World of promises [Zo]

[Zoelle Heroux]

Zo could tell that her response had had the desired effect, though she was perfectly content to let his mind wander with the possibilities.

It didn't really occur to her that he was trying to impress her. Then again, the thought of anyone actually caring what she thought of them was still very new to her. Mostly she was surprised that he didn't try to argue with her. Of course, the way he smiled at her before kissing her gave her little time to dwell on that thought.

When he pulled away she gave a small chuckle. "You're not gonna win this by distracting me," she teased. "Though feel free to attempt all you want though," she added with a wink.

She still couldn't believe how that had worked out. He'd literally been right across the hall from her this whole time. "That it definitely is," she agreed. Somehow, the close proximity didn't really bother her the way she might have expected it to. She grinned a bit as he talked about how tough it would be knowing she was so close. "Yeah, but just think of how the anticipation will make everything all the better," she teased back.

Zo couldn't help but laugh a little at the look of confusion that came upon his face as he tried to figure it out. "It is awesome and no, it's not that good," she said with a laugh. "I can't affect anyone else with it unfortunately. Of course, there are plenty of hidden places in public all the same," she added with a wink. After all, he clearly had the strength to hold her up with could definitely come in handy for a vertical hookup.

Instead she turned her focus to explaining what she had meant about shadow travel. "Okay, so like, I could go into that shadow," she said, pointing at one corner of the room, "and then pop out over there," she continued, pointing at the opposite corner. "I mean, that short of a distance wouldn't really be worth the effort, but I figured it might be easier to explain with some sort of visual. But yeah. It's pretty cool."

[Lucas Blacke]

''Who said anythin' 'bout disttracting?'' He asked her as he licked his lips. ''If anyone is doin' anythin' distractin' it's you.'' He kissed her once more as he said that and grinned mid-kiss. While unable to say anything at that moment he was free to use his hands and squeezed gently in a place she would definitely like before he ended the kiss. ''If ya think this is how me distractin' ya looks yer in for a surprise.'' He told her as he winked and slowly lowered her to the ground while telling her she should continue her story. But at that time he was sure she knew about what he was going to do, or at least that he was going to do something.

When she continued about her power he took a moment to add it all together and finally just sighed as he thought of one simple thing. ''So I shouldn't take a girl to shadow.'' It was obviously a joke, but he wanted to see how she would react as he laughed. ''Noted.''

''But seriously, this ain't helpin' in the least.'' Luke continued without joking this time. ''On top of feelin' anxious when I'm in my room now, knowin' yers is so close, I will now feel anxious any time I'm near shadow.'' He told her, but quickly shot her a wink paired with a lick of his lips. ''But it's good to know yer always close if I need ya.''

He suddenly raised his hands now that he was no longer holding her and clapped them together as if wanting to change the subject, which in a really tiny sense he did. ''An' now to show ya how we go around distractin' ya.'' His hands lowered themselves a bit and grabbed the bottom of his shirt.

One last smile was shown as he pulled the fabric over his head and revealed what was underneath. He figured she couldn't resist that. ''An' this is how I distract you. But feel free to do the same, see if that distracts me.''

It was something of a taunt, but he already knew that if she did he would be the one distracted.

[Zoelle Heroux]

She rolled her eyes as he claimed he wasn't distracting her even as he went and did it again. Not that she remotely tried to stop him. The kiss and exploration of hands ended though with a teasing remark as he lowered her back to the ground. "Oh really now, is that a challenge?" she asked with a raised eyebrow, intrigued by the statement.

Still, after a moment she did exactly as he asked and went on with her explanation. She gave him a playful nudge at his joke, grinning nonetheless before continuing to speak. "Yeah, something like that."

Her expression became more solemn though as his voice did. "Does it really bother you?" she asked, more confused than anything. What, was he afraid she was going to get too clingy or catch him doing something? She didn't really get it. "I mean, it's not like I'm going to just suddenly pop in and check up on you or anything, I'm not your keeper." Her voice was calm though there was a slight defensive edge to it. What was he so worried about?

Suddenly he was shifting the topic, claiming that he was going to set his mind to actually distracting her. She couldn't help but raise an eyebrow dubiously as she waited to see what his tactic would be. Her tongue traced the line of her lower lip slightly as she watched him remove his shirt and took in the view that motion revealed. She certainly wasn't complaining.

It was the taunt that mostly caught her attention though. The game of cat and mouse had long since been won, and there was no question of what came next. Now it was simply a game of seeing who would cave first. More than that though, she had never been the sort to resist a challenge. So without a word, she pulled her own top off, shaking her hair loose as she tossed the garment aside. She stood in front of him, hands on her hips and a gleam in her eyes as she smirked at him, silently daring him to try to resist her. She didn't believe for a moment that he could.

[Lucas Blacke]

When he removed his shirt he was sure he'd get some kind of reaction out of her. And obviously the first thing she did was look hungrily at him, though that could have just been what he wanted to see. But she definitely seemed to like what she saw, and it wasn't untill his further taunt that she reacted and made him forget to react to everything she had said before. Luke had foolishly dared her to do the same in order to see if it distracted him. She would obviously do, even with clothing she was fully capable of doing this, nevermind without clothing.

So when she took her shirt off that they had only recently put on again he couldn't help but bring a cartoon reaction into reality. His jaw dropped and he made a gurgling sound as his eyes widened and stared at whatever she was showing. He hoped she knew that wasn't his real reacction, actually, she'd have to know better, his ability was used for being extremely stoic at times so he could have easily suppressed any kind of reaction to what he saw. But he was a guy and a horny one so he exaggerated his reaction to a half naked girl. Obviously.

''Unfair.'' He defended as he wiped his bottom lip and took a step closer. ''But who's complainin'? I got yer shirt off without touchin' ya.'' In a way he did distract her, or maybe she really didn't mind and was just doing this to one up him. He smiled as he got even closer to her, wrapping his arms around her back and pressing her against him. ''This is goin' to distract us both if we keep this up.''

He tilted his head down to look at her and grinned. ''An' I wouldn't mind ya poppin' in on me randomly at all. 'Specially not in my room.'' He needed to remind himself to keep his room bright at any time to increase the odds of that happening. ''Seein' as I'm still a guy with hands an' all..'' He kissed her swiftly. ''An' an audience ain't all that bad.''

[Zoelle Heroux]

His reaction was exaggerated, of course, to practically cartoonish proportion, but Zo had no doubts that there was some degree of truth to it. After all, she did have that effect on people. She just stood there, letting him take in the view all he wanted.

"Unfair?" she repeated. "Please. You started this." She rolled her eyes as he tried to spin it where he could take credit for her stripping. Of course then he closed the distance between them, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her tightly against them, skin touching skin. "Going to?" she asked with a laugh. "Don't you think it's a little late to be worrying about that?" It seemed to her that they were already plenty distracted.

He seemed to suddenly be fine with the idea, though Zo couldn't help but wonder if that was really sincere. But she didn't question it. After all, she was the last person to push when it came to personal matters. So she pushed that nagging thought to a dark corner of her mind and focused on the matter at hand as he kissed her. "Well, when you put it that way," she murmured before kissing him again.

[Lucas Blacke]

He laughed and shook his head as she mentioned that he started this. He did, but she had been free to say no. So this only meant she was or beginning to get comfortable or that she was dead set on one upping him, which in her case she did. Once again he grinned when she said it was late to be worrying about the distraction part because it was already underway, but that would be where she was wrong.

But he couldn't say anything to the contrary as she continued speaking about what he thought of her power and how he hoped she'd pop in during certain moments, though when she acted happy about that he couldn't help but think she had somehow taken his previous comment about anxiety wrong. He'd gladly correct what he had meant but before he could say anything her lips had found his, succeeding in shutting him up and going with the flow before his mind made things worse.

He returned the kiss and walked over to his bed with her still attached to his lips as he sat down, forcing her to sit on top of him. He pulled back the kiss and grinned. The game they were playing was over, though Luke had one more card up his sleeve.

''I didn't get distracted. I've been thinkin' 'bout ya all this time.'' If anything, she kept his attention by doing what she did.

[Zoelle Heroux]

It seemed that the time for words had passed as most their conversations faded into silence, with only small reactions of gestures if that. Instead, most their interaction seemed to now center around what had brought them together in the first place. It was certainly something they both seemed to be very comfortable with and perhaps a bit eager for as well, so it really shouldn't have been a surprise that it was what they fell back on now.

It was simple and it was easy. There was nothing to overthink and Zo really appreciated that right now. Especially after all that had happened earlier.

He guided them to his bed as they kissed, pulling her down so she was sitting on top of him before the kiss finally broke. He was grinning widely at her, but it was what he said next that affected her most. His words had her blushing - blushing. It was strange though, the thought that she might be on anyone's mind at all. She was the sort of person that people forgot about. Not the kind that they focused on. She couldn't help but feel like he meant it in more than a thinking about her naked kind of way too.

Maybe she was just reading too much into it.

Perhaps even more shocking though was the lack of a snappy comeback. For once she was actually a bit speechless. Her only reaction was to lightly bite her lower lip, her teeth dragging against it as she released it, her gaze turning downward as she did. What was someone supposed to say to something like that anyway?

"You have?" she asked softly, almost hesitant to believe it and all the while hating how very small her voice sounded just then.

[Lucas Blacke]

Every kiss they had shared up until this point had been memorable, and though it was just because they were both into what it usually led to he couldn't help but feel that kissing her was what he liked most. Not that the other things she could help him with were bad.

When they reached the bed they shared another kiss, and as he broke it he put his hands underneath his head to avoid using them for things that would be a bit obvious at the time, see if she would intiate anything. Which he was sure of, but hadn't really noticed yet, not in this sense anyway. And when he looked up at her he saw something he'd never thought he'd see. She was wide-eyed and.. blushing? Surely his words didn't do that, did they?

He released his own arms and raised his brow, getting up a little bit as he looked at her, somehow feeling a bit sad despite what was going to inevitablty happen. He felt himself wanting to ask what her problem was and why she didn't say anything when she usually had words for everything he said to her, so it was a bit unnerving to see she had nothing to say. Though a very small part of him wanted to point out she was pretty distracted now.

He put both his hands on her cheeks and smiled. '''Course I have. How could I not?'' He planted a swift kiss on the lip she just bit. ''I think 'bout lotsa things. Always have.'' He was good this way, convincing people that what he did was unlike what it seemed. Though he did follow up rapidly as he realized that she was probably like him and would mentally crumble at the very notion of it being a joke.

''All of them involve yer pretty self now.''

[Zoelle Heroux]

The way he raised a brow and looked at her made her feel even more ridiculous. Zo wasn't a self-conscious person by any means, so the fact that she was suddenly feeling so all of a sudden was unnerving at the best. She felt like an idiot and there were few things she hated more than that.

Of course, even when she did manage to find something to say, it didn't help things any. God, could she be any more moronic right now? She didn't even want to know what he must be thinking of her right now.

Still, his response made her feel... well, it made her feel something. She didn't quite know what. Or perhaps she just wasn't ready to admit what it made her feel. He kissed her - soft and quick - only to then essentially brush the whole thing off as a joke more or less. That was a bit... awkward. Maybe she really had taken it way out of context. Since when was she the one to read into things and taking something casual as something serious. She stiffened slightly, even as she forced a small smile.

Yet then as soon as she came to that conclusion, he backpedaled again, leaving her wondering just what it meant.

So she just brushed it aside - she was far too good at doing that really - and took it at face value for the moment, focusing on what was simple and easy once more. "Well, I'd hate to disappoint," she teased as she leaned forward to kiss him once more, deeply this time. She was intent on focusing on just the physical right now. Everything else was far too complicated.

[Lucas Blacke]

The way she looked at him made hiim feel a bit awkward, the silence between them lingering as the last of his words had left his mouth. She smiled at him, but he had seen enough of what she did right then. Good actor or not, he could see her muscles contracting in a way his own did when showing people a fake smile, so he knew something was up and it would likely have something to do with what he said. And when she focused her smile on him, fake or not, he showed her his own smile because it felt real to see her smile.

But it still irked him how she wasn't genuinly smiling. He would want someone to ask something about it, and despite not wanting to share he would feel slightly better to just know there were people who cared. So when she leaned down and kissed him, saying something chuckle-worthy beforehand, he did not kiss her back no matter how deep and enjoyable it was. He would just have to contain himself for now.

When she finally pulled back from the kiss Luke pushed her away a bit to look at her with his head laid back. He stared into her eyes, not because he wanted to gaze into those beautiful orbs, but because he wanted to see what was up with her. He knew, and obviously she did, that he couldn't hear thought or emotion so there would have to be no fear there.

But he could still see emotion. ''Whaddup Zo? Ya seem a bit off.'' He asked her as he put his index finger on her chin. ''Chin up, yer awesome an' ya know it. No reason to get down on yerself.''

[Zoelle Heroux]

It didn't take long to figure out something was wrong. She was kissing him and he wasn't even reacting. After a moment she pulled back, a look of confusion and even perhaps a bit of frustration and offense in the expression. "What's the deal?" she asked, finding herself a little irritated by his non-response. She just wanted to lose herself in the moment - was that such a bad thing?

He looked into her eyes and his gaze had her fidgeting and struggling to meet it. Why was he pushing this? And since when was he one for self-control? She had said she was open to something more, but that he could already read her so well was unsettling. Since when had she been so transparent?

Luke called her out and she knew she couldn't deny it. She looked away from him, stubbornly remaining silent as she tried to figure out what she could even say. "I don't know," she said out of habit. He reached out, his finger on her chin drawing her gaze back to him. "I just feel stupid, okay?" She shrugged, as if she could brush off this whole conversation. "I mean, of course I'm awesome, that's obvious. I just..." She fell silent then, unsure how to continue. I'm already fucking things up was the thought that came to mind. Instead she said, "You took me by surprise and I acted like a moron." She sighed softly, her body relaxing as she did. "But you're right, it's not a big deal really."

[Lucas Blacke]

She spoke as if she forgot he was similar still, he was on his way to change but he hadn't yet done anything that people could see as changing. He had even been told he hadn't changed, and who could really blame anyone? This was in a lot of ways how he thought about her as she spoke to him, maybe she was trying to cchange, or not, and maybe it didn't show, but she was trying all the same. It took guts to take that step and it should have been commended.

He also knew she'd probably hate him forcing her to talk about it. Truth was, so did he. It took a lot out of him to let the opportunity at hand fly and address something she obviously didn't want to talk about, but he wouldn't let her make the same mistake he had, he would rip it out of her if needed. Too long had his feelings been locked up, too long without any words to anyone, by anyone. And in the end it just hurt him. She deserved better.

''Tchyeah.'' He chuckled. ''Damn right yer awesome.'' He replied at her mention of it, there had been a but on the horizon but it never came, not in time. Luke knew how it felt to open up and have the words fail you, so he tried his best to fill the gaps. ''Yer afraid.'' He suddenly said with a straight face and an accompanied nod.

He knew how she felt, or how he would feel in her situation. And if they were as similar as he thought he knew what she was thinking at that very moment, though he wouldn't mention it as if he was putting words in her mouth, or make her think she was being obvious. So after he had let her finish he took a breath and sighed. ''Y'know what I've been thinkin' this entire time?'' He asked.

With hesitance he opened his mouth and for a second he wondered if he should say the next few words, let her know what he was going through. ''That everythin' I said an' corrected only helped me fuck things up. An' ya know? I wouldn't even be surprised if it did, I tend to fuck up constantly.''

[Zoelle Heroux]

She smirked a little as he agreed with her, hoping that it would be over, but instead after a brief pause he came to a very different conclusion.

One that was all too accurate.

"What's your point?" she asked, her voice coming out much softer than she had intended. How did he manage to see right through her like that? Oh. Right. Probably the same way she had seen right through his act earlier. Apparently that was the downside to being so similar. She wasn't sure yet if that was a good thing or a bad thing. "I don't normally do this," she added, though she didn't clarify what she meant by that. Whether it was acting all sentimental like she had moments ago or actually give someone a chance to mean something to her. In truth it was both, but that was harder to say than anything.

Her gaze turned back to him as he began to talk about himself, listening intently. She nodded along unintentionally. "Well you're not the only one," she added softly. She was the queen of fucking things up really. She did it so well that she even managed to forget just what she was missing more often than not. But times like this reminded her all too well how empty her life really was.

"You didn't though. Not really. I just... I don't know what to think of any of this really." She didn't know if what he had said was just words or if they had meant something. She didn't know which answer she wanted to be the truth. Those answers should have been obvious to her, or at least so she thought. She thought she was the one fucking everything up right now. "I warned you that I was too fucked up for this," she whispered.

[Lucas Blacke]

What she said.. it all sounded so familiar to him that he cringed every time she spoke. It was odd though, Luke knew what she was going through because it was pretty much his own life, his problems were in a sense being described by someone else, and yet he felt like he had all the answers for someone else instead of for himself. But he didn't mind in the least. In fact, he had made up his mind at that very moment.

She did like he would do, what he had done, turn the conversation around to be about her and talk herself down. But he figured that as long as he was there she wouldn't have to fear doing the wrong thing. Sure she could use her power to vanish or just simply walk out whenever she pleased, but he wouldn't let her go that easily without putting up some resistance. She didn't deserve feeling like that, only he did. And there was what was probably going to change them, if she was similar she would feel the same way, that he shouldn't feel so down and that only she deserved it. And there it was, maybe they both deserved it, but in the end they would both share the same pain.

He didn't even let out a breath of relief when she said he didn't fuck up. ''I know. Ya did.'' He spoke with a nod when she said she told him that she was too fucked up for this. But what she told him and what he saw were two different things. ''An' Zo?'' He asked as he thought about her comment about not doing this, which he assumed was opening up to people. ''We're half-naked and holdin' each other. Talking to each other an' openin' up. We're doin' two things right.''

He then pulled her closer and planted a kiss on her lips. ''Yer not fucked up, ya just think ya are.''

[Zoelle Heroux]

The way he cringed slightly at her words had her pulling back slightly and her gaze shifted away from him. This was hardly anything and yet it was everything all at once. Even giving someone a chance to mean something to her was monumental and yet... he had barely seen a glimpse beyond the surface and already he was cringing. This would end up serving as a reminder of why she never gave anyone that chance, she could feel it.

So when he spoke, agreeing she had warned him, she was every bit expecting him to turn her away. To express regret that he hadn't believe her, to ask her to leave. Something. But as he said her name, she forced herself to look at him. She wasn't a coward. She would face what he had to say.

But the worst never came. Instead his words were kind... encouraging even. That stunned her more than anything. Part of her wondered if opening up really was something good, something right. The rest of her told her not to question it. "I guess we are..." she murmured, the surprise still written on her face.

He pulled her to him then, kissing her before assuring her that she wasn't as damaged as she thought she was. She wanted to tell him that he was wrong. That he didn't know the half of it. That he hadn't seen anything yet. She was and she knew it. It wasn't about her being too hard on herself - it was about her being honest with herself. But she couldn't tell him that. She couldn't tell him all of her past, why she was so certain. Even if she wanted to, the words simply wouldn't come. So for the moment, she didn't fight him.

Instead, she just gave into it. She could fool even herself for a moment. Believe she was who he saw her to be. At least for a little while more... Zo smiled - warmly, almost sweetly - and for a moment she did nearly look like a different person. "Thank you, Luke," she said softly. Maybe, just maybe, there could be hope for her still after all.