#( convo. harlow hanlon )

[julianxhawthorne]

"Hey Blondie. Are you having a good time?" He asked, bringing the gift of a new glass of whatever she was having. If anything he was a good host. "I'm sure I just saw Dana around here somewhere." Though she was probably arranging the next surprise. He hoped they were fireworks, he loved fireworks. @harlowhanlon

[nelxruiz]

Nel had been sitting next to the blonde, watching over her while she was out cold. Her fingers were caressing her non showing bump, though she knew, which was enough for her. She was giving her hands a well needed rest after all of the braids she had been making since seeking shelter in the firestation. Her phone had been a low ten percent and she decided to turn it off, so that she could check for better reception as soon as the wind would die down. She tore her eyes away from a family, huddled together, when she noticed the blonde stir besides her. With a careful hand on her shoulder, she looked her over. "Are you awake?" @harlowhanlon

[caelxmontgomery]

It was inevitable, and Cael had been lucky for as long as he had. The summer temperatures had dragged on longer than they were supposed to, and whereas he had been comfortable a week ago, now he sat shuddering on one of the park benches, bottle of wodka in his hand. An occasional sip warming his insides from the cold October air that he sucked into his lungs. He rose from the seat, stretching his aching limbs and instead decided to walk around the park. The sun had already set, and aside from the occasional jogger it was quiet. He stopped walking when he saw someone sketching, slightly tilting his head. He wasn't buying it that someone was able to see what they were sketching in the setting darkness. He scoffed, then turned his heels on the gravel and wanted to walk in the opposite direction when he nearly full frontal walked into someone, which startled even him and caused him to drop the bottle, which he heard had fractured within the brown bag it was held in. "Jesus -- Fuck." @harlowhanlon

[drewxjackson]

"If you're sure." Andrew was in this field for a lot longer than most believed him to be, and thus he knew when someone was in enormous pain or not and she was definitely up there. Se he watched her with a careful eye, pressing his lips together when she swore under her breath. He wasn't laughing however, and not wanting her to do more damage than there already was, made sure to hold onto her arm in a way she could lean on him rather than on her hurting ankle. "Right this way. Does this help?" @harlowhanlon

Her smile widened and contained more relief than genuine gratitude. "Thank you, but it should be fine." Harlow shook her head lightly, blonde tendrils dancing around her face before she took a step, intending to follow Andrew's direction. It was one limping step taken, before she took a sharp inhale, the pain slowly crawling from her ankle down to her foot. "Shit," she muttered under her breath, looked over her at Andrew and her helplessness might have been more hilarious than sad, had her reaction been a disproportionate exaggeration. But one look at her was enough - this was no act. Or a lot less than usually, at the very least. @drewxjackson

[caelxmontgomery]

Cael observed the scene before him, the way the water splashed down on the blonde with an almost cinematic flair. It was the kind of moment that would have made any grown man chuckle, and though Cael felt the faintest tug at the corners of his mouth, the smile never quite appeared. Public shaming wasn’t something he took pleasure in—unless, of course, it involved a child tumbling over, which was an entirely different matter. He stepped closer, his piercing blue eyes scanning her face, and it was clear she was shaken. With a quiet sigh, he reached into his coat and retrieved a paper handkerchief, extending it toward her. "I didn't use it," he said, offering a small, reassuring smile. "Promise." @harlowhanlon

It was a nice day to wear one's brand new, creme hued coat out and Harlow felt good ( incredibly fashionable ) as she let her feet carry her across the cold, damp ground. The market place was slowly coming to life and Harlow had not yet come to a conclusion as to what she was meaning to get. The call of a stranger completely missed its mark. No thought was bestowed on the unlikely possibility of the warning being aimed in her direction. Too engulfed inside her mind, following the important questions that arose as she eyed the tangerines, neatly prepped on one of the stalls, in a quest for answers. And the next thing Harlow realized was coldness. Something wet. An apology, that made its way to her periphery. The shock rendered her unmoving and that's when she saw him and realized, he must have been the one to have warned her. He'd meant her. One soft hand stroked through her hair, now doused in dirty water. "Oh no." She spoke, not yet having fully realized the full extent of such awful catastrophy, for she had not yet looked down on her coat. @caelxmontgomery

[julianxhawthorne]

"Got to hide the fact I'm a year older." Julian laughed, pushing his hair back from his face. He handed her the glass, lifting his own in a cheers before bringing it to his lips. He grinned at the mention of his trusted assistant, looking over the crowd to see if he saw her, but sadly he didn't. "Thank God for that. I wouldn't know what I'd do without her. He confessed, though did it with ease. By now he got used to the fact of having Dana think two steps ahead. She was worth every penny. "Wouldn't that be the dream." The man chuckled, then shrugged. "Yeah, naur. I have to make my rounds, make sure everyone is happy and taken care of. Even though there's an open bar. I doubt anyone needs reminding." @harlowhanlon

“Well, aren’t you looking especially dapper tonight?” It was a rhetorical question, her voice humorous and yet her compliment contained a firm sincerity. “I’m having the best time”, she spoke with a saccharine giggle, willingly taking the glass, filled with Lillet Rosé from the man of the hour. “Indeed. I haven’t gotten a chance to talk to her yet, though. That busy bee.” A pause that halted her speech was filled with a gentle smile. “Although, shouldn’t you be the one being served those refills? Or being asked whether you’re enjoying yourself? I mean, it’s your birthday, after all.” @julianxhawthorne

[caelxmontgomery]

It was clear the woman was in discomfort, yet was she in pain? He doubted. He knew little about who the blonde was, so how was he to know? He wasn't going to assume. So when she uttered that she was fine, he took her for her word. He had the mind to turn around and walk away but instead had offered her a hand instead. Though completely unrelated, he thought back about how he had met Sophia again in their adult years, climbing a fire escape to break into someone's apartment and seeing her there, right before she passed out. Though as later she had explained, not from the sight of him. At least he hadn't been the only one suffering from black outs throughout his life. With a breath, he pulled her up on her feet again, letting go of her hand. He still disliked being touched by someone, even as simple as this. @harlowhanlon

His voice fell on deaf ears. A faint ringing sound reached its peak as Harlow opened her eyes, peered up at the man towering above her. His lips moved, though no sound came out and all she heard was the rush of blood inside her ears, the harsh tone, which soon would dissipate once more, as she began pushing herself up from the ground with little success. This time, her ankle made itself known before she had a chance to think about it. A painful throb pulsed and bubbled and made her expression scrunch up in immense discomfort. You okay? She mustered a nod, now leaning on her elbows, at least her back was not glued to the dirty ground below anymore. The man now knelt beside her and she looked at him once more. Uncertain if there was actually a faint trace of alcohol residual in his breath or if the smell originated from the shards within a brown bag not too far from where she claimed her space on the ground, was only worrisome enough to concern her for no longer than a mere moment. A hobo. Great. "Yeah, it's fine," she groaned, obviously not being entirely truthful, accepting the offered hand, nontheless. @caelxmontgomery

[caelxmontgomery]

The New Yorker in him almost came out at the collision, ready to berate her and tell her to watch where she was going. However there was no one to yell at when he looked properly. Only when she shifted his gaze down to the ground did he find the woman flat on her back. "I hope not." He said at her cursing, for that would've made things so much worse if someone had let their dog do their business in the middle of the pathway. He stepped to her side, his hand curling into a loose fist before he bent slightly, holding out his hand for her. "You okay? I didn't know you were behind me." Which was a first, as Cael was always aware of his surroundings. But one look from her and he realised why. The girl was so slim she probably would have barely made any sound when walking, as feather light as she looked. @harlowhanlon

Her walks home always bore the tendency of being especially eerie, once darkness began to crawl through the abandoned alleys and grow from the shadows, cast by an already gloomy day. Harlow was not particularly fond of taking the shortcut (one which barely saved her more than half a minute anyway) through the park in the commencing evening's twilight. Regret tucked at her fingertips as she pulled her coat a little tighter around her body - a laughable attempt at gaining some warmth, some semblance of comfort. Her step accelerated, just enough to make her notice the throb of her ankle. A collision from a couple of days earlier still affected her, though nowhere near as bad as she'd liked to pretend. Nervousness made her chew on the soft inside of her cheek, made her look around her, ever so vigilantly, to see if anyone was there to disturb this false sense of security she so badly wanted to convince herself of. And then, there it was. The collision she could have seen coming, had she only looked ahead. Once again, it was her ankle that gave in, this time however, the shooting pain was a lot more intense. Her yell was more akin to a shriek, loud and shrill and full of momentary terror and pain as she fell hard to the ground.

"Argh," she emitted through gritted teeth. "For fuck's sake - shit."

[drewxjackson]

Despite being called in sick, Andrew made sure to show his face at least one day a week, trying to squeeze as much patients in as he could. He had been about to call it a day when the receptionist let him know an emergent appointment had slipped in last moment. He had welcomed Harlow with his signature smile, already having seen her hop about as she made her way towards the front desk. "I can see that. How about we take a look?" He motioned her along to his usual chamber. "Are you okay walking? Need some help?" @harlowhanlon

closed starter for: @drewxjackson WHERE: Helping Hands Medical Center

A groan slipped from her throat as she carefully stepped across the hall, straight toward the reception. With her teeth grinding at each step taken, it was obvious to locate the discomfort by the distortion of usually soft features. She grimaced and maybe, just maybe, this time around her dramatic reaction was justified. The pain her every step caused was almost enough to make her flinch each time. She would hop, though her stubbornness forbid her from making a fool of herself. She was no bunny rabbit, after all.

"Hey," she said, the following sigh was one of relief. And despite the biting pain, she was damn pleased with herself for not being late for once. "Guess what?" A beat. "My ankle's got worse."

[nelxruiz]

"Okay. Good. They told me you needed to wake up at least every half hour." She explained her reason for disturbing her but remembered very well how awful it was when they did it with her back when she had her fall a decade ago. All things considered she had gotten lucky, yet she'd rather not rehash about it. It would create spontaneous tingles in her back. " Do you want to keep laying down? Sit up? I can get you some water?" @harlowhanlon

END.

Miserable. Harlow felt absolutely miserable still and hours had passed in which she drifted in a place between waking and a restless slumber. The headache persisted, had not even began ebbing off, as well as the nausea, that seemed manageable enough, only were she to lie very, very still on her side, with her legs pulled to her chest. Making herself disappear underneath a blanket someone must have draped over her slim frame. She'd gotten used to people checking in on her, occasionally, though her reaction as a woman's voice inquired whether she was awake, Harlow's reaction was immediate. Opening her eyes, she peered up at the woman and she could feel the uneasiness increase, a tight coil only worsening her nausea. All she could do, was nod. @nelxruiz