[Deleted]

There was one thing Audrey loved that most people didn't know she did, and that was ice cream. Moreover, her favorite flavor was vanilla-- it was original and friendly, known to everyone everywhere, and thus she could count on it being present wherever she went to eat. In an ever-changing world, it was perhaps the one constant in her life. She had never cared to get any other flavor in her entire life. 

She made sure to stop by an ice cream shop every time she travelled, just so she could get that taste of home. Last time-- which had been the first time-- she went to San Fransisco it was with Jemma, who had dragged her on a month-long Cali road trip right after they both received their diplomas from Northwestern. Per Audrey's request they'd gone to an ice cream shop, and now here she was, back at the place they'd originally visited. If she remembered correctly, the vanilla hadn't tasted too bad (some stores had really bad vanilla). She had looked up the address and walked the couple blocks from her hotel there. 

Pushing the door open with her shoulder, Audrey snubbed out the cigarette she'd lit on her way here, and made her way to the counter, double-checking to see that yes, the vanilla was indeed there, waiting for her smack dab in the middle of the ice box. The scooper handed her the cone, and she threw out a "thanks" that seemed more like a spat than an exchange of gratitude. She felt almost bad for the young boy, who looked startled at her mannerism, and she shrugged apologetically as she handed him the cash. "Keep the change," she tossed back, and there was a pause before she heard the coins being dropped back into the register. 

Audrey carelessly pulled out a chair from the only open table, the legs scraping noisily against the tiled floor. She plopped down, gazing with disinterest out the window at the people walking around nearby. They most travelled in pairs, or groups, but there was the occasional lone jogger or biker or sightseer with a camera. A girl approached the window to take a selfie next to the shop sign, and Audrey looked away. Ugh. Her face better not end up on Instagram anywhere today. 

Words: 385
Tags: OPEN

[Alice Morrow]

Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? + Ashley McKenna-Chase + @audrey + wearing

Alice had been nearly heartbroken when she'd found out that her go-to ice cream place was going to be closing for refurbishments. She hadn't even felt this bad the last time she'd been broken up with. Boyfriends were for a few months but ice cream, or more accurately, frozen Greek yoghurt, was for life. Still, she probably had herself to blame for that, she unashamedly promoted the small business whenever she had the chance. Apparently business had been so good that the owner had decided it was time to do that refit he'd been thinking about for the last decade. This place had been recommended to her, and so she'd strapped on the only accessory she 100% required for times like this and head out. Said accessory was hanging off her arm as she walked down the street. "So I know this isn't the usual place but I have heard that this is really great ice cream, no one could do frozen Greek yoghurt the same." She dramatically put a hand to her forehead and laughed. At this point it should probably be cleared up that Alice's accessory was in fact her flat mate, who probably would have been offended at the suggestion. Even if she was the right size. She was mildly surprised that the topic of conversation hadn't quite come round to Nate again. After all, that had been a favourite one of Ashley's since Alice had returned from New York, and secretly her favourite as well. They entered the place, and Alice immediately stopped talking in order to inspect the ice cream behind the plate glass. It seemed that they had some more exotic flavours here than most ice cream shops, and so she went for a dragon fruit and mango construction. Once Ashley had made her order they paid and looked around for somewhere to sit down. There was only one spot with two seats available together, opposite a dark haired girl who was currently occupied pulling a face at a selfie taking girl. "Hey, do you mind if we join you?"

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[Ashley McKenna-Chase]

a taste of home

Of course Ashley was down to test new ice cream places. Ashley was always down to test just about any food establishment that Alice suggested because, inevitably, it was always a heavenly culinary experience. Plus, it had been a busy few weeks, and Ashley was grateful for the little time she had back here in San Francisco before she flew out again for more McKenna Chase shows. If it was time spent consuming ice cream, then it was time well spent.

Ashley and Alice normally frequented the frozen Greek yoghurt place that they’d visited together the first day they’d met, but, heart-breakingly, it was closed for refurbishment until further notice. It had been particularly hard on Alice, who’s very heart belonged to that little shop, but luckily she’d pulled herself together and found them an alternative.

“Man, I don’t even know what to order if it’s not my usual,” Ashley said woefully, linking onto Alice’s arm as they walked. “Is that sad? It’s pretty sad.”

Alice decided to go down a more adventurous route, but Ashley’s heart was instantly won by the delicious-looking batch of strawberry ice cream. It looked like it had real fruit in it, but Ashley couldn’t really pretend to care – so long as it was sweet and juicy.

She let Alice lead the way as they searched for seats, occupying herself with the first taste of her ice cream. Oh, it was so delicious and- oops.

Alice had come to a halt at an occupied table which was apparently the only place in the shop where the two of them could sit next to each other. The sudden stop was missed by Ashley, too absorbed by that gorgeous first lick of strawberry ice cream, and she’d realised just a little too late. She managed to stop herself from marching straight past, but at a cost. The tip of her nose pressed against the top of her ice cream, leaving a small pink circle that was very, very cold.

Great first impression to their table companion.

She waved, looking embarrassed, before proceeding to wipe the ice cream from her nose. “I am such a klutz, honestly. I’m Ashley, by the way.” Might as well throw in her introduction alongside. “Nice to meet you!” (Ice cream accidents aside).

@audrey Alice Morrow

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[Deleted]

She was picking at the ice cream idly with her spoon now, folding the bottom parts over the top, making it melt just slightly. Audrey liked it that way; when it was fresh out of the ice box it tended to be all frozen and clunky and she could only pick up chunks, like mining from a large chunk of rock. Now it was smoother and the spoon scooped up a generous dollop with ease, and she leaned forward to pop it into her mouth, the creamy treat melting into her mouth and washing away the bitter taste of nicotine from the cigarette. 

Audrey had turned away from the selfie-taking girl, a light scowl in her face as her ice cream once again drew her attention. The dark brunette had her mouth halfway open to eat another bite when a voice floated over, evidently asking her to take the opposite chairs. 

She paused in mid-bite and tiled her head to glance upwards, raising a brow as she saw a blue-haired girl holding some kind of fruit concotion, with a second trailing behind her, her nose already dabbled pink by her strawberry ice cream. She nodded, eyeing them with what appeared to be utter disinterest, and gestured with her free hand to the chair that the blue-haired girl had her hand on. "Be my guest," she said, and proceeded to finish what she was doing, and bit the tip off of her own scoop. "Please, sit." 

It turned out, however, that the other girl was the first to give an introduction, moving forward and giving her name as Ashley, and that it was nice to meet her. Audrey peered up at her through her lashes, bobbing her head politely. "Likewise, I suppose," she returned. A pause, and then-- "I'm Audrey. And enjoying your ice cream is not being a 'klutz'," she added, smiling for the first time today, though it was a small one. There was a motion outside, and it so happened that the selfie-girl had tripped over a grate, too busy talking into her phone. Audrey licked her ice cream to hide her laugh and pointed out the window to the fallen girl. "Now that is a true klutz." 

Words: 370
Tags: Alice Morrow , Ashley McKenna-Chase  

[Alice Morrow]

Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? + Ashley McKenna-Chase + @audrey + wearing

Fortunately the current occupant of the table seemed happy enough for them to sit there. Although happy might have been too strong a word to describe her curt responses. Alice pulled the chair out to sit, Ashley joining her shortly afterwards. She turned to look at Ashley at her comment, only to stifle laughter when she saw the nearly perfect circle of pink on Ashley's nose. She looked like she'd chickened out halfway through a face painting session. "That's a good look." She reached out and wiped off a small spot that Ashley had missed, licking the dab of ice cream from her thumb. She really was confused when people thought that she and Ashley were in a relationship, not realising that it was probably moments like that which were responsible for the confusion. "Alice" Alice introduced herself with a smile, brushing her blue hair back out of her eyes. She turned as the other girl pointed out of the window, seeing that a familiar face had fallen over. The girl taking the selfie had somehow managed to trip, and was now picking herself and her phone up off the ground. She felt concerned for a moment, but it seemed that other than her pride, the girl hadn't hurt much. She turned back to the conversation, shrugging, "I don't know, you'll have to see this one, I still won't let her near the kitchen knives. Knowing her she'd probably drop it and cut her own ear off somehow." Airily she waved a hand, as though such a thing could never happen to her. "Some people just aren't born with the grace that the rest of us have." She couldn't hold back and giggled before her attention refocused on Audry. "So you're not from San Francisco, are you just visiting or have you been here for a while?"

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[Ashley McKenna-Chase]

A Taste of Home

Ashley wriggled back away from Alice’s advancing mum-hand but was unsuccessful. Living together had really erased many boundaries they might have had previously in their friendship, although Ashley considered Alice’s thumb-lick a step too far. She giggled all the same, shaking her head with a bemused smile.

“It’s good, right?” she asked, holding up her ice cream to Alice. “If you found something chewy, I swear it’s not boogers. Real strawberry, look!”

She pulled herself away from the heavily domestic situation, feeling rude, and was relieved to see that the previously scowling, dark-haired girl had both the ability to smile and a sense of humour. Ashley’s own smile grew in response, especially as Audrey dismissed the idea of her being a klutz, and she turned to follow her gaze.

“Oh, that moment definitely won’t be making its way to Instagram,” she commented with a laugh. There was no malice in her tone, although you could be forgiven for thinking that was the case. Ashley had actually had to start thinking more and more about the public view of her own actions and, although she wasn’t heavily into social media, the concepts of maintaining a certain image had definitely started to creep into her thoughts a little.

She smacked at Alice as she heavily exaggerated Ashley’s ineptitude in the kitchen.

“Hey! We both know the reason you don’t let me near the kitchen knives is because you’re terrified I’ll actually offer to cook you dinner.” She cast a playfully dramatic, sorrowful look at Audrey. “Chef roomie struggles.”

Ashley continued to eat her ice cream as she listened to Audrey’s response to Alice’s question. She glanced up occasionally to show she really was very interested in what their new friend had to say, but she was also really enjoying this ice cream.

@audrey Alice Morrow

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[Deleted]

She could tell that the two were good friends, maybe even girlfriends, given their lack of personal space with each other. Audrey continued to eat her frozen treat and observed their interest with an apathetic eye, briefly recalling the nostalgic memories of Jemma. Knowing Audrey Jemma had given the brunette the alone time and elbow room that she had wanted, and she'd been grateful for that. Now she wasn't sure if she could befriend these two, or even be a part of their little troupe, seeing how utterly different they were with their actions. A bit unsure of herself, she turned her head out the window again to see the fallen girl brush herself off and leave. Good for her. 

Audrey tried not to roll her eyes at bubbly Ashley's antics, innocent as they were. Jemma had been equally bright, but she wouldn't be the type to focus only on Audrey. Because of her their social circle had been quite broad, with Jemma as the majorette at the helm, and Audrey unwillingly in the spotlight as well, the cynical and sarcastic one that beat the drum to which everyone else marched to. 

"To answer your question, no, I'm not a west coast resident or native of any sort." she had reached the cone of her ice cream and took a small bite before continuing. "Midwest, I was born in Chicago. Went to Northwestern, and now I'm working as a mechanical engineer at an automotive company. Just here for... business." she was about to say "the Hero party," but refrained herself, just in case neither of these two were metas. Audrey wouldn't mind meeting her fellow comrades, but she disliked the thought of having to talk to two potential fangirls-- especially the brunette, who looked like the kind of person who had some kind of music or daily inspiration blog on Tumblr. Worse, these two turned out to be partners-in-crime and the Ashley girl would turn out to be much sharper than she currently presented herself. After another bite, she followed up with an obligatory, "what about you?" to diverge the attention away from her. 

She cocked her head as she listened to the quip between the duet. "Chef, huh?" she asked, turning her body towards Alice. "Am I going to be tasting a dish of yours anytime soon in some nearby bay restaurant?" Alice was quite young-- at the most, her age, give or take two or three years above and below. Having such an aspiration was admirable. 

Words: 417 
Tags: Alice Morrow , Ashley McKenna-Chase  

[Alice Morrow]

Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? + Ashley McKenna-Chase + @audrey + wearing

Alice didn't even notice the pause in the other girl's speech. Being too excited that she was a newcomer to the city. "Ah that's so cool, I've only actually left San Francisco a couple of times, and only left the state like once. It was to New York which is so cool, but it's kinda the clichéd place to go y'know?" It was clear, both from her explanation, and her accent, that she was San Francisco to the bone. "I'd love to go to Chicago though, it seems like such a fun city, plus it's got some amazing pizzas." She drifted off for a moment, imagining the pizzas that would probably cause her trainer to have a heart attack if she ate one. At least the Hero business kept her in shape. Her training sessions were spread out more now than they had been before the launch of the Program, but that was probably because actually fighting meta-criminals was a far better workout than anything else she'd tried. She ended up pulling muscles she didn't even know she had. She shook her head at the question, "Pfffft, I wish. I work some shifts in a little diner. It's not the kind of place you should go when you're visiting San Francisco. There are so many better places to visit. I can give you a list if you like." This last bit seemed to suddenly perk her up, after all, it wasn't as if her career as a chef would be taking off any time soon. It was hard to get a good job as a cook in a good restaurant, you needed a lot of experience and evidence that you could handle yourself in a proper kitchen. The occasional weekend shift in a cheap diner would not provide her with either of those things but it was all she had time for outside of the Hero Program. "I really want to be a proper chef one day though. A girl can dream. There are only so many dishes I can force down her throat before I get in trouble." She accompanied the comment with a thumb in the general direction of Ashley, before turning the conversation back to Audrey, "Have you been to San Francisco before? Or is this your first time? We could totally show you around. If you haven't got to get back to your… uh… business that is."

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[Ashley McKenna-Chase]

A Taste of Home

Chicago was on McKenna Chase’s list of upcoming shows, but Ashley held back from mentioning that. After all, she was beginning to need the classic celebrity disguise of a cap and large sunglasses more and more. That Audrey didn’t seem to recognise her could only be a good thing, and Ashley wasn’t about to go jogging her memory. She didn’t want to taint Audrey’s impressions of her as a human by making the connection to her as a performer.

Still, she nodded and smiled at Alice’s enthusiasm for Chicago’s reputation for pizza, watching Audrey’s face eagerly to see if the pizza lived up to Alice’s dreams.

“That’s cool!” she said, as Audrey mentioned her profession. “Travelling for work is always a great bonus, huh?”

The vague allusion to her own career tumbled out before she’d really thought about it, but it was just the right amount of vague that it didn’t exactly give anything away. From the brief pause in her speech, maybe Audrey had something to hide herself anyway, which was a little intriguing but absolutely not something Ashley was about to pry into.

She wasn’t sure if the ‘what about you?’ had been directed at the both of them or just Alice, but the conversation seemed to move swiftly onto the topic of Alice’s ambitions as a chef. Ashley was more than happy to discuss such things – she was probably Alice’s number one cheerleader when it came to her cooking skills.

“She’ll definitely be big someday, I bet,” Ashley said proudly, casting a look at Alice at the force-feeding comment. The both of them followed fairly carefully balanced diets at the moment, but Alice knew Ashley was always down to break it if it meant a chance at tasting some of Alice’s new experiments in the kitchen.

“Yeah, it would be no problem at all!” she agreed with a friendly beam. Ashley was always down for exploring her city.

@audrey Alice Morrow

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"Chicago's nice," Audrey said absentmindedly, and by now she was getting to the bottom of her ice cream. She popped the last bite into her mouth and chewed before continuing. "Has its own flavor, see. But then again, hailing from the Windy City itself I'd say that." Indeed, in Chicago there was rarely a boring day. Introverted as she was, there was a kind of intimacy that came with living in such a large, populous city. In a smaller town one would expect to have little privacy, as everyone would've gotten in your business. There was no room for gossip in Chicago. People came and went, some like her stayed. It was ever changing and despite the fact that Audrey herself disliked such violent upheavals, it would've been a big transition for her if there weren't tiny, consistent shifts in her life. 

The brunette shrugged at Alice's somewhat self-deprecating comment. "Gotta start somewhere," she said, folding her arms underneath her chest and leaning forward a bit, somewhat unsure of what to do now that she'd eaten all her ice cream. "I mean, I worked at a tiny bike shop before I got my current job at Google." then, after a beat, with some hesitation she added, "there's plenty of restaurants in Chicago. Maybe apply for a job, or something. I bet there's a ton here in San Francisco, too." 

These people were being so friendly, and she couldn't help but wonder if there was something up their sleeves. Audrey usually wasn't this mistrustful of others, but since joining the Hero program she'd learned to place a little doubt in everything. You never knew who was a metahuman and who wasn't, and who was a Villain. Plus, she'd never been the one to hang out much with others. A couple drinks here and there with coworkers, maybe, because that was where she got all her "friends." Back then it was all Jemma, but now that obviously wasn't possible anymore. 

Might as well keep trying. 

"Um, sure," she said at their offer of a tour. "I'd like one, yeah." 

Words: 346 
Tags: Alice Morrow , Ashley McKenna-Chase  

[Alice Morrow]

Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? + Ashley McKenna-Chase + @audrey + wearing

"Yeah that's true, can't exactly walk into it for free. It's hard just getting experience at the minute though. And it's not like culinary college is something I can look at realistically right now." On her current government salary she would struggle to afford entrance to a really good one. It was enough to live on, but not much else. Most of her income would be in sponsorships, or so Dominic had assured her. He was currently engaged in finalising a number of deals with major companies, and he'd told her that he'd already completed a deal with Under Armour. Apparently their stock had already shot up since they'd announced that her image would be associated with their brand. "Wow. Google? I wish I was clever enough to work for Google. And I'd love to visit Chicago, but I just couldn't leave San Francisco y'know. This is my home, where I grew up. All I know really." Alice was already most of the way through her ice cream. It was good, but it wouldn't be replacing frozen Greek yoghurt in her heart. It would make an acceptable backup for now however. She took another bite, enjoying the freshness of the flavour, even if it wasn't quite as fresh an experience as her normal choice. "OK, so have you visited before? Is there anything you've already seen?"

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[Ashley McKenna-Chase]

A taste of home

“Nothing wrong with a bit of hometown loyalty,” Ashley grinned. After all, her own loyalty was firmly rooted in San Francisco. No matter how much time she spent in LA – or any other city that she stopped in around the country – Ashley could never lose her heart to anywhere else. She could definitely see herself spending time in other places but San Francisco would always be home. There was nothing quite like watching Karl the Fog (as the frequent weather event was affectionately known) consuming San Francisco’s bridges; and there was nowhere else in the world that she could do that.

Ashley nodded sympathetically with Alice. “You’ll get there some day!” She turned to Audrey. “She really is great. And that’s quite the step up, go you! You must be really talented yourself.”

Like Ashley, Alice was also a San Francisco loyalist. Her Hero work also tied her much more closely to the city, whereas Ashley’s job was steadily demanding her to spend less and less time at home. There wasn’t a complete lack of opportunity for Alice to branch out – especially across California – but for the most part her role was to protect her hometown and the surrounding areas from villains. She’d been in New York for Fashion Week, of course, but that was a rarity.

Trust Alice to meet a guy while she was out there, though. Stephen must have been devastated – he could barely tolerate Ashley’s presence and her closeness with Alice was strictly, unquestionably platonic. And, more importantly, trust Alice to meet a guy who also happened to be from San Francisco. Ashley was definitely going to have to meet him soon so she could give him a stamp of approval.

“Well, you know who came from Chicago?” she realised suddenly, nudging Alice. “Fall Out Boy!”

She knew Alice’s music taste inside and out.

It was great to see Audrey accept their offer. She was likely a little overwhelmed by the two of them – Ashley knew they were a high-energy pair at the best of times – so it was a relief to see her accept, even if she did seem to have some reservations. Hopefully now she’d finished her ice cream the sugar would perk her up.

“There’s so much going on here, I bet we can find something fun for you to check out!”

@audrey Alice Morrow

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