First Impressions [Lucas]

[Kate Warren]

The hectic schedule that was Kate's life had been oddly reasonable lately. It was not currently track season, so her conditioning had slowed down considerably. Ballet was still her top priority and took up much of her time, but that never changed. Schoolwork was reasonable. So, today after classes, Kate had time to kill. She retreated to her dorm room and considered what to do with this valuable time. She could study to get ahead in classes that she was already ahead in, go to the gym, or do something for entertainment. She decided on the third option, which was a rare choice.

It had been a long time since she'd taken time to relax. Kate dropped off her book bag at her dorm and quickly changed from her school clothes into something more casual: a dark gray Lynyrd Skynyrd shirt with long, faded red sleeves, a gray canvas jacket, lightly ripped jeans, and black sneakers. She had no limits to her style of clothing, and this attire represented the more alternative side to her bubbly personality. She pulled a gray beanie over her long dark hair and checked her makeup in the mirror, applying some chapstick to her lips on her way out the door.

The drive downtown was short, and slightly entertaining as Kate sang along to the radio. She arrived at one of her favorite places to study, where in this case she would kill time. She entered the Velvet-Tone Coffee House with a smile plastered on her face. First impressions are very important in her world. Upon approaching the counter, Kate ordered some hot black tea and a blueberry muffin. The muffin wasn't particularly healthy, but some extra carbs wouldn't kill her. She chose to sit in one of the private booths in the back, leaving the curtain open and sitting cross legged in the comfortable seat.

Kate took off her jacket to get more comfortable and pulled a book out of her bag, one of her favorites: The Great Gatsby. She began reading it for the hundredth time, her mind drifting into Jay Gatsby's world of money, ambitions, and greed. She was sipping her tea and eating a bite of her muffin when a shadow caught her attention and there was a stranger suddenly sitting across from her.

"Hello," she said with a smile. "Do I know you?" Normally someone might be freaked out by the sudden presence of a stranger, but she was always eager to meet new people.

[Lucas Blacke]

Why in the name of all hell was he here? He knew what caffeine did to him so he avoided everything with coffee in the name like the plague, to him, coffee was equal to caffeine to the point he just saw a big biohazard sign on every cup, leaving him wondering and slightly jealous when seeing people drinking the liquid. Still, he was pretty much forced to go to the coffeehouse as the gym a small walk away hadn't opened yet. Luckily he was forced to, otherwise he'd have never found out that there was a giant assortment of not-caffeine in a coffee based joint.

He had taken some tea like the girl in front of him. He was nearly positive he'd seen this one at school at least once or twice. How could he miss this one? Sure, she was covered up and everything but the picture still pleased him. Nothing told him he couldn't get some practice in even without a gym.

He looked at the girl before him and stared into her eyes as she asked him if she knew him. Of course she didn't, but if Luke had anything to say about it that fact would soon change. He waited before saying anything and took a casual sip of his tea, he didn't like the taste of it but tea was something he could down without getting hopped up. Luckily it wasn't like an addiction either.

A smile was thrown at her. ''The real question is where ya have been all my life. With that cute look an' all, makes me wonder what I've been missin' out on.'' He joked and stuck out his hand due to him being seated and not being able to bow down like he would normally do what introducing himself. For some reason always accompanied with a joke.

''Lucas Blacke, at yer cervix.''

''-service.''

[Kate Warren]

Kate watched the boy in front of her with an amused smile on her face, idly pulling a piece off of the top of her muffin and popping it into her mouth. Her eyebrows raised and she shook her head at his words, laughing softly to hide how uncomfortable it made her feel. She was usually the one who always knew exactly what to say, who kept the conversation interesting, but when it came to flirting she was lost, especially when it was being directed at her.

She politely took his hand and briefly shook it, careful to fight off the deep urge to learn something about this boy through the brief touch. It would be so easy, but against her morals to invade on his life like that. It was no way to make new friends. She pulled her hand away and shifted in her seat, setting her book down in front of her and pulling her legs up to sit cross legged in the booth.

"Missing out on, hmm? I don't know about that." Kate said lightly, taking a sip of tea and tilting her head as she watched him.

His introduction made her freeze. She stared at him with wide, startled blue eyes and her mouth hanging slightly open. For the first time in her life, Kate Warren was speechless. After a moment of awkward silence she broke out of her shock and decided that he would no longer have this affect on her. Two could play at this game.

"Nice to meet you, Lucas Blacke. I'm Kate Warren. Do you always try to make this kind of first impression, or am I a special case?" Kate gazed at the attractive boy in front of her, a smirk curling up the corner of her lips.

"You kind of look familiar, are you sure we haven't met before?" She asked, not just to change the subject but because she was actually curious. Then with a shake of her head and a playful wink said, "Actually, nevermind. I definitely would have remembered those eyes."

[Lucas Blacke]

The introduction that came from her was refreshing, it'd been quite some time since he had heard anyone using both their first and last name like he did. She had just earned points without even realizing it, not counting her looks, mind you. What also caused him to hesitate a moment was the reaction that came after that, his joke had been addressed and playfully returned by mentioning his eyes.

''We..-'' He was ready to respond when he suddenly reminded himself of the fact she was probably just playing. But in the off case she wasn't this would turn out to be a very short visit to the coffeehouse and he wouldn't even get to go to the gym. That'd be a fun idea. ''I do have stellar eyes.'' He rebuttled without thinking twice. She wouldn't outflirt him, he had an image to maintain even if that image hurt him.

He blinked rapidly at her and teasingly smiled her way as he did so as he thought about if they had met before. It'd be pretty epic if they had, though that chance was pretty small as Luke would have definitely talked to her in some way. How would they have been seeing each other anyway? It wasn't like he left Hammel all that-

''Yer a student, ain'tcha? Hammel?'' He finally pieced together. ''Please say yes, would give me the time to really get to know ya. My portfolio has been lackin' hot girls lately, and ya seem more than good 'nough to fill up the gaps.''

[Kate Warren]

Her quest to have some quality time to herself was quickly turning into her falling into the dangerous waters of flirting with the opposite sex, where she had very little experience. She barely had time for a social life, let alone dating. The whole idea seemed terribly illogical to her. Kate could figure out the value of x, analyze literary works of Shakespeare and Thoreau, and name covalent bonds, but she had no idea how to understand emotions, not even her own.

As she watched this Lucas Blacke, she began to think of him as foreign territory that would present a challenge, and Kate never backed down from a challenge. Her competitive nature was too strong. How much harm could a little adventure cause, anyways? Kate offered an amused smile when he agreed with her compliment, suppressing the urge to roll her eyes. At least he was confident.

"As a matter of fact I am," she said. "Get to know me? Well, you'd already know quite a bit about me if you'd pay attention." She teased and pointed to her book.

"I like to read, obviously," she glanced to her drink. "I am an avid caffeine addict, but tea provides a nice substitute."

Kate pulled her jacket apart to show the band t-shirt that he wore underneath. "I usually don't listen to music post 2000's. Oh, and I eat carbs. Sometimes." She ate the last bit of her muffin and gave a conclusive nod.

"What more do you need to know? Now tell me something about yourself, other than the fact that you don't like tea, which I am assuming is true because you have hardly touched yours since you've sat down to grace me with your company."

[Lucas Blacke]

Wow. She was an open one. He guessed she didn't like smalltalk. But if she wanted to move fast that was fine by him, he'd just do the same, though maybe in a different manner. He had been nodding at everything she said and made mental notes in case he had to say something in return or a joke occcured to him. Within reasonable context. And just in case he would comment on the thing he wanted a reaction on last. How she responded to that reaction he had already mapped out would say quite a lot about her.

''The great Gatsby..'' He slowly said as she pointed at the book she had been reading with the comment he'd know enough about her if he'd paid attention. Clearly she didn't know him because he had been paying attention. What he figured out was that she was a girl, looked hot and had boobs. This was pretty much everything he needed to keep a conversation going. Yet she had continued with telling some things about herself.

''I know of the book, haven't ever read it though.'' And before she could say anything about how bad that was or that he didn't read or anything he added ''But that don't mean I don't read! I'll have ya know the last book I read was The divine comedy By Alighieri, an ancient 13th century poet.''

''An' tell ya something 'bout myself...'' He sighed. ''Bah, this shit would be lots easier if ya had retrocognition.'' For some reason that one sprung to mind because someone in his past had it and, while she didn't like it Luke could clearly see what it could be used for if under control.

''Touch and see memories? Yes sir.'' He nodded gently.

''Oh an' kissin' me is off the table. I know yer just dyin' to jump me right here.'' He joked. ''Alas, caffeine an' me don't mix.''

[Kate Warren]

Kate continued to avoid acknowledging his flirtatious remarks. She might be naive when it came to sexual relations, she wasn't one to just crawl into bed with the first guy who called her pretty.

"You should read it. It's marvelous." She stroked the spine of the book fondly. The cover was worn and the pages were discolored from years of use. She had small notes in the margins of the pages, analyzing every word and concept. She identified with the lifestyle that Gatsby entertained, the meaningless fortune and the tragic love story. Her obsession with the book was one that she didn't even fully understand.

"Ah, Alighieri." She said with a fond smile. "'The man who lies asleep will never waken fame, and his desire and all his life drift past him like a dream, and the traces of his memory fade from time like smoke in air, or ripples on a stream.'” The quote was passed her lips before she could stop it. He must think she's so incredibly lame. For the first time, Kate felt insecure about her knowledge.

When he mentioned retrocognition her smile faded and her eyebrows creased. How did he know that she was a retrocog? Did he know her? She hadn't given any indication that she was one. Did he read minds? Oh, no. She hoped he couldn't read minds.

"Is that a joke, coincidence, or did you actually know I have retrocognition?" She asked, then shook her head. Hell of a coincidence that was.

The joke he followed brought laughter from her lips. This guy just wouldn't quit. "Who said I wanted to kiss you? Unless you really do read minds. If that's the case, I am not responsible for what my subconscious may or may not want to do with or to you."

[Lucas Blacke]

Holy hell she had retrocognition? And she just shook his hand?! This was something Karalie hadn't done all that often, not even with someone she did know, let alone some random guy at a coffeehouse. He needed to let this sink in for a bit. All she said had been cool and all, but a retrocog who wasn't afraid to touch stuff? Granted, he only knew of one but the thought still left him flabbergasted.

''Retr..- Yer a..- Wh-'' He was having trouble forming coherent thoughts as he looked at the hand she had just shaken and poked it to see if it wasn't a dream and his hand was made of an inorganic substance. But even if it was she would have seen a memory, right? Karalie had it on both people and things, so why wouldn't she? Why didn't she? Did she? Had she seen a memory of him during the handshake and hadn't told him?

Why was this such a big deal? Big enough to make him ignore all the other things she said, even the part about the kissing and how what she said made him assume she did want to kiss him. He'd normally be all over that, but something about a cute girl with retrocognition got him thinking of other things.

''Y-ya have retrocognition..?'' He stumbled over his own words and looked at her in disbelief. For someone so full of himself at times he was easily slammed off of his pedestal, he realized. ''So..''

He put his hand flat on the table for her to grab.

[Kate Warren]

His surprised and consuming reaction caught her off guard. Kate's smile faded into concern as he stuttered when she admitted that her power was retrocognition. What was this reaction? Horror? Fear? Awe? She leaned forward and put her hands in her lap, as if it would make him calm down knowing she was far away from his touch.

"I'm sorry, is this a problem? She said, her eyebrows creased. She could not read minds, so she was blind to what he was feeling. When he looked at her hands, she remembered there brief handshake prior to this conversation and suddenly smiled. Oh, that's what he must be freaking out about.

"Don't worry, Lucas. I didn't use it on you earlier. I use my powers for good, not evil." She said, bringing back a lighthearted joke into their exchange. "I've only used it a few times without consent, but not anymore. I have self control." She assured him, nodding at her statement. She didn't want her power to scare him off.

When he reached out his hand, which she assumed was for her to take, she shook her head cautiously.

"Are you sure?" She said, but she knew that he was. She took a deep breath and reached out, gently cupping his one hand in both of hers. Kate closed her eyes and let herself see...

The images were fuzzy at first, but they grew clearer as she dug deeper. It was a little boy with dark blonde hair and striking blue eyes, sitting on a wooden bench and pounding on the black and white keys of a grand piano. "No, not like that. Like this." And older man who appeared next to him said, and started to play a pretty melody.

Kate opened her eyes and smiled, thanking her power for not making her see something she shouldn't. "Piano, hmm? I used to play, too. Who was that man?" She let go of his hand when she realized that she still held it.

[Lucas Blacke]

Piano, man. This was an obvious memory and one of the few that made him happy. He was glad she saw that one and not the bad ones. ''That man was my uncle. He pretty much raised me.'' He said in a mix of both sadness and joy. ''When my parents mentally abandoned me he stepped up an' did the things my parents wouldn't.'' He reminisced about the good times instead of the bad, it had been a while since he had done that and all it took was someone with retrocognition, like this was meant to be or something.

He smiled and went on. ''He clothed me, fed me, all that jazz. We hung out, he teached me stuff, I taught him stuff. He really was the father I never had.'' He said, still with his hand on the table, he was aware it was and quite honestly, he wanted her to see more memories of him. She diddn't hesitate to take a look where someone else did, like she was okay with the notion of peeking into someone elses life.

'''Till I went to Hammel. 'Course there had to be a downside to it all. Everthin' has to end sometime, right?'' He tried for a smile but the sadness was apparent. ''He passed not even a year in an' my good for nothin' parents didn't even tell me, so I wasn't able to attend the funeral of the guy who made me feel at home.'' Apparently opening up to someone meant having people delve into his life and ask him questions about it, he'd never tell her what he was telling her right now otherwise.

He sighed at the mere thought before looking at his hand and smiling at her. ''My hand is still there, I'm up for some more non-verbal bonding.'' He joked despite knowing he'd talk her ears off when given the opportunity.

''I hope ya don't mind me bein' forward, but this whole bein' okay with retrocognition shit is refreshin'. Too long have I been tryin' to get someone to surpress it, truth is I think it is an awesome power an' ya shouldn't hide it.''

[Kate Warren]

One of the benefits of her power was the ability to offer help to people who wanted it, and she was never one to deny someone in need, especially if she was well equipped to help them. When Lucas spoke of his parents, her smile disappeared and her eyes showed pity. She knew exactly what it was like to have parents who didn't give a shit. Sure, her parents were hard on her, but at the same time they didn't care about her as an individual. They cared about having a perfect daughter who didn't damage the family name, and that was all. If she died they would probably be thankful that they no longer had a bad seed in their family tree.

"It was good that you had somebody to guide you and love you like he did." Kate said carefully with a slow nod as she reached out and took his hand, not to see memories but to give it an affectionate squeeze. If he was getting help from this, then she had no problem using her power, even if they had just met. Maybe it was easier for him to open up because she was a stranger, because she had no idea who he was.

"The important thing is that you had so many great and memorable years with him that I'm sure he never forgot." She said, shaking her head sadly when he said that his parents never told him. "I don't know what to say. That is truly awful." She saw the way he smiled, trying to mask whatever sadness he might be feeling. She didn't want to push, but she still held his hand to let him know she was there.

"I don't mind using it. For some people it's refreshing, being able to show instead of describe what they've been through, or both in your case." She said, wishing she could do the same. Her power was strictly one-sided.

Kate nodded when he offered the chance to see more, but first pulled a few pills out of her purse and swallowed them for the creeping migraine that was starting to show up. It'd be suppressed soon. She took his hand and once again closed her eyes.

This memory wasn't so far into the past. The boy lay shirtless and glistening with sweat on the bench, pushing up the bar and counting. His chest heaved and his muscles rippled and strained under his skin. When he was finished, he sat up and took a drink of water from the bottle that lay on the ground near him. He was spent.

Kate jolted back to reality and opened her eyes wide, embarrassed at what she had to tell him she just saw. The most embarrassing part was how much she had enjoyed it.

"So, you like to work out?" She said with a smirk and playful eyes.

[Lucas Blacke]

The way that she reached out for his hand made him almost want to let loose all together as the mere touch of her hand combined with the knowledge she had retrocognition was enough to make him act withoutb any spoken word. She didn't mind touching him even if it meant grabbing his memories, what was even more, she held his hand just to show him she was there and even squeezed it a little.

What had begun out as a mere way to kill time and have some fun with a stranger had quickly turned into him falling for a girl he didn't even know existed untill a few minutes ago. So was this too fast? Did he see it as a second chance for him to fix what he had broken? Or did he actually see a shot at happiness? He mulled it over constantly even as she pulled some pills out of her purse and was stuck at the thought the maybe, just maybe he did see something. Even if she didn't and saw it as nothing more than a budding friendship he still saw it as more than that. He saw it as a way to open up, get to know her, perhaps more than that even.

Her words had an understanding tone to them, empathic at times, like she knew what he had gone through. That much he could see in her face, there was a bit of recognition there. But despite that she didn't mention anything and avoided talking about herself as she took his hand once more. She really wanted to get to know him, it seemed, and he didn't mind this way of telling about himself in the slightest. In his opinion, being able to put an image to a story made it all the more lively.

When she closed her eyes Luke had to fight back the urge to use his thumb to rub the back of her hand and instead just shifted uneasily as he again remembered he was being touched by a retrocog, and out of her own free will no less. It was an awesome feeling, an awesome power, an awesome girl. He felt himself losing track of time just spending time with her even if she didn't.

''I do.'' He replied as she asked him if he worked out with a smirk. ''Certain things have prevented me from working out as much, but I still do often enough.'' He told her as he wondered what her smirk was about, usually he was handing those out but this time it seemed he was on the receiving side. ''I actually have a membership in the gym a lil' bit from 'ere if ya know it? Could see if I can share if yer interested?'' He suggested as what she would have seen suddenly hit him.

''Liked what ya saw, didn't ya?'' He joked with a wink.

[Kate Warren]

It might be surprising to some that Kate had never seriously dated anyone before. She'd been on a couple awkward first dates that she had wanted to end as soon as they began, and of course experienced those obligatory goodbye kisses that came with a first date, but she had never experienced a real relationship. She always told herself that it was because she didn't have the time for one, but the issues were much deeper than that. Kate was afraid of commitment to anything unstable, especially people. People were cruel. They left, they neglected, and they expected way too much. Kate had always kept her friends and relatives far enough away from her that if they left, it wouldn't affect her. She did not have a strong enough heart to have it broken, when it was already so weak.

Something in those blue eyes of his changed when she touched him and he seemed to look at her differently, like she was no longer a potential notch on his belt of girls he had screwed. She wasn't sure which look she preferred. Kate smiled politely and took her hands away so they lay next to his, but not quite touching. She had to constantly remind herself to be careful. Attachment was dangerous, no matter how much she craved it.

"I have a membership, too. I'm surprised I haven't seen you there. I guess I might not have noticed, though. I kind of get into the zone when I'm working out." She said excitedly, all too happy to think about something other than the inner turmoil she was feeling. "We should go on a gym date. You don't really know someone until you talk to them after a hard workout."

Kate rolled her eyes and laughed when he suggested that she liked what she saw. So, what? Maybe she did. She was a woman, after all. "I do have a certain appreciation for nice bodies. What's the harm in that?" She winked and brought the hot tea to her lips, taking a sip while gazing at him. Yes, an appreciation for nice bodies and handsome faces.

[Lucas Blacke]

So she had a membership as well? He perked up slightly when she mentioned that, an idea popping into his head instantly but not quite uttering it just yet. Instead he just smiled and looked into her eyes as she went on talking with that nice-to-listen-to voice of hers. When she put her hands next to his however he felt the urge to touch intensify as he'd never really gotten the chance to do that with a retrocog, if he tried to do that with Karalie her first move would be to yank her hands away from him so she couldn't accidentally nab a memory. But the thing was that it wasn't ever accidental with Luke, he had offered she look at his past dozens of times and while she did sometimes do that it was always hesitant. But with Kate he only really needed to ask once and she wouldn't mind, so he could potentially touch her without her pulling away.

When he finally snapped back after succesfully suppressing his urge to touch, he heard something about a gym date. He had only been on one of those before and, while that had been a workout it had nothing to do with actually working out. So his eyes widened at the mere notion of it as he reminded himself that she liked working out as well, so if they were to go on a date there would be an actual workout. And sweaty bodies. He could get used to that idea. A glistening Kate before him.. he'd burst right then and there if that happened.

''We really, really should go on a date.'' He replied with a wink, deliberate in his usage of just the word 'date' and leaving out the part about the gym. ''Just name a time an' place an' I'll be there. Promise. An' are ya sure 'bout wantin' to talk to me after a workout? Might be all sweaty an' shit.'' He joked. ''My bet is that yer gonna wanna jump me.'' He added with a wink.

And then he chuckled at what she said about appreciating bodies as she took a sip of her tea, which Luke copied and took a sip of his own, feeling the immediate effect it had on him, needing to force himself to remain still a bit more. ''No harm. Just sayin' that ya took the best possible body out of everyone at Hammel to look at.''

[Kate Warren]

Kate tore her eyes away from the boy in front of her long enough to glance outside at the darkening sky. They must have been talking for longer than she'd realized. She smiled at the disappearing light. Night always brought out the best in her; darkness is where she thrived. She glanced back at Lucas with a mischievous look in her too bright eyes, this kind of spontaneity was foreign to her and she liked how it felt.

"Let's go on a date, Lucas Blacke. Right now. Minus the sweaty bodies for now, at least. You wouldn't want me jumping you yet, we just met." She teased, hardly able to suppress her grin as she gathered up her things and shoved them into her purse. Suddenly, she had to be outside. This coffee house was getting too warm and she needed to breath the fresh winter air that was just outside of the glass doors that confined them.

Kate stood up after leaving a tip on the table and began to walk toward the door, spinning around and raising her eyebrows at him. "Well, are you coming or not? I can't very well go on this date alone." She called, pushing the handle and meeting the cool air. The temperature wasn't too bad, but she zipped up her coat anyways and tugged her hat over her ears. Kate didn't look back to see if Lucas was following, she knew he would. She brushed off a bench that resided along the deserted road and sat down to wait for her date, tilting her head back to look at the stars that littered the dark sky. There was no moon, but the stars were breathtaking enough. This was enough for her; the simplicity that the world had to offer. She had no need for expensive cars or designer clothes. Tonight, she didn't have to worry about meeting any expectations.