All kinds of time ,* [James]

[Deleted]

Classes had ended for the day. A couple of assignments were on her list to finish this week, but Kiara didn’t feel like making them right now. It was nice out and she wasn’t too fond of the idea of being stuck between four walls while she could spend her time in the open. She could easily take the homework with her, too, yet that option got dismissed as she opted to take the guitar with her instead. Whenever the instrument was swung over her shoulder, it wasn’t difficult to tell where she was going. The lake always had a great atmosphere to it and the peacefulness and silence made it easier for her to strum away instead of being aware that fellow students could possibly be hearing her play. Not that her skills were bad or anything; she just didn’t feel confident enough to let others judge. Not that feedback would be a bad thing though. Perhaps it could motivate her more to allow others close.

Either way, the stroll to the lake wasn’t too far. Given Kiara was not one to loathe walking, so actually did enjoy the fresh air. She had her usual spot at the lake, underneath a large tree which stood close to the water. Of course there were docks to sit on, but one of the young woman’s fears involved lakes and seas of which the bottom can’t be seen. Horror stories and movies contributed to this. After all, all their abilities were real. Who knows the same doesn’t count for monsters and whatnot? Ki always tried to ignore those thoughts though. And same could be said today for she didn’t want any fear to ruin her optimistic mood. Then again, she was a bubbly person, always doing her best to see the silver lining.

… which sort of failed when blue eyes fell upon a man who occupied her usual spot. It made her halt and glance at him. Kiara moved the guitar from one shoulder to the other, contemplating about what to do next. His face was sort of familiar; she had seen him around, yet not to the extent that they could be called acquaintances. Maybe… that should be changed? Not because she felt the need, but mainly because she really wanted to sit by the tree. It was a hard habit to kill since it was such comfortable location – usually away from the crowd. Not that there were lots of people around right now, if any, but still. Not wanting to change her mind, the blonde took a reluctant step and then forced herself to walk at a steady pace until she stood beside him. Blue eyes fell down for a split seconds before she got the guitar off her back and slowly sat down. Way to make the situation awkward, mh?

Kiara sat Indian style, momentarily fumbling with the long sleeves of her outfit as optics lay upon the water in front of them, only to ever so slightly turn her head towards James. ”You… Um, do you come here often?” Ah crap, that did sound like a cheap and cheesy pick-up line. She had wanted to say something about the spot… but maybe that would have sounded like her accusing him of hogging it. Not that the current statement had been any better though. And it got her to ramble in defense, just in case he had gotten the wrong idea. ”I’m not flirting with you. I just thought I saw you here before and it seemed like a good way to start a conversation. But clearly that didn’t really work out. I’m not really good at this, you know. I often say something wrong.” A short pause followed and then a soft exhale full of selfknowledge. ”Like now.” A sheepish, ashamed smile settled on her lips as she cast him a brief glance.

”I… better leave now, mh?” Before she would off as even creepier. Kiara wasn't really asking it though. It was more of a conclusion to which she expected confirmation.

[James Zect]

James had already finished his two classes for the day, and he hadn't really figured out what he wanted to do with the rest of it. He didn't have any Friday classes, so it was technically his weekend now. His roommate was... ahem, busy, in the dorm room so he couldn't go back there to get anything. Someone was having a party in the dorm across the hall, so he'd picked a few sodas and some snacks out of there when no one was looking and packed them into his bag and took off.

He didn't have his keyboard... that was tucked away safely inside his closet. He did have his sketchbook though, a couple of pencils and things like that. So he could head out somewhere and do that for a while, at least. He twirled his keys in his hand, heading over to where he usually parked his bike, in the parking lot right outside the security station. They knew him in there, and they kept an eye on it. He'd tried keeping it in the normal parking area, but it had almost been stolen on two separate occasions. So, this was the safer place for it.

He picked up the helmet, putting it on his head and feeling a calming effect nearly instantly come over him. It was like putting on his mask, it allowed the same kind of anonymity and it tended to make him more confident. He couldn't really help it, even though he'd been trying to put away the need for the mask, but he didn't really have much of a choice with the helmet. Still, he took it off when he got off the bike and he left it with it so he didn't get the urge to use it like he had his mask. A way to hide from the world.

He took off down the street, not really sure where he wanted to go. He loved the motorcycle, the feel of it and the... well, everything. As much of a fight he'd put up against his mother's convincing him to buy it, he was glad she'd talked him into it. He drove through town, not getting the feeling to stop as he did, so he kept driving. He finally ended up pulling into the lake. It wasn't a terribly warm day, but he had his riding jacket so he figured it would be fine. It wasn't exactly freezing, anyway.

He strolled down the beach, stopping at a spot about halfway down. He set down his bag and sat down, starting to sketch something. It started off as a large tree with lots of branches, not a leave on any of them, and and he started to do more with the background, each part of it spreading off of a different branch. After about twenty minutes he stopped as someone came over to him. He blinked, not really understanding what she was talking about. "Not really, no," he said, in response to her question. He swallowed the urge to leave, but that would be rude. And he was trying to become more social.

"You don't have to if you don't want to," he said, noticing his bag was on the only spot that wouldn't get her completely covered in sand if she sat down. He picked it up, moving it over to the sand. He opened up the top and pulled out one of the sodas. He hadn't paid attention to what kind they were when he'd grabbed them since he really didn't care. This one was cream soda, from the look of it anyway. He took the top off the bottle, brought it to his mouth, and chugged it in a few seconds. He didn't really notice anymore, seeing as he'd been doing it since around the time he came to Pilot Ridge in the first place.

[Deleted]

One of her expertise was to approach people who were just as quiet as she tended to be. Why did she head over in the first place? While it might give her an overly awkward feeling, she would find it even worse to be sitting close to someone without acknowledging his or her presence. Besides, Kiara could use some experience and lessons on how to develop her social skills. Putting that in practice should help her reach that goal. And while she had expected that this young man would not appreciate the babbling, he didn’t seem to be put off enough to indeed confirm it was best to leave, to the blonde’s relief.

Blue eyes fell to the sketch book as James gulped down his drink, assuming he did this quite often since it was pretty good. ”You’re an artist?” Ki asked randomly for the sake of starting a conversation. When talking to someone you did not know, it was best to go for aspects that could be seen. Right now it was the sketch and the helmet. ”This is a nice place to come to, to focus and work on things.” Once more random, but she was really doing her best here. Perhaps the man would feel more comfortable once they got the pleasantries out of the way?

A hand got offered to him. ”I’m Kiara. You’re at college? I don’t remember having seen you at the school before.” The attempts to find out more about him would also add to the girl’s comfort. Either he was someone who much rather kept to himself or the type of guy who needed some encouragement to participate in conversation. Perhaps he got easily intimidated by girls? Good thing her first priority had been to make it obvious she wasn't hitting on him then...

[James Zect]

James coughed a little bit when she asked if he was an artist. He wasn't used to showing people his sketchbook. Normally he would only show people the caricatures that he used as his examples when he set up at fairs or down at the pier. "Uh... I wouldn't say I'm an artist. I sketch from time to time... that's about it though," he said, shutting the book as nonchalantly as he could manage. In truth, he'd spent the better part of his time at Hammel sketching and playing music. He hadn't had many friends, and focused all of his energy into those things so that he had something to do.

James blinked and looked up at her, realizing that she seemed vaguely familiar. He wasn't very good with names and things like that, although he would remember a face if he'd seen it enough times. Usually it happened when he was at Hammel if he'd seen someone in the hallways a lot, even if he hadn't actually spoken with them. Sometimes he used the faces when he was sketching, but he didn't think that was why she seemed familiar to him. Maybe he'd seen her in the halls once or twice and it had stuck or something, he really didn't know. He'd just started college this year after all.

"What school do you go to?" he asked at the question. Hammel wasn't the only school in the area after all, and maybe he was way off. Normal students went to the normal school. He hadn't the slightest idea where that was, now that he thought about it. He bounced the empty soda bottle against his head a couple of times before he set it down in the sand next to him. When he was ready to leave, he'd gather up the ones he'd drunk and take them to recycling can. "But yeah, I go to the community college outside of town." He and his mother couldn't afford a lot else, and he still felt guilty about his motorcycle, which she had practically bullied him into buying.

[Deleted]

Kiara thought his sketches were great, but before she got a chance to make such statement, James closed the sketchbook and it slowly dawned upon her that he might not be too fond about letting others see. It was sort of like her with music; she didn’t play nor sing in front of someone, but perhaps their reasons for such behavior were different. Anyway, the blonde opted to not bug him about it. If he wanted to show them, surely he would. Instead Ki gazed ahead for a moment, focusing on the lake. It even took her a second or two after the question got asked, to reply. “Hammel Institute. But I’m not attending the university yet.” Perhaps that would make a difference. She wasn’t too sure, but that little bit of extra information couldn’t harm.

“That motorcycle… Is it yours?” She had passed it by upon approaching the lake and given he was the only person there, she sort of already knew what the answer would be. And, you know, the helmet sort of gave it away, too. Kiara wasn’t too sure what to talk about at this point, so perhaps it was safest to communicate about something that would simply keep the silence away since he had some knowledge about the topic. “Isn’t it difficult to learn how to ride one?” Not that she wanted to find out really. She always thought motorcycles were incredibly dangerous things since the only protection was a helmet despite them being able to reach a fast pace.

[James Zect]

((I'm realllllly sorry I keep forgetting to check here. ))

"That's where I went last year," he said with a nod. Hammel was an interesting place, on a given day you could see some things that people would say is completely impossible and not be phased by it at all. Then on other days you caught fire because a pyrokinetic got mad at someone and missed. Or, as his roommate showed once, slapped, repeatedly, for something he hadn't actually said. He looked in his bag, taking a look at the snacks he'd grabbed off the table for a moment. He really hoped that the brownies weren't laced with anything. He looked over at the girl for a moment, not really sure if he should ask or not. Either way, couldn't be too bad.

"You want a snack or something?" he asked, opening the bag and revealing the small cache of soda and snacks. He swallowed a bit when asked about the motorcycle. The helmet was a bit of a giveaway, so he wasn't about to lie. Still, he was a little bit nervous when people asked about it due to the incidents of it almost getting stolen a couple of times. "Yeah, it's mine. And it's not as difficult as you might think. Just takes a little practice," he said with a nod.

His left hand started tapping on the cover of his book, as if he was playing the keyboard. Only half paying attention, he started playing one of his drill songs, Beethoven... something. He didn't really remember what the song was anymore. He'd played it so many times that he just could play the song in his sleep, even if he couldn't remember what it was anymore. One of the earliest songs he'd learned to play that was intended for the piano that wasn't one of the short little kid's songs.