A Beautiful Distraction [Lucas]

[Karalie Heise]

Frazzled barely began to explain how Karalie felt as she paced around her dorm room. She'd just hung up with her mother, nuisance as she was, who had informed her that she and her father would be coming up for a visit. There was a time when Karalie looked forward to her parents visiting her, but recently the topics of discussion moved away from what she was doing with her life currently to what she intended to be doing with her life in the next couple of years. She wouldn't be in school forever, and the truth was Karalie just didn't know. Once upon a time she would have easily said she'd be joining the peace corps to make America beautiful, or some other load of nonsense, but ignorant was not something she was anymore. Now she was a young woman on the verge of becoming legal and her mother liked to remind her constantly. Weren't kids supposed to look forward to eighteen? Either way Karalie knew she had to get the heck out of dodge to clear her mind, otherwise she'd end up getting stuck in a memory sucking cycle, something she didn't intend to happen this afternoon. Grabbing a light sweater and her purse, she headed out the dorm not entirely sure where she intended to run off to. Maybe the mall.

On the way out of the building Karalie did her best to keep her hands to herself, tucking them tight under her arms and clasping them into fists in the hopes of staving off accidental visions. She couldn't keep them hidden forever though, and per the norm when she was in a mood like this, the handle to the door leading outside nabbed her. It was a stupid vision, one of three girls giggling about a boy as they came inside and judging by their outfits it was probably a couple decades ago. It was all she could do not to roll her eyes as she made her way in the warm, fresh air and suddenly Karalie wondered why she'd brought a sweater.

Once outside she began to feel better, the warm air sucking some of the anger away. Karalie took deep breaths, filling her lungs and then letting it out slowly. She was still annoyed, but tried to push the conflict with her mother to the back of her mind. She had three weeks until they came up to Vermont, so she didn't have to worry until three more weeks. Why stress now? Karalie moved through the schools campus easily, attempting to focus on anything but her stress laden future, and happened upon the courtyard.

Karalie had seen Lucas before. They had classes together in the past, so when she happened upon him in the courtyard she wasn't surprised to see him, though she had never see him doing what he was doing now. A dummy was set up and he was practicing some sort of martial arts on it, his hands moving faster than anyone she'd ever seen. She bit her bottom lip, fascinated by what he was doing and wondered if it would be rude to sit and watch. He was doing it out in the open, after all. If he wanted privacy he should have done this in the gym. Besides, it was dragging her mind away from her mother completely. She took a seat on a bench, facing Lucas' bare, sweat glistening back.

[Lucas Blacke]

It had been some days now in which Luke had been actively training his wing chun and his ability. Over time most of the wing chun techniques had become something voluntary and not just a muscle reflex that happened to trigger on command, this meant Lucas could go much longer without burning out his body. Of course there was still the fact that it was intense training, but it no longer relied on his ability.

His hands weaved through the arms of the dummy with ease and without the use of his ability, something he was rather proud of. He could now apply the techniques in pretty much every situation because he no longer had to rely on what he saw on tv or on the internet. This also opened up an extra spot in his brain as his ability no longer had the need to retain certain moves.

Luke smiled and stopped for a moment as he exhaled deeply. He rotated his shoulders and gave the dummy one last blow with an opened palm right in the center. He needed to continue his training if he was serious about making the martial art his own as he still lacked the knowledge of multiple techniques.

The boy turned around with a smile on his face and decided to go for a quick break and noticed a girl sitting on the bench behind him. Luke knew the girl from somewhere.. Classes? He shook his head and sat down next to the girl whether she liked a sweaty person beside her or not.

''If you're in any classes with me you'll have to refresh my memory a bit. I've been slacking a bit this past,'' He mimicked looking at his wrist for the time. ''time I've been at Hammel.''

He shot the girl a smile. ''Though you do seem familiar.. Kara-something?'' He asked.
''Please tell me I'm close.''

[Karalie Heise]

Karalie bit the inside of her lip as Lucas turned around, his blue eyes piercing hers.  Her instinct was to look away but she allowed the eye contact to remain a moment, that is until he came over and plopped himself right next to her.  She could smell the sweat dripping down his body, the odor somewhat masked by some sort of deodorant or cologne, or possibly good genetics, but the stink lingered there.  She wasn't bothered by it though, which surprised her.

She offered a sort of lame smirk when he mentioned being a slacker.  For some reason she had not recalled that about him, but figured it was probably true.  "Karalie." She corrected when he asked about her name, her slight southern accent twanging a bit on the lee sound at the end, the way her momma's voice always had. "Close 'nough." Her brown eyes wandered down to his damp chest for a second before she pulled her gaze away from him altogether.  "I don't remember what classes ya'll had with me." It was a lie, she could recall at least two, but liked playing coy.  She didn't invite him to come over and talk to her, but truth was now that he had she was grateful.  Her thoughts had for the most part cleared from her earlier conversation with her momma. "Sorry." Her shoulders shrugged, her deep Mississippi accent ringing clear despite having been up north so long.  It was weaker now, but still prevalent. 

Karalie suddenly stood, again nipping the inside of her bottom lip. "I better go." she drawled, hugging her things close to her and peaking back at the cute boy on the bench.  "Ya'll are busy and I need to.. go.. uhh.." Karalie let out a nervous sort of chuckle and looked over her shoulder as if an answer would appear out of thin air, "Do somethin'." She laughed nervously again, taking a step back and bumping into the edge of the bench.
 

[Lucas Blacke]

''Karalie.'' Luke repeated. ''It fits. Cute girl, cute name.'' He shrugged and smiled. He then noticed the girl looking at his chest and his smile turned even wider because the girl was quite the looker herself. Beautiful people just tended to stare more, he supposed. And her accent.. Oh, her accent. If it was slightly hotter he would have melted right then and there and most probably made a bad first impression. Though, taken from the fact she didn't deny that they had in fact taken classes together, he already had.

She got up and caused Luke to raise his arm and take a sniff. The girl made up an excuse it seemed, to go somewhere else. Was it because he smelled? Did the sweat bother her? ''Awesome lasting impression, Luke.'' He smacked himself mentally.

She chuckled nervously and bumped into the edge of the bench they both sat on. Or, previously sat on as Luke involuntarily got to his feet and forced a smile. ''Please, stay a moment.'' He said with a scratch near his temple. ''I could use some company.''

[Karalie Heise]

He invited her to stay, wanting the company and Karalie felt a little torn.  They didn't run in the same circles, but that didn't mean she couldn't sit and talk to him.  Or stand.. Whichever.  Her lips pursed slightly as she pushed them to the side a little, looking down at her shoes before nodding.  "Alright." She conceded, looking back up at him noting the blueness of his eyes.  How had she never noticed how cute he was? Even if he was cute, she wasn't interested in doing any sort of dating.  Sure, having a boyfriend someday would be nice, but she had vowed not to have anything with anyone until she had a better handle on her ability.  She didn't need to see flashes into her partners past unless it was welcome.  It was guaranteed to cause problems and drama, and drama wasn't something Karalie liked.  Despite her distaste for drama, it always managed to pop up in her life; catty girls, dorm mates, issues with her family.. drama, drama, drama! A boy on top of that would make her life more complicated than necessary.  No, Karalie wanted to keep her nose clean.

She realized she was thinking about Lucas as a boyfriend while he was standing there, simply asking for her company.  She silently chastised herself for being such a stereotypical pubescent female.  "Soo.." She drawled looking almost impatiently back at the sweaty boy.  "Ya'll practicin' for somethin' or yuh just like the attention?" She teased, a smirk on her plump, too pink glossy lips.  "Don't ya'll have uh gym for that?" She teased, a twinkle of mischief in her eyes.

[Lucas Blacke]

What began as a simple question resulted in what seemed to be the wait of the century. Or at least that is what it felt like to Luke. The girl left just a long enough gap for his mind to plant the idea of getting no for an answer, it su-hucked! The only thing that made it bearable was, well, being able to stare for a little bit longer.

At last the confirmation came and Karalie looked him in the eyes. He never had someone really look at his eyes like he used to do to everyone else himself. Felt good being on the receiving side for once. It kind of made him think if there maybe was more to the way she looked at him than he realized. But then again, he'd just fuck it up like most of the things he'd done so he just shrugged off that idea.

Suddenly she began talking and yanked Luke back to the realm of the living. ''Uhm..'' He muttered as his brain started a search for words. Plus he noticed Karalie looking at him again which turned his brain into a liquid at this point. He heard the question fine, but the answer was something to wait for because Luke opened his mouth and nothing came out for a few seconds.

''Practice..?'' He finally said, only half stumbling over his words. ''Wh- oh! Practice!'' He exclaimed as his eyes blinked over to the dummy behind him for a second. ''I do kind of like attention if it comes from cute girls.'' He said with a wink and a smile. ''But I'm also training just to be more fit in general.'' He lied. In truth he was training his ability, but he wasn't going to say that just yet.

''And there is a gym for this, yes. But I need to be able to adapt to more than 1 place. Plus the gym is kind of dark compared to here.'' Luke pointed to the sky where the sun was currently shining.

''Unless you.. want me to be in a dark room with you.'' He added with a smile.
'Oh gods.' He mentally rolled his eyes.

[Karalie Heise]

Karalie felt almost impatient as he stumbled around his answer, as if he himself had no idea why he was out here instead of inside the gym doing this stuff.  What was up with him? When he mentioned liking the attention, it began to make sense, but it was hard to roll her eyes when he referred to her as cute.  Instead she quirked an eyebrow, giving him a did you really just say that? sort of look.  Though on the outside it looked almost as though she were mocking him, inside she was flattered by the compliment.  Karalie got the impression that Lucas was the type to say things like that, anyway.  He was one of those charismatic types who obviously loved attention.  He was trouble anyway, and maybe a little narcissistic.  She hated how drawn to that trait she was.

That's when Luke mentioned going into a dark room alone with her.  She offered her most incredulous look, rolling her eyes.  "Please." She scoffed.  "Ya'll been playin' out here in the sun too long, your brains gone tuh mush."  Karalie ran her hand through her hair, sweeping the slightly damp locks to the side.  Why hadn't she put it up in a ponytail? She wondered briefly if there was a hair tie in her purse.  Even if there was, she couldn't very well go fishing for it now with this boy watching her like he was.  "Uh proper girl doesn't go an' hang around with boys they just met in dark rooms, an' uh proper boy wouldn't even ask." She scolded, her morals set in stone from her youth.  Plus her fear of touch instilled in her from years of unwanted memories flooding her mind, memories that were mingled with her own, giving her a fuzzy memory of her own past.  "Not that ya'll are proper" She added much more shyly, the syllables in her words drawing out while her shoulders rolled.  Karalie sighed very softly, not sure what to do with Luke, or to even say to him.  She wanted to bolt, mostly because she was afraid that he actually had a chance at charming her.

"Anyway.." She decided it was best to change the subject completely.  "What other plans ya'll have today? Streaking? Defacin' the school some other way?" She teased, cocking a brow up at him again and keeping her distance, her arms crossed over her chest protectively.

[Lucas Blacke]

Luke grinned. This girl was one to get to know with the retorts and the hair and the accent and the looks and the.. 'Ah-ptflu blaah fwerg'

It took time to return to the realm where people had coherent thoughts for Luke as he tried to not-think about the girl and what she said and how she said it and instead tried to think about what he was doing in the first place, which he kind of forgot since he was so pleasantly interrupted. Suddenly it got back to him. He was training his martial arts!

He grew a smile and looked back at Karalie and almost forgot what he was going to do once more as he nearly hunched over and drooled all over himself. He shook his head as the girl began mentioning what he had said about a dark room, he was almost certain the answer would be a no in an assault vest but he still wanted to hear what the girl had to say about it. In her amazing accent. It took Luke quite some willpower to stop himself from doing 2 things: Reply with the same accent, and make a lame joke about making like negatives in a dark room and seeing what develops.

He quite nearly chuckled at himself. This girl had managed to make him react like before he knew Marnie. He tapped his pants pocket and imagined the background photo he still had of Marnie, he'd purposely forgotten to change it. Even if they were never going to be good again a memory was always welcome, even if it was a small one.

Luke laughed out loud and replied by sticking up his thumb with a wink as the girl mentioned him not being proper, and then she just.. changed the subject. This could tell Luke that she was scared of the effect he had on her, though with his lack of brain he would have never figured that out ever. Best he could do was play along and hope for the best without copying her accent. Not that he could, but it was just so damned cute and uppity. Not that he'd ever admit to thinking that. Well, maybe in the future.

Karalie then followed up by asking him about the rest of his plans. Streaking was not something he'd do, period. Unless of course, and he eyed Karalie up and down, he'd have some company. After which thought he mentally kicked himself in the balls and quietly winced.

Defacing the school was something he had done in the past, but he stopped doing things like that after he had met the awesome janitor-lady at their school. She had the most epic comebacks. 'Good times, good times'

''I was just planning on training some more, and if I don't pass out you could assume my day is pretty planless.'' He replied with a smile. He then slightly bowed forward and cupped one hand over his mouth as if he was whispering and lowered the volume fo his voice, hoping to draw Karalie in closer.

''Why? You wanna hang out with me or sumthin'? Because y'know, between you and me, I've trained enough for today.''
He added a wink.

[Karalie Heise]

Karalie hoped that Luke would go ahead and tell her he had plans today.  He seemed to want to keep her around and she knew he would ask her to do something before he actually did.  She silently braced herself, and sure enough Luke didn't fail her.  Either she was good or he was predictable.  Or maybe both.  The wink was a nice touch from him.

Karalie tried to think of a way to get out of hanging.  She was bold enough to blow him off, and honestly had no problem doing so, but Luke was clearly not the type to get a hint.  She would probably have to really offend him to get him to back off.  She could always make some lame excuse up, but her mind was drawing a blank on the good excuse to escape plan.

"I don't know, ya'll look like you could train uh bit more." Her response was playfully snarky, not trying to really come off as a major bitch, though she knew she often did.  "Besides, I have stuff to do." She tried to sound convincing, her head shaking slightly as she cocked it to the side.  "Like.." She faltered a moment, her mind drawing a blank.  "Girl stuff.  Ya'll wouldn't be interested anyway."  Her grin bordered on smug as she considered how the heck she could get away.  Then again, did she really want to? Yes! Her mind barked.  "Not tuh mention ya'll are far from decent enough tuh do anythin' but take a shower, an' b'fore ya'll go an' ask if I want tuh do that too, the answer is no.  Just thought I'd save yah the trouble uh askin'."  She was starting to get more confident, finding her feet a bit.  It had been a while since she'd dealt with a boy.  Usually they were easier to shake.  

[Lucas Blacke]

Luke tried to maintain a smile throughout the waiting and the watching and the girl and the eyes and the.. He slapped himself physically this time and snarled mentally, he really needed to stop doing things like this. It was usually a dead giveaway of whatever he was trying to do. In this case though, he wasn't all too sure about what he was trying to do.

Something about him needing to train more, which he actually agreed with partly due to only half hearing the sentence as his brain faded in and out of daydreams. But aside from that and despite the fact Luke was only partly paying attention it sounded like the girl was trying to get out of it which only succeeded in making Luke want to try harder.

Luke took a sniff of his own armpit, as charming as it might have looked. ''Yeah, I suppose I could use a shower.'' He was about to ask Karalie if she wanted to join when she beat him to it and said she wouldn't, which resulted in Luke pouting like a little kid being denied candy.

He looked over his shoulder and contemplated what he was going to say. ''Alright, so,'' He began. ''If I take a shower, and you're done doing your.. girl.. thing,'' His face partly twisted. ''wanna hang out? Sit beside a tree or something, talk a bit?''

Despite having been told no in theory, he was still trying. He was a persistant one, you'd have to give him that.

[Karalie Heise]

Of course he pouted at her denial before he even had a chance to ask.  Karalie couldn't help but be somewhat amused, and briefly thought about what it would actually be like to shower with someone else.  She had never bathed with another individual, and found the entire idea of it to be ridiculous.  It was so relaxing to let the water pound down onto your bare skin, and Karalie had never, not once, gotten a vision while showering.  She always wondered why, and had decided maybe the water cascading over her body had something to do with it.  She, of course, couldn't be 100% sure, but it sounded like a decent reason to her.  She had never given it a lot of thought, but the shower was her safe place.  Someone intruding on it just seemed foreign to her.

Lucas brought her back to reality with his annoying, yet charming persistence.  He asked if she would hang out after he showered and when she finished her own business, suggesting to sit under a tree and talk.  Who sat under trees and talked? It seemed like something out of a movie, not something people actually did, and truth be told if he was attempting to ask her out he was doing a poor job of it.  Karalie was an old fashioned kind of girl, and she had strange expectations of grandeur.  Not the most realistic when seventeen and dealing with fellow seventeen year olds.

"Hangin' out under uh tree does not sound like a fine time tuh me." She purred, internally torn on what to do.  The ball was in her court, but she needed more time to really contemplate what to do.  "I'll tell yah what." She started, "Ya'll go on an' take uh shower an' I'll go on about my business, an' if we happen tuh cross paths again later, we can hang out, but.."  Karalie held up a finger, ready to share her single exception to this, "It will not be under uh tree.  It's Caterpillar season, an' they have no problem crawlin' up peoples arms."  He had two choices; accept her proposition or leave it.  Either way it was buying her time, though she knew the outcome was inevitable; Lucas knew where she lived.  If he really wanted to find her, it wouldn't be all that hard.

[Lucas Blacke]

Luke smiled. There was a maybe in play, and he clung to those like strings on a guitar.

''I will!'' The boy exclaimed as he turned around for his dummy and clumsily picked it up, nearly tripping over the bench. ''I will store this lil' buddy and go take a shower.'' He was obviously going to be thinking of Karalie the entire time, he knew that much. Though he didn't mind the thought of thinking of her, it could make his shower time last two times as long doing.. questionable things.. like playing with the rubber duck he got for his 2nd birthday among other things.

''You go and do your thing, I'll get pretty for you- I mean washed and we'll see what happens.''

Luke would only be semi-stalking Karalie.