"Hey, Lacey."

Lacey glanced up to see Loren had plonked himself down next to her, and was looking at her with his usual cheerful smile.

At first she was happy to see him - she was always happy to see him - and then yesterday's scene of him and shampoo-commercial-hair Natalie, and the churning realisation of its meaning, shifted back into her mind. Oh, yes. That.

Before the axe thoughts could put in a reappearance, though, Loren continued, "How's everyone's favourite lady on the whole wide earth?"

A sad smile crept over her features. It was nice to see him, very nice. Even though it had been only yesterday, she felt like she hadn't seen him in ages. And if he liked Natalie, so what? What was it to her? Nothing, Lacey firmly decided. Absolutely nothing. And if he did ask Natalie out and she said yes and they lived happily ever after and had numerous impossibly glossy-haired children with a love for musicals and quirky outfits, then she would be nothing but happy for him.

It was such a nice day, she couldn't do anything but be happy for him. The axe thoughts would have to go. Yes, even the thoughts where she just happened to sit behind [bNatalie[/b] in maths and just happened to have a pair of scissors on her and just happened to snip off a few of those shiny shampoo-commercial strands. Yes, they would have to go, too.

Lacey plastered a ginormous grin on her face. "I'm quite good," she said resolutely. "It's such a beautiful day, and I have decided that I'm going to be happy." That last part hadn't supposed to come out that way, in fact hadn't supposed to come out at all, but oh well. The sun was shining and there was no need to worry about one's verbal awkwardness. No need at all.

(( Yup, pretty short. Sorry about that. ))

Name: Liam Jenkins
Age/Class: (automatically 16/Junior)
Clique: Goths
After School Activity: Art club
Brief History/Personality Description:
Liam is a quite boy. However, his mind is a swirling mass of colour and noise. He choses to speak, not through outright verbalisation, but with the paintbrush. When his brush reaches the canvas, creativity flows. It is one of his few creative outlets, but it shows that there is a deeper side to him.
Picture: (Coming soon)

(((ooc: Aya_Alexa - Yeah, since you did say it was ok to godmod your character in order to move on, I too took that to mean it'd be okay to move AJ away from the table before Natalie approached... Not sure how to handle it now though, so you'll have to excuse me for leaving their encounter somewhat abstract.)))


To someone like Tyler, with various shady dealings marking his everyday life, two of the most important qualities to have, was discretion and loyalty. Without them, you just didn't last very long in his circles, since a big mouth or even just general carelessness would soon ensure that the cops came after you and threw your *ss in the slammer, thus putting your blossoming career and, frankly, rather comfortable life on hold for Lord knows how long. Well, that is, unless the people you worked for and whom your big mouth was risking getting into trouble as well, got to you first, either to teach you a lesson or to simply shut you up for good. For yes, even though people in Tyler's position had yet to make it into the big league, they did usually still know more than enough about their employers to make the police able send them away for a long time, should they decide to talk. They knew it, their employers knew it, and the cops most certainly knew it.

Consequently, despite his fairly young age, Tyler had already had quite a few run-ins with the police, and even spent the night in jail a few times, but largely due to him practising discretion, and his sense of loyalty, he had yet to be successfully tried for anything. Discretion and loyalty were by now second nature to him, regardless of whether the matter concerned an actual crime, or simply a mere, harmless prank. Although, even so, it was impossible to completely avoid certain things getting out - people had eyes and ears after all - and for some of those things to get exaggerated and twisted around, especially when it would seem Tyler's somewhat rugged appearance - with his scars and his lean yet muscular build - left it to vivid imaginations to just go wild.
But, the fact still remained; Tyler himself just didn't talk, and he never flaunted his business. End of story.

Thus, whenever someone approached him - especially those who usually made an effort not to be seen in the company of the likes of him - he was fairly soft-spoken in greeting them, and, unlike some, didn't announce their approach to the entire room by giving a loud "Heeeey man!". Even when they were approaching him in a place as public as the cafeteria, for everyone else to see, because it could just mean that they were acting under the guise of their business with Tyler being perfectly innocent, and thus not needing to be done in secret.
So, when this early afternoon in the cafeteria of Brooklake High, following the sudden departure of the new girl, Tyler noticed in the corner of his eyes that someone else was nearing his table, he turned his gaze - which had been furtively following a certain fierce redhead as she was slowly progressing in the line for the register - to them, only to discover that it was yet another girl, with her sights clearly set on him. A girl that, funnily enough, would seem a mix between the one that had just left his table, and the one he'd just been watching, in that he didn't know her name, but knew her to be a student of Brooklake, as he had seen her around before. She had been kind of hard to miss, for even though her comely exterior didn't scream of the typical preppy "Look at me, I'm fabulous!", she did move with a kind of confident swagger that set her apart from most of the other students, and there was a perfectly cool purpose in her eyes, as though she knew what she wanted, and unlike most teenagers didn't fear rejection.

"Hope I'm not interrupting anything", she said as she came to a graceful halt by his table, indicating the newly departed girl with a glance, before her eyes returned to lock with his. "Can I have a few minutes of your time?"

However, while her gaze had made a slight detour away from his, his relaxed one had yet to venture away from hers, and even though his eyes didn't wander her appearance, he still appeared to be casually scrutinizing her, perhaps trying to determine her purpose. When kids like her took an interest in "a few minutes of his time", it was usually for one of two reasons; either they wanted to get their hands on some hard liquor for some party they were planning, or they wanted to borrow money. For even though they tended to look like they were well-off , that didn't mean they could snap their fingers and have their parents buy them anything they wanted. Tyler'd had quite a few kids like that come to him because there was something they craved - clothes, iPods, cell phones, you name it - that their parents wouldn't get for them, and that thus needed money from an alternate source to get it. Only rarely did they come to him for drugs, or with the desire for him to do something they themselves didn't have neither the skill nor the guts to do.

Now, the above were of course not the only reasons why people approached him, since there were the "normal" encounters as well, as just proven by the new girl, but nevertheless, Tyler was rather safe than sorry, and thus would maintain discretion until it was proven to be uncalled for, or even redundant.

"Sure", he said, still without taking his eyes off the second pretty brunette to make herself a part of his day so far. "Here?"


(((ooc: Alissa - Hope it's enough to go on. If not, let me know.)))

(((OOC: @AtropaMandragora oh, so sorry if i messed up the story, my trip was suspended for 3 days and i wanted to tell you so i could post but i forgot so i went in and post, when i saw Alissa888's post i just decided to make an exit so i wouldn't have to bother you again to drag my character along, so really sorry.

@Alissa888 no its ok. i think im the one who messed up.)))

(((ooc: Aya_Alexa: Ah, no worries. They'll just have to run into one another at a later time? )))

Katie doesn't sip the way he thinks a fresa like her would, so something's up. He suspects she's faking like the posers who think they're the s*** because they puff on cloves, but ultimately he lets it slide. She's lying to please him, and that's almost as good as the real thing.

After a light wash of liquor, her face contorts like she just sucked on a pair of limes.

“Not bad, right?” He grins.

There's only one beverage Esteban likes more than beer, and it's tequila. After all, it takes a bathtub of Dos Equis to get him buzzed, but a single bottle of tequila can make him fall from the sky. So when Katie starts to put it away, he jumps like she's trying to toss the blood of Christ down the gutter.

“Hey!” He cries. One hand extends expectantly. “Give it back.” Which she does before he has to add “Now.” Good.

Katie scrabbles around for wherever she dropped her dignity and finds it in a sarcastic remark. "It was utterly delightful. Don't suppose I can go get some lunch now?"

Esteban's expression goes serious for a second then curls to a slight sneer. The f***? Does this chick have the memory of a pothead with Alzheimer's? With one foot, he slides a bucket towards him smooth as a shuffleboard puck, flips it over, and plops himself down. She's going nowhere soon. They've got s*** to work out first.

“What about Pene?” he asks, stopping to take another swig at the bottle. His voice is gravely low, insistent—but without the same menacing edge as before.

"Don't worry about it, I'm completely convinced of your innocence,” she says.

He chuckles dryly into the bottle. “Right, and I'm f***ing Ricky Martin.” He quips. Pauses. Eyebrows scrunch together as he catches his verbal slip. That sounded really gay, didn't it?

"I meant that as an adjective," he adds and knocks one back again. Then, like it's completely natural, with the same spirit as a couple of stoners passing a joint around, he hands the bottle back to her and urges her to “Go ahead.”

A little prying, a few good reassurances from her, a couple more rounds of tequila later, and Esteban's feeling more confident about letting the rabbit out of the closet. Maybe it's just that he's had a good day so far. Turned one jock into a skid mark and got off unscratched. Found Ed's secret stash of booze. Nailing la puta bronceada later. Fight, drink, f***. Yeah. Good f***ing day.

Or maybe it's the way Katie's perched herself onto a shelf. The pendulum swing of her crossed ankles brings back memories. Memories of a black-haired girl who always crossed her ankles like that when she was nervous—a habit that disappeared as she ripened one spring break at a time. His sister at fifteen years old.

Esteban's a lot of things, but he's not insensitive. Sensitivity comes easy for guys who know how to cut where it hurts most. The 101 flavors of fear, apprehension, loathing, and on and on, he senses in others with an awareness like an nail driven through his heel. No, what Esteban's running low on isn't sensitivity—he's bone-dry on empathy. But sometimes it rears its head. Bubbles up through the s*** like the flashes of a glimmering gem at the bottom of a septic tank. And out of everyone, his sister gets it the most from him. Marissa, the one who helped raise him, who kept the family together, and who Esteban insists is pure as the Virgin of Guadalupe no matter how many guys he pretends she doesn't f***.

Esteban's gaze drops to Katie's sneakers swinging forward, back. Forward, back. He swishes down another shot thoughtfully. It could've been Marissa in a closet. It could've been some other culero in there with her.

“You know, mensa, you're pretty shitty at fighting for yourself,” he remarks, passing the bottle to her again. Back before puberty hit him in full and he was still a scrawny little s*** with two hairs on his chin, he got into a lot of fights with older, bigger guys. One good chunk of those fights were cuz of something Esteban did. Another good chunk of those fights were cuz of some chick Rafael did. S*** rolls downhill, and if an a**-sore boyfriend didn't get a chance to take it out on the actual guy, then his little brother was the next best thing. In fights like that with a meatier opponent, it's best to end it quickly, efficiently, and in 10 seconds.

“Don't you at least know how to choke someone out?”




((OOC: So sorry about the long wait, Furry. Good news is that we're all moved into the new place! Bad news is I still have to unpack everything. Luckily, the neighbor has unprotected wireless ))

(((OOC: Gah sorry, I am still alive. I was away all weekend, and when I got home my computer had completely crapped out. I've gotten my laptop back from school, so I'll have that ME post up for you later today Atropa (I hope you got my PM before i left))))

((OOC: AnnalynneHopes hasn't replied yet and it's been a while. Can I move on, or should I wait? Apologies ))

((OOC: Elpemmy, you're allowed to move on if it's forty eight hours without them contacting you. It's not a perfect number, but no one will fault you if you follow it religiously

Will edit with a post for mitch and loren, and robokitty, ill have one up for katie by saturday the latest))

Loren didn't tend to like winter, but the one thing he had to give it credit for was that it made it a lot easier to put up with wearing a duct tape jacket, especially here, on the grass that had only recently lost its frost and was nice and soft, and besides which, he couldn't ever manage to hold onto a bad mood. Pretty soon he'd know if his love of the peerless Natalie Cardew was unrequited, and thus a foolish lust, as it always turned out to be in plays, or if it was true and perfect. Or at least fun as he discovered the latter was actually the former. Not that he had a cynical thought like that in his head.

Lacey smiled as he sat and greeted her, and he thought she looked a little sad. What could possibly be bothering her on a day like this, when it was sunny, not too cold, and it was all but decided that the school play would be The Rocky Horror Picture Show? Did she think there weren't enough girl parts? Or that she wouldn't get one? He couldn't think of anything else that would be bothering her... unless something big happened? Nah, she'd been chilling happily before he got there. He must have reminded her of the show, and she thought she couldn't get a part.

"I'm quite good," she said to answer him, "It's such a beautiful day, and I have decided that I'm going to be happy." Loren beamed back at her, wondering at her choice of words, but rationalizing that kind of thing like he always did. Most people didn't read as many scripts as he did, didn't appreciate what could be communicated with a difference of one word, a substitution of a phrase. So even if it was a peculiar choice of words, it probably didn't mean anything, it meant that she was happy.

Except for the play, which Loren was perfectly confident was the source of what ailed her.

"Smart descision," he said, grinning despite the fact that he was trying to non obviously move his arm so that the jacket wasn't pulling on it and he wasn't leaning on it, as he was doing now, with startlingly painful results. The many-and-varied skills of an actor, once more coming to usefulness! Lacey probably knew him well enough to see his carefully hidden grimace as he readjusted, but maybe, hopefully, she hadn't been looking. He wound up facing her, and maybe he was a little in her space, but they were such good friends, and had played opposite each other in The Importance of Being Earnest and Beauty and the Beast, it didn't really matter "And besides which Lacey, seriously, you have nothing to worry about."

His expression was serious for once, after all, he hated to see people worry. "You'll get whatever part you go out for." He smiled again, it was too much effort to not grin when it was a nice day, his weight had come off of nasty pressure burn, he was with a good friend, and had doubtless just assuaged a real problem for her.

((OOC: I feel so bad for Lacey right now...))

(((OOC:
Okay guys, lunch time is now over and please start RPing your characters over to the next lesson - Biology. We'll have the class actually start on the 1st of June to give people enough time to wrap up their characters' current activities?

Elpemmy - I echo what Furry said Just also try contacting her, though, just to check whether she's been held up etc )))

“Get off me, Brennan.”

Moments after Matt had stormed off, with Josh’s mind on nothing but the events and revelations that had urged him to ask Matt to leave for clarity of mind and calmness of emotions because he had neither, he was still holding the pacified Mark down. With Matt storming out, he still didn’t have clarity or calmness but… at least he didn’t have to work on keeping his hurt, accusatory eyes off the other boy, at least with Matt gone, he could focus on the situation at hand and nothing else and pretend that his life was nothing more than what everyone thought it was.
That he was the high school football captain dating Marie-Elisabeth Normandy, that he had a bright future of being a professional sportsman that he was completely looking forward to, that there was no way in hell he felt trapped and suffocated in his own life, and that the only relationship he wanted to be in was the one between him and the young man who’d just stormed out of the room.
That life. The life that Josh couldn’t help but accept would be the easier reality to accept right now. Now he understood Matt better than he ever had; it was easier to lie a lie and pretend you didn’t have any problems.

“Get off me.”
Mark’s voice cut through the air again, now calm and composed in blinding contrast to the hollering that he’d resorted to earlier. Josh still wasn’t sure whether he’d just hurtle after Matt the moment he was released from the grip, he wasn’t sure exactly how violent Mark was still prone to being and he wasn’t sure whether he wanted to go out into the hallway and risk running into Matt before he was ready to handle it.

“Josh,” Dylan started softly, kneeling on the floor next to Mark, her hand delicately gasping his shoulder, inciting him to look straight into the reddened eyes and he felt sorry for her, he really did, but at least she had some control over the situation she’d got herself into. “Thanks.” With that, she bit her lip slightly, gaze going down over to Mark, who just refused to look at her. “I think it’s okay now.”

Oh, right. They wanted him to leave. He’d wanted time away from Matt and Mark wanted time with Dylan. Mark made no objection to her request for Josh to leave – after all, Mark himself had only asked for Josh to let go of him – as if she’d simply just read his mind as to what they both needed right now and simply stayed put while Josh scrambled up off the floor, pulling himself to his feet and brushing the dust off his clothes, looking down at the two people who really just wanted and needed him gone at this point.

“I’m sorry about…,” he started awkwardly, then wondering what exactly he should be sorry about. Dylan cheating on Mark? Dylan cheating with Matt? Matt’s behaviour generally? Wrestling Mark to the floor? Hanging around awkwardly apologising? “I’ll er…. See you around.”
There really wasn’t much to say was there?
He made his quick exit, walking briskly towards the door, opening it and slipping out into the hallway with in fluid moves, not looking back as if the scene would suddenly burst to life if he did.
There, he stood, running one hand through his silky locks, catching his breath and just staring blankly as the bell began to go off, signalling the next lesson. He really didn’t feel like going to Biology at this rate.

(((OOC: Emo, but approachable
Dylan coming soon)))

It was quite a peculiar situation for Leigh, to be telling an outsider - and one she had only spoken to for about ten minutes, at that - about some of the most prominent 'merits' of one of her own, of pranks played and actual crimes committed by a friend. Even though in the case of Tyler, he was perhaps something more along the lines of an in-between of a friend and an acquaintance. Leigh had been to most of his parties, she had hung out with him a number of times, she had even made it into his bed on occasion, and he was very much what she would consider one of her own. But in general, he and she still moved in somewhat different circles, as Tyler tended to hang out with older friends, and Leigh, while she did have a few such friends as well, tended to hang out mostly with J.D., Esteban, the girls in the band, and a couple of others the same age as her.
Though nevertheless, Tyler Young was still part of what Leigh had labelled 'her kind of crowd', and usually, tales of who among them had done what and when didn't venture outside the troublemaker clique, because the only thing these kids trusted about the preps and the jocks, as well as the goody two-shoes, was that they would get the troublemakers into hot water if they could. The two former categories because they simply seemed to get off on such antics, or held some kind of grudge because the troublemakers dared breathe without their express permission, and the latter because they were so stuck on the idea of doing the right thing, and being morally immaculate, that they would report and wrongdoing as soon as they caught whiff of it. The only reason why Natalie Cardew had been made an exception, was because her behaviour had seemed genuine, in that she clearly appreciated the satire of Matt, and had tried a second time to persuade J.D. to accept her proposition about the school paper, risking if not life, then at least limb, by approaching him at a time where most others had been making a conscious effort to stay out of his way. The preps might usually be too wrapped up in their own little egos to take notice of other people's wishes, but even they weren't blinded enough by their own splendour not to realize the risk they'd be taking at having their perfect (and in some cases very expensive) noses broken, by annoying J.D.. So, the fact that Natalie did choose to take that risk, suggested that either she was an idiot, or her motives were at least fairly sincere. And one didn't need to talk to her for more than a minute, to realize that an idiot, she was not.

"Pretty impressive", was her verdict of the ten second crash course in Tyler Young's abilities that Leigh had just honoured her with. For even though silence was golden among the troublemakers, in regards to outsiders finding out about the things on their consciences, it was Leigh that had brought him up as a collaborator, and thus it was up to her to vouch for him as well. "Maybe he'll appreciate the challenge."

Knowing Tyler... the odds were that yes, he would. He was one of those rare people with very little to loose, as he didn't seem to care a whole lot about the risk of getting thrown out of school, because he already had a career waiting in the wing, and getting caught stealing a wallet was hardly something you'd be made to do hard time for.

"Be right back", Natalie then added, and stood from her seat.

Apparently, she didn't plan on wasting any time in finding out, because as Leigh and J.D. watched, she made her way towards the table where Tyler was sitting, purposeful steps carrying her forward as though there was not even a single ounce of hesitation or apprehension in her. Much like when she had approached J.D.. But then again, Tyler, while being a known bad boy, didn't have the reputation for giving people a black eye simply for looking at him the wrong way. On the contrary; most of the time, it seemed he couldn't care less about what kind of attention he received, or if he even received any in the first place.

"Hey."

Looking up at the sound of a familiar voice, Leigh's eyes locked on an equally familiar face, discovering that the departure of Natalie had brought the arrival of Lilith instead. The rich-on-attitude redhead that was the singer of the all-girl band Leigh was in, as well as one of her friends, had just plopped herself down on one of the empty chairs around the table, her trademark smirk on her lips, and her gaze flicking between Natalie, the two troublemakers, and the third one whose table Natalie was just stopping by.

"What did she want?"

Enter sudden part two of Leigh's minor dilemma. Just like she didn't tend to tell outsiders about things concerning her friends and "equals", Leigh didn't tend to NOT share ideas and plans of mischief with said friends and equals. Within her circle, people trusted one another to keep secret the naughty things they had done, sharing freely their various experiences and the wisdoms learned from them, sometimes even ending up in a minor duel with all contestants trying to out-do one another. All with the comfort of knowing that none of them would rat them out.

But, that was among the troublemakers. Natalie Cardew, while currently plotting with a couple of them, was not one of them, and both her and Leigh knew it. As did they both know the two of them had to go out on a bit of a limb in trusting each other on this one, and thus had to be, at least initially, somewhat restrictive about sharing their plans with friends and/or previous partners in crime. For the sake of the trust of their current ones.
So, despite the fact that Leigh really wanted to let Lilith in on the plan - because not only was she a friend, but, knowing her, she might also have a few brilliant twists to add to it - out of respect for the instigator of the plan, she decided the best thing to do for now, was to say nothing.
Well, about the plan, that is.

"She asked J.D. to work for the school paper", Leigh said, and couldn't hold back a small snicker when it occurred to her how utterly bizarre the idea had to seem to someone familiar with J.D.'s character, but unfamiliar with what exactly he'd been approached to do. "Can you believe it?"

However, just as J.D. shot her a murderous glare, she decided to elaborate a little, because despite how comical the thought might seem, she did figure it would be good for him, and didn't want him to change his mind for feeling as though he was being made fun of.

"Apparently she's seen some of his drawings", she explained, "and actually recognizes talent when she sees it."


(((ooc: Sorry if it's not much to go on. Let me know if you can't work with it, and I'll try adding to it.

ETA - Oh, and yes, slytherin, I did get the PM. )))

Once upon a time it had been a commonplace occurrence for Marie-Elisabeth and Matt to be skulking off together towards some secret corner of the school. In fact, people had started to wonder what was going on if there was a day when it hadn’t happened. It had been almost a point of pride that they had managed to sneak off nearly every day and had never been caught by any authority figures doing so.

This time though, Marie-Elisabeth was glad that no one was able to see them for a different reason. She knew it was inevitable that her secret was going to be found out, but she also knew how much damage it would cause for her to be seen sneaking off with Matt. Specifically, how much damage it would do to her relationship with Josh.

She wanted to be the one to tell him about what was happening, to be able to explain things to him and tell him the truth. She hoped he had gotten the message she sent earlier, she would definitely need to talk to him after lunch was over.

Regardless of their skill in sneaking around, Marie-Elisabeth kept glancing over her shoulder as they walked down the sports hall, making a point of ignoring the typically sarcastic comments Matt was throwing at her. Now was not the time to get into a fight with him.

They came to a halt in front of a closet, which Marie-Elisabeth knew from experience to be full of summer sports equipment. Matt unlocked it and opened the door, and she stepped inside. He followed her in, locking the door behind him, and she took several deep breaths both to steady her nerves and rid herself of the lingering nausea.

“What” he finally asked, crossing his arms across his chest.
This was it. She knew that this was not the time or the place to play any of the mind games or dancing around that the two of them so often used when dealing with one another. She had to just come out and say it and hope against hope that Matt didn’t somehow explode destroy the school when she did.

“I’m pregnant and it’s yours” she said, holding up a hand to stall the vehement denial she knew was coming “And before you even say it, because I know you well enough to know you will, do you really think I’d be telling you that you were the father if I wasn’t a hundred per cent sure that you were?”.

If the situation hadn’t been so serious, she probably would have started laughing. “You know me better than that Matt” she said, taking more deep breaths in an effort to stay calm “I mean, for f$@k’s sakes, if there was even the slightest chance that it could be Josh’s I sure as hell wouldn’t be in this closet with you right now would I?”


(((OOC: Sorry about it taking so long. I swear the universe hates me lately.

And I think I'm going to drop Nadia as a Character. I'm not really doing much with her and it seems like I've never got any muse for her. So if you could, could you take her off the list for me?)))

Nothing fazed Matt Sidle. Nothing made him lose his cool. That was the mantra Matt had kept inwardly repeating to himself since... well, in all honesty, for most of the day actually. First there had been the incident with Natalie and her sickly sweet sarcasms, and what at the time Matt had believed to possibly be innuendos of that one secret that no one else could ever know about, but that he had since decided were merely wild stabs in the dark on her part. Then there had been the incident with Dylan, when she and Matt had kissed and Mark had shown up, swiftly followed by a rapid combination of blows to Matt's self-esteem, by Mark attacking him, Dylan announcing that he didn't matter, and then on top of it all, Josh and his judgemental hero routine.
It was a good thing, a blessing even, that Matt had learnt the art of truly tapping into those mantras of his, and let them work their magic on him, because even though turmoil was still raging within, on a level deep, deep down, it hadn't taken long for his outer appearance to cool down and allow him to once again become his usual suave official persona, if perhaps a little irritable. And as was always the case with Matt, appearance was everything. If you looked calm and collected enough, no one would suspect you to be feeling any different, and like any good actor, Matt would soon become the part he was playing, and absorb the feeling he was trying to portray.

Right now, that part was that of his usual self, and the feeling was that of being in complete control of himself, of being unfazed. And while he had wished to get to spend at least an hour to himself, possibly even the rest of the day, the few minutes he had actually gotten before Marie-Elisabeth had shown up to tell him whatever it was that was so bloody important, had been enough for him to block out that horrible sensation of losing his grip of himself, and being unable to keep the mask from slipping.
Damn, he was good. So good, in fact, that when Marie-Elisabeth sashayed into the summer sports closet, past Matt and the door he held open for her, he couldn't help but to allow his gaze a quick jaunt along her shapely form, in appreciation of the view, and the memories it brought back of similar rendezvous' a few months ago. Though maybe that all had more to do with the vindictiveness still simmering inside of him, his desire to get back at Josh somehow, even if indirectly. Because if Josh got so bent out of shape over Matt and Dylan, imagine his reaction to seeing Matt check out Josh's own girlfriend...
Not that he needed to know about it, of course, and not that Matt planned on telling him - well, part of him did want to throw it in Josh's face at the moment, but deep down, he knew he probably wouldn't be able to do it after all - but the nevertheless, the thought alone did make the currently rather vindictive teenage boy feel a little better.

But not for long.
Much like the Shakespeare quote goes, when sorrows come, they come not single spies, but in battalions: Marie-Elisabeth would soon prove only moments away from shattering Matt's recuperating outward stability all over again.

"I'm pregnant and it's yours", she said, dropping a bomb so severe that it took Matt a few moments to actually register it and, once he did, even do a double-take, before a split second later, he completely froze.

At that very moment, he wouldn't have been able to produce a single word even if he'd tried, but as Marie-Elisabeth perhaps - and rightfully so - expected him to snap out of it and utter something less than pleasant, she motioned for him to let her finish.

"And before you even say it", she continued, "because I know you well enough to know you will, do you really think I'd be telling you that you were the father if I wasn't a hundred per cent sure that you were? "You know me better than that Matt. I mean, for f$@k’s sakes, if there was even the slightest chance that it could be Josh's I sure as hell wouldn’t be in this closet with you right now would I?"

At first, Matt simply just stared at her, while her words washed over him like a bucket of ice cold water being emptied over his head, and with only a single thought going through his mind: "WHAT?!!"
However, that reaction lasted only for a couple of seconds, before his eyes suddenly darkened with annoyance, and his limbs came alive once more as his arms dropped from his chest.

"Oh yeah, that's f*ckin' funny, Marie", he rebuffed with stinging sarcasm, thinking she was just trying to rattle him because of their recent dispute. "Ha ha. Was that really the best you could come up with?"

He gave a disdainful snort.

"You're losing your touch."

But, just as those words left his lips, his eyes locked with hers, and something in them made him almost flinch. Despite both their skill at manipulating people, and acting innocent even when being confronted, they usually could see through each other's tricks when it came to such schemes, and what Matt saw on Marie-Elisabeth's face right now, was not a mask. Or at least not one meant to cover any kind of deception in her words.

"You're not kidding, are you...", came his voice then, now slow and devoid of the previous gall, as the sincerity in her statement started dawning on him.

Then, it finally hit him, and his eyes widened in horror.

"Are you serious?!?!"


(((ooc: Sorry if it's messy or whatever. Really scatterbrained right now. Tried to work in the bell calling the end of lunch, but it's not really something Matt would register right now... )))

Explanations were… necessary, but hardly easy.
How do you explain what you did something that you knew then and know now to be wrong, and inexcusable, regardless of the circumstances surround it? Dylan knew that everyone made mistakes, and that the only thing completely unforgivable was to not learn from the mistakes you made but… she couldn’t help but feel absolutely abysmal for what she’d done. She’d sold out her principles, her morals, used a friend and abused a boyfriend and it made her feel worse than any rumour or biting comment from anyone else ever could.
And worse yet was explaining it all to Mark. But he did deserve an explanation and he deserved the privacy to accept or reject it and that’s why she’d wanted Josh gone.
He’d been a gentleman through to the end and obliged and now it was just her and Mark.
Awkward silence for the first two minutes that dragged out for a mental hour, grudging it’s way with friction before any of them spoke.

“I am sorry,” she reiterated quietly, deciding to really just say the only thing that made sense in her head; she was sorry. She really was just completely, and utterly regretful. “I just didn’t think about it.”

“You could have just talked to me about it,” was the first thing he said, pulling himself up off the floor and facing her properly. She suppressed the urge to scoff; no point in making things worse.

“And you would have listened?” she instead asked calmly, then moving on in case that lead to an argument she didn’t want to have. “It doesn’t matter what I should or could have done. It matters what did happen. And I am sorry.”

“You keep saying, but it doesn’t change much does it?” he snapped back, leaving Dylan to just stare for a few seconds. He wasn’t sorry about any of the things he’d done, was he?

“There’s really not much else I can do,” she pointed out. “I gave you an explanation, and I am sorry, but I can’t exactly reverse time. What do you want me to do?” She paused, refraining from getting defensive, because really she didn’t have much right to be defensive, did she? “I didn’t do it because I wanted Matt, I did it because you didn’t care about my feelings.” She gave a small bitter laugh. “And it’s the worst way to try fix that problem, but I didn’t really think about it. I wish I had. I really do.”

To that, Mark said nothing, probably because there wasn’t much to say to it, probably because he just didn’t want to respond to it or probably because he just needed time to really think it over now that Matt was gone and he couldn’t focus all his rage on him. Though, when he did finally speak, what he said was a lot calmer than Dylan expected, and the words were something Dylan had been expecting anyway;
“We’re over.”

“We have been over for a long time,” she accepted with a small nod because even if it was the most ridiculous thing, she did want him to be the one to break it off, to dump her, because they both deserved that much for their respective roles played. And then there was the matter of apologising to Madison, because one way or another, probably because of Mark, actually, the reason for their break-up would get out and Dylan didn’t want Madison to hear through the grapevine that her boyfriend cheated on her. At least this was one person she could be upfront with.
A few more words exchanged with Mark, he made it clear he wanted to be devoid of her company and so, she obliged and walked straight out of the thick, stifling atmosphere of the room and into the hallway, standing there and watching it empty out as people moved to their lessons.
She didn’t want to go. Not yet, anyway.
She took one wavering glance across the hallways, suddenly feeling scrutinised by everyone and yet ignored and left out, swallowing slightly in nerves and shame. She cheated. She’d actually cheated on someone. Oh, God.
She didn’t linger around for long in case for some irrational, impossible reason, someone found out immediately and criticised her for it, turning and walking straight out into the quad to get herself a fix of the cold air.

(((OOC: Wow. I really suck at RPing break-ups. Will post again and move her towards bio )))

A second lunch and fifteen minutes later, Mitch had finished his biology homework, and taken over half the cafeteria table with his notes, trying to find where the answers to the stupid questions were, at first as he had been taught in class, and then as some nerdlette continually provided in some bizarre amalglam of gratitude and fear for what had happened after a football game.

He couldn't find her answers, and he only found half of them in his notes, so he just picked them in alphabetical order. He'd fail that homework probably... what else was new? It still wasn't good for his ego, so as he cleaned up his notes and put away his assignment he looked around the cafeteria for something to make him feel better. A quick one in the closet, some braniac whose face he could punch in, or even a friendly conversation. The last one wasn't going to happen, given his predilections to the first two, but he kept his eyes open, like he usually did.

He threw away his tray and slung his backpack over one shoulder, anticipating the bell ringing, and not wanting to be late to class, lest Mrs. Jaym decide to fail him for the day for being two seconds late. She was a witch, but if she could magic his scholarship away, he didn't know what he'd do.

Glancing at the clock he saw that he still had a few minutes before the first bell, but it was better to be early. As he started leaving the cafeteria, he saw a familiar face. It looked like kassel, some girl he'd known freshmen year. They hadn't been tight, and they hadn't slept together, but he remembered her. He didn't recall her dying her hair black though, or dressing in short skirts and tight shirts like that. Well, to each their own, especially when their own turned out looking fine.

When he drew up next to her, he saw it wasn't Kassel just someone who looked a lot like her. Who was it? He definitely recognized this girl... oh yeah!

The football captain before Brennan had come up with the idea of scouting the other team before games, and Mitch had volunteered to go to Lakebrook's pep rally, because he'd heard that their quarterback was a flaming gay, and that the Lakebrook girls were gorgeous and easy. He hadn't been able to tell much about the quarterback, but he had found some gothy girl who'd been completely wasted and quite happy to go a back room with him.

The morning after she'd gone completely non-linear, and he'd just left, and then Kassel had flipped out at him two days later for sleeping with her cousin or sister or something.

He rolled his shoulders slightly, wondering what had brought what's-her-name to Brooklake, and casually said, "Hey babe", because he'd forgotten her name. He didn't know if she was still pretty easy, but then again, it didn't hurt to talk to the girl, and that short skirt and tight top was mighty interesting to look at, even if that wasn't happening when she was sober.

((OOC: That okay with you Aya?
For the record, he's talking to AJ, and wow, my character is a jerk. <3 ))

"I've moved around an awful lot. Nobody wants to keep me, it seems." She replied, smiling shyly. Melissa raised her eyebrow questioningly, she had her thoughts about that statement but wanted to confirm it for sure. She nervously poked a fork into her salad before moving down the line with Lea.

"What about you? Moved for any special reason?" Lea grinned. "God, I hate joining new schools. So much hassle."

“My dad was transferred overseas. This is the first time, that I actually remember, moving.” Melissa started, swirling the leafy lettuce and tomato stuck to her fork. “It’s going better that I thought at least.” Then again, anything would be better than what she thought. Melissa imagined her first day to be a pit of despair with snobby jerks who would make fun of her for being new, obnoxious teachers and would get beat up at the end of the day. She shuddered and rolled her eyes at herself for being so silly.

"There's always the friends issue too. Which clique should I join? How should I wear my uniform THIS time? What's the best way to fit in? It gets so aggravating sometimes." Lea continued and grinned as she grabbed a drink. Melissa, however, bit her lip nervously, she never thought of that. She casually scanned the cafeteria, and could see people sitting in groups, some obvious by their choice of clothes and others not as easy to identify. It is aggravating, Melissa sighed, touching the small bump on her head.

“Yea…” Melissa trailed off, nodding her head. She glanced again at the busy caf, “So….where do we sit?” she asked, assuming Lea had everything she needed.

((Sorry for taking so long, somethings came up and then when I went on, it was down :/ Is this okay with you ?))

(((OOC:
To everyone,

Right, character lists and links have been updated. Could everyone please do me a favour and check that the links to their character bios are working and if not, do let me know and I'll fix it

That said, lunch is now over, the bell has rung and please do move your characters to the next class where Mrs Jaym would start class (or if they're skipping class, please ignore poor Mrs Jaym)

Omarion99 - Welcome! Feel free to start RPing at any time.

Maeve and Summerkelsa - would appreicate it in you guys posted your characters' bios in this thread, just to keep everything neat and tidy

Will edit this post with Natalie )))

“Yea…” Melissa nodded. “So….where do we sit?”
"I don't think it matters." Lea murmured. "There goes the bell. We've got... biology now, is that right?" She smirked. Melissa needed to be put to the test. A friend, she may well be, but Lea definitely didn't want to be associated with the nerd crowd.
"Bloody teachers. I'd skip, but it's the first day and all, and I'd get killed when I got back." she said.
"You don't know how much I hate biology. It's all insides and stuff. Besides, at my last school we had a horrrrrible teacher. She insisted on teaching us. Standards these days." She grinned, shaking her head.
"So, shall we go?" Lea asked, nodding her head in the direction of the biology rooms.

((OOC: That's fine, Annalynne. Hope the above is all okay, especially that I ended lunch so quickly, I got a bit lost ¬¬ Thanks ))

"I don't think it matters." Lea murmured. "There goes the bell. We've got... biology now, is that right?" She smirked. Melissa scrunched her nose as if she just tasted sour milk, she really could do without biology. She headed towards the lockers and grabbed her books.

"Bloody teachers. I'd skip, but it's the first day and all, and I'd get killed when I got back." she said. Melissa giggled, and remembered how she and her friends did some “amateur skipping”. They would tell the too trusting teachers they had some other project to do, then spend the rest of that class “working”, coming back just before the bell rang.

"You don't know how much I hate biology. It's all insides and stuff. Besides, at my last school we had a horrrrrible teacher. She insisted on teaching us. Standards these days." She grinned, shaking her head.

“Yes, the teachers who actually make you do work are the worst ones,” Melissa replied, hoping they had easily distracted teacher, “I think biology takes the magic out of things. Do I want to know the process the digestive system goes through? No not really, I'm hungry, I eat, hours later, I go to the loo. Magic.” She waggled her fingers in the air for extra effect and grinned.

"So, shall we go?" Lea asked, nodding her head in the direction of the biology rooms. Melissa once again grimced,

“If we really must.” Melissa sighed. She couldn’t even look forward to the end of school, because than she had a cheerleading practice. “Hey, what are you doing after school?” she asked.

((OOC: Are we doing are clubs and such after biology? It‘s fine elpemmy, it was a good way of ending it :] ))

“If we really must.” Melissa said. Lea nodded, and began to walk towards the lockers.
“Hey, what are you doing after school?” Melissa asked. Lea frowned. She didn't want to seem a nerd- after all, it was Newspaper club, but at the same time, she didn't want to lie to someone who was, at the moment, her only friend.
"I'm forced to go to newspaper club. It's a requirement, supposedly. I might just hang out at the park or gym or something afterschool, til I'm supposed to be at home." Lea told Melissa
Newspaper club was going to be dull, dull dull. Behaving was optional, at least in Lea's mind. Who knows, she might actually enjoy her time. She smirked.

((OOC: Eek, tis a bit short. I kind of suck rofl))

Well aware of the oddity in the idea of the notorious troublemaker and slacker J.D. Harper agreeing to actually commit himself to a project involving the school, and not even the destruction thereof, Leigh had pretty much expected Lilith to react the way she did upon hearing about it; the initial, contemptuous huff at what in this case could be easily perceived as Natalie's stupidity, especially by those who didn't know her, and her destined failure, soon followed by the anticipation for a continuation, and then the discovery that such a thing simply did not exist.

The sight of it alone drew another small giggle from Leigh, partly because the reaction itself amused her, but also because she could just imagine what was going through Lilith's mind at the realization that no, J.D. hadn't turned the offer down, but had instead ended up actually giving his (rather unenthusiastic) consent. No one that knew J.D. and that was in their right mind, would have ever thought of it as even a possibility. Yet here he was, having just agreed to it, albeit completely on his own terms. Of course. Though J.D. himself on the other hand, didn't seem nearly as amused by it all as Leigh did, and had turned his glare briefly to Natalie, his dark eyes momentarily boring into her turned back, as though the recent exchange of amusement and incredulity between Leigh and Lilith really had changed his mind, and he was blaming the pretty editor of the school paper for persuading him, when in fact it was Leigh's enthusiasm and influence that had been the key ingredient to making him accept in the first place. Without them, and without Lila's obvious support the other day, the offer would have been rejected on the spot, and not in a very nice way either.

Luckily, however, both Leigh and Lilith knew better than to actually tease him about it - Leigh in particular, since she had been one of the three people making such an effort to persuade him - and so neither of them commented on that part of the matter. Instead, Lilith turned the attention to something else, having not failed to notice how Natalie had headed straight from the troublemaker table over to Tyler's, and apparently had her suspicions further stirred by it.

"Oh yeah?" she said, pausing to take a few sips from her glass while Leigh nodded, a smile firmly on her lips, and J.D. turned his gaze back to the two of them, the look in his eyes no longer quite as dark as a few moments ago. "What kind of drawings are we talking about here?"

Though no sooner had the question been uttered, than the shrill sound of the bell rudely announced that lunch was now over, and that the students had better make their way to their next class, lest they'd end up being late.

"Crap", Leigh eloquently announced her opinion in return.

Giving a reluctant sigh, she then did proceed to stand, unhurriedly scrambling to her feet as though as long as she was just moving, no matter how slow, time would wait for her and class wouldn't start until she was good and ready.

"And yeah", she said as J.D. began to follow her lead, having caught the hint of scepticism in Lilith's comment, but feeling somewhat uncertain about how to interpret it, and thus deciding not to act on it quite yet. "What drawings has she seen?"

After all, while Leigh had been the one to pick the satire that J.D. should show Natalie this time around, she still didn't know what or how much of J.D.'s artwork Natalie had for some reason actually been given access to before, that'd had her forming an opinion of what she had called the quality thereof. To be perfectly honest, given how private and touchy J.D. was about sharing his artwork with outsiders, it really did surprise her that someone like Natalie had gotten to see it in the first place. How on earth had that ever come about? It didn't really make any sense. Until J.D. explained;

"She saw this doodle I did of Rubelein a couple of weeks ago", he said, as the three of them started making their way towards the far end wall to dispose of their trays, and Leigh glanced towards Natalie, as her tray still remained sitting on the troublemaker table. "I dropped it in class yesterday, and she picked it up. And now Leigh wanted me to show her the one I did of Sidle."

"Yeah", Leigh filled in, turning her head to look at Lilith, with a smile lighting up her eyes at the mere thought of the satire, and adding, just in case Lilith didn't know which one she was talking about, even though J.D. had ever only done one drawing of Matt: "You know, the one of what he looks like on the inside? The giant slimy toad thing? I wanted to see her reaction."

There was a time and a place for everything. There was a time and a place to pull your weight, there was a time and a place to delegate out your tasks, there was a time and a place to throw a tantrum to get your way. Now, most people knew how to do each of those things, but safe to say that only the more successful of people knew that it didn’t matter just what you were able to do, it also mattered equally when and where you were able to do it.
Like now. Natalie was so capable of turning people against Matt Sidle; find a few scorned women, push the right buttons, let them loose and hell hath no fury like what they’d unleash on him. Yeah, it required work, but when you used to be the sort of Queen Bitch that everyone was too scared to cross, you knew exactly how to do it. And, you didn’t need someone concocting plans for you… unlike some.
Oh, yeah, Natalie knew who the brains of the outfit was, and that was why she’d been a little careful around Matt. Compared to his prowess, Marie-Elisabeth was small fish.

However, that didn’t mean that just because Natalie appreciated Matt’s perpetual testing of her wits, patience and perseverance to turn over a new leaf, she’d let him get away with all that he’d done. Quite the contrary, for Natalie was done playing nice with him, she was done giving him chances and reasons to back off. The gloves were off and she’d switched to biding her time, because the best assault was the one that was perfectly aimed and perfectly timed. See, she could turn a few of his girlfriends against him in a John Tucker Must Die fashion, or, she could strip away his much prized popularity from him and show him exactly what he was when stripped bare.
This prank was just phase one; first plant the seed, band together the student body that he’d demeaned by giving them a common opinion to share and then work on it from there.
Of course, the success of the plan depended on the co-operation of the young man currently in her company.

However, she didn’t want to jump out on the frying pan that was Matt’s antagonism and into the fire that could be Tyler’s… well, the spider’s web that his reputation (or distinctive ambiguity of) suggested he could weave. And gazing onto the handsome face sculpted by it’s angular, yet charmingly youthful features, Natalie couldn’t help but catch onto the scars that, though failing to detract from the appeal of his appearance, didn’t fail to paint a picture of their owner’s more… darker characteristics. Those kind of injuries were usually accompanied by more severe accessories – seriously, who hits you once over the eyebrow and walks off, rather than it being the case of someone slamming your head against a hard surface during a beat up session – that either didn’t leave behind visible collagen deposits, and thus being internal, or were elsewhere on his body.
Either way, having survived that, and taking into account his confident demeanour, Natalie deduced that he was probably someone you were not only better off staying on the good side of, but also quite likely to find the experience rather pleasant, should you do so. Furthermore, he was clearly similarly analytical, for though she didn’t keep her eyes intently locked onto his, she hadn’t missed the way his eyes surveyed her appearance, though, admittedly not in the way a lot of the guys tended to look at Natalie, but rather weighing her and her intentions up. Fair enough. At least he was careful.

“Sure,” he agreed, with his sparkling baby blue eyes still fixed on her. “Here?”
Yeah… time and a place, after all, and for what she had in mind, this definitely wasn’t the place, especially what with Tom, Dick and Jose wandering about the place, with ears poised to eavesdropping. Frankly, Natalie was just about comfortable with the people involved in it already and thus, best be careful as to who got wind of it, because there’s bound to be some goody-two-shoes who might overhear it and rat out to Laramie.
And speaking of that, there was no point in standing up and sticking out like a sore thumb, considering the rather unlikely participants of the conversation, and so, she gracefully slid onto the seat in front of Tyler, without further ado, until they sorted out where to go.

“I’m Natalie, by the way,” she introduced with a smile, realising that maybe Tyler might want a name to go with the face, in case the infamy hadn’t spread that far enough and hey, that might add to why he’d agree, because she was hardly one of the preps and she was known for that, if anything. Then, she continued, leaning in a little, folding her arms loosely over the table, with a slightly sly look in her eyes in distant excitement of the plans – she really wanted this to go ahead. “And no… I was hoping for somewhere more private.” Her gaze dropped to the table before raising it up to meet his; “It’s a little scandalous.”

"Smart decision," Loren said, grinning.

Her face flushed. Her choice of words had been weird. Fortunately Loren wasn't the kind of person who minded weird choices of words - that was what she liked about him. When he was around she no longer felt like the weirdest person in the room.

She smiled, this time less sadly. Here she was, with one of her closest friends, on a beautiful day - she was completely comfortable. She glanced at Loren; his blond hair shone in the sun, and he was messing around with his arm, trying to reposition himself better. Natalie or no Natalie, she would always feel comfortable around him. Loren was Loren. He would always make her feel happy, make her face light up in a smile.

For a second Lacey closed her eyes, letting the lazy sunshine warm her face, and when she opened them again - the faint blush Loren's casual comment had brought on earlier was nothing compared to the scarlet hue that now tinged her cheeks.

Loren was very close.

So close, in fact, that Lacey could feel his warm breath on her skin. So close she could count the freckles sprinkled across the bridge of his nose. So close she stared into his bottomless green eyes, so close a wayward strand of his unruly hair poked out and nearly brushed across her forehead.

She seemed to have forgotten how to breathe for a second.

Was it just her, or was there a Moment? Was there some sort of electricity between them, a loaded atmosphere? Was it just her?

"And besides which, Lacey, seriously, you have nothing to worry about," Loren said. His eternal grin had disappeared and instead there was a serious expression on his face.

She had nothing to worry about. The logical part of her stated calmly that she did not know what he was talking about, but the other part - the distinctly illogical, thoroughly irrational part, the part that was in control of Lacey most of the time - that part wanted to interpret what he said as, don't worry, Lacey, because I'm not going to run off and have glossy-haired children. I'm going to stay here right by your side so you can count the freckles on my nose.

"You'll get whatever part you go out for." His face broke out in a sunny smile again.

Part? What part? What was he - oh. Oh. Of course.

Stupid Drama Club.

He thought she was worried about the part she was going to get for the school play. He was talking about the play. She should have known.

She should have known it was just her - that there had never been a Moment, that in fact the Moment was just Loren not being entirely familiarized with the concept of personal space.

The spell was broken.

Lacey scrambled up, away from him and his green eyes and his freckles and all his closeness, her cheeks hot. "Um, yes, thanks, but, um - we should get going!" she cried, her voice alarmingly high-pitched. "We should get to class."

(( I love these two lol ))