Angelo, Paige and puddles

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Before Jono came back to the hotel. Sunday afternoonish.


Paige didn't really consider herself a master tracker. Sure, back at the farm she and Josh had always been the one to go find the dog when he decided to run off, but that meant very little. The dogs just liked her because she was usually the one to feed them. Right now, however, as she stood poised in the middle of the hallway, listening, it didn't feel very much like home. It just felt foolish. That is, until she heard a telltale rustle and threw open one of the maid's closets.

"Why hello there, Angelo," she chirped, trying not to grin too hard at his shocked expression. "I don't think you'll find a rain jacket in there."

Angelo blinked. "Where's Jubilee?" he asked suspiciously, recovering from the surprise fast.

Turning around to look behind her, then emptying out her pockets and pulling at her shirt a little to look down it Paige shrugged. "Not here it seems."

Angelo nodded, stepping out of the cupboard and glancing up and down the corridor, just in case. "Okay. Girl's insane, I swear."

"What do you mean by that?" she asked, tilting her head. "If you're talking about the jacket, I'm rather fond of it myself."

"Not the jacket, whatever Marie-Ange says about it", he said lightly. "I was talkin' about her insistence on goin' out in the rain."

Eyes lighting up, Paige let forth a devilish little grin. "Oh! What a fantastic idea!"

Angelo's eyes widened, and he glanced around for an escape route. "Oh, not you too. What is this thing you all have about the rain?"

"I figure it's one of those grand English experiences, getting soaking wet." Paige spread her arms out, blocking his way. "Come on. You can't really tell me you don't enjoy jumping in puddles."

Angelo laughed. "Can't say it's something I've experienced much. SoCal, remember?"

Paige rolled her eyes at him. "Where you lived can't be your excuse for everything, dear. It rains everywhere at some point."

Angelo pulled a face at her. "Yes, an' I didn't like goin' out in it then, either."

"The amount of people who missed out on a childhood at the mansion is staggering," she answered to that, taking his hand. "Come now. We're going to rectify this."

Angelo groaned in protest, but didn't try to pull his hand away from hers, even as she started tugging him towards the end of the corridor. "Do I have to?"

"Yep!" Paige replied happily, practically skipping down the hall.

Angelo followed, somewhat less enthusiastically. "You're goin' to owe me for this", he muttered.

Paige flung open the door, waving to the lobby clerk as if they were old friends as she made her way through. "I was thinking quite the opposite, myself."

Angelo raised an eyebrow as she dragged him across the lobby. "We'll see."

Pausing in front of the large glass doors that lead outside Paige grinned at him. "Come on. I'm wearing a long sleeved t-shirt here; either way you win." She pushed and let herself outside, releasing his hand as she did so.

Angelo looked out at the rain, considered turning round and running back to his room for a moment, then looked back at her, sighed, and followed her outside. "Okay."

Paige laughed, tilting her head up to the sky and blinking away raindrops. She spun around playfully and ran her tongue over her lips, catching the rain there. "Mm... smokey water. Yum." Looking over at him, Paige grinned. "See? Not so bad."

Angelo smiled to see her so happy. "It's cold out here", he complained lightly, shivering for effect. "But, okay, not so bad."

"It's not my fault if you're a wimp, puppy," Paige called over, dashing down the walk to jump in a puddle.

Angelo growled teasingly and gave chase. "I'm a what? You're so payin' for that."

Paige ran around one of the small trees that attempted to give the busy city a more natural feel, peeking around at him. "A wimp."

Angelo stalked her around the tree, slowly. "I am not."

"Says you who is whining about a little rain." Paige circled away from him, keeping some distance.

Angelo glanced up at the sky, still following her. "You call this a little?"

Shielding her eyes with a hand, Paige mock searched for something. "Well, I don't see any floods or mud slides or anything like that, so yes. Just a little rain."

Angelo noted her distraction and acted on it in the instant, dashing forward to catch her.

Paige yelped as his arms went around her, pinning her own arms to her sides. She squirmed and thrashed, sending droplets in a fan around her. "You heathen! Unhand me! Unhand me at once!"

Angelo chuckled, not letting go even as the water splattered him. "Heathen, is it? Well, I s'pose that's better than "wimp". His arms slid more firmly around her.

"Actually, if we're being totally correct, you're a wimpy heathen. So there," Paige retorted, allowing herself to actually put some effort into her escape attempt as he gripped her tighter.

Angelo realised she was struggling in earnest, though he didn't understand why, and relaxed his grip a little, taking a half-step back. "Whatever you say."

Paige took a moment to figure that out before standing up on tiptoe to kiss his nose. "That's right. Whatever I say."

Angelo looked down at her. "An' what do you say, other than that I'm a wimpy heathen?"

"You need a good puddle." With that, Paige gave him a shove that sent him tumbling a bit and collapsed herself, bringing him down with her.

Angelo bit back a yelp of surprise, somehow managing to arrange himself so as to break Paige's fall, in the few seconds he had to do so. He glared at her jokingly. "What was that for?"

Paige gave him a look as if he'd asked the most obvious question in the world. "You needed a good puddle." There was a 'duh' behind that that went unsaid.

Angelo laughed, his arms sliding around her again so she couldn't stand up until he did. "So you... pushed me over. Okay..."

"What else could I of done? You certainly weren't going to jump in willingly." Paige splashed water with her hands, grinning.

Angelo splashed the puddle right back at her with a chuckle. "No, I wasn't. Was it that important for you to get my clothes wet?"

Paige ran her eyes along him and smiled innocently. "Yes."

Angelo raised an eyebrow, not missing the look. "Is that so?" He leaned up on one elbow, keeping the other arm around her. "An' why would that be?"

Rolling her eyes, Paige sighed at him. "Because you needed a good puddle."

Angelo chuckled. "Yes, so you keep sayin'. Why?"

"You've never had one before." Her voice had taken on a permanent obvious tone, but there was a light behind her eyes.

Angelo grinned. "Fair enough. I'm gettin' a lot of things since I arrived at the mansion that I never had before."

Paige pushed her soaking hair back, the tail of it smacking Angelo. She could sense the other people on the street staring at the two teenagers with their clothes made second skins by the rain and probably wouldn't have glared if she'd actually seen the older man look a little too long, but really didn't care. "It's all very exciting, I'm sure."

Angelo nodded. "Excitin', an'... kinda strange, sometimes."

"I do hope I'm not falling under the strange category," Paige said, still sitting in a puddle and trying to make it appear perfectly normal.

Angelo grinned at her wickedly. "You? Never. More just... the whole situation, y'know? Lotsa new things to get used to."

Paige nodded with a satisfied look. "Like learning how to breathe in this horrible, secondhand smoke invested land." She paused thoughtfully. "Okay, that's a better example for me, but you get the idea. At least I'm close to the ground now and smoke rises."

Angelo blinked. "Can't say I noticed any diff... oh. Right. Country mouse."

"City rat," Paige shot back, sticking out her tongue playfully.

Angelo pulled a face at her in return. "You know it. The air at the mansion's too clean, 's why I have to smoke. Be one change too many, otherwise."

"Angelo Espinosa. A man with a mission. That mission? To give the entire Westchester County lung cancer." Paige slipped back out of her newscaster's voice to yelp and ducked away from the poke she knew was coming sooner or later.

Angelo prodded her in the ribs, but not too hard. "I don't wanna give the whole county lung cancer. Myself, now, that's another story. But I need my smokes."

Paige rolled her eyes and flicked some water at him. "Bah. Fine. I'm being understanding."

Angelo flicked water back at her. "Thank you. They help keep me sane", he said jokingly.

"Psh," Paige replied, in a near perfect Jubes imitation. "You'll be the only one, then."

Angelo chuckled. "Sure seems like it, some days."

Paige squirmed right about then, trying to pull the both of them up. "Come on. That older couple across the street has been staring at us for a very long time and if we don't leave soon I think they're going to ask us to join some sort of sex party. Guess it doesn't help that it's cold."

Angelo nodded with a chuckle. "It's your own fault, you know. You're the one who insisted on playin' in the rain."

"I didn't expect there to be lecherous old people on the street!" Paige cried. "Lucherous young people, maybe, but not lecherous old people."

"Didn't think this through, did you?" he teased her, getting to his feet and pulling her with him. "C'mon, we should go inside and get some dry clothes."

Paige shrugged helplessly with a little mock sigh. "Poor, naive me. Soon I'm going to be forced to give them the finger. Someone on the train taught me this morning. It's so nice when you know you're never going to see these people again."

Angelo grinned wickedly. "Who's been corruptin' you? Not that I'm complainin'..."

"That's a secret," Paige answered in a mysterious tone, finally managing to get soundly on her feet. She had the deep urge to shake herself off and shivered a little instead. "Mm. I feel a headcold coming on. Let's go."

Angelo glanced at her in concern, pulling her into a one-armed hug and twining his fingers through hers. "Sure thing. Don't want you gettin' sick on me."

Paige pushed open the lobby doors with her hip. "Nah. That was just to get you to hurry up. I thought the guy was going to cross the street soon." With a shriek of laughter, Paige yanked herself away and fled through the lobby and to her room.