Wrong Section (Cody.)

[Jalen August]

It had been a while since Jalen had gone to the mall to buy something that wasn’t music related. In fact, she was in desperate need of some new clothes. Her encounter with Braxton a couple weeks ago deterred her from coming. Wouldn’t you avoid a place where someone had tried to kidnap you? That’s how Jalen saw it anyways; the boy had been just so upfront. He was alluring and handsome, but charming and subtle were not adjectives to describe him in the least bit.

Unable to remember the name of the store she was currently in, Jalen made her way around the store in a leisurely way. She had nowhere to be, nothing in particular to do, and no one to meet. Her iPod ear buds were securely in place, and she didn’t even notice the store clerk asking her if she needed help finding anything. Jalen wasn’t purposefully trying to be rude; she just didn’t want to be bothered. Picking through the men’s wear, Jalen held up a pair of dark red silk boxer briefs. Yes, you read that right. Boy’s underwear was her favourite thing to sleep in – they were just so comfortable, and honestly, she didn’t have a single thong in her collection. A constant wedgie was not something she was fond of.

Draping the various colors of silk boxers over her forearm, Jalen tried to think of what else she would want from here... Glancing around, she wondered if they had any jeans that would suit her style. Lately, skinny jeans in neon shades were all that were available, and that just didn’t look right on her - not that she didn’t have the body for it; she just gagged at the sight of the things. How could anyone even breathe in them, let alone expect to bear children after wearing them.

Parading into the ladies section, which wasn’t clearly marked, Jalen picked up a black sweater that caught her eye on the way to the shelves of jeans. That wasn’t the only thing that caught her eye. A handsome blonde was holding up a pair of size six faded blue jeans, and she couldn’t help but smile at the look of concentration on his face. Maybe he was here shopping for a girlfriend? Sister maybe? Jalen wasn’t a very shy girl, and she had no problem standing next to him on the other side of the shelves, appearing to be interested in the jeans, which she was – but she was also interested in him.

“I don’t think those would look very good on you,” she commented, a teasing grin on her face as she gave him a sideways glance.

[Cody Branson]

A phone call from his mother had started his day.

Please pick me out some jeans, she said. She was in Kentucky tending to the family horses there and wouldn’t be home until tomorrow. He had been in the mare barn, checking on one of the boarding mares when she had called. Why did she need jeans anyway? He asked himself this question all the way from the ranch to town, mumbling it under his breath as he drove. The truck almost died three times on the way to the mall, but he managed to baby it into a parking space and exit the truck.

Once inside, it was a different story. He hadn’t worn his hat to the mall, so his dirty blonde hair was tousled for the population to see. Add that to his shadowed jaw, his broad shoulders in a black shirt under his jean jacket, and his fraying jeans over his boots, and almost every female eye was on him as he scouted, looking for a store that sold jeans. Finding the first store that he saw jeans in, he walked inside quickly and took the first pair of jeans he could find, looking at them with a look on his face that screamed help. Luckily his mother had told him what size she wore, or he would be lost in here forever.

“I don’t think those would look very good on you.”

He looked away from the jeans and saw her. A curvaceous blonde with eyes that pierced him like a knife, she was very easy on the eyes. “They’re not for me,” he replied back in his drawl, looking down at the jeans and putting them back on the shelf. “My mother suddenly decided she needed jeans, and since she’s not in town, she asked me to do it.” Not a convincing argument, one that even he wouldn’t believe if he was her, but it was the best he could come up with.

[Jalen August]

Oh, an accent to match the good looks Jalen thought to herself and he replied, and she reverted her gaze back to the jeans. "Why are you putting them back then?" The blonde continued to prod, stepping towards the shelf to pick out a sleek pair of black jeans for herself over the underwear. "Not her style or something?" She carried on asking him, looking back at the man over her shoulder. He was definitely built, and Jalen could only imagine the sculpture under that black shirt of his.

She hadn't bothered to dress up today, and was simply wearing flips flops and dark purple capris, a grey tank top hung off her upper body. Something that never changed though, was her long curly hair, which was down and draped down her back. No one would ever know about her hideous scar, other than Clarity, and the doctor that recently re-stitched it up.

Looking back to the shelf, Jalen pulled down a pair of straight legged dark wash blue jeans that were a size six and handed them to the guy, "Here, she might like these better," she said with a small wink. Jalen was used to being a little flirtatious when it came to males, especially attractive ones. She wasn't really sure if she believed that he was here for his mom, clothes were such a fickle thing. Especially jeans, which usually needed to be tried on. Maybe his mom just really hated shopping.

“You don’t come here often, do you?” She asked the boy, running a hand through her hair, keeping eye contact with him, taking her ear buds out so that he knew she actually wanted to conduct a conversation. “Can’t say I’ve seen you around before,” she added, as she had never seen him around Hammel, so either he was far older than her, or he wasn’t a meta. It didn’t really matter, not to Jalen anyways. She definitely would have noticed him before if he was from around here.

[Cody Branson]

He looked at the jeans he had set down and shrugged. His mother was a working woman, and she never would wear the clothes that this girl was wearing. Her skin, where he could see it, looked touchably soft and her hair looked like the wheat that grew around the ranch in the fields, that soft gold that you could skip though and touch like it was spun silk. Her chocolate eyes met his sky blue ones and he smiled that crooked smile.

When she turned away, he followed, not knowing what he was doing and knowing that she would somehow help him. When she handed him a pair of jeans, he unfolded them and looked them over. They looked like the pairs his mother would wear around the horses. “Yeah, she would like these,” he remarked quietly, looking them over again before folding them and putting them under his arm. He slung his hands into his pockets, feeling a little out of place now, until she spoke to him again.

He shook his head. “Just moved back here from Montana,” he answered. “My dad’s got a ranch in Bozeman, my mom’s family runs a racetrack in Kentucky, and my mother lives here in town. I live on Haven Ranch outside of town.” He looked around at the other pairs of jeans, feeling the need to buy a couple pairs of his own. God knew he needed new jeans. “I went to that private school about four, five years ago,” he explained. “And now talking about jeans reminds me that I need some new pairs.” He looked down at his own fraying jeans and sighed, looking up at her. “I work right out of my denim sometimes.”

[Jalen August]

While she hadn’t asked for his life story, Jalen was glad to hear it. She tried not to think about how little she had to pry in order to get the information from him – prying was half the fun. She was glad he liked the jeans she chose, and she wondered if it was because he actually liked them, or was just trying to be nice. It didn’t matter really, he could simply put them back later if he didn’t want to hurt her feelings.

“That would explain the accent,” she said with a smile, glancing down at the things she wanted to purchase. They could wait. Glancing back at the boy, she could tell that he was a hard working man. “Ah, so you’re a meta as well,” she commented, trying to hint towards having powers too, “I’m there currently, probably graduating next year, figured the extra year would perfect any flaws I missed,” she added, adjusting all her weight to the left side of her body, trying to be comfortable standing in place.

Glancing down at the guy’s pants when he did, Jalen looked back up at him a little slower than he did her, “I can see that,” she said, looking across the store at the men’s section. “We won’t find anything that will fit you right here,” Jalen carried on, starting to walk away from the boy, hoping he’d follow. Which reminded her... “Do you have a name, cowboy?” She asked, once again looking over her shoulder at him. It wasn’t a hard mall to navigate, and Jalen had no problem showing him around – this was only the first store.

“Mall’s had a few changes since you’ve last been here...” Jalen said in conversation, sifting through the mens jeans. Strong denim would be the best, and something dark washed would last longer. She was no fashion expert – common sense was the only inner voice speaking. “How about these?” She asked, holding up a pair of the dreaded yellow neon jeans she hated. The girl’s smiling face peeked from behind the pants, “I think they’d bring out your gorgeous blue eyes, don’t you?”

[Cody Branson]

He would have never taken her for a meta, but when she said the word, it made his whole body relax. It had been a long time since he had been in the company of another person who had special powers. “I talk to horses,” he told her. “I bet your power is a lot cooler than mine.” Sure, his power enabled him to work with his horses with a relationship most horse whisperers could only dream about, but sometimes he had the wish to have something better. Most times, he would work with his horses after making that wish, and that wish would disappear underneath his love for his animals.

“Cody Branson,” he offered when she asked for his name, hos boots clicking softly as he followed her. “And yeah, it’s been a long time since I’ve been to this mall.” Well, actually, when he was in school, he had only come to this mall twice a year to get new clothes and shoes. Once he entered Hammel, he had shot up like a weed in height and build, so it was needed for him to get new clothes. He watched her curiously, looking as her fingers flitted over denim like a hummingbird over flowers.

She held up a pair of obnoxiously bright yellow jeans, obviously in his size, and he gave her a look that was equal parts disbelief, horror, and good humor. “Ha ha, very funny, miss,” he said, laying on the drawl just a bit thick to pay her back. “Those would make me look like a walking banana...or worse, it would scare off all my horses and cattle! I would be so lonely," he said with a small pout.

[Jalen August]

"Must suit your lifestyle well," she remarked, glancing up at him for another look. He really did have dazzling eyes, and she was a sucker for blue. "I assume you enjoy the company of horses then... Was that before or after you discovered your powers?" There she went, prying into people's lives without consent. "I can control sound waves," she said, as though it didn't really matter. She had met other people with much more interesting powers than her - she always thought being 'volume control' was pretty dull.

"You can call me Jalen," she said with a soft smile, putting the hideous jeans back where they came from, even though they belonged in the trash. "And I'm sure your horses would tell you exactly what they thought of them," the blonde added, light laughter escaping her lips. "No," she said, pulling out a more suitable pair of jeans "these would look much better." The jeans were nearly black with a hint of green. They weren't too long and hopefully, if she had judged correctly, would fit him around the waist and thigh area.

"Anything else you need help with, Cody?" She asked, trying his name out to see how it sounded. Almost as good as Jonah. It's not like he would be jealous or anything, right? They weren't together... Besides, there wasn't anyone else here from school, they were probably in other stores, or not in the mall at all. That was the very beauty of the place. Bringing her thoughts back to the present, Jalen hugged her garments closer to her body, and in the process found the underwear she selected falling to the floor. Now how was she supposed to explain that?

[Cody Branson]

“I’ve lived with horses my whole life,” he told her, looking at some jeans himself. He found a pair that he had at home, his favorite pair, and found his size. “My parents ran a ranch before they got divorced, and my mother’s family runs horses at the Churchill Downs racetrack.” He knew the horses his family ran, and some of them had almost won the Triple Crown. “My mother and some of my family members can talk to horses too, so that’s where I got my power. I was thirteen when I got them.” She explained her power and he thought it was pretty neat. She must be an accessory to parties, to be able to control sound.

“Jalen…such an interesting name,” he remarked, smiling at her. He shuddered a little when she put the jeans away. “My horses would have laughed at me, and then try to tear them off.” He grinned a little, then looked at the jeans she presented him. They were in a style he liked, and the color was quite unusual. He wouldn’t be able to wear them around the ranch; no, these were dating jeans. Goodness, how long had it been since he had dated someone?

“I like those,” he said, his hand going out to take them from her. His fingers brushed hers and a burst of warmth shot up his arm, but other than that, nothing. He smiled as he tucked the jeans with the two he already had, and opened his mouth to say something when he saw a flutter of color on the ground. He looked down, of course, and saw the panties on the ground. His grin growing wider, he bent down and hooked the string around his pinkie, holding it out to her.

“Now I know these would not look good on me,” he told her, winking good-naturedly at her.

[Jalen August]

So it sounded like Cody didn't have much of a choice when it came to liking horses or not. It was almost like an inborn thing for him, at least that's how Jalen saw it, especially since he ended up being able to talk to them in the end. "I've only ever been to a ranch a couple of times, and honestly, horses can make me nervous," she said, followed by a sheepish smile. It's not like she was trying to impress him, right? Besides, she didn't want to lie and say she loved the animals, that would only pose future problems.

"Tear them off ya say?" She asked, glancing down at the boy's lower body momentarily. Was it rude to imagine someone running around after a horse in their gitch when they were standing right in front of you? "Glad you like them," she said with a glad smile, which faded as quickly as her various undergarments fell to the floor.

Collecting the ones he hadn't off the ground, Jalen stood and plucked the one he had on his finger. "I beg to differ," she challenged, rearranged the pile so that it was under her arm, and would not fall again. "I have to try this stuff on," she added, both informing him of her plans and reminded herself. "The jeans I mean, not the underwear," he didn't really need to know that, but it wouldn't hurt him to know either.

"You should try on those jeans you picked out too," she added, really only looking to spend a little more time with Cody. If he lived on a ranch, and didn't go to the school, what were the chances that they would ever see each other again? No, Jalen liked to live in the moment, even if that meant trying on new clothes with some guy she just met.

[Cody Branson]

He tilted his head to the side and watched her with that smile on his face. Horses made her nervous? “Well, since you know a horse whisperer, I bet I could make you less nervous around the horses,” he offered gently as she took the boxers from his hand. “See, they pick up on your nerves and become nervous themselves, and then we all have a problem.” He chuckled. Remembering his first time on a horse, he had been nervous as hell, and look at him now.

Her eyes dipped to his groin and he quickly sidestepped behind the jeans rack, hiding his lower half. “No need to be imaginin’ anythin’ down there, miss Jalen,” he said with another wink. While she picked up her other garments, he located two extra pairs of jeans and tucked them under his arm, coming out behind the shelf when she stood and told him that she had to try stuff on. “Just the jeans? A pity,” he replied, trying not to let his grin grow. He was having fun, and it was refreshing. He hadn’t had fun in a long time; well, fun that didn’t include horses.

When she mentioned trying on the jeans, he thought it was a good idea. Why buy a green horse before trying out his paces? “All right, but you’ll tell me if they look all right, right?” he asked her, now feeling the first bits of nervousness. Well, she did pick them out, and she did say they would look good on him. Why not?

[Jalen August]

Jalen nodded quickly, "Oh I know, they're like dogs in that respect," she said, trying to imagine herself on a horse at all. "They're just so much bigger than me... I don't know." She said with finality. He was very kind to want to be around her while she cowered in fear of the horses he took care of. But the thought of looking like an idiot, and having the horses agree with her and not being able to know what they thought, was a horrible thought. "Maybe some day," she decided on, hoping to leave the subject at that.

"So sorry, sometimes my imagination just gets the better of me," She said, in a tone that was anything but apologetic. At least Cody didn't think she was some kind of creeper for being a flirt. His continued banter made her laugh, "Were you expecting a fashion show or something?" She asked, a pretend scowl on her face. He was just too adorable not to have fun with.

Heading towards the change rooms with him, Jalen was glad the men's and women's weren't too far apart. Even though they had only just met, she only wanted him to see what she was about to try on. She wasn't a shy person, but the whole world didn't need to see her clothes either. "I promise to be honest," she said easily. Being brutality honest was one of the girl's many talents. The clerk handing her a number corresponding with the amount of things she had to try on: 3. "Can't take those in there," the girl behind the counter said, glancing down at Jalen's underwear. "Fine," she said simply, leaving them displayed on the counter.

Stepping into the change room, Jalen glanced at Cody before shutting the door. "No peeking!" She said, closing the door and locking it - just in case. Slipping the dark hoodie over her torso, the blonde shimmied out of her current capris and pulled up one of the two pairs of jeans she had grabbed. These ones were a slim cut, tight in all the right places but not too snug either. Looking at herself in the mirror, she knew the sweater and the pants weren't meant to be worn together, but she didn't really care.

"Ta-da!" She said exuberantly, doing a little spin for Cody. Jalen couldn't wait to see him in the pants she picked out for him.

[Cody Branson]

At least she would give some thought to riding. Imagining her on a horse, cowboy hat on her golden hair and a smile on her face as she galloped across the fields…it was a nice image. He followed her to the changing rooms, laughing and shaking his head when she “apologized” for looking at him. Her scowl was too cute to ignore, so he reached out and ruffled her hair a little before she went inside the changing room. He set the jeans she had picked out for his mother on top of her boxers and sat down on a bench to wait.

“I promise I won’t,” he swore, but really, he was a gentleman. He never peeked at any girls…unless it was a moonlit night, they were skinny-dipping in the lake, and he couldn’t sleep because he knew they were there. That summer had been so much fun, and he wanted a repeat of the excitement and adrenaline he had felt that summer. He had been at Hammel when that had happened. He looked down and saw her get out of her capris and into the jeans she had picked and tried not to imagine her naked.

He was a healthy man with a healthy appreciation for the opposite sex.

She stepped out and did a little twirl for him, and he lost a little of his breath. She was beautiful before, but those jeans were made to fit her. Coughing to clear his throat, his cheeks pinked up a bit. “They look good on you, Jalen,” he said with a small smile. Hell, they look stunning on you, Jalen. Please take them off before I get ideas on how to take them off you.

[Jalen August]

Her hair was still a bit ruffled from him touching it, but Jalen didn't care that much. She was as laid back as the best of them, and had patience enough (except for LaRousse). Putting her hands on her hips as he checked her out, the blonde couldn't help but feel her ego rise a little from both his words, and reaction. "Then I'll get 'em," she said with a nod, racing back to her room, she was about to close the door, but poked her head out to look at him. "One more pair to try on and I promise this nightmare will be over," she said to him with a smile, now shutting the door.

A sigh escaped her as she wiggled out of 'her' jeans, folding them up and putting them on the little bench in the room. The second and last pair weren't as easy to slip on, but she managed to get them up to her waist, bumping her knee only once against the bench. "Ouch!" She yelped, hopping on one leg in the small room momentarily. Good one Jalen... she thought to herself, glad that Cody wasn't there to see her cheeks get rosy.

Stepping out in the second pair, Jalen tip toed to the boy, trying not to step on the pants she wore. The blonde was a fairly tall girl, but even these jeans were a bit long. "I'll probably need my boots for this pair... But other than the length, what do you think?" She asked, looking from him to the mirror in the corridor between the change rooms. She wasn't concerned about him checking her out, hell, she had invited him to do so. But she would be lying to say she didn't like the attention.

"It's your turn now, by the way," she reminded him, adding a little grin before approaching her change room one last time to put on what she came in with. It was hard not to think about Cody getting undressed... Shaking her head, Jalen slung her belongings over her forearm and went to sit and wait to see The Cody Fashion Show.

[Cody Branson]

He nodded and sat patiently, twiddling his thumbs while he waited for her to exit the changing room again. He heard some shuffling and a muffled “ouch!” and he couldn’t help but chuckle, knowing he had the same trouble sometimes when he was trying on pants. He leaned back into his bench just as she walked out, wearing a pair of jeans that were super long on her. She asked his opinion and he stood, walking up beside her in the mirror.

“They also look good on you, Jalen,” he told her, smiling. “A little too long, but if you wear boots or high heels, who knows?” He shrugged, then grinned. “You might be as tall as me.” He chuckled when she went back into her changing room and went into one of his own, looking at himself in the mirror before shrugging off his jacket. He hung it over the door so she could see where he was before taking off his jeans and putting on the ones she picked out for him.

Feeling comfortable in them, he walked out to the outside mirror and turned so she could see. “How do these look?” he asked her, looking at her. The dark jeans slimmed his waist, while the dark green color made his hair brighter.

[Jalen August]

Jalen grinned and gave his shoulder a little squeeze before he walked away, "Oh I know I would be as tall as you," she said confidently to him, holding his eyes in the mirror they stood at. Sitting on the bench he had been sitting on before, Jalen perked up at the sound of the door unlatching and Cody stepping out. Glad to see that he was wearing the jeans she chose for him, Jalen couldn't help but beam a little. "Those look fantastic on you! Just like I thought they would," she said with a happy smile, and she stood to join him at the mirror.

Giving him a better once over, Jalen's smile grew. "Better, even." She said with a nod, her pointer finger raised to her lips in an attempt to hide the smile she had from ear to ear. Turning to go back to the bench, she sat on it once more, unable to keep her eyes off Cody. "You don't have to try on the rest of them," she said with a snide grin. She wasn't trying to be rude, only a tease. "Unless you want to show them off for me," she added with a small grin. Jalen wasn't unfamiliar with the art of flirting, and the way she sat back on the bench with her arms crossed in front of her, she didn't expect anything less from the lad.

"Then maybe I'll buy you cup of coffee from Starbucks for being such a stunning jean model," she added. Okay, she was getting a little carried away. But the thought of letting him go so soon after meeting him... She just wanted more than one option.