|
|
Post by Astrid Rotweil on Oct 12, 2011 15:27:42 GMT -5
< Starts out at the academy, but the majority of the thread will be at the theater. >
< Astrid's having boy troubles. Heh. >
> So after some scattered and very bad planning, the Truthless pair had finally come up with a vague idea of what they were doing come the weekend. They'd meet up while the shuttle was loading up students to bring into town, out in the parking lot where she'd tarped her baby with love and care. From there, they'd ride into town (though she wasn't actually allowed to go, with her terrible attendence) and head over to the theater to see a movie (they'd decided on Dream House, but they'd probably end up seeing something else with the way they planned things).
> So what Saturday afternoon finally rolled around (the plans had been made Friday, after classes), Astrid was already outside in the parking lot, watching the shuttle load up as she sat casually on her moped, an extra helmet on the handlebar with her own in her lap.
> Today she looked... well, a lot better than usual. She was in street clothes, for one thing; a pair of dark skinny jeans, shin-high riding boots, a dark red tube top with fake rips along the chest, a black tank underneath that and a couple of black and red bangles on each wrist over top of her riding gloves. Over top of her outfit, she was wearing a light, slightly baggy hoodie, one that had some sort of design on the back and was left unzippered in the front.
> That outfit wasn't the best part about her though. Today, she'd dressed to impress and it showed. Her hair was actually... natural looking... kinda. Her natural russet brown showed through cleanly, but there were black streaks and tips all along it. It hung at its usual length as of late, down to her chin and an inch long in the back, spiked and straightened.
> Her ears and tail were left natural for once, no extra markings. She wore very minimal make-up (normally she'd wear some smoothly applied eye and lip coloring), just some bronzing on her lids, perked up with some thin eyeliner and some simple gloss on her lips, giving them a shine.
> Enough about her appearence, though (which has gone on for three paragraphs now? Shit. Sorry.). Astrid sat there, listening to her ipod play, watching the kids board the shuttle boredly, her hands in her pocket, playing with little box inside; normally it'd have been used as a ciggarette holder, but seeing as she didn't smoke tobacco, it held four joints instead. She never went anywhere without her fixing and she'd grabbed double to share with Gage today.
> Speaking of Gage... Where the heck is he? I know I left early, but would it kill him to actually be on time for once? She wasn't actually upset. Just playfully annoyed. ...maybe I went too far with my grooming. We're just going to see a movie. As friends. Just friends... or well, kinda. Not really. Partners. Life partners?
> Another flare of frustrated confusion brought her to bring her hands to her forehead, groaning in annoyance. She'd been trying to work her head around her feelings for some time now, ever since he'd caught her interest. The boy was so painfully gay, he might as well have dressed in drag on the weekends! Normally that was an instant signal for her, one that made her not interested in the guy at all.
> Not Gage, though. Avery was right. Gage was her partner, her Fighter, but far more than that too. He was so important now. One moment, she'd been cruising the solo scene. The next, the stray queen had found herself a tomcat to cruise with.
> It was just her luck that her life partner...
> ...was gay.
> "Arghh! I hate men!"
|
|
|
|
Post by Gage Reinhart on Oct 12, 2011 16:01:17 GMT -5
Well, today was the day. Him and Astrid had talked on the semi-reliable chat and had decided they were gonna go and see a movie. While Gage didn't really know what the movie was about, he was happy to be able to spend some one-on-one time with his partner. They'd only just realized the kind of relationship they had quite recently, so he wanted to spend as much time with her as possible to make up for the first however-many-years they had spent alone. And, well, that started today.
Saturday afternoon took long as fuck to come around, although Gage was pretty sure that was only because he was actually looking forward to going somewhere that wasn't school. Even though he'd been going to school here for two years now, he'd never made the trip from the academy to Ashporte. It was sad, yes, but he was happy he was going to spend his first trip there with his other half. She seemed pretty excited too, which only made him that much more willing to go.
As for his appearance, he didn't really do anything special. He had on a semi-tight pair of dark jeans that could have been classified as the guy's version of skinny jeans. Around his waist was a red and black checkered belt that was loosely attached together that seemed to serve no higher purpose other than showing off his style. As for a top, he only had on a black pull-over hoodie that was most likely a girl's medium in size, given the fact that it seemed fitted. He knew if he wore anything under it that he would probably get hot, so he just didn't bother. He had originally wanted to attempt to look nice for his get together with Astrid, but realized he didn't have many choices to pick from in the clothing department.
So instead, he went with the next best thing. This was in the form of the black-framed glasses that were sitting on his nose, giving off the impression that he was some smart, good-natured student. A lot of people thought that glasses were attractive, so he figured it wouldn't hinder him in any way. Besides, he needed his glasses to see the movie screen, anyway, but he'd never tell someone that he was nearsighted. That was considered a weakness, and Gage didn't have any of those. You know, because he's god and all. Total master of the universe.
His bright red hair was styled in the usual fashion -- messy, untidy, and all over the place. He hadn't taken the time to anything special with it. Speaking of time, he was running late.. Although, he pretty sure Astrid was used to his lateness, he had wanted to be on time. But, since he was a princess, he needed time to get ready. And he'd woken up late. Two bad combinations.
Hauling ass down the sidewalk, he finally saw the first row of cars come into view. He spotted the shuttle first, and saw loads of kids filing into the open doors. Second, he saw Astrid, looking as if she were flustered about something. He gave a smirk, noticing that she'd gone out of her way to look nice for him as well. That sure was nice of her, although he hoped she wasn't going to make any comments on how long he'd taken to meet up with her. He was bad at keeping time.
When he noticed she wasn't facing him, he suddenly got the idea of sneaking up on her. He crept around to the other side and snuck up behind her without making a sound. However, when he got close enough, she suddenly exclaimed that she hated men. Taken aback by the sudden outburst, he blinked in surprise. Leaning over her shoulder from behind, he said in his usual purr, "You wouldn't happen to be talking about me, now would you?" A soft smirk played across his features.
|
|
|
|
Post by Astrid Rotweil on Oct 12, 2011 16:16:05 GMT -5
> The moment she heard his voice, like an echo, behind her, she shrieked. The girl had jumped, spun around and grabbed hold of the poor guy's ears in an instant, tugging but not really hard enough to hurt. For a moment though, she looked ready to clobber him, eyes flaring behind thick walls.
> Then she clued in that it was him and those defenses dropped again. Her grip loosened but she didn't let go of his ears just yet. She also didn't seem all that impressed, flushed and clearly embarrassed.
> She tugged his ears in different directions, not too hard, just enough to effectively bother them. "Gage, you heartless tom!" She scolded, tip-toeing to get right up into his face, cheeks puffed. "I nearly mauled you! What were you thinking, sneaking up on me like that?"
> She pouted for a moment, then relaxed, her grip loosening again, giving a gentle rub to fix the sore, then finally letting him go. Her expression softened into a less angry pout, though it was still incredibly sulky. "I thought you were a creep or something, jeeze."
> Then, his question before, the one that had scared her senseless, finally clicked. "And what makes you think I was talking about you? You're hardly considered a man, dressing like that." She poked fun, literally, at his hoodie. "It's girl stuff. Stuff a tomcat wouldn't understand."
> ...smooooooooth. |
|
|
|
Post by Gage Reinhart on Oct 12, 2011 16:44:33 GMT -5
After his eardrums were blown, he was graced with the gift of having his ears grabbed. His facial expression having instantly gone sour, he closed his eyes as his head was jerked around in her grip. "Ow, ow, ow!" he moaned, bringing his hands up to latch onto her arms. He had quite a hard grip on her arms, but he knew it was nothing that would hurt her. It was merely his defense system kicking in as he tried to detach her hands from his ears. However, because he didn't want to go and accidentally hurt her, he refrained from actually doing anything but just holding her.
"I didn't mean to scare you, geez!" he yelled, and groaned a bit when she finally loosened her grip. He turned his head up a little bit to see the flushed face of his Sacrifice, up close and personal. Giving a small laugh when he realized she'd only been startled, he couldn't help but to nuzzle his nose against hers, given she was so close. "You did all that because you thought I was a creep? That's so intense. And cute." He chuckled again.
When Astrid gently rubbed his ears, he practically gave a gentle purr; he flicked his ears once she finally let go. "Oh, come on, I've still got the man parts, at least," he joked, flicking her forehead. "I was trying to look nice, but I guess now I look like a woman." He cracked up. "Oh well, I tried."
"And stuff a tomcat wouldn't understand? I beg to differ," he argued, a smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. "I relate more to females, in case you've forgotten already." Besides, he just really wanted to know what was on her mind, and what man she'd been referring to. Now he had to find out.
|
|
|
|
Post by Astrid Rotweil on Oct 12, 2011 18:20:11 GMT -5
> Intense... cute!? The two just didn't fit together! How could he just... chuckle so calmly after saying something so crazy? She crossed her arms and went back to pouting, ears low and brows pinched upward in what could've been the inspiration for her nickname, "Rottie".
> "Oh shut up." Came her half-hearted retort, though inside she was ecstatic to have him compliment her. His tiny praises and compliments always brightened her mood and made her feel... important for once.
>Then he went to correct her on his understanding of girl talk. ...wait, no! He was supposed to think it was like, that time of month or something! Her pout faltered into a look of worry, as if she'd been caught in a bad lie. Now what? He'll never let up about it now... but what am I supposed to tell him? 'Hey, I like you and I wish you weren't gay'?
> Her cheeks flushed at the thought and she looked away from him, tail fluffing up a bit. Whatever. I shouldn't flatter him. He'll just get an ego boost, the dang tom.
> "I was just thinking about some what ifs. Like if the school had a dance or something and who'd I go with if I decided to attend." Of course she'd attend, even if this was a bad excuse. Astrid was a party goer. She never missed a good excuse to rock out. Never. "So far, though, every guy I've met around here is so gay they sparkle."
> She gave him a pointed look, twitching the tip of her tail and bringing her shoulders a little higher, ears flicking toward him. "You won't have any problem though. Just don't go after Avery. He's like, stalker obsessed with his fighter, Skylar." She smirked, totally turning the conversation back to him, or at least in another direction. She hated being the center of attention sometimes...
> ...especially if she didn't like the topic at hand. |
|
|
|
Post by Gage Reinhart on Oct 12, 2011 19:46:16 GMT -5
Gage watched the pout cross her features and he had to wonder what he did wrong, although he did this with a smirk on his face. Obviously she was still embarrassed about what happened, but he wouldn't be able to let that shriek go for a very long time. It was just too funny. Even if his ears were metaphorically bleeding and his ears were ripped off, the whole scene was simply amusing. In the back of his mind, he wondered how many of the students had turned to see what the hell was going on with the two of them over here.
"Make me," was his childish response, and he crossed his arms and gave a fake pout that bore a lot of similarities to the one Astrid was making. She must have been thinking about something pretty intense, because she went silent for a few seconds. As Gage watched with an amused smile, he saw the pink creep into her cheeks and had to laugh. "Oh my, what pink cheeks you have, kitten," he said, sticking his tongue out at her slightly.
When she suddenly mentioned a school dance, he was taken aback. Was that really what she'd been thinking about before he snuck up on her? This sort of upset him -- he'd honestly thought she'd been thinking about her partner. Had he been wrong? Usually he hit the nail on the head with her, but he supposed he was bound to be wrong at some point. "Hey now, I do not sparkle, thank you very much. And I know about Avery, I met him a few days ago. He got upset when I mentioned Skylar abandoning him, it was pretty funny and sad at the same time." He shrugged. At least he didn't have to worry about abandonment, right?
"Wait a minute, are you just telling me that because yoooou like him and you don't want any competition?!" he asked, giving a sly wink. He was totally joking around when he said this, but his voice was mocking.
|
|
|
|
Post by Astrid Rotweil on Oct 12, 2011 21:18:33 GMT -5
> Wait, what!? "Avery!? No!" She all but hissed in a way that said honesty, though anyone else would've thought her to have been lying. "Avery's just a kid." She lowered her voice from the almost yell it'd been a second ago. "I'd feel dirty if I liked him that way."
> Astrid liked Avery but not romantically. She viewed him as more a little brother than a possible lover. "And besides, who I like is none of your business." She went back to pouting again, obviously in one of those moods now. Then, as another after thought, she realized how bad that sounded. Her shoulders slumped in defeat and she sighed, closing her eyes a second before taking a step towards him (eyes still closed) and kind of slumping into his chest, making a sound of weak protest at her own defeat.
> "It doesn't matter..." She murmured from amidst his sweater quietly, loud enough for only him to hear. "...because you'll never have to worry about that. We're Truthless. One name, one soul, one heart, and anyone who doesn't appeal to you won't ever appeal to me. You're my fighter. You're far more important to me than any silly boy could ever be." Then, ever so carefully, she brought her hands up to clutch his hoodie possessively.
> "We're life partners. Nothing can ever get in the way of that. Nothing... and no one." She whispered, almost inaudibly if it hadn't been for how close she was to him. "...mine." Her fingers clutched tighter in a sweet moment of weakness, the fight having left her for the time being. Maybe it had been an unconscious reaction to his comment about Skylar abandoning Avery that did her in, because suddenly she didn't want to let go. Not ever. |
|
|
|
Post by Gage Reinhart on Oct 12, 2011 21:35:52 GMT -5
"Pfffft," he cracked up, watching her reaction as she freaked out over his comment. Of course she wouldn't like Avery. She herself said he was obsessed with his partner. That would turn anyone off from trying to get with them, wouldn't it? Sure, the kid was cute, but trying to get with him was a lost cause, and everyone knew that. "You should see your face right now," he pointed out, grinning at her.
However, the expression was short lived when she said who she liked was none of his business. Sure, she could have privacy, but to shut him out completely? That was kinda harsh, coming from the person who was connected to him for life. His ears flattened back a little as he frowned. Before he had a chance to respond, it seemed as if she caught what she'd said. She was suddenly slumped against him, and he loosely wrapped his arms around her to show his attachment to her. She started talking basically about how much Gage meant to her, and he felt touched. He gave her a small smile and poked her nose.
"Silly, I know all that already. You should, too." He mentally tried to figure out what it was that suddenly had her clinging to him, and in the meantime pulled her in for a tight hug. "You'll always mean the most to me, even if I find another guy to occupy some of my time." He gave another smile as he tried to lighten the mood.
|
|
|
|
Post by Astrid Rotweil on Oct 12, 2011 22:10:13 GMT -5
> Aaaand there it was. He'd done so well, too! A tight embrace that sent her worries away, his own brand of kind, gentle words...
> ...and then he brought up guys again and she whined dramatically. "Ewww! Guy germs!" She squealed, suddenly squirming half-heartedly to get away. She only stopped to lean back and glare up at him, ears pinned, blush on her cheeks and tail puffed and twitching. "I swear if you lose your ears one of these days and don't shower before touching me, I'll shave your head while you sleep." She stuck out her tongue childishly, not at all meaning a word of it.
> She didn't make another move to leave his arms though, perfectly comfortable right where she was. Mind you, that childish pout continued, chin down, eyes up, brows pinched and ears pinned back. Eventually, it faded into a calm, happy smile...
> "Hey... we're gonna miss the movie..." Nope, didn't seem to care, actually. "D'ya wanna get goin' now?" Yup, totally not against standing right there, snuggled up like that. He was warm and the drive was bound to be cold...
> ...'less he held on tight. Maybe she'd drive a little quicker than normal and earn herself some good laughs later at his expense for a change. |
|
|
|
Post by Gage Reinhart on Oct 13, 2011 22:00:28 GMT -5
"Guy germs?" he echoed, giving a small laugh. He imagined this was how she was years ago at a younger age, only talking about it under the term 'cooties'. After thinking of this scenario, he suddenly wanted to see pictures of her from her childhood. But the girl had never brought it up before while they were talking, nor anything about her family in general. What was her home life like? He wanted to know. But now wasn't the time.
"Ouch, that's harsh." He shook his head wearily, grinning down at her. He couldn't imagine her having the guts to completely shave his head. Everyone loved his messy, wild hair. So he Astrid, he assumed. So she wouldn't do it, even if she had wanted to. "Besides, I don't have any plans on losing them just yet. I think they rather suit my personality." He chuckled his little dastardly chuckle.
However, when she mentioned the movie, his mind clicked back into reality. You know, the one where they weren't the only two in existence. "Oh, right. I forgot. I guess we'll get going then, huh..?" His voice trailed off, but he didn't make any move to leave the spot they were standing in.
|
|
|
|
Post by Astrid Rotweil on Oct 13, 2011 22:53:31 GMT -5
> "Good boy." She purred teasingly at his mention of not wanting to lose his ears just yet. She liked them, too. That meant two things; she wouldn't have to be jealous, and she'd have her tomcat around just a little longer. Once his ears were gone, she wasn't sure what sort of nickname he'd have, but it wouldn't be tomcat, probably.
> Then he agreed that they should go... verbally. "...yeah, probably should." Physically, the two sort of just... stood there, clinging. She didn't want to move. She didn't even try. Instead, she sort of just looked up at him, a very faint pout still in her eyes and shown in her ears, which were tugged back slightly.
> Still no movement. After a moment, she laid her head back on his chest, an odd and random movement to anyone else but so normal for her. She liked heartbeats. Especially Gage's. She hadn't ever said anything about it, but every time she rested her head on his chest, or held his wrist, she was vaguely focused on his pulse, that steady 'thum thum' of life.
> Her ears flicked and she closed her eyes a moment, enjoying the stable silence despite having intended on leaving by now. Astrid, despite her best intentions, had a habit of being weak willed about Gage. He always brought out that little girl deep down, the one that needed to depend on someone, wanted the protection, the attention that he so willingly gave.
> Nearby, the shuttle had finished loading and was driving away, heading into town for the day, leaving the parking lot empty except for the two teens. This was going to be a long, drawn-out day. Somehow, it was doubtful they'd make it back by curfew at this rate. |
|
|
|
Post by Gage Reinhart on Oct 15, 2011 22:56:21 GMT -5
When she spoke to him using the phrase 'good boy', he rolled his eyes and gave a small laugh, thinking of how one would similarly speak to a family dog. Gage wondered why she was so fond of him keeping his ears, but he just figured it was because she had that little nickname for him. he liked it, though, how they each had a cat-related pet name for each other. The thought of being called something that wasn't 'tomcat' was kind of depressing. No matter, it wasn't as if that day was coming any time soon. That was a problem for another day.
It was strange, though, how neither of them seemed to want to leave the spot they were standing in even though they both knew they were going to miss the movie unless they did so. To Gage, it was a strange feeling, as if he were being held here by some invisible force, like it was the world's way of showing him he would be bound to this girl for the rest of his life. Just standing here gave him the strong urge to want to do nothing but protect her..
But before his thoughts went any further, she rested her head against his chest. As if on impulse, he laid his head down on hers, nuzzling his nose into her ever-changing hair. It was one of the things he liked most about her, though -- the fact that she didn't care what other people think; that she just changes her appearance whenever the hell she feels like it.
And then finally, he spoke, thinking of how they hadn't even started the leaving process yet -- "We're really bad at this whole date thing, huh?" He chuckled in his usual way, giving his just as usual smirk.
|
|
|
|
Post by Astrid Rotweil on Oct 16, 2011 16:02:24 GMT -5
> Claws.
> All was well until he said the dreaded "d" word. Then she dug her nails in and tensed up, tail going rigid. She didn't step away though, afraid he'd see the now crimson blush on her face. "It's not a date." She corrected weakly, voice a bit strained.
> She did step away though, very briskly, almost hauling tail to her moped and mounting up, helmet on and engine turned in record time. Still keeping her head down, the tip of her tail flicking wildly, she muttered for him to get on. "...we're gonna miss the movie."
> Astrid didn't handle her own emotions very well. What was worse, she still refused to believe that she had even the slightest crush on the boy. He was her life partner. That's all it was. Just the bond. That's all... right? |
|
|
|
Post by Gage Reinhart on Oct 17, 2011 18:00:27 GMT -5
All of a sudden, Astrid went rigid in his arms. The sudden tensing of her muscles put him on edge, his previous happiness already forgotten. In the back of his mind, he wondered if she sensed someone nearby, or if she noticed someone who was spying on them. He didn't know what to do, so on impulse he just stood there, arms around her as if to protect her from whatever caused her to tense up. However, no one jumped out, no one made themselves known.. What was going on?
And then, she all but ran from him, leaving him open-armed and confused. He suddenly felt empty, as if the thing most precious to him had been stolen away. The only words she spoke to him at first were used to tell him that they weren't going on a date. ...wait, what? Was that what she'd freaked out over? Him calling their hangout time a date? He was only joking.. It was just a figure of speech. Of course it wasn't a date...Gage was gay. And he knew Astrid knew this.
Giving a completely uncharacteristic frown, he slowly made his way to the moped and took his seat behind Astrid, not knowing what to say. He remained silent, stunned into a silence that he wasn't used to. Why was she so bothered? Without thinking, he wrapped his arms around her waist as she got ready to leave the parking lot.
|
|
|
|
Post by Astrid Rotweil on Oct 17, 2011 20:12:18 GMT -5
> He took his spot behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist in silence. The only sound was the steady growl of her moped's engine. She gave a rough sigh and revved up, then as usual, peeled out of the parking lot, not caring about speed laws in the least.
> As they drove, Astrid become increasingly sick of the silence between them. Though she'd been the cause of it (and she knew this all too well), she decided she'd also be the one to break it.
> She flicked on the radio as they came to a stop at a red light. 'Last Friday Night' played on the station, just three or four seconds into the song. ...right. She cursed the song mentally but leaned back a bit, secretly appreciating the warmth of Gage behind her.
> "...Sorry." She mumbled just barely above the engine. "We'll probably miss the first showing. There's an arcade at the theater. We can kill time there, if you want." Astrid didn't feel like discussing what had happened. She still felt shame-faced for it.
> How could she have reacted so strongly to a stupid joke like that? He'd been playing with words as usual. ...I fell for one of our own mind tricks. She mused bitterly, cracking an almost sadistic smirk. ...but why? The smirk faded, but she didn't linger on the question. The light turned green and she revved onward, finally slowing down to the speed limit after almost eight blocks.
> This was going to be a long night. |
|
