You're Gonna Go Far, Kid [Zac]

[L.C. Milliner]

*--outfit

The weather had been uncharacteristically warm, and so that made L.C. emerge from her shell and venture into the outdoors, hoping to get the semblance of a tan rather than stay shamefully lily white. She had been staying inside more and more lately, getting sucked into the strange world that people called television. Specifically, she had been catching up on I Love Lucy and 3rd Rock from the Sun on the free select programming channels. She was spellbound by the strange yet funny ideas that came seemingly from nowhere.

She had also been in a funk lately, ever since the incident of the Valentine’s Dance. Things were foggy in her head, because she had obviously slept (albeit not well) since February. What happened between her and Zac anyway? Did something fire up between them, or was she just imagining sparks of interest that were never real? The latter seemed the most reasonable option, if not the most obvious. Zac was busy being hung up on that Ann girl, if she remembered correct.

The girl had been so wrapped up in passing school, training, and her TV shows that she didn’t realize two months had passed since she talked to Zac. She seemed to mellow out a bit during those months- less yelling, less cursing, and less frustration were becoming the norm. She had her bad days, but she was becoming much more controlled; she was done digging her heels into the ground and was growing up. She was getting mature.

It scared her, to be honest. She thought she was mature before, but now she was even more so- she was looking for a house, a job, and thinking about college- although she tried not to around Sean, lest he get into her head. In truth, L.C. had no idea what she wanted to be- she was just rolling with it. She was a decent artist, but she couldn’t draw realistic things to save her life. She was better at cartooning and abstract art, not drawing real people, and even then it wasn’t anything more than a hobby.

Problems swirled around her head, and once she was done with all her TV watching, she had nothing to keep it away. She made lemonade and cleaned up around the house, but in the end she realized what she needed was a social life, or something of that sort. So, picking up her bag, she wandered outside into the nice, warm weather of Pilot Ridge. It was somewhere in the seventies, and normally she’d feel a bit chilled, but she had braced the winter weather and the rain of early spring, so the mid-seventies climate was like a hot summer to her body.

The brunette meandered around Pilot Ridge with no destination, filling out a couple of work apps before finding herself on the beach of the lake. She sat her bag down and waded about knee deep into the water before discovering it was a bit cold. She lingered for as long as she could stand before wading back, finding the air was much colder. She sat and rolled her legs in the warm sand, letting the grains cling to the water on her legs, soaking it up. She leaned back and watched the water, or, to be more accurate, the fish underneath. The water was clear enough to see a few milling about in the shallows, so she watched intently for a while. She needed a break like this. She had been working hard lately.

“Too busy for my own good.” She muttered aloud, as if she was trying to justify her laziness in an indifferent sort of way.

[Zachary LaRousse]

Just like L.C., Zac’s taken a back seat from almost everything over the past two months or so, relatively toning himself down and apparently trying to behave for once, even going as far as to let others take the spotlight that would normally be his (or at least he would normally claim to be his). He’s stayed out of trouble, lessened his new-transfer bullying and even volunteered to be part of the outreach-esque event of the school. To anyone who’s not privy to Zac’s inner workings (or at least to those who only knew him lately), they’d most probably say that the boy’s turned over a new leaf.

If only that was the case.

Unfortunately for almost everyone, Zac’s superficial change of heart only happened because of the severe sanctions imposed on him since that fateful Valentine’s Day Dance. While not a bone in his body regrets what he did to Alex (he never did, and never will be), what he did regret is that his father found out about it. As Zac has surprisingly kept his past scuffles under wraps, to say that Daddy was surprised would be an understatement. A mix of rage and disappointment washed over the senior LaRousse when he heard of it, thinking of his son’s actions as way out of character, and immediately imposed various disciplinary actions on the boy (such as cutting his allowance to 75% of its original value, as well as grounding him – taking away his private jet privileges – indefinitely). Obviously appalled by his father’s punishments, Zac since then has strived to gain back his father’s favor, which explains the rather drastic personality change on the boy.

The grounding couldn’t have come at a more opportune time though. With June – or more specifically, graduation – just around the corner, Zac’s scholastic life has been busier than ever. Tests, reports and other such homework have never been too much of a pain on their own, but together, they are quite the formidable foe. Zac has seen himself spending more and more time buried in his books, even stopping by the library to actually study and not just bother people, time he would’ve wasted partying or shopping halfway across the globe had his grounding not occurred.


He would’ve been writing his Chemistry report just about now had he not grew tired of his laptop already. Deciding that he needed a break from all the studying he’s been doing (he still has the weekend to finish this one after all), he promptly packed some clothes as well as a few snacks and drove towards the town lake. He needs a swim – as it relaxes him better than working out or going out to the spa – but the school’s pool is just too popular to provide the solitude he needs. Hopefully the current weather will deter most people from the said body of water.

A huge smile can be seen on the boy’s face upon seeing the empty lake. Perfect, just perfect. He quickly put his stuff down under a tree not far from the shore and quickly changed into his board shorts, tapping onto an orca to help him survive the supposedly frigid temperature. After a few quick stretches, he jumped into the water, swimming from the shore to the buoy and back again.

He was just about to head out to the buoy for the sixth time when he saw a familiar figure from the corner of his eye. Trying his best to be sneaky, he quietly swam towards the said figure, unaware that he’s disturbing the fish beneath him. “Amen to that,” he smirked, standing up with his arms on his hips. “Long time no see L.C. Are you trying to be a hermit now? Or are you just avoiding me?”

ooc:
It apparently took so long. I apologize. ^^.
- Jam

[L.C. Milliner]

*--outfit

L.C. had noticed a few ripples on the water and thought nothing of it at first; ignoring the movement as she looked to a patch of green across the lake where a blue heron was fishing for its dinner. But, when she looked to the water again she noticed the ripples coming closer, directly toward her, and the fish were flickering out of sight in rapid succession. She sat up and looked down at the surface, eyebrows knitting together in a concerned, yet placid way. She doubted whatever it was would hurt her, and if it tried she had a sound and solid defense system that would undoubtedly send whatever it was packing.

She spotted a blonde head come into view as she muttered her sentence and they rose from the water, streams cascading down off them loudly. The wildlife went silent and the heron took flight into the nearby brush. The teen frowned at the disappearance, because it really was a pretty bird. She turned reluctantly back to the male in front of her after a moment.

It wasn’t a surprise that L.C. didn’t recognize Zac at first- she forgot he dyed his hair- and blinked slowly at his seemingly random accusation until she saw his smirk. Then, she recognized him immediately. He always had one of those smirks that a person could recognize. She blamed it on seeing it so often. The gesture was returned as she looked him over, noting what he was wearing, along with what he wasn’t. She suddenly was very concerned about how she looked, because she was certain he had never seen her legs bare before, or, at least, as bare as they were now.

She shook her head calmly and shrugged off his teasing, not really in the mood for verbal jousting just yet. She’d get there in a moment. “Not any more than usual.” See? A moment. “Been working hard to graduate this year, mostly.” Last year was enough of a graduation fiasco. She wasn’t ready in either department- training or grades. This year, she figured she had to at least have the grades down. She was trying. Hard.

“So why’d you dye your hair? Trying to look like me?” She smirked, remembering her own blonde locks she had sported until about Christmas- she saved up enough money thanks to Sean that she could get a box of bleach from the CVS and give it another go. Honestly, she didn’t like his hair blonde. It didn’t seem natural. “Aren’t you cold?” She commented, standing to put her feet in the water as she mirrored him, hands on her hips. Even though she was more than an arm’s length away she still had to look up at him- she was short like that. “This water is still pretty freezing.”

[Zachary LaRousse]

Contrary to what most would think, Zac didn’t go and swim towards the girl when he first saw her from the buoy. Aside from the fact that he wasn’t exactly sure that it was her (the buoy is rather far from the shore), suppressed feelings and memories of that fateful meeting after the dance suddenly washed over him – stuff he’d rather not deal with at the moment at least. Sure, his arm wound was already healed (thank goodness he can mimic enhanced healing; he just needs to see a cosmetic surgeon to have the scar removed), but the confusion he had that night hasn’t. Being the cocky, vain and incredibly self-absorbed jerk, he’s not used to all the hesitation and shyness awkwardness he felt around the Iron Maiden that night. It’s just not him really.

It’s about time he correct that.

So here he is, smirking like crazy as he shook his head like a dog to remove the unwary water droplets still stuck in his hair. “You and me both,” he nodded, rolling his eyes in obvious disgust of the topic. “I particularly hate how they dump so much on us at once. And near the end of the year at that. Shouldn’t they make the last months easier and all that? Why can’t they just let us party like crazy?” Nice job Zac. Dwell on something mundane and evade the real issue. Like a man.

“Don’t get your hopes up L.C.,” he smirked, letting an amused chuckle escape him, “Spur of the moment decision really. Nothing more.” He added a shrug at the end, trying to act like him changing his hair color is nothing more than an impulsive move in order to hide (what he thinks is) a deeper reason behind it. “And besides, autumn and winter’s done; we should move on.” He ran his fingers through his hair and combed it upward, removing the loose strands of hair from his face. “You like it?”

Zac consciously tried to resist the urge to pat the girl on the head when she stood up and mimicked his pose (he can’t put his finger on it but there’s something comedic in the way she did it apparently). Instead, he just walked closer, decreasing the distance between them and opening his arms widely. “It is pretty cold. Would you give me a hug to keep me warm then?” he teased, cocking his head to the side. “What brings you here anyway? Wrong turn in Albuquerque and all that? Or were you just stalking me?”

“Nice legs by the way,” winked the boy as his eyes briefly went down L.C.’s frame. Please don’t spike him just yet.

[/blockquote][/justify]

[L.C. Milliner]

*--outfit

Eyeing Zac subtly now that greetings were out of the way, L.C.’s gaze couldn’t help but travel to Zac’s shoulder, where the scar from their previous meeting still lingered. She resisted the urge to raise a brow and ask about it, as she had anticipated he would have gone to a medical-type person to get that patched up and prettified. She had plenty of her own to match, on her legs, arms, and even a few on her torso- dime and penny sized scars that reminded her of how volatile her power was. She had nothing recent, of course, and most of them were already faded. His looked pretty good- no sign of infection or whatever, but that was expected, considering he probably had his own hospital wing in his honor somewhere in the country, if not a whole ‘LaRousse National Hospital’ chain. (Why does that sound so catchy? Dammit.)

She held up a hand when he shook his head, feeling it get covered in water droplets. “Hey, hey, watch it.” She warned him, waiting until he was done before she lowered her hand, shaking the copious amounts of water off. How could such a small amount of hair hold so much water? “As long as the grades on what I turn in are good, I don’t mind the work.” She countered. “Besides, from what I’ve been hearing there’s plenty of partying.” L.C. rolled her eyes as she said it, trying not to think of what she had heard, about Zac running the kissing booth at the community field day, something she had stayed far, far away from. It was too close to a carnival for her tastes, even though she did give into temptation and sent some teen to buy her a funnel cake, which she had devoured with obvious glee. L.C. loved funnel cakes.

“I wasn’t hoping. To be honest, I like it brown.” She frowned slightly as her eyebrows knitted together, tilting her head. “And you bleached your eyebrows too, so now I can’t see them. I’m sorry, just... A blonde Asian looks weird.” She confessed it with reluctance, because she didn’t really find it too terribly horrid. She just wasn’t used to this new look. She bit her lip at his moving on comment, wondering whether he meant he was over Ann, or over... Whatever he had thought about her. If he thought anything. “Moving on is good.” She replied awkwardly, fidgeting with her belt loops as she said it, looking down at the brave (or stupid) fish swimming around her feet.

“If you’re expecting a hug, you can forget it.” she took more than a couple steps back, almost stumbling on the sand. “You are soaked.” She reminded him, hoping that was more of a deterrent than an encouragement. She paused on the sand and thought before shrugging off his question, not really giving an answer. She didn’t have time to think of one, anyway; he complimented her legs and suddenly she felt very self-conscious.

“If you’re into the Lily-white thing, I suppose.” She tried to shrug it off; secretly thankful she had shaved her legs meticulously the night before. Thank goodness for razors and boredom.

[Zachary LaRousse]

While Zac didn’t really like the scar that was left by the spiking L.C. did that fateful night, he was just thankful that (aside from her missing important nerves and not screwing him altogether) it happened on February – giving him ample time to heal and take appropriate treatment to get the scar off before showing-off season (i.e. summer) comes in view. That aside though, in some twisted way, he did like having the scar with him; somehow it reminded him not to mess much with L.C., that he’d better clean his act should he wish to be with her around her more often. He wouldn’t want to be Swiss cheese before he even graduates, right?

“I wouldn’t mind that either. But lately my grades have been going down the drain despite me putting my best effort in my work.” Zac does have higher standards than most of the student body though (no thanks to continually trying to best a certain speedster, of course), so his definition of a ‘fail’ may be a pass on anyone else’s eyes already. “Makes me wish I had gone partying myself too.” Until he wins his father’s trust back, he doubts he’d be going to such events as often as he did before. It was this drive to win his dad back that made him volunteer for the field day really, selling his kisses like he did. It was a good thing Fifi (and JD) show themselves that day, else his day would’ve been extremely uneventful and boring.

He tried his best not to show his disappointment when L.C. admitted her (slight) dislike for his new hair color. She’s not the first one to tell him that, and she probably wouldn’t be the last. “Why so racist?” he teased, more to uplift his mood than anything else really. “And of course I’d bleach my eyebrows too. Wouldn’t want them to be black despite me being blonde, won’t I?” Because that would be just plain weird. Not to mention highly unsightly. “If I make my hair green or pink, would you like it?”

While the smug teen did taste the awkwardness in L.C.’s response, he didn’t know what it meant; he doesn’t want to assume anything at all, telling himself he’s not some loser-paranoid kid and all that. As it was, he’s decided to wait for things to get clearer, learning from Ann that it’s better not to assume anything and all that. He doesn’t want to lose her to some midget again after all.

“Oh yeah? Well now you are too!” As childish as it was, Zac quickly leaned down and began splashing/spraying L.C. with water, laughing wildly as he did. He tried his best to wet L.C. all the way, but given her distance from the shore, it was a bit of an effort. Not that it would stop him though.

“They’re not that white you know. Trust me.” He’s seen his fair share of legs after all. “Though I’m more surprised that you own such clothing. I thought you were little Miss Prude after all. You should wear shorts more often; you have the legs for it.” Hopefully subtle flirting wouldn’t get him spiked.

[L.C. Milliner]

*--outfit

L.C. wasn’t aware that Zac’s father was keeping him on a leash, and if she did, she wouldn’t expect Zac to stay on it for long. In fact, she figured that his Father knew nothing of what was going on at Hammel- in her mind he was just as much of a silly, conceited playboy as Zac. The very idea of him being strict, or even normal for that matter, was unfathomable. She expected he had always been, and always would be, in his Father’s good graces. “You haven’t been partying? That’s a shock.” She wasn’t kidding, either. Zac, on the straight and narrow? Impossible.

At the mention of brown eyebrows looking bad, L.C. frowned. “Watch it.” She said, gesturing to her own eyebrows. She had left them brown for the duration of her hair bleaching, although she shouldn’t get on his case about it too much, considering that he wasn’t really her friend or even interested in her being alive back then. She ran a hand through her now brunette hair and considered bleaching it again, at least for the summer. She’d ask Zac his opinion on it later, if there was a later. If not Zac, she’d ask Vincent. Despite being an idiot, he had good taste.

Zac yelled something at the girl while she wasn’t paying attention; as L.C. looked up from watching her fish, she saw an arc of water coming toward her. It hit her in the legs, splattering her shorts and her shirt across the front, some of it even getting on her face. She yelped in surprise and stumbled back, not falling but getting the hell out of the water as Zac splashed her again. She grabbed a handful of sand and lobbed in hopes that it would collide with the water, along with getting all over Zac. She looked like a mess now, and she was cold at that. The air suddenly felt a cold colder, and she shuddered slightly as she looked herself over.

Thoroughly drenched, the girl brushed the sand off her hands and looked at her shorts, which were splattered with a huge burst of water. Her shirt had a big wet spot around the bottom that made it cling to her waist, accenting that her stomach was still flatter than most girls, not that she would admit to it. It wasn’t like she had anything to get fat on, eating school food all the time. She looked from her legs to him and quirked a brow, smirking. “My short legs, oh please. A few more inches cut off them and I’d be a midget.” She felt her confidence hit a high, however, when he complimented her complexion. So she wasn’t milk white? If she was, that meant it wasn’t a bad thing, either. So Zac was lying, or he liked her legs.

Hmm.

More study is required.

Not that she minded, or anything.

She edged closer to the shore carefully, watching in case he tried to splash again. “You know, I think I like you complimenting me a lot more than you insulting me. But that’s just a thought.”

She placed her feet in the water again, feeling a chill as a breeze wafted by. She shivered and listened as the leaves in the trees made their strange, peaceful sound. “How are you not cold? You’re in nothing but shorts.” Really tight shorts at that. Damn.

Wait. No. Don’t go there, L.C. that is uncharted territory. No. Bad.

[Zachary LaRousse]

Well, at least L.C. got half of the senior LaRousse’s personality right. If there’s anything that Zac was sure of, it was that his father is neither conceited nor was he ever a playboy; in fact, from what he has heard, his father’s quite the opposite in his youth really. He was, however, extremely lenient on the boy, spoiling and doting him to the fullest ever since he was a kid. While he does reprimand and correct the boy from time to time, he’s only raised his voice on his son once or twice, after which he felt extremely guilty that he himself initiated the reconciliation.

Which is why the sudden clamp on his privileges has been a shock to the smug teen. Zac sincerely hopes that this isn’t some weird redemption plot in order to get back on the years that his father has been letting him off easy. “I know right. Who would’ve thought I’ll turn into a goody-two shoes.” He has to clarify though – by not partying lately he means not flying halfway across the globe to attend a gig; he still frequents the town whenever he has time. But L.C. doesn’t need to know that.

“Watch what?” Unfortunately for L.C., Zac did not get the whole I-dyed-my-hair-blonde-too-but-I-left-my-eyebrows-brown gesture. As it was, he does have those derp moments when he’s all dense and out there. “You’re weird,” he chuckled, shaking his head in mock disappointment.

The boy laughed loudly as he successful drenched L.C., the girl almost looking like someone just threw a bucket of water on her. He did not expect the retaliation though, which means he didn’t have a chance to dodge when the sand ‘bullets’ came flying towards him. “Eww,” whined the boy. If there’s anything he doesn’t want, it’s the feeling of wet sand/mud on his bare skin. It’s just a bit too disgusting and uncomfortable for him.

As he bent down to wash the sand off his body, he saw L.C. shudder just slightly and felt a bit bad. Seems the weather is still a bit too cold for anyone still. “Stay right there L.C., I’ll be back real quick.” He ran to the shore to grab his towel from his bag, hurriedly rushing back to hand the said cloth to the Iron Maiden. “This is why you should pack a little more fat in your body L.C.,” he teased, playfully poking L.C.’s sides, “Sean has been feeding you properly right? You’re not as fat as you think you are you know.”

His eyes turned into what seems to be straight lines when L.C. mentioned something about her legs being short. “Are you fishing for compliments right now? ‘Cause if you are, I won’t give them to you.” Hearing L.C. talk badly about herself was something new to his ears. Then again, all he heard from her was insults and other similarly snarky remarks before.

Instead of going back to the lake however, Zac opted to sit down near the shore, submerging only his feet and knees in the water. He absentmindedly played with the lake’s surface, tilting his head from side to side like a little kid as he looked at the horizon. A smirk grin spread through his face as L.C. spoke, turning slightly towards L.C. and saying, in a rather ominous manner, “I knew it.”

“I’m currently using my powers. Beluga whales and all that,” he explained, triumphant smirk still on his face, “Why, you want me to cover up or something?”

Seems he was all anxious and apprehensive for nothing after all.

ooc:
A little crappy. I am sorry. D;
- Jam

[L.C. Milliner]

*--outfit

Smirking at her victory, L.C. did a victorious fist pump before Zac told her to wait, running off around the lake. She blinked, and while he was gone she ran a hand through her hair, feeling self-conscious. What was with all of these compliments and acting so nice? If she didn’t know better she would suspect that he liked her or something. What a thought, LaRousse liking her. That would happen when pigs flew, and since he hadn’t sprouted the power of flight it was obvious they couldn’t yet.

She took the towel from him and smiled. “Thank you.” She rubbed down her legs with it, sand and water coming off before she looked at her jeans, convinced that no matter how could the towel was, the fabric was soaked. She yelped when he poked her sides and shooed his hands away, frowning as she realized that this was doing nothing to help her case, although the fact that she had not threatened to spike him yet should be made note of. “Hey, don’t do that.” It hurt her ribs, to be honest. “Of course Sean feeds me.” She just didn’t eat a lot at his house. She had small servings, more by choice than by anything else. She felt like a burden enough already. This housing thing was only supposed to be temporary.

Totally ignoring the fishing for compliments remark, L.C. frowned and brushed a bit of sand off Zac’s shoulder, the same sand she had put there. He missed that small spot and it annoyed her. She brushed over it once or twice to make certain it was gone before realizing he had said something. “What? No. I’m not fishing.” L.C. was the second to last person in the world that needed complimenting, the last place of course going to the boy across from her.

Even if he was using his powers, L.C. still did not want to be posed with a question like that. She had to be tactful, or else he would catch what was going on and would start insulting her all over again. Why oh why did she have to like the spoiled rich boy?

“Yes.” No. Of course she didn’t want him to cover up. What kind of stupid question was that? She rather liked seeing him without a shirt. His body was defined, like an athlete. She’d draw that. Hell, if it were anyone else, she’d tap that. But it was Zac, and as such, she had to keep her feelings (and hormones) in check. She threw the towel at him to accentuate her false statement, sitting on the sand beside him. She didn’t get in the water, but instead she sat indian-style in the sand, watching the tiny waves roll onto the sand. If she were younger, she would have made a sand castle, or splashed Zac in revenge to start another water war. She felt old as she simply sat on the sand, watching the trees and the sun and the sky. She just wanted to close her eyes, rest her head on his shoulder...

Whoa now. Whoa now.

L.C. snapped out of her daze just as soon as her eyes were closed, now hyperaware of every sound and movement around her. She sat up straight and placed her head on her knees, looking out over the water. “I wish I could swim here.” Or at all, for that matter. For a girl that could do a thousand unnecessary tasks, it was surprising how many useful things she could not do. Swimming was one of those things. She had seen the ocean before, even stood in it, but she couldn’t swim to save her life. But this place looked like it would be fun to swim in, come summer. Ah, well. She’d miss out, as usual.

[Zachary LaRousse]

“Make me,” Zac teased as he inched towards L.C. and poked her thrice in quick succession, smirking widely as he openly disobeyed the Iron Maiden’s orders. Under normal circumstances, a small warning from the said girl is enough to make Zac stop and behave, fear of the metallic spike (one of the most potent weapons he’s ever seen really; why it was given to such a spunky girl was still a mystery to be solved, in his opinion) washing through his system almost immediately. Not that he’d admit that out loud though. And considering that he’s had one of those impaled on him before (despite it being a slight brush, it was painful all the same), one would think he should’ve learned his lesson.

But, as it was, the day was ripe for new waters to be tested. He’s waited two months for this (probably even more, just that he’s only realized it then); it would be a waste to simply let it go, especially since L.C. has already signs of, well, reciprocating it. Her not brandishing her spike to emphasize her point, for example. “How is living with the good Doctor then? Is it fun?” he asked, trying to look as if he did not just rebel against her earlier, “Betcha you couldn’t even sneak out. I know the feeling.” Having a telepathic nanny-butler really sucks, especially since he quickly foils all of Zac’s pranks, even before he even starts planning them. “So you’re not coming back to the dorms anytime soon ?”

L.C. brushing the sand off his shoulder came as a surprise to him, but he tried not to show it too much. He was, after all, still a jerk, and jerks don’t get excited too easily with surprise physical contact. It was just a brush really, nothing more nothing less. I am not a loser, he told himself as he tried his best to compose himself, keeping his smirking, self-conceited facial expression from turning into one of blushing delight. “Good. Because you look good even if your legs got shorter anyway,” he muttered, giving L.C.’s knee a few light pats in the process.

Zac knew better than to listen to L.C.’s answer about him covering up. He’s been reprimanded for lacking shirts and/or shorts more times than he can count, so he’s learned how to discern when people are being sincere in really wishing he had clothes on, and when people aren’t. And as with L.C., well, he figured if she was really serious about making him cover up, she would’ve expressed it in more than one syllable. And yet he still chose to wrap the towel around his bare torso, giving L.C. a look of mock protest as he said, “Hmph. Fine then. You don’t know what you’re missing.”

He was just about to tease L.C. even more by putting his head on her shoulders when she suddenly sprang up, almost making Zac lose his balance and fall over. “Well that can be arranged silly,” he nodded, taking the towel off as he stood up and stretched his arms for a bit. Without a moment to spare, Zac quickly lifted L.C. from the shore, his arms effectively curling around her thin frame as he started wading to the deeper ends of the lake. He kept going and going until the water was already around his waist. “Spike me and I’ll throw you even further away.”

[L.C. Milliner]

*--outfit

Zac was really toeing the line when it came to her spiking him, and if it were anyone else she would have, a thousand times over. However, the last time she spiked him the guilt had eaten her up, she realized she had feelings for him other than total disgust, and he had said some sappy line about finding a friend in her that really yanked at the few heartstrings she had left to yank at. Because of all that, she was trying very hard not to have a repeat of that incident. She kept her spikes in even as he poked at her, so instead she shooed him off and slapped at his hands. She would not spike him, but she was not afraid to take some swings at him. He could withstand a couple of slaps from a girl he could throw around like a beach ball.

“To be honest, Sean isn’t half bad.” L.C. muttered, scratching her head in a nervous and flustered manner. “I just... I need to get out of that house. It was only supposed to be temporary.”

[/b] The telepathy didn’t bother her all that much, because Sean kept out of her head rather than digging through it. The only thing that really bothered her was the secrecy- she knew he had something to do with all those teachers that were getting hurt, and they had a big meeting at the house a month or so ago and now tons of them were in the hospital. She may have been apathetic about the situation, but she was not stupid. The fact that he didn’t think of telling her anything at all was almost insulting. But then again, she had enough things to worry about.

“Ah, no. Once I find a job I’m getting my own place.” Like hell if she went back to the dorms. She’d rather sleep in an alley than in a shared room again. She wanted space, or even better, a space of her own.

Zac’s lack of a reaction was no surprise for L.C. and neither was the arrogant smirk that seemed to get even wider by the time she was done. If there was an actual Cheshire Cat on the Earth, there was no doubt in her mind that he was channeling it at that very moment. Patting her knee, however, was not expected. She all but recoiled at the lightness of it. It took every fiber of her being to hold still and take it without looking like she had won first prize of some sort. She felt color coming to her cheeks, and she ducked her head for a moment like she was inspecting the panda on her shirt while she took a deep breath. When she felt better, she sat back up.

Watching Zac cover up felt like a win and a loss at the same time, but she pretended not to care about it either way. She blew at a chunk of her bangs to get it out of her face and snorted at him, waving a hand at him to buzz off. “I do know. I’m not impressed.” Was that a challenge? Oh yes. He had better get started on impressing her lest he fail his task. She smirked in mock-satisfation.

Until he picked her up.

It took her a moment of thought before she realized what he was doing, and her face blanched. She couldn’t say anything at first, or even breathe. She sat in his arms, stock still for a moment, before she started to squirm, writhing in an attempt to get out of his grip. “No! No, no, no, nonononono, Zac, put me down!” She yelped, horrified as they started to get in even deeper. She felt herself starting to pale out at the idea of drowning, but she was still neglecting to tell Zac that she didn’t mean she couldn’t swim now, she meant not at all. In her panic, she locked one arm around his neck in what would’ve been almost an embrace if she wasn’t so terrified.

“Stop it, I will spike you! Take. Me. BACK!” She didn’t suppose anger would work, but screeching for dear life as she realized how deep they were getting was a good bet. Finally she realized that he was going to throw her in, and she pressed herself against him (ignoring whatever bit of self-satisfaction that would give him, jerk), and clung to him like a child, eyeing the water as he stopped, up to his waist in it. It was rather like watching a cat, and if L.C. had a tail she’d be holding onto it in an attempt to keep it away from the murky brown lake water.
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[[OOC: Ridiculously long, sorry.]]

[Zachary LaRousse]

Unlike L.C., Zac has been less than perceptive (or even apathetic) to the recent slew of Hammel staff absences. As Stephen wasn’t among those affected (he was absent yes, but more because of the sudden increase in recruitment load due to the shortage of recruiters), the smug teen didn’t think that they should merit more than a simple acknowledgement from his part. Sure he feels bad that they’re out, but it’s not like it’s his business to know what had happened. As far as he’s concerned, they might’ve just caught the flu all at the same time. He heard there’s some strain going around town or something.

“Well, the offer to be my personal bodyguard still stands,” teased Zac, bumping the girl’s shoulder slightly with his own. Though he said it as a joke, he did say it in an effort to tell the Iron Maiden that he’s willing to help. Maybe he should ask Pete later if he needs an extra hand around the house. “And if you want to look for an apartment, I’d be glad to help,” he added, shifting around so that he’s now in a lotus position, “I helped Moe look for one the other month. He loved it the moment he saw the complex.” And no, he’s not offering his apartment-hunting services to L.C. just because he’s looking forward into having the same misadventures with her as he had with the pixie boy. He is trying to set himself straight now after all.


Zac totally did not expect L.C. to blush at his touch. Yes it was faint, much less brief, but it was there. And he saw it. With his own two eyes. It was something he didn’t realize L.C. was capable of until now; had someone told him about it before, he would’ve laughed and told them they were lying. As it was, he thought the Iron Maiden was devoid of emotion; now he knows she isn’t. Even more, the boy took it as a sign: the Iron Maiden does like him back.

Almost immediately, the boy’s face broke into a smile. A smile mind you; not a haughty smirk or a cheeky grin, but a sincere and genuine smile. He tried his hardest not to break into celebration with such an achievement, taking in deep breaths in an effort to bring his heart beat back to normal. He instinctively tucked L.C.’s hair behind her ears when she looked down (probably as he wanted to see if the blush is still there), but quickly retreated back and simply stared into the horizon when he realized what he has done.

Darn it, why is he feeling so awkward all of a sudden?

It was a good thing L.C. suddenly spoke up, and in a challenging tone at that, else Zac would’ve exploded with the uneasy, awkward feeling he has already. “Oh really,” he said as he turned back at L.C., puffing his cheeks slightly while moving his eyebrows up and down, “Well, we’ll see if that’s the same thing you’ll tell me by the end of this month.” Now that he’s sure that he wasn’t just assuming things, he can begin the whole courting thing properly, right?


If Zac told you that he didn’t enjoy the whole lake-scare thing he did to L.C., then he’d be lying. Liar, liar pants on fire really. The moment L.C. started flailing about, the boy broke into giggles, which turned into boisterous laughter when the girl suddenly wrapped her arms around him and flailed even more. Yes, he was enjoying everything, from seeing a different side of L.C. to the whole she’s-hugging-me-so-tightly-right-now thing. He even bounced the girl up and down if only to irk/tease her more. “This is why you should eat more. You can get carried off by people easily,” he snorted, swinging slightly as if he was going to throw L.C. already. “You look so cute when you’re all scared shitless.”

Gosh Zac, when did you get so cheesy all of a sudden?

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[L.C. Milliner]

*--outfit

“Protecting you isn’t worth all the money in the world.” L.C. muttered, rolling her eyes as he tried that line out again. Besides, being paid to hurt people was not something she wanted to get into. That was like asking her to sleep with him for money- she had seen it done and frankly it wasn’t worth the effort or the stripping of her dignity. (True, the men her mother slept with didn’t pay her as much as she took money from their wallets while they were sleeping after all was over and done with. It was the same premise.) She still had her pride, however little. “Thanks for the offer to help me out though. I might call you up on it.” Apartment hunting with Zac honestly didn’t sound half bad, even if the boy would probably try to steer her toward the more expensive good-god-I-cannot-afford-this flats. She had to be the voice of reason and frugality.

While she was looking down, L.C. realized she too had switched into the Lotus position when he had, subconsciously following suit. She had done that all of her childhood, practicing contortionist tricks. She could even bend backward and grab her ankles. She bet he couldn’t do that without help from some animal. When he reached out to brush her hair back, she flinched away until she realized what he was doing. She stared at him, unblinking, as he looked away to the horizon, and looked away too, a thought blossoming in her mind.

Did he actually... like her?

She snorted out loud at the thought and looked up to the heavens, chiding herself for thinking something so idiotic. She was getting in over her head. If he really was flirting with her, he was only doing it because he was an incorrigible flirt and had nothing (and no one) better to do. She wasn’t an idiot. For a moment things felt awkward, and he wondered if he knew, but his idiotic self-appreciation kicked in and she rolled her eyes, relieved that she had not given herself away. His face made her snicker a bit, and she shooed him away with a wave of her hand, listening to his comment. She smirked and raised her eyebrows, cocking her head to she could look sideways at him. “The end of the month? Is that your best bet?”

Oh god. Were they flirting? Was he flirting? Was she flirting? She didn’t even know how to flirt. Christ.

The thought of flirting and the dynamics involving it were banished from her head once Zac scooped her up and stepped into the water. So, while he may have been inadvertently endangering her life, he at least stopped her from getting a headache from overthinking. If the situation wasn’t so frightening, she would have been blushing furiously, possibly even relishing the moment. As it was, she was stiff as a board as she looked into the water. His laughter was not calming her. If anything, it was scaring her even more. She closed her eyes and gulped, realizing her behavior was very much unlike herself, and attempted to glare at him. It failed miserably and looked more like a face that would be drawn on ‘Bambi’.

He said something about her being cute, but she couldn’t hear him. All she could do was claw her fingernails into what felt like the base of his neck, taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself. “Zac.” She paused, gulping. “I can’t swim.” She finally had enough sense about her to realize that he didn’t understand what she had meant earlier and still didn’t quite grasp the concept. “If you toss me, I will drown.” If it was possible, she tightened her grip even more. “Please, take me back.” If he put her down here, she’d likely collapse. She had never stood deeper than her waist in water, and that was only once or twice. Right now, she’d probably be up to her chest.

[Zachary LaRousse]

Would Zac get wind of L.C.’s analogy to his offer, he would’ve been dismayed, if not appalled and insulted altogether (he’d probably let it pass though, since this is L.C. and all that). While he would understand that it was a rather harmless comparison, he might still feel a wee bit betrayed. After all, his intentions were rather good and pure. That, and he’d never pay someone to sleep with him; he’d claim that his good looks are enough to lure anyone he wants to get in bed with anyway.
(Which would probably irk L.C. some more, so it’s a good thing such thoughts weren’t broadcasted).

“If you don’t want to be my bodyguard, you can certainly be my maid,” he teased, sticking his tongue out to L.C. to emphasize that he’s only joking. Hopefully she won’t take his jests in a bad light. “But seriously L.C., if you need help, just call me.” After doing the whole ‘call-me’ gesture, he paused for a bit, as if trying to remember something. A split-second later he proceeded with a ‘eureka!’ motion as he stood up and ran back to his bag (“One moment please”), grabbing it from the other side of the lake and giving his phone out to L.C. as he came back. “What’s your number by the way?” Not so subtle, isn’t he?


His huge ego had always been his automatic defense whenever he feels like he’s out of it, may it be that he’s feeling extremely awkward, incredibly horrified or just plain uncertain. While it’s already quite unbearable normally, it jumpstarts to unprecedented levels when under stress. Just give it an opening, and it’ll go and explode really. “Well, I would’ve told you you’d be regretting your decision within a week, but I know you’ll just deny it as hard as you can,” he winked as he brushed his hair up. He shook his head for a bit, and blew the few strands of hair that fell into his eyes as they settled down. “So a month, yeah. Six weeks tops. You haven’t seen me try yet Milliner.”


While it was fun at first, things slowly went downhill when L.C. began clawing at him. Flailing he can take but the nails? Not really. If Zac knew any better, L.C. can and has been projecting her spikes through those sharp nails of her. “Calm down L.C., sheesh. I won’t drop you. I was just joking,” he chuckled, hoping it’ll ease whatever panic the Iron Maiden is feeling, “I haven’t been in bed with you and you’ve already scratched my back. Should I be scared?” Not exactly the most appropriate tease he can think of (probably not the best one considering this was L.C. he’s talking to), but he just couldn’t help it.

“You can’t swim?” Zac asked, utterly confused and puzzled. First JD and now her? Why does everyone around him turn out to be quite the hydrophobic?

With a sigh, he promptly turned around, holding L.C. closer to him as he began the long wade back to shore. “Sorry ‘bout that,” he muttered as the water got shallower and shallower, “I didn’t mean to give you a heart attack.”

Instead of putting her down when they reached the shore however, he continued cradling her in his arms, returning to his initial lotus-sitting position with the Maiden on his lap. “I’m going to give you swimming lessons from now on. No buts missy.”

Finally, a legit reason to see her in a bikini. What a sneaky, sneaky bastard really.

ooc:
Apologies for the delay. >.<
-Jam

[L.C. Milliner]

*--outfit

Being a maid was more feasible than a bodyguard. L.C. was actually very good at cleaning and cooking, but she also suspected that her maid uniform would be one of those cutesy cliché black and white get ups that had a skirt so short it would be considered a belt in some states. She may be short, and a bit on the thin side, but she was not model material for those sorts of things. No, no, no. “I think I’ll pass.” She called after him, watching him run off for his bag again as she sat back on the sand. She fidgeted with her hair as he ran off, humming something oddly familiar yet not as he came back. He gave her his cell phone and she stared at it for a while before looking at him. “You do realize I don’t have a phone, right?”

It was sad, but true. L.C. had no phone, or any desire to have one. People were stupid with cell phones. They walked into fountains, crashed cars, and recorded lame cat videos with cell phones. She also did not have a myface or a spacebook, or whatever they were called, except maybe one from when she first started at Hammel. She did have a YouTube account, but only one video was uploaded from when she was around fifteen. She needed to get around to deleting that. But yes, along with being terrible at swimming, L.C. was very techno-illiterate. What was so good about technology anyway? It was irksome and annoying and it made people have absolutely no lives, ever.

She sat Zac’s phone down, resisting the urge to break it. If she had realized he was pulling the ‘asking for her number’ pick up, she would have given him Sean’s home phone for now. But she was oblivious as always.

His ego shift was not a surprise for L.C., she almost was getting the hang of when to expect it. She had merely shrugged and gave him a look that meant ‘never in my whole life would you ever get me’, but she presumed it was lost in translation and was instead coming off as ‘Keep trying’. Not that she would send that signal to him intentionally or anything. That would blow her cover of her not liking him, which she really didn’t. She blamed his good looks, because honestly he was anything but great in the personality department.

For example, telling her that him almost drowning her was a joke. He mentioned something about her clawing his back and she glared at him- back to her old self again, for the most part. Her glare wasn’t as much as a ‘melt your face off and destroy your soul’ glare as much as it was a withering ‘shut the fuck up please’ sort of hollow stare. “I never learned how. Never needed to.” She muttered, tucking her head against his chest and loosening her grip as he turned back. Swimming was for kids with fun families and free time, not for children that technically had a taxable income.

“It’s okay. You didn’t know.” She was willing to forgive him this time around, mostly because of the position she was in. She couldn’t decide whether she liked or disliked being held by Zac, although the verdict was going to lean more toward dislike if he took advantage of it or kept insulting her.

They sat on the shore and L.C. realized at that moment how very close to Zac she was- she could hear his heartbeat and feel his body heat. The last time she had been held like that was when she was little and Magda was still around. It was comforting and for a moment she forgot where she was, curling herself up and tucking her head low, resting a hand on Zac’s chest carefully.

Then she remembered it was Zac and her rose colored glass shattered.

She had to get out of there. Had to. She sat up and all but scrambled out of his lap, finding her bag lying on its side in the sand. She caught him say something about swimming lessons and she stumbled, sliding on her flip-flops as she scratched her head. “Yeah, sounds good.” She said, not really censoring what was coming out of her mouth like she usually did. “Sounds good, meet you at the pool on, er, Tuesday.” The school had a pool, right? “But listen, I gotta run, I just remembered I had a thing.” She was walking backward, easing away before taking off. “Bye!”

And she was gone, sprinting like there was no tomorrow. The only thing she left behind was the echo of her flip-flops slapping her feet.

Not to mention a good chunk of her heart.

[EXIT]