Secret Vices [Gabe]

As the metro arrived Athena rushed inside eager to find a seat. Her head was still spinning after attending that nightclub opening, how did people enjoyed that kind of thing? But alas many important people where there and her manager had promised to introduce her to them. The young model now only desired to head home and relax inside a hot bubble bath but first something else was in order.

Athena placed her purse on the empty seat next to her, surprisingly even though it was the last train it was deserted, she took out a book with a custom made fluffy pink cover obscuring it's title and original cover. It was clear that Athena had progressed far and although her expression remained still she felt her heart beating faster as the book's protagonist was about to discover something rather unseemly about her grandmother's village.

Around the first of few stops that this train had to pass, Gabe walked in on one of them. Gabe was dressed a little more casually today, but what was casual for the man might be a little bit over the top for others. Either way, after a long day of work, Gabe found himself to be a little drained himself as he walked onto the train. " Sigh.. " Gabe didn't necessarily dread going to work, but it was like a different mindset that he had to adopt when going in there. He didn't even have a name in there for the other customers, he was only known as "the dealer" . It was kind of hard to switch from one mind to the other, because he had to be on guard, more so when doing things or preventing things. Not an honest living, but a living.

"Hm?" Gabe's eyes would stop wandering as he took a notice to Athena, who happened to be further down in the cart. "Athena, what a coincidence. Heading home as well?" Gabe would then shift his eyes down. "Ahh, what an interesting piece of literature you have in your hand, what's it about? Gabe would say in a curious tone, what would Athena be interested in reading about?

"Ah Gabe! What a coincidence to meet you here." Athena said as her eyes left the book's pages to stare at the slightly older man. "I had to do some PR tonight, I don't usually stay out so late." The girl replied "As for the book well... let's just say it's one of my secret vices." Although Athena knew that Gabe wasn't going to make fun of her she was still a bit reluctant to share the book's story with him. "I'm a big fan of eldritch horror... this book is called "The Deepwater Village", it's about a young reporter who visits her grandmother and... oh pardon me, I shouldn't get this excited, most people are not interested in that kind of stuff." Athena closed her book and placed it back on her purse.

We live across from each other. If it's alright, i'll accompany you to make sure you get home safe. That's what entailed of being a good neighbor, is it not? " Gabe would then nod his head. "Ahh, public relations, a mouth piece for the people thats easy on the eyes. Athena, you have your work cut out for you. Though, Gabe was interested in her book, he actually wanted to sit down and hear more about it. "Thats actually very interesting that you are into those kinds of literature. Believe it or not, i read all the time, especially from one of my all time favorite of authors. " Gabe would then rub his chin. "Who wrote the book? Is that author popular?

For a moment Athena's eyes opened wide, Gabe was the first person to show such interest in her taste in years she was simply delighted. "Oh... well the author isn't particularly popular, not that many who write books for this genre are, her name is Clarice Thomers and she had wrote a couple of books like this one." Athena caressed her purse, she really liked that book.

"You said you also like literature, if I were to judge from your style I would say that you're a fun of mystery novels though I suppose myself serve as a good example that one shouldn't judge a book by it's cover." She leaned closer to him. "So what might it be? I'm curious to find out more about that aspect of your character."

Clarice Thomers? I think i might have to put her in the "to do list, in terms of reading literature that she managed to compose over the years. " Gabe would say with a small smile. "You know, just like you, i also have a author that i admire very much. Ever since i was a kid, all i really had to comfort me in my days of....isolation..was his books....... though...his work as well as his existence was rather omnious. " Gabe would then smile at the guess of his favorite literature . "Close, i like a mixture of thrillers above all else. Something that lightens your life, puts you on the edge of the seat. As a reader, every word, every sentence, paragraph, page chapter, is a journey onto a life that you may never experience on your own. We are, the readers i mean, the observers of such a life, taking in all of these emotions that comes with it.

Gabe trailed off a little, but stopped himself. "Have you heard of the author by the name, Bartholomew Hartley?"

"Bartholomew Hartley?" Athena repeated the author's name in her head trying to recall him but alas nothing came to her mind, she certainly haven't read any of his books. "I might have seen some of his books in a library or a books store but I can't say I'm familiar with him... perhaps you can lend me one of your books once I finish with this one." She pointed at her purse once again "Maybe we'll discover something new about each other through them... although I'm interested to hear how you got into literature, no offense but you don't seem the type to be a bookphile." Not that Athena herself had the appearance of the stereotypical bookworm but she already knew the story behind her vice.

It's not really a book to lend. You'll understand once you read about him. A tragic writer named Bartholomew Hartley. This man wrote a series of ten elongated novels that was highly successful before committing suicide. Rumor has it that it was even worse than "behold a pale horse" and had some sort of mental effects towards people who become engrossed in his literature One of the novels that i enjoyed most of all was called "the devil's greatest trick", which followed gambler that had a continuous game of high stakes in order to get his life back."

Gabe would then smile. "It's rare and hard to get these books, it might even be banned or forbidden to read them. But reading it was basically, my life back then. I was sickly you know? I couldnt do much for a good amount of my childhood until puberty.

"That's an interesting story... I'm surprised I have never heard of him, those kind of creepy stories are of my liking after all." Athena giggled even though she felt slightly uncomfortable talking about a forbidden book, because in their world curses were not involved but if their government had anything to do with the book's ban then discussing about it in public could get them both in serious trouble.

Thankfully for Athena the chance to change the topic arose from Gabe's last sentence. "You were sick when you were little? I'm so sorry to hear that, I had no idea. I was friend with a girl who was extremely frail due to a heart concision so I am aware how hard this can be to a child. You seem rather healthy now though so I guess you manage to beat the illness."

"Ahh..... it was.... a gamble perhaps.... instead of relying on surgery, it was a gamble in the insurance that i would get better all on my own by sticking to the medicine and simply getting older and growing out of it. Some could say it is genetics...others could say i would of never made it if i lost hope. You do know that your health is tied to your mental state, right?" Gabe would say as he pointed at his head. "You think, therefore you are... the belief alone cannot put you through the most practical of situations, but having even a little bit of faith can manage alot of the stress and anxiety that comes with it."

Gabe would then laugh. "It all seems like a long time ago... oh...im sorry to hear about your friend...how is she? Were you two close?

"I'm not sure" Athena replied recalling the memories she had with Akira. "We still talk from time to time though back then I was one of her few friends... I wouldn't be surprised if I was the only friend she saw frequently, she had an amazing talent of turning every conversation morbid but she was fun to be around." She realized that she hadn't chat with Akira for a long time, she had even stopped visiting her perhaps she should to reestablish their connection.

Finally the trained reached Athena's , and presumably Gabe's, destination. "Oh we're home already/ I didn't even realize how quickly the time passe." she wasn't one to develop strong feelings but she felt safe when Gabe was around, she believed that she had grown to like him by seeing so often in the past. "Come you can walk me home and I can tell you more about my books and childhood friends."

OOC:

"I see, thats a pretty good friendship. I never really had anything like that from the sort, so ill be honest "Athena, it's a little envious that you are able to experience something like that. Childhood friendship i mean. Somethings when life gets hard, you would want to be surrounded by your true friends, thats people that you been around for a long period of adolescence into adulthood. Truly beautiful. " Gabe didn't have that, but thats ok.

After they reached their stop , Gabe nodded and took point. "Sure, we do live from across each other after all. It's oly right that i escort you. Come, tell me some stories.

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