In plain view [open]

[Lucas Blacke]

For the first time since he'd been at Hammel he mentally went over everyone he had met, to his realization he hadn't really met all that much people he kept contact with. There were a few, but he was sure the entire school knew how that turned out. With the state of everyone and everything around Hammel everyone knew everything about everyone, lovelife being no exception. It didn't strike him as odd when people got up to him and asked him how it was to ride the school bicycle, or how people were angry with him for not snapping sooner while in the jaws of someone who didn't put out. And worst of all were the people who asked him why he kept trying because in the end he'd fuck up anyway. In the end, it didn't even matter.

He'd been stuck in a cycle of riling himself up lately. He had come to terms with what he had done but no matter who he tried talking to his logic would end up flawed in everyone's eyes except for his own. He needed to fix that, but in order to do so he needed to think his issues over first. Starting with, and facing the most obvious one first; his parents. He'd acted like he didn't care, but when talking about his life he would always end up mentioning his parents. Sure, his uncle raised him but his parents were still his parents.

He grabbed his phone from his pocket as he flopped down on the couch in the lounge, lord knew how many times he had used it and mostly everyone would know about the time he ended up kissing someone way below his own age. Something that luckily did not get used against him all that much but it still did.

Turning on the screen of his phone he navigated to where his contacts would be, and realized at the last moment that the number he was looking for wouldn't be in there on account of him deleting it. His heart was pounding in his throat by now as he entered the area of his phone where he could dial the numbers manually, and with his ability it was no problem recalling the exact number he needed; he had used it often enough as a kid and had seen it enough times. He had begun associating the number with being told off..

When he had filled in the digits he gulped a bit and tried to calm down as his thumb hesitantly hovered over the call button and finally just pressed it. He brought the phone to his ear and waited for it to go over. He waited, and it finally got picked up.

When someone came on the line he chickened out though and quickly pressed the call away. He brushed his free hand through his hair and slung his phone to the opposite side of the couch in apparent frustration.

[Carleigh Davidson]

Carleigh hadn't been coming to the student lounge as often as she had been before. Before, the blonde never felt the need to form meaningful relationships. She was a social butterfly; content to fly from one person to the next. Acquaintances were vast, but having friends was rare. Olivia, her first real friend, but now they had drifted. Lucy. A few others who had also drifted with time. It was inevitable. Lately, she'd been spending a lot of time with her 'wifey,' and so hadn't felt the need to seek out interaction from other people.

Today, she found herself drawn to the lounge. For nostalgia sake, maybe. For the many, sleepless nights she spent here, or on the dorm main floor. Running a hand through the blonde strands of hair, Carleigh carefully collected it into a sleek ponytail as she entered the all too familiar room. Nothing much had changed. There were still couches everywhere; for once, empty. Except for one lone figure. The student's back was towards her, and she began to approach. As she drew in closer, the blonde noticed a cell phone pressed to his ear. Carleigh almost changed direction, not wanting to interrupt anything, when the boy quickly hung up and flung his phone away. Her eyes narrowed in confusion.

"You not want to make that phone call or something?" Carleigh spoke, still standing behind the couch. "Cause you're probably calling for a reason."

[Lucas Blacke]

He wanted to drop back on the couch and wallow in pain for a moment when he noticed someone behind him halting the thoughts in his mind about the phonecall, leaving the last and most sensical thought about it in a prominent and frozen postition: if they knew the number and cared, they'd call back.

For now he had to be social, perhaps just at the right time as he was about to break down. Maybe not in the way he had done with Karalie and Anthy but still heavy. He had guessed this was the price to pay for bottling everything and didn't really do much to fight the occassional outburst from time to time. Mostly it was a pretty harmless burst that resulted in him getting angry and in the end being able to resolve it with a simple apology, but other times, like with Anthy it was a full-blown breakdown complete with tears and everything. He'd always end up beating himself for doing things like that, in his eyes men weren't supposed to show emotion and when stuff like that happened it was a giant sign of weakness.

''I.. yeah.'' He wasn't quite sure how to respond to the blonde girl behind him. He'd never seen her so he didn't know her personality and if he could tell her about who he was calling and why, maybe he'd be able to tell her a bit later on if she stuck around long enough. Right now he didn't need anyone to share his problems with as much as he needed someone around to distract him.

''I was callin' for a reason.'' His eyes shot around erratically as he tried to come up with an excuse why he did what he did. ''My.. I'm out of minutes, I need them to call me back.'' He finally replied with a smile.

[Carleigh Davidson]

Often, the blonde would jump into a conversation whether or not the person was reluctant to talk. Half the time, Carleigh would end up talking to the wall. Not that it bothered her; there were always other people to talk to. She took a step forward, still behind the couch as she waited for a response from the other student.

She didn't know what to expect, a simple yes or no answer to her statement or a long winded explanation. Either way was fine. She began to play with the ring on her thumb, stepping around so she would be able to see his face. The boy seemed familiar; Carleigh didn't know if she'd ever talked to him before but recognized the face. Not the name, either. Her eyes tracked the pattern of his, finding herself looking all over the room. "Oh." Carleigh simply replied. "Are they somebody important? Hopefully they call back."

"Or do you want to borrow my phone?" She asked, going to reach into her bag to pull out the smart device. "I don't mind, really."

[Lucas Blacke]

Now that she had taken to standing in front of him Luke was in an awkward spot. Getting up to make sure they were both on the same height was an option, but a presumptious one in his eyes. He could also stay seated and risk hurting his neck while looking at her, or simply not looking at her at all, not that that one was an option because he was used to looking at people when talking.

But when she asked if the people he called were important his neck hinged up out of reflex. He slightly smiled and nodded as he wanted to reply to her, but she uttered another question before he could do so. Her hand went into her bag to take out what Luke assumed would be a phone as she asked him if he wanted to borrow her phone instead, that she didn't mind. He slightly shook his head at that bercause not only was he lying about being out of minutes but he wouldn't feel okay taking the phone of someone he barely knew.

He stuck up his hand to make her stop grabbing the phone and smiled. ''I 'preciate the offer doll, but if I wanna reach them in any way I wanna do it with my own phone.'' He replied as he put his hand back down with a sigh before getting up. ''And yeah, those people.. I guess ya could say they're important. Haven't done all that much for me, but they're still my parents right? Figured I should give them a call for once.''

He then stuck out his hand for her to shake. ''Lucas Blacke, at yer cervix- service!'' He'd been wanting to make that joke for a while now, but he wasn't quite sure this was the right moment. In any form it helped to take his mind off of the subject of his parents.

[Carleigh Davidson]

Carleigh began rocking back and forth from her heels to the balls of her feet. She was feeling rather.. fidgety today, for no concrete reason. Her black bag, slung loosely on an arm, was very typical of a seventeen year old girl's purse. Her wallet. A lip balm or two. Lip gloss. Old receipts. A pack of gum. Her phone was somewhere in the mix. Before she could get her hands on it, Carleigh noticed in her peripheral vision his hand movement. She hadn't caught him shaking his head, as her eyes had been focused on finding her damn phone.

Pausing, she pulled back her hand with a shrug. "If you insist." Carleigh said with a smile. It sounded weird, but who was she to judge? When he mentioned parents, her normally bright and bubbly smile toned down a notch. Noticeably. If anyone knew strained relationships, it was Carleigh. Things were.. slightly better than before, but still not ideal. Carleigh too avoided talking to her parents, only making the effort to reconnect with her older brother. "Maybe, yeah." She agreed, for pleasantries. "It can be hard." Was what she offered; an oversimplified response.

Reaching out, the blonde took the guy's hand. Lucas. The name did sound familiar, now. She raised an eyebrow, tilting her head slightly at the joke. Was it a joke? Maybe. She didn't know. Carleigh put on her usual beaming smile, replying with "Nice to meet you, I'm Carleigh." as she pulled back her hand from the handshake.

[Lucas Blacke]

What was it with women and purses? He never quite got that when sahe had finally stopped ruffling around in her purse, the black bag hung around her arm. It was odd to see even if you'd seen it hundreds of times, but in the meantime it was also something you'd get used to. It was always 50/50 in some cases. On one side.. why did they have to take so much with them everywhere they went? But on the flipside he did figure it was kind of handy to have that much space to store stuff.

The way she responded to his mention of parents made him think she had something going with her parents too, perhaps the contact there was strained a bit or non-existent like in Luke's case. Or like with Karalie she was just lying to them and it was beginning to catch up. Either way, where she had smiled before she toned it down at the mere mention of parents. It made him think of himself in some ways, maaybe there would be some kind of sad friendship here if they connected on more than just not liking their parents.

When he wanted to take his mind off of his parents he did not expect this. But at least the joke he made helped some, even if it was just a joke and a poorly timed one at that. He wouldn't have minded her leaving right then and there, but this was not what she did as she took his hand and took his hand, putting up a smile like Luke had done so many times. He wasn't quite sure if it was a fake one or if she was just an extremely happy person, but in any case it would help him get through some stuff if she did decide to stay and talk to him a bit.

When she uttered her name Luke smilled. It was a nice one he instantly took apart. Carleigh. She could go lay in his car any day. Even he knew that one was in bad taste as he decided not to say that one out loud. ''Nice to meet ya too.'' He offered. ''Never really seen ya before.'' He said, trying to change the subject.

''So, what brought ya here? I assume ya know 'bout me an' that I'm some sort of glutton for bad luck. Pretty sure the entire school knows by now.'' He slumped slightly.

[Carleigh Davidson]

Now that she had begun her search, Carleigh couldn't help but to wonder where her phone was in the mess of her purse. There was the possibility for things to be more organized, all in corresponding compartments, but that took too much time and effort. It was easier to just throw it all in.

The subject of her parents was one the blonde actively tried to avoid. There were problems, nothing too horrible, but enough that she did avoid them. She'd yet to go back and visit them in her six years of being at Hammel. Instead, she stuck around or did things with friends, like the summer road trip with River. They had their problems, she had her own, and so she did her best to avoid them. Maybe next summer, after graduation, a trip was needed. Carleigh dropped the subject, instead focusing on the conversation at hand with a smile on her face. It was incredibly hard to phase the blonde; she really tried her best to be a happy, outgoing individual.

Even if it meant faking it sometimes.

Lucas. She'd definitely heard that name in passing before. Always seemed to be involved with something going on. "Yeah, same." Carleigh agreed with him. Which was unusual, given that she usually was at least aware of most people. That changed as Carleigh had grown older and more involved with people on a personal level, instead of roaming the halls late at night talking to new people. "Are you a senior too?" Because if so, then she had even less of an excuse.

Shrugging, the blonde said "Well, I use to come down here a lot, but then I stopped. Decided I'd come down again." Carleigh bit on her lip; of course, she'd heard about Lucas. Marnie. Karalie. All of that. "And... maybe. But you seem alright right now." She assured him. Provided he didn't try anything. Again, it was hard to get on her bad side.

[Lucas Blacke]

Was he a senior? He looked at the girl before him as she asked that, and while it was the most simple question ever he didn't know how to answer as he hadn't really kept track. He supposed he was. Didn't feel like it, assuming it was something that made you hold more influence or something. If it was he had yet to experience it, something that could tip things in his favor which would mean, if only for a short while that he wouldn't have any more bad luck. Though plenty of things had happened that made him feel that no, he did not get any break of any kind.

He was about to answer when she went on to say about what made her come down there, and then continue by doing that lip biting thing he was sure was a thing all girls everywhere had agreed upon and commented on him having bad luck and the school talking for him without him having to. Something about that made him think that senior question was tied to that so he dismissed that comment with a simple nod to mean yes, he was.

She said he seemed alright right then. He smiled at that word, it described just about every fiber of him. ''That words is 'bout right.'' He said as he turned sideways and kicked off his shoes and put his legs on the couch to be able to lie back, throwing everything he thought before about options to the wind as he simply just decided on sacrificing his neck to look at her not only standing upright but also to his side. ''Seem.'' He repeated with a smile. ''Ya should know that while I may seem fine I'm a very depressed person. Awesome, ain't it?''

He laughed as he watched her look through her bag shortly after that and just assumed she was still looking for her phone. ''Why don't ya go sit yer cute lil' behind down and get more comfortable?'' He asked as he slightly drew his legs closer to himself, makjing room for her to sit.

[Carleigh Davidson]

Conversations with Carleigh were always fact-paced and hard to keep track of. She answered questions, fired them back, and before most people could reply, moved onto the next set. She assumed that the delayed nod was in answer to the senior question. "Huh. Haven't seen you in any of my classes. Must not have any together then." The blonde presumed. Maybe there were a lot of seniors at Hammel now. She didn't pay as much attention as she use to.

Carleigh was telling the truth. Although Lucas' name left a less than desirable reputation around the school, she personally had nothing against him right now. He hadn't lashed out at her or tried to flirt with her, at least from what she could tell. The blonde was still a little hung up on her one and only boyfriend, River, and was doing her best to move on. She reciprocated her own smile, watching as he shifted positions on the couch. Her smile faded into a straight line as he admitted to being depressed. Carleigh didn't know what to do with that information, since she had no personal experiences with the disorder to draw help from. What was she suppose to say? Sorry? Or was that condescending?

She settled with "Oh, I wouldn't have guessed that." But even that sounded dumb. Carleigh bit her lip, staying quiet for a moment. Which, for her, was unusual. She decided to move on from that, accepting his offer and taking a seat next to him on the couch with her phone in hand. "So you been down here long? It's kind of quiet down here today." Carleigh commented, blue eyes looking over to meet with a similarly coloured pair.

[Lucas Blacke]

He wasn't surprised when she said that she hadn't seen him, who would've noticed him aside from knowing his name? Only a handful of people knew what he looked like and he was slightly glad for that due to people not having a face to go with the rumors, though he'd assume that by now some of the gossip people knew how he looked by now. Oh well.

when she next reacted and mentioned his depression and how she couldn't say he had it from just looking at him he smiled weakly. Obviously she shouldn't be able to as he did his best to seem upbeat and chipper around other people. In fact, he wasn't even sure why he told her that tidbit about himself, surely she'd have better things to do than to hang around him and talk with him all day. There was at the moment only one person who had shown to be able to do that and that was a relatively new girl, someone he'd probably hurt in some way and would drive her off bbecause of it.

The girl snapped him out of his thoughts as she moved a bit and finally sat down on the couch next to him. ''Yeah.'' He finally replied, throwing her a smile. ''It's quiet for this time of day, usually there are lots more people 'round.''

He paused a moment as he looked into her eyes, was this what girls looking into his eyes felt? He found himself marveling at those blue orbs before finally getting the required nerve to slap himself out of it and chuckled nervously, turning his gaze to the side.

''So uh.. should I know ya?''
Way to be direct.

[Carleigh Davidson]

For all the blonde knew, Lucas could have been in one or two of her classes. Maybe all of them. It was hard to keep track of the influx of students at all times. And even for someone as sociable as Carleigh, it proved difficult.

Depression was a hard subject to talk about, let alone be forward and open about. The smile Lucas gave back was weak, almost bitter, but Carleigh didn't say a word about it. Was he at least seeing someone for it? She didn't want to pry into his private life, though, especially since he had chosen her to divulge in.

She decided to drop the subject; he obviously had a similar thought. Leaning back against the couch cushion, she absentmindedly tapped the front of her phone screen with her fingernails. "Yeah. Maybe there's something going on today." She stopped tapping her phone as their eyes met, the corner of her lip twitching up into a kind smile. Lucas looked like the kind of student who could use a genuine smile. And a good cup of coffee. Or maybe that was her.

Shrugging, Carleigh tucked her bangs behind her ear. "I don't know." She said with a lighthearted chuckle. "Maybe? I should know you since we're in the same grade, so maybe we're both at fault here."

[Lucas Blacke]

Why did she come down? Why had she started talking? Surely no one would have any reason to talk to him aside from maybe people who didn't know who he was or who had simply overlooked him. And due to the way the girl in his presence was talking to him he was beginning to think she had overlooked him and had just now figured out what his deal was, which in turn meant that Luke, despite already feeling like he found himself on thin ice in the daily life, was on thin ice with her. His primary though was not to make jokes because of it, but that would imply him letting her see his true self. He let out a small inward scoff and figured that no one would want to see that unless they wanted to feel better about themselves.

..was that it, though? She did have a bit of a pause when he mentioned he was depressed, maybe she was hiding it and just going around talking to people to try and find someone more down than she was. Luke would have smirked and jumped up with the words ''time to stop looking'' if that was the case. But as someone as into muscles as he was he would have noticed anything off about her by now in that department, she wasn't depressed. It was just him and always would be.

She snapped him out of his thoughts as she tapped at the screen of her phone and replied to him, which was more than he had expected. She was taking the time to talk to him though, this was more than most people did.

''Fault..'' Luke chuckled as he repeated the word. He had made lots of those, but never had he thought that not knowing someone would be one of them. And now it seemed like it was. ''Dunno..'' He turned his head slightly and smiled at her, shot her a wink, even. ''Feel free to blame me for both parts though.''

''Oh an' I never pay attention in classes, I'd have remembered someone with a face like yers if I did.''

[Carleigh Davidson]

Carleigh didn't notice the internal war waging a battle inside of Lucas' mind. She'd never been the observant type in relation to people's emotions and feelings. She could zero in and spot a lonely face in a crowded room and engage in conversation, but one of substance and meaning? That was rare. Had she noticed his low self esteem and sense of self worth, she would have tried to bring him up with kind words and a reassuring smile. But even blissfully naive optimism didn't have the strength to bring someone out of a depression alone.

"But hey, at least we're talking now right? Better than never." Carleigh added onto her first statement. Blue eyes glanced across the empty room before landing on Lucas, who was chuckling and repeating the word fault. She was confused and a little curious why he found the word funny, but continued on. And then he winked at her. The blonde could safely say that had never happened to her before. A softer smile appeared on her face, unsure if Lucas was joking about the blame or being serious. "Don't say that. I'm not blaming you for anything." Just in case he was being serious. And if he was joking, then she was terrible at detecting jokes, apparently.

A light shade of pink rose in Carleigh's cheeks, quickly fading. "Well now, aren't you just a sweet thing." She said with a smile. She didn't think there was anything memorable about her face, but a compliment was a compliment; one that Carleigh took with a gracious smile.

[Lucas Blacke]

A few moments passed in which he felt good about getting such a reaction out of anyone, even if he knew it was just a general thing to say instead of thanks. But as quick as the compliment faded so did his smile, he wasn't all that happy and while he was used to pretending around people if he was genuinly happy, even if just for a moment that would only for a short time display him without a smile.

What she said reminded him of certain people, with which he really only meant two people who would do the same where one of the two had no longer any reason to speak to him and the other had no idea that any of his comments meant something else than he had originally said. So that got him thinking now that she did just that, was she one of the people going to leave him or did she not know what he meant and shrugged it off by responding to what she thought she heard?

Decisions decisions, and in this case one he didn't want to make. Either option was currently about asgood as the other, and what she said earlier in response to him played a huge part in his reasoning. At least they were talking now. Plenty of ways he could see that as something else, like she was mighty popular or something and had waited for a moment of quiet to look him up or something. He knew this wasn't the case but he wouldn't put it past anyone at this point. Who in their right mind wanted people to know they knew Lucas Blacke, the school douche?

Okay so he gave himself that title and was to blame himself for coming across as dumb but that didn't mean he had to like it. ''Yeah.. so sweet I'm bad for ya.'' He whispered with a chuckle as he turned his eyes on hers. ''An' as far as us talkin' goes, I'm pretty sure we both need to know what we're talkin' 'bout.''

''My good looks?'' He tried joking with a small smile. ''Or yours?''