Speed Dating - Chapter 1 [Young Teens]

[Anya Vasiliev]

Anya had been eternally grateful that she'd been allowed to use one of the town hall's function rooms to host this event. The idea had come from watching some film, and she'd been so humoured by it that the idea of becoming little Miss Matchmaker for those lonely souls in the world that she'd started organising things nearly the second the film had ended. Sets of tables and chairs were delicately decorated with a single red rose. There were plastic glasses filled with fake-wine, and a stand near the door with forms to be filled in. Each form had a number system for rating each date, and she also had a badge pile with similar numbers.

She'd been delighted at the take up - so many young people wanting to find love. She was also grateful that her friend Riley had offered to help. Anya had an idea there might be some tears and tantrums before the night was out. Low lighting and some gentle music in the background, she knew it was perfect for some romance. There were even amounts of girls and boys - but then, she had counted that perhaps some of the girls may like girls as well, and of course, vice versa for the boys. A banner across the room said "WELCOME TO THE PILOT RIDGE SPEED DATING EVENT" in large sparkling font.

Yes, Anya had been working incredibly hard on this in between grading students abilities.

On the badge pile was a note politely pinned to it.

1 is Ari, 2 is Tal, 3 is RC, 4 is Rhett, 5 is Bells, 6 is Jenny, 7 is Lani, 8 is Anette, 9 is Ember, 10 is Bell, 11 is Jethro, 12 is Lucah, 13 is Tom, 14 is Arbor
Please take your badges

Finally, as the young people poured in through the doors, Anya rang her hands and managed a bright smile. "Hello everyone!" Her voice was cheerful. "Grab a badge and a form, then settle down at a table." She laughed, then lifted the large bell and stop watch.

"Each couple has 5 minutes to talk and get to know each other. After five minutes is up, you have to score your date out of 10, then move on. I wish you all good luck." Her eyes sparkled.

[For the purposes of making this thread easy enough, I will pair everyone up at random, then after two back-and-forth posts (eg. Anya, Riley, Anya, Riley) I will post again as Anya with new pairings

Arbor & Tom
Ari & Lani
Bells & Rhett
Jethro & Jenny
Ember & RC
Anette & Lucah
Bell & Tal]

[RC Manne]

RC was stressed out, like he usually was in social situations. Jean and Alex had pointed out the speed dating thing to him, but it was Thelma that really pushed him into it. She was adamant that RC should be a lady killer (You’re so good looking! And smart! And nice! she would sign emphatically, looking absolutely appalled when he admitted he was single still), and seemed to think that he’d knock ‘em dead at speed dating.

All RC could think about as he clipped on his #3 badge were the disgusted faces the girls would make when they shook his hand. Five minutes wasn’t long enough at all to even explain why his palms were disturbingly moist all the time, let alone get to know a person. But as he slunk into his seat at the table, he conceded that it was the best way to see if anyone had sudden, beautiful chemistry.

RC drooped a bit, looking gloomy as he leaned his face against his palm, elbow on the tabletop. Sudden and beautiful chemistry was probably not something he figured he’d ever find. What he needed was a slow, patient, surprisingly wonderful type of relationship…the kind where he could spend more than five minutes explaining to the poor girl why he looked wet all the time.

He was surprised when there was suddenly a pretty redhead sat across from him. Gulping back his nerves, RC managed a smile (but did not initiate a handshake). “H-hi. I’m RC Manne.” He introduced, praising God that he only stuttered once.

[Riley Adams]

Dressed as casually as he always did; a plain dark brown t-shirt, paired with jeans and a tan coat, Riley was ready to go over to Stephen's to pick him up to go over to the town hall for the event. The drive over to Stephen's and then to the town hall didn't take too long and they arrived in time to help with last minute decorations.

At long last, young people started to filter in through the entrance and Riley had to admit, he felt a little giggly at the whole situation. He couldn't imagine his younger self going through this. He had always been way too shy to do something as nerve-wracking as this.

As Anya made the introductions, Riley offered a warm smile to all the participants as they came up to find their badges and the form. All Riley had to do was ring the bell when time was up since Anya was basically in charge of everything else. He was just happy to be of any service at all. And seeing Stephen in his waiter get-up had Riley smiling.

With the first round already in motion, Riley walked around just monitoring the whole procession.

[Jethro Harker]

Jethro showed up, nearly a few seconds late due to a moment of trepidation outside the door. He was looking a little out of his element but was dressed nicely enough. He had donned a white dress shirt and a black sport coat for the occasion. He severely hoped that his habit of dressing like someone twice his age would not alienate any of the girls but figured he should go ahead and stick to his habits so they would not get scared off later.

He adjusted the lapels of his sport coat a little nervously. He was trying to approach the situation with his usual air of self-confidence but it was difficult to do when he was here expressly for the purpose of being judged by someone he wanted to impress. He was well aware of his tendency to intimidate some people at first and this entire thing was built around first impressions.

Still, he mustered his confidence and approached the pile of badges. After pinning badge number eleven to his lapel he took his seat and waited for his first partner to arrive. As he waited he remembered the breathing techniques he used in his training and imposed a calm on his mind. This was all to give him a chance, meet some girls in a controlled environment. There was no reason to fuss over his appearance or personality, it was their prerogative as to whether or not they liked him.

Of course, that little voice in the back of his mind that he had discovered at the start of puberty soon piped up, reminding him just how odd he was at times. His confidence wavered. At least he'll have things to talk about.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani smiled walking through town. True the Speed-dating had just been an excuse to get out of that dreadful place for a little while, and this was just a part of his scheme. Yes, he was actually going to go, he was interested. He had made a little bit of an effort, wearing his nicer jeans and a collared shirt. His hair had just done what it always does. He walked his hands in his pockets to ward of temptation, that could wait until after the event. After all, it could be fun. Maybe... potentially... He shrugged it off and swallowed his mouth suddenly feeling dry as he opened the door. Thankfully there were only a few people there. Some of whom he recognized but had never talked to. He plucked the number 7 off the table and pined it to his shirt.

He wondered absently as he pulled out his chair and dropped easily into it if there would be anyone here interested in him. At school he often came off aloof and confident and as a joker. However, as much as he loved a good joke he was terrible at letting people do more than grace the surface of his life. The only people who knew him very closely were in his family. Even the few people he had opened up to at school didn't know the full truth. Lani didn't think anyone ever could and still look at him the same way. So here's to attempting to open up without giving much away. He listened to the woman's small speech and leaned back resisting the urge to cross his arms. This would certainly be interesting.

Lani couldn't lie now that he was here and waiting his heart hammered ever time the door opened with nerves. He wished he had someone to talk to so he could laugh off his nerves. He had told his sister about the situation, she had been no help, other than to tell him to just be nice. His sister thought the whole situation was hysterical. How long had he sat on the phone waiting for her to stop laughing after he had told her? He suppressed a sigh, he just hoped that the woman he was supposed to be pared with did look at him and run for the hills. Maybe he should have asked Jared for fashion advice... Lani nearly laughed and stopped the thought there. That would certainly have been a way to have them flee his presence. He glanced up at the door and swallowed, a wave of dread rushing over him. Maybe this was a bad idea... what if no one came to his table? What if they found him repulsive? The 'what if's started to build and build so much so that he started to feel close to jumping out the window. He took a few breaths and noticed a woman approaching. He smoothed out his nerves and gave a winning smile in greeting.

[jennyparker7]

Jenny had never usually done things like this. She liked choosing her dates instead of them being chosen for her. However this would be fun. She could try new things, meet new people – or rather new meta-humans. Jenny hadn’t forgotten that the guys she would be would have powers and she had to remember not to freak out or a tornado would ruin speed dating at Hammel.

Like always Jenny overdressed with a light pink dress with frills, high heels, her brown hair was straight and long and she was wearing silver bangles. She also had a black clutch with her gum and perfume. Strawberry scented gum and perfume that smelled like roses. Her favorite.

Jenny walked over to the table and took her badge that said number six. She put in on her dress but not wanting to because her dress was so pretty and walked to the tables. Jenny smiled when she saw Lani, not wanting to miss that speed date and stopped at a presentable table with a presentable man.

He had a sports jacket, dark hair and a white shirt. He looked overdressed like her but that didn’t bother her. Jenny read his number and was surprised she was matched with him. He looked tall and Jenny was short but no matter. Jenny just sat down and put her clutch on the table.

She reached over and held out her hand, “Hi I’m Jenny.”

[Ember Domingo]

Ember reluctantly opened the door, her eyes peering around the room before she fully committed herself to stepping in. She was a bit more dressed up than usual, changing in her favorite jeans for knee length black and white skirt and her tennis shoes for some cute flip flops. For a top she settled with a nice graphic tee with blue and black tattooy designs all over it as well as a plain gray hoodie in case the weather got colder. Lucky for her the room felt luke-warm, just warm enough to sustain her girlie choice of style.

Ember walked over to the table, scanning over the buttons until she grabbed the number 9 from the pile and tried to pin it on her tee. She gave a whimper as she successfully stabbed herself before finally securing it to her shirt. This is going great already. She thought sarcastically to herself as she quickly snagged a form from the table. In the back of her mind she could feel doubt in this whole dating thing rising. Was she really going to find a person she liked in five minutes? Would she make a good impression? Would anyone actually like her? She bit her lip and turned around, reassuring herself. Your a good talker, and it's a great way to meet new people.

With a bit of renewed self confidence she turned herself around and looked for her first date. She was matched with the number 3 and quickly pinpointed him. He was cute, dark haired, and had his head resting on his palm as if he was bored of the whole event. We'll fix that. She approached the table and pulled out the chair, reminding herself to sit all lady like and proper.

" Nice to meet you, names Ember Domingo. " She said giving off a friendly smile feeling bad at how nervous ( and sweaty) RC seemed to be. She didn't initiate a hand shake at all, after touching Zaeric and going though the pain of how cold he was, she didn't want her power clashing with anyone else. " Umm . . . so I guess we start talking about ourselves? I grew up in Ohio, and I have played Soccer for ages. I enjoy listening to Rock and Roll music and I'm an avid video gamer. I also draw a lot in my free time." She spoke, kinda feeling herself rambling on a bit. " I'm really new to this whole thing so bare with me. " She explained smiling almost laughing at herself.

[Jethro Harker]

Jethro looked up and saw his first date, he had to smile when he saw her. She seemed to be afflicted with the same garment ailment he had, which was something of a relief. He considered it lucky that they would be paired off first like this. She did look nice, though and it was not just the dress that informed his opinion. Jethro shook her hand, hoping he did not seem too stiff. "I'm Jethro, Jethro Harker. I, uh, this is my first time with this sort of thing but I guess we should start."

He cleared his throat a little and tried to open up a little more, "So... Let's see, I was an army brat. Got raised around most of the Pacific Rim and parts to the west. My old man, step mom, dog and the running explosion usually referred to as my little sis are living in California right now. I'm an avid archer, swimmer and runner. I've never had cotton candy and I like to cook." He let his little speech sink in for a moment.

"You wanna tell me a little bit about yourself? Or you could ask me something if you wanted," Jethro offered. He was not used to giving an straight description of himself to people. He just hoped she liked what she had heard. Of course, she was now holding the cards in their little 'get to know you' segment. For all Jethro knew she might be pure, fire and brimstone, evil. He sought solace in the fact that fire and brimstone did not exactly go with pink frilly dresses so he was willing to bet against that possibility.

[Lucah Ivaskov]

Speed dating. Lucah had never heard of such a thing in Romania. In his home country, you met someone the old fashioned way...your parents set you up with who you would be married to. The only time you ever met your betrothed was at the wedding ceremony. Dating was only done between commoners who had a choice in who they married, or if they even got married. Lucah's wife-to-be was a noble's daughter, this particular noble was his father's rival. Of course Lucah had no interest in marrying the twit that his father chose for him. His father believed Lucah would be back to marry this young woman...well he was mistaken.

Lucah walked into the hall where the event was being held. He was in his usual attire, black dress pants, black dress shirt, bloody red tie, black socks and black shoes. His hair was neat for the most part with a slight tousle to it. His bright blue eyes sparkled as he looked around. The black suit he wore showed his coloring at an advantage. He was slightly tanned (mostly fake tanned, considering him in the sun tanning wouldn't be the best idea) and his teeth were straight and pearly white, not that many would notice...he wasn't smiling.

Lucah grabbed his number, ten, and with ease pinned it to his left breast pocket. Then he took a form from the front table and went to find an open table. Luc sat down and looked at the other couples as they began talking. He frowned, What am I doing here? This is a ridiculous concept. What happened to meeting people through just bumping into them at a super market? Isn't that what Americans thought of as romantic? Ha! They don't know the meaning of romance. Lucah shook his head slightly and sat up straight as he took another look around.

[Rhett Goddard]

Four. I will never like how it sounds in English. Four. Four. It sounds so plain. I mean, quatre, that is a number. Four is just... a simple word. Well meh.

Rhett walked around the place, searching among the participants who was number five. He could not remember well how was it that he got involved in such an... event. Oh, right, I was decisively bored. I should not be bored, I end up doing the most unpredictable thing. Like that time I wrote my name in the random dating service for the dance. Which only got me a date that never arrived. That was fun. Even if Rhett would never, ever, admit it, a part of him indeed wanted to, sort of, find someone that would differ enough from most people, someone who would rise Rhett's interest to unknown highs. In Rhett's subconscious, it was the only meaning the word 'attraction' had, however it was fair to add that Rhett was a teenager after all, and, well, hormones do some magical things indeed. Oh, there you are, Ms. Number Five. Bells? What a stupid name.

"Hi." He said flatly and took a sit rapidly. "I would say something like 'Hey, my name is Allex and it's very nice to meet you', but my card thing says that I'm Rhett and I don't know you yet, so now I can't actually say that without lying."

This won't work.

[Annabelle Coronova]

Well this was all bull-puckey, the more she sat there, waiting in more of anxiety than anticipation to find the 'true love' so many Hammelites were looking for. What was this worth to her? Nothing, really. Then why had she volunteered for something so pathetic and desperate as a dating service? Oh, yeah, that's right, as a spurt of optimism that came over her, causing her to to crazy things with her friends, like enter her name into a rumble that ended her sitting here, waiting for Prince Charming to roll around the corner. By the turn out, she wasn't all that optimistic at this point.

There sure were a lot of youngins here, a lot of run-of-the-mill, peppy and preppy and athletic young teens here. She guessed they'd all like the same kind of music, they'd all dance to the same beats, watch the same sports, and go to the same coffeehouses. They probably would all match wonderfully, but as for Bells, she stuck out like a sore thumb. The only girl that didn't have hair past her ears, the only girl that didn't give a shit about what she looked like. Certainly, Bells wasn't here to impress. The more she sat there, with her number on a card, folded in fours and crumpled in her hand, the more she felt an itching to leave. The seat was far too uncomfortable, the room far too busy for her liking. Maybe she should just quietly get up and--

Well too late for that. Someone plopped down in front of her, a guy with blonde spiky hair and a bit of an attitude. Was he just as enthused about this as she was? He sounded as if he was making a sarcastic riddle, but from what she could make of the paragraph of an opening speech, his name was Rhett. To say in the least, she wasn't really that enthused about the look of things from here. "Right. Rhett." She gave the guy a curt nod and snuck a glance at the half open door in the distance. "You can call me Bells. Or whatever else you deem fitting..." her voice traveled off into nowhere as she looked around at everyone else in the room. It wasn't even like there was anyone in her group of friends at this...not like they would be anyways. If she had been in her right mind, she wouldn't be here either, but now she was stuck with a bunch of sarcasm by the name of Rhett and nothing to talk about. "I'd offer to shake hands, but that might get awkward." She flashed a naked hand to him and put it back down in her lap. Bells had found it more advantageous to not wear gloves tonight for this reason, to not get all touchy feely with the person across from her, whomever they may be. She could write down a number if it ever came to her someone awesome enough but.... that was less probable than her friends coming to find her here and save her. Basically she was screwed for the next five minutes or however long she was stuck here to talk to this guy. Joy.

[jennyparker7]

Jenny listened to his past. An army brat, she once had met one of those is school and they never were nice but he seemed nice. California was also a very warm place but he didn't look like a sun tanner. Then it was Jenny’s turn to introduce herself but what should she say? Hi I’m Jenny and I can control the weather and my parents kicked me out because of my recruiter who was a total B I T C H and I have a puppy named Snowball hidden in my room. Jenny almost laughed at her inner voice.

“I’m Jenny. Not an army brat sadly. I lived in New York with my two parents, was popular and I have a puppy named Snowball. I like pop music, Pepsi rules over Cola and I hate war,” said Jenny with a big smile.

Wow she sounded like a Miss Teen contestant. She hoped that he didn’t think she was too preppy or stuck up. He probably would talk about how preps were dumb cheerleaders, pop music and Britney Spears was stupid and Pepsi could never compete with Cola. And then something about how the war helps people.

[Tom Rever]

Tom showed up in comfortable attire his favorite shirt che guevara red as blood , his jeans ironed to perfection and his hair a little less scruffy than usual, He'd hope he get an a for effort !
Tom fixed his button #13 to his shirt as he thought of all of what might happen on this day ,he sat at his table wasting no time ,as he tryed to stay calm,
he pressed his hand on the button as he wondered if the button would leave a hole in his shirt, He suddenly felt his heart race as he sat down and all of his thoughts finally sunk in "Maybe i rushed this.. what was i thinking signing up for this" he rustled his shirt feeling like he was choking on something that was nonexistant , he coughed a few times and slapped his hands against the table ,he looked around to see if anyone looked from all the commotion and realized he was bringing attention to himself, he relaxed a little he pushed his hands back as he sat up straight
he started to think to himself " Ok Tom this isn't the hardest thing in the world i think you can do this... ya you totally can, it's not the end of the world" "ya" Tom said in a whisper "ya i can do this..." He calmed his breathing and waited for his empty seat to be occupied patiently ,he tilted his head at the rose which stood in a finely decorated vase looking at it as if he would ask it a question.

[Rhett Goddard]

or you can call her: Nova
an echo whispered in both of Rhett's ears.

"Or I can call you Nova, which apparently I deem fitting..." Rhett only thought about what the Nova might mean after he said it, and even thought he had no idea, he, sort of, trusted his hunch that it was a good comment to say after receiving the echo. "And no worries, no need to get all touchy in our first date... Or ever, really"

Rhett wondered how this was gonna work if he was, from the beginning, going to to be bothersome and obnoxious with all his speed dates. Well, whatever, it's not like I'm doing it to find my so-called soulmate... It was all, after all, for free fun. Or so he wanted to believe, anyway. So let's go ahead and fuck this up from the very beginning.

"You look like a boy with the hair like that, you know? I'm not saying in the worst of ways, no, after all I do swing both ways, but it leaves me to wonder..." Rhett leaned forwards towards his date with a quirky smile in his face. "You like looking like a boy or it's completely unintentional? And does it work? Boys dig that? Boys besides me, of course, 'cause I don't, but that is more than obvious at the moment, ain't it?"

[RC Manne]

RC blinked when a ginger sat down across from him. Cursing his luck, RC shrank a bit into himself. Any other teenage boy would have been leaping out of his chair for such a pretty girl to sit across from him. But RC? No way. He had a bit of a thing for red-heads, and it would just make the experience all the more difficult to deal with.

Shakily offering a smile, RC nodded. “RC Manne. Nice to meet you Ember.” He feel completely silent when she listed off the basics, a little bit distraught that he had yet to find common ground. Maybe he’d be able to come up with something. “My little brother plays soccer.” He chimed in.

Classy. Talk about your brother when you’ve got five minutes to talk about yourself.

Resisting the urge to facepalm, RC cleared his throat. “He’s the second youngest of my four brothers…I have two sisters too. I’m in the middle…” He said, scratching the back of his head nervously. His smile widened a bit. “I’m from a big family…duh.” Shrugging his shoulders, RC picked at his sleeves.

“And you’re not like, rambling or anything.” He laughed quietly. “I think its supposed to work like rambling. We only have five minutes you know.” After a minuscule pause, He quickly tacked on: “I like rock too. But mostly the acoustic stuff…Like Dave Matthews.” He explained.