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Post by Zach Josanno on Dec 27, 2008 17:59:45 GMT -5
Zach frowned a bit at Lea's response. Now, he wasn't the smartest person in the world, he was more than aware of that. He often did very stupid things, but to say he had the intelligence of an ant, when she didn't even know him? That was harsh. Yet Zach remained where he was. She was testing him, of course. Pushing him away was probably precisely what she wanted, but not at all what she needed. Not to say that he thought that she needed him already, but he felt like if he were to leave, he'd be letting her and himself down. He just wanted to help, and this wasn't going to leave him alone at all until he felt like he had made some sort of difference in Lea's life.
"Umm..." That was all Zach could think of saying in regards to the book for a moment. Now what was he supposed to say to that? He completely disagreed with the idea that it made her a freak. In fact, the very idea sounded absurd. "People read all the time, Lea...I really couldn't care less if you use your lunch period to do that. Some people use it for homework. Whatever. It's really none of my business." Zach probably couldn't do that, even though there were times when he was so swamped with work that he wished he could. He preferred to enjoy his food and company. Although he wouldn't say he was entirely enjoying this. It was interesting, but not enjoyable. So he supposed he'd have to depend on the cafeteria food to avoid feeling disappointed over this hour.
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Post by Lea Harrison on Dec 27, 2008 18:25:03 GMT -5
Lea smirked when Zach frowned; she knew he'd come around at one point...and now he was tiring, she could tell. She couldn't help but laugh a bit when all Zach could say was, 'umm...' That boy should just leave her and save himself from this. He was speechless now, obviously not knowing what to say. He was seeming even more foolish than before. Lea smiled, glad she had caught a flaw in his little act of stubbornness, or so she thought and frowned when he said more.
"But do you see those people eating with others?" Lea asked, "People who do that are usually regarded as freaks...you're not supposed to read, that would make you seem like you wanted to learn, and Heaven forbid you'd wanna do that!" she said with a roll of her eyes, "Reading helps you learn, which people are 'supposed' to detest and if people can't stick to that status quo...well..." she motioned the table they were sitting in, "You end up sitting with no one."
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Post by Zach Josanno on Dec 29, 2008 10:21:36 GMT -5
So he had a moment of hesitation. Honestly, Zach never claimed to be a wizard with the comebacks. In fact, he hadn't wanted to argue with Lea in the first place. It was she who wanted to make this a battle of the wits, and Zach didn't see the harm in participating, so long as he didn't end up hurting her feelings. Yes, he was thinking of the feelings of someone whose intent seemed to be nothing more than to verbally abuse him into submission. It was the strange way that Zach's mind worked. For a moment, he could see that she thought she had "won" the competition that he wasn't even trying to win, and had even laughed. Even if it was directed toward his apparent foolishness, he couldn't help but find something enchanting in that laughter. What if it was to show happiness rather than contempt for him? How wonderful would that be?
Then she was frowning again and Zach's heart sank a little. He couldn't quite explain why, except to say that he didn't like seeing people unhappy. Especially attractive people. It was a small amount of shallowness that he couldn't help, unfortunately. He never claimed to be perfect, after all. And now she was opting for explaining the so called status quo to him. As if he didn't know. He might be odd in the eyes of his fellow teenagers, but he knew how things worked. He also knew that they weren't quite as inflexible as Lea made it seem like. There were several people who could be considered "popular" that were actually quite openminded. The ones that earned their popularity through verbal abuse were actually far more hated than the ones that hung around the so called freaks. By default, misfits outnumbered the popular people. That was why things didn't work quite the way Lea seemed to think.
"Well, as you may have noticed, you're not sitting with no one anymore. You're sitting with someone who, honestly, respects people who enjoy learning, even if he's not that much of a reader." It was true, he wasn't. Music was his calling, and he would much rather practice his violin than spend hours reading a supposed classic. "Anyway...they even have book clubs, so obviously, there are people who actually like reading and manage to find friends." After that, he chewed, a pensive look on his face.
This girl was quite a puzzle, even if many people would disagree. She was antisocial and seemed to have a very black and white view of the world. He didn't need help figuring that out. It was a matter of how and why...and how he could possibly change her mind. Because he wanted to get to know her. It wasn't something that made sense; it was just an instinct. There was a part of his heart that was calling to know her, to see a part of her that wasn't so hateful and pessimistic.
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Post by Lea Harrison on Dec 29, 2008 18:32:45 GMT -5
Lea rolled her eyes. "You're right," she said sarcastically, "I'm not sitting with no one...I'm sitting with you, and you can't imagine how deeply thrilled I am."
Oddly enough, Lea for some odd reason forgot the fact she was a blood thirsty vampire and picked up the uneatened sandwich on her tray and toke a bite, instantly regretting that move. Somehow, and she couldn't imagine how, Zach was making her forget the fact she was a vampire, the fact that she was different. Maybe it was the fact he was talking to her as if she were a normal girl, rather he thought so truly or not. He was making her feel like she was a normal, average girl again, eating lunch at her old school and she didn't like the memories that conjured up. But, now, of course, she was more focused on the fact she felt as if she just had dirt shoved up her mouth. She gagged, spitting the sandwich on the ground as if it were the most vilest substance on earth.
She glared at the ones in the room who decided this was funny and were howling with laughter. She gritted her teeth, angry that her guard was now down because of her stupid move. She liked her air of not being noticed, of only being 'that weird girl.' She growled a bit at the laughers in the room, who would pay sooner or later, she'd make sure of it, and they stopped. She turned back to Zach and glared at him too. It was his fault her guard was down and for that she hated him.
"School lunches," She said with a roll of her eyes, "Who knows what they put in these things."
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Post by Zach Josanno on Dec 29, 2008 18:58:33 GMT -5
Even if Zach knew that she was being sarcastic, he allowed himself to smile a bit. Maybe she would change her mind eventually. There was that unbelievable desire for her approval talking again, of course. Where was it coming from? It wasn't as if Zach minded so much, but he knew that this would be driving him crazy in the future. He wanted to know why he would want to get to know this girl, of all the people in this school. Honestly, he had already met a fair amount of people, all seeming very interested in befriending him, and then there was this girl who, apparently, was considered a nobody in this school, and he found himself completely enthralled. It couldn't just be a looks thing. Zach had shallow tendencies, but this kind of pull didn't simply come from a pretty face.
The next thing he knew, Lea was gagging, and concern rushed to his expression. "Are you all right?" he asked just before hearing a roar of laughter coming from behind him. That was when something really startling happened. He turned his face with a clear frown on his expression and he was thinking, Really, do you have to be so immature? She could be choking for all you know. He wasn't usually this hostile to anyone, even if that person was being a bit unkind. And usually that was just with a single person. Now he was glaring at half the cafeteria. Very strange. He turned his face back to Lea, only find that she was glaring at him. That was when his own glare slipped off his face and his eyes began to ask, What did I do?
"Right...yeah, you really never know..." he responded, still a tad bewildered by the glare he had received. Sure, it didn't seem like she liked him in the slightest, but he had never felt such a burning hatred from any pair of eyes until now. And burned it did.
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Post by Lea Harrison on Dec 29, 2008 20:31:58 GMT -5
"I'm just fine," Lea snapped, trying to compose herself, to not make it look as if her guard had been brought down, that she was a bit fearful this incident may lead someone to wonder about her, that she might be found out. No, of course she couldn't be found out! The people at this school were too dense to think of anything unusual going on with her; Zach didn't seem to believe her excuse, but, he was a naive idiot. She sighed, feeling calm again. This thing would be frogotten about, she was sure. People were dense idiots, after all.
"Well now," she said, putting her nose back into her book, "If you'll excuse me, I'd like to get back to reading my book."
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Post by Zach Josanno on Dec 29, 2008 21:19:56 GMT -5
Zach flinched a bit when Lea snapped at him, but he couldn't stop the internal sigh of relief at her telling him that she was okay. "Okay...good..." After all, who wouldn't freak out over a bad tasting meal? Although, his own wasn't so bad. It had nothing on some of the cooking he had eaten in the past, but it wasn't as if it was like tasting rotten poison, which was almost what Zach thought of when he saw the look on Lea's face when she took a bite out of that sandwich. He wasn't sure why that bothered him so much. That was a normal reaction to things that didn't taste all that good. Seeing as he did whatever he could to avoid vegetables as a child, he knew that better than most. Yet it was like something was nagging him, telling him there was something to be curious about over it.
At her request for silence, he simply nodded, knowing that talking would just make her more irritated. Besides...his head was spinning at the moment. What was it about this girl that made him read way too much into something so simple? Was it just the fact that he found it unbelievable that she really thought what she had said about people, about him? Perhaps. He felt so drawn to figure out why she would say that, let alone think it. After all, what came out of people's mouths were often fractions of the truth, because thoughts were way too complicated to fully communicate. So to think that this what how she always saw things, or if that was even how she saw things now (at least completely; she had a sort of conviction that made it pretty clear that she believed it to an extent) was preposterous. There had to be a reason. No one thought that sort of thing with happiness. She was hurting.
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Post by Lea Harrison on Jan 4, 2009 18:54:38 GMT -5
Lea raised her eyebrow after a moment after hearing well...nothing. Complete and utter silence, just as she asked, as if Zach really cared about pleasing her. Well, at least his annoying chatter was over with. She was happy about the silence at last and the chance to compose herself from that momentary stupid mistake. She shouldn't think much of what Zach thought of that; if he were like any of these other idiots [And she suspected...no, knew for certain he was] he had already forgotton all about this.
But, there was no laughing from him, that was shocking part, she had expected at least a little chuckle. No, he actually seemed...concerned. What kind of trick was he pulling? No one was concerned for her. And besides, after the way she was treating him, wouldn't he think laughing at her would be deserved?
"Well," Lea said, "Aren't you going to laugh like everyone else?" She said it sarcastic, bitter like all her other comments, but, it also came out as questioning...who was this boy and was his trick? His reactions were confusing, making her comments run dry.
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Post by Zach Josanno on Jan 17, 2009 9:27:19 GMT -5
So for a few moments, they were silent. Being quiet wasn't something Zach actively tried to do. He either had a lot to say, or nothing at all. Now he had things to talk about, but for the sake of being considerate to this beautiful and angry person, he was going to have to hold back. He could handle that. It wasn't ideal, but he could. If Lea wasn't going to help him in getting to know her, he'd have to figure out a way to do it without her help. It was around this time when she surprised him with that sarcastic tone of hers, but the words were even more surprising. Zach glanced up, a confused and surprised expression crossing his face. "I thought you wanted me to be quiet?"
Realizing that this was completely off the subject, he shook his head and frowned again. "And why would I laugh at you? There's not exactly anything funny about you." Honestly, why was she acting as if she expected the worse from him? What the hell did he do to piss her off? Breathe?! It seemed like she just hated everyone, or at least acted like it. Zach was almost completely at a loss for what to do. What did she want from him? Silence or teasing? It was making him very confused, and no one liked being confused.
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Post by Lea Harrison on Jan 20, 2009 19:11:45 GMT -5
Lea glared at Zach, taking his comment to be a sarcastic one. Well, she certainly was not going to tell him she wanted him to revel himself for the selfish, spiteful creature she knew was in every person. She couldn't tell him she was watching his actions, trying to figure out the true nature she knew hid in every person; evil. Nice people only wanted something from you, what Zach wanted she wasn't sure, but she would find that out. She decided just to leave her glare as her response to that since it'd be stupid to tell the truth.
"I just choked out my sandwich as if It were caked in mud," she said, "Most would find that at least a little funny...I mean, surly you thought something of that." She knew what she did HAD to have just looked embarrassing and ridiculous. He had to think it was at least a little funny. He had to have some mean, wicked comment in his head just waiting to come out.
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Post by Zach Josanno on Jan 23, 2009 15:58:32 GMT -5
That was what she thought? That Zach found something funny about someone choking? What the hell was so funny about that?! Nothing, that was it! Anyone who finds choking at all funny, please raise your hand, he was tempted to announce. He was pretty sure that no one would do it. He stared at her, his mouth open enough to catch flies. "Y...you could've choked to death and you think that I find it funny? What kind of sick people do you hang out with that would make you think that seeing people choke is a suitable form of entertainment?!" It was only then that he realized how high pitched his voice had gotten. That was how it usually got when he was offended. He glanced around, noticing that people were staring again. At this he sighed and reminded himself to keep his voice down.
"Okay fine, I overreacted, but please, explain to me what makes you think I thought this was funny?"
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Post by Lea Harrison on Jan 23, 2009 16:24:09 GMT -5
Lea raised her eyebrows a bit, "I don't believe I've ever heard of death by sandwich, or if that's even possible." Could someone really choke and die by a sandwich? That would probably be the most suckiest way she could think of for one to go. She could imagine on a gravestone, 'death by a sandwich.' She chuckled a bit at that imagery. This guy was crazy, but she had to admit, she was glad he was actually getting a little angry...it seemed he hadn't been this whole time and in her mind he should be. After all, after she treated him, who wouldn't?
She blinked at Zach. Who did she hang out with? Didn't he get the picture she hung out with NO ONE!? She rubbed the bridge of her nose in annoyance as a sudden image came into her mind of who she used to hang out with long ago, the only one she used to hang out with.
In her memory, she was only 13, standing outside her house, giggling as she threw snowballs at Lydia, who was squealing with joy, trying to run from them. Lea remembered them drinking hot cocoa, watching the snow fall, silenced by its beauty. She remembered them jumping in rain puddles all the way home from school if it was raining, laughing as the rain fell on them. But, then, she remembered the fighting. Lydia snapping that maybe people would treat her better if she acted like a normal human being. Her saying this just wasn't working...she needed to feel as if people, other people actually liked her.
Lea's eyes then turned cold. She had betrayed her, gave her her first taste that people weren't really any good. All the memories in the world didn't matter, she was numb to them all now. It didn't matter what was done, what really mattered was how it ended. She had hardened her heart so she would never have to feel betrayed or hurt ever again.
"I don't hang out with anyone," she said coldly...and she wouldn't, not anymore, "If you already couldn't tell."
"For one," Lea said with a roll of the eyes, "If you've noticed I haven't exactly been being little Miss Sunshine to you...I figured you'd take this as change to reclaim some dignity...also, people get a kick out of other's misfortunes."
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Post by Zach Josanno on Jan 25, 2009 22:43:02 GMT -5
Zach shifted uncomfortably at Lea's remark on how she had never heard of someone dying by sandwich. "Well...it could happen. Especially since I don't know the Heimlich, and if people really dislike you here as much as you say, I can't promise I'd be able to get help if worse came to worse." Okay, so maybe this didn't make as much sense as he thought it had in his mind, but what else was one supposed to think when someone choked? It was only natural that you panicked, right? And now she was laughing? Why? This girl was making less and less sense as time went on, and Zach found himself feeling all the more puzzled.
Then, for the tiniest moment, Zach could have sworn that Lea had this nostalgic look in her eyes. Blinking, he kept his eyes glued to hers, trying to find some kind of meaning in that look. Yet it wasn't just that. He wanted to remember seeing her that way; she almost seemed like someone with a kind heart when she looked like that. It was just as he wanted to prove, that there was good in her. How could there not be when she thought of something so fondly. Besides, her eyes were just that beautiful, and it would be hard to not stare. Still, he didn't want to offend her anymore than he might have already, and lowered his eyes once he was sure he wouldn't forget that look.
"Well...just because people dislike you at your school doesn't necessarily mean you're completely alone," he pointed out, raising his eyes again once he was sure that her moment had passed. He would have to be patient if he wanted to find out why she behaved this way, if he was going to find a way to be of some help in this girl's life. He wasn't pleased with that reality, but he would deal with it. He simply listened, skepticism crossing his expression at her words. Of course he knew some people enjoyed other people's misfortunes. Those were the sorts of people that cop shows loved to portray, to scare people with just how scary a guest star actor can be in the crazy roles they came up with. But you didn't find that many sociopaths in suburban Washington towns, as far as he knew. "No, and no," he responded simply to her two theories of why he would want to laugh.
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Post by Lea Harrison on Jan 25, 2009 22:58:08 GMT -5
Lea raised her eyebrows...were they really arguing over sandwiches. She groaned in annoyance and frustration. Why was she staying here, talking about sandwiches? Why in the world did she care if this boy could be lying to her? Why did she care to figure out his bad side? She could kill him in a heartbeat if she wanted to. In yet, she was staying...why? Was it the novelty of actually being talked to like a human being after so long? Was she really so weak, she couldn't even walk away from one stupid mortal? Was her mind really believing that he actually liked her deep down? No, she had to think reasonably. And even if he did like her, she had decided long ago she needed no one.
"You really know nothing about me," Lea with a small chuckle. The teachers and adults in her life had all been idiots, liars, telling her to ignore the bullies and they'd go away, to 'get over it.' They were so ignorant they thought that peace could solve the problem, that somehow letting people step all over you could solve anything. And as for now? Well, she was obviously alone, she hadn't spoken to anyone like she was now in years.
Lea chuckled a bit, "You're trying to tell me you don't want any cruelty on me for me treating you like crap?" It didn't make sense, it couldn't be possible. An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth, that was the world's motto.
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