A Slip Up [Elle]

[Michael James]

It had been a somewhat busy day for Michael. Classes as always weren't the most fun in the world (except of course for photography and English literature) and neither was homework. So, he had decided to put it of, and pay nature a little visit instead. Michael had always quite liked Loose Park, it was always full of dogs which reminded him of his own back at home and it wasn't too busy and full of screaming children who had gone too fast on the merry-go-round.

So he settled himself down on a nearby bench, placing his backpack on the seat beside him. Zipping it open he removed his phone to check his messages. 0. He hadn't been expecting anything really, but he had wanted to hear from his sister. Ever since his move to GPA, he'd lost contact with her, and he resented that. It was hard for him to be the big brother when he was in another state, and she wasn't the best judge of character. Maybe it was just over-protectiveness, but Michael did worry, especially now that there was a lack of contact.

Deciding to do something to take his mind off Kaitlyn, Michael rooted through his backpack. Books, school stuff, and his camera. He didn't much feel like doing any at that moment, but if he had to choose, his camera would come first. Withdrawing it from his backpack, he removed the cover and carefully placed the strap around his neck. Eyeing the park, he scanned the scenery, wondering what he should snap. In the corner was a rather sweet puppy playing fetch with it's owner, however it was a bit too far away to get a decent photograph of in Micheal's opinion. Maybe the group of friends who were sitting on the grass, relaxing in the sun. Maybe not, thought Michael after rethinking this. They might think he was some horrible pervert or something.

Settling on a nearby bin with a small bird perched on it, he focussed and angled the camera. Sure, it wasn't the most interesting thing in the world, but the nastiness of the bin (which by the looks of things needed to be cleaned out) and the sweetness and daintiness of the bird created a nice contrast that Michael decided would make a good photograph. The only problem was that he needed to get a little closer just to get the bird at the right angle.

Not particularly light on his feet at the best of times, Michael removed his shoes and slid of the bench, trying to be as quiet as possible. Disregarding the fact that he must look like a complete idiot, he tiptoed his way over towards the bin, stopping when he was within a couple of meters of it. Perfect. He angled the camera again, concentrating hard on the image and sneaking just a little bit closer until of course, he slipped on the gravel. Grabbing onto the ledge of the bin so as to keep himself standing (and to protect his camera which had been pretty expensive), Michael's sudden movement frightened the bird and it swiftly flew away, leaving just a trash can.

Smooth.

[Elle McQueen]

Elle had set herself a project because she seemed to have been neglecting doing any artwork over the holidays. She would sometimes do a rough sketch but it wasn’t anything that was supposed to be up to standard. She had been much too busy helping out with her father and designing some clothes. She was well impressed with her newest designs. She intended to make her favourite dress and wear it on her birthday soon. She needed to organise that, and have a huge party… Anyway, she had decided to do her own mini-project on nature. That was why she had come here, to Loose Park. They had some beautiful flowers and stuff that would be perfect. The only thing was, she just wasn’t in the mood to be sketching.

She got up from her spot and turned around to leave the park before someone caught her eye. There was a guy who seemed to have slipped and grabbed on to… a bin. How gross. The sight of a beautiful bird flying away caught her eye. Then she saw that the guy had a camera in his hand. Oh, he was probably trying to photograph the bird. Maybe he was from the Academy. As she grew closer she realised who it was – Michael! She’d barely spoken to him for ages. Well, it had been all summer. Like pretty much everyone else…

She sped up, and walked towards him, all thoughts of leaving the park had left her mind. She would stay here for a while, catch up with an old friend. She snuck up behind him, trying to be as quiet as possible and put her hands over his eyes. “Guess who?” she asked, laughing. Even from behind he was good looking! #

((OOC: Sorry its short! End of the lesson, I have to go!))

[Michael James]

Michael had hoped that nobody had seen his rather embarrassing little slip as there didn't appear to be very many people in the park. Standing up a little straighter and letting go of the bin, he scanned the park some more for a good photograph. There were no more birds (he'd probably scared away the best of them), and still nothing all that interesting. And, then everything went black.

Michael almost slipped again out of fright when he felt two hands over his eyes, and thought for a split second that he was about to get mugged. He then realized that it was broad daylight in the middle of the park and the chances of this were extremely slim. He also felt the presence of a tall, slim person behind him, and she smelt pretty good. Michael had never been mugged, but he didn't suspect that muggers wore perfume, or bathed regularly. Relaxing a little with a grin, he recognized the voice and prayed to God that she hadn't seen his almost fall.

"Jeez, I don't know..." He joked, putting on a tone of mock-thought, unable to hide his smile. It had been weeks since he'd seen Elle, actually, it had been weeks since he'd seen most people as he had been back home for the Summer. He supposed she might have come to the park to do some drawings being an art student and all. He often bumped into art students from time to time who happened to be sketching or painting the very same thing he was taking a picture off, which was reassuring and off putting at the same time. It meant that you must have found something photogenic and interesting, yet at the same time you didn't discover something very different.

After a thoughtful pause he made a 'hmm' noise, as though he were having trouble with trying to work out who the girl behind him was. "I think you're going to have to give me a clue." He grinned again, quite enjoying having Elle's hands over his eyes, after all he did have a little thing for her, however much he tried to pretend otherwise. She was exceptionally good looking, and talented. Michael wasn't big on fashion, but even he could tell that she had something. And she was nice, and a laugh. In fact, Michael could go on for quite a while describing her attractive traits.

[ooc: heh, it's cool. mine's pretty short too. =S]

[Elle McQueen]

Elle tried desperately hard to supress a laugh as she felt Michael stiffen underneath her hands. Although, come to think of it, if someone put their hands over her eyes without any warning she would probably spaz out herself. Michael was handling it pretty well, considering. She grinned as she saw his shoulders relax when he recognised her. And then pretended not to know who she was. It was a good thing theatre wasn't his major - he wasn't that great an actor! She pouted slightly in pretend indignation as he made out that he didn't know who she was. Then she realised that he couldn't actually see what he was doing. Whoops.

"Well..." she began, stretching out the word, trying to think of an appropriate 'clue'. "I'm evidently your favourite person at GPA. And I have the best fashion sense of anyone in the school..." she said, laughing. It was obvious from her tone of voice that she was joking, Elle wasn't the type of person to say something like that in a serious conversation. "I'm actually a little hurt that you didn't recognise me!" she added, playing up the sadness in her voice so that again, it was obvious that she was joking...

((OOC: My other post was so spectacular that I just can't be bothered to work the same magic with this one. Sorry, again, that it's short. :P))

[Michael James]

Michael was wondering what clues she'd come up with, or whether she might just take her hands away. She didn't though, which was something to be glad about, and he continued to grin as she gave him his first clue. Not that he needed any of course. It was quite disorientating not being able to see everything around him, yet hearing it all. All he could see was the dark blur of Elle's hand.

He made another 'thinking' noise, as though still considering the possibilities. It was obviously feigned though, and he managed to bit back a small laugh. He was about to answer when Elle spoke again, in a tone of mock sadness. Grinning again, he nodded (well, as much as he could in his current position).

"Favorite person at GPA huh?" He asked rhetorically, still feigning concentration, pausing as though he were still trying to guess. "Hmm, well, I guess that'd have to be Elle McQueen." His grin widened, and he paused again, just for a moment. "Although... it can't be." He shook his head this time, trying desperately to fight back another laugh. "Her fashion sense sucks." Michael said this in a tone that even the dumbest person would recognize as a joke (and even if they didn't, they'd know it was Michael, who couldn't be mean), and a moment later felt the need to make sure Elle knew this. Of course, she probably already knew. After all, she wasn't stupid, or blind.

"Just kidding." He was still grinning, and he waited for Elle to take away her hands, wondering if she was still as pretty as she had been before the summer. "Now c'mon, remove those hands. I want to give you a hug."

[ooc: no problems. mine's a tad lacking in words too, shhhh. xD]

[Elle McQueen]

Elle laughed and took her hands away from his eyes. "You're an ass, I could give you some fashion tips." she muttered, grinning as she hugged him. She lingered a little, letting her arms stay around him for a little longer than was necessary. As she breathed in she realised that as well as being pretty fit, he also smelled good. Geez. This guy had it all. So why was she only just beginning to feel attracted to him? They'd known each other for what...4 years now? Still, she wasn't looking just yet - she was feeling seriously undersexed from after the holidays and needed to have a mindless fuck or two, or more, before she looked to settle down. And then as well as that she had her party to organise. And homecoming. She really needed to make her dresses for both, if she had time. If not then she'd probably have to buy herself one, or use the ones from her dad's collection.

Turning her attention back to Michael who she had released from her embrace by now she sat down on the bench and motioned for him to join her. "So...Michael. How are you? How have you been? Where were you all summer?" she hadn't spoken to him all summer - or anyone else for that matter. Apart from a few brief conversations on the phone with some good friends she'd been much too busy helping out her dad with the release of his new collection to have much time for friends. And she'd spent a lot of time designing too...she'd also tried out some modelling and while that was incredibly fun - she preferred working behind the scenes. Still, at least if her career as a designer didn't take off - which it would - she could always work as a model. Or failing that, an artist. She may as well have put her time at this school to use. It was odd - she wasn't like most other students who devoted their time to their talent, her talent was more like a sideline thing for her, while she loved it, it didn't matter quite as much as her fashion...

[Michael James]

Well, she certainly could. Michael didn't have the best fashion sense in the world. Most of the time he just threw of a pair of jeans and t-shirt, which were timless pieces of clothing in his opinion. He didn't feel the need to wear anything flashy. Of course, occasionally he would suit up, but only when the occasion called for it. And even then, the suit would be somewhat simple and understated. Quite enjoying the hug (he always enjoyed hugs, but they were even better when they were with pretty girls he happened to like a lot), feeling quite disappointed when it ended.

Quickly grabbing his backpack and carefully placing his camera back into it, Michael followed Elle and sat himself down on the bench beside her. Grinning as she asked him the questions. He'd noticed by now that after the summer, people were always asking them, and they were usually all crammed into one sentance, spoken at a hundred words per second. Biting back a laugh, he continued to smile, deciding as usual, to answer slowly.

"I'm great." He stated, still grinning. He had by now gotten over the initial embarassment of falling over his own feet. "I went back home y'know, Rockford." Well, home to him would always be Austin, but it wasn't as if he would be moving back there any time soon. He still however, had traces of that southern accent. "Spent some time with my sister, but that get's old." He raised an eyebrow, as though that explained it all. He didn't have much friends back home, and therefore wasn't a big fan of the summer. He preferred school because there he had people to talk to, who he wasn't related to.

"How about you?" He asked fondly, giving Elle a very gentle nudge. "Did you spend the summer in a flurry of material and sketches?" He smiled, waiting for her answer.

[Elle McQueen]

Elle smiled as he told her about his summer, "That sounds great!" she said, and she meant it. In a way she wished that she had a sister she was close to, or that she was close to Lee. But for some reason - OK, she knew the reason - they just didn't get along. There was much too brother-sister animosity there. "Although, I can see why spending two months with someone could get a little tedious...even if it is your sister." Then he asked about her summer and got it pretty much spot on. A little shamefaced she asked "How did you know? Am I just that predictable?" she asked, laughing. "Yeah, I pretty much spent all my time designing and such, and I helped my Dad out with the release of his new collection. I even tried out some modelling, it was so much fun, but I think I still prefer the designing..." She paused for breath, and then frowned a little as she realised that in actual reality, she'd spent very little time with anyone this summer that wasn't like...working. Oh well, that's what school was for...

And they were back at school already! The summer had actually gone by in a blur. And now it was over they were back at school, in their senior class! The workload had increased dramatically, and then as well as that there was Homecoming soon. She wasn't going to have the time to make the dress that she'd wanted to make, she'd have to wear the one her Dad gave her. And she hadn't even got a date yet... Then after Homecoming there was her birthday! She'd gone over the main details of the party with Eli but needed to finalise stuff, clarify smaller things, then let everyone know. "You know," she said to Michael, "I can't believe that the summer's over already, we're already back at school - and so busy. I mean, there's just general work to do, then Homecoming is coming up, then my birthday, its just crazy." She grinned, "I'm having a party. I'll let you know about that soon..."