Complete and Utter Opposites (Katie)

[Lotus]

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Despite Walter having worked all day writing down the stock in take from the fields, he still wasn't tired of looking at words and letting his imagination run wild. Sure, it was nice to give his wrist a break but his mind was still alive and needed nourishment. He still needed something to keep him occupied from thinking about all the worrisome things life threw at him and his family. He knew his parents were tiring from their work in and around the fields so he tried his best to lessen their burden out of work by running as many errands for them as possible. After all, they'd worked their whole lives to try and give Walter his best chance at life so it was his turn to try and make the rest of their lives easier.

Currently he was wandering the streets in the direction of the markets in order to buy some meagre food supplies that his parents, with himself chipping in, could afford. Like always, despite having his head stuck in one of his favourite books, he was very aware of the area around him. Hating physical contact or any communication with strangers made him very aware to their whereabouts in order to avoid them as much as possible. It wasn't something he liked doing exactly, but he'd done it for such a long time that he knew no different so now the idea of anything to do with anyone other than his parents scared and disgusted him at the same time. Therefore, the life inside the book he was currently reading was a much better place to be than the dingy, Peacekeeper patrolled streets.

Nearing the market stalls in the centre of the district caused Walter to stick his head further into his book, even though he understood the dangers of not knowing where he was walking properly, so he slowed his pace down to a crawl. It made him nervous being around so many people, especially when he knew he had to talk to a couple of people in order to get any groceries at all. Trying not to think too much about what he had to do as he neared the first stall wasn't an easy task so he slowly pulled his book away from his face and took a deep breath. His words caught in his throat, stuttering and hands shaking as he tried to explain what he wanted - bread. Eventually the stall owner understood his stammering and handed him the loaf of bread as Walter all but threw the money into the awaiting hand in an attempt to avoid touching them. One stall down and only two more to go, but this time, rather than getting back into his book his ducked his head down and watched his feet as they moved slowly across the cobbled streets.

A normal person would've taken half the time it took Walter to go to three stalls in the market and get what they wanted, but for him it took nearly half an hour. But finally, he was done and with his tasks completed he took another deep, shaky breath as his book came back up to his face; getting engrossed once again. As soon as he was out of the market he was already deep into the other world of his book, his steps speeding up as he felt more comfortable with the route home and fewer people.

Suddenly he was rudely pulled from his fictional world as he went staggering forward from something small slamming in to his shoulder from behind. Panic washed through his as he panicked about what had just happened and if it actually was someone that had just touched him. His hands started sweating and shaking as he kept his head hung to the ground, eyes closed as he tried to steady his racing heart.

[Draco Malfoy]

Jasmine Colt

Jasmine crouched down on the second story rooftop, looking for her next victim. She could have been in the crowded market place, wading through the crowd to pick peoples pockets. In fact, she'd done that for the past two hours, wanting to keep to the quiet alley ways then so she didn't have to be around so many people. Before hiding out in the alley way, she had to drop off her haul at home, managing to steal several coin purses and a lot of oranges and apples, even gotten her hands on a loaf of bread. All she needed then was just a block of cheese and she would be able to eat for a week. Her mouth watered at the mere thought. She had decided not to steal the cheese, wanting to be done stealing for the day. She just needed one more coin purse. Jazz didn't steal if she could manage it, but unfortunately her meager wages in the fields didn't quite give her enough money to pay. Most house holds had to use several wages to be able to pay for the food she'd gotten that day. The people of District 11 were sick and starving while the Capital lorded over them all, and if someone were to break a bone or get injured, starvation would set in before they had the chance to heal. The people around her were dying, but there was nothing that could be done. She had to muddle through and result to thievery just to keep herself alive, let alone helping others, and she  knew full well the grim punishment if she had gotten caught.

She tried to pay for what she could afford, but while the Capital refused to give her a home, she couldn't get much.  With no home and no formal education, all she could do was try to survive. She had refused to live in the group homes full of orphans. Well they wouldn't take her in while her father was still alive, but she didn't want to live there anyway. The Capital controlled everything, but private homes were a little more private, unless you were in the group homes. She decided she'd rather live in her small handmade home where she felt safe instead and to work so she could pay for the things she needed as much as she could. She'd had to pay homage to her lovely Capital city that day, working in the fields until her feet ached and her back felt like it would split in two. She hadn't been allowed to leave until she'd filled five bags of fruit. Due to her size, Jazz had to carry the bags one at a time, jumping to the ground after every bag and spending way too much time getting back to the higher branches. Most of the time, she jumped from tree to tree, but the ones she had been assigned to were fairly young and were still growing up rather than out. She had had to haul the fruit individually in order to avoid losing her balance on the thinner branches on the top or breaking through. She was sure it annoyed the numbers guy. What had been his name? Walden or Willy or something along those lines. She didn't mine Wilfred too much. He didn't talk much, or at all really. He just nodded through the employees, jotting down the inventory for the day.

Jasmine rubbed her aching foot through her leather wrapped feet, trying to massage the pain from her tired bones. Afterwards, she pulled down her cream colored scarf that covered her face and took a bite of the one apple she had't dropped off at home. It's juices spilled into her mouth in the most savory way. She wore a scarf around her face when she stole so people wouldn't recognize her, glad that the scarves weren't uncommon in the District, they kept the sun off your neck and the dirt away from your face. She took another bite. As she chewed, her eyes followed the blonde man walking with his face smashed into a stack of paper or something like that. It was kinda funny looking. She wanted it.

Jazz readjusted her scarf and jumped down to the roof on the first story. Her work jumping through trees, a Leafer as most called the position because sometimes they would be so high that the leaves would shake from the branches and fall into their hair, allowed her to be quite nimble on her feet. Her jump down onto the metal roof was silent, as if a feather had hit instead of a 19 year old girl. She lobbed her apple at him as she jumped to the ground, pegging the guy in the shoulder. He dropped his things in his panick, trying to find what had hit him. She picked up the apple as she walked up to him and spoke in a very rapid, very obnoxious voice she used to confuse people.

"Oh my god! Those kids were playing kick the apple and they just kicked it at you and ran for it! That's not very nice but you know how kids are right?" Shit. As she got closer she realized she was picking William or whatever. She picked up his paper... thing and fluttered about with it. Flipping through it and making nothing out of the symbols. Ugh, it was a reading thing. Jazz wasn't able to read, and the thing she held in her hand was only likely to give her a headache. After deciding she really didn't want it, she wanted to steal his money instead. She shoved the book in his hands and fumbled forward. she stumbled into him, slipping her had into his pocket and pulling out the small bag of coins she was looking for. She was glad it hadn't been in any other pockets and was lucky to get it on the first try. She slipped it into her pocket and straightened, stepping back to look at him. All this happened in one fluid motion that spoke the years of experience she had under her belt. She began to speak very avidly with her hands. "Hey, your dropped you thing. I see you just came from market. Is it busy? Its usually busy around this time of day. You have a lot of food on you. I bet you don't work in the fields if you can afford that much. Is it nice? The fields are kind of hot and stinky. Well, with all the sweaty workers I can't imagine why. What is that thing anyway? The thing I just gave back to you? I know it has letters on it but I can't figure out what it says. Oh well though. Just because i never learned to read doesn't mean that I'm not dumb. Well I better go. I got food I need to get at the market. Bye now."

Jasmine hurried away from him and rounded the corner. She didn't like picking the pockets of her co workers. She could be easily found out. As she walked, she worried that Winfry would recognize her. But if she didn't even know his name, he wouldn't even remember her... right? She walked around the block and sat in the corner, moving her scarf to take another bite out of her apple.

[Lotus]

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The girl talking and coming close to him sent Walter into a panic inside his mind; internally he was screaming, and all he wanted to do was sit down on the ground with his knees pulled to his chin and rock back and forth until the situation stopped terrorising him. It didn't matter that at the age of 19 sitting on the floor, rocking back and forth wasn't manly, it was what his mind was trying to force him to do; but in public he really couldn't afford the attention. He couldn't understand a word of what she was saying, the ringing in his ears far too loud and his eyesight becoming slightly hazy as she somehow and for some reason came closer and closer to him.

Eventually his mind cleared just a little bit to see the person who has caused all his terror handing him his book back, but still not hearing a word she said. When he finally managed to look up from the swirling ground he saw the face the terror belonged to and he couldn't really believe his eyes. It was one of the girls he worked as a 'supervisor' to in the fields as he counted all the fruit she brought back during harvesting. He knew her name, Jasmine, and even he could admit she was a very pretty young lady but even during working hours something made him wary of her, other than just his normal wariness of anyone. He shakily reached his hand out for his book and, in his mind, it seemed Jasmine was gone even before his hand had clasped around his most cherished novel.

It took Walter at least five minutes before he could resume walking again after having just stared at the book in his hands until his heart rate, shaking and thoughts had calmed themselves. This time he didn't stick his head back in his book as he headed home, but rather his eyes darted around the streets in case someone else came barrelling in to him because he knew just one more tiny slip and he'd be on the floor rocking. Still, his pace was slow; sluggish, as if he wasn't truly there and in actual fact the real Walter wasn't fully functioning. Right then he was in survival mode and the only thing he had to do was get home and hide under his covers.

Slowly but surely he made his way through his front door about half an hour after the incident, his parents coming to meet him before seeing the look in his eyes and instantly understanding his need to be alone in the only sanctuary he had; his bedroom. He dropped off the food he'd bought at the market in the kitchen and headed to his room in silence, closing the door tightly behind him and sinking to the floor with his back pressed up against the wood. He reached into his pockets to pull his coin bag out and papers so he could sit comfortably but couldn't find his coin bag. In another panic he stood up and started frantically searching all of his pockets before he once again sunk to the floor with his head in his hands trying to calm down his panic attack, finally understanding what had happened.

He'd been stolen from. And he was pretty sure he knew who'd done it.

The next challenge was processing his thoughts as to what he would do about the situation. Confront or leave it be?

[Draco Malfoy]

Jasmine Colt

Jasmine had positioned herself in the yolk of a rather tall tree. She was at the very top, where the branches were thinnest, picking apples. The sun crept slowly towards the horizon, making it harder and harder to see. She'd already gotten three of her bags full, and was working on the fourth but it was getting increasingly more difficult. She tried to shield the sun from her eyes as best she could but there was no stopping time. As she picked, she glanced over at the inventory guy. The one she'd picked yesterday. He had't said anything yet but that didn't mean she was in the clear. There was a chance that he hadn't recognized her. Her face had been covered after all, but he could have known her voice. He could have told the peacekeepers and were waiting to ambush her. She was nervous, quietly dropping off her haul before returning to her trees.

Jazz brushed her hair out of her face. She'd braided the sides up into a sort of crown and let the rest fall loose around her shoulders, but the braids had come undone on one side. With the sun and her own hair in her eyes, the work was harder to do. It was almost expected when she grabbed at a branch to pull herself up higher and she didn't see the rot in the branch. It snapped under her weight, sending her falling towards the ground.

As Jasmine fell, she struck several branches, landed on her chest in a few and grappling for a hand hold. She slipped down further every time. She had been at the very top of the tree, and had a long way to fall before she hit the ground. A curse slipped from her mouth as her leg got caught in between two branches, sending her into a backwards swing. She hit the trunk of the tree, knocking her foot loose and causing her to fall unto the lowest branches. She slipped through those and fell another twenty feet in open air, landing flat on her back. Apples fell down around Jazz as she wheezed, not quite able to move yet. Her wrist ached, but not in a sharp pain. The dullness made her think it wasn't quite that bad, but it definitely felt off. Her ankle had twisted somewhere in her fall, causing to pain to shoot up into her hips. She feared it had broke, but she couldn't bring herself to try and move. She needed to find her breath first.

Jazz wheezed and gripped at her chest, feeling the wetness on her palms. She pulled them away and saw red blood glisten on her palms. She swallowed hard, gasping against the pain.

[Lotus]

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It had been a long winded night for Walter, his mind buzzing with what he should do in the situation but really didn't want to do. He knew how hard life was, he saw it every day of his life as his parents worked their fingers to the bone, so he wasn't oblivious to the happenings that went on when the measly pay wasn't enough to buy one decent meal. He knew the Peacekeepers should be informed, especially when he knew who'd stolen from him - but he couldn't bring himself to the reasoning behind why he'd put such a small (and nice) girl in the hands of those Devils. He knew he needed to do something though, and that something meant he had to talk to her - or at least attempt to.

The next morning came and himself, along with his parents, rose before the sunrise to head into the fields for their long shifts. He said goodbye to his parents as they went their separate ways, and Walter headed towards his station - his fear of what he had to do today causing a panic attack to brew in the depths of his mind. He tried to force his panic and his thoughts away in order to try and concentrate on his work rather than dwell on something that couldn't happen until after both of their shifts were over.

He saw the girl, Jasmine, as she started climbing the trees and filling her sacks with fruit and he watched the other workers get to it as he sorted out his stock sheets ready to mark down today's intake. A few hours passed and his sheets were filling up, the hot sun beating down on his neck from the lack of shelter despite being in the orchards. Jasmine had filled three of her sacks and he had written down her stock - she was working fast, but in a way Walter seemed to be worrying that she was working to fast and hard in this heat.

All too soon his worries about how hard she was working herself came into play as the next time her saw her was falling out of the tree and slamming in to the ground. He didn't think, he didn't want to think, he couldn't think about his actions, as he shot up from his station and ran over to her. If he thought about what he'd done or what he was going to do his panic attack would have hit him like a ton of bricks, but instead he shut that part off as he saw the state this tiny girl was in. He placed a hand on her shoulder, fighting the urge to curl up into a ball and asked, "W-Where does it hurt? S-Some, some-one will be here so-on."

[Draco Malfoy]

Jasmine Colt

Jasmine jumped as the stocks guy leaned over her. He was oddly close to her, stumbling over his words and trying to make sure she was okay. His face was flushed with the heat as the sun glared behind him. He stuttered as he spoke, but he managed to be comprehensible.A wave of dizziness washed over her as she realized this was the first time he'd even said anything to her before. She almost felt bad for stealing from him the previous night, but she felt even worse about not knowing his name.

Jasmine propped herself up onto one of her elbows before rolling into and upright position. Her head pounded and she felt a piercing ache in her ribs that started in the center of her chest stretched to the bottom of her rib cage below her left breast, feeling the blood trickle down her stomach and make her skin sticky. "I... my everything hurts." She realized that this really wasn't an answer, and cleared her throat. "My wrist, and my ankle... I think I hit my head but I can't really remember."

She looked up to find his face only inches from hers. Jazz's face heated rapidly as she tried to scramble backwards, needing some distance between them. Being a thief meant that you sometimes needed some close contact but she didn't like people intruding on her personal space unless she was in control of the situation. Considering her injuries, she wouldn't be in control of any situation for a while. "I'm fine, I can climb."

Jazz gathered her legs underneath her and managed to stand, but as soon as she tried to take a step, she hit the ground for the second time. She let out a low groan and rolled onto her back, feeling the pain radiate through her body then worsening suddenly. She brought her knees up to her chest and rolled to her other side. "Okay, so maybe I can't."

[Lotus]

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Walter was struggling with what he was supposed to because even before Jasmine had tried to stand up, he knew she wouldn't be able to get back to work. So when he saw her plummet to the ground the second time he tried not to think once again, so instead he rushed forward and grabbed her shoulders, rolling her back on to her back. Despite trying not to think he saw his hands shaking against her and his breathing had fastened no matter what he tried to do to calm him.

"D-Don't mo-ove." He tried to push her shoulders down for emphasis but his hands were shaking even more from the physical and verbal contact. He was struggling and he knew he shouldn't be when it was Jasmine on the floor bleeding. "H-Help is co-oming. I-I can-n see th-em."

Soon enough two Peacekeepers were standing above them and they understood the situation straight away. They brushed Walter away and he knew he had to get back to work, but he didn't want to not know what was going on with Jasmine. As one of the Peacekeepers bent down to pick Jasmine up in his arms, the other stood watch over the rest of the field; he knew the Peacekeepers would take her inside and get someone to inspect her injuries - they couldn't have less people working if Jasmine could get back to work quite easily.

"E-Excuse me..." Walter nearly whispered to the Peacekeeper, but it was enough to get his attention and Walter practically shrank back from his overpowering sense of power. "W-Will I be ab-le to t-take h-er ho-ome wi-th me? Lo-ok aft-er her and-d ge-et her share of wo-ork do-one?" He had absolutely no clue why he asked to take her home with him, he despised human contact and the Peacekeepers couldn't care less as to where she went after her shift as long as she did her work. He felt incredibly stupid; he hated the feeling of being insignificant.

Somehow he felt Jasmine watching him and he shied away even more, especially when the Peacekeeper started talking to him. "Do what you want with her after we've checked her over. Shift will be over soon so get her share finished and paper work completed then you can collect the girl."

Walter forced himself to nod, and watched as the Peacekeepers took Jasmine away - luckily to somewhere out of the heat. With determination he never knew he had, he climbed up the tree Jasmine had fallen out of despite the effort it forced his body to endure and finished the last bag of apples she had to collect for the day. All of that work took him till the end of his shift and he was absolutely, mentally and physically, exhausted. He just wanted to lay down and sleep but he had to finish his paper work for everyone else in his sectors share, so back on the ground he did just that and an hour after his shift was officially over, Walter was hauling Jasmine's share into the warehouse along with his paperwork.

He headed towards the area he knew the Peacekeepers would have taken Jasmine and saw her laying down in the bed, looking around the room; or that's what he thought she was doing because his eyes constantly flickered back to the ground as he rung his hands together nervously; sweat coating the back of his neck. "He-ey."

[Draco Malfoy]

Jasmine Colt

Jasmine felt as if she were living her worst nightmare. The peacekeepers loaded her onto a gurney and had carted her off to the infirmary. It was significantly cooler inside the building than it was outside but the close walls made her want to go hide in the trees. She was surrounded by peacekeepers, ones who could possibly be the death of her one day if they ever found out about her pass times. She swallowed nervously as they hauled her onto a rickety iron bed and closed the door, which clicked loudly to lock her in the room. It was a solid metal door... without a doorknob. Beside it was a large floor to ceiling glass window. How odd, placing a window next to a door without a knob. If someone wanted to escape, all they had to do was break the glass, unless it was reinforced. Knowing the Capital, it just might be.

Jazz gnawed on her lip as she waited for the doctor, her nerves fraying with each passing second. When the doctor finally did arrive, she was about ready to try out the fragility of the window. A tall man walked in, and pressed a button on the keypad next to the door that lowered a shade over the window. When he turned back to her, she noticed that he had very kind eyes and an easy smile. "Hello Miss Colt, I'm Doctor Sneed. I've been informed that you had quite the fall. You're a Leafer correct? Not many people I see are as lucky to have fallen from such a height and live. Let's take a look at the damage."

The doctor checked out her right wrist and her left ankle, checking to see mobility and pain. He figured that she had some bad sprains, but it wasn't until he checked her ribs that his face paled considerably. He'd had her lift up her shirt, careful not to uncover anything she didn't want him to see. There was a long gash stretching from the center of her chest diagonally down to the left side of her rib cage. He cleaned out the cut as gently as possible, but her ribs kept giving a little underneath his fingers. She had barely been able to keep still long enough for him to sew her up. Afterwards, she huddled at the top of the bed with her knees curled protectively to her chest. He said she would heal, but would not be able to return for work for about two months.

After the doctor left her to be picked up by whoever they had sent for, she had some time to herself. Funny enough, the prospect of starving to death didn't scare Jazz as much as she thought it would. Hell, maybe dying would be a better than living her life out in the slums of District 11. She leaned back against the headboard and closed her eyes as exhaustion swept over her.

****

Jasmine jumped upright as the door swung open. Whatshisface stood on the other side, looking incredibly nervous. It was kind of cute really, watching his face turn as red as the apples she had picked. He wouldn't look at her, and fidgeted with his hands as he let out a small "hey". She eyed him with equal nervousness, but probably not for the same reasons. "Hey," was her only response as her eyes flicked up and down his profile. He was quite a lot taller than she was, probably about half a foot. Slim but had some muscles built on him. She could see some of them through his shirt, which clung to his skin from the heat of the day.

Jazz bit her lip and looked away from him, not wanting to hear him yell at her about stealing from him. Why else would he be there? He probably just wanted to hand her over to the peacekeepers. She'd seen him talking to them before they'd hauled her off to her room without a doorknob. While he stood in the doorway though, the door was open to let him in. If she could get past him, she could make a run for it, but her injuries kept her from doing so. They wouldn't just slow her down, they would stop her altogether. Her only choice was to face the consequences. She looked back up at him and waited for him to start speaking.

[Lotus]

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Walter continually rung his hands together as he walked further in to the room, keeping his head down to try and keep his panic attack at bay. He felt, not only the sweat from the day, but sweat from nervousness trickling down the side of his head and back of his neck. For some reason his heart rate spiked more when she said hello back to him; he was finally being properly acknowledged, but it wasn't just by anyone, it was because it was her. The small girl that had somehow seemed to capture his attention enough for him to force himself to talk and touch her; and all without him really knowing it.

"I-I..." He cleared his throat awkwardly. "I-I was think-ing, I'm g-going to he-help you get b-better a-and with y-your share, s-so y-you're not getting in t-trouble..." Walter moved closer to the bed, keeping his head down and constantly wringing his hands. Slowly he crouched down so he was level with her height sitting on the bed and lowered his voice even further from his natural tone. "L-Let me h-help you, a-and i-n return p-please st-stop st-stealing... I-I can t-try and h-help w-with t-that too..."

There was along pause after he finally managed to get those words out, stuttering along the way. Walter eventually managed to bring his head up to look Jasmine in the eyes very briefly before they flickered away again to the wall at the side of her head.

[Draco Malfoy]

Jasmine Colt

Jasmine watched as Wulfric fidgeted with his hands. Man the kid had some serious anxiety issues. It wasn't really cute anymore, but almost painful to watch due to how much he was struggling to get the words out of his mouth. He could barely look at her without falling apart, and if she could have moved from her spot, she would have made him stop trying. There was no use in torturing yourself every day like that. She wanted for him to be able to talk to her without freaking out, she wasn't exactly intimidating to be around.

Then, Jazz couldn't believe what she was hearing. As he spoke, she felt her thought process come to a grinding halt and her eyebrow raise slowly in confusion. He wanted her... to stop stealing? Why would he even care? Why would he even want to help her? She had blatantly robbed him of his meager earnings, knowing full well the kind of money he made and he wanted to help her. She would have liked to stop stealing but the reality of her situation was that she lived in a shack and didn't make enough money week to week in order to provide for herself. She couldn't stop her thieving ways even if she wanted to. It was almost absurd that Waldo hadn't handed her over to the authorities.

Finally she managed to speak. "I... What? I robbed you of your money and you want to help me?" She shook her head to try and make sense of the situation she'd found herself in. "Why would you want to help me? You don't know me. I don't know you. I mean yeah we work together, but I don't even know your name. What makes you think that I even want your help? Because I can no longer work so I'm stuck facing the fact that I might never make it back to work? If that's the case then why haven't you helped the people who have been injured before? They never came back. So why am I any different?"

Jazz knew she wasn't being fair to him, but she didn't want his pity. She didn't want anyone looking down on her like she was some grubby kid who begged in the streets. No, she had to learn how to survive on her own without handouts from those who had their own problems to death with. She didn't want to verbally assault him, but she didn't want him to be all high and mighty towards her. After a moment, she let out a sigh. "Look, I've been on my own for a long time now. I've managed this long, so I think I'll be okay."

[Lotus]

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Walter was being reprimanded for trying to help. Reprimanded by the small, fragile girl he'd just witnessed falling out of a tree. Reprimanded by that same girl that had stolen from him. Yet, rather than it really hurting his feelings completely, he understood why. If he'd never had someone looking after him his whole life and had to resort to stealing, like a lot of the population, he'd be very unwilling to accept help also. But for some reason, he didn't want to just let Jasmine go - he didn't want to have that on his conscience when she never returns to work.

He knew Jasmine wouldn't know his name, so it wasn't really much of a surprise - he never spoke to anyone after all, but if it was a matter of trying to gain her trust, giving her his name could be the way forward. Despite knowing what he had to say to try and make her understand what he was trying to do, he couldn't find the words and he had a vague feeling she was getting annoyed with his stuttering, messy ways.

"Walter. M-My name is Walter." He drew another deep breath after he spoke those words, praising himself slightly that he managed to not stutter on his actual name. "I-It's diff-difficult to explain, b-but I-I understand. I understand w-why you, w-why you s-stole f-from me a-and s-steal." He took another deep breath, closing his eyes briefly before standing up and perching himself on the edge of the bed, still constantly wringing his hands together.

"I-I get w-why y-you don't want m-my help. I-I g-guess it w-would s-seem weird, m-me not help-helping others, but..." Another deep breath. "But, y-you're the only p-person to h-have e-ever made me, m-made me want t-to t-talk..." He trailed off, understand how pathetic he probably sounded right now. This was Jasmine. She may be a small girl, but she was a heck of a lot more confident that he was and he knew it would always be like that. "T-That's why I wa-nt to h-help - b-because you've a-already help-ed me a bit."

This time, as his pushed his glasses back up his nose, he turned to look her dead in the eye, forcing down every sign of his panic attack; with great difficulty, and swallowed over the lump in his throat. This time he was forcing himself to talk to her and continue with the eye contact, the stuttering would hopefully stop one day; but looking in to her eyes somehow made it a little easier. "L-Let-" Walter cleared his throat. "Let, m-me, help, you." He had to pause after every word, but he only stuttered once, and for that a small smile spread across his lips.

[Draco Malfoy]

Jasmine Colt

Jasmine felt her blood begin to simmer underneath her skin. She could not believe what she was hearing from him. This was absolutely ridiculous. She gaped at him incredulously for a whole minute before she was able to close her mouth. When he sat down on the edge of the hospital cot, she backed up quickly, trying to put as much space between them as possible and smacked her head against the wall behind her causing her headache to return. She'd hit her head rather hard on the way down her tree, maybe a little too hard. It was getting rather difficult to think straight, but she didn't want to rely on him in any way. His words were unbelievable, and the more she thought about it, the angrier she got.

"Are you serious? Please tell me you're not serious. You want to help me so you can feel better about yourself? Jeez that's the actual reason those of you who make more than everybody else are willing to help. It's a self esteem boost for you people. Well guess what Walter, I. Don't. Want. It."

Jazz pushed herself to her feet, walking away from him with a slight limp and grimacing through the pain that radiated all the way up into her left hip. Her headache suddenly spiked and she almost could have sworn that someone had struck an ice pick through the back of her skull. She felt as though she was going to vomit. If only she could, her stomach was empty so she was stuck with a hollow feeling in her abdomen and a soreness in the back of her throat. 

The room around her tilted suddenly and she hit the concrete floor before she could manage to keep herself upright. She let out a low groan, frustrated with herself. She had just finished yelling at him and saying that she didn't want his help, but now it was clear that she wouldn't be able to leave the building that was swamped with peacekeepers without it. Still, she wasn't about to let him take pity on her. She pushed herself upright and leaned against the wall opposite of the bed, refusing to look up at Walter. "Just leave."

[Lotus]

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Well that backfired horribly... Walter thought to himself as Jasmine pretty much screamed his ear off before staggering away from him. In all his life he'd never been yelled before and it hurt him, especially when he was trying to help her out of the goodness of his own heart. Yes, Jasmine was the first person to have ever evoked any kind of reaction in him to want to talk and be sociable, but he wasn't doing it to feel good about himself. Maybe he just hadn't explained himself very well...

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair when she shuffled up to prop herself against the wall, pushing his glasses up afterwards. Walter heard her tell him to leave, but he didn't want to. She could barely walk to the door without nearly passing out and his better judgement told him she wouldn't survive if he just let her go. "No..." He whispered, before turning on the bed to face where she sat. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath - feeling emotions he had never felt before; not something uncommon for someone that never socialised.

Aggravation.

Anger.

Frustration. Mostly frustration.

"Just listen Jasmine! You're not listening." He sat there talking with his eyes closed, making the situation a little easier on himself. "I'm not doing this for me! I'm doing this for you - the girl that's made me want to talk again. The girl that crept up on me without me realising it. That girl is you Jasmine and I'll be damned if I let you walk out of here alone because I know you won't survive out there alone!" He took a deep breath, keeping his eyes closed tightly.

He never stuttered, once. His eyes slowly opened as his whole body shook at the realisation of what he'd just done. He was trying to stop his panic attack as he constantly tried to swallow over the lump in his throat and stop wringing his hands together. It took him a few moments to compose himself the slightest bit, and when he spoke again his stutter came back. "L-Let s-some-one h-help. L-Let me he-lp."

[Draco Malfoy]

Jasmine Colt

Jasmine stopped and found herself staring up at him. He'd lost his temper and was actually yelling back at her without stuttering. She tilted her head to the side, her eyes examining him, drifting up and down his frame as his face showed the dawning realization that he'd managed not to stumble over his words. The sensation must have been new to him. Maybe he had selfish motives, or maybe he wanted to really help her, but she didn't understand why he chose her. Because he could talk? If this was him talking, she wondered what it was like when he was around people he didn't want to speak to. 

Unfortunately for Jazz, she didn't have much of a choice but to accept Walter's help. She knew she would never make it back to her home in the condition her body was in. She couldn't even walk on her own. Her body wasn't just hurt, but her pride was wounded in the prospect of having to rely on someone else. She'd only ever been alone, and she was perfectly okay with that and now Walter was trying to walk into her life for 8 weeks or so and then what? Would he just walk back out of her life? What would he expect her to do in return for his help? The notion at the consequences made her tongue dry in her mouth. "But why?" Her voice broke and tears sprang into her eyes suddenly. "What do you want from me?"

[Lotus]

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Walter's panic attack was still in the background of his mind, trying to push forward and consume him completely, but seeing Jasmine with tears in her eyes somehow made him completely forget about it. He took a deep breath before pushing himself off the floor and crouching down in front of her. There was a strange tugging sensation around his heart and he briefly wondered if he was having heart troubles, but it didn't feel painful enough for something like that. In a way, to Walter, the sensation was almost pleasant, if not completely foreign.

He took a deep breath, his hands shaking all over again. "I-I don't, don't wa-nt any-thing from y-you J-Jasmine." He sighed, pushing his glasses back up his nose. "I-I ca-n't ex-explain it we-well." He groaned, feeling frustrated at not being able to get his words across properly. "I'm take-taken by y-you, I-I'm interested, I-I wa-nt t-to talk be-cause o-of you - t-that's why..." He groaned, knowing he probably wasn't making any sense at all.

He was becoming even more frustrated, something he'd never felt before. Speaking to his parents, his stutter was never present, but now in the presence of someone who finally caught his unknown attention he wants to be able to speak again. He wants to not have panic attacks whenever someone talks or touches him and somehow he knows Jasmine is the one to change him. He groaned again, running a hand through his hair, frustration levels peaking.

"Just let me show you by me caring for you!" He all but shouted, no stuttering involved before he lowered his gaze to the floor and wrung his hands together again. "A-And, ple-please don't, don't c-cry..."

[Draco Malfoy]

Jasmine Colt

Jasmine looked up at him in shock. His reasoning to help her was for his... speech impairment? He wanted nothing in return? That didn't make any sense. There was always a real motive behind someones actions. Either way, she didn't exactly have much of a choice. She clenched her jaw, thinking of the different outcomes of her situation, but the only good one that she could see is if she decided to accept his help.

After a long silence between them, she finally nodded. "Fine." Jazz tried to push herself to her feet, even using the wall as support, but the pain became too much. She ended up sliding back down into her crouched position on the floor. After another moment, she finally swallowed her pride and made eye contact with him. "Will you take me to my home...? I can't seem to, well, get there on my own. It's not far, just on the other side of the marketplace. We could take the side roads. No one should bother us, it's my territory but the market itself is open grounds for the ring of pick pockets around here. And no offense but you're kind of easy pickings."

She shuffled and gathered her feet beneath her. "I can probably walk with you, but I can't support my full weight at the moment..." Jasmine hated herself for having to accept his help. She'd lived on the streets for almost twelve years and never needed help, but now she didn't have a choice. She kind of hoped she hadn't offended him by saying it had been easy to steal from him. She'd be surprised if he'd told her it was the first time his pockets had been picked. It had been way to easy for her to do it, well even a beginner would target Walter with the way he kept his head shoved in paper when he walked. Even still, she knew what to look out for and watch his back while they walked.

[Lotus]

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Walter hadn't expected her to agree quite so easily, but maybe she saw that it was her best option despite Walter not being the greatest person on the planet to be around. He hadn't exactly planned much beyond taking her away from their place of work so taking her to her home was a little bit of a surprise to him. He didn't even know if she had family at her home to look after her, she seemed to keep saying she was alone - but that didn't mean there was no one around to care, it could just have been her way of avoiding everyone. Having to go to her home would be a big step for Walter, especially seeing as he'd only just started talking and he wasn't being the most comprehensible in the world.

"O-Okay." Walter started to reach out his hands towards Jasmine but his hands were shaking rather significantly so he instantly pulled his hand back, closing his eyes and trying to calm down. "S-Sorry..." He mumbled, swallowing over the lump in his throat and the mess of forces shooting through him that wanted him to run away from the situation. "L-Let's try ag-again." He reached his hand out again after opening his eyes, and this time his hand was shaking less visibly than before. This time he was able to place his hand on Jasmine's, as he stood up, helping her to her feet.

When she was standing, he wrapped his hand around her waist and supported her weight on his. He had to close his eyes again as he took multiple deep breaths - finally realising how difficult this would be for him. "L-Let's go. I-If it gets t-too p-painful o-or you g-get t-tired, I-I'll ca-carry..." He trailed off, clearing his throat. The idea of carrying Jasmine absolutely terrifying him. Too much physical contact and interaction, but he knew he'd have to force himself through the pain. "I-I'll ca-carry you."

Finally he opened his eyes and tried to straighten his back a little as he helped Jasmine out the door of the room she'd been allowed to rest in. He remembered what she'd said earlier and tried to calm his breathing as he tried to joke with her a little - well, his version of joking anyway. "J-Just g-guide me o-okay - b-but I-I d-don't think I-I'll be, be easy p-pickings w-with y-your t-tough vi-be be-beside me."

[Draco Malfoy]

Jasmine Colt

Jasmine ground her teeth together as her wounds throbbed while Walter pulled her to her feet. He had managed to wrap his hand around her waist without freaking out too bad, and then they were out the door. Each step she took was agony on her sprained ankle and their shuffling steps caused her torn skin on her rib cage to rub against his side through her rough clothing. Progress was slow as they made their way to the streets, keeping to the back alleys and side roads that she knew to be her stomping grounds. She gripped his hand tightly, trying to keep herself upright by having her arm looped around his shoulders. The sun was almost on the horizon, turning the area around them deep red and brown. It was rather quiet where they were until she heard a shuffling from above her, although she doubted Walter had picked up on it. Suddenly, two figures leaped over the alley they stood in and across to the roof of the building to her right. She let out a low curse, stumbling a bit, thinking that if she couldn't make her way through her streets on her own then someone else would take over her territory. 

Jazz decided to worry about her boundaries later. As they got closer and closer to her "home", a cold stone seemed to drop lower and lower into her stomach. She was worried about how he'd handle her living conditions since they weren't exactly what one would call a home. As they rounded a corner, a small shack came into view at the far end of the alley. It was made of large wooden crates that had been nailed together and metal sheets that had been attached to form a roof and an open doorway was covered with a red cloth. Inside the make shift building was a pile of cloth that was utilized as a bed and a few things she'd stolen that she hadn't sold for money were kept on various small, open crates. 

She felt her stomach clench up in knots, feeling so incredibly small next to Walter as she stopped walking. She hadn't wanted him to see her home, afraid of how he would react and if he would look down his nose at her like everyone else did. She looked down at the ground and tried to prepare herself for his reaction. "Well.. this is it..."

[Lotus]

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It had been slow progress through the streets, and Walter's mind was in havoc. He felt like someone was banging on the inside of his head constantly, but the banging was in the form of different thoughts - especially those of where he was touching Jasmine - how close he was to her. If touching her wasn't enough, where his large hand was placed around her waist his thumb kept brushing a place he shouldn't even go near. It was terrifying him every time it happened but he couldn't move his position in fear of Jasmine falling to the ground and hurting her more.

When they neared her home, if you could even call it that, Walter's disposition worsened almost to the point he wanted to cry out and fold himself into a fetal position until his heart rate calmed down. He couldn't believed she'd been living here, and it definitely wasn't somewhere she could recuperate easily. She'd led the both of them indoors and Walter's state worsened. His breathing quickened, his heart rate spiking, body shaking ans sweat dripping down the back of his neck. With his free hand he pushed his glasses up as he tried to swallow the lump that once again formed in his throat.

Closing his eyes, he tried to push everything to the back of his mind as much as possible. He wasn't the one in pain after falling out of tree, Jasmine was. He needed to man up for once in his life and he was getting angry at himself for how truly pathetic he was being. "Y-You can't st-stay here. P-Pack s-some s-stuff, or I-I will, and, and y-you c-an st-ay w-with m-me."

He had a feeling she was going to kick up a fuss, but surely she could see that staying here wasn't going to do her any good whatsoever.

[Draco Malfoy]

Jasmine Colt

Jasmine paused for a moment, trying to take in his words. Walter wanted her to go with him? No, she couldn't do that. If she did go with him to heal somewhere more comfortable, she'd likely be thrown back out into the streets because once she was healed she'd be expected to leave. She was injured so she wouldn't be able to do much, and there was nothing to gain for anyone by going with him. She didn't want to burden anyone by making them allow a common thief into their home like that. Besides, she'd never be able to look Walter in the eye ever if she ever got to work again. She owed him enough already, and going to his home would only mean another mouth to feed for his parents. She shook her head and pushed him away from her, probably a little harder than she'd meant to but she needed some space between them to look up at him. 

Jazz leaned against a stack of crates for support, unable to stand alone through her pain. "No. Absolutely not. I've already caused too much trouble, because honestly you've done more than enough for me. Besides, this is where I've lived for seven or so years, and it's what I'm used to. It's not much, but I know these streets and I'm safe in my own territory." That last part was a lie, but he didn't need to know that. "I've gotten into, and out of, worse situation, so I think I'm capable of taking care of myself." 

She lowered herself slowly to the ground in an attempt to ease the strain on her ankle, not knowing if she'd be able to get back up again or not. Her wrist was numb and tingly as tried to flex her fingers, wanting to distract herself from the situation she'd gotten herself into. If she'd stolen from Walter, it was likely she'd stolen from his parents as well. What if they didn't let her in? What would she do then? She couldn't expect him to carry on helping her if they rejected her. She swallowed the lump in her throat and looked out at the alley through the red cloth that swayed slightly in the air. She remembered a lot of the faces of the people she'd taken from, and if she remembered is parents, then she would never be able to be around them comfortably. If they ever found out about her habits, they wouldn't want her around either. 

Jasmine offered Walter a small smile, wanting to dismiss the subject. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine on my own."

[Lotus]

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Walter wasn't having it. He couldn't possibly leave her in this place despite her calling it her so-called home. It was dirty, cramped and there was no security what so ever. Jasmine would never get better staying in this place, no matter if it was where she'd lived the majority of her teenage years. Walter would never be able to forgive himself if he left her here even if he had to force her to go with him, no matter the terror that thought brought to him.

He moved further into the tiny place, crouching down in front of where Jasmine slumped on the floor. He reached out a shaking hand, clearing his throat to try and make his voice clearer, and took a hold of the hand she was flexing. "Y-You m-must rea-realise y-you won't get b-better he-re, don't, don't y-you?" He forced his hand to squeeze hers slightly, hoping it was in a reassuring manner. "I-I ca-n't w-walk aw-ay and l-leave y-you he-re."

He sighed, pushing his glasses up with his free hand and then running his hand through his ruffled hair. "I-I wan-t to h-help, a-and that me-means f-from m-my ho-me. M-My pa-parents, they'll l-like h-having y-you. M-My mum's always w-wanted a-a g-girl." He forced a soft smile onto his face. "Y-You don't n-need to w-worry a-about any-anything..." Walter took a deep breath, closing his eyes before looking into hers. "I, promise." Once again, there was no stutter but the pause was evident.

[Draco Malfoy]

Jasmine Colt

Jasmine looked down at her fingers, which were wrapped in Walter's, and tried not to make eye contact. Her thumb stroked the back of his hand slowly, trying to calm him down a bit. It was evident that he was pushing himself today just for her sake, but she was going to try to make it as easy as possible for him. If she did go with him he'd have an even harder time than he did in that moment, because she honestly didn't think she could manage walking any more. She wished she hadn't fallen out of the tree at all, but there wasn't much that could have been done at that point in time. 

She didn't want to have anyone feel like she needed to be taken care of, but in her state her options really were very limited. She knew that she would need help moving around as it was, and possibly help with clothing and changing out the bandage on her side. She wouldn't ask Walter to help her, since it was clear he might have a panic attack if she did, but he mentioned he had a mother so she possibly might be able to help. All logic told her to go with him for her own safety, comfort and a chance to avoid infection. If she stayed, blood fever was a very likely scenario and if she went with them then there was a slimmer chance. Even so, her pride was getting in the way of accepting his help. 

Jasmine shook her head looked up at him again to find him startlingly close. She was already against a stack of crates so she couldn't move back from him, so she let the distance between them to be his choice. She swallowed hard before shaking her head again. "I can't ask for that Walter. I'm a thief not a stray animal, and it's not fair to anyone for me to stay with your family."

[Lotus]

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Walter could see the realisation dawn on Jasmine's face, the cogs turning in her head over and over again, but the words that came out of her mouth weren't what he wanted to hear. They were the complete opposite of what he knew she'd come to realise in her thoughts. He sighed, kneeling down rather than crouching now, as he squeezed her hand once more in his. He clenched his other hand slightly to try and rid the shaking, before reaching out and titling her chin up so he could try and look in her eyes.

He felt Jasmine stroking her thumb across the back of his hand, and surprisingly it seemed to calm his racing heart even more. Despite it calming his racing heart in fear of her, it seemed to stutter in a feeling he'd never had before and he felt his cheeks heating up in a pink flush. "I-I-I-I..." His stuttering had gotten slightly worse at the strange feeling that coursed through him so he had to clear his throat and shake his head, averting his eyes from hers.

"I-I know y-you're no-t ask-asking. I-I'm offering, y-you're no-t ask-ing. I-I want t-to d-do t-this." He took another deep breath, looking back up into her eyes. "I-I k-know y-you're no-t a s-stray a-animal. B-But y-you a-are s-some-one t-that ne-eds help a-and I-I can't l-leave you he-re." Walter squeezed Jasmine's hand again, taking another deep breath to calm himself again. "Y-You do-n't ne-ed to w-worry about m-e, m-my fa-mily. I-I wa-nt t-o help y-you b-because y-you're y-you an-d y-you d-don't des-deserve t-this l-life. Y-You des-erve better, a-and d-don't f-fight m-e o-on t-this."

Walter cracked a little bit of a smile as he finished his 'speech', taking in a deep breath and squeezing her hand one last time before standing up. He looked around her 'home', taking in the state of it and not understanding how Jasmine had managed to survive this long here. With the terror he felt at that thought as well as what he'd just done, touching Jasmine and talking, he felt his panic attack pressing at the back of his mind. He groaned and closed his eyes, bringing his hands up to cover his ears as he tried to concentrate on his breathing before the panic attack took over completely.

Eventually, he felt more in control of himself. He felt a little calmer; for the main reason that he knew if he was going to get Jasmine out of here and to his own home, he was going to have to push himself even further. But, for her, he knew he could force himself to. He would have to do it; for her. He turned to look at her, after removing his hands from his ears and opening his eyes. Walter saw the look on her face, but he didn't want to know what it truly meant right now. Instead, he forced a smile onto his face and said, "S-So wh-at d-do y-you w-want t-to take wi-th y-you?"

[Draco Malfoy]

Jasmine Colt

Jasmine felt her cheeks darken as Walter tilted her chin up to him as he spoke. He was so close to her, and his hand propping up her jaw kept her pinned, making her feel almost exposed. It wasn't everyday that someone had her in this position, but... she kind of liked it. It was peculiar, the way she reacted to being held immobile. She could have easily moved to get herself out of the situation, but she almost enjoyed being so close to him. Hey eyes drifted from his down to his mouth as he spoke to her. The lump on her throat was hard to swallow until he leaned back and covered his ears and the moment was gone. 

She bit down on her lip and looked away from him, wondering what the hell had just happened, and whether or not she'd lost her damn mind. Her cheeks flushed and she looked down at her side where she had a few clothes hidden in one of the crates. It seems Walter wasn't going to give her much of a choice, so she pulled out a shirt, a pair of pants and the only nice piece of clothing she had. It was a white linen dress that had been used as reaping clothes. They were folded neatly in her lap before she pointed at the stack of boxes with a bowl on top. "You see that bowl? Take everything that's inside it, keep it all if you want. Since I stole some of it from you in the first place, I figure you can have it back."

Inside the small brown bowl was about seven bags full of coins and a few pieces of stolen jewelry. She was going to buy the rest of the supplies she needed for the week but after spotting Walter the previous night, she'd decided to go home instead of the crowded market place. If she were to leave it then it would get stolen, but if she took the money then it would be of no use to her. She wouldn't be able to go anywhere to spend the money anyway. It was best for Walter to take it, she owed him that much in the least. 

Jazz rummaged through another box to her left and found a small bag inside with knife inside that was the size of her forearm. She tucked the clothes into the bag and looked back up at Walter. "This is all I have." There was more of course, but she decided to let whoever came to check on her, and eventually they would, have what she didn't care too much about including her cream scarf that she used when she stole.


(Soooo... you may have stumbled into my kinky side with the whole chin thing. ^^; so kinda all i could thing of because of it XD)

[Lotus]

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Walter saw how little she packed into the bag, and he wondered once again how she'd survived this long in these conditions. He felt so sorry for her, he really did, but he knew she wasn't the type of person to want pity. He wasn't entirely sure what to do about what he found in the bowl he'd told him to pick up. He was shocked if he was being truly honest, knowing he couldn't keep it because whilst Jasmine had stolen it, the contents of that bowl were literally the only things she had to her name. Despite that though, he found a spare bag laying around and poured the contents into there - not checking what it was properly. "I-I wo-n't ke-ep any o-of it. I-It's a-all y-you ha-ve." He turned to look at her with a soft look upon his face, for some reason feeling a lot calmer after his near panic attack. He suddenly had a thought, and maybe, just maybe, Jasmine would one day agree to it. "W-Whn y-you're bet-ter, I-I'll ta-ke y-you sh-shopping f-for n-new cl-others a-and th-things. F-For, f-for a n-new st-start?"

He put the bag he'd put the money in on top of the one she'd put the few clothes and belongings she wanted to take with her. He knelt down next to her again, taking deep breaths as he got closer to her once again. He felt his panic attack coming back, but he tried with all his might to push it back once again. Walter knew that as soon as he got Jasmine to his home, his panic attack would set in and he wouldn't be able to stop it because of how many times he'd repressed it in her company.

"I-I kn-ow y-you're in p-pain n-ow. I-I, I-I can, c-c-carry y-you." He knew it would kill him, not because he wasn't strong but because he'd never had that close contact with anyone, ever - not even his parents had ever gotten that close to him ever since he'd changed. Jasmine wasn't looking at him again, so he took a hold of her hand in his despite how hard he was shaking, and titled her chin up once again; for some reason loving the blush that crept up her cheeks. "P-Piggy ba-ck o-or t-the f-front o-o-ne?"

NOTE: That's absolutely fine - I loved it! I hope you like me bringing it back in again