It's Cold. [open]

[angel]

For once in her life, everything was okay. Angel didn't believe she could say that about one solitary moment before that period. Since she was just a small child, her life had been a spiral of pain and unfortunate circumstances. Her parents hadn't exactly been the most attentive, or caring for the wild, hyper child that they brought up. She was exposed to the world early on. It was an older brother's friend that had taken a disturbing liking to Angel at an early age. She hadn't even reached her 12th birthday, but the 16 year old liked to say that she had an older soul. And maybe she did! After all, she was more mature than most girls her age-- But, that didn't make her less of a child. The older boy turned into a mentor and a boyfriend, someone that she trusted with her life and he nearly killed her multiple times with his reckless habits. He pushed drugs on the girl, drugs and alcohol. Suddenly, little Angel wasn't so little any more. By the time she was 12, she'd had her first child and by 13, he was gone.

But she was thankful. Not to lose her baby, but to know that he was safe. That was all she could've asked for. He could've died and by all means he should have been more screwed up than he was. God knows she was using the whole time. While he had problems in the early months, the year she had with him was one she wouldn't forget. Every time she was hurt or in pain, that little boy would make her smile and she wondered if the infant ever knew just what he did to her. Foster care didn't only come for the child, it came for the girl too. But, of course, she wasn't so lucky.

More of that downward spiral came and she was just too hard to control. She was too free, and it got her into a hell of a lot of trouble. But, for five years, five wonderful years, she'd been okay. At the age of twenty, she had her second child, unfortunately, it occurred four years after she had already been diagnosed HIV positive. The child was too. While devastated at first, she learned to cope, and to live in the moment. The meds worked, but she never meant to bring a child into that world, but when she became pregnant, despite all of the measures of birth control, she couldn't kill the child. Instead, she had him and he too was positive. For seven years, she had that boy. Seven years before he finally began to show the weakness of his illness.

Her little angel had died. Seven years old, and it tore her to pieces. Then, as if he couldn't take it, the man she'd been living with took to the bottle and her life took a frightening turn. He was violent and they both started to rely heavily on their vices and their violence until she finally took off.

For three months she'd been on the streets. Three months and she was out of pills, out of money and it felt like it was all ending. Snow slowly blanketed the ground, and she wrapped her arms tight around her thin frame to try to preserve some heat. The young woman shivered and looked down. She was only 27, too young to have been through any of the things that she had. Too young to be this worn. Whimpering, she kicked the snow and felt a cough itching her throat. Her arm lifted to shield it, letting out a series of dry, dangerous sounding coughs. She was getting sick, had been for over a week. She was light-headed, and barely able to stand on her own two feet, but she tried. God, she hated Toronto this time of year. It was cold! And there was nothing she could do about it. A coat tried to keep her warm, but did little good, and her legs were bare beneath her skirt aside from a pair of thin tights that were tucked into her scuffed boots. Coughing again, she felt her head swim and put a hand to her temple. She felt like laying down somewhere... Laying down and welcoming sleep, but that could mean never waking up.

[Deleted]

A walk in the park was what Craig needed. What he wanted was to go back in time and be a teenager without kids. Sure, he loved them but they were really stressing him out! His thoughts consumed him and he didn't even realize he had walked as far as he had before he caught a glimpse of a woman in the corner of his eye.

Craig Manning really couldn't help it; it was in his blood. It really was. When he saw the girl, he had a feeling he should go over to her. Some could argue that t he feeling came from his crotch, but Craig would never admit to it.

Approaching her, the first thing he did was take off his ten thousand dollar jacket that he didn't really need to spend so much money on in the first place and put it on her shoulders before he even said anything "here you go" he said once it was safely on her "a girl as beautiful as you should be inside, not out here in the cold" he commented, already deciding that he was going to take her back to his hotel room. Someone once told him that it wasn't exactly smart, and he was sure it was Marco, but Craig's problem was that when Marco wasn't there, he didn't recall his words of wisdom. Out of sight, out of mind.

[angel]

Angel jolted at the first sound of the man. He stunned her, reasonably so. A man approaching her in the park wasn't always a comforting idea. In fact, she had every right to be a little stirred by his presence. When his coat went over her frame, however, the young woman couldn't help but pull the warm material closer to her body in an attempt to preserve the little body heat that her thin frame produced. "Thank you," She voiced, her own hardly above that of a whisper. His flirting was picked up and she offered a modest smile. She had every reason to be out here. Beauty didn't play a part in the choices she made... It didn't matter who or what she was, but instead what she did that led her to be stuck on the streets.

"Sometimes inside isn't an option." There was still a smile there, and a kindness in her voice, despite her situation. She didn't need anyone's pity. Angel didn't want it. She had never been the type to soak up sympathy like a sponge. Right now, all she really wanted was warmth. The latina kept the coat tight around her and looked over the man. "I'm Angel, by the way." She introduced, figuring that it was best to introduce herself to the man that was helping her. Although, the sceptic in her reminded Angel to keep her mind open about people that pretended to help. Sometimes, the help they gave was more hurtful than anything else. But, he seemed so kind and warm-- Angel just didn't want to be wrong.

[Deleted]

Craig flashed his famous smile when she smiled modestly at him. Inside wasn't an option? Well, it was now! As she spoke, his eyes wandered up and down her body, checking her out before he met her eyes again. When she introduced herself, he smiled bigger. He couldn't just not comment! Oh no no no no. Then he wouldn't be Craig.

"Angel--I knew I recognized a creature of heaven when I saw you" he flirted, winking at her. "I'm Craig...Craig Manning" his tone was very cocky. He was sure that she HAD to know who he was! As he gave his name, he rested an arm around her shoulders.

"What do you saw we get you something to eat? Even Angels need substance, right? I know a french restaurant that's by the bay." he said with another wink. Sure, it was closed, but he was Craig Manning! He could get them to open at 3:00 AM if he wanted them to

[angel]

The young Marquez might have been a naive troublesome thing, but she wasn't stupid nor was she oblivious. She could feel his eyes on her and subconsciously, she pulled and smoothed out the hem of her short skirt, as if to cover a little more of her exposed legs. There were some people that she didn't care about-- But perfect strangers could often bring out the modesty in her. That familiar tickle in her chest made her swallow hard, and clear her throat. She tried not to cough, not wanting to sound like the sickly girl that she was. The strain nearly made her eyes water, but control was what she had. His corny angel line was something that the girl would normally roll her eyes at. She'd heard it before. But, instead of doing that (because it'd be wrong to roll her eyes at a man who let her wear his coat), she just smiled faintly again. She wasn't as shy as she was giving off. But, he made her uncertain.

Craig Manning. God, that sounded familiar. She searched her head for a memory of the name. It wasn't someone she knew, but someone she had heard of. Craig--Craig--Oh! The label on one of her closest friend's compact discs bounced into her mind and made her realize just who he was. A singer-- Rock, she assumed. It was possible she heard his songs, but she wasn't a fan. Angel was more or less a light pop type. And the occasional ethnic music group. "The singer?" She inquired, hoping not to be offensive, so she thought to comment on it. Then again, some might be annoyed with their fame. It was something she'd just have to find out.

The mention of food made her stomach protest its emptiness. She gently touched her own flat stomach, and really couldn't deny food. "French? I'm not sure I'm dressed for something that fancy." That was true. She wasn't dressed to go out and eat somewhere that was nice. It made her feel slightly ashamed, but she had little choice in the matter. But, she was hungry-- God, she could eat anything right now.

[Deleted]

Craig smiled widely at her "eh. Yeah. I sing a little" he said with a wink. False modesty was something that Craig had picked up on after his third Grammy....or was it his fourth? Craig had won so many, it was hard to keep up with.

When she mentioned her clothes, he looked her up and down for just a split second before he smiled again "that's no problem. Come with me." he said and extended his hand "When my girlfriend left, she left her clothes. I have a whole line of Dolce and Gabanna, Gucci, Prada..." he broke off and nodded "I think you'll find something that fits that sexy form of yours perfectly"

[angel]

God, what did she do to get a singer's attention? Angel never knew a famous singer a day in her life. Musicians, yes. But they were starving, struggling musicians that would never amount to anything like grammy wins or a mansion with thirty cars. Their pride probably wouldn't allow it anyway. For Angel, life had no glamour. It had nothing that shined or sang of money. Everything was a little darker, a bit bleaker. But, given that she knew very little else, it was normal. She wasn't out for the sympathy ticket. She was well aware of her own mistakes and the ones that she had made her entire life. Even the mess she made her of her life before she was even a teenager. She took responsibility, held the blame and had tried to right it over the past few years. Honestly, before her boy died just a few months prior, she had her life somewhat on track. She wasn't out starving, freezing and without pills. It was a miracle she was even alive right now, or less sick than she was. And now, someone was trying to help her. Someone that was so far above her station that it was insane. "I thought it sounded familiar," she smiled faintly, wrapping her arms tight around her thin frame, the jacket holding in a lot of the warmth that escaped it before. She was still pretty chilled though. After all, it was freezing out there and she wasn't in any state to be cosy and warm.

"Dolce and—For me? I couldn't afford one shoe with a year's worth of income." She said, her eyes widening at the idea of having clothes that had any tag on them at all, let alone a designer one. And of course Angel knew designers. She was a girl after all! And one that loved clothes and adored all kinds of things. It was just that she didn't have a lot and when you didn't have a lot, you made due. "You're too kind." She was in shock by it, taking his hand and trusting him relatively well. Of course, she always kept an ounce of scepticism. She had to. The girl had been through a lot! She didn't have much of a choice.

[Deleted]

Craig flashed a smile again when she said he was too kind. "It's the least I can do, for one of God's creatures." Without a second thought, he pulled her closer and wrapped his arm around hers. "My car's about a block away from the park entrance. Let's get you warmed up," he coaxed. It really was too cold for anyone to be out in it.

Looking around, Craig noticed helleborous flowers growing by a bench and leaned down, grabbing a handful of them. He looked at her and presented the makeshift bouquet. "For you," he said, looking in those eyes. He loved those eyes. They reminded him of Emma's. stop! he inwardly scolded himself.

[angel]

Warmth. Warmth sounded good. As he wrapped his arm around her, she leaned into him slightly. She didn't want to seem like the type that saw comfort and ran to it without a second thought. Actually, there were instances where that was very much what she was like. She told herself she wasn't that naive and as young as she was and as much as she had done in her lifetime she shouldn't have been dubbed that. And maybe it was wrong to even think that way. She wasn't naive, but she took opportunities when they were given to her. She had to learn to do that, even if it might not seem like the best idea at the time, it was better than other options. And he was so nice, too nice to a girl like her. Angel didn't deserve it. God, she knew she didn't! In comparison to him she was barely even a piece of the map. But, for some reason, he saw it fit to be nice to her. And Angel knew the reasons that could be behind his kind gestures. She knew men, knew them well. They were absolutely no mystery to her.

As they walked, she looked at him curiously when he picked the flowers and couldn't help but laugh. She shook her head at him a little, and took them with a smile that was brighter than how she felt. "You're cute when you do things like that," she teased openly. "Funny how they grow in winter." When everything else died. That was a horrible thought, honestly. She tried to look at little things like that when everything else was falling apart. With everything that happened to her she did try to see things with a bit of optimism.

[Deleted]

Craig looked in her eyes and grinned. "That just makes them all the more special," he said with a flirty tone. He was, of course, insinuating that she was special. And why not? She was special. Every girl was special. Perhaps that was his problem. He was able to pinpoint ways that every single girl he met was special. And they were all gorgeous. Could Craig help that? Of course not. He could, however, help what he did with said women. He just refused to believe he could. After all, he loved women. He had a special place in his heart for each and every woman that existed. He also had a place in his crotch for them.

He led her to the car, and tapped on the driver's window. Jason nodded and unlocked the limousine. The kid had only been working for him for a few days, but Craig liked his efficiency. When the doors were unlocked, he opened the door and gazed over at Angel. "Beauties first," he said, gesturing for her to slide in. His mind was already wrapped around what he was going to do with her. He'd take her back to the hotel, get a room for her so he wouldn't have to introduce her to his kids. Craig was crazy about his children, but they tended to hold him back when it came to girls.

He would have the bellhop fill her closet with the best clothes while he took her to the pier and treated her to a romantic french candlelit dinner. He would be as charming as he could, and when he took her back and showed her the clothes, he imagined she would be dazzled. After all, she had nothing so this should be like a fairy tale, with Craig playing Prince Charming, of course. And then she would just have to kiss him. Or, if she was too shy to, he would lean in and bestow on her a kiss. It was the least he could do, after all.