But I don't feel like a dancing queen (closed)

[Marnie Sullivan]

dated July 19th

Seventeen. Marnie was seventeen today. Old enough to stay in Vermont on her own for the summer, according to her parents. Apparently there was no room for her in their temporary apartment in Maine, even though she asked - the last thing Marnie had wanted was to be stuck at Hammel. She needed a change of scenery too badly. By way of apology, her parents had wired her a little extra spending money with which which to treat herself. Which she was determined to do.

Today was about her, and Marnie wanted to look the part. Hair up, like. Greg had shown her. More makeup than she was used to, but Marnie had forced herself to leave the dorm without removing it. She was almost an adult now, nobody would get on her case for a little extra eyeliner, right? The short red dress she'd purchased for a date with Lucas was now her birthday dress, reclaimed from its original purpose. That was the plan, anyway.

The worst was over, Marnie had been telling herself. She and Lucas had officially been broken up longer than they'd been together. The ache had receded, the crying stopped. She was getting on with her life. But rumors abound at Hammel, and word had gotten back to her that Lucas was well over it, moving on to - if rumors were to be believed - at least three other girls since. Somehow that stung more than the rest of it. Maybe if she hadn't avoided him so staunchly -

No. It needed to be done. And she could deal with it later; today was about her.

So far her costume had been working, at least. Early afternoon found Marnie strolling down a street lined with shops, a bag from one of the local bookstores on her arm and one book already open in front of her. It was the final book in a trilogy she'd been eagerly awaiting the release of. And it was providing a welcome distraction from the anxieties that had been knotting her stomach. And from the presence of others on the sidewalk in front of her.

[Karalie Heise]

Karalie had been spending more time with Luke than she cared to admit. In fact, she refused to admit, even to herself, that she was starting to enjoy it.  Still, it wasn't often enough  to be annoying, but they'd walked around campus a bit and had bumped into each other at the cafeteria again.  In fact, they had actually made plans to go to a party together.  Not a date, just mutual friends going someplace to hang out and be kids.  But going to parties meant shopping for new clothes, and when Karalie suggested this, Luke jumped on board.  He could use a new outfit, or so was his rationing.  She didn't fight it, because truth be told she didn't mind the company, and if it weren't Luke, it would be one of her roommates.

He was funny, but there was a softer side to him that she found she enjoyed.  He got her, which was something new.  Sure, her friends got her, but not the same as Luke did, because Luke had an ability that was close to hers.  Memories were strange, and though he didn't absorb them from other people or things, he adopted muscle memory which was far more complex than she could have ever imagined.  Luke opened up to her, and he trusted her, which was strange since Karalie go the feeling most people didn't.  People just don't like their privacy being invaded, and though Karalie never did it on purpose, she often got visions of people simply by being around their stuff.  It just sucked.  Still, Luke didn't seem to care, and he also didn't seem to have anything to hide.  It was a strange kinship, one she was pushing herself very hard not to think too much about, though that was difficult at times.

They met up outside the dorms before heading downtown to shop together.  Karalie was wearing short, cutoff denim shorts and a loose, gray and pink top that curved in, showing her shoulder blades.  Her hair was pulled into a very loose braid over her right shoulder, thick dark hairs sprouting lazily from the loose do.  "So, what's ya'lls family like?"  She asked curiously, genuinely interested in getting to know Luke better, for the sake of friends.  Only friends.. definitely.. yes.. no other motives..

Yet.

[Lucas Blacke]

Luke threw his hands in the air as he saw Karalie from a distance and nearly ran in her direction because, well, things. He gently stepped over and had half a mind to just hug the girl as a greeting, but he quickly realized that she might not like that even if it was just meant as a greeting. Luke would just explain it as practice but he wasn't all too sure she'd think the same.

He did his best not to open his mouth all too much at the moment since not only did he just wake up but what the girl was wearing might've been regular wear for her, which would surely break the boy in the future as he couldn't keep his eyes off it. And whether he was staring at the outfit or Karalie he hadn't yet figured out, but he stopped anyway out of fear of making the girl uncomfortable.

Not that he needed to stare to make her feel uncomfortable, he realized as he briefly glanced down at his own shirt that said 'I'm trying to give up sexual innuendos, but it's hard, so HARD.' He threw his gaze back to the girl with a devious smile.

''You wanna know what my family is like?'' Luke asked as he stretched out his hand. ''I won't mind you knowing, but I'm not going to have anything to do with them anymore, even if it means never talking about them again.'' He said strernly. ''Maybe in due time. Depends on how you handle things.''

Just as friends, he had to keep reminding himself.

[Marnie Sullivan]

Reaching a corner of the street, Marnie paused in her reading to wait for the "don't walk" signal to change. As she waited, place marked with a finger between the pages (the heroine was so close to finding the final magical beast, although it was much too early in the book to be anything but a trap), the voices of other shoppers and passersby drifted in and out of her attention. Plenty of people were out today, it seemed. Understandable, on a Saturday with weather as nice as this one.

Then a certain, vey familiar voice cut through the babble and Marnie's stomach sank.

Glancing around frantically, it didn't take lone to spot Lucas further down the sidewalk, as tall as he was. He didn't seem to have noticed her at all though - Marnie couldn't quite see who he was talking to, but now wasn't the time to investigate. If she crossed the street, he'd notice her; same if she just waited where she stood.

Oh god, not today...

The last time Marnie had spoken to the boy, it had only ended in tears for the both of them. A reunion might be entirely mundane, might be disastrous, but either way, surely it didn't have to happen today of all days.

Heart racing, Marnie abandoned the crosswalk to duck into the nearest storefront, a coffee shop, and pretended to wait in line. Why had she work such a bright, easy-to-spot dress? Why had she bought it at all? Marnie waited with bated breath, watching the front windows out of the corner of her eye, hoping Lucas and whoever would just pass on by.

[Karalie Heise]

Lucas was giving her his famous mischievous look, the one that said she was welcome to try and grab a memory from him, but she wasn't in the mood for that.  Not yet.  The handful of memories she had received weren't all the most pleasant.  In fact, some were downright painful to watch, but others weren't so bad.  Actually the one when they were walking back from the cafeteria after dinner yesterday was actually funny.  She tried to refrain, though.  Just because he was willing, didn't mean she was.  Willing or not, she couldn't help but be intrigued.  No one had ever really wanted her to look before.  She had to remind herself it wasn't a book, though.  It was someone's life, and those memories would eventually get clouded in her mind and she would forget who gave them to her.  She would start to think she had been bullied, or tripped over a tree stump and flipped onto her back, or got a scolding for bringing home a bad mark from school.

"Handle what things?" She insisted, narrowing her eyes at him in mock annoyance.  She wasn't really angry with him for not telling her, but she liked to pretend.  "Are ya'll tellin' me that the only way I'm gonna get any answers 'bout ya'lls family is if I touch that sweaty hand uh yours?"  He confirmed and she had to roll her eyes dramatically before shaking her head.  "You're a pain in my ass, yah know that?" She teased, trying to hide the coy smirk that tugged at the corner of her lip.  She hated how endearing he could be, even when he was getting on her nerves.  His retort got him another playfully dirty look before she shook her head, shaking it off.  She wasn't about to get into a pissing match with him.  She already knew he'd probably win.  Lucas was relentless, if nothing else.

"Ya'll ever get coffee here?" She asked as they approached a little cafe.  "They make this mocha thing that is tuh die for." She nodded as if she needed to confirm this somehow.  "Tell me 'bout yer momma and daddy an' I'll buy yah one." she offered with her own mischievous smile, something he was starting to draw from her more and more.  She even batted her eyes at him in a silly attempt to butter him up.  So long as she could keep her hands to herself she could keep her good mood.

[Lucas Blacke]

''First of all!'' Luke exclaimed as he pulled back his own hand and held it in front of his chest. ''We're going to backtrack a bit.'' He replied as they got up to a little cafe. It looked kind of homey, but if they entered it would also be the first cafe Luke would have ever entered. He offered the girl a smile and leaned in close. ''My hand is not sweaty.'' He grinned. ''Unless you, you know, like it that way.''

As soon as the words came out he mentally rolled his eyes. How was it that he never thought about what he said until after he'd already said it?

''Y'know,'' Luke began as he pondered telling Kara about his parents mostly due to the fact he'd get something out of it. ''I don't actually drink coffee. Makes my muscles go all wonky.'' He wasn't kidding, with coffee in his system he was likely to forget how to walk without actually using his ability. Last time he drank coffee he ended up copying movements from all the people around him.

''Am I going to make this next comment? Am I?'' He asked rhetorically as he looked at the girl in a shifty way, all the while making sure no one was actively listening to them. ''The answer is yes. I am going to make this comment.'' He coughed and smiled at Karalie. ''Me being exhausted might just be because you need to get used to me being exhausted around you anyway.''

''I should not have said that.'' He instantly added with a raised index finger.

''Anyway, there's not much to say about my parents. They weren't around much, All I know is that I hated them.'' He shrugged. ''But hey, who doesn't hate their parents every now and then?'' He joked. But for him it wasn't every now and then, it was now and always.

He forced a smile and mimed slapping Karalie on the butt, making a slapping sound just for fun. ''Now go get me my coffee!'' He said as he looked briefly at the waiting line, he did not feel the need to stand in line. Certainly not when he spotted something red. A glimpse of something that could have been.. He started to wonder. ''I'll go and secure us a table. Oh and be sure to order two things you'd like.'' There was almost a certainty that he would not finish his coffee at all. Or even touch it.

He wuickly spotted an empty table and quickly walked over to it and slammed himself down in the chair as he took out his cellphone which bore the image of Marnie. He briefly looked over his shoulder to see if Karalie noticed and quickly navigated to his sent messages and made a new one directed at Marnie, who he hoped was not the red thing in the shop.

''Hey, decided to text you again. How have you been? I really hope we can stay friends. Isn't it fun staying on campus, being locked in your room all day? At least I have music, that's a plus.''

Now he just needed to watch the red thing and see if it reacted in any way to the message he sent. Then it dawned on him that in the offchance that it was her and she'd send a message back that everyone would know it due to the fact that Luke never turned off his sound.

[Marnie Sullivan]

Don't come in here, don't come in here, don't come in -

"Ya'll ever get coffee here?"

Shit.

Rigid as a board, Marnie trained her eyes carefully on the menu above the counter, pretending to concentrate on deciding what she wanted as she eavesdropped on Lucas and what she now recognized as another girl their age. Her thoughts began racing - were the rumors true after all? Were they out on a date? Lucas sounded awfully familiar with her, Marnie noted with a twinge in her chest. Was she his new girlfriend? A lot could happen in a month, after all...

She breathed a tiny sigh of relief when she heard him declare his plan to snag a table - it meant he wouldn't be standing in line directly behind her - until Marnie realized that now she couldn't leave. He'd be out there, likely in full view of the door, and would be sure to notice her if she tried. Maybe she could hide in the bathroom until they were gone?
Ugh, how pathetic...

From inside her purse, Marnie heard the chirp of her cellphone indicating a message received. Thank god - probably one of her parents checking on her, or maybe one of her friends firing off a quick "Happy Birthday" message, but whatever it was, it gave her an excuse to stare at something besides the menu -

Shit.

Before she could stop herself, Marnie glanced out the window, then immediately turned back to her phone. The message didn't say anything about seeing her in the coffee shop, but the timing was too much of a coincidence.

Well, he was trying to play it cool. So could she.

"I've been fine. Been on campus all day working on that fundraiser. Hope you're well."

Short, with none of the banter they used to exchange. Maybe at a more opportune time she could consider his request to be friends.

[Karalie Heise]

She was a little disappointed when he said he didn't drink coffee, her mouth having already begun watering at the thought of the hot drink.  Before she had a chance to ask if he minded her grabbing on, he went on babbling about whether or not he was going to tell her something, her smirk growing as she waited for him to spit out whatever it was he was trying to spit out, her arms crossing over her chest.  

The comment he made confused her a little.  Why should she get used to him being exhausted around her? Judging by the way he immediately seemed to regret it, she felt there was some sort of underlying innuendo there that she was just too ignorant to pick up on.  Was it because he was thinking about her all night or something? Was this his attempt at a cheesy line? She chuckled and rolled her eyes.  "Alright, weirdo." She teased with a laugh before he continued on talking about his parents! Sort of..  He hated them, he made that obvious, but why? She wanted details! But before she could try and force more information he was telling her to go get his coffee.  "Ya'll didn't tell me nothin'!" She insisted with her fists tight at her side now, but he was going off to grab a table and leaving her to go get beverages.  "I'm not through with you yet!" She snapped over at him, still in high spirits despite it all.

Karalie got in line behind a girl in a red dress, her eyes roaming to the menu to make sure she was completely sure she wanted what she wanted.  The line moved forward, but the girl was too busy staring down at her phone.  She waited a moment and then cleared her throat before leaning forward politely.  "Excuse me, are ya'll in line?" She asked, recognizing the face as a fellow student.  Marnie something.. She never remembered her last name even though they were in SAC and track together, in addition to some classes.  Her memory was great at everything but names.  "Oh, hey Marnie." She smiled politely before leaning away.  They weren't exactly friends, but they weren't enemies or anything.  Simply acquaintances that never really had a chance to get to know one another.  Karalie looked over her shoulder at Luke, whose nose was practically pushed to his phone.  All these cellphones made her hand itch to reach into her pocket to grab her own to check it.

[Lucas Blacke]

Luke only hoped she wasn't through with him. He watched her get in line behind the red thing he spotted earlier and watched the line shift but the person in front of Karalie didn't move. It was now easier to see what it actually was that got his attention. Obviously the red dress did, but he knew there was something else. He did make assumptions and acted on them, but he had not gotten a text back yet. And for that he was glad as it'd just alert the entire business of it, or at the least Karalie. And maybe Marnie if it did turn out to be her.

Suddenly his phone went off with the sound of shattering glass. Luke flinched as his hand slapped the phone against a nearby wall. ''Well, there goes yet another phone.'' He whispered as he went over to pick it up and noticed that it was somehow still in one piece. It seemed that the cover around it was more protective than he'd realized. He turned the phone over and turned on the screen to read the text he'd just gotten.

It was from Marnie and it stated that she was at campus, working on the fundraiser. Luke wondered a bit and asked himself why it took so long, it sounded like something easily put together to him. Now obviously he had never done anything of the likes so there was some confusion from his side. Aside from that he kept asking himself if what was in the message was actually true, what if she covered herself just like Luke tried to do?

He got to his feet and made his way back to the table where he noticed that, inddeed half the shop was looking at him. But sure enough after a few seconds everyone turned their focus back to what they were doing except for two people. Karalie and Marnie, who were both holding their cellphones.

Luke looked at Karalie and then at Marnie with a frown. Something inside him jumped in joy as he knew it was Marnie even before he saw her. Something else inside him jumped out of fear because Marnie and Karalie seemed to know each other.

The boy gripped his cellphone tight and slammed his fist down on the table, sitting down with his head in his hands. ''I can not do this right now..'' He whispered as he tried to keep his cool.

[Marnie Sullivan]

Marnie jumped slightly, startled at being addressed.

"Oh, yeah, sorry, I - " As she stepped forward to follow the line, she turned to the girl speaking and was hit with a flash of recognition. She wasn't a friend, but she was a teammate, and that was enough.

"Ah , hi, Karalie," Marnie replied, plastering on a wide smile to hide her nerves, which were only more rattled when she noticed Kara glance back at the boy outside. Yep, he was definitely here, and if he didn't figure her text for a lie immediately, he was about to anyway.

From outside came the jarring sound of glass breaking and something clattering against the wall. As other shoppers turned to stare, Marnie once again considered just hiding in the bathroom. Maybe there was a window she could climb out of or something.

Nope. He'd seen her, she realized, smile fading from her face. And he didn't look happy.

Would he make another scene? Marnie honestly wasn't sure. It wouldn't make sense for him to, but Lucas had done plenty of things that didn't make sense to her.

Well, there was nothing for it now but to power through.

"So how've you been? You stuck here over break too?" She asked Karalie, smile back in place. Maybe if she was friendly enough Lucas would take the cue and be civil as well, at least for now.

[Karalie Heise]

Karalie smiled at the greeting and the recognition in Marnie's voice. She seemed a little preoccupied or anxious, and Karalie wondered why, but didn't really want to ask. It was non of her business, and they certainly didn't have that type of relationship. A simple hi would suffice. The sound of clattering over her shoulder made her look back to see Lucas picking up his phone. What on earth was he doing? She gave him a funny look and then all but rolled her eyes. He could be such a spaz, but even with she sort of liked that about him. Sometimes.

The girls' eyes met and Karalie chuckled shyly before Marnie went on to ask about her being stuck there. "Oh, no." She explained. "I asked my parents tuh let me stay up here, gave 'em the excuse that I had some pressin' school matters that needed my attention, things that would help get me into college. Truth is I just didn't want tuh hear my momma moan an' groan all summer about majors an' schools an' all that nonsense." She rolled her eyes for dramatic effect. "I just ain't got the patience for all that right now." She smiled kindly with a small laugh. "What about you?" She asked, trying not to turn her attention away from Marnie to steal another look at Lucas to see what he was up to now.

While Marnie talked the line moved up, and things stayed pretty quiet behind her, so she didn't feel like she had to check on the boy. Not that she should have to.. they were just friends getting coffee. Still, friends kept each other in line, right? Of course they did.

[Lucas Blacke]

''Crap. Crap. Crapcrap.'' Luke saw Karalie talking with Marnie as they seemed to know each other somehow. This could be serious trouble, what would Karalie think nof him if she figured out what he'd done, or that Marnie was his first girlfriend ever? Would he come across as sad? And what if Marnie held a big enough grudge to convince Karalie he was a bad person? Questions flew across Luke's head and made it hard for him to form coherent thoughts.

He had half gotten up to get between the girls before they really got to talking, but he quickly realized that if he got between them someone could snag the table away from him and Karalie. And probably Marnie, seeing as he was pretty much forced to include her now. He took his phone and flipped through the text message conversations he had with her and he just knew he had to figure out a way to be friends with Marnes. Not because the situation demanded a non-casualty solution but because she and Luke actually had fun. Or at least he did.

His finger rested on his screen a moment as his eyes fixed themselves on the option to call Marnie Sullivan. He inhaled a bit and pressed it and took the phone to his ear waiting for it to get picked up.

Then his eyes widened. She'd see his name flash up and probably look his way, and Karalie would most likely pick up on it. He panicked slightly and pressed the call away, hoping that Marnie wouldn't give it the time of day. Or rather, he kinda hoped she did and decided to just walk over to him to get mad or whatever. At least it'd keep her from talking to Karalie for a moment..

[Marnie Sullivan]

"Oh definitely, I'm already sick of people asking what I'm gonna do after graduation." Marnie nodded in agreement. As a matter of fact, very few people had bothered to question her about her colleges and, and even then it was mostly her parents. But right now the priority wasn't honesty, it was playing nice.

"So what are you - "

Marnie was interrupted by the phone in her hand going off again. This time, instead of the short chirp of a text, it was a snippet of a pop song that had been big on the radio six months ago. The screen lit up with a static image of Lucas' grinning face, and her own face flushed with panic.

What the hell was he doing? Was he out of his mind?

Marnie stared, frozen, at the screen until the ringing stopped a couple of seconds later, her mind reeling.

Wait, no. This was exactly his style, she realized with annoyance. Sure, it would be paranoid to believe her followed her around town or even into the coffee shop on purpose. But he'd already chosen to question her presence and pester her instead of leaving her in peace. Just knowing she'd seen him wasn't enough, apparently. God, it was just like him to keep at it, even at such an inappropriate time.

But that was Lucas, after all. Nothing if not inappropriate.

"Hey, you want to cut ahead of me? I haven't decided what I want yet," Marnie said, with forced cheeriness. Her cheeks were blooming with the same speckled grey of the tiled floor below her feet; under less duress she would've concentrated harder to avoid flashing her power in town, but her agitation distracted her. Without waitin for an answer from Karalie, she turned and marched stiffly outside.

Turning her phone of was tempting, but would it be effective? Stomach clenched with assumptions, Marnie was convinced it wouldn't. She could just see it now - his first attempts thwarted, he would walk in, throw an arm around Kara and gloat until she couldn't take it anymore.

Well, screw that.

Marnie strode up to the table where the boy sat and leaned down so she could keep her voice low and still be heard.

"Will you just stop?" she asked in an exasperated voice. "I'm just trying to mind my own business and have a nice day, okay?"

[Karalie Heise]

Marnie was about to ask her a question when her phone started ringing.  Oh, I love this song! she thought in her mind, immediately giving Marnie cool points for having it as her ringtone.  The look on her face showed her displeasure with the caller and Karalie tried to subtly strain her neck to peak and see who was calling.  The phone stopped ringing before she had a chance to get a good view of the caller, her eyes averting away and trying to pretend like she was minding her own business.

Suddenly Marnie asked if she wanted to jump ahead of her in line, Karalie raising a brow at the offer.  She sounded cheery but she could see the forced look on her face and knew immediately she wasn't nearly as happy as she looked.  Must have been someone she wasn't expecting or didn't want to talk to.  Karalie got that way sometimes when her parents called, but usually after they'd gotten in a tiff about one thing or another.  

"Oh, uhh, sure.. thanks."  Her answer fell on deaf ears as Marnie practically stormed off, Karalie looking after her for a second before moving forward, now next in line.  The person in front of her finished their order and moved to the side to allow Karalie ample space to put her own order in.  She got two iced mocha lattes and handed the man a $10 to pay for it with.  When she received her change she moved to the side to wait for the drinks to come up, turning to look over at Lucas.  What she saw made her face pale.

Why on earth was Marnie talking to him, and why did she look so angry? Karalie had an uneasy feeling in her stomach watching the two silently go at it.  Would Lucas have been the one to call her? No.  No way, that couldn't be it.  Maybe they're in a club together or something? Their discussion certainly didn't look school related, but how could she know?  "Carly?" Karalie turned and looked at the barista, frowning slightly.  No one ever got her name right.  "Kara Lee." She emphasized before taking her drinks and heading to the table where Lucas and Marnie were.  

"Everythin' alright?" She asked trying to sound pleasant and laid back.  What did she care if he talked to other girls.  Not like they were dating or anything..

[Lucas Blacke]

Luke raised a finger and inhaled as Marnie almost scolded him in the quietest way he knew was possible. It was almost sweet. He tried to reply but found that his brain had other ideas as he just allowed air to move through his mouth. He closed it soon after and hastily looked in the direction of Karalie who had noticed Marnie talking to him and had a visible negative reaction to it. Somehow this made him smile, but also did not because Marnie was right there and she and Luke were a thing, the one thing Luke didn't want Karalie to know just yet.

She'd find out eventually, but he hoped that would be somewhere else, in a private location or something. Though it didn't quite help that the two girls seemed to know each other.

Luke finally looked straight at Marnie and shook his head slightly. ''I get that, and so am I.'' He exhaled internally with the knowledge her intention was not to fuck things up. ''Wait,'' Luke wondered as he looked at Marnie's dress. ''did I miss something?'' His time spent with Karalie had taken presedence to everything else, he noticed.

He hastily looked over his shoulder once more and saw Karalie walking over with the question if everything was alright. ''It is now.'' Luke said with a smile, not even caring that Marnie was standing right there. He quite nearly yanked the coffee from her hand and took a sip, forgetting for a moment that he hated coffee.

He put down the cup as his face began to twist sideways at the taste. ''Coffee.. yay..'' He said with a raspy voice as he plopped his arm stretched out on the table and used his other hand to keep it in place as it began flopping around like a fish.