November 1st
Around 8:00 am
Tag: Spark
After 'Take The Plunge'

The night before had been a crazy time. Ghost stories and costumes. Fire and marshmallows. Nudity and cold water. In just those moments a lot more of Xi'an, Paige, and Kythe's flesh than he could imagine seeing had been seen. Not that he was complaining. No red blooded man would unless he was of course gay, or dead. While they frolicked in the nude the others had vanished on a hike through the woods. Watching Lina go, part felt disappointed she didn't stay. As well as the fact that he didn't go with her. The thoughts had plagued him all night in the tent. The came and went around the thoughts of naked flesh in his mind. It was a fine shame that Xi'an and Paige were both off the market in a way. Sure Paige was his friend, but damn she had it going on.

"Damn it Max, just cause your horny doesn't mean you have to fantasize about every woman." Muttering to himself in the cold morning air, hands pushed inside of pockets for a momentary respite from the cold.

The remnants of the night's fire still remained. With some prodding and careful packing of kindling and a handy match he had it going again. Digging into the food he found the things that he had packed for breakfast. Nice plump sausages were speared onto a metal rod and placed above the fire. Then a small pan came out to put some eggs in and was added to a metal tray under the rod but over the fire. It wasn't the best cooking set-up but it worked wonders and tasted damn good.

Eyes shifted up as a figure emerged from the tents and made their way over. Eyes moved up to bring Lina into site. Automatically blushing, his eyes shot away. "Umm morning."

This post has been edited by Goliath on Nov 2 2009, 08:14 AM

Lina had spent most of the morning listening to Chance snore away beside her, finally growing annoyed with being the only morning person Lina moved out of the tent. Her eyes shifted, adjusting to the morning light as Max was spotted. If she had known someone was up Lina would have come outside earlier then this. "Good morning Max.." she said cheerfully, settling into a seat beside him.

Sweater was tugged slightly closer, crossing her arms across her chest. "I didn't realize anyone else would be up yet..." She said truthfully, eyes scouting out for some available water.

"Morning." The makeshift pan for the eggs was moved across the fire as he watched her settle in beside him. No doubt the snoring from within one of the tents had woken her up. He hadn't been able to pinpoint who it was, till he had noticed the tent Lina came from just then. Seeing Chance there caused a slight shocked look as he quickly turned away. Clearly the guy wasn't gay like he thought the night before. Bi-sexual was probably more true.

"Umm yeah I like to be up early. You know, early bird gets the worm and all that." Catching the wandering gaze, a canteen was offered up. "Water?"

Handing it over once she responded, eyes turned back to the cooking. Of course a girl like Lina was seeing someone. A girl that pretty was never off the market for long. Max had definitely underestimated Chance. He'd have to apologize to the guy later. "That guy sure can snore loud huh?" A finger pointed at Chance and the tent she came from.

Lina caught the tail end of Max's look and was almost positive she would be needing to explain something, until he carried on without any mention of Chance. A slight nod was given "If I knew you were an early rising type of guy I probably would have gotten out here sooner..." she took the offered water with a cheery "Grazie!" before taking a few big sips.

A frown tugged down the corners of her lips as he brought up Chance, knowing this was heading somewhere she didn't want it to. She fixed her expression before he could get the wrong impression, if he hadn't already and smiled lightly. "Yeah... I was tempted to zap.. him..." she stumbled over the word, blushing lightly as she realized how dead she'd be if she gave up Chance's secret before the girl was comfortable with 'coming out', so to say. The small lie made her uneasy, on the one hand she didn't want to betray her friend.. bit Lina hated to lie to Max.

This post has been edited by Spark on Nov 3 2009, 12:19 AM

Catching the frown that came with mention of Chance, the stomach twisted up and the heart fell. Perhaps it hadn't been the best course of action. Just as quick her expression had changed. Not fast enough for him not to notice though. The smile came and he felt his heart fall even more. "Probably would have helped some, he sounds like a lumberjack." Chuckling softly, attention went back to the food.

The sausage and eggs popped and crackled as the smell of cooking food filled the small camp. No doubt soon enough the others would emerge from slumber and demand some. Paige would definitely smell soon as she was sleeping under the stars not far away. As the food cooked, a foot was placed in his mouth. Typical Max. "I didn't know you two were dating."

A small nod and a polite chuckle followed Max's lumberjack comment, eyes shutting lightly as the smells of breakfast wafted past her. Stomach gurgled hungrily before she turned her attention back to the water canteen in her hands. Lina was busy mulling over the possibilities of the whole she had just dug, unscrewing the cap on the water.

Brim was brought to her lips before a large sip was taken, only to be spat out across the dirt ground as his words clued into her mind. She spluttered, then started laughing. Lina coughed a few times before she found her breath and her words. "Oh Max... " she brushed her sleeve across her lips, before turning her amused gaze towards him "Chance and I aren't dating..." she answered honestly, before continuing. "We're just friends.... that's all... nothing more..."

It was then that she wanted to spill the beans, but convinced herself not to. Gaze shifted back to the fire as a mischievous little grin twinned onto her lips "Besides... I like someone else..." Cap was twisted back onto the water, setting it down by her foot.

There were many times a person made mistakes in their life. Whether they left up the toilet seat much to their wife's chagrin. Or perhaps they turned left when they should have turned right and smashed into another oncoming vehicle. Or maybe even something simple as speaking when they should have kept silent. That was the mistake that tasked Max the most. Once again he had done it. As the water was spat upon the ground and the girl began laughing, he knew the mistake was made. Her eyes were full of amusement, but it just caused his embarrassed blush to keep growing. It was good to hear that Chance was not her boyfriend, but the embarrassment still remained. Probably not the best time to ask.

"Oh...sorry...I just assumed...same tent....sorry." The shamed face fell as the hand unconsciously kept poking at the cooking food with a spatula. As eyes rose again they caught sight of the mischievous grin. As the words came out, the head tilted slightly as the brain tried to comprehend the words. Oh great there is another guy, rang loud in his brain. "Oh...that's cool...must be a lucky guy." The food was crackling and he moved the eggs off into a large serving bowl, going back to start some more. What a morning for him.

That wasn't entirely the response she had been looking for, but then again it was early. Small shrug was given "Fenix, Chance and I stayed up late talking..." she paused for a moment to wonder where the little devil had run off to so early. Gaze shifted as she watched the boy continue on with breakfast, letting go of an exasperated sigh.

Lina locked her gaze on Max, knowing soon enough he would feel her stare and look up. It was time for one of her characteristic blunt explanations. "Its you Max" she stated simply. Trademark impish grin was back in place, one hand moving up to remove some of those chocolate waves from her eyes.

Talking. That was a perfectly reasonable answer. Why didn't he just figure it was that? Stupid brain caused more trouble than it was worth. Whatever guy she liked would be lucky enough to have her. Now that he had blown his chance totally. There was no way that he could ever dig himself out of the hole that had been created with just a few words. The gaze upon him was felt and he returned it as she spoke once again. The impish grin that she was known for was back as she moved her hair from her eyes, but almost none of that was noticed as he was just staring at her. The words were still processing within his mind. Him? It was really him?

"Me...I...I didn't know." There was a hissing sound as suddenly the eggs came to attention as they burned. Cursing lightly he tossed them aside quickly before they caught on fire. Staring down at the pan then up at her clearly embarrassed, the pan was set aside. "I...I really like you too Lina. I didn't know you....well I didn't know you noticed me like that." The usual blush was returning as inwardly he was doing the dorkiest victory dance one had ever seen.

It was a known fact that boys, although cute and lovable, didn't always pick up on things. Lina was perfectly happy to look past Max's cute misconception. A nod was given, finding herself crawling back into that little hole of shy embarrassment. Oh great, get all shy now... silly girl... say something

At that moment she was going over what he had just said in her own mind. He likes me! ME! Lina's very own dorky victory dance could rival that of Max's, feeling the heat rise up her cheeks as they stared at each other. "Well... I..." she stuttered, flushing darker as her momentary braveness evaporated. "I've distracted you so thoroughly you almost burnt your eggs.." the words were said in such a matter of fact tone that she paused, then burst into giggles.

Their faces were flushed as both seemed at a loss for words. They had said how they felt and now the rest was tangled up in the lips somewhere and somehow. Funny how that happened. It was the story of Max's life after all. Glancing at the burned eggs on the forest floor to his side, a shrug came. "Plenty more eggs where those came from."

Then she giggled and he found himself laughing along with her. It was intoxicating. Wiping a little moisture from the side of his eye, he held his stomach and took some deep breaths. "Such an intoxicating laugh" Coming down fully he began the next eggs, stopping to look up at her. "So...umm....where.....uh...where do we go from...uh here?"

A yawn was covered by her hand, shiver rippling through her as she held her hands out closer to the fire. Her grin was still in place, listening to the pop and crack of the fire. Lina loved camp fires, she could easily sit and watch the flame for hours. How it changed colours, shrank and then grew again.

Focus was drawn away from the flame, turning her sapphire gaze to Max "I believe sausages, unless your planning on camp fire pancakes..." she teased, winking playfully. In truth she was not sure what direction they're declaration should go, not having admitted her feelings for many of her crushes before. All teasing aside "I.. I am not really sure..." In all honestly, Lina had never really had a boyfriend before and this was something many found shocking.

The crackle of fire and cooking food filled the silence between them. Just like many other times their eyes lifted almost simultaneously to catch one anothers gaze. A small smile came at her teasing manner, and he turned his head to the side. There was something about her. Just an air about her that seemed to suck one in and hold them tight. A twinkle in her eyes. The twitch of her lips in a smile. An intoxicating laugh. It was all wrapped up into a very pleasant package. It was really refreshing. After the past. There was only the future now.

"I...I guess I'm not totally sure yet either. Maybe we should just...just hang out and see where it goes. No rush, right?" Smiling broadly, he didn't even notice as his hand sneaked over and settled on top of her own.

This post has been edited by Goliath on Nov 13 2009, 01:03 PM

Gaze traveled back to watch the flames dance before them, thinking on the conversation they had just had. To Max's words she gave a nod and a smile "I like that idea..." Lina wasn't one to rush into anything, she had learned in previous experiences with other things; if you rush it can end badly.

Her hand had been placed lightly on the log beside her, half covered by the long sleeves of her hoodie. Lina was almost too busy in her word of happy thoughts to notice the sudden contact, it wasn't until her current reached out to Max's hand that she jumped slightly and pulled her hand onto her lap. The zap wouldn't have been more then the feeling of grabbing a hold of an electric fence, but the realization that this was going to be a little harder then first thought came to her mind "Sorry!" she blurted out, tugging her sleeves around her finger tips. Hands were shoved deep into her pockets, sheepishly looking at her sneakers.

The contact was brief as she jumped and yanked her hand back. His own pulled back quickly, thinking he had done wrong. Thoughts turned to her power and the problem of touching her. A sheepish and embarrassed look crossed his face as she blurted out apologies and pocketed her hands. Wasn’t her fault. Not her fault her powers worked that way and that he surprised her with skin contact. “Don’t...don’t worry about it. It’s my fault. Shouldn’t have surprised you like that after all.” It was definitely going to make things harder. That was for sure.

The food was nearing completion and there were rustlings of the others waking up behind them. Soon they’d all be out to eat. Smiling lightly at her, he shrugged. “We’ll just have to learn to cope and deal with things. You’re totally worth that learning though.”