The strings of fate (Axelle)

[Corbin Jacobs]

It never ceased to amaze Corbin how.. here he was, 26 years old, successful business, car of his dreams, not a want for anything he couldn't have.. for all intents and purposes having 'made it' before he even hit 30... And it was so easy to feel completely alone surrounded by people. Not that feeling alone was necessarily a bad thing. It could actually be quite refreshing and calming. Jason was either at work or sleeping off a hangover, so he wasn't around, and Corbin was outdoors.. walking next to a park near the lake in Pilot Ridge. And despite that the 'oh crap summer is over we gotta get our outdoorsy time in before the cold sets in' crowd was in full swing and people where everywhere Corbin was completely alone.

Heck, if it weren't for the white-printed black shirt that, if his opinion counted, was a bit loud.. he might be willing to say that he felt downright invisible. But surely people saw him. He was six foot one, and by most standards of beauty fairly attractive.. Wearing a black shirt, dark jeans, and slicked-back dark hair. He aught to be standing out like a sore thumb, but here he was.. Completely unacknowledged and alone. It was fascinating in part because when he'd been younger.. being left alone had taken so much effort.. and here he was, a success, out in public peoplewatching.. completely ignored. Where was Esha when he needed her? --Oh yeah. In Arizona. Fighting cancer.

Fortunately, Corbin had no time to dwell on his like-a-sister cousin, as some Asian kid chucked a frisby that caught the wind all wrong and soared high and off course from his apparent red-headed target.. She seemed pretty friggin determined, though.. looking back over her shoulder at the frisby and barreling straight toward Corbin. Who grinned an almost mischievous grin. Worst case scenario he was gonna get kneed in the chin. A big deal for some, but not for him.. Worth the risk at the very least. He wanted to see if he could pull this off.. Because it wasn't likely he'd ever get the chance to find out again.

So Corbin adopted a ready stance to the apparent horror of the asian boy, and as Axelle should have plowed directly into him, grunted slightly with effort as he instead put both hands around her waist and lifted.. literally tossing her several feet into the air. The planets must have aligned for the moment, too, as the frisby all but flew right into her waiting hands... Corbin backstepped, braced again, and caught the girl the same way he'd tossed her, this time bringing her in so her abdomen ended up against his chest.. Because one didn't just drop some chick that had just been tossed in the air and wasn't expecting it.

He'd wait until she got her bearings, then set her back on the ground... grinning like a madman because seriously.. WHO ELSE COULD SAY THEY'D PULLED THIS OFF IN THE HISTORY OF EVER.

[Axelle Flint]

Axelle was enjoying her sorta date with Koty. After meeting him before school started and a few conversations afterwards the two had discussed the possibility of "going out", but since Axelle was understandably nervous about actually dating someone they had agreed to take it slow. So far this was their third "sorta date" where they mostly spent it in the other's company getting to know each other better. It was becoming apparent to the redhead that as much as she enjoyed being around Koty, being 'with' him didn't hold as much appeal as she thought it would in the long run. Still, she didn't want to call it quits just yet, she was waiting to wake up one morning and realize that yes, she'd loved him all along...that's what happened in romance movies and stories right? Because the chances of actually running into your one true love were pretty slim right?? In the fantasy world, sure it happened all the time! A princess could leave her castle and smack into 6 true loves before breakfast. Those living in the real world didn't have such luck.

Her contemplation of the matter was cut short as Koty tossed the Frisbee a bit badly and it was caught by a sudden updraft. Axelle was determined to catch it though as her competitive nature kicked in. she WOULD catch that silly little disk! Her shoes pounded into the grass as she kept her eyes locked on her target, not paying attention to anything else around her before she made a (what would have been futile) jump when she practically soared into the air to catch the round piece of plastic with a delighted 'whoop!' She was suddenly falling again, but not much, two strong hands grabbing and supporting her, holding her for a moment in a way that most romantic movies assured her was...you know....romantic when she realized she was in the arms of a total stranger. Naturally she flailed with several exclamations and apologies when the two went down with a thud.

It was then as Axelle was scrambling to get off the man who'd caught her that she realized he wasn't...squishy. In fact as her mind raced back she realized that he'd been rather firm...like that time she'd smacked into Mr. Romanov on campus that one day not too long ago. “Whoa…are you okay?” she asked looking down at him still on the ground and offering her Frisbee-less hand to help him up.

[Corbin Jacobs]

"Hey, I'm gonna s--" Holy crap.. HOLY CRAP. THIS CHICK WAS REALLY REALLY STRONG. An ordinary flail would have been a simple issue.. Take the hits, let her calm down for a second, deposit her back on the ground, grin, uh.. some sort of whitty remark about how she should watch where she was going and how she was welcome for the catch of the century.. Nupe. Not this girl. When this girl flailed she generated wind and gyroscopic forces that had Corbin falling flat on his back before he could comprehend that this was no ordinary girl.

Fortunately, as she'd discovered, he wasn't all that squishy. Er, at least not on the outside.. and so he found himself with a rather cute girl (that he really hoped was 18) panicking and still flailing on top of him as the asian dude in the distance seemed to facepalm and start walking over toward them. Was Corbin okay? Heck yeah he was. This had been awesome, fun, and hilarious.. and so as he reached to take the girl's offered hand, Corbin was failing miserably at stifling giggles.

"Hah! Heh-heck yeah I'm okay. That was freakin awesome! Haha!" Presumably he was brought to his feet with startling ease which only left him upright and more entertained. "Holy crap! You are freakin strong, ya know that? Dolphins don't have that much of a kick when they flail around. Haha! But yeah.. heh. Yeah, I'm good. I wish somebody would have got that on tape, though. I must have thrown you like four feet in the air for that catch. --Oh, that.. Yeah, um. Sorry if that wasn't cool. I couldn't resist.. You were just charging right at me and.. uh.. I made sure to be all super gentlemanly or whatever right up to where you landed us on the ground.. So, ya know.. Not my fault. But still, sorry if that was uncool. The catch was worth it, though, right? That was an epic catch, man."

Okay.. now thinking about everything Corbin was feeling rather silly for having done what he did.. and was really hoping that after this girl with.. like, strikingly red hair wasn't going to be pissed that he'd put his hands on her, even if he'd had good intentions.

[Axelle Flint]

"Ah, well I was really surprised when I realized what happened but honestly it's better than running you over," she stammered, looking around and noticing that Koty was approaching them. "You're kinda...tough? Cuz yeah I'm really...really...really strong," she admitted, each really getting softer as she continued with a blush. She thought his attempts at humor were kinda lame, but in a cute way, but she was mostly a bit put off by it because she tended not to joke around about her strength. "But yeah, anyway it was fine and stuff...I'm glad I didn't hurt you or anything..."

She looked back over her shoulder. "Anyway I have to go my....um, friend is probably worried about me. Thanks again!" she said quickly as she turned and trotted away, meeting Koty not so close (but not so far away), smiling up at him and shaking her head as she explained what had happened. That done the couple turned to walk back towards their picnic blanket, her hand shyly reaching over to hold the end of Koty's sleeve near is wrist as they walked back.

[Corbin Jacobs]

So better was good. Better than running someone over generally meant no offense was taken. Because despite being tossed in the air by a strange man who was clearly several years her senior, this chick was worried about having hurt him instead of feeling violated that he had touched her. It spoke volumes of not only her character but of her confidence.. "Well good. Cause the last thing I want is, like.. To mess up somebody's day being silly.. And, yeah. Really-really strong. If you see Dr. Neville tell him his favorite introvert says hi, yeah?"

And just like that, maybe without even fully hearing what Corbin had to say, the girl was turned and running back toward her aAsian friend. Corbin simply brushed himself off and starred after her for several moments.. "Lucky kid. That chick seems pretty cool." And with a shrug, Corbin simply turned and continued on his way.