Highs and Lows (Lux)

[Luxanna Viera]

Lux nodded slowly, as if she was trying to wrap her brain around the entire situation. Carter was right, and she knew that, but yet, she didn't feel as if it was entirely wrong of her to act the way she did. She was just being a good friend, right? But, that didn't mean what Oriel did was necessarily the right thing to do... God. This was confusing her.

She was aware of his every movement, and as he came closer, she could almost feel her heart stop in her chest. She could feel the warmth grow in her cheeks, and she was fairly sure the blush was starting to show more and more. But even so, her eyes didn't move from his. She was determined to keep her head held high- for once anyways.

At least until he spoke... Lux flinched and looked down, pursing her lips. She tried hard to figure out just what to say to something like that. She then looked up again, her eyes narrowed as she opened her mouth to speak. ''Why?''

[Carter Chevalier]

It usually made the Chevalier boy a little uncomfortable when she flinched. He often wondered if he'd done something wrong by her. She was difficult to read, despite how simple it should have been. Why she did what she wanted to was... Confusing. But, did she ever really do what she wanted to? It was why it was confusing. To see her without a certain man at her side parading around was possibly the most confusing thing at all.

But it was a chance. A rare opportunity worth taking. And he'd already admitted so much by what he'd just said.

"Because," Carter began, shrugging his shoulders lightly as he leaned in towards her, "Why not?"

[Luxanna Viera]

Lux had never looked at herself as a complicated being. Then again, she didn't see herself through other people's eyes. But flinching, being awkward and not really knowing what to do, what to say or what she wanted had always been a part of who she was. And as much as other people found her confusing, she confused herself more. At least around this blonde, annoyingly attractive boy.

''...Wow, really? That's like the oldest reply in the book.'', she said as she shifted her eyes upwards to look at him. Well, at least he didn't give her some overly complicated response she didn't understand. Kind of anyways.

And then she flicked his nose with her fingertips. ''Even I could have come up with something better to say than that. Tsk, I think you're losing your touch Mr. Chevalier.'' Like woah, where did that come from?

[Carter Chevalier]

Luxanna's response didn't surprise him as it might others. Carter Chevalier had dealt with this kind of switch before. It was difficult to find a type of woman he hadn't dealt with.

He didn't flinch as she touched him. The briefest sliver of contact that likely meant nothing to her. And so it would to him too.

"It's no line." Carter reassured her, raising his eyebrow as his shoulders rolled in a small shrug. "Just a simple truth. A simple question. If you don't protest, there's no harm done." His mouth twisted into a grin at one corner; "Why not be so close to you?"

[Luxanna Viera]

Lux hadn't really expected any kind of response from him, because from what she had experienced, reacting didn't seem like his kind of thing. But she couldn't deny the fact that it was kind of disappointing and slightly annoying that no matter what she did or what she said, or even how she acted, he always countered her so easily and had the upper hand.

It was that kind of thing that bruised her non-existent ego (Ha-ha) and made her strive to do better. God, what was it about him that kept making her tick?

''If I don't pro-'', she began, but his grin made her stop. And his next choice of words made the redness in her cheeks grow further. Aaand she was back to being her awkward, blushing self as easy as that. With a frustrated sigh, Lux shook her head. ''You're impossible.''

[Carter Chevalier]

Carter responded to the way she cut herself off by simply raising his eyebrows, as if he were curious to see where she was going with that. No matter - perhaps it wasn't even worth mentioning. She was blushing an incredibly deep shade of red by now. It seemed her defenses were weakening, else she would have kept up the attempt at a parry.

Either way, he wasn't about to stop... Whatever it was he was doing.

"I thought you were impossible to get alone. But here you are." He replied swiftly. He couldn't lean any closer to her, so he raised his arm to lean against the tree she held her back to. Some kind of stability. "And still not a word of protest? What would you do if I didn't stop moving closer?"

[Luxanna Viera]

Lux would never admit to enjoying having him this close. In fact, the mere thought of it made her want to growl. It was annoying. He was annoying, and she sure as hell did not enjoy a single second of this. At all. But then again, why did she have such trouble moving away? If she didn't want to, then why didn't she just tell him to move his butt and leave her alone? That annoyed her even more.

And she had to give it to him: He had a point.

''Here I am.'', she replied, trying her best to keep her voice from shaking. It didn't exactly make it any easier that he had her backed up in a corner. Even if it was her own fault for leaning against the tree and not moving away when she had the chance. He was just so close, and it was distracting. Very distracting. ''I-I uh...'' Yes, what exactly would she do? She had no clue. Her brain had turned into goo and she couldn't think straight. He was just so darn close. ''Well, your face would probably crash into the tree, so I'd be busy laughing...'' Her own comment made her want to facepalm herself with a chair.

...Well, one thing was for certain; Lux could surely win an award for saying the most random and stupid things.

[Carter Chevalier]

Carter's blue eyes addressed the features on her face - the subtle change in her obvious demeanour. He even managed a light chuckle at the joke - if it was a joke - she had offered. He didn't mean to make her so nervous. At least, not with his presence alone. How he felt about the shy girl was something of a mystery, even to him. But at the very least, he knew it was more than just a game.

"For you?" He asked, raising his free hand to glide his fingertips across her jaw line. Despite the flirtatious nature he could have taken on, his tone reflected something with less humour. Something serious; "I'll gladly take the risk."

And so he almost did. The older twin leaned in to leave nothing but a sliver between their lips. He could feel the sensation of her uneven breath against his cheeks. Any closer and he'd feel the uneven rhythm of her heart. "Unless," He added, his voice at a simple whisper, "You'd prefer to do the honours?"

[Luxanna Viera]

At Carter's touch, Lux felt her entire body freeze up. Her mouth dried and it felt as if her heart was about to jump out of her chest and breakdance on the ground. This whole thing gave 'being nervous' an entire new meaning. ''Uh...'' Everything around her seemed to dull down, every smell, taste and even sound besides her beating heart and the sound of Carter's voice. It was like a familiar, yet scary echo that just wouldn't leave her drugged down mind.

The next thing that happened, seemed to move in slow motion. Lux's eyes widened and a faint squeak escaped her lips. She blinked, confused at the entire situation. This was incredible awkward and... Well, she wasn't used to it. It was brand new to her, and she had never been this nervous in her entire life.

''That sounds so...Corny.'', she said and turned her head slightly upwards only to burst out in an uncontrollably, soundless laughter.

[Carter Chevalier]

Luxanna's awkwardness was no surprise for the French boy. She wouldn't be the first to freeze up underneath his gaze. She wouldn't be the first to deter an advance such as this. Though, was she deterring? She was laughing. He understood, he supposed. Few got to be this close to a Chevalier and walk away without their legs buckling beneath them.

"No?" He asked, turning his head very slightly. He wasn't offended or hurt by her outbreak. He wasn't even curious. The now aloof boy even offered a shrug, though he didn't move away from her. "Perhaps today, it's not meant to be."

[Luxanna Viera]

She didn't mean to laugh, she really didn't. It was just a reaction due to all the nervous tension in the air. She wasn't used to being in this kind of situation. In face, it was her very first time. She couldn't think clearly, and at least the laughing loosened her body up. Even if only a little. She took a deep breath, trying her best to control her shaking body, and after a few seconds of trying, she managed to calm herself enough to stop laughing.

Lux barely paid any attention to his words as she debated just what to do with all of this. She was stubborn, and even if she'd never admit to any of this ever happening, it couldn't hurt to... Could it? ''Oh, screw it.'', she mumbled silently. And with a determined nod she quickly leaned up, placed her hand on the back of Carter's neck and pressed her lips against his.

[Carter Chevalier]

Carter waited in such close proximity for as long as he were able. Each time his mind told him to take the simple step backwards - to give her some breathing room - something within him denied the request. He was a man used to going with his instincts, but this time it was strange.

Still, he'd be glad he didn't back away.

Because in the next moment, the timid girl had captured his attention, enrapturing his senses in the unthinkable - a kiss. He'd been teasing and tempting her for a significant amount of time, but he never actually expected that she'd do something like this.

And he didn't expect to feel any kind of connection with her.

Sliding his arm between the tree and her waist, Carter pulled her inward, holding her flush against him as he kissed her back. It couldn't hurt him either, to indulge in whatever this feeling was. Right?

[Luxanna Viera]

WHY? HOW? WHEN?

Luxanna knew that it was incredible stupid of her to even think about going there, and doing it, well, even she was surprised. It was so unlike her to act so hasty without really thinking things through. Okay, sure, she had THOUGHT about it, decided against it, and yet, here she was, doing the unthinkable. Oriel was going to kill her if he ever found out.

Though... She had to admit, it wasn't nearly as bad as she had thought. She had half-expected herself to find it incredible disgusting and that her pride would kick in and tell her how incredible wrong this was, but nope. Nothing. Instead, she found herself actually enjoying the whole thing. The touch. The embrace. The kiss. Even the jittery feeling at the pit of her stomach.

She felt light-headed and drowsy, and melted together, it drowned the screaming voice at the back of her mind telling her to back away.

[Carter Chevalier]

Carter expected Luxanna to be the one to pull away. It was just expected. It was surely a given. She'd come to her senses eventually and drag herself out of his grasp.

But when that didn't happen, he didn't really know what to think. Carter often gave into the investment of the moment rather than trying to think ahead. He kissed her with as much passion as she would allow. In that moment, there was a girl that wanted him to kiss her. To hold her. To invest in her the way he seemingly promised he would. But his mind kicked in before he could give her more than she wanted.

When he did pull away, he pressed his hands to her cheeks and stared down at her. As if he needed to check she was still there. That she was still herself.

[Luxanna Viera]

Surely, Carter wasn't the only one who had expected her to be the first one to pull away. And it surprised her as well that she hadn't realized how horribly stupid this whole thing was. At least she could give him the satisfaction to know that she didn't except anything more. Mostly because she didn't even know why she had kissed him in the first place!

Okay, so she wouldn't exactly tell him that she didn't expect anything. She figured that much was obvious, right? She would be stupid to think otherwise. Then again, she wasn't exactly known for being the emotional type that grew attached to people that way. She had learned from past mistakes. No, she was all for secretly enjoying this whole thing for as long as it was going to last. And of course, never to admit it ever happening after.

When their lips parted, Lux could feel her heart settle down in her chest and as she took a deep breath, Carter's touch brought her back to reality. She peeked up at the blue-eyed boy and she could feel her cheeks flush. ''Well, at least your face didn't crash into the tree.'', she pointed out with a faint smile.