Survival Of The Fittest

Rachael continued to wipe the blood off of Jimmy's hand. It looked like the bleeding was beginning to slow down, so she probably could put a band aid on.

Fortunately, Jimmy only winced when she applied the alcohol. He also seemed pretty cool about her panicking over the incident. He was sipping the Capri-Sun and was sitting patiently.

Rachael then heard Ruby ring the register up. Looks like she just sold Jasper some CDs. Rachael really didn't want to think about Jasper anymore. After everything he said and did, Rachael just wanted him to go away. She'd have to see him at school on Monday, and she certainly didn't want to think about what he would say then. He walked past her group and made his way to the door.

Ladies.

Rachael simply rolled her eyes as he made his way out of the store. Jimmy turned back to Rachael.

What an absolute dick-head.

"Well, I wouldn't go that far," said Rachael, fishing through the first aid kit to find the bandages. "But he's a real jerk. Can't believe he would be that desperate to prove he's around. Well, life will get him back for that.

The door opened again. Rachael briefly looked up and saw a girl with green hair covering her eye.

Oh, it's Regan. Wow, can't imagine what she must be thinking wandering into the store and seeing all this chaos. I wonder if her Saturday has been this weird already. Oh man, I must look awful. Hope my eyes aren't too bloodshot.

Regan walked by Rachael and Jimmy, heading to the counter to speak to Ruby. Rachael rubbed her face. Although she wasn't crying, her face was still hot and she still had the occasional sniffle.

Hey, don't worry about being emotional, it's fairly understandable. And, uh, thanks for the OJ.

"Well, thanks for being understanding. Also, that's fruit punch. It's cool though."

Dja need'ny hep?

Rachael turned and saw Randall standing over her and Jimmy.

Uh, yeah, I'm cool, but, ah, thanks for asking.

"Yeah, I think I have it, but if you have any ideas, feel free to contribute. I think I just need to wrap this bandage around his hand."

Ruby and Regan had come over, with Ruby picking up the smashed CD. Ruby began to speak to Jimmy.

Damnit. Look, I'm sorry about what happened Jimmy. If there's any way I could make it up for y... Actually, hold on a sec...

Ruby got up and hurried back. Rachael just finished wrapping a bandage around Jimmy's hand.

"Well, I don't know how helpful that is, but I guess you could see a doctor if it gets worse. I guess you should test to see if you can make a fist or something."

Ruby returned from the back with a five dollar bill.

Here. I'd give you a more official refund, but knowing Vincent he'd probably flip his shit at the very suggestion...

A smile appeared on Rachael's face. From the gathering of people around Jimmy, it was pretty clear that everyone at least could sympathize with him and turn against a bully like Jasper.

"Okay, so are you feeling alright?" she asked Jimmy. "Anything else I can do?"

((Double Posting and Breaking Post Order so I can leave the thread.))

Rachael took a second look at Jimmy's hand. From the looks of it, his hand was going to be fine for now. She figured he might take it to a doctor if it got any worse. He seemed smart enough to make sure gangrene wouldn't set in.

That's when Rachael began to feel somewhat queasy. Somehow, the Capri-Sun in her belly felt sour now. She had calmed down from her earlier sobbing, but she still didn't feel that well.

"Well, I think you'll be okay," she said to Jimmy, standing up.

"Uh, I think I better go now," she said aloud.

She hurried over to the counter and picked up the record she bought from Ruby.

"Thanks for so much for the record Ruby. I'll see you soon. I just gotta do some stuff now. Bye!"

Rachael moved quickly out of the store. She was sure that Jimmy would get all the help he needed, but she just had to leave.

She hurried over to her car, parked around the corner from the shop. Fumbling with the keys, she unlocked the door and quickly sat down. She exhaled loudly. She could still see the blood coming out of Jimmy's hand, accompanied by the sounds of Jasper's snark and Ruby's retort.

Why did today have to end like this? I just wanted to do some shopping.

She started the car and drove down the road, pressing play on the CD player.

I'm a fountain of blood in the shape of a girl.

Yep. That's all we are. Fountains of blood.

((Rachael Langdon continued in Whatever))

(Breaking post order because xetjaweofijaofnzimpatientpjoawkb)

Regan decided to let cooler, more interestedknowledgeable heads handle the situation, electing to hand back and lean against the counter. One might get the impression of James Dean, if he was a she and had green hair. Did James Dean have green hair, though? She'd never actually seen any of his movies. She just knew that he was the guy who was always leaning against something, looking too cool to care. He seemed like the type who'd have green hair. Hair color aside, she wasn't actively helping Jimmy, was the gist of it. If asked, she'd say it was because he already had enough help, but it was probably borne more from a lack of concern. She didn't really know Jimmy, was all. It it was Ruby, hell yeah she'd be helping her.

But it wasn't...she didn't want to say 'not her problem', since that sounded really really really bitchy, but not her problem. Ugh, that felt awful just thinking it. It was enough to spur her on to at least offer something when Rachel climbed to her feet, giving Jimmy her stamp of approval. Whatever, that worked too. No one could say she didn't do anything. Well,they could, but it wouldn't be completely true. Mostly true, but, anyway, moving on.

Sweetheart that she was, Ruby was offering Jimmy money from her own wallet. Regan would have preferred to exact brutal street justice on Jasper, but Ruby's way was good to. It was a perfect example of how awesome a person she was. Instead of chasing Jasper down with a baseball bat or something, she was paying Jimmy back at her own expense. It only served to make Regan feel that much luckier that she had her. Not that she 'had her' had her, but, you know. Dating. Being together. Okay, point made.

After Rachel ran off, Regan chimed in, "We could probably still catch Jasper. I think all of us could take him. I'd be the cheerleader or something, playing inspiring music as you guys beat him up. Like, the national anthem or something. Or Eye of the Tiger, if we'd need more specific inspiration and less patriotism. I also take requests, so if anyone wants a particular song, we can talk. I know some people can't exact street justice without that one special song playing, so I can help out with that. I mean, if I was going to Batman someone, I'd want maybe Motorhead or something. Bomber, maybe. Yeah, I think Bomber."

The delay until Regan realized no one knew what she was talking about what a little shorter that time, but it was still a delay all the same. "Or, you know, we could not do that. Batman doesn't always beat a guy up. Sometimes he waits. Like the night, personified as a guy in a bat suit." She coughed into her hand, feeling a little awkward. "Anyway."

After handing Jimmy the money, Ruby couldn't help but sigh to herself. As happy as she was to lend Jimmy a hand, she'd been kind of hoping to spend that money on a Subway after her day's work was over. Not that she couldn't just go get some more, but the nearest cash machine was a good couple of blocks away, and the Subway was only just across the street.

Still, for the most part she was just glad that Jimmy didn't end up leaving this shop with less than he started with. Speaking of which, it was at that moment that Rachael decided to make her exit. Fair enough, Ruby would have probably done the same if she was in her position. There was always something particularly awkward about witnessing petty disputes like the one she just had with Jasper. Sure, sometimes it can be kinda funny if it's between two strangers who you couldn't care less about, but whenever friends are involved it's always best to either back them up or politely walk away.

"'Kay, seeya Rach." Ruby replied, giving her a quick wave before turning her attention back to Regan.

"Well, glad that's all over..." she said, shortly before Regan went on another one of her tangents. Now that she was beginning to calm down, Ruby couldn't help but chuckle lightly to herself as Regan yet again found some way to involve Batman in the conversation. Whilst Ruby would prefer to never see Jasper's stupid face for the rest of her life, she couldn't deny that the thought of Regan beating him to a pulp with a bat was an amusing one. In any case, it was just nice to hear Regan talk. Jasper's childish trolling had gotten her more riled up than she wanted to, but listening to Regan go on like this never failed to bring a smile to Ruby's face.

The fact that she always found it cute whenever Regan got embarrassed certainly helped.

"I'm pretty sure that won't be necessary... Tempting suggestion though." she said, a wam smile still on her face.

It was times like this that Ruby wished that she didn't have to be so careful about what she said to Regan. In an ideal world, she wouldn't have to pretend that the two of them were just friends whenever they were out in public like this, surrounded on all sides by eavesdroppers and potential rumor spreaders. Hell, there were many times when Ruby seriously considered publicly coming out just so that she could at least not pretend that she wasn't into other girls anymore. It wasn't as if she lived in Tenesse or something. Seattle apparently had one of the biggest LGBT populations in the country, and whilst Ruby herself wasn't particularly interested in the local LGBT community, it would at least be nice to be more open about it.

Of course, deep down she knew that announcing to the world that she wasn't into dudes would be a dead giveaway that she and Regan were an item. After all, everyone already knew that they were really close friends, so anyone with half a braincell could figure out the true nature about their relationship if they knew that at least one of them was a lesbian. In many ways, she actually felt pretty sorry for Regan. Whilst Ruby's parents were liberal minded enough for Ruby to let them know about her sexuality, Regan's on the other hand were the complete opposite. Ruby had seen enough of them to know that they weren't the kind of people who would react lightly if they realised that their daughter was dating another girl. God forbid if they also found out that said girlfriend also happened to be an atheist to boot.

Still, whilst she knew that it was only a matter of time before their relationship became public knowledge, for now she was content to keep quiet about it for Regan's sake. That said, she still wished that the two of them could be able to talk somewhere a little more private.

Hmm... Ah, there's an idea!

"But yeah, so... I'm gonna go check out the new James Bond collection we have downstairs. Want to come with?"

After briefly waiting for Regan to agree, Ruby turned towards the staircase and made her way down to the basement, making sure not to bump her head on the short doorframe on the way down. It always perplexed Ruby how despite the relative popularity of their record collection, very few people ever bothered to check out the video and dvd section downstairs. Personally, Ruby loved the place. There were so many obscure films lining up the rows that most people had probably never even heard of. There were 70's exploitation flicks, surreal foreign movies, 50's b-movies, 90's independent films that faded into obscurity. Of course, there was plenty of mainstream stuff too, including the brand new row of Jame Bond videos lining up the bottom row in the corner of the room.

It was actually pretty impressive. When Ruby heard that they had a new James Bond collection, she assumed that it was just a good handful or two. She wasn't expecting damn near every single one of the movies to be listed, in chronological order no less. She had to give credit to Vincent, he'd obviously put a lot of time in making sure they were presented as best as he could. Well, okay, he got Diamonds are Forever and On Your Majesty's Secret Service mixed up, but apart from that the collection was pretty much perfect. It had them all, from Dr No all the way up to...

...Hang on.

"Huh... There doesn't seem to be Casino Royale or Quantum of Solace."

After a brief moment of confusion, Ruby quickly realised why and lightly slapped her head.

"Well duh, of course not! Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace were never released on VHS! Heh, figures. The one Bond flick that I really liked, and we don't have it in stock."

Ruby chuckled to herself as she ran a hand through her hair, turning her attention back to Regan. A warm smile found itself on her lips. After all, one of the benefits of being in this section of the store was that she could finally speak freely to Regan without having to worry about annoying eavesdroppers.

"So anyway, how's your day been?"

Only too happy to tag along anywhere with Ruby, Regan tipped an imaginary hat to the guy manning the counter. "Vinnie." She shouldered the guitar resting in it's case and recovered her backpack and made to follow Ruby downstairs. Chances were good the atmosphere down there would be less...confrontational...than it was upstairs. Well, unless Ruby decided to get frisky. Which, now that you mention it, probably wouldn't be so awful. Granted, Regan was mostly basing that on what she'd seen in movies and tv show's. She didn't exactly have...experience. One might even say, dot dot dot, virginal. She was a virgin. Get it? Geez, there wasn't even anyone before Ruby. Definitely no girlfriends, not even any boyfriends. Even when she was, as far as she knew, straight. Which, looking back, might have been a clue. Maybe. Or maybe not, since, as far as she remembered, it wasn't a deliberate effort to avoid dating. Or it might have been. Who knows?  Considering how spotty her memory could be, maybe it was a deliberate thing. You know, a subconscious dealie. Like, deep down, she knew that guy weren't doing anything for her, so she never committed to anything. Stranger things have happened, she guessed. But, then again, what did that say about Ruby? Did it suggest Regan possessed more finely tuned lesbian senses?

It was probably for the best she didn't voice these musings to anyone. She suspected that if she did tell anyone, they might come across as really, really stupid. Or offensive. Or something equally not good. Let's stick with stupid.

Anyway. Movies! It wasn't quite what she'd call a treasure trove, she'd say. Or maybe it was, depending on taste. While Ruby went to double check the James Bond collection, Regan did her own browsing. She'd set her stuff against the wall near the door, as to have her hands free to collect any movies to come across. While she didn't approach her investigation with the same glee and fervor as she would in a comic book shop, she did have a good time perusing through the movies. In the short space of time it took Ruby to straighten out whatever error she'd found in the James Bond collection, Regan already had a small armful of movies, spanning a forty year period of time, the oldest among them an old John Wayne movie, dating 1967. It wasn't True Grit or the Searchers, but it was still a John Wayne western, so it would probably be pretty good. She was still rifling through the selection of dvd's so she was only half listening to Ruby. She did glance up briefly, saying that she hadn't caught either of the movies she mentioned anyway. She never been much of a James Bond fan, to be honest. It was right up there with The Lord of the Rings when it came to things that a normal person would be interested in, but she wasn't.

Satisfied that she had adequately cleaned off the current rack, she shifted the cases in her arms and picked another shelf. Darting around the room in a manner not dissimilar from a hummingbird, she did this until her collection had grown so large she had to add them to pile of her belongings across the room. Taking a quick count, she decided she might have to reevaluate what qualified as 'treasure trove'. She had a good ten, fifteen dvd's picked out, and that was only from a few shelves. This was not the first and probably wouldn't be the last time she was thankful that her parents both spoiled her, and gave her a fairly generous allowance. She turned to make another pass and all but bumped into Ruby. Regan gave her a quick peck on the cheek and started another collection run, talking as she did. "Oh, you know, same old same old. Was doted upon by parents, told how much God loved me, that good stuff. And then I talked about whatever crossed my mind, and something something guitar. You know, standard stuff." She glanced over her shoulder at Ruby, grin on her face, arms full of another varied collection of movies. "Day's brightened up noticeably since seeing you, though. But you probably guessed that already. I mean, it's not like you, of all people, are going to make my day worse. I could've probably started and finished with, 'I ran into you, so my day is awesome so far'." She shrugged. "But you know me, when would I ever stop with just that?"

She turned toward Ruby, holding another armful of movies, these ones mostly action and kung-fu flicks. She nodded down at the collection in her arms. "Think I've got enough here? I mean, I could probably pick some more out, but..." She made an exaggerated expression of uncertainty and remorse, "You know me, always on a budget." She grinned and added the movies to her growing pile. Momentarily satisfied with her haul, she turned on her heel and quickly embraced Ruby. This time the kiss was not a quick and passing peck on the cheek, but a full, tender kiss on the lips. It felt nice not having to worry about being observed for once. She felt safe in that belief, considering how creaky the stairs leading to the basement could be. Holding Ruby in her arms, she leaned back, beaming. "If you want me to sum up my day, I'd say 'pretty damn good, starting now'."

After another few moments of simply enjoying the contact with Ruby, she made a show of looking at the shelves surrounding them before asking, "Say, do you have any dirty moves in here?" A coy grin was plastered on her face, with an eyebrow raised coquettishly. She realized she was doing it again. You know, playing up how she imagined someone more experienced in relationships might ask. Peacocking, it was maybe called? She also realized she had no idea what she'd do if they actually did stock dirty movies.

"Cool, cool..." replied Ruby, her hand touching the cheek that Regan had kissed whilst she looked over the hefty collection of DVDs that Regan had been accumulating.

Whilst most people would probably be taken aback by the sheer number of DVDs that Regan was planning on getting, Ruby had known her long enough for it to not surprise her anymore. After all, it was hardly the first time she'd ever left the store with nearly a quarter of the merchandise with her. Sometimes Ruby couldn't help but wonder whether or not that was the main reason for why her father liked Regan so much, seeing as whenever she showed up she was almost guaranteed to free up plenty of shelf space for the countless DVDs they had in storage.

Of course, as much as Ruby appreciated the way in which Regan helped improve business, at the same time she could probably name a hundred better reasons for why she loved her so much.

Incidentally, it was at that moment that Regan decided to kiss her.

Admittedly, it caught Ruby a little off guard, seeing as she wasn't expecting her girlfriend to suddenly stop gathering and give her a kiss on the lips. Not that she minded in the least, of course. Was it unexpected? A little. Was it unwelcome? Not in the slightest. And after quickly looking past Regan's shoulder to make sure nobody was around, Ruby closed her eyes and wrapped her own arms around her girlfriend's waist as she let herself enjoy the feeling of Regan's lips pressed against her own.

Ruby still had her arms around Regan's waist long after the kiss had ended, a playful grin on her face as she looked deep into Regan's eyes.

"If you want me to sum up my day, I'd say 'pretty damn good, starting now'."

"Mmm, you could say that again..." replied Ruby, her voice taking an ever so slightly more sultry tone to it as she gently pulled her girlfriend in just a little bit closer.

Ruby couldn't help but raise her own eyebrow as she was asked whether or not they stored any dirty movies. Whilst at first she was wondering why Regan would be interested in that kind of thing, the thought then hit her that she was probably trying to talk dirty again. Which was still kinda cute, in it's own way.

"Well, last time I checked we didn't have anything like that in stock... Well, nothing we'd be interested in anyway, if that's what you're suggesting." she said, raising her right arm so that she could move a stray hair that was in front of Regan's eyes.

"Although, I think we might still have a copy of Wild Things lying around somewhere..." she said, shortly before moving her head in a little closer until her lips were barely an inch or so away from Regan's. "...Personally though, I think we can make do without it, wouldn't you agree?"

On that note, Ruby tilted her head to the side and pressed her lips against Regan's as she placed her right hand behind Regan's head. As nice as it was to let Regan take the lead for once, at that particular moment Ruby felt like returning the favour in full. It started with a tender kiss, quickly followed by a short peck which was then followed by a longer, more sustained one. Before long, what had started out as a simple kiss had developed into something of a mild makeout session, with Ruby caressing her girlfriend's hair as she gently massaged her tongue with her own. It wasn't exactly the roughest or the most overtly raunchy kiss they had ever shared, but nevertheless there was something slow yet undeniably passionate about it. Something that made it feel more special than the shallow kind you'd usually find in the type of movies Regan had been referring to. At any rate, it was more than enough to relieve Ruby of any lingering feelings of stress as she allowed herself to relax, almost completely forgetting that they were still technically in her father's store.

Almost being the key word here.

Just as Ruby thought that she was going to completely lose herself to it, she was suddenly and awkwardly jolted back into reality by the sound of a pair of footsteps coming down the stairs, quickly prompting her into letting Regan go and acting as though she was just checking out a nearby collection of Dirty Harry videos. She bit her lip in frustration, furious beyond belief that she and Regan were yet again interrupted by some unwanted third party. After all, it was hardly the first time something like this had happened, and it was especially annoying this time given how perfect a kiss it had been before it had been so rudely interrupted.

To make it even worse, she actually recognized the two guys who had come downstairs as well. They were friends of Vincent from college. At least, she assumed they were friends. They definitely knew him, but judging from the number insults they constantly threw at each other it was kind of hard to tell. In any case, judging from the kind of movies they usually brought, they both seemed to have a passionate love of movies and video games. Particularly the kind involving a lot of gratuitous gore and nudity. Which meant that for the next five minutes or so, Ruby had to stand around and listen to two greasy-haired college students discuss the infamous leg-crossing scene from Basic Instinct before moving on to describe their favourite death scenes from the Saw franchise in grisly detail.

It pretty much went without saying that the mood was long dead by the time they finally decided to leave.

There was a long silence after the two college students returned upstairs, carrying between them half a dozen DVDs, and at first Ruby wasn't entirely sure what to say. Hell, what COULD she say after that? Just as things were getting good, some assholes had to come along and ruin her day yet again. It made her blood boil so much that all the stress from earlier came quickly rushing back, and eventually she could no longer refrain from letting out a frustrated groan.

"Jesus Christ, I'm so sick to death of leaping out of my skin every fucking time someone so much as walks past us." she said, rubbing her brow as she turned to face Regan again. "You know what'd be nice? To go somewhere where we can actually relax for once and not have to be on guard all the time in case some dipshit decides to walk in on us again. Come to think of it, it'd be pretty nice to not have to be so fucking secretive about it in the first place. It's not like we live in Texas or something..."

Which one was Wild Things? She knew that there were probably more important things she could be focusing on, but if she didn't puzzle it out now it would just keep bugging her. Kevin Bacon? That sounded right. And someone, Ponyboy maybe, getting poisoned and thrown off a boat. Besides being the closest thing the store had to porn, it might also serve as a timestamp from the 90's. Maybe outside Limp Bizkit or New Kids on the Block, there wasn't much else that was more indicative of the 90's as a decade. And no, she was not going to fact check that any of the things she names were, in fact, from the 90's. It was important, anyway. Not in the grand scheme of things, or even in whatever the opposite of the grand scheme of things was. Like so many other things, it would probably be out of her head and forgotten in, say, 10 minutes. 15 tops. Actually, you know what? Going by the way Ruby was talking, she wouldn't even give it 5. To say that her attention was being held would be an understatement.

Regan didn't really tend to assign roles in their relationship. You know, like Ruby's the guy and Regan the girl, Regan was the top and Ruby was the bottom, that sort of thing. Not just because doing so would require some measure of analyzing and therefore focus and concentration. If there was any one reason, it was because the roles shifted between so fluidly. Maybe today Ruby was taking charge, maybe the other way around. It was often spontaneous, moment by moment. And if there was one thing Regan loved, it was spontaneity. She wondered if that was how normal relationships worked. Not to imply that her relationship with Ruby wasn't normal. What she meant was, she wondered if that was how other relationships worked. She assumed it was a measure of give and take. After all, if a relationship was to thrive, it couldn't repeat the same steps every day. That was how couples ended up in a rut, going through the motions. Considering that,  Regan guessed that they were an example of how a relationship was supposed to exist. Granted, she was again mostly basing this on fiction, so really, who knows? Maybe unerring routine was important.

Anyway, speaking of shifting roles, Ruby had some ideas of her own in regards to displays of affection. Maybe it was Regan who initiated the contact, but it was Ruby who was taking charge and continuing it. It was no secret that Regan went week-kneed when Ruby got like this. As much as she might laud fluid relationship roles, she would sing even louder the praises of Ruby taking control. The way her voice lowered into that irresistible purr in particular drew Regan crazy. She couldn't imagine where she'd picked the persona up at. Not to say Ruby being Ruby wasn't sexy, but it was kicked into overdrive when Ruby went into dominant mode. She had to know how sexy it was too, considering how different it was from her normal behavior. When Regan tried to act sexy, it just came off as...awkward and flailing, like all of her inexperience was made manifest. Like her question about dirty movies. It was something she'd seen in a tv show, so why not ask it? Only, she didn't actually know how to incorporate it into, well, anything. She actually thought it'd be distracting. Like, do you you try and act out what they're doing on screen? It'd be (sort of) like watching a movie with subtitles. Your attention would inherently divided, so your attention in both areas would suffer. In a move, that might mean missing a bit of dialogue or an aside glance. With a dirty movie and...other things, it would mean...

She felt like shaking her head again, She was losing focus. Which, considering how closer Ruby was and the look on her face, seemed impossible. "...Personally though, I think we can make do without it, wouldn't you agree?" If Regan didn't currently have her arms wrapped around Ruby's waist, she might have offered a 'whatever you say' sort of shrug, maybe thrown in a glib comment. Instead, she only smiled like the love-struck teenager she was.

In the interest of full-disclosure, Regan often felt out of her depth when it came to the more intimate parts of a relationship. It was a happy form of unfamiliar depth, but it was unfamiliar depth all the same. Ruby had only been with Brian, what, a year? Year-ish? It was still more than enough to put her leagues ahead of Regan. As such, any moments when Regan had the initiative were few and far between. Not that she minded, of course. This was one of those moments where she did not have the initiative and, as always, she found herself not particularly caring. In those moments where the two of them embraced, she belonged to Ruby and only Ruby. Time seemed to slow down, things that were not Ruby seemed to lose importance. She lost herself in those moments, the world around them receding to the point of irrelevance. Even if someone discovered them, normally her worst fear, it wouldn't matter. Not then, and not for a few moments after, not while she still savored the glow. She reciprocated where she could, but this mainly involved the positioning of her hands and making sure they didn't both tumble to the floor if her knees did give out. Still, she loved Ruby taking charge, and wouldn't change it for the world.

And then the kiss was broken, Ruby taking several quick steps away from the guitarist and over to one of the shelves. Dazed, Regan didn't immediately register the creak of the stairs and approaching footsteps. Part of her was as thankful as ever that Ruby thought on her feet, or paid attention, or whatever. A larger part of her was disappointed by the broken contact, and was almost willing to risk discovery for it to continue. She wasn't thinking of course. Even as the two teenagers stepped into the basement, Regan still seemed a little dazed, looking more like a stoned teenager than someone whose kiss was rudely interrupted. She coughed into her hand and tried to gather herself, stepping to the side and over to her belongings. She didn't really listen to the conversation, instead tried to busy herself with tallying up the total price of the DVD's in her hands. She imagined Ruby was more frustrated with the disruption than Regan was. Not to say she was happy it happened, but she was more willing to go with the flow than Ruby.

Still buried in the DVD's even after the boys left, Regan didn't turn until Ruby started talking. It wasn't the first time they had this argument. It probably wouldn't be the last, either. Unless her parents decided to drop the hardcore fundamentalist schtick, there was be nothing she could do about it. It wasn't that she put much stock in the hellfire and damnation thing. For her, religion was something other people did. She guessed there might be a God, but she didn't actively pray to anything. Her parents followed a different school of thought. If they even caught a hint that their daughter was gay, it'd be curtains for her. Lacy, gently wafting curtains. At the very least, she'd be kicked out of the house. Probably disowned. Hawke would be there for her, family-wise, but that would probably be it. There'd be no talking her way out of it, or begging her parents for forgiveness, nothing. Just, boom, you're going to Hell, now get the hell out of the house. Deciding to keep the relationship a secret was probably the single smartest thing she could do. Aside from not enter into a relationship at all, maybe, but that wasn't even on the table.

"I can't risk my parents finding out, Ruby. You know that if they did, they'd kill me. Maybe literally. All it would take it one rumor reaching my dad, and that'd be it. Dad preaches to a pretty large congregation, and I'm sure some of the people there have kids we know. I know you hate the sneaking around, but it's the only thing I can think of." She climbed to her feet before taking a tentative step toward  Ruby. "I know I'm not the smartest girl around, but this sneaking around? I can't come up with anything else. Maybe we could go out of town somewhere. Redmond, or Everett? Somewhere we wouldn't run into people we know, I mean. I don't know what else I can say, Ruby."

As Ruby listened to Regan's reply, it quickly began to dawn on her that her previous statement might of come across as being a bit harsher than she intended it to.

As much as she wanted to be more public about their relationship, she knew fine well exactly why they had kept it such a secret in the first place. Having been brought up by relatively liberal-minded parents, Ruby could only imagine what it must be like for Regan to live with parents who wouldn't accept her as easily as her's did. Hell, even Ruby's parents weren't entirely sure what to make of it at first when Ruby told them the truth, mostly because neither of them had expected it given how long she had been going out with Brian. So if it took a while for parents as liberal as her's to accept Ruby for who she was, god knows how long it would take for Regan's parents to accept her once they found out, assuming that they would in the first place anyway.

Unlike Regan though, Ruby refused to believe that even parents as strict as Regan's would go as far as disowning her. Disapprove? Almost certainly. But she didn't think that they would  stop loving their own daughter just because she liked other girls.

Those points aside, now that she was beginning to calm down, she also began to feel guilty for lashing out at Regan in the first place. After all, Ruby never liked it when she snapped at her girlfriend at all, especially when she hadn't even done anything to provoke it.

"No, it's okay Regan. I...  I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you or anything. Today's just been a little stressful, that's all..." she said, briefly looking back at the staircase before returning her gaze to Regan.

"I mean, sometimes it can be really easy to forget that your parents aren't a pair of wannabe hippies like mine. But even then, I still don't think that they would react THAT badly. Sure, they wouldn't exactly be ecstatic about it, but that doesn't mean that they would actually go as far as disowning you or anything. Yes, things might be awkward for a while, but give them enough time and I'm sure that they would grow to accept you for who you are regardless of who you choose to date."

It was at that moment that Ruby chose to each her hand out and caress Regan's cheek, her lips forming a small smile.

"I'm not saying that you should immediately rush home and do so tonight or something. Once you've found the right moment, just take a deep breath and tell them the truth. If they care about you nearly as much as I do, then I'm sure they would understand... Besides, they're going to eventually find out some day, right? So why not take the initiative and let them know before they find out some other way? At least then you would avoid having to explain why someone saw you making out with your best friend."

Regan was far from a cynic, but Ruby's optimism almost made her feel like one. Sure, the whole 'everything will work out' thing was nice, if you held any stock in it. In this particular instance, she didn't. Yeah, sure, maybe her parents wouldn't be that terribly upset. Maybe they'd accept her for who she is, be happy with her choice, and all that other good stuff. Maybe they'd also buy her a Corvette once she got her license, or a nice pony to gallivant around Seattle on. The point she was making was that anything was possible. That didn't also mean it was likely. She had imagined her coming out a hundred different ways, and none of her scenarios ended well. Granted, that was her own worst-case scenario. Or, rather, worst-case scenarios. She'd be the first to admit that she wasn't particularly optimistic about the whole situation and that it might be tinting how she imagined it would play out. And it was true, Ruby was speaking from experience. Her own coming out hadn't been nearly so rocky as Regan imagined her own would be. So, maybe she was right. Maybe it would be best to just break the news. Like a band-aid, just get it out there as quick as could be. What was the worst that could happen?

Oh, right. Every awful thing she'd imagined. That could happen.

Regan knew full well she wasn't going to tell her parents any time soon. Probably not ever, if she could help it. But she wasn't going to tell Ruby that. Honesty was great, sure, and Regan made a particular point not to lie to Ruby, but this was probably a decision kept to herself. Still, she appreciated Ruby's advice, no matter how disinclined she was to follow it. She held her hand over Ruby's keeping it pressed to her cheek. She leaned into her touch, a small smile of her playing across her lips.  

"Yeah. Yeah, you're probably right. I'll keep it in mind. I mean, they probably won't be that upset. They'd get over it, anyway." Her smile broadened, taking on a mischievous cast." And if I did break the news to them, you can bet your ass you'll be right next to me. It might help if I show them what an upstanding and, if I might add, beautiful woman I managed to shack up with. " She paused, her smile faltering as she pondered her choice of words. "Actually, I think shacked up means something else. If I'm right on what it means, we haven't done that. It either means living together or sex, so either way it's not the right phrase. Okay, whatever, you're going to be backing me up." She wagged a finger in front of Ruby, a wry grin on her face. "Because if you think I'm fessing up them on my own, you've got another thing coming. If I end up getting kicked out, I'll at least have you there to help me carry my stuff to the door. "

She gave Ruby another quick kiss before stepping away, returning to her pile of DVD's and taking a seat against the wall. It would probably be smart to at least get an idea of how much they would set her back before she got to the front counter. Not that cost was an issue. To say she had a generous allowance would sum it up nicely. But getting an idea of the total cost would at least let her remove the correct amount of cash from the messy wads of bills in her pocket. She looked up at Ruby and grinned. "Say, feel like helping me add these up?" She winked. "And, so you know, that's only partly an attempt to get you to sit close to me." Looking back to pile of movies, she briefly considered if buying 20-something DVD's was a good use of her money before deciding that, yep, it was. "Maybe once we finish up, we can get out of here." Her eyebrow arched and a suave grin spread across her face as she tried to look like how she imagined James Bond did when he was seducing a woman. "Maybe we can head somewhere more private."

Ruby's smile widened as Regan replied with just the kind of answer she was hoping for.

Admittedly, deep down Ruby suspected that Regan would still need more convincing if she was to ever actually go through with it. After all, if it was that easy to convince Regan come out to her parents then she would have already done so months ago. But for now, Ruby was content to let the subject drop for now. At the very least, she hoped that this would mean that they were one step closer to finally being more open about their relationship.

Still, the fact that Regan wanted her by her side when the time finally came must mean that she was at least considering it.

"I think it means a little bit of both..." she said in response to Regan's query as to what the phase 'shacked up' actually meant. Either way, she was right. Despite having gone out for nearly a year, the two of them had yet to actually sleep with each other, and Ruby was pretty sure that they wouldn't be living together for quite some time. There wasn't any particular reason for why they hadn't. Ruby knew for a fact that Regan wanted to make sure that it was special, and she herself wasn't in any rush to take her girlfriend's virginity just yet. The fact that her first and so far only sexual experience hadn't exactly gone swimmingly didn't help, although she was almost certain that when the time finally came that it would be worth the wait.

"...But yeah, don't worry. When the time comes, you have my word that I'll be right there beside you, holding your hand every step of the way."

Anyway, now that was all sorted, they could go back to the stack of twenty-something DVDs that Regan was planning on getting.

"Uh, sure..." she said as she sat down beside Regan and began looking through the DVDs, checking the price of each one. Seeing as every DVD costed somewhere between four to eight dollars each, and there was at least twenty of them in total, it didn't take a mathematician to tell that whatever the end total was it would be more than Ruby would personally be willing to part with in one afternoon. Then again, she didn't get as generous allowance as her girlfriend did. Something that she couldn't help but feel just a little jealous about.

Ruby paused her counting and turned to face her girlfriend as she suggested that they head somewhere more private once they were done, her lips forming a grin as one of her eyebrows raised in curiosity.

"Sounds good to..." she began, before suddenly remembering why she was in the store to begin with. "...Wait, crap, I can't. I've got to look after my dad's store until 7:00pm. Uurgh, god this is so annoying. He could have just had the store be closed for a day, but NOOO, he had to keep it open by ruining MY day just so he could enjoy his wedding anniversary... *sigh* Well, If you're still free after 7:00, then I'd be happy to meet up with you then."

She briefly turned her attention back to the DVDs, reading the price of the last one before placing it back on the pile and returning her gaze to Regan.

"Also, these DVDs add up to around $119... Damn, are you sure your allowance covers that?"

Regan whistled appreciatively. $119 for 20 DVD's? Sounded like a good deal to her. You go to Bestbuy and try to pull that. Hell, it'd probably cost around that price for a quarter of the DVD's she'd grabbed. Now, she wouldn't say that Bestbuy ripped people off, but it was just about highway robbery. It was why she did the majority of her shopping at Ruby's store. Well, for music, movies, or comics anyway. Obviously, she wouldn't buy her groceries there. Also, she didn't buy the groceries for her home. But, whatever. Her point was, this was where she got the most bang for her buck. That she could ogle the store owner's daughter was icing on the cake. Anyway, movies and music was all she really ever bought. She already had a great guitar that wasn't going to be replaced any time soon, and she already had plenty of clothes. She did buy the occasional gift for Ruby. A game here, a movie there, but, at Ruby's insistence, she didn't make it a habit. Something about 'not needing to buy her happiness'. That wasn't it, but it was probably something akin to that. That certainly sounded like something Ruby would say, at any rate.

But, Ruby's concern (shock at having such a huge allowance?) was noted. Regan waved her hand. "Yeah, sure. $119 is fine. I just won't be eating for a couple days. But that's cool. I mean, seriously, John Wayne!" She made the classic gun shape with her fingers, pointing it in front of her and making 'pew pew' sounds before making a show of holstering 'pistol', a broad grin on her face. "Also, Kung Fu Hustle! The Killer! Police Story! Forget eating, I can survive entirely on the majesty of martial arts!" Now, she mimed a stereotypical martial arts pose with her arms, waving them back and forth in front of her while making sounds that would fit in a Bruce Lee movie. She paused, her face becoming deadly serious. "You know what? I'm probably going to break a lamp or something in my room if I watch the kung fu flicks. It would probably be best if I watched them with you, so I'm suitably restrained. Or, if I'm not restrained, I'd be too embarrassed to try and emulate whatever Jackie Chan does on screen. So, yeah, you'll definitely need to be there when  I'm watching some of these." She tapped a finger against her bottom lip, her face a mask of solemn concentration. "Hell. You know what? I'll probably need to watch all of these with you. I'm nothing if not easily impressionable. While I don't have any six shooters at home, I could probably get a hold of a lasso and a cowboy hat. And that way lies madness. Or, at least, bad John Wayne impressions. Neither are very appealing." She looked over at Ruby, her expression earnest. "Unless you want to hear John Wayne expressions? In that case, it could be arranged."

Without waiting for an answer, Regan climbed to her feet, her expression triumphant. "That settles it! John Wayne impressions are schedule for whenever I remember to preform them for you. So, chances are good you'll never hear them." She turned and extended a hand to help Ruby to her feet. "Really, though. I'd either spend the money here or the comic book shop, and at least I have you here to temper my impulse buying. Not that there's anything I really want a the comic book shop now, but whatever, my point stands. At least when I buy half the stock here, you can go to your dad and tell him what a charming saleswoman you are." Regan grinned suddenly as the proverbial light bulb went off over her head. "Actually, does your dad know we're dating? Probably not, right? I mean, he knows me, but I could maybe get a fake mustache and pose as a stranger. Then, boom! You've got one hell of a glowing commendation from a 'total stranger'!" She accompanied the last two words with air quotes, then let the suggestion settle while she stood there with an almost palpable sense of self-satisfaction.

While she knelt to gather up her DVD's, she looked up at Ruby. "Anyway, since you're stuck here, maybe I could hang around? I don't have anywhere else I want to be, so I could maybe chip in until you're free to leave." She stood, holding the majority of the movies to her chest in an unsteady stack. She peeked around the cases to flash a grin at Ruby. "I, of course, would expect a manager's salary for the time I put in. That or some manner of...compensation." She tried to put her interpretation of a sexy inflection on the last word, but she wasn't actually how well it came out. Probably not very. She coughed and ducked her head back behind the movies, suddenly feeling awkward and a little embarrassed from her attempt at cool flirtation. Maybe she should watch some James Bond, just to get an idea of how it was done. "Of course I wouldn't really want anything in return. It'd just be cool to hang out with you here."

((Regan Flagg continued in Serenade with an Electric Guitar))

Ruby couldn't help but chuckle at the image of Regan leaping about, making funny noises as though she was in a cheesy 70's kung fu flick.

That said, she couldn't deny that the idea of lying on a couch beside Regan watching kung fu movies brought a smile to her face. Hell, even if she wasn't that fond of martial arts flicks that'd still sound like a fun night, so the fact that she did happen to have a fondness for Jackie Chan flicks just made the suggestion all the more enticing. Plus, whilst she generally preferred grittier spaghetti westerns over nearly any John Wayne movie, the idea of listening to Regan to a John Wayne impression alone was enough to catch her interest, regardless of whether or not it'd turn out to be any good. It's not as if I'm that great at it myself anyway. Best I could probably do is a Daria impression...

"That settles it! John Wayne impressions are schedule for whenever I remember to preform them for you. So, chances are good you'll never hear them."

Heh, we'll see about that...

Still, in any case, it was good to hear that Regan wasn't bothered by the cost of all her DVDs. Now that she thought about, considering how much they must have cost when they were brand new, paying $119 for 20 DVDs must of sounded like a bargain. Having never actually brought twenty DVDs all at the same time herself, she didn't want to imagine how much they would cost together if she brought them at Blockbuster or something. Her father wouldn't be happy with her spending all that money at once, that's for sure.

Speaking of good old Mr Forrester, Regan brought up a good point. Was her father aware that the two of them were dating? She knew for a fact that he was aware of her sexuality, but she couldn't recall ever telling him that he was dating Regan as well. Then again, given how much time the two spent with each other, it wouldn't surprise her if he had already figured out. Hell, even Brian figured out pretty quickly after she'd told him why they couldn't be together. It was pretty much the only reason why she hadn't told anyone else. Everyone she had told had easily figured out that she and Regan were an item, so if she was to ever publicly come out it wouldn't be too long until Regan's secret became public knowledge.

Just give her time. Some day, probably not soon, but some day she'll be confident enough to let the world know. Just you wait and see...

Still, in the meantime, Ruby was mostly content to lay low and chuckle at Regan's cute attempts at being flirtatious.

"Oh, I'm sure I can of something..." she said, leaning over and giving Regan a quick peck on the cheek. "...But yeah, sure, I could probably do with an extra hand, if you don't mind sticking around until seven in the evening. Mind if I help with those?"

With half of Regan's stash in her arms, Ruby was making her way upstairs when another thought came to mind.

"You know, if you want, I could ask my dad if he could do with some extra staff. I can't promise that the pay will be good, but you'll get to hang out here more often. Plus, someone needs to make sure that someone hasn't taped over the VHS cassettes or something, and we have a LOT of spare VHS cassettes in stock... I think we even have a copy of Batman Returns lying around somewhere out back."

Heh, well. I guess today isn't going to be so bad after all...

((Ruby Forrester continued in Serenade with an Electric Guitar))