Decode

@ FlyAway;
Orlando grinned softly at her text, putting his phone in the center console of his green mustang. He revved up the engine before beginning his journey to the shipyard. Wen he arrived the his bud was there. Orlando headed into the ship and walked up to the crate which was for him. He told one of his men to crack it open and then began to search through it to make sure he wasn't getting screwed. Once he knew it was all that he nodded in approval, ordering it to be taken out to the truck waiting for them. He paid his dues, in cash, before heading out and talking to the two men he had working for him. This was a risky business. He didn't enjoy dealing, but he thought of it as only supplying a bit, because he didn't deal himself directly.

Once his whole ordeal was done he headed back to the mustang and was going to go back to his house, but decided to text Claire instead. ahey, where do you go to school? Wanna skip out for an early lunch date? I have some free time. Just got some business done. :) Orlando hoped for a yes, placing the phone back in the console as he drove towards mid town. He assumed she went to the private school so he headed towards there.

@ BadStreetBoys
Claire walked forward and towards her gym class. She walked to the locker rooms before putting her gym clothes on, which consisted of short shorts and a tank top. She went out and sighed hearing guys whistle at her and frowned because today they were playing basketball. She didn't really prefer basket ball at all. She then tried to hit one and her friend came up and started to chat with her. The coach blew her whistle and told them to run laps. She sighed and knew she was going to be in the middle. All the athletic people were in the front, the slightly less athletic people were in the middle and the kids who didn't do sports were in the back. Starting to run, Claire ran past almost half of the class and realized she was in the front for once.

After gym she dressed back into her top and skirt and her heels and headed to calculus. Hearing her phone go off, she blinked and stopped in the middle of the hallway. Reading it, a small smile came to her face. She'd only skipped a few times before. She decided it would be fun. Hell, she didn't do enough spontaneous stuff. Hey. The private school beside the library. Sure. That sounds better than Calculus. Smiling, Claire entered the bathroom and commenced to re-doing her braid before she headed to entrance of the school./

@ FlyAway;
Orlando glanced over as his phone lit up, grinning ear to ear when he saw that she agreed to it. He had already been on his way so he was there in no time. As he pulled up to the front of the school, he leaned back into his seat, putting his thick pair of sunglasses on, looking as casual as possible as he waited for Claire. When Orlando saw her he reached over and opened the door for her, and patted the seat. "Nice of you to join me." He purred and waited for Claire to shut the door behind her, once she did he pulled off,making a U-turn and heading back towards town.

Orlando was glad he would be able to know this girl, and he knew they shouldn't be interrupted, no one knew she was with him. He liked the mysteriousness that way. As Orlando drove to town he checked his phone w few times. "So where would you like to eat? Or do you want me to chose?" He asked glancing over. "Also, whats school like at a private place? I went to public high school, and graduated a while ago, y'know being 23 and all." He said and laughed softly, one hand on the wheel, one resting on the center console.

@ BadStreetBoys

Seeing a green mustang, Claire smiled softly seeing he was wearing his sunglasses. Walking forward she sat down in his car and smoothed her skirt down as she sat down and said, "Thank you for inviting me. It was a surprise to be honest." She laughed softly before feeling him make a u-turn and put her seat belt on and looked out the window as they drove and smiled softly. She liked the scenery and all of the nature around her. She really liked old buildings but being the daughter of Andrew Vanderbilt made it very difficult for her to be alone with herself.

"You can choose, I don't mind." Claire told him knowing more than likely whatever he said she would have never been there before. Hearing he was 23 was not that big of a surprise to her. "You're a year younger than Benjamin, my brother." She said with a small laugh. "It's not fun. Most of them are snobby and they think they can get away with anything, and pick on me a lot since I'm the daughter of Andrew Vanderbilt, the one solid person almost everyone in Brooklyn hates." She murmured to him before pushing back a few silver strands of hair. "What's a public school like?" She asked, turning to face him gently a little bit of curiosity filling her electric blue eyes.

@ FlyAway;
Orlando glanced over occasionally as Claire spoke to him, keeping his eyes on the road enough to keep the pair safe. Once she told him he could pick the restaurant he smiled. He knew a good steakhouse towards his home, he wanted to take her too. He always liked taking girls there, and they seemed to like it to. He raised an eyebrow at her. "Hmm I probably would have know him had y'know you gone to private school." He said and shrugged. "I've got a year on him so I'm young enough to fight him f needed." He said with a wink and laughed. Orlando furrowed his brow and frowned when she told him that people picked on her. "Hold up." He said and bit his tongue. "Why?" He said frustratedly. "That's not okay." He said and grumbled to himself.

Orlando pulled into the parking lot of his steakhouse. He got out, tossing his sunglasses into the seat of his car, walked around and opened the door for her. He offered his hand out to Claire. "It's kinda dumb." He said and shrugged chuckling. "Bunch of idiots or brainiacs all crammed togther with hormones and sex but poor." He said and headed towards the door. Once inside he got a small booth with her, and began to look through the menu. "What do you want?" He asked softly. "Want an appetizer?" He said and looked through it again. "So your brother gonna come find me for taking you outta school?" He said with a playful grin.

@ BadStreetBoys

Noticing his smile, Claire returned it by smiling happy that he was happy to take her wherever he wanted for lunch. She was also happy he asked her to lunch. "Probably. He can be a bit jerk like though, but that's probably him being around my dad for so long considering." She murmured shrugging gently. She laughed hearing him and seeing his wink. "I don't know if he even knows how to hit someone properly." She blinked noticing his tone had changed and looked at him. "Because i'm Andrew Vanderbilt's daughter, and they think they're entitled to pick on me since I am his daughter and think I'm just like him and they think that I'm snobby and such because I don't really talk to anyone." She murmured softly thinking it was cute that he was grumbling about it.

Claire watched as he tossed his sunglasses in the back and laughed before blinking seeing his hand. "Why thank you." She took it and then said, "I dunno, seems a lot more fun than a private school." She responded softly as she blinked seeing the place and almost got really excited. She'd never been to a steak house that wasn't in the city. She sat down across from him and said, "Hmm, I dunno yet." She smiled before looking through the menu and said, "Would you like us to split the bill?" She smiled softly before shrugging and said, "If you want one, I don't think I've ever had one before." She then said, "No, as long as you get me back before he's there to pick me up." She laughed and then said, "I think a burger and fries sounds lovely." She laughed and said, "Why are you concerned about my brother?" She tilted her head and blinked seeing silver hair in her line of sight and pushed it away.

@ FlyAway;
Orlando smiled across at Claire as she looked over the menu. "I'll get us an appetizer platter." He said and placed one hand on the table, closer to her. "I disagree however with those people at your school. You aren't your father." He said and shrugged his shoulders. Putting the menu to the side he yawned softly. "No I don't want to split, I'll pay, I asked you out so I'll pay." He paused and looked her in the eye again. "Why? Because brothers are always the ones that get in my way. They never allow me to get with a girl I'm trying to get with." He said, being honest with her, Orlando watched Claire carefully to see how she would react to his statement.

When their waitress showed up she seemed to take an interest in Orlando. Which he either didn't notice, or ignored. She seemed to stay closer to him, leaning on the table, and addressing him not en really acknowledging Claire. Orlando ordered an appetizer platter, her hamburger and fries, and a medium rare steak for himself, with potato wedges. He then ordered his drink and allowed Claire to order her own. At that moment it was the only time the waitress acknowledged Claire. After she looked back at Orlando and winked. "Have that out for you as soon as I can sweetheart." Before heading off. Orlando shook his head a bit before looking at Claire. "I'll have you back in time, don't worry, I can also come and get you again if you wanna be out for the aftwrnoon and evening with me. I might have just a bit of business to finish. But that's all."

@ BadStreetBoys
"Alright." She responded and smiled gently. Claire had noticed his hand closer to her own and simply let it be deciding that whatever happened would happen. "No one really sees you when you have his last name, though." She murmured. "You can't blame them for hating him, just don't take it out on me I suppose is what I tell them." Hearing his words, she nodded and said, "Alright, seems fair enough." She laughed and smiled at him. Listening to his explanation, she nodded and murmured, "Well, my brother is Sliiiiiiightly over protective so there's that." Somehow or another her teeth seemed to find their way to her lip, and now she was biting it waiting for his reaction.

Looking up, she noticed the waitress ignored her completely and nodded slightly to herself before watching Orlando. She noticed the little patterns he seemed to do and looked up and said, "Lemonade, please." She smiled softly. She decided not to say anything about it. She wasn't the jealous type, nor did she quite want to be. "Yes, that would be great. Hmm, that's alright. I don't mind. I just need to tell my brother i'm going out. Which he'll be nosey again. He's really nosey." She laughed to herself more than anything and then looked at him for a moment before noticing his eyes were always on her instead of his surroundings. Tilting her head, she asked, "You never really look at anything when you're speaking to me." It was odd comparatively speaking. She always looked at the person but if she was bored with the conversation or anything of that nature she would always look at the sky or the trees or something interesting so that she didn't seem like she was bored.

@ FlyAway;
Orlando nodded and sighed softly. "I'm sorry you deal with that. I kind of do. I mean. A lot of people on the town know my name from news reports and police logs. And the simple fact I get it out there be use I run half of town and all of the illegal business going on in said half of town." He said and shrugged again. Orlando sighed again when she said her brother was protective, making it a bit over the top before laughing. "Oh great. Another brother I am going to have to grapple with just to see your cute face." He teased and grinned at her.

Orlando smiled across at Claire and listened as she talked, he had noticed the waitress' actions at the last piece, but then decided not to say anything if it didn't happen again. He liked that she wasn't jealous. That's was a good sign, as he did work closely with some females in his gang, which seemed to get him in trouble with past girlfriends. "That sounds good. Hopefully he won't want to meet me, considering I have my gang jacket on." He said and laughed. When. Seh brought up his eye contact Orlando raised an eyebrow. "Is that bad?" He asked wuietly. Orlando always looked at people, it kept him alive and helped him read and understand people. "I don't usually take my eyes off anyone im talking to. I stay safer this way." He said and shrugged, moving his hand he allowed it to brush up against hers. "And how can I help it when I'm sitting across from such a beautiful girl?" He asked with a small grin

@ BadStreetBoys
Claire nodded and said, "Why do you do the illegal stuff though?" She murmured tilting her head. She didn't look scared, or bothered by this just curious. She wasn't scared of him. She was scared of probably two people though. They were her father and brother. She just had this feeling of almost fear when those two got angry. She didn't prefer anyone angry at her to begin with. Laughing at his sigh, Claire nodded and said, "I mean." She laughed once more and said, "It's not quite that bad. I don't know." She shook her head and said, "My dad doesn't even really see me on a day to day basis." She shrugged softly.

"He probably will want to meet you at some point, to be perfectly honest with you." Claire told him and said, "Don't get confused if he calls me Gwendolyn. For some reason he lives to annoy me with that stupid name." Watching him gently she noticed he was lost in thought for a few moments before he had begun to speak once more. "It's not bad, just curious. I'm just a curious person I suppose." She said blinking as she made this realization. "Probably a good idea. Personally, I don't like to look at people a lot. Especially around my school. Soon they all start to look the same, and act the same, with the same weird clothing and all of that thinking they're posh." She sighed out as she shrugged once more. Hearing him call her beautiful, a smile came onto her face and she looked down and said, "Thank you." She felt his hand and wondered why her since she was technically this goody two shoes rich girl from Broolyn. She figured he'd much rather have someone a little more exciting than her.

@ FlyAway;
Orlando bit his lip at her first question, no one had ever questioned his reasoning behind the supplying, the underground fights, the interrogations, or anything he had done before. He furrowed his brow in concentration trying to come up with an answer. "It makes money." He said quietly, biting his lip again. "I've always done it. The power in this stuff is different than your dads. I guess. Don't really have an answer. But it isn't a job I'm really willing to give up now." He said and shrugged. He smiled at her and nodded. "Well
More time to see me then, huh? After you sneak past the brother." He said.

Orlando groaned internally when she said he would want to meet her, confused for a second as she mentioned her first name, as he had gotten used to her middle name already. "Well eventually I might try to look nice and meet him. Or maybe I'll go all gangster and meet him that way. Have a few extra hidden weapons on me." He said and grinned. Orlando nodded and ran a hand through his hair. "Quite alright I like curiosity." He said and grinned excitedly as he waitress brought ther appetizer platter, when she brushed her hand up against his arm Orlando frowned up at her, gently pushing it off of him. Orlando laughed as she explained her classmates. "Man you should just graduate and live with me. I promise that feeling will disappear quickly. You never know who you'll meet with me." He reached out and took a mozzarella stick, biting into it as he started off eatkng, he hadn't eaten breakfast so he was hungry. Orlando was haply for this moment, and doing his best to be subtle,
Hoping she would notice too. She was interesting and very cute. He just knew that he had to get this girl.

@ BadStreetBoys

Watching him bite his lip, she was very curious as to why he was having such a hard time with answering the question. "No one does anything just for the money. They always have an alterior motive, but that could just me thinking the way that my dad does things." She laughed soflty before nodding. "Whatever makes you comfortable I suppose." She told him shrugging. "Not my business, not going to stick my nose in it." A small smile appeared on her face after she had said those words. "Yes. Sneaking will probably be a must with him." A laugh bubled out of her mouth. She never laughed this much. She found him interesting, and he was definitely cute.

Watching him she noticed he almost had a look of horror on his face. "Oh dear god." She said before continuing, "I think if you looked like this and tried to meet my family they would look at me as if I've gone mad. They would more than likely try to send me to an insane asylum." She said over exaggerating obviously. "I always get told curiousity killed the cat. But I always reply with curiosity didn't kill the cat, acting on it's curiosity killed the cat." She smiled softly. Claire watched as he pushed the waitress's hand off of his arm and almost laughed at the look the waitress gave him. Like she had never been turned down before. Hearing him say she should live with him she laughed and said, "You never know. One day I'll just appear on your door step sick of it all and say 'You said I could move in.'" She laughed and watched as he bit into a mozzarella stick and took one and dipped it in Marinara first and then started to eat on it gently. Hearing her phone go off, Claire furrowed her brow and looked down and saw Ben had texted her asking if he was still picking her up. She sent back a yes and put her phone in her purse she had with her and then said, "Sorry." She looked back up at him and smiled, her electric blue eyes meeting his eyes.

@ FlyAway;
Orlando shrugged. "Money is good to me. I've been involved since I was a kid. Eveyone has something they're good at, and mine is running this." He said and shrugged. He was surprised she didn't seem upset about it, also relieved because that could usually scare off the good girls. Orlando finished his mozzarella stick and grinned at her. "Luckily I'm a master then, huh?"
He said and then took a jalapeño popper which he dipper in a cream cheese sauce.

Orlando couldn't help but laugh at the look on her face when he said he would meet her family dressed like this. "Oh come on. My greaser style gang look isnt good? At least they know I can kill anyone who messes with you." He said and chuckled. "I've got three weapons on me as we speak." With her comment about curiosity and the cat Orlando had to bit down on his lil to keep from making a sexual remark. He was a big guy, in all aspects, which was one reason he got a lot of hook ups. Curious women were curious about him. Orlando chuckled and nodded. "Don't worry. I will definitely allow you in. What man could say no to a cute girl wanting to live with him?" He asked and finished his popper. Orlando watched as she checked her phone, not upset just curious. "Is this the big bad brother you speak of?" He asked as ther main courses arrived. "You gonna tell him about our date when he picks you up or now?"

@ BadStreetBoys

"Even if you have been involved since a kid, there are always alterior motives, you may just not know it. Sure, money is a good factor, but you might also actually enjoy it." Claire said shrugging and laughed at this. She ate another mozzarella stick not really like spicy food. Chewing her bite of mozzarella stick she said, "I suppose that's always a good thing when sneaking out. Surprisingly it's very easy to sneak out of my house." And wrinkled her nose watching him eat the jalapeno popper.

"It by no means looks bad, but I think my brother might have an aneurysm if he sees someone not only as huge as you are, but the way you dress as well." Claire said giggling at this. "Jeez, now I'm imaginging the look on his face." She laughed a little bit more and said, "Hmm. Let me guess, two guns and maybe a knife?" She hoped she had got it right. That was what greasers usually had on them in the movies anyways. "You'd oddly be surprised." She responded a small smile still attached to her lips. Seeing the main courses arrive, she moved her drink aside so the waitress could set them down. "Thank you." She put a napkin on her lap before saying, "Yes, it is. I'm gonna tell him when he picks me up, because if I tell him now he won't stop texting me." Claire made a face and said, "Sometimes, I wonder if he'd butt out of my life and get a date for once." Sighing, she rolled her eyes getting another text. She told him she was in class and she couldn't text him just because he was bored. She then commenced to putting her phone on silent not in the mood to be harassed and haggled by her own brother simply because he didn't have anything better to do.

@ FlyAway;
Orlando looked over at Claire, a bit perplexed by the talk of why he did what he did. It was something he didn't really enjoy talking about. Because he truly didn't know why, it just was what he did. His job and always had been. He just nodded slightly as he finished up the app and began to cut his steak. "I would assume so. Security systems only work from the outside in." He said and took his first bite.

Orlando smiled slightly when she said his look looked good, he agreed. He thought the gangsters back then, or even the 20's gangsters with Capone looked much nicer than today's wth their pants around their ankles. He usually dressed between the two eras. "I would love to see that face."
He said with a snicker, taking another bite. When she fussed he looked over and raised an eyebrow. "Switchblade. But close enough." He said skeptically. "How'd you know." He said and set his fork down for a moment. "As I said had some business today, rather not have things go down bad." He said and ate again. Orlando was still surprised she was the the least bit upset about this. "Sounds good to me." He said between bites, focusing heavily on his food now. But looked up at Claire after a few minutes and said. "You aren't scared, you don't care that I'm doing this illegal stuff, you don't care I could kill you at any second." He said and paused. "Why? Why aren't you upset or afraid?" He said, genuinely confused, he was talking open about it with her more then he did most girls on the first date.

@ BadStreetBoys
"True, but some of them have this thing where if you shake or rattle something too much it'll make the alarm go off." Claire murmured shrugging gently. She took a bite into her hamburger and blinked because it was delicious. Smiling, she chewed before swallowing. She put some ketchup on it before taking another bite. As she chewed, she decided to take an actual look around the room and was surprised to see that it was quite homey, there was a bar at the front, and the rest was just little things to go with the theme of the steak house.

Hearing his question, Claire smiled and said, "I used to watch a lot of greaser and gang type movies that were set in the 20's and 60's." She shrugged gently and murmured, "Just a thing I do I suppose. Or used to. I don't watch much television anymore." She smiled at his response and nodded. The silence wasn't awkward at all for her, it was pretty comfortable for once. She was surprised at how comfortable around him she had already become. Looking up at his question, Claire tilted her head and said, "I'm only scared of two people. Anything else i'm not afraid of. Sure, you do illegal stuff, but is that so different than what my father used to do and still does sometimes? You could kill me, yes, but I don't think you will. Don't ask me why, because I don't really know why I think this, I just do. If you were going to kill me, I like to think you would've done it by now, or done something to clue me into the motive of homicide." She explained before wiping her mouth with her napkin. "For once in my life, something is actually interesting and adventurous. Everything has been so monotonous for the majority of my life. You aren't monotonous, and if I had even an inckling that you were going to kill me or try, I guarantee I would tell someone." Looking up finally, Claire's bright blue eyes met his eyes and she looked fierce. Her hair fell from her braid and fell all around her shoulder and down her back. She brushed it out of her face to continue to meet his eyes, not breaking the eye contact.

@ FlyAway;
Orlando was genuinely impressed with Claire, she was honest and smart. He also liked how she answered his questions. He snickered slightly at the comments about killing her. "For the record, I don't plan on hurting you,I've come to enjoy your company." He said and took another bite of his steak, letting her finish her spiel. When she looked up and made eye contact he allowed his eyes to study her's, in that moment he couldn't help the grin that spread across his face. This was a girl he liked, and he wasn't going to waste it. The look in her eyes gave away a lot. And he had become a master at reading eyes, made him a good poker player. "How long until you have to be back.." He asked and licked his lips.

Orlando's phone buzzed and he quickly pulled it out, he replied before shoving it back into his pocket, he didn't want to be rude towards Claire. Once that was taken care of he begun to eat again, his free hand tapping on the edge of the table as he finished up his meal. Orlando knew he would have to meet with the guys, but he would do that after he dropped her off and waited to pick her up again. But he wanted to see her at his house, he wanted Hades opinion. It was odd, but Orlando trusted his dog and his dogs opinion of people. "I'd like you to meet my dog, he's a sweetheart." He said with a smile, pulling out his wallet as the waitress brought their bill.

@ BadStreetBoys
Hearing his words, Claire smiled and said, "Well Thank you. I enjoy yours as well." She ate a french fry before starting to finish her food gently. "Hmm, I think around an hour and a half." She said apologetically. She had to go to her Physics class at least. She was doing kind of terribly in there. She tried her best but nothing made any sense and because it didn't make any sense she just commenced to staring out the window and not listening to anything they said because why should she bother if she didn't understand it. She had noticed him lick his lips and had just kind of smiled to herself.

"Awh, you have a dog?" She asked and smiled. "What's his name? I have a pet turtle." She admitted with a small smile. Her parents didn't want dogs or cats in the house. They said they made too much of a mess. Claire wasn't especially fond of a pet that she couldn't cuddle with, so she decided to get a turtle, since it seemed like a good idea and she adored turtles. She thought they were the cutest things ever. Claire had always loved dogs thinking that they were just big overprotective puppies and that they were cute and if she had one she'd pamper and spoil the absolute shit out of just because. Claire wiped her mouth once more before setting her napkin on the plate. She had eaten almost 3/4's of her meal. She was happy. It had been a lot more food than she had expected. She was surprised Orlando hadn't said anything about her hair, yet. Most people had by now if they hadn't from the get go. She didn't really find it rude anymore, just more as a type of curiousness.

@ FlyAway;
Orlando grinned softly and thought about it, he didn't live far from here, so he should be able to get her back in time if they only stayed at his house for a short time. "His name is Hades, he is an American Bully." He said, leaving the mo eh on the table, and standing up. He offered his hand to Claire and helped her up,he kept his hand around her's, wondering if she would hold his hand as they walked out to the car. Once she had made that small subconscious decision, orland oheaded out to his mustang. He held the door open for her, carefully shutting it behind her. Orlando then went around and climbed into the drivers seat, putting his sunglasses on.

He started the car and revved up the engine, turning on the radio as well. "So what do you say? Trust me enough to come to my house?" He asked softly. His voice was gentle and caring, more worried she would take his words wrong and be upset. Orlando was hoping she would meet Hades. He adore the dog, the dog being the most important thing in his life. If Hades liked her orlandowas sure she would be a girl that would give him a good time. As he began to drive Orlando was glancing over at her. Smiling to himself at small detail she noticed. Orlando really liked her hair color. He thought it was gorgeous, unsure whether or not to say it.

@ BadStreetBoys
"Aw!!! American Bully's are so cute!" Claire said remembering for once what type of dog that actually was. She was excited. She loved animals really. Seeing him holding his hand out, Claire took it and walked with him, realizing he was still holding hers. She smiled to herself and decided to keep it like that. She much liked the feeling of his warmer hand in her colder one. She was always cold, it was really sad. She got into the car and said, "Thank you." She put her seat belt on, keeping her backpack at her feet. She had a few text books in it and some homework from the night before. She saw him put his sunglasses on and wondered if he really needed them.

Looking over to him, Claire nodded and said, "I do. I think you won't hurt me." She smiled and looked down at her hands gently before saying, "I like the name Hades. It's not of the normal. It's from Greek Mythology and Hades in the legends was the god of the Underworld outcasted from his brother and upon then hatred brew." When she was little, Claire had honestly been addicted with Mythology, any kind really. Norse, Egyptian, Roman, Greek, etc. Just any of them. They let her escape from her reality of loneliness in the walls of what she called a prison. Claire was looking out the window, up at the sky to look at the colors. She imagined that the clouds were different shapes and different things. One looked like a baby to her, another looked like a hammer, and another one looked like a gate to her. She smiled once more and hummed gently along to the radio.