Detailed Roleplayers discussion
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Woolfie X Juliana
message 51:
by
Ross
(new)
Jul 24, 2013 07:19PM
((Aww sorry to hear that, busy is not always good :( Not to worry though, I'll get to our rp soon OK :))
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She thought that he would leave her, would actually neglect her and render her misery a lone beacon standing there bleeding light out into the world. Did she actually expect him to do something as unapologetically heartless as that? Of course not, he chided himself,if anything her thoughts, her concern, would very likely be targeted at him, she was trying to protect him! 'Oh Stacy baby...' he spoke into her hair, her rich cascade of beautiful Stacy-scented hair, as he felt her shuddering with the intensity of the emotions they had awakened, that he had prodded awake with his clumsy, tripping words.'how could I ever leave you, now I've found you?' Words were inadequate, words were lacking, utterly devoid of the subtle flame of truth and depiction that he wanted to convey to her, but then, in a sudden rush of credulity, he realised, she already knew what he was trying to say.'You won't hurt me,' he said unsteadily, unsure whether or not the sweep of her that he tended to do unconsciously was trespassing upon something she held sacrosanct, the privacy of her mind. Oh God, realisation hit him with a jolt of terrible comprehension. 'I, I'm sorry...' letting her go, he took a step back, eyes fixed on her, fearful that she would reject him, that she would consider his lack of personal awareness to be an affront to her. 'I, I can't help it sometimes,' both hands went to his forehead, palms flat. 'I, I can know things, hear things, things people are, thinking, things, you're thinking, it's like, like...' He cast around desperately, trying to trawl up a mess of words from which he could extricate a coherent elucidation. 'I'm like a, a thought radio, I tune into people's thoughts, I don't mean to, and I'm trying to control it I swear, but that is why you can't, won't hurt me, why you never have to be scared, because...'
He had never done it before, but looking at her standing before him, so fragile, fearful, beautiful, he suddenly knew it was possible.
*I can speak to you, inside your head, but I'll stop if you don't like it, never do it again if you don't want me to.* His lips remained motionless, not a word deserted their closed gate, but in her mind, he knew she could hear him, knew from the look of shock on her face. 'I'm sorry!' he tried to apologise for her ordeal, 'but I can help you, we can help each other, I can talk to you, make sure everything will be ok, and you, well with others, I get headaches, but with you, somehow, no...'
He missed her, his arms craved her secure form, his senses begged him to return her to them. 'I love you baby, and on my life, no matter what I will never ever, ever leave you, I promise.'
There was only one thing to do, one thing that made sense, the only way to convey to her the full extent, depth and intensity of the way he felt about her; taking her into his arms once more he looked down into her eyes for a heartbeat, and then kissed her, a lingering, initially awkward, grappling kiss that evolved in the space of several breathless eternities into a unifying blend of outpouring emotion. ‘Stacy, baby I’ll make you a promise, well two promises right now OK?’ Aric heard his voice flicker in the silence like a candle buffeted by an insistent cascade of wind, weak but with an underlying defiant strength of purpose. ‘I promise you that you will never ever hurt me, so please stop thinking that you will, because you won’t let yourself do that, and I will always do everything I can to help you master it, instead of it mastering you. I don’t want you to be afraid, I want you to be happy.’ The way her lips were parted, showing a hint of teeth, made something within him ache to kiss her again. Held together in the bower of their arms, her face was a negligible distance from his, and he could feel her breathing. Reaching up to frustrate the breeze that seemed intent on plastering her hair across her face, Aric felt his own breathing stick in his chest, as his fingers grazed her cheek, and he was suddenly aware of the way she was looking at him; with a mixture of nervous anticipation, like he was too good to be true, like she did not want to risk blinking too much for fear he would dissipate and leave her, and painful hopefulness. It was the sort of look that made him want to hold her and never let go, the kind of expression that made him wish above all else for the power to be able to reformat the world into one in which she would always feel she belonged, rather than face the disconcerting need to always flee. ‘I know that somehow, I was meant to be here, like I was supposed to find you, I know it sounds crazy but something inside me says I’ve been waiting, all my life for this, for you and I, well I don’t ever want to hurt you or see you hurt. You are not a freak Stacy, not a monster, you’re, the most beautiful girl I have ever seen and, yeah it might sound cheesy as hell, but I always want to be with you, I will never let you go and I will always fight to keep you safe, I love you.’ He laughed. ‘People say that you can’t truly love someone you just met, and that love at first sight is the stuff of Mills and Boon, but they’re wrong, and I don’t care, I don’t care if they’re wrong or right or whatever, all I care about, is you.’
Now that she was here, in his arms, nothing else seemed of the remotest importance. Aric knew with a certainty that was as jaded as reality itself, that this timelessness, while it would not last, was the single, most powerful pocket of his existence, of hers, of their combined lives, suddenly intertwined. 'When I look into your eyes Stace, you make me want to be able to give you anything your heart desires. My world is now, you, and when you look at me, I know I can do anything.' Laughing softly, self-consciously, he felt his hair slip off his carelessly coiffed head, and intersperse his vision of her. Struck by a sudden fit of sourceless galantry he said. 'You don't ever have to go back, if you don't want to, I can, look after you, and we'll find a way I know we will.' Suddenly reality returned with a biting vengeance, and his mind was filled with visions of how they could possibly get by. 'I haven't got much, but, I can work, get money for us, live at my place, my friends, well housemates really, they're not a bad bunch, we'd be OK. We could move, I'd work full time, whatever...'Inside, he cursed his stupidity; some saviour he turned out to be, he hadn't a clue what to do, or how to go about doing whatever it was that he would have to do to sustain their fledgling relationship. Intentions were all very well but the depressing truth of the matter was that they lived in a world of cause and consequence, and all the love in the world was not going to enable them to live their lives as they desired. 'Dad always said that, that Mum's money was there if I ever needed it, he, he can't make himself consider it, we could, rent a place maybe, you never have to run again baby, you can stay with me, I want you to stay OK?'
'No, no wait baby, I-' Aric felt a sudden chill, as the the icy grip of sudden horror closed around him,leaving him with th soul destroying sensation that through some gross fault of his own, the perfect happiness he had tried to construct was disintegrating before his very eyes. 'P-please don't Stace, don't let me go, I, I know I said some stupid things, I panicked, I dunno, it's just all I know is... I love you, and not being with you, now I feel this way, isthe worst thing I could imagine.' Tentatively, he turned her back to him. 'I know I scared you, saying all that stuff, and I'm so sorry, it's just that, I care for you, and I know I say stuff, but I don' ever want to lose you, not now I've just found you.' Tears were swelling in his eyes, and as h said that a single streak escaped down his cheek. 'All my life, I've been alone, and now, no that that seems at an end, now that I can mean something to somebody, it changes everything. I said you're my world, an you are, but I know there's a way for us to achieve what we want, together, please, you're the opposite of selfish, of worthless, you chose to let me in, to share what you kept locked away so tight. What you've had to deal with what you've suffered, you shouldn't have had to, and I... I just want to let you know that you're safe, I've got you Stace, no more running, no more fear, I love you, I would do anything for you, even if you didn't ask. I know we'll risk what we have to, but we'll cross those bridges hen we com to them, together, I promise.'His arms were made to accommodate her, so perfect did it feel, that as he stroked her back with consummate thankfulness, Aric permitted himself a hesitant glimpse at a future he had not thought possible, one of ordinary happiness, of sharing his life with another, and being infected by her newfound happiness. 'I love you baby, so, so much.'
Aric had never before in his life spent so much time this close, with anyone, what more a girl, a girl that loved him, whose words filled him from his toes to the top of his head with an irrepressible sensation of unbelievable well being. Despite how close they were, as though they were sharing the exact same space within the universe, there was nothing overtly sexual in their togetherness, when their lips met, it was with the chaste conviction of the sealing of a promise, and when their hands caressed the other it was not so much an exploration of the other's body rather a circle of protection.It was only when she spoke, when she said those words, that he finally understood, in all of it's multifaceted complexity, what their being there and then ostensibly meant; it was impossible, it was insane, but it was also the purest feeling he had ever known. The words she spoke, the wedding vows, uttered without even the ghost of matrimony present was both eerie, and a vindication of the way he felt about her. It was as thought she was speaking the words his soul had been aching to communicate to her, and that he wanted her to believe. 'I do,' he said, sounding slightly dazed, as his stunned mind struggled desperately to provide her with a sign of his reflection of what she had just imparted. 'Stacy baby I, I've been wanting to tell you that, since, well, I dunno, but I was scared, scared you'd think me crazy or something, but now, hearing you say it, I know I'm crazy, for doubting myself when I have wanted to tell you since the moment I saw you here, that I swaer I will always be with you no matter what, come hell or highwater, richer or poorer, happiness and sorrow, I will always be the hands that pick you up, the kiss that makes you smile, the smile that dries your tears.' A loose laugh spilled from his lips as he smiled shyly. 'Funny, I always used to love reading about poetry, and here I am, trying to make one up, what a goof you must think me huh?' Looking at her, he could feel, like some invisible magnet, pulling them inexorably together, and when she fit into his arms, when she sank onto his lips, he knew that heaven lay within that tender, fragile, petite body, her slender frame in which life burned like the sun, in which strength flowered to challenge mountains, and in a flourish of gallantry, he found himself sweeping her up into his arms. 'I may not have aring, and this might not be a church, but I know what my heart feels, my Stacy, my love.' And as though they were the last people on Earth, or the first, he walked them back, back the way they had come, back towards life, back with a resolve blazing and new, back with each other, together.
'Shucks, nah,' he blushed beet red under the combination of the unspoken meaning of her words, and the touch of her fingers upon his face. Part of him was still painfully shy at the fact that a girl, an actual girl wanted to have anything to do with an awkward shut in such as himself, much less seem to consider him something special. 'As my folks would have said, I'm blessed to have your love.' Conscious that he had spoken more than his fair share in the past hour or so, he clammed up, but not before apologising for his stumbling loquacity. 'This might surprise you, but I don't really talk so much, must be some ability you didn't know you had, making boys talk your ear off.' The sound of her laughter was like tinkling beads of melting ice splashing down upon his inner uncertainty, calming it with its soothing balm.'I, uh, hope you don't mind the uh, bridal treatment, after all that we said, I thought it was kinda fitting.'
In spite of himself, Aric blushed, hanging his head slightly not meeting her eyes, as they made their way down the tree-lined, leaf-strewn path back towards the front of the school. 'Yeah well, that's the funny thing really, see it's easier to talk to guys, well not easier, but like when I'm around them, I just mostly hear dumb stuff, like sports, and games, and stuff, but with girls, well it's kinda hard when you know they're giving the once over in their mind, wondering why this geek is speaking to them, or if I'm 'for real'. Poetry helps me make sense of things, I dunno it makes everything seem different, and suddenly, I'm not freaked by stuff anymore.' Oh God she's so gorgeous, her laugh it's like a nestful of birds pop out of her throat, ugh, no, gross!Such frivolous thoughts fled his mind as she told him of the fortuitous circumstances of his finding her when he did. 'Oh... baby,' he whispered, suddenly stoppiong in his tracks almost as though he had no other focus other than her. As he listened, slowly taking in those heavy words that she used to piece together an admission from the centre of her very soul, Aric was acutely aware of how much the feelings that he had for her meant how far he would go for her, and it surprised him with their intensity. 'Stace, baby, all I can say is, I wanna be your teddy bear you hug to chase the bad things away, and you, you're my, you're the song in my head that makes everything alright.' His lip quivered, his glasses flashed in the sunlight as he looked down into his arms, at her. 'to paraphrase Taylor Swift, 'we are never, ever, ever not going to be together, I promise.'
((Gah, why didn't get a notification for this???))Having released her onto her feet, as they had approached the school grounds for fear of appearing ludicrously out of place within the change of setting, Aric's almost dreamy ambling down the outer perimeter towards the parking lot and the sidewalk with her hand in his came to a complete stop, as he turned to her, wanting to pay attention to what she was saying. She was right, of course she was, the feeling that threatened to elevate him a oot above the ground, he had no idea what exactly it was; was it love, companionship, or something else entirely? Or was it in act a combination of the aforementioned?
'Stace, baby, it's OK, it's completely fine to not be sure, hell, it'd be kinda freaky if we were like this pre-destined Prince and Princess like from the stories,' he grinned sheepishly, at the thought before adding, 'I don't mean it'd be a bad thing of course not, but I just want to let you know that there's nothing wrong in not being sure, doesn't mean I'd love you any less, or want to be with you less, and as for being enough for me, all you had to do was smile and you were more than enough, don't ever doubt it.' As her lips landed on his cheek, he felt his arms encircle her waist, not caring if anyone saw them or of what their reaction might be, all he knew was that she was smiling, and as his heart filled with a recently familiar glow, he kissed her, hard. 'Let's get out of here?' he gasped as they parted, gazing into her eyes, her soul blazing with an incandescence that struck him speechless.
'Uh, th-thanks,' Aric tried to wipe the silly grin off his face as he felt a newly familiar warmth flood his cheeks. 'But I'm not as good as you, sweetheart.' Teddy bear, she'd just called him teddy bear, him, lanky, gawky, bespectacled and awkward him, a teddy bear? Aric felt a happy laugh bubbling to his lips, and as if to reward her for her kind observation, presented her with another kiss. 'We could uh, head over to mine, I've still got the cake from yesterday or we could head out and grab something, if you're hungry?'
'Well now that you put it that way,' Aric found her laughter contagious, his words swimming between straggling lines of humour as he struggled to form his response. 'Think about it as a 'thank you for being my girl' cake.' Even something as practically simple as walking with her down the tree-lined street was suddenly imbued with an inexplicable sense of magical unreality about it; Aric ignored the ache in his cheeks, as he allowed his happiness a way out via his smile. The day that had begun with a clawing sense of fear and worry was now, impossibly, the working definition of perfect. The fact that they were happily cutting classes did not concern him for the slightest second; she was holding his hand, she was with him she loved him, that was all that mattered.
'Seems like I'm not the only one with poetry on the tip of my tongue.' Aric grinned, speaking softly when she had finished. There had been something mesmerising, and beautiful in the way her eyes had seemed to adopt a sudden. far away look as she had tilted her head back in the supreme confidence that he would not let her fall. As if on cue, the wind picked up, lifting the patina of golden-red flakes and dancing them around their feet like a congregation of autumnal fairies. Removing his jacket, Aric draped it around her slender shoulders, hugging her close, as the world spun around them, their faces framed by the swirling mingling of their hair. 'And time will listen baby, you'll have your moment, I know it.' Indeed it almost felt as though it had come, as if summoned by her words, and echoed by his, time stopped in her eyes as Aric felt himself slowly twirling her around, as though in some sort of dance; it was perfect, with the specks of gold and red falling around them, dancing a low waltz there on the pavement, or was it in his head?
Where was she taking him? Aric felt the beginnings of something turbulent arising inside hi, as she took control of his unresisting arm, and placed it, oh stars and trumpets, upon her waistband, her waist, her hip, like partners in a dance. A thundering in his chest and a stumbling in his lungs told him that he must surely be making a rather poor, and cliched presentation of himself. The hint of indecency seemed to creep into the air, and it was all he could do to valiantly fight down the sudden shameful urges that came into his mind, but were they his, or hers, or perhaps theirs both? 'Then it is my intention to waste every precious second I have, with you Stace. 'Aric lifted his free hand, and ran it pensively through her hair; she had such beautiful hair, naturally soft, and undulating, untouched my the ravages of artifice and fabrication. 'Have I ever told you, he hear himself say as though from a distance, as though he had hit in the head, 'how beautiful your hair is.' his laugh came out all tripping over itself, how goofy I must look he thought, trying valiantly to return himself to his former composure.
He kissed her, he had to, there they had been, her lips mere inches from his, temptation too blatant to relinquish. 'Oy can you to young'uns liplock somewhere off the path hey?' Stunned by the sudden unceremonious interruption, Aric flashed the intruder a scowl, before realising that the elderly gentleman was quite right. 'Uhm, sorry, sir.' he mumbled, as they stepped out of the old man's way. 'By all means, please contonue.' the man said as he ambled past. Watching his departing back for a silent eternity, Atic suddenly dissolved into silent giggles before glancing up at her, cupping her left cheek. 'As you were saying before 'reality' intervened Stace, a moment ago, I was with this amazing girl in a world of our own, but now, in the cold light of day, here she is, and here you are, that same magical girl with the lips that taste like mint and strawberries, did you know I love both mint and strawberries, how uncannily perfect, you're perfect... and I should stop being such a soppy marshmallow head before you eat me!'
Laughter died upon Aric's lips as shock replaced it, and his arms closed around her once again, each sob seeming to tear another hole in heart, wounds that would only heal if he held her tight. 'Oh Stacy baby,' he murmured softly, offering her a consoling smile as she surfaced to look at him. 'I don't care about what other people say is perfect or not, all I care about is that you're here, you're safe, and I love you, and if that's kinda scary well, we'll just take things a step at a time, no pressure or anything, but just so you know, the loving you part isn't conditional, and I know you're scared, and it's coz you love me that you don't want to let me in too far, coz you care, but I'm into you, for good, and if there's gonna be any dragging, it'll be me dragging you to a poetry reading or something like that, so don't worry huh.'She seemed to fold into him, rescinding her autonomy, and carefully, he manoeuvred her towards a proud oak set a way back from the path, obscured by a curtain of bushes. Bracing himself against the bark, he held her to him, stroking her hair, his heart bleeding with a desperate desire to banish her fears, to assure her that he would be alright, that she'd be fine, that they would endure, together.
He had read, and had heard that poem read aloud on several different occasions. He had spoken it himself to the still unfeeling darkness that pressed around him like a shroud, but only now, that he heard the verses of Browning's most oft recited sonnet tumbling from her lips, touched by the soft, sweet, sad cadence of her fluttering voice, that Aric finally knew what the verses conveyed in the humble hyperbole. Then suddenly, seemingly from the very core of his being, an answer flourished forth like a flowering shrub, pale but strong, and true, and proud.'Stacy, sweetheart how do I love you?
Let me count now the days
I will love you when day kisses you with light
When my heart races, and towards you takes flight
I love you with each smile upon your face
Through your triumphs and dismays
When you cower back into yourself besieged by fright
I shall be your beacon shining bright in the night
I love you daily, your spirits mine to raise
I will love you when you win, and more when you lose
In a world of falling truths you shall be my faith
Love you still when my words cease to amuse
No lie is this, I shall love you with every breath
No matter what some God does or does not choose
My love shall endure, and strengthen, yea, even and after death.'
All this he spoke into her hair, his words accentuated by the soft puffs of her silken locks, as he composed his response, and perhaps it paled in comparison to the poetic gifts of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, but he did not care, it was as if his heart had been leant his voice, and its words were gifted to her as a pledge.
'Till the sky falls Stace, there will be no other, but you.' If either of them were aware of the weight of the words they were exchanging, they did not seem to notice. That such overreaching vows were applied with the solemnity of a judge, and the emotion of a weeping cloud to such a thing as young first love, did not shake their conviction in the least. Aric just stood there, his eyes lingering on hers, not needing to do or say anything, other than just be.
It was as though her words had burst the swollen bubble that had grown up around them, fed into epic proportions by their effusive words, their pledges spoken in words both metaphorical and heartfelt, and it was only then that he came to realisation of the weight that had now deserted his shoulders, and his laugh was as much due to relief as it was in response to her playful literalisation of his bloated metaphor. 'I know baby,' he murmured softly, his inclination to listen to her regardless of what she said, digesting the content of her words with the patient fixation of the Sun as it rose and set, always observing the Earth and her planetary kin as they danced around him. He felt his heart leap as she outlined her desire to belong to an age where those three words, though said too much, were in many instances far insufficient to sustain the fickle but sweet flame that was love. In truth he still had no idea what the name of this mutual condition he shared with her was. Two days ago they had not even spoken to each other, although he had known her name, and she his, and now...'I think we endow those words with their true meaning Stace,' he said gently, trying valiantly not to get lost in her eyes. 'It ought to be something secret, but powerful between two people, nobody else should ever know the true nature of love,part from the two people involved, the I and the you.' He swallowed, suddenly slightly nervous. 'When I say I love you, I feel, I dunno like everything is going to be alright, that everything is wonderful, and to hear it back, it's life-affirming.' Gently giving the hand he held in his a squeeze, he cupped her chin with his other, thumb gently tracing a repeated bow upon her cheek. 'but if love means anything to me, it's in actions, and I know in my heart, that I will vindicate my claims to the very best of my ability. Failing you would be, unthinkable, unforgivable, and I will not let anything harm what we have, it's ours, and it's magic.' For a boy who had never kissed a girl before, he was becoming remarkably accomplished at it.
((Didn't she either kill or injure him? And sure, that'd disrupt their little romance nicely :p))
((Well it depends on how you want to introduce him or play him. I can rp as him, but if you want to fill me in on his character, feel free to do so :))
((Admittedly I don't watch Law and Order, but I think I get the gist of who we're going for, sure I can rp him))
Aric let the silence spill from him, not wanting to pervert hr words with any reaction he might involuntarily give voice or motion to. His arms around her waist lay still, his hands unmoving upon the small of her back; unto an unbreathing statue he almost was, petrified by the possibility of piercing her reveri with an foolish sound or stir, as beauty poured forth from betwixt beauty's lips, and he felt his heart burning with a not unpleasant warmth as he watched her, his suddenly poetic soulmate. There was so much that he did not know, and indeed could not obtain the truth about when it cam to her, but that was as expected. He knew, with a conviction of poet-knights that he woul have an eternity to find her out, to unfold her secrets and kiss them, to uncover her fears, and soothe them away.'You say you are not incredible, but to me you do so with each breath Stace.' he intoned softly as she leaned back into him, her song sung, her muse sated. 'Would that I could serenade you with like, but you lady have stoppered my throat with wonder of you.'
He did then something he had seen guys do in films and television series from time to time particularly when they were alone with a girl facing inhospitable or inclement weather; he removed his jacket, and draped it around her slender shoulders. 'Here, wear this,' he said with a not inconsiderable feeling of cheesy deja vu. 'That's all you get, so don't expect me to spout a line from a Nicholas Sparks movie or anything.' Lacing an arm around her protectively, as they walked down the pavement. 'Well I think you're incredible sweetheart.' he said by way of making her feel better. 'I love everything about you, the way you talk, the way your cheeks dimple when you smile, the way you go all cute when you blush, like you are right now, you're adorable Stace.' As he kissed her cheek, he could feel her shaking against him, but not with cold, or even with sadness of fear, but with laughter. 'I like it when you laugh,' he added to his list of the things about her he was in love with. 'It's like you're guilty, not wanting to laugh but not able to help yourself, I want to hear more of that, I want to set you free Stace, I want you.'
Sensing her disquiet, Aric was not caught out when she stopped when she did. His concern as ever spilling over from himself onto her, and once again his arms found her. 'I, I don't know baby,' he said uncertainly, meeting her gaze with his. 'I, I mean, if I knew how I would, but, but I don't want to hurt you, I couldn't live with myself if I hurt you, even by accident, but, I want to try, I just don't want to see you down like this.' Leaning forward, he kissed her softly on her forehead, God she felt so cold. 'Let's get you inside Stace, uh, my place isn't far, my housemates are probably out; Ethan's probably out with his friends, Garret went home coz his grandma's sick, and Laslo, well Laslo keeps to his room pretty much so he won't bother us.' When they finally got in out of the cold, Aric said. 'Wait here Stace, lemme get you some hot chocolate or something, you're freezing!' When he returned, he placed the steaming mug on the low table before her. 'Welcome to my, pad,' he grinned before shrugging, 'it's not much, but... you feeling better?' Tking in what she said, he nodded. 'I'm sorry I could do much before, but, well, I think maybe I might be able.'
Swallowing as she asked him how, he licked his lips and explained; he told her how the way he overheard people's thoughts was by asking questions, and how he thought that maybe, just maybe if he were to look into her eyes and ask her what she wanted him to do, those thoughts would somehow come to him. 'But I dunno if it'll work for sure.' he said uncertainly, looking nervous.
Pity filled his eyes, as Aric watched her crumple into herself as a result of her concern for him; here she was, plagued by memories that brought tears to those haunted eyes of hers, and she was worried about him? He felt his heart swell, as he reached out for her, curling his right arm around her shoulder, as he sat next to her. 'I don't know what it is that hunts you Stace,' he began, 'but I do know that you're not alone, that you don't have to be afraid of seeing what you see over and over behind your eyelids. If it's something you want to get read of, I promise I will find a way to make that happen,' his face collapsed as he let his heart use his lips and tongue. 'You're afraid, you poor, darling girl, and here you are scared for me, trying to protect me, you wanted to know why you're amazing? Well this is why.'Taking her hand in his, he squeezed gently. 'Living with memories of something you could do, when you wish with all your heart that it didn't happen, and not running to the first out you found, that is incredible, and I will find a way for us to deal with it. It's not not just your burden to bear anymore sweetheart, it's mine too, and when it comes to seeing you smile, nothing is really a burden, also you don't think I would consign you to the couch would you, my bedroom's upstairs, you can have the bed, I'll kip on the rug.'
Schooling his reaction, or lack thereof had been one of the hardest things Aric had ever done; as she jerked from his embrace after her shattering revelation, he hand not leapt to his feet to snatch her arm to prohibit her flight, that would have been the wrong thing to do, indeed it would have been the worst thing he could possibly have done. Sinking back into the sofa, he pushed his head against his hands, his fingers sliding like baleen plates, like a comb through his hair, as he took it all in. The terrible truth was, that while she had considered it a terrible truth, and indeed it was, it wasn't much of a revelation. 'What is it that troubles her so?' The question had coalesced into his minds eye before he could stop it, born out of his almost painful desire to succour her, to provide a shield between her and her ails, to balm her wounds and make her feel loved and safe. He had felt angry and disgusted with himself for prying into her life in that manner, and the pile of guilt quickly multiplied into a mountain as she fled from him, seemingly afraid of, what? Him? His reaction? That his words and pledges were somehow to good to be true?'Oh Stacy, Stacy, sweetheart.' he groaned, understanding perhaps at least on one level why she had shied away from him; despite the fact what he was offering her was the mirror opposite of her father's deplorable and selfish exploitation of the duty owed by a daughter to a father, he was still, essentially, a man, and her father had corrupted her experiences with his sex, by- He rose to his feet, unable to stand the swarm of implications any longer. His eyes travelled up the stairs where he pictured her ascending them, like a child afeared of some deep, enduring horror, leaving the bad behind. Taking each step with silent caution, fearful of waking her, of perhaps triggering further traumatic memories, he crept along the landing to the door of his room; Oh how much he wanted to hold her in his arms, to ward her with his body against the terrors that circled about her, but instead, he sank down next to the door, disappearing in the shadow of the corridor. 'I'll find a way Stacy, I sear I will, I will-'He did not know what time it was when he was finally claimed by sleep, or if he even slept at all. Mindful not to wake her, he peered into his bedroom. Ascertaining she was alright, he crept onto the rug, and lay there, as he said he would, a flesh, blood and bone barrier between her and anything that would harm her.
Half-watchful, Aric was awake but pretending to be asleep when she descended from the bed to join him on the carpeted wooden beam floor. Once again he was struck by the overwhelming desire to wrap his arms around her, to assure her of his protection, not wanting her to think that his lack of warmth towards her was a symptom of his rejection of her; to touch her was to invite horrors of her father's abuse, but to leave her was to convey a sense of distance, of a divorce between his words and promises and the reality of his presence by her sid, her partner shielding her from the ravages of whatever sought her harm. Finally, just as she seemed to be descending into a peaceful slumber, he whispered those three words, which though oversaid by millions before them, carried an intense private meaning for them both. Sitting up, he imposed himself between her and the slit in the curtains through which the sunlight tended to trespass into the room. His heart leapt out to her, as he watched her sleep; she was, he told himself, so very beautiful, she was his, and whatever it took, he knew he would not let her go, let her ace her demons alone.
'Stacy?!' The first thing Aric had done when the Sun had spilled rudely onto him, had been to glance, panic rising at the place where she had been. 'Struggling to his feet, he was about to leap downstairs when he sniffed the air of the landing; it smelt like... breakfast, it smelt, delicious! He knew then where she must almost certainly be and with a leaping heart, he made his way through the silent house, downstairs; his housmates, those who were here, tended to sleep late and awaken correspondingly after the usual time, so he was certain that they had the privacy of breakfast at the very least. 'Good morning beautiful,' he said softl as he entered the kitchen; he had made sure to make enough noise on the stairs to alert her that someone was going to be joining her, so as to eliminate the risk of shocking her. 'Wow what's all this?' he laughed, as she turned around. 'Did you sleep well Stace, I'm sorry of the bed wasn't very comfy, much less the floor.' Smiling at her he walked towards her, and after acquiring permission from her body language, kissed her tenderly on her lips.' Can I give you a hand?'
'Hey there's no need to be sexist,' Aric grinned, regretting it almost as soon as he had said it. 'No, I mean you're not of course, I was just joking.' he reddened as he retreated into mumbling, until he realised that she was laughing at him, actually laughing. 'You have the cutest laugh I've ever heard, and that's including a hormonally volatile homeroom with cheerleaders and girly girls.' Sinking on the chair she had assigned for him with her insistent finger, he yawned, reaching for the clear tumbler of water, and pouring himself a cup. 'I'm usually the first up, the others, when they're here sleep like the dead, no lie.' This was hardly surprising seeing as it was a Saturday, and they had only bunked off the last few period of the school day before.
Her question dragged his mind out of the cul-de-sac it had wandered into as he considered the somewhat shocking reality that he had not provided for her the previous evening. 'Oh my God, I'm so sorry.' he looked from the generous breakfast to her and back again. 'Here let me,' before she could object, he had dipped into the dishwasher, selected a plate, and loaded it with two of every thing she had made. 'That's not a very good start with me saying I'll look after you is it?' he said looking thoroughly sheepish as she helped herself,' and yeah last night was pretty awesome.' his cheeks reddened. 'Never had a girl sleep in my bed before, uh, not that I would be the sort to actively seek that out or anything.' Why was he always blushing around her, and worse yet, why was he saying these silly things that made her giggle like that? Selecting some breakfast for himself, he sat back down opposite her, and sliced an inch of sausage off, popping it into his mouth. 'Mmm, this is really good!'
What he did do, was reach over the table and take her hands in his. 'Hey, it's OK,' he said gently, 'You can tell me whatever you want, and I am never going to think that you're boring or wasting my time, because you are never boring, and more importantly wasting my time doing nothing with you is worth my busiest day doing anything else.' His gaze held her lovingly. 'Look it's not much, but this place, this is your home now, if you want it to be, when the day starts, we can go and get your stuff or I can get it for you.' The uncertainty swimming in those eyes, made him want to tip the table overk, and take her in his arms; she looked so fragile, so thankful, and so resolute that it was almost painful to watch. 'Stace, you know what I see when I look at you, I see the bravest girl I know, and don't you say you aren't coz you are, and you definitely do not make me feel bad, at least not about myself, I feel bad for people who can't value you for who you are, I wish they could, but you've got me, and I'm not going to stop being here for you alright.'
'Since you're so keen to discuss repayment,' Aric said in a voice somewhat unlike his own; before today the only proximity he had had to a girl was Brenda Wilcox, who truth be told was too busy making out with Jason Hinchcliffe in the dark of a biology presentation on killer whales to even notice he was there, and here she was, Stacy, the girl who loved him, sitting on his lap of all places, arms around his neck, he could smell her subtle hint of perfume, he could smell her, her body two strips of cloth away from his, inside he was panicking but on the outside... 'You don't owe me anything... baby,' God that word sounded contrived, and odd and inappropriate somehow. 'I just want you to be happy, that's all they payment I need, nothing about how you don't deserve this, because you deserve happiness, or thatI'm doing this to get something from you.' He blushed as his mind flew to the one thing boys tended to want from girls, and how, him being a boy meant him wanting it as well on some level he was uncomfortable to go to. 'So long as you laugh at every lame joke I tell you and let me cheat off you during tests, we're good.' He smiled, his lips rising in an expression of humour as she spluttered with badly hidden giggles. Taking her hand he gave it a little squeeze, 'happiness over darkness sounds like a very good idea.'
Aric took a deep, soothing breath which he tried to disguise as a yawn,m which seemingly failed, because not only did it have no marked effect in the vicinity of slowing his heart rate down, it produced a gaping silence that she looked a little uncomfortable about.'Believe me you wouldn't want to copy me,' he said, confidence and a lightness that had everything to do with her presence suffusing his words, as he gently accustomed himself to her curious, artistically meandering fingers, relishing her touch and understanding, perhaps for the first time ever, what it felt like to be a cat pressing into the touch of a comforting human hand. Whether unconsciously or not, his thumb began to mimic her as it began to circle on the back of her hand, which he held with a tender familiarity. 'I go to pieces, you know, so many people;s thoughts flying all around, it got so bad in elementary that one of my teachers Mrs Fredericks had to invigilate me specially as I took the paper on my own.' He shrugged, grinning. 'Well I didn't do too badly, truth be told.' Suddenly conscious of the half -finished plate, he jabbed her fork spearing half of a sausage. 'That can't have been enough!' he exclaimed. 'Have a bit, for me?' he wheedled shamelessly until she grudgingly accepted a mouthful. 'Whatcha wanna do later? I was thinking, if you had nothing planned, we could head out to Point Beyond, bring a picnic, just you and me, and mother nature squinting at us through her new specs. We could go swimming, uh, we could get some of your stuff or you could use mine, if you wanted.' Idiot, why would a pretty girl like her want to wear your faded, threadbare or ripped togs huh?
Something about the kiss that she had just given him, building upon the constant of her sudden, unfamiliar but not unpleasant weight upon his lap, added to the gentle artistry of her fingers tracing random pattern on his neck that cause his own fingers to get up and join in the fun, slipping below the fabric of her t-shirt, which smelt lightly of her and sleep. Oh, her skin! Aric let out an involuntary gasp, he had never felt anything as soft, as warm as alive as what he felt presented to his tremulous fingers. 'If only I could paint,'; he said softly, startling her slightly with his observation out of the proverbial blue. 'I mean I could darw you just as you are now, but well, that might be kinda creepy, I dunno.' He grinned apologetically at her, and noticing her lack of objection to his touch,amped up the wattage. 'I haven't got much, and most of it is probably too big for you, but we could drop by the T-Shack, see if they have anything good.' The T-Shack was a small privately owned shop that was run, people said by weed-smoking hippies, which might explain the designs of the clothes sold there. Frequented by hipsters, they were rather good quality, and cheap enough for students to pick and choose. Waggling another sausage under her nose, his spectacles gleaming slightly in the curious sunlight, Aric watched proudly as she ate, slightly guiltily it must be said.'Sorry, don't mean to force you.' he amended blushing slightly. 'We could just take a look see if you like anything in the closet, I mean it's all yours if you like.'
'Curses she's rumbled my plan,' Aric said in his best comic villain impression, grinning shyly as she accepted a further mouthful.'Well if we go with the fat and happy hypothesis, it could work out that a bigger tummy might mean you'd be happier,' he shrugged,'in theory, but who knows, it could happen!' Sparing her concern for her body shape, he took a mouthful himself, closing his eys at the sudden influx of taste. 'Mmm, but you are a really good cook Stace.' The thought of her in his clothes seemed to do something funny to his voice as he backtracked. 'No, I meant, that well, if you liked the look of anything, you could uhm, wear it, but you probably wouldn't want my stuff, it's not exactly something a pretty girl like you should be seen in anyhow.' Listening to her theory about clothes and the reasons for them he became acutely aware of where his hand was currently roaming, and while his conscious decision was to cease and desist, the sensation of touching her, the real her, not the fabric she wore to cover her shame, was tantalisingly irresistible. 'I think, well to me women need clothes,' he began tentatively, encouraged by the look on her face, 'be-because well if they didn't, how would guys get anything done?' There it was, that movie magic moment when their eyes met, and all he could do was kiss her, his hand taking advantage of his inattention to stroke the inner lining of her navel.
Stupid, stupid! He had known, of course he had known, and here he had been, utter penis-captained moron that he was, what did he think was going to happen? Just because he was nice to her, said a few soothing words, that she would give it up to him? And the nonsense about her wearing his clothes, where the hell had that come from all of a sudden? Just seeing her like this, retreating back into herself, it made him want to hug her, but that was precisely the wrong thing to do. He cursed mentally, was ever single intimacy every caress, every supportive hug now going to be haunted by the spectre of her lecherous father? It was inconceivable, and he felt a sudden surge of fury at the man who had had the audacity to call himself her father. How could he have done that to his own daughter? Tainted every possible private touch or kiss or proximity with his disgusting, despicable, inexcusable, unconscionable, deplorable, unforgivable deed. 'It's alright Stace, it's me, it's me.' he said tenderly, not hugging her, but teasing his fingers between hers, and letting her know he was there. Oh it hurt him so much to see her like this, and while he had never admittedly been the praying sort he found himself asking, beseeching the God of his mother to protect the trembling girl whose hands he held, whom he loved with all he was. 'It's OK baby, it's OK, I'm here.'
Oh what a complicated little know they were to untie, Aric recalled himself thinking when he looked back on this moment latterly; there she was, a tremulous victim of abuse performed in the name of love, a leftover from the remnants of parental responsibility, and orphan from a hellish bliss. 'I'll always worry about you Stace,' Aric said softly when her need for his arms lessened a little, allowing them the space to converse. 'But I do this, not because you are some fragile glass princess, but because I love you, and that just means that thinking about you, wanting to do what is best for you, those are my default settings.' The awkward turn of phrase aside he added, 'the job I give myself is to turn your frown upside down, to kiss away your tears and as far as I'm able shield you from the bad things. I hate it when you're miserable or scared, but I don't want you to hide it from me, because when you do, you turn them inside yourself, and I will not let someone as beautiful as you, as deserving of a normal, happy life, turn all that inside. 'The look he gave her was adamant. 'I don't care, do whatever makes it go away, you can scream, cry, even hit me, I don't care, just as long as you'll be alright, and I'm not leaving your side OK, never, I love you.' Adding a further layer to the hug, Aric knew this was where he belonged, with her in his arms, each protecting the other, giving each other hope.
The grin that unfurled itself at those very words was like a match striking a fuse, and as it burned warm and incandescent into him, filling him with an unbearable lightness of being, Aric felt, for the first time in his sorry excuse for a life, that he had at last found some place where he belonged; right there between her and the world, her warmth and her love, her presence a shield against the world he could not face; she gave him courage, the power to be the man he never thought it possible to be. He had to tell her that, but it seemed to him, from the permanence of their embrace, there in the unprepossessing kitchen, from the look she was giving him, that she was already too familiar with his answer, reading his face like the open book it was. 'Definitely a good thing... baby,' that word, that term of endearment, it sounded strange somehow on the tip of his tongue; strange, but sweet, 'Because it'll take something beautiful and earth-shattering to surpass how much I love you Stace.
Looking down into her face, seeing the defiant sadness there hiding behind her emerging happiness, it made Aric both sad and happy at the same time. 'A girl like you should never be allowed to know the depths of despair,' he intoned gently, , stroking her hair with a fixed concentration, savouring every second of contact. 'But that you have gives me even more reason to lift you up when you need me too, or to be there for you.' Oh her kiss, it seemed to erase everything else that cam before it, the maelstrom of emotions, fears and extraneous and ambient concerns around him, around them, just being here with her, anywhere with her, served to centre him, to fix him firmly in a place he knew he would never want to leave. 'You define what you can do baby, not the other way around, you're a good person,I know that, but we all feel the need to lash out, so it's not your fault, you never asked for this, but we'll find control, you and I,I just know it.' Kissing her once more, oh he would willingly have let kissing her define his existence, Aric jerked his head towards the stairs. 'Maybe you wanna get comfy first, I know sleeping in your clothes must not have been nice, you can shower first if, if you want, and well I'll see what I have in your size.' Grinning shamefacedly, he flexed his legs as she got off him, and took her by the hand. 'Then an idea occurred to him. 'I could always pop your top into the washing machine, we've an iron we can use, in case you don't like my stuff.'
Part of him felt that he ought to be shot for thinking such a thing, but as Aric led her upstairs towards his bedroom once more, his mind, human as it was, and fuelled by baser concepts, was considering the ramifications of the removal of her clothes; he had already tasted her lips, plump, and soft and hungry, and a natural fire had been ignited within him, one he was determined to douse at all costs. I, I,' he stammered as she turned those seeking eyes upon him; his hands rose to cup her cheeks. They were alone in the silent house, the door shut, the slightly tense air of tempting anticipation clung to them like a voyeur, eager to see where they proceeded to next.'You can change in the bathroom, and I'll, well I'll take them down and start the cycle.' Hs words sounded heavy in his ears, as her eyes held him hostage once more. 'Unless you want me to... help?'
There was a certain echo of Orpheus and Eurydice about the way in which she sustained her clasp until her steps pulled her away from him, her small, delicate feet hardly making a sound as her hips swayed with a natural femininity, no trace of exaggeration or accentuation to tempt and taunt him, but without knowing it he had taken half a step towards her, and it was then in the early morning silence that only suburbia can produce, he heard her say those three words, and he stumbled back, and sat down, totally oblivious what was beneath him. Fortunately it was the bed, and he sat there stunned for half a lifetime, his eyes linked to hers, as she turned and shut the door. No, don't go1 Part of him was screaming, but he paid it no mind; though it did feel like a parting of sorts, it was only a shower, and she would be there beyond that door, n- 'N-no, no, no,nonononono!' Slapping himself twice on both cheeks, he stood up, but was stopped from stepping into the bathroom to retrieve her clothes by the sound of her voice, singing, no humming. It took him a while before he recognised it, Angel, by Sarah McLachlan, and suddenly, he felt the need to blink, and blink, and blink again, and a warm wet something crept down his cheek; he couldn't leave now, and then, he did not know why he did it, or what force moved him to do so, he picked up the tune, lyrics unfurling like freshly bloomed flowers in his mind. Only then was he suddenly aware that his hand was an inch from the doorknob, the lock did not work, he knew that, and she must have as well. It was well oiled though and opened with nary a whisper, but she would have heard his voice anyway. Bending to retrieve her clothes, eyes firmly not on the opaque figure in the shower, he heard the quelling sound of the rain stopping, and instinctively looked up. 'Oh. My...God.'
((Whaaaaat, you mean you hadn't heard it before??? Lol))What was he supposed to have done? The question buzzed in his mind like an indignant bumblebee, growing increasingly frustrated at the blatant absence of a way out. By singing along, he had thoughtlessly intruded upon her carefully constructed privacy, shattered her intimate succour with his stupid urge to join in. Go! Go, there's nothing for it, you'll only make it worse, more awkward, go! The voice in his mind was dragging him up pulling him away from her, out of the door, her garments nested against his chest, as he staggered from the room. 'I, I'm sorry, you, you carry on, I'll just get your stuff clean, sorry!' He was about to leave when a small voice called his name, and he turned, frozen with dread, horror and anticipation. 'Yes... love?'
How her clothes had wound up in a puddle of fabric upon the carpet, he would never know, but as he spoke, he was moving inexorably towards the partially ajar door of the bathroom, towards her. 'Well yeah, no I shouldn't have come in like that, that was my bad, uh, seems so obvious now, I mean, walking in on a girl however you may feel about her when she's uhm privacy and stuff, is never cool, I messed up, sorry I scared you...' his words trailed off like a flow of water curtailed by the turning of a tap. 'Uhh, sure, just, stay there, I'll, uhm, oh yeah towel!' Extending his hand with the garment through the shower curtains, he waited till the soft weight was removed, and moments later he felt her hand take his, and the mist parted revealing her, standing there, rivulets of water still trickling down her lank hair, pattering onto her shoulders and neck, sliding down the curves of her clavicles, pooling above her b-'You can, uhm pick something of mine while we wait for your stuff to be washed, if that's OK?' Supporting her with both hands, they slowly made their way out of the tub. Aric tried his very best not to look at the slice of pale thigh that knifed free of the towel, as she stepped over the edge of the bathtub, and slipped. 'I gotcha, it;s ok, it's alright you're OK.'he said soothingly, as she fell against him ,causing his hands to automatically catch her around her waist as her arms instinctively looped around his neck. Heart calling to heart through the ephemeral barrier of blood bone and skin, he held her like that for he did not know how long; it did not matter, time held no sway here. Eventually her feet retrieved herself, but she didn't let go, and neither did he.
'I would never hurt you sweetheart.' Aric whispered as he held her tenderly, his focus not on what lay between her legs, but what lay between her ears, he was drowning in her eyes, riveted by the dreamy intensity of them, as though they were both looking into him, and at something inexpressibly far away, a memory perhaps. You are so beautiful,' he heard himself say, his lips parting, his intentions clealy laid out, but his inner resolve not to push her into anything she did not desire held him back, his eyes flashing wide as she took the initiative, and met him with her bubblegum butterfly of a kiss. 'You don't have to do this,' he breathed, his left hand resting at the small of her back, above the swell of her behind.'if this is too far, I'll stop.'
'If you're sorry about not letting me compliment my girlfriend, well you should be.' Aric said softly, as he stroked her tousled hair. 'Beauty, by definition is subjective and as such subject to the perception of the perceiver, or as the saying goes beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and here I behold and hold you and call you beautiful, QED you are beautiful.' e kissed her then, a deep lingering kiss that made her rise on her tip toes. 'What your father did, is unforgivable, no father ought to have done that, but he failed, and you know why?' Framing her face with his hands he whispered. 'You will never, ever be anything other than beautiful to me, and that's the God darned truth so help me.'
'Even when you're old and fat, whichever comes first.' Aric laughed softly, rewarding her with a tender, chaste kiss,'and yes, for your information you are beautiful, and not just co of the way you look, but, because I know you're a good person inside as well.' To allow her to see herself as he saw her, to afford her an unadulterated glimpse at the wonderful person she had forbidden herself to equate with herself was something that Aric was more than content to enable. Hand in hand they descended the stairs once more, their footsteps gobbled up by the hungry carpeting that seemed to dislike the presence of noise. Bracing the clothing basket on his right hips as his left hand squeezed her right, Aric carefully lifted her garments, placing them into the machine, and hitting 'spin'. 'I think we ought to bring some of the food with us.' he winked. 'Wouldn't want those calories to be wasted now would we.'
A cynical person would have said that what happened next was the stuff of unrepentant cliche, but to Aric, it just felt right, like the way something spontaneous and unthought of just facilitates the transition from one scene to the next, the way an uncharacteristic blip serves to bring out more in someone than what they would otherwise usually do. What need had they for accompanying music when the rhythm they swayed to was in their very souls, communicated across the intervening space via their gazes which were glued to each other. Inviting her onto him, almost as though the morning had been leading up to that point, Aric let her manoeuvre him against the wall, his lips fiercely preoccupied with hers, as out of his control, his left arm supported her back, as his right dipped below her waistband, and began to gently knead her peach-like behind, fingers playing with the malleability it had access to. 'Good,' he grinned at her confirmation that she believed him, 'because I have never, and will never lie to you when I say you are my world baby.' Smiling indulgently as she blushed prettily, he kissed her nose. 'And yes I am trying to make you fat, you've discovered my evil plot, oh no, what do I do now?'
Here she was, in his arms, the very vindication of what he had always tried to convince himself of; that good things did indeed come to those who waited, regardless of however long the wait was. Never one to buckle and break under the weight of peer pressure, or indeed the absence of pressure given his self-imposed isolation and his marked awkwardness around crowds, the fact that he was inalienably a guy, and a teenager to boot meant only one thing. Try as he might to deny it, the basic equation was this; sex. Aric was a romantic, finding it much easier to deal with printed words that conveyed to him as much intangible insight as people would without swamping him with their spilling thoughts, he had never intended to simply bed a girl and laugh about it later; it would have to be done right, with the right girl, and then only if and when the moment was right. In a way, Stacy helped to guide him, helped to provide him with the willpower to override his body's stupid biological programming; she had been abused by the man who should have protected her from the evils of the world, but instead had become one, and there was simply no way Aric was ever going to contemplate anything of that nature, unless she specifically wanted him to. 'Well I suppose that means you want to be comfortable, since one would not get fat if they were on edge.' Guess that means metaphorically my Stacy is going to be obese. The thought amused him, as he regarded her slender physique. 'Ohh that's one bet I am so going to win!' he smirked, as she sped off downstairs to cram all the food she had made into the picnic basket sitting lonely in the larder. Moving to the chest of drawers on the landing, Aric removed the rolled up all-purpose outdoors rug and four blankets, two each for both of them, and two pillows from the airing cupboard; they'd been kept there because of a pet cat one of his housemates had, which the other was allergic to. With the necessaries tucked under his arms, he made his way downstairs. 'Your clothes ought to be ready by now.' he called as he entered the kitchen, putting down his items on the table. 'No dryer though, we usually either iron our stuff of pop round to the laundrette's down the street.'
'It was never fair and you knew it.' Aric accused her playfully, as he stepped towards her; he had to admit that even in his clothes, she still cut a rather fetching figure. Aric had never been on the tall or bulky side, so his hooded sweatshirt and ragged jeans was only a size or two above what she would otherwise usually wear, meaning that while his clothes were big on her, the distinction was not that significant. 'Wow you're making this fatten my girlfriend idea way to easy.' he grinned glancing at the well stocked basket sitting smugly at the stove end of the kitchen table. Housing with the son of one of the top people in Silicon valley certainly had its perks. 'Oh and speaking of getting there, we could always take the car.'jerking a thumb at the bunch of keys hanging upon a hook, he winked; the sleek black camaro outside belonged to one of his housemates (I forget if I named them:p), but it had been agreed that if either of the four of them needed its use, they could have it, at least for a maximum of 6 hours, good thing about nerds, they knew how to keep to a schedule, more of less.'Why thank you,' Aric laughed softly, 'I can turn away when you're ironing your uhm underwear, or uh I could wait outside till you're done, then we can load up and catch some time alone alone.' They were the only one's up of course, but they were not truly alone, even now, phantom fragments of his housemates thoughts traipsed into his mind and it was by fixating upon her that he managed to completely centre himself.
