Abort mission, return to base (Lucas)

[Lucas Blacke]

Indeed. What were they doing? Luke hadn't thought of them so much as what he was doing. Was there even a them to do things with?

'Good question.' The boy said as he stopped mimicking Marnie and flopped back onto bed with his hands behind his head for support. 'I don't really know if I can answer what we are doing.'

His heart raced faster and faster due to implied we-ness.
'As far as I know you are trying to get to know me and I am busy complying, albeit a bit weird.'

He turned his head, slightly panting from mimicking Marnie and smiled.
'Just be glad it isn't weird. Yet.'

'So ask away and I might admit that I like you.'

His eyes widened as he very suddenly propped up in the bed of the girl.
Crap

[Marnie Sullivan]

Color crept into Marnie's cheeks, tinged with the mauve from the walls behind her. Not from surprise at his statement - he'd been fairly transparent in his interest, even if not the nature of it. It was more surprise that he'd stated it at all. Which, judging by his reaction, he had not been expecting either.

"Well." Marnie took a breath to compose herself. This is what you wanted to know, she reminded herself, before mustering up a smile.

"Maybe I just won't ask you," she told Lucas. "This whole thing has been kind of one-sided so far."

[Lucas Blacke]

He done goofed. And now was the time to fix it by being over the top serious.

His eyes went back to their normal size as Luke took to the side of the bed, resting his arms on his legs and avoiding eye contact with Marnie for a moment. He exhaled, trying to blow away any excess stress he had.

'So.. you probably already knew that.
I know it's soon, but it happens to be the way I feel. And in case you hadn't really noticed, I say what I think.'

Now, with that out of the way it was his turn to ask questions.

'So that power of yours, is there a limit on it? Also, are there drawbacks to it?'

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[Marnie Sullivan]

"Oh right, my power." An out, that's what this was, and Marnie latched onto it gratefully. For a moment she'd been afraid Lucas would expect a reciprocal response. Being someone's object of affection, she used to think, could be nothing but a good thing. Truth be told, she liked the attention and flattery, but she didn't want to give the boy any misleading ideas. And right now, with so much to figure out, Marnie wasn't even sure what the right idea was.

"So, camouflage. It's basically what it sounds like," she told him. She held out her right arm and pulled back the sleeve of the dark pullover she'd thrown on to hide in shadow during her botched attempt at sneaking out. The underside of her forearm still bore the temporary tattoo that one of her ink manipulating classmates had given her earlier that month, black lines depicting a flower that ran nearly from elbow to wrist. With some concentration and a lot of prickling skin, Marnie's arm fades to the dark grey of the carpet below. Her sleeve and tattoo remained unchanged, as did her face with some extra effort.

"I've never been able to make my clothes change color. I think the tattoo doesn't because it's just ink sitting on top of my skin, so I don't know if a real tattoo would or not."

[Lucas Blacke]

Luke witnessed Marnie change the color of her skin like snapping a finger. Oh how he could have used something like that in the past. Being able to go unnoticed most of the time, actually and literally blending in, avoiding beatings and all around lay low. It would have been paradise to, even if for one day only, be able to drop the guise of the painfully awkward boy and actually be normal for once.

What I'd do just to experience that.. even if only for 1 day. Life would be much easier. Less hassle, less people being annoyed by me.

He'd even go as far to think that a lot of people would be better off without him, as in never being born.

He pained his face at the thought of it and swallowed, going back to the partial serious him of before, hoping Marnie hadn't picked up on his inner dialogue as it resulted in a good few seconds of silence.

'I'd guess that a real tattoo would based on the assumption that it isn't ink on top of your skin, but rather ink inside your skin.'

Just like that he looked the girl in the eyes, changing the subject away from powers.

'So you're thinking about a tattoo?
Not too sure if I like the idea of one myself.'

[Marnie Sullivan]

Mistaking the boy's silence for boredom, Marnie allowed her arm to return to normal and pulled her sleeve back down. She couldn't blame him for being underwhelmed, even if it stung somewhat. Living and studying at. Hammel meant they were constantly surrounded by others with powers more interesting than her own.

"I've thought about it a little," she replied, picking at her sleeve. "I always thought tattoos were supposed to be really meaningful, but I got this one because he said he could take it off whenever I wanted. I've only kept it this long because it's pretty."

[Lucas Blacke]

Luke sighed and looked at the girl with eyes that questioned why.

'Thinking about it is okay, I guess. Everything deserves at least one chance.
And if you do decide to go through with it I'm sure it'll be a pretty one.'

Like anything on Marnie couldn't be.
Hold on.

Lucas shook his head and rubbed his temple. That far gone and they hadn't even known each other that long.

'But why soil beauty with a tattoo?' He questioned.

[Marnie Sullivan]

Marnie hadn't thought of it that way, but she wasn't sure she agreed. The tattoo Akira had given her didn't soil anything, she thought - it was just decoration, but she liked how it looked.

"I don't think it works like that," Marnie mused, glancing back her arm. "But I guess they're not for everyone."

"Anyway, you should ask me something else. And not anything like 'how did you get so beautiful' because you keep saying that and that's not getting to know me."

[Lucas Blacke]

What was he supposed to say? You're ugly? Nah.

Lucas glanced over the temporary tattoo on the girls arm. He had to admit, it did look pretty. But art is only as pretty as its canvas, right? He shrugged and turned his head.

'Very well.' He began and scratched the back of his head, turning his head to face Marnie, tilting it slightly and cracking a slight smile.

'Do you have any hobbies?'

[Marnie Sullivan]

"I read a lot. I run a lot. Mostly I read." Oh god, how boring could she possibly sound? Listening to herself only reminded Marnie why she was so determined to try new things this year. Student council, sneaking out to parties, even the tattoo she'd been meaning to get rid of eventually. It was as though she were attempting to fill out some sort of sociability resume.

"Right now I'm just trying to make up for lost time, I guess," she said after a moment. She briefly locked eyes with Lucas, then turned away with a shrug. "There's a lot of stuff I've missed out on."

[Lucas Blacke]

'You run? We should run together sometime.'

Best part about that was, although Luke didn't actually enjoy running, he'd be able to mirror the girl and keep up. Tiresome, but worth it.

'Making up for lost time..?'

Lucas smiled as both sets of eyes locked, if only for a brief moment. He somehow felt that, going by what he had experienced, missing out on certain events made it a lot harder to go around unnoticed in this world. You could create awkward situations with ignorance, Luke knew that much.

'I know how that feels, so nothing to be ashamed about. I have my fair share of catching up to do also.' He said, flopping down on the bed again.

'Your bed is comfortaable by the way.
Sure you don't wanna join me?'
Just like that he hung up his veil of laughter again.

[Marnie Sullivan]

Something within Marnie's chest clenched tightly as she averted her eyes and bit her lip. She did, actually. She'd been considering it since Lucas had managed to sneak in in the first place, each time squashing the thought because be realistic, Marnie, you've met him twice, what if this is just a trick, but what if it wasn't?

What if it didn't matter?

In just a few weeks' time at Hammel, she'd gone from being too afraid to wear red lipstick to sneaking out and getting drunk with a crowd of other students, and it hadn't killed her. It had been thrilling. And even though she wasn't sure what she wanted from this boy in the long run, the fact was she knew what he looked like half naked and damned if she hadn't been thinking about it since their first meeting.

"Actually..." Marnie stood suddenly and stepped toward the bed to peer down at Lucas, heart pounding in her ears. Shakily, she continued, "I want to try something," before leaning down, steadying herself with one hand on his chest, and kissing him.

[Lucas Blacke]

Yes yes yes yes yesyes yes!

The fleeting moment of seeing Marnie walk towards the bed made his heart play drums, maybe it even bought an extra bass pedal and went all out on his chest cavity.

It was only a short period of time, not even 10 seconds, if that, but it felt like it could, a should have, gone on for hours. From the girl hovering over Luke to kissing him was pretty much the best sensation ever and he did not dare inhale or exhale during that time in fear he'd fuck it up somehow.

His arms unfolded from behind his head and he pushed himself up to a sitting position, almost forcing the girl on the bed next to him.

With some effort, and through major willpower he was able to back away from Marnie's lips as the kiss ended, but he had only ended up with his face hovering inches from the girl.

'What took you so long..?'

He asked with a smile, looking in the eyes of the girl.

[Marnie Sullivan]

"Oh please," Marnie answered breathlessly, not bothering to stifle the wide grin on her face. The hand she'd been using to steady herself was still pressed to Lucas' chest, fingers tangled with the fabric of his shirt. Her other hand clutched at the bedspread under her, knuckles white. "I just wanted to shut you up before you could call me pretty again."

It shocked her, somehow - kissing just for fun, no promises, just doing it, without sirens blaring or the world crumbling around their ears in protest. She liked it. A lot.

Adrenaline rushing, Marnie leaned in again. There was a lot of time to make up for.

[Lucas Blacke]

'Pretty again.'

Luke grinned and reached for Marnie's hand that was still resting on his chest as his other hand went and touched her other hand. There was a sensation like none other, and suddenly Luke could think of nothing else but the girl in front of him.

She leaned in, and Luke cracked another smile. But this was a normal smile, not one due to a funny joke being made or thinking of something funny. This was a smile because he was happy. He didn't get alot of moments like that.

He half closed his eyes and let go of Marnie's hand on his chest and had it rest on the cheek of the girl as he pressed his lips against hers.