2019-09-25 - Sk8tr Punks

IT is hard to pinpoint the exact point in the timeline when Madison's life went off the rails and she became this walking bag of cats. Many people in town have already stopped trying to figure her out, and just slooooowly walk away when she appears somewhere, not wanting to deal with the spillage over crazy that always drags people into the most random situations.

Cameron doesn't have that privilege, so when the two of them appear by the skating area, it is very obvious the skinny most-often-goth is dressed for a dance off of some sort. Her usually covered legs are mostly bare, a pair of converse all-star shoes (with custom sharpies all over them) gracing her feet and a pair of short, frayed shorts hugging her hips. Chains hang from her waistline and go into her pockets, and her long, sleeveless Black Sabbath shirt shows off her ribcage and bra.

Yes, of course she is wearing a cap. It has some skelletal dragon on it. She may be dressed like she wants to be part of some 90's movie, but there is enough there to out the skinny pale girl as a goth in her soul. In both her hands she has the handle to a boombox.

"Okay, okay. Oh fuck. Oh fuck. Jesus, save me. I convert." She falls on her knees after letting the stereo system on the ground, the act of carrying it here destroying her arms for at least a whole week. Sweating, she promptly falls on her back.

"I can't go on, Cam. I can't. Rem-remember me when you get the gold, Tony Hawk. Remember me as I was... in life..." She actually stays on the ground, breathing hard. She adds, "One of us needs to get buff like... real fast... god damn... Oh god, are those vultures? Already?" She sky is clear. What isn't clear is whether or not she is hallucinating.

Cameron Cambridge does not just have the option of running away when one sees a wild Madison approach over the horizon. She doesn't get to escape the odd-ass lectures and weird adventures one gets to experience in the goth's presence. She can't flee when the Overlord of the Amulet is talking far too loudly about things that should never be discussed in public. At all. Such is her fate.

She knows she deserves it. She was an asshole in a past life, and now this is her pennance. Madison is her cross to bear. ...If she believed in that Christian mumbo jumbo.

"I told you to get the dolly with the wheels!" Cam says with a huff, turning around with a roll of her eyes towards the dark-haired psycho she rolls around with. There is a gym bag slung over her arm and a skateboard tucked under the other. Her own cap has the bill turned upwards, her body wrapped in a spandex sports bra and matching yoga pants, all back. A long-sleeved flannel shirt is tied about her waist, white sneakers on her feet. She wears no jewelry or makeup, because she came her to skate, and even in this Autumn chill, she expects to work up a sweat.

While Madison changes religions and stares up at her approaching doom in the sky, the Wiccan trudges back to stand over her, looking as if she is both disappointed and questioning her life's choices. "I told you not to bring it. You want to bulk up? I'll make you a protein shake every morning and kiss your cheek on the way to the gym. Next time just bring your phone and listen to music on that."

Cameron unslings her gym bag, dropping it on the goth's narrow stomach. It's light. It holds a change of clothes, her wallet, a few joints and some pills. She tosses her skateboard at her next. With a grunt, she crouches down, wrapping slender fingers around the handle of the thing, and puuuuulls it up, muttering an oath to the Norse gods to give her strength. Wobbling, skinny stick arms straining, she manages to penguin-walk it towards the half-pipe, before letting it hit the ground with an explosive sigh of relief.

"This is dumb, anyway. I don't even remember how to do this!"

Perhaps he caught some really fucking crazy air on his last pass up the half pipe. Or perhaps, as impractical as it seems, he came from out of the air itself. However you want to explain it to yourself, the sudden blurry, messy streak rocketing down one side of the half pipe makes a hellacious noise, the skateboard beneath the suddenly-appearing rider humming loudly in protest as its wheels grind along the pipe's surface. At the other end of the pipe, the rider stalls his board and comes to a stop on the narrow ledge above the steep drop, and at this more leisurely speed the vaguely sloppy not-quite-ginger swathed in an overlarge knit hoodie is much easier to identify as a Greg. He looks around as though surprised to find himself not alone here; it is the middle of the night, after all. He manages a lame wave nonetheless, and even musters an endlessly communicative "Sup?"

"ARGH! What are you carrying in that bag, Pablo Escobar's HIDDEN STASH?! You are crushing my organs!" Legs and arms flail from underneath Cameron's gym bag as if the goth has no ability to feel pathetic.

"AAAAH! HELP! HELP! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

She really screams too, at least until Cameron picks up the skateboard and starts praying. That is some sexy 13th Warrior shit, and Madison even stops screaming over it, so she can go full on Antonio Banderas for it.

Only when it is done is that Madison quickly stands up and runs towards Cameron. "No! Nonono! This is no a stupid idea! THis is like the BEST idea! LOOK! Look! Look. Look at me." Madison places her hands on the other woman's hips, getting the pretty skater to sway those hips a little.

"You always loved doing it. Now we need to get you back on track, okay? Remember when I used to hate watching you skate under the sun and how all the girls flirted with you? Haha! Yeah, I picked fights with them all the time, and the tall ones beat me up once." She is frowning now.

"Didn't you date one of my bullies once? Oh. GODS, I fucking hated skating! What are we doing here! This was terrible! Give me this! GIVE ME!"

Just as Madison is about to get the skate, in comes FLYING SKATE BOY zooming overhead in slow mo. "What in the ass is this!?" She stares at Greg, eyes the boy, and then back at Cameron, to whom she gives the skate back, forgetting all about her previous Michael Scottian moment.

"He be fronting you, babe. Come on. Now you need to do this, or you might regret it for the rest of your life, kid." Madison leans in to kiss Cameron's lips briefly, holding her face, "You go there and kick ass, Tony Hawk. You hear me?" And finally she turns at Greg. "HEY! Mind going against her? We were looking for a destined challenged, seems like you could be it!"

Cameron has left a screaming Madison in her wake. Of course she has. What else is she supposed to do? Pretend she knows the lunatic who is creaming in the middle of the skate park behind the weed shop? Even thirteen year olds would be embarassed!

But the goth knows her weakness. Moving her hips. Dancing. It is in her blood. Whether around a fire or at the Platinum Cabaret, dancing is the food that nourshes her soul and allows her to commune with the spirits that grant her the power to perform witchcraft. So this is so fucking not fair, and Cam's expression shows it in how she sets her jaw and looks away.

But she still sways her hips along, side to side to side.

As story time winds down, the skinny brunette raises her eyebrows, yanking her skateboard back and protecting it by hugging it to her chest when Madison has already changed her mind. "Heeeeeeell no! We lugged your heavy ass radio all the way, now it's gonna be for a reason!" She points angrily at the boom box. Somehow, her companion not wanting her to skate, makes her suddenly want to do it.

Suddenly there is Marty McFly on his hoverboard. Cam misses part of the performance by virue of protecting her suddenly-prized board from an irate and bipolar goth, but after reluctantly puckering her lips into Maddie's, she turns her head towards the noise of the impressive performance.

"Shit." The Wiccan makes a face and glances from Greg, to the pipe, then back again. "Are you a warlock? Warlock of the Skatepark?" She turns her head to cast a LOOK towards the goth. "Ignore Mads here. She hit her head something fierce." Then turns back to Greg. "I'm just here to practice. Haven't done this in a loooooooooooo-hooooooo-hooooooong time."

The brunette holds out a hand. "I'm Cameron."

"Me either," Greg tells Cameron with a smirk. A playful smirk, that, one that laughs and challenges, without condescension. He plays off the moment, sitting on the edge of the pipe and thumping the plywood with the heel of his foot, looking between the two women. "I'm Greg. I own the place. I, uh... I didn't realize anyone was back here skating tonight." He rubs at the back of his neck, a little sheepishly, then reaches out to shake Cameron's hand firmly. "Nice to meet you, Cameron and friend." He flashes his very best disarming dimple, glancing towards the sky from whence he came. One can almost hear the wheels in his head grinding as they work towards an acceptable explanation. "You girls ever heard of parkourboarding? It's like, uh... part skateboarding, part parkour..." He trails off lamely.

Madison cocks her hip to the side, and promptly showcases Cameron like the goth-in-disguise is some booth babe standing by a porsche. "Nah-ah-ah! No selling yourself short. This is CAMERON, and she is one of our town's god damn jewels of skating. I dare say, royalty on wheels! She is just being modest, I guarantee you. Maybe, MAYBE a little rusty, but let me assure you, she is the REAL DEAL, tee em!"

She approaches Greg then, taking Greg's hand to shake like she is trying to sell him on something. "My pleasure o' good sir! My name is in fact Friend. Friend Holloway! Nice to meetcha! I came here to watch her train, get some practice in, you know? Girlfriend stuff. Not to brag, but... I am pretty fucking good at this thing."

Is she nailbuffing. She is. She really is. And although that may be a little theatrical, something in the way she grins... yeah. Madison totally believes there is a rank somewhere. There must be! What would be the point if not!?

"You had some sick moves, by the way. I think I like parkourboarding! Tell you what, I will give you some weed if you can show us some of them! I want my Tony Hawk here to learn from the best sifus." She gives a shaolin bow towards Greg, and sauntering over to Cameron to huuuuug her from behind, kissing the other woman's cheek.

"Do NOT get hurt, okay? You have a boombox to carry home. My arms hurt!" She leans in to bite Cameron's biceps and step back. "GOooooooo CAM!" The cheerleady jump goes with the cheer!

Much as one would expect from a skinny, tall, willow stick like Cameron, her handshake is soft and limp, no grip or wrist action to speak of. Still, she manages to offer a small smile of greeting, even if it's tempered by the way she keeps giving her companion to the side of her You Better BEHAVE eyes.

"Um. No." She has not heard of parkourboarding. "But it sounds like something most people would die while doing." The brunette holds her skateboard horizontally in front of her, one arm around it, hugging it to her hips while she gesture around at the mini-park. "I didn't want to come out during the day and get my laughed on my ass by a bunch of teenagers. And since we heard it was always open and we're up most nights anyway..." Both slim shoulders lift in a shrug.

Then Madison happens.

As the showman goes on with the show, Cameron just kind of ducks her head, letting the bill of her ballcap hide her face while she pinchs the bridge of her nose and tries not to sigh too loudly. She's STILL pinching and focusing on not making eye contact with Greg by the time the goth returns to her, sliding arms around her waist and giving her supportive smooches to the side of the face.

'Tony Hawk' gives Madison a pat on the back of her hand and disengages, pushing her skateboard up on top of the halfpipe next to Greg. "The boombox stays here. It is part of the Skate Park now, and it's spirit is at home and at peace. It can not be moved without upsetting it." Is she serious? Only in the part about 'the boombox stays here'. That is not getting carried again!

"Can you...?" Cameron holds out a hand to see if Greg will find it within himself to have gentlemanly instincts to help her climb up next to him. If not, she will grunt and huff her skinny ass up there on her own! Either way, once she's sitting up there, next to the male, holding her skateboard across her lap, she looks down.

"It's, ah... it's higher than I remember. Mads, did you bring the Neosporin?"

Greg looks perplexed for a moment. "Well, good Friend, I'm not sure it's something that can be like... taught." His tone and mien are baldly evasive, but he gives Friend's hand a shake, then turns by instinct more than anything to offer a hand up to Cameron. "Anyway, I'm glad to have some company out here... it's just me, a lot." He shrugs, gesturing towards the store. "You'd think that given a supply of weed and some ramps, it wouldn't be so hard to have a crew out here riding day and night. But maybe people don't know it's here yet." He pauses here to squint suspiciously at each woman in turn. "You're not fuckin' cops, right? No fuckin' cops." His nostrils flare, as though searching for that porcine odor.

"Of course I brought the Neosp- Wait! You don't NEED the Neosporin! You are going to take your broken bones and you'll like it!" Sometimes you just got to teach a skater gurl that getting fucked up is part of the job! God damn it!

As the two of them skate, Madison saunters like Red Riding Hood on crack towards the boombox, crouching by it and patting it. "She didn't mean it. We are taking you back home, baby. She can't keep us appart." Madison hugs her boombox, and pushes play.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhIFNc0fJSU

One would think that just crippling a classic would be enough to give some background for the two of them, but like the very best borderline spectrum loners, she can have an infinite amount of fun by herself.

Soon enough, there is a faux-goth in skater ho clothes shuffle dancing in the background to an invisible crowd, those skinny legs entwinning and kicking and moving her all over the place. It is really good stuff, too bad it is lost to our heroes, focused on the Way of the Board as they are.

Kind of like Will Smith help an alien give birth in MiB. Way back there, where the camera is unfocused.

With a hand up, Cameron settles in much easier than having to pull herself up on her own. Girl's arms do NOT look like they could do a pull-up. "Maybe if you had, like, a sign? Out front that lit up? That might help people find it?" With each inflection that makes her suggestions sound like questions, Cameron raises a hand, palm-upwards, a little higher, then a little higher again.

"Yes, we are the police. The new Skate Patrol. City just started it up. We chase criminals by lugging up heavy as crap boom- Dude, where am I going to hide a gun?" The brunette unravels the flannel shirt from around her waist and tosses it down to Madison, the thing fluttering slowly and erraticly towards her.

The Wiccan stands up, tugging at her skin-tight yoga pants as she bends down to set the board on the edge of the cliff- er, halfpipe. It looks like a cliff to her, okay? "All right... all right..." The brunette murmurs to herself as she shakes out her hands, clenching her fists a few times, bouncing her knees a bit while trying to psyche herself up. "Don't be a pussy... Don't be a pussy... You used to do this... Don't pussy out..."

The board topples over, racing downwards, flying up the other side and... Cameron isn't on it. She's still standing on the other side with Greg, holding her fists up near her chin, one legged kicked up behind her, making a grimace of fear. "Sorry!" She calls down to Madison. "Sorry. I freaked out." She waves a wrist limply in the direction her board went flying. "Can you go get it?"

...

"Okay... Okay... Stop being a pussy..." Once more, Cam is READY. She is PSYCHED, her foot on the edge of the board now that everything has been reset after that embarassing flop a moment ago. This time, when she tilts forward, she doesn't immediately jump off the board and stay behind. She goes down with it.

Legs bent at the knee, there's a high-pitched squeal from the 'skater gurl' as she goes flying down, then levels out, then goes up on the other side. There's no fancy handplants, no amazing three-sixties, she just kind of tucks her knees up and does a basic one-eighty, going back the way she came. Once again, she is flying up the half-pipe, back to her starting postion.

She tries to catch the board when she lands, stumbling to a knee as she does so, and her wheeled device goes flying off without her, up into the air, clear over the rail end of the halfpipe, and thuds onto the ground. "Sorry. Sorry." She waves a hand limp-wristedly towards where the skateboard has fallen, looking at Madison. "Can you get it?"

Greg's mounting suspicion and alarm are palpable as Cameron says 'Yes,' but quickly evaporates as she goes on. He shrugs, nodding his head. "Yeah... I see your point." Those keeping score at home might note that Greg has ample room for hiding guns in his poncho-like drug rug. And he probably is! Anyway, he cheers and applauds loudly for Cameron as she takes her ride. "That was really good!" he comments with a broad grin. "See, it's just like riding a bike." Still drumming his heels against the pipe, he scoops up his skateboard and starts to inspect the trucks, bushings, and other bits for wear and damage. "I don't think I'll put up a neon sign," he laughs. "I want to stay discrete. I'm trying to do business here, too. Some noise is good, it helps. Too much is just... too much." He shrugs, grinning. "I don't need any attention from the cops."

No attention from the cops? Got it!

Madison is your girl, with her boombox and spastic dancing. Thankfully, as Cameron tries her hand at skating, the woman seems mostly engrossed by the whole spectacle of the thing, not once drawing her eyes away from the pretty skater gurl.

And when Cameron lets the board go without her the first time, Madison stops dancing entirely, staring at the woman with arched brows. Her look says it all. 'You better fucking jump next time.' There is something about Madison that is really supportive, like a girlfriend should be.

And then there is a part of her that looks like she would stab Cameron with a pair of scissors for not skating today. It is really adorbs. Or terrifyins. It really is in the eye of the beholder (or the judge in question).

So whe Cameron does brave the pipe, soon that shrilly 'Oooooooohmiiigooooood' can be heard from affar as the black-haired skinny girl comes rushing towards her friend, climbing the area after getting the board back just to make out with her. "Fuck, you were SO hot, baby! GREG! GREG-O! My buddeh! Thanks so much. You really gave her the confidence to believe!"

Madison grins widely, hugging Cameron close and raking fingernails along her abs. It is totally unclear if she will push the woman down to do a real life rendition of a porn plot, or if she is just being too excited and sincere.

In the end, the second option wins, and she looks at the pipe again, "ANOTHER!" Oh yeah. The pipe rust is getting off TODAY, no day later! All thanks to Sense Greg!

"Yeah," Scoffs the Wiccan witchcraft practitioner. "Riding a bike that'll break your neck." While she waits for Madison to fetch her board like a good little go-go dancing skate bunny, she puts her hand on her slender hips and glances aside at the male inspecting his own device. "Buuuuuut isn't weed, like, legal? As long as you have the license thingy? You look REALLY young to be owning anything."

As Cameron waits for the board to be retrieved, she does her best to look like she's not here against her will and afraid of being knifed with a pair of scissors if she doesn't cooperate. That is just the #WiccaLife, you know? You do what the crazy goth says and there aren't any shankings in your future.

"It's kind of a pretty cool place you got here, though, you know? The way it's all walled in, you could almost imagine its in a city instead of a dinky little town. Just needs..." Side eye. She lowers her voice so the returning goth does not hear. "...better music."

Madison is climbing up, and for a moment a very real fear goes through the pagan practitioner that she is about to get shoved off of the halfpipe. "Okay!" Smooch. "Okay!" Smooch. "Calm!" Smooch. "Down!" Cam manages to tug the board back from Maddie and separate them enough to catch her breath, fingernails raked along her abdomen making her twist and skitter, and daaaaaamned near fall off as she bends in unusal ways to try and escape the fingers.

She is ticklish, okay!?

...

Again she's perched on the edge, just a little bit more sure this time. Cameron tilts forward, beginning the plunge. Her hair is whipping behind her from under that hat, and suddenly the brunette wonders if she should be wearing pads for this. Almost definitely, right? Nobody gonna pay a scraped-up, broken-faced stripper.

But she's already committed. The one-eighty on the end of the first run is pulled off better than the previous one, near flawlessly. Down she goes again, the wheels on her board whining with the stress as she maneuvers a bit to the side so as not to kick anyone in the face. There's actually a pretty bitchin' hand-stand at the end of that, momentary and wobbly as it is, her board briefly over her head before she twists and comes jetting across once again.

The third time she hits the air, Cameron attempts an old trick from long ago, deep in her memory. Kicking her feet to flip the board and around and spin it at the same time, she lightly touches her feet against it to prepare to stick her landing...

...the skateboard isn't there. It went flying off as soon as she tried to flip it.

"FU-"

BLAP

Bare feet hit the wall of the pipe, sending her skidding ass over teakettle down into the ditch between them. On instincts she covers up her face and head with her arms, feeling every inch of skin that smacks, bruises, and/or gets left behind as her elbows, knees, and forearms take the brunt of the action. Her semi-limp for slides to a stop at the bottom.

There's a few blood streaks from her arms over those last few inches, and she doesn't move at first.

"... ... ...Fuck my life."

"Yeah," Greg agrees with a grin. "Weed is legal. Even without the license thingy! But like..." His grin widens, and he pitches his voice lower. "I do trade in bigger and better things than weed, family. If you ever need anything you can't get inside, I'm the dude." His grin slides over to Madison. "Your girl's pretty good," he comments. "I can see why you like watching." There's no element of the pervy in his tone; his admiration seems to be truly for skill at skating alone. As such he shuts up to watch the show when Cameron drops back in, setting aside his board to cheer and applaud through her run -- including the eventual painful conclusion. He's still clapping and grinning as he slides down into the curve of the pipe, offering a hand out to Cameron. "Good run fam. I think you would've had that if you tried it a little later, when you were more limber."

The first time Cameron manages to do her 180 to a tee, Madison whistles loudly. She does it with no regard for how fangirly she sounds, and sincerely thinking that to be just -amazing-. The handstand progresses things, and it ups the ante. When Cameron somehow pulls it off, Madison yells out loud, and she hugs Greg, jumping in place.

"O-OH MY GOD! DID YO USEE THAT!? DID YOu MOTHERFUCKIN' SEE THAT SHIT!? GOD DAMN! OH MY GOD! YOU ARE -BACK- BABY~! Fuck she is so hot right now, Greg. God damn it. She's hotter than marshmallow and icecream right now, Aleister Crowley help me!"

Madison is really losing her composure when Cameron goes for her next trick, and ends up fucked up on the floor. Like a good Adrian archetype, she yells in slow motion, and extends her hand as if to grab Cameron when that twiggy body comes rolling down the pipe in a mess of blood.

In Mad-O-Vision she might as well be looking at the elevator scene from The Shining.

Soon, Madison is getting down there, powersliding closer to Camerin, and this time, and only this time, she doesn't troll or play around. Her Tony Hawk is hurt!

"CAM! CAM! HOW MAY FINGERS AM I SHOWING YOU? HOW -MANY-!? GOD! TAKE ME! TAKE MEEE!" Okay, maybe she plays around a little, before checking on the wounds. She grins down at the skater, "Lets get you home, Tony Hawk. You have more than earned your gold tonight." She smiles widely, and helps the other woman up.

That -does- mean Greg just go a new boombox, since the powerful athlete of the duo is all hurt and cannot carry it anymore.

Lucky Greg.

As the other pair descends down to help her, Cameron rolls over onto her back, one hand on her stomach, the other flopped out to the side. She has some scrapes on her arms, missing skin around her elbows and forearms, and doubtlessly banged-up knees, but other than a bit of bleeding, thankfully nothing seems broken. She stares listlessly up at Greg.

"Do you have a pill that makes booboos feel better? Because I would like my booboos to stop hurting."

One hand slides into Greg's palm, the other into Maddie's, and she lets the duo pull her to her feet with a long grooooooan of discomfort. Her fingers knead at her lower back as the willowy brunette bends over in reverse, trying to stretch out the uncomfortable kinks that happen when one decides to faceplant down the slope of a very unforgiving halfpipe.

"Okay, okay, okay, okay." She's patting the air around Madison to cool the theatrics, before finally gripping the girl by the face and locking eyes with her. Her jaw is set, her brown gaze means business, and she smears a little blood on the goth's cheek. "Just grab my board, babe."

"It was nice to meet you, Greg. We'll be back, I'm sure!" She stays just long enough to exchange some more chit-chat, before needing to get back to her shithole in Huckleberry and put, just, ALL the Neosporin on everything! And bust out her holistic anti-scarring agents so she can work tomorrow night.

She'll just need to wear and outfit with arm sleeves and leggings!

She purposefully says nothing about the abandoned boombox. That is now officially Greg's Problem.