My Ipod! - Open

[Abby Winchester]

The day seemed to be a beautiful one. No rain, no sun, a light breeze picking up. Perfect day for a run.

Vinod didn't seem to be at home so Abby changed into her running gear and left for the lake.

Armed with her iPod stuck to the back of her pants, the blond circled the lake, waving to some people she recognised.

A loud song came on and she lost herself in the music. Not really concentrating on where she was going, she accidentally tripped over a raised kerb.

Gaining her balance, she turned to see what she had tripped on and was about to laugh when something barrelled right through her, sending her spinning and tripping, dropping down to the ground, way too close to the lake.

With her heartbeat racing, she laughed as she tried to regain her balance only to land her hand over a patch of wet ground, sending her straight into the lake.

"What in all the-" she started as she flapped her arms about.

[Leonard Collins]

Leo was walking his dog, Sherlock, when the incident occurred. Sherlock had been named by Rick, who had a distinct love for the character. When the accident that took Rick's life had happened, Sherlock was only a few months old.

He'd been jogging at a nice, slow pace, Sherlock in front, when he'd heard a splash. Right then, about five meters in front of him, a woman had fallen into the lake. His first instinct was to run towards the noise, and there he saw a woman flailing about in the lake. He did feel sorry for her, and wondered why no one else was trying to help.

He kneeled down, keeping a tight grip on Sherlock's leash, offering his hand out to Abby. "Are you alright?" he asked, keeping eye contact with the woman. Sherlock barked, wanting attention, but Leo ignored him. There were more important things than a dog who wanted attention- such as a woman who could possibly be drowning.

[Abby Winchester]

When a dark shadow loomed over her, Abby blindly grabbed at whatever the man was offering her and kicked as hard as she could so she could move closer to shore.

Catching her breath, Abby climbed out of the body of water and crawled far away from the banks to lie on her back, coughing. "Oh lord I hope you give me strength to carry on." She quoted Whitesnake as she got slobbered all over by the dog.

When she finally caught her breath, she turned to her hero and waved to him, still trying to calm her furiously beating heart.

"Thanks man. I...your dog is cute." She laughed a little though that led her to brutal coughing. She turned and let the cough subside. "I'm all right now. Thanks. So much." She shook her head before scrambling to grab her music player, pressing on it to switch it on. "Oh crap. Oh no. My iPod! Vinod's gonna kill me." Her shoulder slumped forward and her whole body just looked so dejected.

She almost forgot she was in front of somebody. Somebody who was very...very attractive.

[Leonard Collins]

Leo tried to contain his rather excited dog. Sherlock really had a mind of his own, the crazy mutt. He was some sort of terrier- both he and Rick could never figure his precise breed out. They'd given up after a little bit, and didn't really try to figure it out after having him for a few weeks, precisely one week before the accident. It was strange how Leo could remember all of these details about his life with Rick.

Sherlock was currently slobbering over the woman, trying to get attention and make a new friend, or perhaps trying to wake her up. He whistled, Sherlock darting back to his side. Shortening the leash, he turned back to the woman, slightly worried. Leo hoped she was alright- he really didn't want to take another person to the hospital with him being alright again, especially after the accident.

"No problem," he said. "I didn't want to see someone drown on my watch... if I it's in my power do something to help someone else, I will always do whatever I can," he told the woman. When she mentioned the iPod, he frowned. She must've taken it into the lake with her, on accident, of course. "I'm sorry about your iPod."

[Abby Winchester]

Abby laughed when the dog continued his slobbery. She didn't mind it one bit. As she tried to sit up straight, she ruffled the dog's fur.

Glaring at the iPod, she chucked it into the lake before turning to the man, suddenly noticing just how good looking he was. Instinctually, she felt the pressing sensation of her power to manipulate the man's hormones. She was such a douche sometimes.

Shaking her head, she suppressed her power, ignoring the headache that came after before extending her hand towards him. "I'm not sorry at all. That thing was going to Scraptown soon anyhow. I'm Abby." With her free hand, she pushed the lock of hair that had plastered itself across her forehead.

[Leonard Collins]

Sherlock really did like Abby, and Leo noticed it. He gave the dog a little bit more leash, but was being cautious- he hated when the dog got too out of control.

He gave a nod. "Ah. Well, it's nice to meet you, Abby- I'm Leo," he said, sticking out his right hand for a handshake. He would go into details later, perhaps after she stated a little about herself. He just couldn't go too detailed about it. That just wouldn't be okay with him, he hated sharing too much about himself. His life was private, and burdening others with his problems definitely wasn't good.

"I'm very sorry for Sherlock here," he said, referencing the small dog. "He's... he's got a mind of his own."

[Abby Winchester]

"Dude, the pleasure is all mine." He shook his hand firmly, shaking her head in disbelief that he had actually saved her life. "I mean you saved me back there. I...I can't thank you enough."

Her fear of water was irrational. It had only been that one time in Hammel and that had been such a long time ago. She thought she'd gotten over it. Enough for her to run around the lake without having spasm attacks.

But apparently it wasn't to be.

Her staring got so bad that when he mentioned Sherlock, she had to backtrack on who they were talking about before looking down at the dog and laughing. "Oh gosh no. I love him." She scratched him behind his ears. "He's such a good boy, isn't he?" She let Sherlock lick her face.

"Are you new?" She asked, smiling up at Leo. She probably wouldn't get over how handsome the man was.

[Leonard Collins]

Leo smiled at the woman. He'd considered being a lifeguard once- but decided against it. He had other things to do during the summer, including trying to repair his relationship with Gavin, which had failed horrifically. He thought about saying something about it- but decided against it. His private business, of course, nothing of hers to worry about. Why burden someone else with it?

"It's my pleasure," he said, giving the woman a smile. "I can only imagine how surprising it could've been to simply fall into a lake like that." He was trying to be polite, as he always tried to be. It was easy, and almost effortless.

However, when she said she loved his dog, he let the leash out a little bit. He had briefly considered letting it out without touching it, and using his gift for once, but decided against it. He didn't know if this person was meta-friendly or not, and it was better to be safe than sorry. "He really is," Leo agreed, giving the dog a pleased look. Though, he'd have to work on teaching him manners.

He shook his head. "I've been here for two years," he reported. "I'm one of the science teachers over at Hammel."

[Abby Winchester]

"Suprise doesn't even cut it." She shook her head. "I'm not too fond of water. I have to psych myself out to get into the shower some times." She laughed awkwardly, not really knowing why she was sharing such an intimate aspect of her life with a stranger. Good looking people, they brought honesty to the surface. Yeah, that was what she was going to think.

Abby smiled up at Leo when he agreed to her assessment.

At the revelation that he'd already been in Pilot Ridge for a couple of years, Abby realised that Vinod should know him. Him being Hammel's accountant and all. And just generally being Vinod.

"Oh! A few of my friends work there too." She smiled up at him again before turning her attention to Sherlock. "How long have you had him?" She asked, thinking it to be a pretty standard question.

[Leonard Collins]

Leo laughed with Abby, sensing the awkwardness. There was already a huge difference between the two of them- unlike Abby, Leo preferred to keep things private. If he was the one with the fear, he wouldn't have told her anything. He would've tried to just get away, most likely.

He smiled back.

"Who would your friend be?" he asked quickly. Anything to keep the conversation off of him- though, he was curious who she knew at Hammel. "I've had him for about two and a half years," he replied, with a nod of his head. He wondered if she'd make a connection between Sherlock's adoption and his move to Pilot Ridge.

"How long have you been here?" he asked quickly, though, he was definitely interested in that.

[Abby Winchester]

Abby had no discernible subtlety at that moment. And really, could anybody blame her? She almost drowned! Not to mention, she was getting heavily flustered by having her rescuer look like he stepped out of a Baywatch audition. She just can't help herself.

"Oh, his name's Vinod Singh. He's Hammel's accountant." She scratched her head before realising that maybe Vinod never introduced her to him because Vinod didn't even know him. That thought made her laugh and roll her eyes. "He's the uptight one with the too tight ties." She shook her head in amused affection. How different Vinod was with her and when he was at work.

She didn't make the connection between getting Sherlock and moving and so she said nothing of it. She did, however, acknowledge his question. "Forever." She laughed and shrugged. "It feels like forever. I went to Hammel at...fourteen I think? Or earlier. And then I kept coming back here." She smiled. What she meant was she kept coming back to Vinod.

But she highly doubted Leo needed to hear her say that.

"God, I must look like a million bucks right now." She chuckled, pushing her hair back from her forehead.

[Leonard Collins]

Leonard nodded at what Abby had to say- he'd certainly heard of the accountant. "I've heard of him," he said with a snap of his fingers. "I've never talked to him, though, we've never really had the need to do so. Accounting and Chemistry never really mingled, nor did the people in charge of them(though Leo shared that responsibility with some other teachers, whereas Vinod managed accounting alone). "Ah, I've seen him!" he said, grinning at Abby.

He chuckled lightly at that. "Pilot Ridge is by far one of the most welcoming communities that I have ever lived in," he agreed, though unsure if that was what she meant. "I came at age twelve. Though, I reckon that I'd have graduated before you came." She looked younger than him- he was 42, and she definitely didn't look that old.

"You look fine," he assured her. Appearance was one thing that really didn't bother him- he could honestly care less. She'd just fallen into a lake after all.

[Abby Winchester]

Abby laughed when Leo admitted to having seen Vinod before by her description. "Hard to miss a hardass, huh." She teased, though meaning nothing by it.

"It does that to...oh! You went to Hammel too?" She asked. Not entirely surprised since he did work there. But there are a lot of staff on the Hammel payroll that didn't graduate from there. "But you can't be any older than mid-thirties." She said, not trying to be flattering or anything like that. He really did look young.

"Hah, thanks." She scratched her forehead with a grin. "I suppose that's your ability, being charming?" She joked, laughing a little too loudly. She really needed a filter.

[Leonard Collins]

Leo just laughed along, not really saying much. He couldn't really say he knew much about Vinod, and if she thought he was a hardass, that was just her opinion. Meeting him could either justify or completely disprove that description. He'd just have to figure it out for himself.

"Yup," he said with a nod. "I was there... oh, from the time I was twelve to eighteen. Best years of my life," Leo admitted, grinning. Though, he looked slightly confused as she guessed his age. There was no way he looked that young(in his mind)- he definitely wished that he was that young, but no such luck. "Well, um... you're close," he replied hastily. "Early forties." Admitting that was slightly awkward, but necessary.

"No problem," he replied. "Nah. Telekinesis," he informed her. It was a power he could hide if he wanted to- but if he was in the presence of another meta, he'd tell his power, though if in public, he wouldn't show it off.

[Abby Winchester]

Leo was a quiet man as Abby was quick to find out. But in her state of shock, she really did need someone who was good at talking her down. If not, she was going to start blurting out useless information that may or may not compromise her.

For instance, now. What with the oh so witty age-guessing and talking down of her own best friend. And...blurting out subtly that she thought he was charming.

At least he didn't make it any more awkward than it already was.

"Well...not too far away I guess. I totally think you could pass at least late thirties." She said, completely believing it to be true. "And man. Telekinesis. That's pretty dicey. I don't think I can handle a kinetic power like that. Even with my pheromone manipulation, I'm struggling . And that's a pretty low-key ability ya know?"

Sherlock chose that particular time to jump into her lap and pressed his head against her stomach. Abby patted his head with a grin. "Maybe I should get up and run around, get myself dry." She stretched a little and picked Sherlock up, standing up only to look down at Leo. "Wanna run with me?"