Through The Motions (Lucas)

[Lucas Blacke]

He used to be like her, he supposed. Not really believing in love in a way that let him be happy with the girl he was dating at that time, no, previously he was like her but with a nasty habit of believing in life and screwing around as well. Had it all gone down without a hitch he would have been the same guy now, but more often than not he had gotten hurt over a small bit of fun and he was done doing that, done sleeping around to keep morale high. He knew that keeping himself away from girls was hard on both himself and girls, but that didn't mean he wouldn't try, and even without any girl in his life currently he still did his best not to give in to his urges.

Because by god, she just admitted to being easy, which was just about the best type of girl Lucas could think of if only he was still sleeping around like the old him used to. ''Seriously man, wrong fuckin' timing.'' He said as she jumped out of her tree and walked up to his. a few weeks ago I would have been fuckin' ya silly just 'cause, but now.. not so much.'' Even when he was alone he wouldn't, as giving in to his needs was what got him in a predicament in the first place. ''Again, not so much now.'' He repeated when he looked down at her, her smile visibly weakening for the Texan.

''But hey, I'm 'round fer other things. Sex ain't th' only way fer people ta 'ave fun. Me idea of fun these days is a good workout, and perhaps playing th' piano or some shit.'' He jumped down from his tree a good bit after she mentioned that he could entertain himself with her until he figured stuff out.

''Until I figure out what ta do with her..'' He laughed loudly and right in her face. ''Naw dude, I'll be entertainin' meself with yer presence even after that. An' I hope yer plannin' ta do th' same 'ere.''

He then put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a wink. ''Promise I won't get mad if we're hangin' 'round together, sitting in my house or whatever, an' yer hand slips up a bit. Or ya fall an' land on top o' me.''

[Serena Varsair]

Serena had no idea what had happened to Lucas, what could of transpired to make him say things the way he did, but a small part of Serena wondered if she herself was ever going to be like that to anyone in a few years. No, she decided after a few moments of contemplation. Lucas clearly was interested in and cared for this girl he talked about far more than Serena had ever cared about a guy. That was their difference. He fell in love, Serena wouldn't.

To hear him be so brazen about sex was both refreshing and interesting. He was direct (which she appreciated), honest (which was good), and clearly passionate if it weren't for whatever part of him decided that he wasn't going to be with any girl except the one, "If I only I had run into you when I first got here then..."

"Are you any good at playing the piano?" Serena asked, trying to stick with his change of subject, though she felt they would inevitably go back to the topic. It seemed too charged right now on his end (and honestly on hers as well).

"I mean it depends. If she is a total bitch; or you become intolerable with her, I may have to rethink it..." There was nothing but a joking tone in Serena's voice, and she was decidedly slipping back to her American accent, the French tone just fading out. "But yeah, I think you're good people. Worth having around for fun at least."

His hand on her shoulder sent little shocks through her as their bare skin touched. Nothing he would've noticed, even with his muscle senses, but he would notice her smile in return. It had been awhile since someone had held her or touched her like that. She wasn't much shorter than him, and she decided to put her hand on his shoulder, lean up the small distance and kiss his cheek if he'd let her. Serena then whispered in his ear, "And I promise I won't get mad if your hand slips...or if you change your mind..."

[Lucas Blacke]

To say he laughed out loud after what she said would be a bit of an understatement, even after the kiss she gave his cheek which resulted in everything he was thinking at that moment to calm down a bit. Was he any good at playing the piano..? It was the first time he had ever heard that question being asked and quite honestly had no idea how to respond to it other than employ a huge bout of sarcasm. ''Honey, dear.'' He said as he lowered himself a bit to be able to look into her eyes as if talking to a toddler and making sure they understood that whatever you were going to say. ''I'm a fuckin' god when it comes ta th' piano.'' He had changed his ways of not wanting to fuck everything with a pulse, but he failed to grow humble.

And not just the piano either. He was near godlike with any instrument he could find a video on though the piano was the only one he knew how to play on his own accord. ''My uncle tau- aww yeah..'' His words were bunched up into a sigh of joy when she whispered into his ear. Something about girls being that close and feeling their breath on your skin, not to mention the hand on his shoulder that for some reason did more for him than a kiss ever would. From this specific specimen anyway.

''I.. will be sure to keep that in mind then.'' He said as he briefly looked around if he could see anyone eavesdropping, it'd suck if anyone was to hear his words even if he wasn't going to act upon anything, he hoped. ''But my mind won't change. I need love ta 'ave sex, an' now that ya mentioned not ever lovin' anyone.. well.. lets just say these nimble fingers o' mine will keep playin' piano.''

''No offense to any cute French girls, mind ya.'' He added with a slight wink.

[Serena Varsair]

To say Serena was in love with his ultra-confidence would be a gross exaggeration. But there was something appealing about someone who could match her in enthusiasm of skill-set (even if he was less humble than her by a good bit). And to be honest, she had realized how much her own self-confidence had dimmed since coming here.

It had occurred to her in this very moment that after two years of being sexually-active at Kocher she had always had boys on call, had had lots of real friends who, while appreciating the sex, had treated her as a friend first and 'lover' second. And as a result of this, her confidence was at an all time high. Serena noticed, since she had arrived here, she had barely called or messaged them, and was ignoring her other interests such as video games in lieu of a search for replacements.

The clear pleasure he experienced from the whisper seemed to immediately be replaced with a denial of any sort of real interest. And then the gross misunderstanding of her? Serena realized, all of these weeks, she had been searching for sex and not for friends to have sex with. And she was not going to let him, and the chance of both items being on the table, go without a little fight. Why? Because she realized, she barely knew this guy, and yet already cared for him.

Trying to put him into a situation he'd have to choose to deal with somehow, she pushed her hand off his shoulder and toward the back of his neck. If he didn't stop her, she'd move to put the other arm above him and around his neck, "No offense taken, but you're not getting off that easy."

Her French accent was back, inter-mingling with the American once more. "You misunderstand me. When I said I don't believe in love...I don't believe in romance. I don't believe in one person to devote my life too, to be my one and only partner forever. I'd suffocate..."

She looked down for a moment, taking a couple of small half-steps to close the distance between them, "But when it comes to friends, I do believe in love...compassion. I'd be lying if I said I never had sex just to have it. But I was bored and alone."

Now a little closer, Serena did her best to look him in the eyes if he didn't look away, "I'd rather have a friend than a fuckbuddy. Without companionship, without friends to talk to, have fun with, or even just lay with and be silent...I'd truly die. Sex is...well, it's fun. It feels good, and it lets me show someone how much I appreciate them, care for them...how much I am thankful that they are in my everyday life. To prove that I'm there if they ever need me for anything...and to hope that they continue to be the same for me."

Pausing, her breathing had picked up slightly as her anxiety of moving to Hammel had seemingly finally broken in this conversation. She wasn't lost anymore, and of all of the people she had met, it was the person who didn't go there that made her see.

"So know this: I think you're a good guy, and though I don't know you all that well, I consider you a friend. And I do anything for my friends, because I know how important they are to me. So if you ever want to get it on, know that you will get love from me, not an easy slut who just wants to feel good. The love of a friend."

That was her best shot, and while it wasn't poetry, her accent did its best to make it sound that way.

She softly added, "And if you ever get a girlfriend, I'll support you as a friend, and if you don't, I'll be here if you need me that way too. I don't believe in romance...so you can't break my heart."

Serena Varsair, the sexy confident turbo-battery athlete-geek, was finally back and she wasn't going to lie, Lucas was, if nothing else, always going to be remembered by her for setting that part of her free once again.

[Lucas Blacke]

Jesus, this one practically threw herself on the Texan even more so than Zoelle ever did, and he thought she was quite sex-driven as what followed was a relationship controlled by a daily dose of fucks, something that ended when she started seeing things as he was seeing things. He cared for her, and wanted to actually be with her instead of being with the girl who gave him sex, and as soon as she began seeing things as he did and told him that they were dating, that she was giving it a shot she got jealous. Deep down Lucas was no guy for one girl, not back then anyway, and Zoelle had caught him with someone else even though they were just friends at the time. Zoelle, as to be expected, broke down when they ended it. What followed then was a dark time for Lucas.

That wasn't to say he had girls to replace Zoelle in due time, there was one girl who he had even considered living with, and the new girl at Hammel, and now this one. Serena, practically asking for sex. At least he assumed so, and even with her speech about friends and the like, and believing in love and just not about romance.. the way she held both her arms around his neck gave him the odd feeling that there was indeed something more than friendship going on, even if just one sided.

''Oh..'' He simply replied, not quite sure how to respond. Well, he was sure but didn't know how to make it anymore clear. If he did or didn't get a girlfriend was not the issue, the issue was something else entirely. ''Well.. thanks fer th' offer I s'pose. But I'm pretty sure I'm fully capable o' breakin' yer heart.'' Romantically she had no chance. Yes she looked hot, but she was no- ''An' yer kinda pushin' me ta do it 'ere.'' He added with a smile. Lucas could simply take her on on her offer and have some casual sex, but he knew how that went. He had broken Zoelle in the same way, so the most obvious thing to do was to let her go, or at least try to get her down from that whole sex thing. Even if it wasn't about him.

He took her arms down from around his neck and gave her a bit of a nervous smile. ''I ain't sure how ta do this, but I'm goin' ta keep meself from makin' a mistake.'' Even if the girl he was after would never found out if he did, he didn't want to risk upsetting her like he did back then even if he wasn't even dating her.

''Nice speech an' all,'' He started. ''but I'm done sleepin' 'round on people I actually love romantically.''

[Serena Varsair]

Serena was out of her mental whatever-it-was, her mind was finally focused and moving again, and her anxiety she once had was gone. She'd be forever grateful to Lucas for this one small fact...but...what the hell was this guy? Yeah, Serena knew she threw herself on him a bit, but the dude was a tease and so was she (except unlike him, if Serena flirts, she'll genuinely go with them.), and it had also seemed like he could handle that fact.

But the nerve, to think, after what she said, something deeply personal that she hadn't really shared with anybody else, and he could still be so full of himself to think that he could still 'break her heart'. Wow, what a fairy tale he lived in. Serena may not be the one to do it, but she hoped that no one ever brought it crashing down. She'd hate to see the mess that resulted from it. Her arms had already relaxed on his neck, "I am not 'pushing' you to do anything. You don't want it, you won't get it. But you certainly are not gonna break my heart. I've known many guys, many sweeter than your drawl, and one even better looking. Hell, I helped a few of those guys get a girlfriend and all but one is still with them. And I certainly didn't sleep with every guy I knew."

She paused, trying to speak as solidly and assuredly as she could, losing almost all of her French accent in the process. "I had to leave them behind to come here to Hammel, and my heart didn't crack a bit. I've seen you twice. You really think you matter more?"

She was already moving her arms away as he took them down. Serena was willing to give this guy a shot, but not for much longer. He clearly didn't understand her, and while she very much didn't understand him, she knew that the inconsistency in how he acted could eventually terminate this relationship on its own.

"That's fine, I'd even respect that if you didn't act the way you did. But I doubt many single girls would've acted much differently than me...no, actually, many would've likely walked away before now. You act like I was begging you for sex like some slut. If I was begging for anything, it was for you to understand who I am and know my intention. Get over yourself, you may have a cool power, but aren't some magic man. You need something, I'm here. But at this point, unless you want to get going on that run..." She pointed in a direction, "That you stopped to fool around, let me remind you, then I think what you need is to be left alone."

[Lucas Blacke]

He knew he didn't matter. Oh boy did he know that and was kinda glad she didn't know he did. He'd been above voicing it for quite some time, but everything he had he would break on account of his own hesitance and need for acceptance. Maybe he was blaming her for what he was doing himself, maybe he wasn't so much asking for sex as asking her to stick around in his own 'push-people-away' words. Too many people had left him and he was sick of it, and trying to rekindle with any of those lost friends seemed futile and while he had hoped being in college would provide him with a new start he hadn't made a single new contact that wasn't on Hammel. Deep down he figured it for the best though, he'd fuck it up anyway.

But he held a smile that told the world differently as he had always had. It was sad that Lucas' most happy memory of the past few months was seeing his parents, the people he had always thought to be royal dicks. His mind waded through all the possible reactions at that point though, and to what she said he was sure he'd do exactly as he told her before; break her heart. Even if not instantly he'd do it in some way they both wouldn't see coming. Lucas always did. Maybe the problem was in trying.

''Now now..'' He responded with the same fake smile plastered on his face he had been using for years as he eased back a bit. Why in fucks name did anything he did end up as the most serious talk ever and someone inevitably getting hurt? ''While I did say ya could ask anythin', yer th' one who asked 'bout my girlfriend.'' Which he didn't have. ''I never stopped,'' He lied blatantly as he knew he did stop, but in a way the blame was mutual on that one as Serena didn't go on either. ''but so did you when ya could 'ave been doin' like me an' Usain Bolted.'' He added.

Her arms lowered and she pointed out what he was doing, something he didn't agree with in the slightest even if it was partially true. ''I ain't th' one puttin' me arms 'round a person I barely know, I ain't th' one tryin' ta hammer down casual sex even when hearin' 'bout a clear lack of interest.''

''I'm th' one not worth shit, aye?'' He said as he turned his head briefly. ''Wanna run it off?''

[Serena Varsair]

Serena had asked about a girlfriend because he was flirting, and said as such, "Yeah, because you were flirting your ass off and I wanted to know if you were open, just a flirt, an ass, or something else." She gave him a minor look of disgust that shifted to a weak, sarcastic smile, "Didn't think you were something else."

Her disinterest in him was quickly growing. If he didn't understand what his words and actions cause and take responsibility for him, then she honestly wasn't all that interested in supporting him. But she felt she owed him something, however minor, so she didn't just turn and walk, "Let me say, your lack of interest, I'll agree with. It being clear? I do not. I don't know what you want, and I don't even know if you know what you want. I want a friend that's on the level, and I'm not sure if you're that, but I've spent too much time on you already not to give you a shot."

To say she was done was an understatement, "Yeah, I want to run it off." She motioned for him to follow her, and began running, "And if you have a comment on my ass, keep your mouth shut."

Serena was more than prepared for a quiet run at that point.