Sunday April 19th 2015

“Jess?”

“…”

“Jessi?”

“Hmm?” Jessica replied drowsily. She was immersed in the bustling sounds of the city all around her. There…an middle aged man was counting change out of his pocket to pay for the hot dog he ordered at the sizzling hot dog stand. And over there…a young couple was eating ice cream while conversing lightly about how his boss was being a ‘jerkwad’ and how her colleague was the entire ‘peanut gallery’ all on his own. And waaaaay over there…to their right…an old man…his gait lopsided and reduced to mere shuffles of ancient ungainly feet. He was slowly and surely making his way towards the nearby park, his walker scuffing the cement sidewalk unevenly as he pushed it resolutely along despite his age. The senior slowed to a stop as a coughing fit hit him and Jessica could hear the pappery rattle of his age-worn lungs. She winced as she could almost hear the cough wrack the frail body, making the thin frame shudder and shake with each cough. Then…a deep sigh and the old man moved on.

The frailty of human existence. That’s what made it beautiful to Jessica. And that’s what she often strove to show.

The beauty within the neglected and the unwanted and the undesirable and the abused.

The beauty in the ugliness that everyone else saw.

“Jessica?” Tiffany prodded once again, her hand tightening around Jessica’s until her knuckles were white.

The younger girl’s tone was patient and not at all urgent. She was used to Jessica spacing out on her, living in her own little world whenever she found something worth ‘seeing’. This was nothing new, and oftentimes, Tiffany would study Jessica quietly as the blonde studied the world around them.

She liked seeing Jessica like this.

Serious. Somber. Profound and multifaceted. Almost like Jessica was seeing the world through compound eyes while everyone else only saw the world through their blind single-lens vision.

“Jessi…” Tiffany whined, shaking their conjoined hands in Jessica’s coat pocket a little.

“Ya-huh?”

“Can you take me out on one of your photo excursions one day? I just…I kinda wanna see how you work you know?”

Jessica frowned slightly. But only slightly. A small, almost undetectable downward curve on the left side of the corner of her lips. “Mmmm…maybe.”

“Is that a yes or a no Jess?” Tiffany pressed. This had been what was bothering her the entire day. It’s actually been sitting on her mind for days now and it was only beginning to froth through.

“Why does everything have to be black and white with you Tiff? I dunno ok? Maybe when the opportunity comes up and it’s not one of my more intense excursions. I don’t know yet. Just take it as it comes ok?” Jessica huffed. She hadn’t meant to sound so harsh and the blonde regretted her words and her tone almost immediately. But Tiffany was hankering at something that had been festering in her mind for as long as she had known the young ballerina, and Jessica was known to react rather defensively as an instinct.

Something Tiffany had experienced and knew well.

She’d be stupid to get angry now. She knew Jessica didn’t really mean it that way and she knew there were aspects of Jessica’s life that she had to tread softly with. Tiffany wasn’t going to risk Jessica pushing her out of her life again. No way. No way in hell.

The raven puffed out her cheeks and blew out the air collected in .

“…Fine.”

Silence.

Jessica was about to try and soothe Tiffany’s miffed feelings when the younger girl spoke up first.

“Let’s have gelato Jessi!” The ballerina said in an honestly bright jovial and bubbly tone, already dragging Jessica down the street like some badly-behaved dog dragging it’s master after having caught scent of a squirrel.

Jessica could only follow helplessly as Tiffany proceeded to rip her arm out of its socket, praying to the gods above she wouldn’t trip over a curb and fall flat on her face.

But of course, being the meticulously caring girl she was, Tiffany never once let Jessica stumble. The younger girl had quickly accustomed herself to Jessica’s needs and had already firmly established ‘their system’ for times such a this, when they were rushing through the city, usually at Tiffany’s behest.

One squeeze on the hand for a curb. Two squeezes for steps and three for a door. Though of course, it helped that Jessica practically knew the city inside out like the back of her own hand. The ‘system’ was just a precaution for if Tiffany was being too excitable and Jessica couldn’t recall the physical layout of the city fast enough to keep up with the younger girl.

It was always like this.

Jessi