Lone Wolf (Open)

[Olivia Baker]

Liv strolled down the streets of vermont alone. It was after dark and the quiet town was empty, the residents having retired for the evening. Considering it was a week day, the normal hustle and bustle of bars was reduced to a dull lull and the coffee shop at the end of the block was a beacon of caffeinated hope.

She needed out of her dorm. She needed to be away from everything that felt like weights, pulling her further into the ground and instead look forward.

Caffeine, and a good book would be a good start.

The bell chimed and the scent of freshly pressed coffee beans encapsulated her as she made her way into the Velvet Tone Coffee shop, eyes grazing over the empty seats to find hers next to the window. In the waking hours, she liked to sit by the window and people watch. Given the fact that it was night time she decided to take her coffee and sit in a quiet corner instead.

She pulled The Ocean at the End of The Lane out of her bag, started sipping her coffee, and made the best attempt she could to fall into the world the author created while simultaneously taking notes for the paper she had to write for her english class. Her academics, like her social life, her mental health, and everything else had gone by the wayside in the past months and she needed to play catch up. 

The bell rang again, and her eyes flicked up over the pages catching the loner who entered, holding their gaze for a moment too long before letting it flick away again. 

[Vrases Claudt]

Sighing quietly as he opened the door into the coffee shop, vrases ran his hand through his hair, feeling exhausted from the day. The large football player was feeling tired, his broad shoulders sagging slightly in exhaustion;He had taken 3 finals, done well on all of them because he studied his ass off, and had played bass for a few hours. it had been a long, if not fruitful, day dor the jock. Now, all he wanted to do was quietly sit in the corner of the coffee shop and read his book, the undying tides. He had picked it up at a small book vendor for close to 3 dollars, and it was fascinating to say the least. 800 pages, for three dollars? total steal. He had been thrifty all his life, growing up in the rougher parts of cities, and his thriftiness has survived coming to hammel. As he quietly closed the doors, he turned around, surveying the place like usual and taking in every little detail. It seemed oddly quiet for a night in a college and high school town for a time like this, but he didn't fail to notice the one attractive woman in the corner.... And she held his gaze for a moment and went back to looking at her book and taking notes. Watching her for a moment, he read the front of her book; the ocean at the end of the street. An interesting read, he thought; a very insightful book to say the least....But wasn't that book a required read for some students at hammel? did she go there? he didn't recognize her at the moment, but he shrugged slightly. He didn't really know everyone, so it was to be expected that he hadn't met some at the school before. 

Walking over to the front, he smiled to the worker and ordered a small coffee, black. He liked his coffee strong and fresh, and this was the place to go and relax; to lose yourself in books and look through someone else's eyes. Taking his coffee, he decided to go and talk to the girl; what was the harm in just talking? Taking his coffee, his strong book bag and his book in hand, he walked over to the girl and looked at the cover, confirming the book. Before he sat down, he asked the girl with a quizzical look in his eyes " that's an interesting read; is it for school or simple pleasure?" saying so, a slight smile touched the edges of his lips as he sat down in a chair facing the entrance; he had made it a habit of making sure he knew who was walking in and out; call it paranoia, he called it being safe. Taking a sip of his coffee, he turned his head to the girl and spoke "it seems awfully quiet for a night before testing..." he said lightly, his face open and pleasant, taking another sip of his hot coffee as he opened up his large book and pulled out his bookmark, glancing around at the surroundings again just to be careful. 

[Olivia Baker]

Her intention when she held his gaze wasn't to bring him over to her. The fact that he was now, walking over to her secluded corner made it feel like her stomach was going to fall out of her ass. She did not know how to talk to boys. Especially not cute boys her own age who looked like they were walking off of a tv show on the CW who drank coffee alone at night like she did.

But his feet were coming closer and though she wasn't looking she could feel his eyes on her which was entirely her fault. She should have kept her eyes plastered to the words on the freshly printed pages of her favorite authors newest book. Foolish girl, she was bound to embarrass herself.

"Both." She answered, her eyes peeking up at him again unsure of how exactly to navigate the situation. On the bright side, he wasn't running from her which meant her pathetic reputation hadn't reached as far as his ears.

The corners of her mouth betrayed her, and offered a smile as he commented about the emptiness of the coffee shop. "Yeah, you'd think there'd be more traffic." She shrugged "I guess everyone else is just far more gifted than me." She paused to jot down a quote in her notebook.

“Nobody looks like what they really are on the inside. You don’t. I don’t. People are much more complicated than that. It’s true of everybody.”

"So... Have you read it?" She asked as she tucked a stray ebony strand behind her ear. "He's one of my favorite authors." Great she was sounding like a total nerd "Neil Gaiman I mean" As if he didn't know... unless he really didn't know in which case she hoped she didn't make him feel stupid, or weird, or anything. God she was floundering. 

[Vrases Claudt]

She seemed a bit on edge, which seemed to be normal around here at this time; it was finals week, and everyone was on edge. Smiling a bit as he listened to her talk about how people must be smarter then her, he chuckled slightly. "generally its the people who are studying in the coffee shops are the smart ones. Unlike the people in their rooms with four open books, cramming, the smart ones are enjoying their last night before tests, trying to relax before it all comes tomorrow." he said, smiling at the girl as he took another sip from his coffee. sighing slightly, he heard the girl ask if he had asked read the book. "actually, I have; Im not exactly a literature person, but i am a science person; seeing the parasitism and other forms of relationships between the characters to me was.....fascinating. It was also interesting how ursula worked behind her motives. Being able to manipulate people like that was all too terrifying, especially when she seemed to be able to do so easily..." he said, seeming to be in slight contemplation to the book. He had read it nearly a month back, and his mind was slightly foggy over the details, but the main points stood out to him like a sharp tack. He looked at the girl for a moment and answered "i actually do admire his writing style; personally his type of genre isn't my favorite, but it was definitely a worthwhile investment." he said. grabbing the large fantasy book, he grinned slightly shyly, continuing "personally i really like deep fantasy books like this; large fights, humor, magic....all that" he said, smiling and reminiscing slightly, remembering as a kid his fascination with delving into new worlds and getting lost for hours in a world so unlike his own. Snapping out of the slight trance, he laughed for a moment and spoke "even as a kid I used to be obsessed with reading; it was like going into another world, and being able to see life from someone else's life... do you have any genre that you really like?" he asked kindly, tilting his head to the side slightly and ran his hand through his hair, smiling slightly as he watched her for a moment as he drank his coffee.

[Olivia Baker]

"And you said you weren't a literature person." She chuckled shaking her head before running her fingers through her dark strands. This boy was confusing, a giant contradiction and that always made her nervous. What made her even more nervous was that he seemed planted in his seat, and actually interested in talking to her which was a foreign concept at this point. It was terrifying how lost she felt with people she didn't know. A few months ago, this kind of random conversation in a coffee shop would be second nature, totally easy. But now? With all she'd been through? She felt like she was fighting to figure out what to say, and there he was just casually chatting, not forcing her to lead the conversation. It was nice. She just wished he wasn't attractive. Talking to attractive people was always harder. 

"I really like fantasy books too. I practically devoured Harry Potter as a kid." Liv said as she picked up her black coffee from the table in front of her, taking a sip. She'd put her book down, deciding that taking a chance on a conversation might be a nice change despite how unnatural it felt. "God, I practically died waiting for my Hogwarts letter... of course I guess Hammel is as close to Hogwarts as anyone could get... or well... actually closer to X-men but ya know." She said as her doe eyes found his again. 

"I'm Olivia." God she hated introductions. "I don't think we've met before but I feel like I've seen you somewhere. Are you a student?"

[Vrases Claudt]

Smirking slightly as she spoke about his literary speak, he smiled lightly; "hey, I like to stay humble. There's always bound to be someone smarter and more into a type of books than me. Why act egotistical?" He asked, smiling as he did so. Listening to her as she spoke about Harry potter, he gave a deep chuckle and spoke after she finished. "Oh man, I remember seeing and reading all of those as a kid! I used to stay up late and sit underneath my cover with a nearly dead flashlight and read it until I passed out." He said, smiling brightly. She had mentioned hammel, and now he knew he was among a friend. She wasn't an angry Human, and definitely not a puse member. "When I was little I used to sneak into the back of the rundown theatre with some of my friends and we would watch them in the back. God, I was obsessed with those and lord of the rings; hands down probably one of my favorite fantasy novels and movies!" He spoke naturally and confidently, but without arrogance; he was simply making enjoyable chatter with an intelligent person, something that was less and less common now a days.

watching as she held his gaze for a moment, he locked eyes with her for a second; she had beautiful dark eyes, he thought to himself quickly.... Then shook his head mentally and expelled that thought. He wasn't here to hit on her, he didn't feel like he should. This didn't exactly seem like the right time and place to do so.. Maybe another time if he saw her later. Smiling as she asked him if he was a student, he replied happily "I actually am, I'm a junior at hammel; my trainer is also in physical, that could be a reason why we might not have talked before. I feel like I've seen you before but never actually talked to you.. A shame." He said smirking naturally. Bringing up a finger he said "oh wait a minute, maybe you'll recognize me like this; my natural state in class!" He said, and assumed a sleeping position over the coffee table. One arm was drooped off to the side and the other propped him off the table and he let out a snore. As he came back up to face her, he smiled lightly, taking a sip of his coffee again as he ran his hand through his shaggy hair quickly. "Honestly, some of the classes just seem to drag on and on, sometimes I just sit there going oh my god will I ever get out of this class?" He said, chuckling slightly. Tilting his head to the side a bit, he asked "what year are you? That could be why we might not have talked before" he said, smiling naturally as he locked eyes with her again, his fierce but tender gaze catching hers for a fleeting moment.