AU: Admiration from Afar (Oriel)

[Takchawee Ominotago]

Seattle was... Well, it was about as different from Tak's hometown as it could get. She was used to open fields and small, humble homes - not huge urban sprawls and giant office complexes. Even after being in the city for a month, she was still getting used to the change.

Everyone here was so... Different than she was used to, too. Tak already wasn't the most social of types; she'd made a few acquaintances, but no one she could really call a friend yet. People apparently weren't immediately attracted to the timid, hippie-ish girl that dressed almost like a sort of gypsy on a regular basis, with long, rich swathes of cloth beneath the hip-length, ebony hair that she usually hid a good portion of her face with. She hardly talked, and when she did, it was so quiet that she often had to repeat herself a time or two.

One thing the seventeen-year-old had gained from going to this high school was a crush. A quickly growing crush on a very handsome young boy whose name she didn't even know, but she thought she'd overheard something like Oriole. Which was... Interesting. Would someone really name their son after a bird?

Takchawee was admiring the boy behind a curtain of dark hair as she put away her books in her locker, preparing to head home for the day since classes were over. He had a locker only a few down from hers, which was how she'd first noticed him, and why she hadn't yet interacted. How did one talk to someone out of the blue without looking interested?

... Apparently by fumbling with a book and making the whole stack of them tumble out of her locker from not paying attention to what she was doing, since her attention had clearly been somewhere else. Scrambling, she rushed to pick up the books, cheeks flushed with embarrassment. There was no way he couldn't have noticed - the halls were getting pretty empty.

[Deleted]

Oriel was a freshman. Which obviously meant that he was in his first year of high school. The 15-year-old was getting along alright, the work wasn't too hard once he got the hang of it, though so far he was still only managing Bs and Cs, as far as grades went. What he was really looking forward to were the after-school things. He'd already been getting formal lessons for the past few years, but now that he was in high school, he figured he could show off and join the dance team, drama club, maybe even the choir? The school had been very encouraging in supporting Oriel in his love for the performing arts. His mother wasn't too keen on it, she wanted him to pursue something a little more stable, but she wouldn't discourage him from trying so long as he kept his grades up. That is, wasn't failing.

Oh, well, he was having a good time either way. Oriel walked through the halls to his locker, his backpack slung over his shoulder, bumping fist with a guy he knew from the team and a promise that he would meet up with them later. He went out a lot, with his teammates in the afternoons, then the evenings were reserved for general hanging out with his best friend, Phoenix. For now, Oriel was just in between classes and about to head out to algebra. He just needed a couple things from his locker.

However, the instant Oriel shut his locker, his attention was grabbed by the sound of books cascading out and down to the floor. His eyes saw the pile…and the pool of ebony hair that fell over it as the girl behind those midnight locks rushed to pick them up. With a chuckle, Oriel knelt down and grabbed the few that had slid to his feet. "Heh…are you really this clumsy or're you just trying to get my attention?" He looked up and flashed a smile.

[Takchawee Ominotago]

Don't look at me don't look at me don't look-

Tak peeked a glance up and immediately dropped her vision again. Yep, the boy was looking. If her cheeks could get any redder than they already were, then they did; her fingers felt like useless twigs, fumbling and bumbling with the books, catching on the bright fabric of her skirt. She was making a general fool out of herself, right before the eyes of the beautiful boy of Locker 143.

No... He wasn't just watching... He was kneeling down too! Tak's eyes went wide and she froze for a moment, keeping her gaze lowered so as not to meet his. When he spoke - oh, his voice sounded like honey - she started moving again, carefully gripping onto a few books as she watched the boy's hands pick up the other ones. "N-no... I mean yes... I m-m-mean...!" Tak took a deep gulp and finally managed to look up, only to just catch that flash of a smile that she could have sworn made her heart stop for a few beats. "I... I wasn't t-trying to get your att-t-tention," she finally managed to get out. "I g-guess I'm just c-clumsy."

She shakily stood to her feet and deposited the books she had in her arms back into her locker, wavering as she turned to look at the ones the boy was holding. "Th... Thank you," she murmured, holding out her hands to take the books; her forearms were clad in an assortment of hemp bracelets, cuffs, and other such items. "U-u-uhm, I'm T-Tak," she added, shooting another rare glance up before looking down once more. "I d-don't think we've met."

[Deleted]

Oriel had to wonder if he remembered seeing this girl before. She had to be relatively new because there was no way he would miss a natural beauty like that, no matter how she tried to hide it behind her black wall of silk hair. No, even that hair which acted like a screen to separate her from the rest of the world was eye-catching enough to take his notice. As Oriel watched the short girl fumble around clumsily with her books, nervous and unsettles, it stirred inside him a want to see more.

Now, Oriel wasn't exactly a mean person. He wasn't known as a bully nor was he a generally dis-likable person. He was even looked up to by some of his peers. But that was because he acted in such a way to generate that response. Behind those smiles and straight-laced behaviors was the mischievous boy he used to be back in NYC, prior to his adoption and move to Seattle. And every so often, he let it rear it's head, especially when taunted by such a delicious looking target.

Had to be careful though. He couldn't push too far or she might run scared. She was still cute.

As he presented her with a smile and passed the remaining books back to her, Oriel made sure that during their transfer, his fingers brushed against hers for a brief "innocent" moment. His lips curled into an equally inviting smile. "'Tak'," he repeated with a curious look. Oriel chuckled. "I'd say that's a pretty unusual name, but mine's pretty out there as well." With a quick raise in his eyebrow he gave it. "Oriel. I'm Oriel Benson." He gave another soft laugh. "I suppose, instead of saying 'unusual', I can say..." He reached forward and, with a single finger, pulled the veil of hair from her face. "That Tak's a pretty name. For a pretty girl." Oriel flashed his million-dollar smile once again.

[Takchawee Ominotago]

Tak, as Oriel expected and as was obvious, was a rather meek, fluttery little bird, and would likely flee in fright had Oriel been too aggressive in his approach. As it was, she was already feeling rather faint, having something she dreamed would happen actually occurring, without any warning. She hoped she didn't make a complete fool out of herself and actually faint.

She wished she was better at reading people. Being able to understand how they worked. It would help settle her nerves a bit, maybe make her less distant with people. And less awkward.

The touch of the fingers, as expected, sent a thrill through Tak's chest; her heart pounded with renewed vigor, making her hands tremble as she clutched onto the books Oriel had handed over. "It's... It's short f-for Takchawee," she offered meekly, holding the textbooks to her chest. She didn't usually offer this information, but he seemed genuinely interested. "Oriel," she repeated in a breathy voice. Oriel Benson, she wouldn't forget that. "That reminds m-me of a bird we had back h-home, orioles..." Tak bit her lip and blushed again. Oh, that was stupid! Who wanted to be called a bird?

But then all cognitive function stopped at what happened next. Tak watched with shock as Oriel's finger came up to brush back the thick wall of hair hiding her face, revealing the bright pink flush of her cheeks underneath. "Th... Th-thank you," she squeaked, and, in a moment of complete idiocy, somehow managed to let the books slip through her fingers once again and land with a clatter on the floor. "Oh, shit, I'm... Fuck..." Tak fumbled around again, quickly picking up the items and shoving them into her locker before slamming it shut, nearly catching her hair in the process.

"S... Sorry," she mumbled, rubbing her arms now that they were empty and had nothing else to hold onto... Or drop. "I, uh, I'm s-still getting used t-to... Everything..." Tak shot a nervous glance up at Oriel. "Ap-pparently trying to talk to cute boys is s-still something I need to work on."

.... Why did she say that? Oh, for the love of...

[Deleted]

She was definitely a pretty girl. A lot prettier than she came across hidden behind that thick hair of hers. Oriel wondered what she would look like in full blown make-up, maybe with her hair pulled back, and put on a proper dress….

Now Oriel was getting ahead of himself, it wasn't like this was Pretty Woman and he was trying to fix up a piece of trash to be a lady. He just wanted to…bring out and accentuate what she already had. And Oriel thought that maybe, this Tak would look pretty good on his arm. Oriel had gone on dates before, he'd had his fare share of girlfriends, but none of them had ever been particularly serious. And…well, he somehow was always able to break it to them without seeming the villain in their eyes. Now that took some technique, a skill that Oriel wasn't about to share with anybody that he could do. He'd just play innocent and call it coincidence.

For now, it was okay to just be nice to this one. "Tak-ch…sorry, I'm not even going to try and pronounce that. But it sounds pretty. It's a..native american name, right?" Oriel could at lest tell that much. "What's it mean?"

He grinned at the comparison of his own name to birds. "Yeah, like that, just spelled differently." Oriel brightened his eyes as he explained the origins briefly. "I actually looked it up once. Means 'golden', believe it or not." Though it was still rare as hell, Oriel didn't know what his biological bitch of a mother was thinking when she gave him that name.

When Tak dropped her books, Oriel had to stifle a laugh. Oh, she really was a nervous little squirrel, wasn't she. And those utterances that completely didn't match her face just made her all the more adorable.

Oriel wanted her. She'd be his next.

"It's alright, don't worry 'bout it," he tried to reassure her. "It happens." Though Oriel was surprised at how bold her next statement was. Oh, yeah. This definitely was the one. Oriel smirked and lowered his head as if to hide a blush. "Heh…thanks? Uhm…wow…you sure know how to flatter a guy." Oriel shook his head and looked down on her with a suspicious look. "Are you sure you're not just saying that to get on my good side?" 'Cause he didn't have a good side. Either that or it was really small.

[Takchawee Ominotago]

Poor Tak had never even been on a date before, which was one of the reasons why she was so flustered that her crush would be flirting with her. This sort of stuff just hadn't happened back in Montana. So she was very much under Oriel's manipulating(?) thumb, giving him a hold over her already that Tak wasn't even aware of herself yet.

"D-don't worry, everyone just calls me Tak anyway," she replied meekly, fidgeting with a strand of her hair. "Um, yeah... It m-means doe." She'd always loved the soft, delicate-looking creatures, so she was proud to have it as her name; she'd never really told anyone here before, though.

"Ah," she breathed, nodding understandingly while averting her eyes. She felt an awkward lull that she didn't know how to fix; fortunately, Oriel quickly stepped in by talking about the meaning of his name. "It's a very nice name," she said quietly, peeking a shy glance back at him. Golden... She thought it suited him very well.

But ohh, she just couldn't be smooth for once, could she? Why did all this clumsiness have to happen now? There was no way he could ever be interested in such an awkward klutz. At least he was nice about it. "I swear I'm n-not usually so..." The words escaped her, so she shrugged and looked bashfully away. But when he seemed to do the same after wha Tak said, she glanced at him again, surprised by the sudden shy behavior. "I, uh..." What did she say to that? Her eyes widened when he looked at her suspiciously, and she shook her head quickly, denying such claims. "N-no, of course not!" she squeaked. "I m-mean it. You, uh, you're very... Attractive..."

.... She'd just tricked herself into embarrassing herself even more. Or something. Ugh! Tak turned away slightly, thinking she best do something other than just stand there so she might stop making such dumb decisions. "I, uh... I should probably get going..." she mumbled, hiding a bit behind a curtain of hair again.

[Deleted]

"Doe? Heh." Oriel chuckled, shaking his head softly then returning his gaze into her green eyes. "it suits you, I think." It made Oriel immediately think of that song, Do Re Mi, from the Sound of Music. Though this girl was hardly a von Trap. Well….he thought she looked better than those kids from the movie anyway. She was…exotic. Dark hair, olive skin, green eyes….If she cleaned herself up a little more, this Tak girl could be a real star. Maybe a model. Heh, Oriel might try that somewhere down the line. If they got far enough to where she'd take her shirt off with just a word. He could probably manage some pretty good pictures.

Oriel shrugged when she returned the sentiment about his own name. "I guess it is. I probably wouldn't have picked it but….I can't think of being called anything else either, so guess I'm stuck with it." He laughed, backing up slightly and stuffing his hands in his pockets in a slightly nervous gesture.

"I swear I'm n-not usually so…"

"Awkward?" Oriel huffed out a few exasperated laughs. "Trust me I…I know what that's like." Kinda. Maybe. Not really, Oriel didn't get nervously awkward very often. At least not for real. Everything, for the most part, was pretty much an act up 'til now. And Oriel didn't anticipate it being anything other than that anytime soon. As it was, Oriel had to keep himself from bursting out laughing when she stuttered out her naive praise and flattery. Oriel started sliding his tongue in his cheeks and behind his lips to cover up his amusement while trying to make it look like he was still just being bashful. "Thanks," he said, biting his lip.

Though it was positively adorable to keep digging herself into a corner with each and every additional word she said. Oriel really should just give this girl a break, but honestly, she was just too fun to play with to simply leave alone. "Alright," he said with a slight sigh and a smile. "I'll see you around, Tak." He didn't move the hair that had fallen in her face again, but Oriel did offer her a wink. He took a step back, basically giving her permission to go to…wherever it was she needed to go.

[Takchawee Ominotago]

Tak felt her cheeks flush again as Oriel responded to the meaning of her name. Was he laughing at it, or...? Oh, no, maybe not. "Th... Thank you," she said softly, rubbing her arm. She wasn't sure what else to say. She didn't think she was model material, definitely not - she was much too shy to be put in front of a camera as it was, let alone for the sole purpose of showing herself off.

Was he acting nervous? Or was it just Tak's imagination? She had no idea why she would make anyone nervous... Maybe it was just her own anxiety rubbing off onto him, or something. "Well, it's better than something b-boring, like... Uh, I don't know, John, or Fred, or something," she rambled, toying with a strand of hair. Tak really needed to learn when to just... Stop talking.

And, yeah, stop being so awkward. She flinched a little as Oriel said the word, as though saying it aloud made it more true than it already was. "Yeah..." she mumbled, averting her eyes to the side. "You do?" she asked, almost disbelieving herself. He seemed so calm and cool, she couldn't imagine it, but then again, he did seem to be nervous now, so maybe...?

Whatever, now was not the time - Tak needed to bolt before she did something more stupid. "Y-yeah, see you," she agreed with a nod, nervously tucking her hair behind her ear as she stepped away. She caught the wink, though, and couldn't suppress a giggle as she quickly rounded the corner, only allowing herself a breath of relief once he was out of sight. Oh, jeeze, could that have gone any worse? At least, she thought, he seemed nice, and wasn't put off by her... Being the way she was...

She wondered if they really would see each other again soon. Or, rather, if Oriel would ever approach the bundle of nerves that she was ever again. Tak hoped so.