just keep swimming • • ella

[lilyloo]

In a fishbowl, swimming in a circle
I watch them stop and stare

"Do not tap the glass." Of course, having read this, every child under the age of ten proceeded to tap the glass. Every child and Johnny Monroe, that is. Yeah, he was definitely showing off for the crowd, being all rebellious and whatnot. No regard for the rules, this one. In fact, he opened scorned the rules by tapping on the glass, right next to the sign. All the little kiddies may have seemed indifferent to his outrageous display, but on the inside, they were quivering with fear and awe at the strangers awesome disregard for the rule. He was...

"Sir, I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to stop that," a security officer said as she tapped his shoulder, effectively snapping the boy out of his internal monologue. Embarrassed, he quickly stopped to apologize. "I'm very sorry. It won't happen again. I promise." He even gave a salute. Clearly the security guard was neither amused nor pleased, as she simply shook her head, walked off muttering something that sounded like "Lunatic." So much for being a rebel. The little kids giggled madly. One child even pointed up at him and yelled "Loser!"

"Hey! I'm not a loser," he protested. "Loser! Loser! LOSER!" The kid sang out as he ran around the room, prompting Johnny to chase after him. Unfortunately, he was at a disadvantage for not being quite as small. He slammed into several strangers and often rammed into fixtures and walls. The boy simply giggled and continued his little song. When he finally caught up, the brunette grabbed the boy by the arm and held him back. "Lemme go! Lemme go!" the little boy exclaimed. Johnny was having none of it. He kept his grip strong as the child struggled furiously. "Hey! You need to be quiet! You're--"

"Excuse me! What are you doing with my son!" A woman appeared out of nowhere. In any other situation, Johnny might have thought she was rather attractive for an older woman. "Unhand him, right now!" Obediently, the youth let go and the child rocketed to his mother's side, eyes glistening with tears. "Mommy! He was being mean to me!" He wailed while clutching his arm. The woman glared daggers at the brunette. "What kind of person handles a child so roughly?" she hissed. Taking her son by the hand, the two walked away, though the small boy did take an opportunity to turn back and stick his tongue out at his former captor.

Well, that went well. Twenty minutes, and Johnny had managed to make a fool of himself twice. There had to be some sort of award for idiocy per hour. He looked up at the tank wall and wondered if the fish every got bored being trapped in the same place all the time. He'd read somewhere that goldfish could only remember back three seconds, so every trip around the fishbowl was a new experience for them. He wondered if the same was true for octopi and starfish and whatever aquatic life was behind the glass. Although, really, they had it pretty good. No predators, fed everyday, and they get to watch hilarious displays of aquarium-goers' stupidity. Johnny sighed. Even the fish were laughing at him.

[ella clemintine torres .]

s t a y here w i t h you

Ella liked the aquarium. Watching the sea life was rather soothing and helped her think. During her first year it had even been something of a novelty. She’d never been to one before. Which wasn’t hard to believe, considering where she was from. There had been a lot of things she hadn’t done before coming to the city. I suppose you could say she had led a somewhat sheltered life. Most kids who grew up where she did or small places were in the same boat though, and Ella didn’t feel like it had made her a deficient person at all.

In fact, she was sure it made her appreciate things a lot more. For instance, someone who had spent hours as a young child watching the sharks swim slowly above them really didn’t get the impact of that, like Ella did. It never ceased to cause Ella to shiver just slightly as she watched them swim over the arched glass ceiling. Titling her head back down, away from the shark. Starting to walk again, Ella strolled along the arched corridor, turning the corner into the next. That was how she liked to do the aquarium. Nice and slowly so you didn’t miss anything.

Ella stopped walking as she rounded the corner though. A familiar outline catching her eye. Johnny Monroe. A smile tugged on the young woman’s lips as she watched him for a few moments. Ella was rather fond of Johnny. The way you are fond of a somewhat naughty but cute puppy. She was forever trying to stop the boy’s antics and stop him from doing something that would get him into trouble. Then, that was Ella though. Always ready to take on the mother role. Even if sometimes it wasn’t wanted. They seemed to appreciate it after she got them out of trouble though, even if they didn’t at the time.

Ella started walking again. Changing her direction slightly so she was aimed for her fellow sophomore. While Ella enjoyed her time alone at the aquarium, using the serene atmosphere to think, she wasn’t against sharing it with someone else. Ella almost always welcomed time spent with a friend. Even a naughty puppy friend. Ella stopped right beside the boy, smiling. “Hey you.” Her eyes moved from him to the water beyond the glass. “It’s amazing here isn’t it?” She took a deep breath, as if breathing in the atmosphere.

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[lilyloo]

In a fishbowl, swimming in a circle
I watch them stop and stare

The recent debacle had convinced Johnny that the best choice at the moment would be simply to stand quietly. The boy had been to aquariums quite a few times in his youth, but he'd never really quite seen the fish. He'd normally been boredly hanging about until the obligatory dolphin shows. Even those had grown lackluster over the years, as some silly animal activists folks had gone and protested. Now, there were 'behaviours' rather than tricks, which were significantly less entertaining. The fish, however, remained untouched by environmentalists. They still swam about in the walls and tanks, though Johnny noticed that they were indeed quite interesting, even remarkably human-like.

Johnny examined the fish ask they swam by. They seemed to hang out in groups: the studious fish followed the school obediently; the gossip-y clams were whispering secrets; the slacker octopi hung about, giving a "don't harsh my mellow" look to the fish that swam by. There even appeared to be a small group of round fish that darted about this way and they. They reminded the boy of little aquatic golden snitches. One of the snitches seemed to be attempting to propel itself from the water. It flitted and floundered and finally broke the surface. E.T., we have liftoff. Sadly, the triumph did not last as he (was it a he?) found himself free falling back only a second later. Back in the water, the little snitch-fish immediately began attempting to become airborne once more.

The boy had been enjoying himself, inventing stories for all the fish when a seemingly disembodied voice addressed him. Being just a bit jittery, the boy nearly jumped out of his skin. "Oh," he let out a sigh of relief. "It's just you, Ella." He'd been afraid that it might be the little delinquent boy's father coming back to teach him a lesson. He offered the girl a wide grin. "Yeah, I never realized how cool the aquarium was." He was quite glad to have some companionship for the afternoon (and a witness in case the boy's father did come back.)

Johnny turned back to the fish. A school of jackfish were currently swimming by. "Look! It's a yellow submarine!" He grinned. "We all live in a yellow submarine, yellow submarine, yellow--" The boy stopped the moment he realized that people had began staring. His own cleverness had delighted him, apparently enough to provoke a song. Needless to say, he was only the slightest bit mortified. He turned to Ella, feeling that this might be the best way to distract himself from his own silliness.

"Uh... yeah. Let's just pretend that didn't happen and start over. Hey, Ella, what're you doing in the middle of Seattle today?"

[ella clemintine torres .]

s t a y here w i t h you

Ella pulled a mock pout onto her features. “Just me? Well. Don’t you know all the smooth moves to make a girl feel special.” Of course, she was merely teasing the boy. Ella knew Johnny well enough to know that he wasn’t going to take her teasing seriously. Ella liked to tease, yes. Not though, if the person she was teasing would take it badly at all. That would be just horrid, if Ella made fun of someone who didn’t know she was joking and took it to heart. That was the last thing Ella ever wanted to do; upset someone. Luckily for her, Johnny was pretty thick skinned.

Glancing back at the fishes, Ella couldn’t help but feel herself smirk. Trying to hold back a laugh. Johnny certainly had his faults, but he always managed to make her smile, if not laugh. One thing she could say, was that she had never been and probably would never be embarrassed to be around Johnny. Sure, he wasn’t what most people would deem normal and he did do some crazy things, but as far as Ella was concerned that was all just apart of his charm. Shaking her head a little, Ella shot him a bemused smile as he started singing a Beatles song. “You are one strange boy Johnny. And I love it.”

Nodding, she allowed the boy his dignity and granted his request to ‘start over’. Not that she minded much at all, but if it made him happy then it made her happy. “What am I doing?” She cocked her head to the side, as if in thought. “Oh, you know. The usual. Getting completely drunk and going home with complete strangers. You know. There isn’t much else to do in this place.” She flashed him another joking grin before shrugging. Dropping the pretence and giving him a real answer. “No.. I just. I like to come here and think. It’s soothing..”

She looked away from the boy and back into the large tank. Watching a bright coloured fish swim past. “Last year, this place kind of kept me sane. I’d come here when things got stressful and it would just seam so much easier to handle.” She gave a small shrug. “Pathetic.. I know.”

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[lilyloo]

In a fishbowl, swimming in a circle
I watch them stop and stare

Johnny, ever the genius, actually had to take a moment to realize that Ella had made a joke. Even then, he had this stupid look on his face like he didn't know how to react exactly. It wasn't until he saw her grin that the boy understood that he was meant to laugh. So he did, and to his credit, it didn't seem the least bit forced or faked, which it wasn't. Although it might've been a tad too loud as it got a few stares. Yeah, apparently, today he was meant to look like a fool as many times as possible.

At her next words, Johnny just nodded his head rather dumbly. "No, I get it. Life just gets crazy sometimes." That was a lie. The boy had never really been stressed. Partially because he'd never settled himself down long enough to let it get to him. Still, Ella was probably one of few people who not only put up with his many quirks but actually liked him for them. He felt that he owed her something, even if it was just false empathy. It was his sort of screwed-up version of morality. "Of course, it's not pathetic. Fish are cool. Everyone needs something, right?" At least that part was true.

"I know you're into the fish and whatever, but considering we both happen to be here already, wanna just hang out?" Johnny had momentarily shrugged off his clumsy awkwardness for a moment. He was very good at that. Especially around the people around whom he was comfortable, and Ella just had that way about he. Unfortunately, it surely wouldn't be long before he'd just get right back into trouble. Just as he had a penchant for stepping out of trouble, he'd had one for getting into it in the first place.

Nonetheless, he wasn't going to let that get to him. If he did, the boy would've never stepped foot outside of his dormitory room. "We could just hang around here or go somewhere else. Seattle's a pretty big town, so, you know, we have a lot of choices." He really hadn't had much planned for his afternoon aside from just avoiding doing anything remotely academic.

[ella clemintine torres .]

s t a y here w i t h you

Ella snorted slightly. She did not believe for a moment that Johnny knew what it was like to feel stressed or anxious. She’d never seen him take anything seriously a day in his life. Well, at least in all the time she’d known him he hadn’t. Even in exam times, he seemed to breeze through un-phased while everyone around him stressed out. It was something she both hated, yet admired in the boy. His ability not to freak out. Ella wished she could be a little more easy going sometimes. Instead of the slightly neurotic stress head she was.

Giving his stomach a playful poke, the brunette smiled. “Oh really? And what exactly is in your life that’s so crazy?” She raised a teasing eyebrow. Of course, it was merely playful jibes. She was actually rather thankful for Johnny’s sympathy, no matter how faux it was. She shook her head, laughing. “You’re a sweet guy Johnny.” She assured the boy, in case he was at all upset by her teasing. “I appreciate the sentiment.” She issued him with a smile, before turning to look at the fish once more. “You’re right though, life does get crazy sometimes.”

Ella felt a smirk tug on her lips. I know you're into the fish and whatever She knew what he meant by that comment, that she liked the aquarium and wasn’t just there because she was bored, but Ella couldn’t help herself. It sounded a little dirty. Maybe she’d been hanging out with Charlie too much? Her mind was slowly being eroded of purity by that boy and his sexual innuendoes. However, she wasn’t going to let on to Johnny the way in which her mind was twisting his statement. It was really better left unsaid.

Instead, she offered the boy a warm grin. “I’d love to hang out with you. I’ve had enough of the fish anyway.” Ella stepped away from the glass, glancing around to work out which way they needed to go to get to the exit. “Actually, I’m sort of hungry. Want to go get some take out then sit and have a picnic in the park? It’s such a nice cool day today, and we may as well make use of it before winter really hits.” She paused, then smirked as she continued. “And if you are a good boy I’ll push you on the swings..”

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