stuck like glue (leon!)

[Lola Reyes]

The cold was invigorating. Lola felt it in the tips of her fingers and pink flush of her cheeks, and also in the tightness across the bridge of her nose. Cold weather was Lola’s second favorite type of weather. It meant full cups of hot chocolate and impromptu snow forts and fights. She silently ticked through the list in her head, running over possible yeti sightings and homemade soup. More recently Lola’d also come to appreciate another facet of cold weather - glove wearing. With very few exceptions, so far as Lola could tell, most people wore gloves during the winter. Which meant absolutely no furrowed brows directed toward her almost obsessive need for the clothing article. Lola had a lot of gloves. She had thin and thick gloves, leather and wool gloves, pastel and neon gloves, and checked every pair with a careful eye before sliding it over her hand. Though her parents had expressed some concern over the developing neurosis, Lola couldn’t find it in herself to care. Hands were for touching. And she didn’t want to touch anyone.

Today’s gloves were sequined. They were a little on the thin-side, weather considered, but the orange and gold plastic glittering from her hands made her quite happy. This lead her to feel that it was the perfect day for a stroll around the school grounds which, in turn, inspired her to believe it was the perfect day to climb a tree. Lola had never climbed one before. The closest experience she has was a ladder, but she supposed that wasn’t really close at all. The only thought that gave her pause to the business of climbing trees was her jacket. It was a horribly puffy thing, not meant for fine maneuvering and tight places. Lola pursed her lips as she thought, staring into the upper levels of the tree she wanted to explore. The jacket would have to go. Throwing it to the ground unceremoniously after swinging it off her shoulders. Lola pulled down her long sleeves to align with the ends of her gloves and took the tree by storm. Certainly not the definition of athletic, with adequate strength, flexibility, and luck, Lola didn’t have much trouble getting off the ground. She sat on the first stout branch she came across and dangled her legs around its sides in a juvenile fashion.

Branches crisscrossed her vision, some with remnants of clinging leaves and others with the silver threads of spiderwebs. This didn’t bother Lola, so she continued to climb. After a decent height she came to a decisive stop. As adventurous as Lola considered herself to be, her jacket, bright, puffy, and blue, seemed much farther away than she had expected. As she began her descent, she fiercely thought it was a shame trees weren’t biologically equipped with a slides. Slipping down branches, loose pieces of bark sticking to her clothes, and climbing over others was, decidedly, not as as enjoyable as the climb up had been. Not to mention the cold, which Lola had ignored in favor of raw adrenaline, was biting at her skin through the thin fabric of her shirt. Almost home free! Lola swung her leg over a particularly gnarly branch, her left foot firmly nestled in its junction with another branch and the main tree and - stuck. Poised awkwardly in mid-air for a moment, her body a clumsy ragdoll, she landed with a small groan on a slightly lower branch. When she tried to twist free she found her left foot uncomfortably extended and most certainly stuck at the intersection above. Nevertheless, Lola felt the cold was more pressing than her position. So, when she caught sight of a person walking rather close by she called from her tree, “Hello! Can you throw me that jacket?” Her right hand motioned vaguely to its position on the ground below.

[Leonardo Huerta-Davis]

Cold weather wasn't too bad, Leon supposed. Most people liked one or the other, and while he loved the sun, he also loved impromptu snowball fights. Sneaking up on strangers and hurling a small clump of snow at them was a lot funnier than people gave it credit for. Though, the last person he tried that on didn't exactly seem to enjoy herself. Oh well, their loss!

Unfortunately, there weren't many people out that day. Leon was coming back from hanging around town anyway, wandering through the courtyard towards the dorms again. His hands were stuffed into his pockets, his chin tucked underneath a scarf and his head kept warm by a beanie. It was bearable. At least it wasn't windy.

Oblivious to the notion that there was someone in the tree, Leon preceded to walk right under it. Just as he heard a voice from above him, his foot unknowingly stepped down onto the sleeve of the jacket in question. He looked up right at that moment, spying a girl perched strangely in a tree. Jacket? He looked down at the ground again, where his foot was situated over the fabric. He lifted it instantly, cringing as he kneeled down to pick it up. "Y'sure you want it?" He asked, looking up at her again, "Are you even going to be able to catch it? You look a little..." He paused, searching for the right words; "...Strung out?"

[Lola Reyes]

So surprised was she the person below had bothered to stop, that Lola missed most of what was said. When she was able to pick up what he was saying, however, she felt slightly let down. “I’m not strung out, ” Lola responded. She paused, strumming her fingers along the rough bark of the branch she was using as a bench. “I’m stretching.” She added a look that she thought translated to “clearly,” but might have been more along the lines of a grimace. The angle of her left ankle was quickly becoming a point of pain. Considered with the cold in mind, Lola was not at her happiest. She wanted nothing more than her jacket, still woefully out of her immediate reach, and the warmest, largest mug of cocoa she could find. Her current predicament was proving to be more difficult to slip out of than she had imagined. The more she wiggled her foot, the more stuck it seemed to become. At this point, Lola even would have settled for wrenching her foot out of her boot, and leaving the item to the tree as a symbol of temporary defeat. However, there was a major chance that the stiffness of the very boot in question was responsible for all this fuss in the first place. Lola noted, for future tree climbing excursions, generic shoes were to be worn at all times.

Tucking a stray strand of blonde hair behind her ear, Lola called down to the boy, “Hey, suppose I had a friend who was...strung out. How would they go about getting unstrung?” Hopefully he knew. Lola was beginning to feel somewhat anxious, though that may have been a side effect of asking a stranger to help in an unusual situation. As friendly and upbeat as Lola strove to appear, she had serious doubts about approaching those with whom she was unfamiliar. The lingering suspicion and mistrust, kindred leftovers from every unintentional use of power, tightened her chest and made her heart beat wildly. Going out on a limb for people, literally in this case, was not as easy for her as it had once been. Nevertheless, she fought daily to give every single person the benefit of the doubt. The boy on the ground was doing well so far, for what it was worth. He’d been kind enough to stop, after all. Lola just hoped that kindness would extend to getting her out of that tree.

[Leonardo Huerta-Davis]

With a small nod of his head, Leonardo crossed his arms and offered a connecting; "Ahh." As if somehow it all fell into place. The more he stood there, the more he wondered how she got into such a strange position. Obviously she decided to climb a tree, and then what? Did she get too into it and get stuck on the way up? He had to admit, it was hard not to laugh at how nonchalant she was trying to play it.

"She could always ask someone for help. Say, someone standing underneath the tree she's strung out in?" Leon offered with a small shrug of his shoulders and a sharp laugh from his mouth. But without waiting for a response, he folded up her jacket quickly and glanced back up again. It seemed like there was only one way to help, after all.

So he started to climb, hooking his arms around the lowest branch available to him and hauling himself up. Admittedly, it was a little difficult with his jacket on, but the most he offered as a solution was to open it up at the front to allow a little more room to move. The physical side of climbing a tree wasn't a problem for him, and in no time he'd managed to impressively climb his way to the girl and, specifically, the branch her foot was stuck in. Leon looked up at her face now that he was closer; given what she was wearing, no wonder she was cold. Perching himself on the branch, he wiggled one arm out of his jacket and then the other, handing it out to her. "Here. It's not as uhh, crushed into the snow as yours is." He offered with a small, apologetic smile. Plus he didn't want to rip it later.

"Alright, let's have a look at this." Leon began, pulling his sleeves up to his elbows. "So seriously, how'd you get like this? The best way to get out is probably to go at it the way you got into it."

[Lola Reyes]

"She could always ask someone for help. Say, someone standing underneath the tree she's strung out in?"

Lola rolled her eyes, thinking very strongly, That’s not an option! Though more than happy to offer help to those in need, Lola very much did not like having to ask for it. Or have it implied that she needed it. She knew she wasn’t fabulously, incredibly intelligent, but she fiercely felt with the right amount of determination and time she could figure out anything. But all things considered at the current moment, that might have been a friendly bout of hypothermia. Lola mentally frowned. If anyone other than this boy had been about, she’d have considered asking for a second opinion. This thought flew from her head as soon the boy started to climb the tree. Maybe she wasn’t going to have to ask for help, after all. Curiously watching him climb from the relative safety of her branch, only one thought entered Lola’s head: Did I look like that? Tree climbing, as it turned out, was a very cumbersome activity to observe. Based off her current position, Lola could only assume that she had looked worse. And, no matter how the boy looked, a very strong part of Lola felt overwhelmingly grateful for his ascent. Filled with dark thoughts and anxiety toward her fellow species on most days, this was certainly a most surprising, and refreshing, turn of events.

"Here. It's not as uhh, crushed into the snow as yours is."

Another surprise! “Uhm, wow,” Lola said, though she had most certainly planned on saying “thanks.” She chose not to elaborate and instead gingerly took the jacket from his hold. Locking herself securely against her tree branch she shrugged into it.

"Alright, let's have a look at this. So seriously, how'd you get like this? The best way to get out is probably to go at it the way you got into it."

“I was climbing,” Lola said. "But that wasn't hard." She looked down at her branch, cheeks flushed and fingers strumming along the branch with embarrassment. "Getting down is...an obstacle." Lola considered the whole "go at it the way you got into it" and felt her chest tighten. She couldn’t decide whether to be skeptical or enthusiastic, so she settled for in between optimistic uncertainty. “I’ll try what you said. It's better than keeping the branch warm, you know?” She looked at the tree limb above her hesitantly. It was within arm’s reach, if she were able to balance and prop herself up toward it. However, unable to use her left foot for support and somewhat unwilling to swing her right leg onto the branch, Lola was conflicted with how to go about the maneuver. If she knew anything, it was that she didn’t want to fall. The ground wasn’t so far below that such a thing was out of the question, but broken bones and bruises really weren’t something Lola was interested in risking. Deciding to talk in order to build her courage she said, “I’m Lola, by the way. And I’m very happy that you’re sitting in this tree with me.”

[Leonardo Huerta-Davis]

Leon looked at her with surprise; was it strange to offer a jacket to someone who was clearly colder than he was? Part of him felt bad for stepping on hers by accident in the first place, so it was almost as if he owed her the sentiment. A wet, snowed in jacket defeated the purpose of the jacket in the first place anyway.

Climbing. Leon was briefly confused when she didn't offer a reason as to why she was. At least she seemed to accept his suggestion. "Well, if you need help..." He allowed his voice to trail off, feeling as if it didn't really require elaboration.

"Leonardo," He replied for a greeting, "The short hand is usually Leon or Leo. The rest of the name is a little... Extensive." He offered a short laugh, realising then that she hadn't yet moved to try and free herself. "This is a pretty new way to meet girls, but I'm not complaining." He offered, a little glad that she said she was happy to be sitting with him. She could have always got dealt someone a little less willing to help. Leon looked up towards the closer branch overhead, wondering briefly if she could reach it. He supposed perhaps that she, well, couldn't.

And so he made a move, stepping over to another nearby branch with one foot to center himself with a little more stability. He stood up, quickly gripping onto the above branch with one hand and holding his other hand out towards her. "C'mon, let's see how you go."

[Lola Reyes]

Though mentally deciding to call the boy Leon - to save the syllables - Lola couldn’t help but grin when Leonardo introduced himself. Along with Alejandro, Joaquin, and Lucas, Leonardo was one of Lola’s favorite names. There was just something insurmountably attractive about how it rolled across the tongue and past the lips. Not to mention, Leonardo da Vinci, a gorgeous man in his own right, was one of Lola’s absolute favorite historical figures. This Leonardo had that positive connotation working in his favor. And it certainly didn’t hurt that the non-historical Leon was good-looking. Lola didn’t value aesthetics very highly, but, as a heterosexual teenage girl with unspeakable pent-up sexual energy, she found the boy almost unbearably handsome. Ignoring this line of thought, Lola laughed as he commented on the new way to meet girls. Looking at him slyly she responded, “Really? This is the only way I meet boys.” She winked to show she was joking but, on the other hand, getting stuck in a tree wasn’t really a bad idea. Had she been aggressively on the prowl, Lola might even have attempted it once or twice. After all, she’d only been stuck for a few minutes before Leon had come along. Not too shabby, she thought, even though the current situation was most likely a product of serendipitous timing.

As Leon extended his hand toward her and spoke, Lola nodded stoutly in agreement. Inwardly she was reeling. Lola disliked touching people almost as much as she disliked being touched. The only aspect of touching someone that made it somewhat tolerable was the amount of control Lola had per situation. Considering the one at hand it didn’t seem like much, and Lola felt vulnerable as she reached out for Leon’s hand. However, when contact was made she discovered that it could have been worse. Leon’s hand was strong and warm in her own, even through the material of winter clothes. Lola found herself regretting her power. Without it she could have held hands all the time - and without gloves, no less! Still, that wasn’t her reality. Her reality was holding hands for the first time since her power emergence while being stuck in a tree like a bozo. C'est la vie. Taking a firm hold of Leon’s hand, Lola was able to raise herself high enough off her current branch to grab a nearby one with her free hand. This allowed her to pull herself to her feet - er, foot - and situate her right boot on the branch such that she was both standing and balanced. Both of these came as a huge relief. Tree branches did not make for the most comfortable of seats.

Although she did feel somewhat clumsy in Leon’s jacket, Lola was doing fairly well standing on one leg. She’d even been able to shift her weight to more heavily rely on the tree branch she was holding, as opposed to Leon’s hand. As she put more trust in the branch, Lola loosened her grip almost entirely on Leon. Her hand hovered delicately above his, settling now and again when she was thrown off equilibrium. After a few minutes of repositioning her free foot Lola felt she was comfortable enough to attempt rescue for her left one. Taking a deep breath, and briefly glancing at Leon as if to say “Here goes nothing!,” Lola put her weight onto the branch she was holding and rose onto the toe of her right foot. The rounded point of her boot made this quite simple. From this position, with only minor difficulty, Lola was able to release the hostage appendage. Her ankle was regrettably tender, and no doubt would be for a few hours, but it was thankfully free. As she gingerly placed it down next to her right foot, she took hold of Leon’s hand once more and, applying some pressure, was able to slide-step down to his branch. “Thanks, Leon,” she said with a big grin as she released his hand in favor of nearby branches. “Let’s get you inside now, okay? Your chivalry's going to turn you into a popsicle.” They still weren’t out of the tree, but she optimistically supposed that it was all easy going from here on out.

[Leonardo Huerta-Davis]

Unaware of her issues, Leon only smiled at her when she took hold of his hand. His fingers gripped steadily around her palm, tightening his hold on the tree branch above as he helped hoist her up with his own strength. After all, it wasn't as if she had the means to do so herself with her foot stuck like that. He felt almost immune to the cold wind that was thrashing away at the exposed skin of his forearms. The situation at hand was distracting enough, it seemed. Nevertheless, his dark eyes lit up when she ended up managing to stand up.

He loosened his hold on her hand, though he kept it in steady range when he realised she might still need it. Pursing his lips into a line, Leon tried his best not to laugh as the time went by and she was still trying to sort out her foot-related dilemma. It wouldn't be nice to laugh- Again.

So he just tried to look at her with encouragement. Seemed smarter, safer and nicer that way.

"What? Oh, right!" Leonardo replied finally, realising then how freakin' cold it was up in the tree. He squeezed her hand briefly when she used it to help herself move before she finally let it go. "Are you gonna be able to get down alright? How's your ankle?" He asked. It wasn't going to be an issue for him to get down, but he found himself a little worried about how she'd fair with important pressure on her foot and ankle.