Trust me...

[noteasytobepink]

Who: Clarice and some kids! And maaaaybe the sheriff's department.
When: Some time after the first year of being stuck on Bill's world, just after she joins the sheriff's department after her florist job.
What: Being a deputy does NOT mean that she can't lie about things a little!

"Hey, you gonna be alright out there rookie?" The snickering was definitely something she could do without. "Those streets get tough about this time of day!"

She glanced up mildly at the rest of the desks around her before leaning down to tighten the straps on her boots. They were tight and double knotted, good. Same for the slow check of her belt and gear, then the brush of fingers up her buttons as she straightened. All in order, picture perfect, and even better everyone's gaze was shying away from hers as she looked around. Better. It was always easier to make the 'senior' people in any business uncomfortable than to try to start shit. Better they avoid ogling the sheriff's girlfriend than have her toss one or two out a window.

No matter how tiresome their joking got. "I believe I can handle myself," she noted mildly as she checked the end of her braided hair. Yes, still secure. All was well with the world. And Jamie was even blushing. Wasn't that cute? "Stay out of trouble oldsters, I won't be here to save you." Okay, maybe a little tail tweaking? A tiny bit.

Yeah, they were totally going to steal her desk chair or something. Or throw pencils at her. Or any number of non-lethal things that tended to make her giggle. Giggling was easy in Wheelsy. She made it out the door while the rest of the crew were arguing over who was actually 'old'. Rather than dwell on the minor victory she glanced up at swore. Almost out of time! "Nice one Clarice..." she muttered, stretching out into a run.

She'd make it.

Barely.

The school bell was ringing as she hopped the last fence across from the bus lot, and she barely beat the munchkins to the cross walk.

She'd laughed when Bill told her it was a necessary job. Really. Cross walks were kinda self explanatory and everyone in town knew where the crosswalk was. They wouldn't mow down kids on purpose, right? This world just...wasn't like that. "Alright, line 'em up kiddos!" she darted across the street to make sure they sorted into lines (lines were easier to handle, right?).

...did they even KNOW what lines were?! "NOT SO FAST!" She snapped, snagging one kid by his hood as he tried to dart across. "Police lady says she WILL dangle you if you try to ditch her!" JUST SAYING!

"BILLY STOP PUSHING!"

"I'M NOT YOU'RE JUST A SLOWPOKE!"

"YOU'RE GONNA GET ARRESTED!"

"Hey, hey Clarice?" She looked down, bemused as one of the youngest stopped in the center of the street to tug on her arm. "Hey, my brother says you're not really pink! No people are really pink!"

...right. "We're in the road," she pointed out. "Tell me that again when we're on the sidewalk okay?" Anything to keep them moving? Besides, that had been...unintentionally stinging. Real people COULD BE PINK. Or Blue. Or Green. Or any other color. Mutants were people too after all, no matter what various realities claimed!

Sidewalk, blessed sidewalk.

"So why are you pink?!"

Right. She sighed and sank down on her heels so that she could be on eye level with the kindergartner. "Well, can you keep a secret?"

"Yes!"

That was good. "I'm only a cop during the day," she admitted.

"So what are you at night?"

"A fairy princess. I'm hiding from an evil king who took away my castle so it's important you don't tell anyone okay?"

"Not even my brother?"

"Not even him. The evil king has spies everywhere and you don't him to hear you telling your brother right?"

The little girl dug her sneaker at the sidewalk for a moment then nodded firmly, "I don't want that. Can you do magic tricks?"

"Only at night." Vampire fairy princess? Sure.

"Do you have wings?!"

"...no. I was hurt and lost my wings. That's why Sheriff Pardy had to take me to the hospital."

"Ohhhhhhh...did it hurt? Did you get a shot?"

"Yes and yes, but it's okay, I'm still alive and that's what matters right?"

"If I'm really good can you show me some magic? I can stay up until eight on Fridays and Saturdays!"

"We'll see kiddo. I may need to do other things to keep everyone safe okay? But we'll see." She spotted the munchkin's mom coming up the walk and grinned, "remember, it's a secret."

"Okay!" And off she went.

Well then. She was betting it was only going to be a few hours before the sheriff's office got calls about corrupting the children or something but it had been fun! Show her some magic tricks indeed...all the tricks she knew weren't good for kids in a world like this one.

It was barely past school letting out so she decided to hang around and escort EVERYONE who wanted to cross the street. Why not after all? It was a SERIOUS job and such.

Wheelsy. Had to love it huh?

Comments

[wheelsy_sheriff]

"No death fighting," he said firmly, pulling his straw from his soda so he could catch and crunch on some ice.

"Chuck Norris is just the baddest dude on the planet." That's all. "At least accordin' to folks and the internet."

He paused in his crunching to level a look on her. "Sometimes? And when am I not?"

[noteasytobepink]

"Not even a little?" she pouted at him because why not?

And, well..."Doubt it." Hyped folk rarely lived up to expectation. JUST SAYING!

"Hmmm?" This was an innocent face yes it was!

[wheelsy_sheriff]

"Nope, not at all." He was totally going to be firm on this particular subject!

"Yeah, I don't know how much of all he does is movie magic or what." He wasn't particularly devoted to the man, so her opinion was no issue.

"Don't 'hmm' me. Tell me, when exactly do I fall off the cute rating?" he wanted to know!

[noteasytobepink]

"Bah, you and your laws, law man." She was amused though! And hell, that was why he was Sheriff right? And why she was a deputy!

"I don't trust movies." She'd come at them old after all, they didn't really exist when she was growing up. "But if you want to introduce us I'll help you find out just how much of his rep is earned!"

"Hmmmm." He'd have to pry it out of her!

[wheelsy_sheriff]

"You're the one who hooked up with a cop," he reminded her, smirking. Although his concern was more for her than for any laws.

"That would be pretty interestin'. You just gotta promise t'let me get his autograph before you lay him out." Because she probably would win.

No prying needed, obviously she had nothing!

"See, that's what I thought, 'hmm'," he teased. "I am 100% cute 100% of the time."

[noteasytobepink]

"Hmmm, true, perhaps I should have dated the doctor. At least I'd offer him job security..." she mused teasingly.

"And of course. You'd need to get his autograph first so I was certain I had the right target." Naturally!

"Except when you're not. You're less cute when you muse about Starla, or when you're being pig headed..."

[wheelsy_sheriff]

Bill made a face at the thought. "The doc? No way."

No way at all! "He's old enough to be your grandpa." Or at least her dad!

"Thank you," he grinned in appreciation of her agreeing to let him get his autograph before she pulled apart Chuck Norris.

The grin slipped a fraction on her last, though. "Oh? Well good for me that I ain't pig headed." Which meant of course that he was therefore always cute.

[noteasytobepink]

"Old and experienced can be attractive..." she hummed cheerfully. "And he took the whole deal of me pretty well you know..." also attractive! HE'D TOTALLY BEEN RUNNER UP BEHIND BILL IF SHE DECIDED TO DATE ANYONE HERE!

"Welcome." Totally. "Hmmm, where would I have gotten the idea though?"

[wheelsy_sheriff]

Bill made another face, rather close to clapping his hands over his ears. "This is worse than the whole 'doc on a nude beach' talk from last time," he bemoaned.

The other topic of conversation wasn't so great, either, and he was tempted to order another margarita if he thought he could get away with it.

"I don't know, but that an' the other thing don't come up often enough to rate, I'd say." he had managed to not bring up Starla for awhile now, and as a result had also kept from drinking himself under the table, too. Both big accomplishments for him!

[noteasytobepink]

"Awwww, don't make that face!" Clarice laughed. "Just accept and move on, you won out, the end." Totally! Maybe the doc would find himself a beach babe while on vacation?

He totally might!

"Granted, my dad was older than dirt and didn't look it so I may have weird ideas about age..." totally. VICTORS FAULT! "Do you want me to come over there and sit in your lap babe?"

[wheelsy_sheriff]

"I'll do that when you stop making mention of the possibility of it turnin' out the other way," he countered. He didn't want to think about her and the doc, EVER.

"No, I want you to share the last of those fajitas so we can head out," he replied. They were pressing their time table a bit, and maybe he was a little pouty about things other than images of her and the doc. Just a bit.

[noteasytobepink]

"Mmm, yes," she drawled, assembling another fakita with slow, deliberate grace. "Because the back of your car is so much more comfortable..." Granted, she could drop them back at home but she did have a shift to get back to, lunch with her beau or no.

"Never, babe. I don't back out on my decisions in any reality."

[wheelsy_sheriff]

"That mean y'don't regret this?" he asked, not worried that she did, but hearing a reassurance would be nice.

[noteasytobepink]

"What is there to regret?" she asked simply. "Are you hiding some deep, terrible secret from me? Do i get sacrificed to your village god some time after a year with you?"

[wheelsy_sheriff]

Bill chuckled, "No, but now's about when people start asking the 'settle down' questions." Which wasn't as terrible as sacrifice, but still kind of annoying.

"Just good hearin' I ain't drivin' you nuts or anything, that's all."

[noteasytobepink]

"I'm a high energy girl," she pointed out easily, "I won't settle down, but you let me run around in the woods and such without complaint so it works out." And did he really want their love life to settle down into predictable?

"I'd tell you if you were, Bill. We have our fights and our moments, but I don't do the passive aggressive thing." There was never anything passive about her aggression as far as she was aware? "And you'd tell me if I was driving you nuts."

[wheelsy_sheriff]

"Different kind of settle," he smiled, reaching over to steal a piece of meat.

"I know you don't, an' I know I'm lucky enough to not have got you mad enough to see the kind of aggressive you do do," He teased. She was definitely the violent kind of aggressive.

[noteasytobepink]

"I know," she offered with a small, sad little smile. She couldn't talk about the other kind though.

"Annnnd yes, I'm the abusive one!" She laughed, waving a pepper at him. "But you like me anyway!" Go figure!

[wheelsy_sheriff]

He wasn't sure what to make of those sad notes in her smile and voice, but was afraid to press. He studied her a moment, then decided to keep on the line of the familiar banter.

"Could be 'cause I'm crazy," he said with a shrug. "But more likely because you got a lot of good qualities an' maybe that happens to be one of 'em." In its weird way!

[noteasytobepink]

He wouldn't like hearing it again so yes, best they just avoided it.

"Mmmm, touch of the masochist in you babe?" she teased. "Who would ever have guessed! And it's a good kind of crazy, I promise."

[wheelsy_sheriff]

"Lot of people, actually," he noted. Considering his history, especially with women...

"I can live with bein' the good kind of crazy."

[noteasytobepink]

"Oh, well, I just didn't get the memo then..." she mused. Ah well, at least the town wouldn't be surprised and all?

"And good. The alternative sucks, plus can you imagine what they'd do to me if the town sheriff died on my watch?!"

[wheelsy_sheriff]

"Yep, you'd probably be in trouble," he laughed with a nod. "So you best take care of me."

[noteasytobepink]

"'Take care of' is such a broad concept though..." she teased. "I mean sometimes it involves concrete, sometimes lingerie..."

[wheelsy_sheriff]

"Let's go with the kind that doesn't involve me being dead," he decided. "And the kind with lingerie is always a safe bet."

A beat.

"As long as you're the one wearin' it."