What's Up Buttercup? (Lux)

[Nathan Darwin]

Yay...school retreat...fun...blah. Nathan was pretty sure this retreat was going to be the suckiest one thus far. Seriously, ever other time he hang out with his friends or flirted hardcore with a bunch of the girls that were oggling at him. Ever since Willow ditched out on him, he hadn't quite been in the mood for flirting and hanging out with his friends. God knew he couldn't tell anyone why he was so off either. Not his friends, not a trustworthy girl, not even his own brother. He felt pathetic. This was why he refused to get involved emotionally, this was why he whored around. Girls always claimed that they were the only ones who got hurt and he called bull shit. If it was the right girl, they could drive a serrated knife into a guy's stomach and twist hard with just a few words.

Pfft, who needed relationships and that junk anyway? Nathan was going to stick with what he knew, which was how to flirt and get girls in bed after one conversation. Nick didn't have to know what was going on, Nate just hoped his brother didn't get hurt by Kadence because if Nick had to go through with this, he'd never trust another girl like that ever again. But Nate knew Kadi, she was a nice girl...god he hoped nothing bad happened to his brother's relationship. At least one of them should be happy, besides, Nick was older, it was his responsibility to be settled down by now. Nate was just a teenager, he had years to figure it out.

Walking around out by the lake, he started skipping rocks off of the water. It was something at least. He needed to do something to get his mind off of what was going on. Typically he'd be in the cabin raising hell with his boys, but this year, he just felt like straying away from them. They all thought he was whipped anyway, giving him a bunch of shit for falling for a girl, let alone one as 'damaged' as her. Boy if he heard any of that while he was here, he'd be sent home for beating the fuck out of people. Good way to get a call home so that he'd have to explain his reasoning. So the rocks would have to do as far as company went.

[Luxanna Viera]

Lux + Nature = Nothing good. Seriously, Lux had nothing against nature as long as she managed to keep both feet on the ground and without her face planted in the dirt. Which always happened. Several times. Over and over again. Yep. Lux should totally have stayed back at the school, because seriously. This was so not her place to be. She needed flat ground and probably a pair of training wheels. And it didn't exactly help much that there was a bunch of people she wanted to avoid, so keeping her eyes watching when they should have been planted on the ground wasn't exactly a good add into it all.

But, she was here and had to be here for several days. Complaining about it wasn't going to help, and even with all the crap, she was certain there had to come something good out of it all. She got to spend time with her friends, and sadly, people she didn't see as friend who kept invade her private bubble anyways. God, she had such a strange life. She had been so happy being this anti-social little creature who spent all her time doing school work and watching movies, but somehow, people just had to like her and become friends. Sure, she didn't mind all that much, because really, most of them were pretty cool. Like Oriel and Evony, and maybe Ellie. If they were friends.

Anyways. Finally managing to get some time on her out without Papa Bear hanging over her shoulder constantly, always making certain she didn't talk to 'He Who Should Not Be Named' and his brother, she found herself once again at the lake. Because Lux + Water = Drowning, and that was such a good idea. Yup. (Nope.) Lux trailed over to the pier and sat down at the edge, leaning back on her elbows and letting out a frustrated sigh. Dirt and water. And of course all the roots sent from hell didn't exactly lighten her mood.

A splashing sound coming from the side made her cock her head in the direction of the noise and of course, Fidel Castro himself showed up.

[Nathan Darwin]

Nathan hated being so off. He hated not being able to act like himself because of something that wasn't worth his pain. She wasn't worth anything to him anymore. If she wanted to be pissed off about something that he hadn't meant to do, or whatever it was that she decided to dump him for, she was nothing to him. Nathan didn't like having to write people out of his life because they decided he wasn't worth the effort. What happened to her being afraid that he'd stop liking her? Bet she didn't see it coming when she decided she didn't like him. (Though he still wasn't entirely sure of the reason that she called things quits.)

Nathan rubbed the back of his neck and started wandering around again, he was just about to head towards the pier when he noticed that someone else was already there. He hadn't even heard anyone approach, probably not that smart of him seeing as how it could have been like a serial killer or something. Or a bear. Either way, he probably should have been paying more attention to things, but he was so dazed.

Nate looked a little closer to see which of the students it was and was a little surprised to find Luxanna out here. Not to mention being all alone. She usually had someone attached to her hip. That guy that was like obsessed with her or something. He'd heard many varieties of the name, but he didn't know what his actual name was, not that it meant anything anyway. He started walking down the pier, figuring he might as well have some human interaction if he was going to be here for as long as they were. "Hey, what's up Buttercup?" He asked with a faint smile.

[Luxanna Viera]

Getting a little time on her own was nice. Having people follow her all over wasn't all that much fun when it happened 24/7. Sure, mostly it was just Oriel and she quite enjoyed his company. At least until he got into a fight. That part was what she hated. The way he felt like he had to constantly protect her dignity from anyone who came closer than a few feet. Well. She didn't really mind it all that much to be honest, because it was sort of touching, and she really did love him like a brother, and she'd probably be just as protective of him if their roles were switched.

She watched him come closer from the corner of her eye but didn't look up until he spoke. Buttercup...Seriously? Well, at this rate, she should probably have been used to all the nicknames she'd been given over the past months. ''Hi Nathan.'', she said, returning his smile. She didn't really mind Nathan all that much. He was cool and usually pretty nice. He was one of those cool kids, but it was nice getting the chance to talk to someone who wasn't either sickly overprotective or rude. At least this one had manners. ''How are you?'', she asked and leaned back on her elbows. He didn't really seem like his usual self.

[Nathan Darwin]

Nate didn't know what it was that made him come up with Buttercup for Lux's nickname that he typically stuck with whenever he saw her in the halls or in class. It just kind of came out at some point and he kept with it. Maybe it was because he found her kind of adorable in a way. Seriously, before Willow fucked with his mind (and before he even saw her that way), he'd been keeping tabs on Lux and often flirted with her whenever he was given a chance to. Who could blame him? She was beautiful, especially those eyes of hers. But he didn't pay any attention to that when he walked over to her because he wasn't himself today.

"Mind if I sit with you?" He asked before plopping down beside her. He rubbed the back of his neck and pulled his knees up to his chest, wrapping his arms around his legs. "I'm alright, how are you? Where's that friend of yours, the one that insists on giving me dirty looks whenever I say hi?" He asked with a short laugh. He was used to that look though, every guy that was protective of a girl he talked to gave him that look. Acting like he was some kind of dickwad that just went around using girls that were so perfect and virtuous. That wasn't Nathan though, he flirted with girls to make them feel pretty and he slept around with girls that didn't want anything serious.

[Luxanna Viera]

Being granted with innocence, naivety and loads of ignorance, Lux didn't see people as 'hot' or 'not hot', or 'pretty' or 'not pretty'. It wasn't in her nature to put people in genres, and honestly, looks didn't really matter to her. She was more or less oblivious to people's outer beauty. What she wasn't oblivious to however, was people's personalities. She quite enjoyed people who had beautiful and unique personalities, whether they were bad or not. Well, sure, she often caught herself being a little more judgmental about personalities than what she probably should be. But hey, at least she was tolerant enough to welcome most people. Just take a look at the people she was hanging with. ()

As she was about to reply, he sat down and she shook her head, letting a chuckle out. ''Doesn't look like I have much of a choice.'' Not that she minded anyways. The mentioning of her friend, made her take a quick glance around. She could never be too sure when Oriel decided to pop up and throw claims around. ''I escaped the tower, and I'm on the run. You're now officially my accomplice.'', she said with a grin. Even as much as she didn't mind Oriel's overprotective nature, it was nice having some time on her own, actually being able to talk to other people. ''And no chains, so I'm great.''

[Nathan Darwin]

Nathan sometimes wished he could look at other parts of people, aside from the appearance and more towards personality. Typically he did try to focus on both because though he was shallow, he also liked being around people that weren't total idiots or jerks (ironic since that was the group he often got placed in). With Willow, the first girl he ever really crushed on, looks hadn't played into things until later and by that time, it was slowly coming to an end. Luxanna was one of those girls who had a really awesome personality and it was topped off by great looks. Surely she had guys falling all over her, tripping over their tongues just to talk to her. She was a pretty solid package.

"Sorry, I guess you don't," He said with another short laugh. He saw her glance around and it caused him to laugh a little more genuinely. Nathan could only imagine how paranoid she must have been whenever she was alone. That guy really did appear out of nowhere sometimes. Then again, Nate was fairly oblivious so it could have been that, too. "An accomplice? Well damn, now he might just try and kick my ass. You realize that if he damages my face it's all your fault. How could you drag me into this?" He asked dramatically and nudged her with his shoulder. He refrained from making a comment about the chains though. Because...well..chains and whips must excite whatever her friend's name was.

[Luxanna Viera]

The topic of relationships and crushes was still quite the confusing thing to Lux, and she didn't really know what to make of it all. On one side, she had learned that sex was meaningless and relationships were a no go, on the other side, she had learned she should stay a virgin forever and get twenty-seven cats to keep her accompanied. And then there was all the other confusing feelings mixed in with those two and it got pretty messy after that. God, she really needed someone mature and experienced to talk to about all of this, and not someone who seemed to be trying to get into her pants or keep her from ever looking at a guy. Or one of those who kept feeling her up. Anyways!

''Oh yes, your poor face.'', she said and rolled her eyes, still grinning. ''Don't worry, I'll protect you from the big bad wolf.'' Not that she really thought Oriel would actually end up hitting him or anything, because Nathan didn't seem to be dumb enough to edge someone who was already pissy further on, like certain someone else seemed to love doing. Well, at least Nathan didn't get her drunk or tried pissing Oriel off on purpose, so he was off to a good start. For now anyways. One could never really know about Oriel these days. It was rather adorable, their little brother/sister relationship.

''So, what are you doing out here all alone?'' Wasn't he typically surrounded by his friends and girls? Maybe the world was ending. That would surely be interesting.

[Nathan Darwin]

Uh, yeah, she had a fucked up view on that sort of thing. Whoever was giving her information was way off balance or something. Though he was kind of in agreement with the relationships being stupid and pointless thing. At least, for now. It didn't help that he had just gotten his heart broken for the first time and he was a teeeensy bit sore from it. Well, hey, at least he was being sensible and didn't go off doing something stupid with his friends that could get him sent home or into serious trouble. Over all, he wasn't quite sure about the whole relationship/love front of things. Sex, he knew, the other stuff was completely foreign to him and he was still trying to figure it out.

"My face happens to be the money-maker, Buttercup. Gotta bring in the cash somehow," He kept from making the inappropriate comment of using his body to make cash for her benefit. Not to mention, he didn't find it as funny at the moment. "You sure you can take on the overbearingly protective guy all on your own? He might try to keep you quiet and hide you somewhere." Because that was totally likely. He would try his best not to get on Oriel's bad side though. The last thing he really wanted was to get into a fight. Because he wasn't a fighter to begin with and besides, fighting led to bad things and hurt body parts. He didn't really feel like going through that.

Her question had him looking away, out towards the water. "Just needed some time away to think and stuff. You know how you're followed around by one suffocatingly attached guy? Well imagine that in like fifteen people a little more watered down, but just as annoying." He shook his head and sighed, "It's not all it's cracked up to be."

[Luxanna Viera]

''Then please explain why you're still in school and not off somewhere driving a Lamborghini Gallardo, or a ferrari even.'', she said with a smirk. Sure, his face was good looking and all, if you cared about that stuff anyways. ''Then again... You can't be making that much money.'' It felt really strange for Lux to be teasing someone. It wasn't....quite her thing. ''Of course I can. I'm here, aren't I?'' Well, truth be told, Oriel was that bad, and she got her space whenever she needed it. But it was still a little comical how it seemed like if he could, he'd totally put her up in a tower, lock the door and throw away the key. And it wasn't like she'd let Oriel hit him either way. She had already stopped him from hitting someone once, she was fairly sure she could do it again.

''I can relate.'', she said with a faint smile. She didn't really blame him either, after all, constantly having people around was tiring and it was nice getting away every once in a while, no matter if these people were nice or not. It got annoying nonetheless. ''Well, good thing you have the entire forest more or less to yourself then.'' Lux didn't really have that choice. Trees and roots seemed to be plotting against her, trying to make sure they did everything to ruin her day. Sometimes, she really hated being clumsy. But then again, she kind of asked for it when she decided to come here.

[Nathan Darwin]

"The rents are makin' me get a good education before I go off to be a famous underwear model. Pfft, parents, right?" He laughed and shook his head. Nah, he didn't really want to be an underwear model, he wanted to be a swimmer in the Olympics, but that was highly unlikely. He was good and all, but that was above his ability level by a lot. So he'd settle for a swim coach or something. Kind of like his older brother went for football coaching. As much as he loved football, it wasn't his strong point. Swimming was where he excelled the most it seemed.

Nathan pursed his lips and nodded, "Good point. How you managed to escape is beyond me. That guy is like insane." Then again, he didn't know him as well as she seemed to so he couldn't be sure what the relationship was like there. It was kind of like him and Nick in a way. They treated each other like crap in front of people, and even when they were alone, but they'd both do anything for the other. Maybe it was the same for Lux and this guy? "I'm sure he's cool to you though, I mean otherwise there wouldn't be a point in hanging out with him right?" Unless she was one of those girls that couldn't get out of a relationship like that. He knew one girl that had gone through it and she was one of the strongest girls he knew.

He sighed and chewed on the inside of his cheek. It was frustrating having everyone around him constantly. They were like leeches, clinging to him for his popularity. If it was his choice he wouldn't have been popular, but he fell into that lifestyle because of his brother. He was a Darwin, everyone loved the Darwins. "Sometimes it feels like even with all of this free space, and places to hide out, they still manage to find me. I'm surprised no one followed me out here." Especially one of those girls that were always looking to rip his clothes off...fucking creepy if you asked him. Though he'd never admit it to his brother that having girls practically tackling him creeped him out at times. He'd think he was gay.

[Luxanna Viera]

''Well, good for them. At least they have some sense in them'', she said with a smirk. Underwear model? Yeah, good luck. Not that she doubted he'd be able to, but she was more than certain he could do a lot better. He was a smart guy, and from what Lux had heard, he was also a good swimmer. She didn't doubt he'd get far if he just believed in himself and worked hard for it. It didn't really take much once you had your mind in for something. But what did she know, she was as naive as they get.

She turned to look at Nathan again, her eyes narrowed. ''Insane? Nah.'' She found it a little strange how everyone seemed to assume that Oriel was such a weird character. Because really, he was the sweetest and most caring (in his own way) boy she knew. And that was one of the reasons she loved him as much as she did. If the roles were switched, she'd probably act like a total, crazy mama bear. ''Oh, he's more than cool.'', she said with a smile. ''If people took their time actually getting to know him before judging they'd see that too.'' But she wasn't going to get into it. She didn't quite understand the whole thing herself.

She nodded at what he was saying, remaining silent until he was done, and then she let her gaze run towards the water. ''Then why don't you just tell them you want to be alone?'' Even if she could relate, she actually enjoyed having Oriel follow her around. And she wouldn't have minded him coming whenever she wanted some free time and space, because being around Oriel was easy. It wasn't complicated and it wasn't really tiring. Sure, being alone was nice too, but she didn't mind it. So she could relate somewhat, and somewhat not. It confused her. ''I mean, if you don't like them following you around, let them know. Don't be a doormat.''

[Nathan Darwin]

"Sense, ha, right," Oh yeah, his parents were very sensible people. So much that his mother called him every day to make sure that her little man was doing well and to tell him how much she missed him. Being the baby of the family was a pain in the ass sometimes. He couldn't wait until he was Nick's age so that he didn't have to worry about his parents worrying about what he was doing all the time. The less they knew, the better as far as he was concerned. Besides, they couldn't possibly be interested in knowing of the activities he would partake in.

Nathan nodded at her explanation and shrugged, "Seems fair enough. I mean it's not like anyone has much room to judge him if they don't know anything about him or why he acts the way he does." Nate often fell into making snap judgments, but he often tried not to. Sometimes it was justified, at least, when people made snap judgments about him. He could relate to people thinking Oriel was something he wasn't because he got called things that he wasn't at times too. Even by the people that were supposedly his friends. It didn't bother him though, why should it?

He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. That was just the problem, he was a doormat. It didn't matter who it was, people walked all over him because he tried keeping people happy. There were times that he didn't stand for it, but that was mostly with people he was close with. Like Nick. Otherwise, he didn't say very much. "I've tried telling them that I need time to myself, but then they just laugh because they think I'm joking. Or they call me a pussy or something," He frowned, such great friends he had.