Platonic Groundwork

Another Day For Everyone

             Families buzz in and out of the mall along with many other places to get their holiday shopping done for this upcoming Christmas. Teens stationed at the food court converse at the mall, mainly going over what they plan to do with their families for Christmas. Youngsters of all kinds, whilst on Christmas break, watch and record a skater's rousing performance in the middle of the large complex. Police scour the areas where they're assigned to keep the peace at those posts. Because it's the holiday season, and because the police aren't machines, these brave men and women give happy greetings to the many people scouring the mall. One store in particular takes center stage thanks to the presence of five particular teen heroes looking for gifts for their various friends. Ashley and Asori, having a team search for some Linkin Park t-shirts Nathan and Nevin love, start chatting in order to pass the time.
           "So, any luck on Nevin's t-shirt?" Asori questions while scouring the shirt section on the right of her. From what his police mom told them, Nevin really wants a large sized Linkin Park t-shirt with the picture of its One More Light album picture on the tee. Ashley wants to make this her personal gift for Nevin to welcome him back from his comatose state. And, possibly a smack to his neck for being stupid.
            "Not yet. But, I'm getting there. You?" Asori just finds what she's looking for when Ashley inquires about her search, the Hybrid Theory shirt looking exactly like how Nathan wants it.
           "I've got Nathan's. Ohh, here's Nevin's shirt." Asori says after she finds the shirt. Ashley, feeling a bit playful, takes the shirt from her new girlfriend's hand whilst kissing her smooth lips.
           "I always knew you had good eyes" Asori giggles at that comment because of how accurate that is for her.
           "I helped you, by the way" Asori says while she wraps her arms around Ashley. Doing the same with her arms around Asori's mid back, the new couple began a make out session right in the middle of shopping. A few parents shut their kids' eyes in order for their minds to be pure. That, and also to prevent them from being rude by staring at the young girlfriends. Out of the blue, their things were gone in a lighting flash. Both girls were clearly shocked by Aubrey's theft.
         "What? You guys were busy" Aubrey smiles in a sly manner due to her enjoyment of her teammates' teasing. She placed the gifts in her bag that also contained her gift for Sam. The red haired and black haired girls' faces grew red, their faces as bright as tomatoes. Ashley and Asori shake this off, and then go off to continue shopping for their loved ones. Jayden works on his shopping, finding gifts for Jen and Alex respectively. The search goes on in a very smooth, calculated manner, uninterrupted by the hustle and bustle environment he currently inhabits. Taking a look at the action figures for the Screech Creeps series, the Alta Heroes' leader locked his eyes onto one figure in particular.
         "Well, hello beautiful" The blue hooded boy began to caress the magnificent object related to one of Jen's favorite books, that being Deserted Death. Teresa Thomas is just perfect in this representation of her: this being evidenced by her icy blue eyes, navy blue blouse and skirt, black steel bata shoes, and especially her wonderful curves. Jayden can't lie. It's a very, very wonderful figure. Well crafted, accurate as hell, and a perfect gift for Jen. He can't imagine how crazy she'll go when she gets it.
          "Yo, loverboy!" Jayden looks back at Shadow Bird with a look of slight annoyance and boredom.
          "Yeah, SB?" Jayden asked casually.
          "I see Jen's the lucky girl, right?" Shadow Bird boldly asked, his arms crossed in a casual manner.
         "Yeah. And, no. It's cause we're friends. Hell, you're getting something for Gloom, ya know" Jayden remarked, a smile becoming plastered on her face.
        "Yeah. After all, he'll love this poem book I'm getting him." Shadow Bird's gift for his gloomy opposite is just perfect for him. The dark cover art, the morbid title, its blood red pages, and the fact that it's done by many dark authors is enough to ignite Gloom's imagination. Jayden couldn't help but agree through his head nodding in approval. Sadly, the frown replaces the smile on his face when Shadow Bird begins his arrogant dialogue.
       "Dude, you totally like her."
       "Yes. Your point?" Jayden asked as they walked towards their fellow team members.
      "Who knows, maybe she likes you too?" Shadow Bird raises his eyebrows in a provocative suggestive manner. This, of course, makes Jayden even more annoyed at this light hearted accusation. He puts it aside because of the fact he wants to prove Shadow Bird's wrong about the supposed romantic feelings he and Jen may have for each other.
       "You having luck finding that gift for Brad, hothead?" Ashley turns her head to Shadow Bird, the red head nodding her head along with showcasing the gift in her hand.
       "You got him a gift too?" Shadow Bird shows off his gift to tell her he completed this task. The team soon find themselves having settled on their couch at home.
        "Ok, lets go over who we got gifts for so far" Asori has her checklist out which had the names of their closest friends.
        "We've each gotten Sam a gift along with Dr. Mackinder'' Their names are crossed off when focusing on Asori's notepad.
       "Don't forget Nevin, Asori" Aubrey and Ashley show his gifts that the team bought him.
      "Ok, that's good. Now, we just need to find gifts from Dennis, Alex, and Nathan" The purple robed girl explained after she crosses off Dr. Mackinder from the list.
      "Don't forget Vincent" The teams' eyebrows are raised a bit at Jayden mentioning the man. Although they've had a rocky history as of right now, he's not another one of their enemies.
      "What do you think he'd like? Coffee mugs?" Ashley remarked, earning the snickers and giggles of team Alta.
      "Ohh, I got it. Suspenders for the old fart. I mean, he's like, what, fifty-five?" The team nearly erupts into laughter at Aubrey's jokes. It's true. Commissioner Lovecraft is an old man at this point. Though, they wouldn't say that to his face as he's probably sensitive about his age.
      "Yeah, but, when we get him anything for his age, let's just say he's thirty!" Shadow Bird remarked, leaving the team to continue laughing their asses off. Asori couldn't help but laugh a bit harder than the rest of the group. This is basically vengeance on him for nearly becoming another problem they need to tackle. Meanwhile, Commissioner Lovecraft sat in the office typing reports and all. It goes on uninterrupted, well thought, and calculated. That is how he does his job. His stern eyes soon catch wind of the many families and friends walking the city streets. A smile of pure, genuine joy makes its way onto his hardened exterior. If everyone's happy and safe, then he's done his job. The man, knowing this was a good time, left his office as he's now on his lunch break, wanting to get out of the claustrophobic office's been in for an entire two hours. Walking out and about in the city, his eyes catch wind of a familiar sight. The kids who're now the stars of Fic-City fill him with various feelings: fear, frustration, pride, and joy. He begins to wonder what they're up to. But, it didn't take him long to think about them probably gift shopping for each other and their friends. A sad thought soon comes into his mind. They'd never really had a good Christmas, so that's why they're really out and about this year. They're also probably trying to do as much good as possible this year for other people's sake. Vincent's mind soon goes into many more places regarding the team. Where did they first meet? What motivated them the most to become heroes? And, most importantly; why are they so close with each other? Deciding to keep walking, Vincent still thinks more about the team even though he's on the go. But, one big question comes into his mind; how can he better understand these kids?