Rainy day OPEN

[Annaleigh Valentine]

Anna bit her lip and blushed bright red as he started laughing. Then when he said it was a real addiction she nodded. “Yup, wouldn’t recommend that high of a dose of caffeine all at the same time.” Then when he asked if it was before her powers she laughed and shook her head. “No no I didn’t mean like I was drinking that amount of energy drinks when I was like seven or something, but I did that when I was like twelve or something, just after my powers manifested.” She explained taking another sip of coffee.

Then when he asked about her energy drink schedule she shrugged. “One on a morning so I don’t feel too tired at the start of the day, one at lunch, one at about nine at night and then one at about one in the morning. Then coffee and tea between those times.” She said shrugging as if it wasn’t a big deal, because in all honesty, to Anna it really wasn’t a big deal.

When he offered the fritter, Anna was going to refuse, but the look on his face told her she probably shouldn’t. She picked up a very small piece of the fritter in her fingers and chewed it slowly, hoping he didn’t take this as a sign of breaking so that he’d think that he could give her anything else, or else she would just full out refuse everything.

She smiled and nodded slightly when he said about not being like them. Anna would have argued that many people at Hammel weren’t like that, but then again she didn’t really talk to anyone else so maybe people were like that and she was just different from everyone. No matter was it was she continued to drink her coffee calmly.

A laugh rose to Anna’s throat when he began talking about cooking. “Oh no you don’t understand, if I’m not told what to do and how to do it for how long, it will go wrong. I once was baking a cake, put the cake in the oven and came back to it to find it hadn’t cooked at all, because I hadn’t turned the oven on. Then when I did turn the oven on, I forgot about it and left it in there for four hours before we realised.” She said slowly. Yes, Anna was that bad at cooking, and not only that, she had actually been that careless with the cake batter. When he said about his personal chef, Anna just laughed slightly. “I’ll stick with cafeteria food.” She said smiling.

[Zachary LaRousse]

“I agree” was all Zac could say. He wasn’t really that big on energy drinks himself, so even if she suggested it, he’d probably not agree with it anyway. If he’ll probably need to stay awake for prolonged periods, he’d rather drink coffee than energy drinks – he claims they taste much better. Though at times he does get a bit moody and add a little too much milk/creamer to his drink and the opposite happens.

He smiled widely when Annaleigh ate the fritter piece he gave her. What he actually wanted was to feed her, but picking it off using her fingers works too. Guess Annaleigh is really that different. Instead of pestering her with his childish act of annoyance upon her non-cooperation to his feeding, he simply let it off with a shrug. He cut the fritter into half and placed the uneaten half on Annaleigh’s plate. “Yummy right? You finish that part then,” he smiled sweetly, “While I am a sweet tooth, too many sweets in one day may be bad for my teeth already. And for my physique.” He gave his side a light pinch to show Annaleigh that he may have gone flabby already.

-xxx-

And so their conversation went on for quite some time, ranging from school life and powers to cookies and TV shows. Zac, being the great conversationalist that he is, has always managed to turn the conversation around back to him. A great skill, really. It’s a miracle how Annaleigh has managed to stay with him for the past few hours without vomiting.

As he took a final sip of his drink, his eyes wandered to the streets outside. The rain has already stopped but still the streets aren’t so busy. This is Pilot Ridge after all, he thought. He leaned back and stretched for a bit, his long arms narrowly missing the passing woman on one side and the child on the other. “Woah, it’s getting late,” he yawned, covering his mouth then giving Annaleigh a smile, “I think we should start going now. I don’t want Mr. Pratt to get angry with me going home past the curfew again.” Punctuality has never been Zac’s strongest suit, which meant problems for him and the security team when he got his car and license. “You stay at the dorms right? Or do you live outside the Institute compound?” Again, apologies to Annaleigh as Zac does have a tendency to forget things, usually the important ones.


ooc:
SO SORRY ASHERS. >.<. I feel so bad. You were on the top of my reply list but Zac-muse didn't cooperate that much for this thread. Sorry. D;.
-Jam

[Annaleigh Valentine]

She took a drink of coffee and smiled lightly as Zac gave her half the fritter. She probably wouldn’t eat it, Anna wasn’t that hungry that she would eat all of it, but she was willing to eat a bit. She broke off a little of the fritter and began chewing it slowly. She laughed slightly as he said about his teeth and physique, but didn’t say anything. He seemed to care a lot about his looks and appearance, it didn’t bother Anna she just hadn’t found anyone this obsessed with their looks ever.

After they had finished eating the sweet pastries and drinking the coffee Zac realised it was late. After panicking inwardly that Zac would hit the woman and child when he stretched, Anna glanced outside and noticed the rain had let up. She couldn’t help but giggle slightly when he said about the curfew. “Again? That sounds like it’s happened quite a few times before.” She teased lightly as she stood up and pushed her hair back lightly. It was almost dry now so Anna didn’t have it sticking to her neck or anywhere else.

When he asked if Anna lived in the dorms she nodded. “No I don’t live outside the institute, I live in the dorms, I like it there well enough.” Of course it wasn’t home but Anna was fine with the dorms, they were roomy, they weren’t anything amazing but then again they weren’t horrible. She smiled lightly and shrugged. “Plus you know you’re not just weird when you live amongst people with similar powers.” She added. It was always a bit strange if she saw her parents. They never understood powers and stuff, so when Anna spoke about anyone in the institute normally, she could always see a look of uncertainty on their faces.

((OOC- Don’t worry about it, I’m being held up with essays for classes and reading for classes, and other stuff, so don’t worry, muse can be annoying sometimes ))

[Zachary LaRousse]

“Not my fault Hammel still hasn’t approved of a parking lot for students with cars,” Zac laughed as he gladly told Anna one of his greatest disappointments about Hammel, “Just one of the reasons why I keep telling Dad to build a house in Pilot Ridge already. But no matter how many times I pester him about it, he just won’t budge. Having their own family house in Pilot Ridge is just one of the few aspects in life his dad wouldn’t bend, Zac’s punishments included. He believed having a LaRousse house in Pilot Ridge would mean Zac would never learn how to be independent, as a house meant a crew of at least five to take care of the house’s maintenance as well as Zac’s meals. Zac’s father strongly believed that letting his son stay at the dorms will give him a better sense of independence and responsibility. “I’ve been late so many times because of that. I mean if they just made a spot of students, I would’ve cut my record to half. Or better yet, if I live in my own house, those records would be all but there.”

“That makes things easier. You’re in the all-female dormitories, I assume?” Zac has stayed in the co-ed dorms for a good chunk of his Hammel life (read: 4 years) and he hadn’t seen Annaleigh walk across the said dorm halls ever. Granted he never saw her before today for the past four years, but if she lived right across the hall or just a few floors above or below him, he figured he would’ve discovered her sooner. “I’ve been living with muties my whole life so it didn’t really matter that much for me,” he said, walking towards Annaleigh, offering his hand up to help her stand, “But I guess that could be the reasoning behind their construction of dorms. I mean, I thought they just created such facilities to better look after their students. You know, wire tapping and all.” He let a rather evil cackle escape him. He knew Hammel wouldn’t resort to such absurd surveillance measures, but given the portrayal of meta-human facilities found in popular media, it’s not hard to think of it that way.

“If it were just me I’d be find with being late but I don’t think you’d be find with having a somewhat permanent mark on your record right?” he asked with a shrug.

[Annaleigh Valentine]

Smiling, Anna couldn’t help but roll her eyes slightly. It seemed that the boy was obsessed with his car. To be honest she wasn’t bothered in the least when it came to cars or parking or anything like that. It had never bothered her that she didn’t drive or anything so it didn’t bother her when anything to do with cars came up in conversation, she just smiled and nodded a little. But she did giggle when he said about his dad refusing to build a house. “I don’t blame him, I mean if I was told to do that without a really good reason to move I’d probably do the same.” She said smiling. It was funny to listen to Zac’s problems, they were a lot different to any other problems she usually heard from other people.

Anna laughed and nodded. “Yeah I think if I was anywhere else I’d just hide and never go anywhere.” She said blushing. It sounded stupid but Anna was extremely shy and she would have probably just hidden away somewhere. When he talked about why they made the dorms, Anna just looked at him. “Or maybe they made the dorms so people who didn’t live near the institute had somewhere to live, you know so they didn’t have to travel miles for the school.” She said as she got up, ignoring his hand. His evil cackle kinda freaked her out but she didn’t say anything.

She looked at him and shrugged. “I don’t like getting into trouble.” She admitted slowly. Anna barely left the grounds but if she did she left on the morning so that she had time to get home and everything. Plus when you didn’t sleep and were awake from ridiculous o’clock, you tended to want to get out and do something.

[Zachary LaRousse]

Zac isn’t just obsessed with his car. He’s obsessed with his hair, with his clothes, with his shoes, with his living amenities. Anything that has anything to do with him, he’s obsessed. Zac is one of the most narcissistic people to ever walk the planet, and he isn’t that shy to tell people that. He’s very comfortable being called arrogant and self-centered (somehow he’s rewired his brain to accept it as a compliment, and to refer to the ones saying it as insecure individuals who are extremely jealous of whatever Zac has that they don’t, namely everything). “You think that’s not an ‘extremely good reason?” he laughed in disbelief, “Then what is an ‘extremely good reason’ then, indulge me.” For someone who has cooped herself up for so long, Annaleigh’s got spunk. Probably because she’s had her caffeine dose of the day filled already.

“Aww that’s sad. Don’t be such a hermit dear ‘Lei,” he pouted like a kid, trying to act cutesy around Annaleigh despite knowing that he doesn’t get near anything ‘cute’ with his expression. “If you hide under a hole each day, then no one would be able to see your beauty. And it’s a sin to hide such radiant smile despite not being able to sleep properly.” Another greasy line from the king prince, but he does think that Annaleigh has some charm to her, attitude aside. And really, hiding in a hole? Zac found the whole notion preposterous. “Or maybe that’s what they want you to think,” he nodded, eyes widening and tucking his ignored hand to his pocket. He’d let her slide this time. Do it again and he’ll unleash his guilt-tripping technique on her.

“Really? Haven’t snuck out ever? I knew you had the ‘good girl’ vibe from her but I thought it was all but an assumption,” he teased. Zac himself has tried sneaking out from time to time, but ever since Mr. Romanov got to him (and received quite the talk from Stephen), he’s toned the mischief down a notch. “Wait here for a bit, I have to get something real quick,” he asked Annaleigh, hastily making a beeline to the counter.

[Annaleigh Valentine]

Anna looked at him coolly and shook her head when he asked about the extremely good reason. “Uhm, no, I think an extremely good reason would be…uhm your old house burning down, being hunted down in your own house, not liking your old house, something along those lines.” She said off the top of her head. She couldn’t think of loads of examples but that was enough right? Well enough to show his reasons were a little silly and selfish.

When he told her to not be such a hermit she just shrugged. “That’s what I am, can’t really change it.” She said. Then when he said about her smile and stuff, she blushed and rolled her eyes. “Right ok whatever.” She mumbled as she continued to walk. Anna liked her own time alone and things so she’d prefer not to be bothered, she was half hoping that Zac didn’t find out which dorm room she was in so he wouldn’t pester her, though she had a feeling that he probably would.

Looking at him confused as he teased her Anna just shook her head. “Why would I want to sneak off the grounds when I don’t know where I’d go and I’d get in trouble so why would I want to do that?” She asked slowly as she shrugged. Then she frowned when he said to wait there. “Where are you going?” She asked slowly before he headed to the counter. What was he doing?

[Zachary LaRousse]

“Really? That’s a good reason? Heck, if anything happened to our ‘old house’ I’d jump for joy. That house seriously needs a makeover. Sure it’s an ancestral home and all, but it doesn’t really hurt for a few modifications to make it a bit more modern,” Zac laughed, knowing Anna’s point well but consciously avoiding it. Being a rich heir, Zac’s definition of house is a bit more broad than usual. When he was young, when people asked him where he lived, he’d answer “It depends”. He’d actually be very confused when people laugh at his answer, because really, he moves from place to place. At any time of the year he can be at their Swiss mansion, their Japanese estate, their English manor, their American villa or any of their smaller penthouses around the world. “I don’t believe in ghosts really, but that place gives me the creeps.” For this particular house, Zac’s talking about their English manor.

When Zac came back, he was holding a rather large box with the café’s name on it. “For you,” he smiled, giving her the box, “Figured you be hungry later, seeing that you’ll be pulling an all-nighter once more. They’re mostly chocolate chip, though I think I asked them to sneak in a few white chocolate macadamia’s too. You’ll love them, I assure you.” He pouted, his eyes telling Anna that she’d better accept it or else he’s going to break into tears. And the last thing people want is to see a grown man cry.

“Thanks for the coffee!” he waved to the counter as he opened the door for Anna. He slowly led her to his car and promptly opened the door again for her. “Don’t worry Lei, you won’t have a record this time,” he smiled.

[Annaleigh Valentine]

Anna raised an eyebrow. “A fire would be something to jump for joy about? Wow.” She said surprised that that was his good reason. If that happened where she lived she’d have been traumatised and insanely upset. She wasn’t one to be mean but when it came to something surprising like that then she definitely would speak her mind. She seriously couldn’t believe that he would be happy about a house burning down. She shook her head and couldn’t help but laugh slightly when he said about getting the creeps from the house.

When he handed her the box she looked at him her face frozen with a look of shock. “Zac, you didn’t need to get me these, they’ll take ages to get through.” She said as she looked at the box. They were amazingly good cookies, but wow how many were in a box this size? She enjoyed cookies and cakes and chocolatey snacks of similar styles but it didn’t mean that she just pigged out on them all the time it would take ages. But Anna could see the look on Zac’s face that told her that if she refused he’d most likely cry. She didn’t want to make him cry. Sighing she looked at it slowly and looked at him. “Look I’ll take half of them either you take the other half or take them back there is no way I’ll be able to go through this amount of cookies.” She said to him. It was a fair compromise right?

When he began walking to the car she followed, pressing her lips together as he said about not having a record this time. To be honest if they were late Anna would have explained what had gone on and would have just apologised for being late. She didn’t really mind getting in trouble once for being late or something like that but if it was for something stupid like trying to sneak off the grounds late at night, she didn’t have any sympathy for anyone who got caught. Looking at him she frowned slightly. “Just out of curiosity, how many times have you been late?” She asked as she walked.

((OOC- I’m sorry about the lateness, I’m in the middle of essay writing month at Uni and it isn’t easy, I’ll try to be faster next time!))

[Zachary LaRousse]

“Not really jump for joy, ‘cause my dad would kill me if he found out, but more of a fulfilled smirk or a light chuckle,” he replied, amused at the (expected) surprised response from Annaleigh. He seriously thinks their ancestral English manor is a bit too old that it needs a renovation. Sure the walls have been repainted, the tiles refurbished and modern insulation, cooling and other technological marvels installed, but the feel is still those of the old Victorian Era. And Zac was never too fond of vintage. “But yeah, I’d be so happy. Finally they’ll have a reason to remodel the place. I just hope they wouldn’t try to reconstruct the old one if that happens. Or maybe if they do, they should at least make it more modern. Like want the artists did to Wonder Woman’s costume.”

He simply gave Annaleigh a smile when she pleaded he not give her the whole box. Not going to happen dearie, he thought, you’ve been pushing and pulling on me all day, causing me to lose my game. But not this time. “Lei, I’m not telling you to finish everything off tonight, or within the next week for that matter. Heck, I’m don’t care whether you finish is this month or not. I just want you give you that so you can have something to nibble for whatever, and that’s that,” he nodded, “And besides, that’s my gift. No strings attached whatsoever. Shouldn’t gifts be happily accepted, not rejected?”

After leading Lei to her seat he made his way to the driver’s side, promptly fastened his seatbelt and started the engine. Carefully looking behind his back as he carefully switched to reverse to maneuver himself out of the parking slot. Parallel parking is truly a pain in the butt. “Me? That’s a funny thing to ask really,” he answered, eyes constantly going from the front then to the back, his right arm draped across Annaleigh’s seat. “Let’s just say that I don’t have enough fingers and toes to count them all at once.” So much for being responsible.


ooc:
Meh. Don't think about it too much Ashers. I was in such a drained mood yesterday too anyway so I don't think I'd be able to post if ever you did reply early.^^.
-Jammy

[Annaleigh Valentine]

She shook her head. “How could you be happy about that? I’d be devastated, I get upset when I find out other people’s houses have burnt down.” She said shaking her head. When he commented about Wonder Woman’s costume, Anna raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t peg you as a comic fan.” She said to him truthfully. She wasn’t sure if he was or if he just liked Wonder Woman for the costume, but either way she had never expected Zac to come up with a reference to Wonder Woman.

She looked at him exasperated. “I don’t think I could go through this amount of cookies in a month or even two! Seriously I’ll end up throwing half of them, I don’t want you wasting your money.” Anna said pushing her hair out of her face. When he said about the gift thing she glared at him slightly. “It’s not nice to guilt trip people.” She said to him.

Sitting down in his car she balanced the big box on her knee and quickly buckled herself in. When he said it was a funny thing to ask, she shrugged. “Just curious, wasn’t meant to be anything more than just a question.” She said simply, Anna wasn’t one to ask some intrusive questions on purpose, and she was just curious that if he was so passionate about wanting a car park on the grounds, just how many times had he been late. Then when he said he couldn’t count on his fingers and toes. “Wow that seems like you’ve got a pretty big record.” She mused as she sat there calmly.

[Zachary LaRousse]

Zac could sense the tarnish in his image, somehow. Seems he didn’t word his statement right. The last thing he wants to look like in front of Annaleigh is an insensitive jerk with no care on money and property whatsoever (which, in some ways, is what he really is). “Well, I’d be sad too, but only for a while,” he said as he did a shoulder check and made his way to the main road, “I mean, sure, losing a house is sad, but when it’s long overdue, you can’t help but have your heart jump for joy. And it’s not like Dad has no money to renovate it anyway. He just needs a reason, that’s all.” As for the comic book reference, he blames Justin. His old roommate isn’t really that much of a fan, but he did love the Justice League and recently forwarded him news about the revamp of the famed character’s costume. Goodbye American-themed bustier, hello leggings and leather jacket. “My old roommate is a Wonder Woman fanatic. Showed me how she looked now. And I say it’s a lot classier and ever sexier than her old look.”

He laughed as Annaleigh accused him of guilt tripping her. While he was guilty of such an act, he would never admit to it. Ever. “It’s yours now, why would I care if you throw all of them out anyway?” Of course he would care if he throws all of them, but if she nibbles on at least half, he’ll be happy. He carefully made the car go into a u-turn before speaking, “I’m not guilt tripping you dear, I’m just saying that gifts out to be accepted with an open heart. The giver won’t feel good if the receiver is reluctant, just saying.” He gave the girl another wink as they sped through the streets of Pilot Ridge.

“I do. Good thing it doesn’t reflect much on my report card. My dad would go berserk on me if he finds out.” While his dad isn’t the strictest dad ever (in fact, he’s anything but strict; he tries to be, but he fails), he does tend to give Zac punishment from time to time. Like grounding him (literally: no plane privileges) for a month or cutting his allowance in half because of what he told Mr. Bond. If he knows of such a record Zac has, he could just imagine his car being taken away from him, at least for a month or so. And living a month without going out of Hammel is just insane.

[Annaleigh Valentine]

She was slightly amused that Zac was now trying to defend himself in some way. Looking over to him she looked at him and shrugged. “Yeah but you seem to think because you want rid of it someone else does. It’s kinda selfish.” She wasn’t going to lecture him or anything because…well she knew it would be pointless. It was obvious that Zac seriously didn’t care. He was trying to get on her good side, unfortunately Anna wasn’t one for people saying things they didn’t mean, something they made up to make someone else like them.

When he talked about his roommate she nodded slowly. “I wouldn’t know I’m not into anything like that. I don’t think I’ve ever picked up a comic book.” She mused to herself as she looked up thoughtfully. She couldn’t remember a time when she’d picked up a comic book but that didn’t exactly mean that she definitely hadn’t.

Anna knew that if anyone bought that many cookies and then someone threw them out and they said they weren’t bothered, they were lying. But she wouldn’t say anything. When he said he wasn’t guilt tripping her she just rolled her eyes. He really was even if he wouldn’t admit it. “Fine I’ll take the stupid cookies, guilt tripper.” She mumbled.

She smiled as he said about his dad would get annoyed. Heck every dad would if they found out there was that trouble. “At least it’s not like it’s anything worse, if your dad found out but then saw someone did something worse maybe he’d be more lenient or something.” She said shrugging.

[Zachary LaRousse]

Zac couldn’t help but laugh when she told him he was kinda selfish. How many times has he heard that adjective and it’s synonyms before? Twenty? A hundred? Every freakin’ second of his life? At first, he was fazed by such an accusation. He knew how negative that sounded and would try to the best of his ability to disprove it. But the more he tried to disprove it, the more he does on making himself be one. To Zac, there’s really no way of getting around being ‘selfish’. Overtime he had come to accept that his undying love for himself is really part of his very being, that removing it would be removing what makes Zac a Zac. “I know right. If only I could warp reality, I’d shape it to my own liking. ‘Cause I’m just so selfish like that,” he chuckled, his tone both of sarcasm and delight.

“I’m not into those too. Maybe I’ve read a few, but that’s only until Justin left for Kocher.” Without Justin bugging him about how Richard Grayson should be the next Batman not Jason Todd, Tim Drake or even Damian Wayne, he’s completely forgotten about that fandom. “But Wonder Woman’s costume, compared to the old, is really more realistic and efficient. I mean, sure her old costume is lovely eye candy, but fighting in a corset and high heels? How is that comfortable?”

“That’s a good girl,” he laughed, ruffling Anna’s hair like a father does to his grumpy daughter. Guilt tripping always works, he told himself, praising himself inwardly as he sped up a bit to beat the yellow light. He never likes being stopped abruptly at the road by a red light. “Unfortunately dear Lei, I have no brother or sister to compare my antics to,” he explained, “So it’s just me and me. Which is a good thing really. I don’t know what I’d do if I have an older sibling, or even a younger one.” The thought of having a sibling that is potentially better than him is a bit too much for the kid to bear. Also, he would definitely not want his father’s company to be split between him and his imaginary sibling, nor compete for the seat in the clan’s inner circle.

[Annaleigh Valentine]

Anna frowned slightly when he said about the warp reality. “Uhm, ok sarcasm can only be taken so far.” She mumbled as she took a piece of her hair from behind her ear and began to absent-mindedly braid it. She tended to do it without realising it, it could go for hours sometimes and she wouldn’t notice it. It didn’t really matter.

There was a light shrug from Anna as he said about Wonder Woman, she seriously didn’t care. It had never appealed to Anna, anything to do with super heroes or anything like that, actually she just preferred to stick with meta humans and ignore the fact that Hammel could be seen as a school like in X-Men (that Anna had ended up walking out of a screening of because she found it slightly insulting and embarrassing). “Girls will wear what girls want to wear…or what someone wants her to wear.” Anna said as she absent-mindedly watched out of the window. For some reason she’d gone really vague at this point.

When he ruffled her hair she looked at him and raised an eyebrow. “Condescending much?” She mumbled before looking back through the window boredly. When he said about having no brothers or sisters, she shrugged. “You could tell them about some of the crap other students have done, maybe then he’d realise lateness isn’t too bad.” She said.