Lazy Days (Open.)

[Jalen August]

It seemed that lately, Jalen was preoccupied with a certain male and hadn't spent much time wandering around school like she usually had. The budding 'romance' between her and JD had flopped and she had someone else who had captured her interest. Along with JD moving to the back of her mind, so had all the little extras. She hadn't run into Zac or Cole in quite a while. Maybe it was better that way, it made life simpler anyways.

The blonde could be found in jean short shorts and black high heels. She wasn't about to lose her edgy look just because she had found herself a boyfriend. Staring at the fish darting around in the pond, Jalen sighed. She had been here for quite a while, and still hadn't managed to make a whole lot of friends. Not that she wanted an entourage, but it would be nice to have at least a couple friends she could rely on - friends who weren't her mother.

A grey, long sleeved shirt, was baggy enough to be comfy in the weather which was getting hotter by the day. Her hair was down as usual, and she was spaced out, staring at the pond and concentrating simply on that. She could have practiced using her powers, she could have gone for a wrong, but she simply didn't feel like it. She had Calculus to review, but it wasn't important enough at this moment to capture her attention. What Jalen wanted was a social encounter, and she hoped that being in public on a nice warm day would draw others to the pond, and something could ensue.

Maybe even a friendship. That thought made Jalen smile. It would be nice to have a friend at Hammel. The school was big enough, she thought she would have at least one close friend by now.

[Braxton Carson]

Braxton was an animal of habits. He would wake up every morning at seven, even if he got to bed at three in the morning. He would drink a glass of water instantly after getting up. He would take a bath almost immediately afterwards. He used to smoke after his bath, he stopped doing so sometime ago, so instead, he had a heavy breakfast to calm his anxiety. Before going to bed, every night, he brushes his teeth, check his cellphone messages, change his status to asleep, plug it so it doesn't turn off at night, and then he would sleep facing left. Habits. He had many many more and it made him predictable beyond measure.

This time, the habit working on him was perhaps the one that affected him most of the times: whenever a long haired blonde was in sight, he was forced to stop whatever he was doing and look towards the figure to see if it was a girl, and then assess and evaluate her beauty.Without caring much what number she was in the pretty department, most of the times Brax would just go ahead and hit on her, because it was just the way he was and he could barely detain himself from hitting on a blonde.

This time, he knew this particular one.

Making himself lighter, and clenching his right fist to activate his power, he threw himself into the air several meters and then threw himself downwards, landing rather aggressively next to Jalen.

"I had to try that just so I could know how you felt when falling from heaven." He had used that approach a couple of times before. "How are, my angel? Long time, no see"

[Jalen August]

The blonde had been focused on a particularly small fish when a presence was suddenly next to her and she yelped a bit, her hands shooting to protect her heart in surprise. “Oh shit!” She said without really thinking about it, it was just a reaction. Jalen glared at Braxton, an annoyed expression on her face. “You really shouldn’t call me that, that bullshit isn’t going to work on me,” Jay said, not even a hint of a smile on her face. Braxton had hit a very sensitive nerve – only one man got to call her that, and it wasn’t him. She wasn’t his angel.

“I have half a mind to push you into the pond right now,” she said, but it was said almost lovingly. Like the way she would treat her brother after he did or said something stupid and inappropriate. “And might I add, it’s not my fault you didn’t call me,” she said, pushing her long curly hair out of her face and behind her ears. Not that she wanted him to call her, it just would’ve been another boy infatuated with her – but it would have been amusing.

Slipping her heels off, Jalen let her toes dip into the pond. She crooked her head to the side, studying her feet. “Has that playboy attitude ever got you anywhere? You know, do those pick up lines ever work?” She asked Braxton, looking up at him through the veil that was her dark eyelashes. Only eyeliner and mascara graced her eyes today – anything else would smudge in this weather.

[Cole Kessler]

Cole's day had been eventful, really. However, he hadn't done anything. Instead, Cole had borrowed his new landlord's shed/garage behind the apartment complex to work on his truck. His dad had left it for a reason, and Cole knew what it was. His dad hadn't had the time to install any aftermarket parts to the Silverado, so he'd basically given Cole a new toy.

Cole had a job and had the money to do it, he just had to order the parts from the local shop. In exchange for free shipping, Cole had helped the man who owned it with little things: Part running, clean-up, changing and rotating tires, but he did so in his landlord's garage. In doing so, even out of the shop, Cole'd received free shipping on all parts he needed.

Today was truly a lazy day, he'd grabbed his guitar and hopped in the truck. He'd thought about going to the lake, but wasn't sure if anyone would be there. It was gloomy outside. Dark, overcast skies made the day seem to drag on forever. That, however, was not enough to break this heat that had been cooking the entire country. It was deeply humid outside and mildly warm, so the combo took it's toll on some people. So, instead of making the long drive out to the lake, he'd driven out to the pond near the Institute.


As he rounded the bend and the pond came into view, he could already see to people occupying it's bench. The blonde girl he knew. The other? Not so much. The girl's hair unmistakeable. She'd helped him rid his life of Lerna completely, or so he hoped. She'd been there for him to talk after he and Taeyeon had broken up. He finally slowed enough to park his truck nearby and step out. He took his cigarettes into his hand and pulled one from the half-empty pack of Marlboro Reds.

Once he lit it up, he started to walk over towards the two people he'd seen. As he crept up behind them, he smiled as he heard Jalen speak. It was funny, he'd not heard her insult someone playfully since that night at the club. He saw her pause as an opportunity to join in the conversation, "Of course they work, Jalen. Why else would he use them?" Cole smiled, "Granted they don't work everytime, but they do work at their own pace." He said as he took another drag from his cigarette.

[Braxton Carson]

"Oh come'on." Braxton instantly replied as Jalen spoke. "I totally meant to call you, but I was finishing the registering process in UVM." Lie. "You know how it is, babe. I'm sorry."

The real reason why Braxton didn't call Jalen before had to do with the fact that his agenda was busy with other girls that week, and after that, well, Braxton unusually have interest in one girl after a week has passed, even if nothing had happened with her, so her name just got buried in the one hundred and thirty-five blonde girls names in his cellphone. He wishes he had hooked up with all of them, though, he only keeps the number for a 'some day' kind of thing. And you never know when you might need it.

"Damn right, my man." He replied to the new-arrival who sided with him instantly. "I mean, you gave me your number, didn't you?" He turned back to Jalen. "If you women are really against the pick-up lines and shit, then you gals shour hit on us, but all you do is stay there waiting next to a pond for a hottie like me to hit on you." He realized for a moment he might be wrong and turned to see the boy smoking. "Or you two were going to meet?"

[Jalen August]

Jalen frowned, her eyebrow quirking up in surprise. He didn’t actually think she was waiting around for a phone call, was he? The idea of herself lying around in her bed all day, waiting hopefully by the phone, was pathetic and stupid; if that’s how Braxton saw her, then he was just the same. “Right Braxton, I doubt you even remember my name,” she said, catching Cole approaching out of her eye.

Glad for the interruption, Jalen grinned. Did these two know each other? It seemed unlikely – Cole wouldn’t be friends with a playboy would he? “I’m sure the pace looks something like, every four out of five blondes, right?” It was a joke, she didn’t actually believe in what she just said. “You always show up in the nick of time Cole, have you been keeping tabs on me?” Okay, she was flirting a little, but it was harmless. Flirting was the one kind of conversation boys seemed to understand the best.

Nodding when Braxton asked for confirmation, she couldn’t help but laugh at his explanation. Jay looked behind her as though checking for something. “I had no idea I was wearing my ‘looking-for-a-hottie’ shirt today.” She turned back to give the boys a sly grin. Plenty of girls sat by the pond, and she was pretty sure that they weren’t looking for harassment.

Braxton turned his attention to Cole for a moment, and she looked at him too, a hint of pleading in her eyes. It was now or never. “Yes actually,” she said, a smug grin on her face, “we were going to meet here.” It wasn’t a total lie. They didn’t know they were going to meet here, but they had. Jalen started giggling from the koi fish nibbling at her toes, and she took her feet out of the water momentarily. The blonde had decked Cole’s ex for him, surely he would be willing to keep Braxton a good distance away from her.

[Cole Kessler]

Cole took another drag of his cigarette as he listened to the boy's speech. "Man's got a point." Cole laughed as he exhaled the smoke from his lungs. "Plus, besides women returning the advances, if they don't likie it or it don't work, how does a guy always get a girl's number that way?" Cole asked playfully. He was just trying to pick on Jalen considering they hadn't hung out in a while, not since that night at the club.

"Not that I need to use pick-up lines." He said with a smile as he put his cigarette out on his boot and flicking the butt onto the sidewalk. "I'm just damn good looking." He laughed. He couldn't help it, but the line he'd just said made him feel kind of Zac-ish. That was not a venture he was ready for nor wanted to take anyway.

"More like five out of six, Jalen." Cole laughed in response to her joke. She talked about him arriving in the nick of time and it made him laugh, "Don't I always, Jalen?" He asked, "And no I haven't been keeping tabs on you." He told her, "Besides, If not me, who else would keep you from hurting people too much? I mean, hell, I think you would've killed LaRousse if not for my being there."

Cole was about to answer the boy with a sarcastic "no" but then Jalen volunteered to answer first. "Uhm, yeah, I guess we were meeting here." Cole laughed and smiled; the look on his face saying, I really had no idea we were meeting here, but okay......

Cole sat next to Jalen, resting his feet in different points on the rocks around the pond, "So how've things been, Jay?"

[Braxton Carson]

"What?! Of course I remember your name, babe." Braxton didn't. "You're hurting me." Following the new-arrival, called Cole by Jalen, Braxton took a cigarette from his pocket along with a lighter and promptly lighted it up in one quick movement. "Come'on babe, being hot like that, you always wear the 'hit on me' t-shirt."

Fortunately for Brax, Cole mentioned her name afterwards and he was now safe in case Jalen decided to put him to the test. Unfortunately, they banded together to make Braxton feel unwelcome since it was probably a date. If it weren't because of his giant ego, he would feel bad and sorry for interrupting, but heck, he didn't care that much and the Cole-guy apparently didn't either, he seemed rather friendly with Brax and more friend-like to Jalen than anything else, so whatever he was interrupting didn't seem like too important, or so Braxton decided to think.

"So is it a date? You two dating or what?" He asked away anyway to see what waters he was getting into exactly. "And if so, how do I get one spot in your dating agenda, angel?"

[Jalen August]

“He got my number because I was in a good mood,” Jalen said very matter of factly, holding her grin while she spoke. No one needed to be offended here, it was all very light and simple. “Yes Cole, you’re just drop dead gorgeous and irresistible,” she said, her tone dripping with sarcasm. It was conversations like these she could handle. The nitty gritty personal stuff should be left to one on one conversation.

Jalen smiled and patted her friend’s knee. “Always,” she said with a smile, truly thankful for his presence. They were completely ignoring Braxton and she was completely fine with that. “I do have a mean right hook,” she said in a satisfied voice, lifting her feet up and under her body to sit in a cross-legged position. Braxton continued to hit on her and Jalen continued to ignore him.

“Things have been interesting,” she said as he sat next to her. She could’ve mentioned that she had a boyfriend, but that didn’t really seem appropriate for some reason. The blonde glanced at Braxton, mild annoyance on her face. This guy either didn’t get the hint or didn’t care that he was being rejected. “You don’t get a spot, they’re all full,” Jalen said in a sharp tone. “We’re not dating,” she said simply, glancing at Cole. So much for that little plan.

[Cole Kessler]

Cole watched as the other boy lit a cigarette. It was refreshing to know he wasn't the only one in Pilot Ridge who smoked. He smiled when he heard the sarcasm in Jalen's voice, "Why thank you, milady. You're not so bad yourself, sweetheart." It was funny really, all Jalen and Cole did was flirt, even with nothing coming from it. The way these two went on, they'd flirt until the end of time.

Jalen made areference to the night Lerna had showed up. It made Cole laugh hard because all he could do when she said that was replay the image of Jalen's fist meeting Lerna's jaw over and over, "Yeah." He said through the laughs, "That you do, Jale, that you do."

"She's got you there, bro." Cole said as Jalen told him about her date agenda, "You honestly think a girl, well," he gestured to all of Jalen, "like this, I mean this beautiful, wouldn't have a boyfriend?"

[Braxton Carson]

Braxton was about to cleverly reply to Jalen having a busy agenda by asking how many guys she was dating when Cole stepped in and cleared the whole thing. Right on. Brax couldn't help himself from smiling as he stood up from the bench and took one deep inhalation of his cigarette.

"Oh you're caught, girl." Right hand in pocket, left hand holding the cigarette gracefully now. "Or I will have to say: you're caught, you bad girl." Smoke in. Hold for a second. Smoke out. "You have a boyfriend and here you are on a date with mister here. Date that I ruined of course. And since it wasn't enough, you're flirting with both of us in front of the other." The thought that Jalen was not flirting with Braxton never passed his mind. "By the way, sorry for that, mate." He placed his left hand in Cole's shoulder for a second before returning his attention to Jalen. "I know I don't deserve much respect him, but hell, doesn't him? I mean, if you're planning on cheating on your boyfriend can't you just be a little classy about it? He turned his face back to Cole for a second. "You do seem like a classy dude, though. Respect."

[Jalen August]

Jalen grinned, “I would curtsey, sir, but that would require my getting up and I don’t really feel like doing so,” she said in a regal tone of voice. She wasn’t really sure where that came from or why she did it, but she didn’t really care. In her opinion, it was just fine for two people to acknowledge that the other is attractive without there being any romantic outcome from it.

The blonde held her smile for Cole more than anyone else. He was laughing and it made her grin, it was just that simple. Jalen’s dark eyes watched Braxton as he stood up, the words he was speaking going right over her head. What part of her and Cole not being on a date did Braxton not understand? The girl’s mouth fell open as Braxton kept making a bigger fool of himself. “First of all, like I said before, Cole and I aren’t on a date,” she said for clarification, saying the sentence nice and slow so the boy would be able to understand.

“Second of all, don’t be upset because you’re getting shot down and you’re not used to it. Accusing me of cheating is pathetic and stupid – you obviously don’t know the meaning of the word.” She said, her face getting flushed. “The only person here who needs some class, is you, buddy,” she said, practically spitting the word out instead of his name, he hadn’t uttered hers even once. “So I’d gracefully walk away now if I were you.”

[Cole Kessler]

Cole sighed as Jalen bit the lad's head off. To be honest he did deserve it after accusing her of such, but still.... Right out in public? That wasn't necessary. "Sounds like you've pissed the lady off, bruh. I'd take her suggestion." Cole said to the boy after accepting his respect with a bro-handshake.

He looked back at Jalen, "Take it easy on the boy, sweetheart." He whispered where only she could hear him, "It's not like he meant to upset you." Cole had hoped he could calm her down and that it wouldn't end up like her and Zac in the lounge that day, "Besides, he did call me classy." Cole said with a smile.

[Braxton Carson]

The world against Braxton Carson. Meh, like I'm not used to.

"Why don't you walk away?" Braxton added more density to his own body jumped off his seat, making a louder *thump* than his normal weight would as he landed. "I was here all by myself having a really good time before you two cutie-mc-couple arrived." He sucked smoke from his cigarette with his strength as he clenched his right fist. "And you, shut it, you wish I were your bro, pff."

Braxton's blood was pumping strongly though his veins. He had added almost thrice his own mass to his body just by reflexes, it was something that happened whenever he got mad his nose smelled 'fight' in the ambient. He becoming more dense, however, only made him heavier, but not stronger, which sort of was useless when he got into fights for being impulsive, but fortunately by playing with momentum the right way, he didn't need physical strength, only aimed control over his powers. It made him confident, he could even stop the girl's arm mid-movement if she decided to slap him.

He continued smoking.

"So? I could tell you where the exit is and all that but since we're outside you could fly away or whatever you do." He was talking to both of them. "I could make you fly in a heartbeat too, if you need help walking your way away."

[Jalen August]

Jalen wasn’t going to apologize to anyone for freaking out on Braxton. She wasn’t a cheater, and that needed to be said. If he thought he was God’s gift to man, that was his prerogative, but just because she didn’t agree, didn’t make her a cheater. He could use being cut down a few notches, not that anything she would say would get through his thick skull.

“Actually, I was here before you were, although your ‘good time’ is debateable” she said simply, brushing Braxton off like dust on her shoulder. His tough guy act wasn’t working on her, and if it was a fight he was looking for, he had picked the wrong girl. “I could bring you to your knees,” she warned, an eyebrow raised. She gave Cole a sideways glance. Did he really still like the other boy after the ‘bro’ comment? “But the fact that you’d even think about touching me only adds to your density,” Jay added, looking back to Braxton with a fire in her eyes.

And no, she wasn’t talking about his new found weight.