`stumbling blind

[Cate Orenberg]

(SO I GUESS I'M A FOOL)

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I'm a fool, in love[/color][/font]
BUT I'M WILLING TO STAY HERE , AND BASK IN THE GLORY[/font][/center]

Term hard finally begun. Over two weeks after her first interesting encounter with Jake Redford, Cate had pondered and fantasised for a few days, resigned herself to a fate of never speaking to him again, and then eventually got swept up into the excitement of a new year with the arrival of her closest friends. She had a wide circle of mainly second and third years for friends and amongst them she considered herself fairly popular although she of course hadn't yet reached the heights she was aiming for. She'd always been a social climber, ever since preschool when she'd performed shows for her friends and family, casting herself as the main and often only actor and charging at least 10p for the privelege of watching before schmoozing with the "guests" afterwards to plug her next one. She'd grown out of acting, though. Her early teen years had brought the inevitable life crises of bad skin and getting dumped and pretty soon Cate had lost the most unpleasant heights of her ego. Nowadays she was confident and outgoing but retained a sense of reservation and timidness around those she didn't know that was usually, but not always, hidden beneath a layer of plum lipstick and a slick of eyeliner.

Today Cate left her second lesson of the morning and moved out into the corridor along with the rest of her class. The corridor was alive with movement, first years stumbling and being carried along by the waves of older students all pouring out towards the courtyard, the grounds or their respective common rooms. One was sent careering into Cate and she bit back a yelp of pain as they stepped on her foot, hard. She had no time for a retort as they squealed and raced after their friend, ducking through the throng of students. Cate sighed in exasperation and fought her way over to the side of the corridor where an alcove provided relief from the movement. It was a trick of hers, to wait here until all the most active students had disappeared from the corridor. She leaned against the wall and watched them pass dubiously, pondering where to go herself to find some friends. Some might head to the common room but with the sun shining they'd be more likely to go out onto the fields or to the lake, to take advantage of the weather. Cate hadn't visited the lake since the incident with Jake, not for any particular reason except that that memory had made something of an impact that she didn't want to ruin. Taking a deep breath, Cate prepared to move back out into the corridor.

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( TAGGED ) ( JAKE! )
( OUTFIT ) ( CLICK! )
( NOTES ) ( : D )
( WORDS ) ( FOUR FOUR THREE )
( LYRICS ) ( LIQUID CONFIDENCE - YOU ME AT SIX )
( LISTENING TO ) ( FOOL IN LOVE - RIHANNA )
( GRAPHIC BY ) ( RORA @ HOS

[/b] )
( CREDIT TO )( RORA @ HOS[/b] )[/center][/size][/size]

[Jake Redford]

AND YOU'VE GOT NOWHERE ELSE TO GO
and you're lost within your own home
YOU'RE TRYING TO HARD TO WIN - - -

It had been a very boring maths lesson. These days Jake had almost no concentration anyway and as a result, he not only got bored, he also missed most of what the magister was saying and ended up failing pretty much all his tests. There wasn't even a good reason for him not to concentrate. It was fourth year, and all his close friends had dropped maths as soon as they'd got the chance. Jake had only continued with it under the instruction of his parents. Despite playing the rebel at Ludus Elementum, he still wouldn't - couldn't - defy his parents. They were good people, and they'd given him a lot. At least his mum had. And so he felt obliged to carry out her wishes. And anyway, he was good at maths, when he actually tried. There was something satisfying about it, too, the way it all fit together and worked.

Two weeks into term, and things already felt normal again. In the first week there'd been the novelty factor of starting a new year. He hadn't seen his friends in weeks, and it had been a breath of fresh air to be back in the freedom of Ludus Elementum. Funny, that his freedom came in the form of school and not summer holidays at home. That was how it was, though - Jake could be himself when he came here. That, and he was excited to learn more about his aqua control. He'd brushed up his skills over the summer, with his dad, but everyone knew fourth year was when it really kicked off. They needed you to stay pretty dumb about it in the first three years, when you were young and naive and uncontrollable. But once you reached fourth year you were all adults, and as such, they gave you a lot more independence with your element.

Anyway, the maths class had been boring, and even the nerds had wanted to get out quickly. Jake emerged into the corridor last, taking his time as usual. He had the rest of the day free, he suddenly realised as he stepped into the corridor, and a little thrill of delight ran through him. His next thought was of what he could do with the time. His friends would probably be in lessons for now but right now, it was a breaktime, and he'd have to try and find some of them. He started down the corridor in the direction of the doors leading to the courtyard, though something caught his eye as the students in front of him cleared. Over towards the left wall, opposite the lockers and leaning against the wall in one of the alcoves, was a very familiar looking girl. White blonde tendrils of hair fell messily past her shoulders and her heavily made up eyes gazed almost cynically out into the corridor. Jake felt his heart drop at the thought at ever stumbling across her again after their last embarrassing encounter, and yet at the same time something like excitement rose in him.

She looked like she was about to move, and Jake had a split-second choice to make. Hang back, and let her walk off ahead of him, or dart forward and intercept. Before he really knew what he was doing he was carrying out the latter, almost knocking out a first year and reaching her just as she took a step away. "Cate," he said, and as soon as that word had left his mouth his mind pulled a complete blank and he could think of nothing else to say. How embarrassing.

TAG CATE !
WORD COUNT 601
NOTES (:
OUTFIT clicky!
LYRICS walls - the rocket summer
TEMPLATE justlikefalling at caution 2.0!
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[Cate Orenberg]

(SO I GUESS I'M A FOOL)

[/font]
I'm a fool, in love[/color][/font]
BUT I'M WILLING TO STAY HERE , AND BASK IN THE GLORY[/font][/center]

Cate. Cate stopped. The voice had sounded familiar, and yet not familiar enough to be one of her close friends. It was tentative, masculine, and... and far too much like the voice of Jake Redford, she realised. Resigning herself to the fate that it was going to take a while to stop imagining his voice all the time, she turned, keeping her expression neutral.

So she was more than a little unprepared, when she turned, to find herself come face-to-face with the actual Jake Redford. She felt a little like pinching herself, and yet here he was. Standing in the corridor. Alone. Talking to her. Why? Her first thought was that it had to be a prank, a dare. He'd told his friends, they'd all thought it would be funny if he spoke to her again while they all watched and laughed at her blushing and swooning. Well, she wasn't going to give them that satisfaction, even if weren't the case. She eyed him, a little coolly, as her insides burned. "Jake Redford," she said deliberately, nodding slightly and glancing down the corridor. Part of her wanted to escape the weirdness of having to talk to him again. Part of her - the screaming fangirl part - wanted nothing more than to carry on talking to him for eternity - and grin insanely while doing so. And another little part wanted to grab him by the collar of his polo shirt and kiss him again, just to see if it really was as good as it had seemed, or whether her idealising brain was just fabricating it.

Instead, she gave a little casual smile. "How are you?" And then, because it all seemed a little formal and forced, not like it had been down by the lake, before the awkwardness, she added, "I have to say, I'm a little surprised."

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( TAGGED ) ( JAKE! )
( OUTFIT ) ( CLICK! )
( NOTES ) ( : D )
( WORDS ) ( THREE ONE ZERO )
( LYRICS ) ( LIQUID CONFIDENCE - YOU ME AT SIX )
( LISTENING TO ) ( FOOL IN LOVE - RIHANNA )
( GRAPHIC BY ) ( RORA @ HOS

[/b] )
( CREDIT TO )( RORA @ HOS[/b] )[/center][/size][/size]

[Jake Redford]

AND YOU'VE GOT NOWHERE ELSE TO GO
and you're lost within your own home
YOU'RE TRYING TO HARD TO WIN - - -

Jake, she said, looking rather unamused. Maybe she doesn't want me to talk to her? Jake thought, Or maybe she's just finding this as awkward as me. He didn't even know why he was doing it. Something had just felt.. effortless.. about talking to her down by the lake. It had been casual, easy, and she was funny and cute and weird. Still, this conversation was already stilted and they'd spoken literally two words to each other. Jake felt rather like he needed a way out, and yet now he'd started it he could hardly just leave.

How are you? She smiled then, a little bit, and the tension lifted a little from Jake's mind. Subconsciously, he put up a hand to feel the back of his hair, returning her smile. "Yeah," he said casually, "I'm pretty good thanks. Busy with start of term stuff, you know." It was a lame answer, but what more could he really say? She was making it awkward, with her staring, and he was not the smoothest person socially to begin with. Not until he'd got a couple of drinks down his neck. I have to say, I'm a little surprised. Surprised? It took him a couple of seconds to work it out. Surprised because he was talking to her. Well, yeah, it had surprised him too, actually, but he couldn't say that without sounding like a crazy person. Instead he smiled. "Yeah, well," he said, "Our last meeting went so well." It was easier when they were joking about it. Less awkward. "And you seem..." Weird, he wanted to say "Nice." He gave a snort of laughter.

TAG CATE !
WORD COUNT 274
NOTES (:
OUTFIT clicky!
LYRICS walls - the rocket summer
TEMPLATE justlikefalling at caution 2.0!
[/blockquote][/blockquote][/size]

[Cate Orenberg]

(SO I GUESS I'M A FOOL)

[/font]
I'm a fool, in love[/color][/font]
BUT I'M WILLING TO STAY HERE , AND BASK IN THE GLORY[/font][/center]

If this was a set-up, it was a good one. There'd been no leaping-out-and-screaming-with-laughter yet, and Jake actually seemed quite genuine. Maybe he actually just wants to talk to you again, the voice in her mind said, and she was starting to believe it. A little bit of Cate confidence was returning to her and she stood up a little straighter with it. I'm pretty good thanks. Busy with start of term stuff, you know. It was a lame answer. If anything, the start of term was the least busy part of the year, with all the magisters going a little easy on the kids to ease them back into work mode. Still, he was being nice enough, and she wasn't going to complain. She simply nodded, pursing her lips a little in thought. Of course she wasn't thinking about his reply. She was busy wondering if he'd picked himself up a girlfriend yet. As far as she knew he hadn't had any long term ones, not since she'd joined the school last year. Most of the more popular guys in school either had the reputation of serial dater, or player. But Jake had earned himself neither. He hooked up with girls sometimes, she knew that much, and occasionally he'd be seen around school with a girl, a fling, but he wasn't known for it like the rest were.

It was not a question that was answerable without asking (and she wasn't going to do that) so instead she stared listening again. Yeah, well, our last meeting went so well. At that she had to smile. It was a joke, of course it was, and yet she still had to quell a little thrill that ran down her spine as he said it. And you seem...nice. Cate raised an eyebrow. Nice. It wasn't an adjective she'd use to describe herself, and certainly not one anyone else had ever chosen. She grimaced. It was not an adjective you used to describe a friend. It sounded more like a brush-off that anything. So why are you talking to me? she wanted to say If I'm just "nice"?

The hint of awkwardness came between them again, and yet it didn't seem appropriate to end the conversation there. Think of something witty, Cate's brain told her sternly, but nothing sprang to mind, not when she was looking at the way his chocolate curls perfectly framed his angular face. Brilliant, she thought, I'm completely infatuated with a guy who thinks I'm "nice". This is not how she'd been planning to spend her break.

[/font]

( TAGGED ) ( JAKE! )
( OUTFIT ) ( CLICK! )
( NOTES ) ( : D )
( WORDS ) ( FOUR TWO EIGHT )
( LYRICS ) ( LIQUID CONFIDENCE - YOU ME AT SIX )
( LISTENING TO ) ( FOOL IN LOVE - RIHANNA )
( GRAPHIC BY ) ( RORA @ HOS

[/b] )
( CREDIT TO )( RORA @ HOS[/b] )[/center][/size][/size]

[Jake Redford]

AND YOU'VE GOT NOWHERE ELSE TO GO
and you're lost within your own home
YOU'RE TRYING TO HARD TO WIN - - -

Too late, Jake realised he should've asked how she was, but he supposed she would only have given as generic an answer as him. It felt like they'd broken the barrier between aquaintance and something too soon, and now it was too late to return to the how are you? stages without it seeming forced and wrong. She wasn't impressed by nice, either, though of course she wouldn't be. Jake had learned from experience that it was the worst word one could use to describe a girl. They liked to be exciting, different, something more emotional and intense than nice. Most would even rather be called a bitch or worse to avoid being so boring. He hoped she realised he was joking, and then wondered why he even hoped that. He supposed he had a natural desire to impress girls, but it seemed more important now. Maybe it was because she forever looked like she was judging his every move and he didn't much like it when she grimaced - like she was doing right now. He wanted to see her smile again.

She didn't say anything more, but glanced around, and Jake realised she was probably waiting for him to continue the conversation that he, after all, had started. He supposed he could still back out now; he could say he'd forgotten he was supposed to meet his friends. He didn't really want to though. What he wanted, he realised was to find out more about quirky Cate: what she liked, what hated, what made her smile. This probably wasn't the place though. Jake took a second to think and decide, decide that this was actually what he wanted to do. To ditch his friends and hang out with a second-year he'd only just met. He was surprised at how easy the decision seemed.

"What are you doing now?" he asked, before he could stop himself because he realised how forward he was being. She can always turn me down though, he thought, and we'd never have to speak again. He'd be okay with that. It was worth a shot. "Want to go somewhere?"

TAG CATE !
WORD COUNT 355
NOTES (:
OUTFIT clicky!
LYRICS walls - the rocket summer
TEMPLATE justlikefalling at caution 2.0!
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