It's just a silly little game, innit? [[Open]]

[amberleasilverston]

I'm not here for your entertainment
You don't really want to mess with me tonight
Just stop and take a second
I was fine before you walked into my life

The common room was near empty, and yet the fire blazed on. Amberlea loved staring at the flaming tendrils sifting up towards the chimney, enveloping herself in the blaze with her thoughts and mind. She could spend hours at a time, just watching, and waiting. No one knew exactly what she was waiting for, nor did they know what she was watching, or could even begin to understand how fire fascinates her. Amber didn't care. She wasn't here to make people understand how she ticked. Faaar from it...

She swept a hand through her mussed blonde hair (though she changed her hair style and colour about as often as she changed her underclothes), clearing the grogginess from her mind and forcing herself to wake up and be on her guard. She would have to begin class shortly, but the more she sat cross legged in front of the fire, the more she was debating skipping it. Screw it, she thought, feeling the warmth spread over her body. She couldn't be bothered moving, and if anyone wanted her to attend their class, they'd have to physically move her themselves. She wasn't going anywhere voluntarily at any rate. She could be quite stubborn like that.

Amberlea closed her eyes then, the warmth making her feel sleepy once more, though she'd had a good nights sleep prior. She was thinking how she could almost fall asleep right then and there. Yet...something was invading her mind. Past memories, lost innocence, blood lust. She couldn't get the thoughts out of her head. If anyone knew, they'd understand how she was such a bitter person. But no one knew much of what Amber had truly experienced. Most didn't even pause long enough to hate her.

She felt dizzy all of a sudden. The warmth was replaced by this nauseous sweeping sensation, and her eyes flew open as she felt ready to hurl. The feeling passed quickly, luckily, however it worried Amber that she was feeling them more and more often. She was too proud to admit there was something wrong, and see a doctor, yet she had to wonder about the illness and the migraines she encountered sometime. Surely they weren't natural.

Amberlea needed to stand, she needed to get some fresh air. She walked over to the nearest window and opened it, seating herself on the window bay, and breathing in the fresh morning air. Soon, her nausea was just a distant memory, and she felt awake and alive once again. She stood up then, and wondered what to do next.

Cause you know it's over
Before it began
Keep your drink just give me the money
It's just you and your hand tonight

[kalib]

Dreams were always nice, especially when the star in them was your girlfriend. It wasn’t so abnormally common for him to drift to sleep and only think of her, and even when he was awake now – Mariella consumed his everything. He was pretty sure he was close to obsession, but Kalib wasn’t so concerned with it. Since when was becoming infatuated with his love interest of the month ever out of the ordinary? His conscious argued she was different, but his subconscious argued it was only a matter of time before he found someone new. True love couldn’t last forever – he’d loved enough girls to figure that out long ago. Even so, when his eyes flickered open Kalib only wished he’d never woken up. He was flat on his stomach, face shoved into his pillow with his sheets half falling off – that would explain the sudden chill. Groaning, he rolled onto his side, tugging the blankets with him. Morning classes were always the hardest to get up for. Let’s face it: option one, say in bed for another few hours and just make it to afternoon classes, or option two, get up, miss sleep, and go to your morning classes only to fall asleep in them anyways. Kalib always kept option three in the back of his mind: just not go to any classes at all and hang out in the Common Room all day. Option three was looking pretty good.

With not much motivation he glanced at the clock on the far wall – his first class was going to start in ten minutes. Kalib chuckled, flipping onto his other side to ignore responsibility entirely – yup, he was going with option three. It wasn’t very long before he came to the assumption he wasn’t going to be falling back asleep any time soon. Instead Kalib pulled himself up and stretched, arching his arms high over his head. After the satisfactory crack of his shoulders, he went about lazily switching out of his pajama bottoms in favor of an old pair of jeans and pulled on plain t-shirt. No need to impress anyone if no one was going to be around. He stood in front of the mirror for a moment, running a hand through his short spiky hair. It flipped back up in odd angle as soon as his hand was back at his side. Frowning, he gave up and trudged down the stairs to the Common Room. Standing at the bottom of the steps he paused, slightly alarmed when he wasn’t the only person in the room – shouldn’t everyone be in their classes? His confusion dissolved into smirk, recognizing the girl from behind: Amberlea Silverstone. Now, you have to understand: Kalib wasn’t exactly single, but was that going to stop him from playing around with other girls? No. Old routine was setting in: he’d been playing the perfect gentleman for too long now, and well – it was bound to catch up with him sooner or later.

Suddenly hyper ware that he wasn’t looking his best, his hand shot up to his hair again in a weak attempt to make it a little more presentable before Amber realized she wasn’t the only one in the room. Without much success, he dropped his hand to his side and walked across the room quietly. He was only perhaps a foot or to off when Amber stood up from the windowsill. His eyes widened in the sudden movement but had composure before she had turned around to finally see him. Kalib smiled lightly and ruffled her hair before she could protest: “Morning sleepy head, what are you still doing here? Shouldn’t you be in class or something?” Time for twenty questions. “And before you waste your breath,” he added, holding up his hands palm out in surrender before he could get slapped for touching her, “I already decided I was ditching for today. So what’s your excuse?”

[amberleasilverston]

“Morning sleepy head, what are you still doing here? Shouldn’t you be in class or something?”

As soon as someone touched her hair, and spoke to her, Amberlea's heart leapt into her throat, and she spun around, instinctively bringing her hands up to punch whoever dared to do such a thing. No one was permitted to touch her without her permission in her mind, and certainly not to sneak up on her. The anger on her face was more than apparent. She saw then, who it was, and though she lowered her hands, and swept one of them through her slightly mussed hair (what did it matter if he'd ruffled her hair, it's not like she took the time to make it neat much anyway, it was more the fact that he had touched her that riled her) it didn't replace the look of annoyance on her features. He had backed away by that stage, holding his hands up in full view.
"Jerk," she muttered, her eyes still flashing with the contempt they held at being alarmed in such a way. Though her words were cutting, it was something her friends more than got used to. She wasn't exactly eloquent with her language. Really get in her bad books and it would be enough to make a sailor cringe.

It was then she decided to regain some composure. She crossed her arms then, lifting her head arrogantly, and stared at him. One hip cocked to the side, and she looked every bit the snobby madam she usually protrayed.
"Excuse? Who said I needed an excuse." she smirked, raising one eyebrow slightly. "So what made you decide to ditch?"

She leaned back against the wall, looking Kalib over. Sheesh, he could've made a little bit more effort with his appearance, she thought. Even though Amber's hair was nearly always in a just-got-out-of-bed state, it was a carefully prepared state that she spent at least twenty minutes doing each morning. There was no way she'd be seen dead out of bed without spending some time on her looks first. Even now, with her brief halter neck showing off the tattoo on her lower back, and her short skirt, she knew that it was more than enough to make the guys stare, and dream. Dreaming is all a lot of them would do though, for Amberlea was choosy, and didn't give herself up for just anyone. And when she did, she'd be lucky if they got a call back.

Still, he was kinda cute, but Amber couldn't help but think she was way out of his league. She could tell he was attracted to her, that was more than apparent.
"So, what are your plans for us today?"
Yes, if he was going to skip class, he might as well make himself useful and keep Amberlea occupied as well. Amber had a way of inviting herself to anything she fancied, whether the other person liked it or not.

[kalib]

“Whoa, back off the violence, will you?” Kalib chuckled, involuntarily leaning his weight back when she wheeled. He’d expected as much though, always getting in trouble when he was around her. It wasn’t his fault – just by the way she dressed, she was practically begging him to misbehave. If girls were going to be such little teases and flirts, well, they couldn’t get mad at a guy if he decided he was going to be all teases and flirts in response. For now he seemed to be in the clear, lowering his hands in vain hope it hadn’t been a mistake to do so. She had a clear shot now.

Thankfully he’d guessed correctly, “Excuse? Who said I needed an excuse?” Kalib rolled his eyes at her cockiness, but it was just another thing he was used to when it came to Amberlea. Maybe, he thought vaguely, that was the reason he kept persisting with her. After all, nothing like a good challenge. “So what made you decide to ditch?” Lying was so much more entertaining: “You of course. Can’t you tell? I was just headed on my way to class when I see you over here all by yourself and I couldn’t just walk by without saying hello. Why should I go to class when a beautiful snake waits so quietly in the corner for attention?” Just by his appearance alone anyone with half a brain could figure out class was the last place he was headed.

For whatever reason girls always seemed to take forever in responding, so the small silence let him admire her distinct figure. Honestly, did she think he could execute such self control when she so casually stood there, showing off enough skin to make him go crazy? He would always resent the female population for their knowledge on how just to make a guy spin around in endless circles over things he couldn’t have. While he did so craftily, Kalib was pretty certain Amber could almost read his thoughts: I dare you, yeah, so he could wind up actually getting slapped? He knew where to draw the line. And he really hated that line.

“So, what are your plans for us today?” Kalib’s eyes finally made it back to hers, a look of playful question in his features. “Us?” he confirmed, tilting his head to one side. “Does this mean you’re actually going to put up with me for longer then just a few minutes?” He was always shooed away before he could ever really talk to her. If she was inviting herself to spend time with him, he was definitely making progress. Glancing down at his own attire, he added “If you expect to go showcase me around the grounds I have to fix this.” He gestured to his lazy-day clothing, smirking slightly. “And um, you might want to do something about your hair.” He was already braced to regret that comment.

[amberleasilverston]

Amberlea rolled her eyes at Kalib's attempt to flirt with her. One thing she could say about him was that he was a trier. He never seemed to give up. Truthfully, Amber always enjoyed any attention she recieved, be it from male or female. She just played at it was going to take more than that to sway her. She liked the thrill of being chased, always within reach it seemed, never caught. That was the way she played it, and it suited her just fine. No one could seem to pin her down for more than a week, before it was off to her next conquest. Who knows, in time, Kalib's persistance might pay off. But for now, he can try all he liked, it wasn't going to happen. Besides, wasn't he hooked up with that pretty little thing she'd seen him with from time to time? Who knows, all she knew was that she hated males like that, having had that torture in the past, ones that went from girl to girl. Much like herself in the masculine form really.

She could feel him eye her up, but she didn't expect anything less from Kalib. She had gotten used to his stares and his glances at her. She knew that when she walked by, his eyes were on her, regardless of if he were with his play toy or not. She wondered if the other girl noticed the way he looked at others aside from herself. She'd slap him a few times over if she were in her situation. That girl really needed to keep her boyfriend on a leash.

Her words seemed to snap him out of his little trance-like state fortunately, drawing his attention back to her as a person, rather than a sex-object. She sighed a little in exasperation as he spoke then. Well, obviously she was willing to put up with him if she stated such a question to him. Really, since when were guys so stupid? You had to really lay it into them before they would get it.
"Yes, I am willing to put up with you for longer than just a few minutes," she repeated his words, in a droll monotone of a voice, almost mocking him for actually saying it. "I'm bored, you're convenient and obviously don't have any other plans, so why not?"
And with that, she raised her eyebrow again, as was something she was prone to do when mocking someone.
"And yes, I do believe you need to change, and fix yourself up," she said bluntly. She never minced her words really. In a way she thought this was good. It left nothing open to interpretation. When he mentioned her hair she narrowed her eyes at him, the prior annoyance at him for disturbing her returning. In true snake-like fashion, she hissed, "Don't push your luck, boy."

[kalib]

He really would always be in trouble any time he was around her – Kalib tried to force that into his brain, but it didn’t process fully. He knew he was caught and probably should be a bit more modest about his thoughts towards her and where he let his eyes stray – but hey, Amber was a sight for sore eyes. Was it so wrong that he was soothing the soreness? Well yeah, it probably was – but Kalib was anything but a gentleman, far from it; why should he try and fool the world into thinking otherwise? All the same, he tried to be halfway decent, focusing on watching her eyes instead. He’d often heard other’s claim a girl’s eyes were their most beautiful feature…Kalib didn’t always agree with that, but for now he was just going to have to.

Resistance. Was that all he was ever going to get from her? Kalib did a good job about hiding his annoyance, but really – what was it about him that appalled her so much? He was, in a word, “the whole package.” He’d been told so by more then one girl before. Granted, that was usually before he cheated on them, but what did that matter? He was just going to have to work extra hard – starting with treating her more like a person instead of just another plaything. “Alright, fair enough,” he agreed, nodding. Heck, she could always come to him whenever she was bored, not that he said that. Somehow he didn’t think that was a very “treat you like a person” statement.

Kalib smirked at her obvious dissatisfaction with him, grumbling “Yeah, yeah. I’ll get right on that. Don’t worry.” He shook his head in wonder. For however blunt he could be, Amber always seemed to beat him. “Don’t push your luck, boy.” Kalib chuckled. “Mmm, feisty. Better watch out love, or you might just push me over the edge – and late time I checked, you’d rather I keep my hands to myself.” He winked, giving up on playing nice and “person”-like. For fear of being whacked, he held up one finger, “Be right back. You might want to use my absence to flatten your hair, might I add.” He was at the stairs and jogging up them two at a time before she really could get a nice aim at him. It was only a few minutes before Kalib came strutting back down, dressed in all black. He always enjoyed the winter season, a liable excuse to wear his furred cloak. If Amber wasn’t set on staying in the Common Room all day, it would be nice to go take a walk somewhere…provided they didn’t get caught. He had a few ideas in mind, none of which he was going to run by her – surprises were always so much more fun. Now he just had to find her again. [She could still be down there or coming back down into the Common Room?]

[amberleasilverston]

Amberlea lifted her chin, almost staring him down as he spoke. She liked to be the dominant one, and she always came off that way, body squared straight on, direct eye contact being made. Alpha bitch, as one would say. Often times she didn't even mean to be so...confrontational. Just her body language always radiated her confidence and the fact that deep in her mind, she always wanted to try and intimidate people. It was just the way she was. Even if she had the desire to, she wasn't able to change. It was permanently within her, much like the ink on her back. Forever.

Now there's one word which could have a lot of meanings, she thought. Forever meant nothing to her, a lot of people casually flung it around in conversation, yet no one ever meant it. That's why she laughed when she attended weddings or such usually. What was forever? Everyone was born to die, and even if you lasted that long, forever ended on the day of your death. It was a silly word, one which Amber scoffed at every time she heard it. She drummed her fingers against the window pane, her nails tattooing their rhythm on the solid wood. He actually seemed to become civil for once, nodding in agreement with her. Her eyebrow arched, wondering how long it would last. Apparently not too long.

She rolled her eyes as he teased her about her "feistiness", crossing her arms aggressively, and almost daring him to say more. He didn't at that stage however, using the chance to make his escape it seemed.

“Be right back. You might want to use my absence to flatten your hair, might I add.”

Before Amber could even come up with a retort, he'd disappeared upstairs. Amber clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. Oh, but that boy could get her all wound up! It's almost as if he purposely enjoyed angering her. It wouldn't surprise her, he'd seen by his smug grin, and the sly winks, that that was his exact purpose. One day however, she would wipe that precious little smile off his pretty boy face. If it weren't for the fact he was kinda growing on her as a friend, she would have done so well before now. Fortunately prior to that he had been rather civil as they became acquainted. Now it seemed the more he was getting to know her, the cheekier he was getting. Amberlea wondered if he knew the boundaries he was pushing, and just seeing how much Amber could get away with before she snapped. Whatever game he was playing, he had to be rather careful, or risk facing Amber's wrath. And once you were in her bad books, you had better watch your back. Amber didn't play nice, and her hatred was much more worse.

But regardless, she returned herself to the girl's dormitory. When she was there, she ran her hands through her hair (not to please him, or anyone else, she grumbled to herself), checking herself out in the small mirror. Reapplying some lip gloss, she blew a kiss to the mirror, before returning the equipment to their rightful place. Got to keep up appearances, she scolded herself, nothing to do with him. Why are you even thinking it then? A voice niggled at the back of her head, one she quickly squashed.

She grabbed a plush cloak, just in case their outing involved the outdoors, and headed back to the common room. Kalib was already downstairs.

"So, what's the plan?" She said, nodding in approval at how he'd scrubbed himself up.

[kalib]

With Amberlea’s momentary disappearance, Kalib had some time to finalize the plans he was quickly making up as he went. Now with some decent company, staying locked up in the Common Room all day seemed like a foolish idea no matter how appealing it had been prior. Well, since the Common Room was now no longer an option and they couldn’t very well just wander about the school building freely, that left outside. That was all fine and dandy – until a professor or the gamekeeper caught up with them. Kalib had actually had a run in with the gamekeeper only a few nights ago, one that hadn’t ended very well. Out on a midnight stroll and caught, he’d run all the way back to the Common Room and lost him. He’d thought he’d been safe, but the gamekeeper had caught sight of him and told his mother – needless to say, he was still working on regaining the trust he didn’t deserve from her.

Obviously that was going to play a part in their plans, so Kalib had decided it might be a good excuse to escape the grounds for a day, in favor of spending time in Hogsmeade. Were he trying to persuade a cute little Hufflepuff girl to break the rules, he knew it would never work – but with a cunning, heck-with-the-rules Slytherin, it wouldn’t be so hard. It was just getting there that might cause slight difficultly. Going out through one of the side doors would land them next to the Forest, and if they traveled via shadow the remaining “on grounds” territory, it shouldn’t be so hard to get out. Once they finally got there, eh – who knows? It was all about the thrill of the chase anyways.

So lost in his forming of plans, he’d hardly noticed the small creaking of the stairs or the return of Amberlea. His expression became lighter, not too concentrated any more on the schedule, instead unable to admire that despite the continuous edgy atmosphere she still managed to look good. It was decided: the fact that she was so unwilling to open up to him made him all the more drawn. Luckily he was making progress, but he still had a long way to go. “So, what’s the plan?” That casual smirk replaced the tender grin: “Now Amber, if I told you that, it wouldn’t be a surprise anymore.” Just the thing to get every girl thrilled and furious at him all at once. Sidestepping anymore information on the matter, he added “I’m going to have to ask you to take a leap of faith and just trust me for today, okay? Otherwise this just won’t work. In return,” he stressed, “If you honestly can say that you didn’t have fun with me by the end of the day, I promise to back off.” You couldn’t doubt the sincerity, and it was the best she was going to get from him. It seemed like a pretty fair exchange; now just to see if it’d work.

[amberleasilverston]

“Now Amber, if I told you that, it wouldn’t be a surprise anymore.”

Amberlea smirked as those words came from his mouth. She actually liked being surprised, and didn't push when people admitted they wanted to surprise her. She just hoped that it would be a plan worthwhile keeping a secret, rather than something lame that was no surprise at all. Hopefully Kalib was something of a rule breaker. Amberlea had been far too good for too long now. She couldn't remember the last time she had done something outside the school rules...it had been that long. And for someone of Amber's disposition, this was not a good thing. She had a reputation to live up to. And she wanted to see if Kalib was all that gutsy and confident as he was making out to be.

Even if Amberlea had wanted to question Kalib further, he didn't give her time to comment further, before adding, “I’m going to have to ask you to take a leap of faith and just trust me for today, okay? Otherwise this just won’t work. In response to this, Amberlea raised that eyebrow of hers inquisitively. Trust? Amberlea didn't trust anyone. And besides, she would've more than likely gone along with the plan anyway. But as for trust...there's no way she could accomplish that, even if only for one day. Amberlea trusted very few people, and the ones she did had earned it after years of friendship, and even then she was inclined to break that trust far too often.

In return, if you honestly can say that you didn’t have fun with me by the end of the day, I promise to back off.”

Amberlea shrugged. She'd have fun whether it was with him or not. She didn't need him to have fun, but it was nice to have someone to cause mischief with, if he were that way inclined. She smirked then, crossing her arms in front of her, as devious thoughts of what they could do raced through her mind. She wondered what he had planned again.

"Ok," she said simply, giving him a slight nod. "You're the leader for today. So lead on."

OOC: A bit of writer's block at the moment, my next post will be a lot longer, promise!

[kalib]

Kalib sighed at her usual resistance to agree with anything he said. One day they would be able to talk and actually get something other then accusations. “I know, I know,” he laughed, “It’s a big step. All I’m asking it just a tiny bit of trust. No, it doesn’t even have to be that. Just that you’ll…go along with today, okay?” Seemed fair enough. “OK. You’re the leader for today, so lead on.” Finally! I little bit of reassurance. Well, the hardest part was over. He grinned and headed for the door, calling lightly over his shoulder “Come on then love; no need to dally and waste precious time. We’ve got a schedule to maintain!” Alright, so maybe there wasn’t necessarily a schedule, but she certainly didn’t need to know that. Kalib pushed the door open and headed out, falling into the caution of thinking someone was always on his tail. They just had to make it out of the castle and it’d be smooth sailing.

[Um, we’re just going to pretend Amber is continuously following after him, otherwise it might take forever to actually get there.] Kalib started down the dark hallways and up the stairs, careful to check the corridors before entering them. As the pair wound their way around occupied classrooms, they finally managed to make it to the empty one he’d been aiming for. Slipping outside, the Forest was within a good distance. Once the coast was clear, they sunk off into the shadows, walking in the cool darkness towards the gates. Amberlea may or may not have figured out what exactly their destination was by now, but Kalib remained silent all the same. No need to risk getting caught because they were talking too loud. And then, at long last, they were free. Leaving the Hogwarts grounds behind them, Kalib set along the path to Hogsmeade. Smooth sailing.

Proud of himself, he held his head a little higher as they walked down the lane. “I haven’t been able to get down here in a while,” he explained casually, like it was nothing abnormal to be sneaking off the grounds. “I thought today might be a good excuse to go. Besides, we wouldn’t have been able to do much else besides stay in the Common Room all day without getting caught. This is much more exciting.” The little village was creeping up upon the horizon, few people scattered here and there. Kalib chuckled under his breath and glanced over at Amberlea, “So, am I living up to your expectations?” There were always expectations.


OOC: Heh...dito. XD

[amberleasilverston]

There goes that word again. Trust. Amberlea shuddered, as she became away of how too often she seemed to be hearing it. But still she said nothing, nothing to that, nor to his comment after about wasting time, though she did let out a snort. Time wasn't precious, it was just there, and besides shouldn't every moment spent with her be thoroughly enjoyable? She almost laughed at herself at that thought. She couldn't stop herself from adding in her mind, yeah right. Still, she couldn't care less. She wasn't here to earn brownie points with anyone. Regardless she did as she was told, and fell into step quickly behind Kalib.

It was almost like a game, sneaking through the castle, making sure no one spotted them. Amberlea loved the feeling that any minute they could possibly be caught. Once they were outside, Amberlea realised what direction they were headed in. Wise choice she thought, but still wondered what were his plans when they got there. It didn't help she didn't know exactly how honourable (she used that word loosely) his intentions were. She couldn't help but think of his pretty little thing, probably playing all goody good in class right now. What on earth would she think? Amberlea chortled at the thought.

When they were almost there, Kalib had lifted his head, and held himself with a degree of pride. Amberlea shook her head. Half the fun was getting there, no need to be so cocky about it. It's not as if he just slew a dragon or anything. For once, however, she decided to keep her mouth shut. She didn't want her wagging buddy to leave her, she was rather enjoying the company (as much as she hated to admit it). She decided she'd let herself push people away a bit too much, resulting in her being alone a lot of the time. Though she liked it like that, she was only human, and sometimes she did get a tad lonely, though she'd never admit that to anyone. His casual tone as he spoked didn't express his pride that she just saw, as if he were trying to cover it. She cocked her head and half smirked as she listened to him.

"That is true, I can tell you where I'd much rather be," Amberlea said, wrapping her cloak around her shoulders. Now that they had paused and in weren't such a rush, the cold was setting in. Amberlea, coming from a warm climatic area, tended to get cold rather easily, with only the slightest of frosts.

“So, am I living up to your expectations?”
"And what expectations are they?" Amberlea said, still with the smirk on her face. Her eyes were alight with a teasing element as she played stupid, wondering what Kalib thought she thought of him. "I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about."

Her breath drew frosty tendrils in the air as she spoke. She was glad she had grabbed something warmer before they left.

[kalib]

Women were such funny beings, always playing mind games. Almost every girl he ever met did the exact same thing – Amberlea? Oh no, she just laid it all out bluntly in her words. She wasn’t scared to offend anyone, as it should be. He could say the same for himself, although he would admit he was more cautious when it came to women. Say the wrong thing and you’d find yourself kicked to the curb, in a sense. Or do the wrong thing. She’d obviously noticed his satisfaction with himself, even if she didn’t say anything. Reading girls was something he prided himself in – they could try to lie all they wanted, but get a good look at their eyes and you had everything. Well, if he was going to have to deal with her stubbornness, she was going to have to deal with his arrogance.

“And what expectations are they?” Kalib glanced at her curiously, doubting she was as oblivious as she seemed. So much for her not playing mind games. “You know, like all those silly rules girls set for us. Like how well they plan things out, or what they say to you, how good of a kisser are they, how they make you feel – all those gushy little midnight-sleep-over topics. You try and act all sneaky about it but it never works. My theory? You date one girl, you’re dating them all; you have some freaky network amongst you. If a guy does something bad, all the girls know about it; if a guy does something nice, all the girls know about it.” He spoke it as common knowledge, but he started to wonder – just how “in” was Amberlea with all the other girls? She had just a tense nature; he wasn’t blind – he could tell she wasn’t really prone to enjoying human company, and it wasn’t just with him either. She didn’t seem to like anybody. Just the fact that she was still talking to him now was a miracle. “So,” he repeated, “Am I living up to whatever expectations you’ve placed on me? You can’t deny you have them…”

As he trailed off, Kalib noted she’d retracted, trying to hold in every ounce of body heat she could with her coat. He smirked some, facing back towards the path ahead. He’d already been caught staring once; no need to be caught again. After a moment, he chuckled “You know, you could make an effort to make things easier on me.” He glanced at her suspiciously, and her shivering figure. “I would offer you my cloak, but somehow I don’t think you’d like that very much. Because if you actually wanted it, that would not only be admitting you’re cold and want me to help you out, but it’d also mean you were wearing my cloak, and you’re really good at keeping your distance from me.” He took a moment of thought, and then adding more seriously “Why is that? Do I honestly repulse you as much as it seems? I know I’m not your perfect gentleman or anything, but I never thought I was that bad.” Kalib shook his head in exasperation, and then figured he might as well be courtesy about it. “So Amberlea, would you like my cloak or are you going act like you’re perfectly fine and don’t want my help?”

[amberleasilverston]

What Kalib wasn't aware of, Amberlea, as blunt as she usually was, was also a huge one for playing mind games. It pleased her to twist people to what she wanted, wrap them around her finger. It wasn't beneath her to toy with a boy's heart, and ditch them before she either got sick of them, or they got sick of her. She wanted to keep them gagging for more. However, that was when they were beyond the friends stage, a stage in which Kalib had a long way to go.

Amberlea listened to his little speech, half-smirking silently. Boy, had he got the wrong person. If he didn't know by now that he was not into all the little girl gossips, he didn't really know much about her at all. If there was one thing people could trust her to do, it was keep to herself. All her little games, her little tricks, were for her own benefit.

"You seem to have something against us girls." Amberlea smirked, stopping for a second and turning to face him. "Let me tell you a little something, Kalib. If I'm this 'nice' to you, what makes you think I would bother having little social giggle sessions with other bitches? That's just not me. And if you think dating one girl is dating them all, why are you even bothering trying to pursue me? Or anyone else for that matter? Anyways I'm sure there's plenty others who'd more than willingly fall at your feet."

Amberlea shrugged light heartedly, flicking her hair out of her face. She waited, wanting to see his response to that one. Guys always got it wrong about her, none would ever understand, nor would she try and let them. One thing she didn't like however was being lumped in a group with other girls. Amber wasn't your typical girl, as he probably already saw. She didn't like the stereotypes she was often lumped into, being flicked from one to the other (depending on how badly she played with a guy). Amberlea was her own person, and preferred generally to keep it that way. Still facing him, Amberlea answered his next question.

"I had no expectations for you, Kalib. Your insecurities are really starting to bug me though."

She allowed himself to look at him directly, trying to convey her point. What she stated was the exact truth, she had had no expectations for him, nor for today, and she generally didn't try to set expectations for anyone. That was the one sure fire way to let yourself stray too close. Because by setting expectations, you also set them to be broken. Amberlea was your typical ice queen, just try breaking through those walls. Not one person had succeeded recently, Amber had become way too clever and way too cautious for that.

“Why is that? Do I honestly repulse you as much as it seems? I know I’m not your perfect gentleman or anything, but I never thought I was that bad.”

Amberlea smiled at him, and for once there wasn't a trace of her condescending smirk apparent on her face.
"You don't repulse me," She said to him, with another shrug of her shoulders. "If you did, I wouldn't be here right now."
“So Amberlea, would you like my cloak or are you going act like you’re perfectly fine and don’t want my help?”
Amberlea paused then, at the offer of his cloak, feeling the cold chill her to the bone. She sighed, before nodding her head. She felt the cold way too easily.
"Thank you," she mumbled, casting her eyes down to the ground.

[kalib]

“Yeah, I do,” he replied smoothly with a laugh, but was suddenly cut off. Amberlea was brave, taking him on like that. He was careful to keep his mouth shut through her rant, but was fighting a laugh the entire time. She thought she was so amazing – but then again, what one of them didn’t thinking highly of themselves? “You’ve got a pretty big mouth for being so quiet all the time, you know that?” he asked in response, only partially joking. “I don’t think you have lovely little chats with your girlfriends mainly because every time I see you, you’re alone; I don’t settle for one single girl because while you all talk to every other girl out there about guys, you’re still different; and I’m so persistent with you because I think you put on a big show for the world and I’m interested to find out what you’re like when your guard is down. If you just tried to let me get to know you, you might find out you actually like having me around.” He stared right back at her waiting for more accusations – they both had too big of opinions to be swayed so easily.

“I had no expectations for you, Kalib. Your insecurities are really starting to bug me though.” Kalib scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Forgive me for trying to make a good impression. I hardly count being concerned for your well being ‘insecurities.’ Would you rather have me ignore you the entire day? Because if that’s what you want, go ahead and turn around. I won’t bother giving up a perfectly afternoon to try and make you smile.” It was probably just in response to her “you can’t break me” attitude, but honestly, was she that against being friends with him? Kalib would be the first to admit to any girl he was not the perfect gentlemen, the perfect boyfriend, or even just the perfect boy in general – but heck, what guy was? Show any guy to any girl and they’d be able to find a fault in him – several probably. “You don’t repulse me. If you did, I wouldn’t be here right now.” Kalib mulled in disbelief. “You could at least be a little bit more pleasant about it,” he grumbled.

However easily he got worked up over the silliest of matters, Kalib felt slightly better with the satisfaction that maybe, just maybe, she could admit to feeling cold. Without comment, he shrugged out of his furred cloak and draped it over her shoulders. “There, not so bad, now is it?” He smiled just slightly, still a bit too irked to be so lighthearted. Oh well, he was getting somewhere – that’s all that mattered. With such a stubborn wall placed between them he was only that much more determined to break it down. Some might think of him as daring, others just might think of him as plain stupid for even trying. Either way, he didn’t care much for an opinion on the matter. “Now, if you wouldn’t mind,” Kalib said, working to sound repented, “Would you like to start moving again so that we might actually make it there and back before dinner?”

[amberleasilverston]

All throughout her little tyrade, Amberlea tried to read Kalib's expression, but he was pretty shut off, so she had no idea what he was thinking. She hadn't thought that maybe she could offend him, and she figured even if she did offend, it wouldn't be much a loss anyway. “You’ve got a pretty big mouth for being so quiet all the time, you know that?” Amberlea smirked, the comment not rubbing her up at all. She knew she was quite opinionated, that was one of the traits she valued about herself. Hey, at least they couldn't say she wasn't honest. However, when Kalib mentioned about her putting on a show, she let a frown encroach on her expression. She tilted her head, chewing her bottom lip as in thought, before she grinned, pleased that Kalib was showing to have some balls. When he mumbled that she could be a bit more pleasant, it occured to her that maybe he might actually being sincere about wanting to befriend her. Then again, maybe he was just trying to get her out of her skirt.

"Fine," she said to him when his turn for a rant was over. "I'll give you today, try to keep the snide comments to myself, and maybe, just maybe, we could be friends. I can't guarantee I'll be super nice, but I'll try being a bit politer."

Amberlea surprised herself by saying that, and she wondered why she gave in this once. Maybe it was because she was so used to people being push overs, falling over themselves to please her. She liked a little bit of feistiness, and imagined that maybe if she stopped being so pig-headed, she might even make a friend, a partner in crime, around this forsaken place. I mean, he had already showed that he wasn't afraid to break the rules. Maybe he was what she needed to keep her out of line. She could tell she had annoyed him, from the tone of his voice when he handed over his cloak, and a small smile played her lips at the thought. She nodded to him suggesting getting a move on, and started walking, wrapping the cloak snugly around her.

The cool crispness of the air outside filled her lungs, and she felt a strange burst of energy. She wasn't usually a morning person, but at that moment, she felt like she just wanted to run. A bounce seemed to emerge in her step as they walked on, Amberlea watching her surroundings, taking in the sight of people, buildings, and critters around them. She loved being outside. Maybe it was the being out in the open making her more amiable. Who knows, all Amberlea knew is that whatever bitterness was in her was gone temporarily, and it showed in the way she carried herself, her eyes alight. She wondered if Kalib was still sulking some, she looked back at him and laughed.

"Oh, c'mon Kalib, do lighten up. It's not the end of the world when you discover not every girl's in love with you," she teased him, with the sound of a chuckle in her voice.

OOC: Haha, I love it. He's almost as opinionated as she is!