Girl on Fire (Dex)

[Dextra Phillips]

Oh yeah, everyone did have their on and off days, but the problem was that when she was having a good day something screwed it up. It didn’t matter how hard she tried to ignore people’s remarks, they always got to her because most of what they heard came from her own flesh and blood which was what pissed her off even more. No, she didn’t blame anyone for not asking because she wasn’t exactly approachable, but very few people even gave her a chance to get over the initial first impression. Her first impression wasn’t a good one, even she knew that, but if someone bothered to get past it, then she at least tried being slightly better about not pushing people away so much. She supposed he should have seen that side of her by now, but she couldn’t really shake the feeling of wanting to hide away from everyone.

Dex bit her bottom lip when he answered. Boy did she know what it was like delving into the past and coming out feeling worse than before. Granted she didn’t know what his past was like and it could have been completely different (and was completely different), but she still could see where he was coming from. Maybe that was why she empathized with him and actually felt sorry for being so harsh. Gosh she was getting soft the more she hung around him. The hell was the matter with her? His hand on her shoulder caused her eyes to widen and her whole body tensed at the physical contact. One thing she sure as hell wasn’t used to was that. “I wasn’t worrying about it, I don’t know where you got that idea. I was being a human being and showing that I’m capable of being nice.” Yeah, that was it.

She was just about to answer when he started freaking out and grabbed her hands, pulling her close. That was when her ability acted out and she pushed herself away from him with narrowed eyes as she landed a foot away. “And yet you wonder why I’m not a nice person. This is why. Now get your ass up and get running,” She stood up and brushed herself off, heading into a jog. With her back facing him, she found herself smirking at his dramatics. It was kind of funny she’d admit (but only to herself).

[Parker Matthews]

''Suuure you weren't.'', he said with a chuckle. The fact that she got so tense and waved his comment away so quickly just made it all the more funny. He had to bite down on his tongue not to make another remark - he'd rather not die. It was far too early on the day and he didn't exactly think it would be...pleasant. Sure, she'd probably have a lot of fun doing it, seeing as she obviously had a thing for hurting people. With rocks. And shoes. He was kind of lucky for still being alive. All thanks to his cat-like reflexes, awyeah. (Not really.)

Parker couldn't help but letting out a laugh as she pushed him away with her power. It wasn't like he had expected her to anything else, and physical contact clearly wasn't her thing. He shook his head before getting back on his feet. ''Aw, baby why you gotta be like that?'' He turned around as she jogged past him with a sheepish grin on his face. ''Baby, come back!'', he called after her and started jogging as well. He was probably going to end up having a rock stuck in his face, but at least his teasing made him feel slightly better.

Once he finally caught up with her, he grabbed her by the waist, spun around, let go of her and made a run for it. At least now he was in the lead. For now anyways. He knew she'd either catch up with him and make him sorry for it, or she'd just make him feel sorry. At least he had somewhat of a head start, and just to be on the safe side, he held his power set and ready to go.

''Come on, slowpoke!'', he called out over his shoulder.

[Dextra Phillips]

Dextra was going to beat the living hell out of him if he kept it up. Sure it was kinda funny the way he was so dramatic and silly, but she wasn’t about to let him know that. Nope, better to make him believe she was incapable of laughing at anything. Or smiling. No one ever really got the benefit of seeing her smile and he wasn’t going to be the first. She just jogged faster as he got up and started following after her. If he was smart he would be keeping a safe distance because she could very well make him fall flat on his face if he kept it up.

Unfortunately, he caught up to her and wrapped around her waist only to slow her down and get away. She stifled a laugh and took off after him, “You better get your ass moving Park. When I catch you I’m going to make you eat dirt!” She called after him acting as if she were oh-so pissed off, when really she was having some fun. Who’d have thought she would be having fun with someone who was such a pain in the ass.

He called out to her and she smirked as she ran, her ability reaching out and tangling around his legs, ready to trip him. Then she thought better of it and her ability instead started pulling him back by the waist so that she could catch up to him.

[Parker Matthews]

Honestly, when his mood wasn't up and bothering him, he didn't really care much for Dex' mood swings, or that she liked throwing stuff. He had a defensive power and so far, meeting Dex was the best power training he'd ever had. So, he was sort of thankful for her oh so nice gestures. But Dex would know by know that Parker wasn't all that concerned with his own safety seeing as he kept fooling around. It was a miracle she hadn't killed him by now.

''I wanna see you try, Dexie!'', he called out and gave her a wave, all without looking over his shoulder. Honestly, he wasn't sure if he dared to. He'd enjoy his last moments trying to stay alive. At least they could say that at his funeral, that he fought for his life. That was something, right?

But then, then she cheated. Using her power to reach out and started pulling him back. But nope. He had a trick for that too. Or so he hoped. He tried using his force as a shield and wrapped it around himself, like a bubble. He hadn't really tried this before and he was curious if it would work or not. If it did, then he'd might end up surviving for another day. ''Hey! Stop cheating!''

[Dextra Phillips]

Oh no, Dex wasn't going to kill him. That was wayyy too easy. She was going to slowly torture his ass when she caught him. She may not have known how, but boy was she going to. She'd give him this much though, at least he put up a fight and messed with her more instead of just rolling over like most people would have. It gave her a sense of respect towards him the way he put up with all of her shit. Not many could handle her, but at least he tried every now and then. Even if it didn't always end so pleasantly between them.

His new nickname only fueled her to go faster because she was going to tackle his ass when she caught up to him. He'd be lucky if his face didn't meet pavement. She noticed how he didn't dare look behind him though, which gave her some satisfaction knowing he was worried she'd catch him. She pushed herself harder, wishing she had a longer stride or something that would help her out.

Her ability happened to be just what she needed, and it was working too until that damn power of his deflected her again. "Says the one in a damn bubble!" Fuck! How was she going to get him now? Dextra narrowed her eyes and smirked, oh how she was so incredibly evil. She practically tripped herself, but her ability reached out to keep her from hurting herself too much, but still gave the impression that she really had tripped. She landed curled up in a ball and waited to see what he'd do as she groaned in 'pain'.

[Parker Matthews]

He was sincerly happy that his attempt of getting her power off his body had worked. At least he could use that from now and then, still, with the running and all, the power had taken a toll on his energy, and he wouldn't last much longer. Her response only made him chuckle, but the smile he had on his lips quickly vanished as he heard the sound of a body hitting the ground, even if it was faint and he stopped. Parker quickly turned around, but he didn't dare to go any closer. ''You okay?'', he asked. He wasn't really sure if it was a trick or if she had really fell, though if it was a trick, she was a damn good actress. He took a few wary steps towards her, still keeping the bubble around himself. With a sigh he let his guard down and walked over.

He sat down next to her and poked her side. ''Dexie~''

[Dextra Phillips]

Dextra groaned in response to his question and had to keep herself from laughing, which with the practice she'd had, wasn't hard. She attempted to push herself up from the ground before he walked over and then collapsed again. Unlike him, she hadn't done it dramatically because she wanted it to seem realistic. After all, what was the fun in all of it if he found out? He took a few steps towards her and she knew he was still being a little hesitant, not that she blamed him. Especially when he found out he had good reason.

It took him a little while before he finally walked over and sat beside her. She tried keeping up the pretense of being hurt and when he poked her side. She groaned and as she rolled over it turned to a laugh and she lunged at him. She hoped he'd been caught off guard otherwise the whole thing would have been a bust.

[Parker Matthews]

At that moment, Parker deeply regretted putting his guard down. He had expected it, and should have stuck with that. He could see his life pass before his eyes, and not that it was a good show or anything, but still. It was mostly just to add on to the dramatic effect of it all. But as he had poked her side, he found himself lying on the ground the next second, with a laughing Dex on top of him. If this had been any other girl, he'd probably throw out some snarky remark about how this could be taken oh so sexually, but no. He was in enough trouble as it was.

He peeked ut her with a grin on his lips. He noticed how she was laughing, and it hit him like a lightning bolt how pretty she was when she actually looked happy. It suited her, but he wasn't about to ruin it all by telling her either. He knew better than that. He'd just completely surrender and enjoy the moment while he could. ''You can hurt anything but the face. This face is holy.'', he said with a laugh and poked both of her sides with his fingers. ''This face will cover magazines one day. That or I'll end up in some freaky porn movie. But still, I need the face.'' As if that mattered to her. But it didn't change the fact that he liked his face, and he'd be very lonely at night without it. Very lonely. ''Unless you're about to share my bed of course, then you can hurt my face.'' And there it was. He should have known he couldn't keep his mouth shut and stay away from the pervy remarks. Oh well, he was doomed one way or another.

[Dextra Phillips]

Pleased with her acting, she couldn’t help but keep laughing. It was actually really funny how he fell right into her trap. It was also funny seeing as how she had this huge guy pinned against the track. Her ability had even stopped randomly reaching for things as she kept him firmly against the ground. Maybe it was because she was using it to keep him down, either that or it just got bored of touching things (which wasn’t very common). Either way, she had totally gotten him and now it was all a matter of figuring out what she was going to do with him. She could quite easily make him eat dirt right now and as appealing as it sounded, she tried thinking of something worse.

Seeing him smiling, she just laughed harder because she felt accomplished. Not only had she caught him off guard, but he was actually genuinely smiling now! Dextra didn’t care what reason it was as to why he was smiling easier now, just that he was. He poked her sides and she slapped his hands away and her ability flicked his nose as her hands rested on his shoulders to keep him there. “I could have gone my whole life without knowing about your Fifty Shades of Grey fantasy. If you wanna be in a porn, that’s all fine and dandy, but please spare me the details.” She pursed her lips in thought as to what oh what she was going to do. Maybe something with those girls again? Nah, that was probably still a touchy subject. Hm.

And as she thought his last remark caught her off guard and she narrowed her eyes at him, her ability reaching for a clump of dirt. She dangled it over his face, “Do you have a death wish? Or do you like the taste of dirt?”

[Parker Matthews]

What guy could actually complain about being pinned down like this? He sure as hell couldn't. And the fact that she was laughing even more just made it better. As she slapped his hands away he just chuckled and rested them behind his head. It was a struggle getting them there, seeing as she was pinning him down with her power, but he managed. ''You sure? I mean, I could always share my favorite positions! Or maybe outfits would suit you more? I mean, I'm not all that much into dressing up, but a girl in a bunny outift is always sexy.'', he looked up at her with a smug grin. ''Oh yeah, strippers. Those outfit, man. Daaaaamn.'' Really, he wasn't all for the slutty look, he had to admit that. But that didn't change the fact that he liked teasing with it. Hell, a girl could have worn a potato sack and he'd still do her.

He looked at the clump of dirt floating in the air and laughed. ''Okay, okay. No bed sharing, I get it.'' Well, it wasn't like he had a lack of bedmates or anything, but he wasn't a manwhore either. But he was still a flirt. A major flirt. She couldn't deny his charm forever. ''But the offer still stands if you're ever interested.'' He winked at her and chuckled.

Dex didn't really seem like the type who got things going with a lot of people. Not only because of her usually cold and grumpy personality, but also because how his previous comment had planted such an expression on her face. Maybe she wasn't a virgin, but she sure as hell wasn't all that comfortable with the subject. At least not as comfortable as Parker was. Hell, he'd be able to drop his pants right here and now and do it infront of the whole school if anyone asked. He might be a loner, but he wasn't a shy loner.

[Dextra Phillips]

Dextra crushed the dirt clump so that it would land in his face and pushed herself off of him, all the laughing and smiling having drained from her face. Now she was left with complete discomfort and irritation. The irritation was typical for her though so that wasn’t what made her get up. It was the discomfort that caused her to stand and brush herself off and wrap her arms around her body. Talking about anything like that was a good way to make her freeze you out because she’d never had sex before nor did she think she’d ever be comfortable enough to do so. She didn’t even know the basics because her father had never had the talk with her. Almost seventeen years old and she hardly knew the mechanics of sex.

“I uh, I think I’m done for the day, I should go.” Yeah she wasn’t sure running would do anything for her right now because she felt flat out awkward which wasn’t typical for her at all. No one ever made her that uncomfortable because she’d never had anyone try to hit on her or flirt or anything like that. Well aside from Carter, but he didn’t really count because his attempts hadn’t worked. How could someone come up with such disturbing things anyway? She cleared her throat and started walking down the track, her usual snark and unapproachable behavior had ceased, and as she walked she found herself fidgeting.

[Parker Matthews]

He knew he had screwed it all up when the dirt hit his face and she pushed herself off him. He had stepped over the line, and there was nothing he could do about it now. She'd probably end up killing him if he followed. But that didn't change the fact that he felt bad and wanted to do something about it. He managed to get back on his feet and brushed the dirt off him with a sigh. Seeing her like that was a punch in the face, at least when he knew he was the cause of it. ''Dex...'', he began, not quite sure what to say or what to do. He wanted to make her laugh again, or at least smile.

He tried speaking again, but then she started walking away. Clearly, he had somehow hurt her feelings. He didn't quite sure know exactly what had done it, but at this point it didn't matter. ''Dex! Wait up!'', he called out and followed her. ''I'm sorry if I stepped over the line. I was just messing around.'' Not that he thought saying something like that was going to help his case, but he didn't want her to be mad. He grabbed her hand and tried pulling her back. ''I'm sorry, okay?'' His goofy expression was completely washed off his face and she was met with a pair of serious eyes.

[Dextra Phillips]

The thing was that Dextra wasn’t angry. She wasn’t plotting his downfall or how to kill him, she was just trying to get over the odd feeling she was having. She’d never felt uncomfortable like that because it was rare she even heard things like that. Now she wasn’t totally sheltered, but it was rare that she was put in a situation where someone was saying those things and looping them in with her. Like her in those outfits and her being the one in his bedroom. How did people react to that when they didn’t even know how to process it? No, she wasn’t angry, she was just thoroughly confused and she didn’t like feeling vulnerable about anything because she didn’t think there was much that could make her that way.

He started to say something, but she was walking and she couldn’t find it in herself to turn around. What would he say next? She couldn’t even come up with anything as an example. Everyone always mistook her for someone that at least knew what things like that were about, the mechanics, but she’d never been told the basics and it wasn’t like she had a mother to help her through it. Let’s just say the annual Talk in the auditorium next year would be a rude awakening if she didn’t learn anything between then and now.

She heard him following, but she didn’t slow, not that she sped up either. She just stayed at a constant pace, her mind blank of anything because she was still trying to figure out what she was feeling and why it felt so annoying. Parker’s hand reached out and he grabbed her, pulling her back as he apologized. Her eyes strayed up from staring straight forward to his face. She could clearly see he hadn’t meant to upset her, but she didn’t even know that she was upset. Dex couldn’t figure out what she was feeling. But she did know, she didn’t like feeling this way. “I-it’s fine. I know you didn’t mean it…” She trailed off and her eyes slid back down to the ground. Still, she didn’t know how to react to him. Dextra gnawed on her lower lip and she felt her ability taking the opportunity to tug at his clothing, the bottom of his shirt, his pant leg. It was like when a small child was trying to get someone’s attention, constantly tugging.

[Parker Matthews]

The way she looked at him caught him off guard. It was unexpected. He had expected her to be mad, but instead she seemed...He didn't really know how she seemed. Upset? No. Vulnerable? Definitely. Maybe more.. Uncomfortable? She looked down again and bit her lip, which didn't exactly make him feel any better about any of it. He could also feel her powers tugging at his clothes, but he couldn't quite figure out why. He could either joke it all away and bring her for some milkshake or something, or hug her. Though, he wasn't quite sure what she'd prefer. But seeing as his words had made her uncomfortable, he didn't know how much trouble a hug could cause him.

Parker wrapped his arm around her shoulder and gave her some sort of a awkward, half hug. One arm around her shoulder, and the other still holding her arm. He coughed awkwardly before pulling slightly away. He shook his head before putting on a smile. Besides, keeping her in this state would only worsen things, right? Heck if he knew. It wasn't like he knew much about these kinds of things. He didn't do this. He wasn't around for this part. He moved to her side and put his arm over her shoulders again and bumped into her playfully.

''So, you wanna go get something to eat?'', he asked and looked towards the school. They could either go to the cafeteria, or downtown. Though, that would kind of seem like they were on a date. and she probably wouldn't enjoy the idea of that. This was awkward enough as it was. He ruffled her hair and chuckled. ''Even you need to eat. Come on, buddy.'', he said and nudged her towards the school campus.

[Dextra Phillips]

Dextra wasn’t entirely sure what her ability was doing. Maybe searching for something to keep it busy? Maybe seeking some form of comfort? She didn’t know, but it didn’t happen very often and she didn’t know why it was happening now. If it was seeking comfort, she wasn’t sure why it’d be doing something like that when she was so uncomfortable in her own skin at the moment. Then again that could be why. Her subconscious mind was trying to tell her something by using her ability, but she was having difficulty figuring it all out. It made things really hard when you couldn’t even know what you were thinking which was exactly what it felt like when her ability started doing something out of her control. It continued to tug at his shirt until he was a little closer to her. She definitely hadn’t meant for that to happen.

He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and she started slipping back into a more comfortable mindset. Her eyes strayed up to his and she just arched an eyebrow. What kind of happy horseshit was this? It clearly wasn’t a hug, but it wasn’t like a handshake either. She just dropped the thought, incapable of really thinking clearly about that at the moment. Eventually he returned to a more natural state where just his one arm was around her and he bumped her. Dex didn’t want to admit it to anyone, not even herself, but she liked that he was trying to get her out of this weird mood she was in. And she kind of liked the way his arm wrapped around her shoulder.

He suggested they go get food and as soon as he said it, her stomach clenched as if it was trying to feed off of her fat content already. When she skipped out she had forgotten to get something to eat and with as much as they’d gone at it today, she was ravenous. “O-okay. Yeah, let’s go.” He nudged her again and she just walked forward, still keeping in step with him because for some reason she didn’t want to end up alone right now. Odd for her, but hey maybe it was progress? “No, not buddy. Just stop before you get yourself hurt,” She said trying to get back into the swing of things like they had been before. Dex looked up at him and offered a meek smile.