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Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2013 17:31:47 GMT -6
Where was she?
Kaylee's eyes had popped open only seconds ago and already she was freaking out. This wasn't her ceiling. Her ceiling had a poster on it. This wasn't her bed either, because it just didn't feel right. And the smell was more...masculine? Because she had candles going in her room and this was not the correct smell.
So where--Oh, that's right. She'd passed out in front of that guy, Lily, in the alley...Was this his room? Slowly she sat up, holding her head as it pounded against her skull. She needed something to drink; her throat was dry and a bit sore and she didn't know why. Had the cold done it to her?
Speaking of cold, she was positively warm underneath the blankets of the bed she was laying on. But as she looked around the room, she noticed it was a dorm room at the university. So this was Lily's room?! But where was he? She wanted to get out of the bed but she had to wait so the pounding in her head would calm down. | @lily |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2013 17:58:58 GMT -6
| @ @kat There wasn’t much to look at in Lily’s room. A bed—always made—adjacent to a nightstand and a window that looked out over the university. There was his dresser, a desk with no computer, and a minifridge—the only remotely technological thing on his side of the room. It wasn’t quite messy, but his roommate’s side, marked by a line of tape on the floor, was markedly more organized. A potted cactus sat in the window.
At the moment, there was no Lily. No, he’d come back to a mercifully empty room from his miserable trip outdoors, tucked the freezing girl under his blankets because he didn’t know what else to do, and then sequestered himself in the joint bathroom for a hot shower to sear the cold out of his bones. For the past hour, he’d been leaning against the tiles, breathing in steam and trying to forget how good it had felt to hold Kaylee in his arms.
Not long after she woke, though, the door opened. Steam billowed out into the room, followed by Lily—hair damp and dripping water down his torso with only a white cotton towel wrapped around his hips. He stared at Kaylee. Shit. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2013 19:00:00 GMT -6
Kaylee was expecting to see Lily, but not like that. The steam billowed around his frame as he came from the bathroom...and he was dressed in nothing but a towel. Immediately Kaylee blushed and gasped, only to lay back down underneath the covers with a blush crossing her cheeks like wildfire.
"O-oh! S-s-sorry..." she called out, voice muffled under the blankets. She didn't know how long it would take him to get dressed, but then again she was the guest in his room so she needed to leave. But how could she leave if he was standing out there naked? "I...I was about t-t-t-to leave..."
And she really was...once this stupid headache subsided... | @lily |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2013 19:08:27 GMT -6
| @ @kat “Don’t bother,” he said.
His voice was thick, but he didn’t know why. What was this girl doing to him? Snatching a pair of boxers and sweatpants off his desk, he stepped back into the safe haven of his bathroom to change. When he returned, he cleared his throat and took a breath. He could at least try being nice, couldn’t he?
“I thought you were still sleeping. You can come out from under the blankets now. I’m decent—scout’s honor.”
Well damn. That was about as many words in a row as he’d said to anyone since he’d come to this stupid school. Kicking his chair out from under his desk, he sat on the desktop and used the chair as a footstool. His hair was still damp as he combed his fingers through it, but it was pleasantly warm. In here, away from the madness of the city and all of its people, he felt much better.
“When I ask this time, I expect the truth—not another incident of you fallin’ all over yourself,” he said. You alright?” |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2013 19:24:54 GMT -6
Oh, right. She'd kind of passed out the last time she told him she was alright, hadn't she? The memory was vague, but she did remember the gist of it. So at his words she blushed, but eventually she did resurface from the blanket so she could look over at him.
In all the excitement, she hadn't realized how handsome he truly was. That caramel skin and that hair...Just looking at him made her blush again but this time she just kept staring as if she were in a trance. But after about a minute she caught herself staring and moved her sight back to the blanket before her.
"S-sorry...about...y-y-you know..." Kaylee muttered, fingers playing with the hem of the blanket. "But...I-I'm fine...t-t-thank you..." All thoughts of leaving dissipated as she spoke to him, which was odd. Because she knew she needed to leave him alone...but she didn't want to leave his presence. Not just yet. "I-Is this...your room a-at the s-s-school?" | @lily |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2013 19:47:34 GMT -6
| @ @kat She was trying to apologize, but Lily just shook his head and stared out the window. Wasn’t like he hadn’t been caught bathing in the creek just outside the ranch before, or like Mrs. Ellison hadn’t seen him buckass nude before when she’d had to bathe him in a basin out in the barn after he’d gotten sprayed by a skunk. That Kaylee had seen him half-naked only occurred to him as another inconvenience, but he found himself almost half smiling again. At least this one was a normal one.
Oh, damn, she was talking again. How was he able to zone out through that wind-chime voice?
“S’pose so. You, uh, go here too, right? Never seen you ‘round here before.”
Granted, it wasn’t much like he tried to run into new people. For all he knew, she could have been in any one of his classes and he’d never have noticed. But wouldn’t he have noticed that pretty hair, those eyes? He doubted he’d forget either of those any time soon.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2013 20:55:13 GMT -6
She was only a sophomore, so she hadn't been at the school for a very long time. It was totally possible for her to never see him, especially if he had powers that differed from hers. When he was fighting before she remembered seeing him use air to punch a guy out, and she wondered afterward if that was his power.
But some people were iffy about that subject so she avoided it for the time being. "I do...I'm a sophomore here." Time had flown by fast, but she was no longer a freshman and part of her was glad she'd made it on her own for so long.
"What about...you?" | @lily |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2013 22:07:04 GMT -6
| @ @kat “Been here three years. Ain’t learned a damn thing since,” Lily said.
He exhaled and dropped his head forward into his palm, resting his elbow on his knee. Why did it suddenly feel bad to admit he had powers and was shit with them? It used to be a point of pride for him! There had never been a point in trying when he had never wanted to be a hero. He wasn’t a hero, damn it!
“So…huh…where are…you from?”
This talking thing sucked. Why was he still trying, even? He dropped his hand from his face. To keep his mind off this ridiculous failure, he reached out and brushed his fingertips along the spines of his cactus. Not everyone knew how, but if you touched them just right, they were soft as cotton. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2013 22:31:08 GMT -6
Three years and she'd never seen him around? It made sense...sort of. The university was huge and Kaylee rarely went anywhere other than her classes and her room, so for her it did actually make sense. And it seemed that Lily didn't even want to be there, so why would he not do the same?
His accent was thick and she was from the south too, so she didn't have to ask where he was from to know the general area. She was southern too, but after a few years of being away from it all her accent had died down. Plus she was so used to stuttering when she spoke that her accent never really came out unless she was speaking for long periods of time...which was rare.
"Texas." It was almost as if she were admitting some crime to the male, and that's how she felt about the state. Even though people seemed nice there...well, she had had to keep her powers a secret all her life because she knew she'd be ridiculed if anyone found out that she was a 'freak'. Thankfully her brother had helped keep said secret...
"I can tell...you're southern t-t-too...Where f-from?" | @lily |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2013 23:02:07 GMT -6
| @ @kat Texas? That wasn’t too far. He’d run a few cattle drives through there, attended a rodeo or two, even. Big state, though, and with a lot of big cities. He preferred his little farm out in the middle of the desert. But he’d be damned if that accent of hers wasn’t pretty, once he got a listen. He hadn’t really noticed it until he’d started listening, but there it was, lilting up over the vowels like a honey-glazed harp.
“Arizona,” he said when he withdrew from his thoughts. “Smack dab in the middle of the desert.”
Not far enough away from people, though. Still too many for the freak to live his life without causin’ any more trouble.
Most people in the South, leastwise as far as people like them were concerned, had like minds. Regardless of their political leaning, if there was one thing people in the South—people anywhere could agree on—it was that new, especially new and powerful, was threatening. No matter how subtle or helpful their powers might be. Kaylee might not have had as bad a time as he had, but it wasn’t likely to have been a good one. He exhaled and tried to shake off the strange feeling she kept giving him.
“Texas…s’nice. Why come to the big city?”
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Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2013 23:15:52 GMT -6
"That's probably why you're so tan...aha...ha..." Kaylee muttered to herself a bit too loudly. He probably heard her and she just stared at him, her smile and chuckle fading only seconds after leaving her mouth. But it was true, he had the perfect accent and his tone suggested he had lived somewhere that he couldn't just sit around and do nothing all day.
And if he lived there, he probably knew that southerners hated 'heroes' like himself. She wondered if he had any trouble in Arizona, but she decided to keep that to herself as well. No need to bring up bad memories, if he even had any. There was silence for a moment, and she went back to playing with the hem of the blanket before something popped into her head.
"Did you...carry me? All the way...to here?" She was probably right, but then again he could have been smart enough to use the transportation hub. But...probably not. Not that he wasn't smart! He just seemed...bad with directions. | @lily |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2013 23:39:21 GMT -6
| @ @kat Tan? He glanced at his arm, the way the sunlight glinted off the smooth, caramelized flesh. Not even the fine-white filaments of his sun-bleached arm hair disrupted the shine. He’d never really noticed it. He didn’t notice the slight tug at the corner of his mouth at her blush. Didn’t really notice he was talking until he was halfway through, either.
“Kinda comes with the territory of workin’ outside a lot. Too hot to bother with a shirt, and I don’t much care for the feel of fabric that close to my skin.”
He wondered if he even owned two shirts. It wasn’t likely. Most of what hung up in his closet were pants, and even then, most of those weren’t really “most” so much as three pairs he wore about a week straight before washing. His hat was hanging off the top post of his bed—he’d left it next to Kaylee while she slept. Odd, really, but he guessed it was a force of habit.
“Wasn’t much of any other way of getting’ you here,” he said with a shrug. “Couldn’t think of anywhere else to take you. ”
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Post by Deleted on Dec 8, 2013 15:11:37 GMT -6
That seemed true enough. If she lived in the dessert she'd probably wear as little clothing as possible too, even though she was a woman and couldn't get away with wearing a shirt. Well, she probably could, but it would be awkward. Not that any men around her would mind.
"Thank you...You saved my life...and I need to properly thank you..." At this she slowly stood up from the bed, making sure to put the covers back nice and neat before turning back to face Lily. The blush never left her cheeks, but she wanted to do something to show her gratitude.
So she slowly walked over to him and leaned up on her tiptoes, only to place a light kiss on his upper cheek. Then she pulled away, looking down at her feet. "I...I don't have any money so..." | @lily |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 8, 2013 15:47:43 GMT -6
| @ @kat “…Didn’t do it for thanks,” Lily said, thankful for that tan she had noticed as his cheeks began to heat up. “Did it because it seemed—”
Aw hell, if he said “it seemed right,” he sounded like one of those self-righteous hero types. Not, anyway, that he got to finish what he was saying before the girl stood up from the bed and approached him. He could feel the muscles of his back tensing, twisting up in uncertain knots. Like a wild animal, Lily froze in perfect posture, one hand still reaching towards the cactus on the windowsill and the other gripping his knee. And then—!
…she kissed him? Well, not quite a kiss, but a peck on the cheek. The touch still sent a shock straight to that strange feeling in his stomach. He inhaled. Her voice reminded him to breathe again. By this point, he’d drawn back and was staring at her, bewilderment plain in his eyes before he shook his head quickly and stood, looking for anything to do. Turning his back to her, he crouched by the mini fridge and fumbled around for two cans of sweet tea, trying not to let her see his frown; he didn’t think she’d understand that he was frowning at himself.
“T’weren’t nothin’…I told you—I didn’t do it for the thanks. You like sweet tea?”
His face was impassive when he kicked the door shut and held out one of the cans to her. The other can, he pressed to his temple and cheek, one eye shut. He felt like he had a fever, now.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 8, 2013 22:12:33 GMT -6
What was this man doing to her?! First he acts rude, then he saves her life and then when she tries to come out of her shell he just ignores her? Kaylee sighed inwardly, knowing she shouldn't have done what she did, but it just seemed right and didn't guys like that sort of thing? Or had she been reading too many romance novels?
Because he seemed upset that she'd kissed him, even if it wasn't a real kiss. He moved to his mini fridge and offered her a drink, but as much as she liked sweet tea she felt too awkward to stay. Quickly she shook her head and moved to grab her purse from beside the bed. "No, I...I h-h-have to g-go!" Her stutter was back, which only frustrated her more, and without saying anything else she pulled open the door and raced out before Lily could chase after her.
And she ran all the way back to her own room, only stopping to breathe once she was back inside with the door shut firmly behind her. She'd probably avoid him for the rest of her life now, if she were able to. | @lily |
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