not in Ruf's book! He uttered a few curses under his breath and reached for a cigarette. The teen took a few much needed drags in an attempt to calm himself. The nicotine helped him relax a tad, but what he really needed was to see his dad again. And in order to do that, he needed a Jackson.

Rufus ran through another cigarette by the time Jackson showed up. He threw the cig down on the ground and stomped it out before racing towards the older male. Jackson started racing off almost before Rufus had shut the door. "Could have gotten here faster." Well, not really, but Rufus was all out of sorts now. Jackson could have gotten here at the speed of light and he probably would have been too late for Rufus. "Huron Regional Airport." He began nervously tapping his fingers against the dashboard as he cursed the teacher's name. "Damn Mr. Thatcher... damn."

WORDS! 267
TAGS! Jackson
NOTES! Outfit, sorry for such a crappy post
CREDITS! Haze

[jackson]

"Hey, how 'bout a little gratitude? I ain't gettin' a speedin' ticket just for pickin' your sorry ass up at school. I coulda left you sittin' on the curb." Here he was doing a good thing for the kid, and all he was getting in return was complaints. Not even a thank you. Jackson couldn't help being put off by Ruf's behavior. Usually he was a good kid. Yeah, he could party like a pro but his heart was always in the right place. It wasn't like Rufus to be rude or mean spirited. In fact, his agitated behavior was downright strange.

Pulling onto the freeway, Jackson nodded his head and checked the time. "Huron Regional. Got it. Know what time he's supposed to get in?" Converse and Whitebridge weren't exactly strategically located when it came to airports. Huron, like the rest of them, was a least an hour away and that was provided traffic wasn't bad. Even speeding, the mechanic wanted to know how much he was supposed to be giving into the kid's will. The more time he had to spare, the better off they both would be. The last thing Rufus probably wanted to add to his list of reasons for being late was "getting pulled over by the police."

tags: rufus&william | words: 221 | outfit: [a href="[click!]"][click!]

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notes: poor Rufus
credits: template © 'nali[/center][/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Rufus Lee Bailey]

Rufus peered over at Jackson's speedometer and twisted his hands nervously. He wasn't worried about speeding tickets. Oh hell no. In fact, he was on the verge of telling Jackson to try and hit at least one hundred mph. And it was this worry about speed that captivated Ruf as he halfheartedly apologized to his friend. "Sorry..." He pulled away a bit from Jackson after checking the car's speed and proceeded to rub at his shoulders. Honestly, the kid had never looked more stressed in his life. His usually young face (even young for an eighteen year old) was strangely worn down and aged. Even his ruffled hair looked far more disheveled than usual. Ruf may as well have gone through a tornado judging by the way he looked. His worry only barely subsided as they continued to drive, but at least it was enough to get a real apology out of the kid. "I'm sorry Jackson. I'm... this just sucks. It really does."

Rufus exhaled a long breath and found himself staring away from any of the car windows. He didn't want to see how fast they were going anymore, nor did he want to know where they were. Maybe he could trick himself into thinking they were only five minutes away. "In an hour." His voice strained, but he wouldn't allow his eyes to water. They... still had time, sorta.

WORDS! 232
TAGS! Jackson
NOTES! Outfit
CREDITS! Haze

[jackson]

A half assed apology was better than nothing and Jackson glanced over at the kid with a sigh. Rufus didn't look good at all. He was worrying himself so much he looked downright sickly and if Jackson didn't know him better he would have guessed the kid had an eating disorder or something. It damn near broke his heart to see his little buddy like this. And when he got a real apology, the mechanic reached over and ruffled the boy's hair. "I get it." Kinda. Jackson didn't do well with being away from home for too long.

Now when Ruf said they only had an hour before the flight got in, Jackson grit his teeth. So much for being able to take his time. "Hang on tight." His foot pressed down on the accelerator, needle pushing eighty as he swerved in and out of cars. It was reckless, yeah, and some asshat honked at him when he cut the guy off. He wasn't about to let Rufus down though. The kid needed to see his dad.

Forty-five minutes later he swerved into the airport passenger pickup lot, parking crooked in two spaces and not giving a damn as he killed the engine. With a click of the seatbelt he was out of the jeep and letting the kid take the lead. "You got any idea where we're supposed to go? Maybe you should give your mom a call." With maybe ten minutes to spare if they were lucky, Jackson was half expecting Rufus to bolt.

tags: rufus&william | words: 263 | outfit: [a href="[click!]"][click!]

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notes: time skipped a little
credits: template © 'nali[/center][/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]