Magnetic Energy (Luxanna)

[Carter Chevalier]

Carter had expertly kept his secret about Luxanna to himself. Well, apart from when he told Dom. But that was bound to happen anyway, right? She should have really known that already.

At any rate, he was making an effort. And this might have been surprising, because he so rarely regarded another person's feelings in his choices. Somehow he knew it was just easier for her if they kept it to themselves... And Dom.

It made it all the more fun that she was his roommate. It meant no one would ever see when he paid her little visits from time to time. This was especially useful now that Sylvie was around. Luxanna... Wasn't something he wanted to explain to her just yet. Her reaction was too unpredictable. And she didn't really need to know anyway.

Sylvie didn't matter for now. Or rather, she always mattered, she just wasn't on his mind. He was leaving his room to visit another. Unlike certain others in her life, Carter opted to knock on the door before actually opening it.

[Luxanna Viera]

Truth be told, Lux wouldn't have gotten mad if he had told the entire world. Sure, she didn't think he was much for gossip, but still. It didn't really matter who knew or who didn't. It was all still very awkward and stuff, but then again; What wasn't awkward in Lux's eyes? Besides, she'd rather not dwell too much on what had happened. There and then it had been a 'heat of the moment'-thing, but now... She didn't know what to make of it.

She had to admit, she had tried avoiding him in the beginning while sorting her head out, trying to avoid all forms of awkward interaction, but now, thinking back at it, it didn't seem all that bad, did it? At least she didn't get flustered just by thinking about it anymore, so that was definitely a plus. And avoiding someone you live with just because of a kiss was childish.

Lying in her bed with her head leaned against the back of her hand while her current attention was towards some game on her phone, her eyes drifted towards the door as it someone knocked on it. She didn't expect anyone, did she? ''Come in.'', she said and sat up, placing the phone on the bed next to her.

Who could it be?

[Carter Chevalier]

As soon as she graced his arrival with her voice, Carter didn't hesitate to swing the door open. Unlocked. He supposed he should have expected as such.

"For someone who lives less than ten feet away, you're oddly difficult to track down." He pointed out with a hint of a smile, closing the door behind him and leaving it unlocked. He folded his arms, trying to remember the last time he was in her room. The details were vague. So he took the opportunity to have a little look around from where he was standing. He idly took a few steps in different directions.

He pursed his lips with curiosity; "I find someone's room a little indication of the person who dwells within it." He said aloud, absently. His carried a double bed and enough expensive electronics for any idiot to know he was rich, his taste refined with style and seemingly infinite money.

Without a second thought, Carter moved towards her bed and opted to lie on his back across the bottom end of it. His feet were still against the floor, tall as he was for the width of a single bed. "Are you avoiding me, or am I just unlucky?"

[Luxanna Viera]

As the door opened, Lux's eyes widened. Not because she was surprised to see him or that he even bothered to come, but because she didn't really know how to react, or how to handle it. He was here. Inside her bedroom. And at that realization, her cheeks flushed.

''Oh yeah?'', she said a little absentmindedly and pulled her knees underneath her. She watched him in silence as he glanced around the room, before nervously intertwining her fingers to stop herself from biting her nails or constantly touching her hair. ''Can I... Help you with something?'', she finally asked. Why was he here? She was genuinely curious seeing as how she had tried her best avoiding him, avoiding this, though she wasn't nearly as nervous as she had thought she'd be. That had to be a good sign.

Lux's room wasn't all that special. She didn't spend enough time there to really make it hers, but it contained a few personal traits. It was always clean, she made sure of that; Being a tidy person and all. Her Furby collection was nicely placed on her shelves, and then there was the laptop, natural colors, yadda, yadda; Nothing out of the ordinary. At least not in her opinion. Her room was as timid as her. ''Oh? I can only imagine what your room must look like then.'', she said with a smirk and leaned further back in her bed.

Not that she wanted to know or anything. Noooot at all.

She watched the blonde boy with caution as he moved towards her bed and made himself comfortable. She figured it was better not to ask any questions about it and instead just go with the flow. She turned to face him and crossed her legs so she could lean her elbow against her knee to support her chin. ''Perhaps.'', she shot back. ''Not that it matters now, since you clearly ruined my career as the new Rogue.''

It was strange, having Carter in her room. In her bed. Like it was the most normal thing in the world. It felt... Surprisingly comfortable, or nice even. Though, not comfortable enough to keep the reddening blush off of her cheeks. She cleared her throat and turned her gaze towards the window. ''So.. How have you been?''

[Carter Chevalier]

She could help him with something, actually. But Carter didn't care to answer that with words. It was better this way.

"You can find out anytime you like." Carter replied almost instantly. Of course she could visit. She just didn't seem to want to. Or was it that she didn't want to feel the desire to visit? Her room was so neutral. So... Beige. His offered darker colours and a crisper feel. And he didn't have strange fluffy things on the wall, whatever those were.

They were hers.

Nevertheless, he did offer a small, involuntary chuckle at his joke. Hiding across the common room was a poor attempt.

He kept his gaze steadily fixed on the ceiling, as if at any moment it would open up and swallow him whole. "Well, I've been lonely." Carter admitted, resting his head in his hands. "Here I thought we had a thing. But you're avoiding me. What's a man to think? To feel? Aside from feeling unwanted, that is."

[Luxanna Viera]

His comment had her making a grimace; Though, she wasn't exactly sure. It wasn't like the thought wasn't appealing or anything, it just... Scared her, maybe? Or maybe she was just being stubborn, not wanting to realize... Nope, definitely not appealing (Haaa-haaa). Her ego didn't even let her mind travel there. ''I'll keep that in mind.'' Just like every other girl and boy had.

Okay, so she was in no position to expect herself to be special, because he wasn't that kind of guy, and she knew that. That wasn't really the problem, neither was jealousy (Not that she had a reason to be jealous, because y'know; She didn't like him. Cough.), and it didn't really bother her... Truth be told, she didn't know why made it so unappealing to her.

Lux's eyes shifted back to the blonde on her bed and she chewed on her lower lip as she listened to his words. ''You, lonely? Please.'', she said and rolled her eyes, yet keeping a smile on her face so she wouldn't come across as mad or something. ''A kiss is a thing now? Wow, I learn new things every day.'' From what she had learned from everyone; A kiss didn't mean anything. Sex didn't mean anything. And that relationships was a bad thing. That pretty much summed up what Lux had learned since she arrived at Hammel. Then again, she didn't always hang out with the best kind of people. ''And somehow I think you've managed.''

[Carter Chevalier]

Carter offered her a struck look on his face, as if she'd hurt him with her shot about his loneliness. Feigned, of course. For the most part.

"I assumed it was." He pointed out. Though, had it been a one time thing, he supposed he could have gone along with that too. However, it was often difficult once things had been broken. Once a line is crossed; a threshold embraced. He knew not what she'd learned from everyone. If he did, he might have entertained the thought of contesting some of those things.

"Well, I've had to, haven't I." He started again, shrugging his shoulders lightly as he exhaled into the air. "There's only so long someone waits before they get the hint, isn't that right?" He asked, finally crossing his glance towards her. "Isn't that what you're giving me?"

[Luxanna Viera]

Maybe Lux should have been more open about certain things and harder to read when it came to other things. As things were, she often assumed people to know more than what they did, never really feeling the need to explain herself. Which usually ended up messing everything up. She couldn't blame anyone but herself for that. ''How come?'', she asked, curiously. She was always interested in finding out just exactly went on inside Carter's head. The boy was a mystery to her, and more than once had her assumptions been wrong. So wrong.

Therefore, she'd decided it was better to ask than to think she knew.

Lux couldn't help but to let his words get to her. Maybe not in the way he had expected; Instead, a slightly nervous chuckle escaped her lips and she shook her head, her eyes floating to her fingers which was now twiddling each other, not once finding a still moment. ''If that's what you think, then why are you here?'', she then asked, finally looking at him. ''I mean, if you think I've been hinting for you to stay away, why even bother? Unless, that's not what you think at all, and instead you're simply trying to pull out some kind of reaction to prove that what you stated before isn't true.''

Well, at least in her mind that made sense.

[Carter Chevalier]

"Girls like you don't kiss boys like me for no reason." Carter replied simply, almost gently really. It was a realisation she surely understood. And if she didn't, she likely would in time. That was an inevitability.

Why was he there? Carter chuckled - to himself or for the both of them at her question. But it didn't come from a place of arrogance or dismissal. For a brief time, he thought he might have captivated her attention enough to get her to look at him. Regardless, he listened with intention to everything she was saying.

And everything she wasn't.

"I'm asking you what you want from me." Carter reasoned, glancing away as if something on the ceiling suddenly caught his attention. Truthfully, it felt easier to look away at that point. "Was it to prove something to me? To prove that you're not the person everyone suspects you to be?" The kind of person who shied away from things she wanted. Or things she thought she couldn't get. The kind of person who fearfully walked through life on eggshells.

He exhaled slowly before he spoke; "Honestly, I never thought you were anything less than you are."

[Luxanna Viera]

He had a point, she knew that. He was right. She just didn't like admitting it to him or herself. There had been a reason for why she had pushed herself out of her own comfort-zone to kiss him. She wasn't quite sure what part of her was trying to deny it though. Was it her pride? Fear? Ignorance? ''Fair enough.'', she agreed finally, not feeling the need to add anything else to it for the moment. She wasn't sure what else there was to add anyways.

Her eyes drifted upwards and back at him as he spoke again. She narrowed her eyes but remained silent until he finished speaking. What she wanted? She didn't even know that herself. She was as clueless as he, or as clueless as he seemed anyways. ''I don't know.'', she sighed and leaned back against the wall. ''I don't really care what other people think of me. I might not always understand myself, but...'', she pursed her lips and rubbed the back of her head. This felt weird. ''I don't have anything to prove. Not to you, not to them.'' She was beating around the bush. ''I don't know.''

She was confusing herself. He was confusing her. Why was he asking these questions? Why did it matter?

''I did it because I wanted to.''

[Carter Chevalier]

Carter rarely found it difficult to converse with someone. He carried a usual air of importance that granted him confidence in both what he said and how he said it. But as he filtered all that down to a situation like this, it felt lost. Like she didn't care who he was.

Except she had. She'd avoided him for that very reason. So what made things different now?

He wanted to stop her and interject with the fact that people everywhere cared whar others thought of them. It's how that energy is transformed that makes the difference in a person. But it didn't seem worth it. Or perhaps it was more that he didn't want to shake the foundation of her fragile confidence.

"So then... Why did you want to?" He asked instead, shifting to the side and propping his head up on his elbow. Now he could actively look at her. "Do you know?"

[Luxanna Viera]

She was rambling, not quite finding the right words. Lux wasn't used to being in a position like this, and she rarely had to explain what she was thinking or how she was feeling. Mostly because no one bothered to ask, they just assumed. Was the problem so simple, so obvious? Had she really gotten used to people assuming and completely forgotten how to speak up for herself?

Whatever the reason or the problem was, one thing was clear: Out of all the people she had met, he was the only one who made her question it all. And that... That was a good thing, right?

Either way, when Carter continued with another question, Lux shifted her position slightly, resting her chin on the back of her hand. Maybe the answer should have been obvious, maybe it was. For all she knew, it was so obvious everyone around her knew, yet she didn't. Why had she wanted to kiss him? Recalling the memories didn't help much, all it did was color her cheeks in a deeper shade of red.

''Because...'', she began and took a second pause to collect her thoughts. ''You push all my buttons.'', she continued and turned her head to look at him. Did that even make any sense?

[Carter Chevalier]

Carter watched the simple way she moved. The way she leaned inward to rest on the back of her own hand. Despite how little the action was, he could tell she was contemplating something important. Something heavy. Usually, Carter didn't seem to care when people were thinking intently about him. Or their actions to do with him.

But this was different. It felt different.

"And what does that mean to you?" Carter asked, finally opting to sit up and face her. He sounded curious. He looked curious, as if he didn't know where she was going with this. "Am I truly pushing in a negative way?"

[Luxanna Viera]

It didn't feel as uncomfortable as Lux had thought, having Carter face her like that. It actually felt sort of nice, and easier. It helped her focus, strangely enough. As much as this boy usually made her feel uncomfortable and always seemed to step inside her personal space and pull her out of her comfort-zone... She found herself enjoying it more and more.

''No. Not in a negative way.'', she began, feeling the need to reassure him. ''I don't know how to explain it.'' Or even what was the best way to. What would make the most sense? She had no clue. She was getting more and more frustrated the harder she tried thinking about it. With a slight groan, she leaned forward, pressing her face against the mattress.

Why did it have to be so difficult?

''You like.. Come storming in, stepping all over my personal space, and pull me out of my comfort-zone, making me do things I normally wouldn't-'' Breathe. ''And it's... Nice.'', she mumbled against the bed.

[Carter Chevalier]

Carter smiled at her admission. She who used to be so repulsed by him she couldn't even look, let alone sit near. Or let him near her room. Now he was in it, sitting on her bed across from her with genuine interest in his eyes and a fading smile on his lips. He leaned forward slightly when she said she didn't know how to explain it, conveying that his attention was captured by her. She had him.

Until she leaned forward and pressed her head into the mattress. His lips formed a hardened line, refusing to let even the smallest sliver of laughter escape him.

"In his lifetime, the comfort-zone is a shell." He explained, wondering where to place himself in this situation, "It keeps you safe and refined. Unscathed from the apparent storm." The storm being himself, of course. But that was her colourful choice of words, not his own. Still, he could conform to such a notion.

Leaning own, Carter shifted onto his back again and rested his head beside hers. He stared over at her, though with the way she was, he couldn't see much. "At a certain point, people become curious enough to venture past what they know is safe and confining. The interaction between two people is... Magnetic." The corner of his mouth pulled into a smile.

"The danger of it all is more enthralling than any drug." He explained, though the poetic nature of his explanation may very well be lost on her. "The reward is always worth it."