✞ starlet ✞

compared to his other gigs, ivy’s was the least jarring. she didn’t wave a gun around or obnoxiously question him about his age or purpose for being there. usually, she didn’t even talk to him. she let him do his job in fortunate peace, all within safe and comfortable luxury.

❝ yeah? ❞ it wasn’t a malicious question, especially since her expression of vulnerability had tapped into a vein of softness. baby strove toward a sense of reassurance, a repayment for her sharing something that deeply personal with him as he echoed her words back to her, ❝ i’m on good medication. ❞

it all came down to who owned his free time; bare fingers flexed on the steering wheel without conscious aim, imagination rendering a tempting image —— that of baby taking a quick ride down a back road. the idea of such a jaunt stemming from the pure thrill of it, not tearing up blacktop in a need to escape being caught by the police, was otherworldly. there was something bittersweet about the remembrance of his last joy ride not ending well. that had been years ago, when he naively thought himself both invincible and untouchable. still, as ill-founded as it might have been to ask, a query ponderously rose.

❝ you like going fast? ❞

❀ @rotfilm liked this for a starter ❀

[txt] hello, darlin’ ivy! I know this may be just a tad weird but! my name is Tallah, a friend of zero and felix’s, and i’d love to meet you!

[txt] i know a very darlin’ coffee shop we could meet at if you are willin’!

his lips parted, and sounding tongue-tied, baby replied, ❝ oh, uh. n-no… ❞ he was caught somewhere between feeling dumb and flustered. ❝ yeah, i mean you have. ❞ admittedly he wasn’t expecting to be called dreamy, or told if he was a figment of her imagination that he wasn’t a bad one. he could tell she was nervous while talking to him but meant it.

his mouth hitched at the corners, in the beginnings of a boyish display.

❝ just not fast, ❞ he belatedly illuminated his point. currently they were sitting tight inside the town car he was driving for her at a light. were he to be on another job, say, rushing a group of violent, trigger-happy criminals from a bank heist, he would have had his foot on the gas and be flooring it through the area. baby loved driving, real driving, the rush and adrenaline that came with being in full control of a vehicle and going at ungodly speeds. with ivy in the back, he used turned signals, made full stops at four-way intersections; he didn’t do anything that could get him into trouble with the cops. he took safety precautions.

❝ do you, uh, normally imagine seeing things? ❞

it was strange, having someone initiate conversation with baby that wasn’t trying to deliberately goad him into having a negative reaction. he had become so adept at not paying any attention to cheap shots tossed or aggressive maneuvers pulled against him from a young age, that after entering the business he did, his guard remained highly raised. it only made sense as a result of the near decade he spent underneath doc’s thumb, baby had become seasoned in the art of maintaining a poker face. music continued to fill one of his ears, but baby was listening. he blinked behind his sunglasses.

❝ you say that? ❞ baby spoke like he was giving her room to convey more, glancing sideways. small talk really wasn’t his strong suit. there was a pause; joe’s encouragement filtered inside his head: keep talking.  ❝ you haven’t really seen me drive. ❞ 

he didn’t say anything, because nothing prepared him for small talk. nothing readied him for an interaction such as this. outside of the business he dealt with, he didn’t talk to people. and well, he could have technically ignored her. he remained tucked behind the wheel, on another job, even though for once he was being addressed as a person — not the escape route he could provide or a speedy getaway driver who could floor it. an earbud dangling, baby was wondering why ivy was speaking to him at all. she didn’t resemble any of the thugs he was forced to work with, but ivy was a pretty girl apart of a glamorous world separate from his own. the traffic light flashed from yellow to red, and inside the interior of the luxury car he was driving, he stated simply, ❝ i am… ❞

the slow and steady tone of his voice trailed off. ❝ oh. ❞ for awhile they sat in stoic, thoughtful silence. full lips parted, and on his end he admitted,  ❝ uh, i don’t know what that means. ❞ he didn’t speak in the language of flowers. music was more baby’s lingo.

           ‘ Oh darling, you look marvelous. Enough to take the breath from any man, ’ He gawks for a moment before speaking again, ‘ But a dress will not win my charms so easy, love, for you have already stolen my heart away from me. It is no longer in my chest, for it is with you. ’