the truth is, a dare's a dare [adalyn]

[Kasen Lirit]

so why am i trying so hard?

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sweater | shirt | jeans | shoes[/center]

As everyone very well knew, Truth or Dare was the sport of choice for most of the students of Winterthorne. Why? It was the chance for revenge, an owed favor, making out with that special someone, embarrassing someone, finding out who likes you, and of course, pushing certain people together.
That had been Jackson's plan.
The demon had dared Kasen to ask Adalyn, his ex, on a date. Seeing as he and Ada were friends, he saw no real reason not to. Besides, he was her ex for a reason, and he knew that. He'd thought of it as nothing before, figuring that Adalyn would see it the same way as he did. However, that was not the case.

Recently, it had come out that somebody still had feelings--and it wasn't him. Henceforth, he was nervous. For her, he wanted to return the feelings. Though thanks to his better judgment, he absolutely didn't want to at the same time. It was a sticky situation.

Adalyn had had plans of her own prior to their date, so they'd agreed to arrive separately and meet up in the malls music store. Why? Well, it was the only place Kasen could wait for a while and amuse himself. More importantly, there'd be an obvious witty remark once Adalyn got there.
Pacing the aisles for a certain CD, he moved his mouth along with the words as Disturbia echoed through the stores stereo system. Every so often, he'd look to the entrance, rolling his eyes when she wasn't there. Why did it always take girls so long? I'm paying for the movie and for dinner. The least you could do is show up on time.
Call it a pet peeve.

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[adalyn warner]

outfit

As a tradition, most nights were spent not doing homework, but playing truth or dare. Considering there were no sports at Winterthorne, it was the next best thing. Unfortunately for Adalyn, she was a good player, and so was her ex-boyfriend. And so was Jackson, who dared said ex-boyfriend to ask Ada out on a date. He wasn't one to back down, so of course, here she was a few days later, getting ready for that date. Too bad for her, she had to run her mouth a few nights ago, and let the cat out of the bag. She still had feelings for him. Sigh. Then she started crying, but he got the picture, and know he was more confused than ever.

She'd spent the better part of the day deciding on an outfit. It didn't happen though, because what she had on was just going to have to work, because she didn't feel like changing. She did, however, put her hair down, letting it fall to the middle of her back. So there it was, her current dilemma. She sat in a dressing room at one of the stores in the mall, checking her cell phone every five seconds. She didn't want to show up too early and make herself seem desperate, but didn't want to show up late and make it seem like she didn't care at all. It was a delicate situation. Like always.

She left the store, crossing the path of mingling teenagers over towards the music store. Her heart jumped when she saw him. For a moment, she was happy he couldn't read minds as well. It would have made things worse. Adjusting her top, she entered the store, moving to stand beside him. "I'm not late, am I?" she asked, smiling gently.

[Kasen Lirit]

At long last, he found that one precious album, holding up the delicate case. Not so delicate, really, but it had happened before--he'd gotten too excited and fried the CD while it was still in the case. So he kept very sure to treat it like a new born baby. Hell, better than a new born baby. For the Flobots he'd shoot a new born baby out of a t-shirt cannon at a sporting event.

Wouldn't you know it, as soon as he stopped paying attention Adalyn decided to show up. It was ridiculous. "Uh, no." Not technically. "Well maybe a little. But it's not important." Offering a shy smile, he held the CD up carefully. Oh yeah, he was getting it. "Mind if I make a purchase before we go?" Even if she did, he was getting it. Quickly, he headed for the check out counter and slid the credit card from his wallet, making the transaction as quick and painless as possible. Things like that had usually got Adalyn wound up in the past. Tucking the little bag into the inside pocket of his sweater, Kasen plastered on a smile, holding his arm out.

"Ready when you are."

Hell, he wasn't even sure what movie they were going to see. All he knew was that he was paying.

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[adalyn warner]

A smile graced her face at his child-like expression. Of course she remembered his deep love for CD's. She even remembered the conversations about the ones he had fried. So, it wasn't a shock that he was holding a new CD like a man would hold a baby. It made her happy, to say the least.

She shook her head to his question, looking at the row of CD's while waiting for him to make his purchase. She'd always been a big fan of music, but couldn't find the time to actually go out and buy CD's. It was why her iPod was full of downloaded songs from everywhere. And why her myspace page had a playlist nearly full with different types of music. That didn't matter though, because all that mattered was that she was on a date with her ex-boyfriend.

Thinking that still made her shiver. Adalyn was still nervous as hell, despite the calm persona she hoped was shining through. She had made her way closer towards him whilst browsing the music selection, and jumped slightly when he spoke. Smiling gently at his held out arm, she wrapped hers around his. "I'm ready. Where are you taking me?" Of course she already knew, but she just wanted to hear him say it out loud.

[Kasen Lirit]

Really, Adalyn, where do you think I’m taking you? Kasen thought to himself, rolling his eyes with an inward smile. Really, it was a stupid question on both their parts. Adalyn had probably heard that anyways. “What do you think? Because, really, I planned on taking you to a mystical land where flowers crap rainbows and unicorns cry maple syrup.” Somehow, Kasen had managed to say that with a completely straight face through and through. With the subtle raise of an eyebrow he looked down to Adalyn, waiting for her to burst into a fit of giggles. Or, you know, hit him.

He smiled to himself, leading her out of the store and into the main open-ness of the mall. And oh, the people. At least for a little bit, he couldn’t help but watch. He couldn’t help but judge and be critical and tear them all down to size. Really, they were all just begging for a satirical essay to be written about them. Snapping out of his few seconds of glory, Kasen looked back to his ‘date’ for the evening. Hey, considering it a real date was still hard.

“Well, if you’d rather not waste your time with a mystical land (where flowers crap rainbows and unicorns cry maple syrup), we can go catch a movie or something. Or like, eat.” His stomach let out a sickening growl. Feeed meee. “Whichever’s up first, it’s up to you. I’m paying either way.”

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[adalyn warner]

Oh, I dunno. The moon, perhaps? Adalyn shot back, even though he couldn't hear. She rolled her eyes as well, but her face was bright with a smile. She stared at him after his bold statement, letting the words sink in before she started laughing. It was a wonder he said that with a straight face, because it just might have been the weirdest thing that ever came out of his mouth. End of story.

She smirked as he took the lead; it was a common thing. During their relationship, he always took the lead when they went places, except that one time she got him to go shopping with her. And the time they went to dinner with her parents. Thats only because he was nervous. Adalyn rarely saw Kasen nervous, because he was a go-with-the-flow kind of a guy. So seeing him nervous was quite a shock. She had to loosen him up, and she did so. Laughing mentally at the thought, she looked up at him, at the exact same time he looked down at her. Weeeeeeird.

"Like, eating sounds good," she told him, copying his bad grammar. His stomach rumbling sent her into a small fit of giggles as she looked up at him sheepishly. With her free hand, she patted his stomach. "I think it made our decision for us," she stated, laughter filling her eyes.

[Kasen Lirit]

Kasen gave Adalyn a playful shove in response to her mocking his speech patterns. Or rather, lack there of. What with all the like, likes and stuff, and the ‘mans’ and what not. Yeah, that. Basically, you know, in short, how dare she?! He stuck his tongue out, clearing his throat to prepare for a higher octave than what he was use to. “Fine then, Adalyn,” he said in a mocking tone. “If you’re so sure of yourself, you pick.” Dropping the tone, he placed a hand n the small of her back, urging her to head forward.

That whole constant in-tune-ness was a little freaky. Kasen had been thinking it and whether Adalyn decided to take a peek into his head or not, she had to know he was thinking the exact same thing. Plus, that whole I-look-down, you-look-up thing was just freaky. Stop copying me, damn it.

“But no, seriously, I’m starvin’.” Cool as all hell, he slipped an arm around her shoulders, stepping onto the escalader and heading for the more, shall we say, enhanced food court. You know the kind—with actual restaurants, not just little things like McDonalds and that kind of crap. “So, you tell me, where are we going for dinner?”

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[adalyn warner]

Adalyn pouted lightly when Kasen shoved her, smiling a second later. She watched him think, which was always an experience. His mind was jumbled; it was a wonder how he lived from day to day in such a mess. Even when he slept, his mind was buzzing. She'd never met a person quite like him before. Literally. He still held her heart, even if he didn't quite know it. She smirked at his lame impression of her. "Fiiiiiine, if you insist," she shot back, a tiny jolt of electricity running though her when he touched her. She hoped it wasn't noticeable.

Now his thoughts consisted of her, still. Like they had been for the past, oh, what, ten minutes? It pleased her that he thought of her still, but made her a little sad, thinking about what they had had before. "I'm not trying to copy you. I wasn't even paying attention to your thoughts. Geeze." She feigned hurt, before a bright smile was plastered on her face once again.

Her hand gripped the one of Kasen's that was thrown over her shoulder. Absentmindedly, she laced her fingers with his. It felt like home again. This was their thing, being relaxed and having fun. "Yeah, remember, your stomach kinda told us that already." Looking around, all she saw were the more expensive choices of food. Looking up at her 'date', she threw a question right back. "You're paying, love. Why don't you and your stomach decide?"

[Kasen Lirit]

Kasen tugged at Adalyn, tugging her into a hug while walking behind her. Why was she making him chose? Oh, right, she was trying to be polite. His wallet and all. “Seriously, Adalyn, I don’t care where we go.” He nudged her, hoping she’d hurry up and pick the restaurant, otherwise he’d pick for her—and he’d pick one she wouldn’t like. “Pick, pick, pick.” He stuck his tongue out, chin on her shoulder. This was getting annoying. “If you don’t pick soon I’ll die.”

At least she was trying to be polite. He’d tried dating other girls since they’d broken up, but they hadn’t exactly worked out. Hell, he hadn’t even bothered to remember their names. Various other girls, let’s just go with that. He never had a choice when it came to paying though, they just sort of forced it on him. And why the fuck did he agree? Because it had come with the promise of sex. Okay, that right there should’ve been a sign that it wouldn’t work out. If he wanted the screw a girl on the first date, then what was the point of a date, really? That’s what Bliss was for.

“So, what’s been going on with your brother and Xio?” The silence was starting to get to him, and normally her brother was the sort of thing to get her talking. Besides, he was actually a little interested. Evan was a sophomore and Xio was a senior. Kudos to him.

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[adalyn warner]

Oh, lord. His arms around her brought back many memories, things she had tried to forget. Obviously, that failed, because they were still there. She rested her hands on his arms, debating. "I'm thinking, hush," she told him, ignoring his nudge, and ignoring his thoughts. She looked around at the restaurants. It actually wasn't a hard one, there was one place here they both had liked, because it was where her parents had taken them. That brought on some good memories. Giggling, she rested her head against the one on her shoulder, leading him to her choice. "Happy?"

It was a slow walk, and she opened her mind again, listening to his thoughts. It hurt her, of course, but they had broken up. What else was there to do? She couldn't lie, she'd done the same thing as him. Going home on break, she hooked up with at least a half a dozen guys, but it still wasn't the same. None of them had his height, or hair, or style. Or anything. It was just something to keep her mind off of Kasen, which had worked for several days, but ended up failing. Adalyn let loose a sigh.

A shrug. "I actually don't seem him very often, because he's always with her." That hurt; she missed her little brother. "But, he usually is always thinking about her. I'm happy for him," she told Kasen. Truth was better than a lie, right? Besides, she wasn't about to tell him of all the dirty thoughts her brother had. It was hard enough to Ada to deal with...