[ what was that about not holding his hand? forget all that. she takes his hand because yes, she still needs to lead the way, make sure he doesn't get lost. nevermind that they're outside and there's no way he could actually lose her, that doesn't matter. she leads him across the grass to a particularly perfect tree, tall and broad, leaving the perfect amount of shade and sunlight at the roots. and it's obvious this really is a spot she spends a lot of time in, because she picks an area that looks like she moved the roots around herself, the way they're arranged so that there's room to sit on the grass but still put their feet up on the knobs if they want to, prop their backpacks, whatever. she's been here a hundred times. it's usually a spot she goes to when she wants some privacy, her back turned towards the school, the trunk of the tree wide enough to hide her.
but she's okay with Casey knowing about this spot. it doesn't even occur to her that she's showing him some kind of secret. she's not worried about anything like that. she only lets go of his hand when she needs to plop her bag down on the grass, moving to sit down with her back against the tree. she smooths out her skirt over her lap, crosses her legs at her ankles, then reaches to take her textbook out of her bag. ]
Forget what I said about notes before. I'll still show you how to take better notes when studying, but later. I've decided the best way for you to complete this homework assignment is to read it out loud. I will too. We'll switch off every paragraph. [ seems totally legit, yes, which is why she's grinning up at him like she's super proud of herself for all of this. but then- ] And you can either sit next to me, or lay down with your head in my lap so I can play with your hair. It's your choice. [ she's totally looking down at her book now instead of his face yes what of it ] But I've heard laying with your head on someone's lap makes it easier to absorb what they're reading to you. Just so you know.
[ For a moment Casey is actually pretty distracted by the spot Chuck shows him. It's really pretty and there's just the right amount of sun and warmth and shade. The tree is big enough to hide them from view so that they're still part of the school and the campus but there's privacy too. It's a good spot. It's a great spot.
And Casey's getting all kinds of weird warm feelings about her showing it to him.
He drops his bag down, reluctant to let go of her hand but also seeing the necessity in it. No wonder people aren't just attached to each other permanently, even though he's sure they could probably work around it if they had to. He likes the feeling -- the way her hand seemed to fit in his; the way her fingers wound through his; the warmth of her skin against his; the way people seemed to notice them when they walked past, eyes flicking from their faces to their joined hands. The stirrings of gossip and rumours to be spread across the school. Or maybe not. No one really knows who he is.
He's settling by a set of particularly comfortable roots, completely in awe of Chuck, and completely speechless by her suggestion, but pleased too. Oh, man. It's crazy how much he wants to just do exactly what she suggests. ] That's a really good idea. I'm in full support of this idea.
I've been told I'm a pretty good story-teller and that I've got a good narrator's voice. [ Okay, that's not entirely true because his friend Jordan from home was mostly telling him that he sounded like an idiot when he had done a dramatic reading of some book once. ] I'll definitely learn more this way.
[ Yes, he's confident in that increase of a grade-and-a-half as he scoots closer to Chuck, suddenly a little shy about the whole head-in-her-lap thing, but not shy enough not to try it anyway. He shifts so he can lie horizontally across the grass, propping his head into her lap as directed. It's so cozy and intimate, he feels his face grow warm. ]
[ Chuck laughs, bright and loud, and but then she's shaking her head, tucking her hair behind her ear as she looks down at him ] No, it's not too heavy. Your head is perfect. [ laughing still because she realizes this is all like, it's not forward, exactly, but it's not all that innocent. not as innocent as it could be. it's what happens when you have a few lifetimes of experience with flirting and teenage relationships. she's feeling all of these feelings like it's the first time, but she still has that experience stored away. instincts that teenagers generally don't have. knowing sometimes it's easier to just be honest, tell the guy you think is cute that you want to play with his hair. sometimes it works out okay. like right now.
she props her book up on her bag so her hands are free, although only one ends up playing with his hair, just a little bit. twisting the short strands. it's not an actual headscratch yet, but she's not about to go full bugs bunny on him ]
[ And he's never done this before. Like, ever. Never had his head in any girl's lap, never really felt this way about a girl either. Being away from his dad and his dad's pack looming over every single move he made is working wonders. He'd never had the chance or felt comfortable enough to make any kind of connection with anyone back at the school he used to go to. Not the way this feels anyway.
His sister always had an easier time of it; hell, she was good at it. The instant connection. The fleeting nature of it. She always told him he was kind of a romantic, and yeah, maybe that's true. Maybe he'd been waiting for something that felt more like this.
He smiles, eyes half-lidded, a little drowsy but still ready to listen to whatever textbook they're about to delve into. ]
I'm already enjoying studying a whole lot more than I ever did.
Maybe because we haven't actually studied at all yet?
[ she laughs, 10% because of nervous energy, but the rest is because it's just kind of funny, okay. part of her is still so sure they'll get to studying eventually but she knows it's likely not going to happen. she doesn't really want to. which is saying something, for sure, her not being interested in studying anymore. but her fingers are threading loosely through his hair and she thinks that maybe it's okay, just this once. he's comfortable and she's comfortable and it's so nice out. she thinks, for a moment, that this spot could change from being her spot to their spot and that's when she pulls herself out of that train of thought. not so fast, montgomery. ]
That's okay, though. It's kind of nice just relaxing like this out here. I mean, for now. [ she nods, very serious ] We will study eventually. So much studying. [ she's being less tentative with playing with his hair now, fingers lightly scratching against his scalp, mussing it all up ] Nothing will be able to stop that study train once it leaves the station.
[ Casey huffs a laugh, opening his eyes to stare up at Chuck from his position as though to make sure she's really being serious about this metaphor. But really, it's kind of an excuse to just look at her, whatever, it's not a big deal okay, don't think anything of it.
Sure, they haven't started any actual studying, and he knows that they'll get around to it eventually because that's just the kind of girl Chuck is (and he likes that about her), but for now ... yeah. This is really nice. It's nice in a way that he wants to shout at the top of a mountain about it ... and also keep it to himself because it's so new and so amazing, it feels like he might jinx it if he says anything aloud. ]
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no subject
Date: 2017-04-30 04:24 am (UTC)[ what was that about not holding his hand? forget all that. she takes his hand because yes, she still needs to lead the way, make sure he doesn't get lost. nevermind that they're outside and there's no way he could actually lose her, that doesn't matter. she leads him across the grass to a particularly perfect tree, tall and broad, leaving the perfect amount of shade and sunlight at the roots. and it's obvious this really is a spot she spends a lot of time in, because she picks an area that looks like she moved the roots around herself, the way they're arranged so that there's room to sit on the grass but still put their feet up on the knobs if they want to, prop their backpacks, whatever. she's been here a hundred times. it's usually a spot she goes to when she wants some privacy, her back turned towards the school, the trunk of the tree wide enough to hide her.
but she's okay with Casey knowing about this spot. it doesn't even occur to her that she's showing him some kind of secret. she's not worried about anything like that. she only lets go of his hand when she needs to plop her bag down on the grass, moving to sit down with her back against the tree. she smooths out her skirt over her lap, crosses her legs at her ankles, then reaches to take her textbook out of her bag. ]
Forget what I said about notes before. I'll still show you how to take better notes when studying, but later. I've decided the best way for you to complete this homework assignment is to read it out loud. I will too. We'll switch off every paragraph. [ seems totally legit, yes, which is why she's grinning up at him like she's super proud of herself for all of this. but then- ] And you can either sit next to me, or lay down with your head in my lap so I can play with your hair. It's your choice. [ she's totally looking down at her book now instead of his face yes what of it ] But I've heard laying with your head on someone's lap makes it easier to absorb what they're reading to you. Just so you know.
no subject
Date: 2017-04-30 05:26 am (UTC)And Casey's getting all kinds of weird warm feelings about her showing it to him.
He drops his bag down, reluctant to let go of her hand but also seeing the necessity in it. No wonder people aren't just attached to each other permanently, even though he's sure they could probably work around it if they had to. He likes the feeling -- the way her hand seemed to fit in his; the way her fingers wound through his; the warmth of her skin against his; the way people seemed to notice them when they walked past, eyes flicking from their faces to their joined hands. The stirrings of gossip and rumours to be spread across the school. Or maybe not. No one really knows who he is.
He's settling by a set of particularly comfortable roots, completely in awe of Chuck, and completely speechless by her suggestion, but pleased too. Oh, man. It's crazy how much he wants to just do exactly what she suggests. ] That's a really good idea. I'm in full support of this idea.
I've been told I'm a pretty good story-teller and that I've got a good narrator's voice. [ Okay, that's not entirely true because his friend Jordan from home was mostly telling him that he sounded like an idiot when he had done a dramatic reading of some book once. ] I'll definitely learn more this way.
[ Yes, he's confident in that increase of a grade-and-a-half as he scoots closer to Chuck, suddenly a little shy about the whole head-in-her-lap thing, but not shy enough not to try it anyway. He shifts so he can lie horizontally across the grass, propping his head into her lap as directed. It's so cozy and intimate, he feels his face grow warm. ]
My head's not like, too heavy, is it?
no subject
Date: 2017-04-30 05:34 am (UTC)she props her book up on her bag so her hands are free, although only one ends up playing with his hair, just a little bit. twisting the short strands. it's not an actual headscratch yet, but she's not about to go full bugs bunny on him ]
-- Are you comfortable? Is this okay?
no subject
Date: 2017-04-30 05:43 am (UTC)[ And he's never done this before. Like, ever. Never had his head in any girl's lap, never really felt this way about a girl either. Being away from his dad and his dad's pack looming over every single move he made is working wonders. He'd never had the chance or felt comfortable enough to make any kind of connection with anyone back at the school he used to go to. Not the way this feels anyway.
His sister always had an easier time of it; hell, she was good at it. The instant connection. The fleeting nature of it. She always told him he was kind of a romantic, and yeah, maybe that's true. Maybe he'd been waiting for something that felt more like this.
He smiles, eyes half-lidded, a little drowsy but still ready to listen to whatever textbook they're about to delve into. ]
I'm already enjoying studying a whole lot more than I ever did.
no subject
Date: 2017-05-09 03:14 pm (UTC)[ she laughs, 10% because of nervous energy, but the rest is because it's just kind of funny, okay. part of her is still so sure they'll get to studying eventually but she knows it's likely not going to happen. she doesn't really want to. which is saying something, for sure, her not being interested in studying anymore. but her fingers are threading loosely through his hair and she thinks that maybe it's okay, just this once. he's comfortable and she's comfortable and it's so nice out. she thinks, for a moment, that this spot could change from being her spot to their spot and that's when she pulls herself out of that train of thought. not so fast, montgomery. ]
That's okay, though. It's kind of nice just relaxing like this out here. I mean, for now. [ she nods, very serious ] We will study eventually. So much studying. [ she's being less tentative with playing with his hair now, fingers lightly scratching against his scalp, mussing it all up ] Nothing will be able to stop that study train once it leaves the station.
no subject
Date: 2017-05-10 04:14 am (UTC)[ Casey huffs a laugh, opening his eyes to stare up at Chuck from his position as though to make sure she's really being serious about this metaphor. But really, it's kind of an excuse to just look at her, whatever, it's not a big deal okay, don't think anything of it.
Sure, they haven't started any actual studying, and he knows that they'll get around to it eventually because that's just the kind of girl Chuck is (and he likes that about her), but for now ... yeah. This is really nice. It's nice in a way that he wants to shout at the top of a mountain about it ... and also keep it to himself because it's so new and so amazing, it feels like he might jinx it if he says anything aloud. ]
This is a really cool spot, Chuck.