You look like you know what you're doing. (Connor)

[Charlotte Greene]

So Charlie had been at Hammel for.. a while now. Her ability wasn't really a dangerous one so she hadn't recieved much in the field of training.. What was so hard to learn? Wings out, wings in.. Don't spew dust everywhere.. Apparently with some practice you can fly. Wahoo. The problem, though, was that even now Charlie still had trouble sleeping or keeping her wings in because it caused her pretty intense back pain after a while. A relatively short while.. as in an hour or two.

Yeah, massage, acupuncture, etc. were all options to try to relieve some of the pain, but those all seemed reactive instead of proactive, and they all required either money or taking time away from someone else who may need it a lot more than Charlie. As it sat, she was fine and pain-free as long as she just brought her wings out.. She figured that.. maybe part of the problem were the new and repurposed muscles that had supposedly come with her wings. And.. since heat didn't work to dull the pain and cold didn't work to numb it (at least not well enough to deal with hot or cold on her back all day) Charlie figured that maybe using the muscles might help.

She had no idea how to fly, though.. and Didn't honestly trust her wings to keep her airborn. They seemed to thin and dainty.. Sure, they were tougher than they looked but.. over a hundred pounds? Held in the air by translucent giant butterfly wings? ..maybe she was here in the gym to prove that they were stronger than they seemed.. maybe she was here because she'd gotten all of six hours of sleep in the past two days.. but here Charlie was.. at the gym.. looking so out of place that it almost hurt to look at.

She had been standing near the entrance for some time now.. not sure where to start, what to do, how to do it, or why she should start there or do it at all... when finally someone came in. He was around her height.. didn't look uppity.. good, good. He also looked like he knew what he was doing, given how he strolled in and seemed to immediately head toward what he was here to do. Maybe it wasn't so cool to interrupt, but Charlie only wanted a little help.. just some pointers.. and he could definitely just turn her down if he was crunched for time or didn't want to bother. Agh, it was worth a shot. If this person didn't want to help her out, Charlie could just apologize for bothering him and leave.

"U-um.. excuse me? .. Hi.. uh, heh. This is probably gonna sound really silly, but.. You look like you maybe know what you're doing.. what some of these machines are.. how to use them? My.. my back gets really, really sore.. so I think.. maybe I need to do a little bit of strength training.. or I dunno, stretching? I have to do something.. it keeps me from sleeping most nights.. If you aren't busy, is there any chance you could just.. maybe point me in a direction? I mean, you don't have to.. You're just the friendliest face I've seen come in here in the last half hour.. I just.. I thought I would ask."

When Charlie had started talking, her posture had been fairly neutral and a little guarded.. by the time she'd managed to get her question all the way out, she was having to stare through her bangs to see Connor and she looked like she was trying to take up as little space as possible.. Maybe she wanted to shrink into nothing to get away from this moment? .. The giant wings protruding from her back.. didn't exactly help with the whole 'minimizing her profile' thing, but.. the effort would be obvious, even if it was also subconscious.

[Connor Anderson]

Connor had only been at Hammel for a few months. Long enough for things like missing his family, his home, and his horse to really settle over him. He was used to getting up around 5:00 am to help feed, muck stalls, and occasionally gallop around the track before catching the bus to school, then come home, more mucking and feeding after homework, and if time allowed, a ride on Sona. They were busy days, but he never found himself bored, or dreading the next day. Most fifteen year olds didn’t even see 5:00 am. For Connor, he had been raised on it, so it had simply become part of life.

What he was missing was the active part of his life. On the farm there had been little time to sit around and do nothing. Here... well... it was too easy to fall into lazy habits. He didn’t want to go back home unable to do what he loved, so he had learned early on where the gym was, and after some basic instruction from the gym teacher and older students, how to use the equipment.

It was what he was now on his way to do. His homework was... well, mostly done. Done enough to warrant a trip to the gym. He was getting antsy sitting around for so long, and being antsy didn’t sit well with him. It made him want to get up and do something. So, he’d changed into the t-shirt and shorts he tended to wear when he worked out, and headed down to the gym.

His iPod was secured in its’ pouch on his arm, and his earbuds were around his neck for the trip down. Music tended to help him stay focused, and motivated. Some days when he’d rather curl up and nap, or laze around the common room with his dormmates and movies, it was hard to get any kind of motivation going. Today, however, he was determined to work at least a little bit. Maybe an hour, tops.

He’d probably be starving by that point, anyway. At least he’d brought water. ... This time.

Once he was through the doors, it took him a moment to decide what he wanted to do. His favorite was the leg press, simply because his leg strength from riding was decent. Maybe he’d work his arms for a bit. Without Sona pulling against them in a silent plea to go faster than they currently were every day, it was hard to keep the tone he’d gained going. Yeah, definitely arms for a bit.

He was just about to settle with the little barbell weights when a girl approached him. A pretty girl. With giant wings, yes, but... Connor was hard pressed to do much but stare for a moment. At least he kept his mouth shut.

“Uh. Yeah! Yeah, ‘course I can.” A boyish grin appeared on his face. “Is it like... more in the shoulders, or lower back?” Riding was one of the few activities that used almost all of the muscles in the body, so he was well versed in trying to keep them all in line. “Oh! I’m Connor, by the way.” His blue eyes cast around the gym for a moment before he looked back at the girl. “Do you want to try actual machinery first, or stretches?” He knew a little for both, at least enough to try to help. He felt bad for her, really. All his power did was make him feel like he could both eat and sleep forever.

[Charlotte Greene]

Oh. Wow. He was a friendly face with an accent and this guy actually seemed.. nice? This was.. a surprise. In fact, after his introduction and questions Charlie's surprise would be fairly clear in her expression, body language, and lack of any response whatsoever for several long moments. Her shoulders literally dropped, her jaw slightly slackened, and she just stared... Until she finally blinked and shot upright like she'd been woken up.

"Oh! Um.. H-hi! ..again.. My name is Charlie! Charlotte Greene, but Charlie. My, uh.. my back.. it's.. um.." She turned 3/4 away from him, her wings fluttering slightly in what was most likely nervousness. One arm craned around so her fingertips touched just below her shoulders, and the other came around to make a bit of a line well below her ribs. "It's.. it's kinda my whole back, really.. It starts higher where my wings come out, but it spreads everywhere once it starts hurting and.." Her shoulders dropped a bit and her posture itself took a turn toward sadness as she continued a bit softer. "And it just aches.. and if I put my wings away it burns like a pulled muscle.. but it takes hours with them out before the aching goes away.."

Charlie turned back to face Connor, her posture still a bit tired and a bit downtrodden. Now she was staring at the floor rather than at him. "I know I should probably try to talk to a trainer or to the nurse or something but.. I hate pills.. and I.. I dunno, have social anxiety or something? I hate wasting people's time.. And I'm so sorry for bothering you... You just looked.. nice. I, um.. I don't know enough about what's wrong to know what to do about it. What do you do even do to help when you pull a muscle? Are stretches good or do they just make it worse? Should you even risk using that muscle?"

Charlie brought a hand up to her forehead and held it there for several seconds before dropping it and taking in a quick deep breath and forcing her gaze back to Connor's eyes. "And I just go crazy rambly when someone does give me the time of day. I'm sorry. You really don't have to try to help me if you don't want to. I promise I won't be offended."

Social anxiety 101: Always give the people interacting with you an escape that doesn't involve any guilt.. They're more likely to just walk away if you don't leave them with any guilt... even when you really, desperately want them to stick around. Also apparently don't answer their questions.. at all. And talk so much that they can't hardly keep up with all of your words. Yeah, use all the words. All of them. So that people can't remember what you said when you started talking by the time you finish. That way they have no idea what you want or need and they're more likely to just walk away. Even when you really want them to stick around....

Charlie simply let out a slow sigh and closed her eyes.

[Connor Anderson]

Connor was somewhat confused by the look of surprise on the girl’s face. If she was that shocked by manners, what other guys could she possibly have encountered so far? If he hadn’t used manners, his mother would have found a way to let him know it, even hundreds of miles away. It was something he was used to doing, but clearly from the look on her face, wasn’t common.

Well then. He’d just have to be against the norm. It wasn’t as though he wasn’t used to that. He smiled as she took her time with her reply, waiting patiently. When she went to show him, he studied the areas carefully (from a distance, of course), trying to relate them to his own body, and what might benefit her the most. “I’m sorry your wings hurt you,” he said softly, blue eyes reflecting the fact that he was being honest. If only his power was more useful than simply healing himself, he’d try to help her out. But it wouldn’t do anything until he hurt himself, which... didn’t benefit her. At all.

And she kept talking. Connor kept listening, trying to keep up with her. Honestly, the look she had to her was making him a little depressed, if only because it was sort of tragic to him that such a pretty girl would have reason to look so sad. “Hey,” he said softly. “It’s okay. You’re really not bothering me, I promise.” As for solutions, he thought about it. “I’ve pulled muscles before. Mostly in my upper back, from fighting with my horse.” Sona had been an awfully headstrong animal when he was younger, and still had his moments from time to time. Connor was honestly dreading seeing what state he was in when he got back home. Not being a racehorse, he was low on the priority list for exercise. His father had promised to try to get him out a few times a week, but that could only last so long, especially as they got ready for the next crop of foals in a matter of months. “Heat therapy always helped me. Things like oat bags you can microwave, or even a hot towel. It helps the muscle relax.” Of course, things like Advil had helped too, but that wasn’t good advice when she said she didn’t like pills.

He really wished she’d look up more often. The sad look didn’t suit her at all. “I want to help,” he assured her. “I have a few things we can try. Easy things, too, that don’t mean you need to come down here for the equipment.” He’d long since learned the joys of simple stretches before taking young Thoroughbreds onto the track first thing in the morning.

[Charlotte Greene]

Damn. Sure enough this 'nice' person was actually more like a knight in shining armor.. and refused to take the bait Charlie was waving in his face as an excuse to leave. Maybe she wouldn't be as awkward around people as she was if a few more people like him had been in her life. As it sat, the only really good person she knew had died young. Maybe Connor could be the second?

"Oh, it's.. I'm pretty used to it by now? The human body adapts pretty well to pain most of the time.. and it's not like I can't function even on bad days. And.. and they tell me that I should get more and more used to it. I guess." Heat.. yeah, that was something that Charlie hadn't tried in a fairly long time. She'd tried to use a heating pad when she slept shortly after she'd manifested but the heat had kept her awake. Charlie dealt with cold far better than heat. Perhaps applied heat well before bed when she could deal with it? Maybe followed by a cool shower to lower her body temperature to help her sleep... or would that just undo all the warmth? Wait, how the heck did icy-hot patches work if that was the case? --Oh wait, they were cold first, then warm. Huh.

Of course Charlie hadn't meant that she was overly opposed to simple pills like Advil or Benedryl or.. little OTC stuff that had little or at least manageable side-effects. Doctors had put her on loritabs in the past.. then tried vicodin.. even oxycontin... Even in small doses she'd found herself stumbling through a grey and jello-like world until they'd gotten out of her system.. but Connor couldn't possibly know that. Charlie had just said 'pills'.

He was doing a pretty good job of making Charlie blushy and smiley rather than sad and staring at the ground, though.. what with his constant encouragement and disregard for her awkwardness. It was....refreshing. "I.. you do? Uh.. well.. I would.. love to hear about them? A-and.. and if there's any way I could repay you.. just for listening to me.." A lot of girls, one might get the impression that 'any way they could repay you' could be taken with a sexual connotation.. but Charlie being Charlie.. someone would have to really, really, really try hard to get that out of her offer. "I would be super grateful if you would be willing to show me what you think might help." Not having to return to the gym would be a plus as well. This place made Charlie feel so out of her element it was almost painful.

That aside, though, it certainly looked as though Charlie was 'looking up' as Connor wished. Both literally and figuratively. She was now staring him straight in the eyes and her expression and posture both told of excitement and hope rather than disappointment and ashamedness.. Way to go, Connor. Keep it up.

[Connor Anderson]

Connor had been blissfully unaware that any ‘bait’ had been left dangling. He’d used more or less the same wording from time to time, though there was rarely any real meaning behind it. More than once he’d used it with his brother or father when seeking advice for fine tuning Sona’s training. It had been polite, yes, but deep down he’d known that if they had the time, they’d help. It was fairly simple, thankfully.

A small frown crossed Connor’s face as she explained the side effects. It wasn’t fair that kids like him got off with just feelings of hunger and exhaustion, when she had to deal with pain no matter what she did. He couldn’t really think of anything much worse for a side effect. “You shouldn’t have to be used to it,” he offered, mostly because it was how he felt about it. “But I hope it does get easier.” His blue eyes cut to her wings again. “Your wings are really pretty.” So was she, but that was probably weird to say. Especially when all she wanted was help. So he just bit his tongue and refrained from saying anything else about it.

Speaking of help, yes. Back on track. Connor mentally shook himself back into focus and managed a little smile at her, shaking his head. “You don’t need to do that, promise. I’m happy to help you. Anything to make side effects easier, right?” Especially crappy ones like hers. “They’re pretty easy. Do you want to try with any of the equipment, or just with stretches?” He got the feeling that she was feeling very much like a fish out of water in the gym. Granted, he’d felt that way too, but some of the seniors, and especially the teachers, were helpful and made him feel more welcome. Hopefully, he was having the same effect on Charlie. “All I was going to do was mess around with the weights, so I’ve got lots of time to help you.” His arms could wait an hour... or a day. Especially if the reason he was delaying was a pretty girl.

[Charlotte Greene]

Connor was apparently almost too sweet for his own good.. Claiming that Charlie shouldn't have to get used to the side-effects her wings had brought into her life. With rewards inevitably come costs. It was something Charlie couldn't really undo, so she had simply chosen to accept what she could. Supposedly she should be able to fly.. and she had a great defense mechanism.. And there was something at least as cool as it was geeky about being a real life pixie.. Plus, in all seriousness.. Charlie just got muscle pain. That was her main and - up to this point - only real noticeable side-effect. Sure, that brought inability to sleep with it sometimes.. but there were people here with chronic migraines, extreme photosensitivity, low bone density, powers that they had to stay scared of because if they weren't careful they could kill people completely on accident.... She'd used all of this to justify that her situation, while it wasn't ideal.. was an okay one.

"Yeah.. me too." In reference to hoping things got easier. Because even if it was justifiable that things were okay, that didn't mean that one couldn't hope for them to get better. At the mention of Charlie's wings being pretty, she actually turned her shoulders clockwise and her head counterclockwise, staring back at her left wing as it fluttered slightly. "I guess so. I have a bad habit of.. forgetting they're there or ignoring them.. but I guess they are at least pretty. And they match my name. Greene. They blend in pretty good with grass and shrubs.. and they're good to hide behind.. and they tend to draw people's eyes away from the rest of me, so..." Yeah, Charlie didn't know how to take a compliment anyway. Not a genuine one. Connor could do his worst, Charlie would just laugh it off, most likely.

As Connor mentioned 'anything to make side effects easier'.. strangely enough, the first thing that popped into Charlie's head was.. someone to hug. When she'd been younger and her uncle James had still been alive, the most comfortable and relaxed she had ever been was when she'd fallen asleep on his lap or leaned against him on the couch. He'd bought her a bed of her own, but she had always snuck out of it to his room. Not in any sort of creepy way, just because it had always been far more peaceful to sleep next to or in the arms of a person that she felt safe with... She honestly wondered if .. having someone to cuddle with might help.

But back to reality.. cause there was no way that this guy, as sweet and decent as he was, didn't already have someone who would be less than pleased about him cuddling with a pixie. --Let alone the slim chance that he would want to anyway.. or that Charlie could go along with it even if he did. "Um.. I guess we could try both? I mean.. Whichever you think is more effective. I feel really out of place here, but.. if something in here helps me to feel better and sleep better, I'll deal with it, ya know? And.. if something that doesn't require me coming down here helps out just as much, then.. I can do that instead. --Or, you were here to do something for yourself.. You could just.. show me one thing? And.. maybe I could just meet up with you later or another day and you could show me something else? I don't want to take up too much of your time, even though I really do believe you don't mind."

As strange as it was to note.. Charlie got the distinct impression that she preferred just awkward her to fearfully socially awkward giving-people-excuses-to-run..her. Yeah.. Yeah, this was better. Honest, and only a little over-accommodating. Way better than 'babble until their eyes glaze over, then run away'. If only she could remember how to do this instead of that.

[Connor Anderson]

Connor honestly didn’t think of himself as an overly sweet person. He cared about others, sure, and extended common courtesy to them, but that wasn’t particularly special, was it? He’d simply grown up with the understanding that if he didn’t act as such, he would get lectured by his mother on behaviour until he got it in his head to brush up on his act. He’d had an easier time of it than his older brother. Curtis... was nice, sure, especially when they had guests at the farm. But he was also easy to irritate, prompting a flurry of curse words, among other things. At least Connor honestly meant what he had said. He didn’t think that most of the side effects were fair, especially when he got off with an automatic power that seemed to have relatively minimal side effects.

His heart went out to her slightly with that one simple agreement. If only his own powers worked on something other than his own cells. It made him feel irrationally selfish at times, especially when someone got scraped up in group training or gym class, and he couldn’t do anything about it. Dwelling on it wasn’t going to help anything, however, and he had to let it go. Instead, he studied her wings, blue eyes bright with curiosity. “They’re really pretty.” He wanted to touch one, just to see what it felt like, but that seemed like a boundary he shouldn’t cross. “I don’t see why you’d want to draw people’s attention away from you, Charlie.” A shy smile was offered to her. “I think you’re prettier than any wings.” She looked as though she needed a little uplift, and he certainly wasn’t lying. She was awfully pretty.

Oddly, had she voiced what might make things better, Connor would have understood. Hell, hugging Sona made everything better. Or even a hug from his mom, though he was probably too old to admit it at this point in his life, it was still a fact. He’d never been against contact, either.

Nor did he have someone in his life that might protest him hugging a pixie. It wasn’t that he wasn’t interested, he simply hadn’t... pursued anything yet. At home he had been too busy, and somewhat distrustful when a girl that hadn’t previously spoken to him suddenly developed interest, usually after one of his family’s horses had won a decent race. Here, at least, he was relatively anonymous in those terms. “Well... some of the machines might be helpful, but if you want to do stretches instead, we can do that.” He thought about what had made him feel better. “... If you want to come here once a week or something, to supplement the stretches with machine work, I could come with you?” The buddy system might have been old, but it still worked.

“Hey, it’s okay. I promised I could try to help, and I will. Don’t worry about it, all right? Here.” He nodded to a clear space along the wall that was usually used for warm ups and cool downs. “I can show you some shoulder and back stretches first anyway, because trying to do the machines without warming up can do more damage.” He spoke from experience, jumping on excited, young horses first thing in the morning and having to quit before a single run was over due to a cramped or pulled muscle. He’d learned his lesson.

[Charlotte Greene]

If Connor didn't have so much natural charm, it would probably have been a lot easier for Charlie to avoid grinning and blushing as he continued to compliment her and promise that he was willing to help and tell her not to worry.. But Connor was apparently extremely naturally charming, and Charlie? Not used to being charmed. She had no real barriers against it. She didn't often have in-depth normal conversations with people. --This was normal, right? At least.. it was fairly normal? She wasn't being hauled off to the mall, or arguing with some asian kid.. Man, this school was weird. At least for Hammel, this had to constitute a 'normal conversation'.

She hadn't been able to reply to his comment that she was prettier than any wings.. She'd just swallowed and .. nodded. Because how was she supposed to respond to that? Other people probably would have been flirty or.. or maybe even told him off.. or.. something.. else? But Charlie wasn't other people. She was just Charlie. And Connor was really cute and really nice and really polite and charming and it was just not something she was used to. Maybe she didn't know how to take a compliment, maybe they wouldn't sink in, but holy crap did she get pleasant little butterflies when they kept getting tossed in her direction.

"Uh, stretches.. s-sure, that sounds like a good place to start? Um.. Once a week, yeah. Any, um.. Any day you're available. Any time. I'll be here whenever it's convenient for you." How strange.. This was almost like a recurring.. date.. Charlie had never been on a date. Not one past 6th grade, anyway.. And that had been a birthday party sleepover..thing. Josh Briant had invited her to his friend's birthday party. Of course he's basically abandoned her as soon as his group of friends was all there, but it had been nice to be included. She'd even managed to spend the night.. though in all honesty she'd also been beyond relieved when her uncle had picked her up the next day.

When he nodded toward the wall and mentioned that machines without stretching could cause injury, Charlie nodded perhaps a little too seriously before following him over. She didn't want him to think she didn't appreciate his time... Once they were at the wall, though, she clasped her hands together and wrapped one leg behind the other. Classic posture for a person who feels very not dominant in a situation. "Um.. I'm not sure how this works.. Do you want my wings out of the way?" Maybe stretching both ways (wings in and out) would help more? "I.. um, do you need to touch me? Is that okay with your girlfriend?" Because surely.. someone like this had a girlfriend. "I don't wanna be the cause of any arguments or anything.. If you're half as nice to her, she's really really lucky to have you."

Was Charlie accidentally being homophobic or some such? Of course not.. but he'd called her pretty.. and he definitely wasn't stereotypically gay in any way.. and she hadn't meant to stereotype him based on his lack of stereotypical behavior.. and.. ack. She didn't want to blurt out anything about it being okay if he was gay. That was just uncalled for, right? If he was, surely he would just laugh and mention his boyfriend instead. --But wait, why had she mentioned his girlfriend anyway? Gah! Awkward factory Greene. Oh well. Too late to take it back now. If only Charlie had been a telepath instead.

[Connor Anderson]

If Connor was asked, he’d honestly say he was more charming and better with horses than with people. He understood their language (well, as best he could without being an animal communicator), and he was at ease around them. Though he got by with people, mostly by the grace and foresight of his mother, who had always guided him into being social, he would still argue he was best in a stable. Hammel had been an adjustment, but not a bad one. Sure, he missed the horses and his family, but on the bright side? No 5:00 am wake up call to get to work. He’d never minded, but sleeping in had become a rare treat that was now a common occurrence. It also helped that so far most of the students he’d met were pretty nice.

That definitely included Charlie.

“I really only have to work around work. ... And homework, I guess.” When that pesky thing showed up now and again. “What about you? Any clubs or job or anything I need to keep in mind?” He didn’t want to wreck whatever existing plans she might have already. “Weeknights might be the best, unless you have a huge assignment due. I work most weekends.” And by work he meant volunteer, because he wasn’t working for money. He was just working to be around horses again. It made him feel less homesick.

Once they were settled by the wall, he considered her question. “I don’t want to hurt you by making you pull them in. Uhhh...” What to do, what to do? “Stretching is probably gentle enough not to hurt them. Um. They won’t... tear or anything, will they?” If anything was going to make him feel terrible, it would be that. He could do some basic first aid, but that was for skin, not delicate wings.

He was so busy worrying about her wings that it took him a moment to register what she’d said. “Just a little, if you’re okay with that? Just enough to guide you. And I – wait, what?” He blinked, blue eyes round with surprise. “Um. I... don’t. Have a girlfriend. Nope.” Cue a less confident, definitely blushing Connor. “So you don’t have to worry!” This was more or less blurted out, much to his dismay. So much for looking like he knew what he was doing.

Now he was just a little flustered, but he was here to do a job. He was supposed to be helping Charlie, not having a minor (major) blush attack. Trying hard not to look as flustered, he shifted and thought about some of the back stretches Curtis had taught him years ago. “Umm... sooo... we can start with some easy ones to warm up, and go from there, if that’s okay?”

[Charlotte Greene]

'Nice' was indeed a fairly accurate descriptor of Charlie in the vast majority of situations.. 'Socially awkward', 'shy', 'overly outgoing', and several other descriptors also often fit the majority of situations... This one seemed to be going in a more 'nice' direction, though, and despite the little awkward gremlins that kept appearing on her shoulders it seemed a pleasant enough exchange...

Scheduling was completely open on Charlie's end, though. As long as they did this in the afternoon instead of ridiculously early, that is. Charlie wasn't really a morning person. She tended to not get much sleep.... as they'd already discussed. "Uh, no? .. No clubs, no job, no huge assignments, no homework that I can't get done some other time. Weeknights work great. Actually, any time, any day that isn't early in the morning works great. Today's a Monday.. so we could just meet every Monday? Unless you're tired after work, or...."

Aww.. Connor was all super concerned and polite and accommodating. Once he'd taken in and responded to her comment about his nonexistent girlfriend, Connor might realize he wasn't the only one blushing. Seriously, the only other person, let alone guy in Charlie's life that had actually seemed to genuinely give a damn had been her uncle. And her uncle had been blood.. Had been provided a reason to give a damn (even if he would have given several without the reason). Connor? No reason whatsoever. No reason to even continue talking or be willing to help.. He was just apparently that illusive nice guy that girls were supposedly always missing out on.

Oh, and the whole lack of a girlfriend didn't exactly help Charlie to stop blushing either. That meant that Connor was.. probably, maybe available in some way.. and he was being awful nice to her... Maybe he was interested? She could certainly do worse for a boyfriend. Or, at least she imagined she could. She'd never really considered herself girlfriend material, but.. Well, it would be a little silly not to at least give it a try and see what it was like if the opportunity did arise, right?

Oh crap. She'd probably been quiet and staring for a minute by now... Thank the gods that Connor wasn't a telepath and reading her mind. How telepaths managed to do that.. see people's thoughts.. all the time... was beyond Charlie. Anyway, he'd mentioned some stuff.. She should probably answer?

"Uh.. Heh.. Um.. Oh! Wings, yeah. It doesn't really hurt to bring them in, it just like.. starts to cramp if I have them in for too long? If you don't need two hours or something, I should be fine.. But they're plenty durable.. and I'm pretty sure they would heal if I ever did hurt them. I don't really feel them the same way that you'd think a bird does and they're not quite like skin.. More like how you can feel your teeth? Like.. you can feel pressure and temperature, but.. um.. Okay, hard to explain.. --But you don't need to worry about it, anyway! I'm pretty tough for someone that looks so.. dainty, and I used to bump into things all the time with my wings and they haven't gotten messed up yet."

Overshare much? Being flustered was.. a uniquely exhilarating sort of experience. It was almost as terrifying as it was fun. At least when there was a Connor involved. Charlie was, of course, glad that he didn't have a girlfriend who she could potentially be causing arguments with.. and she was glad to have been told she didn't need to worry, but thinking about a girlfriend only made Charlie think of herself in that role.. and if she wanted to avoid turning the color of a ripe tomato, she was going to have to just.. not focus on that.

"Easy warm-ups. Y-yeah, that's perfect." Still, it would likely be quite a bit easier for Connor to show Charlie what to do as well as direct her (and see if s he was doing something wrong) without a huge pair of wings blocking the view of her entire back and shoulders.. so as she waited to be told what to do first, she took in a quick breath and her wings appeared to literally deflate slightly.. before they started shrinking and shriveling up.. and in a matter of moments would be completely gone. The only clues they ever existed being two long slits cut in the back of her shirt, and (if Connor was observant) two long scars in roughly the same place as those cute.. Charlie was doing her best to smile, to show him that she was fine and not in pain with them out of the way.. and to not have to talk.. because she was worried she'd blurt out something stupid or talk to Connor like a child or something if she tried to put it into words.

[Connor Anderson]

Connor might have been fine with early mornings, but that was because he was used to them. He didn’t like inflicting them on others, though, and honestly he was getting used to sleeping in past 5:00 am. Most of his work was on weekends, so after classes worked fine for him. “Yeah, Mondays are fine. It’s mostly weekends I work.” He grinned at her. “You might not like me after work. I smell like a horse.” And he wasn’t making things up. He did smell like a horse. It happened when you worked with them.

He didn’t clue into her blushing, mostly because he was trying hard to tame his own blood back down out of his face. Really. It wasn’t something for him to be so embarrassed about, so why in the heck was his body acting like it was? Just because Charlie was pretty, and sweet... yeah. This was silly. If he hadn’t been nice to her, he would have gotten an affectionate verbal smackdown from his mother. She’d know. Somehow. With her magical mother voodoo powers. It was just how he’d been raised, and there was no point turning his back on that now he was miles and miles away from home. He’d seen some of the other students act up now they were away from their parents, but not him. The worst he’d done was stay up hideously late just to do things like learn new card tricks, or read up on the latest in the racing world.

Yep. Real rebel.

But back to Charlie. Who was most definitely pretty. Pretty enough to surely have a boyfriend. Or at least a line up to pick from. Right? That was how that worked. He was used to the girls back home being generally nice to him, but once his family had a good racehorse running? All. Over. Him. The racing community was huge in his school, and anyone who knew anything about it tended to know which families owned which horses. It had started nice, but had eventually settled into annoying territory. It was kind of nice at Hammel, with no one connecting him to that world. At least not in an intimate way, like he was back home.

“No, we won’t do two hours for your first time. We start slow and short, and build from there.” He cocked his head, thinking about it. “Have you ever tried swimming with them? It’s one of only two exercise... uh... things that use all the muscles in your body.” Riding was the other, but there wasn’t a lot of options for that around here. “Anyway. If it’s not going to hurt, maybe have them in for now? Might be easier.” Especially if he had to touch her. He didn’t want to hurt a wing. Even if she said they were durable.

Didn’t stop him from wanting to touch one, though.

He watched curiously as she brought them in, and found himself fascinated by them. It was sort of like watching his own skin heal. Once they were gone, he swallowed and forced his attention away from the blank space her wings had once been. Right. He was supposed to be doing something.

That something, he was apparently decent at. He carefully guided Charlie through a few stretches Curtis had taught him prior to flinging himself onto an antsy Thoroughbred’s back to keep him from wrenching his shoulders during the run. When he had to touch her, he was gentle, and kept his hands light. By the end of it, he was pretty sure that she had a good grip on what she needed to do. “See, those you can practice in your dorm, if you want. Then you don’t have to come down here all the time with the creepy seniors.” Not that all the seniors were creepy, but some of them definitely fell into that category.

And now he was tired, thirsty, and hungry. A look at the clock confirmed why. “That took longer than I thought. Hey. Um. Do you want to... have dinner with me?” He didn’t have many close friends yet, but he also hadn’t been at Hammel very long. It would be nice to have company.

[Charlotte Greene]

As strange as it was for Charlie to think it.. Connor's efforts to help her had been simultaneously several contradictory things. First off they'd been welcomed, obviously. She'd managed to run into the only nice person she'd ever met in a gym. Given, she'd only ever been in this gym.. and met this boy.. but the point still remained. She'd also been extremely relieved that he managed to stay .. surprisingly professional about the whole thing. Never lingering with his hands, never grabbing or groping, only guiding and gently touching and explaining. Everything above the waist and gentle and light.. He was a total sweetheart and could probably make money doing this for people who were as shy as Charlie, because he made her feel very comfortable and natural.

In addition, though, Charlie found herself almost disappointed that there didn't seem to be anything behind his actions aside from his desire to be kind and help her out. No lingering, nothing even the tiniest bit inappropriate.. He didn't show off at all, he didn't tease her.. Those were things boys were supposed to do when they were interested, right? Be.. kinda mean in ways that weren't really harmful? Make the girl chase them? Or.. something to that effect?

Still, it was really hard to feel bad about anything because in the entire time Charlie had kept her wings in she hadn't begun to experience the normal soreness or tightness that she'd have ordinarily started to catch the head end of. It seemed like maybe these stretches were actually doing some good. And they were all fairly simple.. and like he'd said, she could do them all in her own dorm and not need to be in public or be seen just to feel a bit better. By the time they were done and Connor was explaining that she could avoid creepy seniors, Charlie couldn't focus on the tiny inclination she had to be sad he wasn't more obviously into her because she was amazed that so little work had turned out actual results. Results she could feel.. Right now.

Then she was blindsided as Connor asked if she wanted to have dinner with him. She simply stared and blinked for several long moments. Had she missed him being teasing or.. was she just too focused to notice him touching a little too long or...? Sure, she'd been really, really nervous at first, but she'd warmed up to it remarkably fast. Connor seemed trustworthy.. and.. he really did seem to want to help.. Why wouldn't she want to warm up to it? But had she warmed up too much? Augh, what if her not being nervous after a few minutes made her seem unbecoming or slutty or something?? WHY WAS THIS SO COMPLICATED?

No. No, forget all that. Connor was a nice guy, and Charlie was a sweet girl.. and he was probably just hungry and not wanting to send her away.. Yeah, this was probably something she was more used to like pity. Only.. she wasn't really used to pity, only good at being a little down on herself and pretending that lots of things people did were out of pity. --Wait, wait, bad mindset! A really cute, really nice boy that uncle James would most definitely approve of and thank for his efforts had just asked her to join him for dinner! Forget all that other crap!

"Uh, d-dinner?" Yes. Dinner. Dinner with Connor. The boy who had just totally blown off his own plans in order to help out some girl that he didn't know or owe anything to.. and had been very kind and professional about the entire thing. And who was single. And cute. Er, was cute already mentioned? Screw it, cute, cute, and cute. Connor was cute. Mention it twenty times, it was the danged truth. And he was sweet. "Sure! .. Um, I mean.. Yeah, I could.. use some food myself?"

Charlie would stare for another second or so before a blush crept over her features and she covered her face with her hand, staring through her fingers at the ground. "Um, Connor? I, uh.. Dinner, right? Like.. normal.. friendly.. normal dinner? ..Not like.. uh.. like.. I mean, I totally wouldn't mind it but are you ..a-asking me on a date?" She prepared to launch into explanations about how she was joking, how she wasn't serious, how it was totally okay if it wasn't and that she was just getting carried away because he was so nice to her and said he didn't have a girlfriend and already said he'd be willing to meet with her at least once a week...... But then she didn't need to do any of that until he said 'Haha, no. Why would I want to go on a date with you?'.. Or.. On the tiniest chance that he didn't say that.. and said something completely different.. maybe, just maybe.. she wouldn't need to explain at all.

[Connor Anderson]

If Connor was honest, the idea of grabbing around and groping really hadn’t occurred to him. He just... wasn’t that kind of guy. Oh, sure, he knew boys that would have taken advantage of the situation, but he just couldn’t do it. For one, his mother would probably skin him alive, but he also had more respect than that. Perhaps if they were closer, but even then it would have been in a more playful manner than anything else.

Did that make him weird?

He also wasn’t one of the boys that showed attraction by sticking gum in a girl’s hair, or dropping a frog on her desk. It might have been fine for movies, but if you looked close, those things never actually worked. If he was going to be interested in a girl, well... he wouldn’t be doing that. He’d rather get to know her, then maybe ask her to do something with him. And just leave out the fact that his parents horses generated a good deal of money. He didn’t want them to start clinging to him here because of that, just like they had from time to time in Kentucky. Not that he suspected Charlie would be that way.

At least she was feeling better. Though Connor didn’t have back pain himself, the exercises he’d showed her worked wonders for avoiding injury when a headstrong colt or filly was yanking their head against the reins, doing their best to pull arms out of sockets. He had had plenty of minor injuries from working with and riding the young Thoroughbreds, but the risks were minimized as much as possible in any way they could. That included stretching before he even went downstairs in the morning to work.

The staring almost startled him. Was the offer that far out of left field? Had he offended her? Did she actually have a boyfriend he hadn’t asked about that she was now worried about? It wasn’t just hard for girls. He was now wondering what he’d done wrong during their time together, but he was coming up empty handed. So why was she looking at him like that? She’d seemed to relax during the session, and he’d been careful... yeah. He had no idea.

Finally! She answered. His shoulders dropped in slightly relaxation and he grinned at her, albeit a little more shyly than he usually managed. “Okay then!” He was actually looking forward to this.

But there went that look on her face again. And now she was hiding her face. Concern flickered across Connor’s face. “Charlie? Are you okay?” She looked flustered, but when she spoke, he listened.

... Oh. Oh.

His own blush was back. He’d been proposing the so called ‘normal, friendly’ version of what she was asking to start with. But the more he thought about it, well... Charlie was pretty. And sweet. And... and why not? She didn’t know him like the girls at home did. He wasn’t concerned with her motivations. So really. Why not?

“The second one,” he finally answered with a little smile. “If it’s okay with you?” Dinner was an acceptable first date, right? Even if it was just in the cafeteria? Or was that bad? Great, now he was worrying.

[Charlotte Greene]

Teeny tiny fractions of seconds ticked by as Charlie stared at the floor, each one of them bringing with it a little gift of anxiety or fear, and taking with it a little piece of already dwindling confidence as it left.. 'I would never assume such a thing, I'm so sorry'.. 'No, its all my fault I completely misread the situation' .. 'No, I was only kidding, I know you would never wanna go out with me' .. 'Haha! That was a funny joke, huh!'

And Charlie was ready to become invisible and fly to the moon to sulk because she'd turned what could be a good friend into something horribly awkward that would never be the same and never work out and if she'd just kept her m-- ....The second one?

The pixie dropped her hand and stared, mouth slightly agape. "Wait, seriously?" If it was alright with her? --Holy crap, she hadn't misheard him! "O-of course!" Wow! What an awesome feeling! Such a surge of adrenaline and dopamine and.. and 'yay'! "I, uh.. I've never been on a date before? --Do you want me to go get dressed up or something and meet you there? Are you sure? I mean, you really don't have to if I put you on the spot, I just thought.. um.." I just thought you were super nice and super polite and super cute and super helpful and if you don't have a girlfriend its gotta be because you aren't looking and I don't even know why I bothered asking but I am so happy that you didn't just laugh at me..

"I.. don't think there's anything that would make me happier right now, Connor.. Even if you're only saying that to be nice." WHOO! .. Wait.. crap.. Okay, so 'date' confirmed.. What the heck was one supposed to do on a date?

Charlie had never been on a date be fore.. Unless that sleepover counted.. and really, looking at Connor.. It didn't. Not by a long shot. --Uh, quick.. break the awkwardness! Even there wasn't any awkwardness to break.. "Um.. I .. uh, I do have one.. tiny favor to ask.. Please say yes? Just say 'yes whatever it is, yes.'"

And assuming Connor said yes, Charlie would fall forward and wrap her arms around him. Her favor, obviously, was a hug. Perhaps to prove this was real and she wasn't dreaming, perhaps because she really needed to hug someone, and perhaps because.. well.. He'd touched her, she wanted to get to touch him for just a minute..

As she held her arms wrapped around him though, she would whisper into his shoulder.. "I was so scared you were gonna laugh at me.... Thank you." And with one squeeze, she would let him go (assuming her let her go as well) and take a step back, looking bashful and embarrassed but quite happy despite it. "Um.." She held her hand out slightly.. free for him to take if he wanted. It was normal for a couple to hold hands on the way to a date, wasn't it? Connor had hands that were simultaneously strong and also gentle. She'd waged her could give an awesome massage if he tried... But that might be overthinking things juuust a little for this whole impromptu first date thing that was happening right now. Or maybe not. But probably.. (But maybe not.)