Kill the Lights (Rya)

[Carter Chevalier]

It had definitely been unfortunate - the way in which Carter was removed from the retreat. But such rules were just messy and complex. Too complex for someone of his status to be able to follow. What could he say? He was a rule breaker. It meant he wasn't allowed at the Halloween dance.

He figured the cost was well worth it.

Since that encounter those months ago, Carter had kept in close contact with Rya. He liked her. She didn't put pressure on a situation, or try to force feelings onto a matter where there were none. He respected her, in a strange way, for simply being the person she was. But he'd never told her that. It should have been obvious, given the way he indulged in her company after everything was said and done. Like now, for instance. The elder of the Chevalier twins was half-wrapped in his own blanket. He ran a hand across his face, as if to keep himself from falling into a type of daze.

"Are you planning on leaving so soon?" Carter asked, propping himself up on his elbows and glancing at the wall behind his bed before he turned his eyes towards her. "You know, I've never forced you to go."

[Aryana Darcy]

Rya, once again, was in the bed of the infamous Carter Chevalier. With her clothes scattered across the ground, it was obvious what had occurred, and anybody who didn't realize what happened probably should get checked out for sheer stupidity. Those that judged her and called her a slut, she simply ignored; because really, every girl wanted him whether they cared to admit it or not. Rya was just lucky enough to actually have him. Well, sexually, that is. She never understood the concept of relationships. The thought primarily annoyed her. That was why Carter and Rya seemed to get along so well. Neither of them requested anything more than the other could offer, which was a nice change in life.

As she was pulling on her shirt, he spoke up, which wasn't very uncommon as of late. He'd been offering to hang out much more than he once had, which she found slightly odd, but the banter between the two seemed to distract her from it. Most would consider a casual fling awkward and uncomfortable in the aftermath, but she had no issues staying. He was good conversation, good looking, and a good past time whenever she needed. The least she could do, not that she ever minded staying, was to hang out after and relax.

She turned to him "Come on," Rya rolled her eyes as she pulled herself into her shorts. "You and I both know that whatever I do, it's because I want to do it." That much was true. Rya wasn't the type of girl to be told what to do. It was this whole 'rebellion' thing. Her lack of attention towards authority stemmed back to a single place... Aaand that's as far as she let her thoughts roam. "And I mean, I'm sure you don't care whether your brother or your other roommates see you half naked. But me? You have to earn this body. It isn't a free show."

[Carter Chevalier]

Carter idly rolled onto his back, shifting the blanket around so he didn't get himself tangled up in it. At least, not any further than he already was. He opted to rest his hand behind his head. "Who ever said you were anything less than an independent woman." He replied simply, exhaling a small sigh.

"Such a price." Carter almost whined, running his free hand across his jaw. Far be it for him to hold her up; he'd never tried to before, and he wasn't about to now. But he was curious, and curiosity often carried questions. "What makes me so worthy?"

[Aryana Darcy]

"Plenty, shockingly. Not that they have the audacity to say it again. I made sure of that much," The brunette sent a wink his way. There were plenty of people who made their feelings towards her abundantly clear. Again, she usually ignored them, but there were the select few that went a bit to far, and, to say the least, they didn't really feel it was in their best interest to say such things again after Rya was finished with them. Nobody expected a girl as small as Rya to be an avid boxing lover. Needless to say, their surprise was the most interesting part.

The girl uncrossed her legs and kicked Carter gently. She honestly didn't want to answer the question because she really didn't know what made him so 'worthy'. He was hot, and she supposed that was a reason. That, and she was the queen of bullshit and sarcastic comebacks. Whether they were good or not, it didn't matter. "Because you're blonde? No, that would mean I would be contractually obligated to have sex with every single blonde I come into contact with, which would include your brother."

She was merely teasing when she said those things. Should she give him some glimpse into the reason she did stick around? Nope, no reason to risk this getting into an unnecessarily sentimental sounding conversation, even though the feelings associated with it were far from sentimental. "What about you? I'm pretty damn sure you don't keep your girls around for tea and a delightful conversation after you bang them. What makes me so 'special'?"

[Carter Chevalier]

Carter feigned a shocked expression when she spoke. One packed with amusement and a touch of sarcasm. "Dare I ask how." He said simply, responding to her wink with a knowing grin.

He exhaled a short laugh when she kicked him so gently. A free hand instinctively went to his hair when she mentioned the colour. The natural blonde - though some would question that fact. But yes, it was possible to have this good a head of hair and not have put any colouring in it. "I'm honoured to be your pick of Chevaliers." He replied, enjoying her teasing nature all the same. It fueled his own. It's what made this work.

"You're different." He denoted, breathing a small sigh as he moved to sit up on his bed. "You understand the difference. That things can be separate." With a pause, he rolled his shoulders back and cringed. The muscles in his back were feeling a touch irritated; "Would it be so wrong to enjoy your company?"

[Aryana Darcy]

"Glad you think so," Rya said. There was nothing that she believed more than love being a total hoax. It was all chemicals in your mind. Hormones. If those were altered, then what would you have left? Love was not everlasting. It didn't even exist. Love was a way for women and men to trap each other in a position that would ultimately break apart one way or another.

Enough of that, though. Too much depressing was not good for her complexion, after all. "Not at all. I am quite amazing," Her tone was light. Rya adjusted, only to see his shoulder roll back and his face contort in discomfort. Ah, he was obviously asking for a massage. She wore a bemused grin then, her thoughts going to how he just couldn't seem to get enough of her touch. Of course, that wasn't the actual reason, but she liked to amuse herself with such thoughts.

"Turn over. You look like you need a good massage."

[Carter Chevalier]

"I'm inclined to agree." Carter replied, looking at her and offering a dulled grin. He knew she might have been joking, given the airy quality of her tone, but he wasn't. She was an amazing individual; important to him in her own way. He just knew that she wouldn't ever believe him.

Honestly, beyond that Carter fully expected her to walk out of the room. He knew any real effort to keep her was futile, but he tried anyway. Why, he couldn't say he knew. So when she - in a round about way - offered to stay, he didn't really know how to feel or react. "You have no idea how much I'd appreciate that." Carter replied genuinely, trying his best to hide how surprised he was by the offer.

As he moved to lie down on his stomach, he realised he probably shouldn't have looked for depth in the offer. But he wanted to find something.

[Aryana Darcy]

The brunette was skilled in using her hands, or so she had been told. Rya constantly worked with them, whether it be from creating art on a blank page, her hydrokinesis, boxing, or massages that she gave occasionally. She had never gotten any complaints from those she had massaged, so that must have been a good sign. "Even if you said no, I'd still keep asking until you gave in." Though it may not have seemed like it most times, Rya did have a heart under all the sarcasm and makeup.

Rya wasted no time in working on Carter's shoulders, since that is where she noticed the pain seemed to be stemming from. "Glad to know I know how to work you, Carter." She smiled. It was far too quiet, she had to say something to open up for some general conversation.

"Oh, didn't know if I told you, but I'm finally 18. Can you believe it? Me, an adult. Really, the world is screwed," Rya chuckled.

[Carter Chevalier]

Of course Rya was skilled with her hands; in many ways than one. It was one of the things Carter adored about her. "Your persistence is a virtue." Carter chided lightly. She always seemed to get what she wanted, and when it came to the older twin, he was no exception.

He chuckled simply at her statement, a low rumble in his chest. Of course she knew how to work him.

She also knew how to surprise him.

"You didn't tell me. I'll have to get you something." Carter replied, grinning to himself. That would involve some thought; if he was going to get her something, he'd want it to be important. For now, he'd have to shelve that thought; "Did you celebrate?"

[Aryana Darcy]

"Some might disagree," She mused quietly, her hands traveling further down his back for a few moments. She wanted to relax him, and not focus solely on a single place. It was never her style in anything she did. Carter knew better than anyone that she had an inability to stay in a single position for too long. It's what made what they did... interesting.

She didn't get anything from anybody, well, she was expecting some money to be placed into her account by her mother, and she hoped there may be a bit extra for birthday spending, but Rya couldn't be too sure. Mum was in a tight spot, so she really didn't expect much. Hopefully she could get a job at Dusty's relatively soon. She would ask about an internship soon. Hopefully she could weasel her way in. Ponybraid was a tough cookie, after all.

He asked if she celebrated, and she laughed softly. "I definitely celebrated. Went out clubbing, scammed some poor unsuspecting victims out of some money by getting them to buy me drinks." She did that anyway, but this time it seemed more amusing. Though, if she were in England, there would be no issue in getting drinks. Damn Americans. She moved back up to his shoulders. "If I were back home it'd be legal for me to drink, but sometimes I appreciate the little game I make out of it over here." She mused.

[Carter Chevalier]

Carter smiled to himself when she described how she celebrated. It sounded like how things went with he and Dom every time they went out. And every time they went back to Paris for a much needed blow out. "Had you invited me, I'd have bought for you all night." He point out, not necessarily flaunting his money as much as he was admitting that she could have easily scammed him. That he could have been one her victims.

Willingly, as it were.

"If you could have one feasible request for your birthday," Carter began curiously, "What would it be?"

[Aryana Darcy]

Rya shifted slightly, cocking her head down and to the side to look at Carter. "Then where's the fun in that, Blondie?" She laughed softly, reaching back up to massage his shoulder's once again. Rya knew that he would do practically anything she asked him to do. The Chevalier's were rich, after all. There was little they couldn't do. "My game is to see if I can get strangers to do my bidding for me."

Carter knew that it wasn't malicious in anyway, just a way to have some interesting fun. That's why she didn't explain it any further. If he still wanted her around after all these years, then that little fact wouldn't deter him.

"What I want?" Her hands stopped moving then, her mind suddenly consumed with the question, 'what did she want?' A tattoo, maybe. But she wanted to work for that on her own. Plus, she needed to draw out what she wanted. "Maybe a new sketchbook and some prismacolor pencils?" She really didn't know.

[Carter Chevalier]

Carter glanced back at her out of the corner of his eyes when she granted him another look at her face. He indulged in the lighter quality of her laughter. "That, I can understand." He mused. It was more fun when you had the money to burn. "I won't take it personally that you find me boring." He added with an amused grin.

Of course the fact wouldn't deter him.

Perhaps she'd never been asked before. Really asked. But what she wanted was something that she deserved, regardless of whether or not she felt that way. He had every intention of preserving the idea for later. "Would you be opposed to accepting things like that from me?" He asked carefully. It felt like treading on foreign territory.

[Aryana Darcy]

She never had thought, even in the several years of knowing Carter, to accept gifts from him. That was mainly because she had never officially announced her birthday. It sort of just... passed. And when his birthday came around, she never really was able to give him a gift. Well, each year she had drawn something, but was too much of a bitch to actually give it to him. It was really the only thing she could do. Rya didn't have much money of her own, so she couldn't buy him anything expensive or worthwhile.

The brunette moved herself, and sat beside Carter instead. Rya was sure that she had worked out the kinks in his shoulders, and figured it would be fine to stop. What was on her mind at that moment was no longer entirely Carter, but the fact that she still had those drawings somewhere.

"I guess not," She said finally, her voice trailing off and distant. "I mean, it's one thing if it's jewelry, but a sketchbook and pencils? That's reasonable."

"That is, if you let me give you something for your birthday." Rya said so nonchalantly, her tone suggesting she wanted nothing more than an 'okay' or 'no way'.

[Carter Chevalier]

Carter shifted slightly when she moved away from him, rolling back onto his side and propping his head up in his hand. His eyes studied her expression - he knew she mightn't like it, but he couldn't help himself. It was more than the fact that she was stunningly beautiful or amazing in bed or anything of the like. Something was on her mind. What that was was a mystery.

It always was.

"I'd only ever give you things you'd find useful." Carter pointed out. She just didn't seem the type to need to flatter with expensive useless novelties. It said more to get a person something they would truly care for than to get them something with an expensive label attached.

"A genuine gift?" He asked, for once not talking about sex with her. Not that the sex wasn't genuine, but it was the basis of everything they did together. Expanding that wouldn't kill them. "I'd gladly accept."