rideslikethewind

[rideslikethewind]

Breathe in, breathe out. Don't close your eyes, it'll freak you out. Instead she just nodded, her hands reaching up to grab hold of his. Jessie didn't want to cry again. She didn't want to feel like some little princess that all the boys used to try to convince her she had to be. It was hard though, with Buzz looking and sounding just as shaken up as she felt, so for a while, she tried to focus her gaze on the up-and-down movement of his chest.

"I believe you," she said quietly when he was all done, pulling back a little so she could look at him, her hands still holding his. Please don't make me a fool for believin' you. Jessie didn't think he would, but it would take more-- much more-- for the nagging doubt that always crept in to be completely hushed. For now, though, she was done-- done with the sadness, done with being scared. She wanted her space ranger to smile at her-- shoot, she wanted to smile. "I don't think we could be attached at the hip. Forget bein' sick of each other-- we'd be a trippin', fumblin' mess of a duo, and I'd never be able to beat you at racin' ever again!"

His heart just kept hurting and he knew he deserved it but God, he hated how this felt. “I’m sorry.”

At her words, his eyes grew a little watery and he just swallowed roughly before nodding his head a few times. “I promise, if I ever leave again, I’m taking you with me, I swear.” By the end of his sentence, his voice had softened to a whisper as his thumbs gently brushed against her cheeks. “Jessie, I never…I never meant to hurt you, Red. I don’t ever want to hurt you again and I can’t tell you how sorry I am. Please, just, trust that I won’t leave you again. I’m telling you, I’m going to be attached to your hip from now until you get sick of me.”

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Jessie rolls her eyes. "'Course I can lasso a person. If you ever meet a cowgirl-- or a cowboy-- who can't lasso, they're a stinkin' liar." She raises her eyebrows. "Kinda like you-- a stinkin' liar."

Cracking a smile when Jessie huffed, Danny nodded, still wiping away some of his tears. “No one. Nothing. S’not important.” He mumbled quietly, keeping his eyes on anything but the red head. “Can you really lasso a person?”

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"Chubby? Shoot, you ain't chubby! And even if you were, it'd just be a sign that your life ain't nothin' short of happy. Your mama, I'm tellin' you-- I ain't tellin' you she ain't worth lovin', 'cause I'm sure she's a fine woman, but she don't know what she's talkin' 'bout. I'm glad you ain't listenin'." Jessie's voice was loud in comparison to Rosa's whisper, and she grinned sheepishly.

She squints her eyes, making a full rotation on her heel in inspection of the kitchen. Who knew where that stuff was? "...I'll get the butter!" At least that was clearly in the fridge.

"Be careful. You’re so excited though, I love it" Rosa giggled as Jessie tripped. Rosa was so happy to have someone to bake with her. She figured Jessie would make a better baking partner than her mother too.

"They are. Mother says that I need to not eat so many cookies because I’m getting chubby, but I don’t really listen" she whispered to Jessie as if her mother would hear her if she spoke up. "Lets make chocolate chip. first we need butter and white and brown sugar." she began to look through the cupboards

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[rideslikethewind]

"Dang-nabbit!" Jessie exclaims, shaking off the snow from her leg, squinting her eyes down at Felix, aiming her next shot. He was running though, which forced her to leap to the next tree to get a better shot. Eyes on the prize.

Scanning the area below her, a smile lit up her face when she found him, throwing the snowball quickly before Felix ran again, nicking him in the shoulder. "Yeehaw, cowgirl," she laughs to herself, grinning. But now she was out of snowballs. Shoot.

Seeing a slipping of read hair scrambling up the tree, the blonde boy’s eyes widened throwing his snow ball and just hitting her on the leg; he couldn’t help but smiling victoriously.

Wait, Jessie is now in a tree with a high advantage point, bubbles. Turning, Felix quickly scrambled away from where she was and hid behind a tree in hopes he wouldn’t end up getting hit by another snowball.

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"It was! She told me I could either give her the wire I'd gotten or have detention for the rest a the year!" Jessie grins. "Luckily, she didn't think to ask if I had more, which I do. Bought double, just in case! I think I got an idea for a harness..."

"How complicated could quittin' tightropin' be? Didja hurt yourself or somethin'? I fell offa my horse-- his name was Bullseye-- when I first got him, and I didn't wanna ever ride him again 'cause I was so mad. But then I got back on, and we became the best ridin' duo in Montana!"

"Eh you don’t seem ‘hat bad, but alright." 

"Urgh, was it ‘he one with ‘he crooked nose? She’s a pain. Winge, winge, can’t do ‘hat, winge, like a crying jabberwock. Yeh it would be, long as we get a harness or something so we don’t get whacked over ‘he head. What? Oh no, it’s complicated no." 

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"Yeehaw!" Jessie whoops excitedly, practically tripping over herself as she rushed after Rosa, grinning from ear to ear. Her aunt had always tried to teach Jessie how to navigate a kitchen, but never once succeeded.

"Cookies are good for the soul and the stomach, I reckon," Jessie agrees, bouncing into the Brave kitchens. She'd been in here a couple of times, but never for more than a few minutes. "What kind're we gonna make?" she asks, peeking into cupboards, bouncing all over the place like a giddy child.

“It is worth a shot! I have lots of cookie supplies in the Brave kitchen. I think I’m the only one that uses it. Come on, come on let’s go!” She said excitedly. “I know, I’m hungry too, but I think I’m always hungry for cookies”

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Jessie squints her eyes, hands on her hips as she makes out the figure sitting in the tree above her. "Danny, is that you?" Without an answer, she starts scrambling up the tree towards him. "I reckon," she huffs, plopping on a nearby branch, "that if you can dive into my business, I can do the same to you."

"So, what's wrong? Who made you cry? Do I gotta beat someone up? 'Cause I will. I'll lasso 'em down so fast they won't even see me comin' 'til it's too late!"

Legs dangling out of a tree, Danny angrily wipes away at his tears, sniffling a little when he heard someone walking towards his favorite tree. “Go away.”

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"'Course I do! I hid 'em behind a tree in the woods so none of the teachers would grab 'em!"

"You look a lil freaked out if my eyes don't mistake me, Ariel!"

"Right.." She trailed off, scared as Jessie tugged her along. "Wait, do you even have the rest of the fireworks?"

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"It's worth a shot, ain't it?" Jessie grins, bouncing on her toes. "Now all this talk 'bout it's makin' me hungry, though..."

"I feel like most people are cookie eaters as opposed to makers. Eating the cookies is the best part."

"Perhaps it would work. Though baking together could be more distracting than baking alone, but we’d also have two people focusing on th cookies then maybe they won’t burn. Two heads are better than one."

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"You're darn right you should have," she mutters against his shoulder with a sad sternness.

"D'you really promise you ain't gonna leave again?" Jessie asks, unable to help sounding a little disbelieving, peeking up at him through her lashes, their foreheads touching. She couldn't help it. People always left her without a second thought. No one had stayed. No one had come back. Maybe the fact that he had should mean something to her-- and it did-- but it didn't negate all the other evidence she had of people leaving for good. It scared her. The fact that he left proved that he could, and that was that. "I don't wanna..." Get hurt again. Be abandoned. Alone, in the cramped corner of a too-small closet, the darkness pressing in on her-- Jessie shudders, hating herself for it, staring down at the star-covered boots on her feet, beginning to count each little star.

"I’m sorry, Jessie. I am, honest." He whispered back before sighing and just holding her a bit closer. "I should have said something."

A hiss left his lips as she hit him and he just nodded, wincing when she hit him again. It didn’t actually hurt, it just hurt his heart. “I’m sorry,” he murmured softly, his eyes not even able to look at her, “I…I messed up.” He shouldn’t of messed up, he was better than that. He knew better than that.

Wrapping his arms around her and hugging her back just as tight, he smiled weakly before saying softly. “You’re never getting rid of me now, Red. I swear.” Kissing the side of her head gently, he leaned his forehead against hers. “I’m not going to leave you. If I happen to screw up again, I’ll always come back.”

[rideslikethewind]

Jessie froze, even holding her breath, listening for where Felix could be. When she heard a rustle nearby, she leaped onto a low hanging branch and started scrambling-- with one hand, as her other hand a snowball in it-- up the tree.

"Jess-" Felix said looking around the area before jumping as the snow ball hit his back. Turning around quickly he scanned the area quickly, getting down he followed in the direction the snow ball came from until he found trails in the snow and he smiled lightly following it, snow ball in hand ready just in case.

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"I dunno-- knowin' me, it'd probably end badly. I'm a mess enough without the alcohol..."

"One a the teachers-- don't remember which of 'em. They weren't too hapy with me, but I reckon it's worth puttin' it up! Why haven't you done it in so long? Heck, tightrope walkin' sounds like a hoot and a half!"

"Huh, well if you want to change ‘hat, ‘hen you know where to find me." 

"Sure why not, stringing ‘hat ‘hing up be alright. Worth it after it’s up, Who caught you? Eh yeh I did. I ain’t done it in nearly ‘wo years ‘hough. Might just stick ‘o ‘he ‘rees for balance practise, I don’t know yet."

[rideslikethewind]

When he hugged her, Jessie bunched her fingers into his shirt and buried her face in his shoulder. He's back he's back he's back. "You coulda talked to me," she whispers.

She pulls back a little and whacks him as hard as she can on the arm. "Don't you ever do that again, y'hear? Dontcha think I was scared? I'd just laid out my heart an' soul on the table and-- and then I kissed you, and you left, like all the rest of 'em." Jessie hits him again and gives him a stern look. "I'm warnin' you space ranger!" Then she hugs him again. "If you didn't look so darn sad I'd be madder for a lot longer," Jessie mumbles against his shirt.

Buzz’s heart nearly broke at her words and he just bit his lip before shaking his head fiercely and hugging her tightly, gently kissing the top of her head. “I promise, I won’t. I swear. I’m sorry, I just got scared and didn’t mean to cause I just…I like you. I like you a lot, I proved it scientifically and it scared me cause well, I’ve never liked a girl the way I’ve like you before. So I ran, like a coward.”

[rideslikethewind]

Jessie shot the boy a smirk when he missed. "Sure you will!"

She threw another snowball, aiming for his head, and darts into the trees, trying to find a good one to hide in.

Raising an eyebrow, a little shocked at her direct hit, Genie just giggled before scooping up more snow and darting after her. “Betcha I will!” Throwing another snowball, he cursed when he missed before trying again.

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"To be fair, I'm more of a cookie eater than a maker, and there was a stranger's dog runnin' through the yard and I didn't wanna let it run loose!"

"Yeah! Maybe if we make 'em together that'll solve my burnin' problems..." She grins.

"You got so distracted you left the house? Wow.Though when I was younger I probably would have gotten that distracted if I’d have been allowed outside."

"Being messy makes baking so much more fun.  We should bake cookies sometime."

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"Not a one!"

"That's for sure. And you're darned tootin'! Will you really help? I almost had it ready, but while I was walking the line to the trees to attach that end I was caught... Between the two of us I bet we could do it, though? And didja say tight-rope walk?"

"Huh..funny. So you’ve never had a drop since?"

"Getting in ‘rouble ain’t so bad, it’s ‘he getting away with it you need to master ‘hen. Wait a zipline from ‘he brave roof ‘o ‘he woods? I’m in, I’ll help you as long as I get ‘o ‘ype rope walk across it."