the girl with the broken smile {OPEN}

[Tick-Tock]

tap on my window knock on my door ,

i wanna make you feel beautiful . . .

Tick-Tock sat on the beams constantly held by the Birds of Brooklyn. One leg dangled off her usual perch while the other was tucked to her chest. Her hair was left undone, free to fall in her face as she watched the daily action of the docks. It was late evening, she not much was happening, but Tick was enjoying the moment alone with the gentle breeze washing over her.

It wasn't often that she felt this empty. But for some reason–maybe it had been how the day had just not gone her way (the small scrapes that littered her palms and arms from tripping and falling on her face while selling papers manifested that) or just a lapse in confidence–she felt as if something was missing. It was most likely just another part of growing older. Maybe it was her feelings for…

She wasn't going to even think it, or she'd get wrapped up in it and get depressed. And that was the last thing she needed when she was already in a down mood. Tick-Tock sighed and brushed her hair out of her eyes, wondering what was the matter with her.

[Brooklyn]

Brooklyn wandered along the beams. He was walking along one, his arms out to the side, to provide him balance. He wore no shoes, they were back at the lodging house. He'd forgotten them, in his hurry to get ready and try and drown out the fact that Doll was married and not to him. An unlit cigarette dangled from hips lips and his long brown hair stuck out from under his used to be white cap.

He looked up and saw someone very blonde and very pretty. "I spy with my little eye Tick-Tock!" He announced, jumping from his beam to hers. "What's going on in your world, Tick?" He asked, sitting next to her carelessly. His many bracelets jingled. He would have to get rid of a few soon, or else there would be hardly anymore room.

He looked at her, grinning as he did so, his cigarette falling from his lips and off the beam. He watched it fall sadly. Then he shrugged. "Ah... Oh well. No use crying over spilt milk, right, Tick?" He said. And it was true. Why cry over one lousy cigarette when he had a crisis going on. Doll... The girl he had always wanted, the girl he had loved for years, was married. To his leader. Brooklyn shook these thoughts away.

"You know me, right? Cause that would totally suck. Having a beautiful girl like you not knowing my name?" He grimaced. "Horrible. Cuts me in my soul, it does." He shook his head. "I'm Brooklyn. Just a refresher, is all."

[Tick-Tock]

tap on my window knock on my door ,

i wanna make you feel beautiful . . .

Tick nearly fell off her beam as the appearance of one of the other Birds and the loud voice belonging to him surprised her. It was Brooklyn. She'd seen him around, though never actually spoken with him. He always seemed to be with another girl. And then when he wasn't she was always wary of talking with him for her own reasons. But there was no avoiding him now.

What was going on in her world? She was having a hard time reading her own emotions or any possible hints Bullseye could be giving her. Not that she…cared…or anything. She regained her balance quickly and relaxed back into her previous position. She wasn't exactly sure how she was supposed to answer his question without spilling her soul to him. Brooklyn's cigarette fell from his mouth and out of existence in the atmosphere around them, and she shrugged, not an avid smoker herself.

"I know you," she replied softly, gazing out blankly. She weighed the options for a moment, still having not answered his first question. What to say, what to say? "And…my world…is not good. I fell on my face sellin' papes and I'm a little insecure in my lack of a love life." her voice was gentle and quiet as usual, always the soft-spoken bird.

[Brooklyn]

Brooklyn was almost afraid that he had gotten her name wrong or something. She didn't answer for so long. He tugged on one of his bracelets nervously as he sat there in what he considered to be awkward silence. He looked up gratefully when she finally spoke. "You know me? That's wonderful! I'm more famous then I thought. I think my ego just inflated ten more inches." He joked, nudging her playfully.

He grabbed the bottom of the beam and began to swing back and forth. He looked at the sky and thought about her next answer as he reached up and held onto his hat. "Your world isn't good, huh? I don't suppose you wanna tell me." He sighed. "Well... If your world isn't good right now, then your not alive." He shook his head. "Never mind, I'm bringing my own problems into this."

He looked at her, trying to discern something. "Lack of a love life?" He mused. "I know how that feels. It may not seem like it, but it is. See, I bet your one of those people who wait for someone special, right? I'm one of those people who can't get enough of it. I just jump from one girl to the next, right? Well, that's not a love life. That's messed up. Therefore, if your waiting for that perfect someone, you have a love life."

He scratched his chin. "I'm not making any sense, am I?" He wondered out loud. "Sorry, but... I've been distracted lately by... um... certain events." He shrugged. "Seems like my whole world's falling apart." He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck before looking down at the ground below him. "Not enough... Would only hurt." He paused and then said, "Alot." Before chuckling darkly to himself.

[Tick-Tock]

tap on my window knock on my door ,

i wanna make you feel beautiful . . .

Tick let Brooklyn talk for a while, not exactly minding if he brought his own problems into the conversation. But what had drawn her attention was his assumption of what kind of girl she was. She tossed her hair over her shoulder and frowned, "It's not so much an issue of the right guy. It's just that no one has come along that likes me and I like him."

She sighed at glanced at him for a quick moment. "I'm not waiting, then. Love-wise I haven't even been born yet," she said, trying to figure out what he meant by hurting a little or a lot. She wasn't sure if she should divulge her situation to him or not. After all, she hadn't even had a real conversation with him before. It wouldn't make sense for her to bear her soul to him. And she wasn't going to because it wasn't her style. "What was it like for you when you first started dating?" she asked, looking and feeling anxious about asking.

Maybe, just maybe, his response would help her with Bullseye.

[Brooklyn]

Brooklyn shrugged, spreading his hands and laughed. "Sorry. Guess I'm not good at reading people. I'm a losy bird anyway, I was just made one because I wouldn't shut up about it. Plus I keep falling off rafters, so..." He shrugged. "I'm kind of forgetful, and I drink way too much, and I spend all my money on women, tattoos, and cigarettes." He sighed and leaned back a bit. He looked at her. "So... let me guess. You're feeling kind of depressed because there's a guy... And you're not sure about him." He raised his eyebrows, wondering it he had got it right. "Did I get a bullseye?" He asked.

He laughed, not at her, but at her question. "Dating? I don't date, Tick. What happened was, I was fifteen, I was drunk and there was a girl." He shrugged. "That was it." He said. "Meaningless talking, stupid jokes, not much conversation, and then later... I'm surprised if they even look at me when we pass on the street." He sighed and took his hat off, running a hand through his shaggy brown hair.

"But... When I realized I loved this one girl... Instead of going after her, I gave up and tried a bunch of different girls to try and find her. But I never did. I should've just hitched up my pants and told her, but I didn't." He looked sad as he pulled his hat back on. "And now it's too late... She's married." He looked at away. "And I'm not even a thought in the back of her head." He sighed and buried his face in his hands.