Counting Stars (Open)

[Luxanna Viera]

It was dark, very, very dark. The only source of light was the school building rising up against the sky and the million clouds covering the heavens like a bright, sparkly veil. Lux pursed her lips as she rubbed her cold hands together. Whenever she opened her mouth to breathe, a white cloud appeared from the tip of her lips and then it disappeared into the darkness. It was cold, there was no doubt about it.

Lux pulled her coat tighter around herself and leaned slightly back. The air was fresher than what it had been back home and she found herself enjoying it more and more for each day. Before she came here, Lux had never imagined that she would ever fit in, or even like it. But to her own surprise she had grown to love this place. Both the school and the people inside it. Sure, there had been a few bumps in the road here and there, and even a little heart ache, but she couldn't really complain. After all, she finally got the chance to live the life of a teenager and not some precious little doll.

With snow in her hair and her hands red from the cold, Lux put her headphones on and turned her gaze upwards.

Lately, I've been, I've been losing sleep
Dreaming about the things that we could be
But baby, I've been, I've been praying hard,
Said, no more counting dollars
We'll be counting stars, yeah we'll be counting stars

I see this life like a swinging vine
Swing my heart across the line
And my face is flashing signs
Seek it out and you shall find
Old, but I'm not that old
Young, but I'm not that bold
I don't think the world is sold
I'm just doing what we're told
I feel something so right
Doing the wrong thing
I feel something so wrong
Doing the right thing
I could lie, coudn't I, could lie
Everything that kills me makes me feel alive

And as the song continued, she closed her eyes, enjoying the cold wind against her reddening cheeks.

[Nathan Darwin]

So much insanity. All of it was just getting so out of hand. The constant feeling of suffocation. Feeling alone, but never being alone. It wasn't getting any easier. Mr. Popularity was not so fond of his title anymore. He was sick of being just another Darwin. Not even the good one. Everyone just saw him as Nick's mini-me. But though Nathan was very similar to his brother, he also had a lot of differences. At least, he thought he did. The truth of the matter was, he loved his brother, but he didn't want to be his mini-me anymore. It had been cool way back when he was growing up, but he was almost eighteen. He was almost an adult.

With a sigh, he walked out into the courtyard in a letterman over his thick hoody and dark jeans. Anything to keep him warm, though he was adapting quite nicely to the cold. It could have been worse. It was cold enough to clear his mind, but not enough to make him want to just shut himself off in his room again. Hey, it beat being swarmed by people that had no idea who he was. The closest thing he had to anyone that had seen past his jockness recently had been Benny. The kid was nice, pretty chill and overall a good kid. Nathan found that he liked his company more than most of his friends.

And then there was Luxanna. His little Buttercup, a ball of innocence that wasn't quite so oblivious to the likes of him. She saw right through that peacock facade he put on. The thought caused him to smile and he shook his head. He'd been avoiding her lately. Mostly because he didn't want the questions that she might ask. Heck, if she even noticed.

He glanced up from the ground to the sky and just before his eyes lifted high enough, he caught sight of someone bundled up, looking towards the sky as well. Upon getting closer he realized who it was, and he knew that if she saw him, he'd never be able to just bolt. So he pulled his hood up and shoved his hands in his pockets, just about to walk past her when his phone fell from his pocket and into the snow.

Beautiful.

[Luxanna Viera]

Lux was well aware of her rumor of being innocent, oblivious and even ignorant to everything around her. She didn't really mind, though. She was who she was and she wasn't one for going around feeling insecure about herself. No, Lux was fairly happy with who she was, even if she had lots and lots to learn about this world where people conversed with each other.

She didn't hear the footsteps growing closer because of the headphones, but she could clearly see the shape forming at the corner of her eye. It was either a really broad girl, or a dude. She kind of put her bets on the latter. She shifted her glance downwards, trying to recognize the person's face in the dim light. Which was kind of hard.

Lux pulled out her headphones without much movement, other than her hand and rested her hands in her lap. She cocked her head to the side and her beanie almost fell off. ''Watch out, your phone might get a virus.'' He-he, she was hilarious. And odd...

[Nathan Darwin]

Nathan just stared down at his phone that was now in the snow. Probably going to be damaged severely with as long as he just looked at it. Could it get much worse? Probably. With a frown and his jaw clenched, he reached down to pick it up, still avoiding looking at her. If he could keep her from seeing him, he was going to do just that. His hood was blocking his face for the most part, which was nice, but if she saw the letterman...with his last name stamped in bold letters on the back...he was a goner anyway.

Upon standing up, he knew that she'd catch at least a glimpse of his face. There was no hiding it when he looked at her because she spoke. He figured he'd been caught already, there was no point shielding his face anymore. Nate slid his hood down and tried wiping his phone clean of the water and snow. He had been so close...yet fate was just tempting him now. Damn thing.

Nathan wouldn't look at her face, he kept his eyes cast down and nodded slowly in response. She always had been quirky. It was what made her so adorable. "Hey there, Buttercup," he finally looked up and graced her with a smile. It wasn't her fault she was intuitive afterall, so why should he keep avoiding her when she'd done nothing wrong. If anything, she was one of the few people he could stand to be around anymore.

[Luxanna Viera]

Lux didn't realize who it was until he pulled his hood off and turned to face her. And as she recognized his face, her lips turned upwards and she stood up. She blamed the dim light for not realizing sooner. But she did notice his strange behavior however. The way he kept his eyes on the phone as if it was a naked girl. Touching, rubbing, swiping. Ok, she wasn't even going to go further into that. But Lux also knew better than to question people's strange behavior. She had learned that the hard way. It was way better for them to come to her, rather than her digging into things people would rather keep buried. That made sense, right?

Luckily for her, Nate finally decided to turn towards her and greet her with a smile. She would have smiled back if it wasn't for that insanely idiotic nickname which made her purse her lips and narrow her eyes into a grimace. ''Classy.'', she said with a puff and folded her hands on her back, swinging slightly side to side.

Though, Lux was happy about the darkness (And the beanie, of course) hiding her newly colored blonde hair. Which according to herself was a stupid mistake that happened in the heat of the moment.

[Nathan Darwin]

Her reaction to his nickname for her caused him to smile wider and he rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry, Luxxy, old habits and all that." And it also helped that ya know, she was cute enough to be a little buttercup. He couldn't deny that she would always be his favorite girl, quiet and awkward as she was. He found himself feeling a tit bit over-protective of those types and he also felt the need to help them with their social ineptness. That being said, he didn't want to change the girls that were shy and awkward. They were the ones that he found were the most genuine.

"Don't be mad, Butterc- Lux!. You know I only call you that out of the goodness of my heart," He smiled again and shoved his hands in his pockets. Well this was awkward, he felt like he should have just picked up his phone and bolted when he had the chance. This wasn't going very well, but he had to admit, he was glad she hadn't asked him anything serious yet. Though when she did, he'd probably want to slip away first chance he got.

God, what would she even ask? He rocked back and forth on his heels and sighed, "Anyway, how are ya, kid?" Because ya know, she was soooo much younger than him. It wasn't his fault, it was a force of habit. All these habits would be his downfall one day.

[Luxanna Viera]

''...Luxxy isn't any better...'', she grumbled under her breath. Seriously, what was it with all these nicknames? Princess, Luxxy, Buttercup.... Grumble, grumble. Okay, so maybe she didn't hate it that much... And if she knew about his over-protective need, she'd push him off a cliff and tell him to stick a sock in it! (Not really. She was way too nice for that, and it wasn't like she minded or anything...) ''Hey, I have an idea. Let's call me LUX. That's my name, in case you didn't know.'', she said with a pout. ''...Then again, information do tend to pass thick-heads by...'', she whispered, mostly to herself.

''Uh-huh.'', she said, nodding slowly all the while trying her best to force forth a glare of some kind, but it probably looked more like a grimace of some sort. ''Well then, Pretty Boy, what are you lurking around here for? Looking for another victim to savage with your horrible nicknames?'', she said, smiling. Lux wasn't one to keep the smile away for too long, luckily for him.

...Kid... Man, he just wouldn't give her a break, would he? ''Oh you know, playing with my dollies and planning my next tea-party. What about you, old man?'' Yup, two people could play that game. She stepped forward with a smirk on her face and shook her head. ''You're such a twerp.'' She gave his shoulder a nice, good and overly rough clap. Because she was strong like the Hulk. Or something.

[Nathan Darwin]

So snappy, tsk tsk. He just rolled his eyes at her, trying not to laugh. She was so full of sass that it was really difficult not finding it amusing. She just got all huffy and flustered and it just made her look like a little vicious kitten! But he knew better than to laugh and point those things out to her. Especially now because she'd probably claw his eyes out....literally. So he kept his amusement to himself and settled for nodding along with her little spouts of ranting. Just so dang adorable. Maybe not as innocent as everyone thought, but that didn't take away from the adorkableness that made her up.

Her pretty boy comment made him smile wider, "I'm flattered that you think such things about my face, but I'm actually just passing through. Or well...I was just passing through. Until I dropped my phone which is probably all kinds of fucked up now." He shrugged and ran his hand through his hair again. He could feel the flakes dampening it and he frowned. Snow really wasn't his favorite thing in the world. Even growing up here, he still hated it and all of it's damp, coldness.

"D'aw, how cute. I can totally picture that, you having all your favorite dolls lined up around a table," He laughed and shook his head. When she placed her hand on his arm, he winced and rolled his shoulder, "Damn girl. Been workin' out? Taking roids? Those things aren't good for you, I'll have you know." Nah, he didn't really believe she was taking steroids, if anything a tranquilizer, but not those kinds of steroids. "How'd you enjoy the rest of the retreat?"

[Luxanna Viera]

His comment had her rolling her eyes. Of course he'd go all cocky idiot on her. She didn't really mind it though, it was fun bantering with him like this. Mostly because unlike certain other people, he didn't get all pissy about it. ''Poor baby.'', she replied and looked at his phone. ''Should do something about that clumsiness of yours.'' Oh yeah, because she was sooo much better with that. God, she had lost count over all the times she hurt herself because her poor balance.

And as Nate continued rambling on, all Lux could do was letting out a chuckle and shake her head. ''You're such a goof.'', she said and rolled her eyes once more. And then there was the question she'd prefer to avoid. Certain things she'd rather forget all about had happened at the retreat, and she surely wasn't going to discuss that with Nate out of all people. Besides, they had agreed to keep it a secret. ''Err... It was...Okay.'' Yes, that had to do. Now she just had to change the subject. Quickly. ''Don't you just love the snow?'', she asked and looked upwards, smiling as the snowflakes landed on her skin and melted.

''It's almost like it's raining cotton.'', she mused and closed her eyes.