Call to all the lost {Warren}

[Warren Wilkes]

He moved further into the office slowly, the man taking his sweet time to even acknowledge his existence. He seemed almost too large to be sitting at such a small desk, like he needed something more grand, or at the very leash he should have been standing in the center ring of a circus. If Warren had passed this man on the street, he certainly would have never imagined him working behind a desk in any building, much less the office of an apartment complex. Yet, Warren was a nice man so he wasn't going to express those opinions lest he offend the man. “Yes, yes my dear boy come in. Tell me more” More? He wasn't exactly certain what he was looking for, wiping his hands down his torso he pushed the sleeves of his sweater up to the elbows since it was a lot warmer in here than it had been outside. The office was a decent size, if this was the size of the bedrooms he could easily visualize how he could fit all of his various instruments and recording equipment into this room with some room to spare. This was a lot bigger than his one bedroom flat back in London, which was appealing. He had no idea what the price range was but he hoped that it was going to be something that he could afford. Moving his attention to the chair that the man's hand was gesturing to for him to sit at. After his small trip around the other apartment complexes resting would be welcome. Taking a seat in the semi-comfortable chairs “Uhm, perhaps a one or two bedroom?” While he would like the two bedroom, they generally were more expensive than the one. The man, who still seemed to be recovering from their sudden presence nodded hurriedly. ”Brent Brixton the third, but you can call me Brent and yes, we do have apartments open at this moment.” “Wonderful!” He stated simply, moving as the older gentleman did and following him into the room where Michelle was waiting with an unfolded pamphlet in her hands.

He stood behind them, knowing that she too was looking for a place to live as well. He didn't want to hog all of the man's time and only talk about his own needs whenever she surely had her own questions as well. Folding his arms across his broad chest he centered his weight between both of his feet. ”Are you two looking for a one bedroom? Or are you planning on starting a family? We have two bedrooms as well.” A laugh escaped him as soon as the question was asked. Was it really possible that after only knowing this woman half an hour that he already looked at ease enough around her to be her significant other? Stifling himself he shook his head slowly. “Oh, we’re not together,” Warren nodded “We just met actually” Brent shook his head, tapping the side of his nose knowingly, which was cryptic, but nobody else said anything on the subject. Michelle looked uncomfortable, but he didn't know her well enough to know whether it was because of the comment that the owner had just made, or if it was because of something that she was reading. As she extended the pamphlet toward him he accepted it, turning it around in his hands until he could read it. It was the layout sheet, they seemed workable enough, with more space than he was used to. He wasn't going to know what to do with himself in all of that space. His eyebrows lifted at the pricing, it was a steal that was for certain, but it was still a lot more money than he actually had to his name at the moment. The yearly price alone made him want to gag. He had never in his life held that much money in his hands at one time. Certainly he could ask his brother to borrow the money, but he hated involving friends and money...it almost always got ugly very quickly. He would be able to pay the man back over time, but money just wasn''t something that they had ever spoke about before, and were unlikely ever to do so in the future.

”See something you like?” The man had a very full voice, something that no doubt could get very loud very quickly all on his own. Tearing his eyes from the sheet he nodded, still toiling over the numbers in his mind. Glancing over his shoulder he could no longer see Michelle, and hoped that she hadn't abandoned him at the very first chance she had gotten, He had thought that they were hitting it off, but he could have been wrong, it wouldn't have been the first time. Hoping that she had just excused herself to go into the bathroom or something he motioned to one of the layouts on the sheet. “This says discounted, why?” At this the man's expression darkened. There had to be a big history there that no doubt Warren wanted to know nothing about ”It runs on electricity” He said it like it was something awful, but personally Warren didn't mind. He had grown up on it, and his flat had it so he didn't see what the big deal was. If it was electric and didn't have to pay a separate bill for it he didn't have an issue. Plus, he needed all of the discounts that he could get to afford the roof over his head. If he got his deposit back on his London flat, then that might cover most of it. That was something to look forward to. Moving over to the couch as soon as the older man did he took a seat, listening as the man started his business pitch. He could only hope that he wasn't forced to sit through it for a second time just so that Michelle could hear it as well. A door shut and he saw Michelle approaching again out of the corner of his eye, instinctively he scooted over to make room for her on the couch as well as Brent kept on talking, he didn't even seem to be breathing. “So, I was thinking about what he said. Not about us having a family, of course,” He inclined his head in her direction so that he could hear the both of them at the same time. “What if we got an apartment together? We could get a two bedroom and split the rent. I mean, if it’s the one bedroom is the same price as a two, why not? It’d be cheaper for the both of us. What do you think?” Truthfully, he wasn't sure why he hadn't even thought about it sooner. He was too sheltered to think that she was coming onto him, so he took her words exactly as how he assumed that she had meant them. He had been thinking this whole time about how odd it was that they got along so well already. He should have been the one to suggest it before. He really would need the monetary help, they could really have a roof over their head...and they both had enough in common that constant music wasn't likely to irritate either of them.

Turning his body toward her, his eyes were peering off into the distance, lost in thought. What was the worst that could happen? He knew that he wasn't going to do anything to harm her, and she was such a small woman, he didn't feel in the least bit threatened by her...he could have Ashton run a check on this place to make sure that the discounted pricing wasn't a scam...this could really work out for the best for both of them. Nodding, slowly at first, and then larger he nodded and smiled at her. His eyes focused on her face “Why not?” he asked, more to himself than anything else. If it were wrong, he would have a bad feeling about it wouldn't he? He didn't have anything but excitement over the prospect of having a new home. Closer to family, closer to her. “We should, it makes a lot of sense” he concluded, which apparently Brent took to mean that he had an answer for whatever it was that he had been talking about because he jumped up and bustled back off toward his office to get something. Since they were alone, he locked contact with her “Are you certain about this?”

[Michelle Ryder]

As Michelle sat down on the couch, she could already see the eagerness in the old man’s eyes as he looked at the two. Apparently the men had already been in a conversation about the apartments and he, not surprisingly, didn’t seem to stop talking as she began to tell Warren her suggestion of how to make this place work for the both of them. Honestly, she wasn’t sure if her idea would latch on to him or not because she was unsure of if he had enough galleons to cover the cost of the apartment himself. She wouldn’t be surprised if he did. He seemed to be a lot more put together at this point than she was and given that fact, she was expecting to be turned down flat. As he began to ponder, she looked back towards the old man who was still rambling on about how good their apartments were. Giving him a small smile, she nodded as if she had been listening to him the entire time but went right back to looking at Warren who was still pondering. Finally, he spoke up and for a moment her face had fallen until she realized what words he had said. She had been expecting him to say no so much that she didn’t realize he had said yes. Smiling she nodded as he mentioned how much sense it made. Well of course it did, she wouldn’t have said it otherwise.

The two hadn’t officially said anything but the old man was still on his way to his office. Raising an eyebrow, Elle’s eyes followed him as he did so but shot back to Warren as he spoke up again. “Are you certain about this?” Nodding, she put her hand on his knee without even realizing how that could come off so strange. She didn’t make the connection between her suggestion of moving in together and then the contact she just made with his knee, but either way, coming from her it was innocent enough. “Of course I am! Wouldn’t have said it otherwise. After all, we have so much in common, I figure it would work out pretty well. It saves both of us money and gives us the opportunity to become friends. Otherwise, I couldn’t imagine us running into each other often enough to really get to know one another. Plus, I always love to hear what other musicians have up their sleeves,” she finished, only removing her hand from his knee when the plump old man returned with some papers and keys in hand. ”Shall we go take a tour of the apartment? he asked as he motioned towards the door. Elle nearly pouted for a moment because of how warm she had gotten while inside the office but she knew she couldn’t stay there all day. At least now she had double layers on so going out into the cold wouldn’t be as bad. So instead of pouting like a child, she shrugged, standing up and moving over to her bag and guitar case. She slung the bag back over her shoulder and picked up the guitar case in her hand, feeling that same sense of relief she always got when she had her baby in her hands. No matter what situation she was in, her guitar always seemed to be the only thing that could bring her comfort. It was sad when you really thought about it. Usually people did that for other people but for her, it was in inanimate object. Hopefully, with Warren being a musician, he wouldn’t look at her strange whenever he found out that little fact about her.

As the group went towards the door, Elle could already feel the cold sweeping over her. Wrapping herself in Warren’s scarf that she still had around her neck, she stepped through the door to the outside. It was still warmer than it had been while she was still in her skirt, but she still was weary of the weather. Out of all the places she could have picked… She followed the man’s lead, fairly slowly mind you, towards the apartment building where apparently there was an apartment they could afford. Her heels clicked against the ground as they walked. She was thankful there were sidewalks lining the entire complex, otherwise she would have a problem with her stilettos. Considering she was almost always in heels, grass was not her favorite thing. To sink in and have to pluck your heel out of the ground, or having to walk on the front of your foot? Neither were good options. At least this place was kind enough to think of women like her. Looking around the complex, she could see that there were four buildings total. It looked like they were headed towards the building in the back so they had a bit of a walk to go and it sounded like the man was going to take the entire walk to mention good things about the apartments. ”There’s a courtyard where the children love to play and some of the other residents just love to sit and enjoy the weather during the summer,” he mentioned. At the sound of kids, Elle smiled. She could babysit. That was something she was good at after taking care of her little sister for so long. She made a mental note to post up some of her information around the building in case parents needed someone. It wasn’t good money but babysitting was probably the quickest way to earn money, at least in her opinion.

As the approached the final building, Elle was expecting to have to do stairs but luckily the room they were looking at was on the first floor. That was a relief. As the man fumbled with the keys, she looked around at the view out the front door and then at the building itself. She looked over at Warren to find out what he was thinking but given she had just met him that day, it was a little impossible to read him just yet. As the door creaked open, she turned her attention back to the apartment. ”I’ll make sure to get that fixed,” the man mentioned at the creaking noise. Elle shrugged as she stepped past him in to the apartment. “I haven’t had an apartment that hasn’t had a creaking door. Adds charm in my opinion,” she said with a soft chuckle. The apartment was like most, empty and small. But with a bit of furniture and a woman’s touch, she was pretty sure she could turn it into something spectacular. From the looks of it, it was the same layout as the office they had just been in. “Well, what do you think, roomie? Think we can make it work?”

[Warren Wilkes]

Hopefully he wasn't making a mistake here. It was very possible that he was wandering blindly into something that seemed too good to be true, he had done that a lot over the years and subconsciously was already preparing himself for this to come back up and bite him in the ass. Her hand on his knee shouldn't have been cause for any sort of mental duress but it was. He never had been very good with people touching him, much less strangers. They had to know him very, very well before he got past hand shaking and onto claps on the shoulder and the like. He didn’t' want to be rude and shake her hand off... but at the same time it was making him very uncomfortable. “Of course I am! Wouldn’t have said it otherwise. Plus, I always love to hear what other musicians have up their sleeves,” It seemed like she was doing it out of purely innocent motives so he didn't say anything, but all he could focus on was her hand on his knee. They had just met after all, even though he got nothing but positive feelings from her, his feelings tended to lead him wrong in just about ever aspect of his life in some way or another. Perhaps one day he would wise up and learn to stop listening to them so damn much. Was paranoia starting to kick in? Or was it merely just logic starting to make him realize just how crazy this whole thing really was. Was she a music poacher? It was a silly thought, considering that she hadn't even known that he played until further into their conversation. Yet, whenever her hand was finally removed...the panic seemed to go with it. He would just have to remind her that touching wasn't really an alright thing with him...even though that was going to make him sound so very horrible.

”Shall we go take a tour of the apartment? As soon as the man had finished speaking, Warren had practically jumped from his chair while nodding in agreement. This was all just starting to fit together so well. There was apartments available, a roommate and this was close to the coffee shops and possible work locations. He was getting along with the manager so that would also be a plus if anything in the apartment needed any fixing down the line. Yes, this was all just falling into place. He followed Mr. Brixton toward the door and he produced a large ring of keys. Warren moved out the front door behind Michelle and waited for the older gentleman to lock up the door so that they could be on their way. He had always hated going from suck warm settings to the colder outdoors. He personally was fine with either location, so long as the temperature stayed the same. It was whenever the weather changed so suddenly that he started to take issue. Rubbing his hands together and then sticking them in his pockets the door was finally locked and the trio was on their way through the apartment complex. Already Mr. Brixton was spouting off all the facts and history of each building and how it came to be along with any changes that had been made to it internally or externally. It was obvious that he favored the buildings closer to the front of the complex, as they looked nicer and had proper paint jobs. At they moved further back the paint started to chip, and less maintenance was done on them, making it abundantly clear that Mr. Brixton was a very cheap man indeed.

”There’s a courtyard where the children love to play and some of the other residents just love to sit and enjoy the weather during the summer,” Babysitting would be a possibility then, warren adored the innocent of children. Thought, it seemed that with every passing generation the innocence part was getting smaller and smaller. At least they were the most honest critics that he could find for his music. If he could get children to sit still long enough to listen to an entire song he had to be doing something right. Finally they were approaching the final building furthest toward the back. There was a very faint hint of garbage whenever the draft rolled in through the walkway that led to the door that the man was unlocking. Wonderful. That was going to smell just awesome come the summer months. He waited patiently, his hands in his pockets while Mr. Brixton went about unlocking, and finally shoving the apartment door open. Once forced the first bit of the way, it swung open forcefully with a loud creak. ”I’ll make sure to get that fixed,” Warren said nothing, just waited to Michelle to go inside the apartment that they might soon be calling home. “I haven’t had an apartment that hasn’t had a creaking door. Adds charm in my opinion,” “”Here here” he muttered, following her slight frame into the room and looked around. The carpet was still stained from whoever had lived here last, and one of the bedroom doors was sitting off of it's hinges in the door frame. No wonder this place was discounted, there was the faint hum of tell tale electricity in the walls which he found oddly comforting. The kitchen area was small but the bar stools that he had used in his last apartment should fit very nicely right under the lip of the counter and then he wouldn't have to worry about finding a dining set. He wasn't sure if she was the kind of person that could sit on the floor to eat like he was. The rest of his belongings should fit as well with little to no difficulty. The only issue was going to be if she had a whole bunch of stuff in storage somewhere...but he had gotten the impression that she had brought everything that she owned on her person. Not that that was a bad thing.

“Well, what do you think, roomie? Think we can make it work?” He moved further into the apartment, hands still in his pockets. He nodded his approval, moving toward one of the two bedrooms. He chose the one on the left side of the apartment, the one with it's door still attached. He could hear Brent prattling on about moldings and lead free paint to Michelle was he was wandering about. He moved into the room and it smelt like cigarette smoke and sweat but that could be fixed he hoped. The bathroom was attached to this bedroom...which he found strange but the closet had a good amount of space in it. He waited for Michelle to either attempt to kick him out of this bedroom or at the very least inspect the other. Perhaps he was going to need to take the other room for all of his recording equipment and instruments...then he could just sleep in the living room...couldn't be all that bad could it? Just depends on how much privacy she would want. Turning around and heading back into the living room he nodded once more. He attempted to make eye contact with her, not wanting Mr. Brixton to sway their decision by his continued presence. “It feels...right”

[Michelle Ryder]

The apartment was small, ¬¬¬but nowhere near as small as some of the places Michelle had lived. The apartment she lived in above the music store where she worked in Malibu was only about 400 square feet. The studio apartment had been ridiculously small but considering she had just moved out from her parents’ home and only had a guitar case and clothes to her name, she didn’t need much more space. Now, she needed more space than that. This apartment looked to be at least twice the size of the apartment in Malibu and had plenty of open space. Moving deeper into it, she tried to pay attention to the man babbling on and on about different features of the place. She didn’t need the list of features considering she had eyes that could pick out the important things. Kitchen, check. Living room, check. Dining room, check. Bedrooms, check. She could see Warren wandering into one of them. She could see from where she was standing that the door was hanging sideways on its hinge but she had fixed worse problems before. Though she was a woman, she had learned how to handle herself rather well by being on her own so many years. Fixing something so simple as a door hinge? No problem. Now if you asked her to redo the plumbing in a house, that was a completely different story…

She could see a second bedroom to the right that seemed not to have a door, but then she saw it just inside leaning against the wall. ”That will be fixed,” the old man stated as he noticed her eyes looking in the direction of the room. She was pretty sure those were the first words she had heard from him in the last three minutes of talking, but the fact that he knew the apartment needed some work was enough for her. “It feels...right.” Elle smiled as she looked next to her where Warren was now standing. She wasn’t quite sure where he had just come from but she didn’t care. He was satisfied with the apartment and she was too. Was this really happening? Was she about to get a male roommate for the first time in her life in a new place and on the first day? It was a record, her not having to sleep in a temporary location on the first night in a new country. She was happy the way things had worked out because sleeping in a crappy motel or sleeping on a curb was never fun.

“Ditto,” Elle replied, smiling before The old man ushered them towards the kitchen. “On two conditions,” she added as they began walking in that direction. Mr. Brixton seemed unenthused about her want to have things done to the apartment first, but she wasn’t about to move in without being sure he was going to work with them on things. “One, get the doors set right, and two, if we call for a work order, don’t ignore us just because we rent the cheapest place in the complex.” He seemed not to be very pleased about the second condition but nonetheless, he agreed. Elle was pretty sure it had something to do with the musty smell in the apartment signaling it had not been lived in for quite some time. He was probably dying to get the place rented out so he would lose less money out of his bottom line. A smile spread across her lips as she walked over and joined him and Warren at the kitchen counter. It was barely long enough to accommodate the three of them but it was all they needed. Mr. Brixton began to list out the conditions of the rental agreement as he handed a pen to both Warren and Elle. They both took them rather eagerly and each time he pointed for a spot for them to initial or sign, they both took turns completing the requirement.

”Congratulations, you are now the proud renters of this apartment,” Brent stated as he handed Warren the set of keys. ”I’ll be back tomorrow to fix the doors as promised. As for tonight, enjoy the place, get to know it. Enjoy yourselves.” Elle chuckled softly at the last two words he stated before leaving the apartment. She looked at Warren with a broad grin as she slipped off her jacket and threw it on top of her bag in the corner. “It’s ours! All ours!” She jumped up and down twice just to help calm her enthusiasm and he seemed to get a kick out of it as she did so. “So, now we fight over who gets what bedroom. Let the battle begin.”

[[Aaaand… End scene.]]